Thanksgiving Memories

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and this really starts the time of year that is my utmost favorite! I remember growing up and how we would celebrate Thanksgiving. We would always have a family breakfast at the table, dad, grandpa, grandma and me in a circle around the table eating one of my grandmothers wonderful breakfasts. They weren't 5 star restaurant meals, but they were better than any 5 star dinner I have had, because my grandmother made it. There would be home made "nibblies" as my dad would call them (your every day chex party mix), but not made in a microwave like the box directions tell you, but baked for an hour in the oven, lovingly stirred every 15 minutes so they cooked evening. Dad and I would plop down on the couch while grandpa would find his favorite "napping" place in his AND MY favorite papasan chair to watch the traditional Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was paradise for me growing up, just snuggled in the arms of my daddy singing along with the Broadway songs with my grandpa as they played out during the parade.
Grandma was always catching up on her diary and starting the wonderful Thanksgiving day meal that was to come later in the afternoon. The smells in the house were so abundant, but so wonderful. How I wish I could wake up tomorrow morning, come out to the living room (now filled with boxes for our move) and see that scene, including grandma and grandpa of course, and smell those heavenly smells.
Many times we would have friends or distant family over for the Thanksgiving meal, and those were always fun too. With grandpa being a retired preacher, it seemed like people who weren't technically our family were still family and always welcome at our table.

On particular Thanksgiving, the four of us rented a Dodge Caravan (early 80s) and drove from our home in Orlando, FL to my great-grandmothers house (grandpa's mother) in Vermont. It was a long drive, but it was one of the best Thanksgivings I can remember. She had no idea we were coming and boy was she surprised. With all the families together that year there must have been about 40 gathered around the table, with lots of laughs and tears and love and thanks, which is just what Thanksgiving is about! Grandpa made a brief stop in New York City on the way back home, so brief that he dropped my dad and I off at a light and let us walk around as he drove around the city waiting on us. We went into Macy's (boy what a store, and the holiday scenes in their windows were simply amazing and of course beautiful), we made a pit stop into Radio City Music Hall so I could see where the "Rockets" danced, and checked out a few things in between. I do remember that it was so crowded with people in taxis and many just walking the streets and sidewalks. As a young girl, you can bet my dad had a good strong hold onto my hand. I just couldn't believe how many people were out at one time, but I also though, "man, what an amazing place!"

Back then, and even today our Christmas tree was NEVER up this early, and years ago, you never saw anyone's trees up this early...we actually would wait until AFTER Thanksgiving. Wow, what a concept, huh? Our family (my dad and I that is) still wait to put the tree up until the first week in December.

This Thanksgiving I am just so thankful for so many blessings, even though this has been one of the hardest years I have had to face, with the miscarriages, and struggles, and uncertainty, I still feel so incredibly blessed. Blessed for the love of an amazing husband, who loves like nothing I could have ever imagined to receive. Blessed with a marriage like my precious grandparents had for 64 years. Blessed with the best father a girl could ever ask for, and a relationship with him that just grows stronger with each passing year. Blessed with a great extended (in-law) family who is so incredibly dear to my heart. Blessed with amazing memories with two of the best people ever to walk the earth, who helped raise me into the woman I am today, but most importantly, for the love that the Lord shows me every day, even when I am really un-loveable it seems. I'm so thankful for his grace and mercy and for his forgiveness when I falter and fail as a human, and for lifting me up and walking beside me through some of the darkest times of my life. I also thank him for putting that girl, Linda, in my path today. I needed that conversation, and to hear someone, some stranger that doesn't know what I have gone through simply say, "I will pray for you"... I needed that more than I knew.

Grandpa and Grandma have since joined the other angels in heaven, but as they look down on this earth and watch me from heavens windows, I hope and pray that they are proud of the woman, daughter, wife and person I have grown into. I thank them for all the wonderful memories, not just of Thanksgiving, or Christmas....but for all the memories that flood my mind. I cherish each and every one of them.

I had hoped to have a "thanksgiving" picture to share of grandma, grandpa, dad and me...but with the packing to move bit, well...let's just say it is put up and won't be seen until we are moved and the unpacking begins. So...I had a picture on my computer already of my grandparents, though I thought I would share that.

I pray everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with amazing memories!!!

Packing Packing Packing

Is there any little packing elves hiding anywhere that you have seen? They really need to come back to me and finish what we have started!

In two weeks it will be Thanksgiving. In two weeks we will be getting ready to head to Florida to set sail on the beautiful Crown Princess cruise ship in Ft. Lauderdale.

