30 Days of Thankful Thoughts

     Thankfulness for me is an unnatural state of mind. I must be intentional and reminded to be thankful, especially throughout November 2013. I am grateful to have Facebook's "nudge" as an accountability partner, embracing 30 days of Thankful Thoughts combined with BlogSpot's opportunity to compile all of the days. Day 30's Frozen finale is at the very bottom of this entry.

Day 1: unique thankfulness from FB

Day 2: I'm NOT the acclaimed Grandma with the hand-written treasured recipe, voted as... "The Worst Vintage Recipe Ever Made": Jell-O with Shrimp Frosting. Yuck!

Day 3: "Sisters" + free quality theater entertainment + finale sensory surprise + time-change extra hour = enjoy!



Day 4: pumpkin identification

Day 5: As I lay in bed this morning, deep thankfulness about an extraordinary inanimate object came to mind... chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! (Dark chocolate, of course). I try to limit myself to 21 chocolates a day--chips.

 

Day 6: Ownership of a furry feline has never been possible due to sneezing, wheezing allergies. Oh the joy to finally possess at least the illusion of a purring friend in my home.

Day 7: Memories of my 6th grade teacher Mrs. Piper, championing me, an average student, for one of the coveted crossing guard positions, connecting with this invisible middle-of-6 child with subtle, respectful, intentional, targeted reminders, communicating to me in various ways: "Minus 18 sucks; +2 says 'I ain't all bad' ". Educators Mary, Jeff, and other student champions, you are performing a special, superhuman mission, "to infinity and beyond."

 

Day 8: Because of skilled medical professionals, my life was undeservedly spared [from breast cancer] over 7 years ago. Today, professionals will skillfully remove swollen adenoids from a special little guy's throat and impacted teeth from his wise pop's mouth. Two "nurses" will be very busy this weekend... so glad God AND Nana are there with my daughter.

 

Day 9: I transform sheer panic... to hope with a desperate, single-finger, hunt-&-peck internet search: SUPER GLUE FINGERS!!!!!! Hot water + vinegar + dish soap and a finger soak = fused thumb & index finger freed, with skin intact . The wonders of the information highway.

 

Day 10: Sunrise & sunset, daisies, dancing, a child's laughter & drooled smooches, power walks & hand-holding, scrambled eggs, apple pie, Party Burritos, twinkle lights & stars, crashing waves, fireworks, purring kittens, horses, good hair days, re-watching favorite movies... singing, giving, the Bible & challenging messages & going. These are a few of my favorite things for which I am thankful.

 



Dad is the WWII finger-pointer

Day 11: "Veterans Day is an official United States holiday which honors people who have served in armed service, also known as veterans... It coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which a...re celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark the anniversary of the end of World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect.)
      Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day; Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving." (Wikipedia)
      Very thankful for all veterans, and remembering my WWII Dad and other family members & friends who have bravely served, and those who continue to serve, to protect our freedoms. The finger-pointer in the pic is 21-year-young Air Force Lieutenant/Pilot Dad simulating preparing his squadron for a South Pacific reconnaissance mission. He'd reflect: "If I had known what I know now about how dangerous those flights were, I would have been afraid!"  TAKE-AWAY: You are not defeated by the greatness of your problem, but by the smallness of your spirit. Dad had a large spirit.

 

Day 12: As we eagerly prepare for our extended-stay Thanksgiving crew, obsessive-compulsive & amathophobic (fear of dust) tendencies are heightened. On this frigid fall morning, I hesitantly attempt to re-arrange & re-claim... the "man cave"!! So thankful that: 1) Syngenesophobia (fear of family) & frigophobia (fear of the cold) are not my phobias, and 2) my husband is not grumpy Fred Flinstone.

 

Day 13: Thankful for the warmth of our home, a comfortable bed, warm steel-cut oats for breakfast, water to brew green tea, a roof over my head [that's new!], more clothing & coats & footwear than I need [strikingly apparent during an ongoing closet project], health, and enough extra to give to the desperate people in the Philippines. Praying for their dire needs to be met [post-typhoon].

 



Day 14: As the sun rises on another brisk morning and my husband finishes yet another early run, I am grateful for his steady strength. He is a kind, giving, serving, loving, funny, faithful, generous, wise, and godly man. I was keenly reminded of my abundance last night as my very busy husband took time to accompany me to hear an important message, on thankfulness.

Day 15: Thankful for physical capabilities: eyes to see, ears to hear, feet to walk to destinations & dance, teeth & tongue & a sense of smell to enjoy food, vocal chords to talk, hair to curl & style & fiddle with, hands for tools & touch, lips for kissing, arms for hugging, a heart to feel, a mind to think, good memories [& so far a decent memory], a clear conscience, AND restful sleep.

Day 16: For today's entry only, I turn from Dreamy Della to Sober Sally. If all is stolen by fire, hail, flood, famine, tornado, hurricane, tsunami, typhoon, or looters, I might miserably complain, however, I would hopefully dig deep to be thankful for three… FOREVER… indestructible intangibles: 1) my spirit, 2) my Savior's love, and 3) my brilliantly beautiful, eternal, heavenly home.

