My meatloaf nor my chicken defrosted by the time it was to make dinner. And my sister only has Whataburger's spicy ketchup in the fridge.
That lobster mac & cheese better be there and damn good tomorrow night.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
edited November 2016
Alright, so thanksgiving sucks for me, I've mentioned that. My wife has to work at night because fuck retail. Last night was even worse because my kid was up all night screaming in pain from her ear infection. I'm operating on about 30 minutes of sleep.
Somehow I still have an awesome story.
My wife works at best buy. They had some kind of deal on iPads, with a limit of one per person. Of course someone wanted two. Totally not someone who is a known reseller. The store employees refused to sell the extra and the woman freaked.
Then she football spiked the iPad. Slam into the floor like a Lonely Island clip, popped the box open, cracked the screen.
The police officer working in the store came over and said "well, I guess you can buy the second iPad!"
I actually worked black Friday years ago at Best Buy as well, and yeah, people buying stuff with an obvious intent to resell (a family of 5 splitting up and buying the limit-one item as five different people in the same line) were the quickest to lose their shit.
That was the first time I ever saw a brawl actually happen in a checkout line. Black Friday's slow death is well deserved.
Me: (talking about laptops) I'm just trying to drop some sage wisdom on you.
Dad: Sage, just in thyme for Thanksgiving.
Me: yeah.
...
...
Me: oh fuck you!
This year was the first year in our own place and we hosted. Went off great!
Wet brined turkey with seasoned butter stuffed between the skin and meat.
Sweet potato casserole, your standard fair with pecans and brown sugar topping, no marshmellows.
Squash casserole, which is boiled yellow squash and onion, butter, and a shitload of cheese. Cheese spread on top for a tasty crust.
Stuffing made with sausage. Came out the most perfect it ever has, not too dry, not too wet. Since we made it this year, we cut out the nasty celery.
Gravy made with a home made chicken broth.
Scratch made jellied cranberries.
Fresh made bread from our bread machine.
A tradition with my wife's fam, Banana Fluff. Basically vanilla pudding and cool whip on a homemade pecan crust. My daughter is allergic to bananas, so this year it was just fluff.
Scratch made apple pie. Now this one is interesting. About two weeks ago my wife got a huge sack of over a dozen apples from the farmers market. We ate a few, but not even most of them. They sat on the counter and got soft. Not spoiled or rotten, just soft. We put em in the fridge to make a pie, the first apple pie we have ever made. Day before yesterday I was peeling and coring them. They were soft yet still crisp, somehow? I took a bite of one and OMFG it was the best apple I have ever eaten. It was sooooo sweet and flavorful. The pie (with vanilla ice cream, as international law mandates) was fantastic.
It was me, my wife, our two kids, my wife's parents, and my MiL's brother. We're all very liberal, so political discussion was fun and easy. For the first time, the food was all made by me and my wife, in our own kitchen, in our own home. I can't tell you how pleased I was. Also, that day I had only eaten a spoonful of peanut butter, a few crackers, and some grape koolaid, so by dinner time I was... eager. After dinner everyone was full and happy, and my wife and I were practically glowing with pride.
Unfortunately, that evening things took a turn for the worst.
After dinner, my MiL and her brother were cleaning up. It wasn't too bad as I had been cleaning as we went, but there was still quite a bit. My wife sat down in the living room recliner with her blanket. Naturally she fell asleep as we had been busting our asses for the past two days and she had just eaten half her body weight in casseroles. However, this wasn't a normal exhaustion/50,000 calorie coma. She called for me in a weak, moaning voice, and said her blood pressure had dropped. She's had issues with BP before. I checked with our BP monitor and it was low, 80/54. I called her doctor's office, spoke to the on-call nurse, she asked some questions, and told us to call an ambulance right away. They took her to the hospital, and I followed behind. We got there around 9. She went right to an ER room. Honestly I expected them to give her fluids (she sometimes gets dehydrated), stabilize her and send us home. Around midnight her BP had not normalized and they said she is staying overnight.
I went home and laid down in a terribly empty bed. I was glad to be so tired so I could sleep.
This morning I overslept and had to go to work before I could visit her. Apparently the doctors are keeping her all day today, which has me truly scared now. Also, my son said he felt like he was going to throw up, and as I was leaving he had thrown up, just a little bit. It's just my MiL at home with them, and she's OK except she's in her 60s and has memory problems and I don't like leaving her all day with two children, one of whom is sick. I couldn't call out of work today because I have used up all my sick days this year from when I was in the hospital a few months ago and we absolutely need all of my paycheck because I'm the only earner for my family. It's been a long day so far and I don't get off until 8pm tonight.
