Thankful Me

Thanks to Christine making me aware of this link party ; I decided I'd jump on board.  Here's a photo recap of highlights of my year:

Cooking, baking, sewing, wrapping.  Hugging, laughing, singing, playing.  I'm nearly to ten and I haven't even started the list.  This Christmas week has been exhaustingly, wonderfully fun!

Fudge, gingerbread, shortbread , candied nuts , caramel turtles, candy cane hearts . . . . I had a productive day in the kitchen yesterday.  Now to move on to sewing!

Normally, I am a fairly organized person.  "Normally" being defined as "back when I was a student."  I love order and organization, but seem to be on an endless quest to return to my formerly-organized state.  This week, many of my thankfuls bring me a glimmer of the me-who-I-know-is-still-in-there-somewhere.

As I looked outside today, I noticed a once-tall Joshua tree lying on the ground.  No longer will my photos be able to feature its interesting shape.  It was my go-to foreground for all sky shots:

Florida in December can be a bit chilly.  Such was the case the day my sister and I visited Disney's Animal Kingdom.  Some of the animals stayed inside, hidden from view.  Others, however, ventured outside: I'm thankful for animals.

This requires no recipe, and is more festive than mini-marshmallows:   Now don't you want to give a snowman Peep a nice hot cocoa jacuzzi treatment? Thanks for hot chocolate, and a good use for Peeps.

When my little sister asked me months ago if I wanted to build a snowman, I quickly answered yes.  We live on opposite sides of the country, and don't see each other nearly often enough.  Instead of building a snowman, though, we decided to go play at Disney World.  I'm back home now, and linking up late in a jet-lagged, but very thankful state.

As I mentioned on my Ten Things of Thankful post this past weekend, I made a bunch of candy cane hearts last week.  My friend found the idea from pinterest, and taught us how to make the treats at Relief Society.

The Thanksgiving weekend is over, family members have returned to their various homes, and the busy Christmas season is upon us. The tasks to do exceed the capacity of my brain to remember them, but the overlying feeling of the week isn't really one of stress.  I'm thankful.

I'm not sure if only seven years ago counts as "throwback," but I love this family photo.  

Earlier this week, John told me, "Sailors take warning."

Appropriately for the month of December, the visiting teaching message is " The Divine Mission of Jesus Christ:  Prince of Peace ."  I love the idea that even during challenging times, I can have personal peace as I remember the Savior.  Thankful Thought:  Thanks for Jesus Christ and the peace He brings.

Though I first ate this salad in May, I've saved the post to publish now, when everyone is trying to figure out what to do with pounds and pounds of turkey leftovers.  This recipe not only will help use up the turkey, it provides a bit of a lighter fare than typically is found during the holiday season.

It is a bit ironic that I don't post as much on my blog, Thankful Me, during the week of Thanksgiving.  Don't let my lack of new posts lead you to believe I'm ungrateful, though.  My week has been full of gratitude, as I've been surrounded by family for the holiday. 1. Youngest son arrived home first.  While we were out running errands, I asked him to try to get some photos of the jet planes that were flying.  As soon as I asked him, it seemed like the planes stopped flying.  However, he was very proud of this image and wanted to make sure I posted it on the blog.  I'm thankful for him, and the encouragement he gives me. "Do-DO-do-do-do-do"  2.  One of the errands we ran was suit shopping.  Youngest son was a groomsman in his roommate's wedding this week.  I'm thankful for the good friends my children have, and for the fact my son just needed a suit, not a tuxedo.   3.  I'm thankful for the safety everyone had whi...

I love reading the posts that join the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop.  I love the fact that the things that are mentioned can be deep, tug-on-your-heartstrings things, or frivolous, doesn't-really-matter-but-it-makes-me-smile things.  They can be bittersweet, silver-linings things, or outright sunshiny things.  No matter what the things are, the underlying attitude is one of thankfulness.    

Oh, boy, oh, boy!  For the rest of 2014, it's just one thing after another.  This week has been one of preparation and excitement for the upcoming events.  I'm afraid this week's TToT post will be one big jumbled mess, but since I don't have time to sort my thoughts out well, I'll just spit them out and hope for the best.  

