Oh Thanksgiving, you thought you had me defeated didn't you?

Well, I had the task of preparing a few dishes for my family's Thanksgiving feast. Because of all of the other errands I had on Wednesday, my cooking did not begin until after 11pm on Thanksgiving Eve. Here is my first Facebook post of the night:

So far Thanksgiving v. Krissy is 2-1 Thanksgiving. My sweet potato casserole is now mashed sweet potatoes and my macaroni & cheese made its way to the garbage. My 1 point came from the fact that the black eyed peas made it safely into the crock pot
Yesterday at 11:27pm
 
So, as you can see, I was not fairing very well. See, I had found this very delicious sounding recipe for an apple sweet potato casserole. But I discovered, upon preparing to cook it that my pound of apples had turned into 1 apple with a 3 year old bite out of it...there went the casserole. The macaroni, well the poor macaroni was overcooked and formed into one big ball o noodle mush. Sad.
 
My next feat was a pumpkin spice cake. All seemed well, recipe went fine and it made it in and out of the oven. The problem occurred while trying to get it out the pan. My poor cake came out of a bundt pan in 3 pieces. No worries, I glued that sucka back together with homemade cream cheese icing. YUM!
 
Then to bed I went.
Only to wake up and realize that the mac and cheese I made during the night was gross!
Enter facebook post #2:
Haha Macaroni and cheese, you thought you beat me last night huh? NEVER that's why I remixed you and now you are as tasty as ever. Thanksgiving v Krissy 2-2 TIED! Lets see how my green beans turn out...thanksgiving 2k10 let's get it
So, with a little help from my mom a few secret ingredients, I made the most awesomest mac and cheese to date. Basically, the mac and cheese that I had previously made was a little bland and hard. So, I crumbled it back up and poured a secret concoction on top of it and put it back into the oven. Hey, so what if my mac and cheese is a 2 day recipe. You can't rush perfection, right?
 
The green beans made it in and out the crock pot without incident. They were..ehhh...green beany I guess.
 
To sum it all up, Thanksgiving was great. Cooking was a chore and I am glad it's over. I'm having tacos for Christmas! How about you?
 
Anyone else have kitchen adventures? How did everything turn out?

Thanksgiving Shenanigans

But first, a funny Katy story:
My daughter was playing with a 5 year old girl. The little girl was sharing a Santa coloring book with her. She asked my daughter, "Are you Christian?" My daughter answered, "No, I'm Katy Silly" LOL

Now on to the shenanigans.

Thanksgiving comes around EVERY SINGLE YEAR. So why do we run around each year totally frantic and unprepared? Did the last Thursday in November suddenly pop up on the calendar without warning? Maybe it's just my house....

Anyhow, for the first time ever, the dinner will be at my home and it is kind of a big deal. We are expecting about 16 people. SIXTEEN PEOPLE!!!!

Let me put this into perspective.
I am not a chef. When I cook, it is for my family of 3, one of whom is 3. Maybe this isn't a big deal to most, but to me it screams Jack in the Box! But since delicious $.99 chicken sandwiches are not an option for a sit down fancy smancy meal, I have to pull out all stops. This includes cleaning my home ugh. So, after a conversation with my mom, mother in law, and a few google searches the menu is as follows:

Turkey
Ham
Collard Greens
Cabbage
Green Beans
Mashed Potatoes
Yam and Apple Casserole
Potato Salad
Dressing
Blackeyed Peas
Mac & Cheese
Corn
Sweet Potato Pie
Sweet Potatoe Cheesecake
Pumpkin Spice Cake

The menu is a collaborative effort. However, I am in charge of the dishes in bold. Oh have I mentioned
I am not a chef. I am seriously contemplating making my husband (yes, the awesome one) video tape it Food Network style.

So to try to break the tradition of being completely overwhelmed, I made a shopping list and got my coupons equipped for shopping. On the way to the store, my husband (you know, the awesome one) informed me that 5-7 guests won't be coming. HUH?!? Well ok, at least I found out prior to shopping. It seemed easy enough. I just cut the list in half and bought the produce as planned. This was yesterday.

