Gingerbread House

On Christmas Eve we put together a family Gingerbread house. It ended up being just Dad and me working on the house. Katey put the tree together. It is nothing fancy, but was fun to try and put together without any special decoration tools or anything. Here are some pictures:

Snow!

It had been too long since I have written something on here. I didn't mean for it to be so long! What I am writing about today is this fabulous winter storm we have been having! I miss the Ellensburg winters and this storm is completely Ellensburg like. It snowed over a week ago and a little melted the day or two it got above freezing. Tonight we have some unsavory freezing rain, but it is real pretty and shiny out on the bright side. Here are some pictures:

E Coli

How time is sure flying by! I am supposed to be flying out to visit Melinda in a week! July was treating me pretty well. I had my two job interviews. The first one went bad due to a migraine, but the second one went very well. I still didn't get either job, but I hope the interviews keep coming until the right job and I find each other!

I had a great, relaxing birthday. I took it easy during the day. In the afternoon Melissa took me out for a pedicure. See my pretty toes? Melissa was able to join my family, Anthony, and I at Red Robin for dinner. I was good and embarrassed by the singing, but it was a good way to celebrate!




This last Sunday I became sick. I thought I had food poisoning as I had horrible nausea, stomach pain, and lots of quality bathroom time. I blamed it on Taco Bell, but a report just came out that Fred Meyer recalled the salad I had been eating every day for the last week due to E Coli. I am at day four and this strain can pass in 5-10 days. I hope I am better soon, but may need to visit the doctor tomorrow. They can't do a lot, but if they can confirm it, it may be good for health data and if I can get a claim against Fresh Express. I will be very upset if I am still sick by the time I am supposed to leave for Phoenix. The picture is of me resting on the couch!

On happier news and fun picture time news, the kitchen cabinets are in the kitchen at Anthony's house! The granite should be installed within 2 weeks. Then the floor needs to be laid and touch ups down..and.....a kitchen!! Here are some picture:

What I Have Been Doing With My Summer...

It is hard to believe that June is almost over! The summer is quickly passing by. I have been very busy with job hunting. I have been fighting depression over the whole work situation and not getting any interviews for the first 40 or so jobs I applied for, but it is important to try to keep positive and to keep applying for more jobs - so I did! As luck has it, I have a job interview scheduled for next Tuesday. Wish me luck and stay posted for what happens! I also may have another interview on July 8th or 9th for another job.

I have also kept busy by working on Anthony's house and by working in our gardens. The tomato plants are monstrous and full of green tomatoes. Next year they get the plot all to themselves as they are taking over the onions and peppers. We also started another garden plot that has sun flowers for seeds, romaine lettuce, and peas! Yum, yum! I can't wait to start tasting the goodness!

Sharkie Shopping

Many of us have been very excited to shop for Sharkie. I am not an exception to that! This last week I came upon some terrific shark finds! Last Monday, while on a field trip to Silverwood, I found a cute boulder beach shark shirt for a 6 month old! Last night, while at the mall, I found Shark swimming trunks for a 6 month old at Old Navy! I could not resist either one of them! I thought I would share pictures of these two items since they were so great!

June Already?

It is hard to believe that it is already June! I have one more week of school and then my contract is complete! I have been really busy since the last post keeping up with the job hunt, other issues, and helping to get Anthony's upstairs all remodeled. I am hoping things settle down a bit once the remodel of the upstairs is finished. Here are some pictures for now, but I am working on getting more on facebook.

This is me working!



Here is a picture of my future bedroom!

Portland Zoo

Continuing the trip in Portland... Anthony and I spent a rainy Monday touring downtown Portland. Sadly, I did not take my camera downtown because of how wet it was, but there were some really neat buildings there. One church with the most amazing stain glass windows was having an art show, so we got to see the inside and some art. In the afternoon we met up with his brother. The three of us went on an easy hike along a river. It was very wet, but a good hike. In the evening I was able to take my first visit to IKEA! It was terrific! If had money, a home to remodel, and an IKEA nearby...well....I would definitely be a help to the economy!

On Tuesday we went to the Portland Zoo! We almost went to a museum because it was so rainy, but I have been wanting to go to a zoo really bad for the past few years, so we went! (Last time I was at a zoo was that Christmas trip when I was about 9 to the San Diego Zoo!) The rain actually stayed light for most of the trip. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the zoo. The polar bears and sea lions were my favorites, but all the animals were fun to see!

Polar Bears Playing



Comparing our heights to the bears...hmmm



Ignore the strangers in the way.





Wednesday was go home day. On our way home Anthony and I took a detour to Fall Creeks Falls. It was a long hike, just over 3 miles total, but not too steep. It was out in the woods in the national forest. It was very beautiful and the falls at the end were well worth the effort to reach them.

Small falls on the way to the big ones! I loved the moss.


Top of the big ones - too tall to get a full picture of!


Bottom of the falls. It was so strong that it was misty in the air way back where I was.

Spring Vacation

I am very excited that I was able to have a vacation this spring break! Anthony and I went to Portland/Vancouver. We made a few stops on the way there. The first stop was at a Stonehenge monument on the Washington side of the Columbia river.
Our second stop on the way there was at Multnomah Falls in Oregon. We met up with the usual rain right about that part of the trip.In Portland we had lots of fun visiting the downtown area, going to the zoo, going on a hike with Anthony's brother, and visiting the huge mall. I will share pictures of that and our exciting trip home in a later post!

Spring Is Here

Spring is here! The trees are blossoming and the daffodils dancing in the wind that rolls in this time of year. Tulips are still green and growing and I suspect the trees will have their leaves soon. The gray winter days have gone away and now the sun shines brightly through fluffy rain clouds, hinting that April Showers are near. Walking by the pond, ducks have gathered with their mates. Each day I walk by I am hopeful for little yellow ducklings to waddle on by. Besides the fun and delight that nature brings each spring, I also enjoy the jelly beans and chocolate peanut butter egg m & m's. Mmm mmm mmm. Spring brings us renewal at the start of a new year. As I am job searching and trying to find my place in the working world, I hope that I find a new job in this difficult market that gives me a new start to my working world. We shall see what this new spring brings!

San Diego

During January I was lucky enough to have the chance to attend the Marines Educator's Workshop in San Diego, CA. The workshop was terrific! I learned a lot about the Marines, had first hand experiences with the yellow footprints, eating chow hall food, and have a good background of information to share with students of mine who are interested in joining the Marines themselves. I have been wanting to get a blog going for quite some time and thought that this trip would be the perfect reason to start one!