Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts

Giving Thanks

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is here again already? I love Thanksgiving. I love the smell of food on the stove and in the oven. Me and Nick both have managed to get the day off after thinking we were going to have to work. Now I get to spend all day with my husband, daughter and family.

Thanksgiving is busy for us. I have my side of the family that cooks a meal, and then I have my husbands side of the family that cooks. Me and my husband cook a dish or two to share at each place. We always have to work around our schedule to enjoy the company of both sides. It can be stressful and filling! I get stuffed! Everyone has such wonderful food its hard to turn it away. 


I  hope everyone has a place to enjoy time with the people they love, to share stories with, to laugh with and just be thankful for what the Lord has given you and not worry about the things you do not have.

I hope every family can find a place around the table instead of scattered throughout the house watching TV.  I hope talks are full of laughter and not talks of politics, work, or of hard times.

Time with family is precious and does not need to be taken for granted. If you do not have a family, I hope you realize that you ARE the family and there are friends, churches and shelters that are full of people that will be thankful you come around to share time with.

I'm Thankful for..........

The stress of deciding where to have dinner first.
Because, this means I have family that wants to be together.

The cleaning and dusting, the lawn that needs mowed, and the things that need fixing.
Because, this means I have a home.

The clothes that are too tight.
Because, this means I have enough to eat.

All the complaining I hear about the government.
Because, this means we have freedom of speech.

The huge heating bill.
Because, this means I am warm.

The piles of laundry
Because, this means I have clothes to wear.

The birds outside singing.
Because, this means I can hear.

For the parking space I have to take at the far end of the parking lot.
Because, this means I am capable of walking.

For the alarm that goes off in the morning.
Because this means I have a job or church to go to.

For the sunshine.
Because this means God has given me another day.

WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

Be Thankful

Though we are thankful all the days of the year, Thanksgiving is when most families get together, lots of food is prepared and many thanks are given. 

What I am most thankful for is Jesus Christ. I am also thankful that I was raised in a Christian home. In a world like today, I can have the peace and understanding that I do not think I would have without knowing who is in control. Next, I am thankful for answered prayers. My daughter and my husband both are just that. They both have given me a personal testimony. 

“Be Thankful”
Me and my sister attended a girls night out at our church. We listened to a couple ladies speak about their personal experiences with faith and thankfulness. There was lots of food. 
Let me just say, “when you get a forty Baptist women together, there is going to be a lot of food”. 
We had homemade soups, salads, and all the snacks you need as each lady brought at dish. I brought a tray of mini doughnuts since my choice to go was last minute due to my schedule. 

After we ate we did a pallet painting. We had a model to copy. I went with the instructed painting while some of the others changed theirs up a bit with different colors and styles.


Now I have another piece of Fall decor and it sits on my mantel. Every time I look at it, I can think about the fun and fellowship I had with 38 friends and 1 sister in which I am very thankful for. She is the only Sister I have.

Belated Thanksgiving

I just realized I didn’t make a Thanksgiving post. Heck, I’m behind on any kind of post actually.  It’s just been a little crazy around here.

So with that being said, “I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving.

My daughter came in to spend the whole weekend with us. She loves going to bed and waking up in “her room” on holidays. Thanksgiving morning is usually filled with the aroma of a hot breakfast waiting for her. Not this time.
She wanted to do a 5K Turkey run at 8:00 in the morning in Belmont. I decided last minute to join in. Since we have never ran a 5k together, I figured this would be the perfect mother/daughter work out.

Proceeds went to the “Catherine's house”. Catherine's House serves women and children facing homelessness due to a variety of circumstances such as: domestic violence, un/underemployment, the shortage of affordable housing, unexpected tragedies, and the lack of a support network. 


