Thankfulgratitudeness

We're celebrating Thanksgiving in Canada this weekend so you know what that means...

...pumpkin pie?
...turkey dinner?

...spending time with family?

...giving thanks?
...leaves on the trees are changing colours?
...kids will soon be trick-or-treating?
...Thanksgiving prayers start popping into my head?
...Christmas decorations are already out in stores?
...cornucopias decorate tables?
...Sarah's home for the weekend?

YES!  Sarah's home for the weekend.  YAY!!! YAY!!! YAY!!!  All of the above are also correct answers, although I must admit that the only thing I enjoy about pumpkin pie is the whipped cream.  As for Halloween, I’m seriously going to have to think about whether or not I want to give out candy this year because I’m on a strict diet of no sugar so we’ll see what happens.  I’m sure that will be the theme of an upcoming blog post.   As for Christmas decorations, I have no comments.  Ugh! 

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend, I can’t help but wonder what the difference is between gratitude, gratefulness, thankfulness and thanksgiving.  Well, according to the Oxford English Dictionary:

Thanksgiving is the expression of gratitude, especially to God, and is also (in North America) an annual national holiday marked by religious observances and a traditional meal. The holiday commemorates a harvest festival celebrated by the Pilgrim Fathers in 1621, and is held in the US on the fourth Thursday in November. A similar holiday is held in Canada, usually on the second Monday in October. 

Thankfulness is the expression of gratitude and relief.

Gratitude is the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Gratefulness is the feeling or expression of appreciation for something done or received. 

So basically, this weekend we will be giving thanks while expressing gratitude for all things good in our lives.   For those of you wishing others a “happy turkey day”, let us not forget about giving thanks (especially to the plethora of turkeys who gave their life for us this weekend!).  As I write this blog post, I'm remembering a gratitude journal that was started when Sarah was young, as per Oprah’s recommendation.  Sarah thinks she might have been 4 or 5 years old at the time.  Every day, in the gratitude journal, we wrote 3 things that we were grateful for that day.  I’m guessing our gratitude journal didn’t last very long but it was fun while it lasted and Sarah stills remembers it.  I think the journal might be in storage at my parents’ house because I would have liked to share a few entries from our journal with you.   Needless to say, you don’t need a journal (or a blog!) to give thanks every day but since I have a blog...

I'm so thankful….

….for Sarah, Mom, Dad, Bro, BFF, Reb and all of BFF's family, all of my family and friends including Dr. Acupuncture and Neighbour, and my colleagues.  I’m blessed with so many loving and caring people in my life!!!

…for my cats, Mayah and Johnson.  I only have two cats (that does not qualify me for cat lady of the year!) but I thought they deserved their own “entry”. 

…for having a job that allows me to work with dedicated, creative and intelligent people who work together to strengthen communities.  Also, for having a job that allows me to raise a child (and pay for her university education!), to have fun, to have a roof over my head, food in my fridge and pantry, a car, and other material possessions (mostly my books!).

…for Life's lessons!

…for laughter :)

….for the sun, the moon, the clouds, the rain, the flowers, the trees, the birds, the butterflies, the bees, all animals and plants, the seasons and the earth.

…for not getting addicted to soap operas while I was home sick for two weeks.  I could have easily gotten sucked back into Days of our Lives since the story line hasn't changed since I watched it 20 years ago!  I’m also thankful for Dancing with the Stars, The X Factor, Private Practice and the upcoming season of The Rosie Show and Oprah’s Lifeclass.  Oh yeah, I’m thankful for my television :)

…for my body (even if it’s not perfect!), my health (even if I’m not 100% healthy!) and all of my senses.  Oh and my brain...'nuff said :)

....for John Cusack, Colin Firth, Taye Diggs, George Stroumboulopoulos, Boris Kodjoe, Shemar Moore, LL Cool J, Kevin Spacey, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Morris Chestnut and  Matthew Goode.

….for being single (even though I often joke about looking for a boyfriend!).  Most of my friends are married or in a relationship, and they often bitch about their significant other so I’m thankful I don't have a husband or boyfriend to bitch about.  The only thing I have to bitch about right now is Bell’s palsy.  Now the big question is:  would I prefer to bitch about Bell’s palsy or a boyfriend? Hmmmmm….

….for dancing (and music...including my mad piano playing skills!).  I play the tunes on my boombox and bust a move every day.  Right now, I'm thankful for this song...you're welcome :)

…for living in Canada, a democratic society, where I was able to vote for my provincial representative (even if the voting system is not perfect!) and for the first time, I was able to see Sarah embrace her civic responsibility.  She was able to vote for the first time on Thursday night! 

…for my blog (yes, it’s somewhat self-flattering!).  Although I could be annoyed that there are sometimes glitches with the blogging site including not being able to post comments on my blog (I guess I could be thankful that you can't post hate mail on my blog!), I’m thankful that I have so many fans readers and supporters of my “creative” outlet.  Since my brother wasn’t able to post on last week's blog post (he consistently comments on my posts and for that I'm thankful!), I  thought I'd post his comment here:

All you need is love
-A girl has got to eat
All you need is love
-Or she'll end up on the street
All you need is looooove
-Love is just a game.

…for Sarah’s text message to me last week:  “Too bad you’re sick because I was really hoping you could make me veggie pot pies, poutine and chicken ‘n dumplings without the chicken this weekend.”   Well, I’m very thankful (for our iPhones!) that Sarah enjoys my cooking so much that she put in a request so I found the energy to have veggie pot pies waiting for her when she arrived home on Thursday night.  If you’re interested, here’s the recipe (please note that I'm not very good at writing out recipes for the food that I prepare so sorry if it's not very clear or accurate):

Veggie Pot Pies

1/3 cup of shredded onion

1/3 cup of shredded carrot

1/3 cup of shredded cauliflower

1/3 cup of shredded broccoli

1/3 cup of mini peas

3 teaspoons of cornstarch

3 tablespoons of butter

1 egg yolk, stirred

3 tablespoons of shredded cheese (whatever you prefer)

Vegetable broth (the quantity depends on how saucy you want the filling)

48 tart shells (if you’re cooking for a vegetarian, make sure the shells are made with vegetable shortening)

Before sautéing the veggies, you need to put 24 of the pie shells in the oven to brown them.  I put them in the oven at 380 degrees F for 10 minutes.  While half of the pie shells are in the oven, leave the other 24 on the counter to thaw. 

In a pan, melt the butter then sauté all of the vegetables in the pan.  Once soft, sprinkle the cornstarch over the veggies then stir until the veggies are coated and let cook for a couple of minutes then add the veggie broth and stir until you get the right consistency to your sauce then add cheese and stir.  Remove from heat. 

Fill 24 of the tart shells (that were browned in the oven) with the veggie filling then cover the tart shells with the remaining thawed tart shells.  Brush the egg yolk over each tart shell (this will add colour to your veggie pot pies). 

Put the veggie pot pies back into the oven for 15 minutes or until brown then enjoy! 

Veggie pot pies (and Johnson!)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!!! 

P.S. Don’t forget to give thanks today and every day!