The Best Laid Plans...

That's a photo of my little carry-on suitcase. At my house. Not in Seattle.

Thursday night as I was packing, I was thinking about all the great photos I would have to post of my two dear friends, Erin and Amy, hanging out in a cool city like Seattle. I went to the airport Friday morning, hoping to breeze on using Jesse's passes. I knew it wasn't going to be a good day when I heard them page asking for volunteers to give up their seat. My sweet husband spent a good chunk of time behind the ticket counter looking at every possible way I could get to Seattle. We tried different cities, even different partner airlines, but it was just not in the cards for me to travel. We eventually left the airport and I went to work, feeling bummed, but telling myself it was okay, because I would just get up super early and catch the first flight out Saturday morning. That plan also failed, and I have spent my weekend thus far in Missouri.

While I was out and about today, I kept thinking, I wonder what I would be doing right now if I was in Seattle! Sigh. Hopefully there will be another girls trip planned soon...one that I actually make it to!

On the bright side, spring is finally in the air! January and February are always the hardest months of the year for me (which was another reason I was so looking forward to seeing my girlfriends...but I digress). This year in particular, I have felt like the grumpiest, worst version of myself. I think it's a combination of things, but poor Jesse...I have been a serious bump on a log lately. Anyway, just when winter was feeling the most claustrophobic and hopeless, a random, sunny, 70 degree day popped in and reminded me that life as I know it is not over. A new season is coming, not just for the weather, but for my life. And winter has served its purpose, even if only to remind me to be grateful for those things which I get used to and take for granted.

So, even though it's been a lame, disappointing 2011 so far, I am anticipating good things on the horizon.

On a totally different note, last weekend, our youngest niece turned one. I stopped by the party en route to the dog shelter.

Jada wasn't really interested in hanging out with me. Clearly, there was something much more interesting off to the side.

Like this crazy big horsie thing someone got her....

Or maybe just a cookie...
Whatever the case, I hope you had a good birthday little missy J!

Happy Birthday Canuck!

We started our celebration a couple days ago since we knew the actual day would be spent for me with coworkers and he with classmates. Saturday, we grabbed a bite to eat at our favorite spot for falafels, saw a movie, and chilled out at home for a bit. The next day my mom took us to lunch and spoiled Jesse with a pair of trail shoes he's been wanting. (Let the record show, this man owns waaaayyy more pairs of shoes than I do.)

Today, I will enlist the onslaught of birthday traditions started a decade ago, beginning with streamers and candy in the morning, and riding straight on through to the funky looking homemade ice cream cake at night. (Thank God Oreos are vegan.)

I like to look back and think about all the different bathrooms I've decorated for his birthday. It strikes me as somewhat odd that the bathroom is the decorated room, but it all started when we were dating and he was living at Nikki's. I was working as a waitress and would fly up and stay for a few days every month, hanging out with him in the evenings and weekends during his days off from the camera shop. He used to go into work super early. I remember wanting to do something special to acknowledge his birthday first thing when he woke up, but lazily, I didn't want to have to set my alarm and wake up myself. (It's way easier for me to stay up late than to get up early.) So, I ended up decorating the bathroom the night before, knowing that the bathroom was the only room in the condo that I would be able to get into and stay quiet enough not to wake him, and knowing that he would for sure have to go into that room in the morning. For whatever reason, the bathroom stuck.

I have decorated "birthday bathrooms" in 3 different countries and 6 different cities. I wonder what other bathrooms our lives will let us see! =)

Happy birthday Canuck!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! Today is actually pretty non-celebratory for Jesse and I in the grand scheme of things. We have already done all of the family get-togethers, and after a peaceful morning with just the two of us, Jesse headed in to work. (One of the few industries that doesn't shut down on Christmas day...oh well...we have had a great Christmas season nonetheless!)

Here's our Christmas recap -

A few days ago, we headed to my mom's. My brother/sister-in-law/niece and step-dad were all fresh off travel. (My step-dad has been doing contract work out of state, and my brother is in the midst of a short term job assignment in Montana.) About 15 minutes after Jesse and I got there, everyone else pulled up literally straight from the airport. We had a Christmas "panini party" courtesy of the new panini maker I got for my birthday. They were delicious, and Jesse and I ended up having paninis for the next 3 days straight. We had our gift exchange and watched my niece bobble around. She just started walking and is learning to connect words with actions. They have taught her "nonsense" and "touchdown". (i.e. they say "Oh Jada, that's just nonsense" and she grins and shakes her head side to side, or they yell "touchdown" and she throws her little arms up in the air.) It's cool to see the way her brain is developing and learning, and amazes me how much kids pick up even before they are speaking. (Note to self: watch your mouth.)

Christmas Eve we headed to my Dad's. Jada once again provided the entertainment with her nonsense and touchdown "tricks".

Over the last decade, my Dad has become quite a skilled woodworker. He made this chest for Jesse and I, which Jada found to be perfect for clutching and walking around. I am now in a conundrum about how to rearrange the furniture in our house. Those of you who have visited know that our house is teeny tiny. We don't have the luxury of being able to just add pieces in here and there, so I'm thinking something needs to go in order to make room for this new piece. Right now, it is still sitting in the back of our SUV. Until then, I'm waiting for a stroke of design genius to hit me. (For the record, I'm quite happy to have this problem...)

Peeking out from under my hands is a copy of The Joy of Vegan Baking, which I plan to start baking my way through in January.

This is kind of a silly photo of Jesse, but it's the only one I took that isn't totally blurry and I thought it appropriate that his mug have some space in this post.

Last, I made some onesies for my niece. This one I made in honor of Jesse. It has a maple leaf on the butt and says "Eh?" on the front. Though she is too young to understand, we tell Jada he is "the silly Canadian"/"that crazy Canadian"/"the scary Canadian"/etc.
Anyway, cheers to another beautiful Christmas season! Hope it finds you content in your heart and happy in your soul.

Thanksgiving Break

I had some time off work for Thanksgiving and it was wonderful! There is so much to be said for a break, for getting away, for fresh perspective. I did a lot of driving by myself... a couple hours south to see my Dad's side of the family, an hour north to see my mom's side, and a day to see my "immediate" (for lack of a better word) family. Jesse has to work most holidays so he didn't tag along for a lot of the festivities, but I did get to see him a lot around the house, which was nice. A few pics -

My Grandpa.

I kid not when I say I don't know who a lot of these people are, but apparently, we're related. (This was a combined Thanksgiving/Christmas since it's so hard to get everyone together with scheduling.)

I started working on some holiday gifts in my new little "art corner" of the garage. Love, love, love, having a designated space!

Got the house decorated for Christmas! I always smile when I pull this stocking out of the box. My mom got it for us back when we had just one doggie, Horton. He looks so cute and young in the photo, I can never bring myself to replace it with one that has all the current doggies in it.

Also put up a little tree.

Officially Christmas season!

The Weekend

Saturday we went to the Liberty Memorial and WWI museum with my family. Notably my Grandpa - a vet of WWII, the Korean War, and Vietnam - he has so many crazy stories of his own, which made the museum a lot more interesting. It is amazing he is still alive, and probably even more amazing that he can laugh and enjoy life given everything he's seen. I can't say that I really know the man very well, but I can say my respect for him runs very deep.

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend was like every other weekend - it went by way too fast! Here are a few pics...


We dropped off the dogs at Pete and Mac's and then headed up to my mom's house yesterday. Our newest niece is not quite 2 months old yet, but Grandma very much enjoyed watching the silly baby expressions.

I also got in some baby time...

And Uncle Jesse humored me and took a photo with Jada and I, but that is as close to her as he got. He declared yesterday, that since his rule of not touching babies has been effective for 30 years, he intends to keep it like that until his own baby shows up someday.

After eating yummy food and being treated to some early Easter Bunny presents, we headed out to retrieve the dogs. They always come home from Pete and Mac's with report cards, which make me smile. (Great marketing, whoever thought of it!) When we lived in Colorado, we went to the dog park every weekend, and I used to make fun of the people there who took their dogs to daycare places and then talked about their grades at the park. Now I am one of "those people". Bean and Monkey were reported to be party animals, with Bean being very popular with all the other dogs, and Monkey enjoying her time with one specific dog, "flirting". (We believe this is code for humping.) Horton got "fantastic" on his report, with notes that he loved watching all the action.

Today, we woke up to beautiful weather, so Jesse and I headed over to one of our favorite trails to do some bike riding.

Jesse has been practicing his "bunny hop", and this was the best photo I got of it. Too bad I cut off his head! At least you can see that he is getting some air!

By the river...will be much pretty in a month or two when the trees green up. Plus, we just had a bad storm, and there was a lot of debris around/on the trail.


After biking, we grilled out for lunch and both agreed that we thought people who decided to eat a big Easter dinner inside were crazy to be missing out on the great weather! In fact, it was so inspiring, we did a bunch of yard work after lunch.

Bean and Monkey were horrible good helpers, picking up all the sticks they have tossed about the yard.

Horton isn't interested in sticks, but the hose is another story!

My snow fountain cherry was at the peak of beauty today! It is so big and full right now. (The stakes all over the yard in the background are our attempt at keeping the dogs out of patchy areas of lawn that we just over seeded.)


I think this is the best photo we have gotten of Bean. He was pretty happy looking out into the backyard.

And that pretty much sums it up!

Jada

Jesse and I ran some dinner over to my brother's last night and I got a non-phone photo this time! Jesse was quite content holding the camera while I held the baby. He is being true to his I don't touch babies rule.

An Eventful Saturday

This morning was full of fun events! Woke up to see a text message that my brother sent at midnight, letting us know they were at the hospital waiting for their first born to make an appearance.

I told them we could help out by going to get their dog, Jackson, and bringing him with us to Jesse's trail race, since they had no idea when they would be able to let the little guy out to pee or get some exercise. So, we got our own dogs loaded, picked up Jackson, and headed toward the race.

About ten miles into the drive we heard a loud pop. Two minutes later we were on the side of the road with a flat tire. Of course, we were already running slightly behind schedule since we made the extra stop to get Jackson. None the less, my trusty handyman had the SUV well stocked for a situation just like this, and within 10 minutes, the spare tire was on and we were back in action.

Got to the race just in time and Jesse and Monkey (who was in bib complete with her own time chip) ran down to the start line. The siren sounded before I made it to the start line with Horton and Jackson to see off the runners. Oh well, Horton was looking so handsome in his backpack, I was probably just being distracted by his cuteness.

I spent the next hour and a half walking around the park with Horton and Jackson while we waited for Jesse and Monks to near the finish line. Jesse will probably blog about this, but the trail was incredibly muddy, so I think everyone's times were a bit slower than anticipated. People were coming out with their lower half completely caked in mud. It was awesome. (Though Monkey needs a very serious bath now.) I tried to get a self-photo of Horton, Jackson and I waiting, but Jackson was a) too small, b) too fast and c) too squirmy to make it in any of the shots without just looking like a gray ball of blur. I did get this one of little bud and I that I really like though.


Anyway, we watched Jesse and Monkey cross the finish line, but unfortunately weren't able to stick around terribly long since Jesse still had to make it to work on time. He basically had time to collect his race loot and leave. This photo actually makes he and Monkey look pretty clean, but I can assure you, our floors tell a different story. =) (By the way, look how buff Jesse's calves have gotten.)


Back home, Jesse showered while I made his lunch, then out the door to work he went! After that, I headed over to the hospital to meet my niece, Jada Elsie. She peacefully snoozed away, so I held her until my arm fell asleep. I was silly enough to leave my camera in the car, so I have no non-grainy photos to show. But, rest assured, she's a cutie pie!


All in all, a good day! When I was out walking around the park with Horton and Jackson I was thinking about how I wish I could start every day with a long walk in the woods. Plus, anytime someone comes home covered in mud, that automatically means you must have done something fun. =)

Snowy Adventures With the Pups

Yesterday the melting snow in our front yard unearthed Jesse's lost cell phone. Amazingly, it still works! I thought I'd post some photos from the day we lost it, as well as a few more we took today while we were out and about.

Jesse and Monkey taking a break from their cross-country skiing:

Always have to get at least one self-photo:

Horton and I were running behind Jesse and Monkey while they were skiing, and let me tell you, running in three feet of snow is much harder than running on a clear path! I was so tuckered out by the end, I flopped down in the snow, and my little snuggle bug Horton was quick to join me. He was being so snuggly, it was hard to get up and leave:

Monkey was more interested in skiing. I had to headlock her to get her to be in a photo with me. She is not really the snuggly type; more so the nibble-on-your-fingers-squirm-all-over-you-until-you-throw-my-ball-and-play-with-me type.

Today we were both off work and the weather was a little warmer, so we decided to go hiking with the dogs. It was fun, but very wet and muddy. Since everything was still covered in snow, it was impossible to know where (or what) you were stepping into. On a few occasions, Jesse and I discovered small creeks by stepping right into them. Very squishy, cold, socks by the end of our little adventure!

Notice here Monkey is sporting her new backpack! She carried most of our stuff for us today.

Yep, another self-photo. What family day would be complete without it?

My boys and the crazy girl:

Too bad every day can't be a "hiking with the dogs" day. Tomorrow it's back to business as usual.

A Certain Someone

A certain someone ran a 10k this morning. A certain someone also placed 1st not just in his category, but overall. I think I am pretty happy to be married to this certain someone.

The Pattern of Life

I've thought a lot the last few years about career and family and what it means to be a woman walking somewhere in between (which I don't technically consider myself to be part of, because I don't have kids yet). Even so, feeling like someday I'll have to choose has weighed heavily on me at times. I think it is a pertinent issue for women in my generation, whether or not it's consciously on women's minds.

As I look toward the possibility of grad school, I feel very mixed. In so many ways, I want it to work out, yet there must be some part of me that would just feel all together relieved if it doesn't. The program I applied to is out of state, which I don't think I've ever mentioned on here before. So, to go means living apart from Jesse for a while (because of the house and other details), putting us in a harder spot financially due to the living arrangements plus the likelihood of more student loans and basically starting life fresh somewhere else - alone. But it also means a really, really good step toward building my career. To not go, means I'll most likely slink into some job that is just so-so and helps pays bills. But it also means being in the same place as Jesse and the finances feeling some relief since one of us would be done with school all together. Both versions of life have appeal and drawbacks.

I've been realizing more and more, there are very few "right or wrong" decisions in life. Most are just different, with different ups and downs. Of course, many have heavy implications - like this whole grad school thing for instance, would probably have a big impact on when we have kids. But, it's not like there is a right or wrong time to go through big life changes. Yet somehow, there is this pressure about right and wrong times in life. Not just for women, but people in general. For instance, if people aren't married by about age 30, they get a lot of questions or people trying to hook them up, as if something must be wrong, because they aren't following the right life pattern. Or if kids aren't had by x years into marriage, there is a lot of question and assumption. I've even been asked "Why don't you want kids?", a question based on the fact that I've been married a while and don't plan to have kids in the near future. Or not going to college right after high school, that was like the end of the world to some people when I announced I wasn't going - as if I had just given up all chance of ever graduating. And I remember this past holiday having a conversation with a parent who was deeply, deeply concerned that their high school senior child didn't want to go to college right away. But...universities are always open...even for people who aren't 18. So why is it that people get so bent out of shape when you (or they) don't follow the "pattern"? And who made up this pattern anyway? It's all so silly. And I've been very guilty of living by the pattern, whereby I put all these deadlines on myself.

Well, if we decide to have kids biologically instead of adopt, then the risk of birth defects begins increasing starting at age 30, and by age 35, well just forget it...but if I go to grad school, that hardly leaves any time to work in a career that I worked so hard for before I'd be nearly out of time to have kids and then I'd just be giving up everything I worked so hard to get in the first place... and so was the pressure of the pattern.

Now, I've realized that either way will be okay. If I go to grad school, if I don't - life will be dramatically different either way, but both options, in one way or another, get me closer to the life that I want to build.

I think I've finally realized, the most important thing is not what I do, but who I love.

And love can look a lot of different ways.

Decorating for Christmas (a.k.a. Being Stupid With Our Dogs)

Last night, Jesse climbed up in the attic to pull out our Christmas tree and decorations. Now we are all festive, and the cd player is fully equipped with Christmas tunes.

We used to only decorate half of the tree because we never bought enough decorations to go all the way around, though I'm not sure why. In any case, this year, my mom decided to go with a new theme on her tree, so we got her hand-me-downs, which just happened to match our red and gold perfectly. So for the first time, the tree is decorated all the way around!

And of course, what Christmas-y evening would be complete without doggie snuggle time?

Our self-family photo attempts... (That quite obviously did not work...)



Jesse was showing me what it might look like if he had too much Christmas "cheer".


Thankfully, Horton knows CPR and was ready and willing to revive.

Notice how I am the only one decorating...