more thankfulness

I love the month of November, and not just because of my birthday. I love how so many people take the time to reflect on the things they are thankful for, and not just on Thanksgiving.

Here are some more things I am thankful for....

My sister, Becca
As you can see in the picture I was thrilled to have a little sister. As a child I wished for a brother and I would often get frustrated with Becca and tell her or my parents that she was not what I had wished for. Well as always God knows what He is doing. Although I haven't always appreciated her like I should, I am thankful for having Becca as my sister. It amazes me the difference in our relationship over the past couple of years. We get along a lot better. We understand each other. We are considerate of the other. We are friends. Growing up people would always tell us that one day we would be friends. I tried not to roll my eyes at that suggestion. I thought those people were crazy. I guess I was crazy for not believing. This past weekend we had our first road trip. We went to Starkville, Mississippi to cheer on Alabama as they played Mississippi State. I don't think we have ever spent that much time together just the two of us, and not only that but we didn't argue or fight. We got along very well. It was a great trip. And Bama won!

Doctors
Back at the end of June my mom had surgery on her knee. She had two tears in her meniscus. Well her knee never got better. She has been dependent upon crutches or a cane for 5 months. During this time she found out the bone in her leg was dying. She will have a partial knee replacement next month. Please keep her in your prayers. I am thankful for her doctor and all the people that will be taking care of her. I am thankful that we live in a time that she doesn't have to suffer with constant knee pain, but that she can get a partial new knee so she can live a pain free active life.

My Job
It is extremely exhausting. Physically and emotionally. I am thankful to have a job in a time when there are so many people who are jobless. I am thankful to teach at my school. I am thankful for my students even when they are challenging.

Veterans
I am thankful for the many men and women who give so much so I can live a nice life of freedom. I am very proud of my Dad for serving in the Army for 21 years. I am thankful for a much needed day off of work, too.

North Alabama Kappa Alpha Theta alumnae chapter
One of the things I am most thankful for is my sorority. I had an amazing time in college with amazing girls. A couple of summers ago I got an emails about some ladies trying to reestablish an alumnae chapter. I was struggling to find friends and have a life outside of school. So I went. I had fun but I was a little disappointed that the women involved were older than me. I was hoping for more people my age. Then I remembered that I did enjoy myself and the people that I was with. So I kept going and along the way I really started to like it. I am thankful for those women. I am thankful that I kept going or I would have missed out on some great friendships.

My friends in Madison
I struggled for a long time to make friends in Madison after I moved back. I had friends at school, but they were simply school friends. They weren't the kind of friends to go out to dinner with or go see a movie. They had husbands and kids to take care of. They are wonderful friends and I am very thankful for them. But I wanted more in my friendships. Then back in January I made the choice to get involved at church and find a Sunday school class. That Sunday school class led to joining a small group with other people my age. That led to new friends that I am thankful for.

My relationship with God
I feel like my relationship with God has changed tremendously over the past year. I have grown a lot. I have a better understanding of things. I have a greater sense of peace about my life.

I have a lot to be thankful for :)

thankfulness-friends

So the month of November is all about being thankful. So I thought I would list things I am thankful for. I would love to say that I would have a post per day. That is mighty ambitious, and I am more realistic. So I will just occasionally blog about things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for my friends. They are easily my favorite people. I always think of friends like the family you get to pick for yourself. This past weekend I was blessed to have a reunion with my friends which is just another reason to love weddings. I was able to see friends that I don't see all that often. My NYC buddy Meredith was back in the south and Meghan was in town from Dothan. Not only did I get to see all my favorite sorority sisters I got to see my friends from law school. I think it's funny that I have friends from law school, even though I didn't go to law school. My law school friends are really all of Rachel's law school friends that I was lucky enough to meet and hang out with during 3 seasons of football. I forgot just how charming Leland can be and how much fun hanging out with Chase can be. We went out after the wedding. Since it was Halloween and we were all in our wedding attire we took big lilies from the floral arrangement (after the wedding of course) and put them in our hair thus making us royal wedding guests. It was slightly entertaining and a little shocking to see what everyone else was wearing for Halloween. It was definitely a great weekend. I wish I had pictures to share, but I rarely think about taking pictures. So once some pop up on facebook I'll share here. Speaking of being thankful for friends I am really thankful for Ashley and how my birthday weekend is taking shape. As I have said before I am never really excited for my birthday. Part of me dreads my birthday, but not this year. This year my birthday falls on Saturday and the game of the century, Alabama versus LSU. Their #1 (for now) and we are #2. This game is huge not only for this year, but it is probably the biggest game in recent years. Ashley had sent me a message a few weeks ago inviting me down to stay with her while her husband Kyle was out of town. So we are going to get Mexican food and cupcakes (because she got me hooked on Dreamcakes in Homewood which has amazing cupcakes way better than Gigi's). Then on Saturday we are going to the Alabama game. Oh, and did I mention that Ashley has not one, but two degrees from Auburn? Yes, my Auburn loving friend is going with me to the Alabama game. She is also a football fan and promised not to cheer for LSU, because who really likes LSU anyways :)

Thanksgiving and Thankfulness (Yes, I realize it is December and this is long over due:)

I made an apple pie for Thanksgiving. I had extra dough so I used my turkey cookie cutter to decorate my pie. It was either decorate with the extra dough or eat it.

Confession: I did a little bit of both :)

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/12/p-p-p-pie_crust_and_its_p-p-p-perfect/

I use the Pioneer Woman's pie crust. It is delicious. I kinda want to make some just for the sake of eating it. It is that yummy! It is so good that I basically refuse to use any other recipe or premade crust.

