Category: Holidays

Easter & E’s Birthday

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Easter was a low key affair this year. Joe and I declined my mom’s offer to come over for Easter dinner and we didn’t have the kids so we didn’t plan ahead. In fact we ended up running to Dominick’s (since Target was closed) to buy a steak which Joe cooked on the grill. I made mashed potatoes and green beans to go along with it. I made the green beans “Chinese buffet style” which came out pretty good. It was a bit depressing, to be truthful, but I didn’t want to drive an hour to my parents and waste all that gas just for two hours of visiting time. It doesn’t seem worth it when we can’t stay over late which we definitely aren’t able to do on a Sunday when we have work the next day.

The following weekend we celebrated E’s birthday and Joe’s sister came over. K had a band event so it was just E but we had fun playing Dance Party 2 on the Wii with him. I made him brownies and chocolate cupcakes to satisfy his chocolate craving.

Valentine’s Day

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Unlike last year, Joe and I did not exchange gifts for Valentine’s Day. We’re both crazy busy at work now so neither one of us felt like making any effort in the holiday. We left work at a decent time, rented a movie from Redbox (The Killer Elite) and ordered take-out from our favorite Vietnamese place. Just having an evening that didn’t feel rushed was a gift to me. I love my hubby every day; he’s sometimes the only thing that gets me through the hard times.

Christmas

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Thursday was our last day of work until this coming Wednesday. My employer gave us Friday and Monday off for the holiday, so Joe took off Friday and then we both added Tuesday to extend our time off.

Friday I started cooking while Joe went to pick up the kids. Shortly after arriving they opened their presents and we had our Christmas dinner a few hours later. Standard fare applied, including the Archer Farms spiral honey ham which I’ve grown to love.

Saturday evening we took the kids to my parents’ to celebrate which was really fun and then dropped them off at home on our way home since we don’t have them on Christmas Day this year.

Today we didn’t do much. We couldn’t wait (seems to be a yearly theme), so we already exchanged our presents yesterday morning. I bought Joe a Mr. Coffee Single Serve (Powered by Keurig brewing technology) that he had been eying for months. The cheapest we had seen it for was $80 at JCPenney which would have been $70 with the coupon I had, but then I found it on Amazon for $64 so I got it for him even though we originally agreed to only exchange stocking stuffers. He got me a few different things including the soft kitty t-shirt from The Big Bang Theory but it was too small so we gave it to K. The rest of my items are in the pic below. The gift card is my big gift as it will cover a one-hour massage and then some. And with the way work has been going lately there’s no doubt I’ll be needing that soon!

Gifts from my husband

This evening we went looking at Christmas lights and got home just in time for the Bears game which Joe is watching now.

Now that we’re all caught up I’m going to log off and play Words with Friends with my brother and the kids. :)

Anti-consumerism and anxiety

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Is it weird that I don’t want anything for Christmas? I’ve been looking at the deal sites just because it’s fun but nothing makes me go “oh, I wish I had that”. Does that mean I have too much? Or am I depressed? I know I’m stressed out a lot right now due to some changes at work, but I’m not sure why that would make my desire to consume disappear. Maybe it’s the articles I’ve been reading about having too much stuff.

Incidentally, I went through the five Christmas decoration bins I have in the garage and am going to be giving away some of the stuff that I never use. I have one bin that is nothing but empty boxes, tins, and bags for gift-giving. I probably won’t have to ever buy gift bags again! I’m still using Christmas cards I bought years ago too.

I think the one thing I’m looking forward to is just the time off to (hopefully) clear my mind of work for awhile and relax because January is going to be a hell of a busy month for me.

On a related note, I’m back on Xanax. Ugh. I was only taking it if I had a panic attack but now I’m back to a pill a day. Mind you, it’s a quarter of a milligram which is nothing, but that little bit helps.

Why can’t I be one of those relaxed people who doesn’t get phased by anything? I’m the exact opposite and I hate it. I want to be calm at all times. I guess I can make that a 2012 goal.

Thanksgiving # 2

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Yesterday was our Thanksgiving with the kids.

Our menu:

Market Pantry turkey breast
Pioneer Woman’s sweet potatos
Jiffy corn muffins
Bush’s collard greens
Del Monte whole-kernal corn
Green bean casserole
Ore Ida steam n’ mash potatos
Stove Top stuffing w/ Campbell’s cream of chicken soup as gravy
Heinz HomeStyle turkey gravy (for the turkey and mashed potatoes)
Velveeta shells & cheese
Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce

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Aside: This is the method we used to cook the turkey this year although we used 350 degrees instead of 325. It took almost four hours to cook but the turkey was juicier than any turkey I’ve had before. While I do not care for hot turkey, I was impressed with the moisture.

Foil Tent Method

The traditional method of roasting turkey uses a foil tent of heavy duty aluminum foil to keep the turkey moist. Slow oven roasting ensures a roasted flavor.

Appearance—even golden brown and crisp exterior.

Advantage—often preferred for carving at the table.

How To:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a roasting pan, at least 2 inches deep, with heavy duty aluminum foil.

Remove neck and giblets from both cavities of defrosted turkey. Rinse turkey, pat dry and brush with vegetable oil. Insert meat thermometer into inner thigh for whole turkey or into thickest part of breast for turkey breast. Place turkey, breast side up, in foil-lined roasting pan.

Make foil tent by tearing off a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil. Crease foil crosswise through center. Place over turkey, leaving 1 inch between top of turkey and foil tent for heat circulation. Crimp foil onto long sides of pan to hold in place.

Roast until meat thermometer reads 180 degrees to 185 degrees F for whole turkey, or 170 degrees to 175 degrees F for turkey breast. For stuffed turkey, add 30 minutes to roasting time. To brown turkey, remove foil tent after the first 1 hour of roasting time. The approximate roasting times are: 2-1/2 to 3 hours for 8 to 12 lb. turkey; 3 to 3-1/2 hours for 12 to 16 lb. turkey; 3-1/2 to 4 hours for 16 to 20 lb. turkey; 4 to 5 hours for 20 to 24 lb. turkey.

For easy slicing, cover turkey with foil and let stand 15 minutes after removing from oven.

Read more: Stuffing a Turkey and Foil Tent Method http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/foodday/fd1197/fd111997.html#tent#ixzz1eq52pqS7