Thinking About Thanksgiving

I can't believe it's already the middle of November!  Thanksgiving is just around the corner, which means I better start thinking about it!  Adam's family is coming to visit the weekend before Thanksgiving and we plan to have a Thanksgiving spread cooked up for them to enjoy.  

I am all about organizing and planning, no matter what I'm doing.  Thinking about a Thanksgiving meal is no different.  So, I've started to consider a few things and plan ahead.  I thought I'd share my plans with you on the off chance they may help you out, as well.  

Plan the menu ahead of time. 

Thinking about what dishes you plan to serve ahead of time helps you be more prepared when the big day arrives.  Dreaming up and writing down your menu helps you figure out exactly which dishes you need to cook and also helps you buy ingredients when they are on sale in the coming weeks.  It also prevents you from having to go to the grocery store on the day before Thanksgiving, which makes me quickly forget all the things I'm thankful for and utter ungrateful comments under my breath at the lady who is blocking the whole baking aisle with her cart.  Sorry, I got a bit sidetracked.  Planning ahead also allows you to gather new recipes you might like to try.  

Schedule a time and place for each dish.  

It really helps to make a cooking schedule.  That way you can think about which items you can make ahead of time.  And on the big day, you are better able to keep track of when each dish needs to go into the oven.  

It's equally helpful to set aside a baking dish for each item with a label of what goes inside.  This allows you to make sure each item has a proper dish and if anyone is helping you out, it allows them to do so more easily.  

Consider cooking a turkey breast in a crock pot for smaller gatherings. 

I do not pretend to be a cook.  Adam and I were in charge of cooking one year and the turkey was by far the most difficult part of the meal.  We spent a good 20 minutes trying to figure out where the bag of random turkey parts was hiding in the turkey.  (Eventually I had to call my mom, who helped me realize they were hiding in the neck cavity.  Gross.)  And then we spent another large portion of time trying to figure out how to tuck the wings under the bird so they wouldn't burn.  We also didn't realize you were supposed to cook a turkey with stuffing in it longer than without it.  It turned out alright, but I'm not quite sure it was worth all the effort.  

Since Adam and I will only be cooking for 5 people, I am toying with the idea of just cooking a turkey breast.  And to make things even simpler, I might even let my trusty crock pot cook it.  I haven't asked Adam about it yet, but I have a hunch he'll be on board with my idea.  

Add some cute Thanksgiving decor.  

Gatherings are always made more special with some themed decor.  I plan to keep the paper pumpkins I talked about here as my centerpiece.  They are nothing fancy, but help bring a bit of Thanksgiving charm to the table.  

I also hung up my "Give Thanks" banner recently.  It helps remind us of the meaning of the holiday and also looks pretty darn cute.  I got the idea and printed the letters for the banner from here.  

Don't forget about your dog! 

I have to give Adam credit for this one.  He picked up some Turkey and Cranberry dog treats at Trader Joe's the other day.  We are certainly thankful that Jazzy is a part of our lives.  Giving her a little something special helps us show her just how much we love her. 

Jazzy has been practicing not eating her treats until she has permission.  She can wait patiently, but she can't look at the treat.  It must be too tempting.  

Happy Thanksgiving planning! 

Jazzy Gets Crafty

It's no surprise that I love to do crafts.  There's just something exciting about turning a random assortment of supplies into something cute.  I have tried to pass along my love of crafting to my dog Jazzy.  But she's not really having it.  

After seeing some darling Pinterest projects involving dogs walking over a canvas with paint on their paws, I convinced Jazzy to give it a try.  It didn't exactly go as planned.  The only evidence of this project that remains are the blue paw prints on my deck.  

I don't really know why I thought this would be a good project for Jazzy.  First of all, she hates when anyone touches her feet.  She refuses to let Adam or I touch her paws, which means we have to take her to the vet to get her nails trimmed.  She's not exactly a fan of anything being on her paw either.  Once, on a walk, she stepped on some random electrical tape that was on the sidewalk.  She immediately stopped walking and help her paw up in the air until I got the tape off of her little foot.  I'm not sure why I thought she would like dipping her paw in a glob of paint.  

