Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
There is so much to be thankful for this year. Family, friends, food, a roof over our heads. I can’t even begin to list all of the things I am thankful for.
I am praying that you and yours are having a wonderful Thanksgiving this year.
It is too easy to get caught up in all the things to do. I am writing this a week ahead, because, like you, I have too much to do and too little time. Just this morning I was writing on the legal pad where I write my to-do lists…
The Giant Pre-Thanksgiving List
It had all the regular things on it, like:
Cleaning
- Bedrooms
- Kitchen
- Refrigerator
- Bathrooms
- Attic storage room (“Huh?” you say. Well, this room was the studio at one point and needs a deep clean)
- Living room, sunroom, etc…
I take before and afters so I can tell that I am actually doing some good. This is the before of our coffee table. It is usually buried in yarn, books, and papers. One of the hazards of being a creative person.
Planning
- Make a menu for Thanksgiving weekend
- Plan a menu for next week
- Figure out the food for the weekend (because there are food allergies involved)
- Figure out when my brother and his family are coming
Shopping
- Go Christmas shopping with Mom
- Go get the cookie ingredients
- Get the Thanksgiving food bought
The List Seems Endless
It also had things like:
- Finish the week strong with Angie’s schooling
- Do the Dogs need their shots? Schedule vet appointment
- Fill the holes in the yard the dogs dug
- Mow the yard (yes, I know it is November, but this is Oklahoma and it’s 80 degrees today)
- Rearrange the furniture in the den (guests are coming; need the floor space)
I did get one of our dogs in to the vet for her check up and she is doing fine. Here she is relaxing while waiting for the vet. We will take the other after Thanksgiving.
If I get really OCD, I will rewrite the huge list into an even bigger list with the smallest possible job increments and color code it with the most important stuff first. I will also portion out the work over the week so no one is completely overwhelmed. This is also when I delegate all the jobs from stuffing the turkey and mopping the floors to changing the towels. I know this is all crazy when you add in the Chocolate Dog Studio business stuff. I feel totally overwhelmed, yet thankful…
Very, Very Thankful…
- We can get all of these things done
- We are so blessed to have each other
- To have friends and family come and visit us in our introvertedness (we overdose on Thanksgiving weekend and spend the next month getting over it–not really, but it does feel like we have overdosed. :0) )
- For our grandchildren
- To be able to cook, clean and go where we want to go
- To sleep each night in safety
- For dogs that bark in the night and keep us up (at least we can hear them!)
- For kids that leave dirty clothes on the floor (I mean– we have clothes, and a floor to leave them on, and a way to get them clean)
Wow, that list is amazing! I am sure you have your own list of Thankfulness. I am not really usually this cheerful but being thankful is something I am working on daily.
Talk to you later,
Karen
P.S. I am taking some time off– I’ll see you back here December 1st. Have a great holiday weekend!