Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful for...

1. My husband whom I love more than anything and I know that as long as I have him, I'm doing OK.
2. Two wonderful families who are amazing and don't make us hate the holidays.
3. Being debt free, outside of our mortgage, this Thanksgiving.
4. Our jobs that support us and allow us the freedom to enjoy ourselves.
5. Rylie (don't look so surprised, Jarrod) who hasn't eaten any of my shoes or Coach purses (knock on wood).
6. Great friends who we could turn to for anything.
7. Two amazing turkey dinners that we get to enjoy over the next two days (not to mention leftovers).
8. A five day weekend that starts at noon today!
9. The fact that, while I may not be at 100%, I'm alive and I'm not spending the holidays in the hospital or sick in bed.
10. The life that God has given me and His son for making that life mean something.

I hope you have a blessed and beautiful Thanksgiving!

The week before Thanksgiving

Can I just say how excited I am about the coming week?? I think what I'm most excited about is the food! First of all, of course we have Thanksgiving next week and I am a very big fan of Thanksgiving. I mean, a holiday that revolves entirely around a meal? Can't beat that! Plus, this year, Jarrod and I will actually get to enjoy two Thanksgivings. In an effort to coordinate among the Lindseys, Hugheses and Fryes, we decided to have dinner with my parents on Friday. So this means we get to have a full Thanksgiving meal two days in a row. Last year, we had the two back-to-back, so you don't get to really dig in at either of them.

I love the preps and everything. And my sisters and I decided years ago that someday when we're the ones hosting the family dinners, we'd each take a meal. Beka took Christmas, Hannah took Easter, and I got Thanksgiving! So I always go over to my parents' house a day or two before Thanksgiving and help get everything going. We make the stuffing, so it's prepared to actually stuff the turkey. I made the sweet potatoes last year (complete with pecans and brown sugar!) And making dessert is always fun, too, but let's be honest, dessert is great, but it's not the highlight of Thanksgiving. I often don't leave much room for anything after dinner.

But even not counting Thanksgiving, I've got some good eating plans this week. I'm going to give my first go at making crab legs. They seem pretty easy. You just have to steam them, so we'll see how that goes. Plus, I noticed that filet is on sale this week, so I may pick up a couple of those to throw on the grill, too.

I'm also really looking forward to tomorrow night because we have tickets to go see STOMP with a bunch of our friends. And I bought these right when they went on sale so we literally have 5th row, center seats. We've never all gone out to a show, so I'm looking forward to doing that together. I've also always wanted Jarrod to see STOMP since I think it's a show he'll really enjoy and maybe he won't turn his nose up at theater as much.

And to top it all off, even though I do have to work Thanksgiving morning (the life of a broadcast journalist), I have a five day weekend starting at 12:30 that day. I'm excited to have that time to spend with my family and friends and... start decorating for Christmas!! Next Friday and Saturday, IT BEGINS!

Happy Thanksgiving!

You know, it's easy to be upset that you have to work at 4am on a holiday. I sometimes wish I didn't have the type of job where I have to worry about working on holidays. But of all days, Thanksgiving makes me take a step back and realize how thankful I am that I have a job today. I know where my next paycheck is coming from and I don't have to worry about losing my home or not being able to afford to buy Christmas presents for the people I care about. And sitting here at 6am makes me think of all of the other blessings that I have in my life:

• I have an amazing husband who loves me and who I'm crazy about. I know he'll always be there for me and I'm so excited about our future together.
• I have the greatest family in the world (actually familIES now), and they both live right around the corner, so Jarrod and I don't have to worry about traveling or splitting up the holidays. We just get a chance to spend these special days with the people that we love.
• I have a great house that's not falling apart or so tiny that we don't have enough room to live in.
• I have the cutest puppy who drives me nuts, but in the nearly 3 months we've had her hasn't eaten any of my shoes or Coach purses (just one Mac cable that my husband spliced back together. He's so handy!)
• I had a beautiful wedding this year that was everything I'd dreamed of.
• Although I may not have the perfect bill of health that others have, I'm alive, I'm able to have a normal life, I don't spend my days in the hospital or hooked up to machines or eating a really disgusting diet.
• I have great friends that I know I can count on.
• I live in a country that has it's share of problems, but I don't have to worry about hiding my faith in God or fear that my government may hurt me or my family and I get to keep the money I earn and work for (well, most of it, at least).
• I get to enjoy the most fabulous Thanksgiving meal this evening, and I can't wait!

I really don't think I could ask for more, and if this is at good as it gets... then I'm good with that. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! God bless!

Sweet November

I actually went to see that movie starring Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves when I was like 15... it was pretty awful, but makes a nice sounding title! Anyways, I cannot believe it's November already and the holiday season is officially in full swing (at least in my opinion, Halloween is the kick off). November is always lots of fun. It's when the Christmas shopping really starts and of course Thanksgiving: a holiday centered around a meal, it doesn't get much better than that! Plus, Thanksgiving has been designated as MY holiday. You see, my sisters and I decided years ago that when we're the ones who take over the holiday dinners and family gatherings, we're going to split up the holidays. So Beka took Christmas, Hannah got Easter, and I chose Thanksgiving! So for the past couple of years I always try to make it over to my parent's the day before to help with all the preps and learn the family secrets! (And by the way, I don't care what any of you say, the Lindsey Thanksgiving turkey stuffing is the best in the world!)

 

I also cannot believe that this is the third month I've been writing up my goals and plans. Although I'm still getting used to the idea of setting monthly goals and working to accomplish them, I really like the challenge and the accountability. I know as time goes on that I'll get better at setting realistic goals and making the time to work to meet them. I actually did a pretty decent job this past month:

 

1. I'm going to get working on the concept! **I did start working on this! Got a long way to go, though.

2. Come up with and implement a plan for keeping the house clean. **At least halfway started this. I have a plan in place, and have implemented it on some days. now going to kick it into full gear!

3. Work with Rylie on some new tricks. **I give Jarrod most of the credit here, but she knows "sit" and "shake" and "get over here!"

4. Wedding picture organizing. **Definitely found no time to do this. Hoping to get to it this month! Maybe!

5. Bridesmaid in wedding **So fun!

6. Decorate for fall and Halloween. **A picture is always better

 

7. Start some Christmas shopping. **Another part-way completed goal. So I didn't actually "start" shopping, but I have pretty much determined what I'm getting for everyone, so now it's time to actually start getting the stuff.

New Goals for November:

1. Get further in the story planning. **I don't wanna just meet a "minimum requirement" every month, I wanna make time for it and make some progress. 

2. Organize, organize, organize! **I want to be an organization nerd (well, at least I need to be!) This may sound strange, but I need to get organized to get organized (i.e. I need lists and plans to keep things in order). Planning on hitting up the Container Store. Maybe I'll be inspired.

3. Christmas shopping! **This month it's not getting-a-jump-on-things; this is the do-or-die month. I refuse to be doing all of my shopping in December!

4. Paint the Living Room. **This is slightly (mostly) dependent on Jarrod and whether he's also got the time for it, but it's something we've been wanting to do and I'd like to put it out there and make it a priority.

5. Help prepare a fabulous Thanksgiving day meal and enjoy dinner with my wonderful family: both of them!

That's all for now. I know with the holidays, things are going to get really busy soon. Happy November!