Lemmonisms

For the Ladies!

2010-09-16T20:47:00.001-07:00

Random Quick Takes - Vol. 8

2010-08-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

1. August is a big month! My mom's birthday was on August 4th. Happy Birthday and I love you, Mom! Perry and Stacey's 5 year anniversary was on the 6th - congrats! My parents 32nd anniversary was on the 10th. Thanks Mom & Dad for loving each other and being committed to each other in marriage. I'm so blessed to have your example of a faithful marriage! Marc's birthday was on the 13th. Happy Birthday, hunnie! :)

2. First fire of the summer! To celebrate Marc's birthday, we got some ready to bake pizza, wine, and plenty of makings for S'Mores. Yum! We relaxed, played ladder golf, and relaxed some more. There was an attempt on my part to turn the evening into a surprise party. It worked. There was one surprise: Casey. Marc greatly appreciated his coming and my effort. I'll have to work on my surprise party throwing skills. ;)

3. August brought yet another great moment in our family. On my mom's birthday, Riley officially went wireless. Her "button" for feedings was removed. She hasn't used it in awhile, but the doctors wanted to keep it in for awhile just in case. Congrats to Riley for her big moment and (little) chunky cheeks. :)

4. 116 days to go until our wedding! Dress fitting - check! Wedding bands purchased - check! Those were definitely exciting moments. I was, however, not too fond of giving up my engagement ring to be re-sized. My hand felt so...so...exposed! But the wait was short and I made it through the week!

5. Being engaged is fun! Marc and I are enjoying all of the conversations about the future, working on small tasks to prepare for the wedding and our life together, and just spending time together in preparation and prayer. God is wonderful!

6. I started a new work out program yesterday: Insanity. Marc did the fit test with me yesterday and we both thought we were going to throw up after. I'm looking forward to the next 62 days!

7. I'm looking forward to a triple date this weekend with Nicole and Joe and Corina and Ed! Yea for couple time with great friends!

Nannyism of the Day

2010-08-03T14:59:00.000-07:00

Veronica (6): How old are you?
Nichole: 27.
Veronica: You're kind of old for your age.

I'm not sure if I should have a complex or not.

Random Quick Takes - Vol. 7

2010-07-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

1. I have not done random takes in 4 months. That just makes them more random I guess.

2. I bought a sewing machine. Today I set it all up and started learning. I made a headband! :)

3. Saturday afternoon at my house:

And one more little one in there too...

I love my family. :)

4. Marc is a awesome. We are trying to change our cell phone plans. Currently, everyone in my house is on their own plan. So we are going to do a family plan, along with my parents, so we can all save money. We've been working on it for at least an hour and a half. I've been getting super frustrated, even though Marc is the one on the phone. He's totally calm and un-annoyed. Thanks for dealing with this and sorry I'm not more patient.

Update: This took almost 5 hours! ....more of the call above, a trip to the store to sign paperwork, and another phone call to finish with a different person because the original guy didn't call back when he said he would. This meant a lot of repeating what was already done. Again, thank you, Marc!

5. I turned 27 yesterday and had a wonderful day. The Skovs had a little lunch party for me after the girls and I played in the fountain at Miller Park and then I spent the evening at home with my family. We had my dad's thai chicken and my mom's potato salad...mmmm, favorites! I played two games of scrabble with my parents and then Marc came down. Wonderful! Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. :)

6. Nichole: 32; Wedding Planning: 2 (I'm winning!)

7. The last two weekends have been filled with wedding fun. Congrats to Ed & Corina and Tuan & Sara!!

Becoming a Snyder: The Start of Our Courtship

2010-06-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

Marc and I were courting before we even knew it and I've always believed that to be a huge blessing.

The first time Marc and I hung out alone was the second time we met. I asked Greg if I could hang out at their place for a couple of hours between nannying and a meeting I had at the chancery - both in Seattle. Traffic home to Federal Way only to turn around and come back, no thank you!

Greg was happy to accommodate me, but he wouldn't be home at that time. Marc would be home and Greg made sure that I knew, repeating himself several times, that I should not expect Marc to entertain me. I was told he was very quiet and would probably keep to himself. I was fine with this and really didn't want to be in his way. I was happy it would give me the opportunity to make some phone calls to schedule high school leaders for Camp Thunderbird and even sneak it a nap.

Once my work was done, I lay down on the couch in the living room where Marc was playing guitar hero. To my surprise, he did not stop talking to me!! Every time there was a pause, I would close my eyes. Marc would start talking again totally unaware that I actually DID want to to sleep because his eyes were on the tv to play his game. Though I missed out on some quality nap time, I enjoyed talking to him and the surprise was a pleasant one. :)

From that time on until we started dating, Marc and I always hung out in groups except in situations like the above where we found ourselves together out of convenience and due to timing. We always enjoyed hanging out together, seemed to have a lot of similar interests, and enjoyed playing silly little pranks on his brother and Phil. Talking to each other was always very easy and we always laughed a lot.

About six or seven months later, I was with some friends hanging out at the guys' place. During the night, Phil and I got in a bit of a tiff and I was pretty upset. We all continued to hang out though until one by one people were off and I was the last one left with Marc. I asked him if he agreed with Phil and what he thought about the whole matter. I started crying. Marc came over and put his arm around me and we continued to talk. We sat together for at least an hour like that talking about all sorts of things. I remember feeling a little nervous and awkward once the crying moment had passed and we moved on to different topics. Was I still supposed to be sitting cuddled with him? Should I move? How do I transition this? ...all the time realizing that I didn't necessarily want to stop and wondering why we hadn't been dating each other.

About a month later, we became a couple after a nice romantic dinner Marc made me...with Phil. Phil was making us some drinks in the kitchen and we started having a "DTR" (determining the relationship conversation) after a couple of awkward comments he had made. I don't remember exactly what they were now, but I think for the second time that week he had said something about not being my boyfriend. So I called him out and asked where things stood and where they were going. We ended up going back to his room to finish the conversation as to not make Phil feel awkward. It took awhile. Poor Phil was asleep on the couch when we came out.

Thanks Phil for being part of introducing us, arguing with me, and making us drinks so patiently! We love you and are so happy you are Marc's best man. :)

Becoming a Snyder: How We Met

2010-06-08T08:51:00.000-07:00

Marc and I met March 8, 2008. I know this because it is my brother-in-law's birthday, which plays a role in this story.

Marc had recently moved into an apartment in Ballard with his older brother Greg and his best friend Phil. I knew Phil from the Catholic Campus Ministry at Western. We were briefly neighbors before I moved back home. I also knew Greg. We had met a year and a half earlier on Catholic Match and hung out often for about 4 months before he moved to Spokane.

Note: You never know how these online sites are going to work! Maybe I should write a "success story" for CM :)

Prior to the guys moving in together I had never met Marc. I had, however, browsed his myspace page that I found on Phil's profile. Totally normal when you are hanging with a guy from CM to check out his brother's myspace...right?

Once the guys had all moved in together, both Phil and Greg invited my friend Britta and I over to see the new place.. Just the two of them were home when we arrived. I'm not really sure why, but Britta and I stayed there to watch Top Gun while the guys went to run errands for their new place after lunch. Britta had never seen Top Gun before so it was kind of a big deal.

Enter Perry's birthday... I was supposed to get back down to Federal Way for dinner with my family and some of Perry's friends that evening. The guys finally got back home along with Marc with about 20-30 minutes left in the movie. I remember noting that Marc was taller than Greg, but skinnier and went back to watching the movie. I really needed to head out, but didn't want Britta to miss the end of the movie. How can you leave with out Maverick re-engaging the first time you see it!? I asked if Britta could take the movie home.

Note: Marc claims he does not remember any of this.

The movie belonged to Marc and he said no. Apparently he wasn't comfortable with Top Gun leaving with two girls he didn't know. I, being a negotiator and a bit pushy, tried to assure Marc that Britta would take good care of it and we would return it in a timely manner. He didn't go for it. I was a little annoyed and being in a rush, I'm sure I wasn't using my top notch manners for meeting someone.

I was pretty sure Marc did not like me. He seemed ok, but I didn't have much of an opinion about him as he was pretty quiet. I did not enjoy the fact that he wouldn't let us borrow Top Gun though, but it was not completely unreasonable and thus I did not hold it against him.

I may still give him a hard time about it though... :)

Becoming a Snyder: The Proposal

2010-05-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

You probably have already heard the news: Marc proposed!

Of course one of the first question many people asked was, "How?" So here it is...

Marc bussed down to Federal Way on Saturday, May 15th just in time to celebrate 5:00 Mass at St. Vincent's. The Respect Life Committee was collecting supplies for the layette group and I was on collection duty all weekend. On the way from the transit center to the church I mentioned to Marc that I had done my morning prayer outside by our statue of Mary because it was such a beautiful day, but that I had saved my Rosary so we could do it together. (Plans to be at church and my mention of the Rosary left the door wide open for a surprise and one very clueless girl regardless of the fact that she had been very impatiently awaiting such a day!)

After Mass and collecting baby items, Marc asked if I would like to stay and pray our Rosary. Thinking nothing of it I suggested we should go because I told my parents we would make them dinner. Marc gently persisted and I continued to gently discourage. My parents had been working in the yard that afternoon and I knew they would be hungry. I was also feeling a little hungry! I could tell he wanted to stay, so in the end, I said it was his decision and either choice would be ok with me. I figured there would be people praying in the Blessed Sacrament chapel so I suggested we go pray in front of the statue of Our Lady, but Marc thought we should at least take a peek.

The small chapel was empty, so we went in, and prayed our Rosary. I was feeling a little impatient and my legs were also bothering me. I don't like to admit it, but I was definitely praying faster than usual and trying to rush through the Rosary. Towards the end, the the facility manager looked into the chapel and I assumed he was waiting for the church to be empty so he could lock up and end his work day. This made me feel even more rushed as I have in the past been one of the last people at the church after a meeting on more than one occasion and he has had to wait for me. So as soon as we finished praying, I made the Sign of the Cross and got up.

Despite all of my best efforts (unknowingly of course), I hadn't ruined Marc's plan yet. I went and knelt in front of the tabernacle to say my final prayer before leaving. Marc came over and knelt beside me. The moment he said my name, I knew what was about to happen. It took Marc a few seconds to speak again, but it seemed much longer to me. These thoughts repeated over and over in my head:

-He's about to propose!
-I can't believe it!
-He's surprising me! How?
-When did he get a ring?
-When did he ask my dad?
-Good job! You are surprising me!
-Ok, wait, maybe he just wants to have a serious moment. Don't get your hopes up. Maybe he's not going to propose.
-He's going to propose! I'm pretty sure he's going to do it!

Finally, he simply said, "Will you be my bride?" I gave him a big hug and said "yes" and was still in shock that he has surprised me. After hugging him for awhile, I started to wonder if he had a ring since I hadn't even paid much attention to that part. I was just looking him in the eyes and quietly freaking out in my head! When we stopped hugging, I saw that he did indeed have the ring and asked him when he got so sneaky. Marc lead us in one last prayer there in front of Jesus as an engaged couple and then we headed back to my house.

In the car I learned that Marc had asked my dad two weeks before!! So tricky! He knew I would be at Mass and praying for life in front of Planned Parenthood that morning, so he borrowed his roommates car to drive to my house (thanks Aaron!!). My dad was in his office when Marc arrived and spotted Marc through the window, which happened to be open. He asked Marc where he was headed all dressed up (tie and everything!) and Marc said, "Here."

This is my favorite part: My dad responded, "Ok, let me go get Sandy!" He woke my mom up by basically telling her it was time and that Marc was there. :)

Marc had told my parents that he would propose by the first week of June (before our two year dating anniversary on June 6th) so they didn't actually know when it was happening although my dad thought Marc might take the opportunity that evening when he heard we were going to Mass. I was excited to get home and make the announcement. My parents were so happy and that made me all the more happier. Mostly I was just in shock and I don't think it really sank in for a week....well, it's actually still sinking in. It just keeps getting more and more exciting!

We pushed back dinner reservations that Marc had made ahead of time to include my parents. We all got ready (after I made some phone calls and posted on facebook of course) and then headed down to the Lobster Shop. Dinner was amazing and the champagne and dessert were even better. I mostly loved being there with Marc and my parents though. (I'm starting to tear up.)

After dinner

I feel so extremely blessed. Marc is wonderful and amazing and I'm so very happy and excited to be his wife soon. We have also received so much support from so many people. God has given me so many great people, both family and friends. Thank you all for being in our lives and letting God work through you. You are all part of building us up in our faith and relationship with Jesus.

Please pray for us, that we will continue to grow with Jesus, and have a holy engagement and marriage!

My Day as a Sub with 4 & 5 Year Olds

2010-05-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

8:55 AM: Drop Eleanor and Georgia off in "Lefler House" (the room 3 & 4 year olds)

9:00 AM: Start subbing in "Carriage House" - hang out and talk with playing kids as they all arrive

9:15 AM: Walk to the Roy Street Cafe - "Inspired by Starbucks" (this is basically a Starbucks in disguise with alcohol and occasional live music or movie viewings). Kids get hot chocolate or orange juice, adults get coffee. :) The store managers teaches about where coffee and chocolate come from and how they are made.

10:45 AM: Get back to school and have snack - yummy muffins and strwaberries.

11:00 AM: Playground Time - hang out with kids and chat with teachers

12:15 PM: Go inside to potty, wash hands, and read a book for tomorrow's art activity

12:30 PM: Picnic outside

1:00 PM: School ends, after school care begins (now I'm on my own with no co-teacher), kids play on playground

1:30 PM: The "Magical Dress Up" Teacher arrives and I help kids get inside and put clothes on and watch.

1:45 PM: All done.

Great day! And did you know that coffee beans come out of cherries!?

Relaxing is hard!

2010-04-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!!

I am not allowing myself to do any work or anything on my to do list today unless it's something fun. I'm really struggling. I hope the rest of the family hurries up and gets here.

I guess I know now that I need to work on relaxing and stillness.

Have a very blessed Easter day. :)

Love Always in Our Risen Lord,
Nichole

Aaah! I'm so busy!

2010-03-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working part time for camp again - scheduling high school leaders and going down to camp in Olympia once a week. I'm so busy! Once I get caught up from training weekend, I'll shoot for my usual goal of blogging regularly (ok, ok, once a week). If that doesn't happen, talk to you at the end of May.

:) Love,
Nichole

And may God bless you all this Holy Week!!

15 Days Later...

2010-03-25T14:21:00.001-07:00

I just got another $5 gift card on Amazon through Swagbucks. It's only been 15 days since my last card. Hopefully I can keep this up! :) Want to join yet?

PS Friday is Mega Swagbucks days, which means they typically give out more swagbucks in larger amounts. :)

Random Quick Takes - Vol. 6 - The Just a Few Edition

2010-03-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

1. I have mentioned it before and I'm writing it again, I love early mornings! The getting out of bed part can be hard and I'm really not all that great at it just yet, but I absolutely love the time. When I actually follow my morning routine, my whole morning feels like I prayer. (Note: some mornings I just shoot for a mini routine. Leaving the house at 6 AM for work either means you better get up REALLY early or you have to cut the routine. I choose to cut the routine.) My favorite things to do are:

Acknowledge Jesus and Mary and say a prayer as I struggle to get out of bed.
Make my bed.
Put a load of laundry in, start cooking up some beans that have been soaking , or some other small task that you have to get started and let the work load go while you move on. (The cooking beans is new. I saw bags of beans at Carrie's and thought, "Ok, I should cook my own beans too." It's cheaper and I would love spending money on cooler things than canned beans. It all adds up! Sometimes you just need a little encouragement/silent peer pressure from a friend's pantry.)
Make coffee or tea.
Prayer time! On longer mornings this includes my typical morning prayer and Scripture reflection. On the weekends, I also like to add in other reading or a Rosary if I have the time.
Work out
Start in on my to do list!

This is definitely not what I do EVERY morning, but the mornings I do are the ones I love best. They set the tone for my whole day and with all of this accomplished by 7:30 or even 9:30, I still have the whole day ahead of myself!

2. I put some more work in on the garden this weekend...with Marc's help of course. My favorite part was carpooling with my parents to Lowe's :) or it could have been jumping up, waving my arms, joyfully shouting "grow"! There was just such satisfaction in planting things! I realize my excitement is a little premature and I should wait for things to grow, but there was just a feeling of empowerment. It was probably exactly what Chuck (Tom Hanks) felt like in the movie Cast Away when he built the fire. Really, I'm sure it was totally the same! (PS I just got 20 swagbucks for googling "Tom Hanks Wilson" while trying to find the name of the movie and Tom Hank's character. Sweet!)

3. Last night I ran a youth night on abortion for the Life Teen group at my church. It was put on by the Respect Life committee I chair and it went soooo well! I can say that because I really did very little. We had testimonies from Silent No More Awareness members and the regional coordinator of Project Rachel present (Project Rachel is for women and men suffering from the abortion of their children). I added a very brief teaching on the Church's position, talked about available resources for pregnant women, and covered the 9 ways we participate in others' sins. After that, we broke into 3 small groups (guys, gals, and parents) and talked over some different scenarios they might encounter. The night started off with the question: "How many of you know someone who has had an abortion?" Sadly, almost every person (out of 50+ people) raised their hands. I wasn't surprised, but it did reinforce the importance of the night meant to show what abortion really is (the intentional killing of an innocent human life), the real affects of abortion on women AND men, and how we, as Christians, are called to support, love, and share truth with those around us. Please say a prayer for all that were there!

Random Quick Takes - Vol. 5

2010-03-15T18:32:00.001-07:00

1. Where did all of the wii fits go!? They are no where to be found. Word on the web is that there were some problems with the boards. So the few that are available (online) are ridiculously priced. No thank you. I'll wait for you wii fit plus.

