Cart-to-cart traffic

I love Thanksgiving. I'm from Texas. Thanksgiving = turkey, cowboys and White Christmas. What I don't like is the fact that I can't seem to remember it's right around the corner until my cart is being picked over by someone's wandering grubby kid.
I hate grocery stores around Thanksgiving. Particularly one grocery store in El Centro has a narrow walkway between their registers and aisles, where long lost friends who haven't seen each other since their children's last play date last week decide to talk shop about what they're making and who's coming. Nevermind that long line of frustrated shoppers trying to navigate around their "oh my GOSH! (insert foofy name here) how ARE you?
Try to contain your regurgitation. I had to take one for our team (me and my husband) and go shopping tonight for the stuff. Seems everyone else in El Centro had the same idea at the same time. With kids. Lots and lots of kids. Kids in carts, kids on the floor, kids trying to throw an extra turkey in the cart for no other reason than to be annoying. I know, someday it will be me...I'm not counting down the days.
This year my husband has to work 2 to 10 p.m., so our dinner will be more like a brunch. It seems like it should be illegal to feast on turkey before noon but we're making it work. I had the idea of making the rest of my afternoon like a "lonely hearts" thing, with some of the people from the newsroom that don't have family nearby dropping by to pick at the leftovers. There will be tons of leftovers. But it seems everyone has their own plans as well, so most likely I'll watch the game with a beer and I will be very happy when the hubby gets home.
The holidays also have a way of putting your domestic skills to the test and these are the days where I really excel. Not only did I make brownies for the potluck lunch at work today but I last night I tossed together some pasta, artichoke hearts, pesto and sun dried tomatoes for a yummy dinner. I have the dishes in the sink to prove it.
What keeps me going crazy during the holidays is a balance of homemade and labeled goodies. Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes are always homemade. From scratch. Cooking starts the night before. I don't like pumpkin enough to taste test it, so the pumpkin pie is always bought pre-made.
Side note: Can someone please explain to me why store bought pies have a wierd sweaty layer to them? What is this? And why are some of them cracked? I've seen some on shelves the day before Thanksgiving that could rival the cracked floor of the desert.

So I bought the pie and a cheesecake and started thinking about how I'm going to manage it all.
It's my first Thanksgiving as a wife. I'm almost compelled to buy an apron or something.
Almost.

Comments

[soulman]

I'm tired of people bangin on kids. Once you have kids people don't want to invite you over to their house, they get snubbed at weddings, now we can't take them to the market either? You should be so lucky to some day have children. Children are alot of work, but I would rather hang out with my kids all day than do anything else. I used to hate going to the supermarket, but now that I have kids, I love the look on their face when you tell them you're taking them to the store. Everything is an adventure to them. They love it, they brighten up your day. KIDS ARE GREAT!!! At the store, at church, at weddings, at amusement parks, at work, at school, Kids are great everywhere.

[JBrad]

Sorry Soul, I'm with Brianna here. I have two kids and love them, but people who can't control their kids are a real problem. I understand the store thing and had the same experience. I also hate being at a restaurant and little suzie stands in the booth behind you and stares at you or drops her fork or food on you while the parents giggle. Parents need to control their kids. I am paying for the meal too and don't deserve to be bothered by their kid. The problem these days is parents let their kids run wild.

[soulman]

Out of control kids are a problem. So she should have said that the parents who cant control these kids are annoying. Not the kids.

[Rodrigo]

Right on, Soul. That's exactly what it comes down to for me. My mom tells me it used to frustrate her that as soon as she had her second kid people simply stopped inviting her to their home. It is what it is, I guess.

[Rodrigo]

What more could you expect from a Giants fan!