Brrrrrrr.....

We have had such a beautiful Colorado fall and I have been incredibly thankful for that.  HOWEVER, I'm not quite ready to let go of Fall and jump into this whole freezing cold Winter business. We had a few icy cold days last week and a sprinkling of snow and while it's undeniably beautiful, it quadruples my commute time to work and overall just makes me want to hibernate.  {Desperately need to convince my boss I should work from home from December-March :)}

In true Colorado fashion it is supposed to be back up in the 50s this week so I am thankful our Thanksgiving weather should be perfect.  I am so excited to spend the day celebrating with D's family, eating way too much food, and taking time to remember what this life is really all about.  I'm thankful everyday for the life I have been given but I love dedicating an entire day to being thankful.  I will be missing my family very much this year and hopefully can sneak in a chat/Skype session with them when we're all relaxing in our turkey comas!

On a different note, I love this table setup!  I have almost burned through all of my Thanksgiving candles and I'm really looking forward to busting out the Christmasy ones next weekend.  We are slowly getting out our Christmas decorations and hope to have everything setup by the end of the week.  We are also hoping to have our Save the Dates in the mail by the end of the week!  Busy busy busy time of year but oh so worth it.

We are winding down this Sunday night by watching some Broncos football and eating pizza and wings. :) Healthy food needs to be on the agenda Monday-Wednesday because Thursday is sure to be a belt-buster.

Happy Sunday/Start to Thanksgiving Week!

-T-

Karma

D is in the Army Reserves and once a month he meets up with his Unit and does "Army stuff" as I like to call it because I truly have no idea what they do.  This weekend was one of those weekends.  He played flag football last night after drill and by the time he got home it was nearly midnight. He had left all of his stuff from both Army and football in the car, knowing he was going to repeat the same routine in 7 short hours.

This morning he went out to find that his car had been broken into somehow and his backpack full of a computer and Army paperwork as well as his football bag that unfortunately included his wallet, were stolen.  Our immediate reaction was panic and we started calling all of the people you call in a situation like this: police, bank, insurance carrier, etc.  We got almost everything "taken care of" and I started to break down a little.  We've had a rough couple of weeks.  Yes, we have our health, our home, and our little family.  We are healthy.  The majority of the things taken were just that..."things."  But it's still a violation.  It's a violation of our space, our lives, our "home" practically since the parking lot is just out front of our apartment.

We will get through this like we will get through everything.  I pray for strength every day to face life's challenges.  What I hope these people understand though is that Karma is real and very powerful.  They will get what is coming to them.  And in the meantime, we will continue to be happy for everything we have and cherish the things that no one can take away from us.

It's been 3.5 hours since we found out what had happened and that is all the time we are going to devote to that incident today.  We are going to move forward, watch football, hang out with my sister, cook up some deeeelicious pork loin, and spend time together.  We are going to take this Sunday back and put it to work.  I hope you all are having "less exciting" weekends!

-T-

Yummy dinner ideas

The other night I got home after a long day and wanted something comforting, delicious, and easy for dinner. Enter Kraft to save the day. Please note this post is entirely my own thoughts and opinions I want to share because the meal was so good.

 

All this meal required of me was some chicken, pasta, and mozzarella cheese.  I didn't have any spinach to add like it recommends but I'm sure that would have made it even better.  There are two sauces in the mix.  One you use with the chicken and one with the pasta.  It makes such a delicious, creamy, hearty combination.

I wish I had taken a picture of the finish product but I got distracted by eating it. :)  If you are looking for quick and easy dinner ideas, head to the store and pick up some of these! You can really customize it to whatever you like and it is sure to please any member of the family. 

Happy cooking!

-T- 

Future 'House Husband'

I've joked a lot with D this week and last that if I could just get a raise at work, he would make a lovely 'house husband.'  While I've been working crazy hours and he's been applying for new jobs, he's been cleaning every corner of the house. I am so thankful to truly have a partner in this life.  He is there to pick up the slack on things I just can't manage and he is always encouraging me to cut myself a little slack and believe in my abilities.  I truly would be lost without him!

We continue to pray that he finds a good job with a company that brings a lot of positivity into his life.  He has a lot to offer and I have no doubt he will find something when the time is right.

On a completely different note, I am getting so anxious to decorate for Christmas!! We haven't gathered a whole lot of fall decorations yet and since we will be gone for so much of December we are really looking forward to getting our decorations up so we can enjoy them as long as possible. I am soooo looking forward to this holiday season.  Thanksgiving will be spent here with D's family and Christmas will be back in SD with mine.  This season is our last as an 'unmarried' couple and each month we get more and more excited for what next year has in store for us.  2013 has been filled with far more blessing than heartache and we remind ourselves of that daily!

