Merry Chirstmas from the Daileys!

We are still in Florida enjoying time with our family. It was a great Christmas! And Baby Dailey (who isn't even here yet) got some great gifts. 

We spent the day laying aroun and relaxing, while my sister in law spent the whole day in the kitchen cooking the vest meal ever. She fulfilled one of Kyle's bucket list items by serving Turducken. 

Santa totally spoiled Gigi. She got plenty of presents but kept stealing cousin Shadow's toys. 

It's hard to believe that next year we will have a nine month old to celebrate the holidays with. Amazing! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Christmas To-Do List

This has been a very different holiday season then previous years. Being pregnant has definitely had its benefits and challenges when it comes to celebrating the holidays, but that hasn't stopped me from trying to keep things as "normal" as possible. So my Christmas to-do list is as follows:

 

Start the Advent calendar- I have always wanted a reusable/decorative Advent calendar. You know, one of the lovely ones that has little doors or pockets to put candy and Bible verses in. I have yet to invest in one, or make a beautiful Pinterest inspired one. Someday! But until then our Trader Joe's Advent Calendar will do!



Put up Christmas decorations- I feel a little pathetic. I haven't even had the strength to get out all of our stuff. Two weeks ago I was pouting on the couch and Kyle asked what was wrong, I told him I wished we could have put up the tree. To me it just didn't make sense to put it up since we would be in FL for Christmas. But my great husband went upstairs and brought down the fake tree and put a string of lights and one ornament on it. So Charlie Brown. I am thankful that Kyle cared enough to help, but I feel so pathetic when I look at it.



Drink hot cocoa- OMG, I have gone through one of those big canisters of hot coco already! I actually prefer marshmallows to whipped cream!



Bake cookies- I made Cookies and Cream Kiss cookies for the ZTA Alumnae , and then again for my departments party. These are by far my favorite cookies. I usually make a bunch of sweets this time of year, but if I am on my feet too long they get swollen and my back starts to hurt. Dang pregnancy symptoms.

 



Wrap presents- Probably won't be done until Christmas Eve! Such a procrastinator. But we did wrap and mail presents to PA for the Dailey side of the family. And no, they weren't as cute as the wrapped one below, I wish I could make such fun presents!



Read the story of the birth of Jesus One of my all time favorite traditions. I think it is the best story ever! Growing up, during Advent at church, every Sunday different families would stand before the congregation and light an Advent candle and read part of the story of the birth of Christ. I loved when my mom would volunteer us and I would get to light the candle.



Watch all my favorite Christmas movies. Hello, my name is Megan and I have a Christmas movie addiction. I can't help it I love them all and I watch them the whole month of December. Kyle makes me wait until after Thanksgiving to watch any of them and this year I was chomping at the bit to get started. I need to add The Santa Clause to my collection still!



Drive Kyle crazy listening to Christmas music. Yet another Christmas tradition Kyle makes me wait until after Thanksgiving to start (however I listen to my Pandora station at work starting on my birthday in November). Christmas music just makes me happy and my favorite song is "Joy to the World," I love Mariah's version! I can't wait for our five hour drive to Pensacola and the five wonderful hours of Christmas music! I am sure Kyle is excited too!

 



Take a Christmas light tour. One of my favorite traditions growing up was getting in the car and my dad driving around different neighborhoods to look at lights. I hope we can do this in Florida!

 



Watch "It's a Wonderful Life" on Christmas Eve with my family. The all time, must happen every year, cry every time tradition is watching "It's a Wonderful Life" with my family. I mean this is a MUST. The first year I spent Christmas with my in-laws I remember watching this on Christmas Eve and calling my mom to watch with her over the phone. Such a heartwarming story!



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!

Currently...

Currently I am.....

Reading about learning outcomes in student affairs. As stated in my last "Currently I am" post, I am serving on a committee that is examining our Division's structure for learning outcomes. I am personally learning A LOT and really enjoying the process.

Watching too much Hulu and Netflix. It's embarrassing. I watched season one and two of New Girl and I love it!

Listening to my Christmas Pandora station. It just makes me happy!

Shopping for NOTHING. This is on purpose. We are trying really hard to stick to our budget in order to get rid of debt (created by our recent move and Gig's knee surgery) before the baby is born. And I am really proud of how well we are doing.

Wearing my favorite maternity dress as often as I can! It is a long sleeve black maxi dress from Old Navy and it is the most comfortable thing in the whole world, I feel like I am wearing pajamas to work. Actually if I don't wear pajamas for Thanksgiving I will definitely be wearing this dress.

Learning how to take care of a dog recovering from knee surgery! Gigi had her TPLO surgery 3 weeks ago and we have been begun the long process of recovery. Originally we were told 6-8 weeks, well that has turned into 12 weeks. Good lord, I don't know how I am going to keep her under control that long. She loves to run and jump. Right now if she isn't crated, then she is on a short leash in the house.

