Happy Turkey Day!!!

To all of our family and friends we would like to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving. Brett and I feel truly blessed to have such a wonderful family and so many friends; we have so much to be thankful for this year.

Thanksgiving was quiet, just Brett, Cari and myself for dinner. We ate a late breakfast and watched the parade. Much of the day was spent perusing the ads for Black Friday...I don't even know where to begin.

Thanksgiving dinner was quite possibly one of the best meals I have ever had. Brett made a turkey that not only looked like it should be a Buetterball commercial but tasted better than any turkey I have ever had. To compliment we also had Apple Cranberry Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Green Bean Casserole, Baked Corn, Cranberries, and Rolls. It was a meal fit for a king or better yet for the Clancys.

And now...the process of making such a memorable meal.

Brett preparing his bird.

Brett placing his bird in the oven.
The table is set.
That is one good lookin' bird!


Ready to eat...

Aaaaaaaaand done!

The fight for the wishbone...

I won!

Can't take us anywhere

OK, so last Friday night Brett and I went out with Adam and Liz. We had an AMAZING dinner at Cafe Iberico, a Spanish Tapas restaurant in the city ( I could maybe get you there but I am so bad with street names). The food was so good and the Sangria even better. I think Brett is really starting to like this tapas thing. Funny thing about this restaurant is that on their TVs is Spanish broadcasting...right in the middle of dinner there is a program (in Spanish) and all we can see is that the people on the show are gutting the inside of a some board looking thing from its rear end to its head. Ummm, I have never been to Spain, but I am pretty sure in the US this is not your run of the mill dinner TV. Anywho, we left the restaurant with full tummies and went to...ummm...really I just drew a blank on the name of the bar, something with a B. Maybe Liz would be so kind to post and fill me in where we were. Well, we had a few drinks and I decided to take the camera out and what happened from there I do not know. The result was a lot of pictures of 2 well educated 20 something females and 2 moderately educated 30 something males doing a lot of dumb things...

Christmas Card Dilemma

One of my favorite parts of the holidays is deciding what will be the Clancy Family Christmas Card. Since Brett and I got married we have always sent a photo card and we try to be a little creative. However this year, w ear a bit at a loss....Here is what the past years have produced...

Christmas '05, Feliz Navidad

Christmas 'o6, Sitting on Santa's Lap

Christmas '07, a Clancy Family Photo

So...any thoughts for this year???

Just another day in the life...

Brett finished up his dental work today so I again get a free day off. Unfortunately I left my camera cord at work and so a real post from last weekend will have to wait because the pictures are a must. We had dinner with Liz and Adam on Friday night and just had the best time. On Saturday Brett went into the office and so I ran some errands and got a head start on some Christmas shopping. I also went to Super Wal Mart to get some Thanksgiving groceries...my, oh, my, is that place a mad house! Sunday was quite productive as we finally got our new storm windows installed (and by we I REALLY mean WE did it!). The week will continue to get more and more hectic as we get ready for Thanksgiving and then on Friday we are off to Moline, Il for Natalie and Jason's wedding. Fortunately, Aunt Cari is the in house doggie sitter so Tucker and Lucy get to spend all weekend with her and their cousin, Hera!

Baby, it's cold outside!

Our first walk with coats on this year...

Weekend Update With The Clancy's

The Clancy Clan got together for a large chunk of the weekend. Saturday night we went out to dinner to Mullen’s in Lisle, a favorite of mine and Brett’s. Great place to hang out, good specials, good food, but terrible bands (we have now been there twice on a Saturday night when there is live music and the only word to describe it is loud). When we got home, Cari, Brett and I stayed up to watch SNL...JT did a music video with Beyonce that was way funny. The video won't embed so click here to watch.

Sunday we spent the day in PJs watching football. I ran to the grocery store in the morning to get some last minute things we forgot and ended up being there for about 40 minutes – every cash register froze and their entire computer system went down. I thought there was going to be a revolt because it was about 25 minutes before kickoff. Cari spent the night so the dogs were happy to have their cousin, Hera, around. They played so much Saturday night and Sunday morning that we were able to watch the Bears game in peace because they were exhausted.

