Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Day 2009. I wanted to post these pics right after parade but you know… family obligations can keep you from doing personal stuff on the computer. I know not everyone can make it into the city to experience The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade so I’m hoping that my photos can give those of you who have never been to the parade an idea of what it’s like to be there. Obviously crowds of people, blocked off streets, and policemen are all staples during the parade. My personal favorite balloon is “Hello Kitty”.  Some new ballons this year-The “Pillsbury Doughboy” an “Sailor Mickey Mouse”.  The photo of The Pillsbury Doughboy reminds me of a scene in “Ghostbusters” for some reason.

Fonte: Vilabela DevianART

I’m a little late, but I figured I should get this in before the day officially ended.  I hope every one’s Turkey Day went well.  I ended up just sleeping a lot, really.  Which was cool.  And now for BLACK FRIDAY!  The number one shopping day in America.  For the first time ever, I won’t be on the shopping end of things, and will instead be the one dealing with crazy shoppers on the retail battlefield.  Yes.  I have a holiday job.  My sister got it for me.   Which is cool, I guess, but not.  A gift and a curse.  Well, anywho.  Welcome to the start of the 2009 holiday season.  The economy is on its way back up, and hopefully spirits will be high.  Only time shall tell!

How can it be? Can there possibly be  an entity, a person or thing that is anti Thanksgiving, that wishes to do it harm? I believe that the answer is yes an d that I have positively identified the culprit. This opponent is something  about which I have warned previously. But now, its nefarious tentacles have launched  a personal attack against our household. What is it? You should know by now, it is , it is the  evil cholesterol. Yes that despicable villain, that alters our diets, has taken away my potato chips,  and turned many of us into constant label readers at the grocery store.

Its stealthy approach has required Mrs THT to employ the use of medication to fight the battle. Now, don’t get me wrong. i am thankful for te medication for when one must, one must. But Thanksgiving, the feast of thanks, whatever one’s choice of food to feast upon, has been forced  to adjust.

So, adjust we have and adjust we will. No longer will one eat with no thought of consequence( except a few extra pounds) we will fight the good fight. Adios potato chips, it is Utz no more. Popcorn has surpassed you as a weapon keep ourselves healthy. I trust your day of thanks was blessed, enjoyable  and a healthy as possible. We know the enemy, it is not us, but those choices that can and will be improved. (As long a sI can drink Mello-Yello, that is.) Didn’t  Snoopy serve popcorn on A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving? Sure he did. Always the role model, that beagle.

At long last, after a stealthy attack, the inhibiter of the e njoyment of food has forced Mrs THT onto medication, a swell a sdietary adjustments.

Before I headed back to Richmond, I ventured out to the city yesterday for some pre-Thanksgiving fun. Nothing sounded more awesome than watching balloons being inflated by the Museum of Natural History for the Thanksgiving Day Parade. I imagined myself happily snapping away as the balloons slowly took form and floated into the big blue sky.

That image was tarnished as soon as I stepped outside. First of all, it was almost dark (This happens around, what, 4 p.m. now?). Second, it was raining. And third, there were too many people there, namely kids. Now, I love kids as much as the next non-maternal woman, but they’re pretty much guaranteed to step into shots, obstruct your view (hoisted on their parents’ shoulders) and the like. In many cases, this still could present the opportunity for great familial pictures, except it was too crowded and we were herded like cattle, nicely encouraged by staff to keep moving so as to keep the next group of gawkers happy.

Instead of happy pictures and big blue sky, there was rain, serious multitasking (one hand on the camera, the other on the umbrella), and disgruntled strangers.

“Watch your umbrella!” said the angry woman behind me.
“It’s not even raining!” some guy muttered.
“Oof!” said another after my umbrella stabbed his neck (I guess you could say this one was warranted).

Further, the floats looked like they were held captive, waiting to be freed the following morning for the spectacle that awaited them. Mickey Mouse wasn’t soaring above us, his white gloves in a permanent high five. A net covered him from head to toe. The Pillsbury Doughboy, making his first appearance at the parade, lay with his head on the pavement, weighed down by sandbags. At the end of the line, men and women in bright colored uniforms inflated yet another one doomed to meet its Gulliver-like fate.

