It's that time of the year again!

It feels a little redundant to gripe about my holiday woes yet again, but if I can't vent it out here, then where do I go?

First, The Good. We've got our turkey defrosting. We picked him up last week at the Halt and Buy. 58 cents a pound isn't quite the awesome 10 cents a pound sale from last year, but that was still the best deal in the city. He's a lovely twenty-three pounds, and this year Punky has named him Spartacus. He's actually what prompted the blogging tonight. It's Brine night here at Casa ... us. Almost forgot the anonymity thing.

So, there's a giant pot of water getting up to a boil on the stove, Punky on dishes, and me at the computer. I don't know if I've talked about it in detail before but we've got one cursed ass house. Haunted like nobody's business, and topsy turvy in the strangest of ways. Now that it's winter, if we cook a meal it's cold by the time we plate it and take it down the hall to the bedroom. Like, barely edible cold. Of course, if I boil some water and wait for it to cool down, it'll take about three days for it to cool. Topsy turvy.

Soo.. that's why the early start on the brine, just so that it has time to cool down. Good lord though, it has no right to smell this good in the kitchen over just some onions chopped up and thrown in water. I love onions, even if they are a pain to dice. I can't imagine a life without them. I do get to talk to Punky about her life without them though. When we first met, Punky came with a nearly mile long list of things that she would not eat. Onions were, of course, on that list. Now.. she can't live without them.

My current theory on food is that if there's something you don't like, it's only because someone hasn't fixed it right yet. As I get older, this becomes truer and truer for me by the day. I used to be the kind of kid who couldn't tolerate two drops of hot sauce in a dish, and now I make my own curry. I've learned to appreciate spicy food. I've even become fond of sweet potatoes. Also a food I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole back in the day.

Annnnd.. I'm glad to report that Punky has also come a long way on this food journey. In some ways, she's come a lot further than I have, since her previous affairs with food were more like tepid friendships than the true romance that exists now. She eats onions, and tuna fish and even onions in her tuna fish.

Thanksgiving is a great holiday for appreciating our culinary discoveries. Each year I try something a little new with the turkey, a different blend of seasonings or some such change. So far, all hits, no misses.

Speaking of hits and misses, Bullseye totally had an awesome deal going on with games and we picked up Battleship. Punky had never played before and Lady Luck was totally with her. She kicked my butt and now I'm totally looking forward to playing with Bratexander the Great on his holiday break. I think it's a game he'll be able to enjoy. Picking those out really involve some hits and misses.

Is anyone else doing anything for Black Friday? Punky and I are debating the midnight sales. There's not exactly a lot that we're hurting for, and most of the presents we're giving out this year are already picked out and some of them are even stashed in the closet already. Still, a sale is a sale, it might be worth poking it.

In other news, I've come a long way financially from where I was last year. Around this time last year I was approved for my first credit card. A secured line with a small limit, but it was meant to help build my credit report. That it did. My score is looking healthy, and I've gotten a handful of store cards since then. All of them managed quite responsibly, if I do say so myself. No looming debt, no nerves about money. All is in order. I'm just that much closer to the decade dream of a house and car for my family. That much closer to a yard and a garden and all the warm feelings that come with those.

I love New York, I do. It's always going to be my true home, but I can't wait to get out. I'm never going to be free of Satan as long as I stay.

What else is going on? Our new camera came in and I've got one less excuse not to blog. No new exciting pictures to share, but soon. In the meantime, we have some of last years photos still kicking about the computer.

Ta-da!

Brine is done, and I'm off to put my feet up for a bit. I'm kinda looking at a long day tomorrow.

-Angelwick