I always miss my family on Thanksgiving. Our "little" family of six lives in Seattle and we have no relatives living nearby to celebrate the holidays with. So, even after living here twelve years, it's not easy to get used to having holidays at home with just our family. For a long time, we traveled on the holidays to our family, but now they are so far away and we have to cross one to four mountain passes depending on where we're going, so the weather has often foiled our plans or canceled them altogether. We've made some valiant efforts, though, and even spent the night in a scary motel because we got caught on the wrong side of a closed mountain pass one year.
My family rarely visits us here. It's really a shame, because we love the holidays and we do it up nice. We always have a nice Thanksgiving dinner, a pretty table, a warm and inviting atmosphere. At Christmas we go all out with the decorations and my kids love Christmas more than anything, so traditions abound. It's a happy time that would be that much happier shared with our extended family.
I'm thankful that we have a "big" family. I used to think about how many kids I wanted and I always came back to the thought "how many is 'enough' sitting around the table at Thanksgiving?" Maybe that's a silly way to gauge family size, but I knew one or two kids wouldn't cut it. I wanted a big, bustling, noisy, chaotic celebration with lots of kids. So, I accomplished that. And I can't wait till there are grandchildren and spouses and more friends. I just love the big celebration.
When I was growing up, we didn't live around family very often, and we moved around a lot. So, we had our own big celebrations with friends. I don't really remember a Thanksgiving that wasn't "big." Now that I'm the one cooking, I'm happy to share with friends. And a few times, that's happened. But, mostly, our circle of friends has extended family living locally and it seems everywhere I turn, everyone has their own family to celebrate with. So, this year, with just myself, Jeff and the kids (minus Arlie, who will be in Spokane) it will feel "small." Not insignificant. Just quiet. My kids will leave after dinner to spend time with their dad and then it will be VERY quiet. I don't mind the quiet sometimes. With four kids, it's a rarity. But, for some reason, at the holidays, quiet feels lonely.
We always make the best of it, though. Last year, our power was out the entire day on Christmas. We had Jack in the Box burgers for dinner, because that's what was open, close by and cheap. It seemed really pathetic and we all agreed it was kind of a lame Christmas. Except for Jeff, who thought it was a grand adventure. He told stories of times when there was no electricity, and we all half-listened until our cell phones died and then we had to listen for real. If anything, it was a Christmas to remember.
I think one of the hardest things about this Thanksgiving is figuring out how much food to make. My mom once wrote me a ten-page missive on how to cook "her" Thanksgiving dinner, which I pretty much follow. Except that it says "Thanksgiving dinner for sixty or so..." and she wasn't kidding! Plus, this year my kids will go to their dad's for dessert so there goes my Thanksgiving fantasy of five or six different desserts. I can't really justify making three or four pies for "just us." So, I decided to make turkey-shaped sugar cookies and have the kids decorate them. Except I've pretty much run out of time and tomorrow Arlie leaves so there's really no point in trying to have a fun cookie decorating activity with all the kids. I also bought these adorable cupcake papers and picks with little pilgrims on them. But I'm not sure if I'll have time to make cupcakes with our full day tomorrow. And I'll be making other stuff on Thanksgiving day.....so........
Plus, there's this whole issue of the turkey. Last year, despite my careful hand washing and cooking techniques, I contracted camphylobacter, which is a heinous bacteria present in turkey that causes one to be sicker than they've ever been - for days and days! I missed the first four days of my new job due to this illness. The health department contacted me - twice! Apparently it's a nasty bugger. All I know is that it turned me off preparing a raw turkey FOREVER. I told Jeff I just can't do it anymore and so he decided this year he will do it. He wants to brine it and he came into the kitchen not long ago with a five gallon bucket from the garage. I said "You are not really going to brine the turkey in that are you?" and he said "Yes, I am. It's only ever had sanitizing solution in it." And all I could think was "chemical poisoning" and the thought that the turkey is just going to sit in some salty solution overnight and is it even going to be refrigerated? I think I'm just going to avoid turkey altogether this year. Besides, it's never been about the turkey for me. It's all about the sides.
Which, to be honest, since I'm kind of "blah" about Thanksgiving this year, won't be all that exciting. Mashed potatoes, to be sure, homemade. Gravy.......well, I don't know if this brined turkey will produce the drippings needed to make homemade gravy so I bought four jars of Heinz gravy to be safe. I have NO idea what it tastes like - I have never purchased store-bought gravy before. The stuffing is cornbread something or other from a box. Eh, who cares? Who even eats the stuffing? I sort of bought the ingredients for Waldorf salad but I forgot the celery. I have some fresh green beans and other veggies. Sweet potatoes - well yams - I do have. Onions. I'm sure it will be a tasty meal - I just don't care that much about it.
And since there won't be much in the way of dessert - especially if I don't have time to make the cupcakes - I bought two tiny frozen chocolate pies for Jeff and I to eat after the kids are gone. It was so "nice" of their dad to take them for dessert (guess who doesn't have to cook a big dinner?) and I'm certain they'll bolt before the dishes are done.
Honestly? I'd rather sleep in, eat snacks all day, and skip the whole thing.
I'm thankful for my warm house, my awesome kids, food to eat, and all the many, many blessings that have been bestowed upon me. I could just do without the dinner. Unless someone else is cooking..............
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Thursday, November 26, 2015
First time for everything.........
Today, for the first time ever, I ate in a restaurant for Thanksgiving. Mountain Man and I went to a local steakhouse where he ordered a steak with bleu cheese and bacon and I had pistachio-crusted salmon. Hey, at least I had garlic mashed potatoes! It was delicious and we topped it off with creme brulee and cheesecake with pumpkin drizzle. So, basically I bookended my day with pie, since our morning started off with a very early trip to the airport, followed by breakfast at Denny's nearby while we ensured our precious cargo actually made it airborne before we got all the way home (holiday travel is fickle). My pie at Denny's sucked so I only ate three bites. But, still, pie to start and end the day is never bad.
Except I'm on Weight Watchers so of course those indulgences are forbidden. But it's Thanksgiving so I'm giving myself a pass. Last night I was really hungry and wanted ice cream. As Jeff dug into the carton of coffee ice cream, I mentioned I'd really like a milkshake, but that I was out of points for the day. Licking the spoon, he yelled "Hold the line! Don't give up!" Can you tell he was watching "Gettysburg" just before his dessert? Needless to say, his Civil War motivation did little to quell my cravings, but I did not indulge and went to bed with my stomach growling.
Speaking of Civil War, since we just returned from our trip back East and having just visited Gettysburg, Antietam and other historic places, Jeff has been obsessed with watching movies and reading about these places. I guess we should have done our homework BEFORE the trip, but after is fine, too, since it's history, right? Still, he talks about it all the time. This morning, he was drawing imaginary fighting lines on the table at Denny's, explaining some strategy or other while I was busy texting Arlie at the airport. (I'm listening.......really...).
I remembered that I usually do some online shopping on Thanksgiving morning, but the crack-of-dawn trip to the airport kind of threw me off. Still, I logged on during the commute, and completed a few transactions. God bless smart phones!
When I got home I had a sudden urge to make this coffeecake I'd had once about 15 years ago. I have no idea what made me think of it again, but I picked up a can of cherry pie filling at the store just to make it so I looked for the ingredients. The first ingredient was Bisquick and I only had enough to make half the recipe, but that was fine since there were only four people in the house at the time. I was reminded that my box of Bisquick was from Costco, a place I have not ventured into for almost a year. I let my membership laspe, even! Gasp! But tomorrow I have to pick up my Christmas card that I ordered from Costco so I'm sure I'll have to renew my membership. If anything, I'll appreciate the ginormous packages of toilet paper because we go through that stuff like water.
I did some more online shopping today. What a cluster! It's so confusing to navigate all the black Friday specials (yes, it's Thursday, it just gets earlier and earlier each year) and it gives me a headache and anxiety trying to shop for four kids. Plus, one significant other and two extras we've acquired for the uncertain future. Yes, this year I have seven kids to shop for - all teens and young adults. I'm going to need a lot of Bailey's and Xanax to get through the season.
But today is about Thankfulness........and I'm truly thankful for everything in my life. I mean, I'm thankful every day - for my beautiful, but cluttered and often messy home, for my comfortable bed and the old electric blanket I found at grandpa's that still works great and keeps me so warm at night, for waking up with various kids under my roof, always happy to have them around for their goofiness, laughter and the way they amaze me every day with how smart they are. I'm thankful for food and flowers and my sweet old dog, and my lazy cats, and adventures with Mountain Man, and the fact that, even though not all Thanksgivings are full of family and friends and a turkey in the oven, a fruity adult beverage and the company of my husband are just as welcoming on a day we celebrate gratitude. I'm lucky.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Except I'm on Weight Watchers so of course those indulgences are forbidden. But it's Thanksgiving so I'm giving myself a pass. Last night I was really hungry and wanted ice cream. As Jeff dug into the carton of coffee ice cream, I mentioned I'd really like a milkshake, but that I was out of points for the day. Licking the spoon, he yelled "Hold the line! Don't give up!" Can you tell he was watching "Gettysburg" just before his dessert? Needless to say, his Civil War motivation did little to quell my cravings, but I did not indulge and went to bed with my stomach growling.
