Thanksgiving 2016

Okay, after this I think I'll be "caught up" with life. Turkey Day! Thanksgiving was a crazy affair, even more so than usual because duh, a baby. It is very convenient to have your whole family live in one town, but it is also not because that's a lot of family to see in a couple days! I mean, it's wonderful, but it's also exhausting. But it was special to have include Indiana in what has been our tradition for the past, I dunno, decade. 

Let's begin with Indiana and animals, because what else could be better? (Also some of these photos have already been posted to instagram, but whatever!)

Indiana loves chickens! Actually she loves all animals. But she's really into chickens! Doggies are cool too though.

Indiana and I go on walks daily, but walks with daddy are always a treat, and scenic walks are even better! I took a few rapid fire photos of Indiana's first shoulder ride, and in the photo before there's a truck pulling a hay bale driving by in the background. Typical.

Turkey Day morning we ran the Turkey Trot! This has also become tradition for Brendon and I, I think this is our fourth year to run one? We did two in Austin, last year in Temple, and this year we ran down in New Braunfels. Well, Gruene actually. And my dad and sister ran it with us! I really enjoyed this Turkey trot. The race starts and finishes right in front of Gruene Hall, and it's a pretty run! Also the refreshments were insane. They had the usual post-run fare; water, crackers, bananas, but they also had chocolate milk (!!!), juice, BEER, and freshly made sausage! Oh New Braunfels, you love your sausage.

OKAY, so we're going to go off on a long tangent here and talk about running, scroll down to get back to Thanksgiving goodies. This was my first race after having Indiana (my last one happened to be the Temple Turkey Trot which I ran pregnant), and I wasn't really sure how it was going to go. SO LETS TALK ABOUT POST BABY RUNNING. I was fully prepared to sacrifice a lot of my pre-kiddo life for Indiana's baby years, but running was not something I was willing to give up. I started running again after my six week postpartum check up in March. As soon as I got the okay to run from my doctor, I went after it. Slowwwwly. It was so so hard. Because not only was I out of shape, but my body was wrecked. Having a kid destroys your body. No joke. My abs were stretched out into nonexistence, my endurance was shot, and we're not even gonna talk about all the weirdness that happens to your body after pushing a baby out. But anyway, as soon as I got the green light I started running three days a week. It was hellish at first and my runs only were a mile or two long, but I kept it up and got sorta back into the swing of things just as soon as the heat hit. And if you've ever run in the southern heat you know, it's a whole new thing entirely. For whatever reason, in July I decided to up it to running five days a week. Which was more than I ran when I was training for the half. I mostly did it because I wasn't seeing much progress (summer stalemate) and running is seriously my only real alone time away from baby world. It's my therapy, and it contributes a whole lot to my sanity. Once the cooler weather hit I got "faster" and I started running some longer runs on the weekends but I've been dealing with some health crap so I honestly wasn't sure how this race was going to go.

BUT, y'all! I ran my fastest 5k! 25:36! I've never ever been fast, even when I was "in shape", but I got 5th in my age group out of 101 and I mean, I kinda felt fast! Brendon ran back with me which helped I'm sure, and you always run faster at a race, but I'm pretty proud of myself. Kudos to Brendon for running with me, he would have slayed had he not. He's actually legitimately fast. My dad also killed it and beat us all, with a bum leg. Of course. My sister also did badass for basically not running for weeks. It was a good race for all of us. And a reminder that I love races and need to run more. They're such positive happy experiences. Everyone is in such a good mood. My dad and Brendon were cheering on people who were running with us and slowed to walk, and they kept going with us! I didn't do much cheering because 1.) I am shy and terrified of strangers, and 2.) I was flooring it and trying not to die, ha. But the guys encouraging those people and those people not giving up did wonders for me.

Yay for running, and now I'm done with my schpeal. Back to the baby photos:

Indiana's first Thanksgiving! Feast number one was at my momma's house. We had definitely worked up an appetite after running (even though we ate like a hundred deviled eggs), and I was ready for those sides! As we do not partake in turkey, the sides are our main course. But I mean, isn't that everyone's Thanksgiving? The sides are where the party is! We gave Indiana a little taste of some stuff, but she was kind of whatever about it. I think she was mostly just overwhelmed by the excitement of lots of people in a new place. It was a big day for her.

Awkward candids don't happen so much any more now that I am in charge of a baby instead of a camera. But here's some for ya. My mom was ready!

I haven't cut my hair in a year and I'm definitely reaching religious zealot/hippie lengths.

More doggie love for Indy! That tongue! After the feast at my mama's we headed over to my dad's for feast number two. Brendon's mom came over too!

Side story: Brendon is really into ping-pong these days. He's already scheming to get a table whenever (if ever??) we get a house. He bugged everyone to play him and I caved, twice. And the second time, I BEAT HIM.

Who's shiny ride is that??? ;)

My dad is the king of crazy-man in photos.

This picture cracks me up because it accurately captures Indiana's feelings about Thanksgiving. It was a lot for that poor girl. But contrary to how grumpy she looks, she did really well and I'm forever proud of my tough baby. Traveling and staying away from home is super stressful, but I definitely think it's worse for us than it is for her. I mean, don't get me wrong, it throws her schedule out of whack and sometimes takes me up to a week to fix it, but she's mostly a happy camper and loves seeing her extended family. I on the other hand stress about every little detail and worry about her lack of sleep and her loss of routine and her dislike of long car rides and generally just work myself into a ball of anxiety and worry. The hardest part of parenthood for me is the worrying. And I know it will never stop, please don't remind me. ;)

But anyway, it was worth it. Thanksgiving at home is always good and I'm glad we went. Brendon took off Wednesday and Thursday so we had a nice five day weekend. We need more of those!

Christmas will be here before we know it and we'll be doing the holiday game again! Wooo the most magical, but the wildest, time of the year.

Being thankful

A sort of Thanksgiving post! Quite a few days late... but that's life isn't it?

I took about three photos on Thanksgiving and none of them contained humans. So here's Brendon and I decorating our tree over the weekend. Which is more Christmasy than Thanksgiving, but whatever! Turkey Day is the gateway to Christmas.

I hope you all had a marvelous Thanksgiving, full of food, family and friends, relaxation; whatever floats your boat. We did our usual family hopping, so we had two meals in one day. It was fantastic, though by the end of the day I seriously thought I might be going into labor from fullness. I felt like I was going to POP.

I thought a lot over the weekend about being thankful and all the things I'm thankful for. What started out as a lovely weekend ended up with me basically being an immobile achy baby by Sunday. I'm not sure if I've just officially entered the rough stage of late pregnancy or if I just had too much fun (running a 5k followed by multiple long car rides? YOU WILL PAY!), but I have been struggling. So thinking of the many things I'm thankful for is a sort perfect therapy. This is written more for me than anyone else. I am a very lucky human and have a gazillion things to be thankful for, but I'd like to touch on the big ones.

I am very thankful to be where we are. I'm thankful that we're here in Temple, that Brendon is doing what he loves, and that I have the chance to be a partial stay at home catmom/baby grower. We are very lucky to be where we are in life, and although it did come with a lot of hard work, I'm thankful that we're here. Yes, I am thankful to be in Temple, which I like more everyday. Someone slap me.

I'm thankful for family. I have a crazy typical American family with a heaping dash of dysfunction and quirks, and I love it. There's nothing perfect or normal about our family, but I am very glad for every last one of them. Even if they stress me out (multiplied by hormones) and I may grumble about them, they are all wonderful. I am especially grateful for my parents, who have been extra supportive during this crazy time of growing a human. You guys are gonna be the best grandparents. I'm real thankful for that.

