Why I am Grateful, #28, #29, and #30

Today will be my last post on gratitude, at least for a little while. I am sure that you are tired of these cliched Thanksgiving posts, but I am glad that I am doing them, if nothing else, for my own sake, and for my family's sake. So, for the last time this year:
Today, I am grateful for:
-Good night's sleep, which doesn't always come as often as it used to when I was younger.
-The fact that our local animal shelter, thanks to the wonderful work of its new employees and volunteers, has not killed an animal for space reasons in 366 days. Last year, there was an 85% kill rate, and now, there is a 91% save rate, and the only euthanizations have been due to illness or aggression beyond any control. I am so proud of everyone involved, and the hard work, the tears, the happy "tails," and the battles we have fought together to bring this about.
-I am grateful that my dad deactivated his Facebook account. Before you freak out on me, let me assure you, I LOVED having my dad on Facebook. But, he deactivated his account, at least temporarily, because he felt he was constantly having to check it, which decreased his productivity, and he was tired of all of the drama caused by who is friends with who, and who said what, and who believes what, who read what, etc. It has inspired me to check it less and eliminate unnecessary drama in my life. Granted, it's a great way to keep in touch w/ people, and I'll probably still check it a few times a day, but I want to work harder to check it less and less.

Why I am Grateful, #26 and #27

Today, I am grateful for being able to start afresh each and every day, getting a chance to make things right and to begin again when I stumble in life, as we all do. I'm going through a bit of a trying time right now where I am really doubting myself and my abilities, and it helps me to make it through knowing that today is another new start, and I have people who love me unconditionally.
I am also grateful for health insurance/dental insurance, which I didn't have as a kid, and enables me now to decently afford health care and dental work. While it doesn't cover everything, it makes the costs digestible and manageable, and I know it would be so much worse not having it because I've lived having to do without it. This week, I went to the doctor and came back with three prescriptions, and only had to pay $23 for all three, and I was able to also go to the dentist and get my teeth cleaned and x-rays for free as I have done for a few years now, and which I couldn't get done regularly as a kid.
For those two things, today, I am grateful.

Why I am Grateful, #24 and #25

I am grateful for the fact that, minus buying some small gifts for a few friends, we have most of our Christmas shopping done...all of the family shopping is complete! And I'm really excited about that because now I can tune out the Black Friday commercials and sale ads and focus on the season itself. (I really, really, really hate the commercialism of Christmas and Black Friday, but that's a rant for another day...let's just say, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it is essentially Christmas without the materialism, and now the retailers want to take that away from us via Black Friday hell.)
Today, I am also grateful that we had a Thanksgiving meal large enough to supply us with ample leftovers, which I will be turning into pot pies a la Paula Deen today.

TURKEY POT PIE

Servings: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
2 11-ounce cans condensed cheddar cheese soup
2 10 3/4-ounce cans cream of celery soup
1 large Turkey skinned, cooked, boned and cubed
2 medium onions, diced
2 cup cooked butternut squash, diced (I'm just gonna use a can or two of canned veggies...corn, maybe peas, or mixed vegetables, or whatever is frozen downstairs)
2 cup cranberry sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, dust surface with flour. Cut 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry into 1-inch strips, 8 inches long. On a large cookie sheet, weave strips into a lattice large enough to cover each pot pie. Mix egg and milk together and brush onto each lattice square. Bake for 5 minutes. Dough will rise and turn light golden brown. Set aside until ready to assemble pies.

In a large saucepan heat the milk and soups. Stir in turkey, onion, squash, cranberries and salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil. In an oven-proof pot, fill with mixture and top with the pre-cooked lattice square. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes until bubbly and puff pastry is deep golden brown.

Cook’s Note:
Cutting the puff pastry with a fluted-wheel creates elegant edges.

Good substitutions for cheddar cheese soup are cream of chicken soup and cream of mushroom soup.

Recipe Courtesy Paula Deen

Why I am Grateful, #23

I was listening to a song from the '80s today, "Life in a Northern Town" by Dream Academy, and for some reason, I started thinking about some of the friends I have lost to death throughout the years. For some reason, there have been more than a few friends of mine who have died too young, but all were special to me, and all blessed me in very distinct ways. So, today, I've spent privately memorializing them, and their presence and time in my life is what I am grateful for today.

Food for Thought on Thanksgiving

"Joy is the simplest form of gratitude." --Karl Barth

How wonderful is that quote. I have a planner that I use for my to-do lists, and each week, it has a different quote, and that was this week's quote. Sometimes, when I look at what other people have, or buy, or when I envy their talents or their looks or their personalities, I find myself getting depressed, feeling like I don't have enough, don't do enough, don't spend enough money.... Whereas, if I actually just appreciated what I had more, I'd probably be happier and not care as much about what others have or do. And I'd have joy. And what shows gratitude better than joy? I think I want to carry this quote with me as I enter the Thanksgiving and holiday seasons. I get so depressed sometimes around the holidays, between the demands on my time and energy, and the frazzled, contrary shoppers, and the stress of preparation, and feeling on one hand like I just want to reject the whole notion of the commercial side of the holidays, and yet, I feel guilty when I see my friends buying tons of stuff for their kids, and I'm keeping such an uptight budget for my own. When, really, if I just focus on what I have and try not to stress out, I'd find so much more joy in the season and with the holidays. I need to remember what is truly important and strive to be more grateful, and less envious and materialistic.

Why I am Grateful, #22

Today, I am grateful for sunny days, because it's rainy, nasty, sleepy days like today that make me appreciate the lovely sunshine all the more!

Why I am Grateful, #20 and #21

Today, I am grateful for things like Febreze and homemade candles that keep my house from smelling like diapers, dog, and dust all the time, and for groomers who bathe and cut my dog's coat so I don't have to! Buddy gets groomed today (finally, after a few rounds of sickness), and I'm so happy.