Tuesday Tipday: To Serve Man

For years now I've been against buying cookbooks. When you subscribe to as many magazines as I have (ok, do) you get plenty of recipes in your mailbox every month, not to mention the scores of cooking ideas you can find online, on TV, or from the library.

One of my favorite cooking shows is Everyday Food, and I also get the magazine from the library and scan the recipes I'd like to try. I was looking through an issue and saw that one of the hosts of the show, Lucinda Scala Quinn had written a cookbook that helps you deal with feeding men. Feeding men, y'all!

I cannot tell you how much she read my mind! After several months of low-level poverty where figuring out what to cook and eat was a daily trial, I needed this book. By the time I found out about it HUBS and I had recovered some financial stability, but I was still feeling like I didn't really know how to cook for us.

HUBS can only cook pasta with jar sauce, burgers and fries; if I want anything besides that I have to cook, and that's fine (usually), I like cooking. But, back when I was living alone, if I didn't feel like cooking or didn't have anything much in the house and didn't have much cash to shop, do you know what I did? I ate cereal, or a salad, or a sandwich and I was fine.



That won't work with HUBS. He needs massive quantities of meat to feel like he's eaten anything other than a snack. I believe I could feed him an entire box of cereal and a half gallon of milk for dinner and within two hours he'd go "Yeah, that didn't really feel like a meal."

I. Love. This. Book! It's not just the tips and the recipes but the book-iness of the book: the design of the cover and pages, the photography, the heft of it and the textured, cloth-like cover. In the intro she acknowledges that "men eat differently from women." Yes! I thought I was going crazy over here, watching HUBS eat five Arby's roast beef sandwiches with a large order of fries and a giant soda in one freakin' sitting! It's not just me, apparently. Men just do that.

For Tuesday Tipday I'm going to share one of her suggestions with you: serve the man you cook for. I know, I know. He's a grown-ass man, he can walk, you did all the cooking and the least he can do is fix his own plate, but guess what? If he's what I like to call a Hungry Jack, he'll literally eat everything if you let him.

Once I started putting reasonable portions on HUBS' plate, he ate it and was generally satisfied. He rarely even goes back for seconds now. This means that when I cook enough for six people, I will actually have four servings of leftovers instead of one! Amazing!

The long and short of it? If you like to cook, you can't go wrong with this book. If you like to eat, you can't go wrong with this book. And if you're still getting used to feeding a man, you cannot go wrong with this book!

Music Monday! Three Day Weekend Edition

I hope everyone got a chance to enjoy their holiday weekend. Ours was a bit less relaxing than we'd hoped.

HUBS had two huge projects at work on Friday and I went in to help him. Everything went smoothly until about 10 p.m., when some software issues prevented him from finishing either project that was so close to being done. My poor guy did everything he could think of to solve the problems, but we ended up leaving at 2 a.m. Saturday morning with neither completed. Naturally, HUBS was infuriated.

As is always the case when one of us is angry beyond belief and the other is cool as cucumber, I tried to calm him down, but this was just one of those times when he had to come down on his own. Since there's no overtime budget left for this school year, HUBS had spent 16 hours at work that day, but only been paid for half that.



Saturday was nice; his parents came by and took us to dinner, and we did some furniture shopping (but no buying) afterwards and on Sunday.

Can I just mention that I've also spent the past four days trying to poo? I did everything right: drinking water, eating live-active-culture yogurt, having veggies in my scrambled eggs (spinach, onion and tomato), feasting on oatmeal for breakfast, having coffee... And yet, nothing worked until Sunday night when I stuffed my face with dulce de leche, pound cake and half a bag of kettle corn. I followed all the rules and what my body really needed was junk food? Travesty...

Today has been fairly quiet. I updated my resumes and applied for a writing job I found online, finished going through my emails and catching up on some financial articles I'd saved. HUBS has been continuing his unwinding process with liberal doses of video gaming. I really don't understand the video game thing, but I'm glad he's got a hobby.

