back to school

Well, my summer vacation officially ended yesterday and school has resumed. I didn't realize how much I loved my summer break until it was over...Of course I am very happy to be back at work though and it didn't take long for me to be extremely busy with kids who need school supplies, clothes, shoes, sports fees paid, medical care, etc. etc. It's going to be a busy year and I am trying to find a way to have enough money and funding sources to support all these kids. I don't want to have to turn anyone away this year and so far I have had great luck finding donations...but there are definitely some who slip through the cracks.

Today I met a student who is part of a family of 7, struggling to make ends meet after his dad was laid off. We went through a list of stuff he might need and then started talking about sports. He told me he is playing football so I asked if he has everything he needs to play. He said he really needs a new pair of cleats so I asked what he is using right now. He told me he went through the gym's lost and found and found 2 different shoes, 1 velcro size 13 and one lace-up size 14...and has been wearing them all year. If that doesn't make your heart hurt, I don't know what does. He was very sweet about everything, said he would make do with what he had but I could just tell he was holding back as he told me about giving up his summer in order to work to support his family...I made a few calls around, hoping to find some sort of help. I wanted to get him some socks (it was the one thing he told me he really needed) and some new cleats. The right size. Amazingly, the football booster club president called me back and said, while they don't get many requests like this, she would be happy to help. Tomorrow is the first football game of the season and she will be delivering a brand new pair of football cleats, both size 14, to my office before the game. I am so excited to give them to him.

I don't know if the booster club is paying for these cleats or if the president herself is doing it. So often I make these calls to organizations who might be able to help only to find that the person who answers just feels so strongly about helping that they will pay for it out of their personal bank accounts.

The truth is, I would absolutely positively love to be the one writing checks to buy these things, shopping for new shoes and kitchen towels for my families...and honestly, I can't say I haven't already done it in my years of working in this type of work...but, while we are fortunate to never go without, my bank account is sadly not big enough to meet the needs of every student who walks through my door and I am often desperately seeking help from outside organizations for any support they can give me. It breaks my heart to turn away anyone who is hungry, cold, tired, sick or hurting so my goal this year is to never have to say no. It's a lofty one because so many community agencies are as just as tapped out for resources as their clients are...but I'm going to try. This is why I do the work I do (to help others) and I hope I can be the person families can turn to in their most desperate times of need.

Sad stories aside, I have had lots of students from last year stop by already to say hi and it has been so fun to see their growth and maturity in just a few short months of summer. I'm so proud of the resilient kids who walk through our doors every day and I can't wait to celebrate each little victory as they continue on their paths. Somedays are harder than others but I really think I am lucky to get to do what I do.

numbers on the calendar

Yesterday was my 27th birthday and it was the first time the number actually felt a little weird to me. Normally I love birthdays, and this one was no different, but hearing twenty-seven and knowing it's my age just feels so strange. So I think that means I have reached the whole 'I just act the age I feel' stage and don't really think about the number anymore...Of course 27 is by no means old and I am still acting that way...but the feeling is definitely different than it was at 20. Maybe it's just adulthood and being married, having a career and a degree and a house and all that stuff.

Anyway, it was a great birthday. The night before my birthday Nathan and I packed a little picnic of our favorite bread, gourmet cheeses and meats and olives and headed to the lake near our house. It was fun to just sit on a blanket and enjoy some downtime together... not to mention we both love cheeses and breads which taste even better when consumed at a picnic.

On my birthday there was a Sounders game so we planned to go watch it at our friends' house as we normally do. Nathan planned pedicures and manicures for all the girls while the boys watched the game which was a ton of fun. Afterwards we met back up and went to the horse races.

We finally remembered to bring our new camera and got some really cool shots of the horses in action. After the races we went back to our friends' to have a bbq and hang out. Their neighborhood block party just happened to be that night too so we spent a little time there with the live music and dancing. I told Nathan I am bringing this idea to our homeowner's association, we need a sweet block party! All in all a good birthday for sure. Nathan gave me a Kindle and 4 real books. I am working on getting used to the Kindle since I love the touch/feel/scent of books (no joke) but I think it will be very helpful when we travel, when I have downtime, etc. etc. I plan to just have a hybrid of electronic and paperback/hardcover books because I just can't give it all up.

Nathan and I made snickerdoodle cupcakes for my birthday and they were so good. I wanted to buy cupcakes from my favorite place but we had an overabundance of eggs from the milkman that needed to be used so homemade it was. I also haven't baked for almost a month so it was almost like a therapeutic return to one of my favorite hobbies.

