Week 13 & 14: Thanksgiving meals

Let's hear about your most memorable Thanksgiving moment. It need not be wild or wacky, but something that has stayed with you over the years.

For me, it's simple: when my mother asked my uncle to pass the mashed potatoes he just put a huge scoop of potatoes in her hand. My mom then put the potatoes on her plate and the conversation picked up where it left off.

Week 12: little lies

Briefly, with some pizazz, and with just enough detail to intrigue the reader, tell us all about a lie you told.

Here goes ...

I hate phones. Jamie hates phones. But about three years ago I was traveling back east quite often and was struggling to manage some travel plans because Jamie and I shared a cell phone. We had a landline, but when we both traveled it was hard to keep in touch. So, with some reluctance, we went to two cell phones and no landline. However, my mother-in-law was adamant about us having a landline. She used the old -- if there's an emergency cell phones won't work, and when you dial 9-1-1 it won't go directly to dispatch. So, we lied to her. We told her our new cell phone number was our home phone (we just switched carriers). We promised never to turn that number off, so if she called in the middle of the night or whenever, it would ring like a normal phone. Fast forward a year ... I answered the phone (the home phone) in the airport. Not good. There's that annoying lady announcing the white zone and the blue zone and the TSA laws and my mother-in-law heard it all. "Oh, did I dial your cell phone?" she asked. "Um." I couldn't think of anything to say. Jamie took over the call, explained the entire thing, and after only a wee bit of arguing and some back-and-forth, we were finally able to come clean. Funny thing is, now she's moving and she's not getting a landline. No need, I guess.

Let's get in shape

Writing exercises galore!