will and i are bringing mashed potatoes, gravy, creamed corn and a pumpkin pie. we got the america's test kitchen cookbook from a friend and it is AWESOME. every recipe we've tried has been amazing, and i love it because they tell you everything they tried and why/how they came up with the recipe. so we will be using the book for all our dishes. except the pumpkin pie, which we'll pick up from costco because i love costco's pumpkin pie.
depending on my mood, i might also try to create a simple centerpiece for the dinner.
things i am grateful for this year:
- a job in this economy, = a means to pay rent and living expenses
- an opportunity to live in a new place during our first year of marriage
- my church, our small group community
- friends, both in LA and chicago
- my husband and the ways i get to know more about him as the days go by.
it is no small thing to make friends and feel a sense of community in a brand new place, especially for someone like me, who lived in the same city for 28 years. i have a newfound appreciation for international students or people who transplant to a new city or country for work, school or life circumstance. i am so grateful that we have friends, not because that means we're cool, but because i know that friend chemistry and other such things are out of our hands. i feel grateful for people who took initiative with me to hang out in the early days. the other day i was reflecting with will on my first few weeks here. looking back, i was so much like a deer caught in headlights. i think on my 2nd or 3rd day here we went out to dinner with those same 2 couples we're spending t-giving with and i remember feeling really out of it and in a daze. everything felt surreal. my friend e is super busy as an ER resident but she took time to take me out to lunch and hang out with me during that first month. that meant so much to me, because at that time i had no friends, no work, no community, no car, no snow boots to even go out. haha. it is funny looking back at my own self just 11 months ago. now i have a job, friends, a community, i know my way around the city, i got all the fall/winter/cold weather gear and i know which grocery stores to shop at.
because of all of that, i think this year i've just felt so grateful for basic things like an income, friends, church and a warm winter coat. they are basic but so essential!
we've had the awesomest fall weather and it hasn't snowed yet. i checked the weather and it's supposed to snow on thanksgiving. i know i might regret saying this later, but i'm actually excited about it snowing on thanskgiving. it will be beautiful.
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