Bear with me, folks.

I'm still in a veritable coma from the labor that went into producing yesterday's feast for 7 people. By the numbers:

-1-19 lb. fried turkey
-Crawfish and pecan dressing
-Regular dressing
-Gigantic batch of green bean casserole
-5 lbs. of mashed potatoes
-Bourbon sweet potato casserole
-Cranberry sauce
-Rolls
-Pumpkin cheesecake
-Pecan tart
-Apple pie

And yes, you read that correctly - a 19 lb. turkey took over our turkey fryer yesterday. We injected it with a butter marinade, and used our homemade dry rub on it the night before Thanksgiving. I also made all three desserts the night before, too.

I'm grateful for my boyfriend dutily and thoughtfully cooking the turkey while I ran around making everything else and cleaning the house for company. I'm thankful for my mom's safe trip to New Orleans from Pensacola. I'm thankful for the great group of people gathered around our table yesterday. I'm grateful that Mom didn't hit her head when she blacked out last night in the kitchen (I caught her). I'm thankful that I can still walk normally after busting my arse on collie slobber in the hallway (there are 3 large, blonde collies stalking the house at the moment).

Right now I'm thankful for Advil and a full stomach (we walked down to the Bluebird for a late breakfast). I'm also thankful for the internet for some great ideas for how to use our leftovers, like:

-turkey and sweet potato samosas with turkey curry
-turkey shepherd's pie (hooray, leftover potatoes!)
-turkey noodle soup
-turkey pot pie
-turkey ring (that's just for my boyfriend, who can't understand why southerners insist on adding unflavored gelatin to everything, thereby creating a quivering mass of scary food confined to a delightful ring-shaped casserole mold...okay, ew, even I can't stomach it)

But for now, I'm thankful for my friends, my family, my amazing boyfriend, our dog, and the fact that my stomach is no longer so full that I feel like Sigourney Weaver in Aliens.

I'm just sayin'.

Now it's back to watching football and repeatedly yawning. Oh, and I'll definitely need some more Advil.

Happy post-Thanksgiving, everyone - I hope you were able to celebrate what really makes you thankful.