Speaking of Civil War, since we just returned from our trip back East and having just visited Gettysburg, Antietam and other historic places, Jeff has been obsessed with watching movies and reading about these places. I guess we should have done our homework BEFORE the trip, but after is fine, too, since it's history, right? Still, he talks about it all the time. This morning, he was drawing imaginary fighting lines on the table at Denny's, explaining some strategy or other while I was busy texting Arlie at the airport. (I'm listening.......really...).
I remembered that I usually do some online shopping on Thanksgiving morning, but the crack-of-dawn trip to the airport kind of threw me off. Still, I logged on during the commute, and completed a few transactions. God bless smart phones!
When I got home I had a sudden urge to make this coffeecake I'd had once about 15 years ago. I have no idea what made me think of it again, but I picked up a can of cherry pie filling at the store just to make it so I looked for the ingredients. The first ingredient was Bisquick and I only had enough to make half the recipe, but that was fine since there were only four people in the house at the time. I was reminded that my box of Bisquick was from Costco, a place I have not ventured into for almost a year. I let my membership laspe, even! Gasp! But tomorrow I have to pick up my Christmas card that I ordered from Costco so I'm sure I'll have to renew my membership. If anything, I'll appreciate the ginormous packages of toilet paper because we go through that stuff like water.
I did some more online shopping today. What a cluster! It's so confusing to navigate all the black Friday specials (yes, it's Thursday, it just gets earlier and earlier each year) and it gives me a headache and anxiety trying to shop for four kids. Plus, one significant other and two extras we've acquired for the uncertain future. Yes, this year I have seven kids to shop for - all teens and young adults. I'm going to need a lot of Bailey's and Xanax to get through the season.
But today is about Thankfulness........and I'm truly thankful for everything in my life. I mean, I'm thankful every day - for my beautiful, but cluttered and often messy home, for my comfortable bed and the old electric blanket I found at grandpa's that still works great and keeps me so warm at night, for waking up with various kids under my roof, always happy to have them around for their goofiness, laughter and the way they amaze me every day with how smart they are. I'm thankful for food and flowers and my sweet old dog, and my lazy cats, and adventures with Mountain Man, and the fact that, even though not all Thanksgivings are full of family and friends and a turkey in the oven, a fruity adult beverage and the company of my husband are just as welcoming on a day we celebrate gratitude. I'm lucky.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
The Un-Thanksgiving......
It's Thanksgiving eve and something is amiss. I did not spend hours in a frenzied store. I have not spent the evening baking pies. I will not get up early to put a turkey in the oven. You see, the offspring will be spending Thanksgiving at their other parents' houses. For the first time, Mountain Man and I will be spending Thanksgiving alone, and it's not as terrible as it sounds.
For one thing, it was my idea. Arlie has not been to see her mom since April so I booked her a ticket earlier this month so she could spend the long weekend visiting her Spokane family. I had a mild panic this evening when I could not only NOT find the email confirmation of her reservations, but also no record of ever paying for it. I began to question whether I'd lost my fool mind and never booked the ticket at all. A long day of driving over the pass in snow loomed ahead. But, joy! I found the reservation and she's checked in. The only downside is she leaves at 8 a.m. so there will be a VERY early morning trip to the airport.
The other kids will go to their dad's new house to celebrate their first Thanksgiving there. And so, that leaves Jeff and I with no plans. We entertained the idea of going to a restaurant - letting someone else cook sounded like a pretty great idea! But we delayed making reservations and so now, I'm afraid, everything is booked. We were also invited to a dear friend's mom's house, but Mountain Man is still holding out for a restaurant. I guess we could always walk in somewhere.
The other caveat is that two of the kids have barfed multiple times in the past 24 hours so we're still on barf watch. As in, who's next? The distinct possibility that one or more of us will wake up tomorrow feeling decidedly NOT like partaking in Thanksgiving dinner is high. So, better to lay low and not spread our potential germs anywhere (except maybe a restaurant? Sorry.)
Additionally, we've unexpectedly had house guests with an uncertain future and no timeline for checking out, so we have been strategizing how to handle that.
And, honestly, I'm completely fine with not cooking a big dinner. Or even eating one. We did "Friendsgiving" last weekend and that was MY kind of Thanksgiving. Yeah, it was work - we cooked a turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, a veggie dish......but the guests all brought contributions, everyone had a good time and we got to visit with people we don't see as often as we'd like. I feel like I got my Thanksgiving fix so I kept forgetting that tomorrow is the actual holiday.
The only thing I'm truly bummed about is all the desserts I'll miss. Pumpkin pie, cookies, pecan pie...but those aren't on my diet plan anyway. But, let's be honest, if I had some, I'd eat it.
It feels weird to not have any plans at all; weirder still that I orchestrated it. There was a time, not long ago, that I could not imagine not seeing my kids on a holiday. I do not enjoy sharing my kids. But life has a funny way of marching on, and they get older and busier and this will just be the first of many Thanksgivings that Mountain Man and I will be spending alone. Might as well get used to it! Heck, I'm falling asleep as I type this at 9 p.m. so a day full of peace, quiet and rest sounds pretty good to me. I'm officially old.
For one thing, it was my idea. Arlie has not been to see her mom since April so I booked her a ticket earlier this month so she could spend the long weekend visiting her Spokane family. I had a mild panic this evening when I could not only NOT find the email confirmation of her reservations, but also no record of ever paying for it. I began to question whether I'd lost my fool mind and never booked the ticket at all. A long day of driving over the pass in snow loomed ahead. But, joy! I found the reservation and she's checked in. The only downside is she leaves at 8 a.m. so there will be a VERY early morning trip to the airport.
The other kids will go to their dad's new house to celebrate their first Thanksgiving there. And so, that leaves Jeff and I with no plans. We entertained the idea of going to a restaurant - letting someone else cook sounded like a pretty great idea! But we delayed making reservations and so now, I'm afraid, everything is booked. We were also invited to a dear friend's mom's house, but Mountain Man is still holding out for a restaurant. I guess we could always walk in somewhere.
The other caveat is that two of the kids have barfed multiple times in the past 24 hours so we're still on barf watch. As in, who's next? The distinct possibility that one or more of us will wake up tomorrow feeling decidedly NOT like partaking in Thanksgiving dinner is high. So, better to lay low and not spread our potential germs anywhere (except maybe a restaurant? Sorry.)
Additionally, we've unexpectedly had house guests with an uncertain future and no timeline for checking out, so we have been strategizing how to handle that.
And, honestly, I'm completely fine with not cooking a big dinner. Or even eating one. We did "Friendsgiving" last weekend and that was MY kind of Thanksgiving. Yeah, it was work - we cooked a turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, a veggie dish......but the guests all brought contributions, everyone had a good time and we got to visit with people we don't see as often as we'd like. I feel like I got my Thanksgiving fix so I kept forgetting that tomorrow is the actual holiday.
The only thing I'm truly bummed about is all the desserts I'll miss. Pumpkin pie, cookies, pecan pie...but those aren't on my diet plan anyway. But, let's be honest, if I had some, I'd eat it.
It feels weird to not have any plans at all; weirder still that I orchestrated it. There was a time, not long ago, that I could not imagine not seeing my kids on a holiday. I do not enjoy sharing my kids. But life has a funny way of marching on, and they get older and busier and this will just be the first of many Thanksgivings that Mountain Man and I will be spending alone. Might as well get used to it! Heck, I'm falling asleep as I type this at 9 p.m. so a day full of peace, quiet and rest sounds pretty good to me. I'm officially old.
Sunday, November 1, 2015
November 1, 2015 and gray hair.......
It's National Blog Posting Month (NaNoBloPo) and National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). A couple of times I've registered for these challenges and failed. Who has time to write 50K words in a month? Who has time to blog every day?
So, this year I'll do something different. I'll SAY I'm going to blog every day, but I won't register for anything and I won't make any promises, so that if I fail, I haven't let anyone down. And, worst case scenario, I crank out a few blog posts, since my blog has been a little quiet lately.
So, why the "gray hair" in the title? Because today I washed away my grays. Except, they didn't all wash away. Damn it. I just did this two weeks ago. This is my life now - every two weeks, I get visible gray, no, WHITE hair at my roots and I have to "do my roots" again. EVERY TWO WEEKS! I'm so sick of this but I'm not ready to embrace my gray. NOT READY AT ALL. I've let it grow a few inches before and.....oh my gosh, it's scary. I mean, I can actually get a glimpse of what I will look like as an old lady and it frightens me. I'm 47. Maybe when I'm over 60 I'll cave to the gray, but not now. I just wish there was something that would prevent this from happening every two weeks. Does my hair really grow that fast? Do the gray roots just resist the color? I can't afford to see my hairdresser that often. I've pretty much stopped going because I have to take care of my roots every two weeks, so what's the point? Even when she does my hair, I see gray in two weeks. I hate it! After I colored, I decided I needed to cut and thin my hair too. Which basically just involves me cutting randomly and dragging the thinning shears through my hair. You can't tell if I did a bad job because my hair is so curly and thick. But you also can't tell if I did a good job because my hair is so curly and thick.
Yesterday was Halloween and we have leftover candy. Which is so bad because I don't even really like candy but since it's RIGHT THERE I've been eating it randomly. I mean, I pretty much never just buy a candy bar. But I'll eat five of the bite-size ones out of the Halloween bucket. Why? They're not even very good. Hopefully the kids will eliminate the excess calories by the end of the week. I'm trying to cut back on sugar but it's hard with all the candy, the soda we were gifted when we got "Boo-ed" the other night, and the SIX varieties of ice cream my husband bought when he went to the store for ONE half-gallon of vanilla because "it was one sale" (trust me, it was not a great sale).
