Turkey Day Vittles

I hope everyone has survived the food coma that is Thanksgiving or the hell that is Black Friday shopping.  I forego that most hated of all shopping days.  I worked in retail for five years.  I saw first hand the ridiculous things people will do for a $10 Care Bear.  So instead of all that craziness, let's talk about food!

My mom made all the potatoes {sweet potatoes covered with marshmallows and cheesy potatoes} and the green beans.  It always helps to outsource a few dishes!  I did more pre-planning that I have in the past, which is great and I think I'll try to remember to do more earlier next year too!

On Monday, I made the herb butter for the turkey. I love basil.  I love garlic.  Goes without saying that I love pesto.  Waiting for that butter to soften enough to mix together just about killed me.  I kept walking in the kitchen and poking the sticks of butter.

Basil Herb Butter

-2 teaspoons of dried basil (I would rather have used fresh, but it's expensive and NO ONE in our little town carries fresh)

-2 sticks of buttah, softened

-6 cloves of garlic (chopped and then chopped again, really chop it)

-2 tablespoons of lemon juice

-Mix together the dried basil, garlic, and lemon juice.  Realize that the butter is still not softened enough, fix a cup of coffee and stare at the unsoftening butter.  Come back after the second cup and throw that butter in the stand mixer, dump in the basil mix, turn the mixer on low, low, low speed.  Tada!  Herb butter!  Put it in a small dish, refrigerate until you need it!  

I also decided to make my own ice cream.  I don't have an ice cream maker so it took a little looking to find a recipe that was as simple as I could find.  Thank goodness for Pinterest!

Easy Homemade Ice Cream without a Machine

via Kevin and Amanda!

{Cinnamon Bun version}

-2 cups of heavy cream

-1 (14oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk

-3 tablespoons butter, melted

-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

-Pour heavy cream into mixer.  Whip.  Whip it good.  (You knew I was going to go there, right?)  While that is mixing, pour sweetened condensed milk into a separate bowl, mix in butter, cinnamon, and vanilla.  Once the cream is whipped to stiff peaks, fold in the condensed milk until it's all blended and delicious and m'mmmm..... cinnamon bun...  

Pour all into a 2 quart dish (I used one of my glass bread pans) and freeze for at least 6 hours.

Definitely check out the other recipes on the Kevin and Amanda blog.  There is one that uses Krispy Kreme donuts!

On Tuesday, I premade the bacon wrapped cheese stuffed mushrooms. I honestly just saw this picture on Facebook. I couldn't find an exact recipe, but come on. It's real simple.

Bacon Wrapped Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

-fresh mushrooms, as many packages as you think y'all will eat, we used two
-string cheese
-bacon

Wash or wipe dirt from mushrooms, remove stems.  If you wash them make sure that you pat the excess moisture away.  Slice string cheese into 1/2 inch pieces.  No need to be too precise with that because some mushrooms are larger than others.  I just winged it.  I cut the slab of bacon in half and wrapped each mushroom with half a piece of bacon.  Cook in a preheated 350F degree oven for 20-ish minutes.

Then I sat all day on Wednesday wondering if I should be cooking something else.

The big day arrived.  I took my turkey out of the fridge, removed the bits, rinsed her thoroughly, and patted dry.  I took my herb butter that I'd let sit out and get to room temperature and spread it under the skin along the breast side of the turkey, then spread it all over the skin on the breast, legs, wings, errreywhere.  Put that bird in the oven and away we go!  I took a walk on the wild side and cooked my turkey a little differently from the way I usually do.  I left it uncovered and basted it (every thirty minutes after the first hour) with 2 sticks of melted butter.  Then covered it for the last 45 minutes or so.  It was awesome.  See this unattractive yet falling off the bone photo!?

I made cornbread in my iron skillet and then this amazingly easy pear cobbler!  Most people make pumpkin pie or apple pie for Thanksgiving dinners and I wanted to make something a little different.

Pear Cobbler 

- 1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter

-3/4 cup milk

-1 cup sugar

- (2) 15 oz. cans of pear halves in heavy syrup, cut into bite size pieces

-3/4 cup of self-rising flour

Put the butter in the baking dish and place it in a pre-heated 350F degree oven until the butter melts.  While the butter is melting, stir together the sugar and flour.  Slowly stir in the milk and mix well.  Remove the dish from the oven, pour the batter over the melted butter and DO NOT STIR.  Place pears on top of the batter and slowly pour the syrup over the pears and DO NOT STIR.  Bake the cobbler for about 30 mins.

