What kind of bean are you using? Some cook faster than others. Typically I have to cook beans on medium-low (number 2 on my stove) for about 4 hours, but some beans can take up to 6. It really depends.

I can't say. The only time I make beans with a tomato sauce base is when I make chili and I always cook the bean separately so I can strain them before adding them to the pot. Since you're just using root veggies, I'd cook the beans first in another pot. They will need to cook a lot longer than your root vegetables and you dont' want to lose the flavor of the garlic and onion waiting for the beans to cook. I'd cook them fully first and then cook your soup base in another pot and add the beans maybe 20 minutes before the soup is done. But that's just me. :)

That's my favorite too. I watch it every year. It makes me cry. I also love Charlie Brown Christmas, the Grinch, Christmas story and the new Christmas Carol movie that Disney did this year. I find it mesmerizing. And of course it's a wonderful life! Gotta love Jimmy Stewart. I also liked Fred Clause, but I love Paul Giamatti. :)

What are the other ingredients that are going into the soup? If there are veggies or something like that I would cook the beans first and then add them in at the end with the soup. If it's a sauce base that isnt' going to change no matter how long you cook it down, then I'd cook the beans in the same pot. HTH. :)

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Numbers 6:24-26 “The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”’ Psalm 18:2 2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

That is so AWESOME!!!! How proud you must be! :hurray: :party:

That's pretty! :)

No. I had never even heard of it before. Those are unbelievably gorgeous! Wow! Things like this really make me feel intimidated and inferior. I have absolutely NO artsy or craftsy ablilities at all. I'm so envious of people who can make such amazing pieces of art as this. Truly stunning!! Oh your poor finger. I hope you have a good thimble at least. :grouphug:

A stained glass quilt sounds amazing. Did you use a machine for Pilch's quilt or do it all by hand? I hope you used a machine with all that denim! :eek:

LOL An heirloom Astro boy! lol Love it! :)

ASTROBOY!! :hurray: What an awesome quilt. But now everyone here is going to know I'm a tyrant after all of my hard work trying to fool them into into believing I'm nice! ;) :) hehe That quilt is AWESOME! Pilch is gonna love it. Where in the world did you find so many jeans pockets?? :001_huh:

That is so nice. Happy Anniversary. :)

If he's a toe walker he might be seeking sensory imput. Occupational therapy and a sensory diet will help with that. They might also want to look into weighted vests to give him sensory imput and also help keep his feet on the floor. Speech therapy is great too. I haven't done RDI (very expensive) but I have heard good things about it. I know for us, my son (9 almost 10) sounds a lot like the little boy you described. We couldn't afford the more expensive therapies but what we could get (PT, OT & ST) helped him. Also getting down on the floor and just playing with him and trying to engage him helped him connect with us too. Now he seeks us out to play even though he still doesn't speak. I also would give him lots of massages (still do) and just lots of sensory imput all the time. One word of caution about the toe walking. I don't want to frighten anyone, but you really need to try to get that boys feet on the floor. My son is a toe walker too and has been since he's been walking. He needs surgery now for his legs because of the years of toe walking has shortened his tendons. A steady sensory diet should help if the toe walking is a sensory "seeking" behavior and maybe a weighted vest too. Good luck.

You had me at "crappy week". ;) I see you. But then I see dead people too so.......:tongue_smilie: j/k I couldn't find any decent movie references to make you smile. The Avatar one was already taken. ;) :lurk5:

THANK YOU!! :grouphug:

Oh I didn't realize you were going to Universal. Sorry, I thought you had said Disney. I guess I didn't read your original post very well. hehe :blushing:

Some Florida schools are off for Spring Break that weekend some are not. Our tourist season is from November- April. It's always busy at Disney during tourist season tbh. Fast track is free btw unless they've changed something since the last time I went. You just take a ticket of the attraction you want to go to and it will give you a time to return and you can go do something else like eat, go to another attraction whatever, you return to your attraction at the time on your ticket and you stand in the shorter line for Fast track ticket holders. That's all there is to it really.

:grouphug::grouphug: I could have written much of your post. I've been having a case of the gloomies myself lately. I think I've just chocked it up to overwork and stress and too many things to do with not enough time to do them. I do love the holidays and I'm excited for my mom to come visit in 2 weeks, but I confess I've been guilty of trying to avoid social settings lately. I've just really had a desire to be left alone. :confused:

Yep and as deacons and elders they should know better. I am just a youth worker (volunteer) and I had to go through backround checks as well as training for several weeks before I was given my class and I had training specifically on how to spot abuse as well as the law and the protocol for reporting and I'm just a grunt. These guys totally should have been aware of the law at their level in the church. Shame on them for covering it up! I reckon when they get out of jail they won't make that mistake again.

I'm making a slow roasted marinated pork loin, black beans and rice, and green and ripe plantains (fried). My sister will probably make the salad and the dessert or someone will buy it and bring it. I don't want to hijack this thread, but I'm really curious and wanted to know about all of you who eat fish/seafood for Christmas dinner, what backround/heritage is that? I've never heard of eating seafood on Christmas Eve before and was just wondering culturally where it comes from. Just curious. :) Thanks. Now back to your regularly scheduled thread. :)

Oh my gosh, I knew right away what it was as soon as I saw the question. The lechon asado that my cousin made at my aunt's house. He made it the old fashioned way buried in the ground slow roasting all day and covered with banana leaves. It was the best lechon asado I've EVER had in my life. I can't think of it without drooling. lol An easy second to that one was the arroz con pollo that they had at my grandparent's house after my grandfather's funeral. When we returned to their house, all of my relatives came over and brought tons of food. My uncle Tony made arroz con pollo and it was the best I've ever had. The men in my family can really cook.

It takes me a week to get past the splitting headaches and two weeks to be totally pain free. If it's any consolation, I'm a fellow caffeine addict who is trying to get off it too. I am so not looking forward to those headaches. I hope it is a comfort to you that you're not alone anyway. :) Good luck to you. :)

That's crazy! Never in a million years would I expect anyone to cater to my son's diet. I always bring his food with me even when we go to restaurants although I usually order something off of the menu hoping he'll try it, but I always have his Cheerios and juice with me as a back up.

Happy Happy Birthday Jessie! Thank you for everything that you have done! :) :hurray: :party:

In my case, my son is profoundly Autistic and has horrible sensory issues. He's one of those kids that only eats very few things. I've tried to get him to eat other things, but he just can't tolerate them. He literally gags and throws up. He just can't. He lives on Cheerios, green apples, bananas, DiGiorno's Pepperoni pizza and apple juice. Sometimes if I'm lucky I can get him to eat white rice, but he won't eat any proteins with it so I almost prefer that he eats the pizza. :(