Ode to Eggnog.

Gulp.

 

If you’ve never tried Mayfield Eggnog, you are seriously missing out.
Nov-Dec would cease to exist for me if I didn’t have my
daily mug of eggnog.

Dude! You need a tick-tacchh~

 

I’m in love with Jeff Dunham and Peanut.

If you don’t know, watch this:

I have a special affinity for Peanut because that’s exactly how I act 95% of the time.

The scene above is an everyday conversation between myself and my poor husband.

I’m particularly talented with epic, slow motion movements. Dunnnhaaaaaaaaaaaaaam.

Redeem the kitty-killer inside.

Ok, I must admit,

This is stinkin’ cute:

Forget the food…

 

So, you might have noticed that I didn’t post a Fruit Fetish for the day.

To be honest, the thought of food makes me want to vomit.

I promise to post a nice Thanksgivingish post soon, but for now I want to complain.

My view for the night was facing the toilet bowl.

Dinner 2/3 took it out of me.

Thankfully I’m not sick, just sick of food. After months of eating mostly raw veggies/fruits, and weeks without carbonated drinks, yesterday about killed me.

So no more food posts. :0

Ugh, Dinner 3/3 is in 15 hours. Gag.

On the bright side…

I do-not partake of this thing that people call Black Friday, unless it’s online.

And today I snagged a bunch of stuff for our trip to Europe next year!!!

Rick Steves had 30-60% off his entire Travel Store, and I got all kinds of cool little things.
But, if it’s possible to be any more excited than I am about RS stuff, I’m pretty stoked about
this:

Canon G12. The mother of all point & shoot cameras.

I’ve been waiting on one since 2007, when it was called a G9 or G10. Black Friday 2011 pushed me over the edge.

Uber excited I am.

Thanksgiving Cheer

 

I take a break from the Fruit Fetish series to wish you a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope you have as much fun as we did last night during Dinner 1/3:

Each holiday season we try to find a new game for the “Amish Olympics” and I think
our antics last night might have created a new game: Cool Whip Throwing.

Yes, we are easily amused. That’s my Sis, Mom and I, all snorting and laughing over cool whip.

I love us.

In case you are wondering, “What in the world are the Amish Olympics?” I’ll tell you.

It’s the Amish version of Redneck Olympics. Since my Dad grew up Amish.

Contests include:

Rolling duck tape across the table while a second person tries to throw something through the circle as it passes.

Dutch Blitz Championships

Etc.

 

Does your family have any goofy traditions?

Je suis content.

 

This Thanksgiving:

1. I am thankful for a husband who loves me with complete abandon. I am thankful to
have him at home with me. I am thankful that he’s my real BFF.

2. I am thankful to live in a home that I love.

3. I am thankful for my family. I am thankful that everyone is safe and sound.

4. I am thankful for Eggnog and Gruyere, not together.

5. I am thankful for the opportunity to travel. It broadens the mind, and makes
you more thankful for life.

6. I am thankful for Aldo shoes. They bring a smile to my face every time.

7. I am thankful for health.

8. I am thankful for my ancestry. It’s amazing how your personality can
be so effected by genealogy.

9. I am thankful for Rick Steves. He makes me happy when I begin to feel unthankful about America.

10. I am thankful for Thanksgiving. It makes me thankful to be American.

11. I am thankful for this blog

12. I am thankful for real Christians.
People without guile or hate, who exude love and forgiveness.

13. I am thankful for VW’s. I wouldn’t drive another car.

14. I am thankful for my sight. I can’t imagine a life without reading.
Reading gives wings to imagination and reaches into our souls.

15. I am thankful for my antiques. Weird right?
They help me believe that there is a place where time slows down, the sun shines,
and lemonade is poured into spotless crystal glasses.
A place where plump, red tomatoes are pierced with polished forks,
and the sweet, summery juice is dabbed away with monogrammed napkins.

Je suis content, I am content to believe.

 

What are you thankful for?

Fruit Fetish: Oranges

 

Don’t forget some healthy citrus during your Thanksgiving celebrations!

 

Healthy: Beet, Rhubarb, and Orange Salad

I must admit, I’m not keen on beets, but the rhubarb and orange sounds divine. From Bon Appetit.

 

 

 

Not Unhealthy: Sliced Oranges with Orange-Flower Syrup and Candied Hazelnuts

Fresh oranges are served with honey flavored syrup in this Martha Stewart Recipe.

 

 

 

Cheating: Candied Mandarin Oranges with Cranberries

Yum! Talk about taking Cranberry Sauce to the next level! From Bon Appetit.

 

Fruit Fetish: Green Stuff

Continuing with the Fruit Fetish Series this week, we celebrate all things green.

