Things I Love

1. Abilene, Texas on a summer night. Doesn't matter if it's Rosebud park with Bueno, driving home from Perini's, or the back porch at my parent's house.
2. Crisp iced tea on a warm day.
3. Golf courses on summer mornings.
4. Finding the answer. To anything.
5. Those long hard laughs that make you cry.
6. Long bike rides with Jason through North Tacoma.
7. Cleaning house on a Saturday with the windows open and country music playing.
8. Days at the pool, outside on a hot day.
9. Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
10. My great-grandmother's back porch in Corpus Christi. Aloe plants, the smell of Off!, and that hot humid air.
11. The sound of a lawnmower and the smell of cut grass.
12. Coffee in my parent's kitchen.
13. The scent of my grandmother's house.
14. That soreness you feel in the day or two after a strength training workout.
15. Wood-burning fireplaces.
16. Playing Nintendo 64 with my little brother. Zelda: Ocarina of Time!!!
17. Finding a brand new perfume and deciding it's going to be your signature scent.
18. Afternoon naps.
19. Quarterly and annual conferences. Yes, I'm a work nerd.
20. Christmas mornings.
21. Getting handwritten mail from family.
22. The endorphin rush after a good cardio workout.
23. The 4th of July in New Braunfels, Texas. Schlitterbahn, Comal River, Adobe Verde, and fireworks at the golf course.
24. The sound of my dad's voice.
25. Birthday cake.
26. The way my shoulder fits perfectly under Jason's arm.
27. Big Daddy's deep fried turkey.
28. The airport when you're on vacation. I love the people-watching, the bustle, and the smell of other people's cologne and coffee. Feels like freedom.
29. Crisp, sunny fall days in Texas.
30. Vacuuming. I get a silly satisfaction from seeing those fresh tracks on the carpet.
31. My sister's closet. So full of cute clothes, shoes, and accessories; it's better than any one store.
32. Panera Bread Asiago bagels. Toasted, no cream cheese.
33. Thunderstorms in the south: thunder, lightening, heavy rain, and the sun shining through right afterward. The smell of ozone.
34. Holding babies
35. Laundry: warm towels, the smell of bleach, Tide and Downy. Folding fresh t-shirts. Clean sheets.
36. Jumping on big trampolines, like the one our parents got us when we were kids. I can still do a mean back flip.
37. The smell of a room after Jason's been in it.
38. Bubble baths and body scrubs.
39. Easter candy.
40. Ruffino chianti with rosemary bread.
41. Quilts. Good, high-quality quilts.
42. Our tempur-pedic bed and down comforter.
43. Brand new carpet.
44. Reading a good book for the first time.
45. Reading a good book for the fifth time.
46. Texts from Jason.
47. Grown-up soul and R&B music.
48. The innocence and confidence of children.
49. Playing Monopoly with my cousins at Christmas. Much trash-talking and trash-eating (it's a family thing).
50. Late July in Portland, at the Lion and the Rose B&B for Jason's birthday.

I am woefully, woefully behind in my blogging. I have about 5 posts I need to write and pictures to post. I'm making the commitment to getting that done this weekend.

In the meantime, here's a little something I wrote today. I don't know what inspired me, but I wanted to put down on paper a list of things I love. I think I'm feeling grateful for all the good things in life today.

Have a great weekend!

Missing Summer

Back in Texas, we sometimes used to swim after dark. The water was still warm from the day and the pool light would shine from underneath, making everything look light blue. I miss those nights.

Once in awhile, a thunderstorm would roll in. First, the rain - warm raindrops falling into the pool, the sound unlike anything else. It's kind of a hushed cymbal; the loudest whisper you ever heard. Then the lightening and thunder, and the smell of ozone. You're supposed to get out of the pool when that happens, but I always found some excuse to delay things. Swimming to the bottom of the deep end to get a toy, perhaps.

When I was in high school, we used to visit my grandmother in New Braunfels every 4th of July. There was a river there by her house, with a private island only the residents could access. Water so clear, so cool, it was hard to believe you were in south Texas in July. The Comal was spring-fed, with little columns of bubbles rushing to the surface like a glass of champagne. Schools of fish would swim by, used to the human presence. Minnows darted around nervously in the shallow parts. The bottom was carpeted in pebbles and rocks. Algae floated by in soggy tufts, and big elephant-ear leaves fringed the edges of the river on one side. On the other, were homes and back yards. Grandkids running around, and American flags. Hot dogs and beer.

We would swim and barbecue all day, my family and I. Year after year we used the same beach towels and floaties. We taught Clint to swim, in his one-piece swimsuit with a built-in inner-tube. It was bright orange, his hair a shock of blonde. We would throw him in to mom or dad, his legs kicking as soon as they hit water. I can still see him running around the island in that bathing suit, trying to catch frogs and fish, snaggle-toothed and wet.

I'm tired of being cold. I miss Texas so much it hurts, sometimes. I wish I were somewhere down south for awhile. I need a margarita and a slight sunburn, the sound of crickets, the smell of mesquite burning in a grill. I want an Abilene thunderstorm, a south Texas ride down the river, an evening of Corpus Christi air.

Autumn Again

I've been living up here long enough to know, almost down to the day, when summer makes way for fall. It happened about a week ago.

The mornings are darker. Spiders are starting to build webs in outdoor corners. The clouds are back, and so is the rain. The quilt on our bed feels just a little bit better in the morning.