I'm actually surprised at my lack of baking considering my endless amount of free time this summer. It has gone by pretty fast and while I have definitely had some major boredom moments (as in, all I want to do is go shopping every day but if I did that we would be eating Ramen for the rest of our lives), it has been pretty fun to have an entire summer off. School starts back up September 7 so I'll be officially back to work a couple days before. I am procrastinating re-painting and decorating my office but maybe this week it will finally happen. We still have a few more things to look forward to this summer: the first Seahawks game in which we are season ticketholders, monthly dinner party and Dave Matthews Band at the Gorge over Labor Day. I really do love summer...now if the sun would just come out things would be even more enjoyable!

one year anniversary

Yesterday we celebrated our one year anniversary. Nathan picked me up from the airport (I had been in Montana) with 2 dozen {real} roses in the trunk. I carried an anniversary cake, slightly saggy and a little melted but a surprise nonetheless.

We decided to do traditional anniversary gifts, both as a challenge and as a (sort of) easy way to know what to give one another each year (come on, you have to agree picking a gift is always a bit difficult). I was so impressed by the gift Nathan gave me: handmade paper flowers. Handmade by HIM! He even made a video of him doing it as he knew I wouldn't believe he did them himself. I am so so proud of him and I love the flowers. This is the best part of doing the traditional gifts as they inspire some creative thinking for sure!

We spent the afternoon lounging around and then went to Daniel's Broiler, an awesome steakhouse on Lake Union in Seattle, for dinner. The restaurant is right next a marina that houses expensive yachts so we had fun watching people come in and staring out at the water. It was a gorgeous night and our food was soooo good. We were ooh and ahhing with every single bite. We started with filet minion strips (in teriyaki garlic sauce), split a caesar salad and then I had prime rib and Nathaniel had a New York steak (with melted butter on top...ooooooh). The steaks came with garlic mashed potatoes and everything honestly just melted in our mouths. So good.

(We are taking a picture on our anniversary each year. This is more of an outtake but I had to share it because it just cracks me up. Poor Scrappy)

We walked around the dock after dinner and dreamed up our next big move. There are rows of boat houses on the shore of Lake Union and after once visiting one belonging to Nathan's co-worker, we kept telling ourselves someday we'd love to live in one. Maybe it's a pipe dream or maybe it could really happen but we pondered renting out our house and moving into a boat house for a year (or more) just to live the life. We are in Seattle, why not have the quintessential Seattle experience? There are only a couple advertised right now and they don't allow dogs but we'll keep our eyes open and consider the possibility...why not have a little adventure?

When we got home from dinner we were too stuffed for cake but broke it out anyway and each took a bite. Not nearly as good as it was a year ago but the good memories are definitely still there.

This past year has truly zoomed by and I'm thinking that is only a testament to how fun and wonderful it has been to have my best friend by my side. We've got lots of plans and hopes for the future and while I can't hardly wait for them I am also vowing to spend this next year enjoying the little things, the little moments with the one I love. One of my favorite things to do is to look around at our house and see everything that is "us". His clean socks wrapped up in a pile of mine as they wait to be folded, pictures of past adventures, the first furniture we purchased together, the bath towels we share, the toothbrushes happily leaning on one another in their cup on the counter...all these simple little things that are our's just make me smile.

Happy One Year Anniversary, hubby, and many more to come!

Sorry the color looks weird

This weekend we spent our first 4th of July away from Montana. While we were bummed to miss out on the fun with our families, the alternative was definitely a good time. We went to the Westport beach with 12 of our close friends. The weather was even better than we'd hoped, the fireworks were great, the company a ton of a fun and the food was delicious. All around good times for sure...oh and Scrappy loved it.

When we got home and pulled into our driveway, the lawn mowing service was working on our yard so we left everything in the car and went in to get something to eat. About an hour later we went back out to unload only to find my back window looking like this:

Awesome. No idea what happened here. The lawn mowers were the only ones in the area as it was the middle of the day on a Tuesday. We asked them if they knew what happened or maybe hit it with their equipment or kicked up a rock or something. They of course said no but after more thought I'm thinking there is just really no other way this could have happened. There is nothing inside the car to indicate it was broken into, in fact, we had a ton of valuables in there having just gotten back from a trip and nothing was missing. I will be calling the owner of the lawn mowing company in the morning and hope to get somewhere with this...It's $300 to fix and pretty frustrating considering I have to wait for the glass repair guy to come and fix it and don't really think I should be driving around for fear the rest of it will fall in. Ugh. I am mostly bummed that no one will say they did it. I get it if it was an accident but just admit it.

all I talk about is food

Today we made our weekend trip to Costco. We usually go once or twice a month and while I usually am the family grocery shopper (I am just going to tell the truth: when Nathan comes, it takes twice as long and I spend way more than I planned), Costco is always a joint affair. Can I just say how much I LOVE Costco? Everytime we go we come home with so many good treasures. Today it was sea salt (Nathan has been wanting some forever...I don't know why), a big thing of taco seasoning (which was very needed as we eat a lot of tacos and always seem to run out of the seasoning packets when we need them), shorts for Nathan (he gets new clothes almost every time we go there), pig ears for Scrappy, flank steak, our favorite dried mango fruit mix, artichoke dip and multigrain chips for our 4th of July trip...I could really go on and on.

I know, I get excited about grocery shopping...but trust me it's good.

School is out for the summer and I have a to-do list of projects. Three are waiting in the garage, a rocking chair and 2 coffee tables. Garage sale purchases that will soon be sanded and repainted. I also turned one of our kitchen walls into a chalkboard wall and plan to write all over it with my to-do list. Checking things off has never been so fun!

Tonight we went out for Thai food at a new Thai restaurant near our house. We were saying we really have never had bad Thai and this is definitely a new favorite. We got fresh rolls, panang curry and pad thai. So delicious. We have leftovers for lunch tomorrow, I can't wait.

little voices

Last week we got to have fun houseguests stay with us for 6 days. My cousins and their sweet girl Amelia came over from Montana to visit. We loved hearing the echo of a little voice all throughout our house. Nathaniel was instantly smitten with her as he tends to be with all little kids so it was pretty fun to see them interact or hear him talk about her. Of course he wanted to do whatever he could to make her smile so between Chad being here and giving her doughnuts and Nathan shining a laser pointer on the wall so Scrappy would jump and make Amelia squeal with laughter...I think it went pretty well. Of course I am extremely smitten with her too:)



I loved having Amelia here, talking with Sara when Sam was gone for work and just being with the fun members of my extended family (we hung out with Logan and Eric, Gabe and Juli came over, Chad was in town...). We really need to get together more often as we all have so much fun when we're together. We are among the few of our friends who live over here but don't have a lot of family here and we definitely miss it.

Speaking of family, tomorrow night we are starting the trek to McCall, Idaho to meet up with Nathan's mom and her fiance and his family for a big morel mushroom picking trip. They do this every year and rent a big house and just hang out so it should be pretty fun. Nathan's mom is also giving us two chairs-and-a-half so we will be coming back with a U-Haul trailer. I am super excited as we now have an empty room so we will be doing some furniture shuffling.

I am nervous about taking a day off work for our trip (I already have Friday and Monday off) as I am crazy busy at work but I think I just have to do it and trust that things will be okay. I have a lot of homeless students right now and lots of kids needing food, prom dresses, clothing, tickets to the senior grad party, etc. etc. It's so good to be busy, I just wish there were more time in the school day! 7:50-1:50 goes by so quickly.
Of course this is not to say I am not SO excited for summer. I don't even know what I'll do with all the free time, probably go a little crazy.
We do have a few trips planned (Idaho, Westport (the ocean), Winthrop (small town where we're already scheduled for 90 minute couples massages thanks a gift certificate we got for our wedding!), Wyoming, Montana, the Gorge) though so it should be fun.
I also need to get to work on our front yard as every time I look across the street at our neighbor's wonderland of flowers I feel slightly inadaquate. I planted a few last week but they pale in comparison to her's. I think she has slightly more time on her hands.

Embarrasingly I looked in the guest bathroom shower today to notice the shower floor was dirty...big apologies to our guests for it not being clean, I must have completely overlooked it! :(

london on my mind

Today I checked the weather report to find that London is expecting 70 degree temperatures all week. I kind of wish we were still there! Although the sun did come out today...and is actually still out tonight, so it's not so bad. I don't miss London just for the weather though, there was so much to see and do there, all over England Scotland...it was so much fun. Nathan has to go back in June and I am going to tentatively plan to go along. I just can't get enough and having the opportunity to jump on board his business trips makes me a lucky girl!



We bought a new (to us) couch this weekend. My brother moved out and took his loveseat with him. It was the only piece of furniture in our formal living room so the emptyness in there just wasn't working for me. I searched Craigslist for a few days and came across a great option. It was a truly successful Craigslist find as the owners were extremely nice and CLEAN so I had no concerns about the quality and condition of the couch. Even better, we were able to fit it into the back of my car and tie the door down to make it home. Double score. I had also just found a crib on Craigslist for one of my pregnant students so now I am completely addicted to Craigslist after having TWO successful purchases in a row. What else can we buy? Leather chairs to sit across from the couch? A comfy chair for the guest room? Bookshelves? A table? Ahhh...it gets addicting.



We are having a dinner party with a group of friends (these were originally Nathan's friends from college) this weekend. We are expecting 14-16 people plus us...and I have realized we do not have enough plates. Since I am resisting using reusable plates for a nice dinner party I needed a plan. Today I looked at Goodwill. I love going to Goodwill for things like picture frames that I can paint and transform to brand new...but I hadn't ever considered it for dishes. I want to buy a really nice new set of dishes or add to the ones we have but I had no idea I registered us for a set that is $13 a plate (we got them all as wedding gifts)...and really I don't even like them that much...so maybe it's not worth the money. While I'm searching for our perfect kitchen upgrade, I figure I should go cheap to add about 5 more plates just to tide us over. So far Goodwill just wasn't doing it for me but I'll check a couple other places before probably caving and buying brand new dishes even though my husband will tell me we have 2 perfectly good sets. Hmph. :) Oh! I just realized I should check Craigslist for dishes too!