Healthy: Broccoli Trees with Creamy White-Bean Dip

Move over Fudge Brownies, Broccoli is the new holiday pre-dinner snack. From Epicurious

 

 

Not Unhealthy: Sautéed Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Smoked Ham and Toasted Pecans

OMG, isn’t this the most delicious looking thing you’ve ever seen? From Bon Appetit

 

Cheating: Asparagus Gruyere Tart

This yummy tart from Martha Stewart takes asparagus to the next level.

Fruit Fetish: Potatoes

Fruit Fetish: Thanksgiving
Monday: Potatoes

 

 

Healthy: Maple-Glazed Parsnips And Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are so good for you. Seriously, you need to eat them this Thanksgiving. From Martha Stewart.

 

Not Unhealthy: Roasted Domino Potatoes

This is actually pretty healthy, I’d prefer olive oil instead of butter. From Bon Appetit.

 

Cheating: Potato and Celery Root Gratin with Leeks

Umm, two cups of Gruyere? Duh. Another Bon Appetit Recipe.

A Little Holiday Cheer

 

I love reading/filling out surveys, and I like this Holiday themed survey that Ashley posted yesterday
over at Piloting Life.

1. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate?

Definitely Eggnog when available. I really don’t like hot drinks, but I’ve
been trying to make myself drink hot chocolate this year.
But yeah, eggnog all the way!

 

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

Santa wraps presents in brown paper and ties them with brown and green ribbon.

 

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

White! I love the simple look.

 

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

Not yet, we have an aversion to nail holes for any reason.
But I think it would be beautiful to create an arrangement to set on the headboard of our bed.

 

5. When do you put your decorations up?

Early December. I like to savor Thanksgiving.

 

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?

I have to pick one?
I’m not big on holiday sweets, but anything on the Thanksgiving plate is good.

 

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?

Waking up on Christmas morning to the scent of maple syrup, pancakes and bacon.
Dad always made breakfast while listening to our favorite Christmas music.

 

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

Santa was never an issue for me. I was the type of kid that tormented other kids
by revealing that Santa Claus isn’t real.

 

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

Mum and Dad usually let us open a gift, and now it just depends.
I love waiting for Christmas, I don’t even try to guess my gifts.
I know, boring.

 

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?

However, we probably won’t be putting up a tree this year. This corner of the living room is now
filled by the desk/computer. School has taken over my house.

 

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?

Nope, totally hate it. I don’t mind if it snows on Christmas day, but I like sunshine.
I’m from Northern Indiana, and it either sleets all winter, or the snow sticks and turns black for 3 months.
In Tennessee it becomes a headache because no-one knows how to drive.
Life ceases to go on when there’s 1/2” snow on the ground.

 

12. Can you ice skate?

Yes, I love skating!

 

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

 

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?

Spending time with family. Making traditions.

 

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?

Fudge I suppose. I try to steer clear of the dessert buffet at family dinners.

 

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Going to the symphony.

 

17. What tops your tree?

A ribbon.

 

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?

Giving! Getting is lame.

 

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum?

Well…this is a long story.
let’s just say that I throw away candy canes. Immediately after breaking them.

20. Favorite Christmas show? Show or movie?

All the old cartoon movies, like The Grinch, Jetson’s Christmas, Yogi Bear’s Christmas.

 

21. Saddest Christmas Song?

I love singing Elvis’ Blue Christmas.
Andraé hates it. Oops.

 

22. What is your favorite Christmas song?

Grown-up Christmas List

Fruit Fetish: Apples

 

Today dawns the week of Thanksgiving.

A week of self-inflicted misery.

We will arrive hours early to our dinners,
letting our taste buds salivate to the point of excruciating torment, and then…

We will engorge our bodies with things that only a Grinch could hate.

Giant Turkeys. Hams.
Stuffing.
Rolls and Cornbread.
Mashed Taters.
Sweet Potato Casserole. With Marshmallows and brown sugar.
Gravies and Buttery Sauces
Another roll or two.
Pies. Cakes. Fudge. Puddings. Pumpkin Rolls.
Eggnog. Hot Chocolate. Spiced Cider.

Yeah, I’m looking forward to it too. But, I’m not too keen about lying in comatose state all weekend.

So in honor of healthy holiday eating, I’ll be featuring a series this week on how to include
more fruits and veggies in your cooking this season.

Fruit Fetish: Thanksgiving

Sunday: Apples

 

Healthy: Mâche and Green Apple Salad with Pancetta and Almonds

This Salad from Bon Appetit would be the perfect post dinner detox.
Maybe add some cranberries for festivity?

 

 

Not Unhealthy: Stunning Stuffed Apples

This would be a yummy way to institute portion control at your dinner table. From Southern Living

 

 

Cheating: Apple-Cinnamon Strudel

Well, it’s got apples in it. And it sure does look delicious. From Martha Stewart

 

I embarrass myself.

