Busy Busy Busy!!!

This week has been chaotic! It's been one thing after another; Suicide Awareness Training, Key Spouse Function, Christmas Shopping, and now the Squadron Thanksgiving party. But, I've had a really great time so far, I just REALLY need to lock myself in the house starting tonight and not leave until it's spotless. Ha, yeah, right.
I have been gone a few nights this week, and the other nights I don't think I cooked either because I was just so exhausted from trying to clean up. Seriously, I pick up all the toys and odds and ends around the house, do a few loads of laundry, and then I turn around and Victoria has taken ALL her toys back out, scattered John's flash cards for his next test as Staff Sargent, and because I was too busy trying to feed Annie, potty train Tori, and make sure I was drinking my 8 glasses of water a day (harder than I expected), I see that the laundry I washed has piled up, and the house isn't getting any cleaner.
How mothers manage to keep the house clean on a daily basis amazes me. My theory is that you either ignore the housework or you ignore your kids. There is NO happy medium. I guess that makes me a good mom? Ha. I definitely play with my kids and color and run around playing Victoria's version of hide-and-go-seek, or peek-a-boo with Annie, and who knows what else. But, the only down part is that by the time I get them to sleep at night, I am exhausted and all I want to do is curl up with my husband who I haven't seen all day and watch a show or two before we crash at about 9.
I honestly wish I was better at multi-tasking, or teaching my children early on to clean up after themselves, but, Tori just doesn't seem to listen. We have clean up songs, clean together, etc, and after about 30 seconds, and on her second or third toy, she gets distracted and wants to play with it. I am just at a loss. I wish we could afford a house cleaner who could come over every night and just pick up everything, or maybe help me pick up everything. I think I would feel guilty (even if I was paying them) if I didn't help out. Either that or I need to convince John to help, but his whole outlook on it is, I am a stay at home mom. My job is to keep the house up and raise our children. Whoever told men it was possible to do both is crazy. Haha.
Anyway, it's about time to pull the turkey out of the oven, feed the girls, get everyone dressed, put Mr. Turkey in the car, and head to our squadron Thanksgiving party. Oy Vay!

My little brother is 18!

Today, my little brother (who is now 6 ft +) turns 18 years old. Hard to believe since I remember turning 18 not that long ago. I just sincerely hope it doesn't give him that "I'm an adult" complex. Although, I think that's part of turning 18. You think you are this grown up person and know everything. I know I did. Now looking back at my "old age" (as my brother and his friends told me a month ago) I laugh at how naive I was. I thought I was invincible!

Today is/was also my dad's birthday. He would have been 48 today. This is the 5th birthday he's missed. It gets easier each time, but, it's still hard knowing how young he was and how much he's missed out on. He would be proud of both my brother and myself. I just wish my kids could have met him. Or even my husband. They have so much in common. It makes me laugh whenever John starts talking about something like science fiction or astronomy because I know my dad would have been equally excited about it. He was a great man, and I'm glad I married another great man my dad would have liked.

Anyway, a very happy birthday to my favorite brother of all time! You're a good kid.

Bands of Yesteryear

A friend just posted a cry for help on Facebook for bands from the 90's, and well, I was pretty proud of my little list here. If anyone else is like me and enjoys this music, you're welcome. It's pretty extensive. ;)