Today was daylight savings time (FALL BACK!) so I got an extra hour of sleep, I guess. Except I got up at 5:30 a.m....on the one day I could sleep in. I put away all the Halloween decorations, put a roast in the crock pot, did all my laundry, planned (in detail) an upcoming trip, put up all the Thanksgiving decorations, dusted, and gave away stuff on my Buy Nothing site. It feels like 9 p.m. but it's only 6. And, true to form, I started panicking about the holidays. I mean, Thanksgiving is only four weeks away and Christmas is like one minute after that, so it's time to panic, right?
Planning holidays with older kids is tough. Everyone drives, has a job, lives their own life. It took us almost the whole month of October to plan a short trip to the pumpkin patch. We spent $70 on pumpkins we didn't even carve! What was the point? Thanksgiving is tough because, since we're a blended family, we have three households to consider. I booked a plane ticket for one kid to spend Thanksgiving with her mom, and figured the other three kids would be spending the holiday with their dad and his fiancee at their new house. This might actually be the first Thanksgiving I really do have tacos for dinner, since it will just be Jeff and I, and we can do whatever we want. We can't leave town because he's on call for work, so it might just be really low-key. It's bittersweet because there's nothing I love more than a big family Thanksgiving, but I won't miss the big family dinner because I'll just do it the weekend before.
Christmas is fun, but also a nightmare of logistics. Plus, every year I think we'll do something "different" and every year I end up buying too much, and it's all over in a matter of minutes. I much prefer all the fun activities leading up to Christmas. It's the "stuff" that gets me. Recently, all of my kids have produced boxes of "giveaway" items that included unopened Christmas gifts. How much do they really need? I think the whole holiday needs a major overhaul, especially as the kids get older. But what changes should I make?
These are the things on my mind on November 1. We'll see what the week brings!
So, this year I'll do something different. I'll SAY I'm going to blog every day, but I won't register for anything and I won't make any promises, so that if I fail, I haven't let anyone down. And, worst case scenario, I crank out a few blog posts, since my blog has been a little quiet lately.
So, why the "gray hair" in the title? Because today I washed away my grays. Except, they didn't all wash away. Damn it. I just did this two weeks ago. This is my life now - every two weeks, I get visible gray, no, WHITE hair at my roots and I have to "do my roots" again. EVERY TWO WEEKS! I'm so sick of this but I'm not ready to embrace my gray. NOT READY AT ALL. I've let it grow a few inches before and.....oh my gosh, it's scary. I mean, I can actually get a glimpse of what I will look like as an old lady and it frightens me. I'm 47. Maybe when I'm over 60 I'll cave to the gray, but not now. I just wish there was something that would prevent this from happening every two weeks. Does my hair really grow that fast? Do the gray roots just resist the color? I can't afford to see my hairdresser that often. I've pretty much stopped going because I have to take care of my roots every two weeks, so what's the point? Even when she does my hair, I see gray in two weeks. I hate it! After I colored, I decided I needed to cut and thin my hair too. Which basically just involves me cutting randomly and dragging the thinning shears through my hair. You can't tell if I did a bad job because my hair is so curly and thick. But you also can't tell if I did a good job because my hair is so curly and thick.
Yesterday was Halloween and we have leftover candy. Which is so bad because I don't even really like candy but since it's RIGHT THERE I've been eating it randomly. I mean, I pretty much never just buy a candy bar. But I'll eat five of the bite-size ones out of the Halloween bucket. Why? They're not even very good. Hopefully the kids will eliminate the excess calories by the end of the week. I'm trying to cut back on sugar but it's hard with all the candy, the soda we were gifted when we got "Boo-ed" the other night, and the SIX varieties of ice cream my husband bought when he went to the store for ONE half-gallon of vanilla because "it was one sale" (trust me, it was not a great sale).
Today was daylight savings time (FALL BACK!) so I got an extra hour of sleep, I guess. Except I got up at 5:30 a.m....on the one day I could sleep in. I put away all the Halloween decorations, put a roast in the crock pot, did all my laundry, planned (in detail) an upcoming trip, put up all the Thanksgiving decorations, dusted, and gave away stuff on my Buy Nothing site. It feels like 9 p.m. but it's only 6. And, true to form, I started panicking about the holidays. I mean, Thanksgiving is only four weeks away and Christmas is like one minute after that, so it's time to panic, right?
Planning holidays with older kids is tough. Everyone drives, has a job, lives their own life. It took us almost the whole month of October to plan a short trip to the pumpkin patch. We spent $70 on pumpkins we didn't even carve! What was the point? Thanksgiving is tough because, since we're a blended family, we have three households to consider. I booked a plane ticket for one kid to spend Thanksgiving with her mom, and figured the other three kids would be spending the holiday with their dad and his fiancee at their new house. This might actually be the first Thanksgiving I really do have tacos for dinner, since it will just be Jeff and I, and we can do whatever we want. We can't leave town because he's on call for work, so it might just be really low-key. It's bittersweet because there's nothing I love more than a big family Thanksgiving, but I won't miss the big family dinner because I'll just do it the weekend before.
Christmas is fun, but also a nightmare of logistics. Plus, every year I think we'll do something "different" and every year I end up buying too much, and it's all over in a matter of minutes. I much prefer all the fun activities leading up to Christmas. It's the "stuff" that gets me. Recently, all of my kids have produced boxes of "giveaway" items that included unopened Christmas gifts. How much do they really need? I think the whole holiday needs a major overhaul, especially as the kids get older. But what changes should I make?
These are the things on my mind on November 1. We'll see what the week brings!
Friday, November 23, 2012
Post-Thanksgiving........
Thanksgiving was yesterday and it was delicious and relaxing. It was a very laid-back day, minus the dinner prep, which, come to think of it, took about all day. So. The nice thing was, Harrison helped me a LOT. He made the sweet potatoes, the mashed potatoes and the stuffing. I taught him how to make gravy and it was nice to cook, side-by-side. I had expected the girls to be interested in learning the ins and outs of Thanksgiving dinner, but year after year it's Harrison who spends the day in the kitchen with me.
The meal turned out really great. Jeff brined the turkey and it was so delicious. Plus, the drippings made the gravy divine. I made homemade cranberries, and of course, the potatoes and stuffing, green beans and for dessert, pumpkin pie dip with vanilla wafers and graham crackers. We didn't have any pie because the kids were going to their dad's for dessert. The only bummer about that was that I didn't get to enjoy pie for breakfast, as I usually do the day after Thanksgiving.
I heard on the radio the other day that the tryptophan in turkey, that everyone attributes to the coma-like state we all fall into after Thanksgiving dinner, is actually no more than in any other meats, so the myth has been dispelled. But I disagree. I was SO TIRED by 7:30 p.m., I actually fell asleep in a chair, sitting up, with my laptop on my lap. The kids were gone so I just decided to go to bed. I slept until midnight when I woke up and lay awake for a couple of hours. But I went back to sleep and woke up wondering if I should head out to do some Black Friday shopping.
As a rule, I normally don't participate in Black Friday shopping, preferring instead to shop online on Thanksgiving day. Most all of the deals are there, and there's no standing in line! So, I did make a few purchases yesterday, but today I thought I might venture out, just to one store close to home, for the 6 hour sale. Jeff actually agreed to go with me (with no pleading, either!) so we headed out an hour before the sale was over. We found nearly everything on our list and got out of there in less than an hour! It was crowded but not crazy. I cannot believe some of the stories that come out of Black Friday shopping, so I'm glad we only ventured to one store and slept in instead of hitting the road at 4 a.m.
Then, I came home and washed all my cabinet fronts. After I took down all the Thanksgiving decorations. In preparation for putting up the Christmas decorations. For some reason, I really hate putting up decorations in anything but a clean house, so I'm busting my butt today to get the house cleaned up and prepped for the holiday deluge. We have about ten giant containers of Christmas decorations. Basically, our house looks like a Hallmark store at Christmas. But we love it. We love Christmas! And after the past few weeks of shopping, I've got a ton of presents to wrap already, which is also on my list for today. Along with crafting, all my laundry, ordering photo gifts, making my ugly Christmas sweater for a party, creating an art corner in the dining room for the girls to paint, and cleaning out a few cabinets. Because, you know, all those calories yesterday need to be burned.
But first, I'm icing my back. Because that cabinet washing really took it out of me. And that was only step 1. I still need to wipe them all down with Scott's Liquid Gold so they will shine like brand-new. Like the holidays!
The meal turned out really great. Jeff brined the turkey and it was so delicious. Plus, the drippings made the gravy divine. I made homemade cranberries, and of course, the potatoes and stuffing, green beans and for dessert, pumpkin pie dip with vanilla wafers and graham crackers. We didn't have any pie because the kids were going to their dad's for dessert. The only bummer about that was that I didn't get to enjoy pie for breakfast, as I usually do the day after Thanksgiving.
