 Hey guys, thank you so much for joining me. I hope you guys all had a wonderful wonderful Thanksgiving Jay and I had a house full and And it was really really extra special in many many ways One of the things that we were going to do after Thanksgiving we had planned to take a ride up to the White Mountains of New Hampshire and We wanted to go up to the Bretton Woods Hotel in Bretton Woods the Mount Washington Hotel Which is a gorgeous hotel Jay wanted to fly his drone. I wanted to practice with my GoPro and Well the weather turned we ended up having snow as you can you believe it? I mean it's just a little bit of snow But we had snow and then the wind kicked in and it got really cold So we decided not to take a ride up I was gonna vlog it. I thought that'd be a really cool video for Sunday, but it just didn't happen. So Thanksgiving I You know, I was like really dreading it because my house is small and there's never enough room and It's crowded, you know when if when everyone shows up and even though we didn't have everyone show up We had we had I think 17 of us so and that was really I Think a good-sized group Considering that effectively I have three rooms that can be utilized kitchen dining room and living room and this sort of open concept So, you know, we had this big table in the dining room And then we had a smaller table in the living room and we may do So I stressed out over it. I stressed out over where I was going to sit people I stressed out about how my food was going to come out and my turkey is usually Fail-safe I cook it in one of those big cooking bags and I make my stuffing up ahead of time and Then I end up, you know, putting the turkey in the bag the night before after I prep it and clean it and all that stuff But I make my stuffing up ahead of time and then the next morning Right before the turkey goes in the oven I stuff them and I put as much stuffing into the turkey cavity as I can and the rest of it I put in a baking dish and I cook it alongside the turkey, you know outside of it in the oven and In all of that so a you know, I I really prepped really well and People started to arrive and it was just I was still stressed out because I forgot things like I didn't I never really I mean I put the forks and knives on the table But I never got to setting the place because I knew people were just going to go all over the place So and then I figured to put my coleslaw around. I mean stupid things like that, but one of the things that I was like reminded of and it was From a comment that one of you left on my video I'm not going to mention a name because it was a very personal comment and I just the words never left me and on Thanksgiving especially as we were getting ready to have dinner to sit down and We had some wine and all that and I wanted to do a little toast and I just thought of those words and it was make experiences or gift give the gift of experiences and There was so powerful when left in that comment because I Have for so many years Jay and I would pick my mom and dad up when we'd go on road trips And we would do this and we would do that with them and I never really thought of it as a gift of Experiences I just thought of making memories and having fun and showing my parents things things You know that they probably had not seen or had not been able to see in a long long time But the comment give the gift of experiences Was so powerful and just what I needed to hear and what I needed to really think on for Thanksgiving day And that's what I said when I chaired everyone. I did a toast I said let's go forward treasure family treasure all of us but give each other the gift of Experiences and that you will treasure because I think back of all the little things I did with my dad when he was alive and I realized those were gifts of experiences and never thought of it that way and While I could have been better with my brother I realized too that I gave him different gifts that were sort of of experiences so that he could do certain things so my gosh those words were so Powerful and I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful for every single one of you that watch my videos Even when I have nothing to say, you know when I'm just rambling kind of like I am today But I'm so thankful for every single one of you and I'm thankful especially for that comment that was left because The gift of experiences if you if you can think about that that way a gift doesn't have to be expensive It doesn't have to you know be difficult. You don't have to go shopping You can give that gift of simple experiences and I realized that on Thanksgiving That's exactly what we were doing. My house was small so nobody could escape to another room, right? we were all Together and typically you could go to a holiday event Someone's in this room and someone's over that when they have a big house and someone's in a family room You know or whatever, but in my house nobody had there was no room to escape So we all chatted we all sat around we all enjoyed each other's company as crowded as it was We all gave each other the gift of experiences and oh my gosh So powerful so powerful So I would have loved to have shared a gift of experience with you by bringing you along to the white mountains and to The the Mount the Mount Washington hotel, which is absolutely beautiful and maybe we'll still do that But it just didn't happen So but one thing that did happen. Oh my gosh, and I'm so excited about this I I know some of you are avid Outlander fans and You may or may not be aware of it those of you that aren't Outlander is just an amazing It's an amazing story book 9 was just released and I think don't hold me to this I think there might have been a six or a seven-year gap between book 8 and book 9 I was starting to think I'd never lived to see book 9, you know ever Diana Gabelton and the the the I get it in audiobooks and so I can listen because if I had to read a Novel of that size I would never be able to get through it with my lifestyle. So I listen in my audiobook. So I'm super thankful for my little apple Earpods my these are the apple earpods the bigger ones that really drown out the noise. I love these. I love these I think I got these last year, but anyways, I love these And and I love my little blingy case I've had this case for a long time you can you know, put it on your little key thing or whatever and You get the little hole so you can plug your little charger in there But anyways, I digress so Outlander came out book 9 And I've been walking around with my earbuds on listening to Outlander and it's like 48 49 hours long I'm like, oh my gosh. I am so enthralled with that story if you've never ever listened to Outlander or read Outlander try to get this first series of Outlander the first book obviously the best book and yes, it involves some sort of you know time travel But very little in that sense. It's not like they just go from galaxy to galaxy or some weird thing like that But it does it does involve trying time travel and it it involves a modern-day english woman uh sometime after I think first world war and somehow she was in in venison scotland and she ended up going through the stones and landed in the midst of a clan a Highland with the Jekebites or and I'm probably saying that wrong Jekebites and the risings and all