Long Overdue Turkey Post

I haven't blogged in a while. After Thanksgiving, I really wanted to do a post on my first (rather successful) Thanksgiving Turkey. I never really got around to it. Despite the fact that it's (almost) February, I've decided....better late than never!

So here's my saga:

We normally celebrate Thanksgiving day at the Broswick's in Lee's Summit. Then we head over to Salina the following Saturday for Thanksgiving Part 2 with my family. This year, my parents and aunt and uncle decided to spend Thanksgiving in Arizona. So the whole Salina thing was out. I invited my siblings to join us at our place to celebrate. Along with getting the house cleaned and ready for guests, I got the experience of making my first turkey.

I had a lot of anxiety going into this. Cooking a turkey just sounded....hard. But I was bound and determined to make the best damn turkey anyone ever tasted. So I started researching. I have a subscription to both Food & Wine magazine and The Food Network magazine. Between the two, I was able to figure out anything I wanted to know.

I did an orange-bourbon brine on the turkey the night before and may I just say...my house smelled AMAZING. This whole "prep time" was quite humorous as it included me being elbow-deep in a bird's ass and googling "Where are the giblets!?!" In the end, I got it all figured out.

The next morning, I got up early. I rinsed the turkey and basted it with a honey mustard butter and stuffed it with a bunch of random crap. I popped that baby in the oven and a couple hours later....deliciousness. I will say, the skin ended up browning a lot faster than I would have liked. So it wasn't like...beautiful or anything. But it WAS juicy and moist and delicious. And quite frankly, that's what matters, right?

And now, some photos for your entertainment:

The good thing about using a bourbon brine, is you can drink the bourbon.

A cavity search was necessary.


If you're thinking, "Is she using a flashlight to help locate the giblets?" then you're correct.

I must say, it was a fun experience.

Patience is a virtue (worth having)

This year my class got me a gift card to Trendz boutique in Leawood. I really like shopping there and I was super excited to get the gift card. I've been pretty busy this week, but found time today to do some shopping for myself. I went to Trendz and ended up finding a really cute sweater, top, scarf, and wintery head wrap. While I was waiting in (the rather long) line, I noticed a lady in front of me who kept huffing and puffing about the wait. She kept checking her watch and rolling her eyes at the check out ladies. I understand it's frustrating to have to wait, but it's a part of life. These girls working at Trendz were doing the best they could to get people through the line as quickly as possible. The fact is, it's December 23rd. EVERYWHERE you go is going to be busy. Deal with it. Anyway, when the lady ended up making it to the front of the line, she starting writing out a check. The girl checking her out informed her that they do not take checks. She got all pissy and stormed out.

Now, I must say...if that lady hadn't been such a grumpy puss, I would have happily offered to add her purchase to mine. It was only a couple pairs of earrings. If she had been waiting patiently like the rest of us, she would have walked out with what she came in for. It just goes to show you, patience is a virtue worth having!

Thanksgiving Break

Breaks from my job always seem to come at the time I need them most. This year is no exception. It's not that I don't like my job or my students, but let's be honest....being a teacher is exhausting. I am beyond thrilled that I have a 5 day weekend ahead of me. AND we will not be leaving the Kansas City Metro this year which means I just might actually get some time to relax.

Here are my plans for tomorrow:

• Sleep in


• Drink an entire pot of coffee


• Lay around the house watching TV and/or reading a book in my PJs pretty much all day

If I decide I'm feeling productive, I may also cook the hubby dinner. We'll see how it goes.

Upcoming Halloween Party

We're throwing a Halloween party this weekend. I'm pretty excited about doing this:

http://www.scarymommy.com/halloween-vodka/

Yes, candy vodka. Yum!!!

No, I do not have any drugs on me

James and I had the pleasure of watching our Wildcats beat the Tigers yesterday in Manhattan. Despite the horrible weather and the fact that we spent 6+ hours of our day in a car, we had fun. Though, I apparently put off the vibe that do drugs. Here's my (version of the) story:

We got free tickets from our friend Jenni's sister. I guess she had gotten them through work and is not a K-State fan. So we headed down to Manhattan yesterday morning. The drive was terrible. Between construction and game day traffic, it took us over 3 hours to to go Manhattan, when usually it takes less than 2. We got there right as it started to rain. We threw on our panchos and made the best of the gross weather. We went into the game about half way through the first quarter. We were in the bleacher seats and apparently sat in front of some people who didn't like us. Apparently we were being too loud for the people behind us and the lady griped us out. I had been drinking and definitely wanted to go off on her but I used my best judgement and kept my mouth shut. Well, apparently she was still unhappy with us because she went and told one of the stadium managers that I had drugs on me. Seriously...do I really look like a druggie??? Anyway, this guy (who I happen to used to work with at Northview elementary) came up to me and said that "someone" had told him I had some illegal substances on me. I was like..."Um...no." He asked to see in my purse, so I let him. Then he asked if he could look under my pancho, so I let him. Guess what? I did not have anything illegal on me.

Take that, Psycho-Lady-Who-Tried-To-Get-Me-In-Trouble!

Hmm...perhaps I should see a doctor?

I happen to be a huge fan of British singer/songwriter, Adele and follow her on Twitter. I just now saw that she posted that she had to cancel all her US tour dates. She had a link to her blog which explained why:

http://www.adele.tv/blog/352/important-blog

Basically, she lost her voice a while back and tried to power through it but now she's found out that she has a hemorrhage on her vocal chords. To continue to sing would leave her with permanent damage.

This is kind of makes me think about my recent issue with losing my voice. Back in July (during our float trip), I lost my voice. It was a crazy party weekend that involved a lot of yelling and screaming. Anyway, after a few days I did finally gain my voice back. However, ever since then, I lose my voice VERY easily. I would say every week, I lose it 1-3 times and it never really feels completely 100%. It's made teaching very difficult.

I've kind of just been dealing with it, but now I'm wondering if it could be something serious. Perhaps I need to make a doctor's appointment.

Happy Sunday!

Something weird has come over me. I've been in a really productive mood today. I got up this morning and made James and I breakfast. French toast...yum! Shortly afterward, James and his friend Jared went and hid out in the basement to watch football for the day. Meanwhile, I showered, then decided I was apparently in a housecleaning mood. This NEVER happens. So I put away the mountains of clothes that had been sitting folded in the laundry basket or draped over the dresser. Then I cleaned up the bedroom, master bath, and our closet.

I then came downstairs and decided I was sick of looking at the sink full of dishes in my kitchen, so I cleaned the kitchen....only to dirty it up again shortly after when I decided to make the boys a pot of chili. I knew the chili wouldn't be done for a while so I made a couple sandwiches and sent them downstairs. I then decided, despite it being the afternoon, that I really wanted a good cup of coffee. So I played around for a while and then concocted what can only be described as "Christmas in a Cup". Basically it's just coffee, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg...but it was DELICIOUS!

The kitchen has since been re-cleaned. And a load of laundry has been started. Now I'm blogging for the first time in a while and then I have great plans to crack open a book and lay on the couch with the windows open.

It's a Happy Sunday for everyone in the Asher house!