Vegas. Such fun.We stayed at the Palazzo - it was perfect. The rooms were gorgeous, the casino was not too big, and the restaurants and shops were great. Of course, so was the company! We met up with my sister and brother-in-law the first night - Cindy and Barry stayed a few nights and we definitely made the most of those days! We went non-stop. We had dinner the first night at a Japanese-Brazilian restaurant where the portions were small but the flavor was huge. It was delicious - probably the best sashimi we have ever had (and in land-locked Vegas of all places). The four of us spent the rest of the night on the strip, reacquainting ourselves to our favorite places.

The Palazzo lobby - as do all casinos, this place has its scent pumped throughout. Unlike the sickening sweet, coconut tanning oil smell of the Flamingo, or some of the other very perfumed casinos, the Palazzo smell is bottle-worthy. I'd like to spray it in my house...although I'm sure it's caffeine laden to keep you up all night, so maybe that's not such a good idea. But it does smell good - it was very calming and delightful.

We had dinner the second night at Mon Ami Gabi in the Paris. We sat outside (although it was easily 105 degrees) and had a perfect view of the fountain show at the Bellagio. It was a beautiful view, excellent food (I had the heirloom tomato salad with basil, balsamic, and blue cheese, and a cold carrot-ginger soup...yum).

Our next stop that night was the Mirage for the Cirque du Soleil show, LOVE! It's hard to describe Cirque du Soleil shows, but this was an amazing experience. If you enjoy The Beatles at all this is worth seeing. It's less aerobatic as some of the other shows, but the story and music make it moving and unique. Will and I decided it was the absolute perfect show for us. We LOVED it and would go again (even though there are so many good shows to see in Vegas). We spent the rest of the night walking around the strip, having an absolute blast.

The boys bought some giant beers...but they shared (thankfully, they come with plastic cups and are intended for sharing, like a pitcher, although I'm sure there are a whole lot of college kids who buy and drink their own...bleck). We ended up at our favorite spot on the strip, O'Shea's. It's old, dingy and has no pleasing scent, but it's cheap and fun. The boys played craps for a while and then we all watched a 90's cover band that was pretty good. While we were watching the band, Barry struck up a conversation with the guys standing next to us...Turns out they are in the Air Force and were in Vegas doing some training. He introduced them to Will and no more than 30 seconds later we find out that these guys are on a crew with a good friend of ours, Aaron (who is stationed in OKC). He wasn't out with them that night, but Will called him right then to let him know we were in town and wanted to get together - small world, this is, huh?

Our third day was spent on Freemont, in old downtown Vegas. Despite some annoying construction going on 20 feet from our blackjack table, we had some serious fun, and won some money in the process. There was one really awkward moment where the dealer thought she heard Will call Cindy "mom," and hilarity ensued. We ended up back at the Palazzo for dinner and decided to go to Woo, a Pan-Asian restaurant, where we sat in the foyer. It was strange - they bring menus you have to share, our waiter looked like Doogie Howser, MD, and the food was small (but tasty). After our tiny meal we headed to Mandalay Bay to check out an ice bar. You pay for a ticket, get all suited up in a parka, boots, and gloves, and head in. The whole place is made of ice - the walls, bar, tables, seats, sculptures, glasses...everything. It was very small (probably because it's made of ice, and it's in the desert), but it was totally a memorable experience. Barry and Cindy even ran into someone they sat next to on the plane (a diabetic doctor who ate candy the whole way as he monitored his insulin pump) - again, what a small world. Because of the tiny dinner, we ended up taking a cab from the ice bar to In-N-Out Burger! A nice treat...

Will and I spent a lot of time walking around after Barry and Cindy left. It was incredibly hot, but we just stopped in a casino when we needed some a/c. A few of my friends from work came in later in the weekend, and we were able to see a comedy show with them and spend some time at a dueling piano bar where we met Fake Guy Fieri. It's really a long story, but basically involves a look alike who just happens to be from right here in Washington. Weird.

We had a drink at the Nine Fine Irishmen in New York, New York. This bar is one of Will's favorites, but he was tired of me taking pictures and wasn't thrilled about yet another - see that expression? It says, "How did I end up with this crazy woman who thinks we need a picture just because we had a Guiness here?"

We finally met up with Aaron! He joined us for dinner on our anniversary - ha! We had dinner at Lavo, which was a little disappointing (the food, not the company). Of course we had to talk about when Will was in Aaron's wedding (the weekend after Aaron was in ours) and ended up in the hospital the morning of the ceremony due to salmonella poisoning...and how we both ended up sick by the next day, the day we left for our honeymoon!

It's hard to sum up a week-long Vegas trip in one post, especially with all of the memories made. The unexpectedness of it all was just so fun - crazy Vegas, we love you!

Getting back into the swing of things...

We have had such a wonderful summer. We had a blast in Vegas, spent some quality time with family, and caught up with some of Will's classmates at his 10-year reunion. It was a whirlwind, as always, but so much fun. Really and truly, it's these brief visits with family and friends that get me through the rest of the year (especially when Will is away). I'll have to get my pictures uploaded and share some specifics from our trip later!

I was only gone three weeks but things sure are different here...My garden is out of control, Maddie looked like a bear (but is much more comfortable after a grooming appointment today), our house is a mess (well, that one is not so different), and one of my friends is beginning the process of divorce. My heart feels so heavy for her, so sad. Can it have only been three weeks?

I am looking forward to my new job at my new school, and I'm ready to get to work - I'm sure it's some sort of illness, but I love organizing my classroom, planning my lessons, and scouring stores for deals on school supplies. I have four new books that are just screaming to be read and highlighted in preparation for my literary arts class. I've been collecting quotes and songs to use as inspiration or illustration, and I'm going to work on some poetry (well, to be honest, I'm going to revisit some poetry I wrote in high school -YIKES!) to share with the kids. I'm looking forward to being authentic with my students as we explore writing as a performance art. It will surely be a year of learning and growing, but I am so ready for this change and challenge.

However, right now I need to get dinner ready and do another load of laundry. Home, sweet home.

Viva Las Vegas.

Sometimes it's so hard to not be overwhelmed by all of the sadness in this world.

Divorce.

Infertility.

Miscarriage.

Deceit.

Cancer.

But it's hard not to be encouraged by the Truth. Thankfully, mercifully, we are not of this world. This is not our home, not our real home. Thank God.


John 15:1 - 17

I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn't bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.

⁴"Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me.

^5-8"I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.

^9-10"I've loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you'll remain intimately at home in my love. That's what I've done—kept my Father's commands and made myself at home in his love.

^11-15"I've told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I'm no longer calling you servants because servants don't understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I've named you friends because I've let you in on everything I've heard from the Father.

¹⁶"You didn't choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won't spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.

¹⁷"But remember the root command: Love one another.

The 4th...

C-17 over the stage in the RAM beer garden. They were doing karaoke. Obviously there were a lot of people who had been in the beer garden a lot longer than we had...

These loop-de-loop planes always make me nervous.

Yum.

Barefoot Wit. Yum.

Will and his plane.

The ever-impressive Harrier.

Perfect view for fireworks over Commencement Bay.

Proof that I am not always the one taking the self-portraits...but I should be!

When is summer going to start?

I still have a ton to do this weekend before my summer vacation can really start. My classroom is half-packed...it still needs to be finished and moved into storage at my new school. The PTA from my new school put together a moving party - a group of parents will be at my classroom door at 9 am tomorrow, ready to load up my stuff and drive it over to the other campus. I'm excited to meet the kind of parents who would give up a weekend day to help out a teacher they have yet to meet!

This past week in Spokane was exhausting. I learned so much about the National Board process, and I am ready/excited to start. It is going to be a long year with a ton of work, but I'm ready to learn and grow and work on this craft. Teaching is such a dynamic field, and that's one of the reasons I love it - change is good, and it's going to be the law of this military wife life. Pursuing this certification is validating and humbling, and I hope at the end of this journey I have honed my skills, grown them exponentially, and made friendships and connections that will help me keep it up after the piece of paper is framed and on the wall.

So, in order to get everything done (and done well) my summer break just became a lot shorter. I'll be spending a lot of my otherwise free time reading, studying and planning. And next summer I'll take a break...

I am blogging from my phone...A whole new world of technology just entered my life, but I feel guilty because my sweet husband bought me a new phone but did not get himself one. I am so grateful though and so excited. It was a monstrously long and hard week and then it ended on such a high note.


Love you babe!

I was doing a little work in the yard today, and the gorgeous scent of the lavender in our front flower bed kept making me stop and appreciate, well, life. At this moment, life is so, so good. We are insanely busy, and it's not stopping any time soon, but having some time in the yard to think and just enjoy was rejuvenating.


I was afraid that our rhododendron was not going to bloom - it didn't really flower last year, and it was looking pretty sad this year, too. It's pink blooms appeared a few weeks ago and it's still going strong.

My hostas are doing so well. It's really incredible to me because the slugs got them last year. They started to come up, like little green and cream chocolate curls, and then all of a sudden they were huge and gorgeous. They are at least three times as big as they were last year before the slug attack.

The combination of colors in our front bed is best this time of year. The little maple's new growth is such a pretty red and gold, and it just looks so nice with it's bed-mates now that they are all mature plants. Our third summer in the house, and everything is finally starting to come together...the flowerbeds, and, well, everything else about this life - it just feels right.


It's almost summer here and I can't wait to see what this season brings our way.

Only in Washington...

Will and I ventured to a local bbq joint on Friday night. I had been once before with our friends Rhonda and Dusty, and it was pretty good - I had a salad with their smoked chicken, and a microbrew. Well, that was then.

The place boasts "Texas" bbq...Really? It was rough. We both had the pulled pork sandwich. Will got beans and slaw, and I got onion rings - we were going to share the sides, but after a bite or two, the sides sat, well, to the side. Ugh. Their house bbq sauce was just as bad as their bbq itself, so I asked for pickles and onions for my sandwhich, thinking that might help a bit. Here's what I got:
Here, let me give you a close up:
This is what they brought me...pickles and onions for my bbq sandwhich...my "Texas" bbq sandwhich. Really? No, seriously, for real? Only in Washington.

So thankful...

It's hard not to be full of joy and thankfulness when you've had over a solid week of beautiful sunshine in WA! It has truly been uplifting. I can't get enough of the cool, clear mornings, coffee on the porch, birds beating me to the backyard. The windows are open and it seems as if everything (including me) has come to life again. We had such a wet, dreary spring...

I don't mean to hibernate for the winter. We don't stay inside all of the time - we get out and try to do things, but even so it feels as if I've been sleeping for months and months and I'm just finally awake. This winter was definitely better than the last (with the addition of Vitamin D supplements) but no matter my good intent, it still was a cloudy season. And to be quite honest, I think it helps that the television show season is over. Even with a DVR, television eats up hours of our week. I'm going to be making some considerations and changes come fall...I'm so enjoying these evenings of reading, bow making, and being outside.

So, this morning I am thankful in such an overflowing sort of way. I am making some granola to bring to a writing workshop that I am attending in preparation for my new teaching job. I just can't wait. It's an upbeat kind of morning, worthy of an upbeat soundtrack...Alan Jackson singing hymns (his Precious Memories album) is just perfect. And there's not a song more perfect than "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" - a reminder of where this joy comes from, and where this thankfulness is directed. And my Grandma Margaret's favorite.

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
Oh what peace we often forfeit, Oh what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

How does your garden grow?

Well, I've no silver bells or cockle shells, but I'm feeling quite contrary. My basil doesn't want to grow, I've already lost two cucumber plants, and my swiss chard looks quite peaked.

On the bright side, two veggies I have never grown before are doing well - my buttercup squash and artichokes are healthy and thriving. I was told that the artichoke will probably only flower this year, but not produce buds. I will have to mound them over with mulch and cover them for the winter, and they should produce next year. We'll see. Right now I am enjoying the surprise of it all, seeing what has grown day to day. I think Will is going to be surprised at the progress when he gets home from his 10-day trip! I'm sure he thinks I went a little too far with the planting this year, but I know he won't be complaining when he gets home and gets the first snow pea of the season (it's just about ready...).

I'm enjoying the beautiful evening, sitting on the porch, watching the birds. We are so blessed to have this house and even though we'd love to have land, we do get to enjoy room to plant, a yard for the pups, and the most beautiful yellow finches I have ever seen. They are getting used to the dogs and are becoming braver by the day. Here's a picture from last summer - this summer's yellow finches are much slimmer (or maybe one of them is this guy, and he's just been on a diet during the winter). It's just a great way to spend the evening...


After sunset I plan to head inside and work on the puzzle we have going on the dining room table, and then make a few bows before bed. Although I miss my husband terribly, it is nice to be able to fix a veggie burger for dinner and while away the evening doing crafts...trying to look at the up side of things. I am looking forward to having him home and firing up the grill so that it truly feels like summer!

Gettin' Crafty...

I really like to make gifts (well, I really like to buy gifts, too), especially for baby showers. The making of the gift gives me time to think about and pray for the baby and family, and gives me time to muse about having a family of my own some day. One of my sweet work friends is having a little girl soon and her shower is on Tuesday. She really liked the name wall-hangers that I made for another shower, so I made a set for her and added a hair bow hanger (which is, um, just a ribbon). I decided to try my hand at making hair bows to put on the hanger, and it turned out to be a lot of fun! I did not try anything fancy, but found some simple, cute bows to make with ribbon and a glue gun - fun! I have found that the more and more I craft/sew/knit, the more relaxed I become about the products - they don't have to be perfect! The little imperfections just add to the charm of handmade gifts...at least, that's what I'm sticking with!




So, if you have a shower to attend or a gift to give, try getting crafty (and share your creations)! And please pray for sweet Isabella (Isa) and her mom Victoria - she's a first grade teacher and is plugging right along, but due June 16th!

Finally uploading some pictures from one camera...still can't find the cord to the other.


On a recent trip, Will passed through Maine. And he showed up on our doorstep with this:


And these guys were inside, still wriggling:


So we got together with some friends, and had a little lobster fest:


There was some debate about the best way to get to all the meat...


...and the hammer seemed to be the best tool for the job.


The fruits of their labor (I was too busy chasing around the most adorable 2-year-old to help out much):

The low down...

-Camping was a blast. It helped that we had the most perfect weather. We bought a new tent a while back at COSTCO - it didn't look all that big in the giant warehouse, but it's huge! It is perfect, though, for all of our stuff and our dogs. Now we need a better air mattress, or maybe we each need our own twin-sized air mattresses. We'll see. We're hoping to camp more this summer.
-It seems we're still moving at warp speed around here. Will's traveling all the time, I'm working all the time, and I'm trying to balance my current job with my future job, which is proving to be very difficult. I'm excited about what I'll be teaching next year, and I'm ready to plan, plan, plan! But, we still have 18 days of school left in this year, which is where my focus needs to be.
-I'm hoping to head to Oregon this weekend to see an old friend. It's been far too long. She now has two kids. We've lived about 4 hours apart for almost three years now...it's time to get together!
-This summer is going to be a blast. We've already planned a Vegas trip (happy anniversary to us!) and we're going to head down to Will's 10-year high school reunion. Somewhere in there I'm taking a trip to meet Mr. Ian Brown and see my sweet niece Hannah.
-My to-do list is getting longer and longer, and I don't even know where to start. I want to organize all of my craft stuff so that I can find things easily when I get the itch to be creative. Hopefully I'll make some progress this week! ...Time to get started!

Field trip today. Golf after work. Camping this weekend.

Life is good. Happy Memorial Day weekend!

A while back, my s-i-l tagged me to complete this - the list of 8's. And since I'm trying to avoid doing the piles of laundry that are upstairs, here goes!

The rules are:
1. Mention the person that tagged you.
2. Complete the lists of 8's.
3. Tag 8 other bloggers.
4. Tell them that they have been tagged.


8 Things I Look Forward To

1. Summer Break!

2. Spending time with my husband.

3. Getting to see far-away family.

4. Watching my sweet nieces grow up (although one is nearly grown!)

5. Cooking up new ideas for vacations.

6. Bubble baths.

7. Meeting Ian Adam Brown (congrats Adam and Erica)

8. Camping this weekend!

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Drank my coffee black.

2. Wore a skirt, and froze.

3. Focused too much on my next year's job rather than my current job.

4. Went to the Talent Show at school.

5. Participated in a skit in said talent show.

6. Went to Chili Thai afterwards with Will.

7. Ordered Rama Tofu with Peanut Sauce (served over spinach) - yum!

8. Got in bed at 9:30 and read until I fell asleep.

8 Things I Wish I Could Do

1. Sing.

2. Spend more time with Will.

3. Spend more time with family.

4. Take beautiful pictures and edit them (and have the money to buy the right stuff to do both).

5. Spend time on creative endeavors.

6. Have a maid. Who comes every day. So I'd never have to clean.

7. Hug sweet Hannah. Every day.

8. Run. Far.

8 Shows I Watch

1. Bones

2. House

3. CSI

4. CSI: NY

5. NCIS

6. Jeopardy!

7. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

8. The Mentalist

8 Bloggers That I Tagged

Okay, I'm skipping this because I don't know anyone else who would want to...But please, if you want to, go for it!

Biggest Loser, Bloggin' Style...

Here's a recipe that I find delicious and satisfying, and it's healthy! I have made this the last few times that Will's been out of town (it's not really a man meal) and it's great reheated.

Refried Bean Soup (my mom gave me this recipe - she got it at a WW meeting years back)

1 can Rotel (I prefer the lime/cilantro)
1 can fat free refried beans (I like refried black beans)
2 cans chicken stock (low sodium)

Open cans. Dump in a pot. Cook until combined and hot. Serve with a dallop of low fat sour cream (I don't really like the fat free kind, it tastes funny to me) and low fat shredded cheese. Delish!

For those not on a commitment to health challenge (or, um, a diet), you can add shredded chicken, a can of corn, and serve with tortilla chips!

We have bad habits in our house. We let dishes pile up. We let laundry pile up. We let mail pile up. And then we play catch-up.

A little over a week ago, I was taking care of the recycling that we had let pile up in the house. We have a bin inside where we put all of our recyclables, but it's small and fills up fast. I still hadn't broken down all of the boxes, so it didn't all fit in the bin and was stacked up around it and in brown paper bags. It was quite the accumulation. I decided to prop the door open, go out through the garage, and make the several trips in and out until it was all in the recycling container outside. In the middle of this process, my neighbor stopped by. We were chatting, when all of a sudden, a bird flew in the garage, then through the open door and straight into my kitchen.

After getting over the shock of the bird being in the house, and realizing I did not want to have try to catch it with my bare hands, but didn't want to hurt it either, my neighbor's husband wandered over. Thankfully, he was willing (and able) to catch the bird and release it back outside where it belonged.





Nothing like a bird in the house to liven up my chores.

*Note the dishes piled up in the sink. I did eventually take care of those, too.

**Also note that while I did not offer help, I did get photographic evidence of the situation as any good blogger would do.

Quick Cruise Recap...

Muster Drill

Enjoying the views...watching flying fish.


After dinner, night one, we went to an English Pub and there was a guy with a guitar singing your typical sing-a-longs...we had a blast, and Will even got up and sang with the guy!


Loved the balcony!


Me and Anna in Cozumel. It was HOT! Will ended up with a monster sunburn.


After dinner one night.


Sitting on the front of the ship one night after dinner. It was windy...just a little.


Anna, Cindy and I at the Cahal Pech Mayan Ruins in Belize


Our ship, the Navigator of the Seas, as seen from our ferry on the way back from Belize.


I have so many more pictures and another post might be coming, but I will try to put them all on Facebook, too (in the mean time). Life is going at full speed here - I'm gearing up to move from my current school to the new Performing Arts Magnet Middle School next year! I cannot wait. I will be teaching Language Arts to sixth graders, with the possiblity of having a few classes of seventh graders as well. The situation and timing could not have been more perfect, and it is an answered prayer in so many ways (answering things and giving things I hadn't even though to ask for...).

We expected 2009 to bring a lot more time at home for Will, but that has certainly not been the case. Week after week he is on the road, with a few days here, maybe a week...Not what we would prefer, but it's just the way it goes. We're hoping to go camping over Memorial Day weekend if he's home.

I've decided to pursue my National Board certification next year. This will make it a lot easier to teach in other states as we continue to move where the Air Force sees fit. It will be a long, tough road, but I am excited to stretch myself and grow as a teacher. I will be collecting my data and completing my portfolio starting this summer and throughout the next school year, and will have to submit it in April 2010. I will take my six assessments that June and receive my scores by December 2010. Whoa. I sure am glad I'll be back teaching just Language Arts (which will be my certification area) and will be able to focus on that one subject. I hope it will be powerful for my students to see me pursuing this education and certification - and I'm hoping the unique experience of being in a magnet school will make my portfolio stand out.

So, here we go, full speed ahead. We're loving living this crazy life together!

Wow...I almost forgot how to sign in to blogger! It's been a while.

I played my first round of golf (if you can call it that because it was a scramble) this weekend and had a blast! Will and I were on a team with another teacher from my school and her husband. It was a charity event for our district's Citizens for Public Schools group. We had to take three drives from every player, and luckily I had three, and only three, decent drives. It would have been one long round if it were not a best ball tournament.

Thanks to our mad skillz (well, really our husbands' mad skillz), we won. And no, I'm not even kidding. We won these lovely red hats, and a round for a foursome at the course where the tournament was held, which is a pretty nice course.

Go us.