Goodbye 2011!

Don't get me wrong, 2011 was definitely a good year. God has certainly blessed me and my family with more than we deserve, but I am ready to see 2011 come to an end and begin a new chapter. Here are my reflections on the past 365 days and what I'm looking forward to in 2012...

What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
I ran my first half marathon! Read about it here and check out the pictures here.

Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I've never really been one to make New Year's resolutions. I guess we could all say that we want to eat better, exercise more, don't sweat the small stuff, etc....so maybe I will in 2012. 

Did anyone close to you give birth?
I've had a number of friends have babies this year, and it seems like everyone is announcing pregnancies lately on Facebook. I guess the only one in my family to have a baby is my cousin and cousin-in-law. Nick and Steph had their second little boy, Nolan, back in April.

Nolan, 1 week old, April 2011

Nolan at Thankgiving...watch out, he's on the move

Did anyone close to you die?
Unfortunately, yes. Ashley, you're dearly missed! 

What countries did you visit?
Only the good ol' U.S. of A. This year included trips to New Orleans {x2...Mardi Gras and Robyn's Wedding}, Louisville {x2...for conferences}, Kansas City {x2...for conferences}, Orlando {for a conference and for fun}, Washington DC {for a conference and for fun}, Philly {after DC to visit my bro...and I still need to blog about it!}, Lexington, Chicago, and a few trips to Cincinnati to visit family scattered throughout the year. Hoping to visit a couple new places in 2012! 

What would you like to have in 2012 that you didn’t have in 2011?
Well, I definitely don't want this to happen again. That's all I'll say about that. 

What dates from 2011 will be etched upon your memory, and why?
Hmmm...
March 8...my birthday, which we celebrated in NOLA on Mardi Gras. Fun times.
May 7...I ran my first Half Marathon!
June 13...TJ and I celebrated 2 years of wedded bliss. Love you babe.
June 30...my dad retired after 36 years at the same company. Congrats dad!
October 31...The day I knew I was miscarrying, only to get confirmation from my doc the following day. I don't ever want to relive that again, but I am thankful for the silver lining and the wonderful support from my friends and family. 

What was your biggest achievement of this year?
Running a distance I never thought I'd be able to do. 

What was your biggest failure?
I know I shouldn't feel this way, but this kind of feels like a failure. 

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Unfortunately, I'm still dealing with migraines {like, the last 3 days :( }. Thankfully, the biggest kind of injury I've had from running is some IT {iliotibial} band issues, which could be prevented with some better stretching. {note to self for 2012!} 

What was the best thing you bought?
We all know that money can't buy happiness, but I am very glad that I bought my Garmin Forerunner 405 back in the spring when I was training for the Mini. Knowing my time, pace, and distance when I'm running is so handy!

Where did most of your money go?
Bills, bills, and more bills. Oh, and loans too. 

What did you get really excited about?
I was super excited about my trip to DC in October to go to the IADMS {International Association for Dance Medicine and Science} Annual Meeting. It was a dream come true as I realized that there are other people that have combined their love of medicine and dance to make a career!

  
Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
Same, same, and same. 

What do you wish you’d done more of?
Even though I did more of it than ever before, I wish I had kept up running more in the last few months. I definitely need to get back into it. 

What do you wish you’d done less of?
Sitting on my butt? 

Did you fall in love in 2011?
Is it cheesy enough to say that I'm more in love with TJ now than the day I married him? Well, I do. :)

What was your favorite TV program?
I'm guilty of watching reality TV. And lots of it. {Maybe I should do less of that in 2012?} 

What was your favorite film of 2011?
Geez, I have a hard time remembering movies. The Muppets was great! 

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I rang in 28 in New Orleans at Mardi Gras. That was a fun {and exhausting} week!

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Gosh, do I sense a theme here? If I could erase October 31 and November 1 from the 7th question above, I probably would have been more satisfied. 

How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2011 ?
I'm a fan of dressy casual. Stylish, yet comfortable. I love Banana Republic, JCrew, Anthropologie...and I've recently discovered Athleta.

What kept you sane?
Definitely TJ. I also can't thank my parents enough. 

Who did you miss?
My Grandma Ruth. She would have been 80 this year, but I know she's looking down on me from heaven. 

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
Always trust in God. His timing is best.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year!

Cheers to a great 2012!

emily

Wordless Wednesday {Ashley's Tree}

My friend, Ashley, loved the color yellow, so a family friend got her parents a yellow tree.

