Third Trip in Three Weeks

Rager made a comment about all of my posts ending with talk about sleeping in my own bed. It's true. I've been traveling a little too much and when I'm away, I dream about my own bed.

Now I'm in Anchorage. The good news is that this is, again, personal travel. The DH's oldest son turned 29 yesterday and we flew to Anchorage with his younger son to take part in the big surprise. We just showed up at the restaurant he and his wife and daughters were going to for his birthday dinner. It was a wonderful surprise and we had a really good dinner at Benihana in downtown Anchorage.

This morning, I ate reindeer sausage for breakfast. Seriously. it was pretty good, too. Now we're hanging out for the rest of the weekend in Alaska. It's my first visit to the state and I think it may not be the most beautiful time of year, but I'm still in awe of the mountains here. BEAUTIFUL! I thought Provo had the best mountain view, but I think Anchorage wins--especially since it has water on the other side, which is a special bonus.

Weekend With the Family

The DH and I had a great weekend in Boise with a bunch of my family. We flew out early Friday morning and worked most of the day in our Boise office. I got to see the digs there and meet a few new folks and say hi to some of my old friends there. That evening, we had yummy Taco Soup with Rager and Kins and their darling boys. That youngest one of theirs is quite the little monkey. At one point, after being left alone for a matter of minutes, he was on top of the gum ball machine that sits on top of a five foot bookcase. I hope he doesn't end up with too many stitches in his life, but he has no fear.

On Saturday, I ran errands with my Dad, went to Del Taco with the DH and then we all went to my cute niece's baptism. She turned eight earlier this month and her Dad baptized her and then confirmed her a member of the church. She was so cute. She wore the same dress that my mom originally made for my baptism, then both my sisters were baptized in it and now my two neices who have gotten old enough have been baptized in it. It was such a little blast from the past and she was just as cute as can be.

On Sunday, we celebrated my sister's birthday. We had to have yellow cake baked in a bowl and she likes chocolate frosting the best, so we had to get creative to figure out how to decorate the cake. Annzy hooked us up with a really cute cake on Martha Stewart's web site and we were on our way to making the cutest monkey cake you can imagine. She loved it! We had a great family dinner and then monkey cake and ice cream.

Now the DH and I have arrived back home in Seattle and are looking forward to sleeping in our own bed again.

Internet Woes

Well, this morning I got internet back at home. The support center was down over the weekend, I was on hold for over an hour on Monday with no luck, I called at 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday to find out that's when the support center closes now. Finally, this morning, I got Raj on the phone to help me. It took about 20 minutes and I'm bak online.

I've been very frustrated with AT&T DSL, but it looks like my only other really good (but expensive) choice is Comcast broadband. Word on the street is that ClearWire has too many outages, which would be worse than my current woes. I can't get Qwest or Verizon as it looks like my phone line isn't supported by either of them or I'm too far away from their office, or whatever the real reason is.

In the end, I may just be keeping AT&T anyway. No matter how frustrated they made me over the weekend, they're one of the few high-speed games in town.

If anyone has a better suggestion, I'm open to it!

No Rest for the Wicked

I sure am glad to be sleeping in my own bed, but the stars were against me this weekend. I needed to put together a flyer for Relief Society and a small justification document for our big new client over the weekend. This was in addition to the Relief Society luncheon, nephew's birthday party, and Easter dinner with the family.

On Friday evening, the internet just stopped working at our house. That meant that I had no access to the information I needed for the flyer or the justification document. I was not a happy camper, but I was sure that the AT&T DSL helpdesk would make it all right for me. I was wrong. When I called, they told me their systems were down until Monday and I could call back then.

That's when I had the mild breakdown. The DH was out putting gas in my car and delivering some Easter goodies, so he got to miss it. Lucky man. There were two other results of this news. One is the decision to quit AT&T DSL for good (after more than 15 years of loyalty) and the second was to go into work on Sunday afternoon to get caught up on those things that required internet access.

Today, it looks like things are all coming together. The justification document is being edited and I have everything I need for the Relief Society flyer. I'm also more or less done with writing the information I need for the big bid. And this evening, I'm going to the mall to sign up for Clearwire. All's well.

Dreaming of My Own Bed

I'm tired but happy. Yesterday, our client called at almost 7:00 p.m. to tell us that they had selected us as the partner for a large proposal. When 5:00 came and went and then 6:00 came and went, we weren't sure what to think, but they finally called with the good news.

That means that I have a bunch of work ahead of me to get the proposal finalized by Tuesday, but it also means that we have begun what could be a long and prosperous relationship with a large company that is new to my company. It's a pretty significant win. It was also kind of cool to be in the position of really selling what we do, so that feels pretty good right now.

Finally, I am happy because I'm flying 1st class to get home and I'll be able to sleep in my own bed tonight. I'm really looking forward to that.

Life is good!

Detroit Blues

So, I'm in Detroit right now. I'm heading home tomorrow, and can't wait to be back with the DH. I miss him when I'm away. I also had tickets to a concert in Seattle for tonight, but instead, I'm in the steal belt.

I just finished a pretty intense presentation to a prospective client and now we have to wait until the end of the day for their response to our porposal. If they accept our proposal, it means a bunch more work for me leading upt to another proposal due next week. I feel like I'm running a marathon and I only trained for a 5K.

I found out that Hilary Clinton was giving a speach in Detroit in the building down the block from where I was giving a presentation pretty much at the same time. I didn't get a crowd though. Only six people listened to my stuff. I actually would have liked to hear her and that would have made it feel like there was something really cool to do in Detroit.

Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! It's the DH's holiday, so we had to do it up right.

We put together a lovely meal of corned beef, cabbage, boiled potatoes, and soda bread. It was a meal fit for an Irish-American imigrant. We found out that no one in Ireland eats this on St. Patrick's or any other day. They're partial to pig.
We couldn't eat all of that food ourselves, so we invited over a few other couples and they enjoyed it with us. And big thanks to Lorraine for bringing the green rice krispies treats. They were squishy, marshmallowy goodness all the way.

Teased by Spring

There are so many signes of Spring right now that I'm just bursting with anticipation. The camelia bush down the street if covered with flowers. The cherry tree in our yard is just starting to blossom. We have pussy willows on the table (courtesy of the nice neighbors accross the street). And, best of all, we keep having sunny days that are startin to feel warm.

Today it was cold and this evening, cold and stormy. I know Spring is on the way, but I'm getting impatient!

Burning the Candle

It's been a long week and it looks like I may have one more in front of me. Last week I had three late nights putting together bids for potential new customers. During the day I had been dealing with all sorts of things to do with staffing, project quality, attrition, and gross prophit. I won't bore you with the details. I just want you to know that a lot has been going on.

On Friday, I was in a seminar all day on Silverlight (a new tool that Microsoft developed that completes with Adobe Flash) and also joined a sales conference call for two hours in the of the day -- skipping lunch to be on the call. The result of that call is that we passed the first gate in the sales process and I now get to go to Detroit, MI to work on the next step in the process. It's not easy to go from Seattle to Detroit, so it means being gone for basically three days.

One good thing about the folks I work with now is that I have some amazing people on staff. Although we are a bit short-handed, the hands that are on deck are willing to really put in their best all-out effort. Also, we've hired what I hope is our last project manager and he will start on April 7th. With his addition to our team, things should even out for all of us.

