I'm back!

Hello my friends!  I am back to the world of blogging after many weeks of silence.  I have been struggling hard against seasonal depression, the flu, teenage drama, and other single-mom-related stresses.  Thanks to anyone who was checking my blog in my absence!
I have been enjoying my work as kitchen staff. I meal-plan with the help of all-recipes.com and my recipe box.  As a result, I run to the store less frequently and my kids eat less convenience foods.  Also, we are starting our holiday baking and cooking.  I did a trial-run Thanksgiving meal (mostly because I never host Thanksgiving, so I like to do one at our house).  We watched a Thanksgiving DVD of Good Eats and brined the turkey as suggested.  The meat was good, but the gravy was uber-salty.  (Alton Brown doesn't make gravy, so he didn't mention that).
Spencer came back from the Apostolic school and is going to the local Catholic school now.  Also Theresa is doing online classes thru the local high school.  So the past few weeks the order and routine of my life has been obliviated, if obliviated is the word I mean.  I don't do well with change.  It's starting to settle in now, though.  Phew.
My hands have not been idle.  Here is one of the projects I have completed for Christmas, but which will probably be given to the recipient this week because I cannot wait to give people their gifts:

One of my sisters is using her vacation time to go to Disney this week by herself.  One of my other sisters just got back from a pilgrimage to Italy where she saw Padre Pio's town and had mass in St. Peter's and went to Benedict's monastery...  I am not jealous, though, because I am happy for both of them and I know that God has wonderful plans for me, too.  On Black Friday, my sisters and mother and I are going to see Harry Potter.  And the same group is going to see the musical Christmas Carol in Pittsburgh during Christmas week.  Yeah!  AND Wicked is coming to Pittsburgh in September.  I am very excited as I have been wanting to take my girls to see it for a couple of years, now.  Hopefully, we can have enough lemonade sales to buy tickets for all of us!