Snow and Holidays

I think I may be averaging 10 days between posts. I don't know where the time goes . . .

I moved away from my hometown right after high school, so I never had the experience of going home and visiting with old friends. Now that I live closer to the place I went to college, I am experiencing that here. I had two visits with old friends yesterday and it was really great to see people and reconnect.

We spent Thanksgiving with Josh's family. It was a great, traditional day with football and good food and knitting. Okay, the knitting might only be traditional for me...

Friday, we went with my family to cut Christmas trees and because I was entertaining on Saturday, I was inspired to get my decorating done and I am pleased to say that I am ready for the holidays.

Here are two views of the tree. One is slightly blurry and taken without the flash to show you how beautiful is all lit up.

Of course, I now have Christmas music playing which is why it was such a joy to wake up to snow this morning. I sat in my chair, reading, watching the snow and drinking my coffee. It was a real treat.

Tomorrow may be more of a challenge. Seattle in the snow is always interesting. Since it only snows here once a year, people are quite baffled by what to do with it. We have it a little easier as long as I can get my truck down to the ferry. I'm in charge of the driving since I have the 4WD. So I will slide down the hill and pick up Josh tomorrow morning.

Have a lovely and happy Monday and a great week!

Quick, before the site goes down

I just logged in for a brief post. I've been having a great week of getting back into the swing of things. I really love my job after being away from it for a few days. I think we all get a little strung out if we work for too long without a break. Vacations can really serve to show you how great your life is - and I am really grateful for everything in mine.

Josh and I started learning Manadarin Chinese in the car last night. I downloaded the lessons from iTunes and we are using the Pimsleur Quick and Easy version. It is 8 - 30 minute lessons. So far, we have listened to the first lesson about 2.5 times. It will take us a while, but we will soon be able to say "Excuse me, can I ask you a question? Do you speak English?" - I've found this to be the most effective phrase in all of my world travels.

We are having a fantastic, cold, crisp, sunny day in Seattle. Unbelievable. Hope everyone is enjoying the weather :)

Back to Work

I survived my first full day of work and even had a good time. It was good to get some time for restoration and now I have a lot more energy. I might try this vacation thing more often. I'm definitely taking Josh on the next one.

November and December are my favorite months of the year. It has been interesting since I started working in a business that goes crazy during these months. I find that I have to be really intentional about taking time for family and friends and it makes the time even better.

It was a good week to take off - now that I am back, I have a four day week this week and a three day week next week. I wish I could take credit and say that I planned it that way, but I only realized it this morning when we were making the uphill trek to work. Yes, that means we walked on the ferry. We have been much better about that this month.

I mean to get to the picture uploading soon. Have a great week!

Colorado

I am sitting here in the living room of Joanne's house watching the Sunday night football game and catching up on the world. For the last 5 days we have been in the mountains for our annual girls weekend. It was a weekend devoid of computers and full of knitting. I took a picture of all the projects we worked on and I will post it tomorrow.

It is really good to get away from work for a couple of days. We get together for one weekend a year to have time away from our jobs and lives to talk and knit and maybe do a little shopping. The weather was beautiful - swinging from warm and sunny to cold and snowing. I lived in Colorado for six years before moving to Bremerton last year and it was nice to come back for a visit.

I can't believe that it is almost time for Thanksgiving. I'm starting to make my lists and check them twice. I love this time of year and I am already itching to decorate my house. Maybe we will put the lights up Thanskgiving weekend. Pictures to come. Happy Sunday!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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. :)

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!

Friday!

I love Friday almost as much as Saturday and this week it might be a toss up. Josh picks me up for work every morning at 6:50, but on Fridays, if we don't have any meetings, he sometimes picks me up at 7:30. Now, I know in the logical part of my brain that 40 minutes should not make that much of a difference, but it really does. It means that I don't have to get out of bed until 7:00 and the illogical part of my brain feels way better about that. We can leave a lot later because it seems like half of the world doesn't go to work on Fridays. I want to know how they make that work. We are trying to push for that at work, but I don't feel traction coming on that any time soon.

