Friday, November 28, 2008

Thanksgiving highlights reel

Last night at my parents' house I was looking through all the sales circulars and thinking about all the sick bargains I was going to get because I was going to take advantage of all the "door buster" sales. Then this morning I woke up and looked at the clock and went back to sleep. I got up around 11 only because we were expecting guests at noon. Unless we go out to a movie later, I have no intention of leaving the house at all today.

I am more of a home body than I've ever been in my life. If I don't have to leave, I don't. And the part where I thought I might go shopping today is laughable. I haven't been out during Christmas rush in years. I can't stand the crush of people. I'm a delicate flower.

The thing is, I love people individually. And I love having people over - even when our house is busting at the seams with people. Maybe it's just that I can't stand a crush of strangers.

For Thanksgiving dinner I was in charge of creamed peas with pearl onions and this really tasty squash casserole that I've been making for the last few years. Great. So I was at Trader Joe's a couple weeks ago and I saw actual pearl onions, like in the fresh produce section and I thought I'd give it a go. I've always gotten my pearl onions from the freezer case. I've never even seen fresh pearl onions before. I thought that my peas with pearl onions would be the best peas with pearl onions ever.

It took me more than an hour to peel those motherfuckers. Imagine peeling miniature onions for a full hour! I only teared up from them a few times, so that was okay. But still. And they were bigger than the pearl onions from the freezer case, so I was afraid that they wouldn't cook all the way if I cooked them only with the peas and cream. I ended up roasting them for about a half hour before I put them in with the peas.

Hell if they didn't taste exactly like every other creamed peas with pearl onions dish I've ever tasted. Here I was trying to make them the best ever and they came out exactly the same.

Let this be a lesson to you.

Our Thanksgiving was very pleasant. I was determined to ignore people who acted a fool - or at least not let them get under my skin - and it worked. Either that or no one acted a fool. It's hard to say exactly. After dinner, we all watched White Christmas together, and I admit I caught a little bit of the spirit of Christmas without even trying.

After my dad said grace and we started going around the table talking about everything we were thankful for, we all had to get choked up with feelings of thankfulness. Usually it's me that leads off the crying and then everyone joins in, but this year in a surprise upset, it was my mother who kicked off the waterworks in earnest. Instead of me turning into my mother, it was my mother turning into me!

I am so lucky though, and surrounded by things to be thankful for. So many good things happened this year and so many more are sure to happen next year. I'm just so grateful.

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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

A kind of big announcement

I don't know if this is a big deal to regular people, but it's a really big deal to me. Like, huge.

I'm going to be the comic-in-residence at the Comedy Studio in Cambridge for the month of January. What this means is that I will be opening every show for the whole month. It's five shows a week, Wednesday through Sunday.

I'm nervous and really excited and looking forward to making the most of this opportunity.

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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Come to Girls! Girls! Girls! on Saturday

It's come up so fast I've hardly gotten it together to promote it properly, but Saturday (Nov. 15) is another fun edition of Girls! Girls! Girls!

On the docket for Saturday evening's show are:

Coleen Galvin

Tammy TwoTone

Kathleen Kanz

Boney

and me, your friend Jennifer Myszkowski.

Tickets are $12 ($10 for members). I hope you'll consider coming on down to PACE Theater, 41 Union Street in Easthampton.

If you haven't seen me lately, I have tons of new and hilarious material. I feel pretty sure you'll enjoy the show.

Come if you want to.

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