snow day(s)

Today was a snow day. Tomorrow is a snow day. There is about 2 inches of snow on the ground. I guess they should call it an "ice day" here because that's really more the issue. When the streets freeze people get really dumb...not to mention much of the Seattle area is on hills so there is a lot of sliding all over the place and hitting other cars, light posts, etc. Truthfully though, the area where we live and the radius in which my school district sits is just fine. Canceling school was probably not necessary at all. But I must remember we aren't in Montana anymore Toto.

Of course I won't complain about a snow day, especially right before Thanksgiving! I worked one day this week and will get paid for the whole week. But I had every intention of returning to work Tuesday which meant I left a to-do list of things to do, thinking I'd have until Wednesday to take care of them. One of them was getting winter clothes for a family...it worries me that I can't take care of that until next week. I know they'll be okay but I just hate knowing the amount of time that will lapse in between now and then. I also have stats to turn in and brought my computer home to do them yet I can't access my files without being connected to the school's server. I am literally driving to my high school tomorrow and parking in the parking lot to try and pick up the wi-fi just long enough to save my file and go home to finish the stats. If anyone is there I will go in but otherwise the building will be locked and there's no way I am going to try and turn off the huge alarm system without the police coming.

Beyond that I have some baking to do. I ordered a Strawberry Rhubarb pie from a delicious bakery but I am going to make the other two pies: Pecan Pie (Nathan's favorite and the only pie he ever requests) and White Chocolate Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie (with a gingersnap crust...yeah, yum). I also want to make some homemade granola and pumpkin streusel bread. Oh and a french toast casserole for one of these mornings. And chili for tomorrow night. So maybe a day off is helpful. We are hosting Thanksgiving for the first time so there is much to be done but it should be really fun.

I am watching tons of Black Friday specials appear each day...I want so badly to take advantage of ALL of them. I have never actually been in a place with good shopping on Black Friday, I've always been in Montana. Not to mention the cyber shopping is the best I've ever seen it this year. Probably not so good for my shopping addiction but oh it's fun to look.

montana

Recently Nathan called me on his way home from a rough day at work. He was stressed and wondered outloud if moving to Montana would make life easier. Of course there is a little part of me that thinks everything is easier in the mountains of Montana but if we realistically think about moving back, it won't be all sunshine and rainbows.

The thing about Montana is that it's our refuge, our safe place, our vacation spot, our HOME. And going home always feels good. But that's the thing, if we move back permanently, will it still feel as great as it does when we visit 4-5 times a year?

Moving back is always a constant theme around here so I apologize for a topic that has already been discussed, it's just something that we always have in the back of our minds. Like a dream that always runs through our heads, makes us feel warm and cozy but never really comes to fruition. Someday we will move back, there's no question. But we just have to be real with ourselves about the big changes that come with it and whether or not we're ready for them yet.

Seattle is definitely growing on me. I love the culture, I love having a million places to eat, I love the diversity of people, architecture, desinations, things to do, etc. I love how green it is here. But as I was reading the online version of 406 Woman I saw a lot of smiling happy faces, ads for new businesses and pictures of wide open spaces...and Montana looked pretty darn good too. In 2010 we will have gone back to Montana almost 10 times I think. If we keep that up, it's not so bad to live over here and get to travel back and forth often.

ANYWAY!
Nathan leaves for London in a few hours. He is going to get to see his sister for a few days too, so that will be really nice for both of them. She requested Wheat Thins and some face product stuff so I made sure his suitcase has those key items. I wish I could go but it makes me very excited for my turn in April. I already found a cupcake bakery that will be my first stop in London. Priorities.

dreaming big

We have a dream. Someday we would like to move back to Montana and raise our kids in the wild, wild west and the simple lifestyle of mountains and fresh air....But we can't do it unless we can find jobs. For me, it's not a big deal. Social work pays diddily squat not matter where you go and it's needed in every big and small town across the globe. But Nathan's chosen career is a little bit harder niche to fill in Montana. There are no e-commerce, dot coms or major companies to work for with the kind of room for advancement he has at Expedia. Being the breadwinner in our family, it's a bit important that he find something comparable. So we wait. Truthfully we aren't ready for Montana yet anyway (we are enjoying the diversity, liberal mindsets and opportunities that the city offers just a bit too much right now) but when we are, we need a plan.


Enter our grand idea: Start a business. I can't say our exact business idea because I'm afraid someone else might open it before we do...and then I'd be bummed. Especially since we're years out from it so who knows what can happen. But in the mean time, a girl can dream! The business involves food, a spot on downtown Main Street, cuteness and a concept that is extremely popular in Seattle and other big cities and most likely could catch on in Montana if we did it right. If you really want to know, ask me and I'll tell you if you promise to keep your mouth shut and not steal our idea.

Nathan also has a background in business so this wouldn't be a total blind idea. I would be in charge of the fun things and he'd do the business plan and the logistics. Eventually I'd tie in social work probably by being a socially conscious business, donating to non-profits and supporting other local businesses but using them in our own company. Ohh it'd be great. And delicious. We have so many ideas floating around and would love to someday take the risk and make them a reality. I think it's a risk because Montana will never be like Seattle and might not accept a new idea...but based on how it seems to flourish in every other community I don't see why it couldn't work if we were smart about it.

