Pie.
Notice I added the 'e' at the end of the word. I'm thankful for the 'make your taste buds smile, edible type'. If I had left off the 'e', I would have been referring to the mathematical type, which would be extraordinarily unusual for me, seeings how I can never even remember what that type of pi is all about o;-p. I, however, have no problems remembering the edible types!!! Yummy!!!!
Brian and I alternate between our two families for the Thanksgiving and Easter holidays. This year, the Thanksgiving holiday falls with my side of the family. My side handles the meal by everybody 'signing up' to bring various parts of the meal. So a couple of weeks ago, we started that process. We now do so via emails ;-). Here is what I sent out: "We'll bring pies. Most likely they will be: Pumpkin, Apple, Blueberry and Toll House." Since then, I have mentally added Pecan to the list.
This past Wednesday, Katy Eng. had posted this as her Face-book status: "Well, here's to hoping that the rest of the decisions that I make today are better than the one that led me to eat leftover cold pizza for breakfast." I had commented, "Personally, in the 'leftovers dept. for breakfast', I prefer pie :-) Especially like the day after Thanksgiving!!! o;-p". Rachel (Ban.) Rab. had replied, "I'm with Cheryl. Apple pie... ". All of that had definitely increased my desire for a piece of pie!
Then yesterday, as I started opening the emails from a couple of the blogs I subscribe to, the 'desire' for a piece of pie rose almost to the 'longing for a piece of pie' level. I thought I would be nice and help increase your wanting a piece of pie as well o;-p.
I had said I was making both pumpkin and apple pies, in great part due to how both of them are just such basic Thanksgiving Day pies, and there is always somebody who's disappointed if you don't bring them.
The blueberry pie was listed for Benson. He just loves it. As does my sister-in-law Michelle, but she won't be eating it this year, seeings how she's from the other side of our family.
And I had also listed Toll House. For those of you whom are unfamiliar with this one, I got the recipe out of my Toll House cookbook. It's ingredients are, brown sugar, white sugar, butter, flour, chopped walnuts, and chocolate chips. Delicious!!! According to Brian's dad, I ALWAYS owe him a Toll House pie ;-p. But there are many on my side of the family whom like it as well.
I had toyed with the idea of making Grandma Darling's home made Butterscotch Pie. Talk about smooth yummyness!!! Oh my word!
I had also thought about my mom's recipe for Pecan pie. At first I had decided against it, but have since listened better to the desires of my taste buds. o;-p
There are just so-o many good pies out there, but how many varieties should you bring to a families Thanksgiving dinner? I 'thought' I had my mind all settled on the subject. That is, before I opened those blog subscription emails yesterday. Goodness. Talk about tempting the taste buds. Mercy!!! But I knew yours wanted tempted too, and my parents did teach me to share ..... (o;->).
First, I had opened my blogging friend Michelle's. Her blogs are 'Big Black Dog' and 'Spend-a-buck farm'. She had started her posting with, "Below is a list of my favorite recipes for Thanksgiving and of course one favorite recipe for Turkey Leftovers." While I would substitute pecans for the almonds in her 'Pumpkin Bread Pudding in a Cinnamon Bourbon Sauce', due to not at all liking almonds, but definitely liking pecans, I see that as an easy change. The 'pie' Michelle featured was actually 'Pumpkin Pie cupcakes with Apple Cider Frosting'. Intriguing sounding, huh?!
Then at the very bottom of her posting, she had written, "I’m joining in on our Food Bloggers’ Group Thanksgiving Blog Hop organized by Amanda of Amanda’s Cookin’!" Yup, just like Michelle had, there are LOTS of other foods featured in the link-ups besides pies. But man are there pies!!!! Scrumptious looking ones!
Then I had opened 'The Pioneer Women' (Ree Drummond)'s posting. Right from it's title I knew I was in trouble. The title? "Pies, Pies, Pies!" Oh my goodness. The thing was, she wasn't showing pictures of her own pies, which she IS doing a series on this particular week. Rather, she showed us pictures from other peoples blogs. It seems that this week is 'Pie Week'. She had written, "(The following bakers shared their pies with the #PieWeek hashtag on Twitter. Feel free to keep sharing your own!)" I am not on twitter, but I was glad that Ree shared so many of the ones which had been featured there. All of them are pies which are currently posted on the various listed blogs. One was "S’more Pie from The Noshery. Goodness gracious.". While my guys aren't huge S'more fans, I think I'm gonna have to try that one sometime anyways! Then came the "Pecan Cheesecake Pie by Never Enough Thyme. " Oh man!!!
Then at the bottom Ree had written, "Will share more links over the weekend". :-D!!!
So, my tastebuds are now definitely at the " 'longing for a piece of pie' level". Which makes me very thankful that I worked so hard years ago at 'perfecting' making Grandma Darling's pie crust recipe. Because man am I thankful for pie!!!
Are YOU thankful for pie? What level of 'wanting pie' are your taste buds now at? o;-p
The 2010 "I'm Thankful for: " Challenge - if you don't know what this is, follow the lead on our side bar.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
(*Be-lated) Nov. 9th - "I'm Thankful for: "
Being raised in a home by two parents, whom loved each other (or is the proper way to state that, "whom loved one another"?).
I am not a part of the very high statistic of kids whom come from broken homes. In other words, my parents were married and they never divorced. Both of them however are such statistical kids. They both came from homes where divorces had taken place. But they both determined that that was not going to happen to them, and accordingly, they worked very hard at their marriage. And they were both well aware that it takes BOTH doing so, to truly make a marriage work.
My parents took their vows to love one another 'till death do us part' VERY SERIOUSLY! And they acted accordingly. They DID love one another till death parted them. And then my dad continued to love my mom. And still does. Yes, he also loves his new wife. And she is okay with him still loving my mom, because while she definitely loves my dad, her first husband still has a very special place in her heart as well.
I am not saying that my parents always totally saw eye to eye on every little thing (let alone 'big' things). But for the most part, they worked through their different perspectives. Or they chose to back down and let the other person 'win', declaring what ever the difference was, as not that big of a deal.
When we went on vacations, we all went together. When we went to visit my dad's side of the family, my mom was with us. Just like he went along when we visited her side. I never had to deal with which parent I was going to be with this weekend, or this holiday, or any of those other similar things that so many 'kids' have had to. And I am very thankful that I didn't!
Thanks for all of the effort you put forth into loving your wife / my mom, Dad!! I am also thankful that God has blessed you with another wife whom also loves you dearly!
[Yes, this is very *belated. Go HERE if you want to know why.]
The 2010 "I'm Thankful for: " Challenge - if you don't know what this is, follow the lead on our side bar.
I am not a part of the very high statistic of kids whom come from broken homes. In other words, my parents were married and they never divorced. Both of them however are such statistical kids. They both came from homes where divorces had taken place. But they both determined that that was not going to happen to them, and accordingly, they worked very hard at their marriage. And they were both well aware that it takes BOTH doing so, to truly make a marriage work.
My parents took their vows to love one another 'till death do us part' VERY SERIOUSLY! And they acted accordingly. They DID love one another till death parted them. And then my dad continued to love my mom. And still does. Yes, he also loves his new wife. And she is okay with him still loving my mom, because while she definitely loves my dad, her first husband still has a very special place in her heart as well.
I am not saying that my parents always totally saw eye to eye on every little thing (let alone 'big' things). But for the most part, they worked through their different perspectives. Or they chose to back down and let the other person 'win', declaring what ever the difference was, as not that big of a deal.
When we went on vacations, we all went together. When we went to visit my dad's side of the family, my mom was with us. Just like he went along when we visited her side. I never had to deal with which parent I was going to be with this weekend, or this holiday, or any of those other similar things that so many 'kids' have had to. And I am very thankful that I didn't!
Thanks for all of the effort you put forth into loving your wife / my mom, Dad!! I am also thankful that God has blessed you with another wife whom also loves you dearly!
[Yes, this is very *belated. Go HERE if you want to know why.]
The 2010 "I'm Thankful for: " Challenge - if you don't know what this is, follow the lead on our side bar.
Nov. 19th - "I'm Thankful for:"
Having been born with good eye sight.
I am fully aware that blind people adapt. That other of their senses get used way more than people with good eye sight use them themselves. I clearly remember just such a blind person from my youth. My mom was extremely good friends with this lady named Toni. Toni's husband had a sister whom was blind. I was totally intrigued with her, and thus studied her like a hawk when ever I got the chance. And she totally knew I was. I was considerably embarrassed when she let me know that she knew I was. And yet, she was very kind about it. Even insisting that I question her about anything I wanted to. I learned a LOT from her! Things that I still find myself using to this day.
So I know that blind people are able to 'see' via other methodologies. But I am still ever so thankful that I can see via my eyes. That I was born with good eye sight.
Now true, reading in bed after what was suppose to have been 'lights out', would have been way easier to pull off via reading a braille book, then it was by using a flashlight and hiding under the covers. o;-p But not being able to see expressions and actions of the cast of a movie, let alone the scenery, etc. in them, well, I'm just so thankful that I can.
And that I CAN see my husbands face. I love seeing how his eyes sparkle when he's teasing me. Or his love for me radiating out of them. Or sharing a 'look' over something going on around us.
And that I CAN see our sons. Oh the joy I got from looking at their new born little faces. I will admit, I also thourally loved touching and holding them. But I am thankful I was also able to see them. And that I still can. I have pretty good looking sons. Yes, I am bias. So?!!! o;-p And they too have sparklie eyes when they are being mischievous. (a trait they learned a bit to well from their father! ;-p)
And you know how much I enjoy watching our adorable grand daughter. And seeing the impishness of her little grin.
