Five on Friday!

1. White Elephant Exchanges, I love them. We had one at work yesterday and I won this gem.

And then last night was the annual ZTA Alumnae Christmas party and ornament exchange and I walked away with THREE ornaments. Boom!

2. Baking is a MUST this time of year and I saw this DELICIOUS recipe on Two Peas and Their Pod this morning. I am totally making them for the party I am going to Monday.

3. Work is crazy right now. I am planning a conference for 250 full time staff in my department. I have attended this conference for four years, but this year it is my job to plan it. I am hoping for the best. I will be 36 weeks pregnant on the day of the conference. HA!

One of my extremely talented graduate students came up with the great logo!

 

4. Christmas cards or lack there of this year. I feel like such a slacker this holiday season because I didn't do cards to send to friends and family :( Maybe I will get my dad to take some pictures of me, Kyle and Gigi when we are in Florida and we can do an electronic Facebook card. Next year we will have a nine month old to feature in our family photo, so I will have to do a better job!

I do love me a good iPhone countdown!

5. We are almost done with Christmas shopping! Only three people left, and I have to get half of the presents wrapped and mailed to Pennsylvania in time for Christmas! With less shopping days this year there is no time to procrastinate!

Pumpkin Crazy!

I went a little overboard in Trader Joe's this weekend and ended up purchasing a lot of pumpkin things I don't need. But hey, I'm pregnant and I am blaming it on the baby.

 



I got: Pumpkin Chai Tea (love it so far), pumkin pancake/waffle mix (had this last year, also love), punkin bread/ muffin mix (making tonight I'll let you know how it goes), pumpkin soup (probably won't be as good as my mom's), pumpkin bread pudding and pumpkin cream cheese muffins (better than Starbucks!)

I'm probably making my grandmother VERY mad by using a pumpkin bread mix, but I am going for simplicity here, so we will see how it turns out! We have a potluck at work on Wednesday so I am bringing that as my item. TJ's also had: pumpkin butter, pumpkin bagles, pumpkin cream cheese, pumpkin breakfast bars and pumpkin biscotti. I know that some people think pumpkin things are overrrated and are tired of hearing about them, but let's be honest. This is the one time of year we can go a little pumpkin crazy and get away with it!

Currently....

Currently I am.....

Reading Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, I want to see what the hype is about.

Watching The OC. Kyle has the whole box set. We are also in the middle of West Wing on Netflix and Kyle started Once Upon a Time on Netflix too.

Listening to Lorde. Yes her single Royals is catchy and addictive, but her whole album just came out Tuesday and I love it all.

Obsessing over my townhouse. We need to do some major work; buy a dining set, take down wallpaper/ paint, hang stuff on walls and finish unpacking books. I am overwhelmed.

Shopping for nursery things. We have our big trip to purchase furniture this weekend. I am still trying to come up with a nursery theme/concept. My mom suggest red, white and blue plaid, which is actually very much Kyle's style. We have finalized our registry, and I am not going to touch it anymore.

Wearing maternity clothes. I am getting uncomfortable when I try to wear pre pregnancy pants/skirts with my BeBand. I am most comfortable in dresses without zippers/waists or maternity pants. I can tell I am going to get real frustrated soon if I don't pick up some other stuff. I HATE feeling like I am in a clothing rut. On another clothing note, I asked Kyle how I looked this morning and he told me my dress was wrinkled and droopy (whatever that means). All I was looking for was, "fine." I then proceeded to take 15 more minutes looking for another outfit and 10 minutes eating breakfast. I made him late to work and I don't care one bit.

Learning patience. This is a constant struggle. I just want everything to happen NOW and I want my to do list finished NOW and I want to eat ice cream NOW. NOW!

Bothered by the lady in line at the stadium this weekend that ask how far along I was. When I said 21 weeks, she told me I looked as big as she did at 8 months. Thanks lady!

Eating baked pumpkin oatmeal. Delish! I will share recipe later.

Drinking lots and lots of water. Staying hydrated had been a priority for me during pregnancy.