There were four turkeys on my pie.

I also made a pecan pie, but I also added chocolate chips. I wanted it to be as good as the Derby pie (aka chocolate chip pecan pie, that is what it was called on the box) that Mrs. Barbra would buy for us in the Theta house. We always had Derby pie for special occasions like bid day, homecoming, and special chapters. It breaks my heart/stomach that they no longer serve Derby pie for homecoming. We have a new house mom, Ms. Kate, and sadly she doesn't know about the Derby pie.

I used this recipe http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/10/the-pie-thatll-make-you-cry/

Sadly, my pie didn't turn out too good. I kept reading the line about the pie shouldn't jiggle. So I kept checking it and putting it back. Well, I guess it got over cooked. The top part was too hard. Somehow the crust ended up in the middle, not the bottom. The ooey gooey part was on the bottom. I have no idea how that happened. Mom said I should have baked the pie crust for a little bit to prevent it from happening again. I told her and showed her where PW said it should be an unbaked pie crust. I was kinda bratty about it. I was irritated and aggrevated. I am sometimes a brat. I was an only child for almost seven years. That's when it all began. And I spend too much time with bratty kids. Am I trying to make excuses for my behavior? No. Just explaining.

I also made Southern Plate's macaroni and cheese. I waited too long to go buy groceries and there was no more macaroni noodles in the Publix brand, because I am cheap like that. So I got rotini noodles. It didn't turn out that great either. It was edible. I ate on it for the rest of the break. However, it didn't look as good as I wanted it too. I tried making it again a couple of days ago. I think I added too much cheese, more pepper than I prefer, and maybe too much milk. I am very particular about my mac and cheese. It wasn't too good then either. I think getting macaroni noodles is key. It just doesn't work well for rotini noodles.

These are my Christmas cookie cutters. There are 30 in there. It makes my heart happy. It has the turkey I used on my pie. I also had some sugar cookie dough frozen in my freezer that I used to make some turkey sugar cookies for some dear friends. I wanted them to know how thankful I am that God put them in my life. They came into my life two years ago, when my personal life was in a dark, ugly place. They were like sunshine to me. I was blessed to have Miss Z in my class that year. Her mom Q is an amazing Godly woman. I think she is fabulous. We both hoped that I would be blessed to have Miss K in my class this year. I guess God thought someone else should have the blessing of gettting to know this family so she is across the hall, but I get to see Miss K everyday and her great big smile. There are two more lovely kids in this family so I am crossing my fingers that our paths will cross once again.  

I also used the Christmas cookies to make cookies for everyone at my school. Yeah, you read that correctly. I said EVERYBODY at my school. I don't have a small school either. Luckily my favorite sugar cookie recipe made just enough.

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/dessert/recipe-best-cutout-sugar-cookies-038629

And I noticed the other day when I was printing out recipes that someone went back and changed the recipe for a smaller batch. You know like if you weren't making cookies for 80+ people. Not only did I make the cookies, but I iced and decorated the cookies, too. I was very tired. I took my little monkeys/Christmas elves around the school during recess (it was really cold outside) to pass them out to the teachers.

I got these Halloween cookie cutters after Halloween on sale. I think it was about $1.50. Good deals make me happy!

Things I am thankful for...(in no particular order)
1. God and my salvation. I don't deserve it, but I am thankful for it.
2. Friends. I have WONDERFUL, AMAZING friends. They love me for me. Friends are the family you pick for yourselves.
3. Family. I always love them. Sometimes I even like them, too! :)
4. My job. I have a wonderful job. The summer I was looking for a job was a difficult summer. I quickly moved home after graduation and into my 1st apartment 6 weeks later sans job. I never realized just how hard it is to find a job. I didn't realize just how many elementary education majors are out there. I only had a handful of interviews, which is more than most. **FYI being shy and nervous doesn't leave the greatest impression on potential employers.** I got my job on a Saturday. Open house was on Monday. School started on Tuesday. It was quite the whirlwind those first few weeks. I had a hard time remembering my name at the end of the day. Flash forward 4 years, I am still at the same school and in the same grade. I have no desire to change grades. The kids change. The requirements and demands change. The textbooks change. That is more than enough change for me. With the state being under pro ration and the local rezoning it is a miracle that I am still in first grade and at my school. The whole job search thing was a lesson in patience God was trying to teach me. I am not a patient person. I would get so discouraged and sad when I wouldn't get interviews or when the interviews didn't result in a job. However, God had a plan for me. His plan, like always, was much better than the plan I had made. I think he laughs every time I come up with a plan for my life. Seriously, I do.
back to my thankfulness list...(I am so ADD)
5. My apartment. I am thankful to be in a newer, nicer, and safer place. I have had a lot of fun decorating it. More pictures to come. My bank account is ready for it to be over.
6. I am thankful for my dishes and cooking supplies. Seriously, I am. Buying dishes and baking utensils makes my heart happy. I am looking forward to Christmas to see what else I get to add to my kitchen.
7. My North Alabama Kappa Alpha Theta alumnae group. They are an awesome group of women, and so much fun to be around. I need to do a post about our Christmas brunch later. I have it all planned out in my head. I just need to get it on the computer.
8. My car, Camy the Camry. She needs her own post too.
9. Bella, when she is not destroying things. She is a BIG lesson in patience.
10. Blogs. I love reading blogs. I love seeing how other people live. I love learning from others. I have recently spent way too much time reading blogs. On the upside, it inspired me to update today and be a better blogger.
11. Christmas! I love Christmas! My apartment has been decorated for Christmas for about a month.