2013 Highlights

Since today is the last day of 2013, I wanted to take a quick look back at our year. It may not have been the most exciting year, but it had its moments.

I started the year with a lot of visits to eye doctors thanks to a bout of pink eye in December and my corneal erosion. Thankfully, the doctors were able to treat it and give me a plan to help prevent it from happening again. I'm happy to say that I've gone the year without it flaring up again.

In April, I attended the Vera Bradley Outlet Sale yet again. I had a blast with Trish, her mom, and my mom. I can't wait to go again in 2014 and already have it on my calendar.

In June, we celebrated our 3rd anniversary with a trip to the zoo. We love going to zoos, so this was a real treat!

Over the summer, I got a summer job working at a day camp run by our city's parks & recreation department. It was a great job and I'm looking forward to do it again next summer.

In August, I decided it was time for a change and got full bangs again. I'm still liking them and continuing to grow out my hair.

I continued to sub for a local school district as I pursue a full-time teaching position. I've been very fortunate to get lots of jobs and be booked regularly.

In October, we took a long weekend trip up to St. Paul, Minnesota to visit Trish. We had a great time checking out the Mall of America and the Como Park Zoo with her and her family. (I really need to blog about our trip!)

In November, we celebrated our favorite baby's first birthday with an awesome monster themed party. It's hard to believe that Wyatt is already 1 year old.

We also celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who on November 23rd. It's our favorite show, so we were excited about the special. Of course, I had to wear my Doctor Who shirt and TARDIS blue Chucks.

We celebrated Christmas with family and had a wonderful time.

I can't wait to see what 2014 holds for us!


 

Sunday Social - New Year

   

Favorite New Year's eve you’ve had before

I've never really had a memorable New Year's Eve before. I'm usually either at home or at a friend's house.

Are you doing anything for NYE this year and if so what?

Probably just going to Mass and then chilling at home. There is a bottle of Raspberry Sparkletini in the fridge that's begging to be opened, as well.

Of course, that's all dependent on me actually not being sick. Yes, I'm sick again. I'm pretty sure it's the flu this time although thankfully I've had an appetite and have kept everything down.

Name a book we should all read come January?

I read 57 books this year and most of them were pretty good. I can't really pick out one book I think everyone should read from them though.

What are your new year's resolutions?

To do everything possible (and within our faith) this year to get pregnant.

To have a better job by the end of the year.
 

Merry Christmas

I wanted to give you a peek at our Christmas card this year...

I wasn't planning on doing photo cards this year, but I got a code from Shutterfly that got us 15 cards for less than $1, so I took advantage of it. Sadly, we suck at taking pictures together, so I had to find one that I hated the least and this one was the winner. It's from our trip to the zoo with our nieces back in August.

I hope you have a lovely day full of joy and good cheer!

 

Stressing Out

I would've had a real blog post lately, but I've been to busy being sick and trying not to stress out over Christmas. That last part is not going so well.

We're hosting Christmas with my in-laws tomorrow and I am so not ready. The house isn't fully clean yet, I gave up on baking more cookies, and I haven't started preparing my dishes for tomorrow.

And to top it all off? We have a sewer back up on our block. My basement has water and God knows what else all over the floor right now and I can't use our water. No toilet, no shower, no sink. So all those things I need to do? Are not happening.

I'm trying not to cry and trying to imagine I'm on a tropical island far away from this mess. It's not helping.

On the plus side, all the presents are wrapped!

How are your Christmas preparations going?


 

Sunday Social

What is your favorite Holiday season tradition?

I love everything about the Holiday season. I love decorating the house and tree. I love baking treats. I love singing Christmas songs in church and going to midnight Mass. I love spending time with family and friends.

Do you have a certain Holiday movie you watch more than others? If so what is it?

I don't really watch holiday movies a lot, but I highly enjoy Elf.

Show us your favorite decoration or Pinterest decoration you wish you could have

Our first Christmas in our house, I made this wreath. I bought a plain wreath and added some ornaments that I picked up cheap at Michael's.

