Thankful Thursday

Being present is something I've always struggled with.  This is an exercise for me in taking the time to notice the things throughout the week that I am thankful for.  Not the big things like my family but the little things it's easy to miss in the hustle and bustle that is life.  Please join along if you'd like and leave a link in the comments.

I am thankful for our Lego Christmas buildings.  This week has been full of Christmas spirit with quiet evenings in front of the fire and most of that time has been spent working on our Lego Christmas pieces.  My mom had a Christmas town when I was little and every year we would pick out a new piece for her collection.  I loved unwrapping each building year after year.  Three years ago I realized that Lego was making a new piece each year to be part of a Christmas Village.  Garrett's obsession with Lego's was beginning to take off and although the price was a little more than what I wanted to commit to spending each year, I couldn't think of a better tradition to start.  

I'm happy to report that 3 years into this tradition, it is my favorite Christmas tradition next to picking out the Christmas tree.  It is my favorite early December package.

This year we've spent every night since Sunday sitting around the fire sorting pieces (apparently I made the mistake last January of taking them apart and mixing them up with the rest of our lego pieces.)  We even got some help from my sister, brother-in-law and nephew this year.  I'm happy to report that Mike is putting the finishing touches on the Toy Shop as we speak.  This year we have 3 pieces which I think qualifies us to set out our "town" on the dining room table rather then the mantle we used last year.

Day 30

Today I am thankful for my month of Thankful.  While I didn't get to post everyday on time and I'm finishing this up a bit late, I am happy to have stuck with it and not thrown in the towel when I fell a few days behind (which is my typical MO with this blog).  It was interesting for me how much more I paid attention to things throughout the day to decide what I would write about.  There were plenty of days when I woke up and found 5 things before noon that I was thankful for and I'm not sure I would have noticed some of them if I hadn't been focused on this challenge.  There were also plenty of rotten days in between where I really had to search to find something other than a glass of wine to be thankful for.  So I'm thankful for this challenge and the way it cast a different light on things throughout my day.  I think I'm going to try to continue on with a Thankful Thursday to focus on things throughout my week that I am thankful for.

Day 29

Today I am thankful for Friends & Farms.  This great company has put together weekly baskets of local meat, seafood, produce, dairy, eggs and bread that I pick up every Thursday.  I've been on my mission to eat locally for well over a year now.  Up until I joined Friends and Farm (over 2 months ago), it involved a lot of running all over the place to get meat and produce and my dairy and bread were still coming from the grocery store.  The people at Friends and Farm have taken a lot of the work out of it and they are beyond accomodating to work with.

This weeks basket included smoked ham, fluke, milk, drinkable yogurt, apple cider, a loaf of breakfast bread (we chose an amazing cranberry orange pecan), arugula, potatoes, pears, turnip greens, parsnips and cauliflower.

Day 28

No picture today but I am thankful for this meal planning list.  I found it on Pinterest (oh, I am thankful for Pinterest almost every day) and have been using it for over a year to plan out my meals and weekly shopping list.  I find the meals on my (over organized) pinterest boards, fill them in and add the ingredients to the shopping list.

Day 27

Today I am thankful for my Birch Box.  This is my first one and it's totally worth the $10 a month to get a pretty little package in the mail, the awesome samples inside are just an added bonus.  I've never been one to splurge on high end products but it's nice to get a few things each month to pamper myself.

Day 26

Today I am thankful for a little extra time in the mornings.  We don't always get it but it is such a nice treat when we do.

Day 25

Today I am thankful for an amazing group of girlfriends who took me in when I transfered highschools my Junior year.  A move in the middle of highschool could have been tramatic but this group of girls took me into their group and have been there for me unconditionally every day since. 

Our group has grown over the years with the additions of babies (mine and now finally some of theirs) and partners and it's been fun to watch this Holiday dinner of our evolve over the years.  I'm bummed I couldn't find the one from 2007. 

2012

2011

2010

2009



2008?



Day 24

Today I am thankful for naps.

Day 23

Day 23 I am thankful for Black Friday and the way I chose to celebrate it with my family.  I really have mixed feelings about this day which I could go on about for hours but in the end, I chose to go out this year.

I understand how a lot of people feel about the day and the irony of the fact that the day we are supposed to sit back and be thankful for what we have is-smashed-up-on-top-of the most commercial day of the year.  I am with everyone on this and have been exasperated by the fact that more and more stores are opening ON Thanksgiving and tons of people across our country are leaving their families immediately after dinner to go wait in line to save $50 on a TV.  They are trampling each other in stores to save $5 on a doll and the message that this gives their children is not one I am looking to pass on to my child. 

