Happy Thanksgiving!!

My mama made me crab legs when I went home in place of Turkey dinner! They were so great!

These were ....interesting. It was figs, filled with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon. I loved the taste but couldn't get past the look. We nicknamed them "rat toes"

Allen was in charge of the chocolate chip pound cake and green bean cassarole

Stuffing. It was so good, she put apples in it! Also she made it in a muffin tin and it was really cute!

I was responsible for the tomato pie

Turkey was so goooooooooood!

One side of the table complete with: ham, rolls, stuffing, mac/cheese,and tomato pie

Sweet Crepes with Allens folks at Crepe Revoultion

WE bought our first TREE! We both saw it and said "thats it." It was such a blast!

I loved my Thanksgiving!!

I had such a blast with Allen and his parents. We had fun cooking, hanging out and eating! We cooked enough food to feed the city of Atlanta and it was so yummy. On Friday night we met at the movies and saw "The Christmas Carol" which was really entertaining. I highly recommend paying the bucks to see it. Saturday we met for crepes and Christmas tree shopping! What a success! Here are some pictures so that you can imagine that you were there!

Airplane food and brownies

Tonight is the last night of Thanksgiving vacation for me. I am so thankful for this week off. I love Cobb county and their decision to give their teachers a full week that is SO needed. I have lots of pictures and thoughts to post about this past week but for now I am taking the last hours of my vacation to relax and watch one of my favorite TV shows with allen. CSI Miami. While I am writing this allen is watching a TV show on how airplane food is made and the brownies we made last night are calling my name in the kitchen!!

Bring on the Turkey!!

I had such a fun Thanksgiving!

Hope you did too!

Gobble Gobble!

Maggie's Mess

this morning i was laying in bed trying to convince myself to get up and start getting ready for work and I heard a strange noise. It sounded like maggie had somehow magically grown 6ft and gotten the paper towl roll off of its holder. I layed there wondering what it was and eventually forgot and snuggled with allen a little longer before i had to wake up.

WELL

i finally got up and noticed dark brown spots on our white bedroom rug, on the hardwood floor leading to the living room and spots all over the living room rug. Maggie had taken it upon herself to take my starbucks hot chocolate off the coffee table and drink it, roll it, chew up the cup.
When I looked at her she put her head down and parked herself in the corner of the bathroom. haha it was so funny even though i was so mad!

hey, maybe this will get me that shag rug i want! haha

Looking for-ward to the weekend

I am so looking forward to this weekend. I look forward to every weekend but this weekend I am going HOME. After moving away from home to go to Auburn my defintion of home started to change. It used to be the address of the house I grew up in and it still is in some ways. I started defining home more by the people I was surrounding myself with instead of a location or an address. I have called Auburn home. I have called Atlanta home. I have even called temporary places that I have stayed (like a hostel) home. But st. simons I think will always win. I have millions and billions of memories on that island. I have so many places tucked away in my heart that remind of me of peace, laughter and satisfaction. I have thinking spots that I go to that are only on St. Sinons. I look forward to going HOME because of the people that are waiting for me. I love curling up on the couch with my mom and dad and watching a moive. Meeting Kelly at sweet mamas for breakfast and heading out to the beach. Walking to my grandmothers house to visit with her and just recieve the love she has for me. I just love being HOME. Ever since I met allen its been hard to enjoy HOME as much as I used too. I feel like a part of me is missing, and now it really is. I have only been home a few times without him since we have been together. And each time I look forward to HOME with such full anticipation and each time I am sadly let down because I realize that its not as much fun, as releaxing, as enjoyable without allen there. Its not that my family isn't "enough" or friends aren't "enough" but I miss allen. I miss being near him. I miss his laughter and his love.

I am sure this weekend will be the same. I am counting down the days until I pack my car and head HOME but I know that once I get there and unpack my bag, say hey to my family I will be thinking...." i wish allen was here. I miss him" So I am sure I will call him and tell him. I will probably tell him that all weekend long until I head back to Atlanta for Thanksgving with HIS family. A first. My first thanksgiving with him too. A first time to see how his family cooks their turkey, spends their holiday together, etc. We are bringing a few side items and his mom his cooking the bird. I am excited about Thanksgiving. I might have a few minor melt downs because I love tradition and I am going to miss my family. Having Thanksgiving a certain way for 26 years and then introducing change might be a little hard for me, but I am praying about it and thankful for a family so close by.

