Happy Thanksgiving

SO – here we are – at this special time of the year. It is hopefully full of fun plans for you and your family, or you’ll be simply relaxing with some time off.
It’s so easy for us to make our plans, or be ready for our rest, and miss the best part of Thanksgiving – and to me – that is truly being thankful for what we have. No matter how bad things may have been this last year – the thing that is the beginning of blessing again, is being thankful in your heart for what you have that’s good – no matter what they are. Everybody has good things in their lives to be thankful for.
Being thankful, or getting filled with appreciation, will naturally begin to lift your spirits, and get rid of negative thoughts that are self-defeating. For me, the beginning of real peace and success is when I truly humble my heart before God for all He has done. You may not have much, but you can be thankful for what you DO have. You may have been sick, but you can be thankful for those who have helped you through it, and that you are still here today. You may have had some setbacks, but you can be thankful you can make a comeback (sometimes the only way to go is “up” and that’s a good thing!) This year I want to encourage you to try to look at your life through a new lens: All the things that are good in your life such as your level of health, your financial provision, your friends, family, pets, whatever small insignificant possessions – what if some – or ALL of them were gone at this time next year?
Let’s imagine where your feet might be, if they weren’t on that coffee table, or even more tangible – how would you do your work, or spend your downtime if you didn’t have that laptop (or cell phone for my mobile users) and the means to have even the internet connection.
Try for this next week, everything you touch in your home, all the things in your wardrobe, your bathroom, your purse, wallet, even under your bathroom sink are GIFTS from God. Every time you brush your hair or take a nice warm bath, that’s a privilege. Think to yourself “How lucky I am to be soaking in this nice bath!” or “My little dog is so loving and beautiful!”
That’s the magic of gratitude – it grows on itself, and creates a positive mind-set. I am a firm believer that the words that come out of your mouth, and the thoughts you dwell on, are what materializes into your life. I like to read Psalms 100 before Thanksgiving Dinner.
Speaking of Thanksgiving Dinner I’ll share with you what I love to make. Our family is all meeting up in a rental house up in the snow. I can’t even tell you what it is to pack up the car with the pre-made bases of the recipes – but it’s all worth it! Check it out:

Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Roasted Turkey with Iron Skillet Yellow Cornmeal/Buttermilk/Hot Pork Sausage Sage Dressing
Yukon Mashed Garlic Potatoes
Broccoli with Curried Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Panini Grilled Zucchini
Cardamom & Orange-Brandied Fresh Cranberry Sauce
Fresh Fruit Salad with Marshmallows, Pecans, and Maraschino Cherries
Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits
Cream Cheese Icing-filled Pumpkin Roll

I’ve been doing a lot of mountain biking, so my metabolism is all set for this kind of indulgence. These are just the traditional Southern-based things I had growing up, having a dad from Kentucky, and a mom from Tennessee. You must be asking: Are you gonna have some Jack Daniels with that? The answer is “Nah” You’re talking to a part Irish/Scottish/Cherokee Indian – a 3-time loser! I’ll skip the hard stuff, and maybe have a small glass of champagne with the Pumpkin Roll. And then curl up on a sofa and make Gerson massage my feet. Hey! It takes a total of about 36 hours just to make that fresh Pumpkin Soup (that’s everyone in my family’s favorite - so I have to make about 3 giant crock pots-full) and I usually get up every 2 hours to baste the turkey through the night (I cook on very low so it is ridiculously juicy and tender by the time it’s ready) and that oven baked cornbread stuffing is a whole other ordeal that starts about 4 days before dinner (the cornbread then has to dry out) – but it’s all worth it to see my family enjoy themselves - - Oh – I forgot – I also make turkey gravy from drippings and broth I pour off and collect throughout the night hours.
This brings me to one last funny story to leave you with:
It was one of these nights before Thanksgiving – and this was in 2004. Now picture this – I got a bit of a late start on my turkey that night, and I was concerned about having time for the broth I collect throughout the night to “set up” in the fridge, after it cools naturally, so I can get the fat separated off the top that turns solid. (Told you it’s a whole ordeal) Now, mind you, I’ve been getting up all night, collecting the broth into large metal pots with lids, and then placing more water around the turkey, after basting it and putting it back into the oven so that it keeps producing broth during the rest of the cooking hours. It gets very cold in Las Vegas (it even snows sometimes) this time of year, so I decided to work the system and “get one up” on not screwing up the refrigerator with my hot broth by cutting out some of the cooling off part. My plan was to save space in the fridge and get the broth cooled quickly by putting it out in the garage. Genius, yes?! It’s practically freezer temp out there, so it could be congealed and ready to be part of the gravy, dressing, potatoes, and soup recipes by 10:00 a.m. and I’d be back on track.
I had all my items on their last hour of prep before dinner. I had used a couple of my pots of broth and reserved off my fat for the gravy. The dressing was infused with one of the pots of broth. Now I just needed to heat up one more pot of broth. I decided to cut another corner, and just leave the fat in this one (I usually take off as much as possible to make it a little healthier) and splurge on the calories a little. I put the pot on the stove, set it on med-hi, and pranced off to get dressed for my dinner guests who would be arriving shortly.
I could hear the doorbell ring a few times, and guests voices,, glasses clinking with drinks being made & the sounds of Christmas music starting to play… smell the turkey wafting down to my bathroom…and feeling pretty darn great about how I had pulled it all off.
After saying our “hellos” and trying to get everyone into the kitchen to start helping put the food on the table, I went to the stove and turned off the flame. Everyone started crowding around, looking over my shoulder saying, “Oh is that the Pumpkin Soup!!” “Is that THE soup?” Just as I was about to say it was part of my genius plan for some broth I was heating to flavor the soup – I took off the lid, and then, as the final bubbles of the rolling boil that was now dying, started to fade – up rolls the biggest, fattest, nasty black dead rat, with it’s little curled up claws and Bucky Beaver teeth smiling up at me! Well, I don’t have to tell you how loudly I screamed, or how many people almost got scalded when I threw the lid, or how many toes I crushed with my boots, or – worst – the stench of the smell that now filled the kitchen and what that was like – but you get the picture. Yes – rats CAN open a very heavy iron lid with their nose, and flatten their bodies to drop down in the small crack. Don’t try this at home! But, I’ll never forget, this was the year of the Rat Soup, as I jestingly call it now -- and a year that began a series of ratfink events… not quite so insignificant in retrospect.
You’ll be entertained (I promise) by more exciting stories like these when my next book comes out, sometime next year. In the meantime, I’m planning a special Holiday Edition Magazine for you all that I’ll let you know about soon.

Please send your most curious questions (Keep it clean! You know who you are!) for me to select out to answer in my next letter. Just make sure you’re ok with your name going out publicly with your question or antidote request!
My current charity focus is with Living Grace Home in Henderson, NV. Please support this great home that helps teenage moms and their infants. There’s so much more that they do than you think! My hope is that you’ll come to see how addressing the issues and needs these young mothers have, that it can stop some of the most serious, and costly domino effects on a community that teen pregnancy can have. Check out Living Grace Home at Livinggracehome.com and give your support online or visit me there on December 17 for their Holiday Open House!
God Bless You Guys!! XOXO, Hunter

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