Time to bust out the Bing.

What the heck happens this time of year? One second I'm nappin off the turkey (that's theoretical... I was actually up until 3 am post-turkey. wtf?), the next thing I know it's already mid-December and it's time to put up the tree. But I love the Christmas season, maybe even more than I love the Halloween season (let's not go nuts, though... Halloween itself is still tops in my book). I love finding the perfect Christmas cards, tracking down my holiday wrapping paper for the year, watching all the old-school holiday cartoons on TV, and snuggling on the couch by the light of the xmas tree. But since it's been a while since my last post, I thought I'd just give a quick rundown of some of the fun stuff I've been up to. So, my friends, I bring you...

My Top Ten Things Thanksgiving and After

1. Thanksgiving with my dad. While my life has changed a lot these past few months with him in Ann Arbor, I try to remember every day how lucky I am that he is still here with us. This was also the first Thanksgiving we've spent together in at least 20 years.

2. Rolls. And not just a few rolls, we're talking a tower of rolls. Brad ate seven.

3. Pie. Mmm. Who doesn't love pie, right? And this year I didn't even mess the pies up. I decided to go with canned pumpkin (and I followed the recipe from the can. class!) and premade crust, but I didn't figure my dad and Brad would mind. Most importantly, as far as Brad is concerned, I remembered the whipped cream this year, too. Ha-whipped cream, that is.

4. Sleepy pooches. Calm, sleeping pooches are always a treat. BUT it's even cuter when it's from turkey coma. We gave the kids a little bowl of Thanksgiving goodies, and they passed out on the couch immediately afterward, just like a true Thanksgiving veteran.

5. Brad's beard. I cannot get enough of it. What a cutie.

6. Smooshing puppies. My friend Angelique bred her German Shepherd, Rounder (who is a total sweetie!), and the puppies are almost old enough to go to their new homes. I was able to go visit everyone this past weekend, and the little puppies are just so sweet. I swear, if I didn't already have two....

7. Eggs. After visiting Angelique and the puppies, I zipped around the corner to surprise Aunt Sandy and Uncle Danny. Which is always one of my favorite thing to do. But this time I got extra special lucky and Danny made me breakfast. Eggs, sunny-side up, which he'd never even made before. That Uncle Danny.

8. Ambiguously gay froggie. His little paw just fell like that. I swear. It gave me a giggle.

9. Champagne. We finally put up our tree, and we decided it was the perfect occasion to pop open my bottle of Fizz. We did. And it was.

10. Christmas ornaments. I have loved Christmas ornaments as long as I can remember. As a kid, I would beg my mom to puh-lease bring the ornaments out so I could play with them before they went on the tree. Sometimes she'd give in. And luckily I was able to snag most of my favorites when I moved out. Our tree is a random smorgasbord, especially since we have a lot of Brad's childhood ornaments, too. Some of my favorites are the handmade Somerville Family 1980 ornament my mom made, my German pickle (yes, Patrik, I know I know), huge talking Stewie, my grandma Choppy's childhood elves, and, of course, my McDonald's Grimace and Hamburgler ornaments.