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Category Archives: Thanksgivings

Thankful Thursdays #31: it’s a imacurl!

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I made a thanksgiving resolution to find something to be thankful for every day until next Thanksgiving.  Here’s what I am thankful for this week!

Thursday: My husband’s sense of humor.  As an example, here is an actual exchange we had last Saturday:

Me: “I wonder where the Kansas Medical Center is.” Dennis: “Kentucky.”

And this is the exchange we had this evening.

Me (after asking him a question from the kitchen): “Am I just talking to myself?” (no response.) “I guess I am if no one is listening.” Dennis: “I guess you’re not talking to any body if you’re not even listening to yourself.” (Silence.) Dennis: “Did you have something to say?” Me: “No.” (annoyed) Dennis: “Guess I didn’t miss anything, then.”

These exchanges occur regularly and I always act peeved, because it’s like a requirement to the balance of our relationship, but deep down it amuses me. We’re like an old Jewish couple.

Friday: I can’t believe I’m saying this…but…Doctor Who.  That’s what I was thankful for on Friday.  I’m sooo not a sci-fi girl, but this television show I’ve learned to enjoy.  But I was more thankful for it as a distraction on Friday, the night before the 710 exam that would determine my future with the Post Office.  I did all the prepping I could, and Doctor Who helped me unwind.

Saturday: That my test is over!  It is a relief to have it behind me.  I put my trust in God and that made a big difference.  I’ve taken this test four times now and never felt as good about it as I do this time.  I won’t know my score until next week, but I know I did my best and so I’m at peace with whatever it may be.  I’m fairly certain I at least did well enough to keep my job, even if it doesn’t help advance me to a permanent position.

Sunday:  Money is tight this week, but God always provides!  I got an unexpected grocery gift card and $10 for a cake I made that I asked no $$ for.

I showed you guys the July 4th wedding cake I destroyed.  I gave free cake to the bride for a year and this is my last one, requested by the mother-in-law, a topper for their first anniversary, since there was no surviving topper for them to freeze.  It is a near-exact replica of the top of the actual cake, minus all the carnage.  The MIL took this photo from the side instead of the front (the stripes should be going down the front at a slant), but you get the idea.

Monday: For having enough but not too much.

Tuesday:  A couple week’s ago, my Dad’s cell phone, which is on our plan, died and refused to charge when we plugged it in.  It is still under warrantee and ATT&T said they would mail a new battery and charger to see if that would fix the problem.  Well, the battery they sent wasn’t the right size and when I called, they said they didn’t have the right one and to go on Amazon.com to buy one and they’d reimburse me.  Aggravated, I finally just tried to charge Dad’s phone with his old battery and the new charger. And it worked! It was just the charger that had stopped working and now that we have a new one, the phone is good as new. Woot!

Wednesday:  Children.  I have felt very poor physically the last couple days and after work I just wanted to lie down and die.  But I teach a toddler Bible class on Wednesday night so there was no lying down or dying tonight.  I sucked it up and got myself to Church and went in still wanting to die, but after an hour with a delightful two-year-old girl, I was much restored.  It was my body that was ailing, but Leah helped me focus on something else and was her usual delightful self (The most precious moment came when I said “It was a miracle!” (about Daniel not getting eaten by lions in their den) and she repeated “imacurl!”)  I know children can be a challenge, but they are also one of God’s greatest miracles and blessings.  And thankfully, as I don’t have any of my own, I don’t have to face the challenges very often and get the benefits of brief contact instead. :)

Thankful Thursdays #30

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I made a thanksgiving resolution to find something to be thankful for every day until next Thanksgiving.  Here’s what I am thankful for this week!

Thursday: More friends with benefits.  This time I’m thankful for Steve and Carol, who have chickens and go deer hunting.  We buy eggs from them and more recently got a big haul of ground venison and venison sausage from them.  For dinner on Thursday, I made more Green Chile & Cream Cheese Burgers with the venison and it was fabulous. I was nervous to try it but I couldn’t tell the difference between it and beef, except it was even better.  Any time I can get meat that didn’t suffer in a CAFO so that I can eat, I’m a happy girl.

