Thanksgiving!!!

I LOVE Thanksgiving! It's one of my favorite holidays. We left MD Tuesday afternoon to drive to our hometown. I thought traffic would be really bad since we were leaving around 3. We didn't hit a bit of traffic. We got to Josh's mom's house late Tuesday night & spent a little time with his mom, step dad & grandparents. I love his grandparents to death! Most of my grandparents died when I was really young & I wasn't close to the rest of them so I'm really glad Josh is so close to his. We went to bed early since we had been up since 5 & we were so tired from the long ride.

Wednesday morning we got up to take my niece to her first gymnastics class. She was really shy at first. She's only 3 & she hasn't had much interaction with kids her age. Once she warmed up she had a ton of fun. This is her on the balance beam. She had to learn to wait in line behind the other little girls :-)

Her pants kept getting in the way because they're too long for her. She calls them her Wolfpack pants because they're red :-) Love it!

After gymnastics we went to my mom's to get some cooking done. I made a sweet potato pie, sweet potato casserole & a pumpkin cheesecake. I LOVE sweet potato pie. This is only the second one I've ever made from scratch. I forgot to take a picture after it was done.
While the pie was cooling on the table Josh & went outside to visit with my cousin. My mom came out from the porch to ask if I still had the recipe. Her min pin got on the table & ate around the edges of my pie! I was so mad at the time but I guess it's kind of funny. My mom made another one so it wasn't a huge deal I guess. I kind of wish I would have taken a picture now.

Thanksgiving day is always a really busy time for us. First we eat with Josh's mom's side of the family. We eat lots of food then just hang out & spend time together. This is one of the only times of the year we get to visit with his aunt & uncle so we both really enjoy it. Next, we go to my mom's & have Thanksgiving dinner #2 around 2:00 with my parents. My parents are divorced but luckily they still get along well & we can still have the holidays together. Last, we go to Josh's aunt's & hang out with his Dad's side of the family. Most of the family is usually gone by the time we get there but we usually get to see a few of them. This year we got to see a couple of his aunts, his uncle & his dad. We ate some dessert & the best stuffing I've ever had while we were there. I'll have to get that recipe :-)


This is Josh after dinner #2 at my mom's...watching Detroit let us down :-/ That's my Dad in the background.

It's our tradition to get up at the crack of dawn & go shopping on Black Friday. It may be crazy but we have fun & we usually get some really good deals. We got the majority of our Christmas shopping done & we got new coats for ourselves. There were so many great deals, I could have spent a ton if we weren't trying to save money!

After a long day of shopping, leftovers & a nap we left to come back home. We left around 4 & were back by a little after 9. Again...no traffic! I was so surprised :-)

2 Weeks

I haven't written much in my blog about my job...mostly because I pretty much hate it & I want to leave all those feelings there. I don't want to bring them home with me. I hate it for a ton of reasons. There is SO much drama. Like the kind of drama you only see in high school. It's absolutely ridiculous. Needless to say, it's not a very positive work environment. The hours are horrible. I like consistency & rotating from opening at 6:30 am to closing at 8:30 pm this month has really not thrilled me. The money is OK & but I know I could do a lot better in a better economy. I guess the biggest thing is that I don't even like the actual job. It's so...boring. I schedule appointments, answer phones & get blamed for things I have no control over. It never changes...I don't learn anything new. I have never worked for a more ungrateful person either. I don't want to bore anyone with details but this is hands down the worse management I've ever dealt with.

Anyway...I've been thinking about leaving for a while. I've been so torn. I hate the job & it was getting to the point where I was bringing my frustrations home with me. At the same time I was so happy to be contributing financially. We have been doing really well with paying off our debt. We have way more than I would like, especially since I forgot about the loan I took out to study abroad :-/ That added a few months to our plan. Last week was probably my breaking point. I didn't care if I got blamed for something that was my fault, I didn't care when someone walked out & said they weren't coming back, I didn't care about anything but getting home. Thursday there was a horrible mix up with the schedule. I think if my manager had been there I would have just quit on the spot, that is NOT like me at all. Luckily, I guess, she was conveniently off on a chaotic day & I took Friday off since we were leaving early to go to Raleigh. That gave me a little time to think things through & make a more rational decision. I thought & prayed about the whole situation a lot. Josh has been super supportive through this whole thing. He's listened to me complain about work more times than I would like to admit. I think he may be almost as excited as me about me having the chance to be a housewife for a little bit again. haha.

I decided that I was definitely leaving. I told my manager this past Monday. I told her I would finish out my posted schedule. My last scheduled day of work is Dec. 2. I have to work tomorrow...that should be a crime in itself & I'm kicking myself for that right now. I can't believe I won't be able to watch the State game with Josh. I only work 2 days next week since we're going to NC for Thanksgiving. The following week is a 4 day week since I took Friday off for Josh's oral surgery. So, technically I only have 7 days of work left. WOOHOO!

