Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

I Want to Thank You

Thanksgiving wouldn't be the same without......

Fill in the blank!

Some people say it's the turkey, others insist it's the pumpkin pie and a rare few truly appreciate the cranberry sauce.

But the truth is, Thanksgiving wouldn't be the same without something to be thankful for.

This year I have many, many things to be thankful for. I am especially thankful that I was able to spend the holiday with my amazing family. Here's a sneak peak of a holiday with the Flory 

clan.

    

       

     

Happy Thanksgiving!         

How Long Gone Are You Gonna Be?

I know you are all wondering. The truth is, while I have enjoyed starting this blog, I have yet to start to view my life in terms of my next blog entry. Not to mention that I've been so busy experiencing things to blog about, I haven't had the time nor energy to do so.

But may this serve as a life lesson to all:

Anything good is worth waiting for!

West Virginia, Mountain Mama

I had been looking forward to our camping trip to the Shenandoah Valley for a month. But the journey started out a little rough. With over 15 people going, we all had to leave at different times in order to accomodate everyone's schedules. Brittany was driving my group and right on schedule we left my house at 7 pm. We stopped at Papa John's to grab a pizza and curb our hunger, but ended up running over the curb and got a flat tire instead. David and Jason changed the flat tire and by the time the pizza was done, so were they. We headed back to my house to switch cars.



LeBron, my trusty cavalier, was ready for his first road trip with friends. We loaded up the car and were making good time until we hit Harper's Ferry and got stuck in a massive traffic jam due to a very bad accident. There were at least 7 emergency vehicles on site. We turned off the car and tried to keep warm with the blankets. It was chilly, but beautiful. Living in DC, I had forgotten that stars could shine so bright.

An hour and a half later, we started driving again. A couple wrong turns and a few deer in headlights later, we made it to the Big Meadows campsite. It was nearly 1 am! We bundled up quick and tried to stay warm as it was freezing outside. I was sad to have missed the Friday night campfire, but happy to climb into my sleeping bag as I was quite tired.

There was only one problem - I couldn't sleep. I was too cold. Layered and still shivering, I tossed and turned in order to find the warmest spot. It didn't exist. To the car was my next thought, but then I remembered that Jason had my keys and he looked so cozy, I didn't want to wake him. So I headed to the bathroom instead. The hand dryer saved me as I stood in front of it pushing the button over and over and over and over and over.....




Yes, I was that cold!!!

But lest you think the camping trip was a total bust, let me reassure you - I had so much fun! The fall colors of the leaves were spectacular. The hike to the Dark Hallow Falls was dangerously fabulous (see picture below). And most of all, getting away from the city with some of the greatest friends ever - PRICELESS!



View from our tent in the morning


Not wanting to get up in the morning


Warnings along the trail


Brittany, Stephanie, April and beautiful waterfalls.


All the girls


Some of the boys

I Am a Cereal Girl

Anyone who knows me well can attest to my love for cold cereal. It's quick, easy and tastes so good. During college I lived on the stuff. Since then, I've dropped my addiction to one daily dose of breakfast and sometimes a few bites for an after-dinner snack (no milk included).

But recently, in an ongoing effort to healthify my diet, I came to the conclusion that cold cereal is not the best option for an energizing start to my day. So, I have given it up! Farewell Raisin Bran. So long Golden Grahams. Adios Cheerios.

All week I have been eating a brand new breakfast. 1 egg, spinach and a whole-wheat, no sugar, pumpkin muffin (recipe upon request). It takes just a little more time, but it is scrumptious.

The only problem I currently see is I am no longer getting my daily requirement of milk. I rarely drink milk by the glass, not because I don't like it, but mostly because I never think of it. So now I need to find a way to incorporate milk into my diet sans cereal.

When it's time to change

You've got to rearrange!!!

As I'm new to this blogging thing, please be patient as I come up with the most asthetically pleasing format.

I most likely will playing around with the format for awhile until I find what fits best. I hope you're as excited for the finished product as I am!

Then again, is anything ever really finished? Ponder that for awhile!

That's What Friends are For

Tarythe called me around 5:20.

"Where are you?"

"I have no idea," was my truthful reply. I was lost. I had been driving for 40 minutes, and was nowhere near where I needed to be; I knew that much. I had missed my exit, turned around and missed it again, forcing me to drive another 20 minutes in the wrong direction as there was no convenient turn-around spot. I finally exited somewhere in McLean, VA and took the first sign towards Washington, to hopefully put me in familiar territory.

Matt called around 5:45.

"I've called, not to tell you that we're all waiting for you, but just to calm you down."

By this point I had reached Northern, VA.

"You'll pass a Giant on the left," he said.

"Peeeuuuwww. I just passed the sewage plant," I told him

And finally, I saw Ted, standing on the side of the road holding a parking space for me right in front of his house. After an hour and a half of driving, I was happy to see some of my favorite people. Our friend Emilie was in town and it was cause to get together. Ted cooked a delicious dinner of roast and mashed potatoes that were so creamy. We sat for hours around the table, nearly eating 5 pounds of potatoes between the 6 of us. But, even better than the potatoes was the comfort of being with friends that I've known for many years. Ted and I realized that I met him when I was 20 and I have just turned 25. The others I have known for almost as long.

There is something to be said for the familiarity of good friends:
The kind of friends you can laugh with for hours on end and not get bored.
The kind of friends who remind you of good memories, and are always ready to create more.
The kind of friends who wait for you for over an hour so you don't have to miss the Sunday dinner.
The kind of friends who help you to get where your going.



Tarythe, Scott, Ted, Emilie, April, Matt

Friday, You're Late!

I woke up feeling like I didn't want to get out of bed. That doesn't seem too far off from most days. But today was different. I turned on my side and thought, "I haven't heard my alarm, but it feels like it's almost time for it to go off. I could probably just re-set my alarm for a half an hour than what it's set for now, get just a little more sleep and still make it to work on time." I'm not a snooze person. If I'm not going to get up when I'm supposed to then I definitely don't want to be awakened over and over again, in 9 minute intervals where I have to keep convincing myself that it's okay if I sleep for just a little longer. This morning, after I was fully okay with my decision to sleep for one more half hour, I reached for the clock only to read 8:01. I stared at the clock for at least 30 seconds...did I really sleep until 8:00??

What's even more mind boggling is why I was debating how to get a few extra zzzz's when I had already slept for 2 hours longer than normal. I went to bed at 11:00 pm and slept straight through the night - not even the routine 2 am bathroom break. And I still wanted more sleep? My conclusion was this: last night we turned on the heat for the first time (after I noticed our house was at a chilly 66 degrees). The vent, being right by bed, was blowing out so much heat that it seemed unneccesary for my down comforter and second quilt. But it was so cozy, I couldn't resist. So there I slept, in a heat-induced, comatose state for 9 straight hours.

Turns out, I didn't make it to work on time after all.