Thanksgiving

Right now, it's Saturday morning. I'm pretty sure I'm STILL full from tons of turkey, stuffing, two kinds of potatoes and a not-to-be-disclosed amount of wine and Great Lakes Christmas Ale I consumed two days ago on Thanksgiving. I love having Thanksgiving at my mom's house and helping her cook all morning. I made roasted sweet potatoes and onions-- I can't do "sweet" sweet potatoes, you know, with the brown sugar and marshmallow? Nope, I like mine savory. Lots of garlic and salt and pepper, yes please.

The recipe is really easy:

• Acquire some yams (the more orange-y ones-- actually different and better than sweet potatoes, but I've never said "yam" for whatever reason), a white onion, and a head of garlic. 
• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. 
• Chop 1-3 yams (depending on how many people you want to feed) up into bite sized pieces. 
• Dice the onion. For one person, I usually use half.
• Mince 2-4 cloves garlic. 
• Mix yams, onion and garlic in a large bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, seasoned salt, and a dash of cayenne pepper.
• Pour into a baking dish sprayed lightly with Pam.
• Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove foil and continue baking for 25-30 minutes.

This recipe is also easily customizable-- if you like less onion or more garlic, do that. If you want veggies, add red or green peppers. The basic idea is easy-- roast a bunch of yummy stuff with olive oil and spices. I eat this for dinner all the time!

My Thanksgiving plate (number one... of several)

Cute centerpiece my mom made

Thanksgiving was great: I got to see my family, and had fun playing dominoes with my grandma (who plays with her friends for money... I suspect she is secretly as ruthless as they come). Cooking and clean up were a breeze thanks to all the help and my mom's hard work. One of my uncles snored through two straight NFL football games, which was hilarious. We spent the whole day laughing and talking and being thankful. Everyone missed my Grandpa (who passed away in March), but we are all thankful for life moving on for the rest of us, and know he is up in Heaven looking down on us happily.

 My Grandma Marilyn and I

Rio with her Thanksgiving treat

Things I'm Thankful For! Happy Holiday Season 2012!!

• Friends and family. And friends who are like family.
• Being able to get by on an even smaller budget than a few months ago (thanks grad school)
• Being able to cook decently (though not as good as my mom or Loretta or many other awesome ladies) and have yummy, home-cooked meals many nights of the week
• Blogs I follow written by inspiring and thought-provoking women (see the list on the right!)
• Healthy foods- avocados, rice, chicken, black beans, red peppers, sweet potatoes
• Unhealthy foods- Zebra Cakes, Twix and Reeses, popcorn, Fritos, nachos, boneless wings
• The upcoming loveliness that will be my winter break, and plans to make paintings and art and clean out my closets and read tons of books!
• My apartment and the awesomeness that is Grandview 
• Peppermint soap and white candles and soft blankets and plants and all the other little things that make my apartment my own
• Running and the healthiness and peace of mind it brings me
• Thrifted clothes (and Instagram-thrifted clothes!)
• Movies and TV shows
• Kiddos and puppies
• Job applications
• Champagne
• Basketball
• Football
• Tattoos
• Books
• Life

I hope that in the upcoming year I can think of more and more things to be thankful for every day, and never forget how blessed I am to have all these things.

In other news.... today is the Ohio State-Michigan game. It's at home, here in Columbus. Biggest rivalry ever. GO BUCKS!! We're as-of-yet undefeated and we can't even go to a bowl game, but BEAT MICHIGAN, WOOO!!

Plus, it's super fun to watch football on a holiday weekend when there are snow flurries outside and beer to be had. :) I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is having a wonderful weekend!

--Sammie