I’m going to start grating the cheese soon and look over all the Thanksgiving recipes so they’re fresh in my mind. Tomorrow is my big baking day, pies and rolls! I’m really excited for Thanksgiving; I just want to get into the kitchen and make things. I was thinking about making the lumpia today, but Tommy says it’s too early and they’re best fresh, so I’ll wait until Thursday morning to make them. That way Lexi can wrap them, too.
Lexi is having a Friendsgiving on Sunday. Right now, they are still planning on doing it, though it may snow on Sunday. So they are keeping tabs on the weather. She is going to be bringing lumpia and soda.
I have the heater running in the office, but it’s fighting a losing battle to keep this room warm. Everyone keeps coming in and leaving the door wide open, so I have to keep pulling it almost closed again. I leave it cracked, though. I can’t handle it being fully shut when I’m in here alone. A closed door makes me anxious. I need that small opening so I can see out and stay aware of what’s happening outside the room. It’s the only way I feel okay.
When Tommy and Kel are home, I don’t mind keeping the door fully closed. But when I’m alone, I just can’t do it. The only time I ever shut it all the way is during my therapy appointments. Speaking of therapy, I have a session tomorrow, right in the middle of pie-making day. I’m almost tempted to cancel, but I won’t. I made the appointment, and I’m going to show up for it.
This morning, I reminded Karissa that she has her advisor appointment at 11:30. She had completely forgotten, so I’m glad I put it in the calendar. Sometimes those little reminders really do help.
Tommy suggested that I try closing the door for short periods of time and gradually increase it each round. So I’m giving it a try. The door is closed right now, and I can feel the anxiety rising, but I know I can handle this. I’ll keep it closed for five minutes, then open it, and try again a little longer next time. I’m curious to see if this helps me get more comfortable with it.
There’s a lot of cheese to grate for the mac n’ cheese, and the Brussels sprouts recipe alone needs eight ounces of mozzarella. I recruited Lexi to help, so we’ve been taking turns at the grater like a little assembly line. Karissa’s working on homework right now, so I don’t want to pull her away, but I’ll definitely have her help on Thursday when things get busier.
While we’re grating, I’m going back over all the recipes to double-check what each one needs. It helps me feel organized and makes tomorrow’s baking and Thursday’s cooking marathon a little less chaotic.
Okay, I’m finally done grating all the cheese. Tomorrow will be a big cooking day. I’ll be making the rolls, the pies, and I still need to bake the cornbread, so it has time to dry out. I didn’t prep the veggies today; Tommy isn’t sure they’ll keep well if I cut them too early, so I’ll wait.
For now, I’m going to make myself a cup of hot tea and unwind with some YouTube. I think we’re having soup for dinner tonight, there’s clam chowder and chicken tortilla. I’m definitely going with the chicken tortilla soup.
I’m not sure if I’ll have a journal up until Monday, but I’m going to try my best to post one tomorrow.
