NaBloPoMo 2010 Day 25 -- Giving Thanks

It's been a good day. We celebrated the day at my parents' house with a truckload of family! K-Man loved running around all day playing with "the cousins." He and his cousin, Jonathan, ran around playing with their nerf guns until they were sweaty messes. He should sleep incredibly soundly tonight!

When you have a blog, you are almost obligated to write a post today about the things for which you are thankful. Far be it from me to ignore that responsibility. I am thankful for much. Much more than I will capture here today, but this is a good representation.

My wife -- who has walked beside me for a long time encouraging me along the way and occasionally kicking me in the behind when I need it.

My son -- who reminds me regularly to see the joy in life. To laugh. To be silly.

My family -- that has supported and shaped me.

My in-laws -- who raised one heckuva daughter and who are incredible grandparents to K-Man.

My friends -- (too many to name individually) who have picked me up when I'm down and with whom I have made some great memories over the last four decades!

My church -- that challenges me to grow deeper in my relationship with the Lord and seek opportunities to live a life reflective of that relationship

I'm also thankful for a lot of "lesser" things too:

Tivo -- stopping live television to use the lavatory is epic

Mike and Ikes -- fruity, chewy morsels ... if only you were sugar-free!

Plungers -- no details necessary. Just thankful.

Smyrna Soccer Club -- really enjoyed getting Keegan involved in that this year. Great organization for the community of kids in the area.

Facebook -- when used for good, it really can be a great way to keep up and reconnect with friends and family scattered across the globe.

24-hour gyms -- it's great to have the freedom to go to the gym at 2:00 a.m. if I can't sleep! (Wouldn't have to go so often if those dastardly Mike and Ikes weren't so delicious!)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

NaBloPoMo 2010 Day 24 -- Thanksgiving Preparations

I'm working on my oatmeal chocolate-chip cookies tonight. The first batch is in the oven as I start this post. So far so good. Here's what they look like in the bowl:

Here's what they look like cooling on the cookie rack. (Yes, I have a cookie rack for cooling my cookies. Shut up.)

Based on the required precautionary taste test, I think this batch will be well-accepted tomorrow at my parents' house.

Jen is a fan of oatmeal raisin cookies, but she hasn't asked me, until tonight, to set aside a portion of the cookie mix to add some raisins to. Done. We'll see how they turn out.

I enjoy Thanksgiving a lot. The football games. The food and drink. The time shared with family and friends. I'll probably have a list of things for which I am thankful tomorrow.

It would be funny (or odd) if Thanksgiving came with a tradition like this one: Slapsgiving!

And Slapsgiving II - The Revenge

Happy Thanksgiving!!

NaBloPoMo 2010 Day 22 -- I can't be trusted at the store

It's Thanksgiving week. That means at some point I have to make my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to bring to dinner on Thursday. My family might disown me if I failed to bring them.

But to make them, I have to go to the store to buy the ingredients. And I can't be trusted at the store. Just ask Jen.

I'll explain.

So I made the list, which included some generic groceries that we just needed around the house. For example, I bought some Lysol spray to disinfect the kitchen garbage can. (Actually it was a store-brand generic that "compares to Lysol.") But my cookie recipe doesn't call for Lysol. Or generic Lysol-substitute.

At the store. I bought the essential cookie ingredients: sugar, brown sugar, butter, chocolate chips, oatmeal, and egg beaters (I'm 40 now, so I got to balance out all the good stuff with some egg substitute).

But true to form, I bought some other stuff -- none of which are in my cookie recipe.

Mike & Ikes -- because I just like those.

Reese's Pieces -- because they were right there next to the Mike & Ikes.

Wine -- they say red wine goes really well with chocolate, so that's kind of a pairing rather than something that is completely off the mark.

A tiny light bulb -- that's actually a safety issue. I needed to replace the bulb for one of the tail- lights on my car, so I should get a pass for that one.

Black tea -- because I'm still fighting some crud in my throat and the tea helps with all the coughing I'm doing.

Two bags of marshmallows and rice krispies -- those were for Jen to make rice krispie treats for K-Man.

Before I went to the store, I stopped by Sam's Club. One of the staple, non-cookie items that we needed was bread. Well, rather than buy the bread at the grocery store, I picked some up at Sam's Club. There, I can get two loaves of bread for a better deal. So I went there to get the bread.

I also walked out with a shirt. (Another item that is not germane to oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.)

See, I can't be trusted.

NaBloPoMo 2009 Day 26 -- Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving Day is all but done. We had a good one, but a long one as usual. Made it to the gym this morning to work off 500+ calories to credit my gastronomic account for later. Made my oatmeal chocolate chips cookies as is our custom. They turned out well. (For those who care, I start with the Nestle Toll House recipe and add additional sugar, brown sugar and flour to make it a drier mix, plus the oatmeal to add a notion of healthiness.)

