I spent Christmas in New Jersey this year with Ryan and both of our moms. It’s always fun to change up Christmas plans and I had such a good time being part or their traditions. The first night that we got there Ryan and I decided to set up his train under the tree. I completely underestimated how much fun it would be to make that little guy go round and round. There was something so very festive about the whole experience.

I am a Christmas addict. The day after Halloween I’m fully ready to get into the holiday spirit. This year, however things were a little different. Between work trips, family travel and several other unforeseen events – I did not get the Christmas tree I so vividly dream of all year. The week before Christmas I finally decided to pull out my mini back up Christmas tree so that at least we would have some sort of decor at the house. The strawberry ornament is from my Grandmother. It was always my favorite growing up and she always saved it for me to put on the tree. When I finally had an apartment of my own she mailed it to me. It’s small and sill

When my Aunt Nancy asked me to run a half marathon with her I laughed – and then I realized she was serious. On May 27, 2012 Team Dancin’ Machine will be running 13.1 miles for the American Cancer Society. And I will likely be scowling at my Aunt Nancy (who better be running right next to me) the entire time.

I’ve been training for a little over a month now and I am feeling really good. I’m getting faster and running further. But the best part is I now feel like I’m running with a purpose. My grandfather lost his battle with cancer eleven years ago. For the past eleven years I’ve wished there was something I could have done, something that would have made a difference. Too many people have this feeling, too many people wish for one more day.

Together with Team Dancin’ Machine I’m running to try and create a world with less cancer and more birthdays. Every dollar you can donate will help me and my team run faster and further.

Donations can be made here or, contact me and I’ll send you a form to fill out and mail in!

What better time to break out the moccasins than Thanksgiving?

I’m always in charge of desserts for the holidays. Chocolate pudding pie is my normal go-to but for this occasion I figured a good old fashioned pumpkin pie would be a better fit. I used a frozen pie crust – mainly because my grandmother always does. I also think that Libby’s canned pumpkin is the best kind for making pies so that’s what I bought. It wasn’t the prettiest pit in the world but it sure was tasty. I also made pumpkin and vanilla ice cream in the ice cream maker.

Ryan and I hosted our first party at the new (mostly finished) house this weekend. It was the perfect time for a ‘Friendsgiving’ so we made a turkey and had all of our friends bring their favorite Thanksgiving dish. It was the first time I’d ever participated in the turkey making part of Thanksgiving and I definitely have a new appreciation for that task. First of all, the stress involved with being responsible for the main course is way more than I’d expected. When it came time to get the bird into the oven I was a mess. Spilling things and rushing around. I had to remind myself that people do this all the time and I needed to chill out.

We used this recipe to make the brine and it turned out really well. It was moist, cooked much faster than I expected and we had just enough for everyone to be pleasantly stuffed. I couldn’t have been happier with my first turkey experience.

I’d heard a lot about the food trucks in Austin and was so excited to try all of the delicious goodies while lounging at a picnic table in the Texas sun. What I was not expecting was to see a truck serving my all time favorite food. I’d already eaten far more than I needed to that day but come on, how often do you get to eat a perfectly made cupcake from an adorable airstream? It was an opportunity I just wasn’t willing to miss out on.

What better place to find some awesome horns than Austin, TX? We scoped out the local taxidermy shops while we were there and came across The Corner Shoppe, aka the Taxidermy King. Looking for a zebra head to mount on your wall? Elephant tusks? Perhaps a lioness to protect your front door? Look no further, this place has every possible animal you could ever imagine not to mention the piles upon piles of horns, antlers and skulls they have just lying around.