still alive {but barely breathing}

Right now I'm using a lot of these:

Source: keeperofthehome.org via Stephanie on Pinterest

I may have even put some up my nose, just to save my face from feeling like it was rubbing off. I said may. I didn't say I did. But we all know that means I am typing with them stuck up my nose at this very second. {ahh..the joys of being single}

Don't judge me, I'm trying to keep you all healthy and well...I don't want you to suffer like I am.

I probably look like Rudolph at this point...but at least I'm festive, right? These are the joys of cold and flu season, and being around others who have it...I was destined to get it. 

Even though I'm sick, I have been trying to do alot of this as well:

Source: google.co.uk via Stephanie on Pinterest

But mostly, it turns into this:

Source: nantucketyouth.tumblr.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Did I tell you I was done with all my classes? Yes, I'm finished...with the act of having to go to class and take notes. I don't think it's sunk in yet, due to the fact that I've been writing endless amounts of papers and working on countless assignments left unfinished. Not to mention, I've got to finish start studying for my finals that will commence next Thursday afternoon. Then GRADUATION! 

I have my very first final tomorrow...still working on the 12 page paper that goes along with it.

Yeesh!

So bear with me. I'm going to be bombarded with sneezing and reading, runny noses and note cards, sleeping and studying. But I promise to get back to blogging after this hectic 2 weeks ends! 

Wish me luck!

Thankful Thursday on Monday: Vol. 2

                                                                                              Source: etsy.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

So I'm getting to be quite bad at actually being thankful on Thursday.

Good thing there's only one Thursday in November left, 

so I have one more shot of doing it right and ending on a high note!

Let's commence, shall we?

This week I'm thankful for:

1. Beautiful friends.

This weekend I had a great time laughing and vegging out with J. Phil and Mauney. These are some pretty awesome ladies who just so happen to be gorgeous-inside and out. It's nice to be surrounded by genuine, kind, loving people.

In fact, I am thankful for so many friends who share the same qualities. I don't know how I was fortunate enough to have so many amazing people in my life, but I'm always grateful for it.

I couldn't let Fall pass by without sharing this pic of Mauney on CBS sports from our game against LSU. I love that freeze frame of her, and her classic 'Welp...' look. Not to mention most of her air time involved watching her text. Classic.

And Ms. J. Phil has so much class, and always looks adorable-no matter what! I love her scarves and boots and sunglasses and smiles. Thankful for her road trip to Knox this past weekend!

                                                                                       Source: flickr.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

2. Cupping Something Warm

One of my favorite things about fall is the sensation of cupping something warm. It brings peace and warmth. Sometimes holding a mug of hot cider or hot cocoa seems to take away all of the worries and stress that come with a long day and a sleepless night. After an all-nighter spent on a paper I'm not confident about, nothing felt better than holding a warm caramel latte from Panera at 8am on a Thursday morning. I could feel the tension slip away. And ending the long day with a cup of mulled cider, well, it was perfection.

                                                                Source: idontwantrealism.tumblr.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

3. Fallen Leaves

This week they covered my car, the walkways, the streets, and I even found a couple in my hair walking on campus. After a blustery Monday, the golds and reds are gone from the trees because they now cover the ground. It reminded me of Christmas' impending return. That was reason enough to be thankful for those wet, sticky leaves that found their way into my foyer.

                                                                       Source: instagram.heroku.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

4. Little Reminders

As much as I am relishing in the fact that I only have 2 days of class left until my FINAL finals, there's a scary reality hiding in the euphoria. It's simple: I have no idea what I'm doing next. I'm trusting God again in this one. I know He'll provide, but I just wish maybe it would move a little faster. And I'm thankful for the reminder above. 

                                                                Source: ilovezooey.tumblr.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

5. Zooey Deschanel

We all thought she was adorable in Elf (granted she looks so much more better as a brunette...glad she went darker), and we all loved her in {500} Days of Summer.  Then came She & Him. I haven't listened to their regular albums, but I did download the Christmas album this weekend and I must say it sounds simply wonderful. And now we have New Girl. Hilarious. She's so quirky that it's more adorable than awkward, and if you're anything like me, you find it eerily familiar. She's our quirky America's sweetheart if I do say so myself. And I love it. 

HAPPY MONDAY! 

Happy 8th Anniversary to Amelia & Cortez (first name Michael)!

Love ya'll, you two crazy lovebirds!

Fall Fridays: Mulled Apple Cider

                                                                                Source: tastykitchen.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

RECIPE HERE.

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away!?

I've enjoyed posting my favorite autumn recipes for Fall Fridays.

I'll continue 'Food on Friday' tradition starting next week with 'Festive Fridays!'

Can't wait to start sharing Christmas recipes!

(Yes, it's almost here friends!)

Last night I had a small pre-Christmas/Thirty-One party with some friends

and I made my own mulled apple cider. 

Lucky for me, I bought a carton of Aspen mulling spices at my favorite local Hallmark store in Knoxville and all I had to do was add it to a gallon of Apple Cider and simmer. 

