8/26-8/29: You can't choose your family..

But even if you could...I'm not sure I could have chosen a better family. We're not perfect by any means but my family is my most precious treasure. I went home spontaneously for the weekend to make sure that my most precious treasure was still shining. I had a wonderful time with every single one of them. I really appreciated my time with every single person that has been a part of me since birth (well..Stephen...since YOUR birth but you get what I mean).
8/26:
I had a wonderful Thursday dinner with my mom, aunt, Josh, and my little Ollie. We then went to my dad and Julie's house and hung out. The best part was watching Ollie having a blast riding on the skateboard...he will be exactly like his grandpa.

8/27:
Thai food! May be one of my new favorite foods. My aunt and mom took me to their new favorite restaurant Mai Thai. Our waiter was so smart and helped me pick out a delicious yummy noodle delight meal. The food was great but the place was so beautiful! I want to go with Brand sometime because it was so romantic with a beautiful water feature and awesome lights. I can't wait to go back! The noodle delight contained perfectly cooked veggies (crispy and flavorful), yummy Thai noodles, and a perfect peanut sauce! The picture doesn't do it justice. For $12 you get a filling meal that is presented as a work of art.

8/28: Camera's battery died...having too much fun in Boise I suppose...sorry for the missed picture :(
8/29:
Nothing quite says "home" and "family" more than that beautiful blue and orange and that blue sure is beautiful. My mom got me something I will add to my treasure trove of blue and orange..BSU's appearance on Sports Illustrated. My sister said she was going to frame hers and I think I'll do the same. Season starts on our first anniversary and I'm SO anxious but excited. Go Broncos!!

My weekend home was much needed. I was able to take a break from work and spend time with family. I was sad Brand wasn't able to come but it was good to come home to him.
This past weekend was just another reminder of my amazing family. They were all supportive in their own way of the reason I was down there. I really do love my whole family and the great thing is..I know they love me.

8/18-8/25: Brand

A week of Brand:
Brand consumes my life as most of you know. He is my husband after all. Little did I know that he'd be the focus of (almost) 7 pictures in a row. One of the following isn't so much him as a hobby and desire we share (woah..cool the jets people..it involves a television show). But here is a week in the life of Brand...
8/18: Candy
You'll see a recurring theme in some of the pictures displayed in this entry. The theme is "high in sugar".  Brand has a sweet tooth. After all he did marry me :) Although the following picture represents what we purchased for MY sweet tooth, I have decided that a filled candy bowl is vital to the survival of a happy Brand.

8/19: Pudding Part 1
Brand's breakfast is similar to my 2 year old nephew's on a camping trip. If it's pudding..he's happy. I've tried to encourage him to eat something a little more...adult (bagels for crying out loud!) but he sticks with his easy pudding...sigh...I guess we'll both be diabetic by the time we're 30...

8/20: A deadly obsession
Brand and I started our marriage out in a funny way. Falling in love together...with a emotion-less serial killer named Dexter. We watched Season 1 and 3 before we got married and finished after we got married. Hot nights in our tiny apartment are synonymous with the hot Miami killer nights for Dexter Morgan. Staying up late to watch the next episode, then the next quickly became our favorite thing to do. We finished just in time to check out the first episode of season 4 that Showtime so graciously TEASED us with on XBox instant Netflix. We had to wait until we pre-ordered season 4 to see anything. But it came and went and now we're done. It was fantastic and I loved it. It is probably what turned Brand into more of a TV junkie than he was before he met me. We are becoming Showtime customers pretty soon just to see what other anxiety attacks Dexter and his killer crew can give me...I took a pic of the cover but knowing that not everyone has seen it I had to cut out some vital parts of the cover so all you get is his bloody name :)

8/21: He's got a huge heart and a beautiful doggie
Brand woke up very early with me to accompany me to my place of work to distribute over a hundred bags of pet food to our disabled adults and homebound seniors in Spokane. We brought along our trusty sidekick, Santa Paws to help make sure that the best friends of our seniors are being fed too.

