Adventures in Tubing

Chris, Cole and I spent the morning tubing up at Snoqualmie Pass. The weather couldn't have been better: lots of sun and no wind!

You can see the rest of the pictures here.

Because the weather sucks

Here are some baby animals for your enjoyment






Images from my new favorite blog, zooborns

Colder than a...

*insert your favorite euphemism*

Brrr! Winter has come early and with a vengeance to the Pacific Northwest! As I'm writing this post, it's 20 degrees outside and our street looks like an ice rink. Now, I don't mind a bit of snow, but this ice crap is for the birds! Bring back 45 degrees and rain - that's a proper Seattle December.

Of course, the snow had to fall on the day that we had a big Christmas open house planned. I had been shopping, baking, and cleaning all week in preparation and was horribly depressed when I looked out the window early Sunday morning to see all of the snow. We sat by the phone and kept checking email to see how many cancellations there would be. In the end, about 20 brave souls made their way to the party. We had a great time and it was fun to ring in the season with lots of food, drink and fun.

As Christmas quickly approaches, I just have a few last minute things to do to get ready. The shopping is almost done and I just have to finish the last of the Christmas cards and a couple of crafty presents. It's been so hectic this year with school and holiday prep so it's nice to take a deep breath and enjoy the season.

If I don't get a chance to blog again before Christmas, I hope that each and every one of you have a wonderful holiday season!

This fits my mood today

I don't know if it's pre-Christmas burnout or just a case of the Monday blahs, but this video gave me a chuckle.

Gobble, gobble

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I have to say that as far as holidays go, Thanksgiving is not a big one for me. I rank it alongside Easter as an "eating" holiday. It's good for a meal, but other than that, it's not big on my holiday radar. It's merely a milestone on the way to CHRISTMAS!

We're doing the Turkey Trot in Tacoma tomorrow morning. Cole and I will do the two mile walk and Chris will run the 5k. It's early and it's cold but it's a nice way to jump start the metabolism for the turkey coma that will come later in the day.

Chris and I are heading to Portland this weekend for our annual Christmas shopping bash. We're also belatedly celebrating our anniversary so I'm sure we'll eat lots of good food and just enjoy spending time together.

I've only got a week left before the end of the quarter so I'm madly trying to finish my big project and study for my final. After that, I've got a month off!

Hope you all have a fun and safe Thanksgiving!

Disney, Christmas, Portland and Short-Timer Syndrome

1. Cole and I had a great time on his surprise birthday trip to Disneyland. Seriously, I don't think that there are two other people in this world who love Disney as much as we do. From riding Space Mountain at 7am to shin splints and sore feet, we were all Disney, all day (and night) long for three days straight. We rode, we ate, we shopped and had lots of great bonding time. I think I may have even put a dent in my fear of flying because there was quite a bit of turbulence and I didn't even have a panic attack. Yay me! You can see the rest of the pictures here.

2. In addition to Disney, I also have a love of Christmas. Not so much the actual day but the whole season. Each year, I seem to start a little earlier with the decorations and the all the assorted holiday stuff. I've been listening to Christmas music around the house for about a week which means that I'll be sick of it by December 2nd. FYI: Don't buy the new Enya "Christmas" disc. It sucks. *shudder*

3. Speaking of Christmas, Chris and I have a fairly new, yet fun tradition of heading to Portland the day after Thanksgiving to shop, eat, and relax for the weekend. A big bonus is that Oregon has no sales tax so we save a bit of a money on the shopping. We try to do most of our Christmas shopping while we're there which takes a bit of pressure off of us in December. We're also belatedly celebrating our anniversary. I'm really looking forward to getting away with my sweetie :)

4. I've only got two weeks left of school and I'm totally giddy. I just want to be done with Stats for a month before I delve into the second part of the class in January. I'm off until January 10th - just long enough to forget everything I learned this quarter :) Short-timer syndrome: I has it.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today is our 10th wedding anniversary. Chris and I have been together for 12 years and married for 10 of those wonderful years. I know it sounds cliche to say that you're married to your best friend, but it really is the case with us. I have never felt so connected to another person, and it's amazing to be married to someone who totally gets me.

I am very blessed to have him in my life. In addition to being a great husband, he's an awesome stepfather to Cole. I couldn't ask for a more compassionate and caring spouse. He makes me laugh, lifts me up when I'm down and provides unwavering love and support.

Happy Anniversary, Chris. Love you! :)