I'm only including the chess pie debacle because this could happen to anyone.  I used the chess pie recipe in one of Paula Deen's cookbooks.  It's not the recipe that I used last year, but since I couldn't find it and a chess pie is so easy to make I figured, what could go wrong?!  Not cooking it long enough.  That's what could go wrong.  Her recipe says to cook for only 35-45 minutes or until the top is browned nicely.  On hindsight, and after looking at several other recipes after the fact, you should really cook these pies for about 55 minutes.  My pie never set up and it was because that shit didn't cook long enough.

And I made the crust from scratch!!  *stomps foot*  Can I just scoop out all that chess-ness and eat the crust?!?!

Blue Bow Tie Baby

Saturday evening Neil comes in the living room.

Neil:  "Mom, I need black dress pants, a white button up shirt, and a tie."

Me:  "Err, ok.  When do you need these by?"

Neil:  "Tueday."

Gee, son.  Thanks so much for the short notice.  You're swell.

Sunday, my husband takes him when he goes to buy a few groceries.  Comes home with a nice pair of black dress pants that they found at St. Vincent de Paul for only $3 (!!!) and a nice, white button up shirt with ugly brown tortoise shell buttons. No tie.  Husband says that the ties were just too expensive.  Seriously?!?  Blarg.

I did the only thing I could think of to do.  I made one instead.

I used the pattern and instructions found here, pulled out some satin-y, silky, royal blue fabric, and started sewing!

I was really surprised how easy it was to make one after I got into it.

Just cut out the pattern pieces (fabric and interfacing).

Sew them together and cut off the excess fabric around the edges so they are all nice and pretty.

Turn those suckers inside out with a nifty little knitting needle!  Press 'em flat.

Fold the ends inside 1/4 of an inch and place one inside the other.  Sew the seam.  Mine was a little wonky, but no one is going to see it so SHHHH!  Don't tell.

Press it nice and flat.  Behold the awesomeness that is your first bow tie.  Patiently wait for your son to get home from school.  

*insert Jeopardy music*

Get bored and decide to remove the ghastly brown buttons and replace them with white ones.  Smile.  Realize you have no idea how to tie a bow tie.  Panic.  Watch this video by Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Laugh and learn how to tie a bow tie!

BAM!  Bow tie!!

Then...  I'm told it's supposed to be black.  *facepalm*  Well it's blue damn it so deal with it.

Whip It

Yeah, so I just got a KitchenAid stand mixer for Mother's Day.  I've made three things.  Bread, cookies, and...

WHIPPED CREAM.

Oh my dear lord.  Don't get me wrong, I love me some Cool Whip, but I don't love what is actually in it.  Things like vegetable oils, corn syrup, and sorbitan monostearate (I don't even know what that is...).  A quick trip through the ever faithful Pinterest showed me I could make my own with far less chemicals and little effort.

Here's how you do it...

• heavy whipping cream
• powdered sugar (a friend told me she uses regular sugar and has never had a problem)
• vanilla extract 

Yes, that's all you need.  I have used plain vanilla extract and I've used a combo flavoring I have (it's imitation! *gasp*) that is vanilla, nut, and butter.  I've been toying with the idea of doing a peppermint one... haven't gotten that brave yet.

I'm sure you can do this with a hand mixer as well, but having a stand mixer is so awesome!  Fair warning only vague measurements are being used.

1) Pour a cup or so (depends on how much whipped cream you need) into the mixer.  On my mixer I turned it up to 8.  Not super sonic fast, but fast.  Mix for a couple of minutes until you have soft-ish peaks and the cream kind of coats the whisk.

2) Add sugar.  I add a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, but you can adjust to your liking.  You'll also add in a teaspoon or so of vanilla or whatever flavoring you choose.  Then turn the mixer back on and whip for a few more minutes until you notice that it is becoming more stiff.

M'mmmm.... whipped cream....

I really have nothing to put this on.  I just had about half a carton of whipping cream left in the fridge that was about to go bad.  I like to put a few spoonfuls in my morning coffee.  D-e-l-c-ious.

Now go forth and make the world a little sweeter!

Lurve

Here's a bad Instagram photo from this weekend.  I don't understand why cell phone companies can't make the front facing camera better.  I probably should have just used my camera instead.  Duh.

Long before Valentine's Day arrived, we had decided that Sunday would be our day.  A glorious day together without the kids!  We rarely get out just the two of us.

Our day started with the two year old jumping on the bed yelling, "Up! Up! Up!"  She hasn't yet figured out how to put sentences together.  I'd be worried, but her older sister was the same way because she had an older brother who said everything for her.  Now Rowan has an older sister AND brother to do that.  She gets her point across though.  Hence the jumping on us in the bed.  After several donut holes and some chocolate milk was had by all, off we went!

