Obama's Official Inaugural Luncheon by the Home Cook

I'm really bad at making family traditions. Sometimes I wonder what memories Braeden will have when he grows up. I have a hard time making a big fuss over Holidays when honestly I'd rather just go on a trip and skip the whole thing.

I want Braeden to have fond memories of growing up even though maybe they are strange memories and aren't the same kind every other child in the world has of Christmas morning (well hopefully there are a couple of those too). I've always thought it important that he knows where he came from--that Ryan and I are more that just "Braeden's Parents" so I make a big deal of him knowing who we are as individuals as well.

Today was an important day to me. More important than the spelling and arithmetic that Braeden should have sat through. I kept him home from school and we had an amazing day together. We watched the entire festivities of the Inauguration and then made the official Inauguration Luncheon. You can download all of the recipes here:

http://inaugural.senate.gov/luncheon/index.cfm

(Although I would say making it all in one day was quite exhausting. I would probably break it up into a few different meals next time.)

Seafood Stew

"A Brace of American Birds" Duck served with Sour Cherry Chutney and Molasses Sweet Potatoes and "Winter Vegetables" (although I don't consider Asparagus or beans winter vegetables).

Apple Cinnamon Sponge Cake and Sweet Cream Glace




We had a great time cooking together and talking about what an important day in history this is. After everything was finished we talked about what he learned today. He said "not much" but then proceeded to tell me for a good half an hour more than I ever would have thought he could have absorbed in one day (who was there, what they said, what they did, what it looked like, the musical numbers, etc.) from George Bush to "President-elect Obama who is now President Obama and Michelle" to "Vice President Joe Biden."

To sum it up, here is to hoping he remembers it. If not that's ok because I am happy.

Like I Said Spontaneous Musing

I always thought it was strange that my husband had obsessions where he wanted to know/buy/have everything to do with a certain thing. When he was younger it was dinosaurs, then birds, then geeky sci-fi stuff that I don't even know enough about to describe what it is. For a while (ages 18-20) it was me. Then he moved on to gadgets of all sorts, coffee, gadgets, clothes, gadgets, shoes, gadgets, etc.

I had a realization today. I'm the same way I just never really saw it before. The problem with my obsessions is that it takes a LONG time for me to move on to a new category. One of the first was scrapbooking (this lasted a good 8+years). As I sorted through a few things today I realized how much money, time, and SPACE I have wasted on this hobby. Sure I have some cute scrapbooks that I made, but was it really worth it? When I add up the paper, stickers, and supplies that I'll never use but was sure I had to stock pile because I was "saving money" by buying it now when it was on sale instead of just buying the sheet I needed when I was making the page I don't even want to know the hundreds/low thousands of dollars I spent. It would have been so much more fun and easier if I just bought the sheets I needed as I went.

Apparently I didn't have a clue that this was a problem. I moved on to perfumes, makeup, and bath & body products. As I look around myself I know it is out of control but I still feel the need to buy more because of the "rare" "hard-to-find" "limited edition" nature of everything that is put out. I HAVE to stockpile my favorites, besides with eBay now available I always had the excuse that I could sell those "rare" hard-to-find" "limited edition" products and I did. Alot. But I still have an insane amount that I can't part with. It is an addiction. Sure there are worse addictions, but I have been in such denial. When I find a large amount of a highly coveted candle and can make $1,000 in an afternoon of work it doesn't help. (This amount of money was a one time thing) but I have made a lot of money off of eBay. It makes me feel like everything I own in this category is free because all the money I have made has pretty much gone to buy me products. When I really look around though and think about it I cannot believe the insane amount of money I have spent on all these things and I feel like I cannot stop.

As I move on to another category without having quite given up the last one I KNOW I would trade all that scrapbook stuff for a nice Le Creuset, and maybe an assortment of good olive oils, oh and have you seen that new Kramer collection by Shun? *serious sarcasm*

I just don't know where to go from here! Like I said spontaneous musing.