AHH, THANKSGIVING~

I know this sounds so typical and trite but, nevertheless, it's so true.
Where did the time go?
It has been a never ending one thing after another month and tomorrow is Thanksgiving.
So today I have been a slave to my kitchen.
I am organized.
I am cleaning as I go.
I am whirling around the kitchen like, well, a whirlwind.
Creamed green beans done: check
Sweet potato casserole done: check
Crumb topping for the sweet potatoes done : check
2 brined turkey breasts cooked in slow cooker done : check
1 Ham with a peach clove honey mustard glaze done : check
Company potatoes ( cream cheese , sour cream, butter and half and half) done: check
Cranberry frozen fluff done: check.
Homemade rolls done: NOT check. I cannot get the yeast to activate for the life of me.
I am on my third try. If this doesn't work, then....tough. So frustrating for me. Store bought rolls just do not do it for me. Such a big difference in taste!
Let it go Colleen.

I have been in the kitchen since 10 am. and it is now 5 pm.
I have consumed a half cup of peaches. Whoppeeee.
But my house smells marvelous!
I am on to the next step which is setting the table....my favorite part.
Gotta go get my Fitz and Floyd Huge Santa centerpiece. What? Santa you say? Yes!
He is surrounded by woodland animals and if I sit him on cedar greens with pinecones , he will be perfect! And after all, once that last bite is taken, it is offically Christmas!!

Dear Heavenly Father,
“Thank You for this special day, a day to remember Your goodness to us.
Thank You for the roof over our heads, and more than enough food to eat.
Thank You for the relationships You have given to us -- for family and friends.
Also, I want to thank You for all the bad experiences we’ve had. We have learned that you were there for us all the time. For this, we thank You and praise You. In Jesus name, amen.”


HAVE A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING ALL!!!~~~~~

LOVE NOTHING DAYS~

Click images to enlarge

Today is a "Nothing" day.
Nothing I NEED to do, nothing I HAVE to do.
Nowhere I need to go and nothing I need to buy.
Sometimes, those days are the best.
But, by 3 pm, I started to feel guilty.
Why is that?
I guess I could go into the kitchen and unload the dishwasher..but I don't wanna.
Or I could do a load of laundry, but...see above.
The only motivation I had to get out of bed with my Manny ( who is still ever so cozy in it)
was that if I didn't, I would feel worse as the night goes on.
Kinda like if I nap during the day, I feel sick when I wake up.
This body was not programmed for slowing down, but now that it wants to, I am at a loss as to what to do about it.
So I got up, did the hair and makeup thing, got dressed.
So I am going to to shopping with Breanne for some birthday presents when she gets off work.
That's accomplishing "something", isn't it?
But how nice was it to sit in bed and play PC games and Facebook all day?
I found this large file PC game called "Nikopol: Secret of the Immortals "and I was trying to figure out how to kill this police state futuristic monster that was trying to kill me. When I got too scared, I saved the game and then blogged to see how to make my next move.
Yeah, that's how I play.
So it's probably safe to say that I play these games for the graphics and sometimes, the mental skills. Most of the times I can use the simple deduction skills I have to figure it out. This game looks promising if it is scaring me already. ( see pics above)

So, I am not going back to the computer to play, I am off to pursue and hunt at the Mall.....no blogging neccesary~
later!

SIGN EVERYTHING YOU DO

Today I am feeling a little like the very people I have no tolerance for.
Whiny.....yeah, I said it, whiny.
I need a day where I can just whine. Complain with no repercussions and or comments from anyone. But unfortunately, I cannot do.that. For fear someone would read this and think it was about them.
So to all of you, this is not about you.

Does no one respect and understand the meaning of the word : "responsible" anymore?
Do people think things happen "out of the blue", all on their own?
How do they get by on a day to day basis? I especially love the ones who complain because they feel the limelight is being stolen from them and then,
when you give them the ball, they drop it.
And someone (like someone who writes a blog) steps in to cover their tracks and, tah dah! It's all good again. I have never been one to want all the glory but, sometimes, dog gone it, it should be mine! Or ours!
When you accept a responsibility, follow it through all the way to the end and then, put your signature on it!!!!!
I believe if we have to sign everything we do, then maybe we would think a little harder about how we do it. Can I get an Amen?
Ok, I think I am done venting.
Maybe a good workout at the gym will make me so tired I can't think anymore.
Tomorrow's another day...gosh I hope I am not as irritable as today......