Ashley has an amazing group of friends that miss her terribly, so we decorated her yellow tree with an abundance of wonderful memories.

It's pretty amazing.

Christmas Cookies!

I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Christmas. We had a great weekend with family....it went by waaay too fast! There are a ton of pics to share, but a lot of them are on my dad's good camera, so I'll have to post those another day once I put them on my computer.

I do happen to have pictures from some of the Christmas goodies I made. I was a little pressed for time this year, as I worked all of last week and just didn't have a bunch of time to make lots of cookies. I did make Christmas cut-outs, which were well worth the time it took to roll, cut, and decorate. And I think they turned out pretty good, if I say so myself!

Chocolate covered pretzels and white chocolate Chex mix....

or what my friend, Cassie, calls "Christmas Crack"

Cookies post-baking, pre-decorating

 

 

The little bit of leftover dough...i.e. the dough I didn't eat...got some holly leaves

The whole spread!

Hard at work!

If you're ever in need of a sugar cookie recipe, I HIGHLY recommend this one. No sticky dough when rolling and cutting, and very good...especially with a cup of coffee!

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

 

Decorator Frosting

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• 4 drops red food coloring

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, confectioners' sugar, and milk until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and food coloring. Spread on or between cookies.

 

The frosting wasn't my favorite ever, but it still worked pretty well.

Did you do a lot of holiday baking? What's your go-to Christmas cookie?

 

Wordless Wednesday {Chicago Edition}

Views from the Hancock Tower from our Chicago trip last weekend...

Navy Pier

Window washers...on the outside...over 90 stories high! Crazy!!!!

One of my favorites

Self-portrait

More on our Chicago trip - the food, the sightseeing, and the shows - later!

It's Good! It's Good!

As you may know by now, a couple of my favorite Christmas movies include A Christmas Story and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. {You can read about me wanting a leg lamp here.} I can watch these over and over and over again and still crack up at the same things.

Well, some of you may know that I also love mugs. We're talking coffee mugs. Just last Friday at Crate & Barrel, I wanted to get four more of my Christmas Joy mugs so that I could have a complete set of eight. Unfortunately, TJ put his foot down and said I didn't need anymore mugs {and, sadly, he's probably right!} He did let me get the platter to go with them though!

Anyways, I digress. So despite TJ saying that I had too many mugs already, what does he do this week? He bought me more mugs! Only these weren't the classy Crate & Barrel ones....

It's a major award!!

You may not recognize the moose mug right away...here's another pic to jog your memory...

Yep, now I have a moose mug too. I may just have to get some eggnog to go in it.

Happy Friday!

Thankful Thursday

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage...

Well, I think you all know the rest of the song.

It seems like after you've been married for a couple years, everyone starts asking the million dollar question....

When are you going to have kids? {or some variation of that question}


And this is what I want to say {or have said a million times}:

Well {insert random lady, guy, friend, or family member's name}, I'm not sure. We've only been married a little over two and a half years...we're just enjoying life with the two of us. Definitely someday though...

Why do I have to explain myself?

I feel like I get this question even more these days; only now, it's more than the feeling of annoyance that comes to mind. Now, I can't help but feel some element of sadness and loss.

I've had a miscarriage.

I know this is a very personal and maybe uncomfortable thing to blog {and read} about, but I feel like I needed to write it. I had to get it off my chest, and I think it's something that women shouldn't be ashamed to divulge. Some sources quote as many as 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage. That's A LOT. And, unfortunately, I had to be in that 25 percent.

This all happened back in October, and honestly, a little bit of a surprise. I'm a pretty private person, unlike some people that are very open about "trying to have kids," so after I told people about it, I think they were a little surprised. I'm not going to go into all the details of finding out, etc, etc, etc, but, I'm doing okay...physically. I'm VERY thankful for that.

Mentally, it's tough...very, very tough. Most days, I'm my normal self, but some days aren't as easy. I'm at the stage in my life where it seems like everywhere I turn, someone is announcing a pregnancy or having a baby. Every time I hear about someone else {and it's happened so many times, just since October}, it brings back ALL the feelings of loss. And it's hard. I want to be happy for other people, but I can't help but be a little mad, frustrated, whatever. I think, why did I have to go through this...it's not fair. Not to mention the fact that I'm a family medicine resident, and I take care of obstetric patients all the time, a lot of them being teenage or unwanted pregnancies, and everything is routine as routine can be. Why me and not them???

