Christmas decorating

I wanted to make sure that I posted about all of the Christmas cards we got this year. Each year we get more and more and I get so excited when I see them all displayed on the fridge.Also, some of my favorite tree ornaments.

Brian on YouTube

One of the best gifts I got this year was actually from a work gift. It's a flip video camera. It's really easy to use and I love it. Even though the location of this video is not the best (dingy basement), it shows Brian in hils full fetching talent. Enjoy!



After watching the video on YouTube. We then found that there is another cat names Brian in Britian who also fetches. Brian is so much better though!

Christmas Weekend!

We finally went snowboarding on Sunday. We went to Mount Baker for the first time. It's pretty much at the Canadian border, but has the most snow of any ski area in Washington. It took about 2 hours, but I love road trips! Tons of snow and it's really nice. Below is a trail map, two lifts were closed due to poor visability and avalanche conditions.

We actually didn't get to stay long because it was raining and we were soaked! Boy the hot tub sure was nice when we got home though!

The next day was Christmas Eve and Rob and I went down to the Maket to get some seafood for dinner. I guess I was thinking "who would go to the market on Christmas eve, it will probably be dead..." Boy was I wrong - It was so busy! Rob and I had lunch at one of my favorite stops, Beechers, for a grilled cheese and tomato soup. Later that night Liz & Adam came over for Christmas Eve dinner. It was really fun. On Christmas Day we went to thier house. Even though I missed being with family on Christmas, it's so great to spend the Holidays with people you care about. It was a lot of fun and made the Holiday special.

Here are some fun pictures from Christmas.

Decorating for Christmas

I love this time of year.

Before I get into that. I wanted to say THANK YOU for all the notes, emails, cards, gifts, Irish car bombs, and treats for my birthday. It's so nice to know that everyone tries to make me feel better by helping me celebrate my birthday. This year it worked and I am not as sad as I thought I would be to be 1 year away from 30.

Apparently, this is a big Christmas tree weekend, so we joined the masses and bought out tree at Carpinito Brothers in Kent, Wa. First, we did try a place in Seattle which was sold out of Christmas Trees. Later on Saturday, I was down in Kent taking a Magic Loop class at Renaissance Yarns and then from there we were on our way to Dave & Tami’s to hang out and play games. We drove by this place and found our tree. A Grand Fir.
After much work by Rob, we got it up and decorated just in time for Liz & Adam to come over and take some pictures of us in front of the tree and watch the Seahawks clinch the western division title.

Woops, look who found her way into the Lazy Susan. Great...

Let it snow!

Our hot tub completion was holted by the snow that dropped down for 2 days straight. If you know anything about Seattle, it may rain but it never snows. Last year we got a little snow and the whole city shut down. Not only have we had snow for 2 days this weekend, but now the whole city is flooding. She makes for perfect days to do nothing but sit inside with a nice warm fire, some AM radio and a little knitting.

Don't drink and book

About 2 months ago we decided to go down to the Willamette Valley wine tasting for Thanksgiving weekend. We talked about it one night after a lot of drinks sat down and booked the room for Saturday night.

Yesterday we left early to get down to McMinnville. I decided to call and confirm the room. I never do that, I don't know why I thought it would be a good idea this time. Sure enough, no record of our room. Maybe I didn't click the final "are you sure you want to book this room button". They said they would move us to the top of the waiting list, but on the biggest wine tasting weekend in Willamette valley... no such luck. We could have stayed at the motor inn, but we love the Hotel Oregon staying anywhere else would be a shame. We tasted for about 5 hours ate dinner and Rob decided to drive us home. I'd be passed out anyway so no distractions. We got home around midnight.

On this weekend every single vineyard/winery is open. That's like 175 to choose from. Most of these charge a tasting fee this weekend because the crowds are massive and they have food and music and it's a big party. They all bring out thir big guns and the wines were great. We stopped at 4 new places and then hit 2 of our favs, Elk Cove and Kramer. Elk Cove was recently named the Pacific NW Winery of the year. To my surprise, this weekend they still only charged a $5 tasting fee which was refundable with purchase. Kramer may not have the best wine you've ever had before and it's not the fanciest, but the people are so nice. It reminds me of hanging out with family. It's great wine for the price and they charged an $8 tasting fee, we tasted about 20 wines. That's unreal. They even had wine from the neighboring vineyard a few houses over, Thistle, EXCELLENT Pinot Noir. A great new find. We shut the place down, walked out with a case and I had my picture taken with Cassie, the dog. Cassie is one of the centerfolds of a new Calendar based on this book, Wine Dogs. I love it.

