First, I need to let you know that not everyone is going to get a car at the end of this post. Actually, no one is. Just sayin'... But I would like to share some of my favorite things today. Things I'm thankful for.
This isn't meant to be an all inclusive list, and certainly not everything listed shares equal "importance," as you'll soon see. These are just things that––as I've gone about my business this last week––I've taken more thought of. I guess you could say I'm trying to be more thankful for what I usually take for granted.To that end...
I'm thankful for my BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) study on Acts, and and I'm grateful to our own Robin (and to Francine Rivers) for encouraging me to commit to this. It's changed my life. God's Word will do that. And I'm grateful to Kristen, my BSF Leader, for leading our group with such grace and wit.I'm grateful for my family, as you would guess. But I'm specifically grateful for how we laugh together, the witty comebacks we share, the "family jokes" that have taken years and years to come up with, and that we all remember and pull out at opportune moments. There's nothing better than someone who really knows you, and yet loves you anyway.
I'm grateful for this lamp. Grateful for a lamp, you ask? Yep. This is an "adjustable light" torchère lamp that sat on a table just outside my mom and dad's bedroom in their last home in Atlanta. Every night, Mom would dial this lamp to low and it would act as a nightlight (fancy nightlight!) to their home.
And each night as I reach around to the side and turn the lamp on in our home, and as I dial it to low before I head to bed, I think of Mom, and I whisper a prayer of gratitude that God gave her to me for as long as He did here, and that she's waiting for me there, praying me Home.
The next thing I'm grateful for is yogurt. I warned you that the seriousness level would be all over the board. But I really do love the Kroger brand of lite yogurt, especially with some Special K mixed in. And you can't beat the price!
Next is my rice cooker from Costco. LOVE THIS THING! We used to eat a ton of white potatoes but since Joe was diagnosed with diabetes earlier in the year, we've had to change our "lifestyle diet," and moving to brown rice was a must.
However, I loathe cooking rice on the stove because you have to watch it. I like independent food. Food that you can tell what to do, walk away from it, only to return later and find it done. Purchasing this (under $30) rice cooker has changed my life! And Joe's blood sugar. Love it.
Next… I'm grateful for wine glasses. I'm not a huge fan of wine but I love drinking from wine glasses. So several years back I started drinking my every day sweet iced tea with lemon from a wine glass. It's pretty. It's fun, and I like how the condensation runs down the stem. (Oversharing alert?)
And I'm grateful for Jack... The love of a pet is so precious. I can run out to check the mail, and when I come back in you'd think I'd been to Haiti and back. What is it about our precious pets that makes them love us so? Whatever it is, I'm grateful.
And I'm grateful for you gals too. I love our banter, our joking, and the way you all encourage each other. Even though I may not comment on a certain day, I'm always reading your comments. And smiling.
Catherine (DaCosta), thanks again for coming last Thursday night to the booksigning at the Belmont Mansion, and for sharing your picture of us (since Joe messed up mine, LOL). It was so good to see you, and I look forward to getting together and "exploring" after the first of the year.
With a heart full to overflowing, and wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving,
Tammy
P.S. Lest you think I'm not baking this week, I am. Angie Hunt and I will post the results of our Thanksgiving Dessert Bake-off on Wednesday!
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It's 7:53 on Tuesday night and I'm about to watch the season finale of Dancing with the Stars, and I wish you were all here. I'd share my warm-from-the-oven Southern Plate Old-Fashioned Blackberry Cobbler... I'd even give Judy a bite. But just a bite...
Number 1, I LOVE drinking from wine glasses as well! We don't drink wine at all (but love our sparkling cider or grape juice), but I like the idea of drinking our tea from the wine glass :-) May have to incorporate it! lol
ReplyDeleteThe lamp that was your mom's...yeah, I got a little choked up reading your reminiscing. :-) *hugs*
Rice cooker? Sure! We have a cooker and steamer, but are finding that the rice keeps turning out too moist. May be time to invest in a rice cooker alone instead of a combination cooker/steamer. We've also tried switching to more whole grains (including pasta and rice), and we feel more full and that there's more to it than with the white rice or regular pasta. Glad that it's helping Joe's blood sugar!
Jack is absolutely adorable! :-) I would love a little one like him...Erik wants a "BIG DOG" (Imagine holding your hands apart to show size and dropping your voice a little...that's how Erik voices it!)...not sure I'll get my little dog. Plus we refuse to have a dog until we get a house, so that puts us a ways out.
