These past few weeks seem to have flown by! That is by no means a complaint either :) I finished up classes and took my finals, all A's for my first semester!! Last Saturday was very busy and lots of fun. In the morning, my church here did a Christmas Brunch where homeless and less fortunate families and people come into the church, get their picture made, have a hot brunch, get some supplies (laundry detergent, soap, socks, food, etc), and pick up their picture. I was part of the candid camera team and got some great shots! We served over 700 people that morning!!
That afternoon, the lab ladies met up at Becca's house to have a gingerbread house making party! I had never done that before, nor had many of the ladies. It was so much fun and everyone had a blast! My house turned out pretty cute and is currently in my kitchen filling it with sweet gingerbread and icing smells :) We had a snow storm and I got Monday off, which was absolutely amazing. It snowed about 2 inches!! Asher and I spent the entire day relaxing, snuggling, reading, watching tv, etc. He was a very happy kitty :)
This morning I am on a 2 hour delay because we have ice on the roads. That's why I have time to write this :) OH! So Justin is on his cowabunga trip right now, which he is enjoying. They've toured dairy and beef farms, a buffalo farm, and are currently in Kentucky. They went to a horse therapeutic center yesterday and got to see Keenland track in the snow :) He comes home tomorrow (providing the weather cooperates). I wasn't supposed to see him until Christmas Eve eve in Marion, but yesterday driving back from the slaughterhouse an idea popped into my head, which I passed to him via text and which is now the plan! He (again, providing weather cooperates) is going to drive to Granite Falls to spend the weekend with us (me, my parents, my grandparents) for Christmas. On Sunday when I drive back to Knoxville, he's coming with me to stay here a few days. He will get to meet Asher, see the lab, meet my friends, see Essau, and hang out with me until we head to Marion for Christmas! We are both really excited and I am especially excited to have him here! It'll be neat to show him around now that I know the area and am comfortable in my surroundings. We will head to Raleigh the day after Christmas and I'll spend that next week there!!
I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday season, a blessed Christmas, and a wonderful New Year! It's hard to believe it's almost 2011! Stay safe traveling and I hope to see lots of friends when I'm in town!
Here are pictures of the gingerbread party and a few new ones of Asher
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Thanksgiving
For Thanksgiving this year, I got to fly home to Raleigh since I had just driven two days prior. The Knoxville airport is small, but very nice. I got through security quickly and anxiously waited an hour and a half to start boarding the plane to Atlanta. In Atlanta, I grabbed Quiznos and ate it as I journeyed to my terminal (on the other end of the airport). I also got a quick swirl cup from TCBY before boarding :) Mom and Dad picked me up in Raleigh and took me home!!
Thanksgiving morning I went up to the barn and rode Ivan bareback for 30 minutes at the walk since his foot was sore from a bruise. It was great to be back on him and nice to be at the barn. The rest of the day was spent helping mom cook Thanksgiving dinner. Justin came over shortly after lunch after feeding and milking at the dairy. Thanksgiving dinner was amazing, as always. We enjoyed delicious food and family and friends! Two new recipes that I shared were a peanut butter pie and a new sweet potato casserole (both recipes from Brooke). They were a big hit :)
Friday Justin and I went back to the dairy because he had to put some hay out using the bobcat. We met Margie, Mark, and Gillian Bowles for lunch at North Hills Club (where our reception will be). It was delicious! Justin and I love their family to death and we enjoyed catching up! After lunch, Lauren (the events manager) showed us the ballroom and a few photo albums of pictures from weddings there. It got me all excited again about our wedding :) That evening, Justin and I went to my parents house for leftovers. Again...delicious.
Saturday morning I went and got my hair cut at Bobby Jo's new place. She has been cutting my mom's hair for over 20 years and since Rita (she's been cutting my hair since I was born) was not in, I had Bobby Jo give me a trim. Justin and I then went to the barn where I rode Ivan again at the walk for 30 minutes. We cleaned up, had lunch, and went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 with mom, dad, and Tim. It was awesome!! After the movie, Justin, mom, dad, and I walked over to Lynnwood Grill which is next to the theater and had dinner.
