A Thankful Hodgepodge

Joining Joyce & Friends for the weekly Wednesday Hodgepodge....

1. Let's start with something controversial...dressing or stuffing? What's it called at your house and what's included in your recipe...cornbread? oysters? sausage? chestnuts?

At our house we call it stuffing and it is a simple but delicious combination of bread, onion, butter and poultry seasoning.  Simple, but amazing.

2. Who do you sometimes compare yourself to?

Sometimes I compare myself to my mother.  We have lead such different lives that I sometimes find it interesting to compare where I am at my age to where she was at the same age. Sometimes I compare where I am now to where she is now. And sometimes I compare the choices I am making to the choices she made.   

3. When were you last inside an airport?

The last time I was in an airport was in February 2010, when we flew home to Las Vegas (McCarran Airport) from our family vacation in Orlando & Ft. Lauderdale. 

Pictured here is my husband, my sister, me, my brother, my nephew and my son before a show at Sea World in 2010. 

Pictured here are me, my mom, my nephew and my sister after the show... we unwisely sat in the "Splash Zone" on a very chilly February day. Brrrr!

4. What is one side dish that absolutely must be included in a turkey dinner?

At our house there are two things that must be included in a turkey dinner.  The first is the stuffing mentioned above and the second is broccoli cheese casserole with a ritz cracker crust on the top.

5. What Christmas song do you dread hearing?

I love Christmas music but I absolutely dread "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer." Unfortunately this is my husband's favorite Christmas song, so even if I am lucky enough to miss it on the radio. I end up hearing it anyway as he has the CD.

6. If someone approaches you and asks for money do you give it to them? Do you drop money 'in a tin cup' that belongs to a person on the street? Do you have a specific charity you support during the holiday season and/or year round?

I have a dilema every time someone approaches me for money.  Most of the time I do give them a few dollars and pray that they will actually use it for what they said they needed it for and not drugs or who knows what.  If they happen to be near a fast food restaurant and say they want the money to buy something to eat, I always buy the food.  This way I know it is going for the intended purpose and that they are getting a full meal.  I do drop money in the "tin cup" for street performers... extra if they are playing the Saxophone. When we lived in Las Vegas I supported the Las Vegas Rescue Mission, here I support the Harbor Country Food Pantry year around.

 

7. Share a favorite Thanksgiving memory. If you live in a country that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving share a favorite memory associated with food.

I cannot think of one specific favorite Thanksgiving memory.  One thing I really love about Thanksgiving is that we do not spend Thanksgiving running all over the place.  We have a quiet dinner for three and after dinner we spend the day decorating for Christmas. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

It can't be said often enough;  I thank God every day for my husband and my son. 

My husband knew all of my flaws, shortcomings and idiosynchracies before he married me, and yet, he married me anyway.  And after 17 years of marriage and 20 years as a couple, he still holds my hand in the car. We still eat breakfast together every day, we still enjoy being together.  I cant wait to get home each day so I can see him, and get hugs and kisses from him.

I am so thankful for my son, he is such a wonderful child.  He has the biggest heart, and his father's sense of humor. For years we wondered if we would ever have children, it seemed like it would never happen. We were married for 8 years before we finally had our son. Sometimes with the hectic schedule of day to day life it is easy to forget that we are lucky to even have him, but when it is quiet and I look at my son, or he is cuddling with me, or making me laugh I always pause to thank God again for blessing us with him.

The two loves of my life.  Father's Day 2009.