Give Thanks

This has been a rough couple of months and it can be really easy to forget the positive things in my life & to count my blessings. Thanksgiving is tomorrow (seriously? where the heck did the time go? It's going to be Christmas so soon!) & what a perfect time to reflect on what I am really thankful for this year. I think I need to remember this list not just Thanksgiving week but everyday of the year.

1. My husband who takes care of me & puts up with my weirdness & accepts me for the imperfect person I am.

2. My mom & dad who are quiet when I need them to be & tell me the cold hard truth even when I don't want to hear it (but need it) and for providing for me from the day I was born & now - though the means may be different the intent & love is the same.

3. My brother Anthony - we don't always see eye to eye & we don't always get along but when it matters most he is there for me & reminds me how lucky I am to have a sibling so close in age.

4. My in-laws who accepted me into their family & treat me like their own daughter.

5. My sister-in-law Devin who really is more like the sister I never had - I never wanted a sister growing up (hey, being the only girl has its perks) but once I got to know Devin I couldn't wait for us to become sisters).

6. The rest of my family - the one I was born into & the one I became a part of on our wedding day for always accepting me & understanding & supporting the love Dan & I share.

7. Max - my puggle, my fur-baby, & a big reason why I wake up in the morning. He is not my first dog but he is MY first dog & the unconditional love he has for me makes me so happy. Max, we love you like child (even though I can hear you struggling & splashing Dan while he gives you a bath).

8. My true friends - Marissa (who has been by my side since '92 & I can be my true self with) and my "Cabrini Girls" (who lived with me for 4 years & still like me), plus the other people I am blessed to know & be friends with.

9. A warm place to come home to, a bed to sleep in, & a fridge full of food & to always being blessed & fortunate enough to live comfortably while so many others do not.

10. And finally, for my health, and the wisdom & knowledge I have gained over the last year & a half to take care of myself and to keep myself at a healthy weight.


I'm going to try & keep these things in mind not just on Thanksgiving but everyday. I have much more to be thankful for but then this would be a really, really long post and I have a Zumba class to get to (I am also thankful for Zumba, for proving what an awkward & bad dancer I am yet keeping me in shape at the same time).  :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Date

Saturday Dan & I went into Philly so we could curb a craving I had for Nifty Fifties milkshakes. Nifty Fifties milkshakes are like the best things on Earth.... try the birthday cake one, SERIOUSLY. Or the chocolate-cherry. Or the mint oreo...    Now I'm craving one again.

But we also got flavored sodas & dinner there, too.

It was a lovely night out with the husband - something I look forward to each week.

Can you believe it is Thanksgiving week? I swear, fall is going by so quick and Christmas is going to be here before we know it. I am trying to mentally come up with a list of things I am thankful for this year and will get to posting it sometime before Thursday.

Happy birthday, Mandy!


In 2005 I moved into my college dorm - I wasn't looking forward to it. It was the dorm with no air conditioning & it was an all girls dorm. Doesn't exactly scream "fun".


My opinions changed when I met one of my first college roommates, Mandy Green  (yes you will always be a Green to me, even when I think of you as Mrs. Belmonte). It didn't take long but she became one of my best friends and my partner in crime.

Now Mandy lives in Florida... which makes me sad because that's really far away. But it also makes me a little happy because now I have a friend to visit in Florida. ;)  I miss her a lot.


Have a fabulous birthday, 1/2 of Mandela.<3


Love,
1/2 of Mandela

I'm no Martha Stewart

but decided to be a nice wife & bake Dan his favorite cookies.

My idea of baking cookies is opening up the package from Betty Crocker and placing the pre-baked dough on a cookie pan but I wanted to try real cookies from scratch and what a better way to try than the butter cookie recipe Dan's mom gave me?

Well, let's just say it was quite the process. I had some trouble with the dough so I gave up on using my cookie cutters (plus, the only cookie cutters I have are dinosaurs, Halloween themed, and a random strawberry) and just made regular boring round cookies. However, I did bake these all by myself from scratch - no fires, no big mess, & I only ate one (okay, one and a half... and maybe I licked the beaters).

I must have done a good job though because Dan says they turned out yummy (and he is hard to please when it comes to these cookies). His only complaint was that they were a lot thicker than the ones his mom makes but he liked that I put icing on them.

I received a fabulous binder filled with recipes from my bridal shower back in June but this is the first time I've tried out a recipe from it - can't wait to try out the rest! Plus make cake pops with my super cool cake pop pan.

Things that make me happy lately

This (not so) little guy

Starbucks... or well, free Starbucks

 Alice in Wonderland ornaments that remind me of my honeymoon

Pulling off leopard print

This guy

Friends and their boys who don't make you feel like the 5th wheel but rather part of something special

Advent calendars... yes I know Christmas is still over a month away!

And bubble baths where your fingers & toes get super pruney....

:)

I mentioned to Dan last night that I wanted french toast for dinner - meaning when we went food shopping later I would buy things for french toast - but he said "let's go to the diner!" so to the diner we went.

Weekday dates are fun. And french toast is delicious. I still did buy french toast ingredients so I can eat it everyday until I'm sick of it.


....

In other news, we discovered Max loves Spongebob Squarepants. He particularly likes the theme song.

I am happy to say that Dan and I survived Hurricane Sandy. Our power stayed on and we had no damage outside our apartment complex (besides some fallen branches). For this, we are very grateful (and surprised - our apartment complex is not exactly immune to power outages during storms).

However, so many others were not so lucky.

I grew up in Ocean County, NJ. I grew up going to the beach and boardwalk whenever I wanted. I thought it was weird that people only went to the beach from Memorial Day to Labor Day. For me, going to the Seaside Heights boardwalk in the winter just to walk around was normal. Getting to sit on the beach any month of the year was normal.

I made the decision to move to PA and while I am happy I did, I do miss the beach and boardwalk and it broke my heart to see the Jersey shore destroyed by the hurricane. Seeing the photos of Seaside and the boardwalk kills me.

My parents still live in Ocean County (right near the bay) and are very very lucky - their house had very minimal damage and they were safe. Others, including people who live on my parents street, were not so lucky. Some people lost everything. I can't even imagine.

So even though I don't live there anymore, I am still shaken and affected by the damage and destruction Hurricane Sandy caused in Ocean County.

With the holiday season fast approaching (how is it November 5th already?!?), we have to remember to be grateful for what we have and to help each other. Do you part. Donate money or donate clothing or food or other items people need. Volunteer at a shelter. Let people stay at your place if you have power and hot water. Let's just be there for each other.