Cooking my First Bird

Happy Thanksgiving!  Silly me, I thought I would post some time yesterday.  I don’t think I sat down all day other than when we ate dinner, much less had time to blog!  How was everyone’s turkey day?  Mine went fabulously.  The bird turned out great and I definitely think I burned off maybe a third of all those calories!  I played a lot yesterday and I am so sore this morning.  When did I get so old that I wake up with sore shoulders and hips?!  But let me rewind.

On Thursday morning, the alarm went off early because we had a 5K race to go to.  I definitely remember Justin saying “Why in the world am I getting up early on a holiday?  Much less to run.”  But run we did.  It was so foggy and chilly yesterday morning.  We got to the race, gained my brother-in-law, did packet pickup and then tried to figure out where the start was.  We were all shocked how crowded this race was.  I just went and checked and the website said they had over 2,000 participants.  It was PACKED.

And foggy.

The race went well. It was probably the hilliest 5K I have ever run, and I ran 5K’s all through college while living in the mountains.  It almost felt like the race directors went on a mission to find the hilliest route that he could.  The whole first 1.5 mile was uphill, then we did some rolling hills and then another long uphill.  At no point did I think I was running on a flat ground.  And then the final mile was on this very small footpath.  2,000 people fitting on a footpath that fits people 2 wide can get a little difficult.  But we all made it through unharmed.  The final .25 miles had another fairly steep uphill and then a good down hill.  My knee decided at that transition to no longer wanted to work.  Cold weather + uphills/downhills=pain.  I ended up telling the boys to go on ahead and I walked that uphill.  I then attempted to sprint as fast as I could on the downhill to the finish, trying to catch the boys.  I didn’t.  I came in around 30 seconds slower than they did.

I finished in 29:28. The former me would have been very very upset by that time.  I used to always aim to go sub-25 on a 5K.  The new, less perfectionist, recovered from 2 reconstructive knee surgeries, me has decided I like to enjoy a 5K.  I like to enjoy running around with Justin, being outside and just simple running.  And in my heart of heart, I really can’t complain about running a 9:26 pace.  That is still quite good, or at least, good enough to make me happy.

After the race, we headed home and had a great breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage.  Then I was go-go-go working on Thanksgiving dinner.  I don’t think I ever knew how much work went into cooking that meal.  I literally worked constantly for about 6-7 hours straight.

We had 2 turkeys.  One that was brined and baked in the oven, the other that the boys did outside on the smoker.  Advice to all women out there that have a lot of men in their family that get anxious on holiday days while you are trying to prep:  If you happen to own a smoker, buy them a $10 turkey and let them have at it!  I never saw Justin or any of the other men all day.  No nagging or asking when we were eating.  They were all working on the bird.  It was amazing.  Like the best shiny toy ever!

After I had gotten most of the food prepped and turkey in the oven, I headed outside to join the “kids” (+ a neighbor) for a game of football.  Maybe not the best choice for the chef to leave for 1.5 hours in the middle of Thanksgiving preparation but it was a day to be happy and enjoy, right?  And I wanted to play football.  We planned to play out in a field but everything was way too wet and had standing water, so the alleyway we went.

Nothing safe about playing on asphalt but no major injuries.  A few tumbles and maybe a skinned elbow, but all went well.  My team won!  We played for a little over 1.5 hours and never slowed down.  It was run, run, run.  No wonder I am sore today!  A 5K and then 1.5 hours of 3-on-3 football.  Like I said, at least I made a little dent in my caloric intake yesterday!

After football, I headed in and finished prepping food (made potatoes, finished stuffing, etc.) and got my first shower of the day!  Felt a little embarrassed that the hostess had to leave in the middle of the party to get dressed, but I was busy playing outside and cooking.  I don’t think anyone mind and I surprisingly clean up well.

And then it was time to toast!

And how did the birds turn out in our battle of the sexes?

My bird:

The boys bird:

The were SO different in flavor but I would say they were a tie.  The smoked one was much more moist but the baked one had a lot of flavor from the brine and everything it was baked with.

Justin, being the man of the house, got to carve his first turkey.

I served food buffet style because there was simply no room on the table for the food.  We were already crammed in the dining room pretty tightly!

Lots of wine, food and fabulous conversation to be had!

I was already STUFFED but I still shoved a piece of pumpkin pie with bourbon-spiked whipped cream in my mouth.  And I loved every single bite.

I have to admit to the fact I crashed after dinner.  I came over to the couch, with my extremely full belly, and curled up with a blanket.  I may have snoozed once or twice while Justin and other’s helped clean up.  I was VERY thankful for all of that help and felt a little rude for sitting down but I was exhausted and my body was screaming at me to stop.  I went to bed fairly early and had a wonderful night of sleep.

Now I need to finish cleaning up of the house–putting away all those dishes, laundry and the floor needs a desperate cleaning!  I think my mother and brother are going to go to Udvar Hazy today (the really really cool new Air and Space museum that is near my house) but I need to stay around the house and attempt to get it back in order!  I also would like to go to the gym and get a swim in.  Must get back on a routine! I am too sore to do anything but swim.  When did I get so old that I get sore?!

I hope you had an equally memorable Thanksgiving!  This is what it is all about!

To Smile.