Western Washington Weedons

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-16T15:47:00.000-07:00

While browsing pictures of our house to put up for RENT (that's right, we're MOVING!) I came across this picture of our animals.

Of course, Riley isn't with us anymore... :( But I just thought it was classic. I had given them all baths and they are all licking themselves! HA! It brought a smile to my face today because there have been a ton of crazy new things going on around here...! No, not pregnant! HA!

Saturday Morning (Afternoon) Scene

2011-03-12T15:52:00.000-08:00

Linking up from Katie's Saturday Morning Scene linky!!!

Today, Shandy and I are baking buddies!!! I found this recipe a couple of weeks ago when I was dreaming of food and couldn't taste a dang thing! I told Shandy that we HAD to make them! So, this afternoon we are baking some lovely sugar cookies and making the cinnamon roll pancakes!!! Ohhhhmigosh! They are SO delicious! Definitely may be tying my ultimate favorite breakfast splurge, french toast! If you have a special day coming up... make these!!!! They're delish! I have to give credit where due... I really didn't make them. I was busy making dough. So, Shandy made them and that's probably a good thing because I tend to walk away from things and burn them... HA!!! Here's a pic of them...

C'mon... that looks ah.maze.ing right!? We shared three. Hmm... Yeah, guess I won't be eating dinner! ;o) We are also making the cookies I have been planning to make for Nickolai's first birthday party next weekend. I can't believe he is one!!!! Anyway, we're making giraffes, monkeys and elephants! Shandy is making animal cookies and they're going to be frosted like these to look like the animal cookies! And I'm going to frost mine with royal icing and hopefully they'll turn out super cute! I will surely update you all! ;o)

Now if only Shandy and I could pop in a chick flick and enjoy the evening... Such is life! Work is a must! HA!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Denim Dilemma

2011-03-10T14:12:00.000-08:00

Isn't it funny how a pair of jeans can change your life in an instant? You know, like that time in middle school when I slipped and ripped the crotch out? That was embarrassing. What about those killer Mudd flare jeans that were popular when I was in middle/early high school. What.the.heck.!? Shandy and I would totally borrow each other's jeans... And don't even ask about the FUBU overall situation. I mean, woah! Or, what about the "I'll be able to wear these again someday" jeans that are sitting in your closet? Oh sure, that'll happen. But, if it did happen, it would rock your world... RIGHT!? Jeans rule our lives as women a bit too much, if you ask me. I suppose that is why I would choose a pair of beautiful black yoga sweatpants over jeans any day. Yep, I'm totally that person. But that's a whole 'nother post!

When I was thinner (ha! I've never been THIN) jeans were a lot more comfortable. However, I've always had a hard time finding jeans to fit properly. It seems that in most cases, thin or THICK, women have a really hard time with jeans. My question is... who the HECK are they making them for then!!!??? It took me a long time to finally find pair/brand of jeans that I love. I went through the GAP Long & Lean stage, whatever made me think that anything with that name would work for me? I am certainly not either long or lean. Then, there was the random DKNY jeans I'd find on sale at Macy's and even a few pairs from Kohls. and then of course the ever cheap Old Navy jeans that I kept on hand. But then, I broke down and went to Nordstrom. My beer budget certainly wasn't going to far there... ;o)

My love affair started back in the fall of 2009. I found a pair of Michael Kors jeans that were fan.tab.u.lous. But at the tune of $89 I couldn't just run out and buy three pairs. Sorry peeps, I'm definitely not the type to spend HUNDREDS of dollars on several pairs of jeans, it just doesn't work that way in my household. So, I settled with one good pair that I took excellent care of. Made sure to wash them inside out with little detergent and hang them to dry. But, because I could only afford one pair at the time, when I wore them with flats (I'm also not the girl that can effectively wear heels most of the time) they began to get worn on the bottoms. Then, I noticed that the beautiful dark wash was starting to fade and... NO!!!! The crotch was getting thin. That's what happens folks, when you only wear one pair of jeans several times a week. So, what was a girl to do? Hide the evidence from her hubby? That will certainly be a great "discussion" once he notices. Why does my husband have to be so in tune to my clothes?! Well, I broke down and decided that I was DONE with Old Navy denim with the only exception being for work (because really, my job is messy) and I was hell bent on buying at least two more pairs. Screw a budget! Surely Brandon would have to understand my predicament.

Sure enough, my next trip to Nordy's was unsuccessful when I was informed by my lovely ladies (holla Nordy's salespeeps!) that they discontinued the style. OF COURSE THEY DID! Just my luck! So, the search was on. Thankfully, the girls in the section that I frequent and Nordstrom are awesome and they hooked me up with these beauties:

So, now my absolute favorite brand that DOES NOT break the bank is KUT for the Kloth jeans. They're awesome. Stretch where they need it, dark wash, long for heels or the ladies that are blessed to be over 5'7", they come in a variety of styles & sizes and... the best part is the price! Just check these out they're on sale RIGHT NOW! I'm about to go buy a pair to add to my collection so I can have them hemmed for flats. I've always dreamed of having enough jeans to do that... sigh. Sounds pathetic, I know.

Unfortunately, my problems with jeans haven't completely ended. While I LOVE these jeans all three of the pairs that I own have zipper issues. Just ask Jen, when I visited in November I came running out of "my room" frantically asking her if she could help me zip them! The zippers are super sticky/nearly impossible to get up! And, I promise it isn't because they're too small! ;o) Well, now it has turned into a full on non-functional zipper problem in ALL three pairs. I have been wearing long camisoles under whatever shirt I'm wearing to cover the zipper! HA! Luckily, since they're purchased from Nordy's, I have already had one pair replaced for free but I need to take the other two in and the closest store is a bit of a drive for me so I just haven't gotten to it. I think I will just have their tailor put new zippers in them... but maybe I'll just take new pairs! I have read the reviews on the Nordstrom site and didn't see any that mentioned zipper issues so maybe I was just supremely unlucky... totally probable. :o)

So, for now, my denim dilemma is mostly solved. I am the type of shopper that would rather have a few decent/quality items in my closet than a plethora of random crap that I bought at discount stores and "thought" I would use. I prefer my local TJMaxx and Marshalls for things to decorate the home, the clothing section makes me want to scream! So, while I can't have an entire closet filled with beautiful clothes from Nordy's or anywhere else of the same caliber... I will cherish my few beauties!

Since these jeans have really changed my life by being comfortable and making me feel good... I just thought I'd share! Please tell me I'm not the only one with DENIM DILEMMAS!? What are YOUR favorite jeans? And, do you have any embarassing jean stories? I can't be the ONLY one...

Award Time

2011-03-06T22:50:00.000-08:00

Last week I had two bloggy friends give me a little award thingie-ma-jig! Now, I know this little blog isn't all that to hoot & holler about, but I have met some great people and I appreciate this award!!! So much thanks to Jen my now IN REAL LIFE FRIEND *whoohoo* and Chelsy! Who happens to have a nice name if I may say so!!! ;o)

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you

2. Share 7 things about yourself

3. Award your own recently discovered great bloggers

4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about the award

Seven Things About Me

1. I cheered for football and basketball in high school for four years and still have trouble following football games. HA! Of course, I get a bunch of crap for this. I loved cheering in high school... it was a huge part of my life. I love to dance perform and the skirt was cute too!

2. I refuse to eat veal or lamb. No siree-bob!

3. Until last fall when I visited Illinois, I had never been east of Arizona. Now, I need to get my butt to the east coast! I have traveled plenty out of the country, for now, and I would love to visit some great American cities!

4. I am a huge family name person, I think it is a huge display of love and respect. I love having middle names that are family names (my Grandma's) and I plan on naming my kids after someone special. Having said that, I'm seriously afraid of having a boy because our name options are very limited in that department. I won't discuss the name situation here because I certainly don't want to be offensive... but I will leave you with this: one of our options is Edwin. Yep, for serious. I've had people tell me that name isn't too bad... I disagree (sorry!!!) My poor step-dad just didn't end up with the name jackpot. Love ya dearly, Don! But there will be no Donald Edwins in our future. ;o) Now, if we have girls we are all set. Plenty of family names to be used: Jeane, Jeanette, Marie, Nora, Kristine & Elizabeth. No problems there... So, sadly I have had two Grandpas pass and two dads pass and I'm not too keen on any of their names. :( I suppose I should just shut up now because this is a perfect example of my craziness... right? If a name is all about the meaning then it shouldn't matter, I know.

5. My absolute most prized possession is a hardback of The Secret Garden that my dad wrote in for me. I was in 2nd grade and had won student of the month in my school. The school calls the parents to let them know that their student won (it was a surprise for me) and will be recognized and I was very surprised to see my dad at the assembly because he lived hours away. The very next year he passed away. I will cherish this book forever!

6. I am secretly (well, not anymore!) afraid that if I lose anyone else close to me I will lose my marbles, literally. I can't fathom it and just typing this breaks me. I'm afraid I won't make it through losing my mom and God-forbid Brandon... it is definitely my biggest fear. And while I know that is common for everyone, it seems all too realistic to me. I know first hand how quickly it can happen.

7. Brandon and I have recently been searching for a home church. We have been missing from the church scene for too long and we decided it needs to become the foundation in our life and marriage. This poses a problem for me in several ways... Our lifestyle doesn't always coincide with what I "think" it "should" in the eyes of the church. Also, not very many of my friends are Christian so it makes it difficult for me to talk about this important issue with people because they just don't understand. We think we have found one and have been going for a couple of months now and it feels so GOOD to be there.

Ok, well that was fun. Hopefully not an overshare? Ha! Here are a few bloggers that I read regularly and think you should check out!!!

1. Jen @ Jen's Place!

2. Shandy @ Cupcakes Anyone? She is my IRL BFF from WAAAY back! Check her out, she's kind of hilarious. Oh, and nuerotic... like me! ;o)

3. Amy @ Our Happily Ever After!

Thanks for stopping by.... have a great week!

American Idol Virgin

2011-02-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

This year is the first time I've actually watched and followed American Idol! In reality, I haven't been home during the weeknight evening in a LONG time, but I still kind of blame J.Lo! I have always loved her. She's not the best actress, but I can get down to some of her music and I think I just plain fell in love with her from Selena! I really love the chemistry between the judges this season. Before, I just thought Paula was a looney tune and Simon was so pompous. There's a difference between honesty and arrogance!!!

Does anyone out there watch AI? I honestly have never been a fan of primetime reality shows. I despise the Bachelor and Survivor and have always thought that they're ridiculous. I even have said in the past "How many American Idols can we HAVE!?" While I do honestly wonder how long it will go on, I can say that this year I'm enjoying it also. I also think it's great that they've added online voting. That will be useful, for sure. I don't think I would be one to call in a bunch of times. However, I am notorious for winning radio contests...

I don't have a favorite girl yet... Brandon enjoys the hot brunettes!

Pia Toscano

Julie Zorilla

I think one may be underage, I called him a perv.

My favorite guy is Stefano Langone..

Representin' Washington and he's super cute! Whoop! I just really like him all around, though. I also really like James Durbin... I'm a sucker for a great story and he has one!

So, is anyone with me? Watching this season? I have to admit, three nights a week is a LOT. I DVR it so I can fast forward through everything but still, quite the commitment.

Our Lives

2011-02-24T14:14:00.001-08:00

There are so many ways to measure or analyze your life. Today while cleaning our kitchen from the yummy french toast I made this morning, I was admiring our fridge. Well, not at first. At first I was cleaning splatters of vanilla off of it because I dropped the bottle on the counter and it splashed everywhere, literally. Oh, it is SO not my week. First m&ms then vanilla? Really?! Anyway, after I wiped it off & discarded expired coupons and straightened pictures I realized we are so lucky to have these people in our lives. Our fridge is full of friends and family. Some we haven't spoken to or seen in years and some we speak to or see regularly. There are hundreds and even several thousand miles between some of them. :( The important part is that while this messy collage of random tid bits may drive some crazy, it makes me smile. Better yet, all of those BABIES make me smile! Can I have mine yet?! Please?!

My favorite items on the fridge are my magnet that says 'excuse the mess, we live here' (Huzzuh!), my cousin's daughter, who actually resembles me when I was her age, a lot! Just look at the red hair! And a fortune from a cookie that says 'you will obtain your goal if you maintain your course'. That seems like a no brainer... ha! Easier said than done though, right?

Anyway, just wanted to share my thankfulness today. I'm coming accross kind of mushy, and I'm not really that kind of person! Ha! It's been kind of a rough week around here so I suppose I'm just gaining some perspective.

I'm enjoying a snow day at home with my pets and trying to get some stuff done around here! Have a great Friday and weekend everyone! :)

Cookie Update

2011-02-22T15:08:00.001-08:00

Ok, I know you all are dying to know how my cookies turned out! You're not? Oh yes you are! ;o)

Turns out, a friend of mine wanted to buy cookies from me for her Bunco Party & a Progressive Dinner Party. Sweet! But I had to make sure they were nearly perfect! I took my time with them, employed my miniscule amount of patience and... viola! I made Valentine themed cookies because she needed them for the week before VDay and I made goodie bags w/nametags too!

I can post pictures from my phone but I can't put descriptions between them so you can just make up your own caption! ;o) I was happy how they turned out & I'm excited to make St. Pattys Day ones! :)

I don't see a cookie franchise in my future, but hey! If someone is willing to pay for the supplies and I can make some extra cash for my coffee habit... good deal! ;o)

Mobile Posting?!

2011-02-21T00:34:00.001-08:00

I am SO curious to see how this turns out! My phone finally came on Friday, whew! Since then, my mom, Brandon, cousins and BFF Shandy as well as some other friends that have Droids have been addicted to Words With Friends! Yep, not just an iphone app now! Whoooptie!!! ;) In addition to making two large pans of lasagne, reprogramming my phone, getting addicted to that darned game and helping my mom's BFF (also a Realtor) with some marketing materials we also managed to submit a THIRD offer before 5 on Friday when we had to be at work. Phew!

I'm actually excited about this house! It has the most 'land' thus far and is in a great school district and neighborhood! It has been a complicated process as it is banked owned and buyers must be qualified through their bank first before submitting an offer although we were ALREADY prequal'ed with our lender. Ugh! But, that means that anyone else has to do the same thing which could delay the process of their offer being submitted which may mean our offer will be seen first and accepted! Haha! Sounds kind of childish... but hey! Do what you have to! ;)

Our weekend then was full of work as MIL/FIL were out of town for their anniversary (29 yrs!) and just like reliable restaurant employees do (snicker...) we had some bad apples this weekend! Argh! Brandon slept a total of 7hrs since Friday AM. :(

On a positive note? Our weather has been *gorg*! Cold? Yes! But to me that means fresh snow on all of our mountains to be seen with the beautiful blue skies! Yes! :)

I am sadly still without a computer. I know, just a tragedy. What's worse is that tomorrow is President's Day and I won't be at my SIL's watching Nickolai so I can't bum her computer! Lame! I need to buy my BFF Kristine's bday present... I want to get her something fun & funky from Etsy. She's the epitome of fun & funky.

Alright folks, I will leave you with this... I hope the pics work... I am the biggest klutz and almost peed my pants laughing. No worries, 90% of them made it out alive! :)

Woah! Where have YOU been?

2011-02-15T13:11:00.000-08:00

Hello? HELLO? You still out there?

I'm scared to even look at the date of my last post. It's been a busy few weeks.

Sadly, my beloved laptop came down with a virus. I thought about smearing my most recent antibiotic cream all over it, but then thought better of it. Instead, a friend of ours took it to fix in his spare time. Well, that ended up being longer than I expected but that's okay because well... it was free. ;o) So, then on Friday I joyously got my computer back to only realize that it still doesn't work. Virus free? Yes. Working? No. So, after a few phone calls and trouble shooting with my brother, AKA computer man, he let me know that I need to reinstall my OS. Great. Of course, that means that I need to transfer all of my now uninfected files to my little hard drive jobber and most importantly... FIND MY WINDOWS 7 DISK!!! Shoot. Where did I put that thing anyway?

I had tons of good posts for February too. After all, it's one of my favorite months. I think it kind of goes with that whole "root for the underdog" mentality that I have. Everyone hates January-March! It's not their fault that most of the weather sucks! These months need love too!!! Ha! I decided that once I get back into working order, I'm still going to post about my February stuff... Valentine's Crafts & Cookies, our Non-Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Dash with my MIL & BFFs, a night out in Seattle with my BFFs, the craziness that is buying another house and last but not least... my birthday!!!! YEAH! I totally got spoiled this year all around! :o)

Oh wait, I forgot to mention. Not only have I been computer-less but I also have been phone-less!!! Oh! The horror! While I could have walked into Verizon and used my lovely upgrade to get a fancy Droid 2 or iphone 4 (orwhateverthehellthatdamnedapplethingis) I am getting old (25 now!) and am set in my ways. The conversation went a little like this:

Verizon Guy: "Hi there, what can I do for you?"
Chelsi: "Well, my screen is not working... I know the phone is on because it is overheating and the notification light still blinks... you know, telling me that I have texts/emails/missed calls THAT I CANNOT SEE!!!!"
Verizon Guy: "Oh, alright. Let me see what's going on here... Yep, looks like it is charging and powering on but no action on the screen."
Chelsi: trying very hard not to be sarcastic "Yep, I noticed that."
Verizon Guy "Well, let me look up your account so we can see what is going on..... Ok, looks like you have an upgrade! There are some great new phones out right now that you can get for $xxxx"
Chelsi: "Yeah, I'm sorry but I really would prefer to just have a new one of MY phones, I'm not ready to upgrade yet"
Verizon Guy: "Ok, well do you even want to go look at the new options?"
Chelsi: "Nope, I'm good!"
Verizon Guy: "Ok, we will set you right up then! FedEx should have this to you by Monday afternoon!"

See? Case in point... I'm getting old. I just want my phone that I know and love. I'm resisting change... ugh. And for the record, it was not delivered by Monday afternoon. But since this all happened on Sunday afternoon I'm giving them some slack... HA!

So, while I have been missing, I have been thinking about people! Nickolai is done with his cheerios now and is not.so.patiently waiting for his mango chunks!!! :o) Talk to you peeps soon! As soon as I find that Windows 7 disk... dangit!

Thoughts for Thursday

2011-01-27T00:20:00.000-08:00

It's 11:55pm my time right NOW so I figure literally no one will read this Wednesday! ;o)

Today (Thurs), I am watching the lovely toddler Miss E, like usual. I have been lucky enough to take her to toddler gym at our local city center on Thursdays! I love it!!! She has so much fun and crashes for her nap afterward! HA! I usually love Thursdays because I just have her. Nickolai's mommy stays home with him on Thursdays so Elaina and I get to hang out and do whatever!!! Well, today I get to take one of her little best buddies too! So, I will have two 'almost two' year olds on my hands today. It's going to be GREAT! :o)

We've had a lot on our minds lately... We may very well be moving in the next couple of months. We bought our house a few years ago and while we love it and can see ourselves spending a good five more years here, the location is not ideal. At the time that we bought it, it is what we could afford... where we could afford it! And, honestly, it's in a great neighborhood it is just about 30 minutes from everything we do! Work, friends, church, etc. I work 6 days a week and Brandon works anywhere from 5-7 days a week. Couple that with trying to make it to church on Sundays and that makes us commuters literally every day! We try to carpool and are successful at that at least three times a week but it just doesn't always work out.

Before I was done with school I got a bug up my butt and started looking to see what we may be able to afford in town now that the market is in a worse state for sellers. However, I wasn't willing to take on that task in the middle of finals and the holidays... DUH! So, a couple of weeks ago we started discussing it again.

Lucky for us, my mom is our Realtor. I have the luxury of calling her at any time and she pretty much will come and show us stuff at any time! I also have spent many afternoons scouring the roads of the neighborhoods we would want to live with the kids I watch in tow. I mean, I entertain them by singing silly kids songs so what's the difference!? ;o)

Well, we found something. Enter rapid heartbeat. See, we aren't willing to sell our current home. We just plain aren't going to. First off, because we'd love to own a handful of homes by the time we're 40ish and also because we wouldn't make enough profit to use as a down payment. We also aren't willing to rent a home in town because we have three animals and with all of the deposits and what not, it just doens't seem worth it when we qualify to buy another home.

Enter fears... First comes the task of renting our own home. Gosh, I hate that. I hate that someone else will be living in my home! Isn't that weird? That's the point, Chelsi DUHHHH!!!! I just know what risk comes with being a landlord and while it's an amazing opportunity for us, I'm scared. Let alone the actual task. Any offer we make will be contigent upon us renting our home.

Second, we're not millionaires. Duh! So, it is definitely a risk for us to take on a second mortgage! And not to mention, we can't afford our dream home right now so we will definitely be moving again in the near future (3-5 years.) I always forget... that's part of the plan. But moving sucks!!!

Third, I'm kind of a house snob. There. I said it. It's out. I feel better. I'm not a snob in that I have to have the nicest of everything RIGHT NOW. But, it would be nice... right? HA! Our home right now is a starter home but it boasts some features that I never thought I'd be able to have in our first (or second?) home! So, this other home that we Brandon loves? Well, it's about ten steps backward from our current house. So... let me get this straight. We want to move out of our nicer, more open feeling, more modern house and let some strangers ~~trash~~ live in it so that we can live in something not as nice?

Enter perspective... I need to change my attitude! I know this. I need to be thankful for all we have... and I am. However, both of us... BOTH of us have worked very hard for what we have. So, I definitely feel like I have a right to be picky! You know? And this is my blog anyway... so I can say whatever the heck I want. Just don't judge me too much okay? I'm feeling a lot of pressure from outsiders in my life that are glaring at me saying "stop complaining about the powder pink laminate in the spare bathroom and be thankful!!!!" But the powder pink countertop is terrible! It really is!!!! HAHA!!!

There are things I love about this house... but I'm going to leave that for another day. I'd hate to brighten up this post with good things!!! Haha, I kid. But really, I'm just trying to let off steam here because I'm nervous and aprehensive... It's a big deal!!!!

I should note, we haven't even submitted a formal offer. So, we're really NOWHERE near getting this home. Lord knows how real estate works!!!! But just the idea that we're pre-approved and looking is a little nerve wracking in itself.

Because of my nerves and anxiousness... I made a really diet friendly treat tonight:

Ok, I lied. They're not diet friendly. Geeze... They're from bake350, btw! They're pretty good but I burned them (per usual!!!) I gave Brandon the inside piece that wasn't burned at all. I prefer burnt things at this point in my life. LOL!

Alright... well thanks for letting me vent! I hope that Thursday treats everyone well!!!

{lululemon quotes} Quote #2

2011-01-22T14:07:00.000-08:00

Creativity is maximized when you're living in the moment.

I can totally relate to this quote... As much as I love to plan and be organized, it just isn't my strongest quality sometimes. Plus, I tend to be way more creative when I get an idea in my head and run with it. I think it can be tough to plan creativity. "I am going to make a beautiful flower arrangement on Saturday!" Oh, well that sounds kind of silly, right? I mean, sure you can plan to make it to the Farmers Market to buy the flowers you will need but you most likely won't know the exact placement of each stem before you're in the moment, right?

My favorite creations have all been adapted from their original version during the process of making them. One great example are some cookies that I've been trying to make recently. I've been a terrible baker in the past but have always envied a good sugar cookie! So, I decided to take the task on and I ended up with these! Looks pretty decent for a first timer, right?

