100 Things to be Grateful for on this Thanksgiving Day:

"The Angelus" by Millet

The Grateful List by moiaussi:

My mom
Family
Friends
Mervi
Three boy cats: Titi, Timo, Thomas Baxter
Health
Intelligence
Job that I love
Looks
Being born in a stable country
Being able to choose what to eat for breakfast
Abundance
Unconditional love
Optimism
Music
A car that runs
A roof over my head that I own
Money in the bank
A college education
Loving going away at college
Meeting lovely new friends there
Meeting new people at classes
Meeting new people on the Internet
Facebook/LJ/Blogger
My garden
Roses that bloom in November
All the wonderful things my dad taught me
Dad’s expressions: “Take the bull by the horns”
My hair, can be a frustration, but it’s really healthy
My five senses
The smell of baked goods, apples, clean laundry
Nail polish
Good coffee
Air travel
The money for air travel
People who want to travel with me
Cheese
Being a good reader
Liking books
Seeing common themes in varied subjects
My glass is half full
Crunchy leaves
Spellcheckers
Sunrise, I’m usually on LaGrange when the sun comes over the hill, it’s a must to slow down and check it out
Like the sun, everyday the Alcove Resevoir looks different and I slow to see what new scene I will get
Sunsets
The mountains
But especially the beach
Being able to swim
Being able to complete a 5K race
My eye color
Constant Comment tea
Shopping early for X-mas
Getting that x-mas is not about commercialism
My neighborhood
I learned to drive a tractor at 12. It was important to feel responsible and depended upon.
The way my parents raised me.
Honesty
Grandma Pearl’s examples of generosity and seeing people for their insides. She said, “You should give help to a stranger, you never know if that person is God.” I think that’s a Bible quote in her words and translated by me, but you get the point.
Equally, my parents taught me that everyone on this planet is equal, that does a lot for your self-esteem
Having a sense of humor!
LOL cats
Fruit
My body type, sure I’m an apple, but it could be worse, and everything works!
Supernatural...it’s themes have caused me to reexamine my faith, relationships with my family, and what it means to be a sibling.
My students...they remind me that belonging and acceptance are what they long for, and that my attitude helps shape their day
Hope
A gentle warm breeze
the first snow fall
The first warm day in spring
Massages
Cards sent for no reason at all
Playing cards with the girls
Miranda, Kayana, Ana, Ava...my “nieces” who delight me with their love
All my cousins, but especially Dana, Kim and Charlene who I feel I’ve grown more close to
The fact that relationships evolve over time, but family remains
77. The ancestors, especially the mothers: Helen and Rosalie, who cooked with me one night in a dream, Flora who never got what she really wanted, but who has placed a little part of herself in me as a teacher, Grandma Pat, I have your hair...and just maybe your humor.
Meski! That little Ethiopian Princess and her Mommy!
Christmas lights
My Japanese Garden
Road Trips
My immune system
My vocabulary
That Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in Austria
My knowledge of cars
I have the right to vote
I love myself
I eat well most of the time
I like animals
I have extra money to give to charity
That cousin Michael picked up the phone and called me
For being able to go barefoot
I’m not afraid of too much
I have people who share my interests
There are things in the future to look forward to
I have awesome friends over 40 who remind me that life’s a journey
Fresh cut grass
Birds, especially blue jays who screech in song, but don’t stop trying to sing
New Year's Day
A diverse spiritual playing field and the openness to roam on it
The ability to escape nightmares and a life that doesn’t lead to them
The Heart of Love

White beans, Collard greens and Israeli Couscous

It's really about that simple! God, it's my new favorite recipe.

I cut up and wash the collards then put them in my steamer for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile I heat up a can of white beans, 2 cups of broth and spices that I like. Today I added sun dried tomatoes. Once the broth mixture boils turn it down and add about a cup of couscous (Israeli couscous is bigger than the French kind). Let the whole things simmer unitl the collards are really wilty and have steamed for at least 20 minutes. Then you can mix everything together and let it simmer another 20-30 minutes on low.