It was great to see everyone at church on Sunday. I got to see a lot of my friends and got a warm welcome from everyone. Jeannie (my maid of honor) and her fiance met us for lunch afterwards at Carolina Cafe and Bakery where I had my favorite lemon poppyseed muffin along with some awesome loaded potato soup. It was great catching up with her and hearing all about her upcoming wedding next Fall. Now she'll be my matron of honor :)
Leaving Sunday was not fun. At all. Of course it was sad to leave Justin, to leave my parents, and to leave my home, but it was not helped at all by the fact that I was flying alone and that I knew no one would be there waiting for me when I got into Knoxville. The flight to Atlanta went smoothly. I grabbed Qdoba and headed to my gate to eat it. The plane we were to board had just come in internationally, so they had to do a security sweep and clean it. That took a very long time and we ended up boarding about 45 minutes later than normal. I got into Knoxville late and then was delayed further by a baggage jam...Finally I made it home to find an attention-starved kitty and my quiet little apartment.
This past week has been fine. Classes ended Tuesday and I had a final exam on Friday. I have one more next Thursday and then this semester will be officially over as far as classes go. I'm trying to stay busy, going to the slaughterhouse, making media, reading articles, and trying to stay focused. As the holidays grow nearer, I'm getting more and more excited about seeing family again. Although it won't be for nearly as long as I would like, it will be very nice to be around the ones I love for Christmas and to bring in the new year.
Thanksgiving morning I went up to the barn and rode Ivan bareback for 30 minutes at the walk since his foot was sore from a bruise. It was great to be back on him and nice to be at the barn. The rest of the day was spent helping mom cook Thanksgiving dinner. Justin came over shortly after lunch after feeding and milking at the dairy. Thanksgiving dinner was amazing, as always. We enjoyed delicious food and family and friends! Two new recipes that I shared were a peanut butter pie and a new sweet potato casserole (both recipes from Brooke). They were a big hit :)
Friday Justin and I went back to the dairy because he had to put some hay out using the bobcat. We met Margie, Mark, and Gillian Bowles for lunch at North Hills Club (where our reception will be). It was delicious! Justin and I love their family to death and we enjoyed catching up! After lunch, Lauren (the events manager) showed us the ballroom and a few photo albums of pictures from weddings there. It got me all excited again about our wedding :) That evening, Justin and I went to my parents house for leftovers. Again...delicious.
Saturday morning I went and got my hair cut at Bobby Jo's new place. She has been cutting my mom's hair for over 20 years and since Rita (she's been cutting my hair since I was born) was not in, I had Bobby Jo give me a trim. Justin and I then went to the barn where I rode Ivan again at the walk for 30 minutes. We cleaned up, had lunch, and went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 with mom, dad, and Tim. It was awesome!! After the movie, Justin, mom, dad, and I walked over to Lynnwood Grill which is next to the theater and had dinner.
It was great to see everyone at church on Sunday. I got to see a lot of my friends and got a warm welcome from everyone. Jeannie (my maid of honor) and her fiance met us for lunch afterwards at Carolina Cafe and Bakery where I had my favorite lemon poppyseed muffin along with some awesome loaded potato soup. It was great catching up with her and hearing all about her upcoming wedding next Fall. Now she'll be my matron of honor :)
Leaving Sunday was not fun. At all. Of course it was sad to leave Justin, to leave my parents, and to leave my home, but it was not helped at all by the fact that I was flying alone and that I knew no one would be there waiting for me when I got into Knoxville. The flight to Atlanta went smoothly. I grabbed Qdoba and headed to my gate to eat it. The plane we were to board had just come in internationally, so they had to do a security sweep and clean it. That took a very long time and we ended up boarding about 45 minutes later than normal. I got into Knoxville late and then was delayed further by a baggage jam...Finally I made it home to find an attention-starved kitty and my quiet little apartment.
This past week has been fine. Classes ended Tuesday and I had a final exam on Friday. I have one more next Thursday and then this semester will be officially over as far as classes go. I'm trying to stay busy, going to the slaughterhouse, making media, reading articles, and trying to stay focused. As the holidays grow nearer, I'm getting more and more excited about seeing family again. Although it won't be for nearly as long as I would like, it will be very nice to be around the ones I love for Christmas and to bring in the new year.
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