makes me happy

For the last few days the girls have been sick sick sick, and no, thats not the makes me happy part. They have been puking and emotional and its been full of laundry and cleaning ( not my strong suit). So this is the time I decided to try to brine and cook a 17 # turkey. I have been obsessed with the pioneer woman cooks lately and I was looking up things on the computer for brining a turkey, I didn't even know if I had a stock pot big enough to brine said 17# turkey or where I would put it in my fridge. I was skeptical as well. Anyways I came up with my own brine. I heated up 2 cp of water and mixed in 1 1/2 cp salt, alittle sugar, lemon, garlic and some apple cider vinegar, I let that boil and then let it cool and added more water. The I washed the turkey pulled out the stuff....you know the stuff  and then lowered into the salty mix. Placed a lid on it and put it in my fridge. I didn't touch it again for about 24 hrs. I then preheated my oven to 275 and cooked the bird for 3 hrs tightly seeled up with foil so nothing would escape. ( I realize this is a different font but somehow I couldn't find my way back to the original font) well I'll just keep changing it til I get my font back. Anyways, 3 hrs @ 275. When this is done take out the bird and baste it with about 1/2 cp of butter stick in a meat thermomater and stick the sucker back in the oven @ 375 basting with more butter every 30 min until it reads about 170-175. it is one of the most beautiful things I've seen. A perfectly cooked turkey with crispy skin and moist meat. Amazing. Meanwhile as I write this my 3 kids are running amuck sticking toys all over the house where they don't belong and pelting me with stuffed animals. Hmmmm, but I'll tell you they devored that turkey much like little animals themselves. They are finally starting to get better which is nice. I can't stand to see them in pain, it brings out more patience in me than I ever knew I had. Now we are all laughing again and I am getting ready to make a turkey pot pie but with bacon, potatoes and leeks and cream. Things have been particularly stressful this season. We got hit with a med bill that got sent to credit while we were waiting on all the info from Sean's health insurance company. At the holidays thats $500 out the door. The girls have been all sick sick sick, the beautiful cards I ordered the day after thanksgiving never came and so this yr there will be no cards, and last but not least we won't have the money to send my family anything for xmas. I now they'll understand but damn.....sucks! Oh wait last but not least...the christmas tree is on this day 12/18/09 darn near dead. It stopped taking up water and I've tried everything I can think of to renourish it but to no avail, its dried from the middle up. We are leaving it up and I haave promised Sean I won't be grumpy about it because as he says " the girls don't know its dying" they don't kow the difference so I just have to try to keep them from running into it and making ALL the needle fall off. Sigh.....so Merry @$&Xing Christmas, atleast my bills are paid, my family is happy and for know we are well fed because today I am going to forget about all the things that didn't go right and I am going to go cook and be happy. Lotsa love to you all, I hope your days are bright and beautiful and that you shine through any shadows that maybe in your way.

To close, a picture of Sandia's teddy with Santa because non of the girls would go near him. hahah oh and at the end of the day that turkey was basted with a whole cup of butter, and what isn't going to be good with 1 cup of butter slathered on it? Enjoy.

Mama Sarah

.......and the horse you rode in on!

Wow. I have been in the biggest kodak war over my $60 cards I odered the day after thanksgiving that still aren't here yet. They have been giving me the run around big time. I think at this point I just need a refund because it will be to late to get the cards out anyways. I was also veiwing our bank account and realized that GCI overbilled us almost $200! Not what I need on the holidays. I call them up and they say well its credited to your account, no no no, I need it back because did you forget this is christmas? Well that can take up to 7 days. Isn't it amazing people or companies can just lock up your money basically anytime they want. Work has been slow, The girls are sick and I am as usual pulling my hair out in the midst of the holiday joy. I want to scream.

Insurance companies are a bitch

It was a bad bad phone conversastion that I may or may not go into later. Up until that conversation, winter here had been moving along amazingly well. I was making ginger bread men, my husband was stuck in a couple day long period of complete adoration for me and all the kids were healthy.....xmas seanon was looking damn fine. Then I got the call this afternoon from a collections agencies about a med bill that we were in the process of contesting with our insurance company. Now if we don't pay the whole thing off by the end, of the month its going " down on our permant record" Oh yeah. The collections company called Sean before they did me.....woops. So somtime after lunch I got the completely enraged Sean call. I tend to deal with these things in a much more mellow way though and after my intial panic I realize we'll survive and I keep on taking steps. So I kept making cookies, ginger bread men with coffee frosting ( pics later) and then I threw myself into making spicy Italian meatballs covered in homemade marinara which is currently sizzling in the oven and smelling so good. Sandia was complaining about her head hurting and I realized that out of nowhere she had a 101.8 degree temp. Oh what one phone call can do, I will of course keep blaming anything that goes wrong with our week/end on that call cause we were headed to a beautiful place family tempermantly speaking. oh whatever, I'll try to come back and post photos later. Wish us luck dealing with the medical mess Sean's insurance company has created for us. Love and hugs everyone.

thanksgiving, winter and beyond!

First of all, thanksgiving! Wow. I managed to not take a single picture once all the final cooking was done. Not a poic of our guests, our table or our fat bellies afterward. But here are plenty of pics of the pre cooked fun.

Apple pear pie

Pumpkin made from my own puree and pecan ( my fav)

Homemade cranberry sauce still steaming

the green beans and red pepper that would later be cooked with bacon and garlic. Yum

The prime rib roast. I made ( thanks to my dad) a garlic rosemary salt rub, and this year I added alittle red chile because I can't get enough. I have to say......double fantastically yummers.

The spuds ready to go in the oven. I purchased 3 or 4 packs of butter especially just for this dinner. Ha!

The old style sweet potatoes with the marsh on top.

This is the next day. We were finally almost done digesting from the night before and decided to go out and have some fun. Boo likes to help daddy.

They were attempting to eat my snow fort.

She thinks she's real funny

Our snow man

snow angels

that snow man spontaniously spawned another smaller version of itself. Kinda creepy

Ah Brother and sister, sledding and talking of something very serious I'm sure

Denali blue eye

Cousin Sara. The girls had a blast out sledding with their cousin Sara. We couldn't have asked for a better time unless there was hot cocoa and a flask involved.

Daddy got his work out. I can still hear Elsie yelling "AGAIN"

Then we got our xmas tree. We had to be patient and wait for Denali to get homw to decorate it.

After we did there was of course much dancing.

and hugging, this is a before the decorating tree shot but whatever you get the point.

Our little tree with my mostly handmade decorations. Looking at this I realize I have much more work to do making more.

Our stockings. Yay. Let the madness begin. This is such a crazy holiday. I was getting relly bitter about it before the kids came along and now I am happily back in the christmas spirit of love and insanity. My only wish Is that we could be closer to my side of the family. I miss you all so much. Love and hugs.