Things to be grateful for - Dec 3-6

December 3 - I'm sitting here at the Autodesk University conference in Las Vegas. I'm really grateful that I could be here. It has been a great experience. I'm grateful that my boss saw the importance of it both for Intel and as a personal growth experience for me. He put himself out there and fought for me to be able to attend, and I'm grateful for that.

December 4 - I'm grateful that my parents let me grow and develop into the person I am today. They were always very encouraging of whatever I wanted to do. Thank you for letting me be myself.

December 5 - I'm grateful that I picked a job in Portland, Oregon rather than a job in Vermont. Regardless of the job itself, coming to Oregon over 11 years ago was a good decision. I knew when I got here that this is a place where I belonged. Besides, if I hadn't come here I wouldn't have met my wife!

December 6 - I'm grateful for college football at 9am.

Things to be grateful for - Dec 1 and Dec 2

Dec 1: First and foremost, I'll start with the obvious one. I'm grateful that I was lucky enough to meet Janell, fall in love with her, and convince her to marry me. We've been together now for a total of nine years, and it has been a fantastic journey so far. When people say relationships are hard work, I think perhaps they haven't tried it with the right person for them. My relationship with Janell isn't hard work at all. It's actually quite easy, and I think that is because we are peers and partners in every sense of the word. So, I'm grateful for a having fantastic relationship with my best friend.

Dec 2: The next obvious one. I'm grateful to have two wonderful, healthy, curious, funny, loving, caring little boys. It's very exciting to be able to help them learn, well basically everything. The first time that truly dawned on me was when I showed them how to hold an apple so that they didn't eat the end and chew through the core. Simple things you never think about. I absolutely love it when I can share little private moments with them where we both laugh at something silly without really talking about why it's silly. I don't have to write this down to know I'm grateful for it, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

December Challenge - Write Down Something You are Grateful for Every Day

It's time for the final challenge of the year. This one is a mental health activity. The idea is that if you write down something that you are grateful for everyday, it helps keep you focused on the positive aspects of your life and improve your overall attitude. It doesn't need much explanation, so good luck!

Jason

Pumpkin Recipes

Well, I did manage to find a few pumpkin recipes that were pretty good. Some I'll just post a link, but a few I'll have to type out. Note that the big carving pumpkins aren't really the ones you would use for these recipes. I found that there are actually several different varieties of pumpkins, many of which look more like a winter squash. Not coincidentally, winter squash can be used as a substitute in most of these recipes. I'm not going to pretend to be an expert here, so ask your local produce supplier for recommendations on what pumpkins to use.

Thai-Spiced Pumpkin Soup - The soup turned out to be fantastic! It was pretty easy to make, too.

Roasted Pumpkin Salad - This was close to one of the prettiest dishes ever served on our table. It tasted pretty good, too. I'd pay particular attention to what type of pumpkin or squash you use, though.

Pumpkin and Beef Stew - I followed an actual recipe for this one, but I'd just say, "Make your favorite beef stew recipe and add cubed pumpkin." The pumpkins turned out tasting similar to the potatoes but with a much different texture. Basically, both soaked up the flavors of the stew quite nicely.

Pumpkin Puree (compliments of Plumper Pumpkin Patch) - To be used with other recipes

1-2 Sugar Pie Pumpkins (or other good tasting pumpkins)

1/2 c. Water

Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds. Place pumkin halves upside down on a cookie sheet with water in the bottom. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool. Remove pulp form skin and puree in blender or food processor. Pumpkin is now ready for use in your recipes.

Pumpkin Bread (compliments of Plumper Pumpkin Patch)

5 Eggs

1 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

2 cups pumpkin puree

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 packages Cook & Serve Vanilla Pudding (3 oz)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

Beat eggs in mixing bowl. Add oil and pumpkin. Beat until smooth. Combine remaining ingredients; gradually beat into pumpkin mixture. Pour batter into five greased 5-in x 2 1/2-in x 2-in loaf pans (or whatever you use to make banana bread). Bake at 325 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. NOTE: Can use two greased 8-in x 4-in x 2-in loaf pans for 75-80 minutes.

When I made this one I only had one package of instant vanilla pudding, so I used that. Also, I actually made the pudding first. I think you're supposed to put it in dry, but putting in he made pudding turned out quite well!

Try it! You might like it!

Jason

November Challenge - No Fast Food

This month it's no fast food. If you order your food at a counter and pay for it at the counter, it's fast food. If it has a drive-through, it's a definite no-no. The last few challenges should have set everybody up for this one. It's hard to find a super food at a fast food place unless it's covered in cheese or mayonnaise.

Good luck!

On a related note, I went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries last night (since I wouldn't be able to go there for a month), and they followed through on their promise and they aren't using styrofoam cups for fries anymore! Yeah, Five Guys!

Jason

Pumpkins

OK. Pumpkins are on the superfood list, but does anybody know of a way to cook them other than pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread? I've not found much out there...

Jason

Up the Ante

So far I have not found this challenge to be much of a challenge at all. I eat a bowl of oatmeal nearly every day for breakfast, and I'm done. I'm going to up the ante on this one to two superfoods every day. Just do it! Get 'er done! What are you waiting for? Insert company slogan here!

Jason