Oh, To Be Thankful

This is the Sinai Primary School kitchen.

Today is Thanksgiving Day. The holiday season has officially begun. I am taking a break from the kitchen.  I don't have much time before my timer goes off, so I better get moving.

My year has been completely over the top with food, fun, and wine. What I am most thankful for are food, fun and wine. Just kidding. While I am thankful for those three things, I will always, and have always, been very thankful for friends, family and good health. There are a lot of things, though, that get overlooked because most of us are just too busy to remember that we should be thankful. Period. That needs to change.

Yes, it is really an underarm perspiration stain. 

I am incredibly thankful for a job that demands a lot of me at times, but also gives me the freedom and flexibility to get my work done, morning, day or night, which leaves me time to do the things I love.

Trixie's

I am thankful for a boatload of girlfriends that love to do the things that I love to do. That would  be eating, drinking, being merry, getting pedicures, and shopping.

Grandma Zella Supervising the Making of Shortbread

I am especially thankful for having 50 great years with my Gram, the Best Egg Ever. She lived a good long life, and I plan to follow in her footsteps.

Husna and Mwana

I am out of this world thankful for the WaterPowerPeace project, the Kahembe family, the Mason family, my family of friends in Babati, and my family of friends in New York.

Now for the good stuff.

Our Matching House Wine Bikes

I am thankful that my sister challenged me to wash my hair every other day. She told me once I got used to the feel of dirty hair, I would love it and never go back to washing it every day. Guess what? I have washed it every other day, or less, since New Year's Day 2012. Think of the money I have saved on expensive shampoo and water and electricity. It is true, you can fix your hair so much easier when it is one day dirty. Thank you, Kristi.

I Love My TOMS

I am thankful to have finally learned that you can wear something and not automatically have to put it in the wash. For some reason, that just seemed wrong to wear something twice. Africa does not lend itself to a never-ending supply of water, so you wear the same clothes until wash day. You use water only when you absolutely need to. If you don't have the water, you are obviously not doing laundry two times a day, which frees up a lot of time. It is liberating. Thank you, Babati.

Kellen Playing The Piano

I am thankful for the direct flight from Minneapolis to Helena. It is so easy for Kellen to come home, and we have now discovered it is just as easy for Chris and me to go out there. We have driven the 15 1/2 hour trip for the last 3 years, two times a year, because we usually were hauling Kellen's things out or bringing them back. Not anymore. Kellen has a car now. He can pick us up at the airport, drive us all around, then return us to the airport. Thanks, Delta, and thanks, Kellen.

Lastly, I am very thankful that I have people that actually go to my blog. When I sit down at the computer, I first go to My Audience to see how many people have visited my site. I realize that some get there totally by accident, but, hey, it is still someone that visited my site. When I wrote my first post, I was scared to death to hit publish. I was afraid that people would read what I had to say and think I was an idiot. It didn't take long to figure out that they very well could, and probably do, think I am an idiot, but who really cares? I like to sit down and write about silly things that make me happy.

Happy Holidays! Hopefully we will all have some good food, fun and wine to guide this holiday season.

"May the true spirit of the season find you and fill your heart with happiness." ~ author unknown

Life 101

Whenever there is a life lesson to be learned, my brother-in-law, without fail, turns to "Life 101" to make his point. When you think about it, it really makes sense.

Most of life's challenging moments can be dealt with using good old common sense. A lot of people over think things and believe a challenge in life needs a complex solution, no matter how big or small the challenge.

Now that I am 50 and have lived in Babati, Tanzania for 35 days, I realize I don't have the time or the energy for complex solutions to life's (mostly simple) challenges. At this age, remember, every day is a gift. It is time to enjoy what life has to offer and stop worrying. Once you do that, many of those challenges will disappear.

As we all wander through this thing called life, I really don't think there is any situation that can't be made better, unless maybe we are on death row. I would call that a very complex life challenge that requires a very complex solution and some really good lawyers, or an outgoing governor with a big heart.

So what are some of life's simple challenges?

Can we serve red wine with fish? The wine snob may say no. I say whatever you want to drink is fine. If you drink red wine with your fish, who will know and who will care? So if you are having a dinner party, serving halibut, fretting about the wine to pair it with, stop fretting. Buy some red and buy some white. If your friends find it in poor taste, they don't need to come to your house for dinner anymore. Common sense.

I used my mulligan on the first hole. Can I take another? Of course you can. You paid for the round of golf, you can do whatever you want. If you don't want to keep score, don't keep score. Common sense.

Should I get a dog? I don't have a job and I don't have any money. Of course you should not get a dog. Common sense.

Seriously, though, if life's challenges are getting you down, stop, breathe, figure out one simple thing that you can do to make your life more simple.

"To be simple is to be great." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson