Thanksgiving Eve Dinner

Hey guys! It's Thanksgiving Eve!!!!!!!!!!! If you haven't seen it...or you are reading this a day too late and missed it check out Google today.

One last farewell from all of our turkey friends as we prepare them for cookin.' See ya later tasty friend!

Last night D and I decided to make our own little Thanksgiving since we won't be able to be together this year. We made ham, home-made mashed pots/gravy, and green bean casserole. I also made my oh so yummy pumpkin spice cheesecake for tomorrow.

 Just a lil pre-Thanksgiving dinner to get a taste of all the goodness to come.

 Of course Dez had to get some of this Thanksgiving feast...with a little cheesecake on the side for dessert

Making my pumpkin cheesecake.....I cannot wait until tomorrow to eat ahhh!

Safe travels to everyone on the road and have a grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat time with your family, friends, and feast!

Save a Turkey, Eat a Pig

Whew, what a crazy week..and it's only Tuesday! I have been runnin all around the 757 & 252 and it's not over yet!

Hope every one's Thanksgiving week is going well! I am sooo pumped and ready for Thursday I cannot even concentrate at work..I'm worthless!

I am going to have to play catch up since it's been so long since my last post....

 So-hooray for the Cowboy's & their win Sunday against those Redskins. We made a Dallas pizza for Sunday funday.

 It got pretty chilly last week! I kinda dig it...Dez doesn't

Last week I went to the Country Deli for lunch...boy was it good! I thought their business shells were too cute-I had to share!

Like I said, I am very excited for Thanksgiving...here are a few things that I am excited about/thankful for:

 These are soooooo good! Anything that is pumpkin spice I'm down with. Thanks Mom for picking these babies up for me!

 Thankful for my little fam...D, me, and Dez. Also, thankful for my other family and friends :)

 Whenever I go into this store it means crafts are about to happen...it also means my wallet is a little skinner-oops

 God Bless this place. I have a slight obsession, but we don't have one on the OBX so whenever I'm in civilization I go Chicka crazy!

I went to Running Etc. today with Rachie1 and we got ourselves some new tenny-pumps for running! I hope to run the Santa Claus Shuffle 5K in December, and these babies are gonna help me do that!

Also, I'm thankful for...life, my job (because so many don't have one), health, wealth (or at least some change in my pocket), all of the opportunities available to me, family/friends, life's basic necessities (water, power, food, shoes, roof over my head-that more people than we think do not have these things), delish food to eat with great people on Thursday, and I could go on forever.................

What are you thankful for? Any special plans for Thanksgiving???

Case of the Monday's

Good afternoon all! After a great weekend (aren't all weekends great though...at least in my book), I have a serious case of the Monday's. I hope that I'm not getting sick, but on top of it being day 1 of 5 my head hurts, and I am so drowsy. Hopefully that will clear up after I soak in some of this great weather during lunch.

Here in the office you can tell, it's that kind of day...

To re-cap all we did this weekend...Friday was a pretty low-key night...I closed the week by starting my 5K training at the Y. I was very proud that I got through it and even ran longer and more than the "Couch to 5K" plan instructed. All this marathon buzz in the air lately has gotten me motivated...hopefully I'll be ready for the real deal in the Spring! Then, my parents came into town, and we went to dinner and came home and vegged on the couches.

Saturday Mom, Renee and I went to the Cottage Shop for their Christmas Open house. Then met back up with Dad, Steve and Dillon and all rode down to Hatteras. We were starving and needed our "energies" so we could walk on the beach, and explore. We stopped at Hatterasman...looked like a good hole-in-the-wall place to eat. Don't get me wrong it was good (my philly chzsteak was at least)...but watch out for those moldy buns..YIKES!

How random is seeing a Tri-Sigma sticker on the bench at Hatterasman? I dig it though...

 After lunch we drove down to the point and went on a great beach-combin' expedition!

 Renee and D lookin' for shells and sea glass...such a sweet picture :)

 The huge dune/cliff on my left as we walk along the beach

 My loot...all the cool shells and piece of driftwood...so excited! I wish I had my own 4WD vehicle-I'd be there all the time lookin' for neat stuff. I even found what we believe to be some sort of shark/dolphin vertebrae

 I also hadn't been to the lighthouse in forever so I made Dad stop so I could have a nice photo-op

Sunday morning bright and early we were woken up by the blaring music from the Sugar Creek restaurant at the crack of dawn for the marathon...at least we woke up to this cute little face

This picture doesn't do the marathon justice...there were 1000s of people down for the race events this weekend. A shout-out to my friend, Anne, who ran the 1/2 Marathon and finished with an 11 minute improvement from her previous 1/2M time.

What a gorgeous day it was! Sunday was spent being lazy and watching the people run by, enjoying the sunshine, the company of family and football.

What did you do this weekend? Anything worth sharing?

11-11-11

I want to start out, in honor of Veteran's Day, with a shout-out to our Veterans, and those who are currently serving and just say thank you for everything you have done, and are doing.

As we all know, today is 11-11-11...how great we get to live though this day that no one can ever re-live!

