Have A Wonderful Thanksgiving

This week is the kick off to the holiday season! Where in the world did this year go? Simply does not seem possible that we are looking at a new year just ahead. I hope you have all your shopping for the Thanksgiving feast all done, menu tacked to the cupboard and ready to start the preparations. Get the silver polished, tablecloth ironed, napkins folded just so, candles ready to be lit and doorstep swept, ready to welcome all to celebrate.

Are you looking for a new side dish? A friend on Twitter, @GailR, shared this recipe for

Carrots in Chive Cream

8-10 julienned carrots 2 Tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon sugar

Pinch each salt and nutmeg

1 cup water

Place all in heavy saucepan, cover tightly and simmer 20 minutes.

Uncover, raise heat slightly. Cook until liquid is gone. (8-10 minutes)

Stir in 1 Tablespoon lemon juice and bring to boil.

Stir in 1-1/2 Tablespoons heavy cream.

Boil 1 minute to glaze.

Sprinkle on 1 bunch chopped chives.

This will be very pretty and delish! The color will be a nice addition to the menu.

Is everyone planning on staying home safe and sound for Black Friday? I have never been one to love mall shopping and Black Friday is definitely not something I look forward to. You have the marvelous option of Make Mine Pink Friday with the theme "Dreaming of a White Christmas".

That is where you will find me! November 27 is not only MMP Friday it is the beginning of the Twelve Days of Christmas Shop Hop with the grand (and I do mean grand!) prize of the Ultimate Gift Basket. Limber up those fingers and find those shopping bags. The grand prize has a value of over $1000.00!

Have a wonderful week. Enjoy Thanksgiving. If you're traveling be safe, if you're shopping, keep some hand sanitizer in your purse. Keep hydrated and well rested. I am thankful for my family and friends to share this holiday with.

Hugs,

Pat

Wait Until You See This

Over at Make Mine Pink, we have been busy coming up with the most fabulous prize for our Twelve Days of Christmas Shop Hop. So here it is, The Ultimate Gift Basket!

Many of the boutiques have put an item in this amazing basket. Make sure you sign up to participate in this Shop Hop! The widget to take you to Make Mine Pink and read all about it is over on the right of this post. This is the most extravagant prize we have ever had, truly a one of a kind and never to be duplicated prize. Don't miss out on your chance to have this arrive on your doorstep!

I managed to avoid coming down with a full fledged case of the yucks last week. Thank heavens for something so simple as an herbal simmer to avoid getting laid up for a few days. You can keep a few on hand, get it at Patricia Rose. Who has time for getting sick at this time of the year?? Getting ready for Thanksgiving. Have already started shopping for the feast. Can hardly believe the holidays are upon us. Make sure you don't get too stressed out with all the preparations. Take some time for yourself and have a nice herbal soak to relieve tension and muscle aches. Take a look at some of the bath salts available at Patricia Rose. Fifteen minutes can turn your day around! Remember the essential oils of orange and lemon are great for keeping a good mood and a sense of humor, lavender is the all time favorite for staying calm and rosemary is good to stay alert.

Have a great week,

Pat

Look at the Counter!

I wanted to get into the spirit of the upcoming holidays and decided a counter like I've seen on some other sites would be a great idea. How great is the one I found? Even has pomanders on it! Was that banner made for me or what? Of course, the only problem with having a counter up is the terror it is striking in my heart. I cannot believe how fast the time is going by.

I've had to make a lot of use of my Healthy Simmer Potpourri this past week. Fighting off a cold, simply no time for being under the weather. I keep it going around the clock in a big ol' dutch oven on the woodstove. It surely does help. Keep the air clean so the germs don't get passed around the family.

So today I decided to give you some hints to keep these good for you essential oils around you all the time! With all the stress of shopping, do something good for yourself and stay healthy through it all.

Put a couple drops of essential oil in your shampoo bottle! Lavender, our old standby, is known for it's calming effect but it is also an antiviral! Rosemary is nice. It's good for your hair and, guess what--yes indeed, kills germs.

Have a nice soak in the tub if you feel something coming on. Add 4 or 5 drops of your favorite essential oil to relax. Sinuses clogged up, a drop or two of eucalyptus will make you feel better.

Make sure you are carrying a bottle of hand sanitizer with you. A few drops of essential oil will make it smell nicer and improve it's germ killing abilities! I like one of the mints for this, I like the fragrance and it also perks me up! You can make you own, you know. Check out my friend, Andrea's site for a recipe, http://www.aromaticsinternational.com/ .

Homemade cleaning products are so nice and so economical. See the same link above for recipes for this as well. Lemon or orange is such a happy and uplifting fragrance. By using the essential oils, you not only get the great aroma, it encourages alertness and a feeling of well being and, yes indeed, will fight some of those nasty microbes flying around. It's no matter of chance that the fragrance of pine is used is some commercial products, very strong protector!

I hope you try these ideas and stay healthy!

Following is a note from my daughter, Maegan, about our Walk For The Cure on October 18. To this I would like to add my thanks to all the wonderful people who contributed through my fund raising site. Researchers are so close to the cure, every single dollar is making a difference.
On October 18th Justin's Jungle Joggers participated in their 7th Annual JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes. The team was formed in 2002 in honor of Justin Coss y Leon, now 12 years old, to help raise money for JDRF so that one day he and the millions of others living with Type 1 Diabetes could be cured of this medical monster.
In spite of the rain and bitter cold temperatures that day 82 of the 112 Justin's Jungle Joggers showed up to walk on Walk Day. The team managed to raise an astonishing $10,812.85 for JDRF even in this troubled economy!
Justin and all his Jungle Joggers would like to thank the generous sponsors who helped the team raise all those crucial dollars needed to fund the research to find a cure for Type one diabetes. Our 2009 sponsors are...
Louise Kyasky of the TK Memorial Fund
Joe Binetti, ABR,SRES Remax Realtor
Orange County Golf Carts
Pyramid Imprints, Bergenfield, NJ
Pangaia Partners
Dr. Carol Carberry, DVM
Kevin P. Kelly Counselor at Law
Patricia Rose
Anita DaSilva, State Farm Agent
Nicholas Apollo Painting,LLC.
M.Ingannamorte & Son General Contractors
Pictured below is Justin and Tyler Coss y Leon and friend Nicholas Gallo on Walk Day, a JJJ team photo from Walk Day, and Justin's Jungle Joggers from left to right Sarah Gihr, Patrick and James Kane, Bridget Coss y Leon, Kristen Kane, Kayley Coss y Leon, and Kaitlyn Carberry along with the NJ Nets Mascot.
Photos by Maegan Coss y Leon

Maegan Coss y Leon

I am trying valiantly to get the photos up but am ending up with thumbnails that are impossible to see with the naked eye! I'll keep trying and add them on if I can figure it out.

Have a wonderful week all,

Pat