I've thought a lot about what I'm going to do. I've been looking for jobs since I got this one...I guess I never really stopped because I've never been happy where I am. I'm going to give it a month to try to find something in my field. At the beginning of the year, if that hasn't worked out for me, I'll start looking for other jobs. I do have an interview Monday morning so hopefully that will open some doors :-)

Homecoming!

This post, as usual, is about a week late. Josh and I traveled down to Raleigh last weekend for homecoming. It was SO good to be home, even if it was just for a few days. I got to see so many friends that I haven't seen in a long time. We had an amazing tailgate with some really amazing food! I've been craving some real BBQ for a while & I finally got some! After lots of catching up & cornhole the food was finally ready.

This is Adam, I worked with him in MAD lab. He's a home brewer & he brought some of his Oktoberfest to the tailgate...it was SO yummy! He's going to be moving to Ireland with his wife soon...Josh and I hope to visit sometime.

Brittany & I FINALLY reunited at a tailgate :-)

Liz! One of my favorite Food Science ladies...with Kelsy, the other fave, in the left corner :-)

YUM!

Aaron chopping the BBQ, we even got a little to bring home :-)

After the past few weeks at work, I definitely needed to get away. This was the perfect opportunity to get away from everything, have a great time with old friends & clear my mind :-) I just wish Anna & John could have been there...hopefully we'll get to make up for it in December :-D

Weekend Update

This past weekend was a lot of things. It was definitely a much needed break. It was productive, relaxing, amazing & disappointing all at the same time! Last week I worked the early shift so I ran at the gym Monday & Wednesday after work. Friday was a pretty tough day & I came straight home. It was nice outside so I decided to go for a run here. It was perfect weather for an outdoor run. Not so hot I was sweating before I got started & not so cold my chest was burning. I felt much better after. I got some things done around the apartment so I could relax Saturday.

Saturday was a let down for the most part. We lost our game to Clemson :-/ It was a horrible game! Because of us losing I had to count on my 2 least favorite teams in the ACC winning in order for us to have a chance at the ACC Championship game. That doesn't mean I pulled for them though! haha. After the game we went grocery shopping & to finish picking out my birthday gifts. It was super double coupon time at Harris Teeter so we got some awesome deals! I get way too excited over that but after we swiped our coupons & VIC card our grocery bill was half as much! We also found a picture to hang in our dining room. I've been searching everywhere since we moved in & I haven't been able to find anything I really liked that wasn't crazy expensive. I decided to go check out Goodwill to see what we could find there & I found it!!! We still have to hang it. As soon as I get it up & find my camera charger I'll post a picture.

Sunday was way better as far as sports. The Ravens won & Chargers won & the Panthers & Pats lost...what more could you ask for ;-) We went to church Sunday morning. We know it will probably be a time consuming process finding a church we both like. While Josh and I have the same beliefs, he prefers a more traditional church & I prefer contemporary. The church we went to Sunday was even too laid back for me. They had snacks & refreshments & everyone seemed nice. Neither of us really cared for the music so that's a definite negative. The people around us were pretty distracting. The people behind us were doing something, I never figured out what they were doing but it sounded like they were looking at a magazine or something. The preacher seemed nice enough, he just wasn't a good speaker...that was kind of the deal breaker.

This week I'm working the late shift (UGH!)...but on the bright side, I took Friday off so we could leave at a decent time to go to Raleigh. I'm SOOO excited to go home for homecoming :-D

Birthday Weekend!

This past weekend was my 24th birthday. I remember when I used to think 24 was old...man, that was a long time ago! My birthday festivities started a little early I guess. Thursday night Josh and I went to Damon's to watch the NC State vs FSU game. We were there with some of Josh's co-workers. One was a FSU grad, one was a State grad & the other 2 were neutral. We had a great time & the game was awesome! Friday I was running off very little sleep so I'm glad I was still pumped about our win...there's no other way I would have made it through that crazy day without losing my sanity.

Friday I got cupcakes at work for my birthday. Josh and I went grocery shopping on the way home from work. When we walked into the apartment it was all clean & I had flowers on the coffee table. I love my amazing hubby! He got me a delicious pumpkin spice cake too :-D

Saturday we watched some football in the morning...how else are you supposed to spend a Saturday in the fall?!?! After that we went shopping at one of my favorite shopping centers & I got another tasty treat...CINNABON! My favorite! I was picking out birthday presents but we ran out of time. We had dinner reservations & I was starving! We went to a great restaurant in the Baltimore Art Museum. There was some Halloween event going on so we didn't get to look around or anything. Dinner was AMAZING though. We both got crab cakes. Josh got grilled veggies & mashed potatoes with his...SO good! I got roasted red potatoes & apple fennel cole slaw with mine...again...SO good! I got a pumpkin martini & it was so yummy!

