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.

how do you measure a year in the life?

can you guess what show I saw by the title of this post?
yep, it was "rent"

my culture companion: danielle


the start of our evening: the paramount club
(complete with private bathrooms which was a super big score during intermission!)


the view from our seats

my review: AWESOME!
I sort of knew the premise of the show before going but wasn't familiar with much else. it was surprising how much I liked it, much more than I thought I would. there were even tears during portions...what? nothing of what I expected to feel.

a big thanks to shandel for passing along her season tickets for danielle and I to use. we truly appreciated it and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

veterans day

since I haven't had this day off for many years, unfortunately veterans day is an easy holiday to skip and not really think of the reason we celebrate it.

my friend jaimi and danyelle both had good posts today and I'm reminded of the sacrifices made by our military personnel.

this post still sums up how our troops, past and current and future, should be treated at all times.

to the men and women of our military, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

my sweet grandparents in 1946.
my late grandpa was a POW by the japanese in the phillipines during WWII.

nie nie day auctions

in response the the events surrounding my post and this post, there has been a blogdom-wide outpouring of support for stephanie and christian nielson.

thursday was unofficially deemed "nie nie" day of which people are making, donating, posting silent auctions all over the world with all proceeds to benefit stephanie and christian's recovery.

see design mom's blog (you might have to scroll down a bit to see the list) for a complete list of auctions happening now. most will close sunday evening so there is still plenty of time to get in on the action.

some of my favorites:
bracelet by whitney
artwork by emily
music by marilyn
awesomeness by jolly porter
custom sweater by dandee

but there are so many more left to explore. if only I had a bottomless pocketbook.

cjane is posting updates almost daily. her posts are brave, upbeat, and breathtakingly honest. this family will continue to be in my prayers.

a beach vacation, revisited

at long last, here are some photo memories of our beach vacation.

we've already booked the houses (there will be two!) for next year. would you like to join us?! :)

beach

pretty much my view for most of the week.

our early morning, low tide stroll turned into an "oregon trail" fording the river real life story .
katie says thank you, dad.

the smelt were running (or whatever they say) and there were so many birds.

jeanne, dad and dick on a beautiful, misty beach morning.

beach food

bruce's candy kitchen.

I spoke of our beach love of ice cream here.
we didn't disappoint. I think we had some every day. it is a very important part of our beach vacation.

the motherload.

beach fun

we can't get to the beach fast enough on our first day. a fire is a must.
dad, brad, me and mom

a man and his kite.
we've had that thing for something like ten years and its still plugging along.

the game of life.
did I win? I think so but I can't remember. I was the banker though, I love that job.
we also played endless games of solitaire and some chinese checkers.

beach sunsets

pure heaven

a big THANK YOU to my parents for making this trip possible.
I am so grateful.

me: raw and uncensored

below is an email that I sent to hailey last week in the middle of a meltdown. seeing as how I want to keep it real, I've not edited any of it. as raw as it still feels (at least some of it), I am able to laugh at parts of it. read at your own risk...


well, let me list everything that has happened since yesterday and how I am feeling (warning: it might not be pretty)...

• my company was "merged" (read: bought) by another company
• not sure how it affects me yet
• scared a little bit about the details
• I have four of the largest zits known to man on my chin and cheek
• maybe I eat too much cheese?
• I am hungry but have nothing to snack on
• don't want to spend money or make a bad choice
• so I just chugged a glass of water
• I think I might be a raving bitch at work
• but not sure how to fix it
• I react to things just like I would HATE someone to react towards me
• houston, we have a problem
• I am very disappointed in myself
• why does an extra nine minutes of sleep always win out over getting up for quiet time?
• how do I make changes I know I need to make but am just not motivated?
• have I mentioned that I'm hungry?
• because I am angry at myself, I want to eat EVERYTHING in sight
• so far, it's been two mini snickers and two mini kit kat
• now, bring on the salt
• guilt has me in a stronghold
• rebuke, guilt/satan, get away
• why is it that as soon as I start exercising, I feel fatter?
• how in the world do you have the time to get everything done...and have a child?
• I feel wholly unproductive every single day...and I only work.
• you are my hero
• and I wish I was there in the sun and the heat
• laying out by the pool (pretending there is no threat of cancer of course)
• I feel pasty white and nasty
• wanna go for islands burgers and cheese fries?
• please?
• I would love it if you came up next month to visit...wanna?
• phew, just remembered that you are
• thank you jesus
• I love you (hailey and jesus)


I am so thankful that I have friends that I can send emails like this too. there is no judgment, no condemnation, just support, love and commiserating. such as it should be.

things are never as bad as they seem when you are in a wallowing moment such as I was last week. of course not, right? they wouldn't call it wallowing then would they? and meltdown would only reference what an ice cream cone did in the sun.

don't judge me.

:-)

today was another notsogreatday at work but I will continue working on my attitude...and chose joy instead of anger. boy that's hard.

meeting "the man"

today in my daily devotional book...

when the woman at the well met jesus, unlike all the other men she'd met, he addressed her real need. "[he said,] 'go...get your husband'...'I don't have a husband,' the woman replied. jesus said...'you have had five husbands, and you aren't...married to the man you're living with'" (john 4:16-19 nlt). because we're weak, we keep getting into situations that leave us wounded. and those wounds can't be healed by going from relationship to relationship. after meeting jesus this woman ran to tell everybody, "come...meet a man who told me everything!" her answer wasn't another man; she'd already tried that! her answer was meeting the man, and asking him to fill the void in her life.

the bible refers to this as putting "on the new self, which is being renewed in...the image of its creator" (colossians 3:10 niv). if you're sick of the way you're living and want to change, remember, the woman at the well couldn't "put off the old man" till she met the new one. when you're attached to certain habits and relationships, it's hard to break free in your own strength. you'll only be able to disengage when you acknowledge jesus as lord of your life. only by embracing the new, will you find strength to say goodbye to the old. so what does all this mean for you? it means coming to christ as you are, asking him to save you, and entering into a relationship with him. james says, "surrender to god...resist the devil, and he will run from you" (james 4:7 cev). when you do that, god will give you the strength to forsake those old patterns and begin a new life!

just what I needed to hear as I am beginning to make some changes in my own life. and right after I prayed that I would hear him speak. loud and clear, lord. thank you.

greetings from boise

my trip to boise was just marvelous. I love that even though we can be apart for years, it's like no time has passed the minute we are together.

whitney and I go way back...about 15 years I'd approximate although we both remembered over the weekend that we went on a project spectrum field trip to portland together in 5th or 6th grade. guess that makes it 20 years huh? wow. sometimes I can't quite believe statistics like that. how did we become adults so quickly?

saturday started with a yummy breakfast downtown at addie's. justin graciously took the children home so whitney and I could have some girl time. just so happens the farmers' market was in full swing and it was incredible! I've never seen so much organic meat for sale all in one place. we sipped some freshly squeezed lemonade and listened to the lone bagpiper stationed at one end of the market. too bad the line for the mini donuts and crepes were too long. and thank goodness there was a french bakery on the way back to the car. hello lemon tart. we napped, I played with hank, we sat on a quilt in the yard and painted our nails and read magazines and ate ice cream cones. it was pure bliss. our late night reminiscing lasted until 2 am but it was totally worth it (although I didn't get up for church so you might have to ask whitney how the lack of sleep felt!). we have so many memories and it is fun to remember.

sunday was real laid back. we burned a cake and made a mess of the oven, took a walk around their fantastic neighborhood, and attended a family barbecue that was heavenly. I have a pretty small family and have always loved being around whitney's large family. this was no exception. there were aunts and uncles and cousins everywhere. I am going to try hard to remember everyones name so during my next trip, I will amaze everyone with my steel trap memory. (yea right). thanks to aunt suzy and the gang for providing the yard, the grill, and the firepit. I had a glorious time! after the party, whitney, justin and I sat up late talking movies and books.

we ended up at breakfast with most of "the girls" on monday morning at the original pancake house...with no showers, no makeup, and some pretty crazy hair on my part. whitney's family is wonderful and I am honored that they make me feel so welcome. my flight wasn't until early afternoon so we picked ivy up and headed to lisa and zach's house for some poolside fun. ivy swam with her cousins while I sat in the sun and visited with whitney and the ladies. seriously, it was some of the best times I've had lately. the sun was warm, the company enlightening, and friendships strengthened.

whitney: I love that our friendship spans decades (what?!) and that we can pick things up right where we left off. I love that your family greets me with open arms. I love that your husband knew we needed to spend time together and let us have much girl time. I love you.

justin: there are not words to describe my gratitude. I am in awe of how well you take care of my friend and your family. you are an amazing husband and I thank you for all you did to make my weekend with whitney so wonderful.

ives and hanky: you guys are too cute. thank you for letting me be "aunt" jenny...I know you have a lot already. see you soon.

tips (or things I learned in boise):

• if you overfill a 9x13 pan with cake batter, it will overflow and burn into a hard crust over everything
• boise is pronounced "boy-cee". if you say it wrong (boys-ee), everyone will know you are a foreigner.
• I have a lot of appeal (thanks grandpa!)
• ice cream cones make everything better

thanks for a great time whit. have you booked your trip to seattle yet? I'm ready!

whitney and me

what's idaho without a few potatoes

ivy and her ice cream cone

vintage quilt + newly painted toenails + sunshine and shade = priceless

hank eating mom's ice cream cone

our prized farmers market purchase, the succulent wreath that weighed 25 pounds

hank and me

ivy and me

sitting around the firepit, making smores, trying to stay warm

it was a weekend that I will always remember.

from the bottom of my heart

we are a lover of the military in my family. my dad is retired army reserve. my cousin is active duty army special forces right now. my grandfather was a marine and a pow for three and a half years during world war two. my great uncle was navy and killed in pearl harbor. my other grandfather also served.

regardless of your stance on the war and whatever your political beliefs might be, our service men and women need, no deserve, our support. it's the least we can do, don't you think?



brings me to tears every single time. see, the lord can speak through beer commercials. maybe not all of them but this one for sure!

and check out this out for something else you can do.