Thanksgiving with the FAM...

Thanksgiving is unfortunately over and I will be returning to Geneva soon to get back to work; but the time spent with my family has been fantastic! Sometimes we get so busy in our day to day lives with deadlines, work, projects: life-- that we forget to enjoy our life. I know that I do this all the time, and it's usually when I am with my family that I remember how good things are. I remember what I work so hard for and I think about the things in life that I hold most dear. So I hope you guys enjoy the following pictures from our gathering... I know that I have loved the time spent with everyone. And I hope that you have all had equally wonderful holidays.

Chilling @ Rockin' Chair Farm

It was T- 4 hours and counting when my Staff meeting ended yesterday afternoon. I headed back to the dorm after making a few quick good byes. Once there, I immediately began dropping hints: "So, when are you heading out?" "Need any help packing?" " Have a great break!" I decorated the white board outside of my apartment with those wonderful words "Have a good Thanksgiving Break', and they headed straight to the laundry room. I finished up my laundry, packed it and a ton of books and papers into my duffel bag and hit the road as soon as most of the guys were out of my building.
I actually made the best time I have yet, racing through the hills of Western PA westward into the smooth countryside of Ohio. Oh, the lovely state of Ohio! So many of my friends speak so derogatory about this place. I love it, maybe that's because of the many fond memories of horseback ridding, playing in the mountain streams, or those lovely county fair weeks where everyone seemed to enjoy life. It's the place of my mother's ancestors and it just seems comfortable. I arrived last night to find my mother (she had flown in on Sunday) and my grandparents just getting dessert ready! What a treat. This morning my uncle, Christian, arrived and we enjoyed a nice lunch in town before we headed back to the house. Tonight was or turn to make and authentic Italian Dinner. I guess since we have both spend significant time in the country, but let's face it: it's my uncle that really almost lives there. So we made a fantastico dinner, full of antipasto and homemade spaghetti sauce! MMMM, it was tasty. Now we are just anticipating the big feast and fun for tomorrow. My great aunt Edie and her son, Doug, and his wife, Dee, are headed over. They are tons of fun, and I can't wait to spend some time with them. I am sure there will be plenty of pictures to view so soon!

The Official Start

THE FEAST

My friends Taylor and Joanna told me that my under construction message was as long as an actual construction crew, and that it was time to get crackin'. They are right. I am excited about today's post because Kristin, my sister staff RD, and I have been cooking all day for our Building Team Meeting tonight. We are doing a combined meeting to celebrate the upcoming holliday which will include a full Thanksgiving Feast followed by Christmas decorating.

The menu includes everything from a 21 lbs. turkey(maple roasted with a butter sage sauce and bacon) to sausage balls and untraditional wantons for appitizers. In short, it is a true feast! And I have the pictures to prove it:

Here I am carving up the huge beast... This is after everyone had gone through once. Can you believe that spread?

My Guys were very happy with the food, and after the dinner they ended up laying around because they were soooo full!

Below is my sister RD Kristin, from Messiah... we did good work!

All in All We Fed A Lot Of Happy People!

To the left is both of our Building Teams (most of them anyway). We were planning on hanging lights for our buildings aftewards but it was too rainy. There's always next week. This was great but I can't wait to head to my grandparents to meet my family for the actual holliday!