Thanksgiving Aftermath

Okay, y'all.

I am not promising to be witty here - only to touch base, which I have been sorely remiss in doing lately. Kinda like that really big website where I promised 'em I would blog "at least once a week." (I blog here the same as there - same blog posts, and y'all know how often THAT is.)
Ahem.

I have been busy. Crazy busy. Lots of assignments for Crosswalk, including trips to L.A. to interview Steve Carell of "Dan in Real Life" (great film!!!) and the cast and crew of "Enchanted" (ditto!!!), which included Patrick Dempsey(yes, I know, I know - and he WAS adorable...just way more petite than I expected, although I don't know WHY I am surprised at this, because they ALL are, out here). But I'm biased. I like tall men.

So that's been fun but it's kept me busy, along with all my usual assignments.

I'm also writing a very long story for WebMD about lead poisoning in toys - you know, what should parents do about all the toys that have NOT been recalled but which could, any day now (I'll post the link, once it's up). I've had a great time but that story has kicked my butt good, honey. I feel like I've interviewed everyone but the president and I definitely haven't slept much since I started working on it two weeks ago. There is a LOT of stuff people need to know, that's all I'll say. That, and I went and got my baby IMMEDIATELY tested for blood lead levels (which were normal, praise God). The stories I heard from those mothers, y'all...it's enough to break your heart. I cried when I interviewed them, I kid you not. And now I'm on a mission to tell the world about lead poisoning. One of many, of course. Never a dull moment around here.

Well, I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving and gave thanks to the good Lord for all the things he's given us, big and small. Mine start and end with my precious girls, who are so cute I positively cannot stand it. (Not that I'm biased or anything, mind you.) We had a great dinner with awesome friends and for once, the cooking didn't take me all day. I think I'm finally getting the hang of this thing, after so many years of doing this meal (for those of you who think this means I am old, please note that I started cooking Thanksgiving dinner young, young, young - right out of the crib).

We had all my usual dishes, like Grand Marnier Stuffing (I don't care how Southern you are, this blows AWAY the cornbread stuff), creamed corn with a roux base (learned at the New Orleans Cooking School) and Paula Deen's Gooey Pumpkin Butter Cakes. You eat one of those, honey, and I promise you will never go near regular pumpkin pie again. My child just BEGS me for them every day now.

I know, I know. I should have made a pecan pie. What's a Southern Girl Thanksgiving without one, after all? But y'all, pecans (which I pronounce PEE-cans, by the way, in case anybody's wondering) are just not readily available out here. I mean, yes, they exist, but not in large bags like you get going up and down I-95 on your way back from Florida. (Can anyone say Stuckey's?) And when you do find 'em, they're about $40 an ounce.

So what did I do? Well, I went and reserved me an ice cream pie. Yes, indeedy. I saw the sign at this mini-franchise out of Santa Barbara called McConnell's (don't even THINK about comparing Ben & Jerry's to this stuff, honey...we're talking ALL NATURAL ingredients and the best ice cream I've ever put in my mouth, including the stuff from Italy, which I actually tasted in Italy a few times). And, wowed by the thought of this piece de resistence on my Thanksgiving table, right next to the pilgrim and the Indian (oops...I mean Native American), I caved in and ordered one for the bargain basement price of $15.

Holy cow, was it worth it. Coffee flavored, which I've become strangely enamored with of late, and a graham cracker crust. (Some of y'all know that I never drank coffee until my second child was born and my publisher wanted my book finished lickity split. After years of avoiding the stuff, I drove straight to Starbuck's, got myself addicted and have never once looked back. Kind of like leaving Fayetteville, NC. Can you relate?) Now I just have to figure out how to disguise all those lattes in the monthly budget. Shhhhh...it's easier than the time I had to sneak four Civil War-era chairs I'd just bought from a roadside antique store in SC into the back of our van, with Mark snoring away up front. (But that's another story.)

Actually, the coffee business is too. But what's a Southern tale without a few digressions, right y'all?

Long story short (although it never is with me, so y'all just get used to it), instead of pecan pie, we had coffee ice cream pie this year, and not a soul complained. Shocking, isn't it? Naturally we ate way too much of everything, and I didn't even think about my diet OR my trainer the entire day or the next. Of course, I also felt like crap (pardon my French) for two days afterward, which just goes to show you how bad that much food is for you, thanking the good Lord notwithstanding.

Did I tell y'all I've been working out with a trainer? Honey, I used to think that was a luxury for the rich and famous, but I am here to tell you right now that this is what I've been missing in life. Honestly. It's amazing to finally decide to take care of myself, for the first time in about a hundred years, and y'all really do need to try it. Someday I'll tell you how much weight I've lost since my baby was born and maybe, just maybe -- if I get liquored up enough -- even post a few "Before" and "After" pictures.

Ah...come to think of it, maybe not.

But I'd certainly be happy to tell y'all how I did it, and it wasn't the exercise.

Honestly. That's important, but it mostly came later -- like the trainer (although she did give me a great diet and a lot of advice during that time -- only it was completely free, bless her size-four sweet little healthy heart.) In fact, I'm thinking about holding some kind of teleseminar, since so many people have asked me to tell them how I did this thing. It's in the works...kinda like my blogs. Ahem.

Well, that's enough of the exercise talk. 'Hope I didn't make anyone feel awful. (And if it makes you feel any better, I haven't worked out in days.)

Good catchin' up, y'all. I've missed you, despite my absence. (And so much for a short post.)

With Southern love,
Annabelle