30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 30

Taken Saturday, 11/28/09, in Philly PA.
(Outside the Lights of Liberty Museum near Independence Plaza)

Today I am thankful for making the point of spending a few moments each day of this month to think of & appreciate what I have in my life. (I normally do this in my journal and not every day though I do try). I hope my sharing this each day with you has inspired you to reflect in a similar way on your own lives!

And now for something completely different: Saturday, after picking up Sis.in.law from Philly International, we headed down towards the Independence Hall area of town and ended up at a little old pizzeria for lunch (as I mentioned previously). The line to get in to see the Liberty Bell was very long so I took Mom and Sis to view it from the outside, then we stopped in a souvenir shop to pick up a few goodies before heading home.

Shortly thereafter, we ended up in a huge, slow crawling backup on the NJ Turnpike. Never fails - returning from PA we always hit massive traffic within minutes of being back in NJ. There was a Nasty tractor trailer accident on the southbound side - of course it caused bottle necking on the northbound side since everyone had to slow to gawk. Plus there were delays at our exit as well, so as soon as we were able, we got off the turnpike (where we encountered Long lines to get through the tolls thanks to the mass exodus off the turnpike). Thanks goodness for GPS. We took an extended scenic route home (and of course ran into more backups because of mall traffic!) and ended up home about 7:30pm. Whew! And there ya have my Saturday update, lol!

Happy last day of November everyone!

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 29

Right now I am thankful for the fact that Hubby and I were able to stop being so angry & hostile with one another long enough to laugh with & at one another and be silly for a little while. (Things are a tad on the stressful side in our house hold as of late).

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to update on yesterday's activities just yet. I'm still very exhausted and apparently yet another case of strep seems to be the culprit for the moment. I've called in a refill on my antibiotics which Hubby's going to pick up in the morning and I've got to take it easy for the time being.

Right now I'm off to have a spot of tea and a piece of Holiday Bread (from Panera). I hope y'all are having a peaceful Sunday evening!

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 28

Yes, I know it's day 29. Yesterday was a very long day & not one spent at home. I am so flippin' tired this morning I can barely function. My 69 year old Mom, who was with us all day yesterday, is doing better this morning than I am and that was her first all day outting in Years. Says a lot about me, doesn't it?

Anyhoo, when I can remember my name (and after we return from a trip to Kohl's), I'll post about yesterday. In brief: Sis.in.law has arrived.

What I was thankful for yesterday was getting my Mom out for the day, showing her a little bit of Philly (where she's never been) and having a great day with her (and Hubby and Sis.in.law) and for having the chance to just spend some time in Philly, which we haven't been able to do since March. And for our lunch in Philly. I don't remember the name of the old pizzeria we went to (I know exactly where it is though), but the food was Incredible and cost less for 4 people for lunch than it did for 3 people for breakfast in NJ. (Best meatball Stromboli ever!)

I love Philly.

But y'all know that by now. And thanks to The City of Brotherly Love, I now have an ornament for our tree that says I heart Philly. Gotta love it!

PS:
Christmas arrives in 26 days.
Oh Good Grief.

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 27

Today I am so very, Very thankful that I no longer work on Black Friday (which I did for Many Many years) and I can stay home to watch the marathon of Christmas decorating shows on HGTV all day, which has gleefully become my Black Friday tradition. (Along with munching on left overs off & on all day!) I honestly cannot begin to tell you how thankful I am to be home on this day instead of having to be up at the crack of dawn to deal with over-zealous, over-tired, over-caffeinated shoppers!

I did get the Fall stuff down and packed away for Hubby to take down to the basement. I even hung the lighted Christmas decorations in the window and gathered together all of my winter themed decorations so I can begin decorating next week. (Winter dec's go up first, then Christmas gets layered over that so after New Year's when Christmas gets packed away, I'm still dec'd out for Winter). I found another basket for my overflowing stash of yarn (the stash of skeins I put out for the season that is). I've got plans for the extra's in my stash, stay tuned!

I also finished getting the spare room ready for sis.in.law's arrival tomorrow. Finally I'm getting excited to head down to Philly! (She's flying into Philly International). We're bringing Mom along (who's never been to Philly) so while I'm excited to see Philly all decked out for Christmas, I'm wondering just how interesting of a day trip this is going to be overall!

Now as the ham reheats in the oven, I'm going to see what I feel like reading & get back to knitting the scarf I started recently. (And continue watching HGTV!)

So friends, what are some of your Black Friday traditions?