Still, beneath all that unglamorous presentation, I admit there was something kind of magical about it.

Happy Thanksgiving, you.

Mickey under siege. Photographers nearby looked through their photos.

Two pups.

Hordes of balloon lovers.

Smurftacular.

Pillsbury Doughboy eats it.

Lilliputian hijinks.

Pooh from behind. What a great last glimpse.

- Jason

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a national holiday tradition, and has been so for the past 83 years, and this year the tradition continued.

This year, the parade route returns to its roots with it ending at 34th street right in front of the Macy’s store. This is different than it has been in recent years.

 There is a list of performers that include Katharine McPhee, Jane Krakowski, and we have Spiderman, Kermit and Spongebob floating down the parade route. Ziggy Marley, the son of the legendary Reggae singer Bob Marley, performed a song with his daughter on a float decorated as a pirate ship.

Ziggy Marley and Daughter awaiting performance at Macy Thanksgiving Day Parade today

 Ziggy performed his new song ”It’s Family Time” while holding his daughter in his arms so she could reach the mike…very cute.

Katharine McPhee, sporting her new sassy blonde ‘do, performed her new single “Had It All.” Jane Krakowski performed a Christmas tune. She may play a ditzy spoiled celeb on “30 Rock,” but in real-life Krakowski is quite the songbird.

Teen superstar Miley Cyrus made an exuberant appearance waving to her throngs of excited fans that lined the parade route waiting patiently for the international superstar. She looked great, in light of the bush crash tragedy that killed her long time tour bus driver this past friday. Today was much happier times for her.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade aired on CBS and NBC at noon ET/9 am PT.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING…NOW GO EAT….

I heart the various Google logo changes that change with the season, holiday, etc. Because I love Charlie Brown, this is one of my favorites.

SNOOPY!!! so cute!!!

(Disclaimer: It’s no longer Wednesday, it’s actually Thursday morning, I was too tired to finish my daily recap last night. However, I really wanted to title my post “Wacky Wednesday.”)

In keeping with the theme of referencing Children’s television or literature every single day this week (it wasn’t intentional, I just realized the pattern while overlooking a few posts), the title for today’s post stems from the popular Dr.Seuss book. Mina kept referencing the story while we ate lunch, saying, “Chelsea, you have to eat your apple with a knife and fork, because it’s Wacky Wednesday.” Oh, kids.

For breakfast yesterday morning, I enjoyed poached eggs on Arnold Double Fiber toast:

Poached eggs on Arnold's Double Fiber Toast

A perfect breakfast to charge up for a 10.5 hour work day.

I took Ryo out to breakfast at a great diner that, over the years, has become “our little spot.” Mina and I have Alice’s Tea Cup, and Ryo and I have Old Johns. I had a cup of peppermint tea with a little milk whie Ryo scarfed a giant corn muffin with three different jams and a side of bacon:

Then, later on in the morning I snacked on this:

Ezekiel Golden Flax Cereal and Siggi's Icelandic Orange and Ginger Yogurt

Followed by this for lunch:

Half-Way Devoured Apple Pear

And this:

Last Remains of Black Beans and Brown Rice

In the afternoon, celebrating having no school and the upcoming holiday, the kids and I baked and decorated cookies:

Ryo Made a "Ni-Hao Kilan" Cookie For His Baby Sister, Who Loves That Cartoon. So Sweet!

Mina Made a Ni-Hao Cookie As Well, As You Can See, Emi Nibbled On It.

I ate one of my creations:

My Sorry A** Excuse for A Turkey Cookie. I'm No Decorative Baker. It Was a Delious Afternoon Snack, Though!

For dinner, I had some delicious maple roasted acorn squash over mustard greens:

I like to keep the skins on my acorn squash, even though the original recipe calls for them to be peeled, I kept the skins on because I’m lazy and the skin is so thin and edible, I don’t mind eating the squash with it still in tact.

