Technology

1. I am up early today. My husband is now wearing a C-PAP to help regulate his sleep apnea. Last night was his first night wearing it. So I can sleep better than ever. Except it makes a noise like a room humidifier. It's not bad, and much better than the alternative -- listening to him stop breathing and counting the seconds until it gets to 25 and then nudging him back to breathing again. That'll keep a person awake!

2. I am the proud owner of the new Blackberry Storm. I stopped in last Friday to exchange my phone and old blackberry since they were both at the end of their contract. I knew the Storm was coming out that day. I didn't expect to be #85 in line for the 105 units that the store received.
Long story short, I was one of "those" people who waited in the line (at least they served coffee and donuts and kept us warm despite the snow). So many people showed up nationwide to buy the darn things that the whole Verizon system crashed and they couldn't process any sales or set up any units after the first 20 or so. So after waiting 3+ hours I headed off to some meetings and returned later that day, and was one of the few who left that night with the new unit up and running.

It's great. Taking some getting used to, but pretty awesome. I'm glad I stuck with Verizon and didn't jump ship to get an iPhone. This is way better. And Verizon does have better service. At least where I travel.

P.S. Thanksgiving planning is coming together. More on this tomorrow.

turkey day menu

A note about the paella. Mine was pretty good. I've had better though. Actually I eat paella often. And the best I've ever had was just a week ago, made by a German woman in Ontario. go figure, eh?

So, this year we are hosting my husband's family for Thanksgiving. For the past few years we've either been at my sister's house, or more likely, away. One year Kevin and I "escaped" to the Bahamas and ate turkey sandwiches while our feet dangled in the clear ocean water. One year we all went away precisely to avoid Thanksgiving and yet we succumbed to dinner for 14 in St. John only because we saw that the grocer had fully-cooked turkeys for sale and suddenly we all longed for the full-on feast.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Thanksgiving. In fact, it's always been one of my favorite holidays. It's just that now I'm out of practice. And a little nervous.

Anyway, we'll be 12 people. A nice even number. Here's my menu so far: Roasted Turkey (no problem), mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole (my sister has a good recipe I'm hoping she'll share), green beans (mom's recipe), gravy, stuffing (awesome), mushrooms and pearl onions, fresh cranberries, garden salad, homemade bread.

Oh, and lots of homemade sangria (yes, red and white),
and wine. The latter are important, because if any of the former are failures then the guests are less likely to know (or care).

I admit that I'm a recipe junkie. If I'm cooking, then there's a recipe on the counter somewhere. Even if I stray from it to experiment, I use it as a safety. So if you are reading this and have a recipe for me, let me know. I welcome good ideas for hors d'oeuvres, too.

At the end of the day, it's all about the family, the laughter and the camaraderie. And the dinner always tastes best on Friday, between two slices of bread. Right?

my two sisters can cook!

tornado watch and making paella

Today is cold and windy, as if winter is arriving all at once, and is impatient to get here. The corn has been cut from the fields so there's nothing stopping the wind as it comes across the fields. It's hitting us straight on.

I'm staying inside. I prefer warm weather and it's going to take a bit of time to adjust to this cold.
I've decided to find a great paella recipe and make it for dinner, and we'll watch the football game.

We're not big Raven's fans, but we are surrounded by them (we live in Baltimore, the big B, charm city, hon). I'm a Giants fan, so the game will be good.

I am sorry I won't get to ride my scooter today, but it would blow me across the road. the wind is HOWLING! I'll write more about my scooter next time. Hopefully I'll get to ride it a few more times before it's way too cold.

I'll also write about Thanksgiving dinner. That should be fun to read.

*I took this photo at a coffee shop on St. Thomas, USVI in February. Just seeing it warms me up. Yum.