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Well folks homework is DONE!!!!!!!!!!! Today DD#4 (I think I know you all well enough to start using her REAL name.), Elyse, and I are going to foil highlight each other's hair. Should be an adventure. We will post before & after pictures. If it is bad, we just dye it all. If it turns green....hum, other story. I've watched the beautician for years, and found a very good instructional video. I'm not concerned about Elyse's hair...a little concerned about mine. But $20 vs $120, that's a no brainer. Hope you all had a restful night. Normally I would have pumpkin pie for breakfast on post Thanksgiving, but it doesn't even sound good. whooopwhoop. Kari, that new procedure sounds interesting. I'll have to look it up. TTFN

Well, I have discovered that pumpkin pie and homemade whip cream is not all that fabulous. Too sweet, to fatty. My favorite food is now on the "not worth the calories". Now I have a sugar headache. Dinner was good, had about 2 ounces of turkey, 1/4 cup of mashed potatoes and some gravy, and about 1/2 cup of baked yams. Traditionally I make the yams with tons of brown sugar and butter. Used about 1/4th of what I would have used. Now a days, I cook yams/sweet potatoes with SF maple syrup. So cals were naturally way high, but I learned something, I don't need the food I use to. This is huge for me. Almost have my homework done!! I love ham more than turkey, but I love turkey noodle soup. Yeah my turkey was a 10 pounder and it was still icy in the cavity. So we shouldn't get food poisoning. Dumb to forget about it. I am really sick of all the stupid Christmas shopping adds. Called mom and dad. Dad is doing pretty good considering he had another chemo treatment this week. Mom made him a steak, so he should enjoy that. Kari, I bet your mom enjoyed the day out and with family.

Pie is in the oven, I have forgotten the sugar for the last 10 years. Usually end up pulling the pie out part way through, this year NO difference. DD#4 razed me about forgetting the sugar and good thing she did, forgot the darn sugar. At least it was before I put it in the shell. Had to run to the store to get shortening for the crust. I have been doing such little baking since I got the band, I didn't realize I was out. Little miss molly has been sick all morning, shivering and vomiting. Hopefully she will bounce back, don't want to think about having to take her to the emergency vet. Enjoy your families! TTFN

Man, I'm the last one up this morning?? I did sleep in. Finished my unit proposal at about 11 pm, so it is sent off. Woke up this morning and realized I forgot to take the turkey out of its water bath. I had forgotten to take it out of the freezer, so put it in a tub of cold water to 'safely' thaw it. Away I hope it doesn't give us good poisoning. I'm not stuffing it, so I think I will throw some apple chunks in the cavity. Will make pumpkin pie after breakfast. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

I wouldn't mind going to the new Twilight movie. My students are really into the series, so if I go, then I have something to talk about with them. Have my unit proposal almost done. Should have it done before bedtime. Then all I have to do is the review of another persons unit. That will take about 3 hours. Finish up with planning my next earth science unit and then I'll be done with school work.

Candice, we have a skift of snow, but not very noticable. The people liked the house and the realtor raved about it. But will probably NOT be making an offer, the bedrooms are too small. My realtor told me that this is excellent, I have had two showings in a week. Actually he finally said that the house seems to be priced correctly and that it is showing well. He reminded me that in the current market there are houses that don't have showings in 6 months. I know that with all the prayers that it will sell. THANK YOU! I pray everyday that God's will be done, AND that I will accept what he has planned. That is the hard part for me. Trying to stay positive without being demanding. Good day at school. Got out at 2:05, then hair cut, then shower, then nap. Doesn't get much better. Janet, I never make my pies until Thanksgiving day. This is my 1st band Thanksgiving so I will only be making one pie and YES I am eating a piece with homemade whip cream. I'll skip lunch and if the weather holds I will go for a long walk. We are having turkey, no dressing (neither DD#4 or I like dressing, mashed potatoes & gravy, and yams. My small pants are too big, even with a belt I can't keep them up. So hopefully I will get a pair for Christmas. I have asked Santa for a pair of jeans. Can you believe that Christmas is only 3 weeks away? Phyl, I hope your birthday was fabulous!! My family never did much for birthdays. I think the last time my parents got me a gift was when I was 12 or 13. The last time my kids got a gift from them was when they were about the same age. My parents also don't give my girls Christmas presents. We are expected to give my parents gifts, but they NEVER reciprocate. Oh well, I'd blame it on mom, but dad doesn't do anything either. Hope you all have fun on black friday. I will run to the roasters to pick up my coffee order and then back home. Shopping isn't in the budget. Check in later, Phyl tell us all about your birthday! TTFN

