The Big Hunt

A couple of weekends ago, we partook in our annual outing to hunt for the perfect Christmas tree. Color (not too green, not too blue), height, girth (hate that word!), and symmetry are all key for the perfect tree in our household. Especially symmetry. Keeps me awake at night worrying about all sides being even, the separation between the branches being even... Ryan probably just needs to send me away. I am obviously not sane enough to stay in mainstream society with my symmetry obcessions.

Anywho, back to the hunt. We typically attempt to find a good Christmas tree farm, you know, the ones that are dedicated to Christmas trees, with lots of variety for us picky tree-choosers. We have lost a few farms over the years to people moving away, selling their farms, etc. So this year we were on a mission to find a new one. List in hand of the local farms in the area (I use the word "local" loosely... most on the list were in the outskirts of Arlington, approximately 20-30 miles away from where we live), we headed out to find a dandy.

We ended up driving to a "farm" that was actually a former nursery. I'm not quite sure how they managed to make it onto the coveted Christmas Tree Farm list, but I guess they had a few trees that could be worthy enough to be displayed in our living room. I was skeptical, but I got out of the truck with an open mind. We searched around for a bit, and low and behold, Ryan spotted one. It had great height, a little larger girth than we needed, but still not too big to handle, had wonderful color, and best of all... obtained that required symmetry. It was perfect.... so was time for a photo-op.

The man helping us had a chainsaw that he was willing to cut down our tree with. But Ryan, being the rugged man that he is (umm...) announced that he would be glad to cut it himself with the hand saw that we brought along. Go, hunny, go! Tiiiimberrrr!

Load it up! Time to get back to civilization and get some hot cocoa to round out our adventure.

Dream of Peace

This isn't really a Christmas song, but it's one, that especially at this time of year with all of the references to peace, and love, and good will to man, that brings about the spirit of Christmas and about loving all people, no matter what your differences may be. This song makes me want to be a better person, in hopes that if we all do our part, we can make this world a better place for all. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCn9RKdx-XA

When I was young I used to wish for many things
All the things that children wish for in their dreams
Every night before I lay me down to sleep
I’d dream of all the things that tomorrow would bring
but now i’m older and i have children of my own to protect
and everywhere i look all i see is the hate and conflict
if i could have back all the wishes of my youth
i would wish for one thing only

I dream of peace
i dream of love
i dream that everyonewould throw down their guns

i imagine theres a future where all of us live
in a world of peace where people have more love to give
its a place where hate can never, never survive
its a place where war is always, always a crime
cuz i beleive theres a goodness in each one of us
if we could find the language to help us to trust
then we could grow the seeds with all, all that we need
we could find a better way

I dream of peace
i dream of love
i dream that everyonewould throw down their guns

oohhhh…i beleive that we can
make a difference this time
i beleive that we can
change the future one by one
i beleive that we can try…...

*guitar break*

When I was young I used to wish for many things
All the things that children wish for in their dreams
now i’m older and i see things through my sons eyes
all the innosence and hope

I dream of peace
i dream of love
i dream that everyone
would throw down their guns

i dream of peace…for you
i dream of love …for everyone
i dream of peace
i dream of love
i dream of peace…

My playlist

I made my own Christmas playlist, with 48 songs and counting! Feel free to tune in. :-) ..... http://www.playlist.com/playlist/18397316107

Christmas Music

Ok, I might be pushing it a bit, but it's just about time for the Christmas music to start a-playin'! I am totally getting into the Christmas mood, now that all of my Halloween decs are down. I want to decorate for Thanksgiving, but we won't even be home for that, so there is really no point. I'll just start in with the Christmas decorations, and then we can enjoy them longer. :-)

Anyways, if you'd like to listen to some great Christmas music, try out this site! It lets you type in a search term (I just type in "Christmas") and then you can click on the Playlist tab to see other people's playlists that they make. Some folks have great playlists already made, which makes it really easy to just pick one that looks good... and enjoy!

www.playlist.com

Fabulous Fall!

Fall... so fun! This fall has been great for us. We have been SUPER busy but it's been filled with Friends, Family, and lots of fabulous Fall fun!! Ok, enough "F" words for ya?? ;)

We grew some of our own mini pumpkins this year... :-) Can't wait to grow more next year and see how big we can get them! We even got a little quirky gourd this year!