We stopped by the AT&T store in Bowling Green to lower our bill.  They have that new shiny mobile share plan that was going to save us almost $60 a month.  I'm still not really sure what's going on, but I'm getting a new phone.  Our son is getting mine and we added a line for our oldest daughter (she is beside herself excited by this fact) and she is getting his phone.  The poor guy at the AT&T store was so confused.  Good news is I get a new phone every 18 months, if I choose too.  Bad news is that I think our bill actually went up.  Oops.

A new restaurant opened a few month ago that I've been dying to try.  Qdoba Mexican Grill.  As soon as we walked in the door, it smelled so yummy!  I opted for soft flour tortilla, grilled steak tacos with Pico de Gallo, shredded cheese, lettuce, and sour cream.  Chris got the same thing, but with pulled pork and salsa verde.

By the time we got seated and had gotten our own drinks from the fountain, most of the tacos were barely room temperature.  While the flavor was great, the tortillas were very chewy.  It was difficult to even take a bite without yanking on the taco and having the tortilla stretch to lengths I wasn't sure a cooked tortilla could stretch too.  I wasn't exactly disappointed because they did taste lovely, but I wish they had stayed warmer longer and the tortillas had been a bit... more done?  I mean, they were cooked, but just not what I was looking for.  I'd like to go again and give them another try.  Maybe not on a Sunday afternoon, mid-after church rush.

After that we headed to a local used movie/music store in the area.  Love the place.  We ended up with a couple of games and five movies for under $40.  We ended our day with a trip to the grocery store and then home to get into our comfy "around the house" clothes!  It was a great weekend spent with family and friends (on Saturday) and a great day spent together.  We should take more time to enjoy life.

Aftermath

Between all the running we've done for basketball games, basketball tournaments, and various Christmas dinners, I am completely over Christmas.  

I don't know what went wrong this year.  I just couldn't get in the spirit.  We didn't even bake cookies for Santa.  He was probably grateful though since everyone else baked some instead.  We did have a nice Christmas morning though.  My mom, dad, and brother all came over.  We watched the kids open their presents then my husband cooked a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and biscuits.  Followed by a yummy strawberries & cream Butter Braid.  If you know someone that is doing a fundraiser for these, buy one.  Apple is my favorite.

Fun times were had by all.  This year Rowan has mastered the art of present opening. She even tried to open a few of someone else's presents at our in-laws!  My heart did swell to epic proportions when she opened her canister of flavored Tootsie Rolls and began distributing them around the room.  She's always willing to share.  At least her food anyway.   

My super artistic brother and I have been working on a tattoo idea.  I have one other tattoo that I got many years ago.  I've been wanting more ever since.  So after everyone took their new gifts to their respective corners of the house, I jumped in the car, went to my mom's apartment, and sat for about four and a half hours getting injected with ink!  

This pic was taken not long after it was done.  Still super fresh.  Yesterday it was still pretty swollen and red. However I found the perfect "lotion" to keep it nice and moist.  Coconut oil.  Yet another great use for it! Coconut oil is like a miracle substance.  Today (day 2), it's not nearly as swollen and barely red.  As painful as it started to get around the three and half hour mark, I'm just about ready to start research for the next one.  Definitely a smaller one...

'Tis the Season

Here it is.  December.  That means that inevitably we will be hearing Christmas music.  Everywhere.

I'm not complaining.  I love this time of year.  I love the music.

But...  you knew there was going to be a "but", right?

I can't stand what I consider modern Christmas tunes.  It seems to me that if you are a musical artist you are required to release an album of Christmas tunes.  I HATE IT.

The Jessica Simpson's, the boy bands, the horror....

Give me Burl Ives, Bing Crosby.  The classics.

Ahhh... yes.  Those are the ones.

Boogies and Kleenex

Hello all!

I took a little time away from the blog this past week.  Spending time with the family for the Thanksgiving holiday, which we celebrated last Saturday when my brother was in town from Louisville.

By Tuesday, Ro was down with the sickness.  She is already struggling with her two year old-ness so being all stopped up with a sore throat and coughs isn't helping her.  We broke out the humidifier, eucalyptus, and Hyland's.  She seems to be on the upswing, but Kleenex is loving us right now.

And I'm starting to get a sore throat and sniffles.

Yay.

