In my own heart, Thanksgiving has always been about expressing the things that I am grateful for having in my life.

As such, I will list a few of those things here … and encourage you to add your own via comments or a blog post (and link-back so I know to go read!).

I AM THANKFUL FOR:

My daughter, siblings parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins … and every other family member I have. We may not always get along, we may not always stay in touch … but we always know that when it comes down to what we love, we all have each other included in our lists.

My friends - especially C - both in-world and online. I have a habit of retaining friendships for years and years … I am not always good at staying in touch, but I think about people I love often, and I try to reach out once in a while to let them know I care. I have made incredible friendships online - two of my social-network friends (Twitterhubby and OBFF) I have DM’d, text-messaged, IM’d, emailed … but not once spoken to on the phone. The lack of voice communication has not lessened my friendship with them … and only serves to give me hope of such communication in the future.

My shipmates … and our comrades in the other branches of service. Without them willing to lay their lives on the line, we would not have the strength and ability as a country to succeed. We may be faltering in the now, but we will grow strong again … and I hope that it is with lessened violence and a continuance of the lack of war-violence on our home-front.

My job … in a time when so many have no employment, or un-settled employment, I have a job that (for the most part) I love. It may not be spectacular, it may not be saving the world … but it is employment, and it is helping to keep me from falling too far behind. As the economy strengthens, I believe my paycheck will see the results.

My home … because while crowded and noisy and filled with people I love but do not always like, it is a home - a roof over my head, a house where I have my own space to relax and unwind, a gathering place for people I love and enjoy.

I am thankful for text messaging, social networks, computers, the Internet, healthy cat food for Mr. Rascal Lee Kitten, comfortable clothes, beautiful clothes, warm bedding, brownies, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet tea, the ability to walk/talk/see/feel/hear/sing(badly)/read/write/count/add/reason/express myself/type/love/laugh/learn/live. I am thankful for the knowledge that has been passed onto me, and the knowledge that I pass on to others. I am thankful for the sun and moon rising daily (nightly), the weather (both good and bad), the beautiful state I live in, and the beautiful country I call home. I am thankful for the white sand and emerald waters of my local beaches, the highway that is a straight shot to my friends on the other coast, and the two highways that connect to lead me home. I am thankful for telephone service - both landline and cellular.

I am thankful for @MarkDavidson and Shift+OneMedia, for hosting my blog and always being there to walk me through things whenever I try something new (or lose control by EXCEEDING MY BANDWIDTH!!). Mark also hosts the blog TwitterStars. You should browse it sometime!

I am thankful for the love and joy and happiness of people far and wide, and I am thankful for the opportunities that many of us have, and many others provide. I am thankful for doctors, nurses, police, firefighters, counselors, and the many others who dedicate their lives to helping and healing the people in their communities (and often, the people beyond their communities). I am thankful for the many ways people are choosing to ‘go green,’ and lessen their footprint on the environment. I am thankful for the insight and wisdom of my elders, and the innocence and purity of the children around me.

I am thankful for the artists who entertain me through books, films, television shows, music, and visual pieces.

I am thankful that Baby S has been blessed TWICE with what appear to be successful fights in removing the cancer from her body (she is still undergoing post-chemo surgery, so we will know more next year).

There are many more things I am thankful for, but I think I have given you more than enough to chew on for now … I hope you add to, reiterate, and expand on the list I have started here.

OH! One more … it may be last, but it definitely not the least:

I am thankful for everyone who takes the time to read my random thoughts and ramblings on this blog …. I know I often rant and rave, ramble on endlessly, and sometimes do not make sense … but I appreciate the time you spend reading and replying. Apparently there are more of you than I thought, because I exceeded my bandwidth today. Please, comment when you read, even if it is just to say hi! I’d love to know who is here reading along!!

I hope everyone celebrating Thanksgiving has a wonderful experience sharing with people they love, whether it be friends, family, strangers … or all three.

With much love …

So, a few of you have been pestering begging asking me nonstop repeatedly nicely to get back to you with the results of the Personality by Dessert? blog I posted five days ago (see, not even a whole week, peeps!!).

Without further ado, here are the results!

1. ANGEL FOOD CAKE (Kikolani was the lone ranger here!!)

Sweet, loving, cuddly. You love all warm and fuzzy items. A little nutty at times. Sometimes you need an ice cream cone at the end of the day. Others perceive you as being childlike and immature at times.

