Hey, I nearly forgot to share my personally created recipe for low-carb/low-calorie cranberry sauce.

Just a quick note to all my blogger buddies around the country and all over the world:

I wish everyone a healthy, happy and peaceful Thanksgiving holiday. If you don't celebrate T-day in your neck of the woods, then at least have an enjoyable weekend.

Good luck to everyone who will attempt to do any shopping on this insane weekend! ;)

(items in BOLD were highlighted by me for emphasis.)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp. (MCD) said on Monday President and Chief Executive Charlie Bell had stepped down to focus on his cancer treatment and that Vice Chairman Jim Skinner would replace him.

The world's largest restaurant chain said Skinner, a 33-year company veteran, would take over immediately as CEO. The company also named McDonald's USA Chief Executive Mike Roberts as president and chief operating officer.

Bell was diagnosed with colon cancer shortly after taking over as chief executive seven months ago, prompting the company to expand Skinner's duties and broaden other McDonald's managers' roles. Bell replaced former CEO Jim Cantalupo, who died suddenly of a heart attack in April.

McDonald's, which two years ago had been struggling with declining sales and poor customer service, was reinvigorated by Cantalupo's plan to improve service and expand its menu with entree-sized salads and other healthier fare.

Despite the uncertainty that has surrounded its top post, the chain's flagship U.S. business has continued to post better-than-expected monthly sales results.

©2004 Reuters Limited.

My note: contributing factors to colon cancer: diet low in fiber and high in saturated fats.

Believe it or not I used to be a strict vegetarian. But I did it the "right" way - not just pasta and rice and stuff but I would cook lots of legumes (lentils, beans of all sizes...) and soy and other non-breathing foodstuffs to create "protein chains" that mimic what you'd get from animal protein sources.

But the irony is that for holidays, as a single gal in the City, I'd make Thanksgiving feasts (WITH Turkey, gravy, etc.) that would always receive accolades from my other single city-dweller 20-something pals.

I have always been a good cook when it comes to meat dishes. So when I changed my eating habits (no regrets there; it works better for me and my digestive quirks and nutritional needs today) I became an even BETTER cook of meat dishes, sauces, gravies, and the accompanying vegetable side dishes.

Although our family is small, once and a while (i.e. - when there is a SALE on oven-stuffer roasters) I will roast a whole chicken or small turkey for Sunday dinner. The "hassle" of roasting a whole bird for me used to be basting it with melted butter, and then getting the poultry seasoning or herbs to "stick" to the skin to flavor it during the cooking process.

Usually if you follow cooking instructions and baste frequently during cooking, the bird doesn't dry out. However, I have developed a much more efficient, healthful, and hassle-free way to prepare a whole bird (or even a cut-up chicken, etc) WITHOUT the butter.

I rinse and dry the bird with paper towels, per package directions. Then place it in the raosting pan and... spray it all over with PAM/Cooking spray!!!! It is a fine mist so the thin layer of vegetable oil coats each pore of the bird and really seals it up. Then I sprinkle some dried Herbs Du Provence (oryou can use "Poultry seasoning" blend, which is similar) and roast it with NO basting until near the end.  You get awesome meaty (not buttery) drippings for gravy-makings and a PERFECT, JUICY bird every time! Try it!!!

Whenever I lose patience or otherwise find myself dancing that slow-burn of irritation at my spouse for some display of male quirkitude or another, I have to merely look around my house and remember what I love about that guy.

He is possibly more handy, clever, and mechanically-inclined than anyone I know.

Yes, of course he has many other endearing attributes: some physical (*wink wink*), some personality-oriented.

But from managing to fix a very hard-to-reach broken shifter cable on my Taurus, to setting up a wireless home network and secure web server, to managing to fix a 60-year-old rusted-out plumbing emergency with nothing more than pvc cement, a bucket and some hand tools, I cannot be more impressed with his Uber-manliness.

I find nothing more emasculating than a man (or woman, for that matter) who is utterly helpless when a "fix-it" siutation arises. My dad is handy, and although now a well-paid executive he still does everything from mowing the lawn, to fixing things around the house to basic car maintenance.

My hubby's dad is also very handy and resourceful, and he was adamant about passing on those life skills to his sons.

Not only is he a natural Mr.-Fix-It, he's pretty much a guru when it comes to anything electronic or computer-oriented.

FINALLY! Some payback for the utterly disgraceful thievery of everyday-folk-mutual fund investors (I was one of them!!!!!) by Philadelphia-area based Harold Baxter and Gary Pilgrim. (see link to stories at end of post)

here is an interesting article that goes well with my last entry:

I first became aware of my distinct manner of speaking when I attended suburban public high school. The two communities that this school served are both largely upper-middle-class, but have decidedly different flavors. One is considered "new money" which is laughable as its most grand estates are from post-Revolutionary war times. It is almost entirely residential with a few churches, a post office, a WAWA (if from Philly, you'll know what that is) and a few medical professional offices. It is a mix of Protestants, Jews, and Catholics (based on the houses of worship in town.) Plenty of folks I knew growing up in Wallingford had close family ties to the City - parents, grandparents etc.