Bothered by how large I am. I was in the grocery store the other day and my cashier was also pregnant. She is due in December and when I said I was due in February she looked astonished. My belly was definitely bigger then hers. I feel like such a heifer. But huge shout out to some of my volunteer friends from church that told me I was a cute pregnant lady, they totally made my day!

Eating everything in sight and I need to stop. But I passed my glucose test so I am using that as an excuse to indulge. I am so bad.

Drinking pink lemonade slushies from the ZTA house. We finished up the elections process last week and I had spent a lot of time at the house and couldn't resist the slushies!

Loving my sweet sorority women. They got the baby the cutest bib, diapers and a gift card to Target. Warmed my heart. I will be resigning from my role as General Advisor this December and transitioning to the fundraising advisor and judicial advisor instead. I needed a little less time commitment, but I am sure going to miss seeing them every week!

Working on planning a conference for my entire department (over 200 full time staff). This has been such an interesting learning process.

Looking forward to THANKSGIVING and FAMILY and starting/finishing the nursery!

Welcome back!

I have not posted to my blog since November 30th. That is a long time. I had many many commitments and priorities much bigger than this blog during the month of December, including a two week vacay to see family.But I am going to share something, I am actually struggling over the blog. I feel in a blog rut. Lacking my own creativity and originality. And I was asking myself, why blog at all? I have also struggled with this blog content being all been about positive life things or shallow things. But I think the lack of posting happened because I don't want to lack authenticity. Sharing struggles is just as important as sharing celebrations. So I am going to recap the last month and a half in quick bullet points.

• End of November/ beginning of December I applied and interviewed for a new position at my current institution. The position was a promotion and a shift in responsibilities. I let myself get really excited about this new opportunity. And then, I didn't get the offer. I was upset and frustrated. The fall semester was really draining for me for some reason and I have no idea why. I just felt so tired from work and a little bored of some of the things I was doing. I thought the new opportunity would help pull me out of the funk, and then I didn't get it. I was feeling even more down in December after that.  

The part of my job I never stop loving... working with these wonderful ladies!

• But then my brother and sister in law got Kyle and I a joint birthday present: a nights stay plus meals at the Cheateau Elan resort in North Georgia. This break couldn't have come at a better time. We booked a couples message, enjoyed a wine tasting and great food. One of the best birthday present s ever.
• Kyle and I left mid- December to go stay with my family for a week and then his family for a week. I was really excited about being away from work and recharging my batteries. Highlights:
• Spending time with my parents, brother and sister in law
• Getting to spend some time with great friends
• Christmas traditions

Dad's homemade cinnamon buns, Christmas morning tradition.

New family photo!

• Gigi's wagon from my parents for Christmas

My dad pimpped Gigi's ride

• Gigi seeing snow for the first time
• Spending time with the in laws 
• Going to the Allentown Farmer's Market and eating a kiffel
• Quality time with our nieces

Peeps Festival

• After all the driving from our break (30+ hours) I returned to Athens still tired and not ready to go back to work. It was a short first week, but PACKED with a conference, training and then Saturday I was at state wide officer training for Zeta. I just felt like I wasn't ready to return. Then last Sunday I watched a Gilmore Girls marathon (I got the full box set as a Christmas gift for Kyle) and ate Chinese take out and magically it fixed everything. Well not everything, but returning to work Monday didn't feel as bad. I have established a routine this week and feel more like my self.

So excited to work with this amazing group of students!

• Finally, January will mark the one year mark of Kyle and I trying to start a family. Kate from The Small Things Blog posted yesterday her own struggle and when I read it I felt like she was speaking for me. I have had so much anger over this and I just need to let go. I know being angry or frustrated is definitely not helping the situation. And I need to stop thinking of it as "trying." My type A personality and control freak tendencies need to settle down. I don't know what the future holds, but letting go and not obsessing over this one aspect is freeing and that is how I want to move forward. 

So there is the recap. I know, it's a lot. But life has ups and downs and I feel like I should be able to share it all. So here is to REAL blogging in 2013!

OBX Christmas

The day after Christmas Kyle and I left PA to go to the Outer Banks, NC to spend time with my family and my brother's fiance's family. My brother is getting married in May at the beach and we stayed in the same house we will be in during the wedding! I was very thankful to be invited to go and relax at the beach!

Crossing over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge

Smile for the camera!

Boardwalk, our house for the week!

So excited to see little Maddy!

Such a cutie!