Today, the plan was to go to the store and purchase the meat and baking goods. While getting everything together my husband (yes, the awesome one) informed me that the 5-7 guest MAY BE attending dinner. WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!? Well ok, at least I found out prior to shopping.
Wait, didn't I just think this yesterday?
So here I am, on my laptop typing instead of  being on my way to the grocery store. I am thinking about what is in store for me on Thanksgiving day. Will I, along with help of mommy of course, create a Thanksgiving event that will be talked about by all for years to come....or will create a Thanksgiving event that will be talked about for years to come?

Who knows. I guess we shall find out on Thursday.

What's going on in your home? Anybody have a fail safe plan on cooking for millions of people? If so, please do tell.

Do you know what today is?

It's our anniversary! Hopefully you know the song, if not youtube it- "Anniversary" by Tony Toni Tone. As usual, my day was jam packed with activity. Today, is my wedding anniversary. Most people spend this day with their spouses doing things like kissing and hugging and crying or something. I don't know. But me, I spent my day working.  Seriously. I freaking scheduled myself to work and did not even realize it was my anniversary until yesterday. If it wasn't for my coworkers (who shall remain nameless- not because they want to remain anonymous, but because they are on punishment), today probably would have sucked.
But still, all was not lost.
After work, the dude and I enjoyed our dinner and went out. Oh yeah, we slow danced in the living room. It was an impromptu slow dance. My mom saw us and burst out in tears. I'm like dang, is it that bad?!? Anyhow, our plan was to go see a grown up movie since we had a sitter (sitter = my mom, who is still crying lol ). But again, because my life is seemingly Lemony Snicketesque, we left the home without movie tickets. So guess what, no movie for us! Great, now on to plan c, driving around our town trying to figure out what to do. Result- we went to a pool hall. After about 2 hours of pool, trick shot practice, and a swollen finger. I quit.
Don't judge me, I never said I was good at the crap.
Here is the truth. Perhaps the ONLY thing in the world that I don't rank in the 98th percentile in is pool. I love shooting pool, but I think the injuries that I sustained today were uncalled for. I think the game of pool is out to get me. But for now, my story is about the insanity of today, not the vicious blood sport of shooting pool. Anyhow, during our outing, the husband had a few drinks. And by few, I mean 3 tiny very "pretty" drinks. And by pretty I mean weak and with cherries and umbrellas and stuff. After said "pretty" drinks, he made a lot of promises which may or may not have included well, this blog is g rated so I guess I will leave all that out. He also  made me sign a declaration that I would not fall asleep tonight or get a headache. I signed it with my own blood. Don't worry, I was already bleeding....freak accident that involved me, the stick and the cue ball.

As of now, my dear sweet awesome hubby is on the couch SLEEP. Yeah that's right. He made me promise to stay awake and HE went to sleep.

Happy anniversary to me. Too bad I wasted my blood signing that damned contract.

My daughter loves her hair

It's great. It really is. It's just that, well, Sesame Street had to tell her. After 3 whole years of teaching my beautiful litlle girl to love herself, a muppet sang a song about it and 2 minutes later, she is the embodiment of healthy self esteem.

I mean, it's not like she had esteem issues before. I just wonder why the freaking muppet was able to instill a life lesson in under 5 minutes. Is that not weird to anyone else?
Maybe I could be a little more understanding if the muppet were famous, like Elmo or Dora or somebody. But no, it's just random muppet girl dancing and singing about her gorgeous locks.
For the record. I truly appreciate the message. And I know there are tons of children who need to see characters like them on tv. I understand and I agree. Heck, it would have been nice to see some brown faces with kinky curly tresses on tv shows growing up. I wanted to be Punky Brewster. I couldn't get my hair in the 2 ponytails, had she had afro puffs perhaps I would have had a chance. I guess I am jealous that a muppet got to teach my baby something that I just KNEW she would get from me. Hell, I've loved her hair since she was born.