Sorry for the wall of text but I had to put this down somewhere, I don't really know why.
This year was the first year in our own place and we hosted. Went off great!
Wet brined turkey with seasoned butter stuffed between the skin and meat.
Sweet potato casserole, your standard fair with pecans and brown sugar topping, no marshmellows.
Squash casserole, which is boiled yellow squash and onion, butter, and a shitload of cheese. Cheese spread on top for a tasty crust.
Stuffing made with sausage. Came out the most perfect it ever has, not too dry, not too wet. Since we made it this year, we cut out the nasty celery.
Gravy made with a home made chicken broth.
Scratch made jellied cranberries.
Fresh made bread from our bread machine.
A tradition with my wife's fam, Banana Fluff. Basically vanilla pudding and cool whip on a homemade pecan crust. My daughter is allergic to bananas, so this year it was just fluff.
Scratch made apple pie. Now this one is interesting. About two weeks ago my wife got a huge sack of over a dozen apples from the farmers market. We ate a few, but not even most of them. They sat on the counter and got soft. Not spoiled or rotten, just soft. We put em in the fridge to make a pie, the first apple pie we have ever made. Day before yesterday I was peeling and coring them. They were soft yet still crisp, somehow? I took a bite of one and OMFG it was the best apple I have ever eaten. It was sooooo sweet and flavorful. The pie (with vanilla ice cream, as international law mandates) was fantastic.
It was me, my wife, our two kids, my wife's parents, and my MiL's brother. We're all very liberal, so political discussion was fun and easy. For the first time, the food was all made by me and my wife, in our own kitchen, in our own home. I can't tell you how pleased I was. Also, that day I had only eaten a spoonful of peanut butter, a few crackers, and some grape koolaid, so by dinner time I was... eager. After dinner everyone was full and happy, and my wife and I were practically glowing with pride.
Unfortunately, that evening things took a turn for the worst.
After dinner, my MiL and her brother were cleaning up. It wasn't too bad as I had been cleaning as we went, but there was still quite a bit. My wife sat down in the living room recliner with her blanket. Naturally she fell asleep as we had been busting our asses for the past two days and she had just eaten half her body weight in casseroles. However, this wasn't a normal exhaustion/50,000 calorie coma. She called for me in a weak, moaning voice, and said her blood pressure had dropped. She's had issues with BP before. I checked with our BP monitor and it was low, 80/54. I called her doctor's office, spoke to the on-call nurse, she asked some questions, and told us to call an ambulance right away. They took her to the hospital, and I followed behind. We got there around 9. She went right to an ER room. Honestly I expected them to give her fluids (she sometimes gets dehydrated), stabilize her and send us home. Around midnight her BP had not normalized and they said she is staying overnight.
I went home and laid down in a terribly empty bed. I was glad to be so tired so I could sleep.
This morning I overslept and had to go to work before I could visit her. Apparently the doctors are keeping her all day today, which has me truly scared now. Also, my son said he felt like he was going to throw up, and as I was leaving he had thrown up, just a little bit. It's just my MiL at home with them, and she's OK except she's in her 60s and has memory problems and I don't like leaving her all day with two children, one of whom is sick. I couldn't call out of work today because I have used up all my sick days this year from when I was in the hospital a few months ago and we absolutely need all of my paycheck because I'm the only earner for my family. It's been a long day so far and I don't get off until 8pm tonight.
Sorry for the wall of text but I had to put this down somewhere, I don't really know why.
Because you're in a crisis and you're frightened and sometimes getting it down in writing, especially where you're sharing it, can be a little bit like feeling nauseous all day and finally throwing up then suddenly feeling better.
I am so sorry y'all are going through this. I hope they're keeping your wife out of an abundance of caution...I've had that happen to me a couple of times. You have every right to know exactly what's going on and why they're keeping her there. If someone isn't forthcoming when you're at the hospital I'd make myself a nuisance if I were in your shoes, but that's me. I'm inclined to insist upon the why of everything medical - partly out of a sense of wanting to know so I can make informed choices and partly because holy shit time in the hospital is expensive and if you're sick the last thing you or your family needs is a to add any other kind of ephemeral worry, even far fetched ones. I'm grateful you've got your MiL around to help, even if it's tentative help, it sounds like every little bit taken off your plate right now matters.
spool32 and I also have a single income family and have been through nine kinds of hell because of my health and knowing he HAD to go to work, which was especially hard when our three kids were little. If you need or simply want someone to talk to feel free to PM either/both of us. We're a safe spot for venting, and we really, really get it.
+18
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SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
Originally my wife and I were expecting to be invited to my aunt's house because that's what had happened the previous two years since moving to this state. Last year she certainly implied that they'd be inviting us again, but as October gave way to November and the days passed by, no invite ever came. My mom even asked me if her sister had invited us to Thanksgiving, because she hadn't heard anything either. Finally, this past weekend we decided there was no invite coming and figured we'd just relax. It's a 2+ hour drive to my aunt's, and it always involves staying overnight, so this meant we didn't have to do any traveling.
And then at some point on Sunday we decided, hey, let's pick up a turkey breast and make it in the slow cooker. And then it turned into "why not invite a few local friends?" It ended up being the first time my wife and I hosted Thanksgiving at our place. We had 5 people, four of who were a family who are vegetarians. Aside from the turkey, I made creamed corn, my wife made some sort of ginger basmati rice and some other stuff, and the family brought some cornbread and rolls.
It was a good time, and I got to expose the two kids to all sorts of video games they don't have access to. They don't have any game consoles or even a TV at home. I started them off with 2-player Spelunky, moved them on to Pole Riders in Sportsfriends, and eventually got them onto my old Wii's Virtual Console. They were not very good at Contra III!
The turkey came out surprisingly well. One of the kids isn't as into vegetarianism as the rest of his family, so he relishes at the chance to eat meat whenever he can. Surprisingly, his mother broke her diet to try a few bites of turkey. Everything else came out pretty good too. Dessert was a very messy chocolate pie, a less messy pumpkin pie, and some gluten-free ginger shortbread cookies that my wife made.
I could easily see us doing something similar again next year. It was laid back and there was no drama.
This year was the first year in our own place and we hosted. Went off great!
Wet brined turkey with seasoned butter stuffed between the skin and meat.
Sweet potato casserole, your standard fair with pecans and brown sugar topping, no marshmellows.
Squash casserole, which is boiled yellow squash and onion, butter, and a shitload of cheese. Cheese spread on top for a tasty crust.
Stuffing made with sausage. Came out the most perfect it ever has, not too dry, not too wet. Since we made it this year, we cut out the nasty celery.
Gravy made with a home made chicken broth.
Scratch made jellied cranberries.
Fresh made bread from our bread machine.
A tradition with my wife's fam, Banana Fluff. Basically vanilla pudding and cool whip on a homemade pecan crust. My daughter is allergic to bananas, so this year it was just fluff.
Scratch made apple pie. Now this one is interesting. About two weeks ago my wife got a huge sack of over a dozen apples from the farmers market. We ate a few, but not even most of them. They sat on the counter and got soft. Not spoiled or rotten, just soft. We put em in the fridge to make a pie, the first apple pie we have ever made. Day before yesterday I was peeling and coring them. They were soft yet still crisp, somehow? I took a bite of one and OMFG it was the best apple I have ever eaten. It was sooooo sweet and flavorful. The pie (with vanilla ice cream, as international law mandates) was fantastic.
It was me, my wife, our two kids, my wife's parents, and my MiL's brother. We're all very liberal, so political discussion was fun and easy. For the first time, the food was all made by me and my wife, in our own kitchen, in our own home. I can't tell you how pleased I was. Also, that day I had only eaten a spoonful of peanut butter, a few crackers, and some grape koolaid, so by dinner time I was... eager. After dinner everyone was full and happy, and my wife and I were practically glowing with pride.
Unfortunately, that evening things took a turn for the worst.
After dinner, my MiL and her brother were cleaning up. It wasn't too bad as I had been cleaning as we went, but there was still quite a bit. My wife sat down in the living room recliner with her blanket. Naturally she fell asleep as we had been busting our asses for the past two days and she had just eaten half her body weight in casseroles. However, this wasn't a normal exhaustion/50,000 calorie coma. She called for me in a weak, moaning voice, and said her blood pressure had dropped. She's had issues with BP before. I checked with our BP monitor and it was low, 80/54. I called her doctor's office, spoke to the on-call nurse, she asked some questions, and told us to call an ambulance right away. They took her to the hospital, and I followed behind. We got there around 9. She went right to an ER room. Honestly I expected them to give her fluids (she sometimes gets dehydrated), stabilize her and send us home. Around midnight her BP had not normalized and they said she is staying overnight.
I went home and laid down in a terribly empty bed. I was glad to be so tired so I could sleep.
