Change. The Good and the Bad.

I'm not a person who likes change.  That control freak inside of me (okay, it's not really inside of me...it out there for everyone to see) likes to know what's going to happen before it actually happens.  And when things change, I'm caught off guard, I'm not prepared.  And a Jenny unprepared is one of the worst things in my mind.  In fact I'm getting anxious right now thinking about it.

This is a particularly sensitive area for me during the holiday season.  I wistfully dream of the good old days where I woke up at 6 a.m. with my brother and sister, we all sat in our particular spots on the couch, and we opened presents.  Then Mom would make us an awesome breakfast and we'd all nap on the couch because why the heck did we get up so early?  Or Thanksgiving where we'd go to my Grandma and Grandpa's and sit at the kids table telling jokes or spying on our parents. 

Things have changed so much.  We've added husbands and lost grandparents.  We have so many other people to take into account, our little bubble has been disrupted.  A part of me mourns the loss of my holidays as a kid and the fact that they'll never be the same.

And now that we have a little girl of our own, I want us to make our own holiday traditions for her.  In her own home.  But how do you wake up in your own house on Christmas morning when the rest of your family lives 5 hours south? 

These are all areas we'll eventually have to work out.  Starting with this year's Thanksgiving.  We usually head down to Indianapolis as both my parents and Matt's parents live there.  My sister comes in from Chicago with her husband and we all of Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house.  We're out at 3 a.m. with the crazies for Black Friday and then we celebrate another Thanksgiving with Matt's side of the family is they decide to grace us with their presence. 

This year, work is getting in the way.  Matt has a trial coming up in December and it's serious crunch time.  Before I married an attorney, I thought all lawyers went to court all the time like on T.V.  Well, obviously this isn't true.  Things rarely go to trial so this is a huge, crazy big deal.  And he's swamped.  So this year we're only going to be traveling from late Wednesday to early Friday.  No Black Friday, just a quick dinner and we're outta there.

It makes my heart hurt that things have to change when you get older.  That everything doesn't always go as planned.  But I'm trying to look on the bright side.  I decided since we were going to be home for the weekend...that we could get out Christmas tree!  So I'm all pumped up to decorate for the season.  And seeing as I'm always piling on way too much, I invited several of our friends over on Saturday for another Thanksgiving meal.  Yes.  I'm hosting my first Thanksgiving, making my first turkey...on one week's notice.  When I get home from traveling one day before.

I'm insane.

But I'm also excited to spread the season with our friends who we've come to love.  Who we are so thankful to have surrounding us in this city we never thought we'd stay in more than a year or two.  We're dug in people.  Growing roots, you might say.  And I don't want to leave.

Back Home Again, in Indiana

It's Friday!!

I'm so excited for the long weekend, aren't you?  Matt and I are heading home to Indy tonight after work.  I'm ridiculously happy because my entire family will be home, including my brother who lives in Colorado...who I have not seen since Christmas.  It's going to be a memorable weekend for sure!

I am swamped with plans on Saturday but I am most looking forward to Sunday.  I'm from Speedway...and it's Indy 500 weekend people! 

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There is no bigger event in the life of a Speedway resident than this race.  The traffic is insane, the weather is hot, there are thousands of people walking the streets, and the beer is a flowin'.  I am looking forward to spending the race at home with my mom and perhaps getting in a walk with her.  We can hear the cars from our house and that is enough race experience for me.  The rest of our family will be at the race.  Then we're meeting up for a rousing night of family games which always proves to be just the best time!

I hope everyone has a fabulous Memorial Day weekend!!

XOXO

To my Mama

Happy Mother's Day Mama!

I so wish you and Dad could've come up this weekend so we could see you on your very special day.  But don't worry.  We'll all be home for Memorial Day to celebrate with you!!

But here are some flowers to tide you over...

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Aren't they lovely??  So springy and beautiful!!

Don't worry.  Your real gift is much better :)

I love, love, love you!!

