Thankful for You: Saturday

Today, I am thankful for my "Freds"! 

That's right -- childhood chaos at its finest was never far away with the marvelously creative, wonderfully gifted, zaney group of friends who were mainstays in my youngest years.  Some of them journeyed with me to college and became like an extension of home.  You "Freds" turned "Little Apples" were a mainstay during ups and downs.  Each of you has made such an extraordinary contribution to the world -- it's hard to believe that it started with cutting and gluing paper together over graham crackers and orange-aid!

For all the good times, thanks for being there.

Friday: Thankful for You

Today, I am thankful for the reason I am.  All good things I have ever known or will ever be are from, to, and through Him.  He has recorded all my days in His book.  He has filled me joy in His presence.  He covers me in His shadow and watches over my coming and going both now and forevermore.

Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of Your wonderful love and salvation.

Thursday: Thankful for You

Today, I am thankful for two study / life groups who held me together in graduate school.  Oh, so many laughs and appetizers shared in the late night hours!  Both wisdom and joy were multiplied in your presence.  Your faith continues to inspire and challenge me.  I miss each of you dearly and wish you every abundance in this season.

"And the award goes to..." Legacy Life Group and my "Oscar Party" girls!  Lots of love and hugs!

Wednesday: Thankful for You

Today, I am thankful for a friend who is a sister... almost literally! 

I don't remember a time before I loved you.  You are my first phone call and my last goodbye.  We pray together and wait for answers.  We believe the best when we see the worst.  I am so proud of the person you are, and I am continually grateful that, of all the people on the planet, you got to be my best and longest friend.

I love you now and always!

Tuesday: Thankful for You

Today, I am thankful for a group of twelve women who have journeyed with me through the first decade of my young adult life.  Through ups and downs, craziness and rare moments of logic, they have been there with open arms and extra-large latte mugs.  That's right -- Coffee Talk, you're up!  I'm so thankful for each of you, for the immeasurable blessings you bring to my life, and for the many years of "doing life together" yet to come!

Love you, All.  Miss you tons.  Hope to see you soon!

Monday: Thankful for You

Today, I am thankful for a loving family.  I can't count high enough to quantify the many times they have been there with support and good counsel, laughter and home-cooked meals.  I love them more than words can say!

Thank you, All.  See you Thursday!

Friday: Thanksgiving Factoids

Q: What is A.'s favorite Thanksgiving Day dish?  What is the recipe?

A: My very favorite Thanksgiving Day dish is the classic Watergate Salad.  Green and fluffy, this pile of marshmallowed pistachio is a great cleanser for the palate and the perfect transition between the main course and pumpkin pie.

To make Watergate Salad, you will need:

• 1 giant mixing bowl (or serving bowl, if you prefer not to transfer)
• 1 large container of Lite Cool Whip
• 1 large box of Jell-O instant pistachio pudding mix
• 1 large bag of Jet-Puffed marshmallows
• 1 large can of crushed pineapple (do not drain)

Grab your bowl, grab your grocery trophies, and mix!  Ta-da!  Maintain refrigeration before and after serving.

Thursday: Thanksgiving Factoids

Q: Which Thanksgiving tradition has had the largest attendance at a single Turkey Day event for decades?

A: New York City's Thanksgiving Day Parade was first sponsored by Macy's in 1924.  The parade attracts an estimated 2 to 3 million on-lookers along the 2.5 miles of its route.  The parade's famous balloon displays also made it fashionable for cartoon characters and celebrities to be "full of hot air" as inspiration for one of the event's inflatable creations.

Wednesday: Thanksgiving Factoids

Q: Why do we have to wait until the end of November to eat our Butterball?

A: Historically, our Thanksgiving turkey may be the only thing Americans didn't want sooner rather than later!  Although President Lincoln scheduled Thanksgiving for the fourth Thursday each November, an attempt was made by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 to reschedule Thanksgiving to the third week of the month.  However, a third-Thursday Thanksgiving was avidly opposed by the general public, and in 1941, the so-called "Franksgiving" was returned to its popularly approved and proper place, tucked neatly again into November's fourth week.

Tuesday: Thanksgiving Factoids

Q: Which U.S. President established Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday?

A: In 1863, amidst the turmoil of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday to take place each November.

Monday: Thanksgiving Factoids

Q: In what year was the first recorded Autumnal feast of thanks and celebration held?

