#63. A Family Thanksgiving

#63. A Family Thanksgiving

This year, I have grown closer to my family. I am not sure if it because of my dad's death, or the growth I have experienced in my own life, but we are getting close again. It isn't as hard to visit. For a few years, I felt like I would take steps back when I went to Arkansas. I felt like I was the quiet, shy girl I was when I was growing up. 

For the first time in years, I felt confident in who I was going in to the holiday season. It has been a rough and challenging year, but I am stronger than I've ever been. The time spent with them was amazing. I loved every minute of it. 

I ended up not having to work the night before Thanksgiving, so I drove down after I got off. My aunt and uncle offered to house me for the night, so I met them at their house. Once I arrived, my mom was there and the four of us went to dinner. We went to Houlihans in Rogers. It was interesting going to a different Houlihans than where I work. Especially one not in the same franchise as my store. It was really good though. I like mine better, but I'm bias. 

Afterward, we walked around Cabela's for a bit before heading back to their house. When we got back we prepped some food for lunch the next day before watching some TV. 

The next day, my aunt and I woke up early to put the turkey in the oven and start getting things ready. It was good to just help her and hang out. After a while, the rest of the family started showing up. It was a lot of fun to see everyone. They all had questions about me, my life, and the boyfriend. Which I was happy to answer. ;)

Later on that evening I headed back to Springfield for work the next day. All in all it was a fantastic trip. 

#36. SGF Festival of Lights

#36. SGF Festival of Lights

The Springfield Festival of Lights was on November 22nd this year. I told John I wanted to go since I had found out about it. It was something new and different to do on a Saturday night. We started off with dinner at Ruby Tuesday. I had a coupon. :)

Next we headed downtown to the square in time for the lighting of the tree. We made sure to get a good spot to watch the festivities. We found a spot by the fountain and waited. We ran into a few people we knew and ended up watching the lighting with them. 

When it was over, we stayed for a couple of pictures and people watched. Then headed to the Mudlounge for dessert. 

Us before we went to dinner.

The before and after....

   

Waiting to see the tree.

   

#2. Go on a Date & #127. Have makeup done for a night out

#2. Go on a Date

#127. Have makeup done professionally

To say that this is and probably will be my favorite blog post would be an understatement. Go on a date. It seems so simple, but for me it was the first one I've ever been on. Yes, I am almost 30 and have never been on a date. I'll spare you all the details and hit the highlights. 

Can I just say that I am so glad I had never gone on date before. It was seriously the perfect night. John and I have been friends for over 5 years and I've liked him off and on for the whole time. When he asked me out, I was excited and shocked. But happy. 

Because of timing and schedules, we waited two weeks from when he asked me out until we went on our first date. So I had plenty of time to prepare. The day of, I had help getting ready. Thanks to my mentor, Shelli, I had my makeup done by a professional makeup artist. It was fun getting pampered for the afternoon. Afterward, Alicia came over to do my hair. 

So November 1st was our first date. He showed up at my door to pick me up holding orchids (my favorite). They were beautiful. And a month later, still alive. :) I then took the opportunity to take pictures because I had to document this night. 

He was such a gentlemen, opening car doors for me the whole night. Not that I had any doubt. There was reasons I had liked him for a while. The weeks leading up to the date he wouldn't tell me what we were doing other than to dress casual. That morning, thanks to one of our friends who accidentally told me, I found out where we were going to dinner. 

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from dinner. We went to Nonna's downtown. I have lived in Springfield all these years and have never been. Surprising because I love Italian food. When we were walking up, a large group of people walked in and I said there may be a wait. He just looked at me, smiled, and said good thing I made a reservation. Love people that plan. :)  Our table was upstairs which was back in the corner, perfect and cozy. Our waiter was a little strange but it made for a good story. After we ordered, John told me what we were doing the rest of the night: bowling and then back downtown for fondue. Dinner was really good. I would definitely go back. After dinner, we walked around the square for a while before going to the bowling alley. 

After dinner, we went to the bowling alley. It was under construction so it wasn't super crowded. They gave us one of the lanes toward the end, so for a while, we were off by ourselves. I won 2 of the 3 games. I'm quite the good bowler, but so is he. It was good little competition. And of course, there had to be a picture. :)

After bowling, we headed back downtown to the MudLounge for fondue. It was delicious. We got the chocolate one with peanut butter mixed in. Yummy. We were wondering if we would see anyone we knew, but we managed to make it the whole night without seeing anyone. It was nice. It was like we were in our own little world. 

For those curious, we are dating now. Yay!