Your favorite daughter,

Jenny


Just kidding, just kidding.

A V-Day Recap

Since I was returning from Chicago on Valentine's Day afternoon, Matt and I decided that it would be nice to have a relaxing evening at home instead of fight the crowds on the Day-o-Love. That was perfect for me seeing as I got up at 6 a.m. to sit on a bus for 6 hours...and was sans shower and makeup with no intention of doing either.

I walked into our house to find flowers on the counter from my dear husband. Who was cleaning. And doing laundry. Amazing. What a welcome home present!

We exchanged gifts immediately. I got Matt these:

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Yes. A Colts snuggie and cowboy boot slippers! He loved them both...however I think I will be stealing the slippers because they are simply awesome. And warm. And they make me look cool.

Oddly enough, Matt's gift to me was also along the same lines.

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It's pretty much a snuggie on steroids. You can actually zip yourself into it and the lining is so soft! It is crazy warm and I fee like I'm all wrapped up in a cocoon. The only downfall is that the sleeves are not as long as the snuggie making it a little difficult to raise my arms very high. But it's perfect for just sitting on the couch. Which is what I intend to do whilst wearing it.

So clearly my husband and I like to sit on the couch and be warm. And we both know it. Ha! It just cracks me up that our gifts were so similar!

For dinner we made crab legs and enjoyed them by the fire. And washed them down with Dr. Pepper. In wine glasses. It was lovely.

And we may or may not have tossed the scraps of remaining crab into the leftover butter and made what Matt referred to as "crab butter soup." Don't knock it til you try it people. It was delicious.

Obviously I have spent some time at the gym following this meal. Ha! But it was so worth it.

A Christmas to Remember

Because Matt and I were leaving for Indianapolis on Wednesday afternoon, we decided to do our Christmas on Tuesday evening. This year we opted for just stockings. Here is my sweetie with his goodies:

Check out all of my loot!

Every year my two best friends and I go out for a fancy shmancy Christmas dinner to celebrate the holidays. It's become a tradition to get our picture taken in front of the Christmas tree as a little memento.

Jill, AJ, and I

Seriously delicious dessert! Carrot cake, Cheesecake, and a Chocolate Truffle that was to die for.

Jill and me

Matt and I stayed Wednesday evening with my parents. When we woke up, my sister and her husband were there. We spent the morning chatting and decorating sugar cookies. So fun! Well, for a little while :)

Jessi was really, really good. I was okay...and then I sucked. Those cookies take so long to decorate!

Here is her cookie of her husband. Absolutely hilarious. He's even holding candy. Love it.

So, of course, I had to make a cookie that looked like Matt. This is what I came up with. What do you think? He was not impressed.

Jessi's Santa

Matt and I headed over to his parents' house to visit for a few hours and to do some last minute wrapping. Then we went to Mass with my family and headed out to Chili's for our annual Christmas Eve meal with my dad's side of the family as well as Matt's parents. After dinner, everyone came back to my parents' house for a gift exchange and family game night.

Mom's Christmas Eve spread

Me, my brother, and my sister

Action shots during the gift exchange: FIL, cousin, grandma, aunt, and grandpa. I took away two board games and Matt came home with a dirt devil. Great. I know who that gift is really for.

Let the games begin! Here is my BIL in action. It was boys vs. girls in a game of Funglish. I had never played this game before and it was super fun. Great game for a party!

Matt and I stayed another night with my parents and woke up Christmas morning to find this:

Clearly Mom went a little nut-so with the large gifts this year! We could hardly walk in the room! But what a beautiful tree!

Every year we get lotteries in our stockings. Here is my BIL, sister, Mom, and brother scratching them off. Matt was actually the big winner with $10 :)

My BIL decided to wrap himself up as a present with the excess wrapping paper. Oh dear.