Loving that an Ulta opened in Athens! We went on Sunday. And yes, my husband spent more money in Ulta than I did. I got dry shampoo, he got a pore minimizer, eye cream and moisturizer.

Praying for my brother. He is in the middle of Naval Aviation School in FL and has two tests a week that he HAS TO PASS. So much pressure, but I am so proud of him!

Working on knocking out some baby to do list things. We picked the daycare, pediatrician and have signed up for some classes at the hospital I am delivering at. I might be slacking on the nursery, but I am definitely making progress everywhere else!
In my work life, I am actually really excited about a committee I am working on. It is for our whole division and we are reviewing the learning objectives that departments are supposed to use when working with students/student programming/student services. I think it is fun to get to work with colleagues from across the division, this institution is so large there is hardly ever time to meet people.

Looking forward to THANKSGIVING. My parents called this week and said they were coming to spend the holiday with us and help with baby prep. THANK GOD, I need their help! Even though I will be in VA/DC/MD at the end of the month, I really need help here.

Five on Friday!

So happy this week is coming to a close, mostly because it is UGA v. LSU weekend here in Athens! I have been looking forward to this game ever since we beat South Carolina. College Game Day is on campus and there is just an excited atmosphere all around. I am happy it is Friday, but I will be even more happy when it is Saturday in Athens!
I'm linking up for Five on Friday!

1. First, my Hokies beat GA Tech last night. So proud! Wish I could have been in Atlanta to cheer them on!

2. This morning I am starting with some UGA spirit though. I didn't have a full length mirror, and the belly is getting in the way. Don't you love the carpet in my office?!





jeans Target, shirt Old Navy, shoes Jack Rogers

3. Kyle and I are checking out a daycare center today. The Today Show is doing a series on being born in America and posted this article. I have been thinking a lot about my maternity leave and already making plans at work about how my responsibilities will be covered while I am gone. I am the type of person that checks their work email while on vacation. I know some people think that is ridiculous, but honestly I love working and being busy. I will have enough time saved up by February to take 10 weeks off. I have a SUPER supportive office environment and supervisor that have no problem with being away that long, but I have a problem with it. February, March and April are three of the biggest recruiting months for our field both for graduate students and professional staff. I was looking forward to coordinating these processes and traveling to conferences. But I know now that is just not possible. I really hope the worker bee in me calms down after Baby D is here so that I can adjust to my new role as momma.

4. I am still trying to figure out what to bring to our tailgate this Saturday. I swear football is the ONLY reason I will wake up at 6am on a Saturday. I was thinking of baking these:

via

 

or these:

via

5. I got my birthday present from my parents early this week: a flight to VA in October to see these ladies! Can't wait!!!!

 

 

 

Saw it. Pinned it. Did it.

I decided to link up with Stephanie and Katie for Saw it. Pinned it. Did it. I am all about some recipe Pins, especially DESSERT! I saw these Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip cookies from Skinny Taste and thought I would try them out.

Original pin

My version:
I love baking with pumpkin and I love Skinny Tastes recipes because then I don't feel 100% guilty in eating all the baked goodies, so I was excited to try these out! FYI: when I was about to take this picture I thought to myself "You are the poster child for WalMart Great Value products!" kind of embarrassing!The recipe calls for whole wheat pastry flour, I don;t think Great Value makes that :) Gina left comments on the recipe saying you could use one cup of regular flour, so that's what I did.

My little helper!

Looks good!

My first batch came out kind of "under cooked" so I cooked the second batch for almost 14 minutes opposed to the 8-10 recommended in the Pin!

They are delicious! And my husband loved them too! Happy Pinning!

Weekend Recap

What a wonderful weekend! We started off Friday night by cleaning out the kitchen (I know, super exciting). We needed to distract Gigi for like an hour, enter the famous 2 liter bottle toy! I honestly don't know why we spend any money on toys when she LOVE chewing up empty 2 liter bottles.

Saturday morning we woke up and Gigi and I had a mini photo shoot. Check out those armpit rolls! Ha!