How did you spend your long weekend?

This Year I Will: 2011 Edition

Shakes relaxes with his body threaded through our TV antenna. Cats have such simple goals, don't they?

Yesterday you saw what I got done in 2010, now let's take a look at what I want to do in 2011. I tried to narrow the list down to things I could actually fully accomplish this year.

For instance, at first I put down 'publish a book', but that's not something that's really totally dependent on me (if I were trying to get it published through traditional means, anyway). So, I amended it to 'writing book proposals and sending them out', which is a goal I can complete this year, even if said books don't get published until 2013.

Well, then, off we go...

This Year I Will: 2011

1) Write another screenplay and enter it into at least one contest
2) Promote my blogs
3) Sell photos through at least one online agency
4) Write proposals for my book ideas and send them out
5) Create a workable budget
6) Travel more
7) Network
8) Grow my freelance career
9) Add 1,000 steps to my daily walking, to equal 6,000/day
10) Use pen tablet weekly
11) Try more new things
12) Watch less TV and do less meaningless internet roaming
13) Call PT more
14) Make the money to buy a car within two years
15) Promote past freelance work online
16) Figure out a way to organize our home library area and get more storage in this house
17) Keep track of family birthdays better and connect with family more
18) Work on becoming more sexual

There! I think that's it for me.

What do you plan to do in 2011?

Last Year I Did: 2010 Edition

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I was talking about how I wanted to EXPAND my life this year? I started off by making a list of all the things I'd accomplished last year, to inspire me to get even more done in 2011.

Well, here's my list of big things done in 2010. It's not half bad at all.

Last Year I...

1) Came up with three book ideas
2) Got out of debt
3) Found a really good pedometer and started walking more
4) Began dressing better
5) Updated citygirl
6) Started weekly savings account
7) Fed us creatively when we had no money
8) Went back to reading self-help books for inspiration
9) Took up reading more books in general
10) Kept off 10 pounds
11) Realized I was getting older and started sleeping more and taking more extensive care of my teeth
12) Engaged in much creative brain-storming while working
13) "Finished" my first screenplay and entered it into a contest
14) Tried eating dessert only every other day. Succeeded.
15) Got a bra fitting and returned to the world of underwire over-the-shoulder-bolder-holders

Tomorrow I'll let you know what I plan to get done this year.

What did you get done in 2010? Have you christened 2011 yet?

Music Monday! Teenybopper All Grown Up

I hope everyone had a good weekend! Saturday was good and sad and also a bit fun. We went to my cousin's funeral that morning, which, of course, was sad. But then we went to the repast, and as in the past this was basically a family reunion-style party with good food and lots of family I'd either never seen before or see rarely. That was fun and good.

What wasn't fun was my cry-headache. I always get brain pain after crying, but this turned into a serious threat level RED brain beater that almost made me vomit from discomfort. I needed an Advil and four full hours of sleep to tamp it down.

I was so pleased to feel like a normal person after my nap that I made HUBS go shopping for office supplies/household essentials when I woke up. We took a break in the middle for dinner at IHOP. We did a lot of talking and good eating - two more things that are always fun.

So, now that I'm getting back to Music Monday thanks to Youtube, I hope you like this song from one of my favorite still-active late '90s teen sensations, Robyn. You probably remember her '98 hit Show Me Love:



It's always good when young stars don't implode, isn't it?

Eat This Sandwich

Holy crap, it's like a god.

Everyone loves a grilled cheese sandwich. Well, everyone who loves cheese loves a grilled cheese sandwich. And if you don't love cheese you can't be American...Or human, so I've got no interest in what you eat, anyway.

But, cheese loving people all over the world need to find a way to make and eat this sandwich. Now, I've made grilled cheese all kinds of ways over the years. I think, though, that I've finally made the best one ever. You will need about four thinly sliced pieces of apple (I used a Pink Lady), three different types of cheese (for me it was fontina, Borden pepper jack and a shredded Italian blend), honey ham, good wheat bread, cracked pepper, Italian seasoning and cooking spray.