Today is the last day of the 30 Day Blog Challenge.  Hopes for the Blog.  I honestly don't have great bounding expectations.  I just write or share.  I don't blog every day.  I'm not necessarily looking for advertising. Though I am happy to review products, like I have done in the past.  P.S.  Applegate really does have the best bacon and hot dogs!

I'm just happy to have this little space of the interwebs to occupy and call my own.  I hope you all had a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday!

Faulty Festivites

Our Independence Day adventures have been put on hold.  Mother Nature saw fit to decide that today was the day to rain.

All day.


Local fireworks have been postponed until tomorrow.  I still can't help but hear... wha wha waaaaaaa... in my head.

I hope it's bright and sunny where you are and you have a safe and happy 4th of July holiday!

Holiday Weekend Overtime

My husband actually got a three day weekend over the Memorial Day holiday.  He hasn't had a full weekend off in years.  Seriously.  At his old job, he was always working overtime on the weekends.  Even holiday weekends.  They called it "voluntary mandatory overtime".  Basically you weren't technically required to go to work, but if you chose not too show up, well they weren't technically required to let you keep your job.  It was BS.  This weekend though?  He was free.  FREE, I SAY!

So I made him do yard work.  Lots of yard work.

I tried out the panorama setting on my cell phone! Ooo! Ahh!

I've always wanted to landscape the front of the house.  It's so... blah.  It's plain, boring.  We need shutters.  Instead I got plants.  The poor husband thought he was actually going to get the weekend off!  No sir.

Two large scoops of mulch, 11 landscape timbers, two rolls of landscape fabric, 10+ solar powered lighs, four rhododendrons, three daylilies, one impatien and two purple flowers whose name I can't recall plus Saturday, Sunday, and part of Monday, we have this.

I know it doesn't look much different.  Let's just imagine what it will look like when all the plants are twice this size, m'kay?  I have to mention that we started with just two rhododendrons.  We'd picked up a couple of other shrubs, a Barberry something or other.  Then after we got home we discovered that they had thorns.  EVERYWHERE.  Ick.  Back to the store they went.  Also I had four hostas that we ended up splitting into 11 different hostas and spread those around as well.

That cute little Rowan size pool was $19.95.  I couldn't resist getting it for her.  I know it has nothing to do with landscaping, but what the hell, right?

I spent a couple of hours yesterday weed-eating with our new electric weed-eater.  I love it as much as one can love a weed-eater.  It has two rechargeable batteries and starts with just a push of a button.  Thank you baby Jesus.  Then I put out more mulch around some trees.

We still have more mulch.  At this point, I'm sick of landscaping and yard work, but we've got to get that mulch out of the truck so there might be mulch around some strange things around our yard.  I'm glad we were able to spend this weekend together and thankful for those who have served and those that are still serving our country.  Without them, we wouldn't have these opportunities.

I Love Me Some Samsung!

Like thousands of other mom's on Mother's Day, I had to pick out my own gift. It's a bit of a downer, but then again I know that I will get something I will like and use. Though I would like to get at least a card without having to pick it out myself.

Several months ago, my nearly five year old laptop started doing strange things. Mainly, the monitor went on the fritz. I had to use a VGA cable to attach my old desktop monitor to my laptop to be able to use it. The whole setup was nice, my old monitor is fairly large, but I don't have a desk so I was taking up half the dining room table. What a pain. I quickly took over my daughter's laptop. Except it's small and covered in purple and blue flowers and butterflies.

I started looking for a new Precious.

I had no idea that Samsung made computers!  I love my Galaxy S3 and have had other Samsung phones in the past, with a brief lapse of judgement that lead me to Apple, which I loved for it's short period of time in my life.

Best Buy had a 15.6" 4GB memory 750GB RAM Samsung laptop!  The best part about finding this gem online was that we have a local Best Buy so I could pay online and pick up in the store!  And that's just what I did!  If you've never done the in-store pick up at Best Buy, you should give it a try.  I was in and out in less than 10 minutes.  So freakin' easy.

And we shall call her Precious and she will be mine.

Solstice and Other Winter Traditions - A Repost

Originally posted on December 17, 2009:

When I was out the other day, I got to thinking about why we celebrate Christmas. Many people only associate the birth of Christ with the holiday. Most do not realize that many aspects of Christmas come from different winter celebrations. The following are some of these traditions.

Solstice
The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration around the world. Centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus, early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter. Many peoples rejoiced during the winter solstice, when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.

In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year.

In Germany, people honored the pagan god Odin during the mid-winter holiday. Germans were terrified of Odin, as they believed he made nocturnal flights through the sky to observe his people, and then decide who would prosper or perish. Because of his presence, many people chose to stay inside.