I plan to make Valentine's Day ones and hope they turn out great!!! When I started these cookies I just knew I wanted them to taste great. But, I ended up making them look pretty cute, I thought!

Anyway, my point in how this relates to me is that I often reach much more potential than I thought I could if I just let myself be creative. Instead of holding strong to a template of what you think you're trying to do... let your mind wander!!!

Ok, that's enough words of wisdom for today! Oh, I love myself and my sarcasm!

Movie Review: The Other Woman

2011-01-21T14:05:00.000-08:00

I'm not much of a movie buff. Actually... I have seen very few movies in the whole scheme of things. It seems there is always someone around me quoting some sort of movie that I haven't seen! Irritating! So, one of the things I have been wanting to do with some of my extra time these days is watch a few flicks here and there.

So, when Brandon fell asleep while I was doing dinner dishes around 10pm last night (we eat late...) I decided to let the Mr. sleep and see what I could find OnDemand (other than Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! HA!) This proved to be one of the main contributing factors as to why I don't watch movies. They're TOO much commitment!!!! With TV I can change the channel at any time... I didn't pay anything additional for it and I can even watch two or three shows at the same time! I can never make a decision about which movie to watch, etc. Oh geeze, sounds pathetic!

Anyway, after my SIL said that Salt was pretty terrible (and she loves most movies) I decided to go with The Other Woman. I did see Black Swan with Natalie Portman a few weeks ago, so I thought I'd indulge in another of her films.

In a nutshell, this movie is about a mistress (Natalie Portman) who becomes pregnant and then quickly becomes the new wife of her lover and step-mother to his 8 year old son. The ex-wife (Lisa Kudrow) proves to be the most difficult ex-wife portrayal I have ever seen in a movie! Of course, Portman is playing a "home wrecker" but that aspect isn't really highlighted in the movie so it just makes Kudrow's character seem even more harsh and nasty. Portman has a difficult time getting along and adjusting to her "high maintenance" step-son and the loss of her newborn daughter certainly makes that ten times more difficult. So, essentially this movie is about a woman who, in eighteen months or so, is supposed to have become a mistress/home wrecker, mother, step-mother, wife and parent who has just lost a baby. WHEW!

I didn't quite know what I was in for! I was bawling like a baby by 40 minutes into the movie, that is for sure. Thankfully, I appreciate movies like this. I kind of have my own philosophy that in order to love to the fullest you have to know and experience tragedy of some sort to the fullest. Not necessarily death, but in order to feel and understand one extreme, you must have known the other. Does that make sense? I am not at all an expert movie critic or whatever, but I do appreciate some real and raw emotions about real life situations that happen and don't always end with the white picket fence. This one actually doesn't end on a completely downer note, but watching two hours worth of a mother struggling to cope with the loss of her baby girl is pretty treacherous, in my opinion!

One aspect of this movie that I really liked was how it brought to the surface the issue of SIDS, infant and child death and also miscarriage. I think this is a topic that is too often shoved under the rug and I was pleased to see a movie that tackled it head on. There is a particular scene in the movie that I remember cringing at because Portman compares her daughters loss to a miscarriage saying that her baby was actually a baby, not a fetus and that her loss MUST have been much greater. Now, I'm not here to get into a religious, political or philosophical debate... But, I know of women who have had miscarriages and I know that their loss, in their minds, is no different than the loss of a child. Who are we to judge one person's loss over another... anyway? So I was pleased to see that scene play out also.

I wasn't too impressed with the acting, especially by Kudrow but I'm just not really a fan of hers ever. Portman was okay, but a lot of the lines seemed forced and I feel like it could have been done better by someone else...not sure who. I've never seen the actor who plays the dad before but I didn't fall in love with him either! HA!

The only other movie I can compare this to is P.S. I Love You which I also bawled through and loved. So, if you hated that movie, definitely skip this one. If you're one that just watches a movie to "feel good" then also skip this one. Anyway, didn't mean to be a downer, I just have been thinking about this movie since I watched it last night and I figured it was a good blog post... Well, at least to get it off my chest!!!

Hey, it's TUESDAY!

2011-01-11T15:16:00.000-08:00

Well, Monday came and went and I never posted my menu plans. I have a good reason...

I haven't made one!

Shoot.

Oh well. I'm going to make one RIGHT NOW!

Monday: Pot Roast! Brandons favorite... well tied for favorite with meatloaf! I plan to post how I make my roast, it's delicious!
Tuesday: Bow Tie Fiesta Pasta from this blogger. I will post how that is too! You can find the recipe by searching her site for it.
Wednesday: Turkey Meatloaf, potatoes and a vegetable.
Sunday: Taco feast with family! The Seahawks are playing the Bears and it's going to be a great game!!!

Ok, well I know that was kinda half-arsed but it's just that kind of week, ok? Thankfully I haven't needed anything for these meals and shopped for a TON of fresh veggies & fruits last Thursday so I am set to go for the week! YES!

I'll be back later this week with something more exciting. :)

{lululemon quotes} Quote #1

2011-01-09T13:45:00.000-08:00

I have a list of inspirational quotes that was tucked neatly into my bag when I made a purchase at lululemon months ago. It's been hanging in my bathroom and every time I see it I think it would make a great series of blog posts. Some of them are funny, some of them are cliche... but I think I like them all. So, I'm going to try to share them every now and again!

It was hard to pick the first one... But then I read the VERY last one on the list and knew it had to be it!

The world is changing at such a rapid rate that waiting to implement changes will leave you two steps behind. DO IT NOW, DO IT NOW, DO IT NOW!

I kind of figured that one was relevant for all of us who are trying out our New Year Resolutions or if you are like me my "Not New Year Resolutions"! How many times do we put projects on the back burner or goals in the back of our mind because we just don't want to deal with it at that moment? Raise your hand if you have a laundry list of things you want to accomplish this year... *Raising my hand HIGH HIGH HIGH!* Write them down, put them in a place you can see them every day to serve as a reminder and try to set a realistic timeline for them. That's what I'm doing! I'm keeping a hard copy in our kitchen (next to the weekly meal plan) and I also write a list in dry erase markers on our bathroom mirror. I have done the bathroom mirror thing forever and I actually love it. I used to use post it notes saying stuff like "gym clothes" or "pay PUD!" but the dry erase markers are just easier! HA! Plus, it's easy for me to leave a note for Brandon in front of his sink so he surely sees it in the morning. :o) The dry erase markers clean off easily, I promise!There are some random things on my list too, I'm not going to lie. Among finishing painting jobs and replacing my kitchen faucet, I have written "go visit Stephanie" who is a dear friend of mine that lives on the other side of the state. I have said for the three years that they have lived over there that I am going to go visit... every time I get off the phone I say it. I AM GOING TO DO IT!!!!!

If you like this quote, write it at the top of your goal list. We are bound to experience a crash and burn in a few ~~weeks~~ months when the newness of this year wears off and we start to feel unmotivated. Try to prepare yourself by planning for that crash and knowing how you will proceed when you get there to keep yourself motivated!

{lack of} Preparation

2011-01-07T13:42:00.000-08:00

Preparation is key to being successful in many aspects of life, right?

being prepared for an exam
being prepared for giving a presentation at work
being prepared for guests coming over to your house
being prepared for when you pass with life insurance and wills, etc (woah, that one is serious...)
being prepared for being parents....

Being prepared is typically the "smarter" way to do things and there are endless examples of preparedness.

Sometimes I'm great at being prepared. Staying up late to prepare food for a holiday meal or a family gathering or staying up late to make sure every single last thing is packed before a trip are both things I do regularly. Or maybe once in a while having a term paper ready BEFORE its due date! In more serious aspects we are prepared with life insurance and we started our early years of marriage prepared for our future by investing for retirement and buying home instead of spending money in other ways (that could have been more fun, maybe...) However, typically I like to fly by the seat of my pants. I've determined that this is because I have some issues with self discipline. Instead of taking the time to prepare for things I spend it doing other mindless (but sometimes more fun) activities. I've come to realize that some of my biggest dreams are not coming true or will not come true without the discipline that I need to enforce.

It's my biggest struggle in life, I think. ~~Don't ask me about the container of jumbo cookies that I bought at Safeway yesterday... 7 out of 10 of those cookies now reside in our county's dump because it was garbage day today! HOORAY!~~

So, I think this will be common theme in some of my posts this year. With school being done, I have no more excuses. Sure, we are busy. EVERYONE is busy. Or, should I say... we all are as busy as we allow ourselves to be, so quit whining! HA! But I will be trying to implement more discipline into several areas of my life this year. Because life isn't about excuses!

Can I just say that one area that Brandon and I both have improved on in the past two weeks is less TV?! Is it a small victory? Yes! But it is a victory!!! The cheerleader in me wants to say "give me a V!" :o) I have even read six chapters in Firefly Lane (Kristen Hannah) already this year. I mean, that's huge for me! I think it has helped that I downloaded this book for my MIL on her nook that we got her for Christmas so we're supposed to be reading it together. Um, I'm not sure she's started yet. HA!

Last night I also took steps in keeping myself prepared for this weekend's lunches. I cooked up a huge batch of an extra healthy stir fry full of veggies and short on salt! :) Well, short-er on salt than I usually would have made it... !

Ingredients:

Red peppers
Yellow peppers
Onion
Mushrooms
Broccoli
Brown rice
Teriyaki sauce

In attempt to be healthier, I sauteed the onions with Pam and then added water to let them cook and not burn. HA! I burn everything... Then, I cooked brown rice and added half of the teriyaki sauce I would have normally. Then, I set containers out, measured the rice and filled them up with the veggie mixture!!! Oh what, I PREPARED something for lunch/dinner at work??? WOW! That's so AWESOME! I'm proud. :o) This just means that I will not have an excuse to indulge in my FIL's homemade clam chowder that is on special at the Family Biz tonight, right? Because I will be prepared with my healthy stir fry!

Do you want to see it!? You do? Sweet!

The two smaller ones are lunches/dinners for me and the larger ones are Brandon's.

The bottom container with the pinkish lid is full of "ants on a log". Definitely a healthier alternative to clam chowder and tater tot snacks at 10pm when I'm hungry at work tonight!!! ;o)

That's all for today friends, I'm off to read a few more chapters before I have to shower and leave for work! Enjoy your weekend!

Mexican Sunshine...

2011-01-05T00:02:00.000-08:00

I was lacking in creativity today. I also don't have the time to collaborate an entire post about our vacation. So, instead... I'll post a few pics! :)

When we arrived in Cabo, this was the view from the lobby of the hotel.

Pretty crappy, right? ;o)

Our hotel, Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach, was amazing. Seriously! It was 24 buildings built into the side of a hill or something and spanned over 50+ acres. Our room was one of the very top buildings with one of the best views!!! The sunset was gorgeous every single night. We sat on our balcony and enjoyed a bottle of wine one night, a bottle of Hornitos one night... oh, I mean not the WHOLE bottle of Hornitos. ;0)

This is what we mostly did though, chillax at the pool. FUN! I even read a book. Hey, that's HUGE for me!!! :0)

Thankfully, we were joined by some of our best friends. We had a blast!

That was the worst tequila any of us had EVER witnessed, by the way!!! It was Uriah's birthday though. The server said it was "special." That it was... HA!

Best of all, I got to spend time with my BFF and my Husband. LOVE!

I have a lot more to share, but for now that'll be it! Mexican Sunshine did wonders for my spirit! :) I needed the R&R!!!

Menu Planning Monday

2011-01-03T23:30:00.000-08:00

Hey, it IS still Monday over here in the PNW... :)

Recap of last week:

Sunday: Made the scheduled recipe and it was "ok". I ate leftovers for lunch at least two days, success!
Monday: Ended up eating out with inlaws. Brandon's grandparents are snowbirds and they were leaving the next day. We try to squeeze in as much time as possible when they're home for the holidays so I suppose my meal planning would have been a lame excuse! ;)
Tuesday: Unplanned events... I got invited to a movie by my SIL and Brandon decided to play pool with some dudes. :)
Wednesday: YES! We ate at home! Pad Thai and Peanut Sauce, success! My PS needs some work, but it was good. My Pad Thai was actually pretty good! I ate it as leftovers for lunch, double success!
Thursday: I worked Brandon's shift so he could watch the Huskies beat the Cornhuskers in the Holiday Bowl! WHOOOP! ***Chelle... Stinky Cougs!***
Friday: My fabulous husband made Taco Soup for us to enjoy at work that night. We were supposed to make Chili but they are more or less the same ingredients. :) I also ate this as leftovers several times!
Saturday: No meal made. :(

Ok, so this week wasn't stellar. I still have plenty of groceries left over that I will utilize this week, I hope! I suppose I was a little ambitious. I'm going to go with three this week because of our schedules and obligations...

Sunday: Family Function... Seahawk game!
Monday: Topopo Salads: Tortilla chips, refried black beans, romaine, shredded chicken, cheese, avacado, tomato and Italian dressing. YUUUM-O Sounds odd, right? It's really yummy.
Tuesday: Brandon is doing some handy-man work at his mom and dad's and I have a hair appointment! Yippee!
Wednesday: I am helping a friend's daughter with the FAFSA and college apps. JOY! No really, I enjoy helping. She's making me dinner. :)
Thursday: Working... Brandon is going to the Husky basketball game with BIL and his dad.
Friday: Turkey meatloaf, mashed cauliflower (still haven't made it!) and carrots. YUM!
Saturday: Slow cooker chicken tacos. Put chicken breasts (we do five or six tenders but it would be about 3 breasts for 2 adults and leftovers) in crock put with half of a jar of salsa. I use PACE! :) Seriously, let it cook for 4+ hours and shred the meat! It's SO delicious! And, can we see it's healthy!? YES!!! Then, I make this yummy corn salad that I need to do a post on. Canned corn, black beans, lime juice, peppers, etc. Delish!

WHEW!!! This week is all jumbled. Too many obligations! Oh well, such is life! I am still glad to have it all planned out. I also love that Brandon is calling me during the day and asking what we're having that night and what he can bring home or help with. BONUS!!!

Did anyone try any new recipes this week?

Just in Time for 2011

2011-01-02T13:35:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve Eve I got a text message at 11pm from a fellow classmate: "All grades are posted!"

Insert nervous heart palpitations. Did I think I failed? No. However, I am not one to assume when it comes to my grades. Especially not after the curveball that was thrown at me two terms ago. A C after 100% on a midterm, final and two essays? How does THAT happen? It did and I didn't have the ~~balls~~ confidence to stand up for myself with the Dean. So that C remains on my transcript, forever. *Damn*

I certainly have kept grad school in mind this last phase of my undergrad career because I know that there is a great possibility that I will want to get into a decent school in a couple of years. So I suppose that's where the nervousness was coming from. That's also where my pissed off-ness comes for the stupid C that I have!!! The only positive aspect of that is that was an elective and not a core class, whatever!

Anywho, my fingers were flying on my phone's keyboard trying to log into the secure WebAdvisor for my school. Such a pain on a phone, right? Much to my happiness, I logged in to find two As for this term. Not one, but TWO! That gives me a grand total of twelve As, one B and one C for the last year and a half of my school. Not too shabby, right? RIGHT!!!!

Insert pure happiness and satisfaction here. Thank GOD! I now can celebrate. And let me tell you, last night? We did. HA! This morning, dry toast and honeycrisp apples have been my BFFs!

By the way, I feel like I'm gloating about this... Please know that I am not. I am not very great at very many things. But school, I take pride in. I am good at it and I love it. Well, we have a love/hate relationship... you know how that goes. HA! But, usually I am pretty hard on myself and don't let myself brag about much. So, excuse this brag post and please don't think I am acting like I'm hot stuff! HA!

I hope everyone rang in the New Year safely (probably from your pillows, right?) We have had gorgeous weather in the PNW this week and Brandon and I are about to take a long drive into the country to visit his grandparents that have a farm. Brandon plans on shooting his new (old it was Grandpa's) shotgun and I plan on enjoying the crisp air and gorgeous view of Mt. Rainier out there. :) Sounds like a fine day, right? Enjoy your Sunday everyone! I will be back tomorrow with this week's menu and a recap of how our menu this week went!

Menu Mondays

2010-12-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

Among many New Year Resolutions that Brandon and I have been discussing... eating at home has been a main one. We're not huge NY Resolution people, usually. But, there are some big habits that we would like to change and I hope we both can commit to them. With our schedules, we are guaranteed to not be home before midnight two nights a week. We are also guaranteed to not BOTH be home before 9 or 10pm another two nights a week. This leads to us eating at the Family Biz or another restaurant TOO much and also eating too late at night.

So, I got an idea. I know there are a ton of bloggers that do menus and post them and I've always 'ohhh ahhhh'd over them! Now, I probably have mentioned before that I am an organized brain stuck in an disorganized body. That means that while disorganized and cluttered stuff drives me batty, I'm not always ambitious enough to tackle the jobs!!! HA! But, I figure if I can write a rough list of menu items down and hang it in our kitchen it will be easy for both of us to see what to expect that week. The weeknights that I know we'll be home, we can schedule meals and then I will leave a few floating meals to make whenever we are home and have the time.

So, over here at WWW (ha!) I am going to try to post my menu for the week and I will call it Menu Mondays. I'm not looking for a huge following or anything, it's simply to keep me organized and hopefully will motivate me to plan a menu every Sunday!!! I found this cool site that has some fancy menu plans... Mine won't be that fancy but maybe I will join her Linky thing on the weeks that she does them!

So, for this week... here goes nothin'!

Sunday - Pan grilled Pork Loins and Macaroni & Cheese with Brussel Sprouts
**Marinade pork in ziplock w/olive oil, salt & pepper, fresh rosemary & thyme for no less than one hour. Grill in grill pan and finish cooking in the oven. Use PW's basic M&C recipe adding crisp bacon and caramelized onions. Broil or steam brussel sprouts.
Monday - Chicken Pad Thai and Peanut Sauce with Broccoli
**Pad Thai for Two package (take the help!), bean sprouts and scallions for the Pad Thai, Homemade peanut sauce (curry paste, fish sauce, coconut milk & PB.) Steamed broccoli. YUM!
Tuesday (float) - Chili & Cornbread
**Classic chili recipe with typical seasonings, mixture of beans and seasonings with ground turkey. Start in crockpot in mid morning. Packaged cornbread mix with an added can of corn. Yum and EASY!
Wednesday (float) - Teriyaki Chicken & Grilled Veggies with a side salad
**Marinade chicken tenders in teriyaki sauce and grated ginger root. Use grill pan for chicken and set aside, grill julienned carrots and zucchini and serve with a salad!
Friday - Lemon Chicken with Mashed Cauliflower and Broccoli/Brussel Sprouts
**Stuff a whole chicken with a lemon, rosemary, thyme and sage (whatever fresh herbs you have) and maybe an apple (I promise, it's good!) Make two or three balls of tin foil and put them in the bottom of your crock pot. Put the stuffed bird in the crock pot on top of the foil balls and lather the outside with olive oil and salt & pepper. Cook on low all day. This chicken is SO good! The skin doesn't get brown, but we don't eat chicken skin anyway so it doesn't bother us. Plus, the cleanup is SO easy with this dish. You could roast it in a pan also but for a weekday meal I prefer the crockpot. It literally falls off the bone and is SO good! I will be using a new recipe for the mashed cauliflower! I've had it before but never have made it myself. I'm excited to try! They're a great substitute for mashed potatoes. We'll have steamed broccoli or brussel sprouts depending on what is left over.

Saturday & Thursday - Feed yourself days! There are likely to be left overs even after lunches are packed... and there are just some days that you want a sandwich or cereal for dinner, right?! :)

Whew! Now, that may not look so organized but I hope to get better as the weeks go on! I was really good today about going through our freezers and pantry to locate ingredients for all of these items. I then only went to the store for the items that we needed for this week. Thankfully, we mostly just needed fresh veggies and fruits as well as some dairy items. The checker at Safeway said "You're making me look bad! You have so many fruits and veggies!" HA! That's a good thing, right? ;)

If you made it through this post, comment and let me know how you do your menu planning. Do you follow a blog that does it? If you do, let me know so I can check it out! Have a great Monday!!!

Back in the Saddle!

2010-12-26T22:21:00.000-08:00

Alright, I'm here! Present and counted for! (Is that the right saying? or is it Present and ACCOUNTED for?)

I have spent the past six or so weeks freaking out over my school finals and such. Honestly, I have been thinking about my blogging comeback (not that it is THAT big of a deal or anything) and I hadn't come up with anything funny to blog about from the past month or so, so I suppose that maybe if something pops into my head then I will blog about it! :) However, I fully intend on blogging about our trip to Mexico!

Anyway, I am happy to be back and am SO excited to be done with school! But, I am still holding my breath because final grades have NOT been posted. While I am a straight A student typically... I may (or may not) have chosen to not write a final essay that was worth a good chunk of change... The damned thing was due when we were in Mexico and Brandon and I counted up my points vs. points possible in the class and kept coming up with a B as a worst case scenario. So, I figure even if I get a C it's no big deal because that's still passing! HA! But, I keep telling people "I'm not done YET... when grades are posted and I know I passed, that's when I will be DONE!!!!" I plan on having a few drinks the night that grades are posted! I'll have one in celebration if I DID pass and about FIVE in disbelief if I DIDN'T pass!!! HA!

I have already caught up on Christmas posts... and tried to drop by and say hello to my usual blogs but if I didn't make it to yours tonight... HELLO!!!!

Have a great week everyone!!!

Well, Hello There!

2010-11-19T17:29:00.000-08:00

Ok, so this is just for those few readers that I have that check in....

I am going missing. HA! No really, I don't think I will be posting for about a month. I seriously need to concentrate my efforts on school right now because I have Senioritis like a mother!!!! Holy man! I have two classes left and about 4 weeks left in each of those classes. I have one huge research paper on "The Importance of Effective Listening as a Communication Tool" and then another final type paper for an elective class on the history of Search & Seizure Law.

Sounds fun, right? I know. So, my usual habits of blogging and commenting here there and everywhere need to cease... And there is a ton of stuff that I want to write about (my trip to Chicago, the holidays!) but I will just have to postpone it.

So, as much as I hate to say it... See ya in a while! I will probably still sneak in blog reading on my phone here and there... so I hope to keep up with my favorites!!! :)

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas (in case I don't get back in time) to everyone... enjoy your families and blessings this holiday season!

The Windy City.... Wasn't Very Windy!

2010-11-08T10:37:00.000-08:00

It wasn't that windy... but it was cold! 21 degrees, to be exact, on the morning of the Hot Chocolate 5k!!!! Holy MAN!

I have a ton to write about:
Meeting the A Daily Dose of Davis family and extended family... FABULOUS!
My admiration of Jen...
My new BFF Addie!
Adventures in the city with my BFF Claire...
Garrett's gourmet popcorn... YUM!
The Sears Tower (I had to do it!)
Perspective and how mine has been adjusted...
Appreciation for my life and what it is right now... So often I find myself "wishing" for the future and I am so blessed for what my life is NOW....

However, I do not have the time to write about all of that now. I just wanted to do a quick update to tell you all that the Chi was awesome and I can't wait to bring Brandon back and do all of the touristy stuff! :) I haven't quite left yet... but I am supposed to be working on some homework that I failed to do this weekend before my flight leaves... ;)

Timing is everything, right?

