Grandma's jam and Football season

Today I made strawberry jam using my grandma's recipe. It has to set for 24 hours before I can try it but I'm sure it will taste delicious (it's basically strawberries and loads of sugar). I will be really sad if it does not. Mike was my assistant, as he juiced the lemons and poured in the sugar. Not only did we get a good supply of jam to eat and give away, I also got a perfect chance to wear the adorable apron my sister in law made for me!

We watched the Cougs start their season against Oklahoma over in Seattle this afternoon. It wasn't pretty. We have a young team and a new coach, so I don't think people have very high expectations for them this season. Oh well, I still think football is fun to watch. (Though I admit today I took a teensy nap from the second through the fourth quarter :). Anyway, check out this cute little onesy that Mike and I want to get for Louisa. It is so sweet. It's a little expensive for us right now...but if anyone else likes the cougs, you can find it at the WSU

Go Cougs!

China

When I grow up...

I will have pretty china...

that matches...

And makes me smile every time I open the cabinets...

And makes it not so bad to do dishes every day...

...Oh wait, I already do!

***
Special thanks to Anne and Taylor for the teapot and to all who contributed to our lovely collection of Villeroy and Bach china!

Swinging Moods

I'd like to think that my mood swings haven't been that bad. In the preggers resources I've been reading they keep saying that women experience such crazy emotions, "unexplainable weepiness," and serious mood swings. Well, I don't think I have. Even if I have, I don't know if its fair to blame them all on pregnancy. (I feel like I have too many other strange happenings to blame on being pregnant, and I have a feeling there will be many more to come). Having said all that, the reason I started talking about this is actually because I am pretty sure today I am swinging from mood to mood for no apparent reason and my poor man is suffering. (I think he wants to get out of the apartment pretty badly about now, but he can't because he is making me dinosaur mac and cheese!) Don't worry, I am eating veggies with it too, in case you were worried about what I am consuming.

We be moved

The move was successful! (I guess I don't really see how a move could be considered "un-successful", but anyway) I really like our new little apartment. Other than the pink curtains and purple and pink carpet, it's a cute little place and I love all the storage it has (perfect for all our empty boxes which we will be needing again very soon). Did you all know that this is the fourth place I've lived in in a matter of 1 year?! You would think I would have consolidated most of my things, but no. I like my "things". Like my brass two ft. tall Asian elephant, my pretty baskets and all my beloved books. I may have a tad too many clothes...but that's another story. When I first became a Christian, I asked my aunt if it was bad to like things. I was getting concerned that because I enjoyed being surrounded by niceness that I was not being a good Christian. Her response was that it was o.k. to like the things you have, as long as you would be willing to give them up if God asked you to. It's the undying attachment to things, even if they are wonderful, pretty, meaningful items; that I need to be careful of. I also believe that I should always take good care of my things because actually, whatever I do have was given to me by God, right? Also, I am a very neat and tidy person, and though this can also be taken to the extreme, I think it's my way of showing gratitude for what I have.

Having said all that, I should say a big thank you to everyone who helped us move (especially my mom and dad and Pat) because all that stuff doesn't move itself!!

In other news, I think I may be starting to feel Louisa (this is what we are calling her right now, we are trying it out to see if it fits, both of us really like the name though) move. I don't know, it's hard to tell usually (could just be tummy issues, if you know what I mean) but I thought for sure I felt her in church on Sunday. Not kicking, more like little flutters. Yay, this pregnancy thing is becoming more fun in the second trimester!

Beautiful, wonderful, perfect, All-American....

......Girl!

Here is our sweet little girl. She looks perfectly healthy and happy. She was sucking her thumb and waving to us. Mike took another picture to work with him that I want to post later, it's a close-up of her face and hand. My goodness I am so happy today I can't stop smiling! This has been the best day in a long time!

P.S. For those of you who couldn't tell, the last picture was a fake. I was indeed trying on maternity clothes at a boutique and they had fake bellies. What fun :)

So excited

Well we are looking forward to tomorrow because in 24 hours we will [hopefully] find out the gender of our baby!!!!!

Oh, here is a picture of me looking happy and excited. I'll check in tomorrow!!