Now, lay out your first piece of bread and cover it with a cheese slice, top it with the apple slices, more cheese, cracked pepper, ham, Italian seasoning, cheese, and last piece of bread. Spray both sides with cooking spray and, here's what I think really makes a difference, put the sandwich in a hot panini press or Foreman grill. After a few minutes you can turn the sandwich 45 degrees to get cross-hatched grill marks, but as you can see from the photo it's not a requirement.

Take it off the grill and dig in. Oh. My. Gawwwwwwwd. The best part, the thing I found so amazing, is that it stayed hot the entire time I ate it. I've never made a grilled cheese that didn't get cold two seconds after I took it off the stove. Never.

Ok, finish your sandwich, wipe your mouth and hands and thank me. Aren't you glad you read this blog? I knew you would be...

Tuesday Tipday: Christen Your Year!

The TV through my new year's champagne glass. I had 10 sips instead of my usual two, and I'm all the better for it.

Well, happy 2011, all you internet denizens! We're four full days into the new year and I bet a lot of you have made resolutions or set goals for the months ahead. I haven't made a resolution for years now. For me, the idea of New Year's Resolutions had come to mean some activity I'd promised myself I'd do, only to inevitably give up the effort weeks later. And then the next year I'd make the same promises to myself all over again, with the same pitiful results.

I've decided to look at things differently this year. Not writing down concrete goals has gotten me almost nowhere, so last Thursday I took a quiet moment to do two things: list the accomplishments from 2010 and list what I wanted to do in 2011.

If you're like me, and have the tendency to get procrastinatory (New Word Alert) on your dreams out of fear (of change, new things, the unknown, success, failure...I could so totally go on), then I can tell you that starting with my successes really helped. It made me look back over the year thoughtfully, so that I was able to notice even the smallest victories.

Why do the small victories matter? Because the small ones get you to the big ones. I was able to see that I really did get some stuff done last year and that it's completely possible, if I keep going, to get even more done in 2011.

Then, earlier today I was reminded of an idea I'd come across around this time last year. Individual goals are great, but a good way to plan for the completion of those goals is to think about what you want your life ahead to be like in general. You can do this, as I've decided to, by christening your year.

Now, depending on what you've been going through and what you want for 2011, this might be easy or require more pondering. But the basic process is simple, just consider what you need more of to be happier in the coming year. Do you want to be more connected to the world around you? Then connectivity is your word for 2011. Maybe you'd feel better if you slowed down. In that case a word like quiet or relaxation could be for you.

This just helps you crystallize what all your smaller goals should ultimately do for you. Here is what I've decided: I want 2011 to be a year of Expansion. I need to cultivate more of basically everything in my life: connection to others, freelance work, money, fun, adventure, travel, passion, good health, doing for others, love and on and on.

What I realized by looking at the past year (and years before) is that my world, my life, has gotten mighty small. While I'm very, very glad to have HUBS, our cats, this house and a fine collection of photographs taken since I was a little girl, I need a bigger life. Bigger experiences, more adventure and definitely more hard work.

So, today's tip? Christen your year! Sit down and figure out what bullseye you want to hit this year by aiming at those smaller targets. It just might help everything come into view.

I'd love to know: what's your word for 2011?

Where Them Lights At?

Thank You Wild Lights at the St. Louis Zoo. Thank you. I hear The Baby Jesus loved him some twinkle...

I don't know if this is because we live in a still slightly ghetto neighborhood, or what, but I'm gonna need to see more Christmas lights next year.

Has anyone else noticed either a dearth of lights this season, or (more disturbingly) people not plugging their stuff in past the actual day of Christmas? Hey, people! It's holiday time up in here! If the lights are already up and the tree is still hanging out in the corner, how hard is it to plug that shit in? At least through New Year's Eve! I mean, really! Do you hate The Baby Jesus, or what?

