It's Done!

YAY! The bathroom is finally finished!

After getting the tub/shower in, we picked out a new floor. It's much darker than the old floor, so we decided to add more color all the way around and put some green paint in the bathroom as well. It's only on the walls around the shower and on the wall with the door, so it's not too overpowering.

The floor was a big pain. We'll see what the bill is when it arives. The installers were supposed to come on Tuesday and get it done in three hours. There were already three layers of vinyl on the floor, so they would have to remove those and then put the new Marmoleum in. When they took off the vinyl, they found chip board with some water damage. They took that off and found plywood with tile fragments on it. It had some water damage too. That's when they quit for the day. An hour and a half into the job and not even close to a new floor installed. Oh yeah, and they showed up three hours late. It's a good thing I have good friends who could come stay at the house when I had to go back to work.

On Wednesday, they only showed up two hours late and finished taking out all the old floor. Two more hours and no new floor installed.

On Thursday, they said they would be there at 9:30 to finish the job. At 11:40, they showed up and started the install. It required putting in a new piece of plywood, covering that will some goo, letting it dry, then putting in the floor. Oh, they also had to fill in the gap between the floor and the new shower. The old shower had a larger footprint, so it left the big gap. So, at 5:15 on Thursday, the "three-hour" job was finally done. The installers gouged the walls in the process, but the floor looks great. They also put in the rubber base in white to finish it off. Of course, all the DH can see is the quarter-inch gap they left between the base and the heating vent. Can you see it in the picture? Let me know. I'm interested. I think we'll replace it with painted wood base boards at some point, so I'm not going to worry about it. I'm just glad it's finally done.

Today is also the end of the month, so get ready for our first online book club discussion. I'll post my thoughts about the book tomorrow on July 1st and also announce the book for August.

The Longest Day

Happy Summer! Today is June 21st, Summer equinox, and longest day of the year. Hearing about it on the radio this morning on my commute made me think of all the wonderful things Summer has to offer. Here's my list of my favorite thoughts on Summer:

1. Wear flip-flops without ever getting cold toes, except for during that quick afternoon thunderstorm with ten minutes of torrential rain
2. Sleep with the windows open and a fan in the room
3. Eat watermelon on the back deck and spit the seeds over the railing into the grass
4. My birthday!
5. Big fireworks displays at the Boise River Festival, the Freedom Festival, just over the hill in Sun Valley, or at the Mall in Washington D.C.
6. Sit on the tailgait of the pickup to eat lunch and get some sun every day all summer long even though everything else about the sad hourly job isn't very fun
7. Go to Sun Valley with family and friends and get the station wagon stuck in a river where no station wagon should have been driving
8. Even though I'm shivering because I'm wet and cold, try not to burn my feet on the blacktop walking from swimming lessons to the car
9. Root beer floats after fireworks on the fourth of July
10. Riding bikes to the Fairmont pool to enjoy cool swimming
11. Eat TCBY while watching David Letterman after getting home from waitressing
12. Drive to Sun Mountain Lodge and smell the forest fire (and enjoy our wedding anniversary)
13. Read on the couch while wrapped in a blanket to keep warm from the blasting air conditioning
14. Watch the stars from the campin site (yes, I did say camping site) with no city lights to dull the milky way
15. See flowers that I planted turn into lovely yard art
16. Concerts at the park, zoo, pier, winery, etc.
17. Picnics at the park
18. Eat in the backyard (and the neighbors keeping their pool clean so we don't have too many mosquitos)
19. Sit on the beach and read a novel while kids play in the sand and surf or fly kites
20. shop at the farmer's market for fresh, local produce
21. The Boys of Summer, especially watching Weaver pitch a shutout at Safeco field last night

This summer, I'm looking forward to seeing my family for some R&R, going to a few outdoor concerts, enjoying a few Mariner's games, and celebrating another anniversary with the DH. This year, we're going to hear music at a barn on the peninsula and then heading to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands.

Mmmm... Summer.

What a Weekend

The DH and I had a pretty good weekend. Friday night we helped out a few friends and then went out to dinner, but the real fun was on Saturday and Sunday.

We started out Saturday with the Race for the Cure. It was not my best race as I was not as prepared as I would like (due to swimming on part of my workout days), but I also had other troubles. It turns out that I've been taking medication on an empty stomach that lowers my blood sugar. Bad choice, if you were wondering. It messed up my race in addition to lowering my blood sugar more than was healthy. No harm was done though and we finished the race in record slow time.

Saturday afternoon we headed to Hermiston, OR where the DH's sister lives and parents were visiting. We saw the Fantastic Four movie that night and then spent most of the day Sunday with the family. It was great to see all of them again and we really enjoyed ourselves. The DH especially enjoyed eating gooseberry pie for the first time. I don't like it at all, but I knew my dad would be jealous. It's his very favorite and the DH loved it too.

We ended with the longish drive home and we're back to the grind today.

Father's Day and Traditions

When I was eleven, I entered The Idaho Statesman’s Father’s Day essay contest. To my surprise and delight, I actually won for my age group. My essay was published in the paper with a picture of me with my father. I wrote that essay, so many years ago, because I thought my dad was the greatest. I still do. So, in the tradition of Father’s Day essays, I’m writing one more for my dad. I've also entered it in Scibbit's Write-Away contest for June.

My father is a man who loves tradition. When we were children, he and my mother found great ways to make traditions out of whatever seemed to happen. My birthday is on the 4th of July, so one year we were heading out of town for a long weekend on the morning of the 4th. In an effort to avoid traveling with all those unopened presents and a cake, we celebrated at breakfast with cake and ice cream (at least two of the four food groups represented) and presents. We all loved it, so from that time on, we celebrated all of our birthdays at breakfast. It was a grand way to start your birthday and many of us still celebrate that way as adults. He also introduced a ladybug in the toe of our Christmas stockings and yearly summer vacations as a family. Although we didn’t appreciate his tradition of leaving for the road at 5:00 a.m., we all learned to endured it without too much complaint.

