The Next Chapter: Life in North Carolina: Giving Thanks with Family and Friends

Hello all! As I write this post, I am cozy in my parents' basement, experiencing a hint of relaxation after completing a long and busy semester at UNC. The comfortable familiarity of my childhood home will always help me take a deep breath and remind me to be thankful for twenty-three wonderful years full of family and friends.

Rewinding a few weeks....I cooked my FIRST turkey this year at my apartment for an AuD Friendsgiving celebration! I was pretty nervous at first...but Ev & I had a blast finding a recipe and making sure we had adequately removed all of the guts of the turkey (I did have a bit of a panic moment when I pulled the neck out...yick!)

Originally I planned to invite only my AuD class of 9 people, but then I expanded the guest list to the entire program. We had about 30 people in our 1000 square-foot apartment (pretty much everyone made it). We had to set up card tables in the bedroom and the guest room, but (almost) everyone had a seat. The whole apartment was basically a restaurant! Everyone brought a side or dessert, and along with the turkey & a ham, we had quite the feast. It was a great night!

The next weekend I headed home for Thanksgiving in Charleston. All of my grandparents were able to make it, and Chris & Abby came down from Mississippi. It felt like it had been ages since I'd seen everyone , so it was great to catch up and spend some quality time with family (and Ziggy, of course).

Mom prepared a delicious meal, as usual, and we enjoyed the left overs throughout the weekend. Later that weekend we set up the tree and enjoyed all getting to decorate it together (Evan even made it to town for that!) Decorating the tree and reliving all of the memories from our very, very homemade ornaments is one of my favorite things to do every year during the holidays. I catch myself looking at all of the ornaments time and time again throughout my time at home every year.

It was only one week after the Thanksgiving holiday that I was amidst final exams and papers. Before I knew it, the exams were through (after many cups of caffeine were consumed), and I was getting ready to head to Charleston, and take my mom on to Pittsburgh for a potential treatment. Unfortunately, as everyone knows, the experimental trial fell through last minute and therefore we won't be heading back to Pittsburgh this upcoming week. Despite the disappointment, we are all doing our best to find the silver lining in a treatment change. And, since I have had some extra time at home, I have been looking through old photo albums. So, for your enjoyment, a little walk down memory lane...