On top of much going on at work, church has also been a major time commitment. We had our last ward conference today, so I'm doing teaching the Releif Society lesson to all the wards as of today. We have our semi-annual Releif Society President's luncheon for the stake this coming Saturday and all I have to do for that is bring salad for a dozen ladies. Then our Women's Conference is April 12th. The preparations for that are almost complete, but I still have to put together all of the programs and print out all of the name tags and invitations. It's a lot, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

In between all that, the DH and I will be going to Boise to attend my neice's baptism and then to Anchorage to celebrate the DH's son's birthday.

I think I'm looking forward to May.

Things I'm loving right now

I know it's been too long -- again -- but I'm doing the best I can right now. I'm a busy bee at work and with church obligations right now, but I still want to share some of the things I'm really enjoying right now.

• I just got Cheryl Crow's new album and love the song Peace Be Upon Us.
• Pussywillows from the nieghbors accross the street as a thank-you for the baby blanket.
• Parties for friends and the High Priest group.
• Reading magazines (like Oprah and Self) but not a book.
• Daylight savings and light on my way home from work.
• Crocus and soon-to-blossom grape hyacinth.
• Going to the gym with the DH.
• Yummy ruby-red grapefruit.

What are you enjoying these days?

Taco Soup

For Groundhog's Day, we went to Colin and Sam's for fun, food, and games. Sam made Taco Soup and the DH wondered why we never had that. It's one of the easiest things to make and takes all of five minutes to put together. Add to that that it tastes great and you have the makings of a great, easy meal.

Taco Soup

1 pound hamburger
1 onion chopped
1 16-ounce can tomato sauce
1 can whole tomatoes
1 16-ounce can corn (I use ½ cup frozen corn)
1 small can green chilies (I never use this much – put a little in and then taste it)
1 package taco seasoning
1 can small red beans
1 can chili beans
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown hamburger and pour off grease. Add rest of the ingredients and simmer. Garnish with chips, grated cheese, sour cream, and avocado.

The Master Butcher's Singing Club

Well, I finally finished it. Last night, I read the final pages of The Master Butcher's Singing Club. It only took me since, what, October? I know, pa-the-TIC! It was a pretty good read, even if it did take me a long time. I'll blame it on changing jobs and added stress, but I think the book just didn't move along for me the way I would have liked.

The characters were all well-developed and I enjoyed the story. There's a nice little twist at the end too, in case you haven't read it. This isn't a spoiler, so don't worry, but it really didn't end as i expected.

One thing that I think many of you would appreciate is that all of the sex scenes are implied or alluded to, without any explicit descriptions. There is some homosexual love, but again, not described in any kind of lurid detail. The themes aren't for children (as in, I don't think anyone under 15 would be interested, not that it's too graphic or anything like that).

I also enjoyed the German references, but others might not enjoy those as much. Any time a foreign language is used in the book, it's not translated. Either you figure it our from the context, or you don't.

All in all, I think I would recommend it. Hopefully it wouldn't take you as long to read as it took me. Also, I'm happy to loan it out or give it to someone else who wants to read it. Just let me know. First come, first served!

Soul Food

My last post and the comments from my sibs on the merits of upside-down hamburger pie just got me thinking about those staple meals from my childhood that I love to remember. There were some I loved and some I hated.

We had a rule that you had to eat dinner with the family, but you didn't have to eat anything you didn't want to. My mom never made special stuff for anyone who didn't like what we were having for dinner that night, but we could get a bowl and eat cereal if that sounded better than whatever she cooked. Or we could make our own sandwich. Or whatever.

Anyway... these are the foods from my childhood that worked for me and didn't:

Loved it

• Ramen noodles with all the fixin's -- my mom would fry some egg, cut shallots and other vegetables and put together a whole spread to go with the noodles. I've never had as much fun with Ramen on my own.
• Chili -- mom would make chili on Saturday while we were all up at Bogus Basin skiing. We'd come home and have chili to warm us from the inside out.
• Homemade Bread -- who could pass this up? When I was young, mom would make a batch of bread dough and make cinnamon rolls and bread from it. It was divine. A loaf would never last more than the day. Whatever was left in the evening, dad would eat as bread and milk for dinner.
• Tacos -- this one might make you laugh. There was a time when mom put shredded potatoes in the taco meat to make it stretch. She always seasoned it with the Schilling taco seasoning packet and I still love that stuff to this day.
• Spaghetti -- I think this might be my mom's specialty. I've started her spaghetti more times than I could count, but I never finished it and I still can't make spaghetti taste as good as hers. The secret ingredient was ketchup, but even knowing that isn't enough for me to duplicate it.
• Fried Chicken and new potatoes -- this is my all-time favorite home meal. It's the meal to eat in August when the potatoes are ready from the garden. After making the chicken, mom would make gravy from the drippings. YUM! We might have corn on the cob too, just to make it the most amazing dinner on the planet.

Hated it

• Upside-down hamburger pie -- I think the recipe came either from the bisquick box or the Campbell's tomato soup label. The meat is seasoned with onion and tomato soup and then you put it in a pie dish and put a layer of bisqick dough on top and then bake it. I just thought it was horrible. As you can see from my previousl post, however, the family is quite divided on this topic.
• Potato soup -- I didn't actually hate it, but dad likes his clam chowder without the clams and with no thickening. Basically, it's the same recipe as clam chowder with bacon and potatoes, but no clams. I always wished we could have it thickened up instead of milky. Mom liked to make what dad liked though. I'm actually supportive of that position now though.
• Grandma Deschamps' dinner contributions -- my family will totally laugh about this. When Grandma came to visit she always thought we should eat more vegetables. My favorite horror food was when she made vegetable soup and then put it through the blender thinking we would be more likely to eat it if we couldn't identify any of the vegetables. It was horrible.
• Steak -- this is something I only hated at home. We didn't get steak very often, but it was usually a pretty thin cut and my dad like his well done. As a result, we all got ours well done. I thought I didn't like steak until I was in high school and had my first medium rare steak. Now I love the stuff.
• Fish sticks -- I think we only ate these when mom and dad were going out for dinner on their own. I may have liked them at the time, but now I really don't like fish sticks.

In the end, what I really loved about dinner growing up was that we always ate dinner together as a family. I have fond memories of spilling milk, and then spilling more, having dad make a rule about no singing at the dinner table, and sharing the highlight of our day. It fed the sould then and I still look forward to dinner with the whole family now.

My Elementary School Journal

When I was in elementary school, I got a journal for Christmas. I think I was in about the 4th grade. I would write in the journal every day for about two months. The entries are mesmerizing. I was quite the writer. Brevity was my strong point. Here's an example:

"Today I went to school. After school I went home and mom made me practice the piano. We had upside-down hamburger pie for dinner. It was gross."

After weeks on end of that kind of entry, there would be a gap of several weeks or months. Then I would start up again with an entry that looked like this.

"Sorry I haven't written in weeks. Over the last few weeks I've gone to school, gone to church, played with my friends, and we went to see Granny and Papa twice."

That was my catch up.

Well, it seems that I've become the same person in my blog. Hopefully I just had a small absence and will be back to the regular blogging now. I sure enjoy it when all the folks I read in blogs keep posting. I guess that means I should do the same.