In Rome, where winters were not as harsh as those in the far north, Saturnalia—a holiday in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture—was celebrated. Also around the time of the winter solstice, Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. In addition, members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock. For some Romans, Mithra's birthday was the most sacred day of the year.

Santa Claus
The origin of Santa Claus begins in the 4th century with Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, an area in present day Turkey. By all accounts St. Nicholas was a generous man, particularly devoted to children. After his death around 340 A.D. he was buried in Myra, but in 1087 Italian sailors purportedly stole his remains and removed them to Bari, Italy, greatly increasing St. Nicholas' popularity throughout Europe.



His kindness and reputation for generosity gave rise to claims he that he could perform miracles and devotion to him increased. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of Russia, where he was known by his red cape, flowing white beard, and bishop's mitre.

After the Reformation, European followers of St. Nicholas dwindled, but the legend was kept alive in Holland where the Dutch spelling of his name Sint Nikolaas was eventually transformed to Sinterklaas. Dutch children would leave their wooden shoes by the fireplace, and Sinterklaas would reward good children by placing treats in their shoes. Dutch colonists brought brought this tradition with them to America in the 17th century and here the Anglican name of Santa Claus emerged.

Christmas Trees
Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles.

In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the winter solstice. Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.

The ancient Egyptians worshiped a god called Ra, who had the head of a hawk and wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown. At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from the illness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes which symbolized for them the triumph of life over death.

Early Romans marked the solstice with a feast called the Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. The Romans knew that the solstice meant that soon farms and orchards would be green and fruitful. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs. In Northern Europe the mysterious Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder.

Mistletoe, Holly, and Poinsettias
Mistletoe was used by Druid priests 200 years before the birth of Christ in their winter celebrations. They revered the plant since it had no roots yet remained green during the cold months of winter.

The ancient Celtics believed mistletoe to have magical healing powers and used it as an antidote for poison, infertility, and to ward of evil spirits. The plant was also seen as a symbol of peace, and it is said that among Romans, enemies who met under mistletoe would lay down their weapons and embrace.

Scandinavians associated the plant with Frigga, their goddess of love, and it may be from this that we derive the custom of kissing under the mistletoe. Those who kissed under the mistletoe had the promise of happiness and good luck in the following year.

In Northern Europe Christmas occurred during the middle of winter, when ghosts and demons could be heard howling in the winter winds. Boughs of holly, believed to have magical powers since they remained green through the harsh winter, were often placed over the doors of homes to drive evil away. Greenery was also brought indoors to freshen the air and brighten the mood during the long, dreary winter.

A native Mexican plant, poinsettias were named after Joel R. Poinsett, U.S. ambassador to Mexico who brought the plant to America in 1828. Poinsettias were likely used by Mexican Franciscans in their 17th century Christmas celebrations. One legend has it that a young Mexican boy, on his way to visit the village Nativity scene, realized he had no gift for the Christ child. He gathered pretty green branches from along the road and brought them to the church. Though the other children mocked him, when the leaves were laid at the manger, a beautiful star-shaped flower appeared on each branch. The bright red petals, often mistaken for flowers, are actually the upper leaves of the plant.

Candy Canes
It was not long after Europeans began using Christmas trees that special decorations were used to adorn them. Food items, such as candies and cookies, were used predominately and straight white candy sticks were one of the confections used as ornamentation. Legend has it that during the 17th century, craftsmen created the white sticks of candy in the shape of shepherds' crooks at the suggestion of the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany.

The candy treats were given to children to keep them quiet during ceremonies at the living creche, or Nativity scene, and the custom of passing out the candy crooks at such ceremonies soon spread throughout Europe.

According to the National Confectioner's Association, in 1847 German immigrant August Imgard used the candy cane to decorate a Christmas tree in Wooster, Ohio. More than 50 years later, Bob McCormack of Albany, Georgia supposedly made candy canes as treats for family, friends and local shopkeepers. McCormack's brother-in-law, Catholic priest Gregory Keller, invented a machine in the 1950s that automated the production of candy canes, thus eliminating the usual laborious process of creating the treats and the popularity of the candy cane grew.

More recent explanations of the candy cane's symbolism hold that the color white represents Christ's purity, the red the blood he shed, and the presence of three red stripes the Holy Trinity. While factual evidence for these notions does not exist, they have become increasingly common and at times are even represented as fact. Regardless, the candy cane remains a favorite holiday treat and decoration.

**Information for this post taken from here and here.

People are Stupid

Or how my mother and youngest daughter kept me from knocking some heads together.

