Shining Star

Hard Weekend

2012-01-25T21:58:00.000-08:00

I don't know how many of you who follow this blog know through facebook or other means but my Aunt Emma passed away on January 16th. It was the day after we got back from Hawaii.

I will be honest and say that I am struggling with it. I know that she is at peace now and not suffering through this debilitating disease that stole her ability to walk & talk. But I miss her dearly. We prayed so hard for a miracle and God answered not with a miracle of healing but with the miracle of taking her to be with Him for eternity. But it's still a hard pill to swallow when we wanted to see her body restored here on earth.

This weekend we will be traveling to Portland for her memorial service. I will be glad to see my family and have them there so we can support each other during this difficult time. She was so unique and stood out as a adventurous, crafty, fun-loving, giving person in our family.

Please pray for us as we prepare to say our goodbyes and celebrate her life together this weekend.

Flora & Fauna

2012-01-21T09:34:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite parts of Hawaii was the greenery and flowers. Palm tress, plumerias, birds of paradise, red ginger and so many more. Most of these pictures I took at the Garden Tour of the Dole Plantation on Oahu. Oh and don't forget baby pineapples - they look so cute and grow up to be so tasty!

Aaaahhh Beauty...

2012-01-17T07:57:00.000-08:00

Hawaii is its own kind of beautiful.

Hawaii Bound

2012-01-07T09:44:00.000-08:00

Well blogger friends today we leave for Seattle and tomorrow we fly out to Hawaii! We have been looking forward to this trip since March - when we booked our Marriott employee discount hotel room on Kauai!

We be spending 3 nights on Oahu to tour Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, and the Dole Plantation and then 4 nights on Kauai where we will go to a luau and hopefully see whales and do lots of snorkeling.

One couple from our small group is going with us! I think it will be great to spend more time with them.

Have a great week and I'll look forward to catching up on your blogs when we return.

Minute to Win it Pics

2012-01-06T08:03:00.000-08:00

The internet was being so SLOW the other night and so my picture download failed. Sad. So here are some pics of us starring in Minute to Win It games!

Extreme diving to reach the bag on the floor using only your mouth

Using a spaghetti noodle to hook pop can taps and build a three can pyramid.

Inverted can pyramid.

Pizza box egg mover.

Stacking nuts using a chopstick. I made it to 9 and the 10th one made the stack fall.

And the girls win...

NYE Minute to Win It!

2012-01-04T21:00:00.000-08:00

We spent New Year's in Spokane at our friend's house. Dusty and Erin are great friends and great party planners. Last year we had a great (but frigid) time snowmobiling, sledding, and gathering around the bonfire on New Year's Eve. Well this year there was no snow so there had to be a Plan B. So Dusty & Erin came up with a fun alternative. They gathered all their great household supplies and we played 2 hours worth of Minute to Win It games.

If you have never seen the show - Minute to Win It gives contestants the opportunity to win money by playing silly games using everyday household products. For instance the first game we played required the player to move an egg across the room using only a pizza box as a fan. So you get the idea. Quite entertaining!!

Overall it was a great night and a great weekend spent in Spokane.

A Pintrest Christmas

2011-12-29T21:57:00.000-08:00

Now that Christmas is over I can share with you the projects I made for Christmas. All inspired from Pintrest.

1. Ornaments
These were made with small styrofoam balls and buttons - lots of buttons. Tie a ribbon around to hang from the tree with and start pinning. Pin buttons all over the ball and wa-laa. Homemade Christmas ornament.

2. Coasters
Way easier then I originally thought they would be. Just find cheap plain tile from Home Depot, felt for the bottom and pretty scrapbook paper for the top. A little modgepodge is all you need to make these beauties. I especially like how the vintage Christmas ones turned out. I am going to make a couple more for our Christmas collection next year.

3. Sugar Scrubs
I made a lemon sugar scrub and a brown sugar vanilla scrub. I found sunflower oil at the local health food store and mixed with a few other ingredients makes for a delightful scrub. Hobby Lobby had cute jars but next time I think I would find jars with a seal as the screw on lid still leaked a bit if the wrapped package was jostled to much.

Besides the cost of the pins for the buttons all 3 of these were fairly economical presents and fun to make. Thanks Pintrest!

Does Anyone Know what Christmas is All About?

2011-12-21T21:53:00.000-08:00

Remembering the true meaning of Christmas. I didn't even mean to take the picture with the sign in it but it's fitting.

Merry

2011-12-18T16:08:00.000-08:00

M - making cookies.
E - eating said cookies.
R - reading 'A Christmas Carol'.
R - running all over town for last minute gifts.
Y - yearning for more time to get stuff done.

C - concocting Christmas dinner recipes.
H - helping out a family in need.
R - resting in the hope and peace of Christmas.
I - w"i"shing we will have a white Christmas (but not to much!)
S - singing Christmas carols.
T - trimming the tree and our house.
M - making a plan for Christmas weekend.
A - addressing Christmas card.
S - spending time with great friends.

All these things have been filling my time and I have not been blogging. But I have been reading your blogs and wishing you all A Merry Christmas!

Chris' Birthday Weekend

2011-12-07T21:22:00.000-08:00

Chris celebrated his birthday this last Sunday. The best part was that my parents & his parents were able to come to our house! Since they didn't make it for Thanksgiving they had not seen our large new dining table and now they were able to see our Christmas Tree and decor as well. Although I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off Sunday morning decorating - it all came together.

Instead of a birthday cake Chris made cake batter (his favorite Coldstone treat) ice cream in our ice cream maker. We put together a lot of fun toppings and had a homemade sundae bar. It was wonderful!

After our parents headed home for the night we decided to text a bunch of our small group friends for an impromptu dinner at PF Changs. And there ended up being 9 of us. It was a lot of fun and Chris even got a candle in his dessert. Happy Birthday Hubby!

A Request for Prayers

2011-12-02T08:20:00.001-08:00

Today I am writing to ask you for prayer my fellow blogger friends. My aunt who lives in Portland needs your prayers. I ask you because she has been a faithful follower of my blog over the past few years and as a result she follows most of your blogs as well. :) She asks me about how you are doing and sometimes she reads your blog posts and tells me what's going on before I have a chance to - which is really sweet.

Pray for her today as she starts treatment for a condition called paraneoplastic deterioration where her body is producing anti-bodies to attack cancer tumors but is instead attacking her brain. The doctors finally discovered this after about a month of her losing her ability to walk and starting to have slurred speech. She is an ovarian cancer survivor but her body is confused and still trying to attack cancerous cells. Pray that this treatment would stop this deterioration from continuing and that through physical therapy she can walk and speak again.

Pray for her family - my two cousins both live in the Portland area so thankfully their families can be a support to one another and to my aunt. Pray for peace and comfort during the treatment and most of all that her body will respond well.

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:5

Go Cougs!

2011-11-28T22:14:00.000-08:00

The weekend before Thanksgiving we headed to Pullman to watch the Cougs play the Utah Utes. We went with our good friends Sam & Julie - who we are slowly indoctrinating into the Cougar culture. Because why live in Eastern Washington and not be a Coug fan? Friday night we spent the night with our friends Dan & La Rena in Dusty, WA. We woke up to a beautiful layer of snow!

And later experienced more of that snow during the game.
It was great to get back to Pullman which feels so much like home.

We really enjoyed our college days there and the 10 months we spent there after being married. If I had to move back there I don't know that I would complain much. It really is beautiful.

Turkey Day

2011-11-28T22:00:00.000-08:00

We had a quiet Thanksgiving weekend this year. My mom is still recovering from a bad infection in her leg so we decided to forgo having Thanksgiving at our house and stick to our in-laws. My MIL and I did most of the cooking - she did the turkey and most sides and I did a pie and sweet potatoes.

Our dinner was so good I forgot to take a picture before we started eating because we were so excited to dig in. I did snap a couple pictures of the day though.

Friday night our friend who was on her way from Seattle to Dallas (moving in a big van) came and spent the night and it was nice to have time with her before she moves on to the next portion of her life.

We are waiting until next weekend to get our Christmas Tree so it coincides with Chris' birthday! Great to hear all of your Thanksgiving celebration stories in the blogosphere.

Snow

2011-11-24T21:20:00.001-08:00

Taken last weekend at our friend's house in Dusty, WA. A beautiful snowy morning.

A Thanksgiving Proclamation

2011-11-23T16:04:00.001-08:00

I heard this on the radio today - on Dave Ramsey and wanted to share. The true start behind our Thanksgiving Holiday - enacted by President Lincoln at a tumultuous time in our country. Nevertheless they took a break and gave thanks for all of God's great gifts. I hope each of you do the same tomorrow as you enjoy good food and the company of family & friends.

Proclamation of Thanksgiving

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battlefield; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed,

Done at the city of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State

Why Small Groups?

2011-11-17T08:07:00.000-08:00

Our small group has started diving into this book together. It has created some great discussion amongst our group. Sometimes there are only 3 or 4 people that share but this book seems like it has drawn everyone out and we have heard a lot from people. I think that has been the best part.

The chapter we discussed this week was about real fellowship. The word fellowship has been sort of used loosely in a church setting. We mostly think about food and eating together or hanging out together. And that isn't bad - it's just that true fellowship is so much deeper then that.

True fellowship is sharing with one another our life and your walk with God. That means good and bad even though we usually stick to just good. It means learning about the truth of God's Word together and sharing how it's impacted you personally.

I know deep down we all crave that so much and it has been refreshing to see our small group members open up and be willing to share about tough stuff that has impacted them. I am excited to see where this book takes us in the coming weeks.

If you are interested you can find the book here.

TIme Flies....

2011-11-09T21:01:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was pretty busy. Saturday we celebrated the wedding of two friends from our church small group.

They met at small group, started dating, got engaged in February and are finally married! The wedding was a fairy tale theme from the princess invitations to the princess cake. It was very fun and beautiful. The centerpieces were old books with the engagement pictures inside the cover - like a storybook. A very cute idea.