This week I have 4 things that put a smile to my face:

1. First off, it is Friday...and after a long week full of all day meetings my morning needed DD...and boy was it delish!

2. Today, I am playing Miranda on repeat...love the lyrics

3. When we were in Waves this week for our big company meeting I just had to sneak out for a second and snap a picture of the view right out side the window. A couple good things about that meeting in Waves...good food from Good Winds restaurant, and the view...amazing!



4. Lastly, I died when I saw this bike at the gym a few days ago...how fun is this?

I also took a few pictures while I was down in Waves, Salvo, Rodanthe this past week. It was my first time seeing the wreckage since Irene. For those of you who haven't been down to see it yet-or won't be here are a few (not the greatest-taken while driving) pictures

 The new bridge you now have to drive over...this is where the ocean breached over the land into the sound and created a new island! It was OK to drive over, but I couldn't get over how sketchy it looked.

 This is a pretty terrible picture, partly because I was driving across the sketchy bridge, and taking a picture through the slats of the side of the bridge. I don't know about you but it is crazy/freaky to me how this utility building is just hanging there on a cliff.

These are the houses you get to right when you get into Waves on your right. It is a cul-de-sac of houses. They are now waterfront due to the lake now out front of their door, but it doesn't matter because they can't get to them because the road/driveway is destroyed. Surreal and scary how the power of water can totally change things in such a short time.

Not to bring you down...but just wanted to share!! I hope everyone has a great weekend!



DIY Weekend

Hello all! Hope everyone had a great weekend. Even though it is Monday...at least its the tail-end of it. As you can see Monday's are dreaded by dogs too...or at least Dez.

This past weekend was pretty good in my book. Friday, Renee and I met some of her friends up at Kelly's for the Get Pink breast cancer fundraiser and dinner. Great food, music, and dancing...well...we didn't dance, but watching people dance was a hoot! Saturday, we got up and started some Christmas shopping...and MAN did we get stuff for a STEAL..love my discount! Then we all (add Dillon and Steve) went to eat at Food Dudes for some yummy dinner. While we were there we saw great artwork that we for sure could make...

...after dinner we went home and got to work on our Saturday night DIY project. Sunday is dedicated for church, family, food, and football...which is exactly what we did. We all went to Pete's Pour House and ate nachos, wings, and drank some brews to watch the Cowboys win, and the Redskins lose. After the games we all went home and began brainstorming our next DIY craft idea...

Winter Harness: DIY Project
Dezzie hates the cold...and lately, with these chilly nights she comes in shivering. So I thought that I could beat the $30 price tag of a winter coat/harness and make my own (with the help of Renee). I just traced her harness she already has, added an inch to each arm, and made it longer by 2inches to cover more of her back. See pictures of the process and end result!!!

 Cut out pattern of old harness. Bought velcro, thick thread, ribbon, and D-rings...and of course warm & snuggly fabric.

 Pinned cut out of pattern to reverse side of fabric, and cut

 Sewed on ribbon/D-ring to the right side of the pattern fabric. This is useful if you will be using the coat as a harness. D-ring is to clip on the leash.

 Dez waiting patiently for her new winter harness...and on standby for sizing...she feels special she is getting a custom "outfit" made for her

 Sew together the two patterns. Remeber to sew the two inside out and leave a hole big enough to fit hand in to turn right side out. When pulled through right side out...then sew up the hole! Lastly, we sewed on the velcro.

Dezzie proudly modeling her new cozy winter harness!

Anyone do anything fun this weekend?

Here's a peek at the next DIY we will be trying...so excited! Any guesses? If not...stay tuned for the finished product.

Until next time...have a great wk

It Will Rain

Happy Friday...even though it is raininggg here on the island (don't get too excited...we're just on the OBX). Today's Friday post is short and sweet. The Three Things (songs) that are pulling me though my day...ear buds in...all the way turnt up...singin to myself (sometimes out loud). We're all SO ready to start the weekend, so c'mon Friday work with us!

Now...no judging, but these first two I would have to say my favorite songs of all time. The last...appropriate title for today's weather, but how can you hate a new tune on repeat?

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND FRIENDS!!!

Yummy Piggy

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week! We're almost there, we can do it! Today I'd like to share three things that I am super excited about!!!

1. The BBQ I made was just the right amount of tang, sweet, and melt in your mouth deliciousness...and easier than 1+2!

• Crock pot
• 1 Boston butt
• Root beer (I filled pot up with root beer until 1/2 the pork butt was covered)
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder rubbed into the butt for seasoning
• Cook on high for 4-6 hours, then low until ready to eat
• I added a little more salt, pepper, garlic powder, brown sugar, and cumin (all of which I had) for an extra boost of flavor

2. Carnival Cruise vacation in FEB!!! We'll all be sailing away the first of Feb. from Miami, Key West, and Cozumel. I can't wait...it is going to be the best winter vacation...all in the spirit of Renee Pope's big girl birthday celebration. What's the countdown? 90 days

3. This Friday, I'll be joining Renee at Kelly's for a GET PINKED celebration to help continue to raise money for breast cancer...October isn't the only month we should all be aware! It's going to be a great night full of food, bands, and drinks...a great kick-off to the weekend...and for a good reason!