As a child, I saw my father carry on a tradition from his own father. I was always delighted to hear him ask, “Whose girl are you?” My answer was always the same, “Yours!” It only got confusing when my grandfather would ask me the same question. This tradition made me feel loved, even adored by the most important men in my life. Studies have shown the importance of strong male role models for both girls and boys. Girls with strong male role models are less likely to engage in dangerous behavior as teenagers. I’ve been blessed by the wonderful example my father has given me of what it means to be a responsible and loving husband and father. This example will bless many generations.

I so appreciate the tradition of faith that my father has passed on from his father and many generations that came before him. I’m blessed by the faithfulness of my father and the many ways that he has taught me lessons of faith. I learned the importance of listening to the Spirit when we went to Disneyland as a young family. There were four children ranging in age from ten to four. My grandparents came along, so there was a one to one ratio of children to adults, but the park is a very big place. My youngest sister somehow found her way onto Main Street unattended and panicked when she realized she was lost. My father was in a shop and felt that he needed to go out into Main Street and walk toward the other end. As he did this, he found a nice woman who had found the crying, lost girl. His sensitivity to the spirit avoided what could have been a terrifying experience for both my parents and my lost little sister.

Service has also been an important tradition I learned from my father. When we were young, our congregation had the assignment of helping to cultivate what seemed like acres of tomatoes throughout the summer. This meant going out to the church farm about once a month to weed. Now, mind you, I’ve never enjoyed gardening much, but this was even worse than normal gardening. There was none of the fun, just weeding. And tomatoes meant tomato bugs. If you’re not familiar with them, be grateful. They’re like something out of a bad dream – plump and green and big, at least by bug standards. I think Jaba the Hut was patterned after a tomato bug. In spite of the tomato bugs, and even because of them, we had our work cut out for us. I think it would have been easier for my parents to leave us home and get the work done without us, but they took us every time. We learned to work. We associated with people who were enjoying themselves while serving. We learned to serve with a happy heart. At least that was the intended lesson. I’ll admit that I choose my service outside of the farming industry now, but I still enjoy helping others.

Perhaps the most important tradition passed on from my father, is the tradition of life-long learning. My father is dyslexic and has always struggled with reading. I remember him asking me how to spell really easy words when I was ten or twelve and actually telling my father to sound it out. It’s a very embarrassing memory now, but I think I’ve gotten over my rudeness and I know my father has forgiven my childish behavior (over and over again, I’m grateful to say). In spite of the struggle that reading has always been, he continues to read books that are difficult by any standard and that help him grow in ways that only books can. He encourages and enjoys the lively discussions that result from reading things that challenge your norms. I love that my father trusted me to read information that was critical of my religion when I was in high school. It helped me grow spiritually and to trust my own intellect. My father is a very wise man, and learned to boot.

I continue to learn from my father and hope to for many years to come. His example of love, service and learning continue. For that I am grateful. Happy Father’s Day dad!

Mom, Dad, me, and the DH

100th blog!

For my 100th blog, I want to list 100 things I love. Because it’s such a long list, I’m breaking it up into categories.

People
1. The DH
2. My parents and siblings and their families. (I know it’s really a lot more than one, but it just seems silly to list them all out.)
3. My really good friends. I think you know who you are, and you, yes even though you’re not sure, you’re probably on that list.
4. My co-workers. I have a really amazing team at work. We have some ugly customers, but my team is so great. Really good people.
5. An amazing blogger community. Even though I’m a lurker at most sites, I learn so much from all of you and I’m always entertained.

Places (cities)
6. My home in Seattle, especially since the DH is here with me.
7. My old home in Boise. I really miss Boise and hope to return at some point.
8. Sun Valley, Id. This is one place that holds great memories, from childhood ski and camping trips to sisters weekends with the Nuffer girls, to family reunions, it’s just a great place to visit.
9. The Oregon Coast. I love just about any place near the water, but the Oregon Coast has to be my favorite.
10. Victoria, B.C., especially after going there on my honeymoon. The DH and I had a wonderful time there.
11. Washington D.C. has so much history and other wonderful things that I just can’t get enough time there to see all the wonderful things.
12. Salt Lake City and surroundings where I spent my college years. I also have some amazing friends there and can’t get back often enough.
13. Jackson Hole, Wy and Yellowstone Park. It’s not so different from Sun Valley, except that it’s farther away. I have great memories of that area as well. I especially like the Jenny Lake area.

Places (other spots of interest)
14. My bed. Enough said.
15. Pike Place Market. The energy there is just marvelous.
16. Art in the Park at Julia Davis Park in Boise. It’s the weekend after Labor Day and so much fun.
17. My back yard, especially when the lawn is mowed and the flower beds are weeded (by someone else).
18. Greenlake walking path. It’s my favorite place to get out in the world and exercise in the fresh air (even though I exercise at the gym far more than outside).
19. The green belt in Boise, much for the same reasons as the Greenlake walking path.
20. Temple Square in Salt Lake. It’s so peaceful and spiritually uplifting.

Restaurants
21. Stumbling Goat in Seattle’s Phinney Ridge neighborhood. It’s where the DH and I ate on our first date and the food is amazing!
22. Palisade Restaurant in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood. The DH and I got a gift certificate for the restaurant as a wedding present. I don’t think I’ll ever afford to eat there again, but it’s great food.
23. Red Mill Burgers in Seattle’s Phinney Ridge neighborhood. I think they’re my favorite burgers and onion rings. I could eat there any day of the week.
24. Musashi sushi in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. This is one place you can get full on sushi for less than $15. Outstanding!
25. Cottonwood Grill in Boise. The location is beautiful in addition to the great food they serve.
26. The Wave in Boise. I put it on the list even though they went out of business. I’m still crying over that one. They even beat out Red Mill.
27. My favorite chain sit-down restaurant of all is Macaroni Grill.
28. My favorite fast food is probably Subway, though I love a McDonald’s Egg McMuffin for breakfast.

