strangers on a bus

scene from my bus ride home

he: stereotypical businessman, in all black, stuffy-ish
she: bright yellow short shorts, hole-y leopard print tights, roller derby-er

overhearing their conversation about iPhones and apps. they even swapped phones so they could check out each other's apps.

he: "wow, the wall street journal...I'm impressed"
she: "what, no music?"

it was pretty awesome. technology really can bridge all gaps and bring people together can't it? :)

guess who's coming to dinner?

our military man is home!

it's only a two week leave but it's nice to know he's close if even for a short time.

he was supposed to fly in today at noon but surprised everyone and showed up last night. it was the best surprise ever!

welcome home tony.

we love you.

I love paris in the springtime

it's been so non-winter-like here in seattle, its causing me dream about the flowers in the tuileries gardens and my dear tower.

I wish I were there. want to come with?

..how do I prefer this face to another...

my little sister got engaged last night!

congratulations katie and jeremy! I am so happy for you.

now it's on to the planning stage...my FAVORITE part!

spring can really hang you up the most

head over to danyelle's blog for a super fun, springy giveaway!

bake it pretty

I discovered bake it pretty from oh happy day almost a month ago but just placed my first order this week. they have the funnest little things.

look at the darling things I just bought.




I've got to find a reason to use these. aren't they precious?

friends are friends forever

guess who I got to have lunch with today?

marilyn

she was in town and we took advantage of our overlapping proximity and met for lunch at pike place market.

it was so fun to see her and chat about everything...friends from high school, everyone we know who is pregnant, her kids/family, games, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed our time together.

but we didn't even take a photo of the two of us.
how lame.

thanks for lunch marilyn! it was great to see you!

let's plan another visit real soon. maybe for a show at the triple door? or paper shopping at paper source in bellevue? I'm up for anything.

I can see clearly now

today I picked up my new glasses.

the last time I got a new pair was back in 1999. it was about time don't you think?

the frames came all the way from france. charmant, non?


what do you think?

birthday entertainment

my mom, my sister and my mom's friends

my cousin...isn't her voice amazing?




chip and glen




my sister and her friend (now roommate) andrea




glen singing a pretty good johnny cash


enjoy!

tagged

dear marilyn has tagged me. what fun!

I was to post the fourth picture in the fourth file of my digital photo storage.

this was fourth of july 2003. every year, my parent's host a big holiday barbeque in their beautiful backyard and then we all walk down to the river to set up camp for the river fireworks show. here we are getting set up for the big show. this particular year, we had a large group with us which included our cousins who had just had twins which meant LOTS of baby time. glory be!


what a fun tag! it's wonderful to look back and remember such happiness.

I'm going to tag katie, traci and hailey.

the norwegians were here

fourth and final installment: weekend two
north bend, twin peaks, family time

sunday was as bright and sunshiny as saturday, thank goodness. breakfast was at noah's bagels which is quickly becoming a tradition in our family. seems that mom and dad (or katie for that matter) can't come to visit without going at least once. it's that good. thankfully, the norwegians were equally impressed. I'm not sure what we would have done had they dissed noah.

it was just the fuel we needed to start our journey. we were headed for downtown north bend, home of twin peaks the television show. it was very popular in norway and the last time kristin and rune were here visiting in 1991, they double exposed all their photos of the twin peaks landmarks. thank goodness for digital this time around!

we also took in the grandeur of snoqualmie falls which is really beautiful. it is located very near the salish lodge which is where we did lisa's birthday brunch last year. there is a nice park with paths and hiking trails along the lookout point. great place to visit if you are ever in the area.

upon our return to seattle, we did a little shopping and headed back to my apartment. I took johanne and sofie to get their first pedicures which, of course, they loved! then it was just hanging out, organizing pictures and spending time together.

I said most of my goodbyes sunday night because I had to go to work and they flew out monday afternoon. dad was nice enough to drive them down by my office so they could stop on the way to the airport so I could kiss on everyone and tell them a proper, rushed, goodbye. at least doing it on the street made it easier not to cry. ugh. goodbyes are sad.

the saving grace was my promise to kristin to somehow figure out a way to meet them in paris sometime next summer. her dad has an apartment there and they want to meet me there for vacation. doesn't that sound divine? oui!

the breakfast of champions.

the falls.

twede's cafe, home of the famous twin peaks cherry pie.

goofing around with einar.

the massage chairs were a hit. as was the pink nail polish.

just hanging out.

goodbye my dear family. I relinquish you back to your country as long as you promise, promise, promise we don't go another nine years between visits.

love you.

I know you like to party

one example of how my family parties when we all get together.

the shameless exploitation of children.



hunter's dancing didn't quite translate to the limbo and although his dad's suggestion of "touching his chin" was a tad patronizing, it made for good video. :)

einar couldn't care less if his skills were below par. he was just in it for the fun.

hailey on the other hand, came up to her mom after this and said that she thinks the limbo is "her thing." she might be right.

and you thought you had talent

this is how everyone should be entertained whilst dining on a dollar cheeseburger (minus pickles and onions, please) with loved ones at mcdonalds.



seriously, this kid slays me.

as soon as he was done, he requested a playback and then proceeded to study his moves with the utmost of seriousness.

I cannot wait for the next performance. it will be better than the last I'm sure of it.

super oreos

otherwise known as "better than the real oreos" as some people have called them.

really. they are that good. but don't take my word for it. make them for yourself and tell me what you think.

here's what you'll need:

ingredient photo ala pioneer woman

super oreos
1 cup oil
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk
combine oil, brown sugar and eggs. beat well. add remaining ingredients. let stand in refrigerator for 30 minutes. dough should be stiff enough to scrape off spoon. I put the dough back in between cookie sheets so it keeps the right consistency. smallish cookies (half dollar size) bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. larger cookies bake for 10-12 minutes.

super icing
1 envelope knox unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup water
1 cup shortening (or 1 cup butter)
1 lb plus 1 cup powdered sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
dissolve gelatin in water. cream shortening with powdered sugar and salt until creamy. add gelatin until fluffy. add vanilla.

sandwich 'em up and enjoy.

these have been a staple in my family for years and years and years. they are my favorite cookies. of all time.

guess who came to visit

my dear friend hailey lives in palm springs with her husband and daughter. that is much too far away I think. she and vivien were in washington for the better part of august,visiting grandparents and other family, and we hosted a gathering in their honor.

vivien

on the menu:
waikiki meatballs and rice
cabbage salad
vegetable crudite with uncle dan's ranch dip (hailey's favorite)
strawberry shortcake
mocha java punch

my mom, vivien and me

who knew the water jug and ladle would be such a distraction.
(note the lack of clothing. strawberries are kind of a mess. sorry hai!)

we could have played for hours I think.

hailey's mom and my mom

our visits are always too short. thanks for coming friend.
love you.

so happy

look what I bought today...


whitney and her sisters have opened an etsy shop. there is amazingly cool stuff there and I know they will be posting more soon. you've got to check it out!

the robot dance

hunter was fascinated by the popper guy on SYTYCD. here is his (much practiced) rendition of the similar robot dance.




(can anyone tell me how to change the direction of these videos? am I missing an obvious button somewhere?)

good news

april 2009 is going to be a busy month for me.
I will be come an "auntie" again, twice over.

angie told me she is expecting on a friday.

hailey told me the very next day, on a saturday.

oh. my. goodness. they are due within weeks of each other!

I love that two of my dearest friends are expecting at the same time.

and I found that dandee is expecting too. what is in the water around here?

this "aunt jenny" is getting prepared, learning new songs to sing and doting on the big sisters that are super excited as well. my greatest honor is being the "aunt" to these children. thank you jesus.

beach jewelry

one of our traditions when we got to the beach is to buy a new piece of jewelry each visit. sometimes it's a ring, sometimes it's a watch, just depends on what moves us while shopping.

this was a particularly hard decision for me because I found several pieces that I just fell in love with. I will not dwell on those that did not come home with me but will delight in showing you the piece that completely captured my heart.


isn't it divine?

the funny thing is, I wore it to work yesterday and no one even commented on it. not one person. is that weird to anyone else? it's a pretty big statement, which is why I was enamored with it, which is why I expected something. could it be they didn't like it? it might not be everyone's style but it most surely is mine!

hmmmm, what do you think of it?

(more vacation pictures to come...still compiling and sorting them all.)

gone fishing

so far, I'm...

gazing at this view...

eating chowder here...

and sticking my feet here.

tell you all about it when I get back!