And watching Boo's antics. He cracks me up on a regular basis!!
And then there is my fascination in watching people. God most definitely has a sense of humor! That's all I'm saying on that!!! ;-p
And I've written many times over the years, about how I enjoy observing the beauty in nature, as well as watching the antics of the animals and critters God created.
Often when cooking, I figure out when I've added the right amount of something to what I'm making, by 'eyeballing it'. It takes vision to do such.
I could go on with the examples, but I won't, although your welcome to in your comments back to me! (hint, hint!).
I am just very thankful that God blessed me with good eye sight!
Now true, it isn't as good as it use to be. I wasn't sure how I felt about the eye Dr. telling me he could tell I had read books at night by flashlight 8-/. I did however think it was kind of brassy of him o;-p. So I am also thankful that they have come so far with glasses, that I can still read. Whether it be things up close, or far away o;-p.
Another blog site has taken up our "I'm Thankful for: Challenge" :-D
DeAnna from Coffee On The Table
Cate from Call Me Cate
'my' Kate, via her Facebook page
Martha (MM) from Meandering - Martha
Katy Lin from The Great Adventure
The 2010 "I'm Thankful for: " Challenge - if you don't know what this is, follow the lead on our side bar.
I am fully aware that blind people adapt. That other of their senses get used way more than people with good eye sight use them themselves. I clearly remember just such a blind person from my youth. My mom was extremely good friends with this lady named Toni. Toni's husband had a sister whom was blind. I was totally intrigued with her, and thus studied her like a hawk when ever I got the chance. And she totally knew I was. I was considerably embarrassed when she let me know that she knew I was. And yet, she was very kind about it. Even insisting that I question her about anything I wanted to. I learned a LOT from her! Things that I still find myself using to this day.
So I know that blind people are able to 'see' via other methodologies. But I am still ever so thankful that I can see via my eyes. That I was born with good eye sight.
Now true, reading in bed after what was suppose to have been 'lights out', would have been way easier to pull off via reading a braille book, then it was by using a flashlight and hiding under the covers. o;-p But not being able to see expressions and actions of the cast of a movie, let alone the scenery, etc. in them, well, I'm just so thankful that I can.
And that I CAN see my husbands face. I love seeing how his eyes sparkle when he's teasing me. Or his love for me radiating out of them. Or sharing a 'look' over something going on around us.
And that I CAN see our sons. Oh the joy I got from looking at their new born little faces. I will admit, I also thourally loved touching and holding them. But I am thankful I was also able to see them. And that I still can. I have pretty good looking sons. Yes, I am bias. So?!!! o;-p And they too have sparklie eyes when they are being mischievous. (a trait they learned a bit to well from their father! ;-p)
And you know how much I enjoy watching our adorable grand daughter. And seeing the impishness of her little grin.
And watching Boo's antics. He cracks me up on a regular basis!!
And then there is my fascination in watching people. God most definitely has a sense of humor! That's all I'm saying on that!!! ;-p
And I've written many times over the years, about how I enjoy observing the beauty in nature, as well as watching the antics of the animals and critters God created.
Often when cooking, I figure out when I've added the right amount of something to what I'm making, by 'eyeballing it'. It takes vision to do such.
I could go on with the examples, but I won't, although your welcome to in your comments back to me! (hint, hint!).
I am just very thankful that God blessed me with good eye sight!
Now true, it isn't as good as it use to be. I wasn't sure how I felt about the eye Dr. telling me he could tell I had read books at night by flashlight 8-/. I did however think it was kind of brassy of him o;-p. So I am also thankful that they have come so far with glasses, that I can still read. Whether it be things up close, or far away o;-p.
Another blog site has taken up our "I'm Thankful for: Challenge" :-D
The 2010 "I'm Thankful for: " Challenge Participants:
DeAnna from Coffee On The Table
Cate from Call Me Cate
'my' Kate, via her Facebook page
Martha (MM) from Meandering - Martha
Katy Lin from The Great Adventure
The 2010 "I'm Thankful for: " Challenge - if you don't know what this is, follow the lead on our side bar.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Nov. 18th - I'm Thankful for: "
Brian. My husband. It's his birthday today :-).
On Nov. 4th, I posted: "The fact that my husband is not only my husband, but he is also my friend."
As many of you whom have known me for years know, I had once been 'engaged' to a different guy. No, he hadn't yet officially given me an engagement ring. My parents had stated that I had to finish high school first. But the agreement between the two of us had been, that we were engaged.
And then God started showing me that while he was a nice guy, he wasn't right for me.