Someday. Someday. :)

blogger

I want to start a blog, like a real one with a theme and sponsors who pay to have their ads scroll along the sides of the screen. I want to write for fun but get paid a little too. I want followers who watch for my updates just like I watch for the updates on many of my favorite blogs. I LOVE blogs and I love blogging...you couldn't tell from the mundane updates of this blog but I really do love to write and I would love for it to be a bigger part of my life and/or career than just journal entries here and there. But I need a topic...something consistent in my blog like home improvements or motherhood or DIY projects..But we are far too unskilled to write about home improvements, I'm not a mommy (although I am super excited to have a mommy blog when I do have the chance) and crafts are fun...but I'm not that creative...Any ideas? There's got to be something.

As much as I love social work, things are just so slow at my job that I feel like I need a creative outlet somewhere or something to add a little spunk, something that gets me as excited as social work can on a good day. I'll find it...

In the mean time I spray painted picture frames and an old bedside table yesterday. I also inadvertantly painted our sidewalk white. Oops. Hopefully we'll live here long enough for it to fade before someone is interested in buying our house. I don't know how long it takes paint to come off the ground? I also found some chairs for our formal living room and will soon order them I think. It's coming together piece by piece and I'm anxious for friends and family to see our house soon. It is still far from being exactly what I envision but I think we're getting there slowly but surely!

labor day weekend

Labor Day weekend! Yay! It's fun to have my hubby home on a Monday. Sometimes I feel like I'm a stay at home wife since I get off work so early and have so much time off...I am getting dangerously used to it. School starts tomorrow though and I am hoping and praying I get busy. I will still be off at 2:30pm and have a million days off but hopefully my 7 hours a day of work will be full of things to do! I think these first weeks will be slow, just because I am not going to pull kids from classes they've just started...but I am sure it won't take long for things to get going. I hope.

We went to the state fair last night. As you could guess, the fat kid in me was extremely excited to indulge in fair food and ohhhh I did. Years ago at the Montana state fair in Great Falls I had deep fried onion (like onion rings only an entire onion, kind of like the Bloomin' Onion at Outback Steakhouse). I have always hoped other fairs would have them but have been continually let down. Imagine my excitement when we walked up to a booth with a blinking "Onion Burst $7" sign. Ohhhhh yum.

Despite resembling a spider, it was amazing. Now I have to wait a whole year to have another! It's probably a good thing though, I am planning a long walk/run with the dog today to burn a few of those calories.

We went to the rodeo expecting a big Montana-style event but instead were in a tiny indoor arena. It was still fun though, I can't ever complain about a fair.

We also filled our weekend with a trip to Ikea, dinner with Whitney and Joey and a few more projects around the house. I am going to run out and buy paint now to cross another room off the list, yippee! I have become obsessed with home decorating and right now mostly just read about it but day by day I am trying to add new things to our's. It's a long and expensive process but over time I hope our little home eventually become cute, cozy and even magazine-worthy if I can figure it all out.

married!

I haven't blogged since the wedding! After the wedding we spent a week in Montana relaxing, came back to Seattle for a week and a half and then went back to Montana again for Logan and Eric's wedding. It was a bit of a whirlwind but soooo fun. We still have one more wedding to go to in September and already FOUR scheduled for next year. We are definitely in the season of love with all of our friends. We are going to need to start a savings account just for all the wedding gifts we'll purchase!

Our wedding was truly amazing. It was perfect. And I really do mean perfect. There was nothing that went wrong, no major issues, no weather problems...it was truly perfect...magical...wonderful. We had so much fun too. It was four days of wedding celebrations starting with my bridal shower and going through to the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding and morning after brunch. SO much fun. My only wish? That we could do it all over again. The moments went by so quickly. This is why I actually love going to other people's weddings now. We can relive all the moments from our wedding, just through our friends.

wine tasting and to-do lists

I finally got around to uploading the pictures from my bachelorette party last weekend. It was SO much fun. We went wine tasting (my first time) and then out to dinner at a really good seafood restaurant in downtown Seattle on the lake.

I loved the group of girls who were able to come with, I think we all had a really good time and I am so thankful they were all there to help me celebrate!

3 weeks until our wedding! The last minute stuff has begun. I continue to write to-do lists of tasks that can't quite yet be done yet but must be accomplished by the wedding week. I am so nervous I will forget something like order 5 extra table cloths or add another appointment for a girl to get her hair done or order the kegs Tuesday...so many details! But I think I'm on top of it. The lists are my life savers for sure. I am anxious to be home and surrounded by a team of helpers and planners and organizers who can carry us through the rest of it.

I think Nathan and I are going to go head to a movie and round out our low-key weekend (I may also convince him to make a quick stop at the Nordstrom anniversary sale...just so I can take a peek). This is actually our last weekend before the storm. Next weekend is Abbie's wedding, the next weekend we head home and the following is our wedding...AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!