Barenaked Ladies, Better than Ezra, Hole, Violent Femmes, Collective Soul, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews Band, Nirvana, Green Day, Foo Fighters, Counting Crows, Third Eye Blind, Smashing Pumpkins, Oasis, Goldfinger, Aerosmith, Alanis Morissette, Amber, B-52's, Beastie Boys, Beck, Bizarre Inc, Black Box, Blind Melon, Blur, Eiffel 65, Bush, Busta Rhymes, C+C Music Factory, Ce Ce Peniston, Coolio, Corona, Crystal Waters, Culture Beat, De La Soul, Deee-Lite, Depeche Mode, DMX, Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Eminem, Enigma, Everything But The Girl, Fatboy Slim, Filter, Fiona Apple, Freaknasty, Garbage, Gin Blossoms, Gina G., Goo Goo Dolls, Grandmaster Flash, Gunther, No Doubt, Haddaway, Harvey Danger, House of Pain, Jane's Addiction, Jay-Z, Kriss Kross, La Bouche, Le Click, Lenny Kravitz, Lit, Live, Lo Fidelity Allstars, Local H, Londonbeat, Luniz, Madonna, Marcy Playground, Marky Mark Wahlburg, Mary J. Blige, Matchbox 20, MC Hammer, Michael Jackson, Montell Jordan, Nelly, Nicki French, The Notorious B.I.G., The Offspring, OMC, OutKast, Paula Abdul, Pearl Jam, Presidents of the United States, Faith Evans, Puff Daddy, Quad City DJ's, R.E.M., Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Real McCoy, Reel 2 Real, The Romantics, Run-D.M.C., Salt-N-Pepa, Sir Mix-A-Lot, The Smashing Pumpkins, Snap, Soundgarden, Spin Doctors, Stone Temple Pilots, Sugar Ray, The Sugarhill Gang, Suzanna Vega, Tag Team, Technotronic, Three Days Grace, Three Doors Down, Tom Cochrane, Tone Loc, U2, Veruca Salt, The Verve, The Verve Pipe, The Wallflowers, Will Smith, 2 Unlimited, 2Pac. 

Everyone deserves a pat on the back

Although a lot of people like to tell me I'm super mom, I know full well I am far from it. I am proud of myself for accomplishing a lot of things in my short, yet chaotic, life, but am far from perfect. One thing I cannot wait to cross off my list is my education. I miss going to school. I wish I would have appreciated it more when I was in high school and continued on to a University instead of the Community College near my hometown. Don't get me wrong, Cabrillo is a great school, it is just too easy to get stuck there and have no motivation to leave. I mean, half the classrooms look out to the ocean! How can you expect to concentrate on something as dry as Business Calculus or Accounting 1A when the beach is beaconing for you to come play? Haha.
Anyway, with that being said, I feel everyone deserves a pat on the back. And lately, I have been pretty down on myself and stressed out to the point I feel like every day is a blur and I never accomplish anything. As if having 2 children isn't stressful enough, still being a child yourself AND being a military spouse is enough to send even the most sane person over the edge. Not to say I was ever the most sane, but, I definitely was on that side of the scale.
So, here are my accomplishments and things I am proud of. I have a wonderful husband who loves me, who goes to work every day (or as of right now, nights), and still has enough energy to play with our kids and spend time with me when he is home. I have two of the most beautiful daughters in the world who are absolutely amazing, and although a handful, they are caring, funny, and a joy to call my own. I am a great mom and because of it my kids are wonderful. My 2 year old shares, is gentle with Annie, and willingly gives everyone hugs and kisses and lets them know she loves them. And not only are my girls awesome and I am great mom, but I had my second child while my husband was in Afghanistan. He left a little less than halfway through the pregnancy, so I was a single, pregnant, parent to a 1 1/2 year old. I have also learned to not only be a great wife, but to be a mother in a very short period of time, and all at the young age of (now) 23. I am the Key Spouse of our squadron and not only built our new website (I have no idea where the time for that came from!), but I also have been branching out and making sure to call spouses (I hate phone calls), and volunteering with John for numerous activities around base for our squadron. I can cook pretty much anything as long as I have enough ingredients to make things up as I go along (don't ask me to bake, I'm baking challenged still) and for the most part (I think I've made one "not so yummy" meal) everything is delicious. And, even after having 2 kids, although my body isn't the same shape as it was in high school, and I have a few new battle scars, I still consider myself to be pretty darn good-looking. I would like to make time for the gym, but, the time will come eventually.
I hope everyone out there can take a few moments to really look at yourself and make a good, long, list of everything that makes you special and all the things you've accomplished so far. It will put a smile on your face and make you realize just how amazing you really are!
Have a happy Friday everyone. And remember to be thankful for everyone out there who has helped you get to where you are today. :)

Go vote!!!

