For my own organization...and happies...

Christmas Menu~

Breakfast: pull-apart coffee cake,

scramby eggs,

fruit,

sausage patties,

Dinner: seafood gratin,

green salad,
crusty bread

Dessert: pumpkin caramel mousse,
roasted quinces and pears with creme anglaise ,
apple pie,

cherry pie

Recent Food Catch-up

Last night, I tried a new popover recipe. Popovers have always been a favorite in the Burnett (my mother's) family, and there is much mystery surrounding them: never open the oven in the middle of baking or they'll fall! My grandmother even swears her oven stopped being able to pop popovers, so now they can only eat them when someone else makes them. Well, I love the things, mostly because their hollow insides provide a perfect vehicle for butter and jam... I had to document how POPPED these guys were, just for posterity! And I'm glad I did, as they immediately fell when I turned the oven down. I'm talking flat as a pancake. Oh well, someday I'll understand why...

Before our cruise, we had a ton of crusty bread and lots of eggs to get rid of, so I made a strata. I used a recipe that called for spinach and pancetta (I used bacon), and it was delicious, I have to say. Crispy on top, sort of creamy in the middle. Very savory. Yum.

Gingy-Bread Housens and Tree Geschmitzen

The virgin gingerbread house

Extreme Make-Over Home Edition

Jesse's contribution

Jud's contribution

"Humbug!"

Tara reviews our work

The Christmas Card Picture...

We decided to be grown-ups this year and send cards. Why not include a picture for relatives we haven't seen in years? Armed with dogs and a self-timer, we began the ordeal. Who could have known...



We begin: Jesse sets the stage with the dogs.



First attempt.



Third attempt produces demon dogs and husband.



It might appear that things are going well. With a second look, you might notice the glimmer of surprise in Jud's eyes, and the dawning horror in ours...



Jud has infused the air with a scent only a hound could produce. He is very proud.

Our resolve is waning.

We're getting tired.

Desperate.

Hungry.

Delirious.

Slap-happy.

Come what may, this was our last-ditch effort. Attempt number 45. After an hour at Walmart, 20 of these gems were sent out to long-lost friends and relatives. If you do not receive one, it is only because we were very hap-hazard in our card-sending (i.e. my old boss was sent a card, while several grandmothers were left out...)

Let it Snow!

I love the first snow of the season. As long as it's not it September, as it often was in Idaho. It has finally come, and just in time for Christmas. Here's Jesse trying to figure out the snow-blower...

Although I'm not looking forward to driving around Spokane in it, I'm glad we'll hopefully have a white Christmas.

Christmas Tree Hunting with Kelly

The other day, we took a trip to Jesse's Aunt Pam and Uncle Dean's to help Kelly pick out a Christmas tree. A quick stop by Krispy Kreme, and we were on our way. Pam and Dean live about an hour away in northern Idaho, and it was nice to get out of Spokane for a bit.

Off to a good start, we bundled up and set off into the woody area around the house. Spirits were high.

Here's Kelly milking the last of the juice from her camera battery. Yes, Kelly, I have even more pictures than I've posted here, if you can believe it...

After some hemming and hawing (and some teasing from Jesse), we found a tree that met standards. The boys went to work.

We had to take a quick photo op. at the nearby elk statue, of course. By this time, little Adam was done.

But Jesse wasn't. The Knight and his trusty elk-steed...

I had to include this sequence because it makes me laugh (and feel a little bad). This is what seems to happen lately whenever I try to play with Soli. I guess it's not a good idea to flash a camera in a happy baby's face...

By the end of the day, we were all tired, but content. I know Jud was spent--he slept on the boys the whole ride home.

Happiness is...