This morning I overslept and had to go to work before I could visit her. Apparently the doctors are keeping her all day today, which has me truly scared now. Also, my son said he felt like he was going to throw up, and as I was leaving he had thrown up, just a little bit. It's just my MiL at home with them, and she's OK except she's in her 60s and has memory problems and I don't like leaving her all day with two children, one of whom is sick. I couldn't call out of work today because I have used up all my sick days this year from when I was in the hospital a few months ago and we absolutely need all of my paycheck because I'm the only earner for my family. It's been a long day so far and I don't get off until 8pm tonight.
Sorry for the wall of text but I had to put this down somewhere, I don't really know why.
Because you're in a crisis and you're frightened and sometimes getting it down in writing, especially where you're sharing it, can be a little bit like feeling nauseous all day and finally throwing up then suddenly feeling better.
I am so sorry y'all are going through this. I hope they're keeping your wife out of an abundance of caution...I've had that happen to me a couple of times. You have every right to know exactly what's going on and why they're keeping her there. If someone isn't forthcoming when you're at the hospital I'd make myself a nuisance if I were in your shoes, but that's me. I'm inclined to insist upon the why of everything medical - partly out of a sense of wanting to know so I can make informed choices and partly because holy shit time in the hospital is expensive and if you're sick the last thing you or your family needs is a to add any other kind of ephemeral worry, even far fetched ones. I'm grateful you've got your MiL around to help, even if it's tentative help, it sounds like every little bit taken off your plate right now matters.
spool32 and I also have a single income family and have been through nine kinds of hell because of my health and knowing he HAD to go to work, which was especially hard when our three kids were little. If you need or simply want someone to talk to feel free to PM either/both of us. We're a safe spot for venting, and we really, really get it.
Wow I had no idea. That's done the most to make me feel better. If other people can do it, good people who seem to have things figured out, then I know things will improve for us.
There is a silver lining to this happening on Thanksgiving: there is absolutely no need for cooking for a few days! I don't want to spend the money on takeout and I'm not the best cook if I'm not supervised (I once started a small fire when making tuna helper by myself).
Tonight after the kids go to sleep I'm going to the hospital, maybe watch some Netflix with my wife. Tomorrow hopefully she gets out, and we can all go to watch Moana, which by all accounts is friggen awesome. Despite the bad, this Thanksgiving is going to be overall a happy core memory, just a bit of blue on the orb.
+13
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FaranguI am a beardy manWith a beardy planRegistered Userregular
The smoked turkey breast went over pretty well last night. And following my other meats recently, it got even better after sitting in the fridge overnight.
Thanksgiving was with the MiL and her family this year. She can be hard to take at times and past visits have become truncated when certain of my wife's buttons were pressed but this wasn't one of those times. Politics and other divisive topics were largely ignored and conversation was focused on trying to find the good things that have happened this year.
That said, the day started out by finding out that our daughter may be splitting with her husband. My wife and I aren't greatly surprised by this but it is still sad since if she goes through with it, that means their two kids are going to have a more complicated life. *sigh*
Food was good. Wife's grandfather is a good cook. The meal he put together was tasty.
All opinions are my own and in no way reflect that of my employer.
Thanksgiving was with the MiL and her family this year. She can be hard to take at times and past visits have become truncated when certain of my wife's buttons were pressed but this wasn't one of those times. Politics and other divisive topics were largely ignored and conversation was focused on trying to find the good things that have happened this year.
That said, the day started out by finding out that our daughter may be splitting with her husband. My wife and I aren't greatly surprised by this but it is still sad since if she goes through with it, that means their two kids are going to have a more complicated life. *sigh*
Food was good. Wife's grandfather is a good cook. The meal he put together was tasty.
It's cold comfort right now, but conventional wisdom is that separations usually are better for the children, even if it complicates their lives because it's better to have parents that are separate but happy, rather together and miserable. My mother did not stay with my father, and I am much better for it.
life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
Reduce some of that down a bunch more, then pour it in ice cube trays and freeze it. Need a hit of flavor, melt a cube into the dish you're cooking!
I'll have to remember that trick. The problem with freezing a plastic yogurt container 3/4 full of stock is that you need to thaw and use 3/4 of a 1.5 lb container of yogurt.
We have a shit ton of mason jars around the house instead of like, Tupperware. They're not sterilized so three of those quarts are going into the fridge.
life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
I aways cook. It usually turns out well. This year my Turkey was dry. It temped perfectly. I put the same stuff under the skin. I cooked it low and slow.
So I posted this on Facebook and I wanted to share it here also because I'd like to think it's uplifting and all that crap but hey maybe it just makes you laugh at what a sanctimonious prig I am. Either way.
"Thanksgiving is an interesting time of year. Frequently it puts you at a dinner table with people you don't see eye to eye with. Occasionally that leads to heated and often uncivil conversation. I got to experience some of that tonight.
