Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart

It is 8 AM, and I am sitting on a kitchen barstool watching the ocean waves roll into the shore from my view at the house we are staying in at the Outer Banks. I am here with my family, (daughters, niece, sister, brother-in-law, and mom) for the Holiday until Sunday. This stay was a gift, from my sister and brother-in-law to my mother for her birthday last May. I haven't spent Thanksgiving with my MY whole family since I can't remember when. One of the arrangements of my divorce agreement was that my girls would spend Thanksgiving with their father, but they would always spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with me. The fact that they are with me, is more than enough to be thankful for, but to be here in this lovely home, looking at the beuty of the ocean is like winning the Thanksgiving lottery.
I am especially glad that we are all together this year, because after this year, things will be different. My oldest is a senior in high school, and next year she will be in college. Thanksgiving will mean something different next year. My plans will center around her homecoming.
I am especially thankful for this wonderful gift because it affords me the freedom of just relaxing. Something I haven't done in QUITE some time. My life is filled with rushing here and there, being in this place by that time. I don't take the time very often to just stop. Stop to realize just how much I have to be thankful for.
The house we are staying in is right on the beach. Last night as we finished dinner, the moon had risen up over the ocean. We went out on the deck to look at it. The picture was amazing! The light of the moon cast this beautiful shimmering band across the water. The sky was clear except for a few thin clouds around the moon. It was the kind of thing you look at, and you think that it can't be real, that all of a sudden, someone will yell, "CUT" and they will roll the backdrop away. But it was real, and it made me stop and just think about how lovely the world really is if I would just STOP and notice once in a while.
I am so blessed. We all are, but we let life sweep us away with the mad dash of our schedules, and work, and "Carrot Cakes", okay that last one was for me, and we don't take the time to notice, let alone give thanks. There is a scene in the movie, The Blindside, where "Big Mike" has been invited to stay with the Tuohy family for Thanksgiving. The entire family is watching the "Big Game" and Leanne calls the family in when the spread is set. They all rush in, grab a plate and rush back to the sofa to continue to watch the game, all except for "Mike". Leanne looks in her dining room and sees Mike sitting at the table eating alone. She, of course, promptly calls all the rest of the family in to eat with their guest. The Tuohys who have everything, are a lot like many of us, certainly thankful, but in a rush, not sitting down to take the time. Mike, who has NOTHING isn't taking the huge meal or the fact that he is not alone for granted. Be Mike today. Take the time to enjoy all the things you have in your life and be thankful. It IS called THANKSgiving.

Is this the way Paula Deen started?

Everyone who bakes or cooks in any way shape or form usually has a signature dish. It's the one thing that, when invited to a party of some sort, you are asked to bring. Well, I have had a few requested dishes in my time, my macaroni shrimp salad, my baked spaghetti, my pan-fried chicken, but the one thing I am always expected to make at the holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas both, is my carrot cake. I first baked this cake about 28 years ago, and I don't think I've missed a year since making at least one. It is a rich, moist cake full of texture with freshly grated carrots and, of course, it has cream cheese frosting made with real butter and real cream cheese (no cutting corners for me). Every time I bring it to a gathering, it's a hit. People always say, "That's the best carrot cake I've ever had," or "I don't usually like carrot cake, but that's really good." I even had a co-worker that wanted me to ship him one to South Carolina once he moved, and my sister will stage a coo if I don't bake one for  Thanksgiving and Christmas. Over the years I have toyed with the idea of selling them but never really did anything about it UNTIL I found out that my two daughters have a spring choral trip to NYC this year that is going to cost me $1600.00, $1600.00 that I don't have. So on November 10, 2010, I announced to the world via Facebook that I would be taking orders for carrot cakes for the holidays. I didn't know what to expect, and I was surprised when in about a week, I had 15 orders for Thanksgiving and thus 24 Carrot Cakes was born. I designed a logo, and I even have a slogan, "We only make 1 cake, because we make it the best!" I even set up an email account to do "business" 24CarrotCakes4u@gmail.com. Today I am down to the final 2 to be picked up. The whole adventure has been a little overwhelming. 1) It's hard to run a small side business when you have a full time job, and 2) I need to beg the services of a mathematician because I suck at converting measurement to purchase the right ingredients for multiple cakes, hence several trips to the store instead of ONE. So what began as a resource for a spring trip may turn into something bigger, and, who knows, by this time next year, everyone might be asking for my signature dish.

Wonder How Santa Would Look in Orange and Black?

