Happy Turkey Month

In true Shelly fashion I rang in November 2017 with a bang! Wednesday night I was hit with the stomach bug and I don’t know what it is about approximately every two years my guts turn against me and try to kill me overnight, but I am here to tell you it gets harder as you get older! Today was a day of real food cautiously at breakfast and then a real meal for dinner. I may have over done it for dinner because at this point I thought I was starving. I inhaled my cheese pizza and now am a bit miserable. Upside to the stomach bug and living off crackers and soup for two days, stomach shrinkage. (Note to self: use this opportunity for improved choices for all around health and well-being.)

I tried today to get off my butt since that’s all I’ve been doing the last two days and yes, my body needed the rest, but I can only do it for so long. The furry butterball thinks my lap is her napping oasis and I don’t want to spoil her to thinking this will be an everyday occurrence. I did get to have breakfast with Jarret this morning before he was off to work (see cautious breakfast above) and then I got to see my nephew for a bit.

Since, I was off the grid after Halloween I wanted to chime in right quick about how much I enjoy all the postings and pictures of the Halloween getups that were posted of littles. It’s so much fun to see the creativity and the personality that comes out in each child with their decision on what they want to be for Halloween. Thank you for sharing.

Now with Halloween 2017 in the books lets say hello to Thanksgiving!! Yes! First, I must confess I am a self-proclaimed lover of the Christmas season for reasons that shall be revealed in it’s own blog post, but as I hear my Mother in my head “we must give thanks first”  I will write a few words on turkey day. I am always interested in other people’s holiday traditions. Of course, food is the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word Thanksgiving. I have to say it’s probably because this is my Mom’s favorite meal of the year. She has written a wonderful blog post about my Grandaddy’s cornbread dressing and she re-posts it every year, which is a new Thanksgiving tradition for her. There have been years we tried not to do a traditional Thanksgiving meal and it’s never really the same. Turkey, cornbread dressing, giblet gravy, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole just screams Thanksgiving. My mouth is watering thinking about it. I remember asking my Mom for Grandaddy’s recipe for cornbread dressing and she couldn’t give me one because there really isn’t a written one and as a rule follower (for the most part) I panic that I won’t be able to make it when she can’t. Another thing that comes to mind is relish trays and jell-o salads. These scream Grandma Miller. That women loved her some jell-o salads. Thanksgiving with the Lenz's was different in a sense that it was potluck style, we had the traditional style meal, but there was always extras. More people sharing their favorite Thanksgiving traditions means a wider spread, right? I don't have one particular food memory from a Lenz Thanksgiving. My Grandma Lenz is a baker so if anything I remember her pies, cookies or some sweet treats (of course I'd remember the sugar). There was always an array of salads and still to this day there is always an array of salads.

The more obvious feeling when Thanksgiving roles around are the feelings of being thankful and blessed. If you do FaceBook you may be familiar with some of the chains that get started this time of year with posting what you’re thankful for “this many days.” To save any of you from having to tag me in something like that I am just going to lay it out right here…..

To me the blessing is life. A life to live as I chose and it’s what in my life I am thankful for. If you need specifics, I am thankful for the freedoms I have been granted. I am thankful for the good days, but more importantly the bad as you learn from them. I am thankful for a forgiving, loving, and gracious Lord. I am thankful for my Mom, Dad, Sister and Brother-in-law. I am thankful for Jasper. To watch this little boy grow, learn, and see things with such innocence and wonder is truly something to behold. I am thankful for Jarret as he’s my best friend and partner in crime. I am thankful for the love he has shown me and given me. I am thankful for my job and the opportunities it presents daily. I am thankful for my friends, although we may not see or talk to each other as often as we once did friendships are everlasting. I am thankful for Brent, Judy, Mackenzie, Stacy, and Brady. I am thankful for BabieCakes. I try to remember and be thankful for these things everyday with a prayer directly to the Man in charge. It doesn't take a month to remind me, but it is nice that this month puts an emphasis on it to remind others. There is always more to be thankful for, but I am not keeping you here all night. If anyone decides they need to tag me in some FB chain please know I will just re-post this blog each and every time and nobody wants to read this more than once.

Finally, to sign off on this blessed, thankful, Thanksgiving November post as I sit in my over-sized chair with my over-sized cat trying to fit on my lap along with my laptop and settling for next to my leg, I think about Christmas lists, going to look at Christmas lights, and snow. Ahhhhh…no, I mean….Thanksgiving stuff, I am thinking about Thanksgiving stuff. I’m kidding! Seriously, life moves so quickly even this self-proclaimed lover of all things Christmas realizes you need to stop and recognize the blessing that is life and the things to be thankful for in that life even if I’ve seen 10 Christmas commercials already. Wear those pumpkins out that are sitting on your porch  and make all the pumpkin spice coffee you can because here in a few weeks it will all be peppermint mochas and rustic Christmas trees.

-Happy Turkey Month Friends!