A Successful Thanksgiving Dinner

I touched a RAW turkey!!

This was a big Thanksgiving for me...I cooked everything myself! For the past 30 years, my mom made the turkey and all the trimmings, but this year was different.

We just stayed at our humble abode in the mountains and enjoyed Thanksgiving Day with just the five of us.

All the food turned out great, nothing was raw or undercooked or rotten or moldy. Thanks to my mother, a great teacher, whom I watched from a distance for many years. (My older brother and I would always fight about who got to baste the turkey--ha, this year, I GOT TO DO ALL OF IT!)

The hardest part of the whole day...touching the RAW turkey. Gross. No one told me I would have to do that. I NEVER touch raw meat (yes, I am weird). I truthfully thought to myself, "maybe I will put plastic bags over my hands" as I just stood and stared at this raw, slimy thing. So, I just did it.

I am trying to erase those images out of my head. Just gross.

I TRIED Collard Greens!

...and I didn't like them. We have some new friends that have quickly become really good friends and we hang out with them at least once or twice a week. Well, he is a vegetarian and she is a vegan, which means I am trying and/or being exposed to many new vegetables. So far, I have tried squash, different kinds of beans, zucchini, collard greens, mushrooms, and probably more stuff that my friend hasn't told me about because she just chops it up really small and mixes it in.

You see, this is all new to me because I only eat "normal" vegetables like carrots, corn, potatoes, and lettuce.

The verdict? I am still alive, so this means all these new vegetables ARE really edible!

I Got Sucked In

If you read my post below regarding spending money on MYSELF and get something just for ME that didn't involve kids or babies or toys or spit-up, well, that didn't last long. I saw another magazine deal for 3 years of Parents magazine for $5.99 and I couldn't pass it up. So, there you have it, now I have one magazine for recipes and other womanly whatnot and such and one magazine about boogers and diapers and how I can be a better parent. I guess it is the best of both worlds...maybe.

Now I have to FIND the time to read TWO magazines each month. Not sure if that will ever happen.

I Have a New Blog

Don't get your panties in a bunch, I am still keeping Sticks and Stones, and I will update it often. However, my new blog focuses more on parenting, or lack there of. It is a more in depth glimpse of our lives as we journey through the ups and downs of raising three girls.

It is called Raising Three Girls
http://raisingthegirls.blogspot.com

Ashlyn's Voice

Here is a conversation I had with Little Miss Ashlyn.

I love her to pieces! (even if she didn't keep her promise...)

Disclaimer: If you don't want to hear a baby coo/babble for over 2 minutes, then don't push the play button.

Milk.

A blog post about milk? Why, yes it is. I am not sure if this is blog-worthy, but milk can bring up all sorts of interesting topics.

1. The expiration date! This is one unwritten rule that 99% of people will abide by.

2. The smell. Even if the milk is a week from the expiration date, most people will still smell the milk before they use it. And for sure, everyone smells the milk the day before, the day of, and the day after (whoa the day after is pretty risky) the expiration date.

3. The milk percent. Most people have their favorite and some people are die-hards about not drinking any other percent than their favorite preference. I usually buy two gallons of milk, 1% for me and 2% for Jerry. If the 1% is gone, I will sometimes use the 2% but Jerry will never use the 1%.

4. Our local grocery chain packages milk in YELLOW gallons. This took me some getting used to and most of our visitors that come from other states, think that these gallons are orange juice.

5. As you can see from the picture (yes, as stated before, we have two different kinds of milk in the house at all times), the 2% milk has a picture of a girl on it and the 1% has a picture of a man. My girls will only drink the milk from the gallon with the picture of the girl on it. They call it 'the girl milk.' (Living with girls is a whole separate blog post or novel really).

Milk discussion is over.

I Officially Feel OLD

I saw a deal today on a website: a 2 year magazine subscription, 34 issues, for $4.99, and I just couldn't pass it up. I had to think twice, because my MOM reads this magazine and if I read it, then that must make me old, or not stylish, or not hip, (insert your own word to describe a stereotypical mom/grandma). I am not saying that my mom is not hip, but you get the idea.

What was the magazine you ask?.....







Yup, like I said, I feel old. It isn't a subscription to In Style or Vogue, but WOMAN'S DAY!

This means a few things:

(1). I actually spent $4.99 on MYSELF. This is rare since I love/am addicted to buying/looking at toys and/or clothes for the three girls. I tend to find myself in the bright pink toy aisle or children's clothes section of each store. Jerry wants me to spend money on myself, but instead, I just choose to wear the old, faded, out of style clothes I had since I was a freshman in college and spend the money on the girls instead. (maybe he is trying to give me a hint...)
(2). This is the first magazine I have gotten that is NOT about babies, kids, toddlers, toys, educational parenting, how to avoid fevers, the best baby products of the year, the fears of labor and delivery, the horror stories in the delivery room, and how to get spit up stains out of my clothes.

You see, this is a monumental purchase is so many ways.

This $4.99 is a big step in my life. This $4.99 may change me forever...