Thanksgiving

So much to catch up on since I blogged last.

Thanksgiving has come and gone another year. We always host my mom's side of the family, and it has grown so much over the years. We were very sad to not have cousins Kara and Bryan this year, but excited to see them in two weeks for a cheer trip to Indy. Ross, Lucas and I ran the Drumstick Dash again this year (Lucas's 1st year). We did the short course to make sure Lucas could handle it and he was fantastic! Yummy treats at the end included free Starbucks coffee and Noodles and Co. Mac and Cheese. We got a bonus Noodles & Co free meal, too, which will definitely come in handy. After the race we went home and showered and then it was on to M & D's to start cooking. My sister already started some of the dishes and the turkey was already done. We had a nice meal and it was nice to catch up with relatives we usually only see once a year. We won't be seeing them next year, though, as M & D have promised us all a trip to Disney World to celebrate Thanksgiving stress free next year. Ross and I are going to research Turkey Trots in Orlando! That's at least three vacations on the docket next year - better kick the savings up a notch!

We made saltine toffee and felt finger puppet turkeys for work and the boys' teachers. The Martha Stewart-inspired turkeys were modified a little bit and the saltine toffee recipe was delicious and so incredibly easy. Max helped prepare and we all did our fair share of taste testing!

I am so thankful for a loving family, wonderful friends, a good job and almost being done with school. I'm this close!

Vegan Thanksgiving

I saw last week in my Whole Foods flyer that they were conducting a workshop/demonstration for Vegan Thanksgiving at the Carmel store. I'm not vegan, but I am vegetarian and wanted to know some other choices for me besides a huge plate of sides and Tofurky. I made Tofurky last year, and besides being a huge portion, it just wasn't very good. WF was testing Celebration Roast and I really wanted to try it before I bought it so I didn't have to deal with another meal like last year's! Ross went with me and begrudgingly sat through most of the demonstration. The two people holding it were both local vegans and they gave us all copies of their recipes. The first dish they made was Seitan Pot Pie. It was delicious. Instead of using meat they used seitan but you could sub Morningstar Farms Chik'n or Steak strips and it would be really good. They used potato soup instead of veggie broth. I would probably use a half and half mixture of both. Everything they used was really easy to prep and the dish took no time at all to make. They subbed Earth Balance margarine in for regular margarine or butter. If I was going to make it I'd probably use butter.

They also made the celebration roast. It was really tasty. Not like fake meat at all. It's a grain meat and was stuffed with pureed vegetables. The roast was already fully cooked so to prepare, she just simmered it in vegetable broth to give it more density. Unfortunately the fat and calorie content in these are VERY high, but so is the protein, and a little goes a long way. She also made a homemade stuffing which was really delicious. For the bread crumbs she used Scholar's Inn sourdough and it was perfect.

In addition to these eats, we also sampled a vegan pumpkin pie and several beverages. The vegan pumpkin pie was made by Whole Foods and was served with soy and rice whipped cream and vegan marshmallows. I thought the pumpkin pie was pretty good, but I could tell a difference between the pumpkin pie I'm used to eating. I was not a fan of either of the whipped creams. The marshmallows were pretty good. I didn't realize marshmallows had animal bones in them from the gelatin. I'm sad to say goodbye to my beloved rice krispie treats!

The beverages we sampled were soy and rice-based milks. All were non-dairy and were pretty good. This was the first time I had ever tried non-dairy milk. The soy milk was thicker and they compared it to 2% cow's milk. The rice milk was compared to skim milk. We tried Silk Nog, Silk Pumpkin Pie Spice Milk, Soy Peppermint Stick Milk and rice milk nog. I am NOT an eggnog fan by any means but I thought the Silk Nog blew the others out of the water. It was so incredibly delicious! I don't know if I'd buy it because I would be the only one drinking it in my house, but I would definitely drink it again if I had the opportunity.

All in all, it was a great demonstration and I am very glad I went. We left with a 1 lb. celebration roast and some mock gravy. No Tofurky for me this year!

Halloween and settling into fall

Halloween came and went and wasn't very eventful for us. We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner and the Pacers home opener on Friday (they lost) and then stopped by Nikki's house for her birthday/Halloween party. Saturday the boys were with Eric so we ended up passing out a minimal amount of candy (we had less than 50 trick or treaters!) and then had pizza and lounged around. Note: Please note my name on the ticket in the picture below - although they do that for everyone, for some reason I am quite proud...

It's crazy that we're in the midst of fall and it feels like spring! Thanksgiving (a tie for my favorite holiday) is right around the corner. Lucas, Ross and I are running the Drumstick Dash in the morning, then we're having lunch with my mom's side of the family. Friday we're going out with the girls and their SOs. Should be lots of fun!

I've been doing a lot of baking lately. Some recipes have worked out really well, others haven't. Can't wait to try some pumpkin scones this week and am sending a care package to my great friend Alison in HI who just had a baby!

We're down one person at work so it has been extra busy the past month or so. Can't wait to get a small break! Before I look too far ahead, I have to worry about a couple of papers and the end of the fall semester...

