Thankful to be MIA

Ladies, gents, kids, dogs, and cats... I got to drop off the face of the earth for 4 whole days. It was magical. And full of Bromance-made food that was soo good (He was a Chef before going back to Grad School for Music). I know I'm a few days late, but here's what I'm especially thankful for.
1. My family, especially reconnecting with my sisters this year. We've been scattered across the globe for years, but things fell a little more in place to spend time getting involved and invested in the day to day stuff over the phone. I'm thankful for my husband, who has been very sensitive to my frustrations of being the sole breadwinner through two cross-country moves and two advanced degrees. I'm grateful for my mom's encouragement, my dad's wisdom, and my brother's out-of-the-blue texts.
2. My home here in Houston has been wonderful. Our neighborhood is so special, our apartment is small, old and funky, but completely "us". Our neighbors are becoming friends and there's animals everywhere!
3. Our Houston friends through the University- the music scene can be a little like High School in the sense that some of the personalities can be catty and competitive, but our crew is nothing like that. Everyone is silly, social, encouraging of one another, generous. I love that there's so much support of one another, inclusiveness in plan-making, consideration of feelings and no one gets wound up if something goes awry. These people are flexible, loving, and good natured.
4. My job isn't perfect, but it's been an amazing stepping stone. The stories I've gathered, the people I've met, the experience I'm still gaining is invaluable.
5. My critter kids are daily encouragement and unconditional love. Being able to have both a dog and a cat who are both so intuitive and loving is such a gift.
6. A solid marriage. It will never be perfect or easy, but we always know that egos will be put aside and a solution will be found. We like each other too much to do it any differently. We're each the counterweight to the other personality.


Thanksgiving visit photos in abundance:

Oh, my gosh. Maple cheesecake with cranberry compote.

Our hosts: Jersey Girl and Bromance

Excited? Yes.

Jersey Girl and the world's largest onion.

I wish you could have tasted that turkey. It LITERALLY fell off the bone, it was so tender. Two days later, heated up in the microwave, it was still juicy.

The tragic game of Monopoly

Me and Jersey Girl, along with the corner surrounding "Go" which she turned into what we called  "@ss-r@pe row"

Look at her cackling. That whole stretch was owned by her.

We ran out of houses in the midst of Jersey Girl's climb to the top... This was Bromance's drunken solution.

Awesome.