My grandpa passed away over the weekend, an odd thing to mention during a list of thankfulness, I know. But we were luckily able to see right before, and I'm thankful for that. He wasn't able to say much, but he was awake and he knew who we were. We told him about his great grand-baby again and he rubbed my belly for a while and mouthed the word baby. Beyond him to have been able to meet our little lady, I can't have asked for much more. I'm not one to get real sentimental, but you guys, that was a moment for me. One I will never ever forget. Being able to say goodbye isn't something everyone gets the chance to do, and I'm very grateful that we were able to.

I am so so thankful for the little life growing in my ever expanding belly! This girl is wrecking havoc on my body right now, but I'm so grateful for the ability and chance to be her mom that it's totally okay. Every time she kicks me, even when it hurts, it's a happy moment. Because she's alive and healthy and I suspect... a little feisty! Sometimes I think about meeting her and her actually being here and I can't handle it. I just want to explode with excitement. Don't get me wrong, I'm extra nervous and slightly terrified, but deep down I know it will all be okay. And it will all be worth it. There's a big change for us right around the corner and I don't think any one is ever ready for it, but gosh, I'm thankful for it. I am so thankful for her.

You knew this was coming, but damn, I am so thankful for Brendon. Y'all don't even know. There aren't enough words out there to describe the depth of my love and gratitude for that man, especially these days. He is my rock and my sunshine and my home. I am beyond thankful that he found me and that we've had so many adventures all these years. And I honestly don't know how I would survive being pregnant without him. This is a group effort, for sure. He has been there for me every second of the way and I would have legit perished on the couch months ago without him. He is the most patient human in the world with me. And I mean, with me, because I don't know if you've dealt with Brendon, but he does not have a whole bunch of patience in general. But with me, endless patience. Not something I can say for myself. He listens to me complain, does anything and everything he can for me, supports me in every endeavor, and loves me no matter how puffy and zit covered I might be. He loves the Seahorse and talks to her and rubs my belly and says he can't wait to meet her and I die every time. He's the best thing in the world, and I am so so SO thankful for him.

Those are the big ones. I am a lucky lady. Hormones, exhaustion, and pain (the joys of pregnancy!) are keeping me from functioning at my highest level of sunshine and rainbows, but through it all, I am so happy. I have low moments, but it doesn't take much to remind me that I am fortunate. And even at the lowest moments, I am thankful. (But for real though, the back pain can skedaddle whenever it wants.)

Turkey Day recap

Brendon and I decided to try and "skip" Thanksgiving this year. Brendon was working and I was in serious need of quiet chillaxation. So we decided to just hole up in the apartment, relax, and put up Christmas decorations (my favorite part of Thanksgiving!). Of course, that didn't happen.

We had a mini Thanksgiving the night before at our place with Brendon's mom and little bro, and my mom, her friend Ray, and my sister came up for the day of. Lots of food, lots of dishes, and unfortunately, no relaxing. However it was really great to see family and totally worth it.

My mom brought up and made all the food so I didn't really have to cook any of the Thanksgiving dinner, but I was in charge of dessert because, duh. And I'll give you a hint, the recipes came from certain cookbook I've been fawning over for weeks. I MUST MAKE ALL THE RECIPES.

I made two desserts, one for chocolate lovers, a chocolate silk pie, and a more traditional Thanksgiving dessert, a pumpkin cheesecake.

And this is what happened to the latter:

It fell, no, tumbled, to it's demise. It was in the fridge cooling, perched on top of our water filter pitcher (Thanksgiving = ZERO fridge space), and in the midst of the craziness in our tiny kitchen it fell from it's perch, bouncing down all the shelves, landing in a pile on the floor. I had high hopes for this little guy. It took me forever to make, mostly because I had to crush 100 gingersnap cookies (slight exaggeration) by hand for the crust. And I don't even want to talk about how long it took us to find that size tart dish. So when it fell, I had a "moment" in the kitchen, and I cried.

Luckily, I had also made the best pie in the world, so it was okay.