And We'll Start Our New Year With Another Funeral

My cousin died on Sunday. Last I'd heard, he was doing astoundingly well, so I have no idea what happened. Say a little prayer for my uncle.

We'll talk more tomorrow.

Merry Merry, And All That

Luanne, Tux, Shakes, HUBS and citygirl wish you all a wild, wonderful, white Merry Christmas!

Recent Obsessions: Man V. Food!

I guess I don't need to tell you that eating is very important, and that eating well is even more important. Now, something that's necessary for the soul, if not always the body, is a good, curative, fun meal out.

You know that feeling you get when you walk into a restaurant with the perfect ambiance for your mood and perfect company by your side. You get a really good waitress or waiter, someone who knows how to walk the delicate tightrope that is attentiveness minus cloying-ness. You look at the menu and everything sounds so good it's hard to decide. But when you finally do, and the meal arrives deliciously piping hot before you, isn't it bliss? Like, one of the best things that's ever happened to you?

HUBS and I love going out to eat at what we like to call bring-me-some-food-bitches-! restaurants. (FYI, we would never say that to someone who could defile our victuals.) Being waited on is a nice feeling that most of us don't get to indulge in all that often. Combine that luxury with good (preferably inexpensive) food and you've hit the foodie mother lode.

In the weeks since Thanksgiving, where I was reintroduced to Man V. Food via my mom's cable subscription, I have watched at least two episodes on Netflix view-it-now almost every day. Except for that one day when I watched eight. In a row.

Here is why I love this show: it's the perfect combination of travel, food porn and awe. The host visits three different eateries per city and always ends with a ridiculous food challenge guaranteed to either entertain or horrify. Above is the first part of his visit to my hometown, St. Louis, and below is the second half. I hope everyone who loves eating out loves my recent obsession. Enjoy!

How'd That Happen?

Saturday is Christmas. Which means next Saturday is 2011. How in the fuck did that happen already? I'm pretty sure I'm still 12 and hoping to stop getting zits within the next year...Right? No? What do you mean by that, exactly?

Oh, you mean I'm 36 and still have one Christmas gift to buy and about eight others to wrap? Dammit...

Well, you know how my mom and I were trying to figure out what to cook for Christmas dinner, since we've both decided we're tired of the stuff we've been making twice every year since 1994? We finally made a decision; we're not cooking. Nothing "special" anyway. No cooked-all-night dressing. No sweet potato pies. And I can honestly say I won't miss it.

The thing that'll really be odd, though, is that since we're looking at a combo of frozen rain and snow starting early on Friday, I likely won't be going to my mom's for Christmas Eve. That will be the first time, literally in my entire life, that I won't be with my mom the day before Christmas. She told me yesterday that she thinks I should just stay at home if the weather is bad, but I already feel neglectful.

And? And! I'm having end-of-year/beginning-of-year anxiety. I can never really find a good way to get myself to get things done. (Important, advance my station/happiness in life things. Not laundry type things; I do that shit all the time.)

I make To-Do lists, and do you know what happens? I do the stuff that doesn't scare me, every time. The really important things always get pushed back because they're not so easy and they freak me out and I'd rather avoid them. Even though I know avoidance has always gotten me nowhere.

Wow! I did not mean to be a downer when I started on this post. Apologies. Now enjoy a little levity via 1967...

Blast The Bah Humbugs!

Well, thank God! I've successfully pushed away my bah humbuggeries by getting off my ass, baking homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, blasting Ella Fitzgerald holiday tunes and putting up some additional Christmas decorations. I've been craving fresh baked cookies for weeks now, and I'm even cooking dinner for the first time since Monday. EEEEE!


Granted, I went up and down the stairs too many times (made me feel a bit weak and dizzy) getting out decorations, but overall? I feel so much better. Much of this is due to waking up and feeling like a real, non-sick human being this morning and having it last all day long. I didn't even have to take a nap!


Alright, maybe I went overboard with the cookies. But how was I supposed to know the recipe was going to make a million of them?

