Thanksgiving: Taken by Storm

I think that would be an accurate movie title, if there were to be one made about the way our Thanksgiving went yesterday.

This being mine and Daniel's first Thanksgiving married, and also our first away from our families, pre-move, we knew it had to be special. So we decided to spend it with our dear friends Nathan and Jill, also transplants from far away and unable to connect with family for the holiday.

A few days before the grand event, Jill calls. Keep in mind that none of us have ever cooked anything "thanksgiving-ish" before. (this is the reader's digest version of the convo):

Jill: "So, what's our plan for Thanksgiving?"
Me: "I dunno...we've always had traditional turkey, cranberry, stuffing, etc..so I'm not sure what else works for turkey day"
Jill: "So you wanna go easy, or do you wanna go for it?"
Me: "I'm up for going for it. You wanna go for it?"
Jill: "I wanna go for it"
Me: "Ok, let's go for it:
Jill: "Ok!"

We decided to go for it. By the end of our phone conversation, I was in charge of the green bean casserole, the stuffing, the mashed potatoes, and the bread. Jill took the turkey, the cranberry sauce, and the salad. Oh, and the house. We had it at their place :)

So yesterday arrives. The night before I had spent an hour in the kitchen doing "prep":

3 onions, chopped. (Daniel cried like a baby, and I was the one chopping the onions)
12 corn bread muffins, baked (for the stuffing)
lots of groceries, including 3 cartons of heavy cream (yay clogged arteries) bought.
recipes, in hand.
supplies, packed and ready to go.

Thanksgiving, here we come.

We arrive at our destination at 11:30 am and come across Nathan and Jill having a hands-on turkey education class. There is a metal "thing" buried deep into the turkey legs holding them together or something, but we need to get it out to clean the turkey and it's not coming out and what do we do? We get pliers. Nathan and Jill get salmonella all over their hands. It is nasty. But in the end, Nathan and Jill prevail over the metal turkey-leg-holder-thing.

Immediately afterwards, we send the husbands to the store for extra supplies. Jill's cranberry chutney had almost a million ingredients, and we needed some bleach cleaner to get the turkey nasty out of the sink. Men out of the house, Jill and I sit down to plan out the day. Our goal? Eat around 6:30.

11:45, turkey in the oven.
12:45, walk to the beach to play frisbee, get lunch
1:45, check turkey, baste if necessary
2:00, eat lunch, commence "Speed Scrabble"--so fun. And I also discovered that eating pomegranates is my new favorite thing. It's so satisfying picking the little juice ball things out of there and eating them. Great. Man, I wish I could post pictures now. They are glorious.
3:30, start the cranberry chutney. More onions chopped, along with 2 apples and some ginger root. Jill is putting in the other million ingredients. Then the chutney simmers.
4:00, start the stuffing and green bean casserole
5:00, everything goes in the oven, start the mashed potatoes and bread.
5:00, is the turkey ready? Check the thermometer. Nope, not ready yet!
5:30, the turkey is ready. It needs to sit awhile.
5:31, the husbands stop playing their carcasonne game and do the dishes. Such lovely husbands.
6:00, rolls go in the oven, casseroles come out. Commence chopping for salad.
6:15, turkey is carved, casseroles on the table, bread in the basket, salad, done!
6:21, everything is not only out on the table, but so are the utensils and plates, our glasses of premium wine provided by nathan's brother Brian, and we are holding hands for the prayer.
6:23, Jill and I pause and look at our table and spread and think, "wow, we did that. WE DID THAT!" but wait, we haven't eaten it yet. Will it taste good?

6:25, we all take our first bites, and immediately think "OH YEAH BABY! THIS IS SOOOOOO GOOD!"

I'm sorry but Jill and I beamed. The green bean casserole was supreme. And it was not the recipe provided on the Fried Onion Strings container, thank you. The mashed potatoes, so creamy, the stuffing, divine. Turkey? Juicy, tender, and the cranberry chutney? A perfect compliment. And it just so happens that Brian is a wine connoisseur so it complemented everything perfectly.