2. BROWNIES (super moist and chocolatey - no cake brownies around here!!!) (Miss Attitude, Shooting Asterisk, Beav, r_wolfcastle, badseedjenn, ShuTian, and fgirl)

You are adventurous, love new ideas, and are a champion of underdogs and a slayer of dragons. When tempers flare up you whip out your saber. You are always the oddball with a unique sense of humor and direction. You tend to be very loyal.

3. LEMON MERINGUE (Nethead, NotAMeanGirl, footpad)

Smooth, sexy, & articulate with your hands, you are an excellent caregiver and a good teacher. But don’t try to walk and chew gum at the same time. A bit of a diva at times, you set your own style because you do your own thing. You shine when it comes to helping others and have many friends.

4. WHITE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING (Nobody on my list chose this one.)

Fun-loving, sassy,humorous, lacking motivation. Everyone enjoys being around you, but you are a practical joker. Others should be cautious in making you mad. However, you are a friend for life.

5. STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE (perpstu, Jordayn)

Romantic, warm, loving. You care about other people, can be counted on in a pinch and expect the same in return. Intuitively keen. You can be very emotional at times but a true person in every way. You like to do things for yourself and help others learn about themselves.

6. CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING (topsurf, me)

Sexy; always ready to give and receive. Very creative, adventurous, ambitious,and passionate. You can appear to have a cold exterior but are warm on the inside. Not afraid to take chances. Will not settle for anything average in life. Love to laugh.

7. ICE CREAM (WesAlvaro, Bryan J, g)

You like sports, whether it be baseball, football, basketball, or soccer. If you could, you would like to participate, but you enjoy watching sports. You don’t like to give up the remote control. You tend to be self-centered and high maintenance.

8. CARROT CAKE (with cream cheese icing for Tara) (Tara R, MissRiss)

You are a very fun loving person, who likes to laugh. You are fun to be with. People like to hang out with you. You are a very warm hearted person and a little quirky at times. You have many loyal friends. You were meant to lead and teach others. A wonderful role model.

Now, because I own this blog page and I can, I have added 3 more categories:

9. CRÈME BRULÉE (Kat, perpstu)

You are complicated, with many layers, the most prominent of which is the sweet and delicious outer shell that protects the moist center waiting to be discovered inside. The masses flock to you, and you enjoy the company and attention, but your heart remains with your tight circle of loved ones. You spread sunshine in the world around you, and find the little things especially enchanting.

10. LEMON CAKE WITH LEMON ICING (r_wolfcastle)

You appear to be a curmudgeon who likes making life difficult, though people cannot help but be drawn to your ornery snarkiness. Those you love look easily past the outer shell of grumpy you have erected because they know you’re a great big teddy bear with a sweet (though off-color) center.

11. CHEESECAKE (footpad, ShuTian)

Slightly removed from society, you tend to observe more than you other dessert-loving friends. Your inner need to take care of others sometimes leads you to st aside your own needs and wants to the point of giving up a part of yourself. Once you get a handle on how to hold onto your own soul and help the people you care about, you lead an extremely happy and comfortable life.

Please note:

1-8 have been pretty much the same for years, making their way to all corners of the internet via email/blogs/webpages. 9-11, however, are the results of my own boring avid imagination, tyvm!

xoxo

I was not around at all this weekend. Thank you to everyone who texted/DM’d me to make sure all was well. I just chose not to hook the computer up for once while I was at C’s house. It was a lovely weekend, the kids spent most of it outside playing both Saturday and Sunday. C and I stayed inside with Baby S, protecting her from the slight chill that was outside and any influences that might cause normal changes in body temperature that could read as abnormal since she is so delicate right now.

Baby S is *finally* started on rice cereal. She has been nursing with a lot more frequency lately, and for longer periods of time. She gets fussy a lot more too, so we came to realize that Momma’s milk is just not providing all the fulfillment that she needs anymore. Baby S was not, however, at all sure about eating rice cereal. It does not smell like the good things she saw Auntie Angel and Mommy eating and drinking, and it does not taste the same as her Momma’s milk … so while she allowed us to feed her a little of it, she did not seem at all excited about it. However, after a few days of rice cereal, she should be able to start on baby foods … which WILL taste and smell more like the food she sees everyone else eating!

