Wedding Interview

My friend Jackie is a wedding planner. She keeps a blog where she shares ideas, photos and interviews with brides. I was able to participate in one of her interviews. Here is the blog post:

http://jacquelineroux-abel.blogspot.com/2009/07/interview-with-bride-danielle.html

Cats do the darndest things

Meow is a blast. I am not going to write lots of blogs about my kitten, but I just have to say how much fun he was this weekend.

He had his first vet visit on Saturday. It was a new experience for me, that's for sure! He was crying so much. But he did so well, and the whole staff just loved my little guy. They said that he is going to be a big guy because he has such big paws! They all thought he was adorable, because well, he is.

Ryan bought him a new toy too. Feathers on a string. Oh man, does he love this toy. It's already in pieces all over my living room floor. Ryan will play with him for almost an hour at a time, then Meow lays down, panting. Seriously, he pants. It's so cute. He jumps almost a foot in the air to catch it. Sometimes he manages to do a little flip to catch the feathers. He will pick it up then take the toy and carry it in his mouth all over the house.

Ryan's mom also got him a cool little toy, it's a little tunnel thing, he loves that too...he just lays in it like he is hiding.

He also loves the part of a milk cap that you pull off to open the milk. He throws that thing all over and loves to entertain himself.

Another fun thing...maybe not so fun, is he attacks my necklace. Then he bites my chin. Seriously, he loves to bite my chin. What a weirdo.

We love this little guy so much!! He loves to talk to us...all the time. It doesn't matter what's going on, he will just talk.

Sometime, when I have internet at my house, I will post some more pictures of him. He is growing so fast!!!

My other blog

I told Ryan a couple of months ago that I was starting another blog. A blog about food, wine and stuff like that. I love to bake, and sometimes I love to cook. I also like to share recipes that I find. When I mentioned it on Saturday he seemed rather clueless and said I didn't tell him...or any of my readers. Well here is the link to my food blog.

http://haweskitchen.blogspot.com/

Enjoy.

Cutest kid

My niece is pretty adorable...I just had to share this photo that her dad took while out in a boat. Love it!

Lucky Me...

I have had a rough couple of days. But one thing I am so grateful for is my husband. He is so patient with me. He lets me blow up. Cry. Freak out. Stress. Get upset. Then he gently calms me down. Hugs me. Prays for me. Loves me. He protects me. Encourages me. Speaks truth to me. And doesn't allow me to get away with being a brat.

I am one lucky girl.

How many of you are there?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Sunday's Safari

This weekend was full of adventure. From seeing old friends, weddings and a safari. Yes, we actually went on a real life safari. Down near Roseburg Oregon you can visit the Oregon Wildlife Safari (http://www.wildlifesafari.org/). It is a drive through safari. It took us about an hour and a half to get through the whole park. We had decided randomly yesterday morning that we wanted to go, so three hours later there we were.

It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. You can sit out your sunroof (up to your waist) and take pictures. As we began our journey through the safari we had an ostrich come and peck at our car. Then a rhino walked right in front of our car and then tapped the car parked next to us. We got about 10 feet from a giraffe, def. the highlight of my day! I was out the sunroof the whole time snapping photos (no, the attached ones are not mine, but give you an idea…). We saw bison, lions, a hippo, bears, deer, birds (including a flamingo), camels, monkeys, llamas, cheetahs, elephants, and so many more that I have no clue what they were!!! It was such an amazing experience for us. We would def. recommend it to anyone!! It is a bit of a drive, but we felt that it was worth it.

You can also feed the animals (for an additional cost…I wanted to feed a giraffe, of course, but it was full and too much!), you can get your car washed by an elephant (also for an additional cost), and go on other tours/feedings (again, additional cost). But the intial drive through is a great experience, and one we will never forget!!

