Best weekend

Oh man. Best weekend I've had in a long time. Dad was here to spend Thanksgiving with us and we had a great time with him. We had fun shopping, watching movies, eating (oh man...I need to eat salad for the next week to counteract all the amazing food we had the past 3 days), talking, walking Penny, driving through KC to look at the lights, and just hanging out. It was really relaxing and makes me even more excited for Christmas, when we're back in NC for a week. I haven't been back since May and am really itching to go back.

So Thursday was pretty low key for us. Michael smoked our turkey on the grill, using an apple juice/cranberry juice marinade. It turned out amazing. Really moist and tender, and full of flavor. Smoking the bird is the way to go! Our Turkey day spread also included cornbread and sausage stuffing, fresh green beans with craisins and bacon, homemade jellied cranberry sauce, homemade rolls, sweet potato with marshmallow topping, mashed potatoes, homemade gravy, and pumpkin and pecan pies for dessert.



The main event about 3 hours into cooking.



How cute are these? They were made from football molds and Alton Brown's recipe.


The tablescape. Wow, did I really say that? How very Sandra Lee of me.


No, my darling dog, you cannot have my plate.

After eating and giving our stomachs a little while to rebound, we headed out to Olathe to see the newest Harry Potter movie. I really enjoyed it. Dark, absolutely...but so is the book. I wouldn't mind seeing it again at some point before it goes out of theaters.

Friday we did a small amount of black friday shopping. We weren't among the brave (or crazy, depending on your viewpoint) going out at 3/4am. We waited until 9ish and still found some amazing deals. At Target I used some of my birthday money from my grandparents to get some Christmas decorative stuff, like pillows, a blanket, candles, bathroom towels, and...a light up flamingo with a Santa hat. Yeah. It's actually pretty cute! Michael and Dad waited in the car for me at Bath & Body Works...that place was more crazy than Target. But I made it out with a couple of candles and some foaming hand wash for pretty cheap.

After putting up all the Christmas decorations and a lunch of Thanksgiving leftovers, we drove out to Nebraska Furniture Mart. After some intense discussion and debating over fabric, style, whether or not a sectional would fit, etc., we chose a really comfortable blue/gray sectional for our living room. It has two sections that recline and I'm soo excited for it to arrive. It's being delivered on Thursday so we'll be sure to take pictures.

Shopping for couches is pretty tiring, in spite of the fact that you're sitting to test them out. We were pretty hungry by the time we left, so we headed over to Stroud's to try their famous pan fried chicken. This place has truly earned its amazing reputation and accolades. Theirs is the only cinnamon roll without frosting I will actually eat. It was SO good! The chicken and mashed potatoes were outstanding as well. We will definitely be adding this to our 'places to take visitors' rotation.

Today we hung around Lawrence until it was time to take my dad back to the airport. We took him to a Lawrence institution, Wheatfield's Bakery, and walked around Mass St and enjoyed the mild weather. Overall, it was so great to hang out with my dad, enjoy some good food, and have a little time off from work and the regular day to day life. So thankful for the opportunity to do that every once in a while!

Birthday :)

I decided earlier this year that I would not mope on my birthdays, especially not this year. Yes, it's my first one without my mom, and I miss her. But I don't think she'd want me to dwell on those sad feelings. She'd want me to have a good time and be joyful with my friends and family. So I did. Today, on my 26th birthday, Michael and I gave out cinnamon rolls to a few friends. We have 2 different recipes: his and my mom's. The ones he passed out today were his recipe, which is a copycat version of Cinnabon (aka enormous with a cream cheese frosting). We will make my mom's recipe over Christmas and give them out to friends, because my family always did that on Christmas Eve, after she'd spent all day making them from scratch. So I guess you could say having cinnamon rolls be a part of my birthday today reminds me of my mom, which keeps a piece of her and those happy memories close.

So to start off, I received these yesterday, which put me in a great mood, from my father in law and stepmom in law. The flowers will do double duty as a centerpiece for Thanksgiving. It was really sweet of them to send me flowers. I think every girl just loves to get flowers, even if it's a rare treat...just makes it that much more special.



Went to a nail salon with my friend Elizabeth and we got pedicures. It was a relaxing treat, and I'm glad I convinced her to go with me. I think we are going to see Burlesque on Sunday. Any Lawrencians reading this and want to come with, let me know...