Christmas cookies. Jesse and I have yet to have a Christmas at home. In years past, we have finished busy semesters full of papers, plays, and puppies (and one especially stressful year, pneumonia), hopped in the car, and driven off to be with family. Consequently, I have never had the time to do some serious holiday baking. After dinner last night, everyone was either upstairs or down, the dogs were asleep, the fireplace was flickering, and the kitchen was clean. A perfect opportunity. So I turned on a little "Christmas with the Crooners," washed my hands, and went to work. My Grandma Peggy recently gave me some of our family's recipe classics. So I zenned out and whipped up some Nutty Nuggets and set aside some Anise Seed Cookies (which have just come out of the oven). Isn't it funny what things become special to us? I'm not a huge fan of walnuts in general, but these cookies bring back wonderful memories of afternoon teas with my grandparents in their Ashland sun room. One more Christmas away from my family... I hope they know how much I love and miss them this time of year.

Nutty Nuggets:

1 Cup butter

4 Tbsp sugar

1 Cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

2 Cups chopped walnuts

powdered sugar for rolling

Cream butter and sugar, add other ingredients. Chill dough. Roll into 1-inch (ish) balls. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. When cooled slightly, roll in powdered sugar. When completely cool, roll again.

Home Safe and Sound

Welp, we're back. The cruise was great, as was Disneyland. Disneyland + Christmas = almost too much to bear. So much happiness. I'll post some pictures soon, but as of now, most of them are on Facebook. It was really great to see family, and we didn't have any major meltdowns. So Hi Ho, Hi Ho. You guessed it. Back to work we go. We got the house all Christmasified today, and caught up on a little sleep. And now back to the real world. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

By the way, this is what you get when you live with two men and a teenager: they all lost weight on the cruise! I haven't the courage to weigh in. Think I'll wait a week or two...

Shari.com: Carnival Splendor: The Food

Shari.com: Carnival Splendor: The Food:

"One event that we missed the first day (went to see the Newlywed Game-style show - hilarious), caught and loved the second day, and forewent the last day (being lazy and not wanting to mar our memories) was Tea Time.

On Carnival Splendor, Tea Time is held on the upper level of the Golden Pearl dining room, near the large aft windows looking over our wake, by the grand piano. On some ships it is held in the library, but I have to tell you, the Splendor's 'Alexandria' library (they wish) is a pitiful little room compared to the spacious, windowed 'Mark Twain' library on Elation. (Splendor's library overlooks a lifeboat. Nice.) We got one of the few tables for two (okay, so we're obsessive, but there are worse hobbies) and I talked Mike into taking some tea as a prop. We both chose something orange; I'll have to find the wrapper. (It's a scrapbookable!)
Then the trolley came around and, oh, how I will always regret not throwing myself bodily upon the thing. But no, we were dainty, taking a thinly pressed cucumber sandwich and a couple of bite-size scones each.
Again with the incredible cucumber moments! Even Mike has since wondered aloud how we might make such little sandwiches on our own.
But the scones. Oh. my.


'This is a scone,' said Mike. 'None of that big triangle business that you get here.' And he was right. I've only been to England once, only had scones there once, but this was a scone. Full of real cream and so moist... and I don't really see how I'm supposed to carry on, maybe never having such a thing again, and yet I bravely do. Although sometimes, around three p.m., I have to have a bit of a lie-down so I can weep quietly until the loss passes."

Sooooon...

Ok, so no haircut yet. I'm over that hump and I guess I'll wait for spring. It's just too cold here. We leave Saturday for our cruise! Yahooo! I can't wait to get away from Spokane and work and hum-drummity. Tomorrow will be full of packing, laundry, and cleaning, and then away we go!


Ever have days where your plans just get swallowed up? Today was like that (as was the past week). I was going to clean the house and decorate for Christmas to surprise Jesse when he got home from work. But I spent all day trying to make this template for frosting windows. Dang Martha Stewart and her "simple" crafts. I went all over town today looking for two things: spray-on, washable glass paint (which apparantly I made up? Seriously, I swear that's a thing, right?) and a black half slip to go under my cruise dress. No one carries those either. Anyway, instead of a happy, Christmasy house, Jesse came back to a grouchy wife who just wanted her dinner. Oh well, such is life. Poor me. And now they're making me go to a tropical place where they will force-feed me delicious things while I lie in the sun. Sigh. There must be more than this provincial life.

