I Survived Black Friday

I survived Black Friday, did you?

No, I didn't go out in the middle of the night to fight the horde. I went to work. My job as an Administrative Assistant, is to set up the break room and monitor meal breaks for our employees on Black Friday. Each one is given a 20 minute break, on company time. Isn't that fabulous?

The problem is there are so many of us on Black Fridays that I'm forced to become the Break Room Bouncer.

Now, I've been called the Terminator, Eliminator, Office Guru, among my many other hats, but only once a year do I get to be the Break Room Bouncer. Woot! It's a touch job, but someones got to do it, right?

While I'm appreciated on many levels for my break room etiquette and prowess (at least I think I am, LOL!), the gang knows I'm timing each one of them as they come back to eat what our boss has graciously ordered and had sent in. (Yes, my wonderful boss orders a fabulous meal for our gang every year. We've had Olive Garden and Dreamland BBQ, two years running. Though I didn't vote for the Banana Pudding this year, bah humbug! For those who don't know it, Dreamland has a spectacular Peach Cobbler and drat! I had been really looking forward to it.)

But I digress, because the one thing I really wanted to talk to you about was surviving Black Friday. We did, thanks to great food and morale. But what I wanted to get at were your ideas on the earlier store openings throughout the nation this year.

Walmart, Target and a few other places like Toys R Us opened between 9 p.m. on Thursday night and 12 a.m. on Friday morning. Our opening hours kicked it up a notch, 30 minutes earlier than scheduled. And the majority of mall stores opened between 5-6 a.m., when just years ago, stores opened at the earliest by 6 a.m.

Now, as a retail employee, my concern for these earlier openings goes to the employees who have to cut their holiday with family short just to man the stations, as it were.

Does this upset you? Have we become a nation set on putting capitalistic gain over the very holidays created to bring our families together?

Black Friday gave our economy a great big boost, just as it does every year. My fear is economists will promote an upswing in our economy that will lead to false comfort on the economic front.

What do you think? Do you shop on Black Friday? Or do you take the time to enjoy your loved ones, perhaps even decorate your Christmas tree ?

The Devil in the Details

I want to like the TV show Hart of Dixie. The basic premise: When a New York City born and bred surgeon is fired for lack of bedside manner, she relocates to a small town in Alabama to practice general medicine in an effort to hone her people skills.

I want to like this show so much that I continue to watch it every week. And there are some things that I do like about it. There are some great characters. There is some serious eye candy. The light plot lines are entertaining.

If only they had a southerner on the writing staff. Or even a consultant.

Here are the problems:

• They had a heat wave in late October that was so bad they were tripping breakers and running around wringing wet. No. Not in October. Not even in Alabama.
• The local women dress like it's the 1950's.
• These same women wear white shoes in the fall.
• And flowery hats—at night. That wouldn't happen.
• The Founder's Day parade had a float with Crimson Tide AND a War Eagle on it. The same float. Give me a break.
• There is a woman old enough to be my mother active in the Junior League. No. No. No. She would be a sustaining member. She would not work on projects, go to meetings, or hold an office.

What makes you want to stand up and scream, "Why can't you get it right?"

Happy Thanksgiving

I know everyone is busy with Thanksgiving today so I am just going to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving!

  Here is a bit of Thanksgiving sparkle to enjoy!

Cranberry Jezebel Sauce

This is one of my absolute favorite Thanksgiving recipes. Really, it's pretty much a staple at my house, but Thanksgiving is the time when I stock up on cranberries and freeze them so we can have it year round. It lasts for months. Not only is it good with turkey, it's great with pork or on a sandwich. Pour it over a block of cream cheese or a wedge of brie for a quick hors d'oeuvre. Or is it an appetizer? Is there a difference? I'm going to look that up, but it's going to have to wait for a day when I'm not trying to make Thanksgiving happen.

From all of us, have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Cranberry Jezebel Sauce

• 1-Cup Water
• ½ Cup Sugar
• ½ Cup packed brown sugar
• 12 ounces of fresh cranberries
• 3 Tablespoons horseradish
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
  

Combine water, sugar, and brown sugar in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add cranberries. Return to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon into a bowl. Let cool to room temperature. Add horseradish and mustard. Mix well. Cover and chill.

Serve with meat, on turkey sandwiches, or pour over Brie or cream cheese and serve with crackers.