It was delicious. 

Like harvest time in a cup.

I'm excited to have leftovers to share with friends coming in this weekend. Perfect drink for the last real weekend of fall until Christmas blows into town.

I'll be celebrating with two of my very best friends, Lacey and J. Phil. Our wild plans include going to see the new Twilight movie and enjoy Starbucks' Red Cup over some much-needed girl talk. 

I think my Christmas tree may even make an early guest appearance this weekend so we can all decorate it together. 

Nothing like a little Charlie Brown Christmas Soundtrack (my favorite by the way), drinking mulled cider, and watching the holiday lights dance over a cold Saturday night.

What are your plans for this pre-holiday weekend?

I'm sure whatever they are, you're probably going to be busy like me.

I love that feeling this time of year. 

Let the Holiday festivities begin!

~TefMarie

Thankful Thursday on Monday

                                                             Source: redheadscraftmorefun.blogspot.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Thursday came and went last week and my blog left blank on Thankful Thursday. 

That's what Mondays are for: to make up for what you forgot to do last week. 

Last week I was thankful for:

1. Doctor's appointments. 

I was taking care of business and making sure I was healthy. Something I don't always get to do since I'm part of America's uninsured. Therefore, I'm extremely thankful for my last semester at UT so I can visit the health clinic and get the best care. 

2. Friends who coupon. 

One of my close friends loves to coupon, LOVES it. I love a good Target run with coupons in tow for savings but I don't always spend my hours looking for the best deal. That's why good friends who are coupon-savvy make my day. I'm thankful for the mail system that sent those coupons my way and grateful she was willing to share!

3. Starbucks and bonfires. 

Nothing like sitting around a fire-pit with my cousins and drinking hot coffee under the stars and talking life. We had a lot of laughs and meaningful smiles shared over that fire pit on a cold November night. Impromptu and delightful, that's what I'm all about. Thankful especially for my ski-jacket that kept me warm in the freezing temps. 

4. Texas Roadhouse and Derek Dooley.

That explanation requires a whole other blog post...more on that to come. 

5. Friends who are willing to 'cut a brother.' (Not literally...)

Love Amelia. Love her loyalty. Love her gangsta ways.
Thankful she's my friend (and not an enemy! ;) Sheesh!)

And overall, thankful for this song I heard on K-Love last week.
Might have been exactly what I needed to hear sometime during the mid-week.
Maybe you do too?

Did you remember to be thankful last week?

~TefMarie

I've been feeling real good...{outasight}

                                                                                        Source: zazzle.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Basically.

Kidding...

Hope you have an AWESOME Sunday. 

If you listen to this you will. 
Makes me feel fun.
And it's a nice hook...{everybody go...}

I woke up in time to Pinterest and get coffee before church, 

so it's turning out to be a fab Sunday. 

Now it's off to figure out what church outfit will go best with my one pair of black tights. The joys of falltime.

~TefMarie

Fall Fridays: Layered Pumpkin Pie in a Jar

Source: afarmgirlsdabbles.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

How adorable are these fall treats? Perfect for gifts, happys, 

or your very own pick-me-up! 

You can find the recipe here.

I'm trying to hold on to the feeling of fall-time, harvest, pumpkins, but Christmas is trying to sneak in there any way possible. 

I'm fighting the urge to listen to Christmas music (I always think this isn't allowed until the week of Thanksgiving). I haven't allowed myself to really peruse the aisles of Target that are filled with Christmas decorations and goodies. I haven't made a Christmas list, nor tried to do alot of the shopping that goes along with it (I have bought a couple of goodies for baby Kirbs, but it's his first Christmas so this is completely justified-shopping for cute nephews doesn't count). 

But friends, it's oh-so-hard. I am ready to embrace Christmas, put up my tree despite the clashing with my cornucopia that sits out on the table. I love fall-time so much, I don't want to short change it because it will be gone and replaced by bare trees and snowy moments soon (which I also love). 

Have a great fall weekend, it's one of the few left before Thanksgiving comes, and the Macy's Parade brings Santa marking the official beginning of the Christmas season.

~TefMarie

wishful thinking

Today I wish it was already...

Source: chiccoles.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

And I was spending an evening with the cousins watching:

Source: cinematicwallpaper.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

while enjoying:

Source: howsweeteats.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

~TefMarie

self-destructing, one bad habit at a time.

The one thing I can say about my self-destructive tendencies is that when they flare up, they go big or go home. 

This week has been nothing but a display of my very worst habits and weaknesses at their best. I remember when I moved to Knoxville I thought I could leave everything I wanted to change about myself back in Memphis. Somehow it would get left in the dust as the Honda traveled across Tennessee, packed with everything but little nuisances like laziness and lack of self-discipline. My move to Knox symbolized a new slate, a new beginning. 

I wasn't going to be the Stephanie that....

Over-ate.

Left her checkbook unbalanced.