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 26

You thought I was going to forget to do this today, didn't you? :-)

Today I'm thankful for love & friendship and all of the support these two provide during stressful times. I'm also thankful for Thanksgiving dinner with mom going off without a hitch. (Dinner was delish if I do say so myself (aka the chef) And my creamed onions Finally came out just as good as my mom makes! Yay!)

I hope you've all had a lovely day in your parts of the world!

Now it's time to get back to couchin' it with Hubb's, watching House Hunters and knitting. Tomorrow, All Day marathon of Christmas decorating shows on HGTV! (I worked on Black Friday for many Many years & my tradition is staying home now that I can!)

By the way, sis.in.law E texted us earlier to say that she made Bev's return flight to FL for December 19th... Yeah, yesterday she said Bev couldn't come back to stay with her at all and now... We'll see what tomorrow brings, LOL!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 25

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I don't know why, but I love this day. I'm always excited, doing errands in the morning, home cooking & baking throughout the afternoon and evening. Today was no exception. I had re-runs of Roseanne Thanksgiving episodes on the TV (Oxygen Channel) with A Peanuts Christmas cd playing in the background. And I was a happy gal!

Late afternoon our road became a little bumpy when we found out that it looks as though sis.in.law B will be with us indefinitely as of this Saturday until she goes into assisted living instead of her returning to FL to temporarily live with family there. (This makes it Extremely difficult to get her into assisted living in FL as she would like to do - common sense does not apparently run in Hubby's family aside from Hubby). My bro.in.law and his wife, who just kicked B out of their home last week, have deleted all of us (as in the Entire family) as friends on fb, won't answer their phones and are in Hawaii on vacation. I honestly haven't the foggiest idea how we are going to handle this or get through this. One step at a time I guess.

Last but not least,
today I am Thankful for
my wonderful Husband, my dear Friends and Fellow Bloggers, my side of the family, my father.in.law, my IV treatment nurse, our home, the kitties, being excited for the holidays getting under way
and
for the delicious scents coming from the kitchen.

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 24

While I hate nasty arthritis flare-ups, I am thankful, in general, nonetheless.

Photo's, NaNoWriMo Update and 30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 23

I've been slowly cleaning, shifting, purging and re-arranging things around in our home, beginning with the bookshelves in the living room, and you know how the domino affect goes! Here's my progress so far. (I'm not sure how the picture of us from this St. Patty's Day got into the album...) Click on any of the photo's to go to the online album so you can enlarge it.

I've un-officially finished NaNoWriMo 2009 today with 50,295 words! (Isn't official until 11/25 - 11/30). I don't think I'll ever do this again! (I'm not saying "Never" but...) I've accomplished my goal of finishing 3 years in a row and I am Very happy & pleased with myself for that. I swear my writer's brain is complete mush right now. Not to mention how badly my hands & arms hurt because typing so much has flared my arthritis something horrible. But I am SO Glad I finished this before Sis.in.law arrives this coming Saturday. I've literally been having anxiety attacks over trying to get to 50,000 words before she gets here! (And over her arrival and our family drama, see previous posts).

Today I am thankful for my migraine meds working Very fast and for finishing NaNoWriMo 2009.

Operation Comfort Warriors, 30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 22 and Toys For Tots

Operation Comfort Warriors is a program run by The American Legion "dedicated to meeting the non-medical needs of wounded Military personnel, providing them with comfort items not usually supplied by health care." (~ http://www.legion.org/donate ).

"Thanks to the generosity of our American Legion friends and family members, we have purchased sweat suits, phone cards, DVDs, CDs, iPods, puzzles, books, video games, and other items for men and women who are recovering at military hospitals and warrior transition units. These items won't make all of these hero's "whole" again, but it does she them that we care and appreciate their sacrifice." (~Clarence E. Hill, National Commander, The American Legion, as stated in The American Legion The Magazine December 2009).

Please go to http://www.legion.com/donate

Today I am not only thankful for the good feelings that arise from donating to Toys For Tots and the fact that a boy & girl will each have at least one great Christmas present anonymously from Hubby & myself, but I am thankful that the giving helps me to heal.

Toys For Tots is now accepting New and Unwrapped toys for Girls & Boys. Most any of your local American Legion and VFW Posts will have a Toys For Tots donation box set up inside where donations can be places. Walmart, Toys R Us and Babies R Us also have the same. Walmart and Walgreens have an extensive selection of toys for $10! For more information and to locate a donation drop off nearest to you, please go to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation site at http://www.toysfortots.org

For ways to show your support for our Troops this Holiday Season, go to http://www.soldiersangels.org and/or http://www.uso.org

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 21

Today I am thankful for quiet. It's quiet inside. It's quiet outside. Aaaahhhh...

