I don't like to be told what to do. Never have. Whether it was my mother telling me to clean my room as a child, or my husband telling me to pulleaze balance the checkbook...doesn't matter. Almost automatically, my lips would press together, I'd get that defiant look in my eye, and though I may have never said it out loud (or did I?), I was thinking it: "Make me."

My mother no longer worries about my messy room (which is still messy on occasion...am I still rebelling?), and I'm not such a clod with the checkbook anymore. Yet that streak of rebellion is right there, firmly ensconced in my heart. Probably has something to do with being a human being who needs Jesus just a tad more each day, and may have something to do with me still needing to grow up in certain areas of my life (which, frankly, I refuse to do). Like my room...do I let it stay messy just to placate my inner child? Or am I just a tired, slightly undisciplined mother who has too much to do? Dr. Phil, are you reading this?

It's because I don't like being told what to do that I don't make New Year's resolutions. I rebel against myself, too. 

Me: "You must resolve to finish those piles of filing this year."

Me: "Make me."

I like to make the betterment of myself just happen naturally. As if it tiptoes softly into my life through the side door so as not to disturb my inner brat. Like this Christmas, I got rid of a bunch of needless junk without having to tell myself to. As I took down certain things (vases, pictures, knick knacks) to make room for my snowmen and other cheerful holiday dust collectors, many of those extra things went into boxes to be given away. And when the Christmas things came down, some of those went bye-bye, too.

(You'll be happy to know that several of these things -- vases, mainly -- will no longer be clutter in anyone's house, because when I opened the hatch on my SUV at the thrift store, they fell out onto the pavement and broke into quite a few unrecognizable pieces. Obviously, it was for the best. No one else needed them, either.)

Another way some of that New Year betterment happens is by one of my favorite downtime activities: Visiting web sites that deal with how to organize, how to be a better parent (wife, friend, etc.), and how to get closer to God. These sites are full of tips that come in like a gentle teacher through the side door of my life, and after while even my inner brat is behaving -- never having known what hit her. Here are a few of my faves:

Martha Stewart: It's my opinion that most of the people who put her down for her uber-domesticity have never really perused her web site at length. There's a ton of fun stuff on here. Don't get stressed out thinking you have to do everything she says, or exactly as she says to. The point of the site is to make life easier for you. Look at it that way.

Get Organized Now: Maria Gracia is a professional organizer with a load of great ideas. It's not a huge site (which is a good thing for the easily overwhelmed), but you're sure to find some tips to help you with your time, money, and general organization.

Christian Women Online: This site is pretty new to me, but already a favorite. If you need encouragement, this is the place to be.

I may add a few sites later. Right now my inner brat needs a cookie. ;-)

To be deemed an "official" white Christmas, an area has to have an accumulation of at least 1" of snow, according to this article by KOMO News 4 in Seattle. I had actually prayed that we would wake up to a blanket of white yesterday morning, but it didn't happen. Then, after the presents were opened and we were munching on cinnamon rolls (the kind you have to peel out of a can), we saw that once again, God answered a prayer in His timing as we saw the first icy flakes falling. It was just a dusting, certainly not the inch required to call it a white Christmas, but it was a beautiful sight. There's something gentle and calming about watching snow fall softly to the ground, covering over a multitude of nature's sins and making even the ugly things becoming. Very much like Christ's love for us.

I hope you all had a nice Christmas with the ones you love.

Here's a fun site full of Christmas freebies: All Things Christmas. It'll be the first thing I go to in the morning (after I check my email, of course), and I can't wait to sit and read through it while drinking my coffee laced with Peppermint Mocha Coffee Mate creamer. You know, Coffee Mate should really pay me for that endorsement. Maybe I'll just let them have it as a freebie...this time!

Enjoy the site!

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PS: Okay, I have to tell you -- I couldn't wait until morning and just went back to the site. I'm cringing a little. I still think it's a fun site with lots to see and do, but take a look at what I've copied from the home page. They got at least one little detail wrong. First one to leave a comment and tell me what it is wins! No, you don't win anything...just the privilege of being first.

Christmas Facts

Every year more than 400 million people celebrate Xmas around the world -- that makes Xmas one of the world’s biggest religious and commercial festivities. In approximately year 300 A.D., the birthday of Jesus was determined to be on December 25, the day that has been celebrated from then till this very day. The celebration on the 25th of December starts with Christmas Eve, the evening of December 24.

