Oh Gravy, how I loathe (love) thee

I consider myself a good cook. I always try to feed my family healthy, hearty meals and seldom do I get a complaint. On the contrary, I often get compliments from not only my family, but friends who also come over for meals. One friend even jokes that he's going to marry me for my cooking when I get sick of Andy!

One thing that I can never conquer, though, is gravy. I have looked up recipes on-line and tried several different variations of the same, basic recipe. I've worked from a cookbook. I've asked family and friends. But no matter what people tell me to try, I just cannot make a decent gravy. I usually end up tossing the too thin, or too lumpy, or completely bland crud out for the cats while we eat plain noodles or mashed potatoes. Sometimes, I buy the powdered mixes because I don't want to try and fail. Sometimes I make a gravy from cream of mushroom or chicken soup. But never, have I made a successful gravy from the roast juices. Never. Not once.

So I'm imploring you all to help a girl (and her family) out. Do you have an awesome, easy, fail-proof gravy recipe that doesn't include the powdered mix from the grocery store or a can of soup? Will you share it with me? Please?

*By the way, do you notice the post date and time? I planned that...