Spaghetti and meatballs. My dad made such wonderful meatballs and marinara for our football party yesterday, and there was far more than enough for the guests. He sent the leftovers home with me, so I'm serving them tonight along with garlic bread and a salad.

For an annual holiday? That's odd. My husband's family did this once, but it was for FIL's 80th birthday which included lobster, filet and $40 bottles of wine. We would never split the cost if not for a more significant event.

My dog has her own dishes, and because of her allergies she cannot eat from our plates no matter how much my husband would like to feed her scraps. ;) I don't think it's a terrible thing. For those who think it's gross, do you ever wash and reuse a dish that had previously held spoiled food from the depths of the fridge? Raw meat juices? Those things are equally disgusting, in my opinion, and we still eat from those dishes once they are properly cleaned.

My son finished his applications last week and received his first acceptance letter today from Whitworth. They are offering a nice scholarship as well. :D

I would LOVE it, Patty. I have been putting off Hunter's care because I won't use the same one Jeffrey ended with.

I have a Boston Terrier (that's her in my avatar). She's just the right size for the amount of space we have here, and she has such a sweet personality.

I love browsing epicurious for new holiday recipe ideas.

My father-in-law made a roast instead of turkey a few years ago. I was so surprised at how much it felt like just another family dinner. I really have a strong connection to particular foods for certain celebrations.

I would reply with, "The potatoes are already covered. Will you please bring a salad this year?"

Ugh! I'm sorry you are going through this. We changed orthodontists after two and a half years of care for my son. I completely understood his reason for selling the practice. His wife had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer and he wanted to be with her as much as possible. And yet, it was a very difficult transition. The new Dr. did not know us as well (my husband and I had also been through braces with the former Dr., so we had a nearly 8 year relationship with him), so she didn't seem to really care like we were used to. She also had a very different perspective about some aspects of his treatment. She removed his braces when our dentist said he still had some serious issues to correct. His retainer never fit right (caused a considerable amount of pain), but she seemed uninterested in really fixing it. As a result he didn't wear it often enough. I suspect he will need some additional orthodontic treatment in the near future. :grouphug: I hope you get some satisfaction and return to the level of care you are used to.

Right now? Today? This holiday season? I'd make plans for my Christmas celebration that do not include the relatives. But. I'm in a mood. It's been a months-long, ugly, moody thing (probably) because I'm not dealing well with some of the major changes in my family since my mom passed away in January. Normally? I would make my own plans for Thanksgiving and set a place for Auntie on Christmas.

The pumpkin my son carved as the centerpiece. My bible, two pens and study notes. A phone handset.

I *think* I would be willing to do it all myself even if I didn't have help. I believe that because being in a clean, uncluttered space is important to the way I want to live. I can't be sure, though, because I do have help, and I don't know what it feels like to be the only one doing it all day in and day out. I feel a bit anxious when the space I am spending time in is messy and cluttered. That is part of the reason I believe I would still maintain a neat home even if the others didn't pitch in.

Both of my boys have had a variety of jobs. We have a small photography company, so they have been working for us since they have been old enough to be trusted with digital files, etc. Our 17 year old now functions as my husband's digital media manager (editing, correcting and uploading photo files) at the professional soccer and football games that my husband shoots. Additionally, the 17 yo has a daily job working in the kitchen at the teams' headquarters. He does food prep, cleans the dining room, stocks freezers and pantries, and washes loads and loads of dishes. In the past the same son has done lawn work for folks in the neighborhood, tutored junior high school students in the evenings, and has had a paid internship for a county councilman. Our 12 year old has taken over the neighborhood lawn work a couple days a week and has a once weekly job as a mother's helper for a neighborhood mom of two young boys. He also works for the family photography company during our summer golf tournament season. He drives the golf cart around the course delivering photos that had earlier been shot and printed.

Oh! I'm so glad you got just what you were looking for. What a lovely gift!

:iagree: Have you had the unfortunate experience of having a glass of White Merlot poured for you? :ack2: And, I have had non-alcoholic wine. It's worse. When the point is pairing a great wine with a wonderful meal, having a glass at home hours later sort of misses the mark.

I am a rather strict parent. I expect phoning and texting to end before a set bedtime. When I don't feel as if my rules are being followed, the phone spends several nights on *my* night stand so as to remove any temptation. Same goes for netbooks and iPods. :D I feel strongly about teens getting plenty of sleep. ETA: This used to be the case for my older teen. He is 17 now and chooses his own bedtime and manages his own phone habits (and is quite reasonable about both). These particular rules now only apply to the 12yo.

:iagree: My connection is regional. I'm in the Pacific Northwest, and I feel as if my 'home' includes British Columbia to Oregon. I don't feel a particular connection to my state.

Unfortunately, I am familiar with that brand of drinker as well. My experience is that they are the minority, although they are certainly the easiest to recognize. :D

I don't eat pancakes, but my guys do it this way: Husband: syrup 17 yo: peanut butter 12 yo: first one with syrup, second one with jam, third with peanut butter.

That reminds me of a conversation I overheard between my boys a few years ago. My older son said, "Mom did NOT use drugs when she was a teenager!" Younger son replied, "Yes she did! She smoked cigarettes. She told me."

I never thought of it in terms of my children's exposure. I suppose that because there is no alcohol *abuse* in our home I don't view it as having a different place in my life than any other beverage. I find the connection between food/drink and culture, and the seasonal nature of our meals fascinating. I think we all have personal traditions, and I don't put alcohol in a unique category in that regard. I don't eat a piece of chocolate cake without a big glass of milk. I love hot tea on a cold night when I'm reading a book. I want a glass of big, oaky chardonnay with an appetizer of smoked salmon and capers. I find myself making beef stew with Guinness when the weather turns in the fall. The statements folks are making in the other threads about not needing alcohol to have a good time and getting 'boozed up' don't make sense to me. For us, and I suspect for most people who drink, that sort of thing doesn't even enter into the equation.

My husband is as well. At most he'll have about a quarter of a glass of wine with Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

A couple times a week I will have 2-3 glasses of wine. Usually one or sometimes two when I'm cooking dinner and another glass with dinner when we're all around the table. When I'm in a hurry to get dinner done because we have activities that night, I don't drink. Wine is something I enjoy on our more leisurely evenings.

Pumpkin cornbread My guys loved it with a dab of maple butter.