Good Days...

What a wonderful Christmas weekend filled with family and friends. We spent Christmas Eve with Tim's entire family (1st time in four years we've all been together), then Christmas day with my parents, grandfather, & aunt. It was a nice relaxing day too.

The next two days after Christmas, I decided to catch the stomach flu. I'm back ready to play today...so Andrea & I have been to some cute botiques, had lunch at a cute & fun restauarant, & have spent the afternoon playing on the Wii with 'the boys'.

Tonight we are having some friends over for homemade Chicken Noodle soup...yum!

Hope your past few days have been filled with love, laughter, and friendship. Happy Thursday!

Done!

That's right, three days to Christmas and I'm finished with my Christmas shopping! Woo-hoo!

My friend Amanda & I went shopping today to finish up those last few items. We had a great time braving the lines and masses of people together. The crowds weren't too bad earlier today. This evening is a different story, and may I just say I'm thrilled to be in my cozy home away from the lines in the stores.

Last night Tim & I exchanged Christmas gifts. He got me some nice running shoes for the gym, a fancy set of knitting needles (so excited about these!), some sparkly pink earrings, a belt, and a blanket.

Tonight we did stockings and he got me the Price Is Right DVD game!! I've already played it for an hour tonight...it's so much fun! Some other sweet gifts were hiding in the stocking as well.

I tried to keep to his lists and because of this I was afraid he wasn't going to be surprised by any of his gifts, but he apparently wasn't expecting most of them. :) (Most of them were boy things...battery charger for the Wii, games, pj pants, accessories for the camera, movies, etc).

We had a wonderful time exchanging gifts and watching each others expressions of delight.

Tim's Birthday Dinner

Last night we went to the Portland City Grill with two of our good friends, Ben & Amanda. We met them a few years ago in young marrieds group at church. (They got married one week before we did - and we've had a lot of fun getting to know them these last two years). Anyway, the four of us went to dinner for Tim's birthday. Here our some photos documenting our evening.

The food was fabulous - as always - we even went all out & ordered dessert. They brought Tim's dessert out with a candle, so we all sang to him & made him feel nice and embarrassed. :) It was a great way to end the celebration of Tim's birthday.

Happy un-birthday to you...and you...and you!

Happy Birthday Tim!!

HaPpy bIRtHdAY TiM! Today, my wonderful husband is celebrating his 32nd birthday. This photo was taken (by Tim) in May when we were in NYC. I wish you a fantastic birthday today Tim & a blessed year ahead. May it be your best year ever. I love you!

Happy Anniversary to Matt & Andrea! Wow - 9 years! Congratulations you guys.

What a lovely day for many celebrations! Happy, happy Wednesday to everyone.

Erin's Visit

My former roommate (& current friend) Erin M. came to town to visit for Christmas. She came over last night for dinner & it was fabulous to see her. I missed her last Christmas, so it had been 2 years since we'd been together. Tim snapped this photo in front of the tree, right before she left. So much fun to catch up with old friends over the holidays.

Hope your days leading up to Christmas are merry & bright!!

Laura's visit

As I told you earlier, Laura came to visit last night, so we decided to exchange our Christmas gifts. These are photos of Laura's purse. She gave me a white scarf that she knitted, (way to go Warla!!) a super cute jean skirt, and a cute lacy t-shirt. We had such fun hanging out with each other just being sisters.

Nicole's Purse

I figured out how to post pictures!! Woo-hoo!! Thank you husband.

Meet Nicole's purse. Nicole was the first one to receive her Christmas purse. I need it to be known that she (the girl that doesn't like to know what her Christmas gifts are) special ordered her purse, by telling me what she did & didn't want. My only liberty was to choose the color, which really wasn't my choice, since I know her favorite color is red. :) Just kidding Nicole - I'm honored that you were excited about the prospect of your purse & I hope you get lots of use out of it & enjoy it for years to come.

And, I should also note that Nicole was the sewer of the linings for the purses. I have a sewing maching that I've never used before (my aunt gave it to me years ago) so Nicole volunteered to come over this weekend inbetween concerts to help me sew purse linings. We set up our 'sweat shop' in the guest room & turned out 8 purse linings! She had also special requested a pocket for her purse, so she got to make some of her own dreams come true. :) Thank you Nicole for your help!!

I'm Still Here

Wow! Time flies when you're having ...fun? Where to begin...

Last week was filled with children lit up like Christmas trees with anticipation for break & the upcoming holidays. It was not an easy task to teach last week, but I think I accomplished a little bit of teaching. I am THRILLED to be officially on 'Christmas Break' now. I know, I know, most of you don't want to hear it, but it is a definite perk to the teaching profession.

This past weekend was spent in dress rehearsals & concerts. We did 3 performances with our choir (Tim & I) & I also had a solo. The pressure got to me a little bit Sunday afternoon, but after some changes in my thought processes, the concert Sunday night was great. :) (Thank you Nicole & Tim for your helpful insights). Our wonderful friends Tom & Mary and Ben & Amanda came on Saturday night to the concert. Tom & Mary took us out to dinner for Tim's birthday (which is the 20th) & then stayed the night to do Christmas with us. They always bring Christmas gifts for the 2 kitties as well. The cats loved their new toys & we were very happy to have Tom & Mary stay at our house for the evening.

My sister came down to the concert Sunday night & we had a great time playing afterwards. She came down alone (I don't think that's happened for 3 1/2 years) & spent the night. We exchanged Christmas gifts & took photos. I'll post photos later. It was so nice to be able to chat with Laura & just hang out.

Today was my official start to break. I slept in, went to Starbucks with Laura. Came home, picked up the house - then went to an hour massage (*sigh*). Afterwards, I came home & wrapped Christmas presents while I waited for my former roommate Erin M. to come over.

I hadn't seen her in 2 years, so it was great to catch up. I will also post photos from that visit later. (Basically, I'm confused about how to load photos to the blog now that I'm in the Beta - Tim, help me - please!!)

So, that's the synopsis of my past week and a half. Stay tuned for photos - coming soon to a blog near you...

Weekend Update

Is it really Sunday night already?! This weekend has gone too quickly. Here's a recap of what we did...
Friday after school we had our staff party. We left there, came home, changed clothes & headed out to another Christmas party hosted by one of Tim's co-workers. We had a nice time there, but I was very tired by around 9:30, so we came home. Saturday I went and got my nails done (horray for a French Manicure!!) & then I cleaned up the house. We left in the afternoon for a performance that lasted until the evening. When we were finished with our performances (we had 3 in a period of 4 hours) we went & ran errands. Sunday I admit, we skipped church to catch up on some much needed sleep. When we awoke, we hung around the house. I didn't get dressed until 1:00!! That never happens. We got ready & headed off to another set of 3 performances (these are all for the choir we sing with The Willamette Master Chorus). When we finished with that, we came home where Mark, Laura, & the girls met us. We had dinner and played around until it was time for the girls to go to bed, and they left. What a whirlwind weekend. Tim & I were both commenting earlier today that we need one more day because we don't feel like we got a weekend. Although...I may think that every weekend. :)

Thank you for your patience last week - this week I only have 1 concert for kids & 3 concerts for me (again, with the Master Chorus). Happy Sunday all!!  

Jess & Tricia

Tonight we had the pleasure of having our good friends Jess & Tricia come to stay. They moved to Illinois in August, and we were sad to see them go. It was so nice to have them around again - it felt like 'the good 'ole days'.

We went to Red Robin (or Red Rob Bob as Ethan calls it) for dinner. Then took a detour to Target. When we returned home, we all took turns playing the Wii.

It was a great evening & super fun to have them stay with us. Thanks for coming to visit you guys - we hope to see you again soon!! 

Look!!

Tim bought a new camera today for me to use!! We were at the grocery store yesterday afternoon & we needed some things from Costco, so Tim volunteered to go to Costco today. I received a phone call from Costco about a digital camera (I was having some problems with my other camera with photos etc.). I wasn't expecting anything, and he surprised me when he got home. I'm so excited!! Here she is: a Lumix FX07. By the way, this is the first time I've included a link in my blog - I'm turning into a computer...

I will try to take some photos tomorrow with her & post them - I'm sure you'll see a remarkable difference (& even if you don't you can pretend for me). :)

Happy Monday night -I'm off to bed...

Decorations!!

Saturday morning Tim & I decorated the house. I took a few photos of our decorations to share with you. I love decorating for Christmas. It was very fun to get all of the ornaments out & hang them in their special place on our tree. We decided to hang our stockings elsewhere this year, so that we can still enjoy fires in the fire place without the fear of scorched stockings.

A new addition this year to our decor is the front door wreath (thank you Mom) and the Santa sign in the yard. Yes, I know, yard art - but I think it's okay. :)

Today I ventured out to do some shopping with Nicole and I think the rest of the city had the same idea. I was able to accomplish all that was on my list (& then some) but the mass amount of people almost sent me over the edge. I'm very content to stay home in my little house for the rest of night, ignoring the outside world. However, it was also great girl time with Nicole!!

This week I have 5 (yes, I said 5) performances with my kids. Yikes!! What was I thinking?!? Anyway, I apologize now if I don't update the blog for a few days...bare with me, please.

Happy Sunday!!

Snow Day!!

Every child dreams of it when they are in school. Every teacher wishes for it once in a while, and today, our wishes came true - we had a snow day!! This is the Magnolia tree in our backyard (taken yesterday).

This morning at 6:30 am my phone rang, and my friend informed me that we would be operating on a 2 hour delay schedule (which for us means, come as close to regular time as possible). So I got ready and got in the car. It took 45 minutes to get to school (a commute that normally takes 20). Once I arrived, I saw a 'no school' sign by the main entrance. I ignored it and walked into the office, where teachers were gathered around - smiles on faces - discussing the decision that had just been made that school would be canceled for the day. Since I was already dressed & ready I stayed for a while & worked - then came home.

With this extra day, Tim took me out to lunch. Then we went to the grocery store, came home & I made Chicken Chili. It turned out to be very yummy & now I have enough soup for 2 more dinners & lunches!! I also took the opportunity today to take a nap & decorate for Christmas. Whew - a lot of work for one snow day.

Tim & I are about to begin a tennis match on the Wii (his new toy) so I'm off to go bond over video games with my husband! :) Happy snow day to all!!!

Thanksgiving In Review

Here are a few photos from Thanksgiving, taken by Tim. We were in Idaho to visit our families & had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with our loved ones. Dad barbequed the turkey this year and it was delishious! Everyone pitched in and brought dishes for dinner, even me! :) Nana came from SC to visit too, so that made it even more special. Our voyage home was exciting - what normally takes 7 1/2 hours turned into 10 1/2. The good news is we returned home safely. I have some other photos from early morning shopping on Friday - but will wait to post those when I get them from Andrea (hint, hint). :) Hope you all had a blessed holiday.

4:51 am

Today started early - 4:51 am to be exact, hence the title. We picked up Nana & Laura at 5:15, and were on our way.

Andrea had packed 'shopping bags' for each of us complete with water, snacks, sweet card, and a note pad. Thank you Andrea!!

Our first stop was Starbucks. Then we ventured to Target & stayed in the car until the line cleared...or so we thought. By the time we got in line, we were wrapped back around halfway to the parking lot!

After we conquered Target, we hit Old Navy. Found fabulous deals there - then went to the mall. That too was a success & Nana & Laura spent way TOO LONG in the Disney store. Although, the did complete Christmas shopping for both of the girls.

It was a great time - & the nap this afternoon also helped. Thank you Andrea, Nana, & Laura for a wonderful time together. I love you all so very much.

Kelly, Andrea F., Kim, & Kathy - it was very nice to run into all of you too!! Maybe we'll see each other again at Christmas.

Happy Friday all!!

Christmas Cactus

Three years ago, one of my students gave me a Christmas Cactus plant in memory of my grandma who had just passed away. I remember crying every time I looked at the plant for the first week I had it. The students' gesture was almost more than I could handle at the time. When she gave it to me, it was just a small stalk with a couple of flowers on it.

Over the next year, I watered it often & hoped that it would bloom. It did not.

Then last year, after finding a new pot for it's home and a window sill to sit in, it bloomed. I was THRILLED!! After it finished blooming, it bloomed again, then again! (I think it was making up for lost time...).

Just a week or so ago, it started again. I love this plant, as it represents something very special to me. I can't get over how beautiful it is when it blooms. 

Circle Journals, Take 2...

Last year, Erin introduced us to the wonderful world of circle journals. We had girls from Oregon, to Idaho, to Arizona involved in what was suppose to be a nine month circle of passing journals. Well, nine months turned into a year and a half, and some of the girls are still finishing up their last one.... but I'm not here to mention names (don't worry Andrea, your secret's safe with me!!) :)

So, my friend Kristi decided we should do it again, but with a smaller circle. This time, the circle journals are going from Oregon to Arizona and back. These are photos from Erin's CJ. Erin is a masterful scrapbooker and I LOVE her journal. She sends to me & now it's my job to scrap in her journal themed, 'what makes my house a home.' The book is adorable & her pages are full of beautiful LO's and color schemes. So cute.

I decided to copy Andrea's idea from last time (surprising) & I made my book with my wedding photos. I was never brave enough to scrapbook my wedding, so I thought I'd let these girls do it for me. I included 75 wedding photos for them to choose from - yeah, I know, but I wanted them to have choices... :)

I can't wait to get it back. We just passed for the first time at the beginning of the month. I need to do Erin's and get it ready to pass to Amanda in just a week and a half - my goodness how time flies.

Just thought I would share with you another one of my current projects. 

Updates!!

Two posts in one day - (& a weekday at that) - wow! Thank you to Tim who updated my banner with stamps that he created - isn't he the best? You can see other thoughts & info he is sharing on his blog - it's on my sidebar called 'The Blue Fishbowl'.

I've also added two of my friends from growing up, Andrea & Kelly. I read their blogs daily & thought it was about time I link them to mine - welcome girls! :) My newphew, Eli, has also been added. So many changes in one night!

I even did laundry, ironed, cleaned the house, and emptied the dishwasher tonight. Oohhh, and made hummus to take to school tomorrow - whew - no wonder it's bedtime. Nighty-night!

Hooray for the Sun!!

The sun came out today - it DOES exist!! *I knew it.* Although, I did spend most of the day in a classroom without windows, but the two times today I did come out of my classroom, I saw the sun and it made me smile.

After school today, I went to the gym and stayed on the Elliptical machine for 30 minutes - that's a record for me. I've been increasing my time by 5 minutes each time since last week. I also signed up to play 'a game' at our gym where I have to go at least 3 times a week and if I do, I could win a prize. So I thought, why not, I'm trying to do that anyway - it's just extra motivation. Feel free to check up on me & my progress.

Happy Tuesday all!

My First Pair of Galoshes

Okay, so I've lived in Oregon for almost 10 years, and just last weekend, I purchased my first pair of galoshes. I wore them to school the other day, and the kids LOVED them. I had comments from every classroom about how cute my boots were - teachers liked them too - I think they're a hit! :)

With our current weather, it just made sense to buy a pair of these rain wearing boots - thank you Target for once again providing me with a fun (& useful) item. Gotta love Target!

Hope your weekend is dryer than mine... 

Happy Birthday Melia!!

Today is Melia's 2nd Birthday. We just returned from her birthday party a little bit ago & had a blast. Laura did a wonderful job of making Melia's birthday so special. She made the Nemo cake herself - I was very impressed!!

Tim taught me a new trick so that I don't have to do 15 posts to show pictures (thank you, Tim!!). So here you are, my first attempt at a collage.

Several of Mia's friends came to the party & she & Nellie had a blast entertaining everyone. Grandma (my mom) came from out of town & bought the girls these adorable outfits yesterday for the party - so cute!!

My nieces are such a joy - I'm so glad that we live close enough that I get to see them on a weekly basis. Happy birthday Melia - we love you!! 

Less Formal...

Okay Andrea, this is us on a less formal day - which I guess, most of them are compared to our wedding day. :) This was taken at the pumpkin patch 2 years ago - one of my favorites of the two of us. 

My Girls...

 

Wedding Photos

My friend Andrea requested a wedding photo this past week, because she's heard about Tim from my blog, but has not met him. So...per her request here is one of my favorites (it wasn't too hard to convince me to post a wedding photo - I still love them!!) :) Tim is almost a foot taller than me - although you can't really tell that in this photo - in some of our 'kiss' photos, it's evident!! Enjoy. 

Weekend Review

This weekend we hosted a pumpkin carving party, and attended another one. Friday night, I made Pumpkin Bars (they were delish!) and we had a few friends over for some pumpkin fun. This photo is the result of that fun evening. Several of our friends brought over tasty fall treats as well and it was a wonderful evening filled with laughter, pumpkin seeds, and the warmth of friendship.

Saturday, I cleaned the house, we went to the grocery store, ran some errands, and then went to a Harvest Party. Tim carved two pumpkins at this event (I was still finished from the night before). When I say Tim carved them...I'm using that term very loosely. He LOVES to do the pumpkins and carved 4 this weekend alone. He makes a drawing on paper - then draws on the pumpkin, then turns on his magic. His pumpkins are always very artistic and inventive. In fact, last night, he had several people watching him instead of doing their own - they were very intrigued with his process.

Today, we went to a new church (we are currently church shopping) and after church went to lunch with some friends. After lunch, my good friend Amanda came over & we worked very hard on our circle journals. I'm happy to report that mine is now ready to go!! I also finished a purse this afternoon. I figured out that if I'm going to make all the purses I need for Christmas gifts, I need to finish one a week - whew - good luck to me!

This evening, Tim & I have been relaxing. He made a wonderful dinner (he's just the best...) and now I'm shifting my thoughts to the upcoming week & preparations for that.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend too - happy Sunday! 

My girls

This should be picture of the year. Uncle Tim captured this sweet moment this summer while the whole family was in South Carolina visiting Nana for the 4th of July. We had a blast. Everytime I look at the photos from that trip, I return to this one again and again - I love it!! Two little girls in swimming suits, with lunch pails, overlooking Lake Murray - adorable.

Ode To Broccoli

This past summer I thought I would plant myself a little garden. I started from seeds that Tim gave to me & I planted Broccoli, Squash, Cucumbers, & Lettuce. No cucumbers came up, the lettuce was fine, the squash plants never produced, so this weekend when I was pulling out all of my disappointing vegetables, I realized that the broccoli had produced one broccoli. I was so excited - I ran in to show Tim. We decided to document the evidence & then promptly after this photo was taken, I ate it. :) It was delish - I LOVE broccoli (I know, wierd, but true) so I've decided that next summer, I will try again....maybe I'll get two broccoli's. 

Up, up, & Away (Take 2)

Here is the other 'good' jump photo from this weekend. Okay, on the count of three...JUMP!!! 

Up, up, & Away

Andrea & I got 'a little carried away' with ourselves this weekend. Some inspiration from our other friend Andrea's blog - we thought we would try a jump photo. It only took about 20 shots to get two good ones, not too bad...

I've been teaching non-stop today - after school, I taught a piano lesson. Then I came home to eat a quick dinner and went to teach Kindermusik for a friend of mine who needed a sub. Just got home from that & I think I'll go retire to the bedroom...must be ready to teach again tomorrow!! 

Ta-Da!

Here it is - my first attempt at 'the clutch you'll never give up'. Thank you Andrea for your one on one knitting tutorial. Your check is in the mail...

I've already begun clutch #2. Hopefully the second of many more Christmas presents to come - don't worry, I won't tell you who's getting one - don't want to ruin the surprise!! Andrea, I think I'm going to need A LOT of help on this next clutch - you'd better come back...

Matt, Andrea, & Ethan left today - I'm a sad, sad girl. I must say that having them surprise me was one of the best things ever - I loved it, I just don't love it when they leave. Nevertheless, thank you so very much for coming - & just so you know, the sheets are clean if you'd like to come back...

Happy Monday all!!