30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 29

Second to last day of this series!!!

I hope you have spent lots of time with your family, and have had a chance to relax before going back to the grind on Monday.

Today is all about relaxing and family.  We will be spending a leisurely Sunday morning at home resting, then heading over to my parents' house to decorate the tree together.

When do you put up your Christmas decorations?

Tomorrow is the last day! Make sure to come back for the recap.

Day 1 and 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5 and 6
Day 7 and 8
Day 9 and 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16 and 17
Day 18
Day 19 and 20
Day 21
Day 22
Day 23
Day 24
Day 25
Day 26
Day 27

Day 28

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 26 Thanksgiving Day

Today is Thanksgiving Day.  I hope you are surrounded by family, friends, good food, fellowship, laughter, love, and joy.  Make the most of every moment you have with those you love.  Take pictures, exchange ideas, and give love freely.

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Day 25

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 25

Today I am thankful for traditions.  My mom and I are planning to make cookies today.  We are going to take them with us to our family's Thanksgiving to give out as gifts.  This is the one holiday that my mom's family all gets together for, so we are giving Christmas gifts early, while we are all together. These sugar cookies are special to us and our family.  They are the same recipe that my great-grandmother used when my mother was a child.  We all have our fond memories of making these special sugar cookies with icing.

Another tradition we have, started with my parents.  Starting the year they were married, they have bought a dated Christmas ornament each year.  The ornament represents something significant that happened that year.  For example, the years that each of us were born, we have a baby's first Christmas ornament dated for that year.  The infamous year my parents didn't have a Christmas tree, the ornament has a Christmas tree on it! (My mom won't let my dad live that one down. Along with a few other stories!)  These ornaments are so special to our family.  We always decorate with the whole family there, as best we can, turn on the Christmas music, and pour some egg nog or hot chocolate. Then we start with the very first year (1978, I believe) and go in order, taking turns putting the ornaments on the tree.  I love this special tradition so much, that my husband and I have started our own dated ornaments.  I also love that my parents bought each of us a tree to put in our rooms when we were young.  We were able to pick out and make our own ornaments each year for our own tree.  I loved decorating my tree!  It is special to have ornaments that have been with me since I was a baby.

What is a special tradition that your family enjoys?

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Day 18
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Day 24

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 19 and 20

Day 19: I am so thankful for one-on-one time!  Whether it's my husband, parents, siblings or friends- I love spending that one-on-one time with people who matter to me.  My mom was gracious enough to go with me to an out of town doctor's appointment yesterday.  We spent the drive there and back talking about all sorts of things, and we got a little shopping out of the way while we were there!  We were also able to have three meals together, just her and I.  It was so good to spend that time building our relationship.  Now that I am an adult, I am very grateful that we are working on a friendship, and not just a mother/daughter relationship.  Though she will always be my Mamma!!

Day 20: Thankful for Fridays!!! It is wonderful to feel like you have accomplished/survived another week, and facing a few days off and hopefully some rest or fun!  My mom and I are taking another road trip tomorrow to go visit my cousin and her family for her 2nd youngest's birthday! Can't wait to see everyone! It's been too long.

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Day 18 and 19 

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 18

I am thankful for our pets!

They really do become a part of our family.  They have such little personalities and bring so much joy!  Penny is our 5 year old dachshund.  She is sweet and cuddly!  If you have a blanket for her to hide under, she will be your best friend.  Barrett is our 1 year old boxer.  He is the silliest puppy and LOVES his toys!

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Day 16 and 17

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 15

"The summer is winding down.  Two weeks from today I will be on my way back to Mississippi.  It's always a very bittersweet thing for me.  I live in two places.  I go to school in Mississippi- most of my friends are there, and it's where I feel most comfortable right now. But my family is in Texas- I miss them so much and I feel like I should be home.  I have lived in Texas every summer in college.  Each time I finish the semester and head back, I'm always looking forward to summer, but missing everything back in MS.  And when I leave for school in the fall, I'm ready to go back, but miss everything I have in TX.  It's just not fun.  Hopefully one day I will live in one spot.  I realize that people I love will be scattered- that's just a fact of life.  But I'm ready to have my home in one place- a place where I feel most comfortable and happy.  I have no idea where that is right now, but I'll find it soon enough."

I found that exert on the drafts section of all my blog posts.  It was never published, but I wanted to share it now.  This was probably 5 or 6 years ago.  I was still in college, only a little ways from graduating.  The reason I wanted to share this on my 30 Days of Thankfulness series is because I am so very thankful for my home now.

"Home is wherever I am with you."  I love this quote so much.  It aptly describes what home is for me now.  My home while I was growing up changed periodically.  During college, I felt I had two homes- one in Texas where my family was, another in Mississippi where I had grown up and cultivated friendships.