Ok, I was just googling "carnival splendor (our ship) food," looking for a picture to post here. I stumbled upon some funny lady's blog. I was excited to get away, but now, I'm officially really excited! Listen to this woman: (read above post)

Haircut?

I made the mistake of watching French Kiss, and I now want to cut my hair. I swear, I'll never get past this in-between stage. I desparately need some input...


Short-Hair friends.

Cruisin' Together...

We leave for our cruise in 5 days! I'm very excited. VERY excited!!! Mostly for food and sun, but also to see the whole fam damily. Also--get this--I don't have to cook or clean a single thing this Thanksgiving.

But I'm also excited to come home and be all cozy and cold again. We had just a few flurries of snow, and now I'm in the mood. For snow. Jesse and Neil are downstairs doing the dishes and Bing Crosby's singing Silent Night. Little wiener dog sleeping on my lap. It's a great ending to a Sunday.

I can't wait for Christmas. I'm sad that I won't be able to see my family like we had planned (our work schedules are keeping us here for Christmas), but the more I think about it, our Christmas alone might be pretty nice. This will be our first Christmas we don't have to drive to! Doesn't that sound peaceful? We have a great sledding hill here, and we'll have yummy food and open presents together in the morning and listen to Julie Andrews and Harry Connick Jr and run-on sentences be darned! Anybody got any favorite Christmas albums? Besides Mannheim Steamroller (Annie and Sav)? And I'll make cookies. Ooh, and there's this amazing looking pumpkin flan (ok, it looks more like caremel pumpkin creme brulee) in the new Martha Stewart magazine that I think I need to try. And this just might be the season wherein I master the freezing process for apple pie, and that's what our friends and family will get instead of cookies. Yes, I think so.

A friend recently reminded Jesse and me to keep our hopes up, something we have a lot of practice in not doing. But if you guard against the bad, how can you celebrate the good, right? I don't know, Christmas seems sometimes to be a sweet, wonderful day, with just a twinge of a disappointing finish for some reason. But this year, I'm going to really look forward to it. That may mean a little extra sadness, but my Christmas season's going to be long, caloric, and childlike/ish this year. Here's to getting our hopes up!

Anyway, I hope everyone's feeling snug as bug tonight. Good luck with your hooligans this week, Mom.

Appointment...

Isn't it funny how certain people just recharge you? I don't what the exact combination of character traits is--integrity, love, positive attitude, sincerity, humor--but today I was lucky enough to have encounters with two of these people (well, three if you count Jesse...I know, I know, sappy, ew, barf.) This morning we were just about to head out the door to our doctor's appointment, and in comes Kelly with breakfast from my favorite bakery! Not only did I love the flaky croissant, but her visit really pulled me out of my little nervous trance. What a gal.

Then we got to Dr. Hardy's office. I already was fond of him--he's our home teacher, after all--but man. What a nice guy. As we were telling him about our struggles getting pregnant, he literally got a little teary-eyed. He listened to everything we said, and exhibited such a good bedside manner. I left immediately from his office for work, and I felt so ready to face my coworkers who can be a bit, shall we say, draining. Ready is not even the word. I felt like my priorities were straight, and M's employees be darned.


So results: exam looked normal and healthy. Dr. Hardy thinks I probably have endometriosis based on my symptoms. The next step in diagnosing that would be surgery (hmm.), but while we decide about that, he's going to look at my bloodwork from my last doctor. Jesse is also having fun tests again. If we decide the surgery (a very minor laperoscopic procedure, but still spendy) isn't an option, he will do a dye test with an ultrasound to see if there's a blockage somewhere. So, no big answers, but we have a direction now. And we have a really good doctor. I'm feeling very positive.



Last night's dinner: sauteed chicken with a shallot, marsala, caramelized onion, sour cream sauce.



Tonight's dinner: French toast made from Great Harvest cranberry orange bread. Did you know eggnog is an excellent addition to French toast batter? This is my gift to you.