"Hi, my name's Terri, and I'm a Christmas Junkie"....."Hi, Terri"
 I love Christmas! I love everything about it from the tiny twinkling lights, to the Tacky, seen-from-space, displays, to the music, to the tree, and so on and so on and so on. I start playing Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving, and I try to put my tree up then as well. The day after Thanksgiving is the official foray into the Christmas season, shopping and otherwise. Well, that's the way it used to be when I was little. We had a tradition in our house. My two cousins would come to our house for Thanksgiving. They spent Thursday night and on Friday evening the four of us, me, my sister, and my two cousins, would get all dressed up in our Sunday best and my grandparents would take us downtown to Miller & Rhoades Department Store to see the REAL Santa Claus. Most years we were even lucky enough to dine with Santa, the Snow Queen, and one of Santa's elves in Miller & Rhoades' famous Tea Room. After dinner,  complete with linen table cloths and real cloth napkins, we'd venture on the elevator to the floor that contained Santa's Winter Wonderland and stand in line with countless other children anxiously awaiting our turn to see the REAL Santa Claus. He was the real one, all the others were just his helpers. He knew our names when he called us over after we had spoken with the Snow Queen. He even came down the chimney when he entered his Wonderland. It was, and still is, one of my fondest memories of my childhood. It was MAGICAL! It was something I looked forward to every year! It was tradition!
I heard something disturbing last week on the radio. It was an add for a local mall, and the big news was that Santa would be arriving there on November 12th. Are you kidding me? 6 weeks before Christmas Eve. It isn't about MAGIC anymore, it's about business. How many photos with Santa can we grind out before 6PM on Christmas Eve? How much money can we make? Don't get me wrong. Like I said, I love Christmas, but I do not love VeteraThanksistmas. Pretty soon Santa will arrive with the Halloween costumes. I don't know about you, but I think it would be awfully hard to carry all of those toys flying on a broom.

My First Re-Post, but it's a good one!

I picked this photo today for my profile pic on Facebook randomly through Google search for images. It sent the visual message I wanted today. Later as I read through my newsfeed, I saw that someone else had posted the photo as well, but with the history. Joseph Ambrose, an 86-year-old World War I veteran, attends the dedication day parade for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He is holding the flag that covered the casket of his son, who was killed in the Korean War. Amazing sacrifices have been made.
I am re-posting from my Memorial Day entry this past May, because it is so appropriate (except for the summer references) for today, Veterans Day. I defy anyone to watch the link within this post and not feel immense gratitude for anyone who has willingly served this country. They deserve more than a free meal at Applebees today. They deserve our undying gratitude! Please follow the link below to read the original post.
http://terrilynnemoore.blogspot.com/2010/05/debt-we-will-never-be-able-to-repay.html

41? Really?

Even when I was a wee tot, you could always find me in front of the TV, nite-nite (the name for my blanket) in hand and thumb in my mouth, intently watching whatever was on the screen. Later, I can remember my mom laying my clothes out on the living room couch so I could watch TV while I was getting ready for school in my early elementary years. Now, before there is a huge uproar of how awful that was, I was watching public television. I was a TV kid, and still am, and it didn't rot my brain. My IQ is above 120, and I graduated in the top 15% of my class with a 4.0.
I did not begin this post to write about the measure of my intelligence. I wrote to celebrate a wonderful institution that turns 41 today, Sesame Street. Kermit, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Big Bird and countless others made their debut on November 10, 1969. I had just turned 6 and my favorite character was Ernie. I loved his laugh and the way he was the slightest bit irritating to his best friend, Bert. I also adored Grover in his furry blueness and sweet naive ways. I knew all the songs like Ladybug Picnic and the King of Eight. The Children's Television Workshop knew how to make learning fun, and they also knew how to make it entertaining. Having the help of Jim Henson and his amazing creations, The Muppets, helped the entertainment factor greatly. Sesame Street was a program that parents could watch with their kids and not be bored out of their minds. I can say that because I am a parent, and I watched it with my 2 year old. When my oldest turned 2 in 1994, Sesame Street collections were on video. She watched one video over and over again called "Count It Higher" It used the premise of an "MTV" type countdown music video show. At two, she was dancing and singing with each video. I, as mom, knew all the words too. Some of the music video titles introduced by Veejay Count von Count were "Letter 'B'", complete with four "Beetles" in Nehru jackets and bowl haircuts, and "ZZ Blues" starring two long-bearded muppets playing guitar donning dark shades and trucker caps and a drummer. Now, my two year old had no idea of the resemblance to "The Beatles" or "ZZ Top", but I thought it was a hoot! The videos were fun and funny, and the characters on Sesame Street are real and unique and have personalities, and the biggest thing, in my opinion, that Sesame Street does right is the fact that they don't condescend to children. They interact with them. I cant' think of a better way to learn. Happy Birthday, Sesame Street! Here's to 41 more years! Guess I better upgrade to DVD or BluRay before I sit down and watch with my grandchildren.