I almost forgot to add that today is Election Day!! So, everyone, go cast your votes!!!
If you need help finding your polling location, I've found an excellent site to aid in your search:

www.yourfuckingpollingplace.com

Hope you all have a great day!!!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner!!

So, although I'm sure many of you own your own calendar and know full well what time of year it is, I just had to write a quick shout out to my favorite holiday of the year: THANKSGIVING!!!

I really think is should be mulitiple times a year. I mean, turkeys aren't seasonal, and they are usually frozen anyway, so, why not stock up and have them a few times a year!? I've pretty much decided that we need a deep freezer for the garage so I can buy them now when they are on sale, and feast on them every couple months. And the same goes for pumpkin pie. Who said you could only eat them in the fall when they are easily canned and frozen for months and months! 

Anyway, needless to say, I am super excited to put on my Thanksgiving feast. It's quite a spread. I make everything from scratch (minus the turkey, I do buy that) from my pear/sausage stuffing (which I guess isn't entirely from scratch either since I start with a box of stuffing...), apple-basil-cranberry sauce, red wine gravy, etc. SOOOOO YUMMY!!!

Here are a few of my favorite recipes. This next time around I'm going to have to take some better pictures for my collection.

CRAN-APPLE-BASILY CRANBERRY SAUCE

Ingredients

• 1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup apple cider, divided
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 cup Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
• 1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped

Yields: 6 to 8 servings

Preparation

• Place a medium pot over medium heat with the cranberries, orange juice, apple cider (hold back about 2 tablespoons), sugar, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Season with salt and pepper. 

• Bring liquid up to a bubble then reduce the heat to medium and cook until the cranberries start to break apart and the mixture becomes saucy, about 5 minutes. 

• In a small bowl, stir together cornstarch and reserved apple cider, and stir the mixture into the simmering cranberries. Add the apples and cook until tender, and the mixture thickens, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the basil and let cool to room temperature. Serve at room temperature. 

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TURKEY STUFFING: SAUSAGE VERSION

Ingredients

• 1 16-ounce box traditional stuffing mix
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 8 ounces spicy sausage (2 links)
• 1 1/2 sticks butter
• 3 sprigs thyme, stems removed and leaves finely chopped
• 2 sprigs sage, stems removed and leaves finely chopped
• Giblets and neck from the innards of 1 turkey, left whole
• 1 Vidalia (sweet) onion, finely chopped
• 3 stalks celery (about 1 cup), finely chopped
• 8 ounces mushrooms (cremini or white button), sliced
• 2 pears, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 3 cups liquid (equal mix of wine, beer and vegetable stock)

Yields: 6-8 servings

Preparation

• Empty the stuffing mix into a large mixing bowl and reserve. 
• Place a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat with the EVOO, about three turns of the pan. Add the sausage, turning occasionally, and cook about 4 minutes per side. Remove the sausage from the pan, allow to cool slightly, then roughly chop it up and reserve. 
• As soon as the sausage is removed from the pan, add and melt the butter. Add the onion, celery, mushrooms and pears to the pan and allow them to cook 5 minutes, until they start to get tender. Add the herbs, cook a minute or two, then add the liquids, turkey giblets and neck and simmer 5 minutes or so. 
• Remove the turkey giblets and neck from the pan and stir the chopped sausage into the veggies and pears. Pour everything in the pan into the bowl with the stuffing mix, tossing everything lightly to combine it all. Stuff the turkey with the prepared stuffing and roast. 

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My family's SECRET turkey recipe. Haha, alright, not so secret, but it's so amazing, it should be. ;)

Turkey directions

1. Defrost turkey in fridge for 3-4 days.

2. De-feather turkey and take out packet/giblets

3. Take FLUFFY stuffing, stuff turkey, both ends, use a spoon. Don’t cram it in there, just drop it in, otherwise it won't cook all the way 

        through.

