.finally friday. {well kinda}

Today is my Friday and I am so excited!! We have tomorrow and Friday off work and then I am taking all of next week off. I feel like a little kid at Christmas with how excited I am to have some time off, be away from the office and the work, and just relax and spend time with family! Today is already going by very quickly, so it should be over before I know it.
**wish I was going to be sipping a Mai Tai on this beach during vacation...but some hot chocolate and a warm fire will do just fine :)

.simple woman's daybook.

12.22.09

...Simple Woman's Daybook...

...Outside My Window...
A cloudy winter day...wishing it was snowing!

...I Am Thinking...
About all the packing and preparing I have to do before we fly out tomorrow :)

...From The Kitchen...
Leftover spaghetti and meatballs...trying to eat up the last of everything before vacation

...I Am Wearing...
Khaki pants and a brown long sleeve shirt

...I Am Creating...
Christmas gifts and wedding invitations for friends

...I Am Going...
To Spokane tomorrow night for Christmas and New Years ;)

...I Am Reading...
Just bought two new books at Barnes and Noble. Cannot wait for vacation to start reading

...I Am Hoping...
That Christmas vacation doesn't go by too fast and that I get to see my family soon!

...I Am Hearing...
the clicking of keyboards

...Around The House...
Clothes everywhere!! I am trying to pack for 11 days=disaster area in my room :)

...One of My Favorite Things...
Snow days when you have nothing to do but curl up on the couch and read a good book. I am hoping that is snows while we are in Spokane!

.leavenworth.

A few weeks ago Nick and I, along with Therese and Adam and Stacey and Ryan, drove over to Leavenworth for the Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Leavenworth is a little mountain town just over Stevens Pass that looks like a little Bavarian town. It looks like a little town in the middle of Germany...so it is always fun to go walk around and stop in all the little shops. We headed over on Sunday morning, ate lunch at a fabulous little pizza place, and then walked around until the Christmas lighting ceremony began. They had a little presentation and then sand some Christmas songs and then the city began to light up. It even started snowing right as they were lighting the trees...it was beautiful!! It was so fun to go there for the day and the perfect thing to get us all in the Christmas mood :)

.current obsession.

I am seriously loving all the flower embellishments. I love that they take a simple looking item and make it so much more fashionable and give the outfit so much more personality! It's so feminine and I just love it.

.mexican train.

This is my latest obsession! I love playing games and getting together with family and friends to hang out and play games. A few weeks ago we had our small group over for a game night and one of the couples brought Mexican train. So we played for a few hours and had a blast. I knew that I wanted to get this because it is a very easy game, but a lot of fun. So we went over to our friend Kylie and Brent's house for dinner last week, and they bought us this game as a gift! I was so excited and we played for a few hours that night. So fun!! I love that we have friends who enjoy hanging out and playing games just as much as we do. Needless to say, when we go to Spokane for Christmas, we will be bringing this game :)

.let it snow. (*please*)

Wishin' and hopin' and prayin'......for SNOW!! Call me crazy but I am actually really starting to like winter and wishing that we had snow. Seattle has a pretty moderate climate and we get a lot of precipitation, just not snow. Last year we got an awesome snow storm about this time and I thought it was so much fun!! I am just hoping and wishing that we at least get a few days of snow. It is so peaceful! We are heading to Spokane for Christmas and New Years, so hopefully we will get some snow on that side of the mountains.

Yay for snow, and yay for it being Christmas time!!!

.glee.

Nick and I stumbled upon the pilot episode of Glee last year and have been hooked ever since. I love all the singing and dancing and the characters are all so ridiculous that it is so much fun to watch. Wednesday night was the season finale and I loved everything about it until the last scene. The last scene left me disappointed and unsure as to if I even want to continue watching the show.
The last scene was the glee teacher kissing another teacher right after he left his wife. These two had been having a somewhat inappropriate relationship the whole season, but as soon as he left his wife, he went straight to this woman. I'm sure other people didn't really notice it, but for me it really bothered me!
I guess I am just sick of the way that Hollywood and our culture views marriage. There is no forgiveness, counseling, working through things, etc. when relationships are having troubles. Our culture just portrays that when it gets tough, get out and find someone new. I seriously hate it. I wish people took marriage more seriously, took the vows and the commitment seriously. Ugh!
Are there any shows out there that promote healthy relationships and that marriage is actually a commitment, not a feeling?!
Any other Glee watchers out there have an opinion on this?

