Category Archives: Thanksgivings

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:  I passed my thirty day evaluation! I didn’t even know we would be getting them every month, I just knew there would be a final evaluation at the end of our ninety day probationary period, so I was super nervous to get one this early since I already messed up and was hoping I’d have more time to prove myself.  Well, although my supervisor had to mark reliability as “unsatisfactory” since I was five minutes late once (due to getting my ever-changing schedule wrong), I’m doing great with my speed, my efficiency, and my error rate, so she told me to get my reliability up on the same level and there wouldn’t be a problem.  WHAT A RELIEF!  As long as I don’t mess up again, I should be able to keep my job. Phew!

Friday: Disney!  We finally watched Tangled and I was reminded of my life-long love for animated Disney films.  I think the horse, Maximus, needs his own movie. :)

Saturday:  My itty bitty sweetie.  AKA Jessie.  We’re spending $150 a month on meds just to keep her from licking all her fur off (she has an allergy to grass or something that comes and goes with each summer), but she’s SO worth it.  Life would not be the same without her.

Sunday:  After wearing my homemade deodorant for a week, I put it to the ultimate test today (teaching Sunday School, which is about the only thing that gives me the stinky sweats-I think it’s nerves), and now I know that it not only works, but surpasses store-bought deodorant!  You gotta love an all-natural, inexpensive product that works better than a commercial, potentially dangerous, product .  Success!

Monday: For paid holidays! YES! This is the first holiday in my life that I’ve been paid without having to work.  I’ll take it!

Tuesday:  That my days off (Mon-Tues-Wed) just happened to be perfect for preparing for this year’s fair.  I had to finish most everything today since the entries were due Wednesday, and I spent the day baking up a storm.  I entered 30 contests and got about 14 done, and that’s good enough for me.

Wednesday: That my fair baking is now officially behind me for the year (dropped the goods off today) and I can now move on with my life! lol  I know this is crazy, but my butt and thighs are totally sore from all this baking.  I know, right?  I guess there’s more bending and squatting involved when you run out of counter space and start putting cooling racks on the floor and removing cookies from a many cookie sheets onto them.  :)  I’m super excited to see how I fared in the fair (hehe), but won’t know until I go on Monday.  I’m trying to convince myself that I’ll get NO ribbons so that I’m not let down if that is the case.  I’d really like the prize money, though! :)

Butterscotch Swirl Cake, my entry in the "bundt cake" class.

I snagged this recipe from my foodie Mama, Marina, who has helped me win two ribbons for cookies with her recipes so far.  She has won 6 ribbons for it so far, most blue, including a second place at this year’s fair in CA.  I’m really hoping to do her proud and bring home a blue for it!

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:  Spoke to my supervisor for the first time since I got in trouble for clocking in late (was a minute over the allowed five), and was nervous about how she would interact with me, but she was totally normal.  I know she hasn’t forgotten, but at least she’s not holding a grudge.  Now I won’t feel so awkward when she calls me to her desk for edits.

Friday:  Time with the hubster is rare nowadays (he works days, I work nights), but he stayed up late so that we could snuggle up together with a big bowl of popcorn and watch half a movie (The Miracle Worker) before bed.  :)

Saturday:  I couldn’t make it to my nephew’s birthday party because I had to work, but my wonderful husband went just so he could take pictures for me since I couldn’t be there.  Awwwww!  Check out the cake I made for the birthday boy:

You can get the step-by-step tutorial for making this cake here.

Sunday:  I didn’t have to go to work until 2:45, which gave me enough time to go to the morning worship service, which I prefer over the shorter evening service, and have lunch with my hubby!

Monday: Last day (#8) of work before my weekend, baby!

Tuesday: Despite many, many setbacks, I did manage to finish three baked items for the fair!  I’m REALLY excited about my red velvet cake.  I can’t wait to share this one with you guys but it will be a while because I have to make another one for pictures–I can’t cut the one that’s going to be judged. Sorry!  I promise it will be worth the wait.

Wednesday: My Dad!  I’m not the kind of person that asks to borrow money usually, but I was desperate today and thankfully Dad was able to help me out.  And thankfully I get paid Friday and will be able to pay him back really fast!  It’s embarrassing to admit on my blog about our financial difficulties but this is what I was thankful for today and didn’t know how to say it without revealing less specifics.  Please don’t feel sorry for us–we have more than we need and are doing better and better the longer I work with this higher pay.  Thank God for that too! :D

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: Day off, day off, day off!  Days off now are unpredictable, sometimes coming three days apart, sometimes eight or ten.  This time it was seven days and YES, thank you, I was ever so ready for it.  We needed some food in our pantry, stat!

Friday:  I spent the day cooking with Teri, who taught me several basic home-style meals to make my husband happy with.  I came home with enough food to feed us for a week!  At dinner, Dennis was like, “Oh, goody, pot roast! We never eat pot roast!”  Poor guy!

Teri fixed us barbecue enchiladas for lunch.

I make funny faces when I'm concentrating.

Guess what we made with these egg noodles?

Homemade chicken noodles baby! I couldn't believe how easy it was.

Saturday:  Had a little free time and was able to get one of my fair entries baked and frozen.  (Teaser alert: it’s a new twist on the pound cake I won third place for last year.)  One down…twenty-nine to go!  Obviously, with only a few weeks to go, that isn’t happening.  I always sign up for more than I can do.  I will just do as many as I can fit in between work and everything else.

