Thanksgiving 2011

 Today was a wonderful day spent with my family. I am so happy and blessed to have such a wonderful family. Outside of burnt pumpkin pie crust my pies turned out wonderful. I followed the directions on a website to cover the crust with tin foil but my crazy oven still burned them in the 15 minutes they were exposed. I have formed my own theory of how I will attempt this next time.
I plan to cover my crust with foil before I fill them so instead of adding the foil after 15 minutes I am going to try removing it with about 5 minutes. Despite the crust they had a wonderful texture and taste. I was rather proud of myself. I ate until I could not hold another bite and it was all super delicious. I probably gained 20 pounds with one meal. Now I have dressing to make for my aunts dinner Saturday and will probably gain another 20. I hope the dressing turns out well I have not made any since last year at Thanksgiving.


Today got me thinking how so many people have gotten out of touch with what the holidays are really meant to be about. The holidays are not about the big expensive gifts you are buying at the after Thanksgiving sales, it is not about having the best dish on the table, or the prettiest dessert. The holidays are about time spent together as a family enjoying a nice dinner and communicating. I will admit I will miss the big sales this year just a little but why would I throw away hard earned money on things people probably do not want anyway? I am with the portion of consumers this year that are asking for practical gifts. Buy me a nice outfit, buy me some pots and pans for my kitchen, or give me some extra cash or a gift card and let me buy what I need. What I really need is gravel for my driveway, a few pair of jeans, a few extra dollars to plop in my savings account to help me pay my student loans, and maybe just maybe for a little self TLC a new hair style. I will admit I would like to have an external hard drive but do I really need it? No, it is not a need just a want so I can pull all my pictures off my home PC in case it decides to crash or such. It takes a little time but I can do the same thing with blank CDs and my burner. This year Christmas is going to be like Thanksgiving for me and mine. We are going to get together, enjoy a nice meal, play a few games, and provide gifts of practical use and not just something to throw in the back of a closet or in a shelf. I love my child dearly but anyone who buys him a bunch of useless crap this year I am personally going to bop over the head with it. My child is not into action figures, cars, and guns. He likes computers, the Wii, art, and music. Suggestions game stop for some fun games, art and craft supplies, a karaoke CD or better yet a new mic ours keeps getting broken, or in my favor please oh please help me keep this ever growing child in clothes this winter!Santa if you bring junk this year the consequences are for you too!

No matter what the 7 year old said mom said this better be practical or...

You have some explaining to do and it better be good....or else

I am turning the dog lose....

The same rules that apply at Christmas applies at his soon after birthday. I do not have room for anymore things this child will not use. I am ready to throw half of it in a bag to donate to Helping Hands now because I get so tired of the mess he leaves it all in for months because he does not want to clean but he does not play with it either.

Warning still stands if I sick the dog on Santa you know what you got coming if orders are not followed!

Present image above provided by: http://www.christmas-clipart.com