And, to end my novel, you are very welcome with the picture! (By the way, it's DaCosta, not DeCosta ;-) ). It was wonderful to see you, meet some new people, and to explore the Belmont. Erik and I definitely need to get over there before Christmas and take a tour! :-) Can't wait for us to "explore" together!
Have a wonderful day, everyone. It's going to be busy over here with it being the last day before Thanksgiving break. Prayers for productivity in the schools *snort* are appreciated!
Wow...I did write a novel...sorry guys!!
ReplyDeleteLOL, Catherine. Loved reading your novel and so sorry about misspelling your name. Got it, DaCosta! [Will change that : )]
ReplyDeleteI can hear Eric saying that about a "big dog," too. Joe wanted a BIG DOG years ago so we got a Doberman. Bekah. She was the sweetest thing. But HUGE! So when it came time to get another dog, "we voted" (well, mainly I voted) for *small* this time and I love having a small dog. Much easier. Jack's not a yapper either. Just a great little mellow dog.
Have fun at the Belmont Mansion!
Tam! How great it is, to be thankful for small mercies (and some not so small.)
ReplyDeleteI am so in love with my dishwasher.....NOT just the machine, but the two legged one too. He is worth his weight in gold!!!
I'm with you on the rice cooker, I use mine all the time and wouldn't be without it! I hate cleaning up a "gluey" mess, especially on my stove top ! :)
I am also very grateful to our Canadian and American friends....Our Canadian friends are here with us at the moment and we are having such FUN together.
Last, but by no means LEAST, I want to thank you all, for your caring, support, and friendship with all you ladies.
I do so enjoy a FUN time with you ALL!
Blessings to you all.:)
Rosie
Love that "two-legged dishwasher" comment, Rosie. Too funny. Blessings on the time you're sharing with your Canadian friends. Soak it up! Times like that are precious!
ReplyDeleteFun list! :) And I love drinking out of wine glasses too. I just hosted a Pampered Chef party and we made Italian sodas and put them in wine glasses. So fun! (So easy too...fill cup with ice and club soda, then add 1/4 cup of flavored syrup--I used raspberry--and 1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream. Adjust flavoring depending on how big your wine glasses are. Mine are decently sized.)
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm also grateful for the years I had with the best mom in the world! Miss her lots, especially around the holidays, but so grateful we'll meet again in Heaven someday.
Fun post! I love yogurt, too. Lemon is one of my favs! I splurge on the Dannon yogurt...I love the whipped kind.
ReplyDeleteWe had a rice cooker when I lived in Thailand...a must in Asia! Jasmine rice is my favorite...so good...but I like brown rice, too. Sticky rice...mmm. Can't you make other things in rice cookers? It seems like I've seen recipes for that...maybe? : )
I must also say that I LOVE my Kindle. You introduced me to the free Kindle for PC and I loved that...then my parents got me a Kindle for my birthday this year. I take it everywhere! I have a version of the Bible on there along with devotions, cookbooks, and some great fiction, so I take it to church, Bible study, and on the road. A book lover's dream! : )
Hope you have a great Thanksgiving! Blessings~Stacey
Tammy, no worries about the mis-spelling. It happens all the time! I had no idea that when we got married, when trying to tell people how to spell my name, I would go from "Tyson, like the chicken" to "D as in dog, A as in apple, C..." etc!!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear Jack's not a yipper...that's why Erik doesn't want a small dog. I showed him the cute picture you posted, and he was like "ummm, yeah" to which I responded with "*sigh* yeah, I know...yipper..." :-( But if I give my cute faces enough, maybe he'll cave! lol!
And ladies, hearing your stories about your parents makes my heart break. I can't imagine life without my parents. Extra tight hugs to all of you!!
LOVED this post, Tammy (and the photos). And I love how you're always so open and share with all of us (which is one reason this blog remains my all-time FAVORITE blog*smile*).~ As Catherine did, I also got choked up reading about your precious Mom's lamp...such a sweet reminder of her for you each evening. ~ Speaking of Catherine, that picture is great!! ~ And you know I'm with you on our love of family and pets---oh my! Cannot imagine my life without my kiddos or kitties! ~ I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Love, Patti Jo (who is heading to the kitchen to get a wine glass filled with water and lemon *grin*)
ReplyDeleteLoved the list, Tammy--and though it was hard to believe, there was not one snarky remark in there. I think you must have been afraid that halo would slip into the pumpkin pie. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteLindsay, I'm going to have to try that recipe. I love Italian Sodas. Wish I had some flavoring so I could make them tonight for the DWTS finale. But alas, I'm going to have to make do with Christy Jordan's Southern Plate recipe for Blackberry Cobbler. Oh my...looks delicious. Yum!!! Looks like my grandmother's, and I hope it tastes like it too. Will let you know!
