Learning to Breathe, Pt. 11

Happy November!! Autumn is moving right along. Some of my friends already have their Christmas trees up! I am going to hold off until next week. :) It is going to be in the 70s this week in NW Ohio and I am having a hard time getting in the Christmas spirit with the warmer temps.

November is a bittersweet month for me. I love Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday season, but it is also the month when I lost my dad. It will be four years this year. Every year, I can't believe it has been that long. This year is no different.

I have had a few friends lose their dads in the last year or so. It always bring back memories of how I felt during those first few days after my dad was gone. I was blessed to be with my dad for the last week of his life. That time is so precious to me - both the good and sad memories.

This November, I want to not only be thankful, but to show my thankfulness. I am still working out what I am going to do, but will be sharing my ideas throughout the month. Even though my home will be filling up with Christmas cheer, Thanksgiving is not off my radar!

Enjoy the last of the fall colors and be thankful!

Snapshots Into My Life

What I am seeing through my lens this week.

One of my new favorite things are these Pillsbury pumpkin cinnamon rolls. They only make 5 rolls, so it makes a nice little treat for me without making a bunch of rolls. I definitely needed a cinnamon roll to get my week started.

Monday was unbelievably windy. I was so thankful to be inside working next to my pretty Christmas tree.

I have made zero attempt to clean up my leaves this fall. My front yard doesn't have any trees and doesn't get a lot of stray leaves in it. My backyard was a sea of leaves. My mom and I were going to attempt to tackle the leaf situation, but decided to pay to have it done. Such a good decision.

My family room is quickly becoming my favorite room in the house. I finished decorating my tree on Wednesday and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. And I love my tree collar from Crate and Barrel.

It was a very quiet Thanksgiving for me this year. It was just me and my mom. I made mini pumpkin pies, which turned out very yummy!

With a Grateful Heart

Reflections on Thanksgiving

Reflections on Thanksgiving

Reflections on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving For One

So I thought I was hosting Thanksgiving this year. I wrote about it, planned for it, maybe even stressed a little over it. Well, it turned out that my plans were all in vain. My brother and his family were supposed to come and they were not able to make the trip. And my mom decided to stay home as well since she was on vacation for 2 weeks in November. It actually may have worked out better because western Pennsylvania was supposed to get a bad snow storm that turned out to be less climactic than was predicted.

Last weekend, we went to my mom's house instead. I thought we were going to have Thanksgiving dinner there. Wrong again. We did go out to dinner, but it wasn't Thanksgiving. I wanted turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.  I love Thanksgiving food!

Since everything changed, I decided that just because I wasn't going to be with my immediate family didn't mean that I couldn't have Thanksgiving. I could have gone to another family member's house, but to be honest, I just didn't want to. So being my independent self, I made Thanksgiving just for me!

I obviously wasn't going to making some 12 pound turkey, so I bought a turkey breast roast. Something I could easily manage and I found a crock pot recipe!

My mom bought me brussel sprouts, since I have had a little bit of a craving for them since eating them in NYC. I was also given a  butternut squash by my mom's neighbor. 

My stuffing didn't turn out and my potatoes were barely on the right side of eating, so they weren't that great, either. I didn't have a pie crust and my lazy self was not about to go out and buy one. I had all the stuff to make my own but I don't have a pie pan. I made a crustless pumpkin pie. I am not a huge crust lover, but there is something about an actual pumpkin pie that would have made it taste better. 

All in all, it was a pretty good day even though I was by myself. The one bad thing is that the cook has to clean up her own kitchen!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Traditions - Old and New

Is anyone else as shocked as I am that Thanksgiving is next month?!? Where has the year gone?

This year will be my first year hosting Thanksgiving. I am actually really excited about it. This is also my niece's first Thanksgiving. Even though she won't remember it, I want it to be extra special for everyone. For me, Thanksgiving is about togetherness. There happens to be delicious food, too!

Because my extended family is large and very extended, it was usually just my immediate family - dad, mom, brother - for Thanksgiving dinner when we were young. As a family of four, we didn't have too many solid traditions. We did the whole turkey and stuffing thing, but it wasn't formal. We varied our routine a couple of times and celebrated the holiday with other families, but it was never the same. My brother and I still complain about some bad stuffing we had close to 20 years ago. Apparently, we do not like change and are very picky about our stuffing.

As my brother and I got into high school, my parents started inviting other families over for dessert and munchies later in the evening on Thanksgiving Day. It became a tradition. We looked forward to spending time with our friends. Unfortunately, we haven't continued it as my brother and I moved out on our own.

Since the festivities will be at my house this year, I am planning on incorporating some of the same things that we always do, like the stuffing, but also put my own spin on things - make my own traditions. I want everyone to know why I am thankful for them. I will be sharing how I am going to do that in the coming weeks.

What are your Thanksgiving traditions?