that stuff and she gets immersed in the story in this timeline With this character called Jamie Fraser and Jamie Fraser. Oh my god. He's he's like he's younger than her But he and he's innocent where she's a married woman had some experience, right? But anyways, oh, I just fell in love with that So, you know, if you can grab Outlander if you want to escape and then really get involved in a long detailed story Take it. Take it. Um Do that seriously do it. I love Outlander So book nine just came out. It is being read by Davina Porter and Davina Porter read all the previous Outlander books and I I'm absolutely enthralled with her how she reads how she Manipulates the different characters how she changes her voice ever so slightly when she's talking as Claire Or she's talking as Jamie I absolutely love it. So that has been a hit the scape of mine And that has been my it's a gift of experience for me Outlander. I didn't think I'd see book nine now. She says It's going to end in book 10 But um, I don't know, you know, I don't know If you if you love that kind of like and if you haven't already, but if you love that kind of a book where It's you get so emotionally wrapped up in the characters. Check out Outlander. It is fabulous It's been one of my favorite books forever and ever. I love Outlander and also Um, the Outlander series is on tv So the stars network and it's kind of funny because Jay and I will cancel stars But we'll reorder it re-up it when Outlander comes on because it is I have to watch the show and I and I obviously love the show so Yeah And that's really I mean having Outlander. I was so thankful for that this month And I was so super super thankful for The lovely lady that left me that comment About the gift of experiences because that resonated and touched me so deeply so I'm super super thankful for all of you my family You know, we were together on Thanksgiving and We cracked jokes and and you know, we we we were all over the place But we were together everybody was in the moment Well, except for one person who fell asleep on the couch But I won't say who he was And it was not Jen Not my husband But everybody was really together in the moment and and I think that to me was giving a gift of experience for Thanksgiving In 2021 it's been such a crappy year for everyone I think especially with all the covid stuff and all the political stuff that's happening and you know Now another covid strain. It's just been unbelievable But I do have those things to be thankful for so I you know, I'm going to try to get my vlog done And I'm going to try to my next video. Hopefully I've got a couple of wig videos one that went yesterday And I went coming up this week Um, but those those were pre-recorded So but I'm going to try to really focus in on on my next video and really talking about some of my favorites and all that and I just I'm also trying hard to get in the festive mood, right? I put my little little, uh, black It's a shower current behind me I'm covering up my bookshelf that you normally see me in right and I put a little bit of Christmas bling up there hoping that it would inspire me to feel a little bit festive and You know in the mood because I haven't even started shopping and I've been watching some of the videos that some of my Um, my friends and some of them I've never even met, you know, that have put out about holiday gifts and and suggestions and I love it I was watching Melissa 55 and she was talking about all the the gifts that she was had Selected for her grandchild. I think she's got like seven and the gifts that she was giving and I don't have seven Uh, but I but I'm getting out there. I'm pretty I'm getting pretty close because I have um basically four and I don't know if I'll have any more but I have basically have four grandchildren And so I was like devouring her video for the gift ideas and then Natalie did one and oh my gosh Some of the things that she talked about the weighted blanket and stuff like that really gave me some good ideas and so I'm hoping that You know, I get some gift ideas, but I'm also thinking of packaging up some experiences, you know, like putting together a An event that you know, maybe for the grandkids would go do this together and you know When all that and I know travel is going to be you know impacted to a great degree next year but there are things we can do as a family that Doesn't cost a lot of money and doesn't involve getting on a plane and traveling So I don't know we Jay and I was supposed to go to Germany next year and I'm concerned because the Netherlands Uh, the there are some some issues going on there with covid So I'm thinking that everything might be closed again So I'm thinking to Jay. Maybe we should postpone that trip if we can We had bought airline tickets initially. We were going to Scotland and then that was canceled due to covid and then we were only able to Keep our airline tickets as vouchers for two years. So I'm going to call up and see if I can change that because I don't think Europe's going to happen unless somehow covid You know goes away and I I really think it's going to be here to stay. I think it's going to be a A fact of life that we have to kind of live with so but So I'm really thinking of like sort of mini little things and I live in new england We have so many different beautiful areas to visit here and maybe more local trips, you know Maybe get down to florida this year. I do have a convention coming up in march and it's in Kentucky I've never been to Kentucky It's in Louisville, Kentucky So that unless that gets canceled That's going to be march and So I don't really know but I just wanted to pop in and kind of You know Give you a little bit of an update even though I'm not saying very much But just talk a little bit about Thanksgiving and being thankful And gifts don't have to cost a lot of money. You don't have to go crazy and You know recubrain out and the little little things like the gift of experiences Can carry some in a long way. I think of me with my dad being gone now You know, it'll be I mean this it'll be a year and a half with him being gone and I'm so thankful Of all those gifts of experiences that jay and I did with them, right because that now is something that I carry forward that I treasure I look at some of the pictures that I took of my mom and dad up in the mountains or the ocean or wherever we went And I treasure them And they make me they make me smile. They make me happy And those there were just gifts of experiences, right? Yeah, I took a couple of hours We spent a day doing this and all that but Yeah, it to me was just It's just the most precious thing you can do is give that gift of experiences. So Anyways, I know I'm just rambling. I just wanted to you know, come in say Thank you to all of you. I treasure every single one of you and your comments have carried me forward You've encouraged me when I've been down. You've made me you've given me tips and suggestions and I love that So anyways, I'm going to end this sort of like another girl talk, I guess, right? But I'm going to end this and I promise in my next video. I'll have something of Substantive or substance to say I hope I hope anyways guys I will see you all later and I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving And I'll catch you in my next video