I've got my green eggs, now all I need is some ham! :)

Friday: The $20 my parents-in-law sent with our anniversary card. We used it to have dinner out at Ghengis Grill, one of our favorite restaurants.

Saturday: My Aunt Ruby came out of her open-heart surgery with flying colors.  We visited her on Saturday, and while she was very sore and weak, she was doing very well for having just gone through such a serious surgery.

Photo taken by Ruby’s daughter-in-law, Racine, pre-surgery.

Sunday: For my Fathers.  My human father, and my Father in heaven, both of whom I love dearly, and I’m blessed to have their love in return.  This is one of my favorite pics of Dad and me (the love oozes forth!):

Monday:  Goodwill, baby!  I was able to get my mother and myself some much-needed clothing on the cheap and picked up a couple stuffed animals for my itty bitty sweetie for 75 cents each.  Jessie (who actually isn’t itty bitty at all, but I don’t care, she’s still my itty bitty) loves stuffed animals, especially if they are used because she loves investigating the new smells with her snout.

Tuesday: For a little ego-deflating.  I needed it, because I was starting to get cocky, thinking I was going to ace this upcoming test at work because I have been cramming for it, even going so far as to print out a list of commonly unknown or misunderstood words and study them on my breaks at work.  Then I timed myself doing the type of math problems that will be on the test (I made them up) and I totally sucked.  I can do the math, but I need to go 50% faster (this is a timed test).  The test is on Saturday, so at least I know what I need to focus on every day until then!

I timed myself for eight minutes, the amount of time we will get for the math section, and I was only half done when the timer went off.

I know it looks like a lot of chaos, but these doodles got me 100% correct answers the first time through (I checked them with a calculator).  That’s the silver lining!

Wednesday: The library.  Without it, I do not think I would love my job as much as I do!  I am able to listen to audiobooks while I work, and I can do it for free thanks to the library, where I check them out.  Today I picked up The Sentry by Robert Crais, and Divine by Karen Kingsbury.

I just realized I don’t think I’ve ever really described my job so if anyone is interested in the kind of work I do, you can click here to find out.

Thankful Thursdays #29: friends with benefits

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I made a thanksgiving resolution to find something to be thankful for every day until next Thanksgiving.  Here’s what I am thankful for this week!

Thursday: Free tupperware! (Went to a Tupperware consultant meeting and got a free Forget Me Not onion keeper for attending. It hangs in your fridge so you don’t forget it!  *Note: I did not give in to the dark side and become a Tupperware consultant. hehehe)

Friday: Girl-time! (Co-hosted a Tupperware party with my sister at her shop.)

Saturday: Miniature Golf! (We got to play a round for $1 as part of the River Festival activities. Today was the last day of RiverFest.)

Sunday: Friends with benefits! (No, not thooooose kind of benefits!  I mean the benefits that come with having an artist for a friend that can turn an ink stain on your jeans into a work of art. Booyah!  Thanks Miss Tara!)

Before–plain jane jeans with an ink stain:

After-my razzle dazzled-up jeans:

I love it!

She even did the leg…

and pimped my booty too!

This is the same friend that pimped my hubby’s guitar with a drawing of Medusa and won second place for it in the misc. art division at the state fair:

Does she rock hard, or what?!

Monday: Dollar Tree & flash cards! (I found a pack of Disney princess multiplication flash cards at the Dollar Tree, where everything is $1. These are helping me with my pre-test studying as I forgot some of my multiplication tables and needed a refresher for the math portion of the test.)

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Tuesday: Screaming bananas! (You know, the bananas that have been sitting on the counter so long they turn black and start screaming to be used?  Don’t be scared of them–they are perfect for baking!  I made the most delicious all-natural, sugar-free blueberry muffins with them.)

Wednesday: My hubby! (I locked my keys in the car at a gas station and he left work to come and save me.  I’m also thankful he has a job with the flexibility to clock out whenever he wants to and for how long he wants to, as long as he gets in 40 hours by the end of the week.  We were able to have lunch together before he went back.)

Thankful Thursdays #28: I made my 5% goal!

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Thursday: Is there anything better than getting baked goods, like homemade banana bread, in the mail?  I bought two loaves, one with chocolate chips and one without, in an online bake sale and had forgotten about it so it was an even sweeter surprise when it arrived!  The chocolate chip (not pictured because I totally ate it all before I even thought to take one) makes a yummy breakfast, especially spread with peanut butter!

