Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving was a bit different this year because Aaron and I were not with our immediate family.  Aaron had all week off but I only got Wednesday through Friday off, so traveling home for the holiday wasn't an option.  So we stayed here in Wake Forest, North Carolina and started some new traditions.

Our small group decided to have a Thanksgiving meal on Wednesday night, which meant that Wednesday was spent cooking at the Turner home.  I had several Pinterest recipes that I had been wanting to try out and now I had a big group of people to eat them.  We also decided to tackle the task of cooking the TURKEY!!!  We received a roaster as wedding present so we thought this would be the best time to test it out.  On Sunday, we headed to Aldi to pick out the turkey and start the thawing process.  I spent most of Sunday afternoon researching how to roast a turkey.  Aaron spent Wednesday watching videos about roasting a turkey and then how to carve it.  Off to the kitchen to cook.  First thing on the menu: Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle

Making brownies and adding some Reese's cups.

Aaron making the pudding mixture.  YUM YUM

Finished Product



Next menu item: Cousin Vergie's Yeast Rolls

 

 

Aaron's Dressing - Thanksgivng isn't Thanksgiving without dressing, so I made some per Aaron's request.  Another great recipe I found on Pinterest.

Last Menu Item: Turkey (we also made Green Bean Bundles but I didn't get a picture of those)

 

 

 

 



 

Once all of the food was prepared, we headed to Laura Ashley and Lee Harper's to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with our small group family.  We talked about traditions, different foods that we eat, shared what we were thankful for, and enjoyed great conversation with new friends.  Even though we were not with our family, it felt like we were because our friends here have become family. 

 

 

Thanksgiving Day - Aaron, Lee, Laura Ashley, Holland Grace, and I headed to Green Castle Apartments in North Raleigh to serve the residents Thanksgiving lunch.  The Summit's I58 program has built relationships with the residents here by serving them weekly through a variety of activities.  We had the opportunity to meet other members of The Summit and the residents at Green Castle.  It was a beautiful day and a great way to spend Thanksgiving. 

 

After a quick lunch we spent the rest of the day resting for Black Friday shopping.  We decided since we live 2 minutes from Kohls we would go and see what all of the hype was about.  We ate leftover Thanksgiving food, pulled all of the Christmas stuff out, and started the decorating process while we waited for midnight to get here.

 

 

 

 

 



The line outside Kohl's at 11:30 p.m.


 

It was so cold outside.  I think our phones said 34 degrees.

 

 

We waited in line to check-out for 50 minutes.  We had a lot of fun looking for stuff, getting great deals, and chatting with the people we met in line.  We have now had the experience and I think it will last us for a while. 

 

 

Almost to the check-out

 

A pashmina scarf for $8.

 

My Favorite Tee - such a comfortable shirt. 

Aaron got a couple of shirts as well.  The best part - we saved more than we spent and still got $30 Kohl's cash to spend next week.  I feel positive that we will be able to find something.  It was a fun evening.

 

Today after several cups of coffee, Aaron spent most of the day working on school work and I finished decorating the house for Christmas.  We enjoyed our Friday tradition of pizza and some quality time together.  It has been a fabulous Thanksgiving and looking forward to the weekend.

 

 

 

 





Savannah 1/2 Marathon

Last May, all of the Waters/Turner children gathered at the Waters' home place for a joint birthday celebration, Mother's Day, general get together.  At some point during our time together Rachel brought up running a 1/2 Marathon and made the suggestion that we (the kiddos) all run one together.  This being said, Rachel and I, were the only two who had NEVER run a 1/2 marathon.  Aaron, Sybil, and Adam had previously run the Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon in Nashville, TN.  After much discussion and searching, we found a 1/2 marathon... The Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon in Savannah, GA.  Let the training begin...

In June, Aaron and I moved to North Carolina and we began our training by running up mountains, well not really but sometimes they truly felt like it.  We did really well during the summer months but once school and work started, it just seemed so much easier to skip a run here and there.  By October, we got so busy that when Saturday hit for a long run, we honestly couldn't force ourselves to run.  Two weekends ago we ran our longest run of the training.. 10 miles.. still 3.1 more to actually finish a 1/2 marathon.  We were both so sore for the next days, I still wasn't convinced that I was actually going to be able to finish this race, but it was here, whether I wanted it to be or not.

So on Friday, we loaded everything in car and started the 5 1/2 hour drive to Savannah, GA.  Adam, Sybil, and Rachel met us there.  After way too much time in the car, I'm usually good for about 30 minutes, we finally arrived at the Expo.  We picked up our race number, swag bag, t-shirt, and went on a search for anything else free we could get.  I ended up with a free t-shirt and Aaron got 2 free bandanas.  The rest of the crew were there as well, so we wandered around for a while together.  In our wandering, we came across a booth that was giving away free t-shirts for anyone who could do 25 "burpies".  They looked extremely difficult, but Adam and Sybil were up for the challenge.

After the Expo we carbed up for dinner, picked out our clothes for the race, and headed to bed.  We left the hotel at 4:45 Saturday morning headed to the race.  After several hours of standing around in the cold it was time to head to our corrals.  Rachel and I were in the same corral so we chatted with people and tried to stay as warm as possible before we actually started.  Now the race starts at 8:00 but you are in different corrals based on your predicted ending time.  Rachel and I were in corral 11 so we started about 12 minutes after the first corral started.  To sum it all up, I had a blast, Savannah is a beautiful city to run through, but by mile 7 or 8 I was in serious pain.  My knees were hurting like they had never hurt before and I had a horrible cramp in the arch of my right foot (which still seems to be there).  The only way to get over the pain was to finish the race.  I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.  *If you want to check out all of the photos go to www.marathonfoto.com and follow the directions.

 

This is Rachel sprinting to the finish line.  Look at her go.

Adam is in the yellow.

Sybil running like the wind.

Aaron looking cool and confident.

 

Rachel and I cheesing it for the camera.

 

Proof that I did actually finish.  I ran the 1/2 in 2:22:59.

 

 

We all finished!!!

Photo in front of a beautiful fountain after the race.

 

So excited.  "Check out our medals"

 



 

After we got back to the hotel, showered, and relaxed our EXTREMELY SORE muscles, we headed to lunch in downtown Savannah.  We figured since we had all just run 13.1 miles we could consume as much food as possible.  And that is exactly what we did.  We ate at Kayak Kafe.  It was delicious. 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent a little while walking around, exploring, and eating some ice cream, before we headed back to the car to do a little sightseeing via car.  It is much easier on the legs.  The rest of the trip was spent watching the Alabama/LSU game and consuming as much pizza as possible.  I had a great time and really enjoyed spending some quality time with my family. 

 

"Would I do it again?"  Only if everyone else in the family was going to run too.  For me I've accomplished my goal and I've got the sticker to prove it.  :)  Until next time...