Sunday we didn't do much of anything. I just wanted to be lazy. I did a little organizing but most of the day was spent relaxing. We did have plans to go watch Saw 3D for Halloween but that just didn't happen.

All in all...it was a wonderful weekend! I FINALLY got to relax a little & spend lots of time with the hubby. Definitely something I needed after last week!

Spaghetti Casserole

I LOVE spaghetti but I have been looking for a slightly different spaghetti recipe. I came across this one & I was feeling adventurous so I tried it. It's SO good!

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces spaghetti
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 8 ounces cream cheese (cut up)
• 1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained (crumbly)
• 30 ounces spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• season with salt and pepper (or anything else as you see fit)

Directions:

Prep Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 1 1/4 hr

1. The recipe calls for a 9x13 casserole, but I usually split it between two 8x8 pans (increasing the spaghetti, beef, sauce and mozarella slightly if needed) and freeze one of them for another time.
2. Cook the spaghetti and drain, but don't rinse.
3. Put it right back in the warm pot and add the cream cheese.
4. Blend the cream cheese until melted with the spaghetti and then blend in the sour cream.
5. Put spaghetti mixture into greased pan.
6. Layer some of the mozarella, then the beef, then a little more mozarella.
7. Spread the spaghetti sauce across and then put the rest of the mozarella on top.
8. Bake at 350 (or maybe 375?) for 30- 35 minutes- until a knife comes out clean.
9. Let it stand for 5 or 10 minutes.

I added roasted red peppers to the spaghetti, cream cheese & sour cream. I froze one to make for dinner later. Josh wanted it again like 2 nights later...I guess it was a success :-D

Still Playing Catch Up!

I hate that I don't feel like blogging when I get home :-/ I'm always so far behind now! This was definitely easier when I was a housewife! Man, I really miss being a housewife! I was so much more organized less stressed. I'm still applying & hoping for a better job to come along. I know I have to be patient & eventually it will happen...that's just not a strong point for me. Anyway...

I was supposed to work last Saturday but we ended up being closed because a Dr. wasn't available. Since I was on the schedule for Saturday I had Friday off. That happened to be an off Friday for Josh so we had a 3 day weekend together!

We decided to go to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. I LOVE that place! We have season passes that get us into the one in Baltimore & DC. This was our second time going. The first time was the Sunday before labor day...BAD idea! It was SO crowded. I don't think we'll ever go on a holiday weekend ever again. We found super cheap parking only a few blocks away. I was kind of excited. It was only a quarter for an hour & 15 mins! We usually go on the weekends when street parking is free. Most places the street parking during the week is closer to $1 an hour. haha. We ended up staying for about 2 hours because we wanted to make it out before rush hour. It did get a little crowded during the end of our trip last week. Turns out, we picked a field trip day to go. They have an awesome jellyfish exhibit we were seeing for the first time. They have SO many different types. When we got in, there was literally one other person in there. 5 minutes later, there were hundreds of elementary school aged kids running around. I don't know how teachers do it! After that, we walked through the Australia exhibit...of course I LOVE that part! I saw some things I never saw in Oz then some that I did. It's obviously not the same but it still brought back some memories. I took tons of pictures, unfortunately I can't find that memory card right now so I have absolutely nothing to show for it.

One of my favorite parts of going to the aquarium is seeing their sea turtle. She was found off the coast of NY with an infected leg that had to be amputated. Her other leg was all broken up. Of course a turtle with no front legs can't swim so something had to be done about that. I'm not sure if I've ever talked about what kind of work is done at my work but we do orthopedic surgeries. I found out last week that my boss fixed her other leg! That's so awesome & it made me like my job a little more! haha. I LOVE sea turtles. If we ever make enough money for us to accomplish all our goals without working that's what I want to do...save sea turtles :-)

After we left the aquarium, we walked around the inner harbor. It's so peaceful when it's not super crowded. We love just hanging out, looking at the boats & looking for jellyfish & crabs. We didn't see any crabs but we saw several jellyfish. The weather was absolutely perfect!

The rest of our weekend was very relaxing but we still got a lot accomplished. I started unpacking our warm clothes since fall is definitely here! We still get some really warm days but it's starting to cool off. The mornings are a little too cool for me most of the time...Josh LOVES it. I typically don't care for fall because of the following season. This year I'm actually excited for winter. I guess just because we're in a different place. I'm not really sure why. I'm sure it won't last too long though. Haha.

So, last weekend was one of the most productive & peaceful weekends we've had in a while. It was perfect! I wish we had more 3 day weekends. I'll post some pics from last weekend when I find the card they're on. I don't know how I lost it :-/