i am thankful.

so... goal to be done with california trip by thanksgiving = FAIL.
in an effort to truly bend time with the sheer force of my will and time continuance of blog posts...
i am skipping ahead to thanksgiving. because i can. but you know i'll be going back in time to finish up all things fall. thank the good Lord i am not in charge of the universe.. seasons and years would be late and mixed and heads would mean tails and yes would mean no and we would be in quite a mess. but i am only in charge of this blog and so time can mean nothing if i say it is so. :)


we had a big 'traditional' thanksgiving with nate's family the weekend before thanksgiving. this is great gramma and great grandpa. they live out on the ranch so we don't get to see them very often. they love getting their picture taken. not really. :) 

since we were going to be home and by ourselves this year on thanksgiving we decided to do something a little different. the local VFW hosts a free meal for the community and even though we knew weren't the best candidates for steamy kitchens and hairnets... we thought we might make decent delivery drivers for those that needed to eat at home.

serving with kids in tow can feel a little crazy. we were in lines with hot food, trying to get the addresses.. ari wanted to be super involved, grayson was generally overwhelmed and confused and luci fell asleep in the van the minute we pulled away. there are definitely moments that you wonder how can this really be worth the chaos? but it is. 

serving changes your heart. 

i don't want to be just a check writing family. i want to be a see and do and be kind of family. if i am the hands and feet of Jesus why do they look so clean all the time?  i think my heart is being changed. 

uh-oh.

at home that afternoon i really wasn't planning on doing anything particularly thanksgiving-ey. but... well i was feeling thankful... on thanksgiving... and i already had my ingredients... so... i went for my autumn highlight reel. roasted acorn squash, sweet potato stuffed bread and raw cranberry salad.  favorites. well the acorn did not go over so well with the other members of my family.. but the bread and cranberry salad are my go to dishes in the fall.

what's a birthiversary???
it 's the 3rd week of november -- my birthday /anniversary week. don't worry - you aren't missing something .. on my time space continuum we haven't gotten there yet. don't worry about it. ;)

as ari and i got our hands dirty cooking... others were busy getting our food dirty. :)

as a big thank you for not holding me to the rules of time travel... i bring you my caramelized sweet potato stuffed bread. i am semi famous for it. with like at least 10 people. so make it with love. :)

it stars red onions.... (technically one medium sized one)

one sweet potato..

2 cloves garlic....

garlic gets two pictures because he is my favorite...

chop them and get them cozy in a single layer... drizzle with olive oil and swish it around a little... bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.

 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese... this is not the kraft powdered stuff. get decent cheese. you will be happy.

1 tsp rosemary. oh how i adore rosemary.

mix garlic, cheese, rosemary and 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper....

when the potato and onions come out mix them all together with your cheese mix and let it cool...
while it's cooling cut up your puff pastry dough to look like a weird rectangular spider. did i forget to tell you to defrost it? yep.. make sure you defrost it. 

when it's semi cool load up the middle. for the vegetarians amongst us.. this is where you get to stuff something. i know you have missed stuffing things. it's a thanksgiving tradition that has been robbed of us by our consciences. take it back. stuff that bread. 

increase oven to 425 degrees and bake for 30 minutes or until dough is no longer dough.. but flaky, fatty goodness.

don't be sad if not everybody appreciates your hard work. you are not defined by the reaction your handiwork brings. repeat this over and over in your head since you can't hear anything over the screeches of your distraught baby. 

the next morning santa came early.

we have been limping along in the laundry department. 6 weeks of doing only small loads.. sometimes it spins.. sometimes it doesn't. if it doesn't you have to re-wash. and re-wash. and re-wash... until it does.  i may have kicked it. i definitely fantasized about it meeting some untimely end in a junkyard. black friday was our goal. if we could just make it till black friday... nate wouldn't have to be 'working' from the laundromat while over seeing the washing of pee pee bedding.  

my blessed husband got up at 2:30 in the morning to go out and brave the crazies and fight for our washer and dryer. he brought a friend just in case it got dangerous out there. at one point someone backed their pickup right up to the line and tried to smoke him out of his third person in line spot with their exhaust fumes. rude. 
but he returned victorious... at 6 am. and we immediately started dealing with this...

the laundry room is the very last room we haven't gutted and remodeled... it's a small, terrible, excuse of a room. i have tried over time to do mini 'free' updates... a too small curtain with fabric i had on hand.. a mini paint job with old paint i already had that i didn't even like and only had enough of for one half of the room...

it is weird how happy it make me to tear things apart. this is like a good date for nate and i. crowbars, gloves, dust masks. sign me up.

the next few pictures might be difficult to see. especially for the nana and the grammy. they, in particular, are sensitive to their grandchildren living in squalor. weird.

we have no garage. we have no basement. so when a room gets torn up and emptied our living room bears the full force of the chaos.


welcome to my laundry pile. this is what weeks of a dysfunctional relationship with your washer will do to you. it's not pretty.

brace yourselves. 

the good news is that at this moment a new record has been set and we are moved back into the laundry room and off the hoarders show waiting list. and i am processing some strong and awkward feelings towards my new washer and dryer. they sing to me when they are done... they did that ENTIRE mountain of laundry in one day... they shine with beauty. i'm in love. and as a bonus... i will NEVER have to see this lovely pairing again. :)

and yes... pictures of the new room will come. you didn't expect this in order did you?? ;)