Are you shopping today? According to this MSN.com article, some people are choosing to shop instead of dine on turkey today. Let me be the first to say, I’m definitely not! Of course, I don’t really like shopping anyway so why would I be out on one of the busiest shopping days of the year?!

To each his own, I suppose. Though I do feel empathy for the retail clerks who must forgo their own holiday in lieu of checking out the uber consumer. And who else would be out scanning the sales instead of eating turkey and pumpkin pie but an over zealous shopper? I suppose I should appreciate their gusto to stimulate the economy by dropping wads of cash instead of spending it at the dining table. I don’t necessarily agree with the point the MSN article makes; that not spending Thanksgiving traditionally at the dinner table with family is ruining table etiquette. I’m pretty sure table etiquette was lost long ago when families began eating dinner in front of the television as the cobwebs grew around the dining table.

I know that today I will be spending it at the dinner table with my family in a traditional manner. That includes never being able to finish a complete sentence, enjoying my mother’s delicious cooking while wondering how old the yams are (they are stock pilers when it comes to groceries), becoming keenly aware of my husband’s anxiety to get the heck out of there, and listening to my family talk on top of each other making it practically impossible to figure out what they’re saying. Ahh, family. I suppose it’s a good thing Thanksgiving only comes around once a year.

If you aren’t shopping or spending this Thanksgiving with family, be sure to check out my article over at Wise Bread on alternatives to a traditional Thanksgiving Feast.

What are your Thanksgiving plans this year?

For a short post on a long day, Happy Thanksgiving! What will I be doing today? Visiting my parents with my husband (grudgingly) and eating my mom’s fine cooking. Our day will be similar to many others: drive to our parent’s house a couple of hours away, converse and be thankful, take a walk around the neighborhood in the warm sun, eat dinner, eat pie! Finally, drive back home while discussing my crazy family. You gotta love crazy families! And some things I’m thankful for include:

• My wonderful husband (he makes sure I eat well and picks up my slack!)
• My crazy family (I have some great stories and wouldn’t be nearly as sane if it weren’t for the fact that they are so crazy!)
• My brain (I come up with creative ideas sometimes and have ah ha moments!)
• My friends and co-workers who are really supportive.
• A good year despite the fact that the rest of the country has struggled this  year, I have been lucky so far!

What are you thankful for this year?