M'kay so today was the annual Christmas parade in our town.  NOT my hometown.  I've never attended a Christmas parade.  I don't recall having them when I was growing up.  Maybe we did, but seeing as how I lived smack dab in the middle of town, you'd think I'd remember if we did have any.  I'm glad that it was 60F+ today, but didn't really put me in the Christmas spirit when I could have been wearing my flip flops.  Which I didn't wear... what is wrong with me?!

I took my two older kids to the school to get their instruments ready and get some practice in before the parade.  This was at 12:15pm and the parade didn't start until 2pm.  I ran to my Mom's to waste a little time. An hour (AN HOUR!!) before the parade was scheduled to begin, I decide we should probably head toward downtown to find a parking spot for both the car and our behinds.  I barely found a parking spot, whipping it into the last spot available at RiteAid.  We find a spot to take in the view.

As soon as the parade began, fourteen thousand people (really only about 15 or so), adults and children, walk in front of us, in the road, and plant themselves there for the entire parade.  One little boy kept snatching any and every piece of candy he could find.  Even if it was in another kids hand.  I kept asking him and others to please step back because there were smaller children behind them.  Finally I had to get hateful about it because Candy Thief would not move.  When he finally did scoot over, his mother puts her arm around him and informs him that he can stand anywhere he pleases, don't listen to me, and shoots me the dirtiest look.  My brain was screaming, "EXCUSE ME LADY!!!"  Well, that absolutely explained why her kid had no respect for the other kids or adults.

I saw no less than 5 kids come perilously close to being run over by large farm machinery, tractor trailer wreckers, and other vehicles.  They were so interested in grabbing that random piece of candy that they weren't paying any attention to their safety.  The parents were too busy pointing out the random pieces of candy that they weren't paying any attention to their safety either!

To make the whole experience even better, when we returned to our car some arsehole had parked perpendicular to our car and two others.  Completely blocking us in.  I wasn't in a hurry because the traffic was insane, but seriously dude?  I waited for him to return because well, what else was I going to do?  I'm proud of myself though because I didn't curse him like my brain was screaming at me to do.  I told him he was disrespectful, rude, and inconsiderate.  And to have a nice Christmas.  The lady in the minivan next to us was less than friendly.  She cursed him like a sailor.

Don't cha just love the Christmas spirit?!

Needless to say, my first Christmas parade experience was less than stellar and will probably be my last Christmas parade experience.

In other news, Karen from A Peek at Karen's World has nominated my blog in her 2012 Blog Awards in the category of Best Kept Secret!  I'm so honored!  This totally makes me say, "Aww shucks!"  Thank you, Karen!  Now everyone go to her blog right now and vote!  You have until December 7th!

Holiday Awesomeness

We've been eating here and eating there.  I'm completely stuffed STILL!  I have been so far behind on working on our family photos.  I feel like I've been so busy, but haven't been able to get anything done.  I finally found the time to mess with some of them from Christmas.  This gives me a chance to use some of Alicia's Days of December photo templates!

Such cute templates!  Made even cuter with those gorgeous kids, right?  Hee hee!  I have to tell you a little secret.  I don't have an external flash for my camera.  Like everyone else I hate that blown out, in your face built-in flash.  I found a trick.  I stumbled upon a small rectangular piece of white cardboard.  I simply placed it at an angle in front of my built-in flash and bounced that sucker off the ceiling!  It did take a bit of trial and error to get the right angle, but for free I got rid of the nasty, too bright flash!  I still want the Nikon SB-400, but until then my cardboard will work just fine!

I hope everyone has had a happy and healthy holiday season so far!

*Just in case you are wondering why my daughter has her head in that box up there... the box contained super cute, super awesome... UNDERWEAR!  She was so embarrassed that she wouldn't take them out of the box.  Ha ha!

**FREE photo templates from Project Alicia found here.

I'll Be Back

Image source = {Google}

I know I've kind of been missing in action lately.  We've just been so busy getting ready for Christmas, visiting here, visiting there.  I haven't had time to dedicate to the blog like I'd like to have, but I shall return!  I will persevere over this holiday funk that has plagued my blog to return anew!

I will try to find time for Christmas photos as today is the last Christmas dinner.  I think...so hopefully tomorrow will bring you some fun holiday images!

But probably not until next week....

Halloween 2011

Halloween is my all time favorite holiday.  This year it completely snuck up on me and I didn't put up the first decoration.  Because of this I'm already planning what to do next year.

