Old friends

Julia and I had lunch the other day. It was so good to see her! Love you Julia!

My brothers are back together sans a few

Triangle was fun and corn hole was fierce(to quote Morgan).

Christmas T-Shirts

Mom was very clever and bought everyone t-shirts from their favorite Christmas movies.

 

Elf – Kathryn

The Polar Express – Jennifer and Hannah

The Griswold’s Christmas Vacation – Chris, Beau and Alex

 

This is a perfect picture. Love the looks…

 

Merry Christmas Y'all

Fall

Hannah had a fall on the ice today. Thank goodness there was no camera handy when I fell!

Stoic

Chris and stoic Evan.

Whooped

We came upstairs to find dad asleep at the table.

Thankful Thursday - Take 59

1159. That tomorrow is a half day of work and then I’m on vacation!

1160. Great family fun times with the Evans’ family.

 

1161. Baking, baking and more baking…

1162. Baked goodies from others

1163. Smiles and laughter at work

1164. Some relaxation on the couch with the hubster and out dog.

1165. Homemade Bolognese. Nothing better.

 

1166. Laughing with Pop-Pop

1167. Phone calls with dad in the morning.

1168. Dreams of the future and what could be

1169. New opportunities

1170. That Beau has been able to see how many people truly love and respect him. Some people never get to know what good things people think and feel. We’re blessed

 

1171. Fresh fruit

1172. Clean water to drink.

1173. The “break” in our air conditioner was only a $45 problem. Whew!

1174. Seeing Josh and Kelly on Monday. We love them so much!

 

The Macintosh

Kelly Josh K and I went to Mac for dinner. Josh and K had the dunkel and Kelly and I got burgers. Bone marrow bread pudding for all. Fun night. Lots of talk of seeing more of one another soon. Ya never know.

Mom's present

She was so emotional. Love her. Experiential gift to the Sanctuary that all 3 of us will enjoy. Look at Frasier sneaking in the picture.

Christmas with the Evans clan

Fun time on Sunday. Good goofy gift exchange and Grandma seemed to have a good time. Funny hats were worn by all.

Basketball

Last night my alma mater, Anderson University played Beau’s alma mater, College of Charleston in basketball. We took that opportunity to invite some friends that live in the area that I went to school with.

 

We had a great time with dinner beforehand and fun conversation during it. (The girls didn’t really watch the game, but the guys did.)

 

I love these girls!

 

Thankful Thursday - Take 58

1147. Visit with Pop-Pop last night

1148. Cold weather is back for December!

1149. Neighborhood parties that help us meet people

1150. Hard work

 

1151. Christmas baking

1152. All day phone conversations with my seesta

1153. Completion of another semester of school. It feels so good.

1154. A month long break from school. (Our longest break  yet.)

1155. Creativity

 

1156. Exciting opportunities

1157. Smiles

1158. A smart, handsome and fun husband that makes me want to be a better woman, wife and friend

Star spangled banner flag

My camp has put up a flag pole on Castle Pinckney in the harbor and our first flag to fly there was the flag that flew there at the start of the War of 1812. This is a replica of the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key so many years ago. Huge flag. 10 x 15 I think.

Thankful Thursday - Take 57

1134. Heat in our work building!

1135. Pasta dinners

 

1136. Christmas season is here

1137. Traditions

1138. Setting up the Christmas tree with Beau on Sunday

1139. Champagne punch

1140. Prayers

 

1141. Loving friends

1142. My husband’s character

1143. Great relationship with my MIL

1144. Lessons in humility

1145. A heart of giving

 

1146. Freebies

 

New

Two new drinks we tried!

Christmas Carols

Beau was practicing and singing to me. Isn't picturesque?

Tradition

Our champagne punch to decorate our christmas tree tonight!

