Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey, everyone!

I want to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving! I hope as you gather with family and friends that you find the time to remember all the blessings you have received and are thankful for. I am going to share some things I am thankful for, some memories of Thanksgiving I have from when I was growing up and some recipes! I know you all are busy today but if you get a chance this evening to kick back and relax, I hope you will stop by and see what is going on here at Hoosier Card Angel Creations.

I am thankful for so many things. Right now, even though the economy is bad and things are hard, I am so blessed and feel as though my life is filled to overflowing with good things that God keeps pouring on me and my family! He is so wonderful! I am thankful for knowing Him and my relationship that I have with Him! I am thankful for my children, my husband, our family and friends and for all of you! I am grateful that you care enough to check in with me to see what new things I have going on!

The most important woman in my life, the most influential for sure, would have to be my dear grandmother. She is a jewel. She was the best friend I ever had in my life and I miss her so much! I realize that I miss her so much more at Thanksgiving and the emptiness I feel inside without her is the hardest this month! She passed away during this month (not this year) on my cousin's birthday. Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday. We would make deviled eggs together and gosh I have so many memories that make me laugh right out loud just thinking of the fun we had in her kitchen. She made the best cole slaw hands down! She always let me help and was never critical or possessive, she just let me do it! What a gift that was!! My most favorite thing to eat at Thanksgiving is my grandmother's cranberry salad. It's funny because my cousins would be at her house and wanting to get into the cranberry salad and she wouldn't let anyone eat any until I got mine first! Oh how I miss that! I made a scrapbook page about her and included the recipe in her own handwriting. I love it! It's not fancy but it is a page I cherish! Isn't she beautiful?

Another childhood memory I have is of my brother. He's younger than me by a year and 4 days. I never let him forget the 4 days, either! When we were young, these Pillsbury commercials would come on and the cute little doughboy would come on at the very end and someone would push his belly and he'd make that cute little laugh noise. Well, if my brother didn't get to run up and touch the television screen to make the doughboy laugh, he would throw the biggest fit you ever saw! It is hilarious to think about and we tease him whenever we are all together and one of those commercials comes on! So, I made this adorable notebook and couldn't help but think about that memory! This notepad is made with my Bind-It-All, which I absolutely love. I had Paul cut out the chipboard back and the pages along with the cover. The cover is off a package of cookie dough for those Reindeer cookies. He and Kadesia made some last night and they are gone today! LOL Isn't he cute, though? I just love this notebook!
Of course, Thanksgiving and food go together, right? I mean we just don't have one without the other! Tomorrow we are going to my husband's aunt and uncle's house where all his family will be gathered for an evening meal. I was asked if I would like to bring something and I was more than happy to do so. Tomorrow I am making a Kool-Aid Pie and will take it to their home. I hope it is good. I haven't ever made it before but it sure sounds good and is pretty easy to put together so I don't think I can mess it up, but I probably shouldn't say that too loud! LOL My husband helped me look at my recipes to see what else we could take for everyone to snack on before the big dinner. He found a recipe my pen pal Matthew gave me and it is really good!! You can see a photo of the Ultimate Party Mix below. I will share the recipe with you all, too.

THE ULITMATE PARTY MIX
Mix the following in a large bowl and store in an airtight container:
1/2 to 1 bag of small pretzels
1/2 to 1 bag of nacho cheese Doritos
1/2 to 1 bag of crunchy Cheetos
1/2-1 bag of Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips
2-3 oz. of cashews
1/2 to 1 package of wheat crackers (Wheat Thins)
1/2 to 1 package of cheese crackers (Cheese-Its)
You could substitue any of this for other things and just eyeball how much you think you will need or want. This doesn't have to be precise but it really is yummy and with so many different things in the mix, you get different flavors each time you grab some!

Well, I wish you all the very best this Thanksgiving! We will get to celebrate Thanksgiving twice, my family will celebrate on Sunday after Thanksgiving so be sure to check back for some more recipes and things as I share what I am taking with me to my mom and dad's.

In the season of giving, don't forget to check out my BLOG CANDY. You can enter to win just by leaving me a comment on THIS POST and telling me your favorite thing to eat on Thanksgiving. Link back to my blog candy page from your blog, if you have one. If you don't just let me know you don't have one and be sure I have your e-mail address so I can let you know if you are the winner. If you want a SECOND CHANCE at winning the BLOG CANDY just make a thank you card for someone specific you have in mind to give it to. Share the link with me in the comments section HERE and you'll be entered twice. The winner will be announced on Sunday, 11-30. Good luck and thank you to all who have already participated.
NOTE: Thank you Angel Vicki! I sure don't want to wait until June to announce the winner! LOL Shows you how little sleep I had before posting, huh? I must have been wishing I could turn the clock back...I'm not ready for winter or Christmas! LOL

HUGS,
Bridgett