After the initial 'goodness' shock, we then proceeded to stuff our faces. Completely full. It was ridiculous. There were surprisingly little leftovers, but we will enjoy those for dinner tonight. After we had eaten rounds one and 2, we sat and played a game before the turkey lethargy set in. And set in it did. Daniel and I arrived home around midnight and fell asleep with full bellies and happy hearts.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Next year let's have it at my house!

The Dentist's Chair

I had a dentist appointment today. The dentist is not a huge deal for me, now that I've reached my adult years, but it for sure has been in the past.

You know the hygienist who asks you questions the whole time...not yes or no questions, but "What's your biggest fear?" type questions.

And you know the hygienist who takes the big metal hook they use and pretends you are the fish she's just caught for dinner, yanking your mouth around and tearing through your gums...

You know?

Well, enter Mavis, the dental hygienist from heaven. This woman did not cause me one ounce of pain, and she probably gave me the most thorough cleaning I've ever had. And she taught me how to floss properly.
Did you know you're actually supposed to brush your teeth for FIVE minutes twice a day? The average person brushes for a minute and a half.

And on top of that, Mavis gave me a $5 Starbucks card. She told me to go get a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate....I believe I will, thank you very much.

And for being a new patient, I got a mug filled with chocolate. From the DENTIST!!! How cool is that? I can't eat it of course, per our no-dessert regulations, but I mean, a dentist that will hand out chocolate to his new patients is definitely worth a second visit...or even a third.

So all in all my pearly whites are even more pearly than they were before, and I highly recommend Mavis. If we weren't moving next month, I'd want to see her again.

Speaking of moving (how's that for transition?) Our house is now in boxes. And we've still got about 3 weeks to pack, so that's good....wait a minute...we're moving in THREE WEEKS!!! That is so weird! It's going to fly by. Really quickly. We are trying to figure out, currently, how we are going to move across the country. We're selling one car, so we'll have our suv and a truck with our stuff. It looks like Daniel will take the truck and I'll take the Kia and we'll go it separately....all 23 long hours. great.

Daniel is in the process of beginning to look for a job, and he's already begun school, which he is super excited about! If you know of anyone who would like to offer Daniel employment, let me know :)

Well, that's the latest from Proffitteer land. It's amazing how excited my trip to the dentist made me today. I'm telling you, a good dental hygienist is worth getting excited over. My gums are grateful for Mavis :)

If I May Have Your Attention Please

Well, folks, there's no easy way to say this except just to say it. So I'll say it and then give you some background:

At the beginning of December, Daniel and I will be moving to Texas.

What?! You ask?

In July, about 4 months ago, I was approached about a job at Trinity, the church I worked for before Daniel and I got married. The job would encompass everything I am passionate about and want to do with life----leading worship. At the time we were in the middle of summer camp and were not looking to move back to Texas, though we imagined we might end up there at some point in the future. Needless to say, we were a little caught off guard by the possibility of a job I would love to do and a possible invitation back to Texas, home to both our families and a church that we both love.

Over the next 3 months, I kept in touch with the church as things continued to develop with the position. As Daniel and I were praying about the job and what to do, I realized I really wanted the job...and not only that, but to be back in Amarillo. And I really felt like God was saying "This is what I have for you. Go"....all the while recognizing my own desires and dreams to go and fill this position...

In October, 3 months after we initially were approached, Daniel and I sat down with a few Pastors at the church, and they offered me a job...a different job than the one I had originally been approached about, but one that still encompasses what I love and feel called to do--lead worship!

And it boils down to the tons of things God has been doing in both me and Daniel, together and separately, and it boils down to where God has called us to be.

So I have accepted the job at Trinity as the children's worship pastor (not sure exactly what I'll be called), and we will be moving after the first week of December, and I will start work after that.

Our time out here in California has been amazing, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. It has been a defining part of mine and Daniel's first year of marriage, and I am thankful for the opportunity we've had to be apart from the world, out here by ourselves, working together and learning about each other---while at the same time being in a community of people out here who have loved us and been true friends. For us as a couple it is a closing of a season of life in the mountains and the beginning of one on the plains...uncertain and yet exciting, and one that we've been being prepared for. We know God will take care of us, and we know we've got friendships out here that will continue for a lifetime.

For those of you out here in Cali, we will miss you a lot. For those of you in Texas, we've missed you a lot.

If you have questions, let me know!!

love love