Thanksgiving and Our 1 Year Anniversary

It's Thursday and I'm seriously just now getting back to my normal 'work mindset'.  I've been so depressed that my Thanksgiving "break" (it's in quotes because obviously I don't really have a break, I'm not in college anymore!) went by so fast and that I haven't even gotten into the Christmas spirit yet!  I haven't put one single Christmas decoration up yet.  I have almost finished my Christmas shopping though!  

Well today I am finally posting a Thanksgiving recap because I'm finally able to look through the pictures without being depressed that it's over.  Wow, I sound pathetic haha!

Last Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve, I got off of work at 2:00 and went to go say good bye to Vinnie because we were each going to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families instead of together (boo).  Then I went home and grabbed Marley, my bags, and my contribution to Thanksgiving (wine, pumpkin bars, and pumpkin butter) and was on the road to Iowa by 3:30.  Traffic was terrible so I'm very thankful that I got to leave work early.  I can't even imagine what rush hour traffic the day before Thanksgiving would have been like in Chicago.  I got to my parents house a little after 6:30.  My sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew were already there and my brother showed up a little later.  We spent the majority of that first night talking and playing with the kiddos.

Woody never left Jack's side this entire weekend.

My sweet nephew, Jack.

Best picture I could get of Emma and Jack.

I know, my eyes look effing creepy.

Silly.

Even sillier.

I was lucky to have Jack sleep in my bed that night because he sleeps like a rock and barely moves.  Emma on the other hand is a kicker!

The next day was Thanksgiving.  While my mom started cooking the rest of us enjoyed some donuts, coffee, and bloody marys.  The turkey ended up cooking faster than expected and we were eating my 1:00.

The table all set for Thanksgiving. 

Turkey for Marley.

He LOVED it!

And the rest of this night was spent watching Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 and of course kicking it with the wild ones.
 

Jacky loves back scratches.

He sucks his fingers when he gets sleepy.

This is the look I usually get from Emma.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 
Everyone left Friday morning except for me.  I spent the day with my parents.  I have never and will never do Black Friday shopping because I would either die from anxiety or murder several people for causing my anxiety.  We did decide to go shopping later that night though because we figured the mall wouldn't be quite as crazy.  It wasn't too bad and I ended up getting a bunch of great deals on stuff for Christmas presents.  I felt very accomplished.  We went out to eat at Front Street Brewery that night and then headed over to Jersey Grill to watch a band.  It was a lot of fun.

My mom and I

Vegas bombs as usual.

Saturday I headed home because Vinnie and I were celebrating our 1 year anniversary that night (our anniversary was on Friday).  I was going to use a whole post to recap our anniversary date but it didn't quite go as planned and there's not a whole lot to say about it.  I spent a long time planning our anniversary so I'm actually still really upset that it didn't go well.  

We planned on spending the whole day together in downtown Chicago doing touristy things because we've lived here for a while but have never gotten to do any of those things.  Since Vinnie was driving back from St. Louis, and it's a 5 hour drive (with Chicago traffic 6 1/2), he didn't get home until around 6:00 pm.  Our reservations were at 7:30 pm.  He showered and packed a bag really quick and we headed downtown to The Mile North Hotel, which is the hotel we were staying at.  We got there just in time to put our things in our room, do a champagne toast (I had them deliver champagne to the room with a note for Vinnie before we got there), and hail a cab to take us to the restaurant.  We went to Geja's Cafe.  It's a fondue place and I had heard it was super romantic.  

Now let me backtrack and just tell you that I woke up not feeling very well that morning and this feeling continued throughout the day.  The problem I have is that whenever I don't feel good I don't feel like eating.  So I don't eat anything, for the whole day, which makes me feel even worse.