Tuesday I was invited to join my brother and his fiance to go wedding cake tasting! Cake at 11:00am, YES PLEASE! So yummy, and the cake is going to be beautiful! We then decided to go to the outlets. The weather was really bad and it rained most of the day, so shopping was a good idea. I got a new pair of khakis from JCrew and a top. 

Kyle and his favorite dog :)

Beach Christmas Tree

Maddy and my brother

Tuesday night we played board games and tried some wine that might be used for the wedding, Everyone seemed to enjoy the wine and our competitive game of Fact or Crap was that much more fun.

Silly Dad

The next day my parents, Kyle and I decided to go down to Hatteras and see the lighthouse!

Mom and I

Kyle and I

I made my Dad drive us down to Frisco so I could show them the house my friends and I rented in 2010. 

Beach Buddy

Brothers in law! Ew man thigh.

The next day my parents, Kyle and I went to Manteo Island and walked around. A lot of shops were closed on the off season, but some were open and I had fun at the antique shop. We also went to Awful Arthurs. Kyle was DYING for seafood. We got raw oysters, and Kyle had a LIVE baby crab in one of his! We also had steamed shrimp and crab meat in butter. SO DELICIOUS!

We played more board games and drank more wine Thursday. I laughed so hard, truly a great beach trip!

Our last day at the beach was GORGEOUS. Mom and I went for a long walk on the beach, Kyle and I went back to the outlets. For dinner we went to Argyle, and I finally watched The Help before bed.

Shadow, my brothers CRAZY black lab!

Aw Maddy girl!

We had a wonderful time in OBX, I was not ready to leave. I can't wait to go back in May! Thank you Jennifer and Alex for such a wonderful time!

On the hunt for a Nintendo ds!

We spent Christmas eve with our nieces. They are adorable and we love spending time with them. Kyle asked his middle niece what she wanted for Christmas and she replied, "Santa said he is getting me a Nintendo ds!" Oh really!!!! Apparently the Santa that came to visit at school asked her what she wanted and she said a ds, Santa then proceeded to say that since she was a good girl she would get one. 

Do you know what these things can do?! They have a camera, can surf the web and you can play games with another user sitting next to you. AMAZING! Santa must have a had a good year to promise so many kids a Nintendo ds for Christmas. Kyle and I then began the search for two Nintendo ds' on Christmas Eve, talk about last minute. We decided to take back everything else we got them in order to make sure Santa got them each a ds. Call us suckers, but that is the power of Christmas and wanting to see kids happy when they open presents! We went to a Best Buy in Jersey and found them. I was so excited to see them open them on Christmas!

My mother in law invited me to the candlelight Christmas Eve service at church with her. It was a lovely service. I always go to the Christmas Eve service with my family, so it was nice to be able to continue that tradition. Kyle also watched It's a Wonderful Life with me on Christmas Eve, another tradition. It was my first Christmas not with my parents or brother, but my new family is so wonderful I had a great time celebrating with them!

Our first married Christmas together!

Christmas morning!

While Santa was good to the nieces he was even nicer to me! I got a Keurig and a new digital camera (I guess Kyle was tired of me using my phone!)

My in laws got me a shirt and sweater from Loft, a new large skillet, my own German pickle ornament and a lovely Scentsy! 

After opening presents we went to Kyle's Aunt's house. I had not met his aunts yet so I was excited. It was a great visit and I was fed VERY well!! We ended the night back at Kyle's parents house with even more family. The jello shots and Jack Daniels made an appearance! It really was a great first Christmas as a married couple and I loved spending time with my new family!

What's a kiffle?

I married a Yankee. And I am ok with that. Since being married I have learned a lot about Amish, Polish and Pennsylvania Dutch culture. Mostly involving food that I have never heard of or tried. I love visiting PA and seeing his family. We started our Christmas break in PA with his family this year. On our first day visiting we went to the Allentown Farmers Market with Kyle's dad. I love my father in law! 

The first new food I learned about was a kiffle. I asked Kyle, "What's a kiffle?" And the lady standing next to me said, "It is delicious and you will love it!" Think mini cannoli with jam filling. 

The farmers market had tons of butchers and delis. Below are some lovely pickled beet eggs, which I tried Christmas day at Kyle's Aunt's house. Interesting....

Kyle's first stop was the candy store, and the dozen types of licorice. He bought a pound! They had a cute train that went around the top of the store.

The trip got really interesting when I found Tongue Souse, aka head cheese, aka MEAT JELLY! I am NOT that adventurous.

My favorite part of the whole market were the bakeries. This was my first experience with Shoo-fly pie. Very delicious. Oh and the BEST cheesecake I have ever had. 

The trip to the farmers market was successful: wasabi peanuts, carrot cake, cheesecake, licorice, beef sticks and tomato pie. I think the other shoppers thought I was weird because I kept asking what things were, but I don't care. I had a great time!!!!