Friday:  Life has been chewing me up this week.  First I find out that in order to keep my job, I’m going to have to pass a test I already (barely) passed in order to get it seven years ago.  Tests really stress me out, so needless to say, I’m not thrilled about this.  Then on Friday, a situation arose with someone close to me that put me over the edge.  I was a bit of a wreck on Friday, so I was hugely thankful for the human kindness that helped me through.  While crying at work and after asking for prayers on Facebook, I received a lot of it firsthand.   As the kind words and prayers poured in from these dear souls, God comforted me and gave me the strength I needed to drive to this person’s house and have a heart-to-heart.  While I wouldn’t consider the situation completely resolved, it is much improved and I’m no longer constantly worrying about this person.  So I’m also thankful for that!

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Saturday: 11 years of wedded bliss with my soul mate, and cheap fun!  We celebrated our anniversary by doing all the free stuff that comes with a $5 River Festival button and did paddle boats, kayaking (Dennis went overboard twice and gave everyone a good laugh–see pictures of that here), and saw the Marshall Tucker Band live!  Not bad for $5!

Sunday: Aldi!  It’s our first stop for groceries because it’s got the best deals.  I remember back when we both worked for the Church of Scientology and were dirt poor, we could live off of $15 a week in groceries from Aldi!  We make ten times more than we did back then, but Aldi is still a lifesaver when it comes to our tight grocery budget.

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Monday:  Books, magazine articles, and Weight Watchers often warns people to watch out for salads at restaurants because although they seem diet-friendly, too often they are fat bombs in disguise.  Well, I’m hugely thankful for this means of eating a large portion of fat without going (too far) over my daily Points Plus allowance, thank you very much!  Using lettuce and other vegetables as the base of a meal makes for a huge, satisfying plateful of food that is very little calories, so I’m totally cool with drowning it in cheese, beans, eggs, full-fat dressing, nuts, whatever strikes my fancy.  If it weren’t for salads, my fat intake would come mainly from the butter in my weekly dessert indulgences, so I’m thankful for these beautiful plates of healthful, satisfying, fatty goodness!

Buffalo Chicken (made with real butter) Salad with (full fat) Blue Cheese Dressing (that I thinned with heavy whipping cream-bwahahahahaha!)

Romaine Salad with Chicken, Cheddar, Apples, Spiced Pecans and Cranberry Vinaigrette (made with no small amount of extra virgin olive oil)

Tuesday: checking off most of my to-do list!  I have a small planner that I carry in my purse, and I leave it open at my desk at work so that I can add things to each day’s to-do list as I think of them.  By the time I come home, the day is crammed with things to do and usually I just put them off until the next day, and then the next, etc.  Today I started my day with a prayer of thanks for the day itself, and asked God for help in using it to its full potential.  By the time I went to bed, I’d made more checkmarks than I have in a long time.  I really love seeing those checkmarks!

Wednesday: Finally!  I finally did a good job teaching the toddler Bible class.  Not that I was bad before, but I just wasn’t comfortable and knew I could do better.  I did tonight!  God gets the glory here as well, because both Dennis and I prayed about it and I know He was there with me because it was so different.  The children really listened, they didn’t get bored or frustrated, they were adorably polite (plenty of please and thank yous!), they participated with relish, and I think that I got through to them.  Here are the cutie patooties I had in class tonight, working on building arks (the focus of the lesson tonight was Noah and the ark, although since the blocks were out, we also went into the tower of Babel a bit):

You can see how cramped we are and why I was so thankful a couple weeks ago that we’re moving to a new and bigger building at the end of the month!

Oh wait! Can I be thankful for two things on Wednesday?  Because I’m also thankful that I met my 5% goal at Weight Watchers today!  I’m hoping to be up to ten pounds lost by next week.  (I started going eight weeks ago so I’m averaging about a pound a week.)  I love Weight Watchers!


OK, your turn!  Anything you’re particularly thankful for right now?

Thankful Thursdays #27: our fallen soldiers

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I made a thanksgiving resolution to find something to be thankful for every day until next Thanksgiving.  Here’s what I am thankful for this week!