8/22: Brand's love for reading and his love for me mix together to form a beautiful love child...
Harry Potter!! Brand has FINALLY started reading the series after much poking and prodding from me. He said he was embarrassed to read them but after Twilight comes out he feels better about coming to the more awesome side. He feels he has to start from the beginning even though he thinks he won't like the first few but I have a feeling they won't be so horrible to him :) He happily (HAH) posed for this picture to show off his wonderful awesomness.

8/23: Pudding Part 2
After a much needed essential grocery trip, Brand pointed out that he didn't have a lot of snacks to eat. We were so focused on the building blocks to great meals that we forgot about the building blocks to great laziness! Didn't take me long to go out and purchase another staple to Brand's survival...his oh so healthy breakfast that was mentioned earlier. Brand goes through pudding fast. So I stocked up on the chocolatey goodness. I guess he'll be having breakfast for even longer...

8/24: His computery geekiness is his super power
Brand's genious and patience with HP IT provided us with this lovely box. We shipped it out to get the AC adapter connection all fixied up! I'm pretty excited. This notebook is more than just a laptop to me and more than just my connection to cyberspace..it was my wedding present from Brand and even when it's broken and duct tape doesn't hold it up anymore, I'll keep it forever. So I'm glad HP sent us a nice little bed for it's trip to wherever computers go to get a little surgery done :)

8/25: Sometimes change isn't his thing..
Try hard as he might, Brand just could not steer away from his usual pudding breakfast. After he left for work I noticed this little present for me on the countertop...not really low in sugar but at least it's a breakfast food..

Brand is pretty amazing. With our first anniversary coming up I've been looking back over our past year. And it's not his sweet tooth or his computery geekiness or even his willingness to get sucked into my TV crazyness...it's his warmth, compassion, and his love for me. He is ultimately selfless and I can't believe I get to be married to such a great guy. I really love you Brand :D

8/17: There I fixed it!

Sorta...
lately my laptop has been on the funny side. It won't recognize that it's plugged in unless I hold the cord a certain way. Well..the battery died before I could get it to a place to charge and it's been out of commission all day! Pretty sad for me. It may be lame but not only is this my computer..it was also my wedding present from Brand. So no matter what happens to it..I'll keep it forever. But until it gets fixed, we found a way to keep it charging. It did it's best when I stood it on it's side and kept the cord at an angle. After holding it for about 20 minutes I decided to see if I could figure out a way to keep it going.
Brand suggested jimmy rigging a docking station (p.s...anyone know where that term came from? it's weird to me). I came up with the idea to do it between the couch cushions. It was working and I didn't have to use my thighs anymore but it needed a little extra help to keep the cord at JUST the right angle. So I taped it to the bottom of the laptop. And it worked! It's currently charging and soon I'll take it down for the night so any rambunctious kitty cats and clumsy dogs don't do any more damage to it.

So in case the cleaning post didn't convince you I take after my dad....this should...sorry there's not string.

8/15 and 8/16: I make this look good..

8/15:: Sometimes you just look good. The face looks good, the outfit looks good, and the hair cooperates. On Sunday I had the bathroom to myself since Brand was visiting friends in Odessa. I didn't feel like straightening my hair so I decided to have some fun. Not too fancy but definitely something I loved and will do again (if the stars align and my hair listens to me..)

I call it a whoopy di whoo with a hanging flang. Yay!

8/16: I love city alleyways for pictures! If I were a photographer I would totally take advantage of them. I love fire escapes, decorations in the apartment windows, trash, and grafitti. So cool! We have a pretty sweet alleyway behind our work. It's been used in multiple straight to video movie films (saw them shoot a car crash scene for a Ving Rhames old time gangster movie). Since I've had to walk a block or two to work I usually cut through the very well lit and watched alley. I've always wanted to take a picture of the grafitti on our wall because it's kind of neat.