Our small group has been such a source of encouragement and fun over the past few months. We've gone to the beach together, camping together, and now we got to celebrate a wedding in our midst. Chris and I have been very thankful to have these people in our lives and all of us are growing closer to one another. I pray that it continues in this way as we walk through life together.

Here a few pictures from this fun day.

Final Cake Class!

2011-11-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

Our last cake decorating class was this past Monday. We had to bring a cake ready frosted and ready to decorate. I had a slight issue with that. Saturday morning I mixed up the cake mix and baked one round. After cooling it I attempted to invert it onto the cooling rack but the cake had other ideas. It waned to stay in the pan! Half was totally stuck and half came out. :( So I poured the other half into the cake pan but it was only about 1/3 full. So my cake was pretty small. But it worked out.

We practiced making ribbon roses which is hard but even if they don't turn out perfectly they still look like roses so that was nice. I wrote "Property of Wilton" on my cake as a joke. Since it was a Wilton's cake decorating class and we bought a lot of Wilton's products for the class.

It was a fun experience but I am thankful to not have to spend my Sunday afternoons making copious amounts of frosting with Crisco anymore! My next cake will have real butter-cream frosting even if it isn't as stiff - it just tastes better!

The two friends that I took the class with have decided that we need to have a holiday cupcake baking/decorating party so we can keep up with our skills. It should be fun.

Here's the final cake:

Halloween Weekend

2011-10-31T21:05:00.000-07:00

The only Halloween activity we really participate in is pumpkin carving and this last weekend we had the opportunity to do that with our good friends Dan & LaRena. They came over Saturday morning from where they live near Pullman and spent the weekend with us. We had breakfast and chatted for awhile to catch up on life.

After breakfast we carved our pumpkins. I really need to get out of my face carving rut. I always pick the same pattern. Next year I vow to make something more challenging.

We had an early dinner and headed to the Americans Hockey game against Spokane. It was FUN! The game was really good - didn't even need fights to make it exciting. And the Americans won - 3 to 1. Great fun.

Sunday morning was our first service (well technically Saturday night was) in our new church building!! It was very exciting. The building is still under construction and there is a lot of work to do but it was so amazing to know that this will be permanent. No more storing stuff in a trailer - it can stay where we need it ALL WEEK LONG! Coming from being so mobile it is such a blessing.

Amazing!

2011-10-28T08:25:00.001-07:00

Wouldn't every photographer - anyone with a camera for that matter - dream of a picture like this? I would also dream of being in that kayak!!! Happy Friday.

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Cake Decorating Week 3: Cupcakes

2011-10-26T08:07:00.001-07:00

This week was probably my favorite yet of cake decorating. And since next week we have to decorate an entire cake again it will probably remain my favorite.

Cupcakes are so much fun to decorate because each one is it's own individual template so you just have to think about making a single cupcake look nice before moving on to the next. Cakes require more planning.

We learned flower techniques and used a lot of different frosting tips. Our teacher goes really fast while showing us the different techniques so my favorite part of class is when we get to practice because it's more relaxing. We learned how to do shaggy mums and pom pom flowers and then got to practice.

Here are the results. I'm sure they tasted good as well but I'm trying to refrain!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-23T19:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we headed to Walla Walla to go to the pumpkin patch with some friends. One of our friends has relatives who have a pumpkin patch and farm down there so we were able to pick our pumpkins straight out of the field - and we didn't have any competition to find the best ones! They had some neat old trucks out that were perfect for pictures. The main attraction for the kids was a hay bale pyramid complete with slide. Now that makes for some fun. I wonder how often they have to change out the hay bales because they keep falling apart.

It was a fun day - started out a bit chilly but the sun came out in the afternoon and it was really nice. We got lunch at a local drive-in and ate lunch at Pioneer Park. After lunch we walked around a bit with our dogs. Pioneer Park in Walla Walla is really cool. They have a large gazebo in the middle (where a wedding was going on) as well as a large pond and bird aviary. It was really neat to see all the birds.

Now we have plenty of pumpkins and fall decor for our house. The one downside to the day is that I FORGOT my camera. Boo! So here are some cell phone pics that will have to do.

Cake Decorating Week 2

2011-10-19T21:11:00.001-07:00

Well I reached Week 2 of cake decorating. This time we got to practice frosting a real cake. Which means making a real cake! Which I let Chris do for me while I was at women's retreat. Thanks honey!

At class we practiced cutting our cake, filling the cake, and finally frosting & decorating the cake. Now the mystery is this: my cake and two other girls sitting next to me (on the same side of the class) were not able to smooth out our frosting because it did not dry! To smooth you use parchment paper and a spatula to make your frosting look nice. Almost like fondant if you smooth it enough.

So we waited and waited but had to start decorating our cakes while skipping that part. We did the best we could and it didn't turn out to bad. And it must have tasted good too - just ask my co-workers!

Here it is: Week 2 Cupcake Cake

Women's Retreat

2011-10-18T22:01:00.000-07:00

Well the culmination of months of planning and work (as my lack of blogging attested to) came together this past weekend at our Women's Retreat. 2nd annual by the way!

It was a wonderful time. The weather was gorgeous but a bit chilly. It was so nice being outside in the trees, by a river, and in a very comfortable lodge.

This year we had a couple of new additions both of which were great. Friday evening after our main session we played a huge group game of Bunko. It was great fun! We played two rounds and had a great time meeting new people and moving at a fast pace.

Saturday morning we had our first ever women's panel. We asked several women from our church to be on the panel and they answered questions they received ahead of time from other women attending retreat. There were some great questions asked and we received such good advice and wisdom. This event will definitely be back next year.

Overall it was a great weekend and so nice to relax and get to know women better as well as deepen relationships with good friends. Hard to come back to the work week but it will be great to start thinking and planning for next year.

Cake Decorating

2011-10-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

I started a cake decorating class tonight with two friends. We are taking it at Michael's and although this is only the first week of class I already have some strong opinions about the class and how it will go as the weeks progress (it's only 4 weeks).

1. I am a perfectionist - therefore I cramped my hand trying to make my frosting stars look perfect and uniform in size! Practice, practice, practice.

2. Can you say expensive? The only thing provided is our lesson book - we buy the decorating kit (makes sense), pay for the class and provide all of our ingredients - which includes making the frosting and all the cakes plus miscellaneous supplies. The list for next week is half a page long!

3. FUN! It is really fun. Tonight we just practiced using different icing tips to see what they did and how to control our hand movements. By the end I was ready to learn how to make shapes and write better.

Here is a picture of my practice cookies from this week. I didn't have time to make cookies for practice so I bought pumpkin ones. They look a bit funny with pink & blue frosting but we didn't have orange. I took it on my phone so it is not the greatest quality.

Week 2: A real cake to decorate! (which I have to make by the way)

Off the Radar

2011-10-05T20:46:00.000-07:00

Wow it's October already? Where has fall gone? Really it feels like it has just started this week here where we live - cool weather and rain. It's been nice wearing sweatshirts and not having to have our ceiling fan on constantly in our bedroom to cool us off!

I have been busy getting ready for our church's 2nd annual women's retreat coming up in two weeks! Hence the lack of blogging. Instead I've been working on the program and prayer journey/prayer walk feature of retreat. We did one lasts year and it was really well met so I am excited for this year's participants.

Unfortunately I have just gotten over my annual fall cold as well. Last week while sick I did not feel like doing anything - so I didn't! Must have been my body's way of telling me to slow down.

Chris' work is slowing down and he is excited for his upcoming winter break! He has several projects to work on including cleaning up his car so we can sell it and going through more baseball cards in order to sell those. Got to save up for that house down payment!

I think that's about it! Can't wait until I can share stories and pictures of the women's retreat with you.

Balloons!

2011-09-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

Touring the Past & Present

2011-09-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to go on a Hanford Tour this past week. It was so interesting and so informative. I had no idea the scope or magnitude of the Hanford area on our region - not to mention it's actual size!

If you are unfamiliar with it, Hanford is where they manufactured plutonium for the atomic bomb during World War II. The government was frantically trying to stay ahead of the Germans - who they feared would make a bomb first - and scoped out possible locations to build nuclear reactors and start working on making plutonium. They flew over our area - with the Columbia River providing plenty of fresh water for the reactors and only three small towns in the area - Hanford, White Bluffs, and Richland - and decided it would be perfect. So they gave those people - plus the Native Amerians - 30 days to get out and got to working. Thousands of people were brought in from across the country to help without having any idea what they were building and what it was for. They built the B Reactor is 13 months! Amazing. No way is that possible now. Too much red tape. Within 18 months of construction the first load of plutonium was shipped to Los Alamos in New Mexico for construction of a bomb.

Well they did not know much about nuclear production at that time they did have a solid plan of what to do with all the waste of creating and processing plutonium. Most of the waste from the reactors was buried in single shell tanks on huge tank farms which some others was just pushed into tunnels and various underground holding areas.

After the war and into the 70s when plutonium production was halted and Americans decided they weren't focusing on that anymore and Hanford went silent. Enter the Department of Energy which is working with what seems to be a thousand different companies to clean it all up. And employing probably more then half of the people who live in this area.

Our tour took us through the area to see the history and the present task of safety disposing of nuclear waste. During the tour, I couldn't help but think of what our area would be like if it had not been chosen. I imagine I would be living in the middle of an orchard or farm instead of in a Hanford-era government built duplex in Richland.

I am so glad they are offering these tours to give the public knowledge and appreciation for the rich history of this area. No matter how destructive it was not only in the sense of making bombs but environmentally speaking as well it is still a rich and fascinating history.

Outdoorsy

2011-09-22T20:17:00.001-07:00

Here are some more picture from our camping trip. Wallowa Lake was such an interesting place. Having never been there we expected the lake to be more in the middle of the mountains. But on one side you have the "Little Alps" and on the other it looks like the Palouse with farms stretching out to the horizon. Very interesting landscape and very beautiful. Can't wait until we can go back and explore it more.

AAaaahhhhh

2011-09-19T20:34:00.001-07:00

Too bad we took this picture when we were leaving. I think I could enjoy this view all day.

Camping Weekend!

2011-09-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

In two days we are heading out to go camping with our small group. Tonight my head is spinning as I try to think of everything we will need - having not been camping in 4 years - it's hard to remember!

But we have the essentials:
Hot Chocolate
Cougar Camp Chairs
and
Tinkerbell!

She is going with us on her first camping adventure. I hope she likes sleeping in a tent. We are headed down to Wallowa Lake Friday and coming back Sunday. The weather is supposed to be in the 60s (YAY). I am looking forward to chilly nights around the campfire.

I will be sure to take plenty of pictures to share our adventure!

Parade Pictures

2011-09-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

Well Blogger is being stupid and did not let me add the photos I uploaded to my blog post. I kept clicking the Done button and nothing happened. Here is the second try.

Labor Day

2011-09-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

Labor Day we headed to the States Day parade and carnival in Prosser. We got to hang out with the whole family and had a nice day. Tinkerbell enjoyed (well sort of) her first parade - especially the horses and 2 dogs that walked by.

States Day started when farmers would come into town for a big picnic to celebrate the end of harvest. Somehow they started registering where they came from (home state) which started the States Day name. Most people I saw who registered their home state were from the Midwest. Interesting to see what people make up my hometown.

We enjoyed lunch at the park and saw some local talent - they were performing for "Valley's Got Talent" our version of America's Got Talent. Let me tell you - some of these people should have been on that show. One girl in particular had an amazing voice and stage presence - and she was only 15!!!

All in all a nice way to spend our Labor Day.

First Thursday

2011-09-01T22:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight I enjoyed going to the First Thursday Art Walk in downtown Kennewick with a couple of friends. The first Thursday of the month some vendors in downtown Kennewick will stay open later and feature artwork and artists that are local to the Tri-Cities. I had never been before and it was neat. Plus so cool to see people out and stores open past 7pm!!!! Doesn't happen often in this area of the country.

We ate dinner first and then walked around to a couple galleries and shops.

I find that I prefer photography or still life drawings/painting over sculpture and other artwork but it was neat to see what people came up with.

I enjoyed one artist in particular who takes aerial photographs. His work was just beautiful. So bright and vivid with all the colors of agriculture and wine in this area we live in. And he uses Nikon cameras - my personal fav!

Check out his work here. I might have to start saving to buy one, or several, of his pieces.

On Repeat

2011-08-29T22:22:00.000-07:00

This song has been on repeat in my car since last Thursday when I first really listened to it on Chris Tomlin's new CD which Chris bought for me for our anniversary. I love the piano music, the chorus, and the last verse. Chris Tomlin is amazing! Please enjoy and ignore the cheesy way the maker of this video put the lyrics on the screen.

Life & Loss

2011-08-25T21:34:00.001-07:00

I heard yesterday about a friend from high school who suddenly passed away. He graduated the year before I did. He was sick, had to be admitted to the hospital and suddenly started going downhill very fast. I don't know very much of the details but I guess it was only a couple of days and then he was gone.

To say the least it has been a reminder of the brevity of this life. It's certainly true that we do not know how long our lives will last on this earth. We can hope to accomplish or do all that we want or God has for us but we do not know when our time is over.

For instance my friend had a great job, a house, was successful but had never married or had children. I find that one or both of those things are important to many people and yet he never had the chance to experience it.

If you have a moment please say a prayer for his family. I cannot imagine what they are going through right now. And remember to take the time to connect with those you care about to let them know how much they mean to you.

A Dog's Love

2011-08-25T21:32:00.000-07:00

I saw this online today as well as many facebook profiles and had to share. Animals are amazing and we are blessed to share our lives with them. If only we could love them - especially dogs - as much a they love us. Click the link to read the story:

Dog mourns at casket of fallen Navy SEAL

Birthday Festivities

2011-08-21T19:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend was my birthday. It was actually really nice to have it on a Saturday. I didn't have to work or ask for the day off. Chris only had to work a half day and we got to see everyone at church Saturday night.

I got a lot of birthday wishes on Facebook, got some great cards in the mail, had a mini-party at work Friday, frozen yogurt after church with friends Saturday, and family over today.

Although I was not sure how I would feel turning 29 all my friends and family made it a pretty special weekend. AND.........our new MacBook is coming this week. I am SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!! I can finally dive into photo editing, decorating our house with more pictures, and making photo-books with ALL my pictures - not just the ones that are currently on the camera.

I hope you all out in the blogosphere had a nice weekend - one of the last ones of summer. I hope there was beautiful weather wherever you are and that you got out to enjoy it. Happy Sunday friends.

50th Anniversary Celebration

2011-08-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday after celebrating our anniversary we headed up to Snohomish for a very special anniversary celebration. Chris' aunt & uncle (his mom's brother) celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary! They were married when they were 20, have 4 kids, lots of grandchildren, love to sail, garden, and they have lived all over the globe.

It was really fun to be with family to celebrate such a momentous occasion. The party was held at a beautiful farm in Snohomish. They hold wedding there and in the fall they have a huge corn maze, pumpkin patch, petting zoo, and much more. Chris' uncle has actually worked there the past few years driving the tractor that pulls the wagon out to the start of the corn maze.

There was about 150 people there - a testament to their lives and all the people they have influenced and loved. We really love them and were glad to see them have such fun celebrating this milestone. I know they have many more years of marriage ahead.

Anniversary Weekend

2011-08-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we celebrated our 4th anniversary! Our actual anniversary was Thursday the 4th but we just went out for a simple dinner and frozen yogurt because we didn't have much time.

Saturday afternoon, we left for Bellevue. We stayed at the Residence Inn (yay for work discounts) which was very nice and that evening had our celebration.

We ate at The Melting Pot in downtown Bellevue. It was SO good and such a fun experience. Since you are basically eating a four course meal it does take some time but it's so interactive and fun that you don't feel like you've been there for 2 hours. It was a lot of fun and the food was delicious. I could have eaten cheese fondue all night and been happy.

After dinner, we drove along Lake Washington for a bit before heading back to the hotel. My friend Abby had give us a bottle of champagne from the Napa Valley to take with us so we opened that and gave gifts to each other.

We were both so tired that once we crawled into bed we were out! The next day it was on to celebrate another anniversary. More on that tomorrow.....

Photo Update

2011-08-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

Finally, here are some recent photos from our summer adventures...

At the driving range.

Our mini golfing group.

Mason's 1st birthday party.

Birthdays, Brunch, and Birdies (Oh My)

2011-08-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

We had a full weekend. Pictures to come on the next post.

First of all, Friday night was Faith Night at the Tri-City Dust Devils baseball game. Our church had the privilege of leading worship after the game and we had a great turnout. The game was a bust as the Dust Devils got behind and could not catch up although they tried. But it was a fun time and Chris even got to come for the last few innings.

Saturday we went to a 1st birthday party for our friends son Mason. He was such a cutie. He probably only had one bite of cake but boy he smeared it all over his high chair and himself. It was like he was painting. His party was a pool party and it was a great day for it. Typical of Boat Race weekend - HOT!

After his party we headed home to get Tinkerbell and went of to a game night with our small group bible study. There ended up only being 3 of us couples which actually was a lot of fun. Tinkerbell had fun running around our friends huge yard and antagonizing their dog who was not very interested in playing with her. We had kebabs on the grill and played pickle-ball. They had a regulation size court. And of course, we had to play Rockband for Chris so he could sing all of his favorite songs.

Sunday morning we got up early (well slept in an hour) and headed to Prosser. Chris' sister was in town. His niece had just spent the week with Chris' parents and her parents & brother came to pick her up. We had brunch with them and enjoyed catching up on the porch in the nice weather.

We left Prosser just in time to grab some lunch and head to Golf Universe for an afternoon at the driving range and mini-golf with the same couples we hung out with Saturday night - plus one more guy for mini-golf. I even tried hitting some balls at the range and actually enjoyed it! Who knows, there may be golfing in my future. After mini-golf we headed to get ice cream and cool off.

It was a busy but great weekend! I'm so glad when we get to hang out with so many friends & of course our family.

Olympia Weekend

2011-07-28T22:00:00.001-07:00

I was able to get away last weekend to Olympia to visit some friends & family. I went over to visit my college roomie, Abby, and stayed with her Saturday night. Unfortunately, she was feeling sick most of the weekend but we still had a great time. We got to hike in Tolmie State Park, eat a delicious lunch at Panera, and just catch up which was the most fun.

I also got to see my family. My aunt & uncle ended up only being about 5 minutes away from Abby's new house but my GPS wasn't so smart about where anyone lived so I ended driving around almost an hour trying to navigate from their house to Abby's. I was very frustrated. Time to update the maps.

My cousin & his family live nearby so I headed to their house as well. I visited with him and his wife as well as their adorable 1 1/2 year old Jordan. She was just a cutie and so outgoing while I was there. Her favorite activity was carrying my purse around - although most of the time she just dragged it. Too heavy for her, especially since she would grunt when she tried to pick it up.Saturday evening I got to catch up with another college friend Natessa which was just great fun. We met in downtown Olympia for some delicious desert at a place called The Bearded Lady. Most of their stuff was vegan and gluten free and YUMMY! We probably could have tried everything on the menu if we would have had the money!
Overall it was a nice weekend to get away although I was sad Chris couldn't join me. Soon enough. Next up, a trip over to Bellevue and Snohomish to celebrate our anniversary and a 50th anniversary of Chris' aunt & uncle. But I promise I will blog before that since it is a week away.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Columbia Kayak Adventures

2011-07-20T07:49:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we had the opportunity to go kayaking with some people from work and their friends. There were 12 people all together including our 2 guides from a company called Columbia Kayak Adventures here in the Tri-Cities. We found out that one of the owners actually lives just right down the street from us! We have been tempted to "borrow" his kayaks several times on our drive by his house. :)

We had a great time. We explored the Yakima River Delta - where the Yakima River joins up with the Columbia. Right now there has been so much snow melt that the Columbia is very high and swift so kayaking the delta was much better especially since we had some first time kayakers in our group.

