I done did it again

Obviously the effort of posting at least one entry a month isn't going to happen anymore.  Or maybe I can start anew next year.  I didn't manage to write anything for November, which, personally, I think is very understandable since I was bogged down with transcription, NaNoWriMo, and then spent the last ten or so days with my mom and sister, whom I brought down to spend Thanksgiving with us in Tennessee.  I actually started a post in the last few days of November, but it was extremely late at that point, and I was just too exhausted.  So here I am, six days after the start of December.  Shame on me.

Moving on.  Like I said, I was lucky enough to be able to spend Thanksgiving surrounded by family: the family I've had my whole life and the family I'll be officially a part of this time next year.  I drove up to Kentucky on the Monday before Thanksgiving, spend a day there, and drove back down to Tennessee with my mom and sister on Wednesday.  The drive is about six hours, plus stops, so it's not too bad, but my mom and sister had this inconvenient need to eat, which I usually avoid while driving long distances, so it took a bit longer than usual.  How dare they.  Anyway.  We arrived home at about 4pm on Wednesday, at which point they finally met Theo in person for the first time.  Yep, that's right: Mom and Emily had never met him before now due to the fact that it had just never really been possible.  Theo met my dad, my other mom, and my siblings down in Georgia when we went to surprise Mary (my youngest sister) for her birthday last February, but that's only a three hour drive, and we were back home that same day.  It's not really possible to do that with the drive to Kentucky, and we'd have to get a hotel, etc. etc. etc.  Theo also met my Aunt Chris on her way down from Michigan to Georgia.  But now he's met my mom and sister, who, incidentally, is one of my bridesmaids.  Finally!  I was nervous.  So was he.  So were they.  But everything was peachy.

On Thanksgiving day, we went to Theo's parents house for dinner, along with Theo's sister, her husband and two daughters, and a friend of Theo's parents.  It was freakin' delicious and Theo's family was so kind and welcoming.  I feel so lucky and thankful for marrying into such a wonderful, close family.  You see everywhere about the dreaded in-laws, but my in-laws are absolutely amazing.  Theo's parents even gave me a huge, stuffed dolphin.  What could be better than that?

Mom's birthday was on December 1, and it was the first time in a while that she was able to truly celebrate it.  Emily and I made a white cake with milk chocolate frosting and it reaffirmed my dislike for baking.  But it was yummy!  My mom also adores horses just as much as I love cows (which is a lot), so we were able to go to a friend of Theo's parents to see their two horses.  Mom got to feed them and pet them, and it was magical.  Then, after Theo got home from work, Emily and I made dinner of (my personal favorite [don't worry, Mom likes it, too]) goulash, we all watched Inside Out, and then we set up the Christmas tree.  It was lovely.

All in all, the visit was awesome and I'm so glad it happened.  Right now I'm in Kentucky again, having driven back up with Mom and Emily.  Originally the plan was for me to leave this morning, but I'm utterly exhausted, so I've decided to stay an extra night and leave tomorrow morning.  I'm glad to spend the extra time with them, but I also miss Theo.  Ahhh, to be torn as I am.

Oh, I forgot to mention.  I won the aforementioned NaNoWriMo!  I won on November 29 with a total of 50,176 words.  And it was exhausting and difficult.  But I did it!  It's not the first time I've won, but it's still immensely satisfying, especially since I've been attempting NaNoWriMo for eleven years now, and I've only won three or four times.  Yay!

Noodles.