HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Random Dozen

Head on over to Linda's @ 2nd Cup to join in!

1. Are you sticking to traditional Thanksgiving foods this year, or are you being culinarily adventurous? We are getting together with my family this year (we alternate) and my mother is VERY into traditions. If turkey was good enough for the Pilgrims, it's good enough for us. They usually provide the main staples of the meal, and the rest of us bring extra fill-ins...as if any are needed, which they aren't because my mother makes enough for a small army.

2. Tell me something concrete that you're thankful for. (Something you can literally touch, see, etc., not a concept like "hope.") I am thankful for my children. With all our fertility troubles that we had, there was a time that we didn't think we'd ever get to enjoy being parents.

3. You knew the flip side was coming: Share about something intangible that you're thankful for. Faith. Without it, there are days when I wonder if it'd be worth getting up in the mornings. Faith in a better future for my children/grandchildren, faith that there will be medical miracles, faith that we all have the promise of everlasting peace.

4. Share one vivid Thanksgiving memory. It doesn't have to be deep or meaningful, just something that remains etched in your memory. It was the first Thanksgiving for my girls and they were 9 mo old. They were used to baby food, but being a holiday we decided to use Grandma's blender and puree the traditional Thanksgiving food for them to eat. Well, their poor tummies weren't used to the spicy foods and one threw up all over the floor. On the upside, having that happen so close to the buffet table did help most of us to not go back for seconds.

5. What is one thing that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt is going to happen this Thanksgiving because it always does, year after year? My family will start talking politics. Not just on Thanksgiving, but everytime there is a get together.

6. Do your pets get any left-overs? No, but I do buy them each a raw bone from the butcher to enjoy while we are gone for the day.

7. Does your family pray before the big meal? If so, do you join hands while seated, stand, repeat a formal prayer or offer a spontaneous prayer? Who does the praying? With my family we all stand together and say the general table prayer. With Jay's family they either sing a table prayer (and I say "they" because we all know that I can't/don't sing), or his Grandfather will say a Norwegian table prayer.

8. Will you be watching football in the afternoon? If not, what will you be doing? We will definitely have football on, but as stated before, the political discussions will start, which will send Austin and his cousins into the other room to play the Wii we bring along, and my girls will go off to entertain their little cousins. Those of us who opt out of the discussion will usually go to a different room to visit.

9. There are two distinct camps of people on this issue: How do you feel about oysters in the dressing/stuffing? Well, for starters, I have never heard of putting oysters in the stuffing - what is up with that? Must be a regional thing. But, since I don't like stuffing at all, I really don't care what you add to it. LOL

10. Do you consider yourself informed about the first Thanksgiving? Sort of. I know the basic story that we all learned in school, but I do have an interest in knowing more.

11. Which variety of pie will you be enjoying? I'm not a fan of pie, but if I do have any it would pumpkin.

12. Do you feel for the turkey?? (This is a humorous throw back question related to the 12th question in another Random Dozen!) I would if they were smart animals, but they honestly are so very dumb, and they are clueless as to what's going on with them. Did you know they are dumb enough that if they are outside when it's raining, they will look up at the sky as if trying to figure out what that is falling on them, and they will literally drown themselves. Now THAT's dumb. LOL

Spontaneous Fun

One thing I've learned since getting my Fibro diagnosis is that for the most part, I have had to accept the fact that I can't really be spontaneous anymore. I have to plan my activities to ensure I can be as pain-free as possible to be able to enjoy them.

Fortunately, I can still get a rare glimpse at spontaneous fun and I love it! I just had an example of one of those rare times yesterday.

Jay and Austin went to the ISU basketball game with some friends, so I went to get some groceries.

While driving, Chelsea called me and asked what I was doing. Turned out she was going to get groceries too, so we decided to go together.

Then we came up with a great idea...to go out for lunch together first.

That was followed by another great idea...let's call Ashley to see if she wants to come join us (her college is only 30 min away, so not too far).

Thankfully, Ashley had time before she had dance practice, so she did come join us at Applebees. This picture shows Chelsea sitting backwards in the Vue, while we waited for Ashley to arrive (I'd be stuck if I tried sitting like that LOL).

Afterwards we headed to the Wally World super center and they rode together. When they pulled into the parking spot next to me, they had the windows down in the car. The radio was cranked and they were singing at the top of their lungs and dancing wildly. It was so funny, and this picture doesn't even come close to doing it justice. I honestly haven't laughed that hard in a long time! Even the workers who were taking a smoke break around the side of the building were laughing.

By the time we were done with our shopping, I was in intense pain, but all the laughter and fun made it oh sooooo worth it!

I am so thankful for that spontaneous afternoon.

