Thankful.

I think it would be safe to assume I have made myself a humble pie and eaten the entire thing in the last two weeks.

I like Thanksgiving, because it makes several people take just a small amount of time out of their lives to realize the things that they are truly thankful for, and we can all find something. On the other hand, I sort of have the same feelings towards this notion as I do Valentine's Day. Why do we dedicate a single day of the year to make ourselves realize that we are thankful or to show our love just a little more? And I am guilty on both accounts. Every single one of us can find something to be grateful for every day of the year-I encourage you to speak out about it. If nothing else, you may encourage others to think along the same lines. There are a lot of problems in our world, but having everyone be gracious, thankful, and humble wouldn't be one of them.

Last weekend, we made a rather large grocery run and I found myself frustrated when we got home and I had nowhere to put everything in the pantry or the refrigerator. At that moment, I felt so selfish and so ungrateful. I stood there for quite some time thinking about all the people who don't have the means to buy any groceries, let alone to buy so many that they have trouble finding a home for them. I seem to find people out shopping that are just a sight to see-people that are in such a rush to finish shopping and get home, even if that means yanking their child by the arm and screaming at them, snapping at their husband/partner, or just generally being rude towards any and all. I am certainly guilty of not always being chipper, but situations like this make me realize how thankful I am that I didn't grow up in a home like that and that my children won't either. While these things make me so sad to witness, they always end up in me smiling down at my sweet girl and thanking God for her, her health, and her happiness.

I hosted Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. Let me correct myself-Jimmy and I hosted Thanksgiving. I skipped out and went shopping for a good eight hours on Wednesday (Christmas shopping is about DONE) and he had finished up both turkeys, dusted, swept, and mopped all of the floors when I got home! The food dishes we had turned out excellent-which is good given that I had never made most of them. I know this is usually a definite no no to try new recipes on company, but seriously, do things ever go wrong with Paula Deen?!

And because of Paula Deen (or not..) day one of Mission: Lose 15 pounds starts today. Maybe that was the reason I didn't want to get out of bed. Diet today (portion control, lifestyle change-whatever they are calling it these days), pilates tonight. Good bye, belly for 2010?! Lets hope.

And while I am certainly not thankful for the belly fat I have, it does mean that I have plenty to eat, and that is something I am thankful for. That, and my wonderful family and friends, a supportive and amazing husband, a beautiful, healthy baby girl who lights up my life every single day, a home that we can call our own, the ability to stay home with Ruby because of a great job that Jimmy has, our educations, our health, and so much more.

In the meantime, we are getting our Christmas tree and putting up our decorations today!! I'll find a Christmas movie to put on, make some peppermint mocha coffee, and we can decorate until our home resembles a holiday extravaganza.

Ask me how I feel about fighting the baby and the decorations by the time Christmas comes. Ha!