It's amazing what you can accomplish without a computer or anyway to go anywhere.

So, our computer crashed a few days ago. Actually it gave up the ghost-- like our last freezer, but with less blood. Last night, Danny performed a computer transplant, and now we have this working computer-- for the time being anyway. Our blue car died too. Don't worry, it has since been fixed. Our van is waiting for the last leaf to fall though.

I got caught up on laundry, baked a couple loaves of bread for the Chili & Soup feed for the squadron fundraiser and some for our family and church, prepared a few peanut butter sandwiches for the freezer, made a dozen soup dinners for the freezer, baked a couple dozen pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, baked pumpkin bread for my visiting teaching sisters, crocheted about 12 inches toward a leper bandage, played Lego Star Wars II, painted the kids' letters into Christmas colors/designs, and sewed 3 pairs of Pookie's pants so they wouldn't fall off. We decorated for Christmas. I also beaded a few pairs of princess socks for the current reigning princess for Christmas until she saw me making one and I had to pretend it was for her cousin Emily-- to which she replied, "Oh. Emily-Bemily-Boo will love those. They are so beautiful."

It has been a productive last couple of days. But I missed you. I really did. Several times I thought, "Oh, I've got to blog this." So I feel the need to purge my head of excess bloggity-goodness.

A new dip. I found this on Leanne Ely's site right before the death of the computer.

Mix equal parts peanut butter and vanilla yogurt (we use Yoplait Low-fat). Add a dash of cinnamon. We like A LOT of cinnamon. Stir it all up and dip apples in it, or spread it on rice cakes, or eat it with a spoon. Soooo good! Oh yeah, and we prefer it with Jif Crunchy peanut butter. We have gone through an entire 18 oz. jar of peanut butter in the last four days.

Shampoo and Conditioner. Herbal Essences "None of your frizzness" shampoo and conditioner are my new favorites. They really work. On this computer these bottles look red. But I swear they are orange. Or vermillion. Orange-red.

Leftover turkey plans. Friday when y'all are out at Wal-Mart fighting over the limited supply of $20 ultimate Christmas gifts, I'll be making the following OAMC meals.

turkey tetrazini
turkey tortilla casserole
turkey fajitas
kid-friendly turkey bites
white chili with turkey
turkey pot pies

Turkey pot pies

Grandma Kahn's Perfect Pie crust shaped into individual pie tins
leftover turkey chopped up
leftover gravy
frozen mixed veggies

Warm up the gravy. Put 2 parts turkey to 1 part veggies in the prepared unbaked pie crusts. Fill with gravy. Top with second pie crust. Poke holes or make knife slits in top pie crust. Bake until golden brown.

Back to my ramblings . . .

Yesterday Bun decided that he was going to see Daddy. He put on his boots and begged for his coat. I told him that Daddy was at work and he'd be home later. Then Pookie chimed in, "Mommy, we can go see Daddy at work though." So I explained to Pookie that "we could do that before, but now where Daddy works we can't." And I tried to put into words for a five year old to understand, that where Daddy works is classified and we don't have clearance.

Then while eating dinner, I relayed this story to Danny. And then I said, "But we can't go to Daddy's new work. Right Pookie? Only special people can."

G was quick to remind us all, "But God made us special."

So this morning I decided I'd better hurry over to the commissary and pick up the few items I forgot for the Thanksgiving dinner. I quickly dressed Bun and G while Pookie and Ham were still sleeping. When Danny had to leave for work Bun predictably tried to leave too. Bun opened the storm/screen door and then decided he'd just blow kisses to Danny. Curious, I checked the temperature on the computer. Negative 3 degrees Fahrenheit. So, no cheesecake, yams, or cranberry sauce here for the big meal-- unless Danny brings home the ingredients.