How To Cook A Thanksgiving Turkey

Cecily would be humiliated if she knew I was posting this, but I just think it is too cute not to.

Last week when I went to volunteer in Cecily's class, I stopped to look at the new work hanging on the wall outside her classroom, and I discovered the cutest things ever!

In case you can not read it, this is what it says:

How To Cook A Thanksgiving Turkey

1. Get a needle and get the blud out.
2. Put the turkey in the micrav for 3 menits
3. Cook the turkey in the oven for 30 minits.
4. Cut the turkey up in pieces.
5. Tast the turkey

This cracked me up (don't mind the spelling, she is only in the 2nd grade and SPELLING is not her thing. Thank goodness for spell check).

When I later asked Cecily about her directions especially number one, she said "Well, you always get out a needle"!

I do??? Then it hit me. I usually inject the Cajun seasoning in the turkey. Bless her heart all these years she thinks that I have been draining the blood from the turkey. Well, that's not a cute thought. That could actually give a kid nightmares.

Oh, I wonder what her teacher thinks! LOL...

I guess I need to let her in the kitchen a little more.

Our Fabulous Gorgeous Gobblers

Yes, I'm talking turkey here, but not in the way some of you may think.

Every year, the girl's school has a Gorgeous Gobbler contest in which students are asked to make a turkey out of whatever they like--literally anything!

Then each turkey is judged by 3 outside judges. Each grade level has a 1st, 2nd, 3rd place winner and one honorable mention. Then out of those who one 1st prize---a GORGEOUS Gobbler is selected.

Our school library sponsors the contest and after working in the library, I have come to realize it is a lot of additional work on top of our already busy librarian.. However, she loves keeping this tradition alive and the kids LOVE it too.

This year they had 125 entries! And all of them were different, as they are every year.

Neither of the the girl's turkeys placed this year. Ariel has come in 3rd one year, and received honorable mention another year. Cecily has never won and thinks the contest is some how rigged because her fabulous turkey's never win! LOL.

The girls have entered turkeys every year except for last year--things were just too hectic after the move and Ariel had some BIG 4th grade projects due around the same time.

Anyway, Cecily thinks her turkey's have been so fabulous that she just wants to re-enter the same turkeys EVERY year---maybe she should, it would be a lot easier.

Cecily made this Adorable turkey in class this year. Isn't it CUTE! I tried to get her to just submit this one instead of making another, but that was not ACCEPTABLE. OH NO!

So, here are MY fabulous turkeys with their turkeys:

Ariel's "I've Been Framed" Turkey.

He looks pretty innocent to me.

I just noticed that Ariel's wearing her "Blame My Sister" t-shirt.

How fitting.

Cecily's "My Times Running Out" Turkey.

The thing I LOVED about both of these turkeys is that they were SIMPLE and both girls were able to do them with limited help (I helped with the hot glue gun)!

Fabulous indeed!

Twilight, Not So Bright for Me!

***I have been trying to catch up on my blog, by writing about things that have happened over the past month. Although, I've managed to add quite a few post yesterday, I still have a few more to write, but I just can not contain myself any longer. I have to write about the Twilight movie.

WARNING: If you have not seen the movie, there are spoilers. Consider yourself WARNED!

Okay, I know I am probably going to be in a minority here, but let me preface what I am about to write with this:
I LOVED THE TWILIGHT BOOKS. So much that I read them all in a week and a half.

That being said, the movie was so disappointing to me, which probably puts me into the minority. Truly not worth the 9 bucks I slapped down or staying up after midnight to view. However, I DID have a great time being with all the GIRLS for a GNO, so I guess that made it worth it.

Thanks to Annie for the laughs.

I have thought hard about this post and how I would do it. I thought that I would just put the Words Twilight in the title with just one word in the body of the post: DISAPPOINTED.

But I had to write more. I had to explain why.

Also, I knew going into it, that the book would be WAY better than the movie. I did. Trust me.

