Monday, September 27, 2010

A little taste of heaven.....

A few days ago (last Thursday to be exact), I was craving those delicious hot scones from the Puyallup fair. I kept reading on facebook about people going to the fair back home, and it made me obsess about having a fresh hot scone filled with sweet jam.....

This was my facebook status:


Today when Stefan came home, he brought inside a big shoe box with the rest of the mail..... I didn't really think anything of it until I unwrapped the paper and could smell the deliciousness coming from the box!!!


Y-U-M.


And yes, that's a bite you see because I couldn't wait. I took a bite before I could even manage to grab my phone for a picture. You see the heart-shaped plate? I used that plate on purpose, too. Totally fitting for the occasion. They go PERFECT with the homemade jam my friend Darcy made.

As for my current facebook status?

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Man's best friend...

Being a pet owner is one of the greatest experiences in the world. Animals and humans share such an incredible bond, and only those that have animals understand this connection. They become members of your family and nothing can come between a dog's love for it's owner. 

If they get mad at you, it only lasts for seconds.

They don't hold grudges.

They don't talk back. 

They have an unconditional love.

They make the best companions.

They look up to you and count on you for survival.

As with all of the incredible moments, having to say goodbye to a pet is one of the most heartwrenching experiences. My friend Ron's dog, Roxy passed away yesterday. When I heard the news, my heart sank. There's such a strong emotion involved with knowing someone who has lost such an important member of their life.

Considering the short amount of time it takes to bond with a pet and the short lifespan they live, I wish the lifespan of animals lasted longer than some humans.

What makes the experience of having a pet so gratifying is knowing that whatever you did, your pet appreciated every second of their life. I know Roxy had a wonderful life and appreciated everything she experienced..... she had a great owner and loving companion. Knowing she's back to running around and playing like she did in her healthy years should provide some sense of peace.  

My heart goes out to you, Ron... Rest in Peace, Roxy.


It's almost time!!!

One of the great things about living in Arizona is that we have citrus trees!!! The smell of the orange blossoms is incredible! We planted a lemon tree when we first moved in, but when we had the pool put in, unfortunately the lemon tree didn't make it.

We planted a tangerine tree last year, and we're getting closer and closer to our first tangerines! The tree is full of little green tangerines.... can't wait till they turn orange!!!


Friday, September 24, 2010

A little bit of Chicken Fried...

My mom surprised my dad with a trip to Denver to see the Seahawks play in Denver this past weekend and another surprise was in store for him when he arrived at the Denver airport..... me!

When my mom told me about it a few months ago, I figured it would be a fun trip, so I got a ticket too! I arrived a day early and met up with my friend Erin and her new baby for lunch and then met up with my college friend, Holly in Boulder! She is a nanny for two adorable kids, so we spent the afternoon at her parents house and at the park hanging out with the kids. After we dropped the kids off, she gave me a little tour of Boulder. We went up towards Flagstaff in the Flatiron Mountains and had an incredible view of the city! Then we went to dinner at this really good French restaurant called Ten Ten and then walked Pearl Street. It reminded me so much of the north end of Tacoma and parts of Seattle. Such a fun college town! We went back to her place, I met her husband and then had to get up early to meet my family at the airport!




I met my sister and Chett at the airport and we waited for my parents together. My dad saw me and pointed like "what the heck is SHE doing here?!" He yanked my moms shoulder and said "THAT'S JULIE!" and my mom said "Are you sure you don't mean Debbie?" :)

We had such a fun weekend.... my sister and her husband opened a bar in Sterling over a year ago and it was so fun to see it full with a bunch of customers! They did such a great job and I don't know HOW they handle a bunch of drunk people all the time! They are both FABULOUS bartenders, too :) We spent both nights in Sterling at the bar, and took my niece Kayla to a movie the other night... Sterling is such a small little town and every time we go there, we can't go into a restaurant or store without someone knowing my sister or brother-in-law. Not sure I could live in such a small town, but they're doing so well and that's all that matters! We went to Denver on Sunday for the Seahawks/Broncos game... we painted my dad's hair lime green and besides this one a$$hole and his girlfriend, it was so much fun. Despite the 92 degree temps at kickoff, the people sitting in front of us, and the loss, it was cool to see the hawks play at an away game. I still prefer home games though :)



After the game we drove straight to Red Rocks for a concert! To be honest, I hadn't really heard of the Zac Brown band, but the venue was amazing!!! The band was really talented, they're such incredible musicians, even if it's not what I listen to on a regular basis. While everyone was singing along to the songs, I thought my dad was going to pass out when I told him I had never heard the song "Chicken Fried." I have since downloaded 4 of their songs... yes, country songs. :)




It was a short weekend, but definitely fun!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

I figured it out!!