Day 17: I may not be the fastest horse in the stable, but I'm thankful to get out most days for steady gallops.

Day 18

Day 18: After much negotiation and deliberation, our front door is agreeably spruced up for the holidays, and it pops!

Day 19: Since I attempt to be a person who walks by faith and not by sight, I am thankful that, tomorrow, with the help of more dark chocolate for motivation, my sabbatical's first to-do will finally be crossed off the list: Purge & organize my clothes closet. Check! ♪...I love ya, tomorrow. You're always a day away! ♪

Day 20: Fond memories are rekindled unearthing a crafted Wee Mouse House; mementos, events & meals with friends & chats; neighbor-walks; shopping excursions, calls & festive family times together; small groups; Facebook "community"... all people-connections for which I am thankful.

Day 21: So thankful that my two grown children have their devoted Grandma, who prays for them by name every morning, cheers them on, and loves them very much. Now, THAT is priceless. AND, she makes pumpkin pie, too ♥♥!



Day 22 & MY Olaf (see Day 30)

Day 22: Because I love both holidays, and the Christmas season is shorter this year, I'm thankful for ways to celebrate Thanksgiving AND, tastefully, warm into Christmas, with a Thanksmas theme. Still tweaking the set-up... & creating a Minion-themed birthday cake. Hopefully it all doesn't turn out despicable, oh, me.


Day 23: Reflecting that exactly one year ago today, Thanksgiving 2012 was complete...

Day 23

...The savory turkey, cooked-in-a-crockpot, in-transit to Tulsa, was a success as well as the rest of the meal. A Thanksgiving walk with our son and memories are now cherished, treasured times. This year there are 6 extra days until Thanksgiving, for creating thoughts, for Thought, and for that I am thankful.





Day 24: Just 2.5 more days until the ETA, then 1 day, and then THE day. Thankful that we're almost ready and we are all well.

Day 25: A sheltered garage, dependable transportation, and nearby grocery stores with plentiful ingredients will be beneficial as I stock my cupboards this week. Important grocery list additions for the grandchildren: 1% milk (rather than no-fat), Nutri-grain bars & yogurt. Oh, and looking forward to DWTS tonight for needed evening chill-time.

Day 26: Very grateful for a least one steady income regularly coming into our household. I'm spending it!

Day 27: Our organized walk-in closet is morphed into a temporary pack-'n-play nursery for our little one's quiet, cave-time sleeping... maybe not quiet for DeDe & JJ, but thankful we're still young. (Disclaimer with two, of innumerable, safety precautions: make sure there is no possibility of shelf items falling on baby AND we carefully mounted my daughter's baby monitor for continuous safety and clear viewing...to repeat, use wise caution for your precious bundle)

Day 28: Thanksgiving thanks for many things, including my daughter's growing family.

Day 29:  Thankful that the onset of flu symptoms came early enough to legitimately justify avoiding all Thanksgiving food prep & its luscious but lavish 2,500-calorie meal, and timely enough to perform kitchen clean-up for therapeutic OC distraction from yuck feelings. Sometimes being thankful is about turning lemons into lemonade.

Our kinda/sorta impaled Minion?

Day 30:  It's lemonade time again as I embrace... freedom? listening to Vertical Church band's ♫Found in You♫ and ♫I'm Going Free♫, picking up half-chewed cookies, strewn toys and ribbon used for "tie, tie, tie" fun; pitching Taco Bueno party burrito fixins; emptying water from Nemo's miniature fishbowl; uncovering a left-behind Avent baby bottle; savoring half-eaten Minion birthday cake; removing the dinette table's leaf and a portable pack-'n-play from the master bedroom's helpful walk-in closet; ejecting Megamind from the VCR,
    

We enter Frozen's ☼laf-land

....and fondly seguing to Frozen's homely show-stealer sunny Snowman Olaf contrasted with my CUTE Olaf (see Day 22).
     Oh, how I fight the urge to Mother Hen my grown children! Instead, I painstakingly step back and allow them to embrace their full potential by letting go of my personal fears and insecurities, balanced with measured help-versus-freedom... it all equals love. It is similar to the love the Heavenly Father demonstrates to me daily.
     I am thankful for my Heavenly Father's amazing love, measured help... and freedom. ♫It is found in You♫... ♫He threw my shackles in the sea♫... ♫Jesus is my liberty... I'm going FREE.♫

Birdlegs & Slouchy Boots



My legs are so skinny, slouchy boots almost fall off
& one boot was always way higher on my leg than the other.

          What's my secret to lessen the slouch-factor??


Leg warmers & wide elastic hold my slouchy boots up

The Closet: Pictorial Finale Tips




Our front door is red-y

     Getting red-y for Thanksgiving company has included major hustle, including two, years-begging-to-be-tackled, projects (painting the front door and organizing the closet). Today's post, The Closet: Finale (Part IV of IV) reveals MY side of our walk-in closet (October blogs reveal my angst about closet organization and contain photos of husband's side of the closet). 