Then I went to Target and bought Beauty and the Beast on Blu Ray...because the inner little girl in me will never go away. ;)

Came home and made my grandma's recipe for pecan pie (which is pretty much the same as the karo syrup bottle's recipe but don't tell her that. Haha.) It smells SO good in the house! Michael made homemade crescent rolls and cornbread. We realized halfway through that we only have one pie plate, so we improvised and put pie dough into muffin tins and will make pumpkin pie muffins tomorrow.

After baking we went to KCI to pick up my dad from the airport!! He is in town through Saturday afternoon. SO happy he is here. I haven't seen him since July and just love him to pieces. It will be another 6ish years before we have the opportunity to live in the same town again, and that is hard, but these visits are just the best.

We decided on steak for my birthday dinner, and after some fiddling around with yelp/urbanspoon, decided on Hereford House in Leawood. Oh. Em. Gee. It was amazing. One of the best steaks I think I've ever had. Pictures do not do it justice but I will post them anyway:

The shrimp came on a block of ice. Cool-literally. Har har.


Your standard steakhouse caesar salad and roll, but yummy nonetheless.


Steak Oscar...filet mignon with a crab cake, in a béarnaise sauce with asparagus and mashed potatoes. The steak cut like butter. I have leftovers...too bad tomorrow is Thanksgiving!


White chocolate bread pudding. So incredibly rich and decadent. I could only eat a few bites but it was delicious.

And the piece de resistance, better than any steak:


It's a Marc by Marc Jacobs Hillier Hobo bag. It's so soft...I can't get over how cute it is. My dad definitely spoils me, no doubt about it.

He also gave me a present from my best friend's mom, also known as "Mommy #2" throughout middle and high school (and now, haha). We collected all of the ribbons from the flower arrangements at my mom's funeral in March. She knew a local artist that makes ribbon wreath art and had 3 made for my dad, sister and I.



How awesome is this? I now have a physical keepsake of that day, of all of the friends and family that cared enough to be there, to send flowers to decorate mom's final send off from this life. I was too overwhelmed on April 3rd, her funeral, to really take in the amount of people that were there to celebrate her life. All I wanted to do was hide in a corner and bawl my eyes out until everyone left. But now I can remember, through this piece of art, just what a celebration it really was.

Anyway...26 is off to a great start. And I need to get to bed, because I've got a great day planned with my dad tomorrow...cooking, eating, parade watching, dog show cheering, napping, and Harry Potter! Happy Thanksgiving!

Weekend Roundup

Christmas is coming...oh joy...

Saturday

-Last growth group meeting for me & Tisha's walking group. Attendance has been pretty good overall...because it was such a big group it felt like we never had the exact same people each week, which was good and bad. I feel like I made a couple of new friends and at least was introduced to several new ladies that I'd like to get to know better. In the end, I'm glad Tisha and I took the plunge of leading a group. Our last meeting was at Ingredient, a restaurant on Mass St. Felt like an appropriate end to the Let's Get Physical chapter since our very first meeting was at Ten on Mass (in the Eldridge).

-Several hours later, Tisha, her adorable baby Sophia, Sue and I went to the Legends in KCK in order to go to TRex. TRex is a themed restaurant with lots of moving dinosaurs inside and outside of the restaurant, an exhibit where kids (and kids at heart) can dig for fossils, they have a meteor show every half hour or so...lots of things going on. Sophia is only 14 months so I think everyone knew we were going just 'cause we wanted to. I have no problem admitting that. I would totally go again, too. I think the fun meter would be amplified with elementary aged kids who would want to see all the different parts and go through the exhibit. The food wasn't too bad, either.



The dude with the teeth was the greeter.



This was our view from the "Ice Age" room. There were flying dinos, a meteor show, planets, stars, and more decorating the ceiling. The restaurant really was filled floor to ceiling.



Our dessert: fudge brownies with ice cream. Food makes us slower so the velociraptors have an easier time getting THEIR dinner. ;)

-Saturday night: food coma, movies with Michael, Suze Orman. Excitement x 10. ;)

-Sunday: Michael volunteered in the kids wing at EastLake. A weekly dose of adorable babies (and let me tell you, the moms & dads that attend EastLake do make adorable babies) is not doing me any favors at quieting his baby fever. He was telling me all about one Thanksgiving dress a little girl was wearing and how he wants to dress up our future little girl (if we have one) in things like that. Oy! Finish your orals and let me lose some weight, then we'll talk. :P

I'm inspired by the selfless generosity I see everyday through the members of EastLake. Whether it's helping a family who has lost everything from a fire, jumping in to take a member to the hospital, or just lending an ear to a friend that needs it...you guys rock.

