I don’t think I’ve told you about a smart move I made a few months ago that delights me to no end.  I now record NBC Nightly News each night.  I’ve written before on my love for the evening news.  Often I don’t get home in time from work to watch it, and sometimes I’d be in my office at 5:40 and lament that I was missing the news when I finally realized–quite belatedly–that I could just record it and have it on while I’m fixing supper. 

I realize this makes me sound like a member of AARP, my love of nightly news, and of course it’s not the most thorough way to get news, but I like the recap at the end of the day. 

I like Brian Williams.  Sometimes he has a bit more fervor than I think he should–for some reason the recent California wildfires made him positively giddy–but that’s part of the ritual of the nightly news, right, the consistency of Brian signing off every evening, that way he talks to you comfortably enough that you know that he knows he’s a guest in your living room every evening.  I like it. 

Wednesday night was his fifth anniversary after taking over for my former fave, South Dakotan Tom Brokaw.  He gushed more than perhaps he needed to for a modest milestone of five years, but I enjoyed the personal thanks nonetheless, now that I am a loyal viewer.

By the way:  do you know the voice that introduces the Nightly News?  I do.  But I don’t want to be a spoiler.  Leave any guesses (don’t cheat!) in the comments.

(Oh, and in case you’re wondering:  If I don’t get it watched, I don’t save it and watch old news–it just gets deleted.)

You may recall that last January we went on quite an escapade to buy new chairs.  At the time, I said we had until next November to move our big, blue, beast of a couch.  Last weekend, we looked at each other and realized that the couch was still sitting there, and we planned to put up our tree in the coming few days.   Oops.

We acted fast.  This couch is a huge hide-a-bed and needed to go around a couple of narrow corners.  We called movers and got someone booked within a few days.  And suddenly, our tree space was open, and our guest bedroom now had a couch.  We had to do a bit of manuevering, and this room is no longer arranged as I’d like, but I didn’t want to get rid of this couch yet.  It’s super comfortable–the best napping couch ever–and I find that I still like to work on that couch, too.  It was the first big furniture I bought on my own before moving to Texas, and for years it was where Mr. J and I liked to hang out (and where he liked to sharpen his claws).

I promise to my guests that the clearance between the bed and couch is not as bad as this photo appears.  And yes, the purple curtains and blue couch bother me.  Oh, and this lovely quilt was made by Erin’s mom Judy.

Here we are again.  

Best TV:

How excited was I to discover–on the night of the premiere–that a new Dr. Drew show was beginning?  Sex Rehab started this month, and it doesn’t disappoint.  Chris doesn’t think it’s as good as Celebrity Rehab (about alcohol and drug addiction), but I am hooked.  First of all–I don’t know much about sex addiction, so I’m learning a lot.  Second of all:  like Celebrity Rehab and Sober House, I find every episode completely gripping. I was talking to a friend who asked about the show being exploitative, and I think it is as much as any reality show is.  Dr. Drew may lose credibility for having the show at all, but I do think it demystifies rehab.  I have been reminded with the last couple of episodes of a show I used to watch when biking indoors a few years ago:  a daily daytime reality show called Starting Over.  It was made by the producers of the Real World, but instead of obnoxious teens and twentysomethings, the house was filled with women with various problems trying to get their lives back on track.  Two life coaches worked with the women, and watching their therapy and behavorial modification was really interesting.  (Does anyone else know that show?)  At any rate, right or wrong, I am in Camp Dr. Drew.

Best Movie:

Not much movie watching this month, but we did see This is It, as I mentioned.  I thought it was tasteful–as tasteful as a Jackson event can be, anyway–and well-done.  Despite my newfound drug addiction knowledge via Celebrity Rehab, I’m pretty naive, so take this with a grain of salt, but I was bowled over by how lucid and on he seemed.  Granted, as Chris pointed out, it was the best two hours of much footage, but even so.  As a gal who had Michael Jackson posters on her wall growing up, it was a must see, and it didn’t disappoint.

We also saw Precious on Thanksgiving.  This wasn’t the most festive choice, but it was a powerful movie.  I don’t really have anything to say besides what many of the reviews have said about it:  that it is difficult to watch but an important film to see with tremendous acting.  I definitely recommend it, even though it’s tough. 

Best Football:

What  to choose?  My Huskers beating Kansas State to secure the Big XII North spot?  I have to say, this month I’ve got to brag on the Horned Frogs.  It has been so fun to see the exhilaration on campus and to see the media attention being given to this wonderful team.   They are 12-0, and I wish they could play for the national championship, because I think they could compete with any team right now.  It’s an exciting time to be donning purple. 

Best Moment:

 With holiday drinks at the ready (covered in their cozies, of course), we decorated the tree over Thanksgiving break, and while it wasn’t as seamless this year due to some bulb outages and a later start than we planned, we just love sitting in the front room gazing at the tree.  I hung the ornament of MJ’s picture first this year.  I also got out my few other decorations (few compared to my loyal blog readers, that is), including changing over the mugs on the mug tree (these festive mugs were from Erin, natch):

Fa la la la la, y’all!