Above our white sign telling our volunteers that this door does not open, someone wrote an interesting statement. It said: As long as there is planet earth, we are not homeless!
I thought that was pretty cool. We have a lot of homeless seniors and what I've been told a lot of homeless people camp out around our work at night. Some make their mark with vomit, blood, feces, or urine. Others write thought-provoking quotes like these.
And p.s. I love the SOB at the top. I get to write this often for Shortness of breath..but it makes me laugh when I'm dealing with a jerky client who has SOB in their file...ahhh if only that was a real illness...

8/14: My other personality

There are some things you inherit from your parents that you like: my wonderful personality, my love for others, my love for Jesus, my stunning good looks, and my ability to be a complete dork.
Other things you think jeez...I'm becoming like _________(mother or father..oh yes this is not gender limited folks!)
I remember when my dad would get in this mood. He'd take a box and go around and ask us all what every little thing was and why it was out. If he didn't like our answer it went into the box..then into the garage. It was highly annoying. And still now, I know there are utensils in that garage (you stick it to him Julie!). Since then my dad has lightened up but now I start seeing that cleaning alter ego rear it's ugly head in me. I get the same tone of voice and ask the same questions that my dad did. I would get in these moods where I didn't care what time of day it was the floor must be vacuumed! (at least I didn't remove the carpet in the middle of the night) I've turned into my father...
So when my alter ego comes out..it comes out with avengence! I'm a pretty dang good cleaner (ahem anal) so I'm trying hard to relax about it..but something had to be done last Saturday. Something so gross, so evil..I had to get into my cleaning alter ego costume...

Nose wrapped in a old Halloween inspired dish towel..I cleaned out the fridge..DUN DUN DUNNNNN!

Yup..trash and leftover food from probably oh decades ago STINK! It was time to clean out the fridge and get rid of the food that was growing stuff that was growing stuff. It wasn't pleasant..but someone's gotta do it. And that was me. And I was amazing. And Brand took the trash out because it smelled like a fart.
The end.

8/13: Sometimes the whole week is a manic Monday

Quick rundown of what I do for a living in case you don't know:
I visit all our recipients to Meals on Wheels. I perform assessments of their living situation, their mental capacity, their abilities to perform daily tasks, their health, and I also weigh them. I then of course have to follow up with a typed assessment and then follow-up with any referrals to services they may need which can range from obtaining assistance with cleaning their house to getting them a fan or some new clothes. It's highly rewarding and I LOVE getting out of my office and meeting with them face to face. I'm always looking for ways to improve my interactions and to get the most out of them. It's a fun and definitely challenging job. I took over the entire responsibilty for all Spokane Meals on Wheels recipients from the county in January..and I'm still playing clean-up. I have to see everyone within two weeks and I try to see everyone at least every six months (three months for frail, and one month for incredibly frail). When I took over there were loads of recipients that have never been seen. I have been waiting for the perfect time when things calmed down to get to those people, but as soon as I just said "Screw it..let's do this! Let's see these people!" we had TWENTY new people sign on and THIRTEEN people were up for their reassessments..talk about BUTTLOADS of people to see in a short amount of time. So the past two weeks have been non-stop. I see about 4-6 people a day and have been behind on paperwork because usually I allow at least one day a week devoted to getting paperwork done and getting referrals taken care of. But with people going on vacation and me having to step up and put my job aside..I'm about a week behind!!! I feel like I have a permanent relationship with my briefcase...my example of my mobile office..

In my "briefcase" (ahem "stolen laptop bag from Brand"...) I carry my fancy binder (PAH! fancy is not in the non-profit dictionary) that holds my assessments and surveys, multiple pens, new and incorrect business cards (yup I'm a MSW according to my business card..cheapest degree ever!), multiple flyers, brochures etc on services, and my favorite...a fancy scale (yup..fancy is not being sarcastic here..it's pretty sweet). So that thing is heavy...that scale..needs a scale to tell it to lose some weight. Anywho...there she is...my life...ahhh sigh.
On top of all this I'm in charge of distributing cat and dog food to not only our homebound seniors but other seniors in Spokane. I don't really have time for it now..but those doggies and kitties can't wait so this Saturday they'll be getting another delivery..and they'll never know the stress and swear words I spent on it. And that's ok..because I love my seniors and I love their doorbells..I mean their dogs...(seriously though.. I see the cutest dogs..picture this a black lab..basset hound mix! so sweet and adorable! I may steal him)
Plus after a bad day I get to come home to this..

