A Yam-Sham.

It’s Thanksgiving night and I imagine many of you are away from your computers and with good reason!

Kyle and I have spent the whole day together, just the two of us. That’s my favorite part about Thanksgiving – the two of us and the puppy snuggled up in our apartment every year, cooking and watching movies and making up holiday-themed dance routines in the kitchen and wrestling the giblets from the still-partially frozen turkey and arguing over whether Scrooged or White Christmas is the better Christmas movie.



It’s been a great day but you know what really clinched it for me? Finally sitting down at our tiny kitchen table and listening to Kyle talk about growing up in Steamboat Springs, watching his eyes close as he describes the layout of his childhood home on 7th Street, watching him smile as he explained how he and his little brother Aaron would help decorate for Christmas. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his face and I just kept thinking, “There is still so much I want to know about you. There is still so much to find out.”

On our eighth Thanksgiving, I keep imagining the next year and the next and the next. I have no idea what they will look like. Will they be like this one? Will there be a tiny new person soon? Will there be another house, another home? Another job? Another city? The future seems like an impossible, overwhelming unknown.

And then I hear Kyle’s prayer over dinner echoing in my ears: “Thank you for Elizabeth, thank you, God, for being the one who holds us together after all this time. We know that’s because of you. In Your name, Amen.”

Happy Thanksgiving…

love, elizabeth

Watch Me Cook A Turkey

Well, guys…your life-long dream has come true because this morning, in a weird need to connect with the rest of the world (because I am all alone all day cooking while Kyle is slaving away at Starbucks), I made a YouTube video about cooking our turkey. It’s riveting stuff.

In all seriousness, oven bags really do make turkeys a breeze. So if you’re totally bored and feel like watching me be silly about Thanksgiving, here you go…

I

I forgot to mention three things in the video: one, don’t forget to cut several 1/2 slits in the top of the bag before putting it in the oven, two, oven bags cut down turkey cooking time by almost a half, and three, I clearly have no life.

So how’s everyone’s day going? Anyone cooking the whole feast alone? I’m feeling needy. Happy, happy Thanksgiving! I’m especially thankful for all of you…

love, elizabeth

Thanksgiving Horror

Hopefully my Thanksgiving is nothing like THIS…

And a lot more like this…

Source: google.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

And this…

Source: flickr.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

And THIS…

I’m considering uploading a video tomorrow of my Thanksgiving cooking endeavors. Does anyone want to see that? Let me know…

What about all of you? What are you most looking forward to this holiday?

love, elizabeth

Vote for Thanksgiving Stuffing and a Giveaway Winner

First of all, many apologies to my blogging community for my nearly week-long absence. It was a crazy week at school and I lost my blog time. But I am BACK.

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday because it’s the one day I feel totally confident about my cooking. I love making a mountain of food and eating leftovers for the whole next week. I love getting up early and starting the turkey. I love peeling potatoes and watching cheesy Christmas movies and drinking cheap wine and dancing around in my apron and pajamas. It’s pretty much my favorite day of the year.

Source: Uploaded by user via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

For whatever reason, homemade dressing is the thing that always intimidates me and I always end up with a box of Stove Top and a whole lotta shame. But not this year. THIS year, I am going to conquer Thanksgiving dressing. I’m torn, though. I have two recipes I'm thinking of trying. So I need your thoughts…

Should I make Carmelized Onion and Herb Stuffing courtesy of Real Simple Magazine OR Cornbread Dressing handed down from my grandmother?

Decisions, decisions.

Oh, yeah, and I’m pleased to announce the winner of the vintage handkerchief giveaway!

And entry #4 is…

 

Congratulations, Kate! Send me an email with your address and I will get your gift in the mail right away…

love, elizabeth

Thankful Thursdays

In honor of Thanksgiving…I thought I’d take this month to blog about thankfulness. So on Thursdays, I’m highlighting things I forget to be thankful for.

And here’s the first one…mail.

Source: meandalice.blogspot.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

 

I was listening to the news this morning and they were talking about the United States Postal Service crisis. If the government legislature isn’t able to find a solution, the USPS is going to have close something like 3200 post offices nationwide. Amazing…

I admit it. I take the mail for granted. For me, the entirety of the postal service is based on a conglomeration of shiny metal boxes. How does the mail get there? I don’t think about it – it’s magic.

With the convenience of modern mail and internet and all that that involves, I have forgotten how precious communication is. I have forgotten the value of the mail and the people that deliver it.

So do me a favor…the next time you see your mail carrier, tell them ‘thanks.’ My dad was a mailman many years ago. It’s a hard job.

Today, I’m thankful for the post office.

Source: google.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

A Little Turkey Told Me…

it's almost Thanksgiving! Actually, it was a 14 pound turkey on sale at Giant Eagle. Word to the grocery-savvy, three to four weeks BEFORE Thanksgiving is the day to buy the bird. Kroger and other major grocery chains usually have an awesome sale…ours was just $0.59 a pound! So our 14 pound turkey was about $8. For which I am very, very thankful. (Also very thankful for my smart husband who gently reminded me that a 25 pound turkey would probably not fit in our freezer!) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: marthastewart.com via Kelli on Pinterest

 

I can’t believe how quickly November has appeared. With Thanksgiving just weeks away, I have loads of grading and paper-writing to do but I’m excited all the same! What about you? Are you making your Thanksgiving plans yet?

love, elizabeth

Adventures in Domesticity: Thanksgiving Part Two

So the holiday is drawing nigh (NINE days and counting...), I thought I'd share with you all I need to accomplish BEFORE I start basting the turkey!

So here you are. My To-Do List (all to be completed before Thanksgiving Day):

-Finish and turn in my paper for Theatre Criticism - I'm using Euripides' texts, Helen, Hecuba, Andromache, Trojan Women, and The Suppliants to discuss Plato and Aristotle's views on the depiction and imitation of violence, specifically focusing on sexual violence. Cheery little paper just perfect for the holidays!

-Catch up on all my grading - if you even KNEW how many hours of grading papers I had ahead of me...well, you'd cry.

-Shampoo all the carpets - This is all Madigan's fault. But the carpets need to be cleaned and I want it done BEFORE Emily and Jeremy come for the weekend! I've already found a nearby Rug Doctor rental place so this one should be easy.

-Clean out my inbox - I hate this one. I think, at this point, I'd probably pay someone else to wade through the countless spam, student emails, announcements, newsfeeds, and special offers.

-Finishing transcribing the interviews conducted for my master's thesis - In THEORY, this one should be cake. I mean, I'm just typing what someone else is saying on my digital recorder. It's not like I have to think up anything clever to write. But trying to do this precisely and clearly is actually going to be a lot of work.

-Plus my homework - still have two more reading assignments and written reports due for Theatre Criticism.

-See Aida - this one is not really a chore since it's a wonderful musical and stars many of my fellow graduate students BUT it is going to require time. I'm hoping it's a celebratory evening at the theatre instead of a frantic dash to find a parking spot downtown and thinking all the while, WHY didn't you get your homework done SOONER? By the way, if you're in Columbus, and don't have tickets...well, they're probably almost sold out by now but if you're interested, here's the link:

http://www.capa.com/presentations/current-season-presentations/aida

-Give Madigan a bath - We're keeping her coat longer for the winter but it seems to mean she gets dirty faster. Oh, well. I actually enjoy blow-drying her fur.

Everybody, I'd like you to meet pre-Thanksgiving me...



Credit goes to whoever originally captured and edited this image. This picture popped up all over Google but I can't seem to trace it to its origin. If you happen to know it, let me know!

Adventures in Domesticity: Thanksgiving Part One

Thanksgiving is probably one of my favorite days of the year. Because for me, it's no just a day to redefine gluttony (although, that usually happens at our house). No, Thanksgiving is a harbinger of CHRISTMAS. Thanksgiving weekend, we drag out the Christmas tree and decorations, we put on the cheesy holiday movies, we do the majority of our holiday shopping (although this year, I've already done most of it to beat the rush). So I start counting down to Thanksgiving Day as soon as possible. I swear, the day after Halloween, it's like I can hear the Butterballs calling to me from the down the grocery aisle. This year, I thought I'd share some of my recipes and traditions, both old and new.

Normally, I make my grandmother's orange-cranberry jello salad but this year I'm trying something new:

Bourbon-Cranberry Compote
(Serves 8)

1 12 oz bag cranberries, fresh or frozen (3 1/2 cups)
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. apple juice
1/4 c. bourbon

Combine ingredients in saucepan.

Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries begin to burst and the sauce thickens, 20-25 min. Cool before serving.

- from Real Simple magazine, November 2010, p. 247

So what about you guys? What are your plans for Thanksgiving Day? What traditions do you and your family have? Are you doing anything different this year?