It was a great day. Beautiful weather - hot! We saw lots of wildlife - a deer, pelicans, herons, osprey, and plenty of gulls. Since the water was higher we were able to go through some passageways that are usually marsh. At one point, I thought we might see a swamp creature or alligator swim by - it felt like we were in the bayou.

Overall it was wonderful and our 3 hours went by so fast. I can't wait until we can go out again and hopefully soon we'll go out on our own kayaks. Just another thing to save money for!

Back in the Saddle

2011-07-18T17:20:00.000-07:00

Chris semi-fixed our laptop. Well his work's laptop that we are borrowing. Boy I can't wait for the day when our new macbook comes in. I really can't wait to start editing and printing photos again. We are currently looking for deals and hoping to order soon.

In the meantime it is great to be able to get online and read blogs again without using Chris' work tablet. It was so hard to type on that thing but it got the job done.

I am so anxious to start working on my photography again. I am hoping to open up at etsy shop by the end of this year. It seems to have been delayed for so long (originally I wanted to have it open by January but then the computer broke) but I feel like the time is now right. We need some extra money around here and I love taking pictures so hopefully others will love those pictures too.

If this wasn't the most random post then I don't know what is! I will have some more solid posts coming this week - and hopefully pictures too!!

Summer B B Q!

2011-07-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

I found another picture to share. We inherited my grandma's BBQ this summer and it has been great. It is so nice to not have to heat up the house for a great dinner. So far, we've had chicken, asparagus, zucchini, corn on the cob, we'll try steaks tomorrow and grilled pizza this weekend.

What are you grilling this summer?

Independence Day

2011-07-04T23:16:00.000-07:00

My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy! ~Thomas Jefferson

Be Back Soon

2011-07-01T22:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. We have not ordered our new Macbook yet and the Acer we are borrowing from Chris' office is on the fritz. So that means internet on my phone or Chris' work tablet. Neither are easy to type on and I can't upload pictures. :(
We (I) am looking forward to a 3 day holiday weekend! Chris only has Sunday off so I am planning on some yardwork and hanging out with friends. We are having an outdoor church service and BBQ Sunday and will hopefully go see fireworks on Monday. Ground fireworks are legal in Richland and our neighbors have already started......Monday could be interesting. We also just got a BBQ so we will definitely be using that this weekend.
Happy Independence Day everyone!

Family PIctures

2011-06-22T20:44:00.000-07:00

I brought my camera and tripod so we could take a family picture on Father's Day. Of course I had to snap a few while everyone was getting ready. We had my parents, Chris' parents, my grandma, and my half-sister visiting. It was a great family day.

Fathers Day 2011

2011-06-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

We had a fairly good Father's Day weekend this year. It was a busy and I wish I could have had a few more days to catch up on things at home instead of going back to work! Keeping our windows open to cool our house down at night sure brings in A LOT of dust.

Saturday was our women's yard sale at church to raise money for our retreat in October. It rained most of the morning and was windy but we still made about $750!!! That will help a lot to lower the cost of retreat for everyone so that hopefully more women can join us.

Saturday was also church for us because we were running the power-point for the music and sermon. So after the yard sale we got ready and headed out again. After church we hung out with some friends at Applebee's which was really fun. We haven't hung out with people after church in a long time!

Sunday morning I headed to church again while Chris stayed home to make dessert for our Father's Day BBQ later in the day at my parents house. That was our first Father's Day fail. We read the recipe incorrectly and bought condensed milk instead of evaporated milk. Instead of strawberry ice cream we had strawberry soup that was very very sweet. :( Tillamook Oregon Strawberry ice cream to the rescue. I was disappointed though because I bought fresh strawberries from the Farmers Market to use.

Second Father's Day fail was my gift. I planned on buying a cool wall hanging I saw at Hobby Lobby but failed to remember they are closed on Sunday and I was too rushed on Saturday after the yard sale to stop at get it. Yes that's me - shopping for Father's Day on Father's Day. Home Depot gift card to the rescue for that one!

We had a great afternoon at my parents house for a BBQ though. We had fun with family, good food, and lots of laughter. Pictures to come later this week.

Happy Tuesday!

Pawprints in the Sand

2011-06-12T20:50:00.001-07:00

This is probably my favorite picture from Memorial Day weekend. I loved how the sand had been shaped by the wind and although I didn't plan for Tinkerbell to run ahead of me she did and I kind of like her pawprints as well.

Gratefullneess

2011-06-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day weekend I traveled to Seaside with some friends from church for a nice weekend away. I drove my car along with my friend Julie and we stopped in Portland to visit family & friends on the way to Seaside and back.

A few weeks before this I noticed that my car was acting sort of strange. Sometimes when I turned off the ignition the radio would not turn off - and I could pull the key out. I mentioned it to Chris but we decided to wait to check it out since it wasn't consistent.

Forward to Seaside. Saturday of our weekend we drove down to Tillamook and Cannon Beach. While leaving Cannon Beach, Julie had trouble starting my car. We jiggled the steering wheel and after a few tries it started. The next night we also had to try a couple times to start it when leaving Cannon Beach after dinner.

Monday, Memorial Day, we all headed home and Julie and I had lunch with her parents in Portland before heading back. It was a nice break but we were ready to get home since we had both not seen our husbands all weekend (unfortunately they both had to work and could not come on the trip).

Well this time my car would really not start. We tried everything and nothing happened. We turned the key, the electrical came on, and that was it. We soon realize that there is not much we can do. It's Memorial Day and most all repair shops are closed. We called AAA and they sent out a locksmith to make sure it was not the ignition. It sure wasn't - the ignition and key were in great shape. But we soon found the problem. There was a piece behind the actual ignition that was loose.

Julie and I were set to spend the night in Portland and have my car towed Tuesday morning to a repair shop. But Julie's parents had another idea. They offered to let us use her mom's car to get home and her dad would get my car repaired. Then he would meet Julie in the Dalles to give my car back when it was fixed.

Wow! I was blown away by this. They certainly did not have to offer this. And originally her dad was just going to drive all the way to the Tri-Cities from Portland to make the exchange.

Since this is already a long story I will sum it up in the fact that my car was finally fixed on Wednesday and Julie and her husband met her dad in the Dalles to get it back. He did a lot of work to fix it trying to track down the apparently obscure part that was broken. And he saved me a lot of money in the process.

I am so grateful:

Grateful that the car broke down in front of somebody's house and not on the freeway.
Grateful that it broke down in Portland and not in Seaside.
Grateful that Julie's parents were so generous to loan me their car for most of the week.
Grateful that Julie's dad put so much time and effort into fixing it.
Grateful that God takes such good care of me even in tough situations.

Sunset Glow

2011-06-02T21:07:00.000-07:00

Doggy Days at the Beach

2011-06-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

I returned Monday from a great weekend at the beach - in Seaside, Oregon. It was beautiful. We were blessed with good weather and I was there with a great group of friends - the only sad part was that Chris could not come.

I have much to blog about this trip - including my car breaking down in PDX on the way back - but for now I want to share these pictures with you. They are of Tinkerbell on the beach. She L-O-V-E-D it. I wasn't sure if she would enjoy it because she doesn't really enjoy the river that much but it was fun to see her run in and out of the water and race people up and down the sand. What fun she had and you could see the joy on her face.

Wine Tasting

2011-05-25T18:33:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon we enjoyed a great day of wine tasting in Prosser with some friends. I always forget how fun it is to go. You get to taste great wines and the wineries are usually beautiful this time of year with fresh flowers and decorated patios.

These friends are special to us as well and it was great to spend time with them as we have not done that in a long time.

Here are some pictures of our day:

DIY Project #1

2011-05-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

My first DIY project of the weekend. Unfortunately the second is not finished yet but I will probably get to it tomorrow.

I got this plant stand from a friend who was cleaning out her house to get ready to start packing to move to a smaller place. It was a little dusty and rusty so I scraped it off with a wire brush and gave it a fresh coat of spray-paint.

I'm going to use it on the landing at the top of our stairs. There is a window there that gets great sunlight in the mornings and I hope to have a little herb garden there.

Before:

After:

What A Week!

2011-05-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

What a week! The weeks are becoming crazy as the hotel business picks up for the summer. Can you say reunions, wedding, and golfing???

This week we had a WSU group in which was fun but I realized I have no crimson/red work clothes - that needs to be fixed so I can show off my school colors even at work.

We also had a large wedding group check-in. The brides parents live town but the bride, groom and groom's family all came from the east coast so it is a bit of culture shock for them as far as what to do, where to eat, etc. They are used to big cities.

I am looking forward to this weekend and hanging out with friends. Hopefully this weekend will include:

-The Farmers Market (first time, yay)
-A hike up Badger Mountain
-Friends over after church Saturday
-Wine tasting in Prosser on Sunday
-A coulple of DIY projects around the house

Plus the usual:
-Laundry
-Lawn mowing
-Cleaning

What is your weekend looking like?

May Showers Bring Destruction?

2011-05-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we had major thunderstorms here in the Tri-Cities - and all over Washington. There was record rainfall and even minor flooding from the onslaught. We planted our daisy - mentioned in the last post - in a front flower bed right in front of our house. It happened to be in the one spot that was both uncovered from the porch and catching all of the runoff from the porch as well. While still intact it sure took a beating.

But on the bright side our calla lilly held up wonderfully and it on it's third blossom since being planted. I love it!

April Showers Bring May Flowers.....

2011-05-16T21:53:00.001-07:00

Here are some pics of the flowers we planted a couple weekends ago: A Calla Lilly, Mums, Daisies, and some interesting paintbrush flower Chris liked. It has definitely brightened our front steps.

Looking for a laugh?

2011-05-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

This will help you along! While on Facebook I watched a video on a friends page. Well then of course I showed Chris and then we clicked through the to the next video and found this gem. Enjoy.