I have to add a list. Because I love lists. So really its more for me than anyone else:

What I am looking forward to this weekend:
Seeing my family
Having some thinking time on the long drive home
Seeing friends
Enjoying real sea food
Going to church
Shopping with my mom in Jacksonville
Smelling the salt air when I get on the causeway
Taking Maggie to the beach
Wearing flip flops
Exchanging cars with my mom so I can bring back dining room chairs

YAY!

filled with fabric and spray paint

My mind is filled with the thoughts of fabric and spray paint. And real paint. The things left on my "to do" list that are driving me crazy are:

1. Spray paint a mirror that I bought at goodwill for 7 bucks
2. Finish painting the trim in the dining room so that i can ....hang curtains, hang art, move the piano in there.
3. Frame Fabric and put it in the kitchen as well as back my bread box with a fabric swatch.

All projects will be posted so get excited!!

Rock Star

This is a picture of Allen over the summer leading worship for a youth event. I really enjoyed watching him lead others in worship of Christ. He is so talented and has such a huge heart for the ministry of worship. I am so proud of him and what God is doing through him at Northside!

Take a look at my stash....

Allen and I went to publix the other night and found THESE! They are awesome. If you find your a little blue then these are quite the quick fix!

JOY

Be JOYFUL always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thes 5:16-18

I give thanks for Jenna who brightened my day with her love and her email

I give thanks for Gods word and how it is timeless. How it can help me on a morning like this 2000 years after he inspired it to be written.

I love Silvy

I love Silvia.

Silvia loves the Lord.

Silvia is from Romania, but God put a heart for India inside her.

She is now in India. I think God made her look sort of indian just to help her while she is a missonary there.

If you think about her, then please pray for her to spread God's truth to the people of India.

blue + blah

• i hate being bloated
• i hate when allen and i fail in communication with each other
• i am not the biggest fan of mondays

I am all around blue today. I am hoping in Christ and praying that I can remember who I am in Him and that He is all I need. You know those days where things just get under your skin. Where you feel like its easier to just feel hopeless than hope. In the small things and the big things. I am ready for a break. I am ready to go home this weekend to St. Simons Island. I am ready to be around my mom and dad and see the beach. Until then...

Thanksgiving Last Year

This is Lizzie. She lights up my life.

This is our Thanksgiving Feast: oyster dressing, squash cassarole, sweet potatos, ham, turkey, rolls and sweets galore! Oh I will miss this feast this year. Starting a new tradition folks.....Thanksgiving with the hubs and in laws!

15 days and counting

15 Days until Turkey Day. One of my absolute favorite holidays of the year. Here are 15 things that I am thankful for in honor of Thanksgiving approaching.

1. Jesus. I love everything about him.



2. My husband. I am falling more in love with Allen every day. I love his smile. I love the way he encourages me when I am discouraged. I love how he supports me in my walk with the Lord, in my relationships with my friends and family and decisions I make on a daily basis.



3. My family. I love my mom and dad and lanier. I am so glad God chose them as my parents. I love my moms laugh, my dads new jersey heritage. My sisters generosity and hugs.




4. My health. Working with 150 students on a daily basis I am so thankful that I have good health.



5. My new family in atlanta. I am excited about spending Thanksgiving with the in-laws. I am looking forward to God stretching me and using me in this relationship.



6. My job. I love teaching this year. I love my school.



7. Maggie. She takes the stress out of my life. Her sweet brown eyes make my heart melt. When she curls up at my feet i feel so content.



8. Our current residence. I am thankful for the roof over our heads. I love the neighborhood and the location. I love the history of this house.



9. International travel: the memories I have, the amazing amazing people I believe God has introduced me too and helped me keep relationships with, that beauty that I have been able to see.


10. Hot chocolate: what an amazing invention. Thank you native americans in south america.


11. The mountains: always has been a place of peace for me


12. Knowing how to knitt: kelly taught me for christmas one time. I am so happy that I know how to do this. Its a way to de stress and to also have fun during the winter months.