This is my favorite ornament on our tree. We picked it up on our honeymoon.

I love our Nativity because it's from my childhood. Every year, the children at my childhood church received a piece of the set. I have all the pieces that my brothers and I got over the years.

Favorite Holiday song?

O Come, O Come Emmanual
O Holy Night
White Christmas
All I Want for Christmas is You

Favorite Holiday dessert?

I always make a Toll House pie for Christmas dessert. I also love to bake all different kinds of cookies throughout December and freeze them for Christmas.

What is on your wish list this year?

Some sweaters, kitchen gadgets, comfy clothes, and some movies. Apparently I'm feeling domestic.

 

Sunday Social - The Holidays

 

Favorite Holiday Movies/TV Specials?

How the Grinch Stole Christmas - the animated one, of course! 

Do you do any volunteering during the holidays if so what? If not what would you do?

I don't, but I'd like to volunteer with kids. In high school and during my retail job, I liked buying toys for underprivileged kids and helping out with parties for them.

Favorite toy received as a child for the Holidays?

The one I remember the best was my American Girl doll, Molly. I still have her saved away for a future daughter.

What was your must have item in high school for the Holidays?

I remember really wanting a phone for my room and then later, a TV.

What do you do on Christmas Eve? 

We do Christmas with my husband's family on Christmas Eve. Usually we get together for dinner and fun and then attend "midnight" mass (which is actually at 11:00)



 

Four for Friday

1. I'm not sure what's up with this school year, but I'm sick for the second time since school started. Usually, my body is pretty good at fighting off the germs the kids have after years working in schools and the general public. And once again, this illness just knocked me off my feet. So far, it's just been fever and a congested nose, but it was enough to have me on the couch for a couple days. There's a stomach bug going around the school, so I'm praying I don't pick that one up too!

2. Christmas shopping is almost done. I only have a couple more things to get and I'll be done. Wrapping has not even started and that's stressing me out. I've also only baked one batch of cookies. I need to do more, but finding the energy and desire to do it while sick is not happening.

3. I'm already tired of snow. I hate snow. I hate cold. This time of year always makes me question why I ever left Florida.

4. Christmas cards are here and addressed, but I need more stamps. Yet another thing to buy and the bank account is already groaning. I'm also surprised that we haven't gotten any cards yet this year. I love finding those in the mailbox.

How's life been treating you lately?
 

Sunday Social

   

What is the wallpaper on your cell phone?

It's a picture of a dahlia that I took while out flower shopping.




What do you keep beside your bed?

On top of my bedside table is my alarm clock, library books, and a picture of my husband, along with random stuff that seems to pile up. Inside the table, I keep puzzle books and more random stuff that I've shoved in there to get it out of the way. I should probably clean that out some time.

What is your least favorite chore?

Cleaning the bathroom

If you could eliminate one thing from your daily routine, what would it be?

Can it be work? Cause I'd love to be able to give that up and I even like my job.

What do you do to vent anger?

Depends on where I am...

At work, I can't let the kids see when I'm mad, so I try to take deep breaths and count in my head. Then I vent to other teachers when the kids aren't around or at home to my husband.

At home, I can be mad and stomp around and growl and yell if I want to. It usually helps to calm me down pretty quick.

What is your favorite Holiday of the year and why?

Christmas. I love the magic of Christmas and being with family. I love the story of Christmas and celebrating Advent. Most of my favorite childhood memories are from Christmas.
 

Free Vera Bradley Shipping

I don't normally post much on Saturdays, but I had to share this deal with you!

Vera Bradley is offering free shipping this weekend with no limit. I've got an item on my wish list and I made sure to point out this great deal to my husband. Think he'll take the hint?

Click below to take advantage of this awesome offer!

Two Days Only! Free Shipping with no threshold with code SHIPFREE. Valid December 7th-8th.

Week in Review

 What a busy week! I hope you had a good Thanksgiving if you celebrate.