Here's to more blogging in 2008!

Bloggers (Silent) Poetry Reading

It's time for the Zout post to go. Here's on to better and more frequent posting.

I'm a day late, but yesterday was the Third Annual Bloggers (Silent) Poetry Reading. I read about it on the Duchess' blog and thought it would be a great way to get back to posting. I want to share a poem that was shared with me once when I doubted I could what I needed to do to get through some trying times. The times are different now, but the poem still seems quite timely to me now.

Doubt
by Kay Ryan

A chick has just so much time
to chip its way out, just so much
egg energy to apply to the weakest spot
or whatever spot it started at.
It can’t afford doubt. Who can?
Doubt uses albumen
at twice the rate of work.
One backward look by any of us
can cost what it cost Orpheus.
Neither may you answer the stranger’s knock;
you know it is the person from Porlock
who eats dreams for dinner,
his napkin stained the most delicate colors.

Zout It Out

This is the most amazing stuff I've found in -- well, almost ever. I can't tell you how many shirts I have ruined with oil stains. You know the ones. You're eating salad and suddenly there's a piece of it on you and it leaves the spot of oil from the dressing. It's really just about impossible to get out. The stain stick and Shout never got those out.

A few weeks ago, an oil spot showed up on one of the DH's favorite sweatshirts. Plus, it had already been through the dryer when it was discovered and then made at least one more trip through the drier before I started working on the stain. I also splattered butter on a fairly new sweater, so I was determined to figure out how to get the stains out.

I went to a great book Queen of Clean Cleans Everything. It's a fantastic book for figuring out how to get almost anything clean, including bad luandry issues. First, I found the recommendation to put WD-40 on it. I sprayed it on, waited five minutes, and then rubbed in dish detergent, as directed by the queen, then laundered as usual. It just left a different stain. Her second suggestion was Zout. I found it for $2.99 at Target and sprayed it on the sweatshirt and another sweater that had set-in stains. One trip through the washer and dryer and both were good as new.

For my money, that's about as good a value as you can get. For $3 I saved two pieces of clothing so far and expect to do the same with more.

Still Christmas Crafting

This is the last of my Christmas projects. I just finished this one today, but it still counts. It's for a few gifts that I'll be giving next week when I see the rest of the Stake Relief Society presidency. Hopefully none of them are reading this and spoiling the surprise.


To make these, I used cardstock for the front and back covers and then used decorative papers and stickers to embelish and make them look cool. I found wonderful papers to use, so that helped things turn out very nicely. I made four, so after the ladies choose theirs, there will be one left for me!

Ring Out the Old, Ring In the New!

I hope you all look back on 2007 with fond memories. I know I will. Here are some of the hightlights:

• Spending President's weekend on the coast with great friends
• Visiting Patrick's family in CA and going to his nephew's wedding
• A Memorial Day road trip with the DH out to the Peninsula
• Great friends over for a birthday BBQ on the 4th of July
• Our anniversary in Friday Harbor (and super fun moped rides)
• Starting a new job (and the DH did too)
• Fun in Boise after Christmas

It really was a wonderful year. Now we ring in the new and look forward to creating more great memories. It's also a time to reflect on what needs to be improved. I think I'm still working on the same old things. I looked at my goals for last year and I really didn't do so well. Here's to a better 2008. My goals are pretty consistent:

• Improve my health by excersizing and eating a healthy diet
• Improve my spirituality by studying the scriptures and attending the temple
• Improve my mind by doing smart stuff (or taking a class, or doing sudoku every day)

The DH and I have new gym memberships to a gym that opened today, so I'll let you all know if he goes to the gym with me. This should be interesting.

Welcome to the Word, Baby Girl!

Our dear friends Mark and DeeDee had their baby girl on Christmas day. It was pretty tough on Mom, but baby Melody fared very well.







She's healthy and happy and just about as beautiful as a little baby girl can be (and that's pretty darned beautiful).

Merry Christmas!

Here's wishing every one of you a very merry Christmas day! The DH and I have opened presents and are on our way to brunch with friends before heading to the old Robertson homestead. We pray for safe travels for ourselves and everyone else making their way to and from festivities this week.

Seattle Christmas Tradition

Last year, the DH and I decided that we needed a Christmas tradition all our own. I gave him the task of thinking something up and he came across the idea of going on the Argosy Christmas Ship cruise on Lake Washington. I thought it was a great idea, too, so a tradition was born.

Last night we went on the Christmas ship cruise. It ended up being a lovely night (after much rain) and we ended up chatting with two delightful ladies while we were on the boat as well. The photo is of one of the boats that was along for the trip. I know it's a little hard to see in the picture, but it's the best we can get with the little camera we have. Maybe next year, we'll get some better pictures.

Bah Humbug

I've worked on very few projects, and not blogged much, because work has been cramping my style. Don't get me wrong -- it's a great job. It's just been a lot of work and really hard since I started two months ago. The icing on the cake was having to let someone go on Tuesday. Yes, exactly one week before Christmas. It made me very grumpy and it's part of a long list of things at work that have made it difficult to focus on the good stuff, like having a lot of Christmas cheer and enjoying the season.

Well, as of 5:00 today, I'm off work for exactly nine days. Nine glorious days to enjoy the season, my friends and family, and work up some good, old-fashioned, Christmas cheer. I'm ready for it, I tell you. I think that tonight, the DH and I may need to deliver some Christmas gifts to get me in the cheery mood.

I'm definitely looking forward to it.

Our Dishwasher -- Or, Another Project Finished

Look at my lovely dishwasher! It's displaying another project that I finished tonight. I actually made two of these to give to friends. I've already passed one on and will give this away soon.

The pattern was from my mother, who made these for all of her grandkids (or rather, one per family with grandkids). I thought they were super cute and it would be a fairly easy project. I really enjoyed coloring. It's one of the things I can do that I find really relaxing. Even better than Spider Solitaire on the computer.

Baby Blanket Success

I finally completed the baby blanket that I started ages ago. I was going to do some free-form machine quilting and it was a major fiasco. I can't even express how frustrating it was. The knots of thread on the under side of the blanket were no fun to pick out. And gone are the days of mom picking out the bad work for me. She really did pick out all my bad seams when I was sewing for 4-H. Isn't she a great mom?

Well, when I realized the free-form thing wasn't going to work, I had to figure something else out. I decided to simply take a washable marker and a big ruler and draw lines on one side. I did lines that were not parallel and a few of them even crossed near the edge of the blanket. Then I sewed along the lines to keep the two sides of fabric together. I sewed some binding on and the whole thing looked really good. I was so pleased! Seriously, I wasn't sure if I could do it, but in the end it turned out fine. I'm not sure if you can see the detail well, but this second picture shows the lines.

I'm going to give it to the couple accross the street who just had a baby. They're really nice and I would love to feel like I'm a good neighbor.

Christmas Rock and Roll

We started December in full Christmas spirit. First, it started snowing around 2:00 and blanketed the neighborhood with wet, white snow. It was really lovely.

In the evening, we went to our first Christmas concert, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It's definitely not your Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Everything is electric with this group. The light and laser show was pretty astounding, at least for a girl who doesn't get out to that kind of rock concert very often--or ever.

