Routine Wins

Hello, one and all. It's been a crazy couple of weeks, and I'm looking forward to getting some normalcy back in my life. Two weekends ago I spent the weekend in Poulsbo with a good friend of mine (Jenni) and two of her girlfriends* for a "Ladies' Weekend." We rented this super cute house overlooking Hood Canal just a few minutes up the road from old town Poulsbo. We arrived Friday afternoon and had a lovely time cooking dinner, chatting, and being girls. Saturday we walked down to the private beach in the mist and rain, walked around the neighborhood, spent some time in old town Poulsbo, and ended the evening with a moderately drunken dance party. OK, more than moderate, but this is a family blog... Sunday was definitely recovery day, as the 4 of us took turns napping in the house's 2 beds. Mid-afternoon arrived, and I hopped the ferry back to Shoreline and came home to a relax husband and a messy house. Let's face it; it's not fun doing chores alone.

This past weekend we went to Portland to use a hotel reservation that we mistakenly booked over 9 months ago. As it was already paid for, there was nothing stopping us. We went to the Farmer's Market, which is huge and awesome, and ate Falafel and Papusas, and drank the Rogue Ambush IPA. It was great! We walked to the Rogue brewery and had a tasting flight of 4 4-oz. beers before walking down to Bridgeport Brewery, where we had their tasting flight of 8 4-oz beers. Wow, dinner time. We ate at a very small French Bistro, Le Bouchon. I don't think I have ever dined at a real French restaurant. We started with some Pate, and Clint and I each ordered a duck dish. Fabulous! I think duck is my new favorite red meat. :-) And what French dinner is complete without creme brule? Not ours! After dinner we walked to the Deschutes Brewery (yes, they have a Portland location) for one last tasting flight; 8 more 4-oz beers. Despite the free trolley that took us close to our hotel, it was still quite a stumble home. Noticing a pattern here?

Sunday was overcast and windy, but not too cold. We walked to Mother's for breakfast, our Portland must-do every time we go. Crab cake eggs Benedict for me; stuffed frittata for Clint, and a shared French Press of their Stumptown coffee of the week. Not as good as last trip's Panama Duncan Estates blend, but still an exceptional cup of Joe! We wandered around Powell's for a bit, shopped here and there, then met Chief & Rose for lunch. More food. It was great to spend time (albeit short) with them and laugh about this and that. Chief has some great stories that kept us laughing all throughout our chowder.

Chief's parting gift to me was a pair of short skis that he bought a few years ago. Now I didn't really know what to expect, but when he pulled out 3" skis from his trunk, I got it. Oh boy. I am going to break my butt the first time I try these! Wish me luck...

So now we're home. We've grocery shopped and made our weekly menu. This weekend we're here, and we're looking forward to cleaning the house (oh God, these floors...), taking care of some projects here and there, and just being home. It's amazing how drained I feel not having a sense of normalcy and routine in my life. I am lost without it.

*So it turns out, after a day together, that one of Jenni's girlfriends there knows my mom, dad, grandma, and brother! Talk about a small world! Alicia O'Dell went to EUUF a few weeks ago when dad was the lay-leader and met the family. She lives in Marysville and went to WWU (knows Misty), and is totally awesome. It's nice to make a new connection in the area!

A few more for this week

So in my challenge to make a card a day this week, I would give myself an A-, as I missed Thursday, but as I mad previously mentioned, I was gone from 5:30 a.m. until 12:30 a.m. Friday morning. I think I get a pass. So I made multiple cards Friday & today in an effort to make up for Thursday, Or because I like making cards and it's what I wanted to do regardless.

Anyhow, here's a few more from this week.

A cute little spring-timey note:

Yeah, not too sure about this one. Too much going on with the flower & polka dots.

 A new technique: spray your stamped image with water to make it bleed & look like a watercolor. No, it's not your eyes. :-) I"m getting a funky reflection in the gold brads. Strange!

A simple Wedding Card for a high school friend of mine. 

David Gray and Four Years

The Incredible Mr. Gray

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a David Gray concert with my good friend and college sophomore roommate Stephanie. The tickets were a gift from my boss, as he likes to do that from time time, and I like to receive things like that from time to time. I had heard some of Mr. Gray's more popular songs on the radio, but i have never purchased an album or sought him out on a Pandora station. I knew enough of his music to know that I liked him. So off to the concert we went. Mr. Gray's band consisted of a piano/keyboardist, bassist, drummer, cellist, guitarist and himself, but the stage was set with way more instruments than people. During the set, they would finish one song, and all shuffle around to other instruments and start the next song! It was incredible! The pure, raw, unfiltered sound in that auditorium was amazing, and I truly found myself captivated. And now I'm going on iTunes to buy me some David Gray songs!

(INSERT SEXY PURR HERE)

Four Years

Tomorrow marks my 4 year anniversary of working at ICON. I was thinking about this the other day on my drive home, and realized that four years, while being a drop in the bucket in terms of life scope, is also a very long time! When I interviewed with ICON, I had been graduated from college for just under a year, living with my parents, had just bought my first car (my original car was a gift from Grandpap), and was woefully single. ICON needed a receptionist/admin assistant, so I took the job. The pay was low, but it was better than what I had previously, and a lot more ethical, to boot!

Within 3 months of working there, both of the other support staff quit, so it was just me supporting both planners. Yikes! But as I am a well rounded person, I was able to step up and fill the need for the office, and landed myself into the role in which I now find myself. I now make almost double my starting salary, I have great benefits, Matt is a terrific boss (see The Incredible Mr. Gray, above), and I find that my needs are satisfied. So congratulations to me for finding ICON, and congratulations to ICON for making it a place worth sticking around!

OK, more about four years:

As I mentioned, a lot can happen in 4 short years. In the time that I have been working at ICON, I have:

1. Moved out of my parents house
2. Met a boy I love
3. Moved in with boy I love
4. Boy and I move in with my parents (yes, I know)
5. Boy and I get married
6. Husband and I buy  a house (hence the living with parents to save up a down payment)
7. Husband and I fill the house with things and kitties
8. Husband and I live happily ever after...

It's legal!

Our house!

OK, so really the big things are getting married and buying a house. But to think that I hadn't even met Clint when I started at ICON is pretty nuts. And consider the fact that I was living paycheck-to-paycheck for quite some time, sometimes barely being able to afford simple things, and now I OWN A HOUSE; that's pretty crazy, too.

A lot has happened in 4 years, and I eagerly look forward to the next four!

Daily Card Challenge

On Monday of this week I decided I was going to try to make a card each day this week. Well, I know I'm going to fail, as I'm going to Seattle straight from work tomorrow for a concert, but oh well...It should be "Barring and unforeseen circumstances that would prevent craft time..."

But here are the cards that I made Tuesday and today.

This first card is a color change from a previous set that I have on Etsy. I was contacted and asked to make the same set in pink/purple. So cute!

This card is one that I case'd from one that I randomly found online, but I changed a few elements, and viola! I think it's pretty cute & sweet.