Just Some Pictures.

Just decided to upload some of the pictures that I've been taking lately. I love pictures of the sky, there are so many shades throughout the day and I think it makes for such pretty pictures.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas :)

Kayla

Our Thanksgiving

I know I'm a little late, but I needed a few days to recoup from the craziness of Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Christmas decorating. We had a wonderful thanksgiving, I spent all day in the kitchen with my mom, followed by an awesome meal... Boy did I miss her food. I slept for about two hours right after dinner before I got up in the worst mood of my life and started my shopping. I did Toys R Us online, Walmart in the store (which was pure craziness) and then Target in the store as well. Target handled everything perfectly... I am extremely happy with how it turned out and I plan on shopping there more often.

Here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving :)

My Centerpiece... I only paid $7 for, and I can reuse everything so I don't have to buy it again. Dollar Tree can be my best friend at times, I plan on using the same thing for Christmas but putting old ornaments and some candy canes on the plate in place of the fall leaves.

Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast

Along with muffins

My mom's amazing stuffing

Chips w/ dip

Peanut butter fudge

Sweet potatoes

Mashed Potatoes

Creamy deviled eggs

Bacon-cheddar pinwheels (before they were baked)

The turkey... we used one of those roasting bags that you put it in,

OMG it was the juciest turkey that I have EVER had.

All of our sides

And finally, our turkey and ham...

Everything was just sooooo good. We were eating leftovers for days and there are still more but we got sick of it. Over the weekend, my mom cut up the rest of the turkey and some celery and mixed with mayo to make turkey salad. we ate it on sub rolls with lettuce and tomato.... it was really really good!!!!

In other news, I am almost completely done with my Christmas shopping. All that is left is to get a few more gifts, wrap, and send out what needs to be sent out. I finished decorating outside our apartment, and I adore the way it came out... we have icicle lights, multicolor lights around the window and in the front bush, both blinking... lighted candy canes in front of the walk way, a big blow up penguin on the porch, and our door is decorated with a 4' red lighted bow, and lighted garland draped on the frame... SO pretty!!! On saturday we are heading up to the mountains, Jefferson, NC to be exact... to cut down our own Christmas tree. Then, on Sunday, it's Disney's Dare to Dream Princesses on Ice show at the Greensboro Coliseum. Brooklyn doesn't know that we are going, she is going to be soooo excited. Stay tuned for lots more pictures after the weekend.

Wishing for lots of snow and the sound of jingle bells,

Kayla

Giving Thanks

Somehow, I was able to slip away from slaving in the kitchen with my mom in order to spend a few minutes thinking and writing about what I am thankful for this year :)

I have so much in my life to be thankful for. My husband, my daughter, my family and friends, my job, pretty much everything.

I am thankful for my daughter, Brooklyn Marie. She brightens up my days and makes me smile when I am at my lowest. She has such a big heart and always teaches me things, makes me stop and notice the little things in life... the little things that most adults will walk by every single day and not even notice. My favorite time with her is at the end of my work day, when I come to pick her up... for the 15-20 minutes in the car ride home, we sing and dance to our favorite songs on the radio. She allows me to be a kid again, even on the days that I am stressed out the most. She has such a huge personality, such a great sense of humor. Yesterday, she told me that she is missing her grandpa in heaven. I told her I missed him too, and she said, "He misses you too mommy, and he is in heaven looking all over for you because he wants to see you." That made my heart melt, it really made my day. She drives me crazy sometimes but I truly am grateful for every single second I get to spend with her, learning from her. I just wish she would stop growing so fast!!!

I am thankful for my husband, although we have only been married for 7 months and stress has pretty much been at 200% for the past 7 months, I know we will get through it as we always have for the past 5 1/2 years. He is the love of my life, my soulmate. The person who keeps me laughing even when I want to hate him... It is never a dull moment in our household just because of him. I am able to make jokes and laugh with him and not have a care in the world. And, at the end of every day, I still fall asleep in his arms... even if I do roll over as soon as I fall asleep and sleep with my back to him for the rest of the night. Ha ha ha ha ha. 

I am thankful for my parents, without their love and support I would not be here today. My dad is not here with us anymore, but I know he is looking down and smiling every day... I know I am making him proud and that certainly keeps me going :) And my mom, although we have had our ups and downs, is always there for me; especially in these past few months that I have been in North Carolina. I am thankful that she still lets me go food shopping in her fridge and cabinets when we have no food in our house... ha ha ha.

