"Before we eat..."

Thanksgiving is just a few days away. At this time of the year I think it is important to stop and really think about what we are Thankful for. And I don’t mean the “10 things you are thankful for” speech your father begins the meal with. This has been on my mind a lot lately. The past few months I have had a bad case of the “I wants”. I want booties, I want new skinny jeans, I want riding boots, I want to live in a house, I want to have a baby, I want Mr. P to be done with law school already, I want a new party dress and so on. This really hit home a few weeks ago when I learned that our church budget was suffering and our Pastor was going to have to take a pay cut. Then the next week I was at Ethos (a young adults youth group) when the Pastor spoke on envy versus contentment. Then my dad sent me this video. And then on Sunday we had our annual Thanksgiving service and church pot luck and Pastor Steve reminded us much we have to be thankful for. I read this pattern as a clear message from God and reminder to myself. It is so easy in our society to get “the wants”, we see what others have and we start to feel entitled, we start to feel it’s not fair, and we start to feel embarrassed with what we have or don’t have. We forget how blessed we are and how content we should be. I know I struggle with this and it is something I continually need to work on. In the words of my father, “the word fair needs to be taken out of your vocabulary”.

With thanksgiving this week and the holidays around the corner I am glad for the reminder I needed. I want this Thanksgiving to truly be a reminder of how blessed we are. And I want this Christmas to be about Jesus, family, friends, church and building beautiful memories. So in honor of Thanksgiving and my Dad (who always requires this before we are allowed to eat out Thanksgiving dinner) here is my list of what I am thankful for this year:

1. Our Church, we love our Church, it is truly a gift from God
2. Mr. P, he is such a wonderful husband

Mr. P and I at Crater Lake this summer.

3. My brother and sister, who besides being wonderful siblings are also wonderful friends

Sean and Jess at Jess' graduation

4. My wonderful Father and Mother

Mom and I at my bridal shower.

5. That I live in this country with all of the promise and opportunity it offers
6. That I live in a nice apartment with a roof overhead and a warm comfy bed
7. For all of our wonderful friends

Everyone at Easter dinner last year.

8. For my Cousin Lauren who is also my best friend and the perfect shopping partner

Lauren and I at her wedding in July

9. For my job which provides more than we need
10. That Mr. P has the opportunity to go to Law School

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

It's Almost Thanksgiving!!!!

It should be no surprise to you all that I love Thanksgiving. After all I love food! I love to cook! And I love friends and family, so a Holiday devoted to these three things is bound to be one of my favorites. Yet this year Thanksgiving has really snuck up on me. Usually I spend the whole month before hand thinking about Thanksgiving. What will I cook? Where will we go? Should I go with an old favorite recipe or try something new? What will I wear? And so on.

This is my second Thanksgiving being married but my fourth one with Mr. P. In fact the first time I went home with him to meet his family was the first Thanksgiving after we started dating. Despite being married and having wonderful China and serve ware and beautiful pots and pans and so on, I have never hosted Thanksgiving. I'm very excited for the day I get too but for now where we live is just too small and so we go to our parents house. Last year we were with the Potters so this year we are with my Mom's family.

Because I have been so busy and time is flying I am rather frantically trying to put together all the recipes I am making. We actually have three Thanksgiving dinners to attend this year. The first one is Saturday at my Grandparent's Ranch with my Dad's family. For this dinner I have been assigned Sweet Potatoes and Cranberry Sauce. Our second dinner is the Church Thanksgiving Dinner Sunday after service. I signed up to bring cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes (these are my two specialties). Then for actual Thanksgiving my Mom, and I and my Uncle Frank and our friend David are all collaborating on the cooking. I am in charge of cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, green vegetable and one dessert. I am going to do the same cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes recipes for both weekend dinner's so I can just make double batches on Saturday morning. In my hurried attempt to do so I am using my favorite cooking sites rather then thumb through my extensive cook book selection. Martha Stewart has a great thanksgiving site, as does Epicurus and of course The Food Network. I love the looking through the menu's on these sites. One thing I have always wanted to do and am looking forward to doing when I do host thanksgiving is to pick an amazing menu out of Martha Stewart or Gourmet and follow it 100%. Perhaps this is my Type A personality coming out but I just think it would be lots of fun. Here are the recipes I am trying this year:

For Saturday and Sunday:
Cranberry Chutney

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar and Pecan's

For Thanksgiving Day:
Cranberry Sauce with Dried Cherries
Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes
Roasted Green Beans and Brussels Sprouts
Pumpkin Banana Mousse Tart

So that's what I am cooking this year. I have yet to decide what I am going to wear...What are your Thanksgiving plans? What favorite dish are you cooking this year?