Welcome back, Deena !

Thanks aurelia!

Good turkey day. I made all the deserts with Stevia and it was only sort of successful. The turkey was good, the GF stuffing was good, everything else was fine. My parents came. We didn't let them cook or clean up and played a rousing game of chickenfoot and then they went home. Least stressful holiday ever.

Etf: stevie=/stevia

I didn't make any of the desserts, but I made my cranberry concoction with applesauce and orange juice because I don't have sugar in the house. MIL didn't notice when I made her coffee with stevia, but she was distracted by the tasty almond joy flavored creamer I used.

Hi all. I am still in bed in my post-Thanksgiving haze. We had 11 people yesterday, and our spread included roast turkey and gravy; cornbread stuffing with apples, onions, celery, and cranberries; roast brussels sprouts with pecans; green beans with butter; mashed sweet potatoes with maple syrup; and cranberry relish. I made three pies: a tart green apple, a sweet apple-pear hybrid, and pumpkin with homemade whipped cream. Hosting every year is an enormous amount of work, but I love that we've had this tradition for 13 years. It's so wonderful to see everyone enjoying the food and each other's company.

I need to get up and do some grading, but my bed is so much more appealing.

Relax in the food and people afterglow.

I just added Hulu to our tv and left Love It or List It up on the screen to surprise DH. Since we cancelled cable ages ago the only thing he has moaned about is his lack of HGTV. He is going to be so relieved and happy.

HGTV is sort of the Bob Ross of cable, right? I love all the 'flip' couples--even Tarek and Christina, soldiering on as business partners. I can't wait for Good Bones and Home Town to come back in hopes of seeing the new babies, as well as house rehab. And even though I know the couples have chosen their houses before they appear, Property Brothers is always fun, as is Listed Sisters.

I still miss Matt and Sherri, though, and the crews that go through your basement, attic, and garage and rehab your look with what they find on hand. And when they visited *gardens* still part of the channel's name.

His reaction to sitting down in his chair and seeing Love It or List It paused on the screen was priceless. He is super happy to have his HGTV shows back.

Yay! Nice going, Laura.

Fixer Upper always makes me feel at peace.

Ugh. Tim's now-previous employer is so small that they don't offer COBRA, and his new employer has a 3-month probationary period before benefits kick in, so we have to find insurance coverage through the ACA. While I'm so glad the ACA exists, just the process of enrolling is so exhausting that I can't believe anyone in this fucking hellhole of a country is opposed to universal health care. And that's before I even get to the premiums, which are insane. Holy shit.

I'm just glad we only need ACA coverage for 3 months. My therapist isn't on any of the ACA plans we qualify for, so I'll have to figure that out. Meh.