Where has the time gone?

Well, it's about 5 days before New Year's and it seems appropriate that I am wondering where the time has vanished to.  Thanksgiving has come and gone.  The "Holiday Season" scurried by faster than I ever could have imagined.  I realize that I haven't posted since the day before Thanksgiving, and for that I apologize.  Life got in the way.  I became a full time army wife, a friend, and a workout fanatic.  So let me give you a brief summary of what's been happening.



Thanksgiving was amazing!  We had my sister, two friends from MI, and two guys from Hubs' EBOLC class come over for the meal.  We had so much food it was borderline ridiculous.  Still it was wonderful.  My kitchen was mass chaos and there often wasn't one speck of counter showing, but we had fun.  I was very proud of my first attempt as the Thanksgiving Hostess.

I was very proud of my candied sweet potatoes

Hubs and Dave made the best stuffing I have ever tasted

Trying to keep Hubs away from food is impossible

So that was Thanksgiving.  The month of December was filled with insanely long hours for Hubs, lots of working out, quite a bit of Christmas shopping, and a general feeling that I was starting to fall in love with Fort Leonard Wood.  I never thought I would like it there.  But I can't help but miss the amazing people I've met while I am at home for the holidays.  I like that I can make my own schedule.  I love that I found a friend that likes to work out as much (if not more) than I do.  It really has become a home and I will be sad to leave in April.  

Next came Christmas.  We spent 3 days up in MI visiting friends and family and then came back down to IL to spend Christmas with my family.  Our visit to MI was short, but wonderful.  We were able to see and spend time with all of our friends.  It was a little bittersweet because we were missing Hubs' best friend who is currently serving in Afghanistan.  Still, I was very thankful to spend time in MI.  I miss the mitten state and can't wait to return. 

We are still in IL until Sunday morning.  Christmas with my family was great as usual.  Lots of laughs, lots of presents, lots of love.  My mom does a spectacular job of being the Christmas hostess.  She does an even better job of picking out the perfect presents for every member in our family.  She does so much in the midst of working full time with pre-schoolers and baking full time for Pat's Perfect Pastries.   It's always so good to be home for the holidays.  

Tonight Hubs and I will spending the night at the Fairmont in Chicago.  We didn't get to celebrate Christmas with just the two of us this year and that greatly distressed me.  I love the holidays, especially holiday traditions.  I wanted to make sure Hubs and I started our own traditions because we are our own immediate family now.  It's important that we do what's best for us both in the midst of holiday hustle and bustle and in our every day decision making.  Because Hubs decided that we should leave early from MO to go to MI, we didn't get time to celebrate with just us.  After he realized how sad I was about not celebrating, he suggested downtown Chicago and I agreed excitedly. 

I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season.  May you experience the peace of Christ this Christmas, and every day after.  

Love,

Kait

Thanksgiving Preparations

Whew.  I just spent 3.5 hours in the kitchen beginning preparations for my debut as a Thanksgiving Day cook.  So exciting!

This past weekend I baked cookies and threw them in the freezer for our guests to munch on.

Today I baked pumpkin slices and an Espresso Orea Mud Pie (like the Mongolian Mud Pie at BD's).

I also screwed up muffins and am hoping no one will notice.  I can make many things, but apparently I cannot follow directions for a box of Cinnabon Cinnamon Muffins.  I forgot an egg.  I was too busy singing along to my favorite Glee songs.  They look ok and taste fine, they're just not as moist as I'd like them to be.  Hopefully no one will care.

Finally, I made corn chower with dumplings for tomorrow night.  Our guests will be arriving a around 7ish so I want to have something ready for them when they get here.  Homemade corn chower and homemade bread.  Yum.  I have all I can do not to eat the whole pot of chowder right now.  It's so yummy.

Tomorrow I will cook the turkey and do one more final cleaning of the house.  I love being the hostess.


-k

A typical week for Kait

Well, my interview with Starbucks went very well.  The interviewer told me I was p-e-r-f-e-c-t for the job.  Unfortunately, they didn't have any openings at the moment.  She did say, however, that she would call me as soon as something opened up.  Let's keep hoping that something opens up soon!

I feel like I should share what my day-to-day life looks like.  I workout everyday.  I go to Anytime Fitness almost everyday and lift, spin, run, take classes on demand, do yoga or zumba.  Yoga has become one of my favorite things.  When I am really sore from a step class, nothing feels better than doing 10 downward dogs and sun salutations.  I also go to classes at the fitness center on post with the other wives.  I think I've done zumba 6 out of 7 days this week.  I'm a zumba fanatic.  I should be an instructor.

When I am not at the gym, I can often be found at Wal-Mart or the Commissary.  The Commissary has amazing prices and saves us a lot of money on groceries.  If I can't find something there, I head over to the Wal.  It's a really nice Wal-Mart and has plenty to satisfy my DIY and crafting needs.  

I have a chore chart and do different chores everyday so I don't spend a whole day cleaning on the weekend.  My vacuuming day is Thursdays, but I'm pretty sure I've vacuumed the past three days in a row (stupid white-ish carpet and black-haired dog).  I also make dinner every night.  I've tried lots of delicious recipes including chicken enchiladas, pizza pot pies, Thai pineapple chicken stir fry, and lots of other yummy things.

My next kitchen challenge will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner.  My lovely sister, and two friends are driving down from the Mitten State to celebrate with us.  I can't wait!  I'm going to start my preparations today.      

What are your Thanksgiving plans?