Cathy came over for the Bears game and Mike and Shari (Brett’s dad and step mom) came over toward the end and stayed for the Steelers game. If you are from Chicago you know that this was a big game – Bears vs. Packers. Unfortunately the outcome went to the Packers not the Bears. The other favorite team in the house had some better luck. What a fantastic ending to a pretty boring game! They made history with an 11 to 10 victory…yes someone actually looked that up to see that there had never been an 11/10 final score in NFL history (something like 12, 000 games!).

As for the soup, I made so many appetizers that we weren’t very hungry. Everything is prepped and ready to be thrown together so maybe tonight!

And for those of you wondering, I exhibited extreme self control and only shopped at one store this weekend. That Kohl’s sale was well worth it! Brett got some faaaabulous new clothes and we are now sleeping on luxurious 800 thread count sheets. On a good note, I realized that some of the sales are still going on so maybe a stop on the way home from work today is in order. Let’s face it - I really have no control when it comes to a good sale.

Cute Family Photo!

I just couldn't resist!

Let it snow!

We had flurries today and by tonight, it is official...it's snowing. The dogs and the people of this house are not looking forward to the 6 month winters that seem to occur in the Chi!

For goodness sakes, we haven't even raked all of our leaves yet!

T.G.I.T.W.

Thank goodness it's the weekend...Have you ever heard the very confusing commercial where the guy tries to change the days of the week to make the weekend longer. You know the “Thursday is the new Friday” idea? Oh, how I wish there was a way!

Brett had a continuing ed class yesterday, so he was home early. Funny scenario: he told me how the class was via video shown at a law firm on the South side so there were only a handful of people. One guy read the paper the whole time, another read and texted, another tried to pay attention but eventually fell asleep, and another guy watched and then said he had to make some calls and never came back. Why do I not have seminars that I can do personal things (or LEAVE) and still get credit for it. Well, I am proud of Brett for bettering his career and paying attention.

So last night, he got home early and we decided to order pizza for dinner, shocker! Can you guess where it was from? You guessed it…is it bad that I know exactly how much it is going to cost before they give me a total? $15.60. I attempted to make Brett brownie cookies. New recipe that I did not read correctly and I am again reminded of the Golden Rule when it comes to baking: When you bake, you can not act like you are cooking and “adjust” ingredients/ measurements because that’s how you think it should be made. Baking is simple, as long as you follow the recipe. Needless to say my cookies are about as thin as a piece of paper.

We then ventured out to Jos. A. Bank to look at some new suits for the attorney of the Team. Well, Brett made “Roger’s” day - walked in, picked out three suits, and walked out. (I looked on their website for pictures of them but they are just all shown in black. He got this REALLY great one in a taupe color with light blue and almost yellow stripe running through it..very handsome! He also got a chocolate brown and black pinstripe.) Unfortunately, two of them are on back order and the one they did have has to be tailored, so, although he picked out the suits and paid for them, he went home empty handed. Shopping is not as much fun when you don’t get to bring your stuff home, but he is happy and that is all that counts. Plus, he looks quite handsome in his new threads!!!

Just so you know, I am posting from Saturday detention this morning. I must have done something rght this week because the kids are behaving like angels. I secretly fear that they are plotting a take over as in The Breakfast Club gone bad. ..

Dinner out tonight and football tomorrow…woo hoo!!

Souper Sunday Week 11 Preview

So I want to try a new soup this weekend from my BFF Rachael Ray.

Total side bar...when you go to yahoo and search Rachael Ray you get several web and image results...please tell me why this is the first image result?

Anywho!!!! A girlfriend of mine gave me the recipe and I was too sleepy last weekend to try it. It's called Chorizo Tomato Stew and you serve it with homemade garlic croutons. My mouth is watering all ready. You'll have to wait until after I make it though for the recipe. However, since it 's going to snow and I am holding on to autumn as long as possible, here's a recipe from my faaaaaaaabulous Aunt Zoe for Butternut Squash Soup. I haven't made it but she's pretty trustworthy so I think you'd be OK to go ahead and give it a try. Here it is, straight from her email...

