Ruhiyyih's Reflections

Hanging in There

2012-01-29T21:08:00.000-08:00

I can't wait to one day log on here and write a post that says, "he got the job, we're moving!"...We still wait.

Last week we drove five hours so Matt could go on an interview that had to get rescheduled due to the snow storm.He returned this past Monday and finally interviewed. It went really well and we got all excited about the idea of e actually getting to move, soon. I had started looking at Craigslist ads again, trying to find that *perfect* place.Then we got the word on Thursday that they decided to go with someone else.I cried and cried.

The good news that came out of this week is that my job, which would have ended next Friday, has been extended by a couple months. A sister winery has acquired me to help with some data work, so I will attend a week long training on the west side and then work remotely. I am grateful for the work considering we are in such limbo, I did not know how I would find a job here when I cannot commit to anything permanently.

We managed to laugh a lot this weekend, all thanks to a "Good Fart" app that Matt found for his Android phone. That App helped me stop boo-hooing last night so I could actually sleep.We went to church this morning; it was part of a series on "Questions I always wanted to ask God." Today's was on how we can know God's will for our life. It was really interesting - how God purposely does not reveal all the details of His will for our life at once. It cannot be determined based on feelings, there is not a formula, and you cannot figure it out by randomly opening your Bible and reading what it says. It is about being a living sacrifice for Him. It was really good to hear.Living with Matt's folks is hard because they each have health issues that we wish we could fix and cannot. I can do what I can to help make meals, do dishes, clean the house, etc - but in the end, it is not my home. I spend a lot of time in our room because that is the one place I feel that has order and balance in it.

What is so crazy is we have the money and can afford to live on our own - but we have been in limbo since November with Matt's work, so we cannot up and move when we don't know where we are supposed to be! A month to month lease is not helpful either as my job is only good for two more months. :(All this to say, this is one of the hardest seasons that I have ever experienced. My relationship with the in-laws is deteriorating. My work is uncertain. Matt is unhappy in his job. We do not like living in our town. All my friendships here have suffered because I am too embarrassed to invite anyone over and our weekends get hijacked with Matt's work and school and our desperate need for alone time. Going for a weekend run now has a whole new meaning.

I hate being a complainer. In my life when all my circumstances were speaking to me like this, I have been able to make swift changes. In this, so many situations and issues are in the way for much change to occur at all.I miss the evergreen trees of Western Washington and we long to be there. If anyone is looking to hire a really great recruiter in the Seattle area, you would have the most dedicated and wonderful employee in my husband.

Well I have shared more than I normally would, but I hope that if someone out there is not understanding why bad things keep on happening to them, they would see that they are not alone. On a random note - we saved up money to buy a new mattress when we move - a fancy organic mattress that costs as much as a used Honda - and I am seriously considering sleeping on camping foam pads for a year and us using the money to go to Ireland. Thoughts?

A New Year

2012-01-19T11:39:00.003-08:00

It turns out that making a long-time public blog private is proving to be more of a daunting challenge than I wanted to take up right now, so I'm not. Perhaps when the kiddos arrive - but in the meantime, I am okay with not being the best blogger and just posting when I can. And commenting when I can, for that matter. Plus, it would not be in folks' Google Readers anymore and that is a great time saver!

It is snowing here today. Finally a quiet day at home, unplanned. I am going a bit stir crazy, actually. I'd love to be catching up on some laundry, but our washer broke over the weekend and getting a repair technician here will not be anytime soon. So I am waiting until we run out of underwear before I do laundry!

I have to share that I was really touched by all of the comments I got on my last post - I had no idea so many folks cared about my lil' blog! It was really encouraging. Most days I feel like I have a relatively boring life. Perhaps that is why I live for weekends - that is when we break from "routine" and even weekends have one thanks to Matt currently having to work on Saturdays...

I also confess I have been waiting to write for when I had good news to share. We are still waiting on word about Matt's job, our subsequent move following news of work, and me starting a new job. My current one ends in about three weeks. "Ends" because, I gave notice under the impression that we were moving at the end of December...and have mooched as long as I possible can there now. Thank goodness we've been saving up, knowing this is coming. I will not pursue finding a job in our current city. Lord willing, it will not be a long season of unemployment.

I heard a sermon yesterday about "patient endurance", based on the book of Hebrews. There was an illustration of a young woman that was frustrated that God had not brought her a prince charming yet, in her timing. So, she settled for less than God's best for her, and suffered. We are hoping that in this season of vocational uncertainty, that God will teach us patient endurance. Because the Lord knows that I can certainly attest to its worth as I think about how long I waited for my sweet husband and how amazing of a man that God gave me. I want His best for us now, with our jobs and a place to call home. At this time it is a total mystery. And in the meantime, I pray that God teaches me how to endure the difficulties that I am experiencing with vocational uncertainty and gives me patience to live in a home that is not our own. We can only take things a day at a time right now, and I am okay with that. I trust Him!
Happy New Year all, a bit late ;) Stay warm and safe out there!

Going Private

2011-12-28T12:58:00.002-08:00

Happy almost new year, y'all...

Lord knows I am SO ready for a new year.

Thanks for the kind thoughts regarding the tough times we have been having. It is still not easy. The only thing going right is marriage - Matt and I are in this together. We are hopeful a new job for Matt in the coming month so we can move.

Christmas was REALLY hard. We were all alone, and did not get a single phone call all day. I cleaned the house all day while Matt worked on his final paper. Then, he had to work at 5:45am on the 26th, so I started working on the house again around 6:30 and worked until 8pm at night straightening, dusting, vacuuming, organizing, purging, cooking, re-arranging, etc.

Well I have finally decided to take this blog private so I can actually write stuff again. And, take photos. I am embarrassed to put up photos lately as I have no time or software to edit them with. I miss that creative outlet.

I have had a public blog since 2005 - I did not mind my life being an open book then. For some reason, I do now.

So, if you would like access to my blog after January 1st - please leave me a comment. I will then contact you for your email if I do not already have it, and add it to my email-name list.

I am sorry to all of the blurkers! I hope that you understand.

I hope you all are doing great! Am I the only one having to work today?

:)

Dust Yourself Off and Try Again

2011-12-16T08:01:00.003-08:00

No sooner than I had published my last post we got a tidal wave of bad news.

1. Matt found out he cannot move with his work-from-home job. He has to stay local.

2. He has been on several interviews for better positions and did not get any of them.

3. We had to give up our little dream house we found because we could not commit to a moving date.

4. Did I mention our little dream house had water views?

5. Matt has to work on Christmas. Again. We will be all alone on Christmas, again. Family will be celebrating a four hour drive away.

6. I already put in notice at my work and cannot be guaranteed a job past January.

The silver lining from this week:

1. I went to the dentist yesterday and had no cavities and he said he could tell I floss everyday.

2. I found this picture of Matt on my memory card that I forgot I had:

3. I got a new phone and will be able to blog remotely from it now. My ancient flip-phone is now retired!

4. Today is Friday and I get to dance with my life partner at the company Christmas party tonight!

5. I won a Starbucks card at a gift exchange just went my coffee budget was running out. God provides!

So, there is the truth. Just keeping it real. I bought slipcovers for our new (used) furniture with the hope that we will get to use it in the coming year. We also decided to join a gym because since there is no room at Matt's folks living room to do a jumping jack, I will have to retire my beloved Shred DVD's for awhile. My treadmill is also not in a place where I can really use it either.

I could use a nice long run. Get some stress out and leave it on the pavement. As soon as it is above 30 degrees F out - we will hit the trails again.

Have a good weekend, all.

December

2011-12-11T19:24:00.003-08:00

Okay, 11 days into the year, I need to write something here...

We put up a tree this weekend. Okay, I put it up while Matt sat near me working (work from home assignment right now, woot!) and it is adorable. About a foot and a half tall! We are moving soon so this tree is all we will do this year.

Moving...yes...soon! We are waiting on one more green light before we pick from two houses (rentals) we found last weekend. This move is highly anticipated, somewhat planned, and a bit of desperation. We miss family and the west side of the state so much. Since Matt can work from home right now, we decided to go for it while he continues to interview for other opportunities at corporate in Seattle.

Speaking of, Matt endured six hours of interviews last Tuesday. I took the day off to be with him (and so we could go house hunting!). It was a fun weekend together, making our plans for the future. Great family time with my mom and dad, too!

I am exhausted tonight. Between Matt working yesterday and having to write a grad paper all day today, I have used the time to tackle a lengthy to-do list. I feel great about all that I accomplished but my arms feel like spaghetti!

This Friday is my company's annual holiday party. I am wearing a dress I bought in 2002 and I got new shoes today to go with it. I am pretty excited about it :)

We have a thick layer of frost on everything here right now. It is beautiful. Everything is quiet and still outside. It has been too cold to even go running, so I unearthed my treadmill this weekend. Literally - when my in-laws moved back home they brought back a lot of exotic fabric from around the world and that was what was covering it. It is now set up again and ready to go!

I made fudge today, following a recipe. It turned out chewy...not quite right. Oh well - we will enjoy making another batch! (Don't worry mom, we will pace ourselves).

I know it is the busiest time of year for most folks but I am really enjoying not having a whole lot on my plate. We had to step down from doing a lot of church service this year, scale back on running after the marathon, and attend less events thanks to being a one-car family. I am finally feeling "quiet" enough that this season feels more solemn and holy. It is hard to not see family and friends as much right now, but that is okay. I don't feel lonely.

Things are one day at at time until we get our green light. Until then...

Thanksgiving Weekend 2011

2011-11-28T15:55:00.003-08:00

It was so wonderful to get away to the beach this past weekend.
We were so excited to join my older sister and her husband and my folks for a little couples' retreat!
Matt was super prepared with rain gear. Camo is not pretty, but the coat was functional :)
I loved watching the ocean, and these little birds that would run along the crashing waves. How fun is it to run away from a crazy incoming wave?
Bonfire at night, with smores, on the beach. Bliss!

I hope you all had a great long weekend! Lots going on this week and many changes ahead. We are excited....

Funny Friday

2011-11-18T14:39:00.006-08:00

We just got the photos from the Marine Corps Marathon back - man, do Matt and I like to ham it up for the cameras! Me especially:
Really, I was not that tired...well... Just look at Matt, cracking up! So funny.
Somehow, they caught us smooching at mile 15...
And again, making my best face ever. My mom would say to me, "don't make faces like that when you are dating...". Welp, he married me anyway!
Best High Five Ever - from a Marine at the end of a 26.2 mile race!
Best Kiss Ever - at the end of a marathon! Well, we were stinky, but it was the thought that counted.
The two of us, marathon finishers, together. What a memory!

We got some good news this week that there is hope regarding Matt's job - he got an extension for his current assignment, and there were some other openings that he can pursue as well. We are praying and remaining grateful!

In the meantime, it is FRIDAY! Whoop whoop! ;)

Reality

2011-11-16T13:53:00.002-08:00

This is sort of funny, and sort of makes me cringe.

In a previous post I wrote about my excitement about us moving soon. Well, everything is on hold now.

Just after we returned from DC, we got word that Matt's position would be ending around Thanksgiving, and he would have to revert back to his old job. He was crushed. He did such a great job at what he did that they set a department record. The news was total shock to us, as I had just put in notice at my job and we had started looking for places to live across the state.

I have been unable to write about it because we just do not know what to do. Matt is doing an amazing job at keeping his head up - I am a little slower at that, but we do manage to still have a sense of humor about it all. We are praying about it all, and trusting that God has His reasons for all of this.

I am aching to have a place of our own, but in the meantime I will remain grateful for Matts' folks hospitality. I long to rid my life of a time-sucking commute, but in the meantime I will be grateful for public transportation.

Well, at least I work at a winery! :)

I hope to update my blog soon when we know more, and I have access. Until then!

2 Years!

2011-11-07T13:43:00.003-08:00

Two years ago today I married my best friend! We are a huge fan of marriage, and it has been awesome. It has been a crazy year, but we are so thankful to have each other. I love you Matt!

Ah I still need to write about our vacation...need to find my memory card... more soon! ;)

Vacation

2011-11-02T15:54:00.001-07:00

DSC_0845, a photo by ruhiyyihrose on Flickr.

Fancy hotel in Old Town
A jog along the Potomac
Coffees at little cafes
Seeing all my former co-workers
Happy Hour at an Irish pub
Crazy metro rides
Dinner at the Edison House
SNOW (yes, in October)
Expo for Marathon
Doing crossword puzzles
Church service at Ebenezers' coffeehouse by Union Station
Pizza at Uno's
Another fancy hotel
Chop'd Salads mmmmm
Marathon jitters and preparations
Running a marathon...
Getting cheered on by family
Having a stomach ache for 6 hours...
FINISHING the marathon (barely!)
Hot showers and no blisters
Eating Chipotle for dinner
Laughing thinking about all the costumes in the race
Good SLEEP
Crazy traffic
Mt Vernon Estate and sunny skies
Crazy taxi rides and more traffic
Lugging our luggage all over DC
Seeing old friends, meeting new ones
The Pentagon Memorial at night
Catching our flight home by 4 minutes...
Awesome.

Will write soon after I get some laundry done and recover a bit! ;)

The Home Stretch

2011-10-25T11:43:00.002-07:00

Back in February we signed up to run a marathon, not knowing that Matt's work schedule would change and that he would be in the toughest of grad classes at the same time. I am so proud of his hard work! Now, we are in the home stretch - almost to race day. And ironically, we've run a marathon this whole year. Well, actually, over 400 miles, but that is just road miles. Life mile markers are a whole category in itself.

Finding time to blog has not been easy, and then when I can write, I have a writers' block of sorts where I don't know where to start. My audience includes family, friends, and strangers - and I am just mostly writing to help me remember stuff. So all I have been writing about is the memories I want to remember. Not the yucky stuff. So, I am not apologizing for my lack of writing - that is just annoying - but really, saying that it has been a hard year.

I looked through my Flickr photos just so I could remember the fun times we have been blessed to have this year. The best thing about the year? Marriage. Matt is a dream husband and a treasure. More than I had ever hoped for, he continually amazes me.

