Naturally Infused....The Essentials of Life. : let's talk turkey.

it's the day before thanksgiving so i thought i'd do a pre-turkey day post since tomorrow will be chaos. it's the first time in 25 years that i won't be sitting with my family eating my mom's always delicious meal. it's a bittersweet thing for me. i'm excited to cook the whole meal myself/slightly nervous as well, but its just gonna be jon and i. maybe that's a good thing. if i messed everything up he would still love me and i wouldn't have to worry about disappointing anyone (except myself of course).

i'm going to be making WAY too much food. i'm learning this year that my homesickness therapy has been cooking the things my mom has cooked for years. they have been traditions in the family so i feel connected by learning to make them and carrying on the traditions to my own family now. on the menu for tomorrow will be:
-turkey. a 14 pound one at that.
-stuffing (which i don't really even like, but i just feel like it can't be left out)
-gravy
-corn
-green bean casserole
-candied yams
-mashed potatoes
-pennsylvania noodles
-cranberry jell-o
and our new traditions:
-cranberry sangria (for jon of course)
-pumpkin spice cookies with cream cheese frosting

yes. all this food for TWO people. we will be eating turkey for weeks.

i've already warned jon that tomorrow may be semi-sad for me so to just bear with me and humor me. this could mean christmas movies or music needs to be on all day, candles need to be lit and a fire needs to be going, or any number of other things. i just want it to feel like the thanksgivings i've always known as much as possible. which would really mean i sit on the couch all day and watch football with my brothers and dad while my poor mom does everything herself. but times are changing! i'm a wife now and almost a mom so i need to transform from the kid to the adult. i'm excited about all of this. its just so different! anyway, all in all i want to wish everyone a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! if you aren't with your family or loved ones, make the most of it as jon and i will. i am so thankful we have each other, a healthy and active baby girl on the way, and a puppy we love WAY too much and i have a husband who provides for this family so we can afford this life :) i am truly blessed.

on a quick side note, here's some picture updates of the pregnancy. 27 weeks tomorrow and i'm carrying a basketball already. i cannot believe my belly still has 13 more weeks to grow. and in other news, we finally painted the nursery and started setting things up! i'm loving the way it is coming together. we kept the theme gender neutral so we can reuse for each kid but i'm going to somehow add a little girly flair to the room. the walls are still bare and we have a ways to go, but here's where we are at so far: