January 28, 2011

Vacation Needed...

I was talking with a friend this morning. Actually, I'm not sure I can technically call her my friend? But I sure like her. We have the same doctor. And she has been at the office the last two times that I have been there. She is one of those contagiously happy people that make me smile. I like that.

Anyway... this morning we were talking about having a strong feeling towards needing a vacation. Right now, I am at a point in my life, where I could really use a 'get-away'. So on the subject of vacation, I thought how nice it would be to visit Washington DC. I love the east coast. It is so beautiful. It's historical, I love that it's historical. Everywhere you turn there is a piece of history, a piece of our great country.

I've actually been thinking about this for a while. Zach and I like to watch Bones on Thursday nights. L-O-V-E that show. It is set in DC and every time we watch, I remind my husband how badly I want to go back there. And take it slow.

There is SO much to see. So much to learn. When we visited a few years ago, we had 6 days. It was a glorious 6 days. But even in all that time, we didn't see it all. I want to go back and take my time. I mean really take my time to look and actually 'see' my surroundings. Wouldn't it be lovely to just meander through the mall with a hot cup of coffee and take it all in. That's what I would like to do.


Who's with me?

January 27, 2011

Embrace the Camera - Jan 27

Embracing Family

One of my faves...
All the ladies in my family.


Me, Ariana, Annette, Jocelyn, Ryleigh, Mom, Jessica, Kim, and Maci.

Happy Thursday, Embrace On!

January 24, 2011

Rough Monday....

Did you know it was Monday morning??
Apparently my alarm clock didn't.

I woke up at 6:00 this morning... should have been up at 5:00...
SO Late... Today isn't going so well.

Can I just go back to bed and start over tomorrow?
Tuesday will be better....

Right??

January 21, 2011

Oh No ... the Hair...

I recently (like 6 months ago) had this epiphany.
"If I don't get my hair colored every 6 weeks; I can save almost $1200 a year"
WOW!!!

I spend how much coloring my hair????
Granted... I got it done right ladies! No color in the box for my tresses.

So, I went to my gal and told her (nearly in tears)...
that I couldn't see her as often. That I would be limited to cuts/trims only from now on.
She was sad; but we colored my hair as close back to my natural color as we could get it.

NOW...
Months later... I see why I colored my hair in the first place.
That is NOT a grey I see..... Is it???
It's back to coloring I go. So much for saving money.
Yes... I am that shallow... sorry to have tricked you all.

January 20, 2011

Embrace the Camera - Jan 20

Good Thursday Morning!!
Bring on the camera... we are ready.

The girls and I had a goofy night last week... please excuse the crazy faces... and multiple chins.









Now it's your turn.
Join Emily and the others below.


January 17, 2011

Ryleigh-ism

Miss Ryleigh started a new school a few weeks ago.
On Friday she told me about her extra classes.

She said they gave her a choice between taking band and chore.
Confused... I asked what chore was.
"It is really chores?"
"Do you have to help clean up?"

Ryleigh - "No, Chore! Singing!"
Me - "Ryleigh, Do you mean Choir?"
Ryleigh - "No! It's pronounced, Chore!"

Silly me! I've been saying it wrong all this time.
:o)

January 14, 2011

In Need of New Jeans

Unfortunately for me, but lucky for my husband (whom I share a closet with) I have very few pairs of pants.
I can't help it. I LOVE buying new clothes, but once they are purchased, one of two things happens to them:

1. My husband decides to "Help" with the laundry and my
clothes come out one (or sometimes two sizes) smaller than they went in.

2. I wear them at least once a week for a while and they get washed
just as many times... so I end up with faded and not so flattering jeans.

I was really good for a long time, and lost a TON of weight. Therefore, I threw out a TON of clothes. All those jeans I was hanging on to because, "They might fit me again some day", all went out the door and to Good Will.

So now I have a dilemma. I only have 3 pairs of pants that actually fit me. And one of them doesn't even fit every day. Which is sad all in itself.  But another sad truth, due to some medication from my Doc... I am closer again to my old weight, than my wanted weight. Which leaves me with very few choices in the pants department.

So what do I do?? I try to go shopping for new pants.

With No LUCK!

