Photo Tag

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Ok, so Jami tagged me like, oh, 3 WEEKS ago and I never got around to doing this. It's just been sitting in my Google Reader as a reminder for me to actually pull out a photo and throw it up here. Sorry James, I didn't mean to make you wait this long!

Anyway, I had to go to the 4th folder where I keep my pictures and post the 4th photo. That didn't work so much for me because I have all my photos organized a little bit more detailed than that... so it was the 4th picture of the 4th folder of the 4th folder of the 4th folder and I eventually got to this picture:



Regardless of the randomly erroneous info about this photo on my Flickr page, it was actually taken August 10, 2006 at Hovander Park in Ferndale, WA. Which means that this was my very last week up north before moving to Puyallup. I had already made the move on Aug 1, but was back for one final week before officially committing. I went to this park after taking Donkey Lady, one of my old caregiving clients, out for ice cream. She had been moved to an assisted living facility in Ferndale and I broke her out for a treat. And well, now that I'm talking about Donkey Lady, I might as well post a picture of her.



And yes, that's a donkey. That's why I called her Donkey Lady. Not to her face, of course. Just to make sure that people could keep my stories straight. And boy, did she give me some good stories to tell.

Sam & Nicolle's Engagement

Sunday, February 8, 2009

So my little broski is getting married this summer to the great girl. We are excited to have her join the fam! They asked me to take engagement pics for them for a save the date card, so we went around downtown Puyallup last weekend and had some fun. These are just a few of them, you can click on any of the pictures to see the full set.

Johnson Kids

Monday, December 1, 2008

This past weekend I went to the house of one of my coworkers to take some pictures of her kids for her Christmas card. Doesn't she have gorgeous kids!

Framed Flowers

Sunday, November 23, 2008

I just found these in a random folder on my computer. Since the days of copious amounts of free flowers from The Farm are long gone for us, I thought I would share these to make the time until next summer a little more bearable. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE fall, I just wish we could still have fresh flowers every week. Where's a boy to bring me some when I need them?

Bellingham Love

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Sometimes I just wish that I could mesh different pieces of different periods of life all together to create one great experience. Sadly, it's not possible. I so greatly miss Bellingham and the character it has. It feels like home. It is quirky. Fun. Full of culture. And fleece. And men with beards. Kids with dreads. I love it. My heart just longs to live there again but I know its not where God wants me at this point in time. There is work to be done here in Puyallup. I can wish all I want, but it's not going to get me any closer to living up north again. Until God does bring me back there, I just have to visit and feel like a stranger in a land I consider home.

This past weekend I took a jaunt with Jess to visit Lucy and watch what every 26 year old is absolutely giddy over-- High School Musical 3! Well, maybe it's just us. We are closet HSM junkies and had no choice but to get together to watch the movie on opening night. Oh, and don't worry, we went to the 9:45 showing and almost the entire audience was made up of people our age or older. There was a line of people waiting to take a picture in front of the HSM sign. That's right people, a line!



The next day, we had breakfast at the Mount Bakery. I so wish Puyallup had good little restaurants with tons of character like Bellingham eateries. Seriously, Ptown is SO lacking in this department and I have found that most people who live around here don't even realize it.





We then went around town visiting favorite shops and the farmer's market.







Fall in Whatcom County wouldn't be complete without a stop at Bellewood Acres, where we picked up a 25lb box of Honeycrisp apples and Honey Roasted Peanut Butter.



Later, we joined up with Andrea at the ReStore, which is one of my all time favorite places to go. You just never know what you are going to find. The final stop at Avellino's completed our journey and really made it the most wonderful day ever. A long talk with friends old and new while enjoying their Carrot Cake really hit the spot. I was sad to leave, but know I'll be back in a couple weeks for our 4th Annual Bazaar Hopping event. Oh yeah, you'll definitely hear about that soon.

Breather

Monday, October 6, 2008

I'm finally able to take a breather and sit down for a chat with you all. My lesson is planned for my GO Girls Group, my ginger cake is made and waiting to be frosted, the dishwasher's unloaded, and a project I'm working on for a friend is well under way. I have much accomplished, but much still to do. I have forced myself to stop and hang out a bit with you all. Because I have just so much to tell you.

Last week I went to Ocean Shores with my Mom & Sis. It was everything you could hope a vacation would be: relaxing, entertaining, and spontaneous. I don't quite have the energy or time to regale you with all the spectacular stories I have swirling in my head, so I'll just throw some pictures at you and call it good. Seriously, I wish that I could be paid to stay home and just write and take pictures. Sigh. Until my dream job somehow materializes, you're just going to have to make do with what I can come up with at 9:30 at night. Definitely not my best material but I'm sure you don't care. Because we're all friends here. And friends are always nice to each other. Even when they don't deserve it. Or when they have spinach stuck in their front teeth. Or they just farted. Or they are sitting on their couch with ratty hair, wearing jeans, tshirt, and a voluminous bathroom because it's more portable than a blanket but just as warm. No comment about which situation you are having to be my friend through at the moment. I trust you are still with me.

Anyway, here's some of our fun. You can click on any of the pictures to see more.







Joel recently bought some property out at Ocean Shores and gave me directions to where it is. After driving up and down the street numerous times, we concluded that this is approximately the location.



The BEST Irish food ever! Seriously fricken amazing!







My stunning sister







My sis happened to say that she was antsy right as we passed a high school field with these just sitting out in the open. I started yelling for my Mom to pull into the parking lot and she did. What a great Mom! Shan and I definitely had some fun with them.

Stress Relief

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Friends, this past week has been hard. There's been some big shake up at work and I am now in a new position in the company. I can't go into details because I have a policy of not writing much about my job. Just know that it was incredibly difficult and removing me from my position rocked a lot of people in my company. It's a weird situation and has nothing to do with me, I just got caught in the middle. So today I did what I always do when under severe stress-- I cooked.

I made Fleur de Sel Caramels and found out my candy thermometer is off because I ended up making hard candies instead of chewy ones. I have to thank my hammer for helping me break this into pieces.



I also made two types of caramel sauce, one being my normal every day caramel sauce (not pictured) and a Dulce de Leche.



I roasted garlic.



And put some of the cloves in olive oil. That way we can have them later and then use the garlicy oil for something else.



I also roasted vegetables and made my Roasted Vegetable Soup again.



And then I made chocolate chip cookies.





It was an enormous stress relief. I loved just putzing around and creating. It did my spirit wonders. Right now I am watching Sons of Provo, a Mormon movie, with friends old and new. Do you remember my love of Mormon movies? Because I really do think they're hilarious. This particular one is funnier than normal. It really is just the most wonderful end to a wonderful day.

Rolling Through Fields

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

A couple days ago I went back to my blackberry picking spot and rolled through the weeds taking pictures. There was some story I had to share with you about it but I completely forget what it was. It's late, I'm tired, and I can't think much at the moment. I'm just going to post a couple of my favorites and you can click on any of the pictures to see more.