13. Slippers: having hardwood floors encourages me to have slippers. That way when I climb into bed I don't bring the stuff on our floor with me.
14. hand sanitizer: teaching middle school. enough said.
15. having children in my life: my friends kids, the students I teach, little cousins. They can totally turn my day around and its the best to cuddle with a little one.

Cows + Kids

So today a student asked me if I had ever milked a cow

Then the student told me that he dared his cousin to suck a cows udder.

Gross was my reply.

Happy Monday!

Life just got easier

This lil website will send you a menu for the week as well as a grocery list + recipe! Look out creamy dreamy macaroni and cheese!

https://www.youvegotsupper.com/sample-menu.asp

I like theseeeeeeee

Before I got married I did not like white furniture. I never ever wanted white furniture in our house. I didn't want white walls. WELL.

Suddenly I find myself loving white. I think it looks romantic. I think it looks fresh. I think it is pretty. I think it is refreshing.

I am in love with these stripes. Where can i put them? I need to have them in our house.

Sigh. Reminds me of home. I like the blue side board. I like the candles. I like the blue and white striped table.

oh the things on my list!

Lately I have become...

Obsessed.

Obsessed about painting rooms. About picking out dining room tables and chairs. Obsessed about which type of dining room table I want. What chairs would match? Do I even want them to match? I dream about colors of paint. I dream about re-arranging. I am going crazy!

No matter where I have lived in life, it has always been important to me for that place to be welcoming. If that means keeping pictures of family up on bulletin boards in my dorm room then so be it. If it means decorating with curtains and candles in my apartment or creating a certain look with art and bedspreads then I would make it happen. Even in the little hotel room I lived in while studying in Italy, I tried to make it a place that I enjoyed being.

So here we are. I really like old homes. I like old homes even more if they have an imporant history to my husband. Here are a few things I love about this house:

I love that it is brick
I love the open lay out
I love that it has a basement
I love the location
I love the old tile in the bathrooms even if they are not my favorite colors
I love that we live in a young neighborhood with families
I love that it has so many memories for allen
I love that it is full of retro finds like an old can of saltines (minus the crackers) or coke bottles that say "bring back to refill"
I love the telephone nook in our hallway
I love the walk up attic

Things that frustrate me or that I wish I could change:
I dont like the crack in our ceiling in the living room
I don't like the old door handles
I wish that the house didn't have an old house smell sometimes
I wish that it was ours.
I want to paint the wood panneling.
I dont like the old light fixtures.
I wish that we did not have a tentant.
I wish that our washing machine worked.
I want to paint the dining room, the front bathroom, the guest room, the back porch, the hallway and the extra room.
I wish the closets were bigger

I know the list could go on forever on both sides. Things I love vs. things I struggle with.
I think that in order for me to keep my sanity I will just start writing them down on the chalkboard in the kitchen. Of course I will erase my rants when company comes over :) but I keep it inside and its too much. Also, I can tell Allen something that I want to fix or something that frustrates me but its my issue not his. So its easy for him to forget about while I still mull over it and get annoyed.

Sorry for my rant. I am struggling today with the house. I am also struggling with it not being in my control. WE don't own it. We don't know if we ever will. I am struggling in the balance of what part are we responsiable for and what part are his parents (the owners) responsible for? So i go back and forth between wanting to make it "ours" and wanting to just throw my hands up and say forget it.

YAY for today!

today is going to be a great day, I can just feel it!

• I had enough time in my morning commute to stop by a local coffee shop that I love and is super funky and has amazing coffee.
• No students today at work! Yippie!
• Lunch break today is 11-1pm. Usually it is 11:30-11:55
• I get to work out, look at paint samples for our bathroom and visit target during my loooooooooooong lunch break
• I am meeting a fun friend for coffee after work to catch up on life
• TBS has 3 full hours of The Office
• I get to relax at home with allen, the office and a home cooked meal!

Maggie says HI

Maggie says Hi.
She did not enjoy the adorable children this halloween.
She did bark and run to the door every time it rang.
She was so happy once we turned out our front porch light and said good night!