I know the answer to that question, but it's still hard to sink in. It just wasn't in God's plan right now for TJ and me to be parents. As difficult as it is to wrap my head {and heart} around that realization, I know deep down that it is true. It will happen when it's supposed to happen. I can have faith in that.

I have to mention that through all of this, I had a lot of support from TJ, my parents, brother, friends, and family. A HUGE thank you to all of you. You rock.

I'm also very thankful for the silver lining: the fact that I can get pregnant. That has been a fear of mine for a long time, and I'm happy to be able to push that fear away. I don't need that stress anymore.

So, if you've made it through this whole post, thank you for reading. I wanted {and needed} to share, mainly because I think this is something that women shouldn't be afraid to talk about. I was hoping that I'd be posting some more exciting news this week {I would have been at the end of my first trimester}, but it's just not the case right now. I'm not sure what the future will bring, but for now, I'm focusing on my career, running, and spending some time as a family of two

We're going to enjoy that freedom while we have it.

P.S. If you've been reading my blog and wondering about me alluding to a lot of extra stress lately, well, this is a huge part of that. TJ and I have a great marriage, and I love him more today than the day I married him. We've just had some things this fall that have given us some added stress, and I'm so blessed that he is here to face them with me. Love you babe!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Christmas Decorations!

What is it about tiny white lights and fake trees and garland that can make a home feel so cozy? I don't know, but if you figure it out, let me know.

I love my Christmas decorations, and I definitely added to my collection this year. I love the way things turned out...see for yourself :)

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TJ's New Work Hours!

As some of you know, TJ has worked some pretty crappy hours for awhile. Crappy as in 11:45am to 9pm Mon through Thurs and 10am to 4pm on Saturdays. Fridays and Sundays off. Sure, he gets to sleep in, but not getting home till 9:30 most nights is just not fun. For him or me. There are too many days when the extent of our conversation is me saying goodbye to him in the morning when he's half-asleep and then him saying hello and goodnight when he gets home from work. Not fun, to say the least.

On Monday, TJ had the chance to "bid" for a new schedule. {his company is kind of screwy...the way they organize and do things makes no sense to me...or probably most people in this world} Anyways, he ended up getting a new schedule that starts after the first of the new year. He'll work 9:45am to 7pm Mon, Wed, Thurs, Friday, work 11am to 5pm on Saturday, and have Tuesday and Sunday off. Not a regular 9 to 5, Monday to Friday gig, but a whole heck of a lot better than the current situation. I'm so happy that we'll be able to eat dinner together again and actually see each other during the week!!

At TJ's sister's wedding, 9.19.2009 {TJ may or may not have had a few drinks in him}

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New Boots!

I have been on the search for a new pair of boots to go with my recently purchased new pair of skinny jeans, and I finally found a pair! Skinny jeans and tall boots are harder for me to find due to my somewhat-on-the-large-size calves. {which I attribute to my many years of dancing, thankyouverymuch} Anyways, what made the skinny jeans find even sweeter was that they were only $15 at Old Navy over Thanksgiving weekend! Suh-weeet! Then, last Monday, when I was doing some Christmas shopping, I happened to find a pair of camel colored boots that fit and look great with my jeans...and they're comfortable to boot! {no pun intended} :)

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Painted Nails!

Having my nails painted always makes me a little happy. Yes, that may be very superficial, but, hey, it works for me. This past weekend, I tried out the trend where you paint the ring finger nail different than the rest. I didn't want it to be super obvious, so I just decided to add a little {more} sparkle to my ring fingers.

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Weekend Getaways!

TJ and I decided that instead of exchanging gifts this year, we'd take a long weekend trip together. We had initially wanted to go to New York City {my dream is to see the NYC Ballet perform The Nutcracker}, but after looking at plane fare and seeing that most flights were in the $300 range, we opted to stay closer to home and venture a few hours north to the Windy City. We're so excited to see A Christmas Story: The Musical and the Joffrey Ballet perform The Nutcracker. Well, I'm super excited to see the latter...TJ's being a great sport. :) It'll be so nice to spend a few days together without the normal daily grind. We'll also take in the sights of Chicago at Christmastime and get to see my cousin and his wife for dinner! Can't wait!!!

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What are you loving today???