The religious festival is originally a blend of pagan customs. The Romans held a festival on December 25 called Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, i.e. "the birthday of the unconquered sun." Pagan Scandinavia celebrated a winter festival called Yule, held in late December to early January. However, it is uncertain exactly why December 25 became associated with the birth of Jesus since the Old Testament doesn’t mention a specific date of the event.

Did you find it? Let me know. Quiz your kids on this one, too! (And does "Xmas" bug you as much as it bugs me?)

Good golly, how the time has gotten away from me. It's the day before Thanksgiving, and I've posted not a single promised recipe (besides the links to a few). I noticed I had a comment from socalval about my recipes, scrolled up to look at them, and said, "Oops." So, if you still need a stuffing recipe, here's a great one. If it's too late to make it for Turkey Day, consider making it for Christmas, or whenever you plan to make a bird that needs to be stuffed.

And, I mispoke in my last post. Or mistyped. The recipe is not called "rosemary sage sourdough stuffing" -- there is no sage in it whatsoever. It's perfectly good on it's own with just the rosemary, though, so do give it a try:

ROSEMARY SOURDOUGH STUFFING

Source: Better Homes and Gardens magazine, November 1996

• 3 cups sliced assorted fresh mushrooms, such as shiitake, brown, or white
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup margarine or butter
• 1/4 cup snipped parsley
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 8 cups dry sourdough bread cubes (*)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken broth

In a large saucepan, cook fresh mushrooms, celery, and onion in hot margarine or butter until celery in tender but not brown; remove from heat. Stir in parsley, dried rosemary, and pepper.

Place dry bread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Add the onion mixture. Drizzle with enough chicken broth to moisten, tossing gently to coat the bread cubes.

Use the stuffing to stuff one 8- to 12-pound turkey or bake separately in a casserole, covered, in a 325 F degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes or in a 375 F degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until heated through. (If the stuffing is baked inside the turkey, the temperature of the cooked stuffing should register at least 165 F degrees in the center.) Makes 8-12 servings.

Nutrition facts per serving: 279 cal., 14 g. total fat (3 g. sat. fat), 0 mg. cholesterol, 544 mg. sodium, 34 g. carbo., 1 g. fiber., 6 g. protein. Daily values: 15% vit. A, 9% vit. C, 5% calcium, 14% iron.

(*) Note: To make dry bread cubes for stuffing, cut the bread into 1/2-inch square pieces, You'll need 12 to 14 slices of bread for 8 cups of dry cubes. Spread in a single layer in a 15 x 10 x 2-inch baking pan. Bake in a 300 F degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until dry, stirring twice; cool. (The bread will continue to dry and crisp as it cools. Or, let stand loosely covered, at room temperature for 8-12 hours.)

And there you have it. If you're an experienced cook, feel free to change ingredients as necessary to make the recipe more to your liking. As for me, I've found it easier to just use one kind of mushroom, and I like to add chopped walnuts and bacon (or sausage) to the stuffing. I will also be doubling the recipe, as our turkey is a 24-pound monster of a bird. So, uh...we'll be having lots of leftovers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Because I've had so much I've wanted to post about over the past couple of weeks but haven't been able to, I've decided to throw bits and pieces of it all into one big pot...er...post.

My Fibromyalgia Doesn't Give a Rip About My Schedule

Since the beginning of October, I have had 5 flare ups of my fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome (FM/CFS). I am trying to determine if I am now in the throes of number 6, which seems to be an extension of number 5. I've added the fatigue onto it this time because, besides the pain, I have been completely wiped out. Can't focus, can't concentrate, can't drive on days like this...just want to sleep. The timing is bummerish, of course, now that the holidays are here. I'm cooking next week for Turkey Day, and do believe that I will be asking my children and husband to help with whatever possible. Scratch that -- they can consider themselves drafted! No choice for them in the matter: "You wanna eat? You gotta help cook!" No, I wouldn't actually carry that out, but they don't need to know that until after the pumpkin pie is served. (Wicked laughter.)

What's on Your Thanksgiving Menu?

I thought it would be fun to share with you what I plan to make next week. If you'd like to do the same, post it on your blog and let me know by leaving a comment. I always like to get ideas from other people's menus (I have completely exhausted the recipe lists on the Better Homes & Gardens, HGTV, and Martha Stewart websites).

