Veterans and Patriotism

Have you ever had a moment where you question where the country is going?

I know I have.

And then there are moments that restore your faith in people. Moments that make you proud to be part of a country that is so great.

One such moment for me was when MG and I were waiting for our flight to Minnesota. We were grabbing a drink at a restaurant, waiting til we could board our flight, and a flight was unloading. And then we saw people holding little American flags. We were wondering what was going on until we saw some veterans getting off of the plane. They were WWII vets, Korea vets, Navy, Army, Air Force and Coast Guard vets. Some were walking alone, some were walking with the help of someone else or a walker, and some were in wheel chairs.

 And every person in the area (with the exception of a few jerks who I glared at) stood up and clapped for the vets the entire time that they deplaned. As each vet made their way by, they were cheered on and clapped for. It was enough to make your heart swell.

What we saw was a group called Honor Flight that takes vets to DC so that they can see the memorials to the wars that they fought in/were a part of.

Watching these vets go by, seeing the people around, who were total strangers (us included), showing respect for people who had risked their lives for our freedom, was incredible. 

The whole time I had a small lump in my throat (I am a sap through and through). And then the second to last person to get off of the plane was a man in a wheelchair. And as he was coming towards me, he had tears streaming down his face. I lost it. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I was so glad that we were able to be part of such a special moment. To recognize people who were courageous and fought for us.

And in that moment, I was more proud to be an American than I have been in a while.

Despite all of the stupid stuff going on in Washington, it was nice to experience this show of  patriotism and respect.
And what better day to share this, than on Veteran's Day.
My dad is a Korea vet, and my grandfather and my uncle were WWII vets. I'm thankful for all of the military people and families who support them, for everything that they have done, are doing, and continue to do.
Happy Veterans Day!

5 on Friday

FRIDAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

That's all that needs to be said!

Well, that and my 5 on Friday...so let's get to that :)

{1}-Wedding

This weekend, MG and I are going to a wedding for a super fun friend of ours. She has been pivotal in a lot of our wedding planning since she is a MEGA planner (I'm talking, she had her first hair appointment like 2 weeks after she was engaged lol). I love this girl, her husband-to-be is the sweetest and I can't wait to celebrate a great couple this weekend!

{2}-Bridal Shower Plans

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It's happening! For me! Planning things like the bridal shower and bachelorette party make it all feel that much more real. I have a feeling once the holidays are over, things are going to be hitting me in the face, making me realize that this is really real, more and more. 
Of course, I am trying to avoid having a bridal shower the same day as my 'wedding drama friend'. Lord knows that whatever day we pick, it will more than likely be the same day hers is. Fingers crossed that all works out smoothly!  (I already have a pit in my stomach thinking about the potential drama that could ensue...) But, on a happier note, yay for having a bestie who is so on top of things, and already designing the shower invites. Love that girl :)

{3}-Pasta Freak

{via} get it? pasta freak? :)

I realized yesterday that every meal MG and I have made this week has been a pasta dish, none of which were mega healthy, either. And I'm feeling kinda bloaty this week (TMI? I'm sorry). So, next week we're gonna need to go in an anti-pasta direction I think.  My pasta-loving self is finding this hard to grasp, but hopefully I survive :)

{4}-Vikings/Redskins game
What do you do when your favorite team plays the team that your friend works for? I felt so torn going into the game, just like I did last year when we went to the Skins/Vikings game, and as our friend who works for the Vikings said to me last year, "Whose career depends on a win?" Dangit. So, I did what I did last year and cheered for both teams throughout the whole game. Hey, at least I wasn't too disappointed at the end of the game, cuz ONE of the teams I was cheering for won, right?

{5}-Being a grown up

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There are times that it hits me that I'm REALLY a grown up. Like when MG and I talk about what it will take for us to buy a house, and paying off his student loans, and having babies. And sometimes it's just overwhelming. Being a grown up sometimes isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes I wish it was a lot easier than it was, especially that whole buying a house thing...especially in the DC area. I DO like that MG and I have real, adult conversations, and plans to make it all happen, it just seems really daunting sometimes!

And, on that note, I'm making my way through to day so that I can act like a kid all weekend long! :) Being an adult is for the birds....or, the adults. 
Have a good weekend!!

Thursday Thanks

Since it's the month of being thankful (or at least recognizing it more regularly), I thought I would do a thankful post on Thursdays, leading up to Thanksgiving. Feel free to join along, every Thursday (I'll have a link each week).

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I'm thankful for....

...doctors and nurses who have taken care of my dad when he had to go to urgent care earlier this week because he was having trouble breathing.  My dad's hit a rough spot with his health lately, and it's nice to know that the doctors and nurses are there to help him when he needs.

.....inheriting MG's sisters as my own (not to mention the rest of his amazing family, too). They call to check in, and send my dad thoughts and prayers for him to get better. And they listen when I break down. I've been an only child forever, and it's nice to have sisters that I can rely on now, too.

.....friends who are there when you need them. No matter what.

And, on a slightly lighter note...

.....heated seats in my car. When the weather has been dipping down into the 30s and 40s in the morning, it's nice to have a seat that heats my hiney.

.....working with fun kids on a daily basis who provide me with endless entertainment, love and smiles.

....puppy wiggles, vigorous tail wags, and snuggles.

...text conversations with friends that make you smile from ear to ear.

....warm fuzzies.

That's it for now. There are TONS of things that I'm thankful for, but I'll share those with you next week, and in the weeks after :)

What are YOU thankful for this week, right now?

(I'll have a link up next week on Thursday if anyone wants to join me on the Thankful Train :)

What's Cooking? Wednesday #7: Noodles and Co. Pesto Cavatappi Copycat recipe

We're back for another round of What's Cooking? Wednesday ...

...and this week, I have another Noodles and Co. copycat recipe for you (can you tell that I love Noodles and Co???). I first fell in love with Noodles back when I was in college, when I had their Pesto Cavatappi, and I found a recipe here to copycat it!

What You Need:

-12 oz cavatappi (I could only find cellentini)

-7 oz pesto

-8 oz mushrooms

-8 oz cherry tomatoes, cut lengthwise

-1/3 cup white wine

-1/4 heavy cream

-EVOO

-shredded parmesan cheese

What You Do:

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. 

2. While the pasta is cooking, in a large skillet, add 1 Tbsp olive oil, and saute the mushrooms and tomatoes until tomatoes soften and mushrooms become brown and softer.

3. When the pasta has about 4 minutes left to cook, add the white wine to the tomatoes and mushrooms and reduce for about 2 minutes. (Pour yourself a glass from the remaining wine and take a sip...or two or three :)

4. Then add the heavy cream and reduce for another 1-2 minutes. 

5. Add in the pesto and stir.

6. Drain the pasta, return to the pot, and add the pesto mixture to the pasta. Mix well, and let it sit for a minute to soak up the pesto.

7. Top with parmesan cheese and enjoy!

We made ours with a recipe for the Noodles and Company parmesan crusted chicken. Recipe for that coming next week!

Don't forget to link up below and share your recipes or things that you WANT to be cooking!

Also, BIG shout out and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my best friend and maid of honor, Genna! I wish I could be there with you to celebrate, but just know that I love you and am thankful every day that we ended up working together, living together, and becoming besties! LOVE YOU!!!

Book Review: The Wolf of Wall Street

It's been a while since I did a book review, and that's because I was actually reading, just at a slightly slower pace than normal.

My book club book was The Wolf of Wall Street--one of the girls in the group's husband loved the book, so we jumped on the bandwagon since the movie is coming out in December.

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I started reading the book and had a hard time getting into it because I kept thinking "this would never happen. This isn't real" until I was talking to MG about it and he mentioned that the person WAS real and it really DID happen. And then I realize I had probably been living under a rock since I didn't know that. 

Then I REALLY got into the book because I was fascinated about how all of this totally OUTLANDISH stuff actually happened.

Here is part of the Amazon synopsis:

"By day he made thousands of dollars a minute. By night he spent it as fast as he could, on drugs, sex, and international globe-trotting. From the binge that sank a 170-foot motor yacht and ran up a $700,000 hotel tab, to the wife and kids waiting at home, and the fast-talking, hard-partying young stockbrokers who called him king and did his bidding, here, in his own inimitable words, is the story of the ill-fated genius they called . . .

THE WOLF OF WALL STREET "

The book is really well written--and it's amazing how much you can connect with a character that is such a down low dirty, sneaky dude, who is filthy rich. But, you do.

It's one of those books that you have to read it to believe it. And then look up a ton of stuff on Google to REALLY believe it.

It was a longer one, but kept me engaged the whole time, and wanting to know what happened next and how everything turned out.

Weekend

Wahhh it's Monday, it's cold and the weekend is over. Wah wah wah!