It would be easy to focus on the negative aspects of the past few weeks, and the anger, fear, and recrimination we've all been a part of. But on my ride home I decided that I didn't want to continue down that road. So now I'm going to share something that made me feel like there's still hope for all of us.
My father and his wife were set to eat Thanksgiving dinner by themselves this year and asked their church if there was anyone in the congregation in the same boat. There was- an elderly man whose wife died in late November last year was facing his first Thanksgiving by himself. My father and his wife invited this man into their home for Thanksgiving dinner. They could have opted to celebrate their first year in their new house by themselves, or to visit their families up north, but instead they chose to do this.
I am thankful to have a father who makes these choices. I am thankful for having such a measuring stick in my quest to improve myself. I am thankful for my family, friends, and loved ones. I am thankful for all the blessings and good fortune I have experienced in my life. Most of all, I am thankful for the opportunity to get up each day and try to be a better person than I was the day before. I hope you all will join me in this endeavor, but either way I am thankful for your presence in my life."
So I took a jar of that turkey stock over to my friends house so they could make gravy with it for friendsgiving.
It was amazing.
Trade Turkstock for Bigdin?
>yes
Ok!
What? Turkstock is evolving?
Turkstock evolved into Turkgrav!
(I've been playing a lot of Pokemon recently)
life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
My thanksgiving went way better than expected. I was dreading political talk and thankfully there was none. That said. I still had to listen to my relatives tear my aunt down over the cooking. My aunt also constantly berated herself. Yes, the cooking wasn't stellar, but it was adequate. I'm also looking at it from the standpoint of hey..free meal so I'm not going to complain. But I also haven't trusted my uncle's word on food once I realized how to make a steak medium and find out that my uncle hates anything that isn't well done, and just adds ketchup or steak sauce. They are also unable to suppress the urge to comment how they would never drink "that" whenever I have a beer that isn't a budwiser or a miller.
I wanted to contribute to the cooking, but I've finally learned to decode my aunt's message of "sure you can bring something if you want, but no one else is" last year. She got visibly and audibly angry when I made something and I "invaded" her turf. So no more.
After that it was the ritual sit on your ass and watch football all day. I don't care about sports. I don't mind watching some, but after one game ended, they just went right into another. They do this all the time and it's mind numbing. Had to break it up and just go for a walk. They freaked out because they thought it was cold. pfft It was barely under 40 degrees. I don't get it, they pride themselves on how tough they are, and they wilt when it gets a little brisk.
All in all though, I'm relieved I got through it without anyone bringing up the election. Made everything else so much more tolerable.
Oh and cranberry relish is the best, I add a granny smith apple to mine along with the cranberries and orange. I didn't make any for thanksgiving, but I'll have to make some for Christmas.
Due to living in America's Hat, I missed local Thanksgiving due to a conference in the states, and then this one goes by and I'm like "pizza and a couple beers, close enough".
What I'm saying is that on top of 2016 being a shit year on so many levels, I'm zero for two on this whole 'turkey day' thing.
First they came for the Muslims, and we said NOT TODAY, MOTHERFUCKER!
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Waffles or whateverPreviously known as, I shit you not, "Waffen"Registered Userregular
edited November 2016
Family as always starts the political drama/fight debate after dinner was over. While I tend to ignore and dismiss everything my sister says because shes a high school drop out my other family members are partially intelligent enough to create a coherent argument. Overall...
Dad is racist as ever. Hes basically what I feel the average alt righter thinks and says in a private setting. Hes glad Trump got elected because minorities lack the "intelligence" to do good/right in the world. Hes also drinking the alt right kool aide that he thinks climate change is a hoax, green energy doesn't work because it requires massive government subsidies, and that the democrats want to steal all of our jobs. (Citing what Chicago Politicians had done over the last decade)
Brother is my favorite. Hes a walking stereotype of the average millennial. @override367 has had some great conversations with him before and can verify. Hes basically been in school for a decade because he thinks hes too good for blue collar work, lives with my parents, and will most likely never work or be a productive member of society because hes too lazy to get a job. Yet, he votes Republicans and hates those, "dirty libs" because they just want free hand outs and cry whenever life gets tough. I'm not allowed to call him out for his patronizing because hes also very sensitive and needs his safe space to say hateful/ignorant things or else he'll go to his room and not talk to me for a few months. Yay!
My mom while shes informed, she doesn't really admit anything. She The, "But the other side does it too" person. Its really hard to get a vibe off of her. She just tells people what they want to hear.