Pumpkin Spice lattes are available at every coffee shop in town. Leaves are on the verge of changing. At dusk, our neighborhood smells like burning mesquite. Windows are yellow with artificial light, dogs bark, and a cool breeze rustles the trees.

It takes me back to another time. The year I met Jason. The autumn of Seattle, and Dave Matthews Band, and midnight walks through Wright Park. That blue chambray shirt, my Elizabeth Arden perfume, and after years of living here, the year I finally learned Tacoma.

I love you, hon.

Summer 2010

Things have been great around here lately. The sun has finally come out, our kitchen cabinets have been installed, and the subsequent necessary housecleaning got a great head start last night thanks to Jason. He decided to take a few hours to clean and sent me out of the house to relax. It was awesome! One great thing about marrying a Marine - they sure know how to scrub a "latrine!"

I colored my hair recently, to something closer to my natural honey brown. I love blonde, and I love highlights, but every once in awhile it gets to be too much for me and I go back to my 'roots.' Ha!

The house is progressing nicely. We're on the downslope now, just needing to finish the kitchen (countertops, backsplash, sink and fixtures), laundry room (level the floor and frame a wall and a half), and freshen up the bathroom (paint and a new sink/fixtures). We've taken rooms down to the studs, replaced walls, added insulation, installed light fixtures, woodwork, moved doors, paint, paint, and more paint... Sometimes, we feel frustrated at all there is to do. It's tiring and expensive and stressful. But every once in awhile, we look at pictures from two short years ago and realize just how far we've come. This place feels more like home every day.

We went to a few open houses yesterday. Haven't done that in awhile. I realized, while walking through houses at all price points ($260k-400k) that our house is literally in better condition than all of them. Better kitchen, better structure, better surfaces. When we go to Texas, we're always impressed by the quality of materials used. We've taken that spirit with us in improving our house, and I really think it makes a huge difference. Every person we've had come over comments before they step off the welcome mat how nice it looks. I just hope that translates to a full-price offer when the time is right!

Well, I need to get back to work. Pictures and posts about our 2nd anniversary, my trip to Texas, and our home up here coming soon!

A Couple More Videos...

These cracked me up.

First, "Single Ladies Devastation." Not only is the little boy precious, but the sister next to him looks at dad like, What is wrong with you? So sad.



Next, little Hannah. She has to move to Japan, but she doesn't want to leave her teacher Stephen! This little 4-year-old is heartbroken. Just want to hug her:



A "Flash Mob" descended on Seattle just a few days ago (April 10th). This is at Westlake Center; Jason spent a lot of afternoons there as a kid, and I've been there a few times myself.



Abilene Sonic - #6 Fast Food spot in the world according to the Travel Channel!



And finally, Galloping Gertie. Not so funny, but certainly interesting. Jason and I go over this bridge to Gig Harbor every time we want to see a movie in the theater. Luckily, it's been rebuilt:

Funny Local Commercial

Check this out: a local tv commercial that cracks me up every time I see it. Watch this guy get down!

These Days...

Time for an update. Let's see... Jason's started his spring quarter, taking sociology and a math course. Bless his heart, he gets up before dawn to hit the road at 5:45, puts in 10 hours at work, then hits the gym before a 2 hour class. He gets home around 8 most days, tired as a dog and starving. We usually have just enough time for dinner before he has to hit the hay. Weekends are our only time together, and his only down time, so on days like today we try to soak it up and relax as much as possible.

I'm getting into the swing of working from home. I find that I work off and on throughout the day hours, and then find a laser focus after the sun sets. Many nights lately I've worked until Jason's alarm goes off at 5 am; I have coffee with him and then wrap up my work right as the sun's rising. It's not a schedule I can keep, but one that's proven very productive. There are no distractions at night; no conference calls, questions, or emergencies. It's a time when I can just sit and work on a project for hours at a time, submitting my findings to the appropriate people at the beginning of the work day. My first big project is coming up and I'll be working directly with the CEO. Looking forward to it; I love having a specific, complex problem to solve. Much better than the regular, habitual reporting I've been doing lately.

As I type this, we're sitting at Southcenter Mall. There's a Seattle's Best Coffee inside the Borders here, on the second floor, and the two of us are clicking away on our laptops while a handful of others read the Wall Street Journal, Digital magazine, and surf the web on their Macs. There's no question we're in Seattle, huh? :)

It's still pretty overcast and rainy here. We had two thunderstorms last week, one complete with hail, and the strongest windstorm Seattle's had in 13 years. I'm so ready for summer I can't even tell you. I've started going to the tanning beds just to get a little vitamin D!

Let's see, what else... my friend Reese's boyfriend, who is just getting out of the Army but is still stationed @ Fort Hood, came up this week to spend spring break with her. We've gone out a couple times this week - once for Indian food, and another time for Beer Pong (Reese loves Beer Pong!). We were supposed to hit up a movie last night, but weather was crazy and the traffic was worse, not to mention Jason and I were both exhausted. Even so, we had a great time this week with the two of them. Pretty sure we closed out the bar on Thursday night cracking jokes and telling stories. Reese and Michael are dying to meet my dad after I told them about the "Mallard Incident."

Guess you had to be there.

Anyway, that's about it for now. Think I'll close this out and go grab a latte before we head home. Hope everyone has a fantastic Easter!