Colorful Thanksgiving/Black FridayWell, we all survived Thanksgiving on this end! The cooking, the food and the clean-up. I'm happy to report that all the food turned out as yummy as planned based on everyone's empty plates!
Family Holiday Reunion Yesterday was truly a throwback family day! After more than 30 years of being together on a holiday, we sat down together yesterday as a family. The day was filled with silly stories, laughs, tons of good food and hardy conversations. My Dad (Tanya's Uncle George) couldn't quite get his arms around the Vegan thing - it was pretty funny listening to him ask Tanya questions about what she can and can't eat. All in all, our meal was a success as Tanya and I had worked hard to accommodate both vegan and non- vegans in the family, and everyone appeared to be pretty satiated! Here's to a new, happy family holiday memory!!  Cousins together for Thanksgiving after 30+ years!! Continuing Change of Plans This week just has not gone off as scheduled when it comes to the social plans me and Tanya put together because of Kelsey getting sick. We missed the Holiday Train Show on Wednesday and now today, we were supposed to join the gang for a Statue of Liberty tour. I contemplated going into the city with Gianna and letting Kelsey stay with Tedd at home. But, last night she had a rough night of coughing and I really feel bad to leave her all day. Tonight we are supposed to meet them in Little Italy for a Birthday Celebration Dinner for Dominic. So far, I'm planning to make it with Gianna. Keeping my fingers crossed that there are no major obstacles in the day. Black Friday: Today, the Friday after Thanksgiving, is referred to as Black Friday. There have been many speculations over where this term originated. I thought you might enjoy these fun facts as you contemplate your 2014 Christmas Shopping! * Although today, Black Friday has come to be known as the biggest shopping day in the United States, the original reference for the term "Black Friday" was used to refer to quite different events. * For centuries, "Black" has been used for numerous mishaps, according to Benjamin Zimmer, linguist and executive editor of Vocabulary.com. * The term "Black Friday" was used was on September 24, 1869, when Jay Gould and James Fisk, two speculators who attempted to corner the gold market on the New York Stock Exchange, resulted in the government stepping in to correct the distortion by flooding the market with gold. As a result, prices plummeted and many investors lost fortunes. * In 1951, an article in a labor market newsletter, refers to the Friday after Thanksgiving as Black Friday siting that it is the most Unproductive day of the year due to Thanksgiving celebration the day before. * The term was used again in Philadelphia, in 1961, when police dubbed the day after Thanksgiving Black Friday because of the congestion and smog caused by shoppers on that day. Retailers did not like the connotation, so they "re-named" the day "Big Friday" according to a local Philadelphia newspaper, calling it the biggest shopping day of the year. *It wasn't until the 1990's that the term Black Friday spreads nationally. According to Kim Bittleson of the BBC, "Retailers tried to put a positive spin on the "black" bit of the term by saying it was when retailers became profitable, or as the saying goes "went into the black". However, there is no evidence to back this claim up." * In 2001, Black Friday becomes the biggest shopping day of the year usurping the Saturday before Christmas. * Black Friday may be on its way to becoming extinct as Wal-Mart was the first retailer to open its doors on Thanksgiving in 2011. * In 2013, Black Friday online sales hit a record high of $1.2 billion I haven't forgotten that today is Foodie Friday, however, we will be back next week for another installment. Hoping you are still working through leftovers from yesterday, like we are! As usual, Tanya was on the job, snapping away - please check out the pictures from yesterday's Family day!! ------>>>----->>>> Wishing you a day of peace and relaxation in whatever you are doing! -E | Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Kids Table What a great night we had over at Elisa's! All the hard work and efforts of love had paid off for a terrific meal and lots of left overs! Getting there however was quite an adventure on our part... After going to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a bit of shopping and regrouping back at our hotel, our gang of 4 started out toward Garden City. When I checked the schedule, it appeared that we had JUST missed the train and would now have to wait an hour for the next one! Getting us there 45 minutes late...and I HATE being late! Ugh.. The other "quicker" option was to take the 2 subway lines to catch a bus, getting us there only 14 minutes late! And as much as I didn't want to take a bus...I can deal with it for this one trip! (What was I thinking?!) In route we kept moving to catch the subway and get us there; no time to check anything else; must keep moving! And then the subway arrived 1 minute late!!! What's a minute right? WRONG! This caused us to miss our connection and wait a good 10-15 minutes, which then snowballed into us missing the bus and having to catch a later one... Luckily the kids were very well behaved and didn't say "boo" while we rode the bus from Jamaica to Garden City. But just as soon as we exited the bus, the first words out of Cosette's mouth were "Don't even take me on another bus like that again!" Now we were on foot for the last mile to Elisa's front door! Geesh, at least we were working up an appetite and burning some calories for the big meal we were about to partake in! And guess what... Once we actually arrived, we were 45 minutes late after all! We could've just sat with a nice cup of tea and relaxed for an hour before catching that later train! It was so nice to finally arrive, unwind, and relax. I went around taking video clips and spontaneous pictures all night long...I'm sure I got some doozies! lol  The MEN watching the game before the big meal!  My "I was here too" pic!  The hustle and bustle of the kitchen! The kids all had a blast playing and feasting together! We are definitely a family that loves a good meal!  Once we had finished dinner, took a break before dessert, then chomped down some more, it was time for us to head out, and catch the train back into the city.. When we were in the final steps of walking up to our hotel, Cosette had said "so this must be what it feels like for other people on Thanksgiving - you eat, and then you leave..." This was her first Thanksgiving away for our gang back in SoCal. We missed them, but we be back in less than a week! And I know that I'll be cooking up a storm once I get back to make up for all the dishes that I usually only break out for them on Thanksgiving! I know that they will make me pay for not being there!!! But I'm okay with that! I love cooking for my gang!  Now, we are off to climb the Statue of Liberty! ...more on this in tomorrow's Daily Scoop Hope you have a great day and if you're ambitious enough to be out there shopping on this Black Friday (learn more about this day on Elisa's side), then I wish you luck and a lot a great deals!! Ciao 4 Now, -T |
Thanksgiving 2014 - Lots to be thankful for!
