High Five for Friday! (Christmas Movie Edition)

This weekend is going to be fairly quiet, which is going to be so awesome.

HIGH FIVE FOR FRIDAY (THIS WEEKEND). since I am already almost done my Christmas shopping, I thought I might list my 5 favorite Christmas movies.  This is going to be difficult. So bear with me if there are 6. Also, these are in no particular order.

1. Christmas Vacation.  The all-time funniest Christmas movie. I don't know if I can say enough about this movie, because my whole family, including Jesse's whole family, quotes this movie all year long. This movie is so ingrained into my Christmas traditions, I can't imagine the season without it.

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2. Miracle on 34th Street. The 1947 version, please. Young Natalie Wood is such a spectacular actress in this movie. Her relationship with her mother and Santa Claus is the reason I love watching this movie.  I adore at the end, where she is riding in the car, and she says, I know it's silly, but I believe.  Because at times, it seems silly to believe in the magic of Christmas, but in the end, I think it's truly worth it.  I feel so much better when I just give in to the magic, rather than resisting it, like I think a lot of people are keen to do these days.

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3. White Christmas.  I hadn't watched this movie until a couple years ago. Which is odd for me because I love old movies, especially old musicals.  (There is just something so heartwarming about them.) But the ending? Tears, every time.  If you haven't seen it, please watch it. Your heart will be full.

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4. It's A Wonderful Life. This is probably my favorite movie of all time.  Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed. Their chemistry and entire relationship is so full of life, I feel like I'm watching a new movie every time I see it.  Couple that with the fact that it teaches the viewer such an important lesson, without making you feel like you are watching a cheesy after school special. On Christmas Eve, after all the festivities are over, my family sits down and watches this movie into the wee hours of the morning. Then we go to sleep (after I've cried ugly tears at the end) and I feel just a little better about the state of the world.

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5. Elf.  Another super funny, feel good movie.  I just love the whole soundtrack to this movie, and all the funny Will Ferrell one-liners.

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BONUS! 
A Charlie Brown Christmas.  This isn't really a movie, so that's why it's a bonus.  But the part where Linus interrupts and says, I'll tell you what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown. And then he recites scripture while the kids stop and listen. Gives me chills. The true reason for the season.

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So that's it! Now of course, I enjoy many, many more. Honorable mentions: The Home Alone series, The Santa Clause, Grinch, Meet Me In St. Louis.  But these 5 are the ones I cannot go through the season without watching. My personal Christmas spirit mood lifters.

Baby, it's bad out there.

It's snowing, it's snowing, and I don't care who knows it!

Really though, if you are on the East Coast, and your state usually gets snow, it is snowing.

I think snow is pretty magical. I've never hated snow. Honestly, I've never hated winter.

I love wearing lots of layers, sitting by the fire, sipping hot apple cider. Eating tons of comfort food. Winter, to me, means red noses, and Christmas, and my birthday, and lots of snuggling with fuzzy socks on.

I hate the heat too, so even though I can appreciate summer, for me, winter is where it's at.

And it's snowing today! The day before Thanksgiving, which means I'll probably be able to leave early and sit inside my house, making pecan bars for tomorrow, and just basking in the fact that I have a 4 day weekend and I am so thankful to be spending it with my family.

Just the beginning of the glorious white stuff.

High Five

Well, I haven't posted in a while.  Busy, I guess. Also, I have a cold.  What a way to start a Friday!

1. This Saturday is our Friends-giving.  Very excited to eat tons of great food, watch movies, and be surrounded by my closest friends.

2. Nothing makes me feel better like a cuddle from a kitten.

Frank loves his mama.

3. I FINALLY found a new fall jacket that I'm loving. Of course it's basically winter now, but I'll wear the crap out of this next year.

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4. The whole IUI procedure only cost us $175. Now, Jesse isn't too happy about it, but I figure that's better than the original $1200 they quoted us.

5. I have a 3 day week next week. And a 4 day weekend. Hip, hip, hooray.

Veteran's Day

I've been a little silent lately.  I've found it's taking some time to get me to feel like myself again.  I thought a couple of Fridays ago, I was there. But I was wrong.  I've been moody, depressed, tired. Like I don't want to go anywhere or do anything.