Thankful Thursday - Take 56

1120. Brie. Oh how I love thee.

 

1121. A wonderful first Thanksgiving at our house with Donna. Super relaxing day with great people and great food.

1122. Seeing friends the evening of Thanksgiving.

1123. Getting off of work early.

1124. Pound cake that I didn’t have to make. Thanks Rosa!

1125. Big pots of soup that last days as my lunch meal!

 

1126. A heater from the boss man.

1127. Working with gentlemen.

1128. Shared recipes, ingredients and time with a wonderful neighbor.

1129. A new refrigerator! And water and ice that comes out of the door!

1130. Clean water to drink.

 

1131. Being able to help others.

1132. Phone calls from loved ones

1133. Netflix

 

This is the start of the 4th.

Turns out those 4 fingers would mean more. Check out those seats. They were so high up we got frequent flyer miles.

Night falls. Getting ready to head into the stadium.

Tailgating before the game.

Good Information

I usually run through eggs pretty quickly and end up buying a dozen almost weekly. But for others out there, here’s some interesting information that I didn’t know…until today.

 

HOW TO TELL WHEN TO TOSS

If you’re still feeling iffy about whether to use those eggs or toss them, there’s a foolproof method to help you decide. Put the egg in question in a tall glass of water. If it sinks, it’s still good, if it floats, toss it out. As eggs age, their yolks shrink, leaving air pockets inside the shell. Once there is enough air inside the shell to float the egg altogether, your best bet is to go buy a new batch. You can also get a rough sense of the age of an egg by the color of the white: it’s freshest when cloudy, starting to age when clear, and time to toss when it’s pinkish.

 

 

Kindness

My office building is quite cold in the winter. (As you all noted in yesterday’s post with the temperature reading 46 degrees inside of the building.

 

I guess Rosa and I wore down our boss, Lee, because we came into work this morning with two radiant heaters at each of our desks. He says he had them in the garage, but I think he went out and bought them for us.

 

Kindness. It’s contagious.

 

Temperature

It is currently 37 degrees outside and only 46 degrees inside my work building. 46 degrees! My fingers are so cold I can barely type and our printer keeps jamming because it’s so cold! I need an electric blanket!

 

Leftovers

I feel so resourceful! I've been saving my vegetable scraps in the freezer and boiled them down to make vegetable stock. And I took leftover steak bones and lamb bones and made beef stock! Seven jars worth! Lots of money saved!

Thankful Thursday - Take 55

1108. I’m thankful Thanksgiving is almost here! For I love Thanksgiving and all that comes with it. For me, parades, pajamas and smoked turkey with Beau and Donna.

 

Tell me if I’m being irrational. I buy “perfect” apples and bananas from the grocery store. I spend what seems like minutes picking out just the right ones. I put them in the plastic bag and lay them gently in my cart. I am standing in front of the cash register watching the cashier throw my perfect fruit down the conveyor belt. They are now bruised. I didn’t want to pay for bruised fruit. But I don’t want to call the high schooler out and make him/her feel bad. But I don’t want to take home bruised fruit. What do I do? Does this plague anyone else?

 

Back to being thankful…

 

Thankful for:

 

1109. Nights at home with the hubster, walking Argos in the cold with that hubster and falling asleep on the couch watching a documentary while Argos sleeps ON me. J Nothing better.

1110. Thanksgiving luncheons at work. Just a prequel to the real thing next week.

 

1111. Knees that will still get me up when I have gone down.

1112. Homemade everything: jam, bread, dinner, ornaments. There’s something so nice when you look at something and know you put time into it. Christmas cookies here I come!

1113. A down comfortor that is about to come out of the upstairs closet and live in my room for the next three months.

1114. Free passes to the Biltmore. What a gift to us!

1115. Reminders that I learn new things every day. Therefore, I should be patient while others are learning.

 

1116. God’s love of me all day, every day. Every single second and minute of the day. Thanks for that.

1117. A snuggler in Argos. What a gem.

1118. Silly moments. What fun!

1119. Freedom in budgets and saving.

 

Great memories made for a lifetime!

 

I love fun pictures with your mouth open!

 

No, I was not going to drop Evan. It just LOOKED like I was. I am so funny.

