Thanksgiving and the Iron Bowl

Hurray the holiday arrived -- good stuff. Of course, I had to work Wednesday and Friday. But not for too long. My parents were planning to arrive around 4 p.m. Wednesday.

So I rolled in and worked hard. I went to the gym at lunch. I was able to head home soon after I returned - yipee. I got in and started to clean (I had cleaned on Sunday but I needed to "freshen it up"). I also took time to mash the potatoes and finish cooking the turnips.

My folks arrived and we went to dinner at Saltwater Cowboys on St. Simons Island. Here we are:

We got home and Daddy went to bed. The rest of us watched "Meet the Parents" before turning in...such a great time.

Thursday it was THE day. I got up early and ran three miles. As per usual, we watched the Macy's parade then it was time to shower and cook! We had apps along with some wine. The spread was served at 12:15 on the dot. I was proud because that was my estimated dinner time. Loved that I made it happen.

I also loved that it was DELISH. I mean, really, it was. The menu included: corn muffins, rolls, turkey, ham, turnips, peas, creamed corn, brocolli casserole, and mashed potatoes. Then chocolate pie and pecan. It was a good ol' fashioned food fest. 

Digesting 

After lunch, it was time for another Adkison T-giving tradition - the game of spades...oh yes. We took it to the porch (where it was friggin 80 degrees). This time it was me and Daddy v. Mama and Josh. We won!! I think this was the first year I've been on a winning team. Whoop.

We also watched some football then put in "Meet the Fockers." Hilarious. We all just loved it. By that time, it was nearly 7 p.m. and we heated up leftovers. I had to go to work early to cover Black Friday shopping so I turned in around 9-ish. GREAT DAY!

Friday - I got up around 5 a.m. and started doing interviews - via e-mail - with many store managers who had been up all night. Bless them. 

I went to the office at 8 a.m. and met up with our photog, Bobby. Then we headed out to the mall to see what kind of craziness was going on there. It was pretty crazy. I got da info and ran back to write the story. When I was done, I was turned loose to return back to the folks.

Around lunch, we drove up to Darien (like 20 mins north). We were able to show my parents Josh's bridge work. We did lunch at Skipper's, on the water. Such a great place with a great atmosphere. Check out the shrimpin' boats:

Then it was time to prepare for the IRON BOWL. Oh my. This was something I was nervous about because, last year, it got a little intense. More intense than usual. (My parents are HUGE Alabama fans while we are MEGA Auburn fans). 

So yeah, last year, my mom was yelling - "we're never doing this again." That is, until they (Alabama) won -- then she was better. I won't lie. I wasn't looking forward to the game. My mom is not a great sport (sorry Mama!). In fact, the only way that we were planning to take on the game was to split up. Ridiculous if you ask me - I'm a huge fan but not being able to go anywhere or do anything is nuts ... but this time my parents were super about it. My husband - not so much. We had been invited to watch the game with the Auburn Club. I said we'd go -and I thought "perfect - the folks could stay here then we could go there." BUT Josh nixed that. He didn't want to go because he was afraid he'd use too much profanity or something. Ridiculous. So he pitched a fit and got to stay home. My mom felt bad for him and she stayed too. 

Yep, it ended up getting weird with Josh and my mom staying at home. My Dad went with me to watch the first half with the Auburn Club. It was fun...except for the fact that Auburn played like sh*t. I just sat there with my mouth open. OR occasionally hiding my eyes. We drove back home and that's when things turned around. AU ended up winning 28 to 27 - it was unreal.

Not to say that it didn't get intense. Here's a shot of the boys at home. Notice J on the floor...

Playing nice

Everyone was cool and we decided to go to Zachry's for dinner. That was fun. They had a band that we sang with...a lot. And yes "Sweet Home Alabama" made an appearance. 

Honestly, it was just a good time all around. We got home and my mom and I stayed up WAY too late listening to music. Still we survived another Iron Bowl without murder or divorce. That's something.