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This year was the first year that Lucas and I celebrated Thanksgiving with just the two of us. During the first years together we were in Missouri so we always spent time with family. Then the past few years we’ve been in Vancouver where one year I even had to work on Thanksgiving and the day after (because up in Canada they celebrate Thanksgiving around the first week of October!). Now don’t feel too sorry for us because a lovely couple from church invited us to their place but we decided to spend the time on our own.
You may think that since it was just the two of us that we would have a somewhat small meal…you would be wrong. :) We had a 12 lb. turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, pop-overs, olives, pumpkin pie and sparkling apple cider. It was wonderful! I even set out a nice table arrangement for ourselves. Lucas and I split making all the stuff but he was most excited about roasting the turkey. I would say it all turned out pretty good…
As we were preparing our meal we watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade which got us in the Christmas spirit. So after we finished our food I started decorating for Christmas!!! But this post isn’t about Christmas, there will be plenty of those posts in the future. :) So let me end with some things I am thankful for…God and the blessings he has given us…our families…Lucas and the wonderful best friend he is to me…our friends who are all over the world…new friends who are close by…our church…our jobs so we can afford to have some extravagant times together…Paca…a warm place to live…the beautiful world all around us…living close to NYC…music…lazy days spent together…hot chocolate…bright, sun-shiny days…and a million other things…
-Shannon
…grown out my fingernails. For as long as I can remember I have been biting my fingernails. My mom says I started biting them while I was still in my crib…but then again I slept in a crib until I was 8 (just joking). Seriously though I’ve been biting my nails forever. Some would say it was a nervous habit (I don’t think so). My pawpaw would try to bribe me with money ( but he would only pay up if I grew them ALL out, not just one fingernail here and there). My mom would put stuff on my fingers that was supposed to taste bad (I thought it tasted like pickles and I LOVE pickles). In 8th grade I started playing the guitar and that only further convinced me to keep my nails short (although my nails have never even reached the end of my fingers). Even when I got married I tried to grow them out but couldn’t because it just didn’t feel like me (and I bit them off after a week). So this has been my life for as long as I can remember. And most of you who know me have probably picked up on this little habit of mine.
Then the oddest thing happened…right before we left Vancouver I thought I would try growing my nails out. I started by coating them with clear nail polish each day to try and keep me away from them. By the time we said goodbye to Vancouver I had a pretty good base built up but nothing that I hadn’t seen before and slowly nibbled away. We had a 40 hour long road trip ahead of us where I would be sitting in the car with nothing to do but bite my nails…but I made it through. Then summer kept happening and my nails kept growing! I couldn’t believe I was actually doing this…growing my nails. At some point I didn’t have to wear my protective coat of nail polish. I just didn’t bite my nails. And believe it or not they just kept growing and growing until one day they looked like this…
I realise now that this actually looks kind of gross but hey I had grown my nails out so who cared what they looked like. But do you notice my weakness?
That’s right, I had to keep one nail to bite on so I choose righty thumbnail. And keep in mind that my thumbnail was typically my biggest nail so all my other nails were even smaller than him when I started out.
The reason I finally took some pictures is because that day was the day I was going to cut my nails. Not chew them off but cut them. And why would I cut my gorgeous nails? Because I started playing this…
Little progress has been made on it since this summer but I am slowly working at adding the violin (but more fiddle) to my repertoire. My sister used to play it but then bestowed this violin to me years ago. We never took it with us to Vancouver so it sat in my parents basement for a few years. This summer we finally took it to the local music store to figure out what to do with it. I’ve just been teaching myself with the help of a book and some great youtube lessons. And don’t worry, the fingernails are still there but just at a more manageable length.
-Shannon
*PS-The pictures of my nails were taken this summer when I started playing the violin…no, I am not that tan now. :)
No, I have not decorated for Christmas or started playing Christmas music. These things must wait for after Thanksgiving…and by after I mean after I eat my food. That is when the Christmas season begins in our household. I’ll admit I’ve had my share of weak moments when I ask Lucas if I can get out some Christmas stuff or play some Christmas music (secretly I’ve been listening to it in the car), but I have resisted the temtation to forget about Thanksgiving altogether and move onto Christmas prematurely. :) However, this past week I had two moments of early Christmas in my life. Our first Christmas card arrived!
This little gem came from our friends Ryan & Vanya all the way in Vancouver. But the reason it came so early is because they are moving back to New Zealand on Wednesday. I still cherish the short time we had with them earlier this fall and I pray for safe travels as they make their way back to the homeland.