Flirted with old flames.

Used credit cards.

Skipped class.

Procrastinated.

Cared too much about what other people thought.

Watched mindless reality shows.

You get the idea.

Well, friend, I have some bad news to share with you. I've not only done ALL of those things while living in Knoxville, but it seems some of them have magnified. 

And this last week some of them even took off like a rocket ship, with what seemed like no going back. 

I made a plethora of bad decisions.  My inner conversation went a little like this:

School? If I stay in bed, cover my pretty little head with my white down comforter and just close my eyes, then it doesn't exist. If I sleep, school goes away. 5 hour naps in the middle of the day never hurt anybody. School doesn't exist in dreamland. Papers due? I can turn those in late for points off. What's a few letter grades when I've got decent grades on everything else. It's my last semester, I'm just trying to finish, not get on the Honor Roll. Let's roll back over and snuggle in. Man, these bamboo cotton sheets are soft.

Money? If I don't balance my checkbook, and ignore my online banking options then somehow the money will just magically replenish when I need it. God always takes care of us, right, so no worries. Been here before, I can do it again. Let's keep swiping my debit card as if it were invincible. $2 charges, those don't hurt. I have one more month to blame my brokeness on the 'college student life,' might as well do it up big.

Exercise? I have a bum ankle. I'm down and out for the count for a little while, duh. That pre-hypertension report the doctor gave me last week, I'm too young to really think about it now. Don't mind this junk food I keep stuffing in my body as I sit on the couch and in the classroom. And hey my face is broke out again, what gives? Why don't I have clear skin when I keep putting preservatives and chemicals and fats and sugars into my system? Like Madonna said, life is a mystery. Guess I will skip weighing myself for the umpteenth day in a row, it's more about how you feel, not what the numbers are.

Anybody else fed up with my excuses as much as I am...and I'm the one who comes up with them?! My butt is getting back in gear, but not without some serious repercussions. Let's just say it's bad enough that I finally got back to blogging on my other blog again. If you want to follow my journey to learning self-discipline and facing some really harsh realities then you should start reading it. 

Something has got to give. SOMETHING!

I just needed to get that off my chest. It's been a while since my blog has had some raw honesty on it, and it's been a while since I wrote any. This sticky situation would probably be a good starting point for getting back to journaling again...expressing my mistakes and setbacks in hopes of self-awareness. So this Saturday evening I am leaving all the negatives behind. 

Tomorrow is Sunday, the LORD'S day. It's about time I started putting my faith in the Lord again rather than in chance and myself to take care of all these bad habits and worries. It seems that I should have learned this lesson long before now but it's never too late to change. Tomorrow morning is a new day, a new week, a new outlook. 

Here's to kicking my bum into gear and breaking old habits!

                                                                                     Source: imgfave.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Don't forget: You can follow my other blog HERE.

~TefMarie

Fall Fridays: Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Source: annies-eats.net via Stephanie on Pinterest

Recipe Here

Maybe you've realized that one of my favorite desserts of all time is Cheesecake. It's delicious and sweet. Combine that with pumpkin muffins and you have heaven on a plate for breakfast. This might make a good breakfast/brunch item for Thanksgiving and Black Friday. I'll be trying it out!


Hope your Friday is fabulous!

~TefMarie

Thankful Thursdays in November

It's the month to celebrate Thanksgiving. Not just the holiday, but the action.

Let's celebrate the tradition of gratitude this month with Thankful Thursdays. Sometimes it's the small things in life for which I find the most appreciation.

Today was one of those days.

This Thursday I've been thankful for a number of things:

1. Surviving my first spray tan with Mauney. I look like I spent an afternoon by the pool, despite the cold and rainy day it turned out to be.

2. Delilah playing some of my favorite songs back to back. 'Turn Around Bright Eyes' by Bonnie Tyler, 'If You Leave' by OMD, and 'Hands' by Jewel. Yes, we've been through this before, I like to listen to Delilah. Call me an optimist and hopeless romantic, but she provides a nice alternative to unwinding at the end of the day besides becoming a complete vegetable in front of mindless television.

3. Good friends and mentors who listened to me whine and pout this week when I felt like I couldn't go on anymore in regards to school. Yes, I'm self-destructive. I shut down at the start of the week, spending a couple of days in bed, sleeping, pretending that if I wasn't awake then school, assignments, readings, and papers didn't exist. Surprisingly, the academic world does not work like that....you would think I'd figure this out after 10 years in undergrad. I'm thankful for sweet friends who provided encouragement and kind words to motivate me for my last month! {SO CLOSE!}

4. On that note, thankful that I only have 7 more days of  class (the beauty of Tuesday/Thursday only classes).

5. Finding a box of Nerds in the Halloween candy of the kids I nanny. Even better, the Mom encouraged me to save her from a sugar rush and spilt purple and pink balls of goodness and take it home with me. Nerds are my favorite and it's been a while since I've enjoyed any. 

What were you thankful for today?

~TefMarie