LBT must have crashed on my last post, so here's a recap. Phyl, I'm so sorry you lost our friend. But is sounds like she made the decision, and I pray that when it is my time that I will have that type of courage. Try to focus on the good things that she helped you with. You are a strong person and it sounds like she had a lot of influence on you. So treat your birthday as a celebration of your time with her. AND if Earl doesn't treat you like a queen today, tell him that he will have to deal with me!!! You've earned all the pampering you can get. My dad has another chemo treatment yesterday, so it will pretty much make Thanksgiving a wash out. He will be too ill to eat. Mom says he is doing okay, just very week. The only thing that worries me is that mom said he was talking about all the 'things' he is thankful for. THIS IS NOT MY DAD. He doesn't talk about feelings. It scares me that maybe he is making his 'peace' and is getting ready to die. One, I don't want to lose him yet, two, mother will move in with me and I might as well, just give up my sanity NOW. I know wrong attitude, but she just sucks all the joy out of life. Okay, sorry, just a panic attack there. Today is out at 2:00, then 4 days of no students. I will be spending at least 1 day working on my master's assignments and probably another working on school stuff. THEN, come heck or high water I'm doing something creative. I think all my 'juices' have dried up living in this sterile environment. I can always keep my fingers crossed that the people who looked at the house will buy it???? Well best get it together.

Candice you are brave. I don't know if I could handle botox, I'm not fond of shots. How I manage to give myself 2 shots a week is beyond me. But it is in the outer thight AND I feel so much better. Janet, before I forget, I discovered that my local coffee roasters does mail order!! I like the medium roast of the espresso and have it ground to espresso size. I'm am trying the dark this week. It really is good. Here is the website if you can't find one locally. Hunter Bay Coffee: Gourmet Coffee, Coffee Gifts & Wholesale Coffee from Missoula, Montana! The house was shown today and the people's realtor called and left a message that the house showed well. I will be glad when my stomach no longer tightens into a vise when someone is looking. All I keep thinking is, "This is it, these people are going to buy my house! Now I can move on!" But if figure anyone who looks at a house during Thanksgiving week have to be serious lookers, so keep your fingers crossed. My stomach got so bad I had to go to the nurse for some antacid. I really think it was more of an anxiety attack than indegestion. I went into the library where one of my quilting friends works and had her rub my shoulders and did some deep breathing. I managed to get settled down and without too much pain before my class arrived. Tomorrow is early out and then I am getting my hair trimmed. DD#4 & I are going to 'highlight' each other's hair this weekend. I have watched the beautician do it with papers for years and I figure what the heck, I can do that. DD#4's will turn out good, but mine??? who knows. Well, I'm home alone this evening DD#4 is off to a video night at a friends, and DD#5 is on her way to Wyoming to meet the boyfriends family. So I'll be sitting here grading papers and watching TV drinking darn good latte's. I couldn't eat lunch today, so tonight I think I'll go with something simple like my usual breakfast and maybe some 100 cal kettle korn. I'm off to take a shower, TTFN

Oh and Janet, there would be no way in heck that I would go back to being a teenager. I barely made it out the first time. Now I wouldn't mind redoing my 20's. I would have done things SO differently. Nah, let's get real, I'd probably do the same stupid things again.

Denise, 1st I'm so glad you are back. We aren't complete without you. Fabulous ideas on dealing with your mom's roomie. That should put her roomie's knickers is a twist!! I just hope that I don't get that way when I become an antique. It will be nice to have your mom home for Thanksgiving, but it will be stressful for both of you. It sounds like her health is stabalized. I'm glad! Janet, I love old houses. I have always dreamed of having an old 2 story farm house. I think that is a result of growing up trailer trash. There is this old 2 story that I drive past every time I work at the nursery. The classic 2 story farm house, it is even yellow, with a large front porch. But alas, the people who bought it now live in an RV in the back yard because when they started renovations it had mold. Now it just sits there, like a old sick woman. I'm wierd, but I think that old houses 'talk' to you. All the joys and sorrows that it has experienced. And they are just waiting for someone to polish her up and love her. They have such warmth. Yep, most kids now a days are spoiled rotten, and I know I created my own. DD#5 is expecially. I got tired, and it got easier just to give in. I am better about holding her accountable, but I definitely know that she got away with more than she should have. So Denise, hang in there. We always love them, but we don't have to like what they do. Some times I don't even like them. I know that of my 5 kids I have a connection with 2, two others drive me nuts, and one I just can't relate to. She is way too big city for me. But we love them anyway. This morning was the first morning that I woke up before my alarm and actually feel rested. Mainly because I know that I have 4 days to get caught up. The plan is to devote 1 day strictly to school, then the other 3 are mine. Have a good Tuesday. Be safe. TTFN