2. I'm tired. Daylight Savings time + babysitting = late night. When did I get so old?

3. One of my goals/tasks of the year is to print pictures. I'm trying to do this as different deals pop up on all of the photo sites. It's been really fun, but very time consuming to sort through pictures. In addition to printing lots of photos for albums, I have to frame at least one picture each month (some times it's best to start with small goals). This weekend I framed a picture from one of my best friend's wedding...back in 2007...with the frame she gave me as a gift for reading in her wedding. :) Thanks Jill!

4. I recently registered my Starbucks card when I found out I could get 2 hours of free wi-fi/day with it. I don't go there that often, but it sure just stepped on up. I also figured out that by becoming a green member (buying 5 drinks) you get free re-fills of hot or iced coffee while in the store. Score! You can also have a free shot of flavor in your drinks or customize your milk. If you haven't registered your card, I definitely recommend it, even if you don't go that often.

5. I've decided to try gardening...with Marc's help. :) Yesterday we spent about 6 hours clearing out the area on the side of the house by my door downstairs. My mom has always grown plants and flowers there, but because I want to try to grow some veggies too, I wanted to make sure I put in the prep work for the soil. 15 wheelbarrows of sifted soil (aka ROCKS) later, we planted some wild flowers from the Gloria's Angels Auction. :) Next weekend, we will finalize the plan for the rest of the area and plant! Big, big thank you to Marc!!

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

I'm also trying to grow a spider plant for the inside. :)

6. I owe a belated Happy Birthday to my brother-in-law Perry. Last Monday, Perry turned 31! Happy Birthday Perry! (March 8th was also the 2 year anniversary of when I first met Marc and was sure he did not like me. He would not let Britta and I borrow Top Gun and I was going to be late to Perry's birthday party. Britta had never seen it, so it was obviously a huge deal for her to finish watching it. It's Top Gun, people!)

7. On Tuesday I took three of the nanny kiddos on a field trip to my house. :) We had a play date with Jaden and Riley. It was very fun and gave my mom a little break from watching the kids too. They all played together very well and the girls were very excited to see my house, especially by bed (I have no idea why).

I'm Sold

2010-03-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

I have seen a few blogs talking about Swagbucks lately. It's a website/search engine that gives you points when you search (apparently at random). Other than using their search engine, you don't do anything differently. When you have enough points, you can earn free gifts, including gift cards. I'm keeping my eye on the amazon gift cards because I like to buy books on there. There are some other good ones too that I would be interested in.

I was a bit skeptical, but figured if I didn't have to do anything differently, I had nothing to lose. Well after only a few weeks, I have enough points for a $5 gift card. I'm going to hold out for a larger one, but I'm still really excited. Yea for free money! :)

I did make Swagbucks my primary search engine and downloaded the swagbucks tool bar (it gives you random free codes to get more points). But other than those two things, I really haven't done much of anything except occasionally search for a website instead of typing in the address, just to see if I could get points. It's worked!

You should join. :) And if you click HERE to do so, I'll get some extra points. :)

Quick Takes - The don't hate because I did 8...or because I rhyme...version*

2010-03-03T14:52:00.000-08:00

1. No, I did not give up blogging for Lent. I'm just busy, which is the worst excuse you can use in blogging because so is everyone else. If only I could learn to say no to extra commitments when I'm busy as well as I do to blogging, I'd be improving a whole lot!

2. I admit it. I'm turning green. I am shampoo-free and now am enjoying the new blog, Simple Organic, way too much. I know it's not a bad thing. I really appreciate conserving our natural resources and letting nature (including our own bodies) work as God intended them to, but the phrase "go green" just always rubs me the wrong way. I don't know why.

3. While I'm talking about Simple Organic, I really enjoyed the blog today on Simple Mom. I think it highlights the idea that we are called to serve our families and trust in God rather than try to control everything.

4. I went to the Gloria's Angel Dinner auction a couple of weeks ago and had a fantastic time with Marc, Aaron, Teresa, and Lara. I came away with some real steals on dance lessons, bake ware, and a teapot, sweet pitcher and mugs, teas, and coffees, etc galore! I also ended the night with a lovely cake stand courtesy of Marc and the mini cake treats he bought in the live auction for $75. He told me they were fudge and I raised my number. I didn't think much of it because other desserts were going for $200+. I was not so lucky on that raise of my number, but Marc, being the gentleman he is, insisted on buying them. :) It was a great night and a ton of money was raised. Teresa and Lara also got some sweet fish from our table centerpieces!

I thought it would be fun to get a picture with the cheerleaders. They weren't nearly as excited as I was. I'm pretty sure they thought I was really strange. They must have a good judge of character. :)

5. I'm looking forward to this weekend. I'm helping out with Junior High Rally, which I have never attended before and then heading out to Bremerton for the Anti-Choice Project kick-off. Marc and I will be staying at Tom & Carrie's for the night and protesting with them the next day after Mass. I always love our visits there. It feels like a weekend getaway.

6. After following the blog Homemade by Jill, my goal is to learn to sew next year. Who wants to teach me??

7. I bought another super cute apron. I better watch out before aprons turn into my new obsession! Look how cute it is though! And I got it for half off just for following Like a Warm Cup of Coffee.

8. Happy 57th Birthday, Dad!! I love you so very much!!

*This may also be known as the links to other blogs version.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2010-02-14T17:58:00.001-08:00

I spent the weekend with Jesus on retreat. Now I'm home, Marc's cooking me dinner, and I'm sipping on a mango margarita. What a Valentine's weekend!

On the menu for dinner: asain spiced fruit, ginger chicken satay with grilled mangos... and then blizzards for dessert! Yum yum!

I'm so happy Jesus and Marc are my Valentines. :)

Random Quick Takes - Vol. 4

2010-02-06T14:46:00.001-08:00

1. Marc surprised me with flowers for our 20 month anniversary. :) I realize some of you are probably a more focused on the "anniversary" part than the flowers. To assure you we are not crazy and do not celebrate every single monthaversary, Marc is gone playing Halo with the guys all day today. Most often we just like to acknowledge the day. I guess that means we are still excited about dating each other. :)

2. I still don't have any pictures from the March in DC for you. All of the pictures are on Marc's camera and I have yet to get them.

3. Riley is doing well again after a brief stay in the hospital. It turns out she had a viral infection. She is still recovering, but doing much better. Thanks for your prayers!

4. I love game nights. I am competitive. I got my pride handed to me last night on a platter while playing two games I've never heard of before: Times Up and Buzzword. They have been added to my wish list. So fun!

5. I have not watched very much football this season, but I am looking forward to the Superbowl tomorrow. I think I'll also bake and prep some meals. ...well, I think it's exciting. :)

6. Women's Bible Study was back on this week! We have still been meeting, but have not had a a bible study since before Christmas. It was so great to break open scripture and pray with other young women again. I absolutely love reading the Bible. Two years ago, maybe even one, I would have never imagined feeling this way. Sure, I appreciated the Bible, but this is totally different. If you are ever feeling in need of some good girl talk about the Gospel of John, join us Wednesday nights after daily Mass (or come to Mass at 7:00 pm!) at St. Vincent's.

6 1/2. After mentioning bible study, it seems like I should also mention Veritas which was so much fun this week. Who knew you could laugh so hard while studying encyclicals and other church documents. The Blessed Sacrament group meets at the Newman Center on Thursday nights at 7:00. We are currently reading Gaudium et Spes.

7. I'm DEBT FREE! I just payed off the last of my student loans. It feels great! (UPDATE: I wrote this with the intention of posting it right after I payed my student loans at 3:00 pm when the website was supposed to finish maintenance. The website now says it will be unavailable until tomorrow morning. Way to rain of my parade Direct Loan Services! It's ok though, I'll pull out an umbrella...I'm about to be DEBT FREE! I'll get you tomorrow student loans! ...I feel a little bit like the bad guy in inspector gadget, except that I will really get my students loans. Go go gadget debit card!)

My Men

2010-01-31T17:07:00.000-08:00

Marc being a good sport doing a "cardio party" kickboxing CD with me

Jaden driving around my dad's Quality Carpet Cleaners car. It was a Christmas gift from my aunt Mary. My deceased uncle Ray was an incredible with wood work. He made the car at some point and my aunt put my dad's company name on it. Note the fetal model baby in the back. :)

My dad and Jaden working hard outside....

...while Marc and Perry "work" inside

Forwaaard March!

2010-01-20T14:12:00.000-08:00

I'm off to DC tonight for the March for Life. Please pray that I will have safe travels, good plane sleep, and a safe march. :) I'm so excited!!

Carepackages for the Homeless

2010-01-11T18:36:00.001-08:00

This is something I've been wanting to do for a long time and I was just reminded of it as I browsed blogs. I'm adding it to my goals/to do's for 2010. :)

Goals, Goals, Goals

2010-01-10T12:50:00.000-08:00

I'm in goal setting mode right now and it feels great. Hopefully I'll still be feeling great and adjusting goals and setting new ones a month from now too...and again in 3 months...6 months...etc.

I have a whole list of things I want to work on and do. Some have due dates, some are on the back burner. I find it's best not to try to attack too much at once and to be realistic about what you can accomplish. I'm not always very good at that though and have been known to bring on too much at once only to burn myself out and not get very far on any one thing. So I guess you could say that good, positive goal setting is in itself a goal of mine along with reflecting on where I'm out, how I'm doing, and what God is calling me to. It's pretty easy to focus in on my task lists and forget the last part, which is by far the most important.

So here are a few things I'm working on now:
1. The 25 lb weight challenge that Marc and I started at the beginning of last year. I have lost 17.2 lbs so far!! So my first goal is to lose the remaining 7.8 lbs. Some other goals I have in mind are to have a 6 pack once in my life and be able to do pull-ups. :) I've always wanted to do these things! For now though, I'm focusing on the weight loss. Of course, I can work on the other two things alongside it, but my focus will remaining on the challenge.
2. Budgetting! I'm trying to move my budgeting to more of a monthly model rather than a weekly model. I get paid every week and have gotten pretty good about budgeting my week's worth of money, but if I move to a monthly model I may see a bigger picture and notice some trends of spending that I'm not aware of. Hopefully it will allow me to cut back on spending a little bit.
3. Becoming debt free. I'm sooooo close! I just have the very end of my student loans to tackle. Some goals I have in mind next: getting health insurance and getting rid of my credit cards. I should do these things now, but I'm never had health insurance and feel no rush. And as far as the credit cards go, it does make me a little nervous. However, getting an annual fee for one of them when I don't really use them made me think that it needs to happen sooner than later. I also want to look into different banking and car insurance options this year so see where else I might be able to save money.
4. Practice reflecting and meditating. I'm not always very deep and I get distracted so very easily. I'm using a book called the Better Part that a few friends of mine have recommended to help me out with this. So far I'm absolutely loving it and finding it very fruitful. I look forward to my time in prayer each day so much more.

I have a ton of other goals, but I won't share them all now. Please keep me in your prayers to form better habits. You are all in mine and I pray that you will have a blessed month and year!

Family Pictures from Christmas

2010-01-06T14:31:00.001-08:00

Christmas Morning at Stacey & Perry's House. Riley has a hand holding phobia. So either she REALLY loves me or she was just too tired to fight back. I think she really loves me. :)

Marc often makes fun of my open mouth smile, but I guess I'm not the only one who does it...

Perry very ready to play with his toy, but not getting to open it. They all woke up late and his mom was on her way to pick him up so we had to rush through present opening pretty quickly. Woopsy Daisy!

These bibs were not a gift from me, but I will encourage their use.

My parents are so stinkin' cute sometimes!

Tools for the boys.

Visiting Grandma!

What kid doesn't love playing Grandma's organ?

Not a family pic, but on the way home from Grandma's...

Riley "finished" her Rite of Baptism on the Feast of the Holy Family (there is a more proper term for this, but I can't remember it) . She was baptized before surgery at Mary Bridge not too long after being born, but was welcomed into the parish and received the oil of catechumens and oil of chrism along with some of the other wee ones getting baptized on this day.

Random Quick Takes - Vol. 3

2009-12-17T20:31:00.000-08:00

1. I'm a little late on this, but Marc and I spent Thanksgiving weekend in Spokane and Chewelah visiting with his younger brother and two older sisters and their families. Besides really enjoying Marc's family, I enjoyed attending Mass Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday and so Saturday didn't feel left out, I went to reconciliation. You really can't top that! I also had fun swimming in Lori's indoor pool. It was my secret weapon against gaining Thanksgiving weight. Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

This was taken as we were heading out of town. The nail polish is there just for size comparison. I was wondering...when did yogurt parfaits gets so tiny!?

Marc with Jill and her three kids right after nap time.

While at Lori's we played a pretty intense game of Monopoly. Not only did it last forever, but it was pretty true to real life. At one point, people started losing their houses and the bank ran completely out of money. At that point, the game went to Marc!

Here is Lori's youngest, Zach. I guess he is trying to send his mom a message.

2. I'm really enjoying Advent this year and looking so forward to the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. I have my very first ever advent candles and have been working on lots of fun projects with the girls.

Marc cut some greens from my backyard to make it look a little more festive.

An Advent Calendar I made for one of my nanny families. Each cone has a slip of paper on it with something to pray for and perhaps a tidbit of teaching followed by an activity.

This is one of Eleanor's projects from the calendar. After talking about St. Joseph and praying for her dad, Eleanor was supposed to draw a picture of St. Joseph and baby Jesus. She also included Mary on right. :) In one of her later pictures I was surprised when she drew flowers on Mary. Precious!

Another art project. Note Eleanor's angel on the third row, right side. :)

I guess Eleanor wanted to make sure Mary made it to the Nativity Scene.

3. Family Time. I do not spend enough time with my family as I should and I'm trying to make more of an effort to do so. Last night I hung out with my grandma and had a great time. I think it might be the most I've ever laughed with her. I also learned that her and my grandpa met on the dance floor. :) Apparently she had had her eye on him for awhile and she thinks he'd had his on her too...insert my grandma's half laugh, half giggle. So cute! She also converted him to Catholicism. I never knew! Way to go Grandma! I don't have pictures of grandma, but I do have a few of the my nephew and niece.

Riley playing with Bebe, my first doll. :)

Jaden posing with the Holy Family after helping my dad put up the Nativity Scene.

Hanging out with the Holy Family will make you awfully holy.

4. My mom and Marc received one of their Christmas presents early. My dad and I took them out to dinner and then surprised them with tickets to the Coats Christmas concert at Benaroya Hall. We had a great time. One of the highlights of the evening was a surprise for all of us. The elevator in the parking garage got stuck between floors on our way to the concert. We spent 45 minutes with 4 other couples. Lucky for us, they were all very nice and positive. We made the most of our time. We also avoided waiting way longer by calling the fire department ourselves after the garage attendant told us it would take the "elevator guy" 45 minutes to get there. The fire department responded in just a little over 5. Thank you fire department!

One of the firemen took our picture before pulling us out. :) We even caroled a little bit in there!

Marc and me during intermission.

5. Happy Birthday, Brent!!

6. Tomorrow I am headed to Waterville, WA for the funeral of Joe "Pop Pop" Mullen. He is the grandpa of my best friend and because both of my grandpas died before I was born, I think of him as closest I have. I also put one of the church ushers in that category, who has been bed ridden for quite some time now. Please pray for the Mullen family, the repose of Pop Pop's soul, and usher Bill. I'm looking forward to celebrating Pop Pop's life tomorrow and partying it up Mullen family style. The reception is a "barn" and there is sure to be a great "Pop Pop talent show," which includes many of the aunts, uncles, and cousins giving various beautiful and funny performances.

A Few Things I've Been Up To

2009-11-24T22:20:00.001-08:00

General Session Managers for HS Convention 2009: Louder Than Before

Return appearance of Sensaria for morning Catholic exercises

Date Nights!

We also went to see A Christmas Carol this last weekend. It was excellent and so fun to be out on another date. :)

Pineapple Classic

Happy Veteran's Day!!

2009-11-11T10:23:00.000-08:00

I love any day that honors our military. Along with a lot of common courtesies, respect, and etiquette that seem to have been lost in our culture is the loss of respect and pride in our men and women who fight for us and give up their lives. And I'm not just talking about the fallen, but about the daily lives that are given up to clean equipment, go on long marches, run obstacle courses, clean barracks, press uniforms to perfection, and all of the seemingly mundane tasks that go along with the job that make disciplined, hard working, obedient men and women. All of this while often away from families and friends and all the comforts of home.

They have left behind all they know to follow and to serve.

I keep thinking that sounds an awful lot like a great disciple. I pray today in thanksgiving for our veterans and those still serving. And for those who need it, I pray for conversions of their hearts, to never fear Jesus because of the jobs they have done, and that they will all hear Christ's call to continue to have hearts that allow them to leave behind everything, follow, and serve.

A special thank you to my Dad, Andrew, Anthony, Uncle Jim, Micheal, Christy, and Aunt Debbie.
And a special thank you in remembrance of my Grandpa, Uncle Rick, and Uncle Ray.
And another thank you to Jared and all of those I know who are still serving. And one more big thanks to the military wives (Kim and Mary!) and husbands and families who sacrifice so much alongside their loved ones and hold them up in their duty to keep on going.

All Saints, Halloween, and Christmas too!

2009-11-01T15:36:00.000-08:00

Happy All Saints Day! It's beautiful out today, but even more beautiful to think about all of the men and women in Heaven who are praying for us to share in their feast one day.

I spent the yesterday afternoon out in Graham at my cousin's place. There was lots of food, new goats, a 4-wheeler, and even a potato gun to shoot pumpkins! I enjoyed taking it easy yesterday and having time with my family. Here are some pictures of my parents at the party and Stacey's wee ones later that night.

