"A helluva place to lose a cow"

It's been a long time since I've let a week pass between posts. I think it's best to recap in bullet form.

* Thanksgiving was great. We had an assortment of relatives from both sides of the family, a 21-lb. turkey, and my mother-in-law's best-ever dinner rolls. I think I can safely say that everyone had enough to eat and enjoyed themselves.

* I didn't have any illusions that I might make homemade turkey soup this year, and the carcass went right into the trash. In other words, I didn't store it in the freezer where it would stay until Easter before being thrown out.

* Traditionally, Thanksgiving weekend is when we put up our Christmas lights. This year the job was delegated to our sons. The oldest one is the analytical type, thinks things through from start to finish, although the follow-through often leads him on a variety of tangents. The younger one is the get-er-done-we're-missin'-the-game sort of guy. All I know is that at the end of the afternoon, the lights were up, the yard was a criss-cross of white extension cords and that duct tape does not stick to brick. The Griswold's have nothing on us.

* I did not go shopping on Black Friday, but I did take my daughter to the mall on Saturday. It was a silly, crazy thing to do.

* I've been reading Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon. It's the first book in her Father Tim series and is just delightful. I tried this book about a year ago, but just couldn't get into it, which was disappointing, because I so enjoyed the original Mitford series. I guess it's true that a reader has to bring something to a book to get something out of it. After my trip "home" this summer, I seem to be in a different place than I was a year ago, so that Father Tim's experiences are much more meaningful. I'm looking forward to the next volume in this series, which will be released in 2010.

* Dan's parents gave him a set of DVD's about America's national parks. We love visiting our nation's parks and have been greatly entertained by watching 12 hours worth of still-photos of scenery and old guys like Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir. We will make a great retired couple when we travel the country to visit or re-visit all of these places in our RV.

Bryce Canyon National Park was one of the areas covered in the series. Mormon pioneer and rancher Ebenezer Bryce was the original settler of the huge limestone canyon, carved by wind and water, and shaped into a bizarre arrangement of towers and steeples that form miles of mazes and nooks and crannies. It is said that after attempting to ranch there, Bryce eventually left, declaring the area beautiful, but "a helluva place to lose a cow."

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Hoping you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. Now that the Christmas season has officially begun, here's to keeping the true spirit of Christmas and Advent. Let's not get lost in the retail maze!

48 hours and counting

In 48 hours, I'll have a 21-lb. turkey in the oven, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will be on t.v. and we'll be getting ready for a houseful of family for Thanksgiving dinner. Between now and then I have a list of stuff to do that's as long as my arm. Good thing my kids are home. I can put them to work. (Hey, they should be thankful they weren't born on a farm, they'd be picking . . . something right now. You can tell, I wasn't born on a farm either.)

I'm going to take a few days off from NaBloPoMo. It's my party and I'll blog -- or not -- if I want to;) And even though I won't be writing for the Giving Thanks Challenge, I'll be feeling very thankful this week, because that's what having my family around me tends to do. Except for when they all start fighting and throwing punches across the table. I'm kidding.

My gratitude today is for you, my blogging friends. Like so many of us who blog, I started mine for a variety of reasons. But the one that often keeps me going is the group of people I've met through our blogs. It's become a network of friendship and encouragement and learning. For some of us, what started out as leaving comments for one another, turned into exchanging e-mails and snail mail. I've had the pleasure of meeting two new friends in person and it was like we'd known each other for years. Other bloggers have inspired me to try new projects and recipes, and yet another's challenge got me off my duff to take a writing class that I've put off for far too long. And I like to think that in some small way I've helped inspire someone else out there, too.

So, to you my blogging buddies, I'm grateful. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and may your turkey turn out just right and your stuffing never be soggy. Unless you like it that way. It's all a matter of personal preference.

xoxo

Monday, again!

FOR TODAY. . .November 23, 2009

Outside my window... the street is quiet. No kids and parents walking to school today. The kids have the week off for Thanksgiving break. The air is still and cool.

I am hearing...my son and his friend in the kitchen, laughing it up.

I am thinking... how tiring it is to carry everyone's concerns.

I am thankful for... friends who remind me that I don't have to.

I am wearing... jeans and sweatshirt.

