Memories

As I prepare for tomorrow's feast and the time spent with family, I am drawn back to one of my earliest memories of Thanksgiving.

My first relatively clear memory of Thanksgiving is from 1977, I think.  I was 6 years old and we had moved to Washington state earlier that year, leaving behind my dad's family in Nevada.  I remember driving all night through a rather fierce storm to get back to my grandma's house for Thanksgiving.  I don't know for sure that it was the same year, but I remember the dinner table stretching from one end of the house to the other and everyone squished around it, passing food and laughing.  My grandma's house wasn't big, maybe 1200 sq ft if that, and it was bursting to the seams with family.

It occurred to me that we're kind of recreating that here tomorrow.  I am blessed with a bigger house than my grandma, but we'll still have tables stretching from one end to the other and we'll be passing food and laughing, I'm sure.  It makes me wonder if my kids will remember this Thankgiving and what their recollection of it will be.

Whatever they remember, I hope they know how loved and blessed they are.

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving Week! 

I'm not sure how much I'll get around to posting this week as it's going to be a VERY busy one.  Aside from the impending holiday and preparations to host 20+ people in my home, I've picked up some extra hours at work.  Normally I would avoid extra hours like the plague during an already busy and stressful week, but at the moment, life is necessitating extra hours.

I've been in a bit of a stress-filled funk because of some money issues, which I won't bore you with.  Just suffice it to say that I really don't have any other option BUT to work whatever extra hours I can if I don't want to find myself in a deeper hole.  Instead of working my normal 32 hours this week, I'll be working 44 hours.  Which will be terrific for the paycheck, but hard on me.  BUT.  I still am SO thankful for the opportunity and ability to work the extra hours.  It really is going to make a difference.

I don't talk much about my religious beliefs or faith here on ye ol' blog, but I'll tell you that I have a very strong faith.  I haven't attended church regularly since I was a teenager, not having found one that felt like home to me.  I'll get there eventually, but for now it's just me and God. And we do alot of talking.  And I can positively say that He's even done some answering lately.  I firmly believe that.  The answer didn't come in the form of a winning lottery ticket as I'd hoped but when things were looking rather bleak these extra hours arose at work.  And some work has started to trickle in for my husband, which will hopefully translate into full paychecks again soon.  When I started to really melt down and feel in a panic, I decided I was too small and weak to deal with it all and I threw it all into God's lap, saying "YOU deal with it."  And it appears He is. And teaching me a few lessons along the way.

Now. On to Thanksgiving.  I got a wild hair a few months ago and decided that I wanted to host Thanksgiving dinner at my house.  Not just for my immediate family, but for my husband's family as well.  The invitation was put out and at last count there will be 22 of us for dinner.  And NO, I will not be cooking the entire dinner myself, although don't think I wasn't tempted.  I'm crazy like that and think it'd be a fun and rewarding undertaking and maybe someday I'll do it.  This year I'm only doing the ham, making potato rolls, a scalloped potato dish, regular dressing, a couple pies, some appetizers, cookies for the kids, and whatever else I decide on a whim.  I plan on spending all day Wednesday up to my elbows in food and am thoroughly looking forward to it.  I'll put on some music, keep a beverage nearby and chop, slice, dice, saute, knead, mix and bake to my heart's content.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are a few things I'm thankful for right now:

~ My job

~ My family's health

~ A safe & warm home

~ A full pantry

~ Caring & supportive friends

~ The ability to do anything I set my mind to

~ A grateful heart

~ This promise:  "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  I lead a very blessed life and I don't take it for granted.  I don't mean to whine or complain, I just am recording how I've been feeling and where we're at right now.  In spite of the shadows that are around me right now, I know they are temporary.  This is just one of those rough spots in life that we all have.  With a little perserverance and faith, we'll get through it just fine.

Now tell me - what are YOU thankful for??

And Happy Thanksgiving!

True Story Tuesday - TV Guide Edition

Hmmm, let's see...what can I confess today as truth?  Oh!  I know.

I have recently started watching Glee episodes online.  I'd been hearing many good things about the show and I decided to check it out.  And you know what?  I'm hooked.   What a fun little show!  I haven't intentionally watched a network program with any regularity since...hmmm, 2005?  I think the last show that I actually was into was American Dreams.  Anyone remember that one?  It was set during the late 60's and had one of the characters dancing on American Bandstand.  It was a family-oriented show which is probably why it got cancelled after only three seasons.   I have to admit that in my advancing years I find myself being drawn to shows that aren't laden with cursing, violence and sex, which effectively rules out 95% of what's on TV these day.