Not much to write tonight... Did a little cooking (non of which turned out as yummy as I'd hoped, but had fun with Jess) and will post pictures later. Miss Kelly came over and we went running--our chatting did wonders to distract me.

We have our appointment on wednesday, and I'm a bit nervous, but can't wait to find out something. Like, really. Can't wait.

AHHHH!

So we're going on a cruise. In two weeks. My passport still has my maiden name on it. But that's ok, I can use my birth certificate (which I have in my posession) and my driver's license. Only, I have just noticed that my driver's license is expired... ... ... AAHH!

To obtain a Washington license, I must retake the written test. And the driving test. And then they send you your new license in a few weeks.

So I go to the US Postal Service website, and they tell me that in order to expedite my passport renewal, I must go to the Post Office in person. So we do, and the incredibly unhelpful man who wanted to go to his lunch shakes his head at us and tells us to "fill out this form, pay the extra for overnight when you send it in, but it probably won't get there in time."

We try a different approach. We go to the licensing office (I don't understand why this isn't done at the DMV here in good old Washington!) and it's closed because it's Monday.

So I called the cruise line, and they said I could board with my marriage license and my passport and my birth certificate. Progress.

Then I call South West Airlines, and I have to say, after all of my stupidity and others' stupidity, I finally talked to the nicest lady!

("Aw Girrrlfriend! When's your cruise, Baby?")

She then proceeded to warn me that drinks on the cruise cost money, but that they're goooood drinks, and that they'll have me all juiced up. She tells me to bring all of my documents (and lots of film) and that they'll let me on the plane. Then, when I get home, I need to go straight to the DMV and get everything worked out, cuz my documents are all "out of wack."

Thank goodness for people who don't just take their jobs for just jobs and pass you off to the next guy. I thanked her for being a person, and hung up. Carribean, here I come.

Criss Cross...

Applesauce! I had a bunch of apples that needed to be eaten. Our cruise is coming up, so I didn't necessarily want to make a pie or a crisp, so I made applesauce. I love this recipe, as it requires no time over a stove, and it makes the house smell like Christmas.

Peel, core and cut about 4 pounds of apples (I used Braeburn, Granny Smith, and Jonagold) into good-sized chunks. Reserve a few red peels. Add about 1/2 tsp lemon zest, and a good squeeze of lemon juice (Ina Garten zests and juices 2 whole oranges and 1 whole lemon into hers, but she likes a lot more citrus in her apples than I do.) Throw into a Dutch oven.

Add about 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. brown sugar, 1/8 - 1/4 tsp all spice, and some butter. However much you like. (I like 2 Tbs) I also added a Tbs apple juice concentrate. Mix.

Place red peels in Dutch oven. They will add a touch of rosiness to the applesauce.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for about an hour. Remove and mash with potato masher until you get your desired consistency. I like texture in my applesauce. Next time, I'd probably only add a pinch of all spice, as I like spice to be just noticeable. This is, as always, inspired by an Ina recipe, but is so tweakable. You can play with pretty much all the ingredients.

Our grocery store finally has ripe pears! Jesse had made steaks with Gorgonzola for dinner, so guess what I'm eating for my bedtime snack? By the way, did I mention the cruise is in two weeks? During which I will be donning a bathing suit?! Sheesh. Well, I did run two miles today (my first run of the week [yikes!])

We found out yesterday that the reason Jesse's been feeling so tired lately is this: he had mono! Which might explain my dizzy spells and the reason we both had a cold that just wouldn't quit. Apparently, my running faze helped me fight it off, and poor Jesse got monotonized!

So because Jesse didn't feel up to running with me this afternoon (when I sorely needed some motivation), he hopped on the scooter and rode along by my side. We got some laughs when a school bus went by. He's pretty rare.

In other exciting news, I finally cleaned out the fridge tonight. Also, work was fine. Also, in order for me to obtain a Washington license, I must take the driving test again. Bollucks. Also, my next project will be a pear, blue cheese, walnut crostata. Stay tuned...