Since Rowan is only 4 months old, I didn't buy her a costume.  I could have, but she isn't going to remember and she couldn't eat any of the candy.  I did buy her a cute little long sleeve onesie with pumpkins that had "Baby's First Halloween" on the front.  I was beginning to feel a little bad about not buying that first costume until I saw a young couple with a baby who looked even younger than Rowan trick or treating... with the baby.  And only the baby.  ?????  I guess they are going to store that candy until next year??  I wanted to just tell them to go buy a damn bag of candy.  With the exception of a kid who attached himself to our merry little party, Halloween night went well.

 

Kaia Papaya decided she wanted to be a geisha this year.  Speciffically, Sayuri.  On hind sight I should have practiced on getting the correct make-up several days before.

Neil didn't dress up.  Neil didn't say trick or treat.  Mom was holding in tears.

Ro-baby was snuggled up next to daddy.

Our last stop of the evening?  The local funeral home.  Growing up I lived next door to a funeral home, but I never trick or treated there!

I would regret it forever if I didn't share a couple of photos with you...  First let me tell you that I did try to photograph a few girls who seem to have forgotten half of their clothing, but I had a flash that I may have been arrested for child porn if I did, so I skipped them.  They were clearly too old to be trick or treating and clearly too young to be wearing their hooker outfits in public.

Photo #1:

Oh no she didn't..... 

Photo #2:

Hey!!  It's the Duke boys!!  Thank goodness Mom wasn't dressed like Daisy.

Got to love the General Lee.

A Look Back...

As I sit here looking out my dining room window at the cloudy, overcast, threatening rain skies, I can't help but think back to last year's Independence Day celebrations.

Every year for the past few years, except one, we've attended the annual Green River Catfish Festival.  It's a combination of the county fair and celebrating our great nation.  It really is a great Summer activity!  There is a three day long fishing tournament that includes tagged catfish, one worth $50,000 if you are lucky enough to catch him!  A road race, lawn mower demolition derby, festival pageants, a dog show, local artists sell their wares, square dancing, and even a petting zoo.  The local Masonic Lodge cooks up catfish plates from 4pm-9pm every day of the festival.  It all comes to a close on the 4th of July with closing ceremonies and a HUGE fireworks display at twilight.  We always go on this day.  Pack up blankets, chairs, a cooler with water, head to the festival and set up right beside our car.  We take the kids to ride those whirly county fair rides then grab ourselves a couple of catfish plates and wait for the big show.

I hope that today's rain will come and go before the festivities begin tonight!  Here's a look at what we did last year with our 4th of July weekend...

Mother's Day Roast Chicken

{source}

Jim's Lemon & Rosemary Roast Chicken with Country Vegetables
via Chicken Recipes Please
Print it here!

One whole free-range chicken, 3 lbs.
1-½ lbs. finger potatoes
About 24 pearl onions
10 or more garlic cloves
20-24 asparagus spears
6-8 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 lemons, cut into quarters
½ cup olive oil
½ stick butter
½ teaspoon dried oregano
A sprinkling of sea salt
A sprinkling of black pepper


Stuff the chicken with as many of the quarter pieces of lemon as possible. Also, place inside the chicken, 4 to 6 of the pearl onions, 2 to 4 of the garlic cloves, and a sprig of fresh rosemary.


Place the chicken in a large roasting pan containing 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and a half-cup of water.


Melt the butter and stir it into the remaining olive oil. Brush some of the butter and oil mixture on the chicken. Squeeze two of the lemon quarters over the chicken. Sprinkle the oregano, sea salt, and black pepper onto the chicken. Place the two lemon skins (from the squeezed lemons) on top of the chicken; then arrange 4 rosemary springs over the chicken. Around the chicken, arrange any of the remaining lemon quarters (not squeezed).


Bake in a 325ºF oven for 45 minutes. Two or three times during the cooking process, brush more of the butter and olive oil mixture onto the chicken.


After the 45 minutes roasting time has elapsed, add the finger potatoes, the remaining onions and garlic, and the remaining rosemary sprigs to the pan, arranged evenly around the chicken.


Bake for an additional 45 minutes to an hour. Again, brush the chicken, and the potatoes, with more of the butter and oil mixture, two or three times during the remainder of the cooking time.
When the chicken is almost done (170ºF as measured on a reliable meat thermometer), coat the asparagus with some of the butter and oil mixture and then arrange the asparagus around the chicken.


Cook for another 6 to 8 minutes. Do not overcook the asparagus!


Remove the pan from the oven, place the chicken on a cutting board, tent the chicken with foil, and let it rest for about 5 minutes prior to carving.