This year I chose to not go to any store that was opening on Thanksgiving and I'm even taking it a step further by saying that I will not give these stores any of my money this holiday season.  I was really moving towards doing as much of my shopping with small businesses, on Etsy and on-line so it just seemed natural for me to take a stand and vote with my dollars.  That being said, my sister-in-law and I both agreed that we enjoying the getting up early and waiting in line and feeling like we saved a few dollars on something we planned on buying anyway.

I recently dusted the sewing machine my mom gave me last year and decided to let Garrett pick out some fabric for a new pajama set.  While I know that handmade is not always cost effective, I was surprised at the total when we hit the checkout.  I decided if I was going to make a hobby out of this, I would need to start stocking up on fabric when it was on sale.  Cue Jo-Ann's Black Friday sale.  The store opened at 6pm and had a great sale on flannel fabric as well as some things my sister-in-law wanted.  We roped my little brother into coming along and the negotiation involved a quick trip to Dick's for their buy one get one sale on ammunition.  We made fun of ourselves all morning for the fact that we got up at 4am to get ammunition and fabric and joked that anyone who saw us would be convinced that we were doomsday preppers.  Imagine our surprise when we pulled up in front of the Jo-Ann Superstore to find a line at least 20 people deep.  Thankfully, everyone was more than friendly, no one got trampled and I stocked up on enough flannel to make all the littles in my family pajama bottoms for Christmas. 

Day 22

Day 22 was Thanksgiving and I am thankful for my amazing family and our wonderful traditions that circle around this holiday.  Thanksgiving was my grandmother's favorite holiday.  She spent the entire day on Wednesday baking pies and preparing for the big day.  Thursday morning she rose long before the sun to get the turkey in the oven and she was cooking up a storm when everyone arrived Thursday morning.  My family eats Thanksgiving "dinner" early, usually aiming to have all of the food on the table by 1.  By 2 o'clock, my grandmother was usually over the whole scene and would disappear into her bedroom for an afternoon nap. She thought she was being slick but as I got older I realized that sneaking away for a nap had more to do with getting away from the chaos of daughters, son-in-laws and grandchildren then it did with lack of sleep. 

This was the second Thanksgiving without my grandmother and although she hadn't run the show in a handful of years because of her dementia, I'm not sure I'll ever get use to her not physically being there.  It will always be the time of year that my family thinks and talks about her the most and even with her gone it still remains a day filled with too much food and just the right amount of family.



It's been at least 3 years since we've all been together at Thanksgiving



Day 21

Today I am thankful for lots. I am thankful for my friend Carrie who loves me enough to run errands for me. She lives near our local orchard and picked up a big bag of apples for me. Without her help, I never could have had the pie making/dance party that took place tonight. So today I am thankful for awesome co-workers turned friends and also pie/dance parties

Day 20

Today I am thankful for our chore chart. Some evenings it's the only reason anything gets done around here. Today was one of those nights.

Day 19

Today I am thankful that our boxer Laila prefers to cuddle with Mike in the morning.

Day 18

Today I am thankful for apple pie for breakfast. I attempted my first pie from scratch yesterday and it was a huge success. Mike gave me Ashley English's "A Year of Pie" fot my birthday in August and finally got to reap the benefits of the gift. Her instructions were easy to follow and made one of the most flaky crusts I've had in a while.

Day 17

Well I seem to have fallen a few days behind.  Day 17 I was thankful for friends of friends.  Our friends Carrie and Shawn invited us to a "Friendsgiving" dinner on Saturday night that she managed to throw together in about a week.  I've know Shawn for about 15 years and I actually introduced him to Carrie around 9 years ago.  Over that time Carrie has invited me to countless gatherings where I've gotten to know a lot of her other friends.  These aren't people that I see outside of my relationship with Carrie but I really enjoying spending time with this group and watching how it has transformed over the years.  We were joking around on Saturday that at some point, the kids will start to out number us!

A little blurry but I still love it

Day 16

Today I am thankful for knitting. I picked up this hobby a few years ago but just started finishing projects recently. I am currently working on my first baby blanket which was supposed to be ready by the shower this weekend. My new deadline is due date but I really need to finish so I can start my holiday crafts (and figure out how to use that darn sewing machine).

I'm taking care of some continuing education this week and am quickly approaching 16 hours of knitting. I am thankful that this hobby of mine is so portable and allows me to keep my hands busy while still taking in all of the information. I'm also thankful the blanket will be done soon. I think I will have to think twice before I commit to a blanket again. What a time commitment!

Day 15

My picture for today really didn't turn out very well and I'm sure it had nothing to do with the empty wine glass on the table. None the less, I am thankful for my neighborhood book club. Not only have we read some fantastic books but I look forward to catching up with these ladies each month. The book club started almost 2 years ago just as we were moving into the neighborhood and it was a great chance to meet most of the women in my neighborhood. And now I am lucky enough to call these women friends.

