Turkey Wrangling

I am determined to have a big, fluffy Thanksgiving this year. The hubs and I have gone a little overboard inviting people. He because he wants to fry turkeys, and I for many reasons some conscious and some unconscious. 

The main dilemma seems to be coming up with a suitable activity to fit the outrageousness that I feel. Personally, turkey wrangling seems to fit the bill. I can see people in jeans chasing a turkey around my backyard falling in the mud, shouting obscenities at the turkey, rolling around laughing, and people cheering from the porch. It's beautiful! 

I was slightly disappointed not to be able to find any pictures of anyone ACTUALLY wrangling turkeys by hand. But apparently, it is not for ordinary folks.

When we lived on our 3rd floor apartment we had the Great Pumpkin Toss of '06 after dinner. 

Ideally we could repeat this, but even if we got on the roof what would we be aiming for? the dumpster in the apartment complex was perfect. Sigh. I have gotten some suggestions, but most lack the OOMPH of fun and unforgettableness that I am trying to achieve. Call me modern, but charades just doesn't do it for me. 

There is a possible option of turkey bowling. One of the local bowling alleys sells old pins 10 for $5. We could do a small turkey or chicken to stay cheap. S and I are still trying to work out the logistics. For example, are the neighbors going to be down with this? It also seems to be mostly in places with hard-packed snow. 

I did find an interesting article here which talks about the various types of turkey bowling. My favorite is the third type of turkey bowling. It reminds me of the hind-and-go-seek we used to play in Walmart in college:

The last and final style is the rogue "Grocery Store Turkey Bowler". This menace to society will set up soda bottles,(or any other bottles he/she can get their hands on) in an empty grocery store isle. This method usually involves an accomplice to watch for store employees, and another to shoot video while the bowler pitches his bird down the makeshift lane. It's not likely you will get a full 10 frames in the store. Usually it's pitch and run before you hear "Security in the frozen meat section".

Apparently Texas has a long history of turkey bowling if you would like to see George Bush turkey bowl while governor you can do so here.  It seems I am just gathering more and more evidence to talk myself into this turkey bowling. :)  I'll let you know how it goes. 

New Cookbook

In an attempt (that lasted until we got sick) to eat a little smidgeon better for dinner, the hubs and I battled it out in Half Price books until we agreed on a cookbook. It is titled, 12 Best Foods Cookbook, and so far has been fun! Although, keep in mind for us anything not Hamburger Helper (which is now banned) is fun.

So, to start off each of us picked a couple of recipes we'd like to try. Naturally I picked the easiest to make recipes and J picked the hardest ones with no broccoli. Sigh. The hubs has a broccoli hatred that comes with an attached rant that will make you want to bury your head in the garden and eat grubs rather than listen to it. So while this cookbook does have broccoli (calm yourself J & George B.), we are skipping that section.

First I tried the Shrimp with Cherry Tomatoes and Feta.

Unfortunately for you guys, I forgot to take the picture while the plate was pretty...

We both thought it was pretty tasty, my only problem was that you CANNOT buy 2 TBSP of feta all by its lonesome. So in order to justify the purchase of feta, we had to use it for the next week and a half.

The special ingredients are my biggest problem in cooking for the two of us. Finding little fun ingredients in small packages is a wild goose hunt. We then end up eating something in different meals every other night. Oh well, what do you do? At least we're not cooking for more than two, so we can get away with a vegetable and a meat most nights since we eat late.

Sweet Potato Salmon Cakes

The other day I had some leftover salmon and decided to experiment since leftovers usually go to waste around here.

The second time I attempted it I made a full batch and it was yummy the second time too!

Here's what I used:

10-12oz Salmon

1 egg

1-2 TBSP unbleached flour

3/4 cupish grated sweet potato (grated on the small side)

diced onion

fresh dill (I am growing it, so it was free!)

salt and pepper

Form into medium sized cakes, heat oil in a skillet, and saute until lightly browned.

I also added some green beans to hot oil with a little salt, pepper, and at the last minute balsamic vinegar.

It met with approval from the hubs, and was something different!

I would like to note that I did make the second batch with canned salmon in an attempt to be thrifty. That will not be happening again. It was not even pink! Yikes! I will admit it does save time since there is no baking ahead of time. Perhaps in the future I will give pouch salmon a try, but the jury is still out on that one.

My Intervention

Let me introduce to my pretty sister, S. She owns several make-up bags, has filled at least one standing jewelry chest, and can carry off sequined trucker caps because people are mesmerized by her eyelashes. Oh, and she's a guera. And lucky for me, she likes to stay with me when she's in town, dress me, and make me look nice. (I just typed nice, but pronounced it nyyyyce in my head)

So, meet S....