Serve the chicken with the finger potatoes, onions, garlic cloves, and asparagus for a complete meal.

Jim recommends using free range chicken because it has that country flavor and juiciness that adds to the dish. However, finding free range chicken in your area may not be feasible. I know it's not that easy to find in my area.

Mother's Day Breakfast Idea: Spinach & Ricotta Frittata

{source}

Spinach and Ricotta Frittata
via Food Blogga
Makes 8 servings
Print it here!

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups white mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 cups baby spinach, thinly sliced
8 large eggs
4 ounces (1/4 cup) whole milk ricotta cheese, drained
4 ounces (1/4 cup) grated Grana Padano cheese, divided
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg or fresh grated nutmeg
a liberal helping of salt and freshly ground black pepper


Melt butter in an 8-inch non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Add mushrooms; saute 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add spinach and cook just until wilted. Season with salt and black pepper.


In a medium bowl beat eggs. In a small bowl, mix the ricotta, 1/2 of the Grana Padano, nutmeg, salt, and black pepper. Add to the eggs and lightly mix. Pour into the skillet.
With a fork, gently move the egg mixture from side to side allowing the egg to seep to the bottom of the pan. Do this for 5-7 minutes, until the eggs start to solidify and a crust begins to form around the edges. Give the pan handle a jiggle, and when the eggs appear nearly set, evenly sprinkle the second half of the cheese over the top of the frittata.


Remove the pan from the stove top and place under the broiler for 4-5 minutes, or until the top puffs up and turns golden brown. Keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn. Let cool for a couple of minutes before slicing into wedges. Serve hot or at room temperature.


Optional garnish: In a small bowl toss 1 cups of halved cherry tomatoes with a little extra virgin olive oil, salt, black pepper, and fresh herbs such as basil, dill, or parsley. Serve atop the frittata.

Cotton Tail Cupcakes

I swear I want to marry Diane.  She has some of the most simple and cute recipes EVER!  Check out these super cute rabbit cupcakes that she made.



Just make your cupcakes as usual.  Any color or flavor will work!  Melt some white chocolate and, using a toothpick or plastic bottle, make oval feet by placing the chocolate on wax paper.  While that is cooling, melt some pink candy melts.  Once the white chocolate has completely cooled, add some of the pink candy melts with a toothpick to form the pads of the feet.  Then let the feet chill.  Take a mini-marshmallow and moisten it, then roll in non-pareils.  For the grass, Diane says she used edible grass that is available at Easter time.  If you can't find any edible grass, you can melt some green candy melts and use a toothpick to make grass "lines", too!

See?!  I told you... super simple and cute!

Images and recipe from Created by Diane.

Easter Candy Bark

One thing I love about Easter?  Pastel colored EVERYTHING.  When I stumbled across this candy bark recipe, I knew that I was going to have share it with you guys!  Ooo.... ooo... and remember those Hummingbird Nests?  Remember when I said you could make them with just about anything?  Alicia made some with chow mein noodles (and a another recipe) and they look so very yummy!  Check them out right here.  See, told you that they could be made with just about anything!

On to the candy bark...

{source}

Easter Candy Bark
via Gingerbreadcake.wordpress.com
Print it here!

8 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
8 ounces milk chocolate chips
7 ounces pink candy melts
1/2 cup Spring Oreos -cut in half (they have a yellow center)
1/4 cup Easter Candy Corn
1/4 cup Mini Cadbury Eggs – cut in half (the hard shell ones)
1/4 cup Mini Robin Eggs (malt balls/Whoppers)
1/8 cup M&Ms (You can use whatever kind you like)


Measure out the candy and cookies. Set aside


Lay out a large piece of parchment paper. You’ll use this to make the Easter Candy Bark on.


Put 8 ounces of semi sweet chocolate chips and 8 ounces of milk chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl. Melt the chocolate chips but be careful not to overheat the chocolate.


Spread the melted chocolate onto the parchment paper into an 8 by 11 rectangle. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect.


In a microwavable bowl, melt the pink candy melts. (you can use whatever color you like). Be careful not to overheat the candy melts. Drop the melted candy melts on top of the chocolate.


Using a knife, swirl it up and down. Then swirl it back and forth.


Place the candy and cookies on the melted chocolate/candy melts. Press down lightly.


Allow the Easter Candy Bark to dry for at least 3 hours. Cut into pieces and enjoy!

Just like the Hummingbird Nests, this bark can be made with virtually any type/color of candy you'd like! Shoot... changing up the color can even change the holiday you are celebrating!

Happy hunting!