The Bionic Man

2011-05-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

My dad is now the bionic man. Well at least in his hip. He had surgery today to have his hip replaced and is now on the road to recovery.

The doctor who performed the surgery not only had fun (what he told my mom after the surgery) but also said my dad had the bones of a 40 year old (except the hip obviously).

We visited him at the hospital tonight and he was doing really good. Just tired from the actual surgery and the pain medication. But he was joking around and complaining about not being able to eat pizza for dinner. He must be feeling better!

Please continue to pray for him as he recovers and walks again with his new hip! Thanks friends.

Happy Mothers Day!

2011-05-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day! Many of you I know are moms and I hope you had a wonderful day and felt very loved. Moms are like no other person in the world and when the time comes for Chris and I, I hope that I am as good of a mom as many of you whose blogs I read. And of course, I hope I am half as good of a mom as mine is. I love her very much.

Glorious Day

2011-05-04T22:50:00.000-07:00

Summer must be coming...our weekends are filling up with trips, family activities, church activities, and now yardwork and gardening! Which leaves less time for blogging. I usually think through blog posts on the weekend and use that time to take pictures that I want to post. So I apologize for the lack of posts recently. I promise I have some ideas in my head that will soon be on here.

But for now enjoy this - my favorite song of the moment. I heard it today as I was going through the bank drive-thru with sun streaming through my windshield and warming me up - in more ways then one.

Goodbye Michael Scott!

2011-05-01T15:36:00.000-07:00

Chris and I have come to love The Office on NBC. Silly at times we have grown to love all the characters and the stories between them.

So imagine how sad we are at the parting of Steve Carrell as Michael Scott - World's Best Boss. It just WILL NOT be the same without him. If it weren't for Jim, Pam, and Dwight we would probably stop watching altogether.

Here is a clip of Michael's best moments from this last season including my favorite moment - his proposal to Holly. It was hands down the best episode of the season. We'll miss you Michael Scott!

Easter Beauties

2011-04-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

I love tulips! They are my absolute favorite flowers. And they are everywhere on Easter. I took pictures of these lovely flowers at my mom & mother in law's houses.

This fall I plan on planting plenty of tulip bulbs so next year I can take pictures of tulips in our yard.

We had a great Easter weekend. It was full but good. Friday was the Good Friday service. Our church partnered together with another local church (where we meet on Saturdays) and had a joint service. I had not been to a Good Friday service before and it was really good. I felt like it helped me start reflecting on the whole week prior and really helped my heart start thinking about Easter and all it means for my faith.

Saturday we enjoyed the beautiful sun at the park and then attended church that evening. Sunday our church had a family outreach planned and we wanted to serve so we decided to attend church Saturday. It was a small crowd but that made us excited for Sunday.

Sunday we spent the morning setting up for the outreach and then we were able to make it to the Sunday service. There were so many people and we had a lot of fun with the outreach. Families played games together to win stickers that enabled them to win great prizes. It was such a success and I cannot wait until next year! I know we can make it even better. After church we headed to Prosser for a late Easter dinner. It was delicious and we had a great time with our families.

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend celebrating the Resurrection of our Savior!

Tuckered Out!

2011-04-21T21:58:00.001-07:00

Tinkerbell tuckered out after an evening of playing and meeting new (people) friends.

Wait that green stuff keeps growing....

2011-04-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

Am I supposed to mow it?

We have a yard now. And I really like it! It's like a blank canvas. How can I make it look good? Where is the best place to plant flowers? Grow vegetables? How can we make the grass greener, fuller, etc.?

Now I understand why landscaping companies are so profitable! It's addictive!

I am itching to plant some flowers if it would just stop getting below freezing at night here. I am going to try and get some big pots too and start some vegetables going like tomatoes and maybe some peppers or peas. And after seeing our lack of spring flowers I am definitely planting A TON of bulbs this fall so I can celebrate next spring surrounded by color.

How's your green thumb?

Weekend Recap

2011-04-11T20:00:00.001-07:00

Wow, it's almost halfway through April and I have not blogged since the 2nd. I seem to have writer's block lately. Not sure what to blog about and no pictures of recent events to post.

So I guess I'll just share what we have been up to! We had a busy fun filled weekend although there were a few kinks thrown in.

Saturday our landlord had set up an appointment for some guys to come over and install a new sink for us and a new screen door for us and our neighbors. Originally we expected them last Saturday but they did not show. And this Saturday we expected them at 9 but they came at 11! Our friends Grant and Andrea were coming over at noon for lunch and a visit so we changed our plans and had pizza in the living room since our kitchen was unavailable. We had a great time catching up with them and seeing how much their little boy Noah has changed.

Shortly after they left my mom and aunt stopped by. My aunt was visiting from PDX and they hit up the stores and did a lot of shopping. It was great that they could come so my aunt could see our house. I then tagged along with them to Hobby Lobby. First time there and WOW - what a great store. They had so much of everything and for great prices too. I can't wait to go back.

Sunday our excitement was a surprise birthday party for one of our friends at church. It was a lot of fun. We all hid in the garage and when he pulled up with his wife and the garage door opened he saw a sea of feet! He was so surprised that he sat in the car for a good two minutes before getting out.

What did you do this weekend?

MS Walk Recap

2011-04-02T16:24:00.001-07:00

Today was the MS Walk. It was sunny - no rain as predicted - but W-I-N-D-Y! I cannot explain to you how sick of the wind I am. It's ridiculous. I'm thinking about vacating the Tri-Cities if it doesn't stop - wish I could do that. I would find someplace calm just for the day and soak up the sun and springtime without my hair being blown swirling around my head.

Well besides that fact, we had a great time. We joined team J-Lu as we did last year. My friend Hailey works with these ladies and one lady at their office has MS. So she is their team champion. Chris and I both raised over $100 each so we got great MS Walk t-shirts to wear throughout this year. Thank you to everyone who supported us.

Our 4 mile walk was done in almost exactly 2 hours. Along the way we enjoyed seeing everyone's team outfits and shirts, had some yummy bbq pork jerky - delicious - and enjoyed the blue Columbia River. After the walk we had a hot dog lunch and then stuck around for the raffle drawings. I won (2nd year in a row) a DQ ice cream cake! Sweet! Especially since my friend now decorates cakes at the DQ near our house. I will save it for a special occasion.

Here are some pics of the day:
Team J-Lu is set-up and ready to beat MS:

Got our beads on and ready to go:

Getting close to the finish - blue bridge in sight.

We are almost done! And wind blown.

MS Walk

2011-03-27T20:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend Chris and I are doing the MS Walk. It will be my third time & Chris' second time. We are excited and hoping the weather is good. Last year was sunny but COLD! We walked fast just to keep warm.

The walk goes down the path along the Columbia River in Columbia Park. It's a really nice walk and fun to be with so many people.

Chris' sister has MS so we feel a special connection to this cause. Plus it's just fun to get out with a bunch of other people supporting the same thing you are!

If you'd like to donate here is a link:
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/WASWalkEvents?px=6320265&pg=personal&fr_id=15674

Try Something Different

2011-03-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

We are trying to eat more turkey around here. Full of protein - not just for Thanksgiving anymore. So I decided I wanted to make turkey Parmesan sans the pasta of course. And I found this great recipe. It tasted delicious and was quick - another favorite of mine especially with trying to go to the gym during the week.

4 turkey cutlets (4 oz each) flattened *the package I bought had two large ones which I cut in half*
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese *or substitute cougar gold if you're out! YUM!*
2 cups cooked whole wheat pasts (optional)

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Place over medium heat. Add cutlets; cook until golden brown on bottom. Turn cutlets over and season with salt and pepper. Heat until cooked through, about 3 minutes.

Reduce heat to low. Add marinara sauce. Sprinkle cheese over cutlets, simmer, covered until cheeses are melted. Serve with pasta.

Adapted from http://www.fitnessmagazine.com

Delicious & nutritious!

Friendly Thoughts

2011-03-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

Think about your friends. Don't we all have different types of friends in our lives? There are aquaintences - those we know a little bit but aren't deeply connected with (I think 50% of my Facebook friends fall in this category - I once knew them but we have drifted apart in life and they've become lesser known). Then there are friends from different stages of life. I have childhood friends who I created great memories with, high school friends who are dear to me still because of all the changes during those years that bonded us together, and college friends who are also dear because of how much growth I experienced with them during those years. And then adult friends, those who become friends because of similar experiences you go through together - getting married, having children, going to church/bible study, etc.
This past weekend we went to the wedding of a college friend and it brought me such joy to reconnect with college friends. These friends know me well and we shared so many great experiences in college. We learned how to share the gospel together, how to lead bible studies together, and saw each other go out of our comfort zones to grow in life and with God. And we also learned how to country line dance together! It was such a unique time in my life and I always feel so refreshed and fulfilled after connecting with these friends again.
I'm so thankful for the people God has placed in my life. And He is the connecting piece. If I were to list out the names and characteristics of my closest friends - the ones who I can talk to about anything at anytime - we all have Jesus in common. He connects our hearts together no matter where we go or what we do.
What a blessing our friends are.

Proud

2011-03-22T22:26:00.000-07:00

Chris and I saw this commercial this past weekend. The original one aired during the Superbowl. One cool thing about this one is that we know the guy standing on the Great Wall from college days. Makes us wish we would have taken pictures with a Cougar flag all over Germany. But I bet we were the only ones wearing Cougar shirts on Apple Cup Saturday in Freiburg Germany! Cougar Pride - it's everywhere and we love it!

Loves

2011-03-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

I am home sick right now while Chris is at Bible Study. There are a lot of negative things I could blog about right now but I don't want to do that.

In light of all that is happening around the world I realize I am so fortunate and blessed. So I will make a loves list of things that are great right now (despite my cough and dripping nose).

1. I am writing this at 7pm and I can see out our front window. Not that is was dirty, no it is light outside! Woop woop for daylight savings and LIGHT. I don't know how I ever make it through winter.

2. A dishwasher! Strange love but we have one now. Chris' parents got a new dishwasher and gave us their old one. It's a portable one you hook up to your sink faucet. It takes up quite a bit of space in our kitchen but will also provide a bit extra counter space and save on dishes piling up when I'm lazy.

3. Swedish fish. Silly but a friend brought me some from a recent trip to World Market. They are assorted flavors from Canada and they are delicious. I treated myself to a few even though they have relatively no nutritional value. I'm sick ok!

4. Dear friends. This weekend we are going to the wedding of a good college friend and I am so excited to connect with good friends while we are there. It's always refreshing to be with people who know you well.

5. A great husband. He brought me frozen yogurt last night to calm my sore throat and has taken good care of me these past few days of sickies. I love you!

What do you love today?

Finally...

2011-03-10T19:55:00.000-08:00

Red Mountain - the namesake of the resort.
From the top of Granate Mountain. Nice view!
On top of the hill - ready to go down.

Ok I finally uploaded some pictures to the computer we're borrowing so you can have something fun to look at!

These are from our ski trip to Canada. I apologize for the quality. I was using our point & shoot camera and had the setting on forced flash off without realizing it! And you can't really hold a camera that steady while wearing gloves. So....you get what you get.

Puzzled

2011-03-06T16:45:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday after we got home from bowling with our small group Chris suggested pulling out a puzzle to put together. We haven't done that in a long time. Our old coffee table was too small and our dining table was always covered in papers and such (probably why we rarely eat there as well).

So we pulled one out that we received for Christmas of Martin Stadium at WSU. We had that completed in about 4 days so we pulled out a second. A smaller Thomas Kinkade puzzle. The pieces were larger so it only took us about 3 days for that one (mind you during the week, where we only worked on it at night).

And finally a few days ago we pulled out a third puzzle which has T-I-N-Y pieces and it said to be the world's smallest puzzle. I think this one will take awhile.

I have been chronicling the puzzles on film but as I mentioned in the last post I have yet to upload any pictures. Hopefully soon!

Lack

2011-03-02T08:27:00.000-08:00

My lack of posts recently is a due to a lack of computers! We were borrowing a small laptop and a MAC from Chris' office but he had to return the MAC. We had our external hard drive plugged into it so I could upload pictures and fun things like that. So I have plenty of pictures that I would like to post but have not uploaded them yet.

I can upload them onto the small laptop but I just like having all my pictures in one place.

Also we've been a little busy (who isn't). Between workouts, church, bible study, and bowling I just haven't been blogging.

Yes I've been bowling twice in this last week. We went on Sunday with our bible study and then I went again Monday night for work as we had a team for a Junior Achievement fundraiser. It was really fun - but my arm is a little sore now.

And here we are to Wednesday! And March. Where did February go? Out into the weather I suspect. But I am glad that we are getting closer to spring going here. I could do for a good dose of warm sunshine.

Ski Adventures

2011-02-23T07:46:00.000-08:00

Well were survived our ski weekend! We had a great time visiting relatives and skiing in Rossland, BC at Red Mountain.

We started our adventure on Thursday night by driving to Spokane - which is about the halfway point - and stayed with Dusty & Erin. It was nice to catch up with them although our time was short.

Friday morning we headed toward the border. It was nice weather for driving - sunny and blue skies. We arrived in Rossland around noon but didn't hit the ski hill that day because the lifts close at 3pm. We hung out with my aunt and went into town to visit a few shops and have lunch. Rossland has a really cute downtown area and although it was cold, we enjoyed walking around.

Saturday it was time to ski! Since we hadn't been in awhile we just bought tickets to a lift that goes halfway up the mountain - it was less expensive too. My major fall of the weekend came the first ride up the chairlift. You need to have good balance to get off and I didn't so my tailbone is still a bit sore but it's feeling better. We went down quite a few runs and my aunt really helped me remember my form in skiing and how to make good turns.

Sunday we bought tickets to go all the way to the top of the mountain. It was so high but a beautiful view and lots of snow. We ended up doing a couple runs on top and then skiing all the way down. Boy was that a long trip - it made my legs so tired! Sunday afternoon we headed back to Spokane and slept very well that night before heading home Monday.

It was a great weekend. Still have to upload pictures so those will come soon! How did you enjoy your long weekend (if you had one)?

Outdoorsy

2011-02-13T21:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we decided to take advantage of the great weather and go outside! It was wonderful. My heart soars that it is almost springtime. I can practically taste it. And yes, I am that excited. Spring is my favorite time of year. Everything is green with the bright color of flowers mixed in and there is new life everywhere. How can you not love it?

We took Tinkerbell out to Horn Rapids Park about 20 minutes west of our house - inbetween West Richland and Benton City along the Yakima river. We had the park to ourselves for most of our time and we also took a nice walk along the river.

Can you tell she loves to run?

Soreness

2011-02-09T21:13:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was my second workout with our trainer. He had me doing different weight workouts and also added some extra weight to ones I was already doing.

So you can imagine that today I am sore. When I woke up this morning I just wanted to lay in bed all day stretching. It felt so good. When you stretch and you're not sore you can't really tell what muscles you are stretching. But when you're sore all of a sudden you have new muscles that are now sore.

And I'm proud to report that while I didn't lose any weight (because I'm a girl...) I did lose inches. My neck lost an inch (who knew?) and so did my waist. Sweet!

So here's to my soreness - if it will drop the inches, I'll take it.

Progress Update

2011-02-02T20:06:00.000-08:00

Well we have been going to the gym on a regular basis for about 2 weeks now. It's getting hard! I just want to sit at home most nights and relax after work. I need to start looking at working out as relaxing.

I've had two workouts with my personal trainer. The first one was mostly an orientation and I did a few exercises. This last time was a full workout - an hour of weight workouts. My arms are so sore I don't even want to wash my hair in the shower! But it's a good pain because I know my muscles are growing.

In addition to the weight workouts, we are also doing cardio twice a week. Once for fat burning and once for a full cardio workout to strengthen our hearts and lungs. Monday night we went to the gym right after work and I was looking forward to doing lower cardio - just walking on the treadmill. But all the machines were full - because it's the busiest time of the day. So we looked around for awhile and decided we would leave and come back. But our trainer caught us.....I was so embarrassed. He thought we were just leaving.....so he made us get on the stair stepper. Talk about H-A-R-D! Intense for sure. I thought my calves were going to crumble.

In addition to all the working out, we are also logging our food. After about a week of doing this, I realize that I don't really eat more calories then I should - I just eat more carbs and fat then I should. But it's been a challenge to add more protein to our meals every night. Besides eating chicken for every meal - I've been challenged to find more protein rich foods. Any recipes out there anyone?

Overall it's been good for us. It's nice to have a partner to workout with and log food with so we can keep each other accountable. And Chris has already lost 1 1/2 lbs! Sweet!

Long Awaited Post

2011-01-31T20:33:00.001-08:00

Finally! I am posting pictures of our new place. The sun came out in-between rainclouds last and attempted snow-showers last Sunday and I jumped at the opportunity.

A close up of the front of the house - our "flower" box made out of brick.

The tree & storage shed in the backyard.

Looking from the backyard to the back of the house. Kitchen & dining room windows downstairs and bathroom & office windows upstairs.

Full view of the front of the house & driveway. 3 windows are living room & windows upstairs are our bedroom and the guest room. I love the green color with the brick.

Front porch and entryway. I really like the 3 windows together in the living room - one of my favorites.

New Addiction

2011-01-26T20:04:00.000-08:00

Chris and I both love Settlers of Catan. For those that do not know what I am talking about it is a really fun board game where you are basically settling the island of Catan. You build settlements, roads, and cities with resource cards you draw when the dice roll the number corresponding to your place on the board. And it's really fun!

However, I will be the first to confess I am not that good at it. I always seem to lack resource cards because I have a knack for picking spots where the numbers do not get rolled - even if it's a common one like six or eight.

Well I have found something to help me practice. The online world of Catan. Be careful, it's addicting. But you can practice online with people from all over the globe. Sometimes it can be difficult because you have people who haven't played much or randomly step away from the computer and never come back! (I had that happen last week and the other girl and I had to kick the guy out and get a sub player).

But it's great because it allows you to practice when you can't always find the time to play with friends or your spouse. The only downside I have found is that people aren't really into trading that much so it can be hard to get what you need until you have enough to trade with the bank. It's still great practice though.

So beware, you Settlers of Catan out there, next time I play against you I just might win!

A New Year, A New Goal

2011-01-20T19:59:00.000-08:00

Chris and I recently joined a gym. In the past I had resisted joining a gym for a few reasons.
1. We didn't have the extra money in our budget to spend on a gym.
2. Why exercise in a gym when you can go outside? And your apartment complex has a pool? (however this only worked for me if the weather was pleasant)
3. I don't particularly enjoy working out in front of other people who are much more in shape then I am. I always feel like they really know what they're doing and I don't!

But a couple weeks ago, a new Gold's Gym opened up in Richland and one of the guys came into work to see if anyone was interested in signing up. I signed up for an appointment and we met with him the next week.

We'd been talking a lot about joining a gym to help us stay fit in the winter (and for me to still use in the summer when Chris is working). So we decided to sign up since we got a good deal through a corporate discount - and due to the fact that the gym isn't actually built yet! It's just a satellite facility until August 1st when the larger facility is done. But for now we have ellipticals, treadmills, and weights to choose from and we will look forward to the pool & classes next year.

So we did! We joined the gym. And we're hoping to make this a new year for both of us. Get in shape, lose some extra pounds and just feel better. So I thought that for some extra motivation I would share our goals with all of you so you can hold us accountable. And maybe find some motivation to make your own change this year!

S-N-O-W.

2011-01-17T22:27:00.000-08:00

It's been warmer here the past few days. Although I know it will probably get colder before spring comes. Even though I would rather be warm and have spring & summer temperatures I do think snow is beautiful.

Such as in these examples: photos taken when we were visiting our friends Dusty & Erin on New Years. It was gorgeous weather and the snow sparkled. But you had to wear 12 layers to stay warm!

Thanks Dusty & Erin for a great time in the SNOW!

London Day 2

2011-01-11T08:21:00.000-08:00

Our second day in London we headed straight to the Tower of London. It was about a 45 minute tube ride. It was so cold and windy that day. It started off foggy but cleared up after we left the Tower. However it was still COLD!

The Tower of London was really neat. To see this fortress in the middle of a modern city was just amazing. Right after we walked in the gate we saw one of the Beefeaters giving a tour so we joined it. It was so interesting and fun. The Beefeaters are actually called Yeomen Warders and they are the ceremonial guardians of the Tower. They actually live at the tower as well.

After the tour we went inside the Jewel House where all the crown jewels are housed. No pictures were allowed unfortunately. First we saw some videos that described various uses of the jewels and crowns. Then we walked through some THICK doors - probably 2 feet - into a vault sort of room. All of the crowns used over the years are located in the middle of two moving walkways so you just get on and "ride" past them. We also saw a lot of dinnerware used for royal ceremonies. These royals know how to throw a party!

We visited the White Tower and saw a huge collection of armor plus we saw the ravens. One of the Yeoman Warders acts as the Raven-master. It is a legend that if the ravens ever leave the White Tower it will crumble and fall along with the monarchy. So they have naturally clipped the ravens wings!! And once when a German actually killed 4 of the ravens they purchased an extra to act as a 'backup' and live in another place then together with the other 6. Amusing..

After eating lunch in one of the restaurants at the tower we headed back to the tube to go to St. Paul's Cathedral. It was amazing! We actually went inside - although it was close to closing - and were able to hear their choir and orchestra practicing for the Messiah concert that night. Double amazing!

I had wanted to go to the British Museum but we weren't sure we would make it on time. After riding the tube to the nearest stop and wandering around - because the signs weren't very helpful - we finally found it and arrived about an hour before closing. It's free and has artifacts from all over the world. We saw the Rosetta Stone right away and then just wandered around until they closed.

Finally we headed to Trafalger Square. Although we were there at night it was still beautiful. I loved the huge lions especially. They also had fountains that were lit up with different colors. So pretty and it was neat to see the lights of the city. We ate at a nearby restaurant and I finally had the traditional fish & chips. It was one big piece of fish but it was pretty good.

We had a wonderful time in London. I wish we could have stayed longer - there was so much to see but overall we checked everything off of our list

London Day 1

2011-01-10T21:42:00.000-08:00

If I could sum up our visit to London using just one photo is would be this one:

Surreal is all I can say - to see Big Ben & Parliament in person. Being from the US and always seeing these places on TV and in movies and then being able to see them in person was just awesome. Beautiful too.

We had a great time in London. I have to be honest and say I was a little nervous about going there - just Chris and I. Our tour guides were back in Germany and now we were on our own. But we did it! Our hotel was out at Heathrow which is a good 20-30 minutes into London. First we had to ride a bus from our hotel to the airport. From there we caught the Tube (the underground train) to the city. Then we navigated various stops until we could get close to where we wanted to be. We saw the inside of many tunnels! The underground was easy to navigate too which was so good. They announced every stop, told you how service was and announced any changes in stops or routes. So that made it very easy to figure out how to get around.

Our first day we stopped at Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard. For December there were quite a few people there and we found it hard to see some of the ceremony. But it was worth it. After that was over we decided to head to the Royal Mews (stables) just down the street. I really wanted to see the horses and was disappointed to see only 2!!! But we did see all of the royal carriages including the gold coach used for coronations. It was very ornate.

After the mews we headed down towards the Thames to see Big Ben, Parliament and ride the London Eye. It was so neat to turn a corner and see Big Ben down the street! And of course we had to stop at the red telephone booths. I got the feeling these were placed just for tourists!

We enjoyed the view of the river and then rode the London Eye. I did not enjoy it nearly as much as Chris did but the views were incredible. I just did not like the feeling of being so high up surrounded by nothing but windows! I need a little more security.

By the time we left the London Eye it was nearly 4pm and starting to get dark. We walked back across the river and headed for Westminster Abbey. I was really looking forward to this. We decided that instead of paying to tour the abbey we would wait until 5pm and attend an Evensong service (which is free). We got a few wary glances as I'm sure some people did not believe we were there for the service but there were other tourists there as well. That service was amazing! To be sitting right next to the choir boys singing inside that church was unbelievable and beautiful. It was a great experience and I wish I could share with you the mental images from that time.

Finally we caught the underground to Harrods! WOW! What a place. We probably only saw 1/4 of the place and had a hard enough time figuring out how to get around. It is layed out in a bunch of squares each with a different theme (perfume, fruits & veggies, candy, purses, etc.) But they should really hand out maps at the door. We ate dinner there (hey why not? They had a pizza kitchen) and then caught the train back to our hotel, exhausted and ready for Day 2.

A 30 Second Update

2011-01-06T18:37:00.000-08:00

Wow, I just noticed that I have not blogged since right after Christmas! Where is my New Year spirit? Well it's hung up in working, unpacking, decorating, and wanting to shop for new things to fill our new living space!

So here's a 30 second update. Most all of my blog posts include posting pictures so I guess I should fill you in on life as well!

We had a wonderful Christmas - opened presents with both sets of parents (a first) and it was really fun! Plus my grandma was there too. It was really a fun day and we were excited to open up many gift cards to use in purchasing things we need for our duplex.

New Years weekend was spent in Spokane with our good friends Dusty & Erin. We had such a great time. There was tons of snow and we go to go snowmobiling for the first time! SO FUN! I wasn't brave enough to go very fast but maybe next time...

In between I've been working and Chris has been unpacking! We are so glad to be in our duplex and have the extra space. It has taken a bit of adjustment being in an older house. Not nearly enough grounded electrical outlets, baseboard heating, creaky floors & cupboards but it definitely has a lot of character. Our goal is to get pictures up on the wall this weekend so I can take some pictures and give you a mini tour on the blog.

I also want to get the last of our vacation pictures up from London. Oh and then there's Christmas & New Years too! Sounds like I have a lot of blog posts to prepare.....

Heidelberg

2010-12-26T20:49:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite days in Germany was riding the train to Heidelberg. It was about a 2 hour train ride with lots of stops. Boy a lot of people ride the train too and commute for work I believe. We had to transfer trains once and that involved running up one flight of stairs and down another to get to a different platform! Very crowded and those commuters sure know what they're doing! I'm glad I don't have to do that every day.

Once in Heidelberg we talked to a lady at the train station who told us how to get around town. We mainly wanted to visit the castle so she sold us our tickets for the bus and tram up to the castle. We rode the bus to the castle and were amused when the castle stop was not only announced in German but also English for all the tourists who visit. The castle is up on a hill overlooking the city and the view was just beautiful. It was snowing when we first arrived but after touring around the castle the sun came out and everything looked so beautiful. We took all the same pictures again because it looked so pretty with the snow and sunlight together.

Heidelberg had 6 Christmas markets and I think we wandered through all of them. Most were fairly small - only 5 or 6 booths. But it was fun way to see the town and pedestrian area.

One thing I really loved about that city was the colors. All the buildings were so colorful. I really enjoyed that about Europe overall. I feel like in America sometimes we can be too bland with our buildings. They might look nice but sometimes they need a splash of color.

It was also beautiful with the Neckar River running through the city. We even saw swans in the river!

Overall the castle won out as my favorite part. The views from it were just amazing. And the architecture was neat too. It was fun imagining all that has gone on there over the years. And I was so glad we decided to ride the train. It made our Heidelberg adventure that much better.

Mainz Adventure

2010-12-23T21:35:00.003-08:00

Since I already posted about our second day touring castles I will skip to Wednesday. Wednesday we headed just across the river from Wiesbaden to a town called Mainz. It was more industrial then Wiesbaden with a smaller downtown area. The main place we visited was the Gutenberg museum. There we learned about the history of printing and publishing and we got to see two Gutenberg bibles. It was really interesting place but no pictures allowed.

Before going to the museum we visited St. Stephens church. During World War II this church was bombed and heavily damaged. They rebuilt it including putting in a new bell after the original was damaged. Then in the early 1980s Russian Jewish artist Marc Chagall put in new stained glass windows most with scenes from the Old Testament. They were beautiful. The detail was amazing. I can only imagine what they look like on a bright sunny day.

After St. Stephens and the Gutenberg museum we visited the Mainz Christmas market. It was so cold and windy. We ate a quick lunch, bought a few gifts, and visited the Mainz cathedral just so we could go inside. A lot of other people had that idea too. I think at one point we heard a collective gasp as a gust of wind blew down the aisles of the market.

In other news, we moved this last weekend so that's why there have been no recent blog posts. We finally got our living room set up last night and it's feeling more homey here but there are still boxes everywhere! When we get more settled I will post some pictures. We are loving all the extra space.

Merry Christmas Everyone. Have a joyful celebration of the birth of Jesus - the reason for the season.

Exploring Wiesbaden

2010-12-15T19:02:00.000-08:00

The city of Wiesbaden in Germany was our home base for the week we were there. It's a very beautiful city - old but modern like most European cities. The first full day our cousin took us on the local tour. We saw the Kurhaus - the main building which houses a casino & restaurant and is adjacent to the theater, the Christmas market, a beautiful Russian Orthodox church and many other fun things. It snowed the entire day but we had a great time anyways. They live fairly close to the main downtown area so it was nice that we were able to just walk. We definitely got our exercise. Here are a few highlight pictures of the day:

The Christmas tree in the Christmas market in Wiesbaden. It was beautiful.
One of the main churches or cathedrals in Wiesbaden. It was in the market square as well.
A statue of Kaiser Wilhelm somebody. If you look closely someone put a googly eye on him.
This tree was inside the kurhaus building in Wiesbaden. It is made purely out of poinsettias.
This is St Elizabeth's Russian Orthodox church. It is up on a hill overlooking the city.

Traveling Adventures

2010-12-14T21:35:00.000-08:00

Sunrise over Iceland

Post number 1 about our trip is going to be all about traveling. We went on this trip right after the TSA heightened security in airports by starting full body scans and pat downs. Needless to say we were a little nervous about what we might find in Europe since they were also on heightened security due to recent threats!

Well we both had to do a scan in Seattle but it was pretty painless. You just stand with your hands on your head (like you're a moose) and pretty soon it's over. There were no problems with our flight from Seattle to London. We were served dinner soon after taking off (around 6:30pm) and then they turned off the lights to allow people to sleep. Chris and I watched a movie and quickly fell asleep. It's hard to get good sleep but we did get some rest.

Arriving in London we had to go through security again before transferring to our next flight. Chris' shoes (they only make you take them off it you're wearing boots) set off the metal detector so his legs had to be wanded and he got a short pat down. The flight from London to Frankfurt was short (thankfully) and I fell asleep before we even left the tarmac.

We managed to stay awake until about 9pm before crashing in Germany - it's 9 hours ahead of Washington so for us it was still morning but we were exhausted from traveling. I was awake from 2-4 AM for the first 3 mornings but then finally adjusted.

When we left Germany to go to London we had a flight delay of an hour due to freezing fog in London. We were bussed out to our plane (British Airways doesn't seem to believe in gates - they park the planes way out there and bus you to them) and then were informed we would be sitting on the plane for another hour waiting to take off!! That was uncomfortable. By the time we arrived in London, claimed our bags, rode the bus to the hotel and checked in it was already 10pm and we hadn't eaten dinner! That was a long travel day.

And finally there was coming home. I committed the cardinal sin of forgetting to empty my water bottle before security which caused my entire carry-on bag to be searched. UGH! Chris had to have another pat down but after that we were on our way. Our flight left London at 2:30pm and we flew just ahead of the darkness the entire flight. By the time we arrived in Seattle it was 5pm and dark. I have to say that was a really long flight because your body is awake for most of it. I tried to sleep but had a hard time. So I ended up watching 2 1/2 movies as well as a few TV shows. I was glad for the in-flight entertainment.

Overall we had smooth travel and no problems with our luggage. Even coming through Customs back in the US was easy because we shipped all that we bought in Germany back so we didn't have to claim it on the customs form. Whew!! And they didn't search our checked bags. And I have to say our favorite airport was Frankfurt. They don't have as tight of security as other places - probably due to the national police patrolling with MP5 machine guns!!! That makes you feel better doesn't it.....

Next up...exploring Wiesbaden. And more pictures.

London Town

2010-12-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

We are back at the hotel after spending our second day in London. We have walked a lot these past few days but London was amazing! When we first saw Big Ben on our walk from Buckingham Palace to the Thames it was surreal. You always see it in pictures, postcards, and movies but you never think you'll see it in real life! Wow!

And amazingly we did everything on our list! We figured out the bus and tube system and saw all the sights we wanted to. I was so glad.

I think my favorite part was going to Evensong at Westminster Abbey. We didn't pay to tour it. Instead we decided to go to the free service and hear the choir sing. It was amazing. I was so glad we decided to do that. We sat right next to the choir made of up men and young boys - who were very cute. Their singing is very enchanting and being there was awesome - to think of all the people who have worshipped there over the years.

Tomorrow we head home and then I will post more about our trip - pictures included! I took almost 900!!! But I'll select just a few of my favorites to put on the blog.

Cheers!

Castles

2010-11-30T11:02:00.001-08:00

Today in Germany we drove down the Rhine & Mosel rivers to explore some castles. Unfortunately they were all closed for the season (what's up with that?!?) but at least we got to see and walk around the outside. They looked very pretty especially covered in snow.

Burg Eltz Castle Up Close

Looking down on Burg Eltz from the viewpoint in the forest.

Rheinfels Castle

Reinstein Castle Detail

Reinstein Castle

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

2010-11-26T16:02:00.000-08:00

Bright and early tomorrow morning we are headed out for Germany! Just have to make it over the woods - Snoqualmie Pass - to the airport.

We are leaving 8 hours before we need to be at the airport (which is 3 hours earlier then our flight leaves) so hopefully this will give us PLENTY of time to get over there barring any crazy weather conditions on the pass. I have been checking every 5 minutes or so, haha!!!

We are so excited and will have plenty to share when we return. See you in two weeks.

SNOW!

2010-11-23T17:01:00.001-08:00

It started snowing on Sunday evening and didn't quit until Monday around 10pm! I cleared off my car today and I think there was about 8 or 9 inches on top of my car.

Chris has driven me to work the past couple of days but I am going to attempt driving tomorrow. I don't think the roads worry me as much as the other drivers. This morning there were a lot of people out on the roads and boy were they going slow! As well as gawking at the people who had slide off the road or were parked on the side. This morning we almost lost traction because the car in front of us was going 5 miles an hour as he drove by someone on the side of the road. GAH!

I never remember people being this crazy in the snow & ice. But it is before Thanksgiving so I guess people aren't used to it. Maybe tomorrow before work I will get out and take some pictures.

Happy Thanksgiving! Have fun in the snow.

Upside

2010-11-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

Sorry for that last post. It was written mostly out of frustration - not just about the computer but the midst of a busy week as well. We still don't have our computer back but we are able to borrow a computer from Chris' work that no one is using during the slow season.

I cannot believe it's another Friday already. No matter how slow the week feels it always does go by fast.

Last weekend was a great one and I wanted to share about it but never sat down to write this week. Now's the time.

We started a class at our church that is on Saturday mornings from (gulp) 7:30-9:30 for 13 weeks - thankfully skipping Christmas & New Years! We are calling it 'Discipleship Bootcamp' and after the first week I think it will be a huge benefit to all those who take it.

Back in college, being involved with Campus Crusade for Christ meant learning A LOT about becoming a disciple of Christ and how to disciple others. And really Crusade knows what they're doing. They've got it down and it works. Lots of people are able to be discipled and it turn they and grow in their faith and it multiplies. It's great to see it work in person.

But when you start getting involved in your local church it can be harder to find that kind of multiplication going on. There are lots of ways to get involved but sometimes I have felt that discipleship has been left out.

Our first week of bootcamp started out just talking about what it meant to follow Christ and learning a few Greek words and it was awesome. It really ignited my passion for learning and teaching others again. Lately I've been too lax in my walk with God and I am hopeful that this class will help get me on the right track again.

I can't wait to see what the rest of the class holds and how it takes our church by storm. I really think it is fundamental as our church grows and brings new people in all the time. We want these new people to not just come to church but grow and go out to their neighborhoods, workplaces, even the world to see more people come to Christ.

So is it worth getting up earlier on a Saturday then I do for work? Definitely!

Customer Disatisfaction

2010-11-16T17:29:00.000-08:00

In my last blog post I told you we had to take our computer in the shop because the screen back-light was going out. Well it turned out to be much more expensive then we thought to fix so we decided to just convert it into a desktop and use an extra screen Chris has.

So yesterday Chris goes to pick it up and they had not put the computer back together. They do charge you upfront for one hour of service to diagnose. But we had decided and told them over the phone our plan and they even acknowledged in their summary that it would work with an external display.

Needless to say we were not very happy when they told Chris they would charge us another hour of work to put it back together. We don't know how to put it together and they should have returned it back to us in the condition we gave it to them in.

Chris went back today and heard the same answer so he is going back tomorrow to talk to a manager and see if we can get it put back together for free or at least a reduced rate. We can't afford to have it fixed right now and it would be less expensive to just buy a new computer but we need to save up. I hope they understand and can work with us.

We are borrowing a computer from Chris' work right now but it's tiny and I miss the mac.....:(

Where has customer service gone?

When we finally do get a computer back or perhaps find a Mac to borrow I'll upload some pictures I want to share with you. Until then I hope your customer services experiences are better then ours.

Quick Update

2010-11-11T10:55:00.000-08:00

So.....I haven't blogged in awhile. I have a few updates to share.

1. My car is fine! PTL!!! The shop called us and said that they let the engine run for 3 hours (and filled up my gas tank after thankfully) and they could not find anything wrong. When they ran diagnostics it came back with a signal for a vacuum leak so we think that when Chris & his friend looked at it they inadvertantly fixed it. They took off the throttle body to see if that part was bad and put it back on but never started it again...so we didn't know it was fixed. It's been running fine and I am so thankful to have my car back and not having to get it fixed.

2. We might be moving.......things are moving along for us to move into a duplex in December. We still have a couple more places to look at but our application was accepted for one we went to view last Saturday. It has 3 bedrooms a large living/dining area and a large basement that's unfinished so would be great for storage!! The downside is that there's only one bathroom and it's tiny but we can manage until we save up to buy a great house.

3. Things are coming along for our trip. This weekend we are going to go shopping for all the travel essentials - luggage tags, space bags to pack our bulky clothes in, plus we're stopping by the AAA office to get advice on how to best travel with money and how much to take with us. We're hoping to use VISA travel cards to pull money out of ATMs because then we can get the best exchange rate.

4. Since we didn't have to get my car fixed our laoptop decided to semi-die on us. The backlight for the screen started to go out and so you had to use it on the dimmest setting or it would go black. Apparantly the cable for it wears out when you open and close the laptop.....so why would they put it there? Anyways we are hoping it is a quick and easy fix.

I am updating from work right now so I better log off. SSssshh don't tell!

P.S. Thank you to all the veterans who serve our country so faithfully. In my own family I am thankful for my dad and my father-in-law who both served in Vietnam.

Halloween

2010-10-31T18:26:00.000-07:00

We don't really celebrate Halloween (except maybe dressing up our dog this year) but one thing we do love is carving pumpkins (especially eating the roasted seeds afterward). This year we had our friends Ben & Sara over to carve with us. They lead our small group and they just moved closer to our neighborhood into a great new house! We had fun hanging out with them and making our pumpkin masterpieces. Here are some pictures of our finished creations:
Us with our pumpkins.
Of course, Tinkerbell did not want to be left out either so she posed with the pumpkins.