Thanksgiving craziness is over

This weekend was nutty to the max, but a lot of fun. Saturday was another moving run, picking up some more things from my parents' place, as the hubby's parents were in Florida and kindly lent us the car. I have all of my clothes now, which is great, and the last things to pick up are my books & bookshelves and the office desk & chair. Hopefully we'll be completely organized by next Sunday, which would be nice because then we can properly have guests over, and I won't have to worry about the state of the apartment once I've started work.

Sunday was dinner with my family at my aunt and uncle's house in Dundas, which is near Hamilton. We're a big, noisy, fun family, and it was good times. We normally do Thanksgiving dinner at my grandmother's house, but Nan is 87, and so it's time for her to take a break. This is the first year that the hubby has been at home full time since we started dating, so it's also his first time being fully integrated into all our family events, and he's great. Everyone loves him (that's certainly not guaranteed in my family. They're pretty picky about who they like), and I think he had a good time. My cousins are great, so they're always fun to hang out with.

Monday was a day of way too much food. My mom hosted a brunch for my aunt, uncle, and cousins, and she made an amazing meal; the cinnamon buns were to die for. Connor and Mackenzie were very good --Connor was sick, so he was less wrangy than usual-- and we got to see my cousin Emilie, who we don't see as much since my aunt passed away and her dad remarried. I can't believe she's in 8th grade! After brunch and cleaning up the kitchen, the hubby and I headed over to his aunt's house for yet another turkey dinner with his family. Definitely, the thing that I am the most thankful for at Thanksgiving is family. My family is pretty amazing, and I love them to bits, but I'm terribly lucky to be marrying the hubby's family, as well as him. They are fantastic, and of course we had our usual great time. Aaron was sick too, so he wasn't feeling so well, but he was still really good, and our other cousin Jake was telling us all about his new band and his improved drum-practice facilities, which he jetted off to after dinner. And I got leftover turkey to take home: how can you beat that?

I headed over to work this morning to sign my employment contract and meet some of the people that I'll be working with. My first day is actually Saturday, and I'll be attending the Toronto TESOL conference to see how we market books at conferences, and to see some of the workshops and speakers that we have presenting at the conference. I'm looking forward to it, as conferences are always fun, and I haven't been to one of this kind since teacher's college.

The prospect of work is getting more and more exciting. My boss is such a lovely person, the commute to the office is fantastic (15 minutes on one bus, door to door), and they seem so happy to have me come onboard. I met the HR manager today, and from what she said to me, I owe many many thanks to Dean and Carol for their words on my behalf when she called them, so thank you so much. I can't wait to get started! My official first day is Monday the 15th, and I'll be training most of the week with the two new sales reps who are also starting then. It's nice to no longer be unemployed, stressing about looking for a job, and feeling like I'm never going to find anything, and it's even nicer to be starting a job that I really want.

Tonight is back to the parents' house, as I'm working the election tomorrow in my old riding. I've been doing this since I was old enough to vote, and it's a great way to feel politically involved without being partisan, and to earn some fun money. It will be a long day (start at 8:00, the polls are open from 9:00 to 9:00, and if I end up counting and delivering the ballots, I could be there until 10:30 or so), but I'm looking forward to it.

Life is, around here, a bit hectic, but highly enjoyable. It would be complete if a) I knew for sure that I was going back to school (I'm having trouble negotiating my current pro-con PhD list, and it's upsetting me) b) I was done my SSHRC applications, c) Dal could find the library book that it thinks I lost, d) the wedding was all planned (my mom & sister are really opinionated, and are taking over, which I'm happy enough to let them do), and e) I could find a pair of black trousers that were long enough. Funnily enough, the last one is probably going to be the most difficult.

Note: while 'wrangy' is not acknowledged in the OED, it is a term that we use a lot in my family, and comes up in some urban dictionaries, so it certainly does exist. While I love the OED, it can be a bit stodgy and slow to pick up words. Actually, love is an understatement. I adore the OED, and if you're interested in learning more, try Simon Winchester's The Professor and the Madman, or Lynda Mugglestone's Lost for Words: The Hidden History of the Oxford English Dictionary.