Thanksgiving is a celebration of the best things in life; family, friends, and good food. This year, get back to basics and focus on these simple pleasures. Try easy Southern style recipes and casual dining for practical entertaining.

A backyard setting offers plenty of space to relax and mingle plus it gives kids room to play. Complete the Thanksgiving feast with fried turkey. An oil-less fryer yields great taste with less mess than traditional fryers. A chiminea or outdoor firepit and arranged seating such as wooden benches, a safe distance from the fire, creates a cozy atmosphere.

It’s a good idea to have some games ready to play. Outdoors you can setup a Turkey hunt or a pumpkin race. Indoors why not play charades or work on a puzzle together. A couple of games and everyone will end the Thanksgiving day happy.

I am considering my choices for homeschool software to use for my kids, but I am stuck on exactly what kind of software they would like and use. There is the normal type of software that is simply electronic homework, but I am hoping to find something a little more interactive and stimulating than that. If I find a good vendor for the software, I will probably just stick with them, since once I learn how one vendor does it, I will not want to change. With all of the social networking/2.0 web stuff around these days, whatever software I get needs to be able to keep their attention for longer than facebook and myspace. Any homeschool software program that achieves that will be a winner in my book.