I’m so incredibly upset because I don’t feel like I have enough time to enjoy the holidays. It’s quickly becoming a big, big problem in my mind. Like, is my job really worth all of the mental anguish right now? All signs are pointing to a big NO.
Don’t get me wrong… I love my job and my co-workers and most of the customers. I realize I am very lucky to have a job to go to every day. But the money isn’t there. The promotion isn’t there. I deserve both and I don’t think I’ll get them. In fact, no… I know I won’t get them. I’ve chosen loyalty over money and it’s becoming emotionally crippling.
I was off for Thanksgiving, but I worked the day before and again after for Black Friday. This means I couldn’t go out of town to have Thanksgiving with Jeremy’s family. I don’t even have any upcoming time off for us to do this – not even any time around Christmas. Jeremy will simply have to go alone at some point. I have got to get out of retail. I deserve better than this.
I made a whole Thanksgiving spread by myself (okay, Jeremy made the green bean casserole). I’ve never done this before. I mean, I have always made part of or helped with the meal but never done everything. Needless to say, I didn’t really know how much food was too much. I think I kind of went overboard. Just as well – my Grandmother always did too.
I cooked a 15 pound turkey for just 2 people. Hey, it was all I could find when I finally got the chance to go Thanksgiving meal shopping on Monday! I also made macaroni and cheese from scratch, cornbread stuffing from scratch and smashed potatoes. Needless to say, there’s plenty of this left over…
The turkey turned out beautifully although I think I slightly under cooked it perhaps. Neither of us have gotten any stomach problems and anything that seemed like it needed it, was cooked again in a frying pan for yummy sandwiches.
I’m super unhappy with my macaroni and cheese. I promised Jeremy “Mac n Cheese so good, you’ll slap yo momma” only to deliver dry, macaroni pie – which I despise. I got sidetracked while making so many components and while I meant to leave the dish in the oven only long enough for extra cheese to melt over the top, I left it in too long and it turned into dry, macaroni pie instead of the super creamy and delicious mac n cheese I usually make. Major bummer.
I made corn bread stuffing. I’ve never made it by myself before. It turned out alright. I helped make it a lot as a child and while it was certainly not my Mother’s… it was a good start. I now know how to make it better for next year.
I don’t know what happened to the mashed potatoes. They were disgusting. The texture was slimy and weird. I’ve made smashed, red potatoes probably 100 times. Every now and then, something goes amiss and I get the dish we had for Thanksgiving. I wish I knew what I did wrong.
Did I mention that I did all of this while suffering from the flu? Yup. I chose the worst time of year to get sick – the same week as Black Friday. Rock on.
That is why I haven’t blogged all week or been present on social media. I have been sick. It really has taken a toll on me. No, I don’t have “the ebola” no matter how many times I have horribly joked with Jeremy that I do.
How was your Thanksgiving and please… give me your secrets to cooking a Thanksgiving spread. I spent nearly 6 hours cooking and I found I was too tired to even eat a plate of food!
I can’t believe you did any of that while having the flu! Definitely be proud of that for sure, even if it didn’t all turn out the way you were hoping. I don’t cook my whole spread on my own – my dad and I work together in the kitchen. My only tip is really make ahead what you can. I prep both my green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole the night before so I have less to do day of. Other than that, it’s roll with the punches! This year, both my dad and I entirely forgot about making mashed potatoes until it was literally time to sit down and eat. We laughed, shrugged, and got over it haha!
I can’t believe I did either. It took me a good 5-6 hours of fairly steady cooking. I’m not even sure how or why it took that long.
I made the corn bread the night before. I wasn’t sure what exactly could hold up in the fridge over night without it changing the outcome. I think I could have made the corn bread stuffing and had it ready to go without a problem. The macaroni n cheese is a “the day of” thing for me because I like it to have a creamy texture. Maybe the green beans could have been done early. I don’t know. I’ll have to try that next year.