Whoa Buddy, Catch Up!

My goodness, you would have thought I died or something! Here I am 9 months later to catch y'all back up on our lives. I apologize for being gone so long, but I am not going to waste time giving you reasons it happened, I just want to get back to blogging!!

Lets start with Fall 2010

What a great couple months! To start, my sister married her longtime sweet, Toby, and it was PHE-NOM-E-NAL!!!

 I want to start with the bachelorette party, which I headed up as the Maid of Honor-- feast your eyes on this pack of lovely ladies...

We started in a room at the W Hotel, hit up Seattle's finest adult beverage venues, chowed on some late night Dick's burgers and shakes, and ended up right where we started, The W. What a great night.

Hundreds of hours of love and planning were put into the actual wedding and every last second of it showed…. I will share a little to get you started, more about the day after some photo love…

This really was the most beautiful fall wedding complete with dahlias, burlap and the glow of candlelight.  The party went well into the night and the sweets bar kept sugar levels high and smiles wide for the photo booth.

November always brings a lot of activity to our house. Along with the obvious Thanksgiving start of the Christmas season, SMF (Mark) and I both celebrate our birthdays.

Hook ‘em Horns! SMF and I were lucky this year to combo my birthday weekend with a really fun/relaxed work trip to Austin, TX (my favorite city in the US for those of you keeping track). Another HUGE bonus is that my best friend and her family were also there for the UT football game and we spent the entire weekend together.  Here are some fun things to look at…

SMF’s birthday fell the day after Thanksgiving this year and we celebrated with a Lawson tradition to the Christmas Tree Lighting at Westlake Center and a trip to the Crab Pot to wack some seafood and my first cheesecake I have ever made (I forgot to take a photo before we ate it)--More fun things to look at…

So that is it for Fall 2010. Check back later and I will fill you in on Winter...this is where the story gets GOOD!

MinnesOta

Obviously I am still having a little bit of trouble balancing my time between work, life and blogging. Since you have probably already figured that out on your own, why don’t we just get to it? Two weeks ago Special ManFriend (SMF) Mark, Murphy and I packed up and headed out to Minnesota to visit family and friends. I am always super nervous to fly the pup, but he was just fine. We spent nearly all our time at his parent’s cabin relaxing, sunbathing, skiing, napping, baking, golfing, baking, playing fetch, playing cards and reading. Once the weekend came, his aunts, uncles and cousins all joined for more of the same, including the annual Hankey Family Golf Tournament. The more time I spend with his family, the more I feel blessed. What a great week.

the cabin

Murphy skinny dipping frisbee style

family boat trip to eat lunch at The Castaway

SMF's Dad made this AMAZING ribs...yum!

Great Aunt Lorane and little cousin Ava

My baking buddies, Grandma Cindy and Drew

Mark and Alyssa discussing the timeline of our lives :)

happy hour on the deck...John Daly anyone??

SMF and Baby Austin... L.O.V.E.

grumpy girl, corner seat

Do you ever have one of those mornings where you wake up and feel like your day could really go either way? I was there about 7am this morning. I have been fighting off a little bug, feel like there are a million things to do in the next couple days and missed my bus—twice. Once I finally made onto a bus, I took the very back, corner seat. It seemed very fitting for a grumpy girl. This is where you can currently find me, somewhere between my house and my office; Sitting. Being grumpy. So I have decided to make this an experiment. I am going to call out every good thing that I spot on the way to work and see if I can turn this day around before I turn into grumpy girl sitting in the corner desk. Ready----Go:

· 2 dog owners on the sidewalk letting their pups play with each other

· The girl a few seat up from me has a Microsoft Auto mug…SMF has the same one, and he makes me happy

· Dude sitting next to me is on the ‘introduction’ section to a big thick novel; a fresh start

· We just passed a street called “Snoqualmie” which made me think of my adorable little she-cousins that live in that town…I should really try and go see them soon

· Old man--handlebar mustache… enough said

· Man with clubs heading into the golf course, reminds me that I will be playing a round or two with SMF’s family soon, can’t wait

· Remembered that the Nordstrom sale is going on and I have a gift card to spend... enough said

· An old brink apartment building, I have always wanted to live in one like that

· A van with a company logo “Creative Bros Landscaping” … it reminds me that there are people all over the place that have started their own little biz…it is possible.

· A rooftop patio with a lounge chair about 20 feet from this overpass, do you think the owner sunbathes there??

After a quick stop at Starbucks where I ran into some good pals, I have made it to my desk. I don’t think anyone will notice the grumpy girl in the corner because she just might not be here. Have a good day everyone.

bring it on new week, bring it on!!

Sunday nights...typically I am not a fan of them, but tonight I am pumped, ready for the week to start and proud. SMF and I have worked really hard these past couple weekends, and we are at the point now where it is starting to show. Not only that, but we have some exciting events coming up in the near future to look forward to. Family reunions, lake house trips, an open house and buying a new car all included; followed by more lake house weekends, more wedding showers (for my sis) and a wedding (hers, not ours :) ).

Friday started the weekend off on a great foot, SMF Mark and I drove to Ellensburg to meet up with a really fun girl whom had seen Mark's Xterra on Craigslist and was seriously considering buying it. An hour after we got there, we were back on the road as a temporary one car family. See ya later Nissan, hopefully I will be sharing photos of a new white Land Rover in a couple weeks...we just have to find it first!

Bright and early Saturday morning I drove out to meet my mom at a local (well, local to her, 40 mins away to me) hardware store with a great nursery to try and find the loch ness monster, I mean perennials that are colorful and grow in the shade, but really what is the difference?? We were pretty successful! Check out the photos below...

Who says you can't put much in a VW Beetle??

Momma Bear and I stopped at the farmers market to get our favorite candy..raspberries!

On Sunday, Mark and I, along with some family, volunteered at the Chron's and Colitis Foundation's "Take Steps Walk". We helped with setup, breakdown and ran a bake sale booth during the event itself. Walk teams were formed by people from around the area, many by C or C patients and their families and with light-hearted names like ":" or "Team Brown Shorts". It was great to see everyone out having a great time, supporting each other and raising much needed money to help find a cure. (We will have to rely on Momma Bear's photos, since I didn't get my camera out, I will try and get them from her soon)

Saw, Snapped, Liked!

I saw this in our yard this morning (yes we have weeds) and thought of the blog... There is something about dandelions like this that I love. Maybe it is the childhood memories, or the thought of blowing and making a wish. Either way, I hope you can see the beauty in it like I do...Happy Friday everyone!

magic...not the same, but she's still got it

There is a tiny little town (pop 821) called Peru, Massachusetts that holds a piece of my heart...a BIG piece of my heart. There are so many days, be it winter, spring, summer or fall, that I just ache inside to get back there. So, last week, I went! I spent the long weekend at Camp Danbee with 382 girls, 120 staff and an unlimited supply of little critters. I have to say, I was a little nervous going back as a visitor, having not gone through orientation with this staff, where the strongest bonds are formed. By the end of the my trip, I almost felt like I had been there from the start. I went into this weekend with a purpose. I wanted to figure out if I have such a yearning to get back there because it is where/what I am truly suppose to be/doing, or if it was because it was an adventurous time for me (moving across the country, meeting new friends from around the world, etc). Here is what I have learned: -First, I still believe that working in this field is what I am best suited for, but realize now that it just may never happen. At this point, I could not leave my life without some of it coming with me (specifically, SMF and Murph Dog). If there was a full time job with Camp Group and SMF could work remotely, or find a new gig on the east coast... I pack up the Beetle and hit I-90 in a spilt second, but at this moment, I am living my dream life instead of my dream job:) - Second, there is NO doubt in my mind that I want to be able to offer my future kids the opportunity to experience a full summer sleepaway camp. Most parents on the West Coast would think I am crazy to give my child to strangers for seven weeks, but when you find the right camp family, they aren't strangers. Danbee can have my little girl for the summer anytime they want. D.A.N.B.E.E. Danbee is for me, Hey!

This also happens to be on my 30 before 30 list..

*This little trip also happened to be on my 30 b4 30

Late... but Better Than Never!

This month has been huge for me in terms of my 30 B4 30 list. In my last post I told you that I had just completed my first (probably not my last) half marathon. Our camera had a dead battery that day, so all we have are the official photos from the race staff (that I am too cheap to buy :) ). I promised some pics so here you are my friends!

I am sure you are wondering who I am talking to...my parents couldn't be there and it was the first major sporting event of my life they had missed, so i decided to call them and share it with them... they didn't answer, it went to voicemail :)