Being the ever so submissive person that I am (o;-p), I fought God for months over it. Not a wise move. Nope. Man is God ever persistent about 'getting his way'!! He wore me down. And He opened my eyes. Eventually I said that I would break up with the guy, but then I added "But only for the summer. You have till I start college to prove to me that I'm doing the right thing God!" (Nope, I'm not a bit stubborn. ;-p)
But God won. He was ever so right!!! Looking back over our marriage, I can not imagine going through a lot of what we have, with that other guy as my husband. Like I said, he was a nice guy. In no way am I trying to 'tear him down'. It's just that "we" weren't right.
But Brian has been an amazing husband to me! He - Loves - Me! And he finds little ways to demonstrate that to me, all of the time!
Like last night. He watched the Thanksgiving themed cook-off between Iron Chef's Bobby Flay and 'The Pioneer Women' (Ree Drummand) with me. We both highly enjoyed it! But afterwords, he went into the DVR settings, and changed the setting for that particular recording from "Save till the space is needed" to "Save till I delete it". His explanation for doing so? "You really like her, and I know that your going to want to show it to some of your friends." Does he know me or what? But the cool part is, he not only knows me, but those little things matter to him. How cool is that?!?!!! I am so-o-o-o blessed!
Like I shared in that Nov. 4th posting, "I am well aware that not every wife can state such. (then it was about how not every wife can state that her husband is also her friend. But it also applies to, not every women can state that her husband cares about the little things that matter to her.) I wish they could! My heart is very heavy for some friends that can't. It has been so heart warming to watch as my prayers in this area have been being answered for one particular friend! Thank-you Lord!!! Now, about those other ones..... o;-p"
I remember one time y-e-a-r-s ago, when we were so far past broke (at least from our perspective). I had not had any Pepsi in over a week and a half. Honest! And I hadn't been complaining either. That wouldn't have helped the situation at all! But late one night, upon arriving home from a catering job, Brian presented me with a big 3-liter (they marketed those for just a short amount of time) of Pepsi. I tell you, it was like he was presenting me with multiple dozens of roses!!!!! How was he able to suddenly do it? The job he had worked that night, had given him a cash tip. We had been praying it would, the gas tank really needed it. But he said that HE wanted to put some 'go-juice' in my tank as well ;-p. So-o-o sweet! So thoughtful! So loving!!!
No, Brian and I do not always see eye to eye on everything. Nor is he perfect. But I love him. And he loves me! And for that, I am very very thankful!!!
The 2010 "I'm Thankful for: " Challenge - if you don't know what this is, follow the lead on our side bar.
On Nov. 4th, I posted: "The fact that my husband is not only my husband, but he is also my friend."
As many of you whom have known me for years know, I had once been 'engaged' to a different guy. No, he hadn't yet officially given me an engagement ring. My parents had stated that I had to finish high school first. But the agreement between the two of us had been, that we were engaged.
And then God started showing me that while he was a nice guy, he wasn't right for me.
Being the ever so submissive person that I am (o;-p), I fought God for months over it. Not a wise move. Nope. Man is God ever persistent about 'getting his way'!! He wore me down. And He opened my eyes. Eventually I said that I would break up with the guy, but then I added "But only for the summer. You have till I start college to prove to me that I'm doing the right thing God!" (Nope, I'm not a bit stubborn. ;-p)
But God won. He was ever so right!!! Looking back over our marriage, I can not imagine going through a lot of what we have, with that other guy as my husband. Like I said, he was a nice guy. In no way am I trying to 'tear him down'. It's just that "we" weren't right.
But Brian has been an amazing husband to me! He - Loves - Me! And he finds little ways to demonstrate that to me, all of the time!
Like last night. He watched the Thanksgiving themed cook-off between Iron Chef's Bobby Flay and 'The Pioneer Women' (Ree Drummand) with me. We both highly enjoyed it! But afterwords, he went into the DVR settings, and changed the setting for that particular recording from "Save till the space is needed" to "Save till I delete it". His explanation for doing so? "You really like her, and I know that your going to want to show it to some of your friends." Does he know me or what? But the cool part is, he not only knows me, but those little things matter to him. How cool is that?!?!!! I am so-o-o-o blessed!
Like I shared in that Nov. 4th posting, "I am well aware that not every wife can state such. (then it was about how not every wife can state that her husband is also her friend. But it also applies to, not every women can state that her husband cares about the little things that matter to her.) I wish they could! My heart is very heavy for some friends that can't. It has been so heart warming to watch as my prayers in this area have been being answered for one particular friend! Thank-you Lord!!! Now, about those other ones..... o;-p"
I remember one time y-e-a-r-s ago, when we were so far past broke (at least from our perspective). I had not had any Pepsi in over a week and a half. Honest! And I hadn't been complaining either. That wouldn't have helped the situation at all! But late one night, upon arriving home from a catering job, Brian presented me with a big 3-liter (they marketed those for just a short amount of time) of Pepsi. I tell you, it was like he was presenting me with multiple dozens of roses!!!!! How was he able to suddenly do it? The job he had worked that night, had given him a cash tip. We had been praying it would, the gas tank really needed it. But he said that HE wanted to put some 'go-juice' in my tank as well ;-p. So-o-o sweet! So thoughtful! So loving!!!
