Tell it like it is…

Posted by random olio

I often think I do not do the best job of telling people in my life how important they are to me. We just had probably one of the most normal holidays of all holidays, Thanksgiving. While you might have stuffed your face with cornbread stuffing and other Turkey Day favorites, what did you do to tell someone else how important they are to you?

I did to one person, but I can sometimes be shy to tell others. I am never hold back to tell Chris what I am thinking, and Thanksgiving Day is no different. I adore him, and am ever so grateful that he is in my life. Yet, why is it that sometimes I let time go by without telling other family members and certain friends how I feel?

I recently read a few posts from someone I used to work with and am connected to on Facebook who had a childhood friend pass on from cancer. She did not know her friend had cancer. She was shocked and upset. You could read the pain through her posts. It got me thinking. How often do we tell those in our life, no matter how close they are to us, how important they are to us? If you have not recently, what is holding you back?

I am going to try to reach out to friends and family in the coming weeks and tell them how I feel and that they are important to me. Holidays can be full of fun and happiness for some, and challenging and depressing for others. December is a great month to reach out and connect with others. You never know what another individual might need until you reach out and express your appreciation and love to them. Here I go, will you join me?!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday, enjoyed time with friends and family, and are ready to get back to work. A happy week to you!

Gobble Gobble…

Posted by random olio

I am a bit of a holiday downer. Not a complete Scrooge, but close. I have a hard time with Thanksgiving and Christmas, partly because I think we should be grateful everyday, and I think Christmas has lost its true meaning.

I have fond memories of the holidays when I was a kid. I remember the food at Thanksgiving, and my mom spending hours cooking. Pumpkin pie, turkey, mashed potatoes. We did not have any traditions like going for a walk, watching football, or inviting other families over. Mostly I remember the food, the smells, and often we might play a family game. I remember after we had our special meal and we helped clean up the kitchen we would go our separate ways for the rest of the day. I most likely hid in my room snuggled up with a book.

As I got older and things got rougher at home, Thanksgiving went from a meal with my family, to often not coming home from school, or having a strange meal with my sister and grandma. I remember one holiday (I cannot remember if it was Christmas or Thanksgiving) we had purchased ingredients to make a meal and my sister and I realized we were short a key ingredient, which meant it was not possible to make the dish. We went out to see if we can find a substitute only to find that the only store that was open was Village Pantry (a midwest version of 7 Eleven). The only thing they had that could make a meal was some older dusty cans of spaghetti sauce. So we had spaghetti that holiday.

Not having normal holidays has made me cynical about them. I have tried from year to year to create my own traditions, and some years it has worked and other years it just has felt exhausting. So this Thanksgiving rather than try to carve out a tradition or holiday expectation, or to force any excitement at all, I am going to ponder these words from Tony Robbins:

“Trade your expectation for appreciation and the world changes instantly.”

With no expectations (gosh that is so hard for me!) I am going to just think of what I truly am appreciative of and grateful for. During this week of Thanksgiving, I will honor all that has happened in 2012 and see all the change, triumph, and joy that has been brought into my life.

With gratitude to everyone that reads this post and random olio. May you have a yummy meal (sans spaghetti sauce) and a warm and love filled day on Thursday. Happy day of gratitude!

Clever Halloween…and tasty pumpkin…

Posted by random olio

So for some random reason today I got inspired to dress up for Halloween. I think the last time I dressed up for Halloween was at LEAST ten years ago. However, I cannot decide what I should dress up as. Of course I want to do something unique and original, but I am not sure what. Maybe I should just shave my head and go as Sinead O’Connor. Ha. Not really that original though. I want to do something clever, but somehow I think I have maybe waited to close to Halloween to be able to pull off clever.

So I WELCOME your ideas. Please share your ideas and comments below.

I was in a meeting yesterday and I kept having a craving for pumpkin. Something happens to me at the beginning of October when the leaves start to change colors and crisply fall to the ground. There is a noise of crunching leaves as you walk, a smell in the air, sometimes of fires in fireplaces or just the crispness of autumn. In Portland, there is still the fresh greenness, mixed with the colors, and of course the rain. With all that color and smell, I think of everything tasting of pumpkin. Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin bread, squash soup. Yum. I know I wrote about cranberry sauce the other day, but for me that just goes with Thanksgiving. Things with pumpkin I usually want to eat from October through January. Usually when I can no longer order a pumpkin spice latte, I know fall is over and winter has officially begun.

Just finished the loaf of pumpkin bread I made. Time for my next pumpkin recipe.

Happy weekend to you!

Sometimes it is better from the can…

Posted by random olio

Fall is here. It is raining like we just set foot on Noah’s ark. Not sure when it will stop. So far it has not bothered me too much, as there is so much going on in my life right now, that I do not have time to think about the rain! What the rain has brought though is the leaves changing color and they are beginning to fall to the ground. That also means pumpkin time. I absolutely love the fall, mostly for the colors outside, the crisp air, and the food. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice lattes, squash soups, yum, yum, and YUM! I made some pumpkin bread over the weekend and it make me think about food I only have once a year.

Sometimes when we start doing things a certain way, that it becomes a habit. It is ours, and even as much as others try to get us to do things differently, we stick to our ways. What I am speaking of is: CANNED CRANBERRY SAUCE.

I am strange. I like canned cranberries at Thanksgiving. I know, I know, it is weird. It means there is an imprint of a can on the jellied gross looking cranberries. But see, some things just make you feel nostalgic. When I was young I had issues with textures. Yes, for those of you who know me now, you know that I still do. But, I have grown up a bit. I have a much wider range of food interests and I am much more open-minded than I ever have been before. Yet. Yes, there is a yet. I still like canned cranberries. While it is a bit gross, the taste is what I like best. It has a smooth texture, without all these chunky cranberries. Do not get me started on whether it is good for you or not. I could not care less. I just look forward to Thanksgiving that is a month away, so I can have cold canned cranberries, with warm, buttery mashed potatoes, and the rest of that yummy Thanksgiving dinner goodness.