Giving Thanks for Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving and the four wonderful days I spent in Williamsburg. There wasn't a moment I didn't feel a part of my roommate Katie's family, and I quickly understood why she was so excited to get home for the holiday.

The food was delicious, but the company was even better. I'm not sure I could've had a better time.



In addition to celebrating Thanksgiving, we spent many hours watching football {War Eagle! and Go Big Red!} and relaxing. We spent Friday evening at Busch Gardens Christmas Town, admiring the lights, riding the free-falling roller coaster in the dark, watching Christmas shows, and drinking hot chocolate with a hint of peppermint. It was the perfect way to get into the Christmas spirit!

We also strolled through Colonial Williamsburg, wandering into the cute little shops and observing the historic homes along the road.

Sadly, my camera died mid-upload, and I don't have any more pictures to share, save this one of my fabulous roommate.

I hope your Thanksgivings were as wonderful as mine!

{I have to admit that when the family was sending Katie's brother and sister-in-law off to the airport yesterday, I began to cry along with everyone else! I understood why they were so sad to say goodbye. :)}

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2006 - Manchester, New Hampshire with Best Friend and her fiance's family


Thanksgiving 2007 - Austin and Houston, Texas with cousins


Thanksgiving 2008 - Washington D.C./Bethesda, Maryland with cousins

Tomorrow, I'm off to Williamsburg, Virginia to celebrate the holiday with my roommate Katie's family.

I miss my family, but I'm excited.

This year, I'm thankful for Memorial Day weekend, because it completely changed the rest of my year.

I'm thankful for this cozy house.

For my fantastic roommates.

For the job I don't love . . or even really like anymore.

For the opportunity to visit new places.

For the healthy, beautiful baby born to my best friend.

And for the Lord's faithfulness to me when I am not faithful.

I'm thankful for clementines and Scrabble and dessert.

For pretty leaves in the fall and making it to the Big 12 Championship.

For wonderful friends and an even better family.

I'm thankful for the Lord's blessings and promises. I'm thankful that He's given me "everything I need for living a godly life".

And I'm thankful my future is in His hands.

Happy Thanksgiving! Be back on Monday!

Philippians 4:6
"Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart."

Psalm 28:7
"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."

Colossians 3:17
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

I Thessalonians 5:18
"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

The New Ride

I should've had time this weekend to post about the rest of my cruise vacation.

But I unfortunately only accomplished five things:

-making dinner for friends Friday evening
-celebrating a friend's birthday Saturday evening {until 4:30 in the morning} and sleeeeping
-seeing the movie "The Blind Side", which I love love looooved
-going to church this evening
-licensing my car, uggggghhhhh!!!!!

Oh Virginia DMV, how I loathe you!

Although truth be told, the nine hours I spent "licensing and titleing my car" were really the result of a silly error on my part. I made every effort to be fully prepared before heading the DMV on Saturday morning, but I asked the seller to sign on the wrong line. I'll spare you a play-by-play and only share that I drove to 3 different DMVs {each a half hour away from each other} that day, spent nearly four hours "waiting", and ended the whole thing by getting completely lost with not a clue as to how to get home. Lovely situation when your car guzzles gas.

But I DID make it home in time to enjoy a delicious meal with 10 other friends {cooked by my roommate}, watch a bit of my football game {although I intended to see the whole thing}, and go out on the town with everyone.

I was thrilled to finally get the new plates on my new car. So thrilled that I snapped a couple pics.

Introducing my hot black SUV! :) It's not brand-new, but it has very low mileage and came at an affordable price. I'm excited! {Sorry for the blurry pictures.}



Best part!:

Friday Already?!

Only one post about my trip this past week! I have much catching up to do. It's been a busy week, however, and this weekend won't be any slower.

And there should be a lot of this going on:



My roommate Katie and I are cooking dinner for five boys and another roommate tonight. I initially offered to cook dinner for one boy {who is in town for work}, but I should've known he'd bring a posse with him. Not that I mind, of course!

We're having our first cruise reunion at the bar after our meal. We all miss each other already!

New Desk

My still barren and very undecorated room received a new addition yesterday.

