Thursday Thirteen #12: Holidailies Topics

On Friday, I begin my entries for the annual Holidailies project, where I'll make a point of posting once per day between December 1st and January 1st. If you look through my records lately... that's going to be a very tough job to tackle for me. But I'm up to the challenge.

Here are thirteen topics I'm planning to write about next month (got any more that I should add? Throw them in the comments!)

Thirteen Topics for Holidailies 1) The first snowfall, whenever that happens 2) My current stitching projects 3) Reflections on my job, once I become a bit more situated there 4) Yule recap 5) Christmas recap 6) New Year's Eve recap 7) Thursday Thirteen entries 8) A photolog of a "day in the life" for me 9) Holiday foods 10) Christmas carols-- particularly the ones I either don't like, or don't make sense 11) Holiday TV specials of my youth (and why it's still necessary to watch them) 12) My annual Closing Down the Year entry 13) Hopes and dreams for 2007 Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Finding my new routine

Yesterday I started my new job. The commute is the same, and so are my hours. I do have to go an extra stop on the commuter rail to South Station (i.e. downtown Boston), so it's throwing off our train schedule a bit now-- we're on the earlier train.

So far, I'm enjoying it. I have a clear sense of what my little administrative department does, which is something I haven't had in six years. There's a well-organized system in place for work requests. It's thankfully been very slow this week, allowing the other two admins I work with to spend a lot of time showing me the programs I'm unfamiliar with, helping me get macros set up on my computer, and finding my way around. I've already completed two fairly large projects on my own, including one that was a "miracle worker" project this morning in Acrobat... so I'm feeling quite good. Tomorrow our group has a massive printing and binding project to do which will probably keep me at work after hours.

But I honestly am looking forward to it-- it's nice to feel like I'm part of a team again. I'd grown so isolated in my old position, and as independent as I am, I really do prefer to at least feel like I'm contributing to a team effort.

My dress code is thankfully virtually the same-- I can't wear jeans or sneakers, but that doesn't concern me at all. I'm just thrilled I don't need to rush out to buy an entirely new wardrobe. What I have will suffice until I get caught up on bills and such after the holidays.

I do have to admit that I miss most of the people I worked with already... but I think a lot of that is due to the familiarity. I traded email addresses with most of the people that I would love to keep in contact with, so I'm not too concerned. And I know I'll see them in about a week when they gather for the monthly social gathering after work.

Only three more days until Holidailies starts. I need to start coming up with writing ideas... anyone have suggestions?

Happy Tuesday...

Success

The 20 pound turkey was a fantastic success... and oddly only took about 2.5 hours to cook (no... really. We're shocked too, but it's true). We've eaten, are now passed out around the living room, waiting to make room for the pie.

So safe and happy Thanksgiving to all. :)

And Happy Birthday to Ivanna, who reads my journal.. and to my cousin Marya, who doesn't.

Thursday Thirteen #11: Turkey Trimmings

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I brine my turkey for Thanksgiving, and it tastes fabulous. When I'm preparing the brine, the entire kitchen smells of a wonderful blend of spices. So here is everything that's in the recipe.

Thirteen Ingredients for my Thanksgiving Turkey 1) Kosher salt 2) Light brown sugar 3) Vegetable stock 3) Black peppercorns 4) Allspice berries 5) Candied ginger 6) Water 7) Apple 8) Onion 9) Cinnamon stick 10) rosemary 11) Sage 12) Canola oil 13) One 20 lb turkey. :) Links to other Thursday Thirteens! Cheryl - Laughing Muse - MommyBa - Michelle - Wendy - Jen - Sanni - Moogie - Brony

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Last day

My personal stuff is removed from my office. It's definitely not bare-- the work of an administrative assistant requires that there's a ton of paper everywhere. But by five, I'll have the last remaining things on my desk tidied and labeled. It feels very, very weird to be leaving here. My emotions are a bit mixed today. I honestly consider that to be a good thing. I'll put of my thoughts to writing tomorrow during my downtime. I have a few topics to roll through in my head before I type them out. I may not finish them. I might not write them all down, depending on the tone they take. Some may be too trivial and fleeting to really consider noteworthy.

I'm happy that I'll have the next few days to decompress, regear myself, and enjoy the holidays. Erich and I bought our turkey yesterday (in case we had to buy frozen, since we didn't order one). We decided on a large turkey to ensure leftovers. Last year's 14 pound bird just didn't have enough for our liking. I think I maybe was able to scrape out one good batch of turkey salad from the leftovers. So this year we're going on overkill- a 22 lb turkey for four people.

Heh.

As of now, the group will be Erich, his dad, our friend Matt, and me. Quiet and cozy.

Tonight I'll be making my shopping list for the rest of the supplies needed, plus food for the weekend. We're going to the annual LAN party on Cape Cod, starting Friday night and running through Sunday. Lots of soda, snacks, and coffee are needed.

Other little mentionables...

I signed up to participate in Holidailies again this year. I'll be posting at least one entry per day from December 1-January 1. If there's anything specific you want me to write about (read: I need some ideas!!!), toss a comment my way so I can start scribbling. This includes odd memes, Thursday Thirteens, and any random topics.

I also was accepted into the Thursday Thirteen blogroller this past week-- for anyone stopping by... Hi there! :)

If I haven't already done so, I'll be dropping anyone who requested a card a little confirm email & to swap addresses where requested. If you're interested in one, go here. :)

Okay, I'll stop. Seven more hours... :)