Turkey Tales

HAPPY FIRST THANKSGIVING to BAILEY!!!!

What a Happy Thanksgiving we had this year!!! It required a LOT of obsessive planning, which involved and EXCEL spreadsheet, but it was WELL worth it because it went off without a hitch!!!

Due to the raging success, I feel obligated to share my recipes and plans with my devoted imaginary friends.

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Turkey and Gravy

Ham

Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Cranberry Salad

Green Beans

Stuffing

Rolls

Dessert Buffet: Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie, Turtle Pie, Apple Pie

Recipes:

Turkey: Fully Cooked Turkey Breast purchased from H-E-B. I was not about to mess with any gizzards, neck, or bones of any kind!! Barf-o-rama!!! I served 10 adults and 8 kids with 2, 2.5 lb breasts and had A TON of leftovers!!!

Ham: Fully Cooked and Glazed Spiral Sliced Ham from a Ham and Meat Company across the street!!! AWESOME!!! I purchased a 9 lb ham and we also had a TON of this left over.

Mashed potatoes. This recipe was SO EASY!! I made it the day before!

Praline Sweet Potatoes. I also made this the day before! YUMMY, YUMMY. They were basically a dessert!!

Cranberry Salad: THANK YOU JT!!!!!

1 bag of fresh cranberries (produce section in the grocery store)
1 large box of cherry jello
1 can of crushed pineapple, drained and save about 1 cup of juice

1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of nuts I used Butter Toffee Pecans

Chop cranberries in food processor. Mix chopped cranberries with 1/2 cup of sugar. Let soak for a couple of hours. Mix 2 cups of hot water with jello. Add 1 cup of cold water with 1 cup of drained pineapple juice. Add cranberries, pineapple and nuts. Refrigerate for several hours. This will make a TON!!!

Green Beans--DOLE that one out to one of your guests!!!

Stuffing: STOVE TOP OF COURSE!!!

Rolls: Sister Schubert's Frozen Yeast Rolls---Yummy in your tummy!!

Dessert Buffet: Whatever Frozen boxed pie you want!!!

My spreadsheet consisted of a timetable for reheating/heating everything. A less compulsive person could just write out a list. ;)

Here you have it!! Thanksgiving made easy so that you can ENJOY your day, family and guests.

My sweet Strong Man, Barnum and Bailey provided me with the PERFECT reward for busting my tale feathers to make their Thanksgiving special. As I headed into the bathroom to sip wine and take a long hot bath I found this:

Free Holiday CD

I had to pass this gem on ASAP!! Go here to download Oprah's free Holiday CD. HURRY, HURRY, you only have 48 hours.

Favorite Things

Devoted readers,

It is no secrete that I think Oprah is the devil.

Even though I used to be a devoted follower! So devoted that I skipped two days worth of classes in college dialing the 1-800 number to secure myself four tickets to a live taping!! (The Strong Man would KILL me if he knew that I told the Worldwide Web he went with me!!!) He doesn't obsessively (or even regularly) read my blog so he will never know. Supports it...yes. Reads it...NO.

Current feelings about Oprah aside, I was informed by It's in the details that Oprah's Favorite Things airs TOMORROW!!! Wednesday, November 26, 2008. Word on the Internet is that "she is only showcasing affordable items." I would like to know her definition of "affordable" so I have my DVR set.

That is right! I HAVE MY DVR SET!!!

Black Friday

This blog is dedicated to all of the Christmas Gift Deal Seekers in my life. I am by NO means an authority subject but I ran across a few gems that could be potentially helpful.

1. Official site for all 2008 Black Friday Ads
2. A little history on the madness.
3. Google. For real! Every decent plan begins with a google search!!
4. Amazon. Prime Shipping cannot be BEAT!!!
5. This just in.....Thank you Amazanian for this website!!!

Good luck you bloodhounds!!!

That was then...

That was then....

This is now.....(10 months later)

I am CrAzY about these two!! I am also CrAzY that we still have my husband's bachelor pad couch!!!

Tooth Tissues

Sweet Barnum. Sweet, sweet Barnum. Little Barnum is SO sweet that I have to fight really hard to keep the teeth in his little head!!! You see, he was born without the enamel on his top four teeth. This was discovered right before his 1st Birthday. As an OCD 1st Time Mom, I had PLENTY of time to stare, pick, prod, make mental notes, thoroughly research all mental notes and consult experts regarding my research and mental notes. Oh how exhausting I was!!! (That is right devoted readers....WAS!!)


One day as I looked down at my sweet little Barnum, I noticed "wear" marks on his top two teeth. In a fit of hysteria, I hauled my precious baby to the dentist. I was SICK! After all, this child was nursed EXCLUSIVELY for 11 months!! However, I felt that b/c of my child's teeth people would view me as the "mom that props the bottle." I cried. I lost sleep. I cried some more. I was defenseless. All I wanted was for my baby to be immune from life's problems. (Little did I know that these teeth were going to be the LEAST of his problems in the next year to come!!!)


Back to the dentist. An ANGEL of a man!! We started a preventative plan involving varnish fluoride treatments every three months. However, the doc prepared me that we would more than likely end up needing to cap his top four teeth.


I researched myself silly and in the meantime my sil gave me an article on Xylitol. It was all natural and what did I have to lose? In typical OCD fashion, I bought and implemented EVERY Xylitol product I could get my hands on.


I am happy to report that I have SOOOOOO gotten a clear perspective on baby teeth. Yes, the stint with paralysis helped!! But also, sweet, sweet Barnum is now 3 years old with every one of his natural teeth. At our recent dental visit we were given the good news that CAPS ARE NOT IN OUR FUTURE!!! I have the Lord, crazy regimented dental hygiene and XYLITOL to thank!!


PARENTS OUT THERE....PLEASE make note of these AWESOME products!! Tooth Tissues can be used BEFORE your little baby even has teeth. Oh what I would have given to know this with Barnum! Praise the Lord I know it now and can use them with little Bailey. FYI...Bailey is 10 months old and the proud owner of 14 teeth!!! He LOVES his little Tooth Tissues!!






Also, Xyli-Tots Lollies make the PERFECT sweet reward for your older kiddos!! I was introduced to these last month by our dentist and was happy to find them at our local Health Food Store.

Here is to healthy teeth and gums!!

The WorldWide Web

A couple of weeks ago the facilitator of my Bible study emailed me an AMAZING-INCREDIBLE devotional she happened onto through a google search. Her search was "days are long, years are short." She was referred to a blog by Mama Hen. Mama Hen was encouraging her readers to check out a devotional she loved at this Internet Cafe. This particular devotional was written by one AWESOME lady who the Lord has put in my life through a Mommies and Mentors group.

SOOOOOOOOO. All of that to say.....a search on the WORLDWIDE WEB tied three local yokels together!

This devotion is an encouraging reminder of how well and how much we are loved by our Heavenly Father. It is written by an author who has been blessed with captivating eloquence!! I urge you to check out more of Missy at her blog. I know that it will make you want "to clap your snotty hands together!!!"