Thanksgiving Duck

My sister-in-law is an excellent photographer, but even she can't make a meal look good if it isn't plated properly.  Good thing she wasn't there because she'd have gone nuts trying to do it too.  While the meal was excellent, I just dumped it on the plate and collapsed on the couch to eat.  At least I was able to keep up with the  menu and I still had time to finish the Transformers cake for my nephew later Thursday night.

I still haven't figured out how to make rice pudding look appetizing.

Very tasty though.

Thanksgiving Day

I'm feeling better, but not up to 100% yet.  That makes me wonder if I'm being too ambitious with my menu for today and if I need to take some shortcuts.  And if my stomach isn't ready to handle duck today -- I'm going to be pretty pissed.  We can't afford duck very often and it's one of my favorite dishes.

Oh well, off to make Ventana's onion rolls.

Thanksgiving Dinner Menu 2009

Roast Duck with a Cranberry Gastrique
Corn Bread Stuffing with Apples, Cranberries, and Sausage
Sweet Potatoes Anna
Sauteed Asparagus
Sour Cream and Onion Rolls
A long nap while pretending to watch a movie, followed by
Rice Pudding with Cranberries, Apples, and Almonds served hot with a side of sweet cream

A Party Princess Cake

This year Ryanne wanted to be a Party Princess for her birthday.  I think her mom was happy that this was a fairly generic theme, instead of an all Disney theme like the Tinkerbell party she had last year.

I took a few photos of the Party Princess gear they had at Party City and decorated the cake to match.

It's a chocolate cake with a dark chocolate pastry cream filling.   The party itself was a swim party at the local YMCA, which sounded more fun than being a party princess.

Tired of being sick

It started last week with a sore throat and nausea--then blossomed into a full blown chest cold.  I went home early on Friday and slept through until Sunday.  By Sunday I was able to get the name of the medication from the doctor that worked last time so I'll be ready to go back to work by Tuesday (I normally have Sundays and Mondays off).  The meds are great for getting rid of the lodgy feeling and all the congestion, but the downside is that I can't get my brain to stop racing around in circles and it's difficult to sleep.  But I'd rather lay awake at night than drown in my own mucus.  It's not helping the headache or nausea either.

So I'm at home, not feeling well, and my house is a mess.  I'm starving, but after a few bites I feel like throwing up, and all I can think about is being behind in getting ready for both Thanksgiving and my nephew's birthday celebration on Black Friday. 

This sucks. 

This royally sucks big sweaty hobo balls of suckitude. 

I'll have a blue, blue, blue Christmas

Is he a frosty Elvis or an undead Elvis?  Is there even a difference?  

Personally, I'd like to see Batman up against a giant, evil, undead Elvis impersonator for an episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.  Or a giant undead Meatloaf, if the Elvis estate proves to be too litigious.

The Most Awesome Brake/Signal Lights Ever!

At first I thought the truck in front of me had large skull stickers on the back of the cab until I got close enough to see that they were large plastic skulls.  That was kinda cool, if a little late for Halloween, but then he started braking and they moved beyond cool and into the world of I want...

 

Apologies for the photo quality.  It was dusk and I have an older iPhone with a sucky camera.