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 20

Today I am thankful for our home. Even though we don't own it, it is our home. And I love our home.

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 19

Today I am thankful for home made chicken soup & biscuits for dinner on a nasty evening, my Hubby, my side of the family, my father-in-law and my friends.

My Honey Roasted Tomato Brushetta with Ricotta Cheese

Once the tomato's have cooled (see previous post), transfer to a container with any juices from the pan & put in the fridge until ready to use. (They'll keep about a week). Toast up some garlic bread (in oven/toaster over at 400 degrees until crispy/browned) and then spread ricotta cheese on it. Now spoon the tomato's on top of the ricotta. Drizzle with some of the juices or more honey if you like then place fresh Basil leaves on top of the tomato's.

I am Very happy with how this turned out! Delicious! I was so excited and pleased with myself when I took the first bite from my fork.

I really liked using the garlic bread instead of the usual very hard/dry/crusty bread used with brushetta. (That was Hubby's suggestion when I phoned to ask him to pick me up a bag of the brushetta chips, as I call them, from our food store on his way home).

I have plenty for left overs for the next few days (makes a healthy snack as well as an appetizer) and I plan on making this again in the future, especially with the holidays coming.

If anyone makes this, I truly hope it turns out well and you enjoy it!

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 18

2 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, an 8th teaspoon fresh ground sea salt and an 8th teaspoon fresh ground pepper (substituted white pepper because I was out of the other), tomato's of choice
Toss quartered tomato's with the honey, evoo, salt & pepper, then spread in a baking pan or on a cookie sheet (I also sprinkled some parsley flakes, basil flakes & garlic powder before putting in the oven at 300 degrees for an hour & a half).

Today I am thankful for Inspiration, especially when it comes from an unexpected source. (Seemingly "out of no where.") These photo's show the first 3 steps of my first attempt at 'honey roasted tomato brushetta with ricotta cheese' and if it turns out half as good as it is at our favorite Italian Restaurant, I'll be very happy! The scent of honey and tomato's throughout the house is Wonderful!

A "Thank You!" For A Lovely Arrival

These adorable little 'Shrooms arrived in the mail from Jeanne over at The Candy Corn Chronicles (http://wildwoodsartstudio.blogspot.com/) and just made my day! (I love getting all manner of things in the mail). They were her November give away and I was the lucky winner. Perfect for my "to read" bookshelf in our living room! I adored Jeanne's blog (her art and her writing). Thank you again Jeanne!

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 17

Today I am thankful for Advil and Thermocare heat patches, even though neither seem to be doing much good at the moment. (Sorry, tmi I know, but it's all I've got right now).

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 16

Today I am thankful that sunsets like the one above have returned and I can see them right from our front porch.

Our Sunday in Photo's (Includes the USS NY)

Taken at Gateway National Park NJ (Sandy Hook Lighthouse, Fort Hancock).

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, November 2009

Not much left blooming here. The colder weather, wind & rain and Nor'Easter after Nor'Easter have left more of a mess than anything else.

For more info, go to May Dreams Gardens at http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/2009/11/garden-bloggers-bloom-day-november-2009.html

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 15

Today I am thankful for being able to see the USS NY docked at Earle in NJ (minutes away from where we live), for being able to take photo's of the ship and see her begin to make her departure. Bon Voyage USS NY and Semper Fi to her Marines! Thank you for visiting us and glad we could offer shelter for you until the Nor'Easter finally went out far enough to sea.

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 14

Today I am thankful for friends and how just chatting via text can lift my spirits & make me feel better when I need it most.

She Writes Day of Action

Please go to the following link for writing friend and author Meg Waite Clayton's blog http://megwaiteclayton.com/1stbooks/?p=1092 or to the phenomenal site SW She Writes http://www.shewrites.com/ for more info & details.

Crisis Calling

What am I doing? WHAT AM I DOING?!

I'm talking writing here.

Why am I stalling?

Why do I just keep dreaming instead of acting on those dreams?

What's stopping me? WHY AM I STOPPING ME?!

I'm actually scared.

Apparently I can't just write whenever the hell I want to because I don't write often enough.

And I suck with discipline.

But I love to write.

So where does this leave me?

Changes and upheaval are abound. I feel myself heading into a tail spin. A bit of a crisis. An identity crisis? A writing crisis? More than one crisis is on the horizon here, I'm pretty sure of that much.

