Happy Thanksgiving!

We're up in Red Bluff celebrating Thanksgiving with my parents and some siblings. I love being home. There are so many great memories of my childhood. I thought in the spirit of Thanksgiving I would post a few of the things I'm most grateful for.

1. Being the oldest in a huge family.
2. Loving parents that have always loved & supported me & always will
3. My parents are still alive...(we've had a few scares)
4. Having a brother in the medical field who can hook me up with antibiotics for Cameron while we're away.(The poor kid had to go and get an ear infection.)
5. Growing up in an LDS home.

Of course, there are a million more but these are the ones that are in the forefront of my mind after being home. Here's some fun pics;

This is me, Spencer, my sis Aubree #9 & my sis Megan #13.

This is me with my brother, Matt. (He's #6 & single!)

This is cutie is my nephew, Jaydon. His mom his my sister Patrice, #2.

Thanksgiving Favs Vol. 4

A few years back I started the tradition of the Gratitude Tree during the month of November. This is another LLL thing. I ask everyone who comes into my home during the month to write something they are grateful for on a leaf and then hang it on our tree. And then at Thanksgiving dinner, I have all who are gathered together write on a leaf. We read the leaves together and have so much fun laughing and feeling thanks. I'm so sad my tree will soon be put away until next year.

Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving

Wednesday night, while others were busily preparing for guests, baking pies & thawing turkeys, we were out....on a hot date...feeling like high-rollers.
My cousin, Jared(who's btw now my favorite cousin)gave us Kings tickets. 2nd row on the floor just behind the newscasters and just barely to the side of New Jersey Nets.
I swear I was waiting for Bobby Jackson to turn around and wink at me!



Aren't we so cute? You may not know this, but I had alot of boyfriends before Bruce, no one lasted long...Bruce & I have been together 11 years now, married for 10. I love it that after all this time we still are like 2 naughty teenagers having fun together!

Thanksgiving Favs Vol. 3

My Live, Laugh, Love Club has a tradition that we share. Every Thanksgiving we plan a Thanksgiving Dinner and take it to a family in need. This is our 3rd year and it's definately a favorite. I can't imagine celebrating Thanksgiving without a turkey, pie & all the fixings. So, being able to provide that to another family really warms my heart. The past 2 years we loaded all of our kids up let them be a part of the delivery. It's very eye opening for them. This year, we taught the importance of giving without being recognized. We put the meal together and the bishop from our church deliver it. We don't know who the family is...but we know we are showing gratitude for the blessings we receive by giving to another. That is a priceless feeling.

So, my challenge to all, is to start this same tradition...if you can't afford to provide an entire meal yourself, get together with a family or 2 or more and split it.
Most churches will have families you can help, or you can contact any hospice center and they will have names to give. I'm so thankful for the opportunity I have to give to others. You will be too.

Thanksgiving Favs Vol. 2

Another favorite, is Apple Hill. There's nothing like the fall colors in higher elevation with a carload of whiny kids covered in pie & chocolate to make you feel grateful for what you have at home. Today I went with my 3 kiddos, my friend, Mindy & her 2 little boys.

I always love the local vendors and crafters. I wait in the 30 minute line for my overpriced pie. We love the pony rides. It is all so wonderful. Jokes aside, it really truly is a Thanksgiving favorite for our family...and it's pretty great in December, too.


You can see how much fun we have trying to get a "good" picture.

I Run Like a Girl!

Read my shirt...I finished!! (Barely.)

Happiness in a Handbag or 2...or 3

Here are my 3 new & fabulous handbags that I picked up at my jewelry show. Aren't you jealous?





Thank you to my gorgeous photographer. It was a long shoot to get it right, but she hung in there and did great!

Thanksgiving Favs Vol. 1

I absolutely love Thanksgiving. Fall is in full swing. The distractions of buying gifts, scheduling multiple parties every weekend, and kids yelling I want, I want aren't yet lurking. You just focus on how many blessings you have. And, you get all the fabulous cooking and traditions that other more hectic holidays offer. What could be better than that?

So, in the spirit of being grateful...I am sharing my favorite things of Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

Green Bean Bake Revisited


Ingredients

* 1 large sweet onion (white, yellow, or red), cut into 1-inch wedges, or 4 cups cipollini onions (wild onions), halved
* 1/4 cup cooking oil
* 3 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
* 2 lb. fresh or frozen whole green beans, trimmed
* 6 oz. baby portobello (cremini) or button mushrooms, halved
* 2 Tbsp. olive oil
* 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
* 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
* 6 oz. goat cheese (chevre), softened or cream cheese, softened
* 2 to 3 Tbsp. milk

Directions

1. In a large skillet cook onions, covered, in hot oil over medium-low heat for 13 to 15 minutes or until onions are tender. Uncover; add brown sugar. Cook and stir over medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until onions are golden and caramelized. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large saucepan cook green beans, covered, in a small amount of boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain. In a 3-quart au gratin or baking dish combine green beans and mushrooms. Combine olive oil, soy sauce, and balsamic vinegar. Pour over vegetables, tossing to coat. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once, until crisp tender.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl beat together cheese and milk with an electric mixer on medium speed. Spoon cheese in lengthwise mounds along center of baking dish. Top with caramelized onions. Return to oven; heat 5 to 8 minutes or until cheese and onions are heated through. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

4. Test Kitchen Tip: To make ahead, prepare onions as directed in Step 1; refrigerate until ready to assemble. Prepare vegetables and mushrooms as directed in Step 2; refrigerate until ready to assemble. Remove onions and vegetables from refrigerator 30 minutes before using. To reheat, assemble dish as directed in Step 3, omitting cheese mixture. Heat in a 400 degree F. oven for 30 minutes. The last 5 minutes of baking time, spoon cheese mixture over onions.