The worst thing about this year? Not having time to be the friend or family member that I want to be. I hate to sound like a broken record, but being away from home 11 hours a day makes a lot of things have to go out the window. Like, a weekday social life, for example. Then, on most weekends this year, Matt had to work one day of them. Since August he has been blessed with a new position at work, but it has come with lots of overtime. We are grateful for the income, but it is hard on him. On us. Lots of work hours + marathon training + grad school = grueling year.

Matt's folks whom we have been house sitting for 2 years for returned home this summer - we love them to pieces - but there is just no room for us anymore. We are taking up space that they need, as we waited out if this job for Matt was the right one. Since it is work-from-home, he can move with it.

All this to say, we are moving back to Western Washington before the end of this year. Iamsoexcited.

But before that? VACATION. A much needed, year overdue long week away. Back to DC - where the Marine Corps Marathon awaits.

Remind me next time I plan a vacation to leave the marathon part out though, okay?

I will be back next week with a recap. In the meantime, cheer us on! ;)

Finally - A Post!

2011-10-16T22:17:00.004-07:00

Life is so crazy right now. I have thought about a bunch of potential blog posts in my head then never get to writing them. My only "down" time is at work, when all my projects are done and I am stuck there for a day. Once home it is a race against the clock to get to all my personal projects and tasks.

We are less than two weeks from freedom - the marathon will be over by then, and Matt's really tough class that he has right now will be completed. Yeah! He has worked so hard, I am so proud of him!

In spite of the crammed schedule, we were blessed to get in some much needed family time this past weekend. On the four hour drive over, Matt worked on a paper. On the drive back - same paper! Even now, he types.

We celebrated my older sisters' birthday on Saturday by going on a chocolate tour! It was really fun and a beautiful day in Seattle. Fall colors galore. Lots of laughs and lots of...you guessed it...chocolate ;)

We loved seeing our little nephew and sister-in-law. Love those curls!

Sunday was a big half-marathon race for us. "Big" in the sense that it was a run in which we really pushed ourselves, and for the cause - our soldiers! "Race for a Soldier" was a blast - and we got personal best times. It was cold, and I am getting over a bug, so I struggled a bit. But, we did it! Immediately afterward, we found our way to a nearby Panera and indulged in a broccoli cheddar soup bread bowl. YUM!

God blessed us with a beautiful evening ferry ride across the Puget Sound:

That is all I have time for now, just a little fun update. Happy Monday, all!

Friends

2011-09-25T22:00:00.003-07:00

Matt and I ran in a half marathon on Saturday morning as part of preparations for the Marine Corps Marathon next month. It was gorgeous out, an awesome course, and we were dead tired at the end which means we need to seriously step up our training...
So we had some good friends visit us on Sunday. I should say that Matt and I have not had one social event all month. Yes, that is correct. Between 11-12 hour work days, commutes, school, running, and trying to have time to also help out his folks we have no spare time whatsoever. So to have friends come and visit us was a real treat. It was a breath of fresh air to hang out with an engaged couple. I love love!
Drew and Stacey's story is similar to ours in that they courted long distance and have a miracle ring story. They are affectionate and affirming with each other and it was delightful to be around. Matt and Drew have known each other for over a decade. The storytelling was so funny!
I can hardly stand it when Matt's nose scrunches - it is one of my very favorite things about him, because he laughs so much. I am one blessed woman!
He stayed up late writing a paper on Sunday night. What a stud. I am really looking forward to when our schedule slows down, tho. I really miss spending time with other couples. We feel bad turning down invites and not taking initiative with inviting folks over. Well, then there is the other issue which is our living situation...more on that later.

Happy Monday, all!

A Quick Trip Home

2011-09-19T13:32:00.002-07:00

My middle brother was visiting from Colorado, so I jumped at the chance this past weekend to see him while he was here. Our family cat was in seventh heaven getting so much attention!
My youngest brother was also visiting, after a summer away in Hood River. Mom gave him a haircut.... :)
Mom spent most of her time in the kitchen, as usual...
I found dad checking on the progress of his growing bean stalks...
And my dear Matt was off on a camping trip with his brother. I came down sick so I pretty much just laid around most of Saturday and Sunday.
But the weekend was not a loss, per se. It was just really great to see everyone :)

I am home sick today and a bit bummed about it. When I am home I like to get stuff done. I am not so good at the laying around part!

Happy Monday, all!

Remembering

2011-09-12T09:44:00.005-07:00

Labor Day Weekend 2011

2011-09-06T10:22:00.005-07:00

When we found out that Matt would have Labor Day off, all of us - his folks and I - decided that a long weekend back at Wallowa Lake would be the perfect getaway. The only catch? Matt had a final due that weekend! The way we maneuvered it? Remote homework! Matt typed away the whole drive there on Friday. 3 hours and 15 minutes of solid work :)
We rented a cabin right on the river. The sound of the creek at night was delightful!

Saturday morning we put in our marathon training run - three hours of running at altitude. It was beautiful, but hard. Afterwards we cleaned up and headed into the nearby town of Joseph so Matt could take advantage of WiFi at our favorite coffee place there...Arrowhead Chocolates!

We spent about three hours here and it was delightful. Matt studied hard while I read and played on Facebook.
Saturday night we grilled steaks and relaxed on the deck. Matt studied away...
So on Sunday, Matt had until 11pm to get his report turned in, so I made the most of the day: relaxing! I am not good at this. I tend to figit a bit. Plus, I was nervous for Matt's assignment getting done on time.
However, I managed to just relax and be. It was awesome.
There were fish spawning in the river. So beautiful!

Sunday night Matt got his assignment turned in and we all breathed a sigh of relief. We were holding our breath as we were unsure if the spotty wireless signal out in the mountains would be able to send his large document into cyberspace. It worked, and we slept great.

Monday Matt's folks treated us to a day on the lake before we headed back home!
Matt was relaxed and happy to have a break from grad school. I loved being out on the water. It was about 80 degrees with a breeze. Perfect!
There are public docks in the middle of the lake we boated out to and had a picnic at.
It was so relaxing. What a great day!
*Sigh*. But then it was time to leave...
We got home at about 8pm as the sun was setting. The end to a perfect day...and long weekend!

Now back to the grind. So grateful for the memories we had and shared on the last long weekend for awhile. We are 7 weeks away from our trip to DC...woo!

Happy Monday/Tuesday, all. ;)

An Ellensburg Weekend

2011-08-22T09:19:00.009-07:00

Saturday morning after our long run (and nap!) we headed over to the town where we both went to college - Ellensburg, WA. The home of Central Washington University, where I spent four years (1997-2001) and Matt spent a few more. This place holds SO many memories for us! We went this weekend as we were invited to go to a little 80's themed birthday party.

We had fun!
All I had was a NKOTB shirt/skirt combo, but Matt was a bit more creative :) We had a fun time! We stayed overnight with our good friends there and first thing on Sunday morning we made a beeline for our favorite little restaurant in Ellensburg - The Yellow Church Cafe. It has the best breakfast in the world.
We were the first people there at opening time. See there we are, chomping at the bit for the open sign to go up.
And I got myself a latte! So good.
I am hungry just looking at this photo. We actually saved half of our meals to have for lunch later!
After we were all fueled up we walked the campus and took photos of CWU:
The theater.
The newly renovated Dean Hall - I took a biology class here...
Shaw Shyser - computer labs were here. (Do they even have those now?)
The science building - I took some Soc classes in there...
Ahhh the Ganges. Yucky irrigation water, but pretty view!
The L&L (Language and Literature Building).
Matt's old dorm! He was relieved to see that it was still standing. Barto Hall got torn down, as well as Muzzall. So strange!
It was a walk down memory lane. All morning we shared stories of college memories. We were only there at the same time 1998, so we have a few shared memories, but wow - what a rich time in our lives.

We visited the nearby Chestnut Street Baptist Church for services at 10:15am - and Matt's old bandmate, Jeremy, was preaching the sermon that day. So cool to see old friends!

After church we had a picnic of leftovers...
We forgot plasticware, but the chopsticks we found in the glove compartment worked great! ;)

Our next to last stop: D&M Coffee. A great place to study - so we did! Matt brought his laptop and tackled a paper that is due while I journaled and sipped a mocha..
So, there you go - our super fun awesome memory lane weekend.

Our next adventure will be another Wallowa Lake trip over Labor Day Weekend - SO looking forward to returning, and with Matt's folks with us! What are you doing for Labor Day weekend?

Finally - A Getaway: Wallowa Lake, OR

2011-08-08T13:25:00.003-07:00

Even though Matt had a paper due this weekend, we got a chance to sneak away for 36 hours of it. And it was so wonderful! I managed to snag a cabin for one night down at Wallowa Lake, Oregon. It is an adorable little town and a fun place to vacation!
We rode the Wallowa Lake Tramway all the way to the top of the mountain...
...and got in some great hikes!
We enjoyed a horseback ride through the forest...
It was Matt's first time on a horse. He did great!
I was pretty excited to be out in the wilderness. Fresh air, no sage brush for me to have allergies over, and "vista!" as mom would say.
I had a great time hiking with Matt and catching up with him on life.
And catching up on kisses for the camera, like we love to do...

It was a great weekend. We left Saturday morning and got back Sunday afternoon - and three hours of driving there and back through beautiful country made the trip commplete. I had the best coffee of my entire life at Arrowhead Chocolates in the town of Joseph. If you are ever passing through, you gotta stop there!

So now I am back at work and have the worst case of Monday's, ever. Boo.

Nevertheless, now that Matt has weekends off again, we can plan a getaway. Even if he is typing a paper the whole way there and back! ;)

Quick Update

2011-07-26T10:04:00.001-07:00

DSC_0523, a photo by ruhiyyihrose on Flickr.

While I have access - here is the update on all the changes that have come.

1. Matt's job - awesome! He loves it!! He jumped right in yesterday in spite of only one day off and has already impressed his supervisor enough that he asked Matt to come in extra hours this week. Cha - ching! That means Matt will have some more spending money to go bonkers at Cabella's this fall...

2. The new schedule: we ran 13 miles on Sunday, and for the three hours we were out we talked about how happy were were to have "normal" hours again! So we will easily be able to make time to keep up our workouts (we do a DVD workout every night - they only take 25 min and they still kick our butts!). Also, I am menu planning again!

3. Matt's folks are at the beach all this week and having a blast so far. Thanks for the prayers for Matt's dad! He is on the mend, for now. Possible gall bladder surgery in the future but we are grateful he is feeling better.

4. It is amazing to see the shift in Matt - working in a job that better utilizes his skills and experience is so awesome. He walks with more spring in his step, for sure. He is wonderful husband and makes me laugh all the time! So so grateful.

5. I am counting the months until Matt finishes school. Babies on the brain!

Have a great Tuesday, all!

July - Flying By!

2011-07-21T09:13:00.002-07:00

DSC_0524, a photo by ruhiyyihrose on Flickr.

I went to see how many photos I had taken in the month of July and there were two! Only two! And they were both from Matt's work BBQ at a nearby park. I remember it got too hot and I did not feel like taking any other photos...

Fourth of July we stayed home as it was the weekend following our family camping trip so that would explain that lack of photos. What have we been up to?

Matt started a new class - when he completes this one he will be halfway through his Masters Program. I can hardly wait for it to be over. I'm proud of his hard work though!

Saturdays Matt works so I use that day as house work catch up, yard care, and projects at home. We have lunch and dinner together at his work, so it is not so bad. There are times I get a little lonely. His folks are often gone traveling on the weekends. Matt gets a new work schedule on August 14th - I am praying for weekends with him again!

It has been really delightful having the in-laws home, and being all together. I was a little nervous at first, but it has been really fun. They are a hoot! Matt's dad has had some health issues this past month and a scare where I had to call 911 - that was NOT fun. He is going through some tests to find out why he keeps getting dehydrated and any and all food not agreeing with him :(

Matt and I are keeping up the running routine - the marathon is in 100 days! We did 13 miles last weekend - before church! It was an early morning, that is for sure...

So that is about it. We are enjoying life right now, hoping for some changes vocationally soon, and praying about when to move. For now, we feel like it is best to stay with his folks. Those student loans are dwindling thanks to that arrangement!

Have a great day, all!

***************************** U P D A T E *************************************

Matt just informed me that he got the job - same company, new position - he is thrilled and so am I. This was a job he has been trying to get for 5 months!

Thank you Lord!

Summer, Summer

2011-07-07T07:51:00.002-07:00

Hey all - I have very limited access to my blog right now thanks to not having access at work (and I leave the house at 6:30 in the morning and don't sit down again until I go to sleep at 10!) so, my apologies for a lack of updates.

The camping trip was memorable, as my three brothers were all together. My mom has the best photos of it. I put some on FB but I am not able to here now...

I think the hardest part was only having two overnights camping with them. There is just never enough time. Matt and I are saving our precious leave time for a trip to DC in October. It is hard. All the more motivation to get in to business for ourselves someday; we want to make our own schedule. Also, I find it really hard lately to be at a job that I have to deal with two hours of commuting daily to only deal with more downtime than I can handle.

It is starting to really warm up in the Tri-Cities; we now have to get up to run at 6am on Sundays (Matt's only day off with me)! 17 weeks to the marathon!

Matt and I make the most of our time together when we can get it. We are hopeful for an upcoming schedule change at his work.

In the meantime that is our summer. Work, sleep, run, and rest when we can. Not much else going on! Boring, I know. But, we sure do laugh a lot ;)

Camping Time!

2011-06-26T07:33:00.001-07:00

DSC_0368, a photo by ruhiyyihrose on Flickr.

We are leaving for a little camping getaway for a few days. Been planning it for awhile, super excited!

I will be back next week with some stories and photos...

And until then, have a great one, all!

Sunshine

2011-06-20T04:53:00.000-07:00

We got out for some hiking earlier this week - there are some gorgeous sunsets out here!
Shadow falling on us, anyway - we still got a photo of the two of us together :)
This is the waterfront close to our house.
We had some friends in town this weekend that were fun to catch up with - Michelle was a roommate of mine in college, ten years ago. Amazing how time flies!
They have two adorable kiddos. She gave lots of good advice to us when we become parents someday. I know we will never really truly be ready, but I do like to prepare...

Happy Monday, all!

Friday Fun

2011-06-17T14:00:00.003-07:00

"TGIF" was all I could think about when the alarm went off this morning. I do live for weekends! We did have a great week though - I often measure it in amount of time spent laughing. At one point during dinner on Tuesday, I was laughing so hard that I had to spit my food out so I could breathe.

So great!

Matt is working on a final in between his ten hour shifts. I am working up the courage to tackle my yard.

On the calendar we eagerly await an upcoming family camping trip and the long Fourth of July holiday weekend. I will get two full days with Matt then, for which I am overjoyed. And he will get a little break from school! Woo!

Matt's folks are back in the USA and it brings a whole new level of fun into our home. Matt's dad is a hoot and has lots of funny stories. Matt's mom works ten hour shifts too, so she is loving the packed lunches that I make! We are uncertain how long the living situation will last, for we are hoping that Matt gets another promotion soon (that would enable us to move). For now, I am loving making huge student loan payments. I have no shame in mooching off the extra space his folks have! Plus, we enjoy each others' company. And, I enjoy their Costco purchases :)

Summer is looking spectacular. I have a super sweet fun husband, wonderful in-laws, a town in Washington state that gets more sunshine than rain, and some fun planned. There are never enough vacation days though, I have to say.

So that is the update for now - just same 'ole same 'ole. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Long Overdue Post

2011-06-09T12:00:00.003-07:00

I have not had the best access to internet, or time to blog lately - my apologies! So here is a little catch up. This past weekend Matt and I celebrated three years of dating with a little whirlwind trip to Seattle. We stayed at the gorgeous Vintage Park Hotel (A Kimpton - very nice!) that was walking distance to Qwest Field where we would be catching the U2 show later that night!
We are like giddy kids when it comes to these kind of experiences :)
We sat in the nosebleeds but hey, our tickets were only $30! Woot.
We love a good concert and this was hands down one of the best we have ever attended. The weather was perfect, crowd lively, and music awesome.
There were 23 songs played and we sang along to almost all of them.
The set was over the top. Even Bono admitted that it was a "bit ambitious" but had never been done before. No matter where you sat, you had a good view!
We stayed up until 1am, just like we were college kids again. Walking back from the show, we talked about how much fun it was to have a getaway like this.
Sunday morning we caught the ferry from Seattle across the water to Bremerton. It is an hour long ferry ride, and has a stunning view! We got coffees from the on boat cafe, and strolled the deck.
While "on the Peninsula" as we like to call that side of the water, we visited some friends and family and then headed on the long drive home. It was a wonderful weekend!
I definitely have some more blogging material if I can pull it together soon. In the meantime, the weekend is almost here! WOOOOO!

Friday Random

2011-05-27T11:21:00.002-07:00

It is no surprise that Matt and I live for the weekends. Well, at least Sundays....he works on Saturdays now but still, we get to wake up together and not me sneaking out at 6:30am. There is not much to blog about during the week - it is just wake up, workout, work, catch Matt on his dinner break, and a quiet evening alone at home doing projects and chores. It is really sadly just a lonely time. I am alone at work all day in my office and come home to an empty house. Again, not blog worthy. To top that off, most blogs are blocked from viewing at my work. Boo :(

We are really praying for a schedule change that allows us to be together again.
June is almost here! We are excited - there will be lots of changes coming. Hopefully life will gain some excitement again with Matt's folks back from overseas and marathon training season beginning.

Today I was thinking of simple pleasures as I was enjoying a Starbucks, a rare treat. I hope to always be grateful for the little things!

And right now I am grateful that my workday is nearly half over and I am that much closer to my dinner date with a cute bald guy...

Happy Friday, all!

Fail

2011-05-22T15:43:00.002-07:00

I can think of a hundred million other ways to spend $100 million dollars. Like, aiding the orphan crisis, for starters...

ANYHOO. We had quite a week and are loving our weekend so far! Are any of you going camping for Memorial Day Weekend? Hitting up some sales at the mall? Staycation? Do tell...

We are counting the days until some summer fun we have planned...

In the meantime...enjoy your Sunday!

Reflections on Change

2011-05-18T09:49:00.002-07:00

As much as I am thrilled that Matt is in a new department at work, that changes comes with a new shift: Wednesdays through Saturdays, 9am to 8:30pm. EEK!

I am so grateful to have at least Sundays with him. AND now we can join on the family camping trip in late June since he can squeeze some weekdays into it. We talked last night about how I can catch him on his "lunch hour" as it is when I am heading home from the vanpool, and then, I can drive the 8 minutes to his work and bring our dinner so we can eat together on his 6:30pm break (15 min. All of these logistics to consider. Nevertheless, he is going to keep on trying to get one of the more professional postions there, so as to get a "normal" schedule. We've encountered a few road blocks in this process, which is frustrating. Still, we remain hopeful that our schedules will soon blend together better.

This DOES mean that we get a real deal Memorial Day weekend together! If we were not already doing a Seattle weekend in June, we would go spend time with family. If we could afford the $500 tickets we would go to Disneyland. Now, I am thinking we may want to spend the weekend getting the house ready for his folks' arrival in June...

Changes...changes...

I am a fan of change. Mixing up a workout routine produces amazing results, so why not in our own lives? I love changing seasons and trying new things. Getting married was a huge change, but a much welcomed one. Oh and recently Matt and I started another new workout routine where we do a workout DVD every morning and then he runs right after and I run in the evenings when I get home. So far, so fun! We are striving for true fitness - feeling good. It is hard though - darn 5:30am alarms...

I am so ready for summer sun - what changes are you looking forward to?

Little of This and That

2011-05-16T09:16:00.003-07:00

Ah vacation was just what the doctor ordered. A short and sweet visit with family, but still very filling.
It was so great seeing my dear aunt and uncle from Montana! They gave us lots of hiking lessons growing up, which is what contributed to us becoming lovers of the outdoors - so it was fitting to brave the rain and enjoy a hike while they were here.
Can you see the twins in the front of the pack? :)
This was a great trail - off of White Pass. Beautiful!
We had a full week following the trip home, which ended with getting some good news - Matt got a better job within his company, and so we had to celebrate with some bubbly and pizza!
We are really enjoying this season. We exercise every morning together, write emails through out the day, and are both working on some challenging projects together. Matt's is grad school, and mine is a writing project. We cheer each other on!
This past weekend I attended a Women's Tea at my church - it was fun to get dressed up and hear from a great speaker! Very encouraging.

We are eagerly looking forward to summer. We will celebrate our three year (!) dating anniversary the first weekend in June with a little getaway to Seattle and see a show. We hope for some hiking and good runs this summer too. We are going to Washington, DC in October to run the Marine Corps Marathon, so we have to save our precious leave time for that 5-day trip. It will be so worth it!

Matt's folks return from overseas next month too, so there is a lot going on in the house. I love to organize, but there are some challenges...

Anyhoo - just an update! I hope to visit blogs today!

Happy Monday all,
Roo

On Vacation!

2011-05-10T12:37:00.002-07:00

Today is my 32nd birthday! I still feel like a kid...geesh!

Us two goofballs took a few days off - I will be back with a full update soon!

:)

Shootin'

2011-05-02T10:15:00.003-07:00

Matt and I ventured out for a five-miler on Saturday morning, and then grabbed some coffees to go, which we enjoyed on our deck. We talked on the phone with Matt's folks, whom are due to return to the states next month!
The coffee was also a little fuel to help Matt tackle a grad paper...a final!
Did I mention the weather was nice? Ahhhhhh....
When Matt finished the final paper, we went out to celebrate: to a local shooting area.
I got several bulls eye's :)
Matt was pretty ecstatic to be done with this class, and to get to go shootin' with me.
It was hard to hold steady here because my arms were killing me from doing 2+ hours of weeding on Saturday!

I hope you all have a great week!

Friday Reflections

2011-04-29T15:35:00.002-07:00

I love this photo:
I was not one of those die-hard fans that got up to watch the royal wedding live - but I did catch it on YouTube, at a normal hour. With all the crazy stuff going on in the world today, it was a blessing to watch - a joyous celebration of something beautiful and good. And, the sermon by the Rev Chartres had some parts that really moved me. Here is most of the transcript of that sermon that he gave:

“Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire.” So said St Catherine of Sienna whose festival day is today.

Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be: their deepest and truest selves.

Many people are fearful of the prospects for our world but the message of the celebrations in this country and far beyond its shores is the right one. This is a joyful day. It is good that people in every continent are able to share in these celebrations. Because this is as every wedding day should be: a day of hope.

In a sense, everyday wedding is a royal wedding, with the bride and groom as king and queen of creation making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future.

William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that He gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ. And in the spirit of this generous God, husband and wife are to give themselves to each other. Spiritual life grows as love finds it center beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this: the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul. The more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed.

In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life. It is of course very hard to wean ourselves away from self-centeredness. And people can dream of doing such a thing, but if the hope should be fulfilled, it is necessary that a solemn decision is made that whatever the difficulties, we are committed to the way of generous love. You have both made your decision today, “I Will” and by making this new relationship, you have aligned yourselves with what we believe is the way in which life is spiritually evolving and which will lead to a creative future for the human race. We stand looking forward to a century which is full of promise and full of peril. Human beings are confronting the question of how to use wisely the power that has been given to us through the discoveries of the last century. We shall not be converted to the promise of the future by more knowledge, but rather by an increase of loving wisdom and reverence for life, the earth, and one another. Marriage should transform, as husband and wife made one another their work of art. It is possible to transform so long as we don’t harbor ambitions to reform our partners. There must be no coercion if the spirit is the flow, each must give the other space and freedom.

As the reality of God has faded from so many lives in the west; there has been a corresponding inflation in the expectations that person relations alone will supply meaning and happiness in life. This is to load our partner with too great a burden – we are all incomplete. We all need the love which is secure rather than oppressive; we need mutual forgiveness in order to thrive. But as we move towards our partner in love, following the example in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light. This leads on to a family life, which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can receive and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the spirit whose fruits are love and joy and peace.

I pray that all of us present and the many millions watching this ceremony and sharing in your joy today will do everything in our power to support and uphold you in your new life. And I pray that God will bless you in the way of life that you have chosen. That way which is expressed in the prayer that you have composed together in preparation for this day:

“God our father, we thank you for our families, for the love that we share, and for the joy of our marriage. In the business of each day, keep our eyes fixed on what is real and important in life, and help us to be generous with our time and love and energy. Strengthened by our union, help us to serve and comfort those who suffer. We ask this in the spirit of Jesus Christ” Amen.

It was so great to hear those reminders, and to watch a young couple in love get married. I am a huge fan of marriage, as long as it is to the right person. I married the best man; I am really so very blessed!

So today's Friday Reflection is on marriage, and how it rocks. ;)
Have a great weekend, everyone!

A Quiet Easter Weekend

2011-04-24T19:44:00.003-07:00

The dishes are done, mostly. We feasted for breakfast - natural ham, homemade from scratch corn muffins, eggs - better to have it earlier in the day than later. We read the resurrection story from the book of John in the Bible, as we sipped coffee. Amazing. I was kicking myself for not remembering to bring my camera to church today - the kids choir was so adorable. Matt and I stole little glances at each other as they sang.
As Matt typed away on a grad paper this afternoon, I tidied up the house, as I love to do. We spent most of Friday night and Saturday relaxing as both of us were not feeling too well. So it was nice to take a moment and catch the evening sky outside.
...and check on Matt and make sure he was still working on that paper...

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend! Back to the grind tomorrow...

Weekend Fun, Part 2

2011-04-19T10:04:00.003-07:00

Saturday after we visited our nephew and extended family, we headed over to Matt's brothers house to play with our niece and join them for dinner. She is growing so fast!
How cool is that stuffed horse?

We had a great dinner with them and stayed overnight. Slept so good - really needed it! From there we drove up north past Seattle to Snohomish where a mini college reunion was to be taking place. It was at the home of my old college roommate, Krissi, and her husband Ryan and their little boy.
There was a new little guy there, my dear friend Mandy just had less than two months ago.
Kathryn and I met in college at our church young adult group. We went on a road trip together in 2001 after graduation, and drove all way to New York City! What a memory. Well, she is still an east coaster, and was here for a visit. Good reason for a little party!
It was really great to see some family and friends - it really filled our tank. The long four hour drive home was a reminder that we feel a little out of place where we are now. *Sigh*

Happy Tuesday, all!

There He Is!

2011-04-18T12:50:00.002-07:00

My apologies for misleading any readers that thought we were expecting. Nope - just entertaining a two year old - and when I saw the picture (post below) that our niece Daisy took of us - I laughed so hard! Just thought it needed a funny caption :) Here is our precious nephew in his Mama's arms. Playing peek-a-boo again, "where did Daniel go? There he is!" Anne was a super wonderful host and though our visit was brief, it really filled our tanks up! What a goofball! I love his just-woke-up-from-my-afternoon-nap look. SO adorable! SO this was part one of our trip - part two is coming soon. I hope you all had a great weekend!

Needs Caption

2011-04-18T09:38:00.002-07:00

Can anyone guess what we were doing here? :)

Then the Lawnmower Started Smoking

2011-04-15T06:31:00.004-07:00

I suppose I let the grass grow a leetle too tall.... Hymph. Oh well...so it looks like the backyard got a bad haircut. Now I just need to figure out how to change the oil in a lawnmower...

We are off to visit family and friends this weekend! I am taking my fancy camera and hope to wear out the batteries. SO excited.
And, SO proud of my sweet husband. This guy got up every morning this week and worked out for 45 minutes, then worked on school stuff - knocking out a paper that was due. Now his weekend is free and clear! He is NOT a morning person, so when we got up to exercise, it was comical - we were half asleep trying to stay balanced on an exercise ball! So funny. I am a total klutz!

FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY! I live for the weekends!

Whatcha doin' this weekend?

Finally, Photos!

2011-04-12T08:41:00.003-07:00

FINALLY! I am putting up a long overdue blog post. I am excited to finally have some photos to share, too. I finally have my camera back...but no access to photo editing software, so straight - out - of - camera shots will have to do for today. Nevertheless, we are alive and very well! This past weekend we went to a birthday party and I had so much fun playing with a dear friends little girl! There are a lot of babies at our church right now...so much fun! I was excited to get out of the house on Sunday after a day of housework... Matt was excited to see some of his bro's. Now switching gears: the trash that has accumulated in our backyard. Thanks to the wind gusts we get here, there is always a nice resting place for all the trash in our neighborhood in our yard. I had hoped to tackle yard work on Sunday but it was still too windy... I found tulips growing in our yard! Wahoo! Flowers! Another random photo: my favorite pair of running sock. ALL WORN OUT! This represents about a thousand miles of runs. I had to take a photo before I threw them out....I ran both my marathons in those gems. Here is Matt hard at work on a paper this past weekend... And here I am, getting our files organized. Yes we keep them in an ottoman, because it is cuter than a filing cabinet. I remembered to take a (not so great) photo of dinner Friday night. The highlight are those cokes - real sugar ones that we allow ourselves to enjoy once a week. And this was when I got my camera back and wanted to see if it indeed worked....turned out a dirty sensor was the issue. All better now :) I just had to throw this picture in - Matt checked my oil before I headed out for a business trip last week. He is so cute to do things like that for me! We are in a nice season right now. We are both working hard, Matt is enjoying his grad studies and trying to move up the ranks at work. We are working out together four weekdays doing cross training and a long run on the weekend. We love being "back" in the running routine. The sunshine came out last weekend leaving me nice and pink! The festivities of the summer are fast approaching and we cannot wait. CAMPING = soon! I hope to visit some blogs today if my internet at work lets me - it is hit or miss... Have a great Tuesday, all!

Friday Happenings

2011-04-01T15:16:00.003-07:00

Wouldn't this be a great April Fools? Do the "Blue Screen of Death" to a co-worker or friend? Hee hee I would never do such a thing. But Matt thought it was funny to post on Facebook this morning that we were "expanding our house by 2 feet" and caused an uproar. Mom asked, "Oh are you remodeling the garage?" LOL. No garage modeling quite yet, mom - and no babies either...(sorry everyone) ;)

I've been spotty on my blogging. Some days my work computer does not allow me access, that is most of my excuse. The other part is that we live for the weekends. Seriously this week our schedule was: coffee, work, exercise, eat dinner together, clean up, pack lunches, and relax before bed. We eagerly await the weekends: uninterrupted time together.

One HUGE praise this week is that Matt was assigned to a brainstorming/problem solving group at work, so he was not doing any customer service and just had a blast - and worked 9-6 instead of 11-8! WOO! We are still waiting to hear about the other position he applied for and are hopeful. I got my camera back so I am SO excited to take it out this weekend! It has a freshly cleaned sensor and the shutter was repaired so will be so fun to get out into the spring weather. I have a business trip Monday and Tuesday of next week so I am looking forward to seeing some dear friends and family while on the west side.

Other weekend plans? Organize the garage and attack an insane laundry pile. Matt and I exercised every day this week: lots of grubby workout clothes, ew! But, we are enjoying the results. We slept great and feel amazing. I am also eyeing more creative projects. I saw this candle decoration idea on a blog last week: I love it! Incorporating coffee into decor? Yes please!

I read all your blogs on Google Reader in the mornings and I hope to get better about commenting in the evenings next week when Matt goes back to working until 8pm. :)

Until then, have a great weekend, everyone!

He Was Right

2011-03-25T08:33:00.002-07:00

A funny experience yesterday.

So, everyday we get a delivery of the Wall Street Journal. When Matt goes to pick it up, he first stomps the hell out of it - truly a funny sight to see. I once asked him, "Matt, why do you stomp on the paper before you pick it up and open it?" and he replied, "to kill the spider that may have crawled inside of it."

I always laughed at him and thought it was adorable, but not necessary.

Until I went to grab the paper off of the porch yesterday and was greeted by a spider on the front page, holding on for dear life.

So now I am stomping on the newspaper too. And, admitting: "Matt, you were right!"

Anyhoo.

Happy Friday everyone - as you probably can tell, Matt and I live for the weekends because that is when we can actually get some quality time together. We are both feeling well enough to try a go at a run, so I am excited. And, I got me some new running shoes! WOO!

I hope that we get to have some spring like weather this weekend, too. What are your plans?

Sickies

2011-03-21T09:13:00.002-07:00

Matt and I have been down and out with colds. NOT fun, at all. It is hard to be home all weekend and have no energy to tackle any projects and housework. I love to do both, and instead I just stared at my to-do list...longingly wishing...

Matt came down sick first - in the second week of March. He barely scraped by at work and with leave time, but survived it. He still has the sniffles and coughs. Then, I came down Wednesday with his dreaded cold. I had it coming - I have the horrible habit of drinking out of his cups. Coffee, tea, juice, whatever - I sip out of it all the time! So bad. So, I deserved it.

What do Matt and Roo do when we are both sick together? We watch movies in bed, sleep, tell jokes to see who can make snot fly further and faster. You know, the usual. SO this weekend we watched "The Prince of Persia" (dude movie) and "Robin Hood" (mostly dude movie but I like it too - it is by Ridley Scott, so you know it will be better than average).

We went through two boxes of Puffs Plus, 1 bag of Halls, one box of EmergenC, Dayquil and Nyquil, and lots of fluids. So far, we are on the mend.

So there you go. Our exciting weekend. We are SO ready to get better and get back to our regularly scheduled programming: weekend runs, naps, good meals and projects!

Happy Monday all - and, happy SPRING! Woot.

Learning From Japan

2011-03-15T15:59:00.004-07:00

Something has caught my eye as I have read articles on the earthquake and tsunami that took place this past Friday in Japan. Though they have suffered unimaginable loss and have had little to no food, water, or heat since then, they have remained calm.

..."polite demeanor"

..."lack of anger"

..."no looting or profiteering"

..."neighbors working together, helping make chopsticks out of bamboo and boil snow together"

What amazing dignity, class, and respect they have. I read a report of stranded train passengers, stuck overnight on a train. Can you imagine if that had taken place in the US? The train personnel would have been harassed. Store owners here? The price of water would go from $1 to $10 immediately.

One news clip really got me - it was a company owner looking for his 50 employees. He has found about half of them, and was desperately searching for the missing. He ran into one of them along the road and they embraced and cried. Do companies like that even exist here? If a tsunami happened today and swept me away, not one of my co-workers would come looking for me.

I saw a video awhile back on when a water main broke in Boston, and how total chaos and fighting broke out at a local store as people tried to get what water was left. It was embarrassing. We are so selfish.

I have taken many mental notes as I have watched this story unfold. Staying calm and cool protects your health - and has an effect on all around you. Pitching in, helping where you can (if you can) and thinking of others' needs as well as your own goes so far.

I just had to write about that today, for me. To remind my future self not to freak out when my world crumbles.

Praying for you, Japan. Thank you for your example!

Hope Chest Project - Completed!

2011-03-14T07:56:00.002-07:00

It took me months to decide whether to stain it or paint my Craigslist hope chest find. Ok, well the weather helped as I was also waiting for a decent day to do this out in our garage :)

The before picture:
...and after!
Weird picture but a better view:
What is inside? 15 years of journals. And I recently added photos and other memorabilia from other life adventures from when I lived in Hawaii, China, and travels to Africa and such.
Matt was dog sick all weekend so it was fun to go through my items in storage and condense it down to what could fit in there.

Now, Matt just needs to look where he is going in the middle of the night when he needs to use the restroom! I really do love the outcome of this project. I followed step-by-step instructions that I found on Young House Love for painting furniture: two coats of primer, two coats of paint, and a coat of polycrylic protective finish. It was a fun experience to take something not too pretty and turn it into a beautiful, functional piece of furniture.

Matt finally make a turn on Sunday morning after being sick since Tuesday. I am so relieved to "have him back" again.

Now I need a new project!

I hope you all have a great day and lets all keep on praying for the heartache that Japan is experiencing. It is so unreal.

Whew!

2011-03-06T20:15:00.004-08:00

I finally got some photos off of Matt's camera :)
This is from last Monday night when we celebrated his birthday.
I made a chocolate cake with cherries on top. A mini carton of ice cream and we were good to go!

The week was pretty tough. It was our first full week of Matt working 11-8 and I was so lonely! Still it was the same routine: work, exercise, make dinner, eat alone, clean up, pack lunches, then rejoice when Matt got home :).

I miss exercising together. Still managed to do it though. It helps to beat the blues and I sleep much better. By Friday I was so shot - it was a long, stressful week at work where everything just seemed to go wrong.

Saturday was gorgeous and though Matt had a massive final paper due, he went with me to the park so we could run a 5 miler along the river. It felt good to run outside! Then he started writing and worked straight until 11pm, poor guy.

So, since he was typing all day, I found some projects to stay busy with:
I decided to switch out the office and the guest room. The office is not used enough and was huge. So, now our guests will have more space!
New office...still in the works...
The living room was a wreck, but only momentarily!
Ahhh new guest room. With a fake wall - behind that curtain are hundreds of Matt's moms' dolls on display, and they freak me out. So they are safe behind the drapery :)
Matt typing away! He still is...almost done. Then we will relax!

Another project from this weekend? Don't hate me but....
I put on the first layer of paint onto the hope chest that I bought last fall. It took me THAT long to decide!
I will take a photo of the final result - all the coats of paint and protectant = lots of waiting...good thing I had other things to keep me busy.

I am exhausted...and now the weekend is over :(

I hope to get onto some blogs Monday - in the the meantime, have a good one!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

2011-02-28T10:26:00.002-08:00

Dear Matthew,

Life sure got a lot more fun and wonderful once you were in it. You are my perfect match and I could not ask for a more awesome husband. There is so much to celebrate today, because we are celebrating YOU! You are a loving son, brother, uncle, grandson, nephew and husband. Everyone loves you so much!

You make me laugh until there are tears and I love all of our inside jokes and phrases. I love how sometimes you fall asleep with your chin on my head and then start to snore a little. You have the ability to crack me up with just a look you make. I love how much you love your family. I love seeing how you gush over your niece and nephew. You are so hard working and I know that all of your efforts will be worthwhile. You have an amazing heart, love the Lord, and strive to be a better man everyday.

Thank you for waiting for me, love. You are a treasure, and I am one blessed lady! I am excited for all the adventures that are to come, because I will get to be with you!

Happy Birthday, sweet cheeks.

Love Forever,
Ruhiyyih

Running News

2011-02-25T10:57:00.003-08:00

Matt and I, miraculously, got one of the 30,000 coveted Marine Corps Marathon spots for this October! It is one of the items on my life list to run this race. Strange that I never ran it while I was living in the DC area, but it was because it always interfered with a work event. So finally! We are committed to training and running this 26.2 mile race - October 30, 2011. It sold out in 28 hours. Amazing!

Now we can only pray that fuel prices are not insane by October...

Moving on to other news: Matt was moved all over the place this week at work. He got into a different department for awhile, but when we realized in horror that it meant working weekends, he went back to his old position. SO he is still going to be 11-8, M-F, but we will make it work. He applied for a new position there, with normal hours, so please pray for him!

We are excited to have a full weekend together. He has a paper to tackle, but I will be so happy for his proximity. It is a crazy season in our life with the long work hours, school, and making time to run - but we know that even more crazy times are ahead of us. So, we are humoring it.

Monday is Matt's BIRTHDAY so I am going to make a cherry cake on Sunday!

Have a great weekend, all!

An Awesome Weekend

2011-02-21T13:45:00.003-08:00

Ahhhh. Our weekend was so wonderful. The drive over was gorgeous, and we got lots of family time and rest.
It went by way too fast! Matt and I had a great time hiking with his brother and our niece on Saturday. The hike is near a Cabela's store - oh my word. That place is amazing! I forgot to take photos of that part, but this hike I did remember :)
We went out to the Nisqually River Wildlife Refuge and took in some trails.
Maddie was a trooper and loved all the birds!
We had sunshine! It was COLD but SUNNY! I will take that...
Matt and I loved playing with our niece on Sunday morning and our precious nephew Daniel in the afternoon!
We think he likes the play broom that we got for him :)

The trip over really "filled our tanks". We are going to have a full week - Matt starts a new training program and schedule today, so right now he is 11-8. It is hard as we adjust our schedule to make time for each other, but we are doing what we can with what we have. Praise God that we are able to borrow Matt's parents Jeep until our Subaru is fixed as our schedules are opposites!

I hope you all had a great weekend and a wonderful week ahead.

Vacation!

2011-02-18T08:39:00.003-08:00

It was a rough week! Super busy at work and lots of stress. Valentine's Day bombed thanks to car issues. The highlight (and only photo I took this week) was our heart-shaped pizza we got.

However, I have a FOUR day weekend. I took off today so Matt and I could take a long weekend together to see our family on the other side of the state. So, we leave today and will return on Sunday night. We have not been there since the beginning of November!

Have a great long weekend, everyone!

A Hike and 1000th Post

2011-02-13T11:06:00.002-08:00

I'd really hoped to come up with a brilliant idea for my 1000th blog post, like a fancy giveaway or something. I'm sort of in a rut though, not just writer's block but bummed out about Matt's new work schedule. We have to figure out how to balance things when the new one starts at the end of February - him 11-8pm, M-F, and mine (7am to 5pm). Nevertheless we made our one weekend day together special yesterday.
We decided on a whim to go on a popular local hike, Badger Mountain. Matt carried a heavy backpack just to help build his endurance!
Lots of great talks, laughs, and kisses, as usual :)

It was windy and cold on top, so Matt got me out a fleece to wear...also camo...how lovely...
So today is not as romantic as Matt has to work, so I am a bit lonely. We have such packed weekdays that I truly live for the weekends. I don't know what we are going to do when the new schedule starts in two weeks. We only have one working car, too. That is another dilemma. *Sigh*

Tomorrow is Valentine's and we are going to eat a heart shaped pizza and watch a movie! I don't need anything fancy, I already have the best gift ever in my sweet husband. This morning we read my old journal entry from our first Valentines together two years ago. Oh did we laugh and reminisce...

I hope you all have a great rest of your weekend and special Valentine's Days!

999th Post!

2011-02-07T09:20:00.004-08:00

I can't believe I've even had 999 things to write about! So for this post I will write about how fun it was to dance with Matt on Saturday night - man that guy can dance! We had a blast at his company party. Great food, awesome songs, dessert, and fun conversations with his co-workers.

I started this blog in September of 2005 as a way to stay connected with my mom through out my travels and life on the east coast. Then she went and joined Facebook and gets to see my photos long before I get them on here. So, this blog turned into a way to stay connected with the online friends that I have met along the way and with some dear friends that I have met on the journey of life.

I hope to compose an awesome post for my 1000th - a reflection and something fun. My thoughts are that this blog will probably turn private once we have kiddos, but in the meantime maybe I've made a few strangers laugh a bit. ;)

Today is also 15 months of marriage! We celebrate on the 7th of every month :)

Happy Monday, all!

This Week....

2011-02-04T13:27:00.002-08:00

This week I ate a lot. The new routine with a morning workout at home and then the evening workout at the gym has me so hungry all day that I look like this:
This week I started some new projects at work and it left my head spinning a bit.

This week we babysat for a dear friend and seeing Matt with an 8 month old made me want to start a family tomorrow...and get one of these for my Star Wars fan of a husband:
But seriously we gotta wait awhile. At least until his grad school is over because there are classes that take up every ounce of time and energy...

This week I did our taxes. All the money we paid in student loan interest this year helped us where kids could have. Glad we don't owe!

This week we laughed, a lot, as usual. We are humoring the curveballs of life and celebrating all that is to be, and just excited for what God has in store for us.

Tomorrow night we are attending Matt's work party as they do their big annual party after the busy holiday season. We are getting all dressed up and I am so excited to DANCE!

Have a great weekend, all!

Tobymac Show

2011-01-31T04:58:00.002-08:00

Matt looks so excited in this photo! He was too - one of his favorite Christian hip-hop artists is Tobymac, who was playing at the local arena Sunday night. My former housemate, Kyla, hooked us up with some free promo tickets and we jumped at the opportunity!
Really great seats! (Nice shoes, Toby).
We totally jumped around like 10 year olds. So fun! I forgot ear plugs too...
Thanks so much Kyla!
We also ran into some good friends from college days. It was such a blessing to see them again, a decade later. What a blast!

I would say that the weekend was a raging success. We survived a Costco run on Friday night and turned it into a date night, thanks to their cafe area. Saturday was super lazy and fun evening with friends. Sunday was very productive while Matt was at work and then we topped our evening off with that show. And now it is the last day of January - where did this month go?

Happy Monday, all!

True Love

2011-01-27T08:57:00.001-08:00

Matt and I don't have tv programming, but if we did I would totally watch American Idol this season - to follow this guy.

What an amazing story. I was teary at work at 8am!

Talk about commitment. And love - wow. So amazing.

Happy Thursday, all.

Reflections on the New Routine

2011-01-25T10:01:00.002-08:00

So far so good, folks!

We've been down to one car for awhile now, and I secretly love it. Matt driving me to and from the vanpool everyday? Awesome! Having to wait until he gets off work for an hour M-thurs? Not so fun - but we came up with a plan.

Matt and I have faithfully started each weekday with a workout. It is a miracle - he is not a morning person at all, but is really motivated by the results and by how it makes him feel all day. It is great to have the extra time together, too!

One thing that has really helped is going to bed earlier. We are getting nearly 8 hours of sleep a night, so that helps when the alarm sounds at 5:25am! We do a 25 minute workout, then I shower and get ready and we have coffee together. Man does it taste so good then. Matt then takes me to the van pool at 6:40, and when then he has until 8:45 to have his own morning (which sometimes involves going back to bed! :)

I pre-make the days dinner the night before - and that really helps! Since Matt has to work until 6 and I am back at the van pool at 5:15, I got a short term pass to a gym across the street to kill time. I just do the elliptical or bike to pass the time. So if we do not get home until 6:30 - having dinner ready is huge as we are famished. The slow cooker is a godsend, too!

When daylight returns in the evenings, I will pass that time with an evening run. I can easily stow my stuff in the vanpool van and not worry about it. I am eager to make the one car thing work, as it saves us so much money. Plus, I really like the time together, and if I am ever inconvenienced we find a way to make it work out. Matt still has Fridays off, so we only need to juggle M-Thurs for now.

Please keep praying for Matt's vocational hopes - he has interviewed for a different position at his current job, as well as applied for one at my work. We are so hoping, big time on this, that we can work together. It would be a total dream.

Good news: my camera is getting FIXED and the sensor CLEANED. I can't wait to have it back!! Then my blog will be colorful again...

Have a great Tuesday, all!

Work Reflections

2011-01-19T13:06:00.003-08:00

I am coming up on my 1000th post on this here blog, that is amazing. I will have to think of a creative and fun way to celebrate!

So a couple things I am reflecting on today.

First: Matt has an interview tomorrow for a different position at his company that is a step up. Would you mind saying a little prayer for him? Coincidingly, he just applied for a job at my company. We are not sure if there are any HR policies in place about married couples working in the same department as the case would be, but we'd love prayer for this application too. It would be a dream come true to get to commute together and see each other at lunchtimes and not just the early morning and evenings. Both of us had this on our minds last night and could not sleep! Matt is such an amazing man, he would be an asset to any company. We want to make good decisions vocationally, and this feels big. Also another huge perk would be having the same days off. Only having Saturdays has been really hard, but we are making the most of it. At least on Sundays I can have all meals with him.

Secondly, I realize I keep on changing my mind on what I want to be when I "grow up". We have so much opportunity today to have several vocations, and I have really grown to love working with data/numbers/spreadsheets as nerdy as it sounds. That is what I do at my current job and my last position in DC. I'd love to help others with personal finances someday. We are about to knock off another debt this week and I would love to help others experience the liberating feeling of it! Then again I loved the movie "The Business of Being Born" and thought I'd make a great doula. Or, a personal trainer - like, the kind that goes to peoples homes and helps them stick to exercise routines and experience endorphins! Ok, so financial guru, then a doula, then a trainer, then maybe a nurse? Oh, and I'd love to help people organize their homes. What is that called? A Professional Organizer?

I just googled it. There is an actual association for that industry! WOW.

Ah I am way to indecisive. How annoying! So if you could get a 'do over' and have any kind of career, what would you select?

Have a great day, all ;)

On Being Adventurous

2011-01-17T14:26:00.002-08:00

This week, 7 years ago (!?!) I hiked the Tiger Leaping Gorge trail in China. It was a wild week, and I was foolish to not have a plan for a broken camera. I did manage to mooch a few photos from some friends of the three-day adventure, and I wrote journal entries along the way.

I was thinking of the experience yesterday as I was cleaning the house. Since Matt and I only have Saturdays together, I leave Sundays for any projects and to-do's. I do really enjoy the work, and as I puttered around the house I would try to think back to "what was I doing this week in 2002 or 2004, etc?" and if I could not remember, I would go and look it up in my journal.

It was awesome re-reading of the adventure, and I hope to do a full blog post on it someday when I have the time. Until then, it was a good reminder to me that life is still adventurous, but wow I really love being home. That would be my last time of being lost up near Tibet and last hike where I run out of water! I loved my twenties, and I am really loving now. A lot.

PS. Yes I am holding TP in that photo - I was on my way to the "Water Closet".

Making Time for Yourself

2011-01-13T10:44:00.003-08:00

A bit of vulnerability here, but here we go: here is a picture of me at 20 pounds heavier than my current weight:
That was 2005, and I am with my Tai Chi teacher in Beijing. It was a nasty weather summer - I hated how I felt. I did not understand why I was not "fit" when I ate mostly healthy and exercised often.

It was sporadic though. I would go on speed walks or hikes, and not pay attention or plan my nutrition (and portions). I was bad about making time for myself and my health. "Busyness" was often to blame.

Fast forward a couple years, I discovered the joy of running. Without any dieting, weight slowly started to come off. I put more nutrition into my meals, was intentional about getting better quality sleep (this was huge for my health) and dealing with stress better. Then I got into distance running and added some lean muscle to my frame. More muscle meant a higher metabolism - muscle needs more calories than fat. So again, without any dieting or calorie counting of any kind, weight was lost and kept off. I realized in all of this that making time for myself was so huge - if we hear that we should be getting a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise a day, we need to just do it. It will not happen on its own - you have to schedule it!

This week, I had two things I wanted to do daily: enjoy a home cooked meal, and exercise with Matt. It as been awesome! I looked at the calendar and realized that two of the past four days were to busy in the evenings to workout, so I moved it to the morning for us. On Sunday I made Monday's meal and on Monday I made Tuesdays - so a meal was ready to heat up and eat right away when we got home, so we did not eat too late at night. We had some great ones too; a veggie-layered casserole, chicken enchiladas, tilapia & veggies, and homemade spaghetti & meatballs with spinach. It was decadent eating but portion-controlled and we did not eat past 7:30 (One of our "rules" we use to keep things in check - no late night munching). Things feel really balanced right now, in spite of long hours away from home.

I was reflecting today on the success of the meal/workout plan this week and realized that a big factor is because we planned ahead. We have some daily and weekly routines that keep things moving smoothly - like having a "budget committee meeting" on Thursday nights to look at our debt payoff plans and talk about things we are saving for, looking ahead to where big expenses could occur, etc (financial health). Having a cup of coffee together and reading a devotional means we are feeding ourselves spiritually and connecting together first thing in the morning (spiritual health). The daily workouts (we rest on Sundays) mean so much for our physical health and it is fun to do together. None of this would happen if we left it up to chance.

One of my friends asked how in the world do we have time to work out at all when we are gone from 6:45am until 6:15pm? One answer for you: NO TV. We have more time for each other, better sleep, stronger communication and more time for everything thanks to not having any tv programming controlling our lives. We put DVD's on our laptop for weekend entertainment.

What are some routines or disciplines that you have come to rely on that help keep things running smoothly in your daily life?

For Mom (and my Father-in-Law)

2011-01-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

Mama - this is that penguin I was telling you about. What a happy guy!

Ron - this is that penguin I was telling you about when I interrupted you at dinner the other night. ;) Hee hee.

We got some snow here, but my dance was not nearly as good as the happy penguin - I had to drive in that business....

Starbucks did wonders for me this morning.

Now, what would it take to get you to hop around like that today?

Getaways

2011-01-11T09:28:00.002-08:00

I am still loving the effects of the relaxing weekend away at the beach recently. It made me realize just how important those kind of getaways are. That time with Matt is so great too - we are unplugged and away from the noise and stress of life.
Matt was away for four days as he was in a wedding of one of his best friends in California. Though we had originally planned on going together, he had to go solo as I did not have enough leave time from work to accompany him.
He had a great time with the guys. They went to a shooting range, had great meals, and lots of time catching up. He came back refreshed from such a great weekend, but boy did we miss each other! I told him that I won't let him leave for that many days again without me. It is too hard!
I made the most of my time while he was away. Was not feeling great Friday and Saturday so I took it easy, but did some much-needed housework, so that was good...

We've started a new routine for the winter (while it is too cold to run outside) where we do a workout video, weights, and some treadmilling during the week at home. We worked out last night and this morning, and will try to keep up the daily workout Monday - Thursday, rest on Fridays, and do an outdoor activity on Saturdays for the daylight. Lord knows I need it - being underground all day wreaks havoc on my Vitamin D levels! Supplementing for now...

Today is 1-11-11?! Awesome. 11-11-11 will be even more fun :)

Happy Tuesday, all :)

First Week of the New Year

2011-01-07T14:18:00.002-08:00

This week totally got away from me. We had the whirlwind trip to the beach and then it was back to work...

It was also our last full week with Matt's folks with us before they returned to Germany, so we had some fun family time over dinners. Lots of planning the future and talks about life and such, fun times.

I made it onto the treadmill nearly every day, which was my goal. Just daily exercise, in general, is the goal. Cold temps here made it tough to get outside, so the "dreadmill" it was! Though it is painful to get up early, the task is checked off my to-do list first thing - and it leaves me with all those happy endorphins all day (and a spiked metabolism...geesh!). We are eyeing a summer marathon, in faith - so I want to keep up on the running!

Yesterday was bittersweet as I said goodbye to Matt for four whole days. He went to CA to be in a wedding, and I had to stay home because I did not have enough leave time from work :( He is having a ball catching up with old friends! The house is eerily quiet - Matt gone and his folks on the west side before they depart.

Not much else going on aside from some crazy world events: mass deaths of wildlife (what is going on??) and...Starbucks is changing their logo!
Oops not that one. This one:

I am not really a fan of change, but I do like me some coffee!

This weekend has up-in-the-air plans as they depend on decent driving weather. I am hoping to get out to see a dear friend...we will see!

Have a great weekend, all!

New Years at Cannon Beach, OR

2011-01-02T16:44:00.005-08:00

Happy New Year! We started out on Friday morning - New Years' Eve - with finishing the rest of our Bible reading plan. It was an accomplishment for us to read it in one year!
We read 20 minutes every morning, over coffee.
That is near 700 cups of coffee this past year between the both of us...
We drove to Cannon Beach all day - we arrived after dark so we did not get to see the ocean, but it was time to celebrate!
I brought some bubbly from the winery that I work at...
oh and here is my new hair 'do. I cut off a lot! We rang in the new year with Matt's mom, brother, sister-in-law, and adorable niece.
The view from our balcony on New Years Day!
Famous haystack rock. Beautiful!
Lots of folks on the beach at 8am...and a smudge on my camera lens =/
A wonderful sight to see on New Years Day!
Matt showing our niece the ocean...
Belgian waffles for breakfast!
It was a great family day :)
We bundled up and headed out...
And played cat and mouse with the ocean waves. Matt lost once...
It was a nearly perfect New Years' trip. Matt's dad was ill last minute and could not join us, but we hope the pictures will help :)

A whole new year...wow! I am excited to hear what you all were up to! Happy New Year, everyone!

Photo is Unrelated

2010-12-30T14:04:00.002-08:00

I just really liked the photo and wanted my mom to see it! :)

Matt and I are packing tonight and off tomorrow for a family getaway at the beach. I am so excited, I just can't hide it.

I will be back on Sunday with some photos, stories, and goals for 2011! Until then, a HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!

Blast from the Past

2010-12-29T08:30:00.002-08:00

Last night, on a whim, Matt and I pulled out an old VHS tape from our college days. He was the intern at church when I started attending in the fall of 1998. I was a 19-year old, he was 24 and getting ready to move on to a new chapter in his life, moving to California. The tape was of him giving a sermon, and he was so good. We both watched it lost in nostalgia, and in the message itself. Matt and I were amazed how it hit home for us, "Wow, I really needed to hear that!" and how funny that the Matt of years ago was able to encourage the Matt of today. Amazing.