I heard on the radio the other day that the tryptophan in turkey, that everyone attributes to the coma-like state we all fall into after Thanksgiving dinner, is actually no more than in any other meats, so the myth has been dispelled. But I disagree. I was SO TIRED by 7:30 p.m., I actually fell asleep in a chair, sitting up, with my laptop on my lap. The kids were gone so I just decided to go to bed. I slept until midnight when I woke up and lay awake for a couple of hours. But I went back to sleep and woke up wondering if I should head out to do some Black Friday shopping.
As a rule, I normally don't participate in Black Friday shopping, preferring instead to shop online on Thanksgiving day. Most all of the deals are there, and there's no standing in line! So, I did make a few purchases yesterday, but today I thought I might venture out, just to one store close to home, for the 6 hour sale. Jeff actually agreed to go with me (with no pleading, either!) so we headed out an hour before the sale was over. We found nearly everything on our list and got out of there in less than an hour! It was crowded but not crazy. I cannot believe some of the stories that come out of Black Friday shopping, so I'm glad we only ventured to one store and slept in instead of hitting the road at 4 a.m.
Then, I came home and washed all my cabinet fronts. After I took down all the Thanksgiving decorations. In preparation for putting up the Christmas decorations. For some reason, I really hate putting up decorations in anything but a clean house, so I'm busting my butt today to get the house cleaned up and prepped for the holiday deluge. We have about ten giant containers of Christmas decorations. Basically, our house looks like a Hallmark store at Christmas. But we love it. We love Christmas! And after the past few weeks of shopping, I've got a ton of presents to wrap already, which is also on my list for today. Along with crafting, all my laundry, ordering photo gifts, making my ugly Christmas sweater for a party, creating an art corner in the dining room for the girls to paint, and cleaning out a few cabinets. Because, you know, all those calories yesterday need to be burned.
But first, I'm icing my back. Because that cabinet washing really took it out of me. And that was only step 1. I still need to wipe them all down with Scott's Liquid Gold so they will shine like brand-new. Like the holidays!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
I was RIGHT!
For all of you internet-searchers, you hypochondriac, Web-Md searchers. You, who seem to have every symptom listed under all fatal diseases, you who self-diagnose and then avoid the doctor because 1. you don't need to give them the $15 copay if you already know what you have, or 2. you're scared to find out you might be right. This post is for you.
I was right. I turned to the internet in my despair last week, sicker than I've ever been, to desperately try to find SOMETHING that made sense for the symptoms I was having. What on earth could be ailing me? And why wasn't I getting better? Being logical, and somewhat of a closet doctor wanna-be, I eliminated the most obviously WRONG things and started delving deeper into the strange and uncommon. And I hit pay dirt! I found my symptoms, exactly my symptoms, listed under an evil name: campylobacter. This is an insidious bacteria that one can become infected with in handling raw poultry (Thanksgiving dinner prep? Check!). Some people who come in contact with it never become sick. But for those who do, let's just say it might be the sickest you've ever felt. You might say "I'm dying" and you could be right, although only about 124 people a year actually die from this bacteria. Most people with this illness will get better in about ten days, but the average person will not be able to tolerate ten days of absolute misery, and will see a doctor. In severe cases (mine) antibiotics are needed to kill the bacteria (side note - I requested a zpac for my illness, the antibiotic known best to kill this bacteria. However, since my test results were not in, the doctor prescribed Cipro, which also kills salmonella. Turns out I needed the zpac so after five days on Cipro, I will now be on azithromyacin for five additional days. Shoulda listened to me, doc!).
Most people recover completely but some will develop arthritis, or, even more baffling, a rare nerve disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome which results in paralysis that lasts several weeks and requires intensive care. It is estimated that one in 1000 cases of campylobacteriosis results in this disease. I REALLY hope that does not happen to me. Worse, it takes several weeks after the illness for this to occur. So, "out of the woods" is a relative term and the effects of this illness can last a long, long time.
One of the most common ways to contract this illness is through cross-contamination from uncooked poultry to other foods. It only takes one drop of poultry juice to contaminate other food or utensils. I believe I contracted this while preparing Thanksgiving dinner. The really disturbing part is that I am fastidious about cross-contamination and food safety. Just ask my husband! I wash the tops of cans before I open them. I throw out food that's three or more days old. If anything is even slightly "off" I throw it out. I am a stickler for washing hands after handling meat and NEVER using the same cutting board for different foods unless it's been washed in the dishwasher. I wash knives and utensils between uses if I'm going to use them on another food product. I wash my hands CONSTANTLY when preparing meat. I scrub the sink with Comet after it's come in contact with raw meat. I wipe up meat juice spills with antibacterial wipes and/or bleach. I'm a stickler.
And yet, I got sick. I don't know how it happened. I followed all the precautions. The only thing I didn't do was wear rubber gloves when handling the turkey (which I will do in the future - IF I ever prepare another turkey - ick!). It's possible a knife my son was using to cut apples and fruit for a salad could have come close to a utensil I was using on the turkey. I don't know. But what I do know is that I got sick two days after Thanksgiving and was sick in bed for the next five days. I had no energy for anything, I ran a fever, I had cramps that were as painful as labor (and I can say this with authority because I've given birth unmedicated more than once!). I had nonstop diarrhea, nausea, and ate almost nothing for five days. I drank a gallon of Gatorade and couldn't get enough ice. The only good news was I lost ten pounds, but I would NOT recommend this as a weight-loss plan. I'm still recovering - most food still sounds gross to me, and I have very little energy.
The lesson here: one, sometimes you CAN diagnose yourself from the internet. Two, no matter how careful you are, you can still pick up a nasty bacteria even with the best and most careful preparation of food. And three, if it can happen to me, it can happen to you. BE CAREFUL! After this illness I am seriously considering becoming vegetarian. I'm not sure if I can ever prepare a turkey again. We might have to start a new tradition of having tacos on Thanksgiving. Bon apetit!
I was right. I turned to the internet in my despair last week, sicker than I've ever been, to desperately try to find SOMETHING that made sense for the symptoms I was having. What on earth could be ailing me? And why wasn't I getting better? Being logical, and somewhat of a closet doctor wanna-be, I eliminated the most obviously WRONG things and started delving deeper into the strange and uncommon. And I hit pay dirt! I found my symptoms, exactly my symptoms, listed under an evil name: campylobacter. This is an insidious bacteria that one can become infected with in handling raw poultry (Thanksgiving dinner prep? Check!). Some people who come in contact with it never become sick. But for those who do, let's just say it might be the sickest you've ever felt. You might say "I'm dying" and you could be right, although only about 124 people a year actually die from this bacteria. Most people with this illness will get better in about ten days, but the average person will not be able to tolerate ten days of absolute misery, and will see a doctor. In severe cases (mine) antibiotics are needed to kill the bacteria (side note - I requested a zpac for my illness, the antibiotic known best to kill this bacteria. However, since my test results were not in, the doctor prescribed Cipro, which also kills salmonella. Turns out I needed the zpac so after five days on Cipro, I will now be on azithromyacin for five additional days. Shoulda listened to me, doc!).
Most people recover completely but some will develop arthritis, or, even more baffling, a rare nerve disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome which results in paralysis that lasts several weeks and requires intensive care. It is estimated that one in 1000 cases of campylobacteriosis results in this disease. I REALLY hope that does not happen to me. Worse, it takes several weeks after the illness for this to occur. So, "out of the woods" is a relative term and the effects of this illness can last a long, long time.
One of the most common ways to contract this illness is through cross-contamination from uncooked poultry to other foods. It only takes one drop of poultry juice to contaminate other food or utensils. I believe I contracted this while preparing Thanksgiving dinner. The really disturbing part is that I am fastidious about cross-contamination and food safety. Just ask my husband! I wash the tops of cans before I open them. I throw out food that's three or more days old. If anything is even slightly "off" I throw it out. I am a stickler for washing hands after handling meat and NEVER using the same cutting board for different foods unless it's been washed in the dishwasher. I wash knives and utensils between uses if I'm going to use them on another food product. I wash my hands CONSTANTLY when preparing meat. I scrub the sink with Comet after it's come in contact with raw meat. I wipe up meat juice spills with antibacterial wipes and/or bleach. I'm a stickler.
And yet, I got sick. I don't know how it happened. I followed all the precautions. The only thing I didn't do was wear rubber gloves when handling the turkey (which I will do in the future - IF I ever prepare another turkey - ick!). It's possible a knife my son was using to cut apples and fruit for a salad could have come close to a utensil I was using on the turkey. I don't know. But what I do know is that I got sick two days after Thanksgiving and was sick in bed for the next five days. I had no energy for anything, I ran a fever, I had cramps that were as painful as labor (and I can say this with authority because I've given birth unmedicated more than once!). I had nonstop diarrhea, nausea, and ate almost nothing for five days. I drank a gallon of Gatorade and couldn't get enough ice. The only good news was I lost ten pounds, but I would NOT recommend this as a weight-loss plan. I'm still recovering - most food still sounds gross to me, and I have very little energy.
The lesson here: one, sometimes you CAN diagnose yourself from the internet. Two, no matter how careful you are, you can still pick up a nasty bacteria even with the best and most careful preparation of food. And three, if it can happen to me, it can happen to you. BE CAREFUL! After this illness I am seriously considering becoming vegetarian. I'm not sure if I can ever prepare a turkey again. We might have to start a new tradition of having tacos on Thanksgiving. Bon apetit!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Sick as a...........
