Valeria Out Loud

Had a great time out with our friends this Thanksgiving Eve.  It’s a tradition that when our friends are home from NY we get together either the night before or after.  It means more now than ever before cause now all of us have children, with one of the couples having TRIPLETS!  EEK! I KNOW!  We make it a point to have a kids free night out, geek out on catching up..and drinking a plenty of scorpion bowls.  I LOVE ME SOME SCORPION BOWLS!  And I love me my friends, too. Time always flies when we are together, and I wished it wouldn’t.

My Thanksgiving was a smaller gathering than it normally had been for the past 11 yrs..it was my parents, my husband, our two girls and myself.  My oldest sister lives in Italy, so since 2007 when she moved there we haven’t had a Thanksgiving together. My older sister went to visit the in-laws in the midwest, an annual trip. My in-laws’ home was the usual spot for us in the past, but this year they decided that after three months of renovations, where my sister in-law and family lived with them, they’d treat themselves to a small holiday with their daughter and her family. At the time hearing all this I have to say I got pretty, pretty upset.  It has been set up that we celebrate as one big family the past few years that I just wanted it to stay that way. Everyone at my mother-in-laws. BUT even with these changes, making it a more intimate gathering worked out well in the end.

After a relaxing morning and a home delivered Starbucks latte from my handsome husband, we headed to my parents in the late morning.  I do have to say that I am thankful for my Father not being a football weirdo.  I say weirdo, cause it’s like a cultish religion for some men/women.  And, honestly, I just don’t get it.  I fully understand the sport, don’t get me wrong. And my husband has been trying to get me to like football since we met in 1996.  It just isn’t a thing for me.  Hockey on the other hand. I grew up with my Father watching two things.. Italian soccer and the Bruins. Most of the time I’d pass out cold from the sounds of the fans at the televised soccer games, but the sounds of the hockey games were exciting; and it was fun to watch.  So, when they are not on hiatus, I have been known to get into a game of the Bruins. Watching Milan Lucic is fun too, not so bad on the eyes. Jussaying. But back to Thanksgiving!  My parents prepared a spectacular dinner. Starting with my Mother’s homemade chicken broth and tortellini (photo below). I can eat that dish everyday for the rest of my life and never be tired of it. It’s just that good! Then we had the main course of roasted turkey, which my Mother stuffed with apples, oranges, and dates. The sides were sauteed pumpkin with onions, broccoli, asparagus with parmiggiano, roasted red bliss potatoes, sausage stuffing, and the infamous salad.  A side note, we always make this ginormous salad for the holidays and there is just too much food that no one eats the salad.  So it’s a big joke for us, and we still make that salad!! Dinner was amazing, even had some of that salad.  The cheesecake I made, posted the recipe earlier, and pumpkin pie were a huge hit at dessert. OINK.

The day was so nice and relaxing.  I had brought two crafts for the girls to do, in case they got bored, but they were more interested in showing Nonno how to make and fire pottery on the iPad than crafting (also to play bejeweled with Nonna!).  Had some great crafts too..grabbed two foam cones, a bag of mini peppermint marshmallows, a bag of spiced chewy candy, and a box of toothpicks, to make candy Christmas trees! The other things I brought were blue and white foam snowflakes and pipe cleaners to make ornaments.  But it didn’t matter that they were more interested in something else, cause they had the happiest looks on their faces being with Nonno, Nonna, their daddy and I.  And that is what the holidays are really about.. making those memories for them.  At the end of the evening, while driving home, both girls were still wide awake and talked the entire 30 minute drive about how great of a Thanksgiving they had with us..though they really missed their cousins.  🙂 

Hope you all had a wonderful day too.  🙂