Killing that Green-Eyed Monster

I was observing our adorable twenty-one year old bartender last weekend, and the most wonderful notion came to mind...I love that I'm not her.

That may seem like a nasty thing to think, but it comes from a place of love and acceptance. Love for this girl I don't know, someone most women are likely jealous of; and acceptance of myself. I used to be this girl, working two jobs to make ends meet, always exhausted but content to pay my own way, constantly happy but completely unfulfilled...I might miss the endless energy and size two jeans, but I wouldn't go back. Asses grow larger, hearts grow more fragile as they get broken over and over. Life deals out continuous tests, and the constant pressure will either crush you, or transform you into a diamond. As I watched her flirt and giggle with co-workers and guests, I didn't feel anger or jealousy; after all, she will always be younger, cuter, skinnier than I; I felt love. My heart reached out to this girl who I used to be.

It was at this same moment that I decided to shed the insecurities I've carried around for years. I'm not proud to say that I can be pretty harsh in my initial judgments of people, especially when those people happen to be younger women. I've wasted time judging strangers and myself, incessantly comparing, silently putting myself down. I spent the first summer in our new apartment complex feeling like a cow because I wasn't the same size as the twenty-somethings running around in bikinis. How silly. Comparing my seeming shortcomings because someone else is thinner? Or younger? Sheesh. My bad habit of snapping to judgments has been unhealthy for my soul, and I'm ready to let that shit go.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, Thank You, bartendress! You have helped me more than you know, I finally feel free.

Forgot about Thanksgiving!

I don't know how I did it, but I forgot to share our utterly amazing Turkey-Day deets! I was browsing through my pictures the other day, and as my mouth began to water, I remembered how I wanted to share this with everyone and anyone with a taste bud in their mouth. This was the second year we've smoked a turkey for Thanksgiving, and it turned out crazy-juicy and delicious...My mouth's watering again!



I don't mean to toot our own horn, but we have gotten damn good at smoking meat. Sometimes we don't get the smoke ring, and other times we don't get that yummy bark, but the flavor is always amazing; and my affinity for BBQ has grown exponentially. To be honest, I kinda always figured barbecue was for hillbillies, and I couldn't get into it. I couldn't have been more wrong (or snobby)! There's something magical about taking a hunk of meat and giving it hours of TLC to produce something that is so...original. You can't cheat with true barbecue. You either do it well and it turns out amazing, or you do it poorly. Matt and I have read about a thousand articles and picked through the many online smoking forums to devise our best smoking practices, and we haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg.

Enough blabber from me! This turkey was better than last year, it had a beautiful dark bark, and was so juicy it was spilling over the cutting board when we carved it. It also made phenomenal leftover "kitchen sink" sandwiches!
Enjoy our Thanksgiving tradition in pictures...


The best sandwich in the world...
stuffing, mashers, turkey, and cranberry sauce...Yum!

Prepping the feast!


I rubbed our bird down the night before with butter, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper,
then stuffed the cavity with oranges and red onion.
Most of this fell out when we moved the turkey from the pan to the smoker (whoops).

Homemade Cards

My good friend Dawn posted this on Facebook, and I was excited to participate. This is simply heartbreaking, but it reminds us what the littlest acts of kindness and creativity can mean to someone else. Why not take a half hour of your time and help make this little girl's Christmas a little less lonely?

From M. Tate Photography...
"There's a little girl in Utah named Addie who is 6 years old and likely celebrating her last Christmas.
Addie was diagnosed with a terminal illness - a kind of brain atrophy.
She and her sisters also lost their father recently.
Addie loves handmade Christmas cards.
If you'd like to send one to her and her sisters, you can send it to:
Addie Lynn & Sisters, P. O. Box 162, Fountain Green, UT 84632."

Here's my card:

Post your homemade card, or send to me via email at morganalebold@yahoo.com, and I'll share them on a future post!
Merry Christmas!

How to Wrap a Skateboard

I do not enjoy wrapping presents. (Does anyone, really?) You have to spend all kinds of money on gift tags, bows, ribbon, tissue paper, and wrapping paper, just for it to look pretty for a couple days and then DESTROYED. It's so wasteful! Aside from that, wrapping gifts is time consuming, and most of us can't seem to get those darn corners just so... Humbug!

I got to wrap a skateboard this year. This caused me a lot of stress, because the perfectionist inside me wanted this gift to look gorgeous. I was doubly stressed because my good friends Google and Pinterest didn't offer any help whatsoever. I looked everywhere online, and found a few people like myself who had posed the question, "How to wrap a skateboard?" on public forums. Poking around these sites, I found the extremely helpful, "Find a big box to put it in." Wow, who'da thunk of something so clever?

My issues were these three: 1) I didn't want it to look like a wrapped skateboard; 2) I wasn't going to be in the house to present the gift, so I couldn't do a neat treasure-hunt design to find the gift elsewhere; 3) this was a pretty heavy piece that would probably break through a box (or so I felt).

Luckily, I date a smarty-McGee, and he noticed my two-day spiral over something seemingly simple. After his obvious statement that the gift doesn't have to be wrapped to perfection; I gave it a stab. And it turned out just fine and dandy! I wanted to share my pictures and experience; just in case some other skateboard-gifter is having the same dilemma.



Wrap the board with butcher paper so the wheels don't poke out of the finished product,
then wrap this butcher paper with your pretty wrapping paper of choice.

Turn the skateboard over so that the wheels face up.
This gives you a flat surface to lift and move your gift!



Turn your corners up and tape to secure the ends.
Decorate with bows and such, and handle with care.
Happy wrapping!

Double-Dipping

Football season means Sunday snacking in my house, and I am always trying to keep it half-way healthy. "Healthy", meaning I don't do bacon-wrapped everything, haha!

I'll chop up a whole array of veggies, cheeses, and meats, and instead of buying a pre-made dip full of mayo and sodium, I like to whip up my own, using Greek yogurt or Light Sour Cream. This morning, I found a few ideas online that I tweaked to our liking. Let me know what you think!

I sautéed in EVOO 1/8 of a small red onion, minced, along with 2Tbs minced garlic, until tender. I then took it off the heat and mixed in a couple splashes Worcestershire and a small handful of chopped parsley. To this concoction, I added salt, pepper, Cayenne, and a whole bunch of dried dill, and let cool. I'm more of a spicy gal, so omit the Cayenne if you're not a fan.

I know I said I'm not a fan of mayo, but dips sometimes need that extra little tang. So I used a couple Tablespoons of mayo, and about 8 ounces Light Sour Cream, and folded everything together. Let this chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, which will also allow your flavors to develop. Then, dig in and enjoy being semi- healthy.

Dad was Right

The magic of music: I fell asleep last night to the soothing sounds of my "Classical music for studying" station on Pandora, and woke up feeling better than I have in weeks. A sense of calm surrounds me, I'm ready to take on the day. I don't even feel like screaming at these terrible drivers on my way to work… Well, maybe just a splash!

My dad always used to tell me that listening to classical music makes you smarter. I don't know if that's exactly true, but calmer? Absolutely. And maybe, in this crazy life that we have, calmer is smarter. Embracing calm allows you to take a step back and focus on what's most important in your busy day, your nonstop life. Being calm allows you to choose your battles more wisely; and gives you time to create a kick ass strategy when you want to go to war. Being calm allows you to act in the best interest of not only your self, but your fellow man.

What could be smarter than that?