My home is in one place now, where I do feel most comfortable and very happy, but I think there will always be two homes for me.  One is wherever my husband is.  We spend three months apart last fall, transitioning to Starkville for him to go back to school.  I felt so disjointed.  Like I wasn't settled, and it was because he wasn't with me.

The other home I have is where my parents are.  Thankfully, they are back in Mississippi and only live 30 minutes from me.  That has been such a blessing!  I love that I can drive over for a visit whenever I want, and we can spend holidays together now.  They have bought a beautiful place with an 1860's farmhouse and lots of land.  I love being there; it's so peaceful and pretty.  But it's not the house they bought that makes it home.  It is the fact that is where my family is.  I will always feel like I'm home when I'm with my family.

I am so thankful for home.

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Day 14

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 7 and 8

Ok, so this blogging every day thing has been harder than I thought! I got behind over the weekend.  Lots going on! So I'll take time now to catch up.

Day 7:  I want to take some time to say how thankful I am for my in-laws.  Jason's parents have been so good to me since day one.  They have treated me less like a daughter-in-law and more like a daughter.  They have helped us in so many ways since we have been together.  It is wonderful to know that my family grew when I married Jason.  I am thankful for them and all the family I have on his side.

Day 8: I am also thankful for the awesome brother and sister I gained! Jason's sister and her husband are great.  We don't get to see them as often as we'd like because we are all so busy, but it's great when we do get the time to catch up and hang out.

They say you not only marry your spouse, but also their family! I'm glad that is the case.  I love family on all sides!  Especially with the holidays coming up, I am so thankful to get to spend time with family.

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Day 5 and 6

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 5 and 6

I missed yesterday, so I'll make up for it today with two posts!

Day 5: I am thankful for my friends!  I have never been the girl with a ton of friends.  I mean, I only have 200 total on Facebook- I know people with thousands!!! But I have always had quality friends in my life.  I have had friends since I was born, since 2nd grade, family that are more like friends, and new friends that I have met along the way.

This is a new season in my life; not having friends right down the road to see often.  When I was a child, I always had at least one or two girls who were practically glued to my hip!  We were always going over to each other's houses.  During high school, we moved away, and I left my best friends back in Mississippi. But thankfully the internet and cell phone were up and coming, and I was able to stay in touch very well.  College was amazing with the amount of time I was able to hang out with my friends and make new friends.  I rarely spent a weekend alone.  It was great!  Now that I am grown (sort of!) and married, my friendships have changed.  I still have those awesome, quality girls (now women!) in my life, but we don't spend tons of time together because we are busy with our separate lives.  They have jobs and husbands too, and I'm sure soon everyone will start having babies! (Oh what a fun time that will be! Auntie Kaitlin...I like it.)

The thing that hasn't changed is that they are there for me when something great or something terrible happens.  There are still those funny or awkward things that happen in life that make me send a quick message to my friend.  I am so blessed to have such amazing women in my life!

Day 6:  I am thankful for my job!  In this trying economy, I know that I am very fortunate to have a full time job that pays well and provides decent benefits.  Especially now, since my husband is going to school full time and I am the sole breadwinner.  It has been a blessing to be able to move to the position I am in now.  I have great co-workers, and I very much enjoy where I work.  One day I hope to be a Work-at-Home-Mom (WAHM), but for this season, I am very grateful for where I am.

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Day 4

30 Days of Thankfulness- Day 4

This is day 4 of my 30 Days of Thankfulness series.  

Today, I am thankful for my brother!  He is 3 years my junior, but way taller than me!  He is incredibly creative and spontaneous.  I love that he can pick up any instrument, and in a short time, play it well! He is a wealth of great ideas.  I love that I can go to him with a problem, and he will brainstorm a creative solution. 

This boy will go places.  With a little hard work, all those amazing ideas will take you so far! Keep up the good work, and I can't wait to see what the next few years will bring. 

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Day 3

30 Days of Thankfulness- Day 3

It's Day 3 in my series 30 Days of Thankfulness.  Today I am thankful for my big sister!

My sister is 3 years older than me.  She has always been the adrenaline junkie, the accident prone one, and the fireball of our family.  She is the oldest and the one who paved the way for me not to get in trouble for speeding tickets!  

I admire my big sister so much.  She takes big risks to get where she wants to be.  I admire her dreams and her work to make those come true.  She has become a best friend and encourager to me, someone I can come to with any problem and get a fresh and encouraging perspective.  I hate she doesn't live close by anymore, and that life has us both very busy, but I treasure the time we get to spend together when we do.  She is a beautiful person, inside and out.  I am so happy she has found someone to spend her life with, and he's a pretty great person too.  I love them both and am excited for what the future holds for all of us.  I love y'all!

Day 1 and 2

30 Days of Thankfulness- Day 1 and 2

Yesterday was the first day of November! I love the next three months, November, December, and January because of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year.  There are times spent with family and friends, great food, new and old traditions, and the promise of a new start.