 

Fan jamming and fall break

The Pacers open their season on Friday at Conseco and we will be there with bells on. Sunday was the annual Fan Jam and we took the boys for a fun, free afternoon. We picked up some goodies, watched Boomer and the Power Pack do some tricks and then watched a little bit of rookie hazing. What I love about the Fan Jam is that we get to see the players and their personalities. They made Tyler Hansbrough and AJ Pryce sing and dance and it was hilarious! After that there was an autograph session and we all met Danny Granger, Luther Head, Solomon (sp?) Jones, AJ Pryce, Josh McRoberts and TJ Ford. The boys got shirts and a basketball autographed and Ross got his Danny Granger all-star t-shirt autographed. It was tons of fun!

The boys are on Fall Break for the rest of the week and tonight we're making Halloween sugar cookies! This time, I doubled the batch of dough and we're going to send a care package to their favorite cousins in Tennessee. Stay tuned for photos! Decorating cookies is always so much fun...although eating them might be better!

New addition

Ross and I have been talking about getting another dog on and off for awhile. We have one dog already and the way our lives were going we didn't think we should get another dog because we were too busy. So we'd have the debate back and forth. Karen, one of my good friends from work constantly sends me emails about puppies that need to be rescued and last week we were faced with the opportunity to rescue a baby black lab. We had to make the decision very quickly and decided it was too quick for us. Luckily she found another home very quickly. Then Karen told me about a litter of puppies that needed homes. She sent pictures and Ross and I started to talk about it. The mom is a wire hair terrier and they didn't know who the father is. The whole back story with this dog is so ridiculous I can't even write about it because it's beyond unbelievable. I'll just say the puppies were conceived on an Indian reservation in Las Vegas.

We made the trek to Rhonda's house to look at the puppies Friday night. They live in Clayton, and it took us about an hour to get there with 465 traffic. We knew we wanted another girl and there were 3 girls from the litter of 7 (one was put to sleep after being diagnosed with hydrocephalus). The three girls were Lilly, Roxie and Bella. Lilly was two shades of brown and very calm. Roxie looked just like a German Shepherd and was much bigger than the other two girls. Bella was rambunctios and black with white and brown markings. After about an hour of playing and deliberation, we chose Bella.

The poor baby vomited twice on the way home and cried for her brothers and sisters Friday night. Saturday she was much better and ready to integrate into our family. The boys came home Sunday and were thrilled. They both love her to pieces. Our other dog (Bossy) is tolerating her, and I think they've bonded a little bit in the backyard this week. She is such a joy to have around and we are so thankful for her. Now, if we can just get some sleep...

Hit hard

This week has been especially bad for us as Lucas injured himself last Saturday and Max has been hit hard by a viral infection. Saturday morning Lucas had a black belt credit test (he's testing for 2nd Dan in February!!!) and this test was for recommended 2nd Dan. They had to break FOUR boards with a back kick. He tried to break with his left foot and the boards were uneven and they slipped and he ended up with a foot full of cuts and bruises. It was so sore we had to get a doctor's note for PE because the poor kid couldn't even put his shoes on. It is Friday, now, and he's better, so we're happy about that.

Poor Max has had such a time. He started feeling sick on Friday and it was apparent he was very sick on Saturday. I took him to the doctor on Monday and she said he had the stomach flu. He had a fever on and off for about five days. He didn't start eating regular food until Thursday and didn't handle it very well. Needless to say, he's been out of school all week!

I've been working from home all week so I could stay with Max. Luckily no one else is exhibiting any flu-like symptoms so I'm hoping the worst is behind us. Keep your fingers crossed for healthier days to come!

Google Reader - my current picks

My Google reader is on overload these days. I recently discovered it and I love it! It gives automatic updates to blogs I normally read and puts them all in one place, eliminating time and adding so much convenience! Here is a small list (NOT exhaustive!) of the blogs I've been reading:

 Oh She Glows:  Angela is a Canadian woman who runs a healthy bakery of Globars, Glonola and other fun treats. She just started shipping to the US in October.  http://ohsheglows.com/  

Carrots N Cake: a healthy living blog by Tina http://carrotsncake.com/

Inner Workings of a College Graduate: Meghann is a recent college graduate who lives in Florida. She has delicious recipes and blogs about running, work and life. http://graduatemeghann.com/

Beneath it All: Kelly, Meghann's sister, also has a healthy living blog. http://beneathitallblog.com/

Runner's Kitchen: Probably my favorite healthy living blog is by Megan in New York City. She has great recipes and fun stories. I also love to see what kind of salad she gets from the office cafeteria every day.
http://runnerskitchen.wordpress.com/

Sassy and Single (in the City) to Instant Mom: A friend of a friend, Dee Dee blogs about her interests and drastic life changes as the instant mom to two young girls. http://sassyandsingleinthecitytoinstantmom.blogspot.com/

Frankly Speaking: A friend from high school blogs about her life and her adorable kids in Bloomington, IN.
http://chrisandanne.wordpress.com/

And finally, etsy wedding. I love the handmade items on etsy and have been browsing in preparation for our upcoming wedding, whenever that may be. Don't ask, and I won't tell. http://etsywedding.blogspot.com/