Introductions

Gobble, Gobble!
It's almost Turkey Day. I thought I'd share some of my favorite recipes with you that would be great on your Thanksgiving menu.Cranberry Relish(Traditional cranberry sauce is too tart for me to eat more than about a spoonful. This relish is neither too tart nor too sweet. It's good warm or cold. It's also great on toast.)4 cups fresh cranberries, cleaned2 cups chopped dried apricots1 cup chopped seedless golden raisins1 tablespoon orange rind1/4 teaspoon ground ginger2 1/2 cups orange juice1 cup brown sugarCombine all ingredients except sugar in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil o

Better Things to Do
TV. If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six. Open your child's imagination. Open a book. ~Author UnknownIn Beverley Hills, they don't throw their garbage away - they make it into television shows. ~Woody AllenTelevision is an invention that permits you to be entertained in your living room by people you wouldn't have in your home. ~David FrostIf the television craze continues with the present level of programs, we are destined to have a nation of morons. ~Daniel Marsh, 1950It's been years since we had a tv. We didn't watch it much when we did have it. Just a movie once in a while. When our dau

In the Blink of an Eye
I can't believe it's been almost 5 years since my first child was born. (My daughter's birthday is Wednesday.) The last 5 years flew by faster than 2 years of graduate school. Here's Olivia soon after she was born.Here she is when she was about a year old. She's changed so m

Shower Shenanigans
That's it. I'm going to quit taking showers. At least not after my husband leaves for work or before he returns. It seems every time I take a shower, disaster strikes.To the best of my recollection, the first major ordeal was when Olivia cut her hair. I think it was about a year ago. She would have been 4 or close to it. She had NEVER had a haircut. One day while I was showering, she took her little scissors and cut bangs and shortened the hair framing her face. I was speechless. Luckily, she did a pretty good job. Another time, Jesse played Picasso on the end of the bookcase. And on the wall. The bookcase and wall are off-white; the crayon was purple. I didn't even

It's Better to Give Than to Receive...
...especially when your house is overflowing with stuff!I need your help. Olivia's 5th birthday is coming up and I bet her relatives are going to start asking me for gift requests/suggestions. She has a lot of "stuff" and doesn't need any more. Some of it was cheaply made and broke quickly. A lot of it she just doesn't play with or use. I'd like to avoid these kinds of gifts.I've got a few ideas but could use more. We like to go to the zoo, so I thought a zoo pass would make a good suggestion. If we had museums around here, passes to those would be nice, too. We've got a library card. I should find out what plays and/or musicals are coming up at our college and commu