Mandy and Jace

Early this morning I got a text saying I was an aunt. I know it’s very weird. I didn’t think I was old enough to be an aunt. No, Matt didn’t have a baby. My brother and sister-in-law welcomed a beautiful baby girl this morning at 6:36 am east coast time (so 5:36 for us here in Texas). Her name is Mary Elise Gregg. She is 7lb and 13 oz. Everyone is doing great and are very happy. I know the grandparents are very excited! I haven’t seen photos yet, but I hear she is beautiful. As soon as I get photos I will put them up so everyone can see.

We spent our Thanksgiving here in Midland and it was wonderful. We didn’t do anything and it was everything I hoped for. We made the turkey again this year and it was delicious. We brined it in apple juice and oranges overnight, rubbed it with spices the next morning before we put it in the oven to roast. It was so juicy and flavorful. I think this one is our best yet.

On Friday we again did nothing. I know, everyone expected me to go shopping but I just don’t think it is worth fighting the crowds. I also don’t like to dig through piles and piles of things just to find something that is on sale. Not my thing. I did do a little shopping online from the comfort of my recliner. Now, that’s my idea of shopping. We just sat around and we also put up our Christmas tree but that will be in a later post.

Our Thanksgiving was great and very relaxing. We just wished it was longer.
Here are the recipes for the brine and the rub:

Brine:
2 quarts apple juice
1 lb brown sugar
1 cup kosher salt
3 oranges (quartered)
6 bay leaves
1 tsp ground clove
1 tsp black peppercorns

Rub:
2 tbs garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

It is officially fall around our house. I love to decorate for the seasons and I finally have a house I can decorate. When I was little I remember my mom decorating for the seasons and I loved it. Even then I couldn’t wait to have a house that I could decorate myself. I’ve just done a couple of little things so far and they have already put me in the mood for fall. I did a centerpiece with apples and pine cones and it turned out very cute.

I also put a wreath on our door and a little man hanging from our number that says “Happy Harvest!” I couldn’t resist it when I saw it at Hobby Lobby.

It all turned out very cute. I am thinking that I will put some halloween stuff out on halloween too. This is the first year I am going to be able to give out candy so I will probably go all out.

We just had an amazing week with our family. Everyone came in for family reunion and then stayed the week to visit everyone. We had a great time and I actually didn’t get hurt this time. Yes, it can be done. I can get through a vacation with out getting hurt. No burns, scratches, bruises or organs being removed. A great success if you ask me. Now, my house is back to normal and I only have 2 more loads of laundry. I accomplished this in only two days. I call it a miracle!

Well, we survived the Fourth of July with my family in Tulsa. We started out Thursday night and thankfully we only drove to Whichita Falls, Texas and stayed the night at the Hampton. (I love being a Hilton member!) Unfortunately the Hampton is pet free so we had to sneak lucky up to my parents room in a suitcase and he didn’t appreciate that. We got a good nights rest and got on the road Friday morning. We finally pulled into Tulsa about 1:00 just in time to help cook lunch. I think they wait on us so that they have more workers. Later when it got dark we watched my 5 year old cousin Keely do some fireworks. I was stupid enough to light a sparkler while she was holding it and burned my thumb very badly. I couldn’t take my thumb off the ice or I would be in agonizing pain so all night long I had to keep it on an ice pack. About three in the morning I woke up to a very wet and cold bed. The bag that I had ice in had leaked all over me and the bed. In order to fix the problem without waking Jace I slipped out of the bedroom and got a towel and layed it on the wet bed and tryed to go back to sleep. Finally, I was able to sleep about an hour and woke up pain free. Mom and grandma later told me that I was making so much noise through the night that they were praying that the pain would go away so that they could get some sleep. In between prayer, tears, ice and calls to our paramedic friends I somehow got through the night. The next day was much better we did some shopping and eating and the normal stuff you do when you are couped up in the house, watch tv. We went to the mall with my cousin Kathy and her daughter Keely and looked around for awhile. She really wanted to go to Build-a-Bear workshop but we wanted to stop by the Apple Store. After looking at the Apple Store for a while she proudly proclaimed, “The Apple Store is like Build-a-Bear for big kids!” I told her that she was exactly right. Sunday we came home and we are very happy to be here. I learned lots of lessons over the weekend however: split the drive into two days, be a hilton member because you get great upgrades and NEVER light a sparkler while a five year old holds it.