Then I enjoyed my first baking session of the season...

In early October, we visited the Pumpkin Farm for the thrill of the hunt...

The weekend before Halloween, my parents had their Harvest Party... perfect day for it! I made my caramel apples... yuuummmm!

Our first year together!!! - Part 2: The trip!

On the day of our Anniversary, September 7th, Ryan had a secret trip planned for us! I was so excited! He gave me a couple of hints, but I had NO idea where we were going. It's always more fun that way :-)

We left the house about 11am, and got on the road. We headed down 405, then got onto I-5 near Southcenter. We drove for a bit, then a bit longer, and kept driving. For a second, I was wondering where the heck he was taking me. Then we headed east toward Bremerton. I have never really been out that way. We went over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, and drove past a lot of scenery, but have no idea where we were. LOL! Eventually we started seeing signs for Gig Harbor and Hood Canal. We wound our way down toward Hood Canal, and ended up on this cute little road lining the water. How beautiful! Then, we slowed down, and there was a sign for the Alderbrook Resort! How fun! It reminded me a lot of Willows Lodge. Northwestern and rugged.

We hung out for a bit, found our room, and walked down on the dock to look at the boats and the water. Then we had to go back to the room to change. Ryan then surprised me with a sunset cruise with wine and cheese before dinner! So gorgeous! We slowly trolled around the inlet, admiring the mountains and the slow descent of the sun to create a beautiful sunset. Very fun! When we returned, we made our way to the restaurant for a great Northwest dinner of salmon and sides. Yum!

The next day, we tootled around, ate breakfast, and checked out. Then we took all of the back-roads to get back to I-5. So pretty out there! I would love to go back some day :-)

Our first year together!! - Part 1: The cake!

So we made it! Did anyone think we wouldn't? Still... the first year comes with new advantures, surprises, discoveries, and even more love than you thought you could have for someone. Our first year has been great! Very busy with lots of big important things going on. But we have had a blast and can't wait to continue on our journey. :-)

For our Anniversary, actually the night before the actual day, I made Ryan a "gourmet" meal that we ate picnic-style on our family room floor. Very romantic with candles and a blanket! Heehee! We decided to eat our cake that night since the following day, Ryan was surprising me with a trip to a secret destination. It was still just as delicious as our wedding day! And I had forgotten what flavor was on the top of the cake... but to my delight, it was my favorite of the flavors we had... banana with Kahlua creme filling. Yuuuummmmm!! I guess that's why I made it the top so we could enjoy it again ;)

Chicken-Zucchini Casserole

Hello friends!

Ok, so I LOVE casseroles anyways, but this one.... is FANTASTIC! If you like zucchini, if you like stuffing, and you eat chicken, this casserole is for YOU! Enjoy :-)

CHICKEN - ZUCCHINI CASSEROLE

3 stalks celery, chopped
1 med. onion, chopped
1 stick butter (I usually only do about a 1/4 stick of butter)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. chicken broth
1 pkg. Pepperidge Farm cornbread stuffing mix (reserve 1/2 c.)
1 c. sour cream
1 chicken, boiled & deboned & chopped

Saute first 3 ingredients. Then add 1 medium chopped zucchini and saute until tender. Mix together remainder of ingredients and pour into greased casserole. Top with reserved dressing mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Fall! Almost here!

Ooooo, I love Fall and all that it brings! I can start to feel it in the air. Even though the days are still warm, the mornings are foggy and crisp, and the nights are cool. The sun is coming up later, and going down sooner. Fall is my favorite season! I can't WAIT!

Apple cider... pumpkin pie... red and orange leaves... bumpy and lumpy gourds... Halloween... sweaters... chilly breezes... turning the heat on... thunderstorms... colorful mums... haystacks... and so much more!!!

We are so blessed in the Northwest to have fantastic Fall's! Bring it on! And enjoy yours :)

Happy, Happy Birthday!!

August 26th, 2009 marks my 25th birthday!! Holy crud, I'm getting old! Wasn't high school and college just a couple of quarters ago!?! ;)

Anywho, I had a GREAT birthday today! I am blessed with a great family, friends, and work buds that made it a special day indeed :) Thanks to all of them for a fun time!