So, it turns out I was sick. Sick as a....dog? I dunno - my dogs barf all the time so I don't really know what a sick dog does. All I know is I was as sick as I've EVER been. I missed all but Friday of work. Way to start a new job by taking four sick days your first four days. Stellar.
I went to the doctor. She said it could be this or that or.....basically she didn't know. So, she gave me anti-nausea drugs. Only I wasn't really nauseated, and the drugs said "may cause headache" and I already had a screaming headache so I didn't take them. I fished around the house and found some Vicodin from when Hayley had her appendectomy two years ago. That only took the edge off the headache but it never quite went away. It was more of a searing, stabbing pain that took my breath away, followed by intense pressure in my head. The fever of 101 didn't help, and neither did throwing up on Monday night but thank God that was only once. And my stomach was empty. I have a serious aversion to vomiting. SERIOUS. I'd sell my soul to the Devil not to vomit. EVER. To me, it's the most out-of-control, overwhelming, aliens-are-taking-over-my-body feeling in the world. Right up there with labor and delivery of a baby, which is another time your body has a mind of its own. Well, you know what I mean. Obviously I did not suffer from morning sickness when I was pregnant, or I'd have only had one child. That's how much I hate to throw up.
Yep, it was just me and frequent, frequent trips to the bathroom. Like every ten minutes. All day and night. This is where buying quality toilet paper really pays off. Only I had inferior quality toilet paper. You know that commercial where the women talk about "getting real" about what goes on in the bathroom? Well, that shit got real. For real. And I sure wished I'd bought quilted Northern. Just sayin'.
And then there were the cramps that said "remember labor? wasn't that fun? let's do it again!" Holy moly! I thought I was going to be on an episode of "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" where I went to the bathroom and delivered an 8 lb human. It didn't help that I watched a marathon of that show while I was in misery. Just watching woman fake labor when your own body is wracked with pains is stupid. I figured that out after about two hours and finally turned it off.
And of course I tuned into the internet to self-diagnose after several days of not eating, drinking gallons of Gatorade, aching all over, running a fever, and having absolutely no energy. And what I found was interesting. Here's what I diagnosed myself with: campylobacteriosis. Big word, but it's basically a bacteria you can get infected with when handling raw poultry. Well, I wrestled a 20 lb turkey on Thanksgiving, and even though I'm always super paranoid about food-borne illness and very careful to not cross-contaminate things when cooking, it's possible that the tiniest drop of raw turkey juice contaminated me or something I touched, and caused this infection. And the symptoms were all there, all in the right time frame, AND no one else in my family got sick. If I had a stomach bug, surely at least one other person would have become ill in a week. But it was just me. And, once I got antibiotics on board, I started feeling better. If it was a virus, I'd still be sick.
So.......we'll see if I'm right. I won't have the test results for a few days, but I'm putting my money on the turkey poisoning. And if I'm right, we may never have turkey for Thanksgiving again. Or at least I'm not making it!
The antibiotics I got yesterday seemed to have turned things right around. It did take until this morning to feel human again, and just getting ready for work exhausted me. Working was both energizing and exhausting and I made it through the day without even a nap but I skipped a party tonight because I'm still dragging. I know it will take a few days to get my energy back, especially since I've had VERY little food during this whole ordeal. A few graham crackers, a little applesauce. I lost ten pounds. The only bonus about this illness for sure.
And today I actually felt HUNGRY again. But it came and went. It's always hard to start eating again when you haven't for days and nothing sounds good. Tonight the kids asked to order pizza and we did and that was good! I only had one piece, but it hit the spot. And my tummy started growling again around 9:30 p.m. and wouldn't you know it, I was hungry again? Only this time homemade chocolate chip cookies sounded divine. It took a lot of eyelash batting and pouting and playing the sick card but I got my husband to make them! Now I just can't wait for them to come out of the oven! Nothing cures what ails you like homemade love in the form of a warm cookie. And nothing makes you appreciate your health like feeling good again after being so sick. What a week!
I went to the doctor. She said it could be this or that or.....basically she didn't know. So, she gave me anti-nausea drugs. Only I wasn't really nauseated, and the drugs said "may cause headache" and I already had a screaming headache so I didn't take them. I fished around the house and found some Vicodin from when Hayley had her appendectomy two years ago. That only took the edge off the headache but it never quite went away. It was more of a searing, stabbing pain that took my breath away, followed by intense pressure in my head. The fever of 101 didn't help, and neither did throwing up on Monday night but thank God that was only once. And my stomach was empty. I have a serious aversion to vomiting. SERIOUS. I'd sell my soul to the Devil not to vomit. EVER. To me, it's the most out-of-control, overwhelming, aliens-are-taking-over-my-body feeling in the world. Right up there with labor and delivery of a baby, which is another time your body has a mind of its own. Well, you know what I mean. Obviously I did not suffer from morning sickness when I was pregnant, or I'd have only had one child. That's how much I hate to throw up.
Yep, it was just me and frequent, frequent trips to the bathroom. Like every ten minutes. All day and night. This is where buying quality toilet paper really pays off. Only I had inferior quality toilet paper. You know that commercial where the women talk about "getting real" about what goes on in the bathroom? Well, that shit got real. For real. And I sure wished I'd bought quilted Northern. Just sayin'.
And then there were the cramps that said "remember labor? wasn't that fun? let's do it again!" Holy moly! I thought I was going to be on an episode of "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" where I went to the bathroom and delivered an 8 lb human. It didn't help that I watched a marathon of that show while I was in misery. Just watching woman fake labor when your own body is wracked with pains is stupid. I figured that out after about two hours and finally turned it off.
And of course I tuned into the internet to self-diagnose after several days of not eating, drinking gallons of Gatorade, aching all over, running a fever, and having absolutely no energy. And what I found was interesting. Here's what I diagnosed myself with: campylobacteriosis. Big word, but it's basically a bacteria you can get infected with when handling raw poultry. Well, I wrestled a 20 lb turkey on Thanksgiving, and even though I'm always super paranoid about food-borne illness and very careful to not cross-contaminate things when cooking, it's possible that the tiniest drop of raw turkey juice contaminated me or something I touched, and caused this infection. And the symptoms were all there, all in the right time frame, AND no one else in my family got sick. If I had a stomach bug, surely at least one other person would have become ill in a week. But it was just me. And, once I got antibiotics on board, I started feeling better. If it was a virus, I'd still be sick.
So.......we'll see if I'm right. I won't have the test results for a few days, but I'm putting my money on the turkey poisoning. And if I'm right, we may never have turkey for Thanksgiving again. Or at least I'm not making it!
The antibiotics I got yesterday seemed to have turned things right around. It did take until this morning to feel human again, and just getting ready for work exhausted me. Working was both energizing and exhausting and I made it through the day without even a nap but I skipped a party tonight because I'm still dragging. I know it will take a few days to get my energy back, especially since I've had VERY little food during this whole ordeal. A few graham crackers, a little applesauce. I lost ten pounds. The only bonus about this illness for sure.
And today I actually felt HUNGRY again. But it came and went. It's always hard to start eating again when you haven't for days and nothing sounds good. Tonight the kids asked to order pizza and we did and that was good! I only had one piece, but it hit the spot. And my tummy started growling again around 9:30 p.m. and wouldn't you know it, I was hungry again? Only this time homemade chocolate chip cookies sounded divine. It took a lot of eyelash batting and pouting and playing the sick card but I got my husband to make them! Now I just can't wait for them to come out of the oven! Nothing cures what ails you like homemade love in the form of a warm cookie. And nothing makes you appreciate your health like feeling good again after being so sick. What a week!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Blarg.........
'Tis the eve before the dreaded Monday. Not just any Monday but the Monday after the long Thanksgiving weekend. Thanksgiving day was lovely; despite the fact that I created the entire dinner on my own with little help from anyone (but thanks, Harrison, for helping a little bit!). I had actually been dreading making the whole big meal. I'm not great at getting a meal to come together at the right time and have everything hot and ready, especially a meal with so many components. I wasn't really all that excited for Thanksgiving anyway - it was just us and my ex, so it's not like we were expecting company. In fact, the house was quite messy. But as the day wore on, I actually kind of enjoyed doing all that work, spending hours in the kitchen creating what turned out to be a lovely and delicious meal. I even whipped up a couple of pies, which I had not planned to do, and had already purchased some frozen pies. And although they were really lopsided and strange-looking, they tasted good . At the last minute I even managed to create a pretty tablescape with candles and fall decorations.
But then.........the rest of the weekend was just pure laziness. Sleeping in, laying about, eating leftovers. And more leftovers. And more leftovers. In fact, I've had nothing but turkey, sweet potatoes, gravy, mashed potatoes and stuffing the entire weekend. I'm in serious need of a pizza. Or a salad. Or anything not containing turkey.
Adding to the blahs was the fact that it was pretty rainy all weekend (well, except for Friday, when it was beautiful and sunny and I begged my husband to get out in the sun but we didn't even leave the house until the sun was almost set!). We didn't participate in any Black Friday frenzy; I am fundamentally opposed to shopping on Black Friday unless it's online, but we did return a few things to Home Depot and Fred Meyer. Exciting stuff, I tell you.