BUT I did have some hope for the movie too. There have been some books turned into movies that have been successful--IMHO, The Lord of the Rings Directors Cut was great.

Had I of not read the Twilight series, I would have still felt this way about the movie. This movie would not have made me want to rush out and read the books as the movie Narnia did for me.

Okay, I know the budget for the two movies mentioned above was A LOT more, but couldn't SM had held out for something better?? I mean this is the most anticipated movie made from a book since Harry Potter!

I have to agree with a review that I read which suggested that SM should have held out for a cable network to do an 8 part mini-series of the first book. Now, that could have told a story and perhaps made it much better for me.

Here are some problems that I had, and then I promise I will state a few good points:

I found the acting BAD, for the most part--okay, IMHO, Edward acted so weird---his expressions were awkward for me, and often down right comical. The biology class scene where he first meets Bella--come on, I've seen better acting in high school plays. I thought the guy that played Edward seriously over acted many of the scenes. I get that he was trying to show that he was trying to have self control to not attack Bella---but ONLY because I had read the book. He was trying WAY to hard to convey that. NO subtlety there. He looked absolutely silly and I'm not so much of a die hard fan to admit that. In the book remember Bella thought he hated her after class, not that he was CRAZY--which is what I thought after watching him act out that scene. Why not have Edward grasp the side of the chair or the desk, like was mentioned in the book to show he was trying to have self control? The way they (Edward and Bella) spoke to each other seemed short and awkward too. I'm like, "Did the director even watch them as they were filming?"

And what was up with the scene in the office where he was trying to change classes, it was so rushed had I of sneezed, I would have missed it. Again, awkward for me and VERY much over acting. I felt like I was watching Ariel and Cecily putting on a play.

I really felt like they could have developed the characters just a little bit more. I did not feel like Edward and Bella REALLY loved each other until about 1/2 way through. Yes, I know she said it early on, but for me, the chemistry just was not there.

The meadow scene--Come on RIDICULOUS. This was such a sweet part in the book. Again, I found it awkward and as though I was watching Fabio in an "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Commercial." Okay, Okay, I know it was a low budget film, but again there have been many low budget films done with success. Couldn't they have done prisms of light, some sort of tricks with the camera. Perhaps they could have cut out the ENTIRE field trip scene which was not in the book and saved money for that day and put the money and effort toward this scene.

Speaking of the field trip scene. What was the point? Showing that Eric was a dork chasing people around with a worm on the end of a stick?? I totally feel like they should have instead done a scene with them taking blood in biology class.

Come on Somebody has got to be with me on some of this???

It's truly making me want to go back and re-read the books to make sure that I wasn't in some sort of crazy trance while reading the first time. Because although the books were written for YA, I did not feel the story was written cheesy as it was portrayed in film. But now the film is making me doubt that.

Also, Jacob...I LOVE Jacob in the book. He was okay in the movie, I just felt they could have done the scene at the LaPush Beach better, as well as the warning that Jake gave her from his dad, again it just seemed a little forced and awkward. Not like true friends.

The scenes with Edward jumping through the woods with Bella on his back-- A little too cheesy for me. For me, I would have been completely happy seeing this ONLY once (or maybe not even at all) and then seeing her on his back and cutting to the scene. If you don't have money to do the special effects in a special effects world, BE CREATIVE and make it work some other way. But again, that's probably just me.

One more thing, I hated that they ended the movie at the prom showing Victoria. Come on. I would have loved it ending with her b-day party like they did in the book. My first problem is: Hello???? Alice can see the future, you don't think she saw Victoria at the prom???? And secondly now for the second movie, everyone will know that it is Victoria from the beginning. At least in New Moon, I was left guessing a little. Oh well, I guess I'll chop it up to it being low budget and only having 2 hours like everyone else.

But you have to admit, it has to be a bit bad when half of the theatre is laughing at scenes that aren't even suppose to be funny. Come on you know I'm right!

Now for the good.
I do have to admit, for the most part, they stuck to the story as much as they could for a 2 hour show, but again, perhaps that's why a mini-series would have been a better route. We could have seen the depth of the other characters like Carlilse and Esme, which by the way I LOVED both of them ,and thought they were cast well. Speaking of casting well--Alice---SUPER!

Also, the second 1/2 of the movie was MUCH better than the first for me. I would say this being from the baseball scene and on. I actually got a little glimpse of the love Edward had for Bella. I saw a little bit of the Edward I know in my mind come out.

The scenery was beautiful.

The truck and Bella's house were pretty much how I imagined it.

I thought the scene where Edward saved Bella from the scary men was good for the most part. Okay, but after he saved her and they went to the restaurant, in the book the waitress was MUCH more attractive and I think they could have shown this better. In the movie that waitress was far from a BEAUTY. Remember Bella is very insecure and she doesn't believe Edward could really LOVE HER. (oops sorry, this part of the post was only suppose to mention the good parts).

Phew, I'm glad I got that all out.

To all of you who LOVED the movie. Good for you. I'm glad you did, it would be a shame to spend $37 million on a movie and ABSOLUTELY no one like it.

I'm Trying to Get Back in the Groove Again...The Blog Writing Groove

In the past month or so, I have lost my desire to write. I know weird?!?

But I have. I have tons of things to say, but I have not had the desire to sit down and begin typing. Everyday, I find myself saying, "Okay, tonight I'll blog."

Then tonight comes and I just want to snuggle up with the girls and do something else. Then, I fall asleep and a new day begins.

I just want you to know that I have not been writing for a lack of material. On the contrary. I have a lot of material and even a few pictures.

So, today I have decided to just do it. Sit down and type. So here I am. I am going to put each thing under it's own post instead of one. Also, each one will be under this post. I'm going to try to arrange my thoughts according to dates they happened and post it as such. Cheating? Yeah, but who cares, right.

Actually, I don't even know if anyone is reading or visiting anymore. I has been a while...

So this is me starting my groove...if there is anyone left reading--hi. And oh yeah, don't forget to scroll down.

THE BEST WORST HALLOWEEN EVER!

The title says it all. End of blog post.

THE END!

Just kidding. Well, not about the worst part. It really was the worst, at least for us!

You see, Mike LOVES Halloween. It is one of his most favorite holidays. He loves the spooky part of it. He loves the kids dressing up. He loves taking them trick or treating (well, for the most part). He loves greeting other kids at the door.

And so do I.

This year, we kicked off the holiday celebration by attending our wards annual Trunk or Treat & Chili Cook-off. If you missed it, too bad for you because it was A LOT of FUN! Even though Mike's chili with squirrel meat didn't win. Just kidding. He kept telling everyone that he put squirrel in it, but TRUST ME--there was no harming of squirrels in the chili.

Here are a few pics:

Ariel, the gypsy, and Dorothy a.k.a Cecily

This is Cecily and Grant. Grant was a scarecrow and I just had to snap this picture, although neither one of them really wanted too. They were having way too much fun making s'mores. When Ariel wore this costume a LONG time ago, Cecily was the scarecrow. They were so cute this year. and I think Cecily and Grant are way too cute too!

Lucky we took pictures that night because that is all we have of the Odom Halloween 2008. And for those of you that know me, it was not because we forgot the camera.

Here is were the BEST WORST part comes in.

The night before Halloween, I was busy getting Cecily's class special treat together: The Ghoulish Trail Mix. When I realized I could not find the bags that I was going to put them in anywhere. It was about 9pm, and I did NOT want to go to Wal-Mart! Oh, no, Oh, no--please don't make me go.

So, I asked Mike. He did not want to go either, so I threw a little tantrum fit, but decided the bags were needed, so I would go. Off, I went around the corner to Wal-mart to buy some clear cellophane party bags because they were sold out of the Halloween ones.

When I got back, Mike was in the bathroom screaming in pain.