True story.

I am not a fan of reality TV in general.  I have never watched Survivor, American Idol, America's Got Talent, Dancing With the Stars, Big Brother or most of the other reality shows out there.  But a couple years ago when I visited my cousin and her four 11-week old babies, we sat around and watched alot of TV.  And it just so happened that So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) was beginning a new season.  Well, I got hooked.  And I've been hooked ever since.  I have never danced, never wanted to dance or even pretended I could dance.  But there's something about that show that gets to me.  Maybe it's the passion and drive the kids demonstrate, or some of the incredibly moving choreography that they perform, but I find myself tearing up almost every episode.  And there are certain songs I can't hear without visualizing the dancers performing to it.  It kinda makes me want to get up and dance.

True story.

When I was a kid, my bedtime was 9:00pm.  This presented a dilemma because a couple of my favorite shows were on at 9:00pm.  Those shows being The A Team and Knight Rider.  Come on, you know you loved Knight Rider.  Anyway, once a week I was allowed to stay up until 10:00pm to watch a show.  I would study the TV Guide to find out the story lines for both shows and then I'd have to choose which one to watch that week.  I seem to remember The A Team winning out more often than Knight Rider.

True story.

An Unfortunate Sequence of Events

So today wasn't quite what I had planned.

I had intended to spend the day, before going to work, doing laundry and cleaning the house.  Zoë and I were going to bake some oatmeal cookies for me to take to work.  But then I saw in the newspaper online that the forecast predicted snow this afternoon.  And since I was already heading towards Coldville, I decided I needed to get a fire built and get the house warmed up.  So I got the fire started, got the laundry started, had some toast & coffee and was well on my way to domestic bliss servitude.

Then the fire needed more wood.  Now, I have to pause in my story to tell you that in the last week I have burnt my knuckles, on two separate occasions, while putting wood in the fireplace.  My right hand looks like I've been dragging my knuckles on the ground.  And they are ouchie.  Anyway, I was putting a chunk of wood in the fireplace and in adjusting the log, got my hand in a hotspot.  In total reflexive action, I jerked my arm back away from the heat.  Right into the fireplace door.  My elbow connected with the inside knob of the handle and I was immediately brought to my knees, dropping the other log that was in my hand, and causing me to emit a few colorful epithets.  The pain in my elbow was searing and shot down my arm to my hand.

This wasn't a case of hitting your funny bone where your arm tingles painfully.  This was throbbing, white-hot pain that only increased as the seconds ticked by. I stumbled to the couch, aware that Zoë was watching me, and not wanting to scare her, I tried to stem the tears that were burning my eyes and the sobs that were threatening to escape my throat.  I was rather unsuccessful even as she and Tessa the dog tried to comfort me the only way they knew how:  "Mommy, do you need a bandaid?"  {Lick, lick...}

I called crying and scared the crap out of my husband, then called crying and scared the crap out of my mother who happened to be home.  She came right over, but by that time I had regained a few of my wits and was trying to get a bag of ice for my arm.   My arm continued to throb for the next couple hours.

I called my doctor's office to try to get an appointment, but with all the sickness going around, the earliest appointment I could get was at 4:30pm, five hours away.  I downed some ibuprofen and snuggled up with my ice pack, watching a couple Glee episodes on the computer to pass the time.

The day wore on and my arm started to feel better and throb less.  I got more mobility in it and was reassured that I hadn't actually broken my arm as I'd earlier feared.  The doctor confirmed it, saying that I'd probably badly bruised the muscle or the bone and to continue the ibuprofen and ice.

So.  Let's recap.  My house didn't get cleaned.  The laundry didn't get done.  I didn't bake cookies.  I was stuck home all day, in pain.  I had to use my PTO (paid time off) for calling in sick to work.  And IT SNOWED a little. Not exactly the day I had planned.

So naturally I'm self medicating.  With Baileys & coffee.

Trying my hand

I just had the pleasure of helping one of my BFFs update her new blog.  I really am pretty clueless as to this blog design/html stuff....I just know why my eye likes.  And fortunately her eyes agreed and she's got a new pretty blog.   Take a peek and tell me what you think!

Thanks Chelle for letting me play around with your new "home".  :)  Love you!

