Saturday, November 30, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 30

I am thankful for home.  With the people I love, comfy couches, warm blankets, snuggily puppies and maybe a slice of chocolate pie.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 27

I am thankful for small, niche businesses.  Bog box stores would never carry a bung and an airlock, but the Brew Your Own Beer" store had exactly what I needed with some helpful fermentation advice to go with it.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Monday, November 25, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 25

I am thankful for modern transportation... ie cars.  I would not be able to cram as much into one day as I do if I had to do it with a horse and buggy.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 24

I am thankful that Starbucks offers a soy milk option.  I have grown rather fond of my daily latte, but am trying to avoid milk until this cold is gone.  The soy milk option makes that possible.  Thanks Starbucks!

Saturday, November 23, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 23

Today I am thankful for salt.  I had no idea that I even liked hard boiled eggs until I put a little salt on one at lunch today. In fact, moments before biting into the egg I though to myself, jeeze, I really don't like hard boiled eggs,but oh well, it's what I got!  Magic I tell you, salt on a hard boiled egg... something to be thankful for.

Friday, November 22, 2013

A Month of gratitude -- Day 22

I am incredibly thankful for a washer and dryer in my house and not having to schlep things to a laundromat.  It makes cleaning up messes that much easier!

Thursday, November 21, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 21

I am thankful for Amazon prime.  Seriously, I can order pretty much anything in existence from my bed and have it delivered to my door in 2 days or less for free.  Sorry but that is really amazing!

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 20

Today I am thankful for paid sick time.  Which in turn means that I am thankful for labor unions who fought for my right to have paid sick time.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 19

Truthfully, today I am thankful that my mother feeds Nate lunch and dinner so that I dont have to pack him a lunch every single, stinking day. Thanks mom!

Monday, November 18, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 18

Today I am Thankful for unseasonably warm weather... the last I am sure we will see for a long time.

Thinking About Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving is, hands down, my favorite holiday.  It completely gets over shadowed by Halloween and Christmas, but it is still my favorite.

I have been hosting Thanksgiving dinner for 2 years now, this will be the third, and I take pride in the fact that everything is made from scratch.  This year, however is going to be a little different.  For one thing, not only is it Thanks giving, but it is also the first night of Hanukkah, and my birthday.  Something different had to be done, this was no ordinary holiday... this was the holiday trifecta! 

Since it is the holiday trifecta I started joking with my husband that I was going to just order the whole dinner from Whole Foods as a birthday present to myself.  The more I said it however, the better the idea sounded, until he finally said, just order it and I'll pay for it!

Done and done!  With a few modifications...

We will have:

A roasted Turducken (ordered online, cooked by me)
A smoked turkey (fresh from Whole Foods, smoked by Jon)
Mashed potatoes (Whole Foods)
Mashed sweet potatoes (Whole Foods)
Glazed carrots with candied pecans (Whole Foods)
Roasted green beans with shallots (Whole Foods)
Biscuits (Baked by me)
Gravy (Cooked by me)
Potato latkas  (Cooked by me)
Jellied cranberry sauce (From the can)
Whole berry cranberry sauce (From the can)
Creamed onions (Frozen)

More cooking than I had originally anticipated but that's ok... Still less work and cleanup than previous years.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Friday, November 15, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 15

I am thankful that today I pushed myself out of my comfort zone.  It turned out to be a great decision and I am really happy I made it.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 14

I am thankful That I have a flexible job and schedule so that I can take advantage of things like parent visitation day at Nate's school

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Monday, November 11, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 11

As today is Veteran's Day, I am incredibly grateful and thankful that there are people who make the courageous choice to put themselves in danger to protect out country and its interests.  Thank you to all who serve!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 10

I am thankful for indoor plumbing, my washer, and my dryer.  I am incredibly thankful I do not have to beat my clothe on a rock by the river to get them clean.

Saturday, November 09, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 9

I am thankful for my husband who watched Nate today while I escaped for a girls-only lunch with an old friend.

Friday, November 08, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 8

I am thankful for labor unions who fought for a 5 day work week so that I can have a weekend to spend with my family.

Thursday, November 07, 2013

Wednesday, November 06, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 6

I am grateful for the opportunity to learn new things, increase my skill set, and expand my knowledge of the world around me.

Tuesday, November 05, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 5

I am grateful to be able to teach my son about the Democratic process and the importance of participating in it.

Monday, November 04, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 4

Today I am thankful that no one can read my mind as pretty much every thought I had was an uncharitable one.

Sunday, November 03, 2013

Halloween 2013

Nate didn't really start getting into Halloween until last year when we went out trick-or-treating with friends in their neighborhood.  This wasn't and option for this year, so Jon took Nate out in our neighborhood.  He was not disappointed.

Nate dressed up like a Red Ninja complete with swords and other ninja weapons.



Let the Trick-or-Treating begin!







 

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 3


Today I am thankful for Starbucks.  Shallow?  Yes, but it is cold outside and my grande decaf 2-pump vanilla latte tastes SO good!

Saturday, November 02, 2013

A Month of Gratitude -- Day 2

Today I am thankful for mild weather.  Today may have been the last time I could have doors and windows open all day before the spring.

Friday, November 01, 2013