Basically I add enough couscous to balance out the liquid. My finished product is not a soup. It is a solid.

the following is a link that carries endless recipes involving Israeli Coucous:

http://www.epicurious.com/tools/searchresults?search=israeli+couscous

Gratitude

My school participates in Project Wisdom, a character education series that uses short messages to spirit discussion and further though. I personally enjoyed this message:





Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy - because we will always want to have something else or something more.— Brother David Steindl-Rast



We all know the importance of gratitude. Entire books have been written on the topic, best-selling books read by millions. Yet many of us move through entire days, even weeks, without stopping to appreciate small things like hot water and laughing children. It's like exercise; we know we should, but . . . The truth is, most of us have much for which to be thankful, not just on Thanksgiving, but every single day. So be happy. Be grateful!





Yesterday I was at a Health and Wellness retreat and we were asked what we were grateful for. Honestly I could make a list as long as my arm. It's really never ending. I have a great life, and so many blessings. I want to take a moment to thank family and friends for being a part of my life and a part of what makes my life so complete.

Who's reading this?

You know, I wonder who actually reads this blog besides one red headed Finnish girl? Seriously! I wonder how many drive-bys occur, I know I've played with that blogger feature before where you can click next blog. Most are in Spanish!

So, it's Saturday and I am wasting away the day attempting to up my NanoWrimo word count and getting sidetracked. I'm at 17,000 words, which is below count. I need to be at 25,000 by the end of tomorrow and I did surprise myself the other day because I went from 13,500 to 16,000 in one sitting. I didn't write last week due to being too tired to do anything but sleep; so I lost valuable time that would have upped the word count.

I think I should of wrote on Thurday! Instead I watched the disaster that Supernatural is turning into. When I joked at another site that the only thing that would have improved the plot would be if Lucifer showed up and killed everybody I honestly wasn''t joking. See that would have been scary. That would of shown that the devil was a threat and not just another whining angel. I'm seriously disgruntled in my brilliant thought inducing show!!!! They didn't need to go there, to that bad banal land that most TV is...they didn't, not after 4 brilliant years! Well, it's not over yet, so I'll carry on.

Today I am off to a bag party. I love bags! I'm quite sure I will find something I like.

But first, back to the writing. In my story, Lucifer isn't all that mean either, but he is trying to win the trust of a boy so he can use him later for a sacrifice (so see, evil hidden agenda)! Of course it'll never get written at this speed.

Dump Cake

I'm making dump cake for Monday night's cards.
It's fruity and yummy. A fan favorite so to speak!


CHERRY PINEAPPLE DUMP CAKE

1 can (16 oz.) crushed pineapple
1 can (20 oz.) cherry pie filling
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1/2 to 2/3 c. chopped nuts
1/2 c. butter

Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan. Dump in the pineapple and juice, spreading evenly. Pour cherry pie filling over the pineapple, spreading evenly. Add dry cake mix evenly over the fruit. Add nuts, then slice butter and lay all over the top. Do not mix. Bake in a 350 degree oven 45 minutes to 1 hour.

And my signature deal is now Texas Hold Em more than ever. Last week on Supernatural, Sam had to play Texas Hold Em against a witch to win back years that Dean had gambled away (literally). Sam won with 4 fours (my favorite number) which carries a 1 to 4165 odds!

Hey, I still think the boy's got magic. :)

I hope the dump cake does too!

I joined NaNoWrMo

It's this crazy writing thing that happens every November! The goal is to write 50,000 words by November 30. And yes, they must belong to the same story. I've written that quantity before, but I am a slow writer who stops to ponder way too much.

The cool thing is, I am not under that pressure with NaNo because it is all about quantity over quality.

Yeh that sounds crazy, but it works to get you moving along.

I have even said that to students when they write, that they need to just let it out at first. The time to go back over it all can happen later.

I've written 6,522, but let's see how I do with the work week starting tomorrow?