November | 2015 | Sophie In the City

Gobble, Gobble!

Posted on November 19, 2015 by fordsophie

Thanksgiving is a time where families get together to celebrate one another and all that God has given us. It is a time to appreciate the good in our lives and to overlook the bad.

I love Thanksgiving for its meaning, but honestly, I really love that we get to celebrate over kick-ass food. Dinner always starts at 5 p.m., but there is a lot of preparation that goes into Thanksgiving planning when you are the daughter of the hostess.

First thing in the morning, Jake and I head over to our parents’ house around 8 or 9 a.m. Mom has a breakfast casserole cooked and ready for all of us to eat while the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is on. Keep in mind, Dad’s band always plays until 2 or 3 a.m. the night before at Shenanigans.

Once the parade is over, and the dog show comes on, it is down to business. Well for me, Mom and Dad anyways. Jake normally slips out of the house to go hit golf balls.

While my Dad peels potatoes for 30 people, mom has the green beans setting on the stove all day, the two turkeys in the oven, and the turkey neck soaking in broth which will eventually turn into the gravy. After the food that needs immediate tending to is out and cooking, we now concentrate on the minor things.

As Mom’s sous chef, I am in charge of putting together the salads and making the homemade dressings. Each year the salads vary. But, they never disappoint. After the salads are made I then go and set the China out on the two tables on the main floor, and then I make sure there are plastic forks and paper plates on the table in the basement for the basement crew.

Mom is in charge of setting out the beverages, and making the mashed potatoes and stuffing.

While everything on the inside is in a chaotic state, because of my Mom’s alter ego, Betsy Bosanova, Dad walks the dog, cuts our grass and then comes inside to clean up any mess we might’ve missed from the night before.

Before we know it, the clock is already at 3:30 and we all have to rush to get ready before family begins to arrive around 4:30 p.m. with their dishes in hand.

Is it worth it? All the cleaning and preparation before the grand meal? Hell yes. I will still do anything to sink my teeth into a good meal.

Thanksgiving

The Christmas Amazing Race

Posted on November 12, 2015 by fordsophie

Yes. I have OCD: Obsessive Christmas Disorder.

When November first hits, Thanksgiving is the furthest thing from my mind. I start unpacking my two storage bins that are filled with Christmas decorations, break out the Josh Groban “Noel” album, which I continuously listen to on repeat, and start dispersing my money into different accounts so I will have just enough money to buy my boyfriend and family nice Christmas gifts.

I think my obsession began, when my aunt, Kate, put together many years ago, the first, Christmas Amazing Race.

Obviously mimicked after, the Amazing Race. You all know the show right? Where teams of two travel across the world completing different tasks on each leg of the race.

Well, she gets all of her friends, many of them local judges, lawyers, relatives and local personalities, and sends them on a race throughout Louisville competing tasks in teams of four.

Participants in past races have done it all. They have performed synchronized Christmas dance routines in the Mid-City mall for a panel of judges, had a wing-eating contest, gone to a tattoo parlor to receive a stamp on tattoo, delivered 50 pounds worth of donations to the Little Sisters of the Poor, and unwrapped hundreds of presents trying to find one of 7 boxes with a piece of coal in it before they continue in the race.

My personal favorite task that they have had to do was when Kate made them set a 5-minute timer, and they had to pray inside of a popular Nativity scene in Louisville, kneeling down in front of baby Jesus. Each year, the tasks get bigger and better. Sometimes a little more daring as well.

I cannot wait for this years race. My aunt and I have came up with some pretty funny tasks for them to complete.

But, what I love most about the race, besides watching the intensely competitive people play, is that Kate gets all of the cousins involved. I help her plan it every year. I assist with the prizes and different tasks stationed throughout Louisville. Mainly, I just show up to the stops to make sure no team cheats. We have cheaters every year.

A few of my cousins, brother and boyfriend are all team drivers. Yes. I have heard that the tension in some cars have been so high, that the drivers will pull over to take a “breather” while everyone takes a moment to gather themselves. Some of the ladies tend to yell at the drivers for not going quick enough.

And then there are my youngest cousins. AKA the Christmas “Divas, Fairies and Elves.” It is their job to greet the teams at the pit stop of the race. They normally throw glitter at them or something, while the players sing a Christmas jingle. It’s cute.

It’s nice to have something to look forward to every year that is a little out of the norm and different from everyone else’s traditions. I can for sure say, that this year’s race is going to be one for the books. Some women are out for blood and the competition is only getting hotter.

Stay tuned so I can tell you the outcome for this year’s event.