Thanksgiving week

i'm resigned to the fact that when i finally get to posting these days

they are ginormous and have lots of info and pictures in order to keep me up to date

there are so many things swarming through my mind and "to do" lists right now

i can't seem to catch a break or breath!

these first pics are of my cousin's wedding a week ago

she was married in this quaint little chapel in the country

it was so idyllic, i just loved it and wished i had captured better photos of it all

molly wore this adorable pink skirt/vest combo from janie and jack

i purchased over a year ago on a huge clearance sale

i love that store, but only buy when things are about 75-90% off!

after the wedding we went outside and i was trying to capture some good shots

but she was having too much fun goofing around!

my mom and molly matched!

i loved amber's wedding dress

it was so adorable!

and aren't they the cutest couple ever?

they look alike

that always amazes me...when couples resemble each other

like it was just meant to be!

my cousin, amber, me, and molly

a couple self portraits for the record...

 i bought a new iphone (my first smartphone ever) a month ago

and am loving having a "good" camera handy when i want to take a quick pic!

my cousin gary and his family

this was across from the chapel

i though it was such a great picture and would make a wonderful halloween scene!

here if molly ready for church the sunday prior to thanksgiving

on wednesday, before thanksgiving, molly and i went out on a nature walk to cut some fresh greenery for my christmas decorations

it was a lovely fall day!

after our nature walk we went out for a japanese lunch 

sushi for me and fried rice for molly

i thought it would be nice to have something different before the big meal

then we went for ice cream!

for thanksgiving this year i made turkey and dressing for the first time!

it turned out really yummy!

i was a  bit stressed out on thursday, worried if mine would meet expectation (of my grandmothers)

but it was fine! 

i used 2 packs of martha white cornbread mix and 1/2 a loaf of bakery white bread that was so delicious!

my turkey browned a bit much b/c i forgot to put a tent over it at the last few minutes

but it was still gorgeous, tender, and juicy!

i glazed it with a orange marmalade/orange juice/honey concoction every 30 minutes

my little turkey ready to go to her cousin's house!

we had so much food, as usual!

cupcakes, apple turnovers, and made from scratch german chocolate cake!

the picture is blurry, but deserves to be seen...

all the sides...potato casserole, dressing, broccoli rice casserole, succotash, corn, green beans...

and here is my dressing

it looked like my grannies and almost tasted like hers

she has always put chopped boiled eggs in her dressing and they aren't typically included in most dressing recipes that i've come across

but i added them in to my mixture

it's good!

more desserts!

carrot cake, cranberry tarts, chocolate ganache pie, coconut/pecan pie

and the cousins

molly, 4; madison, 6; eddie 5

they played so well together for the most part

i can tell they are growing up and it's both sad and fun to see

they kept themselves busy playing

running out and inside

and the women sat around the table laughing and talking

they really love each other!!

the whole gang

what i'm most thankful for...

my cousin's, kayla & kelsie

such cuties!

 now, on to our big day on saturday (after thanksgiving)

 our public library has a great children's events section

they perform traditional marionette puppet shows each week

this month's special is cinderella and molly and i went to the saturday morning presentation

if you are local, you should definitely go and see one of these shows with your child!

 she was all dressed up

 i didn't take in my big camera for convenience

so these are blurry, but i wanted to show how into it she was

 it was really crowded, but she walked right on up to find a seat where she could see

and she didn't take her eyes off the show the whole time!

it was really good!

 here the puppeteers came out to show them the strings and puppets

 after that, we went to the country music hall of fame

i heard santa was there offering free pics to kids

and he was!

so we stopped by to see him (our 3rd picture with santa so far this year....can you say obsessed?)

and while we were there, we had lunch and enjoyed this guitarist

 molly loves music, so she was totally happy to have a seat right in front and watch him play christmas songs while we ate

she would sing along to what she knew and i think he was afraid she may steal the show! ha!

after lunch we went to the nashville children's theater to watch

you're a good man, charlie brown

we've been to several shows there and molly loves it

i may sign her up for acting classes this summer if she seems interested

they have a good camp

finally, i had to post these pictures...

somebody loves chocolate!

she will sneak into the candy jar and go behind the chair in the den to eat it when she knows she's not supposed to

later on, when i'm cleaning or vacuuming i'll see these little "remnants"

it cracks me up!

and sometimes, i'll know she's been into chocolate (because she's still chewing it) but she'll say no she's not

so here she is in mama maze's bed after one of her sneaky snacks

and she said she was doing "nothing" then smiled

i had to take a picture immediately!

it was so funny! 

almost all of my fall and thanksgiving decorations are put away

christmas decorations are almost all out

shopping is virtually done

the only bad part is that i've shopped all year and have forgotten what i had already purchased

i'm going to start doing a better job about that in the future by keeping a runnning list of exactly what was purchased

christmas cards are ordered and almost addressed

many plans are in the works for the month of christmas!

we will be busy girls!

i'll post along the way for my records and my memory mainly

i'm possibly facing a christmas time surgery

i'm really praying that it won't happen, so if you are a praying person i'd appreciate it so much!

i've been really sick since september

it started as a bad sinus infection/allergic reaction

then went into bronchitis and probably walking pneumonia

i was {stupidly} sick for 6 weeks before i ever went to the doctor

it was a busy time, with the start of school, molly's bday, our trip to disney, etc.

so i kept pushing myself and hoping i'd clear up

it never did

so after i finally went to the dr. all of my sinuses were completely full of infection and not drying/draining (?) at all

i've been on strong antibiotics and steroids for about 6 weeks now and it's not really helping much

in fact the side effects are really annoying

i'm not used to taking any medication and now i'm on several pills, inhalers, and nasal sprays each day

i'm so over it!

so, they are taking one last cat scan the first week of december and will make a final decision on whether or not i need to have sinus surgery

and right now, all signs are pointing to yes

honestly, i would love to feel good again

but, the thought of sinus surgery makes me tremble b/c it doesn't sound fun at all

i just wanted to put that out there in case anyone had experience with this kind of illness/surgery

maybe you can offer me some advice or pointers!

i have a high tolerance for pain, so i think i'll be fine

but...you know how things sound when you talk to others about it! ha!

onto some good news...

look who flew into town this week straight from the north pole!

he played on our ipad last night b/c when we got up he had typed a note and was playing christmas music on it! 

that sneaky elf!!

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

Thanksgiving week