Clearly, I wasn't thinking this project through very well.  I'll spare you the details, but let's just say I used way too much paint and she had a blue paw for awhile.  At least I made sure it was non-toxic paint.  I should have made sure it was washable, as well.  Adam concluded that she was just cheering on her Kansas City Royals.  

I wasn't ready to let Jazzy lead a life without crafting just yet.  So I looked on Pinterest to find a more Jazzy-friendly project.  I ran into a cute idea for making paw print ornaments.  I realize it's a bit early to be thinking about Christmas, but I just couldn't resist.  Besides, the only thing Jazzy would need to do was step on a slab of dough, which would require far less stress than the paint debacle.   

Jazzy was a very good girl and put up with Adam and I squishing her paws in the dough.  It wasn't the most fun she's ever had, but she definitely liked it more than our painting project.  

I opted to let the ornaments air dry over night so they would keep their fresh, white color.  I strung some leftover silver ribbon I had through the hole so they could be easily hung up on our Christmas tree.  I also wrote Jazzy's name and the year on the back of the ornament using a silver paint pen.   

Jazzy is very proud of the final product.  I have to give her props.  She did craft some darling ornaments.  

Are You There God? It's Me, Sara.

This post has been floating around my brain for a long time now.  I wanted to take my time with it and be very thoughtful about what I wrote in regards to God.  I know it's a touchy subject and I don't want to disrespect anyone's beliefs.  My thoughts in this post are my own and are not meant to sway anyone to think my way.  I simply want to share my experiences in the hopes that it might help others gain insight.  

One of the reasons I started this blog was because I wanted to create a blog that focused on dealing with the loss of a baby and struggling with infertility in a non-religious way.  So many of the blogs and support groups I looked into were very religious.  Religion brought me little comfort and I didn't want to be constantly told about "God's plan."  I was angry and upset and God wasn't helping me out.  

A huge struggle of mine during this whole crazy journey has been figuring out God's role in all this.  It has tested my beliefs and made me reevaluate my feelings about God.  While I still don't understand everything or even have a clear grasp of my own feelings about God, I have come to some conclusions.  

Crappy things happen.  Period.

I used to think that if you tried to be a good person, then good things would happen to you.  I had the crazy notion that good people were immune to bad things.  Boy, was I wrong!  Crappy things happen. They happen to good people and to people who don't make the best choices in life.  People lose loved ones. People get cancer.  People suffer.  It's awful and it's horrible and it's not fair, but that's just how it goes.  

Why?  Why do crappy things happen?  I don't know.  I don't think anyone really knows.  Crappy things just happen.  It's as simple as that.  No one deserves to have these crappy things happen to them.  And no one's immune to them.  That part's scary.  It doesn't seem to matter if you are a good person or not.

But, in a way, this idea sort of brings people together.  We are better able to empathize and understand each other because of this.  This idea reminds me of a quote I stumbled across on Pinterest:

   

Source 

This leads me to my next conclusion...

I don't believe God has control of every aspect of our lives.

I can't and don't want to believe in a God that would ever choose to make someone suffer the loss of their baby.  Or give an innocent child cancer.  Or any of the other countless, horrible things that people have to endure.  

I believe God is waiting in heaven with all the people we have loved and lost.  And his job is to take care of us after we've died.  I don't think he controls everything that goes on down here.  I just can't justify all the horrible things that happen in this world.      

Love and happiness = God. 

I believe that God provides us with love and happiness.  When I think of all the people who sent me love and kindness after I lost my baby, I felt like God was a part of that.  When I see rainbows and ladybugs, I feel like God is in that, too.   

There it is, everything I believe about God.  I know that lots of people may disagree with me or think differently and that's okay.  I think the whole point of religion and God is to develop your own understanding.  And I'm sure my beliefs will change and grow as I do.   

While I will continue to pray and hope to God that he will send Adam and me a healthy baby (just in case he's in charge of that), I don't fully believe it's up to him.  If it were, we'd have a healthy baby in our arms right now.

Okay, enough about God.  I'll get back to Jazzy and house projects in my blog posts. :)