Goals

Since Mike will be going to school for one last semester way across the state, I will have some extra time on my hands. We had planned on me not working for the longest time, simply because we are only there for four months and I did not think it would be worth it to be trained for a job then have to leave. However, looking at our budget it will be better if I work about 10-15 hours a week to give us a little bit of cushion so that if something comes up we won't have to go into debt just getting by. And now that I'm in my second trimester - I'm feeling much better, more energetic and happy. Also, I discovered that there are a plethora of on-campus job openings, anything from food-service to clerical stuff. So even though I'm thinking of working a few shifts a week, I will still have more time to fill while Mike is in class and studying. So besides hanging out with my best friend and husband, going to daily Mass (yeaaaa!), and visiting with old college friends; I have some endeavors I'd like to pursue before the baby comes. So here I go with a little list...

1. Finish up Thank you cards. This is essential
2. Take a Quilting class and make quilts for the baby (one reason I need to work, so I can buy fabric :) There is a cute little quilting class on Main St. so I hope they offer classes. If not there is a Jo-Anne's about 10 min away in Idaho
3. Take a swimming aerobics class
4. Prepare for baby in any way we can: emotionally, physically, financially

So these are the goals. I think we are going to have a nice four month break from the city. I have to say, am looking forward to it (especially the quilting!) ;)

August 16th

I am going to steal Sarah's idea and send out a Happy birthday wish to this girl:

***

***

Happy Birthday Jessie!
Love you and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Foreign Lands and Summer's end

***

Foreign Lands
Robert Louis Stevenson

Up into the cherry tree
who should climb but little me?
I held the trunk with both my hands
And looked abroad on foreign lands.

I saw the next-door garden lie,
Adorned with flowers, before my eye,
And many pleasant faces more
That I had never seen before.

I saw the dimpling river pass
And be the sky’s blue looking-glass;
The dusty roads go up and down
With people tramping in to town.

If I could find a higher tree
Farther and farther I should see,
To where the grown-up river slips
Into the sea among the ships,

To where the roads on either hand
Lead onward into fairy land,
Where all the children dine at five,
And all the playthings come alive.

This is one of my favorite poems. I don't really know how to tie it into a blog post, except that since I am not at our apartment I don't have access to any of my pictures that I could post. Also, to me this poem has a summer feel to it, and I wanted to comment on how quickly this summer has gone by.

It truly has. It feels like the cherry trees were just blossoming - like we just got married, moved into our apartment and got started with our summer jobs. Mike agrees with me on this. In three days, we will be married for three months - which I can hardly believe. I just love being married, and although my pregnancy has been rough thus far, it has not diminished the joy of the first three months of marriage in the least. (Except for the fact that I have cooked very little and wish it were otherwise.) But that will change; I have been feeling better so I hope to be more adventurous in the kitchen. Already the time has come to pack up to move back to the eastside of the state (could we say to foreign lands?.) This is my last week of work, and next week will be devoted to packing. Mike decided to work an extra week, which is good because we definitely need the income. Goodness, I just have to say again that the time flies! For my teacher friends, are you thinking the summer went by too quickly also?

A half-tank of gas later

These are pictures of my second cousins home which we visited this weekend.

Despite wanting to rest and fight my cold, we ended up having a pretty eventful weekend. On Saturday we went to a family event (my side of the family) where we celebrated my great uncle's 80th birthday. It was held at my second cousin's unbelievable home. She and her husband built it from the ground up and spared no detail. For example, those front doors are real church doors brought in from England. I just love her sense of design and uniqueness. I took the pictures above to share but they certainly don't do the place justice in the least. We enjoyed ourselves and were glad we packed up and went.

Then, Sunday we went to Blessed Sacrament for mass (the church we almost had our wedding at, in some ways we still regret that we didn't). Then we visited dad in Issaquah. It was relaxing, we just had dinner and watched some of the Olympics between clips of the Seahawks game. What are your favorite events to watch? I am like most, I enjoy the gymnastics because lets face it, they are mesmorising. Also, I like watching the swimmers and the sprinters.

I suppose after writing it down it doesn't sound all that busy, but like I said, since I was still fighting the cold monster I could have probably stayed under the covers the whole time too. Also, we noticed that we burned up an enitre half tank of gas - ouch!

P.S. I love my husband, he takes such good care of me...and he's a darn good rock-skipper

Feeling better - but not

So I've been meaning to write for the last week or so about how I've actually been feeling better as far as pregnancy related gross-ness goes! I have started to feel more confident about going out and doing things because I don't feel as nauseated during the day. Mike and I were really happy at this breakthrough. Now, I certainly have not been feeling wholly normal. I still feel it in the mornings and evenings, which must be because that's when I'm tired and/or need of nutrients. However, most of the food aversions have vanished, I don't gag simply thinking or smelling certain foods which I am happy to report. Overall, I can tell I am getting out of the first trimester unpleasantness.

This is the "but-not part" - I caught some sort of summer cold, yuck! I don't recall getting colds in the summer very often, in fact I don't get colds very often period. But this one is nasty. My head, my throat, my sinus', they are all rebelling. My mom came over yesterday to bring me soup and keep me company because I did not work. (This is one way I still feel so young, I still have the desire for mom to take care of me when I'm sick) I also watched the Pride and Predjuce - yes in it's entirety.

So I will be home resting up this weekend and hopefully feeling better! Oh, I will mention how Mike dragged me to a Mariner's game yesterday. (Alright so he didn't really, I had a good time, and 5 dollar tickets are hard to pass up) Since he's asleep, I have every right to use this picture before him! :) Although, I look a little pale, you can tell I'm sick.

Reminiscing at Panera Bread

Right now I'm doing something nice and cozy. I'm sitting at Panera Bread with a cream cheese-bagel and wi-fi. But the beauty is also that I'm working! I am waiting for 7 children while they play at Wild Waves (don't worry, they are older ones). And now....time to reminisce.....

I grew up around Wild Waves and Enchanted Village. So for a string of summers between Jr. High and High School my friends and I would purchase season passes and go 3-4 times a week. Fun times! We basically owned Wild Waves. Then, we even got a job there which made it a bit less care-free because we had to work, but we still had a good time. When I was dropping the kids off I felt a little twinge of sadness about how my true childhood is essentially over with. I momentarily wanted to run through the park from ride to ride, with all the energy in the world, deriving so much pleasure from simply being with friends playing on big toys. Of course, I know that there is more to living as a child than swinging around on theme park rides. Yet, I'm sure I will be doubly happy when I take my own children to such places. I will be able to watch them savor the thrills just as much as I did.

As I sit here, though, I realize that I am quite content to enjoying a cup of coffee and a good article or book. Maybe life will always have a mix of little childhood and grown up pleasures. Still, thinking about those summers makes me smile and probably always will.....

What are some of your childhood memories that come to mind?

Airplanes and Anniversaries

Today is an anniversary for Mike and I - of our first date 2 years ago. Mike and I had been communicating through emails since about May of 2006 when he finally got the courage (and also, in his defense, he was in Pullman until July) to ask me out. We went to a place in Bellevue to play pool. It was a snazzy place and I really enjoyed myself. Needless to say, I agreed to a second date, and a third...and of course here we are today with rings on our fingers and a bun in the oven! It's truly amazing how our lives came together and we feel utterly grateful to God for blessing us with one another. Mike has made me happy in many ways throughout these two years. One thing about this man is he loves to surprise. This morning I rolled over and said "Happy Anniversary." He says, "oh no, I forgot..." (now maybe it's just easy to surprise me because I'm gullable) But when I actually got up there were roses scattered about the apartment and a letter. Tonight we are going to go bowling (I know, very exciting).

Also, this weekend we went to see the Blue Angels. We went to see them on our second date 2 years ago. It was Mike's idea and it impressed me because it was something creative (girls you know how much this is appreciated). It was a good opportunity for us to talk because it was so crowded that we decided to wait in the car a little while for traffic to die down before leaving. I got to look at pictures of his family that were on his camera and once again I was impressed because I could tell he was a family-oriented guy. Anyway, Sunday we went with some friends and although it was a warm day, especially when you are standing on the I90 Bridge in direct sunlight, and I was tired from all the walking, it was a brilliant show and well worth it.

Cheers!