4. Use stuffing pins to close up the bird (3-4) on top and bottom. Needle and a thick string works well too.

5. Place Turkey breast down on a roasting pan. 

6. Bake at 300 degree for 1 hour to kill off any bacteria

7. Turn heat down to 170 degrees overnight (or whatever the lowest setting is on your oven)

8. Turn oven up to 200 degrees after you wake up (you want the turkey temperature up to 190)

9. Put the thermometer right above the leg not touching bone to help you monitor the temperature.

10. 1 hour before you want to take the bird out, turn it breast side up, turn oven up to brown skin (and in my experience, to bring it up to 

        the correct temperature)

11. Place turkey on cutting board and let rest for up to 30 minutes so the juices don't run out when you carve it.

12. Make the red wine gravy in the roasting pan. And serve!

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RED WINE ONION GRAVY

Ingredients

• Pan drippings, plus butter as needed to make 4 tablespoons fat
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup red wine
• 3 cups broth (turkey, beef or chicken)

Yields: Approximately 4 cups

Preparation

• Pour off all but 4 tablespoons fat from pan drippings. (If you don't have 4 tablespoons fat in the pan drippings, add butter to compensate.) Place the roasting pan over medium heat and sauté onion and garlic until tender, 5-6 minutes. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. 
• Add flour and completely mix all ingredients. Cook the flour with the vegetables for about 1 minute. Add wine and scrape up all the bits stuck to the bottom of the roasting pan with a wooden spoon. Whisk in the broth and simmer until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper, as needed. Serve warm. 
• Note: Depending on the flavor you want for your gravy, you can add in any of the following ingredients to shake things up - orange juice, pomegranate juice, tarragon, rosemary, thyme, horseradish, white wine, apple cider, red bell peppers or mushrooms. 

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And last but not least, my dessert!!!

Mile-High Pumpkin-Caramel Pie

Ingredients

• 24 Squares chocolate graham crackers, crushed (1 ½ cups)
• 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 LG egg white, plus 3 whole eggs
• 2 ¾ cups heavy cream
• 1 15-oz can pure pumpkin puree
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• ½ tsp salt
• 28 caramel candies
• 1 oz bittersweet chocolate for grating

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, stir the graham cracker crumbs and butter until combined. Press the mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of the 9-inch pie pan; freeze until set, about 15 minutes. In a small bowl, beat the egg white with a fork and lightly brush on the pie shell. Bake for 10 minutes; let cool.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the 3 whole eggs, 1 cup cream, the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt until just combined. Pour into the pie shell and bake until just set, 40-45 minutes. Let cool slightly, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours, refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• In a bowl, microwave the caramels with ½ cup cream at high power until melted, about 1 ½ minutes. Stir until smooth, then let cool to room temperature.
• Using an electric mixer, whip the remaining 1 ¼ cups cream until soft peaks form. Drizzle in the caramel and beat until well blended. Spoon the caramel whipped cream on top of the pumpkin filling and refrigerate until completely chilled. Before serving, coarsely grate the chocolate on top of the pie.

Our lack of Halloween

Well, as much as I usually LOVE Halloween, this year it just didn't happen. The girls had costumes and everything, we just didn't go. Between Utah changing the trick or treating date to the 30th, the weather turning bad and raining, all 4 of us being sick, and John working night shift, it just wasn't going to happen. In fact, I didn't even hand out candy. I was lazy and just stuck a bowl on the porch and curled up on the couch and watched TV with the girls and a box of tissues. Fun, I know. Oh well, Tori didn't really know what she was missing. We did go to WalMart the day before all dressed up in our costumes, so, I'll just count that one. ;)

In other news, the Giants are world champions!! I am so excited. I don't keep track too much with sports these days since my husband doesn't like to watch them and I am just so busy with my kids, but I usually check weekly and see how each of my teams are doing. Anyway, so guess that means you can call me a bandwagoner, but, I've been a Giants fan my entire life. I'm also forever a 49ers fan and a Sharks fan. Heck, I'm even a Clash fan, although I can't remember the last time I watched one of their games. Ha. Soccer in general isn't something I follow. I barely paid attention to the world cup this last year too. Lame, I know. I'm blame the hubs. He's lacking that part of his testosterone. ;)

So, congrats to my home team. And to everyone who is out there, I hope you're all being safe and not partying too hard!