back to the daily grind

Well,my Thanksgiving break is officially coming to a close. I start back to work tomorrow. I'm sooooo not ready for it, this 4 day weekend went by WAY too fast!! In typical me fashion I took pictures and am going to share what I did on my 4 day weekend!(luuuucky you!)

Thursday was ACTUAL Thanksgiving, and since both my parents worked(as i previously mentioned in my video blog)I just had pizza...no pictures,but it was pepperoni,and it was GOOD. Also,I managed to watch Sleepless in Seattle for the FIRST time EVER!(most of my friends are both shocked and appalled at this fact,having grown up watching this movie). It was cute,Meg Ryan is pretty enduring in it.

On Friday we had roommate Thanksgiving with me,Heidi,Justin and Heidi's boys. I unfortunately had to eat and run because I had previously made plans,but the food I did get to sample before leaving was deeelish! They weren't all your traditional thanksgiving foods or they were twists on traditional Thanksgiving foods,which made it a lot of fun.

Here's our feast...Noah and Parker really wanted chips for some reason,who were we to deny them?? Clockwise starting at the bottom there's the rosemary infused turkey(mmmmm), noahs plate, stuffing(not a stuffing fan,but i heard it was good), Heidi's take on green bean casserole which included a lot of cheese and crumbled up potato chips(again,heard it was good),asparagus, deviled eggs(i looooooove deviled eggs!), and chips.


There was also mashed potatoes,gravy and rolls. Not to mention FOUR different kinds of pies! Cherry,pumpkin,oreo, and of course,the best one, my homemade cheesecake with fresh strawberry topping:


After my eat and run I headed to Forza to meet Amanda for Phase 10 and coffee. It's a tradition that we've been doing for a couple years now, and don't get to do that often. So,usually,when I happen to get a weekday off,we take full advantage.

My nonfat white chocolate peppermint mocha in a "for here" cup decorated all pretty!(not as good as Starbucks,I was a little disappointed,but at least it looked good?)


We also tried their sugar free raspberry gelato,which was quite tasty:


I lost :(


After I got whooped playing Phase 10 I got a tiny bit of Black Friday shopping in. I have been looking for the perfect pea coat for over a year now...and I found one at Macys! To put it mildly,I'm ecstatic and can't wait to show it off to the general public :)

Saturday was Thanksgiving with my mom and dad! I was looking forward to this because practically EVERYthing is homemade and ALWAYS delicious. The mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce,sweet potatoes, usually the gravy, everything,homemade. We usually have wild rice,which I recently learned is not common? apparently it's a regional thing, one my dad had growing up in Minnesota,but there wasn't enough this year I guess.

I even tried some red wine!(i'm usually a white drinker).(p.s. yes,i'm the classy broad who has a tall glass of milk next to her fancy glass of red wine)




All in all,it was a pretty good Thanksgiving, I had 3,so I can't really complain about anything! Less than a month til Christmas!!!

tragedy in tacoma...

My heart is breaking for the family and friends of the 4 killed police officers this morning. The fact that it is such a senseless act makes me sick to my stomach. Only a monster could walk into a coffee shop and take 4 innocent peoples lives. This especially hits home with me because not only is it in my neighborhood/ an area I am very familiar with, but I used to drive by/stop by this Forza every day on my way to work in the morning when I lived over there last year. My grandpa is also a retired police officer,devoting many years of his life to protecting the public. I have so many,yet so little words to say about this event...I'm angry at the gunman,sad for their family and friends, scared to leave my house knowing a soulless gunman it out running around in my general area,must most of all, I am hopeful that they find the bastard(s) who did this and bring them to justice ...


Read/watch about it here...

the day after...

Well,it is the day after Thanksgiving,the official start of the holiday season. I LOVE Christmas. I love the ambiance, and the lights, and the warmth that the holidays seem to bring to most people. Let's not forget one of the most important things of all- white chocolate peppermint mochas-my official coffee drink from day after thanksgiving-Jan 1st. I also love the music. Some of my most favorite songs are Christmas songs.

My ALL TIME favorite Christmas song is "Oh Holy Night" I'm not sure what it is about this song, but a part of me gets moved whenever I hear this song. It almost doesn't matter who sings this song,as long as they do it well,I will love it. Luckily,one of my favorite singers,Kelly Clarkson,does a beautiful a capella version of "Oh Holy Night". The video isn't the best quality, but the sound is amazing...enjoy!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

riding along in my automobile

I've had Maggie the Mazda since 2001. I love her to death,but I'm tired of her. Currently she has no heat/ac,stereo,drivers side mirror,a broken headlight cover,3 hubcaps,and needs new back break pads. This is all just the stuff I know about,I don't even wanna guess what may be wrong under the hood. She's running perfectly fine now,but after 8 years I have a feeling parts are going to start breaking soon.

My coworker, who is just about to have a baby, told me today about how she is trying to get rid of her car. It's a 2008 VW Beetle. She was telling me about how much the payments are and how it's practically brand new,among other things. It was definitely too good of a deal for me to pass up...so I decided that I would buy her car from her!

This is the first BIG purchase/decision I've made in my adult life by myself. My parents found my Mazda for me and their name is also on the title,even though I made the payments.

I officially get the car tomorrow and I am excited beyond belief to have heat! and music! and a drivers side mirror! and all 4 hubcaps! on my car!! I've been too scared to go on any kind of road trip in my current car because I know the insides are so old,so it's going to be so nice to go WHEREVER I want with no worries(and music to keep me company :) )


Sooooo,who wants a ride?????

It was one year ago today.

Some day I may forgive, but I will never forget.