Yes he is wearing my red flats. No he didn't put them on himself. Yes I think it's funny. No Brand does not. And yes, Dexter always looks this pathetic.

8/11 and 8/12: Muffins for change

8/11:: Just like Boise, Spokane has two seasons: Winter and road construction. Now as a social worker that does multiple home visits (I average to about 20 miles a day just for home visits..that does not count the 10 mile commute to work) road construction really is a pain in my you know what (BUTT..in case you did not know what was what). I mean there are detours for detours! Everywhere you look this road is torn up go that way, this road is closed do this! It's highly irritating. However, I do look at all the construction men and women and know that this may be the best work they get all year and like farmers tend to have to live off what they make during the summer.
Oh where was I? Oh yeah complaining...this year happens to be the worst. They've decided to tear up one of the busiest roads in Spokane which also happens to be where I work. They've also decided to tear up the side roads and pretty much every pathway to get to work. I've altered my route..fine..no biggie..change is nice. But since we have elderly people coming to our senior center (because really..they're the only ones allowed) the staff has given up our parking so they can park there. We already have our elderly volunteers manuevering the bumpy side roads and alleyways, and we also have the paratransit van coming through the alley and bringing our seniors through the back door and our parking lot is small as it is..we really did have to give up these spots. I don't mind the walk (except for today when I was bringing quite the load to my next home visit...oy vey) But it sure does take up a lot of moolah!! Luckily, I park about a block and a half away where the 10 hour parking is and I usually spend about $1 a day..not bad! So I have gone about collecting any silver American coin I can get my hands on! Brand pitches in by bringing home his changely tips and we've had this giant jar of change forever that I've sorted through and will probably be set for awhile (maybe not the 4 months this construction is planned for..but a good chunk of time for sure!) I carry a little baggy of coins like a crazy person and it makes me happy :D

But seriously..do not get me started on my theory against meters..I think they're evil and evil people run them. Don't believe me? Check out a story I recently heard...some guy had just parked his car in a meter and was getting out to put money in it and while he was walking over he got a ticket...he fought it..and the city won! So meter maids...there may be a special place in hell for you...

8/12: Besides collecting change..I randomly make baked goods! My first time for homemade muffins turned out decent. They were more mini muffins since i only have a cupcake pan but they were good and streusally..next time I'm going to put some more flavor in it somehow and perhaps try drizzling on some frosting :)

8/9 and 8/10: Who died and made you king of the zombies?

8/9::Date night: It's supposed to be a night where we take time from our regularly scheduled lives (Netflix, computer games, reading books, TV) and make a purposeful effort to do something together. Whether it is mini golf, going out to eat, seeing a movie, or doing what we normally do but with an intention of spending that time together. So we take away the distractions and just enjoy each other. On our date night we decided to watch a classic: Shaun of the Dead. It's part of why we're together in the first place and every now again we like to honor the beauty that is Zombie romantic comedies. It was fun whipping the movie out and watching it (for the hundredth time) and finding more things to laugh it. I just can't get enough of it..really..I could watch it every day....

8/10:: Another thing that we like to do a lot is eat. Mainly meat. We like our pork, our beef, and our chicken. Lately we've been slowly reaching the bottom of our barrel when it comes to available food stuffs in our kitchen. But something we love and can't get enough of is a good BBQed drumstick :D Brand flavored them beautifully and we paired them with a good can of Baked Beans. I just had to get the perfect picture of Brand devouring his prey...

Handsome isn't he?

