Thankful Thursday: Thanksgiving 2014 Edition

 Happy Thanksgiving! 

Thanksgiving is becoming my most favorite holiday of the year.  Food!  Family!  I love it all!  My post aboutThanksgiving and how food is so much more than food was published on HuffingtonPost (which I am totally thankful to be published there)!  I would be so grateful if you clicked on over and shared your thoughts on food!

Making my traditional coconut cream pie.  Why am I making coconut cream pie?
Click on the link to my new Huff Po piece that explains
how coconut cream pie = love and acceptance

Here is a recap of my November’s Thankful Thursday posts:

I started the month out with a family adventure to Detroit for some culture, which led us to going to the Polish Village in Hamtramck. 

I talked about how running outside has changed me.  I alsotalk about how I am not sure who I am anymore since 10 years ago, I would havenever believed that I would like nature and running.

I ended the month withan easy DIY Thanksgiving craft where I experiment with chalkboard paint and ModPodge.  I also talk about how craftingwith the sole purpose of having fun is helping me embrace a more adventurousattitude toward life.

Hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving!

     

Thankful Thursday: DIY Thanksgiving Craft

I have totally taken to crafting to help me relax.  I am reluctant to say that I’m a crafter; I think there is a connotation that would imply that I have a really strong skill set and everything turns out perfectly.

This is not the case. 

What I make up in actual skills, I make up in a sense of adventure.  Who knows how this is going to turn out?  Who cares if it doesn’t go according to plan?  I’ll just try something else.

I guess crafting has taken on the metaphor of how I hope to embrace life one day: who cares what happens as long as I am enjoying myself in a healthy way (and don’t inhale too many glue and paint fumes).

I am thankful that crafting has given me an avenue to explore what a carefree life could be like.

Before this craft, I had never used chalkboard paint before.  But I was curious about it, so I decided to try it out on chipboard.  I wanted something that could be made for Thanksgiving, but could stay out all year, too.

First I took a chipboard and spray painted it with chalkboard spray.

Then I cut strips of scrapbook paper to cover a canvas.

I used Mod Podge in a glossy finish.

I wanted to to make the chipboard with chalkboard paint pop (that I wrote on with chalk and sealed it with a matte sealant), so I decided to matte it to some brown and patterned cardstock.

I used the Mod Podge in a glossy finish again on the canvas.

Then I used Mod Podge with a matte finish to adhere it to the canvas.  I was hoping it would add contrast to the glossy and make keep it looking more like a chalkboard.

But it didn’t.  The fine chalkboard dust I created did not stick.  But that’s OK.  I still like how it turned out.

Have you used chalkboard paint?  Or have you done any crafts lately?  I would love to try something new!

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Know what else I'm thankful for?  Huffington Post published my piece about Thanksgiving and how I use food to express my love and acceptance. I would love it if you clicked on over and read it!

Thankful Thursday: Running, Nature, and Yoga

This week, I am thankful for running, nature, and yoga.

Gah!  I cringe just typing that because 10 years ago I would have walked away from any conversation in which someone pledged her affinity to any of those things.

But 10 years ago, I didn’t really know how to take care of myself.  I was a big ball of hot, reactive energy.  At the time, I viewed it as passion, but the truth was I just didn’t have the tools manage my feelings in a responsible way.  I was anxious all the time, whether it was at work or planning a wedding or being newly married. 

I hated anything that made me have to deal with my anxiety which made running, nature, and yoga unbearable.  Being alone with my thoughts was like a hamster running on a wheel – lots of activity, but accomplishing nothing.

This eventually caught up with me after Thomas was born.  I’ve talked about being on medication and being misdiagnosed, but either way, I was set upon my course of finding inner peace.

So slowly by trial and lots and lots of error, I found my magic combo: running outside and yoga. **

The running part I get; I used to run a lot as a kid, and it just felt good. However, I didn’t grow up with an innate connection to nature.  In fact, I have a vivid childhood memory of going outside and was immediately disgusted by all the bugs flying around our wooded backyard.  Horrified, I went inside and read a book.

