1. John's mum goes home today. We had a nice visit and survived without bloodshed ( Read more... )

Post and explain (if you can recall) the sixth photo in your sixth photo file. This is a pic from the morning of our wedding, and it is me (desperately in need of make-up and a hairstylist) and Macelyn, my flower girl and niece. And, yes, that is a plastic tiara with a veil, courtesy of my MOH:


( Read more... )

It's almost over! And, while we enjoy two-days-and-counting til that plane takes off for Gatwick, here's the holiday recap:

My friend and her daughter got in on Wednesday night, and all five of us went out to dinner at the local Mellow Mushroom (because they don't have that in Chicago) and ran into half of John's colleagues and their families. We ( Read more... )

Here is everything we will be eating tomorrow:

Pumpkin waffles and (uncured turkey) bacon for breakfast

The main meal. My fam is in the late-in-the-day-Thanksgiving-meal tradition, but I'm breaking from that: we're going to eat between 1 and 2, and then have a tea at 5 or 6-ish

Roast turkey breast with herbs and white wine
calliope427  's stuffing recipe (thanks ( Read more... )

WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names)
Mae Richard

NASCAR NAME: (first name of your mother's dad, father's dad )
Frank Stephen

STAR WARS NAME: (the first 2 letters of your last name, first 4 letters of your first name)
MaMeli

DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color, fav animal)
Pink Kitten

SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you live)
Hope ( Read more... )

1. The new job is very good, but it's an odd week to begin a student-centered job, since they are all on break.

2. MIL is driving me a little batty, but I am handling it better than her last visit. Hopefully, one of these visits, she will learn that I need a little bit of space and time to myself. And, maybe she will stop speaking to John like I am ( Read more... )

Details to follow soon about the end of last week, but

OLD JOB IS OVER, NEW JOB STARTS TODAY!!!!

Now, if only it weren't Thanksgiving week, the morning after we had a dinner party, and with a houseguest in tow .. in other words, I'm not quite in the ideal mindset for the First Day of Work. Still, the relief of being over the old place makes it all ok ( Read more... )

Well, heck ( Read more... )

I am looking for a truly amazing stuffing recipe -- does anyone have one they'd like to share?  I'd prefer that it be moderately simple (I have too much else to fuss with on that day to slave over stuffing) and definitively yummy.

I can offer a recipe for kick-ass turtle pumpkin cheesecake in return (and it does meet the above criteria!)

My mother-in-law arrives from England today. I've come to believe that she is some kind of talisman of weather extremes ( Read more... )