I should probably shut up. At least she's not watching South Park.

Mom, where's Jesus?

Huh?
Where is He?
Who?
Jesus?
At church.

That's how the conversation went. I thought it was the end, but oh, it was only the beginning.
First let me give an explanation and some background. When we pray, she often asks who are we praying to and why. I tell her we pray to Jesus because Jesus helps people. SO, she wanted to know where He was. When I told her church, I said it because I just KNEW that when we went to church there would be a picture, or sculpture or some depiction of Jesus there. And I was going to point it out to her. As usual, because NOTHING in my life goes as planned, on Sunday at church there was no picture, no statue, no painting. That night another conversation began at bedtime.

Mom, where's Jesus? I thought you said He was at church.
He is.
Well I did not see him.
That is because he is inside of you?
Inside of me, like in my belly?
No silly, just inside of you like in your heart.
Oh.

Success! I came up with an answer that was semi-logical. Or so I thought.

We were talking about Christmas and said to her,
"Hey baby, did you know Christmas we Jesus' birthday?"
No. How Mommy?
What do you mean how?
How is it His birthday if He never came out of my tummy?
What?!?
My tummy mom. Jesus is still inside of me. He didn't come out so how is it His birthday?

There you have it. My 3 year old thinks she is literally carrying Jesus.

I think I came up with a good answer. I told her Jesus was in the Bible and at Sunday School.
Some of you may think the Sunday school answer was passing the buck. Maybe you're right.

Has anyone else encountered a similar situation? How do you explain religion and the concept of higher powers to young kids?

Scared Skinny

I want to start this off by stating that this is not a dieting blog. I repeat
This is NOT a dieting blog. I needed to say that. I can't consistently write about my challenges with weight loss, mainly because I never really am that concerned about seriously losing weight.
That has all changed.
My best friend has just been diagnosed with diabetes. By just, I mean like yesterday,literally. My bestie is the same age as me, approximately the same height (she is about 2 inches taller), and approximately the same weight/build. Actually, I weigh about 30lbs  more than she. I say all of that to say that it could have very well been me instead of her. As I sit here tonight typing this, she is in the hospital with uncontrolled blood sugar. So, as the title indicates, I am have been scared skinny. Yes folks you heard it here first: I am going to take an active interest in my health and weight loss.

Back to the usual antics-As I sit here, trying to have a serious moment, my 3yr old beautiful angelic loving princess of a daughter is screaming in my left ear, "Watch this mom!!!" as she blows up a balloon and releases the air/spit in my face. Todd, the husband who was awesome yesterday ( yes YESTERDAY) is talking to me and getting annoyed that I am typing while he is talking. He has now proclaimed he will never read my blog again because I am not paying attention to him.

Question: How the hell am I supposed to be able to listen to him, the kid, wipe kid spit off of me, and type at the same time?
Answer: Super powers. All moms have them. Put them to use.


OK, the hubby is happy now. I had to remove my hands from the keyboard and give him my undivided attention. And by undivided, I totally mean with the kid still screaming and releasing spit in my face.

Jas (left) and I in Las Vegas this year

Jas (left) and I in high school

                                                              Get better Jas. I love you.

My Husband is pretty awesome

Yeah, pretty much. He is.

So today, in my usual fashion, I woke up late for work. So, in order to get to LA in a timely manner, I had to skip a shower, skip breakfast, and not pack my lunch. On the way out of the house I grumbled something like "Dammit I did not get to pack a lunch." My hubby tried quickly to fix a sandwich but I refused it. Why? Cuz sometimes I can be difficult ( yea I know, hard to believe).

Now I am driving and my tummy is growling because it wanted oatmeal for breakfast.