They had amazing musicians and played great music to kick off the season in style. We had a great time, even if the snow did deter us from picking up a Christmas tree. We'll have to do that some time next week.

Please Join in a Christmas Tradition of Giving

This Christmas, I want to start a tridition that is bigger than myself. A few years ago, I heard about Heifer International, an amazing organization that helps families in third world countries start sustainable business endevors by giving them livestock and training.

Heifer International's mission is to end hunger and poverty and care for the earth and they do that by working with communities. Heifer provides families with training and a livestock gift. The family then has hope for a sustainable future and they in turn become donors by passing on the gift of the animal's offspring to another family in need. They are also rated by Forbes as one of the world's top 10 charities.

I also think this is right in line with the spirit of Christmas, since Christ was born among the livestock.

Would each of you who reads my blog think about what you could donate to this great cause. In the past, I've made donations in others' names as my Christmas gift to them. That's one idea. You could also talk together with your family about one thing you could forego this Christmas season and donate the monetary equivalent of that to Heifer International. My goal is for my friends, family, and I together to donate at least $1,000 -- enough for a “Milk Menagerie,” which includes several milk-bearing animals.

What can you do now?
Go to the Robertson Family Christmas Giving donation page and make as small or as large a donation as you are able. You can donate as little as $10, so any contribution helps. Also, spread the word and maybe together we can raise $5000 -- enough for an "Ark" instead of the "Milk Menagerie" for some deserving people.

My Fingers Hurt, or Why I Don't Sew Much

Thursday night, while the DH was out home teaching, I thought I would sew the blanket that I started a month ago. All intentions were good. I got out the machine and the fabric that I had already trimmed and taped together. That wash-away tape is brilliant -- seriously!

So, I started sewing the free-form sewing and it all went horribly wrong. The tension on the machine is a little finicky in the first place, and using the darning foot (or whatever it's called) wasn't helping at all. After sewing for about 15 minutes, I gave up. There were wads of thread on one side, angles that didn't work for a baby blanket, and one frustrated sewer.

It took me two hours and three DVR shows to pick out all the sewing. I'm now looking for a plan B.

Gratitude -- the Final Installment

Here's the final in my list of things to be grateful for each day of the month of November.

18. Amazing friends. I really could use the rest of the days to list the wonderful friends I have, but I’ll just put it as one item. I’m blessed to have friends in many places who support me in all different ways. I can’t imagine getting through life without them.

19. A wonderful home to call my own and share with the DH. It might not be fancy, but it’s our place. It also has a great back yard. It was a really good venue for our wedding reception and we’ve had some very nice parties there since. It was especially fun for my birthday party last summer.

20. My cute nieces and nephews rock! They’re all so cool in such very different ways. I just wish I could see all of them more often. I don’t even see Max, who is in the area, as often as I’d like. This is one of the many reasons I’m looking forward to Christmas with the whole family this year too.

21. Good insurance policies. I got to be reminded this week when I took the DH’s truck in to get fixed. I was driving it last Sunday after he had loaded two couches (one was a sofa-sleeper) with the tail gate down I drove over the bumpy part of 125th St. and the tail gate got knocked off and skidded on the ground until I could get pulled over to the side of the road. I don’t know if the DH will ever let me drive his truck again, but at least I got it fixed. And it only cost me $100.

22. Sunshine, especially in the winter, is such a great blessing. I love those cool, crisp, sunshiny days. They’re fairly few and far between in Seattle, but I love them just the same.

23. My computer is a wonderful blessing. It helps me keep in touch with my many friends and family and provides a creative outlet. It’s all kinds of fun, even if it is also really just a tool to do more work sometimes, too.

24. Amazing restaurants in Seattle. Just tonight, the DH and I went to Bick’s in Greenwood. The food was amazing. Last time we were there, we thought it was just too loud. This time, we got a booth in the back and it was wonderful. It’s not nearly as noisy back there, so we could carry on a conversation. That way, we could enjoy the fantastic food even more. And that’s just one of many great places.

25. I also grateful for the gift of travel. I have my grandparents to thank most of all. They covered the fees for study abroad when I went to Vienna while I was at BYU. That trip included touring most of western Europe, England, and Israel. I have to thank my parents as well. It still amazes me how much of the country we saw as I was growing up. I’m not sure I would have had the patience to drive six kids the two-day trip to San Francisco or even farther to L.A. so we could go to Disneyland. It was pretty nice to have grandparents in Arizona, so we got to go across the border to Mexico. I know it wasn’t a very broad Mexico experience, but still a foreign country. They took us to Canada too. I felt like a globetrotter before I ever flew across the ocean.

26. I’m not sure I would survive without books. I know I haven’t done too well with the book club, but I still read as I can. It’s just not nearly as much now as I’d like. I’ve read so many books that have had a great impact on my life. It’s always a wonderful thing to find a book that just speaks to you. It’s happened to me many times.

27. I love a good movie. One of my favorites is A River Runs through It. I think I could watch that another ten times without getting tired of it. It’s on the short list of movies I could watch over and over.

28. I’m grateful for a sewing machine. I sort of suck at sewing, but I’m still grateful that I have the machine and I can use it in a pinch. It’s a nice little appliance to have around.

29. I love my cell phone. I know it may also sound silly, but it is another thing that keeps me connected to the people I love. It’s so great to spend my evening commute on the phone with the DH or my sister or mom.

30. For my last entry, I’m going to say the DH. I know I’ve already listed him, but I just can’t say enough how grateful I am to have him in my life. I’ve learned so much from him. He’s so much more willing to serve others and give of himself than I am and I appreciate that about him. He is also ready to do almost anything I need him to do, even help with stake relief society functions when he’s not too enthusiastic about it.

Mmm... Pie!

Well, I think Thanksgiving was a resounding success. The brother, sister-in-law, and nephew came over for some yummy food. They brought half and I made half, so it wasn't too much work and the food was great. The best thing the SIL made was the homemade cranberry sauce. YUM! The recipe is below. The best thing I made was pumpkin pie. I used my sister's mother-in-law's recipe and it turned out great. That recipe is below as well.

All in all, we had a really nice time. Patrick even got more birthday presents -- a leprechaun christmas tree ornament, and a new Mario game for the Wii. Patrick also got a really cool truck for Max that kept him entertained for quite a while so he wasn't too bored while we were cooking and chatting.

I'd say a good time was had by all. This is the before picture. We forgot to take an after picture, but it was sort of like this, only messier.

Fresh Cranberry Orange Sauce
2 large navel orangesa
12-ounce bag fresh or unthawed frozen cranberries, picked over (about 3 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup honey
several tablespoonse of pomegranate seeds

With a vegetable peeler remove three 3-inch-long strips zest from 1 orange. In a saucepan of boiling water blanch zest 1 minute and drain in a colander. Chop zest fine and transfer to a large bowl. Cut away peel and pith from oranges with a sharp knife and discard. Quarter oranges. In a food processor pulse oranges and cranberries until chopped coarse and add to zest. Stir in honey. Chill sauce, covered, at least 1 day and up to 3. Add pomegranate seeds before serving.

