Ultimate Coffee Date: January 2015

Hi everyone! Happy New Year! :] ‘m linking up with Coco @ Got 2 Run 4 Me, Lynda @ Fitness Mom Wine Country, & Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner! for the first Ultimate Coffee Date for 2015! Pull up a chair/bean bag/whatever you like to sit on and come link and/or catch up with us! :] I’m going to be somewhat sappy in this post, so consider this your warning. <3

If we were having coffee/tea this morning, I’d tell you that…I  feel incredibly blessed for all the amazing people I have in my life. Being away from home and from my family and all my closest friends for the past 4-ish years has been doable (obviously, as I am still here! :P ), but difficult. Not being able to be there for emergencies or happy celebrations is what bothers me most about being away, but at the same time, much as I love my home and everyone in my life over there, I also wouldn’t trade away the last couple years of experiences.

The people I’ve met here are truly some of the most wonderful and genuine people I’ve ever known, and if I’d never come out here, I never would have had the chance to get to know them.

I’ll start off with Christmas Eve! Since I couldn’t go home for the holidays this year, one of the families at my church invited me over for dinner. Truth be told, I really don’t remember the last time I’ve been to a large family gathering. My family is pretty small, and consists of just me, my brother, and my parents. All the hustle and bustle was really fun, and I’m so grateful that they invited me to take part in their family celebrations. <3

 

If we were having coffee/tea this morning, I’d tell you that…I had no idea that their family tradition was to exchange  gifts on Christmas Eve! I thought it was just dinner, so I brought over homemade chocolate-filled marshmallows (my friend made them–I haven’t made marshmallows from scratch since about a decade ago. It’s somewhat difficult/tedious to do so when you don’t own a mixer of any kind.). Each of their families got me presents! It was super sweet of them, but I also felt really bad, because I didn’t have anything to give them. ;_;

 

Said box of wonders contained an apron (she knows I love to cook), a candle that smells like warm sugar cookies, a planner (will help immensely with my organization), thank you cards (since I like writing them for the preceptors/staff I work with while I’m on rotations), and a really pretty shirt!

His brother’s family gave me super cute pj’s, a super warm and comfy jacket, and fruity shower gel! They guessed my favorite color! :D

We talked and hung out til around midnight, which is when I figured it might be a good idea for me to start driving back to Lewisburg. :x

If we were having coffee/tea this morning, I’d tell you that…I made it to Lewisburg at around 3:30 a.m. and promptly passed out in the bed in my room at Please Save A Cat. I didn’t emerge until late Christmas morning, and found a post-it note in the kitchen listing the things in the fridge and telling me to help myself to whatever I wanted.

I went out to go take care of the cats, since Linda had been called away to work. They were adorable as always, and it was wonderful getting to spend time with the people (and animals) I adore. <3
We took a break from work/school/the stresses in life to go to Roanoke the day after Christmas to catch a movie (Unbroken) and eat dinner! :]Linda is basically my other mom and one of my best friends out here, so it was lovely getting to celebrate Christmas with her and Scott! Even if Scott threatened to have someone drop a bomb over my section of the house. ;_;

We also apparently disagree on the uses of instagram, because I was recently told by one of the kids at church that instagram is for selfies. (What?!) This is definite news to me, and when I brought this up at dinner, Scott agreed and said, “Farrah, you know we love you, but I follow you on instagram to see pictures of YOU, not the food you eat!”

The only time I really ever take selfies is when I have cute animals hanging around me, so I may or may not have also had a camwhore session with Herman, one of my favorites at the shelter. <3

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• How did you spend your holidays (if you celebrate)?
• What do you primarily use instagram for?
• What’s the last movie you watched?
  
• What are some of your favorite things from Trader Joe’s?
• Are you on Imgur? I wrote a post about Please Save A Cat there. <3!