• Bread pudding, hash browns and sausage (for breakfast)
• Turkey
• Rosemary Sage Sourdough Stuffing
• Candied Yams
• Spinach and Cheese Puff 
• Sourdough Oatmeal Rolls 
• Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Honey Glazed Carrots
• Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
• Pecan Pie  
• Pumpkin Pie
• Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider

I'll do what I can to post some of these recipes in the days ahead. The rosemary sage sourdough stuffing is incredible -- I've made it for most of the past 11 years (got it from Better Homes and Gardens back in 1996!). The spinach and cheese puff will need a little imagination on my part. I'd found it this year on Martha's website, and last night when my husband and I went shopping for our  Thanksgiving groceries, he volunteered to go find the cheese the recipe called for: Gruyere. He came back empty handed, informing me that one itty-bitty, 6-ounce piece of Gruyere was $18.00. The aged variety was closer to $30 (or was it $40?). Will I be following any more billionaires' recipes calling for exotic cheeses any time in the near future? No, but I will be asking Google about a good Gruyere substitute. Sheesh.

Note: I just discovered that possible substitutions are swiss (to which Gruyere seems to be a cousin), provolone, mozzerella, gouda, white cheddar...do I give up on this recipe now or later? Every one of those cheeses seems vastly different from the others. Any cooks out there with ideas? Pullease?

I've Become Quite the Coupon-Clipping (and Coupon-Using) Queen

For years now, I've clipped coupons from the Sunday paper. It hasn't been until recently that I've actually used them on a regular basis. I save money with those whispy little clippings on almost every shopping trip unless I forget my coupon organizer at home. Last night at Fred Meyer, using our Sunday paper coupons, internet coupons (printed out) and  Fred Meyer rewards coupons, we saved $72.54. This included getting a free turkey for spending over $100. If those kinds of savings don't endear you to the art of clipping coupons, nothing will. (And, yes, the thought did cross my mind that with savings like that, we could have gotten the Gruyere...but I just can't pay that much for cheese!)

The Perfect Hard-Boiled Egg

Lastly, momofsix had asked in a comment just how to hard boil an egg perfectly, a la Martha. Click here to see just how the kitchen diva does it.

Okay, so I've capitulated and signed up for a MySpace page. The number one (okay, ONLY) reason for my signing up is because my son also has a page. It's my way of letting him know that I will always, as long as I'm living and he's still a minor, be watching his every step. Don't get me wrong: he's a good kid, but were you to ask me if I trust him, I would say "yes" and "no." Yes, because I would trust him with my life, his siblings, and my possessions, but no when it comes to temptation, because he's at an extremely vulnerable age. It's a sick world, and it's our job as parents to keep our eyes wide open and to be vigilant in protecting our kids. And what a fine line we walk with our teens, because while we still must hold the rope, we have to learn to release our hold little bit by little bit.

It's not so bad over there, though -- I have friends from church signed up, as well as some extended family members. No, I don't think I'll get addicted to it -- I've got it set up and that's good for now.

Why did I let him sign up? It's part of loosening that rope. I haven't let go: his profile is set to private, and he can't put anything on there that we don't approve of. Also, two youth pastors from church, a former youth pastor from our church who now speaks at assemblies and other functions (and who recently wrote a book for teens), and many friends from the youth group are on there, too. Being homeschooled, this helps him keep contact with his friends (under the watchful eyes of his dad and me), an aunt, and a few cousins.

Also, I have his MySpace password. How did I fanagle that one? He has mine, too. (I guess I can add that to the list of things I trust him with!)

Come on over and check out my page. Hurry -- I'm probably going to make it private pretty soon.

If you've never been on an impromptu vacation, you don't know what you're missing. I'll tell you what you're missing. Stress and anxiety from not knowing if you'll find someone to feed your pets until the day before you leave. Packing everything from clothes to sunscreen to groceries for the entire family, then realizing the toddler has more things to take than anyone else and really needs her own U-Haul trailer.

It was a tempting thought to tie everything to the roof like the car on the IKEA commercials.

"Whoa."

But, once that's squared away, and the school year planning has been set aside for the week along with the guilt of procrastination, you're able to sit back and enjoy the 3-hour drive. Sure, you're white knuckled because your husband is taking those turns through the pass just a tad faster than you'd like, and is getting a little too close to the guard rail that happens to be the only thing between a family of six and the valley floor 150 feet below, but isn't that just part of the excitement?