Do you know how hard it is to find a good pair of jeans when your butt isn't exactly the size you'd like it to be??
It is SO disheartening :(

And my husband won't let me spend money on the jeans that I'd really like to have. (Deep down I know he is right... it just sucks) To him... a good pair of jeans is the $12.50 Kirkland Brand from Costco. Great for you to wear to work babe, but not good for me... sorry. As much as I would LOVE to spend $15-20 on a pair of jeans, it just doesn't work for me and my body.

HELP!! What do I do now?? And where should I go?

Today is payday... I think I'll try again.
I am in desperate need of your suggestions...

Oh... and please Wish me luck!

See Ya~



January 13, 2011

Embrace The Camera - Jan 13

We've been thinking a lot about Ryleigh these last few days.
Our house sure is quiet when she is at her Mom's house,
and we sure miss her when she is gone.

Here are a few photos of the Rooster-Ry.

Some of her and her dad...


And one with me....


Last Spring, we took Ryleigh to Phoenix.
We all needed a little trip away from the cold for a few days.
While there, Ryleigh was able to see her grandparents, Fred and Carla.



That's a little bit of Ryleigh this week!

Now hop on over to The Anderson Crew so you can embrace the camera with us.


 
See Ya~

January 12, 2011

Snowy Wednesday

Today we woke up to another 5 inches of snow.
I LOVE the SNOW!!
We should be getting another 1 to 5 inches throughout the day.
That should make for a nice drive home.

Here is a view of Mt Spokane.
Photo courtesy krem.com

Until tomorrow when it is suppossed to start raining.
That will probably be a nice soupy mess. :(

On another hand....

My step-son, Jake, is in Boulder, CO today.
I'd almost rather be there.
Isn't it beautiful?


Enjoy the weather where ever you may be this morning.

I, for one, can't wait til my next visit to Phoenix,
gotta love the sunshine and Vitamin D :)

See Ya~

January 11, 2011

Kara's Phone - January 11



Hey! It's 1-11-11. That's a lot of ones... :)

Here's what's on MY phone this week!
Took Ryleigh to paint pottery last weekend.
This is how hers turned out.


Ryleigh didnt' believe me that sometimes there are two yolks in an egg.
The next day... we got one!


If only everyone had read this book as a child :-)


My Godson, Ethan...
He is pissed because we turned OFF the Food Network.
Now that is my kind of kiddo right there!

(Oh... and Ariana is texting in the background...
when is she NOT texting??? Teenagers...)


Last Thursday, Ari showed up with a gage in her ear.
Super cute... not a big one...
and... I think her mom's gonna be pissed. Silly Girl.

Zach send me this... said it is my new car.
He was super excited that I could put kiddos in the back,
AND he can still use it for work.
Sorry babe... not giving up my car.
I love my car :)


My first attempt at a crocheted hat... Ryleigh LOVED it.
I think my next one will be better... if not,
it's off to finding another hobby to try.

Walked by my fridge this morning and saw that Zach
helped me with my grocery list.....
Do you see the last item?? And how he spelled it?
He's gonna kill me for putting this on here. ;)

So that is what was on my phone this week.
Wanna Play?? Head on over to The Lowe Family News and you can play too!
Head over and check out other phones.

Have a good Tuesday night.
We are bracing for 8 to 10 more inches of snow tonight.
Should be a nice drive to work in the morning.

See Ya~



January 6, 2011

Embrace the Camera - January 6

It's hard for me to take pictures on Thursdays
when my step-kiddos aren't with us every week.
So I am again forced to pull some pictures from the past.

I have chosen some pics of me and my hubbs this week.
I sure love this guy! He makes all my dreams come true!

Dancing at our Wedding Reception.


... and yes, I let him wear that awful salmon shirt.
In my defense, it was 106 degrees outside,
so I wasn't really paying attention to a lot that day... except shade.

This is our awesome cake... you can't even tell from this angle that it was melting.





At Cannon Beach, my favorite place in the world.
With my favorite guy.



Driving around the base of Mt Adams, we stopped at this incredible ravine.
Much deeper than it looks in the picture, I promise.



Taken at one of the many lighthouses we visited on the Oregon Coast.

He lets me visit historical landmarks... and I let him visit
Every.   Single.   Furniture.   Store.
we see or happen to be near... it's his thing.


 
These pictures make me want to plan a road trip. :o)

Now its your turn to Embrace the Camera!
See you all next week!



January 5, 2011

The Pioneer Woman

For those of you that don't know me personally, you'd never guess that I was a country girl at heart.
I grew up on a farm north of Spokane, WA and LOVED it. (Shh, don't tell my dad)

Sometimes, I even wish I could throw on some work clothes and go muck horse stalls or cut fire wood, or (gulp) clean chicken pens. (My mom would have a coronary if she knew I said that about the chickens.)
But I do; I miss it.

It's funny, when I was growing up I HATED living on the farm. I hated the chores, and the getting up at the butt crack of dawn to do those chores, and poo... good lord the poo ... (Animals poo a lot... and it seems like even more when you have to clean it up)

Now that I am an adult, I have to admit that I miss all that work. I miss the chorse and the responsibility, I miss getting up and having something to do at the crack of dawn, (but I don't miss all the poo). I miss being in awesome physical shape and not having to really try at it (thanks to all the chores).
Most of all, I miss the food. I miss cooking dinner with my mom and monthly trips to Costco for supplies. I miss baking and even cleaning the kitchen. I miss the slow lifestyle we lived. It seemed we were never in a hurry to go anywhere or do anything.

 We just lived.

Recently, I got a taste of that lifestyle that I miss so much. My friend Emily of Tiny Belles Boutique found and introduced me (via blog) to Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. She is a girl after my own (Farm Missing) heart. Reading The Pioneer Woman Blog has taken me back to all those things that I miss about my childhood, and all the things I didn't even remember I was missing. Thank you both for that.

The Pioneer Woman released a cookbook last year and I can't believe I didn't know about this before. It is perfect! After trying out some of the recipes from her website, I had to go out and buy a copy. I can't wait to get back to the kitchen and start cooking from this book.


I am a long way from returning to a farm or farm work, but if I can have a little taste of home, in my own home, I will take it.
I am no Pioneer Woman, but stay tuned, maybe I'll share :)

January 4, 2011

What's on Kara's Phone - Jan 4

What's on My Phone Tuesdays!

Here's what's on my phone this COLD Tuesday morning!

Besides my horrible drive to work...



My FAVORITE  breakfast at the BEST doughnut shop in Seattle.
Top Pot Doughnuts
YUM-O!! (of course I went for the messy one)


I found this ornament for my niece for Christmas this year.
It was perfect for her nickname; It's a Maci-Moose!


Check out this DS game I saw at Target.
My mom, being a flight attendent, got a kick out of this.
I wonder if she practices on here......


When the movie you want to see is sold out...
settle for a strawberry sundae. MMmmm


My basement either needs a humidifier...
OR a new (static-free) couch.
Which do you think my husband will let me get??


Why the heck can't I take a good picture of my crazy dog??
Instead, she always looks like a demon-dog.
(Careful, she might lick you to death)


That is just a sampling of some of the crazy on my phone this week... I know I will find something better for next week. 
What's on your phone??
Link on over to The Lowe Family News and you can play to.

January 3, 2011

First Day Back

After what seemed like a long 4-day weekend; I am back to work.

I returned to find my desk clean, which is never the case (since our janitor is useless and I usually clean it myself).

But I also found this:
52 New Emails, 16 of which are unread from last week
6 Voicemails
18 New Faxes
TONS of insurance certificates to review
Payroll Taxes that need to be done
and
ZERO Motivation!!

I have returned to work with an obviously large amount of work to complete, but have no desire to do any of it. Why is that?  I know ... I know ...

I would much rather be at home, on my couch, with a good book and some coffee.
Why can't today be yesterday? Why can't the weekend be one day longer?

I need to find my motivation somewhere and today I think it may be residing at Starbucks!
So I am off to get a coffee and some fresh air.
When I get back .. I think I'll tackle those emails.

wish me luck

New Year...

I don't really have a lot to say this morning... :(

But I read from Ree, The Pioneer Woman that you should blog daily.
Even if you don't have much to say...

So... here goes... I had a Super Relaxing weekend with my family.
I think I clocked close to 10 hours of tv and movies (which never happens).
But it was needed, I was tired.

Now I am refreshed and ready to take on 2011 like never before.

Bring it on New Year! I am ready for you!