Thanksgiving Thoughts

Since it's almost that time of year here in Canada, I have a Thanksgiving related query. Why do so many women treat it like a competition, and get obsessive about the meal, the decorations while completely forgetting it's about thankfulness, including family?

I am NOT referring to the women who can effortless turn out a beautiful home and meal while juggling other responsibilities, I'm referring to the women who go around in a panic, feeling like they must spend tons of money, time and cause a feeling of dread and dismay in the rest of the family.

To me it shouldn't be about wearing yourself out and being frazzled or fretful. It should be about feeling relaxed, confident, doing what you are capable of doing and taking pleasure in it while your family is grateful for your efforts. I spent some time observing the women who do have the five course meals and the well decorated houses.  They seemed at ease with what they are doing.  They had a timetable with some flexibility.  They explored recipes and chose ones that were within their budget and talents.  They became my inspiration for how to do a Thanksgiving Dinner that makes my family comfortable.  I also knew of women who for whatever reason didn't have much money, only the desire and held their heads high as they served a simple meal.  My Thanksgiving Dinner is never too elaborate. Everything I cook or bake, is within my capabilities and budget. I plan it well, remembering to do all things with a cheerful heart to ensure that I have a smile of joy, not relief, as I sit down at the table.

Blessings to the women who will be going to the store to buy some sliced turkey, buns and a pumpkin pie with a cheerful heart.  Blessings to the women who do the five course meal and the well decorated house.  I thank you for being a role model to me and helping me set realistic goals for my household.  Here's hoping this year's experiment of homemade pumpkin goes better then last year's experiement of homemade cranberry sauce.

My Summer Fantasy

My son is no stranger to certain facts of life living in Alberta, such as wearing winter boots only a few weeks into fall, or helping shovel the sidewalk a month after spring starts. I didn't realize how much of an Alberta boy he until he was doing a "Label which machine goes with which season" activity. The letter choices were Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. He said "Mom, look, if I rearrange the letters beside the snowplough, they spell SAW." In the box beside the snowplough, he had put an A in the box and beside the box, he had added W and S. I couldn't fault him for the extra letters. Thanks to the family living in the part of Alberta that has a diverse climate he had seen snowploughs out in Autumn, Winter and Spring. As well, due to living so close to the Rocky Mountains, he had printed "Winter" and "Summer" beside a pair of shorts. When the Chinook wind blows off the Rocky Mountains, many people celebrate by putting on shorts even though it is still wintertime.

Despite living in Northern Alberta, there was one sound that was not a part of my childhood during the summer. When I was a girl, we never had to turn on the furnace. I had heard of short, cold summers during the late 1800's and again in the 1930's. Unfortunately since 2002 when we became homeowners, we've had to turn on the furnace at least once during the "warm" season, usually in August. This year I have vowed that from June 21 to September 21 the furnace will stay off. I don't want Kidlet to see a "Machines of Summer Word Find" and say "They forget furnace". Big Lug is even helping out. He's agreed to leave the furnace off if I'll put the flannel sheets on.

Smokin' Hot Marriage

Last year God called an American pastor from way down south to come way up west. Pastor Scott has a unique way with words. Combine his southern way of talking with a church that prefers to teach people instead of preaching at people and you can occasionally walk out of a church with a whole lot on your mind. I had thought with the topic being about how to have a smokin' hot marriage, it was going to be the teaching time about sex. It wasn't; however the pastor did discuss a PG-13 version of Proverbs 5:18-19. He forewarned people in a few weeks the message was going to be adult and it would be a good idea to put children in the children's classroom. After going through the part of Genesis about how and why God created woman, including Adam declaring Wo! Man! as a bit of southern humour (pastor's words, not mine) and using Proverbs 5:15 as a reminder of being faithful to your spouse, he went on to cover how a smokin' hot marriage means met needs.