"What's with Christmas in the All Saints and Halloween post," you may being asking. Well I'm pleased to announce that as of Friday, I am half way done with my Christmas shopping. :) About a month ago, I set a budget and started taking a set amount out of each week's pay to go towards Christmas, which I'm continuing to do. Two weeks ago, I started making my Christmas shopping list. I'm hoping to finish up all of my shopping within the next two weeks and then I'll be set. :) Maybe now you want to know why. Well, I figured if I set a budget and planned ahead it would make life a lot less stressful, but even better yet, I can really enjoy and focus on Advent and Christmas this year. It's so easy to get caught up in the wrong parts of the holiday season and this is just my way of setting myself up to have less distraction. It can certainly be done all together, but I think I just need a little bit of extra help. :)

Thanks Gals!

2009-11-01T15:27:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to all the gals who came to my Sensaria party. I had a great time and I hope you enjoyed relaxing as much as I did! :)

Random Quick Takes - Vol. 2

2009-10-27T20:57:00.001-07:00

Some things I've been up to....

1. I finished up my 3 weeks of house sitting and have been home for a a couple of weeks now. It's so nice to be home, but I do miss the 10 minute drive to work. This last weekend, I started going through all of my things and throwing stuff out. I also rearranged my living room/dining room/work out room. I LOVE IT! Come visit me and see. :) Big THANK YOU to Marc who helped so much. THANK YOU.

One of the kitties I watched. Sal, lovingly called Brown Kitty, Crazy Sal, or Cat.

The other kitty, Murcey, Grey Kitty, or Cat.

2. Seahawks Game! Marc and I went to the Seahawks game a couple of weekends ago. We won! :) It was a really fun game up until the end when it became ridiculously boring because we were so far ahead. Good times anyways and it was Marc's first time at a game!

We forgot to take a picture at the game. Just pretend there is a sweet field and fired up fans behind us.

3. The Genocide Awareness Project was at UW again this fall. I spent the second day on campus and had a lot of great conversations. I had pleasant conversations, was cussed us by a guy who was so close to me I could feel his breath on my face (he was also shaking, I may have been a little scared), and also had a few awesome interactions with people who seemed to be having a change of heart. People really struggle with seeing pictures of abortion, but it's a good struggle because it exposes a truth that is hidden so well. So well, in fact, that it can be talked about like it's no big deal. I believe that women should know what an abortion really is before they have one. Pictures speak to that horrific truth.

4. Girl time! I'm having a spa party tomorrow night. Feel free to join in! :) We will be soaking food, having facials, and doing lots of relaxation, laughing, and also eating some yummy food.

Here is a preview of what might be happening:

And what you might get to eat:

5. I can finally say that I have been ice skating! I was nervous for my first time. I don't do too well with out my feet under me. I mean, I get scared! Heights are no good. My last time biking was not too hot (it had been a really loooong time). I don't know. I just like having my balance and being on the ground, but I do enjoy getting past the initial fear and having fun too.

There I go! It was really hard to get started. Seriously, I was asking, "How do you move forward?" I could not figure it out!

Britta!

Marc!

Oooh, getting all tricky.

Spinning.

Going under Marc's legs!!

I had so much fun! I was trying to put a little dance into it too. And man, there was a great early 90's mix playing. BLAST from the PAST. And as a note: both the Seahawks game and Ice Skating were purchases from the Gloria's Angels auction. Who wants to go with me to the next one!? :)

6. Marc and I carved pumpkins last night.

Yucky!

My pro-life pumpkin! And only the second pumpkin I have ever carved by myself. :)

Marc was having a little trouble deciding what to do with his pumpkin. I was totally done with mine before he started carving. Poor Marc.

This is what he came up with. I didn't get to see the final product until today. I was tired and bed was calling my name way louder than his pumpkin.

7. Art party! Tuesday is the day I am hoping to do art projects because I have Eleanor, Madeline, and Georgia for most of the day. Today I also had Jaden. :)

Here is what we did:

All the kids made Ghosts Wind Catchers.

I made a test Bottle Top Spider, but a glue gun was definitely needed. I only had tacky glue and it took me a loooong time to make my spider, so the group skipped that one.

And finally, I helped the girls make some Cardboard Tube Frankensteins!

And a cute picture of Jaden trying to warm up with Marc. I always love when the boys join us.

G says gu , O says aw , D says du. Gu -aw -du . GOD.

2009-10-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

Update from my last blog...

I now have confirmation from both of Eleanor and Georgia's parents that they did not put "GOD" in the Word Whammer. It also does not recogize "GOD." Too bad for you, Word Whammer. Maybe the kids will keep planting seeds and you will get it one day. Just you wait.

God is everywhere...

2009-10-22T20:47:00.001-07:00

...even on the Word Whammer.

I found this on the fridge at the end of last week while nannying. Eleanor said she didn't know what it says, which makes me think it some how ended up like that "on accident." Either way, it made me happy and I of course had to take a picture!

I'm curious to know if the Word Whammer recognizes "GOD." I should check it out tomorrow. If it does, way to go Leap Frog on the evangelizing!

As a side note, so far my favorite word that the word whammer has told the girls to spell is "PUB." I thought long and hard for a different definition of pub. I mean, if it said "BAR," I would think of a metal bar or a bar of soap, which is totally legit for a children's toy. But really Word Whammer, "PUB"!?

Perhaps the Leap Frog people are Irish. God. Pub. Irish. That would all make sense.

My Kind of Art!

2009-10-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I tried out a new snack with one of my nanny kids, Felix. He claimed it was just a little bit good and he really didn't want it again, but the look on his face and his eating said otherwise. Oh 3 year olds, you are such stinkers some times!

Apple Peanut Butter Sushi

Lindsey told me about it and then I found it on the Crafty Crow. :)

It linked to the site On a Whimm with the super simple directions.

Then I dressed it up with all of the extra apples. Food art is my kind of art! And it's such a healthy, yummy snack.

Art Time!

2009-10-21T15:07:00.000-07:00

My friend Lindsey recently told me about a site called The Crafty Crow. It is amazing! I'm not usually very artsy and so I don't naturally come up with art projects on my own. Now that I have this site though, I should be able to provide some fun activities for the nanny kiddos and myself too! You should definitely check it out if you have kids or you are art-challenged like me.

I have already compiled a fun list of projects and supplies to finish off the month. I'm hoping to put together a similar list at the end of each month, in preparation for the next month. This way if any supplies are needed, the moms can grab them early on with plenty of time for fun for us. Yea!

Here is a picture of one art project I hope to do next week:

All you need is a toilet paper roll, a couple of golf tees, googley eyes, markers, glue, and scissors. Simple and fun. :)

Random Quick Takes - Vol. 1

2009-10-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

Fridays can get busy and I seem to keep missing "7 Quick Takes Friday." Thus, I introduce, Random Quick Takes. :) I realize part of Quick Takes Friday was to keep posting something on a regular schedule, but clearly that part of the plan just wasn't working out for me. So here we go!

1. I've been house sitting on Beacon Hill for the past week and a half and have another week and a half to go. The "commute," if you can call it that anymore, is wonderful! I'm typically not much of a cat person, but I must say I rather enjoy the two that I'm watching. Marc and I have nicknamed one "Crazy Sal," but I don't remember why. They are both kind of scaredy cats, especially Sal. Murcey is less so, but still has his moments. And usually when I get Sal to engage with her kitty toys, Murcey scares her off. So things are going well, although they did not start off that way. The first night of three week stay left me with a broken car window and a ransacked car. I hope the loose change (less than 50 cents I'm sure) was worth it, buddy! And please, next time, help yourself to my Lighthouse Catholic Media CD's. I was a little disappointed you didn't take any.

2. 40 Days for Life has been up and running for 16 days now and already 174 babies (and their mothers and fathers) have been saved! I have participating at the Seattle site conveniently located just down the road from where I work. It sometimes hard to put in an hour when it's soooo early in the morning or I feel like I have so much to do, but it's always worth it in the end and it turns out I'm just a big baby when I'm thinking "it's hard." An hour of my day given to pray for the conversion of hearts and to actually save lives is really just as much a gift to me as it is to those who are helped. That being said, I have skipped a few days this week because I've been sick. I'm looking forward to getting back out there this afternoon!

3. Speaking of life, I believe I have mentioned on here that I am chairing St. Vincent's Respect Life Committee. It's been a great experience so far. I'm definitely learning and a bit intimidated at times, but I'm really excited to be both a part of the group and leading it too. We have some amazing people on our committee and it I really enjoy working with them. This last weekend, we hosted coffee and donuts. October 4th was one of three Sundays still open for serving. The other two dates were not until later on in 2010. Shortly after signing our group up, I realized that October 4th was Respect Life Sunday. Thank you Holy Spirit! He made another big move for us in what at first seemed like an annoying situation that left me frustrated, but sometimes you just have to trust. Our third coffee and donuts, after the 11:30 AM Mass, was cancelled because of a Confirmation meeting in the hall. This is the biggest coffee and donuts! After putting a few emails out to cancel on our volunteers for that hour, someone in the office spoke with Father about compensating a loss with two tables in the narthex after all five Masses. This gave us the opportunity to reach even more people with the addition of our presence at 5:00 PM Mass on Saturday and 5:00 PM Mass on Sunday. We had fetal models, tons of resources, and 12 week precious babies to give out. It was a hit and definitely a huge blessing to have the 11:30 coffee and donuts cancelled. It gave me hope to see so many people respond positively to our materials and to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit at work with our group.

4. I haven't said too much about work lately. Nannying is going wonderfully and I still love it. This fall brought a lot of changes. There was the recent addition of Baby Xavier to my Wednesdays (also known as my "boy day") as well as schedule, number of kids, and dynamic changes due to school starting. Veronica started kindergarten this year in a class that goes a full day, 5 days/week! Eleanor and Madeline are now in preschool half-day, 3 days/week, and little Georgia is even at preschool/daycare 2 days/week (although, I don't work with the Skov family on those two days). I know basically have Georgia alone on Mondays and Fridays after school drop-off and Madeline alone on Thursdays (until we grab Eleanor to go to music class). It's weird going back to a one kid world!!! But it's also fun to have one-on-one time and build our relationships in a different way. I've also picked up some hours Wed. morning with Xavier, while Felix and his mom are at co-op, and another little brother, Christopher joins us too. Whew! It's almost like I have a whole new job, but really kind of a lateral promotion with different responsibilities. I also value my time with Veronica even more before and after school, usually spent reading Narnia books. :) I'll still see Eleanor for a full day on Tuesday, but as she is my first in this bunch, she's kind of my nanny baby and I miss seeing her as much. All is well though and it's so fun to watch the kids growing up!

5. The Young Adult Women's Group started a bible study a few weeks ago and it's going amazingly well. We even have had six new people join us. I've really made a place in my life for scripture in the last year and have realized what I've been missing out on, but I still have so far to go. I'm excited to be in a structured study with an amazing leader and others who are trying to figure out the whole reading, praying with, studying scripture thing. This sums up how I'm feeling:

When I found your words, I devoured them;
they became my joy and the happiness of my heart,
Because I bore your name, O Lord, God of hosts.
--Jeremiah 15:16

---
And I think I'll eave it at 5 takes for today. :) I hope you all are well! Please remember me in your prayers!

How 'bout them weddings?

2009-09-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

I find that the longer I wait to blog something the less likely I am to do it. Because I did not totally want to ignore my best friend's wedding, even if she doesn't follow my blog, I've decided I must do it now....with pictures. :) Enjoy!

Dena, Julianna, Me - long time friends!

Ready to be a housewife, eh?

Bride & Groom

Juje and her parents

With the bridal party

D'Angelo's!

Cute kids

In front of St. Aloysius - gorgeous church!

Marc & Me

the Party

Best Friends since 1st grade :)

Hehe. Making Marc do my favorite pose.

Down the aisle

Mr. & Mrs. Yamamoto

With my nanny kiddos - Georgia, Madeline, Veronica, and Eleanor

Cake!

Precious. Julianna & PopPop

I got another boquet!

And here is the dance portion of my toast (sorry, it's not the best version, but it will stop moving around like crazy):

And Jeremy's Wedding....

Congrats to Jeremy & Rickie!

Boquet - check!

Marc & me getting ready for the long drive home from Twisp

Jer, Andrew, Me - the boys are all married off!

And just because it is super cute...

Jaden & my punching bag :)

Quick Takes - Vol. 8

2009-09-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

1. Riley is still in the hospital, but will hopefully be home soon. There are still questions about her liver, but things are looking better. We are waiting to see if she will have surgery today or if we have to wait until early next week. She will be getting another feeding tube, but at the insistence of Stacey it will not be one going through her nose again. It seems like that has been causing enough irritations and problems and Stacey and Perry really don't want to have to repeat everything that's just happened. Thus, surgery. Riley will be getting G tube that will be surgically placed directly into her stomach. Thank you for your continued prayers!

2. The upside to Riley spending so much time in the hospital is that I've been getting to spend more time with Jaden. He has been joining me while I nanny and playing with the kiddos. It's kind of a win-win for everyone. More playmates for the kids, nephew time for me, and Stacey can spend more time in the hospital without Jaden going stir crazy.

3. Happy Birthday to Cameron! My cousins Jessica and Jeff's first son is turning 1 this weekend. I haven't seen him in awhile and I'm really looking forward to his birthday party. It will be great to spend time and visit with family. I miss them!

4. Congrats to Jeremy and Rickie! I'm headed over to Twisp tomorrow morning for their wedding. I don't make it over to Twisp very often as you can imagine. Actually, I've never been there. :) I'm looking forward to seeing Jer, meeting Rickie, and meeting Andrew's new wife (I missed their wedding last weekend while I was at Julianna's wedding). It should be a pretty fun day! I have tasks and fun planned for the 4 1/2 car ride each way too!

5. Speaking of Julianna's wedding, it was WONDERFUL! St. Aloysius at Gonzaga is absolutely beautiful. I was so happy and honored to stand up for Julianna and Mike in their wedding party. Julianna is my best friend, I think Mike is great, and they make a really wonderful couple. Pictures and video to come in another post soon from the wedding and the super fun reception.

6. It's been a nice week for catching up. :) I was able to get some emails out to a few friends, talk to Kelly who is back from Azerbaijan, visit with old friends at Juje's wedding, and spend time with my friend who is home for a week from Nicaragua. I really do feel blessed with such wonderful people in my life.

7. I just finished making some Lemon Ricotta Cookies. Yummy! If you want some, you should join me tonight at St. Vincent de Paul Parish at 7:oo PM in the Willenborg living room. We will be showing a documentary called Thine Eyes...A Witness to the March for Life. I've heard nothing but good things about it and I'm really excited to see it. I'm even more excited for January to get here so I can go participate in the march this documentary will be covering. Woo! Can't wait!

I've been tagged: 7 Things I Love

2009-09-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

Carrie got me, so here I go...

1. The mornings I wake up early enough to snuggle up on my new chair (thanks Cinda!) and complete my morning prayer and read the bible before I rush to get ready for work.

2. Spending quality time in quality conversation with quality people.

3. Feeling sore at the end of a work out.

4. Unsolicited, excited, running, jumping hugs from kids and surprise pictures they have drawn for me.

5. Throwing away a to do list that has been completed. Also being unpacked - kind of a list in itself.

6. Living close to family.

7. My dad explaining my boyfriend and me as "ga ga over each other." :)

The tags: I'm supposed to tag 7, but I'm pretty sure most of my fellow blog peeps have all been taken by now, except maybe some sneaky people that I don't know follow my blog. So I will just throw out Stacey, Marie, Karlo (I'm not sure he knows I have a blog...), and Britta.

7 Quick Takes - Vol. 7 ...the I've been really busy and it's Monday and I need to quick take the last two weeks!

2009-09-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

I've been busy and now it's time for lots of updates!

1. Most of you probably know Riley went back to the hospital a week and a half ago. She is doing much better now, her heart looks great, and things are again very optimistic. She does have a lot of bruising and irritation in her esophagus and stomach though. The feeding tube is also back in :(, but it could be worse. There are still a lot of questions a possible surgery to be done on the esophagus and stomach to help keep her food down. She seems to be losing and gaining weight and hopefully can find some consistency in the upward direction. For better updates, check out the Swenhaugen Blog. Thank you for all of the prayers thus far!

Jaden with the ouchie he got the same day Riley went into the hospital. Poor kid fell on one of his toy trucks.

2. Last weekend Marc and I participated in the Marci Jewelry Diamond Dash to compete for a $20,000 ring. We did not win, but had so much fun playing. For 2 1/2 hours Marc was on bike and I was running like crazy all over downtown Seattle. We were given clues via text message to a location and once we sent back the correct place, there was an additional challenge question to figure out. It took my body about a week to recover, but I would absolutely love to do something like that again...perhaps next year's diamond dash? And man, Marc and I came so close. We only lost by 12 points!! That means it pretty much came down to one question for us if we would have gotten a question we missed right on the first try. We were so close!!!

Waiting for the Diamond Dash to start.

3. Speaking of races, I'm hoping to get my next taste of competition at the 2009 Pineapple Classic. It's a 5k team obstacle course that you run with a pineapple! How fun! The race benefits go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I don't have a major connection to Leukemia, but I'm sure excited to participate in a fun race and give money to a charitable cause at the same time. :)

4. Back to last weekend. Right after the Diamond Dash, Marc and I had to keep on dashing and get ready for Caroline and Christian's Wedding. We didn't even have time to shower. Good thing it was a cold morning and we weren't very sweaty! The wedding was beautiful and the reception was a ton of fun with lots of dancing!!! Of course, I was pretty tired and couldn't dance as much as I would have otherwise. It was still a great time though. Congrats to Caroline and Christian. May God bless your new family!

We don't look TOO shabby, right?

4. The moment my dad has been waiting for...someone else to change my oil! My dad always changes my oil, but once I was out of high school and he noticed I had a lot of guy friends types he was always asking why they weren't changing my oil instead of him. I guess guys aren't as chivalrous as they used to be?? Or maybe they don't want to get dirty like they used to?? I don't know! Anyways, now I have Marc. The last time my dad changed my oil he taught Marc how to do it. This time around, Marc did it all by himself and my dad observed. Marc got an A. He would have gotten an A+, but I guess he spilled just a teeny tiny bit. Plus my dad thought it best to leave room for improvement. :)

Marc changing my oil.

