Thanksgiving, #joydare

Our first Thanksgiving back in South Dakota. The guest list started small, grew, and then ended up very manageable with LOTS of leftovers.

Maggie and I started the day with a 5k with Tammy & her girls. This was a first for both of us. It was a lot of fun and I think will be a good tradition -- especially if we bring the whole family (including Rusty) next year.

I made my usual apple cider brined turkey (actually made 2), mashed potatoes, smashed sweet potatoes, asparagus, green beans and, of course, gravy. The Moms brought dessert (Jessie enjoyed the Cool Whip). 

48. Extended family

49. Football

50. Turkey

51. The smells of the meal cooking

52. Mashed potatoes

53. Sweet potatoes

54. Bacon, bacon, bacon

55. Walking a 5k with Maggie, Tammy, Alyssa, Amy & Taylor

56. Peppermint Hot Chocolate

57. The feeling of being too full, so content

58. Spending the day surrounded by family, even unexpected family

#1000Gifts List, continuing

It's so interesting to take time to think about what I'm thankful for. I have been trying to take some time each day and am finally carrying my journal so I can update it.

16. A little girl who can get lost in a book.
17. Old friends
18. Feeling like part of a team.
19. Lazy Sunday at home with popcorn & hot chocolate
20. Teaching Maggie to make chocolate chip cookies -- and she did most of it herself!

21. Meeting people from the neighborhood
22. A tower of beer!
23. Bowling
24. Maggie making bacon & eggs for breakfast.
25. Leftovers for lunch.
26. How much Jessie loves her school
27. Getting bacon from the Meat Lab at SDSU
28. A new Muppet Movie
29. Watching Wild Kratts with the girls each morning (and learning something!)
30. Jessie's school picture (so cute)
31. Jessie-ism "I love Cheetos! Cheetos ROCK!" And then she plays air guitar.
32. Spin class - though I haven't yet noticed any bodily changes in how my clothes fit, I am looking forward to class more and more!
33. Jessie as "Star of the Week"
34. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
35. Visiting Mike & Bonnie for the day
36. Pomegranates and mangoes in the Bountiful Basket
37. Watching "Charlie & Lola" and seeing it as the British, cartoon version of my girls in a few years.
38. Jessie freestyle singing, just like Maggie used to. Singing about how strong the Spider-man phone is and how much she loves her family.
39. Listening to Jessie play with her Barbies & make up stories.
40. Automatic washer & dryers
41. Jessie's day care teachers
42. The Boys & Girls Club -- after school care for Maggie.
43. Marvel Movies: no one leaves until all the credits are over.
44. Date Day and THOR 2 The Dark World.
45. Artifical heat -- winter has arrived in SD.
46. Playing Monopoly with Maggie (even if we don't finish the game)
47. Popcord & Elf

30 Days of Thanks

So, it's that time of year again. Suddenly, everyone on Facebook is Thankful. And everyone takes time each day to post about how amazing, super-fantastic their life is. And I get that Facebook can feel like your high school class reunion where we hide the bad thing, the hurt things to make life sound better than it actually is. But you know what, who cares? Counting your blessings makes you happier, more thankful, more content. And I've gotten away from that. I can feel myself falling into old patterns, old discontents. So I think it is time to revisit being thankful, deliberately thankful. Last year, I got to 500 August - December. Starting here, I'm going to see how long it takes me to get to 1000 and then perhaps continue.

To kick start, I'm going to take my days of thanks from Facebook:

1. My girls who continually keep life entertaining!
2. My husband. No specific reason, too many to count.
3. A house starting to feel like home.
4. Antibiotics
5. Great job with a supportive leader.
6. SNOW!
7. Playing in the snow before school/work with Rusty.
8. Spin class
9. Cooking day!
10. Lunch with Maggie (because she took 2 AR quizzes)
11. Rocky's dream job.
12. A fun Halloween
13. Excellent first Parent-Teacher conference for Maggie (our star reader!)
14. Catching up with an old friend/co-worker
15. Sunshine