Fried Turkey with Sweet Potato Balls!

(Let's get this straight...the turkey and the sweet potato balls were separate...never attached.)Woo Hoo! What a great Thanksgiving Dinner! We were with friends and have so much to be thankful for this year. There were no cooking mishaps or rodent run-ins today. Thank you.
I made the mashed potatoes and the sweet potato balls (Paula Deen recipe) and they were YUM! I also made my cranberry salsa and these Turkey Cuppies on a stick :) Thank you Bakerella for the inspiration! I hope everyone had a blessed day. We are happy, healthy, my mom is in remission from chronic lymphocytic leukemia, we had plenty to eat and came home to a warm house. God is good to us and always knows what we need, even if we think WE know what we want is best.
This is what a deep fried turkey looks like. Tim was in charge of the bird...
These are the sweet potato balls--there is a marshmallow in the middle!

Cindy's mom was visiting from Indiana and made 2 pies and the gravy!
Curt had the responsibility of carving the bird!
These are my attempts at cupcake bites. The turkeys enjoyed a Thanksgiving Day watching the Macy's parade, a Dog Show and a football game.I can't believe I didn't take more pictures! It was a great stress free day. Thanks Cindy & Tim for hosting a great dinner!

One year later....

I didn't think that last Dec. 2007 would be my last race for an entire year. That is when the Dermatomyositis started to kick in and let it's presence be known. I ran the Jingle Bell 2 mile and had so much fun, but as December turned to January and then into February, everything started to get a little squirrely. I was getting run down. My arms started aching. I had these bumps on my knuckles that wouldn't go away. I started slowing down in my boot camp routine. No amount of rest really refreshed me! A little un-nerving to say the least! Anywho...a year later, many pills & prayers later...
...I finished a 5k last night in 32 minutes. My friend, Jennifer, who ran with me, encouraged me the ENTIRE race. God love her. She is so upbeat and tried to keep me distracted! We ran the entire race and finished, but not before I crossed the finished line with the verse, "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me." However, I would like to add in..."and with the prayers and love of friends and family." Whew and AMEN.

Triatharat & Predestination

Did you know that rats are awesome swimmers? Get back, Michael Phelps, we have your competition right here, Mr. !! Yeah, I never thought about it either until last week. Our Jack/Rat terrier, Ella was barking at something in the pool one night last week. Me: Another frog, no doubt. Ella! Be quiet!!!. Ella: Bark! Bark! BARK!!!! So out to the porch/pool I go and turn on the pool light. Me:EEEEE! It's a snake! Ella get the hell away from that...no wait...IT'S A RAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTT!!! People...let me tell you, it was doing some serious mogating around our pool using it's tail as a propeller(I should say--flagellate) and sticking it's little ratty nose above the water like a pink snorkel! Honestly, it looked like a giant sperm swimming for it's life. Well, I dash back into the house trampling the rest of the family as they were running to see what the screaming was all about. I grabbed my video camera and start in with the filming while curt was thinking of a way to get it out of the pool. He wanted to dip it out with the pool net and "Ratapult"' it over the fence into the neighbor's yard, but that was kyboshed by Sam, our Animal Right's activist. Will thought the rat would have a great ride and story to tell his Ratty friend's---"Free work-out and carnival rides over at the Niemeier's". By the time the rat had made it's 3rd lap,with Ella nipping at it's nose, I had taken moving and still pics and Curt had retrieved a live rat trap from the garage. On the way to making a 4th lap, Curt scooped the water loving varmint up like he was scooping sugar from a sack.

Notice the Rat tail sticking out of the trap door...EEEWWWW!
Ella thought Christmas had come early. Alas it was not to be.Curt packed said rat off to the Presbyterian Church about a mile away. I thought the rat would be good with that outcome... After all, maybe he was Presbyterian and all of this was predestined. :)

