The time is flying by - I woke up this morning and realized my first week of summer break is over and I didn't get a whole lot done...However, I think I made the very best use of my time - spending time with my husband (who is home, and should be for a while). We made plans to finish projects, we started talking about our first anniversary and whether a celebratory trip is in order, we checked out my new classroom, we did some browsing at Lowe's and COSTCO, and we grilled. Lots of grilling. Sometimes I think we could be just about the best show ever on Food Network, but who needs the stress of being a star, right? Let's just say if Bobby Flay wants to throw down with my husband, he'd better come prepared. I mean, we'll give him a beer, we'll have some nice conversation, but he'll lose...oh, he'll lose.

We've also had some time to just play with the dogs and try to get Dixie to quit digging up our sod. She's so smart and has quit biting, she's getting much better at potty training, and she is learning commands...She's getting pretty big (15 lbs. at her last vet appointment, which was over a week ago) and she's growing into her big ears. She's brought us a lot of entertainment and just a little bit of stress. (Is that the right order? Maybe it was a lot of stress, a little entertainment...I can't remember right now because she's just so sweet relaxing on the floor and chewing on a bone in a way that makes it look like a cigar. Precious.)

We've been having quite a bit of rain, but that's no sot unusual for us - unlike for you Texas/Oklahoma folk we keep hearing from. I hope you can keep the cool weather but dry out a bit so that we quit hearing tragic stories on the news from your part of the world. When the weather clears up here we want to take a day trip to the shore, finally...it's been in the works for a while and might just happen this weekend/next week. So far we don't have plans for the 4th, but I'm sure something will come up!

Here are some pictures of my family...

Weekend Recap...

I had a great time catching up with a very old friend. It's one of those friendships that picks up where it left off every time - in this case, it's been a year and a half since we've seen each other! Unfortunately, our last visit was when I was out spending time with my grandmother in her last few days with us. We were only able to spend a few hours together then, but it was enough to catch up on the big things (at that time, my upcoming marriage and her acceptance to Harvard for grad school). This weekend we were able to do so much more catching up, a lot of laughing, and some talk about the future. She's the kind of person who really can do anything she wants in life.

So here are some pictures from our stay in the mountains. Excuse the no make-up/windblown/tired look...staying up late talking, getting up early, no shower and hours by a campfire the night before were not good prep for a photo session!

S'mores!

Me and MB.

I stopped on the way home at a scenic overlook to take a picture of myself with SNOW! In JUNE! Less than two hours from home!

I'm off to spend some time with an old friend...from elementary school, to be exact. She's now in graduate school and a group of her friends is meeting up at a cabin here in WA (one of those friends is from here)! I can't wait. It will be fun to catch up, meet her new friends and just relax. A neighbor is watching the pups - I considered bringing them along, but the weather is crap and the girls don't like being out in the rain (get used to it, right?). They'll chill here at the house and I'll be back around lunch time tomorrow. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures (especially some to show Alicia and my mom how I chopped my hair off yesterday!). 'Til then...

Freedom...

...for a few months - that is, until I start working FULL time in the fall! I got a sixth grade position (which is elementary here) at a local school, one I've subbed at many, many times. It will be an adjustment to go from middle school to elementary, but I like the kids, the campus and the principal, and in all honesty it was all that was out there. I just got home from signing the contract and learning all about the collective bargaining agreement and the rest of the union stuff - all new to me. It is bittersweet, knowing that I'll have to break into this school's community (and that I'll be the newbie), but even if I have half the support/encouragement/friendship I had my first three years of teaching, I'll consider myself abundantly blessed. Right now I'm just sending up praise that it's the SUMMER and I have a JOB for next year. Amen!

Some catching up...

-Last night I took myself out. Will had just gotten back when he had to leave again, and we had a lot of plans. Ha, ha. There are lots of little things to finish up around the house, and we have really been looking forward to trying a few restaurants in town and just generally hanging out, getting to know the area better. Now that our plans have been delayed ten days, I kind of feel in a funk. School is STILL not done (just a day and a half left, though) and I couldn't be more ready for summer vacation. So in order to avoid an evening at home, alone, again, I took myself out to sushi at the Sushi Boat. On Wednesday and Thursday nights they have an all-you-can-eat deal where you sit around the sushi bar and little boats come by in a moat with sushi on them, and you take what you want (I may have mentioned this place before)! Well, it was Monday so I just got a couple of rolls, but it was delicious. Afterwards I also treated myself to watermelon sorbet at Cold Stone. It isn't something I would normally order, but I love their lemon sorbet, so I went out on a limb and it was awesome. Very refreshing. Plus, Cold Stone gives a military discount. Gotta love that.