Late this afternoon, the house next door was rented to a nice lady and her nice little boy.
My husband met them.

A few minutes ago I gave her the greatest “WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD” that she could
ever imagine.

You see, there was a cat on the fence.

And it is no small secret that I hate cats. In fact, if I could butcher cats for a living, I would quit school.
I love tormenting cats, because cats torment me.

You see, I’m highly allergic to cats. (Which means I can’t actually inflict any harm to them.)

I swell up like a giant balloon when in the presence of a cat hair. Notice, I said “a” cat hair.
I don’t even have to be around the cat’s body.

So back to a few minutes ago.

Picture this:

Cat on fence.

Jessi throws newspaper at cat.

Cat looks at Jessi and licks paw.

Jessi screams at cat.

Cat licks other paw.

Jessi now mad. Jessi going to cause cat heart rate to rise.

Jessi runs like a crazy woman towards cat.

Jessi flails arms at cat.

Jessi yells at cat.

Jessi stops mid-stride when she realizes someone is watching her.

Cat runs.

Yup.

As it happens, the lady was still at her new house.

Or rather, in the back yard of her new house.

Jessi quietly went back inside.

 

Please HELP ME!!!

Was that dramatic enough?

 

I am participating in walk-a-thon on Saturday for St. Jude’s Children's Hospital. Their amazing work needs no introduction, but if you’ve been living in a whole for the past few decades, listen up:

Children with terrible diseases receive free treatment at St. Jude’s.
Treatments that would cost their families hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Could you afford to make your child healthy if the price tag was $100k, $200k, or much more?
And how much more stress is added to terrible situations when the parents know that they will
lose everything they’ve ever had because of it?

St. Jude’s is there for these families, they allow parents to care for their children
without the added strain of financial ruin.

Will you please support them?

$1.
$2.

Maybe $10?

You can donate at the link below.

<I WANT TO HELP!>

Thank You! If you are a blogger, please feel free to share the link!

Life.

 

I might love playing Life with my little seester.
I’m pretty sure I’ve already posted these pics before.

If I could..

…roll my eyes and scream via blogger, I would.

 

Bad two days folks.

Public Service Announcement: Hibernation

 

I think I've been hibernating.

No blogging.

No reading.

Just me, food, and movies for like 2 weeks.
Except, the only movie that I’ve actually watched is Pirates 4.
Not impressed.

The best fight scene (or only fight scene) in the entire movie is with the mermaids.
It’s an epic portion of the movie. But the rest is blah.

The missionary is hot. Such a bad combo.

I was going to channel Jack Sparrow for Hallerween, but I got sick. I think I told you that already.

So back to my life, apparently it’s just been me and food.

I dressed up and went to a wedding. It was gorgeous, cause Jordan’s gorgeous.

I dressed up and went to a baby dedication, but I forgot to take pictures.

I dressed up and went downtown one evening with friends for a holiday market.
All the shops stay open late and serve food and drinks. I almost bought a jar of Moonshine Jelly.
Again, I forgot to take a picture.

I dressed up and went antiquing on Saturday with my husband. I found a gorgeous set of 1940’s china
ringed with silver and discounted to $29. I’m saving my pennies. Cuz that’s what good girls do. They don’t
just buy stuff, right? (Steep learning curve…)

We did end up with a bagel from this awesome new shop that opened a few weeks ago. Homemade New York Bagels from a real New York Fireman. It was absolutely scrumptious. Here’s a pic from The Bagel Exchange.

Amazing.

I did other things too. But I can’t remember.

So I guess I’ll go sit down and eat something.

 

Hot chocolate sounds good.

Honoring our Veterans

 

Omaha Beach 2010
Normandie, France

No matter our individual political allegiances, and no matter our personal views on war, we must never
forget to honor those who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for Freedom’s sake.

Today I’m honoring:

James B. US NAVY, my Grandfather

Clarence B. WWII, my Great-Grandfather

Phil R. US ARMY Vietnam, my Father-in-law

Fred R. US ARMY WWII Europe, my Husband’s Grandfather

Harold B. US MARINES WWII Pacific, my Husband’s Grandfather

 

My hubby comes from a long line of military men, but I’ll spare you a history lesson until another day.

Today I want to honor those who are currently making sacrifices in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Thank You.

Flattering Smattering.

 

It’s days like today when I am every grateful to be married.

I missed out on all the lame pick-up lines that poor single gals have to deal with.

 

Such as the older-than-middle-aged-man who asked me if I was Jessica Rabbit tonight.

Do I look like Jessica Rabbit?

 

Nope.

Keep dreamin’ buddy.

Or go to Dollywood. Isn’t Dolly Parton the greatest?