2010-11-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving for the weekend. Well, that's what I told my husband over a month ago when I kept asking him (a million times) if he minded if a took a trip... I kind of have way with words. I suppose a Wednesday-Monday trip isn't really a "weekend" is it? Hmmm... Oh well! Thankfully, my husband rocks! I have been lucky enough to have several girls weekends in the past couple of years! Yahoooo! But, every time I go, I can't help but feel guilty. I try to talk myself out of the guilt by saying that I better do this now, while I can... before we have kids. I'm sure that it'll be much easier for him to do fun things when we have little kids than it will be for me. It just kinda seems to work out that way for moms, I think. Plus, he is flying to San Francisco for a Seahawk game with his dad and my BIL in December, that'll be fun for him! See, I'm totally trying to validate my splurge...

Anyway, the reason why I feel so guilty is because our animals are kind of a handful. I know I've told only half of my stories about Jackson, but you can tell that he's high maintenance. And, I'll be the first to admit that I have fed into his high maintenance"ness" a bit as well. We hardly ever leave him at home... partially because I was afraid for a long time of what "creativity" he would demonstrate in our house but also just because I felt bad! Then, over a year ago when we inherited Rainie (have I told that story?) I felt guilty about leaving her out in the kennel because she is sixteen freakin' years old and the cement is hard on her bones! The damned dog won't lay on any blankets or beds out there, either. Stubborn brat. So, they go with is 80% of the time. I have gotten better, that number used to be 95%! Most of the time, when I'm with the kids during the day, the dogs can come with me no problem! Elaina LOOOVES Jack! He doesn't really LOOOOVE her, but he tolerates her and is calm and patient with her, none-the-less! The other times when we are at work or school, I leave them in the car. I fold down the back seat of our SUV, make sure they have food/water and check on them every two hours! I mean, c'mon... that's got to be better than freezing their fur off in the kennel, right?! People always roll their eyes or think I'm crazy about leaving them in the car... Whatev. They're spoiled, I get it.
**Please note that I am very mindful of the heat in the summer! They are never left in a HOT or WARM car and they always have ventilation no matter what time of year it is!!!**

So, that brings me to why I feel guilty about leaving Brandon with them... he is going to have to leave them in their kennel quite a bit because he works at the family biz way more than I do and doesn't have the flexibility of letting them out every two hours, like I do. Also, Rainie has potty problems. Yikes! I think it's partly from her being sixteen (I mean, really!) and partly her just being stubborn. But, she gets extra stubborn when I leave. She also wakes up to go potty at least twice during the night, which Brandon rarely gets up to do. He claims he doesn't hear her? Hmmm! So, I know he'll have messes to clean up and I will get angry texts about my dog!!! Dangit!

To top it all off and to refer to my title... TIMING IS EVERYTHING! Libby, our delightfully healthy cat was acting odd last week. It seems like she was having a potty problem too! Yikes! She NEVER has had accidents and is always very routine in her daily activities. So, I could tell something was wrong with her. After a urinalysis we found out that she had/has an inflamed bladder, UTI and urine crystals!!! Oh my! Poor baby... she was hurtin'! So, she is on a course of anti-biotics to get twice a day as well as a special wet food diet that she needs to get another medicine with twice a day! Holy Cats!

So, the control freak in me will be calling/texting Brandon every day making sure that everything is in order... and the empathetic part of me will be feeling bad that I put all of this on him. Ugh!!!

But, the good news?! I am going to CHICAGO!!! Yesssireeebob! I am SO excited to make a trip to the midwest! Not only am I spending much needed quality time with BFF Claire, but I am getting to meet and stay with bloggy BFF Jen!!! I am so excited! :) I get to hang out with her mom, Jan and her SIL Diana too! I just know they're going to be a riot! Oh, did I mention that Jen and I are running the Hot Chocolate 5k downtown Chicago! *insert nervous look!* I am not able to run it all, but I think I will be ok to walk/jog it and I can't freaking wait! The forecast for that day is clear but cold and it is in Grand Park downtown!

Ok, well I'm glad I got that off of my chest, I really am feeling guilty! HA! I probably won't blog for a bit... Afterall, I will be gone for the "weekend." But, I will be sure to post about everything when I get back!!! Yahooo!

Fall TV... So far!

2010-11-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

I feel like I've been busier than normal this fall... I suppose that is true. Honestly, most of the time I feel like I'm drowning. For instance, last night was the first night in a month that I spent two hours picking up ~~shit~~ clutter around the house. Our house isn't DIRTY but it was mighty MESSY though! Half of the clutter was ~~shit~~ stuff from the car that I took to have detailed a couple of weeks ago. I took most of the junk out (or so I thought) before I dropped the car off... turns out the detailing place found THREE grocery bags worth of more crap! Ha!!! That kind of crap is just the "what do I do with this?" kind of stuff. Think sunshades from when we lived in AZ, three pairs of sunglasses, multiple flashlights, cd cases, pens galore, etc. I was so surprised to see that much stuff! I didn't think the car was THAT bad! I digress...

Along with everything else, I've been behind on my fall tv shows. I have always thought that Brandon and I watch too much tv, but after comparing us to some others... I realize that we really don't watch half as much as some people! I record Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Real Housewives of *whatever city*, Private Practice, Cougar Town and Oprah. That seems like a lot, but I don't ever watch all of the Oprahs and Cougar Town & Desperate Housewives are shows I put on in the background when I'm doing dishes, folding laundry or blogging. Ha! So, I really don't commit THAT much time each week to tv shows. Brandon records a number of shows but only seriously follows a few also. Even at that, our DVR has been FULL of my shows the past month or so! Brothers & Sisters is my favorite but Private Practice follows closely as my second fave. I never watched Grey's... I just wasn't into it. But, I love PP! Brandon likes it too, so that's nice to watch together. However, both of these shows make me bawl! Seriously, I cry like a damned baby while I watch these shows!

This whole post was supposed to be about the most recent episode of PP which shows Dr. Charlotte King (KaDee Strickland) being brutally attacked in her office. Of course, the only show us teasers of the next episode but today I caught KaDee's interview with the ladies on The View and I am even more anxious to see Thursday's episode! It surely won't sit in my DVR long!

I thought it was interesting because KaDee was talking about how she is so proud of this story line because it is bringing attention to an issue that is very important. I think the jist of what KaDee was trying to say is that she hopes that in seeing the story line that we're about to see Charlotte go through, victims of sexual crimes will find courage to tell their story or seek help. I was very impressed with her interview. However, I know that Thursday's episode will bring me to tears several times.

Just when I was pondering if Charlotte was becoming my favorite character on the show, the go and do this to her! I'm hoping to see her character develop a bit though and it is going to be interesting to see her in a more vulnerable place. Charlotte is so HOT and I love the connection between her and Cooper... not to mention her sweet southern accent which is REAL! :)

My old stand by favorite, Violet Turner (Amy Brenneman)

is going through some interesting stuff on the show also. But, I think for now Charlotte will step in for being my favorite... especially since my heart strings will be tugged by her emotional situation! I will totally feel like I'm cheating on Amy though, I've loved her since I watched her in Judging Amy all the time! :)

Do you watch PP? If you do, who is your favorite character?

Happy Halloweenies!

2010-11-01T00:56:00.000-07:00

I was looking forward to being home this Halloween so I could see if we would actually get any kids! In my adult life, I have never passed out candy! Crazy!

My change of plans wasn't so bad, though!!! When my SIL asked me if I'd come over to hang out, eat pizza and pass out candy with her and Nickolai I jumped at the chance, DUH! Turns out that both of the kids and their moms and my MIL all came over for the fun. We took the kids out for a whole thirty minutes or so. Now, I know what you're thinking... these kids are too young for candy! But, what else were they supposed to do in their cute costumes? We really just went to show them off to all of the neighbors that were excited to see them!!! Ok, we totally ate their candy... I knew you were already judging! HA!

Elaina was a pretty good trick-or-treater... she was in good spirits and only had one meltdown! :) I'm glad that these mommies let this auntie tag along because I love those kiddos!!!

Guest Bedroom Ideas -- Show Us Your Life

2010-10-29T16:38:00.000-07:00

I have never participated in a Show Us Your Life from Kelly's Korner... but I'm going to today! :) I could spend hours (and have) going through all of the bloggers that link up on Kelly's blog! Fun!!!

So, I have a list a mile long of things I want to do when I'm done with school in 8 short weeks (8 weeks!) One of them, is re-doing our spare room. Right now, it houses my old queen size bed from Pier One that is a creamy white and has slats that look like shutters. I still really like the bed, it just needs a room to suit it!!! It's a bit shabby chic, which is just fine with me.

I want to go with a "cool and calm" feel in that room. The rest of our house is pretty warm with browns, taupes, cranberry red, burnt orange, blacks and beiges. I figure we could use a change of pace... :)

So far, I love the look of two duvets from Pottery Barn... Deirdre and Sydney.

I love Deirdre for the warm colors in the bedding... but I was trying to get away from that. However, it may be a great way to tie in warm colors with a calm feeling... What to do you think? I could do the walls in a nice green or blue... or even a similar color as what is shown.

Then, Sydney just grabs my eye as being cool and calm, don't ya think? In this room I think I would definitely go with a green or blue wall. Hmmm...

I have some time to make a decision, but which do you like better?

Well, I never have any rooms cleaned and photographed in time to participate in Show Us Your Life... HA! But I do love looking at all of the ideas over there! Last week was nurseries/children's rooms! FUN!!!

If you're one of my regular readers, hop on over there and check out the talented ladies that post their rooms and if you're here from SUYL... thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday Pick-Me-Up

2010-10-27T02:17:00.000-07:00

**Thanks for everyone's kind words about me being dizzy. If it keeps up, I will make an appointment with my pcp!!!***

I thought this is appropriate for the mundane hump day since music definitely serves as my pick-me-up!

Brandon is not nearly as into music as I am... in fact, recently he's gotten "old" on me and started listening to news radio! Holy MAN! What does he think we are? Adults?! Ahem... kidding! :)

Anyway, he is funny about his music choices. He doesn't like just anything, like me. But, some of his favorite are Pink, Casting Crowns, Garth Brooks, Rascal Flatts, AC/DC and... Sara Bareilles. Huh? Ha! Luckily, I love all of the above... well, I'm not a LOVER of Garth but I can handle his twang and AC/DC isn't my top choice, but it'll do as well. We were doing errands with our sweet little man, Nickolai the other day and he asked me who was on the radio. I promptly went to Target to buy the cd!!! So, anyway... Sara's new cd Kaleidoscope is chillin' in my car's cd player and I will probably play it continuously... for a while. :)

So, if you haven't heard it... here it is! And if you have, enjoy the video. She really is beautiful! I appreciate her not being too overdone and I like her natural beauty! :)

Elaina & I were groovin' while we were running errands today!!! :o)

Long Weekend Review -- Under the Weather

2010-10-26T00:35:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure I jinxed myself. I have been thinking recently about how I am so lucky to not get sick very often. Other than the strep-throat that I consistently get once or twice a year... I'm pretty healthy. I also get seasonal allergies that are a real pain, but such is life. But Sunday morning I woke up with a bad case of the dizzies... and I can't shake it. Hmmm...

I had a long weekend. This turned into a long post.

It started out early on Friday with an appointment at my Endocrinologist's office. I had a full blood panel and thyroid ultrasound in July and my blood work came back fine, my primary care physician found a "nodule" on my thyroid. Well, I suppose the radiologist is the one that really found it. Anywho, she kind of scared me (us) a tad by discussing that while the "nodule" AKA lump could be nothing, it could also be thyroid cancer. Thankfully, I'm not too much of a hypochondriac but it freaked Brandon out, that's for sure. I was referred to a specialist, Mr. Endo, but he didn't want to see me for three months or so. Apparently it was so he could measure whether the lump had grown or not. Thankfully, I had forgotten about my appointment because I had kind of been fretting about it for a while, but eventually I put it on the back burner. I got a reminder call on Thursday and realized that D day was finally here. The whole time I didn't really think anything would come of it, I just was nervous over what they would do at the appointment. I'm not a huge fan of needles and having a needle stuck in my neck for a biopsy didn't seem like a grand ol' time... ;) Anyway, Dr. Endo is hilarious. He is a younger guy and certainly quirky, as I believe most docs are... but he put me to rest with his jokes here and there. He showed me his normal acting thyroid on his ultrasound machine and then I got to see mine in comparison. That was kind of cool.... except mine is dead and black while his is nicely alive and white! Ha! Oh well, my meds take care of that. :) Thankfully, the lump has not grown at all and is apparently small enough for him to not be concerned. So, no biopsy. However, he did let me know that the biopsy is no big deal and would just leave a hicky looking thing on my neck. He said I was free to tell anyone that I got it at the Dr. but I was not free to say that Dr. Shannon gave it to him... he warned me that I would have a 5'2'' Asian lady after me (his wife) and "she's no scrapper..." he said! Haha!!! He also mentioned to me that if we ever decide to become pregnant, or are blessed with a pregnancy, that him and I will be really close. I then joked that we would be BFFs and he said "yeah... but without the necklace, ok?!" Ha! Then he proceeded to explain that while I would have to see him every 6 weeks for blood draws, he will not be looking at my "bajinga" or anything. Hahahaha! I about died when he said that... Bajinga has now replaced "hoo haw" in my vocabulary for body parts!!! :o) So, he wants to see me in 6 months to measure the lump again... I'm sure it'll be fine! :)

I then worked a 13 hour shift at the family biz on Friday. Sheesh! We were BUSY!

Saturday was a busy day too... I have been putting together a "cousin reunion" on my step-dads side of the family as we haven't seen each other in over a year. It's just kind of one of those things where the family isn't that close and if you don't do something to organize a meeting... it just doesn't happen. So, a few hours of visiting and some snacky foods and we're set for another year! ha! Then, we have been having Texas Hold 'Em tournaments at the family biz on Saturdays so it was a bit of a busy night that night too... But, we were home and tucked into bed by 11pm that night... a rarity for us, especially on a weekend night!

Although I got plenty of sleep, I woke up Sunday exhausted!!! We were supposed to go to dinner at B's parent's that night and I had plans to make pumpkin treats with a friend during the afternoon... Well, for some reason I have been super dizzy. I thought when I got up for the second time (at 11am, mind you) that I just needed to eat something because I was so dizzy I almost fell off the toilet! HA! But even after I ate a sensible breakfast (one fried egg on whole wheat toast and greek yogurt) I still felt icky. But, Brandon had plans to practice golf while I was with my friend, so we got ready and headed out. Needless to say, I spent two hours on BFF Shandy's chair while she watched Confessions of a Shopaholic and I nodded off here and there!!! Brandon came back early as it was raining sideways...! He isn't hardly bothered by the rain so he must have been kind of tired...

Sidenote: He's started practicing seriously for some golf tournaments! Golf is his true passion... I only want him to be happy! So, he's (we've) decided for him to take it seriously and try to make a name for himself!!! He has been playing awesome lately, but he only plays about once a month and NEVER practices. But, when he can be only 3-4 over par when not playing very often... he can be a scratch golfer, easy!!! He has so much talent and love for the game... I hope he follows his dream! :)

Anyway, so we proceeded to his parents house which was fine because they don't care if I wear my sweats and they have a cozy fire going in this type of weather! *wink* Plus, Nickolai was going to be there. I haven't had him for a couple of weeks because they haven't needed a sitter and Auntie misses him!!! :) My MIL put on a feast, per usual... we had peanut soup, beef wellington, pear/gorgonzola/candied pecan/craisen/rasp vinaigrette salad, and a yummy green bean dish. Whew! I know that took her forever to make... I mean, who makes Beef Wellington from scratch!? She even takes the time to cut out sweet little fall leaves to put on top of the dough... Oh my. Oh! I forgot, she made her famous creme brule (sp?) too... It's amazing. Better than any fine dining restaurant, I promise. I promise that I did the dishes. I did! I made her go hold her little grand baby, oh right, like I had to force her! haha!

So, I had today off... and really don't have a TON of homework to do so I wrote a list on my mirror of things I needed to accomplish:
Figure out airport transportation (aka ask my BFFs if they'll take me)
Make a hair appointment for next week
Get a pedicure? Wow!
CLEAN!!! Oh, geeze, the house is a wreck.
Take care of a title/registration for a quad Brandon bought a month ago... Shoot! Fines!
Laundry (have I mentioned that my uber-expensive washer broke two weeks ago!?)
Make a meal plan
Run!

Well, I slept in late, again. Shoot! And caught up on my DVR... because honestly? I'm still super dizzy. I have ZERO other symptoms. I am not nauseated, no cough, no fever, just dizzy with a slight headache. Sigh. Wasted day off... At least I managed to make dinner and do the dishes... Oh yeah, and I put away the laundry that has been sitting on the love seat for weeks....

So, after WebMD'ing dizziness... I see that common causes are a drop in blood pressure & low blood sugar... I don't think I have either. What gives?!

If you made it through this very long post, I thank you... haha! Have you ever had random dizzy spells? What could it be? If it lasts much longer, I'm going to call my doc.

**I'm not pregnant.** Not sure if dizziness is even a symptom, but I'm NOT! LOL!

Meeting Ms. Cakeball Herself!!!!

2010-10-20T14:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm a little obsessive over Cakeballs. Have you had them? WHAAAT? You haven't? Holy man... you DO NOT KNOW what you're missing!!!! Where have you BEEN?

Hey, I warned you I was obsessive. If you haven't had Cakeballs, you certainly haven't me me IRL. In fact, Midwest girls? I should totally make Cakeballs when I'm at Jen's! Addie will help, right!?

I first found out about Cakeballs from my sister-in-law who found them off of Pioneer Woman's blog. In fact, I helped her make her first batch. They're pretty fool proof, really. She did a post on her blog about them and then it was all history. Now, I make them for most family birthdays and any other special occasion. I just followed the tutorial from PW for the longest time until I realized that the real pioneer (ha!) of the cakeball was in fact Bakerella! Heck, she has TONS of delicious recipes on there! I made my other SIL this Chocolate Peanut Butter cake for her birthday this year... WOW!!! Delicious!

So, when my BFF Shandy asked if I wanted to go with her to Bakerella's Cake Pop book signing, I didn't hesitate! Better yet, it was on Shandy's 25th birthday! See, she even got #25 in line! Sweeet!

We had to drive to a Snotty Potty town a little east of Seattle to meet her, but no big deal. Once at the big gorgeous mall, we all huddled into William Sonoma (holy snotty store, btw!) and listened as Bakerella answered various questions about the perfect size for cake balls/pops, etc...

Then we were pushed back out into the mall and let in to meet her by groups of 10. At this point, Nickolai was OVER meeting Bakerella! Ha! I had been wearing him in his Bjorn most of the time and we both were sweatin'! His stroller was used mostly for storage of our Starbucks, purses, cupcakes, Harry & David goodies and Lululemon loot! But, at one point he was happy and smilin' in his stroller! .

We were pretty close to the beginning of the line so we really didn't wait long. Then, the snooty William Sonoma lady sneered at us to come inside the store to meet her... and then when I asked if we could have a picture apiece she snarled at me again! Good LORD! You can bet I bought my damned Cakepop Cookbook and that was IT! No $20 muffin mixes or $200 crock pots for me! Sorrrrrry lady! Haha!!!

I have to say, while the WS staff ticked us off a tad, Bakerella was really so sweet... so was her photographer that she had with her.

So, there you have it! I've now met both PW and Bakerella and they were both so gracious and sweet! Both of them spent a good amount of time answering questions about their recipes and techniques and other random stuff too!!!

Now, don't forget to remind me to tell you the story about the day that BFF Liz and I met Lady Gaga... Oh.Lord. Thankfully, it was pre-meat suit days. Geeze, she's weird!

Tid Bits of Fall

2010-10-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

My life is crazy right now. Dangit. So, I literally have maybe five fall decorations up... Man!!! Falltime is my second favorite season!!! Ha, Christmas is number one, for sure. I just haven't had the time or energy (if we're being honest) to go down under the house and get my bins of fall stuff. Actually, not only have I not done that but I haven't tidied up the house enough to decorate. Do you do that too? Do a good cleaning and de-clutter before you decorate? I definitely do... So, for now... my few little decorations and Yankee candle will have to do. I got a new Apple Pie scented Bean Pod candle, I should light that baby up. Bean Pod candles are my ultimate fave! I swear one little candle puts off so much scent!!! Anyway, here are my measly fall decorations!!!

Pretty fall colored Dahlias on my extra tiny table!!! I also love these tiny pumpkins, they're a tad glittery! Oh, see that sweet wooden high chair lurking in the corner? That was my mom's and all of her siblings and then my high chair! Isn't that sweet? I'm not sure if I'll use it for its intended purpose... but I love it anyway. :)

My lovely fall wreath... oh, and my favorite wreath hanger from PB! I love it, it says 'The Weedons' on it. :)

I forgot to mention that I did manage to get Elaina to the pumpkin patch last week... She had a blast talking to the goats, sheep and chickens but when it came time to make the piggie noise she was confused. Her lion noise kept coming out, ha! The animals were definitely her favorite, she wasn't so interested in the pumpkin part!!! Ha! She wouldn't let me carry her through the rows of pumpkins and kept tripping over the vines but she just kept on truckin'! Ha, she's no sissy girl!!! :)

Happy Fall Friday! :)

MyAgenda Finally Arrived!!!

2010-10-13T23:13:00.000-07:00

I have been putting off ordering my very own MyAgenda from the MomAgenda website. I have always been afraid that I would spend a good chunk of money on a planner and then never use it... But, my phone's calendar setting is just not enough for keeping track of all of my obligations. I've only had it a little over a week but... so far, I love it!!!

First of all, I ordered it in my favorite color, purple. It's beautiful! A little flashy, I will admit... but oh well! I had my name put on it too! The part that sold me on this planner is the week at a glance style with an additional FOUR places to organize obligations or tasks!!! Now, the original MomAgenda suggests using these spots for keeping track of different kids' activities. For me, I am using the extra four spots in the MyAgenda for school, work, exercise and meal planning. Whew! I love being able to write everything out!!! If you're in need of a great planner, head over there!!! I certainly linked the website enough... Haha!!!

By the way, this was my first attempt at using Picasa3 to make a collage and then posting it... So, it's a little amateur! Ha! I need to figure out Picasa because it seems much easier than the other route I was taking to upload pictures... Is that what everyone uses???

Hickery Dickery Dock

2010-10-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

Elaina is too cute... I can't imagine what I will be like as a mom because I find myself snapping pictures of her all of the time and even taking way too many videos!!! Please disregard my silly voice!!! Isn't it weird to listen to yourself?

This is her favorite nursery rhyme... Hickery Dickery Dock! Sorry that Nickolai fusses at the end... :)

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

These two cousins are funny. I know that they will have plenty of years to come of fighting and annoying each other... but it'll be fun to watch them have tons of laughs together too! Cousins are a special thing and I can't wait to have my own kids to add to this mix!

Recipe Review: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

2010-10-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm on a recipe kick... I've been meaning to post quite a few for a while so I'm just going to keep going until I run out of steam! :)

I've seen recipes for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins a few places... A couple of weeks ago I saw Jenna's recipe here and was hell bent to try it. Except, I couldn't find canned pumpkin. Call me crazy, but I wasn't aware of the shortage! So, I gave up after toting Nickolai around to two stores... ugh! But, I was reading another blog tonight and she noted that THIS blogger had mentioned just adding canned pumpkin to a boxed Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Muffin mix. Hey, not a bad idea! I love to make stuff from scratch, but I don't always have the time. I mean, who does really? Taking a little help from the store is a bonus!

So, assembly of this recipe is super easy. Thanks Betty! :) I added more pumpkin than this blogger calls for. I added half of a 15oz can and reduced the water accordingly. I also added another handful of chocolate chips and a tsp of cinnamon. I baked my muffins for 15 minutes and they are perfect!!! I was bummed that I am out of powdered sugar so I couldn't make the nummy looking glaze... and I improvised with a brown sugar concoction - not the same. It's okay, but the glaze is probably much better!

I still want to try Jenna's recipe and will someday when I have more time. I made her favorite chocolate chip cookies last week and they're AMAZING! I'm not a great baker and usually my cookies aren't so hot... But, these are awesome! Totally my favorite CCC recipe from now on! :)

Now I have half of a can of pumpkin to use... any suggestions? I guess I could just make more muffins and give them away.... or freeze them?

Recipe Review: PW's Three Cheese Stuffed Shells

2010-10-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a chance to try as many Pioneer Woman recipes that I want to... But, I'm trying to work a few in here and there. When I stopped by her cooking blog earlier this week I decided I should give this one a try. So, I'll give you all the link here and let you know my/our thoughts!!!

Prep/Cooking Time:

In my opinion, the most important part of this is letting the sauce cook for as long as you have time for. I only let it cook for about 45 minutes and it was delicious, but if I had the time I would have given it another 45 minutes. I just love the taste of long & slowly simmered home made sauces!!! :) I also would have preferred to use more sauce. Adding a cup of water while it's simmering would help stretch it a bit. Also, I realized that I only bought regular shells, not jumbo. So... Um... I stuffed a lot more shells! Ha! That's the only difference that I can see though...

I took a few pics, but really? Who am I to out do P-Dub's recipes? I mean, she takes a picture of each step for the love! It's that easy for us to follow!!! :) So if you want to see pictures of this yummy recipe... go HERE!!! :) I served ours with fresh green beans with some granulated garlic and butter spray! I thought it was great... Brandon put it above spaghetti (he really doesn't prefer sketti) and below lasagna (he loves zanyah) so... those are our ratings!!!

Oh, I also made a dish for our friends that just had a baby girl today. I plan on giving it to them tomorrow. I went ahead and baked it and they can just warm it up in the oven... Easy!!!

Huge Spider & Beetlish Cricket?

2010-10-07T23:01:00.000-07:00

This was about a month ago... But, I still thought it was blog worthy.

I always expect a few not-so-hot things to happen around fall time, but I usually let them slide because I love the crispness in the air and the gorgeous scenery. Not to mention my CROCK POT!!! :)

I already posted this picture a while ago, but in case you missed it here's the same one again! Actually, in all honesty... I forgot I posted a picture of this already until after I wrote this post and I just didn't want to delete the spider part. Sorry! Ha!

So, while folding the dreaded "sock collection" that usually sits around for about 6 weeks while we dig through it every day for socks (no joke!), I found this nasty ~~little~~ huge spider!!! I mean, I know this is a cell phone pic with poor lighting/quality... but check out the size of that mother in relation to my sock!!!

Holy Geeeeeze! I was home by myself so I eventually (ten minutes later) had worked up the nerve to go whack it with a hanger. Yes, you read that correctly. I mean, what was I thinking? Why didn't I get a broom? Or... anything other than a hanger? Hangers do not exactly produce precise results, FYI. But, I killed it (sad, really) and then flushed him. Sorry Spidey, I just couldn't do it. Ewwww.

That same week, only a couple of days later... I went to put Elaina down for her morning nap and a giant *idunnowhattocallit* was chilling on her crib bumper!!!! Can you see him?

I seriously thought it was fake at first! I put her down and stepped toward it carefully... then I realized it was GINORMOUS and freaked out a little (on the inside..)

and got the bright idea to attempt to get it into a giant cup.

Great idea! I certainly wasn't going to put the child in the crib with a freaky critter and I was sure has HELL not going to get closer than arms length to that thing either! SICK! I still don't know what it was... but I let it sit in the cup until her parents came home... I figure they probably let him free.

So, the last story of ewwy gooey fall critters is about a nasty little slug man. We are VERY used to seeing slugs around these parts. Sick!!! But, they just are a fact of life around here. With dogs that are roaming around the yard to potty and whatnot, I am always mindful of their feet and tennis balls (yes, sick!) when they come inside. So, the other night I was sitting in bed using the laptop and Jack came up and wanted some love. I had just let him inside from going potty and I noticed ~~what I thought was~~ an eye boogie. Well, you guessed it... when I went to wipe it... and it was slimy... I freaked out and flung it on the floor... A couple of seconds later when I looked closer I realized it was a teeny tiny baby slug. Sorry baby slug, I just had to flush ya. EWWW!!!

I hope I'm done with my fall critter encounters... I don't mind a spider in the house here or there... as long as they're on the ceiling or whatever. I don't want them in my sock pile!!! Haha!!!

Blog Challenge: Day 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10!

2010-10-03T15:08:00.000-07:00

I'm consolidating... :)

Day 6: Five people who mean a lot to you.

This little challenge seems to be a little redundant, no? ;)

1. My HUSBAND!!!! Duh!

2. My BFFs... Shandy, Kristine & Liz

3. Our Parents... They're really good to us!

4. Our extended family... I'm super close with my aunt, all of our grandparents and we're just so lucky to have them all!!!

5. The buddies I've met through blogging!!! I mean, I'm going to stay with Jen in November! How lucky am I?! It is nice to have a new group of people that I have different things in common with than my long-time BFFs. I love them dearly, but it is always great to be able to be close to new people!!!

Day 7: Four turn offs.

1. Bad breath... period.the.end. YUCK! I am obsessive over oral hygiene... In fact, I was ASTONISHED to hear recently that there are people that only brush their teeth once a day!!! SICK!!! I'm not a super germaphobe but that is just NAS TAY!

2. Cockiness or the "always right" syndrome... This goes for men & women alike. I cannot stand someone who thinks that their ish doesn't stink. I am all about being real and down to earth. Sure, sometimes I'm a bit too much for people to handle but I certainly am the first to admit when I'm wrong! However, if I really do think that I'm right? I will stand my ground! Ha!

3. Ignorance. I mean this in the sense of... just plain being ignorant. Not dumb or intellectually challenged... because that is just fine. I am not great at math either *wink*! For instance, I was reading a blog last night and the lady was openly talking about how her and her husband were having a really hard time finding a babysitter because neither of them trusted any "non-Caucasian" people to sit for their son. Um, excuse me? Is this 2010? Is that REALLY tolerated in other parts of the country? Because, it is NOT here. IGNORANCE. There is no excuse... in my book. Ugh.

Day 8: Three turn ons.

1. Smelling great!!! Not overly perfumed, just a yummy scent of some sort. I am known for seeking out girls' hair to smell it if it "looks like it smells good..." If that makes any sense at all, ha!

2. Clean teeth... and fresh breath!

3. Being able to make jokes and laugh without it being at the cost of others. Life is really funny... jokes don't always need to be racist/sexist... etc.

Am I coming off snobby? I sure don't mean to...

Day 9: Two words that describe your life right now.

Chaotic & Exhausting... Just wait until December, I'll have different words for it then when I'm done with school! ;)

Day 10: One confession.

Serious, or goofy? One of each? Ok!

I smell my armpits throughout the day to make sure I'm still fresh...

I'm very self-aware. I know my good and bad attributes and am constantly reminding myself that I am a work in progress. Life isn't about the destination of who I want to be but the journey that is making me who I want to be. Right? Right!!!

Thanks for reading all of this!!!

Blog Challenge: Day 5

2010-09-27T00:48:00.000-07:00

Day 5: Six things you wish you could change or wish you would have never done.

Oh my... I tend to say I like to live without regrets... But honestly, I definitely have them. Let's see if I can come up with some decent ones.

I wore a terrible snake skin, skin tight contraption to my sophomore Tolo dance... It was just after a breakup and I was trying to be hot to make my ex jealous, I think. Hahahaha! Oh, it was terrible. Bad. I wish I knew how to operate my scanner I would SO scan that picture in! :)
I would have never chased after a high school best friend. I was so clearly used and abused (emotionally) and I just kept chasing it. I feel stupid now, even almost ten years later. I lost friends and time in high school that I'll never get back. Stupid!
I wish I would have not verbally lashed out on my step dad months before he died. He made a very stupid large purchase in a time when my parents were very financially unstable and he drove that purchase to our house to show it off and I went off on him. I feel bad now. I should have expressed myself differently...
I sometimes wish I would have gone to a four year school right out of the gates. This is one of those wishy washy "never regret" statements because in the long run I believe my choices have landed me in places that I wouldn't have otherwise been and I'm thankful for that. But, school would have been so much easier if I had just gone the conventional way... but I'm not conventional. So, there ya go! To think that I could have my own classroom already RIGHT NOW? That's crazy. Or, to be the RN I always wanted to be? Nuts. Oh well, such is life. If it's meant to be, I'll have my own classroom by the time I'm 30 after I go back to school AGAIN for my Masters. Ugh!
I regret never finishing a diet program. I really do. It's one of those things I want to fix so badly, but just can't find it within me. Just to think, if I would have finished the first diet I ever attempted... I would be 50lbs lighter. Wow.
Lastly, I have to say... I have a big mouth. I have learned over the years to try to be less outspoken when it isn't going to do any good. So, my last one will be all of the little things that I have said and will continue to say that hurt someone's feelings when I didn't intend them to. However, I never regret being honest and authentic with someone over "saving face" by telling a lie. I DO NOT tolerate lies. In fact, I found out today I was lied to. A stupid little white lie! But... NOT OK WITH ME! GRRR! Oh, sorry for that rant! :)

Onto the next day...

Blog Challenge: Day 4

2010-09-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

Day 4: Seven things that cross your mind a lot.
Not in order of importance!!!

I am always contemplating ways to get the most amount of homework done in the least amount of time... I think some people call that procrastination.
My weight. It's a constant struggle and a daily battle that I usually lose.
Brandon. He brings smiles to my face hourly!
Everything in my/our future. I'm always thinking about kids, houses, jobs, vacations.... etc.
Friends/Family that I don't get to call or visit with often. I wish I would just take one day and call the ten people I've been meaning to call forever!!!
Unfortunately, I'm addicted to Social Networking... Um, so I'm kind of ashamed to say that Facebook, blogs and Twitter crosses my mind a lot. Hmmm...
Food! I'm always hungry or wanting something. Coping mechanism, no?

Ok, day four down! Are you bored of me yet?

Blog Challenge: Day 3

2010-09-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

Day 3: Eight things you couldn't live without.

Only eight? Okay... I'm going to take the less sentimental route here... So, I'm not going to list Brandon, my mom, friends, etc... okay? But do note that I don't want to live without those people either!!! ;)

Music. I love it, I need it... I couldn't live without it. Period!
My animals. I am an animal lover, for sure! Mama Moose and Jacker Whacker are lucky to have me!!! Oh, did I just say that? ;)
Chapstick. Preferably Burt's Bees Pomegranate... Yum-O!
My Droid. Oh, love. :) How else would I check Jen and Candice's blogs five times a day... Neurotic? Me? No.
Tom Kha Gai - Or Thai food in general. It's amazing.
Sarcasm. Life just wouldn't be worth it, would it? Nah.
Philosophy's Amazing Grace. It's my body wash, my lotion... my love. Oh, and Pureology hair products. *sigh*
Flip flops/sandals. I really don't like real shoes... I prefer the flops. I got a kinda "greenerish" pair this year because my feet have really taken a beating... I bought a pair of Birki's. Oh geeze. Now I own Birkenstocks AND Danskos. Yes, I live in the PNW. :) Oh well, my feet thank me.

That's it! This is a cake walk... only seven more days!!! You should join me in the challenge!

Blog Challenge: Day 2

2010-09-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

Day 2: Nine things that most people don't know about you.

This is kind of silly... I'm a really open book. Most things people don't know about me are embarrassing, that's why they don't know them! DUH! Ok... I'm going to try to come up with them but if they're TMI consider yourself warned!!!

1. I am incredibly intuitive. I consider this a good thing, but it definitely makes me uncomfortable sometimes. At least, this is how I have always described myself. I can sense someone's mood, whether they're genuine, lying, not being authentic, dangerous, what their thoughts are, etc. I can read people like books and while it is usually a good thing, sometimes it isn't!!! I also

2. I have a really good memory. I have memories way back when I was 18months old. My parents were entering into a divorce so I remember some details about my life then, because it was a difficult time. I believe that this is where I gained some of my very dominant personality traits... when I was that little. Kinda weird, but I'm convinced.

3. I am always late and hate it. You bloggers wouldn't really know that about me... obviously IRL people do. I am rarely late to work, because I have to be on time. This is a serious confliction within myself. I know that it is rude to be late. Why am I always late then!?! Ugh! I think it stems from an overall lack of discipline... that's a whole 'nother story! Ha! I do feel bad for it though and it causes me much anxiety... I hate it. It seems like it should be easy to change.

4. My feet stink. I told you, TMI! They do... it's bad. My BFF Shandy told me she had something for me the other day... She whipped out some fruity smelling shoe inserts for me! HAHAHAHA! I mean, really?! She had found them at Big Lots on sale... *shudder*

5. I can't stand fidgeting... when it is someone else doing it. Brandon shaking his leg, tapping something, etc. However, I have my own little quirky things that could be considered fidgeting. My argument is that they don't annoy other people... haha!

6. I am terrified to visit a lot of places outside of the US. I really don't care to (at this time) go to any Asian, African, or South American countries.... oh, or Australia/New Zealand!!! I'm terrified of the food in the first three examples and the bugs in all of them!!! Oh, bugs and other weird things!!! I don't ever care to go to FL or the deep south for those reasons too. Oh, I'm kind of ashamed to admit this... sorry. I've seen the special on the Burmese Python one too many times... Ick.

7. I am scared to scuba dive. That's kind of random, but not many people know that about me. I don't LOVE being IN or ON the ocean, so I mostly think that is why but I think that it's a control issue. I enjoy the ocean from the beach!!! It's beautiful to LOOK at! :) I also think it may be a claustrophobic thing... eeek!

8. I have to constantly keep myself from searching for new homes and cars. I could waste hours doing either of those things. I think I get this from my mom. We always were moving to a new beautiful house as well as she was always getting new cars... I'm kind of obsessed. Like, to the point that we've had one of our vehicles for over three years and I'm dying to get a new one. We don't NEED a new one and this one happens to be perfect... except for the stinky dog smell. Ugh, dogs. Oh, and the fact that it is blue... I hate blue. But, I'll have it detailed and it'll be good as new. Except, it won't be new... that's the problem. Haha! I should specify: "new" means "new to us" not "off the lot, new" because well... we're not loaded and we don't really think its worth the money to buy brand new cars. :) Brandon wants either a truck or a Hummer H3 next... I would be okay with either. A truck would be nice but terrible gas mileage. My parents had an H3 and we loved it and got about the same MPG as our Highlander does... But, I really love my Highlander... it's so comfy and the perfect size for hauling the kiddos and my dogs! :)

9. I am dying to start our family. My close friends may *kind of* know this but I don't lead on too much because I think it scares the daylights out of most of them... I secretly think they're dreading for us to have kids because it means our relationship will change. I don't talk to our parents about it because it will get them way too excited. We're not quite there, but I am SO TIRED of waiting. I can't wait!!! I feel like I was meant to be a mom and I'm not worth much before I have that opportunity. That may sound kind of pathetic, but its true...

Ok! Day 2 down!!! Learn anything? Wish you didn't know my feet stink? Sorry!!! :)

Blog Challenge... I need it!

2010-09-23T22:12:00.000-07:00

Chelle over at Never Had A Better Day posted about this blog challenge which she was inspired to do by another blogger.... Anywho... I always think I have grand ideas to blog about but then I always talk myself out of it because it just seems like a rant and makes myself look like a big ol' biotch! Also, I've been meaning to d/l pictures of great recipes that I made weeks ago but... I haven't. :) So, this will give me some motivation to post WAY MORE than I usually do!!! :)

The challenge:

Day 1: Ten things you want to say to ten people right now.

Day 2: Nine things about yourself that most people don't know.

Day 3: Eight things you couldn't live without.

Day 4: Seven things that cross your mind a lot.

Day 5: Six things you wish you could change or wish you would have never done.

Day 6: Five people who mean a lot to you.

Day 7: Four turn offs.

Day 8: Three turn ons.

Day 9: Two words that describe your life right now.

Day 10: One confession.

Day 1: Ten things I would like to say to ten people, RIGHT NOW. I think I've thought about this for too long... because now I'm trying to decide if I should be mushy or just be spontaneous. Hmmm... If it gets mushy, so sorry! :)

1. Brandon- It’s no surprise you come in as number one. You are my rock and so much more. We have so much fun together and I can't wait for what our life has waiting for us... I know God has a great plan for you because you are so easy to get along with and a big dreamer. Soon, I hope and pray, that you and I will find a direction that uses your talents and brings you great joy. Although you don't read my blog (and make fun of me for having one...) I love you so much!!!

2. Mom- You like to say that we are too much alike, that's why we butt heads sometimes. I'm not sure if I think we are really that much alike, but none-the-less I can see the traits that you have passed down to me. Thank you for instilling my constant drive for more in life... for always telling me I'm beautiful because I certainly don't always feel that way... for bragging about Brandon and I, although it's embarrassing when I'm standing right there, I'm glad you're proud of us... For teaching me to be adaptable, for change is inevitable... For teaching me to be responsible from an early age. Because of you I cannot stand irresponsible moochers that think the world owes them something... I love you mom and choke up in an instant thinking of ever losing you. I remember waiting for you to come home when you worked nights when I was a kid. Long past my bedtime (unbeknownst to Don) I would sit in the upstairs balcony and look out the window waiting for you to come home... Crying for fear that you wouldn't make it home alive. When I would see your car pull into the driveway I would scurry into bed and fake that I was asleep when moments later you would come to kiss me goodnight. I worry for you still, mom because I have always felt the need to take care of you. Because I've lost too much already in my lifetime and I can't fathom what life would be like without you in it. So, while we may have disagreements often... I love you so much and appreciate all you have sacrificed for me.

Dad- It feels weird to type that. As if I ever had the chance to write you an email or letter? I certainly didn't. I just want to tell you that aside from all of the cliché things one may say to a passed father, the simple things are really what I wish I had the chance to know about you. What were your quirks, annoyances and how the heck did you like your coffee??? I am thankful for your family and friends that can tell me stories about your crazy escapades and I can't wait to chat with you someday... Another thing? Giving me your muscle-y calves was a bit unfair, don't you agree? This girl can never find a pair of cute boots... dangit! Oh, by the way, Brandon is great and I wish you could have met him. :)

Don- We all miss you more every day! Brandon and I always crack jokes and talk about things that you did that were so *dumb* at time but that we *cherish* now. I hope you are peaceful and are not hurting or lonely anymore. Don't laugh too hard when Brandon and I are arguing at the boat launch ok? I know you and mom did that all of the time, maybe that's where I learned it! ;)
Nickolai- I love you buddy! I can't wait to watch you grow up and to be close with you!!! We already spend a good part of the week together and I can't tell if you like me or not. But, I kind of think you do. You are so serious that you only really give big grins to mommy and daddy. But, if I act like a huge dork and jump around and make weird sounds sometimes you'll grin at me. I mean, c'mon! Throw me a bone dude! I feel so privileged to be with you so much... I know your sleep schedules, how you like to fall asleep, when you're getting fed up and what songs you like me to sing to you. I hope in a few years you still will put up with me when I'm jumping up and down at your soccer games and cheering you on like a big goofball... oh, you're going to be so embarrassed. You have lady-killer dark blue eyes and all of those ladies are going to have to get through this Auntie first!!! Love you little Duder... can't wait to see you in your Husky outfit and sweet football socks that Auntie bought you! :)

My SIL- I'm so thankful to be getting closer and closer to you all of the time. I appreciate your openness, honesty, patience and good natured way. You listen to me gripe about the most mundane things, help me with my school work and make me laugh with your sarcastic ways. I've never had a sister and I certainly feel like you are becoming more of one every day. I love hearing the stories about Brandon when he was a kid. Thank you for allowing me time with your son, I cherish it. I know you fully trust me in caring for him and I appreciate that more than you know. I promise I never text while driving if I have him in the car!!!!!! You don't read this either... or even know I have a blog (I don't think...) but if I could say all of this to you without crying, I would. And if I did start crying, you would call me a dork. And, I love you for that too. :)

Gram- I can't believe we almost lost you this year, Gram. It's too soon - I'm not ready. I have been spoiled because you've been so healthy all of my life. I lost my other Grandmas early on and I just am not ready for you to go yet. You have to meet the baby girl I will someday have... remember? You remind me that you're ready for me to have kids every time I see you. Last time, you went as far as to discuss which of Brandon's and my traits our children will have. Ha! I love spending time with you. Last time, all we did was make meat loaves and pies for our grieving family members... but I savor every moment I have with you. Thank you for putting up with Gramps for so long. He's gruff, but he loves us all and I know you love that. I can't wait for the day that I can call you and tell you "Ok! Knit a blanket!!! I'm preggers!!!" Love, love, love you Gram...

Kristine- I am so glad you are my married BFF now… I am so happy for you and Uriah and am glad to have someone to commiserate with now. :) You are my only BFF that I share my faith with and I am so glad to have that to glue us together. While we are very different, we share our love for God and know how important it is to lead lives that are godly. It is wonderful to share beliefs and values with you because often times I can’t actively voice opinions and things I believe in as I am the minority, it seems. I can’t wait to be able to ask you and Uriah to be godparents someday… Eeep! :) Although it’s not a happy thing to share, I’m glad another bond of ours is the loss of our fathers. I’m so glad we understand our feelings about the whole thing 100%. I wanted to say this in my MOH speech at your wedding, but couldn’t get through it without tears: It means more than words that you flew up to WA at a moment’s notice to be with me for Don’s service. I have good friends who lived in the state who didn’t even bother to come, let alone make a trek across states. Thank you for your support. I love your curly hair and am not.so.secretly jealous of it!!! Could we be more opposite??? By the way, I’m eating a delicious pot roast right now that you would hate. HAHAHAHA! Maybe I should make and send you some cake balls soon? Love ya, Tina Bean.

My Old Boss- You really should get out of the business that you’re in. Seriously… it’s not good. You are inconsistent, not thorough and frankly greedy. I believe you are a good person, at heart. But, you really shouldn’t be responsible that all you are responsible for. It’s dangerous and that is why I had to leave… but returning to school was a good excuse.

Estranged Family- Somedays I have a tender heart and wish we all as a family still spoke. Most days, I don’t. Most days I am so thankful for the drama-free family get togethers. I mean, seriously… it’s such a relief to not have butterflies on Christmas wondering what the big fight will be about weeks after or what snarky comments will be made about others. I am sorry for the damage that has been done and do honestly wish that someday things will change. Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening any time soon.

Did you really make it through that? If so, I thank you. If not, I don't blame you. Either way, it was therapudic for me to write that out!!!

Brings Me to Tears

2010-09-14T22:19:00.000-07:00

I looooooove music. Music brings me to tears often. Which is surprising, honestly. I don't tend to let myself cry often. I think ~~we've~~ I've discussed that earlier with posts about the loved ones that I have lost. For some reason, music has the ability to change my mood in an instant. I love it. All of it. Well, my Grandpa (who was a very old Grandpa, might I add) used to listen to professional whistling in the car. Did you know there are professional whistlers? Hmmm... there are, trust me.

Anyway, I was reading one of my favorite blogs Clover Lane when she posted about her friends who just had a baby who was in need of prayers. My heart breaks for so many families out there right now that are in tough places with their wee ones. I can't imagine being in the place that they are and staying so strong. So, Sarah at Clover Lane posted a link to Bowen's Heart which is dedicated to Matt & Sarah Hammitt's baby boy who is suffering from a heart condition. Incidentally, Matt is the lead singer for Sanctus Real, a Christian band I happen to love. While I love their popular songs, I had no idea of any of their personal lives.

Oddly enough, I just heard their latest single for the second or third time on Sunday and I loved it so much that I actually stayed in the car an extra three minutes to listen to it. Does anyone else ever do that? Brandon is always wondering what I'm doing in the driveway. "Just jammin' to some tunes baby!" Ok, I don't say "jammin" nor do I ever call Brandon "baby." Ha! This was the first time I was actually listening to the lyrics and not just enjoying the melody of this song. I found myself tearing up when I was realizing how I could relate to the song, in some ways. I try to be such a strong woman that has her own goals and dreams in life.... but in reality I need Brandon to be strong and I need his help when I feel weak or off course. I just have a hard time asking for it.

A lot of Christian songs do that for me... bring me to tears. I'm not usually a gushy person and I'm not even overly open and loud about my faith. Every church service I attend, you can bet I will be shedding tears during the worship service.

Ok, one last video of my other favorite Christian band, Casting Crowns. I love this song... I love lots of their songs.

That's all! I was feeling moved tonight... so I felt like sharing. :o) Everyone have a wonderful Wednesday!!!

History Was Made

2010-09-11T16:09:00.000-07:00

Fellow blogger, Jen, had posted on Facebook about how she asks her students to write about their memories of 9/11 every year (she's a college English Prof.) Of course, I think about 9/11 every year on the anniversary (and throughout the year as well) but for the life of me I cannot remember my actual experience that day. Usually I have an impeccable memory.

I can remember that I was sitting at my vanity in my bedroom doing my hair and makeup for school. I was listening to the local radio morning show that I still listen to today! My older friend who drove me to school before I had my license had walked into the room and we briefly discussed what was happening with my mom before we rushed out the door for school. While we were at school the teachers had the news on in all of our classrooms, even after our principal ordered that the tvs be turned off. I can assume that most of us high schoolers didn't understand the seriousness of what was taking place. History was being made, right then.... right there. Brandon remembers our school playing the news in every classroom and he remembers our school counselors being available for those kids that had relatives or friends that they couldn't contact. I would like to assume that parents came and got students that were in that situation, but I just don't remember.

Over all, I feel very guilty about 9/11. I feel guilty because I was not directly affected by anyone that I loved losing their life or having their lives dramatically altered by the attacks. Of course, like all Americans, my life was indirectly affected. I also feel guilty because while my family has military ties from Nam and previous wars, we don't have anyone who is serving right now. Brandon and I do have some friends who are serving and we recently welcomed him home from Iraq for the last time, hopefully. We also don't have any family/friends who are firefighters or police officers. Geeze!

Anyway, this whole post is jumbled and doesn't make a ton of sense... but I'm just reflecting so please forgive me.

I want to give my biggest, most sincere thanks to all of our service men and women who fight for our lives while risking their own every.single.day. Without you and the sacrifices that your family has to make -- I don't even want to think of what our country would be without you! Thank you!!!!!!

Swagger Wagon

2010-09-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

The first time I saw this video I was cracking up!!! My sister-in-law and I always joke about how we're going to be mini-van moms soon! Ha! She only has one baby now, so she's definitely waiting to get a van for a while but once we have more than one apiece and then gain all of their little buddies that need rides, vans will be in order! I'm not afraid of vans though! Dang, some of the vans are really nice now days!!! They're not like the killer 1989 Dodge Caravan that had fake wood paneling that my mom won free for being a top Tupperware manager! Haha! I was the only young kid in the house at the time too! My mom used to roll up with just me sitting in the back all by myself, how cool were we? Haha!

Anyway, check this video out, love it!

My Black Thumb

2010-09-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

Yard work is not my thing. It never has been. When I was a kid (I feel old saying that...) my mom knew that I would not argue with her when she asked me to clean the inside of the house. Dishes, laundry, vacuuming, even deep cleaning was no problem... but yard work was NOT my bag. It doesn't make sense to me to go bend over, sweat, get itchy from dirt sticking to your sweat, ruin your nails, get nasty feet, get thorns in your butt... and get a backache too! Oh, and don't forget about the dirt in your eye because inevitably your eyeball will itch and you'll forget you have dirty hands! GAH! This goes for berry picking too. My mom & her side of the family love to berry pick! What the heck!? Who LOVES that?! No way. I'll pay the local berry farmers to do it for me thank.you.very.much.

Anyway, like any one else, I enjoy the look of a well maintained yard and of beautiful flowers too. So, every year I try to have a hanging plant or two to give the front of our house some color. Oh, and I hire someone for the yearly cleanup duties too so we don't look COMPLETELY Whiskey Tango.

This year, we built an outdoor patio or "smoking area" as we sometimes call it at the family Biz. Four years ago, or so... Washington State passed the "no smoking in bars/restaurants" law (thank God, if you ask me.) We put in a patio so people can take their beverages outside to enjoy their 'grittes. Fortunately, it is a big enough area that non-smokers can enjoy it as well without getting smoked out. :)

My dear husband was at a local nursery in early July once the outdoor patio was finished and spotted some beautiful hanging baskets that were HUGE and marked 50% off. He nabbed one for the family biz and one for us too! How sweet he is! :)

Well, we have a resident Green Thumb which happens to be our day bartender/server. He is always bringing in amazing bouquets from his own garden to freshen up the place. So, naturally, the basket that is hanging in the outdoor patio is flourishing!

Mine, however, looks like it spent the summer in the Mojave for the love of God!

I have a good explanation. When I leave the house in the morning, I am always rushed. I pull out of the garage and can see the plant and try to make a mental note to water it that evening when I get home. But, I sure as heck don't have time to stop the car, get out and water the danged thing then! So then, that evening, I usually get home after dark. So, I pull into the garage once again and don't see the damned plant! It's not unless I have to get the dogs from the front porch that I see the plant. I should have written myself a reminder or set a reminder in my cell phone. Something. Geeze. Poor plant!

In other news, Friday was a beautiful day! I'm sure it was one of our last nice days but it was a perfect summer day of 83 degrees! That is a beautiful thing in the PNW! So, I was home most of the day and let the Libster outside a bit. She doesn't go outside unless she is supervised so she's mighty thankful when I let her out to roll and bask in the sunshine!

Then, later... in order to pay me back for being so nice and letting her outside, she got her head stuck in the trailmix I was snacking on. Way to be sneaky...

Finally, while I was home Friday, ~~watching too much tv and wasting a gorgeous day~~ doing chores before work, this GIANT spider flew out of my sock pile!

SICK! Holy COW! I mean, I know its no tarantula... but that sucker is LARGE! I promptly left the sock pile and returned fifteen minutes later to kill the spider with a hanger. I had to wait that long to build up the courage to do so! :)

Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!!! I hope you all will be enjoying all things BBQ, sunshine and good company! :)

Who Ya Rootin' For?

2010-09-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

I was raised a Husky. Brandon has just literally always rooted for the Dawgs since he was a tot. I suppose a lot of it has to do with coming from generations of Western Washingtonians. Typically the Eastern side of the state roots for our rival, ~~Washington State University~~. With the exception of ONE cousin on my mom's side who went to our rival school, my family are all Dawg fans. The University of Washington is all Brandon and I know. Neither of us have attended UW, yet. I will attend there in a few years if I actually decide to become a teacher.

Hubbs is pretty hardcore. For his birthday last month, I got him a set of highly sought after tickets and so did his parents. He's so excited to enjoy a couple of games from Husky Stadium because last year we worked too much on Saturdays and he didn't get to go at all!

In true Seattle style, the stadium is right by the shores of Lake Washington! Beautiful!

While I like sports and I like football... I certainly don't get all worked up about it. I do understand Brandon's viewpoint that college is so much more exciting to him than the NFL. I enjoy that the game isn't about million dollar contracts and brand new stadiums and is more about the game and the kids playing. But to let the outcome of a football game ruin my day... or even my week? Not going to happen! ;)

Brandon says he's nervous for the game today. We'll see how it turns out! As for us and our home? We will serve the DAWGS! Purple & Gold baby!

Who are YOU Rootin' for and why?

Giva-who? Giva-what? GiveAWAYS!

2010-08-31T23:16:00.000-07:00

I have yet to win one of Jens giveaways from A Daily Dose of Davis... but im hoping for this time! She's giving away a fitness ball thingie-ma-bob! You know, the one I roll off of because I'm really sweaty while working out? Ha! You should try to win too! Go check it out at: http://littlebabyaddison.blogspot.com

Jen's SIL Diana, who is hilarious, is offering a giveaway too! What was this, family blog giveaway week??? ;o) kidding, you two! Go check her blog out too. She's the ultimate 'Do-it-yourself' in the kitchen, garden, chicken coop (ha!) lady! Http://theapplepiegal.blogspot.com

By the way... posting from my trusty phone's browser... so if there are misspellings or other whacky things, give me a pass... kay? :0) I know the blog addy's aren't going to pop up as links, you'll have to copy & paste! Remember how? I kid.

Not Much to Say

2010-08-21T23:57:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to say tonight... but it's been a while since I posted. I am on my last week of vacation from school for the summer (I got a whopping 3 weeks.) I return to classes on the 30th and will have no breaks until I am done.done.done.... in DECEMBER! Of course, I will have a break for Thanksgiving but other than that I have a crazy schedule! My last classes are Theories of Personalities (not really looking forward to it...), Research Project I & II (Senior req), and another elective of my choice. I really am not looking forward to all of the writing that the next 16 weeks is going to have in store for me... icka!

I am so looking forward to being done with school. I am looking forward to being less stressed and having more time to focus on myself and Brandon and living healthier lifestyles. I have recently been thinking/realizing how much stress has an impact on our health. Not only my mental health but my physical health too. Ugh! I am looking forward to actually having time to do fun activities every week or even just be lazy on weekday evenings after cooking dinner MYSELF before ten o'clock.

Anyway, I'm being a bit negative I think. I have just felt a bit more somber lately so I guess this is why... I'm just tired. :)

On a brighter note... I opened another savings account with our credit union about six or seven months ago and I have been stashing money here and there throughout the months. I have been *trying* not to remember the amounts I've been putting in and have only asked for the balence a couple of times. : !!!!!!!!!!!!! (that's my excited face!) We have enough stashed to use my mom's timeshare here in December after I graduate and we also have enough for airfare/car/hotel in Arizona (probably Scottsdale) for a long weekend this fall!!!! Hubbs hasn't been on a vacation that was extra relaxing for two years... So, I think the long weekend in AZ will be great for him to golf and for us to visit old friends. Even if its only for two nights, it will be awesome!!! I sure hope we can go... Running a family business tends to ruin our plans sometimes... *crossing fingers!* I am super excited about going to Cabo. My parent's bought into the RCI/Pueblo Bonito timeshares over ten years ago and the resorts are seriously amazing. We stayed at this one for our honeymoon (thanks Mom & Don!) and we never wanted to leave the resort... dreamland. Anyway, so I'm glad I decided to write about our possible upcoming vacations because that put positive thoughts in my head!!!

I'm off to look up flights... :)

Oh, and to TAPG.... I still have more Jackson Tales! I will get to them. For goodness sakes, I haven't even told you about how he broke out of the same house window TWICE or ate our car! Gosh! So much to share!

Random Pictures From My Phone...

2010-08-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

I suppose I could have titled this ' A Day in the Life..." HA! Is it just me that finds totally random things on my phone that I thought were cool enough to snap a quick picture of? Mostly mine are of the babies or my animals... Here are a few!

I woke up from a lazy Sunday afternoon nap to this. If she had been ANY closer to my face she would have been sitting on it. :)

I finally think that baby E is ready for the park. Before, there wasn't a whole lot she could do but eat wood chips! HA! So, we've ventured out a bit... She is so independent so I supervise closely but she just does her own thing. The slide backwards is a popular choice.

I have a set of about five of this same picture... except she has her head turned LEFT or RIGHT in every one of them!!! No, E! Look HERE!!!

Then, there's baby Nickolai. He is NOT a fan of sleeping... EVER. So, we have a process... I swear the entire 20 minute process negates his 25 minute nap, but whatever. Stage #1

Stage #2 occurs about... ten minutes later?

Oh, shhhhh! Finally! Now, to transport him to the crib... that's tricky!

It is a sad day when poor Pink Floyd gets spit on... :(

I could never forget about Sasha, the niece dog. Silly girl, she thinks she's a cat!!!

Ok, well that's about all of the clear ones I have for now! These animals and kids move fast!

The Jackson Tales Part 2

2010-08-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

Brandon waited in the car while I walked our still spooked "Lindsay" into the pound. On our entrance into the compound (its big - really big,) I couldn't help but notice the billboard that stated how many animals they put down per year. The sign reminded me to "Think twice..." Um, CRAP! I kept dragging the scruffy dog towards the entrance into the building. When we entered the waiting room the stench that permeates any animal care facility hit us like a wall. I took a number and waited patiently to speak to someone about the dog. My plan had changed in the thirty seconds from leaving the car to entering the building: I no longer would leave the dog here unattended. If he was chipped I would see if they would give me the owner's information personally or I would leave my information so they owner could contact me to get the dog. If he wasn't chipped... well, if he wasn't chipped then I would just take him and figure something out.

After waiting for ten or so minutes I was directed to walk the dog outside and around the corner to a warehouse of sorts where someone would scan Lindsay for a microchip. When the scanner didn't pick up any chip I really started to get a nervous stomach. *What am I going to do with a dog?* *Brandon is going to kill me* *We're leaving in five days back home to Washington for his sister's wedding... WHAT WILL I DO????* I walked him back into the building to discuss his likelihood of being treated and adopted out. The lady point blank told me that with his skiddish demeanor and rough physical condition she doubted he would make it into the next week at the shelter. For a quick second I mistook her statement as meaning that he was so cute and lovable that he would be adopted right away. That is not at all what this lady was implying.

Without a second thought, I walked the dog back to the car. When I opened the door to get in, I gave Brandon one look that must have screamed "NOT ONE WORD!" because he just drove and got back on the freeway headed for home. He gave me about five minutes of silence before he inquired about my plan. I'm glad he gave me a bit to think... because my plan was certainly not very clear. I decided I needed to have him seen by a vet to determine if anything was seriously wrong for him as well as to get him on treatment for the ticks. In the meantime I would list him as lost on petfinder and look for rescue organizations to take him.

I had to find him a home.

.......Brandon will never let me keep him.......

A Quarter Century...

2010-07-30T00:45:00.000-07:00

Brandon turns the big two.five today. Woah! That's a milestone, right?

It's funny how he sees himself. He's really harsh on himself... I suppose we all are. I certainly don't want to me airing my man's dirty laundry... But sometimes I wonder what goes through his noggin. All the while, I'm sure he does the same with me when I talk about my fat rolls for the eighth time during dinner. Most recently he is down on himself for not being in a "career." Or, having not graduated from college. I have to find ways to nonchalantly remind him that while he may not be a scientist or professor, he provides for us and our "family" more than adequately. College pathways are shoved down kids' throats so early these days. I understand why and certainly agree with most of the reasoning. However, it also leads to a level of dissatisfaction or failure for those of our generation that haven't yet figured out their niche in life. I definitely have felt the crunch since I have been out of high school for over six years now (and have been in college 5.5 yrs of that 6) and am still working on my BA. Shhhh! Don't tell anyone that! It's embarrassing!

I'm beginning to ramble, I know. I'm really good at rambling. My point is that Brandon is so successful in my eyes (as well as everyone else that loves him!) and sometimes I wish he could see what I do. He is a huge asset to our family's business and it literally would not be what it is today if he weren't a part of it. I know that the business will be missing a huge chunk when Brandon does in fact find his passion in life. He is a provider for our family, especially right now with me in school full time. I work my buns off too, but he has more earning potential than I do and I appreciate him sacrificing his time and energy so I can finish my degree. He puts in sixty hour work weeks nearly every week and that just isn't normal. I have a hard working man and for that I am proud!!!

He doesn't read my blog and makes fun of me for having one to begin with... but I wanted to share my love for my man anyway! We are celebrating this weekend BIG TIME! :) I am working his lunch shift tomorrow while he gets an hour and a half massage *ahhh* and then spends the afternoon golfing with his parents. Then, we got our dinner/closing shifts covered and we are going out to the Melting Pot with friends of ours for din din! Then, Saturday we are headed to Herron Island to relax for the rest of the weekend in some friends' beach cabin! We're hoping to enjoy our lovely 70 something weather while kayaking or just combing the beach!

I figure we better take advantage of as much relaxing and time to ourselves before the chillin's arrive. You know, *someday.*

I love this picture because it shows what a goofball he is!!! I know, it looks a little like he may be a switch hitter... but I promise he was just being goofy! :)

Love ya babe! Can't wait to grow many years older with you! :) Happy Happy Birthday!

The Jackson Tales Part 1

2010-07-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if I have ever shared the full story that brought Jackson into our lives... I'm too lazy to go read my first post so I will give a series of posts that will bring us all up to speed on my main man. Well, my main furry man. :)

July 14th, 2007 I was driving down a main drag in Mesa, Arizona around midnight. We were killing time because we had to pick Brandon up after his shift at the lovely Red Lobster. We came up on a frantic looking dog that was running like a mad man in the middle of the street, literally.

*Sidenote*
I'm not sure how it is in other parts of the country, but up here in Washington, most main roads the speed limit is between 30-45 depending on how busy, how wide and how curvy! We have several highways that the speed limit is higher, but main roads through cities and towns are different. Well, in Arizona the main roads are of course all N/S and E/W. The Phoenix Valley is literally a grid which is great for getting around! However, all of the main roads are four lanes (two on each side) and while the speed limit is 35-45mph everyone goes 60+. No joke. Well, except for the snowbirds that all slow traffic down which is a hazard in itself.

So, with that tidbit of information, you can imagine my fright when I realize that the oncoming traffic's red light had just turned green and here are a whole buttload of cars headed in this poor dog's way. I sped up, pulled into the center lane and jumped out of my car in attempt to scare him out of the road. It worked. He went running off into the subdivision that was on the other side of the street. I got back into my car and kept driving. While waiting in the Lob's parking lot for Brandon I couldn't get my mind off of the dog. I kept thinking... is he okay? Why is he so frantic? He's obviously lost... Should I call animal control? Should I go back? Well, it doesn't take a genius to figure out which thought process I went with...

So, fast forward to 45 minutes later. The dog is in the back of my SUV and I'm picking Brandon up from work (late, might I add.) The dog's odor is absolutely atrocious and he is spooked out of his mind. Oh, and I should add that Brandon was peeved. Like, extra peeved. I don't blame him, either. We lived in student housing for Arizona State University and quite honestly we didn't have a budget that included a dog. So, I promised that I would take him to the pound the next day.

When we arrived home that night, I proceeded to give "Lindsay" (his temporary name... I found him on Lindsay Road and I thought he was a girl... whoops!) a bath to rid him of his terrible stink. In the process, I found over 75 ticks on the poor dude and several "road rash" wounds that looked like they had attempted to heal to only be reopened. He spent the night in an empty room in our house. The next morning, we loaded him up and I regretfully walked him into the Maricopa County Animal Shelter.

To Be Continued...

C25K Update...

2010-07-25T01:06:00.000-07:00

I don't think I mentioned over here that I joined Jen in her quest to be fit... We started the Couch to 5k program 5 *or so* weeks ago. It started as an email group that morphed into a full on Facebook group. Its cool because there are several of us women at all different stages of fitness and life and we all are keeping each other motivated!!!

I do not run. Never have... except when I played basketball in middle school and my freshman year of high school. Or, if there is a fire.

I repeat... I do not run. Well, at least I didn't used to!

But!

I've completed almost 3 weeks of this thing! Ah*maze*ing!!!! It has been a positive program that starts you out in increments that are attainable instead of just reaching for an unrealistic goal. I really do think that is the main thing that makes so many people successful at it!

So, I just wanted to gloat for a bit. I am behind week wise, but I am so proud of myself for slowly making progress... I can't usually say that!!! I am reasonable enough to know I will probably finish this program in more like 11 or 12 weeks instead of the 9 that it is originally set up for, but that is OK with me!

A big thanks to my friend, JEN for keeping me motivated!!! She's on week 5! Holy wowzers!!!

In other news, its a slow weekend for restaurants/bars. Annnd, it's my long weekend. Meaning I work all three nights this weekend. FUN! Not. :) But, we did recently put in an outdoor patio area that is awesome! We have some tables & chairs as well as some flowers and stuff out there to make it look pretty. So, now people can enjoy their beer in the sunshine!

Signing off for now... that ended up being a random post! Happy Sunday everyone!

Summer TV Favorites

2010-07-13T15:30:00.000-07:00

I always feel a sense of emptiness when my favorite primetime shows have their season finales. That is kind of sad, right? I mean, I feel like TV should not have THAT big of a part of my life. Oh well, I'll have kids someday and then I'll have WAY less time for TV, right? ;0)

Kate Plus Eight

Yep, I'm one of those women. I totally still watch Kate! Those kids crack me up! This past episode was all about their new chickens. Cara and Maddy argued over who got to carry the lone egg back to the house and Collin proved himself to be Mr. Macho Man by doing a bunch of the heavy lifting himself! :)

Real Housewives New Jersey

Jacqueline has always been my favorite out of this cast with Caroline coming in as my 2nd favorite. I just love how laid back Jacqueline is and she seems very normal. Well, as normal as those rich people can be! ha! I watch these reality shows to get a peak into these people's normalcy, not for the drama. Except, I think that drama is Teresa and Danielle's normal. So, last nights episode was in one word *crazy*. Woah! I must say, I will be very disappointed if they keep Danielle on the cast. Her and Kelly Bensimone need to go to a mental hospital. Geeze!

Bethenny's Getting Married!

Bethenny was my favorite housewife from the start of RHWNY so I was thrilled when they started a spin off for her. I happen to think she's hilarious... I know she can be bitchy but hey, we all can be a little snarky right? I was really proud of her for sticking to her grounds with Jill because while I liked Jill for the first season this season she seemed very two faced and only concerned with how she "looked" in the eyes of her oh-so-precious NY Socialites. And her BFF LuAnn makes me gag. *Eck*!

I got off track... So this episode "So Hoppy Together" was so great! I can't help it, I just feel really happy for both of them! I love Jason's family... his mom cracks me up. She kept talking about how her Xanex helped her nerves! HA! Bethenny is definitely a crack up and her peeing in the garbage can was a great moment. It shows me that she doesn't take herself too seriously and I think that's important for famous people. Out of all of my crappy TV, this is the only show that Brandon will watch with me! He thinks she's funny too. Cookie cracks me up too! I love that her wedding planner kept calling Cookie Kujo (however you spell that!)

So, those are my favorite shows during the summer. Thankfully I have DVR so I just keep them stacked up for a while and then sit down and watch them all at once. I have a really weird schedule so I usually only have time to watch over an hour of TV once or twice a week. I suppose that's a good thing!! :0)

What are your favorite shows? Or, are you a better person than me and you don't watch crappy summer TV?! Haha!

What's In a Personality Type?

