Thanksgiving Thoughts

It's Saturday morning and I'm (Allison) sitting here thinking about the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner we're hosting. Since Abe has to work Friday, we're staying in Chicago and hosting his parents and our brother-in-law (unfortunately his sister can't make it). As I'm mentally thinking through our shopping list, I keep remembering my childhood Thanksgivings--where my family, my aunt and uncle's family, and my great aunt would all gather at my grandparents' house on Thanksgiving day. My grandma would get up at some ridiculous hour of the night to put in the turkey. We would arrive by 10 with our meal to start at 11. My grandpa would say grace and we would all eat--of course, I always sat with my cousins at the kids table. The food would be set up buffet-style with as many dishes as possible--jello salads of all sorts, noodles (my cousins' favorite), macaroni and cheese (just for me), Aunt Sheila's rolls, and, of course, turkey. I loved our sides so much I almost never ate turkey itself. Then we'd all watch football and snack throughout the day on leftovers and my mom's cheese ball.

But even that somewhat idyllic scene hasn't been the same for quite a while. My grandparents moved into a retirement home in 2000. I was away from home for Thanksgiving (my immediate family came to visit) for two years. And, in 2004, both my great aunt and my grandpa passed away.

We've carried on with Thanksgiving at my grandma's retirement home with, basically, the same people. Actually, we've had some new additions--my cousin's husband and my cousins' kids.

I knew our Thanksgiving together would change. It needed to. How many people could fit at that retirement home dinner? I'm excited for this year. Abe and I will get to watch the Chicago and New York City parades snuggled together on our couch. We get to start new traditions.

But the lesson I'm taking away this Thanksgiving is that, like the insurance commercial, life comes at you fast. You get so used to holidays being the same way--the same dishes, the same location, the same people. But you never know when you end one year what the next year will bring. This year, I have all these new people in my life--my in-laws, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, and my wonderful husband. We get to start new traditions. And, be thankful, for the people in our lives and for each holiday we get to spend with them.

I-L-L.........

I-N-I!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woo hoo! Go Illini!

Ok....as you've probably figured out by now, this is Abe blogging. Ok--I'll be the first one to admit that I am a huge Homer when it comes to my favorite sports teams--from the Cubs, Bears, and the FIGHTING ILLINI (woo hoo!), I am pretty passionate about my teams.....and it's one those teams today that won arguably one of the biggest games in their football history. Let's face it, Illinois has traditionally been known more as a basketball powerhouse and not a football powerhouse.

As you probably know already, the Fighting Illini upset the #1 ranked team (yes, the #1 ranked team in the country) in the land today! They beat the Buckeyes from Ohio State 28-21, even though the superstar running back from South Skokie (sorry Jano!)Rashard Mendenhall did not even lead the team in rushing.

This is historical people....Illinois hasn't beaten a #1 ranked team since 1956...this is the first time they have ever beaten a number 1 ranked team away.....

I must say......I can write a whole lot more, but all I can say is "Go Illini!" I must say that I was screaming a lot today!

As for next week....I will probably be the only resident in Evanston rooting against Northwestern! :) GO ILLINI!

26 Hours in NYC

I (Allie) just got back from spending a little over a day in NYC. It was an interesting work trip. Fun, but, well, the city that never sleeps wore me out. And I got 7 hours of sleep. But I kept processing through my first time in the Big Apple (shout out to my friends who used to live in the Little Apple--Manhattan, Kansas).

Anyway, I just got back, but I thought I would write before I forgot the crazy stories.

First, I used my organization's standard procedure to get to the Chicago airport--a car service. However, when I looked out my place's window to see if they were here, I did a double take. You see I saw the front of the car and then it just kept coming. I got to ride to the airport in a stretch limo. All by myself. It was awesome. I guess I'm a VIP the 3rd week on the job!

Anyway, the flight out went well. I was amazed by an older couple who managed to sleep through the entire take off. Now, I, for one, can only sleep on flights when I am dead tired, i.e., returning from a week in Europe. This couple didn't mind all the G-forces of lifting their bodies thousands of feet into the air wake them up. Amazing.

NYC was interesting. I told Abe that it's like Chicago on crack. You see, Chicago's the largest city I've ever been in, let alone lived in. Now I know a place where the streets are actually more narrow, more crowded, and people come even more close to getting hit by cars.

I did, however, have a celebrity sighting--Mr. Joey Fatone--former 'NSYNC-er and "Dancing With the Stars" alum. But, since we were staying in Times Square, we knew we'd likely run into someone cool. It reminds me of the time I saw Louie Anderson in the Fort Myers, Florida, airport. But that's another story.

So after a swanky dinner, I retired to my room where I could actually see the pole the New Year's ball is dropped from. Pretty cool.

I was there for work, which went very well. I hope to be back in 2008 with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. New York, to me, is somewhat sad. All of these Midtown Manhattan people striving for so much yet who really matters is God. It makes me think about the book of Ecclesiastes--it's all meaningless, the book says. Yes, we honor God with our jobs, but so much of Manhattan is workaholism, pride, selfishness, and greed. It's amazing that we humans get such a kick out of Times Square--a place that's filled with billboards to get us to buy stuff! What a trip!

Anyway, I'm home safe and earlier thanks to an open seat on an earlier flight. I can't wait to sit down and watch my favorite Thursday night TV.

Oh, one more thing, I really like the show "Chuck" on NBC. In the show, they talk about a spy store that used to be in the same shopping center as the Buy More. Today, in Chicago, I saw a Best Buy right next to a spy store. Amazing.

Hiking and Halloween

Hi everyone...Allison here updating you on our lives. We went hiking at Starved Rock State Park last weekend and had a great time. We hiked for 6 miles, but they were vertical miles with all the elevation changes. Needless to stay, we were very thankful for the hotel's whirlpool.

Also, my work had a crazy Halloween bash in which my department became "The Simpsons." It was a good time for me to get to know other people since I'm new. I really like my job.