I could not believe how young we were! And, if I only knew then that the intern would one day become my husband...
Here are Matt and I on a mission trip with our church in New Mexico in December of 1998...
I am on the far left, he is on the far right... it was a super fun trip. I remember thinking then that he was a nice guy. He STILL has that shirt he is wearing in the photo!
Here we are at Disco Night, back in 1999.

It is amazing how God works. I've been in a post-Christmas blah time this past week. It was harder than I thought it would be, being alone on Christmas Day itself. But things are getting better as we are going on a family outing this weekend to ring in the new year, and I will get two whole days with Matt together. We both have Friday and Saturday off, and I have Sunday as well. It will be a good catch up day for housework...

Just got to get through today and tomorrow, and I have a glorious three-day weekend! Whoop.

Happy Wednesday, all...

Happy Sigh

2010-12-23T15:08:00.003-08:00

At work yesterday, this is what the snow cover looked like. I was so ready to just get home! Because the evening would be our family Christmas, I was a bit giddy.
There were gifts on every available surface in the living room. Matt's folks have done extensive traveling this past year around Europe, and shopping is a great way to see a new city, so they had a little souvenir for everyone!

Some of our festivities: Matt and his dad enjoying their new rifles...

Matt's mom made her famous turkey biscuits...
We watched "A White Christmas" before and after dinner...
and just had fun!
A statue Matt got...
A crystal goblet from Germany for the both of us...
Starbucks mugs from Matt to me! We could not wait to open our gifts to each other, too....
A beautiful little vase from Greece...
A little satchel from Europe...
Earrings from Matt and a necklace from Italy that his folks gave me...
A very happy night indeed!!

And to top it all off: Matt got the official word today that he is a permanent employee at Amazon. We are SO SO SO happy and grateful, and I am so proud of him! He persevered through some tough situations. What an amazing guy...

So tonight we are going to celebrate his promotion with dinner out. Less dishes for me to have to do - my hands are cracked from the load of dishes the past week!

We are both off tomorrow together. So grateful for that, too.

Merry Christmas, one and all!

Blessings

2010-12-22T08:55:00.002-08:00

First of all, thank you so much for all of the encouragement for Matt - he had a GREAT day at work yesterday, and there was so much good news in the day it was overflowing. He got word that he is meeting with a manager on Thursday, and the hint that was dropped is that a certain special promotion is on its way...

...and that is not all. He got his grade back from his final: A! He is a 4.0 student! I am so so so proud of him. He has worked SO hard on his graduate classes. He came up with the proposal idea while we were on a run - I will have to remember that for when he is stumped for writing ideas in the future.

A big blessing came after I picked Matt up from work and we delivered a trunk full of gifts and groceries to a local needy family. They were shocked and grateful by the gesture, and we were so thrilled to be able to do it. It is amazing that in giving, the giver usually gets the best gift. It feels like a million bucks!

The final blessing of the day: an epiphany. I was bouncing on an exercise ball in Matt's office as he read to me his paper on Sunday and saw on his white board a goal list. One of them on there was "a weekend at the beach". We wrote that a year ago! I realized that December has an extra paycheck in it thanks to three paydays falling in the same month, so I suggested that we get out to the Oregon coast for New Years. That would not involve any hazardous mountain passes, and it is the only two days off together that we have for awhile. So I got online...
And found this!
Cannon Beach or BUST! We will ring in the new year here AND Matt's folks are joining us as well! We got ocean view rooms for a steal! WOOOOOOO!

It will be a great time together before the in-laws have to fly back to Germany on the 9th, and Matt is away in CA that same weekend to be in a wedding. I did not have enough time off of work to go with him, so this will help make up for it :) He will get two weekends in a row at a beach, lucky guy :)

Tonight is our family Christmas dinner since his folks head over the mountains tomorrow morning to go to Matt's brothers place. I am excited about turkey! And some gift giving fun...

So blessed. So happy. So grateful!

I will be back with some photos later this week - in the meantime, have a great rest of the week leading up to the big day on Saturday!

Almost Christmas...

2010-12-21T12:44:00.002-08:00

I have been so bad about blogging lately! It is not even that I am so insanely busy - I think it is a bit of writer's block and a lack of good photos. I even took some pictures yesterday at the snow-covered winery where I work at - but still need to transfer the photos to my laptop.

Tonight Matt and I are going to take some toys and a meal to a needy family in town. We were connected with them when, a couple from our church, posted an ad for a free turkey on Craigslist and got such an overwhelming response - and decided to make sure that every family that emailed back got something from someone. So, the family we got put in touch with has three young kids and not a lot resources to buy gifts this year. We were excited and happy to do so. I am a little nervous, but mostly excited that we are even in a position at all to do so.

I work today and tomorrow and then I am off for four glorious days! I will get Friday with Matt, so we will make it special. I hope sleeping in and seeing a movie will be included. Tomorrow night is gift opening with his folks. They LOVE to give gifts. Seriously, gifts cover every inch of surface space in the living room and part of the kitchen right now!

Matt is keeping his head up at a very tough job. One thing I have learned from listening to Matt's stories is that people can really be mean, and unfair. He was sent a feedback form from one customer that said that Matt "did not help solve their problem" when he had bent over backwards to help this customer out. Matt was stunned to get the negative feedback, scratching his head over why this guy would say that. I told him that it is unjust. We are now just surrendering over the job - and whether or not it turns permanent. Honestly, Matt is overqualified and too smart. I am praying that a door opens somewhere he can use his intelligence more.

So that is the update. Not a whole lot else going on besides working, commuting, an occasional treadmill jaunt, and trying to avoid the avalanche of sugar in the house...and watching the clock. I can *hardly wait* until 4pm tomorrow!

Tis the Season!

2010-12-18T18:26:00.003-08:00

Oh the busyness of the holiday season...and my poor neglected blog!

It's been a week. Matt is wrapping up a final paper tonight that he has faithfully worked on for the entire day today. His folks are here now too, so there is more goings on in the evenings, which is fun. Days are full and busy at work as we wrap up a year of wine production.

But last night - we set aside our agendas with school and work and partied! My company had their Christmas party at a local hotel so we got all dressed up - Matt in the outfit he wore to our wedding, and me in my...high school prom dress!!!

Yes, I did. It was a champagne color and I had it in the closet, and it FIT so why not? :) It was a classic design, so that helped...
I forgot to take any photos. So bad. But, we did get this one, so that is worth it :)

We danced, ate, and enjoyed the night out and away. We woke up at the hotel this morning to a snowstorm coming in - about 4 inches. It is beautiful!

I work Monday through Wednesday this week and then I have four glorious days off. Matt has to work on Christmas, so I am bracing myself for the loneliness as his folks will be with family on the west side.

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the season :)

12 Days Until Christmas!

2010-12-13T13:31:00.002-08:00

We officially have some presents under our tree! This year we can actually afford to give some gifts, so we are really excited. Matt wrapped presents for nearly two hours on Friday while I was at work. I should take a photo of his very detailed work - truly an artist!

Matt did two (!) papers this weekend and is working on a proposal for his final that is due on Sunday. I am rooting him on - he is so close to a 3 week vacation...

Matt's mom flies back from Germany today and will be here Wednesday as they will spend some time on the west side first.

The work schedule for Matt on Christmas is 11-7. All the rest of our family will be gathered together four hours away, so we decided to just stay put this year. It will be a rare Christmas alone for the two of us, so it may be a blessing in disguise. I confess that I am a bit sad thinking of being totally alone on Christmas during the hours he has to work, though! :(

Nevertheless, I am excited for the week. Big company party on Friday night - I am eager to have that special date with my husband.

In the meantime, I hope to remember to take some photos of fun things this week.

Happy Monday, all!

For Mama - Happy Friday!

2010-12-10T15:03:00.000-08:00

I was telling mom about this video I saw, and thought I would just post it.

Inventory is over at the winery - what a week! GEESH!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Christmasness

2010-12-06T10:30:00.003-08:00

The most wonderful (chaotic, expensive, meaningful, cold, beautiful) time of the year - Christmas!

I was thinking this morning of the past few years' worth of Christmases. I think of my rich time in the Washington, DC area and living in the Edison House. My life before Matt and now with him. The holidays have taken on a whole new meaning now that I have more family in my life, too.
I love these photos of Matt as a young lad, enjoying his gifts :)
...and back when he had hair. I like his new look SO much better! (Our future kids will be doomed with big, curly hair tho....)
We had an occasional year of celebration, and this one when I was about 10 was memorable.

One year mom dressed us up in homemade costumes for Christmas. Here is me with my precious Grandaddy. I think I was in first grade?

This year will be different. Matt has to work on Christmas, and all our family will be on the west side. Just the two of us. It will be quiet, but loverly, I am sure. I do love this time of year - and thanks to Amazon Prime (free shipping) I can do all my shopping online this year.

Just a little reflection today. I hope you all had a great weekend! I am wondering where mine went...

It's Friday! WOOT!

2010-12-03T16:07:00.002-08:00

This week totally got away from me...between the snow, shopping at Hobby Lobby, and doing inventory at the winery (!!) I am so spent. And really really ready for the weekend!
I feel like I live for the weekends. Well, it is when I can get the best quality time with Matt. He has a paper due Sunday (and has to work) so we will make the most out of tomorrow, at least :)

I saw this photo on Daily Squee, and it did make me squee a bit!
Happy Friday to all - ahhh the weekend is finally here! Date night tonight: new burger joint and a movie rental :)

Have a great weekend!

More Snow...

2010-11-30T08:07:00.002-08:00

Matt went to drive me to the van pool this morning, and we were greeted by another round of snowfall. When we got to the van and I only saw two ladies inside, I decided to bail. I don't want to get stuck an hour away from home in the middle of no where...

So I am at home today, and since I have used up every drop of accommodation leave, it is unpaid time off. Oh well - I am sure that it will be worth it. Safety first, right?

Today is the last day of November! WOW!

Yay December is almost here! Happy Tuesday, all. ;)

Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

2010-11-28T19:25:00.004-08:00

It snowed Monday, Nov 22. Got the day off...

It snowed again on Tuesday the 23rd....took the day off again, as the drive was deemed to be unsafe out to the winery.

Snow, again on Wednesday the 24th - the day I decided to do a half day at work and we got hammered with flurries. I was SO GLAD to be home, sweet home, by Wednesday afternoon! I meant to write from work after projects were over, but my computer crashed. Again...

Thursday - more snow! My thumbs up of approval:
We ended up staying in town for Thanksgiving. Ate dinner with some friends locally, and cracked up over the funny grandparents present. A fun evening! I really missed family though. Four hour drive meant it was so close, yet so far away in the weather we had :(
Friday we decorated...got the tree up and some gifts underneath it already!
Here is my little elf helper. Or leprechaun, if you will...
I skipped Black Friday insanity, while Matt went to a few places with his dad. We ended up hitting up a Starbucks in the evening though, so he could do some homework and I could catch up on correspondence.
A Target store just so happened to be across the street, so as Matt finished up an assignment, I was pushing a loaded cart to a check-out stand. We are so grateful this year to be able to afford to actually buy a couple gifts. What a difference from last year.

FOUR glorious days off. I will always remember it for the snuggly movies we watched, the food, sleeping in, coffee with my husband, baking and cooking, and the snow shoveling. I have the most unreal pain in my shoulders from it! Great exercise too :)

So now the house smells like Chex Mix. There is a soft glow from Christmas lights and we just are so happy.

If you think of it, will you lift up a prayer for Matt tomorrow? As you know, he works at Amazon.com, and tomorrow is Cyber Monday - one of the biggest online retail traffic days. And please remember not to buy a Kindle for your grandma that does not know what wifi is. It will really help him out.

Have a great week all - I hope to be back online once I get a laptop upgrade at work!

The First Snow of the Season

2010-11-22T14:30:00.002-08:00

When we went to bed last night, the first snow flakes had started to fall. By 6am, I knew there was no way that Matt, who is battling a cold, could deal with the roads to get me to the van pool. So, I took today off.
Matt still had to work though :( but, by the grace of God, he was able to go home at noon!
About 7 inches have fallen so far, and I have shoveled the driveway twice.
I think I will just stay inside...
...and Matt and I will eat some good home cookin' instead!
P.S. Marian - a HOBBY LOBBY just opened in town, and when I went to pick Matt up from work, I stopped in. It is glorious...can't wait to go with you! :)

Happy Monday, all!

Metal Head

2010-11-18T05:18:00.001-08:00

I married a metal head.

He loves all kinds of heavy metal music. (There are many categories...)

For our anniversary, I got him tickets to a local metal show. He thought it would be fun to take me as his date. We got to meet some of the bands before, here he is with the band "Red":
Now, these guys were the more normal of the bands there. Here is the bassist for "Head" a band that has lead singer Brian Welch, formerly of Korn:
Hello zombie! Freaky! We were in the very front and a mosh pit quickly formed. Matt had to rescue me from the rowdy crowd of young folks. I grinned and bared it the whole night...
Plus, how can I say no to his sweet face? :)

In other news, it is supposed to get down to 12 degrees on Monday.

OH MY. I need to go get our sprinklers blown out, ASAP!

Happy Thursday all.... ONE WEEK until the FEAST! Whoop Whoop.

A Random Tuesday

2010-11-16T13:10:00.003-08:00

I am finally getting to putting up a blog post...

What a doozy of a week. So, mostly random thoughts are what I have and share:

1. Matt's job. Good-ness. Matt does customer support for Amazon, in their Kindle department. He puts up with irate, mean, and computer illiterate customers all day. He comes home exhausted and beat. My advice for anyone thinking of buying their 94-year-old grandmother a Kindle: ONLY after they take a computer class first. Matt destroys his call time goals daily as he tries to help elderly customers learn basic computer skills. This should not be his job, and if your stats are not good you will be let go after the holidays. There is significant pressure to do well, and it is all a balancing act. The Kindle is wildly popular - which is great for business and Matt's job. But, I cannot help but wonder where good manners and decency has gone. So I guess this would apply to all folks working in customer service: lets treat them respectfully. They are someones husband or wife, son or daughter, mother or father. Matt really loves his job and wants to keep it, but so far it is not looking good :(

2. Insane weather. I went outside to the car this morning and had to hunt down our yard waste bin, it had blown away into the back yard from the front yard. The good news here is that my leaf raking is over for the season. :)

3. Holiday craziness has begun! I am determined to do all my shopping online this year, so that I can avoid the stores. They make me forget what the season is all about. Thank goodness for Prime shipping with Amazon = free shipping.

4. Matt's dad is staying with us until January. (His mom had to fly back to work until mid-December, sadly) I love that he has a sweet tooth, because I can count on mooching something from him when a sweets craving hits! Also, now Matt has someone else to talk to about guns, ammo, camo, and ballistic vests...

5. I am so excited about getting to stay put for Thanksgiving. Four days off in a row and 12 empty bins to get an organizing project started with = WOOT!

6. Starbucks goodness - From 2-5pm from Nov 18-21st you can get their holiday signature drinks buy 1 get 1 free. Mini date for Matt and I, coming UP!

7. Car insurance is a great thing, too. The little fender bender that Matt got in a few weeks ago was decided to be a total loss. So we will pocket the difference after getting it fixed ourselves. In the meantime, I am loving getting a ride to the van pool by my sweet hubby...

8. I have two packs of earplugs in my purse for a Christian heavy metal concert that I am attending tonight with Matt. I am not a heavy metal fan, but I am a fan of Matt, and well where he goes, I go...

9. The bottling line at the winery I work at is running double shifts for awhile to keep up for holiday demand. So, when you pop open a bottle of wine or bubbly this holiday season, think of the person that ran the labeler, the cork machine, the glass conveyor, the filler, the packer, and all the machinists that keep it going. And there is me, I put information into a system that tracks everything. Behind the scenes, and I don't even like wine! ;)

10. I totally got a "I can't talk, Oprah is one" line from my mom this week.

11. I need to get to her blog soon!

12. I've purchased two Christmas gifts already. What about you?

Anniversary Weekend & Memorial Dinner

2010-11-09T11:15:00.004-08:00

Whew. What a whirlwind. We are still catching our breath, but feel really blessed that we were able to make it over to the west side this past weekend.

Friday afternoon Matt and I left for the four hour drive to where his grandma's hospice was. We arrived just a half hour after she passed away, and was able to be with grandpa and other family as the funeral home came to take her away.

Watching a man say goodbye to his wife of 68 years will change you and your own marriage. The tenderness of it made us all teary. "Take care of my baby" grandpa said to the attendant as they wheeled her away forever.

His next words were, "I wish I had treated her better" as he felt that rare occurances of impatience in her later years hurt her somehow.

I looked at Matt and realized with all our years ahead together, that I can do one thing right: treat him well. Love him lots. Be the best helpmate that I can be.

Being a part of all of this on the eve of our first anniversary is something that I will NEVER forget.

Next we were off for a little getaway about an hour drive away. Snoqualmie Falls is so gorgeous!
We had an insane 6-course breakfast on Sunday morning.

I loved this little coffee service! SO cute!
Was having a big hair day thanks to the steam from the spa pools we lounged in!
It was a wonderful and memorable anniversary. I have one amazingly special husband! (I still can't believe that I get to say that: Matt is my husband!)

Next we went to Grandma's memorial dinner on Sunday afternoon. Since so many folks were in town, the siblings put together a dinner for everyone to be together.
What a striking couple. Gladys "Juanita" and Ralph met at work during WWII. She had lied about her age to get a job - and they married when she was 17 and he was 19.
They had four kids, and now have six grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.

We left around 4:30 and made the looong drive back home again. Exhausted from our third weekend away from home in a row, we both took Monday off to recover and get some house work done. I finally did some grocery shopping, yard work, and laundry!

I am still processing the whole weekend, but will say that it was just overall amazing. Talk about a perspective check...

Happy Tuesday, all!

How a Year Flies By...

2010-11-03T12:40:00.003-07:00

Whhhhheeew what a week!

I wanted to post a little update on my blogging hiatus to celebrate our nearly one year of marriage. With all the crazy family stuff going on right now, this is something we are not letting get lost in the shuffle.

Matt's grandma is still with us, but on nearly 9 or so days with no fluids we are expecting news soon. We had a very memorable, precious weekend with her at the hospice. It was very special to us and we are so glad that we went.

Matt's parents are here, and it has been really great to all hang out together. We are really enjoying their delightful company!

So this weekend will mark one year of matrimony. We are going on a little getaway, and boy do we need it!
I never knew it would be this awesome. So so so wonderful hanging out with my best friend every day!
We have definitely had some interesting challenges this past year, but I think we handled them really well! I am so grateful for my wonderful, sweet, funny husband!

I love you, Matt!

I hope to visit a few blogs before we skip out of town again. We've been gone every weekend for the past month it seems.

Hopefully, I will remember to take some photos on our little getaway. In the meantime, have a great rest of your week everyone!

Family Fun

2010-10-27T09:01:00.002-07:00

Matt uploaded some pics for me! Here is a picture of my three brothers:
Ok, so just Taraz and Rahmat - but that stuffed animal would fit in so nicely with our family with THAT hairdo!
My sister made breakfast for us after our morning run on Saturday :)
Matt's twin was on the cover of The Economist last week....
Matt figured out a way to read his Bible with better lighting while at Laurels...he is so cute...

Matt and his brother were both in bands, and here is Ireland playing a few new songs for us in his garage. Good times!

Matt's parents are flying home as I write this - they should arrive in the next couple hours. Matt's grandma is not doing well and they have come to say goodbye and we will all be together as a family for awhile. They had not planned on a a trip until Christmas, so a lot of details on their stay are up in the air so I am not sure when we will head over to the west side to be together. So, I will be signing off from blogging for the remainder of the week as we get set to go.

Please be lifting up Matt's folks. This is hard on them and the whole family. We are grateful that we were able to score some time off of work to prepare for her passing. She is currently comfortable in hospice care.

In the meantime I hope you all have a great week and fun trick-or-treat adventures!

Best Laid Plans...

2010-10-25T09:33:00.003-07:00

I stole this photo from my mom's blog! :)

We had a great weekend. Matt and I were able to both leave work early on Friday, get over the mountains during daylight (bare and dry) and be at my sisters by 7pm. We relaxed, talked, and watched a movie before bed. So wonderful to just be!

Saturday morning Matt and I set out for an easy 10-mile run. A slow pace with occasional walk breaks. There was intermittent rain but overall, really enjoyable. However, Matt's bruised (cracked?) rib is inflamed as it goes through the healing process and was causing him some pain. We managed to complete the two hour run with smiles, nevertheless.

My sister and I took off for an afternoon of shopping while Matt tackled his final paper. We hit up Top Foods, Whole Foods, and Fred Meyer - and battled crazy traffic everywhere! Bellevue was nutty. I was happy to get back to her house and find everyone had arrived for the party! A wonderful potluck followed, and lots of laughter, as always. My youngest brother made a wedding video compilation for us to watch - as we are two weeks away from our one year anniversary, it was perfect timing to watch. Sniff sniff! So beautiful!

Sunday morning we left early to go visit Matt's brother & family before hitting the road home. We needed our "Maddie" fix - time with our adorable almost 4-year-old niece. Gorgeous drive home - if I could have safely taken photos of the trees along the way, I would have! We were safely home by dinner time and Matt finished his grad paper by 10pm. A huge blessing was the car adapter tool that allowed him to type the whole drive!

It is a new week, and everything is up in the air.

Matt's chest injury is too painful to run. This morning when he sneezed, he was keeled over in pain. It is a huge blow to our marathon plans, but the reality of the situation is that his health is far more important. Additionally, we got word that Matt's paternal grandmother is not doing well and was put into hospice care this last weekend. We may need to use our time next weekend for a trip back to the west side. The only good thing out of all of this is that Matt's dad and hopefully mom too will get to come home. We eagerly await getting to see them!

So - mixed emotions today. Gratitude over Matt's grad class and just how wonderful he is. Sad and prayerful about grandma's health. Excited to see more family soon. Bummed about our second canceled marathon (7 months of training!). There is the Seattle marathon in November but we cannot make it due to Matt's work schedule (and there is no more daylight for training during the week).

On top of all this? My meal menu for the week is all CARBS! Pasta, lasagna, pizza, potato bar...

...who wants to come over? :)

Happy Monday, all.

Giving It Over

2010-10-22T12:26:00.003-07:00

This has been a week, folks! Do you ever feel like you need to just stop and shake it all off from time to time? I do. Especially this week...

Matt found out he may have to work on our anniversary - the weekend I'd planned a little getaway for us. I was worried at first, but now I just feel like I need to surrender it over. ("Lord, I know you are in control...")

We want to keep this on the DL - but the car we bought in February got in a little fender bender on Monday. It will need a little body work done, our insurance will cover all but $500 (our deductible). ("Lord, I know you are in control, and You have provided for us our savings to deal with these hiccups)...

This is a funny one: Matt has some great guy friends here. One of them over the weekend went to give him a big ole' bear hug, and injured Matt's chest! It may be a bruised rib. Still, it hurts him and keeps him up at night. (Lord, thank You for a sense of humor! I pray for Matt's healing, and thank You for the great friends You have given us here...")

We are going to visit family this weekend, and I am driving us as Matt has a HUGE final paper due on Sunday. I am just as worried about the driving conditions as I am Matt's paper getting done. ("Oh Jesus please give Matt clarity of mind and wisdom as he writes his final paper and give me traveling mercies!")

We also plan on doing a 10 miler tomorrow - a "short" long run as we prepare for the big marathon next weekend. Matt's first one, my third (but in never gets "easier"...)

NEXT WEEKEND?!?!!?

Lord, I give over our marathon efforts...and feel free to use all the humor You want on this one...

;) Have a great weekend, all!

Lists & Reminders

2010-10-21T14:06:00.003-07:00

I have a to-do list on my desk. And a "need to organize" list. And....

- A packing list for this upcoming weekend as we are going to visit family on the other side of the state
- A "big upcoming purchases" list so we can plan ahead on some spending. Who knew that getting a passport renewed was over $100? Dang!
- A countdown to the marathon (10 days!!!! AHHHHHHH!)
- A list of people I need to send some correspondence to...
- A list of places we would like to visit someday before we become parents
- A reminder to help with an upcoming food drive
- A reminder to get my camera fixed...$$$....
- A grocery list for meals next week
- A list of household projects I would like to get to sooner or later

....and when I am at work and there is nothing left to do, I read my lists and feel like I will never get anything done. Just not enough hours in the day/week/month.

Daylight savings is Nov 7th. So is our anniversary! One year already, coming up! Now, off to write that "things to do for our anniversary" list...

Idaho Trip Photos

2010-10-19T05:40:00.001-07:00

I remembered to take some photos! It was a busy fun weekend, and some of my favorite moments were spent outside.
The "lagoon" - just a five minute walk away from our cabin...
it was foggy out on Sunday morning....
Pine trees! After months in the desert, this sight was most welcome :)
I took this photo for mom so she could see the little cabin us ladies stayed in.
The Spokane river, I believe, in Post Falls, Idaho. It was so beautiful there!

A much needed rest. Great speakers, wonderful ladies to spent time with and get to know better, and a super sweet (much missed) husband to return home to.

Happy Tuesday, all!

Survived!

2010-10-18T10:41:00.003-07:00

I hope to have some photos up tonight or tomorrow morning of the amazing women's retreat. In the meantime I just wanted to share that Matt and I completed our 20-mile marathon training run last night. Barely!

I did not get back until 3pm from the retreat, so we set out soon after I got home. Matt had thoughtfully already packed our running bags and such. The first 10 miles we had daylight and comfortable temperatures. Then the sun set and it got cold - fast!

For two hours we ran in the cold and dark. We'd run out of things to talk about so we quoted movie lines and told funny stories as best as we could. We were so overjoyed to round the corner to our house around 8:30 - after 5 hours of running and some walking!!

Hot showers, hearty soup, and half a bag of Hershey's Miniatures later - we were snuggled up in bed and crashed. I fell asleep in the middle of our prayers!

So it is a new day today! We are hobbling around a bit, but two weeks away from the marathon, so hopefully will feel like running again by then... :)

Happy Monday, all!

Finally Friday

2010-10-15T10:40:00.002-07:00

I am going away on a women's retreat with my church this weekend, so I will have to say goodbye to my sweet husband! I will be back Sunday afternoon, and then we will head out on a long run right after I return.

It was a wonderfully busy and fun week, but I am looking forward to getting out of the area and enjoying Idaho, cold temps and all!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

New Shelving!

2010-10-14T05:20:00.001-07:00

Woooo lookie what Matt got me! He sure knows the way to my heart. As an early anniversary gift I got him some concert tickets. He got me...some utility shelving! Now I can organize the stuff in the garage so we can have a pathway to haul out Christmas items from the attic next month.

What a great guy!

I hope to remember to take some before and after pictures. We really trashed the garage with all our lawn upgrading this fall. (His folks read this blog so they will love to see what we have done to the place, too!)

Addicted to organizing, labeling, and storing,
Ruhiyyih :)

Polishing Silver

2010-10-13T05:10:00.003-07:00

I took a break from my cedar chest project, since I ran out of sandpaper...and did some housework. As I was grabbing some laundry, I saw a tarnished candelabra sticking out of Matt's folks storage area of the house. I thought it would be nice to shine it up for them!
When I worked at a gift shop in college, we would use Brasso to clean up all the metal items. I knew this would do the trick...
I took it apart, and got started...then moved out to the porch when I realized it would stink up the house!
I know, I am a weirdo...
But lookie at the finished product! Just a little bit of elbow grease and Brasso, and viola! It is too gorgeous to leave in storage, so we are putting it on display in the meantime :)

Now, I just need to get some candles...

Happy Wednesday all!

