November, The Month of Thankfulness

Nov. 1^st – I am thankful for friends and family who take my love of Halloween and quirkiness for what it’s worth and love me anyway.

Nov. 2^nd – I’m thankful for discount veterinary clinics and the hope of quiet in my house again.

Nov. 3^rd – I am thankful for a husband who lets me watch Vampire Diaries and Secret Circle without too much mocking.

Nov. 4^th – Feeling very … Bleh, meh, ugh, grr, today. I am very thankful that it is Friday, even if I don’t get to sleep in tomorrow.

Nov. 5^th – I am thankful for Musicals that make me smile.

Nov. 6^th – I am thankful to be an Auntie today. Even though I can’t have kids of my own I am surrounded by little people who allow me to love them.

Nov. 7^th – I am thankful for an extra hour of sleep that helped me to get to work on time.

Nov 8^th – I'm thankful for Facebook for hooking me up with old friends, distant cousins, and family who don't live close enough to hug.

Nov. 9^th – I am thankful for having a job. I may not like it all the time, but at least I have one.

Nov. 10^th – I'm thankful for Pie... even though I don't get to have a piece until very late this evening... Hurrah for Pi Day the 314th day of the year.

Nov. 11^th – I am thankful for Veterans. I am thankful for the men and women of the armed forces who give their time, and lives, to help keep me safe and protect the freedoms that I have. I’m thankful for my friends and family, past and present, who have chosen to serve their country.

Nov. 12th – I’m just thankful to be me.

Nov. 13^th – I am thankful for my warm bed on lazy snowy Sundays.

Nov. 14^th – I'm thankful for good books that stir the imagination and help me believe in the unbelievable.

Nov. 15^th – In honor of "I Love to Write Day" I am thankful for my own imagination. I'm thankful that I have the ability to put words to paper and tell the stories that dance through my brain. I'm thankful to be literate and for the people, authors, teachers, and friends that have inspired me to be a writer... even if I'm the only one who ever reads what I write.

Nov. 16^th – I'm thankful for the comfort of knowing that death is not the end. I'm thankful for my belief in eternal families and for the knowledge that I will see those who have passed again.

Nov. 17^th – I am thankful for my ability to cook. This may not seem that impressive to some, but to others it is quite a feat.

Nov. 18^th – I'm thankful for a silly husband that can make me laugh until I cry... even at six-thirty in the morning when I'd rather be sleeping.

Nov. 19^th – I'm thankful for my family. Each member is special to me for many reasons. I'm lucky to be a Pears AND an Evans.

Nov. 20^th – I'm thankful for naps today. Long ones. In warm spots. Next to someone I love.

Nov. 21^st – I’m thankful for relief society sisters who, even though they haven’t seen me for nearly three years, welcome me with open arms.

Nov. 22^nd – I'm thankful that ten years ago today my best friend asked me to marry him, and that I said yes.

Nov. 23^rd – I’m thankful that 48 years ago today the most awesome television program was released on to screens in the UK ushering in one of the greatest and long running science fiction shows ever. Thank heavens for Doctor Who.

Nov. 24^th – I am thankful for time spent with the people I love.

Nov. 25^th – I'm thankful for quiet time.

Nov. 26^th – I'm thankful for long weekends used for laying around, sleeping in and being able to get thing done in my own time.

Nov. 27^th – I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and his teachings. I'm thankful for the person I am because of what I have learned and the examples of Christ I have in my life.

Nov. 28^th – I'm thankful that my two best friends also happen to be my sisters.

Nov. 29^th – I'm thankful for co-workers who I can laugh with and sometimes call friends.

Nov. 30^th – I'm thankful for my health. This last day of November completes the first full month of me not being sick (knock on wood) since July. I'm grateful for the medicines, doctors, hot soups, warm drinks and cozy beds that help me feel better.

Eating with Liz 2011 - Cheesy Chicken Soup

Here's your recipe for the week.

 

Cheesy Chicken Soup

2 chicken breasts, cooked, diced

1 pkg. Bear Creek Chicken Noodle soup mix

8 oz pkg. Velveeta Cheese

 

Follow directions on Soup mix package.

Add chicken and cheese. Simmer, stirring often, until cheese is melted.

 

Crispy French Bread

½ loaf French bread

Butter

Warm bread in oven until crispy. Cut in chunks and serve with melted butter

 

Sliced Apples w/ Peanut Butter

1 apple

Peanut butter

Thinly slice apples and top with peanut butter.

 

Soup was the easy choice for dinner last week since John was sick and chicken noodle sounded pretty good. I was just going to make the chicken noodle soup, but John said just to do the recipe and get it over with. So I did.

 

What I did differently:

I only used 8 oz of Velveeta cheese. I changed the recipe above to reflect this. It originally called for 16 oz, but after making it with only 8 oz. I think that an entire pound of Velveeta would have been TOO MUCH. It was good with just the smaller amount.

 

This was so easy to make and it's pretty good.

Heads Up! The Bear Creek soup mixes make a lot of soup.

 

Movies: The Month of Musicals

Guys and Dolls (1955) - This is my favorite musical by far. I think it may be the first musical I really remember seeing live, as preformed by Davis High way back in the 80's. The movie version of this is spectacular. There is nothing not to love about the story, the main characters, the actors. What a great combination. I think this also may have something to do with my fascination with gangsters.