Before I get caught up in the coming Christmas season, I have decided to make the most of my November.  I will be blogging through the month a series on 30 Days of Thankfulness.  I will attempt to do a short post each day on something I am thankful for.

Since I missed yesterday, I will post two things I'm thankful for today.

1)  I am so very thankful for my husband, Jason.  I was so blessed to meet him my senior year of college.  We met and started dating within a month!  It was quick, but both of us just knew we were meant to be together.  We have been through some very tough times, and I'm sure there are more hard things up ahead.  But through it all, we have stuck together and been there for the other.  I don't know how I could navigate this life without my other half.  I'm sure I could do it, but there wouldn't be this level of joy, stability, love, and comfort.  I am thankful for every minute together.  I am constantly reminded that this world is temporary, and that we need to make the most of every day.  I pray that I continue to remember and to always be present.

I love you, Jason!

2)  I am so grateful for my parents.  They have loved unconditionally, supported, directed, and enriched mine and my sibling's lives.

My mother is such a strong and faithful woman.  I aspire to be like her in many ways- her ability to make a house a home; her fierce love for her family; her many, many talents and abilities; her sense of humor and ability to say what needs to be said.  So many things that I have seen her model for me.  She knows me better than almost anyone.  Just from the tone of my voice over the phone, she knows how I am feeling.  She has picked me up more than once- physically as a child, and emotionally as a teenager and adult.  Thank you, Mamma, for everything you have done and all you continue to do for me and for our family.

My dad is hard working, steadfast, and caring.  He has been a model of hard work for my whole life.  Even as a child, when I did not understand nor appreciate the Saturdays of working in the house and the yard, he taught us the value of a strong work ethic.  We did work as a family; everyone pitching in, but we also took time to have fun as a family too.  When my siblings and I got older, we started a family tradition of going out on Christmas Eve for appetizers and dessert at a restaurant, then going to see a movie.  Looking back now, I treasure those times spent working and playing together.  Another thing about my Dad that I love is our goodnight/goodbye hugs.  Every night before bed, I would get a goodnight hug from my dad.  He shows us all that he loves us, and tells us so too. Thank you for the love, hard work, and support that you have shown and continue to show us!

Heartfelt

You know those times when you come across something so heartfelt, it touches you deep?  That happened to me this morning.  It started on Facebook, a post that a friend had liked.  I clicked on the link and was sent to a blog written by a father and husband.  You might have heard of him- he is one part of Joey+Rory, the country music duo.  But from this man's writing, you'd never know he was "famous."  They have an incredible story to tell- a precious daughter with Down's Syndrome, and the wife is battling cancer for the second time.  Reading the sweet words, I was almost in tears and praying for this family that I've never met.  I think we need moments like these.  They remind you that life is short and we shouldn't take any moment for granted.

Take a moment and read about their story.  I think it will bless you.

Be Present

I just watched a video that really got to me and convicted me.  You can watch it here.  It's a Periscope video from The Tag Team, a group that trains direct sellers on how to have effective and successful businesses.  Now, they talk about more than just business, but how, women especially, should live their life.  Check out this video here that talks about how we need to get rid of negative self talk and to tell ourselves the opposite of what we think: for example, I am beautiful, I am loved, etc. This particular scope was about how to find balance between family and work. Please watch these even if you aren't a direct seller or business owner, or a woman.  These are things that everyone needs to hear.

Anyway,  In the first video I referenced about how to balance work and family, Amanda talks about how she has believed before that she isn't a good mother.  So, she has committed to telling herself, "I am a good mom."  Rachel and Amanda (The creators of The Tag Team), have both committed to be present with their families in the evenings and on weekends instead of work taking over.  Amanda said how she asked her kids what they needed or what would make them feel more loved.  The answers differed, but basically boiled down to her actually spending quality time with them, to be present instead of just being in the same room and being on her phone.  She gets emotional in the video and really speaks honestly about the struggles that moms and wives face regarding being present.

This really hit home with me.  My husband and I have had several conversations about me being constantly on my phone.  It has actually been a problem with me for quite some time.  It has caused issues with my family in the past, and now with my husband.  I have tried to be better about being on my phone when we are spending time together, but it has become such a habit, it has been hard to break.  It is not that I don't enjoy spending time with him, I very much do! He is so fun to be around.  He is silly sometimes then other times we have amazing and deep conversation.  But this nasty habit has been hard to break, and I haven't tried as hard as I should to remedy it.  So, I've decided to delete the Facebook App on my phone.  The app makes it too easy to click on, and up pops my news feed.  I don't want to completely get rid of Facebook altogether, because of the few friends I keep in touch with, and my business page, but I have decided to only check it periodically at work.  If he is watching football or something, and I have time, I can check it on the computer at home.  Basically, I want it to be an intentional thing, not just habit.  I have also deleted the Pinterest App on my phone as well.  I can get caught up in the endless scrolling and waste time that way also.