ReplyDeleteCool on that Kindle, Stacey! I love mine too. I'm going to have to check out Jasmine Rice. Never had that, and I love trying new things.
Catherine, I pray you have many, many years yet with your sweet parents. I can tell you already cherish them both! : )
And drink up, Patti Jo! I'm raising my glass in cheers to you, lady. And to your kids. But not your kitties. Jack won't let me.
And Judy, Judy, Judy... Trying to stir up trouble where there's nothin' but Southern sweetness and love... Tsk, tsk, tsk... Just for that, I'm calling you during DWTS tonight!
:) This post was great...candid, real and utterly fun! It was great to kick back and take a load off with MY iced green lemon ginseng tea in a wine glass. Spooky, really-- that you love drinking things out of wine glasses as I was sipping my own honey-sweetened brew.
ReplyDeleteHope you ALL have a fabulous Thanksgiving (and if you're a Black Friday shopper, I wish you luck!)
Boy! Am I late commenting today or WHAT??? I had an "In-service" meeting today in school and it lasted most of the morning...so no time at break to check in with "my ladies".
ReplyDeleteBut I enjoyed reading your post Tammy and all the comments...LOVED your things you're grateful for. I can concur on 3 of them: Grateful for my late mom's vintage framed Rose prints I have hanging im my bedroom...when I see them I always think of what a warm and cozy home she gave us...she was a great mom and Imiss her so much! 2) I'm thankful for my little chihuahua Bruno, (what a character)whom the Lord is using to teach me about unconditional love(Bruno loves me no matter how much I scold him)...and 3)I'm grateful for beautiful wine glasses. I do not drink alcoholic beverages, but LOVE pretty glasses and have some really pretty ones that I drink out of (My favorite drink being half cranberry juice and half ginger-ale). Looks pretty in the glass and seems to taste better in it! ;-)
May you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving and to all you ladies that read this, the same to you and yours!
Cheers!
Veronica
I think it's a great idea to sit and list our favorite things once in a while. I wonder if they would change much from year to year. I also love wine glasses. I don't drink, but I like to treat myself by drinking my diet soda out of a wine glass....are we silly? And the dog? Ive been sooo tempted lately to adopt a Yorkie. I need to lie down until the feeling goes away!
ReplyDeleteLOL, Meghan, so funny that you had your drink in your hand as you were reading. Iced green lemon ginseng tea, huh? Adding that to my list.
ReplyDeleteAnd Veronica, half cranberry juice, half gingerale. I already know I'm gonna love that one! Wish we could have a play date with Bruno and Jack. What fun!
That made me laugh, Jan! But honestly, Jack (who's a Silky, which is very close to a Yorkie) is such a great dog. Not yappy at all. So mellow and sweet. Love him! Now hurry! Get up and go buy one before the feeling passes! ; )
Holy cow, I've known you for 10 years now and knew we had a LOT in common, but never knew drinking our tea out of wine glasses was one of them. And I'm loving all these new ideas for what to put in my wine glasses (that have never had wine in them.) Right now my favorite is a Christmas-tree etched wine glass that was an Arbys giveaway years ago. I have a set of 3. : }
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Tammy. MUCH to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving, Tammy. Enjoyed your post. I'm thankful for you and all my friends who have been praying me through . . . Hugs.
ReplyDeletetoo funny!!
ReplyDelete"I like independent food. Food that you can tell what to do, walk away from it, only to return later and find it done."
Happy Thanksgiving! I am going to have to get a long-stemmed glass!
Are you sure you don't want us to try out a car for you? Wouldn't it to be fun to try one from Belmont days?
lanehillhouse[at]centurylink[dot]net
Are you kiddin' me, Deb!? You do that too? A-mazing how many of us do this. Just makes it special! ;)
ReplyDeleteDebbie, praying for your back, lady, and for you as you finish this next book. Looking forward to reading it!
And Lane Hill House, thanks for visiting today! and yes, grab a long stem glass and join us!