Arrested Downton

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I gave a talk yesterday!  I actually think it went pretty well!  I was the final speaker which I was a bit nervous about, but luckily the other speakers did their job and only left me 10 minutes.  I was a bit terrified that I'd have to fill 20+ minutes.  Oh the perils of being an adult in a family ward :) 

We left church early and headed to the Winstead's ward.  Ethan, our nephew, turned 12 (how did that happen?) last week and received the priesthood yesterday!  Kurt was in 'the circle' the ordain him.  I'm so happy for and proud of him!  I've only known him a few years, but I can't get over how much he's grown and changed in that amount of time.  I'm glad he's my nephew!

Lots of laughs and 2 scars later, I'm done making meals for the twins!  Today was my last day!  It's bittersweet stopping though- it will be nice to no longer drive 3 hours round trip every Monday, but I'll miss my sisters.  I love them dearly and I think they've actually come to enjoy having me there every week.  Not everyone knows how to interact with the twins or how to be around them, but I'm so glad I'm one who does.  They're sweet, funny, caring girls who just want to be accepted and it breaks my heart that often times they're not.  I love you Ani and Lili!  Thanks for the laughs and the hugs. Thanks for trusting me with your heartaches. Thanks for teaching me patience, kindness, and gratitude.  Thanks for being you! 

I'm still Mom's substitute though :)

The Bark Side

I looked out the window and what did I see?

A tree fell down right next to me:

We have 6.5 inches of snow:

There's a nice layer of ice on top of that snow:

And more is coming down!

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Update! We now have about 8 inches of snow.  That was 2.5 hours ago though...



Snow Day!

Do you know what a day like this means?

It means I pull out my 'Russian' hat!

We enjoyed our day off!  I hope everyone else in the NW did too!

Snowy Roads

People from not-Northwest-Washington like to make fun of us for cancelling school and not going to work when we get a few inches of snow.  Let's review some things:

• there are hills here. They're slippery when iced.
• people don't have snow tires or chains
• there aren't snow plows (at least not very many) to clear the roads
• we don't know how to drive in the snow

Would you want to drive in those conditions?  And a small reminder- there are places where people freak out about driving in rain.  Rain.  It's pretty much the same as driving in the sun.  Let's make fun of those people.

Weekend Wonders

I got my hair cut today!  Chandra, a lovely lady in my ward, opened up her own salon today so I stopped by to change up my look:

For those of you who don't see me regularly, here's how long my hair was:

Sorry to post a repeat picture, but it's the most recent one I have of myself!

 

And in case you didn't notice in my first set of pictures: it's snowing! Right now!

Small things make life better

Like a new straightener that actually works!

Cable!!!

And a bath mat :)

Skyline

Look what I can do with my new camera!  It has panorama assist.  This is Seattle as viewed from Gasworks Park.

Internal Dialogue

On my way to Anacortes yesterday I was running low on gas, so I stopped just after Mt. Vernon- about 20 minutes from my destination.  I was already running late (I'm not much of a morning person) and I didn't want Lili to be late to work, so I swiped my card, lifted the handle, filled the tank, and grabbed my receipt as fast as possible.  Before I knew it, I was on the road.  I was about to the bridge by the casino (that's the official name) when I looked in my left side mirror...and did a double take!  The gas tank door (what's that thing's name?) was open! 

Shoot!  Did I put the cap on?  Oh geez.....ooooohh geez.  I hope no one else noticed (really self?  That's what you're worried about?).  If I didn't put the cap on, it's probably lost!  It's not connect to my car by a rope, string, or piece of plastic.  It's a free cap!  Oh man.  Am I spilling gas on the highway?  I can't stop!  Lili needs to get to work!  It's ok.  I'll go to Ace and see if they have anything I can use in the meantime until I can get a replacement cap.  It will be ok.  It's fine.  I'm fine. 

I made it to Anacortes, called Lili, and parked out front.  I jumped out, and guess what?  The gas cap had stayed in it's little rest on the inside of the tank door.  No reason to worry.  Lili was only 1 minute late to work.

P.S. Lili's new favorite phrase is "you know what I mean?"  She uses it quite liberally.  Like- "Hey Chew- I'm going to put this in the microwave.  You know what I mean?" or "Chew, I really liked those tacos- you know what I mean?"   Lili, you crack me up- you know what I mean?

2011

Here's 2011 according to my blog (just the highlights).  It was a good year, but 2012 has a lot of promise.  3 niephews on the way and a few vacations already in the works.  I can't wait!