 Todd calls and asks where I am. I reply "On the freeway" I lied. He knew. He then informs me that he is in high speed pursuit of me so I pull over. A few moments later he pulls up behind me and emerges from the car in a tank top and pajama pants! Awesomely hilarious if I may say so myself. I snapped a pic, but of course, today of all days, my stupid phone won't upload photos :(

Side-note: the sandwich was a double decker. Our, as I called it, a Big Mac Turkey sandwich. He did not do it on purpose; he was in a hurry and thought he'd actually made 2 sandwiches. 

Anyhow, I ate the sandwich during my 2 hour commute this morning. Now whats for lunch?
And if you have any awesome spouse stories, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Mommy friends are difficult to make

Is it just me, or was making new friends way easier in elementary school? Why is it so difficult to make new friends? I can clearly recall the days of "Hey I like your New Kids lunch box, wanna be friends?" and that was it- instant besties. Boy, those were the days. Now don't get me wrong. I have a solid group of friends and I love them dearly, but I need to make some Mommy friends, you know, friends who have children the same age as yours and live nearby, friends who understand that you may cancel a date at the drop of a dime due to sitter issues, you know, those friends.

Mommy friends are difficult to make.

This weekend at the kid's soccer game I met a mommy. She has a son the same age as the kid. We talked briefly and realized that we had a few things in common: 1) Our kids liked each other 2) We both work in downtown and have a long commute 3) we both want to lose weight. So, we exchanged numbers. Sounds good right? WRONG.

Timing is everything.

Today, 2 days later, I text my new mommy friend "Hey, maybe this is weird but if you want to we can drive home together. I get off at 5:30 and would love the company." I sent it and waited...and waited...and waited. Now, panic started to set in Was I too forward? Was the text weird? Was it really stalker-esque? and then, she replied. She had gotten off work already but said we needed to schedule a play date for the kids. RELIEF! I had not frightened my future best-mommy friend away. Yay!

So what do you think? Are mommy friends hard to make for you? Have you had any awkward friend making moments?

Sunday & the Weekend Wrap-up

Well, it's Sunday. This means it is time to prepare for the ensuing week. I wasted most of my day napping. I was tired, I had a late night. The Hubby and I actually went out! We had a blast. The kid stayed with her Grandmother. We went out with friends to a really cool bowling alley/ lounge in Pasadena called 300. It was pretty pricey, but if you go to their site and give them your email, you'll get a $20 off coupon. Six of us bowled one game and played pool for an hour for $75 total. <-- totally NOT an advertisement, just want to spread the news. Spending time with my husband and with our friends was really nice and LOOOONG overdue. For the record, the wives won! Here are some pics of the night:

Want to know a secret? Did you notice the tears in my jeans? Funny story, my jeans ripped in the inner thigh. I like to attribute this to closet shrinkage. For some reason, my clothes shrink in the closet. Weird lol. Anyhow, to make it work, I got a knife and cut the other pant leg so it would have an "I totally ripped these pants on purpose" look. Was the mission accomplished? I think so.

Ok, back to the topic: Preparing for the week. I have to pack a lunch for me, pick out my clothes for work, clean something in my house, and take out something for tomorrow's meal. Oh, and the clean laundry is in a pile in my room about 2 feet high, perhaps I should try to do something about that- sounds like another day's mission. I'm still sleepy!

How was your weekend?

My very first post

I have contemplated creating a blog for quite some time. My biggest question was deciding on a topic. I mean what am I qualified to write about? Who am I? Well it hit me I am a time travelling super hero:, I work full time, I mom full time, and I manage to remain sane. The last statement may be more wishful thinking than actual fact, but hey, one can dream.
Today was a crazy day as usual. It is Saturday, which means my daughter had soccer. Last week I had the great idea to throw a party for the team, since today was their last game. So of course, today, I overslept. Because I am a professional time traveler, I was able to get to the grocery store and pick up cupcakes and still make it to the game on time. The game went well. She played goalie and blocked a goal; we cheered like she had won the world cup. She got a trophy. The kids ate cupcakes. Good times.