ten on tuesday: thanksgiving edition.

y'all, i'm taking a break from the "plenty to be thankful for" posts and linking up with roots & rings for a little ten on tuesday fun.

today's series of ten questions is all about the gobble, gobble.

1. what are you doing for thanksgiving this year? i'm hosting which means there is an 18 pound turkey currently defrosting in my refrigerator. it also means sitting around the living room balancing a disposable plate on your lap. i don't do formal dining nor do i decorate with centerpieces & fine china for the holidays. you get what you get & you don't throw a fit, people.
2. what are you most thankful for this year? staying afloat. it's not easy living off of one income. and that, my friends, is that.
3. do you have any traditions on thanksgiving? the parade? football? long naps? the parade is always on while we prepare the turkey. always. other than that, the only other real "tradition" is making sure the pantry is stocked with jellied cranberry sauce {mama likes eating leftover turkey sammiches smeared with the stuff!}
4. is it called stuffing or dressing? is it in the bird or a separate dish? it's dressing, y'all. and, it's never in the bird. it's always on it's own, in a dish and made, preferably, out of corn bread. 
5. do you cook? yes, i do. my husband takes care of the turkey {he mans the fryer}. i handle most everything else. this year, my plan is to prepare most of the sides on wednesday night so all we have to do is heat everything up when it's time to eat on thanksgiving day. by the way...we eat early on thanksgiving. earrrrrrly. i think it helps maximize the leftover turkey sammich opportunities. 
6. what is your favorite dish? sweet potato casserole with extra marshmallows {the more burned, the better!}. i also have a soft spot for jellied cranberry sauce {yes, shaped like the can}, but that's not really a dish, is it??
7. what is your dessert preference? i don't really have one. i love to bake, but - surprisingly enough - my family doesn't have much of a sweet tooth. in the past, i've always baked my heart out for thanksgiving only to have to throw out desserts a week later. this year, i took the easy way out & ordered two ice cream pies from coldstone {hey, it benefits the p.t.a. at my children's school!}. i'll also make a {from scratch} pumpkin pie with freshly whipped cream. you know, to make up for those two ice cream pies. 
8. what is your favorite thanksgiving memory? how about the year we ate chinese food for thanksgiving dinner because we were going out of town & my mother didn't want to deal with preparing a big meal OR leaving it all in our fridge for a week. smart thinking. a close second would be from thanksgiving years ago...we just found out a few weeks prior that my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. i'm happy to say that this december she'll celebrate five years of being cancer-free!
9. do you plan to shop on black friday? yes. but, target had to go & jack up my plans by opening at midnight instead of 4am. oh, well. i'm only going because i have gift cards to burn & it's less than five minutes from my house. i'll shop for everything else online...on cyber monday. 
10. what are you most dreading about thanksgiving this year? nothing really. we've hosted family holiday dinners before, so it's not a big deal. i think the only thing i am regretting this year is not being able to travel with my parents {after thanksgiving} to visit my sister in boston.