Now here is a perfect house. It would be about a 20 mile drive to work, but it is a real charmer. But again, the price is on the high side of my budget, but maybe if it is still available I'll offer about $135,000. MLS#907165 Corvallis Montana (Residential Property)

Janet, regarding the asbestos siding, the owner has to identify any known problems, like a high radon test, mold, or asbestos. I know I shouldn't even be browsing until I get some movement on my house. Everyone says mine looks good, but the time of year is so lousy. No one is going to think about buying a house in the dead of winter and during the holidays. I need to just accept that. I'm sitting here grading papers, bleck. I'm really behind on everything. Hopefully will get some breathing room over the weekend. I still haven't written my unit for my master's program and need to plan a unit for after the holiday. Then head into the Christmas sew-a-thon. All I really want to do is go to bed. I'm really tired.

Janet, let me know if you can't find a fresh roast I can get you some and fast ship. It really is amazing how much better it is! Had to make a dump run after school tonight and drove past the 1st house. No one lives in it, so I could peak into the windows. I could smell the 'old' from outside. It will have to be pretty outstanding structurally to go for it. IF it has hardwood floors through out AND good electrical and plumbing than I'll go for it. House #2 is on the high side of my budget, but it does have an unfinished basement. I hate the furnace sitting in the middle of the livingroom. That is a deal breaker for me. I can live with the asbestes sideing, but not the furnace sitting there. The owner would have to come down in price and I would have to have the funds to change the heating system.

Unfortunately, DD#4 & DD#5 think the green room and red room are perfect. The yard is fully vinyl fenced and has mature trees. I would have to live with the local church bells ringing every hour because the house is only a block from the church. But I think I could live with that. I don't know if the house is structurally sound. Or lets get to the bigger picture, whether it will be available when I sell mine. Short week, only 3 days of school. But this is the beginning of the holiday squirrelies. The kids just get crazy. We should be missing a fairly decent amount of kids on Wednesday since many parents will be traveling. It is silly that we don't have Wednesday off. Janet when does your family arrive? I suppose I should get busy. I don't really want to go to school, but that is mainly because I didn't have time off this weekend. Have a good day! TTFN

Phyl, the recipe sounds delicious. I think I will try it with some of my left over turkey from Thanksgiving. I'm not all that fond of roast turkey, but I love turkey noodle soup. So we will probably just have turkey, potatoes, yams, & pumpkin pie with homemade whip cream. Need to do some homework, but I'm tired. Got the crawl space cleaned out and hauled to the storage unit. This weekend I'm cleaning the refrigerator and oven. Fun stuff.

Phyl, thanks for your opinion. What are your plans for the day? You could come her for a snow storm? I'll spend the day doing laundry, cleaning, and hope to clear out the crawl space and finish up the garage. Only 3 days of school this week, then 4 days off. I hope to get a good portion of my Christmas sewing done. Christmas will be lean this year, but I'll have 4 of my 5 girls at home! It can't get much better than that. Five of 5 would be better. We don't typically do the traditional Christmas dinner. We usually have manacotti and then play board games and card games. Christmas eve is my traditional clam chowder. I must admit to making a killer chowder. Janet you must be sleeping in!! Enjoy your 14 days!!

I slept in this morning and I'm still the first person here??? Okay, I guess I have to remember that Janet and Phyl are in a different time zone. Janet, I know that you are on vacation and Phyl you are retired. I have found the perfect house. I just hope it is still available when I sell AND doesn't have any major problems. I've always wanted a 2 story farm-style house and I found one that is ALMOST perfect. I know, putting the cart before the horse and shouldn't even be daydreaming about a new place, but I have to have SOMETHING to look forward to. Something to dream about, otherwise it just all gets to depressing. Here's the listing. In a perfect world I would get enough $$ from my sale to add insulation and maybe centralaire. So tell me what you think. MLS#903247 Stevensville Montana (Residential Property) Here are the other ones that fit into my budget. I like the interior on this one, but it has asbestos siding and it just doesn't sing to me. Plus it really is on the high side of my budget. Laura Merrill MLS#905536 Stevensville Montana (Residential Property) I like this one, but it is pretty small. I think the archways are charming. MLS#903232 Stevensville Montana (Residential Property) It appears that the one and only house available in florence within my budget has sold this week. Nice.... God has a plan, I may not like the plan, but I don't really have a choice. It is snowing.... NICE :thumbup:

Hope Sheba's procedure went well. I hate when my furries have any surgery. Janet, I know, stupid to go outside, but I'm like that. I don't think. Heck one time while driving in the mountains there were a couple bear cubs on the road. What the heck do I do....get out of the car. Anyone who lives around her knows that if there are babies, mom is around and will eat you. Duh. another time, there were mountain goats on the road and I didn't want them killed so I get out of the car to scare them off the road. Anyway, today was not my best day. Long day in class and then went to costco and walmart. DD#4 called to say she was staying another day with her friend. I just lost it. Really grouched her out about not letting me know ahead of time. She evidently knew a week ago that she was going to stay 2 nights with her friend. I knew nothing about any of it until yesterday when I was at class and then it was only going to be one night. Then she calls today and says she is staying another night. She is 23 and can pretty much come and go as she pleases. What really ticked me off is that I was thinking she was at home with the furries and would help me haul groceries. Had I known she wasn't coming home, I would have waited to shop until Sunday. Also we have to clean out the crawl space and have it planned for tomorrow. Again had I know she was going we would have done it Thursday after work. I know I shouldn't have lost it, but I was tired, my stress has settled into my back and feels like I have an ice pick in my back. Still no excuse. anyway, i need to go to eat, check in later

Phyl, I'm sorry to hear about your friend. My fear of developing diabetis was one reason I got the band. I am insulin resistant/pre-diabetic and I really saw my future living on shots/pokes and food restriction. I have to restrict my food now, but it isn't like it could kill me. Had something really strange happen last night. I am home by myself because DD#4 spent the night with a girlfriend at a hot springs about 80 miles from here. At about 3:30 this morning the furries started howling like the world was coming to an end. They rarely howl, bark yes, but doxies are not howlers. They wouldn't stop. I finally got up, they were still howling even after I turned the lights on. The hair on the backs was all standing up. It really freaked me out. I took them outsides and they were still growling. So I don't know if someone was trying to get in or if the coyotes were howling. Usually the coyotes don't bother them, actually their really don't like the coyotes. Part of me is leaning towards someone trying to get in, but the other part says heck noway. So who knows. Well, I need to go print some stuff off for class before I go, so you have a great day relaxing and kicking back. Think of me being stuck in class all day. TTFN

My house is a single level, but it does have a sunken dinning room and family room, better known as my quilt room. You have to step down one step to go into the dining room and to get to the garage. But at least they liked the house. I finally found my realtor's listing of my house, it has more pictures than the other listing and he said some nice things about the house, so here it is. Bruce Stiegler MLS#908255 Florence Montana (Residential Property)

Okay Candice...1st of all, watch it on the being born in '55, I was born in '59. I figured you were younger than me. 2nd, I am really DENSE, but I don't know..."You Know What"? I'm assuming you are refering to a bedroom activity....if so, hell, I didn't know that IT caused wrinkles. Had class today and tomorrow for my master's program. I came home so tired I shut my head in the closet door because I forgot to move it. The realtor emailed me and said that the couple who looked at my house really liked it, but that they were older and needed a home without any stairs. I didn't realize that Thanksgiving was next week. DD#4 & I have a little bird to cook. Mainly because we like homemade turkey soup. DD#5 is not honoring us with her presence because she is going home with the boyfriend in Wyoming. I'm not surprised, she never has felt that family was important. I'm a little ticked because she didn't give me the opportunity to say it was okay to go by asking, she just told me she was going. I am sitting here drinking a fabulous latte. We have a local coffee roaster, that you submit your order and they roast it specially for you. So you get the coffee only one day after it is roasted. Then they espresso ground it for me. MAN you wouldn't believe the difference, it is better than Starbuck coffee. Sad but true, I think I'm turning into a coffee snob. Now if only I could find a place to get Da Vinci SF Irish Cream by the case. I can only get Torriano (sp), but Da Vinci is 10 times better. But I can't afford the shipping. Hope you all have a good evening. TTFN