That said (and all tongue-in-cheek, of course), we had a great time on our trip to Eastern Washington. My brother-in-law has a charming 1,800 square-foot "cabin" on the Columbia River. His is just one of a few vacation properties in the neighborhood with lawns that stretch all the way to the river (give or take 10 or 30 feet, depending on how much the Wanapum Dam downstream has been opened). The only drawback is that the geese like the grass, too.

The dam had been opened more than usual last Tuesday, which made the river somewhat shallow for about 50 feet from shore. I, along with Jesse and Erica (Lonnie and Joel had stayed in the house), took Bethany down there to get her feet wet. The water, though, was so warm I decided to let her toddle around on her own...with one of us right there, of course. She had the best time and didn't want to leave the river. What an experience for her: She had her first taste of freshwater clams (put the shell in her mouth before I could get to her, but she spit it right out). Even better, I found out that her diapers are capable of adding 10 pounds to her total weight when full of water and, being full of the afore-mentioned water, can hang down to her knees without ever leaving her waist.

While our feet were stuck in the mud of the Columbia, a very-cool-something out of the north caught my eye. What was it but a fighter jet! I felt like we were on the History Channel. These guys scream through the gorge on a regular basis, and if you're in the house and hear one go by, it's already too late to see it. I believe that's called going just a smidge faster than the speed of sound.

So here comes this guy, quiet as can be, heading straight for us, and me without my camera. I yelled to Jesse to pick up Bethany so she wouldn't be scared, and we all stood and watched in awe. The jet was less than 50 feet above us, and he turned up his wing as he flew over. That gave us a good view of the plane's belly, but I was really hoping to catch a glimpse of the pilot. Hopefully he saw us wave before he tilted his plane. 

What a treat this was for Jesse, who loves to watch military shows on TV, especially the ones about the WWII dogfights (fighter jet vs. fighter jet).

After he was past, we heard the roar from his jets and he was gone, speeding southward through the gorge. Like synchronized gawkers, my kids and I all turned toward the house just in time to see my husband run out on the deck... just a moment too late.

Joel's back from "Nawlins"! The mission trip went well, but it was very hot (110 on at least one day). I'll try to report more about his trip later. In the meantime, I have an obligation to fulfill to son #2.

I really should be in bed right now, but Jesse (he would be son #2), is very put out that I haven't answered his tag. So, here goes:

8 Random Things About Me

1. I really, really want a manicure. Not just any manicure, but a full set of gloriously fake nails.

2. I've read Jane Eyre three times and have seen several versions of the movie. The best is the A&E version with Cieran Hinds and Samantha Morton.

3. I'm deathly afraid of bees and wasps. Drive by my house and you just might see me running around my front yard, screaming as I try to get away from one. It's quite comical.

4. There's a 13-1/2 year age difference between me and my husband. (Our kids still think that's weird.)

5. I've been highlighting my own hair since highschool.

6. I have my own website (www.homeschoolinganyway.com) and three blogs (www.homeschoolinganyway.blogspot.com, www.familyshopper.blogspot.com, and this one).

7. My cat, Chico, will search through the house until he finds me, then whine and smack at my feet to get me to follow him into the kitchen. He doesn't like to eat alone and wants me to stand there and keep him company. I obey him.

8. I love a good windstorm, as long as my family and I are inside and don't have to go anywhere.

Ta da! Now Jesse should be happy, and I really need to get to bed.

Well, I guess now that I'm trying to be web mistress-extraordinaire (the real web mistress-extraordinaires would laugh at that), my life will, from this point forward, be filled with the constant tweaking of my website. I've added some forums and topics (main categories and sub-categories in everyday-speak), that will hopefully get some conversations going. Please click the link for it in my previous post. And if you haven't checked out the website, you can do that, too. Like the message board, the site is also a work in progress, and I'll be adding more articles soon.

If you've tried to post something there and couldn't, you'll need to first click on the "Register" link closer to the top of the page. The creators of these message boards really didn't make that link stand out (or any of them, really!), so you'll need to look for it. Once you've registered -- which is totally painless, I promise -- you can add your thoughts, which I am totally looking forward to hearing.

Next up on the tweaking list, though, is our coming school year. I really must spend some time on that. Need to order books, but not that many, thankfully. Since my older three are stair-stepped in grade (10th, 8th, and 6th), I'll hold onto certain materials until the next child can use them. This really saves money.

I won't be saving Erica's books for Bethany, however. They're 10 years apart in age, and I would much rather by the revised editions (or something completely different) later on.