Listen to Ella, y'all, and make your yuletide gay!

Citygirl Bites! Smoking Joe's BBQ

My lovelies, it's time for another installment of Citygirl Bites! On December 3 HUBS and I finally went to Smoking Joe's BBQ, a joint downtown that we'd been meaning to go to for a few weeks.

Despite the cold and the late hour that we finally got our asses out of the house, I was excited. I luuuuuuuuuuvre BBQ! If would be fair to say it's one of the few foods I really crave on occasion. Unfortunately, after our jaunt to this place, my craving is still intact.

My first objection with the place is that it's freakin' hard to spot on a dark night when you haven't been there before. SJ BBQ! Invest in a large sign, please!



There is a nice atmosphere inside, though. The place is moodily lit for romance, dressed up for Christmas and they even have live music and a bar area. It's more of a BBQ nightclub than a straight-up stuff-your-face joint. They've kicked your standard BBQ place up a notch.



That would be excellent if I didn't think they did it to divert attention away from the food. It's not horrible, but it's not good enough to deal with driving all the way downtown, either.

The meal started off pretty good. We ordered BBQ chicken nachos for an appetizer and they were large and good (though it did take a while for them to get to us). SJ BBQ has three different sauces: sweet, mild and hot, and all were tasty.



I ordered the ribs with beans and cole slaw. Let me start by saying that the sides were excellent. The main course, on the other hand, arrived almost cold. If you don't already know, cold ribs aren't much fun. That wasn't the worst part, though.

My ribs were also incredibly fatty. So much so that I couldn't take a bite without getting gobs of fat. I had to cut around the ribs and remove the fatty bits before eating. Also? Not much fun and kinda irritating. I kept the leftovers but ended up giving them to the stray cats because I knew I wouldn't feel like doing all the work involved to eat around the fat. I'm glad someone was able to enjoy them.



HUBS wanted their small combo platter, but he wanted to sub its chicken and ribs for pork and turkey. They wouldn't let him. Usually BBQ places have a general combo platter where you can get set portions of any of their meats, but not here. And there was nothing on the menu that said No Substitutions, either. That's another strike for them, as far as we're concerned.



After that disappointment, HUBS settled on their pulled pork platter with potato salad and green beans. This time, at least, the main dish was as good as the sides. The pork was tender and flavorful and those green beans were a definite stand-out.

All in all the main attraction for this place is the price. Most of their menu items cost $8.99 or less. Be aware of the live music times, too. It got really loud in there once the band started and having to shout across the table at each other was a bit maddening. (I know, we sound like old fogies. Oh, wait, we kinda are!) If you're already in the area, I'd give them a shot. But stay away from the ribs.

Tuesday Tipday: Longing For The Days Of A Sore Throat

Well, well, well...Looks like my body decided that an intermittent sore throat wasn't punishment enough. As of last night I've got a full blown cold: running nose, congestion, tired, fuzzy-headedness and all. Yay!

On the plus side this cold is nothing compared to what one of my cousins has been going through. He's been battling pneumonia since August; the doctors put him in a drug induced coma for a while and then on life support. Each time they tried to dial down the life support, though, his organs stopped working on their own.

On Friday my mom told me my uncle had decided to fully take him off life support. We were all expecting that Saturday would be his last day, but we got an actual Christmas miracle when all of his bodily functions kicked in and he woke up. That? That's some unbelievable God Magic right there. Can we all say a little prayer that he'll continue to get better? Thanks.

Now, on to the fun stuff. Do you see that video up there? Friends, it just happens to be the music video for my all-time favorite modern Christmas song, Wham's Last Christmas. I figured since a large portion of the country is in the grips of winter weather advisories and such my music offerings could stand to get in the spirit of the season.

I ,myself, am having trouble getting into that same spirit. My lack of holiday enthusiasm started before I got sick, and now that I think about it I might see what the problem is: everything is the same every year. Mom and I cook the same stuff (We did talk about that and she's bored with what we cook, too! And totally game to make something different.), and HUBS and I run around on Thanksgiving and Christmas days to PT's and his parents, who are two hours away.