Venti Tumbler

Now, occasionally I have been known to see something I want and buy it.
( No comments from you people)
Last night at the gym, Katie and Breanne had their Starbucks Venti Tumblers filled with water.
Hmmm. I vaguely remember them coming out and selling out right away. But I wasn't interested so I didn't give any thought to it.
I might be interested now. Especially since I found out that they go on eBay for....brace yourselves, 60 dollars and Up! Holy cow. Seriously? For a plastic cup? No way.
I would wait until it clearances out and then swoop down upon it like an eagle. And only then.
But, that obviously isn't what happened when people bought them out. There are some seriously committed eBay sellers out there. And I ought to know, because I am a seriously committed eBay shopper!
But I still don't want to spend that kind of money on a cup!
Why doesn't Starbucks wake up and see the demand and supply the need?
Why!?!?!
So, if any of you out there have any connections to this Holy Grail of Tumblers, I would be your Monty Python.What does that mean?
I have no clue.
I gotta go......maybe someone has not bid on one on eBay.....maybe.........
Most likely not.
Sigh.

Leaves suck!

Ok, I am annoyed.
Do I have any oak trees on my lot? Nooooo.
Do my neighbors? Of course they do.
Do I have thousands of leaves on my driveway and by the rock wall? Of course I do.
And when their lawn service comes to clean, do they blow them all away? Of course not.
Do they blow them off of THEIR property onto mine? Of course they do.
Do these leaves blow into my pool and mess up my motor and filter system? Of course they do.
Do I need a new pool motor now because of it? Of course I do.
How much money am I going to have to spend because of my neighbors and their leaves and their dogs? Seriously?
Living on a private road is not all it's cracked up to be~~

A night from Hell...............

Still recovering from yesterday, the night from Hell.
All day long today I couldn't seem to shake what happened and I was totally content to "check out" mentally.
So me and Manny just watched TLC until Michael came home...
Last night, I fed the dogs around 4....was starting to go into the house and then the dog down the street did his thing. Sage is his name. The most aggressive and mean golden retriever I have ever seen. And I used to own a golden, I know the breed.
Sage proceeded to charge my front wrought iron gates and throw himself against it like he always does and whips my dogs into a frenzy. This is tough to even talk about now.....
My mini aussie, JJ stuck his nose/mouth through the wrought iron and somehow, someway,
got his open mouth stuck in the scrollwork of the gate. So imagine the screaming and snarling and snapping as Sage is attacking JJ from the other side, while Rocky (my aust cattle dog) is going balistic. I start screaming at Sage and his owner Mark. No , Mark was not there. I was just so upset.
I tried like mad to get JJ's mouth untangled. He was screaming and blood was pouring everywhere and I could not get his mouth untangeled for the life of me. What the hell do I do?!?!
Breanne had just left 10 minutes before so I called her back in a panic to come help me!
When I ran back outside to try to untangle JJ again, Mark was at the gate. Thank God.
He yells at me to go get some gloves and then we both work at JJ. Mark suggested we rotate JJ 180 degrees to the left. Oh my gosh, he grabbed his head and mouth and I held his body and it worked! We got him loose and then, JJ went into a seizure. Shit.
Mark brought him inside the house because all the time this was happening, it was pouring down rain and we were all soaking wet. Mark proceeded to look into JJ's mouth to assess the damage ( he's a RN) and I was still frantic. He left after apologizing profusely.
I had to wait about an hour until JJ's seizure abided and then I took him to the Emergency Vet clinic. He was in shock by now. They gave him valium to try to control his blood pressure for fear of him having a heart attack. The damage was torn tissue under his tongue with a puncture wound from the iron. Also a bitten foot and broken nails and broken teeth. We left the clinic around 8 pm.
I panicked so badly. I am fine with people. People can listen to reason and react to words.
While JJ was embedded there with blood pouring out and screaming his head off, I was a goner.
Of course, he would not succumb to the Valium without a fight and he did not sleep until about 11 last night. Then he woke every hour whimpering. And with those hours, I found myself going over every detail of that attack. Problem is, this is the third time Sage has caused my dogs enough damage to go to the vet.
JJ seems good today. A little slow, mouth is swollen and sore but following me and never leaving my side. Poor little man. Michael came home and had to watch me burst into tears as I relayed the incident to him. I didn't realize it affected me like it did until I realized I could not function today.
Anyone know any hit men out there specializing in dogs?

Assembly time!

