The First Thanksgiving

General Thanksgiving
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLIC THANSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:" 

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

George Washington


And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Things You Didn't Know Could Harm Your Pet

This past weekend we spent our Friday night at the Animal Hospital with Molly. While we were out getting some frozen yogurt (yes, even though it's November we still like going to the mix-your-own froyo place), Molly got hold of her bottle of Proin (for her incontinence) and ate almost all of what was left in the bottle. We did the math and discovered that 11 pills were unaccounted for. The normal dose is a half-tablet, twice daily. So long story short, we ended up going to the Animal Hospital, Molly was admitted overnight, treated, and went home early the next morning. She's going to be fine, but it was a VERY tense and scary night for us. Luckily, we already had the phone number on hand for our local after-hours vet and they were able to coordinate with a toxicologist from the Pet Poison Hot Line to determine Molly's treatment protocol.

If you are a pet parent and don't know where your emergency vet is, find out. If you don't have their number, get it and save it as a contact in your cell phone. Listed below are some important numbers to have on hand in case your pet eats something toxic:

Pet Poison Hot Line
800-213-6680

ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
888-426-4435

Home Again's Emergency Medical Care Hot Line
888-466-3242

Additionally, here is a list of 101 things that can harm pets, courtesy of the ASPCA's pamphlet from the animal hospital. And if you think your dog would NEVER eat some of this stuff, recall the last time you saw him/her eating poo or rolling in something completely disgusting. I know mine do. Dogs don't always make sense. That's just part of being a dog.

Apple and Pecan Cinnamon-Swirl Muffins

This recipe is a bit of an experiment. I've been craving sweets especially intensely for the past few weeks, fueled primarily by my new obsession: the cupcake shop downtown. This bakery puts out some of the most delicious cupcakes I have ever tasted in my life. They make eight hundred gazillion flavors, but so far I've only tried five. I go in at least once a week to try something new.

But I digress! So I have the day off from class and I've been studying the muscular system for tomorrow's anatomy and physiology exam all day. Studying always makes me crave sweets. I'm pretty sure it's all psychological, but I see no reason not to indulge today.

I found a box mix of "cinnamon swirl quick bread" and suddenly became inspired. What if instead of quick bread, I made muffins? Simple enough. What if instead of using vegetable oil, I used applesauce? How healthy! What if I chopped up a Granny Smith apple, added it to the batter, and topped it all off with some roasted pecans? Yummy!

The Ingredients - As it turns out, our applesauce had mold in it. So I ended up using vegetable oil after all. Oh well!

The Process
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (or 325 if you have a convection oven like me) and grease/flour the pan, per the instructions on the box.

Slice and core a Granny Smith apple, then chop slices to desired size.

Combine quick bread mix, water, applesauce, and eggs per the instructions on the box. Fold in chopped apples.

Fill muffin cups to 1/3 with batter, top with cinnamon mix, and carefully swirl with a knife.

Pour remaining batter into muffin cups until 2/3 full each, sprinkle with cinnamon mix, and top with pecans.

Bake for about 24 minutes or until wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool muffins in pan for 10 minutes and enjoy!

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

The Paradox of Christ

The following sermon was written by Father Michael Cassabon of Saint Patrick's Catholic Church and is published here with his permission.

In many ways, Jesus’ teaching is a paradox.

He says, if you want to have life, then you must die to yourself. He teaches, if you want to be the first, then you must become the last and servant of all. And in today’s Gospel, he teaches his disciples: if you wish to be exalted on high, then you must humble yourself.

These are paradoxes, but they are important for us to understand in our minds and hearts and to live out in our lives.

Jesus teaches in these paradoxes because it is a reflection of his own life: He is the Son of God who became one of us in all things but sin…he traded his throne of glory for the humiliation of the Cross because he loved us. For a time, Jesus leaves the realm of glory to share in our suffering, in our darkness, and in our loneliness so that he can assure us that we are not alone in our pain and grief. He humbles himself; he associates with the lowly and the outcast, so that those on the margins of life can be reminded that they are beloved by God and that nothing can separate them from divine love.

Willow House!

A very dear friend of mine, Barbie, has started her own business as a Willow House consultant. Barbie is amazing and the Willow House product lines are amazing. You can check out the stand-alone page here on my blog or you can go directly to Barbie's Willow House site.


And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.