~10/31/2010~

Too bad we didn't dress up today! Josh and I are a bit spotty with when we dress up for Halloween. Josh already has our costumes decided for next year, however, I have a totally different idea of what I want, and dang it! I'm going to win! :-)
Traditionally, every Halloween, Josh's family gets together for dinner. This year it was Black Angus. We had a great time! Robyn and DJ weren't there, but Ron, Lynda, and Angie came and we had great food and great conversation! After dinner we headed down to Orting to go trick or treating with Owen. He has got it DOWN this year! So cute! He would run from house to house, and yell "They have their lights on!!!" He even willingly walked into a garage that was set up like a haunted house! When he came out the other side smiling I asked him "Baby, what did you see in there?" and he said "I saw CANDY auntie!" Haha!

~10/30/2010~

Wow. No picture today. Got up about 830, worked out, did my devotions, curled up on the couch and read my book. I'm reading the Carrie Diaries, which is the story of Carrie Bradshaw before NYC. No Samantha, Charlotte or Miranda. No Big, no Aidan. But, a cute book nonetheless. Half of the book I swear I can hear Sarah Jessica Parker narrating!

~10/29/2010~

Today was our team's "official" Pastor's away. We went to Clancys, had coffee and went over our paperwork, before going to the brand new Panera Bread at Tacoma Mall for lunch. Good coffee and good food! It was incredibly emotionally draining to go over all of the paperwork though, and it felt so good to be done for the day! After work I headed down to Orting to spend the evening with the family. We decided to go to Los Pinos for dinner, and Owen was hysterical! He loves "rice and beans" (that's what he calls the restaurant!) and he always gets spoiled with quarters for the little toy machines! Here he is thinking he's being silly and smiling for a picture only if I take it from under the table!

~10/28/2010~

In true Thursday form, I worked, went straight home, crawled into bed and napped until it was time for team camp. After team camp, I went home and worked on a sheet called Pastor's away. Once a year, all the pastors on staff fill out a form, drawing attention to things we need to focus on in the following year. Wow. Not an easy form to fill out. I chose my key word - Refine- and refine I will. I have made so many changes in life in the last couple years, and though they've been incredibly positive... I definitely need to refine myself. Shore things up, straighten edges. It's hard to admit when things need to be fixed in oneself, but how great to know I work for somebody who expects nothing less from us than constant growth. Can't beat that! So I'll be spending some blogging time in the next year going over my progress. We had to fill out physical goals as well, and with us looking to start a family, I made my physical goal simply to take care of my body. Exercise. Whether it's walking on a treadmill or running, pregnant or not pregnant, I will take care of my body. Including a dismissal of my LOVE for taco bell. That parts actually a bit more intimidating to me than the exercise itself! Haha!

~10/27/2010~

Miss Amber Alseth has been in Minneapolis for her Grandma's memorial, and she came home today! I went and picked her up from the airport. I'm so used to having this girl around all the time it was definitely strange not seeing her face over the last several days!

~10/26/2010~

Tuesday night book study night! Today I went to lunch with the lovely Julie Mironchuk, much enjoyed and WAY overdue! And after tackling and FINISHING a list approximately a mile long of things to do around the house Monday, I was able to just come home after work and relax until the girls came over. So, I curled up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, fireplace on, The Wizard of Oz on the TV, and red nail polish for my fingernails! The picture isn't clear of the TV, but you see my view for the afternoon! So nice to have a completely empty afternoon! Book club lasted all of 30 minutes, before everybody separated into other conversation. I love getting to visit with these girls every week!

~10/25/2010~

Monday date day! We stuck close to home this week, with both of us getting over some pretty hefty head colds. So, we started out with Clancy's Coffee, and then headed out to Enumclaw to get some pictures for a BPO we're doing. We weren't sure where the heck the street was, so we pulled over in a church parking lot, and stumbled upon this! How cute is it??!! It totally made me think of Elbe's church! After Enumclaw, and stopping in to visit with Michelle, we headed home where I tackled a list of things I wanted to get done around the house. All in all it was a great day, getting to spend some much enjoyed time with Josh, and getting to scrub down the house!

~10/24/2010~

PRAISE THE LORD!!!! I can confidently say that last night was THE BEST sleep I've gotten on a Saturday night since starting my job here at Foursquare Church! I fell asleep easily, and early, and woke up refreshed and without an alarm clock at 445a. I don't need to get out of bed until 545a, so I just snuggled up in bed and relaxed. It feels so good to be ALIVE and AWAKE today! No picture though... I attempted to take one of Josh when we were at lunch at Famous Dave's, but my phone didn't have enough battery to open the camera, and my actual camera was in my computer bag!

~10/23/2010~

I've done a bit more thanksgiving shopping. I got some really fun purple and green wine glasses, and a water pitcher to match our dishes. I still have a list a mile long of things I want to do for our first Thanksgiving that we as a married couple get to host, but I set up my table with what I had so far. So, I thought you'd enjoy the progression!

~10/22/2010~

Owen spent Friday afternoon with me. He came into the office when he got out of preschool, and spent the last hour of my work day being spoiled by everybody I work with. He left the church with MOUNDS of candy and new toys! No wonder he likes to hang out at work with Auntie! I still wasn't feeling well from my cold, and was just sick to my stomach about the dog thing. Owen overheard me tell Sarah how I was feeling, and spent the rest of the afternoon telling me he was sick too, and at one point he yelled from his carseat "Auntie Auntie I'm gonna puke!" I quickly get into a parking lot and get him out of his seat, only to watch him walk over to this light post, spit just like his Uncle Joshie, sit down and say " Auntie, I just need a break".... seriously? Haha! I got his rear back into his carseat and took him back to my house! Funny boy!

~10/21/2010~

Chest colds. Definitely not at the top of my list of favorite things to have. So, after work, and Team Camp, I went home, and fired up the vaporizer. I wish you could see the amount of steam coming out of this sucker!

~10/20/2010~

Well well well. Today was supposed to be a post full of pictures of our sweet new puppies. However, the people we purchased these dogs from chose to take our money and not put them on the flight to Seattle. They spent the day streaming excuses, and asking for more money. So, instead of being excited to show off new additions to our house, I went to be upset and feeling absolutely taken advantage of. We spent almost 2 hours on the phone with United Cargo, trying to figure out if there was a flight we could get the dogs on today, but, whether or not we can get the dogs on a flight is neither here nor there. If the "sellers" don't put them on a flight it's just more wasted money. The photo today shows off what I did while waiting those hours for United to answer. Roger is writing a book about the Anatomy of a Soldier, and he has chosen me to take notes on it for him. I have pages and pages of written notes that I need to get into outline form for him this week, so I sat down in the living room, and went to work while listening to the HIDEOUS hold music! Great times!

~10/19/2010~

Josh and I are hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year, and we are so excited! In reading Uncharted TerriTori, by Tori Spelling, I got some incredible ideas for hosting parties, since her mother is the QUEEN of hosting! Haha! On my lunch today, I headed up to Joann fabrics, and got some material to make some table runners for both the tables for guests and the table to display the food on. There is one more piece of material I want to get my hands on, a sheer goldish material that will be bunched and draped over the table runners themselves, decorated with the leaves from our wedding. It's going to look so great, I can't wait to have it decorated and take pictures to show off! But today, it's just the ideas thrown on a table together, but use your imaginations with me, it's going to be fabulous!

~10/18/2010~

Monday Date Day! Today Josh and I headed up to Seattle for the day. We window shopped through Pacific Place, and checked out all the odd little shops that Pike Place Market has to offer. I love that we get to spend these days together, creating memories and just being together! After we got back into town, we met my mom, Michelle and Owen at Red Robin for dinner, and Owen was in awe of my "green burrito", otherwise known as my Whiskey River BBQ Chicken Wrap. He had to eat some of it! It was too cute!

~10/17/2010~

After services today, and a good nap, Josh and I headed down to Orting to do dinner with the fam. When we got there, Michelle's good friend Lindsey Borg and her fiance were having their engagement photos taken, and Michelle was "babysitting" their 8 week old boxer puppy. I promptly picked him up and stuck him on my lap, where he slept until they were done with the photo shoot! This little guy's name is Gus, and he's so precious! Definitely got Josh and I excited for our additions this week!!

~10/16/2010~

No picture today either. But dang I felt accomplished anyway! I got up, worked out, got ALL the laundry done, including our bedding, got the entire house cleaned, did my devos, AND visited with Michelle for an hour! How great to get all of that done before weekend services start! I knew I was going to be able to enjoy my Sunday afternoon and Monday off without guilt!

~10/15/2010~

Right after work today Leah picked me up, and we headed up to Kent to meet Amber, Rylee, & Lindsey for Manicures and Pedicures, before going out to celebrate Lindsey's birthday. We went to a salon called Pauline's Nail Spa, and then up to Lindsey's house to get ready and met several of her friends at Joey's in Bellevue for dinner. Joey's was SLAMMED, so Troy took it upon himself to find us a place to eat sooner than later, and we ended up eating at Palomino, which was fabulous! Everybody seemed to really enjoy themselves, mostly Lindsey, which made me so happy! She is one of the most amazing women you'd ever have the pleasure of meeting! I chose miss Rylee for my photo of the day though, because of how dang precious she was hanging out with us at the salon! She looks so much like Amber in this picture to me!

~10/14/2010~

Directly after work on Thursday I met up with Leah and Mikey to find a dress for Lindsey's 30th Birthday Bash. I wish I had taken a picture of Mikey, he was hysterical! I love that kid so much! So, no picture today... but work, shopping, and another great week of Team Camp!

~10/13/2010~

Greta

Theodore

So here it is guys! We have officially decided to purchase these two precious little things! We will get them next week, and we can't wait! The boy's name will be Theodore, to be called Theo or Teddy, and the girl's name is Greta. These of course are not pictures I've taken, but until I can overwhelm you all with pictures I've taken of them, this is going to have to do!

~10/12/2010~

So like I've said before, on Tuesdays a group of us women get together to study a book called So Long Insecurity... and also as I've said before, we spend time after the study entertaining ourselves, and this week, we watched this man/child sing Usher's DJ got us falling in love again, along with Teenage Dream by Katy Perry. I have to say, it was painfully awkward to watch, but you can't take your eyes off it at the same time!

~10/11/2010~

"DAY"CATIONS
Josh and I have Mondays off together. Its the only full day off each week for us. So, today, we chose to start a tradition of "day"cations. We'll spend the day checking out a place in the northwest that we can get to and from in the span of a day. Today, was Port Townsend. Wow. I've been there once, when I was in high school, and was excited to get Josh back there to see the "battery"... it's this place called Fort Worden, and it's a huge building of creepy rooms and dark hallways. The water is so pretty out there, and you look right out to the straight of Juan De Fuca. After Fort Worden, we tracked down the Manresa Castle. I watched an afternoon of "The scariest places in America" on the Travel Channel, and this "castle" was on it. So, some what reluctantly, we checked it out. When we walked in, the woman behind the desk asked us if we needed anything and told us to feel free to check it out. We checked out the parlor, the ballroom, and started walking down the hallways. We started down a particular hallway, and we heard what sounded like laughter, that turned into a different noise. I can't really describe it... but needless to say, we looked at each other, raised our eye brows, and LEFT!

We had a great time today, just exploring the area, and I look forward to many more Mondays with my tall drink of water!

~10/10/2010~

There are some people that you can have around you for months, and not discover their uniqueness.... Courtney is one of those girls. She is a 2nd year MI student, and she and I share a bond now that I believe is life long. On the outside she looks just like any other adorable college girl. But, she has serious kidney problems, which can really wear her down and knock her out. It's hard to be 19 yrs old and not always be able to keep up with your friends, and I was just a bit younger than her when I found out about my heart disease. So, just like Courtney, I look completely normal on the outside, yet struggle physically because of the inside. She gets me and I get her. And I love her all the more for it. For her strength to just trek through each day with her hysterical sense of humor, and her desire to grow in who she is.

~10/9/2010~

There is a little girl at our church, 13 months old, and precious! Her name is Marybella, and I snag a snuggle from that sweet girl every chance I get! Marybella was dedicated at church tonight, so I told the family I'd take pictures for them to remember the evening by. I didn't promise anything special, but they were so excited just to know that they would have photos period! They are such a sweet family!

~10/8/2010~

Josh's baby sister married her best friend, the man of her dreams tonight. And she was gorgeous. While getting ready she just glowed. I took this picture with my phone to send to Josh, he needed to see the big smile on Robyn's face! I am so happy for her, she has chosen an incredible man who will cherish her and be all that she dreams her husband would be!

~10/7/2010~

Ok, so I know I didn't take this picture, but I'm choosing it to be my picture of the day, because I wish I HAD taken it! Isn't he precious???

A couple weeks ago a friend of mine had her house burglarlized and her husband was held hostage during the ordeal. And then a couple nights ago a drug deal gone bad at the south hill mall turned into a high speed chase and an officer chasing him on foot through the woods (by our house!) before shooting him. And to add insult to injury Josh locked himself out of the house the other morning and I slept through him banging on the door, ringing the door bell, and finally breaking into the house. It was at this point that I realized we needed to hvae the guns back in our house (Josh has an arsenal but we just didn't have the room at our home downtown to store them) and a dog. And Josh had me checking online for English Bulldogs.... now, they're spendy little guys... until we came across HIM! He's champion blood line, AKC, yadda yadda yadda good, and we can get him for a STEAL! We're making our final decision tonight!!

~10/6/2010~

I didn't take a picture today. I didn't even THINK about it. Which is super sad because I spent the evening with Lindsey and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with her, where we had a FABULOUS Reese's peanut butter caramel heaven piece of cheesecake! I feel like I never get to see Linds enough, so I think I was too into getting to visit with her to think about pictures! But, needless to say, I had an always great time with her!

~10/5/2010~

Look at who came and visited me at work today! Owen and Boston were so cute while hanging out in my office while Michelle & I visited.

~10/4/2010~

We're on the final countdown for Robyn and DJ's wedding. And it's funny, because each time I'm in a wedding I find myself doing a ton of prep work on myself, so they can be proud to have me in their weddings! So, tonight, I get to color my hair. Yes, I color my own hair. And I use the cheap stuff... and I LOVE it! So don't judge! :-) Tomorrow I have bible study, but I'm hoping to go get a spray tan. Thursday is a manicure, and Friday is THEIR WEDDING!!!!

~10/3/2010~

So it seems that these last few weeks I've just not been able to get some solid sleep under me. I'm sleeping great, but there just aren't enough hours of sleep to really keep me going, and yesterday, I crashed. Left work early, to go home, and be in bed by 7p (I know, on a Saturday night, don't be jealous!), and instead of getting up and being at work at 630a, I slept until after 10a! I am so thankful for a job that absolutely understands self preservation! After spending 90% of my day relaxing in bed watching shows on the travel channel about the most haunted places in America (I ALWAYS get sucked into those things!) Josh and I went down to Orting to see the family. Owen has really started using his imagination and has spent the last 3 days telling us all to call him "Max" while he runs around the house being a kitty. It's so cute! He was able to break out of character long enough to have a kid sized popsicle tonight though! And look at the soda in Josh's hand! He really has the biggest hands I've ever seen, and manages to make everything he holds look small, but this is really a small can to begin with. The boys and their "tiny treats"! I love it!

~10/2/2010~

I've always wanted to do a pin-up style photo shoot. The glam and sexiness of the 40's has always seemed so cool to me! Christy Pelland of C. Pelland Photography is currently having a contest, and the grand prize is a PIN UP PHOTO SHOOT! So, this morning, I downloaded the 16 songs that make me feel my sexiest, and popped it in the mail. Wish me luck!!!

~10/1/2010~

No picture today. Brought my camera and everything. Had a crazy busy day at work, and after work got ready for my sister in law Robyn's bachelorette party. We went to Indochine for dinner, and of course the food was fabulous! Robyn is really excited to get married, and I'm so excited for her, she is an incredible girl and she deserves the best!