Project 365 ~ Week 47

Here we are at week 47! Our downtime is over, now that the basketball season has begun. Austin plays, Jay coaches, and Ashley dances at her college games. We can (and sometimes do) go to a game every day of the week! But, since there really isn't much else to do during the winter (unless you want to be outside freezing - which I don't), sitting in a gym works for us.

Sunday - 11/15

This evening we had the Cross Country team end of the season banquet. There was a potluck meal first, and then awards, certificates and senior gifts were passed out.

Monday - 11/16

This was a very familiar site in our area. Finally, good weather for harvesting! Praise God! After this field behind our acreage is completed, there is only one field left. We are praying the weather continues to cooperate!

Tuesday - 11/17

This evening I went to the junior high vocal and band concert at our school auditorium. Our niece and nephew were performing with their grades.

This shows a close up of our nephew Jacob (striped shirt in the middle of the photo) and our niece, Jenna, behind Jacob's right shoulder. This was during the jazz band portion of the concert.

Wednesday - 11/18

Halleluia! Today was a great day! Harvesting the crops was completed today!! Each harvest season, my Dad comes up to help. This photo shows him out behind our acreage chopping the corn stalks. Thanks Dad!

Thursday - 11/19

High school basketball practice started this week. Austin is on the jv team and Jay is the 9th graders coach. Today the head varsity coach opened up practice so parents could come watch and see what they are doing at practice each day (I was exhausted just watching!). Afterwards a parents meeting was held.

This first picture shows Austin running one of the drills.

This shows Jay and Austin listening to the head coach explain a new drill.

Friday - 11/20

Jay took Austin shopping this evening for his first shotgun. Austin has wanted to try hunting, and since he has taken the hunters safety course, off they went to the sporting goods store. He is super excited...even though you can't tell by his expression. LOL

Saturday - 11/21

Jay and I went out for supper and then decided to go to a movie. I really wanted to see Blind Side, but Austin and his girlfriend went to it, and I knew they would probably prefer to not have us there. We ended up seeing "Couples Retreat" instead. It was ok - parts were cute, funny, serious, entertaining, but then there were parts that just seemed unnecessary.

So that's our week! I am excited to know my girls will be home next week, and we'll put our Christmas tree and other decorations up before they return to college at the end of the weekend. I can't wait!! Head on over to Sara's to check out all the other great Project 365 photos.

Head on over to Linda's @ 2nd Cup to join in!


1. If you could master one sport, what would it be? Ice Skating - they always look so elegant and graceful. Elegance and grace are two things I'm lacking. LOL

2. When you make a major purchase, do you go with your gut instinct, or do you do research to make an informed decision? For our Vue, I did a lot of online researching to find what had good mileage and good safety ratings, among other things.

3. There is an old kids' game that says you can find out what your movie star name would be by using your middle name as your first name and the name of the street you grew up on as your last. What is your movie star name? Well....we moved a LOT when I was first growing up, so I guess I'll go with the one we lived on after moving back to Iowa: Marie Chestnut. Oh, and how is it that I never heard of that game as a kid???

4. Would you rather give up your favorite music or your favorite food? I don't really have a favorite food, so I guess that'd mean I'd have to give up all food. While that would do wonders for my weight, I'm thinking in the long run, it'd be safer for me to give up the favorite music...even though that'd make me really sad.

5. There are two types of banana preferences. One is pristine yellow, almost to the point of being green; the other is spotty and more ripe. Which is your preference? Definitely pristine yellow. I like the banana to be firm. The only exception is if I'm baking, then they need to be pretty mushy & ripe.

6. Your favorite tree is? One I manage to keep alive after we plant it. :-/ Otherwise, I'd say the giant Sequoia's. They are so tall and majestic!

7. On a scale of 1-10, how tech savvy are you? 2-3. And that's on a good day.

8. Has H1N1 touched your family? Knock on wood, not so far - and I pray it stays that way!

9. Are you an analytical person, or do you just accept things the way they are without questioning or scrutinizing? I'm analytical in a lot of things, which can be pretty entertaining at times.

10. Is your personality more like that of a dog, cat, or Koala? Cat. I can be alone and not mind it, but there are times when I want to curl up and cuddle. Plus, I'd much rather use a litterbox than have to go outside during a blizzard.

11. Do you keep in touch with friends you made years ago? No, not really. Although, thanks to Facebook I am getting reacquainted with people I went to school with.

12. You are checking out at a grocery store. In the express lane, there are more people than the regular lanes, but of course, their load is less than those in the regular lanes. Which lane do you choose (assuming you qualify for the express lane) and why? I will usually go for a shorter line, which never works because no matter which lane I choose, it's always the one that ends up being the slowest possible!

A Big Oops!

