I Defy You to Stand Still While Listening to This

I'm glad that this special is still broadcast and still watched by so many. On a day where I've found out that Rachel's Clifford the Big Red Dog Thanksgiving book can't be read at school because there are kids who don't celebrate Thanksgiving (because what kind of jerks give thanks, anyway?), it's nice to know that some things remain unchanged. If they ever edit out Linus' speech from the show, I think all hope is lost.

Nearing the Finish Line

Well, it's day 29 of NaBloPoMo, and this is my 29th post. I wasn't sure at the beginning if I could do it, and some days I've had to stretch a bit to come up with something. If I had more spare time, I could easily find things to blog about every day, I'm sure, but sometimes I just need something I can quickly post and be done with it. I'm proud of myself for having kept up with blogging each day. I've been wanting to become more consistent with it for a long time now, and I'm hoping this is a habit that will continue. I don't know if I'll blog every day after tomorrow. In fact, I'm sure I'll miss days here and there, but I'd like to post at least a few times a week, and more when there are lots of things I feel like talking about.

But for now, I need to wind down my brain so that I can fall asleep soon and get a decent amount of sleep before starting a new week. I think Rachel will be happy to be back in school tomorrow and I'm already thinking about ways to keep her busy during the 2-week break for Christmas and New Year's. At least one overnight stay at Grandma's place will be part of that time; not sure what else yet, but I'll think of things.

Have a great week!

Way to Go, American Inventors

Apparently I've been under a rock somewhere, because tonight I found out about "truck nuts." If you, like me, have also been under a rock, here is Wikipedia's definition:

"Truck nuts, also known as truck balls, BumperNuts, BumperBalls, or truck scrotums, are accessories for pickup trucks and other vehicles. Capitalizing upon the association of trucks with machismo, truck nuts resemble human testicles inside scrota of various colors."

Really, America? I mean, really? This is the country that invented the airplane, the phonograph, car radios, chocolate chip cookies (how AWESOME is that?), the digital computer, Teflon, microwave ovens, the mobile phone, video games, the heart-lung machine, compact discs, food banks, smoke detectors, the microprocessor, Post-it notes, the Space Shuttle, the Internet, GPS and TiVo, among other things. And what have we worked up to at what should be the pinnacle of American ingenuity and intellectual capabilities?

Truck nuts.

Well done.

What to Do With Leftover Turkey

If you're trying to decide what to do with the turkey you have left over from yesterday, here's an excellent recipe:

Different Chicken Divan

Turkey is an easy substitute for the chicken in this recipe, which is full of great flavors like curry and garlic and french onions. I use frozen broccoli cuts instead of fresh broccoli, and it's very easy to put together. You may want to add a tablespoon or two of lemon juice to the soup mixture as well.

This next recipe uses not only turkey, but leftover mashed potatoes and dry stuffing mix:

Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole

Here's one that gives turkey a completely different spin, with diced green chiles, corn tortillas and Cheddar cheese:

Southwestern Turkey Casserole

Here's another Mexican-flavored entree, with cream cheese, chiles, jack cheese and chili beans:

Four Seasons Enchiladas

And this list from FoodNetwork.com:

Top 10 Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes

The only recipe I've tried of all of these is the chicken divan, but I'm hoping to have enough turkey to make some of the others as well, because they all sound delicious! If not, I'll be buying a turkey breast or a chicken to roast, since I now have some great new recipes to try.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope your day was full of family, friends and good food (even if the food was just popcorn, toast, pretzels and jelly beans). This is the first holiday in a while where I felt like I had plenty of time to get things done and wasn't stressed while finishing up the preparations. Hopefully more holidays like this are ahead!

We enjoyed a nice feast with James' parents and our friends Corey and Gilda, who we've adopted into our family as extra siblings. I have to say that I was a little disappointed in the turkey; the meat itself seemed a little blah to me. I think next year I'll have to go for a name-brand turkey and maybe think about brining it, something I haven't yet tried but which is supposed to give a turkey great flavor and moistness. Everything else was so good, and I loved the double layer pumpkin cheesecake I tried for the first time. That will definitely be going into my repertoire of recipes!

It was a great day to spend time with people we love and enjoy the bounty that God has given us.

Thanksgiving Links

If you have time on your hands today and would like to do some seasonal reading, here are links to sites with interesting information on tomorrow's holiday:

From Mentalfloss.com:
10 Things That Have Deflated the Macy’s Parade

From Suite101.com:
An American Thanksgiving Timeline

The official site of the 83rd Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

From The History Channel:
Thanksgiving Fun Facts

Also from The History Channel:
Thanksgiving Fact or Fiction

From Kaboose:
Thanksgiving Activities for Kids

And finally, if you're desperately searching for a recipe, need tips on cooking a turkey or would like to see some how-to videos related to Thanksgiving, check out the Thanksgiving page on Allrecipes.com.

Odd, But Interesting and Amusing

It's a busy day, so today you're getting a video:



On a side note - why does Dr. Bunsen Honeydew wear a pair of glasses but have NO EYEBALLS/SOCKETS whatsoever? That's just...creepy.