No, this title does not mean another blog about football.  It’s about how relieved I am that, once again, wonderful friends have invited us into their home for a Thanskgiving feast, which, among other things, means I’m only responsible for contributing sides to the turkey dinner.  This delights me to no end.  I’ve only done the traditional bird on my own (full disclosure:  my mom was there for advising) twice in my life.  Scandalous, I know. 

While I hate not seeing my family, I’m pretty used to Thanksgiving without them.  I moved to Oregon for grad school when I was 23, and I couldn’t afford to go home for both Thanskgiving and winter break. Those two years I was invited to friends’ houses, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciated people taking  me in to (somewhat) alleviate the homesickness.  That first year I was invited to a Thanksgiving unlike anything I’d experienced before: about 25 friends (rather than an extended family) gathering, and it was somewhat potluck.  There were so many new dishes I hadn’t tried, and it was good for me to see how much fun could be had that day even around strangers (I know about 2-3 of the people there, and one was the host–a Unitarian minister–who had much to do that day).  I come from a small family, and growing up my biggest Thanksgivings included, at the most, about 10 people. 

Now that I’m married, Chris and I have in the last few years begun our own traditions over the break.  Since I often have work to do, it’s okay not to travel, and now that we have a house we put up decorations.  I’ve also started to make some of our fave Thanksgiving sides from both families.  This year I’m taking green bean casserole and pumpkin pie with me to our Thanksgiving dinner, but I’m also making a cranberry salad and corn souffle (just about the best comfort food you can find), two dishes Chris grew up with, for us to munch on over the long weekend.  Luckily, all of these dishes are on my level; I even surprised myself the other day thinking, “it’s going to be fun to spend the morning  making my sides.” I’m not someone who looks forward to lots of kitchen time.

So:  this year I’m grateful for the kindness of close friends and even acquaintances who have generously opened their doors and gotten a big enough bird that I can partake in their good cooking and fellowship.  I’m grateful that even though I can’t be with my family I know exactly what food will be on their table (we’re traditionalists, y’all:  the menu is the same every year, which I love) and will get to talk with them all.  I’m grateful that Chris and I have our own traditions underway.  And, of course, I’m grateful for so very much more, and I’m glad that this country gives us a day to focus on our gratitude. 

Have a wonderful holiday weekend, whether that takes you to stores at 4 a.m. on Friday or in front of the couch for some good football or to the storage closet for your Dept. 56 villages or none or all of the above.   And thanks for reading my blog.

Okay, y’all.  Don’t tell my Longhorn husband about this post, but between you and me, there are two things I want:  I want TCU to be able to play in the national championship, and I want to see my dear Huskers, after a decade, beat the Texas Longhorns (and we’ve only beat them once since 1996).  If the latter happens, then the former may happen.  So all you Horned Frog fans and all of you Huskers and all of you Longhorn-haters (I know you’re out there) need to come together to cheer on the Huskers in the Big XII Championship.  I’ve already had visions of Ndamukong Suh sacking Colt McCoy* dancing in my head. 

Saturday night I was on pins and needles as Nebraska faced Kansas State; the winner of this game would be the Big XII North winner and play the Big XII South winner in the championship game on December 5.  And we won!  And we played pretty well!  I knew that a Husker victory over Kansas State would be wonderful and also bad for my marriage.  [Megan:  whom are you going to root for?]

Once someone asked us: “It’s better for the marriage if who wins in a TX/NE game?”  Without hesitation, we both said:  “Nebraska.”

But  here’s the deal:  as a Longhorn, he doesn’t see us as a threat.  With our record and the–I’ll call it attitude–that seems to come w/ being a Longhorn, I understand that.  I guess what’s changed is that even though I will be seething if they beat us–and if I’m being honest, that’s the likeliest possibility–I know how happy Chris will be if they make it to the national championship, and so after my anger cools down I’ll able to genuinely root for the Longehorns in the bowl game.  In fact, I knew it was the real deal with this fella when I found myself rooting for Texas a few years ago, something I never thought would occur.  And I know that it’s the same for him:  if we did achieve an upset, after his anger subsided, he would think back to the many games where I have cursed and cried at the screen, and he would be happy for me that my Huskers are back.   That’s love.

In the meantime: the smack talk will elevate in the coming days, and the game will be tense as we sit side by side in our red and burnt orange.  And whatever happens, it’s good to be back in the Big XII championship.

*Chris heard this weekend during the Texas game that his name is really Daniel McCoy.  One of the insufferable things about their team is their QB names: Major Applewhite, Colt McCoy.  We would say, who names kids this way (only in Texas)?  (Now Vince Young, that’s a cool name.) But knowing his name is really Daniel is almost more annoying.

So here I am at my neighborhood Starbucks, where I’m debuting my coffee cozy.  What does this mean?  This means after giving the barista my order (decaf peppermint mocha:  THE HOLIDAY DRINKS ARE HERE!), I proudly showed him my cozy.  He emphasized how handy the elastic for the button was so the cozy could fit all sizes and told me to show the woman making my drink.