It was a short week for school and I was really looking forward to having some days off. I did end up working the two days we did have school last week. Both days went well and I actually got to go to different schools for once.

On Wednesday, I prepared for the two Thanksgiving dinners we were attending. I had several things to bake as I am the dessert girl of the family as well as a side dish to prepare. I ended up making Texas Sheet Cake for the first time and it was awesome! And I learned that I can make icing from scratch successfully.

I also made my signature mini chocolate chip cheesecakes. I bought enough ingredients to make another batch for Christmas, but I may just make them and send them into work with M because I'm getting burnt out on them and want to try other things. Or maybe I can find a different cheesecake that uses the same ingredients. I'm sure Pinterest will have ideas!

On Thursday, M and I had dinner with my mom and grandma. This worked out well because my mom lives near M's store and he had to be there at 7:30 for their 8:00 opening. (No, I was not thrilled with this.) He ended up napping after dinner for a few hours. And due to his crazy schedule, I basically only saw him awake and not at work for about 4 hours in a 24 hour period.

My mom and I did end up going out to check out the Black Friday sales on Thursday night. We waited until 10:00 for the crowds to thin out. We only went to a few stores and it wasn't terrible. We visited M at his store and I scored some good deals for gifts.

On Friday, we did Thanksgiving with M's family. I spent a lot of time playing bowling and archery on the Wii in addition to visiting with family.

Over the weekend, I got out the Christmas decorations and began to decorate the house. I'm hoping to get the tree up today. I should have started baking Christmas cookies, but after all that baking I just did for Thanksgiving, I wasn't in the mood. Hopefully, I'll be in the mood to bake next weekend. The late Thanksgiving has totally screwed up my Christmas baking timeline.

Luckily, we have a couple days off of school before Christmas, so hopefully I can get everything done. We're hosting Christmas this year for M's family on Christmas eve, so I have a lot to accomplish in the next 22 days!

How was your week?


 

Sunday Social - Favorites

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

It honestly just depends on what I'm craving, but I frequently get chocolate chip. I really love a regional brand of ice cream called Hudsonville. Their Cake Batter ice cream is my new favorite. I also love their seasonal Strawberry Shortcake ice cream.

What is your favorite smell?

This depends on the season. In the spring and summer, I like floral scents like peonies and lilacs. In the fall, I like the smell of fire and leaves. In the winter, I love a good pine scent.

What is your favorite TV commercial? (Past or Present)

 I hate commercials! They are the worst thing about watching live TV. Netflix has definitely spoiled me.

I love these AT&T commercials with the kids. They remind me of work, but in a funny way.

This commercial is a typical day with kindergarteners...


When I was in college, there was a local commercial for a gun shop that I frequently saw on TV and it's probably the creepiest/funniest thing I've ever seen. Everybody knew about these commercials all because of the guy in them.



It's the creepy laugh at the end that kills me. He did that in every single commercial.

What is your favorite day of the week?

 Saturday. I always have it off and every other week my husband has it off.

What is your favorite way to waste time?

The Internet. I can waste whole days just doing Facebook, Pinterest, reading blogs, Tweeting, etc.

What is your favorite article of clothing? (Feel free to show a picture)

I am going to say my wedding dress. Seriously! I loved my dress and I'd love an excuse to wear it some more.

 

My Favorite Magic Kingdom Snack

Today, I'm sharing my favorite Magic Kingdom Snack for the Disney Park Challenge.

One of the things I love about going to Disney is all the planning. And I absolutely plan what I want to eat.  One thing I always plan on eating when I'm in the Magic Kingdom?

Dole Whip!

Source

Dole Whip is pineapple flavored soft-serve. I like it swirled with vanilla, but just pineapple is good too. Aloha Isle, in Adventureland, sells these along with Dole Whip floats which is Dole Whip in pineapple juice. Yum!

What makes Dole Whip so special is that it's pretty much only available at the Magic Kingdom, The Polynesian Resort, Disney Land, and Hawaii. It's a special treat that I love to enjoy whenever I'm in the Magic Kingdom.