Unfortunately, I cannot share the recipe for the maple roasted acorn squash, but I can tell you it was derived from my absolute favorite cook book, “The Complete Cooking Light Cookboook.” It involves maple syrup, olive oil, kosher salt. pepper, and acorn squash. Super delicious, easy, and simple.

Dessert was a martini glass of Edy’s peppermint ice cream, because that’s how the Rat Pack enjoyed their desserts, and I’m just as classy and suave as they are:

After letting my dinner settle, I did a 60 minute Yoga to the People podcast to candlelight in my apartment. It was grand and relaxing. A perfect exercise to challenge my body after a two day break from real exercise. Also, I’m happy to report the stomach troubles have dissipated! Thank you readers for all your empathy and well-wishin’! It worked, my tummy is happy again… just in time for Thanksgiving!

I slept for 8 1/2 hours and awoke to a nice cup of coffee, some breakfast:

Arnold's Double Fiber Toast, Dark Chocolate Dreams, Chobani Pineapple Yogurt, Coffee

…and the Thanksgiving Parade on TV. I actually went to see it last year with friends and it was tons of fun (if not freezing and a little frustrating to get to). Here are some photos from last year’s Thanksgiving, which was one of the most memorable I’ve ever enjoyed:

Stars Are Always Walking Around In NYC!

Snoop Dog! Rollin' Down the Street! Holla!

That Smurf Looks Nervous Walking Down the Rough Streets of The Upper West Side.

Pseudo-Family (From Left to Right: Jason, Jerin, Jodi, Myself, John)

It Was a Beautiful and Memorable Meal.

This year, though, I’m fully content with watching the parade in my PJ’s on TV in my cushy little apartment. Later today, my best friend and I are going to a feast hosted by her boyfriend’s friends. They’re a married couple that LOVE to cook for others and put on a feast-i-val of food. Huzzah! I’m looking forward to receiving a call from my family later tonight, where I’ll be passed around the Thanksgiving table on the phone, like one of the many side-dishes prepared by my Grandma.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Hope your holiday is memorable, filled with love, food, and thanks!

Thanks for the day: I’m thankful for my family. They’re the weirdest, most loving, most supportive, most hilarious, sometimes most charmingly dysfunctional group of folks, and for that…I’m thankful for them. Family is important to me, and nothing has made me realize that more than moving 3,000 miles away from them. I’m looking forward to next year, when I will be living near them again and cracking wise in their company. Love you guys!

What are you most thankful for today?

PS: Watching John Stamos do a number from “Bye Bye Birdie” right now on TV. Go Uncle Jesse, you got vocal pipes of gold!

Hey guys, I’m here to say a Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good turkey! Can’t wait to dig into some turkey! I can already taste it! Oh, that explains why. I’m eating it! We are having 20 people over for Thanksgiving. That’s the most we have ever had since I have been born. My uncle, aunts, grandmas, grandpa’s,cousins, and 3 people I’ve never met. I can’t wait. Also Google celebrates Thanksgiving with this logo staring Snoopy and Woodstock

At school to honor the holiday, we colored turkeys. Yes,  in middle school we had to color turkeys.  Right now i’m waiting for the parade to come on, then i’ll probably watch the dog show.  I’ll report back later with who I thought was the best balloon, because we all now how much my opinion matters.  This year the parade had added some new balloons and it has a new route. The star of the parade this year is none other than that arachnid hero, Spider-Man. He is the biggest balloon in the parade. Other balloons that we might be seeing include Abby Cadabby , Buzz Lightyear, Dora the Explorer, Energizer Bunny, Horton the Elephant, Kermit the Frog, Pikachu with Pokeball, Pillsbury Dough Boy, Ronald McDonald, Sailor Mickey, Shrek, Smurf, Snoopy as The Flying Ace, and Spider-Man. Well that’s all. I hope every one has a very happy thanksgiving and remembers to be thankful for everything good you have. Be thankful for your family and friends, your home and clothes on your back, and the food you have to nourish your body. Because in essence Thanksgiving is not about turkey or ham or  stuff like that, it’s a time to be thankful, a time to give and a time to thank everyone who has helped you in any way.

