The Miller Thanksgiving 2010

We had a wonderful day of food, laughs, and joyful interaction with new friends. We were invited (approximately a year ago) to go to Roger's mentor's home for Thanksgiving dinner. They live on a mountain in Asheville, so we made the drive up to eat. It was such a wonderful time. I was so proud of the boys because they were both so polite and well behaved. I received many compliments about them throughout the day and it brings pure joy to my heart. There was a small group of college age girls there for dinner and they instantly won the boys' hearts. They played hide and seek, tag, got buried in the leaves, and they just had an overall great time with them. It was nice to have some adult time and not worry about them!

One major thing was missing for me, besides the obvious family members that I miss so much. Mashed potatoes. I might have to whip up a batch tomorrow because there is something wrong with Thanksgiving and no mashed potatoes. Just saying.

This year definitely beats last year's drama of football, broken legs, hospital visits, 10-hour drives, and stress. Oh, and the Cowboys lost today (I love you, Roger!). Great day!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Snot, snot, snotty, snot...

EW. Snot. Disgusting.

I HATE snot. I have always hated it. I remember vividly going to Shoppers Food Warehouse once with my parents, brother, and sister, and my brother (who had an uncanny ability to gross even the most stable stomach out) to get groceries. Well, my brother sneezed and a giant glob of you-know-what shot out and landed on his sleeve. I just about vomited all over the floor I was gagging so much. Kids also have the ability to gross me out with their many sneezes and coughs in which giant blobs of green stuff come out and I am forced to wipe it before I throw up on them. When I was pregnant with Colin, I was riding in the backseat of my sister-in-law's SUV with my niece (she was almost 4, I think) and yep, she sneezed, and yep, total disgustingness was all over her face. I couldn't even look at the poor thing without gagging, and Elizabeth had to stop the car so she could wipe her face. I got out of that one because I was pregnant, but it's a hang up that I am forced to deal with, and it never seems to get easier.

This time of year (at least in terms of snot) is the bane of my existence. I am sure that the tissue companies just LOVE this time of year and are making bazillions of dollars taking care of the snot that is running like rivers. I wipe noses all day at the preschool, and babies (for those who don't know) HATE having their noses wiped. They turn their head in protest, which just serves the purpose of prolonging the snot wiping session because what was once only at the nose, is now all over the cheek, in the hair, and on the ear. Wonderful. Thanks, Baby.

That's why I hate this week. Colin and Christopher both have tons of snot right now and they have lovingly let me in on the game. The main difference is that I don't have to see my own, so it doesn't gross me out to the extent that other people's snot does. Call me judgmental, but my snot isn't gross. I don't like hearing your snot, seeing your snot, and definitely not touching or wiping your snot. I do it out of necessity because vomiting every time I see it is not an option. That just gives me more to clean.

Anyway, being sick sucks. Snot sucks. Being sick and having snot doubly sucks.

Sooooo, who wants to come for dinner?

Veterans

I know I have posted before about veterans and their importance in my life, but I am still so in awe of their sacrifice that I feel like I should do it again. And again. And again.

These men and women have all of my respect--no matter how young or old, they are in it for me and that is truly something special. Here is a list of those that I know directly (I apologize if I leave anyone out. Feel free to call me out on it!). God bless them and let them know that they are appreciated. Always.

Roger Miller (my husband)

Forrest B. Snyder, Jr. (my dad)

James Snyder (my brother)

Ann Snyder (my sister in law)

Bobby Miller (Roger's brother)

Michael A. Miller (my late father in law)

Stephen Previti (my uncle)

Stephen Marsh (my cousin who is currently in Afghanistan)

Dan Previti (my cousin)

Justin McKevitt (my cousin's husband)

Carole Anne Stephenson (my great friend and running buddy)

Mark Camblos (my friend's husband)

Leevi MacDonald (my friend's husband)

Alex Parker (my friend's husband)

Timothy Williams (friend from high school)

George Graham (my grandad)

James Previti (my grandfather)

John Steinberger (my friend's father)

Thank you.

Halloweeeeeeen...

I have discovered that I dislike Halloween. I dislike it a lot, and I hate that I am such a Halloween Grinch (I coined this term for myself. You may borrow it if you want to.) but I really hate the lead up to the day and all the costumes and decorations bug me. See, Grinch.

I remember in college, people would get all dressed up for Halloween and I always looked at them with such disdain, while secretly talking about them in my head. What about this day made it any different to go to a party, drink lots of alcohol, and eventually wander back home, only to pass out and wake up with a headache, but on this day you were expected to make an ass out of yourself and dress up in a costume. It never did and still doesn't make any sense to me. It's not fun for me to play dress up--I never liked it. I could drink beer whether I was dressed up or not. Grinchy, grinchy, grinch, grinch.

The only reason I even "celebrate" it at all now is because I have two little munchkins who think dressing up in costumes is a blast and their smiles make it worth it. Here are the pictures of my two very cute Halloweeners. Ha ha, I said weeners.

Playing catch up...again

I don't have too much to report this time. :)

I ran my second half marathon October 24th. It was the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon. It was painful (really painful) but I did it, and managed to beat my previous time by about 16 minutes. My time was 2:12:04. I must have stopped to stretch about 70 times, but I did it. The craziest thing was that even through all the pain, I was able to spend some time hanging out with Carole (or K-roll as she was dubbed by Colin when he was just 2 and couldn't say her name right) afterwards. Roger and the kids were hanging out at home so I got a girl's weekend with a little run thrown in. We had a blast, but I was reminded why drinking all day is no longer a part of my life! I am sure I will run another one, but for now, my body needs time to heal. It's hard for me to sit and wait but it has to be done. Maybe I will just start eating a lot of crappy food instead! :)

This is us directly after our finish...ew.

This is us all dolled up for post race food and drinks. Much better.