Thanksgiving 2018

Well, the holidays have officially kicked off and I'm absolutely in heaven. This is definitely one of my favorite times of the year!

We had a lot of fun over Thanksgiving weekend! This time is so special to me, especially when shared with family and friends!

Jason had to work on Thanksgiving day, but Brayden and I were able to celebrate it with his side of the family. We had a huge luncheon with a ton of family! The food was delicious, too.

On Friday, my usual crew of friends (plus one this year) went Black Friday shopping. We started our morning around 5 a.m. and had a blast checking out the fairly empty stores. Although there were a lot of good deals out this year, none of us really "needed" much, so we didn't purchase as much as we have in years past. We still had a ball, and we've already started brainstorming new shirt ideas for next year!

After a full day of shopping, we celebrated Thanksgiving with my family that evening. Talk about worn out...but we still had a fun time together! 

For our annual Friendsgiving, we started off with part one at a local crafting shop called "Junkin Gypsies". I've been here once before, and that's where my door hanger came from. This time around, the owner offered a 2 hour workshop at different times throughout the day where people could create a choice of five items. Shown here are our works of art and three of the five options that were available that day. This really was a ton of fun! I can't wait to go back to make another!

Last but not least, our friends got together yet again for our Friendsgiving part 2 celebration! At the last minute, we decided to move the shindig to my house so we could watch the LSU game and relax. Although LSU lost, we still had a great time! And yes, those are matching sweaters, because nothing says friends forever like matching sweaters! Amiright?

Also, I decided to do my weekend version of vlogidays once again! I had so much fun doing this the past two years and I've loved being able to look back on our family and how much Brayden has grown and changed over the years.

Here, you'll find weekend number 1 for 2018!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Did you do anything exciting this past weekend?

Happy Thanksgiving

It's the day before Thanksgiving and that means tomorrow officially kicks off the holiday season! (Even though some have already decorated for Christmas - myself included...whoops.) With all the hustle and bustle this time of year can bring, I'm realizing a few very important things.

I want to just hit the pause button on today...
Truly immerse myself in this special time with my family...
Slow down and enjoy the moment...
Savor the memories this magical time of year brings...
Be thankful...truly thankful...for all of the blessings that surround me...

We say all of these things year after year, but do we truly live them out? I'm making it a mission to do just that this year, because these moments can slip by so quickly. This really is a magical time of year and it always seems to go by so very fast.

Thankfulness is another mission I am trying to live out this holiday season. I know this phrase is so overused but it's a very, very true one - we are so blessed and really have SO much to be thankful for.

Do you have a roof over your head? You're blessed. Do you have a mode of transportation? You're blessed. Do you have running water and food to eat? You're blessed.

A couple  of years ago, a church in North Carolina shared a video about thankfulness and it totally put things into perspective for me.

Take a watch and see what you think!

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and truly take time to savor the moments as they pass by! Happy Thanksgiving!!

Vlogidays Weekend Edition #2

This past weekend was filled with so much fun that was jammed into just a few short days! We had a blast sharing a "Friendsgiving" event with our friends, having Thanksgiving with our families, going Black Friday shopping, and ending the weekend with a visit to Magical Winter Lights, a light display right outside of Houston Texas!

Join us for my own little weekend version of vlogidays where we share all of our fun and special times with you!

 I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! 

If you missed out on previous vlogiday posts, check them out below! :)

• 2017 Vlogidays Weekend #1 - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Vlogidays Weekend Edition #1

As a return from last year, our holiday season will be shared again with you guys on my YouTube channel in my own little version of "Vlogidays - Weekend Edition"! The fun began this past weekend with several holiday themed festivities, including a few photo sessions and we began the house decorating process!

I had so much fun sharing our holiday season with you guys last year, and I had even more fun re-watching the videos this year and seeing how much Brayden has grown! It's so much fun to look back over the memories and reminisce a little!

Instead of sharing blog recaps of our weekends over the next 2 months, you'll find these video recaps instead. I hope you enjoy! :)

Have a happy Tuesday! If you're in the preparations for Thanksgiving, have fun!! :)

Thanksgiving Weekend and Black Friday!

This holiday season, I'm trying a little something different!

Once a week for the remainder of 2016, I'm going to post vlogs to YouTube (and here) of our holiday weekend adventures! It's sort of my little take on "Vlogidays"/"Vlogmas"....weekends only! I'm also looking forward to sharing Brayden's first holidays with you!

It all began this past week with Thanksgiving and will continue throughout the upcoming weekends....you'll see a few races, out of town travels, Christmas events, parties, etc...

