the day after thanksgiving (black friday)....

I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving.  we did here.  i hosted dinner for 21 family members yesterday....it was chaotic and loud and wonderful.  the food was fantastic and plentiful....i still feel like jabba the hut this morning.  the day went by in a blink as it always does. 

 these pictures were taken at the very beginning of my thanksgiving morning as i prepped the turkey, stuffed to the brim and wearing his cheesecloth diaper.  gotta keep all of that gorgeous stuffing inside, right?   and as the day was so chaotic, these were the only pictures i took. but be assured the turkey was beautiful when he came out of the oven and provided us with a meal to be truly thankful for.

i woke up in a total fog after taking two benadryl tablets before bed the night before.  my friend had told me that she takes them to help her sleep and she sleeps good and hard every night...her doctor told her that it was perfectly okay as they are non-addicting and harmless....

it didn't work for me....

it had the opposite effect and i was up half the night with my brain buzzing and feeling like i wanted to crawl out of my skin.....

never.ever.again

don woke me up at 8:00 am which was the time i had wanted to get my turkey into the oven.

c'est la vie.  

the turkey got into the oven at 9:45.  

in the end, the fog lifted, the turkey was done to perfection and the 

day went off without a hitch.  the sides and the desserts were fantastic.

 and as hostess, my refrigerator is filled with leftovers...

we will be doing some shopping later today after the crazy crowds have dispersed.

you may have noticed the bottom cabinets were finished being painted and our new flooring is in. 

more on that later.

enjoy the day after and all of those tasty leftovers.  i know we will.