Day 14

I am thankful for dinner with a good friend from high school. I am lucky enough to have a great group of girls from high school who I am still very close with. I have drifted apart with this particular friend in recent years and I am thankful that not only have we made a pact to get together more but also that we always pick up right where we left off.

Day 13

I am thankful for trips to the library. This week is much busier then I would like but we managed to squeeze in a family trip to the library this evening. I really think the library is such an underutilized resource and we've been trying to go more often.

Day 12

I am thankful for my two awesome dogs.

Day 11

Today I am thankful for all of the veterans out there. I'm especially thankful for my little brother and two cousins who are currently serving.

Day 10

I am thankful for the new member our family who will be joining this amazing family shortly

Day 9

Today (and most days) I am thankful for Pinterest. I've been addicted for longer then I'm willing to admit but it's such an awesome way for me to organize my ideas and dinner plans. I love all of the healthy meals I've found and amazing crafts. Exhibit a) motorcycle diaper for my sisters shower tomorrow.

Day 8

Today I am thankful for Mumford and Sons

Day 7

Over the years I think I've become less and less concerned with politics.  There was a time when I would proudly jump up on a soap box and proclaim what I found wrong with this country.  But really, what good does that do?  Sitting around complaining has certainly never resulted in a positive outcome, of this I am certain.  Over the years I've lost my passion for politics due to a lot of different reasons, the main reason being that politics are just another thing to divide us.  Democrat or Republicans is divisive enough.  But now there is division within parties between the left, center and right leaning of these groups.  Really what this country and it's people need is to come together, to stop focusing on the things that we disagree on and focus on the things we have in common.  Because when you really take the time to sit down and think, we all have things in common.  Sure, the differences are more prevalent and easier to find, but doesn't it feel better to relate to someone than attack them?  Not that you would know it by turning on the news or social media around election time.....

Regardless of my decrease in political passion over the years I am still thankful for the ability to have a say in how my country is run.  In Maryland, we were lucky enough to be able to vote on a very important constitutional amendment to allow ALL families to have a sense of security.  I went to bed on election night praying that I would be able to wake up in the morning proud of the state I have lived in my entire life. Luckily, I was able to do that and today, I am thankful to be a resident of Maryland.

Day 6

I am thankful for fresh doughnuts from Fractured Prune. We didn't think they'd be open during the offseason but I called around Monday morning to all the stores anyway. On the way out if town I spotted an "open" sign and we got out doughnuts!!!

Day 5

Today I am thankful for a mini vacation with my favorite little man

Day Four

I've had this conversation with friends before and I truly believe that people are either beach or mountain people. I am without a doubt the former. Don't get me wrong, the mountains are beautiful and I love a quiet weekend in the woods. But something about being at the beach relaxes me like nothing else can. I feel like my entire body takes a collective breath the minute I come over the sand dunes. So on day 4 I am thankful for not just the beach, but the fact that in less than 3 hours I go from my front porch to feet in the sand.

Day Three

Today I am thankful for our football team. Mike has been playing with some of these people long before we meet. We've lost and added people over the years but its great to get out on Saturdays and have fun as a team.

Day Two

Friday I picked Garrett up for some quick errands before our cub scout meeting.  Our first stop was Garrett's new favorite place stop; the library.  He has been reading pretty much nonstop since he discovered the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. 

Garrett's Halloween parade was rescheduled to Friday due to the storm.  His hair was dyed black for his costume and the awful stuff spreads every where.  By the end of the day, kids thought he was dressed up as a zombie because of all the black dye on his face and hands.

So day two I am thankful for reading zombies

Day One

The past few days I've noticed I smattering of "I'm thankful for...." on facebook.  I've sworn to get this blog back up and running and figured this is a good way to do.  So for the month of November I will post a picture everyday of something I am thankful for that day.  I challenged two of my co-workers to the do the photo challenge with me so we shall see how it goes.

The first day of November was Thursday.  After Sandy hit our area, flooding our basement and knocking out our power with a full freezer full of local meet.  Our power was restored on Thursday just in time for trick or treating and my freezer was still completely frozen.  Needless to say I didn't get the homemade Lego Ninjago costume done.  It was a little ambitious for my first sewing project but we'll blame it on the storm :)  So Thursday I was thankful for trick or treating!

 

 

We have an amazing neighborhood of people and although we only have about 25 houses on the block.  Garrett is one of a small handful of children so he managed to fill his entire bucket thanks to generous handfuls from neighbors who are just glad to have trick or treaters in the neighborhood again.

{this moment}

Joining soulemama