199

I didn't think NaBloPoMo would change me that much. I mean, how hard is it to post every day for thirty days? During the chaos that is "Family Thanksgiving" - pretty hard. Hard, in that some days I just can't really think of anything important to write. Hard, in that some days I don't know how to weed out the crap and put together a semi-coherent post.

This morning, I woke up thinking about what I might write, and when I might find the time. There's been something on my mind, again. Something I've talked about alot.

My weight.

After the gluttony that was Thanksgiving, I think I've finally had enough.

That, and I want to run another marathon. Specifically, the OKC Marathon April 27th

There is simply no way I can run another 200+ pound marathon. No. Freaking. Way.

Sunday night, I thought long and hard. I know what I need to do - I just don't like doing it. Eat better. Eat less.

Monday morning I hopped on the scale and was none too surprised at the 205 that stared back at me.

This week, I have eaten better, and less. That and I've cut out the mid-week alcohol. Go big or go home.

Wait. I am home.

Made it to the gym once. Hey, it's a start.

Mostly though, I'm eating better. I think the key for me is protein at breakfast. In my case, that would be a toasted English muffin with a couple thin slices of ham.

This morning, I was both surprised and pleased at what stared back at me.

199.

I'm on my way.

What's for Dinner Wednesday

Ok, I know it's Thursday... I know. I thought about posting this yesterday instead if my insipid "I'm worn out" post...

Here it is - a special addition of What's for Dinner.

First off, I don't know about you, but I've had my fill of turkey and all is permutations. That and in the last few wfdw I've talked about chicken. Enough is enough.

Today, we'll look at another favorite staple around here - ground beef. Unless I'm making patties for the grill, I generally go with the lowest fat stuff I can find. Ground beef is quick to cook and very versitile.

Here's one of my favorite seasonings for ground beef (or turkey, or beans if you're of the meat free variety)...

Taco Seasoning
1/4 cup chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons paprika
2 Tablespoons cumin
1 Tablespoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon ground pepper

Combine. Store in an airtight container. Use about 2 Tablespoons per pound of ground beef. More or less to your taste.

Use for tacos, salad or enchiladas. Or mix it into raw ground beef, shape, grill, and have 'taco burgers.'

Also, if you're going to be home, you can cook up the meat, season it, and put it in a crock pot on low to keep warm for a couple of hours. I did this on Saturday when whe had a house full of people - had all the toppings: lettuce, tomato, green onion, cheese, taco sauce, sour cream, as well as a side of my favorite refried beans and Spanish rice. I haven't done this as an 'all day' project in the crock pot yet, but may try it just to see what happens.

This week I used the leftovers from Saturday and we had tacos on Monday and enchiladas on Tuesday.

My enchiladas? This time I used flour tortillas, cheddar cheese, and a can of Target's green enchilada sauce.

Easy peasy.

Wearing me out

This NaBloPoMo thing is wearing me out.

Two more days. Just two more days.


...

Time to make the donuts

It's only 11 am and I'm nearly six hours into my day.

I've managed to get quite a bit done today - made homemade muffins for breakfast, two loads of laundry, and resorted my craft room.

Slowly but surely, my craft room was starting to slide back into a mess. Rather than taking a week to handle, it took about an hour and a half. There's still quite a bit of sorting, but I'll get there.

Eventually, I'll get there.

You don't have to go home...

Finally.

The house is quiet.

Don't get me wrong, it was fun to have everyone visit us for a change.



We even got Mom to rock out with Guitar Hero.



Having two babies in the house changes things. Really.

We jokingly referred to my youngest as "babies' first stalker" as she wanted to know where they were, what they were doing, and why couldn't she play with them on a minute-by-minute basis.



No, we are not having any more babies.

My hands are already full.

The boy was very, very, very interested in the turkey. He wanted to know all about the bones: where they go, what they do, and can you put it back together after you take it apart?

This turkey, that will live in family lore...


This turkey, that earned me the right, like it or not, to cook the turkey every year...



This turkey, that brought so much gastronomic delight...



Was reduced to this...



My ever-patient mother saved the carcass for my son. Not only did she save it, but she helped him dissect it. Bone by bone, she told him what they do. She showed him how to wash the bones, and answered his questions. He asked a lot of questions - the way only a five year old boy can ask.

And when he was done, picking apart the turkey, and saving some of the bones (which are still sitting on my counter)... He had dinner.

Sunday

On the seventh day...

Fed the crew 'big breakfast' - casserole, danish, sliced oranges, bacon... Mmm... Bacon.

The inlaws have departed. My mom is currently making sense of my kitchen, and leftovers.

Not much else today except rest.

I will say...

All the weekends we were grounded for Nutcracker rehearsal - It was worth it.

