Kerry Beck's Blog

You can watch the video or just surf on over to this recipe.

30 Minute Chili Video

Recipe

Work off last week’s binge by starting a new exercise regimen.

Need inspiration?

Consider this:  The average American consumes more than 2000 calories during Thanksgiving dinner alone.  Try a 30 minute walk or Nordic walking.  It’s like cross-country skiing on the ground.  Sounds like fun to me!

(adapted from Sprint Magazine, Nov 2007)

As Thanksgiving is here, I am thankful for so many things. Of course, my family is at the top of the list. As our children grow & mature into young adults, they are such a blessing to Steve & me. Many people believe I am a little strange.  My middle daughter, Gentry, calls me the “family Nazi”.  She knows how much I want to keep our family together as the kids get older.  It is much harder now because they are becoming more independent.  I am still thankful for the few dinners each week we share.

Although I am truly thankful for my family, I am even more grateful for my relationship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ. This holiday season I am reminded of the sacrifice that Jesus made for me. Since I am a sinner, I deserve the punishment for my sin (which is spiritual death-separation from God). Jesus took my punishment so I could live instead. He died on the cross, suffering for my sin. For this sacrificial act, I am overwhelmed with joy and yet realize the awesome responsibility to my Maker. I have been bought with a price and therefore owe Him my total devotion.

What are you thankful for this year?

I’m sure I’ve shared this activity before this year, but it is truly a family favorite. Since the beginning of November my kids have asked if we were making turkey cookies this year. I hope this makes sense.
Open oreo and set them perpendicular (use icing to hold in place)
Place malt ball in the corner and a red hot (gobble) in front of the malt ball.
Ice the oreo that is standing up & down with chocolate icing
Fan candy corn around the maltball to make a fan of feathers.
Eat and enjoy – yummy!!!

Shopping List:
oreos
red hots
malt balls
chocolate icing
candy corn

Go retro – way retro – by culling from more than 80 historical & contemporary recipes. Giving Thanks: Thanksgiving Recipes & History, From Pilgrims to Pumpkin Pie, by Curtin & Oliver, offers a wide variety of recipes for your upcoming feast.
I watched Iron Chef last night.  (I don’t really like that show, but it had Bobby Flay on it).  Their secret ingredient was really a variety of ingredients…foods from the first Thanksgiving (duck that needed to be feathered, venison, and more).  I saw some exceptional recipes and foods being made.  You should be able to get recipes & see a short video at Food Network

Create a cd of holiday music to get everyone in an appropriate mood.

This can be done for Thanksgiving AND Christmas.  Try it out!

Preserve photographic memories of next Thursday’s get-together by creating & sharing an album on photobucket.com.  It’s my favorite place to upload pics to share with friends & family.

After I upload them, I post our family pics to my personal blog www.KerryBeck.com/blog Having a personal blog is another easy way to share holiday memories with your loved ones.

Another route is using facebook. All my kids have a facebook account and they can upload pics for everyone to enjoy.

Or make a photo calendar for 2009 now and you’ll keep on enjoying 2008.

Keep your eyes peeled for circulars advertising Black Friday sales.  The name refers to the point in the year retailers move from loss to profit, from “in the red” to “in the black”.  Good Business Lesson here!

Typically, Macy’s, WalMart and other stores put out ads a few days before the Friday-after-Thanksgiving shopping extravaganza to get shoppers in the mood!

This is a great BONDING time if you have daughters.  My girls LOVE to shop so I can spend quality time with them doing something they LOVE to do!

Try some of the activities on these fun Thanksgiving websites. Spend some time with your family and ENJOY them!

http://www.theteacherscorner.net/seasonal/thanksgiving/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/thanksgiving/
http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Thanksgiving/thankskids.html
http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/feature/famf117tabletop/
http://familycrafts.about.com/od/thanksgiving/
http://www.theteacherscorner.net/seasonal/thanksgiving/

Websites about Thanksgiving history…to keep on learning!
http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/
http://members.aol.com/calebj/thanksgiving.html
http://www.history.com/minisites/thanksgiving/

Our family read The Landing of the Pilgrims a few years ago. We were encouraged as we read of the risks that our forefathers took so their families could enjoy freedoms, both spiritual and physical. If you haven’t read accounts of the Pilgrims, take a few days this week to simply read and discuss the sacrifice they made to begin a culture that had liberty from the beginning. Once again, I find something else to be thankful for this season.

Keep track of the books your read on www.shelfari.com

You can even be “my friend” http://www.shelfari.com/o1517496408