Thankful Post #4

Day 22: I am thankful for having 2 cars. When one is giving you troubles it is really nice to have a second one to use.

Day 23: I am thankful for talents and skills. And being able to use them and to gain new ones.

Day 24: I am thankful for kitty cuddles. I don't know what I'd do with out having a pet to cuddle with when I'm feeling down.

Day 25: I am thankful for Mondays. The day where I get to start a whole new week with new hopes that it will be better than the one before.

Day 26: I am thankful for my home. I really love my apartment. It is nice, haven't had too many problems with it. The grounds are well kept and the manager is great. I'm glad we found such a nice place to live with the short notice we had to find one. Now hoping I get some nice new neighbors, since the apartment next to me is empty right now.

Day 27: I am thankful for my little guy James. I was trying to save the best two things in my life for last (pretty close to last, though), but after today, I just couldn't help but feel grateful to be a mom to such a fun, loving, happy boy. I'm so glad to have him in my life to teach me to have more patience, to enjoy the tiniest things in this world (like ants) and to have unconditional love. How can you not love this kid?

Day 28: I am thankful for Tracy. I am glad to have him as my husband. There are so many things I love about him. 

Day 29: I am thankful for family and friends. Love spending time with my little family and my very large family of brothers, sisters, in-laws, friends, parents, etc.

Day 30: I am thankful for the holiday season. Such a great time to give thanks, give service and remember our Savior.

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving, we ended up having the day with just the 3 of us. I hadn't thought much about what I would fix till yesterday, though I had our dessert picked out a week or maybe even 2 weeks ago (You see my priorities here? treats). My Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe has been sitting out in my kitchen for a week or so, staring me in the face. Yes, it is that good that I've been dreaming about it far longer than I've been dreaming about the other Thanksgiving type food.

We found ourselves on a tight budget this month and next month, because of grad-school applications and the 3 conferences Tracy attended the past month. Not to mention my car has died, so we have to get it fixed, too. Hoping all it needs is a new battery. Originally I hadn't planned on doing any thing special, except that cheesecake. One way or another I was going to get me some cheesecake, lol. Priorities, people, priorities!

So Yesterday I wrote up a shopping list and we hit the grocery store. After getting the things we needed for the week and picked up things I was planning on for today. We went to the meat department to pick up our protein. We didn't want a large turkey for just the 3 of us, because we knew we'd never eat it before it went bad. Yes, you can freeze it, but it is only good for so long. Plus, we couldn't afford a large one. They had small ones, but those were still a little pricey. My sister had told me she had Rotisserie Chicken one year. We considered buying one, but they are best the day of and didn't want to do shopping on a holiday. Finally we settled on a non-traditional Surf n' Turf Thanksgiving Dinner.

I made the cheesecake this morning. While I was making it, James knocked the eggs off the counter. Luckily, I only needed one more and one was saved enough to use. Tracy made our shrimp and steak. I love that he loves to cook and when he cooks it is always amazing.

Proof he was the one cooking. :)

Stake with Balsamic Reduction Sauce, Shrimp with Garlic Cream Sauce and Fingerling Potatoes.
It was incredibly delicious.
(I had to try before taking the picture.)

Pumpkin Cheesecake
I even whipped up my own whip cream to go with.

Before Tracy cooked dinner, him and James sat here together watching videos of car races/chases/other car related stuff.

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! I'll leave you with this picture from a couple weeks ago:

I've become the master of train track building. :)

Thankful Post #3

Day 15: I am thankful for cameras. Love that I can capture moments anytime.

Day 16: I am thankful for sweaters on a cold day. (Yes, it gets cold in California.)

Day 17: I am thankful for James's love of being at church. I hope he never grows out of it.

Day 18: I am thankful for Family Home Evening. I'll admit we're not too good at doing one and when we do it usually just involves a fun family activity. I enjoy spending time as a family, just the 3 of us.

Day 19: I am thankful for my job. Being a stay at home mom isn't always fun, but I definitely wouldn't want to trade places with Tracy. What he does (grading papers, doing presentations, writing papers, etc.), doesn't look nearly as much fun.

Day 20: I am thankful for inspiration, divine intervention, epiphanies or whatever you want to call it. I'll call it answers to prayers that I never actually said out loud.

Day 21: I am thankful for rainy days. I love rain, James loves rain. Makes for a great day.

Thankful Post #2

Here's the second week worth of Thankful post.

Day 8: I am thankful for Fridays and 3 day weekends. Fridays are the best since it means a weekend with Tracy. Well, sometimes he is away on various camping trips for school or scouts. A 3 day weekend means one extra day of family fun. Hooray for Veteran's Day.

Day 9: I am thankful for living close to a great shopping center. It is pretty much our home away from home. James just loves the splash pad, fish pond and all the other water features.

Day 10: I am thankful to be teach the Sunbeams. Some Sundays I feel like pulling my hair out, but other Sundays it is a blast. Love the 3 little boys in my class. They did a great job on the program today too.

Day 11: I am thankful for all veterans and any one currently serving in the military. Glad that they sacrifice their lives to keep our country free.

Day 12: I am thankful for pillow fights and just being silly. Sometimes when I'm frustrated with a little someone it is nice to have some fun to forget about being angry.

Day 13: I am thankful for the ability to buy good food. Sometimes I feel like I spend too much on groceries, but I'm glad it is money we have earned and not have to use food stamps like we did a few years ago.

Day 14: I am thankful for dollar stores and all the amazing cheap arts and craft supplies.

Thankful Post #1

I did this last year and I think I'll do it again. A lot of people post on Facebook what they are thankful for during the month of November. I like to do my list here and post it weekly, that way I am more than likely to go back and read it and it doesn't get lost in the Facebook cloud.

Day 1: I am thankful for technology to be able to Skype with Tracy when he's away and stay connected with family.

Day 2: I am thankful for my health. I don't get sick often and when I do it usually isn't too bad. However, this is not one of those time. I feel awful...

Day 3: I am thankful for my peaceful Sunday mornings. I'm usually the first one awake and can get ready with out a little boy begging for attention.

Day 4: I am thankful for little boy cuddles. They seem to be better when you feel awful.

Day 5: I am thankful for naps. It is amazing what taking a nap can do when you are sick.

Day 6: I am thankful for the warm climate we live it. I love that it is still reaching 80 degrees outside in November.

Day 7: I am thankful for little friends for James. It is so fun to go play with friends or have friends come over to play, even though James still prefers having me play with him when friends are around.