Kyle made me pumpkin pancakes! I LOVE this mix from Trader Joe's! So good!

Then I decided to bake. Tis' the season for all things pumpkin.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread

Saturday night, Kyle's friend Rich came to Athens to visit! We of course took him to Pauleys.

Then to All Good.

I was smart and put a Pumpkin French Toast Bake in the fridge the night before, so all I had to do Sunday morning when we woke up was throw it in the oven. It came out GREAT!

Delicious!

Gigi loved spending time with Rich.

Gigi had her first obedience class Sunday. She is the second youngest and the second smallest. I really like the class. I think she has sit down, but we are working on laying down now. She did pretty good in the play group before class, but in the play group after class she was much more outgoing.

Making new friends!

Man puppy class will ware you out!

Cookies and Cream

 I fianlly had time to bake this past weekend and turned to one of my favorite recipes; Cookie and Cream Kiss Cookies.

I found the recipe on Pinterest and have made them for my sorority women and students that I advise. They are very rich, but delicious. I love that the recipe uses cream cheese, it makes the cookie consistency almost cake like!

I love my family!

So last month my dad missed me and bought Kyle and I plane tickets to visit my family in DC. I had plans to go spend time with my family and go out on the boat. Well the weather didn't cooperate. We made it to the airport without any traffic. To the gate without hassle. Then the first delay. And the second. And the third. We ended up sitting on the runway in Atlanta past when we were supposed to have landed in DC. We didn't get to my parents house until 2:30am. Ugh.

We slept in Friday and then my brother came over for a personal training session. He has transformed my parents garage into a gym. Let me just say, he kicked my butt.



Pulling the sleigh.

That night we went to see The Dark Knight Rises. It was kind of sad after everything that had happened in CO earlier that day. I feel awful for the victims. What a horrible experience.

Saturday we had planned to go boating, but the weather was still awful. Mom and I went to get pedis and then shopping at Wegmans. My fav grocery store! We had a great dinner Saturday night. I made dessert! We had a game night and lots of wine :)

Family game night. Shadow wanted to play!

Yummy peach blueberry crisp!

Shadow!

It was a great trip home. Now it is back to reality and gearing up for the school year. I am ready for it to be September!

Weekend Wrap Up

What a wonderful weekend! Kyle and I were both on call, but it was a great weekend to be on call because there was no one on campus! Saturday morning I had a meeting with a community organization I volunteer with. It was great to wake up and start the day! When I got home Kyle and I went out. We headed to the mall (and I got a lovely new tunic from Gap), and then downtown Athens. The weather was perfect for walking downtown. I went to Agora, one of my favorite thrift stores. It is just wall to wall stuff in there! Clothes, jewelry, records, home decor; you name it, they got it!

Cute idea for old bags!

Loved this figurine

Now that's a statement necklace!

Teal clock

Kyle and I stopped by Walk the Line, were he gets his tattoos done. I thought we were just there to show the healed tattoo he got last month, but NO he wanted ANOTHER tattoo!

Walk the Line Tattoo parlor, love some Cash!

Kyle getting new ink

Yep.... that's my name

That night we stayed in. I baked, we watched movies and just relaxed!

Starting cake pops

Look like Easter eggs.

And let's make some cookies while we're at it

DELICIOUS

It was a different Easter. I didn't attend church, which was a first. Kyle doesn't practice any religion, which is a huge difference in our marriage. But it isn't an issue. I still attend a church, just by myself. We talk about religion, he supports my decisions and I support his. It just is what it is. Since I didn't attend church Sunday, I had a really good devotional at home. I reflected and prayed. I still celebrated Easter, just in my own way. It is also weird because we aren't with family. So there is no big dinner or egg hunt. I miss that. So instead we went to see Hunger Games, Kyle finally finished the book. We both like the book more obviously, but it was interesting to see what they changed and cut out. Kyle made dinner, his turkey chili (my fav) and we enjoyed a night in. Wonderful, fabulous, relaxing weekend.