Thankful

Two posts in one day! Hmmmm. It is one of two things. I am so excited about the upcoming events and have wonderful things to share, or I am so completely exhausted from my day and need a break! Well, they are both right!! I spent my morning planning out my Thanksgiving menu. I did not post my menu plan, but it is in place. My Thanksgiving menu is as follows:

*Turkey (22 lb plus a turkey breast)

Stuffing (my mom makes the best!)

*Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Gravy

*Dinner Rolls

*Corn

*Baked Beans

*Macaroni and Cheese

*Fruit Salad

*Spinach Dip and Hawaiian Bread

*Cranberries

Broccoli Casserole

Cottage Cheese

Pumpkin Pies

*Raisin Pie

Apple Pie

Cherry Pie

*Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (from scratch)

Everything with an asterisk is made by me. Everything else is either brought by someone else, or made here by someone else. I did my grocery shopping for both Thanksgiving and my weekly shopping today. Thankfully, Charlotte and Zach stayed at Rachel's house. My mom and Kyle came with me to help. My mom pays for most of the Thanksgiving dinner so I was easily able to stay under my budget for the week.

I got the greatest package in the mail!!! Cheryl (Coppers Wife) sent me a huge piece of my favorite fall fabric and 3 beautiful dishcloths she knit. One is fall colors, which I will use on Thanksgiving and the other 2 are Christmas colors. I was so touched by the gifts and note she sent me. Thank you so much Cher!! You and your family are such a blessing to so many.

I plan to make an apron with the fall fabric to match my table topper and napkins. MAYBE I can get it done for Thursday. Now that I did this apron pattern once, it would go quicker the second time...we'll see. Speaking of the table topper, here is a peek at it in several places...which do you like best?

I got my frig cleaned out and had all the breakfast dishes still sitting there when I got home from the stores. I went to put them in the dishwasher, only to find the dang thing was full...of DIRTY dishes. Sooooo, I washed and the kids dried. I said to one of them "If I wouldn't have gotten off target, we would not be doing this." My Zachary said, "It's ok, Mom, this is good for us!" Wow. I was amazed. Oh...another fabulous gift I got this week.....My secret sister at church gave me a wonderful little tray with a Pumpkin Bread mix. It made a nice size loaf that fit the tray perfectly. Where did all the bread go????Dinner tonight is Quiche and waffles. The waffles are an add on...you would actually be proud of me. I was going through the store and saw these waffles and thought they would be a nice addition to tonight's dinner. They were only 1.79...no biggie. I grabbed them and threw them in the cart. All of a sudden I started seeing things that appealed to me. I QUICKLY realized I was falling into an old pattern. I did keep the waffles but then stuck to my list!! I pitched in on Thanksgiving dinner, took my mom and Kyle to lunch (and dessert, mmmm), bought my weeks worth of groceries and still came home with $57.00! Yep...that is not a typo. I did forget one thing on my list, but it is a 49 cent item.

Another thing I have done is to start a change jar. I put all my coins in this jar. My goal...A Kitchenaide. That is alot of coins!!!!