Movies
29. All time favorite is A Room with a View. I love that movie.
30. The Princess Bride
31. Shadowlands
32. When Harry Met Sally
33. Just about any James Bond movie
34. Any Indiana Jones movie
35. The original Star Wars trilogy
36. Billy Elliot
37. While You Were Sleeping
38. Guys and Dolls

Bands/Musical Artists
39. U2
40. R.E.M.
41. Sting
42. Gomez
43. Neko Case
44. SunVolt
45. Annie Lennox
46. The Beatles
47. Carbon Leaf
48. Portishead
49. Norah Jones

Songs
50. “Night Swimming” by R.E.M.
51. “They Dance Alone” by Sting
52. “Passionate Kisses” by Mary Chapin Carpenter
53. “More Love” by the Dixie Chicks
54. “Feels Like Home” by Bonnie Raitt
55. “Bleed Like Me” by Garbage
56. “Fernando” by ABBA
57. “Iris” by Goo Goo Dolls
58. “Mais Que Nada” by Sergio Mendez and Brazil 66
59. “Grandma’s Feather Bed” by John Denver
60. “Russian Easter Overture” by Rimsky Korsokov
61. Beethoven’s 9th Symphony

Books
62. A Month in the Country by JL Carr and Michael Holroyd
63. My Antonia by Willa Cather
64. A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt
65. Shakespeare’s sonnets (yes, I know that’s not really a book)
66. 1,000 Pieces of Gold by Ruthan Lum McCunn
67. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Food
68. My mom’s fried chicken with new potatoes and cream gravy. This is my very favorite meal and it’s the best when you eat it in late August with potatoes from the garden and some fresh corn on the cob from some guy selling out of the back of his pickup. That’s home and heaven all in one. (It brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it.)
69. Homemade macaroni and cheese.
70. Risotto made with the authentic Italian recipe I got from my old roommate Jill. It’s from the Italian cooking school she went to. In Italy. Taught by real Italians. Teaching her how to make real Italian food.
71. My mom’s spaghetti. I can’t repeat it and no other spaghetti tastes quite right to me.
72. Evelyn’s rolls (but homemade by me).
73. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
74. Watermelon. The DH swears he could lure me into anything with watermelon.

Articles of clothing
75. My Minnesota Golden Gophers sweatshirt. I don’t know why I love it so, but I do.
76. Comfy jeans.
77. Bare feet. (I know that’s not really an article of clothing, but this seemed the best category for it.) I hate having socks on – ever! And I don’t like wearing shoes unless I have to.
78. Open toed shoes that show off my pedicure.

Other random things for which I can’t think of a category
79. My engagement ring and wedding band.
80. Big hugs from the DH.
81. The awesome earrings the DH bought me at the airport last month.
82. Grilling in the back yard with friends.
83. Blogging
84. The DH’s clean shaven face.
85. New shoes. Well, new clothes too.
86. Clean sheets.
87. All the chores done.
88. The smell (and sound) of bacon cooking.
89. Breakfast made by the DH.
90. Laughing babies.
91. Swimming two whole laps without stopping and while breathing off to the side instead of lifting my head straight out of the water.
92. Birthdays. (This is mostly for the cake, not the presents.)
93. Fireworks, especially the really huge displays that you see at big events.
94. First snow.
95. The feel of a crisp fall morning.
96. 72 degrees and sunny skies.
97. Having a job that challenges me.
98. Taking fun pictures.
99. Feeling healthy and happy.
100. Being so blessed in so many ways that I can hardly think how to show my gratitude.

P.S. I'm back online at home, but no wireless network. Baby steps. The DH is happy again, or at least he will be when I finish this post and let him get on the internet.

I Love Me -- a Meme

An Ordinary Mom joined the "I Love Me" meme and challenged everyone she knows to join in. It seems like a good idea. We don't often think about what we really like about ourselves. Here are my seven...

1. I love to sing and I really like my voice. It brings me a lot of joy to sing and to share my talent with other people.
2. I'm good at problem solving and coming up with new solutions. My dad's theory is that it's part laziness, but it's also part good, old-fashioned, smarts.
3. I'm strong. I might not look really fit, but I work hard at being strong and I love how it feels. It helps me feel good about myself.
4. I'm forgiving. We had a lesson on forgiveness in church and I realized that I really don't hold onto things that people do that are hurtful to me. I remember some things, like the woman pointing out how sad it was that I was single at 37 when I ran into her in the temple, but that's because it makes a funny story, not because I hold bad feelings about it. Really, it's a funny story. I'll tell you the whole thing some time.
5. I'm funny. And it's not just my looks (bu-dump-bump). I love to make people laugh and I do it a lot. Mostly, it's even on purpose (but not always).
6. I'm a leader. I don't really even try to be, but it just happens. I usually like this about myself, though sometimes it creates more work. (See #2 for why that might be a bad thing.)
7. I love to learn and to read about random things. It makes NPR a treat, except when they talk about the war for hours on end. I read pretty fast, and I remember a lot of what I read and hear, so I have a lot of random facts in my head. It's just too bad I can never retreive the right ones when I'm playing Trivial Pursuit.

It's a bit sad that it was harder than I expected to come up with seven things I love about myself. I think we should all think about these things more often. It's good for the sould. If you haven't already joined in this meme, get on the bandwagon now. It'll be fun. Trust me!

P.S. I still don't have internet access at home. It's making me crazy, but I hate the thought of calling the help desk, so I painted the bathroom instead. Crazy avoidance tactics, but they work for me (sort of).

P.P.S. It's Flag Day today and it's my cute brother Gage's birthday. Shout out to our country and our flag today. And, shout out to Gage for a very happy birthday!

