Giving Thanks

My family has never taken on the ever infamous Thanksgiving tradition of going around the table and saying what we're thankful for. Perhaps it's just hard enough getting us all to sit at the same time, maybe it's because saying grace takes long enough and we're gluttons who just want to eat the delicious hot meal before us or maybe by the time dinner gets around we're all just too exhausted from sitting on the couch watching football the day of cooking. Regardless of the reasoning, this year I'd like to take a bit of time and really reflect on what I'm truly thankful for and could not imagine my life without.

• Jesus' immense love, saving grace and unending mercy.


• My Hunka Hunka Burning Love


• Living so close to family and getting to be a regular presence in the life of growing nieces.


• Other family members who aren't close, but are willing to drive a really long way, with three kids, to celebrate and spend time with us.


• My mother's willingness and diligence in reading my blog posts immediately upon publishing and letting me know of all the words I misspelled or misplaced punctuation what a great job I did. And everything else she does to love me and who she is.


• Obviously the usuals: health; a warm house; food on the table; freedom; wealth (we don't have much, but we have much more than many others).


• Friends with whom to celebrate, cry, rejoice, play and talk into the night.


• A job


• The gift that is delicious food


• Laughter and games


• Blaring out and singing along to Christmas music with my HHBL


• A warm, cozy and comfortable bed where I like to snuggle up and pretend I'm in the clouds.

Some of these things are a little more fun than the dramatic line "truly thankful and could not imagine my life without", but none the less they are what make up the small things in life that I do not care to take for granted.

Happy One Year Anniversary, My HHBL!

HURRAY, WE DID IT! WE MADE IT A WHOLE YEAR!

And what a year it has been!!

My Hunka Hunka Burning Love started his first year of law school on top of our first year of marriage; it was the first year for a lot of things...

 My HHBL killed our first Christmas tree

We won the Olympics

Our first "honeymoon" to San Diego

We sold a car, we bought our first car

We celebrated with friends



We welcomed the newest member and first grandchild to the Greene family

Baby mama in blue, baby papa in purple, baby Layla in pink.

 We tried loved our families well



  
My HHBL joined my family for our beach vacation for the first time
 
We took some great road trips
 
We went to a wedding at an aquarium with a private sea lion show and a beluga whale

We successfully found our way through a mystery corn maze (in 30 minutes)

My HHBL had shoulder surgery

Baby, I love you to the moon and back and am so grateful and thankful that we've made it one year and that we have 75, if we're still alive, but remember, I get to die first, left to go.

XOXOXOXO

Happy Autumn

Photo/art credit to Katie Daisy.

As of Monday, September 22 at 10:29 p.m. autumn is officially here! I LOVE FALL! It is my favorite season by far. My favorite used to be spring, and I can't really pinpoint why that has changed, but nevertheless it has. I still love spring though. I want two weeks of summer, for the beach, two weeks of winter, for Christmas and New Years, and then I want the rest to be split between fall and spring!

Things to love about Fall!

• Apple picking
• First fires in the fireplace
• Snuggling under warm blankets
• The colors changing on the leaves - The Blue Ridge is an incredible place to see this
• The crunch of leaves beneath your feet
• Pumpkin patches and a corn maze
• Pumpkins and mums on people's doorsteps
• Burberry perfume - it is fall in a bottle. One spritz and you're cuddled up on the couch; eating something warm; smelling fires, deep tanons of red wine and brightly colored crisp leaves
• Brunswick stew, chili (red and white), jambalaya, gumbo, etc.
• Football and tailgates
• My Hunka Hunka Burning Love's birthday
• Going on walks with my HHBL and handing him every beautiful leaf, so that by the end he has an entire bouquet of the richest reds, oranges and yellows
• The bright, chilly breeze across your cheeks and through your hair
• Wearing scarves!

Welcome Fall, I'm so glad you're here!

