Thanks!

By Bethany Maines

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I feel it would be traditional to catalog the things I’m thankful for.  Currently, I’m thankful that I don’t have to pee. 

For those of you who aren’t Facebook friends or who missed the announcement, I am, what the old novels describe as, “in the family way.”  All the magazines these days describe it as having a baby bump.  I describe it as having someone jump up and down on my bladder all day long.

It is our first foray into parenthood and we’re looking forward to it.  Clearly, we’re not looking forward to it as much as our parents and some of our “Auntie” friends.  Which I figure is only natural – they get to have all the fun of a baby with none of the actual work.  My father, in particular, seems to be laying in stocks of sugary snacks, and cataloging noise making toys.  He’s taking grandpa-hood seriously and if this baby girl doesn’t think he’s the awesomest grandpa ever, it won’t be for lack of a well-organized campaign that includes flanking maneuvers, propaganda, and bribes. 

Meanwhile, my brother seems to be on permanent rant about which baby names are “stupid.”  As far as I can tell he doesn’t like any baby names.  Which is very freeing in the sense that any name my husband and I pick will obviously fall short of the extremely ridicu… er… lofty rules my brother seems to have.  Not that I was planning on obtaining his opinion on a name anyway, but it’s always nice to know where one stands.

All of which, leaves me feeling extremely grateful. For as annoying as my friends and family are, well, the fact remains that I have a whole truck-load of friends and family! How could I be any luckier?  (I could win the lottery.  Just throwing that out there God, in case you’re listening.)  Tomorrow, I will be baking pies and trying not to over stuff myself surrounded by people who love me and will also love my baby.  And that really, is pretty much the definition of a good thanksgiving.  I can only hope that you out there in Stiletto land will be as lucky.  And in appreciation for welcoming me onto your computers I offer up this extremely simple recipe that has replaced cranberry sauce at our house.

Cranberry Relish

Ingredients:

• 1 bag cranberries
• 1 large orange
• 1 cup sugar

Directions: Place all ingredients in food processor and chop finely.  You may need to quarter the orange to fit into the food processor, but you do not need to peel it.  Add more sugar and a touch of cinnamon if desired.  Keeps for at least 2 weeks in fridge, but it doesn’t usually last that long.  Also great on pancakes and toast.

Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery series and Tales from the City of Destiny. You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.