New Puppy Photos

New pictures from Denise! The 13 puppies have gotten so big! Makes me wish I had one...

The DL on Thanksgiving Dinner...

My husband began working 2nd shift on 11/20 and will probably continue until the end of the year. It is a bummer, but we are thankful he has a job. I was not very good at doing things ahead of time to help with the work load on Thanksgiving morning, so I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

We have 2 kitties, so I did not want to set the table the night before, because I know they would be all over the china. It really took a long time to set the table. I looked at the potatoes that I had peeled, and it didn't look like enough, so AC headed to the store for potatoes. I was peeling the extra potatoes and freaking out since it was 11 am and AC was vacuuming. My family showed up at noon and AC was still vacuuming and had to shower. After everyone arrived I put out cheese and crackers, with was enough to tide everyone over. We were supposed to eat at 1:00, so I was checking the temp of the turkey and it hit 170 degrees, so I took it out to rest. After resting, my Dad was going to carve it. When he started to carve it, it was not done! Back in the oven. The potatoes didn't boil as fast as I would have liked, but we ate at 2:00.

When AC and I sat down to eat we were not even hungry, but definitely exhausted! We were getting up to get items to people and be sure everyone had everything they needed. After a while I looked over to the kitchen and wanted to run! All the dishes I own were dirty and what a mess to clean up! I am very lucky because I have a mother-in-law that is extremely helpful. She washed everything, my step-mother, Denise dried and I put them away.

Then it was time for dessert. I grabbed the paper plates and we had pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and ice cream. I only had 12 people and it was crazy, I can't even imagine 25 people! Actually I can, 25 people sitting around perfectly set tables at a restaurant! We enjoyed playing the Wii and 5 Crowns (a card game). I took the next day and rested! No Black Friday Shopping for me! I forgot to mention that we had enough food left over to feed a small army! I didn't even need to peel extra potatoes.

The horrible thing that happened was that I didn't take one single photo! I probably shouldn't even call myself a scrapbooker anymore:(

Hope your Thanksgiving was great!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey Time

I looked in the basement last night and the Christmas Tree we have is 7.5 feet tall. I remember wanting the 9' tree, but settling with the 7.5! What was I thinking??

I forgot to mention that AC is working afternoons for the next 2-3 weeks. Just thankful he has a job.

I decided to brine the turkey, so last night I was getting the Williams Sonoma Brining mix ready. This morning I got the turkey out of the refrigerator and had to get it ready for the brining mix. I finally got the legs out of the metal piece and then found the neck. It grosses me out to see what so looks like a dead turkey. That probably doesn't make sense. Let me try to explain, I like to eat chicken, but usually in strip form. I eat pork chops and ham, but never have I seen the whole pig on the table. I did not see the bag that was supposed to be in the turkey. I decided that then seemed like a good time to read the directions. It says the bag is in the neck area, along with a helpful hint about getting the legs out from the metal piece! Finally, I get a knife and cut into the other end of the turkey. Found it! Now it is in a giant brining bag in the refrigerator. Hopefully it will be worth it. Can't wait to see how it all goes tomorrow!

Oh Christmas Tree

2Peas Challenge for today is:
With the hoildays around the corner. When does your family put up your tree and other decorations? Is there a tradition?

Well, I really don't have a tradition for putting up the Christmas tree or decorations. Last year we were packing to move, so we didn't put anything out. This year we will have to start a tradition. It will be the first Christmas in our house, so it is exciting. We have been talking about our Christmas tree and we don't think it will fit in our house. It is a big tree, like 6.5 feet tall and really wide. My plan is to look for a slim line tree or two. I have lots of ornaments and would like to have them on different trees. I have places for smaller trees, just not one huge tree. I have never put lights outside, so I am looking forward to it this year. I will probably start getting the decorations out soon. I want to buy outside lights and get them all set before it snows. We are planning to have company over on Christmas Eve. I am not going to worry about that until this week is over. My problem with the holiday decor is that I get excited and put it out too early and then get sick of looking at it.

I remember one year when I was probably 9 or 10 and I took the tree down on Christmas day in the evening. My parents are divorced and after my mom dropped me off at home, I didn't have anything else to do. My dad was working at the time. Good Times.

Biggest Step

The 2Peas challenge for today is~
What is the biggest step you have taken this year?

I would have to say having Thanksgiving dinner for 12 at our house this year! I am excited, but nervous since I have never cooked a turkey or much else for that matter! We registered for china when we got married, so I got it all out and washed in preparation for Thanksgiving dinner, but to be honest the closer Thanksgiving comes, the better paper plates look. Since it is the first Thanksgiving dinner we are hosting, I will use the china. I bought a table cloth, place mats, napkins, and napkin rings in order to have a good looking table. The table cloth and napkins need to be pressed, so I thought I would do the napkins and let the dry cleaner do the table cloth. The dry cleaner wanted $18 to only press the darn thing! I could not believe it! I will be pressing it myself sometime in the next 3 days.

I went to a 12 hour crop on Saturday. I was still kind of burnt out from the week, but I went at 9 am and left at 8 pm, so I made it for 11 hours. On Friday after work I did the Thanksgiving grocery shopping that could be done early. Just did laundry and homework the rest of the weekend. I have a group project that I need to finish for school and my statistics class tonight. Thanks for reading:)

Busy Week

On Friday we celebrated Diwali at our house. Here is a photo.



On Saturday I woke up with a sore throat and still have it today. This week is going to be busy. Tonight I have class, Tuesday is sketch club, Saturday is a 12 hour crop that I need to prepare for. No time to be sick. I think I will go get most of the groceries for Thanksgiving on Wednesday evening, of this week. I want to be prepared and not shopping at the last minute. We basically took it easy this weekend. AC did work all day on Saturday, so I should say I basically took it easy this weekend:)