We're Thankful for...Thanksgiving Break

Hey, everybody!

Apparently, the people of Carbondale and SIUC like to spend their time being thankful. Our students get an entire week off for Thanksgiving! Even though we didn't get the whole week off, it was nice to have a little extra time to work and some time off to spend with family.

As this post is being written somewhat late, details evade our minds a bit. The whole trip was enjoyable, although Thanksgiving always feels too short (especially in comparison to the amount of time spent traveling).

Before Thanksgiving, Liz and I had the chance to do some shopping in Merrillville. We truly spent forever trying to find the right coat for Liz. We have this problem where we know what we want before we know if it exists somewhere. The search had lead us through Southern Illinois, St. Louis, and finally to the shopping mecca of Merrillville. Anyway, during our epic journey, we stopped for food and here is something I feel compelled to share.

Let me introduce you to an authentic Chicago-style hotdog:

You will notice the following ingredients: a poppy-seed bun cushioning a red hot (not a hot dog) with sweet onion, pickle relish, tomato slices, peppers, topped with mustard. Anything else is not a Chicago-style hot dog. By the way, the coat was found and you'll see a picture of Liz wearing it in an upcoming post.

Thanksgiving at my parent's house tends to be pretty traditional. It is usually pretty small and there's always the same food. My dad always poses as if he is cutting the turkey, but it is all a sham. As soon as the photo is taken, my mom does the actual work. I barely escaped alive with the proof, but here it is:

The pose (no actual cut has been made):

The proof:Also, couldn't pass up the opportunity to post a good (but blurry) picture of the newly formed McGuire family. We left after eating to drive to Liz's family and eat all over again. Another great dinner with the promises of leftovers. The excitement at Liz's was getting the new house decorated for Christmas and excitement it was.

With a good dose of crazy and creativity, the house was well-decorated and Liz had the tree looking like something you'd find on the Hallmark channel.
After all of that work, we found ourselves on the road back home again.