Highlights of my gifts include some cake decorating supplies, a new sweater, a leopard Snuggie!, a dutch oven, a new stock pot, several books, and a few kitchen gadgets. Matt got a lot of Colts gear, a Brooks Brothers gift card, an outdoor smoker/grill, and a shop vac. My family was so generous with all of their gifts and we were so thankful!

We played a few games and then bid farewell to my sister and her husband who headed up to Fort Wayne to spend the rest of the weekend with Dave's family. Matt and I went over to his parents' house around 12:30 p.m. and spent the rest of Christmas with them. It is there that I received my new Chi straightener!! I'm super stoked about this! I have already used it and it is just fabulous. I could not love it more! Matt cleaned up with every tool you can imagine. Now, what can I make him build me?? Hm.

Saturday some of Matt's extended family came up from the Louisville area and we walked away with a few more board games. Later in the afternoon, Matt and I left for our final Christmas celebration with my mom's side of the family. She is one of seven so it is always a houseful no matter where we go.

After the gift exchange there, we had the joy of watching my brother participate in a pick up game of football. Oh how the mighty have fallen...

For some reason, Mook had tucked his jeans into his boots whilst playing. I guess they were too long?? Who knows...but it was hilarious.

We had an amazing Christmas with family and friends and I am so sad to see the season ending. But I am looking forward to the New Year with much anticipation for new adventures to come!

Finally...a Thanksgiving Recap!

Goodness gracious ladies...it has been a long time! I'm so sorry I have been gone for so long. Believe me...it was not intentional. I got a little sickly my last day in Colorado and have progressively gotten worse. It's just a cold...don't worry! No swine flue here...but I am exhausted, sinusy, and just plain old ick.

But I am determined to finally do my Thanksgiving recap! But first...my final day in Colorado! I spent the whole day with bro at work and he showed me around the campus. Too much fun!






My flight home was uneventful and I got to see my hubby so it had a happy ending. We (and when I say we...I mean I) spent Thanksgiving morning baking a pecan tart and pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving at my parents' house. Matt's parents joined us and we had a lovely time. Family game night + lots of food + wine=the best day ever in my book.

I stayed way too late and only got about 2 hours of sleep before getting up for Black Friday. It was not. fun. at. all. Especially when I didn't buy one single thing for myself. But I stuck it out to watch my husband get great deals on tools and electronics. Fun, huh? Yeah. I'm a great wife. Period.

I napped and then enjoyed meeting up with Sonja from For the Love of Stilettos! So exciting! She and her husband came up from Jacksonville and it was so fun meeting them. I think our husbands bonded over sports...shocking :)

I can't wait to have a meet up somewhere warmer!! Isn't she the cutest thing ever? Forgive my grossness. Two hours sleep people...two hours.


The rest of our days in Indy were spent with family and friends and included lots of yummy food. It makes me super excited for Christmas time and more quality hours with people back home.

Since being home...I have been able to put away all of the fall decor, on the inside of the house at least. We are going to get our tree this weekend and I am beyond thrilled! It is the most wonderful time of the year you know!

Leavin' On A Jetplane...

Well ladies...I'm off!

Today is my last day of work until after Thanksgiving!! I am so ridiculously excited about this...you do not even know. Things have been a little crazy around these parts and I sure could use a break. I am leaving for Colorado tomorrow afternoon to visit my brother for a few days...then it's back to Indianapolis for some precious time with the rest of my family for the holidays.

Unfortunately, my dear husband will not be joining me on my trip out west...so keep him in your prayers seeing as he is going to have to fend for himself for 4 whole days without me. I can already see the pizza boxes on my kitchen floor. I will miss him like crazy when I'm gone (in fact I already kind of miss him and I haven't even left yet....weird?) but I'm excited to be able to spend some quality time with my brother. Living across the country...we do not see each other nearly enough.

I am going to be taking my laptop and I plan on attempting to keep up on my blogging from afar...but alas, I cannot make any promises. So I will say ta ta and wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving!