Tastings included: Elk Cove, Kramer, Stag Hollow, Monk's Gate, Thistle, Styring, Lachini.

I got a new camera!

Yes, we braved the crowds today in an effort to find a laptop for Rob and a camera for me. Circuit City at 5am. Doesn't everyone do that? Sure seemed like it. Unfortunately all the laptops were gone but my camera was still in stock! It's a Nikon D40. After seeing and trying a few of my friend's and sister's dSLR camera I slowly began to realize that I am missing out. I would hardly call myself a photographer, but this camera takes one heck of a picture. I am so thrilled to have it. Thanks Rob... for the early Birthday and Christmas present. You are off the hook about that diamond necklace until next year.

This blog is about to get a lot more photo heavy! Here are my favorite pictures so far. If you hate cats.... please disregard this posting. You can also view all of our on Flickr the quality is actually a lot better too.

Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the opportunity to spend time with friends or family, having fun, drinking, laughing and playing games. Each year, not only does it give me a chance to remember and give thanks for my family and the family that Rob and I have built between us, but also just being with friends and giving thanks for what we have. It's a great holiday and unlike Christmas, people typically always remember what it means.

The last 3 years we haven't been able to spend Thanksgiving with our families. Instead, we've spent it with Dave & Tami, who are pretty much family to us. Last year and this year I was thrilled to put on a spread and cook for all of us.

This years menu:

Onion & Mushroom Tartlets w/celery

Butternut squash soup

Turkey with citrus and Rosemary (19lb)

Mashed Potatoes and gravy

Cornbread stuffing

Green Bean Casserole

Dinner Rolls

Chocolate PB Crunchy Cake

Pumpkin Pie

Apple Pie

Blueberry Pie

I think I am slowly turning into my grandmother. After cooking all day long and tasting while I go, when it came time to eat I wasn't hungry and I just wanted to watch everyone else eat the food I made. Maybe I am in the wrong business. :)

And 3 bottles of wine later...

Copy Cat

If there is something that can be said for my BFF, Liz... she seems to be VERY organized. Especially in the world of Arts & Crafts. Check out her blog posting here about how she organized all of her knitting tools. Then check out my copy cat attempt. If you know me at all, I might be the messiest person in the world. This is a big step for me.


The KnitPick Options set might be the best thing that I ever purchased for a hobby. I got them about a year ago and haven't had to buy another needle (except addi turbo). The only problem with these needles is that they are not marked, so you have to constantly recheck the size.

On another note, yesterday we met our new neighbors and went to breakfast at Calamity Janes in Georgetown. we haven't been there for breakfast yet and aside from the prices being a little high, my breakfast was great.

I'd also like to report that I was able to take a class a "wine of Italy" class at the new Culinary Communication Institute in Beacon Hill. This School has been going on for the last 5 years at the chef's home in West Seattle. Recently, they moved into a new restored house in Beacon Hill. Honestly, Rob and I were hoping for a wine cafe, but after visiting the class and meeting the owner I am so excited to take more classes and get to know them a little better. The class was really well done and I am very happy that have moved into Beacon Hill and that they see the opportunity there and are excited about what the next two years will bring.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is mom's Birthday and I want to make sure I publish it for the whole world to see. :)

Seriously, she is not going to get a card or gift from me yet because I suck and I can't knit and work at the same time (unfortunately). Anyway, happy bithday mom! I love you and I wish I was there to celebrate with you and get a fish fry, since it's Friday.

Here are two of my favorite pictures. The 3 Raspor Girls always doing something funny.

New Grass!

Rob spent some time a few weekends ago jackhammering the concrete in the back patio to create more room for grass. After looking at the yard, we realized that the tub takes up a lot of room and having more grass would be great. Additionally, we painted all the trip around the windows with just primer (for now) until we decide on other colors. Below you can see the work that we did:

The fence from the side walkway

The new grass. We gained about 100 sq ft of grass

White trim around the window
White trim on the front porch

Happy Halloween

This year we had even less trick or treaters than last year. One of them was our 3 year old neighbor who stopped by only because he 'had" to. I don't know why we had less people... I guess next year we'll put up lights all over the house to make it as inviting as possible.

The best thing that happened on Halloween was that we took Stewie to the vet and she is doing a lot better. Now she is allowed to take her cone off! She is licking her stomach a little, but nowhere near as bad as it was before and she was so happy to have it off. Stewie and Brian dressed up for Halloween too!

On other notes, I was able to go to a Seahawks game a few weeks back. I had amazing seats right on the 20 yard line about 5 rows back. This was my first Seahawks game and it didn't disappoint. It was so loud at Qwest Field, my ears were ringing. I have more pictures here too.

Where have we been?

I don't really have a good excuse for why we haven't posted to the blog. I guess that we have just been too busy to think about it or to make time to do it. We're trying to complete all of our outside projects before the rain starts for the winter. Right now the weather is hit and miss, one minute it will be raining and the next minute the sun will be in full display. I guess we have to take advantage of it any chance we get.

We finally got the hot tub in the back yard and the next step will be for Rob to get electricity out there and build a small deck around it. Today, I spent some time finishing the edging around the fence and then planted some nice winter annuals.

Tomorrow I am going to my first Seahawk's game. Since Rob isn't going, our good friend Adam & Liz have invited him down to their place to watch the game instead. Below are some fun pictures from the yard and 1 of Brian.

Unhappy Cat

Our poor Stewie has allergy issues. She is itchy and is constantly creating hotspots on her stomach. After trying many treatments, we've decided to try the natural homeopothic route and see if we can fix her problems. In the meantime, she has found creative ways to make a battleground of scabs on her stomach and the she keeps picking at them. That only means one thing... we have to stop her.... we have to use THE CONE!Her scabs are almost clear and soon we can take the cone off see how she does.

Last night we went to see Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers at the Triple Door. This is weird venue for them as they usually play at the crocodile. I love the Triple Door. It's swanky and fun and the food is from Wild Ginger, which is one the of the best restaurants in Seattle. This was by the far the best show of theirs we have ever seen. It was also their first sold out show on the West Coast. We met up with friends who have just moved here from Connecticut, and we actually met with them at the first Stephen Kellogg show back in Hartford in 2000. It's hard to believe it's been that long.

We're leaving soon to go watch the Seahawks game at Liz and Adam's. But first, Rob woke up at 7am this morning to start laying the concrete for the hot tub before we leave.

That's it for this weekend...

Everyone Loves a trip to Chillicothe, Ohio!

This past weekend Rob and I took advantage of a great deal from Southwest Airlines to fly into Columbus to spend a long weekend with my very best friend, Michele, and her husband, Marc. This has been one of the first and only times that the 4 hung out and nobody was getting married! Needless to say, it was more fun than we could have ever hoped for. Just like always it's like no time ever passed.

Thanks again to Marc and Michele for putting up with out sluggishness for the last few days. We had a great time. Below are some great pictures from the weekend.

Projects

Is it just me, or does it seem like we have a lot of unfinished projects in this house? Luckily, today we were able to bypass our weekly Rocksport adventure where we gather with all the other crazy Michigan fans and watch the Michigan game on the most horrible station on earth, the Big Ten Network. This weekend, most of our friends had other plans so we decided to get work done around the house and watch the game here.

This morning we finished taking down the hibachi and now we have someone who is interested in our bricks. Rob is busy digging the hole for the hot tub. The bathroom? Don't ask! Life is pretty boring right now, the weeks go by so fast that we don't even know where they went and the weekends are busy with projects. Below are updated pictures.

Happy Football...
Go Washington! Beat those thugs!
Go Michigan! If you don't do anything else this season, please beat Notre Dame!

No more Hibachi!

Rob is digging the hole for the hot tub

Fresh tomatoes from my garden... yum

Tomato plants are out of control