Now I want to update my blog...

Edited to add:  What do you think?  Is the green too green??
Edited AGAIN:  How about now?

True Story Tuesday

I'm stealing this idea from my friend, Chelle, who stole it from her friend.  And since it's still Tuesday and I'm trying to get back into the routine of blogging, I'll steal whatever ideas I can in order to post more regularly.

I broke down and mopped my floors today.  After making apple pie filling yesterday and splattering sticky apple juice all over the place, it was high time the floors got cleaned.  It's probably been at least a month since I mopped.  Disgusting, I know, but I promise that if you're coming to my house as a guest, I mop the floors before you come.  I myself just live in the daily filth.

True story. 

Money is a little tight right now because work has been slow for Josh, which results in smaller paychecks.  We should be able to just squueeeze the mortgage out this week but what I really want to do is go to Costco.  I love Costco.  I dare say I'm addicted to Costco. As soon as there's more than three things on my list, I head straight there.  And never leave for less than $100.  I can't afford to do that this week and it is making me sad.

True story.

I stopped and got a raspberry mocha at Starbucks on the way to work today. They had a sign up that they were hiring.  I was sorely tempted to apply.

True story.

I have peanut butter cookies AND apple crumble pie in my house and yet I find myself thinking of what else I can bake.  I am not tempted by sweets (although that apple crumble pie is DEE-LISH) so my thoughts have turned to bread.  I have approximately 50 lbs of flour in my pantry and a new bread cookbook that is calling my name.

True story.

Bullets

Instead of trying to write an actual blog post, I'm gonna go ahead and use those wonderful little formatting wonders knowns as bullets to try to touch on some of the highlights of recent weeks months.

• I completed my 2nd half marathon on September 27 in 3:05.  This was 15 minutes faster than my first half marathon time.  I was shocked to discover around mile 9 that I could possibly break the three hour mark.  Still didn't quite make it, but I was extremely happy with that time. I ran more of this race, hurt more during it, and recovered faster after it.  Ironic considering I trained less.
• After volunteering in my daughter's preschool class, I started having second thoughts as to her attendance. I was afraid that she wasn't getting anything educational out of it and that I instead was just paying for playtime for her. Now that a few more weeks have gone by, I see that there is some actual learning starting to happen.  And I also have figured out that this first year of preschool is really about getting used to the classroom, learning how to interact with others and listen to the teacher.  The book learning will come.
• My son is doing wonderfully in school, which makes me SO happy.  The last half of last year was such a struggle for us both that it is such a relief to have him look forward to school now, and to be so positive about it. 
• I joined the YMCA this month. My hope is to maintain a level of fitness through the winter and emerge in the spring ready to take on the next challenge.  I want to improve cardiovascularly, gain some muscle and definition, and firm things up.  40 is just around the corner.
• I have unearthed a few of my craft boxes and boy howdy, do I have some projects to finish!  I've also got a lot I want to start but I'm trying to restrain myself.
• I have 16 books beside my bed that I am waiting to read, and three new cookbooks on my desk to peruse.  Hello, my name is Kate and I am a book addict.  Nice to meet you.
• I started a book club at my work.  Somehow I and another co-worker are spearheading the thing and I need to set up our first meeting asap.  We are reading Ahab's Wife, or The Star Gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund.  It's a good story.
• I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner at my house for both my family and my husband's family. To date, we have 22 people who will be attending, including us. I don't own that many forks.  That is a problem.
• **WARNING** Female subject ahead - please skip if you are male, related to me, and/or are uncomfortable hearing about my anatomy.
• I had an IUD put in last November. I had it taken out in October.  It was making me cranky, irritable, mean, crazy, bloated, irrational and sad. Also, my hair was falling out and I had the skin of a hormonal teenager. I feel much better now.
• Ok, it's safe to read again.
• I went to Eastern WA a few weeks ago to visit friends and we canned 90 quarts of applesauce and juice in a day.  Now I fancy myself a pioneer woman and am intent on "putting up" as much of anything and everything I can.  I have roasted and pureed pumpkin, which is now in my freezer in handy one cup servings.  Next up:  apple pie filling, Oktoberfest beer mustard, and marinara sauce.  Hello, my name is Kate and I am a food hoarder. Or part squirrel. Or secretly Amish.
• While out with my daughter the other day, she looked up at me and said "Mommy, my heart hurts of love."
• I know what she means.