So we're at this romantic restaurant and we decide to do the 3 course meal, which consists of enough food for probably at least 4 people.  We order drinks, get the first course, and then comes the main course.  I'm feeling alright the whole time until the main course comes.  This course is just a bunch of raw meat and vegetables that you put on a skewer and sit in the hot oil to cook.  I forced myself to eat a few pieces of chicken and that's when it hit me.  All of a sudden I got this overwhelming feeling of nausea.  I started to notice how hot it was.  The place was small and all of the tables were packed tightly together and there burners were lit on every single table for the hot oil that cooks the meat.  Then I started to notice the smell of all of the raw meat.  I've never felt so sick in my whole life.  I just sat there drinking water and trying to enjoy our time together but eventually I got up to head to the bathroom.  Of course since the place was so small they only had one stall bathrooms and there was a line of about 5 women.  I finally got into the bathroom but couldn't do anything to feel better (trust me I even tried throwing up).  I didn't want all of the other women in line to have to wait so I went back to the table where I continued to feel worse and worse.  Next, they brought out chocolate fondue and lots of goodies to dip in the chocolate for dessert.  Normally, I would have been in heaven, but this night I couldn't even look at the chocolate let alone breathe through my nose and catch a whiff of it.  We had to ask for the bill and leave shortly after that.  The cab ride back to the hotel was the longest cab ride ever, the line for the elevators to get up to our room in the hotel was around the corner, and our toilet was having problems flushing so I didn't want to throw up in it and leave puke floating around.  I sat in the bathroom and tried to puke in the shower for about a half hour.  Nothing happened.  I ended up changing my clothes and laying in bed with my eyes closed for the next hour and eventually I started to feel better.  By this time it was already 11:00 pm, I had already changed into pajamas, I was a mess from all the sweating I did, and Vinnie had to work the next morning.  So we laid in bed, at this expensive hotel, and watched tv.  I felt terrible for ruining our night and of course Vinnie didn't care, he just wanted me to feel better.  Our first anniversary celebration was not much of a celebration.  I was just happy to be with the man that I love though.  We will have plenty more anniversaries to celebrate so I need to just let it go.

Champagne, chocolate, and note delivered to our room.

My handsome date.  If only I could have enjoyed that chocolate fondue.

I wish that we had taken a picture together this night.  I had a lovely dress that I bought and was saving specifically for this occasion but I can't even share it on here because I didn't take a picture with it!  Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wear it again soon!

Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful!  Now the countdown for Christmas begins!  Yay!

XO. Tarah

Isaac Strong

I will never understand why cancer exists.  And I will never understand why lives (especially lives of young innocent children) are cut short because of cancer.  It breaks my heart to read all of the stories of the brave, young people who try to stand up to cancer.

Please go here and read about Isaac Steiner and his battle with cancer.  It's an amazing blog that his parents created to share his story.  It is very emotional and will have you in tears but it will really open your eyes.

Then go here and help this brave little boy's family.  This is a blog post written by Erin at 'Living in Yellow'.  She is an awesome blogger that thousands of people follow.  She's trying to get the word out about Isaac and his family and wants to help them in anyway possible.  Thank you for sharing this amazing story and for giving us a way to help Erin!

Cancer sucks and there's nothing we can do about that.  But we can at least help a family in need.  Every little bit helps.

All of my problems don't seem so bad anymore.

XO. Tarah

Love More, Worry Less

It's Tuesday and I'm still not ready to be back at work after the amazing Thanksgiving holiday I had.  Seeing my family was so nice.  I just wish I could slow time down whenever I'm with them because it never lasts long enough.  I'll do a Thanksgiving update sometime this week but today I want to talk about something different.

My mind.

It never stops racing, thinking, and worrying.  I look at every situation through so many different perspectives that at times, it's exhausting.  Sometimes I have to look at situations outside of my life to make myself stop and slow down a little bit.  I have a great life and I know this.  I embrace this and I thank God every single day for this.  The thing is, sometimes my mind gets so consumed with these ideas that it creates that I can't slow down and look at the positives until I see how much worse I could have it.  Lately I've been so worried about my future, my jobs, my relationships, that my mind has gone to dark places at times and has made me sad.  I need to focus on turning this worry into love.

I need to love more and worry less.  Everything that happens, happens for a reason.  We will all go through some dark days and some rough patches in our lives.  That doesn't mean that we should start worrying about those days right now.  Live in the moment and love everything.  Be positive and take life one day at a time.  Be thankful for what you have and stop thinking about what you don't have.  Life is beautiful and short so go live it!  You never know how many days you truly have left on this earth because you are not the one who decides.  I was reminded of that today, from someone who I don't even know, who is living a much tougher life than I am.

XO. Tarah  

Be Thankful...

Today is Thanksgiving Eve and although I don't think I should have to work at all (and neither should anyone else!) because our office is extremely slow today, I am very thankful that I get out at 2:00 instead of the usual 5:00.  Today, since I am in the Thanksgiving mood, I have decided to share what I am most thankful for.  I have a lot to be thankful for this year because it's been one of the harder years of my 25 years of life (ok, 24 years and one month of life).

I am thankful for...

My amazing family.  Without them I would not be who I am today.

Vinnie.  I didn't know it was possible to love someone so much.  He makes my heart happy and is there for me through everything.

My baby boy, Marley.  This dog never ceases to amaze me.  He is full of love and happiness and will make anyone who meets him smile.  He cares more about me than he cares about himself.  Who knew it was possible to love a furry little creature so damn much!