Reinvent Yourself & Give Thanks

There's a lot of confusion in the world today. If you haven't heard, all you have to do is turn on the news. Politics, the economy, the lost art of patience, dwindling morality and thinly veiled dignity, all play a definitive part in keeping the most humane experiences from reaching the mortal soul. Add the holiday season and a person could become completely undone.

Take the fact that towns across the US have put up holiday decorations way before their time. Holiday music is already playing in stores across the nation as preparations for Black Friday commence. (Shiver me timbers!) Though I work for a retailer, and I know the importance of THE DAY OF DAYS, the crowds, harried customers, and the push by companies for consumers to spend, spend, spend, squeal loudly like a pig trying to maintain its balance on a spinning puzzle piece.

When is enough, enough? Commercials spin the idea that no one will be satisfied unless they receive a car for Christmas. A car? Seriously? In this economy? Have CEOs everywhere lost their minds? If you don't believe me, check out reruns of the American Music Awards and watch JLo's performance. Yes indeedie, the car from her commercials was sharing center stage with her. Was I the only one who thought that was strange?

Does the picture of students getting sprayed with pepper spray just for 'sitting' in protest of increased college tuition ring any bells?

Where does the mania end?

This is nothing new. Long ago, Pilgrims survived a perilous journey across the sea only to be forced into the wilds of a new land with little to sustain them. That they made it through winter came via change, enlisting the aide of a new people, learning better ways to live, and putting those skills into action.

After spending the past two years in pain and the past three months recovering from a surgery that took that pain away, I'm living in a new world, mateys. A clearer world where simple things have become favorite things.

It's amazing how much we take for granted on any given day.

As Thanksgiving approaches, give thanks for what you have because I guarantee you have more than you can possibly imagine if you have good health, people who love you, a roof over your head, food to fill your belly, a machine to get you to and from work, and last but definitely not least, friends to help make each day better than the last.

Change is good. Pilgrims initiated a change that brought this country to life. Are you afraid of change? How can you reinvent yourself?

Live. Laugh. Love.

Happy Images

Just as I have words I love (epiphany, amber, Victrola) for no discernible reason, there are images that made smile every single time.

Among them:

• An oozing with testosterone man playing the piano
• A Christmas tree tied to the roof of a car
• A high school football team running onto the field
• Snowmen
• Jack-O-Lanterns
• Toddler arms reaching up to me.
• Glitter on anything.
• Lightening Bugs at twilight
• Gingerbread boys

This week, my godchildren provided me with images of two major blessings. They will make me smile for all time. And cry a little too.

Baby Girl had a baby boy. Here he is with Little Baby Girl. I think I can get Baby Girl to let me dress him up like a Gingerbread Boy. Yeah.

Precious Angel got an early nomination from West Point. Here he is with his wonderful parents. You may remember them from this blog as Godson's Mom and Godson's Dad. Note he is wearing an Air Force t-shirt. Probably, I will not be allowed to put glitter on that nomination or the leather cover it came in.

What is making you smile these days?

Melanie Dickerson Shares a Recipe

We are very pleased to welcome our friend Melanie Dickerson back to share a recipe with us.

In honor of my new release, The Merchant’s Daughter, and its setting of rural England, I’m going to share my famous scones recipe. Okay, it’s only famous at my church, but still. And you have to eat the scones with the Devonshire Cream and a little bit of strawberry jam, or whatever jam you prefer. Mmmm, yummy. (I know cranberries and pecans aren’t really English, but close your eyes and imagine you’re eating them in a castle in England beside a gorgeous hero with a British accent. That should help you forget.)

Cranberry-Orange Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/4 teas. salt

1/3 cup cold butter or magarine

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 teas. grated orange peel

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. whipping cream, divided

Jam of your choice

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add apricots, pecans and orange peel. With a fork, rapidly stir in 1 cup whipping cream just until moistened. Turn onto a floured surface; knead 5-6 times. Divide in half; shape into a ball. Flatten each ball into a 6-in. circle; cut each circle into eight wedges. Place 1 in. apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush with remaining whipping cream. Bake at 375 degrees for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Devonshire Cream

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

¼ cup confectioners’ sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup whipping cream

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually beat in enough cream to achieve a spreading consistency. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.

Note: Amounts are approximate. Add sugar to your own taste. [I always add extra sugar! Enjoy!]