November Gratitude: One Sentence a day

Since I do like to focus on those things I'm thankful for during the month of November, I tweaked my sentence of the day posts to highlight those things I was grateful for each day. We had a lovely month and finally started getting some much needed rain by the end. 

1. I was thankful for a wonderful trip to Maine with Evan & my husband.  We stopped in Kittery for a bit of shopping, our hotel was lovey and we went to dinner across the street at Mulligans before stopping for some freshly made ice cream at Sweetcream Dairy. 7,652 steps. 

I ended up wearing leggings underneath by the time we headed out to Maine

2. I was grateful we had such a wonderful time touring the University of New England. We woke, had breakfast at the Palace Diner (a tiny nondescript looking old diner with amazing food), then headed off to learn about the college's animal behavior program and tour the huge, beautiful campus. We stopped in York, Maine for lobster on the way home at the Lobster Cove Restaurant. 11,335 steps. 

3. I was thankful for the extra hour of sleep with the time change kicking in. Up early and headed right to the grocery store and even though my husband had to work all afternoon at least I had had extra time with him with our overnight trip. 6,530 steps. 

4. I was grateful that even though school with Evan took so very long today that we have the time and the ability to adjust our day.  Other than the gym and school with Evan, I got very little done today. 10,129 steps. 

5. I was so thankful that when we went to vote at the library after dinner we were the only ones there & I was able to pick up the books I had on hold at the same time. Another day of just school and working around the house. 6,174 steps. 

6. I'm so grateful we have a lovely state park so close to our house that we can walk there; on days I don't feel like driving it's a great way to squeeze in some extra exercise. Gym, school with Evan, a lovely hike to the state park then I helped Ian with his schoolwork when Evan's friend was over. 12,196 steps. 

7. I'm thankful for our hiking group; sometimes we only have the fact that we homeschool and like to hike in common but it's enough to have formed some good friendships through the years. Quick grocery shop for dinner, hiking with our hiking group, and I spent all afternoon cleaning the house since my parents were due to arrive sometime this night. 13,427 steps. 

8. I was so thankful to have the time and opportunity to go out to brunch with my mom and step-father; it may have only been a month since they left but we had lots to catch up on (no photos from brunch; we were too busy talking to take any). Went to the gym, brunch, then a hike with Evan in the afternoon. 12,899 steps. 

9. I was grateful that today was our last college tour for the season; it's been fun but I'm ready to have weekends free again. Since we were touring Alec's college we got to meet up with him too and have lunch together in his dining hall. 8,962 steps. 

10. I was thankful for some one on one time with Evan when we went to dinner together. It was a mostly quiet day at home tackling a lot of laundry while my husband and Ian went deep sea fishing.  (no step count; the battery on my watch died). 

All my "Christmas" cacti are blooming!

I had a chicken flatbread sandwich from The Railside Tavern

11. I was grateful that Evan's cold didn't get much worse overnight; he's got so much schoolwork this week. Gym, Evan had some college writing to work on, then he and I headed out on a hike. I know I had over 10,00 steps but weirdly my counter said zero for this day... 

12. I was so thankful that even though we lost power for 5 or so hours that we didn't lose power until we sat down to eat dinner and it was all done cooking. Spent a quite, cold and windy day at home only running a quick errand to get gas and go to the bank. 6,275 steps

This battery powered light came in so handy! 

13. Today I was grateful for comfy, warm clothes; I never even changed out of my gym wear. Gym, school with Evan, a long talk with my mom firming up her moving plans, then I spent my afternoon finishing up my puzzle and reading up on the big island of Hawaii. 6,621 steps. 

14. So thankful for another fabulous walk with some great friends! 10,637 steps. 

I wore the sweater my mom made for me with the fun embroidery detail on the back

15. So very thankful to wake up to this incredible view! Gym in the morning then I had the house to myself to work on cards, my latest puzzle, and some reading. 10,464 steps.

16. Thankful for a fabulous date night with my husband! Cleaned the whole upstairs, hiked with Evan, and then got ready for a date night out. 

We found a new place to hike-- Mowry conservation area

we hiked ALL the trails and it only took 45 minutes but it was still a pretty area

my date night outfit

17. So very grateful for a relaxing afternoon at home.  Cleaned the whole downstairs and got a beef stew going in the crock pot (I didn't write this post until the following day and can't remember much about this boring Sunday!) 4,449 steps. 

18. Thankful my parents arrived safely with their moving van. Gym, school with Evan, a lovely hike, grocery shopping after lunch, and then after dinner we got the basement all set up for our houseguests who arrived pretty tired around 9:30 at night after driving straight through from North Carolina. 15,320 steps.

19. So thankful my parents had so much help and got the moving van loaded in just one afternoon!  Visited with my parents for a few hours, helped Evan by proofreading his paper, hike with Evan and stopped by the apple orchard. 11,138 steps. 

20. I was grateful that I managed to get so much done today! Laundry from all our houseguests (that vacated at 3 am to start their drive back to North Carolina!), gym, school with Evan, addressed all my Christmas cards, went hiking, tackled a lot of blog work, made dinner... it was a very full day. 14,184 steps

21. So thankful for a rainy day; we really need the rain! It was just a typical day at home though Evan and I did run out to get gas & pick up books at the library. 6,042 steps. 

made up a "new" granola recipe to try with cocoa mixed in

22. Thankful to get to talk to Alec and "see" some of the fun bread shapes he had made today. Other than my trek to the gym I never even left the house; though I did squeeze in an ab workout. 6,482 steps. 

Alec sent me photos of all his breads: hedgehog

turtle and mouse

bunny (the black seeds outline the ear, the white salt is the tail)

bunny from a second angle

23. Grateful to snuggle in bed on a Saturday morning watching TV with nowhere to go. Another super rainy day where I mostly hung out at home and read my book. 4,401 steps. 

24.  So thankful that boys still seek me out just talk and catch me up on their thoughts and life. A very cold and windy day where I went to the grocery store, did some reading, worked on the blog, helped Ian with school (he had to make his first power point slide show), shopped with Evan. 4,818steps.

25. So thankful for the sore muscles that prove to me my new workout regimen is working better than my old one. Gym, food prep for the week, a hike with Evan after school, and an afternoon of chores and blogging. 12,379 steps.

26. So thankful the traffic picking up Alec wasn't that bad and we made great time getting home! A rainy day of school with Evan, library, grocery shopping (just for fresh fruit), stability ball workout, and working on the blog. 5,803 steps. 

27. So thankful to have everyone back around the dinner table again. Gym, made some cranberry sauce, Alec started his bread, and then Alec, Evan, and I went hiking. In the afternoon I let down the hems on Alec's culinary pants and added a good inch to them. 13,571

my cozy "after hiking" outfit

28. So thankful for our small and lovely Thanksgiving and that we had no injuries with the Pyrex dish that exploded in the oven! 3,517 steps (it was a lovely lazy day!). 

a cold, rainy day called for a nice warm cardigan

Alec made an herb and parmesan fougasse bread

Sick of Elf the boys elected to watch Die Hard this year

29. Thankful that the knee injury I woke up with started today and not yesterday! (no step count since I planned to spend the day on the couch).

Leftover pie with ice cream and caramel sauce

30. So grateful my knee is already feeling so much better! Spent another day at home taking it easy and resting so not to overdo it while still tackling laundry, taking down the fall decorations, getting the groceries done, etc. 7,277 steps. 

I only had to stop, elevate, and ice my knee once!

 

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