Thanksgiving Happenings

Once again...bad blogger about writing blog posts.  Here it is Christmas and I am just now writing about Thanksgiving. :/  #naughtylist

Over thanksgiving weekend I stayed at my parents’ house and hung out with my family.  On thanksgiving we did what we usually do, invite everyone over for food and we heat the pool for the kids to swim.  I had volunteered to help Downtown at the GRB to serve food to the homeless and less fortunate people of Houston.

City Wide Club hosted over 20,000 people this year for Thanksgiving at the George R. Brown Convention Center.  I helped out in the women’s clothing department helping find clothes they would want.  We organized everything by size and the women would come to the table and choose items.  Some of the clothes were really nice but some had holes in it.  There were a few teenagers that needed clothes.  There weren’t many options so we helped them shop.  We would go over the table to see what a teenager would want and then hold it up.  One of the girls I could tell if she didn’t like something, she would just shake her head yes (because she thought she had to take it but she didn’t have to) but when we found something she loved her face would LIGHT UP.  It was really fun to watch.  I liked helping people find clothes that they liked, not necessarily what was only available in their size.  I know that some kids get embarrassed with their clothes, but I tried to make sure they liked what they got!

Afterwards I went to my parents for Thanksgiving.  Everyone had already eaten but the time I got there (about 1:30) so I just sat outside and talked to everyone while they watched the kids in the pool.  It's a tradition that my parents heat the pool for Thanksgiving and Easter.  

I knew I would be late since I would be volunteering, so I told my parents to have everyone eat without me. Then we got out the sales ads and starting mapping out our plan of attack. :)

That night my sister and I went shopping (yes, we are THOSE people who shopped on Thanksgiving Day).  We hit up Palais Royal, Wal-Mart, Target and Kohl’s.  We had a scratch off for Palais Royal that we held up to the light and figured that we would get  $10 free.  While we were shopping there I went to the jewelry counter and there was an extra add sitting on the cabinet so I grabbed it.  It was worth $20 when I held it up to the light.  YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bought some items with the $20 and Laura got something for our mom with the $10 one.  I had wanted some present bow Christmas earrings but couldn’t find them anywhere.  As luck would have it, I found them at Palais Royal and used my coupon.  I got two notebooks and my earrings for $26 ($6 after my $20 coupon).  Success.

We went to Kohl’s next with the $15 in Kohl’s Bucks for every $50 you spend. We are getting my mom a SURPRISE so I can’t say but it was on sale for $119 everywhere (you can probably figure it out).  My younger sister, Tori, gets a 20% discount at her work but we decided that the Kohl’s Bucks was worth it instead.  Plus I bought an extra SURPRISE items for myself so plus a present for Kali making we get $75 in Kohl’s bucks!  I have already spent it on a pair of yoga pants, three wall organizers, and a snowman scarf (that I have received a surprisingly lot of compliments on).

That was my Thanksgiving, how was yours?!

The crazies are let loose-Black Friday Shopping

My sister and I went out on Thursday night to go Black Friday shopping and had so much fun!  We left her house at 7 pm and headed to Toys-R-Us.  My sister originally had planned to stand in line at Target to get a t.v. while I stood in line at Toys-R-Us for some sort of toy goodie bag, but they already bought a t.v. online so she didn't need to stand in line there.  Earlier this year my sisters house was struck by lightening and it fried all of their t.v.'s so they needed a replacement.  They had already gotten one for another room, but this one was for the living room.

We went to the Woodlands to go shopping and stood in line at Toys-R-Us.  This shopping center had five major stores in the strip, Toys-R-Us, Academy, Marshall's, Golf Galaxy, and Target (in that order).  The line for Toys-R-Us started at the front door and ended down by Target.  That is a LONG way but luckily we were right past the end of Toys-R-Us.  The first 200 people in line got a free goodie bag of random toys and candy.  There was a lady about 4 people back that was only in line for the goodie bag (she had her daughter with her) so she went up to the front of the line to count how many people were ahead of us.  Laura and I ended up being the 205th to 210th person in line so we didn't think we would get a goodie bag.  It didn't matter though because she wanted some cups for the boys and she heard that Toys-R-Us was price matching for Black Friday other competitors ads.  Apparently they weren't though because we when we waited in line and got to the front the checkout girl said that they weren't price matching so we just left the store.  We got our free goodie bag though!

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After Toys-R-Us we headed to Target a few store down and got in line.  Target was already open but the line was still long and we had to wait for a few minutes in line to get in.  Target was packed, but it wasn't crazy like Wal-Mart was.  I think the certified crazies all go to Wal-Mart.  I got about 5 $4 movies at Target but I couldn't find the $1 movies that were advertised.  I asked several times but they said that they couldn't find them and apparently they weren't shipped any $1 DVD's.  While I was shopping my sister stood in line so we wouldn't be there all night.  She followed the directions of one of the Target employees but ended up being in a line to no where, then she found another line and sent me a text of a flamingo lawn ornament that lights up.  When I got her text I thought she might be in another wrong line and I was right.  When I found her she was in the electronics line and had been standing there for awhile. haha.  Poor thing.  I wasn't sure when I got her text that she was in the wrong spot so I didn't say anything but I should have.   We finally got in line at the correct line and checked out.  At Target I got some chapstick (needed some!), 5 DVD's, a Madden 13 game for Hunter, and 5 chocolate Candy Land games for this party I am going to in December (I might take those back though).

 

After Target we went to Kohl's for the bulk of our shopping.  The Kohl's line started at the far set of doors, wrapped around to the side of Kohl's, and back up to the front in a snake like pattern.  We were about halfway down the side of the store waiting in line.  We got hungry while in line and Laura went to get us What-A-Burger. I really wanted Starbucks but there weren't any that were open that late (it was midnight)  There were several things that we needed from the store and we got in rather quickly once they started to let people go inside. We headed straight to the home goods section and got some blankets that were $8 each.  We stood in line for literally an hour and a half.  Yes, you heard me correctly...the wait to checkout was an hour and a half long.  Crazy! I wanted to look at the boots and a few more things, but I didn't get a chance too.  At Kohl's I got a heated blanket (gift), a throw (work gift), and a set of steak knives (gift).  I also ended up getting $15 in Kohl's cash!  Whoo hoo!  Laura got several blankets and maybe something else, I don't remember what though.

We stopped at McDonald's to get me a Latte (yuck btw!) since Starbucks was close and then headed to the mall to go to Macy's.  We didn't find anything at Macy's so we did go out in the mall to the other smaller stores.  None of the other big stores were open in the mall but stores like Hollister, Abercrombie, Claire's, etc were open.  Apparently the Sears in the Woodlands Mall is closing so they weren't open at midnight like their ad said they would be.  We went to Victoria's Secret and I got a few things while in there. <---That deserves it's own post!  Maybe tomorrow :)

The last stop we made (at 5 am) was Home Depot for a Christmas tree.  Oh my goodness, I have such a respect for Home Depot and how they treat their customers.  When we got in line all of the staff were smiling and talking with us.  I didn't see any sour attitudes, unlike many of the other stores we went to for the day.  While we were waiting in line they were handing out free donuts and drinks to us.  I didn't end up having a donut (#MarathonTraining), but I did have some orange juice.  The line for Home Depot was non existent, and we were in and out in 10 minutes.  Thank you Home Depot for making our shopping experience great!  You can tell how well a company treats their employees by how the employees treats their customers.  Wal-Mart could learn a thing or two from Home Depot.

We had a blast this Black Friday!  I can't wait to do it again next year!!!!!!  I didn't see any fights break out this year, maybe one day I will see one. :)

How was your Black Friday?  Did you see any fights break out?

Being Thankful

Yesterday I celebrated Thanksgiving with my family in Spring this year.  I woke up around 7 am to get ready for the day and run some marathon training mileage. Yep, even on Thanksgiving marathon training does not stop.  I ran 7.5-8 miles in the morning then showered and headed to my parents house.  On the way I called my Dad and Pie to wish them Happy Thanksgiving since they were headed to Austin and I wouldn't see them.  I got to my parents house about 10:30 with a growling stomach!  I had eaten a protein shake about an hour and a half before, but apparently it did not fill my stomach up enough.  I ate some hummus plus crackers and a piece of stuff celery while waiting on everyone to get there (hurry up!). 

Everyone started arriving around 11:15-11:30 am, and we ate at 12 ish.  I brought the Sweet Potato Casserole (I heard it turned out really well) and everyone else each brought a dish also.  There was ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, broccoli rice casserole, stuffing, deviled eggs, rolls, salmon patties, stuff celery, cranberry sauce, pasta salad, mac and cheese, and more!  I piled my plate high and dug in.  I ate so many calories, I am going to have to run double time to burn them all off. There were a ton of desserts to try, but I only had some of the pretzel things that I made.

