Week 48: Pies, Thanksgiving, and a final reflection on November
To touch back on the blueberry pie from last week, I did finish it and passed it off to the individual who wanted it. Sadly, it was not reviewed on his YouTube channel, because it was devoured! So, I’ll count that as a win. I also did the calculations for the pecan and peach pies that will be going to family and I can safely make those today and they’ll be good for Thanksgiving meals. So, on to more pies. I’m so close to being done!
I’m also purchasing 5 lbs of cracked pecans from a former coworker. I’ve never shelled them so I hope it isn’t too laborious. At the end of the day it will really help my bottom line with making pecan pies though. A 1 lb bag of pecans costs like $13, where this bag costs $10 and some hours to shell them. No matter how you cut it I’m happy to help out a friend and have a bunch of pecans in my freezer, because I know there will be a want for more pecan pies in the coming month.
Since I am focusing on pies, I highly doubt I’ll be sorting any Lego today.
November 25:
Today is my deadline for all of the holiday pie orders. I am tired of making pies at this point. Having to make 2-3 pies an evening with a few breaks is a lot. I even had a stress dream at one point, but now the light at the end of the tunnel can be seen. I am extremely thankful that I was able to spread it out over a week and those who ordered pumpkin and pecan pies are okay with thawing them. That was probably the most helpful part. Tonight I’m making a coconut meringue pie and I hope the meringue won't be the death of me.
Too busy making pies to sort Lego tonight.
November 26:
The last day of work for the week! Woooo hoooo! Christmas break is so close I can almost smell it now! After work, I picked up the family and we traveled to see family for the holiday. We ate at a pretty good pizzeria in their area. They put entire slices of bacon on their supreme pizza! I’ve never seen that before. We also got some pretzel bites before the pizza and they were tasty too. The little one was excited to see his dad. The oldest talked to his dad more than he has in quite some time, so I think he’s working on his hurts and finding things to share with his dad. I just hope that their dad realizes how much they’d both like to have him show a continued interest in their lives. While our relationship may be long over, the boys still crave a relationship with him.
I delivered the last of the ordered pies today! It feels so good to get them into the hands of those who need them for their holiday celebrations. I’m always worried that I’ll screw something up and the pies won’t be satisfying or I’ll totally butcher one, making it inedible.
Since we weren’t home, I didn’t sort a single Lego. LOL!
November 27:
Today is our big Thanksgiving meal with family. As usual, I was able to help in the kitchen. There’s an ongoing joke in the family involving the macaroni and cheese so I have to make it every year. My youngest says that his grandma’s mac and cheese is the best. And yet, I’m the one who makes it. I’ve made it for years. She guided me the first couple of years, but since then she trusts me to take over the mac and cheese duty. I also helped with the mashed potatoes.
Since we weren’t home, I didn’t sort a single Lego.
November 28:
Happy Thanksgiving!
Today we traveled home from a wonderful visit with family. After we had some breakfast, my oldest son helped his grandpa carry up totes of Christmas decor, trees, and outdoor decor so we could all work together to help his grandma decorate for Christmas. It took us a few hours, but I actually enjoyed being able to help her with it. It was also nice that we were all able to be there and be helpful. I hope that it saved her some grief on doing it by herself and taking a lot longer. After we finished, we all packed up our stuff and headed home so I wouldn’t have to drive in the dark. I have one headlight that I need to replace, but the last time I tried to include it with my Walmart pick up order, they sold out. Hopefully I can remember to get one sooner rather than later.
November 29:
Today was a lazy day. I shelled pecans for a decent chunk of the day while watching/listening to a variety of movies. I’m not sure if my body really needs the break or if it’s my brain. After the oldest got home from hanging out with some friends we shared a Thanksgiving meal with my sister and just enjoyed our time together. My oldest made it a point to mention that after his grandparents are no longer able to do the Thanksgiving meal, it will fall on me to do it for him and his brother. I told him that I was very aware of that, but they’d have to bicker about who would do it when I am no longer able to take care of it. Since the oldest doesn’t want kids and he likes to cook, he said he’d probably do it. With that statement, the little one piped in that if his brother would take care of the kids, he’d take care of it. As a bit of a back story, my youngest son wants like 3 kids and apparently he thinks I’m going to be their babysitter. Anyway, after he made the statement about his brother taking care of the kids, my oldest told him that wasn’t part of the deal. He said, “You’re the one who wants kids, so you have to take care of them. They’re not my responsibility.”
No Lego sorting, thanks to the pecan shelling.
November 30:
I shelled more pecans today instead of sorting Lego. As a matter of fact, I realized that I wasn’t going to sort any more pieces, so I took the containers I was using downstairs today. Thankfully the little one had done an okay job of keeping the Lego tables a little cleaner since I did sorting at the beginning of the month. My fingers hurt from the pecan shelling, but it’s nice that I am able to sort them and save myself money in terms of purchasing pecans for future pies.
Today was a lazy day, much like yesterday minus the preparation of food. There was a lot of snacking and I realized that being lazy multiple days in a row isn’t something I can really do any more. My entire backside hurts today. So, tomorrow is a gym visit so I can get some steps in and stretch my sore muscles out in a good way.
November Reflection:
Well, I didn’t get nearly as much done with the Lego as I had hoped, but honestly it’s for a good reason since I had so many pie orders. Yes, I could have worked on the sorting more before the pie orders came in, but I didn’t and I have to be okay with that. I am learning that this idea of focusing on one thing each month is really showing me what I feel is a priority and what I avoid as much as possible. I’m hoping that realizing this will help me in 2025 with prioritizing things and removing things that are extraneous. Sometimes you just have to sit back and take a look at what you do in a year and having a blog where I do my best to keep myself accountable has been extremely helpful. I do think that next year my theme will be to take care of my physical and mental health. I have really fallen off the physical fitness and eating better portion of my time this year and I’m feeling it. I take that as a notice to myself to take better care of me so I can be around for my family and friends for as long as possible. Next month will be about spending time with those people. Thus far I have scheduled a train ride with my youngest child, a couple of girls nights with my friends to ride in the horse drawn carriage in a nearby town, and obviously spending time with family around Christmas. Hopefully in the spring or summer we can travel down to Arkansas to see my brother and his loved ones. I’ve missed our yearly trips down there. Anyway, I’m signing off for November and look forward to spending time with loved ones in December.
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