These Boots Are Made For Walking (Nancy Sinatra)

After our (not so) wonderful cold & snowy weather the past couple weeks, my co-worker decided (& I agreed!!) that it was time I picked up some winter-y boots. This is what I got. Sorta. Mine are black/stone color. It's a Sorel Carabou boot, rated to -40°. My friend says this is what they wear in AK. They oughta keep my piggies nice & toasty (& dry!) next time there's any snowfall in these parts.

Summer (Alien Ant Farm)

I am SO ready for summer to be here. For about a week prior to Christmas, I was staying at my dad's house. I figured it would be easier getting to work if I walked to the bus stop vs. driving down a potentially icy road. It just kinda sucked not being in my own home (sleeping in my own bed, using my own bathroom, etc). But, on the other hand, it was quite nice to have my dad there, making me breakfast (waffles & bacon) & dinner (pork chops & potatoes, fried rice) everyday.

Work was only closed for half a day (on the first day of snow), but nobody from my dept came in that day. We didn't want to risk the treacherous roads. Really, do you blame us?

Christmas was to be a low-key day. There was minimal gift giving - I gave Jeff pajama pants & an ornament - two things I give every year. His mom couldn't not give us anything & so from Cost Plus/World Market, she gave us some guacamole stuff (just add avocado), chocolate/peanut butter covered pretzels, soup mix, a beer for Jeff & some shower stuff for me, an Amazon.com gift certificate & tix to a M's game next year.

I bought my own Christmas gifts this year - two sweaters & a pair of black corduroy pants from Eddie Bauer - all on sale, of course. I also picked up a pair of (snow) boots from Nordstroms, albeit a little bit too late for the snow we just had. Oh well, they ought to last me quite some time & I'm sure this isn't the last of the snow in W. Wa.

Next year, we're trying to figure out a way to go to Hawaii for the holidays. Originally, I wanted to go for Christmas (while Jeff already had the days off work), but that may not happen now because his mom can't get the time off her work. Bah!

I'm really looking forward to some new shows starting up again in January - Biggest Loser, American Idol & then Survivor in February. Three of my favorite shows.


Today, I am thankful for:

1. no snow in the forecast
2. 2008 is almost over
3. fried rice recipes
4. installed camera software
5. 4 wheel drive

Merry Christmas!!

All For You (Sister Hazel)

I'm not quite sure what I did to deserve this, but I'm SO VERY THANKFUL that the light was on & that I looked at my slippers before putting them on when I got home tonight. Thanks, Tubbs. I love you, too.

Friday, I was driving along & flipping through the radio stations & came across 106.9 playing their Christmas music already. The DJ guy came on & said they had been playing since 3pm. Sheesh! It's not even Thanksgiving! What's next year going to bring? Christmas music from Halloween forward (I hear the Christian station was playing Christmas music on Halloween night [only] for a more "positive" sound).

Saturday, I hosted my annual Stamp-a-Stack. Lots of folks making lots of Christmas cards. The Christmas Music station came in handy to get folks in the mood. Bonnie even broke out in song. It was awesome! Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do for my Christmas cards. Ugh!

Oh, but one cool thing I did was catalog all my old/retired stamp sets. I now have a binder full (well, not full, but you know...) of all my stamps. I can page through and say, I want to make a card with a flower & then go through & find all my flower stamps. Awesome. Organization is cool.

Sunday was a lazy day, really. Randy came over & the boys watched the Seahawks lose. Big surprise there. But first, we got lunch from good ol' Taco Bell. And, then I had to go back to TB & give them a piece of my mind after they shorted us nearly half our order. Seriously, I realize that counting to 12 requires more than 2 hands, but take your shoes off & count w/your toes if you have to. Cripes. And yes, I also realize that I may have ate some other bodily fluids while enjoying my 7-layer burrito, but it was worth the rant at that restaurant. Go, Jen go.

Sunday night, Kat & I (et al.) spent a couple o' hours at the Supermall for their Night of Giving. Most stores offered some kind of sale - 10 - 30% off, BOGOs, etc. I'd say the best deal I got was a pair of tennis shoes from Naturalizer that were originally $69 that I paid $18 & change for. Score one for me.


Today, I am thankful for:

1. Time off work
2. Games
3. Food Savers
4. Health
5. Disposable slippers.

I'm Yours (Jason Mraz)

I'm kinda sad about it, but my 5 day weekend is quickly coming to an end. I had a busy weekend, for sure. I think that's why it seemed to go by so quick.