Weight Watchers

Losing weight is not easy. Ok well it is for some people, but not for me. A year ago Ryan and I started Weight Watchers. It was going well. Every week we were down pounds and feeling so encouraged. In fact I had lost almost 30 pounds by the wedding and needed my dress taken in...twice. Well, on the honeymoon we kind of gave up. We figured we are on our honeymoon, and we wont do this again (maybe). So we drank wine, ate french fries, and ice cream. There was no working out, no counting points. As we began our new life and routine, WW seemed to go by the wayside. Now, I still tried cooking WW friendly foods, and not order french fries but we stopped counting points. I stopped working out when Ryan's schedule changed. The motivation, was well lacking.

Today, we weighed in. All that weight we had lost had suddenly began to inch it's way back onto our hips, thighs, you name it. We have been feeling discouraged, well, namely me. I have a hard time getting back on track when I fell so far off the wagon of weight loss.

Today's weigh in was a kick in the behind. Time to get in gear. Now, working out may be a bit of a stretch, but if I can get my points in line and us eating better, we will be set...right?

Time to plan out a detailed menu, breakfast lunch and dinner. And snacks. It's hard, you are supposed to use all your daily points. Ryan has more in a day than I do, and well, trying to cook to fit both sets of points is a lot of work. But, with Ry's help, I think I can do it. I will just have to force him to eat more!

Maybe by our anniversary I can kick another 30 pounds...wouldn't that be nice?

Celiac Update

I just wanted to post and say that my test came back negative for Celiacs. So, at this point I do not have the disease, and I can still eat wheat. It's amazing though, how much I notice all the gluten free food around me. It's encouraging!!

And now, introcuding...

MEOW!! Yes, I said Meow. We just adopted an adorable little kitten. It was an early anniversary gift from Ryan. Because it was early, I gave him naming rights (note to self, don't do that again). :) He decided to name our little guy, Meow. Yup. Meow for a cat.

He is the sweetest little guy. I had seen his picture at the Humane Society and convinced Ryan we should place a hold on him until we could get there. I am glad we did. As soon as we got to actually hold him it was as if he had chosen us. He was so affectionate and loving. He just laid on my lap purring and kissing me and just snuggling. I was in love. Ryan wanted to look a little more, but as soon as he held Meow, I could tell he knew that this kitten actually picked us!

His first night at home he just wanted to snuggle and give love. We are keeping him in the bathroom when we are gone and during the night. So the first night I woke up in the middle of the night to find him sleeping in his litterbox. At least it was clean! He has broken that habit now, thankfully! By Saturday afternoon we were wondering if our little guy only slept and snuggled. For a 3 mo. old kitten he sure wasn’t active. But that changed Saturday night. Soon he was exploring and wanting to play more and more. He now has so much more energy but is still a little snuggler. He likes to lay under our chins up on the chest area. He is just a sweetheart. It’s hard to lock him in the bathroom at night because he just looks at you and cries. It breaks my heart, I make Ryan do it now. 

We are so happy to have him join our family. He seems to be such a great fit, and already such a joy to us. I will add more pictures…eventually. 

Till Death do us part....right?

The cover of Time Magazine caught my attention today. It's titled "Unfaithfully Yours".

I read the article, and found it really interesting....

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1908243-4,00.html

Trusting...

Sometimes it's really hard for me to let go of my controlling tendencies and just trust the Lord.

It's hard to just trust that even in my human mistakes, he is at work.

I have a husband whose faith seems to move mountains, and then I look at my own and feel like I couldn't even move a pebble. His trust and willingness to let go of everything is an encouragement to me.

I guess it just takes faith of a mustard seed right, and a trust in a Savior who knows all, and loves me and wants the best for me.

Easier said than done.

Late Tuesday Returns

No joke. Late Tuesday is playing another show. After at least two years of no group show, they are back!!! August 25 in Seattle at the Triple Door. I am really really hoping to make it, but it is a Tuesday night...hmm.

I love love love Late Tuesday. I have since the very first time I have heard them! I have seen them play several times, and I never tire of their music. In fact, I was listening to it this morning.

Check them out...they are wonderful!

http://www.latetuesday.com/