's Thanksgiving MOTD 11/27/2008

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PASS THE...

Thursday, 27 November 2008

I learned some of my "aerobic moves" early in life. Those exercises consisted of turning my waist, my upper body and then reaching with my hands at the same time. And in my hands I'd be holding some "weights" to help keep my arms toned. And I'll bet a shiny silver dollar that many of you did this same exercise, too. This exercise has a name. It's called "Passing the Platter." O-h-h-h-h, and I learned how to do it best on Thanksgiving Day.

I told you about our dining room table yesterday. You remember, the one my father worked so hard on to mae look good. Well, today, I'm going to tell you all about the people who sat at that table with us each year. My mother and father would invite some neighbor friends of ours each year and they would also invite some of their showbiz friends who had no place to spend Thanksgiving. So they came to our house each year and I'm so happy they did.I don't know exactly know at what age I began passing the platter but I know it was early in my life. "Honey, pass me the asparagus-hollandaise, please." Oomph! Who knew a platter of asparagus could weigh so much?I'm telling you, I got in my workout at that dining room table. I passed the sliced turkey, the dressing, I passed the mashed potatoes, the gravy, the rolls and the butter. Oh, sometimes I felt like one of those horses on a a carousel! I'm telling you, I'd just about getting dizzy from passing all of those platters!And hey, passing the platters can be dangerous, too. How? Well, once one of those big platters of food passes under your nose enough times, you could be tempted to take a second helping, a third serving or even a fourth! I remember what my plate looked like after those platters passed me so many times. Why, it looked like one of the mountain ranges you'd see at Yellowstone National Park. I'm talking mountains and mountains...of food!

And after dinner, there was never anything left on my plate but the design in the plate! And yes, that would be after I had gone back to the turkey trough, again and again...and again! I'd watch my father's eyes get bigger and bigger every time I piled more and more food onto my plate.Well, I'm not a food-piler anymore. My plate no longer resembles a mountain range of food. In fact, today my plate of food looks pretty flat, sorta like the desert out by Palm Springs. Now I can guarantee that most of you will be sitting at a dining room table with family and friends or maybe you'll be out at a restaurant. And where ever you are, there will be some food passing going on and you're gonna have to pass those platters. But I want you to pass them only after you have put the right size serving on your own plate. Please be careful. You know those Thanksgiving meals are loaded with starches.So many appetizers are filled with carbs. Then there are the breads, the stuffing, the mashed potatoes or sweet potato souffle. And then there are even more starches in all of those desserts. So, like I said...be careful! Choose two dishes that really please you and let the others at the table stare at how good you're being at the table. And oh, make sure your water glass stays filled, too!

I told you yesterday that I was headed to New York City today. Well, this morning I'm headed to the airport for my flight over. I'll be spending Thanksgiving Day on the plane and later, I'll be in my hotel. I'll need to get to bed early because I have to get up at 2:30 in the morning. That's because I'm gonna be at the front door of Macy's on Herald Square in Manhattan handing out delicious Ocean Spray products to all those shoppers waiting in line for the big After-Thanksgiving holiday sale.And regardless of how cold it is, you can bet I'll be in my tank top and shorts. I do hope a lot of people hug me to help me stay warm. B-r-r-r-r! I wish you, your family and friends a...Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving Day! Love,