Sunday:  A stirring sermon that reminded me why I’m a Christian.  I have been so caught up in the details lately I needed a reminder of what Christ did for me and how much I love Him for that.

Monday:  That I didn’t throw out all my fat clothes when I lost weight!  OK, I’m not thankful for the reason I need them again, but I’m certainly glad to have something that accommodates the junk in my trunk.  There is nothing more depressing than going shopping for bigger clothes.  As for the battle of the bulge issue, I’m thinking too much about other things right now to even care that much, but Dennis and I are making some cool weight loss plans.  Stay tuned!

Tuesday:  Money in the bank.  Most of you can probably relate to living paycheck to paycheck and having overdrafts more times than you’d care to admit.  This is the first week in many that we’ve had some extra breathing room in our budget.  I’m now playing catch up on all the things we’ve been putting off–my raise really was a Godsend.

Wednesday:  OK, so while I may really dislike working second shift, I do really appreciate having the mornings free for doctor appointments.  I have had to take Dad in twice in the last week and my schedule has been perfect for it, because I don’t go in until mid-afternoon.  He had a lump removed from his arm today and it was sent to the lab to see if it was cancerous, so please say a prayer for him!  We really don’t think it is cancer, but prayers can’t hurt, that’s for sure.

I’m glad I made a thanksgiving resolution to find something to be thankful for every day because it makes even the hardest days a little easier.  I am under more stress now than I have been since I went into hiding to leave a cult in 2001.  I have developed an eye twitch for the first time in my life and my monthly cycles have gone wonky on me.  But I don’t feel crazy, or desperate, or depressed, because at the end of each day, despite some of them being very bad days, there is always many things to be thankful for.  And it helps me have a happy and content heart in the face of the stresses of life.  Anyway, with that said, let’s get on to what I’m thankful for this week!

Thursday: The buy one, get one for a penny special McDonalds was having on Big Macs.  I think this is the first Big Mac I’ve had in the last fifteen years.  I don’t like to waste calories on an extra (and unnecessary, IMHO) piece of bread, but I have to admit the Big Mac is pretty tasty.

Friday: In an effort to improve my keying accuracy at work, I’ve begun listening to more music than audiobooks because it doesn’t take as much attention.  I was feeling very human and imperfect because of a mistake I made that might cost me my job (my supervisor gave me the impression she was going to let me complete my probation before making a decision), and Pink made me feel a little better.  Since most of you have probably heard the original, I want to share this cover that I fell in love with (mostly for Julia, my new voice crush, but Jake compliments her well

Saturday:  Lunch with a friend that we were missing.

Sunday: A home-cooked meal.  I now work until late in the evening and usually zap a burrito or something equally pathetic in the microwave when I get home, but today a home-cooked meal was waiting for me.  I missed a friend’s birthday party since I had to work, and Dennis brought me home a ton of the delicious food served there, including smoked turkey, ribs, barbecue beans, cabbage and bacon, sweet potatoes and peach cobbler.  What a nice change of pace from the cheese and crackers I had planned!

Monday:  The avenue of prayer God has given us to reach out to him, and for the comfort only He can give.

Tuesday: My diabetes doctor gave me a thumbs up at my quarterly check-up for the control I’ve been keeping over my blood sugar and health.  Although he did tell me to watch my weight, because I’m up 4 pounds since the last visit.  Um, I’m up more than that b/c I actually lost four pounds since then, and then regained it plus four more!  I quit Weight Watchers due to finances but should be able to afford it again soon since I got a raise. :)

Controlled with no complications! :)

Wednesday: Praise the Lord, my father’s doctor and I were able to convince him to go back on his meds!  He had a stroke in 2008 and I have helped with his health care and finances ever since and two months ago, he went off his meds and I couldn’t get him back on them.  Well, he had his three month check-up which showed elevated blood pressure and cholesterol.  Working together, me asking questions and addressing the concerns my father had about the medication, the doctor and I were able to convince him to a return to a (reduced) medicine regimen to prevent future health problems.  He is not happy about it, but he’s able to acknowledge that not taking it is more harmful to him than taking it.  This has been such a source of stress for me because I’m not ready to lose my Dad, and is a great relief that he’s willing to take his medication again.

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: Day off! Day off!  I got a day off!  Squeeeeeeeeeeee!

Friday: Some down time chatting with my youngest sister.  We have never been close because of the gap in our ages, so we now live very separate lives and rarely talk, but I had the day off and happened to be at my parents’ house when she came over so we chillaxed together, eating brie and fig jam on crackers.  Lovely.

Saturday:  The discount meat shelf at Dillons.  It’s the main reason Dennis ever gets his meat requirement fulfilled.  If it weren’t for that shelf and my love of a sale, our weekly meat purchases would be rather pitiful.  I just don’t need it the same way he (thinks) he does. :)

Sunday: Rosemary & Olive Oil Triscuits.  And cheddar cheese.  Together.

Monday: Glee. I admit it.  I’m hooked.  I LOVE MUSICALS!  To me, Glee is like an ever-evolving musical.  I think the only way to make it better is to have all the show in song.  OK, that would probably be awful, cheesy, and really hard to do, but the more singing, the better, I say!  And this cast is mega-talented.

Tuesday: A wonderfully exhausting day with my precious nephew, Owen.

Wednesday:  That I got to return my nephew back to his parents.  I tell you what, kids are exhausting! lol