No, Brian and I do not always see eye to eye on everything. Nor is he perfect. But I love him. And he loves me! And for that, I am very very thankful!!!
The 2010 "I'm Thankful for: " Challenge - if you don't know what this is, follow the lead on our side bar.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
(*Be-lated) Nov. 8th - "I'm Thankful for:"
My friends.
On Nov. 5th, I had posted, "The fact that friendships are not regulated or restricted by things such as the following examples." I then went on to give examples of "trivial matters" that "I am just thankful friendships do not necessarily have to be regulated or restricted by."
Today I am writing about people whom have chosen to be my friend. They have chosen to not let those "trivial matters" dictate whether they can/should or can/should not be my friend.
That one part never ceases to amaze me. What part? "They have chosen to be my friend". WOW!
It's not that they are somehow a relative of mine and therefore, according to and because of, they are 'suppose' to "like" me (or at the least, tolerate me in a polite manner o;-p). Nor are they necessarily co-workers, whom are just nice to me due to not wanting an overly stressed working environment. 'Friends' are people whom have chosen to like me just because they do. Because they want to. WOW!!! Mind boggling. Thrilling! What a blessing they have been to me!!!
Many, many, many examples of such come to mind. I am only going to list a few. Dear friends, if I do not list one that pertains to you, PLEASE do not think less of me for it! I mean seriously, I truly think I could write a book to rival the length of 'War and Peace' by listing examples of how I have been blessed by people whom have chosen to call me 'friend' over the years!!!
Examples of how I have been blessed by 'friends':
~ the night after Brent had been hit by a car, and we were actually able to bring him home from the hospital. A friend had called a local pizza place and had them deliver pizza to us for our dinner. This mom didn't have to do a thing to feed them that night. NICE!!!
~ when I had had really bad phenomena, which we later learned was actually my high allergies changing into allergy triggered asthma, and a friend voluntarily drove our two youngest sons back and forth to their Jr. soccer league practices. I couldn't have. What a help the friend was!!! And then a different friend did the same during high school soccer, when I had a different health issue. :-D
~ the friend, that for her birthday, chose to take me shopping and out to lunch as her gift from her husband. She not only chose to spend time with me, and take me mission store shopping, but they also paid for my purchases that day! The net gate I picked up that day, has come in really handy with a toddler grand daughter!!! And I have frequently used the roasting pan I nabbed at one of the stores that day! ;-) Besides just having spent time with the friend, which was WONDERFUL!!!
~ "therapy times" with friends. "Therapy times" are always such a blessing!
~ The times that while they don't 'get it', they never the less allow us the honor of doing the food for some function they have going on in their lives. They don't 'get' how we can enjoy it to the extent that we do, but they have allowed us the privilege of doing so.
~ for sev-er-al years, we received "anonymous" gift packages at Christmas time. There were always ever-so-appropriate gifts with in, for every birth member of our family. What fun!
~ the package of daily open envelopes, which contained little trinkets and heart warming / encouraging notes for my husband, after a very trying situation in his life.
~ when I could call and say "talk sweet to me" and they (the callee) knew that meant that I had reached the extreme of my limits. That was their clue to NOT talk about my husband (whom I KNEW was always gone due to working, trying to support us, not just out 'hanging' with his friends or something. But sometimes his always not being home was hard to handle.), or my sons (whom I KNEW were very active young boys, and had good hearts, and ... but sometimes I was just so darn tired of trying to keep up with them!), or money (I KNEW that Brian was working every minute he possibly could and as hard as he could, to support us. It was not his fault we lived just below the poverty line. It was just the way our life went. But sometimes... accepting that ... .) I was at the point of breaking, and they were my 'life lines' so to speak. Oh how much they helped!!!!!
~ after our house fire, when we spent many Saturday's here working on our house, and they left us a key to their house since they weren't going to be home, so we could still use their bathroom. While the boys didn't mind going between the garages .... this mom did! And the nearby gas station was not as close as the neighbors bathroom was!
~ The loan of their cottage(s), so that Brian and I could escape together for a bit. How reinvigorating those times have been for us!
~ driving me to an appointment, or the store, or some event, because due to having Vertigo, I can not drive myself.
~ the bags of clothes for our boys when they were young. They were often dressed in the then current designer labels, and we hadn't spent a cent.
~ the ones who answered our requests for help and showed up and aided in fixing our garage, and/or porch, and/or house because we needed to to qualify for the house or to appease the city inspector.
~ all of the times we have been allowed to borrow vehicles, due to ours being down for what-ever-reason that time.