But on the positive note! After my Dad had his motorcycle accident this year (Rich white folk hit him with his BMW) and he got the full experience with the American Healthcare System, hes starting to shift his view on ACA. Hes angry that he cannot get ACA because he makes too much money, angry that the government is forcing him to get it, (Hes still uninsured), hates how ACA made insurance go up, but acknowledges that it'd be nice to have it because hes having complications from the accident. Oh yeah, he also hates Paul Ryan. Change is slow, but that's progress at least!
/rant off. Woo my family!
Jewish in laws on the other hand. They're more concerned now that with a Trump presidency that we might see a rise in anti-semite sentiment and attitudes in America. They're fearful that this whole fear of an unseen, jewish cabal, might make the average Trump supporter want to do stupid things like throw a brick through their windows or harass them on the street for being Jewish. I think they'll be okay, but there fear over the Trump Presidency creating anti-semite hysteria is not unwarranted though.
Reorganized family one drive, took tailor measurements of family and put them in shared excel file, started registry of model and serial numbers of all appliances, did landscaping, de-rusted and reseasoned cast iron pans, updated computer and phone OS, taught profile sharing, glympse, and useful voice commands. I'd inventory their storage shed but it started to rain. Any informatics projects for winter holidays? I'm kind running into a lull.
Actually, digitizing favorite recipes would be good; just can't decide on a format.
Marty: The future, it's where you're going? Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Posts
That lobster mac & cheese better be there and damn good tomorrow night.
Somehow I still have an awesome story.
My wife works at best buy. They had some kind of deal on iPads, with a limit of one per person. Of course someone wanted two. Totally not someone who is a known reseller. The store employees refused to sell the extra and the woman freaked.
Then she football spiked the iPad. Slam into the floor like a Lonely Island clip, popped the box open, cracked the screen.
The police officer working in the store came over and said "well, I guess you can buy the second iPad!"
That was the first time I ever saw a brawl actually happen in a checkout line. Black Friday's slow death is well deserved.
Dad: Sage, just in thyme for Thanksgiving.
Me: yeah.
...
...
Me: oh fuck you!
This guy, he thinks he's so clever
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
Wet brined turkey with seasoned butter stuffed between the skin and meat.
Sweet potato casserole, your standard fair with pecans and brown sugar topping, no marshmellows.
Squash casserole, which is boiled yellow squash and onion, butter, and a shitload of cheese. Cheese spread on top for a tasty crust.
Stuffing made with sausage. Came out the most perfect it ever has, not too dry, not too wet. Since we made it this year, we cut out the nasty celery.
Gravy made with a home made chicken broth.
Scratch made jellied cranberries.
Fresh made bread from our bread machine.
A tradition with my wife's fam, Banana Fluff. Basically vanilla pudding and cool whip on a homemade pecan crust. My daughter is allergic to bananas, so this year it was just fluff.
Scratch made apple pie. Now this one is interesting. About two weeks ago my wife got a huge sack of over a dozen apples from the farmers market. We ate a few, but not even most of them. They sat on the counter and got soft. Not spoiled or rotten, just soft. We put em in the fridge to make a pie, the first apple pie we have ever made. Day before yesterday I was peeling and coring them. They were soft yet still crisp, somehow? I took a bite of one and OMFG it was the best apple I have ever eaten. It was sooooo sweet and flavorful. The pie (with vanilla ice cream, as international law mandates) was fantastic.
It was me, my wife, our two kids, my wife's parents, and my MiL's brother. We're all very liberal, so political discussion was fun and easy. For the first time, the food was all made by me and my wife, in our own kitchen, in our own home. I can't tell you how pleased I was. Also, that day I had only eaten a spoonful of peanut butter, a few crackers, and some grape koolaid, so by dinner time I was... eager. After dinner everyone was full and happy, and my wife and I were practically glowing with pride.
Unfortunately, that evening things took a turn for the worst.
After dinner, my MiL and her brother were cleaning up. It wasn't too bad as I had been cleaning as we went, but there was still quite a bit. My wife sat down in the living room recliner with her blanket. Naturally she fell asleep as we had been busting our asses for the past two days and she had just eaten half her body weight in casseroles. However, this wasn't a normal exhaustion/50,000 calorie coma. She called for me in a weak, moaning voice, and said her blood pressure had dropped. She's had issues with BP before. I checked with our BP monitor and it was low, 80/54. I called her doctor's office, spoke to the on-call nurse, she asked some questions, and told us to call an ambulance right away. They took her to the hospital, and I followed behind. We got there around 9. She went right to an ER room. Honestly I expected them to give her fluids (she sometimes gets dehydrated), stabilize her and send us home. Around midnight her BP had not normalized and they said she is staying overnight.