1 med. butternut squash (about 2 1/4#) - peel & cut into 1/2" cubes
1 small onion - sliced
2 small cans chicken broth (if you want to be Martha Stewart, make your own, but I don't want to know about it. It'll be your own dirty little secret!)
2 T. butter (Yes, I used real butter!)
1/8 t. pepper
1 pinch nutmeg

425 oven.
Layer squash and onions in baking dish. Pour one can broth over. Dot with butter. Sprinkle pepper & nutmeg. Cover with foil. Bake till tender - about 40 min.
Cool slightly. Puree in blender with remaining broth till smooth. (I used extra broth.) Transfer to saucepan. Bring to gentle boil. Top with whipping cream and spr. of nutmeg.

(Alright, Aunt Zoey, this was a nice shout out to you with no teasing about your (lack of) technical knowledge. Now you have to leave a comment!)

Say good bye to Wendy, Victory, and Nico

I have just read the worst news ever (maybe not ever, but definitely the worst TV news since Sex and the City went off the air). NBC is not ordering any more new shows of Lipstick Jungle!!!!!!!!!

*time to let it sink in and get a tissue*

This show has become my one and only female TV passion. Brett watches every episode with me and he even likes it a little. I seriously don't know what I am going to do without Kirby in my life. I shouldn't act totally surprised though...when they moved it to Friday night, Brett warned me that it was the kiss of death. Perhaps NBC execs will come to their senses and realize the importance this show plays in the lives of women everywhere. perhaps they will realize that suburban teachers like me need a little extravagant outlet and a show like Lipstick Jungle is the perfect place for us to live vicariously through beautiful powerful women with AMAAAAZING clothes!

Ugghhh!

After I posted, I did find out that an image search of Robert Buckley produced some nice results!

Another update: someone please tell me if the rumor is true...is Robert Buckley dating Lindsey Price?!?!?!?!?!?!

*clip* *clip* *snip* *snip* Oh the sound of clipping coupons!

Please do not laugh at what I am about to say. I. Love. Coupons. I live for using coupons at the grocery store, at the movie store, at restaurants, at clothing stores; if there is a coupon to be had I want to find it and use it and revel in the money I save. Fifty cents may not seem like a lot but several times a week times 52 weeks a year, wow! Brett even told the cashier at Wal Mart once, that my coupon-clipping-money-saving addiction was a main reason that he married me. So right now I am sitting looking at a pile of coupons I have accumulated over the past like two weeks. They are coupons sent to me via email because I have either signed up to received them or ordered online and coupons sent to me in the mail. You know the ones that send glued to a small advertisement and are about the size of a credit card. I am making a list and this is what I have come up with:

Kohl's

$10 off any purchase AND *15% off this Friday an Saturday

Victoria's Secret

*$10 off a $60 purchase (also of note their long sleeve sleep shirts are 2/ $30; how cozy do these look?)

The Limited

$30 off a $100 purchase, $20 off a $60 purchase or $10 off a $20 purchase

GAP

*30% because it is the friends and family sale

Express

$30 off a $90 purchase or $15 off of a $45 purchase

Borders

30% off one item $10 or more

Any offer w/ an * beside it is an email offer and I would be more than happy to share!

This is awful because I mean these are some great deals and it would not be a financially sound move for me to let these deals go to waste. Brett is all about saving money; I think maybe our definition of "save" may be slightly different, but it would be far better to make all of my purchases now when I can save money than to wait until a time when I am sans coupon, right?

Oh the dilemma!!!!!! Most of the coupons expire this weekend...can I hold out and keep my wallet closed tight? We'll seeeeeeeee......

There's a crispness to the air...

How quickly we are losing Autumn and slipping into Winter?!?!? All of our leaves are off and sweaters are becoming hidden by bulking winter coats. Not to mention that every retail location in America already has twinkle lights and Christmas carols in their store. Well, to hang on a little longer, here's a great Autumn recipe to keep you thinking of beautiful leaves, pumpkins and apple cider for a little longer - Glazed Apple Bread! I made it last week and it was a hit; very simple too.

1/2 c. canola oil
1 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 large egg
2 c. unbleached flour
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
2 t. baking powder
2 T. milk
1/2 c. raisins
2 large apples,finely chopped (use good baking apples)
1/2 c. walnuts

• Combine first 3 ingredients and cream until light and fluffy.
• Add egg and beat well.
• Sift together next 4 dry ingredients.
• Add milk, raisins, apples, nuts, and dry ingredients to mixture and stir only until flour is well dampened.
• Bake in well greased 9 x 5 x 4 inch loaf pan at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.
• Cool. Remove from pan.