Pumpkin Pie
1 29-ounce can of pumpkin
3 eggs
3 cups sugar
1½ teaspoons ginger
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon flour
3½ cups of milk

Mix and pour into 3 9-inch pie tins lined with pastry. Dot top with margarine. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes, then at 350° for 45 minutes (or until knife comes our clean). Cool for 2-3 hours.

These actually took about an hour-and-a-half to finish baking at my house. It was totally worth it though.

Blog Readability

So, I found this quite interesting and funny. Over at How About Orange, I found The Blog Readability Test. To waste some time, I checked out all the blogs I read to see how they rated. Only two of them came out as Genius level; The DH and my dad. I came in at High School reading level. Not bad, especially since not that many geniuses read my blog -- except for you -- you're a total genius!

Cash Advance Loans

Shout Out to the DH!

Everyone be sure to go over to the DH's blog and give a shout out for his birthday. It's not quite as exciting as the big milestone birthday last year, but it's still a great day. He wore his new suit and shirt with cuff-links to church yesterday and looked as handsome as I've ever seen him. And thanks so much to the Craven's for a fantastice birthday dinner last night.

Why Are My Lips Orange?

This morning, as I was getting ready for work, I was also putting away portions of the Clinique free gift I got a couple of weeks ago. I looked at the lipstick and thought it was a fabulous color. It was one I must wear today. I put it on and then went about my getting-ready business. After getting dressed, I went into the bathroom for one last look in the mirror to make sure everything looked just so. To my horror, my lips were orange. Again. It seems that all Clinique lipsticks turn orange on my lips. It's something to do with pH and chemistry and other things that I don't fully understand. What I do understand is that I have one more tube of lipstick that I can throw away. Bummer.

Gratitude -- Lots to Love

13. Leaving the gym this morning, I realized how grateful I am that my body works as well as it does so I can be physically active. It's a great blessing that not everyone has, and I realize that.

14. I also thought how grateful I am for the rain. It smelled so good when I was outside and it felt good (especially since I was overheated from being in the gym). I also know that it makes a lot of other things that I love grow.

15. I'm grateful for my husband's new job. He just got offered a position at his company in inside sales. Although he'll have to work harder to maintain the hard body he has, it will aslo mean that he doesn't have his body beat up every day by the nature of his work. It's a very good thing, even if does come with some trade-offs. He'll miss working all day with his friend Jason, but he'll be able to walk at the end of the day and will have little risk of getting another hernia.

16. I'm also very thankful for cars to take us places. It's so convenient and easy. I guess these days, I'm also thankful for a good job to pay for the gas. Even driving a hybrid, it's still a concern that we drive so much. We have to make an effort to consolidate trips and save fuel.

17. I'm thankful for clean entertainment. The DH and I saw Dan in Real Life yesterday and were very entertained by it. It was clean, funny, and entertaining -- the trifecta of what makes a movie good. We've also been enjoying Pushing Daisies, a new program on television this season that is also fairly clean, funny, and entertaining.

Gratitude -- My Family Rocks

9. The DH is my true love. I'm grateful for my favorite part of every day just before we go to sleep. I lay my head on his chest and we talk for a few minutes before one or both of us need to actually go to sleep. It really is the best part of my day.

10. I'm grateful for my dad. I love that my dad is always taking classes. He's such a great role model. He's learning how to play the organ (even though he doesn't know how to play the piano) and he's taking a religion class. His love of learning has always inspired me.

11. I'm grateful for my mom. My mother has always been very involved in all her childrens' lives, but in a good way. I love that my mom remembers all of my friend's names. In fact, sometimes she remembers when I don't. I know I should be embarassed, but really it just makes me that much more impressed with my mom. She is always interested in what I'm doing and always has time for me. I can't count how many times she's had to listen to me cry on the phone.

12. I'm grateful for the sibs. They're all amazing in their own ways. I don't think I have room to tell you about all of them and how cool they are, but suffice it to say that they all rock. Plus, the married ones have all had good taste in spouses. I'm very blessed with my wonderful in-laws too.

Fremont, 5:06 p.m. -- Seen When Leaving Work Today

I kid you not. A man was vacuuming the sidewalks and gutter. It was some kind of industrial looking vacuuming contraption, but vacuuming none the less.

Gratitude -- Work is Good

6. I'm very grateful for a good job that helps me pay the bills, have a nice warm house, and pay to do some fun things once in a while. It's even nice to be able to help out someone in need every once in a while because I can. All because I have a good job.

7. I'm grateful to work with really outstanding people. It's all good to have a job, but it's even better to enjoy showing up for it because you get to hang out with people you like. I really miss the cool people from my old job, but at least I have cool people at my new job to take the sting out of that.

8. I'm also grateful for my short commute to work now that I'm only driving a few miles. It's generally taking about 15 minutes, regardless of when I leave my house. On my way, I hear about the traffic jams that I would have been in were I not driving to the new job. Plus, I'm not using as much gas to get there.

I'm a Hero

At least I'm a Guitar Hero.

Last week, the Guitar Hero game for the Wii came in the mail. It's even more fun than the bowling or cow racing. I've played until my hands hurt and I had to stop. Looking at the photo, you can see how much concentration it takes.

The bad part -- the songs are all rock and roll from the 70s and 80s that I didn't really like all that much when they came out.

The good part -- I can beat the DH at this game. At least for now, I'm better than him at it. He's even played a guitar and been in a band.

When I finish a song, this is what I get...
ROCK ON!

In flashing lights.

New Projects

It's that time again. We're getting close to the holidays, so I think I need to do some projects. I have a few that I can't show on the blog right now. (Who knows, one of those might be for you!) This is the one I can show.

On Saturday, I went to the fabric store and bought some minky and some cotton fabric, then found matching seam binding and thread. I'm going to try my hand at making a minky baby blanket that's a bit different from what I've done before. This one will have the cotton on one side, the minky on the other, and then be machine quilted in a free form, so it should be super easy.

It would be super easy for my Mom. Or Annzy. Or the SIL. Or the other SIL. Not so much for me.

Last night I was on a roll. I used this great Wonder Tape to stick the fabric together so it's easier to sew and doesn't shift. Then I got out the sewing machine. I changed the presser foot to the darning foot. I made a bobbin on my first try. I was on a roll. I even had a scrap to practice the free form quilting on. That's where it all went wrong. Somehow I didn't insert the bobbin correctly. On the first stitch, the needle got stuck down in the works. I couldn't get it to move. It broke the needle. I have visions of completely ruining the machine. Oh, my! I was trying not to completely loose it as I couldn't get the needle to move up or down and it just kept getting more stuck.

Finally, I got it to move and got the broken needle parts out. Then I replaced the needle (score another for me on the sewing machine!) and the bobbin and tried sewing on the scrap again. This time, it worked just fine. I decided that I hadn't gotten the bobbin seated just so in its little cage and that caused the problem.

Of course, by the time I had it all set up and ready to go I just didn't have the energy to try to do it for real. Stay tuned. Hopefully I have a very quick story to tell about how it all worked so easy by the time I'm done.