A Weekend Without Internet

When I got home from work on Friday, I promptly brought my internet and wireless network to their knees. It’s a talent of mine. Really it is. After troubleshooting with my brother on the phone until 11:30 p.m., I gave up for the night. I tried working on it again on Saturday, but had no luck getting things back up and running. I’m still without internet at home (though the wireless network is working, so I can transfer files between computers to my heart’s content). I’ll need to call helpdesk, which is on the list with root canals and weeding the garden, to get things fixed, so wish me luck with that this evening. In the meantime, here are my random thoughts compiled over the three days without internet.

1. My DH never had internet access before moving in with me, but now he’s an addict. You’d think I took his crack pipe away considering the reaction I got when he found out he couldn’t update his fantasy baseball roster. It’s funny now, but that’s only because he came to my office with me on Sunday and did his update.
2. The Duchess had her ultrasound and found out the baby is a boy. Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Yarnation!
3. I couldn’t access my book club titles to finish the contest, so I didn’t have a winner on Friday. I decided to let the Duchess play, even though she was late with her submissions. I love being in charge and changing the rules on a whim. I'll try not to make it a habbit though. And, the winner is…. (drum roll please) Lucy's Eclectic Literature Club. I'll be delivering a copy of our book of the month to An Ordinary Mom. Thanks everyone for playing along! Thanks to my mom and dad for judging all of the entries and deciding on that one.
4. Seattle weather is crazy. We planned a BBQ for Saturday and ate at the dinner table. Fortunately, the company was outstanding, so it really didn’t matter where we ate. And the best part was that we ate the best pork ribs the DH has ever made, in my opinion.
5. Between swimming lessons and physical therapy (for chronic back pain over the last six years), my training schedule is all off. The Race for the Cure is this Saturday and I’m guessing I’ll end up walking far more than running. Bummer! The good news is that my back won’t hurt when I’m done.
6. The D.H. and I went to the flooring store to pick out a new floor for the bathroom. We’re not very good at this kind of thing yet. We’re working on it though. We picked out some great Marmoleum in a color called Watermelon. I think it will look great when it’s installed. Tonight, I’ll pick some paint to go with it on the shower install wall as an accent to the drab beige in the rest of the bathroom.
7. I really miss blogging when I’m away for a few days. I realize there’s not much action over the weekend, but I still missed it.

That's all for now!

Swimming for Fun and Profit

I swam this morning with Erick the swim instructor. I've been exhausted all day. I'm pretty sure you've all heard that swimming is supposed to be really great excercise - perhaps the best overall for your body. Well, if my exhaustion is any indication, then it must be true.

I decided that I need to be able to swim in addition to my other workouts. (It's not so I can participate in the Danskin triathlon though. It's just for variety and better overall fitness. If I happen to do Danskin, it's just a coincidence. Really.)

I've had three lessons now and I've been able to do three crawl strokes in a row with correct breathing. Are you amazed at my progress? Well, it's a lot of progress for me, anyway. My instructor is really nice, so he never laughs out loud, but I'm sure he's laughing on the inside.

Mmmm... Cherries!

Today didn't start out as the best day ever. It actually started out with running intervals at the gym, which isn't really my idea of fun. Then at work, I couldn't get Live Meeting to work for the meeting I had to lead at 8:00 a.m. Then I worked 12 hours straight with about 10 minutes to get my lunch and no other breaks.

Work is great, so I'm not really complaining. I'm just saying that the day wasn't really fantastic -- that is, until I got home. And there was a package. And it was from the organic fruit of the month club that my delightful parents signed us up for as a Christmas gift that just keeps on giving.

The box had strawberries on the outside, but even more fabulous than strawberries, it had CHERRIES ON THE INSIDE. BIG ROSEY RED RIPE BING CHERRIES! Cherries, I tell you, that taste like heaven. And that is how my day ended in a wonderful way.

And then I sanded the mud around the bathtub. Life is good.

My Online Book Club

I think I've finally decided on a format for my online book club. I'm going to plan on a book a month with book announcements two months out on the 1st, a reminder of which book we’re reading on the 1st of the month in which we are reading the book, and discussions starting on the 1st for the book selection from the previous month. Hopefully I haven’t completely confused you yet.

I would also like to look at a variety of literary styles and forms, so it won’t just be fiction loved by Lucy. I’m trying on new books and hope you like it. I’m reading books I haven’t read before, so there may be some we love and some we hate. What the heck. It will be fun!

This month is a little off since I didn’t already announce the book to read for June, be here we go anyway (a few days tardy already).

The book for June is The Painted Veil, by W. Somerset Maugham.

The great Maugham here offers the 1925 story of Kitty Fane, an adulterous wife forced to take a hard look at her own life after her husband takes her to where there is a cholera epidemic. The things she thought important suddenly don't seem so. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

The book for July is Your Money and Your Man, by Michelle Singletary

Here at last is the lowdown on how to manage your finances with the man in your life. Money is the #1 problem couples fight about, says beloved Washington Post financial columnist Michelle Singletary. Acknowledging that most fights about money are usually about something else-like feelings of fear or resentment-Singletary stresses the value of open dialogue. In her trademark no-holds-barred style, she shows us how to handle the entire range of financial issues couples face-from splitting the dinner bill when dating to planning for retirement together after years of marriage.

I'm looking forward to having a great online discussion about The Painted Veil starting on July 1st.

P.S. Let's make it even more fun by having a contest. Help me name the new online book club. I'll ask 2 non-partial judges to determine the winner and send a copy of The Painted Veil or Your Money and Your Man (winner's choice) to the winner of the contest. All submissions must be logged in comments to this post on or before midnight (PST) Thursday, June 7th with judging on Friday the 8th.

Race for the Cure

I'm participating in the Race for the Cure on June 16th. It's just under two weeks away and I really love this event. It's a 5K run, which is just about my limit, but I can pretty much do it. It's such a great environment seeing so many amazing and strong women and also the families of women who have suffered from breast cancer. As Anzzy says, "so many of my friends have great ta-tas and I would hate to see them loose them for any reason. Too many great ta-tas have been sacrificed, as well as the really great girls that they belong to."

