hmmm ... that sounds a bit too French, doesn't it? ;)

The Wall St. Journal had an interesting article about how the royal family is going about keeping the dress a secret (following lessons from Charles and Diana's wedding): http://online.barrons.com/article/SB10001424052748704132204576285182882600082.html?mod=fox_australian

Mark Gilderhus's History and Historians is a very basic introduction. Here are a few books I remember from my historiography class 10+ years ago (had to look on Amazon a bit to jog my memory): Telling the Truth About History - Appleby, Hunt, Jacob What is History? - Carr The Idea of History - Collingwood Historiography in the Twentieth Century - Iggers The Content of the Form - White

I like the Green Mountain Nantucket Blend--and Green Mountain in general. ETA: never mind--I read too fast and didn't realize that you were looking for flavored.

You might want to look into historiography, which is the history and methodology of history. I am pretty sure that all history majors are required to take a class on it (it was definitely a requirement for me as an undergrad).

I think that they would be "cage-free" but not "free range" (implies access outside to forage, etc.).

I mostly sweep and vacuum regularly. In the kitchen area, I use water as needed. Every so often, do a deeper clean with Bona.

Vanilla and baked goods--cinnamon roll, sugar cookie, etc. In the fall, I sometimes like them tinged with a bit of apple or pumpkin.

I pay $2.50/doz for organic, free-range eggs from my neighbor, which I think is a really good deal. He is obsessive about what he feeds them (no feed), and I really think that he should charge a bit more. He also sells me cracked (membranes still intact) eggs at half price, which I always get if he has them. I have seen CSAs and farmer's markets in my area charge $3.50-$4.50 per dozen.

Hope you're able to enforce a "no one in the kitchen but the cook rule", then! Personally, I think that attempting to cook everything from start to finish the day of is a perfect recipe for lukewarm/cold food and the meal starting an hour later than planned.

This is probably too late for tomorrow's meal, but a book I love for entertaining is The Best Make-Ahead Recipes, published by Cook's Illustrated. I have used the make-ahead mashed potatoes, mac 'n cheese, green beans, etc. over and over. That said, I would probably roast the turkey the day of, not the day before.

This might be too advanced, but he might like The Scarlet Pimpernel.

Gap, but only on sale. To be honest, though, the ones I have haven't worn out in years, so I haven't been there in a while.

Banana "ice cream" Whirl frozen banana(s) plus a little milk (skim, soy, whatever) in the food processor. Serve immediately. It's surprisingly creamy and delicious, but you're basically just eating bananas. I occasionally sprinkle on some mini chocolate chips, but it's very satisfying on its own.

I really like Chipotle, but it is an occasional indulgence for me. Yes, they use real ingredients and their meat is better-sourced, but the amount of calories in a burrito is staggering. Of course, you can do the burrito bowl option and leave out the tortilla, skip the sour cream and/or cheese, etc., but I'm not sure that I'd necessarily call most of the combinations "healthy." Tasty, yes :)

I like to par-bake my crusts, too; I can't stand slightly raw pie crust :tongue_smilie:

Thank you for the suggestions so far, ladies! I am trying the things I already have in the house first: garlic, yogurt/probiotic, zinc, cider vinegar, and, of course, water). I live in a rural area, so I might try to stock up on the other suggestions the next time I or DH go to town or the city.

My ILs live about 20 minutes from Woodfield, and, as far as I know, it's just a regular mall--no outlets.

awww, how sweet!

I have had a sore throat since last night, and I really, really do not want to be sick this week. What are your tried and true methods for keeping something like this from becoming a full-blown cold? As a side note, I am pregnant, so I'd obviously prefer suggestions that won't have any negative effects on that. Thank you in advance, Dr. Hive!

If drinking green smoothies seems too unpalatable, dark berries such as blueberries and blackberries will mask the green and give your smoothie a more pleasing purple color. I make a green smoothie every morning for my DS with kale, and I add 2-3 soup spoons of blueberries. In my experience, lighter berries like strawberries and raspberries just give the smoothie a dirty-looking color; you could always throw those in with just a few blue or blackberries to give the drink a nicer color.

Use smaller plates. I usually plate meals on salad, rather than dinner, plates, and the smaller plates make the meal look bigger. I also allot half the plate for veggies, one quarter for protein, one quarter for carbs. In addition to the half plate of veggies, I start most meals with some kind of green salad. I use vinaigrettes and dressings with much less oil (usually I reverse the 3:1 oil:vinegar ratio). Along with the lettuce, I usually throw in some extras, like fruit, avocado, other veggies, or small amounts of nuts or cheese--go for more flavorful cheeses because a little can go a long way.

I make ranch, green goddess, etc. dips from scratch with fresh herbs, garlic, and lemon juice. Cook's Illustrated has good recipes (I use The New Best Recipe).

Very tacky to dictate what kinds of gifts people should give, even if it's a cultural norm to give money.

I prefer a treadmill because it's really easy for me to slow down and get lazy with an elliptical. On the treadmill, I set my speeds/intervals and make myself stick to the pace.