I went home and laid down in a terribly empty bed. I was glad to be so tired so I could sleep.
This morning I overslept and had to go to work before I could visit her. Apparently the doctors are keeping her all day today, which has me truly scared now. Also, my son said he felt like he was going to throw up, and as I was leaving he had thrown up, just a little bit. It's just my MiL at home with them, and she's OK except she's in her 60s and has memory problems and I don't like leaving her all day with two children, one of whom is sick. I couldn't call out of work today because I have used up all my sick days this year from when I was in the hospital a few months ago and we absolutely need all of my paycheck because I'm the only earner for my family. It's been a long day so far and I don't get off until 8pm tonight.
Sorry for the wall of text but I had to put this down somewhere, I don't really know why.
Because you're in a crisis and you're frightened and sometimes getting it down in writing, especially where you're sharing it, can be a little bit like feeling nauseous all day and finally throwing up then suddenly feeling better.
I am so sorry y'all are going through this. I hope they're keeping your wife out of an abundance of caution...I've had that happen to me a couple of times. You have every right to know exactly what's going on and why they're keeping her there. If someone isn't forthcoming when you're at the hospital I'd make myself a nuisance if I were in your shoes, but that's me. I'm inclined to insist upon the why of everything medical - partly out of a sense of wanting to know so I can make informed choices and partly because holy shit time in the hospital is expensive and if you're sick the last thing you or your family needs is a to add any other kind of ephemeral worry, even far fetched ones. I'm grateful you've got your MiL around to help, even if it's tentative help, it sounds like every little bit taken off your plate right now matters.
spool32 and I also have a single income family and have been through nine kinds of hell because of my health and knowing he HAD to go to work, which was especially hard when our three kids were little. If you need or simply want someone to talk to feel free to PM either/both of us. We're a safe spot for venting, and we really, really get it.
And then at some point on Sunday we decided, hey, let's pick up a turkey breast and make it in the slow cooker. And then it turned into "why not invite a few local friends?" It ended up being the first time my wife and I hosted Thanksgiving at our place. We had 5 people, four of who were a family who are vegetarians. Aside from the turkey, I made creamed corn, my wife made some sort of ginger basmati rice and some other stuff, and the family brought some cornbread and rolls.
It was a good time, and I got to expose the two kids to all sorts of video games they don't have access to. They don't have any game consoles or even a TV at home. I started them off with 2-player Spelunky, moved them on to Pole Riders in Sportsfriends, and eventually got them onto my old Wii's Virtual Console. They were not very good at Contra III!
The turkey came out surprisingly well. One of the kids isn't as into vegetarianism as the rest of his family, so he relishes at the chance to eat meat whenever he can. Surprisingly, his mother broke her diet to try a few bites of turkey. Everything else came out pretty good too. Dessert was a very messy chocolate pie, a less messy pumpkin pie, and some gluten-free ginger shortbread cookies that my wife made.
I could easily see us doing something similar again next year. It was laid back and there was no drama.
My Backloggery
Wow I had no idea. That's done the most to make me feel better. If other people can do it, good people who seem to have things figured out, then I know things will improve for us.
There is a silver lining to this happening on Thanksgiving: there is absolutely no need for cooking for a few days! I don't want to spend the money on takeout and I'm not the best cook if I'm not supervised (I once started a small fire when making tuna helper by myself).
Tonight after the kids go to sleep I'm going to the hospital, maybe watch some Netflix with my wife. Tomorrow hopefully she gets out, and we can all go to watch Moana, which by all accounts is friggen awesome. Despite the bad, this Thanksgiving is going to be overall a happy core memory, just a bit of blue on the orb.
I thank the fridge elves.
Chicago Megagame group
Watch me struggle to learn streaming! Point and laugh!
That said, the day started out by finding out that our daughter may be splitting with her husband. My wife and I aren't greatly surprised by this but it is still sad since if she goes through with it, that means their two kids are going to have a more complicated life. *sigh*
Food was good. Wife's grandfather is a good cook. The meal he put together was tasty.
It's cold comfort right now, but conventional wisdom is that separations usually are better for the children, even if it complicates their lives because it's better to have parents that are separate but happy, rather together and miserable. My mother did not stay with my father, and I am much better for it.
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
Where did you get the jars and did you seal them with something?
Reduce some of that down a bunch more, then pour it in ice cube trays and freeze it. Need a hit of flavor, melt a cube into the dish you're cooking!
I'll have to remember that trick. The problem with freezing a plastic yogurt container 3/4 full of stock is that you need to thaw and use 3/4 of a 1.5 lb container of yogurt.