Saturday

One busy day, I tell you.

Though I'm stll riding high on the success of Thanksgiving Dinner, I am tired.

Was up this morning at 5:30 am. Very unusual for me. Very. Well, unless you count marathon training.

Today The Boy had "hockey" (ice skating) this morning at 8 am, a bowling invite at 10:30, and Big Girl had two Nutcracker performances: 2 pm and 6 pm.

May not sound like alot, but add the chaos of my inlaws, parents, sister, two babies, and not to forget my own family...

Just getting everyone fed was an accomplishment. Because you know, after me, it's all about the food.

Resounding Success!

Just a couple updates...

You know the Pie? This is what I ended up with...


Light corn syrup and Southern Comfort worked just fine.

I also made a pumpkin pie. That's another story.

Did you know there is a difference between sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk?

I wasn't paying much attention and grabbed the wrong one. Before crying and freaking out, I turned again to the internet and found a perfectly good substitution.


Yes, Mom decreed, that this pie was better than the 'regular' recipe. I'm sure the fresh whipped cream had nothing to do with it.

Now. On to the Turkey.

It was a big one - 19 pounds. My sister was kind enough to bring it.

6:30 am is very early to be starting charcoal.


Very early. But fire is always fun.

If you want to know what I look like at 6:30 am - this is it.



Not a pretty sight.



By 10:30 am, after a stop at the Kwik-E-Mart, we were well on our way. Again, did you know there's a difference between Kingsford Regular Old Charcoal and the "Quick Light" variety? Namely one of them (I bet you can guess which one) has lighter fluid in the briquets. I didn't feel like a burn center visit so at 8 am I headed out in search of the Regular Old Variety.



Turkey's done. Almost. I never trust the pop up timers. Looks good though, eh?



Finally, after I made my mom check the internal temperature, it was ready to come off the grill.


My dad helped.


We had to sample it - my dad, sister, and me.


Behold. The power of a hickory grilled turkey.

I will attest, this is probably one of the best turkey's I've eaten. The meat fell off the bone. It was tender and juicy with a wonderful hickory flavor. It's not much harder than doing it in the oven - I just had to check the charcoal level about every 30 minutes or so, add more and more shagbark hickory bark.

A new tradition - perhaps?


My parents.

Thanksgiving

I am so thankful.

My parents, sister and her babies arrived last night. What should have been a three hour (four for my sister) took closer to five. The weather did not cooperate, and it was (of course) busy.

But they are here now. Last night was spent talking, laughing and playing guitar hero. What big dorks we are, but we had a lot of fun.

The grill was fired up at 6:30 am. I figure grilling a turkey for Thanksgiving will either be an amazing success, or a dismal failure.

After just cheking it, and adding more charcoal, I'm betting it's a success.



...

Thank You, Internet...

And Paula Deen.

Bourbon Pecan Pie: aka Douglas' Dark Rum Pecan Pie
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 to 2 cups pecan halves
2 tablespoons good-quality bourbon
1 (9-inch) deep-dish pie shell, unbaked

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar and melted butter. Add the corn syrup, eggs, pecans, and bourbon, and stir until all ingredients are combined. Pour mixture into an unbaked pie shell, and place on a heavy-duty cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and continue to bake for an additional 25 minutes, or until pie is set. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Only problem - I don't have dark corn syrup, just light. Once again, the information can be found on the internet:

Substitutions
For 1 cup dark syrup substitute 1 cup light corn syrup OR1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar + 3 to 4 tbsp water

Also, no "Good Quality" Burbon. I'm sure I can find something in the cabinet to substitute. Southern Comfort?

True to their word...

The incessant banging and pounding has stopped.

My husband came home early last night, and just looked at me. I looked back and said, "This has been going on since 8 am. I think I am going crazy."

I wish there was a way to show you the pitch of the roof. It is rather steep. Just a little. And high. Just a little. I don't know if I could do that.
But it's so pretty - and doesn't have any hail damage.

I've spent today catching up on a couple of etsy projects. I was going to do them last night, but my husband had other ideas.

He came upstairs to find me already in my softies curled up in bed. "Are you in bed for the night?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"I don't know... I was thinking about heading to the basement."

"Oh... Did you want me to come down?"

"If you want to..."

Trying not to sigh too hard, I crawled out of bed and headed to the basement. Compromise.

"We can't be too loud."

"I know. I'll shut the door."

It didn't take too long and I was into it as well...

Tenacious D. We rocked it.


Also, if anyone has a tried and true Pecan Pie recipe, I would really appreciate it. Everything else I'm very familiar with, but not Pecan Pie. Perhaps just a throwback from my husband's "Southern" upbringing, but it's something he likes for Thanksgiving.