A: In 1621, settlers from the colony of Plymouth shared a feast of thanks with the Wampanoag Indians.  Various forms of thanksgiving feasts were celebrated thereafter by states and colonies for over 200 years prior to the declaration of Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday.

Friday: If My Life Was A... Novelty Donut Bakery!

If my life was a novelty donut bakery that payed tribute to the quizzical and slightly detached, it would look like this:

Who said the first batch was just for responsible morning people?  Welcome to "The 'Nut Case"!  Hours: 11am - Midnight.  Every variety of donut and breakfast pastry available for late risers and night owls, served in the quaintness of renovated antiquity right in the middle of Downtown, Wherever.  Our pastries are traditional, but with a few twists.  Actually, they're a little... well, "off".  Our donuts have no holes, and our long johns are short; our filling goes on top, and our sprinkles are in the dough.  It's a mixed up, sugared cosmos of paradox for your palate! 

SPECIAL: Introducing "Guess That Filling" Fridays!  Mystery filling goes in the middle for one day only, and your coffee is free if you guess right!

(Fun, huh?!  I just might try it!)

Thursday: If My Life Was A... TV Medical Drama!

If my life was a TV medical drama, it would look something like this:

Picture a major metropolitan hospital with a bunch of quirky, Code Team medical professionals working the night shift.  These scrub-ers are in a consensus midlife crisis.  They have thriving careers, but "DNR" love lives.  A comical, ridiculously embarrassing string of mishappened, crash cart romances develops as the caffeine highs hit delirium on... "Expiration Dates"!

(The above is a slight exaggeration from reality, of course... "slight" meaning entirely fiction!)

Wednesday: If My Life Was A... Theme Park!

If my life was a theme park, it would look something like this:

Welcome to Nap World!  We know the height of your existence as a professional person and/or parent is... sleeping!  We also know you don't have time for fun, but feel pressured by friends and family to relax and enjoy your life.  That's why we've developed 500 acres of exciting rides and virtual reality modules designed to induce somnia and minimize extraneous human interactions!  Satisfy your friends and neighbors by taking a vacation... then sleep right through it.  With our REM-promoting simulated environments, you'll be able to honestly say you dreamed big and felt inspired.   So go ahead -- eat that whole turkey and get on the rollercoaster.  The only thing you'll toss is your pager.

Tuesday: If My Life Was A... Medley of Rock Ballads!

If someone made a medley of slightly-modified classic rock songs into a ballad about my life, the lyrics would go something like this:

Shot in the toosh, and you're to blame.  Honey, you give meds a bad name.

But you're a good girl, you love your Mama, love Jesus, and the Dairy Queen, too.
And I'm a bad boy, 'cause I ate before surgery.  I'm a bad boy, for puking on you.

-- Air guitar playing. --

There you stood in the doorway, I heard a pager tone.
I was thinkin' to myself that I just wanted to poo-oop alone.
Then you picked up a clipboard, and they wheeled me away.
There were voices in the corridor, I thought I heard one say, eh --
'Welcome to the same-day GI scope wing.
Drink this contrast dye. 
Tastes like fake Mai-Tai.'

-- Air guitar and drums playing. --

Now is it over?  Yeah, it's over.  'Cause you're driving me insane.

I feel crazy, crazy, crazy in here, Baby.
I turned the light on, but you're gone. 
Yeah this drives me --
Crazy, crazy, crazy... not just maybe.
What can I do?  I just wanna go code blue.

-- More air guitar. --

(Modified from great tunes by Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Tom Petty, and The Eagles!)

Monday: If My Life Was A... Wildlife Documentary!

If my life was chronicled as a fictional wildlife documentary, it would go something like this:

And now, we approach the elusive Sealephant in its native habitat.  Previously unknown to the scientific community, the giant Sealephant was first discovered in 1981.  It appears to be a kin to both sea-bearing and land-roaming mammals, before thought to be distinctly separate.  It's sleekness and agility is balanced, although seemingly unhindered, by a rotuntly wrinkling form.  To this observer, its integumentary appears almost to be sagging continually while not aquatically endeavored.  It is ever-boyant in a most amazing way.  Little is yet noted of its life cycle, as it has largely been documented in either states of solitary napping or feeding frenzy.  It appears to be unmotivated towards mate selection or procreation.  While welcoming of humans, its interactions are chaotic and, at times, quite aggressive towards perceived food items.  Overall, it is a highly observant and engaging creature.

