Happy New Year! 2011

Ive totally forgotten that in three short days it will be 2011! This means its time for some new resolutions! I saw one friend on Facebook who is making a resolution for less computer and tv time, and more gym and facetime. Well, it seems I am failing those resolutions already, though I did walk 4 miles today!

If you are in need of some resolution ideas, I came across the following list today, titled "20 signs you might live to 100". If you have plans for sticking around a while, maybe taking up the following would serve as positive resolutions in the new year:

1. You eat purple food
2. you have been a college freshman
3. you have a drama-free marriage
4. you enjoy good friendships
5. you have strong legs
6. you set goals
7. you feel 13 years younger than you are
8. you have a positive outlook on life
9. you're outgoing
10. you've got skinny friends
11. you don't have a housekeeper
12. you often walk instead of drive
13. you do aerobic activity five hours a week
14. you don't like burgers
15. you skip cola, including diet
16. you love tea
17. you limit calories to 1,400 to 2,000 a day
18. you don't snore
19. you weren't overweight as a teen
20. you have a flat belly

Year End 2010

Soooo...I can't remember all Ive done in December but I know I've been insanely busy, as most people are at this time of year. Add to that a wedding (Bryan's older brother) and lots of family visiting, plus school functions...yeah. Its been busy. Here are the highlights of just the past two weeks:

*Family arrived from out of town, rehearsal dinner was at Old Spaghetti Factory on the waterfront...yum yum!
*We visited the Queen Anne's mansion and saw all the lights, between dinner at Kendras and dessert at Baskin Robbins!(Also the last day of school before break, so we had been partying all day!)
*Wedding was December 18. We had fun getting our hair and nails done, with a light lunch at Red Robin :-)
*The following day we celebrated an early Christmas with Bryan's family, including a huge meal and a fun gift card exchange. Dinner and games followed at our house (nachos!)
*Blazer game with Bryan, Brittany and Cherith first Monday of break! Blazers won and we got free Chalupas and egg mcmuffins!
* Final pizza lunch with family before taking them to airport (if you can't tell, we did a lot of eating!)
*Got my Christmas Cards sent out...it feels like it took forever!
*Went to the beach to visit with Bryan's grandparents and parents, followed by more food and ice cream!
* Celebrated Christmas Eve at my sister Heather's house in Vancouver, much to my niece's excitment (although she would've been excited anywhere probably). We ended the evening with snacks at Bryan's sister's house.
* Christmas morning we went to my parent's house, then we went to Elmer's to meet all of Bryan's family for brunch. We showed off our house to his grandparent's, as well as Bryan's shop, then we took a nap, visited Peacock Lane in Portland to see even more lights, ate dinner out and saw a movie.
*We did some shopping and more eating. We also saw more lights the Sunday after Christmas, at the grotto in Portland.
*Second Monday of break Bryan and I went to Mt. Hood for some snow tubing. We also stopped at the outlet stores in the gorge on the way home and Bryan got new slippers.

*Caught up to today: My parent's 41st anniversary! i also finished a good book, got caught all the way up on Dexter (tv series) and realized just how much money we have spent lately. Oh, and I also found out I have gained 5 pounds through all of this! We also checked out a house, as our current lease is soon up, and we want to check out other options.

The rest of the week will be house projects. Bryan and I are also signed up to babysit in Portland on New Years Eve, and we will celebrate Brandon's birthday at the end of the week!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and you all are enjoying this Holiday season!