 

This pie you guys. I am obsessed. One of my favorite foods in the world is chocolate mousse and this pie is basically a chocolate mousse pie, covered in freshly whipped cream and chocolate shavings. I mean, it's heavenly. I plan on skipping the crust and just making little bowls of this goodness next time. IT IS SO GOOD, Y'ALL. So good.

And here are the holiday mug group shots:

Sheesh, someones immature, who does bunny ears anymore?

It was a good Thanksgiving, full of family and good food. To wrap up the night Brendon and I put up some Christmas decorations and then curled up on the couch and watch Elf to ring in the Christmas season. It was a good day. And the leftovers are phenomenal.

And coming soon, our ridiculous Christmas tree!

Happy THANKSgiving!

Happy Turkey Day, y'all! How are you spending this day of thankfulness? Stuffing your face with deliciousness surrounded by loved ones? Relaxing? Working, getting that time and a half? Far away from home? Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, have a good Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday. I know, I know, I live and breathe Christmas, but still. Thanksgiving is like Christmas with out the stress. You've got the hope and promise of a whole month of holiday cheer ahead of you. You're surrounded by family without the stress of presents and gifts (don't get me wrong, I love presents, but you know what I mean). The point of the holiday is to get together with your family, eat some great food, chill out, and be thankful. I am thankful for this wonderful life I live everyday, and so often I think, how did I get so lucky? Since today is the biggest day of the year for saying thank you, I am going to blog my thanks. This is going to be long, because I am thankful for a whole lot. Feel free to skip it and continue munching on turkey or giggling with your family; this is about me and your Thanksgiving should be about you.

I am thankful for pharmacy school. SAY WHAT? You're going to lead off with PHARMACY SCHOOL? Yes. Because it means that Brendon and I are living the dream. We are right on track with where we've always wanted to be. Brendon has to work his butt (and brain) off, but he's doing so well and I'm so proud. Not every one gets this opportunity, and I am thankful that Brendon did. I am thankful for all of the wonderful people he has met through pharmacy school, friends and teachers and pharmacists. I am thankful that he is stressed and studying nonstop, because that means he actually cares about what he's doing. And I am thankful that we are almost done with half of our second year, because four years is a long time and it is nice that time is flying.

I am thankful for my job. This "job" has turned into so much more than I had ever imagined. I am thankful for this wonderful company for having so much faith in me, for giving me the confidence to do things I never thought I could, and for helping me kick butt and take names at work everyday. Thank you, Coffee Bean, for creating such a fun work environment where I laugh my way through my days. I am thankful for all the fantastic people I've worked with that have become such good friends and for working at a place that feels more like a family than a company. And of course, I am thankful I come home smelling like espresso beans everyday. Because it could be way worse.

I am thankful for this city we live in. I am thankful that we landed in Austin and that we've made our home here. I am thankful that we live in such a forward thinking city, in a state that is not always so progressive. Thankful that we didn't hate it forever and love it now. Thankful that we've learned our way around this big city and have found our little niche in it. Austin is such a fun, beautiful city. I am thankful for our small corner of it, in this big apartment with the little kitchen, that we don't pay too much for. I am thankful for all of the wonderful things we are so close to, for being minutes away from downtown, from parks, from lakes, and there is always something to do. And I am thankful for all of the good things Austin has brought us. You've thrown lots of challenges at us Austin, but you've also been very good to us. Thank you for being such a good little big city.

I am thankful for Sophie and Greg. THESE CATS. You know how I love them. I am thankful that they fell into our lives and allowed us to be their humans. I am thankful that they are healthy and fluffy and let us cuddle with them (sometimes). And I am thankful that Sophie let me hold her in the kitchen the other day for five minutes straight when I felt truly terrible and extra lonely. She let me sing to her and she purred the whole time. If you know Sophie, this is not the norm. I am thankful that Greg is always excited to see us (and give us headbutts) and that he loves us so dearly. I am thankful that these cats know the sound of our cars and our footsteps and come meeting us at the door when we get home. There's nothing cuter than sitting on the couch with Sophie and Greg, hearing Brendon pull up, and seeing them perk up and run to the door. And it makes me feel extra special when Greg runs and hides when it's anyone but us coming through that door. I am thankful that I am a crazy cat lady and married a crazy cat man, because I know, I know, it's spinster material with this paragraph here.