8/8: A pooped puppy

Dexter had a long weekend of hiking, swimming, dead fish catching, growling, and protecting. So he was obviously pooped...

He was not that excited about me taking a picture of him while he was snoozing. But man do I love this puppy :D

8/7: A hike in the Sawtooths

I don't think I knew how much I liked hiking until our beautiful hike in the Sawtooths on Saturday. At times I felt like I was in the mountains of Austria and that I should yodel or break out into song about the hills and how they are alive with music. Wildflowers, caterpillars, huge boulders, mountain creeks, and freezing cold mountain rivers. I think my favorite part was seeing two of my favorite boys have such a blast and be so clearly in their element. Dexter LOVED the hike. He led the way and never grew weary. He had a natural nose and knew where to go. Ollie was in great spirits too. He stomped around, ran, fell and got right back up, and the only time he cried was when he thought I took his apple. Ollie loves being in the dirt and getting dirty so it was no wonder that he loved this hike. One of my favorite parts was when I got to see his imagination at work. We found a huge boulder that created a small cave. We explored and he said he found a dragon lizard. But the dragon lizard went to her family and Ollie wanted to stay until he she came back. She didn't come back but he was okay with it. I love little kids' imaginations :)
The hike was so beautiful! I could not get over it. See for yourself...

8/6: The beauty of creation

I LOVE Redfish Lake! I think it's absolutely beautiful! The Sawtooth mountains are a perfect backdrop for a family camping trip. On Friday we swam in the lake and it was so much fun. I love swimming in mountain lakes, even if they're a bit cold they're so refreshing and worth the first part of pain before you get used to the crispness.
Some highlights of Friday:
Dexter catching a dead fish
Dexter pooping in the lake
Yummy chicken asparagus and biscuits for dinner
Sitting around the fire with my family
And of course, seeing my awesome family and my wonderful nephew.

8/5: Fuelled by Coca-Cola

On Thursday my best friends and I said goodbye to Mollie at the airport. In true Mollie fashion she left with style! She left her passport at my friend Whitney's house and Whitney had to rush home to get it but took the wrong exit and what should have been a 20 minute trip turned out to be about a 45 minute one. We had to keep letting people in front of us and finally she showed up! Luckily, we had a rushed goodbye. Any longer and we would have been a wreck...even more than we already were. We hugged, cried, said I love yous, and made our typical jokes. It made me realize even more how grateful I am to have friends that are truly touched by the separation from another. I didn't get any pictures through the chaos and honestly I don't want a picture of us saying goodbye. I just want a picture of us reuniting again :)
I did get a picture of our road trip fuel to Boise for our big camping trip :D

8/4: Friendship

"if ever there is a tomorrow when we are not together, there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart, i'll always be with you." -winnie the pooh

Wednesday was the official "Goodbye-Mollie" party.We had yummy sushi, dyed hair, and bonded over a late night dip in the river. We laughed a lot, reminisced, and looked forward to the year that we will spend separated from Mollie. We made sure that there would always be something special connecting us. I decided not to take a lot of pictures that night so that I could really just spend time with my girls. I did get a great picture of me and Christie though. As you can see we're pretty stoked to be hanging out with our best friends. When we said goodbye it was only 8 hours before we had to say goodbye to our Mollie. It was tough not to think about the hard goodbye the next day so we just focused on the great times we've had and the great times we'll continue to have..even if we're separated.

8/2 & 8/3: Love and Vacuuming

8/2: Date night was spent playing tennis and then eating the calories we burned at McDonald's. Pretty much amazing. I completely suck at tennis but I do have fun. I mainly feel bad that Brand has to put up with me. But he's a great teacher and doesn't get frustrated..which is good because I get silly when I'm not doing well. Here we are looking awesome in our tennis gear...

