Family and Friends

Lights, outside and in

Food, Food, Food

Snow, more the merrier. No ice though.

Stockings hung by the chimney... or in my case down the stairs.

Finding great gifts

Love, not just for family and friends but mostly for Jesus Christ! He's the reason for the season!

Work and Christmas prep have kept me very busy but I'm amped because Christmas week is here! We got roughly 18 inches of snow, more than this area has had in a long time. I’m excited that for once we’ll have snow at Christmas time. Plus, I get to wear my new boots, which I love. Thanks Mom. Annie seems to love the snow also, even though it’s taller than she is. She bounces all around with her little head in the air. Due to being snowed in it was nice to spend the weekend hanging out with Brad around the house. Saturday night we played some board games and I killed Brad at Monopoly. That's putting it nicely.

We will be very busy this week with all the family gatherings. Wednesday night is Christmas at Brad’s Moms, Thursday his Grandma’s, Friday morning his Dad’s, lunch at his other Grandma’s and dinner at my parents. Yes, lots of gatherings with our big family! It will be lots of fun. I will keep you posted!

Thanksgiving went by well. The night before, Annika and Sean were in town from Vegas and six of us caught up over sushi. It was a lot of fun to catch up and really made me realize how much I miss them. We decided we will be headed out to visit them in the spring. I’m excited to have them show us their new stomping grounds and do a little gambling.

This was my first year cooking for Thanksgiving on my own. Brad’s Dad, Granny and Uncle headed over to our house for lunch. I made the works and I must say I impressed myself! For dinner we headed to Brad’s aunts who annually hosts the McAlexander dinner. There are a bunch of them so her work was cut out for her. All of this eating was followed by another dinner at my parent’s house, who hosted the Conner family dinner. LOTS of eating.

The weekend following, Brad and I hung our stockings, put the tree up and wrapped most of the gifts. I’m not much of a procrastinator around the holidays so I began shopping a few months ago. My shopping is almost done. Now, if we could just get some snow!

My apologizes for being a bad blogger. I started my new job in marketing and public relations for the United Way of Montgomery, Radford & Floyd on the 19th. It has definitely kept me busy. Although it has only been about a week and a half I’m really excited to be working for such a great organization and feel renewed! Some people may say that it isn’t about what you do but how you do it. I think that’s garbage. It is about what you do. It’s about the people you help, the people you touch and the lives that are changed around you. I may not have all the answers and I definitely can’t solve all the problems at my job or elsewhere. What I do know, is that when I get up in the morning my life has a little more meaning than it did before and that’s more than enough for me.

Turkey fever has got a hold of me! Since we are now into the second week of November I’m feeling very festive and excitingly planning for Thanksgiving. This will be my first year making a turkey. While I’m not a great cook, I think I’m capable and with the right ingredients and recipe, can do just about anything. Watch out!


At the office we have officially brought out the Christmas tunes and no I don’t think it’s too soon. The way I see it we only have two months of that Christmas spirit and it never seems like quite enough to me. I’m ready for the cold weather and have disappointingly been watching the weather in the mornings to see 60 and 70 degree weather. It’s November… I want the cold and will soon want the snow. I’m ready for the Christmas lights, trees, presents, shopping, food, family and friends!

As previously mentioned, I've been in the desperate need of change, a change in my life to help me receive fulfillment in a new way. A need to do something that helps others instead of being a part of something that's always about pushing a number. I've spent many hours in prayer and thought to find what direction to take. My decision has been made and I'm ready to share it!

I’m very excited to announce that on November 19th I will begin working at the United Way of Montgomery, Radford & Floyd. I’m going back to where it all started! In college I put in a year of volunteer work at the UW and was later offered a Marketing and Communication Intern position. I will now be going back to step into the role of Marketing/PR and Resource Development Manager, I know, it’s a mouthful. I’m very excited for the change in direction of my career and honored to be working for a wonderful organization that truly helps people’s lives. It’s an organization that inspired me and I know will only continue to do so.

While I will miss my co-workers at The Roanoke Times, I know that some of us will remain friends. As someone recently told me, this is one of the many steps I will have to take to find where I fit and what I want to do with my life. I think it’s 100% true. I’m excited to look forward and know that great things are to come. I will look back on my first job out of college with nothing but fond memories of my co-workers. They taught me a lot and we shared a lot of great laughs.


Cheers!