But before I dash off, I wanted to give a shout out to a few of my bloggy friends! Since I started blogging many, many months ago I have won three giveaways. Yes, that's right. Three! And even though I won them all at different times, I got all of my packages within the last few days! How fun is that? One day, the only pieces of mail we had in our whole mailbox were from bloggers!

So what did I win??

I won this painted wooden letter in the color of my choice from A Journey Through the Waiting Game:


Isn't it lovely?? Please forgive the spot my flash made on the R. It is flawless in person. Maybe she could do two smaller letters for me to put on each side of the R and I could put our initials on our wall!?! Oh the wheels they are a turnin'...


I won this from Shaina:

It's some super delicious granola and a pedometer! Now we can be twins! Please ignore the fact that the granola is already 1/2 gone and I just got it yesterday.


And finally, very fitting, I won this from Dugout Daisy:


Just in time for New Moon...my very own Twilight coaster!


Thank you so much ladies!! You have no idea how special I felt carrying in all of those packages with my name on them! You rock my world :)

I Heart Reese's...

It's finally Friday!

I'm really excited for this holiday weekend. Halloween used to be one of my favorite holidays when I lived at home. I loved passing out all of the candy and getting to see the kids dressed in their outfits. They are just the cutest! Except for the time I gave a little boy a piece of candy and he replied, "Thanks poop." I'm not even kidding..

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This will be the third year Matt and I have lived in our house for Halloween. The first year I was crazy excited to be able to pass out my very own candy! And you know what? We got two kids. Two. And they came at like 6:00 p.m. I stood at the door like a sad little puppy, waiting for the kids to come so I could pass out my huge bowl of candy. Instead, I ate the Reese;s Cups myself.

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The next year, I was prepared. I only bought one bag just in case. But we got ZERO kids! Ouch! And I ate the candy, again.

So this year, we have taken a different approach. We're going over to one of our friend's houses and helping them pass out candy. They get a ton of kids....and they have a little boy who is celebrating his very first Halloween!! So not only do I get to pass out candy to kids....but I get to see baby Braden in his little outfit and I can't wait!


The rest of our weekend will be fairly low key. My parents are coming up on the 13th of next month...so I have some stuff to do to prepare for their arrival...but that's about it!


Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Halloween!!

Long, Long Weekend

It feels like a Monday and I am beat! Thank goodness it's Tuesday. My Labor Day=Relaxation was a lie and we were on the go seemingly nonstop. Next holiday I'm hiding in my room and not coming out until it's over.

But some exciting news! They just opened a Sonic within reasonable driving distance from our house!! And...it's only approximately 10 minutes from my work! So, being the lovely wife that I am, I headed there after work on Friday to surprise my husband with a Cherry Limeade, his very favorite. To my chagrin, this is what I found.




That's right, the place was packed! At 3 p.m.! Who eats at 3 p.m.? And why aren't you people at work?? They had a "staging area" with cones and everything and I had to wait 20 minutes for two drinks! Not cool, Sonic. Not cool. But, hubs was happy so I was happy.


My in-laws came up for a visit over the holiday weekend. I hit the gym on Saturday morning, did some last minute party shopping, and headed home to make some fruit salad and Oreo Truffles for the get together we were going to. Yum!


We took Matt's parents to the party and it turned out to be a really nice time. My truffles were gone before I could get one (sad face) but everyone LOVED them! One girl even thought they were from Godiva! And then proceeded to ask me for my hand in marriage when she found out I made them. Ha! I spent almost the entire party holding the newest edition to our group, little Braden, a 4 month old of one of our friends. Oh my goodness, he is the cutest thing in the world. He smiled and laughed and was just the sweetest little boy. I really don't think I could want a little one of my own more.

Sunday we went to church. Then as soon as we got home and I was in my yoga pants, snuggled up to my honey on the couch, head on his shoulder, my official napping position, my dear MIL asked me to go shopping with her. Ugh. So, I put on some jeans and headed out the door for a quick trip to Michael's...which, of course, turned out to not only be a trip to Michael's...but to JoAnn's and the grocery as well. Sundays are my day of rest. That is what God intended. In fact, I rarely leave the house let alone shower if I can get away with it...but I obliged...and tried to do so with a smile. But all I could think about was my yoga pants...

That evening, the four of us went to a minor league baseball game in our city. Matt and I had been meaning to go for some time but just never got around to it. Good thing we did...seeing as it was the last game of the season :) It was a good time, the weather was super nice, and the game flew by. We ended the evening by watching Duplicity. Just okay in my book...

Monday we went to Chick-fil-a for lunch. They were giving away free chicken sandwiches...and who in their right mind would turn that down? Um, no one! Matt's parents left around 2, and I proceeded to lay around on the couch for the rest of the day simply enjoying my husband. Oh how I love that man. He made me dinner, delicious chicken tacos, and we watched a marathon of The Office on TBS.

Seriously, if I could've just done that all weekend I would've been the happiest girl. Don't get me wrong, I love my in-laws. I mean my MIL is the only person I know who would exclaim the moment I walk into a room from just waking up, "Oh my, don't you look beautiful!" and totally mean it. It's not them at all. But being a hostess simply exhausts me. With visitors it's a 24 hour job. I'm always worried about what we are going to do, what we are going to eat, how to entertain everyone, if my house is clean or not, is there enough toilet paper in their bathroom, do they have towels, should I be offering to get them more to drink...and to do this over a holiday weekend leaves me a little blah. I just can't relax and I am easily irritated. I end up bickering with my husband about things that don't matter and I hate that. But I'm stuck. We live far enough away that visiting over regular weekends is tough so holidays are the only time we have for such visits. Matt and I have never had a holiday to ourselves at our own house and I feel selfish for wanting it. It's just us everyday...but to me it's not the same.

But I think I'll just have to suck it up and deal. I need to quit thinking about what I want all the time and focus on other people. I'm sure Matt loves when his parents have the opportunity to come...and I know they would come every weekend if they could...and who am I to stand in the way of that? And I don't want to...really. I am blessed with loving people around me and that's what counts. With all of the things others are going through, my "problems" are so minimal they are not even worth mentioning.

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and a wonderful day off work! Here's to a short week!! :)

Labor Day=Relaxation Central!

I cannot tell you how excited I am that a holiday weekend is upon us! And the best part? We aren't traveling anywhere! Matt's parents are driving up this evening (at least I assume they are coming this evening...since I have asked my husband repeatedly to check with them and do you think he has done so? Answer=no.)

We're bring them along to a party we were invited to with some of Matt's work friends which should be a blast. We really have met some fantastic people here from his firm and I'm so happy we have the opportunity to hang out with them over the holiday. I'm bringing along my ever so famous Oreo truffles and I'm going to make a humongous fruit salad. I always bring food to parties that I can't eat myself (or that I end up eating and regretting later). So this time, it's a different story. Along with the fruit, I'm packing up my own 98% fat free hot dogs and lite buns. They should help keep my WW points in check during the party. And corn hole counts as cardio, right? Thought so.

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We'll probably head to church on Sunday and there has been talk about my dear MIL making some nasty squash dish that Matt loves (I'll be eating leftovers!), but other than that, I plan on relaxing my butt off.

I hope everyone enjoys their long weekend! The rest of our September is pretty hectic (in fact glancing at my calendar just now made my heart rate quicken) so I intend to make this holiday count!

Loves!

Baby It's Cold Outside

As I was driving into work this morning, a Christmas song came on my iPod. Yes, I am still listening to my iPod because I still do not have a radio in my car. Not. happy. I only have one Christmas song in shuffle and it is my very favorite, Baby It's Cold Outside. This is my favorite version. Maybe it's my favorite because it is on the Now That's What I Call Christmas CD...the only holiday CD I own, but still, I love it. Oh I also love the hippopotamus song, but that is a story for another day.

