Thanksgiving came and went so fast! We counted our many blessings and enjoyed being with our kids. We were with our son on actual Thanksgiving Day and enjoyed a big meal which produced many delicious left-overs and “no cooking required” meals!
Here’s our menu for the week:
Monday: “Turkey” enchiladas and black beans
Tuesday: Rotisserie Chicken, corn, and green beans
Wednesday: Left-over chicken, baked potato, broccoli
Thursday: “Almost Homemade Rotisserie Chicken Soup”
Friday: Pizza
Mission accomplished! We went out early this morning, not at 3:30 am like we originally had planned, but early enough to get some good Black Friday sales. We got the usual gift items, not anything unusual like horse tack (however, our neighbor’s daughter would love to get something horse related). The lines were not long by the time we got there, so we missed the standing in line for one and two hours. I really didn’t miss that at all!
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.
What do you get a teenager for Christmas? If it’s a guy, maybe something in the way of video games or a gift card to their favorite video game store, speakers for their car, or a gift card to their favorite clothing store if they like to shop for clothes. If it’s a girl, a gift card to their favorite clothing store would definitely be a hit. These are just a few gift ideas.
My mother-in-law is an avid bird watcher. When we’re visiting her during the summer, we sit outside and watch the birds at the bird feeders and in the woods behind her house. During the winter, we sit in her living room and look out the sliding glass doors at the birds eating bird feed on her patio table and the bird feeders. She also has a heated bird bath which the birds love (and even a small fox), and it’s fun to watch the activity in the bird bath.
In order to see the birds better while sitting inside, binoculars come in very handy! I’m not sure what brand my mother-in-law has, but I don’t think they’re ncstar binoculars. If you know anyone who is an avid bird watcher, they probably have binoculars, too. If they don’t then that might be a good gift idea!
I wonder how many of you are planning on going to the Black Friday sales early this coming Friday morning, and I do mean early! We are planning on getting up before dawn and going to several stores to get some really good deals. What makes Black Friday so fun? I guess it’s being with family and/or friends, shopping at a crazy time during the middle of the night, and being on a quest to find the best bargains out there.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to the holiday next week, Friendly Friday will NOT be posted next Thursday and will instead return at 11 EST on Thursday, December 2nd. Happy Thanksgiving!
Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog too! Just click “Get the code here…” at the bottom of the list. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way for everyone to get even more traffic to their blog.
Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Christi at Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.
To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your family-friendly link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.
When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it’s a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post – the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!
Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers! We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we’ll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the content of next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):
Michelle at Blog Be Dandy is an avid and talented soap maker. She started her blog to have a place to put her thoughts, ideas and a few of her favorite things. When you visit, you’ll find stories from her day-to-day life, recipes, info/photos of her soap projects, and, of course, her favorite things.
Ruth at Living Well, Spending Less is a married mom to two girls, and her family is her passion. She started on a journey of saving money and discovered she actually enjoyed being frugal! Right now she has “30 Days of Holiday Cheer” happening at her blog. It’s dedicated to “bringing you tons of great advice and fun ideas for making the most of this holiday season….without blowing your budget.”
Linda at The Auld Grey Mare has four daughters, all but one grown now and almost eight grandchildren. Her posts are filled with recipes, crafts (she’s an avid cross-stitcher) and decor ideas. Her autumn decor photos are beautiful and inspiring, and her recent recipe post for Pumpkin Puff Pancakes will make you want to head to the kitchen to get started on making some for yourself!
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While I was in the school lunchroom today, I was thinking back to when our kids were young and the age of elementary school children. Before we knew it, they were in middle school and wanting to know how to get rid of acne fast. Now, one is married and they have two little boys of their own, and our youngest is in college. Where do the years go? Kids grow up so very fast!
Are you already thinking about what gifts to buy for Christmas? I’ve been so busy that I’ve barely started. In the past, I would usually have half my shopping done by now. This year, I’m just starting on my list. I know that we don’t need box cigars for anyone. We definitely need something for a three year old and a 20 month old (by Christmas), though. I’ll have to put on my thinking cap!
Here are some Thanksgiving recipe ideas:
* Mother’s Holiday Fruit Salad
* Pineapple Delight
* Southern Corn Bread Dressing
Can you tell? I’m ready for turkey, dressing, and all the fixings, but I guess we’ll have to wait until next week. For now, I’ll settle for this menu:
Monday: Salmon Patties, baked potatoes, green beans
Tuesday: Rotisserie chicken, corn, broccoli
Wednesday: Use leftover chicken to make chicken vegetable soup
Thursday: Leftover soup
Friday: Green Chili Chicken Enchilada Casserole, black beans, homemade guacamole & chips
What type of furniture style do you like? Our daughter and son-in-law like modern furniture, and it really does look well in their house and fits their personality. My husband and I have mostly traditional furniture. However, my computer desk is contemporary. The bedroom furniture we have in the guest bedroom is what I had in high school which is French Provincial. And we have a few antique accent tables that belonged to my grandparents. So, I guess we have an eclectic collection of furniture styles.
