What are you Gifting?

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.  We decorate our houses and turn our attention to reaching out and loving others.  Charities thrive, retailers depend on it and for most of us we get to feel connected with our universe of friends for a short glimpse of time. 

Some of us have shopped all year long and enjoy the month without skipping a beat.  For others, it is a bit stressful with the outpouring of cash that accompanies the extra parties, food drives, gift exchanges, Salvation Army buckets, and usual gift giving.  It’s time to think back.  I challenge you to think back on two or three of your favorite Christmas seasons of the past.  What do you remember?  Why were they memorable? 

Most likely you will remember something special you did that year, the people and the events that surrounded Christmas.  For me it’s a lot about the memories that are created with a magical theme of Christmas Eve and all the excitement preparing for the annual Christmas Eve get together. 

Reflections on Black Friday

It’s that time again when we are bombarded with Black Friday deals and the stores entice us all to “buy into” the season of giving.  Although Black Friday does offer fantastic deals to those who get there first, it is disappointing that the deals started at midnight.  This just leads people away from family gatherings to camp out even earlier to get the deals.  At some point you have to decide if it’s worth it to you. 

For me the fun of Black Friday is gone.  Don't get me wrong.  No one loves a deal more than me but nothing compares to spending time with those you love.  Thanksgiving should not be rushed.  It will be interesting to see how Americans react to the new shift of Black Friday strategies.  For me……I’ll take my chances that a deal can be had at a later date. 

The Importance of Gratitude

I have a gratitude journal that I write in everyday.  I find that it keeps me grounded and focused on the positive.  No matter how grim a day may be, there are always glimpses of the day I can smile about. My goal is to write down 5 things I am either thankful for or find happiness in each and every day.  Over the year I do give myself permission to repeat a few.  Especially on days that are particularly rough.   The journal can be as detailed or as general as I see fit each particular day.  I look forward journaling every evening before bed. 

Many people make it a habit of taking the month of November to reflect on something they are thankful for.  With all the talk of the economy which is constantly bombarding us, it is a great time to turn around our focus to what we have instead of what we have not.  I decided to share a list of 30 reasons I am thankful or grateful.  Perhaps you will find enjoyment and peace starting your own gratitude journal. 

1. For a comfy bed with covers to keep me warm at night.
2. $10 off days at the grocery store
3. For the love of cooking
4. My education
5. Outdoor fire pits
6. Local stores that sell spices in bulk
7. For a car that is reliable
8. Beautiful skies
9. For discovering wonderful second hand stores
10. The St. Louis Zoo
11. Healthy eyes
12. Healthy ears
13. Antibiotics
14. The Internet
15. Creative talents
16. Music
17. Perennial plants
18. A fantastic family
19. Wonderful parks and hiking trails
20. The United States Post Office (Snail Mail!)
21. The library
22. Being able to help others on an ongoing basis
23. Clean dishes
24. My overall health
25. Soccer, Wrestling, Tennis, Volleyball, Baseball, Skating, Softball
26. School Spirit
27. Having a great place to go to work.
28. Craft supplies at hand
29. The ability to sew
30. Being surrounded by great people

The Library

I have always been one to use the library but really more on a sporadic basis than regularly.  Any time I went to look at the movies, I was less than inspired to pick one up and bring one home.  At the same time, we don’t usually go to the theatre to see the new releases so I do not always keep up with the current movies.  Of course, this was the same for the top selling books.  As usual, people do not change their habits overnight but the fact that our local movie store, which we had an online subscription, closed forced me to make a change.  Not really wanting to drive to return movies or exchange them at the next nearest location, I started wondering if I could be happy renting movies online, from a kiosk or from the library.

My preferred choice was the library since movies could be checked out for 7 days as opposed to 24 hours and the price was right.   It just so happened that the Oscars were on TV so I started with that bit of information.  The next day, I did a search on the Oscar winners and compiled a list of movies for my wish list. 

I logged into the library and did a search on these movies only to find that they did not have most of them.  What I did find out was that there is a section on the website called upcoming DVD’s which are DVD’s on order and how many they will receive.  I quickly found about three fourths of the movies on my list and requested them on line.  To put things in perspective, I may be the 500-700^th person in a queue for these movies but many times the library was receiving 80-120 copies. 