Thursday: Dogs, dogs, dogs, dogs, dogs! We have made three new puppy friends in our area while taking Jessie on her nightly walk and it is such a joy to pet those wriggling happy bodies over the fences.  I think we’re up to 7 dogs on our walk that love us and one that loves to hate us.  I melt for those lovers!  I used to detest dogs, but now they have a magical power over me.  I almost wish I could take them all home, but I’m pretty happy with the stinker we can call our own.

Friday: I’m the treasurer in our home and I made a miscalculation that prepared us for the worst after paying all the bills, but the bottom line was a lot prettier than I had expected once the last check was mailed.  Facing a bigger balance than we have had in several weeks after expecting to live off canned goods was a pleasant surprise!  Thankfully I don’t make the other kind of miscalculation too often.

Saturday: To get the grocery shopping done ON TIME!  Saturday is grocery day but we’ve skipped it for two or three weeks now, which has led us to eat out more often that we should have, which has led us to have less money than we should have.  Thankfully, we had a free day with nothing scheduled so we could use it for errands and chores.  Hahaha, did I just say “thankfully” right before “errands and chores?!”  What is wrong with me? lol

Sunday:  That my Dad’s foot, which has been giving him a lot of trouble, has healed enough that he can walk without the assistance of a walker.  This is good, because the chances of getting him to the doctor other than for his quarterly check-ups is .001%.

Monday: For those who lost their lives fighting for the quality of ours.

And to spend a day with dear, dear friends.

Tuesday: Free tickets to a Wingnuts (Wichita’s baseball team) game!  Wingnuts won 6 to 2 and we had a great time.

Wednesday: Grilled burgers. Amen.

Thursday Thanksgivings #26: a new church building!

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Thursday Thanksgivings will be a continuation of a weekly post I started on my weight loss blog and am moving here, in which I recap what I am thankful for every day of the week.   I used to post them on Tuesdays, so this first one will be a little longer.

I made a thanksgiving resolution to find something to be thankful for every day until next Thanksgiving.  Here’s what I am thankful for this week!

Wednesday:  It was announced at church that it is official: negotiations have settled and we are getting the new building we put an offer in for!! Pillar church of Christ formed in 2008 and we have been in a strip mall nearly the entire time.  We first tore down a wall to make more room as we grew, and now just squeeze in tighter to one another, adding chairs as necessary, as members and visitors are added weekly.  Hallelujah, praise Jehovah!  I’m excited to have a larger classroom for the toddler Bible class–right now we are squeezed into what was turned into a storage room before a toddler class was necessary.  We started with just one Bible class for preschoolers, and now we have three classes in addition to the adults, filling all the spare rooms in our tiny space !  We planted seeds in our community, appealing to those who want to learn from God’s word as it is written, and God has definitely provided the increase.  Thank you, Lord!

Jerry's wife, Jenni, took this picture as we began to file in for the gospel meeting on Wednesday night. The lesson this night was on how we can improve our home life by applying Bible principles.

Thursday:  I got off work a little early so I had time to bake a cake between work and the gospel meeting that night.  I’m a big fan of down time, as well as cake time. :)

Friday: This was the last day of the week’s gospel meeting, and I am so thankful for brother Jerry Crolius for traveling from Arkansas to bring us such wonderful lessons from God’s word.  The lessons were edifying and it’s so encouraging and uplifting to be in the daily presence of Christian brethren.  As soon as you walk through the door, it’s smiles and hugs all around!

Saturday:  I fit into a pair shorts I hardly dared to try on since I haven’t been able to wear them in two years!  I was also thankful for my husband, for coming with me to walk a 5K and annoying me the whole time.  (Annoying me is how he gets his kicks, and secretly I find it amusing too.)  He makes things so much more fun!

