The Cluster

>> Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Yesterday morning, my parents were due to arrive from Seattle. I was expecting them around 11am. What I wasn't expecting, was a complete mess due to the recent snowstorm down the east coast.

It started in New Jersey. The flight from New Jersey to Seattle was delayed due to the snow storm which spiraled. Seattle was late going to Anchorage which was late going BACK to Seattle to pick my parents up to take them to Newark New Jersey. Because of this, they will missed morning connection to Albany from Newark. Great. Perfect. It is 4 days before Christmas, half the flights have been canceled while they other half are delayed and no one knows what they are doing.

At nearly midnight PST, they are on the red eye to New Jersey.

Standby.
Having missed their connection, my parents were automatically put on the first standby flight list to Albany at 12pm. No luck. They were shipped from one terminal to another terminal back to the first one and so on.
They were put on the next standby flight list to Albany at 4pm, which happened to be delayed 2 hours. Finally, they were ON the plane and landed in Albany nearly 12 hours late.

Arrival.

A little after 10:30pm EST they finally arrived at my house. Over 36 hours without sleep but save, warm and very hungry.

They are here. Yay!

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Potato Stuffing

>> Sunday, December 13, 2009

Ingredients

7-8 medium Potatoes
8 slices fresh white bread
1 package pork sausage meat
2 large onions
2 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons pepper or garlic pepper if preferred
2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
1 tablespoon sage
1/2 cup softened margarine


Directions

Cook and mash plain potatoes, cut bread into small cubes, ground onion and uncooked sausage meat in food processor fully cook meat mixture, do not drain fat. Add salt, pepper, sage and poultry seasoning. Mix sausage, potatoes and bread in big bowl. Add margarine and mix well. Add more seasonings to taste. Stuff in raw turkey, chicken or bake in lightly greased casserole dish with tinfoil cover for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

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Christmas Time Christmas Time

>> Saturday, December 12, 2009

I love Christmas. The excitement of watching my children open their gifts, the smell of the turkey roasting in the oven, the feeling of being with family is what makes Christmas so special to me. We've had a few hard years and the generosity of my online friends towards us just astounds me every year. I love Christmas.

Christmas is also the time of year that makes me a little more loonier then normal, if that is possible. There is stress that really isn't necessary but because I am the way I am, I stress out way to much over things that don't matter. This year I thought I would find a way to relieve my stress by writing everything down. The organization does help me keep my cool a little more. I wrote a note on facebook yesterday which started as a menu for the 3 days of Christmas (Eve, Day, Boxing Day) and turned into a shopping list as well as an itinerary for the activities. Realistically I know the itinerary is not as detailed as my mind wants it to be but you really can't PLAN Christmas. I thought I would share my organization on my blog. If you think I'm forgetting something or would like to share your own Christmas menu in the comments section, that would be wonderful! A few of the recipes are on my blog. I hope to add more in the coming days.



Christmas Eve:
Hot Spinach and Artichoke dip with Rye bread pieces
7 Layer Taco Dip with tortillas
Mushroom and Cheese Turnovers
Veggies and Dip

Dessert:
Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie

Christmas Brunch:
Bagels
Assorted flavored cream cheese
Blueberry muffins

Christmas Dinner:
Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Steamed mixed veggies
Gravy
Cranberries
Crescent Rolls

Desserts:
Carrot Cake
Pumpkin Pie

Boxing Day Brunch
Leftovers from Christmas Eve
Turkey Sandwiches



Drinks:
Cranberry Gingerale
Pepsi and Coke
Sprite
Eggnog
Hot Chocolate



Itinerary

Christmas Eve:
Finger Foods
Scrabble
Watching A Christmas Carol
Wrapping presents and setting up for Santa

Christmas Morning:
Stockings
Presents
Brunch
Early Dinner
Watching A Christmas Story all day long on TBS(even if we have it on DVD) LOL

Boxing Day:
Grandparents Brunch


Shopping list:
(4)cream cheese
boursin garlic cheese
frozen spinach
(2)green onions
canned artichokes
refried beans
(3) avocado
(4) tomatoes
(2) cans olives
(2) cheddar cheese
pepper jack cheese
large sour cream
puffed pastry
4 cans mushrooms
swiss cheese
garlic
frozen veggies
half n half
coconut
chocolate shell
whipping cream
frozen mozza sticks
tortilla chips
rye bread
carrots (full and baby)
broccoli
turkey
potatoes
sausage
white bread
bagels
flavoured cream cheeses
crescent rolls
cranberry sauce
pumpkin
flour
shortening
eggs
Ziploc bags
roasting pan
tin foil
lettuce
cheese
sandwich rolls
french fried onions
bacon
(2)mushroom soup
(3)green beans
old english cheese
sugar
pie shells
soda
eggnog
coffee


Oh and my parents will be here in 9 sleeps!!

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