Thankful on Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I have so many things to be thankful for today, as I do everyday. Here are the things that I was thankful for this month.

11/1: I'm grateful for a husband who lets me get extra sleep on the weekends!
11/2: I'm grateful for coworkers that I like enough to want to see outside of work.
11/3: I'm grateful for an understanding and accommodating boss. When work and life conspire to make things stressful, its nice to know he has my back.
11/4: I'm grateful for chances to catch up with friends.
11/5: I'm grateful for beautiful, colorful leaves!
11/6: I'm grateful for the amazing Miss Daisy who is now 6! Happy Birthday to our sweet furry girl.
11/7: Oh man am I grateful for Friday's that pass quickly!
11/8: For Nonnie and Papa, and the giant blessing it is to get to see Gwen interact with them.
11/9: For amazing, awesome friends who are like family. Who feed us and we can just relax with.
11/10: For the healthy, active, growing baby boy in my belly! And his beautiful parents. I cannot wait for them to meet!
11/11: For all of the amazing veteran's who fought for our country and the freedoms it holds dear.
11/12: For my soft, warm bed... which I'm going to go hop into right now! 
11/13: I'm grateful for a roof over my head and warm blankets on my bed. So happy for these "little things" that can so easily be taken for granted, but that far too many go without.
11/14: I'm grateful for the shoes on my feet, that have lasted me for YEARS; and the new ones that are just arrived. Warm, dry feet should always be appreciated.
11/15: For changing colors, and warm jackets, and hot chocolate; and all the things that make this time of year special.
11/16: I'm so grateful for the relationship that Gwen has with her cousin Wyatt. Though we don't see each other as often as we would like, I absolutely adore how much they love each other!
11/17: I'm grateful for my crazy, loud, fun, ridiculous in-laws! My MIL and FIL who are just supportive beyond words, and my BILs and SILs who are fun and loving, and my nephew Wyatt, who is a joy!
11/18: I'm so grateful for that man that was William Kenny. He was a larger then life presence. While his absence is felt deeply, he left such a legacy of love that I can't be anything but grateful for the part of his life that I got to spend with him.
11/19: I'm grateful for hard work that pays off!  And hardworking coworkers who help to bear the load.
11/20: I'm grateful for work from home days, especially when they are also half days. Sleep! Yoga pants and sweatshirts!
11/21: I am so thankful for good reviews, and bosses who express their appreciation of all you do, while still pushing you to be better.
11/22: For epic, once in a lifetime events, and the friends I get to experience them with, I am thankful! Go Lehigh!
11/23: I'm grateful for holiday cookies, giggling girls, and Eagles wins!
11/24: I'm thankful for every single one of you reading this. For being a part of my life, big or small.
11/25: For my daughter, Gwen, who drives me absolutely crazy sometimes, but who is the light of my life and a blessing beyond compare I am so so thankful.
11/26: I'm definitely grateful for an employer who appreciates family time and lets us out of work early; and the massage I was able to treat myself to with some of that free time!!

Today I am so especially thankful to be able to spend this day with my amazing family, sharing amazing food, and good company. There is so much there that is an extra blessing. I am an amazingly blessed, and thankful for it everyday.

What are you thankful for? 


Yankee Stadium and cookies galore!

It was a very full weekend. Good, but tiring.

Saturday was the big Lehigh-Lafayette football game. Ours is the most played college football rivalry, and it was our 150th meeting, so it was a big deal.

We met at our friend Lauren's house, then took a van together into the big city... because this game was being held at Yankee Stadium!!

We ended up losing (wah!), but it was a great day and a lot of fun anyway.

Sunday we headed to Ro and Pat's where we took some holiday card pictures, plus some extras. One of my favorites (and ironically, the one where all of the kids were actually behaving!) is this one of Ro and I with our gaggle of girls.

We then proceeded to make 3 different kinds of cookies, and have a great afternoon/evening together.

It was a great weekend, and I feel like I was able to enjoy it even more thanks to last week being done (including my annual review on Friday, which went so well!). I'm still feeling the relief.

Today I'm reveling in the 70* weather, and ignoring the fact that they are calling for snow on Wednesday. Let's live in the now, on this one.  ;-)

I hope your weekends were all as full and wonderful as mine!


cousins, happiness, saddness, and dress up

What I week! I'm so glad its Thursday already.
This was THEE week that I've been alternately dreading and looking forward to for weeks now. It was every bit as tiring as I thought it was going to be, but while I'm happy to be on the other side of it, it was not bad.

Let's start at the beginning. Last weekend we had a birthday party for a friend's twins on Saturday, then Sunday my in-laws started arriving into town. We met up with Andy, Megan, and Wyatt on Sunday evening to hit up Chucky Cheese, so the kids could run around and be nuts. We went out to dinner, then headed home.

I had to work Monday, but Trav and Gwen met up with them again to head to the Please Touch Museum. That night Trav and Gwen picked me up at the train station and we headed to a restaurant to meet with Andy, Megan, and Wyatt, Trav's parents, his Aunt and her husband, his Uncle Bob, and his other brother Scott and his wife Tammy. It was a loud, fun dinner!

Tuesday were all off Willy's services. There was a 9am viewing, followed by a 10am Mass, then the graveside portion, and finally a lunch for everyone which lasted until about 3. Trav's Aunt then had the close family over to her place for some finger foods, so we didn't get home until about 6. It was a long day, but a really good one. There were sad points, but many more happy ones. It was a great celebration of a great man, and I know he would have loved that his memory made us smile and laugh.

That night we were all in bed early. Wednesday Trav and Gwen were off again, this time to spend some time with Trav's Mom and Dad, but I was back to work. And not just any work day, but the biggest work day of the year! It was the night of our big dinner (our largest fundraiser of the year, with a big speaker and an amazing dinner at a gorgeous hotel). I got to get gussied up for the occasion.

And a coworker even helped with with my hair and makeup:

It was a very long day, but a wonderful culmination of a LOT of hard work. I was in bed, exhausted at 11:30.

Thankfully this morning I got to sleep in. Trav and Gwen were back to work and school as normal, but I have a work from home day, and a half-day too! So I was able to sleep in, eat a leisurely breakfast, take a relaxing shower, and throw on a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt. I needed that!

Loving her Mama...
or begging for breakfast sausage...
Now, hopefully things will slow down. There is still plenty going on, but two of the biggest things are behind us, and I feel like I've let out a breathe of air I've been holding for months.

Two big events days/events down, I picked up the stuff I need for my contribution to Thanksgiving, I picked up cookie supplies for baking with Ro this weekend, my Christmas shopping is 99% done, and we have lots to enjoy coming up shortly. Lehigh-Lafayette football this Saturday, picture taking and cookie baking with Ro, Pat, and the kids this Sunday, a much needed massage for me next Wednesday, Thanksgiving with the family Thursday, and looking at another house that following Sunday! Then we're on to December already!

So glad to be on the other side of things.


eye on the prize

Some Friday's feel like the prize at the end of a very harsh competition. It feels like winning just to get to them. This is definitely one of those Fridays. I'm making it even better in a few ways. Listening to this song right now:

And heading out to get a much needed pedicure at lunch.

Next week is going to be hard, but I'm hopeful that things will calm down after that. I'm ready for a little bit of calm.

I'm a little sad. It snowed last night and I can feel the death tolls of Autumn, and the impending deep bone chill of impending winter. I'm ready for winter holidays, but not winter weather. Thankfully the snow melted by morning, so we have some time... but the cold is moving in, and its only a matter of time now. 

When seasons collide (picture by my Daddy!).

Hope you enjoy your well earned weekend! I know I will.


a million little things


Mostly, I'm tired of hearing myself complain.




no more evening light

It is so dark now when I leave work, and too bright in the morning... though that part will change and soon it will just be dark all the time. I try to leave work for a little over lunch to get some fresh air and sun, but its hard right now because there is so much to do, and even after things settle, well the colder it gets, the harder it is to convince myself to leave the warm building. There are so many things that I love about this time of year, the DST time change isn't one of them. I would much rather continuing to ease into the shorter days and less light, then be thrown into it all of a sudden. But boy does it suddenly make the rest of the holidays seem so close.

I'm actually about 80-90% done with my Christmas shopping. I always like to get a jump on it, buy things as I find stuff that people need/want, but this year I'm extra on top of it. I think its because it is providing me with a sense of accomplishment and control while I am otherwise feeling slightly unmoored. Work may be busy beyond my control, and life may just be nuts, but I'm am going to be so damn on top of Christmas, so that is something. Whatever helps, right? And it will make December a lot more relaxed.

Linking up with Just Write.

Ps. Did you vote today? I did! Remember, if you don't exercise your right to have a say and a voice, then you don't get to complain about the results. Those are the rules.  ;-)



We broke down on Saturday and turned on the heat. At least we made it until November. Honestly we probably would have made it further, if it weren't for all the time our door spent open the night before because of Trick-or-Treaters. But it is officially cold now, and this weekend more so, plus rain which chills you even more, so I was happy for even the little bit of heat we applied.

Our weekend was good overall. Gwen came home from daycare on Friday overly tired, overly sugared, overly excited, and with a cold blooming. She and Trav went out trick-or-treating and had a lot of fun, but then she didn't want to go to bed when she came home. She helped hand out candy until about an hour past her bedtime, when we finally put our foot down. She had a great day/night, but it ended with her completely bursting into overwhelmed tears and me having to console her before she could fall asleep. She woke a few times that night.

I needed sleep so desperately that I skipped my monthly trail clean up. Trav took Gwen to the store and a few places, and I slept until 9:30. It was a rainy miserable day and Gwen still wasn't herself, but we colored and tried to just chill and enjoy the day. That evening we headed to a coworker's housewarming party, we all had fun and Gwen did really well. She actually was adorable when we left because said coworker lives in the city, so walking to our car in the dark and seeing the center city skyline all lit up on the horizon was awe-inspiring for her. She was so amazed by the huge glowing buildings. It was pretty great. Unfortunately she got to bed a bit late that night too.

Trav let me sleep in again on Sunday, which was amazing, and after lunch I took Gwen to her school friend's birthday party. I was excited for it since it was at a giant play place, and I needed her to run around to burn off some energy. Unfortunately I think that was completely negated by the cake they gave them at the end. She was good, but just again, so not herself. We did get her to bed early last night, and besides one wake at 4am, she slept well. I could use another weekend day, but it was nice.

I'm so glad for the nice weekend because overall, I'm really overwhelmed right now. Between the craziness that work has been for the past two weeks, and what I know is in store for the next two to three weeks, plus house hunting, and everything else going on, I just feel like I'm just tapped out of patience.

I haven't mentioned this yet, but Trav's Pappy recently passed away, and its been hard to deal with. The range of emotions is one thing, and add to that the logistics... well, its a lot. I'm trying to be supportive while balancing what else has to get done. His services are on the 18th which is the day before our biggest work day of the year. Thank goodness for an understanding boss, but frankly, I'm just dreading that whole week because its going to be physically and emotionally exhausting.

While I never want to rush the time away (it goes too fast on its own), I am counting down until Thanksgiving, when a lot will finally be behind us, and hopefully we can have a moment to breathe.

So that, friends, is where we stand!