Thanksgiving Wrap Up:

So we had a great week with the Ripleys visiting from Idaho! I got a "snow" (more like ice) day on Tuesday and so we had lots of family time! Wednesday night my two sister's families and our parents came over for a Chilli dinner and on Thursday it was Mom's turn to cook! Unfortunately, Nicole and her family had to leave a day early due to another impending storm, but that just meant I got extra shopping time with my friend Brittany instead! (Also extra sleeping time!) Bryan and I decided, for the first time, to venture down to Portland for the Historic Tree Lighting event, which I have always wanted to go to, though unfortunatley this year it was ruined by some crazy kid's plan to blow us all up (however, we did not find out about this until after the fact and praise God He intervened and no one was hurt!). We ate dinner at the Pioneer Place mall and also bought new smartphones! Saturday and Sunday were spent being lazy at home, taking care of some biz'ness, and putting up CHRISTMAS LIGHTS! I also spent time reading the Bible and exercising, and last night Bryan had some friends over for Poker so I had the opportunity to sit down and watch a couple of movies! All in all, aside from a few minor blips, it was a good long weekend! I am ready to get the next three weeks of school over with so we can get on with Christmas! Cleaning and decorating are up next! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family and lots to be thankful for! :-)

Happy Thanksgiving Cha'll!

The Two Cutest Pilgrims there ever were:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8k2y2BvucA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEsjwQoIgWg

This weekend was the best! I am going to say "WE" are so excited about Christmas coming up, because I haven't heard Bryan complain yet! We did a little shopping on Friday night and picked up some p.j.s and a collar for Fuzz and laughed and laughed as we put it on him (he is our sole source of entertainment). Click on the above links for the YouTube videos!

This weekend I also exercised, picked up leaves in the back (or moved them around more like), went to a bridal shower, and spent time with my sister and her family who are fresh in from the mountains of Idaho! Today after church we followed them and Lilah and her Dadddy and Nana to OMSI for a couple hours of science museum fun! I love the pics of the girls playing in the water! Bryan got really into it too! Also exciting: it was snowing on our way into Portland. Praying for more to come!

Woo hoo for a 3 day week! I don't know if I can hardly stand it! Christmas is coming fast!

Veteran's Day Weekend

Happy Veteran's Day and a BIG thank you to all who have served, continue to serve and will serve in the future!

This looooong weekend, I enjoyed parent conferences (all positive! woohoo!, watched kid movies (Toy Story 3, Ramona and Beezus (the best one), Diary of a Wimpy Kid (stupid)), went to a holiday bazaar and Starbucks with Mom, and went to the beach with Bryan. When we got back last night, we were stationed on the couch, reading a book and watching TV! Today (Monday) I did not have school as it was Veteran's Day observed, so I hit the ground running with a laundry list of all the things I didn't get done over the weekend!

I didn't take too many pictures, so what you see is what you get. Bryan and I got to Lincoln City by 7 p.m. on Saturday because *someone* decided to help an old lady who was stranded without functioning wiper blades in her car. So I had to forgive him since that was very kind, and we had a good evening at the beach. We ate at a restuarant on the sand, soaked in the indoor hot tub, spent a few bucks at the local casino, supplied our own personal fridge with beverages, and kicked back and watched tv after a brief midnight stroll on the beach. We slept with the windows open, since it was really important to find a hotel directly on the beach so I could listen to the water. We ended up getting a suite because that was all that was left (next time we are bringing family and freinds with us!) and the stairs to the beach was right below our balcony. Then on Sunday morning, we slept in, fed teh hungry seagulls on our porch, I read a book while Bryan watched TV and napped, then we checked out and headed to the outlet mall. After making some comfy purchases (PJs for me, basketball shorts for B) we headed to the Pig n' Pancake for a leisurely brunch before heading back home. It was the best 24 hours I had spent *solid, and with few interruptions* with Bryan in a loooong time. Fuzzy was excited to have us back, too! He got some ice cream as a peace offering for being left alone for that long. :-)

Now we look forward to a busy few weeks ahead, with family visiting for Thanksgiving and the upcoming wedding in December! Not to mention...Christmas! Where did our laid-back fall go?? It blew away with the leaves! (Oh, and the picture of the car in the garage is my own car that I drive...she got washed on her way home from the beach and I vaccuumed her today. She has never had the opportunity to park in the garage, as Bryan has filled it with his tools, workbench and our other two cars. However, his racecar and his tools and bench are now over at his own shop, since he is rebuilding the car, so I get to enjoy parking in the garage again...and keeping her clean a little while longer!).

Final Day of October

October has been a big month for us- is it any wonder we are both feeling under the weather and unenergetic? Tomorrow I start my new regime to eat healthy and exercise as much as possible from November 1 til Christmas. But tonight we are on the couch, watching movies and eating candy (and hopefully passing some out too!).

This final weekend has been a fun one- on Friday I took my class and last year's class to the corn maze on Sauvie's Island (something I always enjoy but Bryan doesn't). Except somehow it became a whole lot less enjoyable when I had 37 kids to watch out for, and parents too for that matter! Friday night we enjoyed time with Kendra and Mark, as we all prepared for the upcoming Heinrichs wedding by getting the boys fitted for their groomsmen apparel. We enjoyed a relaxing dinner at their house and then cosmic bowling!

On Saturday I slept in (kinda) then Debbie and I went on a bread rund then I went back to sleep. (By the way, if anyone wants free Panera bread, I know where to find it :-)....and no, not in a dumpster). I cleaned my house and prepared for an early dinner with Heather, Lilah and Mom and Dad. Then we went to my school for a Harvest Party! Four of us showed up for one 3 year old, but I think we all had fun. Then Bryan and I went for Coldstone ice cream, and ended up going back to the bowling alley for more cosmic bowling, and as it turns out, lots and lots of costumes! They had the place decked out so it was pretty fun.

Today, as previously mentioned, we have been down for the count. We did venture out to get our movies and candy. I plan to make nachos for dinner and thats about it.Oh, and Fuz will be getting into his submarine costume again. Novemeber is looking to be a pretty easy month (not very many days in school!) so Im looking forward to getting back on top of my game!

Happy Halloween!

Falling Back and Getting Caught Up

I am sinking into my old traditions of staying up late and not getting enough sleep! Routine exercise has gone by the wayside, but luckily I am still being careful about what I eat. I have even gone so far as to make a couple healthy dinner dishes from scratch (I have some impending time off in November to where I look forward to using that free time to plan out more recipes- hopefully I can keep that time open so I can finally sit down and do it!). However, both Bryan and I are working way too much!

On the plus side, my weekends this month have been very low-key and blah, but since Bryan has started his shop and I have gotten back into the thick of school, it is well needed and deserved. Although, I have begun to feel a little down in the dumps, which I hope is not an indicator of how our winter will go. I think one of the problems is because we are so tired on the weekends, we have had a hard time getting up and going to church lately...

Today was an exciting day however- one of our traditions is going down to Woodburn to get a start on Holiday shopping every year. Usually we do this in November, but Bryan also needed a pair of workshoes now so we went to the Outlet stores today, after sleeping in (a little early, since Walmart was still setting up all of their Christmas decorations). I think I may want to go back later in November because I still have my heart set on a pair of flannel pajamas from the Gap (not out yet either) and maybe some more Christmas lights. Bryan did not find any basketball shorts, either. We did find a few things we have been looking for for awhile, including Christmas gifts for some of the kids, and we got a gift for ourselves: a big red Papazan chair for our living room (both have been wanting one for awhile but did not say anything to each other until Bryan brought it up today- it was spendy but we figured we have not bought any furniture for ourselves lately...like in about a couple years!). It was nice spending a full day with him since that has not happened since before the shop opened.

The shop has been going well, by the way. They are "in the black" which means they are actually turning a profit so far this month, but they are working their tail-ends off. We both need to be super careful about working too much, because I know I can burn myself out on teaching as well!

Fuzzy is doing well- last week he started shaking his head like a person with Parkinson's, which scared and disturbed me. Of course, it didn't last long and when we took him to the vet today they found nothing wrong with him. Praise the Lord! I couldn't deal with another sick family member right now! :-(.

Well that is about all now! The pictures are a sign of how exhausted Bryan has been lately. Also, I am trying to start getting Fuzzy shots for the 2010 Christmas card. Not overly impressed with how they turned out today, but when you have a squirmy cat sitting on itchy hay with a yellow submarine outfit on, whatd'ya gonna do?

October

Well, I used to look forward to October as a reprieve from September (one of my least favorites) but it seems we are starting a tradition of beginning the month of October on a bad foot. Last year Dad was taken by ambulance to the ER at St. Vincent for an electrolyte imbalance, and this year Mom drove him to the Tuality lab to get an x-ray of an arm that had swelled, and he ended up staying longer after they found massive blood clotting up and down his arm and neck. All of these symptoms and problems are attributed to his Shy Drager Syndrome or M.S.A. (multiple system atrophy). Its an ugly, degenerative disease that I so wish he did not have to endure. It gets harder and harder to watch both him and my mom, who takes on the heavy burden of caring for him, go through this. Im hoping that, like his other problems, this one can be taken care of in the safest and most effective way. And while these problems persist and new ones keep cropping up, the Lord blesses him and us each day he is with us a little while longer. I love you Dad and Mom.

Bryan's Grand Opening BBQ

Bryan's shop is doing well so far...he already has a steady stream of customers after one week since opening! We had a BBQ on Friday night, and it was mostly just a lot of friends with Hondas that showed up! :-) We had fun though!

Fuzzy's new Yellow Submarine Halloween costume!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDDqwtM0CeU

Watch the video on YouTube to see how he handled wearing it for the first time!

Yay! He did it!

Yesterday marked a milestone in Bryan's life. At 26 years old, he is now a small business owner, which has been a lifetime dream of his. He works so hard and I am so proud of him! Of course, with this success comes a few pitfalls, such as an impending seperation of him from the rest of his life (i.e. me) but in the end it will all be worth it. :-)

He is joined in this endeavor by his best friend, Andy, who shares the same vision, experience, and even technical training (they both attended, while in seperate years, Wyotech in California). Andrew's mom, Angela, is the investor and bookkeeper and has been instrumental in getting this business off the ground. So far I have only been responsible for setting up a Facebook page (which I worry was done unsuccessfully due to the relatively small response) and buying toilet paper for their bathroom. :-) I like it that Bryan is involved in something I don't have to worry about too much, since I am the bookkeeper/housecleaner/cook for home. Each of Angela, Andy and Bryan's experiences and special skills are a little different, so collectively they will do an excellent job, and they already have so many supporters.

His shop is not too far from home, so I can just peddle on my little bike over there whenever I want to see him. :-)He will stay with his current employer of 4 years, since there is safety, security and support there. He will pour all his extra time into the other shop, which means his own little projects (personal cars) will be put on hold for awhile (which I am also okay with- that will save us a little $$$ :-)). Everything they make now will be put back into the shop to build up a little savings, then hopefully in 3 years when their current boss at Twin Oaks retires, they will just shift over to their own shop which will hopefully be off the ground by then.

To start, Bryan recieved a dealer's license which will allow him to go to auctions to purchase re-po'd, lease returns, police confiscated vehicles, fix them up if need be, and re-sell them. He will also continue with his current set of side job customers and fans, and progressively build up the repair shop to complement the brokering side of the business.

It all happened so fast, but has been a long time coming. God definately has blessed Bryan and his partners within the last month, and everything has come together so smoothly. Thanks so much for all your support too!

Oh, and as for me, nothing is new. I just realized I haven't blogged since school began. Everything is going well- the little ones are definately more active and talkative than the last group, but the support from families this year has been amazing, so my job has actually been enjoyable so far! Unfortunately, I have fallen back into my sleep less, arrive late, leave work late, go to bed late routine, but I will try to fix that too! I also am attempting a new Bible Study this fall but I am 1 for 2 in attendance so far :-(. Its okay because September is a learning curve in my book- I anticipate a much better October! Yay! Fall is here, and due to Bryan's success, it is off to a great start! Praise Jesus! :-)