The Amazing Race

Yesterday, my daughter Jessie and her boyfriend Cameron spontaneously did a wild and crazy thing. They asked off work and drove to Durant, Oklahoma to try out for "The Amazing Race". I was so proud of them. Reminds me of my favorite quote, "When you look back on your life you will regret the things you didn't do much more than the things you did."

After driving a few hours and waiting in line for several hours, they got their shot at fame. They were taken to room where they signed tons of release forms. They were then stuck in front of a camera and given one minute to impress the judges. They gave their sales pitch and then Cameron did "Jessie Curls". This is where Jessie crosses and locks her arms across her chest and then Cameron picks here up by her elbows and does bicep curls with her. Really, I am not making that up. She said the judges were pretty impressed with that little trick. I really hope they get selected. I know I am just a proud pappa, but I think she and Cameron would be great for the show. So, here's to Jessie and Cameron. I am so proud of you for taking this chance.

The Perfect Bird

Here is a picture of the perfect Thanksgiving turkey. Katie made her first turkey and it was definately a homerun! Look at how perfect that thing looks. And ... It tasted better than it looked! It was so much fun watching her and Sally prepare this. I had no idea how much effort the perfect bird requires. First, they had to "brine" it. They created a mixture of Guiness beer and molasses. The turkey soaked in this for 18 hours. The next morning they stuffed the insides with onion, thyme, basil, sage and oregano sprigs. To keep that all inside, we laced it closed with the little metal spears and string that you can see in the picture. They took it out every hour and basted it with more beer/molasses mixture. It was a lot of work but as you can see, it really paid off.

Turkey was not all that was on the menu. pa sent a ham. Katie made a fresh green been salad with mint (awesome) and Sally made a souped up broccolli salad that was outstanding as well. of course there was stuffing and sweet potato soup and corn casserole. For dessert we had mudslide. All ina ll, an excellent feast.

What would Thanksgiving be without family. Katie and Moose showed up on Tuesday (Thank You Jesus!) and basically went right to work. I swear, nothing really gets done at our house until those two show up. Moose and I spent ALL DAY Wednesday re-orging the garage and cleaning out the entry way and the guest bedroom. The bedroom was critical because Chris was bringing his band to stay the night and share in our Thanksgiving lunch. Chris and his band showed up at 4 a.m. They all slept until about 11:30. It was very nice sharing our dinner with them. Jessie arrived after lunch. The rest of the day was spent watching football.

Friday, it was back to work. Moose, Jessie and I almost finished the picket fence. Saturday, the girls went to Houston to visit MiMi and Pa. Moose and I stayed home and painted the garage. As you can see, things are beginning to come together.

Sunday was a day of rest. Jessie, Sally and I went to 8:00 mass. Then it was back home to prepare for my birthday. Gran, heather and Whitney came for this. It was a lovely birthday with all of my family. Couldn't ask for anything more!