The other community includes within its confines a small liberal-arts (accents on the liberal) college, and a number of quaint small businesses. An outsider would take a gander at property values and percentages of Volvos and Audis amidst the good people of Swarthmore and assume it is"moneyed" ; the gentle townsfolk prefer to think of themselves as...Thinkers. Professionals. Non-Plebian. I doubt there is a single sole in that town who could name any driver on the NASCAR cicuit. But I betcha they surely could advise you on the best brand of organic beef or imported cheese at the newly-renovated Food Co-Op. 

Since they do have the benefit of a "business district" and all the requisite gatherinig places, there is a stronger sense of "community" there. Almost a small-town feel, rather than an endless sprawl of surburban tracts. There are some Jewish residents although they have to worship in the neighboring town. There is NO Catholic church pesent within city limits. It is the quintessential "WASP" town. If you didn't know, the term WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) was coined by a Philadelphia Magazine writer to identify the upper-class preppies of the Main Line. This is important in my story. Why? True blue WASP's have no aural identification to Philadelphia or anywhere on the East Coast, for that matter. They almost have a faux-English-ish accent. Not unlike Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, etc.

So, when I switched schools and had my first encounter with Swarthmorean teens...they all asked me, "So, did you move here from South Philly?" (slight level of superiority implied in ther tone.) No, I replied. I have lived in Wallingford (a mere mile or two away!) most of my life.

Then the commentary got more direct. And insulting. And embarrassing.

I cannot recall a specific critique but they all had something to do with my voice and accent being "funny" and not funny in a charming way...it was hinted at that somehow my Wallingford-via-a Mother-from Northeast Philly-accent belied my actual intellectual capabilities. (All these Swarthmore hosers were in honors classes with me.)

I am also cursed with less-than-perfect hearing. That, combined with the Northest Philly cultural forces in my family, propels my voice to higher-than-WASPishly accepted decibel levels.

Sidebar: If you are trying to figure out this whole Northeast Philly thing - one easy clue is that growing up, my mom lived a few blocks away from Sylvester Stallone. So mix up "Rocky" with a bit of Fran Drescher from "The Nanny" and you have...my blessed family intonation! Its an audible "delicacy" that's for sure!

I still have that very distinct sound today. Its a big reason I never pursued a career in broadcast communication, even though I was really "into it" vis-a-vis my college radio station.

Fast forward to today.

Tonight I was scheduled to attend a marketing focus group. $75 for 2 hours of my time! Yeah!

When the marketeers screen for group memembers, they ask a number of questions to get a diverse group of participants who have in common something relevant to the study. Tonight's study was about Sit-coms, and since I noted to the screener that my favorite tv show is "Arrested Development", I qualified.

Most of the people in the group were extremely gregarious and talkative. It was revealed that most were working people; middle class; salt-of-the-earth folks or whatever you want to call it. In an irony of ironies, I was the "token" overeducated wonk in the bunch.

As each person took his or her turn to offer an assessment of the study topic the stereotypical Blues Brothers/ Bears Superfan/ DITKA/Daley Chicago-ease began to flood the room. Personally I find it very appealing. But it is distinct to my ears. Maybe I am just aware of it due to my own self-consciousness.

The group moderator got a bit frustrated with some of the participants as they were vague and inarticulate in their answers.

When my turn came I inhaled deeply and then began to offer a critique that could have been published in TV guide. Maybe even Entertainment Weekly! 

When another opportunity to speak arose I offered some suggestions for the topic of scrutiny (a sitcom pilot.) One of the Chicago "gals" noted, "Wow YOU should be a TV writer!" Others merely rolled their eyes at my obvious wonkisms, but no matter. Northeast Philly-tainted or not, tonight I realized that comparative to others in the group, I was quite an articulate woman. Albeit a nerdy one.

...and now Bill Maher (see AP news story, below.)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Bill Maher is being sued by a woman who claims he shook her at a party and welched on promises to marry her and buy her a home in Beverly Hills.

Nancy "Coco" Johnsen, a former model and flight attendant, is seeking $9 million and other unspecified damages, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. It accuses the political comic of fraud, battery and assault.

Maher's lawyer said Friday he expects the lawsuit to be thrown out of court.

"This is a completely frivolous lawsuit filed with false allegations that is part of a pattern by Ms. Johnson to seek retribution since the end of their short relationship," attorney Adam F. Streisand said in a statement. "Mr. Maher is looking forward to having this dismissed by the court."

Johnsen claims she fell in love with the HBO "Real Time" host during a 17-month relationship that began in January 2003.

According to the lawsuit, Maher convinced Johnsen to quit her career and in return promised the two would marry and have children, that he would reimburse her for clothing and other expenses necessary for her to accompany him as a "power couple," and that he would support her for the rest of her life.

He also promised to buy her the house in Beverly Hills where Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez once lived or give her money to buy a similar house, the lawsuit contends.

But after she quit her job, Johnsen said, Maher "verbally abused" her, and at a party last May he became angry and shook her, causing back and neck injuries.

She left his home and ended the relationship in May, Johnsen said.

So, I was rather impressed, for a number of reasons, that my husband informed me that he was turning down a night out with the boys at a Chicago nightspot in favor of attending "Sing-along" Wizard of Oz, with me and kiddo tomorrow night.

Wait a minute. Let me understand: Turning down BEER and his friends' BAND for a MUSICAL FILM  where everyone around him will be SINGING?! Wow. That is some kind of breakthrough; I'm still giddy about it!