The Week That Was

With each passing day, things happen.

·         Gathered a handful of loose popcorn on the loveseat and tossed it in my mouth. Apparently there were also loose cat treats lying about. My sister asked me what was wrong with my teeth.

·         It is amazing what you may find photographed on your phone when you leave it alone for a few moments.

·         Cookies. I made them. So many that you will never know. Some of them were frosted and adorned with colorful sprinkles. Some were spicy and chewy. Some were chocolatey and others were puffy. Then I packed them (the leftovers) in a little box and gave them to my biggest brother because he lives so far away and I miss him.

·         Buy one get one free on clearance racks at your favorite store with a gift card? Yes, please! Landed, among many things, this super versatile maxi dress. Perfect for layering.

·         One of my manly brothers rescued me and cut me two Christmas trees. I am so lucky to have him. I can carry a tree, yes. But, me, sawing them down by myself, is not pretty…

·         If my sister’s appetite is down and all the mouse traps in the house are sprung, is it connected? Yeah…probably not. Why are you looking at me like that?

·         Is it just us or does anyone else have enough solely purple laundry in their home to run a “purples load”?

·         Had the best one-on-one Bible Study with a little friend early one morning at Starbucks after she spent the night. She’s a sweetheart.

·         I must confess. I googled “quinoa addiction” to see if it is possible. I just can’t stop eating it.

·         So if a thing of beauty is free, appropriate, making eye contact, and completely harmless and celestial, you accept it right? Good.

·         Thanksgiving passed almost uneventfully in the cozy ranch house nestled in 160 wilderness acres of snowy, autumn bliss. As if to attempt to balance all the fresh home-cooked goodness, the crackling fireplace, sharing a bathroom with twenty relatives, and cooking and napping to my heart’s content, the tractor got stuck in deep, sucking mud and resisted the efforts of all our stalwart men and educated women. At least it didn’t get trapped in a roaring, blazing inferno this time…

·         Cousins are hilarious. We had a late night discussion about marriage while four bottles of alcohol drained in the middle of the table. (For the record, I watched them drain, I didn’t have a hand in it. For reals.)

·         I cheated. I got up at 6o’clock in the morning to make the day-after-Thanksgiving-doughnuts this year. I usually aim for 5ish. They were just the light, airy, glazed kind, steamy and fresh. We serve them alongside custom omelets. I hear you’re coming next year, that so?

·         Wow. If my eyes were that color, I might just wear lipstick that color too.

·         My oldest brother yelled at an unprovoked, swearing, f-bombing man to make him stop. I thought that was pretty cool. (Just to make sure you understood me: I thought my brother was cool.)

·         Formally, every member of my family laughed uproariously watching this.

·         Do not mistake the word “drop” for “dropperful” on any prescription-grade, liquid vitamin. Because if you do and its Vitamin D and you take 36 times the appropriate dosage, you will have strange side effects and stay up all night completely buzzed. The only way to alleviate the symptoms is to pretend you just spent the weekend in Miami and got too much sun. (Not that I did any of that or anything. Just wanted to make sure you don’t do anything that stupid.)

·         Its official. I’ve been told four times over the past week by strangers that I look like JLo. I don’t see it.

·         Training for a marathon with a texting trainer is awesome. My body disagrees sometimes except when I look in the mirror. (A texting trainer is my invention…It is where you get told what to do in the exercise department, every single morning by someone who knows what you should be doing chiming into your phone.)

·         I like this so very, very much. It is very handy.

·         My gorgeous friend got me hooked on something impossibly cool and perfect for my work. Follow me on Pinterest here. Avoid the puddles. That’s my drool.

·         Our Christmas tree farm opened this week. I want to see all of you and your loved ones happily hand-sawing, laying out there in the frozen mud singing Christmas carols between now and the 25th.

·         I caved. Well, she actually cried dinosaur tears through her fingers, leaning over my lap on the sofa. So I had to. Her little voice mournfully squeaked out that I “never play games with her.” So. I played Scrabble twice, dominoes five times, Beezerwizzer once, Skip-bo five times, Phase 10 four times, Apples to Apples ten times, marbles for an afternoon, Angry Birds for hours while driving, and Uno six times. No more games, OK?

·         Taking long walks across the country side on old ranching lands is so my style.

·         Andrea Bocelli spent the night with a little friend and I. Well, it is more like we swooned over his voice in concert while we stayed up most of the night talking.

·         Christmas decorating with sisters, adopted and otherwise, is so much fun. We do admit, it borders on back-breaking at times, despite the loveliness.

Decoration for an office in Sequim, WA.

Decor at our home

·         My sister made me gluten free biscuits one night. She didn’t use a recipe. She’s a sweetheart.

·         My brother gave me this chocolate palette. I’m enjoying the descriptions of the chocolate almost as much as the blissful divinity wrapped inside. And I'm trying to share as much as is humanly possible.

·         Which reminds me. I didn’t tell you I got my brother a coconut. It was the right thing to do. It seemed to look at me and whisper seductively “Giving your brother a random coconut is awesome.”

Isn't it precious?

·         I went out to coffee with a mommy. We talked and we never finished. It makes me curious.

Peppermint Mocha

·         I snapped this photo while waiting to drive away from home one night. It quite frightens me.

The eyes...All of them...

·         Sharing an attic bedroom for four nights with my entire family is epic. The only thing more dramatic is my sister’s description of it.

·         I passed my exam for doing phone tech support. It was about two and half hours long and involved assisting my grandma in purchasing a plane ticket. I may just have more patience than I thought I did. At least, I do now.

So that's basically how it's been lately. I know it was a lot to read, and I respect your attention span more than mine. Have a wonderful week!

P.S. I am so blessed!