Rambling: Thankfully Full, Fully UNThankful

...I'm a sucker for the parade. 

And. Here we are in the whirl and swirl of thanks and giving. Woo woo. Holiday train.

No, I have not been hibernating these past few weeks. However, I would be happy in a nice warm cave somewhere curled up for the winter. Doesn’t that sound nice? Instead, I am pounding the one block that I dominate (I have mentioned that I live on the same street that I work on, haven’t I?) and at the same time –pounding the computer keys. Is it true what they say about fluorescent lighting? Does it really suck the color out of your skin? I refuse to believe this …it could kill one’s positive outlook.

Announcements? Yes. There are some. I got a promotion at work! True. Turns out no one noticed when I quit washing my hair everyday a few months back. Don’t worry. After looking back at pictures from my birthday, I quickly discovered I cannot pull off this look like Stephanie can. My hair just looked…wet. Gross.

David and I have momentarily ceased looking for apartments in Hoboken, the city, and Brooklyn. Initially, we both were not too keen on the thought of having two new roommates, and we were going to look at a place in the West Village last Friday. I was thrilled. Someone from work sent me an email saying she was moving out of her perfect apartment in her perfect neighborhood. She’s right. The West Village is pretty great. I emailed her and said YES! We would LOVE to come look!! Sign us up!!!! YES!!! She emailed me back.

“I should warn you,” she said. “It’s 350 square ft.”

For $1711.00 a month. No kitchen. Hot plate. Half fridge.

Gulp.

So.

We are just going to wait and see.

Ah, and then there is Thanksgiving. David and I went to see Jim Gaffigan on Wednesday at Town Hall in Times Square. We paid $10 each for Tanquerey and Tonics that we ended up having to suck down before the show. Bummer. BUT. The show was amazing. Hooooot poooockets. Geez. If you don’t know who he is, get his CD now. Do it. His jokes about food are flawless. When we got home from the show, in an attempt to get some cooking done before we had people over for Thanksgiving, I tried to par-bake my pie crust without actually following the recipe. I was apparently supposed to pile dried beans onto the uncooked shell when I put it in the oven. I didn’t have any. I was furious when the pie crust cooked and shrunk. I think David was scared. You should have seen me throwing the pie crust onto a cookie sheet, angrily slicing the half-cooked dough into pieces, then throwing cinnamon and sugar all over the place. “There! Elephant Ears!” Aaaargh. What a drama queen.

Missed my family on Thanksgiving. Christmas is going to be a riot.

UNThanksgiving was….a show. It is, for those of you wondering, a TRADITION. And don’t we all love traditions? We went to James’ place in Williamsburg with the leftover food from Thanksgiving and wrote on the same “scroll” we used last year. Brilliant. We seemed to be consistently unthankful for the same things. David and I found ourselves taking a cab back to Hoboken at 4:30 in the morning. We always say we will take the train and instead there we are, haggling with a cab driver.” $75! $75! to Hoboken,” he yells at us. No way Mr. Cabbie Driver. I won’t pay over $40. Observe children—this is not a good way to spend your money, but it’s just so convenient.

Anyone have thoughts on store-bought pinecones? I mean c’mon. You just can’t find them up here—and especially not cinnamon-scented. This is what has become of me.

This recipe was meant to be posted mmm. Weeks ago. I refused to do so without a camera. Ta-da. These will change your life. They are a new tradition. Count on them for next fall.