My youngest sister (Nicole) and her husband (Jonathan) came over to the house for dinner. Jonathan cooked the turkey at our house. Turned out very good. We made a ham because I'm not that fond of turkey. The ham was nice and will make some great sandwiches for the next several days -- maybe even a western omelet if I'm feeling particularly adventurous one morning. Nicole made her favorite side dish: green bean casserole. Jonathan also made his mom's dressing which was a solid compliment to the proteins on the table (That's how they refer to the meat selections on Top Chef. Nothing is "fish" or "pork" or "beef." They're all "proteins."). K-Man was his finicky self. He had a bite of ham, a bite of green bean casserole, a bite of dressing. He did eat a heaping portion of baked sweet potato though. With how much energy that kid uses throughout the day, it is a wonder he doesn't collapse from lack of fuel given his bird-like eating habits. Of course, he was all over the chocolate chips cookies. And they do have oatmeal in them, so he's fine.

I guess I can't write a "Thanksgiving" post without the obligatory "I'm thankfuls." So here goes.

This has been quite a year for us. There is much to be thankful for. I am thankful for:

-- My family. For Jen who has encouraged me throughout the year as we work to get the law practice off the ground. For Kee who has regularly reminded me why I want to be at home more to see him grow and develop and live his life. Our parents who have supported our decision to make more time for our family.

-- My friends. Who have listened to me for hours as I wade through the rough waters of starting a business. Who have challenged me to be a better husband, father, friend, and person, including the friends I've made in Scotland over the last two summers.

-- My Lord. This year has been one of constant reliance on my Lord. I've been given a lot of talents, but that doesn't always translate into huge success. But we've always had what we need. Not always at the time we would've preferred it, but when we had to have it. I'm thankful for the relationship that I have with Jesus because it adds a covering of peace when the winds of anxiety are blowing all around.

-- Freedom. The sacrifices made by military veterans and those in uniform today serving all over the world to defend our democracy. We can have blogs like this and write about just about anything because of the freedom those men and women fight to maintain.

-- Many otherwise mundane things. Tivo -- the ability to freeze television is nothing short of miraculous. My laptop -- the freedom to do work on my computer at a coffee shop, the lake, the library, or Scotland makes life a lot easier. 24-hour fitness centers -- the freedom to work-out at any hour -- even when I can't sleep in the middle of the night. Costco -- because it wouldn't be right not to be appreciative of a place that sells stamps, tires, baby wipes, half-gallons of salsa, and cheese cakes the size of a stop sign all under the same roof!

There are a multitude of other things -- serious and humorous -- for which I am thankful. And they all remind me that I am incapable of living this life on my own. Never stop reminding me of that.

NaBloPoMo 2009 Day 25 -- Thanksgiving Prep

So tonight, I was at home prepping for Thanksgiving. What does that mean? Well, Jen was out wrapping up some piano lessons and then having coffee with a friend. So, I had K-Man Duty.

Now, when you're married and you have kids of your own, you no longer engage in "babysitting" when it involves your own kid. That's just parenting or "watching your kid." But I digress.

I fed Keegan and bathed him. Read a nice story about Jesus calming the storm and said our prayers. Then, I collected the laundry and started separating. Now, I know how to do laundry -- contrary to Jen's opinion. I started with what we call "work-out clothes" because they're all polyester, washed on cold, and Jen thinks they're the hardest for me to mess up. Got that load washed, dried and folded. Then I started the whites. Threw in a good dose of bleach too. Got that load washed and in the dryer. Then I washed the jeans and gray sweat shirts and t-shirts. She can't possibly complain about my efforts to minimize any potential damage I could cause.

When Jen got home, she immediately took note of the laundry in progress. She was skeptical. I encouraged her to be thankful ... because it's Thanksgiving. Sheesh. She asked why I insist on doing laundry. I repeated, just be thankful. I described the loads that had been done already. She rifled through the remaining piles on the floor without audibly disapproving of their respective contents. Then, she noticed a couple of sweaters of hers set aside in their own pile. I'm not stupid. When garments feel that soft and are not made of man-made fibers, I know better than to lump them in with my sweatshirts and boxers -- even if they all are "dark." (Which really means I remember a prior discussion -- or four -- about how certain items of hers can't be washed with my boxers even if they are the same color!)

Every Thanksgiving, I cook chocolate chip cookies as well. I've set out the ingredients on the counter but haven't decided whether I will mix everything up and leave the baking until morning or just do everything in the a.m. I think I'll just wait until morning and keep sipping on my cocktail while Jen looks at train sets on the web for possible gifts for Kee.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!!