Yesterday morning, as Michael left the house for New york for 4 days, I decided to be productive.
Wait , um, more productive.
Sunday I was inspired to paint a wall ( 24 x 16) a different color. So off to Lowes I went. Decided to change the Blackberry wall into a butter wall. I tell you, Valspar Signature One coat is exactly that.
Michael did the highest parts ( the man cannot cut a line in to save his life, love ya babe) while I did the rest. When "they" say it helps to have a quality brush, they're not kidding. I hate to tape off so I just take my time and cut it all in by hand. Anyway, it's all done and I have moved on!
I bought this kitchen island because, well, you've all seen my boxcar kitchen. I found one at Crate and Barrel, 500 and 100 to ship. Problem is, they are out of stock until the end of November.
And when Baruka wants it, she wants it NOW daddddy. (willie wonka fans anyone?) So I went online and found something identical to C&B's and got it for 369, free shipping. Hot damn. It's soo mine!
It came wednesday and I put it together yesterday. I got up at 6:30 a.m. and laid out all the parts so I could get a feel for it. Like I told a friend, I could kiss the man who invented the hex key, aka allen wrench , on the mouth! I also needed my cordless screwdriver but the allen wrench did a lot of work. I finished it and then I moved on to organizing my kitchen. It's all about illusion folks. So if it looks neat and tidy, then it must be, right? This island gave me two doors with shelves, and four drawers. Hot damn! Does this excite me? Your damn straight it does!
So now with the holidays coming up and all the things that are taking place at my home in the next 8 weeks, I am p-r-e-p-a-r-e-d! I am woman, hear me roar!
Ok, so maybe I need to get out more....(do not point that out to me, only I am allowed to do this)
What's next? I am kinda stopping myself from going and buying a canvas and painting something for the holidays . I do this every year. Maybe I should stop.
Nah..........I'll just give the old ones to Goodwill........
I have no idea why every October, I get this way. All I want to do is Create. Assemble. Display.
Kinda like crack for me.
Out of my way everyone, I have to go to Michael's Craft store~

You just "click".....

Friends~ they come and they go.
Some remain steady and some slowly fade away.
Now that my life has slowed down ( some would debate that, but it's true) I find that I have time now to enjoy what wasn't available to me before.
Before, you know....the baby age, then the toddler stage, then the pre -teen followed by teen years and then before I knew it, they were gone. Oh they come back, it's all good.
But my point is, when those years were forming , life was consuming. I had time for the community of people that were "around" me: Church and Business. If you were not in that circle in those 24 hours a day that I functioned, you were .......not.
And let's face it, it wasn't for lack of interest ...there just wasn't enough time in the day to have it all!
So where am I going with this?
Now that we are empty nesters and I am unemployed, I have learned that I must have some sort of schedule for the day or....it goes like that. Poof. Gone.
But because I can plan my own days as I want, I have actual time.
Imagine that. Time.
And because I have that Time, I now have renewed friendships. Not that they didn't mean enough to me before to maintain but I have a freedom now that allows that to happen.
Aw jeez, now I am making it sound like I was in shackles. Hopefully you can sift through this and get an understanding of what my brain puts me through on a daily basis.
But I am veering off course.....
It's so good to be a part of this information highway called the internet. I can talk to anyone I want, every day. Now, they would probably beg to differ with you about that last statement~ but, it's amazing to me. I can see what my friends are up to every day and if I like, I can "talk" to them. If I don't feel like it, that's ok too. But what's really cool is the ability to even do so!
And the connections I have made again after all these years is, well, flat out wonderful.( you know who you are~) Some people you just "click" with and regardless of all the years in between contact, you pick up right where you left off. (Not literally. But you get it.) And without all the baggage you might have carried along the way! I can even gauge someone's mood and know when it's good to leave them alone. How can you top that? Some would say "yeah, but your missing the one on one interfacing". To that , I say : "pffft". Sometimes, it's good to not have to be in someones face and now I have the discretion to do so.
I warned you my mind takes me hostage, now you know.
So, it is with this posting that I say thank you to all those people I have reconnected with in these last few months.....it is a blast.
Now I must leave you and deliver some cupcakes~

Holiday cooking.....and dreams

As we approach the holidays with all the cooking and baking I will do, I always think about the bakery I thought would be so cool to have.
I would call it "Tarts".
And I would fill the display cases with my French silk pies, Apple/peach crumb topped pies, Butter pound cake with french almond creme, German crumb cake, Peppermint Patty brownies, Melting moment cookies, Biscotti, Home made Caramels, Poor Mans Toffee ( which I will be making very soon)and so on and so on.
The floors would be large black and white tiles and there would definitely be chandeliers.
Oh, I know exactly how I want it to be. And I know I need to win the lottery to make it so.
Because I do not want the unGodly hours ( the butt crack of dawn to start the dough), the clean up and the failed recipes. I want to hire a staff to do all the labor, while I enjoy my customers and friends that come in. Just snap my fingers and it all appears.
Yeah, I know. Its a great fantasy. But as long as I'm fantasizing, why don't I serve lunch too?
My Steak soup, Corn chowder, Leek and potato soup, open faced montery jack/bacon sandwhiches, chicken pasta salad, Grilled tuna sandwhiches, ~all the homemade dressings I make! How cool would that be? Again, I supervise the staff , eliminate the stress and the toll it would take on me and sit and have lunch with all of you~. Because I can think of nothing better than sharing all my favorite recipes with all of you.
I can even see how I would dress the window displays......I need to go buy a lottery ticket.
But until that happy event occurs, you all are welcome to come by the house and keep me company as I gear up for the holidays~
If you have any recipes you think I need to try, I am more than willing to give them a try!