Happy Anniversary...kinda.

I have, as the character Adrian Monk used to say about his ability, a gift and a curse. I have a really great memory. As I get older it's not as good as it used to be, but with certain things I have total recall. Especially events in my life. I can re-live them again and again exactly as they happened. I can see them, almost like a movie in my mind. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Hence the gift and curse thing. This is going to be a weird post to some, maybe not so much to others. 28 years ago to this very moment I was probably just getting off the phone with a florist that was telling me that there was a hold up and my flowers might not make it on time. I was in the same house that I'm in right now. The week before I had turned 19, and I was getting ready to embark on an adventure. I was surprisingly calm, extremely uncharacteristic of me when I am getting ready for something huge like a party I am hosting. Even with the floral glitch, I was fine. I remember the florist saying, "Did you hear me?" when they told me they may not make it to the church on time. I was fine because I knew that day was going to be perfect no matter what. I had made a decision, I had made a commitment, and I knew that it was exactly where I wanted to be and doing what I wanted to do. Thinking back, I had a feeling of total Peace and calm that I can't remember feeling since. By now you have figured out that that beautiful, fall, Saturday 28 years ago was my wedding day.
Now, why am I blogging about my wedding day when I have been divorced for 10 years? Well, it's that "curse" thing. Every year, when November 6th rolls around, I can't help but think, "Today, I would have been married (insert appropriate number here) years." A lot of people can't remember their anniversary when they are married, but I remember mine, even though I am divorced. Why? Well it could have something to do with the fact that I am not with anyone, there is no new anniversary to celebrate, but probably it's just that memory of mine. I can't help it, it's my brain's fault. Do I regret the decision I made to marry? Did that wide-eyed, excited 19 year old know what she was doing? ABSOLUTELY! Every step on our path of life shapes who we are. If I had not married, I wouldn't have brought two of the most wonderful people into the world that I know. I'm not about regret. Everything happens for a reason. They are the reason I was married. Things didn't turn out the way 19 year old Terri thought they would. All the dreams of "Happily Ever After" were not to be, or were they? I have lived "happily ever after." I have a relationship with my daughters that most people would covet. We love each other, we're friends, we talk about everything! We three are happy! The fairytale just had a different kind of happy ending. So, today is my anniversary, but I'm not celebrating the wedding. I'm celebrating the beginning of the journey that led to my little family of three. The memories I've made and will continue to make with them, that's the "gift" part.

Anything is Possible!

I haven't blogged in two weeks. Huge things are going on in my life. I feel like all I have been doing for the past two weeks is running from one place to another. Fixing this to make that right. I haven't stopped to think about anything. I'm just running on auto-pilot and hoping that the course will, once again, be smooth. Life is rushing by, and no matter how hard I try, I can't slow it down. Last Sunday I turned 47. I am 3 years away from being half a century old, and my life is not at all what I thought it would be.

If you have read this blog before, you know that from the age of three I wanted to be an actress. I was the kid who stood in front of the bathroom mirror and rehearsed my awards speech. I would be prepared when I won my Tony or Oscar or Emmy. I dreamt of getting the privilege to work with my idols, Ellen Burstyn or Alan Alda or Dustin Hoffman. I was going to make it! It's 2010 and I am a long way from that 10 year old looking back at me from the mirror making her acceptance speech. I also have not "made it." You see, I gave up on my "Passion". I let fear and doubt shake my faith that I had what it took to be one of the lucky few.

Now, before you get out the tissues to pass me for my pity party, I have had many blessings in my life. Not the least of which are my two AMAZING daughters that I may not have had if I had "made it." They both will make their mark in the world, and in that I will have "made it." But I haven't written this today to solicit pity or wallow in depression. I am writing today to encourage anyone to go after their "Passion" I have a motivational calendar at work. The month of November has a gorgeous picture of a tree that has turned a brilliant yellow in the peak of Autumn. In bold at the base is the word "PASSION" followed by this quote:

"There are many things in life that will capture your eye, but very few will capture your heart. These are the ones to pursue. These are the ones worth keeping." 47 isn't so old. I may just "make it" yet. It doesn't really matter. What matters is that I keep trying. Are you following your passion? What do you want to do, be?  Don't let life dictate your Passion. Let Passion dictate your life.