Gratitude -- or Two More Reasons to Love the DH

November is a great month to remember all the wonderful things we're grateful for. I have so much to be grateful for that I thought I should share something with you for every day this month. Of course, I can't be expected to blog on this every day, so you'll get groups throughout the month. Here's the start of the list:

1. A husband who pumps gas for me. I'm a cleaning machine and will do almost all the chores around the house, but I hate to pump gas. I also have a nasty habit (or amazing talent if you choose to think of it that way) of running a tank almost to the end without ever running out of gas. My DH is happy to fill the gas tank any time it's low. He doesn't appreciate how low I let it go, but he is always willing to do the one chore I hate.
2. Almost as important as pumping gas is killing spiders. We're having an especially wicked spider season this fall and I haven't had to look at many at all in the house. The DH makes sure they're gone before I even see them. Now that's true love.
3. Autumn leaves are just an amazing exhibit of God's handiwork. I'm so grateful for the beautiful world we live in. It's been especially beautiful this year, too.
4. Modern medicine makes me really happy. I love seeing how it blesses so many lives, mine included. The DH and I were especially happy to see how it helped our friends the Duke and Duchess as they brought their beautiful baby boy into this world. All I can say to that, is WOW!
5. Traveling by airplane. I mean, I love a good road trip and all, but how great is it to spend only a couple hours traveling to see friends or family hundreds of miles away. It's especially beautiful after the passes are covered with snow. IYairplanes.

Stay tuned for more throughout the month of November. What are you thankful for? I really would like to know.

Wearing a Skirt

So, today I ironed a skirt to put on before going to work. It's actually rather unusual for me to wear a skirt to work. I'm not sure why. I have several very cute skirts that I enjoy wearing. I have a meeting this evening at church and I'm not sure how much time I'll have between work and church for changing, so it seemed like a good idea. And I must say that it looks really cute. Yay for me!

While ironing my skirt, I remembered that my mother made me wear a skirt to school once a week when I was in elementary school. It was definitely not the rush-from-school-to-church, no-time-to-change skirt wearing. It was the you're-a-girl-so-you-should-look-like-one-by-wearing-a-dress skirt wearing. I hated it. I was one un-liberated woman in the early seventies, I tell you. I even had to wear a dress in the winter. I'd wear tights, and the requisite shorts underneath so I could still play on the equipment at recess without fearing that some boy might see my undies. I'm still a little amazed at the fights my mother was willing to fight. Of course, this one can't compare to the you-just-sit-there-and-practice-the-piano-for-15-minutes fight. Now, that's one I still look up to my mother for. She was champ at not giving in.

Now that I don't sleep with gum in my mouth, forcing the short haircut and my figure clearly indicates that I'm all woman, I guess I don't see the need to wear a skirt to show my feminity. These days it's all about what makes me feel comfortable and confident when I venture out in public. Usually it's pants, but today it's a a loden green fine-wale courdoroy skirt with eyelet cutouts at the hem. Lovely.

Detoxing Seattle, One Cleanser at a Time

Last Friday, I joined forces with An Ordinary Mom and went to my first bloggers event, sponsored by Seattle Mom Blogs. It was hosted by Method and was held at an eco-friendly home in West Seattle. We met some wonderful blogging Mamas and learned how to make some organic cocktails and mocktails.

The best part was going home with some of the wonderful products, extra coupons for more, and the "cleans like a mother" t-shirt. I'm not one to advertise for free, but I love their stuff. Also, it's not just a Target brand, like I thought. Proof -- the DH and I went to the grocery store and bought some Method hand soap with one of the coupons.

And no, I don't know what that look on my face is in this picture.

First Days and Fresh Starts

I always loved the first day of school. I’d plan for days ahead of time what I was going to wear. We’d all gotten new school clothes, so I wanted to wear the best outfit to make the best impression. I loved meeting my new teachers and seeing which old friends I had classes with. Now that I’m out of school, I’ve struggled with the fact that it’s hard to really start new on much of anything and, even worse, not much that we do as adults has closure. There’s nothing like a final exam to tell you that something is over, really over.

Starting a new job yesterday felt a little like starting a new school year. There were a few familiar faces. Everyone was very kind. I was a little excited to see where I would be sitting and who I would be sitting near. I’m excited about the new work and it was kind of cool to really end some other things last week as I wrapped up the old job. I was happy to have someone to eat lunch with and there are many people that I will learn from.

And, just like the first day of school, I spent way too much time worrying about what I would wear the first day.

JH Makes His Royal Debut

Here's a shout out to the Duke and Duchess on their new son JH! He made his debut earlier today. Although he came 25 days early, you'd never know it by his 7 lbs. 2 oz. and healthy lungs.

We're so happy for our friends!

Ready to Look Fear in the Face

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.
~Eleanor Roosevelt

Tomorrow is my last day at Microsoft. I almost chickened out of it yesterday, but I really am leaving. I’m leaving the strong reviews, the excellent benefits, the caring team, and the supportive management team. Did I mention that I’m leaving behind the excellent benefits?

When I came to Seattle, I did it so I could eventually get a job at Microsoft. It’s a great place to work and I didn’t believe any of the rumors about how it could suck your soul dry. And I don’t think it sucked my soul dry. It did make me tired, and even occasionally cranky, but that’s just because I have a job with responsibility. It’s not specific to the company I work for. And yesterday, I was more or less given a great offer for a new and different job at Microsoft that would have been sort of easy. Not that I wouldn’t have to work for it, but it would have been right in my comfort zone. I guess I’m just not into comfort right now. I’m into fear.

Starting Monday, I’m doing the thing that scares me quite a bit. I’m leaving the security of Microsoft to work for a company called Aquent as Vice President of Studios. I’ll be covering the Microsoft account, which should come as no surprise. I’m actually very concerned about my ability to fulfill expectations in the new job. I have that lump in my stomach, scared that I won’t be able to provide the leadership and direction that they need from their vice president. Scared that they might just see me as one more in a string of leaders who couldn’t deliver. And then there’s the fear that some of the people who know me from previous work will be shocked and disappointed that I would be hired as their leader. All the insecurities that I don’t usually let anyone see are boiling, causing that lump in my stomach.

It would be much easier to stay, to continue doing the work that I’ve mastered, to work with people whose respect I’ve already earned, and to hate the commute. But right now, right here, I’ve decided to do the thing that is a big gamble. I’m doing the thing that scares me and has kept me awake more nights over the last few weeks than I’d like to count. I want to face the big challenges, if not without fear, then at least with the knowledge that I am doing the thing that I fear. I’m doing the thing that will help me gain strength, courage, and confidence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've enter this post in Scribbit's October Write-Away Contest.

Fun with Photos

I had all kinds of fun with the Hockneyizer.

You can try it too if you go here.

Just Join the Craze

I got a nice little bonus from work in September, so after putting a bunch of it on the home equity line, I decided to do something fun. I went out and bought a Wii. I got it a couple of weeks ago, but I have too many gadgets attached to the TV and just couldn't figure out how to get it to work.

After asking all my friends and neighbors, none of whom could help, I got the able assistance of my brother. He rocks. After about five minutes on the phone, the Wii was up and running. Brilliant!

The DH and I played tennis, bowling, and golf to break in the new system. Just for the record (not that we're counting), the DH kicked my behind in Tennis, but I won the golf match and had a lovely come-from-behind victory in bowling. (Let's hear it for a strike on the last frame!)

