Surprise!

Yes, I am still in Tennessee, but Dad and I snuck away to Panera to get some Internet. (The truth is that I had to check on some work stuff, but of course it wasn't done.)

So while he checks his emails I figure it is time to write a post!

The trip has been good- nice to see family that we don't get to see often. And it is nice while everyone is busy visiting, I get some quality thinking time. There has been so much going through my head the past few months so it is good for me to get away and try to clear things up....not that I have but I am getting there....At least I have a 6 hour ride back with Mom to talk it over.

Big bro and the fiance are coming in tomorrow...this Christmas has been great because all of the attention is on him. I haven't felt like talking about my job or house or anything so its nice that everyone really wants to talk to him.

Yesterday, Mom and Granny and I snuck out to do a little shopping! Mom likes to stalk up on her Christmas things for the next year and I just like to look for good deals. For example, I got the entire SATC collection for $70!!!! Using a Christmas gift card, it brought it down to just $26- what a steal! Plus there are some stores down here that we don't have at home, so it is nice to see what I can get that wont look like everyone else.

Unfortunately my team lost our Bowl Game last night. What a bummer. I hope that some other teams I am rooting for will win their games.

So as you can see, nothing too exciting going on down here, but it is nice to get away for a while. (Not to mention the sun is shining, no snow and I don't need to wear 40 layers.) I will be back up North soon to celebrate the New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

This afternoon I will be leaving to head down to Tennessee for Christmas. Now, I do enjoy visiting with family and I am in much need of getting out of town for a while, but we are staying there for 8 DAYS! That means 8 days of sleeping on the twin pull out bed, no gym along with that good Southern cookin', and no internet (insert TN joke here). Even though it means a living a little differently than I'm used to, getting to spend time with family is worth it. But 8 days is kind of a long time. Plus my parents were concerned with how much room we would have in the car with packages and luggage, so I really tried to minimize my packing. Now, that's a joke. Do you know how hard it is to pack for 8 days? And when it is mostly sweaters, that takes up a lot of room! So I pulled out the big suitcase and finished my packing semi stress-free.

Since I don't know when I will be able to write again, I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas a little early. I hope you all enjoy spending time with your family and friends (and that Santa brings you what you want :) )

When I get back, I will turn around and go back to Lexington for New Years. I hope everyone has a safe and happy end to the year as we look to starting a new year and decade. I cant believe that. I remember where I was at the turn of the millennium!

Wishing you all the joy and blessings that Christmas can bring.

I'm dreaming tonight....

Ok, I have to be honest. I am sitting at work with absolutely no motivation. So, I am thinking that if I write a post, that will get my brain to start functioning at least.

Lately I have been having recurring dreams. It's not the same exact dream, but the same theme. What I hate about these dreams is that they seem so real, and then when I wake up, I am so disappointed. It's simple really- I am just dreaming that I am with all of my friends from college doing all of the stuff we used to do....getting ready together in the sorority house, piling into cars to go out together, just laughing together and loving life. I really try not to think of the past and how good it was compared to my life now. I really believe that we should be thankful of the past and the memories we have, but we must also live in the present while looking forward to the future. These dreams just make me cherish those times that I had with them.

I am also realizing that it is getting harder and harder for us to all get together. Our lives are separate now and we all have so many other things to do. For example, we cant all get together for New Year's this year, and I am going to have to miss one of my dear friend's weddings because my brother's is the same day. These things happen and its apart of getting older,but to be frank- it sucks.

So really the whole point of this is just a shout out to all you girls to say that I miss you and I wish we were all together again. It is hard for us to all stay in touch, but I hope you all know that you are constantly with me in my thoughts, dreams, and from everything you have taught me. I love you all so much, and I cant wait to see you again!

(Also you will note that the title of this is from 'I'll Be Home for Christmas'...A comes home today!!!!)

Big Night

Tonight is the Season 6 Finale of So You Think You Can Dance. I am so disappointed that another season is coming to an end. This is truly one of my favorite shows to watch. Dance was probably my first passion in life, and I still have moments when I regret the decision to do other things. But there is no use for that, so I live vicariously through the dancers on the show.

