"The" Thanksgiving Sweater

Who do I appreciate?

Alex.

My cousin Lauren who wines and dines me with her meal plan every Tuesday. Which leads me to..

Cannon center, I’ll admit it now. I never knew what I had with you.

My sister Hilary who always cracks me up and is visiting next week. YES!!!

An amazing family that I married into. All cheesy-ness aside, I hit a gold mine people.

My 7 sistas

What insights have I recently gained that I’m grateful for?

Stop worrying and stressing out about things you can’t control. It’s unhealthy and doesn’t do a thing but hurt yourself.

You get out of life what you put into it. Especially relationships

You can’t just expect life to get better by avoiding things. You need to actively seek out the good, because most of the time it isn’t going to just fall in your lap.

What are little things am I grateful for TODAY?
Notes from husband. He really rocks at those
The gym. Oh how I love and need you. Especially after a week of Thanksgivingness
Christmas music
My camera
Glasses when too lazy for contacts
Done with that beastly research paper

Thanksgiving was a total ball- all week long! This year we were with Alex's family since mine decided to stay in Connecticut this year. It was just as Thanksgiving should be- full of cooking, laughing, food, talking, games, some more cooking, and then some more food. It was Thanksgiving perfection. Loved it all!

We are happy to be in the kitchen all day long...really!

Oh and did I mention...

I accidentally called my mother-in-law a hooker, and her dog pathetic.? Ohhh golly...but somehow she still likes me.

I think.

And their cats enjoy bullying me?

I pet a dog this weekend. A few times. (Applause, applause!)

The end.

This is probably the farthest I will go

I found my new favorite Christmas song. Step aside Mariah, hellooo Bruce Springsteen! How did I not know about this??!

Ombre Hair

I've had a pretty tragic hair history. Once upon a time 14 yr old sister highlighted my hair when I was in 4th grade. Dad called me 'skunk' for a good 6 months. Friend asked, "did your sister do your hair? ....yeah, it looks like it." Ouch, but so true.

But I really didn't care, because I was getting highlights and that sounded awesome. Lighter and lighter, leaving roots to grow longer and longer, until I decided this whole highlight thing was totally overrated and not worth all my precious babysitting money.

So by age 16 I wanted to go back. Except this time didn't work so well either. Blackest of the black.

Haha, this is the only picture I could find. Being goth for Halloween was convenient I suppose. But obviously, I was horrified.

....everyone was (it's okay to be honest now.)

But eventually it grew out and I was in love with the fact that I was roots-free, therefore life was goooood. Once you go black, you never go back!

And it's been that way ever since. But I must say, it's a little boring after a while. So when I was introduced to the idea of a "hair melt" it sounded like it was made for me. Instead of lighting the roots, you blend the dark of your roots to light at the ends. Results = very little upkeep... I'M IN!

Verdict: I love it- finally some dimension without being so obvious. Anddd doesn't burn a whole in your pocket. People, this is revolutionary. Yep, I said it. Oh, and did I mention I got it for insanely cheap? I officially found my go-to hair girl. it's nice.

Okay, this is an awful portrayal- not easy via photobooth. Either way, it is pretty subtle I guess, but I'm still kiiinda devastated that hardly anyone has noticed. This is a big step for me, you know! ...Bitter? What?

Speaking of photobooth... it never gets old:)

Trying to distract *someone* from never-ending Saturday football games. Didn't make the cut unfortunately