Tomorrow we have big plans to take my nephews Ice Skating. It should be hilarious. I can't wait to see which one will be a better little skater. I'm definitely taking pictures and I plan a big picture posting this weekend with all of my latest and greatest...

I know, I know, that's what I said last weekend. Let's see if I can follow through this time around.

Happy Friday, happy payday!

Books!

I clearly did not post pictures over the weekend. We helped Josh's brother and sister in law move in to a new house on Saturday and then went to church on Sunday and took lunch over to Robb and Reba's. We also spent some time Sunday relaxing and watching the Seahawks game before heading out to Josh's hockey game on Sunday night. All in all, a nice weekend.

The week has just been flying by. I sat still for a few moments last night and realized that I have not been writing about books lately. Here are the last several reads (and recommendations) from all of my travels:

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl- I like coming of age novels and I like mysteries so I really enjoyed this book although it was quite a commitment. The writing was fantastic, but dense enough that I could not practice my speed reading skills. I read this book for a long time and then got a chance to finish it on the plane on the way out to New York. Well worth the time.

The King of Lies by John Hart - After all of that heaviness, I really needed a fast paced, gritty crime novel. The story in this book was better than most and the main character is so broken that I wasn't sure he would make it out of the story in a way that was redeeming. A little darker than Grisham, but a similar feel.

Chuck Klosterman IV - I like pop culture, so this book was a treat. I have read his previous works and this one was merely a collection of columns and one short fiction piece, but it was an interesting way to remember the past couple of years. I especially like the rock and roll parts.

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz - The Simon & Schuster rep sent this with a note that indicated it would be right up my alley and it was. The story centers around a family of private investigators that spy on each other as much as they investigate for other people. It reminded me of Veronica Mars - my favorite TV show - or what would happen if Veronica Mars still lived at home when she is 30. (Oh, and I know it is mean to do this, but the book won't be out until 2007.)

How about you? What are you reading lately?

Slacker (or not)

I've been galivanting around the world without an internet connection. It has been a strange trip. I tried to post some pictures of our camping trip on the 10th of September before I left for New York, but they would not upload. I'll try again this weekend...

I also promise to post some pictures from New York. I spent last week there for work and it was a little crazy. We had meetings all day from 8am to 10pm and the wireless in the hotel was SLOWWWWWW. So, I did not post anything. I was really missing Seattle. I've been to New York quite a few times for business, and this time I really missed the sky. It was a little difficult for me.

Josh flew out on Friday and we spent the weekend running around and seeing the sights. It was his first time in New York, so I took him to all of the big things - Times Square, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. We also got to see Spamalot which was a hilarious and fun show. We got back on Monday and in addition to fighting jet lag all week, I had to catch up from being out of the office. I feel like I have been in meetings forever.

Hope everyone is doing well and has grand plans for the weekend. My grand plan is to post some pictures here. Cheers and Happy Friday!

Happy Birthday Jacob

Jacob's Birthday was Tuesday and I haven't had a chance to post until now. He is now 7. I can't believe it. I remember holding him when he was a little baby. We came home from work and got to go to his birthday party at the Round Table. Jacob got a dog, Lego, for his birthday so most of the presents centered around that. He got a dog bed and dog toys and dog food and dog treats.

Tuesday was also the first day of school for Jacob and Jonah. They are now in K and 1st Grade. It is cool to talk to them about what they are learning everyday. Noah is the one with the birthday hat on his face. He started preschool this week. For many more adventures of the boys and their parents current housebuilding craziness, check out their blog.

Road Trip

We headed out on Saturday to the Gorge to hear Dave Matthews Band. It was one of the most beautiful weekends we've had all summer. Perfect sunny skies and 90 degrees. The Columbia looked fantastic. I was feeling nostalgic for all of the Labor Day weekends I spent making the drive back to Whitworth. We saw a lot of trailers heaped with boxes and furniture and heading to college. The concert was great - the band played for 3 hours. I've seen them before and every concert is different because they riff on a bunch of songs, so you always get a new experience. We had a really good time.