We had a great weekend. I hope all of you did, as well!

xoxo

My friend Tara R has a birthday coming up, and she asked all her blogger friends to participate in the celebration by posting their favorite family or party recipes. She asked that they be left in her comments, emailed, or blogged. Since I haven’t blogged much lately … and usually only about Baby S. anymore, I decided to take advantage of her request and make a blog post.

I have a huge family, with five “parents” (one deceased), each of whom have several siblings. All of my parents are from the same town, and grew up with one another. Each of my parents’ families have a lot of favorites, and I think I have blogged a couple of recipes in the past. Most of those recipes take hours to prepare though, because we do it the old-fashioned way: five-ten women in the kitchen, tripping over one another, putting together recipes that have been eaten at family gatherings for up to 60 years.

One of my favorite things that we always have is a variety of cheese in balls, spreads, logs, and sauces. We apparently have a fascination with cheese that none of us realizes! I’ll post a few of our delicious recipes.

First, i will freely admit that we cheat and use a myriad of sauces on top of cream cheese, and serve with crackers. This requires absolutely no creativity and time on our part, other than choosing a sauce that sounds good and pouring it on top of a softened “log” of cheese.
We prefer sweet-hot flavors: jalapeno jelly, sweet chili sauce, cranberry pepper jelly, or a variety of other fruit-and-pepper jellies, etc.

While the cheese log/spread is the easiest to prepare and get out on the table, we also like doing cheese balls. I’m not sure why we round them out prior to serving, but we have been doing it for years. Generally, the cheese balls tend to have meats or nuts in them, so they are more savory. Our favorite is the crab cheese ball, but I have also seen bacon cheese balls, shrimp cheese balls, and shredded-beef/chicken/pork cheese balls.

Each is served with a different kind of sauce. The crab is served with a horseradish and ketchup mix (I am not sure why we do not use cocktail sauce; we just do not!). The bacon cheese ball is served with sprinkling of Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil Garlic/Onion and Herb on top (and cheddar cheese is mixed in with the cream cheese prior to shaping the ball). The shrimp cheese ball is topped with either the horseradish/ketchup mix or cocktail sauce (again, I do not know why we can use cocktail sauce here but not on the crab cheese ball … we are just very picky about it darnit!). The shredded beef/chicken/pork cheese balls tend to have a BBQ sauce on them… which of course use chopped/blended habanero or jalepeno peppers instead of simple Tabasco.

Anyway. My favorite is the crab cheese ball. You can serve it in a ball, or flatten into a log, or shape it with cookie cutters … whatever you do, mix your own horseradish/ketchup sauce instead of using regular cocktail sauce. You’ll thank me later!

In reflection, I think the savory meat “balls” were what we originally had at family events, and when the cream cheese-and-jelly spreads came along, we left them in “logs” so that they were easily differentiated from one another. Maybe.

You would think with all these types of starters involving cheese that we would be just about cheese-d out for the day, right? Absolutely NOT! We also serve a broccoli-cheese dip (sometimes it includes ground beef, sometimes it includes sausage).

Now I want to throw a party!

Tags: recipes, blogging fun

I promised my sweet friend (and online-adopted-daughter) Hunee that I would share my recipe of Mole (pronounced moh-lay) with her. However, two or three other people asked too, so I decided to share it via blog! How lucky are you? ~smiles~

All kidding aside, if you like Mexican dishes and a little heat, you’ll like this.

I have been told by my great friend Stalking Happiness that this is not a traditional “Mole” recipe, but is more like another dish (I believe she called it pipián, which is also mentioned in the Mole Sauce Wiki). I’ve found though, this depends on where in Mexico you are from. My family’s Mole recipe lacks the sweet, sugary, chocolate flavor. I don’t do sweet chocolate sauce on chicken or pork. It just isn’t appealing to me. I’ve always added the chocolate to the recipe, just in smaller doses I guess. This sauce is a warm, highly seasoned, hearty sauce. I hope you enjoy!

Note: Our recipe calls for plain “chili powder” and then also a branded chili powder called “Mexene“. The Mexene is basically a chili powder blend with cumin & other spices in it - it is far superior to most brands that we have found. So, try your best to find it, but if you can’t, just use another kind that has similar ingredients (you can see the ingredient list on their website).

