What *WAS* I thinking?

I *AM* spending the day cooking and cleaning and preparing. Sheesh!

Thank You

Today is Thanksgiving.

So often, I spend Thanksgiving day cooking and cleaning, preparing or traveling. While that can be fun and, at least in retrospect, is rewarding, while I'm in it, I often feel overwhelmed, overworked and overspent.

But there is always some shining moment in the day, like a baby girl devouring a great big turkey drumstick. Or the kids putting on a Thanksgiving presentation, with Bard reciting a poem by Jack Prelutsky and Houdin dressed like an indian, his face covered in orange Mary Kay foundation (who would actually WANT to be that color???) Or my father-in-law waking us up before the sun even rises to go on a Turkey Walk by strolling through the house at some non-human hour making some non-human noise that's supposed to sound like a turkey gobbling.

This morning, while I was snuggled cozily in my bed after a crazy night of eating individually holiday-wrapped Reese's Cups and watching Shrek 2, the last thing on my mind was waking up. And then, at some non-human hour, the phone rang. It was so early that the sun had just peaked over the frosty hillside. With my sleepy head pressed against the phone receiver, hoping I had the right end to my ear, I could hear that non-human noise.

"Gobblegobblegobblegobblegobble. Gobblegobblegobblegobblegobble."

It's Thanksgiving. And even though our budget or our work schedule can't handle a trip to Illinois to spend the weekend with the rest of our family, my father-in-law, God bless him, has brought a piece of it here.

Today, we'll be pulling our Christmas decorations out of the fruit cellar, taking down the fall foliage that remains from our Family Gathering, and preparing for our Thanksgiving meal, which will be on Saturday this year so that another family whose budget is a bit tight--and whose man-of-the-house will be working today--will be able to join us for in breaking bread and giving thanks.

While my heart longs to be with the rest of my family (it's my husband's family, yes, but it's the only family that I have and couldn't ask for a better one), I'll thank God for my husband and kids, and I'll thank God for His many blessings. Yes, it's easy to complain about the budget, the work schedule, the preparing, the cleaning or the traveling (or, as this year, the lack thereof), but I know that it's more lovely to give thanks.

On this day, I thank God for family, for love, for forgiveness, for eternity, for God's salvation, for His perfect timing, for free will, and for the chance to start a new life with every single moment.

Thank you for reading. Thanks for the inspiration you give me. Thank you for your insight and your wisdom and your companionship. Thank God for you.

Have a truly thankful day.

You Are Mashed Potatoes

Oridnary, comforting, and more than a little predictable You're the glue that holds everyone together.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

I'm so cool, too bad I'm a loser...

The Barmy Blogger: Oh it's Saturday, it's Saturday, a hun-hun-honey and a ha-cha-cha!: "I'm probably dying. Prob'ly (I love typing it like that) no one will even come to my funeral.Or maybe everyone will come, just like the people did for Tom and Huck and Joe. They'll all realize how great I was, and how they didn't appreciate me. Why, just today my own mother and father ignored me.Man, if my being tired doesn't get me killed, that last comment will. It's been a good life, anyway. "

I'm probably boring. Prob'ly, no one will even come to my blog. Or maybe everyone will come, just like the people did for Bard's Blog. They'll all realize how great I was, and how they didn't appreciate me. Why, just today my own daughter ignored me.

Man, if my being a loser doesn't get my blog rolling, that last comment will. It's been a good blog, anyway.

The Very, Very Pitiful Mom

Who's behind?

That would be me. I'm falling far behind on my NaNo, according to my little NaNometer. Sigh. I'm losing my momentum. There is still plenty to say...much, much more to say.

File Under: Something You Should Never Have to Say

"The cat does not need it's butt wiped."

Stream of Consciousness About the Trip to the Art Museum

• The impressionist paintings were awesome.
• I could stare at a Van Gogh all day.
• I think Van Gogh is my favorite. Along with Mary Cassatt.
• I couldn't believe that I was standing in front of Water Lillies.
• Some art is really bizarre.
• I'm not sure why a wax leg with real human hair sticking out of the wall is considered "art."
• I signed the guest book with a nice, long story.
• The art presenter didn't know anything about homeschoolers.
• The kids recognized a bunch of art.
• We saw an Andy Warhol.
• We saw Picassos.
• We saw a work by Chuck Close.
• There was a really awesome one there called Lot's Wife.
• They had good food in the cafe.
• Food in the cafe is expensive.
• It's expensive to park at the art museum.
• Monet hit one of the other girls while we were in the room of ancient artifacts.
• Monet apologized, but he refused to move because he "wanted to be alone."
• We ended up leaving because of it.
• I missed looking at some of the cool stuff, because of Monet's temper, Houdin's moodiness and Bard's insatiable curiosity (read: I couldn't find her).
• Sweetheart and Baby were darlings.
• I want to go back.

I'm a Princess

I'm sure it's no big surprise to you that your
romance is The Princess Bride. A heartwarming
tale of "Twue Wuve" that has giants,
Spainards and swashbuckling. You really do
think that love can overcome anything. You may
be a touch naive but your heart is certainly in
the right place. You've probably got one of
those relationships where proper nouns have
been replaced with "Snookums" and
"Pookie Pie". Eww. Beware a cuteness
overload.

What Romance Movie Best Represents Your Love Life?
brought to you by

Stream of Consciousness About NaNoWriMo

Finding the time to write is hard.
I started with one concept, and gave it up because I really felt I needed to pursue a different path.
I can't believe where it has taken me.
Somehow, the adventure has been life-changing.
So many things have happened in these past fourteen days.
Of course, I've been neglecting my blog, but that doesn't mean I don't love it.
Be patient with me, little blog! I hope you don't worry that I'm seeing other blogs. You have a very special place in my heart, and I'll come back to you. I promise.
NaNo is almost half way over.
I'm not quite at my word count.
When I do sit down to write, it's difficult to begin.
Once I get started, the words just flow.
I can usually do about 3,000 in one sitting.
Bard is doing NaNo, too. Her regular blog is here. Her NaNo blog is here.
Because I'm writing about my own experiences, I have a hard time determining which are interesting because they're interesting, and which are just interesting to me. Feel free to go over there and be my critic. But don't make me cry. Yet. Let me get the whole thing hammered out first. Then you can make me cry. I've been crying enough lately...
I haven't really been reading other people's blogs or nanos lately. I'm trying to stay focused.
Bohemian has been a wonderful support system. I just wish The Baby would go to him more. She's very attached to me.
Because I've been working at the local cheesehouse through the week, part time, just through Christmas, it's been difficult to keep the house clean *and* get the NaNo done. Bard has been a very great help with this. Thank you, my dear eldest daughter!
It's time to go write.

Why I Haven't Been Writing...

I have a good reason. Really. I haven't been writing because...well, because I've been writing.

It's NaNoWriMo time. And it's almost half over.

So, if you want to know what's been on my mind, you can check it out. I'd love some feedback.

http://experiencepossessed.blogspot.com