I hope you all are having a truly wonderful week and remembering the important things in this life.  Tomorrow we are going to D's great aunt Rosie's funeral and it's times like that, that truly remind us to hold our loved ones close and gain perspective.

Happy Wednesday to you all! Good job on making it over the hump of another work week. :)


-T-

A Simple Life

At least once a month I sit around and dream up a life that is slow and simple.  I always picture the South.  I picture us building a little life in a small town where stress is minimal and the pace is calm and where kids still run around barefoot and play in the street. Surely a place like this has to exist somewhere right???  I've never even come close to living in the South but I imagine it's like this. D would move in a heartbeat if I told him I was ready.  :)

The only other conceivable place I think we would move would be back to South Dakota.  I'm not sure we ever would but it would be amazing to live closer to my family and if I could convince my sister out here to move back there too, all three of us could live close and have our kiddos grow up together.  I loved growing up with my cousins and having such a close knit family and I hope our future kids have that someday too.

This post is pretty random but as I sit here in front of the fire with my boys on a chilly fall night, I can't help but dream up that kind of future.  Truth be told, if we never move I know we'll build an amazing and very happy life right here in the beautiful mountain state, but a girl can dream....

What a week...

I find it slightly ironic that when I finally decide to start a blog, I get busier than ever at work.  This week was such a blur and included 14 hours of overtime and very little food and sleep. Needless to say, this three day weekend could not have come at a better time.  Forgive me if this post is a bit scattered...a  lot has happened this past week and I don't quite have all my ducks in a row just yet.

D lost his job earlier this week. We are remaining as optimistic as possible and I think he will find something very quickly considering the number of recommendations and referrals he already has.  We are truly thanking God for the amazing network of friends and family that we have that are always willing to step in and help out when we are in need.  We continue to pray every day that something comes his way so we can smoothly move into this next chapter.

 Work for me was jam packed with stressful days but thanks to my amazing fiance, I've been able to put things in perspective. I think I'm getting a lot of positive exposure at work right now and working with some senior execs within the company.  This particular project has not gone very smoothly just yet but they are confident in my ability to help out with the project and I know I can make it work.  Mistakes will happen and I'm working on not being so hard on myself about every little thing...I am human after all!

All I need is some quality time with my boys (D and Capone) to really put things back in perspective.  Our family is what matters. Our health and happiness take priority.  There will be rough days in this crazy little life but as long as we keep our focus on our overall well-being, the little things will truly fall into place.  That is my mantra this week and I will continue to say it to myself throughout the crazy days because I know happier ones are just around the corner.

Speaking of...I got to try on my bridesmaids dress for my future brother and sister-in-laws wedding that is in just over a month.  I love it so much!  And it's truly a dress I can wear again which I thank her for. I know I will be comfortable and confident while standing up with them on the beach in St. Thomas.  We take off in one month from tomorrow!  Luckily we already had this trip paid for so it will be a nice, relaxing vacation with some of our favorite people.

D is letting me decorate for Christmas early this year since we will be gone for almost 10 days in the month of December and I like to enjoy the holiday decor as long as I can. :)

Anyway, I hope any of you readers out there are having a wonderful weekend.  Keep your loved ones close and remember that they are what matters!



-T-

The First of the Month

The first day of every month is so exciting to me.  I love the feeling of a fresh start and I LOVE getting to turn to a new page on my calendar.  Everything feels new to me on the first day of the month. I don't focus on the fact that rent is due, I focus on the fact that I get to have another monthly-anniversary with my guy and that I get to countdown yet another month on our wedding countdown, etc.

So, I figured it's better late than never to wish you all a Happy November.  Don't wait until Thanksgiving to focus on everything you're thankful for.  Start today.  And if you're like me, your day started off with a pretty red cup, a small reminder that the holiday season is among us!  So exciting :)

 

I am really looking forward to this weekend!  After a couple hours of work tomorrow, I get to go wedding dress and bridesmaids dress shopping with one of my absolute besties!  Sunday is going to be full of family time and some relaxation.  Perfect way to unwind, catch up with good people, and refocus ourselves a little before another crazy week begins!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I am a die-hard cheesecake lover.  Unfortunately, the fiancé is quite the opposite so I don’t make cheesecake-anything very often unless I can find people to share it with.  My team at work has monthly pot-lucks so this month I decided to bring my famous {all thanks to Paula Deen and the Food Network circa 2007} Pumpkin Cheesecake.  It is so perfect for fall and a recipe I fell in love with a few years ago when I made it for my family back home.

I HIGHLY recommend letting it sit in the fridge overnight.  The longer the better with this recipe.  The first time I made it, I only had it in the fridge for 4 hours {per instructions} and then we tried it and it was pretty meh.  We had more the next day and it was sooo much better because the flavors really had a chance to settle and the pumpkin flavor was much more prominent. 

Happy November!