My 1st Thanksgiving Preparation

You read my menu and plan, now here are the results of my very first Thanksgiving preparation of my favorite yummy foods!

First thing I got up in the morning and prepared an herb paste of sage, parsley, lemon zest, onion and EVOO which I stuffed under the skin of the turkey breast. (Thank You, Pampered Chef, for my plastic food handling gloves or I never would have been able to complete this seasoning task!) Next I chatted on the phone with my sisters, both living in Minneapolis/St. Paul area, while I prepped freshly shredded colby cheese for the veggie casserole, and halved grapes for my grandma's fruit salad. Everything was prepped and ready, the turkey cooking in the roaster, and I had 2 hours to spare before needing to put everything together to cook and be done at the same time. Nice! I don't know what people are talking about when they say they are cooking "all-day" and complain about it... ?? what in the world are they doing "all-day"? I don't get it.

Once all was complete and presented on the table beautifully, decked out in all of my Pampered Chef stoneware, Simple Additions, and bamboo, of course, I took some pictures.

MMMMMMmm YUMMMM!! Looks good! Tom and I enjoyed this delicious meal with his parents, and everyone was stuffed! Tom's mom had made pumpkin pie for dessert and I also served hot apple cider from my silver Carafe. Yummm! I think I'll go have some leftovers for lunch today.

Here is the wall above our kitchen table. A year after having painted the kitchen, put our house up on the market, took it down, and with a blank wall, it was finally time to get a little personality pumped back in. I put up these decorative shelves, which were a wedding gift 4 yrs ago, and the 12x12 scrapbook frame with a piece of my scrapbook paper within and an Uppercase Living expression applied to the face. I plan to change the decorative framed art with each changing season. Although the lighting wasn't the best to photograph in the evening, with the kitchen overhead light on, I think it still looks really cute!

I hope you and your families had a yummy and enjoyable Thanksgiving meal! Next up? Christmas! My favorite holiday. And who knows where we will be celebrating. Christmas plans all depend on when baby schwandt decides to arrive. We're hoping he comes before Dec 20th as my Dr is on holiday vacation beginning that date! We...will...see...! :)

*hugs*

Roxanne :)

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Thanksgiving & a Menu

We have so many things to be THANKFUL for this year. Just to name a few...

• Our health
• Tom being 3-yrs cancer-free
• A healthy baby boy on the way
• the fact that we have stable jobs
• supportive and loving friends and family
• a loving God to bless us with all of this in our happy life together

FOOD!

I am really looking forward to preparing my very own Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow! I have my menu planned and the grocery list organized so as soon as I am out of work, I can go tackle the grocery store!!

Everything I am making are my favorites. From my all-time fav, green bean casserole, to my grandma's yummy fruit salad, and traditional biscuits. Yummmy! I am not shy, I will and fully intend on overinduldging in this meal! My mother-in-law is making her homemade apple pie, my favorite, and I will serve it with vanilla bean ice cream! MMmmmm :)

Here is my MENU:

Turkey
Gravy sauce
Cranberry Stuffing
Green Bean Casserole
Grandma's Fruit Salad
Creamy Cornbread
Biscuits & butter
Cheesy veggie casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Apple Pie


What are you THANKFUL for? What is on your holiday menu?


*hugs*
Roxanne
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Chewy Spree

Sorry folks, it rained out almost all weekend so I didn't get pics of my flowers yet. Soon, I promise!

On to my story. So a few weeks ago Tom and I were headed up to visit our friends J and Nikki in Dunbar, WI. We stopped at the same gas station we usually stop at for a potty break. As I walked thru the candy isle, my sweet tooth caught the corner of a Chewy Spree carton full of little packets of Chewy Sprees. (This is about the time Tom had started to hound me about eating my vegetables.) I came back out to the truck and said, "Hunny, I need a dollar." "For what?" Tom asked. "For vegetables" I replied as he reluctantly gave me a buck. As I hopped back in the truck with my prized Chewy Sprees, Tom claimed it didn't look like vegetables to him... so I showed him... Red is for tomatoes, Green is for broccoli, Yellow for corn, Purple for eggplant, and so on.

Since that one single packet of Chewy Sprees, I have been searching every store I walk into for these yummy little candies, but I continued to be disappointed and resort back to planning my assault at that gas station on our way up to Dunbar on June 20th. Lucky for that gas station, they will not feel my wrath for Chewy Sprees. I found them yesterday at Sam's Club!! A whole freaking BOX of CHEWY SPREES!!! Yippeeee!!!! Boy was I excited... a poor little kid in my way that just about got crushed by my cart as I shuffled my little feet to the shelf! Those carts are so huge and have a path of their own sometimes. Or was it my excitement for my pot-o-gold? Who knows, the kid was untouched, so no worries.