And this whole Sister-in-law thing isn't helping me right now. Or is that why I'm feeling like this in the first place? I feel like I'm counting down my days until her arrival in the back of my mind. I was looking forward to going down to Philly for the day, because, as you all know by now that I love Philly and any excuse to get me down there. But now even that idea isn't helping. Damnit.

Gah.

Something positive: I added something on the subtle side to my header/banner above. It came to me last night while I was reading the new issue of Artful Blogging, always a source of inspiration and refreshment for me. Because that's what I've been doing, trying to do, for so many years.

(Stephanie Meyer never wrote anything before writing Twilight. From when she first started writing it until it was published and on store shelves was 2 years and 3 months. She only received 9 agent rejections, 1 who wanted to read more and 5 no replies. And of course there are the movies of at least 2 of the Twilight series. Watching her on Oprah today was not a good idea).

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 13

Today I am thankful for comfort food on a Nasty day when I'm not at my best.

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 12

Today I am thankful I didn't wake up with a post iv med treatment hangover, that I didn't get heartburn after my morning tea, for the simple & pure joy I get from seeing the Winter birds back at the feeders in our yard and for Inspiration.

People (Bleep), Even When They're Family

I am so disgusted with 10 of my 12 brothers & sisters-in-law right now. I've never been very fond of them because they're all a bunch of selfish, inconsiderate, mean spirited, only call you when they need something from you (usually money), condescending aholes. It boggles my mind because I love my father in law dearly and he's a wonderful, loving man!

Anyhoo, to try & make a hugely complicated & long story as short as possible, my eldest sister in law B is 62 and disabled. She has epilepsy and is learning disabled. After my mother in law passed away in 2005, Hubb's younger sister E offered to have B come & live with her and her family to give Dad & B time to grieve and heal from Mom's passing and so that Pop wouldn't have to assist B with everything she needs. This was supposed to be a permanent situation.

In 2007, without talking it over with B, it was decided that B would move to NJ from FL to live with Hubb's sister C because E didn't want her living with them anymore. E had been treating B very badly for many months we later found out.

Now, C's husband had just had a massive stroke & congestive heart failure the winter before, her son was still living at home as well as my other sister in law M. C was also having a lot of financial problems as a result of her husband's health (and her Gambling problem that she won't admit she has). B did not want to move up here but was forced to. C doesn't treat her any better than E.

We initially had B with us every weekend and then I had to put my foot down & it went to every other weekend. (It was too much honestly). Roughly 9 months later, B told us that C made her sign a check for what she thought was the balance of her account. C denied it. We had access to her accounts via online banking because of her staying with us so often (given to us by E) and we checked - B had no savings left. At all. And we saw that out of her $634 social security check each month, she was left with $100/$25 a wk and the rest was going to C for "rent and expenses". C denied it all regardless of proof, refused to see us or talk to us and told E that B had to go back to live w/them in FL because she didn't need the stress of being accused of stealing B's money when it was given to her by B (which it was not).

So B moves back w/E in 2008 and while on vacation to my brother in law W's down in TX, she tells W how badly their sister was treating her again, how badly things went with C and HE tells her she can move there with them (he & his wife) and he will NEVER make her leave and she will ALWAYS have a home with them. He tells us and Dad this as well. Makes a point of doing so.

The end of last week B calls all upset because W's told her she cannot come back to live with them after she's done visiting Dad in FL and then us later this month. Yup, she can't come back to where all of her things are, where she's been living for over a year now.

She's already told us they'd been fighting a lot and we've told them they're just over due for a break. W tells Hubb's on Sat. that he can't take the stress of what ever is going on with B, his doctor says he's going to have another heart attack if he doesn't lower his stress (but the coffee like water & smoking is apparently Fine) and he doesn't care if this has to do w/the change in her epilepsy meds, he's done with her and it's Ours and E's problem.

You can't find a place for someone like B to live in a matter of a couple of weeks to a month! And while she can stay here or Maybe in FL temporarily... It's not fair to any one to have this thrust upon us with no notice given all of the assistance she needs! And in the middle of an apparent reaction to new meds?! Before she sets foot on a plane W should be making sure they do something about her meds because Lord knows what could happen while she's flying from TX to FL or FL to NJ. Sorry, that Makes Sense and these people don't operate with that kind of logic.

How the F can W Do this to us?! To Hubb's who is the Youngest brother, the Second Youngest of 12?! (E is the youngest). There are 10 older ones a head of him and only 1 has offered to help and one we don't expect to because his brother S is disabled from Vietnam and can barely walk nowadays much less take care of someone else.