My long weekend started on Thursday night when I met up with Kat, Aimee, Desiree & Tracy for Girls Night Out at the Melting Pot. For only $24 per person, we enjoyed some mighty tasty cheese fondue, salad & chocolate fondue. Yes, I was just there, but oh, it was SO worth it to go back!

Friday was busy day full of errands to the dentist (no cavities, but I got a cool little [I mean little] toothbrush), the hairstylist (just a trim, kids) & the doctor (to get a couple [yes, two!!] inhalers.

Saturday morning was a blur. Saturday evening, I met up with Kat in Factoria (where I purchased my long-awaited Food Saver) & we went to my holiday dinner at Salty's. Some of our holiday parties have been boring or the entertainment was no good. Not this time, though; I had a blast! There was an incredible buffet, a live band, a game of limbo. Oh and lets not forget about the wonderful prizes, of which I didn't win (boo).

Sunday night, Jeff & I met up with my friend Jen to watch another co-worker in her first Improv performance. It was her 201 class just doing a bunch of games. Some were better than others, but ALL were better than I'd ever be. After the 201 class performed, the 301 class performed a bunch of games. Afterwards, Jeff & I headed to one of our favorite northend places for some Happy Hour dinner. Yum.

The only thing planned for Monday was to see Jason Mraz at the Paramount Theatre. I didn't realize this, but I only know two JM songs - You & I Both (which was performed MUCH slower than I was accustomed) & I'm Yours (one of 5 songs he did as part of his encore). It was a pretty good show, even though I didn't know most of his music. The best part had to be when two girls stood up & were dancing to some song & an usher came & told them to sit down. Many people (myself included) clapped when they finally did sit.

Tuesday was reserved for stamping & I wanted to do a little cooking. I finished prepping for my Christmas card stamp-a-stack scheduled for this upcoming weekend & I made 4 cards that I sold to a co-worker. I have to admit, it took a little bit longer than I had anticipated. I only had time to cook one thing today - a Rachael Ray version of Shepherd's Pie recipe, w/a couple of adjustments based on some of the reviews. It was FAN-TAS-TIC! Definitely going in my recipe box for future dinners.

Happy (Sister Hazel)

This was me doing the HAPPY DANCE tonight as Barack Obama was announced as the President-Elect:

Yeee!!

The Gift (Jim Brickman)

Last week, I get an email from Jeff that said my gift has just arrived. When I got home from work, I didn't see anything unusual laying around. So, I asked him (in between his calls) if my "gift" was from one of the kitties. He says no. Thank goodness. The last thing I wanted to do was clean up some puke piles.

So, after he was done working, he leads me down into the dining room where my new KitchenAid stand mixer was. Yeee!!! I've been wanting one of these for a long time, if for no other reason, they just look cool. And now, I have to figure out what I'm going to do with it (I don't bake, I cook).

Do you have any suggestions? Please, let me know.

Home (Daughtry)

Yesterday, I was up in the Northend and, on my way home, thought I'd stop at the hospital to see how my dad was doing. He was to have been discharged from the hospital today. As I walked up to his room, that wasn't my dad in the bed. Thank goodness, I didn't go all the way into the room before I realized that it wasn't him.

The gal at the nurse's station said he was discharged earlier in the afternoon. So, I went to my dad's house & sure enough, he was there. He was quite a bit more coherent than the first time I saw him (the day after his surgery). He was still moving around like he was in pain, saying he was only going to be traveling from his bedroom to the bathroom to the living room chair & that it hurt to spend much time on his feet.

He said that the surgeons had to move his diaphragm & so now he is constantly hiccuping. While, physically, he may have been in pain, vocally, he didn't show any signs as he went on & on about the life my sister has chosen for herself.

Today, I brought him a lasagna to Food Save & freeze for future eats as he's not able to eat much right now. He was up on his feet for a good 15 minutes (at least) while we took care of the lasagna.

I think he's well on his way to a good recovery.

Doctor Doctor (Thompson Twins)

Yesterday, my dad had bypass surgery & an aneurysm repaired. Today, after work, my sister & I went up to the hospital to see how he was doing.

We only got to spend maybe 10 minutes with him because about 2 minutes after we got there, the nurse came in & gave him a shot to put him to sleep. He conked out relatively quick after the shot.

The surgery went well, but my dad said it wasn't as expected. I don't know if he meant that something happened in the surgery itself or if the healing process is different than what he expected. He wasn't 100% coherent, so it was hard to hold a real conversation. But he kept saying that he was either really, really hot or really, really cold & he appeared to be in pain & the only pain meds he was being given (I think) was an epidural.