I am not sure where this newfound fondness to nature came from, but there is something so comforting about it now.

I mean, look at these pics from my run:

Yoga, well, yoga has definitely  has toned my shoulders.  I have been going so regularly these days, Red Lotus Yoga is kind of like my Cheers bar.  I run late almost every Friday.  One Friday, the teacher and the receptionist said, “Erin, don’t worry.  We signed you in.  Go on to class.”

I love starting my Friday off with Eliza and Alyssa!  Alyssa is one of my favorite teachers EVER!

I was taken surprise by how deeply comforted this simple gesture made me feel.

Anyway, I don’t go to church, but at yoga, I do feel a connection to something bigger than myself.  When I am quiet and encouraged to set an intention, I am able to feel peaceful and able to find a sense of gratitude that is naturally very difficult for me. 

I am not saying that every day I’m floating on a blissful cloud of inner peace, but I do notice little changes that make me feel more in charge of my emotions that have, in turn, given me a better chance at feeling more at peace.

So if you were to tell me I’d love running outside and practicing yoga so much that I am now a regular at the yoga studio, I would have laughed a cynical laugh.

Thankfully, I am not that person anymore.

**This combo works for me.  Everyone’s magic combo is different, and I commend anyone who is able to figure that out, whatever that combo may be.

Thankful Thursday: Adventures and Quiet Time with Coffee

I am in disbelief that it is already November.  Seriously?!  It’s like one day the leaves were bursting with color, and the next time I looked they were all over the ground.

I feel a twinge of excitement as the holidays approach.  I start to get all excited about food and family and tradition.  Pies!  Artichoke dip!  Visiting with family!  Decorating for Christmas!  It will be SO! MUCH! FUN!! 

But that kind of enthusiasm is hard to sustain.  When reality sets in, I become anxious about food and family and tradition.  I find it difficult not to spiral into a combination of the Grinch and Miss Hannigan from Annie (the Carol Burnett one, not the Cameron Diaz one).

Last year, I did a series called Thankful Thursday.  I find that it forced me to shift my perspective.  Instead of being irritated at the whole world, I was finding little nuggets of everyday life for which I felt grateful.

Practicing gratitude is not easy, especially during the holidays, but it really helped to make the season more joyful.

Take for instance, my kids had Monday and Tuesday off, which was the worst timing with Halloween being on a Friday and the Daylight Saving time change happening on a Sunday.  I am still trying to fine my work-at-home flow, and this disruption was not ideal.  When was all this stuff supposed to get done?!?!

But I took a step back and worked from a place of gratitude; I decided to embrace this time together and go on some adventures.

I discovered that I am (again) thankful that we are at a stage with the kids where we can do stuff with them.  We went to Target without a fuss.  We went to see to the Detroit Instituteof Art and actually had discussions about the similarities of the modern day selfie and Impressionism/Post Impressionism art.  

We also talked about not laughing at naked people in paintings because obviously.

Some of us were more excited to be at the museum than others. This can be seen on Thomas's face.

Makers gonna make.

I was grateful that the kids hung in at the Polish Village Café.  

I seriously would eat here every day.

I L.O.V.E. this food!  If food could give you a hug and wrap a blanket around you, it would look like the Polish plate with fresh sausage, galumpkis (stuffed cabbage), pierogi, and mashed potatoes with a side of sour cream cucumbers and potato pancakes.  

The kids do not share my same enthusiasm for Polish cuisine.  Yet.

I am thankful that my kids were excited about going to the library and Barnes and Noble.  They may have different ideas of fun, but they both agree that books and cupcakes are the best!

Just look at us with our books and legal stimulants of coffee (for me) and chocolate (for them).

I was also thankful that I had a chance to spend time with Marie and paint some pottery with friends.  Actually, if I am going to be more precise, I am thankful that she still thinks I’m cool enough to hang with.

These two days off could have easily turned into a disaster if I chose not to take advantage of the time we had together.

Having said that, there was nothing like a hot cup of coffee in a quiet house. 

Halloween candy always tastes best when eaten alone in a silent house.

What has you feeling grateful this week?