Random Thoughts of a Happy CoffeeGal

The La Vida Academy is officially on Thanksgiving vacation!

Which mean the Sweet Shop is now open full time.

Today I hope to do a twenty-minute-tidy on the house, and then I'm locking myself in the office for the day.

Today I am working on these for my beautiful and sweet pre-teen nieces:

I'm tempted to make one for myself....

I'll probably need to find some time to bathe my dog.

She ran out last night in the rain and found some nastiness to roll in....

If I didn't love her so much I'd be tempted to make her be an outside dog for good.

I also need to start the dough for my Southern Refrigerator Biscuits....which is a lovely, super-buttery, sweet bread I always make for Thanksgiving.

Oh, and yes, I need to take  the turkey out of the freezer...thanks for reminding me.

Some of you already know this....but I get my bird drunk every year. I already posted about this here (four years ago????) ...but I get such a kick out of it that I'm telling you again.

Ok seriously, how does time go so fast? And how much better does my kitchen look with the white cabinets!

But back to the turkey... several years ago when we were living in Texas I was so excited because I found a turkey on sale for .28/pound (or something ridiculous like that) and so I picked the BIGGEST turkey I could find.

I didn't take into consideration that we are just a party of four. Nor did I consider that half of our family was under the age of 5...I was temporarily blinded by .28/pound.

I was so proud when I came home with a 25 pound turkey. I had to throw out nearly everything on the top shelf of the freezer to get it to fit, but it was totally worth it.

Of course I forgot to pull the turkey whopper out of the freezer, and it wasn't until Wednesday morning when I realized my mistake.

I called the turkey hotline and the turkey expert told me to quickly take my bird, and put him in the bath tub filled with cool water.

So that year the bird got dunked twice. Once in the tub and once in the keg.

Oh, and also....do you know how long a 25lb. bird takes to cook? And how much meat you get??

Alot.  We ate turkey of one variation or another for a very- long- time.

But look at the memories I have.

This year my bird weighs a whopping 12 pounds. Perfect.

How about you? Are you cooking this year? Will yours be a big feast with all the extended family, or a small affair like ours? What is your favorite Turkey Day dish?

Happy Tuesday!

PS: I do have some time scheduled to catch up on blog reading...and to check in on all you new gals who have been recently leaving comments! Thank you for stopping by, and saying hello!, and I look forward to using some time this holiday week to pop-by your place!

Thanks Giving

It's quiet here this morning.

It's cold and rainy, and yet, the day ahead holds promise.

I am thankful for that.

I love this week of Thanksgiving...and the quiet here this morning is lending itself to pondering...

I'm thankful for...family far away.

On Friday I had two telephone conversations:

In the early afternoon I spoke with my sister-in-law. We hadn't talked in a very long time, but as good friends often do, we slipped into encouraging conversation immediately.

Much later that night I had a conversation with my brother. He had just arrived at home from the hospital.

He's a police officer, and while on duty he was hit on his motorcycle by someone who ran a red light.

It was rush hour, on a very busy intersection...he was thrown 75 feet from his bike.

He was banged up, but for all intents and purposes, his injuries laugh in the face of the tragedy that could have been.

To hear his voice that night was soothing to my soul.

I am thankful...that his life was spared.

On Sunday we celebrated The Misters birthday with steak and chocolate cake, and spent the evening around our fire-pit in the back yard.

I am thankful for....a husband that is strong and tender, smart and wise, loving and honorable. I cannot figure out how in the world I got to be his beloved...but I am so very grateful.

I am thankful for... my church family.

We are a small community and last night we met for our traditional Thanksgiving meal.

After dinner we had the opportunity to give voice to our gratitude. As a handful of the men and women stood up to give thanks it was clear that we have each been given to this community for specific and real reasons.

Honestly, I have often doubted what my purpose might be for this little church, but last night, I didn't doubt.

I am thankful...that God has a very deep and meaningful purpose...for my brother, his family, my church family, for me....

He has great purpose for you. 

Don't believe otherwise.

Sometimes it is difficult to see, or to understand...

So, I am especially thankful for this:

"I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—

plans to take care of you, 

not abandon you, 

plans to give you the future you hope for."

~Jeremiah 29:11

(The Message)

It's Gonna Be Good, Y'all

You might want to sit down for this post.

Y'all, there has been a Thanksgiving Miracle at the La Vida Household. I can barely type through my excitement.

I could've entitled this post When I Found Her I Knew but I am hoping that this post isn't entirely about my hair.

My appointment went exceedingly well yesterday. Not only did she give me a fabulous hair cut, but she also trimmed The Girl's hair and I didn't have to take out a loan to pay for it. Then, when I asked about whether or not she might be able to help me out with my unfortunate "grey hair" issue, she said, "Yep, I do it all."

It was then I sheepishly asked, "Um, what about unsightly facial hair? Do you take care of that too?"

"You bet."

Hallelujah! 