So, for my birthday this year my fabulous sister bought me Bare Minerals. Which I was worried about, since makeup application is really not my forte.

In true infomercial fashion I decided to take a poorly lit, sans makeup, non-smiling, unpleasant photo of myself. It then took me a month to get up the nerve to post in on the interwebs.

This is a picture of getting started, before the wreckage occurred. Lucky for me, it comes with a video that I watched while applying in my guest bathroom since the hubs was still asleep. Note: Bare Minerals comes off computer keyboards with a little spit on the finger.

Here is my after picture. I took it next to a window, from up above, and tried Tyra "happy eyes". You see, I am smiling with my eyes just like Tyra tells all the girls to do.

So, in true Clark howard style I will say that I have been wearing the make-up for a month and I like it. I am almost down to my other makeup speed of application. I still use other concealer for bad spots, but I like the softer, younger look it gives my skin. Also, it was free since it was a gift, and so therefore a great buy! Thanks, S!

Dedication

The hubs in the middle of writing his master's thesis. After subtle inquiry I have discovered that he has not dedicated it yet, or even decided if he is going to. 

Whaaat???

For some strange twist in logic the reasoning behind not putting a dedication in it is that it will be bound and go in the school library for all eternity. Which in my mind sounds like a perfect reason for a dedication, but who can understand these scholar types. 

So, in my own little inconspicuous way I have come up with a few dedications myself. 

Let's vote!

#1 - To my very own wifey who faithfully washed (and occasionally folded) all the boxers that I wore while writing this book.

#2 - To my wife whom I love and adore with all my heart and for a whole year did not touch my piles of papers in the office even when company was coming.

#3 - To the LOVE of my LIFE who often kept our loud, vocal, always hungry, jobless, mooches of cats away from my office door while I was writing. 

#4 - To my very own Julia Child of a wife who fed me bruschetta and many other culinary delights every week until this was finished. 

#5 - To my muse, Isabelle. 

All winners, if I do say. 

Huck's Unrealized Talent

It appears Huckleberry has an artistic side that the hubs and I have been failing to encourage. We are such rotten parents. All this time his budding talent has been forced to sleep away the hours his little artist's soul was crying for a paintbrush. 

As you can see above, complete apathy had set in as he grudgingly accepted his life with us. But in a lucky coincidence his mommy needed a birthday present for a 3-year-old with a brand new room. Luckily for his mommy, Huck was willing to help throughout the entire process. 

Huck and I's finished product! I bought these letters (which were dull & boring white) at Hobby Lobby. Lucky for me and my wallet, they were having a 50% Wall Sale! Man, I love me some Hobby Lobby!

I had a moment of panic once home and realized there was no way I could paint circles freehand, and even if I could my brushes are getting frayed and I would never be able to stay in the lines. So I tore the end off the ribbon spool and used it as my stencil. Huck approved of the move, and after painting we moved on to the ribbon. We cut the ribbon into 7 pieces, well I actually did the cutting since I have the thumbs, but I digress. Then we tied the bows in the middle, loosely measured the length from the letters using the scissor blade as a ruler, and then glue gunned the heck out of it. 

I think Huck has an affinity for paint since when we found him at the shelter he had a silver paint mark on his forehead to identify him. And just for kicks, and since I am his mommy, above is a picture of him as a little baby in the Kleenex box he liked to sleep in. He was so tiny, and now he is a puma. Sigh. 

Oh, and since we should probably mention the human child all this was for, sweet Jocelyn who  turned 3! She wore a polka-dot dress and was her usual adorable self. It is very weird to me that she used to sit quietly at the restaurant in a stroller and stack cups. Now she holds phone conversations with me and goes everywhere on her own two feet! 

What a wonderful year 3 will be for her and those of us that get to watch her! 

Satisfying Wednesday

This is what most of today looked like for the hubs and I. 

Although I had my own book. 

And there were cats infecting us with sleepiness all around.

It was a perfect way to get over the last weeks of paper writing and finals. 

And it rained. Perfection.

In a burst of energy we got dressed and sought food. In another miracle J wanted to see a movie I wanted to see...

It made us laugh out loud, because who had any idea that Julia Child was so nutty? 

Not I said the fly. 

Then, to top it all off, the hubs folded the clothes that have been threatening our very existence while he watched The Simpson's for the first time since digital television. Oh, AND he picked fabulous rugs for the guest bath at Target that I never would have looked twice at. More to come on THAT later...