This season was hard for me to pick a favorite. Jakob is amazing. I think he is the most talented of the group by far. But I think my favorite is Kathryn. She is just beautiful. I am happy she made it to the finale and she had some wonderful performances last night. (I tried to find one on youtube to put in here but I couldn't find the one I wanted.)

So anyway, my vote tonight is for Kathryn, but I will be happy if Jakob wins too. I know Russell is a fan favorite and he has overcome so much to get where he is. He has been able to adapt well to the different styles considering he is a crumper, but to me, he is still faking it a bit. (Sorry, that comes from years of training and technique that I have an eye for.) Actually, I felt that I noticed a lot of "faking it" last night. Ryan and Ashleigh's dance looked a little forced as well. That is probably just my bias coming out. Anyway, they are all talented dancers and I enjoyed watching them.

We will see what happens tonight!

Any suggestions on other entertainment on Tuesday and Wednesday nights? Ill be looking for something new after tonight.

PS 9 days til Christmas!!!!!!

The 12 Days of Christmas

Well, I am sad to say that today was my last day of gift opening until Santa comes.

I really enjoyed opening something every day. It made each day so special and I have more Christmas decorations around the house now!

Here are my 12 days of Christmas:

1. Advent calendar- already filled with chocolate :)
2. Stocking hangers (I was a little upset because I didn't have any stockings!)
3. A UK snowmen wreath- too cute!
4. 2 Stockings- one filled with Christmas paper plates and napkins that came in handy for my little get together the other night.)
5. Peppermint hot chocolate. YUM.
6. Yankee Candle diffuser- cinnamon scented.
7. A plate that says "The Christmas Calories Don't Count" (so true)
8. A mug that matches the plate above
9. A baseball Santa snow globe
10. A Christmas blanket that matches all of my decs.
11. A framed saying that I loved:
"All my plans...All my dreams...I lay before the Lord. 'For I know the plans I have for you...To give you a future and a hope' -Jeremiah 29:11"
12. A framed picture of my family from Thanksgiving.

Thanks Mom!

My Favorite Things, Christmas Edition

I am terribly sorry that I have been slacking lately on my Favorite Things. Here are my Favorite Things for Christmas:


My favorite Christmas song: O Holy Night
Josh Groban and Celine Dion both have wonderful versions of this song. I can only imagine what it would be like if they sang it together one day! Oh but I just hear Carrie Underwood sing it on her Christmas special and I think that might rank up there as well. (Maybe one day I will be her...)




My Favorite Christmas movie: The Holiday, The Grinch, Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life
Ok, so I couldn’t really narrow it down, but I love them all!



My favorite Christmas tradition: Going to candlelight service on Christmas Eve.
Since we go back South for Christmas, we go to the church where my mom grew up. I moved away from there when I was 5, and only see the people there once a year. I am not a big fan of the awkward hellos and everyone telling me how grown up I am getting- but the best part is goofing off with my uncle and dodging all of the old people who come to say hi…They are all my grandma’s friends who watched my mom and uncle grow up. He is just so funny so it makes the situation much more bearable.

My Favorite Christmas treat: My grandma’s sugar cookies and my mom's cookie bouquet cookies
Look how cute! These are the ones I made for the company Christmas party.






Some other favorites:
I do love all things peppermint as well…Peppermint Hot Chocolate, Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha, Peppermint Bark…you get the idea. Dove now has peppermint bark, so be sure to get you some of that this year!
The Nutcracker is my favorite Christmas show. I could listen to that music all year long :)



I love looking at Christmas lights and decorations.


Lifetime Christmas movies are always good too!


Share your favorite things about Christmas too!


Merry Christmas!

Fa la la la la, la la la....