I'm raising funds, because it's what we do when we Race for the Cure. If you're interested in giving, please go to my fundraising site and make a donation. No pressure, though! Just if you'd like. :)

Before and After

Today I finally have a shower/tub that I can plug up and take a bath in. I'm not the hugest fan of baths, but I like having the option. When I moved into the house I live in now, the plumbing was the worste thing about it. I had no water pressure and the tub had to be the original 1953 fixture. The drain was almost rusted out and had a basket wedged in so tight it couldn't come out (that also kept me from putting the plug in so that the water wouldn't drain). There had also been a shower door at one time that was removed to leave three rusty pock marks on the edge of the tub. I'm sure you can imagine how beautiful it was.

Thursday night, the DH spent over three hours breaking up the tub and ripping out drywall and insulation to prep for the plumber Friday. (He's beautiful in his safety glasses!) It was a really messy job with all kinds of nasty things flying through the air. I think the cleanup took longer than the demolition -- though that may almost always be the case. I think the DH may have actually enjoyed breaking up the tub with a sledge hammer, but it was downhill from there. Removing the fawcet included turning off the water main and going without water over night. Good thing the DH could shower at our dear Penny's house, so he didn't have to go to bed covered in sweat, dust, and other things that flew onto him in the process.

On Friday, the plumber installed the shower/tub combo and left us (or should I say, left the DH) with the finishing work. That means he has to put in the drywall, tape and mud it, texturize, and paint. No problem! Today, the DH had his friend The Duke come over to help and they got all the drywall put up. It will take a few days to get the rest of it done, but we're making great progress!

California Dreamin'

Most of the DH's family lives in California and I'd never met many of them. Only his sister Shannon, her husband, and their parents were in Seattle for our wedding, so that's all the clan I had met. Since it was about time I was introduced to them, we decided to head down for the McDonald event of the year -- the DH's nephew Kelly's wedding to Amanda.

The DH's parents live in Jackson, CA, so we went to see them first. We had a great time seeing the beauty of northern California and visiting with the DH's parents, having great food, and going deep within the bowels of the earth. I can highly recommend the tour of "Black Chasm" just outside Jackson in Volcano, CA. It's a deep vertical cave with some amazing rock formations inside. We also ate at a great restaurant in Amador, CA. If you're ever that way, you've just got to stop by Tommy's. The food was great and the staff was super nice.

On Saturday, we headed to North Fork, CA where the DH's brother Mike lives. The wedding was at his house, so we went and met all kinds of DH family. It was great to meet them and the wedding was wonderful. The setting was something you couldn't have planned better if you build the house just for that. We also enjoyed seeing the amazing views, including part of Yosemite Park in the distance. The wedding was beautiful and then we went to the North Fork town hall for the reception. They did a great job with the food and decorations and we had a good time socializing with everyone there.

On Sunday, we went to church with the DH's sister Shirla and then stopped back by Mike's house. It was great to see Kelly and Amanda and get a chance to chat with them a little more on Sunday when they weren't quite so busy.

We finished off the trip by stopping in Sacramento and walking through Old Town. The DH lived in Sacramento at one time and was happy to show it off to me. We didn't see The Governator, but we did enjoy the few minutes in the city before heading back to the airport and home.

The Peninsula Trip

This weekend, Patrick and I had a lot of things going on Saturday. It was SO busy, but we didn’t have any plans for the rest of the weekend. Before going to bed on Saturday night, we decided we’d take a drive and see what we could see. You can see what we saw on Flickr if you'd like.

We went to early sacrament meeting on Sunday morning and then left the house and headed west. We drove up to Edmonds (about 10 miles north of here) and hopped on the ferry to Kingston. We then drove over the Hood Canal bridge and through Port Gamble and over to Sequim and Port Angeles. It was raining when we left Seattle and kept up until we got to Sequim (that’s pronounced “skwim” if you’re interested).
In Port Angeles, we booked a hotel room and then headed for the end of the U.S. We drove out highway 101 and then turned up 112 heading through Joyce to Neah Bay. The drive was spectacular and we especially enjoyed the group of bald eagles at Neah Bay. They were right there between the highway and the water, just about 20 feet. Some were flying around and others were perched by the water. Neah Bay is in the Makaw Indian reservation. It’s fairly depressed, but still in a lovely setting.

After driving through town, we turned off the main road to a gravel road and drove out toward Cape Flattery. The road got us within half a mile of the northwest most point in the lower 48. We loved the hike and chatted with some delightful people along the way. We saw the lighthouse out at Katoosh Island and then hiked back to the car.

The drive back to Port Angeles included a really nice sunset and some pretty funny sightings. We especially enjoyed the street sign for Bythe Way and Whata Way, the marker for Itsa Creek, and of course McDonald Creek.

On Monday morning, we had a nice breakfast at Café Garden, reputedly the best restaurant in Port Angeles, and were on our way back home, sort of. We went back toward Joyce to Angel Crest Gardens to get a hanging basket. We saw them on Sunday and just had to go back. There was a huge variety of wonderful plantings. We found one we both really liked and then headed back in the direction of home.
We took a slight detour to a Lavender farm where the DH bought some smelly soap. I like lavender, but it was all a bit strong for me. Patrick enjoys the smelly stuff much more than I do. After the detour, we drove to Kingston and took our ferry ride back to our side of the water and got home shortly after 5:00. The day in Seattle was beautiful, so we grilled up some steaks on the BBQ (courtesy of the Duke – thanks again!) and called it a day.

Weekend Trip to Cape Flattery

The DH and I spent Sunday and Monday exploring more of the peninsula. We basically just headed West until there wasn't anywhere to go unless we wanted to swim. And I'm not quite ready for the open water swim yet.

We took lots of photos, but my favorited are probably of the hike to Cape Flattery. The cape is the norhtwestmost point in the 48 contiguous united states. It was pretty cool to hike in and to know we were out that far.

You can see most of our Cape Flattery pictures on Flickr. More pics of this weekend and our previous trip to come. Stay tuned...

