Tag Archives: thanksgivings

Thankful Thursdays #68: quotes

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Veronica

Although I mostly use Pinterest as a place to collect online recipes I want to try, I also run across quotes and food for thought while browsing pins, and I wanted to share the ones I’ve found that are centered around gratitude. I hope you enjoy these, I found them all very inspiring, encouraging, motivating, and uplifting!

And here’s a video bonus, a song called “Thankful,” sung by perhaps my most favorite male vocalist, Josh Groban. It is a powerful, inspiring song, with a powerful voice behind it.

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Thankful Thursdays #32: I’m not any fatter

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Veronica

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 didn’t have to cook dinner! Maybe my enthusiasm seems strange, since I’m a food blogger and therefore should love to cook, but honestly cooking isn’t really my thing. I love to bake, but I’d rather eat a meal cooked by someone else any day. Anyway, some friends had us over for dinner, and I was also thankful for the time we had with them as well. I never remember my camera when we visit Ben and Ashley, so I have no pics of the wonderful taco dinner, which included homemade tortillas and a smorgasbord of fillings, including pork, shrimp , cilantro lime rice, and everything else you can imagine. MUST REMEMBER CAMERA NEXT TIME.

Friday: the internets. We got a DVD from Netflix that we’ve already seen, but thankfully we were able to watch Dr. Who online with “instant play.” The more I watch the latest season, the more the new doctor reminds me of a fairer version of my cousin, Tyson. I know that has nothing to do with being thankful, but it’s wigging me out. Maybe you’d have to know my cousin and watch the show regularly to see it?

Saturday: a husband who is willing to go grocery shopping with me. Although I do it faster alone, it’s not nearly as fun without him coming up with new ways to annoy me. His favorite thing to do is to grab random, horrible food items and ask for them like he’s three years old. For instance, if there was something called cotton candy cereal, he would pick it up, then smile and hold it up and bounce around, saying, “Cotton Candy Cereal!”

Sunday: The current Sunday School teacher for the preschool/elementary class is out of town, so I had an opportunity to teach the twins for the first time in over 6 months. I didn’t realize how much I missed them!

Monday: 1) For our wonderful Declaration of Independence and the freedoms it gives us as Americans. 2) For Katie, Den’s co-worker, who invited us to her 4th of July gathering, thus sparing us from a depressing holiday spent at home without fireworks since we are too cheap to purchase them ourselves. 3) For the people at said party, who were so friendly and made me feel at ease despite not knowing a soul there. Many were foodies, and that helped because we could all relate to the love of food! 4) That we haven’t had war on American soil in over a hundred years. The party we joined was in Derby, where more fireworks are allowed, and boy it was crazy! The steady stream of explosions and the heavy haze of smoke made me feel like I was in a war zone, and very thankful that I never have been. It also made consider and all the more thankful for our soldiers who risk their lives for the sake of others.

Tuesday: Puppy antics. We’ve been taking care of Ben and Ashley’s chickens while they’re away camping and although another friend is taking care of the dogs (there are five of them), we always end up staying to play with and pet them. The golden lab is about a year old and has a ridiculous amount of energy. Today he nabbed a squash Dennis picked and rolled around with it, chomping on and playing with it like it was the most delightful thing he’d ever encountered. At one point, he was rolling on his back while holding it up in the air with his paws. The joy of a puppy is a beautiful thing.

Wednesday: I’m not any fatter! I got my rear in gear and went to my first Weight Watchers meeting in three weeks, knowing that after all the stress-dieting I’d done (i.e. eating everything I possibly could to calm my nerves–emotional eating is my downfall), I was going to see a big gain. But I weighed exactly the same. Granted, the last time I weighed in I had a 3-pound gain due to the heavy clothes I was wearing and the later time of day I went, so weighing the same in the morning before eating, and while wearing shorts, definitely means I’ve got more padding now. But still. Technically, I weigh the same as I did at my last meeting. :) I’ll take it as a victory and move on, counting my points and working toward my goal like a good girl.

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Thankful Thursdays #31: it’s a imacurl!

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Veronica

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. :)

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Thursday Thanksgivings #26: a new church building!

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Veronica

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.