Veggies, Please with some Bling on the Side

I know I'm starting off subject...but, I thought if I waited a full week to post it might allow for people to lerk and they would eventually comment. I was wrong. I seem to have several peepers who would rather remain silent. Admittedly, it's so silly but I tend to be hurt over a lack of commenting on my blog. I realize that's ridiculous. I'm over it. I've accepted that I have people that won't comment too much. I will try to be grateful people care to stop by at all.



On to the real post, I awoke yesterday morning to find my new box from Farm Fresh. This week we received sweet potatoes, collard greens, kale, leeks,broccoli,radishes, fennel, cranberries, pears & apples. This is so exciting for me. What do I do first?

I chopped leeks, collard greens & kale. Sauteed them for a bit. Boiled & chopped up a butternut squash from last time. Through in some lentils, diced tomatoes, chicken stock with course salt & pepper & oh, what a yummy soup did I have.

The kids weren't as convinced. Bruce, however, (he's my toughest critic) liked it. In fact, I think he really liked it. He happened to pass through the kitchen when I was cooking and saw the ingredients which was not good. I'm sure had he not seen them raw he never would have known and would have enjoyed it even more.

About my jewelry show, Holy Toleto, thanks to all my wonderful peeps that came. It was SO fun. I can't believe how great I did. My sister-in-law did a fabulous job setting the whole thing up. I'll be posting pics of my new loves shortly. I got so much stuff that I'll be cheery and positive for at least a full week!

P.S. I do give full credit to my couple of buddies that comment regularly. I can count on you to brighten my day!

P.S.S. (or is it P.P.S? I'm deliriously tired.) If any of you locals are interested in Farm Fresh to you. I have 3 $5 off a box coupons to hand out. You can order only 1 box to try it and see what you think. First come, first serve!

SOS!!!

In blogosphere, you see all of these happy families with their cute, clean kids, crafty talents, and so forth. Well, the truth is that we get to censor our lives here. Today, there are no frills from my home. To be honest, there are shrill sceams and angry words a-flying. I've been sick the last couple of days with this head cold. I woke up at 6am to the not so lovely this morning Taylor announcing she needed to get in bed with me. As, she climbs in I smell the foul odor that made me wish I were far away from here. She wet the bed. Only the bed wasn't her real bed that is covered in a plastic liner. Bruce let her sleep in the living room ON MY RUG!!! I soon after this find buried under the loads of laundry....no, not a dead animal...MARKERS WITH NO LIDS!! I let google help me and it sort of helped but the huge blue circle will forever be our turquoise spot. As I'm going into the bathroom I see a trail of brown liquid. At this point I'm thinking, "Holy SHI-SHI, it's #$&%!" (I'm sorry but I'm upset..we're lucky other unfriendly bombs are going off.) At this point, I thought for sure someone went down the hall to the toilet trailing diarrhea all the way. Turns out is was chocolate pudding that Taylor go into and decided to take with her to the toilet. That's disgusting. I feel like crap and to be honest I almost wish a natural disaster would hit only my house so that I could start anew! Or better, I wish I could sneak out the back door and head off to Mexico for little R&R and then sneak back in to find my house sparkly clean and my children exchanging words of endearment while Bruce takes over all the filthy jobs. Well, I gotta go...since we all know my house isn't going to suddenly catch fire, I better get moving on some work....UGHHH!

You're Invited

I'm having a Holiday Jewelry Party on next Wed, Nov. 12th. If you came to my last one, you'll know how much fun it is. My sister in law, Ashley, owns this business. It's so affordable you won't even believe it!! Come on over to my house anytime between 5pm & 8pm & do some holiday shopping. Highest price pieces are $14, most are under $10. Cash or check only. You can spread the word. Bring anyone you like. The more the merrier, right? See you Wed.

Produce Delivery!

Yummy Raw Kale Salad with Gouda, Pear & Walnuts

With our most recent Farm Fresh to You delivery, we received Kale. Kale was unheard of to me up until a few years ago. With 13 kids, my mom stuck to the very basics. Kale was not part of that. It is a power food. Really & truly, everyone should make it a point to try all of the leafy green varieties. Click here for the latest recipe I found using Kale...Doesn't it look delicious?

We also received a couple of sugar pie pumpkins..They are so cute. But, they won't last forever. I will be trying this pumpkin pie recipe from Martha Stewart. I'd really like to make it when I'm home alone and can curl up on the couch in my favorite PJ's(sorry no picture) and eat the whole thing while watching sappy chick flicks. Anyone want to join me?