Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Every year I have a list a mile long of things to be thankful for. Here's a small sampling from this year's list :)

I am so thankful for...

• My incredible parents who words can't describe how amazing and supportive they have always been of me
• Andy and the exciting future that lies ahead of us
• Nittany, the sweetest and smartest puppy in the whole world
• My entire family. It's a big, fun, crazy bunch of people both near and far! And my soon to be in-laws!
  
• My job- despite the exhaustion, frustration, and stress that sometimes accompanies the job of a kindergarten teacher, it is rewarding, fun, interactive, and meaningful all the same
  
• Great TV to un-wind with on busy days
• My beautiful home that I am so fortunate to own
• Having enough money to support myself without struggling
  
• All the incredible memories I have of my first 25 years of life
• My fabbbbulous friends without whom I would be so bored and so lonely
• Stuffed crust pizza from Pizza Hut
• Starbucks coffee
  
• My L.L. bean slippers
• My car that I rely on every single day... even if the radio is a little tempermental

I could go on and on, but I'll spare you :) I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, no matter where you are or who you're with. To you and yours!

Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Mmmmmmmm!

Doesn't that title just make your mouth water?! While in grad school at Virginia Tech, I was student teaching in an awesome 2nd grade classroom with a fabulous teacher, Mrs. Gendron. She knew I would be traveling home to my family for Thanksgiving break, so she made me the most delicious cookies ever to take with me! Needless to say, I immediately got the recipe from her upon my return and now make them every Thanksgiving. They are PERFECT fallish, holiday cookies! Here's a look at this years batch and the recipe so you can enjoy them too!

Ingredients for Cookies:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsps ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract


Ingredients for Icing:
2 cups confectioner's sugar 3 tbs milk 1 tbs melted butter 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of softened butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 tsp of vanilla extract to mixture and beat until creamy.

4. Mix in dry ingredients.

5. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.

6. Bake for 15-20 mins in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with a fork.

7. To make glaze icing: Combine confectioner's sugar, milk, 1 tbs melted butter, and 1 tsp vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.



Final, delicious product...

They look so good, I think I'll go eat one now!!! :)

Wedding Website!

Check it out! We are officially up & running! :)
http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/HeatherMcDonald&AndySaulitis

Engagement Photos

So I am facing a bit of a dilemma. I reeeeeally want to get engagement pictures, or professional pictures of some sort of Andy and I to use on the save-the-dates that we are tentatively hoping to send out in January. I reeeeeeally wanted our pictures to be taken outside in the beautiful fall weather with the leaves changing colors and the chill in the air. But alas, the leaves have already fallen and no such pictures have been taken. So I am stuck. Has anyone ever seen winter engagement photos? I can't exactly rely on the snow falling for a nice background. And I'm not the biggest fan of posed indoor photos. Just one more thing to add to my ever-increasing to-do list in the months to come!

1/2 Birthday

So, it is almost my official 1/2 birthday for the 2009 calendar year. As some of you may recall, I began this blog in honor of my 25th birthday on May 17th of this year. I was really anxious and a little sad about turning 25. I was reminiscing about some of the best times of my life... high school, childhood soccer teams, swim team, neighborhood friends, my college days. I felt like the ripe old age of *25* really was the farewell to all those amazing memories.

I am quite happy... in fact, THRILLED to admit that I was wrong. So far, the first half of my 25th year has been one of the best times in my life. I am truly happy to be where I am in life at this point. I am feeling confident about my work, taking on more responsibilities and being more of a leader in my school. I am all settled in my own home, am paying my own bills, and still have some fun spending money to enjoy. Andy and I recently got engaged and I could not be happier or more excited to spend the rest of my life with him. Wedding planning is so fun, even through the stressful moments, and I already feel like this time is going too quickly. I want to enjoy every second of the planning and engagement time before next summer. My friendships are as strong as ever and I know without a doubt the people who I can rely on through thick and thin. I love my family as much as ever and have all the support I need.

Turning 25 was a little scary... but so far, it has been nothing to be afraid of. I can only hope the next half of 25 is every bit as fantastic as the first half. I just hope to continue to try and live in the moment and enjoy 25 for all it's worth.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is by far my favorite holiday of the year! Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July and St. Patrick's Day. But there is something so special and fun about Halloween. Maybe it's the sheer excitement and anxiety that takes over my classroom for an entire week as the kids envision candy goodies & fabulous costumes. I enjoy watching the kids get so excited and talk about their costumes for days! I love seeing the kids come to the door on Halloween night all dressed up and excited. I love doing the Monster Mash and dancing to Thriller. I love Halloween parties and pretending to be someone else for a night. And who doesn't love some delicious candy corn and carving jack-o-lanterns?! I hope everyone got all treats with few tricks and had a very happy Halloween!

Julie, Jenny and I

Leiderhosen

Lady Gaga, Billy Mays and I give it two thumbs up!