Finished Project

I've finished one of my projects that I've had on the back burner for a while. A friend had a baby, so I wanted to have a receiving blanket as a gift. I have about four sewn and ready for the crocheted edge, so I took one on the California trip two weeks ago. I got most of the way done on that trip and finished it up last Thursday. I was just in time for our visit to see the new baby Rose on Saturday.

After looking through my stash, I found another finished one that looked more feminine, so I didn't give this one away - yet.

Memorial Day

I'm really not very political, but today is Memorial Day, so I want to give a shout out to all those great men and women who are in the military and also add my prayers to the many thousands of others for the families of those who have lost loved ones due to the conflicts that they are fighting in. I'm so grateful for the dedication of the folks in the military. Even though I'm not as supportive of some of the decisions that put them in harms way, I pray for them every day and hope they can all come home safe to their families.

I'm grateful for my most favorite vet -- the DH!

What Kind of Shoes Are You?

Many of you already know of my shoe love. I think I could buy new shoes every week and never tire of it. Since I can't afford that kind of shoe habit, I just took the test to tide me over. Check it out.

You are Slinky Heels!

You're an uptown, well put together woman But you're not too uptight to enjoy a hot club You're always the best dressed chick in the room And you'll only settle for the best in men

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

So Long, Farewell, Aufwiedersehen, Goodnight

Last night, we all got to say goodbye to one of the old standby shows, the Gilmore Girls. I have mixed feelings about the series ending. I'll miss the great characters I grew to love, but I won't miss the train wreck that was the seventh season. The sixth season was almost as bad, too. I hung in there anyway, being so loyal like I am. Fortunately, the season finale did not disappoint. We got to see Rori, Lorelei, and Luke just like we like them. They all came through in the end.

Seven Random Things

Lizzy at My Ice Cream Diary tagged me for the seven random things meme. Here goes...

1. I like to sing along with the radio or CDs and I never know the words. Sometimes I make stuff up. Sometimes I pretend I know them. Sometimes I just scat.
2. There was a time when I drank upwards of 72 oz. of Diet Coke a day. When I taught school, I would get a big gulp on my way into work at Circle K and then drink even more throughout the day. Then I went cold turkey for a while. Then I took it up again and gave it up again several more times. When I started working at Microsoft and got married, I started drinking Diet Dr. Pepper. Now I drink both DC and DDP. I still drink too much, but nowhere near the amounts I was drinking when I taught school.
3. I love driving with standard transmission and am still sad that I drive an automatic. It had to be done though after moving to Seattle. The stop and go traffic is just too much for a standard transmission.
4. I lost one of my front teeth when I was only two. I got hit with a swing and it had to be pulled because it was all broken up. As a result, I had terrible buck teath. I've very grateful for orthodonture.
5. I always have my toenails painted. Right now, I even have pretty flowers painted on my big toes.
6. My all-time favorite song is Passionate Kisses sung by Mary Chapin-Carpenter.
7. I have more pairs of shoes than I can count. So many that they are overflowing from my closet, yet I still want more. I could buy a pair a week and never tire of buying shoes. Of course, I’ve been buying flip-flops to curb my appetite at the smallest possible expense.

I Love Miracle Whip

I made cake yesterday because it was my turn to bring cake for the birthday at work. I only had two eggs and the most basic of ingredients, but I did have a jar of Miracle Whip. That's why I ended up making Miracle Whip cake. The recipe is a family recipe from my Mom's family. I have no idea how far back it goes, but those ladies in Malad, ID sure knew how to make a tasty cake. It was a hit at work. I made two rounds and put cream cheese frosting in between the layers and chocolate ganache frosting on top. YUM! It was also super easy and a great cake to make from scratch. Here's the recipe for all of you dieing to make Miracle Whip cake. And trust me, it tastes a lot better than it sounds.

Miracle Whip Cake

1 cup sugar

1 cup Miracle Whip

¼ cup cocoa

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons soda

1 tablespoon vanilla

Combine sugar, Miracle Whip, cocoa, and salt. Add 1 cup hot water. Add flour, soda, and vanilla, and blend lightly. Bake 35 minutes at 350°.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

1 cup sugar

5 tablespoons butter or margarine

⅓ cup milk

1 cup chocolate chips

Combine sugar, butter and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. It will be quite runny. Refrigerate until cool and of a thicker, spreading consistency. Check every 15 minutes or so and stir. If it gets too stiff, heat it briefly to make it spreadable.

My Neck of the Woods - Part Two

Here's the rest of the pictures of my neck of the woods. You can see the DH watering a pot with flowers in it.

The lilacs are SO beautiful right now. I brought a big bunch in the house and the living room smells yummy now.

I love our little deck with adarondack chairs. It's lovely for relaxing.

Then there's my least favorite part of the backyard -- the apartment building looking down on us.

Out front, you can see our street looking South...

and looking North...

and way up there on the right is the firehouse. We love having a firehouse on our block. The nephews have a field trip every time they're here!

Would You Join My Virtual Book Club?

I'm thinking about starting a virtual book club on my blog. I'd take suggestions for reading material and then have a discussion about a month after selecting a book. If I were to do this, would you join me? I mean, I can read on my own, but the discussion with myself seems a little silly. It's only fun if my virtual friends and lurkers join in. Whadaya say? Wanna join a book club? (Mom -- this includes you too!)

My Neck of the Woods

I just love my neck of the woods. It's really beautiful in Seattle. I have friends who have been posting about their neighborhoods and I decided to venture farther than my street for part one of my neighborhood post.

Here are a few pics from a recent trip downtown. By the way, I just have to state for the record that I hate it in Grey's Anatomy when they show the Pike Street Market sign out the window of the hospital. That's just silliness.

And that's the end of your Market tour!

Shout Out to Gage Ray!

Everyone give a shout out for my baby brother that graduated yesterday with his MBA. He's so awesome! He's well on his way to becoming a CPA and he's doing great work with the education he has. What a great guy! And he's my brother. And he has a super cute family to boot, so they get to all be pictured here with him.

A Completed Project!

Well, wonders never cease. This past weekend, I went to Boise with three projects in tow and I actually completed one of them. Becky turned me on to making easy bags from placemats, so I bought the stuff I’d need to make three of them.

The first one was a bit disappointing because I found out part way through that the placemats were not even close to the same size. I had measured the handles from the outside of each placemat, so they didn’t match up after sewing. Realizing that all the placemats I bought were different sizes, I decided to make two small bags instead of one larger bag for the next undertaking. I thought the small bags turned out great. I gave them to my nieces Mackenzie and Abby for scripture bags for church.

Then I made the last bag, knowing that the placemats were different sizes. It was a lot easier, because I just eyed everything in since it wouldn’t line up anyway. It turned out much better than the first one.

While in Boise, I also visited my friend Andrea. Her ward had been making these and she made me a really cute bag too. So, I came home with three finished bags and gave two away. Oh, wait. I had to make one more small one. When Brooke didn’t have one, she got mad, so Mom found an old placemat and I quickly sewed one more smaller bag. Yay! Finished projects! (Of course, I didn’t even start on either of the other two projects. Hah!)

Wanna Laugh?

Seriously, I laughed out loud at work while reading this. I found it while blog hopping and enjoyed every bit of it.

Choosing Between Good and Good

When I was a little kid, I remember hearing lessons in Sunday school about making choices. At the time, I was told that there was always a good and a bad choice and I had to make the good choice. Bad choices have consequences that I might not like, so I shouldn’t choose those. Well, now that I’m a little older, I realize that it’s not that simple. Far too often, I’m faced with choosing between two good things. And I don’t mean choosing between Peanut Butter Fudge and Pralines ‘n’ Cream at Baskin Robbins. I mean having to make hard choices about who I disappoint this time because I need to be in two good places at once.

I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes when I have to choose between being in one of two places, it’s because I double-booked and it’s really my fault and the bad choice was not looking at the calendar in the first place. I could write an entire blog about how I do that way too often. That’s not really what I’m talking about here though.

This week I am faced with the choice between two good things. I committed to going to a visiting teaching workshop at church on Tuesday evening. I even signed up to bring a veggie platter. Yesterday, the DH found out that our ward had an assignment at the temple on the very same evening. The DH is responsible for making sure that three couples are able to meet the obligation. That’s no easy task when there’s a visiting teaching workshop the same evening that most of the women are attending.

So, it looks like I get to choose between fulfilling a temple assignment or attending a visiting teaching workshop. They’re both really good things. Of course, when it comes to priorities, I have to go with the DH. Even though I don’t think the temple is necessarily the better choice, it is the place that my husband wants me to be. For now, that trumps everything else, so that’s how I’m making my decision. Perhaps the blog entry should be about prioritizing. It usually does come down to that.

Girls Night Out

I know some pretty amazing people. I feel really blessed to have good friends all over the place. Some of the fun women that I’ve become acquainted with in Seattle got together last night for a Girl’s Night Out. We had a great time. An Ordinary Mom, Jamie, and Lizzy are all here in Seattle. Hope came from Vashon Island and Becky came up from Portland. I’m grateful to Becky for arranging the outing. I hadn’t seen Hope in ages and hadn’t seen Lizzy in way too long either.

We had dinner at the Azteca at the mall. We talked and laughed and ate great food. After enjoying about two hours together at dinner, we hadn’t had enough, so we went into the mall. An Ordinary Mom and Becky found delicious smelling body butter while Lizzy and I found fun makeup at MAC. The woman helping us was fabulous. I showed Hope the fun features on my new hybrid car and then went home exhausted.

The evening got me thinking about all my great friends. I enjoy so many of the people I’ve met in Seattle that have moved away. As much as we hate to see them go, it gives the DH and me a reason to go to a lot of new places to visit them, so it’s a good thing.

I miss Catherine in Nashville and Camille in Springville. They are some of the best roommates I ever had and they have wonderful husbands and children now that I enjoy as well. I haven’t seen either of them since my wedding and I want them to get to know my wonderful husband too. Too bad he isn’t named Paul like both of their husbands.

I miss my really good friends in Boise too. I’m so blessed to have friends that I’ve known since I was small who I can still get together with now and enjoy as if we had seen each other yesterday. Andrea and Kathy are two of my favorite people and I’m so glad both of them moved back to Boise after years away. Maybe I can join them in the return trek to Boise at some point, but not today. Instead, I’ll just go visit. I’ll see Andrea’s new baby next weekend, and I can’t wait.

I also have amazing sisters-in-law. I don’t think I could have been happier if I’d hand-picked them myself and I’m especially lucky to have one here close by.

I guess this post is sort of connected to the post about my “Person” in that I’ve been thinking about the huge web of folks who support me in my life. I’m so glad there are many friends out there so I never have to worry about being alone. Here’s to all our friends, however we know them. Who are your friends and why do you stay in touch?

What? Me, Thinking?

I’m so honored to be included in The Duchess’ Thinking Blogger list. How very cool is that? I think so highly of her and The Duke that it’s cool that she would be so complimentary. I really value her opinion and I know she’s no slouch. You might even enjoy looking at her blog, Yarnation, if you haven’t linked from my blog to hers already.

These are the rules:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (silver version, gold version)

Like The Duchess, I read a lot of blogs. Many of them make me think, so I’ll try to choose five. It’s tough, but I’m up to the challenge.

An Ordinary Mom – She’s in a very different stage of life than I am, but many of the things she writes about are so universal that I can’t help but enjoy them and even respond. I also think she has one of the most wonderful families and I appreciate her sharing her challenges and joys with us.

Feminist Mormon Housewives – This is a big blog that covers a lot of area. It makes me feel like there might actually be others that think like me at the same time it makes me uncomfortable. And the discomfort is that really great kind that you get in a good college course that challenges your way of thinking and makes you ask yourself why you have the notions you do.

