Christmas

This year all of my siblings were home for a total of 4 days together. My mom made really excellent food (cinnamon rolls, ebleskivers, turkey, four pies, the list goes on). We had fun opening presents, and going to Duke Gardens. One highlight of the Christmas break was when my dad told my sister's boyfriend to come with him out to the garage, and we all got a panic stricken look on our faces. Was this the whole, let's go polish my gun, routine? I think my dad was just yanking our chain, because he let the rest of us come along to see some christmas lights. Another highlight was getting a manicure with my sisters as a christmas present. I have never done acrylics before, so it was fun to try them out. I am glad that we are all able to travel and be together for the holidays.

The District

I grew up in the suburbs of DC, on the Maryland side. When we moved to North Carolina, we went back to visit a couple of times. But then all my friends went off to college, and there was no one to visit.
My roommate decided to get a job in DC after college, so she lived in the Virginia side for several years. She still has many friends in the area, and goes up to visit a couple of times a year. One perk is that I get to go along with her.
The highlight of driving was arguing whether the GPS was right, since we kept correcting it.
Friday night we tried to find the National Christmas tree, but we arrived too late. So we stopped to see the Pentagon Memorial for 9/11. Unfortunately the signs were not clear, so we drove around the Pentagon and got pulled over because they wanted to know why we were driving around. Don't worry, we didn't get a ticket, but we did learn where to park. And then we walked through what is apparently a restricted area trying to find the Memorial.... another cop, this time on a little golf cart, directed us to the right place. You would think if they have a public access place like the Pentagon Memorial, they would make it easier for the public to get to without risking the security of the Pentagon. It was a cool memorial, but we couldn't find the names on the benches. So I think it warrants another visit. Then we went to a diner, where I got caramel strawberry french toast with cinnamon sour cream. It was good.
Saturday we got up and went to the DC Temple. It started to snow. Then we got lunch at the Olive Garden. Then we went to a ward christmas party. Then we got caramel apple cider at Starbucks. Then we went to see the National Christmas tree. Then we went bowling. Bowling was hysterical. I had a score of 40 until the 8th frame. Then a song my sister likes came on, so I was joking and danced down the aisle, and got a strike! Then I got another strike! Then I got a spare! I was not the loser of the game! I really wish I would have figured out that dancing was the way to win at bowling sooner. Then we went to a restaurant that reminds me of Indian food, but I am not sure that is what it was. It was tasty though, it had a cool cucumber sauce, and pork and chicken, and rice with chickpeas.
Sunday we made breakfast, crepes with fruit and sausage. I made the crepes, and everyone wanted to know how I make them come out so perfectly. The secret is patience. You have to watch the batter to know the perfect time to flip. I credit my dad with teaching me this skill (unless it was you, Mom, in which case, I am sorry I have alzheimer's and can't remember).
Then we went to church, and came home and ate pizza, and hit the road. I have decided all of my vacations revolve around food. As our hostess said, she eats better when we come into town :)

Fried Turkey

A light falls onto a stage with a podium. A beautiful blond walks to the microphone and says

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friends and family for making this possible. Without them, I would not have had the curiosity, gumption, and ability to cook a fried turkey.

She lifts a turkey leg aloft in a cheers gesture



Let's rewind, shall we?
For years, I have been hearing how fried turkey is moist and delicious. I have also been hearing (a la A Christmas Story) you will just burn your house down from my parents. I live close to home, so every holiday season I enjoy the fruits of my mother's labor. She is a fantastic cook, and has the holiday meal preparation down to a science. I truly enjoy her traditional meals. But this year, I was feeling ambitious, so I decided to host my own Thanksgiving dinner, and to fry the turkey. In order to not conflict with family obligations, my roommate and I decided that we would do the turkey dinner for FHE the Monday after Thanksgiving. I enlisted friends to bring sides, and I prepared the turkey and myself following this handy set of instructions.

Thanksgiving was a lovely day in North Carolina, 70 degrees and sunny. We ate outside. Fast forward to Monday.... torrential downpour, gusting winds...... the worst weather to try to fry something outside 10 feet from any structure. I attempted to set up the pot and get the fire going to warm up the oil..... when the lid blew off, and I had to chase it down the street, I was ready to give up. Thank goodness for friends who helped shield the fire, kept the rain out of the oil so it wouldn't splatter, and in general helped me keep my sanity. We were all soaking wet, but it was worth it when we tasted that moist white meat. I will say, if you are a dark meat fan, the dark meat didn't taste any different than oven baking, so I don't think frying a turkey is worth it for dark meat. But the white meat didn't need any gravy at all, so that is totally worth it.



For those of you who are now considering your own adventure into frying, here are some keys to success:
1. Read all the directions, and DEFROST and dry off that turkey so no water hits your oil!
2. Set up the turkey fryer the day before because they do not come preassembled
3. You need at least three sets of hands to get the burner going and the oil in the pot (one hand to hold the lighter, one hand to hold the valves, and one hand to hold the safety button... it is easiest if these hands belong to different people).
4. You must commit to sitting by the pot with a fire extinguisher for the entire 2 hour process. If there are other things you want done at the same time as the turkey (potatoes, other food, etc) you must enlist other people to do those items, as the pot cannot be left alone at all. Ever. This is the main guarantee that nothing will burn down.

I followed all these instructions, and here is the happy result:

Thanksgiving

Speaking of age differences between me and my younger sisters, another family tradition I discovered that was just around when I was young was playing long games of Risk. My dad would inevitably beat us all, but it was fun to try to take over the world (said in the voice of Pinky from Animaniacs).

So this year we introduced my sisters to the crazy world of Risk. Dad did win, and I think my sisters had fun.

How I learned to take over the world

The holidays are a time for family to get together and reminisce. This thanksgiving, two of my sisters were home, and I discovered that because we are 10 and 14 years apart in age, what I consider "family memories" are not necessarily their family memories.

My mom had done a primary lesson where she pulled up pictures from my surgeries. I had two/three/four surgeries between the ages of 7 and 10-ish. My sisters, who were not born yet, didn't know why, so my mom was explaining it to them. I find this astonishing because in my head, the world revolves around me, and of course everyone knows everything about me :) But then I realized that was twenty years ago.......

So I was going to do a blog post about why I had surgery, and give you all these links to medical information..... and then I remembered, I hate remembering! I am the worlds best forgetter when it comes to medical things. I have some place in my brain where I bury this information, and it never comes back out.

What I can tell you is that I have a lymphangeoma, a type of cystic hygroma, aka a tumor. It is not cancer, and cancer treatments will not work. It is a pink sponge like thing, and it is a birth defect that is not genetic. It happens in a small percentage of the American population. Usually surgery is the only way to remove it, and usually you can't remove it all. I have been fortunate that mine has been stable for a long long time. Once, I used to think that medical technology would advance and I could remove it when I was an adult. Medical technology has advanced, but not in this area. So we leave things be.

What I think I remember (hard to say if it is my memory, or my parents conversations over the years that I claim as my own memories):
- Getting M&M's at every doctors visit
- Not being able to talk
- Wearing an eye patch (before Pirates were cool)
- Not being able to sleep without two or more pillows
- Pigs in a blanket
- Driving home from the hospital, and not being used to the noise of my family
- Skipping alot of 6th grade with the excuse "I'm sick".... and a few of those times I think I was just bored.... remember those reading books with worksheets?

The annoying part about having a lump on the side of my face is when random strangers ask me if I have had my wisdom teeth removed. Sometimes I wish I had a straight smile instead of a crooked one, but I am pretty sure the lump saved me from being a blond ditzy cheerleader, so now, I can take over the world!