Today, we helped Robb and Reba demo their kitchen. Their contractor starts tomorrow on a new kitchen. We started out pulling up linoleum and ended by hanging new doors throughout the house. The men got to do the fun work of pulling down walls and studs. Their was a great deal of laughing as boards were flying through the air. Reba and I worked on getting the doors installed. She is now a certified expert with the nail gun. They posted pictures on their blog - linked above.

Now I am ready to drop from all of the work. Hope everyone is well. Lots of trips coming up and Jacobs birthday is tomorrow so their will be more fun pictures. Happy Labor Day!

Pictures

Finally - here are the pictures from the fair last weekend. The top two are from a ride called The Typhoon that Jacob and I rode about 10 times. The kids also got the chnace to check out an ambulance. And the last picture is of the Baloon ride - they loved this and went on it over and over again.

Happy Saturday!

For Joanne

I keep meaning to update the blog and I have been distracted by many things this week, almost none of them being work. I WAS working late on Monday (I had to go to a baseball game with a vendor) and this IS a crazy time at work. But, most evenings, I have been having fun. Tuesday night, we met up with some friends and had a hilarious dinner experience in the U district. Of course, that means we got home late.

Wednesday, we went and visited Hannah in her new apartment in Tacoma. Josh spent a great deal of time making friends with Hannah's dog, Rosie. Rosie is a cocker spaniel that Hannah rescued many moons ago and she has always been skittish around men. It is really cool that Hannah is here in the area now and it was cool to hang out with her.

Now, I have to own up to the fact that last night, I was playing Halo on XBox. I have a feeling that this could take up a lot of my time if I let it. But, I am going to try not to let it :)

Tomorrow, we are going to the Gorge to see Dave Matthews Band. I am looking forward to the unbelievable weather and the great views of the Columbia River. I promise to put batteries in my camera and take lots of pictures.

I also promise to update more than once a week. Happy 3 day weekend everybody!

Fun in the Sun

I took the day off yesterday to take Jacob and Jonah to Wild Waves. It was the perfect day for it - sunny and 76 degrees. In the Pacific Northwest, we try to keep these days a secret by moaning about how much it rains here, but when they come, they are perfect.

I always get caught short by my own selfishness when I take my nephews for the day. It is amazing to me how many times I have to stop myself from doing what I want to shift toward their needs. I'm really glad I moved here so that I could have them in my life to learn this lesson over and over again.

Hannah came with me and we did our favorite - divide and conquer. She took Jonah and I took Jacob. Even though they are really close in age, Jacob is way more willing to take risks and go on "fast" rides/slides while Jonah will just tell you he is too scared. We all ended up wiht a tiny bit of sunburn, and we rolled into town exhausted, but it was a great day.

After dropping them off, I went with Josh and Jeremy to see Little Miss Sunshine. It was an absolutely perfect movie. Without trying too hard, it was funny and poignant and a perfect ending to the day.

Tomorrow we are going to the Fair so there should be more pictures. Today I am taking a break, doing laundry, working on a puzzle, listening to my iPod on shuffle, going out for a little shopping and then a nap. I still love Saturdays the most.

Mid Week

I have not been good about posting because I am having too much fun. Tonight, Josh's mom made ribs for dinner and they were great. This is really not mid week for me since I am taking Friday off to take Jacob and Jonah to Wild Waves. I keep promising pictures, and I will definitely have some then. I promised them at the beginning of August that I would find a good time to go and it looks like it might be 80 degrees on Friday. Wahoo!

Hannah has been driving back across the country and I've been thinking about travel and getting out on the road. I have some good trips coming up so I will post more pictures. Hope August is treating everybody well amidst all the chaos of our lives. Robb and Reba are going to start their renovation on September 5 and it looks like my friends, Toben and Joanne, found a great house in Denver.

So much joy for everyone. I couldn't be more grateful - it is really amazing to see what kinds of changes one little summer can bring.