Dooce – She’s a great writer and I feel like a huge voyeur watching her life. It’s OK though. She likes it that way.

Anna Maria Horner – She makes me think I might be able to do some of the really cool crafts that she does. I have a million ideas when I read her blog. I haven’t done any of them yet (see my five obsessions blog to understand more), but I love all the cool things she does.

Mental Tesserae – She’s a humanities professor and mom of four that never quits with the interesting information and insights. I love seeing her choices of art and the connections she makes between art and life. She’s also a fabulous writer and I would love to be half so talented. I'm usually just a lurker on her site, but I really do love it.

Well, that's my list. There are so many others, but maybe they'll have to just wait for another good post.

Five Obsessions

obsession: 1. Compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea or an unwanted feeling or emotion, often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety. 2. A compulsive, often unreasonable idea or emotion. 3. A perfume by Calvin Klein.

An Ordinary Mom tagged me for the obsession meme. I am supposed to list five things I am obsessed with right now. In no particular order...

• E-mail and blogs – it’s a little embarrassing to say that I check e-mail and blogs too many times a day, even when I’m not working. As an example, I checked my hotmail account at least four times while out of town in Chicago last week.
• Watching Gilmore Girls – It must be an obsession when the writing has become so horrible and the characters so morphed from the ones I grew to love at the beginning of the series, but I still have to see every episode.
• Shopping for shoes – I don’t always buy and I just can’t bring myself to pay more than $100, but I love to buy shoes and you can tell if you see my closet. I’ve tried to channel the obsession in $5 flip-flops to decrease the cost of this particular obsession.
• Checking my bank balance – So, this one is just plain weird. I know. It’s not like it even changes that much in 24 hours, but I have to check it at least once a day. I think I got paranoid at some point about someone getting access to my account and stealing all my money, so I have to keep my eyes on it at all times. Or maybe I’m just a little obsessed with my bank balance.
• Starting craft projects – You’ll notice that I didn’t say finishing craft projects. That’s not what it’s all about. Sometimes someone else finishes the project for me, sometimes I abandon it altogether, and sometimes I actually do finish. The rush for me is in the planning and the starting, but not so much the execution of the project. Bummer for me since I’ve started some really amazing projects.

Now that I’ve shared my obsessions, I’m tagging five more bloggers for the meme. What do you say Daddy Shark, Annzy, the SIL, the other SIL, and Lizzy at My Ice Cream Diary? Will you share your five obsessions?

Who's Your "Person"?

I've been watching Grey's Anatomy and they talk about their "Person" quite often. It's the person who is not your spouse or girl/boyfriend, but the person who you want to go to first to tell when something really great happens or really horrible happens.

I've been thinking about who my "Person" might be and I've had a hard time deciding on just one. When the DH proposed, my "Person" was my mom. When I got the job I have now at MS, my "Person" was Sam. When I got rear-ended on the freeway, my "Person" was the DH. I also realized that it has changed over time. There may have been that one "Person" in the past, but now I have a really great collection of people that I want to share my life with. It makes me think that I don't really have just one "Person" and I think that's OK.

I'm not sure I have a great answer, but I'm curious about you. Who's your "Person"?

The Sister Who Sews

I just have to share my sister's awesome talent. She's amazing. Check this out on Girl Who Knits. She's the blessed recipient of my sister's talent for making magical quilts. And this quilt was made for another lucky soul. Annzy rocks. And sometimes I benefit from her talents too. I've recieved some lovely crafts from her. Yay! Kid sisters who craft are the best.

Easter Morn

We woke to a beautiful Easter morning today. Of course, since it's Seattle, it was short lived, but beautiful all the same. The Easter bunny visited us with a bunch of sugar-free candy and chocolate and we had a lovely church service. I especially enjoyed the talk about looking at how the different Mary's reflected on the Savior. It was lovely. We've also enjoyed a really nice easter meal of ham and scalloped potatoes (my first try at making potatoes that way!) and had friends over for sugar-free pie in the evening. All in all, it was a wonderful Easter Sunday.

Leaving Las Vegas

Our last day in Vegas was really fun. We started the day with pedicures (though Patrick passed on that -- I don't know why). I got the retro flowers to go with the Beattles' LOVE theme. My feet were so soft and it was nice and cheap.

Then we had some of the best sushi. Who knew you could have great sushi that far inland? We had a lovely afternoon and then had a great dinner at Chicago Joe's. It was great Italian fare and we all left fat and happy.

After dinner we went to the strip and to the Bellagio hotel to see the Chihuley glass sculptures, the flower sculptures, and the choreographed fountain. The fountain was pretty amazing and we almost got to see a girl fight. A German lady and a Latina woman got into it right in front of us, but stopped short of fisticuffs. Good times!

After another short night, we flew home on Tuesday morning. I was so glad to sleep in my own bed Tuesday night!

Valley of Fire

I love seeing petroglyphs. It's kind of a wierd thing, but I really do love it. On Sunday, we went to the Valley of Fire, not too far outside Las Vegas, so see the rock formations and petroglyphs. The rocks are all dark red and look really cool. There are all different formations and we took a very small hike to see some petroglyphs.



The petroglyphs were really amazing. I just wish we could tell what story was being told. After that, we went back to a great bar-b-que of steaks and corn on the cob. Add watching conference to that and you get a great sabath.

Viva! Las Vegas

We're still talking about Vegas, but it's a day later. On Saturday, we drove to Prim and rode one of the best roller coasters ever. It goes 85 miles an hour and has a 250 foot drop that feels like a huge free fall. The free fall probably lasts 8-10 seconds, which is eons in roller coaster time. I loved it!

That evening, we went to our second show, Mystere. It was really different from LOVE. It had really cool ethereal music and great acrobatics. The costuming was surreal and it was a lot of fun. We really enjoyed it and decided that it doesn't really compare with LOVE. They were both great in really different ways.