Thanks to Mark at Phoenix Area Skydiving for his help, here are our skydiving videos.... finally!!


The first video is Stefan's and the second one is mine. Beware of the up-close, up-the-nose shots. Hot, I know.




So.... who wants to go with us next time????

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Call us crazy...

Since it didn't work out for us to go skydiving when we were in Washington, I made reservations for us as SOON as we got back to Arizona!

While it would have been so much more fun to go with my family, we still had a blast and can't WAIT to go again!!! I never thought I would jump out of a perfectly good airplane and always told people I would go when my dad did (knowing he would NEVER do it).

Skydiving was by far one of the most incredible experiences of my life. As I've told almost everyone by now, the worst part was the tiny plane we had to fly! It fit the pilot, Stefan, me, and both of our instructors. That's it. The second Stefan jumped out (he went first), I realized there was no turning back and I was ready! Once we jumped, the freefall was amazing!!! Such an incredible feeling going about 120mph through the sky. When we pulled the parachute, it felt like we were just floating! And when we landed, all I could think about was, "when can I do this again?!"

I would recommend this to ANYONE! We're still trying to get my dad to go, but with his fear of heights, this may not happen. My brother is looking into getting certified so he can go on his own, and Stefan and I are already planning our next jump!

Telling the guy to pull the straps tighter.

Making sure he's doing it right.

THAT is our plane?!?!?!?!

Stefan!

Me!

And it's official..... we're skydivers.

Videos to come.... as soon as I can figure out how to get them on here!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Family Reunion!!

I think I'm still recovering from the family reunion a few weeks ago in Washington! We had SO much fun.... here's a little recap (and by little, I have a feeling this is going to be pretty long):

Day 1 (Tuesday): We ended up going a day early, I'm not sure if it's because we were just THAT excited to get there, or if was a subconscious thing that I needed to arrive first. :)

Day 2 (Wednesday): Since Stefan's parents thought we were arriving later in the afternoon, we went over to their house and surprised his mom. She runs a daycare, so we had fun hanging out with the kids for a little while :) I was wearing one of my bullet necklaces and one of the kids asked me, "Is that a pen on your necklace?" and without hesitation, I said "yep, it's a pretend pen!" They are so much fun! We headed back to my parents house, and my brother Bob and his wife Allison had arrived! Stefan and I drove around and stopped by our old house, which was for sale, but completely a mess. It's so disappointing to see the house that we put so much work into, turn into a dump!! We had dinner at the Keg with Stefan's parents and then drove to UPS and got drinks at the cafe and sat in the cafeteria for a little while until we felt way too old.


Day 3 (Thursday): My mom, Allison and I got up early and went to Bikram yoga! It was their first time so I prepped them well. They did so good and stayed in the room the entire time and said they actually enjoyed it! While we were at yoga, the boys went to the driving range. We spent the afternoon at Shenanigans on Ruston Way... the weather was GORGEOUS!!! We sat outside and ate clams, oysters and other appetizers, and had a few cocktails :) That night, I met up with some friends from high school at Asado... it was so fun catching up with people I haven't seen in about 10 years!!!



Day 4 (Friday): Stefan had to go up to Bellevue in the morning for the wedding rehearsal... I met up with them for the rehearsal lunch at the Salmon House on Lake Union. The food was WONDERFUL and the view was beautiful! Days like that make me miss Washington so much!! After the lunch, Stefan stayed with the wedding party and played volleyball at Greenlake and I met up with my friend Jordan at U-Village. We had some cocktails, did a little shopping and played dress up in Anthropologie.... I have so much fun with that girl, I wish we lived closer!! I met up with my family and the Kennedy's at the Keg for their usual Friday night Keg night :) Once Stefan got back, we went to another one of our favorite places, Frisco Freeze for a late-night snack!