And my dad happily overseeing him. :)

5. I helped Marc move last weekend. That was just one of many things keeping me busy. I'm really excited for him as this will be a much better fit and he'll actually have roommates who know how to clean up after themselves. And also, way to go Marc, he now has 3 jobs! I'm thinking I might get to see some friends a bit more often because some of Marc's new roommates are friends of mine and they hang out with our mutual friends. So now when I go visit Marc, I get the bonus of seeing more people I like. :)

6. Happy Birthday Little Perry!! Last week LP turned 9 years old. He's still cute, still likes to give me a hard time, and I have a feeling not much will have changed in another 9 years! So to Perry, Happy Birthday and I love you!!

PS Coldstone Makes amazing ice cream cupcakes...mmmm. You should go try them.

7. It's been a really wet Labor Day weekend, but I don't mind too much because I've gotten so much done and even relaxed all day Sunday. It was amazing and as a Sunday is meant to be! I hope you are all also enjoying your weekend as it comes to a close.

----
I probably won't be posting quick takes this Friday again because I'll be off in Spokane getting ready for my best friends wedding. Yea Julianna and Mike! And a shout out to my friends Andrew and Daniella who will be making their vows the same day. May God bless both of your marriages!

Planned Parenthood Documentary

2009-08-27T21:12:00.000-07:00

Frustration! For some reason I can't embed the trailer. Just click here.

Spider Man, Spider Man...

2009-08-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

I'm having such a happy summer! The weekend was just fantastic, so I'll give you the run down.

Friday I was supposed to head down to Vancouver with Marc to see some friends of mine that I haven't seen in a very long time and was very disappointed when that trip was cancelled, but as things tend to happen, it worked out nicely. Since Marc and I had extra time to spare, we spent the afternoon down in Seattle getting ready for the Diamond Dash we are playing in this coming Saturday. I'd love to invite you to play with us, but I'm really trying to cut down on my competition. I've even been practicing my rain dance in hopes that some people won't show up, even if it is Seattle. :) jk, but really..20,000 dollar ring, I'll go ahead and thank you not to get in my way pretty please. Lucky for me, I have a super duper boyfriend who headed over to Bellevue Friday morning to pick up an advanced secret clue: Where can you find the Port of Seattle, the European Union, and Canada all in the same building? I'm pretty sure this competition is going to be scavenger hunt style, so this must either be the first clue or maybe, I hope, we are getting even more of a head start!? We are pretty sure we have nailed down the location, but feel free to give us your best guess just in case. :) And say a prayer for us that we have a safe run around Seattle please! We'll see some of you at Caroline and Christian's wedding after. Hopefully I'll be wearing a fat diamond, but it will probably be the only time. I think it would probably be irresponsible to keep such a large rock when there are bills to be paid and other young adult life changes to come. (However, I wouldn't mind some of the money going towards a ring...a girl can hope, right? Ok, ok, I'll stop.)

Also worth noting: Marc found out that we were the first team to enter the competition when he went into Marci Jewelry to get our clue. :) He went close to opening time so we may have also been the first to get the clue. It just makes sense that we will be first to get the ring, right!?

Saturday Marc and I got up bright and early to head down to Stevenson/the area of Oregon across the river from Stevenson. I'm not really sure what town it was, but it was tiny. It was really fun seeing Nick fresh off the trail. Apparently he really smelled (his mom wouldn't even give him a second hug), but I didn't notice too much. We hung out down by the river with his parents, his uncle who had been hiking a few days with him, and a couple of other friends. It was such a beautiful area, the weather was just right, and the river was perfect! I had so much fun swimming around with the guys amidst such awesome scenery. I am blessed! Nick's parents got a hotel for the night and so we were able to hang around most of the evening. I'm hoping we can catch Nick on the trail one more time before he gets to Canada. Either way, go Nick!! 3 more weeks!

Nick pretending to bathe in the river...well, kind of. :)

Marc, Nick, Zach

Riverboat. :)

Crossing from Oregon into Washington. Yea Nick!

Beautiful. I love living in the Northwest.

The guys saying goodbye. Aaaw.

One last picture with Nick.

On our way back up North, we made a late night stop in Olympia at Brent's. I haven't seen him for awhile and Marc has never really hung out with him. They had only met once a before Marc and I started dating. I had only recently met Marc, so he was new to the group and pretty quiet. Since Brent was my best friend in college, this was a shame and needed to be rectified. I was happy they were both able to meet each other again and that we all had a good time. I always enjoy meeting people that are important to Marc and Marc meeting people that are important to me. It was a great way to top of the day. We played out on the lake going a whopping 5 mph. Silly late night rules! And then spent some time catching up, reminiscing, and watching Brian Reagan videos on you tube. :)

On the boat.

Aarrrrr.

Sunday started off with lots of sleep since I wasn't home until about 4 in the morning. Yikes! I'm thankful for 5 pm Mass, even if I do prefer going in the morning. The evening was potluck night, which was a little bit less of a potluck and more of my dad ordering pizza. Still fun. We played some cards and enjoyed the company.

Jaden finally enjoying a brownie. He had to leave after we put them in the over on Friday. Poor kid.

In case you wondered, he liked it.

Jaden and Marc playing a game I invented: Spider Man. :) I'm too short to play!! Or maybe I could be spider man....hmmm....

7 Quick Takes - Vol. 6

2009-08-21T18:26:00.001-07:00

1. I tried something new this week: going to bed early. It worked out great Monday night! I was in bed by 8:00 and about 10 minutes later on Tuesday. That was the start of my downhill spiral. I was on the phone with Marc the second night and then got a call from Julianna. When all was said and done it was close to 11:00 when I went to bed. The good news is, I am honored to be a bridesmaid in Juje's wedding in a few weeks! :) But I digress... I can't remember why I was up late Wednesday night, Thursday I babysat, and we'll see how tonight goes. I still need to get my work out in. Monday night was so wonderful that I think I will try again next week. I'm shooting for two goals: getting sleep and waking up early for morning prayer. Try, try again!

2. Another thing I tried out this week was focusing more on the Sunday gospel. I'm going to try to read each gospel mid-week, Sunday, and again a couple of days later. I think to really live out the gospel, I need to make it a greater focus in my week.

3. BfL has gone well again this week...as long as I work out tonight. :) It's nice to be back on track and even nicer to step on the scale and at least realize you haven't lost your hard work, just a bit of time. :) I went ahead and cancelled my gym membership. I had to pay for my last month when I signed up, so I'll be living up the elliptical until the end of September. After that, I better get used to running again. I'm looking forward to working out at home, using everything I have accumulated, and saving a bit of extra money!

4. I was happy to see the sun peeking out again this week. I was able to get to the park a couple of times with the kids, despite tonsils being removed, and some pretty sick other kids. :( They have all been such troopers this week though and everyone is back up and running. Thursday was especially great because my sister came up to Seattle for a play date! Riley stayed in the shade and I ran around with the kids in the spray water toys. So much fun!

5. This afternoon Jaden and I made brownies. :) I definitely like cooking with little kids. Here are some pictures:

6. Tomorrow Marc and I are heading down to Oregon to meet his best friend Nick on the Pacific Crest Trail. He is about to cross into Washington via the Bridge of the Gods. For those of you unfamiliar with the trail, it runs from Canada to Mexico. He has been hiking solo from the beginning and will continue through until he reaches Canada. Crazy! This will be our chance to give him support and encouragement as he gets closer to his goal which is an incredible feat. I'm pretty excited to see him! Here is his blog if any of you interested in hearing about his journey.

7. I came across an anonymous quote in Rediscovering Catholicism today that I really liked. It was speaking to leadership or more specifically, servant leadership. It may be the military girl in me that likes it so much :) but I do believe it can be applied to leadership in any role.

I submit to you that leaders will never be more or less than their soldiers' evaluation of them. This is the true efficiency report. From most of your troops you can expect courage to match your courage, guts to match your guts, endurance to match your endurance, motivation to match your motivation, esprit to match your esprit, a desire for achievement to match your achievement. You can expect a love of God, a love of country, and a lot of duty to match your own. They won't mind the heat if you sweat with them, and they won't mind the cold if you shiver with them.

You see, you don't accept the troops; they were there first. They accept you. And when they do, you'll know. They won't beat drums, wave flags, or carry you off the drill field on their shoulders, but you'll know. You see, your orders will appoint you to command. No orders, no letters, no insignia of rank can appoint you as a leader. Leadership is developed within yourselves; and you'll get stronger as you go.

7 Quick Takes - Vol. 5

2009-08-14T23:30:00.000-07:00

1. Last weekend was all about my best friend Julianna. We celebrated her and her upcoming marriage with a girls get away on Bainbridge Island. It was so nice to be away from the usual pace of life, to relax, have fun, and enjoy good company. Julianna has been my best friend since 1st grade and I was so happy to throw her a bachelorette party that would be just right for her. We had home pedicures with my Sensaria stuff, amazing meals (we competed for the cheapest, best meal!), watched some fun movies, walked on the beach, and did a lot of just plain hanging out.

w/ Julianna

Pedis!

w/ Amy at the beach

One of our super yummy meals!

Julianna changing her nieces diaper. Totally normal thing to do at your own bachelorette weekend. I love being Catholic. :)

2. Body for Life has pretty much gone out the window the last two weeks. I'm not sure where all of my time has gone. I'm disappointed. I'm not 100% sure if it's better to let life happen with out forcing things sometimes or if I just didn't make enough effort. I do know I'm one tired gal right now though! As it turns out though, I'm not really tied to this 12 weeks and can keep going. That's the good news. Hopefully I will have a better report next time.

3. I've been very blessed chairing the Respect Life Committee at my church because I get to work with so many amazing people. I'm definitely learning in this new role and some work to do, but I see God is so many things.

This week I was especially touched by how profound God's love and plan is. I was prayed over a few months ago and during this time two (almost) saints were mentioned. One was John Paul II and after some reflection and prayer, I've seen the connection between myself and him through the importance of Theology of the Body. I'm still not sure what deeper meaning or role he may have in my life, but I was pretty sure I at least knew the basic reason he was mentioned. The second person was Mother Teresa and I had absolutely no idea what my connection with her was. I love her, I think she's great, but I don't feel I have a more special relationship with her than other saints, I don't do a lot of work with the poor, etc. She was mentioned and quoted in an email I received this week from one of my committee members and it was suggested that she be the patron of our group. I was immediately struck and remembered being prayed over. I know it may seem silly and like not a very big deal, but it was one of those moments that you can feel the Holy Spirit. I think it was partly meant to encourage me and give me confidence in my role. I'm a bit intimidated being in a new role, working under a priest I don't know very well yet, and also being the youngest member of the committee that has some pretty amazing people. Talking to Marc about everything going on in emails that day, I realized that I was shaking. I just felt so loved. There was a sense of anxiousness, but a peaceful anxiousness. So maybe more of an excitement, but still not quite knowing how things were going to work out. It's beautiful to see how even the smallest part of God's plan is unfolding, and how he can strengthen you when you need it most, through a process that started three months prior. I just love our Lord, I love the communion of Saints, and I love being part of the Catholic Church.

4. Here are a few pictures from Marc's birthday "party":

After the concert we went to at the beach.

Marc and his cake with one of the few candles in my house. You may also notice the old hamster and be wondering if Marc is 50? Or maybe you are just wondering why it's there? Either way, let me explain. My mom threw my dad a surprise birthday party for his 50th birthday and it was one of the silly gifts I got for him. It has a little hamster happy birthday song that it sings (not the normal happy birthday song). My dad actually thought it was a recording of my voice. I'm not sure if that is a put down or a compliment, but it made me laugh at the time. Anyways, for the last 6 years, it is played for everyone in my family on their birthday. My dad especially likes to play it over the phone or wake you up with it. I thought it was great he brought it out for Marc too. :)

Blowing out his candle!

Marc and his cake. I didn't have anything to write on the cake with except green gel food coloring. Our mouths were very green.

5. Thurs. night, Marc's actual birthday, I was at a meeting planning this year's high school convention. (Please feel more than free to pray for those of us planning this year's event. Maybe pray NOW. We still have a lot to do.) Afterwards, I should have gone straight to bed, but I hung out with Marc instead. We moved some stuff against the walls in his room and tried to teach ourselves to fox trot with the help of some you tube videos. I had so much fun! If anyone knows how to dance, will you teach us? :) Pretty please.

6. Marc and I picked blackberries down the street from my house tonight. I like to think I'm kind of tough, but it turns out I'm kind of a sissy sometimes. Picking berries is kind of gross. I didn't think it was until I went to pick a berry and what seemed liked 25 ants came crawling out of it. YUCK! And as if that weren't enough, I ended up standing on an ant hill. AAH! Icky, icky, ICKY!! At the end, I stopped whining and realized I was still having fun. I should get over myself a bit quicker next time.

After the picking fun/scariness, Marc and I made three pies! We made one blackberry pie and two frozen blackberry-lemon chifon pies. We only intended to make one of the latter, but some how we had enough pie for two, so we had to quickly whip up another crust. Good thing that one just called for a graham cracker crust! I can't wait to taste them!! Mmmm. :)

7. Eleanor (3), one of the children I watch, had her tonsils removed today. Poor thing! She was so excited to leave for the hospital this morning even though it was 5:30 AM. She obviously didn't really know what she was getting into and so I'm sure it seemed like kind of an adventure. I was told she did very well at the hospital. When she got home, she was pretty tired and still a bit drugged up. She just wanted to sleep on the couch. So cute. Please say a prayer for her speedy recovery and for her parents!

Another Happy Birthday!

2009-08-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Marc!! God bless you today and in your 25th year of life!!

We had a fun time celebrating last at Des Moines Beach Park. We went to one of their free summer concerts, ate some ice cream sandwiches, and played cards on our blanket. It was great! Afterwards, we ate some lemon cake with lemon frosting. (Marc's favorite is lemon. ;) Lucky for me, eh!?) My parents joined us in the cake and singing festivities, which I was very happy about because last year I was singing solo. I'm sure Marc was happy about it too. Let's just say you don't want me joining your church choir anytime soon. :)

Happy 31st Anniversary, Mom & Dad!!

2009-08-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

My mom and dad are celebrating 31 years of marriage today!! Thank you both for your commitment to each other and our family. You are wonderful parents and I love you very much. May God bless your marriage for many more years to come!! Yea Mom and Dad! :)

Here are some pics (I think I've shared them before, but I still really love them!):

And some family pics too! The fruits of their marriage...

With their three grandchildren (and Stacey too):

And a family picture from June 2008 taken on Father's Day:

I love you!!

No Quick Takes For You!!

2009-08-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

Hello, hello!

I was planning on doing my 7 Quick Takes, but I'm at a house in Bainbridge for the weekend throwing my best friend a Bachelorette weekend and the internet is sloooow and I'm getting frustrated. So just a quick hello because guests are arriving soon. :)

Have a great weekend!

Happy 4th Anniversary!

2009-08-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary to Stacey and Perry! May God bless your relationship and family for many, many more years to come!

Happy Birthday, Mommy!!

2009-08-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to you dear Mom!! I love you :)

7 Quick Takes - Vol. 4

2009-07-31T20:05:00.000-07:00

1. When it comes to working out, I rather enjoy this heat. I've been sweating like no other in my work outs this week and it feels so amazing. Unless I'm sweating, I don't feel like I'm working out. Love it! Yea for hot weather! The flip side is that while I'm not working out, I find myself munching to distract myself from the heat. BAD!

2. I've really enjoyed going to more and more parks this year while nannying. It's so nice to have so many so close, but it's also a bit discouraging at times. Sadly from time-to-time I run into things I would rather not have the kids be around. I've had to break up a fight, stop kids from swearing and calling each other inappropriate names, and for the first time this week, I was called a four letter word by another mom (I was accused of staring at her. I had glasses on so I'm not really sure how she knew what I was looking at, never mind the fact that the playground was behind her). It seems like kids are not given many expectations anymore for how to behave and when they are, they are not nearly high enough. Children will rise to our expectations and we rob them of so much growth by selling them short. I wish adults would also place higher expectations on themselves and realize the kind of example they are setting.

I know I'm preaching to the choir because those of you who read this aren't name calling at the park, etc. I just needed a moment to vent!

3. Welcome home from Kenya, Brita! It was nice to see Brita and a lot of familiar face this Wednesday. Our young adult women's group changes things up on the last Wed. of every month and hangs out with the guys too. Not only do we have the obvious addition of guys, but we usually have married couples join us (it might have a little something to do with the free daycare...) . This week we had a BBQ and ice cream sandwiches. We were supposed to play softball too, but with the heat, most people thought it would be a bit much. Maybe next time! Next week is just the girls again...possible bonfire back at my house. I have to figure out if we can work around the fire bands. Either way, there will be s'mores and probably some ladder golf! Come join us!

4. A string of weddings is approaching! Christian and Caroline, Mike and Julianna, Andrew and Daniella, Jeremy and Ricki....I can't wait! I'm starting to feel in wedding mode too because I've been busy planning Julianna's bachelorette party this week. My quirkiness definitely comes out when I get to start planning and organizing. Let's just say I have a full google spreadsheet of notes for the bachelorette weekend....and it's color coded too. :) If only I could apply this same happy energy to cleaning and organizing my downstairs, life would be even better!

5. Georgia turned 2 yesterday! Happy Birthday! It's been so fun to watch her learn and grow. She is the only one of my nanny kiddos I have been with since birth. :) I love my job!

6. I spent time this evening in front of the Blessed Sacrament. I've been blessed enough to make it to Adoration twice this week. It never ceases to amaze me how overwhelming the feeling of peace is when you sit face-to-face with Jesus. I can literally feel it in the air. The second you walk in the room, whether you can see Him or not, you know something is different. The Eucharist is such a beautiful gift that speaks so clearly of the love Jesus has for each one of us. I pray that every heart in the world will burn for Jesus.

7. My summer of playing games continues. Marc just kicked my behind in darts. We played four games and he won all four. I'm pretty competitive and do NOT like losing. And still, I really enjoy spending time chatting and playing games. I did get my fair share of winning in Banagrams last night too! Who wants to have a game night soon? :) I'll play anything...except Halo. And even then you might just be able to convince me.

What Summer Should Look Like!

2009-07-29T15:11:00.000-07:00

Veronica & Madeline running through the "Sprinkle Ball"

Madeline, Eleanor, Georgia, Veronica

Every kid deserves a popsicle when it gets this hot! (unless of course she throws a bad enough tantrum that you have to leave the park.....like somebody did on Monday. I won't name names, but you might want to look to the youngster who is turning 2 tomorrow!)

I tried to get them all to look at me with the "How many fingers am I holding up look?" I guess it only kind of worked this time.

Later in the day, Britta and I were standing in the middle of the sprinkler while the kids played with the other toys. It was amazing.

And here are some pictures from the Sounders game that was so much fun!!! We were lucky enough to have Lara join us in an empty sit next to us. :)

Lara, me, Marc

Marc & me. We still like each other despite our differing views on sports and sportsmanship. I'm just saying, sometimes you have to pull a jersey or two.

Lara & me. Yea!

7 Quick Takes - Vol. 3

2009-07-25T01:20:00.000-07:00

1. Fun week with the kiddos. This morning Eleanor and Georgia did "a cuddle bunny" with me for almost a whole hour. It was their idea. :) For those of you wondering what cuddle bunny is, it's when we snuggle up on the couch with tons of blankets. It's one of my favorite activities since I have to get up so early morning. I feel a little bad if I initiate it, but if it's all them, I'm more than happy to oblige. :) I have also been reading he Narnia series to Veronica and Madeline. It's so fun! When our chapter finishes and it's time for naps, I sometimes scan ahead when I can't remember what happens next. :) I've also been having great conversation with Veronica about Jesus and our own behaviors. :)

2. I started training my mom and sister this week. :) We lift with all of my stuff downstairs and I quite enjoy playing the training. :) The upper body work out went well, but legs was great. They could barely finish. Love it!! I was really impressed with mom too. (Stacey, you did well too.)
Here is my mom post-workout:

3. I've recently discovered whole wheat hamburger buns that are ultra-thin. Brilliant! Less carbs, less calories, and the burger tastes way better. I recommend looking for them at the store next time you are grilling up burgers. Sorry, I have no other information for you. Perhaps I'll look into it. :)

4. I just got back from Dante's to celebrate Caroline's birthday. Happy Birthday Caroline! I was pretty tired tonight, but it was good to get out and see lots of friends. I really like them.

5. Speaking of friends, Marc is going to be moving into a house with 6 others guys in Sept, 3 of whom I went to college with, which I think is really fun. :) (Am I allowed to take a quick take from someone else's life and play it off as my own? How exactly does this quick take thing work? Is it my page, my rules? Or do I need some standard do's and don'ts? Anyone? )

6. Marc is kicking my bum in our 25 pound weight competition. I have work to do!! My week went very well though...so he better watch his back. :) (Hi hunnie...)

7. I'm going to the Sounders game tomorrow!! Can't wait!! I feel like I'm kind of a bad soccer fan and pretty out of touch. I just don't know how I used to be so good at keeping up on sports. Anyways, tomorrow I'll get to be a real fan (but with out any cool Sounders gear...boo!). Should be fun. Marc and I are going early with Lara to hang out and grab a drink and then we will hopefully get to meet up with my cousin Jessica and her family. Go Sounders!

Summer Weekend Fun!!

2009-07-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

I love summer. For some reason I haven't felt like I've gotten outside very much the last couple of summers. This summer I finally feel like I'm out and about. I think it helps that the nanny kiddos are all down to one nap these days. But I even feel like I'm having more of a summer on the weekends and it's really great.

I feel that I was able to find a good balance between relaxing, having fun, and getting things done this weekend. Highlight of checked-off to do list items: I finally cleaned up all of the stuff in front of my fireplace that has been there since I moved back home. Horrible, I know. It was mostly pictures, but since I feel the need to update my frames, I haven't put them up. So they are tucked away neatly in some storage bins until I can check off "print pictures and update frames." It looks so much nicer now! And I have complete and full access to my punching bag!

Marc came down on Saturday for Sunday Family Potluck Night. We had to adjust the schedule a bit this weekend. The lemon theme was fun, food was delicious (Marc and I made lemon garlic bread...mmmm), and I also had a great time playing games: ping-pong tournament, ladder golf, and dominoes. My dad, Marc, and I were up pretty late playing dominoes. We tried a new game and I couldn't win one stinkin' round!! So I kept asking to play one more game, one more game, just one more game. Finally I won a round, came super close to winning the next round, which would have given me the game, and lost the game again. But I got one round. :) I also won ping-pong with my dad, but didn't do so hot on ladder golf this time. I've been improving though!

I also ran a few errands that morning including going to the Federal Way Farmers Market. It was my first time there; I went for fresh produce and am quite pleased with the outcome of my trip. :) Yea for spending less money and having fresher food!

On Sunday after Mass, breakfast, and a little downtime, Marc helped me pick up a really comfy chair from my cousin's wife's mom. She is so generous and sweet and fun. I just love her. Thank you Cinda!! And thank you Marc for helping me pick up the chair! I missed out on a nice armoire a year ago because I didn't have a truck to use or anyone to help me.

After pick-up of the chair we headed down to Lake Tapps. I've really been wanting to go on a picnic and it was such a beautiful and perfect day for it. Lake Tapps is such a fun place and I absolutely love the view of Mt. Rainier. I had so much fun!!

And oh, my favorite grab of the weekend (that maybe I shouldn't have spent money on):

Jessie Steele - Summer Lemons

7 Quick Takes - Vol. 2

2009-07-17T18:04:00.001-07:00

1. My family had its first "Summer Sunday Potluck Night" this week. Each week will be themed by whoever is providing the main dish. This last Sunday: American BBQ. This Weekend: lemon, every dish must have a lemon ingredient. I'm in charge of next week and will most likely be going with Mexican. We had a really fun time hanging out, "potlucking", and playing games (I got my butt kicked in Monopoly Jr, but won my first Ladder Golf game!) I'm really looking forward to our weekly dinners. :)

2. Sunday was actually a really fun day last week. Not only did I go to Mass and get to have potluck fun, but a friend organized a touch-football game. I haven't played in a really long time (and my muscles reminded me that just because I'm working out doesn't mean I'm in shape to play sports). I had so much fun!

3. Sun is so nice, especially when you are a Nanny. I spent yesterday at the Zoo and today at a park with a really fun water feature...lots of water squirters and fountains and things. Georgia actually didn't freak out too much as she does with the "Sprinkle Ball" (sprinkler ball) in her backyard. It was enjoyable for everyone. :)

4. I have a fairly free weekend this weekend. I had a free weekend last weekend. Weird. Really weird. I don't know how to handle myself. Last weekend was really productive as I could finally check a couple of things off my massive to-do-when you have time list, but this weekend I kind of want to actually do nothing. I'm pretty sure I'll cave and get stuff done though, which is really for the best.

5. BfL Update: Week 4 has been pretty great. I got a little snacky yesterday, but overall I'm feeling good and having fun. :)

6. I really like being an Aunt and living so close to family (and in some cases that would include living WITH family). Jaden and Riley were here when I came home from work today and they are both so cute. Riley is still super tiny and she sleeps like a frog. Adorable! Jaden and I had fun playing with "Riley" and "Jaden," his new koala and zebra finger puppets I got him from the zoo.

7. I've been super tired this whole week. I'm not really sure why. I know I was busy, but I'm not sure with what as it was super hard for me to come up with 7 quick takes. I feel like maybe this "take" is cheating, but I'm gonna run with it. I'm just tired. I've had to take lots of naps. I want to take one now, but I think I'll just try to stick it out and head to bed early.

7 Quick Takes - Vol. 1

2009-07-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

It's official. I'm playing quick takes Friday. :) My goal: to actually keep it quick! ..and to actually post on Fridays.

1. Happy belated 4th of July! I love the 4th of July and felt a special need to celebrate our country this year. And I mean I really wanted to authentically celebrate this year, not just do any 'ol 4th of July party. I'm not entirely to pleased with a lot of things going on right now, but I do believe in what our country stands for and the more we remember that the better off we will be as it helps us to get back on track. So this is what my day looked like: Mass, protest at planned parenthood (it was the first Saturday of the month anyways, but I absolutely loved that it fell on the 4th of July so that we could stand up for the freedom not just of some, but for ALL), a couple of hours with Marc, BBQ at my cousins house (and I'm talking BBQ...5 different kinds of meat on the grill for over 4 hours!!), and a get together at the St. Hilaire's! We watched their pyrotech neighboors fireworks, the show in Bremerton, and could also see the Gasworks fireworks all from their house. Mostly I had a great day because I spent it with my amazing family and friends who I value and share values in common with (I did miss the Seattle group though!). (And PS...here I go not making it quick....I now want a wii and wii fit :) so fun!)

2. Christopher West was in town Tuesday night to speak on the Theology of the Body. This is a theology that is near and dear to my heart and I do not believe I would be where I am in my faith or my life if it were not for these teachings given by Pope John Paul II that I first came into contact with my junior year in college. Thank you, Lord! It was a really fun night and inspired me to start digging in deeper again with that subject. I bought two books: Theology of the Body Explained and Heaven's Song: Sexual Love as it was Meant to Be. I'm currently having a hard time putting down the latter and am thus neglecting all the other books I'm in the middle of reading. It's so beautiful!

3. Wednesday night after a really fun women's group dinner out, I stopped at the D'Angelo's house to catch up. I was amazed when they showed me this video Mrs. D'Angelo's cousin Danny made with Patrick and his two boys. Professional!! It's really them singing and playing. So cool! ...bummer! It's not on you tube, just facebook. Sooo, if you happen to be on facebook, you should look at my profile and watch the video. :) It's the song Lovebug by the Jonas Brothers...now done by the "Bonus Brothers." So cute!

4. I turned 26 on Thursday, July 9th! Thank you Lord for a wonderful 25 years. I am so blessed! And for that, I must also thank all of you who are in my life. Thank you! Thank you! I have so many amazing people in my life to keep me on track, hold me accountable, encourage me, and to live life to the fullest with! We had a great family dinner at my house w/ Marc and Julianna, two of my closest friends. It was great to spend time together and my mom made Delicious homemade calzones and a peach berry cobbler. I guess at 26 I'm still spoiled. My nanny families also had cards, cupcakes, and of course, sang me happy birthday and gave me lots of hugs both yesterday and today! :) (And oh, Marc put my ladder golf game together! We started working on it last summer right before his three trip series to the ER with sore throats. It never got finished. It is now! It was a great addition to my day! You should come over and play with me.)

5. I got to work out at home this evening with out having to give up the intensity of not having all of the gym at my disposal. Marc has cleaned up my old work out bench, put it back together, and since we found a bar and some weights on the side of the street for free a few months back, it actually make sense to use it! (I got the bench my freshman or sophomore year in high school for Christmas because I wanted to bench at home and I never got a stinkin' bar to go with it!! I know.) I also got some 15 lb dumbbells for my birthday from my parents. Thanks Mom and Dad! And thank you Marc for doing so much for me!! Ultimately I would like to get rid of the gym and not have to pay to work out. I feel like I'm on my way to that goal! And as a quick BfL Update, this has been my best week. I feel on track, in the groove, and my body is feeling a bit back to normal. My eating has also been much better this week! Next week's focus: get enough sleep!?

6. I'm excited to go out to Planned Parenthood tomorrow morning in Federal Way to protest again. Tom Curran is getting a group together because they are testing out new equipment to web cast prayer vigils on Saturdays. Last week was their first test run with the St. Vincent's group in Federal Way and Blessed Sacrament in Seattle. I know they are doing this for several reasons, but I like it best because it gives interested people on opportunity to check out protests/prayer vigils who are a bit nervous about going out for the first time because they don't know what to expect.

7. Marc and I bought tickets to DC today! We will be going over there in January for March for Life. Anyone want to join us? Tickets are cheap right now! We will be staying with one of very good friends from way back in first grade who lives in Virginia. I can't offer you the same housing arrangements, but we would love more marching/traveling buddies!! I'm really excited to finally get to go to a DC March. There was over 300,000 people there last year - incredible! I'm also super excited to visit Jill since she is way across the country and I don't see her nearly enough. I've been trying to come up with ways to visit her for awhile now. I'm a big fan of trips with multiple destinations/purposes. This time it's finally working out!

Riley's Coming Home!

2009-06-29T17:23:00.000-07:00

Riley is going home tomorrow!! She will be bringing her feeding tube with her, but only using that at night so she can feed orally through out the day. As long as she continues to keep her food down and gain weight, she'll be home for good! Way to go, kiddo!

And some other random notes...

-My nephew Jaden is adorable! He wanted to "work" in my dad's office this afternoon. He sat at the desk typing and "answering phones" saying, "Can my grandpa clean your carpets?" So cute!

-Week 1 one of Body for Life...check! I could have done better on my eating, but my work outs at least kicked butt. My body hasn't been that sore in I don't know how long!! Yikes! On the food side, I'm trying to enjoy eating more healthy food and trying to remind myself that we can glorify God in even the smallest of things, like what we stick in our mouths to munch on! 11 more weeks...here I come!

-I really enjoy dating Marc. I do a lot of things I wouldn't think of on my own and he's also willing to be a total dork with me. :) Friday we spent the afternoon with his mom and sisters who were in Seattle for two short days and took a walk to the Ballard Locks. I never really knew what "locks" were. Interesting. (I'm kind of a simple girl...) We had a really great time and it was beautiful weather! In the evening we went to a party at Britta, Meagan, and Andrea's. The theme: summer. Check out our outfits below. :)

Marc and his sisters at the Locks.

Trying to be a Totem Pole. :)

Camp Counselors!

We also brought water balloons to lead a toss to go along with our costumes!

WWU NCCM PM's 05-06!!

-On Friday, I also had a really fun day nannying. Here is a picture Eleanor, age 3, drew of me:

If you are wondering why I look so upset, it's apparently because "Georgia just pulled [my] hair."

and here is Eleanor:

-A couple of birthday shout outs! Happy Birthday to JJ! He turned 3! (son of Jon & Amy) And Happy Birthday to Nathan, who turned the big 1! (Son of Chris & Aliscia) I had a fun weekend of parties, but am sad to say I missed JJ's...sorry buddy.

Nathan eating his cake. :)

Trying to help out. That was the hardest ice cream I have ever encountered!!

-And last, but not least, Marc and I had a really fun date night Sunday night. We went to the batting cages at Kent Valley Ice Center to cash in our free batting cages we won at the Gloria's Angel's Auction. So much fun! It was my first time ever in a batting cage and I was a little bit nervous, but all went well. :) I did much better than expected. I've also decided we should get a young adult softball team together next summer to play in a church league. Anyone!? We also watched High School Musical for the first time. It was cute! Next step: Learn songs and dances. :)

...Perhaps I should start doing the 7 quick takes that Kristine and Lindsey do. Hmmmm...

Go M's!

2009-06-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

Our young adult group at St. Vincent's went to the Mariners game last night and I had a ton of fun. Unfortunately, we already aren't a huge group and a few people were out of town, so there was only 3 of us + Marc. Still our little group packed a mighty punch and I had so much fun! I must confess that I enjoy people watching way too much and I'm sure that contributed to my fun, but the M's also won 4-3...woo!!

I'm normally not a huge fan of dogs in clothes, but this was fun. :)

The Ladies!

+Marc

7th Inning Stretch :)

Updates!

2009-06-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

Riley: After heart surgery, and a second surgery to cover a nerve back up that was irritating her diaphragm and causing problems, she has had a lot of problems with her lungs collapsing. She seems to finally be doing better! She will probably, however, be in the hospital for about another 10 days though. She really needs to gain some weight as she is currently a pound under her birth weight. Once she starts putting on weight, she can start feeding normally through her mouth again, and if all goes well there, she can go home! I got to visit her today and she was sooo tiny! She is now in a more crib-like bed, which is huge, so I think that made her look a lot smaller, too.

Sunburn: I started peeling today. Man!!

Body for Life: I have officially started Body for Life again. I was bummed that I only had 2 weeks out of 12 left when I hurt my knee. It's still not 100%, but I'm feeling good to go. I will probably change up my lower body lifts a bit, but we all know I have monster legs, so I'm not too worried. Today is Day 2....only 82 more days to go! I think Marc may make a go at it this round too! :)

Can't wait until I can start playing soccer again too!

Being Home: Life is already busy again, but it always feels nice being productive.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day! I love you, Dad!

Vacation! (part 4)

2009-06-19T08:41:00.001-07:00

Day 9 ends: We went out looking for gators and manatees today. Fun times! We saw a couple of gators, but I was never in a position to see the full gator before it jumped into the water. Sad. I did get to see eyes and noses though and they looked pretty fun even like that. The not so fun part was that I got a pretty bad burn. I've decided that while we weren't out long, sitting out the window and on top of the car resulted in direct sun and reflection...bad combination! Here are some pictures:

Gator hunting.

Peek-a-boo gator!

Crouching behind the plants trying to hide from the gator. We were hoping he would come back up from the water. We weren't sneaky enough though I guess.

Gator again from our hiding spot. Marc did see this one before it jumped into the water, but before we all made it out he was pretty far out in the water. Marc said he was about 8 1/2 feet long.

The view of Kennedy Space Center from where we were looking for gators.

After our little nature adventure, we stopped at the beach for lunch. This was an impromptu trip and was more of a tease than an enjoyment. We were at the beach in ridiculous heat with no bathing suits. Eee! Luckily, we had some rain umbrellas in the car that Marc was able to craftily attach to some beach chairs and I was able to stay out of the sun. By this point, it was already pretty obvious I was burnt. Once back home, I tried to keep long sleeves on so everyone wouldn't fuss about my burn. :) Lots of Aloe for me! And so far, no peeling!

At Playalinda Beach.

The vulture on the ground waiting for us to die. This is how hot it was!

And as promised, pictures of Mac's new hair cut:

Day 10: This day was definitely one of my favorite days! Marc and I celebrated our one year anniversary of dating on June 6th, just a few days before leaving. Because Marc was studying for finals, our celebration was minimal and we planned to have a date night or some kind of fun outing together on vacation. We had originally wanted to go out Kayaking near UW so we decided to try that in Florida. Best idea ever!!

We started our morning at 4:15 AM so we could get ready and make it down to Cocoa Beach for the sunrise. I've never seen an east coast sunrise, so I knew this was a must for our trip. It was beautiful and an awesome way to start our day. We especially liked all of the crabs all over the place. Tons of them were coming out of their little holes in the sand and we were hoping that at some point they would all come out and run down to the water, but no such luck. We tried to get some pictures, but never made it very close before they ran back into their holes. Fast little suckers!

Before the sun came up.

Here it comes!

...and a minute later.

Marc holding the sun. :)

Marc and the sunrise with a bird.

Me and the sunrise.

Together.

Marc doesn't like when I have him look serious. I think it's a good picture though. :)

Our crabby friend.

And some other favorites:

We stayed at the beach for a couple of hours and after we felt like the sun was sufficiently up, we headed out to do a little shopping before the kayak place opened up. I was in serious need of rash guard to protect my burn and Marc was on a hunt for the biggest hat he could find. We also stopped into Barnes and Noble to get a book for his little sister. We were hoping to find Theology of the Body for Teens, but were happy to settle with Every Young Woman's Battle.

Shopping took up just enough time and off to kayaking we went! We found a place that was only $25 for a double for 4 hours. Score! As if kayaking weren't cool enough, we got to get up close with horseshoe crabs, a puffer fish (only Marc saw that), manatees, a dolphins! (listed in order of coolness) The manatees were huge and I was slightly freaked out when they were underneath us. Marc assured me that they wouldn't tip us over, but um, they are huge and all it would take was one of them to accidentally bump into us. Towards the end of our play time in the canal we were in, two of the manatees got in a little scuffle and that was enough to scare me to leave. Eee! Angry manatees! The dolphin was way scarier though. I spotted the fin first and of course, in the shark bite capital, the possibility of the fin being a dolphin never crossed my mind, yet I was oddly hopeful that maybe, just maybe it wasn't a shark. It took Marc a bit to spot it after I said something about. He thought I was talking about random debris floating in the water. I'm freaking out and he's talking about debris...not helpful! I did stay pretty calm over all though, while freaking out like no other on the inside and insisting we move to the outside of the canal. I was naturally planning our escape out of the water! Marc acted like it was no big deal to keep me calm, but I had a feeling that at one point he was a little bit worried too. What a good boyfriend! As it turns out, I think dolphins are still a little scary when you aren't at Seaworld. I just started praying a Rosary and that eventually did the trick to bring the fear back down under control. Thanks Mary! Whew, I can feel the stress right now as I write about it. Anyways, Marc finally saw water shoot up from the blow hole and all was well. It took awhile to convince me. I guess I was a bit of a doubting Thomas and wanted to see the blow for myself. Again, I wasn't 100% sure he wasn't just trying to keep me from freaking out. Gradually I picked up enough courage to get near the dolphin, follow it around, and try to catch it's attention. It actually swam right under us twice!! It was close enough at one point that I could have touched it. I missed my chance though and we never got close enough again. Sometimes I'm not so sure where this courage comes from. I actually was trying to get close again to touch the dolphin. I realize it isn't much, but I'm a pretty big scaredy cat! The coolest part was watching the dolphin chase after fish. It was going so fast and tons of fish were jumping out of the water trying to get away. Awesome! When we left the canal we saw a second dolphin and then they swam off together. SO COOL!!

Kayaking!

Manatee!

Big Manatee.

Dolphin fin!

Dolphin head! And this was not zoomed. It was coming right at us!!

All done!

Marc all done!

We finished off the day with naps, dinner with the family, and cranium with the girls and their friend. I love cranium and people who play board games!! My vacation was made much more enjoyable with all of the board games and cards I got to play. :)

I also want to share that we were so exhausted by the end of the night that I had one of the funniest conversations with Marc we have ever had! He was totally out of it, half asleep, and I kept asking questions to keep him talking. I finally whipped out the camera and got him on video, but I'll be nice for once and won't put it up. :) Finally after 4 minutes, he realized I was recording and he started acting like Chad Vader (see David after dentist first). Haha!

Day 11: We went back to Playalinda beach today. This time we had bathing suits and boogie boards. Way more fun!!

Marc on the board.

Turlte nest! Man it would be so cool to watch the little turtles hatch and run for the water!!

Brianna, Marc, Marc's Mom, Faith

Marc & Me

More pinchy crabbies!! (That's what some of my nanny kiddos call them. I miss them!)

Here some pictures of Marc's grandparents:

Grandma reading to Poppy. So cute!

Grandma, Me, Marc, Poppy

We stayed up late for our last night in a further attempt to relive my childhood with a midnight swim. :) While in the pool, there was a sudden and huge rustling noise in the bushes outside of the screen. It was a little scary at first because we had no idea what was making the noise. It turned out to be two armadillos!

Day 12: We didn't do too much on our last day. Marc's uncle Steve stopped in to visit us, we watched some more Band of Brothers, played scrabble, and packed up. It was a nice day!

Marc & his Uncle Steve

About to leave.

The plane ride home was fantastic! We played cards most of the flight and came to the conclusion that playing cards and games together is just another one of the reasons we are best friends. :) We also had a sweet view of Mount Rainier!

I love home!

Vacation! (part 3)

2009-06-17T02:38:00.000-07:00

Day 8: Yesterday was a pretty low key day. We ran some errands with the family, went to Adoration, took naps, played cards (Oh Hell! ..I love that game!), and watched some more Band of Brothers. It's my first day with out a picture and now that I'm thinking about it, I'm a bit disappointed. Marc got a hair cut yesterday and has a new style. Why didn't I take a picture!? As soon as he styles it, I'll get one. :) And really, this is big. This is the first time he has ever changed his hair...ever!

Day 9 begins: Shuttle Launch scrubbed again...until at least July 11th! :( Bummer! There was another hydrogen leak in a different spot. I guess on the bright side we got to sleep in a little later this time: 5:00 AM. The launch was scheduled to take place at 5:40 AM and since we weren't able to go VIP to Kennedy Space Center because Marc's uncle is working this morning, we pretty much just had to roll out of bed and head to the beach to watch. Here are pictures of us on the way there and on the way back.

Excited!

Not so excited.

We didn't actually make it to the beach. Good thing we were listening to the news I suppose. Sad times, but looking forward to another nice day. :) Maybe I can fall back asleep now...

Vacation! (part 2)

2009-06-15T08:46:00.000-07:00

Day 4 ends: Faith spent the night at a friend's house Friday night, so Marc and I thought it would be fun to take Brianna out bowling. Marc killed us both, but good times were had by all.

Brianna & Marc

Marc bowling/totally beating us.

I look like such a graceful bowler in my skirt. :)

Brianna's turn!

I can't help it. I pose when there are cameras. And I kind of felt like I was living in the 50's with the combination of the skirt and the shoes.

Group shot.

I love arcade games!

Day 5: The day started off somewhere in the 3 o'clock hour when Marc woke me up to tell me the shuttle launch had been canceled. :( There was a leak in one of the fuel pipes and the launch was postponed. Good decision, but disappointing nonetheless. It's looking like the launch might be rescheduled for Wednesday and there is still a chance we'll get to go. I hope so!!!

I felt horrible calling Jared and Kim to tell them the launch had been delayed, since they left their home in Alabama at about midnight to make it to the launch. They were very nice and didn't complain at all. I'm pretty sure they were just happy that they had some extra time and could stop to take a nap. :) They got in just in time for breakfast and our day began. It was so great to see them after three years. Their daughter Hailey is also adorable! We played in the pool for awhile and then headed over to Kissimmee to their hotel. Shortly after getting in the sweet pool with slide, lazy river, etc, it began to storm. The pool area cleared out and while everyone went inside, we decided to get in the hot tub. :) It never actually stormed, though winds picked up quite a bit and it did rain a little. I tried to get a picture of it, but of course couldn't capture much of anything. Instead, Marc just looked like a dork pointing a to a water feature. It really was windy though with trees bent way to the side and water shooting off of the feature. Sorry I couldn't get a better picture, Marc! We had take out and drinks back in the hotel room and hung out for the rest of the night. We left just after midnight and even though we had a whole day together, I was really very sad to leave. It was so great to spend time with Jared, Kim, and Hailey and it was truly the case of friendships being able to pick up right where they left off no matter how long it has been.

Froggy Potty or Port-a-potty? Either way, Hailey is really cute!

Marc in the storm looking like a dork thanks to my poor photography timing, which I have not heard the end of on this vacation. :)

Marc & me shortly after the "storm" with the Champions Gate golf course behind us.

Kim, Hailey, and Jared with the hotel behind us. (yea for priceline.com!)

Friends!

Hailey LOVED Marc. Is anyone surprised?

Group Photo! We took about 83 pictures before leaving to get food. The guys were ready to kill me!!

She's a sneaky one!

Day 6: Sunday was a pretty typical Sunday. We went to Mass in the morning with Marc's family and then came home to a nice relaxing day. I took a nap in the afternoon while Marc did some gardening with his mom and played in the pool with his sisters. When I woke up I was pretty tired and unmotivated, but decided I'd better do something before I shrivelled up from laziness. We played some board games with Faith and Brianna, spent some time reading together, and then went for a run at about 9:00 PM. It was 84 degrees out!! We ran about 2 1/2 miles. It was so great! ...my first run since I tore my medial meniscus and all is still well. :) It hurt a bit at one point and it's still not 100%, but it I'm happy to report recovery is well underway. Marc and I both have sore legs today thanks to some lunges we did in the middle of our run. Love it!! We jumped in the pool when we got back and man it felt so nice! Great Sunday!

Marc & Sisters :)

Day 7: Beach day! Marc and I went to New Smyrna Beach today with the girls. It's basically an extension of Daytona Beach, but a little further south - so closer to Titusville. I was excited to get back in the sun after a few days break, but it didn't last very long. Another little storm started brewing, with lightning and all. (Oh yeah, lots of lighting last night during our run...awesome! and then it down poured like crazy last night.) I figured it would blow over sooner than later and didn't really want to cut our beach day so short, so I convinced the others that we should just find something to do in town. Thanks to GPS, it's a lot easier to find things as you can search by categories like entertainment, recreation, etc. Unfortunately New Smyrna doesn't seem to be too exciting, but by amazing luck, I found an absolutely, unbelievably incredible place...the Bob Ross Art Workshop and Gallery!! Can anyone say, "...and a happy little tree right here" or how about "...you decide, you decide." Apparently our luck wasn't all that amazing, perhaps because luck isn't really all that real. The Bob Ross place was closed. That sure wasn't enough to stop me from having a great time and taking lots of pictures though! We also encountered a gigantic grasshopper. That's not it's official name, but that's pretty much what it looks like. Marc though it might be a cicada, but after looking at Wikipedia, he doesn't think so anymore. Any ideas? Locusts? We think so! Oh my, I just had a brush with the Old Testament. No thank you. What was Pharaoh thinking!? I would have caved pretty quickly after a bunch of those things everywhere. Yuck! See below for pictures.

Marc & me at New Smyrna Beach

Brianna & Faith

Not so happy to get out of the water when it started storming.

Pure awesomeness!

Closed! Boo!

But do please note the "Happy Painting" on the closed sign! HAHA!

Which one do you think was the "happy little tree"?

Ah! So cool!

Marc having his own fun at the Bob Ross place. His fun came in the form of showering to wash off the ocean...in the water coming off the roof of the building.

Locust Thing! Marc found a cigarette in a nearby ashtray (only object we could find) to roll by the big grasshopper thing so you could see how huge it was!

Then we took turns posing with it.

Marc held it first. I'm not entirely sure why I felt the need to do the same. So scary!!

One more Bob Ross picture! You may notice that Marc's sisters did not quite appreciate this place the same way that we did. :)

I chased that butterfly for so long trying to get a picture!!

After Bob Ross, the weather was looking great, so we headed back to the beach. Marc decided that we would not be allowed to leave the beach with out building a sandcastle. That rule didn't really last very long, but it did get us going on quite the project. I really wanted to build a sand turtle...so we did. Again, see pictures below. We got some pretty great compliments. Apparently people must be sick of seeing the same old sand castles! After two plus hours of building our turtle, it was time to jump in the ocean and catch some waves of the boogie boards. :) And oh yeah, Marc also tried out a skim board when we first got there...he did very well, but of course pictures of him falling are way more fun to share. Am I mean girlfriend?

Sand Turtle! And since it's nesting season, we even made a few eggs in the back. :)

All of us with the turtle!

Faith, Turtle, Brianna

Marc, Turtle, Me

A girl and her turtle. :)

Marc skimboarding! (I figured I should put up at least one good shot before I let you laugh at Marc. Good thing he's such a good sport!)

Marc trying to skimboard.

..and not so much skimboarding here. :)

Marc Skimfalling. Sorry it's sideways.

We are back at home now, relaxing some more. Julianna asked me earlier today via g-chat what our plans for the week were and I had no idea. It's so nice! I feel like I'm in high school again on summer vacation. I can stay up late, although I'm too much of an old lady to do too much of that, but I could if I wanted to. I can sleep in if I wanted, but again, I'm too much of an old lady for that. I can take naps though and old ladies definitely do that!

I haven't really said too much about Marc's family yet though, so for those of you wondering (if you've made it this far into my super long post), here we go! Poppy is hilarious! Grandma is trying to fatten me up! She is very nice and clearly likes to take care of people. I appreciate that. :) She is really nice and kind of funny. She just seems to pop in with food or drink or to make sure we have something fun to do. I like it. The other night at dinner, her and Poppy were telling us about when they met back in college at WSU. He was in a frat, she was in a sorority (the good 'ol days when they were not quite like they are now I'm sure...), and he was dating her and one of her friends!! I don't exactly remember the details now, but one of them introduced the friend to a frat brother and that seemed to work out for everyone as both couples are still happily married and friends. They were really cute and funny though. It's great being around old couples. :) Marc's mom is really nice and sweet. I don't know how else to describe her. She is just really nice and sweet. I enjoy talking with her. I feel a little bad for her though because she has had a few incidents in the car where she wasn't quite paying attention as much as she should have been and she was clearly embarrassed. We all have those moments and I'm sure she has them only every now and then like most of us, but she has had three while I've been here...one bigger than the others...which was on the way back from the airport when I met her for the very first time. The other two were really not big deals at all, but she finally said something about it, so I knew for sure she was embarrassed. Poor Marc's mom. :( I really like her! Faith and Brianna are both a lot of fun. They are only two years a part and I don't think I've seen them fight at all. They did have some fun little bantering going over who had to sit in the middle backseat, but that's about it. They seem to get along very well and are both really nice. Faith will be a sophomore next year and Brianna will be an eighth grader. They both play the flute, a bit of piano, and really enjoy acting. I guess they have been in a few plays at school and also in the city. Fun!

I'm really enjoying being on vacation with Marc and glad we still have this whole week left!

Vacation!

2009-06-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

Day 1: Marc and I took the red eye out Tuesday night. I was looking forward to sleeping the whole way there as that is how I tend to spend most of my time on planes and figured it couldn't be any easier leaving at 10:45 PM. We were also quite pleased to find that no one had taken the seat on the end of our aisle and we could spread out a bit more. The plane seemed roomier than the last few times I've flown and I see the some planes have handy dandy headrests that you can form to your head or move up and down (not an issue for me since I'm short, but nice nonetheless). Things were lookin' up! ...perhaps too up. I couldn't sleep!! I got 5 or 10 minutes here and there, but mostly tossed and turned and readjusted, switched seats with Marc, readjusted some more, and finally gave up trying. It was hot and the air conditioning was not that strong. I was just uncomfortable. Perhaps it was the last minute stress that was getting to me and I was overly tired? I don't know, but we made it to Florida in one piece and that was the important part. :)

Marc sleeping for a bit on the plane.

Day 2: We arrived at 7:15 AM (4:15 AM west coast time!) and Marc's mom picked us up from the airport in Orlando. It was my very first time meeting her and she was very nice and gave me a big hug. :) We got into Titusville and met a yummy breakfast and Marc's two little sisters, Faith and Brianna, and grandparents, Poppy and Grandma). It's always fun meeting Marc's family and seeing all of the shared family traits and "isms." Poppy and Grandma are very hospitable and have a beautiful home. For the first time ever, I understood retirement in Florida. They live on a golf course, have a nice pool and hot tub (which is the same temperature as the pool :) and flows into the pool), a library room (this is essential to my dream house), and just a really nice cozy, beautiful home. I couldn't pick a better place to relax and everyone reads...I love it! I don't mean that everyone CAN read, but rather, everyone enjoys reading. Much of the day you would find people off in a cozy nook or in the sun reading. I'm not sure why I love this so much, but I do, and there isn't much more I can say about it. I started Tom Curran's book on the Mass and Marc is reading CS Lewis's Four Loves.

Marc reading.

Marc and I decided it was best to try to stay up and get to bed early to get on a normal schedule. We both took sporadic naps in the sun or by the pool, which is covered and blocks 50% of the sun...handy! We tend to try to spend time on the outside of the pool area as we only have limited time to catch our rays, but it's a good break to get in the pool and play! My favorite pool break was spent playing volleyball with Marc's sisters. Always fun!

Our set-up outside. :)

Day 3: I woke up early and swam laps in the pool. Glorious!! Most of the day for me was spent out in the sun again, but Marc took a bit of a break as he was a little burnt after the first day out. If you read my blog yesterday, you'll know that the sun had it's way with me a little bit on this day too. I finished the Mass book and passed it off to Marc's mom. It's great and really breaks open the Mass in an incredible way. I recommend it to anyone. Marc and I had a ton of fun in the pool in the afternoon. We played lots of games - see if I can push Marc into the pool with out him pulling me in (so far I haven't lost! and really, we play this. It is not a surprise attack!), we threw rings, sticks, and rockets into the pool to see who could gather the most, dove off of each other's shoulders, had hand stand competitions, etc. After this, Marc disappeared inside and I just rested and had quiet time outside. I "met back up" with the group at dinner time and had a nice margarita (Poppy likes to play bartender) and a home-cooked meal. The previous night was the same. I guess I'm used to being on vacation with my family, rather than visiting family, and so that leads to a lot of dinner outs, which is fun, but it's also nice to go away and still sit down for family dinners at home. Marc, Brianna, and I finished off the night with some board games and tried to call it an early night, but got sucked into the internet looking for things to do during vacation. Oops! In the end, we were too tired to even pick anything to do. Oh silly kids staying up late!

Marc's pet dragonfly. There are also lots of lizzards that walk on the outside of the screen!

After pool play time!

Day 4 begins: Marc joined me for laps this morning and I must say, he has quite the breaststroke. (Don't tell Marc I told you...it's hilarious! I'm no swim coach, but it's improving after a lot of laughter and a few tips.) We decided to have an inside day and take a little rest from the sun. I was also feeling a little icky this morning, but seem to be doing better now. Whew! No icky on vacation! And oh man, Marc's grandma made us a huge breakfast!! We just finished it off with some help for lunch. :) Pancakes with peaches....sooo good! Make some now!

Not sure what the rest of the day holds. Maybe some games, bowling, Band of Brothers? Just good 'ol relaxation!

Stay tuned for more fun though. Tomorrow Marc and I will be going to a space shuttle launch VIP at Kennedy Space Center!!!

Tricky, Tricky

2009-06-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

After day two in Florida, I'm a wee bit sunburned. Yesterday I beat the sun and today I'll call it a draw. I'm burnt in only two places: my chest and the back of my legs. If you can figure that one out for me, I'll give you a pat on the back when I get home. Seriously sun, how did you do that!? Tricky, tricky.

I'm off to bed, so more on the vacation later! :)

Who says it has to be itsy bitsy?

2009-06-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some great swimsuits for the modest girl out there!

A couple of fun things from the website...

the designer: Jessica Rey has a diverse work background- from accounting to acting and modeling to the launch of her very own swimsuit line "Rey." The idea for her suits came about when she started to feel half-naked wearing a bikini and then it hit her- she WAS half-naked! Shopping for something that would cover up more than a tiny bikini and didn't make her look like a dork, she felt hopeless. Then one day, she made lemonade out of those lemons... she looked back in history to a time when women valued their bodies and dressed like it and decided to design her own suit... one that isn't low-cut, isn't too short, and has good support...and Rey Swimwear was born... Most of the suits are tankinis (with the exception of one swimdress) and the bottoms are mix-and-match, so each girl can create her own individual style. *to learn more about jessica, visit www.jessicarey.com*

the inspiration: Audrey Hepburn was a woman whose classic style has transcended time and continues to influence fashion today. She lived during an era when women dressed and acted like ladies- when women didn't feel they had to "bare it all" to be attractive. Rey Swimwear's collection is named "Audrey" because we hope to capture her sense of style, grace, class, and of course, fun. Each style this season is named after one of her most loved characters- Holly, Jo, Eliza, Sabrina, and Gaby.

May Pictures (w/ a little June)

2009-06-08T15:29:00.000-07:00

Hello. Long time no blog. I thought an update was in order before I headed off for 12 whole days of vacation! Marc and I will be leaving tomorrow night for Florida. I'm meeting the mom! ..and the two younger sisters, grandparents, a couple of aunts and uncles, and some cousin. I'm excited, but feel free to say a Hail Mary for me. :) We will be staying in Winterhaven for the first few days with his Aunt's family, which couldn't be better. My best friend, since first grade, has family that lives there that I'm hoping to visit. Friday night we will head over to Titusville in time for the next morning's shuttle launch. Woo! I've never seen a shuttle launch so, needless to say, I'm pretty excited. And even better than watching a shuttle launch, I may be watching with my friends Jared and Kim, and lovely daughter Hailey. I have not seen them, or met Hailey, since Jared was stationed in Germany. Kim was pregnant when they moved away. They are now stationed in Alabama and hoping to pop down to visit me. YEA!! It's going to be a great trip! :)

If you are wondering what I've been up to the last month, this is what I've been doing (or at least what I've taken pictures of):

Marc & I before the Gloria's Angels Auction - it was a great night with friends! And we also walked away with Sounders tickets, Seahawks tickets, a photo shoot with Shelly (Finian Road Image & Design), and 4 tickets for ice skating, 2 for batting cages, and 2 for mini golf. :)
Can you say, "date nights"!?

w/ Riley during her brief stay at home :)

Trying to have a little photo shoot with my nephews and niece. Cute, right?

Perry waiting for his turn with Riley.

So much for the hooter hider...

Aw, my parents. They are such wonderful grandparents. :)

One of my favorite pictures of my dad.

Such a good big brother!

Riley Alyssa's baptism!! She was baptized on Thursday, June 4th at Mary Bridge Hospital. She had to be re-admitted to Swedish the week before and then transferred that morning. Due to complications with jaundice and fluid build-up in the lungs, they were unable to postpone heart surgery. She had surgery the day after her baptism and all went very well initially. There was a slight problem with the diaphragm though and so they went in for a quick surgery today to fix that to prevent it from working against the lungs. For a real update with medical accuracy, you can see my sister's family blog here. All of your prayers have been very much appreciated!

Me, Deacon Juan Lezcano, Stacey, Riley, and Perry

I'm a godmother!!!

Riley w/ Mom & Dad

Riley w/ mom, Grandpa & Grandma

Riley w/ mom, Papa, and Nana

Jaden slept through the baptism. This is normal. He also slept through his friend Nathan's and his OWN.

Mom & Dad outside Mary Bridge. :)

Aren't they cute?

Jaden knows his way around the hospital. He is also quite popular with the nurses!

And he is perhaps the coolest kid there with his motorcycle.
Riding in the parking garage.

Marc & Me. We have now been dating one whole year and we still like each other. :)

Marc studying for finals. He was hard and work when I went to take a nap. I woke up to this and couldn't resist taking a picture. He was not studying in that chair either. He moved them like that to sleep. Poor guy.

I also want to say how great it's been to catch up with friends this month! I've been able to see quite a few of you thanks to the less-busy schedule I have while house-sitting in the ever so convenient location of Seattle (just down the street from work). :) Thanks to all of you for putting up with me and my hectic life and for being such great friends! See you when I get back!

The Hand of Hope

2009-05-25T08:53:00.000-07:00

Most of you have probably seen the picture below, taken in 1999. It shows the hand of a 21-week-old fetus reaching out and grasping the finger of a doctor about to perform surgery on him.

This is where he is now.

Riley Alyssa Swenhaugen

2009-05-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

Meet my niece!

She was born Monday, May 18th, at 5:34 pm. She weighed in at 7lbs, 14oz and measured 20 ¼ inches long. Stacey is doing well, which is no surprise after 5 minutes of hard labor! (I'll go ahead and follow suit when it's my turn, thanks!) Riley will be coming home from the hospital probably this evening or tomorrow morning. Her little heart is doing well, but due to a narrowing in the aortic arch, she will probably be going in for surgery in a few months. Please say some prayers for her!

She is precious. I held her yesterday for the first time. In my previous visit to the NICU I only got to touch her. Don't tell the nurses we played "This Little Piggy" or that I made the sign of the cross on her...several times. Some nurses prefer only small touches to "stroking." Oops! My favorite part of the first visit was pressing my finger into her foot just below her toes to make them curl around my finger. :) She already loves the Hail Mary. I'm basing this off the fact that she didn't start crying when I sang it and we all know my gifts are not exactly in the singing department. Then again, she was sleeping, but come on, I'm her aunt, I can just tell!

Mother's Day Pictures!/We got skills!

2009-05-23T14:58:00.000-07:00

Note: I got tired of trying to fix the layout over and over and over...sorry for the enormous length between pictures and weird placement of pictures and captions. Do your best! :)

A Very Happy Mother's Day, Family Picture Style:

Son, Mommy/Daughter w/ Child, Daughter, Mommy:

Leap Frog:

Catching Marc on my shoulders:

Just kidding! That was the dismount after this picture:

I like pyramids:

Jaden's turn:

Super Pyramid:

Great Blog!

2009-05-23T14:56:00.001-07:00

Hello, hello!

I wanted to clepto a few things from this blog, but instead, I just decided that you should all check it out: my friend Karlo's blog. :) Hi Karlo!

Kids :)

2009-04-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Jaden woke up from his nap not very happy yesterday and immediately wanted to go potty. Once on his froggy potty, he continued to cry like there was no tomorrow. I finally got a pause in cries when I put his blanket on top of my mom's head. It didn't last very long, but once she put it on his head, his world seemed to be better again. He sat there for at least 5 or 10 minutes, which is a REALLY long time in 2 year old time. It was pretty cute, so naturally, I took the private potty moment as a photo op to share with you. :) Eventually we were able to play peek-a-boo and get some smiles.

The Beginning of April in Pictures...

2009-04-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

Walks!

Trips to Seattle Center w/ the nanny kiddos + my nephews. :)

My guys.

Watching Marc play frisbee in the rain.

Defense.

Marc got a foot block!

UW Sundodgers - Sectional Champs!

#1 Fan :)

Easter!!!

Fr. Pavone!

My crew today.

Perfect day for a picnic!

Way Cooler Than You Might Think

2009-04-02T16:10:00.001-07:00

Need a little break? Kind of tired of Facebook and Kitty Cannon?

I recommend Line Rider. :)

I'm still trying to get my little guy to do a loop.

It's not just me!

2009-03-31T16:15:00.000-07:00

I'm kind of a big kid. I may have mentioned that somewhere in this blog before or you probably have just noticed on your own. I spend the majority of my time with kids between the ages of 1 and 5 and they rub off on me. Apparently this is normal. Here is Marc while on vacation.

And here is take two. Once he found out I was videoing instead of taking a picture, he became a little upset that he didn't get to fly the dragon around. :)

Vacation Pictures!

2009-03-31T16:08:00.001-07:00

Marc, Jill, and Bethy

Jill's kids

Pillow Fight!

Baby hiding from the fight IN the pillows. :)

Marc and Lori

Zach and his chocolate

Marc and Lori's kids

The Girls!

Vacationing :)

Marc and his little brother David

Na Na

2009-03-30T21:31:00.001-07:00

Here is a little clip from leadership training weekend at Camp Thunderbird with Jaden, my pregnant sister, and me having some fun during the dinner program. :)

Road Trip!!

2009-03-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

I'm on vacation this week and it's oh so relaxing! Marc and I drove 12 hours to Boise on Wednesday to see his sister Jill and her family. For those of you wondering, yes it should have only been a 7 or 8 hour drive. We hit two passes with lots of snow. I spent most of my time playing with "baby" who is absolutely adorable and super quiet until you set her down at a table to eat and then she won't stop humming. Marc played quite a few games of Trouble with Luke and Jakey, built a fort, played with some legos, and had a pretty intense pillow fight. It was really fun to hang out with Jill and Mike too, talk faith, and watch some movies. I, however, have lost my ability to stay awake through a movie. Marc is a pretty good sport and is learning to watch the end of movies twice. :) I feel less bad when I'm watching movies by myself and kind of lame when I'm with others. We watched Roman Holiday the first night (and next afternoon) and a Christopher West Theology of the Body thing the second night.

We had some great CD's on our drive too. We finished up Theology of the Body, listened to Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover (awesome!), and we are now in the middle of The Passion of Christ in Light of the Holy Shroud of Turin by Fr. Fracis Peffley (very interesting so far!). I givinng my recommendations to the first two. I'd throw out a third one, but I should probably finish listening to it first. I also started reading St. Teresa of Avila's autobiography and that is pretty amazing as well. I'm really excited to keep reading it, but haven't quite found the time yet.

Yesterday we drove up to Chewelah, which is about an hour north of Spokane. We are here visting Marc's oldest sister Lori and her family. That means 5 more kids to play with! I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one who starts acting like a little kid when I've been around them for awhile. I have a nice little video of Marc playing (with no kids around) that will be making it's appearance soon. Lori runs a pretty sweet homeschooling program that attaches to different school district, which means parents are getting tax money to fund their children's education as they should be, schools are getting a bit more funding for increased enrollment, and the parents stll have the freedom of curriculum and activities that comes along with homeschooling. It's pretty awesome and the program has doubled in size every year since it started, which I think was back in 2003. If any of you mommies and daddies want some information on it, let me know!

The only downside of the trip has been that I'm a bit injured and a little less able to get or play i forts and jump into pillow fights. I partially tore my medial meniscus Tuesday night in our championship game for indoor soccer. As if that wasn't bad enough, my team did not play very well, and it was kind of a let down. The upside of the injury is that it happened before vacation so I haven't been struggling to take kids up and downstairs at work, I was able to have Marc's doctor brother-in-law Paul look at it for free (always a bonus with no insurance...Dave Ramsey says that's bad), and it's just a partial tear that will heal. I've been doing lots of icing, even on our long drives, and it's now all wrapped up nicely and on the mend! I'm the most disappointed because it means that I've lost a week of my Body for Life program that I was so determined to finish! Next week I'll just be spending time in the pool so I'm at least getting some activity in and not falling totally out of shape. It's a bummer, but at the end of the day, I don't really have much to complain about. God is amazing and he blesses me more than I feel I deserve. Even in my injury, I'm blessed (and forced) to slow down and take it easy. It's a break from my crazy, busy life that I've been complaining about and trying to get away from. It's nice.

I'll be back on Sunday, hopefully rested enough to take on a few more weeks of my crazy life. See you soon! God bless you all!

Weekend - CHECK!

2009-03-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

I made it through the weekend, I'm exhausted, and I'm pushing through with the hopeful thought that after tomorrow night's soccer game, I'm on vacation! :)

I just wanted to say hello and add a quick update so I feel like I'm keeping up on my blog and you won't all give up on me again. :)

Please say a prayer for me that I can stay awake long enough to get my to do list done tonight. :)

PS I put a lot of smiley faces at the end of my sentences/paragraphs, huh? .... :) I couldn't help it! :)

To Do - CHECK!

2009-03-19T23:05:00.000-07:00

I have a ridiculous day-by-day to do list going right now and this is one of many things on it. It was actually on Monday, but I had to de-prioritize it as things kept getting busier and busier.

I'm in the midst of trying to get ready for Leadership Training Weekend at Camp Thunderbird, scheduling high school leaders for our first weeks of camp, and also getting ready to head out of town with Marc to meet his two oldest sisters and their families. Then there is the usual every day stuff and everything else that some how pops in. So far, thanks to some late nights and early mornings, all is coming together just fine. I'm even managing not to be that stressed. Praise the Lord!

I had a great weekend with some much needed catch-up time with some family and friends. I do wish I wasn't always in "catch-up" mode with the majority of friends in my life. I do apologize. One of my goals is to come up with some better criteria to help me discern committing to new activities and responsibilities. I'd like to be less busy, have more time for the important people in my life, and the occasional moment to just sit without feeling guilty. I even feel a tiny bit guilty blogging right now! It's on my to do list though so fair game, right!?

On Sunday I went to a really great birthday party for two of the girls I nanny. One is 5 and the other will be 3 in just about another week. I can't believe I've already been nannying with their family for over 2 years. Time just keeps flying by. I'm so blessed to be with such wonderful families though and I am still enjoying all of my kiddos. Anyways, I've digressed. This birthday party had more pizza than I have ever seen in my life! Each of the kids got to make their own pizza. They all had on cute little chef hats and got little rolling pins. Adorable! I'll have to put some pictures up when I get a hold of them. For such youngins, they did a fantastic job making their pizzas. :) Also, a little shout out to a fabulous mom - Kristin made not one, not two, but three cakes! There was one white castle cake, one chocolate cake, and one "pizza" cake. Again, I'll have to put up a picture of them all. I of course had to try a little of each and they were all so yummy. For all of my mom friends out there, I strongly encourage the pizza-making party idea. :) They just called their favorite pizza place that has a large room for parties and asked if they would be willing to put out a little bit of dough for each child and toppings to make up the pizzas.

I better move on to the next part of my to do list now. I'll try to come back again soon. Have a wonderful weekend! I'll be praying for all of you on the young adult lenten retreat!!

Surprise!

2009-03-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

While it was snowing here this weekend, I was ever so fortunate to be enjoying the sun in California. :) I'm even slightly burnt, mostly on my face, but also one strip on my arm with a matching strip down one of my calves. Awkward!

I spent the weekend visiting my friend Melissa and supporting UW's Ultimate Frisbee team at a tournament. It was pretty fantastic to sit out in the sun for two days and quite exhausting might I add. The best part of the weekend was surprising Marc. He had no idea I was coming. I was super sneaky, flew out just an hour before him, and after convincing him that he should let me order his tickets so I could get triple mileage points, I was able to access his flights, move one of his seats and book tickets home sitting next to him. :) In his words, I "just showed up in the middle of California."

The sport is growing on me a little, but just a very little. Mostly I can get into almost any form of competition and as long as I have a team to cheer for, someone worthy to give support to, I'm good. I still think some of the rules are weird, don't understand the lack of refs (and even when they do have "observers" they don't get involved half of the time), and the structure of tournaments is just bizarre. After losing 1 out of 6 games, against the nationally ranked first place team (UW was at #9), Marc's team only made it to the 5th place game. They were bumped out of the 3rd place game, by a team who won all 6 games in tier 2 (tier one is the top 40 teams, tier two is the rest of the teams). I appreciate that tier 1 teams can do well and play in to better competition, but all the way to the 3rd place game!? One day I would like to reorganize Ultimate Frisbee, but not really. As it turns out, I'm not actually that passionate about it, I just, not so humbly, think I could do it better. I think all of the players actually kind of like the lack of organization though, so turns out my way probably wouldn't really be better at all.

In other news, my dad and Perry (the big one) are now each a year older. Happy Birthday guys! The previous weekend we celebrated as a family at Pasta Freska for my dad's birthday. You absolutely must go there! For dinner, there are no menus. The head chef asks you what you don't like, what you won't eat, and then the food starts rolling! It's about $25 for dinner, including salads, appetizers, and just yummy goodness. Wine and dessert are extra, but you usually get three different desserts that are well worth the extra money. It seems pricey, but for the amount of food you get, and again, the yummy goodness as well, it's so worth it! Sure, I wouldn't go there every weekend, but for a special night out, absolutely! After dinner, we then moved on to a surprise party for Perry. There were some pretty major kinks in the plan, but when all was said and done, it was a really fun, great night.

The night before, we also had a family game night including Bananagrams, Cranium, and Apples to Apples. All quite fun! I'm trying to spend a little bit more time with my family during the Lent season since I'm always so busy. So far, it's been really fun!

Not too much else to report at this point. I'm just enjoying the sunshine, as busy as can be, and trying to keep in touch with you all. Feel free to get on me about hanging out. I miss my friends!

My Practice Round

2009-02-23T13:47:00.000-08:00

I went up to Camano Island on Saturday with Marc to have dinner with some friends and check out where he grew up. Before his family left the area, they had been working on a house that Marc put a lot of hours in on. Unfortunately, it was not quite finished before they moved away. This was the first time Marc had been back there since then and the first time he was able to see the house complete. I was really glad he was able to see it and quite impressed with him that he did so much! It was really a pretty nice house and on a great piece of property.

Dinner with the Marc's friends, the Brown's, who are actually the parents of one of his best friends, was great. I'd been joking around with Marc that he had to set this up as a practice round for me to meet his mom and I'm pretty sure I passed with flying colors. It would be hard not to with the Brown's though. They were so welcoming and kind, made a fantastic dinner, and entertained us the rest of the night with good conversation and a game of Train. Who knew dominos were so fun!? I think I'm going to go out and buy some. :)

Marc also was able to pick up some mail that had been sent to their house on accident when he didn't change his shipping address. To my surprise it included the rest of my Christmas present! I had no idea there was even more coming. I had told Marc one night, while gregorian chant started playing on a website, that I needed some pretty music. He took note and got me a ton of CD's. So I just got 4 more last night and Phantom of the Opera is apparently on back order. For those of you thinking that it's a little late to still be receiving Christmas presents, I would agree, but I was awfully glad to know that I wasn't the only one having problems. As it turns out, I had some issues getting Marc his Christmas present too. After returning his running shoes not once, but twice, and waiting forever for customer service people who never actually got back to me, but being fortunate enough to babysit for a couple that works for Brooks, I was able to get his running shoes at the end of last week. Of course, since the running shoes I orginally tried to get are discontinued as they have a newer version, the sizing wasn't right. Luckily, he went to Super Jock n' Jills to talk to them about the narrow size we accidentally ordered (could anymore go wrong?) and they are going to handle the exchange for him. Whew! Also, with the newer shoes, the narrow is a better fit. I guess it all worked out quite well and it was kind of fun to have Christmas presents in February all over again... even if they are the same presents we got in December.

On a side note, for those of you who enjoy games, the other game I'm currently all about is Bananagrams. One of the families I nanny for got it for Christmas and I've borrowed it from them a few times. :) It's kind of like speed scrabble where each person has their own board, except there are no actual boards. You should check it out! Or call me and we'll plan a game night! :)

Let's Try Again, Shall We?

2009-02-17T08:10:00.000-08:00

About every third blog is usually an apology for not keeping this going and an eager attempt to start blogging regularly. Guess it's about that time! I'm a busy bee, but I really have no excuse at all. I apologize.

I had a fantastic weekend! Let me tell you all about it. Friday night I was excited to make Marc dinner, but by the time we went through a bazillion cookbooks, found out my parents wouldn't be joining us, and I started getting more sleepy and still needed to work out, we sprang for Marlene's Market and Deli. I worked there in high school and it always kind of brings back fond memories. I had a huge deliciously fresh salad that was most amazing and split a black bottom pie with Marc. That pie is soooo good. I took super small bites so I would eat less and let Marc have most of it. If you are cheating on your healthy eating, you might as well be a little bit good, yeah? I'm not really sure why but it was just a great night with Marc. We are both so busy and it just felt like good quality down time dating as I think dating is meant to be. It was one of those moments when you realize all of those dating talks/books are absolutely right. Dating couples should spend time dating, not spend time together while they are living their daily lives. You aren't married, give yourself some space to do what you need to do, and have fun dating! While I don't think I have forgotten how great Marc is, it definitely reminded me how much fun we have together. My mouth was seriously hurting from laughing and smiling so much.

Valentine's Day morning was a bit sad for me though. My perfect little gym announced very suddenly (as they found out very suddenly) that they were closing. I have since worked out twice at Bally Total Fitness and it's kind of horrible. My gym was just the right size with everything right where it should be. The equipment was great and everything I needed was there. The owners were amazing and I loved knowing/recognizing almost everyone who came in to work out. I didn't think the all women aspect of it really affected me that much, but boys are stinky! I also can't stand to watch people lift wrong. It's enough to watch a woman do it poorly, but watching a teenager boy or worse, a grown man, lift with poor form and ruin his work out because he doesn't know what he's doing is just unbearable for me. And of course, I can't offer any tips and crush their poor little egos. There is hope that the gym will reopen though and I luckily was able to get a month-to-month deal at Bally, so as soon as my gym is back, I'm outta there!

The worst part is the huge inconvenience the gym switch has caused in my Body for Life Challenge. A month in, when I finally feel like my workouts are pretty solid, I now have to re-work everything. I'm at the very least thankful for having so many gyms close by that it hasn't completely disrupted my routine. And I don't mean to be sucha a negative Nancy, but I really miss my gym!

Valentine's Day evening was absolutely fantastic and very well planned by Marc. We began our evening with some prayer at Blessed Sacrament, had a very scrumptous meal at Cutter's Bayhouse with a beautiful view, and then enjoyed the Baroque Orchestra at Benaroya Hall. Seriously guys, are you taking notes?

On Sunday, I finally got to make dinner for Marc (or rather with Marc) and my parents. I accidentally bought whole wheat NAN bread instead of whole wheat pizza crust. Who would have known they were sitting right next to each other on a random little rack with nothing else in the grocery store!? Oops. As it turns out, it was pretty great and I highly recommend it!

That morning, I had the opportunity to spend some time at the Church after each Mass to help promote the Fight FOCA postcard campaign. For those of you unaware of what FOCA (Freedom of Choice Act) is, let me share and tell you why I'm against it. To put it simply, FOCA is the most radical abortion legislation is US history going far beyond Roe v Wade. FOCA states that every woman has a "fundamental right" to have an abortion, and no goverment (federal, state, or local) may "deny" or "interfere with" this right. Moreover, no government may "discriminate" agaisnt the exercise of this right when regulating or providing "benefits, facilities, services, or information" to the public. Here is what this will all result in:

-FOCA will invalidate laws to protect a woman to from unsafe abortion clinics and to ensure that she is informed about abortion.
-FOCA will require taxpayers to pay for abortions.
-FOCA will require states to allow partial-birth and other late term abortions.
-FOCA will require states to allow abortions by non-physicians.
-FOCA will bar laws protecting a right of of conscientious objection to abortion (anyone working in hospitals etc, will be required to perform abortions at any time).
-FOCA will deny parents an opportunity to be involved in their minor daughter's abortion decision (12 years old? Sure go ahead and have a few abortions on taxpayer dollars with out your parents knowing about. WHAT!?).

This is legislation that Obama has promised to pass. We must act to protect our women and children. Please, if you have not already, contact your representatives to say that you are against this! To access more information and the ready to go postcards, you can go here.

This week I plan to have a kick-butt (in a Christian loving manner of course) week doing my challenge, get some work done planning the Spring session of St. Vincent's young adult Women's Group, check out some great music for great Cathedrals, and have a lovely dinner with Marc and Andy tonight. Good times all around! I'll let you know how it goes.

And oh, another little announcement. I've started a pro-life prayer group at my Church that is meeting on the first Saturday of every month for Mass at 9:00 AM and then going out to prayer in front of Planned Parenthood. We have been out choice and it's gone very well both times. It's encouraging to have so many polite honks, waves, and gestures from the cars passing by. The polite gestures far out way the not so nice ones. I'm also encouraging those who don't feel comfortable coming out with us to come to Mass and then to stay an offer up a Rosary at the Church for the lives of the unborn and the protection of pregnant women. If you are interested, let me know! And if you have any ideas on other pro-life work we can, let me know. I think I may have "volunteered" to lead/be highly involved in St. Vincent's Respect for Life committee that they are putting together. Help please!

Have a wonderful day! And oh, please offer a prayer for my sister. She will be taking the bar exam for the next three days. Go Stacey! ...she's pregnant too!

Shopping at Amazon?

2008-11-28T16:03:00.000-08:00

When you shop at Amazon through the link posted on the Hear See Hope Foundation's website, Amazon will donate 4-8.5% of your purchase. This money goes towards researching Usher Syndrome, which is the number one cause of Deaf Blindness.

The foundation was started by a coupe that a friend of mine used to nanny for. They have four children, two with Usher.

So if you're going to shop on Amazon please use the link through their website as you'll be contributing to their foundation just by shopping! Pretty easy and no extra money out of pocket!

Gobble, Gobble!

2008-11-27T12:21:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! God bless all of you!

Here are just a few things I'm thankful for:
-The opportunity to participate in the Mass this morning with both of my parents and my nephew.
-A wonderful family, with a new little girl on the way!
-Great friends, including my amazing boyfriend.
-A great job nannying.
-Hope.
-Being able to save my peacan pie after dropping it while trying to get it in the over.
-Surprise flowers to cheer my day.
-Dinners with family and friends.
-Those who support my loved ones with open hearts.
-The men and women serving our country.
-Tears and struggle that humble me and provide me with the opportunity for growth.
-Laughter!

Thank you to all of you who bless my life. You are in my prayers today.

Seriously, Officer!?

2008-11-25T14:07:00.000-08:00

Today is totally one of those days. I got yelled at by a police officer, it rained on my picnic, and I was almost pee'd on.

The day started off so well. Instead of waking up at 5:00 AM, I got to sleep in until 6:30 AM. Do you know how late that felt to me? Anytime I woke up, I would check the clock and I was just sure I had set my alarm wrong and that I must have made a mistake. It's amazing how much of a difference an hour and a half makes! One of the parents of the children I nanny had the day off of work and he was nice enough to let me come in a little late even though he intended to be out for most of the day running errands and getting some work done at his parents condo they use to visit the family.

The morning went pretty well with the kiddos, Veronica got off to school smoothly, and the other three were in good moods and well behaved. Eric and I decided that I would head over to the condo with the kids to meet his mom and nephew Josh for a little play date to walk to the park and have lunch. It was a fantastic idea, really.

I followed Eric over to the house and since there appeared to be no parking anywhere nearby, we felt like it would be a lot easier to pull over, unload the 3 kids (ages 1, 2, and 2) and then we could go find parking for the two cars. Apparently, not such a great idea! A cop came by checking parking and ever so nicely (or sarcastically you might say) pointed out the no parking sign down the street. We explained we were going to quickly unload, but to put it shortly, he said no. Eric went to park his car and I moved the van into the condo driveway - private driveway, it's cool, right? Again, no. Eric comes back and is bringing some things into the house and the cop comes back and threatens a ticket again. I tell him Eric is on his way back out, but he's out of his car, ready to go. Eric comes back to move the car, but still nothing changes and instead of the car getting moved, we have to sit there to "politely" talk about it. Once Eric's dad came out, the cop immediately got into his car. Hmmm. Apparently, since we were partially blocking the sidewalk, it was still inappropriate. "What if someone on a wheel chair came by?" I do enjoy examples, but really? There was enough room for a wheel chair to get by with out going into the street. No one's safety was at risk. I understand rules are rules and he has a job to do, but aren't those rules in place for safety? Wasn't it safer to just let us quickly unload the kids? We were in no way ever blocking any one or any cars from going by. But eh, what are you going to do. He's going to have it his way, and fine, ok, that's that. Negotiating and conversation were clearly not going to happen and any attempt at this it seems was "bad-mouthing" him. I'm pretty sure there was never anything negative said directed towards his person or otherwise. I would have loved if he could have provided us with another example for this situation because I just couldn't figure it out on my own.

Once all the drama was over, it was off to the park. We now had three 2 year old's and one 1 year old. And here starts the crying, whining, and arguing. It's amazing how contagious it is! "I want to walk alone!" "I want to sit in the stroller!" "I want my mommy!" "NO!" Oh man! This was actually the worst I have ever seen it on an outing. We get to the park and immediately there are 4 children fighting over 2 swings. Eventually Eleanor wonders off and her grandma follows. As soon as they are across the playground, Madeline needs to go to the bathroom. She is crying and trying to pull her tights down. Yikes! I leave the kids in the swings, sprint across the playground, tell the grandma, and run back to Maddy. Tights are almost all the way down now. I grab Maddy and I'm waiting for Grandma. Finally she gets there, we run to the community center where all of the door's downstairs are locked. SHOOT! I'm totally just waiting to get pee'd on. By the time we try the doors, Eleanor has come running after us and caught up. I don't really have time to be slowed down by her, but she is refusing to go back to grandma. What do I do!? Try to run with them both, let one run? No, no, no...all of my options will slow us down. Finally grandma comes after her and Eleanor is down on the ground crying. Sad, but I really don't want to be pee'd on!! I run up the stairs and just keep telling Maddy to hold on, we're almost there. We get inside and then have to get back downstairs to the bathrooms. AAAH! Luckily, we make it. But oh, wait! Madeline is afraid of public bathroom toilets! They flush really loud and she doesn't really like it! Still, I get her on the potty and all is well. We get back outside and poor Eleanor is still crying, even though she is now getting a turn on the swing. We work things out, but attitudes are just not good from any of them at this point.

I decide it's time to change gears and pull lunch out. Let's feed those little bellies, take a break, and and bring the fun back on. No, no. Let's fight over what color cheese we get, whine over who has what, and oh, Eleanor is afraid of the birds. SIGH. Could it get any worse? Oh, yes. Here comes the rain! It starts as a sprinkle and then slowly works into a steady, heavy rain. We pack up lunch, we pack up the kids, and crying again starts. And oh, there's my lunch on the ground! Josh is mad the diaper bag is on his seat (just keepin' it dry for you buddy!), Madeline still wants her mommy, Eleanor doesn't want to walk and grandma is now carrying her, and Georgia is mad she is in the stroller and not with Grandma, but is really the only one who can comfortably fit in the front of the stroller and doesn't have an option and has no concept of understanding all that is going on and why she is wet and cold. Despite the crying, and Josh's constant loud "MOO'ing" which is scaring poor Georgia, we make it back all in once piece.

The kids warm up, finish lunch, and have some play time. We make it back to the house just in time for Veronica to get dropped off and all is well although there is still some whining. I take Maddy and Veronica home and it's time to get ready for naps. I'm pretty ready for one too!

I was actually in a pretty good most of the day and laughing a lot. Sometimes there is just nothing else to do! The most frustrating part of the day was actually hearing a swear word come out of one of the children because she wanted a book her sister had. REALLY!? Inappropriate!

It's now nap time slash my break time. I think I'll recover and I'm ready for a fun night! Marc and I are taking Phil out for his birthday since we missed it on Friday and then I'm off to my championship indoor soccer game tonight. We're the defending champs - kind of a big deal. Ok, not really and I'm pretty sure the cool shirts we win are the same ones from last time. It's a good thing I don't need any new shirts!

Wish me luck! Or better yet, say a prayer for my sanity....just in case naps don't go very well. :) It would fit in with the day rather well and give me another opportunity to work on my patience.

Happy Veteran's Day!

2008-11-11T16:03:00.001-08:00

Happy Veteran's Day!

Thank you to all who serve our country and fight for the lives and rights of so many while being so readily willing to sacrifice your own.

May God bless you and may everyone appreciate you and be inspired by what you stand for.

I Finally Found My Calling!!

2008-11-08T19:34:00.000-08:00

It's been so clear my whole life. How did I not know? I'm meant for leading Catholic Aerobics!

Part of the photo shoot:

My stage shot:

With my saint crew:

Part of next year's promo materials?

Things to note:
-My stage name is Sensaria.
-My show is called Work Out with the Saints!
-My first show was at Convention 2008: Get a Clue

I've sent too many fwds today...

2008-11-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

Just passing on a couple of things that came through my mailbox....and trying not to send another fwd out!

I particularly appreciated the reference to the abuse of the teaching on "Forming Consciences For Faithful Citizenship," as that is exactly how I felt...

Catholic Leaders React to Obama Victory, Offer Advice

And here's a little podcast for your enjoyment...

A New Chapter in the Cult of the Presidency