I ate a Nutrisystem Cinnamon Roll. She ate a banana. Then we threw on our running gear and headed out the door. We ended up with a good parking spot and made it to the registration tent ahead of time. There I ran into a couple friends and we all were hyped up to run. 
Well, they were. I was not prepared to run 3 miles but I pushed through and finished. Unfortunately, I did not finish in my record time. I was behind by two minutes. I can’t run the whole time, so I walk some and run some. If I had only ran for three more minutes, I would have beat my time. My daughter on the other hand beat her goal time and was 10 minutes ahead of me. It was fun and its always a proud feeling when you cross that finish line. 

Lucky for me, I didn’t have to cook anything for Thanksgiving dinner. I made a cranberry salad to take to Moms. She always has a big Thanksgiving feast and everyone brings a dish on top of that. We had plenty and lots of left overs. 
Later that evening, we had dinner number two at my brother in laws.

Here are two brothers working in the kitchen. 


I over ate that day and stayed in a Turkey coma all weekend. 

Now its time to start a fresh week.



Black Friday

It’s the day after Thanksgiving. I said I wouldn’t do it, but I did it. I over ate yesterday and woke up to a splitting headache and puffy eyes. I am regretting  the loads of desserts I ate tasted all day long. I am simply not used to eating one BIG meal, much less two! But I am thankful.

My daughter came home to stay a few days with us. I kissed my husband and told him I’d see him again in a few days. haha. That is our joke when she comes over because once she hits the door, the girl talk starts. We jabber the whole time about friends, fashion, recipes and work. He gets put on the back burner while I give all my attention to her most of the time. 


She came in bringing goodies from Trader Joe's. We do not have a TraderJoes store in my town, so its always a treat when she brings the goodies. 
We stayed up late Thanksgiving Eve and decorated the Christmas tree and started the cooking for Thanksgiving. 

Today is the day that everyone rushes out before the sun comes up to grab a great black Friday deal. This is something I have never had any intentions to do. I would rather pay ten dollars more for an item than to get into that mess. Better yet, There are black Friday special going on all over the internet too. I will probably be in cyber world all day. 

Below are a couple black Friday sales going on today that I just so happen to be partnered with. I am happy to have the opportunities to share good things from honest companies. 


Rice Love Bags. - SHOP HERE  Use code: BLACKFRIDAY
Get 40% off til Noon 
Get 30% off noon-6 pm
Get 20% 6pm - midnight.
For every bag sold, a family is fed. Each bag is hand made from recycled rice bags so there are no two alike. 
Attached to each bag is a number to enter to see and read about the family you just fed. 
They are all so appreciative and grateful and the bags are adorable!


Goose Creek Candles- SHOP HERE
Large Candles are only $9.99 Today! 
These candles are absolutely wonderful. They burn clean and full of fragrance.
I’m really enjoying my peppermint candle. 


Nutrisystem: SHOP HERE 
Shop A La Carte with 50% off
Nutrisystem is the only diet that worked for me. I lost 50 lbs and it was so easy. 
The food is delicious and satisfying. 
They have plans starting at 249.00 a month. 
That's a great deal considering what you spend at the grocery store a month where most food goes to waste or waist. 



Clio Snacks - SHOP HERE.
OK there is no black Friday sale for these delicious yogurt bars but you can find them at most Walmarts and Harris Teeter stores. They are my new favorite snack. They absolutely taste like and have the texture of little cheese cakes dipped in chocolate. New flavors and ideas are in the works for the new year. You can find them on the Yogurt isles and they are only a dollar each! You will fall in love with them. 










Happy Thanksgiving


I don't know about you but I've been so busy the past couple months. Getting my daughter moved out, rearranging my home, fall/Winter cleaning, and getting things ready for Thanks Giving, Christmas and hibernation.


I try hard not to let things get in the way of what Thanks Giving is all about. I am thankful for so many things. I hope each and everyone out there can find something to be thankful for. If you do not have family or a place to fellowship, or maybe you are grieving, I hope you can still find peace and thanksgiving in your heart.