8/3: My vacuum is my friend. My biggest chore involves the mounds of dog fur that glide across my house. So my vacuum is my favorite cleaning tool. Today I needed to catch up on some cleaning since we're going to be gone this weekend for camping. And man did I clean! Now my house doesn't ever really get dirty. I won't let it...it's a sickness I tell you. But I see the dirt and I need to clean it. So today I highlight my wonderful vacuum. It's green, it sucks, and it's beautiful...her name is..Elphaba :)

7/31 & 8/1: The only floating green and my one and only puppy :)

7/31: Saturday was our annual Cotton Classic golf tournament for Meals on Wheels. It took place at the prestigious Coeur d'Alene resort, the only resort with a floating green. I helped with registration and got to meet a bunch of rich people with money to spend. It was a beautiful day and I had to take a picture of the floating green with the mountains in the background.

8/1: Sunday I spent organizing for fun! I had a blast getting some supplies and making everything so pretty. My neat freakyness is getting worse but I'm embracing it for now and organizing to help with the amount of time I actually spend cleaning. While I was going to take a picture of my now wonderfully organized bathroom and breakfast bar...my sweet puppy once again showed me how adorable he is. He decided to cuddle with his mom and well there just wasn't room on the couch...

7/30: My girls :D

7/30:
Friday night was perfect. As part one of the goodbye celebrations for Mollie: Whitney, Mollie and I went to dinner and talked like we always do. Dinner was great and we headed home for the massive amounts of candy we scored from the pinata from the bar the night before for Dani's birthday (if bars gave out candy like they did that night..I'd be there a lot more, nothing quite like sitting at a bar with your sober friends eating candy haha). Dani joined us later and we talked and laughed. It was what we always do and it's our favorite thing to do. We could talk all night, us girls never run out of things to talk about. These past two years has brought us unbelievably close together. When Mollie's dad died we became even closer as we banded together to support one of us. Now that Mollie is moving to Ireland for a year we all want to soak up every little bit of her that we can. I think we all know that Mollie is what brought us together. She is a personality that can really unite people. She brings out the best and makes you embrace the worst. Saying goodbye to Mollie will be tough. I'll see her at Christmas and hopefully we'll be able to visit her in Ireland. But it won't be the same. I'm excited to get even closer to the girls that are staying behind with me here in the states and I really am looking forward to hear about Mollie's adventures in wealthy Ireland as she changes the lives of the kids she will be nannying for. And hopefully this year will go by fast and we'll get our crazy Mollie back :) Can I just say..I love my friends! :D
Here's a pic of the aftermath of candy and wine:

7/28 & 7/29: Nerds and Buds

7/28:
Brand's a nerd. Here's some more evidence...

Love him :)
7/29: Dani's birthday!! My Dani Girl turned 24 on the 29th and we celebrated with BBQ and dancing! Oh and some yummy lemondrops! It was fun to celebrate with some of my most favorite people, especially since on 8/5 we all have to get together to say goodbye to Mollie as she leaves for Ireland. Anyway, Dani is definitely one of my most favorite people. She constantly surprises you. She's hilarious, awesome, sweet, ridiculous!, and has the biggest heart ever. I absolutely love this girl and I'm so happy to have her in my life.

7/26 and 7/27: Inception and Our silly neighborhood

On 7/26 we went to Inception. Pretty good. Fun to watch. Didn't change my life or anything but I did enjoy it and would watch it again to see what I didn't pick up.

7/27: Tuesday was a more exciting day. Had some neighborly fights going on Here are two of my favorite quotes:
I will ANNIHILATE YOU!!!!
and
Stupid ignorant racist lady (her and her husband's n-word comments started the fight with our African American neighbors..thats when the African American lady said the previous quote..then kicked the door...awesome): Blah blah blah [talking to the cop while he's trying to talk to our other neighbor that got into it with the racists] Cop: SHUT UP!!!!
Cops were here for a few hours. 6 cop cars and 2 detectives. Apparently they were there two times earlier that day. A week later and it's quieter and we're hoping the racists keep to themselves. But as the excitement happened outside this was our view..I'm an awesome peeper without having to open the blinds so yes I was able to see the whole thing :)