I am thankful for my friends, here and far away. I am thankful for you all, thankful for those of you in Austin, those of you in North Texas, and those of you who are spread across North America and chilling in the Pacific Ocean (shout out to the Chistys). Thank you all for being so fun, so weird, and putting up with Brendon and I. I am thankful that we have made such GOOD friends. Friends that are there for you no matter what. Friends that feel and are more like family. I am thankful for the quality of friends that have stuck around for the long haul. And I am extra thankful for my best friend Kristy. For her and her wonderful daughter Kennedy and her sweet husband Ryan who have welcomed us into their family. I am so lucky to have snatched her as a bff all those years ago. I miss and love you. One day we'll live in the same city again!

I am thankful for my family. I am so so so thankful for my family. I am thankful that they are just a couple cities down the road instead of a couple hundred of miles away. And that both Brendon and my families live in the same town and that they get along! I am thankful that we have so many "families", and at a time like the holidays when seeing them all might seem stressful, I am grateful that we have so many to see! And that they are all so awesome and fun. I am thankful that my family loves Brendon and his family loves me, that I have been welcomed into his family from day one, and vice versa. I am thankful for all of my wonderful family members across the state and across the country. We have family everywhere. We miss all of you and although we don't get to see you nearly as often as we'd like, we are thankful for the times we have had together. And thankful for the internet for keeping us all connected and making the distance feel so much smaller! Families are never perfect but I wouldn't trade ours for anything in the world.

And of course, you knew this part was coming, I am thankful for my husband. I am thankful for Brendon Hogan. Oh, how I am thankful for him. I am the luckiest girl alive. I am thankful to have met my other half at such a young age, to have had all of these years with him. I am thankful that I fall more in love with him everyday, that I have never been crazier about him than I am now. I am thankful for all that he is, that he is so smart, so funny, and so kind. Thankful that he is such a badass, such a hard worker and so determined. I am thankful that he puts up with me and my shenanigans. I am thankful that he loves me. That he married me, that he loves us as much as I do and works hard at us everyday. That we are never bored together, that there is never any amount of time together that is too much. That as soon as he walks out the door I want him to come back. I am thankful that he is so supportive and has more faith in me than I do in myself. I am thankful that he takes care of me, helps me remember all the things I forget, helps me up when I fall (figuratively and literally), and that he always knows what medications I can and cannot take together. I am thankful that he is handsome and getting more handsome everyday, because, yes, I am shallow and it is really nice that my husband is cute. I am thankful for this loving life we've created for ourselves, for how far we've come and how hard we've worked. I could write about how grateful I am for this man all day, it seems cruel to fit it all into a paragraph. Simply, I am thankful that he exists, that we found each other, and that we are happy.

I have a good life. It is not always easy, but it is good and filled with good things. And as often as I say "I am lucky", it is not luck. Brendon and I have worked hard for this life. We have busted our butts everyday for who knows how long to be where we are, to have this wonderful life. We surround ourselves with good and push out the bad. And I am thankful that we are capable of this. Thankful that so many people in our lives are too. And I wish nothing but the same for everyone. It's your life, do with it what you want. And that's the best part, you can. Above all, I am thankful for this. The ability to live life and live it well. Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.

Thanksgiving!

Happy belated Thanksgiving to you all! I hope you had a fantastic day filled with family, thankfulness, and yummy food. We sure did! We got to eat Thanksgiving dinner, twice! First with my momma and Brendon's family, then at my daddio's. It was a pretty wonderful day. And of course we are verrrry thankful for all the greatness we have in our lives! But we are thankful for that everyday!