The Wii is great because it actually requires you to get up and move around, and I mean more than just your thumbs. Both of us were laughing so hard and hoping we wouldn't have soar shoulders or elbows today. I think I'm OK, but I didn't check in with the DH to see how he was doing. Of course, they make the same old video games that you just sit and play like the other game consoles, but we didn't get any of those.

Tonight we'll try out the Wii Play games. I'm looking forward to beating the DH at tank and fishing games.

Fantasy Football? I'd Rather Not

You may know that my DH participates in a Fantasy Football league with his two sons. They play a fantasy game each week with their carefully selected teams. The DH has lost a few games, but it's all good clean fun (except for the smack talk from some of those filthy boys in the league).

I'm no real fan of football, fantasy or otherwise, but my sister Annzy has thought up the best Fantasy Team sport ever. Fantasy Family!

Check out her blog about her Fantasy Family League. It's great! If you're game, you can even set up your own Fantasy Family League. Because she's my sister, it seems like it would be just silly for me to re-invent the same family in fantasy, so you'll just have to bask in the glory of her rendition of our family.

Autumn Baking

There are a many things I love about Autumn, and one of those things is baking with seasonal ingredients. I'm not the biggest fan of the zucchini unless it's in yummy Chocolate Zucchini Bread. YUM! It's also good in Zucchini cookies, but they take so much more work to bake.

The fabulous Catto's vandalized our kitchen by leaving freshly picked zucchini and corn and just dug potatoes from Uncle Dutch's garden. That man sure can make good stuff grow and the DH and I are very grateful for their willingness to share.

Here's the one big zucchini all grated up. It made enough for three batches of zucchini bread. One batch is made and the other two bags are ready for me as soon as I stock up on a few of the ingredients that I finished off this evening.

I highly recommend then wonderful recipe that I got from Virginia Nickel (the master baker of the universe).

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

3 Eggs
1 C. White Sugar
1 C. Brown Sugar
1 C. Cooking Oil
3 Tlb Vanilla (that really is 3 Tablespoons!)
2 C. Flour
1 tsp Soda
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp salt
1 Tlb Cinnamon
1 Tlb Cocoa
2 C. Grated Zucchini

1 C. Chocolate Chips

sugar/cinnamon mixture

Mix together eggs, sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla. Beat thoroughly. Add dry ingredients and zucchini. Mix well. Add nuts, raisins, or chocolate chips if desired. Pour into 2 greased and lightly floured loaf tins. Sprinkle top with chocolate chips and super fine sugar/cinnamon mixture. Bake at 325 degrees for 60 minutes.

Reading... Or Not

So, I've been reading The Master Butcher's Singing Club and I really like it. However, I will not be done by the end of the month. I'm sorry to disappoint, but we'll have to postpone any discussion until I finish the book. Although, I'm not sure how many people are playing along anyway, so perhaps it will not matter so much when I come in late with my discussion.

By Popular Demand

There have been multiple requests to see the DH's new tattoo. I thought it might be OK to show you all what it looks like. I think it's really pretty, especially since I'm partial to the old school ink work.

Didn't he do a nice job picking that out? And it's covered by a short sleeved shirt, so it's mostly just for me (and him).

Orange for Autumn

I'm hooked on these silly quizzes. Penny Longstockings at Orange and Other Bright Colors took the Orange quiz and came out Pumpkin.

Here are my results for the Orange quiz:

Apricot -- Soft and sweet, over time you let your provocative nature shine through.You are definitely unconventional, but you don't broadcast it.You offer people a fresh perspective on life - so fresh that it can be shocking!

I also took the soda quiz. My results there were:

7-up -- Understated and subtle, people warm up to you slowly. But once they're hooked, they can't imagine going back to anyone else!

Your best soda match: Diet Coke (how did they know?!?)

Stay away from: Mountain Dew

The Cursed Working Class

A couple of years ago, I left my job with a small consulting company in Seattle. It was a good job, but I needed new challenges. I went to work at a large software company in Redmond and got challenged in ways I never expected. The first six months were the hardest I’ve ever endured.

Shortly after I started there, the company I previously worked for was purchased by a larger international company. It’s grown and that has created new opportunities. The Chief Operating Officer at the company contacted me a few weeks ago about an opportunity she wanted me to consider. She wants me to come back as a Vice President and run the consulting business in Seattle. They have some new accounts they’d like to grow and one major existing account that needs to be revitalized.

I received a formal offer for the job last weekend and spent an agonizing week deciding what I should do. I had no idea how difficult the decision would be, but my current company has perhaps the best benefits on the planet and I would be going to a company with good, but not spectacular benefits.

In the end, I made the decision based on the work that would get me excited to get up in the morning and go to work. I think it’s a really good decision for me. The DH is happy with the decision as well, so we’re happy as a clam.

In the past, when people have asked how I like my job, I always said the commute was the worst part. Now I’ll be working in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, so my commute will be much easier again. However, that’s not the best part of the new job. The best part will be working with some wonderful people again that I’ve missed over the last couple of years.

Catching Up

I've been the scattered blogger for a while now, so it seems like it might be time to catch up.

1. I spent four days last week at Paradise Point Resort & Spa. It sounds fabulous, and it was quite nice. The only thing is that it was a work trip with 40 of my favorite collegues. I was away from my husband, sleeping in a strange bed, and working.
2. I've been mulling over taking a new job. It's been weighing on my mind, but I think I may have made up my mind. More on that tomorrow.
3. Today is the first day of Autumn. It was a beautiful day in Seattle and I've enjoyed it immensely.
4. Yesterday, the DH and I went with a couple of friends to the Greek Festival at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox church. It was a great experience. We ate wonderful Greek food and enjoyed the company. I highly recommend it.
5. The DH got a new tattoo. I didn't think I'd appreciate it, but when he got one with my name on it in the old school style, I couldn't resist. It really is beautiful. And don't worry Mom, once you have a bunch, one more really doesn't make a difference. You'll like it (or at least you won't like it any less than any of the others).
6. Tonight, Kiri te Kanawa is singing in Vancouver at 8:00. I got tickets for the DH and me to go see her. The concert was going to be at 3:00. I have a friend that gave us keys to his apartment so we could stay there for free while he's gone. It was going to be fabulous, until there was a civil strike in Vancouver and the concert had to be changed to a late start and now I'm not going. I'm very disappointed, but I may get over it eventually.
7. I really enjoyed church today. We got out early, which is always nice, but I really enjoyed sitting next to the DH and just being there with so many people that I love. I don't always have a good attitude about it, but today was really good.
8. Last weekend, the DH and I went to a concert downtown at the Showbox. It was a group called the New Pornographers (but don't worry, they don't have anything to do with porn). I've decided that I need to go to fewer concerts and just buy the music I like and listen to it on my own. Even with earplugs, it was hard to enjoy the sound and the opening bands were horrible. The headlining act didn't come on until 11:00 and I just realized that I'm too old for this. That's a horrible thing to realize.

That's all for now. More tomorrow!

My DH: the Playlist God

I'm in San Diego this week for a management offsite for work. I don't especially relish being away from home for several days with co-workers, but I didn't really have a choice, so here I am. Before I left, the DH made a playlist for me to listen to on my iPod while I'm away.

All I can say is that it's brilliant. He put it together in less than half an hour with 65 songs strung together in a way that any DJ would be proud of. Seriously, amazing.

