Happy Thanksgiving!

Dang it. Yesterday it was Billy Mack. This morning I heard REM's "Shiny Happy People" on the radio and have not been able to get it out of my head. That is a truly annoying song.

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It's time for a little update on the Girly Men (my fantasy football team, for those of you just now joining us. This is the first year I've played. I am the only girl in a league at work, which makes me feel strangely empowered). Somehow, I lost this week, even though the team I was playing was the one with Donovan McNabb (out for the season with an injury, for those of you non-footballers among us). I'm not quite sure how that happened. At any rate, even though I lost, I am still holding steady at #5 and look to have a good shot at the playoffs. My strong hope is that Ben Troupe will come back and produce in next week's Titans game. Please. Pretty please, Benny.

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I bought my first Christmas tree last night. The last few years I set a little one up on my dining room table which I believe my mother originally bought for my dad's office. I feel a little bit like a grownup. The plan is to put it up Saturday, while listening to my new holiday CD, "Barenaked for the Holidays." No, that's not dirty. It's the Barenaked Ladies' holiday CD. I'm pretty excited about it, after I heard their duet with Sarah McLachlan on the radio last year. (Is it still a duet if it's a group + another person?) But I have a rule: no Christmas music till after Thanksgiving. This rule obviously did not come from my mother. I remember one year on our way home from a church retreat she wanted to play Amy Grant's Christmas tape. Did I mention the retreat was in mid-October?

Thanksgiving is going to be relaxing this year, I think. No more driving six hours one way twice in five days, with eight more hours on the interstates once I got here. (Which is especially good considering it's snowing in the mountains.) This year they're all coming to me. Most of our extended family lives in Middle Tennessee, including my sister-in-law's family. So baby brother Adam drove home from Harding last weekend, and he and Mom and Dad will come here Thursday morning, as will Rob and Lyndi. I think Adam's staying with me this weekend, which makes me happy. Poor kid has his big senior project due next Tuesday, so he had to haul his entire desktop computer home with him. He's been programming all week, so when they get to my place he'll set up, connect to my wireless network and keep at it. I'm glad he's staying with me. Not only is it always nice to have him around, but it'll save him six hours of otherwise wasted time on the road.

(And yes, I realize that the fact that I call my 21-year-old brother my "baby" brother can be a tad misleading. My friend Mary was apparently expecting a seven-year-old the first time she met him. His bass voice threw her off a lot. Originally it was to differentiate, little brother vs. baby brother. Although I never call Rob little brother. That seems weird, now. Probably because he's married and has a dog and stuff.)

Thursday we're doing Thanksgiving at Dad's parents'. This year will be a little different, since Mom and I and maybe my cousin are doing all the food. Grandma has pretty much quit cooking in the last couple of years; instead she and Granddad frequent "Holly's," more formally known as the "Kountry Kafe." (My grandparents are on a first-name basis with the owner.) It is one of Fairview's few restaurant options, in addition to Sonic and a gas-station Subway. As I would never want to disparage Holly or her kountry kooking, I will simply say that I hope my grandparents enjoy a change of pace.

Friday is the big gathering with Mom's family. She has six brothers and sisters. There are sixteen cousins. A few great-aunts and -uncles also usually come. So it's always a big time. More grown-up stuff: this year I was included on the "who's bringing what" email. Not that it really mattered; all my aunts bring the same things every year. For example, as my mother has the furthest to drive, she is in charge of paper products and soft drinks. The only change in the lineup this year is exactly who will be making the asparagus casserole, since Aunt Sharon sadly has to work and won't be joining us. Kudos to Aunt Mary Lynn for stepping up. So I am bringing random things: sausage balls, because those have never been known to go uneaten at my grandmother's, and a vegetable tray, my contribution to healthful eating. We'll see which gets eaten first...