Phyl, I really have to watch meat also. I'm not to much into breaded stuff, never have been. With the tilapia, I like it marinated in marsala wine then I bake it with a parmesean crust, parmesean, lt. mayo, herbs and a little olive oil. Pretty good. Janet my furries are little, but they like to be guard dogs, doxies are like that. BIG attitude, itty bitty body. Actually they are not aggressive, but Jordan is a little territorial and likes the entire world know that someone is invading his space, so he barks. It is too cold for them to be outside for long without their coats. If they have their coats on when we aren't on a walk, they EAT their coats. So the realtor felt with their barking it would be best if they are boarded. I taped Bones last night and hope to get a chance to watch it on Sunday. I have class today and Saturday and Sunday is the day to clear out and pack the crawl space. I don't really like it down there. It is just kind of dark and creepy. Janet enjoy your long vacation. So Phyl, how do you guy's do Thanksgiving and Christmas? Do you cook a bird in the RV, go out, or go to family? I don't think I could create a big dinner in a RV kitchen. I'm tired today, it was all the junk I ate yesterday. But will be better today.

Phyl, how exciting!!! That it really had to be fun. You don't know look like you are the same person. WhOOOOOOOOOO. almost dinner time, left over taco meat with refried beans. exciting...not. All I want is comfort food. A big plate stogonough (sp)

Survived the realtor's tour, but when I came home I found that I had forgotten to close a drawer in my sewing room, grrrrrrrrrrrr. Can I swear? Just spend $100 boarding the furries for the realtors and days DD#4 couldn't come home if someone was going to show. We did have a showing today. DD#4 called me to let me know right about lunch time. I got so stressed, I stuck on lunch. But 4:00 I was stress munching on stuff I don't even like. I tried to feed the stress 100 cal popcorn, well 2 bags later, I'm still throwing food in my mouth. Ended up eating the banana candy out of halloween sized packages of Runts. I hate Runts, but did I eat them, OH YEAH, even ate a few of the grape kind, bleck. I really just needed to go and get a drink. That would have settled me down. The entire time that I'm throwing them in my mouth, I am telling myself how much I hate them. Well, tonight I have to do some reading for class tomorrow. But tomorrow is payday!!!!!!!!! But I had to go back to the storage unit, because I accidently stored my box of bills. Day 4 down. I did have myself convinced that the people who looked at the house today were going to make an offer...silly I know, but it really felt like this was it. But the day isn't over. I have promised the realtor that I wouldn't nag, gave him permission to smack me if I did. Okay...want to go take a shower. TTFN

Phyl, I'm with you on the crude language. I grew up trailer trash, but I don't have to act like it! I don't have a lot of patience for people who don't care who they are around and are rude or vulgar. Definitely a long evening, hope the headache went away. I'll be honest, ocassionally a swear word does leave my lips, but that doesn't mean I say it all the time. Maybe they were looking for wive swap and decided that you were worth swapping for? Wouldn't that just put Earls knickers in a twist? What about rubbermaide containers that you put under the RV? That or I'd push the putting a small storage shed on the space, or maybe one of those rubbermaid 'deck' storage unit/benches. Of course, I'm the queen of clutter. I'm a scrounger and saver, it just drives my kids nuts, but they always know who to call on when they need something. I am finding that even though I am obsessing about keeping this spotless, I do enjoy having less stuff around. I figure once I get a new place, I am going to down size further. I figure as I unpack, I'm going to create some piles: 'toss', 'donate', 'yard sale', & 'Keep'. I really don't need some of this stuff. Janet, I am pretty good when it comes to Christmas baking. I really don't eat much of it after I cook it. I always make my black and white shortbreads, (shortbread dipped in white & regular chocolate), hazelnut cranberry biscotti, and pumpkin pie with homemade whip cream. I do have a problem with the pumpkin pie, my all time favorite. I truely believe that pumpkin pie is the breakfast of champions. This year, however, I realized I packed my biscotti recipe. I will have to try and find it on the internet, grrr. It is made with hazelnut flour, ground hazelnuts, and craisins. Then dipped in white chocolate and more ground hazelnuts. The calories are too high to even contemplate. I always make my dad a few pounds of peanut brittle and some biscuit mix. Mom won't make him biscuits even though he loves them. So I have my private recipe that I mix up and the only thing dad has to do is add milk, pat out, cut, and bake. DD#2's significant other likes hazelnut shortbread, so I make him a batch for the holidays. Shortbread with ground hazelnuts, dipped in white chocolate and more ground hazelnuts. Do you all see a pattern.....chocolate, chocolate. OHHHHHHHHHHH I also have a fabulous recipe for Mexican hot chocolate that I make up for Christmas even and then sprinkle with cinnamon, secret ingredient,,,vanilla powder. ANYWAY Janet, enjoy your days off, you've earned it! Man I think I just made myself hungry. Well, suppose I should get busy. Realtor tour today! TTFN