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: 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?

Grateful

Ever since Marie and Thomas started school today, I feel our days have been slowly building this momentum that has transformed into a whirlwind.

Well, I’d like to blame it all on the kids, but that is not totally the truth.  I have some developments happening in my life that have me feeling excited yet completely nervous.  I am working up the nerve to write about it, because even though they have been in the works and swirling around my head for quite some time, once I write it here, it is for real.  And that is scary.

I think the holidays have me feeling a bit preoccupied, too.  A lot of my recent posts have been about restructuring boundaries and finding the courage to do what is right for me and my family.  Nothing like constant barrage of family gatherings to put all that work to the test.  Luckily, most of these functions have a wonderful spread of food so that I can sufficiently eat my feelings.

Instead of facing these stressors in an honest and healthy way like going to yoga or meditating, I have been running as fast as I can away from them.  I have found an unhealthy obsession with Photoshop has been the perfect medium for my avoidance.  I stay up late working on photos for a Christmas project, and then I get up early to work out (because I want to prepare myself for the nervous eating that will inevitably take place).  And then I work on some more photos while Thomas eats his breakfast and watches some a lot TV.

It’s hard to stay present when I’m feeling anxious, but looking back at this year’s photos, I am reminded how grateful I am for my children.  Raising these little people is not easy.  In fact, it’s the direct opposite of easy.  Every day presents its own challenge usually centered on some sort of patience endurance exercise.

But I am grateful for those challenges because they have given me the courage and the strength to try and become the person I have always hoped I could be.

I feel softer around the edges, yet stronger in my core beliefs.

I am still a planner, yet I understand the importance of spontaneity.

I am learning how to shelf my ego, and I have a greater understanding of myself.

I am grateful that these two little people have transformed me in ways I never knew I could.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

  

Counting Your Blessings

Before I get down to my Thanksgiving post, I want to explain the new MOBIBO Download to Donate widget I have on my blog. If you are live in the Metro Detroit area, please check it out. For every download of the free app, MOBIBO will donate 25 cents to Turning Point, Macomb County’s Shelter for Abused Women and Children’s from now until November 30th . Besides helping a good cause, MOBIBO is an awesome app. As you drive around, it notifies you of deals going on in the stores around you. If you click on the ad, MOBIBO credits your account 25 cents which then will be transferred into your PayPal account. Seriously?! How cool is that?! Now go check it out. This post will still be here waiting for you!



Also, if you missed it, here is this week’s post from the Macomb Patch.



Now on with the show!

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Thanksgiving is just days away. I consider it the official kickoff to The Holiday Season. I love The Holiday Season, but the politics of this wonderful time of the year Drive. Me. Insane. I feel worn down and overwhelmed and the next thing you know, I am crying because there is no more peppermint mocha creamer in the house.


The unofficial start of the season was kicked off with my Mom, Mother-In-Law, and Marie as we went to see the production of White Christmas (thanks, Dad, for the free tickets)! I left the show feeling two things:

1. I miss tap dancing. How I wish to put on a pair of those shoes and tap out the rhythm of the beat with delicate, tinkling taps!

2. The line from the song Count Your Blessings totally got me thinking:

If you're worried and you can’t sleep,
just count your blessings instead of sheep
and you'll fall asleep counting your blessings

A free show with tap dancing *and* inspiration to focus on my blessings? It was much more than I bargained for.

So here is the list I will be thinking of instead of sheep. I feel grateful:

For the ones who inspire me to be best version of myself because I want to set a good example for The Babes.


For the ones have shown me that I do have more love and patience than I ever thought I did.


For the ones that have shown me that it is more important to practice that love and patience rather than crush a unique spirit.


For the ones that love me just the way I am and never try to change me.


For the ones that have taught me the pureness of unconditional love.


For the ones that have taught me that patience, time, and a good heart can overcome even the most misguided good intentions.


For the ones that have helped me rediscover myself as we connect over topics that usually make me feel alienated.


For the ones that have taught me about understanding and forgiveness.


For the ones that have made it a challenge to trust instincts and be true to myself.


For the ones that have shown me the beauty of a reciprocal friendship.



I am grateful for each of these blessings because I feel that theyhave made me a better person who in turn, is able to be better to those around me.



Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!