The second thing of Christmas involved me shopping for a Christmas present, wrapping it, and giving it away. I decided to make a Christmas box for Operation Christmas Child. We did this through our church and this Sunday was the collection day so I prepared my gift on Saturday. I decided to try and buy for a 10-14 year old girl…I thought that lots of people might think of the smaller kids but maybe not a lot would think of the older girls, so I thought of them. First I went to Target to gather some items and I wasn’t disappointed. Then I came home and wrapped it up to look something like this…
All wrapped up in a small, fleece blanket…
All ready to go…
I have to admit that it felt really good to do something for someone else. I spent some time praying for the girl who might receive this and came up with a lot of questions…where might she be in the world, does she have any family around, could this be her only gift of Christmas? I have to say that I was confronted with my own selfishness that has already reared its ugly head this Christmas season. Putting this gift together helped me confront it and hopefully it will help to keep myself in check as we move into this season of giving and receiving.
-Shannon
My friend, Jessica, sent me this as an e-mail and since I have nothing better to blog about I thought I would share it here. :) So here goes my senior year of high school…
1. What was your school’s full name?
Republic High School
2. When did you graduate?
2000
3. What was your school mascot?
Tigers
4. Did you date someone from your school?
Not during my senior year but at other times
5. Did you marry someone from your high school?
No, Lucas went to Joplin High School
6. Did you carpool to school?
Well I took my sister and somtimes I took friends home but I was always driving and it wasn’t really a carpool kind of thing
7. What kind of car did you have?
1984…Ford Mustang…Primer Grey…it was pretty awesome!
8. What kind of car do you have now?
2000 Honda Civic
9. It is Friday night…where are you (then)?
Dancing at a football or basketball game with the Pom Squad
10. It is Friday night…where are you (now)?
Probably at home with Lucas, maybe have some friends over
11. What kind of job did you have in high school?
During my senior year I worked at a video store…for about 10 hours a week. :)
12. What kind of job do you have now?
Right now I’m a worship leader and also a receptionist but since high school I’ve also taught piano, guitar, djembe lessons; been a nanny for 3 kids; worked at Target (for a very short period); worked and taught classes at a scrapbook store; been a barista (not at Starbucks); receptionist in a law firm in downtown Vancouver; student (again)…I guess that’s all. :)
13. Were you a party animal?
No, not in the typical high school sense but I did have a lot of fun with my friends
14. Were you considered a flirt?
Maybe by some…I’m not sure
15. Were you in band, orchestra or choir?
I was in choir all 4 years of high school
16. Were you a nerd?
I don’t think so
17. Did you get suspended or expelled?
No but in first grade I was sent to the principal’s office for having a boy stand on his desk and then depantsing him. :)
18. Can you sing the fight song?
I don’t really know that we had a fight song but the band always played “Eye of the Tiger” at games since we were the Republic Tigers.
19. Who were your favorite teachers?
Mr. Newcomer, my geography/history teacher, because we really studied the world; Mrs. Ashley, my english teacher, because I learned more about writing from her; Mrs. Phillips, my choir director, because she really took the input of the students and because I did a lot of extra things with her; Mrs. Mais, my sometimes history teacher but also the Pom sponsor. I wrote a song and sang it in her wedding and since high school we’ve become pretty close. It’s been really special to keep up that kind of contact although it is fewer and far between than I would like it to be.
20. Where did you sit during lunch?
Obviously at a table in the lunch room probably with Jessica (then known as Dipper), Anna, other fun people…I don’t know. :)
21. If you could go back and do it again, would you?
Yeah, I had a pretty good time although there are things I would do differently for sure
22. Did you have fun at prom?
Yes!!! All four times plus a time at Kickapoo’s prom…I love dancing!!!
23. Do you still talk to the person you went to prom with?
That would be a negative
24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion?
Yes if we ever have one.
Well I’m sure that was fascinating to read. :) Actually I think it is fascinating to learn new things about people, so…I’m throwing this out there for anyone else to do but I’m also specifically asking Shelley (because she is from Canada and maybe high school is different up there), Dan (because he’s a guy and he went to high in California), Katie (because she went to high school in Oregon), Sarah (because I knew her in high school but didn’t go to high school with her), Meredith (because I knew her after high school and she went to high school in Arkansas…hopefully she’ll do this even though I never passed on her Smile Award that she gave me although it made my day, week, month…) and EVERYONE else join on in!
Hopefully some things will happen in life so I’ll have more to blog about. Come to think of it I do have some past blog ideas that I never shared so I’ll try to get on that ASAP…until then…
-Shannon
Lately I haven’t been doing too many crafty things, but this week that changed. First, I started my free on-line class called Stories in Hand. The class is meant to help you remember stories from life and learn to write them down with all the great details. Even though it isn’t a scrapbooking class we spent the first few days making our Stories in Hand binders and a smaller notebook to keep with you for story ideas…
It’s pretty neat because the woman who is teaching it normally does digital scrapbooking stuff so she prepares all these pages that then you can just print out. That is how I made the covers and filled my book. Now we’re in the process of collecting stories and writing down a few of them as well. It helps me to take time each day to spend some time writing and collecting my thoughts…
I actually meant to mention the class on here earlier so that some of you crafty friends of mine could do this as well. But I kind of forgot and then I realized they had closed the class! However, the class is through Jessica Sprague so keep your eyes peeled for other classes if you want.
In other news…Christmas Cards! That’s right I’m already thinking about Christmas Cards. :) Actually a blog that I read got me thinking about Christmas cards because she designed a Christmas Card set that I quickly fell in love with. I debated weither using the set would be considered “hand-made” enough for me, but with a few of my own touches I think I’ll be able to make these cards into one-of-a-kind-Shannon-cards. Yesterday I received my fantastic Chrismas Card Kit…
As you can see it comes with lots of fun extra stuff like small thank you cards, CD/DVD mailers, gift tags, Christmas letter paper and envelopes…
And in case you want this for yourself, you can find it here. I’ve already started working to assemble my cards and to add a few special touches. Sometimes I need some new inspiration to kick start my craftiness and this week I’ve had just what I needed.
-Shannon
…has come and gone. I almost forgot about all the things I stored up to celebrate Halloween so this past week I’ve had to work really hard to use it all up. Most of my Halloween stash came from a package my mom sent me…
I still have some stuff to use up, like the little chocolate truffles we forgot to eat when my mom visited! However, the ghost peeps mysteriously disappeared the night they arrived. :)
We also had this lovely pumpkin sitting around our house for the past 3 weeks…
So on Wednesday night I decided it was finally time to enjoy it for all it’s worth…carving…no…decorating…no…pumpkin seeds…YES!!!
Unfortunately I was too busy devouring them to take any pictures of the lovely pumpkin seeds, but you can trust me when I saw they were delicious. Happy fall!
-Shannon
A couple times I’ve tried to capture some of the beauty of Princeton…but it’s been raining or cloudy outside. And while I really can’t complain about the weather, since normally it’s pretty gorgeous around here, I have been looking forward to having my camera along when some nice days are happening. Yesterday happened to be one of those days. Lucas and I planned to meet up after his classes got out and we headed to downtown Princeton for an afternoon walk.
I patiently waited for Lucas to finish with class by taking pictures of a gorgeous yellow tree…
And let me remind you of the building Lucas has some of his classes in…not too bad if you ask me…
The downtown area of Princeton is essentially next door to PTS and Princeton University so we wandered through the University to get there…
We ended our lovely walk through campus at the chapel. I had never been in the space before and it was pretty amazing. I’m thinking I need to spend an afternoon here sometime soon…especially on a sunny day…
By this time the sun decided to say goodbye to us so I have no pictures of the old buildings downtown. But it was still a wonderful afternoon and a great day to be outside in the cool, crisp air.
-Shannon
After a week of me going to work followed by spending time with mom in the late afternoons and evenings we finally said goodbye to her this past Saturday. She flew in and out of Philadelphia so we made a quick day trip of it and saw a few of the historic sights…of course we had to see Independence Hall, the place they signed the Declaration of Independence…
We weren’t able to go inside because all the tours were filled up for the day. But we were able to see the Liberty Bell…
We also enjoyed a tour of Congress Hall. This is the place where the House of Representatives and the Senate met from 1790-1800. Here is where the House of Representatives met…
And this platform is where John Adams was sworn in as the 2nd US President…
The on to the Senate chamber…
One of the other meeting rooms…
There was also an interesting exhibit that analyzed each president’s inaugural speech by what words they said the most…this one was for good ol’ George W…
They had them for every president and it was really interesting to try and figure out who the president was just based on some of the words they used…
After enjoying Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches for lunch we finally said goodbye to my mom…
-Shannon
For the past week we were lucky enough to have my mom come and visit! She had a lot of time off work and so she decided to come to Princeton to see us. While she was here Lucas and I went about our regular lives but since my work schedule is flexible we were able to have lots of fun! She arrived on Halloween and after being entertained by the trick or treaters we woke up the next morning to make our way to the Jersey Shore. We had planned this little day trip before we knew my mom was coming. Lucas was going to take the GRE so we figured we could go somewhere for the day. So he picked Tom’s River, NJ for his GRE test and my mom and I spent the day shopping. We did make it out to the shore but unfortunately I left my camera at home. But the next day we headed into NYC and I was sure to bring my camera along…although I will say I only took a handful of pictures mostly of my mom. :)
She hadn’t been to NYC since the year she graduated high school so she was excited to see the city again. We mainly just walked around and enjoyed the sights but we did go up to the top of the Empire State Building…
She is a big fan of the Today Show so I had to show her around Rockefellar Plaza…
That day happened to be the running of the New York City Marathon and my mom had a friend from high school whose daughter was running in it! So we met up with them at their hotel and were able to catch up. After meeting with them it was dark outside so we headed to Times Square to see the lights but not before stopping in the M&M store…my mom says she likes the red ones the best…
Then we were on to Times Square…
We enjoyed dinner right on Times Square at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company…you can’t have too much shrimp…
And then we said goodbye to Times Square and NYC…
It still amazes me that I only live an hour from this place…
-Shannon
*PS-Dad, we missed you and look forward to you having you BOTH visit in the spring!!!