My little selfish self did not take pity and thought it was an act so that I would not be mad about him not going to the store for me. I said, "Come on, get off it. It's not going to work. I don't feel sorry for you and you are making me more mad acting all sick."

And I walked out. Well, all of a sudden I hear this crash and Mike is yelling in pain. Then I got a bit scared and was like, "Oh MY, he's not faking." I know, I know...I'm a BAD wife!

By this time, it is almost 10pm and Mike is in severe pain. He decides to self diagnose himself with having a kidney stone (which he had never had before, but had heard about them). However, I thought he was dying. Mike is not one to let pain show, and he was SHOWING it!

So, I called the Jordan's, who live around the corner, and asked if we could bring the girls to them. They were so nice and offered to come to our house since the girls were sleeping in their beds. When Jason arrived, Mike was out the door.

When we got the emergency room, Mike told me to drop him off and he would walk himself in while I parked the car.

While I was parking the car for some reason this video that was sent to me by Dewayne Newburn came into my mind (For those of you who want to see the clip, and I hope you do because maybe then you might see why I found the situation so comical, please go to the bottom of my blog and shut off the music from my playlist):



I know, I'm bad, but I started to laugh. After finding a parking spot and running up the hill, I had managed to compose myself.
I found Mike at the front desk in a wheel chair moaning in pain every other word. We finally got him checked in. I guess it helps to be in an employee at the hospital because Mike was taken right back--- or maybe they just want to get the man yelling away from the people who were managing their pain. Either way, it was the shortest time I ever remember spending in an ER waiting room.

When we went back to the examining room, the nurse started taking Mike's blood pressure and asking him all sorts of questions. From how does he feel? When did the pain begin? What symptoms has he been experiencing? When was the last time he had a bowel or "pee" (their words).

I don't know what it is, but I just don't take things like this well. I guess I'm the worst person to have around in a crisis emergency. I know I'm not the one in pain, but it makes me nervous and something just happens to me--I either freak out or laugh.

Then the inevitable happened. The nurse asked Mike to rate his pain 1 to 10 with 1 being the least pain and 10 being the worst. I had to literally turn my head and hold my breath to keep from laughing out loud because this came to my mind:

All I could think of was DON'T SAY 2 MIKE, DON'T SAY 2! Luckily, Mike SHRIEKED OUT "10"! Followed by, "Just Shoot ME, Please just shoot Me!"

I know I'm A HORRIBLY, BAD wife, but Brian Regan's comedy act was a little bit of a blessing. It took my mind off of what was happening. It really did help me to not TOTALLY FREAK out.
I don't know why I sometimes laugh when people are in pain. I don't always do it, but sometimes I do. I know, I know it's a bit weird, strange, odd okay, maybe psychotic! It is is HORRIBLE, and if the tables were turned and I were the one in pain--I would be CRAZY mad if Mike were to laugh or find even the slightest bit of humor in the situation. But thankfully, Mike GETS me. He just does. He has known that I have had this oddity since one of our first dates, and HE STILL MARRIED ME. So who is the CRAZY one?

Anyway, after all the questioning, the nurse quickly moved him to a room and hooked him up to an IV to give him fluids and pain medicine. The medicine made him a bit loopy, which was kind of funny too.

I think the nurse and doctor found me a bit odd--the wife who seemed to be laughing at the situation, but maybe that helped Mike's situation. They really took good care of him.

After the CT scan and some blood work, it was confirmed that Mike INDEED had a KIDNEY STONE 2mm 2.4 mm BIG (Mike made me add the .4 because apparently that makes a HUGE difference)!

It's funny how something so small could cause so much pain. However, I know that it was painful because like I said Mike is not one to complain or react to pain--maybe it's because he's afraid I will laugh. I don't know.

So when the fluid emptied out of the IV, they discharged Mike and sent us home on our merry tired way with a prescription for a pain killer and orders to call our primary physician for a follow-up, and a strainer to "catch" the stone. Can you say, "YUCK!" We filled the prescription on the way home (which Mike refused to take).