 

***I apologize for this totally random post with it’s rotten grammar. It’s 4 am.

Healthy Travel

Most people use travel and vacation as an excuse to engorge themselves with food, (an easy clue to their regular eating habits), but I think it’s a great opportunity to splurge on healthy food!

Does this look familiar? It’s called cruise food.
You get to eat all-you-can-eat 24 hours a day.
Yuck.

You can find article after article telling the woes of trying to eat healthy while travelling, but I think it’s a bunch of hogwash. (I love that word.)

No. 1, Someone else is preparing your food, so you won’t have to spend the extra time that it normally
takes at home to create a healthy dish.

No. 2, Most people aren’t rushed on vacations, so there’s no reason to run through a fast-food joint.
There’s no excuse for not going to a nice sandwich shop in a quaint, old town.

No. 3, It’s stupid not to eat healthy. Your trip will suffer if you are stuck on le toilet for half the night. You’ll suffer more from jet lag. You will be more apt to feel the effects of climate change. You’ll feel like crap when you get home. ‘Nuff said?

Here’s my top rules for Travel health:

1. No caffeine
This one pretty much goes without saying.
Caffeine contributes to dehydration, exhaustion, and jet-lag problems.
No chocolate. No coke.

2. Less fruit
I know that fruit is good for you, but the sugar and acid is not.
A lot of fruit gives me acid-reflux when I’m not very active; i.e. sitting in a car.

3. No soft-drinks
Even the non-caffeine kind are bad for traveling.
Dehydration.

4. No salty foods
Yes, there’s nothing better than Chex Mix on a long
car ride, but unless you need the crunchiness to keep you awake,
stay away.

5. Less carbs
Unless you’re splurging on a loaf from a real French boulangerie,
I’d stay away from breads, especially whites.
Artisan breads are generally healthier because they don’t contain
preservatives.
Constipation sucks.
Especially when all of Paris is going on outside your hotel room.

6. Take Echinacea
A little immune system boost never hurt anyone.

7. Drink a boatload of WATER, everyday
Keeps you hydrated, washes out toxins,
keeps you feeling energetic.

8. Fresh veggies
Believe it or not, God created your
body to function as a herbivore.
Not a carnivore. Not a sugarvore. Not a breadivore.
Although I could really dig being a bread-eater.

So there you have it! These few tips keep me pounding the concrete for 12-16 hours a day.
We travel hard, and neither of us have ever gotten sick, had food poisoning, or came home
feeling worse than when we left.

Above are our friends, Andy and Heather, at Abbey Road Studios in London.
They called a few hours ago and told us to hurry up and turn on Abbey Road’s Live Road Cam.

I got to help plan the London part of their trip to Europe.
I can’t wait to hear their stories when they get back!!

And Yes, I shared my health tips before they left.
 

DIY: No-Sew Ruffle Tree Skirt

 

Historically I am a tree skirt hater.

#1 90% of them are ugly.
#2 10% that are adorable are un-adorably expensive.

So I was kind of excited when a friend of mine re-pinned this awesome tree-skirt DIY on Pinterest.

Picture and Instructions can be found here.

My lil’ Sister’s tree needed a skirt, so we started one on Saturday.

 

 

 

 

We ran out of time and fabric, so it’s not quite finished, but I am so excited about it!

it’s too cute!

Talk to me.

 

Like the other 7 billion of the world’s occupants, I love listening to different accents.
As an American, it is easy to forget that we have a unique accent too.

I was listening to an interview the other day with some French tour guides, and they
were talking about how sexy an American accent is to French people.

I’m still grappling with that one.

What are your favorite accents??

          English? French? Aussie?

 

I think the accents from the English speaking world definitely top any American’s list.

I have a few favorites:

1. Midwest/Canada
Ironically, this is my favorite accent. I was born in the Midwest, but in a region with a heavy
German influence, so everyone tends to sound more German or no accent at all.
I feel jipped in life that I missed out on a good ole’ Minnesota accent.

I watch Prairie Home Companion for my weekly high…
It’s perfect.

2. Ireland
It really doesn’t get any better than Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

3. Scotland
Gerard Butler’s accent makes my heart go pitter-patter. This video is great. I’ve watched it three times.

4. England
Jude Law has the best English accent, hands down. It’s soft and pleasant.

 

WORST ACCENTS

Two people hold the record for the worst accents ever.

David Beckham and Keira Knightly.

Yes, you read correctly.

A beautiful accent isn’t just about what comes out of your mouth, it is also about your body language and facial expression. Check it out:

 

I know. I’m a terrible person.

She’s a lovely actress, and I watch every single one of her movies.

But I think it is hysterical to watch her talk.

It seems like it hurts to talk.

 

David Beckham, just watch.

The word further has a “th” in the middle, not “f”. Furthhhhher. TH.