So here it is, in black and white, plastered all over the internet that this is what I am going to do.  This is my accountability.  I am striving to be the best wife and friend and family member that I can be.  Not to mention to use my time more wisely than wasting it on social media.

Where do you stand on the phone issue?  Do you use yours too much?  Are you really present with your family?  Have you found a way to keep it in check?  I would love to hear from you!

Find Your Peeps!

Yesterday I look a couple hours off work and headed 2 hours south to attend Premier Designs training with the ladies in the Premier group I started with.  I was great to see these encouraging and inspiring ladies!  I don't go to training every month there, because of the two hours (one-way) drive, but I am thankful for the times I am able to.

One of the biggest blessings that I have found through Premier is getting to know these amazing women.  I expected the pretty jewelry, the income, the business-y part of things, but not the relationships that I would gain.

The point of this post is not to gush about Premier designs (which I could do all day, by the way, just ask me!), but to encourage you to find your peeps! Find those people who are kindred spirits, who enjoy things you enjoy, who have kids your kids age, etc.  It is SO important, especially for women, to find those relationships and surround yourself with encouraging women.  Life is not meant to be lived alone.  It isn't meant to be lived with JUST your spouse, or JUST your kids.  We are meant to live in a community of family and friends, those people who encourage and uplift us.

Now, I realize that not all your family or friends are uplifting.  There are people in our lives that we cannot avoid, and those people are meant to be sandpaper to smooth your rough edges.  However, you should not waste all your time and energy on these people.  Life is too short to fill your time with people who put you down or discourage you.  Find those people who love you for you, and no matter what, will be there to encourage you.

Who are your peeps?

Our First Freezer Cooking Day

My mom, sister, and I decided to start freezer cooking about once a month.  All of us need quick week night meals that will prevent us from eating out, which is both healthier for our bodies and our wallets!

I have read many, many blog posts about freezer cooking.  So I thought I had done the appropriate level of research.  But apparently there is always more to learn.  

First, we started with our plan.

Instead of trying a bunch of recipes that we had never had before, we went with a few tried and true family favorites that would freeze well.  We planned out our grocery list, then a plan of attack!

*Here is where we learned that you can't plan to make multiples of 9 meals in one day! It's way too much going on at once.  Instead, it would be easier to make several of only 3 or 4 meals. 

Here is our lofty list!!! We didn't get all of it accomplished. But what we did do, went well!

Here's the french fries that we made:

The veggie cutter that my mom had
definitely came in handy! So much
quicker than by hand

The cut potatoes!

Next we partially cooked the fries in oil.

Then let them drain and cool.
After they cooled, we placed them
on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper
and popped them in the freezer.
Once they were partially frozen
and wouldn't stick to each other,
we put them in a freezer zip lock bag.
Once we are ready to use them,
just preheat the oven, and pop them
in to crisp up. I added a little cooking
spray to mine to help get extra crispy.
So good!!!

While the potatoes were going, we also browned ground beef, and cut and cooked onions.

We have a whole beef in the freezer and
it's so nice to have fresh beef whenever
you want it! Much cheaper too.

We cooked the meat and put into
freezer bags to make quick
spaghetti or tacos.

Those skills I learned from my stint
at the Art Institute's culinary program
pays off.

After cooking the onions til soft, we
set aside what we needed for the recipes
and put the rest in quart size freezer bags
to use in future recipes.

Next, cooking our homemade spaghetti sauce.  My mom has always made her own spaghetti sauce, no Ragu for us!  This proved a challenge for making it in a large quantity, because she doesn't have a recipe! It's a little of this, some of that kind of thing.  But we kept track of the amounts that were going in so we can replicate it in a large quantity again. 

We decided to freeze some of the sauce,
and can the rest of it.  We did not add
the ground beef into the sauce, so
it only needed a water bath to can.

Next was Chicken Parmesan:

Grated Parmesan. Much better
than the canned stuff!

Fresh mozzarella! Yum.

The finished product! We also made homemade
marinara sauce. So easy and tastes wonderful.

*In the future, we will use shredded mozzarella
because it got a little watery after frozen then thawed.
Another thing will be to not pre-cook the chicken breasts
as they got a little overcooked and tough.

Lastly, we made chicken spaghetti!

Because it was near the end, this is the
only picture I got! This is smoked chicken
that my dad smoked for us the day before.
Added such great flavor!!!

Also not pictured, was the "Bisquick mix"
that we made.  All you do is add eggs and milk
for pancakes, or just milk for biscuits.  Super easy.

So, that's about it! Like I said, next time, we won't plan so many different meals, but stick to a few, or ones that have similar ingredients.

Have you experimented with freezer cooking before? What do you think?