After gazing longingly at the Parsons desk {in glossy white} for many months, I drove my new-to-me SUV to the mall last night and loaded up this beautifully simple piece of furniture.

In time, perhaps that corner of my room will look as lovely as this.

My brain is going crazy daydreaming about it.

Vacation: South Beach

We started the trip in wiiiindy Miami, staying at a modern hotel on South Beach.



We didn't let the cool wind bother us, though. We were so excited to be on vacation.



Away from the chilly D.C. temps, we could finally show off our matching pedis.



The wind may have been strong, and the weather not as warm as we had hoped, but the ocean breeze always feels good on your face . . even if the rest of you is covered in a towel.



I discovered a washed up jellyfish that I closely {and carefully} examined . .



And I decided that I want to try windsurfing someday.



I knew this vacation was gonna be good.

Wishing I Was Still on a Boat

It's back to work tomorrow, but I'd rather be playing dress up on a ship again, staying up late dancing, eating late night pizza, and basking in the sun. I haven't uploaded my pictures yet - too busy taking more actually! It was a beautiful Fall day today, so I went picture-crazy at my neighborhood park. Only 600 pictures to go through and edit. Oh boy . .

{Here is one that a friend took on formal night.}

Back from the Beach

I've just returned from what was a fun-filled, fantastic vacation with 35 friends from church. I left Miami Beach in such a hurry today that I didn't even have time to rinse off. I'm still a little salty and sandy.

I can't wait to share pictures and stories from the trip!

It's nearly 2am right now, and I need to put on a sweatshirt and crack open my windows. The floor refinishing did take place while we were gone this week, and unfortunately the fumes are still incredibly strong. {I feel terrible for the roommate we left behind who had to live with these fumes all week!} Here's hoping I make it to the window before passing out. Yikes!

Late Night Packing

Ohmygoodness, I hate packing. It's bad enough when I go away for the weekend, but eight days?! Here I sit, fresh out of the shower, staring at my suitcase and wondering what I've forgotten. Will I feel like wearing green on Wednesday or blue? At eleven o'clock at night, who cares. I still have to move all my belongings (minus the actual furniture) into the basement/living room/anywhere else but upstairs where the floors will be refinished.

Five a.m. is gonna kill me.

And another thing that just overwhelmed me?

Think of how many blog posts I'm going to have to read when I return!!! Google Reader is a blessing and a curse. :)

Have a good week! Hopefully I'll have loads of good pictures (with a darker-skinned me) when I return.

Evening in Indiana

On the drive back to Nebraska two weekends ago, I stopped halfway near the small Indiana town of Franklin. It's one of my favorite places to visit, so it's appropriate that it's also the place I've visited the most.

Unlike the craziness and fast pace of the District, my cousins' acreage is simple and peaceful.



This family loves Jesus so much that it oozes out of their hearts and gets all over you. And it feels good. Makes you want to go love on someone else. To truly love God and love others. And they do.



Just one evening with them, and I felt completely refreshed. The gorgeous morning I awoke to gave my heart another reason to sing.

Kitties!

I'm not sure if I'm a cat person or a dog person. Maybe both. Maybe neither.

I like some cats and I like some dogs, especially in other people's houses. Then I can pet and cuddle them, but I don't have take them for walks in the snow or scoop their poop or most importantly, try to get their hair off my stuff!

I grew up with two cats, and I absolutely loved them. However, I'm not dying to pet every cat I see, not even close. I think you can almost love any dog or cat if you meet it when it's a puppy or kitten.

Case in point:



These adorable Siamese kittens that belong to my cousin. {My sister and brother-in-law just got a pair, as well.} They're incredibly adorable, and they've got me wanting some of my own!

Fortunately for my roommates, the landlord doesn't allow it.

Tink!

Tinkerbell had fun flitting around at a couple of different Halloween parties this weekend, but they've left me completely exhausted, just in time for a week of cruise preparation. Not only do I need to pack and get a pedi, I also have to clear everything out of my bedroom by Saturday! The wood floors will be refinished while we're away next week.

In other exciting news, I got a new car yesterday. Maybe I'll show you once life settles down for a second.