-After we left, Michael told me he would be busy during the afternoon on Dec 5th. Dec 5th = EastLake 101 = membership class. My face: :D :D :D

-Sunday was my sweet little doggy's 4th birthday. We celebrated with a birthday hat, which she was not a fan of, and a birthday cheeseburger, which she most definitely enjoyed. Her new collar came in today and she modeled it like the diva she is.


The key to a good photograph is to smile like you mean it.



If looks could kill this one would be life ending for me.

-Wrapped up the evening visiting a friend who was put on modified bed rest at 29 weeks during her pregnancy. My stash of kids dvds is limited but I did manage to have a couple that she didn't have, so I hope they provide a good distraction. I know not being allowed to get up much is a total pain.

-And now, for something completely different: my friend Becca had mentioned an opportunity for people who blog to get a chance at earning 50 free holiday cards from the folks at shutterfly.com in exchange for writing a lil somethin' somethin' about how we use holiday cards. Well. My senior year of college I worked at Hallmark, which was a perfect fit because I love the holidays...even the made up "hallmark" ones. I really might be one of the few that actually enjoys sending cards. Michael and I were debating if we wanted to really cross the line into "those friends of ours who talk about their dog WAY too much" by making a photo card with Penny on the front. We determined we would decide when we saw the pictures Penny took with Santa at the Lawrence Animal Fair. One picture was just fantastic. So yeah, we're jumping the shark and diving into that category, with Shutterfly's help. If you're interested in taking a peek at their customizable Christmas cards, check 'em out here.

Bullets

-Did you know that the chicken salad at Jason's Deli has pineapple in it? Why did I not think of this?? It's AMAZING! Especially on a croissant.

-Things that make me feel better when I'm tired and/or cranky: fuzzy blanket, pumpkin spice candle, Love Actually. I'm actually breaking a rule of mine by watching it before Thanksgiving, but it's like my old familiar standby Christmas movie. 7 years later and that movie still makes me laugh out loud.



-Penny met Santa yesterday. She asked for a really big dog biscuit. REALLY big. Today Michael and I found a ginormous dog bone in the shape of a candy cane at Petco. We didn't buy it, but it was tempting. We did buy her a bone with 'filet mignon' coating. Life is pretty good for the pup, I must say.

-Tomorrow my growth group is having a pajama party. SO. EXCITED.

Portion control

How to lose your lunch in 10 seconds:

1. Begin eating a bagel with cream cheese.

2. Get up from the table to go turn the dryer off-this takes about 10 seconds.

3. Leave the dog unattended.

4. Come back to find said dog with cream cheese all over her mouth and half your bagel mysteriously disappeared.

Untitled and Long Winded

The past 24 hours have been really crazy. I feel like several people are speaking directly to me with their messages, whether they know it or not. A friend in a growth group once said that sometimes God needs a 2 x 4 in order for her to get His message...I sometimes feel like that, too. It's only when looking back at an event that I think, "wow...I can see so clearly what His design was. I just wish I had that clarity back in the moment!" Hindsight, I guess. Anyway, the "get a clue bat" has really come out this weekend.

I know I'm being vague, so let me clarify. Last night, as I mentioned in my previous blog, I spoke to my dad on Skype for a while. I love talking to him, but sometimes it can be hard. Not because I don't want to talk to him, but because he's one of the very few people that truly gets what it has been like the past 7 months without mom. We are brutally honest with each other, which can be cathartic, but also raw when the other person is having what we call "a moment". Don't get me wrong, I would be so very lost without the support of other family and my dear friends, my church, and my growth group ladies. But all the love and support in the world won't take away what happened. It helps me heal, for sure. But dad and my sister have that extra layer of understanding that no one else gets, unless they've been through it.

So after the Skype call, before bed, I was reading a few chapters in a book I'm reading for a group that meets on Tuesday nights. It's one of Anne Lamott's book's, called Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith. Until now I haven't related as well to this collection of stories as much as I did with her other book. But then I started reading a chapter called Untitled, which discusses her inner battle with getting older and reflecting on all the changes she's been through as she's aged. And even though I'm half her age, it was like she was speaking for me. This passage, in particular:

"If you haven't already, you will lose someone you can't live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and you never completely get over the loss of a deeply beloved person. But this is also good news. The person lives forever, in your broken heart that doesn't seal back up. And you come through, and you learn to dance with the banged-up heart. You dance to the absurdities of life; you dance to the minuet of old friendships."