I am ever so glad that I have friends!!! You have chosen to like me. WOW! I am so-o-o-o thankful!!!
[Yes, this is very *belated. Go HERE if you want to know why.]
The 2010 "I'm Thankful for: " Challenge - if you don't know what this is, follow the lead on our side bar.
On Nov. 5th, I had posted, "The fact that friendships are not regulated or restricted by things such as the following examples." I then went on to give examples of "trivial matters" that "I am just thankful friendships do not necessarily have to be regulated or restricted by."
Today I am writing about people whom have chosen to be my friend. They have chosen to not let those "trivial matters" dictate whether they can/should or can/should not be my friend.
That one part never ceases to amaze me. What part? "They have chosen to be my friend". WOW!
It's not that they are somehow a relative of mine and therefore, according to and because of, they are 'suppose' to "like" me (or at the least, tolerate me in a polite manner o;-p). Nor are they necessarily co-workers, whom are just nice to me due to not wanting an overly stressed working environment. 'Friends' are people whom have chosen to like me just because they do. Because they want to. WOW!!! Mind boggling. Thrilling! What a blessing they have been to me!!!
Many, many, many examples of such come to mind. I am only going to list a few. Dear friends, if I do not list one that pertains to you, PLEASE do not think less of me for it! I mean seriously, I truly think I could write a book to rival the length of 'War and Peace' by listing examples of how I have been blessed by people whom have chosen to call me 'friend' over the years!!!
Examples of how I have been blessed by 'friends':
~ the night after Brent had been hit by a car, and we were actually able to bring him home from the hospital. A friend had called a local pizza place and had them deliver pizza to us for our dinner. This mom didn't have to do a thing to feed them that night. NICE!!!
~ when I had had really bad phenomena, which we later learned was actually my high allergies changing into allergy triggered asthma, and a friend voluntarily drove our two youngest sons back and forth to their Jr. soccer league practices. I couldn't have. What a help the friend was!!! And then a different friend did the same during high school soccer, when I had a different health issue. :-D
~ the friend, that for her birthday, chose to take me shopping and out to lunch as her gift from her husband. She not only chose to spend time with me, and take me mission store shopping, but they also paid for my purchases that day! The net gate I picked up that day, has come in really handy with a toddler grand daughter!!! And I have frequently used the roasting pan I nabbed at one of the stores that day! ;-) Besides just having spent time with the friend, which was WONDERFUL!!!
~ "therapy times" with friends. "Therapy times" are always such a blessing!
~ The times that while they don't 'get it', they never the less allow us the honor of doing the food for some function they have going on in their lives. They don't 'get' how we can enjoy it to the extent that we do, but they have allowed us the privilege of doing so.
~ for sev-er-al years, we received "anonymous" gift packages at Christmas time. There were always ever-so-appropriate gifts with in, for every birth member of our family. What fun!
~ the package of daily open envelopes, which contained little trinkets and heart warming / encouraging notes for my husband, after a very trying situation in his life.
~ when I could call and say "talk sweet to me" and they (the callee) knew that meant that I had reached the extreme of my limits. That was their clue to NOT talk about my husband (whom I KNEW was always gone due to working, trying to support us, not just out 'hanging' with his friends or something. But sometimes his always not being home was hard to handle.), or my sons (whom I KNEW were very active young boys, and had good hearts, and ... but sometimes I was just so darn tired of trying to keep up with them!), or money (I KNEW that Brian was working every minute he possibly could and as hard as he could, to support us. It was not his fault we lived just below the poverty line. It was just the way our life went. But sometimes... accepting that ... .) I was at the point of breaking, and they were my 'life lines' so to speak. Oh how much they helped!!!!!
~ after our house fire, when we spent many Saturday's here working on our house, and they left us a key to their house since they weren't going to be home, so we could still use their bathroom. While the boys didn't mind going between the garages .... this mom did! And the nearby gas station was not as close as the neighbors bathroom was!
~ The loan of their cottage(s), so that Brian and I could escape together for a bit. How reinvigorating those times have been for us!
~ driving me to an appointment, or the store, or some event, because due to having Vertigo, I can not drive myself.
~ the bags of clothes for our boys when they were young. They were often dressed in the then current designer labels, and we hadn't spent a cent.
~ the ones who answered our requests for help and showed up and aided in fixing our garage, and/or porch, and/or house because we needed to to qualify for the house or to appease the city inspector.
~ all of the times we have been allowed to borrow vehicles, due to ours being down for what-ever-reason that time.
I am ever so glad that I have friends!!! You have chosen to like me. WOW! I am so-o-o-o thankful!!!
[Yes, this is very *belated. Go HERE if you want to know why.]
The 2010 "I'm Thankful for: " Challenge - if you don't know what this is, follow the lead on our side bar.
Nov. 17th - "I'm Thankful for:"
Being 'gifted' with creativity.