My health.  I feel very lucky to be as healthy as I am because I know many people are not as fortunate as I am.

My jobs.  Although I love to complain about working insane hours, I am very thankful to have 2 amazing jobs in this economy.  I still struggle to get by but it could be so much worse and I realize this.

My past and all of the bad things that have happened in my life.  I know this is a weird one but it's true.  My past has made me into a strong woman and the bad things that have happened have truly opened my eyes to all of the good things that I never knew existed.

All of the little moments that make me appreciate my amazing life.

The things that I do not need but am fortunate enough to have.

My happiness.

Thanksgiving itself, because having a day off to be with family and think about how much you have to be thankful for is wonderful.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Remember to be thankful for what you have on this special day!  And have fun stuffing your faces with tons of amazing food until you feel like you're going to explode and pass out!

XO. Tarah

Honey Apple Porkloin

Hey Hey!  Only 1 1/2 more days of work left and then it's Turkey Time!  

Tonight Vinnie and I are celebrating Thanksgiving because we are both leaving to visit our families tomorrow.  I decided that I didn't want to make turkey because I'm going to have plenty of that the next several days.  So I decided to make honey apple pork in the crock pot.  Sounds pretty delicious and it was definitely simple, let's just hope it turns out.  I actually got this idea and recipe from Jane at 'In the Pink and Green'. 

Jane's picture

I work up a little early to prepare this and it only took about 15 minutes.  All you need is:

3 apples, sliced
2 T cinnamon
4 T honey
2.5-3 lb porkloin

I put the slices from 2 of the apples in the bottom of the crockpot and covered them with some of the cinnamon.  Cut slits in the pork loin and fill the slits with honey.  Put apple slices in the slits and put the pork in the crock pot.  Drizzle with honey and more cinnamon and then put the rest of the apples in.  I didn't really measure the cinnamon and honey, but I usually don't.  I just hope it turns out as well as Jane's did because hers look amazing!

After work I have to run a few more errands because I am going to try and bake pumpkin bars and pumpkin butter (gotta get all my pumpkin cooking in while I still can) and I'm hoping to come home to a lovely pork dinner.  Marley was eyeing the crockpot before I left for work this morning, so hopefully he doesn't jump up there and ruin our dinner!

If you haven't checked out the new winter fashion at Target yet, do yourselves a favor and GO THERE NOW!  I stopped in there last week and wanted to max out my credit card on all of the adorable things they have.  I managed to only buy a few things but I definitely wanted more.  Here are 2 of the shirts I bought:

Both are really cute and very affordable.  Ahh, Target never let's me (or my bank account) down.  Now I really need to stop shopping for myself and start buying Christmas presents.  I can't believe it's already that time of the year!  Starting Friday all we will be hearing about is Christmas, not that I'm complaining!  I love me some Christmas.  I'm also happy to announce that I have bought a few Christmas presents already, although I still have tons left to do!  Bring on the Christmas cheer!

Now I'll get back to starring at the time in the corner of my computer screen, counting down the minutes until 5 pm end of my last full day of work!

XO. Tarah

A Birthday and Thanksgiving Recipes

Alright, we'll get to the Thanksgiving crap in a minute but for the most important news: today is my niece's 4th birthday!

Emma and her cake last weekend at her bday party

Happy birthday to the cutest little girl on the planet!  I can't believe how fast she is growing up!!!

I'm actually excited that today is Monday!  It's the beginning of a short work week followed by a lovely holiday!  I'm hoping these 2 1/2 days of work fly by because me and Marley will be on our way to Iowa to celebrate Thanksgiving around 3 pm on Wednesday!  I get out of work at 2 and I'm hoping to run home and grab Marley, load up my car, and be on the road.  Vinnie is spending his holiday in St. Louis with family so I will miss him but we will reunite on Saturday to celebrate our 1 year anniversary.  I'm hoping to do a little Thanksgiving celebrating together tomorrow night since we won't be able to spend the actual holiday together.

So normally around my house during Thanksgiving I don't really help out with the cooking a whole lot.  My mom usually pretty much takes care of everything.  But, since I've been cooking more and more over the past year I thought maybe I would make a little side dish of my own.  So, in honor of Thanksgiving week, I've decided to share a few of the ideas that I am thinking about making and bringing this year.

Baked Brie with Pecans

 

Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip

Pumpkin Bars

Homemade Pumpkin Butter

If I have enough time, I really want to make that pumpkin butter so that I can send something with Vinnie for his family!  But we'll see if I actually have time.

Happy Monday!  Here's to a short work week!

XO. Tarah

In My Head...

Happy Thursday!  There are so many things going on in my head that I've decided today is the day that I spill it all out here.