The day after we return from our cruise we will be moving to our new townhome. So...I'm not only having to pack for our trip, I am having to get this apartment packed up so that it will be ready for the movers when we return. In other words....I'm kind of overwhelmed.

I am really looking forward to the new place...it's more space and it is in the area we would really like to be in...BUT I TRULY HATE TO MOVE!

I should be so excited about our upcoming vacation, but instead I am concentrating on the move and making sure that everything is taken care of before we can start that vacation. Movers have to be set up, more boxes have to be picked up, clothes have to be packed, apartment needs to be cleaned, the list just goes on and on.

Anyway, either way I will be ready....I HAVE TO BE READY!

In Need of Fun

So, this week Ken and I have been trying to decide what to do this weekend to have some fun and enjoy time together. We had originally had a quick thought of going to Nashville for the weekend and go to an Opry show, check out the famous bars on Broadway and add a trip to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Although the hotel rates were really good, the drive from Charlotte to Nashville is about 6 1/2 hours...so, we kind of nixed that idea. Besides, with the cruise coming up, we want to save as much as we can so that we can really have a good time on that vacation.
We then had planned on going to the NC State Fair which is held in Raleigh and started up yesterday. Easton Corbin was suppose to be in concert Saturday night, but just as we were getting ready to purchase advanced tickets online, Ken got a tweet (yes, he is following the NC State Fair) that Easton Corbin had cancelled his show due to illness. So, we kind of had a change of heart with that plan as well, since it is a 3 1/2 hour trip to Raleigh.
Finally, we made the decision to go to the SC State Fair which is in Columbia and is only a 1 1/2 hour trip and can be done in one day. We won't have to pay a pet sitter or get a hotel...so more money saved!
Ken has never been to a state fair, so I know he is looking forward to that experience. I'm just looking forward to having a day away from this apartment, where all I think about is..."well, today I would have been 8 weeks" and watching a the boring old tv.
I'm hoping for a day of sunshine, smiles, laughs, fair food, maybe a ride or two, Ken being the "man" and winning some games just to show me he knows how to beat the "system" and making some good memories again.

On another note, I've started with some changes since last week...first of which was a hair cut and color. Pretty drastic actually since I cut several inches off my hair and went quite a bit darker than I was. I will try to post some pictures of before and after on Sunday...as well as a recap of our day at the fair.

Come on brain...make a decision already!

I don't know if it's because of the multitude of things scrambling around in my brain or that I'm truly on the verge of depression or what...but I just can't make a decision to save my life lately. For the past several days, Ken and I have been trying to decide on doing something this weekend. Something to just get out of the house and not focus on what we have gone through in the past week or so. We've been trying to decide whether to go to Myrtle Beach for the weekend, go to Raleigh for the NC State Fair, to go to Columbia, SC for the SC State Fair or maybe even something else. Of course my wonderful husband wants the decision to be up to me, so that I am happy with whatever we do...but truly, it seems like I have NO opinion as to what we do. I do know that I don't want to stay in this house, but what is it I want to do?
Just when we had thought about doing the NC State Fair, last night we saw on twitter that the guy we were hoping to see in concert at the fair cancelled due to vocal problems. It is a 3 1/2 hour trip to the fair, and we would have to get a hotel for Saturday night so we wouldn't have to drive all the way home late at night, which means we would also need to have our pet sitter come in and care for the dogs as well.
The idea of going to the beach really didn't appeal to me because it is "off season" so nothing is really open or going on down that way. There are some good shows and theaters down there, but...they aren't cheap shows either (roughly $50/person). And, I've been to Myrtle Beach a few times...I don't want to just walk through shops and sit in a hotel room.
So, we finally made the decision that the SC State Fair is what we will be doing this weekend. It is close enough where we can do it in a day trip, so no hotel and not pet sitter (cost savings) and it is something that the two of us have not done together...a state fair.
Ken is determined that he is going to be winning me some "stuffed animals"...how cute, but we will see how good he really is at these games. It sounds funny, but the one thing I'm looking forward to is the awesome fair food! Who truly doesn't love a funnel cake, or cotton candy, or corn dogs or any of the other things you can't get on a normal day? The funny thing about that is I have been telling myself since my realization that I was no longer pregnant, that I was going to be busting my butt at the gym and dieting to get more in shape (thanks to the horrible fertility medications) and be prepared for our cruise. I'm talking about dieting and losing weight, and yet I'm getting excited about having fair food.

Anyway, I'm praying that I will find the motivation to get into the gym tonight and hopefully stay focused. Depression is a horrible thing, and I'm so over having it hang over my head. Of course, it's dreary and rainy here today...that doesn't help matters at all.