Yes, I really do believe it is a gift. Just as amazing singing voices are, and the ability to be the kind of teacher that students actually learn from is, and high athletic abilities are, and high math aptitudes are (such as my friend Jordon, whom immediately after you tell her your phone number, can give you the total of those numbers. She can't help it. That's just the way her brain works.), and being mechanically minded is (some people just 'get' how machines operate, etc. while others struggle to learn it, or never do get a real handle on it.), and photographic memories are, and many many other things that we don't always list under the 'gifts' category.
I am thankful for being blessed with the gift of creativity, because I thourally enjoy using it!!! Like when I made all of the corsages and boutonnieres for Byron and Cyndi's MI wedding reception . And when I made the quilt for our grand daughter. As well as many many other things I have made / projects I have done over the years. I just plain get my own version of an adrenaline high out of doing them. Weird? Maybe. But I honestly don't mind if I am. I ENJOY being creative!
Another reason that I am thankful for being blessed with it, is because I know that not everybody has been. Yes, EVERY-body have (or should that be 'has'?) some type of gifts. But not everybody has been blessed with the gift of creativity. That is why to me, it is something I have been blessed with. And I am very thankful that I have been!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
CLICK HERE to go to the original posting and read about our "I'm Thankful for: " Challenge. Yes, you can still join up!
We'd also like to encourage you to visit these sites, whom are participating in our challenge:
DeAnna from Coffee On The Table
Cate from Call Me Cate
'my' Kate, via her Facebook page
Martha (MM) from Meandering - Martha
Yes, I really do believe it is a gift. Just as amazing singing voices are, and the ability to be the kind of teacher that students actually learn from is, and high athletic abilities are, and high math aptitudes are (such as my friend Jordon, whom immediately after you tell her your phone number, can give you the total of those numbers. She can't help it. That's just the way her brain works.), and being mechanically minded is (some people just 'get' how machines operate, etc. while others struggle to learn it, or never do get a real handle on it.), and photographic memories are, and many many other things that we don't always list under the 'gifts' category.
I am thankful for being blessed with the gift of creativity, because I thourally enjoy using it!!! Like when I made all of the corsages and boutonnieres for Byron and Cyndi's MI wedding reception . And when I made the quilt for our grand daughter. As well as many many other things I have made / projects I have done over the years. I just plain get my own version of an adrenaline high out of doing them. Weird? Maybe. But I honestly don't mind if I am. I ENJOY being creative!
Another reason that I am thankful for being blessed with it, is because I know that not everybody has been. Yes, EVERY-body have (or should that be 'has'?) some type of gifts. But not everybody has been blessed with the gift of creativity. That is why to me, it is something I have been blessed with. And I am very thankful that I have been!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
CLICK HERE to go to the original posting and read about our "I'm Thankful for: " Challenge. Yes, you can still join up!
We'd also like to encourage you to visit these sites, whom are participating in our challenge:
DeAnna from Coffee On The Table
Cate from Call Me Cate
'my' Kate, via her Facebook page
Martha (MM) from Meandering - Martha
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Nov. 16th - "I'm Thankful for: "
The fact that we now have U-Verse TV.
Most of you will remember, that part of the 'deal' our younger two sons made with their father, when they chose to move back home and help us not lose the house, was that we would get some sort/form of cable TV.
We had had it once when they were young. And there is quite a story behind that six month period of having it. The short version is, that the district manager herself appeared at our front door. We literally were the only house in that area with out some sort of cable service, and if she could get us signed up, she and her crew would receive amazing bonuses. Brian had had plenty of sales experience himself, so they bargained. We ended up guaranteeing to keep the service for the whole six months, and they gave it to us for five dollars a month for that time period. At the end of that time period, their price quadrupled and we didn't renew our contract for it.
But that meant that we only got the basic local channels, and we didn't even actually get all of them in all of the time. And often, while it did come in, it took maneuvering the antenna on top of the TV to just the right spot for that day .... and believe it or not, it was me (yes, good ole mom) whom was the best at getting things in clear. I think it had a lot to do with patience in moving the ears, etc..
Yup, we used our TV mainly via the VCR and later the DVD player.
But the 'boys' had cable while living on their own and didn't want to give that up. It helped their case a whole lot that their dad had very often wished cable didn't cost money!!!
So prices and services were checked and we ended up getting SBC's U-Verse installed. I had my concerns about it... about them spending hours on end watching it ... but they are all now adults ....
The funny part is, that in great part due to my having had months on end of vertigo, and not being able to keep the letters on pages of books from dancing, or rooms from spinning when I move around much, it has turned out to be me who's watching the most TV. o;-p
I found the show 'Monk' and enjoyed m-a-n-y an episode of it! Sometimes I watch good 'ole 'I Love Lucy', or 'Be-Witched' (come on now, ya gotta admit that there are just some times that you wish you could but twinkle your nose and make a situation change!!!). And my latest 'obsession' (as the males around here refer to it), is NCIS (the one with Mark Hammond and 'Ducky' and Abby).