This past weekend was filled with a lot of fun times spent with family and friends - Thanksgiving, Black Friday shopping, and a Gilmore Girls reunion party!

Check out our fun-filled weekend below! :)

I hope you and your family had a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!

How did you spend your holiday?

Run Now Gobble Later 4 Miler

Happy Monday and Happy Birthday to my husband!! How was everyone's Thanksgiving? We had a fantastic weekend over here and I'm sad to say it's over! I hope you all had a great weekend as well! 

On Thursday morning (Thanksgiving Day), I ran the virtual "Run Now Gobble Later 5K"...except we turned it into a 4 miler! This race was a part of Gone For A Run's Virtual Race Series. Although I am a Gone For A Run Ambassador, I did purchase entry into this race on my own.

Sadly, my area no longer hosts a community wide turkey trot, so my running buddy Heather and I had to come up with our own Thanksgiving morning game plan! After debating what to do, we finally decided to register for a virtual race. It just so happened that Gone For A Run was hosting one, so we decided to go for it! Registration for the race was easy and shipping was super fast! With our registration fee, we each received a race bib, knee high socks, and a medal.

Heather and I met up at my house at 7 a.m. to begin our run. Brayden also had to tag along since my husband was working days. I was a little worried about him lasting the 4 mile distance, but he did AWESOME!

It was a little chilly that morning, so I bundled Brayden up with several blankets and he didn't move at all during the run! At one point, I forgot he was even in the stroller!

We had a great run as always and I definitely enjoyed the company! One of our favorite parts of this specific virtual race was the adorable turkey socks!! I washed mine and kept them on the rest of the day!
 

My little trooper did such an amazing job - he stayed awake the entire run and didn't make a peep!

We did it! :) These medals were really colorful and well made!

After the run, I showered then got ready for brunch with my parents.

They came over and enjoyed these delicious pumpkin pie cinnamon rolls with us! :)

In all, it was a great run and I would definitely participate in another Gone For A Run Virtual Race in the future!

Did you participate in a Turkey Trot race?

Thanksgiving Weekend and Black Friday Shopping Part 2

Continuing with yesterday's extremely long post, I left off with Black Friday and the end of our shopping escapades.

After our Black Friday shopping trip, I took about an hour long nap and let me tell you...I could have slept all night!

As soon as Jason got home from work, we headed over to my parents house to celebrate Thanksgiving!

Next year, we'll have a 7 month old! CRAZY!

Delicious food spread! My dad always cooks for Thanksgiving/Christmas and does a fabulous job!

I look forward to this meal all year!

What's Thanksgiving without pecan pie? :) Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of pumpkin flavored things including pumpkin pie. However, I do like pumpkin bread. Odd.

On Saturday morning, I ran/walked a long run with my friend Heather, then visited with my brother and sister-in-law before they left town. I also had grand adventures in mind of getting all kinds of things accomplished on Saturday afternoon, but my sleepy brain took over and I crashed for three hours. Whoops...oh well! I needed the rest, I'm sure!

After waking my foggy brain, we met up with a few friends for a birthday dinner for Jason! 

Yummy hibachi!

So much food! I definitely had enough for leftovers!

After leaving the hibachi grill, we decided it was time for dessert! We stopped by Dairy Queen and oh my gosh...I found my new favorite treat! This is the Oreo Peppermint Blizzard, made with peppermint Oreo cookies and candy cane pieces. You guys....I just can't. I ate the entire thing and could have eaten more (which I didn't, but still). Thank goodness our DQ is across town and not easily accessible for me at all!!

On Sunday, we went to church then wrapped all of our Black Friday purchases. Now they're nice and pretty under the tree! I also used a Shutterfly deal to order our Christmas cards, so those should be arriving soon! Yay!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Pumpkin or Pecan Pie? (Or neither?)

Thanksgiving Weekend and Black Friday Shopping Part 1

This past weekend has flown by and it's hard to believe my 4 1/2 day work break has come to an end. Our Thanksgiving this year was filled with lots of fun and a birthday for Jason which made it even better!

On Wednesday afternoon, I began my annual baking tradition. This year, my list included pumpkin pie cinnamon rolls, pumpkin muffins, chocolate caramel dessert, and corn for Thanksgiving dinner. Since the rolls are from scratch, I put them together the night before Thanksgiving, then pop then in the oven that next morning. If you're interested in the recipe, you can find it here!