We had been told the  needs lists for both genders was an 80/20 rule, with 80% of people making the needs their top 5. I could have done without hearing about making a house a place of refuge and comfort for your husband. When it comes to what makes a woman attractive, Big Lug is part of the 20% of men who could care less about a woman wearing make-up. He's definitely in the 80% who want the house to be clean.

Domestic Support came up again on the women's list. It was fourth on the men's list, third on the women's list. It was nice to hear a pastor speak about the virtues of a man being domestically supportive to his wife. To be fair, Big Lug is great at doing his share of housework. I know I cringed when the pastor finished discussing that woman's need by reminding men "A woman's house is an extension of her personality." There are parts of my house that are well-cared for, parts of my house that are in disarray and a few parts that if you look at them close, you see some ugliness.

I began to ponder if I should change my evil ways and stop being a Housework Impaired Female. I didn't want to be a Martha, too busy to enjoy Jesus' arrival but I also knew that I shouldn't use that scenario to go the other extreme and do nothing about the disorganization in my house. It was with a great deal of relief when Pastor Scott drifted to more comfortable territory to me, speaking about how a smokin' hot marriage means honour. One of my favourite Bible verses is Romans 12:10. The King James Version says "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another." Thanks to my interpreting the first half to mean providing recreational companionship for your husband, I am number one on Big Lug's list of people he enjoys taking to a game or race. As for the second half, it's the same as Proverbs 5:15, being a faithful spouse.

It took Pastor Scott's Southern twist of Romans 12:10 to simplify how I could be the sort of wife that has a smokin' hot marriage. Don't yell, don't cuss, and don’t fuss. Those were terms I could understand. I knew I could get rid of the disarray and ugliness in my house by not yelling, not cussing, not fussing, just calmly and serenely going about it.

E-mail Subscriptions

I'll plead guilty, I sometimes click on "Subscribe to Newsletter" not to become better informed about something but because it will provide me with a good laugh. No, I didn't subscribe to a Joke A Day type newsletter. I have enough good ole boys and girls in my life; I don't need that sort of subscription. I'm referring to a healthy eating lifestyle newsletter. Today's suggestion made me giggle. "Have a healthy banana split for breakfast. Cut a banana in half and have it with low-fat yogurt, strawberries, granola and a squirt of chocolate syrup for a morning treat."

First, I believe that God looks at the beauty of our souls, not false outer beauty. He also grants us wisdom to know what healthy is. If I want a banana split, for example, I am not going to do the above. That's not a banana split. A banana split is at least two scoops of ice cream, a banana cut in half, six strawberries quartered, a third of a cup of pineapple tidbits, put in a pretty glass bowl, sprinkled with cocoa and topped with a cherry of some sort. If I don't have those ingredients on hand and am feeling noble, this is how I have a banana split for breakfast.
1/2 cup purified water
1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1/4 frozen banana chunk
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 tablespoon Pure Gourmet Cocoa (I fantasize about the day when we go from Safeway Store Brand to Bernard Callebaut)
1 scoop plain, unsweetened whey protein powder (optional but it does thicken it up)
1 tablespoon Flaxseed oil (I was into the Omega scene way before it became trendy)
1 cup plain, unsweetened yogurt

Put in blender, blend until smooth and enjoy! Garnish with a cherry, if desired.
Real Redneck women are secure enough they don't worry about calories, they just enjoy life.

The Waiting Game Begins

I've been working hard at trying to get a book written. It's just like me. Short, cute and cheap. The book has been written and submitted. Now it's in the hands of the publishing company.

I decided to write about what I know best and who I am. I wrote about life as seen through the eyes of a redneck who is a child of the 70's. Lewis Grizzard and Erma Bombeck were definitely influences for the humour part of the book. As for chapter lengths, let’s just say you can tell I've read lots of Chicken Soup books.

I don't know how things will unfold. I know I feel peace and contentment that I have quit rebelling against God. I'm no longer in charge. He is.