I will get back to blogging soon. I have a few recipes I can't wait to share starting this weekend, but until then....

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

DIY Hat Pumpkin

Happy Fall everyone! First I want to share this perfect leaf I found laying on the ground at Walmart. I was not sure if it was real or fake. I took it home and used it. It will work perfect on my Pumpkin I made.
So I thought.

   
Every year I come up with some way to recycle something from the house to create a pumpkin for Fall.

As I was searching around the house, I came across a bag of things I was going to take to the local Goodwill store. The bag was over stuffed and an old hat kept falling out. I kept stuffing it back in the bag as I searched for something of a sweater material to create a pumpkin with. There were no options in there. As I turned around to leave the room, the hat fell out again. That's when it hit me. "It is the perfect color. Could I? Will It work? I will make it work".


So, I filled the hat with stuffing.


With a string of yarn, I sewed and gathered the hat closed. Then I ran out into the yard and grabbed a piece of stick for the stem. and.....added the leaf.


I had some raffia and it was perfect for the bow. Remember the leaf? It turned out that it WAS real because after a day, it was not this pretty. This is a very easy project.

Here are a few of the other DIY pumpkins I've made through out the years.
DIY Lace Pumpkin
DIY Book Pumpkin
DIY Toilet Paper Pumpkin

Anything you see that can be gathered at the top, you can make a pumpkin. Now go round up something.

Ive Shared this at:
monday-handmade-linkup-party at judyscardmakingandpapercrafts
tuesday-pin-spiration-link-party at thestitchinmommy.
amaze-me-monday at dwellings-theheartofyourhome
something-fabulous-wednesday at roubinek
thursday-favorite-things-blog-hop at katherinescorner

DIY Book Pumpkin

I have been seeing these really cute little pumpkins made out of books. I think they are adorable. It cost nothing to make and looks great with all the other fall decorations. When the season is over, you can simply throw them in the recycle bin. So, I decided to make one and I think it turned out nice.


First- I had to get permission from my daughter to cut up one of her old books. She found one from when she was in grade school for me use. It was old and the pages were yellowed, but that's good because I think that gave it the pumpkin glow it needed.

 
 
Second- I drew out on the first page of the shape I needed. Then cut all the pages to the pattern.



Third- I tore off the front and back cover, glued an old stick in the book spine.
I just used an old stick found in the yard.

Fourth- I glued the front and back pages together around the stick and let it dry.

For the finishing touch, I fanned out the pages and added some ribbon and twine.


There I have it. A book pumpkin. 

A few that inspired me to do this are at www.craftberrybush.com-fall-in-love-with-fall and ewehooo.blogspot.com- paper-pumpkin. You can find alot of different shapes and sizes that other crafters have shared by searching "book page pumpkins". There are also many different options of decorating them.

I've shared this on:
nifty-thrifty-tuesday at coastal charm
made-by-me-53-linky-party-and-features at jaqsstudio [Featured]

Give Thanks

This time of year its so easy to get caught in all the rush of getting the Halloween decorations down and getting the Christmas decorations up. Rarely do we think of Thanksgiving being more than just a day for a big dinner with family and friends, a day off from school and work, or the day before a big shopping spree.
Then, sadly there are those that make Thanksgiving the only day to give thanks.

Right now while the economy is slow and more people are out of work, more homeless on the street and more crimes being committed, we feel like we have nothing to be thankful for, especially those who are victims of these cases. But we have a lot of things to be thankful for. We just take alot for granted. I mean, just imagine not having a family, a car, a house or friends. You may hate your job but imagine loosing it tomorrow. You may not have any of those things right now but if your reading this then you have a computer or a fancy cell phone and be thankful you have eye sight and the ability to read.

So as we enter into this Thanksgiving holiday, remember the meaning of Thanksgiving and be grateful. Wake up everyday for now on thinking about what you have, not what you don't have and always give thanks to God. Waking up is the first blessing you get each day.