After finishing up with the cinnamon rolls, I decided to call it a night. While browsing facebook, I came across the facebook page of our local newspaper...who stated they were in a local grocery store parking lot, selling Thanksgiving papers out of a uhaul! Say what?!

I mentioned it to Jason and his response was, "Let's go!"...I didn't argue. 

Sure enough, not five minutes down the road from our house - there they were! I am so grateful because that saved me a 4 a.m. wake up call of going down to the local gas station for a paper!

YAY!

It didn't take long to discover my husband's ulterior motive for going with me to pick up the paper - that's the Best Buy add he's looking at, by the way....

On Thanksgiving morning, I headed out for a Turkey Trot of my own. This was the first year my area wasn't hosting a Turkey Trot of any kind which made me super sad...whomp whomp. Oh well, guess I'll just have to find something else next year. I was excited to find the Fit Mouse Podcast's Thanksgiving episode, so I listened while I ran! :)

After the run, we had our annual brunch with my parents! 

Delicious as always! 

These cinnamon rolls really are amazing! 

Love my family! After everyone left, I finished up the Christmas decorating (mainly the tree) and looked through the paper to map out a Black Friday plan!

On Thanksgiving night, we had a dinner of spaghetti at my dad's house, because my brother and sister in law wouldn't be in town until Friday. 

Before  I knew it, Black Friday morning had arrived! My friends and I met up around 4 a.m. to hit the mall and look what we arrived to.....

Wow. Black Friday sure has lost the excitement it used to hold! Oh well...that meant less waiting time/lines for us! 

Let the fun begin! 

We stopped by Kohl's and Bath and Body Works, then drove through Starbucks for breakfast. 

At Target, I got a few deals for Baby Seal including a jogging stroller and a video monitor!

Carter's also recently opened up in our town (literally last week) and I definitely did a little damage in there. Apart from those mentioned, we also shopped at Bed Bath & Beyond, Academy, Michael's, and JCPenney! 

The Black Friday Team back at it again!

At JCPenney, we were the first in line for the final year of Mickey/Disney snowglobes. Whomp whomp. I own at least one from every year and am only missing a few of the "extras" when they gave out more than one style during those early years (2000/2001).

Our store's supply was INCREDIBLY small this year, too!

Mission accomplished! Woohoooo! 

After 12 hours of shopping, we decided to call it quits! We had a blast as always and I look forward to this day every year! Next year, I'll have a 7 month old! So crazy and hard to believe!!

Since this post is so long, I'll finish the rest up in part 2! :)

Do you Black Friday shop? What's your favorite places to go if so?

Happy Thanksgiving 2014

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone’s enjoying their day so far!

My day began around 4 a.m. with morning prep for the pumpkin pie cinnamon rolls I put together last night. These cinnamon rolls are a tradition of ours both for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I plan on sharing the recipe this holiday season so stay tuned!

Also, I ran (I mean…I drove) to the gas station down the road to pick up a few Thanksgiving newspapers. My friends and I have a Black Friday tradition that we plan on keeping this year (ON Black Friday), even though all the stores are opening on Thanksgiving Day  – we even had shirts made for our adventures!

Those pumpkin pie cinnamon rolls I mentioned? Yes, they were delicious!

I also met up with my dad for a Turkey Trot!

Rocking a “Turkey Trot” Sweaty Band! :)

Our running group’s Turkey Trot isn’t a race – it’s a free “come and run/walk as far as you want” kind of event and draws quite a crowd from the community. They also provide muffins, hot chocolate, and door prizes for participants! T-shirts are optional (for a small fee) and were dry fit this year! I love mine!

Distances (with pre-planned routes and water) ranged from 1 to 6 miles.

My dad and I chose 3 miles total.

This year, participants brought canned goods for donation to the community!

Bunch-a-turkeys! (My dad wore jeans because he thought he was coming out to cheer me on for a race..isn’t he sweet? Once he realized it was a community event and not a race, I talked him into walking it with me!)

It was SO cold…I definitely enjoyed this cup of hot chocolate after we were done!

Look at that! He even won a door prize! :)

After leaving the Turkey Trot, we stopped by my mom’s work to have breakfast with her. She was sad to miss out on the cinnamon rolls…so instead, they came to her!

Now I’m at home watching Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and prepping for the rest of the day. We are celebrating Thanksgiving with Jason’s family around lunch (late lunch) and Thanksgiving with my family tomorrow night (which also happens to be Jason’s birthday)!

I hope that all of you have a very blessed Thanksgiving! I know it’s cliché, but we really do have SO much to be Thankful for! 

Do you participate a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving?