A Monday Myth - Thanksgiving is a family holiday

THEN:

Growing up I loved Thanksgiving.

Either the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade would be on in the den or we'd venture into the city to stand in the cold with the throngs of people eager to see Snoopy and Santa.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was rarely before 4pm to give any relatives attending the parade ample travel time - and there was always those few relatives that didn't drive and needed to be picked up, etc.

Our Thanksgiving table was always filled to capacity with family and sometimes friends. There were the years we had the adult table and the kids table. Lots of good food, wine when I was old enough, and warm family memories will forever be held in my heart.

Before dessert, the sounds of the football games would drift into the dining room from the den and the men would disappear. After dessert the couches and chairs would be full of bodies too stuffed to move and falling asleep to the laughter of jokes and the family chaos a holiday brings.

Thoughts of Christmas and want we wanted to put on our lists floated around the room - all of us comparing what we'd hoped Santa would bring.

The last guest rarely left our house before 11pm.

NOW:

Over the last few weeks my mailbox has been flooded with the ads from the large retail chains announcing their "doorbuster" Thanksgiving day sales that begin at 8pm on Thanksgiving night! These same stores announce their opening on the holiday at every commercial break when I sit down to watch TV at night. (I can't believe they're proud of this behavior.)

For years now Thanksgiving has been overlooked by the stores as an actual holiday - we jump right from Halloween decorations to Christmas decorations. Now it's not at all about family, about the one non-religious day the whole country unites around to give thanks for all the good in our lives - NO, it's now about the start of the holiday buying season - it's about the all-mighty buck.

It's about having no respect for the retail employees who will work their tails off over the next few weeks with ridiculous hours while the stores try to cash in on every single buying second of the day they can. Don't those people deserve to spend a holiday dinner with their families too? I feel terrible for the people that will leave their dinner table at 6pm to be at their registers in the Targets and the Kmarts to greet customers at 8pm.

For me, I have no intention of leaving my house. I will get up and the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade will be playing in my living room - from start to finish. My husband and I will be cooking and my kids will be home - sucking up the memories. Our guests will arrive and they will be greeted with smiling faces, lots of food and the promise of passing out on my couch till after midnight if they so choose!

After dinner the holiday music will be turned on and over dessert and coffee my family will NOT talk about black-Friday sales. For one day, we will give thanks for what we do have - not what we want. We'll give thanks for the loved ones seated at our table, because you never know who won't be there next year.

There's plenty of time for holiday shopping - I refuse to let it intrude on a family holiday. (As a matter of fact, I'm thinking of NOT patronizing any store that opens on Thanksgiving night at all for ANY of my holiday shopping this year. I know, I'm getting old and cranky, but this has really managed to get under my skin this year.)

How about you? Will you be out patronizing the stores that open on Thanksgiving?

This, That and a bowl of soup

Wow, the last ten days have been crazy here in the north east. In my little corner of Long Island we were without power for 8 days. Gas is ridiculously hard to come by, lines stretch for blocks with people looking to either fill up their cars to get to work or to fill gas cans to run the generators keeping their families warm in the cold temps.

And in the midst of people clearing away trees, searching out hot meals and equally hot showers - the country voted.

I've witnessed extension cords tethering generators from house to house, neighbor to neighbor. I've witnessed screaming at the pumps as people filled huge SUVs full of gas while people waited for a precious 5 gallons for their generator to keep their family warm. And through it all, the hate of the campaign flowed alive and well on facebook and twitter to push political agendas. Yup, people are interesting.

What did I do during my time without electricity?

I enjoyed some down time with my family. Yes, there was lots of grumbling and complaining, but we are lucky to have a generator and an engineer husband who can hotwire anything!

I had my logo updated to coordinate with my website! Since I could get online every now and then on my smartphone, I enlisted the designing talents of Amy from BrandLand. She took my logo and gave it a fresh feel with colors to match my website and added my tagline. I love it and hope you do too!

The morning the storm started I made soup! Because soup is a comfort food for me and I have this dream that one day my family will embrace the magic elixir like I do. Yes, I know...I'm a dreamer.

Squash & Carrot Soup

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion - chopped

2 large carrots - chopped

1 1/2 lbs. squash (I've used butternut and acorn, both with good results) - cut into chunks

6 cups water or low-sodium broth (I've used chicken and vegetable broths, both with good results)

Salt & pepper

Rosemary

Thinly sliced scallions - optional as a garnish

Heat the oil in a large pot, add onion, salt & pepper. Stir frequently and cook about 6 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add carrots and squash. Cover and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water or broth and a few sprigs of rosemary and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the veggies are tender (about 15 minutes.)

Either blend the soup in small batches or just mash the squash and carrots inside the pot. Add a little cornstarch to thicken if desired. Continue to cook and serve hot with scallions on top if desired.

Great with toasted rye bread for dipping too!

What is your go to comfort food in a storm?

Blueberry Corn Muffins

This time of year I love to make fresh muffins in the morning, they just seem to made for those crisp Fall days. (Okay, I lie...I love a good muffin anytime of the year!) I know I should probably watch all the carbs I love so much, but who can pass up some bready goodness with that first cup of coffee?

Another plus to whipping up a quick batch of muffins at home is that I won't be tempted to stop on the way to work to buy an over-sized, over-priced, calorie buster of a muffin at any of the popular places that otherwise call my name as I drive by. Yes, I am weak-willed when it comes to a good muffin. LOL

With the above in mind, I'm always on the lookout for easy (and semi-healthy) muffin recipes and I found this one in the Weight Watchers Meals in Minutes cookbook that's been sitting on my shelf now for more than 20 years (OMG!)

Blueberry Corn Muffins

1 Cup - less 2 tablespoons - uncooked yellow cornmeal

1 Cup - less 1 tablespoon - all purpose flour

1/4 Cup granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon PLUS 1 teaspoon double acting baking powder

1 Cup skim or non-fat milk

1/4 Cup vegetable oil

1 Egg

1 1/2 Cups fresh or frozen blueberries (no sugar added)

1 Tablespoon butter, melted

1 Tablespoon brown sugar, firmly packed

Preheat oven to 400. In mixing bowl combine cornmeal, flour, sugar and baking powder. In another bowl combine milk, oil and the egg, mix until blended. Add wet ingredients to the dry. Stir until blended (do not use blender or over mix.) Fold in blueberries..
Spray muffins cups with non-stick spray. Fill each cup with equal amount of batter (about 3/4 full) and bake on center rake for 15 minutes. Remove and brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with brown sugar.  Return to over for another 5 minutes.
Remove from over and cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!

A Monday Myth: Kids will help with the puppy!

Let me introduce you to Toby!

The newest addition to our family is a 10 week old YorkiePoo - because how could I resist that face?

Hubby and I have been hearing from the three kids that we really needed a puppy to round out the jungle we call home. While Toby will most definitely be a spoiled little puppy in no time, he joins a few other equally spoiled housemates! (Two cats, a cockatiel, a cockatoo, a bearded dragon and a hamster...oh my, we should probably buy some stock in Petco.)

Over the last year as the kids begged for a new furry member of the family we heard:

"I will take him for walks."

"I will feed him."

"I will take care of him."

MYTH
MYTH
MYTH

Three kids.

One doesn't like the way the puppy smells after he's been outside doing his business. Well...he's 10 weeks old, weighs all of about 2 lbs and pretty much fits in my hands - he cannot go out alone, needs to be picked up and carried outside (since he's too small to get out the door on his own, and we're in training mode. Which means someone (ME) needs to take him out every two hours.

One likes to play with him, but hasn't even asked if he can help with anything else.

One thinks he knows everything about puppy training - even though we've never had a puppy before. Oh wait, I forgot, he's 18. He knows everything about everything. LOL Unfortunately, he's 18 - so he's got college and a social life and that leaves ME to do the bulk of the training, the walking, the feeding...

To be fair, I knew this going in. I knew the puppy would be good for the family, great for the kids and I knew exactly who would taking care of him. I'm not that delusional.

One week in, everyone is totally in love with Toby.

Anyone have some puppy training tips for me?

Morning routines

Fall is just around the corner, the kids have started back into their own school routines and I'm back to my own early morning wake-up calls, yikes! I've never been a morning person, and getting older and more set in my ways certainly hasn't done anything to change that.

This year though, I am really trying to be at least be more productive with my AM hours - hell, I'm up, right? So, yes, I have signed up for yet another workshop on time management and "getting more books written in a shorter amount of time!" (Oh yeah, baby...this is just what I need!)

The first lesson had me digging deep into my morning routine and coming face to face with all the time I really do waste staring into my coffee cup - like those words are just going to magically fly through the coffee vapors to my computer? Hmm, probably not.

Maybe my little voodoo priestess could whip those words into submission? Hmm, I don't think that's happening either.

So, it's up to me to make my mornings work FOR ME and not against me.

I started my new-improved writing routine this morning, and while the Keurig was humming to life on my counter and spewing out my first cup of motivation...I got down to business and wrote for 15 minutes. Then the morning routine of getting the kids up, starting laundry, and making lunches, fell into place.

Bottom line - want to get something done? Make it a priority on your list. Add it to your daily schedule. No excuses. It doesn't matter what that task may be - for me it's making sure I get that writing time in, maybe for you it's exercising or finishing a project. The point is, you have to commit to it, own it!

How do you start your day?

Days of (in)sanity

Wondering why I decided to call my new blog "Scribbling to (in)sanity?"

I'm no different than most people I know. I'm a busy, working mom of three kids (one on the autism spectrum.) I've got a house to take care of, a husband and a to-do list that's a mile long every week. All things considered, sometimes life can be pretty insane.

Oh, and I write romance books. That's the part that keeps me sane.

On most days...hahaha

I wasn't born a writer. But, I was born a dreamer and a storyteller - I can't remember a time I wasn't dreaming about a fairy tale and creating new characters and new endings to keep the stories alive in my head. Eventually the world of writing and storytelling merged and I found the stress relief from everyday life I needed to keep my sanity.

Yes, I write pure fantasy. When you open a Debora Dennis book, you're most likely taking a journey to another time and place. I've always been a sucker for a "fish out of water" story and spent most of my school years dreaming of living in a time with chivalrous men, but with kick-ass women who fought right alongside their hero.

Like most writers, I constantly hear voices in my head and can't stop thinking about plots, dialogues and characters. You'd think THAT would drive a person insane, but for me it's sometimes the only sane part of my week.

Some weeks, the insanity takes over. :)

Writing romantic fiction is what keeps me sane in an insane world!

Over the past week, I've set my microwave on fire, signed up to have a professional website designed just for me (which meant moving and creating a new blog) and hosted Mother's Day dinner for 12 (at my new dining room table...yay!) But, the winner of the most insane, goes to how I watched in utter surprise as a fellow romance author was issued a C&D letter from Sony and Google to stop using her LEGAL first name because it somehow infringed on the singer/songwriter Adele(tm). Now THAT folks is what I call insanity! You can read about that, here.

To keep myself sane, I've spent the last week with my modern-day heroine Lilly, who's managed to find herself in a very lawless California town during the Gold Rush with one sexy Sheriff!