1.  Marley went to the vet yesterday for his yearly checkup and vaccinations.  Last year when he went he weighed 60 lbs and the vet let me know that he was a fatty and needed to lose weight.  I was feeding him to much, so I've cut down on his portions since then.  Well yesterday when they weighed him we found out he now weighs 42 lbs!!!  My baby lost almost 20 lbs and is healthier than ever, which is great considering he is 6 years old (37 in human years).  I didn't remember him every looking that fat until I found an old picture and put it side by side with a new picture:

The top picture is from a little over a year ago and the bottom picture is from this morning.  He looks so much better now!  Also, he got 3 shots and didn't even make a peep, not even a little whine.  I was so proud of him I almost cried!  I always worry that he's not completely healthy since he's getting older and obviously he can't tell me if something is wrong.  Luckily I don't have to worry because the vet confirmed that he was healthy and fit.

Needless to say, we let Marley enjoy a nice big bone last night because he deserved it!

2.  We ordered Chinese food last night and sat on the couch stuffing our faces while drinking beer and watching Breaking Bad and the Chicago Bulls game.  Our other option was to go to the gym.  I do not feel bad for picking option number 1.  At least we walked to the Chinese restaurant to pick up our order instead of having it delivered.  That's considered exercise, right?!

3.  I could not be more excited for next week for multiple reasons.  I only have to work at the bar on Monday night and then I have the whole rest of the week off.  I only have to work at my day job for 2 1/2 days and then I get the rest of the week off.  My whole family is going to be together for Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving in itself, yummy!  Friday is Vinnie and I's one year anniversary and we are celebrating it on Saturday by going to a lovely dinner and staying the night in a hotel in downtown Chicago.  Ahh I have so many things to look forward to!

4.  I'm actually celebrating Thirsty Thursday tonight because I don't have to work.  I'm meeting up with a good friend to have a couple of brewskis.  Hooray!

5.  I'm getting my haircut on Saturday so I won't look like a hot mess for Thanksgiving!

6.  It's almost time for me to get into the Christmas spirit with decorations and crafts and Christmas music!  I refuse to get into the Christmas spirit until Thanksgiving is over though!  One holiday at a time people!

7.  I just took a long lunch break and went shopping at Water Tower.  I found a couple of cute things at Forever 21 and bought a bunch of candy at Candyality!  Hmm maybe I should reconsider my choice of not going to the gym last night.  We'll work on that after the holidays!

8.  I have the cutest niece who is turning 4 on Monday!  Me and Vinnie went to her birthday party last Sunday and she had the best time!

Her adorable cake!

 
 Now all I have to do is get through this weekend of work and then it's smooth sailing for a whole week!  I guess it's time that I start looking up Thanksgiving recipes because I've decided that I am going to bake something to bring since I normally don't really help out much with the cooking on Thanksgiving. 

Have fantastic night!

XO. Tarah

 
 

Independent Woman

It's so important to remember that you cannot depend too much on others.  Be independent.  Be strong.  This way, if things go wrong and your whole world is turned around, you won't be let down.

Take a Deep Breath

 

If you give up, you'll never know what you could've been.  Life is supposed to be easy but in the end, everything happens for a reason.  If you think your life is hard, just remember that God gave you this life because you are strong enough to handle it. 

Friday's Letters

T.G.I.F. 
Do I really need to say anything else?!?

Today I am linking up for the first time to write some Friday Letters!

Dear work - please be really busy tonight and tomorrow night so that I can make lots of cash money and so my nights won't drag!  Christmas is just around the corner and this girl's got a reputation as the world's best gift giver to uphold, and we all know that the world's best gifts cost a pretty penny.

Christmas Countdown

Dear office building that I work in - you are FREEZING!  Why?!?  I'm seriously considering wearing mittens while working next week cuz my fingers are ice cubes right now!

Dear weather - thank you for being so lovely today.  I enjoyed walking back to the office after lunch today.  55 degrees in November?  I'll take it!

Dear Vincent - thank you for being so amazing!  Good things are just around the corner for you...I can feel it!  I love you more and more every single day!

Dear Sunday - you're my only day off so hurry up and get here!

Dear Emma - I can't believe your 4th birthday party is this weekend!  I can't wait to see you and the rest of the family!

Dear Thanksgiving - Hurry up already.  I want to stuff my face with delicious food!

Dear Marley - You are the cutest and best doggie in the whole world!  Thank you for being adorable.  You're also the hardest little guy to leave in the mornings when I go to work.  You make me so sad with your little puppy dog face!

Dear Life - I love you!

That's all I got today!

Happy Weekend (almost)!

XO. Tarah