Some of my favorites are:

• Can't See (Useless) by Oingo Boingo
• Because by Dave Clark Five
• I Like It by the Dixie Chicks
• Are You Lonesome Tonight by Elvis
• Same Denomination by Exene Cervanka
• I Love You by the Zombies

It's a great mix of old, new, and everything in between.

Burrito Cherry is My Hippy Name

Annzy did this great meme, so I had to join in too. She cheated a little, so I decided I could take some liberties as well.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: first pet & current car
Cinnamon Prius

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie
Praline Shortbread

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name
N-Mac

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: favorite color, favorite animal
Blue Lion

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: middle name, city where you were born
Robertson LeGrande

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first
Macno

7. SUPERHERO NAME: ”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink
The Red Milkshake

8. NASCAR NAME: the first names of your grandfathers
Oz Ray (funny how this one turned out the same as my sista’s)

9. STRIPPER NAME: the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy
Vanilla Snickers

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: mother’s & father’s middle names
Karoline Joel (again, the same as Annzy’s – go figure)

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter
Brown Bozeman

12. SPY NAME: your favorite season/holiday, flower
Autumn Rose

13. CARTOON NAME: favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”
Peach Undies (hopefully that didn’t just cross a line)

14. HIPPY NAME: What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree
Burrito Cherry (I just laughed out loud at this one even though I’m sitting alone in a hotel room writing this)

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: ”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”
The Blogging Fog Tour

That was fun. I think you should join and post this one too!

Autumn Already?

This afternoon, when I got in my car after work, I noticed a red leaf had fallen on the windshield. I can't believe this is already happening. Autumn is my favorite season though, so I'm not too disappointed that summer is on it's way out.

the DH and I had a great weekend last week, celebrating our anniversary.

The first thing we did was take a ferry over to the peninsula and drive to Port Townsend. We rented a little cottage on one end of town and spent the night there after having a lovely dinner at Fins and watching the DH complete his Fantasy Football draft.

The next day, we went to church with the Port Townsend ward in Chimicum and then roamed around Port Townsend. We enjoyed our short stay there, then headed to Quilcene for the Olympic Music Festival. We heard three classical music chamber pieces as we sat in a really old barn on a bale of hay. Good times.

After the concert, we headed to the ferry in Port Townsend to head North. Then we drove to Anecortes and got on another ferry. Of course, we had an hour and a half to wait, so we walked up the road to a restaurant called Charlie's and had some of the best clam chowder I've ever eaten. It reminded me of my mom's potato soup with some yummy clams thrown in. I think my dad might even like that clam chowder and he's no fan of the clams.

We hopped the ferry in Anacortes and landed in Friday Harbor on San Juan island. It was late, so we went straight to our bed and breakfast where we spent twenty minutes trying to figure out which room was ours. We'll chalk that one up to just being a bit tired. When we got to the room, we enjoyed the private deck and hot tub. It was a beautiful starry night and perfect for soaking a while.

The next day, we had a wonderful breakfast at the B&B and then went and rented mopeds at Susie's Mopeds. After my ten-minute lesson, we were off. I LOVED IT! It was such fun. The only down side was that we couldn't chat while we were traveling.

We stopped at a few sites and enjoyed the fresh air and wind in our hair. I even got a little sun, which surprised me. I never seem to look like I got sun since moving to Seattle.

Our last stop with the mopeds before turning back to Friday Harbor was a lavendar farm. It was

wonderful. We walked out into the lavendar fields and the scent wafted over us and all we could hear was the hum of the hundreds of bees in the lavendar. I could have enjoyed that for hours. We also stopped at the gift shop to buy a bit of sugar-free lavendar shortbread (YUM!) and for the DH to get a recommendation for a place to fish. He's always thinking about fishing and this trip was no exception.

The woman in the lavendar shop told us to check out Egg Lake. We went there and enjoyed an hour or so of fishing. The DH caught two fish, but they were so small you could barely see them. He had to throw both of them back. No delicious bass for me that trip. Oh, well.

The next morning, the DH tried his hand at the fishing again, but absolutely no bites on the second try. Those are some wiley fish and they just didn't want to get caught.

After the DH gave up on fishing, we drove out to Roche Harbor at the opposite end of the island from Friday Harbor. It's a quaint little tourist town and we enjoyed the few sights and shops they had to offer.

From there, we headed the rest of the way around the island and stopped for some whale watching. We saw a few whales and also walked out near the lighthouse. The views were lovely and we definitely felt like we saw everything there was to see on the island and a little ways off shore, too.

Then it was back to the ferry to Anecortes and a quick drive home and we were back to reality. We would highly recommend the island to anyone who wants to get away, but we think we would stay in a place outside of Friday Harbor next time. The town is really small and quite bustling in the mornings, so you definitely felt like you got a wake up call in the morning.

All in a Day's Work

This was our Labor Day labor. Patrick did a bunch of the prep work on Wednesday last week and we bought the sand and stepping stones on Saturday, but most of the work was done today.

We put in the flagstone, planted decorative grass along the fence, and then put some ground cover in between the stones. We're super pleased with how it turned out. In fact, it looks even better than I expected.

Lucy's Eclectic Literature Club for September

Well, since I'm in charge, I get to change my mind, right? I want to put off the King Arthur story until October and read something else for September.

For September, we'll read The Master Butcher's Singing Club by Louise Erdrich.

Woven with intrigue, romance, death, sex and humor, it's an emotionally complex tale of European immigrants who have settled in the fictional town of Erdrich's previous novels, Argus, N.Dak. Bordering on magical realism, this marvelous yarn introduces a world of rich, expansive imagery and an abundance of memorably compelling characters. There's Delphine, who acts as a human table for her lover, Cyprian, an Ojibwa balancing artist. Delphine cares for her father, Roy, an alcoholic accused of neglectfully murdering an entire family. And then there's Fidelis, a former sniper for the German army who is now the singing butcher of the title. Although some breaks in cadence occur throughout the reading-it seems almost as if Erdrich is seeing the material for the first time-her soft style gradually blends with the story and, rather than seeming inappropriate, becomes invisible.

For October, we'll go back and read Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff.

For fourteen centuries the story of Arthur was a legend, misted over by the tradition of romantic hero-tales. But he was real--a man of towering strength, a dreamer and a warrior--who actually lived, and fought, and died for his impossible dream. The man whom legend calls Arthur of Britain combined the best of Roman civilization with the fierce dedication of his Celtic ancestors. Down through the generations his passionate determination to preserve the values of decency and freedom against the darkness of barbarism has been a clarion call that speaks to the best in humankind.

I got the idea for this one from the fabulous book Book Lust that my friend Kathleen game me. (Thanks, Kathleen! It's wonderful.) It's one of the author's favorite books and I've loved all the other books -- and I've read many -- on the legend of King Arthur. I figure that it's a pretty good bet we might enjoy it.

Shout out to the BIL and Bro!

Happy Birthday to my BIL Brent (the husband of my lovely sister Whitney)! His birthday was yesterday. And, Happy Birthday to my Bro! His birthday is tomorrow. There's a fairly large family gathering going on at the homestead this weekend, but the Seattle families didn't make it there.

We hope everyone has a great time and that the two birthday boys celebrate in style!