In honor of Veterans Day this week, I thought I would share some photos of my grandpa, great-grandpa, and great-uncle in their uniforms.   Grandpa in his WWII Navy uniform Grandpa was allowed to come home on leave for the birth of my uncle. The inscription reads, "To my little Pardner.  Fair weather on your voyages, son" and is signed, "Daddy" My great-grandpa in his WWI uniform My great-uncle in his WWII Navy uniform  I'm thankful for those who serve.   

It's hard to believe that Drexel is only two years old.  Drexel came to us from Guide Dogs for the Blind as a young puppy.  We were raising him to be a guide dog, but he had other plans.  He "career-changed" due to scent distraction.  He just couldn't seem to keep his mind on working when there was a smell to distract him.  We were asked if we wanted to keep him as a pet, and we readily agreed.  He is a wonderful family dog.   Here's a look back over the past couple of years: meeting Drexel for the first time There's a reason we call him "Drexel the Adorable." at one year old Though Drexel learned basic obedience (and more advanced commands in his formal training), he did have his puppy moments: styling in his working gear Returning (on Valentine's Day!) for formal guide dog training   Flying off the puppy truck to return home to stay Now Drexel helps other Guide Dog puppies learn good hous...

Last week, on John's birthday, the Zaycon order arrived.  (That wasn't the original plan; the chicken had been scheduled to come in October, but the delivery was delayed.)  At the time, I was still without a large working refrigerator (I had a mini-fridge).  Fortunately, I also had a big freezer.  I kept the chicken cool in ice chests as I worked to transform 80 pounds of chicken breasts into freezer meals. 

General Conference is always such a treat! I love reading back over the talks; I can always find thoughts that stand out to me.  I've taken a few of those gems and made handouts that I might use for visiting teaching.  Feel free to print up any that you would like.  I've sized the images to print nicely on 4x6 paper.  You should be able to right-click to print.   This first handout would go well with a little umbrella.  I found umbrellas recently at the 99-Cent Store.   I'm thankful for words of living prophets, who follow the pattern of prophets of ancient times by providing guidance. 

I'm a bit late joining the hop this week.  John and I just returned from Catalina Island, so this post will be much like the vacation slide shows of old.  First, though, I have to mention something from the home front. 

Today is John's birthday!  It is also the day that Zaycon Foods is having their chicken delivery in our area.  (This delivery got rescheduled; I wasn't planning on spending John's birthday in the kitchen dealing with 80 pounds of chicken breasts.)  Anyway, I thought a birthday post was called for, and if something is worth saying once, it's worth repeating, right? This originally posted last year, but if anything, I mean it even more this year than last.  Happy birthday, John; I love you!

Trick-or-treat!  It's been a tricky sort of week for me, but we're heading into November--the month of Thanksgiving--so we'll focus on treats today.

It's easy for me to find things to love about green, moist places.  Plants grow abundantly and I find beauty everywhere I look.  Although finding beauty in the desert does not come instinctively to me, there are things about living here that make me smile everytime I see them.  For this week's TToT, I'm sharing with you my desert thankfuls.  I've shared some of these photos and videos before, but I hope you don't mind the repeat.  It's good for me to have a handy list of what is appealing about the desert. 

So, in her Ten Things of Thankful post this weekend, my friend Dyanne mentioned that one of the children in her preschool class announced during circle time that she (the child, though I assume it applied to Dyanne, too) was wearing underwear.  Dyanne later asked her blog readers, "What are you thankful for this week? How's your hair? Wearing underwear?"

I don't particularly want to blog about the details of my week, as I spent my week on jury duty.  I will say that I found the process interesting, even if it did mean I spent my birthday in deliberations. The verdict is in, though, and I am another year older.

When you are not quite 2 years old, your favorite attractions at Disneyland are the Jungle Cruise, the Tiki Room, and the "goggies" at the Big Thunder Ranch petting zoo. Thanks for grandchildren and goats.