December 2011
33 posts
1 tag
“I think every woman should have a blowtorch.”
– Julia Child
Post-holiday feasting.
To make Christmas Eve dinner, I had to roast a whole duck, then shred the meat to add to the pasta sauce. On Sunday night mom wrapped up the duck carcass in brown paper and put it in a box for me to take home with a bottle of duck fat that I had rendered and strained, as well as slices of leftover lamb and some whole wheat stuffing. Yesterday I ate a little of the stuffing with poached eggs and...
In which we are celebrating Christmas at Mumsie's...
Me: (tasting the duck ragu I am making) Hm.
Braden: And?
Me: That'll do.
Braden: ExCUSE me?
Me: I am a golden god.
Braden: That's my girl.
__________________________________________
Mom: (To me, after tasting the duck ragu) So good, sweetie.
Braden: Yeah, I think I'll keep her.
Mom: Hahaha .... Wait, you better, I'll kill you.
__________________________________________
Hannah: (to me) You're not DRAMATIC, you're just ... vibrant.
Almost made it.
So, today is the Solstice, which means that after today it’s all up hill from here with my SAD, sort of, for this winter.
It’s also almost Christmas. Christmas has passed me by with a blur this year, and I’m kind of fine with that. Usually I really invest myself in trying to get into it, but this year, I find that I’m quietly thankful for Jesus’ birth, and excited to...
In which I understand Sarah Palin.
Marta: "It's odd," she said, wondering why the president's Christmas card highlights his dog instead of traditions like "family, faith and freedom." http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/12/fox-sarah-palin-freaks-out-white-house-christmas-card
me: ZOMG. WHAT ON EARTH
Marta: a friend suggested that a screaming eagle with a wreath around its neck would be more appropriate?
me: clearly. holding a Bible in its talons
Marta: yes. That's actually my Christmas card this year
me: Braden and I dressed up as Mary and Joseph, only we're wearing red, white and blue. Just to get family, faith AND freedom in there.
Marta: thats only Christian of you. As we know, America is the new Israel. its part of the second covenant, b tee dubs
me: ooooooooh
Marta: explains a lot, right?
me: yeah; Sarah Palin suddenly makes so much sense
I read some truth today.
littlehouseontheprisonfarm:
“Minds are like parachutes—-just because you’ve lost yours doesn’t mean you can borrow mine.”
I love support group message boards sometimes.
EXACTLY.
In which adorable children are easy to come by.
Me: (looking at a cute baby) That is the CUTEST baby. I want to go snuggle her, but I'm afraid it will make me want one.
Braden: Don't worry. I'll get you a better one.
Me: (raising eyebrows)
Braden: I told you Christmas was going to be special this year.
Brilliant idea of the day:
trendy desserts laced with Xanax and Prozac
Business plan: open up a bakery in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, lace whatever the new cupcake is with anti-anxiety and anti-depression meds, make a fortune.
It can’t fail. Except for the kinda-sorta being illegal thing. But we’ll step around that somehow. Like medical marijuana.
I’M GOING TO BE RICH.
Dream things.
I have been having suuuuuuper intense dreams, lately. Come to think of it, that may be why I have been feeling so loopy and exhausted the last few days. ANYWAY, my dreams have fallen into two categories: psychologically productive dreams and movie idea dreams.
In the first case, I’m having lots of dreams about confronting people and standing up for myself. For some reason, of late...
Today, I am a star.
Bekah and I had planned to walk this morning, yet somehow BOTH of us had malfunctioning alarm clocks. Still, we decided to go anyway. While I waited for her to show up, I put dinner together in the crock pot. We got one for our wedding, but I let it sit unopened in our spare bedroom closet for a year and a half, because I was all, “I’m not a home school mom; why do I need a crock...
An historic moment.
Behold my mother's first conversation on gchat! A year ago she had never used a computer, been on the internet, sent an email or a text message. Look at her now!
me: Hey, I got your resume. Do you want me to format it for you?
Do you know how to use chat?
When you're done typing your message, press "enter" to send it to me.
Mumsie: Thanks sooo much. I haven't done a resume` in a long time. Anything you think it needs...
me: Okay. I'll try to do it on my lunch break.
Mumsie: Bless You! LOve, MOm
me: Love you.
Recap: turkey. And other foods.
So, the turkey DID thaw, and it was pretty good. I butterflied it, stuffed it under the skin with a sausage/leek/ricotta stuffing, and roasted it in a little white wine and turkey stock. We ate the turkey on Saturday night with an arugula salad and roasted mushrooms that I also made, and assorted things that Braden’s family brought with them.
Earlier in the day for appetizers I made bacon...
Oh, good.
We’re celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas with Braden’s family this weekend. The turkey I bought has been defrosting in the fridge for 36 hours, and is still frozen solid. I’ve never cooked a turkey that was previously frozen, so I thought that giving it a good 48 hours to defrost in the fridge before I go about cooking would be adequate. Clearly I thought wrong.
The turkey...
“The best way to execute French cooking is to get good and loaded and whack the...”
– Julia Child
Things that are nice about today.
Although it’s my first day back at work from vacation, it’s the staff Christmas party, which trims an hour and a half of working time out of my day. It also means an awesome lunch, and office gift exchange. And since I actually like all my coworkers, it’s going to be fun.
I signed up for the Joy the Baker ENJOY! curated gifts, and my first present arrives today.
It’s my...