Brigadoon (1954) - Neither of us has seen this before. It was a good movie with a great story. I'm really glad this was picked as one to watch I may add it to my favorites. Gene Kelly is a very talented man. The story covers a man who got lost hunting an a town that only appears once every 100 years, and a woman who falls in love. Very sweet. Yes, there was a bit of silly dancing, but not as much as there could have been. The story moved pretty quick and it was over before we knew it.

Anything Goes (1956) - Cute movie. Very predictable, but that's a given for some musicals. John and I both enjoyed this... yes, there was a bit of interpretive dance, but not as much as there has been in others. Two partners in a production each pick a leading lady... but there can only be one. On the trip from England to the US, love falls on everyone and problems are solved.

How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967) - There was something about this movie that neither of us could stand. I think it was the main actor, he was really annoying. As the story goes, a man reads a book about succeeding and proceeded to rise very quickly in the company, making friends and enemies along the way, all culminating in his rise to being a member of the board. We have both seen this production live and rather enjoyed it for the most part, but it seemed that sitting through the movie version was some sort of punishment.

 

 

Non-Musicals ...

 

The Tudors: Season 1 (2007) - I had wanted to watch this for the last few years, but could never bring myself to obtain it. Now that its available to watch for free with my blu-ray player and Amazon Prime I figured "Why Not?" Well, this show is full of sex. Lots of it. But beyond that I have learned a lot about the history of England, the church of England, and Henry the VIII - both the fictitious stuff on the show and the real stuff that we have googled because of the show. It's al very interesting, minus the nakedness of it.

Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series (2011) - We're finally caught up with the current Doctor Who series. We've suffered through this year listening to our friends and family talk in hushed tones about what was going on in the Who-niverse, and now we know. Discussions, and Matt Smith bashing may commence. And yes, that means that I still don't like him as the Doctor. This season did have some really good episodes though, and we laughed, and I cried, and it was over all too soon. This is such a great show.

Doctor Who with Tom Baker (1978) - We watched the following episodes:

    The Power of Kroll: Parts 1-4

    The Ribos Operation: Parts 1-4

    The Armageddon Factor: Parts 1-6

They all involve gathering the pieces of the key to time. Unfortunately the blu-ray and Amazon don't have the complete story arch of this to watch for free. but it's pretty entertaining none the less. I miss K-9, and I really dislike Romana. She is an annoying Time Lord and I'm not sad at all that she was lost in the time War.

Eating With Liz 2011 - Pumpkin Bread

In the spirit of the season of harvest, I have made the following item for my new recipe this week:

Pumpkin Bread

1½ cup Flour

½ tsp Salt

1 cup Sugar

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 cup Pumpkin puree

½ cup Oil

2 Eggs beaten

¼ cup Water

½ tsp Nutmeg

½ tsp Cinnamon

½ tsp Allspice

½ cup Walnuts (optional)

preheat oven to 350o.

Sift together flour, salt, sugar and baking soda.

Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, water and spices together, then combine with dry ingredients, but do not mix thoroughly.

Pour batter into a well buttered loaf pan. Bake 50 - 60 minutes until a skewer poked into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Makes 1 loaf.

This recipe comes from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook that I have talked about before. I love this book. This bread turned out really yummy.

I actually forgot to add the oil, (I find I do that a lot recently,) but the bread still turned out really good. I'm not sure what the point of oil in a recipe is for, but apparently forgetting it isn't detrimental to the entire recipe.

What really inspired me to make this bread? The tupperware full of pumpkin puree I had in my refrigerator. A while ago I made some pumpkin cookies and the recipe only called for ¼ cup of pumpkin, but as we all know canned pumpkin does not come in small cans, so I had a ton of pumpkin left over. I had been trying to think of what I could make with the extra puree… and I decided that bread was a good idea.  I had enough left over pumpkin to make two batches.

I didn't add the nuts. Yuck! And like I said, I forgot the oil, but it is pretty yummy.

I baked this for 50 minutes and I think that was just about right for my oven. The edges of the bread were actually starting to get a little crusty and browned so I pulled it out just in time.

Movies: The Month of Musicals

John hasn't seen a lot of the classic musicals... and it turns out I haven't seen as many as I thought I had. November has been designated Musical Month and that is what we have been watching.

 

Singin' In The Rain (1952) - Interpretive dance... Ugh! For the most part this movie was pretty good. It dragged on at times, but for the most part is was alright.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) - What a fun movie. I hadn't seen this version for years and I love it.

The Music Man (1962) - Love this version of the movie. Robert Preston is my favorite Harold Hill.

Annie Get Your Gun (1950) - I hadn't seen this before. It's a bit cheesy but it has a lot of familiar songs in that I had never known where they had come from.

Oklahoma (1955) - I know this is supposed to be a classic, but neither of us liked it. It was too long and convoluted. Neither of us can stand interpretive dance. This is full of it.

Captain America (2011) - What? This isn't a musical? That's what I said, but in our rationalization John convinced me that there *is* a musical number in it so it is semi appropriate for musical month.