I suppose I'm just a little tired of the routine, though I've got no idea what we could do differently. Remember when you were a kid and the holidays seemed so magical and mysterious and full of fun? I suppose it'll never feel like that again, but I wish I could get some of that tingly feeling back.

So, today's tip: Don't get so bogged down in feeling the holiday spirit that you can't have any fun. I think it's natural to have a "blah, it's the holidays again" feeling every now and then.

How are you 'feeling' your holiday of choice this year?

Contests Beget Progress

Internet! Things are good today. I may still feel a bit on the iffy side, but in my haze I've managed to accomplish something very big this week.

See, there's a screenplay I've been knocking around for six years now. The last time I actually looked at it and did any editing was almost three years ago when I entered it into a contest. Well, another contest deadline comes along tonight before midnight, and I finally went back to my work Wednesday and today. I added some stuff, moved some things around and took out others. All of this is to say that I'm moments away from entering it into another contest!

Winning is a long shot, I know. But, the big thing here is that I revisited the screenplay. It's the very first one I ever started, and is currently the only one I've ever fully written down. It feels basically finished to me now, unlike last time I put it in the running for a competition, and I think I can finally start to really work on some of the other ideas I have.

So, progress! Yay!

In other news, there's a contest over at Chronicle Books that ends today. There are two ways to win: post a list of all the Chronicle Books titles you want (up to $500) on your blog, or comment on someone else's blog list. Blogger and commenter will win all the books on the list. Here's mine:

Chronicle Books Dream List

1) Allure by Diana Vreeland $35
2) Curious Cats by Mitsuaki Iwago $16.95
3) Lickshot by Ben Watts $50
4) Hot Shots by Kevin Meredith, Heather Champ & Derek Powazek $16.95
5) Secret Lives of Great Filmmakers by Robert Schnakenberg $16.95
6) Art of the Modern Movie Poster by Judith Salavetz,Spencer Drate, Sam Sarowitz $75
7) Television Without Pity by Tara Ariano & Sarah Bunting $15.95
8) Picture Show by Dianna Edwards $19.95
9) The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex by Kristen Schaal & Rich Blomquist $24.95
10) Gig Posters Volume I by Clay Hayes $40
11) What's Next? by Kerry Hannon $22.95
12) Curious Lists: A Creative Journal for List-Lovers $12.95
13) 1,001 Ways to Live in the Moment by Barbara Kipfer $9.95
14) Living Out Loud by Keri Smith $17.95
15) Penny Saving Household Helper by Rebecca DiLiberto $12.95
16) Secrets of Stylists by Sasha Charnin Morrison $24.95
17) Macaroni & Cheese by Marlena Spieler & Noel Barnhurst $16.95
18) The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt $19.95
19) The Big Book of Casseroles by Maryana Vollstedt $19.95
20) Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O'Connor & Leigh Beisch $22.95

There's my awesomely long list. Don't forget to comment and maybe we can both win!

Happy Weekend!

Citygirl Bites!

The soft pretzels and cheese and Kirkwood Ice and Fuel.

Since HUBS and I like to try new restaurants and eat out in general, I've decided to begin a new feature here on citygirl where I review some of these places for a little bit of food porn.

Up first is Kirkwood Ice and Fuel. We've been passing by this place for three years and finally went in the Sunday after my birthday back in November. It was surprisingly dive-y inside, but luckily that doesn't mean the food is crappy. These folks know what they're doing!

Those pretzels were perfect, soft and warm with a bit of crispiness outside and just the right amount of salt. The cheese sauce was warm and creamy. Very nice.



I got this Cajun chicken sandwich which came on a nice wheat bun. It was perfectly seasoned and juicy and the onion rings were amazing, just filled with crunchy, onion-y goodness.



