getting in the christmas spirit

i hope that you had a fabulous thanksgiving.

mine was great, seemed like it flew by but it was awesome!

now we can officially ring in the christmas season

and not feel guilty for listening to christmas music, drinking egg nog

and putting up our christmas trees!

merry decorating!

there are so many fun things that help bring in the christmas season

some i wish while i was young

have you tried to elf your self?

check out our family's rendition!

or even this precious way santa will send you letter

here at the portable north pole

and when the day is close its so fun to 

track santa here

i really wish that we had all of these little gadgets when i was little because i would have totally been all about them...not saying that i don't love them now

but it would have been fun

we decorated our fireplace mantle last night

bought fire logs and even poured a glass of egg nog to bring christmas cheer

thanks to the deal over at hobby lobby our apartment is beginning to smell just like christmas

the cool weather is on the way too

i have made a pact with myself

starting december 1st (thats tomorrow) shoot where did november go...

i want to watch a christmas movie every night till christmas day

with abc family's 25 days of christmas i don't feel like this will be a hard to do

i even have the list of movies if anyone wants to join in my christmas holiday watching extravaganza! 

tonight home alone is on

i might start this deal a day early

enjoy.... 

gobble gobble

happy day before thanksgiving!!

i am so excited to go home i can not stand it

i woke up an hour before my alarm today

because i was so excited

granted i still have to work all day today

im still super pumped about being home with literally my entire family!

this would be fun

last night i stayed up baking and baking

i made these

gingersnaps mmmmm.....

recipe found here

then a fresh cranberry salad

so fun and festive

you can never go wrong with whoopie pies

with five hungry boys i feel like these will be demolished very quickly

recipe found here

these oatmeal crispies are something new

 but i hear the pioneer woman never disappoints

and thanksgiving is never the same with out

pumpkin rolls

everything is waiting to make the trip to auburn with me

here ya go mom

cant say i never helped this year

with this being my first thanksgiving in the real world

and actually living away from auburn

i have started to really understand what it means to be thankful

not saying that i never was thankful

but for some reason its like i feel it

im lame i know

this year i am thankful for a multitude of things

I am thankful for the ability to worship God where ever and whenever 

I am thankful for a good education because it has given me the knowledge to achieve my goals and dreams

I am thankful for my family because they love me unconditionally

I am thankful for my mom because she is someone i look up to in all situations

I am thankful for my dad a kind and loving man that can be silent but deadly

I am thankful for my sister, my best friend, roommate because she challenges me everyday, someone that gets me

I am thankful for my brother a huge role model for me in his walk with Christ

I am thankful for a job. period.

I am thankful for Drew and his patients and his love for eating and baseball

I am thankful for the ability to exercise

I am thankful for shelter and clothes and forever 21

I am thankful for the ability to talk to anyone and anytime...thank you verizon

I am thankful for a warm bed, air conditioning, a hot shower and cable and internet

I am thankful for friends they mean the entire world to me, I have learned this being 2 hours away from them this year. I LOVE YALL

I am thankful for football and good rivalries

I am thankful for the changing of seasons and the beautiful leaves

I am thankful for lots and lots and lots of things I could literally go on forever

I am thankful for zac brown band.

what are yall thankful for??

crazy dreams

lately i have been having the most 

bizarre dreams 

like to the point that they wake me up

and i cant go back to sleep

either they are really exciting

really scary

or just plain weird

last night i dreamed about

kate middleton and prince william

i went to wedding and everything

it was strange

the other night i dreamed about my wedding

im not engaged

but in my dream my mom invited over 1000 people

but didnt budget to 

allow me to get my hair and makeup done

so i pouted in a porta potty with wet hair while all the guests were waiting on me

and i had a really scary dream last week 

that made me wake up my sister to make sure it was just a dream

its getting out of control

i wish i knew what these dreams meant

on a good note i

am dreaming of being at home with my family for thanksgiving

eating lots of fabulous food

and watching football

dinner

lately i have craved 

zoe's 

every single night for the past two weeks

i gave in last night

i attempt to eat in every meal during the week

but last night i just could not pass it up

chicken salad and fruit plate please

it was fabulous

it would have been better to have some company and be able to eat take out here

but i guess my date with the tube was just as good!

i had my interview for a childrens mentoring program last night

it went awesome im so pumped

to see who i get paired up with 

and all the fun activities we will get to do

ill keep yall posted!

thankful

and even on this rainy gross day

i am thankful for 

laughter and the fun for playing in the 

rain

done.

im over this 30 for 30

you should know me by now

and know my ramblings

but i love this

happy friday!

knitting

so listen

i get in these moods where i think it will be fun to be super crafty

last night i was in one of those moods

so i thought it would be fun to learn how to knit a scarf

i have been looking for a HUGE thick cozy warm fun big comfy scarf

you know since it is so cold right now in alabama

well i have heard many people that have learned using youtube

so i hit the road to hobby lobby

for the second time that day

and found the aisle

i picked out two colors

[i think i have a problem because lately i have to buy 2 of everything]

anyways

and some knitting supplies-whatever those are called

and headed home

i attempted to learn through this video

you will have to click this because i dont know how to do videos yet

come to find out i am not a good knitter-is that a word?

but it was fun

ill probably try again

also

im super crunk about going to see this

tonight

get pumped up!