Love Stinks

When you love your friends, you will do anything for them. Especially when they call you for rodent removal advice and especially when they sound desperate. Apparently, we are now "experts" in rodent removal since we have had a bad case of Rats. Cindy calls last night--whispering--"I need some advice. I think there is something alive in my dryer vent hose!" I said, "Well, pull out the dryer and lift the hose so the 'thing' will scramble back out."
Cindy: "NOOOO! I am standing on a stool looking over the back of the dryer! I am not getting that close!" Me: (trying to be supportive yet not enabling) "Gee..wish I lived closer so I could come over and help.." Cindy: (squeals) "It moved!! and there is a little rip in the dyer tubing!!" Me: Where is Tim?? Cindy: At Youth group at church. Me: Alright. I am coming over.
So with rat cage and a miniature baseball bat in hand (for effect), off I went. Long story short, I went outside holding the cage up against the vent HOLE (no cover on this, people) and Cindy banged the dryer tubing and turned on the dryer. Well, he must of thought Christmas had come early, because he didn't budge. Me:'Turn off the dryer and bang on the vent again, Cindy.'
Picture this, she is perched on top of the dryer with a broom partially covering the ever enlarging hole in the tubing, and a mop banging the poor creature to move on out of his personal sauna! I am standing outside with a flashlight between my legs holding the cage handle with one hand and the cage trap door with the other. Well, disrupted, the animal comes scrambling out of the vent, into the cage. I can't get the door down and am hollering at Cindy that "I've got it!!!" Well, it has enough of that and realizes where it is, does a 180 and back into the vent it goes, but not before it let me know that it was indeed NOT a rat, but a POLECAT as we call them in Arkansas. Commonly known as a SKUNK. Back into the house I go, crawl on top of the dryer and bang the Bejesus out of that tubing so Skunky evacuates AGAIN and is Gone Daddy Gone out into the cover of darkness. PEWWWWWW! Cindy lights big vanilla candle and leaves it in the laundry room checking it about 15 minutes later she says, "I think the smell is gone!" Sniffing the air I observe, "Not unless it has been replaced by a Vanilla scented skunk fart." Needless to say, I had to 4 bag my jeans and shirt and put on a pair of Tim's big orange basketball shorts. I stopped by church on the way home and wielding my mini-bat, gave Tim a hard way to go re: home maintenance and rodent prevention. Do you know what he had to say in his defense? "Hey, those shorts look pretty good on you!" Those shorts look pretty good on you too in the pic below... :)

This is Tim checking out the skunk sich. (as in situation)
What is going on here???? I hope the gentle cycle is on...He owes me big. I am now praying over my favorite jeans and soaking them in Hydrogen peroxide, dish soap and baking soda. *Sigh* I love my friends. They really give me good blog material. OK maybe Good is too STRONG a word...

Catch up...

If not keeping up with my blog is any indication of how I have over scheduled myself... Woo..did it to myself, but October was a fun month! Definitely not complaining. It's been full of Arkansas visits, musical, Pumpkin Carving Party, Rock Band Competition, Pampered Chef Party, Will's Halloween Party and into November with my 45th Birthday!! Crammed a year of parties into October and hopefully will not feel compelled to do that again too soon! Oh, and did I mention RATS again. Heaven help us. Although our Jack Russell/Rat Terrier is feeling like she now has a purpose. Our cat, however, knows that his purpose is to stay on the bed and sleep through it. There ya go. My mom returned home from her treatment in Houston and is tired, but doing well. She is scheduled for treatments on Thanksgiving and again on Christmas. What are the chances for that? Geez.
Anyway, I feel so blessed to have friends and family. I spent my birthday EATING :) After church about 20 of us dined at a new Deli in town complete with Carrot Cake at the end! Last night after making dessert for the youth group at church, they all stood and sang happy birthday to me and my friend, Jeannie and Craig presented me with a delicious piece of chocolate cake from the "Olive Garden". When we returned home. Jen, Mal and Casey came down bearing angel food cake and fruit and b-day presents! Wow! what a day! Bloggers were sending best wishes all day and I was receiving texts as well! How fun for me! D and Anonymous D sent me fun monogrammed gifts AND a bag of chocolate chip cookies this week too! Of course I didn't wait until my birthday to open the package! No way! Curt and the boys gave me a virtual bike with a basket on the front. I need to go pick one out! Quite a change from my Trek road bike from a few years back! Think Ella will ride in the basket like Toto???!!
Here are pics from this month!

Will and the female lead in The Music ManI just like this pic and thought I would throw it in---The 3 D's!

OK..this is what happens when you spray paint in the garage and don't wear shoes. It actually makes a heart if you can get past the black feet!!! Ewwwwww! I always end up spray painting something before the Halloween party! This time it was the server in my dining room!

Sam's friend and Sam on Halloween

Halloween Curtains that I made while visiting my parents in Arkansas

Cupcake bites! I am addicted to making them! OK almost over the addiction now...

I was glittering everything I couldn't effectively spray paint including this skull and bones! Everything is better when it's shiny ya'll ...

Pumpkin carving party!

Jack-O-Lanterns

Jen, Carol and Shana

Those crazy Moore kids!!!

Will's Halloween party!
Will as "Snake". I think he is "sneaking" at this point...

Ella "ratting out" a rat...to no avail...

Will doing his best British "Rock Star" imitation with my (now vintage)1980's Sex Pistal's t-shirt