2010-07-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

A big part of my program at school revolves around the study of interpersonal communications. I find it SO interesting as we clearly partake in these situations multiple times daily. It seems like such a *duh* to me that we should all study them! Knowing ourselves and how we best communicate will only allow us to improve on all relationships in our lives. Well, I should say... it will give us the tools to be able to improve those relationships. Certainly, not everyone will use those tools! I have found myself profiling my family members and friends also which I have used in a good way. I suppose that could have a negative aspect too! Ha!

More than one of my classes has focused on different personality types and how they play into communciation styles, etc. We have used the Meyers-Brigg test to indicated what each of us tend to lean towards. I have taken this free test several different times and I always come up with the same answer....

ENFJ

Hmm... so what does that mean? Ha!

E- Extroverted
N- Intuative
F- Feeling
J- Judging

Here is a great summary of the ENFJ type:
Extraverted feeling types seek continuity through harmonious relationships and collective values. They excel at picking up on the tone of a situation and acting accordingly, adding warmth to a cool setting or turning sour into sweet. They naturally seek to know what people do well, what they enjoy, and where and how they work. They seem to have an infinite number of acquaintances from all walks of life and are always on the lookout for people in need and those who can help out. ENFJs weave and strengthen the collective fabric of social conventions and interactions. Inclusiveness is important and they are particularly sensitive to those who are excluded.

ENFJs focus on others, feeling a glow when those around them are happy, and troubled when something is amiss. They are natural cheerleaders, often expressing support, gratitude, and encouragement, and heaping praise onto those they appreciate. They take note of what is being done and what needs doing, offering their assistance wherever necessary.
ENFJs enjoy organizing group activities and tend to take their commitments seriously. In general, they are reliable and do not like to disappoint others. As team players and project leaders, they have a gift for rallying their players, focusing on what is being done right and each member's strengths. They are loyal and they expect loyalty. They carry conversations well, finding common ground with their speaker. They tend to find the correct and gracious way to respond in any given situation, no matter how tense or uncomfortable it is.

source

Of course, this description only notes the positive sides to an ENFJ and while I am not claiming that everything about my personality is great, there are definitely good things! :) I can relate with almost all of this description. One of my main disagreements is that I am usually not very gracious. Ha! I tend to open my mouth too much and sometimes in a not so nice manner. But, I am aware and working on that!!!

So, if you made it to the bottom of this lengthy post... have you ever taken the MB test? If not, go do it! It's interesting! If you have, what type are you and do you find that it describes you pretty well? I'm interested to hear the feedback!

Win a Few of Her Favorite Things....

2010-07-07T01:06:00.000-07:00

While catching up on my bloggy buddies' latest posts (ahem, like the past months worth...) I realized my PNW buddy, Jenn was having a giveaway! She's calling it... A Few of Her Favorite Things! Cute. I decided I like all of her favorite things and you should go check it out! :)

If I were going to give away some of my favorite things they would be:

Burts Bees Chapstick! I love the pomegrante kind...
Philosophy - Amazing Grace Lotion
Lia Sophia Jewelry - Love it!
Purse Hangers - I always give these as gifts! They're a favorite QVC item of mine! :)
My favorite coffee/drink tumblers that are leak free and stainless steel! Love them! Also from QVC!

Hmmm... Maybe I will do a giveaway someday soon... ;)

Prayers for Bennett

2010-07-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

Because I am a lazy blogger... I don't use my google reader or even my dashboard in blogger very often. I usually just check out blogs from Jen's sidebar. It's just easier for me that way. Especially because 9 times out of 10 I am reading blogs from my phone when I'm bored.

That is how I found Adrienne & Jim's family. I've been reading for over a year (I think...) and have prayed for them numerous times. Their entire story is amazing to me... check out their blog for the details. Most recently Adrienne gave birth to their baby Bennett entirely too early because of complications. What a sweet little boy he is.

Please hop over to read about Jim & Adrienne's adventures in adoption and now the birth of their baby Bennett. They can use all of the prayers possible!

See What The Apple Pie Gal Says...

2010-07-06T11:18:00.000-07:00

Jen's sister-in-law started a blog last month... TAPG has made some cameos in pictures that Jen has posted before... but now she has THE REAL DEAL! She has like a billion posts already too! Sheeesh! Way to show off, TAPG! She's funny and talks about Ballz sometimes. Hey, it's good to talk about Apple Pie AND Ballz. They're both really important things in this life!

All joking aside, she has some great input into all things green and do-it-yourself gardening/cooking. So, she's giving away some Environne veggie & fruit wash! I have never heard of this stuff... I keep forgetting to remember to look for it at the store. Forgetting to remember is such an odd phrase... Anyway, go over to The Apple Pie Gal's blog and enter to win! I don't even want to know what yucky chemicals we all consume on our fruits & veggies! Yucka!

Two Wonderful Men

2010-06-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

I sat here for what seems like forever trying to think of a title for this post. I think that is a big indicator as to how hard it is for me to verbalize and express my feelings in regard to losing two dads. TWO. Not just one.

My step dad was my dad for 20 years. He never attempted to replace my biological dad when he died in 1995. I always called him by his name, Don. For most of my life, he was the male figure in my life that supported me in any way a dad is supposed to. He was a typical man with bad jokes ranging from just plain stupid to mildly and very offensive! I remember as a kid I was a total klutz and he used to always ask me "well, did you hurt the pavement?" Of course, he said this about whatever I fell or crashed into... ha!

I have so many wonderful memories of this man and he would have done anything for me at any time. I miss him dearly. We lost him in February of last year. I can still hear his voice talking to me about the Superbowl game. It must have been one of the last times I had a conversation with him before he was intabated at the hospital. I also remember our nightly ritual when I was a little girl. I gave everyone a hug and said goodnight and Don used to always say: "See you in the booty head!" I have no idea where it came from but we used to always say that before bed time. This was one of the last things Brandon and I said to Don before he passed. He had been pretty unresponsive as he was on a lot of pain medications and sedatives at the end. But, when we said that before leaving the hospital the last night he was alive... he nodded his head.

I love you, Don. Brandon and I talk about you every day and wish that we could have done more to keep you with us. But, we need to focus on the happy memories and stories that we have to remember you by... and there are a ton!

I always feel like I have more to say about Don than I do my real dad. I hate that saying "real dad." As if Don were a fake? Anyway, you know what I mean. My real dad was an adventurous man. He was a rally car enthusiast, lover of living on the edge and loved me with all he had. I have recently been running into many of my dad's old friends and they all awkwardly stare at me. It's kind of weird, really. But, I look just like him. I even have his stalky wide calves. *great* I am glad I look like him. I love being a lot like him. I love hearing all of the great stories that these people have to tell. But... it's hard. Some days I can listen to them and some days I can't. In the end, I want to know things. But, it's hard to know that I will never know the man that they are talking about. It is even harder when I realize things like the love of my life will never meet him or my kids won't meet him. It kills me. But, I hate being a whiner. I have become VERY good at being strong and willing away emotions when it comes to his death. I wish with all my might that he could be here one more time to meet Brandon. I wish he could see how much I'm like him... how often I crash into things at work or knock my head on a door. Or, how often I'm LATE! He was always late.

Anyway, I hate to be a downer post on a wonderful day. I had a good friend tell me after Don died to just be thankful that I had two great dads because his dad sucks. I agree, to a point. But I still am stuck in a train of thought that tells me its not fair to have to lose TWO dads before at the age of 24. I am thankful to have had two wonderful men in my life and I cannot wait to see them again someday.

Happy Father's Day to everyone out there!

Paradise Island

2010-06-19T22:38:00.000-07:00

I have been so lucky this weekend to skip out on work (sorry, Hubbs!) and get away to a Puget Sound island with three other girls. One of the girls is a BFF of mine, Shandy. We are about an hour and a half from home on the OTHER side of the Puget Sound from Olympia. It is so peaceful and beautiful here!Yesterday started off as an adventure when we missed the private ferry that only runs every couple of hours... well the nice ferry man came back to get us anyway! I'm SO notorious for being late! Anyway...

It was a beautiful day yesterday and once we got onto Herron Island we started eating, drinking and having fun! I'm pretty sure I've gained 5lbs in the last 36 hours... but whatev. I'm starting a program with Jen on Monday... I'll work it off! We have played Apples to Apples, Taboo, LRC (dice game,) and Yahtzee (how is that spelled!?!) Of course, we've spent time wandering the shores as well! Today was less than stellar weather... which sucked because Shandy and I planned on using the kayaks, but oh well. We spent some quality time napping, sleeping, buying B.Makowski purses off of QVC and eating some more! A WONDERFUL Saturday, if you ask me!

The cabin is on the south side of the island and it has a GORGEOUS view of my personal favorite mountain range, the Olympic Mountains. I will share more pictures later this week! Tata for now, I'm going to go finish watching Knocked Up with the girls and enjoy my last 12 hours of relaxation!

I think I forgot to mention...

2010-06-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

I met Pioneer Woman!

Yes, it's true. I am a follower of the one and only, P-Dub. She cracks me up every time I take the time to browse her posts. I fell in love with her step by step instructions that are included with her recipes long ago. Then, she introduced Tasty Kitchen, which is similar to All Recipes and the like. However, I just have a thing about supporting an every day mom type of gal that has put so much time and effort into something like this!

Anyway, she released a cookbook sometime last fall and I remember being very disappointed when I realized there were no book signings close to me. Thankfully, after the holidays she finally came to the PNW!!! Then, my heart sank when I realized she would be in Seattle on a Saturday night. *gulp* I work each and every Saturday night and there is no way that ~~my husband~~ my boss would be down for the idea of me having to cover a shift to meet P-Dub. He'd say... P-Who? In fact, he did say that. I had to remind him kindly that she is the famous blogger that writes about her ranch, cows and her basset hound! Then, he remembered. He has a soft spot for farm animals. Well, it must have been my lucky week because she was coming to a suburb of Portland that same week on a MONDAY which happened to be my full day off that week. Whoooo Hooo! So, I ~~coerced~~ asked my mom to join me on my two hour trek south and she obliged. But, she had the same reaction that my husband did: P-Who?

We arrived at the Powell's bookstore in Beaverton, OR a whole three hours early as I had read blog posts from the signing in Seattle saying that the lines were outrageous. Lucky for me, we ended up being the 19th & 20th people in line! My mom patiently waited with me, running for Starbucks and also reading her new cookbook that I bought as a thanks for coming with me. :) There ended up being a LOT of people that turned out to see her so I was so glad we showed up early.

I have a couple of pictures to share... but unfortunately my camera died RIGHT BEFORE I went up to meet her. A nice lady a few seats down offered to take my picture and email it to me, but I have yet to receive the email. :o( Oh well, I still met Ree, listened to her talk to all of us about her regular ol' life and shook her hand. Oh, AND she signed MY cookbook! Ok, I had her sign three cookbooks. Whatever, they weren't ALL to me... and who is really counting?

Here are the few photos that I have of the day:

Mom holding my Starbucks... so I could take a picture of her!

From April/May/June 2010

See? Lots of people love P-Dub! We were at the very FRONT of all these people! Yessss!

From April/May/June 2010

She took about 15 minutes to answer a bajillion questions from the audience. She was so gracious!

From April/May/June 2010

Thanks Mom! I had fun! I'm glad you love P-Dub now too! :o)

From April/May/June 2010

Now, if you haven't heard of her... or read her blog I suggest you do. It's worth it, I promise. :o)

Family Gatherings

2010-06-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

**If you came here earlier this evening... this post was a mess! I apologize! I thought I left it in draft form, I'm blog-challenged!**
We make an effort (especially on Brandon's side) to get together for everyone's birthdays. Of course, sometimes we have to wait a week here or there... but we're pretty good about getting together for a dinner to celebrate birthdays. My SIL's birthday falls on Memorial Day weekend so we didn't do a dinner until this last weekend. BIL/SIL made home made Chinese dishes (yum!) and I made a yummy chocolate peanut butter cake for dessert. Little Nickolai is getting so big, he'll be three months next week. His mama is going back to work and his daddy gets to take 6 weeks off with him! Then, I get him all to myself! I can't wait to hang out with the little man!

Here's the yummy cake I made!!! Find the recipe here! It was REALLY good! I loved the frosting! It didn't really fit the Chinese theme, but I got that memo a bit too late!

From Spring/Summer 2010

I had to fill in for Irina while she breastfed... Making some noodle dish.

Sous Chefs... Wine, Sake & Gyozas in the background (you know, the important stuff..!)

From April/May/June 2010

Our final dinner spread! Delish!!!

From April/May/June 2010

The Birthday Lady and I

From April/May/June 2010

Grandpa holding little Nickolai... he had a grin on his face for a reason. That reason landed us in the next picture with Grandma doing the dirty work.

From April/May/June 2010

But... that's ok! Nickolai likes Grandma best!!! He talks WAY more to her than anyone else! Maybe he knows that she spoils him rotten already. Her most recent purchases have him all decked out in new duds for his swim lessons this summer. He has so many different outfits those kids at the pool will be SO jealous! I mean, what baby can be seen in the same swim trunks TWICE, anyway? ;o)

From April/May/June 2010

While it is sometimes hard to find time in our busy schedules to all get together, at the end of the day, I am so glad we do. Family is certainly important to Brandon and I and we want to raise our kids (someday) with their cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents!!! Plus, this is the reason I can never lose weight... This family revolves around food!!! The family biz is a bar and grill for goodness sakes! Okay, okay... I just like to blame them!!!

Shoes On... or Off?

2010-06-06T01:17:00.000-07:00

This will probably seem like a silly question. There, fair warning. I'm a totally random type of person.

Brandon comes from a "shoes in the house" family. I come from a "shoes left at the door" family. What a predicament! I have gotten lazier as the years go by... But I recently made a very friendly sign to hang on our garage door that states: "DON'T BE LAZY! Take your shoes OFF!" to remind us to do so! Usually, I find that I just forget because I'm so used to waltzing into the house and straight into my closet to change my clothes! Our house was brand new, two years ago when we bought it. TWO YEARS! Wow, that snuck up on me... Anyway, the carpet definitely looks older than that! We walk through our laundry room which leads to a hallway to the main part of the house on one side and then our master bedroom on the other side. Well, the majority of our house is carpet, which isn't favored by most these days, but I actually prefer. However, our carpet is builder grade carpet and is not wearing so well. We are not going to replace the carpet any time soon... so we need to preserve it! So, I have two questions...

What kind of storage system do you use (if you do) in your laundry room/mud room/garage to store shoes? Right now I just use a wicker basket but it really isn't the best solution.

How do you politely ask guests to remove their shoes? I can't help but notice when people don't take their shoes off... they may as well be wearing big glowing green alien shoes because they stand out so much to me!!! I don't want to be rude, I just want to keep my carpets nice! Our weather out here tends to be wet... which equals mud... ick! Even if its not muddy, I just don't want people's dirty shoes on my carpets OR my furniture!!!

So... that was random. But any advice would be welcome!!! :0)

One More LA Wedding Post...

2010-05-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

I promise this is the last time I will blab about my BFF's wedding in SoCal! Betsy Blue, her amazing photographer, posted a link to her blog on facebook today. Turns out, Betsy entered some of her photos to the Style Me Pretty wedding blog and Kristine & Uriah's pictures are featured!!! Bets did an amazing job... I find it funny reading the comments on the Style Me Pretty blog about the details of the wedding... Kristine did all of the planning and visionary work herself! I admit, half of the time I thought she was crazy! HA! It ended up being the most beautiful wedding I've ever been to and I am so proud to say that I stood by her as her maid of honor up at that beautiful alter!!!

So, anyway... go check out Betsy's blog and the Style Me Pretty blog too!!! Sigh... it makes me wish I could get married again and have a TON of money to do it with! :) Not to say that I didn't appreciate our wedding, it was beautiful too!!! :)

Top 2 Tuesday.... Dates!

2010-05-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

This week's Top 2 Tuesday topic is... Dates!

I honestly am having a hard time choosing just two dates... Brandon and I have been together for over seven years and we still have no children... so we've been lucky to have LOTS of dates!!! :)

One of my favorite dates will definitely have to be the night he proposed, December 16th 2007. I totally knew it was coming, but it ended up being perfect. We lived in Arizona at the time and it was Christmas season (my favorite!) We had both worked a lunch shift that Sunday but Brandon had told me earlier in the week he wanted to go out for a nice dinner after our shift that day. So, I knew it was coming. I even told some of our buddies at work I thought it was happening, but I didn't want to ruin his plans. So, I tried with all my might to just be quiet! That was TOUGH! As we pulled into The Phoenician in Scottsdale I sent a quick text message to my BFF Kristine (the one who just got married) and then Brandon yanked the phone from my hand and threw it in the backseat! Oh no! I left her hanging! I sent a text that implied what was happening and then she was left in suspense for the next 2.5 hours! Anyway, it was such a peaceful dinner because the restaurant was super slow on a Sunday evening but there was a pianist playing Christmas tunes on a beautiful grand piano. That is SO up my ally! I love piano music and then Christmas music even more! :) So, we ate a beautiful meal that was VERY expensive (um, we were poor college kids!) and then we paid and walked outside and around the hotel grounds and I made some snarky remark about how we spent $200 on dinner and no proposal?! It was one of those moments where I definitely didn't think before I spoke... ha! Well, thankfully I didn't piss him off too much and about five minutes later down the path in front a beautiful fountain he got down on one knee and said about a million beautiful things. It was perfect. He proposed with a ring that was my moms... he knew I would want to have a part in the ring decision and it meant a lot because I knew he had to of asked my mom for that ring months previous when we were home visiting everyone. I still don't know how he hid the ring from me! I'm snoopy! Anyway, the night ended with me finally being able to text Kristine and then we called my parents (of course, my mom knew!) and they were so happy for us. Those are the only three people I contacted. Then, we drove around looking at Christmas lights throughout the lovely cookie cutter Arizona neighborhoods! :) It was fabulous! He made the night so special just by doing some of my favorite things.

The other favorite date that sticks out in my mind is way back in 2004, the year we graduated high school. That summer we spent our time working and glued together... like normal 18 year old kids... right? Ha! Anyway, one day we decided to head down to a local beach town about two hours away and have a getaway. We drove down there and rented a hotel room and found some adventure. We walked the beach for hours and found a quaint little bed & breakfast to have dinner at. After dinner we took a blanket down to the beach and sat together listening to the waves. Brandon had bought me a promise ring and he gave it to me while we were down there on the beach... it was very romantic (I suppose!) I only have one picture of this date and it is of us at dinner but it was a special day and a half! :) We rented mopeds the next day and proceeded to get stuck on the beach several times! We had a blast!

It is funny to me that my two favorite dates are semi-romantic... because I am SO not a romantic person. It makes me feel all awkward and uncomfortable and I usually make an ass out of myself some how because I feel weird (like my snarky comment about no proposal yet!) But these two dates just remind me how doing simple stuff together just makes us so happy! We are such dorks that wearing the goofy helmets and getting stuck in the sand on our mopeds was a blast! Haha! Anyway, if you want to share your favorite dates... go over to Taylor's blog and play along!

Reusable Gift Wrap Giveaway!

2010-05-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

My friend Jen at A Daily Dose of Davis has been integrating Eco-Friendly Friday into her weekly posts. She has come up with some great ideas! Since wedding season is right around the corner, her post this week was on gift wrap.

I admit, I'm a sucker for a beautifully wrapped present. I love when someone takes the time and effort into making something look beautiful for me and I thoroughly enjoy wrapping presents that I am giving. However, it is SO wasteful. Some of the options that Jen has suggested are really beautiful! Hop on over to her blog to see what you think... and enter her giveaway!

Wishful Wednesday & Top Two Tuesday... Late!

2010-05-19T23:56:00.000-07:00

It's Wednesday again... and this time I'm going to cheat. I will do this week's Wishful Wednesday topic first.... then last week's Top Two Tuesday. Just because houses get me all excited like that. I have had posts from last week in my drafts and just haven't gotten around to posting them!

First up... I "wish" I could come home to this bedroom every night...

I love the light airy look of this room but it is classically fussy... just like I like it! Ha! A lot of nic nak type of things and I LOVE the chandelier! Yowza! Check out the detail of the ceiling also... very unique.

I also love this room and it may be a better mixture of Brandon and I rather than so girly and much simpler...

The warm colors in this room make it very inviting and I love the bed and the tray ceiling. The only thing I would add to this bedroom is a fireplace!

Now, a master suite would not be complete without one of these...

Ahhh... bath time!

Oh, and of course... one of these!

This makes my closet (ha!) type A organized heart go pitter patter... *sigh*

Now, on to Taylor's Top Two Tuesday... I'm only 8 days late... geeze.

The topic last week was DREAM HOUSES!

I have to pick two?! That is a difficult task people! My mom has been a Realtor for as long as I can remember... so when most of the people my age remember watching Animaniacs and Saved By the Bell I remember following my mom in and out of countless houses. Even now, I would much rather attend Seattle Street of Dreams or even our own Thurston County Street of Dreams than go to Nordy's Half Yearly Sale any day. I mean, really! My mom showed Brandon and I over 30 homes in the area when it was time to buy our starter home. We lucked out and found a really nice house... but a girl can dream right!? Oh yes... this girl can dream! Someday I will have a mini version of my dream home, because really... I don't need over 2,500 square feet!
I typically go for French Country styled homes or at least more Traditional homes. Every once in a while a Craftsman will tug at my heart strings or even a traditional PNW home with cedar shingles. Here are some examples of things I love!

Here is a classic Pacific Northwest exterior. I would love this house nestled on acreage or even on a fairway of a nice golf course with a view of the Olympics behind it... :) We need to have the golf course for Brandon!

This is a more classic French Country style that I love...

Isn't this one gorgeous at night? How fun would it be to entertain around that pool!?

I would love to have a kitchen that looks something like this....

Well, that was fun! If you made it to the end of this post... thanks! I had fun looking for houses and bedrooms. But, I must say if I ever get the blessing of owning a home like any of these I would definitely need this service to help me out! :)

Beautiful May Days

2010-05-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

May has proven to be gorgeous so far. Its days like we've had recently that make up for all of the rain and cloudy days in the PNW. Good thing the weather has been great because I feel like I'm slowly sinking in quicksand.

School has me completely overwhelmed. I've been enrolled (again!) for the last ten months and I only have six months left until I will have completed my BA in Organizational Leadership *cue the confused looks*. Some day I will elaborate more on what my degree is centered around. In a nutshell, it is the human side of businesses. The infrastructures of HR and how important they are in the big picture. I'm learning how to be a successful and effective leader wich will help me in literally every aspect of my life.

The problem with school is that I am on an accellerated timeline meaning I am finishing courses that would typically be completed within a semester in 8 weeks. Yowza.

Work doesn't stress me out, thankfully. Its just a time sucker. I will admit that bartending is definitely a means to an end and not something I enjoy much, but it is what it is. I love my days with baby E though. She's kind of a monster some times but it is just her curiosity and zest for ACTION! Ha! That child is wild! She's just over a year and not quite walking... we have a great time.

Then there is that thing we all know as "life.." both of our moms birthdays are in May, Mother's Day, my SIL's birthday and every other random thing that pops up. I feel like I can't keep up!

Then, last week we almost lost my Grandma. My Gram means SO much to me. I have lost four Grandparents and two parents... the thought of losing her made me almost have a breakdown. She was airlifted to Harborview which is the number one Trauma Center in ID, MT, WA and AK... I am so thankfulthat they got her there in time and she's now recovering. If I didn't believe in the power of prayer before last week... I certainly do now.

So, I am thankful for so many things in my life and I love my life. However, I'm going through a rough patch! I will make it through though! The beautiful day spent out on the lake in our boat today helped... :)

Happy Friday!

Wishful Wednesday

2010-04-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

This week's topic is:
'I wish' .... I could go back and spend one day working at a job from my youth, and it would be ______!

BABYSITTING!

Oh wait... I kind of still do that. Except, I call myself a nanny these days. Because, well... I just like it better. :) Honestly, I have always loved kids. Especially infants to about 4 yrs old. They're so fun for me to watch learn and grow. I can't wait to have my own someday. *yikes*

More specifically, I used to watch our neighbor kids. It started out with the little boy named Evan. He was such a cute little toehead. I must have only been about 13 at the time and our houses shared a private driveway. He'd toddle over to our porch and ring the doorbell randomly and yell "DING DONG!" It was the cutest thing. He also called me "CHESHI" which was cute too. When my family moved into that house Evan was about 2 or 3 and his mom was preggers with his baby sister. I remember when Emily was born too. My BFF Liz who also lived in our neighborhood would come over and braid Em's hair after I gave her a bath. I watched those kids grow up until they moved away... :( Now they are in 6th grade (I think) and middle school. Crazy! I certainly feel old! I last saw them at our wedding and they're gorgeous kids and I can't believe they're so BIG! :)

Recently I have been able to watch another two little girls. I love it! In fact, I fear the day that I have to get a "real job." I am currently watching my nephew's cousin. She's such a firecracker! Her 1st birthday party was just this weekend and I got her one of those Playschool shopping carts and filled it with fruits and vegetables. I also got her some wooden cars and a pull along wooden alligator from our local toy store... so fun!

Anyway, that's my job I wish I could go back to solely! If only I didn't have my own house to tend to, school and another job!!! :)

Hope on over to Kelsey's to read other fun Wishful Wednesday posts!

Wedding & Road Trip 2010 Part 1

2010-04-26T22:46:00.002-07:00

Long time, no post. The story of my life, it seems! This will be a bit of a picture overload, FYI! It just makes it more interesting that way! :)

We pulled out of our driveway at 10:45pm on a Tuesday night headed for the sunny state, CA. We picked up a friend in Portland and continued on our journey throughout the night. Brandon and I have become a great road trip team... he does most of the driving but I stay awake in order to entertain (annoy) him so he won't fall asleep! We made the 18 hour trip very quickly, so it seemed! We arrived in SoCal at rush hour on Wednesday and we were lucky enough to miss out on the traffic! Whooo hoo!

Thursday was the Bachelorette Party day. I still had some running around to do getting some last minute things for the party. We ended up having a blast! We started out at this swanky little bar in Pasadena that provided an awesome atmosphere for us gals! We played some fun and mildly inappropriate games that kept us all entertained! She was a pretty freakin' hot Bachelorette! She had on some killer leopard heels too! :)

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We took a limo into Hollywood from Pasadena and went to a club called My House. It was pretty awesome too. However, speeennndddyyy! They make you buy bottles at these clubs in order to reserve a table for a bunch of people. So, the ten of us split a $300.00 bottle of 3 Olives Berry Vodka! Sheeeesh! But, the plus to buying a bottle is your own private seating, all the mixers you want and servers to help you out! Our feet got a bit tired after dancing and we needed a place to sit anyway! :) After we all had our fill of dancing the limo took us back to Uriah & Kristine's condo in Pasadena. We found the boys like this... They played Xbox 360 the entire time we were gone! Typical!

Friday was the rehearsal and then the rehearsal dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory in Fullerton. Nothing too exciting happened this day, just the typical prep for the next day like getting our nails and toes done! :) We also ate out at the Yard House which I miss from when we lived in AZ! Love their food... and the atmosphere is great too!

This is our Saturday "Wedding Day" in pictures...

MOH and Bridesmaid taking FULL advantage of the Embassy Suite's AWESOME complimentary breakfast!

The bride and her mom waiting for their pampering...

Bridesmaids following the esthetician's directions: Wash, rinse, scrub, rinse then moisturize!

Hair, hair... HAIR!

A teary exchange as the bride's mom gives her a ring to wear that her late father once gave to her mom... All three of us cried, actually!

Most importantly... Helping her into her FABULOUS dress. She was stunning.

We got her in the car without getting the dress dirty! That was amazing, since our car had traveled all the way from WA and was DIIIRRRRTTTYYY!

She looks cool as a cucumber on our way to the park to take early pics of the bridal party...

We were a pretty serious bridal party. Pretty.damned.serious. :)

The bride's uncle made an emergency run to the store for us. On his list? Snacks and BOOZE! :) This was RIGHT before we walked out the door (and right before a bridesmaid tripped and fell on her face... lightening the mood for sure!) and we were both a touch nervous.

That's enough pictures for now, right? I was so dang busy being IN the wedding I don't have any pictures OF the wedding. Plus, we haven't seen the professional pictures yet either... They will be amazing, I'm sure! Betsy Blue Photography is a dream to work with... she does amazing things!

I will write another post soon... but until then, ta ta! :)

A Little of This... A Little of That...

2010-04-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

First... I've been following Emily's blog since she was preggo with little Miss Cate. Cate is SO cute, by the way. She's doing a giveaway over there, so go check her and her cute blog out!!!

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The weather here in the PNW has been oh.so.typical this week. Tuesday was my late step dad's birthday, I thought of him all day. I still can't believe that he would have only been 62. That is just TOO early. Anyway, I especially thought of him when I was cruising down the freeway during a 5 o'clock HAIL STORM and there was a little convertible with its top down. Um, news flash!!! It's MARCH! And, it was NOT a nice day... at all! HAHA! I laughed so hard and I knew that my step dad would have too. :)

Yesterday I started my new set of classes. I have "Organizational Development: Change Management" Um, sounds ENTICING! I kid... And, this Prof is super strict and we have a lot of homework. Not to mention, I'm going to miss one, possibly two classes this term. It's kind of a big deal when you only meet 8 or 9 times. Oh well, I have a wedding to be in!!! :)

Speaking of that wedding... I am trying to make lists like a mad woman and prepare for the road trip, let alone the actual wedding. I'm going to pick up my dress from the bride-to-be's mom today. Have I shared about the dress yet? If not, here it is:

I am happy with the choice. I will admit that it is a bit spendy... we got the jersey version because in our opinion, the satin looks a bit cheap and the jersey is much more versitile but it is still a $250 dress. But, it can be worn SO many ways it is cool and I will definitely wear it again. Since I am the MOH, mine is ball gown length and the other girls' is tea length or shorter. If you haven't seen this dress before, check it out here! It seems that no one is ever happy with bridesmaid dresses and I think that this dress solves a lot of issues. All of us girls can wear it however we choose and we can all wear it again. The bride initially was having dresses made for all of us girls. But, that turned into a HUGE ordeal and we aborted that option about four weeks ago. Yes, six weeks from the wedding we chose different dress options... YIKES!

So, as I said, I'm the MOH for this wedding. I'm a little freaked out. I've been fine so far with all of the planning and jobs of the MOH. I threw them an engagement party in June of 2009... I threw her bridal shower this February... I've tried to help her in any way possible. I'm starting to get nervous though. The wedding is in 10 days and I can feel the grumbles in my tummy starting. Mostly because it's in another state and I have a ton of things to do to prepare myself and Hubbs for leaving our house, animals, jobs and school for a week but mostly I'm SUPER nervous about the speech I'm supposed to give. The bride and I have been friends for many years... but I'm not sure how to approach this. Should I be safe and just say the cliche things that everyone says? Should I try to be funny? Should I get sappy and cry? Please, someone give me some advice!!! I want to say nice things but I don't want to sound like a dumbass! I have never really paid much attention to speeches at weddings and my MOHs didn't give extra long or special speeches at our wedding. However, I did have a bridesmaid tell an embarrassing GAS story. *GASP!* I will NOT be doing that. Thank.you.very.much. Good thing I'm easy going... Errr...

So, that was my random post for the week. I need some feedback on this if anyone has any advice... I'm really nervous. Anyway, happy Thursday to everyone in Blogland! :)

I Love Being An Auntie...

2010-03-29T06:15:00.000-07:00

This little man stole my heart the other day. Lots of babies do that... but Nickolai is special. I'll get to love him, spoil him... feed him lots of sugar and SEND HIM HOME! It's kind of like being a Grandma. Minus the old part. ;o)

Brandon and I are lucky to be able to call him our nephew!

We look forward to cheering on UW while wearing our Purple & Gold together for many years to come!

I love you, little man! I can't wait to spend time with you!!!

Doesn't Brandon look GOOD holding a baby? Yep, I thought so too.

Oh, Baby!

2010-03-17T23:07:00.000-07:00

I'm texting from the family birthing waiting room. We've done this before. Actually, this is almost a repeat of our last adventure here. My SIL is now six days past her due date... what a trooper! We were secretly hoping for a little leprechaun, but it'll be the 18th now...

We've played Sets.
We've played Catch Phrase.
We've played Toss Around Insults.
We've played Guess the Baby's Weight.
We're done playin' around!

The next game will be Guess Who He Looks Like and Who Gets to Hold Him First??

We all have our Team Nickolai shirts on... courtesy of *muah* we're rootin' for ya buddy! C'mon!

I've decided... being an Auntie is my favorite job so far. ;0)

Healthy but TASTY Blueberry Muffins!

2010-03-11T10:33:00.001-08:00

I am a sucker for blueberries. I love them! I wonder if it's because we used to have about 12 bushes... Maybe! I used to make pies like a mad woman. Well, a mad-adolescent, really. Anyway, I put a yummy blueberry muffins candle on top of my stove last week and every time I use the oven it heats up and smells fabuloso! For a while I couldn't figure out what the smell was... but I knew I LOVED it! Ha! Thanks to my dear Hubbs for pointing out the obvious! The candle had half melted on my stove top. Um, duh! So, I have been craving blueberry muffins ever since. However, I'm really trying to stay on track with my eating plan. Not to mention that while I do love to cook I am very short on time these days. So, I picked up a box of Fiber One muffin mix the other day... I made them this morning when E went down for her first nap. They actually are pretty darn good!

I added half of a container of fresh blueberries to the mix... just because I love them so! I also made them with applesauce instead of the 2 tablespoons of oil that it calls or. The directions for the healthier version are available on the side of the box.

The best part? These tasty muffins are a decent size and when made as the healthier version, they're only 2 points! They are 140 calories apiece with 2.5g total fat and 5g dietary fiber! Score!!! If they are made with the oil then they are 160 calories and 3 points apiece. Their point value/caloric value makes them a perfect snack for anytime of the day. Since the box makes 12 these would be easy to make at the beginning of one week and freeze for the next week!

I do suggest having I Can't Believe Its Not Butter spray on hand as they aren't oozing with oil... ;) I enjoyed mine this morning with my scrambled egg whites & cheddar and a small glass of fat free milk!

Top Two Tuesday

2010-03-09T14:44:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! I know I've been semi-absent...

Here's my list of excuses:

LA BFF's wedding is in one month!
LA BFF's second bridal shower was this weekend up here in WA so the weekend was jam packed.
We had a serious bridesmaid dress situation in regards to LA BFF's wedding. Um, we solved it... with THIS dress in Navy... it'll be just fan.freaking.tastic!
My Grandma's birthday celebration Sunday included lots of shopping at the "big city stores" such as JoAnn and Kohls... :) She lives in a tiny town!
My nephew is about to make his appearance
My BIL/SIL did a total remodel of their house... They started in November. Did I mention they both work full time and SIL is finishing her Masters this month? Or that my BIL did the entire remodel himself while working full time? Brandon and I have been helping them finish up loose ends and finish the nursery! Yowza!
I got to visit my cousin's new baby girl, Isla. :) What a doll!
I'm in my "finals" week of this session of school... Yikes!

Ok, on two Top Two Tuesdays... Favorite Names!

I just happened upon The Undomestic Momma today while blog browsing and I think I'll stick around! :)

We have talked about baby names for the entire seven years we've been together... They've changed over the years but there are a few that have always stuck in our minds. Girls names are by far easier for us to pick... And I kind of think we'll have girls when that time comes anyway.

Girls: Alivia, Taryn and Kara are our top contenders. The middle names we'll choose from are: Jeane, Kristine, Elizabeth, Irina & Lauren. I am pretty set on using a family name as a middle name and those are my favorites! :)

Boys: Tristan, Tyler, Owen & Andrew. My favorite is Andrew right now. I LOVE the name Drew for a boy and I think Brandon's favorite is Tristan. Now, middle names for the boy name is a difficult one. I still want to use a family names but I am not in love with the names we have to choose from. Here is the list of possibilities: Frank, Wayne, Lloyd, Harold, William, Michael, Jason, Scott & Blair. Or, we could potentially use my last name, Yarger. But, that doesn't flow very well!!! :(

Which is your favorite? Names are such a difficult task... Well, for me at least! I tend to be a little indecisive!!! :)

Happy Tuesday!

Spring Fever...

2010-02-21T12:02:00.000-08:00

I can understand why some people around the country hate February. It's about the time that everyone is sick of their snow/frigid weather and has the itch for Spring. Around here, we can have some beautiful weather in February... It is my favorite time of the year not only because of my birthday, but because when we have these cold, crisp days with clear skies our mountains are SO beautiful! It was so refreshing to spend the day yesterday cleaning up the garage a bit, mowing the yard and just enjoying the fresh Washington air. I tried to catch a few pictures of the dogs yesterday, they were having a good time making laps around the house, haha!

For some reason, this old girl is afraid of the camera! I literally tried to trap her on the porch because I knew that she couldn't jump down from the high point that you see her trying to do in this picture! I quickly ran over there to stop her because I didn't want her to break a hip!!! She's SO weird!!!

Of course, this guy is a ham. But, he is afraid of me folding laundry... Good Lord!

Today, we are headed to a beach town to look at beach homes in this cute town! My mom is showing us at least four! This is a family endeavor, not solely Brandon's and mine! :) I can't help but think of the great fun that could be had at a family beach house! Yipee! I see us doing a lot of this:
and

Or perhaps some lovely CLAM DIGGING! So much fun!

But mostly, I just look forward to relaxing and having a place to get away!!! We'll see if we find anything today! :)

Sunny California...

2010-02-13T23:52:00.000-08:00

I got to enjoy sunny and 80 degree weather this past weekend in Southern California! Amazing!

LA BFF is having her wedding at this beautiful place down in Fullerton in April. It's going to be so beautiful. They have an awesome outdoor garden area that is small enough to be intimate but so open and airy and perfectly lined with gorgeous palm trees. I can't wait... It's going to be a fabulous wedding. She's going to be such a beautiful bride, see?

**This is not her dress, no worries! This was a close 2nd but the dress she chose is amazing!*

Anyway, this past weekend was packed full of wedding prep and events. We spent all day Friday running errands here.there.everywhere. An appointment with the florist did not go well nor did a much needed mani/pedi! However, we made an unscheduled stop at a Chevy's for Pineapple Coconut Margaritas! Yum!

Thankfully, her hair appointment was much better and now she knows *almost* exactly how she wants her hair. The only thing in question now are her bangs. Yes? or No?

Saturday was her highly anticipated bridal shower. I feel bad because when I go to SoCal to visit she has to tote me around and because of that she ended up having to run last minute errands for her own bridal shower. *lame* But, she didn't mind and it was quality time spent! We booked a super cute and quaint cafe for her bridal shower. Since it ended up being a beautiful day we were able to have it outside in their courtyard! We couldn't really get around the whole Valentine's theme so we decided to just roll with it. Cute centerpieces, favor boxes and other decorations were tailored to the red, pink and purple look. I think it turned out well!

This is a picture of the "Advice Tree" that I made. The pink cards hang from the lovely branches and were filled out with advice for the new bride-to-be! Cute!

We also adapted the age old "memory" game into the "apron game" where she wore a cute apron around that had random household items pinned to it and people had a set time to memorize what was on the apron... too cute! The cafe had champagne & raspberries for us, assorted desserts and fruit with chocolate to dip it in! Yummm! It ended up being a very pretty shower.
Here is the bride-to-be with her sister and mom... Pretty ladies!

After the shower we went to the boutique in Pasadena that is making our dresses. That was a fiasco in itself... but I'm hoping it will all work out. Nothing like leaving it to the last minute! The lady that is doing the dresses is just SO unaware of deadlines and the fact that we all live in different states is adding its own drama to the situation! Let's hope all six of the dresses fit all of us!!! :)

Anyway, the whole weekend was great but very tiring! I'm happy to be home. :)

Not too long before these two are hitched!

Goodbye 23!

2010-02-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

Hellloooo Mid Twenties! YIKES!

I, unlike the rest of America, spent this last Sunday celebrating my birthday with my wonderful Hubbs instead of watching the boob tube!** He rented us a hotel here and took me to dinner here.

OH! MY! GOSH!

We both are so busy in our daily lives it was just such a nice gesture for him to not have to work on Super Bowl Sunday. I mean, he manages a Sports Bar with several huge flat screens... we were inevidibly going to be busy! Duh! I had mentioned that I have lived in Washington State my entire life (minus one year) and had never been up in the Space Needle at some point this past year. So, he decided we'd splurge for my birthday. The odds were that the weather wouldn't cooperate for us but thankfully it was a clear night and the views were beautiful! I have some pictures, but my camera cord is missing. So, they'll have to wait. We were pleased when dinner was absolutely fantastic. We have actually shared quite a few fabulous meals together and this was one of the best. Brandon ordered the bone-in Rib Eye steak that was a whopping 24oz! Shooot! And, that 145.5 lb man ate it ALL! :) I enjoyed a delicious filet that was served with black truffle reduction and king crab legs! Yum O! After dinner we enjoyed some adult beverages with each other at a really nice place downtown Seattle... it was a perfect date night! Thanks Babe!

**Rest assured knowing that I strategically took a "nap" in the hotel room before dinner with CBS on... Yes, my man did get some good old football watchin' in! I couldn't be THAT selfish!

Earlier in the week some of my girls and I celebrated my birthday with dinner at a Thai restaurant in town... Afterward my BFF Liz and I hit up the best place to dance in this town and met up with Hubbs and Cousin Kyle. I don't know why I always call him Cousin Kyle... Oh well! We had a blast! Here are the highlights...

Liz & I tearin' up the dancefloor... Isn't she gorgeous? Love her.

Cousin Kyle & I enjoying Jake's Hot Dog Stand... Oh, and we got fried pickles.

Lastly, this is my adorable Husband who is not at all afraid of what anyone thinks of him. Seriously? He squeezed himself into Liz's sweet bomber jacket! Wow! Oh, and he's completely sober. :)

Anyway, here's to a great year! I plan to make it better than the past two have been, that's for sure! :)

Update of Sorts

2010-02-03T13:48:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a little bit more exciting than normal! Whoo hoo!

Saturday I went to Seattle for a baby shower for my cousin. I've previously mentioned this but they don't know what they're expecting and I love the element of suprise! She's registered for mainly gender neutral basic things and is waiting until he/she is born to buy the bedding. She figures since the baby will be in their room for the first couple of months it was worth waiting to buy bedding. The shower was small but it was a good thing because it was in my Aunt & Uncle's small condo in West Seattle! I am SO not used to city life! I think I'd go crazy! I had a tinge of road rage just driving up there!!! :) It was really great to catch up with some family that I've lost touch with over the years. I plan on trying to regain a relationship there as these people are my biological dad's family, who died when I was nine.

Saturday night we worked, per usual. It was so slow at the bar though until about 10:30 (it figures!) and as soon as the kitchen was shut down there were about ten orders for food! Brandon will never turn a customer away, so he dirtied up the kitchen and we fed the weirdos! :) I swear it was a full moon... I never did check on that.

Sunday we had made plans with Brandon's parents to see Avatar. The showing was at 12:40 and we barely made it! I swear, the bartender life is for the birds! Ha! Anyway, I was sure that Brandon and his parents would love the flick as they all enjoy SciFi type of stuff. I, however, was just along for moral support. I had heard good things but wasn't going in with great expectations! I will admit that I fell asleep about 1/2hr before the end of the movie! I KNOW! What the HECK!? I was tired. And, the movie was LONG! But, it was good. I wouldn't say it was "amazing" though. Brandon thought it was fine and so did his dad. His mom wanted to go to Disneyland afterwards... I'm not sure what that was about. I think the Fantasy Land thing got her mind a goin'! HAHA! Anyway, after the movie we all went to the gym and I did a mix of what I've been learning on the Shred and had Brandon's mom along for the ride. I am still sore today (three days later!) from everything that we did! Yowza! Brandon's mom is a good sport though, she will never give up on me! We had dinner with them that night too... steaks, crab legs, butter clams & asparagus! Yum!

Monday brings the start of the school week for me. We had a very interesting conversation in my Ethics class on Monday night. I thought about trying to make a post about it - maybe I still will. The class is all about analyzing case studies of ethical issues that have occured in the business world. We even watched a documentary on Enron and I learned a lot about that debacle! I knew the surface stuff about the corruption but not EVERYTHING! GAH! It made me irate! I'm really enjoying this class though. It is really interesting to see everyone's different perspectives! Usually ethics classes get me hot headed as they are more about personal moral issues. This one is a bit different, which is good.

Yesterday and today I have E all day and we have done plenty of napping and playing! She is getting so big! It's fun to watch her growth since I started watching her in September. Her newist tricks are pointing (which cracks me up!) and doing the scrunched face and breathing really hard through her nose! So cute! She's getting a little bit of separation anxiety when her Mama leaves but her face lights up when I come over, so I know she loves me too! :) She'll be ten months this month which is crazy! We're trying to transition her bottles to sippy cups... that leaves much to be desired! So far, she's not having it. We'll keep trying though!

Tomorrow I am getting my hair *did*! I know that sounds like Larry the Cable Guy! Ha! I just always say that for some reason. Then, I'm going out with 10 or so ladies to a Thai restaurant in town for dinner and then to a wine bar for drinks! After that some of us will head to a bar in town that has music all night so we can boogie! Whoop! I'm sooo excited! I rarely ever get out! My stinkin' birthday falls on Super Bowl Sunday (lame!) so we're celebrating a bit early. I can't wait to hang out with my ladies!!!

Hopefully I'll come up with some interesting posts soon!!! Have a great week everyone, Happy Hump Day!

Extraordinary Measures

2010-01-29T14:45:00.000-08:00

Last night is my one and only evening off during the week. Brandon usually works until at least 10pm on Thursdays but the bar actually wasn't too busy so he was done early. After some Marshall's and Ross scouring for leftover baby stuff that my SIL needs I used my fancy new phone with it's Fandango App to check show times for Avatar. I figured we could have a little date night! Well, long story short, I messed up the movie times AGAIN and we wasted two hours waiting around for the movie that "started" at 9:50. Well, the 3D one started at 8:00 and I wasn't about to see Avatar in the regular theater! Duh. I can't read show times, apparently. This happened to us when we were trying to see The Hangover too! So, I was determined to see something and we decided on Extraordinary Measures.

Now, Brandon wasn't super thrilled over this choice but the other option was Sherlock Holmes and I wasn't too into that either. So, of course, I won. Ha! They actually had to turn the movie on for us as there was no one in there and we got the whole theater to ourselves! Whoo hoo! No worries, we didn't behave like teenagers would have.

