The giving of thanks!

This Thanksgiving break was by far one of the most filling I've had in years- filled with food from two different Thanksgiving lunches; filled with miles of traveling to Hoover, Homewood, Plantersville, Tupelo, and Oxford; and filled with lots of love from some of my favorite people who I don't see often enough.  Even though I abstained from doing the Facebook "thirty days of what I'm thankful for" posts, I have lots to be thankful for this year!  I live in an awesome town with true, uplifting friends all around me, I have a new job which I love (and helps pay for graduate school!), and I have two little pups who show me unconditional love with endless slobbery kisses.  To top it off, I get to spend every day with my number one man, AND things have been coming together for our wedding in a way that I never dreamed, both logistically and financially.  YAY!

My break started Wednesday night, when I got off work and plopped down on the couch to soak in the fact that I HAD FOUR WHOLE DAYS TO DO WHATEVER I WANTED!  Needless to say, I was ready for a break!  That whole "soaking up" moment lasted approximately five minutes, and then Justin and I decided it was time for a date night!  I changed into a t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers and threw my hair up in a ponytail (because I'm 24 and that's how I like to dress for date night sometimes), and we went to the only place we can usually agree upon- Applebee's!  We are always thankful for their 2 for $20 deal, being that we're usually poor.  After dinner, we headed over to Midtown Village where I picked up a few Christmas presents, and we stopped by Barnes and Noble to pick up some books to read over the break.  Why I thought I would have time to read, I don't know, but I DID pick up a book I have been eyeing for quite a while now (Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me) because, thankfully, I was able to find it in paperback, and this gem that we found on the "Humor" table...

The pull-out poster was really the selling point.

Thursday was spent waking up early and heading out to Hoover to have Thanksgiving lunch with Aunt Mary Anna and Uncle Stuart.  We helped Aunt Mary Anna get some dressing, mashed sweet potatoes, and raspberry pie together (thankfully all gluten-free!), and then we set out for Homewood, where we joined LOTS of family for our first Thanksgiving with them.

After lunch, we headed back to Hoover to decorate their lawn for Christmas.  This may sound like no big deal, but when the tallest of the bunch is 5'10, stringing net lighting on trees over 6 feet tall is no small task.  After all of the eating and decorating, we were pretty pooped and decided to head back to Tuscaloosa, passing LOTS of people standing outside at Target and Belk at the cities that are on our way home.

The next morning, I woke up before 8:00, trying to remember where I had stored all of our Christmas decorations from the move (I am THAT crazy Christmas lady). The pups and MK helped me hang garland and ornaments, and by "help", I mean they either tried to eat everything or carry it off into another room.  By the time 9:30 hit, I had a beautiful, Christmas-y home, but felt like I had been to war.  Nothing like chasing down some animals for Christmas ornaments to work off a Thanksgiving meal! 

At 10:00, Justin and I decided we would do our "Black Friday" thing (late, I know) and headed to Pet Supplies Plus, where we got some awesome deals on a puppy bed, some toys for MK, and a car seat for the boys to ride in to Tupelo.  We were officially on the road to head to Mom's by noon, and thankfully, the car seat was a HUGE help!  If you've read my previous blogs, you know that the boys hate traveling, and tend to vomit all over everyone and everything in the car.  I can gladly say that no dogs threw up, and Justin and I were VERY thankful for that!

Two hours later, we arrived at the most magical place on Earth- Mom's!   There is nothing like coming home to a cozy house, Christmas decorations up, and Mom and Neil's hugs.  One member of the family who was not excited to see us and two little pups was Lucy.

This is Lucy, not-so-affectionately known as Lucy Furr when she is being bad, which is about 95% of the time.  Lucy was not a fan of the pups, or anyone who came into her home unannounced over the break.  As you can see, Lucy does not like to be held or loved.  We are also thankful that she does not have claws ;)
After lunch, Mom, Kate, and I headed to Hobby Lobby and Kohl's for a little momma-daughter time while Justin and Neil layed on the couch watching football.  The rest of the night was spent decorating the tree and introducing Mom to Grumpy Cat.  Did I mention I love being at home?  I love being at home.

Saturday was EGG BOWL day! 

We spent seven hours in the Grove, and I was thankful to catch up with old friends, sip on some white hot chocolate from the fiance, and relax in a tent with a heater!  The game was not so good, and Kate and I ended up heading back to the tent at the third quarter because we could no longer feel our extremeties, and watched the beat down ensue from there.  Fun times.

This weekend, I was reminded how thankful am for so many things in my life, sleep and rest being near the very top of that list. Hopefully you were able to eat some good food, spend time around those you love, and get lots of much-needed rest!

This weekend will be packed with hosting a bridal shower for a sweet friend, and then traveling to Hattiesburg to see my Big (and possibly her new baby!), and my long-lost friend Katrina!  More traveling and blog posts to come!