I'm Never Eating Chocolate Again.

I stole the last Werther's last night. Then I felt bad and wanted to give it back. 

TC is a better person that I, seeing as he left it on the counter for me this morning when he found it taped to the back door.

You know you've got a good man when he shows up with flowers on Valentine's Day.

Even better when it's an arrangement with tons of bright, springy colors, just the way you like it.

Add some chocolates into the mix, forget about going to the gym and you've got a great Valentine's day.

Especially if your husband heard your prayers and brought Bailey's and coffee home with him.

The plan to build a snowman didn't pan out -- crappy snow, I guess. Too bad because I had a red potato cut up for the nose.

Not one to waste perfectly good alcohol (that would be abuse), we took our coffees out for a little walk in the woods.

Nothing like drunk stumbling though the snow with your beloved.

Just kidding, we weren't drunk and we weren't stumbling. Man, give me some credit.

Happy Valentine's Day!

How To Love Leftover Ham.

I never was one for ham. Turkey? All day. Salami? I'll take a bath in it.

Mustard was always a favorite. Until I discovered mayo in college. Mustard has since gone out the window.

But brown sugar....oh my. I could eat it by the spoonful. I have eaten it by the spoonful. I used to sneak it when I was a kid. True story. Ask my mom.

I can hear what you're thinking: I have issues. Thank you, I'm aware.

In the past couple of years I've been working on my relationship with ham. Our communication skills are better and we see a therapist once a week. We've learned that this relationship is a two way street and we both have to put forth some effort.

The ham has carried it's weight this week. All ten pounds of it, is trying to win me over. Capture my heart and have me turn my back on turkey. And you know what? It's working.

However, heating it up by itself is boring.

Adding it to a chef salad is slightly more interesting but I can only handle so much lettuce in my life.

But adding Christina's Ham Sauce to it makes it divine.

It is not a fancy sauce. Nor is it difficult to make. It's not pretty and it's probably not low-cal either. That can only mean one thing. It's perfect.

Perfect for spreading on a piece of bread. Perfect for dipping. Perfect for glazing.

Christina takes equal parts mustard and brown sugar.

I just poured some mustard in a pan and then added brown sugar until it tasted right.

Bring the mustard to a boil and stir continuously. Not with a metal spoon! Just the thought is making me cover my ears and want to die. Yes, I am a freak. Again, I'm well aware.

Mustard has a low boiling point (look at me sounding all scientific!) and doesn't take much more than low heat to start bubbling.

Add brown sugar until it tastes just right.

Serve hot or put it in the fridge and eat later as a midnight snack (PS - this is where the dipping part comes in).

I hope I've helped find a new way to rekindle your love for ham. Especially leftover ham that seems to be taking control of all your tupperware.


Note to self: 10 pounds of ham is excessive.

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Today I am thankful for... everyone and everything that I have been blessed with.


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Workout: 
Weights - arms and shoulders. I was too tired to do anything else. See below.
Cardio - run on treadmill:
1-3 min / 3.0
3-4 min / 3.5
4-7 min / 6.5 (for the record I have never been above 5.5)
7-8 min / 7.0 (I think I just might die at this point)
8-9 min / 3.5
9-12 min / 6.7 (definitely dying)
12-13 min / 7.2 (for sure cannot feel my legs)
13-14 min / 3.5 
14-18 min / 7.0 (might pass out and am willing to give my left arm to make this stop)
18-19 min / 6.5 (might puke. i am not meant to sprint for 5 minutes straight)
19-20 min / 3.5

Cupcakes In A Jar: Baby Shower or Christmas Idea.

Tonight I was all ready to tell you about the Santa Parade our town had this past weekend. But I'm just not there yet. It's still November, my house is wonderfully un-decorated and I'm enjoying a 'down' week from the holidays. But starting next week, bring on the festivities.

So let us back track a couple of weekends. Carla's baby shower was so much fun to help organize.  Mainly, because I've been hoping/looking/waiting for a reason to make cupcakes-in-a-jar. This is no new invention in the world of cuteness but I'm a bit of late bloomer and am just now jumping on board.

I googled high and low to see if there was a 'right' way to make cupcakes-in-a-jar. For the record, there is not. It's anything goes. Let your creativity run wild. I did notice a definite lack of good tutorials on how to do it. Excuse me, but not all of us are domestically inclined. Some of us need exact directions. 

Here it goes.

250ml Mason jars hold one normal size cupcake perfectly. At the very least, you'll need mason jars, lids, cupcake ingredients, frosting, a piping bag and a decorative tip. If you're feeling really artsy-craftsy grab some cute fabric, rope/string/ribbon, and disposable spoons. Or stickers. Or none of it. 

Like I said, anything goes.

But back to what I did.

Make the cupcakes. A box mix will work just fine. Don't be ashamed. Duncan Hines knows whats up.

Peel off the liners and carefully break the cupcakes in half. Set the tops aside.

This would be a good time to recruit some help. Husband, child, roommate, elf, imaginary friend, whoever. 

Drop the bottoms into the jar. 

Next, make a batch of icing. Go ahead, get out your mixer and make it from scratch. Don't be lazy. 

I decided to use two different colors of icing; pink and blue because we don't know if Carla is having a boy or a girl. Because I'm voting for a girl, I put a layer of pink frosting down first using a piping bag and decorative tip. (Wilton #2 I think?)

On top of the frosting went the cupcake tops. Recruit your helper to do this...

Because you're busy making a second batch of frosting. There is no such thing as too much frosting. This time I dyed it blue and piped it on top in the same manner as before.

But wouldn't it be cute to do red and green frosting for the holidays? 

Oh! Or dye the batter to have red and green cupcakes with white frosting! Oh! Or chocolate!

Finally, I suckered The Canadian into sprinkling a few sprinkles on top. Are these not the prettiest sprinkles ever?

Oh! You could put those pretty silver ball sprinkles on Christmas cupcakes in a jar!

So far, so good. You could even stop here and call it a day.

But I wasn't done yet. I found cute fabric (18x18 precut square for $2 at Walmart) that was gender neutral and adorable with it's cute owls. Cutting the fabric into 4x4 inch squares worked perfectly to cover the top of each jar.

I finished it off with simple string (that I found in the junk drawer) to hold a plastic spoon and a cute tag that I printed and hole punched. 

Oh! You could write cute Christmas song lyrics and attach it to holiday cupcakes in a jar!

Yes, I think that is exactly what my mailman would like for Christmas. Except he walks the streets and doesn't have a fancy backwards-driving mail truck. So maybe a jar o cupcake might weigh too much. Or he could just eat it as he walks. It does come with a spoon and everything. Yup, I think he will be will to bear the weight.

Happy cupcake-in-a-jar making!

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Today I am thankful for... all the kitchen tools, utensils and lessons I inherited from my Grandpa.

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Workout: Cardio - (I almost puked even though it was only 20 minutes) 20 minutes of some crazy TM workout I found on Pinterest. I thought I was going to die. I'm totally doing it again tomorrow. If I survive I'll give you the specifics tomorrow.

Deep (Holiday) Thoughts By The Dog.

Hobie would like to take a moment and remind you all to take a breather and enjoy the holidays. Running around like a wild person is for the birds. Nothing warrants that kind of stress. Except maybe the vacuum.


She knows the secret. It's all about taking a mid afternoon nap. That may or may not last all day. Ahem.


Life is too precious to get wrapped up in all the hoopla. After all, it's just a few crumbs of ham on the floor. Nothing to get in a fight over. There will be more.

She would also like you to enjoy the little things in life. Like a fresh bowl of water and fresh snow to eat.


No matter how much work and effort you put into decorating the house she will not care. For nothing is more important than raiding the trash can.