At the same time,

Garage Sale Happiness

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Last year I salivated when a family member added a Cuisinart food processor to her kitchen.  Just looking at the video on it (yes, there is a video) would make anyone envious.  Oh the wonderful delicacies that would be coming out of her kitchen.  That video caught my attention and made me dream about the one day I would be able to justify a similar purchase.  I gave it 24 hours, well maybe 48 or 72 and then I decided that I was just caught up in the moment and I really could do without it in the short term.  In reality, I just needed a chopper/slicer contraption since my previous chopper bit the dust about 4 months earlier.  What I really wanted was to make my kitchen slicing and dicing more efficient.  To my benefit, Black Friday was just around the corner so I scoured the papers and found a great mini chopper and slicer offered for a mere $22 dollars with a $10 rebate.  It doesn’t get much better than that so I made sure I was up early to get this gem.  My life improved immediately after this purchase and in my own little way I felt I had it all (and I blocked that Cuisinart video out of my memory).  I managed to love what I had even if it meant it wasn’t a contraption that did everything imaginable while holding large amounts of delicious creations its bowl eliminating the step of emptying the container and starting over to finish a job. 

I have reflected on how content I was and have managed to be after the purchase of my own little food processor purchase.  Nothing extravagant but it managed to help me create many of wonderful dishes.  The only thing was that it would not julienne carrots so I started a quest of what I needed to accomplish this.  A mandolin they say.  Of course I immediately put it on a wish list and for mother’s day, I was the proud owner of a mandolin that was sure to make my life even better.

Fast forward……….Three months later,

Gas prices are killing me……or are they?

There is definitely an upside to gas prices.  They have reached a point where one thinks before hopping in the car for any one trip.  Some people carpool, some decide not to take vacations as far away or as often.  Many trips are delayed and combined with another planned trip.  We may decide to stop on our way home from work at a store that is in the route instead of making a special trip.  Our household has started encouraging the use of bikes on a regular basis or walking to places close by.  These ideas were not part of our everyday vocabulary before rise in gas prices.  Upside number 1 is we have learned to be greener due to our awareness of how dependent we are on our gas guzzling cars.

I am a walker and have been for years.  I regularly take 3 to 5 mile walks with our dog Sammy.  Rarely, however, did I walk out of necessity.  It was for my health and to get Sammy out of our house which always makes for a better dog.  With gas prices, I started to rethink this.  Can I find common ground in getting in my exercise and running errands and sometimes take the dog as well to satisfy that requirement?  The answer is YES! 

Of course there are times that having a dog with you can be a problem.  Like going to the store for an item or the library without someone to wait outside with the dog for a minute or two.  After a little thought, I learned to be creative.  Is anyone in the family going that way for anything else?  I grab the dog, hop in the car and get dropped off.   I return my books, grab the ones waiting on the shelf for me, grab the dog from the car and walk home.  My family goes on their merry way and I have saved the earth and walked 3 extra miles in the process. (and on a new route that keeps things interesting)  If my car needs an oil change, I just drop off the car and walk home.  When done, I walk back and pick it up.  All of a sudden I am ashamed to think of all the times I felt like I had to have a car.   We are fortunate enough to live within 1-3 miles of a fair number of grocery and department stores as well as the post office.   This is truly a gift that should not be overlooked!

Cabinet Inspiration

We have all been there.  There’s nothing in the house to eat either healthy or not healthy.  A trip to the grocery store is way over due and the family is grumbling.  The truth is that you don’t feel like shopping.  True, things look pretty grim around here but upon taking a second glance I find some treasures.  Marshmallows never used that were bought for a chocolate fondue.   Rice Krispies cereal that someone thought they wanted and then promptly decided it was not for them now just sits in the cabinet and probably will be for another year.  Wahlah!  What do I need for rice krispie treats?  These two ingredients plus butter.  I have it!  And thus we have some great junk food on hand totally unplanned for the week.  We are happy campers. 

After this revelation, I am reminded that we are out of wheat bread and it is critical to get to the store before the week starts because a day without wheat bread is a day without sunshine to some in my household.  Wait a minute…….Hold on……..I remember that I have wheat flour in the basement.  It’s something I bought a while back when I was totally inspired to make some wheat pita.  I know I bought everything I needed way back when but when was that?  Is it expired?  Can it still be used?  My objective isn’t to kill us all off.  To my delight, I find I am within the limits of the “its’safe to eat” status and I decide to play Martha Stewart for the day.  Oh, how fun it is this to be able to whip up a batch of wheat pita.  Wow!  Why didn’t I do this before?  It is totally simple and something I will do again especially since I have all the ingredients that are not used in any of my other recipes that I know of.  The recipe can be found on this blog and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Wheat Pita recipe

I’m out of time but I am sure to look for and report future occurrences of cabinet inspiration.  This I am sure because it’s like winning the lottery and we all know what a rush that can be.  I am thankful for the perception that our cupboard was bare.