Combine the following ingredients for glaze:
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 T. water
2 T. melted butter

Mix well and pour over bread. Let glaze set before wrapping tightly.

Note: I left out the nuts (Hate. Nuts.) and the raisins. Had I added the raisins, I think I would use Craisins instead.

Enjoy!

"Her Last Fling Before the Ring"

Let's just start by saying I love Natalie (get your mind out of the gutter). When I moved to Chicago one of my biggest fears was meeting people and establishing relationships that I have become accustomed to. I mean if you know me, you know I am a people person. I have lots of friends and I like to be around them! When I got my job at Central I was truly blessed to be working in a department with a lot of young girls who were basically at the same point in their lives that I was. I met Natalie very early on and we became really good friends. We because even better friends when we entered into the same (horrible) Master's program and spent one night a week together for two years. I may have mentioned this before, in fact I think I have, but I just wanted to mention again what an amazing person Natalie is and how excited Brett and I are for their wedding. So many people get caught up in the planning and the material part of their wedding, but I can honestly say that Natalie and Jason just can't wait to be Mr. and Mrs. It reminds me a lot of Brett and I and it is very refreshing. I digress because, really, this post is supposed to be about her bachellorette party.

Most of the girls at the comedy show

On with it...Saturday was Nat's bachellorette party hosted by her very close friend Abby. We all met at Abby's (who lives in the city and graciously let us all crash at her place) for some drinks, apps, games, and presents. We also left there with tattoos of a male body part, but I am trying to keep this clean. Anyway, we were off to a comedy/ drinking show that was an absolute riot. If you live in the city and need something different to do for a night I highly suggest the comedy show titled, Bye, Bye, Liver. What a riot! It is an interactive comedy show intermixed with drinking games.

This would be Mr. Bye, Bye Liver, himself

The best part tickets are $15 and where else in Chicago can you get a bucket of 5 beers for $12...that would be all of NOWHERE!!!!!! After that we cabbed it to North, Milwaukee and Dame and hung out the rest of the night at a rather fun bar. Jess and I shared a cab to the bar and it needs to be noted that it was the single smelliest cab in the entire city of Chicago and that is really saying a lot. It took a while but Natalie got a few drinks in her and enjoyed playing games with her wand that again was made of a male body pat (family show! which is why the pictures, other than this one, from this part of the night are noticeably absent). Around 2, Amy, Jess and I headed to Flash Taco (rumor has it that it was closed for 6 months due to a case of Salmonella; but, hey, it's open not, right?) for some much needed burritos. Back to Abby's and we watched a video of pics and spent the rest of the night snapping inebriated photos and bouncing on air mattresses.

By the end of the night, I felt like I was back in high school having a really fun girls only slumber party. There is much to be said about the company of your girlfriends at 4 in the morning. Cheers to a great night, ladies!!!

Favorite things #3

Well, given that I was a little sleepy today (details of last nights events to follow), Souper Sunday was a no go again. However, I did manage to whip up the husband's fav dip - Buffalo Chicken Dip! This is becoming a staple on Sundays!

2 lg. cans chicken, well drained

2 - 8oz. cream cheese

3/4 c. hot sauce (I prefer Frank's red hot and you can add more or less depending on "hotness" preference)

1 c. Ranch dressing

grated cheddar if you please

Flake chicken in frying pan and add hot sauce. Heat through. Add cream cheese and Ranch and cook over low - medium heat until melted and well mixed. Add cheese and stir until melted if desired. Put in pie plate or shallow baking dish and bake on 350 until hot. Serve with tortilla chips (Scoops!).

Surprise!!!

I love surprise parties especially when they are actually a surprise. Last night we threw a Super Duper Surprise Shower for Natalie (and Jason but he knew about it) from the Sped Dept. SOOOOO FUUUNN! The festivities were held at Natalie's favorite Naperville hot spot, The Lantern. The best part - she was really and truly surprised!

As stated in an earlier post, Natalie is the creme of the crop when it comes to opening presents. Sadly, the pictures don't do it justice unless there was some way that audio could go along with, them.

Natalie opening gifts...

Natalie and Jess with the famous Lantern Cheese balls (served on one of Natalie's new plates!)

Natalie, Sam, and I cheesing it up!