Life to the Fullest

Confessions of a really picky eater.

2012-01-02T12:47:00.001-08:00

I am really picky. Duh. If you know me at all, you know that. Once before a dinner party, my friend texted me and asked what I didn't like. My reply went: burritos, tacos, beans... okay anything mexican, soups, meatloaf, casserole, burgers... and before I finished, she reponded: actually just tell what you DO like. Ah, much easier.

But, being 23, I've started to figure out that not only can you NOT live off grilled cheese and raw carrots, but that kind of palette is often embarrassing when eating out with friends. Yes, grilled cheese is the cheapest item on most adult menu's, but usually its only found on the kid's menu. Lame.

So... one of my 'new year's resolutions' is to try new foods. It is seriously scary to me. In the past, I have only really tried new foods when a boy I like suggests it. And even then I kind of pretend to try it, and usually just stay hungry until I can eat something I like. I can't believe I'm telling all my secrets, but oh well... now you know.

So, friends, family... other people I may eat with... if I make a face at a food that I've never tasted, crinkle my nose at the smell of something new or say I'm not hungry when you hear my stomach growling, remind me to try new foods!! Please and thank you.

I feel old.

2011-12-20T15:09:00.001-08:00

I feel OLD. No offense to all you real old people. ;)

But seriously!? Little Sydnee is 10! I absolutely cannot believe it. Sweet little baby Syd is now sweet big girl Syd. She has braces! And she carries on full on conversations about just about anything. She is in the 5th grade!

I remember talking with her about whether she hoped the baby in her mommy's tummy was a brother or a sister (don't get me started on the fact that baby Samuel is in KINDERGARTEN.) And we were JUST stomping ants in front of her house! (See blog circa 2006, sniff sniff.)

This is craziness to me. Am I the only one?

Fall so far...

2011-12-14T08:19:00.000-08:00

You know what I love? Washington. Its so beautiful. All the time.

This Thanksgiving, like most of the ones in the past, we spent the holiday at Aunt Sandy and Uncle Bill's cabin. It was rainy, and sometimes there were snow flurries, but at least there was some snow on the ground!

We had amazing food, as per usual. And Leighton joined us this year! She is so sweet, and I loved just sitting with her and talking to her.

Excuse me ahead of time for this blog being a little scattered. I may jump back and forth between things. Any way, I made sweet potato fries for Ashton a couple weeks ago. They were definitely a crowd pleaser, as my roommates also stole quite a few. ;)

I just cut up the sweet potato (very hard to do, actually) and brushed it with oil, added a little salt and pepper, and baked in the oven until they browned. Much better than chips with lunch. :)

Moving right along, we some elves decorated Fox Hollow the other night. They brought tons of lights and stockings for every barista and they even watched Elf while decorating! Don't ask how I know that, its just a guess.

Like the elves, Orting has been busy decorating as well. I cannot express how much I LOVE driving through town under the Christmas lights. They are super old and the bells aren't centered but I love it. I don't think pictures can capture how perfect it really is.

One of my favorite things to do at Christmas is open my mom's box of ornaments. She has the most beautiful antique ornaments from my grandma, and maybe my great grandma, as well as silly ones from when I was little. Its so fun to look at each ornament and remember decorating the tree in years past. And I love waiting to find my very favorite one, which she actually GAVE to me this year! (The one in the bottom right that is minty green and says 'Merry Christmas!')

I also love making Christmas cookies. I usually do it twice. First at the beginning of December... just for fun. Then a second time right before Christmas as gifts for all my friends and family. :)

Mom came over one day when I had Ashton, and we made a TON of cookies.

Ashton had one, and he LOVED it.

I was really excited for Saturday. Why? I got to watch baby Cam again! I was his nanny from the time he was about 6 months old until he was almost 2! It was so cool to see him all grown up and talking! I'm used to talking to babies even when they can't respond, so I kept getting surprised when I would ask something and he would talk back! He is precious!

And lastly... I have developed a deep love for all vegetables. Its strange, but good. The other night, after watching the Grinch, I decided on going to Tacoma Boys. No matter that it was 12:30, they are open 24 hours! Thankfully Aaron came with me, because I might have fallen asleep driving home otherwise. Anyway, I love Tacoma Boys. And their vegetables. And yesterday I made mushrooms and broccoli and snap peas, all from Tacoma Boys, for lunch. If you've known me for any length of time, you would know this is not normal. But I guess I have a new normal?

Happy December!

2011-12-13T13:45:00.000-08:00

Maybe its because I am always working. Or possibly its because I didn't have internet at my house for 6 months. Or perhaps its because my best friend now lives outside my bedroom door and whenever I have free-time, I usually spend it going on adventures with her. Whatever the reason, I have not been blogging.

When it comes to blog worthy stuff, I've done a lot. You know, like redoing furniture and decorating my house and building stuff and SEWING stuff and baking and cooking. But when it comes to taking pictures of it all and blogging about it so other people can see, I've definitely failed. And I feel terrible because many of my dearest friends live VERY far away and I want to keep them updated and reassure them that I am still alive and crafting.

So maybe my new year's resolution will be to blog more often? Probably not, because I NEVER keep resolutions. And actually, I never really make resolutions. So forget that.

I'm going to keep on living and blogging when I have a chance. So maybe tomorrow, next week, or next year.

Life in the PNW

2011-10-05T06:43:00.000-07:00

And just like that, September is over. It flew by. Gone are the sunny, cool days and the newness of school. Now begins the gloomy, rainy, muddy weather for the next 7-8 months. Boots, scarves, jackets, hats, hot coffee, baking while it's raining out, pumpkin everything... I am overflowing with joy for these months.

Reflecting on the last few weeks, I am amazed at how good God is. I've been learning 2 Corinthians 12:9 first hand...

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

I have very few moments to myself, and they are usually spent sleeping. Otherwise I am working at Fox Hollow, making coffee for all the lovely faces of Orting. Or watching Ashton and playing with trucks and books and trains. Or doing endless homework and studying for Psychology and Apologetics. Or working at the high school, doing office work and talking to students and wishing it were my real job right now. Or running Maschhoff children somewhere... gymnastics, karate, school, Fox Hollow. :) I love all of these things, but there is absolutely no way I could do all of this on my own.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a worship night at Fox Hollow. It was the last time Mary, Sarah and I all worked together... bittersweet. :) I am so thankful for them in my life! We all went to high school together, each a year apart. I probably wouldn't have been close with them if it weren't for Fox Hollow, but now I can't imagine life without them! [Super cheesy, I know.] I used to think Mary was shy, but I know different now. She is honestly one of the funniest people I know. And Sarah is just plain wonderful. I will miss working with both of them, but I'm not worried about not seeing them. We all love crafting too much to stay apart. ;)

Speaking of crafting and September, I have been dying to have Scrabble magnets. I think they are the coolest thing ever. Well... Mary and Sarah made me a set for my birthday! I was so surprised and so happy! I went to Ikea with Gram like I do every year for my birthday, and I bought a white magnetic board for the letters. The verse I have up on it in the picture is Psalm 27:14. :)

Lastly, a picture of my sweet hometown. Pam makes fun of me because I am always in awe of Mt. Rainier. It is so beautiful! This picture is like a perfect fall day. Cloudy and cool but the mountain is peeking out! I love it!

Septembers.

2011-09-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

My years always start in September. January is cool for everyone else, but its just how I've always marked my years. Its probably because that's when I was born. Or because school always feels like the beginning of the year... who knows.

Something I am really thankful for is that I started blogging so long ago. Sure... my first posts from back in the day are little annoying. I cringe reading some of them, and laugh at others. My spelling mistakes are ridiculous. And the things I thought were funny or interesting are surely not. But having my blog is a cool way to watch how I've grown over the years.

September 2006:

My senior year in high school. I had my little teal Pontiac and a ton of classes with Mr. Tarry. 3 out of 5, actually. My very best friends were Katy and Talicia. I'm pretty sure Katy and I had all the same classes.

September 2007:

I lived in Alabama. I didn't blog a lot for two reasons, I had school and a job. It was my first job, at Starbucks, and I loved it. The beginning of my coffee career! I said something about not having that real 'home feeling'. I think that has something to do with that age and stage in life.

September 2008:

Ah, 2008. My first year of my twenties. I worked at Forza and made about 5,000 new friends. I spent my days making coffee and my nights running around Puyallup like we ran the place. This was also the September that my precious Pontiac got crushed. Not by my doing, of course!

September 2009: (I didn't have a blog post in that September, WEIRD)

Probably my hardest year thus far in my life. I lived in Georgia for half of the month. My new car was smashed, I got two annoying tickets, I was homesick... but I grew a lot. God used that time in my life to really strengthen my relationship with Him, and to learn to trust Him fully.

September 2010:

This was another slightly hectic year. I had been a full-time nanny for almost a year at this point, and was feeling like I had no social life. Spending 12 hours a day with two boys who cannot talk, and no other human interaction... was really taking a toll on me. But this is also when I started to really enjoy antiquing and crafting and baking. And I took full advantage of naptime by doing all those things while the boys slept!

So that brings us to the present. September 2011. My life is full of biking and coffee making and school and nannying and younglife. I love every minute of it. God has blessed me with amazing people to work and live with. I'm sure I'll have a better reflection of this September in a few years, when I have more time to process it all. ;)

Fall Nights

2011-09-14T08:45:00.001-07:00

At first, I thought I would be so bummed when the new football stadium was built.

What? No muddy field? EVERYONE will be able to sit down? The seats are covered? Where will all the middle schoolers walk around? I don't know about this...

It didn't take long to change my mind. In fact, I loved the new stadium from the very first game I went to last fall. I took this picture on Friday at Orting's game against White River. Is this not the most beautiful view? To the west, an orange-y pink sunset. To the east, Mt. Rainier set in a purple sky. When I hear the Orting fight song, this is the view that comes to mind. I love it!

I think the thing I love most about the new stadium, and the old stadium, is that the entire town is at the football game. I was talking with my friend Jessica, who I also happen to nanny for, about this. If you want to be a part of the community, you have to be at the games. Its where you meet everyone from Orting. Not that there are THAT many people to meet ;)

Being a YoungLife leader makes the games even more fun. We have kids on the field, in the band, on cheer and dance, and just hanging out watching the game. Never a dull moment. I love our tiny town.

First week of school!

2011-08-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

I started my first week of classes today. As expected, it was PACKED. I did a lot of reading, watched a lot of videos and podcasts, and did some more reading. But I got everything done on time and only missed 2 questions on each of my quizzes!

We also had some beautiful nights this week. I snapped this picture on my way somewhere out of town. The colors make me so excited for football season! [WAR EAGLE!] :)

Lastly, my wonderful cousins Bri and Jami, and Bri's baby Leighton came down to Fox Hollow on Thursday! Leighton is the sweetest and newest member of our family. We were trying to get her to laugh and she was giving Jami the sideways eyes. :)

and the days go by...

2011-08-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

Two things are keeping me from blogging consistently.

The first one is really simple, I don't have Internet at home. I'm not about to make a trip to Fox Hollow JUST to blog. Then I get writer's block and think everything I say is dumb.

The second one is that I literally do not have enough time. At all. I used to want to have a famous blog. How sweet would it be to blog all the time, and that be your job. Designing your blog, writing, taking pictures, talking to people all over the country... all from the comforts of your own home. I've come to the realization that famous blog writing is not in God's Will for me. :) Oh well.

That doesn't mean I won't blog anymore, I just won't really worry about it.

And that's okay, because you should see my fall line-up...

Opening at Fox Hollow. Volunteering at OHS in the counseling center [my favorite part of the day!!]. Work at the Business Solutions Center [learning how to run a small business, entrepreneurship, being able to pay my rent...]. Online classes at Liberty.

Did I mention that little schedule is 5 days a week? On top of that, I'll still be volunteering with YoungLife and at Calvary with their high school students. God has put high school kids on my heart for a reason. And I seriously can't ignore it.

So basically this post is to ask for prayer. Because if I'm not blogging, it means I'm doing all that crazy stuff with my time. And sleeping in between.

Here's a little bit of stuff from the past couple weeks...

I finally got around to getting a few NEEDED items for my house. A silverware organizer, hose and nozzle, tupperware, salad things [what are those called?] and... A SHOWER CURTAIN! :)

My WONDERFUL friends Justin and Heide gave us a firepit! So my dad brought over some pallets and we had a nice little fire in the backyard with our friends. Maybe someday when I'm not working we can do it again! :)

[Can I go on a tangent and say that I am SO THANKFUL and GRATEFUL for the people God has placed in my life? Okay good... I am SO THANKFUL and GRATEFUL for the people God has placed in my life. :)]

Lastly, it was my friend Carissa's birthday last weekend. She is allergic to gluten. Yes, yes... what a terrible thing, right? Well... wrong. I made these delicious gluten free cupcakes! They tasted great and the only thing I noticed was a slight difference in the texture. It was more like cornbread than cake. But it was good!

That is all for now my blog-reading friends and family. I'll try to keep you updated. :)

A place to study or blog.

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

So... this isn't COMPLETELY done, but I'm impatient. I just had to set it all up in my room to see how it looked.

The verdict...

Perfect!

I picked this nice little spot by my bedroom door. Maybe it will remind me to get my work done right when I walk into my room?