-Right before Will left, his squadron soccer team finished up their season. They were league champions and played three post-season games last week. Will played keeper in all three games and had two shut-outs! (I taught him everything he knows...) They ended up winning the tournament (I had no doubts) on Friday night! It was not a shut-out, but they won 5-1 and it was a great game. This group of guys has been so fun to watch. They seem to have been the only team to really do well AND have fun at the same time. They didn't take it too seriously which made it enjoyable to watch...most of the time I was the only fan, but there was huge turnout for the championship game.

-Dixie ate a mouse. It was one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen and I was livid. I don't feel like recounting the story again, but what it boils down to is that she did not listen when I told her to drop it, she swallowed it down like a stinkin' snake, and the vet said it's no big deal (except that she needed wormer because mice carry tapeworms...nasty). We have a field behind our house that was recently partially cleared, except for an area of weeds/bushes directly behind our fence. Apparently it's a mouse haven, and the dogs won't leave that area alone now, so I'm sure there's a mouse widow and her family still back there wondering if dad is ever coming home. Sorry little mice - I guess we don't feed our Dixie girl enough. Here's a shot of the little devil right after her mid-afternoon snack. Looks so innocent, huh?

So, it's the weekend again, and Will's...gone. I dropped him off a little over an hour ago. Usually he drives himself, but we decided I'd take him because he was leaving on a Saturday, and by the time he gets home I'll be done working and I can pick him up! Another ten days by my lonesome in rainy WA. I'm thinking of taking the dogs somewhere peaceful next weekend - I'm trying to find a cheap cabin, just the bare essentials, somewhere in the mountains or on the coast. The pups should see the ocean. I should, too. And I'm out of projects around the house. I'll have to see what I can find!

So, it's 8 a.m. and there's no Sunday paper on my porch. It's not in the driveway, in the street, or hiding in the flower bed. Where is my paper? This has never happened before and it's disturbing. At least Charles Osgood is on today. Whew.

On the agenda for this weekend: Rest, rest, and more rest. Will is gone again (but just for 48 hours) for a wedding. It's just me and the pups, but we're not doing any work. We're supposed to have gray skies and rain tomorrow (surprise, surprise) so we're going to watch Netflix movies, curl up on the couch, and make a honey-do list. I might even make a quick jaunt over to the farmer's market, which, for the most part, is under a big pavilion, and grab some veggies to throw on the grill for Sunday night when Will gets home. I haven't been since they opened in April, and I'm eager to see the new vendors. So, no projects, heavy lifting or cleaning. And I'm so, so looking forward to it.

Projects...

...some finished, some just begun.

Below is the desk and chair I spray painted to use as my "sewing station." I like the way it turned out and it makes the room a little more cohesive as neither the desk nor the thrift store chair matched the rest of the furniture (dresser and futon). The color was called "brown sugar" - what? I didn't notice that was the name of it until I got it home, I just liked the color of the cap!



Next - some pictures of the backyard. We left some of the planting area in the corner of the yard (we covered the rest with sod). I planted some small trees, dusty miller and rhododendrons. This past weekend I broke out Will's new mitre saw (he doesn't know I opened it and used it, yet) and cut the landscape timbers to border it to make it look more like a true planting bed. I'll probably put some more plants back there, but my energy level for outdoor projects is more focused on the next one...



The last two pictures are of my favorite project! I am building a raised planter box for tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and whatever else catches my eye. I got this started over Memorial Day weekend, but I am waiting until Will gets back to finish. I need his help with the levelling, drilling and rebar-ing. I need his truck to get more stones and then to get the soil to fill the box. I used 5-gallon buckets, recycling tubs and trash cans to get the stones you see here, but it was a huge pain and I ended up sore...there was just a huge pile of rocks and me - I had to scoop them with the buckets/my hands and then load them into my car. I'm going to bring the truck so they can just load a huge scoop from a front-end loader - much easier! I know this project is not even half done, but hopefully you can get the gist of it.

Some minor hang-ups...


It has taken me far too long to finally get these pictures all hung. One is my bridal portrait, and the other two are gracious gifts from Will's Nana and his parents. Now if we could just get furniture for our game room, our house would be done!

I'm not exactly sure why, but it makes me nervous when Charles Osgood isn't on CBS Sunday Morning. They usually have good fill-ins, but I always wonder why he's not there...Is something wrong? They did say he'd be back next week. Whew. It's such a staple show of my week and Charles has the most soothing voice, he's enjoyable to watch, and he even plays the piano for us sometimes! I kind of wish I knew him personally. So, it's disturbing when he's not on. I don't like it. And, since the show starts at 7 a.m. here, it's not good to start off thrown off so early. At least I found some powdered creamer tucked away in the cabinet, that my sister bought while she was visiting, so I don't have to drink my coffee with milk again.

Not whole lot has been going on. I'm trying to hold down the fort until Will gets home. Dixie requires a lot of watching because she likes to dig near the fence outside, and I don't trust her inside if I can't see her. I've been exhausted this whole week. I finally got away from the pups for a few hours and went out on the lake with my friends. I tubed with their daughter, but the water was ice cold. We were bounced off the tube, and by the time I got back on the boat I was numb. Brr. I wonder if the water ever really warms up here?

Fun in the sun! It was 80 degrees on Thursday with beautiful blue skies!


Becoming friends...


Dixie says, "Hey Maddie, I'm going to go ahead and take over your bed, okay? Thanks."

I feel a little bent out of shape...



...I had to drink my coffee with milk this morning. My creamer was bad. And I tried the creamer first to check if it was still good. So I had to drink milky coffee to get rid of the sour creamer taste in my mouth. It's been that kind of week.

From Chicago...An appropriate picture for the day.

Because she's like our baby, here are some more pics of Dixie girl...

I'm a lazy bird dog...

Borrowing my neighbor Aidan's chair...

What are you lookin' at, Mom?

As close as I'm getting to that crazy Maddie dog...

Can you see me now?

We're having fun. Maddie has been so, so good with the pup. She looks worried when Dixie whines in her kennel, but she doesn't yet like her enough to let her play with her toys! She growls a bit at Dixie when she tries to steal her toys from her, but so far she hasn't been too harsh at all. Dixie likes to chase Maddie around, but she's not even close to fast enough yet! It's pretty amusing, especially when she hits the hardwood and her long back legs go out from under her! Unfortunately, Will has to leave on a trip tomorrow, so the pup will be home alone during the days. My sweet neighbor is going to come let her out in the middle of the day so she won't be crossing her legs when I get home from work! I won't only blog about the dog from now on, but I will post pictures and such periodically because we have family that wants to see our new addition!

Here she is!

Meet Dixie.





We're very tired after a long, crazy day of travel yesterday, but we're so glad to finally have our pup!

Rain, rain, go away...Please don't follow us to another state!





So, it rained our first day in Chicago, but we had fun anyway. We walked around, window shopped, browsed through a few, and had lunch. Then we napped (since we had to leave our house at 3:30 in the morning). We had dinner at a bar/restaurant right by our hotel (so we didn't get soaked - no umbrellas!). Good food, good conversation, and GREAT service. It was funny how we both immediately noticed how nice our server was, when really she wasn't going above and beyond her job description. It was just such a change from the rudeness we have experienced in WA. All in all, it was a great first day. We're off to museums today, with a little Navy Pier thrown in along the way (if we can fit it in between the pizza, steaks and Chicago style hot dogs we're wanting to try...). Tomorrow is our last day here. We'll probably hit Michigan Ave. in the morning, then we're heading to a White Sox game. They're playing the Yankees and it's not supposed to rain. Oh, and we can try the hot dogs there if we don't run into a street vendor between now and then!




I'm sure you're thinking, "What a sweet man to sit with his back to the TV so that he can have a nice evening of dinner and drinks with his wife, EVEN THOUGH playoffs are on."




Notice that said wife is sitting across from said sweet husband, and what's behind her? Yep, a mirrored wall. No basketball was missed!

More work outside...

...This weekend we put some sod in our yard. For some reason, which we have never really solidified, the builders in our neighborhood leave a strip around the backyard with no grass - basically like an 18 inch deep flower bed bordering the entire back yard. Weird. It would take TONS of plants to fill it and make it look even somewhat presentable, and then there would be so much weeding to be done. I have wanted to put in sod along the edge to just make the whole thing yard, but I had no idea what sod cost and figured it would be expensive. On a whim (mostly because I'm tired of Maddie tracking in dirt, and I know it will only get worse with two dogs), I called the sod farm just down the street to get a quote. To fill in all of our edge (minus where we planted a few trees and shrubs) and to add some sod to edge of the patio we built last year was going to cost...$45.38. Not bad! We picked up the sod on Saturday morning, took about two hours to lay it all down, cut it, water it, and admire our work. Our yard is looking a little yellow compared to the new grass, but we're hoping fertilizer and watering will help that out. Not a bad result for half a day's work.



In other news, my husband is a soccer player. This is not in the realm of his usual athletic activities - golf, basketball on Sunday nights, the occasional racquetball game. Nonetheless, he is helping his squadron's team to a base championship game, and it's really kinda fun to watch. I didn't take pictures at the last game (which was cold but not wet) but here's a few from the previous game. You can see where I sat to watch. Hey, I'm supportive, but not crazy.

Here's a pic of our new pup! We'll get her after our trip to Chicago. She's seven weeks old now, so she'll be a little over nine when we get her. We originally didn't get a pup from this litter, but we got a call yesterday that a family had to back out of their deposit and we were next in line for a female!



This other picture is of her dad. She'll have the same coloring when she gets older. I think she's just precious, and I'm excited to have another puppy in the house! Will is thrilled to finally have his bird dog. Of course, I'll post more pictures once she actually joins the family.



Oh, and as of this moment, she doesn't have a name. I'll let you know that as soon as I know it!

Been thinkin'...

This weekend I had a lot, a lot, of think time. Will has been gone and there was yard work to do. So much yard work that my fingers keep slipping on the keys because my arms are shaky - that day-after shakiness that is accompanied by very sore muscles that are screaming for a hot bath (but are being ignored because I have to go to work in a few minutes). I weeded, planted, transplanted, spread mulch, mowed, edged and Home Depot-ed. I was so tired last night I could have gone to bed at 7 pm. I did all of the work iPod free. I'm not sure why other than I like to hear if Maddie is barking so I can tell her to hush so as not to bother the neighbors. I did see those neighbors out in their yards doing similar things, although the wives came over to chat (with clean hands...) while the husbands worked. Would have been nice, but at least I got the work-out and the sun (yes, there was sun...not warm sun, but sun nonetheless).

So, while I was thinking here's what I thought:

-I can't wait to go to my cousin's wedding in Michigan in a few weeks. The weather should be beautiful and we'll get to spend a lot of time with family. I'm envisioning cook-outs and lots of lounging. We're spending the first two nights of our trip in Chicago because Will has never been. I love Chicago and can't wait to share it with him.

-I think I have decided which vehicle I would like to get. We think we'd better go ahead and replace my car while we can and hope to avoid two car payments, at least for two years. More on this after I test drive...(I like to make up my own mind about these things, with Will's input, and there are so many car snobs - not all [6] of my reading faithful, of course - and I want to go form my own, uninfluenced except for professional reviews, opinion. Know what I mean?)

-I'm more than ready for Will to get home. Hopefully it will be late tonight/middle of the night, or at least by when I get home from work tomorrow.

-If I had about three thousand dollars to spend on our yard it would be gorgeous and functional and much more maintenance-free. Instead, it is pretty, still functional, but requires some (lots of) work. I can live with that. It got me outside all weekend and I really, really enjoyed finished products. One thing's for sure - It looks a WHOLE lot better than it did on Friday!

-I don't want to work this week. But I have to. Let's hope those sixth graders are ready to see me two more days! Friday with this class went okay, but it could be much better. I am counting on them to make that choice today, and I'm going to do everything I can to facilitate that. This is a group of really good, funny kids, who have been plagued with a less-than-stellar regular teacher. It's too bad. Hopefully today's sunshine will be felt inside as well!

I hope you have sunshine, too.

I just finished sewing a table runner for a friend. She wanted to pick the fabric and the embellishment, but she doesn't sew. I put it on my table just to see how it turned out, and now I think I might just have to make one for myself! The only problem is that with about an inch left to hem, my sewing machine fell apart. A part (the one that holds the needle...kind of essential) literally fell off, so I tried a quick fix to get the last inch sewn, but there's still an extra piece I can't figure out how to get back on. I think I'll try the internet for a solution. Until then, the machine will be retired to the closet...I've used up all of my creative juice for one day, anyway.

It's cold. And raining. And it looks like it'll be this way for days...still. I've started taking a vitamin D pill in addition to my multivitamin after many suggestions (and literature on the internet like this: "It is very important for individuals with limited sun exposure to include good sources of vitamin D in their diet."). I'm an individual with limited sun exposure. Maybe I can find a support group for that..."Hi, I'm Amy, and I don't get much sun." Choral response: "Hi Amy!" At this point, I'm not ruling it out.

Netflix...I should get two movies on Tuesday. I spent about five minutes setting up the "Movies You'll Love" section, rating movies I've seen and such. It's like it's in my mind. The first movie that popped up as a movie they know I'll love is Goonies. Like I said, it's as if they are in my mind. I thought I'd do the two week free trial while Will was gone, see some girl movies, then if I see us using it we'll keep the subscription and start getting movies we'll both like. My good neighbor friend uses Netflix and loves it...I know Blockbuster has one of these deals, too, but we don't have a store close enough to use the feature where you can return movies at the store, so we decided Netflix would be the best one for us.

So, do you have it? Love it? Hate it? Just curious...

Google owns me now. I haven't been able to comment for a while now, and I assumed it was because they were going to make me make the switch. And they did. And I'm not happy about it. Argh.

Floor Before: Ugh.





















Floor After: Yay.

Well, I can barely hear myself think because the floor people are here to reinstall our hardwood that has been torn up since November due to leaky doors on the back of our house. I could not be more excited and I'm sitting right here in the living room watching the work, even though it's LOUD. I haven't felt like having people over (except for our special out-of-town visitors!) because of the disarray of the house - all due to the floor. They also had to take up the baseboards around the area where the floor is missing. The subfloor looks terrible and is a dust and dirt magnet. I've been having to vacuum the plywood floor because of all of the mess that gets tracked in from the back doors. The missing floor extends from the living room, through the eating area in the kitchen, past the start of the kitchen cabinets. The kitchen table can't go in the center of the room because of it, and the chair and ottoman in the living room have been at a crazy angle, taking up way more room than they should. All in all, it has been an inconvenience, but it's over TODAY!

On another note, I made a dessert last night that I was somewhat skeptical of, at least, before we tasted it! A while back there was a coupon in the paper for this:
It ended up being just over two dollars. Cheesecake is Will's favorite dessert, and after making it for is birthday I knew it was both expensive and time consuming. I thought I'd give this a try. I had graham crackers/butter/sugar at home to make the crust, so this was a cheap dessert. And surprisingly good. A note to anyone who tries it: Use an electric mixer to whip it up before putting it in the crust. When I opened the tub it was not very smooth, so I whipped it for a minute or two and it turned out to be a perfect cheesecake consistency! It passed the cheesecake connoisseur's taste-test and I even sent a slice in his lunch box for a little midday snack.

That's all I've got for now. I'll have to post some floor pics (before and after) when they are done.

This week is spring break for the school district where I sub, so I've got a week off! Really, it's my second week in a row of no work because I took off last week while we had company. Speaking of that company, here are a few more pics of our week of fun in the sun (well, sun for most of the time)!

We participated in a Chili Cook-Off for Will's squadron. We didn't win. Anna and Matthew gave our chili the thumbs-up, and they're pretty picky, so we thought we were a shoe-in. What we forgot is that we're in the land of Yankee. I think ours might have been a little too spicy for the judges. Maybe next year?


We really enjoyed the Seattle Underground Tour. It was an interesting glimpse into the history of the city - funny tour guides, not too long, and lots of extra info about the area. It's not too expensive, but it is kinda creepy/cobwebby/stinky down there. All in all, I'd say it was worth it. I just wish Will could have gone with us!





Fish market. A must-see for any tourist because of the fame factor. Next time I have an extra fifty bucks, I'm actually going to buy some instead of just watching the spectacle of fish-throwing.


Traditional Pike's pic! Aren't they precious?


Will was able to arrange for us to see a jet. He gave the kiddos a grand tour, including a look out of the hatch at the top of the plane. The view was awesome as in the clear blue sky Rainier was out in all her glory. This really is a beautiful part of the country when you can see it!

I think our guests had a good time. We relaxed, we cooked out, we ate out, we toured, we walked, we saw, we conquered. I had one of the best weeks I've had since moving here.

So the only question I have is...Who's next???

We had a great day yesterday, our first full day of hosting Spring breakers! We had lunch at a local burger joint on the water, where the waitress noticed, "You're not from around here, huh?" Ha! I wonder how many times we'll hear that this week? Later in the afternoon we headed to Seattle for a Sonics game. So, they're not the best, but we had fun. They played the Nuggets and they really held their own there, off an on at least. The arena was nicer than we expected, and we got to see a part of town we hadn't been to before. The arena is right at the base of the Space Needle. To top it off, it was clear out towards the Sound (no views of Rainier today - very cloudy to the East) so we could see across to Bainbridge Island, etc. It ended up being a pretty late night for us, let alone for our visitors whose time zone is three hours ahead! Needless to say, the teenagers are still asleep. Will and I are enjoying coffee, quiet, and hoping the sunshine that greeted us this morning will stick around!