Weekend with Renee

2010-10-12T08:49:00.003-07:00

I had a couple visitors this past weekend! I have known Renee since the 4th grade, and when she had a free weekend on her calendar, she and her precious 4-month-old, London, paid us a visit :)
This is a sweet baby!
She is so good! It was fun for Matt and I to be around a wee one.
Goodness he looks hot holding a baby....
She was content wherever she sat!
A great little eater...
...and a great sleeper....
Thanks for visiting us, Renee and London! Come back again soon :)

It was so fun to relax over the weekend. Matt worked his rear off doing a mid-term paper - from Friday night until 3 in the morning Monday....poor guy! We even missed our long run, so we will make it up next weekend and put in some more miles this week....

I did a few projects too - blog posts to come! Have a great Tuesday, all!

Oh Dear

2010-10-11T13:41:00.002-07:00

I am married to a metal head. When we heard that a few Christian metal bands were coming to town, I knew I would soon be stocking up on some ear plugs.

It's an early anniversary gift for Matt, and well, it would not be fun for him to have to go alone. I am taking one for the team...

We got floor seats. Oh.No. VIP = meet and greet. EEEK. I'm nervous...

On other news: had an awesome weekend, photos still stuck on Matt's camera. He spent 30 hours on a paper all weekend, so hopefully I can get the said photos tonight. Stay tuned! ;)

11 Months!

2010-10-07T11:31:00.002-07:00

Woo!! Marriage is awesome!! Happy 11 months of wedded bliss to my beloved, Matt....

Thank you all SO much for all the encouraging comments you left yesterday. Matt had a great day at work all day (no surprise with all those prayers going up!). We went on a nice run last night after work and we talked about the upcoming paper he has due, our marathon in 24 days (we can do this!) and life changes. I love our runs as it is a great time to catch up after work.

I am definitely going to make some creative art for Matt to hang at his desk to brighten his day a bit. So funny - I packed him a great lunch today but put half his stuff into my lunch box! Whoops. He humored it, as usual...

We also remember to take it one day at a time. In January, we decided to read through the Bible in one year together - and we are finishing the Old Testament tonight! That "one day at a time" approach helped us finish a big goal!

I have a dear friend, Renee, coming in for a weekend visit tomorrow - so I will spend tonight getting the house all ready for a guest. She will be great company as Matt will be working on a paper all weekend...

Happy (almost Friday) y'all!

The Learning Curve

2010-10-06T09:42:00.004-07:00

I loved this photo on I Has a Hot dog - too funny! Totally needed the laugh...)

Yesterday evening Matt and I went on a 45-minute run in our neighborhood. I could tell when I got home from work that both of us needed it - I'd been sitting all day, and Matt was pretty overwhelmed with work and school learning curves.

Poor guy. His job at Amazon is pretty awesome - great culture, fun atmosphere, interesting tech stuff (he does customer support for the Kindle). He has to learn how to give great customer service while keeping call times down low. He gets hollered at by customers a lot. It makes me sad some of the stories I hear - what in the world, people? It is just a Kindle! Matt has a great ability to smooth over most irate folks and help their issue quickly, but it takes a toll on him. Imagine dealing with that for 8 hours a day, then having to come home and do homework/write papers/do research until bed time at 10. That makes for a long day.

On top of this - it was my brilliant idea to sign us up for a marathon. A race that requires you go on at least 2-3 week day runs, and a long one every weekend. We are high in mileage right now, so this weekend? A 20-miler. I've done several of these as this will be my third marathon, but Matt's first. Those long runs take up 5 hours of precious time (when a mid-term paper is due the next day...). Obviously I did not know that grad school would be on the calendar at this time as well! We love running together and the exercise and time together is wonderful. But, it is stressful. Matt is such a trooper!

I feel like I have learned pretty well how to balance the 11-hr work day, taking care of a home, meal planning, and time for myself and Matt. I've had nearly a year to work on it though! I suppose I need some fresh ideas on how to support Matt during this time. All I can think of is make great meals for dinner and his lunch box - and make sure he gets to bed at a decent time. His love language is affirmation, so there is lots of that too :)

It is an interesting season. Lots of praying and hoping and joy too - we feel so blessed to both have jobs and our good health.

Happy Wednesday, all!

My Hope Chest Project

2010-10-04T06:28:00.005-07:00

*Updated* - I am putting the "painting" part of this on hold until I make up my mind!
Well, I got a lot of comments on Friday to NOT paint the hope chest! I realized that the blurry photo did not really reflect all the markings and damage to it - it needs some TLC...
Lots of scratches on the top and sides...
It's been dinged up pretty bad. It was used as a toy chest, most recently....
So I started by sanding it down a little - this will be a big project!
I am excited about this project though - my first attempt at anything involving sand paper and paint!
I worked a little on this on Saturday and was too pooped from the long run on Sunday to do much more. So, I hope to tackle it a little day by day. Stay tuned!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

A Post for Matt's Dad

2010-10-03T18:17:00.002-07:00

Ok readers - don't freak out! Matt's mens' group at church went to the local police shooting range on Saturday and played with a bunch of guns. Matt had a blast and I wanted to make sure his folks overseas got to see him have fun - so this post is just for them! I think he looks so cute in his camo vest!

These guys love Jesus!
Matt lookin' bad!
One of the guys is a former Marine, and showed them a lot of safety measures, so that made me feel better...
Matt: definitely his fathers' son! (We love you, Ron!)

Bittersweet

2010-10-01T09:11:00.003-07:00

So I found another sweet little Craigslist find yesterday - an antique hope chest for a very reasonable price.
I went with Matt to go pick it up after work. We found out that the young woman selling it was selling nearly all her possessions in an effort to avoid foreclosure of her home. The hope chest was obviously special to her, being her great-grandmothers. I stood in her living room with cash in hand, sort of frozen. How could I take this from her? I knew the cash would help her out, so I eventually got my head together and we picked it up to haul to the car.

I told her she was doing a great job doing what she had to do - and to keep on fighting. Still, it was a bittersweet purchase. I have plans to sand it down, and repaint it white. I have been looking for one of these on Craigslist for a long time!

Matt and I prayed for her and her family - that she would be successful in raising the cash needed to save her home, and so grateful that God has blessed us with a place to live.

Happy Friday everyone - hopefully I will get the repainting done this weekend and have a sweet little hope chest to show off on Monday :)

On Joy

2010-09-29T13:11:00.002-07:00

Joy is....

- getting to the halfway point in the week (noon on Wednesday!)
- even better, Friday (2.5 days away...)
- Autumn and fall leaves
- grape crush harvest time at the winery
- my sweet adorable wonderful husband
- quiet walks by the pond at lunchtime
- a countdown started to my first anniversary (and little weekend getaway!)
- a new slipcover for the sofa
- wonderful friends
- a jack rabbit running across our path on a jog last night
- temps in the 80's, in September
- sweet prayers at night with my husband
- answered prayer
- a job well done
- items scratched off my to-do list
- memories of wonderful places I have been and friends made

:)

I am blogging over at Kyla's Joy today - check it out!

What does "joy" mean to you today?

On Teamwork

2010-09-27T13:02:00.002-07:00

Weekends - oh my - we pack them in something crazy and arrive at Monday exhausted. Anyone else do that?

The 17 mile run on Saturday was awesome. There was a great crowd of about 500 that showed up to run the Indian Summer Half Marathon. We took off running at 8am and finished 3 hours later. We had to stop from time to time to get rocks out of our shoes and walk a bit, but for the most part just enjoyed a leisure pace. It was not a chip-timed event, so much more relaxing. Now, running past the finish line and continuing to add on nearly four more miles - that was harder! Thank goodness the weather was perfect and lots of friendly faces on the trail. By the early afternoon we were home, showered, and chowing down on some Pizza Hut. ;)

Matt has a huge paper due every Sunday night, so we have a new routine: Saturday afternoons and Sunday's - all day - he devotes to his grad school work. It is hard on him, as he is social and likes to relax too - but it is new chapter in his life. It really is a team effort - I will hold down the fort with chores, yard work and meals. Matt will study his rear end off so he can land an awesome job down the road that allows for me to care for children (God-willing!). They are short-term circumstances, but will have long-term benefits.

I was a busy bee! Prepped meals, lunches, laundry, shopping, organizing, yard mowing, weed pulling, and other cleaning. I really do love it...

I hope you all had a great weekend and are enjoying some fall activities!

Weekly Roundup

2010-09-24T13:49:00.002-07:00

WHEW I am SO ready for the WEEKEND!

This week flew by for the most part. The prior weekend had wore us out, so Monday night was purposefully a restful one.

Tuesday night I attended a local Invisible Children event - they are a group that is dedicated to helping end the war in Uganda and rehabilitating schools for children there. It was so moving to see video of Gulu, where I was blessed to visit in 2008. Such a beautiful place. Wonderful presenters, too!

Wednesday night we were rested enough to get a run in and then Matt tackled a paper while I attempted to get some chores done...

Thursday night I had fun organizing my new-to-me Craigslist shelves...that turned out to be much smaller than they appeared....but still oh so cute! We also enjoyed watching the season opener of "The Office" at a friends house. We love that show...

Tonight is date night, which will be a quiet night in - we have an early start in the morning!

Tomorrow we have a half-marathon race here in Tri-Cities. We are running to and from the starting line in order to get our miles in for the week. = 17 miles total. We've done it before, will we be able to do it again? Hmm....

So that was my week and why I am so tired today...

Have a great weekend everyone! :)

On Love Languages...

2010-09-23T12:32:00.004-07:00

According to author Gary Chapman, there are five love languages: quality time, physical touch, gifts, words of affirmation, and acts of service.

My love language is "acts of service." When people do things for me, I feel so loved and appreciated. When I want to show someone that I love and care for them, I will usually do something for them.

This morning I was browsing Craigslist, as I have been searching for some simple cute shelves to help with storage in our house. I saw this cute pair on sale for cheap:
They were at a local salon, and needed to go fast - I could have them if there early enough.

I was stuck at work, 40 miles away. I knew Matt had an hour long lunch, so I thought well, why not ask him to pick them up for me? I felt bad as his break time is for relaxing...but also felt it was safe to just ask. I shot off a quick email and got the response I wanted to hear so badly, "Sure, I can do that! What is the address? Love, Matt"

I did a little dance! He popped over to the salon, paid $15 (!) for them, and packed them in the car easily. Calling me up a few minutes later, he says "Peice of cake! No problem."

I.Love.That.Man.

It is funny how the "little things" can mean so much.

What is your love language?

Our Busy Weekend

2010-09-21T09:18:00.002-07:00

I remembered to take pictures on Friday night, at least!
Dinner Friday night: Pita pizzas! Our favorite. It's become a Friday night tradition already...
Matt surprised me with flowers! I loved this because for the first few months of marriage I would have been furious if he'd spent that kind of money...but now things are a lot easier, so it was lovely :)

He got a sweet kiss for that gesture :)
(please forgive us. We take a lot of kissing pictures!)

Friday nights' date night was pizza, shopping, and a movie. Just a quiet night, and much needed too after a busy week. Saturday I went to play Bunco with some girlfriends from church while Matt hit the books. Poor guy studied all day! We took just a small break to attend church and so Saturday night he was writing a paper and I did our grocery shopping. What a secret - shopping at a WinCo on a Saturday night is much easier than the insanity during the day! Woo!

We had an Epic Run on Sunday. I wish I'd taken before and after photos. Before - happy and excited to go on a 15 miler, even with a little rain. After - cold, shivering, worn out, messy hair and hungry! We survived though. 3 1/2 hours in total, and we did not start out until 10am so as to wait out some of the rain... so after hot showers we napped from 2:45-3:45! Hit the spot though. I wish I'd paid better attention to time because I did a Starbucks run afterwards and did not realize we were enjoying our Grande Americanos at close to 5pm! It was fitting though - Matt was writing a paper on Starbucks for his grad class so, you know, it helped the writing :)

(Plus caffeine helps open the capillaries after a long run when you are sore, right? :)

Sunday night = meal prep. I prepared moo shoo chicken and a veggie casserole dish so they would be oven ready for our busy week. I sure made an insane mess of the kitchen, but it's been nice to come home and just throw one of those in the oven!

It's Tuesday already - yesterday totally got away from me. And, Matt always has to help me get photos off the camera, so a delay there...

Have a great day, all!

Friday Fun

2010-09-17T09:56:00.003-07:00

I love that song by the cure, "It's Friday, I'm in Love". So the photo is fitting!
(My vitamin is COFFEE!) :)
How soon is too soon? "Studies have proven that babies who start drinking soda during that early formative periods have a much higher chance of gaining acceptance and 'fitting in' during those awkward formative pre-teen years." (!!!)
Happy Friday everyone! We are supposed to get some rain this weekend, which is a big deal since we live in the desert...

A 15-miler is on the schedule for Sunday, so pray for us! :)

Ruhiyyih's Reflections

Hanging in There

A New Year

Going Private

Dust Yourself Off and Try Again

December

Thanksgiving Weekend 2011

Funny Friday

Reality

2 Years!

Vacation

The Home Stretch

Finally - A Post!

Friends

A Quick Trip Home

Remembering

Labor Day Weekend 2011

An Ellensburg Weekend

Finally - A Getaway: Wallowa Lake, OR

Quick Update

July - Flying By!

Summer, Summer

Camping Time!

Sunshine

Friday Fun

Long Overdue Post

Friday Random

Fail

Reflections on Change

Little of This and That

On Vacation!

Shootin'

Friday Reflections

A Quiet Easter Weekend

Weekend Fun, Part 2

There He Is!

Needs Caption

Then the Lawnmower Started Smoking

Finally, Photos!

Friday Happenings

He Was Right

Sickies

Learning From Japan

Hope Chest Project - Completed!

Whew!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

Running News

An Awesome Weekend

Vacation!

A Hike and 1000th Post

999th Post!

This Week....

Tobymac Show

True Love

Reflections on the New Routine

Work Reflections

On Being Adventurous

Making Time for Yourself

For Mom (and my Father-in-Law)

Getaways

First Week of the New Year

New Years at Cannon Beach, OR

Photo is Unrelated

Blast from the Past

*Happy Sigh*

Blessings

Almost Christmas...

Tis the Season!

12 Days Until Christmas!

For Mama - Happy Friday!

Christmasness

It's Friday! WOOT!

More Snow...

Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

The First Snow of the Season

Metal Head

A Random Tuesday

Anniversary Weekend & Memorial Dinner

How a Year Flies By...

Family Fun

Happy Sigh