But, here's Dad giving his thumbs up that he survived the surgery. There's still a LOT of recoverin' left to do.

Finally Found (The Honeyz)

A couple weeks ago, we replaced Jeff's wedding band with a new titanium band, with the thought of as soon as we replace it, the old one will show up again. Guess what showed up again? The ring.

So, which ring is he wearing now? He isn't.

Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash)

Last night, Amy, Derik, Aimee, Nicole & I went to Auburn's 4th annual S'mores Than You Imagine event held at Game Farm Park. There was S'mores (of course), Starbucks provided some warm beverages (coffee, cider & hot chocolate), face painting, a bon fire & ghost stories.

It was kinda a neat family event (read LOTS of kids running around). The night was perfect - no rain, full moon & thank goodness I had that blanket in my car to put on the metal bench.

Though, we didn't stay for the whole thing, I would go back next year (as long as it wasn't raining). I'd be sure to wear much warmer socks, too. Oh, and I'd get in line as soon as the Starbucks arrived. Good times!

Ring Around the Rosie (Various)

Jeff lost his ring sometime around the time we went camping back in August. We've looked just about everywhere for the darn thing & couldn't find it. So.... Last Saturday, we went back to the Shane Co. & bought a new ring for him.

The original ring was a simple white gold band. To get the same ring was going to be upwards of $500.

After trying on several titanium & tungsten rings, Jeff opted for the $70 titanium ring.

If he loses this one, we're not out a super-huge ton of moulah.

What's Going On (Marvin Gaye)

Man, it's been F-O-R-E-V-E-R since I've posted anything. I've been such a slacker! Or, maybe not a whole heckuva lot has been going on since I last wrote in my blog.

I did a vendor fair a couple weeks ago. I got a couple leads on that for stamp camps & made two sales. Yee!! Doesn't sound like much, but these vendor fairs typically aren't very successful anyways.

We did our annual Girls Night Out at the Melting Pot. Tasty as always & this time, there were 8 girls instead of last year's 6. Yee!! I only wish Amy & Kim could have been there. Next year, girls. Next year.

I'm getting over some sort of sinus deal. Not sure if it's an infection or what, but I'm glad it's nearly over. Unfortunately, because of it, I spent much of last weekend doing a whole lot of nothing, but fortunately, because of it, I got to spend much of the weekend doing a whole lot of nothing (read catching up on shows).

So, after chatting with Airi last Friday at our Goodbye Trina dinner, I realize that I watch FAR too much television. I'm just not entirely sure which shows to stop watching just yet. It's still early in the season and, well I'm a couch potato apparently.

This morning, the bank across the street from my work was robbed & a suspicious backpack was left behind. We had to evacuate my side of the building for about 25 minutes while the investigators were investigating.

Jeff's sister & her boyfriend purchased their first home down in P-town. We were invited for a bbq this past Sunday. It's a quaint (read TINY) little place, but it's so stinking cute! It's perfect for a pre-kid, first home. I gotta say though... DON'T TAKE DOWN THE RHODIES!!


Today, I am thankful for:
1. www.allrecipes.com
2. neti-pot
3. fast acting tylenol
4. in-home laundry facilities
5. HOT water

Somebody's Eyes (Karla Bonoff)

For the past several months, I've been a loyal lurker on Matt Logelin's blog & today, he just announced the launch of his online store, Garden of Awesome.

I encourage you to visit Matt's blog, read up on what an amazing father he is, then go buy as much cool stuff as you can to help support him and his beautiful baby, Madeline. You, too, can be a stranger friend.

Warning: You'll need lots of time & lots of tissues if you're going to read his blog (especially from the beginning) but it's worth every tear you shed.

You Can Run But You Can't Hide (Triple Image)

Tubbs & Shiggy aren't very good at playing Hide & Go Seek.
I found both of them & took their pictures.

After the Rain (Nelson)

Here's the before & the after of the house where the tree was struck by lightning.
It had to come down.

Now the house is... Bare. Exposed.

So weird to finally see this house after 5 years of living here.

Baby Face (Art Mooney)

My good friend Amy has submitted her son's picture in a radio contest - Cute Baby of the Week. He made it into the top 10 & is needing some votes. Not that he NEEDS votes (he really is a cutie patootie), but they really want to win so I'm encouraging you to go ahead & vote for Derik.

All you have to do is send an email to warmcutestbaby@gmail.com & reference baby #6 / Derik. You can vote once per day until next Thursday. It's that simple.

And then, I think Mia's picture should be submitted for the following week's contest because she's so stinking cute too!