I hope you enjoy the recipes.

MEXICAN RICE

What you need:

Hint: I also add about a teaspoon of Mexene to this recipe, and toss it into the blender with the other seasonings.

How to Prepare:

MOLE SAUCE

What You Need:

Hint: The amount of Mexene you use should correspond to the amount of heat you like in your food. I use a whole small bottle or a 3/4 of the larger bottle.

How to Prepare:

I really hope you enjoy the recipe. It takes a while to cook, but it is SO worth the wait!

Let me see if I can quit bouncing around long enough to blog this.

I went to my 2nd interview with the appliance store today. I met with the wifey unit, and we discussed everything from home schooling (which she does with their five kids) to impossible parents to medical benefits. I really think this interview was to see whether or not she and I would get along if we had to work side by side (not a likely possibility - she tries to keep her office hours at home, and I would be working in the office if I got the job).

Overall, we had a pleasant conversation. I always get nervous when someone speaks a lot about their Faith or the Bible, because while I am a Christian, and I do have a great deal of Faith, I do not like for anyone to put their religion or practices on me. I am not a Bible-studier. I feel my connection with God comes from my connection with God, not how many Bible verses I know (or, in my case, DON’T know). I pray, I attend Church, I get involved with causes to help others, I live my life in a manner which suggests I want to make life better for others, not just for myself.

We discussed money a little bit, and I told her that their payscale is lower than even the low end of what I wanted to accept from an employer, but that I would be willing to cross that line for their company. I just feel very strongly about this company, and these people.

The husband unit came into the office then, and we discussed my references, and the glowing reports he received from everyone (thank you, everyone!). They both said that their biggest concern is that I was looking at five years as long-term, whereas they would prefer I would be with them for the endurance of the business. I saw that as a good sign.

We spend some more time speaking a little about religion, about the Volunteer work I was always involved with in Jacksonville when I was in the Navy (Thanks, Sidyen, I love you dearly for bringing that up!), and how we can implement that into their business and not lose out on a lot of money.

We spent some time discussing where they hope the business will be in five years, where they hope I would fit into the business, and how they think I would be an asset to the company.

And then …

THEY OFFERED ME THE JOB!

I’m so incredibly pleased! They are even starting me at a few cents higher (in this small town, in this economy, the few cents makes a HUGE difference) than what they initially offered. I think by my 90-day review, I’ll be making at least as much as I wanted my minimum pay to be (which isn’t a lot, trust me). And, they do annual raises - guaranteed, paid holidays (the major holiday days), discounts on appliances (new or used), and they promised not to micro-manage me! WOOOT! It doesn’t get any better than this! Well, a $30k/yr paycheck would be better *L* but, in time, good things will come.

This week has been truly filled with blessings. First the house, then the job! YAY!!

I start tomorrow, because they have a “meeting” every Friday to discuss the previous week’s accomplishments and the next week’s goals. I’ll be meeting the rest of the crew, right away. AND, they provide breakfast biscuits and OJ. Woot!

I’m beginning a regular blogger. Kindda, sorta, semi-blogger. Ok, maybe not. I’m trying though!

Anyway. The only new thing I *really* have to talk about is that i downloaded Ekiga Softphone the other day so that I can view video while I chat with peoples. Some people like to be seen, and I like seeing. It is a win/win situation. *L* The person I downloaded it for immediately turned on the video, and then all of his kids wanted to show off their new clothes & toys they’d gotten since I last saw them. It was fantastic!

The only other thing I have to report is that I <3 Twitter. I have said so before, I know. But I’ve met some people that crack me up, and it is great to be able to talk to them and not focus on the shit that happens in real life. So, ifn you don’t yet have Twitter, consider stopping by and signing up!

On the home front, we had a great evening. I made potato salad, A brought home beans & grilled out the dogs & sausages. We had sweet tea. The company was perfect (just those of us that live here, but still - how does it get any better than spending time with the people you CHOOSE to be your family?), the atmosphere was fun, and the food was perfect. Life is good.

Do any of you have particular recipes you use for potato salad? I sort of wing it every time I make it, but I found the best of my batches are when I do this:

Maybe I’ll have something more interesting to talk about next time. (Ok, kept my promise )

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