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”

—Meister Eckhardt

God I love today. Always have, always will. You can have Christmas or New Year’s or the Fourth of July, but I will always take Turkey Day ahead of all of them.

So many reasons I love Thanksgiving, but here are just a few. It’s the best eating day of the year. Between turkey and stuffing and gravy and sweet potatoes and desserts, I gorge more on this day than on any other. I love the feeling of positively stuffing myself, realizing I’m full, then plowing ahead anyway, just because it’s the fourth Thursday of November.

I love being with family, some of whom now I only see once or twice a year. I love catching up with their lives, the good, the bad, and the strange. With all this Facebooking and IM’ing and emailing and cell phones, there’s something to be said for looking right into a person’s eyes and seeing their hurt or joy. I love Thanksgiving traditions, which in my family growing up meant the four of us cousins jumping up and down on my grandparents’ bed, and yelling the time out loud, (Don’t ask. I have no idea why we did that), predicting when my Grandma would finally come out of the kitchen and sit down and join us, and guessing which relative would fall asleep first (My money was always on my cousin Marni.)

I love watching football on Thanksgiving with relatives who never watch it the rest of the year. I love watching the Macy’s Parade and wondering just how freakin’ long it took to blow up those balloons (Fortunately, this year I ‘ll get an answer. My sister-in-law Lauren is dating a guy who has an apartment overlooking the spot where they blow up Snoopy and Shrek and Spongebob, and she spent Wednesday night watching the whole thing in rapt attention. I can’t wait to get the scoop.)

Most of all, though, I love the whole idea of Thanksgiving. We take a day out of our lives and stop and say to our loved ones and friends: I’m thankful for you. I appreciate having you in my life.

I think I’m pretty grateful guy; I say “please” and “thank you” as much as anyone I know. But on this day of all days, I think I should take some time to be grateful for all that I have: A job I love. A wife I love even more. Amazing and supportive friends and relative. And lots more stuff.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and go ahead, have that extra helping of cranberry sauce: You deserve it.

On a final note, I wanted to reprint my favorite poem of all time, one I feel is a credo of mine: Never forget your friends, and always make the time for them. It’s called “Around the Corner,” and it’s by Charles Hanson Towne:

Around the corner I have a friend,

in this great city that has no end;
Yet days go by, and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone,

And I never see my old friend’s face,
For life is a swift and terrible race.
He knows I like him just as well
As in the days when I rang his bell

And he rang mine.

We were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men;
Tired with trying to make a name
Tired with playing a foolish game.

“Tomorrow,” I say, “I will call on Jim,
Just to show that I’m thinking of him.
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And the distance between us grows and grows.

Around the corner! Yet miles away …
“Here’s a telegram, sir.
Jim died today.”

And that’s what we get and deserve in the end
Around the corner, a vanished friend.

I figured I’d share a few Thanksgiving photos with all.

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I just love Charlie Brown and Snoopy

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If you would like something hotter and not so PG.

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But my favorite really makes one think.

Compliments of my brother. You just knew it had to come from a guy.

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Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

]]> http://strawberryluna.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/happy-thanksgiving/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:01:16 +0000 strawberryluna http://strawberryluna.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/happy-thanksgiving/

Happy Thanksgiving!

Did I post this same completely perfect and lovely Charles Schulz cel illustration last year for Thanksgiving? Yes. Suck it up, because it’s the best.

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving in all of it’s meanings for you.

Can’t tell you how many times I watched this as a kid.

Happy Thanksgiving.

He must be related to the pigeons outside of the Popeye’s chicken shop in the Mission.

I like the ping pong table styles, Snoopy. We won’t be needing one as we found a kitchen table and some chairs at Salvation Army. The new spot is now rug-filled and 90% moved in, now we just have to put things away. Looking forward to a mellow Thanksgiving with my sweetie at our new home playing records and being thankful for all the events/people/magic that has led me to this point. I’ll be thinking of you. Hope your T Week is fantastic.

Happy Thanksgivering and safe travels all! xx

I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

 Psalm 69:30

(I’m taking a break from blogging, twittering, etc. for this week. Blessings to you and yours!)