U of M vs Ohio State

Gil & I headed to Ann Arbor on Saturday for the big game. We were about 20 minutes away from campus when we realized we had forgotten the tickets. Ouch. Drove all the way home, grabbed them, and then headed back to U of M. We tailgated with some of Gil's coworkers before heading to the stadium.

The weather was unbelievable for late November. I, of course, was still a bit freezing but was thankful for the sunshine! I did watch the entire game without a coat on!

The game itself was fun, although I'm pretty bad at live sporting events. We stood pretty much the entire game, so my back was getting sore. When we did get to sit, we were all smooshed together, so I spent a lot of time trying to keep my crazily long legs out of other people's personal space. Pretty much I just kneed people in the back. Oh well, what can 'ya do?

The end of the game was pretty exciting and all the fans rushed the field. We were pretty content to watch from our seats!

Now I'm anxiously awaiting our first good snowfall...bring on winter!

Thanksgiving!

We had a quick overnight trip to GR for Thanksgiving and then it was back to our side of the state. Gil's parents are awesome cooks, so of course we ate a ton for Thanksgiving dinner last night. Soooo good! They sent us back with lots of left overs, which I'm pretty excited to eat.

I also had a nice visit over at my mom's. She gave me a box and scrapbook of my old school stuff, which have been in her basement forever. It cracked me up to read some of my old stories from kindergarten and first grade. I will have to share later. One of the funnier stories was called "Princess Susan", in which I got a guinea pig named Cocoa (true story) and then referred to it as the "Royal Guinea Pig". Oh geez...

Tonight I (sadly) have a paper to write, which is due tomorrow. Since the college was closed for Thanksgiving, I'm pretty bitter that I still have homework and a paper due for my online class. I don't think that's fair at all!

Tomorrow we are going to tailgate at U of M and then we're going to the game (hence, I have to get the paper done tonight).

On another note, I can't believe how awesome the weather was today. It was so pretty in West Michigan and the temp was amazing. Laila was also happy on the way home...

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! I have so much to be thankful for! Enjoy the long weekend! :)

A Cool Link...

This woman celebrated her 38th birthday by doing 38 random acts of kindness...what a good idea!

How I Celebrated My Birthday

On a Run on Sunday...

I was finishing up a run on Sunday and noticed the awesome fall colors, so I snapped a few pictures while I was walking...

I made Laila come out for a photo shoot when I got back to the house...such a cute pup!

Have a great week!

Not Missin' Meat...

Well it's a week later & I haven't been missing meat. In fact, being a veg is going great! Last night we went out to eat & I thought that for the first time, I might be tempted to eat something w/meat in it. But I have to say, I haven't felt like I'm keeping myself from eating something I want yet. I had an awesome grilled veggie foccacia sandwich...it was so yummy!

I've tried some really good veg recipes for dinner & it's been really nice not having to prepare meat! We do have some meat left in the fridge, so this morning I made pancakes and made Gil

eat the bacon that was left. I thought for sure I'd miss having bacon, but...nope, not really. So this tells me that maybe I really am meant to be a veg! It helps that Gil is willing to try all the recipes I've made so far!

I have to say, although I think I'm eating more veggies and fruits lately, I feel like I've been eating extremely badly. Can you say Halloween Candy!?!? Get me away from the chocolate...I can't control myself!!

This week I made sweet potato and lentil chili, using the recipe from Daily Garnish.

It was pretty good! I made it in the pumpkin bowls from this recipe. The pumpkin gets roasted in the oven and you're supposed to be able to eat the insides. Mine didn't go that well, but it was still cute!

On another note, we made our poor pup dress up again this year. Needless to say, her costume does not fit like it did last year. This was Laila last year:

This was Laila this year! She definitely has fluffy Newf elbows and paws now!

We could barely fit her ears through the hat this year. I think she was pretty mad at us again. The trick or treaters thought she was cute though!

P.S. I'm getting prematurely excited about being finished with my Masters program in May. I forgot what it's like to have free time!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a great week!

Healthy Un-Fried Rice from Daily Garnish

Tonight I made this for dinner. It was quick, it was easy, and it was good! I also added diced onion and a red bell pepper. I thought the stir fry needed a little kick...Gil & I always prefer a little spice to our food. I would've added red pepper flakes, but we were out. Next time I make this, I'll be sure to add some spice.