Turkey Day Turned Rib Day

It was just us this year with Adam's oldest sister. We did nothing fancy but concentrated on the food instead. I got all the shopping done a week ahead of time (I love it when I don't procrastinate!) And food prep started a day before and the morning of…it was truly a stress free day.

We like turkey but we've never had an AMAZING turkey dish—so we decided to eat something we could get a little more excited about. We decided on ribs—surprisingly enough we've never made them before.

I know, I know…posting pictures of thanksgiving food on a plate is soooooo cliche…and even worse when it's not styled. But hey. I want to remember what we ate so here we go.

• Tamarind Baby Back ribs - from Food and Wine AMAZING. Recipe Here.
• Sweet and Spicey Coleslaw - again, pretty good! Recipe Here.
• Corn on the cob
• Baked Sweet Potatoes with browned butter marshmallow sauce for the Mr and Sister.
• 20 Minute Buttery Rolls (I don't know how they got that name, they take more like an hour and a half)
• Strawberry Pretzel Salad - another tradition for the Mr and Sister which consequently I really like too.
• And a multi flavored root beer pack to choose from.

Dessert included your choice of
• English Apple Pie with sweetened cream. Recipe Here.
• Coconut cream pie with pat in the pan shortbread crust.

What are we thankful for this year? Adam mentioned a good job. As did his sister. Yes. We are very grateful for jobs. Without them so much would be different. And it's nice to have a job that we can "stand". And I recently I have been feeling thankful for good teachers in my past—and good examples I have to look up to in my present. These things help shape us and I am grateful.

So….we ate. We watched a couple of Christmas movies, had dessert and then sent Sister home with a ton of leftovers. (Who consequently couldn't thank us enough for doing ribs instead of turkey, score!) Later Adam said he couldn't help with the dishes because his stomach wouldn't allow his arms to reach the sink! Bah hah! So we did clean-up the next day.

Vegetarians

October was a little different for us. We decided it might be "fun" to go vegetarian for the whole month. (We kept eggs in the diet and got rid of milk.) I have to say it was actually quite easy. Neither one of us noticed any significant changes in the way we felt or in our waistlines. I'm sure if we'd done blood pressure and cholesterol levels there would have been changes though, impossible not to have been.

Unfortunately, I was way too busy to have any energy to plan new vegetarian dishes, so we resorted to a lot of familiar food. So, I kind of want to have a do-over. (Of course that's silly, we can eat vegetarian whenever we want. Heh.)

We made it all the way to the 25th, then the night before Adam's race we splurged and got meat on a pizza and of course that killed it for the rest of the month. And again, I personally didn't notice much of a change after we started eating meat again. (Digestion WAS much easier when we weren't eating meat.) So, that's it. Just wanted to record this somewhere for when Adam can't remember when we did this or for how long. (Because I have a perfect memory and don't forget anything. Ever.)

What spawned this idea in the first place? Adam saw Forks over Knives for the first time…there's some extremely compelling data laid out. Watch it and see if YOU don't consider the vegetarian lifestyle even just a little bit.

Modern Sliding Barn Door

Ultrim Finishes was hired to put together a sliding barn door. Firstly, they assembled a 9 x 4.5 foot frame with wiring to keep everything tight.

They used straight white pine and cedar boards for the paneling, and lots of brads and wood glue. The corners/edges were mitered for a nice finish. So yes, the beast is double sided.

Now the fun part. The client wanted a weathered/distressed look but didn't want to pay for reclaimed wood. To make new wood look old, the guys would have scraped and beat up the wood with hammers and chains, but the client didn't want that at all. So we (yes, I got to do a little) experimented with some faux painting/staining techniques—which like true artists we totally made up.

Lastly, the door received two coats of Polyurethane matte coating.

The next day the guys delivered the door. The client hadn't seen it in person yet, so everyone was nervous. But as soon as the guys unwrapped it she loved it! No changes necessary. So they spent all day installing it. The door is so heavy I couldn't even help lift one side. But on this track, the client could easily slide it back and forth with one arm.
(Sorry, the image is taken with a camera phone so it's a little distorted and unclear.)

And now you know what's been happening into the late nights in the garage the past few weeks.

Making the Switch

The hubs finished his last day at Lockheed Martin this Wednesday. The job was certainly a blessing and was definitely the right move to make when we did. (I don't know if we mentioned because of the economy crash Adam was watching is construction company whittle away to almost no-one, which worried us. So when the job at Lockheed presented itself we felt urged to take it.)

Anyhow, we will miss the every other Friday off and the three week vacation plus two week Christmas vacation *sniff. And although Lockheed has it perks it also has the pitfalls of old fashioned thinking/management and with that comes the impossibility of moving up in the company unless you've had tenure—which is so backwards to me. If a company wants to survive it's not about seniority! It's about rewarding forward thinkers. Rewarding—thus encouraging—those who put effort into making the company successful. But that's government for you, and that's why Lockheed has a problem retaining this generation.

Well, Adam is ready for more responsibility—more opportunities for growth.
He's going back to Key! It sort of just "happened" through casual conversation with the secretary and kablam! His old manager unexpectedly sent him a text saying Adam would be a perfect fit for a position opening up. It's so nice to be wanted isn't it?

He's off taking his drug test this very moment and his first day back is Monday! Back to construction! And I have to say, he is very excited to be back in it. When we were discussing the switch it came down to him being able to do something he likes. I say, if it pays the bills—go for it! I am so happy to have him in my life. And it is exciting to see what he is doing with his.