Aspirations

Hello there, 2013! I have a few plans in mind for us...

The ambitious list:
Learn to sew
Grow a garden
Run as much as Chad (yeah, right.)
Become a better cook
Find a job I love

The realistic list:
Learn to patch holes in my pants :)
Start an herb garden (and maybe some tomatoes and peppers)
Quit talking about running my half.... and do it.
Cook without battle scars (aka decrease kitchen burns)
Graduate (Yes, that is realistic this year, hallelujah!)

Also, I'd like to:
Keep up with friends (better)
Remember birthdays
Quit the pony-tail (or at least not every day)

Lately

It's been quite a while since I've updated-- in short, I've just been going and doing.  

We hosted Thanksgiving here at the Berry house.  Here as in my house. As my mom's dear friend told me beforehand, "Oh it's great that you're doing it now... you are enjoying the thought and have no idea what you're getting yourself into!"  She was basically right.  It was a lot of work, but we had a lot of fun doing it.  Chad is now officially the "Turkey Man."  His turkey was one of the best I've ever tasted! Unfortunately for him, I think he has earned the privilege of making it from here on out. 

I also did the green bean and sweet potato casseroles.  They make excellent Christmas dishes as well...

Some of our recipes can be found here:

TURKEY

Green bean casserole

Sweet potato casserole (I left out the coconut in the topping and added extra pecans)

Since thanksgiving, we made a little escape to Vegas for a pharmacy conference and the Las Vegas marathon (Chad ran, I was a cheering spectator).  To be honest, I really would not care if someone told me I could never go back.  I will say the lights are beautiful at night and they have some great shows, but I definitely prefer beach or mountains over casinos and night clubs.

Of course there have been some other fun events thrown in here and there, but I suppose I will get to those later.  I've got a house full of Berry boys and it's Sunday night football... I can barely hear myself think :) 

Hope you are having a blessed holiday season! 

Flower fix

Have a bunch of empty vases?  Most of my pottery is in the form of a vase... which I don't mind a bit since I absolutely love flowers.  I really do.  I always keep fresh flowers (usually sunflowers) on my kitchen table.  I'd love to have them all over my house, but unfortunately, the budget does not allow for such things (or at least until I start my dream flower garden).

I'm not too fond of silk flowers, so I've run into problem of empty vases all over my house.  I have not been able to find the perfect filler until this past wedding season.  Being a bridesmaid is a fun perk of being in your mid-twenties... and I must say, one of my absolute favorite parts of weddings is the flowers (yes, I care about the flowers). Anyway, I have found myself leaving my best friends' weddings with the most beautiful bouquets that most of them paid a pretty penny for.... So why let them go to waste?  Dry them. 

I'm really into dried flowers these days.  They are a great alternative to buying fresh flowers to keep in your house, and you can still tell yourself that they aren't "fake flowers." Here is a dried bouquet from Tyler's wedding this past July- It's basically November and they are still in my living room!

Here are some of my newly dried yellow flowers:

Now, you can buy them at your local craft/interior store (Hobby Lobby, etc.) for about $10+, but let me recommend going to the floral section at Kroger and buying all the older blooms marked down to "manager's special" for $2.49.  Just as pretty.

So keep those bouquets... just make sure you take them out of water while they are still pretty in bloom!

Weekend getaway

I really do love camping! There's few things better than the smell of bonfire, the taste of s'mores, and staying up late talking about who know's what!

Last night, we loaded up the gear and the pups, and made a little escape to Nowhere, MS.

We had some "believers"...

And a winner...

The moon was bright...

And we ALL slept tight :) 

Oh and ate right! 

Good time had by all! 

Resting, Resting

Hello there, Saturday!  I'm currently enjoying you with a vanilla latte, cinnamon toast, and a little Ingrid pandora!  The husband made the early morning trek to Oxford to see the Rebels play, but I honestly just needed this day to REST (and work on my very un-finished seminar slides that are due Monday).

I've had a very crazy five weeks in the UMC emergency department.  Five weeks of experiencing things my [teary] eyes have never seen before and shadowing one of the most inspirational women I've ever met.  Although I'm a little tired, I feel like I've walked away from this experience as a better me.  I have realized that a bad day is not oversleeping or getting a bad grade... I have my health.  My health.  What a blessing that is!  I can eat when I'm hungry, I have two legs and two arms, I can see, smell, hear, and breathe. I have an incredible support system in my friends and family and most importantly, my Savior.  I've spent many nights wondering if some of the patients we've lost have known the Lord... it has put a true urgency in my heart to spread the Word.  I have worked with a woman who paints a beautiful picture of Jesus with her every word and deed.  I have never seen a servant quite like her. I aspire to be just like her one day... I can only imagine a selfish me learning to serve like a selfless her.

So today I'm resting, resting.


Happy Saturday!

...

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

ALL I have needed thy hand hath provided,

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me. 

Strength for today and BRIGHT HOPE for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside. 

September and the like

Here's another one of my sporadic posts!  

... And if you follow me on instagram, you may find that this is basically just a stream of my last 10ish photos... My apologies! 

I need to be better about updating so that I don't write/post pictures in one super long post every now and then.... but until I get better about that, here's what's been going on lately with us: 

First of all, there's been a lot of Rebel football and Oxford town... two things that make my heart very happy... especially since we are doing OK this year! 

This past week, I have declared it official "Taco Soup Season" and indulged in all things fall! 

This may be one of the best taco soup recipes I've used YET!  Special thanks to the pharmacist I'm following around these days.  She's an excellent cook! 

Ok, so maybe indulge in sunflowers during ALL seasons of the year... but I can't help it.  They just scream "have a great day!"

Although I have limited time these days, I thought I'd try and be crafty.  I've seen a lot of people making these fun fall wreath's and let's face it, Chad and I have been the LEAST festive people on our street.  I decided we should be good "neighbors" and take some pride in our "outside." (Didn't even mean for that to rhyme.)

I also found some beeeeautifullll bronze mums at the Madison Garden Center.  I have a feeling that will be my new favorite place to shop.  I. Love. Flowers. 

Speaking of flowers, Kroger had the cutest "mini bouquets"... This is about 8 of them together, but I wanted to buy them all! 

And this past weekend..... LEAH was here!!!! What a wonderful weekend it was with some of my Tupelo besties.  We started the weekend with a fried chicken sandwich and Julep followed by some quality time at the Jeter's! 

Saturday night we had a cookout at the Backstrom's! 

So happy times, indeed!  Maybe I'll be better about posting.... maybe.

RECENT NEWS:

This lovely one is ENGAGED! Yes- that's my Beefy (Beth) and her sweet Tucker. She is such a dear, dear friend of mine and she has truly met her match! SO SO SO happy for these two!  She's been in St. Louis for the past 2 years but my fingers are crossed ever so tightly that the soon-to-be King's will move down here with us! Check out her story HERE. 

There were some new baby Deeg's yesterday.  In particular, a cute little Haadsma :)  Love seeing my Ausycar and Em's Colly getting to experience something that was so special to us!  Sorry for the touch of cheese, but it's real.  

That's it for this girl....

Happy fall, y'all!