Via U-Verse, we can set the DVR box to record shows, either by only new broadcasts, or by any time and show. Yeah, that means that I'm not watching all of them in order. But I'm okay with that.
But we can also record one time events. And we don't have to wait till that day, and make sure a blank tape is in the VCR machine, etc.. Like when I learned that the cast of 'The Sound Of Music' was doing a 40 year reunion on the 'Oprah Winfrey' show. I set the DVR to record it, and thourally enjoyed watching it when I got to it.
'Pioneer Women' (Ree Drummand) let those of us who follow her blog know, that they are airing the episode of 'Throwdown with Bobby Flay' where she did a Thanksgiving Cook-off against 'The Iron Chef's' Bobby Flay tomorrow (Wed., Nov. 17th). The DVR is set to record it!
The guys get quite a chuckle out of all of it. Originally, I had been very much against us getting a computer. Now look at me. And I wasn't thrilled with being given a cell phone, but will admit there have been times it's come in ever so handy. And now I am very glad that we have U-Verse. I wonder what technological gadget I'll learn to like next? o;-p
~ :-) ~ :-) ~ :-) ~ :-) ~ :- ) ~
You might also enjoy this posting:
Boo and the Doorbell (about when the guy was here installing our U-Verse)
The 2010 "I'm Thankful for: " Challenge - if you don't know what this is, follow the lead on our side bar.
Most of you will remember, that part of the 'deal' our younger two sons made with their father, when they chose to move back home and help us not lose the house, was that we would get some sort/form of cable TV.
We had had it once when they were young. And there is quite a story behind that six month period of having it. The short version is, that the district manager herself appeared at our front door. We literally were the only house in that area with out some sort of cable service, and if she could get us signed up, she and her crew would receive amazing bonuses. Brian had had plenty of sales experience himself, so they bargained. We ended up guaranteeing to keep the service for the whole six months, and they gave it to us for five dollars a month for that time period. At the end of that time period, their price quadrupled and we didn't renew our contract for it.
But that meant that we only got the basic local channels, and we didn't even actually get all of them in all of the time. And often, while it did come in, it took maneuvering the antenna on top of the TV to just the right spot for that day .... and believe it or not, it was me (yes, good ole mom) whom was the best at getting things in clear. I think it had a lot to do with patience in moving the ears, etc..
Yup, we used our TV mainly via the VCR and later the DVD player.
But the 'boys' had cable while living on their own and didn't want to give that up. It helped their case a whole lot that their dad had very often wished cable didn't cost money!!!
So prices and services were checked and we ended up getting SBC's U-Verse installed. I had my concerns about it... about them spending hours on end watching it ... but they are all now adults ....
The funny part is, that in great part due to my having had months on end of vertigo, and not being able to keep the letters on pages of books from dancing, or rooms from spinning when I move around much, it has turned out to be me who's watching the most TV. o;-p
I found the show 'Monk' and enjoyed m-a-n-y an episode of it! Sometimes I watch good 'ole 'I Love Lucy', or 'Be-Witched' (come on now, ya gotta admit that there are just some times that you wish you could but twinkle your nose and make a situation change!!!). And my latest 'obsession' (as the males around here refer to it), is NCIS (the one with Mark Hammond and 'Ducky' and Abby).
Via U-Verse, we can set the DVR box to record shows, either by only new broadcasts, or by any time and show. Yeah, that means that I'm not watching all of them in order. But I'm okay with that.
But we can also record one time events. And we don't have to wait till that day, and make sure a blank tape is in the VCR machine, etc.. Like when I learned that the cast of 'The Sound Of Music' was doing a 40 year reunion on the 'Oprah Winfrey' show. I set the DVR to record it, and thourally enjoyed watching it when I got to it.
'Pioneer Women' (Ree Drummand) let those of us who follow her blog know, that they are airing the episode of 'Throwdown with Bobby Flay' where she did a Thanksgiving Cook-off against 'The Iron Chef's' Bobby Flay tomorrow (Wed., Nov. 17th). The DVR is set to record it!
The guys get quite a chuckle out of all of it. Originally, I had been very much against us getting a computer. Now look at me. And I wasn't thrilled with being given a cell phone, but will admit there have been times it's come in ever so handy. And now I am very glad that we have U-Verse. I wonder what technological gadget I'll learn to like next? o;-p
~ :-) ~ :-) ~ :-) ~ :-) ~ :- ) ~
You might also enjoy this posting:
Boo and the Doorbell (about when the guy was here installing our U-Verse)
The 2010 "I'm Thankful for: " Challenge - if you don't know what this is, follow the lead on our side bar.
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