Well folks, I've been scarce as far as reading blogs lately, and I'll continue to be scarce as far as reading or writing anything for at least another week or so. We have wireless internet and have a set amount of gb we are allowed to use each month. If we go over that we must pay 25 cents for every mg. Ouch!

Not a problem....never been a problem....until now.

Either Austin or I (or both) have accidentally left the internet connected overnight a few times and wowsers does that quickly eat up the megabytes!

With 1 1/2 weeks left in our internet month, we are about 3/4 of the way through our allotment. Yikes! I will NOT pay the crazy amount they charge, so we will NOT go over!

Since it's important that we make sure Austin is able to use the internet for any homework, I must sacrifice my internet time for him. Soooooooo......we'll see you in bits and pieces until after Thanksgiving when our new internet month starts.

Project 365 ~ Week 46

Wow...week 46! Only 6 weeks left in the year! It's amazing to me that Project 365 is almost over, but it's even more amazing to me that I have stayed with it the entire year. I remember last March thinking I might drop out, but I knew I'd regret it and that is so true. I love looking back at the pictures.

Sara has asked how we feel about doing it again, and while I have enjoyed it, I don't know that I'll do it again. Maybe if it were say "Project 52" or something where we pick out the top thing in our week we want to share. Some days it's hard to come up with something different to get a picture of, and that would take the pressure off. :)

On to this weeks pictures!

Sunday - 11/8

Austin had been out in the sunroom (aka: the man cave) watching football, when all of a sudden there he was, in the kitchen. He decided he wanted some kind of dessert and since he knew I was having a rough pain day, he decided that he'd make Oreo dessert. If you haven't tried this before, you really should ---so easy and so good. I always keep a box or two on hand in case I need something quick, and this is Austin's favorite.

Monday - 11/9

Are You Ready For Some Footbaaaaall???? My broncos played on Monday night football, so watching them was on the agenda for the evening. Unfortunately they didn't play very well at all, and they lost. That wouldn't have been a huge deal, but they lost to my brothers team the Steelers (I always called them the "squealers" when we were growing up...ha). So, I had to endure some ribbing from him after his team beat mine.

Tuesday - 11/10

This evening I drove to the hospital to have a sleep study done that my doctor had set up for me. I have terrible, terrible insomnia and they are wanting to see if they can figure out why. The tech noticed during the night that I woke up frequently, was very restless, and maybe got 3 hours total (but not uninterrupted) of sleep, but that's all I know until I meet with the doctor for my full results. This picture shows my overnight bag, my pillow (I was told to bring my own) and the book I bought to take along. I'm only about 1/2 way through the book, but I do recommend it! It was written by Patrick Swayze and his wife before he died from Pancreatic cancer.

Wednesday - 11/11

Before I left the hospital this morning I was given a certificate for a free breakfast in the cafeteria. It was an amazing buffet type set up and oh my goodness did it look and smell wonderful! They boxed up my food and I ate it after I got home...well, not all of it. When you tell them what you'd like, it doesn't do you any good to say "just a little please"...ha! It's hard to tell, but the container is really big - definitely enough for at least 2 people!

Thursday - 11/12

I had to run a couple of quick errands this morning and on my way home I stopped at Subway to get a sandwich. It was so nice out that I stopped at a nearby park with a small lake. Here it is, almost mid-November and people were walking, running and riding bikes along the paths. Golfers were playing at the course next to the lake, and as you can see in this picture, there were small boats out fishing. We are sure making up for the yucky weather we had in October!

Friday - 11-13

I actually took this picture last night.....Our high school is putting on the musical "State Fair" and it runs Thursday through Saturday nights. I went all 3 nights, and instead of putting up a picture for each day, I decided to put it up for today. This is Austin playing the part of a carnival barker, trying to scam people with his game. He did such a great job and really added personality to his character. We are so proud of him! Here's more pictures if you'd like to see them: State Fair

Saturday - 11/14

I called Jay and said "Honey, I have a win-win idea to share with you". He snickered and I quickly ignored that. I continued on with "I know how hard you've been working lately. You're behind on field work, you have been having to sell pigs, you have coaching for the upcoming basketball season on your mind, and well, there's just so much for you to have to think about. Why I bet with all that's on your mind you haven't even had a chance to think about my birthday which as I'm sure you now remember is in about 2 weeks. You see, there is this purse I've been eyeing for about 3 weeks now, and well if I were to buy it today, it could be my early birthday present from you. Then shopping for my present is one less thing that'd be on your mind. Isn't that sweet of me to think of you and to come up with an idea to help eliminate some stress?"

Long story short.....Happy early birthday to me. :)

There you have it....our week 46. Click on the link in the sidebar to go to Sara's for more Project 365 pictures!