There are so many things I’m thankful for!  I was sick for several days this week, so I’m just now getting this written.  Here’s top priority on my list:

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• God’s love, mercy & grace,  His Word (the Bible), and prayer
• My dear husband
• Our precious children (son-in-law included) & precious young grandchildren
• Relatives (many of whom I rarely or never get to see, but we stay in touch through email and phone calls)
• Technology which enables us to stay in touch with those we care about and love
• Loyal friends
• Our church family
• My job (even though it gets really stressful sometime with all the other work there is to do, the actual teaching part is wonderful.  I love my students and the people I work with!)
• Our country with the freedoms we enjoy
• Blogging and the friends I’ve made through blogging
• All of the material blessings such as a comfortable home that is so nice to be in when I’m sick
• A mini-van that gets me to and from work or where I need to go, and that is great for trips with the three of us
• My health (even with the minor ailments, it’s such a blessing to have good health and the stamina to work at a job like teaching school)

“Tom Hanks narrates the epic story of the 9/11 boatlift that evacuated half a million people from the stricken piers and seawalls of Lower Manhattan” in this short video.  It’s very heartwarming and well worth the time to watch it!
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This week, many people will be thinking of all the many things they have to be thankful for. Today, I want to share this blessing: I’m thankful to live in a country where people care about others and will even put their lives in danger to help other people. This is the kind of love that God has for us. Jesus knew that his life wasn’t just in danger but that He would lose his life for us. What great love!
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Well, here it is at the end of another Thanksgiving Day when we give thanks for all our blessings.  Actually, this is something my husband and I do every day, not just Thanksgiving.  But this day is special because we get together with family &/or friends to give thanks together.  And our most special blessings of faith, family, friends, health, and God’s unending love and mercy are what I’m most thankful for!

I hope each of you has had a blessed day today!  Hope you’ve had a happy Thanksgiving and been able to spend it with family &/or friends!

And to those of you planning on going to Friendly Friday sales early in the morning, bundle up because it’s going to be very, very cold!!

I thought that sweet potatoes and yams were basically the same thing.  That’s because here in the U.S., most of our “yams” also have “sweet potato” on the label as well.  The USDA requires that because our “yams” are not really yams but are actually sweet potatoes.  And, of course, sweet potatoes are really sweet potatoes.

Why all this confusion?  There are two varieties of sweet potatoes, firm and soft.  The firm variety was introduced first in the U.S.  When the soft variety came along, the term “yam” was used to differentiate between the two.  Yams were actually in Africa and Asia.

Sweet Potatoes have two embryonic seed leaves and yams have one seed leaf, so the two are not even related botanically.  Here are more fun facts about sweet potatoes and yams.

Can you believe it?  I do not have a Rotisserie Chicken on the menu for this week.  I think I’m starting to get a little “burned out” on them, but I have to admit that I love how easy it is to put a meal together with one!   I am going with something that can be used as leftovers, though, because I’m too tired after work to cook every night.  Here’s our menu plus a couple of other recipes I want to share.
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Here are a couple of recipes I want to share in case you’re already planning your Thanksgiving dinner:

• Fritos Cornbread Stuffing
• Laura Bush’s Corn Bread Dressing

Monday:  Leftovers from the weekend

Tuesday:  Christi’s Chicken Taco Soup with some added veggies (sliced carrots and frozen corn)  I don’t have two cans of black beans, so I plan to use one can of black beans and one can of red kidney beans.  Also, I plan to use canned chicken breast.

Wednesday:  Leftover Chicken Taco Soup  (Don’t you just love leftovers after a long day!)

Thursday:  Leftover Soup (Such an easy meal again tonight)

Friday:  Salmon Patties, green beans, frozen corn (Cooked, of course!  I specify frozen because we like frozen corn better than canned corn.)

I was excited when a large box arrived on my doorstep, and when I opened it…this is what I found!  I knew that Family Dollar was sending me something, but I had no idea it would be this big!

Inside this beautifully wrapped package were all sorts of goodies. There were things for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!


In my gift basket for “Halloween Happiness,” there were Spooky Lollipop Rings and Halloween Suckers plus a Halloween pumpkin. (Family Dollar has good prices on their candy for trick or treaters! Note the Lollipop Rings are just $2.) For Thanksgiving, there were several things: an apron (a bib apron with two large pockets AND with DuPont Teflon fabric protector to protect from stains), two holiday dessert recipes from the Family Dollar Holiday Recipe and Coupon Booklet, and a fall leaves bowl.

By the way, you might want to get the Family Dollar Holiday Recipe and Coupon Booklet to help with your entertaining needs and your budget.

The “Christmas Corner” included a Family Dollar Christmas Toy Book which has 24 pages of value packed Christmas toys, affordable for every family.  Our daughter (Christi from Frugal Novice) was visiting when I opened my Family Dollar “Fall Entertaining Toolkit” basket of goodies.  When she saw the toys they sent me, which are in the Family Dollar Toy Book, she was impressed and said that she would definitely be going to Family Dollar to purchase some toys for gifts.

They have $5 toys for kids of every age, and they feature popular name brands like Hot Wheels, Disney, and Bakugan.  In fact, they sent me a Bakugan toy.  I have to admit that I had no idea what that was, but our daughter was very familiar with Bakugan toys.  When I gave it to our grandson (Christi & Brian’s three year old), he was fascinated with it.  In the picture, you can see our grandson, dressed in his red pajamas, playing very intently with his new toy. He liked it so much that he slept with it that night, and even went to sleep with it clutched in his little hand.  It was definitely a hit!

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Family Dollar has everything from kids’ favorites like full-function Radio Control Kid Cruisers to $5 board games to Kidget clothing for newborns-toddlers to hot-priced electronics.  They have play huts for $10 such as the Disney’s Tinker Bell and Disney’s Princess.  They have something for everyone!  What is really impressive is their great selection of $5 toys and gifts.  Also available are wrapping paper and seasonal home decor accents at great prices. No wonder they’re one of the fastest-growing discount chains in the United States and also a Fortune 500 company.

If you visit Family Dollar.com, you can enter the Family Dollar Holiday Dream Dash Contest for a chance to win a 90 seconds holiday shopping spree in one of their stores.  You can enter now through November 19, 2020.  Be sure to go back and vote the week of November 22nd.

Note:  Family Dollar offers a 10% discount on bulk toy purchases of $100 or more, perfect for the charitable gift-giver!

Here is an easy festive chicken dish:

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 large chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 can whole cranberry sauce
• 1 package onion soup mix
• 1 small bottle of Fat-free Catalina Salad Dressing

Brown chicken in olive oil.  While browning chicken, mix cranberry sauce, onion soup mix, and salad dressing.  Put chicken in 9 x 13 inch baking dish and pour sauce over the chicken.  Cover with foil.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.