Just a couple of fun moments throughout my day...

The girls....

Cute little Jack... not really wanting to play along so much with our little photo-op torture ;)

Yay! Only one candle to blow out... lots of effort

OMG!! Will one ever grow out of birthday spankings????

Jin'Ah... enjoying the remenents of wedding champagne...

My desk is so pretty!

Pink and greeeeen! :)

Sarah even made me delicious banana cupcakes! Soooo good!

The birthday Lunch Bunch

Ice cream and balloons... doesn't get much better than that ;)

Ryan spoiled me with Play Money with his portrait in the middle like real money... LOL! He is so funny!! It represents real moola that I can use towards furniture!! Thank you hubs!! A GREAT present that I have been wanting for a long time!!!

To Be a Farmer's Wife!: The joys of gardening and produce production

At first, I was turned off by the thought of having a large, expansive garden, like my husband would have liked. One, because we don't have the room for it. Two, because I didn't want my whole yard to be a farmer's market!

I patiently allowed Ryan to have the far side of the house to excercise his green thumb (mostly not visible when you are in the back yard... well, I didn't tell him that's why he only got that much space). I "oooo'd" and "aawww'd" when he would ask me to come and look at what was growing on a daily basis. And then I would quietly go back to what I was doing. ;)

But then something happened... I started to care what the garden looked like, and I started being interested in what made the garden grow better in some spots and not others. I started to pay attention to what was blooming, and now, sprouting into real life produce!

Maybe we were born in the wrong century... or maybe we are just nerds. Either way, we like our garden, and I guess it's not so bad being married to a farmer at heart. :-)

Here are some fun pics of our new little sprouts. This hot heat has really made them go gang-busters lately! I'll have to keep you all updated on their progress!

Our Garden :-)

Onions! They are getting sooo big!

Itty-bity pumpkins... hopefully they will grow big enough for us to carve them. We will have to have a pumpkin carving party!

Acorn squash... love that shape.

We just found a couple of these guys the other day... they are volunteer pepper plants. We make our own compost and then use it in the garden... we must have had some pepper seeds in there that found their way to the surface. Yum!

The Farmer himself. Get those weeds out of there!

My stocks!! One of only 3 surviving starts.


Our lovely little hydrangea :) He started as just a little guy from another plant. He is well on his way to growing big and strong!

Goodness gracious... It's hot out!!

Ok, so I grew up in Lake Stevens, and have never lived anywhere other than the greater Seattle area. And man! We DO NOT get heat like this often! I feel like an old lady when I get all groggy and nasty-sweaty (yes, that could definitely be a technical term). It is pushing 93 today and is supposed to get hotter later this week!! Drink your water! ;)

This past weekend, we went to Salem, Oregon for Ryan's first-ever Feskens Family Reunion. Boy, was it fun! ;) 95 degrees and tons of people I have never met. Doesn't that sound like fun to you?! I am being a bad wife. It really wasn't so bad. It was interesting to learn about the Family Tree and about past generations and how the Feskes family became the Feskens family. It's always so weird when you meet new people who have your same last name.

Our (my) First Blog!!

Ok, so I never thought of myself as a "blogger". It's not that I thought of it in my head with any negative connotation... just never thought of myself as being interested in it. But as I was introduced to it by my friend Therese, I found myself liking the idea of sitting down and spilling my guts to the world, in a way that seems as if no one will read it. But alas, I'm sure at least one person on this planet will... so I better keep it clean. ;)

As I am typing, I'm finding this experience to be a bit like a grown-up diary entry. I never really keep a diary or journal growing up. I wrote in a journal throughout middle and high school. But the entries were all about, oh... I'd say... roughly 2 YEARS apart... so I'm not so sure that constitutes actually "writing" in a journal. Ha! But this could be kind of fun. We'll see where it takes me... :)

Oh! I almost forgot about Ryan... he is the other half of this blog. However, my bet is that he won't ever touch it ;) There's just something about engineers that isn't especially keen on writing down their life experiences and emotions... all you other engineer wives know exactly what I am talking about. But no... he is the love of my life and my best friend in the whole world and we look forward to welcoming you into our home, daily adventures, and this crazy thing we call LIFE :-)