Success

Remember my turkey experiment? OMG, it was wonderful! I was surprised how much the turkey browned up in the crock pot, then I put it under a low broiler for about five minutes and the skin was perfectly crisp.



I ended up with four cups of stock after I skimmed off the fat. I made gravy with some and froze the rest. I should also note that when I was tasting the gravy I realized I'd forgotten to season the breast with some thyme before cooking, so I added some directly to the gravy which worked out just fine. All in all it was delicious.

Warning - Bragging Ahead

What? You're reading any way? Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you!

This week end Precious Youngest was one of the members of her debate squad selected to represent their team at State. They took second. SECOND. By ONE BALLOT! In the end they and one other team had the same win loss record. The tournament officials had to review the judges ballots (three from each round)and they missed first by only one ballot. We are so proud of them! And there's hardware!

In other news, Precious Oldest knitted a scarf for me.

A lovely sage green that looks beautiful with my both my black and camel coats. Didn't she do a great job?

And finally, I'm trying something new. I've got a six pound turkey breast in the crock pot. I put carrots, onion, bay leaves and a cup and a half of chicken stock in the bottom of the crock pot. I softened a quarter cup of butter and rubbed half between the skin and breast and rubbed the rest on the skin. I seasoned with salt and pepper. It smells great.

I'm hoping when we get back from Precious Youngest's basketball game that I can put the turkey under the broiler to crisp the skin while I do the potatoes and gravy. Wish me luck!

Grace in Small Things, Part 10

1. Health insurance with vision care
   
2. A respite, however brief, from the frigid winter temperatures
   
3. CLEAN glass storm doors (because it was finally warm enough TO clean them!)
   
4. An upcoming trip
   
5. Red Beans and Rice with Andouille Sausage

In which I revisit my New Years resolution

Aside from:

A. The poor photography, which I did myself

AND

B. The clear need for Botox injections

What do you think?



I'm still having a little trouble adjusting. Because the lenses are progressives my peripheral vision seems blurry. The Saint assures me it will sort itself out in a weeks time, but that sounds kinda long to me.

Grace in Small Things, Part 9

Oh the shame! Just when I thought I was TOO OLD to let guilt rule my life along comes Schmutzie. Schmutzie shot me an e-mail inviting me to be a part of a social network for "Grace In Small Things". Which made me realize that I have not been keeping up with my original end of the proverbial bargain. So, without further ado:

1. My sister living close by
2. The Saint working with my nephew on his Pinewood Derby car
3. Lemon Lift tea in the afternoon
4. A Christmas gift given to me by the Saint that I've worn almost every day since
5. The Schmutzies of the world

Every time

I always get a little choked up watching the inauguration and the swearing in of the new president. Particularly years, like this year, where the outgoing and incoming presidents are of different political parties.

I watch, I shake my head, my eyes fill a bit with tears. "Look at us!" I shout in my head. No violence led to this moment. The people voted. The people did this. Every time.

Boys don't make passes

at girls who wear glasses, or so the saying goes. The Saint says I can count on him.

Olly Olly Oxen Free

Charming, no? How I invited everyone to come out of hiding and then left them DANGLING with no post for days and days? Sheesh.

I was blaming my absence on the fact that I’m just not feeling like myself, but then I realized that this is EXACTLY how my self feels every winter. Drive, ambition, gumption? Pfft, out the window.

All I want to do is sleep, eat and drink. And watch really bad television. (OMG – the new “Real Housewives”? Better than EVER!) I come home from work and put my pajamas on. I shuffle around the house and consider ordering pizza for dinner like some sort of slacker. I look at my lap top and can’t be bothered to turn it on. It is dark, it is cold, I am miserable.

Speaking of television (What? I was!), you remember that Sib#2 lives right around the corner ? Well her cable company (we have several options in the ‘hood) does not get BRAVO. Travesty I know, right? So she comes over to our place to get her BRAVO fix.

Last night was "Top Chef". We were very disappointed that Jersey got sent home. (There are so many contestants at the beginning of these shows that we can't be bothered learning their names so we give them nicknames that sort of stick.) It was the first time we felt let down. When Bronx started whining about missing his family we knew he'd be the next to go. When Bangs and Sleeves got the boot we totally saw it coming. But Jersey? Man, we LIKED her! Meanwhile Angry Girl, Slacker, Frenchy (though Frenchy MIGHT get re-named Douchey), Boy Next Door, Makin the Pasta and Crazy Eyes will live to see another week.

What gets you through the cold winter nights?

All around the blogosphere

My Bleeps are telling me that today is:



That means that all you folks out there READING here, but failing to comment, are suppose to come out of the woodwork and say "Hi". I promise I'll clickety click right over to your place and have a look around. And leave a damn COMMENT already. Sheesh.

Observation

Last night Precious Oldest and four of her friends had a diner party for their high school debate coach. Their former coach is a gifted teacher and excellent mentor. She had a positive and undeniable and impact on these girls, now off at college in several states. She’s the teacher they all stop to visit when they come back to town.