As it turns out, I knew her. Her boys went to the pre-school that I taught at when we were here last time. 

She has the cutest little shop attached to her house. I'm going back in two weeks to get my roots done and to tame the eyebrow.

Moving on to other things....

The Girl had her first horse riding lesson on Saturday afternoon.

My little animal lover has been asking for riding lessons for a long time. We have a sweet gal at our church who owns two horses and has generously offered to give The Girl some lessons. We bundled up and headed out in 40 degree weather for a trial lesson; just to let The Girl get a feel for being around such a big animal, and to see if she really did wanted to continue after seeing all the work involved in this hobby.

She loved it.

I knew she would.

So after the New Year she will be taking a weekly lesson. 

On Sunday The Mister celebrated his 40th birthday.  I had envisioned big plans for this day. (Which he would've hated since he is the don't-bring-attention-to-myself type of guy.)But, with the move and an already full schedule, I decided on a quiet affair.  Which was probably best since he will be working without a weekend for the next couple of weeks. 

He chose the menu for his day. We dined on grilled hamburgers, french fries, and homemade chocolate cake. Then we watched the old re-make of Maverick.  All in all, a birthday success.

In keeping with The Mister's request to be anonymous on the blog, here is a picture of The Boy lighting the candles on the cake.  I chose this picture only to demonstrate what happens to normal, sweet, kindhearted, eleven year-old boys when given the opportunity to play with fire. Look at how crazily happy he is to just be playing with a lighter.

Last, but not least, I present, The Impromptu La Vida Dulce Thanksgiving Celebration. 

We had our feast last night: roast chicken (thanks to Sam's Club), green bean, mashed potatoes, cranberries, and stuffing. 

Every Thanksgiving The Mister's has two very important jobs: to get the wine and to carve the bird. This year our bird was small but he carved it just the same. I swear I felt a little tryptophan action, but then again it may have been the Pinot Grigio.

This year, although not quite as decorated, or fancy, or planned, or fussy, was just as sweet. 

I am so very grateful.

La Vida Dulce!

Choosing Gratitude

I was so motivated to finish this week strong, but it didn't exactly go the way I planned.

The week of Thanksgiving is one of my favorite weeks of the year. In anticipation I had scheduled in advance to take the entire week of Thanksgiving off from school.  In all honesty, I am need of a break. 

Thanksgiving week is fun for me because I can organize with an end in mind. It's when I get my menu all put together, and my favorite holiday recipes pulled out. 

It's when I anticipate the setting of my Thanksgiving table and where I will set things.  It's when I dust the full service china settings and remember how much I love my dishes.

It's when we decide what movie we will watch on Thanksgiving night. 

It's when I get to anticipate a full day with the family. 

Even when it's just the four of us, as it would have been this year, I bake and cook and celebrate as if I am having the dinner party of all dinner parties.

I enjoy Thanksgiving. 

So, when The Mister came home and told me that he wouldn't be home for Thanksgiving because he had been pulled for a week of Administrative Duty, you could say I was deflated. 

I went from Martha Stewart to Oscar the Grouch in 2 seconds flat.

At first I was understanding. Then I was angry. Now, I'm just disappointed.

There have been a number of things happening around me that remind me to be grateful.

The family of a friend of mine buried a loved one yesterday. Next Thursday they will sit around a table and give thanks with one forever-empty chair. 

Another friend of ours lost his job. He had no idea it was coming. He just walked into work, was told to pack up his desk, and was escorted out, along with several co-workers.  They will eat turkey with their family and give thanks without knowing what their future holds.

I have friends with spouses fighting in a war.  Thousands of miles from home, they haven't seen their loved ones for over six months. They will give thanks that their husbands (and wives) are fighting for freedom, even though that means missing family milestones and many holidays.

I'm trying to keep things in perspective. Trying to remember that life goes on...even when I don't get my way! The flesh cries out to be heard. To be soothed. To be answered.

Deep in my heart, in that place that never speaks out loud, it cries "This isn't fair!"

But the rational part of my grumpy old self is remembering to choose gratitude.

God has blessed me with a tender-hearted and loving man; two healthy and sweet kids; we have family and friends who love us and care for us. We have a warm home and food to eat. We are, in comparison to many places outside of America, rich and spoiled people. How could I possibly forget to be grateful?

So, there won't be a Thanksgiving event here at the La Vida household this year.  It may be lasagna and salad on Sunday. But I'll remember to give thanks all the same.

Isaiah 51:3 - 

Joy and gladness will be found in her, 

Thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's 10pm. We just got home from a terrific day.

To close this great day with family and friends, good food, red wine, laughter and joy, I am eating a small slice of pumpkin pie and then I will tuck myself into bed for some sweet dreams.

I pray that your Thanksgiving was truly a day of great joy for you. A day of thanks and giving.

This day marks the start of my favorite time of year. Let the festivities begin!

La Vida Dulce!