HOT-LANTA

The cat's out of the bag... we're my Hunka Hunka Burning Love is headed to Atlanta this summer, interning for Alston and Bird!! This was a much anticipated decision with some stress, but overall we are just so thankful that the decision is made and that my HHBL got his first choice.

I didn't draw this... thanks google.

Now the only problem is that he'll be in ATL for 10 weeks while I'm in Cville. I suppose though if we survived a year of separation while he was in the Philippines and I was in Cville, then this will be a piece of cake... right? Hardly!

If anyone has any advice for living in Atlanta and fun things to do in the summer, and friends we could connect with, cheap travel tricks (for me to visit often and to avoid miserable traffic delays), or insights into being married long distance (we did dating, but is that different than being married?) - we'd love any and all suggestions!

The Harvest

My Hunka Hunka Burning Love and I were given two tomato plants from our neighbor. We put them both in big pots, pretty quickly after we got them. One died of blight, but it has been so fun to nurture and care for the other that survived. I would love one day to have a decent size garden to grow tomatoes, squash, zucchini, red, yellow and green peppers! But for now, my potted tomato, rosemary and basil will have to do.

Tomatoes do and don't need a lot of care. They must be watered frequently, but besides that they just kinda grow. It was soo fun to check out the tomatoes every morning as I walked out the door to work and then again on the way back into the house after work. It was such a treat to spot the new little buds that were forming and know that our plant was not a dud.

 

We're still picking. Our dear plant is a late bloomer. I don't think he got the memo that he's supposed to yield all his fruit in mid-August. Just last week we picked our first harvest and we still have about 10 green tomatoes on the vine.

 

The Harvest!

I hope the rest of our tomatoes ripen before the nightly frosts kill the plant. Last night was 54 degrees. I was told earlier this summer, "there's nothing like a home grown tomato." I wasn't sure I believed that, until I had one of my own. MMMmmm, Mmmm, good! I want more!



Our first tomoato pulled off the vine. (Not my best picture... I had just gotten back from the pool.)

Lattes

Although I don't get them often, I am such a sucker for a caramel latte with skim milk.

When My Hunka Hunka Burning Love and I first started dating he worked at a local coffee shop in town, so he'd often stop by my office or on a Sat or Sun morning he'd bring my a "yummy treat." Essentially, my addiction is his fault. As a one income family with someone in grad school, we attempt to be very conscious about our spending habits. The career services office at the law school told the students if they ever walked into their office complaining about money woes holding a Starbucks cup they'd get no sympathy and be kicked out.

My HHBL still spoils me though, because every morning he wakes up and makes a pitcher (?) of French press coffee for us. However, in the month of September we get FREE LATTES! Thank you Hot Cakes! In the month of September Hot Cakes gives one free latte a day to all U.Va. staff, students and faculty. It's fabulous! Nothing gets Fall off to a great start like a free caramel latte every morning.

The sad news is, that nobody reminded me and so we didn't get our first one until this morning. But, we kicked it off in style and also split a pumpkin muffin - oh heaven! So long French press, I will see you again on October 1st.

Project Completion: Numero Uno!

If you know me well then you know that I typically always like to keep my hands busy with a project. As they say, idle hands are the devil's handywork. However, you probably also know that my timeline for completetion is indefinite. A slight purpose for this blog was to document those fun projects that do get completed. I teased you a little with this post, but have yet to update you on my success, but I promise it's coming. I have less that 1/4 left to finish. If I can finish in the next few weeks, it might be the quickest project completion to date.

Here's a pillow I made. I started this circa fall 2011 and completed it circa spring 2014. Only 2.5 years isn't bad. I stole borrowed the pattern from something I found online, drew it only the canvas, picked the colors and needlepointed it. Then turned it in to a b-e-a- utiful pillow!

 

I'll save my Hunka Hunka BL a little dignity and not post the pic of him taking a little nappy poo with it. I joked that by the time I finished it better be his favorite napping pillow. He was proving to me that indeed it was. Except now I don't want him to nap with it, because I don't want it to get ruined.

Woohoo, I actually completed a project... at least most of the way at this point.