I am in love with my Washington/Oregon road map. I think its from the 70's... I got it at an antique store but its definitely not an antique. The colors in the map are my inspiration for the whole room.

The top of the desk is made from an old door from my old house. It had windows at the top, but we cut that part off. I obviously still need to paint/sand this side where it was cut.

The crates were the best idea. I told my mom about the door part. She replied that crates would be perfect as legs for storage. Probably because I already had two white crates. But I am currently using them for other things.

So my roommate, Jeanette, and I were at the antique store yet again, and I saw these crates. They said 7.50... which was alright, but I wasn't about to spend 30 bucks on a bunch of old beat up crates.

Then... SAME DAY... on my way home, I drove past Van Leirop's and voila! EXACT same crates... about 80 of them... stacked up with a piece of plywood that said 2 dollars each! Much, much better! Those sneaky antique people, trying to make 5.50 off old crates. Tsk tsk. I'm too smart for that!

The only thing on the desk besides my computer is this precious oil lamp I found forever ago, and my jar of pens.

Besides painting and sanding, I ordered a big piece of glass to put over the whole thing. That way I can put a calendar and pictures or whatever I want in the sunk in part of the desk. And I will have a flat space to write and everything.

So there you have it. The beginning of my awesome desk. I'm in love.

Wedding inspiration!

2011-07-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

In honor of my cousin's wedding today, and the fact that I love weddings, I decided to post some of my favorite wedding ideas/inspiration.

I used to really want to be a wedding planner. Now i think it will just be my side job, but thats okay.

Anyway, I love the idea of different colors/styles of bridesmaid dresses. Maybe not different patterns like this picture, but it works. And I love it.

This is basically the cutest idea ever for refreshments if its a summer wedding.

Lastly, a barn. I personally want to get married at Mt. View in the white church building in Edgewood, but if that falls through, a barn like this would be very close second choice!

I have about 5000 different wedding ideas at all times. And I have already offered my planning services to all of my friends.

For more of my favorite wedding ideas and inspiration, check out my wedding board on Pinterest here!

Summer Days

2011-07-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

How have the days flown by so quickly?

June was a blur of moving, sunshine, trips to the ocean and coffee. July has been filled with camping, baby cousins, starry nights and new computers! :)

The following is the most unorganized grouping of pictures to sum up my summer days. From here on out... I promise I'll be neat. And that I'll blog frequently. And it will be awesome.

Pioneer Coffee Roasting Co. Cle Elum, WA. July 16, 2011.

Who would have thought that Cle Elum would have so many precious coffee shops? I can move there after all! ;) Pioneer USED to be my favorite, but we discovered a different one on the day we left... Coffee Cabin something? I'll get pictures of it soon. They are amazing! But Pioneer is great too, and so cute! :)

Greenwater, WA. July 3rd, 2011.

We went camping with Jeanette's friends. I thought this picture is so 'classic Washington'. Hipster TOMS [I'm not a hipster, though] and a campfire. I. Love. It.

LA Fitness. July 14, 2011.

I got a job in the Kid's Klub at LA Fitness. And this precious guy is one of my favorite kids in there. He is so cute! Look at that smile!!

Regal Tall Firs. HP 7p2 Premiere. July 14th, 2011.

My roommates and I went to the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 7p2 premiere at midnight on the 14th. IT WAS AWESOME. We saw it again on Sunday. :) It was like the closing of my childhood. Now I'm ready to be a grown up. :)

Draco. July 10, 2011.

Can you tell we love HP? We named our pup Draco! He is precious, mostly. And I must say... no matter how many times I've read Harry Potter and seen the movies, I ALWAYS hope Draco will turn out good in the end. Hmm... guess you'll have to watch it and see for yourself if my hopes come true or not!

Pacific Ocean. June 14th, 2011.

So we drove to the ocean at 9pm. It was lovely. Jordan MIGHT have gotten her car stuck in the sand. We MAY have had to call a tow. No big deal. It was a blast!

The Carbon River. June 7, 2011.

Right after we moved in, we walked down to the river to this BEAUTIFUL sight. I love it.

Lions Club Fields. Orting, WA. July 4th, 2011.

I love fireworks and the fourth!

Lake Tapps. July 4th, 2011.

Dad, Cole, Pam and I went to the Qunell's house on Lake Tapps for the 4th. It was a gorgeous day, and Pam and I took the paddle boat out for a ride. How beautiful is Washington? Seriously??

Ready for it?

2011-07-20T21:48:00.001-07:00

I now have a computer. A real life, fully functional computer. Capable of connecting to the internet, uploading pictures, saving pictures and of course, blogging.

I am so incredibly blessed. And so thankful. And so excited.

More later for sure. For now I must go figure out everything about it.

Inspiration... Thursday: Craft Party.

2011-06-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Mary, Sarah and I were talking about crafts. Actually... Sarah was completely set on making a necklace and everyone else was busy so she had to craft alone.
That led to us deciding to have a craft party as soon as I moved into my new house.
Now that I'm moved into my new house... I need to think of some craft ideas!

So onto Pinterest I went. As usual. Because I am addicted and its so cool.
I found like 29347974 things to craft, but these are my top ideas/ones I can actually afford to do ASAP. :)

First is a memory jar. You write down exciting things [or mundane things, whatever] throughout the year and place them in the jar. Then on New Years... you open it up and read them. SO FUN. I think I'm going to convince all my roommates to do this as well.

Next are some map hearts. What would I do with them? I don't know. I don't really care. I just love maps and I love hearts. The end.

Lastly I'm going to make a chalkboard calendar. I love the idea. And I love post its. PERFECT.

For our snack/dessert, we're going to make fruit pizza. I first had it in Louisiana at the VBS potluck. Amazing. Its basically a sugar cookie crust, cream cheese/marshmallow 'sauce' and whatever fruits you like on top.

THIS is a good enough recipe. I'm more of a figure it out as I go person... instead of following a recipe. But for you followers out there...
:)

UPDATE: Complete with pictures. :)

2011-05-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

As promised, I am updating my blog with some more pictures. Again, only phone quality, but seriously... what are you going to do about it?

First up... working at the school. Just a taste of my morning last week. Typing up a list of addresses with my white chocolate americano and a view of the front lawn of OHS. LOVE it.

This next picture is really two in one. First... the pallet shelves. I love them. And am making them for my new house. Because my dad has an unending pile of pallets at his work that I get for FREE. :)

Second... have you heard of Pinterest? It is just about the coolest website/app out there right now. You can tag any picture on the website and sort it into 'boards'. Like a home inspiration, style, DIY... etc. It is so addicting and amazing.

Check out my 'pins' at pinterest.com/meaganmaki

Thirdly... my 'side' of fruit at Little Cheerful in Bellingham. It was AMAZING. Except I didn't eat the cantaloupe because it makes my lips and throat go numb. Not good.

Lastly, my collection of kitchen-y things that I started packing for the new house. Yay!! Soon soon SOON I will be posting pictures from the new house. BE EXCITED. :)

Super short and sweet and to the point.

What the hail?

2011-05-27T14:56:00.000-07:00

No really, its hailing right now. Thankfully I'm nice and cozy indoors with my coke zero and h&m sweater. Others may complain, but I love rainy spring days. I've said it before and I will say it again... true Washingtonian right here.

ANYWAY... its obvious that once again I have failed as a blogger. I let yet another month go buy without even the teeniest, tiniest post. But I have good reasons. Great reasons actually. I've been making coffee, working at the high school, doing YoungLife and hiking every chance in between.

Fox Hollow is seriously wonderful. As a barista, it continues to amaze me how little my job has to do with making coffee and how much it has to do with relationships. At Starbucks and Forza, the job was so fast paced that it was hard to authentically interact with customers. It's like constantly being on stage... cheery and outgoing, but no real depth. At Fox Hollow it is much more laid back. While I pray continually that business picks up, its still pretty slow and we have lots of time to really get to know customers. And gosh, do we have amazing customers.

People battling cancer, children battling cancer. People who have lost jobs, houses and family members. People with passions for students, dog parks and hiking. Mechanics, entrepreneurs, pastors, students, teachers, moms, grandparents, restaurant owners, bikers and bicyclists [not to be confused with one another :)], hikers, runners, coaches, hair stylists, bus drivers... the list goes on. Some of them I am able to encourage, and all end up encouraging me. It sounds cheesy, I know. But their stories amaze me daily.

I could go on forever about our customers. But instead, come in... get some coffee and hang out. :)

I've also been working at the high school, which I love more and more everyday. Since I am going to school to be a high school counselor [or middle school? or elementary?], I started volunteering at my old high school. I am getting a TON of hands on experience working with students and other counselors, on top of building my resume. :) I talk with seniors who are endanger of failing a class they need to graduate [not the fun part, but still part of the job]. I discuss other seniors plans after graduation [so interesting to hear all the different plans!]. I spend time with the other counselors, listening in on meetings with parents, students and staff... discussing running start, problems at home and school politics. I really love it all.

Lets see... YoungLife. I tried it once and swore I would never be a YoungLife leader again. I know it sounds harsh, but it was a terrible experience. Students, leaders, everything. No need to go into detail, but I was SO over it and never going back. Fast forward almost 4 years... here I am again. Its funny how when you tell God that you never want to do something/go somewhere/talk to someone, He right away reminds you who is really in charge. But I am so so so thankful! Through my friend Jordyn, I met Heide, the YoungLife leader in Orting. [Did I also mention that I told God I didn't want to be back in Orting ever again? Ha... ha... ha......] Jordyn met Heide through our college pastor and introduced her to me while I was making coffee one day. I made her a white chocolate americano and we became best friends. Okay, not really. But she did say I should come be a YoungLife leader. Yeah, good joke, I thought. I told her I'd check it out but I do not give into peer pressure [true statement]. She laughed. I went to check it out. Now I am stuck doing it again. ;)

There's more to the story, and I really love the Orting kids. And Orting YoungLife. And Heide! I am so thankful that God placed her in my life. His timing is PERFECT. As always. Shoulda known, right? Hah.

Is this post weird because it has no pictures and lots of words? Sorry. If you don't like reading, come back in a couple weeks. I might have pictures. ;)

Moving on... hiking. How many more things can I claim to love in one blog post? One more? Okay good because I LOVE HIKING. Best way to exercise EVER. Doesn't really even feel like regular exercising until the day after when you can't move your legs. Okay, just joking. But I really do love hiking. Mt. Peak has been conquered. Sarah, Mary and I are moving onto Mt. Si. And about 18367 other trails found in a 1980's hiking book one of our loyal customers at the Hollow let me borrow. I am so extremely excited and will most definitely post pictures soon!

I feel like this post has been a little high energy. Maybe its the coke zero? Oh well, until next time, have a lovely day!

April showers...

2011-04-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

Where have I been? What's new? Besides the fact that I am a failure as a blogger. A lot is new. Too much to explain in a little old blog. But I will upload some pictures to catch you up. :)

For Easter, Mom, Jarv and I went to Abundant Life for church and Around the Corner Cafe for lunch. It was such a sweet, rainy, Orting type of day. I loved it. Then mom and I watched some HP... you know, my fave. Lastly, we had dinner with my dad's side of the family at my aunt's house. Our family is always entertaining. :) ... we always have something to laugh about. My aunt gave me these BEAUTIFUL tulips that are getting prettier everyday. Time with family + rejoicing in the fact that Jesus is alive = a wonderful Easter.

The week before Easter, I watched Cole while Dad and Shawn went to South Dakota. This year, Orting's seniors put on a 'Senior Class Olympics'. Where the seniors went up against the staff in a variety of random events. It cost money, but it was for a good cause. And we got to enjoy the beautiful yet VERY cold view in the new stadium. Will I ever get used to the new field? I don't think so, but I will try. :)

Yup. Dayquill. Sickness sucks.
[But I loooove me some coffee too. :)]

My latest addiction, Greek vanilla yogurt with strawberries and granola. Summer in a bowl for sure.

Aww Millie. She was pretending to eat a donut that did NOT belong to her. :) She would get sooooo close to touching it, then snap her head back up in laughter. She is so precious!

Can you tell I'm enjoying having an iphone? I took about 297974 pictures of the sunset last night on my way to pick up Claire from ballet. The sky was gorgeous!!

I'll leave you with this sweet image. While at the dance studio, Miles climbed up there because it was 'so awesome'. Makes me think of my dad telling me he used to ride in the back window on car trips. Ha. DON'T WORRY. We were definitely parked, keys out of the ignition, in a secure parking space. :) Love that boy.

I'll try to be a better blogger now.

New room!

2011-03-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

My room was a disaster for the past couple weeks. Which is completely unlike me.
I like everything perfectly in its place, otherwise I literally don't sleep well.
But last week when I officially decided to stay in Washington right up until I leave for school, I had to fix up my room. Stacked books on my dresser had to go. Clothes needed to be put away. Extra sheets and bedding needed to go in my closet. It just had to happen.
When I was done I felt so good. I could sleep for days in my new room!

This is my jewelry frame. Which I have posted about before, but now its all set up. I love the color so much.

This is kind of my 'work-in-progress' corner. I still need to paint the crate white, and the frames inside of it need painting. And gluing.

This is my finished crate. :)
It has all the books that I will read this summer and that I want to take to school in August.

The inside of the unfinished crate is literally all junk. Stuff that has no other place or needs painting/fixing/whatever. But I make it look organized, of course. :)

This little tray is one of my favorite things. I got it at Value Village for 99 cents! I painted it and now its perfect for my little coast-to-coast coasters and M's and my favorite oil lamp!

Antique Finds

2011-03-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

This week I was kidnapped by Kelsey. She forced me to go antiquing. Even though I told her I was tired. And that I had no money to spend on lovely antique finds. And that I didn't want to drive anywhere.
But she tricked me. And she drove. And I have never been so thankful.

I went into 3rd Street Antiques, which we frequent quite often, expecting to see all the same old stuff. The strawberry blanket [still there], the old pair of skis that I LOVE upstairs [still there] and the suit with cat appliques all over it [surprisingly NOT there]. My plan was to absolutely not fall in love with anything or buy even the cheapest thing.

ESPECIALLY with Kelsey. Because we have a love for all the same vintage-y things. Kitchen things, tablecloths and teacups.

I hadn't even made it 1/4 of the way through the shop when I saw the most beautiful tablecloth I had ever seen. This picture does it no justice. It has my favorite colors: mint and light pink. Along with red, which I love. And it has tulips. I have never seen a tulip tablecloth but I was definitely in love. I didn't even look at the price because I knew if I didn't buy it, Kelsey would. And I would FOREVER regret that.

I also ended up finding a very, very cute apron [the blue one] for only 7 dollars! And Kelsey found the super cute white apron on top.

I will take more pictures sometime of the whole tablecloth, but this at least shows a little bit of it. Thank you so so so much for kidnapping me Kelsey!
:)

Inspiration Monday: Mint Green.

2011-03-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

I love mint green. I can't get enough of it. And its EVERYWHERE lately.
Here's some nice inspirational minty pictures.
:)

I want those pretty minty walls and the beautiful green bed frames and the cute fan. Basically I want this whole room. But I only really need one bed. :)

I WILL make these cupcakes. Someday.

I'm not really sure how to make this wreath, but I will find out and make it. I love it.

Silhouettes, take two.

2011-03-09T19:59:00.000-08:00

Since I haven't been working for the past week, I've had to fill my spare time with something, right? Like I said on my Inspiration Monday post, I am kind of obsessed with silhouettes. Just the word itself is pretty. Silhouette. Ah. Anyway.

I had this bright idea a while ago and never got to actually doing it. Until yesterday. See here we have a lovely giant paper bag. Its hard to tell because I use my phone as a camera [long story, don't make me explain myself], but I traced the size of the frame I am using onto the paper bag. And then I cut it. E-Z.

Then, after lots of google-ing and sketching, I came up with Henry and Margaret. I loved the funky flower/hat thing on Margaret's head. And I thought Henry's pipe was pretty classy. And I'm all about class. So it was settled. I sketched them onto the paper bag.

Next, I very carefully painted the outline of the two. I was so nervous to mess it up. But I think I did alright.

I filled them in with just one coat. At first I really liked it, I thought they looked cool. But then they started to look incomplete. So before framing them, I added two more coats. Just your basic 'Vanilla' acrylic paint, by the way.

Finally I framed them. Don't they look so happy in their new homes? Lets be honest, Margaret looks a little annoyed. Maybe she's tired of Henry's smoke. Sorry Margaret. :)

Now onto my next project/a continuation of this project.

More silhouettes. At first I liked the idea of Henry and Margaret all alone on a wall, but then I thought it would be cool to add a few little guys to their scene. So I came up with a few more options. And I need to put it to a vote. Look through these simple designs. Which should I do? Just one more? All of them? A couple?

First I have these strange flowery/branchy things. I like the look, but I would probably adjust it a little bit... so I wouldn't use this EXACT picture.

A musical instrument? To demonstrate my lack of musical talent but my love for music itself? I mean, I could do a beautiful violin or a piano... I just don't know. Or both?

I really love this doe and I will probably make one whether or not anyone agrees with it. Not on colored paper, but this is the only google image I could find that was similar to the little deer I would want. :)

A chandelier? Is it overdone? Out of style? I don't know.

Lastly, a bird. I got this idea from my Gramma and reallllly love it. Maybe not this exact one, but its cute. Eh?

Inspiration Monday: Silhouettes!

2011-03-07T16:48:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to start this 'silhouette' project for a while now. But it involves a lot of searching for the perfect silhouette to freehand. I have this wonderful plan, which will be blogged about in the future. But right now I just need inspiration. And here we are on Inspiration Monday....

I got both of these images from Country Living. I love just searching their site. They have so many good ideas! I LOOOVE the variety of the frames in the top picture. Walls covered with frames definitely have a special place in my heart.

I also love the idea of painting silhouettes straight onto a wall in this lower picture. How neat! But I don't think we can paint our dorm room. In fact, I know we can't. So I will have to settle for my brilliant plan that is in progress but not yet revealed to the public. :)

So... how do you feel about silhouettes? Cool or creepy?
:)

Finally Finished!

2011-03-06T12:04:00.000-08:00

A long time ago [September] I posted this picture on Facebook. I wanted to make something similar. I saw this on thathouseonthecorner.blogspot.com.

So what do you know? I found a perfectly sized frame in my garage, knocked out the glass. Sanded it down and painted it. When I went to buy the wire for the inside, it came in a roll TWICE as big as I needed.

So I decided to make a gray one for Talicia. :) She will LOOOVE it.

I'm not going to put all my jewelry on it right now because I need to pack it up and ship it to the east coast, but I put some on it so you could see how nice it looks. Yay!

Coast to coast coasters...

2011-03-06T10:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was bored. Beyond bored. So I decided to clean my room. Which turned into me discovering tons of new crafts ideas. Which then turned into me making all the crafts.

I found an atlas from a couple years ago. And if you know me, I love maps. I LOVE maps.

So an idea popped into my head. I saw this idea in a magazine or blog or something and I can't remember exactly where. Anyway its coasters with maps on them. Ahhh. Genius. If I could put maps on everything I would.

So, after finding the atlas, I made a trip up to one of my favorite stores ever. Michael's.
I needed cork for the base of the coasters, modpodge and paint brushes [for the modpodge and some other projects :)]. I also busted out my scissors and a can to trace around.

I discovered quickly that the can was too small for a coaster. And that scissors do not cut cork well AT ALL.
So I found a better item to trace [the glass] and a straight edge blade. I cut out all the cork, then traced the maps onto them, modpodged [is that a word?] them on, and voila! Coast to coast coasters. :)

I made them out of some of my favorite places in the US. And I love them so much.

North Carolina. One Tree Hill fans out there? Wilmington? I've never been to North Carolina. I will soon, but 1/3 of my very best friends live there. Or are going to be living there. <3

Sweet Home Alabama. So many memories in this little circular coaster. Montgomery, Wetumpka, Auburn... this coaster makes my heart happy.

Washington. Does this need an explanation? Has anyone ever noticed how green Washington is on a map? Also, why is Eatonville on here, but Orting isn't? Rivalries don't just run deep in the south...

Another 1/3 of my best friends lives here. So much water. So pretty on a map. "Let's pack up and move to California. She's got lots of friends out there..." :)

This little section of Oregon probably holds some of my best memories. Cape Disappointment, Astoria, Seaside, Cannon Beach. I love love love it.

Nashville. No, I've never been there. But its #1 right now on my list of places I want to visit.

So much of my heart is in this circle. Who knew so many roads went in and out of Atlanta? ;) Ha, anyone who has ever driven anywhere near there knows how terrible driving is.

Lastly, my precious overcrowded bedroom. Like my space heater? My house gets cold. :)

Faithful Readers and First time Wanderers...

2011-03-06T00:07:00.001-08:00

It's been a week. Almost. And I have so many almost-posts its not even funny.

But today... today my friends I went crafting crazy. No joke. My room is a disaster. I'm blogging from my bed because there is no where else to blog from! I am not kidding.

Every square inch of my floor has some sort of project taking up its space. Whether it's my little frame area, with an old sheet on the floor to catch paint drips... or the corner with a ginormous garbage bag filled with old papers I no longer need, there is no open space.

I really, really, REALLY wanted to post a real post tonight. With pictures and finished projects and what not. But sadly it just cannot be done.

I will, however, have a bright shiny new post with pictures and projects and paint and glue and scissors and baby chicks up tomorrow!! Sometime tomorrow... I will work really hard on it.

Sorry Katy. :)

NEW: Inspiration Monday!

2011-02-28T13:34:00.000-08:00

I decided to start doing 'Inspiration Mondays.' You know, things that inspire me? This week its subway tile in kitchens. I might have went a little overboard on the pictures, but I love it so much!!

This first picture might be my favorite. I LOVE the green/blue color of the tile.

I'm not a huge fan of this shade of blue, but I like the way the brighter color looks against an all white kitchen. So clean and crisp!

This one is cool because it looks so vintage! I mean, look at the water spout for the sink! So cool.

I'm always a fan of all white.

Again, I swear you can't go wrong with all white. Soooo pretty.

Lastly another green one. I'm not a fan of the kitchen itself, but I love that color. Its definitely my favorite.

Birthday Cupcakes!

2011-02-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

This may be the most photos I have ever put in one post. But its well worth it.

Today I made cupcakes for my dad's birthday dinner. His actual birthday isn't until tomorrow, but due to scheduling, dinner is tonight at gram's!

It took me a bit to think of what kind of cupcakes I would make, but my decision is perrrrfect for the occasion! I decided on red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and black sprinkles! Why, you ask? Because my dad loves Dale Earnhardt, and his colors were black and red.

I even bought foil cupcake liners because they go better with a NASCAR theme than pastel-y ones. :)

First, I sorted out the black confetti from the green and orange. Ah, what a fun chore. ;) It really wasn't too bad. Except there was a little critter at my feet begging for sprinkles...

I might have given him a couple. :)

He was going back and forth between begging for sprinkles and dancing to our background music. A compilation of Mumford & Sons, Jon Foreman, Gungor and the Fourquare UG Band. All goooood stuff, and Cameron can dance to ANYTHING.

Oh fresh, warm cupcakes. How I love you. Did anyone ever notice that red velvet tastes very similar to chocolate poptarts? I love chocolate poptarts so it works out, but they seriously taste SO MUCH alike.

I opted for the whipped frosting in stead of regular. Mostly because it was in a bigger container and on sale, but also because its delicious.

So this is how I frost cupcakes so I don't smear it on the liner and such. I'm sure tons of people have been doing this since the invention of cupcakes, but I just discovered it. First, a dollop of frosting.

I put mine in a plastic ziploc bag and cut a hole in the end so it comes out nicely.

Then carefully spread it out as far as you want. I wanted a bit more of the red than usual to show so that they did just look like morbid black sprinkled cupcakes. :)

Then you bust out whatever decorations you want. I used some Halloween sprinkles. Also where I got the black confetti sprinkles. Black sugar crystals on cupcakes? I wasn't sure how cute they would be.

And surprise! They're adorable.

A little variety with the confetti. I love them so much, I will be sad to see them go!

Yum!!!

Frameworthy.

2011-02-16T09:23:00.000-08:00

While scanning through Anthropologie's website, I found this gem.

And she really is a gem. $698 dollars worth. Yeah right, I won't spend $698 on anything. Especially not something I can make for under $10.

So I went to Goodwill and Value Village in search of frames. [Sidenote: the one at Anthropologie is HUGE. Like 4 feet tall and 4 or 5 feet wide. I'm guessing so don't quote me on that. :)]I found these four right away. One dollar each. Okay!! The pictures were a little tricky to get out. I swear between the three, there were at least 70 staples. I am now a professional staple remover. :)

Anyway, I also have one of those thick square wooden mirrors from Ikea that will be added to the collage. And my favorite part, I am making some frames with wood from old pallets. Ahh. So excited. Obviously this is just the before picture. They are now in my garage, each with a beautiful layer of paint. I'm so excited for the after pictures. The colors will just have to be a surprise. :)

Lastly I found this really weird frame that I love. It kind of looks like bone, or hair. Or both. But its getting painted as well, and it looks so nice now! Once they are all done, they will be posted. Don't worry!

Dorm Decor

2011-02-14T12:19:00.000-08:00

I never really wanted to live in a dorm. I shared a bedroom from age 5-12, and that was plenty of time for me. At least until I get married.

But now that I know I will have to be in a dorm, and sharing space with TWO other people [ahh!], I'm a little excited. ~~I don't have a problem sharing or getting along, but I just like things a certain way.~~ Scratch that. I sound like a terrible and snooty person. I'm not, promise.

I just really like to come home to a neat and cozy space. Cleaned up, decorated, comfy, organized... all those things.

So obviously a roommate could effect any number of those things. Which I will just have to get over. So for now I am loving designing my space in the room!

[All the photos below are from various blogs on dwellinggawker.com. I am obsessed.]

I just love everything about this room. Obviously I won't have this much space, but this is kind of my go-to inspiration.

I want the top clock. Or something very similar.

I don't know if I would want so much stuff displayed, but I like how this is done. Very neat straight lines. I have tons of pretty cards and letters and pictures that I want to somehow put up. And I love this.

Lastly how amazing would it be to make a teacup lamp for above my desk?? I am going to do it. I have to.

Ancient skies and hurricanes.

2011-02-10T22:44:00.000-08:00

Well let me first begin with this: I prepared really cool images for this post and then realized that I am either Mac impaired or the iPad won't let me post pictures on here. That being said, please still read my post. It's still good without pictures. :)

Now. I am not one of those people who can find cool music before it's cool. I wish, but no. I am the person who likes music aft it's already been cool and everyone is over it. Oh well. I have been stuck on the following bands/musicians/tunes for a bit and I love them so much, I can't possibly keep it all to myself! So whether you know them or love them or hate them.... here it goes:

Jon Foreman/ Switchfoot

I've known Switchfoot for quite some time, but I am so in love with their newest album, 'Hello Hurricane.' my favorite song is probably Sing it Out. So beautiful. I also recently (I said I am behind the times) fell in love with the lead singers solo stuff. I literally cannot get enough of Foreman's songs. They stick with me all day. My favorites: White As Snow, Soebody's Baby and House Of God, Forever.

NEEDTOBREATHE

I have kind of ehh-ed NEEDTOBREATHE in the past. I have liked a few songs but never really gotten into them. But then I heard 'These Hard Times' and found my love for them. Also they are opening up for Taylor Swift on her Speak Now tour... so.... yeah. Love them as well.

Gungor/Michael Gungor Band

I am stuck on Ancient Skies, You Have Me and We Will Run. All three are wonderful.

So, there's my latest musical obsessions. To my 3 readers (haha), what are you listening to?

Lynchburg, Virginia. Home of the Flames.

2011-02-08T12:15:00.000-08:00

As of last Wednesday, I am officially a student of Liberty University. Yay!

'How did this come about?' you might ask. Well, let me tell you! I love typing and stories and this story is going to take a bit of typing, so here it goes.

Throughout the last year, I have been considering and praying about a few different bible schools. One in Germany [ahh!], Seattle, online, California... none were really working out. The one in California wasn't accredited, but had mentioned some of their credits transfer to Liberty. There, seed planted. [And maybe more officially the seed was planted when someone from my church, Carol, took classes online at Liberty. And then Parker. And then Hope went there. But through all that it was just some school I didn't care about.]

So all these other ideas started fizzing out. I was about to make myself go to Pierce [boo!] when my very best friend called and started going on and on about her week. Which is typical, she tells me all about her week, then I tell her all about mine... its what happens when you don't live near each other. Anyway, she had gone with David and Farah to their new church where David is serving as the youth pastor. And, what band was playing and offering free applications to their school for anyone at church that night? Oh yeah, Liberty.

I was like, noooo way. I have been thinking about Liberty! So we talked more about it and what not, and I decided to apply. After a couple weeks of writing and rewriting my essay and praying that they didn't think I was lame for applying 4 years out of high school, I sent in the application. Just two weeks of praying and calling Liberty for every little question, I was accepted.

Now begins the financial process. Then the moving process. Then the get-back-into-school-and-homework-mode process. I'm definitely looking forward to it.

Just some things I am looking forward to about Being at liberty/on the East Coast.

Going to New York City. Never been. :) :) :)

School supplies. Yessss.

Liberty Football games at this beautiful field at dusk.

Washington DC. Never been there either. But shouldn't everyone go to their country's capital at least once??

Photo challenge thing from FB shortened and more awesome.

2011-02-01T12:21:00.000-08:00

A picture of yourself and 10 facts:

1. My favorite colors are pink, aqua and mint green.

2. I'm currently a nanny. Its intense.

3. I am planning on going to Liberty University in Virginia in just 7 short months.

4. I love lists.

5. I want to visit every state. I'm only halfway there, ish.

6. I would say what my favorite verse is, but I'm reading through the Psalms and it changes everyday. So lets just say my current favorite book is Psalms.

7. I love to cook and bake.

8. I have slight obsession with green beans. I love them so much I can eat them with every meal. But only the fresh, french style green beans. Not canned or frozen. I'm not trying to be stuck up. :)

9. I looove Taylor Swift. As well as Needtobreathe, Michael Gungor, Jon Foreman, Switchfoot, Coldplay and Copeland. Good mix, I know.

10. I've got a great family, and the best friends.

A picture of a good memory:

Summer mission trip to Louisiana. God, gators, swimming in the oil infested Gulf of Mexico, accents, VBS, people. It was wonderful.

A picture of the cast from your favorite TV show:
LOST.

A picture that makes you laugh:

It was June. In Georgia. We were sunburned and tired, as were Dax and Cole who were babysitting at the time. [They were asleep during our ridiculous photoshoot]. We were obsessed with the MIA song and what else can I say? Hahahahahaa.

A picture of a letter:

A letter from my grandpa to my grandma while he was in Yakima [I think] working and she was here in P-town. I love living in a town where your family has been for decades!

A picture of somewhere you'd like to visit:

The Austrian countryside! While I'm at it, I'd also love to visit Germany, Italy and the UK.

A picture of your favorite book:

Besides the Bible, Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot. If you haven't read it, I HIGHLY suggest it. So great and inspiring! I've read it at least 10 times in the past 4 years. Not exaggerating.

A picture of you and a family member:

Me and my baby brother Jarvis. We're obviously grown up now. And he is wayyy taller than me. No more baby Jarv.

A picture of your night:

The past few nights I have been finishing up season 6 of LOST. I am so thankful for Netflix on the ipad. Its perfect!

A picture of your day:

My everyday actually. Brody and Cameron. Today they played with bowls of water on the kitchen floor. "Cooking." They LOVED it.
A picture of something that can always make you smile:

Brody winking. This kid is a genius.

Real.

2011-01-22T23:39:00.000-08:00

Let's be honest here, I have been a terrible blogger. I really have wanted and tied to blog but my thoughts have been clouded with many other things. First it was the craziness of the holidays. I was busy and excited and had friends coming and going left and right. Then it was New Years, which was spent in Cle Elum with my dad, Shawn, Jarvis, Jake, Cole and Robyn. We snowmobiled, hung out around the fire, stayed warm in the RV (It was a balmy -5 ish at night. Yeah...) and got coffee from the cute coffee shop in town. Very fun.

After the new year, I made a pretty big decision to apply to Liberty University in Virginia. Scary I know, but I'm excited. Be praying for me. :)

Also Talicia has been visiting. Which means my days are still consumed with dirty diapers and juice cups and toy trucks, but instead of restful nights, I have been hanging out, catching up and driving around Puyallup and orating with her. I love it and am sad to see her go back to the ATL, but I'm a little excited for the extra rest I will get.

So blogger world, I will be back soon with more interesting posts and pictures and what not. I just thought it would be nice to explain why I have been absent for so long. :)

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

2010-12-16T12:55:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been so busy that I keep forgetting to blog. With Katy home, now Hope coming home... its just been crazy. In a good way. But... as I promised to Kelsey before she left for North Carolina, I WILL BLOG. As will she. :)

This might be a little random, but I have so many precious black and white pictures on my phone, and I had to post some.

Brody and Cam in their hats. For some reason Brody LOVES the infant sized bear hat. He brings it to me everyday wanting me to put it on him. And if I don't snap the bottom part, he gets mad. So his not-infant-sized face gets squished into that hat almost daily around here [unless I remember to hide it...]. And Cam, well he doesn't keep hats on. At all. This picture took about 14 tries before I got one with the hat still on him. :)

Ah the top of our tree. I love it. I had a picture on my camera of the full tree, in color, lights on and everything.... but.... it was blurry. Oh well. We have a TON of pretty vintage Christmas ornaments that were my grandma's. They are super colorful and super breakable. We learned that when our tree fell over one year... bummer. But there are still a lot left. :)

Lastly, two of my very favorite kids, Claire and Miles. I was their chauffeur on Monday, and while we waited at the dance studio for Alex to be done with hip hop, Claire and Miles wanted to pretend to be asleep. Miles is really convincing, huh?

Enjoying a pomegranate.

2010-12-01T13:02:00.001-08:00

To eat a pomegranate, you have to A. Be very determined and B. Have a lot of time on your hands.

Today, while watching the boys, I decided to eat a pomegranate. Thankfully the boys were entertaining themselves.

First, you have to cut it open. Which usually results in cutting a bunch of the seeds open. And then you get pomegranate juice all over your hands/the counter/the floor. Be prepared for that.

Then you take the pieces and put them into a bowl of water. Then all the yellow skin part floats to the top and the seeds go to the bottom. You still have to kind of break them apart, but CAREFULLY. Otherwise the juice thing happens from the previous step.

Number three, remove as much of the skin as you can.

4. Rinse the seeds in a colander. I usually have to return them to a bowl of water a few times to get all the yellow parts off.

Lastly, pour into an empty bowl and enjoy!

PS- Brody just woke up from a nap and is permanently attached to my side, making it hard to write a blog post.

Its the most wonderful time of the year...

2010-11-17T12:35:00.000-08:00

I feel like I am at a weird age as far as Christmas presents go. Actually I feel like I am at a weird age for everything in life. But this is regarding Christmas presents, so yeah. [Thank you Katy for the inspiration.]

I am too old to write a letter to Santa asking for clothes and shoes and a pony.

But I am too young to have my own house/family so it'd be weird to ask for a blender or a couch or a new set of silverware.

Also, I really do have more than I need. And I'm not just saying that.

Anyway, after all of that, I do know ONE thing I would LIKE. A new computer. I have said before, my precious sweet Apple [her name, after Gwyneth and Chris' daughter] is getting up there. She was given to me because the computer I got for my graduation present 3.5 years ago got the blue screen of death. And while I love Apple, she does not usually like me. She refuses to recognize my camera. She does not have the capability to play videos at a regular speed. She has absolutely no programs besides Safari because she is just too old to run them. All in all, her time has come.

I really can deal with Apple. She is fine for internet alone. Not so much blogging, or videos like I said. But e-mail, facebook, checking the weather--GREAT!

[Sidenote: It is storming like crazy outside right now, and the boys are both peacefully asleep. It is like heaven on earth for me. The two things I love most in life. Naptime and storms. And blogging. Okay back to the post...]

I want a new computer for the reasons listed above, and for the following:

1. I am going to do school online.

2. I want something that is reliable/not going to crash when I have a paper due.

3. I want to have the latest word processing programs.

Easy enough. So I am asking my parents for money that is specifically for a new computer. I asked my brother too, but he said he is giving me a TV for Christmas. No joke. Love my brother. He is awesome. I haven't gotten a TV since I was in 7th grade. It weighed 75 pounds. It was an 18 inch tube TV. Yeah I'm a little excited. Sorry for the short sentences.

Now I will just have spend some time thinking of a new name for the computer when I get it. Apple Jr.? Baby Apple? Grape? Banana? We'll see.

Lastly, I didn't ask for anything, but Brody and Cam's parents are getting me a Christmas gift in the form of h&m. Yes they already told me. I guess they aren't much for surprises? Oh well.

Thankful. I lost track of the days. Whatev.

2010-11-12T12:46:00.000-08:00

My lists of things I am thankful for grows every minute. Coke Zero, sunshine, scarves, Honeycrisp apples. But obviously I am most thankful for the people in my life. People are more important than things. Duh.

So today I'm taking a bit to write about my three very best friends. I've known them all since middle school which is pretty amazing.

[Dear T, Katy & Kels, I love you all. Love, Meg/Chmeag.]

TALICIA.

I honestly think of Talicia as my sister. She is the closest thing I have to one. She is the kind of best friend you can tell anything to. We can not talk for weeks and pick right back up where we left off. We can live across the country from each other and still be best friends. I am so blessed to know her.

KATY.

Katy's personality and mine are the funniest together. We totally get each other, and can argue/debate for hours and end up at point where we say, "Welp, this is just one of the many things we will disagree on. Do you remember the episode of Gilmore Girls where Rory and Lorelei..." and then we are onto a new topic. Because of that, Katy helps me to look at different sides of things. If that makes sense. There are a lot of things we both like, too. Like thinking of random businesses to start. :) And again like Talicia, we can be 1000 miles apart and still talk and text as though we were hanging out yesterday. Soooo thankful for Katy.

KELSEY.

Kelsey. Aw Kelsey. My twin, I swear. Not that we look alike, but I think everything in our lives are alike. We have extremely similar families. We each one brother. We were in all the same clubs in high school. We like the same clothes. We love the same things [antiquing, decorating, garage sale-ing, planning, cooking, babies...]. And Kelsey teaches me so many little things. Like the differences between butter and shortening in cookies. I lovvveee Kelsey!

Welp, there you have it. Love these girls. Just laugh at the pictures. They are all OLD and weird and funny. I am so thankful for all them being a part of my life!

Almost too much cuteness for one post.

2010-11-11T13:06:00.000-08:00

How cute is this little boy? I've been teaching Brotato Chip to play on his own lately. Not ALL the time, but for a while. So he isn't spoiled. Ha.

[I think its too late.]

Anyway, today little man sat in the corner for 30 minutes. I kept looking at him, wondering what on earth was keeping him entertained so long. And welp, here it is.

He was lining up his blocks against the wall, messing them up, and lining them up again.

This is what he did when I told him to look at me, of course.

You can't tell which blocks are which, but I think he was putting them in order of his favorites. He always carries around the blue block with a V and a van on it. So much so that the picture is wearing off. After that, its a J with a jar of jelly. And so on. Well, the V block is first in the line, followed by the J... and other favorites. Once you get to the end of the line, the blocks aren't even straight anymore.

He is so strange, but so smart!

Blog readers.

2010-11-10T13:17:00.000-08:00

Although I'm pretty sure there are only three of you, I just wanted to let you know I totally messed up my blog template/layout and am trying to figure it out and make it look nice again.

Thankfulness: Day 3-6. :)

2010-11-06T23:01:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time, I was a terrible blogger. And that time was the past 3 days.
So much for thankfulness, right? WRONG.
I have been writing down and photographing the things I've been thankful for in the past few days, even though I haven't been blogging about it. Sometimes I just don't have time, you know?

[Sidenote: I don't know how moms of small children can be so up to date with Facebook and blogger and such. When I am nanny-ing, I literally have to be with them every second or the crazies dump my purse on the floor and eat my necklaces! Haha. My only internet time is the small time where their naps overlap. Maybe it will be different with my own kids?]

Anyway, thankfulness.
First, I am so thankful for fall in Washington.
I love the rain. The cold. The storms. The leaves.
Its so beautiful. It makes my life more enjoyable.

I am also thankful for the vast array of coffee shops in Washington. Today I visited one I had never been to before, Satellite Coffee in Tacoma. I was looking at a couple apartments, saw this place, and had to try it.
I got an americano with a little bit of vanilla in it. Mmmmmmm.
Perfection.

I am always thankful for these precious prizes. I am especially thankful for their parents' old cell phones. The boys constantly want mine. They know I keep it in my purse [hence the purse dumping]. But since they are only babies, they don't quite realize that these phones don't really work anymore. :)

[Sidenote: Note Cam's little face. He is ALWAYS looking to Brody to see what Brody will do next. Dangerous of course, because Brody is daring and defiant, but so cute!]

More coffee? No. This picture is about these boys. The two on the right have been my favorite family to babysit for since the Isbells left Washington. They love me and I can't figure out why. [Seriously these kids call me, on their own and ask me to babysit. Miles once offered to give me his room is I would live with them.] Anyway, I just always take them to Forza and read to them a lot? I guess we have similar interests? :)
Usually I have all three Omans [Alex, Claire and Miles] but tonight I just had the boys, plus their cousin. They were so excited to make all the decisions without the input of their sister. I am so thankful for these boys. For the joy they bring when I watch them. And for their parents, who have become my friends, not just my employers. Love love love the Oman family!

Thankfulness: Day Two.

2010-11-03T13:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I didn't forget to post about thankfulness. I also didn't forget to be thankful. I was just really busy. :)

Anyway, the main and obvious thing I was thankful for on November 2nd was the right to vote. Of course I'm not a fan of all the political commercials, radio advertisements and phone calls [who does like that stuff?], there is something amazing about election day.

Maybe its because all the elections I've voted in have been SO CLOSE. Right this moment the Senate race in Washington is literally 50/50. Each vote counts. My little tiny vote could help push one canidate past the other. How cool is that?

Some other things I was thankful for yesterday:

-Growing up. Its so nice to run into old friends or teachers. I went to Community last night, the college group in our area, and ran into a friend I don't see/get to talk to often. It was a special night because they combined middle school, high school and college all together for one night. I'll admit the middle schoolers were a littler high energy for me, but it was fun. The middle school pastor at Calvary, Rob Mayer, who was also my PE teacher in 7th and 8th grade, was also there. Its so cool so see him investing in the little middle schoolers just like he used to do at OMS baaack in the day. :)

- Starbucks red cups. Enough said.

**I'll blog about my thankfulness for TODAY later on today. :)

Thankfulness: Day One.

2010-11-01T21:39:00.000-07:00

So I decided this month I am going to try to the best of my ability to blog everyday about something or things I am thankful for.

"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing;
in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus"
-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I've realized that its easy to be thankful for the good things in life. Its easy to praise God when he hands you everything you want. So I'm going to make an effort to give thanks in everything as the verse says. Especially when I might not understand why God is doing the things He is doing.

–adjli

Today I am especially thankful for precious little Cameron. Usually I'm watching both boys, but whenever I watch one of them alone, its such a nice little treat. Cameron is always SO excited to have my undivided attention. [But he also loves playing with Brody. :)] He was enjoying stacking a rolling dolphin [Yeah, what kind of toy is that?? I was confused too] on top of a drum. Then he would push it off the drum and laugh uncontrollably. :)

Fall Days

2010-10-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

The Pumpkin Patch. Quite possibly my favorite place in the world.
In Puyallup, everyone [mostly] goes to Spooner Farms. There are millions of pumpkins, a corn maze, homemade caramel corn, hot apple cider, pumpkin slingshots, animals... basically everything fall that you can think of!
This past week, Kelsey and I went down to Spooner's, braved the mud and picked out a couple BEAUTIFUL pumpkins.

I just had a feeling that wheelbarrow number 12 was lucky. I was right.

Are white pumpkins supposed to be green inside? You can't quite tell from this picture, but it was definitely a Halloween-y shade of green. Very creepy. Kelsey and I both gasped when the top came off!

It took a long time, but the pumpkins turned out incredible! I am so happy with them, I love them!

On a totally unrelated but still dear to my heart subject, Brody has learned to eat all by himself! Under my supervision of course. He ate a whole sandwich and half a banana all on his own! Without it being cut into pieces or anything. He had such good self control, eating small bites and chewing it all. Ha, he's such a cute kid. I love him!

Fall Dinner Party: Invitations.

2010-10-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

If you happen to be bored and want to check out how our Fall Dinner Party invitations turned out... go check out my friend Kelsey's blog. She posted with pictures! They are wonderful!!

Country Living is speaking to my heart!

2010-10-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

If you haven't known me since I was born, let me fill you in on something: I love projects and crafts. I always have, and I probably always will. My parents always told me that you can't fix things with paint (Funny of them to say since they spray painted my pink BARBIE jeep black and put a big red #3 on the side... hmmm...). I disagree. But that's another story because this has nothing to do with painting... I don't think.

I always love Country Living magazine and their website. But I think I love them more after this month. [All this pictures are from their website...] I loved framed things. And this framed quote is cute and simple. Poster board, stencil, straight edge razor, and pretty fabric. I think its pretty easy to see how to do it. If not, check out the website. :)

Now this... is cool. I'm not a huge fan of the colors they chose, but obviously you can do that however you want to. I just like the idea of hanging it over a chair... so cute. And it will come in handy for mine and Kelsey's big First Annual Thanksgiving Eve EVE dinner. :) More to come on that later, for sure.

Lastly, maps. I love maps. I feel like this post has a lot of what I love in it. Ha. Anyway, I could look at maps all day. And sometimes I do. But this is such a cool and unique way of displaying places you've traveled/lived. I. LOVE. IT.

:)

The new mixer!

2010-10-02T00:15:00.000-07:00

I'm one happy girl today. This week numerous wonderful things happened!

First, my old computer [which is actually NEWER than the one I have been using] came back from the dead. Yes. It sat in my garage all winter, spring and summer... and on Wednesday decided to come back to life! I literally just plugged it in, pressed power and she was back! I still can't believe it. You wouldn't either if you saw what she was doing before I put her in the garage for good [or so I thought].

Anyway, since she is back to life, that means I can now upload pictures from my camera. YESSS!

That is the second wonderful thing that happened. I guess it goes with the first one, oh well.

Thirdly, I got a raise at work. Which is wonderful when you already love what you're doing!

And fourthly... today I found this beauty.

So I actually found this LAST Thursday, but I didn't buy it. I wasn't sure if it worked or if it was worth it or how much I loved it. But then I thought about it for a week, and went back to 3rd Street Antiques and bought it. That store is so fun, by the way. If you have a chance... check it out. I get lost in there every time I go. I also always find something in this lovely blue hue. Every time, without fail.

So yeah, it works and everything! I was going to bake something tonight and use it just to show it in action, but I got distracted by Target and other things.

It has some nice 'character'. AKA chips in the paint. I love it. But my favorite part are the speeds!

How cool is that?

I'm so thankful for the #9 setting. Whipping whipping cream by hand is SO TIRING. Trust me, I did it all this summer. :)

Egg whites too! Ha. My least favorite part of making coffee cake... whipping egg whites. Not anymore!!

Apples.

2010-09-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

Apparently its now 'apple season.' Living in Washington, I thought every season was apple season. Who knew?

I want to make something with apples in the next couple days. Any suggestions?

Apple crisp? Apple sauce? Apple cider? Caramel apples? Apple scones?

A few of my favorite things: Old Stuff!

2010-09-21T22:56:00.001-07:00

Last night, I thought I would tackle cleaning the garage. I had no plans, and I had today off [kind of], so it was the perfect night. I'd been working out there for a few weeks painting a dresser that STILL isn't finished. I don't know how. Its weird. Anyway...
I took this ugly color but cool shape lamp out there to paint, and bam! Knocked it off the chair and onto the concrete floor... smashing it into a million pieces. After I went inside and cried a little, I went back out to clean up the mess. I am so thankful I did, because while I was cleaning a stumbled upon a box. Filled with books. My absolute favorite thing in the world.

And not only were they books, they were OLD books. I haven't looked at all the dates, but they are up there.

Among these books were two Bibles. One that was my great grandma's. It said her name inside the cover, and had a few little notes written in a half-English, half something else language. It is so fascinating! The other is this one, my grandma on my mom's side. She past away when my mom was a little kid, so anything that belongs to her is so interesting to me. It was given to her by HER grandma! So cool.

The pages smell amazing. Inside I found a pressed leaf, a Christmas tag to my grandma and grandpa and....

A letter!! I couldn't believe it. Both my grandparents on my mom's passed away a long time ago. My grandpa when I was only 5, so I barely knew him. It is so weird to read a letter from my grandpa to my grandma.

Its dated June 16, 1957.

I also found a box filled with old pictures. Some were as new as when Jarvis was a baby, but still... that's almost 20 years old. :)

The older ones, from when my mom and aunt and uncles were little, are mostly black and white [some color] and have these pretty white edges. This one is one of my favorites; My Aunt DeAnn, Uncle Tom, Grandma and Uncle Doug.

I might be in love.

2010-09-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

So yesterday, while reading a few blogs, I fell in love with this really cool screen. It was and old wooden window screen that was fixed to hold jewelry. I am still in love with it. Check out That House On the Corner for the Jewelry Window inspiration. :)

Anyway, I searched the afternoon away... craigslist, the Home Depot website, some shops in Puyallup. No screen. Such a sad day.

I decided on a new idea for the screen in case I don't find a window, AND I did find something I really wanted and loved...

These two chairs. Ah. I love them.

To fit these chairs in my room, I decided to take out my desk, which was really a dining room table. It was huge and good for working, but I never used it. It just collected jewelry [hence my need for the jewelry window!!], clothes and dust. To top it off, it was black. Which made my room seem much darker. So I'm going to think of something else to do with it, and save it for when I have my own house. :)

Where have I been? Let me tell you!

2010-09-07T22:12:00.000-07:00

So what have I been up to besides not blogging?
First off let me say that I am so excited for the day I can get a new computer. While I am so extremely thankful for the one I have [Thank you Sara! :)], I will be so happy when my camera will once again connect to my computer.
Maybe its because Apple here is so old, I don't know, but she absolutely WILL NOT recognize my camera as anything. Just won't show up when I plug it in. Sad day.
So until that day I must upload from my phone, which is not as cool or as pretty, oh well. :)

So I bought these letters from JoAnn Fabrics [LOVE THAT PLACE]. They were each $1 off, so it was about $5 for both of them. M & M... Meagan Maki. Or Meagan Marie. Or Marvelous Mastermind, I don't know. Whatever you want MM to be... that's what it is.

I then spray painted them white, and have them sitting on my desk for decoration. I plan to put them on my shelf, when I get a new one. :) Mine right now is way too full!

I also made these cool cupcakes. Homemade fondant Mario cupcakes. Delicious if I do say so myself. [You can ask Savanah or Andy or my Mom or Jarvis... they would all agree! :)] It took me a while but it was fun and I had the spare time.

Lastly, but actually firstly because I did this before I made the letters or the cupcakes, I taught/am still teaching Brody how to eat with a fork. Yup, little man is growing up! And the best part about him eating with a fork? HE LOVES IT, and he eats ALL his food.
The boy has always been a picky eater. Ever since I've known him, he's just like his nanny. :)
Anyway, when I cooked his lunch and helped him eat with a fork last week, he ate every bite! I was so happy and he was happy/confused at why I was happy. But it was a good moment. Ha! :)

Reasons I love Puyallup #4: Flowers and Garage Sales

2010-08-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

As Talicia would say, I got a steal deal on this stuff.
On Friday morning, my day off, I went to a few garage sales around town. One had these pretty jars, for 10 dollars each. Whaaat. I was not buying.
But when I went across the street, they were selling them for 2 dollars/dozen. I can do that.
The lady also threw in 3 extra ones for a quarter because they were the last of that particular size.
So what was I to do with all these jars??

Then this morning, I went to the market as usual. 9am and an americano in my system, I was ready for whatever the market had for me.

After meeting the COOLEST milkman ever, who gave Savanah and I free chocolate milk, AND buying some raspberries and blueberries, I ran into this five dollar bouquet of dahlias.
Ohhh I love dahlias. And I love 5 dollar bouquets. So naturally I got them

After some cutting and rearranging, I got three beautiful jars of flowers for my room!!
[On my desk!]

[On my beside table.]

[On my other little table!]

Flowers make my room so happy.
And the price makes my wallet happy. Cliche, but whatever.
:)

Mom's Birthday!

2010-08-26T12:22:00.001-07:00

It was my mom's birthday on Monday, and I made her this Nascar cake. Muahaha.
Fudge marble cake with chocolate pudding for the filling, homemade icing, fondant and a nice little hand-written happy birthday! :)

My Tuesday: Kids, Cleaning, Voting & Sonic booms.

2010-08-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

Tuesdays have always been busy days for me. For the past two years, mornings are occupied by the Oman kids. Cooking, crafting, running errands, going to parks, etc. Afternoons usually include some office work at the church, coffee and cleaning up around the house. Today was kicked a little into overdrive.

I started my morning with the Omans as usual. I was informed that Claire and Alex needed to clean Claire's room. The sweet, darling girl has SO MANY FLIPPING TOYS. And that in an understatement. But, unlike some nannies who might be overwhelmed by the task of helping a 9 year old and an 11 year old clean a bedroom in 90 degree weather with no AC, I was thrilled!
I LOVE CLEANING.
Can I say that again? I LOVE CLEANING. Organizing, vacuuming, stacking, moving, donating... its wonderful! So in about 4 hours, Claire's room was transformed from a war-zone of dolls, stuffed animals, Polly Pockets, ponies, dress up clothes, arts & crafts, notes and hundreds of books, to a picture perfect, Martha Stewart-y organized girl's room. She was very happy. So was I. I wish my room were messier so I could do it again!

Okay I'm weird. Anyway... there was one minor set-back this morning. The bank. You know, I wish I just kept my money buried in a jar in my yard sometimes [Would-be thieves: I DO NOT do that. Don't even try.] I took a good amount of cash that had been piling up from house-sitting, nanny-ing and such, to deposit. Claire was very impressed by the money, but I assured her I would never see any of again thanks to bills. No big deal.
Anyway, wrote my deposit slip, handed the cash through the drive-thru, and she brought back my receipt. Which read $100 LESS than what I had given her.
Okay so maybe to a millionaire, $100 is not a lot. But I live on a very tight budget here. For real. I politely informed her that that was incorrect, and she didn't believe me!
Yeah I know, CRAZY. Sweet, innocent girl with 3 precious children in the car, and I am going to lie about my deposit. She continued to argue with me and insist that she counted the money right in front of me. Wrong. She didn't. Even the 9 year old in my car knew how much money I handed the teller. So I went inside, she still argued with me, and refused to even consider counting the till. At this point I was near tears. Again, its 90 degrees. I have 3 kids with me. According to this teller I am out $100 dollars, and not going to be paying my phone bill.
Finally, FINALLY I got to talk to the manager. She was very sweet and said as soon as she got a chance she would count the till and call me. She gave me her card, got my number, and promptly called me 40 minutes later to inform me that I was correct and the money was put into my account. Praise the Lord!

Anyway, just this evening, I filled out my ballot. Like any responsible citizen, I read the voters pamphlet. Ah I love my life. I knew ahead of time for the most part who I would be voting for. And once I opened up the pamphlet, my thoughts were confirmed. I'm not all super crazy about not saying who I voted for. I mean, I am a fan of most of them on Facebook. First was Dino Rossi. Easy. I met him. In real life. I have pictures with him, and he's a cool guy. Check.
Then Hans Zeiger. I'm from PUYALLUP. My mom knows his grandpa. Its a given.
Then we got to Richard Sanders. I didn't know any of the people in that particular spot, so I had to read about them in the pamphlet. First thing I read on Mr. Sanders: Eagle Scout. Check.
I voted.

This is turning out to be such a long post. Sorry.

Lastly, President Obama was in Seattle today. That's not the exciting part though. If you are not in Washington/Oregon between Portland and Seattle, I will fill you in on the event.
Two sonic booms. Know what they are? Me either. But they come from jets. F-15 fighter jets to be exact. And they are LOUD. Shake your house, rattle your windows, make you think Mt. Rainier is blowing up loud. [Okay so the last part might just be me. I always think its blowing up. Every knock on my door, every siren. My mom says its because Orting brainwashed me. I just say I'm prepared.] Anyway, you can read the story here, but apparently some float plane on Lake Washington broke into the airspace that was a 'no fly zone' today for the President, and caused the fighter jets to fly almost 800MPH from Portland to Seattle to respond to the disturbance.

All I can say is what a day. What a day.

Afternoon in Seattle!

2010-08-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, Talicia and I trekked up to Seattle for the afternoon. Puyallup was cloudy and cool, but the farther north we got, the nicer the weather was! By the time we got downtown, it was bright and sunny!

Our very first stop was the market, of course.
We looked in all the shops, stopped by the very first Starbucks and then headed up the hill towards one of our favorite restaurants: P.F. Changs.

Mmm mmm mmmm. I love P.F. Changs. I rarely get to go since it is so stinkin far away.
We had them make the sauce spicy. My taste buds sure have changed in the past few years!!

Lastly, our trip took us up to Capitol Hill, to a lovely coffee shop called Joe Bar. I am pretty sure this is the only picture we took together, but I love it!

I miss my best friend already!!!

Things I love about Puyallup #3:

2010-08-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

TACOMA BOYS.

What's better than a 24 hour fresh, healthy market? Um, that's right, nothing.

Savanah and I went to Tacoma Boys the other night. As always, I was in the mood for a random mixture of healthy and not healthy. I opted for the healthy blueberries and granola, and the unhealthy strawberry soda.

Usually I am more of a Dr. Pepper/Coke Zero kind of girl, if I am drinking any kind of pop at all. But this particular strawberry soda came in the coolest bottle. I had to go with it.

Coffee Cake Fail.

2010-08-05T21:23:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I am doing this.
I am disbelieving my typing right now.
But, in the spirit of authenticity, I will be real with you guys.
Please don't judge me... here it is:

Yes its my completely failed coffee cake**. I am so sad slash disappointed. I am a terrible baker! How did this happen? The center is not cooked. Its doughy. And flat. And the edges are crispy!! Darn darn darn.
But here are the reasons I believe it turned out this way:

1. I was not baking at my house.
2. Therefor the oven operates differently [gas vs. electric].
3. Brody was waking up from a nap.
4. The egg whites were not COMPLETELY stiff, but I folded them in anyway.
5. I lost my purple water bottle.
6. Okay #5 you might think has nothing to do with baking, but it does. I was upset.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel though! I bought a NEW purple water bottle, and I am going to completely whip the egg whites until they are so stiff I can punch them and they don't move.
I understand that is drastic, but I am pretty passionate about my coffee cake.
As I am with front doors, but that's another story/blog post.

**Note: I use The Pioneer Woman's "Best Coffee Cake. Ever." Recipe.
And it is ALWAYS the best ever.
Even though this one failed in beauty, and the center is not completely cooked,
it is tasty! Just a little doughier than usual. :)

Rain, rain! Come back!

2010-08-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

Every year in early/mid August, I get sick of summer. Don't get me wrong, I love sunshine and swimming and BBQ-ing, but not as much as I love rain and baking and my yellow Northface rain jacket!

I can't wait to make homemade caramel corn. And for it to be dark by 5pm. I really am a night person. And in winter and fall, the nights are much longer! I can't wait to go to Spooner's and get pumpkins.

Ah fall. Hurry please!

I've got the magic in me.

2010-07-31T14:21:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I bought a bunch of fruit, cut it up and froze what was leftover. Today, whilst browsing the Farmer's Market, I saw MORE blueberries. Now, the ones that I froze had to be used in a pie, crisp, smoothie, etc. These new fresh ones I could eat right away. My mind started working and I decided to make a crisp out of the ones at home, and buy new fresh ones to eat by themselves. Smart, right?

So, frozen berries went into the sink to thaw a little. This is when I realized I didn't have as many blueberries as I originally thought. So...

I added some frozen blackberries! I had an abundance, what else could I do?

Then you add a little syrup, a little sugar, a little flour, a little cinnamon... and you have yourself the filling. Smelled as wonderful as it looks!

Then you make the actual 'crisp', a personal favorite. Oats, flour, brown and white sugar... pretty basic.

Bake it and voila! Blueberry/Blackberry crisp.
Doubles as an air freshener.

RECIPE:
Blueberry/Blackberry Crisp

Ingredients:
Filling-
8 cups [approx.] mixed blue and black berries
3 tablespoons maple syrup
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Crisp-
1 1/2 cups oats
3/4 cup flour
3/4 brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 stick cold butter, cubed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 9X13 glass baking pan.

Pour maple syrup over berries and gently mix. Combine flour, sugar and cinnamon in separate bowl. Gradually mix in with berries/syrup. Pour evenly into pan.

Combine crisp ingredients with a pastry cutter until well mixed. Pour over berries.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until berries are bubbling and crisp is golden brown.

Note: Its smart to bake on a cookie sheet in case the berries bubble over the edge of the pan. :)

July 31st.

2010-07-31T10:19:00.000-07:00

Today is a special day. It is the anniversary of the birth of one of my very best friends, Katy.
I decided to post a bunch of random pictures of us from the past few years.
We have had so many life experiences together [traveling, dances, weddings, moving...] and I am so thankful to have her a friend!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATY!

Our very first trip to Auburn, AL. March 2006.

Well it has the date there for ya, Homecoming our senior year at OHS.

Aw Katy's tracker. We loved that car. And we both miss it. Driving us between Orting and Graham.

Valleydale church, Birmingham, AL. March 2006.

The backseat of Matthew's car, the House of Crosses, Prattville, AL August 2006.

Seaaattle. Sometime in 2008 after we went to the prayer room at 2am.

Yes it is also Harry Potter's birthday.

Hackberry, LA.

2010-07-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

Hackberry, Louisiana. My home for a week this summer. Here are just a few of my favorite shots that I think give a picture into how our week went.

We met so many precious kids at VBS! This is Olivia, Gunner and Genee. They came by one day on their dirtbikes to show us some tricks. Gunner cracked us up by jumping over a table [not on his dirtbike] and by exclaiming, "I'm not five, I'm six. Kids are five!"

We ran into quite a few rain and thunder storms. We didn't mind though, it cooled us off!

One of the junior high boys we met, Clint, showed pigs in 4H. So he invited us over to meet all of the pigs! They were so cute!

Silly bands are a serious epidemic in Louisiana. And now us Puyallup kids are hooked as well. I'm not sure which kid this is, but it could have been any of them. They all had at least 20 or more! And now so do I!!

This is Gunner again. The VBS theme was western, and he was so cute! We loved him! He dressed up like this every night.

Trips to the south are not complete without Chick. Just sayin'.

Some of the high school boys caught us an alligator! Of course they returned it, but they first taped its mouth and brought it to the church late one night to show us! Gators smell. Bad.

Lastly my favorite picture from the week, Hope and Tyler. They were so sweet. I have abotu a million pictures of each of them posing, but this was the only one that was really close to candid. Hope also was my little photographer. She took my camera and took about a million pictures.

6 things you probably don't need to know.

2010-07-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

I love lists. I always have, always will. And when someone posts a list, it makes me NEED to post a list as well.

1. I am trying, daily, to post pictures from my trip to Louisiana. For some reason my computer just refuses to get along with me.

2. I did get one image. I stole it from Parker's blog. My computer seems to only allow stolen pictures to be uploaded. Go figure. Anyway, this is a picture of us girls at Holly Beach on the Gulf of Mexico. It was so strange how warm the water was!!

3. I started sanding down the dresser today. I want to get it finished and painted and put in the house by the time Talicia gets here. Which is about a week and a half away.

4. I scratched my arm up last night on my door, and it looks like claw or teeth marks. So... naturally I am telling people it is from a gator. Go along with it.

5. I am excited for Talicia to get here! I miss all my friends. As I told Katy the other day, Why do all my friends have to marry Marines and move away?? If Talicia marries a Marine, and moves to like, Maine or something... I'm blaming Katy. She started it.

6. It is way too hot to be sitting at my computer. People always think Washington is so rainy and cold. Try coming here in late July when its 90 million degrees out. After dinner, I'm going to Wal Mart or something. They have air conditioning.

Home sweet home!

2010-07-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

Be expecting a rather large post about my wonderful trip to Hackberry, Louisiana last week.

Apple [my computer] does not get a lone with Raspberry [my camera] so I had to order a CD of all 350 of my pictures. :)

Trust me, you'll fall in love with Gunner, Hope, Mitchel, Tyler, Olivia, Genee and the rest of the bunch. I sure did.

Anyway, as I am doing laundry slash catching up on emails slash making lunch, I am also scanning slash reading this amazing magazine I had never heard of...

Taste of Home.

I am about to crack the cover, I'll let you know how it goes!

Sunshine and Bro-ito.

2010-07-15T23:03:00.000-07:00

Say hello to Brody. He is my job. And I love him.

I especially love his age right now: one and a half.

He LOVES exploring. A little too much, almost. He also loves to be outdoors, as do I. So we have fun together.

Excuse me, Miss Meagan? Its bright. Can I have your sunglasses?

(He can't quite talk yet, but I can read him pretty well.)

Thanks Meg. These are so much fun!

I'm really sorry I broke your sunglasses.

I'll just walk away now.

Okay that was boring. What else do ya have for me to break--err... play with?

Please?? I love you.

Typical conversation with the little man.

And I love it.

Kabobs.

2010-07-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

There was a time in my life when I was super picky. Beyond any picky you've ever seen.

I've grown up a little, and I now allow my food to touch, therefor, I eat kabobs.

Chop up some bell peppers. All colors for prettier food.

Marinate chicken in my own homemade teriyaki sauce.

Pattern them on skewers with pineapple...

Grill them. Enjoy.

These were so quickly enjoyed that I didn't even get a chance to photograph the grilled and finished kabobs! Darn.

Lastly, a sneak preview of the dresser I am about to redo. I couldn't get a full shot because its in the garage, and I couldn't fit the whole thing in the picture. But this at least shows the wood color and handles. Oh just wait till its done. :)

'Tis the season...

2010-07-11T16:47:00.001-07:00

For fruit!!! Pineapple, Tuscan Cantaloupe, Watermelon, Red Grapes, Blueberries, Blackberries, Fresh Strawberries picked THIS MORNING from the Farmer's Market...

It all started at the market actually. The strawberry stand was about to pack up. Sunday is their last day. And they had ONE flat of strawberries left. The lady picked them this morning.

You could smell them from our house. Its actually what drew us to the market.

Okay I'm kidding. But they looked amazing. So we bought them.

Then we went to Fred Meyer and went on a fresh fruit frenzy. Ahh alliterations.

Anyway, 7 billion dollars worth of fruit later [not really], we had this.

So I cut it all up.

And to note, this is not all of the fruit from the first picture. There are six various sized Tupperware containers in the freezer with blueberries, blackberries, grapes, and strawberries.

Perfect for smoothies. And strawberry shortcake. And strawberry lemonade. Which is where those random lemons come into play. But not until tomorrow.

Then layered it for my dinner party tomorrow. Ahh. I'm in love. I also made a smaller [but not much smaller] version of this for Jarvis and took it to him. And a mini version that I will take with me to work tomorrow. And there are a couple bowls of cantaloupe and watermelon in the fridge as well.

Is this making your mouth water?

Lastly, I have about 12 of these cute little fruit baskets and I don't know what to do with them. I wan to do something fun, but I don't know. Any ideas?

Paging summer...

2010-07-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

Come in summer. Where are you?

Yes it is 62 degrees here in Washington.

Yes tomorrow is the 4th of July.

[My favorite holiday, bbq's, hot weather, friends, family, fireworks, late night... I am a night person. Its my favorite.]

And its 62 degrees. Where is the sun?

Where's the warmth?

I mean, yeah western Washington isn't known for extremely hot summers, but I know we usually break into the 70's. Especially in July. Right?

Anyway, I'm over it. Maybe we'll have a super nice August and September. :)

On a completely different note... I am about to start my first restoration project! Yay!

I have been searching for the perfect dresser. I have a picture of it in my mind, but its hard to explain. Anyway I have been searching craigslist, garage sales and thrift stores with no success. Until yesterday.

My brother moved into a house, and the previous owner left my dream dresser! It is perfect. The exact picture in my head. And you know what Jarvis said? Have it!

So not only did I find the perfect dresser, but its free. Score!

The process begins this week. I will definitely post pictures.

Entiat!

2010-06-21T11:41:00.000-07:00

I never went to summer camp when I was in high school. My church always had it the same week in August, and I was always camping or on vacation.

So now that I am a leader, I am just as excited as the kids!

I drove myself to Jr. High camp this past weekend since I had to work. And after I got over the pass, it was BEAUTIFUL.

This picture is after I went through Wenatchee, looking back towards the Cascades. God is good!

At the campground, there was a hammock set up. I took advantage of that.

On Saturday, we went to SlideWaters in Lake Chelan. The boys insisted on being in the picture since it would turn into a Twitter update.

We made breakfast and lunch for all the kids, and ended up with a GIANT pile of sandwiches. Thats a lot of turkey, ham, peanut butter and jelly!!

The campground we stayed at had a huge field and the kids just ran around out there. Beyond those trees is the water. Ahh, so pretty!

Lastly, some of the girls brought stuff to make friendship bracelets, and I joined them to make a purple one to match my swimsuit!

The joys of camp!!

A little bit of my weekend. :)

2010-06-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

Of all of the Napier's, I first met Daniel. I worked at Bethany and the children's coordinator introduced me to Daniel telling me, "Anything you need cut out or laminated, let me know and Daniel can do it!"

Besides getting art projects for Sunday School together, I also was [and still am] a high school leader, and Hope was in my small group. After a few months, I put two and two together, figuring out that Hope and Daniel were brother and sister. And that is when I found my second [or third, fourth maybe] family.

Hope continued to be in my small group until she graduated and we became great friends. Just by hanging out with Hope, I spent a lot of random time with Daniel, and their parents. [Who, by the way, are awesome.]

Hope went to bible school in Colorado and now their entire family is moving to the East Coast! Its sad for us in Washington, but exciting as well. Anyway, I will miss them a ton! My 'fake' sister and brother. ;)

This was at Daniel's 16th birthday BBQ this past weekend. It was really fun/funny, as this picture shows.

[Left to right: Ryan, Daniel, Alex and Derek.]

Hope and I wrote with sidewalk chalk in my garage after the BBQ, killing time until we figured out some adventure to go on. And this is what she wrote. So sweet! I will never erase it! Haha.

Stylish cooking and baking.

2010-06-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

I want one or all of these. Please and thank you.

Really though, ever since I started working in the coffee business [2007!!] I have had a special place in my heart for aprons. I was on Country Living and saw a clip about aprons and fell in love with these for obvious reasons.

Ah yellow, my long lost friend. So bright and cheery and summery, perfect for Washington. Cooking and baking happily- rain or shine.

This one is just... awesome. I like the tiered part, and that it looks like it was just random scraps of fabric put together.

Lastly, this cute little blue one. I already have the chucks, just get me that jug and I will be perfect!

Summer is near.

2010-06-08T18:15:00.001-07:00

School is almost here. And to celebrate, I took Alex and Claire to Forza.

Big kids only.

[Miles was at preschool.]

Earlier, I took Miles to preschool and he wore my sweet glasses.

Were you born in a barn? Then shut the door!

2010-06-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, I do realize that I pretty much completely copied Katy. But her door post inspired me to find pictures of my favorite doors. Not just front doors though, I've got the whole house and garage covered!

I am in love with glass garage doors.

Also sliding barn type doors INSIDE houses. Can I have one? Please??

And lastly, classic red front doors.
Beautiful during any season.
Ah, love.

...and then there was one.

2010-06-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

I can count on one hand the number of close friends I have from high school. The kind I still keep in touch with and hang out with. That is, when they are home in Washington.

After this week, it will be down to just me as far as girl friends go. Talicia is in the dirty south [I had to say it]. Katy is in So Cal. [Again, I am trying to make myself laugh because I am so sad my friends are gone.] And Kelsey will be on her way to good ol' North Carolina in a matter of HOURS. Yes hours.

This past week made me so happy. Katy was home, Kelsey was getting married, and I got to dress up 3 nights in a row! [Kelsey's wedding, by the way, was gorgeous. And beautiful. And wonderful. I will post pictures when I get some!]

Now the wedding is over, everyone is gone, I'm back to work as usual, and its in raining in true Washington fashion. I need to start saving for plane tickets. :)

Garage Wall: What should I do?

2010-05-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

We have a pretty neat garage. Its really big. It has a cool, old door and window. And it has a cinder block wall on one side.

I don't know what to do. But here is my main idea:

Source: DIY Network

Yes, my solution to most problems: Paint it.

I love painting. I think it will look nice, and it will seal the wall. Any thoughts? Color ideas? I am thinking white or an off-white. Or should I do something entirely different? And not even paint it? TOO MANY QUESTIONS!

Yay flowers!

2010-05-15T21:13:00.000-07:00

So today I began the long awaited journey of planting one of our flower beds. I guess a week isn't THAT long awaited, but it is a little. :) We bought the first set of flowers from Fred Meyer, and I will continue to add until I think it looks complete!

Pink and White Geraniums. LOVE them!

Blue something or other. My mom picked them out.

And the lovely flowerbed.

Okay its hideous.

But I promise it gets better.

After cutting back the whatever they were, getting rid of the GIANT ugly hose, and raking the dirt around, it looks MUCH better.

PS- This flowerbed is also home to the MOST potato bugs I have ever seen in one place in my life.

No joke.

So after that, I set up the flowers how I thought I wanted them. I changed it a couple times, but came up with this set up. I really like it.

It does need more flowers though.

But like I said, I will be adding all the time until it looks right. :)

And voila! Sorry for the terrible photo quality. My camera doesn't connect properly with Apple. She's finicky.

Yes I named my Mac Apple. But not after the computer company, after Chris Martin and Gwyenth Paltrow's daughter. Yeah, yeah.

So there you have it, the beginning of my garden!

Flowers!

2010-05-15T10:30:00.001-07:00

Today I am planting a nice little garden in our backyard.

After I get my hair done.

And buy the flowers.

Then I will have a cute little garden party in the backyard with lemonade and cinnamon toast. I am addicted, what can I say.

Pictures to follow.

New house.

2010-05-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

And welcome to my new house! Sweet little door in the front door, huh?

I love the old school mailbox. No more ugly metal lock box.

And the kitchen. Don't mind the stuff on the counter, we were JUST moving in.

Again, a table-less kitchen.

Lastly, my lovely, giant window in my room. I love it.

I will definitely post more pictures once we are completely moved in. But this will just have to do for now.

This is why I love my job.

2010-05-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

Brody. Bro. Brojo. Brosicle. Bubba. Piglet.

I spend 8 hours a day with this kid. He is hilarious. And he has style.

And he naps for 2-3 hours. He's a growing boy for sure.

My camera and computer do not get along!

2010-04-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

I really wish my camera would connect to my computer, but for some reason I won't.

I have been wishing that wish for at least a week now, and that's precisely why I haven't posted.

I need to figure out what's wrong, and I will. Soon. I promise.

So I got started on my summer list a little early. My plan was to wait at least until May 5th, when Robyn gets home from that terrible, horrible place called Washington State University. Instead, I went ahead and crossed off two whole items!!

The first one was to learn to drive a stick. I learned a long time ago. I was 17 and one of the boys in our youth group had a truck with manual gears. Yeah. I wasn't very good. Then about a year later I drove our youth pastor's jeep around the school parking lot. Again, I am sure I killed it more than 3 times. In a parking lot.

So this past weekend when I was housesitting, the vehicle they left for me, of course, was a stick. I was bummed at first, but decided to embrace the opportunity to cross one thing off my summer list. And.... SUCCESS! I drove all the way from Bradley Lake Park to 176th and Meridian without killing it! And when I was done babysitting, I drove all the way back! I was amazed at myself, and ended up driving the car the rest of the week, up and down South Hill and all around to my various jobs and meetings in town.

The second crossed off item is one I am sure to cross off again and again as the weather gets warmer-- walk around downtown at night.

Pioneer Park is so pretty during the day, and just as lovely at night! Savanah and I sat outside under the stars and caught up on life [since she goes to Western in Bellingham, we only see each other every couple months]. It was so fun and I am looking forward to walking around more often!!

Summertime and the livin's easy.

2010-04-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

Summer is right around the corner. Since winter here has been so nice, I cannot wait to see what it will be like in the summer months.

I love every season for different reasons. There really isn't one I love more or less. I won't go into detail about fall, winter or spring... but I will about summer.

Growing up in Washington, the majority of the year is gray. Not always rainy as movies and TV make it sound, but it is usually gray. Spring begins to show signs of color, but summer is when the blue sky is best.

The nights are long, the days are warm. I just cannot get enough of the sunshine. Not to mention the smell of freshly trimmed grass, the sound of the various rivers splashing throughout the valley, the taste of BBQ smoke in the air, the feeling of warm pavement under bare feet... should I go on?

So this summer, a few of my wonderful friends and I have decide to make lists. Have I ever mentioned that lists are my favorite thing in the world? No. Okay well they are.

Anyway, summer lists. Stuff that I [we] want to do/accomplish this summer. Together, by ourselves, whichever. It is an amazing list, which I will most likely add to. But, starting Memorial Day Weekend, I will begin crossing off items as they are completed. I will also TRY to take pictures of said items, and blog about them. Can't wait!

You can see the list on the little tab towards the top of the page titled '100 Days of Summer.'

Delicious Food, All over the Worlllld.

2010-04-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

Good Friday

2010-04-02T09:41:00.000-07:00

"Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
But the LORD was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors."

-Isaiah 53:4-12

My sin, oh the bliss of the glorious thought; my sin not in part but the whole. Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

come back from california...

2010-03-30T23:33:00.000-07:00

Its a song.

But really, I am heading home to the great Pacific Northwest in the morning. I have enjoyed my trip to sunny southern California oh-so-much, but I am ready to be home and back in the swing of things. Bring on the rain, Washington!

Two things to think about. Both are hard for me, so it will be a good reminder. :)

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -Matthew 6:34

"Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lo

rd's will, w

e will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag." -James 4:13-16

Don't worry about tomorrow, and don't boast about tomorrow.

Wow. Two things I am very bad at.

I love thinking and planning and dreaming and anticipating things coming up. I know some things have to be planned in advance, like big trips and purchases and weddings. But by focusing solely on how great those things a

re GOING be, I am missing out on wha

t God is doing in my life right now.

And when I worry that something won't work out, that I won't be able to buy food or clothes or pay bills or get a job, I am showing no faith in a God who feeds the birds and clothes the grass of the fields! I am putting myself on the throne of my life, and really, where will that get me? "Who of you by worrying can add a single HOUR to your life?" -Matthew 6:22 Nope. I can't even add a measly hour to my life by worrying.

Be all (t)here. Said by two pretty famous people. First, by Jim Elliot. In the quote at the top of my page. Second, by David Isbell whenever I am/was texting in his presence.

So I am trying to 'be all there' in every situation I'm in. Instead of chattering about how excited I am for an upcoming event that may or may not even happen, or worrying about money or a new pair of shoes, I am going to focus on my life right NOW.

And maybe this is just rambling to anyone but me. If anyone even reads this, ha. But its good to write/type some thoughts out!

Copeland, Wild Animal Park, Hospital and the Pacific Ocean

2010-03-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night, Katy and I went to see Copeland's Farewell Tour in Pomona, California. Person L and I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business opened for Copeland, and both bands were great. I know the picture is blurry, but there were a lot of people and a they were pushing me slightly. Haha. :)

So then, Sunday afternoon started like any other. We thought about going to a free movie on base, but decided against it. Katy has a membership at the San Diego Zoo, which includes the Wild Animal Park. What I saw of it was awesome! Then I started to feel sick. Then I almost passed out. So I got to ride in an ambulance to the hospital in Palomar...
Its a bit out of order, but my nurse drew us a map of the good local restaurants on my sheets for when I got discharged. She was cool!

The rest of the pictures are just random ones I took of my heart rate monitor, my room at the hospital and my bracelet. It ended up that I was just dehydrated. Cool, I know.

Finally, Katy and I went and ate lunch at the beach today! It was so beautiful! I love the ocean! We stood in the water for a while just watching the waves, and collecting these tiny shells. Now I have successfully written my name on a beach in every state on the west coast!

bridal shower!

2010-03-27T22:48:00.000-07:00

I was going to upload this to Facebook but I didn't want the lovely bride Kelsey to see it yet, so... blog it is! Katy and I made these invitations, cut the paper, printed the info, tied the bows... we did it all! Can't wait to send them out and to decorate for the party!!! :)

chill morning

2010-03-27T08:31:00.000-07:00

Well Farah, that is Mt. Si. Its in North Bend, as I replied in the comments thing. But I wanted you to get a picture of it! I didn't go last weekend because I had a major allergy attack. Darn tree pollen. I'm hoping to try a smaller hike first earlier this spring, and then do that one in June when its nice and sunny!

Anyway, I am still in California.

I still love it.

Katy is at school, and I came with her. I am hanging out at Starbucks while she has her 'theory' class, then heading back over there for a facial. Ahh the benefits of friends in beauty school!

So California. Its sunny, and warm. Which... if it were any other year of my life, would be such a contrast to back home. But this year its been a BEAUTIFUL winter in Puyallup. Lots of sunshine and not a lot of rain. Surprising, I know. I am still shocked. I still have a feeling it will randomly snow in May. Its happened many times.

Anyway back to today.

I'm not sure what else we'll do, but those are the best kind of days.

California Day 2

2010-03-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

Its my second full day in California. What a nice break!!!! Since Katy has had school, I get to sleep in! And take my precious time getting ready.

Yesterday when she got home, we went to the outlet mall. I love the palm trees! They are everywhere! I guess its just because I have never really been to California. Except for a Nascar race, where I was in the state for only 20 hours. And a layover on the way to Alabama where I spent 2 hours in the San Fransisco Airport. Anyway...

California has Chick Fil A, thats pretty awesome.

Tonight Katy and I are going to see Copeland in Pomona. They are probably my favorite band, and this is their final tour. I'm DEFINITELY excited about it. [The concert, not them breaking up as a band.]

I don't know what else we are going to do while I am here. I mean, as I said before, I have never been to California. I don't know what there is to do in San Diego! But I will try to update again later.

a couple goals

2010-03-15T00:23:00.001-07:00

I had a few things I wanted to learn/accomplish this year. One knocked off the list was learning to ski. Which I loved, and plan to do next winter often! :)

The next thing I am tackling is hiking Mt. Si. I am pretty excited about this.

Jesus paid it all.

2010-03-04T16:40:00.000-08:00

I hear the Savior say,

"Thy strength indeed is small.

Child of weakness, watch and pray,

Find in Me thine all in all."

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy pow'r and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots,
And melt the heart of stone.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
"Jesus died my soul to save."
My lips shall still repeat.

mt. bachelor

2010-02-20T19:44:00.000-08:00

I didn't die! I skiied down the hill, never crashed. I did fall over a couple times, but it wasn't a 'crash'. I'm pretty much a pro.

Caffiene Free February... ahhh.

2010-02-04T11:21:00.000-08:00

I pretty much fail at blog writing. I always forget to update or just get bored. Or have other things I would rather do. Anyways here is a little update. The first of 2010, actually.

My classes are cool. They are really easy, just basic classes. I am excited for something a little more challenging. But its cool for now. I am actually trying to plan my spring quarter, but I don't want it to be too crazy since I will be going to California, being in a wedding and it will be spring. Who wants to do school in spring? No one.

I am still deciding what I want to do. School-wise. I really enjoy two things: planning and teaching. So teacher obviously. But I would also enjoy event and wedding planning. Katy and I are getting a taste of what that is like. A small taste [we are planning a Bridal Shower], but it is something I REALLY really like.

My job is pretty much amazing. I get to take naps everyday if I want. I usually choose to go on my computer instead. But Brody is a funny kid. He's pretty cute, and seriously like I said before, I can nap! [During his naptime of course].

I also nanny for another family with two kids, Brevik and Maelee. They are fun too. Brev is 3, and he is pretty crazy and asks a lot of questions. Definitely keeps me on my toes. Mae is only 1 and she is the most calm baby I have ever seen. She just chills. If she wants something, she crawls or walks to it. She never cries. Its amazing.

Next weekend I am going to Sunriver, Oregon and learning to ski. Yes, ski. I am REALLY excited. I realized I have said that a lot about a lot of things, but I am. We are taking the high schoolers for winter camp, and one of the girls in my small group has extra skis. Amazing, I know.

In March I am either watching Brev and Mae for a week straight [overnight and all], or going to California. It just depends on if the parent sdecide to go wherever they are going. I wouldn't mind either way. I would loveee going to California [to see Katy, obviously], but the pay for nannying for a week straight is kind of exciting. :)

There ya go.

new stuff...

2009-12-04T16:30:00.001-08:00

I registered for classes for Winter Quarter. Only 2, because my Orting Alumni scholarship doesn't kick in till after your 1st quarter. Spring will be busy though!

I got a job as a nanny for a family on south hill. No more driving to ghetto Lakewood! Yes! The family has one little boy, Brody, who is 9 months old. :)

My dear dear friend Hope comes home on the 16th of December, I am so excited! YAY. Oh my goodness. We are going to have some good times.

thankful abc's

2009-11-21T09:28:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for...

-Anticipation//Apples
-Brother, My//Books
-Coffee//Contacts, The Invention of
-Dancing
-Electricity
-Fiddles//Fuel
-Grace//Girls from my Small Group//Gray Family
-Harstad [Amanda's Dorm]//Hair Straighteners
-Isbells
-Jesus//Job, A//Joy
-Knowlegde
-Life
-My Mom
-Noodles
-Orting High School Alumni Scholarship
-Puyallup//People
-Quileute Indians ;)
-Rain//Rain//Rain
-Sophia//Sister, My//Seattle
-TV
-Umbrellas in Seattle
-Violin
-Wet Fall Days
-X-rays
-Yellow, The song
-Zots

Things I love about Puyallup- Post #2

2009-11-17T13:51:00.000-08:00

Cafe Adamo. Its warm, relaxing, friendly, they have free wi-fi, cool chairs... and of course they have amazing coffee. I really like their mugs too. If you haven't been, go check it out.

Things I love about Puyallup- Post #1

2009-11-10T18:43:00.000-08:00

One fine Friday night, while Kraig and Annie Oman went to Seattle to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat [which they said was amazing]... I was left in charge of their three beautiful children.

The youngest is Miles. He has a lot of energy. A LOT. And a lot of love. Especially for all things sugary. When handed his first cookie, he promptly took a bite, decorated for literally 2 seconds, and then he stuck his finger in the frosting asking, "Can I eat this?"

Middle child and only girl, Claire, is hilarious. She is super smart and a great cookie decorater. :) She did not, however, enjoy scooping out the insides of the pumpkins. Too gross, she said.

Alex is the oldest. If you didnt already get that. Don't let this picture fool you into thinking he is just calm and a diligent cookie decorater. The next picture in my camera is him holding up the knife with dark gray frosting coating his teeth. :)

The finished product was... DELICIOUS.

Next time I babysit, we'll probably go to Forza and then play with goop at their house. Yeah goop is a long story but its super fun and entertaining. Ages 4-21.... perfect. ;)

Would you rather?

2009-11-09T23:18:00.000-08:00

Be 4'1 or 7'9"?
Live without music or live without T.V.?
Eat a bar of soap or drink a bottle of dishwashing liquid?
Have a beautiful house and ugly car or an ugly house and beautiful car?
Always have to say everything on your mind or never speak again?
Be gossipped about or never talked about at all?
Have stars in your eyes or eyes in the back of your head?
Get caught singing in the mirror or spying on your crush?
Be a dog named Killer or a cat named Fluffy?
Be stranded on an island alone or with someone you hate?
Get even or get over it?
Have sand in your shorts or water in your ear?
Own a ski lodge or a surf camp?
Get free chocolate for one year or free potatoes forever?
Wear all pink or all purple to school?
Have a mansion in the middle of nowhere or an apartment with 10 friends?
Bake cookies in cooking class or do art projects in art class?
Run the mile or give a speech for english?
Be nervous but excited or relaxed but bored?
Go to an amusement park or to a family reunion?
Not be able to use your phone or your e-mail?
Snowboard/Ski in the winter or swim in the summer?

My answers are the colored ones. Hopefully you got that.

great great grandma's sugar cookies.

2009-11-08T13:26:00.000-08:00

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoon milk

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

*I also add 1 dash of cinnamon, which is not in my grandma's original recipe. :)

Blend dry ingredients. In separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar, adding egg, milk and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture. Refridgerate. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out and cut into desired shapes. Bake 5-8 minutes.

remember, remember the 7th of november...

2009-11-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

No, that's not right. Oh well.

This afternoon, Bellingham is calling my name. I can hear it. That voice from up north, "Meagannnn.... Meaaaagannnn!" [It might just be Julia and Savanah via Facebook, but I still hear it.] I think this Saturday, the 7th of November, will be one to remember.

I love looking back and going... "Hey, remember that day we were so spontaneous and [insert fun thing here]?" I have had a lot of those days in my short life and I don't plan on stopping them either.

I am still chained to Forza for about 40 more minutes. Then I shall go home, change into more socially accepted clothes [not all black], put on a raincoat [ITS POURING], possibly rainboots and jump on I-5.

The catch on this excursion: I have to be at Bethany, alive, awake and fully functioning, by 9:45AM. Is it worth it? Will I be tired? Will I hate my life when my alarm goes off in the morning? Will I need a nap tomorrow afternoon? Do I have time for a nap tomorrow afternoon? These are the questions I must ask myself.

And the ansers: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. YES!

All systems go.

eucalyptus lip stuff.

2009-11-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

So there is this store at southcenter called Gilly Hicks. Its some distant cousin of Hollister or Abercrombie or something. They have tons of expensive underwear. And I wouldn't suggest the website because, well they have some questionable pictures.

Anyway... I was in the store itself last night. Its like a maze. A dark maze. How do they expect people to buy stuff if you can't see what you're buying? I was confused.

So anyway this maze goes in a big circle. And in the cent of the circle, accesible by one little doorway, is a bath and body works-esque shop. Its still dark, but a little more lit. And that is where I found it.

The most amazing thing I have ever found in my life besides Jesus. And I am not exaggerating.

Eucalyptus Soft Lip Butter.

[Also known as lip gloss, chap stick, lip balm, etc.]

It is the perfect blend of mint and vanilla and I could serious eat the entire little .44 oz jar if I had less self control right now. I really, really, REALLY recommend going out and buying this stuff as soon as you can. Take a flashlight for sure. Otherwise you might now be able to find it. But its worth the excursion.

oh the weather outside is frightful...

2009-11-02T10:24:00.000-08:00

Okay not really.

That just goes with what I am about to say... I LOVE CHRISTMAS MUSIC.

I'm definitely not one of those people that is like, "UGH... Christmas music, turn it off!" Now that its November, I plan on listening to it as often as possible. Norah Jones Holiday on Pandora? Yes, please. Trevor Davis Christmas in the car on the way to work? Mhmmm.

The air is crisp and cold. My mom's car has heated seats. And the road is calling me to go for a drive. So bring on the Christmas tunes and hot chocolate! :)

my new room.

2009-10-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

I hate that the pictures are kind of blurry. I had it on a weird setting and I don't know why. Anyway...