Gah. We're so frustrated.

I swear, if the stress of this causes my Husband any harm, or myself, or our marriage, each and every one of these selfish, pathetic excuses for human beings will pay dearly. (I've already contacted an Elder Law attorney for a consultation).

I'm feeling very overwhelmed and deflated.

We've been expecting that B would eventually end up in our care. Just not this damn soon.

She was supposed to go back to TX on December 19th. Now it appears she'll be here for an extended stay.

I should have known finishing the spare room re-do would bite me in the arse. (Perhaps this is why I usually don't finish projects I start? Somehow I've known better?) With the exception of paint, I've finally gotten it the way I want it and we now have a spare bedroom/exercise room/craft room/writing room/office. Not to mention some purging/cleaning/re-organizing of the book cases in the living room.

Bewildered...

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 11 - Veteran's Day Today

Today I am thankful for our Veterans! Love Freedom? Thank a Veteran today! Thank you to all of our Vets, past and present for all you do for our Country every day! Thank you my dear, wonderful, amazing Marine Husband!

Happy First Anniversary to Where Women Create!

I cannot begin to tell everyone how much I look forward to Where Women Create (and Artful Blogging) as the time for a new issue to hit the stands draws closer & closer. As you all know that while I'm a writer above all, I do dabble in all things crafty & creative and seeing the spaces where women explore their creative outlets feeds inspiration to my creative soul! (Click on the icon above to find out more about WWC).

Congrats Jo on your first successful year with Where Women Create and here's to many, Many more!

Love,
Jo

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 10

Today I am thankful for The United States Marine Corps who are celebrating their 234th Birthday today. If you know a Marine, please go out of your way to wish him or her a Happy Birthday. To my Husband, Happy Birthday.

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 9

Today I'm thankful for having a restful, quiet day at home & that Hubby let me sleep in for once! I was so tired and in a lot of pain this morning, not to mention the fact that my nose had clogged up like I had corks up each nostrel Sunday night & was unchanged by this morning. Hubby woke me to tell me he was leaving to go hunting (he hadn't woken me up getting up for the day), gave me some cold medicine and stayed with me until I went back to sleep. Sometimes I need more sleep than you could ever possibly imagine. My normal tired or exhausted is others' cold or flu fatigue. Today I was exhausted. I'm hoping for a better tomorrow.

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 8

Today l am thankful I was well enough to be with our American Legion Post for the Veteran's Day Parade and that we had the opportunity to make our friend Chris's day by letting him ride in the truck with us as we drove our American Legion & Auxilliary Posts down the parade route. (He has Down Syndrome & has a special place in our Posts heart).

I'm plum exhausted. I hope everyone's had a great weekend!

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 7

Today I'm thankful for getting out of the house for a while on a pretty Fall day and for having another nice time with Vic & Mom.

I'm also thankful for people like the young man whose Memorial appears in the photo above, who volunteer to Serve and Protect our Country and our Freedom knowing they may never come home. (We attended the dedication ceremony this afternoon).

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 6

I'm thankful for a nice evening at the VFW/American Legion with Hubby and Mom.

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 5

Today I'm thankful for feeling so content after getting the rest of the Halloween decorations boxed up and purging the book cases of books that I do want to read, but know I'm not going to read any time soon. (All of which starts getting carted down to the basement tomorrow thanks to Hubb's. In the process I also dusted (much to the chagrin of my allergies) so everything looks clean and decluttered. I did a lot but paced myself and used the office chair so I was sitting most of the time - still sick/getting over being sick).

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 4

Today I am thankful for the excitement a new skein of yarn brings, for the simple pleasure of reading the new issues of Artful Blogging and Where Women Create Magazines and the comforting feeling of my cheek against Hubby's skin.

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 3

At this moment I am thankful for such a beautiful Autumn morning here. I am also thankful for my Freedom and the ability to vote (which we did early this morning).

Join Me in Being Thankful This November

30 Days of Thanksgiving

Catching up: Yesterday (November 1) I was thankful for Hubby taking care of me when my arthritis flared badly & I was in so much pain and for his love. Today (November 2) I am thankful for a new novel idea that seems very promising.

For more info, click on the following: http://keepinupwiththetatums.blogspot.com/2009/10/30-days-of-thanksgiving.html

All Souls Day and Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos)

Many Blessings
to those remembering
their loved ones
who've passed on before us.

Love,
~Jo
)O(

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls_Day
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

NaNoWriMo 2009. Day 1

Let the madness begin.
( http://www.nanowrimo.org )