A quiet Thanksgiving for which I am thankful!

It is just us and Jennifer (who completes our family) for Thanksgiving this year. This is the first year we haven't been at someone else's house for Thanksgiving day and while we miss being with those family members, we have really had a good day... It's been so relaxed! Here are the highlights

• Jennifer told me she wasn't coming till today but showed up about 10:00 last night to surprise me!
• I cooked everything and it all turned out good and was all ready at the same time
• the big girl helped clean up after lunch, a thanksgiving day miracle
• Biglots was open and had some fun scrap booking stuff
• CVS had a bunch of free stuff today
• a couple of hours after lunch Mike took a nap, one of the girls was looking for him and I hear "has Dad been in the bathroom every since lunch?"
• Jennifer seeing a snow dog Christmas decoration and the man's real snow dog around the corner... she thought it came to life... funny if you were there...
• we're going to see Four Christmases in a little bit

What to do...

We are staying at home this Thanksgiving. Jennifer is coming sometime Thanksgiving day but she is not a fan of any Thanksgiving foods and she passed on that odd trait to my oldest daughter... So, here's my dilemma-- I have a couple of favorites that I like for sides at Thanksgiving but I am the only one in my house who would eat them...which means I would eat all of them, every bit, all by myself...not a good thing...
here are the two favorites I prob. won't be making...still deciding...

Cranberry Salad

1 lb. cranberries, ground in blender or food processor
1 orange peeled and chopped
1 can crushed pineapple
1 lb. lg red seedless grapes, cut each grape in half
1 pt. whipping cream (you don't whip it, just pour it in)
8 oz cream cheese (freeze for a while and then cut into very small pieces)
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup pecans chopped
2 cups sugar
Mix all in large container. Let set in fridge overnight. Mix well.
Note: freezing cranberries before grinding makes them easier to grind.
This is my very favorite fruit side ever! You should make it...


Tex-Mex Salsa Cranberry sauce/dip

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 12 oz pkg fresh cranberries
2 tbs. dried cilantro
1/4 tsp cumin
1 green onion chopped
1 tsp lime juice
Bring water and sugar to a boil over med. heat. add cranberries and return to boil. Gently boil 10 minutes without stirring. Pour into med. bowl, add remaining ingredients. Place plastic wrap on sauce. Cool at room temp, then refrigerate.
I love to have this with left over turkey sandwiches or qusadillas....

Off to watch a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving!

My favorite thing about winter in Lubbock...

I never gave a lot of thought on where birds that migrate went... until now... looks like a lot of the geese come here...who knew...I just love looking at them, my kids, not so much... every time I say 'let's go feed the geese... or... look, there is a whole field of geese... or guess what is in the field by my school' they respond with something along the line of "QUIT talking about the geese" don't know what they have against the geese.

the little girl went running at the group of them which made them all fly in the pond

I love this picture... look at the little ducks in the back with just their bottoms up in the air....

A yummy treat

I check the year of crockpotting blog on occasion and this week I was happy to find this (Jennifer B. you need to fix this today):
Pumpkin Spice Latte
2 cups milk
2 T canned pumpkin
2 T white sugar
2 T vanilla (not a typo. it asks for tablespoons)
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup brewed espresso or 3/4 cup really strong brewed coffee
garnish with whipped cream (optional)
The Directions.This will make enough for 2 people to have a big mug with a bit leftover. If you are having friends over, adjust the recipe accordingly. I used a 4-quart crockpot, but as small as a 1.5 quart will work with these amounts.Add the coffee/espresso and milk to the crockpot. Whisk in the pumpkin, spices, sugar, and vanilla.Cover and cook on high for 2 hours if everything is cold. Whisk again.Ladle into mugs, and garnish with whipped cream and additional cinnamon.
(I heated it on the stove instead of the crockpot)
Yummy, Yummy!

several movies later...

the big girl has been sick all weekend so we have done a whole lot of nothing at our house but watch movies... I rarely watch a movie, I just can't seem to sit still that long or something... but this weekend while the big girl has been laid up in the living room with movies on I've watched more movies than I've ever watched in one weekend... we've watched Elf, Night at the museum, Evan Almighty, 27 Dresses, part of Hairspray and now Mr. Bean's Holiday (am I glad we didn't' spend money on this one in the theater). (edited to add Matilda and The Chipmonk Christms movie...I don't know if I can make it through the Chipmonk's again...it was bad enough the first time in the theater... Elvis the bulldog doesn't like the chimponks either) I've done a crafty project or two and million loads of laundry...have dinner ready to go in the oven and made fresh bread....
off to fold laundry, serve up more advil and ginger ale and finish the misery of Mr. Bean's Holiday...

Teaching the next generation the important stuff

Today, on this beautiful fall day the little girl and I made Chicken n' dumplings...You know I often think about how much I wish my mother could have known my children but today as I taught the little one about fix'n dumplins I knew my mother would have been thrilled...

Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?