Yes, I listened to it and it gave me that happy, Christmasy feeling inside...just like the one aisle of Christmas decorations in Costco on Sunday gave me. Now, I am usually very anti early holiday excitement. The fact that there are really Christmas decorations out before Labor Day does sound ridiculous. But you know what? I'm totally into it this year. Now don't get me wrong. I love me some summer. All this talk of fall on the bloggies is lost on me. It has been such a cool summer here and this morning it was 49 when I left the house. 49! I am just not ready for the warm weather to end. But I am ready for the holidays!


Matt will tell you, I am decorating obsessed. I'm constantly forcing him to stop and look at Christmas sales throughout the year, especially after Christmas where they have great deals! I listen to exclusively Christmas music during the holiday season (yes, before Thanksgiving) and it puts me in such a wonderful mood. It is impossible to get road rage when listening to this stuff! I'm ready for that mood. But listen winter, I do NOT NEED SNOW for that mood. Well, only on Christmas...and then you must disappear before everyone steps in you and you get dirty and gross.


So here's wishing the holidays come a little quicker, the weather stays a little warmer (at least give me 70's!), and heck, if I'm wishing for stuff, the weekend comes a little sooner!

Father's Day!

Don't the weekends just fly by!?! It makes me have a sad face...but then I think about what we did this weekend and that makes me have a happy face!

Matt and I headed down to Cincinnati to my aunt and uncle's house on Friday evening where we were greeted by them, their four kids, my parents, my grandmother, and a puppy! Lots of family and so much fun! It was a little late, but we enjoyed visiting with everyone before hopping into bed.

Saturday morning, my sis Jessi and her hubs Dave arrived! Yeah! My uncle Kevin cooked us the most fantastic breakfast consisting of tons of bacon and yummy biscuits and gravy. I haven't had a homemade breakfast for quite a long time...so it was such a treat! Then it was off to The Beach!




This waterpark was a TON of fun! It was reasonably priced, not super busy, and the weather was fantastic.




Matt, Dave, and I went on basically every slide in the park. My sister does not have what you would call an adventurous soul, so she waited patiently while we had our fun. She did partake in the Lazy River as well as the Wave Pool though.







There was hubs on the slide as well as Matt and Dave riding backwards down the larger slide. They had a blast!

After we had sufficiently burned ourselves, we headed back to the house to get ready for the game...Sox vs. Reds! But first...dinner at Skyline! How could you go to Cincinnati and NOT go to Skyline?? Yum!




We arrived at Great American Ballpark about an hour before the game was scheduled to start. Turns out this was The Civil Rights Game so they had a ceremony beforehand. Although it forced the start time back almost 45 minutes...they did have guests including Bill Cosby, Hank Aaron, and Muhammad Ali...so I guess I'll allow it...just this once.





It was SO hot! It was in the 90's that day and we were sitting directly in the sun for hours! We did have absolutely perfect seats...and when the game finally got started...I was primed for catching a home run!


And guess what?? I ALMOST did! Two balls game right into our section...super close to our seats! We even made Sportscenter!! Well, almost all of us did. Guess who stayed in his seat and didn't even stand up when the Sox hit a home run right by us?? Um, yep. My husband. You can clearly see on TV where there is a significant gap between Dave and me where Matt would've been had he gotten off his lazy butt and cared just a little bit about the White Sox kicking some serious Reds booty!

Although it wasn't pretty, we pulled out the win for one of the longest games EVER! We hit the sack as soon as the highlights were over on Baseball Tonight :) It's so fun seeing yourself on TV!

We left to come home on Sunday morning after spending a little Father's Day time with Papa...but hit up the outlet mall on our way home. Great. idea. I picked up two pairs of Bermuda shorts, a new shirt, and some flippies! Matt found a few new dress shirts for himself...so it was definitely a successful trip!

And now...back to reality! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!