Everything else is pretty much under control. I think...

...

I'm done being frustrated by this...

Really.

I'm not going to do anything else to the chair - as I will probably make it worse. For now:



The culprit:


But there are more important things going on around here. Last weekend was the big dress rehearsal for The Nutcracker. They've got a pretty slick way to make sure parents volunteer. When you sign up, you pay the instructor fee, put down a costume deposit, and put down a $100 volunteer deposit. As long as you do what you say you will, the volunteer deposit check is torn up.

I told them I can sew. Apparently, that's hard to find. So far I've fixed three dresses and was given the opportunity to embelish as soldier's uniform.

Huh?



Dark green. "Just add a little gold, maybe some buttons..."



See the sleeves?



This is for a boy.



Buttons?



I made my own frog-style closures.



Fin.

More importantly?

First big snow.


Don't they look sad... Can we go outside? Pleeeeaaaaassssseeee? I was trying to get the jacket done, and it started snowing big, fat, wet flakes. Oh. My. Guess what's sitting in our driveway? New shingles. They promised it would be done by Thursday. Promised.



Fine. Go outside.


...

Sunday Night Sillies

No, really... She looks like me. Her father calls her my "Mini Me." I call her my shadow.




Four stinking percent? I was thinking it would be closer to 75 or 90. Ah well. I know she's mine. Especially when she pouts. Maybe I'll try another picture.

And the other two? I haven't forgotten about them. The only reason I'm even posting this late is I now have my very own laptop. One that I can cart all over the house. Right now I'm snug as a bug, in my bed. This is also helpful because my husband does so much work from home, it frees up the office for him. That and I'm in bed.

The other neat-o thing about this is it's a tablet, so I can opt to write on the screen instead of type. My oldest thinks it's pretty cool, and she made a list for us earlier of "Things to Do." A list. Wonder where she got that idea.

Better tuck in. It was an early morning by our standards. I was out of bed by 7:15. One of the things I enjoy as the kids get older is they can get up and turn on the TV, find a snack, and occupy themselves for awhile without me. It's not that I don't 'hear' them, but I'm still in bed with my eyes closed. And they're good kids. And if one of them gets out of line, I'll hear about if from the other two. Not this morning. The two older were downright fussy and loud. I got up, if only to give Dad a few more minutes of shut-eye. A well-rested Dad is a happy Dad.

Anyway, most mornings find our two wee ones in bed with us. This morning, they looked at me expectantly around 7, asking if it was 'time to get up.' I could have said no and they'd have laid there contentedly for another 30 to 45 minutes. But around that time, Big Girl woke up, and the other two spied her going down the stairs. "How come she's up?" Well, are your ready to get up. "YESSSSSS!" I love the hissed whispers of the morning.

They crawled over me and followed their big sister downstairs. I heard the TV click on and the fussing started. Big Girl is just that - getting 'big.' She's no longer content with much of what the other two watch, and since she was downstairs first, she grabbed the remote. I could hear them fussing about the channel. This happens occasionally, and generally they can work it out in a few minutes and I doze off. Not this morning. I headed downstairs after five minutes - or so.

I told them today would be a long day, and if there was any more fussing at all, the could go back to bed. Though not unpleasant, I am generally not a morning person. I grabbed a blanket and promptly snuggled up on the couch. At one point The Boy crawled up and curled up on me. I thought we might both fall asleep right there but it wasn't to be. I did get some work done on one of my custom projects for etsy, but it was still much to early for me.

Hey, I've been there with the child that gets up at 5:30 am - for the day. I've done that more times than I want to remember. This is my payback. Even better? Big Girl made me toast this morning. With honey-butter.


...

For those of you keeping track - this is my 555th post.


...

Suggestions: Updated.

Add to the list hairspray and rubbing alcohol.

No go.

This is not what I would consider "small" drawing.

Pictures to follow.

Suggestions?

Does anyone have a suggestion for removing blue ball point pen drawings from a brown leather sofa?

So far I've tried: soap and water, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, and a Method leather wipe.

Three little words...

I never thought three little words could change my shopping so much.

Made in China.

With all the toy recalls, I have decided to not buy anything, knowingly, from China.

Am I overreacting? Maybe. But it leaves me to wonder what what will be next?



...

Review: Jump Start World

I'm up for about anything that will help my child learn. I was very excited to have the opportunity to give Jump Start World a go for my Kindergartener.

As soon as it arrived, The Boy was all over me to play. I begged off, telling him that Daddy needed to help him set it up. As soon as Dad walked through the door, The Boy was all over him, "Look! Look what I have! Look! Look! Look! Mom said you have to help me! Look!" It is reported that it's a bit of a 'process' to get it set up. I can not confirm that, as I was busy with dinner.

