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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Thanksgiving Holiday Favorites

How are you spending your Thanksgiving Holidays? For some, it’s about traditions, enjoying time with family and friends, eating lots of turkey and pumpkin pie, and being truly grateful for the blessings we’ve all been given.

For me, it’s all of the above! This year, we celebrating Thanksgiving with my Aunt and Uncle in Dallas. It is our first Thanksgiving without my grandfather and I know it’s going to be a tough one. We are having a ham (his favorite), and I’m still going to argue with him about who gets to eat more of it. I miss him so much…each and every day. I think about him often and I’m still waiting on that “it will get better” stage….cause I haven’t gotten there yet.

A few of my favorite things I’m looking forward to this Thanksgiving include:

TurkeyTrot

  • Running the largest Thanksgiving race in the country. That’s right – over 30,000 are registered for the Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot . This could be a good thing…or it could be a very bad thing. From several reports I’ve read online, the first 2.5 miles are cray cray. I’ve chosen to run the 8 miler over the 5K .Kayla and my brother are running the race, too – they are going with the 5K option. The last time I ran a race in Dallas was for the 2011 Rock N Roll Dallas Half , so this will be a treat!
  • Spending time with family. I’ve seen my Dallas family more times that I can count this year but I’m still super excited to see them again!
  • Food! Sweet Potato casserole and Pecan Pie are my holiday favorites.
  • Playing games with my family. We love playing board games and I have a fun fun ones up my sleeve! :0)
  • Black Friday shopping – Dallas, hello! I’m from a small town and I cannot wait to take in the big city life…and on Black Friday! Ok, I’m kidding…sort of. We aren’t going into Dallas on Black Friday – we are going to spend a bit of time shopping around the outskirts of Dallas. I still have several fun memories from the last time we spent Thanksgiving/Black Friday in Dallas – it was 2004 and my dad brought me to JC Penney at 5 a.m. to wait in line for a Disney snow globe. He was the only man out there, but he waited in the cold with me all the same. Isn’t he sweet? We are returning to the same mall this year, only JC Penney opens on Thanksgiving Day and they are going to begin handing out snow globes at 4 a.m. We don’t have an actual game plan yet, but that will come soon.

Black Friday

Can we top last year’s adventures? I guess we will soon find out!

How are you spending your Thanksgiving? What are your holiday favorites? Any travelling involved? Are you running a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day/the weekend?

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Don’t forget about the Spartan Racing giveaway happening right now! Ends Wednesday, November 27th!

22 comments:

  1. I would love to start a tradition of running races on Holidays. The only holiday I've ever ran on was Labor Day! I am also a fan of the Sweet potato casserole. I had no idea that stuff existed until I got married ( my mother in law makes it). I can't believe I've celebrated Thanksgiving all those other years with out it..haha!

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    1. You have been deprived! Glad you discovered it! :0) Hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving! :0)

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  2. I'm staying in Dallas this year, so the menu is being determined by friends. I am making a dessert though... chocolate mousse spiked with Grand Marnier. It'll be my first time making it by myself, so things could get interesting tomorrow night.

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    1. Yum! Hope your dessert turns out yummy! Have a great Thanksgiving! :0)

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  3. Have a happy Thanksgiving Karen! It sounds like you are going to have a blast! Good luck with the Turkey Trot...and the Black Friday shopping! I'll be out shopping too! We are going to my sister's house for Thanksgiving...I'm excited to see her!

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    1. Thanks, Mindy! Have fun at your sister's! Happy Thanksgiving! :0)

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  4. My local Turkey Trot is an hour away and it tends to be a madhouse. It's fun on the years I can get a group together, but the years I can't enlist anyone else I avoid the hassle and just do a run outside my door.

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    1. I definitely can't blame you for that one! Friends make races so much more fun! Happy Thanksgiving!

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  5. I wish I could find a Turkey Trott near my parents. We are going there for Thanksgiving and I have been searching and searching and can't find one. Color me annoyed.

    I too am excited for Black Friday shopping.
    Goal- finish all my Christmas shopping.

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    1. That's annoying, sorry you couldn't find a turkey trot! Hope you have a great Thanksgiving, Sarah! :0)

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  6. Much love this holiday. I know the first ones are tough.

    We're headed to Cincinnati, and I'm amped to do the Thanksgiving Day Race 10K with my cousins. Even better? My aunt has offered to watch M so we don't have to bring the stroller. Other than that, I'm just happy to spend time with my family. I like the food but I eat so much of it year round that it's not OMG.

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    1. Thanks so much, Kimberly...I appreciate it. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving and a happy Turkey Trot! :0)

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  7. Yes to Black Friday! I love going to the outlet malls on Black Friday. It's not so crowded here in Cincinnati like other cities so it's perfect! Awesome deals and soooo easy to shop! :)
    Enjoy Thanksgiving!

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    1. That's awesome! Hope you have a productive Black Friday and a very Happy Thanksgiving! :0)

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  8. No travelling staying home and cooking for family and friends. It will be the first holiday without my grandpa who passed in October and my husbands grandma who passed 2 weeks ago so I know it will be bittersweet. Thankful that both were very healthy last holiday season and were able to be at our house for the holidays and see our new home.

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    1. :0( I'm so sorry, I know how sad that is. My grandfather was healthy last year and we enjoyed celebrating the holidays with him. ((hugs)) to you guys. I hope you have a good thanksgiving!

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  9. I just finished a post titled "Thanksgiving traditions" that will be on our blog tomorrow. Thankfully I had not read this beforehand! We will also be waiting in line at JC Penney for that beloved snow globe. :)

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  10. I'll be mostly working (petsitter is busiest on holidays!) but sneaking in time with my family as well! I hope you have a great Thanksgiving Karen!

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  11. My kids are both going to be home for Thanksgiving. YAY! no black friday shopping for me though, you couldn't pay me to go out in that mess. Ha!

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    1. Awesome! Sounds like a great time! Hah I hope you have a great weekend!

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