We arrived home at about 12:30am Halloween morning. Again, which was not bad for going to the ER. I've stood in line at Wal-Mart longer than that (just kidding).

Anyway, let's just say it was a long, sleepless night and by morning, Mike still had not passed the stone, but was feeling a bit better. I took the girls to school and stayed for their Honors Day and then came back home to take Mike to his appointment with the doctor.

By that night, Halloween night, Mike had still not passed the stone, the pain had come back, and he was in no shape to go Trick-or-Treating, which made him feel more sick. I did not want to leave him alone either (hey, I may be slightly psychotic, but I'm not heartless).

Luckily for us, the Jordan's offered to take the girls Trick-or-Treating with them (we originally had plans to have dinner with them and go trick or treating after). The girls had a BLAST!

NOT SO MUCH FUN FOR US, however! By the next morning, Mike had passed the stone, and we felt relieved like LOSER parents. This was the first Halloween night that we did not spend with the girls.

Although we did feel bad not to be together as a family on what is usually a FUN-filled night, we also realize that it was a night full of blessings. Mike could have been more seriously ill, the doctors took care of him quickly and we have great friends.

The great thing, or at least we hope, is that there is always next year.

It is our hope that Halloween 2009 and all those to follow will truly be the BEST one's EVER!

This is Me TRYING to DECORATE for Fall

And failing. Miserably.
But it's as good as it got.

I saw so many other cute blogs with everyone's CUTE and CREATIVE & festive decorations and I just never got quite to that level. Maybe next year, or maybe not.

At least the girls were happy, and that's what's most important.

Here is a picture of the front of the house . I know I took one of the entire house with a better view, but I guess it got erased, lost because I can't find it now. The Frankenstein was $1 at a yard sale (seriously the only good thing I have ever found. I stink at yard salin')

I just love the "Come in my little One...Don't Be Afraid" sign (thanks Lisanka) sitting above my happy jack-o-lanterns. The girls really wish that I would go more scary, but I'm not one for scary. I'm much more for cutesy.

My cheap little yard sign from Old Time Pottery.

Here is my door mat that I got on clearance at Target. I can't remember the price, but I know it had to be cheap because I'm frugal like that. Gotta love Target.

Mike Vs. The Squirrels

And the squirrels are winning.


We have Pecan Trees in our backyard! I love them!


However, the squirrels do too.


Mike has waged a war against them. It is funny because I think they have waged one against him too. It as if they look for him, and then begin their taunting. Funny, but true.


A couple of weeks ago, Mike was out getting me some pecans and there was a squirrel out doing the same for his wife too. LOL. The squirrel in the tree dropped one right by Mike's foot, and looked at Mike while Mike looked at him. Well I guess the squirrel decided Mike wasn't much of a threat. So, he went down the tree went over to Mike's foot picked up the pecan, looked up at Mike and then ran back up the tree.


Now, it is though the squirrels come out just to stare at Mike everyday. Sounds crazy, but they do. They will sit like a statue on the fence holding a pecan and stare Mike down.


That just makes Mike mad. Then he got even more mad that he found many pecans with one bite out of it and the rest thrown out. What a waste.


I try to tell Mike it is just a squirrel and there are enough pecans for us all, but there must be some testosterone thing running through him because it has made him a little crazy.


So now, everyday Mike likes to watch the squirrels, and the squirrels watch Mike. He wants to get a BB gun or a sling shot and kill them; however, I protect them. I won't let him harm them. After all, it is their home. Now if they came into my house--that would be a different story.


Last week the war reached its pinnacle. Mike was watching the squirrel bury a nut. Believing it was the squirrels food storage for the winter, Mike went outside and unburied the nut. He came in with a smile as wide as the Mississippi on his face holding the nut. As though he had won something. He couldn't wait to tell us what he did. Like he won the war.


Can't quite figure it out.


Poor squirrel. Poor Mike. We are a strange family. Very strange indeed, especially when a man is happy taking nuts from squirrels, and his wife just lets him.