 I am thankful for my family... MOST of them have been there for me for as long as I can remember. My cousins Chris, Staci, and Jessie, who are at times like brother and sister to me. Chris was the one who always kept me busy during the summer when I came to visit, with trips to Canada, Six Flags, and my favorite place... the Jersey Shore. I will never forget my summers with him.... we always had a blast. Staci; my maid of honor, and Brooklyn's godmother... and my new goddaughter Cierra who I cannot wait to meet. Words cannot express the love that I have for you and your family, and I cannot wait for you to be closer. And my godmother Jessie, who although I am not as close to, I think it is just because we are so far away from each other. I truly wish I could I could spend more time with you and your family, I miss you more than words can say. I have tons and tons and tons of family.... and I really cannot name every single member... but this post would not be complete without mentioning my cousin Christian. We have had our ups and downs.... hell, when you were born I decided that I did not like you and I kept to that promise for a very long time, ha ha ha. But over the years we have truly grown close to each other, and my life would be incomplete without you in it. I love you and I fully support every single thing you do, because I have faith in you and I know that you are meant to be someone in this world. There are times that I disagree with you... but I let you know, and I am always there to give you my advice and opinion, whether you ask for it or not... ha ha ha.

I am thankful for my friends, some of whom are always there for me day or night. My friends truly showed their loyalty earlier this year with my wedding, both my bridesmaids and non-bridesmaids were there for my every single call, and really did everything in their power to help me make my day special. They endured my freak outs, my attitude, my bitch fests... LOL.... and I thank all of them for it. Samantha, the past year has brought us closer than friends; we have become sisters and I wouldn't have it any other way. I wish we talked more, I wish I could see you more.... Hopefully one day you will get your butt up here and be as happy as we are in our little country town. Steph and Joha, you girls are like my other two sisters. All of you knew Tj before you knew me, but yet you took me in like you knew me forever. You have always been there for me and have always stood behind me when it came to Tj... Lol, Sam, Steph, and Joha would be the first ones to fuck him up if he did something wrong. We are a family and I wish we were all closer and could spend more time together, I wouldn't have it any other way. And my Nathan... even though he loves Tj more than me, he DOES ask for me from time to time lol and I love him more than anything <3 My future son in law right there ha ha ha. And I am thankful for all my other friends who I couldn't even begin to mention, because I would be here all day explaining what each of you have done for me over the past few years. The true friends know who they are <3 I love you!!!

I am thankful for the Android operating system, without it I don't know how I would survive. My Dell laptop which has taken a hell of a beating, my UGG boots, my Bella girl, Vampire Diaries, Twilight, Pinnacle Whipped Vodka and Godiva White Chocolate Liquor which is keeping me feeling pretty good right now, Facebook, White Chocolate Kit Kats, my hair straightener, GPS; without it I would be lost. My mom's cooking, my zebra blankie, my comfy pillow, Drake and Lil Wayne, country music, and many many more things that I don't feel like naming right now. 

Back to slaving in the kitchen some more... as if I haven't cooked enough today ha ha ha...

OH! Here's what's on the menu for today, from breakfast to snacks to dinner:

Frosted Cinnamon Rolls

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Chips w/ 4 Layer Dip

Creamy Deviled Eggs...

(made a lil different w/ Ranch and cream cheese)

Roasted Turkey

Glazed Ham

Mom's Homemade Stuffing

Mom's Homemade Mashed Potatoes

Mom's Homemade Sweet Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole

Cranberry Sauce...

(the jelly kind in the can... I don't care what you say, it is the best thing out there, period. Ha ha ha)

My Crescent Bacon-Cheddar Pinwheel Rolls

Peanut Butter Fudge

Baked Apple Pie w/ Vanilla Ice Cream and Whipped Cream

Paula Deen Pumpkin Praline Pie

Coconut Cream Pie

And of course, lots and lots of Creamsicles for me with my beloved Pinnacle Whipped, Godiva Liquor, and orange juice... yummm

Can't wait for dinner... it's gonna be soooooo good. Mom's cooking beats anything I have ever had, and my new creations are gonna be a great addition :) After dinner it's straight to sleep for me.. gotta be back up at 9 tonight to start my shopping.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

Kayla <3

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Sometimes rainy days make for good pictures...

Although staring out at the rain from my huge window at work is quite depressing;

The days just seem to drag on and on.

Sigh...

Wishing for Sunshine and Rainbows,

Kayla

The Colors Of Fall

I have a few pictures I wanted to share... I love taking pictures and I was thinking of maybe signing up for a digital photography class at my school. Out of all of the things that I have been bouncing back and forth in, I know photography is something that I love. That will never change... although I wouldn't want to do it as my main job because I feel like once you turn something into your job, the passion goes away.

This first picture I thought was really cool... It looks like it's in black and white, but it's not... I was driving and the sun was so bright that it took all of the color out of the picture.

Now, some pictures around my neighborhood...

(The last one came out a little blurry because I was driving)

I love all of the colors of fall; especially the red and yellow. I don't know how many times I've said this, but it feels sooooo good to be able to experience the change of seasons again. I have this peaceful sense of home here, like this is where I've always been meant to live. I don't think I will ever leave North Carolina... not if it's up to me. In the future I want a house, maybe a little set back with some land... or right near a lake. I want a front porch that I can sit and drink some hot chocolate while watching the sun go down every night <3

That's all for today guys, I have to get back to work. Last night I went shopping for a Thanksgiving centerpiece, and sometime this weekend I'll post pictures of it and maybe give tips on decorating while spending little to no money :)

Hugs and Kisses,

Kayla