From the start, The Boy has been enamored with it. I'm not even sure he knows he's learning. He loves collecting the gems as a reward, and frequently wants to show me what he's doing. He takes serious consideration as to what character he's going to be for the day's adventure.

I like that I can check in on his progress. They set initial Kindergarten Progress Report up in three sections: Reading Arcade, Math Arcade, and My Cabin. The Reading Arcade includes objectives such as visual discrimination of shapes, shapes and colors, and directional shapes, rhymes, and upper and lower case letters. The short list on the Math Arcade includes: identify numbers one to ten, one to one correspondence, and count by ones to 15. My Cabin is a place where kids can lean to create and read a graph, use a calendar, and work on retelling a story.

The "Game" can even by customized with the child's birthday, holidays, uploaded photos and artwork. I hate to even call it a game - there is so much learning that goes on.

Overall, I think this is a great setup - fun, with plenty of learning. Jump Start World is available for Kindergarten, First, and Second grades. It can be purchased either as a starter CD with additional Adventure Packs available through subscription, or it can be purchased online. Still not sure? They have a free trial available.

As enamored as The Boy's been with this, I'm thinking Santa and I need to have a talk about something for his stocking...

More reviews on this, and other products, can be found at Parent Bloggers.

Help me, Rhonda...

Got a phone call today looking for "Rhonda." Let the guy know he had a the wrong number, and I could tell by the inane chatter in the background it was a telemarketer...

"Maybe you can help... I'm calling on behalf of the Police Chief... Blah blah blah... If we send you a contribution packet... Blah blah blah... Can we count on your support?"

If you can tell me what percent of my donation goes to the "cause."

"Well, I don't know about you, but after I get paid and I pay my bills, I only have about 5% left."

Ok. So what percent is left after 'the bills are paid?'

"Eighteen."

Eighteen? So you're telling me if I contribute $100, the "cause" gets $18? The Red Cross gives 90%.

This guy went off on me. Wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise. I now know he earns $8 an hour. I know that can't be an easy gig, but a simple, "I understand" and we both could have gotten off the phone. All he wanted to do was discuss the 'bills' of the organization. And he was loud. L.O.U.D.

Whatever. You're asking me for money. That makes me a consumer. I have a right to know where my money goes. I finally told him I didn't appreciate his attitude and 'have a nice day.' Click.

It's that time of year. Like the multiple catalogs in the mailbox, it's time for the charitible telemarketers.

Do me a favor, next time they call, as what percent goes to administrative fees.

Then decide.

My answer is, "I don't give to any charity where more than 25% goes to administrative costs."

It's easy to Google, "Good Charities." There are a lot out there.

I polled some of my friends, and here are their favorites:

Therapetics - a non-profit organization that trains service animals.

ALS Association - helps those living with "Lou Gehrig's Disease"

Muscular Dystrophy Association - helping those with one of over 40 neuromuscular diseases.

Local Food Banks - she and her family give food locally.

Jimmy Fund - supporting cancer research.

Care.org - fighting global poverty.

Bead For Life - turning beads into income, food, medicine, school fees.

Kiva.org - billed as Loans That Change Lives.

Red Cross - helping everyone, everywhere.

All of these causes give more than 75%.

So dude, I know you can do better than 18%.




...

More lists...

Girl Scout meeting today.

List of what we'll do, supplies we'll need, and parent volunteer opportunities.

There is not enough Diet Coke in this house.

Perhaps this list thing is getting out of control.

One of these days...

I'll get my shit together.

My foot stomping and pity party has given me the 'opportunity' to host Thanksgiving. In attendance will be my parents, sister, and her babies. I am terribly excited about this. Terribly. Not only because I won't have to pack and travel a family of five, but my oldest will be performing in The Nutcracker on Saturday. Friday afternoon we'll be joined by my in-laws.

Of all the concerns of having a house full of guests, my biggest is - what are we going to eat.

That prompted me to sit down put together a rubric. Across the top: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Down the side the days of the week - Wednesday through Sunday. Each space is filled in with the meal plan and corresponding pages for the recipe if necessary. I'm getting ready to type it in, as it's all chicken scratch right now.

And in true Mother's Daughter fashion, I also have three lists running: Grocery list divided by section, to-do's before, and to-do's the week of. Crazy, I know. Oh. Make that four. Liquor store list. Hmmm. Should I put these lists in excel? Then I can sort alphabetically, or better yet assign a priority to them. Oooh. Good idea there.

I very nearly created a binder for this, with laminated pages and the recipes listed by day. Perhaps that's overkill. Most of the recipes are in The Family Cookbook, and I already have the pages noted...

I still have a time, right?