It is been chilly and windy outside today... we went to Walmart and they have a huge Christmas tree right inside the door...the big girl sang me the Christmas songs they are working on in Choir...so all of this led to the girls and I snuggling up and watching Elf tonight...it is one of our favorite movies, we know all the lines and still laugh and laugh every time! Elvis the bulldog doesn't like the elves though...Wonder if Mike would kill me if I put up the Christmas tree this weekend or if that would make him an angry elf?
Son of a nutcracker, I have to go check on the little girl, she went to get a snack and hasn't returned, hope there isn't a bowl of spaghetti with syrup and candy in front of her...

I'm married to an old guy

Mike turned 46 yesterday... that's only 4 years from 50 the kids reminded him. That comment really bothered me instead of him. I don't want to be married to someone who's almost 50...my turning 44 in a few weeks really sounds much younger than 46... still sounds old I'll admit, I'm not really liking it, but at least it's not almost 50, YET...
I really think I'm still 34... that was a good age, I could do that one again and again and again...oh well, maybe 44 will be just as good - but I'll still be married to guy who is almost 50!

Longing

Today my sweet Aunt turned 88. She is my dad's sister... they were born on the same day 9 years apart...as she tells it, her cousin was the bus driver and driving her home told her she had a big gift waiting at home...She is the kindest, sweetest, most gracious, southern Christian women you could every meet. She is still pretty sharp to be 88....except... she knows exactly who I am when I call, said she was just talking about me yesterday as a matter of fact, remembers my husband and kids names, but then later in the conversation asks "now you're Charles' daughter right?"....
Every time I talk to her it makes me so sad that I never get to see her (she lives in Alabama) and she is just precious to me. We had a long talk about how she can't believe how long her husband has been dead now, and my dad, and even her parents... I guess the empty spot you have when you loose a parent never goes away.
I ended the phone call with such a longing... a longing to see her and knowing when I do get to it may be the last time...a longing for my dad...
Poor Mike, I wonder how many times I've cried these same tears on his shoulder over the years...he's always sweet... he even paused Saving Private Ryan for me...

oh, the pain and suffering

Today as I was driving the little girl to a birthday party we passed cotton fields in full bloom. While she was at the birthday party I ran and bought them matching shirts and ribbon for their hair and upon arriving home announced to everyone that we were going to take Christmas card pictures in the cotton field today. There was much grumbling, fussing, crying and fighting over bows in the hair. Surprisingly it was the little girl giving me the most trouble, it's usually her sister's job to do that! After getting them all there, it was a beautiful sunset and made good pictures. There was some talk about why I made them put on clean clothes to go sit in dirt...

The little girl's first Christmas we had pictures made of her sleeping in a wrapped gift box with the big girl kissing her head. Every Christmas since I've gotten a picture of the big sister kissing the little sister. Each year this is met with more resistance...see for yourself...

Notice only one kid with bow...

Saturday goodness

• It was clean sheet night last night
• When I woke up it was approx. 50 degrees in my bedroom because
• It is a beautiful fall morning
• Pumpkin Spice coffee creamer
• Quiet while everyone else is sleeping

the weekend again already

This week flew by. Is it me or does life just get faster and faster as we age?
We have no real plans for the weekend. As usual, I think Mike will work all weekend - so I plan on doing some crafty things and hanging out with the girls. I want to go to the apple farm again but can't get them excited about it...hopefully I'll be making apple butter again and I have a sewing project I want to start and haven't done any sewing in ages...
Mike is home, not working for a change and we are enjoying a quiet Friday night, watching this week's Boston Legal we taped, (VERY funny), bulldog snoring on the floor beside me... it's a good night.


1 Timothy 2 1I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

Ramblings of the weekend

Does everyone look differently at the people getting on a plane with you after Lost? or is just me and Jennifer? We text each other every time we're waiting on the plane while assessing if these are really the people we want to be on a deserted island with. The group on the plane heading back this afternoon would not have been the ideal group, there was a line of at least 5 wheelchairs for pre-boarding... then there was the large, slipper wearing, heavily tattooed man standing in front of me in line, some girl came up and asked for his autograph... he gladly signed her napkin.... Now it's just going to bug me because I don't have a clue who is was...
I made the most of my 48 hours in Dallas... I saw as many friends as possible and that was wonderful! I so miss my friends, even little short visits are such a treat! I can't tell you what a sweet blessing that was!
Jennifer was so sweet to get me where I wanted to go! We did some shopping and spent good time together. I stayed at my sister's house, always a little family craziness to enjoy there, but her bringing me coffee in bed every morning more than made up for that.

I really wish I had been able to take pictures of a couple of random things I saw this weekend....

• a truck pulling a camo painted trailer with "Hunters gone wild" painted on it in big red letters
• a man riding a bike pulling a buggy with his Pitt Bull in it,riding on a major street in Dallas
• the man who gave his autograph at the airport so someone could help me figure out who he is...