I actually watched football on Thanksgiving Sunday!  If the Texans weren't playing though I probably wouldn't have watched at all.  It was fun!  The Texans were playing the Detroit Lions this year on Thanksgiving and boy was it a nail biter.  I thought last Sunday's game was nerve wracking, but this game was worse!  Let me tell you, the Lions play dirty! I don't understand why they can't just be grownups and not play fair.  My favorite part of the game was when Texans player Forsett was down on the play, but still got a touchdown (watch this video) because the coach from the Lions threw a penalty flag that didn't need to be thrown.  I am a Texans fan, but that was a bit ridiculous, they shouldn't have gotten that touchdown.  The game went into overtime again like last week but they pulled it out and won the game with a field goal.

While some of us were watching the football game, everyone else was outside swimming in the pool.  Usually, if my parents host Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter at their house they heat the pool so everyone can swim.  The kids always get so excited since it's been months since they were able to swim.  I didn't bring my bathing suit so I didn't want to swim, plus I was really into the game.

After the Texans won we played three games of the dice game LCR.  LCR is a dice game where each player brings $3 and you each roll the dice until there is a winner.  Go here to find out more (you can buy it at Wal-Mart or Target for around $7, it is awesome to play with groups of people.  We played three games and I won a game, my sister Laura won a game, and my grandmother won a game.  We each only brought $3 so we just put the money back in the game to play again.  I won the last set and let everyone keep their money, no 'gambling' on Thanksgiving!  haha.  I don't really think it's a gambling game, but my Grandmother thought it was (we were sending her to the dark side) so we all took our money back at the end of the game.

After everyone left  I took a nap upstairs at my parents house before leaving around 7 pm to go shopping with my sister for Black Friday.  Post on that coming tomorrow!


p.s.  Just under 50 days until I will be running in the Chevron Houston Marathon!!!!

Recipe: Sweet Potato Casserole

Last year, at Thanksgiving, I was told that I needed to bring something to the Thanksgiving dinner.   In the 28 years before that my Mom would always bring something and I wouldn't have to worry about it, but since I have been living on my own for so  many years now, they decided that I should start bring something.  Even though I cannot cook very well, it didn't matter to them.  I am a 'grown up' now and I needed to start bringing something. BOO!

My grandma suggested I bring the sweet potato casserole since it was easy.  Hmm, OK.  So I reached out to my friends on Facebook and Mr. Google to find a recipe that would work.  My friend Krista saved the day and sent me a recipe from AllRecipes.com for a wonderful sweet potato casserole.   I made it the day before Thanksgiving and crossed my fingers hoping it would turn out OK.  Well, let me tell you...everyone was RAVING about it.  There wasn't any leftover at all and my grandma talks about it all the time.  It does have a lot of sugar in it (a lot!), but it is pretty tasty.

This year, I am hoping to have a repeat success with the recipe.  Wish me luck! :)  I AM NOT a good cook so I am not sure how it will turn out this year, but the actual recipe is great!  I did some things that might now make it such a success this year, so I am a bit worried.

See recipe and measurements below.  Last year my neighbor Carol helped me make it, but this year I am living on the opposite side of town and she is not here to help so I am on my own. :(  I didn't remember if I boiled, baked, or microwaved the sweet potatoes last year so this year I started to bake them (then that didn't work out so I boiled them-skip the baking and just boil them!). 

First, I removed all the skins and chopping them up into chunks.  They were taking FOREVER to bake so after awhile I boiled them (hopefully they weren't overcooked after doing both).  After I boiled them I mixed all the ingredients in the bowl and started to mix them together.

After I proceeded to get the mixture everywhere, including the paper towels, stove, fridge, and me I put the mixture in the casserole dish and added the topping.  I only showed one casserole dish, but I sort of doubled the recipe and put 3/4 of the recipe with pecans and 1/4 of the recipe in a separate dish with marshmallows.  Tomorrow when I get to my parents house I will bake them both for the 30 minutes.

Gourmet Sweet Potato Classic

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour 5 Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

Servings: 8

 

Ingredients:

5 sweet potatoes 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup butter 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons heavy cream 1/4 cup butter, softened 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2.	Bake sweet potatoes 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until they begin to soften. Cool slightly, peel, and mash.
3.	In a large bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes, salt, 1/4 cup butter, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sugar, and heavy cream. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
4.	In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Mix with a pastry blender or your fingers to the consistency of course meal. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.
5.	Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until topping is crisp and lightly browned.

 

 Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!  

My favorite Thanksgiving items are black olives and deviled eggs.  What are yours?