My first Turkey Day

Now, before I go any further, this was not Thanksgiving. This was me wanting to try to make a turkey. I was not going to be home for Thanksgiving and I even had to work, so I have decided to sweep Thanksgiving under the rug.


With that being said, I decided I wanted to make a turkey. Making a turkey is a HUGE undertaking and if not planned properly, can be a total disaster!!! I had never even made a whole chicken before, but as I was wandering through Wal-mart doing some grocery shopping, I decided I wanted to give it a shot. I figured it was my only chance at having some homemade turkey. The smallest turkey I could find was a whooping 15 lbs, which meant not only was there was going to be a turkey, but there were going to be guests as well since I surely couldn't eat all 15 lbs by myself.

As I invited people, I was asked "well, aren't you going to be make this and that as well?!?" All of a sudden I was making a feast! It took me three trips to the store and one last minute "wait, we need a meat thermometer to know when it is done?" trip before I had all my supplies for my NOT Thanksgiving meal.

Prepping the turkey was not the most pleasant of experiences. The wrapper of the 'bird' said to take out the gravy pack, neck, and giblets. I found the gravy pack and what I could only assume was the neck, but no giblets to be found. I eventually had to call my mom because I was just plain out of ideas of where to look. A word to anyone who has not prepped a turkey, they shove stuff in both ends!
Once that was straightened out I was off and running! I put the turkey in the oven at about 9:45am and got to prepping all the other things I was now responsible to make. After the experience, I would say that its not the making the turkey that is hard, it is the timing of all the other stuff that you are making. Everything has it's varying times, and you have to account for the fact that you only have one oven in your house. And for the record, craving the turkey is just as nasty as prepping it!

Overall, it was fun. I had about seven people over throughout the day and everyone enjoyed the food. Apparently I am able to cook a turkey. It wasn't what Thanksgiving at home would have been, but it was a fair substitute. I'm just pleased that I didn't botch my first turkey day!!!

Run as fast as you can...

A couple of years ago, Give Kids The World started having an annual 5K run to help fundraise for the village. As soon as I heard about it, I knew I wanted to be involved since it was my first year here and I miss event planning. Plus, supposedly I am a "runner". As soon as I saw that the Gingerbread Run site was launched, I let the proper people know I wanted to help out and I joined the committee.

The whole committee experience is not worth talking about because nothing really exciting happened. I did learn a couple of things and it was worth my time because it was all for a good cause. But I did get acknowledged at the race, so that helped too.

Yesterday was the race. Now, I still stand by the school of thought that running is not fun but this race was a blast!!! What made the whole experience so exciting was the fact that there were SO many familiar faces. Well, first and most impressive was the fact that Heather heard about the race and just bought a plane ticket out here to run. She decided she wanted to visit and what better reason than to come out here and support a great cause. But even beyond her, there were my coworkers, my superiors, and even volunteers who I knew. Throughout the whole course, I had people cheering me on, cheering me through the village that I am so familiar with. It really makes a difference. 

Even the post-race party was a lot of fun. I loved that there were lots of characters there. I had a chance to get a picture with Mayor Clayton and Miss Merry, and even got a picture with the star of the race, Murphy the Gingerbread Man. Best of all, they gave me a gingerbread cookie at the finish line! I know, those aren’t the important things, those aren’t the “take away” from the race. The number one goal of the race was to raise money, and I did my part. But the “Fun”, that is important too. That is what gets people to come back year after year. That is what makes the event grow. And with growth, with more people, there is more money!

Overall, I am glad I was involved. It was really one of my favorite races I have done so far. And, next year I plan on running as fast as I can, I have to catch that Gingerbread Man!!!

We got a kitten!

In Florida, there are a lot of feral cats (that means stray cats... I'm not sure why there are two different names for them). Where there are a lot of feral cats, there are a lot of feral kittens. Now Florida is not really a safe place for kittens. First the extreme heat, then it gets rather cold at night once fall arrives. Kittens can't keep their temperature regulated. And, do I even have to mention the threat of getting eaten by alligators? I don't have any statistics on this, but I am sure that it is a thing.

We saw a cat wandering around at work and that's when I really started to consider the possibilities. Maybe we could get a cat. I floated the idea to my roommate and she didn't say no...

A co-worker found him one of the first crisp mornings we had. He came into a security hut to try to warm up. He had a big abrasion on his right shoulder and he only weighed about 2 lbs. One thing lead to another and now we have a Terror Kitty running around our house. Of course he is super cute... and I'm glad we have him, but I forgot how excited kittens always are and how clingy. He's a curious little thing and now there is an extra mouth to feed.

A kitten is really a long term commitment, but I think I am ok with it. I even find myself feeling slightly guilty when I am not home all day because I know he gets lonely... he is a people cat. But it is what it is now because WE GOT A KITTEN!!!