The Best Things in Life are Free (Janet Jackson)

This morning I was sitting on the train, reading a Dean Koontz novel & listening to my mp3 player when I faintly heard the familiar ring that is T-Mobile. The gal across from me looked at her cell phone & then put it away. Crap, that means it's probably mine & who's calling me at 8am on a Friday? It's my good friend Kathy, who I haven't talked to in several weeks, wanting to know if I wanted to go to the Seahawk game tonight. "Well, I really don't care for football," I tell her, but she says, "Who cares? It's free tickets to a sold out game!" Good point. "Okay, I'll go."


Aside from the Bacon Bowl several years ago & the annual March of Dimes walks that I participate in, I had never been to Qwest Field. Our seats were up on the 300 level & several rows up at that. Quite reminiscent of the 'nosebleeds' at Safeco Field & the view was just as good. Other than the fact that it was very cold & very windy up there, I had a great time; I'm glad I went.



Today, I am thankful for:


1. Winning sports teams
2. $9 dues
3. ATM projects near completion
4. Mel's Market
5. Free parking

Take My Breath Away (Berlin)

Mother Nature - 1, Jen - 0

Friday night, Jeff & I went camping with his parents. It was kinda a last minute trip. Sorta. Well, there were a few requirements (not too far, must have toilet, must have fires allowed, must have availability).

It turned out to be more last minute than I think anyone wanted it to be. We've known for weeks that we were going camping, but nobody would make a reservation. And by the time we were ready to make a reservation, there was nothing available. And where there was something available, no fires were allowed. Ugh!

We ended up going to The Dalles, about 25 miles east of Enumclaw, early Friday morning to see if they had anything available (we knew they had [stinky, hole in the ground] toilets & fires available). We reserved a spot & drove back to Enumclaw to let the 'rents know we got a spot secured, did a little grocery shopping & headed back to The Dalles & waited.

We were both exhaused from waking up so early, quickly packing the car, eating a big breakfast at The Lee & then driving out to The Dalles. Once camp was set up, I had to close my eyes for a few, but we had no air in the mattress so I sat in my chair, trying to sleep.

Bob & Penny made it out to the site a couple hours later & we learned while setting up their tent & stuff that they didn't have the plug for their air mattress. Crap. Bob drove back to Enumclaw to pick up a new, er, make that 2 new twin sized air mattresses to put in their tent. As it turns out, 2 twins is NOT the same size as 1 queen. It was quite funny watching Bob & Jeff get the twins in the tent & even more funny watching them try to zip the tent closed. Good times.

Once I laid down in bed, I absolutely could not breathe. I don't usually use my inhaler so I didn't bring it. I should have brought it. I was up ALL NIGHT LONG, coughing & wheezing. I think I got *maybe* 3 hours of sleep Friday night. I offered to go back home Saturday to get my inhaler, but was told that was silly. Let's just all pack up & go home.

So, we did. But first, let's have breakfast together. We ate at The Kettle & it was DELISH!! It just might be our new spot on the way out for breakfast.


Today, I am thankful for:
1. The Olympics being almost over
2. New shows about to begin
3. Van Hoof
4. Credit Cards
5. Trees that can survive 700 years

Summer (Alien Ant Farm)

Man, I gotta stop doing this. It's hard to remember what's been going on when I wait so long in between posts.

At the very end of July/beginning of August, I went to my first Stampin' Up Convention in Salt Lake City. It was VERY warm (upper 90's - low 100's). I had an incredible time!! I learned a lot of various things that I want to incorporate into my SU business. We'll see how long the momentum will last.

Speaking of stamping, my company has asked me to make the invitations for our 'Autumn Extraordinaire' a.k.a. holiday party. I've got the invite all planned out, but I'm just waiting on approval for the verbiage to use.

And, when I was showing one gal on our Social Committee who was approving the design, etc. of the invitation, another gal came over & wants me to make some invitations to a Soup Party she has each year. I already have the design down on that one, but am waiting on the color choices. Perhaps we'll get it figured out tomorrow.

I'm super excited about these!!

Next on the agenda is to get a stamp camp planned for my home & then start working on my Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stack, where you'll get to make 16 cards (4 each of 4 designs) for just $20. How nice will it be to have all your Christmas cards done early so that by the time Thanksgiving or Dec 1st rolls around, all you have to do is drop your cards off in the mail? I would LOVE for this to be me this year. Even though I make cards, it still seems as though I tend to slack on sending them out.

One of my goals this year is to make birthday cards for all my co-workers. With 130ish employees, it's a mighty task, but I'm up for the challenge. It's fun receiving home-made cards, don't ya think?