day twenty: nicknames

so lets begin

bird legs

queenie

big shaf

ames

big girl

lamey

and im sure there are ones that i dont know about

brain dump

so i have officially been working 

in the real world

for a month and a half

some days i like it

and then some days its ok

i have started to realize that this job is not like a summer job

i will be waking up early for the rest of my life

the weekend is the only time i have for me time

and the hardest part that i am trying to cope with its that

i will never live in my parents house again

so weird

and sad

if you dont know i am a total home body

it was hard for me to live in a dorm my freshman year

my dorm was literally 3 miles down the road from my parents house

i made my sister sleep in my dorm room with me every night [she was still in high school]

the dorm thing only lasted 2 weeks

im embarassed to say that yes, i did live at home my freshman year of college

but that helps explain my love for home

i struggle when i do go home now

balancing time between my friends that are still in college and my family time

its hard

the real world is hard

on a good note

i am starting to learn to cook a different meal every night

thank you to numerous blogs that i look at you have really inspired me

at my parents house the staple items were

chicken

&

spaghetti

usually it was rotated every other night

but now i have numerous things i love to cook

its awesome

so easy and really helps me unwind after work

i have a goal for myself

maybe someone will hold me accountable out there?

i want to read a new book every month

i have started 

and i love it

it really has be thinking about who I am as a

Christian and what it means

trust me when i say, i need a lot of work.

i was hoping to read it on my lunch break

but news broke out hobby lobby is having 50% off all christmas stuff

its never to early to start decorating right?

i had to make a stop at hobby lobby.

sorry for rambling

love yall to the moon

amy

day nineteen: something i miss

since i have just moved 

to birmingham

away from my friends

and family

i definitely miss them

the most

i miss walking out of my room

and having five other girls there to laugh with

to go on walks with

to go to the grocery store with

to run home from skybar with

and mostly just to be with

i miss them a lot

thank goodness 280 is connecting us

and ill be there this weekend

sooo ready!

i miss my family

i have been able to see them a lot

with kellys soccer

but i miss waking up and walking down stairs 

and them being there

i miss visiting my dad at work

i miss getting to drive home for a good meal

this past weekend when jj was here 

it was a tease of home, but i loved it

bring on the holidays

i cant wait to be with my family!

normal

this weekend was a blast

my little brother jj

drove in from auburn

it was weird

but it was awesome

we watched paranormal activity 2

it was intense

we cooked breakfast together

it was delicious

we watched football

it was awesome

we ate dairy queen

it was grreeaattt

we went to church

it was fabulous

jj, if you are reading this

i love you and our fun weekends

come back!

day eighteen: something you regret

i try to live my life without

regrets

one thing i regret

is quiting the track team

i also regret not talking to my grandfather more

he was one of the most knowledgeable, non judgemental, loving & kind person

i have ever met

this is the reason

i have added to my goals

talk to family members once a week

day seventeen: something im looking forward to

definitely looking forward the holiday season

thanksgiving

the entire shaffer clan is getting together for thanksgiving in auburn

i cant remember the last time this happened

but im SO crunk!

\

i cant wait to squeeze her cheeks

paint our finger nails crazy colors

and slide down our stairs on a matress

and hang out with this amazing lady

that im lucky enough to call my grandmother

christmas

ahhh, its christmas whats not great about it

the next best thing

is

new orleans

to see these boys play

but more importantly

lexi, laura, taylor, and kelly

are taking the journey

to experience bourbon st for the first time

evaaa

its going to be a great start to 2011

day sixteen: dream house

i dont know if i can come up

with an exact picture

but the way i

picture it in my head is this

two dark wood front doors

a huge wrap around pourch

dormer windows

plantation shutters

i picture my house to be old

which allows me to flip the house

a big front yard

shutter [i can't stand houses that don't have shutters]

i picture my house being white

with some parts shingles and stones

i hope to have boulders in the front and back yard

i picture my house to be two stories

crown molding

a pool & trampoline in the backyard

i hope to have a gardern

and live on lots of land

oh and i want big huge columns

for the inside

brick floors

white/cream kitchen

five bedrooms

with a playroom



im ridiculous, im sorry

day fifteen: a bible verse

be joyful in hope,

patient in affliction,

faithful in prayer

- romans 12:12

day fourteen: a picture i love

a picture of my family

all together 

for papa jims 

80th birthday

day thirteen: goals

hmmm my goals

[this could take ahwile]

serve the Lord and glorify his name everyday

wake up with a smile 

travel to paris, greece, and italy

be a mom

own a boutique

have a special musician play at my wedding

live in multiple cities throughout my life

take family vacations once a year

go skiing

run a 1/2 marathon

own my own house by 25

buy my first car

go on a mission trip once a year

volunteer once a month

talk to everyone in my family [this includes extended] at least once a month

travel on a yatch

im sure that there are LOTS more but

that is all i can think of

off the top of my head

i guess that i should 

actually write down my goals

then ill

be able to cross them off

day twelve: what i believe

i believe in God

his love endures forever

i believe in my family

and family in general

i believe in love

and love can last forever

i believe that a picture is worth a thousand words

i believe playing sports makes you a better person

i believe in vacations

and as lame as this is

i believe in auburn.

day eleven: fave tv show

im really bad about

watching tv

i just would rather 

be doing something else

but now since i have begun 

working 

i am starting to watch tv

so my fave show it

you should check it out

its hilarious

wednesday nights

@8 

be there