I am going... to spend the day doing laundry and house keeping.

I am reading... a book for a future blog review. Looking for something light for my personal reading.

I am hoping... to finish up a project that's been in my sewing basket for too long.

On my mind...sorting through my priorities, trying to decide what to keep, what to let go.

Pondering these words... seaglass. How much we're like pieces of seaglass, all rough and sharp, and life experience teaches us and smooths the edges. Though it may take lots of tumbling in rough waters for it to happen. I recently read a quote to this effect on someone's blog. I'm sorry I can't remember where it was, but it has been a comfort, so thank you if you're reading this!

Noticing that... "I need to continually fill my mind with things of Christ in order to overcome the things of this world". (I do remember finding this on Peggy's Daybook last week. Thank you, Peggy.)

From the kitchen... Cranberry chicken, garlic potatoes, green beans, cornbread

One of my favorite things~
From my picture journal...

From Peggy, the Simple Woman's Daybook: Would you like to linger on the simple things...then join me and many others in taking a little look into the day plans and thoughts of those who are focusing on simplicity...beauty of the 'everyday moments'.

Thankful for. . .

Sunday mornings. . . I took this photo at Yosemite National Park in May. The serenity of the moment still comes to mind when I look at it.

My Abby. . .


This coffee. . .

Thankful for. . .

the gift of foresight. Last year after Christmas, I planned ahead and packed a special box labeled "Open This First." It contains our advent wreath, advent calendar, and the Christmas cards that I bought on sale last year so I can start writing them out now. I made it a point to put this box right next to a box that contains gift wrap, tags, and bows, and another box that contains cookie tins. I was able to peek inside, note what I have on hand, so as to not go out and buy a bunch more stuff.

Every so often, I get it right;)

It's time for Friday's Fave Five, hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

Looking back on the week, here are some favorite moments that come to mind:

1. This song at Xandra's place. Take a few moments and listen, and just feel the peace. It filled my heart.

2. Yesterday, Dan and I had our annual Christmas shopping day. The goal is to get some shopping done, come away with some concrete ideas, but most of all spend the day together, enjoying the anticipation of Christmas. At one point we had a "LOL moment" when we were looking at something in the store (can't give too many details or it will spoil a surprise), and both shared a moment of recognition that this is not what we wanted to buy. Our eyes met, opened wide, and we both had that Home Alone (as in the movie) look of "Nooooooo!" We shared a good laugh. Guess you had to be there.

3. The moments I took to hug my kids and feel their embrace.

4. The moment my dog knows that I'm awake in the morning. She sleeps in my son's room, and as soon as she's up, she comes and lies outside our bedroom door, which is closed. When she hears me moving about, I hear the thump, thump of her tail wagging against the door. I love it.

5. There were several moments this week that spoke to my heart in regards to some spiritual reading that I'm sharing with a couple of friends. I know, I'm being vague, and I really need to sort some of it out and share sometime. But, the moments were those that reinforced, or better yet, shed light on some of the lessons that we're learning. It's as though God was nodding and smiling at me, saying, "Now, you're getting it."

Thank you, Susanne, for encouraging me to look for the goodness. It's all grace.

Thursday 13

What happens when you've made this silly commitment to post on your blog everyday and you look at the clock and it 5:33 p.m. and you realize you have to be someplace in 45 minutes, and you can't think of anything to say?

You look for a meme.

I recall a long time ago doing a meme called Thursday Thirteen, so I looked it up and sure enough it still exists. So, in the spirit of the Giving Thanks Challenge, here are

13 Things I'm Thankful for In a Friendship

1. Honesty
2. Sense of humor
3. Not afraid to challenge me
4. and knows when not to challenge me and let me rant
5. Will shop with me at boutiques and at Target
6. Loves my family
7. Will watch chic flicks with me and sit through the credits when the movie is over.
8. Listen to me tell the plots for my favorite books from beginning to end.
9. Drink Starbucks with me
10. Knows my favorite dessert
11. Waited and then rejoiced with me when my babies were born.
12. Will offer to go with me to the tough places -- a scary doctor appointment, my first visit back to the cemetery when I lost my mom, my first lip wax.
13. Remembers who I was before I became a wife and mom, and loves me for it.