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Friday, November 12

celebrate good times...come on!

haha being super cheesy most notably because i am headed to charleston for pig's bachelorette weekend! it is so unreal that the time is already here! cannot wait to see all the girls again this weekend [so spoiled] and have our 2011 bestie calendar to hand out as well! wahoo! 
a day in the life of amazing friends...my bach june 2010
nothing could make me miss times like these...to pig! 

Thursday, November 11

wilson's 2 month photos

wilson's 2 month photos
i wish he could come sooner! getting so ready for wilson to be here and in our lives!!! december 9th couldn't come any faster!


g'day mate

for those of you who know me well i started off my 20's the best way i could have ever imagined...my 20th birthday, i would say many others haven't experienced the same thing but that wouldn't be true seeing as elizabeth, pig, and i were all in australia welcoming twenty with open arms...


some of the best memories of my life were made there and some of my greatest lessons learned as well...finding out who your friends were, discovering just how important talking to your mom daily could be, learning that it may taste good but 5 crumpets a day smothered in nutella will make you fat, what it feels like to live alone & at the same time what it feels like to be seven people deep in a twin size bed in the dead heat of summer without AC, how you can be in the best shape of your life but not all at the same time, learning how passionately some people dislike americans, and just how much we take things [cars especially] for granted.  
forever the australia girls
though we promised no tears at the airport [good until kiki] things were good...once you were past security you can no longer turn around [without getting detained] and the fighting back of tears as the flight attendant pries the cell phone out of your hand saying goodbye to joe one last time was a priceless moment i would soon forget about drifting off into an ambien induced sleep sprawled in between pig & lizzie for the next 13 hours.


probably my greatest lesson learned in australia [or rather rekindled from my girl scout camp days] was the value of a handwritten note...i for one may have been spoiled as a child. every summer throughout elementary school i would arrive at girl scout camp and at the first mail call that very first day my name was always called and a letter covered with stickers was handed to me. my mother never sent me to camp without a note waiting.  that first horrible day in australia after the most dramatic airplane/travel experiences ever, we finally made it after a blown tire and no cell phones to campus. in that mailbox waiting for me as if i had been there ages was my very first letter...no doubt from my amazing mother.
my mother
one of my new favorite coffee table books is one by Margaret Shepherd titled The Art of the Handwritten Note: A Guide to Reclaiming Civilized Communications. this truly is a great book not only to casually read but like Emily Post, a great reference book too.  one of the other women in my life who is constantly writing me is my [paternal] grandmother. she has always written me and more so since i have been in/out of college and been able to appreciate the letters and write her back. she will receive her own copy of The Art of the Handwritten note for Christmas among other things...i can say that because i'm 99% sure she doesn't read blogs yet haha...
my grandmother and me at my bridesmaids luncheon--july 30, 2010
i have a priceless stack of notes handwritten from my grandmothers, mother, sisters, and friends throughout the years which is so fun to frequent and love that they start with my first birthday cards. i can tell those cards from my grandmother though as they rarely come without a sticker on the outside and whether she intends it or not i guess i'll never know but the most special ones always seem to come with a pop-pop honey bee sticker sealing the top flap...


making it through twenties [or life] without an amazing, solid, loving family would be no fun at all.

Tuesday, November 9

by this time next month...

by this time next month it is unreal how many amazing things will have happened...

pig & kent will be married, wilson will be home [updated pics joan sends tomorrow], thanksgiving will have come and gone and we will all be in full christmas spirit!  cannot believe that it is nearing 2011 as i feel that 2010 just started!

amazing times with the greatest people in your life...i hope this never changes

Monday, November 8

have a little faith in me

so first off today was amazing...how often do you have those days when you feel like you had a truly great day that you really just want to tell everyone about? for me that is iffy...normally if work is great you work too late & then home is hectic or maybe worse, you leave work right at 5 only to come home and suddenly look at the time and wonder how it got to be 11 o'clock and where the three ice cream sandwich wrappers you notice on the coffee table went...


today was one of the best days with our personal trainer greer.  first the company is always great. two amazing friends [rachel and carrie] and my terrific sister in law [ann hughston] come over a few days a week to pay to get our butts whipped into shape. the four mile walk in just at 45 minutes was our first pat on the back only to be subjected to the hardest class we've ever done which afterwards seemed like a breeze [carrie seriously earned the gold star tonight]! to top it off zoe's treat for dinner and an ice cold dc.  yum! the closing of the time with greer always involves us laying down for a few moments [30 seconds probably] and catching our breath and just closing our eyes while greer gives us an inspirational message. 


tonight was a bit from Colossians 3 though they aren't always Biblical tid-bits this was resonated well with me. maybe because i still have four days worth of discipleship reading to finish by wednesday and i am blogging instead or maybe because preceding the verse from today was one of the verses from our wedding [Colossians 3:12-17] but nonetheless i will share the end of my great day with you all and hopefully i get some more reading done so i don't feel the need to fess up during "prayers & concerns" time on wednesday with why i have an half empty discipleship workbook.  


to each their own but surviving twenty somethings involves not only having faith in yourself and those you love but more importantly keeping the faith in whatever higher power you believe in...


"Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for men, since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as you reward you serve the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong has been done and there is no partiality.  Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly for you know that you also have a Master in heaven.  Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.  At the same time pray for us as well that God will open us a door for the word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, so that I may reveal the clarity as I should.  Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone." Colossians 3:23-4:6

Sunday, November 7

a chilly silver sunday

what a chilly day it is today in atlanta and running around outside does not necessarily sound too much better.  the girls will be here soon for our greer date and then the "fun" is over and its back to sunday house chores.


i am determined to clean out the freezer that i have stocked up with food for months and months so that i can stock up with new food again soon! kroger chicken sales have stacked our fridge with plenty recently and pasta too.  tonight's silver sunday dinner is a classic fave...chicken tetrazzini! 


what you need...
8 ounces dried spaghetti
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1-1/4 cups chicken broth
1-1/4 cups half and half, light cream or milk [i use Fat Free 1/2 & 1/2]
2 cups chopped chicken
2 tbsp dry sherry (if you want it/have it in stock)...I plan on drinking a glass of wine while cooking instead
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds
2 tbsp snipped fresh parsley


what to do...

  1. cook spaghetti & drain
  2. in a large saucepan cook mushrooms and green onion in hot butter until tender. stir in flour, pepper, and nutmeg. add broth and half and half all at once.  cook & stir until thickened and bubbly.  stir in sherry and half of the parm. gently add pasta.
  3. transfer mixture to a 2 qt rectangle baking dish.  sprinkling with remaining parm and almonds. bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 15 min.  top with parsley before serving
better go get my work out clothes on and warm up my arms by starting to clean up some of the junk by our garage before the girls get here!

happy day light savings sunday!