Just as I was walking away from the evidence, and contemplating two boxes, Tom walked up the isle. I told him he would never believe what I had found, and showed him the box. He just laughed and rolled his eyes at me. Yet, he was the first one to rip open the box when we got home. Little theif! I should have known better and gotten him his prized peanut butter Twix. But since there was no chocolate in the house last night, he decided to make up the last 12 cookies of the frozen dough nugs we bought from our friend's kid's fundraiser. So I have 4 cookies in a baggie by my purse this morning. That was nice! I already ate two...hehee And about half done with a bag of my Chewy Sprees! I seriously have got to limit myself to one bag a day -- this will take will-power! LOL :)

Rummage Sale!

First of all, THANKS for your vege receipes and YES, I survived last weekend. I ended up making a yummy Indian (India, not the native americans) vege dish with jasmine rice. I was Veg'd out by supper on Sunday! Tom continued to eat leaftovers all week, he's better at that than me!

So this weekend I am having a Rummage Sale!! Yah, and my goal is to make as much moola as I can, of course! The moola I make will go towards spending money for my trip to Pampered Chef National Conference in Chicago July 17-19. I'm so excited for this 3-day fun-packed event. They're saying lots of goodies this year, but the best part is finding out the new products for fall/winter season! "Wa-Hoo!" as Jean Jonas, Director of Sales, says as she flips her perfectly flocked hair from her shoulder. heheeee :)

In other news, all of my flower planting is done. This year was especially cheap because I only had to buy annuals for my pots, and just a few perennials to replace some that didn't come up that I had planted last year. I'm so excited to see my huge lillies come up again this year. The best ones I have are the ones I got at Wal-Mart, believe it or not! The one is already up to my waist, and it has yet to bloom. Pretty awesome! My bearded iris are just about done. I didn't even get out there and take a pic! They are white/purple, very pretty. The ferns I had planted (only 2) about 4 years ago (got 'em from a co-worker) are totally taking over the flower bed! I swear I pulled about 8 of them already, and could use some more plucking! I'll have to take pics this weekend and post. I enjoy the beautiful flowers and the happy feeling they give me.

I hope you all have a happy, fun-filled weekend! If you're looking for something to do, stop on over to my house if you're in the area! 2224 Marathon Ave, Neenah.

**HUGS**

Vegetables

Nice, huh? Like that title line, do ya?

So my loving and caring husband has been reading his Father-to-be book, which gives him advice on what is going on with our pregnancy. It's got cute little sections that say "Brownie Points" and "In the Dog House" so he knows what to and what NOT to do and say.

As much as I love and adore my hunny, he is really getting on my case about eating vegetables. I can't say I've been much of a fan of the veges lately, but he read in his lovely book that I need to eat my share of vegetables. I think tonight he might just shove them down my throat at dinner (which HE actually has all planned out for a change).

So, in my rebuttle, I try to tell him there are veges in chocolate, and my colored Spree candies... the red is for tomatoes, the green for broccoli, and so on... he doesn't buy it!

So if you have any decent vegetable recipes, please share them with me!!

In other news, I am doing well. I haven't been "sick" although I wanted to be a few times. The nausea is tolerable, it just comes every now and then. What I don't understand is the no-warning famished feeling I get when all of a sudden I'm starving and have to eat like NOW but there is nothing to eat. I don't just get hungry, I feel like I haven't eaten in days! It blows me away because I feel like I am eating all the time as it is. I'm really am trying to watch what I eat, and eat as balanced as I can. I currently am really digging apples, pinneapple, and any fruit. I like that it is crunchy, sweet, juicy and satisfying. See, vegetables could never stack up to my fruit....

So please help me! If you have a good Vege recipe to share, please email me at roxntom@new.rr.com I do have a super yummy Rachel Ray Vege Stoup recipe, but it's getting too nice out for soup these days.

One last thing--- THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support, well-wishes, congrats, and all the nice things you all have said. We really are thrilled and so happy. Thanks again SO much for being our family and friends!!

***Hugs -N- Kisses***

PS - don't forget those recipes!!! I know, I really scattered my thoughts about this posting. nice example of pregnancy-brain, huh?

What's for dinner?

I am so excited for dinner tonight! yes, I enjoy cooking, but tonight I am meeting my friend Amanda at my all-time most favorite restaurant... THE OLIVE GARDEN!

YUMMY! Who can't resist those breadsticks and alfredo dipping sauce....Ooo my mouth is watering already! I'm browsing the new menu and I just can't decide.... go with my favorite or try something new? What ever will I do?! Guess I'll have to let you know tomorrow.