 Day 5 (Saturday): Before my sister and her husband arrived, Stefan and I decided to take a little trip to Queen Anne Thriftway (Metropolitan Market)... we got a few of our favorites... cioppino, clam chowder, Beecher's cheese and a few other treats :) We headed back to my parents house when Debbie and Chett arrived!! My parents had a whole afternoon planned of "backyard games" as my dad wrote out on his planning calendar. By backyard games, he meant beer pong and flippy cup. We played more beer pong and flippy cup, that the keg was empty after 3 hours!!! My mom and dad made over 200 jello shots... needless to say, I took a little "nap" mid-way through the Husky game. When I woke up again around 9pm, I was ready to go again.... but everyone else was ready for bed.



Day 6 (Sunday): Wedding day!!! We met Stefan's parents, brother, and sister-in-law for breakfast at Carr's in Lakewood before we headed up to Bellevue for Matt and Mimi's wedding festivities. My parents checked the weather for Monday (the day we were all planning to go skydiving) but it looked like it was going to rain for the next few days. While Stefan and I were in Bellevue, they were down at Kapowsin jumping out of a plane! We were upset that we missed out on going skydiving with everyone, but so happy that they were at least able to do it, since the weather never turned around for us to go while we were there. The wedding was absolutely beautiful!!! It was at Robbinswood House in Bellevue... the weather turned out great and everything had such a unique touch to it.





 Day 7 (Monday): Since the weather was still gray and cloudy (not skydiving weather), we all went up to Seattle and spent the day at Pike Place Market. We had lunch at the Crab Pot and had a giant feast of crab, mussels, clams, shrimp, oysters, corn on the cob and potatoes. By far, one of the best meals I've had in a while! After we got home, we just relaxed at home, had leftover gumbo from the day before that my parents neighbor made (SO good!) and had a few cocktails (shocking, I know).



Day 8 (Tuesday): Debbie and Chett left in the morning, Stefan and I got massages from Michelle (our favorite massage lady) and then had lunch with my parents and Bob and Allison before they had to go to the airport. We stopped by Remann Hall so Stefan could see all of his old co-workers and then had dinner at Stefan's brothers house. We met Shade, their new black German Shepard puppy! She is so dang cute and so well-mannered! We had dessert at Jakes in Steilacoom... such a cool view!



Day 9 (Wednesday): We couldn't believe our vacation was coming to an end!!! Stefan's mom made us cheese souffle for lunch and then we went up to Southcenter before we had to leave for the airport. I ended up finding an old Steve Largent jersey at the Seattle team store!

Unfortunately, our trip had to come to an end, but we had so much fun and it was a much-needed vacation for both of us! It was really nice to escape the 100-degree temps in Arizona. The rain and gray skies didn't bother us at all!! There's something about being at "home" and with family that makes it all worth it :)

Monday, September 13, 2010

I have a new obsession....

...and no, it's not a pair of shoes, a handbag or anything of the sort!

It's a drink!

I've been crazy about watermelon lately. Stefan hates watermelon so we never buy them. I bought one a few weeks ago and ate the entire thing in two days. By myself.

Last weekend at Matt's wedding they had watermelon sprinkled with feta cheese... crazy combo but it was tasty!!!

And just a couple days ago I was looking through our Food Network magazine (yes, I said Food Network, don't laugh because you don't believe me) and found watermelon mojitos!!!

Our friends Keane, TJ and their cute little 7 month old, Ellis came over on Sunday and I made them.... they were SOOOOO GOOD!!!

Here's the recipe:
  • Muddle a few watermelon chunks with the juice of 1 lime and 2 teaspoons sugar in each glass.
  • Stir in a few mint leaves, then add 2 ounces white rum and ice.
  • Top with ginger ale; garnish with more mint.
Since I'm not a big fan of rum (and since it would be frowned upon if I drank it during the day while I'm working), I've simplified it... Diet Ginger Ale with watermelon! It's so refreshing..... you have to try it!!!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

4 years ago today...

...I married my best friend! I know it sounds so cliche, but it's totally true. We were friends long before we started dating (almost 11 years ago) and have been inseparable ever since. Remember this post?

Happy Anniversary, Stefan!!