I did get some things organized and weeded out and found two awesome new crafts to do which might turn into super cute Christmas presents (should I ever find the time, sigh!). My husband spent an entire day in bed, retreating downstairs only to fetch food and sodas. I did some online shopping, but we're broke so I kept having to transfer money from savings to cover my online purchases. Argh. Hate Christmas when there's no money. Also, the few days before Thanksgiving I had done some shopping after work and was woefully inconsiderate of the budget (whatever that is) so I spent an hour or so adding up what I spent so far (gulp!).
The kids are absolutely giddy over Christmas and "can't wait", and while I do love the season, it's hard to share their excitement when I'm the one shopping, fretting over the money, wrapping, preparing, baking, attending, coordinating and executing. Christmas is a busy, busy time.
We took our annual "Christmas picture" and, as usual, I turned into Sgt. Commander Mom and ordered everyone around and got irritated at the general lack of compliance that comes with taking Christmas pictures. Normally my kids are such hams. But only when they are the single subject in the picture. When it's a group photo? All bets are off. I honestly don't know why I even bother, but once a year I'd like a picture of all of us together. In the end, one of our goofiest poses made it onto the Christmas card, along with a few others, because, as my eldest put it, "that's more like our real family". It's true. We are nuts.
On Thanksgiving my son did a very graphic rendition of "I'm Sexy and I Know It", imitating the music video complete with pelvic thrusts and "wiggle, wiggle". It was totally inappropriate and over-the-top hysterical. I won't post it here because we've had our share of "stolen" pictures and I don't want it to get into the wrong hands, but if you're friends with me on Facebook, you can watch it and laugh, too. Or be appalled. Either way.
Today I woke up and my whole body hurt. My skin, my hair, everything. Flu? Not sure. I don't have a fever or stomach upset. But all of my muscles ache and I'm uncomfortable, which has made for a very unproductive day. I did manage to take my college daughter to coffee before she made the drive back to school. And I worried excessively, as I often do, over her driving across the mountain pass in icky weather. Jeff made the same trek about two hours later to pick up daughter number three and is on his way back now. I worry. I always worry.
And tomorrow is my first "official" day at my new job. I've already been there three days but technically as a "sub" so tomorrow is my first day on the payroll as a regular employee. I'm excited but anxious because I'm feeling so blah and I hope I feel better by tomorrow so I can greet the kids with enthusiasm. I am really excited about my new job.
I wonder what it is about "vacation" weekends that makes us so lazy? If we had family and friends in town visiting I'm sure we would have done a number of fun things. But it was just us. The kids were off doing their own things, one was out of town, and Jeff and I, well......we just were lazy. It's nice to just stay home sometimes and putter around and do stuff, but somehow this long weekend was a little TOO much relaxing. Jeff wanted to go fishing, but his buddies backed out. I wanted to go shopping but I ran out of money! But we still could have done any number of fun things for free, even just taking a walk in the sunshine.
Today I went through the holiday guide in the paper and made a list of fun (and free!) things we could do in the coming weeks to get in the holiday spirit. Currently my kids are cleaning in preparation for the indoor holiday decorations to come out (Jeff, bless his heart, already did the outdoor ones last week). Maybe once I see the stockings or our sad little $12 artificial tree we've been meaning to replace each year but can never justify the cost (despite the fact that it broke last year and fell on my HEAD), or the window clings we've had since the kids were babies in the windows, or the Western-themed Santa that dances and sings "Holly Jolly Christmas", or my Nativity set that doesn't match anything but I love anyway on the piano, maybe then I'll be more in the Christmas spirit.
Or maybe when I make that first batch of homemade Bailey's...........God bless us, one and all!
But then.........the rest of the weekend was just pure laziness. Sleeping in, laying about, eating leftovers. And more leftovers. And more leftovers. In fact, I've had nothing but turkey, sweet potatoes, gravy, mashed potatoes and stuffing the entire weekend. I'm in serious need of a pizza. Or a salad. Or anything not containing turkey.
Adding to the blahs was the fact that it was pretty rainy all weekend (well, except for Friday, when it was beautiful and sunny and I begged my husband to get out in the sun but we didn't even leave the house until the sun was almost set!). We didn't participate in any Black Friday frenzy; I am fundamentally opposed to shopping on Black Friday unless it's online, but we did return a few things to Home Depot and Fred Meyer. Exciting stuff, I tell you.
I did get some things organized and weeded out and found two awesome new crafts to do which might turn into super cute Christmas presents (should I ever find the time, sigh!). My husband spent an entire day in bed, retreating downstairs only to fetch food and sodas. I did some online shopping, but we're broke so I kept having to transfer money from savings to cover my online purchases. Argh. Hate Christmas when there's no money. Also, the few days before Thanksgiving I had done some shopping after work and was woefully inconsiderate of the budget (whatever that is) so I spent an hour or so adding up what I spent so far (gulp!).
The kids are absolutely giddy over Christmas and "can't wait", and while I do love the season, it's hard to share their excitement when I'm the one shopping, fretting over the money, wrapping, preparing, baking, attending, coordinating and executing. Christmas is a busy, busy time.
We took our annual "Christmas picture" and, as usual, I turned into Sgt. Commander Mom and ordered everyone around and got irritated at the general lack of compliance that comes with taking Christmas pictures. Normally my kids are such hams. But only when they are the single subject in the picture. When it's a group photo? All bets are off. I honestly don't know why I even bother, but once a year I'd like a picture of all of us together. In the end, one of our goofiest poses made it onto the Christmas card, along with a few others, because, as my eldest put it, "that's more like our real family". It's true. We are nuts.
On Thanksgiving my son did a very graphic rendition of "I'm Sexy and I Know It", imitating the music video complete with pelvic thrusts and "wiggle, wiggle". It was totally inappropriate and over-the-top hysterical. I won't post it here because we've had our share of "stolen" pictures and I don't want it to get into the wrong hands, but if you're friends with me on Facebook, you can watch it and laugh, too. Or be appalled. Either way.
Today I woke up and my whole body hurt. My skin, my hair, everything. Flu? Not sure. I don't have a fever or stomach upset. But all of my muscles ache and I'm uncomfortable, which has made for a very unproductive day. I did manage to take my college daughter to coffee before she made the drive back to school. And I worried excessively, as I often do, over her driving across the mountain pass in icky weather. Jeff made the same trek about two hours later to pick up daughter number three and is on his way back now. I worry. I always worry.
And tomorrow is my first "official" day at my new job. I've already been there three days but technically as a "sub" so tomorrow is my first day on the payroll as a regular employee. I'm excited but anxious because I'm feeling so blah and I hope I feel better by tomorrow so I can greet the kids with enthusiasm. I am really excited about my new job.
I wonder what it is about "vacation" weekends that makes us so lazy? If we had family and friends in town visiting I'm sure we would have done a number of fun things. But it was just us. The kids were off doing their own things, one was out of town, and Jeff and I, well......we just were lazy. It's nice to just stay home sometimes and putter around and do stuff, but somehow this long weekend was a little TOO much relaxing. Jeff wanted to go fishing, but his buddies backed out. I wanted to go shopping but I ran out of money! But we still could have done any number of fun things for free, even just taking a walk in the sunshine.
Today I went through the holiday guide in the paper and made a list of fun (and free!) things we could do in the coming weeks to get in the holiday spirit. Currently my kids are cleaning in preparation for the indoor holiday decorations to come out (Jeff, bless his heart, already did the outdoor ones last week). Maybe once I see the stockings or our sad little $12 artificial tree we've been meaning to replace each year but can never justify the cost (despite the fact that it broke last year and fell on my HEAD), or the window clings we've had since the kids were babies in the windows, or the Western-themed Santa that dances and sings "Holly Jolly Christmas", or my Nativity set that doesn't match anything but I love anyway on the piano, maybe then I'll be more in the Christmas spirit.
Or maybe when I make that first batch of homemade Bailey's...........God bless us, one and all!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Thanksgiving eve........
'Tis the eve of Thanksgiving and I have not prepared one pie, chopped a single onion, unwrapped one stick of butter. My turkey is still partially frozen. I know all you Martha Stewart wannabes have already made your pies in advance, made your own bread for stuffing last week, starched your table linens, and painstakingly prepared adorable centerpieces for the table out of fall leaves and pine cones. Well, la-di-dah for you.
I'm tired and I have a new job and I've been doing a lot of Christmas shopping these past few days. I bought all my Thanksgiving dinner supplies last Sunday so everything is here in the house. I'm sure I'll have some semblance of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans and homemade rolls put together by tomorrow around dinner time. I might make a dessert if I have time, but if not, I was proactive and bought two pies. They're in the freezer.
I never understood why my mother got up before dawn on Thanksgiving day to put the turkey in. A turkey does not take all day to cook. But we always ate really early on Thanksgiving day. Why? Why, if it's called "Thanksgiving dinner" did we eat at 2 in the afternoon? And who decided we had to have all those traditional foods anyway? I love me some mashed 'tatoes and gravy, and sweet potatoes are delish, but honestly, the turkey is just "eh" and stuffing is gross.
I think all festive holiday meals should include "feast", my favorite dinner of all time. Feast is when you have a bunch of different foods. Ideally it would include several different appetizers, dips and fancy cheeses and crackers. Then, there would be all manner of fruits and veggies arranged in colorful displays on platters. There might be chocolate to dip the fruit in, and some savory dips for the veggies. In short, there would be many choices, some sweet, some savory, all delicious. Who wants to cook and clean all day for one heavy, fatty, greasy meal that leaves you bloated and tired?
