Thanksgiving Eve

When I was a junior high teacher, Thanksgiving Eve was one of my most favorite days of the entire year.  We had been working for months without a break and had just finished conferences, which coincidently were my least favorite days of the year.

I would lay on the couch all day in my jammies, order pizza, and watch movies - like the childless, 20-something year old that I was who had no comprehension of just how sacred this luxury was.

Today was the opposite of that day.  The kids were home from school, and I baked all day.  Looks pretty amazing, right?!

What this photo does not show was me running to Kroger twice in my jammies: once to get RumChata for Friday morning and nacho chips for tonight’s dinner.  The other time was to buy two pie plates since they mysteriously went missing.  They did not have any in stock on the day before Thanksgiving. Surprisingly. I was, however, able to scavenge some from my parents.

It also does not show that the pies were all done at different times making us late for a play date.

Nor does it show the failed double batch of cookie dough due to miscalculating the amount of butter.

Regardless, the finished products look pretty impressive (and I can attest that the cookies are delicious).

Tomorrow, I will make the coconut cream pies – my absolute favorite Thanksgiving dessert.

Why coconut cream pie and chocolate chip cookies?  Last year, I wrote a piece for Huffington Post explaining the significance of these special desserts.

So I won’t cooking a turkey this year  (or celebrating my two years of working through my raw poultry fear), and I didn’t have time to do any art therapy.  But I still worked that dessert jam and can’t wait to celebrate tomorrow!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thankful Thursday: Thanksgiving 2014 Edition

 Happy Thanksgiving! 

Thanksgiving is becoming my most favorite holiday of the year.  Food!  Family!  I love it all!  My post aboutThanksgiving and how food is so much more than food was published on HuffingtonPost (which I am totally thankful to be published there)!  I would be so grateful if you clicked on over and shared your thoughts on food!

Making my traditional coconut cream pie.  Why am I making coconut cream pie?
Click on the link to my new Huff Po piece that explains
how coconut cream pie = love and acceptance

Here is a recap of my November’s Thankful Thursday posts:

I started the month out with a family adventure to Detroit for some culture, which led us to going to the Polish Village in Hamtramck. 

I talked about how running outside has changed me.  I alsotalk about how I am not sure who I am anymore since 10 years ago, I would havenever believed that I would like nature and running.

I ended the month withan easy DIY Thanksgiving craft where I experiment with chalkboard paint and ModPodge.  I also talk about how craftingwith the sole purpose of having fun is helping me embrace a more adventurousattitude toward life.

Hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving!

     

Thankful Thursday: DIY Thanksgiving Craft

I have totally taken to crafting to help me relax.  I am reluctant to say that I’m a crafter; I think there is a connotation that would imply that I have a really strong skill set and everything turns out perfectly.

This is not the case. 

What I make up in actual skills, I make up in a sense of adventure.  Who knows how this is going to turn out?  Who cares if it doesn’t go according to plan?  I’ll just try something else.

I guess crafting has taken on the metaphor of how I hope to embrace life one day: who cares what happens as long as I am enjoying myself in a healthy way (and don’t inhale too many glue and paint fumes).

I am thankful that crafting has given me an avenue to explore what a carefree life could be like.

Before this craft, I had never used chalkboard paint before.  But I was curious about it, so I decided to try it out on chipboard.  I wanted something that could be made for Thanksgiving, but could stay out all year, too.

First I took a chipboard and spray painted it with chalkboard spray.

Then I cut strips of scrapbook paper to cover a canvas.

I used Mod Podge in a glossy finish.

I wanted to to make the chipboard with chalkboard paint pop (that I wrote on with chalk and sealed it with a matte sealant), so I decided to matte it to some brown and patterned cardstock.

I used the Mod Podge in a glossy finish again on the canvas.

Then I used Mod Podge with a matte finish to adhere it to the canvas.  I was hoping it would add contrast to the glossy and make keep it looking more like a chalkboard.

But it didn’t.  The fine chalkboard dust I created did not stick.  But that’s OK.  I still like how it turned out.

Have you used chalkboard paint?  Or have you done any crafts lately?  I would love to try something new!

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Know what else I'm thankful for?  Huffington Post published my piece about Thanksgiving and how I use food to express my love and acceptance. I would love it if you clicked on over and read it!

Thanksgiving Turkey Recap to the Raw Poultry Dare

I just wanted to give myself (and those hanging on the edge of their seats) a little closure about cooking the turkey for the Thanksgiving.

I waited this long a.) to make sure no one had any delayed serious and/or fatal cases of salmonella poisoning, and b.) manhandling a 21.4-pound beast is exhausting. 

At first, I was super nervous. Looking at this thing was like staring long and hard at your biggest fear.

But I lifted it into the sink and got to work.

Yikes!

Please Note the rubber glove was worn out of safety since I took a chunk off my thumb while preparing roasted root vegetables, not because I was scared.

Hey, little known fact about turkeys: there is a metal wire holding it together which is damn near impossible to take out. My mom, who was assisting, told Harrington, who was photo documenting, to do it. I shut that shit down. When I commit, I commit the whole way. So after I yanked that metal piece out, I lathered up that bird in an olive oil paste of garlic, sage, thyme, and rosemary.

The smile says, "Gross, but totally doing it! Yay me!"

See, here I am separating the skin from the meat because what good is the flavor if it is only on he outside. (See, I commit all the way).

Look at the look of concentration. Maybe I missed my chance at being a surgeon. Or a butcher.
Also, please don't judge the scruntchie.  I needed my hair out of my face
and still look good later that day.

Then I popped it in the oven and put the electronic thermometer in the correct spot (or so I thought).

I washed my arms like I was scrubbing in for surgery.

And bleached the kitchen (along with my soul).

I started to get nervous because the bird was cooking so fast. I kept on turning the oven down and down. And let the bird rest. And it wasn't done. So long story short, my mom and my mother-in-law were ripping the legs of the turkey to pop back in the oven. 

Pink juices were flowing onto my counter.

I repeat: Pink juices were flowing onto my counter.

Luckily, I was preoccupied with obsessing about the rest of the bird and drinking my wine, because obviously.

While obsessing, I notice that part of the breast near the bone was questionable so I popped it in the oven and had more wine.

And proceeded to make the most amazing gravy ever.

I put the rest of the stuff on the table. I kept mashed potatoes warm with this trick.

Boom.

And everyone lived happily ever after without any trips to the ER. The end.

Afterwards:

There is this weird thing about facing a life long fear and surviving. I thought I would only feel joy and triumph. But I feel kind of pissed I spent that much time being scared. And then I felt sad that I was that sick with OCD and didn't even know it. I just thought it was normal since I wasn't totally and completely destroying my life.  

Don't get me wrong, there was a feeling of accomplishment, but I was taken off guard by the other feelings.

Have you ever conquered a fear only to feel sad?