Classic Lit-Bits: Friday

"If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it."

Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights, Chapter 9

"And I pray one prayer--I repeat it till my tongue stiffens--Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living; you said I killed you--haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always--take any form--drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you...."

Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights, Chapter 16

"He wanted all to lie in an ecstasy of peace; I wanted all to sparkle and dance in a glorious jubilee. I said his heaven would be only half alive; and he said mine would be drunk: I said I should fall asleep in his; and he said he could not breathe in mine...."

Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights, Chapter 24

Classic Lit-Bits: Thursday

"Courage is found in the most unlikely places."  - J.R.R. Tolkien

And, now... one of my favorites, and the captivating prelude to The Lord of the Rings.  Enjoy a glimpse of the tiny creatures who would one day save Middle Earth with Aragorn and the Fellowship! 

"This hobbit was a very well-to-do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours’ respect, but he gained—well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.  The mother of our particular hobbit—what is a hobbit? I suppose hobbits need some description nowadays, since they have become rare and shy of the Big People, as they call us. They are (or were) a little people, about half our height, and smaller than the bearded dwarves. Hobbits have no beards. There is little or no magic about them, except the ordinary everyday sort which helps them to disappear quietly and quickly when large stupid folk like you and me come blundering along, making a noise like elephants which they can hear a mile off. They are inclined to be fat in the stomach; they dress in bright colours (chiefly green and yellow); wear no shoes, because their feet grow natural leathery soles and thick warm brown hair like the stuff on their heads (which is curly); have long clever brown fingers, good-natured faces, and laugh deep fruity laughs (especially after dinner, which they have twice a day when they can get it). Now you know enough to go on with. As I was saying, the mother of this hobbit—of Bilbo Baggins, that is—was the famous Belladonna Took, one of the three remarkable daughters of the Old Took, head of the hobbits who lived across The Water, the small river that ran at the foot of The Hill. It was often said (in other families) that long ago one of the Took ancestors must have taken a fairy wife. That was, of course, absurd, but certainly there was still something not entirely hobbitlike about them, and once in a while members of the Took-clan would go and have adventures. They discreetly disappeared, and the family hushed it up; but the fact remained that the Tooks were not as respectable as the Bagginses, though they were undoubtedly richer."

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Classic Lit-Bits: Wednesday

"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one...just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Chapter 1

"He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced--or seemed to face--the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself."

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Chapter 3

"And as I sat there, brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out Daisy's light at the end of his dock. He had come such a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close he could hardly fail to grasp it. But what he did not know was that it was already behind him..."

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Chapter 9

Classic Lit-Bits: Tuesday

"You see I've been leading a sort of a funny life. And I never even talk English. And you are so very beautiful."

Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell To Arms, Chapter 5

"I have noticed that doctors who fail in the practice of medicine have a tendency to seek one another's company and aid in consultation. A doctor who cannot take out your appendix properly will recommend you to a doctor who will be unable to remove your tonsils with success. These were such doctors."

Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell To Arms, Chapter 15

"At Locarno we did not have a bad time. They questioned us but they were polite because we had passports and money. I do not think they believed a word of the story and I thought it was silly but it was like a law-court. You did not want something reasonable, you wanted something technical and then stuck to it without explanations. But we had passports and we would spend the money. So they gave us provisional visas."

Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell To Arms, Chapter 37

"When there was a good day we had a splendid time.... and it gave us both a feeling as though something were hurrying us and we could not lose any time together."

Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell To Arms, Chapter 40

Classic Lit-Bits: Monday

"The place where she stood seemed to him a holy shrine, unapproachable, and there was one moment when he was almost retreating, so overwhelmed was he with terror. He had to make an effort to master himself, and to remind himself that people of all sorts were moving about her, and that he too might come there... He walked down, for a long while avoiding looking at her as at the sun, but seeing her, as one does the sun, without looking."

Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina, Part 1, Chapter 9

"She was enchanting in her simple black dress.... enchanting the graceful, light movements of her little feet and hands, enchanting was that lovely face in its animation, but there was something terrible and cruel about her charm."

Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina, Part 1, Chapter 23