I guess I'd feel differently if we were having company. Then, I'd feel obligated to clean, and set the table all fancy and serve up a feast. But it's "just us" and I'd rather just enjoy time with my family than cook. I don't like to cook anyway. I love preparing appetizers and desserts, but preparing an entire meal feels like drudgery to me. Especially one that involves a twenty pound turkey. I say the new Thanksgiving dinner is this: shrimp platter with cocktail sauce, Little Smokies in barbeque sauce, sausage balls, something made with Pillsbury crescent rolls, Beecher's Flagship cheese and fancy crackers, fruits (perhaps something fancy - figs?), veggies and dips, bruschetta, parmesan crisps. Dessert would be chocolate fondue with fruits and cake to dip, homemade chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter balls, and mini pumpkin pies. Everything would be served on super cute paper plates with matching napkins and cups. We'd sit around and watch old family videos, look through photo albums, play some games, maybe watch a movie. We'd take lots of pictures, and get in our jammies early and watch TV. That would be a day I look forward to. Not one that involves taking a gizzard out of a turkey. Maybe it's time for a new tradition..........
I'm tired and I have a new job and I've been doing a lot of Christmas shopping these past few days. I bought all my Thanksgiving dinner supplies last Sunday so everything is here in the house. I'm sure I'll have some semblance of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans and homemade rolls put together by tomorrow around dinner time. I might make a dessert if I have time, but if not, I was proactive and bought two pies. They're in the freezer.
I never understood why my mother got up before dawn on Thanksgiving day to put the turkey in. A turkey does not take all day to cook. But we always ate really early on Thanksgiving day. Why? Why, if it's called "Thanksgiving dinner" did we eat at 2 in the afternoon? And who decided we had to have all those traditional foods anyway? I love me some mashed 'tatoes and gravy, and sweet potatoes are delish, but honestly, the turkey is just "eh" and stuffing is gross.
I think all festive holiday meals should include "feast", my favorite dinner of all time. Feast is when you have a bunch of different foods. Ideally it would include several different appetizers, dips and fancy cheeses and crackers. Then, there would be all manner of fruits and veggies arranged in colorful displays on platters. There might be chocolate to dip the fruit in, and some savory dips for the veggies. In short, there would be many choices, some sweet, some savory, all delicious. Who wants to cook and clean all day for one heavy, fatty, greasy meal that leaves you bloated and tired?
I guess I'd feel differently if we were having company. Then, I'd feel obligated to clean, and set the table all fancy and serve up a feast. But it's "just us" and I'd rather just enjoy time with my family than cook. I don't like to cook anyway. I love preparing appetizers and desserts, but preparing an entire meal feels like drudgery to me. Especially one that involves a twenty pound turkey. I say the new Thanksgiving dinner is this: shrimp platter with cocktail sauce, Little Smokies in barbeque sauce, sausage balls, something made with Pillsbury crescent rolls, Beecher's Flagship cheese and fancy crackers, fruits (perhaps something fancy - figs?), veggies and dips, bruschetta, parmesan crisps. Dessert would be chocolate fondue with fruits and cake to dip, homemade chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter balls, and mini pumpkin pies. Everything would be served on super cute paper plates with matching napkins and cups. We'd sit around and watch old family videos, look through photo albums, play some games, maybe watch a movie. We'd take lots of pictures, and get in our jammies early and watch TV. That would be a day I look forward to. Not one that involves taking a gizzard out of a turkey. Maybe it's time for a new tradition..........
Friday, November 11, 2011
Signs that the holidays are near..........
It's unavoidable - the Halloween decorations in stores in August leading up to.....Christmas. What happened to Thanksgiving? No one cares about Thanksgiving. Poor Thanksgiving tries it's hardest with the turkey and fixings, the cozy family feeling, the month or so of gratitude posts on Facebook. But Thanksgiving fairly wobbles beneath the trappings of Christmas and can barely stand on it's own turkey legs under the weight of the holiday decorations, commercials, and sparkling lights. I mean, when did you last see a strand of Turkey lights? Pilgrim costumes in stores? A craft class at Micheal's on how to make an authentic Indian headdress?
Last week I went to the mall with my kids. Walking into Bath and Body Works, my daughter started hyperventilating. Literally. The store was dripping with holiday decorations; giant ornaments hanging from the ceiling, the overpowering scents of peppermint and spruce. Even my "non-shopping" daughter was so overwhelmed with the holiday spirit she uttered the words "I'm so glad we came to the mall!" I admit I bought a couple of candles (Winter Cabin and Winter Garland) and was besotted with a color-changing nightlight/air freshener ("It's only $15! We should get it!").
Then, tonight, as we drove out of the neighborhood on our way to the mall again (this time to purchase a very non-holiday-ish vacuum cleaner), I was shocked, no stunned, no appalled, to see that a neighbor has already put up their Christmas lights and decorations. It's November 11. Veteran's Day, no doubt. I realize there are not a lot of exciting decorations in the retail world for Thanksgiving. But I have seasonal candles in my house, my front porch is decorated with pumpkins and fall leaves and scarecrows and I have Pilgrim and turkey window clings. It's homey. And warm. And Thanksgiving-ish.
I understand that Christmas is exciting when you're a child. Even as an adult, I look forward to many things about the Christmas season. But to build Christmas up so huge is bound to lead to disappointment. My kids are so excited about Christmas they can barely contain themselves. They've made lists. One of them has a pre-lit Christmas tree in her room that's been up since Halloween. To each his (or her) own. But I wonder if the hype about Christmas is the right kind of hype.
I love to be festive, and you can bet the weekend of Thanksgiving our house will transform from turkeys and pilgrims to red, white and green and everything in between. We give the Griswolds a run for their money. Every Christmas I have big plans: make cookies with the kids (usually happens - sometimes on Christmas eve), make a beautiful handmade card (haha, never happens - Costco to the rescue!), take the kids to a Christmas show; the Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol, Radio City Christmas Spectacular (happens about once every four years), put really creative stuff in the Advent House (never get creative, put candy in instead), make Christmas crafts (hasn't happened in years but I've already got a box started), make delicious homemade goodies for friends and neighbors (usually happens, but never what I originally planned), spend many cozy evenings watching traditional Christmas movies wearing Christmas pajamas, sipping hot cocoa with the kids (happens maybe once - if we're lucky). The point is, we build and build and build the excitement and in the end, it's just one day.
From a religious standpoint, that might sound like blasphemy - just one day? It's the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. But do we, really? I haven't been to church on Christmas in years. I kind of like church on Christmas. It's so festive. I know for some families, Christmas is a time to strengthen their belief and renew the spirit of the miracle of Christmas. And that's great. But when it comes right down to it, the birth of our Savior has nothing to do with the newest iPod touch or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. How did we get here?
I think the point is to savor the moment. Instead of rushing headlong into the holidays, why not savor the most mundane of months? Why not give November it's due? After all, November is when leaves swirl and turn in all of their garnet glory. The air is heavier with the smell of earth and leaf and change. The days are cooler - why not relish in the glory of wearing that first cozy sweater? The furnace is turned on, the fireplace stoked. Tea and coffee warm our tummies and hands. Dark comes earlier; a chance to cocoon inside a bit longer. Candlelight casts shadows making our old familiar house take on a new comfort. A turkey roasts, pies are baked, and we reflect on the things we're most grateful for. November is about simple pleasures. Don't rush it.
Last week I went to the mall with my kids. Walking into Bath and Body Works, my daughter started hyperventilating. Literally. The store was dripping with holiday decorations; giant ornaments hanging from the ceiling, the overpowering scents of peppermint and spruce. Even my "non-shopping" daughter was so overwhelmed with the holiday spirit she uttered the words "I'm so glad we came to the mall!" I admit I bought a couple of candles (Winter Cabin and Winter Garland) and was besotted with a color-changing nightlight/air freshener ("It's only $15! We should get it!").
Then, tonight, as we drove out of the neighborhood on our way to the mall again (this time to purchase a very non-holiday-ish vacuum cleaner), I was shocked, no stunned, no appalled, to see that a neighbor has already put up their Christmas lights and decorations. It's November 11. Veteran's Day, no doubt. I realize there are not a lot of exciting decorations in the retail world for Thanksgiving. But I have seasonal candles in my house, my front porch is decorated with pumpkins and fall leaves and scarecrows and I have Pilgrim and turkey window clings. It's homey. And warm. And Thanksgiving-ish.
I understand that Christmas is exciting when you're a child. Even as an adult, I look forward to many things about the Christmas season. But to build Christmas up so huge is bound to lead to disappointment. My kids are so excited about Christmas they can barely contain themselves. They've made lists. One of them has a pre-lit Christmas tree in her room that's been up since Halloween. To each his (or her) own. But I wonder if the hype about Christmas is the right kind of hype.
I love to be festive, and you can bet the weekend of Thanksgiving our house will transform from turkeys and pilgrims to red, white and green and everything in between. We give the Griswolds a run for their money. Every Christmas I have big plans: make cookies with the kids (usually happens - sometimes on Christmas eve), make a beautiful handmade card (haha, never happens - Costco to the rescue!), take the kids to a Christmas show; the Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol, Radio City Christmas Spectacular (happens about once every four years), put really creative stuff in the Advent House (never get creative, put candy in instead), make Christmas crafts (hasn't happened in years but I've already got a box started), make delicious homemade goodies for friends and neighbors (usually happens, but never what I originally planned), spend many cozy evenings watching traditional Christmas movies wearing Christmas pajamas, sipping hot cocoa with the kids (happens maybe once - if we're lucky). The point is, we build and build and build the excitement and in the end, it's just one day.