.simple things in life.

This past weekend was one of my favorite weekends I have had in a long time. Not because we did something spectacular or went somewhere exciting, but because we did just the exact opposite! For the first time in a month, we were home for the weekend. Now don't get me wrong, I love to travel and love visiting family and friends, but sometimes between working full-time and being gone on the weekends, it gets really exhausting and my to-do list for things at home becomes daunting. On Friday night Nick and I went to Costco and Cost Plus World Market to do some much needed grocery and furniture shopping. We found a fabulous desk on sale at World Market and were able to get some fresh fruit and food at Costco that we had been putting off for a while. We then ate dinner at Costco (I seriously love Costco food...don't judge ;) and then went home to watch a movie and cuddle on the couch. It was fantastic!

Then Saturday morning I was able to sleep in and get some things done around the house before heading to a friend's house to go to a Stampin' Up party. We made some really cute Christmas items and it was fun to be around friends and get in the Christmas spirit. When I got home it was just in time to shower and get ready for Nick's office Christmas Party. It is always so much fun to get dressed up and have a nice dinner.

Sunday we went to church and then came back and made some stew in the crock pot, hung pictures around the house, got our Christmas tree, put together shelves for the garage, create our Christmas cards and make some cool coaster tiles, and cross a lot of things off our to-do list.

(Here are the drink coaster tiles I made while they were drying)

I think what I loved most about this weekend was the fact that it was just Nick and I going through life together, and loving every second of it. I love that I have a husband that I enjoy spending time with and even the most simple, mundane tasks seem more fun when we do them together.

Although our next few weekends are busy, we will be home and I am really looking forward to it :)

.simple woman's daybook.

...Monday 12.7.09...

...Outside My Window...

A cold but beautiful and sunny winter day

...I Am Thinking...

About all the fun baking and crafts that I am excited to make in the next few weeks

...From The Kitchen...

Leftover Stew from last night and peach cobbler

...I Am Wearing...

Black pants, a grey cardigan, and a black jacket (it's freezing in my office!)

...I Am Creating...

Christmas cards for family and friends and placing orders to get in time for Christmas

...I Am Going...

To dinner tonight with my Father-In-Law and Husband

...I Am Reading...

In between books right now, about to start a new one....any suggestions?

...I Am Hoping...

That I remember to enjoy all the craziness of the holidays and enjoy time with family and friends

...I Am Hearing...

Christmas music from my Pandora playlist :)

...Around The House...

Our beautiful Christmas tree and decorations, and we finally hung pictures last night on the walls

...One of My Favorite Things...

Lazy nights at home with my husband watching Christmas movies :)

.the most wonderful time of the year.

For some reason this year, I am just so excited for the holidays. In November I could barely wait to go to California to spend time with my family for Thanksgiving and now I am just loving the Christmas season and everything that brings. I seriously feel like a kid at Disneyland with all the Christmas happenings around me. It all just makes me so happy. I mean who doesn't love listening to *NSYNC Christmas, Mariah Carey and 98 degrees Christmas Albums. And who can forget the Amy Grant, Kenny G and all the other cheesy Christmas albums. Call me a nerd, but I just love it :) The weather has been cold but sunny and it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. Luckily I have very fond memories of the holidays and I love being around friends and family. Christmas is also very important to me because it is a foundational event for me, being a Christian, as my personal Saviour was born on Christmas day. How could you not want to celebrate that?!?! I just love it and find myself smiling all the time.

Here are a few things that make me happy about this time of year....oh the simple things in life. I feel so blessed!!

Hope you are enjoying the holiday cheer as well!!

.wedded bliss.

Yesterday Nick and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary! I honestly can say that these have been the best 2 years of my life and I am constantly amazed at how much more I fall in love with Nick everyday. It has been SO MUCH FUN to spend everyday with my best friend and I feel so lucky that I get to spend the rest of my life with him. Everyday I am thankful for the man that Nick is, and wonderful husband I have been blessed with. Happy Anniversary...I am the luckiest :)

.photo shoot with mason.

While over visiting and meeting our nephew, I took some pictures and did a little photoshoot with the little man. Enjoy the pictures and see how adorable he is :)

.new moon.

