Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Dearth

I have been having so much fun reading other people's blogs that I have been neglecting mine.

I took the day off last Friday and I meant to update at that point. I spent the day cleaning out my closet, reorganizing my downstairs, cleaning out my refrigerator, baking, grocery shopping, knitting, making dinner and watching movies. It was great. I'd like to do it every week.

My favorite new baking book is Buttercup Bakes at Home. I made Orange Coconut Raisen cookies and Marshmallow Crunch Brownie bars this weekend (you can see both prominently featured on the cover). They were a hit.

Robb and Reba were in Chicago last weekend so Hannah and I took Noah and Jonah to Jonah's soccer game on Saturday morning. We had so much fun - I promise to add pictures from the game. In the afternoon, Josh and I took Noah and Jonah ice skating. They boys are loving skating and they love hanging out with Josh. He got Noah to skate on his own and then pulled him around the rink "weally, weally fast".

Mom and Jacob went to pick up Dad who was just returning from two weeks in Africa. We all reconvened at Mom and Dad's for dinner. I had thrown together a beef stew in the crock pot, so we had that with a salad and corn bread - true comfort food.

We are having a tremendous fall. The colors are amazing and the air is so clear. We have just been through a couple of really cold, sunny days with amazing sunsets - at 4:45. I have a really hard time adjusting to leaving work in the dark - it makes me really tired.

All of the kids have just come around trick or treating which reminds me to say - Happy Halloween everybody!

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Sports Sunday

Today was a sporty day and I am wiped out, but I thought I'd post some pictures before I collapse into bed. . .

The Bremerton ferry! It was such a clear, beautiful morning. Cold, but sunny and on the way to church we had to go through a strange patch of fog.

After church, we went back to Josh's house to pick up his brother, Jeremy and his dad, Mike.









Qwest Field has such a great view of the Sound. Our seats were at the top of the stadium, so we had a great view of the field and the Olympic mountains.









The game was a little disappointing - the Seahawks lost, but I loved being there and actually seeing them play live. The cheering in the stands was incredibly loud. I have been a football fan for a long time, but I had only been to one other professional game. My dad took me to see a 49er game when I was in high school. I'm going to try to see more than one every other decade. :)







On the way home, the sunset was incredible. this is what the sky looked as the ferry docked in Bremerton. Incredible. . .











And, finally, we went to Josh's hockey game. Jeremy came with me to sit in the stands and cheer and I took pictures so Josh can see what he looks like when he is playing. His team played really well and won their game even though they were down a couple of people tonight.

A great day! Now I am off to get some sleep before heading back to Seattle in the morning.

Sleep well everybody.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Friday!

I finished my book on the boat this morning so I will take a moment to say that I really enjoyed The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld. So much, that I am going to send it to Joanne right away. It reminded me of the classic detective novel and Joanne has always been a big reader of mysteries. It does not supplant my favorite book the year, The Thirteenth Tale, but it was a great read. Next, I am going for the pure weekend fun of Act of Treason by Vince Flynn. I have been trying to to mix up the fiction and the non-fiction, but weekends are for fiction.

Next week I intend to read Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope. I am a big fan of Obama and I got to meet him this summer in Washington, DC. It is very difficult to find politicians who actually talk about the issues and admit that it is a complex world with complex problems that cannot be solved with a sound bite. In this election season, it is refreshing to hear after seeing so many reductionist campaign ads. Okay, speech over.

We are going to the Seahawks game on Sunday and I cannot wait. Josh got 4 tickets this week so he is taking me along with his dad and his brother, Jeremy. Jeremy surprised us all with jerseys, so we will be in full Seahawks gear. It is supposed to be sunny and 60 degrees - unheard of for October in Seattle. I will try to post some pictures on Sunday night.

Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Days go by

I feel like I blinked and it was time for fall. I'm sitting in my office and I looked down and saw my hat and gloves and was grateful that I knew where they were. Josh and I have been actually walking on to the boat this week (and last Friday) instead of spending so much time in the car. I go through phases where I think it is better to drive because I am on my own schedule. Then I ride the ferry a couple of times. It is so nice to be able to sit and read or sleep or talk instead of sitting in traffic. It feels like we got a lot of time back even though we get back at the same time.

