Louisville Transplants and A Very Dharma Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has come and gone yet again. And now that Christmas has passed, I thought I'd share our holiday with you all. Despite being away from family we had an awesome Holiday. We had the opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving not once, but twice this year.

Round One:

One of Wendell's dear friends, Kristin, had moved away earlier this year (or maybe it was last year, time flies) and came home for a visit. She and a few of her friends have an annual tradition of gathering at someone's house for a fabulous feast, games, and of course alcohol. All of them are "Louisville Transplants" and have no family nearby, so they have created a little family of their own. It was an honor to be invited to join this group of warm and wonderfully unique characters.

It wouldn't be an adventure if we didn't take the wrong freeway, and miss a turn on our way there. That's just how we roll.

Once we found our way, the evening started out with cocktails and football. It was nice to be around another Cowboys fan for the game. I'll always cheer on my team, it's just always more fun when you can share that enthusiasm. More cocktails were consumed amongst plenty of lovely conversation, jokes, and shared tales.

Then the feast. And OH, what a feast it was! Of course there was turkey, mashed taters with a scrumptious homemade gravy, green beans with bacon, stuffing, broccoli casserole, and sinful sweet potatos made with rum and a yummy brown sugar topping *drools*. It was the kind of meal that had you unbuttoning your pants to make room for your newly expanded belly.

Despite being stuffed, the cocktails continued being consumed. There's always more room for liquids!

Now were all ready for games! Or, a game that is. Cranium. Wendell and I had never played before so we didn't know what exactly to expect. Although, with the amount of alcohol that had been consumed, we were sure we were in for a good time. And boy, did we have a grand ol' time! The game was full of hum-dingers, acting out words like 'cocktail dress' (use your imagination) and plenty-o-laughs. We added a little twist to the game. There were about 120 jello shots that hadn't been touched, so every time a team missed their question, the whole team took a shot. We even did the whole 'Battle of the Sexes' thing and of course the ladies killed, and I mean KILLED the guys! Slaughtered even!

I couldn't have asked for a better evening, especially on a day when it's hard for me to be away from family. I ate too much, drank more than I should have, we stayed later than planned and we were thankful to have been invited to join such a group of wonderful people who made us feel like we were always a part of the group.

ROUND TWO:

We had a second, delayed celebration the following Saturday with Wendell's friends (our friends I should say)/band mates. We were treated to another delicious meal. I have to say, corn pudding is one of the best things ever and I'll never understand why I hadn't discovered this super yummy dish before the age of 30! The night was full of silly antics, a few sweet moments, plenty of sarcasm and smack talk, and an improvised acoustic jam session. To keep this post from becoming a novel, I'll let the pictures tell the story: