A 30-Day Challenge - Day 4

Day 04 - A picture of your night.

This is a picture of almost every night.

After having Cashe almost a year & a half ago, I decided not to go back to work because I wouldn't be able to work: (a) part-time (b) from home (c) part-time from home OR (d) part-time in the office & part-time from home.

My priorties had realigned & my 40 hours a week was to be spent with my new son.

Well, a month after giving my notice I got a call. Not only did they ask me to come back, they asked me to just work: (a) part-time (b) from home (c) with a brand new laptop & aircard in case I needed to travel AND (d) I could choose the hours I wanted to work because Cashe comes first.

It brings tears to my eyes (right, I know, I'm Miss Waterworks) every time I think about what an incredible blessing & what an honor it was to be valued enough to come back & basically "call the shots". I thank God daily for His work in my work.

With that all being said, Cashe does come first & my "work day" typically doesn't start until he's down for bed at 7:00 p.m. I am able to attend conference calls throughout the day & have a few scheduled meetings (in which all parties are very understanding when it comes to my background noise).

And there are times, such as today where I got to go into the office for a Town Hall presented by lots of "boss's boss's boss's boss's". AND, I was chosen to stay & attend a breakout session with these executives as one of the company's "Top Performers"!

So, although my night may look a little boring (it'd look FAR more dorky if I had actually posted my Excel formulas instead of the HP Logo) but I love, love, love my job. I am a Mom (& a sister & a wife & a daughter ... ), but I'm also a Business Analyst at HP & although it's not my first priority, I love my work role.

A 30-Day Challenge - Day 3

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.

Can I have more than one?? This is a list of what my faves are on our current Tivo list.

I am not a reality TV show fan. I know they’re fabricated. However, I am hooked to anything Kardashian-related (Keeping up with the Kardashians, Khloe & Kourtney Take Miami or Kourtney & Kim Take New York).

Although the plots of their episodes may be fabricated, I think these girls are fairly “real” when they’re on screen & aside from that, they’re super fashionable & I can easily look past the "valley-girl-talk" just to check out their outfits.

Yes, Daniel Tosh (Tosh.0) cruder than crude & I am slightly embarrassed to put him on my list, BUT he does make me laugh (& if he gets too too gross, I’m not ashamed to remove him from my list). I love that he blatantly points out the obvious stupidity of internet videos & even calls people out on them by allowing them to redeem themselves on his show. Awkward? A little.

When I watch Stephen Colbert (The Colbert Report) it makes me feel really smart because I feel like I'm getting caught up on my world news. Most importantly though, his sarcasm & quick-wit always make me laugh. I love how he points out the tiniest slip-ups people make during an interview to those with NO sense of humor. Awkward? A little. (I'm sensing a pattern.) Modern Family is my newest favorite sitcom. I adore Phil Dunphy & I love how all the familys' events tie together in one episode. And bottom line, my loyalty lies with my all-time favorite, Friends. My sister & I are die hard fans & have almost every episode memorized.

A 30-Day Challenge - Day 2

Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been close with for the longest.

Amanda & I have been friends since Mrs. Kuchel's 5th Grade Class. There isn't anything we haven't done together from dying our hair for the first time to attending every class together our Junior & Senior years. She is the most amazing, kindest, most generous & thoughtful friend a girl could ask for.

Miss Dana Lynne & I have been friends since Freshman year in high school. We met in Mrs. Marmont's French Class & really got to be good friends after Beth's birthday party. Dana has the most honest, fun-loving, off-the-wall, uplifting personality that always has me in hysterics. She is one of the few people on the planet who could tell me I was fat & ugly without hurting my feelings.

Rangelica (also known as Aunt Angela or just Ange) & I have been friends since I met Shad in 1997. Angela is such an incredible sister in Christ to me. She prays for me daily & I do the same for her. She has the most sensitive & compassionate personalities I have ever known & has some of the wittiest comments & tangential jokes that keep me laughing years after the joke has been told.

I love you all.

A 30-Day Challenge

I saw this on several other posts & it reminded me of quizzes we used to take as teenage girls or even the old MySpace &/or Facebook quizzes you could take & post for others to learn more about who their friend truly is.

I actually just found an 10-year-old email my little sister sent me with the answers to one of these quizzes & I gave it to her in her birthday card this year. We both laughed at her answers & actually found it pretty awesome that she said in 10 years she hoped to be married to Luke (who she married in 2008) & have children (who will be here in 3 weeks). So, perhaps this will be just that - a great big smile or a really good laugh in the future.

Join me fellow bloggers in the journey & post yours as well. And those of you who are just reading, enjoy!

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.



1. I bit my nails for 23 years.
2. I was not allowed to have long hair when I was a little girl.
3. I love when my throat hurts after I run really hard.
4. Everything on my desk, counters, & table (almost always) must be positioned at a 90-degree angle.
5. I am afraid to cook.
6. I had a rhinoplasty consultation scheduled in LA & a 60-year-old man convinced me not to go through with the consultation.
7. I invited myself to a wedding in order to meet my husband.
8. I am afraid to own a pet.
9. My least favorite chore is unloading the dishwasher. I'd rather clean the toilet.
10. I wish sometimes that I was a landscaper.
11. I hate beer.
12. I was in (child) labor for 38 hours.
13. I was in a beauty pageant when I was in high school.
14. I ran cross-country in high school ... with Shad (who attended a different school)... but I didn't know him.
15. I have had a relationship with God for 10 years next month.


Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been close with for the longest.
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
Day 04 - A picture of your night.
Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory.
Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.
Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item.
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh.
Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most messed up things with.
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate.
Day 12 - A picture of something you love.
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist.
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die.
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you.
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity.
Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little.
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget.
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at.
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book.
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change.
Day 25 - A picture of your day.
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you.
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member.
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of.
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss.

Raise Your Glass!

Okay, so I admit, I'm a huge Pink fan. Her lyrics (although crude & often unnecessary) always have a deeper, heartfelt meaning & the beat to her songs always make me want to workout harder or run faster or in this case ... raise my glass.

So, what's the dealio?

Shad & I did it (well, God did). We are debt-free! Uh huh, no car payments, no credit card payments, & no student loan payments. (We do still have a mortgage payment, but for the sake of having a celebration, that doesn't count right now.)

So, don't be fancy, just get dancey! (You've gotta know the song)

Anyway, how'd we do it? Well, as I had mentioned in previous posts, I read Dave Ramsey's book, The Total Money Makeover late in 2008. Shad had been trying super hard to talk finances with me for 11 years prior to that & had no luck. I'd just cry (go figure) because I felt there was no hope. We'd never win the battle because no one in America wins the battle. You live with debt because that's just what Americans do & if you can't afford it, you don't say no - you slap it on the plastic! (Or so that's what I thought.)

And probably $30k in credit card debit, 2 car payments & 2 degrees later + a mortgage, I had finally decided to sit & listen ... to someone else first ... Dave Ramsey. Then, I decided to let Shad in on the secret ... that I was ready to listen to him.

I don't think Shad could have been more elated. It definitely takes two to tango when it comes to buckling down to a budget. It has been a tough year & a half, but they say a habit forms only after 30 days, so as time passed it became easier to avoid the mall. And after ~540 days, I can say that although it was tough, it was well worth it. As Dave says, "Live now like no one else so you can live like no one else later."

We're not exactly where we want to be in order to be "living like no one else" on the flip side of all this. We do still have a mortgage to pay off & a bigger savings to build, but what an accomplishment. Dave would be proud.

So, won't you come on, and come on & RAISE YOUR GLASS for me!

Ground Rule #1

We moved into our first home-home almost 5 years ago. It was a brand new home that no one had lived in before & I was under the impression it wouldn't be our final home. So, like anything I own (& especially something that I don't intend on keeping forever & ever & would have to one day sell), I wanted to take extra good care of it.

Switch gears.

In the 4 apartments/condos we lived in in Southern California, it seemed as though I could never get the countertops or stove super clean while living there. I would scrub & scrub & there always seemed to be a film all over the hood over the oven, the stove itself & often the surrounding countertops.

What could it be? The culprit ... bacon grease.

Switch gears.

Several years after moving into our home-home, my Mom, my sister & my brother-in-law came to stay with us. While we were coming up with fun summer meal ideas, Alicia suggested my Mom make German potato salad. German potato salad requires bacon. Um, no.

Ground Rule #1 in my house = no cooking bacon. If you want bacon while vacationing in my home, you have to order it from a restaurant & go pick it up or cook it on the barbeque. (And yes, that may have been one of our biggest, lamest arguements ever.)

Switch gears.

We were recently invited to participate in an Appetizer Contest Party, so I asked my sister-in-law, Shauna (who is a fantastic cook) for some recipe ideas & I also asked my brother who is a chef in Portland for ideas as well. I received a list from each of them & read the list to Shad. Guess what he chose?

Cream cheese stuffed prawns wrapped in BACON with a beurre blanc (white wine butter) sauce.

I could've & I should've said no, but I wanted to win.

Switch gears.

After I got all the ingredients & prepped everything as I was told, I got dressed for the evening. Big mistake.

The babysitter arrived & as I started plopping this beautifully wrapped prawns into the pan, I lost it. My fort of towels that I built around the pan on the stove didn't protect anything from being spattered on with bacon grease. And to top it off, I don't own an apron so not only did my clothes stink, my hair stunk & my skin was melting.

I started to get more & more frustrated as the bacon started to unravel & my pesto cream cheese was making my prawns UGLY. It was a disaster. I excused myself & let Shad finish the mess I had started while I went to cry in the bathroom for a few minutes.

Why did I break Ground Rule #1?! I was so mad at myself. I let my competitiveness get the best of me & now no one will buy our home when we put it on the market ... all because of the infamous bacon-wrapped prawn incident in March of 2011.

After I pulled myself together & explained to the babysitter that I wasn't really a basketcase, we were off to the party! It was a fabulous night, I must say & we had a great time & ate some really great food.

The winner of the night went to a lobster fondue & rightfully so. If you're going to serve anything with lobster, you should win.

And, I'm proud to say, I took second place. All the mess & tears were worth it, not because I won but because I had a good time with good friends who got a good laugh at my expense, but felt bad enough for me that they voted for me. Hope all you readers did got a good laugh too!

Now ... anyone know any tricks for removing bacon grease?!?

18 With 22 Years Experience

A few years ago, I was invited to hang out with what I call, "The Bridgetower Girls". Although I don't live in Bridgetower, it is a killer neighborhood with not only gorgeous homes, but some gorgeous girls who always find time to celebrate something.

Almost every month of the year we celebrate a birthday party for someone & this month we celebrated Heather's 40th! Here is a recap of a few celebrations over the years as well as this month's extravaganza!

Christina's 80's Prom Party

More of the 80's chicks -
this party required prom photos from all of us & we had to guess who what who in the pix.

Alesa's Pajama Party -

this party included fabulous chocolate mousse, a chick-flick & an in-home massage therapist

On our way to the airport for the Seattle Symphony

All dolled-up for the Seattle Symphony

Jen's 007 Party -

this party included dinner at Brick 29 & chick-flicks & candy at the Peterson's theatre room

My Minute-to-Win-It Party -

this party included an endless list of competitions in which we had only 1 minute to complete.

I'm tellin' ya, these girls know how to celebrate! This is only the tip of the iceberg too - I missed the chalet in Tamarack as well as another night with Rod Stewart's Limo as well as the weekend wine-tasting in Washington. Impressive, girls. Impressive.

And here's to starting this year's celebrations off with a bang!

Happy Birthday, Heather!

Riding around town in Rod Stewart's Limo for Heather's Scavenger Hunt

Stop 1: Heather's Middle School

... where Jen rocked it with her jump-rope skills in heels!

Stop 2: DQ, where Heather worked her 1st job.

And she had to make us an ice cream cone!

Stop 3: Heather's High School

Stop 4: BSU, where Heather earned her degree

Happy Birthday Poem from Heather's little man

Angie decorating our room at the restaurant

More fabulous decorators: Jen & Melissa

March Madness

THE BIRTHDAY BOY

Shad's birthday dinner at Barbacoa (where apparently I have the need to pose a little too seductively)

My FAVORITE at Barbacoa - the lemon drop ice-martinis (the glass is made of ice!)

The birthday boy! ... & his new fave, ceviche

My attempt at a cool photo with a "Happy Birthday, Dad!" sign. I chased him around the house with this sign as it got more & more crumpled. I wound up making a photo book of all these photos for Dad.

Birthday cake courtesy of his sister, Shauna - go Packers!
Shauna was on a roll that weekend - she made 3 beautiful, decorative cakes:

a nest cake for the shower, a football cake for her son's birthday & a "cheese" cake for Shad's birthday

THE BABY SHOWER

Ali (who came from Portland for the shower) & Alicia

The infamous diaper bag.

BFFEs (definition from a prior post): Me & Angela (who came from Bozeman for the shower)

My sis-in-laws & mom-in-law

Me & Stace (who came from Seattle for the shower)

THE MISSOULA TRIP

Kaylee carrying cousin Cashe at Jadon's birthday pizza party

Um ...

Mom & Matt

Beautiful, little Mama & Me

What a fun month ... so far ... & it's only half-way over!

Welcome to the Nest, Sage!

So, without making this a 20-page essay, I wanted to give an update on how Alicia's shower went in Missoula.



I found out she was pregnant last July while I was on a treadmill in a hotel in California & I about fell off. I can barely remember what the text said (some sentimental sister I am), but I was a bit thrown back because she was telling me through a text. Oh, I think the text read, "So, I took a test." I know she's not in school right now, so what other test would she be taking? I immediately jumped off the treadmill & I've been baby shopping & shower planning ever since!



The shower was planned in Missoula last weekend & was truly a hit! Alicia has some really great friends & I have some REALLY great friends (if I do say so myself).



Most baby showers are held at someone's home, but Alicia works at a place in downtown Missoula that's just gorgeous, so we held the shower there. That couldn't have worked out any better because the venue is already beautiful, which made it easy to decorate, especially since I was traveling with decorations.



My suitcase consisted of a few decorations, lots of girlie gifts & Cashe's clothes. I brought nothing of my own except my toothbrush. Thankfully, Alicia has clothes & make-up I can wear so that made the trip SO much easier.



I was terrified of the flight there because I haven't flown with Mister Mister since late last year before he was walking & super duper squirmy. To top it off, he had pink eye earlier in the week & didn't sleep at all the night before our flight; therefore I didn't sleep. And of course, I booked the 7:00 a.m. flight, so it was an EARLY morning.



However, with the organization, encouraging words & love of Miss Kelly, we made it to the airport safely & the trip was phenomenal. Yes, phenomenal. Cashe was a riot on the flight - such an entertainer for everyone & so inquisitive about everything that our lack of sleep & sicknesses/colds were definitely overlooked. Praise God.



When we got in, we hit the ground running. I had to of course visit with Alicia, then my Dad, then my Mom, then my BFF Angela, then my sister-in-law & her kids, then Shad flew in, then my brother & his girlfriend drove into town, then my other sister-in-law flew in, then I saw 2 more brother-in-laws, then my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, ... you name it!


While spending all this time with family & friends, I still managed to get my work done for HP & didn't have to take vacation time. Praise God. And, I was able to organize the shower details as well. Praise God. (I don't know how I would've done it without lots of prayer.)



So, when all was said & done, everything looked beautiful, including the mama-to-be. The food was fantastic (thanks to Mom & Cindy!), the cake was adorable (thanks to Shaunie!) & the company was a blast (thanks to ALL who traveled so far to honor this special mama & baby!)


The theme of the shower was: Welcome to the Nest & I decorated primarily with birds (which also corresponds well with the nursery theme).

Alicia made out like a bandit with gifts & love from all of those who adore her. It was truly a success.




(Okay, so I struggle with making my posts brief. Perhaps it wound up being a 15-page essay.)

Stay tuned for more fun photos of the trip!