Day #26--Shuffle

For once, my sister and mother and I will all be in sync. Sort of. Even though I'm a day late, I'll chalk it up to being on Left Coast Time and fashionably on time and all that. Plus, I don't have time to think through a blog post--not today--LOOK AT THIS:



And THAT is counting today. Last night J and I did a lot of Christmas present wrapping. We're not done, but we're well on our way. And I still have six gifts I get to buy today--it's mostly a matter of committing. And an advent wreath and an elf to pull out, on top of normal Saturday work things. Before all of that, our traditional Saturday morning breakfast (J usually does Sundays). Ah, I love the the hedonism of weekends! (reference? anyone?)

Anyway, here are the first ten songs to come up when I put our iPod on shuffle:

1. Trip Through Your Wires U2
2. I've Got to Use My Imagination Gladys Night and the Pips
3. Common as the Rain David Wilcox
4. Bound By a Spell C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair
5. A Man After God's Own Heart Timothy J. Keller
6. The First Noel Canadian Brass
7. Christ, Our Life Timothy J. Keller
8. Nevada Sky The Basics
9. Alternative Girlfriend Barenaked Ladies
10. Deck the Halls Canadian Brass

At least, that's pretty much it. I have to confess I was trying to figure out what came after "Gladys Knight and the P" and I lost that list and had to start over...I don't know that I've ever set the iPod to shuffle...and the next three lists all began with chapters from children's books, which I refused to use to start off. But this is close enough.

Day #25--Thanksgiving, Part 2

Today, I wanted to share a few photos from our day yesterday. It was great!

For some reason, we have almost no photos of the grown-ups. I assure you, we were there, too!

Here's one of the kid tables.


The day was full of friends...



And food... (Look! Adults! Don't blink)


And illustrations of things we're grateful for (Here is Pixie's place)...


And poetry recitations...



And music...



...And the saddest little French Silk Pie. EVER.


I have no pictures, but it was also full of the best. turkey. EVER. J put that 23-lb. baby in the smoker at 2:15am, underneath the ham (which basted it nicely) and stuffed with yummy things like apples and onions and I don't know what else. It was amazing.

And for supper, we had Happy Thanksgiving AGAIN! YUM!

And I have three more Christmas presents to chase down. By tomorrow. What's your count?

Day #24--Happy Thanksgiving, Part I

We had a great day, and I hope y'all did, too. There was good food, fun music, family, friends-like-family, crayons, messes, stresses, candles, singing, and yumminess. I hope to post some photos and tales tomorrow...there's yet a bit of clean-up to do. :)

'Sta Manana!


PS This isn't where we live, but it looks a lot like it. And is much more Thanksgiving appropriate than SB. Any guesses...? ;)

Day #23--Adventures in the Kitchen

Caramel Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake.

Caramel Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake.

Caramel Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake.

Say it three times, really fast.

Now:

“Let me ask you a question. Everyone at this table. Did he just say the word pumpkin to me?”
(Tracy Jordan, 30 Rock pilot episode)

But I digress.

Today, in order to get a jump start on tomorrow, for which I am actually doing very little cooking, I went ahead and made a Caramel Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake. No one else at our Thanksgiving likes pumpkin pie, but it seems like there should be something pumpkin-y on the table.

(Did he just say the word pumpkin to me?")

I also made a crust for the French Silk pie I'll be attempting tomorrow. Hope that works out.

Back to the CPGC. I have a few extra tips for you, should you wish to try it. For example, when the recipe calls for softened cream cheese, it actually means softened...not just that you wish it was softened because you're pretty sure your microwave is on the cusp of melting it. Softened does not mean that you can stick a finger in it. You can actually do that to un-softened cream cheese. Should you rush the softening process, you'll likely end up with this:


A big glob of cream cheese thwapping around the side of the bowl as it mixes. And two pounds of thwapping is a lot. However, as my friend M. explained just last week, something about mechanical something speeding up chemical something (science smart paid attention in science .)

So I knew from that little lesson about ice melting (which she gave to our daughters) that if I just let 'er rip it would eventually soften. Which it did.


However, this is not what it is supposed to look like when it comes out of the oven:


This is what Brinsons back in the day would have called a "3-pointer."