I don't think I could put it any better than that. Our hearts are still in pieces, but slowly we are finding the glue to get it back together again. The glue is our family's dedication to be there for each other. It's my relationship with God. It's my friendships, my church family, my "sisters" in Lawrence who are so wise, so kind, and so tolerant of my craziness. And as messed up, maybe, as it sounds, I'm relieved that it doesn't have to be put back together again as perfectly as it was before it broke. I'm never again going to be the person I was when my mom was still here because a piece of me died with her. But on the other hand, a piece of her is still here with me, carried always in my heart. So when I begin to find joy in life again, she is with me.

The other passage from this chapter that basically was smacking me in the back of the head has to do with embracing life as we get older. I have to say, people complaining about their age has always been a small pet peeve of mine, ESPECIALLY women my age. You're moaning and groaning about turning 25?! You've barely lived! But anyway, it's only magnified since mom's passing. I don't want to get morbid, but the fact of the matter is this: tomorrow is not promised to us. You never know what could happen. Be grateful and THANKFUL for each and every day you get to be on this Earth. Even on Mondays. Only God knows when it's our time, but in the meantime, take the time you have to truly, passionately, LIVE. It just drives me crazy to see women (and I guess men, although I don't really have personal experience with men doing this) moping about their birthdays. [paraphrased from today's sermon at EastLake]: If you're healthy, if you have a job (even if you hate it), if you have a roof over your head, food in the refrigerator, a little money in the bank, and people who love you in your life, you are one of the most blessed people on the entire planet. For real. If you even woke up today, you're more blessed than the millions who died last week, and will this week. This is the passage that got me:

"I have grown old enough to develop radical acceptance. I insist on the right to swim in warm water at every opportunity, no matter how I look, no matter how young and gorgeous the other people on the beach are. I don't think that if I live to be eighty, I'm going to wish I'd spent more hours in the gym or kept my house a lot cleaner. I'm going to wish I had swum more unashamedly, made more mistakes, spaced out more, rested. On the day I die, I want to have had dessert. So this informs how I live now."

Basically...to borrow from my favorite broadway musical...forget regret, or life is yours to miss. So every year I age, I'm going to celebrate and embrace it. If I'm lucky enough to get to 80, or even 55 (which my mom did not see), there will be a freakin' fabulous party. I'm going to live it up for all the people that didn't get that chance, for as many years as is my time. And I will be grateful for each one. I know too many fellow banged-up, glued back hearts out there, dancing through life as best they can, and so for them, for my mom, for God, I will appreciate and always give thanks for the life I have, even when the glue comes undone every now and then.

lazy Saturday

Today was a really great, relaxing Saturday. I got up early and went for a walk with my growth group. It was cold, around 29 degrees when we began our walk. But the crisp air felt rejuvenating to my lungs. I had to wear a sweatshirt and gloves, but that's okay. I walked a beautiful trail with a friend and felt renewed.

Then we decided to reward our good deed to our bodies by going out to breakfast. I actually had lunch time food...a chicken salad melt with a salad and breakfast potatoes. The food was tasty, but the company was the best part. Love these times of getting to hang out with girlfriends and truly just be myself...no pretenses, no trying to put up a fake front to please them. They think the real me is pretty okay...thank goodness.

Came home and played with the puppy. Took a nap. Watched Top Gun. Spent an hour on Skype with my Dad. Helped Michael give Penny a bath. Watched Suze Orman ( I love the Can I Afford It? section). And tonight we all get an extra hour of sleep!

It's these little things that can take up a day, where if I don't actively appreciate them, can float by and be categorized as meaningless. But they're definitely not. I appreciate these lazy Saturdays as a time to recharge, laugh, and give thanks for all that I have...even if that amounts to answering "not much" to the "what did you do this weekend?" question.

Good times

Have I mentioned how much I love my growth groups? Love, love, love. Last night was one of those nights I wish I could freeze and always go back to whenever I'm feeling less than normal. So many times I thought my sides would split open from so much laughter. I didn't get home until almost 11! I wonder if my hubby thought I was lost or something. ;)

It was a nice distraction from election night. Ebb and flow...politics is so cyclical that this wasn't all that surprising. Do I wish the American people would give change more than 2 years before having a knee jerk reaction? Yes. But I'm not surprised. Moving on...

At least prob B in MO passed. I am very happy about that. It's a bill requiring more regulation with puppy mills so that the animals can live in safer, cleaner conditions. Very happy about this! MO is one of the top producers, if not number one, of dogs from puppy mills and you all know how passionate I am about helping shelter animals. If puppy mill production were controlled with a lot more regularity it would help those dogs live in better conditions and decrease the population so that shelter dogs would have a better chance at getting adopted.