Finally, she would like everyone to remember that the most important thing you can do during the holiday season is not to buy gifts (although treats are appreciated), but it is to spend time with the people you love. And scratch them behind their ears.


Hobie says rour're relcrome.


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Today I'm grateful for... camp.


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Workout: BodyFlow

Thanksgiving is Tomorrow At My House...

Thankfully, Maple takes her daily nap under my desk. Just to make sure she's ready if any crumbs miraculously hit the floor.

Thankfully, my cranberries all burst in a timely manner and flooded the blueberry pomegranate juice. Fingers crossed that the mixture gelatinizes over night the way its supposed to.

Thankfully, no fingers were lost while the lemons were cut.  I did not want a repeat performance of the Bagel Incident of 2011.

Thankfully, my pumpkin pies appear to be behaving themselves. The cheesecake on the other hand...well, let's just say it got into a fight with a jar or pickles.

Thankfully, the sweet potatoes finally baked after two hours. They seemed to be in a bad mood so I gave them some sugar to sweeten them up.

haha.

Thankfully, Tom has now found his way to the refrigerator so I will be able to take a shower tomorrow.

Thankfully, these pretty little pecans came all the way up from down South just to help me make a pie.

Thankfully, TC brought me home my favorite white daisies that I turned into simple little centerpieces.

Thankfully, the real tablecloth doesn't look quite that orange in real life. 

Amen.

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Today I'm thankful for... my home.

25 Centimeters of Snow Before 25 Pounds of Turkey.

1. "Due to the inclement weather (read: blizzard) we will be closing school early today. We will let you know the details of dismissal in the coming hour." Can I get a hell yeah! for a half day. Remember, it's not a holiday here. It's just a regular old week. With a blizzard. Totally normal.

2. Good thing I had my trusty dusty winter boots in the car. Too bad I had to walk a block in my cute flats to get them and then had icicles for feet by the time I got there.





3. Its almost the big day. Preparation continued today and first thing on the list was to defrost ole Tom (stop panicking - my dinner isn't until Friday). He takes up my whole sink. When I read the package it said 'defrost breast side up.' Not knowing what that meant, I had to call my mom and ask her which side that was. Legs pointing up? Legs pointing down? I should not be allowed to host Thanksgiving.

4. Having 17 people over for Thanksgiving requires having 17 chairs for said people to sit in. All hands chairs on deck! I meant to paint this lovely, gross mint green chair last year. I really meant to paint it black last month. Then I revised and planned to paint it tomorrow. Too bad that painting isn't recommended in temperatures below freezing. I'll have TC sit in it, he won't mind.

5. The tables are invading! The tables are invading! That, my friends, will be exactly 19 feet of Thanksgiving table when I get it all lined up tomorrow. I dug up every table I could find in our basement. It's going to span from the kitchen through the dining room and into the living room. It only took me an hour to iron the gigantic table cloths. No biggie.

6. While I was at it, I also went ahead and ironed and folded all of the napkins. I'm kind of a bad ass.

7. I braved the snow storm and headed to the gym for a little sweat session. When I walked in the girls at the desk cheered for me. "Yay," they cried, "Good job in surviving the storm!" Shhhh. Don't tell them that I had TC drive me there because I was too scared to drive myself.






8. I told you it was snowing. After about 30 seconds outside Hobie was well on her way to becoming a solid white Newf. Then she promptly walked inside and shook the snow all over the kitchen. Does anyone want a dog for Christmas? She's free to a good home.





9. Have I mentioned how much I love winter? Oh, I haven't? Hmmm. I wonder why not.

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Today I'm thankful for... my family. I wish I was with them for Thanksgiving. Partly because they're at the beach. Partly because they're awesome.


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Workout: Cardio - 30 minutes, Circuit - wall sit with 12 dumbbell shoulder press, 24 power bicep curls, 25 crunches on the ball, 10 push -ups with feet on ball, 10 squats with 40lb bar  X 3

Southern Thanksgiving Coming to a Canada Near You.

