I admit it, my house is not a show place. After being gone for several days, we spent yesterday dragging out all of our Christmas ornaments/trees/dancingSanta’s. Then I just left them where they landed. I was still tired from sitting in Thanksgiving traffic. Add in the dirty clothes from our trip, the MoonPie’s school paraphernalia and my work stuff, and it’s not a pretty picture.

BUT. It could be worse:

Cobb home filled with garbage, insects, used food containers

A Cobb County woman spent several hours in jail for having four children in a home filled with garbage, insects and fecal matter.Casey Abigail Robinson, 37, of Acworth was charged with contributing to the deprivation of a minor because of the condition of the home, according to her arrest warrant.

The Mars Hill Road home had broken furniture, insect infestation, food and “used food” containers on the floor, according to police. Dirty dishes were stacked in the kitchen, and an “unknown source fecal matter” was present in the bathroom.

The bathroom next to the children’s bedroom was non-functioning, according to the arrest warrant. The four children in the home range in age from 6 to 13 years old, police said.

The home also had water flooding, mold growth and dirty clothes throughout, police said. The windows were covered in dirt, according to the warrant.

While I agree that non-functioning bathrooms, fecal matter and insect infestations sound gross, who are we to judge a woman for dirty clothes and dirty windows? Maybe she’s a slob, or MAYBE, just maybe she’s a homeschool mom with a JOB, trying to find the time to WRITE, organize her COUPONS, play BRIDGE, and carve out a little time for herself that doesn’t involve cleaning or wiping or cooking for OTHERS.

Now, I think we’ve all learned a little something about tolerance from that post. You’re welcome.

and become intimate with your mother-in-law’s toilet.

Have two glasses of Chatham Artillery Punch, history and recipe below:

“Originated with the Chatham Artillery, Savannah, Ga., and served in that city for more than 100 years. It is delicious, seductive, powerful. This is the punch that knocked out Admiral Schley when he visited Savannah in 1899 after the Spanish War. Admiral Cervera’s Spanish shells were harmless to the brave American admiral, but Artillery Punch scored a direct hit which put him out for two days. Serves 100 (or 10 Admirals)”

1 lb. green tea
2 gallons cold water
3 gallons Catawba wine
1 gallon rum
1 gallon brandy
1 gallon rye whiskey
5 lbs. brown sugar
2 qts. cherries
juice of three dozen oranges
juice of three dozen lemons
1 gallon gin
12 quarts of champagne

Next, make two trips to the table being sure to sample the turkey, dressing, gravy, pork, short ribs, gumbo, deviled eggs, sweet potato casserole, black eye peas, greens, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese and grape salad. Don’t forget to try a slice of Italian cream cake and 42 candied pecans.

Rest for 1 hour, then right before bed think to yourself, “I bet those chocolate covered peanuts would taste good about now.”

Go to bed. Run to the bathroom.

2:15 a.m. – remember one last thing you’re thankful for – that Thanksgiving only comes around once a year.