Wearing my old shorts and hugging cake pops...yes, you can lose weight while eating cake pops! Real girls eat cake...and count the points. :)

Sunday: Do you ever have days where you plan every minute of it and realize you don’t have any spare time leftover just to relax?  That was Sunday!  We were giving a brother a ride to and from church for both services, had the worship services themselves (we meet twice on Sunday, once in the morning and once in the evening), I wanted to stop by a dairy-allergic friend’s house after the morning service to drop some cake pops off, another brother wanted us to follow him to a sister’s house to deliver a  care package we helped pay for, we had a house warming to go to, and I needed to get to my Dad’s house to lay out his medicine for the week, go through his mail, and pay the bills.  We needed to go grocery shopping too but I knew that wasn’t going to happen.  God must have been smiling down on us, for things worked out to where we actually had a couple hours of down time and I was so thankful just to have them and squander them as I pleased!

Monday: A devastating mile-wide tornado swept through Joplin, MO, destroying a third of the city.  Most of you have probably seen pictures and coverage of the aftermath.  It is horrific.  My maternal grandparents live with my uncle in Joplin, so when I found out about it on Monday, I called them with my heart in my throat.  The first call didn’t go through and I thought for sure they’d been hit and the phone lines were down.  I tried again and the call went through.  Uncle David informed me that they are all doing fine and they were fortunate because their home wasn’t hit.  It was close but did no damage to their property.  Great Aunt Mary’s home was destroyed so she and her husband are living with my grandparents right now, but thank God everyone survived.  The death toll is at 122 right now, and there are many affected families who need our prayers.  Click here to find out how you can help financially.

Tuesday: Not a great day, but I’m so thankful that I was able to finish my enormous recipe index!  I started working on it a year ago so it’s about time.

Wednesday: That I only burned the tar out of ONE of my hands with boiling honey.  In the haze of recovering from low blood sugar, I put a partially crystallized bottle in the microwave to make some of my favorite muffins (recipe coming next week) and forgot about it.  It was boiling and the container was shrunken when I removed it and when I went to pour it, it bubbled up and exploded on my hand!  OwieEEEEEEEEEE!  I was unable to use my left hand most of the day, as it hurt to touch anything, which also makes me thankful to have hands in the first place.  Often we take what we have for granted and don’t truly appreciate them until we realize how hard life is without them!  Thankfully, the pain has subsided and I’m able to type again so I can get this posted on time. :)

Thankfully the picture looks better than real life. I have 5 blisters now, one on my pinky and the others all on my thumb and the web between my thumb and index finger.


Incidentally, this isn’t the first time my left hand has suffered a serious burn.  Upon closer inspection, you can still make out scars on my fingertips where I pulled a loaf pan out of the oven without mitts as a kid (duh!), and you can still see the scar I got when I planted my hand on a space heater to stand at six months old.  I’m so glad I can’t remember that!  Guess there’s a reason I was known as the “burn victim” growing up.  All I can say is, thank God I haven’t singed off my fingers yet!  LOL, I’m a mess.

What are you thankful for today or this week?


Thankful

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On Thursday, I will begin a “Thursday Thanksgivings” series in which I list what I am thankful for each day of the past week.  I started this endeavor on my weight loss blog and wanted to copy the original post that started it all onto Veronica’s Cornucopia so you will have the story and the background behind my thanksgiving resolution.

Posted on November 25, 2010

I adore this picture.  The big, genuine smiles.  My husband took it while my mother-in-law and I were preparing scalloped potatoes from her old recipe file that she’s had since she got married 48 years ago.

Phyllis is one thing that I’m hugely grateful for on this day of thanks.  Making scalloped potatoes with her makes me happy in such a ridiculous way that is hard to describe.  I won’t get into my childhood, but let’s just say that Phyllis is the kind of mother I always wanted and I’m so thankful to have her in my life now.  I’m thankful for my own mother as well, who I know loves me dearly, but it is much more difficult to find this deep-seated happiness when sharing a kitchen with her.

Our scalloped potatoes (in the red dish) turned au gratin with the addition of some Velveeta. Also pictured: sweet potatoes (two kinds), scalloped turnips, and smoked turkey.

Today was a good day.  God has blessed all of us abundantly, and recognizing these blessings is something I need to do more often.  Therefore, I have decided to make a Thanksgiving resolution.  From now until Thanksgiving next year, I’m going to find something to be thankful for every day and do a recap every week to keep myself accountable to this resolution.  Here’s to more enjoying what I have and less complaining about what I don’t!

Past weekly thanksgivings can be found here.