The Thankful Project: Day 8, 9 & 10

Woo I've slacked this weekend. But it was all in the name of spending time with my husband this weekend! We had a weekend with zero plans so we were excited to finish up a few things around the house and enjoy ourselves.
I just have to share this picture. Friday night we had our friends Dan, Maggie and Wesley over for dinner. Sonny has never been around a baby before. He was SO confused!

Now it's time to get back on track to my challenge. The Thankful Project!! Even our church is celebrating the months of thankfulness and a time to be gracious. Check it out here!!

Day 8
I am thankful for the words I love you. I don't think you can say I love you to the ones you love and care about enough. I tell my parents and friends every time we talk, I tell Keith multiple times a day and I tell my cute kitty too. Sometimes I can't believe that some people never hear these words. One of my favorite movies Love Actually (which is a great holiday movie!!), in the first scene says "Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around." 
I absolutely love this. I am thankful for love and getting to experience love every single day! ..That was a kinda mushy one, huh? 

Day 9
I am thankful for this photo. Words cannot express how much I love my dad and everything he has done for me. This picture is so precious and dear to my heart.

Day 10
I am thankful for the memory of childhood adventures with my cousins. First of all- my mom is one of five and my dad is one of seven. On my mom's side I have 12 first cousins. On my dad's side I have 11 first cousins. And both sets of my grandparents live on the same road, which is a road over from my house. While my sister and I were the only local grandchildren we still have a good relationship with all of them.

My cousins on my mom's side all live out of state, from Florida to Washington state. They usually visited once a year in the summer. These were the most exciting weeks of summer. We would always go to Cedar Point, Amish country, swim in our pond, and make many ice cream trips. We don't see them as much anymore, most are in college/working all over but I will always treasure those memories!

My grandparents on my dad's side lived close to a farm so we were always visiting the sheep and cows, playing in the hay mounds or four wheeling. We always stayed the night at my grandparents too, even though we lived right down the road but it was always wall to wall sleeping bags and movie night anytime we were together. I remember crying my eyes out every time we had to leave and say bye. I have younger cousins now and it's funny to see them do the same now.

I am truly thankful for such a large, close family on both sides. Unfortunately I'm not home so I can't bless you with all the cute adventure pictures from my childhood but here are both sides from my wedding.

My mom's side. We are missing a few cousins here.

My dad's side.

Question of the day:

Are you ever thankful for 'zero plan' weekends?

What are you thankful for this weekend? I am thankful for the amazing fall weather we had this weekend and the quality time I got to spend with my husband!

Cheers, Whitney

The Thankful Project: Day 7

A job I'm thankful for my very first job! I was extremely fortunate to have an awesome first job that I ended up working at for 8 summers! I was a sophomore in high school, just fifteen and I got my first job at a small ice cream, sandwich shop called Archie's Too. As a high school student this was the dream job! I got to work with my best friends (and eventually my younger sister), had a flexible schedule, seasonal and free ice cream and food! The owner of the drive thru is one of the nicest men I know. He let me come back and work while I was home from college on a break or over the summer. He was always supportive if we decided not to come back for the summer or worked another job. I also built good relationships with the girls. I will forever be grateful for the relationships I formed and the work ethic I gained.

A bunch of the girls and Mike at a co-workers wedding!

My sister and I.

Cheers, Whitney

The Thankful Project: Day 6

A failure I am thankful for is not getting into nursing school. 
All of high school and my first year in college I wanted to be a nurse. That was my major, that is the program I looked at on all my college visits, I knew there were a lot of jobs available in that field and I had the strong passion to help others! After my first year of college, over summer break, I found out I didn't get into the program at the University of Cincinnati. I was so devastated but I knew it was a competitive program. So I had some options to consider; change my major, take a few classes over and try again next year, leave UC and apply to other nursing programs. To me leaving UC wasn't an option. I had joined a sorority, created bonds with friends, loved the city and enjoyed being a little ways from home. And retaking classes seemed so daunting, and failure was possible again. So I decided to change my major. I chose nutrition where the nursing prerequisites still counted and I would still be in a medical profession where I could help others and change their lives! I am thankful for this failure and change of career path. I realized how much nutrition and health meant to my life and now I can make changes in other people's!

How is your HUMP day?
It is an absolutely perfect day here in NC. Sunshine, high of 70, beautiful trees. I got up early for a short run (3 miles.. 10 days from my half marathon!) and went to hot yoga. Now enjoying the day!!
What is a failure you're thankful for?

Cheers, Whitney

The Thankful Project: Day 4 & 5

An experience that I am thankful for is my time as a dietetic intern. I don't even know in simple terms how to describe the process of getting one but 50% of people who apply actually get one. So just that I got one was such a huge blessing. But that I was able to be a 'distance intern' was a even bigger blessing. Keith moved to Charlotte in August and I was able to finish my internship in Charlotte with him! As a distance intern I was able to find my own rotations, no matter where they were. So I did some of my time in Findlay, Ohio where I could live at home and then finish my internship in Charlotte, NC to be with Keith.
A lot of people are shocked when I have to explain that we don't get paid for this, we actually pay to be an intern! And you are there from 9-5, so it's difficult to hold a job too. But when you are done you are then eligible to sit for the RD exam. I must say the experience is so beneficial before the exam. When I was studying I always thinking of examples and experiences I had that I could relate to the exam questions to help me remember them. It ended up paying off when I passed on my first attempt!
Being a dietetic intern taught me a lot about perseverance (when I had to contact a million people to get a rotation), how to be a professional and all the awesome opportunities and career paths dietitians have. I will forever be grateful for that experience!

A talent that I am thankful for.. I have always struggled with this. Do I have a talent? What is a talent? Don't get me wrong I have a lot of qualities about myself that I am thankful for. But a talent. I am not an artist, I don't sing, dance, or write. This Thankful Project is supposed to challenge me, right? So I can already see the good in this project!
After some thought.. a talent I am thankful for is ability and love to cook!! Food is obviously such a big part of our lives, we eat food everyday! So I am thankful that I can successfully make yummy and healthy meals me for my husband and I.

Cheers, Whitney

October bucket list wrap up!!

Morning ya'll. This past weekend I wrapped up my October Bucket List!! I checked them all off but one. I would say that's a success. October was a good and blessed month!

Hiking
This past Saturday we went camping with friends we met through our church and that live close to our new house!! We drove 40 minutes to Lake Norman State Park. It was a great time!!
We grilled out over the fire for lunch and dinner. We hiked around the lake. With the colors of fall in full bloom. It was so gorgeous!! It rained for just a little bit but we stayed dry and warm for most of the night.

First time putting up a tent. Lets just say I'm thankful it stayed up all night!

& of course we had s'mores!!

Fall Recipe
Like I said I've been dying to try spaghetti squash. And they were only a DOLLAR at our grocery store! I used some fresh yummy vegetables and turkey sausage I had.
I was surprised how much it made so tonight I will try to make a spaghetti squash bake.

Spaghetti Squash
Cut spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp
Bake rind up at 350 deg for 40 minutes. Scrape baked spaghetti squash with a fork.

Cut up sausage and dice up cucumbers and tomatoes. Cook in a skillet with coconut oil.
Top baked spaghetti squash with cooked vegetables and sausage. Sprinkle on top with Parmesan cheese.

Cheers, Whitney

The Thankful Project: Day 2 & 3

Day 2: I am thankful for the role I've played as a volunteer. I am thankful I have the time to give back to my community and help children. I volunteer at Kid's Heart Felt Health. We go to elementary schools every other week after school to educate them on healthy eating and the importance of exercise. Last week we made personal pizzas from scratch topped with vegetables. Of course they loved it! I love going back the following week to see what they remember and how they've applied the knowledge!

Day 3: I am thankful for a place called home. Ohio. Findlay, Ohio. I love going home. Some of my absolute favorite people liver there. Both my parents and grandparents live there. I am fortunate to have a solid group of friends from high school and we always get back together whenever we all travel back. It's always a nice escape to head home to the country and simple living.

Photo credit to my sister, Georgia.

My dad's farm.

What is a role you've played that you are thankful for?

What is a place you are thankful for?

How was your weekend?!

Mine was great. We went camping with new friends and cheered on the Carolina Panthers to a win!!

Cheers, Whitney

The Thankful Project: Day 1

What an awesome way to remember what the holidays are all about! I saw this post from Kenzie, the Chasing Happy blog. I will be taking on the challenge. I hope to grow from the project and get some inspiration for my blog posts!

(Source)

November 1:
I am thankful for my husband Keith! He is always encouraging, supportive and reliable. He makes me laugh and that is one of my true daily joys. I am thankful for all the traits that he has that I lack. He's patient and a kind man!
I am truly thankful every day for him.

What a handsome man!!

Are you up for the challenge?!

Cheers, Whitney