Joel will still be homeschooled next year. That really seems to be just where God wants him (and I like the arrangement, too). He and I will be putting together a rock-n-roll unit study for the coming year (focusing on Christian rock). If I have time, I'll post about it to let you in on what we'll be doing. No promises, but I will try to get to it. It'll be very cool!

Okay, so I've been over at my blog on Blogger (does that name remind anyone else of the old Atari game, Frogger?), and am coming to the sad, slow realization that they do not have a friends list enabled, like we do here at HSB. That's what I get for running away from home.

I'll definitely keep both blogs. It's kind of fun having two, and each blog home has it's own positives and negs. On Blogger, they have "push button publishing," which is kind of cool, but over here, you can customize your own template quite easily with just a tad of HTML knowledge, and that's fun, too.

Still trying to figure out how to publicize my blog over yonder. With a friends list here, that's easy, but how do I meet people (and keep them as buddies) over at Blogger? I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually (unless someone reading this shares her knowledge with me).

So, yes, I have one foot in each yard. I feel like a child in a joint custody situation...but in a good way.

A few years ago, I took the plunge. You know the one: I tried out for a game show. Not just any game show, either, but Jeopardy!. It's the one we all love to watch because it makes us feel so smart when we get the answers right. Now there's a new game show on TV: "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?", and suddenly none of us feels so smart anymore, does we?

I had to go to the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle for the tryouts. I was so nervous the night before that I didn't get to sleep until 4 in the morning. Here's a clue for you: When trying out for a game show, calm down and go to sleep.

My husband was working out of our home at the time, so I roped him into driving me there. Bright and early, we all piled in the van and headed to I-5. My husband and kids were well-rested and chipper; I was glassy-eyed and experiencing mini seizures from the pot of coffee I downed to get myself going. Okay, so I didn't drink that much coffee, but I sure wanted to.

We arrived, they dropped me off, then left to run some errands. I know the kids would have loved to come in and run around this fancy hotel, but it would have been a long morning for them (and me). I went inside and waited in the lobby for my designated time to go upstairs for my test. In one of the couch areas in the lobby, I got into a conversation with a very nice gentleman, who, it turned out, was an FBI agent. My first impulse was to say, "How did you find me and why are you following me?", but I didn't. It would've been a hoot to see his reaction!  Or not.

Finally, I was able to head upstairs. At the sign-in table, I grabbed my form, a Jeopardy! pen, and sat on the floor against a wall to fill it out. You know how Alex does his small-talk routine with each contestant? I could think of NOTHING interesting to say about myself. I finally wrote that I homeschooled my children, but scratched it out because I had a sudden and mortifying fear of making it on the show, but ending with a negative balance and disgracing homeschoolers everywhere.

In the conference room -- actually, it just occurred to me it was more the size of a ballroom -- we all sat in rows of chairs while the more-energetic-than-me producer explained the show to us. We then had to answer the answers by writing the questions on our papers (go ahead -- you can read that sentence a second time if you want to). Those with the highest number of right answers would get to stay behind and play in a mock game. Everyone else would have to leave.

I was in the latter group. The producer told us, after the totals had been tallied, that only 4 people (out of a room of 70 or so) would be going on to the next round. I actually laughed; I thought it was funny. But I was the only one who laughed. Some people take their once-in-a-lifetime chances at game shows pretty seriously, I guess.

We all picked up our coats, purses, and whatever else we'd brought into the room with us and headed toward the back of the room to leave our papers and pens. As we were heading out of the room, one of the Jeopardy! people said, "You can keep your pens," and we all scrambled back to the table to retrieve our special Jeopardy! pens. Sad, I know....

The only other thing I remember from that day is forgetting the capital of Jamaica: Kingston. I still kick myself over it. I'll never forget it again.

Was trying out for Jeopardy! worth it, even though I didn't make it past the preliminaries? Yes, definitely. It was a fun experience. Will I ever do it again? If possible. I won't tell anyone, though. I told my sister that I'd tried out for Jeopardy! and had to listen to 30 seconds of complete silence on their other end of the line. Think she knows something I don't? 

Last night, my daughter tried out for the Jeopardy! kids' edition. This time, the contestants-to-be got to take an online test. From there, those with the most correct answers will be able to test again in a city near them. She's hoping she'll be one of the chosen few. If we don't hear back from them, we'll assume not and she can try again down the road. If we do get "the email," you can bet I'll be posting about it!