Nerd Alert!! My friend Therese got free tickets to a premier tonight at 9:30 to see the New Moon movie. So Kristin, Therese and I are heading down to Seattle after work to see the movie. I have read all the books, and enjoyed them, but wasn't a crazy fan. So it should be interesting to see all the crazy twilight fanatics all dressed up in their gear :) But I am really excited to see it and it should be a fun night downtown!!

.mason james.

Nick and I officially have a nephew as of 8:11 am this morning. JD and Angela welcomed little Mason James Dietzen to the world. He was 7 lbs 8 oz and they are all doing great! Cannot wait to get to Spokane this weekend to meet him!!

.oh canada.

Our weekend trip to Vancouver was a success! Sarah and Scott were not able to make it because Scott was sick, but Dani and Bryan and Nick and I made the trek up to Vancouver on Saturday morning. It is a quick drive up there and Vancouver is a HUGE city!! We stayed at a really cute and quaint little hotel called "Le Soleil" that was right in the middle of downtown and only a few blocks away from the shopping district :) We spend Saturday shopping around, eating great food, watching a movie being filmed right next to our hotel, and wandered around the city. On Sunday, we slept in and then because it was so stormy and cold, we decided to drive around the city a little bit and then head home early. We stopped in Bellingham on the way home to watch the Seahawks game, and the Packers too ;).

It was so fun to just get away for a weekend and have fun with friends. Here are some pictures from the trip :)

Our hotel...


Filming the movie...


They were repelling from the side of the building...it was so cool!


More repelling...


Nick, Bryan and Dani


Dinner at Glowbal...




Seriously did a double take when we walked past this sign at a restaurant! So we took a picture :)


Vancouver skyline at night...

.vancouver.

This weekend Nick and I are going away for a weekend trip with our friends Dani & Bryan, and Scott & Sarah. It should be a fun couples get away. I am so excited because Vancouver, BC is supposed to be a beautiful city with lots of fun things to do and some great shopping :) Should be a great weekend. I will post pics and stories when we get back. Hope everyone has a great weekend :)

.halloween.

So I know that Halloween was a few weeks ago but I am trying to blog in order of events until I am caught up. Can you tell we had a busy October?! For Halloween, my work goes all out with decorations! People spend weeks and months preparing and decorating for it. Some of the most elaborate ones were the Circus (complete with hay on the floor and a magician), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory (they even had a chocolate river and tunnel), and Alice in Wonderland. Our section had planned to do Twilight, but a bunch of us got the swine flu in the beginning of October (myself included) and so we decided it would be funny to do the swine flu instead. So we dressed up as doctors and pigs and made our area look like a quarantined hospital. It turned out pretty cute.
For actual Halloween night, my friend Stacey had a Halloween party at her house. She went all out with the decorations and food...it was so cute. She is a little mini Martha Stewart. Nick and I are lame and threw our costume together last minute so we went with the "western" theme. Nick was a George Straight type cowboy and I was dressed in plaid and boots. Not too exciting but we had fun! I think Halloween might be one of those holidays that is more fun as you get older :)

The doctor and the 3 little swine flu piggies...


The entrance to our quarantined section...

The Circus area....

Me, Therese and Stacey at her halloween party...


Bobbing for apples game...can you tell I'm competitive...I was going to do anything to win (although Therese and Adam beat us all!)

Erin and I chatting...

.mom and dad visit.

My mom and dad came up to visit a few weeks ago and we had such a WONDERFUL visit. It was so fun to show them our new house and the beautiful fall in the northwest. We went to Leavenworth one day and walked around the cute town. It is a town that is modeled after a Bavarian town in Germany. It was fun to have my parents show us what was similar to when they lived in Germany. We ate authentic German food and walked all around. I was so sad when my parents had to go back home, but luckily we are spending almost a week down in Granite Bay for Thanksgiving! Can't wait to see them again!

.california visit.

Nick and I were able to go down to southern California to visit family and friends in mid October. We had so much fun and it is always so great to see our amazing friends and family that God blessed us with. Even after not seeing them or talking to them everyday, we pick up right where we left off and have a wonderful time together. I cannot image what life would be like without those relationships.

Here are a few pics from our trip!


A picture of the beautiful coast line in Dana Point

Adorable little sawyer giving me a face :)

Nick and I

Our little picnic at the park overlooking the ocean...can't beat that!

Lindsay, Derek and Courtney

Walking around at the St. Regis resort in Dana Point

The clouds rolled in at the ocean but this picture kind of reminds me of heaven. With the sun rays coming through the clouds...