I sat in the kitchen with a cup of tea while they the girls cooked; I was there for consultation only. They were pretty well organized and needed little help from me. Once their little party was under way the Saint and I went out to grab some dinner.

While we were out we ran into a few folks and didn’t return for a couple of hours. When we got back they were all still sitting at the dinning room table laughing and finishing dessert. The kitchen was clean, the dishwasher was running and they had fixed a plate for Precious Youngest who joined them when she got home from work.

Parenting is a hard job. This raising your children, from the time they are babies, to leave you. There is no grade card, no performance review. God knows your kids won’t tell you whether or not you’re doing it right. But there are moments. Moments when, as a parent, you realize you’ve done a good job. Last night was one of those moments.

Consider me awesome

Yesterday, just one week into the new year, I fulfilled my New Years Resolution. This is why it is important to pick CONCRETE resolutions people. The beauty lies in the one shot dealio.

Let me begin by saying why in the name of all that is holy does the eye doctor dude need as much medical/personal history as my gynecologist? How much I exercise is going to effect my eye sight how exactly? Can I drink myself blind? And what do you care what I'm taking to keep the crazy at bay?

Any way, there was a lot of baseline this and baseline that. Many, MANY pictures of my eye balls. Loads of, "What is the smallest line you can read?". Then some godforsaken pokey thing to check for glaucoma. (I was told that in the OLDEN day they used to numb your eye balls and poke them with pins! Or shoot puffs of air at them! Gah!)

So no glaucoma, retinal detachment, macular degeneration, blah, blah, blah. And eye doctor dude said I could just keep using my drug store reading glasses. BUT, I decided to get glasses for the office. A progressive lens with nothing on the top, a "middle distance correction" for the computer and a "near distance correction" for reading towards the bottom. This should eliminate me taking my cheaters on and off about a bazillion times a day, as well as my tendency to peer over the tops of said cheaters during meetings.

I anticipate these will take some getting used to. If anyone has trudged down this road before me, please advise. I? Will be resting on the laurels of the 100% success of my 2009 resolution!

In which I am wistful

This Christmas break seemed so short. Too short

Precious Youngest took her last final December 18th and turned around the next day to go to the regional debate tournament. Classes resumed yesterday. That’s two weeks and change for Christmas break.

Precious Oldest also finished finals on the 18th, drove home, and turned around to go with her sister to regionals. Her classes start again late next week, but she’ll go back to campus this weekend as she has to work. A little bit longer break, but still…

Senior year of high school is stressful. The work load is intense and the college application process is grueling. Observing the college age kids of various friends it appears sophomore and junior years at university take their toll. This was certainly the case for Precious Oldest last semester. They were so ready for the break and now it’s over.

I’ve been cooking up favorite meals and trying to get as many hugs in as I can. Time is moving fast my friends. Too fast.

Overheard

The Precious Daughters are having a Guitar Hero World Tour competition. Precious Oldest's phone rings; it's the boyfriend. Precious Youngest answers:

Precious Youngest: "Precious Oldest can't talk to right now, she's rocking out."

Charlie Brown Teacher Voice

Precious Youngest: to Precious Oldest ,"He says he thought you were going to a movie."

Precious Oldest: sigh "What movie?"

Precious Youngest: "She wants to know WHAT movie."

Charlie Brown Teacher Voice

Precious Youngest : to Precious Oldest "He says he doesn't know."

Precious Oldest: "Gah, I'm dropping chords - tell him I can't talk about this right now!"

Precious Youngest: to boyfriend, "You know what? How about you call back when you DO have a plan? Kthnxbai!"

Grace in Small Things, part 8 of 365

This is how I started 2009

1. Hot Coffee
   
2. Warm sun on a cold day
   
3. Flannel P.J.s
   
4. Crossword puzzles
   
5. A day off
   
6. Mimosas (On a previous list, but what can I say?)

Happy New Year

I have two important, auspicious announcements to make so listen up:

1. I am making a New Years resolution.
   Shut up, I am! I have never seen an eye doctor; the only eye exams I've had have been done at the DMV. So in 2009 I resolve to make an appointment to have an honest to God eye exam, performed by a real doctor! I'm telling you now, the Saint is going to faint when he finds out! He's been pestering me to do this for YEARS!
   
   
2. The New Year can kiss my ass.
   No one wants to see an add for this pop up in their in-box.
   
   
   
   Why Fannie, you're thinking to yourself, that's not SUCH a bad nightgown. Well that's because you have not yet read the description:
   
   
   Hot Flash V-Neck Sleepshirt
   "Better Sleeping Through Science
   Busy days call for restful nights, and Hot Flash Sleepwear helps you get your just desserts. An advanced process, which blends moisture-wicking polyester with silky bamboo-based rayon, builds-in patented Heat Release Technology to move moisture out and away from your body almost instantly."
   
   And that's not all. Evidently there is an entire line of sleepwear designed for women just.like.me. But is this what I need to find out at the dawn of the New Year? I think not. Sheesh, a girl could get a complex!

In any event, Happy New Year to you and yours. May 2009 bring you joy, peace, happiness and a sweat free nights sleep!