Coming Up For Air

It is DEFINITELY that most wonderful time of year when we all feel like we are running around with our heads chopped off trying to get it ALL done. Aaack!

This was a 'Fischbeck' year for Thanksgiving, so we headed up to the cabin in Pinedale on Wednesday night to start the preparations. Of course I had already started my 'Martha' preparations and had been brining my 24 lb. turkey since Tuesday morning. The Thanksgiving meal is the ONE meal start to finish that I got down pat. And I don't mean to brag or anything, but you have NEVER tasted a bird as yummy and moist as my 'martha stewart, brined, cheeseclothed, butter basted, roast turkey'!

Wednesday night we stayed up til midnight making about 12 pies---YIKES! Cheesecakes (3), pumpkin (3), pecan(2), coconut cream (1), oreo icecream (1), apple crumb(1), and a few berry. Then Thursday morning we began the task of preparing EVERYTHING from scratch for the Thanksgiving feast. This was the first Thanksgiving year that we actually had lots of helpers in the kitchen so Mama Maurio and I did not have to everything. But I still was on the turkey, the stuffing, the sweet potato casserole, and I helped teach Tara how to make rolls.

The meal was FABULOUS!

These were taken as Court was carving up the Turkey! Again, if you look at him with that knife (that looks like it is ready to slit my throat btw) he seriously looks like a serial killer!



But I did NOT want to miss out on some smokin' Black Friday sales, so we actually packed up the kids Thursday evening and made it home about 11:00 p.m. I then hopped out of bed at 4 a.m. to go brave Wal-Mart. I don't want to give anything away to a certain person that lives at my house, but lets just say that the cashier at the Apache Junction Walmart price matched me a deal that gave me an item normally priced at $129 for $59---MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME (glad I bought two of them!) That alone made the early drive home worth it. I stopped by a few more stores before heading home, and then we spent the rest of the day getting all the Christmas decorations situated. Last year I got smart and bought small trees on clearance AFTER Christmas. That way each of the kids have their 'own' tree and don't feel bad about my always putting their decorations on the backside of 'MY' tree---I did tell them that their decorations were so important that I wanted them on the side by the window so people driving by could see them! But it is so fun that they each have their own tree in their rooms as their 'festive' nightlight for the season. Each year I am certain that Laetner will have grown out of how overly excited he gets about anything do with Holidays from Halloween onward---but I am here to report that his spirits have not dampened in the slightest! WOW !


On top of the normal holiday craziness I was insane enough to agree to work a show with Marc Denton and play in the orchestra pit for CGCC's production of a Christmas Carol. If you have never seen the show in a musical version (written by the same guys who did Beauty and the Beast) I highly recommend it. But EVERY night this past week (including two matinee performances on Friday and Saturday) was spent sitting on a piano bench playing all sorts of crazy sounds. But now I feel I can really start focusing on the holiday season. Which of course means there will be a mad dash figuring out gifts, and putting together holiday cards, and getting those all mailed off.

Sometimes it is so hard to get into the Christmas Season ya know! The kids and I sat down to watch this movie...

I really, really like this movie. I love how they portray the relationship between Mary and Joseph. But we were almost done with the movie when Laetner turns to me and says, "I thought this movie was about Jesus. Where is Jesus?" I had to explain things a little better than I obviously had done. But if you have never seen this one---it's worth it.

Here's to hoping we all get into the Christmas spirit this year.