Ok, now that I got that out of the way, let's talk about the weekend...

Friday night MG and I had plans to go out with a couple friend of ours, but they bailed, so we stayed in, ordered pizza, and watched Monsters University. Suuuper cute movie--love those Pixar movies. Cooper was even watching the movie, too:

Saturday MG and I went into the city to pick up his and another of the groomsmen's suits. We were going to walk around the city a bit since the weather was nice, but MG's friend wanted to go golfing one last time this season, so we got the suits, had lunch and he went off to golf. The suits look really good and I'm excited to see all of the guys in them on the day of the wedding!

On our drive through the city, I got a good shot of the Washington Monument on one of the last few days that it's gonna have the scaffolding around it. Pretty soon it will be back to being pretty again!

Early evening we headed into Ballston to start my friend's birthday bar crawl. P!nky came out, too, and we had a fab time. I was curious about how all of the walking would end up, but it was alright, and a good chance to get in some exercise. There were all kinds of characters out, still celebrating Halloween after the fact, which made things crowded and interesting. Overall, it was a GREAT time and I was glad I could be part of the festivities.

Sunday was a day of errands and then watching my Skins pull out another much-needed win! Woohoo for happy football days!

And now, it's a teacher workday and I'm at my desk trying to motivate myself to do my progress reports.

I don't want to do my progress reports. But, alas, it's time to get this dog and pony show started, so I'm off to immerse myself in paperwork. Wish me luck!

Happy Monday :)

5 On Friday

5......five dollar footlong....oh, wait. Wrong 5. 

It's the first of the month, and it's Friday which means it's time to celebrate because the weekend is FINALLY here, once again!

So let's roll right into my 5, shall we?

{1}-Thanksgiving

Splitting holidays can be difficult, but luckily I'm involved with a guy who has a wonderful family. Last year MG's parents invited myself and my parents up to have Thanksgiving with them. It was the first time our parents met (we weren't engaged yet), and everything went swimmingly. This year, MG's parents asked if they could come down and we find a place to go out for Thanksgiving dinner (MG's one sister who is a nurse has to work, and his other sister hosts her in-laws and their MASSIVE family, so his parents are more than willing to escape for a bit). Since my dad is kind of struggling in the health department right now, going out to eat would be a little easier for everyone rather than cooking a whole Thanksgiving meal. I'm excited to have them down here. We (MG and I) might ride up to PA on Friday or something to see the rest of his family, too.

{2}-B-day Bar Crawl

This weekend a friend that I met through P!nky is having a b-day bar crawl. She has several different stops on the bar crawl with a special drink to have at each place (either a specialty or a favorite drink). Even though I may not partake in each drink, I think the idea is really fun and I'm looking forward to spending time with fun peeps this weekend!

{3}-Moving

No, not me, don't worry. A friend of mine texted me yesterday saying that her bf was applying for a job transfer from Boston to DC and, if he gets it (which she said is very likely) they would be moving in December. This is a girl who I met at a wedding last February, and we immediately hit it off-instant BFF's. We've remained in touch ever since, sending random texts to check in, or goofy ones to make each other laugh. So when I heard this news I was SO beyond excited that she might be in the area. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he gets it because having another super fun, drama-free friend in the area is always welcome!

{4} What's Cooking? Wednesdays

As much as I love sharing my recipes with you all, my Wednesday link up just hasn't been very popular, so I'm thinking of ending it.  I know a lot of people post recipes on Tuesdays for "Tasty Tuesdays" so I think people just aren't wanting to link up with me on Wednesdays which is a bummer. What do you think? Keep it or end it?

{5}-Phone and Tablets Allowed on Planes

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Did you see yesterday that the FAA changed the regulations on cell phone and tablet use on flights, and now you can use them the ENTIRE time (but no phone calls!)? This is GREAT! I can't stand not being able to read my Kindle or even listen to music while we are just sitting on the runway (especially when you're sitting there for a LONG time). I never understood how my Kindle would possibly impair the operation of the airplane (it probably didn't--MG's pilot friends told him that the main reason they do that is so that people pay attention at the beginning and end of flights). And, I will admit, I'm guilty of only putting my cell phone in airplane mode. My phone being on, and not being used, made no difference in any of the flights I was on. YAY for this announcement and yay for easier travel!

And that's it--time to bust through another work day so that the glorious weekend can greet me at the end of the day!!

Have a fab weekend!