From a religious standpoint, that might sound like blasphemy - just one day? It's the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. But do we, really? I haven't been to church on Christmas in years. I kind of like church on Christmas. It's so festive. I know for some families, Christmas is a time to strengthen their belief and renew the spirit of the miracle of Christmas. And that's great. But when it comes right down to it, the birth of our Savior has nothing to do with the newest iPod touch or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. How did we get here?
I think the point is to savor the moment. Instead of rushing headlong into the holidays, why not savor the most mundane of months? Why not give November it's due? After all, November is when leaves swirl and turn in all of their garnet glory. The air is heavier with the smell of earth and leaf and change. The days are cooler - why not relish in the glory of wearing that first cozy sweater? The furnace is turned on, the fireplace stoked. Tea and coffee warm our tummies and hands. Dark comes earlier; a chance to cocoon inside a bit longer. Candlelight casts shadows making our old familiar house take on a new comfort. A turkey roasts, pies are baked, and we reflect on the things we're most grateful for. November is about simple pleasures. Don't rush it.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving 2009!
Good dog, Shade!
Sisters!
Hayley, Mommy, Hannah
Mommy and Hannah
Hayley and Mommy
Hannah and her cool new argyle sweater!
Hayley in her new outfit
Hannah, Suzanne, Doug, Hayley and Harrison in a pile!
The kids and Aunt Suzanne
Doug and the kids
Doug and the girls
Hannah and her daddy
Doug and his sister Suzanne
Hayely with a glass of sparkling cider and her newfound passion - the guitar!
Jeff and I in our traditional self portrait!
Jeff and the dogs watching football!
My pretty Thanksgiving table
Arlie made the menus, Hayley made the name tags!
Hannah the piano girl!
All fourteeen of us fit around the tables!
We had the best Thanksgiving! For the first time since our divorce, the kids had both mommy and daddy at dinner together, and also got the bonus of seeing Aunt Suzanne after many years! Plus, we had our "family" of the West and Westwood families, Amy, Michele and Julius, and Jody, Rome and Ivy. Jeff and I got up early to get the turkeys going. I baked an 18 lb turkey in the oven (traditional) and Jeff smoked a 12 lb. turkey with a 2 lb. pheasant inside in the smoker (definitely NOT traditional, but delicious!). Jeff had just hunted the pheasant yesterday so they were fresh and really delicious smoked. I served some of that with cream cheese and homemade cranberry sauce as an appetizer and it was amazing! We had lots of snacks before dinner and dinner itself was delicious. I don't get to cook much since it's Jeff's passion, but I did the turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy (and my gravy WAS velvety smooth), sweet potatoes, stuffing (which was GROSS - why even have stuffing? I hate it anyway). Jeff also made brussels sprouts with bacon viniagrette (yum!) and Harrison made Waldorf salad. Arlie made Muddy Buddies, Hannah made trifle. And Doug and Harrison made apple, pumpkin, and pecan pies. Amy and Michele brought green bean casserole. It was a delicious meal! We laughed till our sides hurt. Good friends, good food, good talk - we are blessed! Happy Thanksgiving!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving!!!
Well, don't you just know I created the nicest little Betty Crocker Thanksgiving dinner you ever saw? I rustled up the moistest turkey, velvety mashed potatoes, tasty gravy, sweet potatoes with lots of brown sugar and pecans, green beans with bacon and onions and fluffy little rolls! Harrison made Waldorf salad and Hayley put together the chocolate trifle for dessert. Instead of pumpkin pie I made "pumpkin stuff" from the cookbook entitled "The Sweet Potato Queen's Big Ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner)". All in all, delightful! But.......you knew there was going to be a but, didn't you, now?
For one thing, no kitchen is big enough for two cooks. Which caused a bit of a ruffle this morning when Jeff (who has taken over my kitchen as his cooking domain) was attempting to "help" with Thanksgiving dinner. Well, let me start by saying that he wanted to cook up all these weird concoctions that in no way resembled my momma's Thanksgiving dinner so I was havin' NONE of that! I proceeded to show him the ten page document that I've saved over the years (gravy-splattered and all!) with explicit instructions on how to create MY MOM'S Thanksgiving dinner. He was to follow it to the letter with absolutely no substitutions or "spicing up" to his tastes. But I found it easier to just do it myself. So, he went about roasting one of his poor, defenseless birds that he shot silly with his shotgun, and making it into "pheasant/oyster gumbo". Now, eww. What kind of Thanksgiving food is THAT? But he made it up, rice and all and we proceeded to have a 'Nawlins type lunch (actually it was pretty good). I scurried about, using up every one of my pots and pans to make the feast.
And while it turned out lovely, I couldn't help but notice that we spent the ENTIRE day to make a dinner that was consumed in.........well, as much time as it takes to consume any dinner. Not to mention that Jeff and I never showered or changed from yoga this morning and the kids were still in their jammies at dinnertime. So, it was a lovely sight. And I thought, why do we do this really? I mean, are there Thanksgiving police that will arrive at your door if your giblets aren't cooking up on the stove and you don't have a couple dozen pies laid out on the counter top? And I realized, wouldn't we all just be happy to eat Cool Whip out of the carton with a spoon (well it did make ME happy while I was cooking!)? I think as long as you have the basic essentials of Thanksgiving dinner - butter and brown sugar - then you've got yourself a feast! I mean, every single dish has a stick or more of butter in it and brown sugar sort of makes a grand appearance, so why not just melt yourself a big ole stick of butter, mix in about a cup of brown sugar and eat that gooey paste till you're practically passed out from sugar/fat overload? The results would be the same. Ok, so the turkey is pretty good. And you can't get that tasty gravy without all those turkey drippings. So, here's what you do. You go to the deli and get yourself some nice, fresh turkey sliced up all handy-like for you. Purchase some gravy (canned, deli, your choice). Slap that on a platter and heat it up. Now you've got yourself a respectable dinner (veggies - who cares? It's Thanksgiving). Purchase an 8-oz container of Cool Whip for each guest and serve with festive holiday spoons. Make a nice big bowl of brown sugar/butter paste for each guest and serve in those cute little serving dishes you never use. Voila! Thanksgiving dinner! You may notice I left out stuffing. Because, in the end, it's really just soggy bread. And no one likes that, right Tonya?
Hope you all had as nice a Thanksgiving as I did. I'm gonna go now and eat me some more Cool Whip!!
For one thing, no kitchen is big enough for two cooks. Which caused a bit of a ruffle this morning when Jeff (who has taken over my kitchen as his cooking domain) was attempting to "help" with Thanksgiving dinner. Well, let me start by saying that he wanted to cook up all these weird concoctions that in no way resembled my momma's Thanksgiving dinner so I was havin' NONE of that! I proceeded to show him the ten page document that I've saved over the years (gravy-splattered and all!) with explicit instructions on how to create MY MOM'S Thanksgiving dinner. He was to follow it to the letter with absolutely no substitutions or "spicing up" to his tastes. But I found it easier to just do it myself. So, he went about roasting one of his poor, defenseless birds that he shot silly with his shotgun, and making it into "pheasant/oyster gumbo". Now, eww. What kind of Thanksgiving food is THAT? But he made it up, rice and all and we proceeded to have a 'Nawlins type lunch (actually it was pretty good). I scurried about, using up every one of my pots and pans to make the feast.
And while it turned out lovely, I couldn't help but notice that we spent the ENTIRE day to make a dinner that was consumed in.........well, as much time as it takes to consume any dinner. Not to mention that Jeff and I never showered or changed from yoga this morning and the kids were still in their jammies at dinnertime. So, it was a lovely sight. And I thought, why do we do this really? I mean, are there Thanksgiving police that will arrive at your door if your giblets aren't cooking up on the stove and you don't have a couple dozen pies laid out on the counter top? And I realized, wouldn't we all just be happy to eat Cool Whip out of the carton with a spoon (well it did make ME happy while I was cooking!)? I think as long as you have the basic essentials of Thanksgiving dinner - butter and brown sugar - then you've got yourself a feast! I mean, every single dish has a stick or more of butter in it and brown sugar sort of makes a grand appearance, so why not just melt yourself a big ole stick of butter, mix in about a cup of brown sugar and eat that gooey paste till you're practically passed out from sugar/fat overload? The results would be the same. Ok, so the turkey is pretty good. And you can't get that tasty gravy without all those turkey drippings. So, here's what you do. You go to the deli and get yourself some nice, fresh turkey sliced up all handy-like for you. Purchase some gravy (canned, deli, your choice). Slap that on a platter and heat it up. Now you've got yourself a respectable dinner (veggies - who cares? It's Thanksgiving). Purchase an 8-oz container of Cool Whip for each guest and serve with festive holiday spoons. Make a nice big bowl of brown sugar/butter paste for each guest and serve in those cute little serving dishes you never use. Voila! Thanksgiving dinner! You may notice I left out stuffing. Because, in the end, it's really just soggy bread. And no one likes that, right Tonya?
Hope you all had as nice a Thanksgiving as I did. I'm gonna go now and eat me some more Cool Whip!!
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