 My momma was the head chef! Seriously y'all, she's the bomb at cooking and this feast was no exception. Everything I know about cooking, I learned it from her. And google.

Scary much? That electric carving knife means business. Of course, this was posed, there's no way I'd ever use that thing. Someone (me) would lose a finger at least.

 The business. SO LEGIT. I wait all year for this feast. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, rolls with honey butter (that I made! I'll have to share the recipe sometime), tamales, and of course, everything was smothered in gravy.

Brendon and his little brother made cute little post-it note place cards for everyone. Mine said "Best Sweater" and "Santa's Little Helper", I think Brendon's said, "Most Muscles" and "The Cleverest of them All". Might have been a little biased.

Post feast, we had a little mini family photo shoot! Everyone was trying out the "hooters" pose. I'm telling you people, it works. Get those hands on your hips.

Brendon and AJ goofin' around. I think Brendon was trying to live up to his "Most Muscles" place card.

The group shot! This was a feat, no joke, the camera was on a 10 second self timer while sitting on top of the tv. We had to get creative. One day we'll invest in a tripod.

Next up was Thanksgiving numbero dos at my dad's house! Although we were pretty much ready to pop, we ate and ate some more! And then had dessert!

The spread! Everything was delish, my step mom did a fantastic job, the mashed sweet potatoes were my favorite. I think my step brother and I were twiddling our thumbs for some reason. My dad obviously had some boogies.

And not only was it Thanksgiving, but it was my step brother Jason's 22nd birthday! Check out that cake, doesn't it look super perfect? My step mom has wicked icing skills.

Jason and his birthday loot. Look at that cat card! Pretty much my favorite card I've made so far. Classy gentleman cat for life.

Basically I think Thanksgiving might become my favorite holiday. It might be tied with Christmas. It's a tough call. It was so good to see family, eat great food, and just soak in the goodness. I was a happy camper for sure! And that evening, we went and saw Breaking Dawn. All I am going to say is I enjoyed it and can't wait for part 2. And I feel better about being so pale, I'll just pretend I'm a Cullen.

Coming up soon, Christmas arrives at the Hogan residence. PREPARE YOURSELVES. The most magical time of the year is upon us!

Mostly this is just rambling

Things have been wacky lately! Time is going by too quickly and I cannot seem to keep up. I can't believe Thanksgiving is a week from tomorrow. I must apologize profusely to my dear second favorite holiday of the year because it seems to have been thrown by the wayside this year. I'm the holiday queen and all, but this month has been nuts. But I did it big the past two years and cooked the big feasts solo, so I feel like it's okay to not do it so big this year. Sorry little pine cone turkey decorations, you'll get your chance next year I promise. We'll be spending turkey day with my mom and Brendon's family and then we'll do it all over again with my dad, or maybe vice versa. Regardless, I ready to chow down on some grub and am so excited to be close to home this year! As much as I enjoyed our Denton Thanksgivings, it's not quite the same without everyone all together.

In other news, our tv broke. This is a big deal y'all. First world problems, I know, I know. Although we rarely watch actual television, we watch a lot of movies. Like a LOT. It's how we unwind and de-stress. We are movie fanatics! And our tv was our baby. Brendon saved up forever and ever to get it a few years ago and it's a nice little tv so it was really heartbreaking when it stopped working. Thankfully it is still under warranty. Unfortunately, we had to ship it to Samsung in NEW JERSEY to get it fixed (which they will hopefully be able to do). Who ships tvs across the country??? We do. We had to order this crazy special box (that they sent the wrong size of) and bought a gigantic roll of bubble tape to wrap it and pack it up with. I wrote all over the box FRAGILE and THIS SIDE UP about a hundred times. I am very nervous for our little tv's big trip across the country and hope that it comes back to us safely in working condition. Because Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 just came out and is sitting in our living room begging to be watched. And so are all my favorite holiday movies. Have a safe and speedy journey little tv! We miss you!