What's your favorite Magic Kingdom snack?

Sunday Social - Thankful

For this week's Sunday Social, instead of questions, we're talking about what we are thankful for in honor of Thanksgiving.

First of all, I'm thankful for my family and my husband's family. They're so supportive and loving. I'm looking forward to spending the holidays with all of them.

I'm thankful for my best friends who never fail to make me laugh. We've had a lot of great times together and I can't wait for more!

I'm thankful for my job. It may not be the full-time job I want, but it's a lot closer than my previous retail job and I actually enjoy it. I'm very thankful that I won't be working on Black Friday or the crazy hours that are coming in the next month. Sadly, my husband will be, but I'm thankful he has a full-time job that provides insurance and other benefits.

I'm thankful for my husband who puts up with my crazy and just gets me. I love being married to him and I can't wait to see what our future brings.

I'm thankful for our cats.

What are you thankful for this year?

 

Favorite EPCOT Restaurant

Today's Disney Park Challenge topic is favorite EPCOT restaurant.

Unfortunately, I've never eaten at a table service restaurant at EPCOT.  Someday, I hope to eat a Via Napoli in the Italy pavilion.

However, I do have lots of experience with the quick service options at EPCOT, so I'm going to cheat and tell you about two of my favorites. After all, 2 quick service restaurants equals 1 table service restaurant, right?

These two restaurants are my must eats whenever I'm at EPCOT. Both of my favorites just so happen to be in the World Showcase.

My first favorite is The Lotus Blossom Cafe in China. I LOVE their orange chicken. I never thought I liked Chinese food until while on a trip with my mom, I tried the orange chicken at the Lotus Blossom Cafe. I quickly discovered that I love orange chicken. Over the years, I've tried orange chicken from various Chinese restaurants and none of them have been as good as the Lotus Blossom Cafe.

My other favorite EPCOT restaurant is the Yorkshire County Fish Shop in the UK pavilion. I'm a huge fan of their authentic fish and chips. Seriously, I crave those chips all the time! And the fish, with a little malt vinegar, is fabulous! It doesn't hurt that they're served by cast members with British accents, either.

What is your favorite EPCOT restaurant?

Week in Review

What a crazy, busy week!

I worked every day last week at the same school. I've been working at that school far more than the others, which will hopefully turn into a good thing when they start hiring for next year.

Three of those days last week were for the same first grade class. They were sweethearts and now whenever they see me at school, they get excited. I'm hoping I get a chance to sub for them again this year.

Over the weekend, I went to my favorite baby's first birthday party. It was monster themed and a lot of fun. His mom and grandma did a great job planning it.

On Sunday, we dealt with the terrible storms that went through the Midwest. I spent the day anxiously watching the local weather channel. We were under a tornado watch and I'm terrified of tornadoes. Give me a hurricane, any day! Thankfully, all we got here was a lot of intense wind and storms for a little bit. Our only damage was some small branches in the yard from our walnut tree. We are very thankful!

Now, I'm looking forward to some time off next week and planning some good food to eat at Thanksgiving.

How was your week?


 

Suday Social - 4s

Name 4 jobs you’ve had in your life

• Grocery store cashier
• Retail department supervisor
• Paraprofessional
• First grade teacher

Name 4 movies you would watch over and over

• The Princess Bride
• Tangled
• Pride & Prejudice
• The Mummy

Name 4 places you have lived.

• The house I grew up in in my hometown
• Muncie while I went to Ball State University
• Tampa, FL
• Our current house in our hometown

Name 4 of your favorite foods

• Pizza
• Buffalo Wings
• Warm chocolate chip cookies
• Chips & Salsa from my favorite local Mexican restaurant

Name 4 things you always carry with you

• Cell Phone
• Wallet
• Planner
• Lip gloss

Name 4 places you have been on vacation.

 

 
• Walt Disney World
• Washington D.C.
• Mackinac Island
• Minneapolis