Thanksgiving is upon us – one of my absolute favorite holidays. To me, Thanksgiving means having all of my family together, eating the best food we’ll eat all year long (I have to admit, the canned gelatinous cranberry sauce goo is my favorite part! And hubby’s too, incidentally – we so belong together!), and most importantly, the start of the Christmas holidays! The day after Thanksgiving is when we pull out the Christmas tree, ornaments, lights and our favorite holiday music and decorate our little hearts out! My favorite day of the year….seriously.

BUT – Thanksgiving isn’t just about food and family – it’s about giving thanks. The more I live, the more I learn just how much I have to be thankful for in my life. Especially this year. Allow me to take a moment to get real personal and share some of the things I am most thankful for (If you don’t want to take the time to read about my thankfulness, that’s cool- just scroll down and at least check out my bread!):

I’m thankful for my hubby. All the time. Even when we fight, because that means we’re a part of something worth fighting for. This past year has been the hardest of our married life, but we worked together and came through our troubles even stronger and more “together” than we started out.

A loving family – both my own and my husband’s. Especially my mommy. 🙂

My new house – it’s everything I ever dreamed of and I love being in it.

I’m thankful for Baba.

I’m thankful that I’ve already made my greenbean casserole – one less thing I have to do tomorrow.

The ability to sing. I would be one boring, plain-vanilla girl if I didn’t have my voice.

I’m thankful for my kitchen – it’s my favorite room in the house! I’ve made some wonderful meals and goodies in that kitchen!!

My blonde hair….seriously. I know it sounds silly, but this is my Thanksgiving list!

My friend Jessica – it’s nice to have a close friend again.

I’m thankful for my parents’ new house and all that goes along with it (no more Josephine – woo hoo!!!)

Of course there are tons of things I’m leaving out (our troops, the food on our table, our safety and health, etc) but there’s simply too many to list today, so I decided to keep it brief!

One last thing I’m thankful for is my cranberry orange bread….it’s delicious, it’s good with coffee….it’s good bread (even if the pictures aren’t!)!

I first made this bread last year at Thanksgiving and it was a great success – not too sweet, nicely tart, and really tasty, so I decided to make it again – this time for hubby’s parents who came up to help us with some fix-it projects this week (thank ya’ll again!!).

(and since it’s the Thanksgiving season, I thought I’d let the pilgrim people in on the bread action!)

Cranberry Orange Bread
-Allrecipes.com

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup orange juice
Grated peel of 1 orange
2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
2 tablespoons hot water
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (I used pecans)

In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat egg. Add orange juice, peel, butter and hot water. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Gently fold in cranberries and walnuts. Spoon into greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

(Please, please, please forgive the horrible picture…..I was in a hurry and it was already dark!) 🙂

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, YA’LL!!!

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