Finding Time.

  Oh my goodness! There just never seems to be enough time in the day or night for that matter to write my blog. I will try to make a better effort. Madison is finally getting the rest of her teeth. It seems as if she has had 6 teeth forever, but she sure can eat a chicken wing. I don't know how she manages to do that. Anyways, this makes for a lot of sleepless nights. She has started using the potty. I don't know if she quite understands whats going on because everytime I start clapping and singing the potty song, she looks at me as if I have 3 heads. Madison's vocabulary is also picking up. She says "mommy" quite often. A little too often if you ask me. I am still in amazement at how fast she is growing and developing. Some good and some bad. Today, I took her to the daycare at the gym. She normally has no problem with going but today she laid on the floor and threw a mini tantrum. I just don't have the patience for stuff like that so I just walked out and left her there crying. As soon as I closed the door, I stood there to listen and she stopped crying right away. I didn't know that drama queens developed this early in life.
   So, lately I have been really trying to amp up my workout routine and squeeze in an extra day. So far, so good. I am aiming to lose 20lbs to get back to the fine, sexy me. My weight has always been a struggle for me since I was a kid. My mother even jokes that I used to have to wear the clothes made for "husky" children. In college, my brother introduced me to the gym and weights and I liked the results. I used to be a hot mama back then. Now, I just look like a mama but I am getting back to that slowly but surely. There is this woman that goes to the gym around the same time I go and she has to be a professional weight lifter. Her body is bigger and more ripped than anyone at the gym, man or woman. She always carry around a gallon jug of some brown mixture. It looks like doo-doo water. As she walks through the gym, everyone stares at her. I swear I would take picture to show you guys, but I am afraid that if she caught me trying to get her pic, she would beat me up.
   A girlfriend of mine participates in marathons and everytime she runs one I tell myself that I will start running again, but I never do. In actually, I am a little scared of running in a competitive race. I think I am worried at the fact that people with be watching. I need to get over it because it is something that I really want to do.
   I am so happy the holidays are coming up. My cousins are coming up, so I am happy. This will be the first Thanksgiving I am spending with family in like 6 years. I think the menu will consist of turkey, greens, dressing, mac and cheese, oxtails, pound cake and some other kind of cake. I want to try baking something I never baked before. I am open to suggestions. I am going to brine a turkey this year, but this time I think I going to make my own brine. I haven't tried it, but here is the recipe I am planning on using.

Ingredients

Brine:

• 7 quarts water
• 1 quart apple cider
• 3/4 cup kosher salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large or 2 small carrots, diced
• 3 ribs celery, diced
• 1 head garlic, cut in 1/2 equatorially
• 1/2 bunch fresh rosemary
• 1/2 bunch fresh sage
• 6 bay leaves
• 1 (12 to 14 pound) turkey, free range organic is great!

To brine the turkey: Combine all of the ingredients for the brine in a large container. Add the turkey and let it brine in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.