Behold The Turkey! That, my friends, is 25 pounds of pure heaven. 25 pounds! It may be the biggest turkey this side of the Mississippi. Anyone want to take bet on whether or not it fits in my oven? Fingers crossed.

Here's the deal. In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated in early October. We won't get into my thoughts on that. Being a red-blooded American living in the Great White North, there is no way that I am letting the last Thursday of November pass me by without a Thanksgiving celebration. And there is definitely no way that I am letting this great holiday pass without a feast done Southern style. Even though it's just another day on the calendar around these parts my friends still jumped on board last year when I decided to host the 1st Annual Southern Style Thanksgiving. Like anyone is going to pass up a free turkey dinner, even if it is to celebrate an American holiday tradition. 

Despite the fact that I didn't even know how to make a PB&J sandwich at that point, the meal turned out a success. It was so much fun that we're doing it again this year -- The 2nd Annual Southern Style Thanksgiving!

Cooking for 17 people is no small feat, mind you. Last year it took me about three weeks of planning, major help from my mother and turkey preparation assistance from The Canadian's parents. This year I'm feeling a little more confident. Even though I'm completely on my own because my in-laws will be out of town (taking advantage of Black Friday in New England no less) and I have the biggest turkey of all time to deal with, I have faith. Plus, I have my mom and mother-in-law on high alert for any major catastrophes that can be remedied with a phone call. 

Welcome to Turkey Headquarters. Here we meticulously plan the menu, the serving dishes, the to-do list, the grocery list and timeline of events and preparation. It only took me a few hours to put together. No. Biggie.

My goal is to re-create my mother's Thanksgiving table. Down to the pickle and olive tray. 

Like I said, planning a dinner for 17 people takes some serious work. Last year I created this lovely spread sheet to help me, and my OCD, get organized. Each dish is listed with its ingredients and amounts, the bowl/plate to be served in, the time it is to be prepared and any additional notes. I even went back the day after last year and made notes of things to do differently for this year so I wouldn't forget. Sometimes I get a little drunk and forget the details...Oopps.

I re-typed my Thanksgiving Southern Style 2001 Plan of Attack tonight and it looks damn good.

Here's the menu:

Turkey

Ham (because there isn't a turkey big enough to feed this crew. i need back up.)

Dressing

Gravy

Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce a la Pioneer Woman

Sweet Potato Casserole (everyone's favorite) x 3

Green Bean Casserole x 2

Mac n Cheese (a new addition that is not from my mom's table) x 2?

Mashed Potatoes (10 pounds)

Pickles and Olives

Rolls (24)

Pecan Pie x 2

Pumpkin Pie x 2

Pumpkin Cheesecake 

Wine

Sweet Tea Lemonade Cocktail

And I am making every ounce of it. Minus the dressing. Mother-in-law has it on lockdown, so why mess with perfection? I'm okay with being dressing-dependent on her for the rest of my life.

When I got engaged my friend Amy gave me a Vera Bradley recipe box. As a joke. One, because it was Vera Bradley (I heart her). Two, because I clearly didn't have one recipe to my name and had no interest in ever knowing a recipe because my diet consisted of take-out, cereal and eggs. I was quite happy like that back in my single days. But Amy knew better and knew that married life was going to change my ways. Now this thing is jam packed with my favorites, including my Thanksgiving arsenal of recipes I stole last year. 

I even typed up all my ingredients and then inventoried my pantry to see what I already have on hand. Tomorrow I'm heading to the grocery store to stock up and get this show on the road. 

Please pray for my credit card. And my sanity. And my 25 pound turkey. Oh, and my oven.

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Today I am thankful for... my sister. who has amused me all night with her antics as she was trying to avoid packing to go home for Thanksgiving.

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Workout: Cardio - 20 minutes, Weights - abs, biceps, lunges. fast and furious. its a busy week, man.