Jesse has been so supportive though.  My veteran (because if you can't say it today, when can you say it?) is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

My life changed dramatically when I started dating Jesse. Only a year and a half into our relationship, he deployed to Iraq.  That year changed me.

I was 21 years old, engaged to a soldier who was deployed to Iraq.  I lived at home with my parents, slept in a twin bed, and worked full time for a mortgage company that I hated.  I went to school part time at night and did my absolute best to stay busy.

Every now and then during that year, some commercial would come on, or a song would play on the radio, and I would stop breathing.  Even though I talked to Jesse all the time, I would constantly remind myself that something could happen. That I would have to be prepared.  That I needed to keep in contact with his father, because if something DID happen, I wouldn't even be notified.  The army doesn't care if you're dating, if you're engaged, only if you're married or a blood relative.  One of my worst fears during that time was Jesse would be killed and I wouldn't know it until much, much later because no one would notify me.  And I would just be wondering where he was or what he was doing. And then some call would come in days later with the worst news.

But Jesse came home. We moved in together. We got married. We bought a house.  And I remind myself every day, not just on veteran's day, that none of that would have been possible if our men and women just gave up the fight. If everyone decided to lay down arms, not risk anything or sacrifice themselves for my freedom.  If those men and women weren't selfless, I wouldn't have everything I count on today.  So I thank not only my gorgeous husband, but two of his brothers, both of his grandfathers, both of my grandfathers, one of my uncles, many of my friends, and countless others that joined, fought, and came home to their loved ones.  Thank you. Thank you for everything.

The Worst Week

This week has been rough.  

Sunday night was spent in the ER with severe pelvic pain that was due to a ruptured blood vessel in my uterus.

We also found out that we were pregnant.

I say were, because we are no longer pregnant.

When the nurse practitioner, who was such a sweet woman, came in and told me that my hCG level was 269.9, I burst into tears.  This is what we were waiting for, we had dreamed and prayed for this moment for so long.  Jesse and I just hugged and I sat there stunned. I had a million questions.  

How could this happen? We just had a failed IUI. She reassured me, this was not from the IUI, that we had conceived naturally.

She told me she wanted us to follow up with another hCG test in a couple of days.  So I took Monday off (because I was exhausted after our 5 and a half hour ER trip the night before) and went to the fertility doctor on Wednesday morning.

The whole time, I was dreaming of this baby.  I was very hesitant, even telling Jesse not to get his hopes up, but I was still dreaming.  How we would tell our families, how we would do a Christmas themed announcement on Facebook.  The baby's birthday would be July, what a sweet summer baby it would be.

Wednesday morning, when I went in for the blood test, the nurse reassured me that yes, we are definitely pregnant.

Then I got an email from her stating our hCg level was 78.  78.  It was 78.

I was expecting something so different.

She explained it was a chemical pregnancy, that basically the embryo had a problem and stopped growing.  There was no way of knowing why and that it happens all the time.  

I told my mom this morning.  She couldn't understand. I told Jesse yesterday. He couldn't understand.

I can't understand.

We prayed so hard for this baby, and now nothing.  Apparently the good news is that we were able to conceive naturally.  Basically I just feel like lying down in my bed forever.  It's been hard to come in to work and pretend like nothing happened.  Like I didn't lose everything I had been wishing for for the last year and a half and also my whole life.

Basically, this just sucks and I'm sad.  I don't know how to move on and what the future holds.  I don't know where I'm at in my cycle and how I'll feel next week or even tomorrow because right now I just feel like a bus hit me.  

Also? I'm just over it. I'm over the whole thing. I want to shut the door to the room that is supposed to be the "nursery" and lock it and paint over it and burn it and tear it down and just forget that I ever even wanted a baby.

My body is sore. I'm drained emotionally, physically, mentally.  I'm just drained.

Gettin' Lucky in Kentucky! (Part 3)

OK!  So part 3 of this 5 day trip that apparently needs to be split into multiple posts because my 10 million thoughts can't just be condensed.

We went (with a large party) to the Woodford Reserve and toured the grounds and sampled the bourbon.  So beautiful and so much fun! The road there was lined with gorgeous horse farms and even a castle! It was crazy, and had we had more time, I would definitely have inspected that castle.

Crazy castle

Beautiful dual sided fireplace

Tons of bourbon!

Even more bourbon.

My bourbon taster!

Gorgeous landscape

Afterward we went back to Shakespeare & Co. for dinner, not by choice. The meal wasn't great, and I'm a little disappointed this was our last dinner in Kentucky.

The next day we woke up bright and early to head back to Louisville to visit the Louisville slugger museum, grab some lunch, and then fly home.

The museum was very interesting and we even got to touch some famous bats.  And if you're military, flash that thing everywhere!  Kentucky is very military discount friendly.

We ate lunch at a restaurant called...something I can't remember...but it was right in downtown Louisville, and it was a burger place. It was also delicious. So much good food on this trip.

Skyline in Louisville, KY

My other half

We were a little hectic getting back to the airport, we took a wrong turn, crossed the Ohio river, and ended up in Indiana!

But we made it home finally around 9pm or so. And I have been exhausted ever since!

No, not really, but I am quite tired from that and a little ER trip we took last Sunday night.  So far, it's been an eventful October. I'm looking forward to slowing way down in November.

Also, these kitters are excited we are home. 

Babies

Gettin' Lucky in Kentucky!! (Part 2)

Going from where I left off..

Saturday morning we woke up and I had really wanted to get some donuts I read about at a place called Spalding Bakery.  Apparently they were the "best glazed donuts ever".  Honestly?  They were.

They were still warm too.

We waited in line for 30 minutes, but that donut was worth it.  It was fairly large, which was nice, and not like any glazed donut you've probably ever had.  It was sort of crunchy outside with a super moist, super delicious inside.  It tasted divine.  I'm so sad I only had one.

Then we went over to North Lime Coffee & Donuts.  I ordered a pumpkin cheesecake donut and Jesse had the caramel maple pecan bourbon donutty-thing.  Both were good, but not as good as Spalding. We really enjoyed Spalding.

So then we went back to the hotel, got fixed up and met our very large party at Shakespeare & Co. for lunch.  My parents, brother and his girlfriend, and six of our family friends flew in Saturday morning for the wedding.  We decided to meet for lunch and I picked this restaurant because it got pretty good reviews and was supposed to be perfect for lunch.  I ordered the caprese salad which was just OK. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their meal though, so that was good, and it was basically just fun to be all together again.  We only get to see each other a couple times a year, so it was nice just to spend time together.

The menu

So basically these people are adults that my mother went to college with and their significant others and children.  I didn't have a large family growing up.  My mother is an only child and my father's brothers and sister are pretty spread out across the East coast.  So these people sort of made up my aunts, uncles, and cousins.  I've known them since birth and I love them all.

Anyway, after lunch, we drove back to the hotel, rested for a bit, then got ready for the wedding.  I wore a new dress I had purchased at Loft, I wish I had the common sense to wear tights though, because ti was COLD.  The ceremony was outside, as was the dancing. Dinner, however, was held inside this gorgeous old house turned art gallery.  It was absolutely delicious.  Shrimp and grits, slow cooked bourbon chicken thighs, roast beef, potato salad, and chocolate dipped ginger cookies. MMMM Yum. I don't think I've had that good of a meal at a wedding in a very long time.

Love this cutie.

The beautiful couple.

Like I said, we had a lot to drink. Also, look at the mason jars!

So basically what I'm saying is, we ate our way through Kentucky.

The wedding was fun, we ate way too much food, and drank way too much bourbon.  It was a real Kentucky wedding though, with Mint Julep drinks, a bluegrass band, and a biscuit bar.  So much fun.

Sunday, we woke up and went to brunch at the Village Idiot again, which was very good.  Jesse got the Chilaquiles (the meat was so good) and I got the Korean fried chicken biscuits (also delicious, how many times can I say that word?).

We drove around for a little bit to look at the murals in the city and then made our way to Woodford Reserve distillery.

Beautiful Lincoln mural.

OK - that's a pretty long post for now, I'll split this into a third. Ridiculous.