Thanks-gorging

It's almost Thanksgiving, and I am like literally counting down the hours until I'm able to partake in the turkey-day feast at my parents' house. I fantasize about Thanksgiving dinner the way obsessed Twi-hards fantasize about sparkly vampires: relentlessly, unceasingly, so-much-it's-kinda-creepy. 

I love my family's Thanksgiving in part because it's so varied. We have the traditional turkey - a 25-pound behemoth my mom gets up at 4 am to put in the oven - and the necessary trimmings: homemade noodles, gravy, rolls, stuffing, green bean casserole, and all that. I'm making my specialty, sauteed Brussels sprouts with caramelized onions, bacon, and cranberries (don't make that face, it's DELICIOUS, y'all). And speaking of cranberries, there's always the requisite can of congealed cranberry jiggle (aka "cranberry sauce") that inevitably gets forgotten in the fridge until after dinner is over.

On top of all that, though, my big brother Steve just happens to be married to a wonderful woman (and a wonderful cook) named Arunporn, who just happens to be from Thailand, and who just HAPPENS to contribute the most scrumptious and yummy Thai dishes to our feast every year. Because really, what Thanksgiving without some Asian food on the table? This year she's making tom yum (a spicy and sour soup), som tam (spicy papaya salad), and egg rolls.

We'll eat, talk about poop and zombies and make fun of each other, and spend the rest of the afternoon a.) huddled around someone's laptop looking at dumb videos on YouTube, b.) lounging in a food-induced stupor on various couches, chairs, and beds, and/or c.) engaging in a rousing game of Garbage Catch, wherein we throw things to each other as hard as we can in hopes that the catcher will fumble and drop whatever item it is: i.e., a "garbage catch." (Last year it was a stuffed bus that said "Office Depot" on the side and honked on impact.) 

My family is, like, sooooo cultured and cosmopolitan.

I can't wait.

The only thing that bugs me about this time of year is all the magazine and news features I'm reading about tips to avoid overeating on Thanksgiving. 

Really?? 

I appreciate the need to be healthy and skinny and all that, but y'all? Thanksgiving is for overeating. Isn't it? Have I been wrong all these years? I fully plan to eat until I groan about how stuffed I am, then throw some stuff at my siblings until I digest a little bit, then eat some more. Thai food, traditional Thanksgiving food, I want it all. IN. MY. BELLY.

Anyway, gotta load up on energy for Black Friday shopping, right?