Anyway, the movie proved to be a bit slow. It was definitely "good" in my book but I can see how people may think it's slow. I really think that Keri Russell should have had a more dominant role in the movie as she's a better actress than Brendan Fraser is an actor. I just don't really think he's that great. But, you couldn't help but love him in this move. Also, Harrison Ford was good, as usual. So, this is not my favorite movie ever, but it definitely is worth renting. The plot is a little dry and drawn out but I think that it's good they didn't make it a fluffy "happy go lucky" type of movie and stuck with the seriousness. I did cry several times, but I'm a crier! I want to read up on the actual story that it was based off of.

My favorite part of the movie? Well, besides the important stuff... The HOUSES! Oh my, they were fabulous. I can't find any pictures of them online but... in the words of Rachel Zoe "I die. I die. Oh.My.God. I die." It helped that they family lived in Portland so the homes had just the PNW charm that I adore.

Everyone have a lovely weekend!

Mispronunciations Galore!

2010-01-25T23:31:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about my pet peeves a lot lately. Maybe it's because I'm over tired and irritable this past weekend. Maybe it's just because I'm a terrible person. I tend to agree with the first statement. None the less, mispronunciations are at the top of my pet peeve list!

Let me start by admitting that I am not perfect. Nor am I an English professor or a Professional Linguist. However, this girl is highly annoyed with mispronunciations and misspellings of common every day sayings and words. I also tend to get annoyed with short versions of words that are used in text messaging. Is it really that much more time consuming to write out “good” instead of “gud?” I don’t get that, at all. Anyway, recently I’ve been keeping track of the mistakes that bother me the most.

Expresso. This one makes my skin crawl! I suppose it’s because I spent quite a few years as a barista. There is no X in this word. In fact, the real word is ESPRESSO. I would now like to express my love for espresso!

*Ahem* that was good, right? Oh, it wasn’t? Ok, note taken.

Acrossed/Acrosst. I agree that the double “s” sound is awkward for the end of a word, but it is just that! There is no “t” or “ed!”

Axs. I really don’t understand this one. I suppose I should look it up. Until then, I’ll just set the record straight and say that the correct way to spell this word is ASK so it should be pronounced as spelled!

Dialate. There is only one “a” in that word. It is simply DILATE.

Excetera. I am guilty of mispronouncing this word every now and again. However, I have made a great effort to think about the word in enough time to say ET CETERA. Hence the abbreviation of this word being ETC not EXC!

Febyuary. Maybe I’m a bit partial to this word because I’m a FEBRUARY baby. Or, maybe it just bugs me. Whatever the case, there are two “rs!”

This next one REALLY gets me… Are you ready?

Irregardless! Oh, the nerve! My first thought is that this word is a double negative! How is it possible to have “less” and “ir” in the same word!? So, this word should mean: not without regard? Hmmm… I’m confused! This spelled it out perfectly, I think.

Libary. There are definitely two “rs” in this word!

Perscription. How is it that a Doctor could PRESCRIBE a PERscription? Doctors only prescribe PRESCRIPTIONS!

Probly. This is another mispronunciation that I am guilty of. It is just way easier to say PROBLY or PROLLY than to actually sound out PROBABLY! I'm definitely working on this one!

Reel-a-tor. My mom has been a REALTOR for twenty years. The Association of Realtor’s radio and TV ads even mispronounce it! Oh my gosh!

Nucular. I once was guilty of saying this word incorrectly but have since corrected myself! Now, it drives me nuts when people don't say NUCLEAR!

Last but not least… The one that drives me the most insane!

Supposably. Maybe someone accidentally write their “d” backwards one day and that’s how this mispronunciation was born. I can’t come up with any better suggestions! Supposedly, someone just started saying it incorrectly and it stuck!

I love laughing until my guts hurt with my mom and her sister about these. They crack us up! Well, after they annoy us, that is. What are your word/spelling/grammar/mispronunciation pet peeves!? Please share so I feel better about myself!!!

Wishful Wednesday: Gowns

2010-01-20T00:03:00.000-08:00

Kelsey is hosting Wishful Wednesday again this week and this is the topic:

'I wish' .... I could have worn the gown that ______ wore at the 67th Annual Golden Globes Award"

It is kind of a coincidence that I actually saw a lot of the Golden Globes on Sunday because usually I don't watch award shows. But, I was at work and there are like six big screens on so it was kind of easy to catch a few glimpses!

If I could have worn anyone's dress I think I'd have to go with Sandra Bullock's. I love her and I love purple... so that decision was easy! I totally disagree with people that say she's past her prime. I think she looks awesome and the movies that she's done this past year have been good. The color of the dress looked great on her and did anyone catch the back of the dress? Gorg! :)

Anyway, play along if you'd like!

Happy Hump Day!

What's New on the Q?

2010-01-16T14:59:00.001-08:00

I used to be embarrassed about what I'm about to share with you all. I used to think that if I told people my deep dark secret that they would think I was a lonely cat lady that watched infomercials late at night and called into them for human contact.

I'm not embarrassed anymore. My name is Chelsi and I am a QVC addict. That's right. I'm down with the lingo; hotpick, TSV, easypay, one time value, autoship and item number are part of my vocabulary.

There. It's out. QVC has a long history with my family. My Grandma, Aunt and Mom are all down with the Q too. That is, of course, how I acquired this habit of mine. It started for me with some simple Christmas tree ornaments and re-orders of my beloved bareMinerals foundation. See, I've worn bareMinerals since before it was available at Sephora, Macy's or Nordstrom. I've worn it since you had to either order from one of the two boutiques in the country or the Q.

There are only certain shows I will watch and none of them involve clothes, shoes or jewelry! Ahhh! I hate the jewelry shows! I might add, I only watch QVC late at night or when I just want the TV on for background noise. It's not like I pop a bowl of popcorn and plant myself in front of the boob tube for hours watching it. I don't even have a favorite host, I promise.

Their return policy is awesome, it's super easy to order and I've never bought something that wasn't a good value for the product. Brandon's family likes to give me a hard time about my addiction. His dad told him that we shouldn't have cable anymore! Ha! Too bad everyone reaps the rewards of the Q as I do much of my birthday and Christmas shopping there!

So, let's get to the good stuff. These are my favorite purchases from the Q last year....

Hold it High set of 2 Non-slip Handbag Holders- I must tell you, I've given plenty of these as gifts and always get compliments on them. Who likes putting their purse on the nasty floor of restaurants or *gasp* the BATHROOM!? Yuck! My purses are always heavy and these work like a charm on most tables/bars and even on the bathroom stall door.

These glass hurricanes with flameless candles are gorg! I have them on a high shelf in our living room and the candles are on a timer. So, they come on for four hours daily! The hurricanes are super pretty and larger than you may expect for the price of $39/pair WITH the candle sticks!

Vacuum Insulated Auto Seal Stainless Steel Tumbler- This may be my favorite Q purchase of all time. I got these because while I've always carried a nalgene or a water bottle, whenever I take coffee in my Starbucks tumblers it leaks like mad! I was really looking for something I can stuff in my purse/bag and not have it sweat or leak all over the contents of my bag. Voila! These things rock! The technology really is leakproof and it keeps things hot for 4 hours and cold for up to 8. These come in AWESOME colors too!

This awesome gift wrap caddy is what I use for all non Christmas wrap. All of my birthday/baby/misc papers are held in the elastic loops and then there are plenty of pockets and slots for tissue paper, gift bags, scissors, tape, etc. I LOVE this thing! It has a sturdy frame so while you're using it it locks in to "a" position and then when you're done it flattens right down. It takes up maybe the width of a large snow jacket in the closet. Love it!

This is a classic Rach Ray pan but instead of the orange I ordered it with red handles. I loved watching RR on the Q and I'm not much into her classic orange, lime green and bright blue colors. So, I was super excited to see this available on QVC in my favorite kitchen color, red!

I suppose that's enough sharing for one post. But, my point is that they really have quality stuff that is a great value. If you've ever been on the edge about calling in and ordering something that looks great, I urge you to do it! If you don't like it, returns are easy!

Do any of you have the Q on speed dial?

Happy Saturday!

Wishful Wednesday: Entrepreneur

2010-01-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Once again, Kelsey has posed a good question for Wishful Wednesdays... 'I wish' .... I had the startup funds to build that company I have always dreamed about, and it would be _____!

Staying with the restaurant theme of our current life, I want to open a casual dining establishment of some sort... The basic idea behind the restaurant would be kind of buffet style (but not the ICKY buffet style.) There would be staples on the menu that were constant: home made soup of the day, basic sandwiches and salads and then other menu items that would change. For instance, I think it would be fun to have each night of the week a different theme.

Mondays: Baked Potato Bar

Tuesdays: Pasta Bar

Wednesdays: Panini Bar

Thursdays: Pizza Bar

Friday/Saturday: Baked Potato/Pasta Bar

Sundays: CLOSED (THANK GOD!)

So, it's really a "bar" themed thing... so people can enjoy all of their own tailored food! C'mon, it's a good one.... right? I promise it won't be icky and nasty like a buffet. In fact, I think the whole "bar" thing won't actually be physical. It'll just be in the menu and then people choose all of the different options. The Baked Potato idea is definitely my favorite! I'll take... grilled onions and mushrooms with swiss OR broccoli and cheese sauce on mine, thanks! What would you want on your baker?

In addition to the food we would offer a cozy environment that would house local musicians and even artists to display their work. Luckily, here in Olympia we tend to be pretty artsy fartsy and there are quite a few places that are similar to what I'm thinking... But, they don't have the dang potato bar!!! :)

My second idea is one of the first things to come up when the Mr. and I discuss if we were to win the lottery. We both would like to open a recreational center of sorts for kids of all ages. This idea stems from Brandon having worked one of the local city's summer programs for several summers a while back. He had a blast taking the kids hiking, rock climbing, camping and all of that fun outdoor stuff that a lot of parents don't get the extra time to do. The sad thing for him was that these camps can be so cost prohibitive for SO many parents. Some of the camps are hundreds of dollars per child, per week! That is SO crazy. I mean, I understand where the costs come from, but wouldn't it be great to have an organization that provides kids with outdoor options in the summer time and during breaks? I know that I'm about to sound OLD but it seems like things have changed so much in even the past ten years since I was a tween riding my bike with my neighborhood pals. The Xboxes, Wii's and computers have taken over!!!

So, those are my two ideas. A non-profit organization that keeps kids busy in our beautiful state and a cafe that has a baked potato bar! Unfortunately, I doubt we'll ever win the lottery! Dang it! What would your entrepreneurial wishes be?

Forecast: Lots of Showers...

2010-01-12T15:32:00.000-08:00

Usually these first few months of the year are rather uneventful. We find ourselves completely over winter weather and it seems like such a long stretch until April and May when we start to get some better weather around these parts. Well, I say we very loosely as I live in the PNW for a reason. I love the rain. But, I've found over the years that I am a minority in these parts.

Anyway, this really wasn't meant to be a post about weather. What I was attempting to get at is that I have PLENTY to look forward to in the first few months of 2010. I have four showers within the first two months! Two baby showers and two bridal showers, to be exact.

Cakes, invites and games... Oh My!

First up is a shower I am co-hosting with my sister-in-law's sister-in-law. Um, is there a better way to say that? Anyway, I am in charge of invites (check!) and decorations (semi-check!) We decided against a "themey" shower and are going with colors instead. Brown, green & blue will be the main colors and I chose those based off of the paper that I found to use for the invites. I fell in love with a patterned paper and went from there.

Please note that I am not a professional photographer nor am I a professional invitation making scrapbooking queen. However, I am pretty impressed with myself. You can't see the detail but the animal stamp is embossed with a light glitter as is the word stamp at the bottom. The inside left of the invite displays a picture of the parents-to-be and on the right side of the invite is the shower information printed on coordinating cardstock. I had to make thirty or so of these and while it was a pain at first it really was not too bad and I plan to make more invitations in the future. I should add that I elected to do these! I could have bought premade invitations but I wanted to try this!

The second shower is for my cousin who is due in February! She doesn't know what she's having which I think is kind of exciting. I like the element of surprise in not knowing what sex the baby is. However, it does make it a tad more difficult to buy things. There are plenty of neccesity type of items that are probably better shower gifts than cute outfits anyway! Just writing about this makes me excited to know what she's having! I would like to think that I'd be able to not find the sex out... but who am I kidding? I am a tad nosey! I kind of feel like she is having a boy. Our dad's are the only two brothers of the family and both of them had girls (her and I.) So, it'd be fitting if we both had boys.

I have purchased my gifts for both of these showers but I'm looking for a couple more "little somethings." What is your favorite gift to give at a baby shower? I love giving personalized things so maybe I'll go that route. However, my SIL has just confirmed my to-be nephew's name and I feel like it may be a bit premature to buy something personalized within a week of the name confirmation. Does that make sense? I just think I need a good month of name confirmation to solidify buying personalized things... This may or may not stem from having "ADD decision making syndrome." None the less, tell me what your favorite gifts to give the new mama-to-be are! It would be a bonus to tell me what your favorite gifts were that you received AS the mama-to-be! Thanks in advance!!!

The third and fourth showers are for my LA BFF and I'm currently making the invitations for one of them. I will continue this post when I'm through with the invites so you all can see! I hope they turn out!

To be continued...

Happy 101 Award!

2010-01-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

Apparently Short Southern Momma is a very generous woman (with great hair, I might add!) because she gave me this award already! Thank you SO much! So, off I go t claim my very first blog award!

The Happy 101 Award is to thank the wonderful bloggers that make you smile!

Here are the rules:
List 10 things that make you happy.
(try to do one of those things TODAY!)

Tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day.
Make sure to link back to the person that tagged you!

1. Knowing this guy is with me for the long haul...

2. Our families... as crazy as they can be.

3. My animals, they truly make me smile every. single. day.

4. My fabulous five BFFs (more on them to come...)

Claire, my Chicago BFF

5. Food. I know, that's terrible but its so honest. I LOVE food and it makes me SO happy.

Tom Kha Gai, my favorite Thai indulgence!

6.A big whiff of fresh laundry smell... Except, we use free & clear because we have sensitive skin. But, YUM! I loooove bounty!

7. The weather in my great state. I love the freshness in a fall day and the glory of the mountains on a clear summer afternoon. Most people gripe about the weather, no matter the season. It's too hot. It's too wet. It's too grey. It's too cold. It's too muggy. I will take this opportunity to ask all people who hate the PNW to leave. There will be more room for me this way! Thank.you.very.much!

My favorite mountains, The Olympics

8. A good laugh. The gut wrenching kind... who doesn't love that?
Stephanie just made me crack up... see what you think about her "Blondie's Year in Review!"

9. A clean house. This rarely happens in this place! In fact, that's what I'm supposed to being at this very second...

10. Last, but not least... MUSIC! I am a music fanatic. I am not a music SNOB, however. I love all types (well, except artists like Slipknot... *ahem*)

If you can't tell... That lovely lady is my favorite (of all time,) Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland! Oh, OH! *goosebumps* The concert I saw them in this summer was amazing... I can't wait to see them again!

Now its time to tag the top ten blogs that make me smile...

A Daily Dose of Davis -- Jen is a great blogger and a good friend. I hope to meet her IRL some day.
The Pioneer Woman -- I love her dang recipes! She's a hoot!
Live.Love.Laugh. -- Heather is a great blogger about every day life. She brought us along her journey to marriage and now she's a new Auntie!
House of Rose -- Mandy makes some really cute baby shoes and her little P Man is adorable! She's currently in labor with Bentley so I doubt she'll be blogging a whole lot in the next few days...
Life According to Candice -- I don't even remember how I found her, but Candice is hilarious. Definitely NOT PG -- consider yourself warned! :)
The Branches -- Becky is about ready to have her son Connor!
The Browns -- Becky's twin sister, Bonnie's blog about her life with her brand new baby Jarrett!
Another Day In Paradise -- DAR is quite the lady... She's a runner, new attorney and I love reading her posts.
Live.Laugh.Love. -- I'm a new follower of Stephanie's but I'll be returning to her blog a lot, I can tell already!
Seattle Smiths -- A fellow PNW blogger and the host of Wishful Wednesdays!
Experiments in a Galley Kitchen -- Mrs. Potts' blog is another new one. I've tried to catch up and love it already!

Ok, I came up with 11... so shoot me. Go check these blogs out if you haven't already!

Wishful Wednesdays: Hair

2010-01-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

I have never been the type of girl that is overly concerned with her looks. Maybe I should be a little more concerned. However, I have always wished my hair were better. It is straight, dishwater blonde in color, fine and doesn't hold a curl for CRAP! Except for the hairs around my face that are always curly. What the heck? I have straight hair but have to use a straightener just around my face... I call that odd. Anyway,quite frankly it usually ends up in a pony tail and never comes down. That's just the way it is. Especially because I've been in some sort of food service environment for a while and I don't know about you but I hate to see food service people with their hair down. Yuck!

Kelsey over at Seattle Smiths hosts Wishful Wednesdays and this week is all about hair.

The top qualities I wish for are...

1. ThickER hair that will hold a curl! I emphasize thickER as I don't want too thick of hair either.

2. That thing called... Volume! And LOTS of it please!

3. The option to be a redhead or brunette... so sexy! I have blonde eyebrows so my options are limited in the dying of hair department.

I would SO take Jessica Simpson's hair, any day. However, I also love the locks of Debra Messing, Marcia cross and Eva Longora Parker!

Hop on over to Kelsey's blog to check Wishful Wednesdays out!

A Little About "Us"

2010-01-04T03:40:00.000-08:00

I have followed some of the blogs on my list for well over a year. I began my blogging journey in 2007 and it's a habit I haven't kicked, thankfully. I'm not too good at that habit kickin' thing anyway. What I'm realizing is that while I've followed several blogs and know about their background, I need to fill in the gaps about our lives as this has been a one way road since I began reading blogs.

I'll give a short summary of our last seven years together.... SEVEN years. Woah! Seven is my lucky number so I think that is an omen (or something) that 2010 will be great for us! I will surly go more in depth on many of these things I am about to summarize!

Brandon and I are "Highschool Sweathearts." I've always hated that title, by the way. I feel like it has a very negative connotation to it. People assume we were the clingy overly dramatic couple that was on-again off-again throughout the years. Ok, or I assume that people assume that. Maybe my assumption is off. Never the less, I'm certain anyone who knows us well will tell you that we're anything but that. In fact, Brandon and my relationship is the easiest one I've experienced. I mean relationship in general, not solely romantic. I'm lucky to say that I suppose. Anyway, we've been together since February of 2003, our Junior year of high school.

We graduated in 2004 and both went to community colleges around our home town. Brandon played golf all through high school and received a scholarship to a nearby CC in Tacoma. I went to the closer CC here in Olympia. I finished my Associate's in December of 2006 and we made a BIG move to the desert on 1/1/07. Arizona was full of promises for us. A big University for myself and golf courses galore for Brandon -- seemed like it would be so perfect! However, there were several things that brought us back to the Pacific Northwest. Our families were the main reason, though. Money was a second contender! Turns out, it's really expensive to golf all of the time and out of state tuition is even more expensive! Ha! Not to mention that this girl was BORN to be in the PNW. 119 degrees is not my cup of tea. Ever. Period. While in Arizona we had some great times, met some great people and learned to be a bit more independent. Brandon proposed to me at a gorgeous hotel in Scottsdale on December 16, 2007. We moved home the first week in February of 2008. We bought our first house in June of 2008 and were married in August. **WHEW** We were busy for the first half of 2008!

The latter half of 2008 brought some great struggles within my family that have lasted through 2009. We lost my dear step dad in February of 2009 and I still can't believe he's gone today. I've began back in school to finish my BA and we both work at Brandon's family's business. We're both essentially bartenders but we both do a little bit of everything around the place. Brandon does managerial type things and I can be found either cleaning or bartending/serving. I have grown to love the place and enjoy my time spent there. I also care take for a 8 month old little girl. She's such a doll and I love spending time with her!

Over the years we have acquired four animals. We only have three of them currently. Our first baby was Libby. She's quite the cat! She has quite the attitude but is a very beautiful girl. Next was Jackson, found running on Lindsay Road in Mesa, Arizona. He's an 8 year old Border Collie with quite a history. After Jack was rescued I received my very favorite *boy* kitty for Christmas in 2007. Riley was the perfect tabby with white toes and he was as friendly as any kitty could be. The last addition really wasn't an addition for me, but was for Brandon. Rainie is my family's pet that found herself homeless after my step dad passed last February. She's a 14-16 year old (we adopted her so we're not sure of the age) chow/golden retriever mix. She's a pain. I love her and I heard Brandon tell her the same today. Unfortunately, she is old and that comes with quite a few challenges but she can't control her age anyway, right? Let's just say that I wish I owned stock in Bounty and it's not for cleaning up kitchen messes. However, she has gone through just as much grief as the rest of us this year and I'm happy to announce she hasn't had an accident in over two weeks! I am sad to end the pet segment of this post with the news that Riley has been missing for over two weeks. I miss him dearly... all of his family does. Libby spent all of last week checking each room for him, meowing constantly. She hasn't touched his food dish and hasn't left our sides for every moment that we're home. I miss my favorite *boy* kitty. I say that *boy* part so I don't hurt Libby's feelings. She knows she's my favorite *girl* kitty. :) Anyway, I can hope that Riles will come home... but the odds are that he's in Kitty Heaven now and his Mama misses him. :*(

Yes, I am a crazy pet owner. All of my animals have several nick names and I talk to them all of the time. They are my (our) life, that is for sure. Spoiled as ever. I am the type of person that cries when those danged ASPCA commercials come on. You know? The Sarah MacLaughlan ones? Sheesh.

Now that I'm full blown crying over my cat's disappearance, I better go for now. I know that was a lot of information crammed into one post. But, I figured I'd try to catch everyone up really quickly. For now, at least.

Have A Beautiful Week!

A New Decade Has Arrived...

2010-01-04T02:37:00.001-08:00

I've often thought that I should start a blog for our lives. Mostly, I decided I had this frequent thought because I have become quite the avid reader of a handful of great blogs and I figured that if I read their blogs they'll read mine, right? That is where the idea gets stuck. I think I'm scared of failure and scared that no one will follow or read my blog!

The more I think about it though, I'd love to have a record of a lot of the happenings in my (our) life. Whether anyone else reads, comments or cares is really not important. Well, really isn't AS important. Who am I kidding? I want followers and comments galore! Anywho, upon this new year of 2010 (woah!) I am going to document our lives and love every minute of it!

I've decided that while this will certainly be about Brandon and my life as a family... I will be the author. Brandon barely even checks his own Facebook.... let alone post on a blog. In fact, he barely even knows what a blog is. But, I love him anyway. Maybe someday in the future I will get him to write about something interesting. But, for now... this will be my gig. In fact, he doesn't even know I'm starting a blog. Ha!

My friend, Jen at A Daily Dose of Davis has encouraged me to blog before... but I just hadn't worked up the guts to do it. But, I DID IT! I'm not sure what I'll write about. That's a pretty big problem, if I do say so myself. I'm quite the jibber jabberer so I suppose I'll figure it out. I often times set out to write a three sentence email and have it turn into a novel. I suppose blogging may follow along the same lines for me. I will leave no topics off limits. However, I doubt I will ever blog about religion or politics in depth. My purpose in blogging right now is simple: to document things happening in our lives.

In fact, I feel like I'm lingering a bit too long in this first post as it is. So, I shall say goodnight for tonight and hope to find my groove in writing about something funny or interesting.... Ohhhh boy!