Aaaaahhhhh!
Ok, so it has been forever since I’ve written and I am terribly sorry! I know all 4 people interested in my blog are extremely disappointed. I have spent the past 2 weeks baking cookies for my company Christmas party (they were a hit…pictures to come later) and making my Christmas cards!
I knew the holiday season was busy, but I never realized how busy it was. Now granted, I have done a lot of this to myself, but I honestly feel like there are just not enough hours in the day to get everything done that I would like to.
I had to spend last night frantically cleaning because I could not stand the filth any longer! (Filth being a relative term…) Plus we have had some crazy weather here, so I slept on the couch the past two nights just so the wind wouldn’t keep me up in my room. (And yes, I have another bed, but I didn’t want to dirty those sheets.)
I spent all of last week baking and decorating cookies. I think it is a safe bet that I had well over 70 cookies around my house. I made gingerbread men and my mom’s famous sugar cookies. Don’t worry, they weren’t all for me. My company Christmas party was last Saturday, and I had this brilliant idea to make a cookie bouquet, make that 2 cookie bouquets. One was a hostess gift for my boss’s wife for hosting the party, and another went into to pool of gifts for the company gift exchange. It was the kind of exchange where you could steal a gift that had already been opened, then that person would either steal another or open a new one. I thought it was so clever of me to make these elaborate cookies until about 4 Saturday afternoon when I was STILL decorating them.
Of course, everyone loved looking at them, and I spent most of the party bragging about how I slaved over them in hopes that my gift would be the one that everyone wanted to steal. To my disappointment, it was more towards middle of pack and it was a second choice gift for the couple who ended up with it. Lesson learned- people at my company love the booze in the gift exchange.
For company Christmas parties, ours ranks pretty high. It wasn’t as awkward as I feared and I wasn’t the only one there solo (even though I am the only single person in the ENTIRE company). I did have a lot of fun, even if my gifts were stolen the most. Two of the highlights of the night were when I opened one gift that I thought was just some goofy picture of one of my co-workers (you had to be there to get the humor of it, but the entire room was rolling in laughter- there was a gift card inside J), and when I went and stole the CEO’s bottle of Woodford Reserve that he was so proud of getting. I think it shocked everyone that I worked up the nerve to steal his gift…he even told me that he would never forget that.
This week I made my Christmas cards (again, doing it to myself), but now I have to get them in the mail, finish Christmas shopping, wrap presents, make a present, and catch up on all of my chores I’ve been slacking on before leaving town for Christmas. In addition to spending time with friends, work and trying to make it to the gym on occasion, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day.
I know I am not the only one who gets a little overwhelmed this time of year, but I recently received an email to remind us all to take a step back and remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas. There is no need to feel overwhelmed and stressed- Christmas is a time of celebration and joy, and I hope we never ever forget that. I do hope that when it is all over this year, we all look back and remember the time we spent with our family and friends, and the one perfect gift we all received many, many years ago.
Here is the email:
Christmas Shopping
A woman was out Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable, and after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her two kids.
She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season, over-whelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, get that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, make sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.
Finally the elevator doors opened, and there was already a crowd in the elevator. She pushed her way in and dragged her two kids in with her and all the shopping bags. When the doors closed, she couldn't take it anymore and stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up, and shot."
From the back, everyone heard a quiet, calm voice respond, "Don't worry. We already crucified him." For the rest of the trip down the elevator, it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.
Don't forget this year to keep the one who started this whole Christmas thing in your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all did it, just think how different this whole world would be.

The 12 Days of Christmas

I just love my mom. She's always thinking of others and does the cutest things to brighten our days.

Once my brother moved out, she gave him gifts for the 12 days of Christmas. So, the 12 days before the 25th, he had small gifts to open.

Well, since I am on my own now, I get the 12 days too! This year we have to start on Dec 1 and have a little break before Christmas.

On the first day of Christmas my mother gave to me......an advent calendar (with Dove chocolate inside).

I just love this time of year! I hope everyone is getting into the holiday spirit as much as I am :)

I am in the middle of baking Gingerbread Men so I need to get back at it!

PS Hallmark, Lifetime and ABC Family are all running tons of Christmas movies all month!