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
:?
"Thanksgiving is an interesting time of year. Frequently it puts you at a dinner table with people you don't see eye to eye with. Occasionally that leads to heated and often uncivil conversation. I got to experience some of that tonight.
It would be easy to focus on the negative aspects of the past few weeks, and the anger, fear, and recrimination we've all been a part of. But on my ride home I decided that I didn't want to continue down that road. So now I'm going to share something that made me feel like there's still hope for all of us.
My father and his wife were set to eat Thanksgiving dinner by themselves this year and asked their church if there was anyone in the congregation in the same boat. There was- an elderly man whose wife died in late November last year was facing his first Thanksgiving by himself. My father and his wife invited this man into their home for Thanksgiving dinner. They could have opted to celebrate their first year in their new house by themselves, or to visit their families up north, but instead they chose to do this.
I am thankful to have a father who makes these choices. I am thankful for having such a measuring stick in my quest to improve myself. I am thankful for my family, friends, and loved ones. I am thankful for all the blessings and good fortune I have experienced in my life. Most of all, I am thankful for the opportunity to get up each day and try to be a better person than I was the day before. I hope you all will join me in this endeavor, but either way I am thankful for your presence in my life."
It was amazing.
Trade Turkstock for Bigdin?
>yes
Ok!
What? Turkstock is evolving?
Turkstock evolved into Turkgrav!
(I've been playing a lot of Pokemon recently)
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
I wanted to contribute to the cooking, but I've finally learned to decode my aunt's message of "sure you can bring something if you want, but no one else is" last year. She got visibly and audibly angry when I made something and I "invaded" her turf. So no more.
After that it was the ritual sit on your ass and watch football all day. I don't care about sports. I don't mind watching some, but after one game ended, they just went right into another. They do this all the time and it's mind numbing. Had to break it up and just go for a walk. They freaked out because they thought it was cold. pfft It was barely under 40 degrees. I don't get it, they pride themselves on how tough they are, and they wilt when it gets a little brisk.
All in all though, I'm relieved I got through it without anyone bringing up the election. Made everything else so much more tolerable.
Oh and cranberry relish is the best, I add a granny smith apple to mine along with the cranberries and orange. I didn't make any for thanksgiving, but I'll have to make some for Christmas.
Enlist in Star Citizen! Citizenship must be earned!
What I'm saying is that on top of 2016 being a shit year on so many levels, I'm zero for two on this whole 'turkey day' thing.
Dad is racist as ever. Hes basically what I feel the average alt righter thinks and says in a private setting. Hes glad Trump got elected because minorities lack the "intelligence" to do good/right in the world. Hes also drinking the alt right kool aide that he thinks climate change is a hoax, green energy doesn't work because it requires massive government subsidies, and that the democrats want to steal all of our jobs. (Citing what Chicago Politicians had done over the last decade)
Brother is my favorite. Hes a walking stereotype of the average millennial. @override367 has had some great conversations with him before and can verify. Hes basically been in school for a decade because he thinks hes too good for blue collar work, lives with my parents, and will most likely never work or be a productive member of society because hes too lazy to get a job. Yet, he votes Republicans and hates those, "dirty libs" because they just want free hand outs and cry whenever life gets tough. I'm not allowed to call him out for his patronizing because hes also very sensitive and needs his safe space to say hateful/ignorant things or else he'll go to his room and not talk to me for a few months. Yay!
My mom while shes informed, she doesn't really admit anything. She The, "But the other side does it too" person. Its really hard to get a vibe off of her. She just tells people what they want to hear.
But on the positive note! After my Dad had his motorcycle accident this year (Rich white folk hit him with his BMW) and he got the full experience with the American Healthcare System, hes starting to shift his view on ACA. Hes angry that he cannot get ACA because he makes too much money, angry that the government is forcing him to get it, (Hes still uninsured), hates how ACA made insurance go up, but acknowledges that it'd be nice to have it because hes having complications from the accident. Oh yeah, he also hates Paul Ryan. Change is slow, but that's progress at least!
/rant off. Woo my family!
Jewish in laws on the other hand. They're more concerned now that with a Trump presidency that we might see a rise in anti-semite sentiment and attitudes in America. They're fearful that this whole fear of an unseen, jewish cabal, might make the average Trump supporter want to do stupid things like throw a brick through their windows or harass them on the street for being Jewish. I think they'll be okay, but there fear over the Trump Presidency creating anti-semite hysteria is not unwarranted though.
Actually, digitizing favorite recipes would be good; just can't decide on a format.
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.