What is Pinterest?

Well, I'm going to be finding out hopefully soon...but until then, I saw this on the site & loved it, so I thought I'd share it with y'all.  I'll be posting a new recipe soon, so until then...

...y'all be blessed beyond measure!
~ashley

Traditions

This year was the first year ever we haven't hosted Thanksgiving.  It was a little wierd but also very nice.  We had a wonderful time in Tupelo spending time with Hopson's family.  Hopson's oldest brother, wife & 3 children live there.  Their 3 children are the same ages as Hoppy & Harry, and it is a hop, skip, and a jump for Hopson's parents to drive to have dinner with the family.


The basic ingredients

My sister-in-law, Sandy, is a wonderful cook.  (she also sets a beautiful table!  Southern Living needed pictures of her table.)  We had a lot of oh so delicious, traditional foods:  turkey, dressing, different vegetable casseroles, cranberry sauce, rolls, and of course, various desserts.  Because we didn't host this year Hopson didn't get one of his favorite dishes:  German Potato Salad. 

In the almost 18 years we have been married, he has always had German potato salad with Thanksgiving.  I know what you're thinking...German Potato Salad for Thanksgiving?  Hopson asked for it when we were first married, and to be the wonderfully sweet newly married wife I was, I fixed it for him; and it became a tradition.  To make the fam's Thanksgiving complete, I made them the GPS today.

After I added the German vinegar

Today while I was cooking, Harry totally cracked me up.  You need to know that Harry LOVES bacon.  He would eat it with every meal.  So, I'm cooking the onions and bacon, and I had just added the German vinegar, which will clear out your sinuses if you get a little whiff of it, and Harry says:  'Oh, bacon!'  He popped a bite size piece in his mouth & immediately spit it out with a 'UHG' sound.  He asked me what I put on it to make it taste that way.  I just giggled and told him it was the vinegar.  He said it scared him & ruined a perfectly good pound of bacon.  Crazy Harry, he makes me laugh. 

Everyone one else was very excited.  So with our leftover turkey, homemade mayonnaise, and veggies, we now have some German potato salad.

Y'all be blessed beyond measure & War Eagle,
~ashley

The final product

Oh Sweet Success

Yea, third time's a charm!  Here's the finished product...

My MeMaw's homemade Mayonnaise

I didn't even wipe the bowl to make it pretty, because I'm hungry & am going to eat!

Blessings!

~ashley

Really? Really...

Yes, really!  My goodness, I'm frustrated.  I've made my MeMaw's homemade mayo 1000 times, at least, and for some reason I've tried twice today to make it & both times it has turned back into oil.  Do you have any idea how frustrating this is for me?  I just want to bang my head against the wall.

I've been finishing up the Christmas decorating so everything can get to the right temperature. (this is crucial to the making)  The tree has the pre-requisite 5 million strands of lights, the tables are festive, the last few doodads are out, and I just need some homemade mayonnaise for my food.

I think I'm being impatient.  It's like I'm learning to make it all over again.  I think the day I learned I went through at least 8 eggs and 8 cups of oil in the process.  One wrong move and the whole thing will fall.  It's quite tedious.  We have leftover turkey, dressing, and sides from yesterday that are screaming for homemade mayo.  The fam is asking for it too, and I so want to give it to them.

I'm also reliving when I made a cake out of a box and it fell.  Yes, I know you're wondering how that happened, but you know I don't like to measure anything...so that's pratically how it happened.  I can't remember it all, I'm blocking it out, but I don't think I used my mixer either. I found out much later that a cake needs air to help it poof in the oven.  It would help if I had read all the instructions...duh.  Baking is frustrating.

Well, I'm going to check my bowls, because it's getting close to dinner time, and we're hungry.  I just realized I didn't eat lunch because I was waiting on homemade mayo.  Oh well, here goes nothing.

If it turns out this last time I'll post a picture at the bottom of this post.

Merry Christmas & y'all be blessed beyond measure,
~ashley

Ahh, Brotherly Love

When ever the older boys want something from Hopson or me you can always tell because they start with:  "Oh great and wonderful mother, who is wise and kind..."  I just start giggling, what do you expect me to do?  I usually know what they're going to ask, depending on the time in the year, but I love it when they agree on something and they both (or all 4) will come to ask me something.

Last night I received such a request.  Since they were not doing anything in school, they humbly asked to be checked-out from school today.  I promise Harry needs to be an attorney.  I start thinking about if it's a good idea to check them out & he has 5000 reasons why I should.  8 times out of 10 I will initially refuse their request, but I hesitate millisecond & you can see the hopefulness on their faces.

calling shotgun

I gave in & checked them out, I mean, they really weren't doing anything.  We went to get Henry from school since Elizabeth was coming home from a granddaughters trip to NYC.  I ended up taking all the boys out to lunch.  As you can imagine, when I'm driving, riding shotgun is a premium.  Harry didn't necessarily call it, but he ran and jumped in the front seat to lay claim to it.  Now, I'm not one to stir, but I asked Hop if he was going to allow his younger brother to sit in the front.  The result was hilarious.  They were scuffling and laughing, I was laughing & trying to get a picture that wasn't blurry.  I love it when my boys get to rough-house and laugh. 

Yes, I said I like it when my boys rough-house.  I let them throw balls in the house (but please be careful of my lamps), run, wrestle, and whatever else boys like to do. (bodily functions are not excluded, but time and place please)   When they're out in public or at a friend's house I expect gentlemanly behavior, but a man's home is his castle, so I have 1 king & 3 princes who have marked ever inch of this house.  Elizabeth & I just shake our heads; laugh at their antics; and remember to check the toilet seat before we go to the bathroom.

I hope you all have a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving!  We're going to Tupelo to have dinner with Hopson's oldest brother, his family, and my in-laws.  I know I will have TONS of stories.  When we all get together, craziness ensues, but there's lots of laughter.

Y'all be blessed beyond measure,
~ashley