Does that look like any cheesecake you've ever seen? This vision means cheesecake batter all over the bottom of the oven and smokiness drifting through the house. Ech. Apparently I was overzealous about the "light and fluffy" part of "beat until light and fluffy," and made a POOFY Caramel Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake.

(Did he just say the word pumpkin to me??!?")

I really must recommend watching the first half of the 30 Rock pilot if you haven't seen it. If for no other reason, it'll open worlds of funny quotables packed with meaning:

"Isn't he...crazy?"
"I am a Jedi!" and
"Nor should it be," come to mind.

The pumpkin question, on the other hand, is random...if subtle.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Day #22--Recreation

Tonight, after the kids went to bed, J challenged his parents to a foosball game. That is, he and his mom vs. his dad and yours truly.

It was epic, and hilarious, and competitive...in a weird sort of way.

Let's just say that own-goals ruled the night, along with J's quote: "It's... good to have goals."

Also, he made up the word "spinzies."

We laughed and laughed and laughed.

Pixie got up to get some water and had all of her suspicions confirmed re: what grown-ups do after kids go to bed.

And now I am off to bed. I have a cold. Boo. I also had a doctor's appointment today, but not for the cold--we have only 4 or 5 weeks left until Cuatro arrives!

And 4 or 5 days until Advent. Depending on how you count. Help. I need help.

I want to quote Pioneer Woman here, but I'm not sure which sign-off to steal:

I want my mommy,

or

Goodbye forever,
H

Day #21--Two-minute Drill

As football season is winding toward a close--for those of us who don't have January bowl games to look forward to--some of us may find our attention drawn to other sorts of contests.

Perhaps you remember my challenge from back on Day #2. Well, having gone through all of those brussels sprouts, and having not been able to find them at Trader Joe's for a while, I happened upon them again last week.


And unlike J., I bought TWO stalks! One for having when we feel like it, and one for Thanksgiving. Mmm--mmm good. And I'll think of some other vegetable for the children to eat. It is a holiday, after all.

Except for Wombles. He likes brussels sprouts, and artichokes, and asparagus.

Anyway, it was great fun breaking off all of the sprouts. And then we were left with the two stalks. As J went to go put them in the green bin, he paused and asked, "How much fun do you think the boys would have playing with these?"

We decided to leave them out, wondering how long it would take them to decide to use them as some kind of medieval weapon.

The next morning, one of the kids saw them out the sliding glass door and asked what they were. "Brussels Sprout stalks."

Later, when it was time for them to go outside for recess, I set my stopwatch. I wanted to know just how long, exactly, it would take someone to find them and use them as a club or sword or something.

The answer: Just less than two minutes.

Wombles was the first to capitalize on new technology. Suddenly, Bud's Nerf gun didn't seem quite the thing.



So then Bud, of course, went and found the other one.


They were able to parry for a short while before Pixie saw what was going on and capitalized on the opportunity to write, stage and direct a new script. She was the princess in the tower (naturally).



Bud was her defender, and Wombles was the "bad guy."


As executive producer, I eventually stepped in and reworked it so there were two knights fighting against another enemy... and things went very well for our heroes (not so well for the dragons).

If only we could say the same for our gridiron heroes!

Day #20--Recent Video

I mentioned yesterday that Boppy and Grandma were here for a Thanksgiving visit. Hooray! The three amigos have been shrieking with glee in anticipation of their arrival for some time, and have not been disappointed.

It's fun the even Wombles can remember enough details from their last visit (in June) to look forward to doing some of the same things again. I have been surprised by how vividly he remembers.

Their memories have been jogged somewhat by the arrival of the kids' album, Wake and See. It's been nearly a year since we all convened up at Camp Covington to record the kids' tracks, and we've been looking forward to hearing the final version. Since we got our copy in the mail, Pixie and Bud have had a blast singing along with Boppy, their cousins, and themselves on several of the tracks--and learning the songs that are new to them. Pixie will listen to "Fiddle Box" over and over again, giggling at the bits she recognizes from the Little House books and asking about the bits are from books in the series which she's hasn't yet read. We've had a great time!

Recently at recess, the kids performed bits of a song that is new to them. I don't think they'll get the theological statement for some time yet (you won't either, from this clip) but maybe the point will go ahead and sink in!

Anyway, Happy Sunday Video!