So I did.  She also raved about the cozy.  They said they’ve seen people  come in with store bought cozies, and I said, “but this one is fancier…and homemade!”  And they agreed

Here, in action, is the cozy:

Have a good weekend, y’all!

Imagine my surprise and delight to come home from a long Monday at work to see that I had not one but two belated birthday packages awaiting me! 

The first was from Rae, a lovely mug from our hometown’s centennial celebration that she knew I hated missing.   I’m not sure of the draw of the large glass mug (beer glass?), but it’s the same design as our prom mugs from high school. I believe I will display this somewhere in my office:

The second was from Erin, and Chris also scored a present:  most delightful and homemade coffee cozies (the sleeves you can put over your Starbucks cup).  I think these are both so cute.  The polka-dot one is for me, and the one with the burnt orange is for Chris:

I mean:  how adorable are these?  We will be the envy of all the others at Starbucks.  This is extra motivation for going there to grade once the stacks of portfolios coming in. 

Thank you, Rae and Erin, for these awesome presents! 

(By the way:  I suspect that upon request one could commission his or her own coffee cozy from Erin–she should have a whole little cozy industry going.  I’m not sure what she charges, but it’s well worth it for these cute, eco-friendly coffee cozies.)

One of the nice things about my parents’ visit was that it was low-key.   I got to enjoy a homemade birthday dinner made by my mom, complete with my favorite childhood birthday cake, Stripe-it-Rich Cake, or as I call it, pudding cake.  Yum. 

We didn’t have many items on the agenda besides the TCU game and a model railroad show that my dad wanted to attend (perhaps the real motivation for the visit, truth be told).  One afternoon as we were out toodling around, we went to the nearby mall, where I was excited to see that the Salvation Army Giving Tree was already up.  Last year I did my Angel Tree shopping late, and it proved more challenging because all that were left were tweens and teens.  Don’t get me wrong, this demographic needs their gifts, but I knew it would be harder to find just the right thing.  This year, though, I found a four-year-old girl, Ashley, whose need was listed on her card as a coat and whose want was a princess doll.  Her tag was attached to another card, and the volunteer told me that indicated it was her sibling, an eleven-month boy named Juan.   He also needed a jacket and wanted a “light and sound toy.” 

I told my parents I could shop for them another day if there were other things they wanted to do, but before you know it we were off on a mission selecting a lovely coat for Juan that had a liner so it could serve for two seasons and then found a nice coat with an attached polka-dot scarf for Ashley.   Then we headed to the toy section at Target for the “wants.” 

It turned into a bit of an endeavor, as I picked a toy for Juan but grabbed the same toy behind it because the batteries wouldn’t be so used.  I didn’t test this one, and when we got home, it didn’t work.  We all tried, and then my smartie husband tried, and nothing worked.  I returned it, only to have the clerk tell me that it had a strip to remove to preserve the battery.   Well!  Good enough.  I took it back home, only to discover the siren button didn’t work.  So a third time we went to Target where I found one that worked and got some extra batteries, too.  Here’s all the loot:

All in all, it was a much more enjoyable shopping excursion with all of us pitching in.  Check out where an Angel Tree is in your area–it’s most enjoyable to pick out gifts.  If you’re too busy to go out and shop, you can also do it online. (I used to donate to nursing home residents, as I figure they are forgotten more than kids this time of year, but my local Walmart no longer has a tree for nursing home residents.  This is a bummer, as I had a blast picking out cute sweaters for the older ladies.)

All in all, a delightful visit from my parents, as usual.  I wish they didn’t live so far away.

Well, as I’m sure you know by now, the TCU Horned Frogs creamed the Utah Utes 55-28 last Saturday.  The stadium was electric, the game riveting throughout. We tried to park two hours before game time and not a spot was left.  Luckily, Lisa and Rob, who live close to campus, let us park (for free!) in their driveway.  Crisis averted.  Then we had nachos to buy at the concession stand (purple tortilla chips, y’all) and to get situated in our seats.  By the end of the first quarter, my mom was doing all the cheers alumni have been saying for years like she’d gone to school there.  I wish I had a picture of us all in our purple shirts of varying shades, but alas, I forgot my camera.  You’ll have to take my word that we were a festive bunch, my mom sporting her Horned Frog earrings, natch.

I told my students today that I didn’t see any of them on ESPN College Game Day but that I hoped their signs were puncuated correctly (a little English prof humor there).  The ESPN gang, except, of course, Lee Corso, raved about how well TCU fans came out for College Game Day–Kirk Herbstreit said it was the best crowd he’s seen all year–and that they’d be back.  I think we’d rather have a fair shot into the national championship like other undefeated teams, but whatever.

And this was just one of the highlights of my parents’ visit.  More to come.

Happy Anniversary, beloved Sesame Street.  Here, for your enjoyment, an awesome Bert and Ernie gangsta remix.  Really–it’s a good one (only a minute and half).