Citadel Homecoming

Apparently, dad likes putting the really big happy smile on. Wear it proudly dad! We had a super weekend!

2012 Charleston Cup

Beau and I went to the 2012 Charleston Cup on Sunday with Rosa and Mikey and two of their friends, Jason and Jackie. This was our first time going to a horse race and it was a lot of fun. Interesting for sure. We had a great time tailgating and enjoying the fantastic weather!

 

Charleston cup

After the gamecocks beat Arkansas on sat we tailgated again on Sunday at the Charleston Cup. It was an interesting day and Kathryn's and my relationship keeps getting better and better. Just like our tennis outting, fun, but probably won't be back anytime too soon.

Round 2 of the supper club

Great night with everyone and we made Chinese that was better than any restaurant I've ever been. Fried green beans and egg plant. Dumprings. Chicken somethin it another. Really fun.

Josh in town and triple D experience

Josh came into town for work and while K went to a lecture at the Citadel (what a good student) we got drinks at squeeze. A couple manhattans in K showed up and we decided to try the Tattooed Moose that we saw on Diners, Driveins, and Dives. We have the duck club and the pork belly sandwich. Great but checked that box and probably won't be back anytime too soon. Really expensive and coated in mayonnaise. Fun night.

In the face. In tha face!

I want my mom

So mom is down in Orlando at a real estate convention and I'm keeping Frasier. He's pouting as you can see and and even though I fixed wet food and cheese he refuses to eat. He's going to be a thin dog when Donna comes back.

Sweetwater Café needs to update their menu

Evan was clearly not impressed with the selections. In fact, it bored him to sleep.

A night out with the fan

During Tony's big 35th anniversary homecoming weekend we took some time out as brothers and sisters to go out downtown. This was taken at Kathryn and my favorite bar, Squeeze, where we had a fun night of cocktails and stories. We then went to Magnolia's for dinner and I got some great stories about what it was like to grow up with Kathryn as your big sister.

Thankful Thursday - Take 54

1095. Passing out candy to the Trick or Treaters. So much fun!

 

1096. Chili time is here! I love it!

1097. Gamecocks won!

1098. Great message by Buster on Sunday. That took guts and we were proud.

1099. Brunch with Donna, Tea break for Pop-Pop and a delicious dinner with the hubster. Great day on Sunday!

1100. Warm clothes in the cold weather.

 

1101. The right and privilege to vote.

1102. Family in town to celebrate Dad’s reunion and The Citadel.

1103. Shopping with a girlfriend after work. I haven’t done that in a long time!

1104. No class Tuesday

1105. Hanging out with my siblings Saturday night.

 

1106. A great friend willing to babysit in a crunch. Thank you Sara!

1107. My wonderful husband. I’m truly blessed.

Halloween

As you all know, Beau and I don’t have children…yet. But we have a great dog. Argos! We dressed him up as a skeleton for Halloween and he looked so adorable, I squeeled! He walked around all evening stiff-legged because it was uncomfortable or he didn’t know what to do with clothes. But it made him docile to the children that came for candy, which was good.

 

After an evening of costumes, candy, chili and a scary movie, Argos was all tuckered out. We laid him to sleep in his bed with his covers on him. So sweet.

 

Thankful Thursday - Take 53

1085. Walks in the park

 

1086. A relaxing weekend of not traveling ANYWHERE

1087. An interesting field trip with our class

1088. Dinner with Sara. We had a great time talking and catching up over some Thai food!

1089. Not a scratch on me after a car accident on Monday.

1090. Great conversations about dreams with the hubster.

 

1091. Laughing at Argos.

1092. A gift from my mother. A new flag to hang on the outside of the house!

1093. Hilarious pictures of my niece. (See photo.) Notice the different shoes. Jennifer (her mother and my sister kept asking if she could fix her panties. Riley’s response was “No mommy, don’t touch.)

1094. Pasta. We have it so much this week. Beau’s a happy man.