Thanks and Truth

Now that the holidays are coming up (ack, already??) I start to think of what I am thankful for, and why. There's a lot:
1) My husband. As cliche as it may sound, I am so grateful that I met D. He takes me for who I am, and pushes me towards a better me, no matter how much I may push back. He accepts that mistakes that I made prior to (and after) meeting me, and understands when I cry about them. He understands who I am and what I am. He has forgiven me for things that I've believed that I can't forgive myself for. He is my rock.
2) My family. Even though (or in spite of the fact that) I spent hours obsessing over the wedding, my parents loved it. My mother was so happy, my dad wore his uncomfortable tux (and looked fabu) and my grandma and brother were there. My mother even said she was so amazed at how we handled the whole thing - we hadn't seen the facility or the cake, and still I loved it and managed to have fun. I love that she recognized that. And I loved that I was able to make their only child's (since my twin brother will probably not be allowed to get legally married anytime soon....................what bullshit!) wedding fun and memorable, despite all the drama we went through .
3) My bridesmaids - Loud and Ding and my most favorite roommate ever, Ange. Girls, I know I didn't involve you in a lot of stuff, but you were my go-to girls when I had questions. I couldn't have done it without you.
4) Lucia - I heard about the mini-bottles of booze afterwards - you helped everyone have a great time, and my mom loved you. You didn't make a big deal out of her blindness and even toasted to her 4 lobsters. Thank you.
5) All of my friends who came to the WI reception. Thank you for coming out to celebrate the most joyous occasion of D and I's lives. It meant a lot to me that you came out, made the bar bill way higher than we expected, and just had a great time - I love you all.
6) My family and friends - D's parents are extremely anti-gay. But my brother was still a participant in the ceremony, and I couldn't have done that without you guys politely keeping your mouths shut - I truely couldn't have imagined it without him. I will still work on my new in-laws on this issue, but I doubt that they will change. So thank you.
7) The house - I love it! I finally feel as if I'm putting down roots in this town, and god knows I've never had that before. It's perfect.
8) My job - yeah, sometimes it sucks, and I work long hours. But it's a job I like, and it pays well, so I can't complain (too much :P)
9) My friends - thank you all for being around as you were. And I can't wait to see you at this year's gala.

Speaking of that, there is much to get done for that! So much for hibernating before the holidays :)

Snapshot Memories

“Everything's in slow motion
Hands in the air
Sweat flying everywhere
But we don't care
Well you could try to fight the feeling
But I can't see the use
There's so much love in this room
And yes its all drug induced
Can't remember who I am
Or what I'm doing here
But at the same time
In my mind
Everything is clear
No fear and no drama
It's all good karma
And I never can forget
The night before the morning after
Well there's more to life than this
Of that I'm fully aware
But there's nothing more intense
Than crazy nights we shared
We got bass for the body
Chemicals for the head
Every day lives
Were like a skin we shed
Well you could try to fight the feeling
But I can't see the use
There's so much love in this room
Of that we're living proof
You could try to fight the feeling
But I can't see the use
It's a shame that in the end
It was all drug induced
Sun up to sun down
Come up to come down
Just waiting for Friday to come around
Sun rise to sun set
How high can we get
Monday morning and none of us have slept yet…”
~Just Jack

YEY!

We spent last night watching the election with friends - the kinds of friends who crack open a brand new bottle of tequila and rally everyone for shots every time Obama got a swing state. Seeing him win was very unreal - I was elated beyond belief. I still can't believe that we won - did America finally wake up?
I think that just the idea of having a new, fresh face in the White House will give this country the jump start it needs to start turning itself around from the very wrong direction in which the current administration has steered us.
The (now empty) tequila bottle has earned a place of honor on the downstairs shelf, along with the bottle of champagne that we drank when we moved into our house, one of the many bottles of champagne that was opened when we got engaged, and various symbols of other important events. That bottle symbolizes a start of a new era, and I'm so excited about it.

Got any great ground beef recipes?

We got the 1/4 steer the other week, and wow, that's a LOT of beef. Actually, we now have 32 lbs (!!!!) of just ground beef.
I've already thought of:
1) Shepard's pie
2) Meatloaf
3) Stuffed peppers
4) Tacos
5) Hamburgers

........and that's all I can think of at the moment. Anyone have simple, tasty recipes that don't involve hamburger helper? :P