Being Thankful

Who all is still in a food coma from Thanksgiving?

Thankfully (ha..) I'm not, I didn't overstuff myself this year which is a miracle.

Unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures of the wonderful food I made and ate...whoops

So just use your imagination to picture everything k? 

The day before Thanksgiving I spent a few hours with Michael in the kitchen making a homemade cranberry sauce, cornbread for my cornbread stuffing, and pumpkin and apple pasties.

Thanksgiving morning I tried making this cranberry pumpkin baked oatmeal I found, but it didn't work out at all so Michael and I just had some Greek yogurt with granola before jumping into the kitchen to finish cooking.

I spent a majority of my Thanksgiving in the kitchen with Michael making cornbread stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, herb rubbed turkey, and whole wheat rolls (okay I didn't make these, but I popped them in the oven to warm up).

This year I was determined to make everything as healthy as I possibly could and I didn't a damn good job if I do say so myself. The stuffing was made with whole wheat bread and the cornbread was even made with whole wheat pastry flour. The mashed potatoes were made with a small amount of low fat milk and was mostly flavored with garlic. The veggies were just tossed with a little olive oil and salt and pepper which was my substitute for that marshmallow crusted sweet potato dish everyone makes.  Everyone enjoyed dinner and I got a lot of props for making a delicious dinner. Thanks to my sous chef/boyfriend for helping me make everything and keeping me sane when I was going to start chucking brussel sprouts at people when they pissed me off....

Michael and I went for a walk after dinner to walk off dinner

When we got back my older brother was determined to play a board game so we cracked out the Marines version of Monopoly in tribute to my other older brother who is in Afghanistan currently.  All in all it was an amazing Thanksgiving that made me really enjoy my family and amazing boyfriend.

This year I'm thankful for a lot of things considering everything I've been through but I'll run through just a few.

I'm thankful for my generous and loving parents and family. I couldn't make it through life without these amazing people supporting me and an older brother who makes me laugh whenever he's around. I'm also thankful for my oldest brother who sacrifices time with his family to protect our country in Afghanistan.

I'm thankful for Michael who is not just an amazing boyfriend, but a wonderful best friend. He keeps me centered when I'm about to go batshit on the most mundane things. He makes me smile even when I don't want to and he supports me in everything I do.

I'm thankful that my grandmother is getting better after suffering a heart attack not too long ago. She's such an amazingly strong and brave woman and I'm just in awe of her.

I'm thankful I have gotten healthier after going through an extremely rough patch a few months ago. I'm thankful I have the strength to exercise and just enjoy life.

I'm just thankful to be alive and healthy with people I love around me.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

And let's not forget now that Thanksgiving is over

It's Christmas Time!!