Mom and Hannah and I got pedicures on Saturday. It was a true luxury. I used to only get pedicures in the summer when people could see my feet, but now I get them all year round. I find it to be relaxing and I like that I can look down when I am barefoot and not have completely embarassing toes. I know, I know, small stuff. But, it is really the small stuff that I appreciate.

Today was a stunningly beautiful day and I took a walk down to Office Depot at lunch. It is not too cold yet - just a perfect autumn day and I enjoyed getting out in the (rare) sunshine.

I hope all is well with everyone - if you haven't yet, read Robb and Rebecca's latest entry about their dog, Lego. Happy Tuesday!

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Fog

It is a beautiful morning and my picture window opens up on the view of fog. I feel like I am living in the clouds. We have had some really beautiful sunrises this week (I know because I have been up to see them). I always struggle a little bit when the seasons change and the days get shorter. I'm a little more tired and I want to curl up earlier and earlier every night.

Hannah has been bugging me to update this more and I will try to be better about it. It seems like we are going really fast all the time from one thing to the next and I forget to do this.

Today is my mom's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM. Josh and I managed to walk on the ferry yesterday so we would be able to get on the one coming home. Most days we are still driving and it is impossible to get on the 5:30 ferry because it fills up so fast. It was such a great experience to walk on and walk up the hill to work - although my calves reminded me that I had not done it for a long time. Dinner was fun - Red Robin, the traditional Snelling birthday joint. Grandma drove over for the occassion and Hannah has been hanging out with my parents for a few days. I need to get my camera over there to take pictures of Mom and Dad's new dog. Mom finally relented and let Dad get a new golden retriever. They think that puppies might be harder than babies since they get in to everything and chew.

I'm looking forward to spending some focused time today on knitting. With the fog and gray and the promise of rain it seems like the perfect plan :-)

Happy Saturday.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

How can it be Fall already?

I've been reading other people's blogs while I eat my lunch and I was struck by the fact that it is really Fall. I was empathizing with Joanne who is also suffering from a bit of a cold and seeing the pictures of Denver in the Fall made me realize that it is already time to start thinking about Christmas presents.

Josh and I went to see the Cirque de Soleil show Delerium last night at the Key Arena. I was entranced. Such cool music and dancing. It was the first time I have ever seen Cirque and now I want to see them all. Perhaps a trip to Vegas is in order.

Tomorrow I have one of those crazy, can it all really be happening in one day days. I have a breakfast, a lunch and a dinner and in between, I have two big meetings. Love it. You can't beat the free food and I get to meet some cool people (Philippa Gregory and Steve Wozniak). Yep, my job is great.

Anyone else starting to think about Christmas? Just in case, here is a link to my Amazon wish list. :)

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Pictures from our very sunny trip to New York. We took a walk through Central Park on our way to the Museum of Natural History. It was hot and muggy from the rain of the previous few days, but the park was green and beautiful.

The top of the Empire State Building was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Because Josh had never been to NYC, we got the recorded tour and learned about all of the buildings we could see. It was a great way to experience the city and something I had only done a long time ago.


Yesterday, we took Jacob, Jonah and Noah ice skating. We had so much fun and the kids just loved it. Jacob's hands were freezing by the end since he spent so much of the time falling down. He is fearless and once he took one turn around the rink on the edge, he spotted one of his friends from school and chased him around the middle. Josh provided lots of coaching and then helped Noah who told me later "I skated, I really did".

It is late and I am feeling a little under the weather so I need to get to bed. More pictures in weeks to come. I keep carrying my camera around in the vain hope that I will occasionally take it out and snap some pictures. Tomorrow, Josh and I are going to start our month of smart commuting - we are going to walk on the ferry every day instead of driving. We'll see if that makes things easier or more difficult. Have a great week!