      I'm embarrassed to admit that for 8 years our roomy closet has felt crowded. Now, with a logical set-up and tools, my father-in-law's favorite motto is fulfilled: A place for everything, and for everything a place. I now manage my clothing. Purging and re-surging were also beneficial (I actually found a couple of valuable pieces of lost clothing).

     This closet finale is like reality TV & National Treasure, combined. Reality because it is not perfect, but the tools were affordable and it is good enough, using items I already owned OR purchased at garage sales or thrift stores. A treasure because of unexpected, reasonable finds to creatively store our clothing. Here is a pictorial reveal, to possibly inspire other "closeteers":

 

Red & brown bins store t-shirts, rolled. Belts hang from a belt hanger.
The stool and counter-top help when dressing & to fold clothes.
Dress pants hang strategically folded above the counter
(pants to the right hang unfolded).

 

Occasional dress-up purses, binned




Garage sale medical cabinet's
counter top & 5 drawers...



...well worth $50 to neatly store socks & undies
(With shallow drawers, no digging through piles!)

     Now, for my scary, but now contained, REALITY side of the closet...please turn left...



 What's with women & shoes?
I could only part with 10 pairs, so viewable storage creates voila!



Yes, more shoes!

Side pocket lights illuminate
 high- & low-rise racks of shoes.
Thrifty CD high-risers, re-surged!!




 

Casual & long-sleeve workout shirts, rolled, are readily spotted.
Garage sale plastic shoulder covers appear professional, anyway.

 





Inexpensive, re-surged Wal-Mart dorm bookcase, lays sideways
for visible shelf storage of slippery work-out wear (pants, t-shirts, shorts)

 

     As promised in a previous blog, The Closet: Tips:  http://deovolente55.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-closet-tips.html  simply click the yellow link to view a gadget we use, the FlipFold. It neatly folds sweaters, shirts, and t-shirts: FlipFold's official ad demonstrates its benefits...(FYI we don't fold sheets with it)  .

 

Ikea's hanging storage for scarves is a bit
obsessive...with 28 scarf holes! Yowza!

Savings 3 Bank

SAVE, SPEND, & GIVE containers corralled on a plastic tray

     Pictured above is a personally-crafted, shakable, playable, savings 3 bank. It was created with... one of my special little guys in mind... for his 3rd birthday. He may not clearly understand the concept of money yet, but it's never too early to help my monkey-lover to learn to share with the SAVE, SPEND, and GIVE containers.



Underneath the SAVE lid hides an adhered "cents-ory" surprise

• SAVE can't be opened by little hands.
• SPEND is a recycled Parmesan cheese container* with a flip top (clear because it might be important for precious SPEND money to be easily visible), and why not include some fun little toys in the container?
• GIVE randomly evolved (for his offerings) with a carefully carved coin slot in the bed's headboard.
• Gold and black lettering can be purchased at Wal-Mart.

     It would be impossible to re-create this one-of-a-kind bank... just hoping to inspire some monkey business in the saving-&-giving world!

*After the label is removed from the Parmesan cheese container, any residual glue can be rubbed off with petroleum jelly (Vaseline) and a little elbow greas. The SAVE bank is an empty gourmet hot cocoa container. 

Kitchen Ideas & Stations, everyone!

     A thoughtful kitchen welcomes memorable people-events. This past year I've had time for many things, including developing kitchen flow for advantageous culinary group workouts. Here is a pictorial plethora of ideas, as family holiday baking/cooking times quickly approach. Please note disclaimer at the bottom*:

Knives & utensils attractively reachable for guest cooks




BAKING spices store separately from COOKING spices, for stations
To view: Kitchen Organization: COOKING spice rack--click here

Tea organizer (Ikea) lets company easily view their options

  

Rolling pins creatively store in an unused space



Green Tea (high in anti-oxidants) brews easily every a.m.



Kitchens may have a can opener...

...electric JAR openers save precious wrists

 

For frugal dishwasher tips, graduate to:
Sparkle University--click here 

 

*Disclaimer: Confusion (OR even over-organizing) may be a comfortable dynamic for some families (avoiding unpleasant or delicate issues as in my toxic, dysfunctional childhood home).

OR, maybe chaos creates adventure! Approach organizing with caution, & avoid extremes.

 

Synchronized take-away:  1) "Birds of a feather flock together" and,  2) "You can't have your cake and eat it too."

 

 

 

Kitchen Organization

     My sensory processing requires a little distraction from October's closet organization. It is therapeutic to reflect on 2013's organization already accomplished. Here is a brief pictorial purview of a few of my kitchen's organization centers.


Less-used & smaller UTENSILS are contained in narrow baskets
...SPATULAS, etc. are handily contained on the counter



Plastic-coated spinner for easy viewing & no oil on shelves



Cooking spices are stored on levels (sold at BBB) for easier viewing, in somewhat alpha order left-to-right
(baking spices are in a different cabinet).




Hide produce in a drawer? Out of sight, out of mind! At eye-level healthy foods will be eaten.

     For additional kitchen ideas, click this link: Stations, everyone!