HUBS went with the chili nachos for his meal, and even though it's really an appetizer there's more than enough for a main course. Good, cheesy, bean-y chippy nachos.



If the look on HUBS' face isn't enough, listen up: GO TO KIRKWOOD ICE & FUEL. I don't believe you'll be disappointed.

Tuesday Tipday! Switcharoo!!

Wow. I mean really, I thought I was basically over my sore throat/extreme tiredness issue this weekend, but after trying for two days to act like a normal person who doesn't need to sleep all day, I can see that that's not the case.

It always floors me when I get sick. I stay away from filthy little children, I wash my hands well and avoid sick people and hospitals whenever possible. And yet, sometimes a little bug will still catch up with me. Blech. Of course, it doesn't help that 'the store's closed', which is HUBS' way of saying that I'm on my period. As he put it yesterday, "it's hard to re-open when the employees come in late, keep asking for time off and won't get their overtime pre-approved."

Ain't that the truth.

Combine my current physical states with the fact that I got overconfident on Sunday night and stayed up watching a stupid movie that I, nonetheless, remember fondly from my childhood. I was up until 2:30 Monday morning, and then got up at 8:30 to drive HUBS to work and spend the day with him. BIG MISTAKE STAYING OUT IN PUBLIC FOR 10 FULL HOURS WHEN I FELT LIKE TOTAL CRAP. BIG.


Yeah, this is what I watched...On purpose.

I'm trying to comfort myself, but nothing seems to work. So for Tuesday Tipday this week I'd like your tips. How do you guys pamper yourselves when you're feeling down or just plain sick?

Wednesday Tipday And Music Extravaganza!

Woooooo! Is anybody else worn out from Thanksgiving? I managed to pick up a mild sore throat/hard to breathe deeply/upper chest tightness thingie that had me in bed most of the day on Saturday, Monday and today, though, I must say, I do feel better.

I tried to create a fantastic playlist for you guys Monday, but my widget service was on the fritz, and since yesterday's Tipday was short-circuited by my convalescence, I figured I'd mash everything into one Mega Wednesday Post!!



As you can see, I'm posting videos throughout so you never get bored. Speaking of boredom, do you guys eat the same thing for Thanksgiving each year? My mom and I always make the same stuff: cornbread & turkey dressing, sweet potato pies, homemade mac 'n' cheese, candied yams and some kind of veggie (glazed carrots, Mexicorn, fresh green beans...). I had an inkling about this last year, but now I know it for sure...I'm tired of it. Especially since we eat the same thing at Christmas every year, too.



The thing is, I don't know what other meal will feel like the holidays to me. Plus, making the pies and dressing is kind of a big deal, mom and I have been making these things since the early '90s together; it's a tradition. And since we've lost so much family lately, and so much has changed, I'm afraid of hurting her feelings or freaking her out by switching things up now.



I know it seems like it's just food, but it's really more. We bonded over those pre-holiday nights cooking when I was at home from college and my dad had already crapped out on us. If we don't have those, rather involved, dishes to cook what are we going to do on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve? Will anything I suggest be doable for PT, who already had a history of hating change and difficulty making small decisions even before she lost her big brother and mom in less than a year? If you guys have any suggestions, I'd really appreciate them.



Meanwhile, since the holidays are fully upon us, I thought I'd pass along some tips from around the web that should make all your festive planning go a bit smoother. Happy Wednesday, y'all!

Got an action-packed December? Plan the shit out of it.

Need help with in-law irritations? Killing them is not the answer.



Like a little help getting into the spirit of things? Try these movie guides and music guides.

Want to eat and drink your way merry?

Are you letting holiday pressures beat you down? Stop it.

Last, but not least, don't forget to laugh:

Music Monday: Favorite Things!

In honor of Oprah's last Favorite Things show ever, which aired today, I'd like to present some of my favorite songs. This is my no means an exhaustive list, I love music too much to be able to do that! But, this is a pretty good sampling of the songs that make me tingle every time I hear them.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and Happy Monday!