O Tannenbaum

The Christmas spirit has hit me. I have been shot with the Christmas fairy arrow. I began the day downloading my Christmas music onto the iPod- Charlie Brown Christmas, Cartoon Classics Christmas, Nat King Cole Christmas. Now all I need is some TV Christmas Classics and I'll be set. Hell, I may even change my blog template to something more 'festive'. Today I will head over to Kmart to load up on Martha Stewart Christmas decorations. While she may be in jail, she still knows how to make a mean Christmas ball.

And hopefully tonight I will get my Christmas tree. Providing the bodega on my block got their delivery in. Can't beat $20 bucks for a 7 footer!

turkey!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving to all. Hope everyone is fat 'n jolly!

We went out to the dreaded Long Island on Wednesday night. Dave & I decided to do the turkey this year to ensure a juicy and yummy bird. We did not dissapoint. Boy was that bird good. We did the brine the night before and soaked it overnight. I woke up at 8am, could'nt sleep with all the pressure of making my first bird a success. Washed and stuffed it with herbs, apple, cinnamon and onion. Roasted it for a half hr on 500 degrees. It burned a tiny bit on top but it was no biggie. Continued roasting for another 2 hrs at 350 and it was done. Dave inserted the thermometer and we took it out at exactly 160 degrees. Perfect! I think the perfect bird had three things going for it:
~ fresh turkey, not frozen
~ brining and stuffing with herbs
~ taking it out at precisely the exact moment the breast hits 160 degress. KEY!

Dinner was great. David's Mom made amazing stuffing using turkey sausage. Mashed potatoes were also great. And of course my Opa's famous gravy. Thanks Mom!

The rest of the weekend was spent desperately trying to figure out what to do. I really don't know how people live in the suburbs. We cleaned the basement. Went to Marshall's. Took Gramma to see Finding Neverland. What a great movie. Johnny Depp is amazing. Such a touching story. I hope it gets the praise and audience it deserves.

Left Huntington on Saturday and headed for Islip for my cousin's annual Garbage Christmas. This is the one night a year where we exchange garbage. Got some old shoes with holes in them? Perfect! An old coffee machine that doesn't work anymore? Bring it on! Of course my cousins have been doing this for years so they really put some thought into it all. The gift of the night was from our cousin Andy to David & I. It's pretty dirty. Let's just say it included some sexy lingerie, a "Muff Mining Co." helmet and a "prostate tickler" device. Hilarious! We also received some lovely skiing outfits.(see picture) Shaina and Matthew joined in this year and it was a great evening. David gave away his beloved 5 foot long paintbrush (see picture) and various other bizarre items found in the Rotstein basement. What a goldmine that place is!



Dave & I in our ski suits and his 'Muff Mining Co' helmet, complete with goggles and flashlight!


Dagmar & Andy and their newfound treasure

Avenue Q

We went to see Avenue Q Sunday night. It was David's anniversary gift to me. It was great. Loads of laughs. I was surprised at how 'adult' the puppets were. They curse, they drink, they have sex. And unlike Bert & Ernie they are not afraid to come out of the closet. John Tartaglia was the highlight of the cast. I was constantly looking back and forth from the puppet to the actor. I highly recommend. Although I do think its more 'Off-Broadway' than Broadway, good for them.

Christmas Wish List 2004

~~Buffy the Vampire Slayer-Complete DVD Collector's Edition (available Dec 14th)~~

~~Playstation 2 (new design)~~

~~Grand Theft Auto-San Andreas~~

Bubba on ABC

Clinton is on tonight at 9PM on ABC. I love watching him. Even when he's all skinny.

cooking

I have been cooking every night this week. This is unusual because usually I cook maybe once a month, if that. But I've just been in the mood. David's been loving it. Now all I need is a real kitchen to cook in. It is so frustrating when you only have about a foot of counter space available, and all of your pots/pans are stored in your oven. I can't wait to move and hopefully get a place with a real kitchen, not a corner of your living room devoted to a kitchen. This weeks meals were:

Monday-Grilled salmon with roasted rosemary baby red potatoes and asparagus

Tuesday-Shake n' Bake chicken legs, roasted rosemary asparagus, mashed sweet potatoes

Wednesday-Fresh pumpkin tortellini (from Fresh Direct) and a butter sage sauce. So freakin' good!!!

Food Network is a life saver and I've also been watching Food TV when I get home from work and am cooking up dinner. I feel so domesticated!

letter to Santa

I just received my letter from my NY Cares child. It made me cry.

Merry Christmas
Dear Santa,
My name is Tracy and I am a 11 years old girl.

My wish for X-Mas is for the world to have love, peace and happiness.

I hope that when you come you will visit me and bring me a littlle gift so I can play and share with my friends.

I would like the Disney DVD Scene It game.

God Bless you for your kindness.

Wishing you a safe and sound Holiday.

Thank You,
Tracy

What a sweet child. I wish I could buy her the world. But I will start with the Disney game.

Cummings

We received a strange message last night on our answering machine. It went something like this...

Hello, um, this is Cummings and my number is ###-###-####. Uh, I have a copy of the New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge and there is a red sticker on the front. I would like to give this as a gift to someone soon and what I need to know is, if I take the sticker off, will it destroy the cover? Please give me a call back. Again, my name is Cummings. Thank you.

What? Are you telling me this guy bought a book. Didn't like the sticker, so he looked up the designer's name in 411 and called his home? He's not even in the same state. Did he not even think to maybe call the publishing house? Did he not think that maybe its a bit rude or too personal to call somone at home? Granted he did sound elderly, but come on! He needs the essential guide to manners!

Mojitos

Pretty dull wknd. On Friday we finally saw Matrix 3. Zzzzzzzz. So freakin' boring. What a waste. They should have stopped at the first one. Then we watched one of the most unbelievable Buffy episodes ever-Seeing Red. So emotionally charged. Season 6 is a real emotion jerker.

Saturday David was headachy so we stayed in for the day. Saturday evening Eric came in and we went out to celebrate his passing of his medical exam. Dr. Postal, Dave and I went searching for the right place that had a mix of good food, drink and fun. Tried Mama Mexico on Broadway but the wait looked to be at least an hr. Headed downtown to Astor place. Loaded up on delicious Beard Papa cream puffs and then went over to La Paella. But the wait was 2 hours. 2 HOURS!!! Are you on crack? So we strolled around looking for something in the East Village, freezing our asses off. Finally found a great Peruvian place Mancora. The place was cozy and had the perfect atmosphere. We ordered Papa a la Huancaina, octopus salad and ceviche. Soooooo good. Had amazing mojitos, best I've ever had. They're served with a small stalk of real sugarcane. Minty, limey, sugary, rumy goodness. They really hit the spot. The place is awesome and I highly recommend. Pretty cheap too. Finished off the night at our place with a couple round of James Bond 007: Nightfire multiplayer. Eric is very competitive but I was able to squeeze in to 1st place once or twice. He's a wreck when he gets his hands on a big gun.

Happy Anniversary to my purple monkey!

Today I am 1 year old. How time flies.

Secret Santa

I just signed up for NY Cares Secret Santa. At the same time I read Rachel's post I got an email from a co-worker on the same thing. So I signed up. A few of us did. While I won't be getting the kid anything pricey (Go Rachel!) I will get them something nice (and affordable). While I am a person who cares, I am also a broke person.

Revenge of the Sith

I finally watched the teaser trailer for the new Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. It was awesome. I love the blend of the old stuff from New Hope and the new stuff from Episode 3. Everytime I hear Darth Vaders heavy breathing I get chills. Such a great sound. I hope he doesn't screw this one up. So far it looks promising.

I touch the fire...

I am obsessed with the musical episode Once More, With Feeling from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When I go to sleep I sing it, wake up in the middle of the night-singing it. In the shower-singing. We are watching it at least once, sometimes twice a night. I downloaded the soundtrack and can't stop listening. And Spike. Oh my. I am now thinking Spike it hot. It's amazing how much of a hold on me this show has. I wish it would never end. There's nothing like it.

Eminem

Powerful video from Eminem. Gives me chills. He's so amazingly talented.

my sentiments exactly

shock and awe

I am still in shock and some denial about what happened yesterday. I cannot bring myself to watch the news or look at any pictures of that smug asshole.

I bought a new videogame last week, Pikmin 2. I realize I will now completely throw myself into that world in order to escape this ugly reality that is upon us. I will alternate btwn Pikmin and Buffy. That's a nice, cute, safe world where the only threat is ugly vampires. But Buffy will take care of them. I bet she's a Democrat.

I can't believe Kerry conceded so early. The votes aren't all in yet. Yes, it is a sliver of a chance that he'd win. But still. It's all we have. Damn Democratic party.

Devastation

I can't believe this. I can't sleep. My head is throbbing, stomach upset, mind all over the place. All I think about is what could possibly happen to this country over the next 4-12 years. Women's right to choose. Hell no. Gay rights. Nope. Social Security. Are you kidding? Health Care. Nope. More war and fucked up foreign relations. Yep.

It's a crying shame that people in this country don't realize the impact their vote for Bush has. The thought of the Republicans controlling the House, Senate and White House is nauseating. How could this happen? Please let there be a recount.

Un-fucking-believable.

going home

I am going home now and I am incredibly nervous about tonight. Dave & Matthew want to watch at a bar but I have not desire to. I want the freedom to switch channels and cry into a pillow if needed. This is such a big night. A huge night. I feel like I'm not ready, even though I've waited forever for this. I hope we can do this.

GO KERRY!

I did it! I voted and I was grinning from ear to ear. What a glorious day.

Suspense

I can't stand it. The suspense is KILLING me. I'm all jittery and sweaty and nothing else is on my mind. NOTHING!

The Green Bay Packers won which has for some reason made me feel even more confident that we will win this and that asshole will be out of the office forever!

GO KERRY!

Village Halloween Parade

Had lots o'Halloween fun at the Village Halloween parade last night. Although there was way too much pushing and shoving by jerks around us, we managed to enjoy it to the fullest. Not as much smart political costumes as I had thought there would be though.