Thursday, May 10

Welcome back to Blogsville

Sheesh. Why didn't anybody tell me I'd pulled a Rip Van Winkle? I've really been lagging on this blog. Apologies! Well, I received probably the best gift ever from my husband for Valentine's Day: an iPhone. I don't even know what to do with myself. Seriously. I love it. With my white/grey OtterBox in tact, I am one happy chica. Here's what I've been capturing with it lately...

I re-decorated the mantle thanks to a fun little statue from my bestie Amy.

My favorite "meal" of all time...Hint of Lime + guacamole.

Cracked up at this prank on my brother (an avid Cougar alum & fan)

I got PRETTY addicted to the best app game ever, Draw Something.

We traded in our monster truck...I mean...Silverado for this super sick Suburban. Love it!!!!!

I'm now a HUGE fan of the two week uv light nail polish Gelish.

Counting down the days (25) 'til summer...

...and I get to spend more time here. At my parents' lake house.

Tuesday, February 21

Our Love Story

I know we are now officially one week late on the whole Valentine's gig, but I couldn't resist to follow in my friend Ashley's footsteps and link up with FromMrstoMama to tell our love story...

Taken Ladies

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?
Josh (my husband) and I met on his 20th birthday (November 21, 2003). We've been together a little over eight years now!
2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}
We met through a mutual friend. Bethany was one of Josh's friends in high school, and she became one of my best friends in college. I was whining explaining to Bethany that there were NO dudes for me at Northwest, when she mentioned this guy from back home named Josh. She claimed we would be perfect for each other, but I was definitely skeptical. I'd never done a blind set-up before, and when it came to boys, I was uber shy. She conned me into going up and meeting him on his birthday because she had a gift to deliver to him, so we met on his b-day! About a month later, we began dating with our first date - The Nutcracker.
Bethany caught my bouquet at my wedding and is now happily married :o)
3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell}
We were married on October 14, 2007 on a gloriously sunny 70 degree day. We've been married for a little over four years now.
Happiest day of my life!
4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?  If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?
We got married at the Pickering Barn in Issaquah, WA. It was a medium-sized wedding. We invited 200, but about 130-150 showed due to it being on a Sunday, and a lot of our guests were from out of town. It was perfect, in my opinion (not biased at all) because it felt like one of those heaven moments when everyone you love is surrounding you, applauding you, cheering you on. We started the day with our decorations gone missing, but they were re-located in time for my youth group girls to decorate the tables good and fancy. In the mean-time, I decided to spontaneously move our wedding from the old barn outside - a true feat of victory for me!
We danced on and on and on... :o) So fun!
5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!
We call each other babe, sweetheart, and sug (short for sugar, so it sounds like "shoog"). My favorite thing about Josh, though, is his LACK of a nickname for me. While most of my close friends and family call me Britt, he never has. It is always Brittney, which I kind of like :o)
6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.
1) His creativity - When he gets focused on a project, he is focused. Obvi this can be kind of annoying at times, like when I'm saying, "Look at me! Look at me!" obnoxiously myself, but I truly appreciate that when he gets a great idea in his head, he sticks to it until it has been completed to perfection in the way he envisioned it.
2) His gift of hospitality - Josh has a way of making people feel welcome in our home. I really respect him for that because I get semi-nervous at inviting people over. I would rather just hang out with him because its easier. He values the relationships that are built when people come together, and he is always game for a house-guest or two. We definitely balance each other out in this way...I learn from him how to be open-armed and to consciously think of others' well-being.
3) His love for his family - Josh is such a family guy. It is probably due to the fact that he has such an amazing family to love on, but I am so thankful for his strong bonds with his siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. He would do anything for any of his family members, and it has been really fun to watch that love develop toward my own parents and brother over the last eight years. I can't wait to watch him extend this same love (and more) to our own kids someday...
7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?
Josh proposed with a puppy! Going back to #1 in the question above (his creativity), he really went all out for his proposal. I had been shouting from the mountain-tops about my love of pugs for months, so he went on the journey of researching them and finding the best little guy a girl could ask for. He made this elaborate story to get me to the breeder's house so he could let me "pick out" Brutus, who had a beautiful (and also well-researched) ring tied around his neck. It was absolutely perfect, and showed how well he knows my heart. P.S. We celebrated afterwards with Blizzards at Dairy Queen, which shows how laid back we really are :o)
Our "ring bearer" - Brutus!
8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberrieschampagne, and rose petals?
He's a gift-giving kind of guy. This year I got an iPhone which made me giddy with delight, and again, it was a BIG surprise which makes it that much better! He has gotten me flowers on occasion, but usually not on Valentine's Day (too predictable). He will send them to me randomly, which is great, too!
9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?
Definitely a pop in a movie and relax kind of gal. I also really like going out to movies. A lot of times dinner for us feels so awkward and formal when it is just the two of us - never what it is supposed to look like on the movies (all romantic, hand-holding, stare into each others' eyes...blech)
10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?
Have kids! This is my one true goal in life. Right now, it trumps any other life desire I have.
11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.
We decided to ditch the crowds on the actual day, and celebrate on Feb. 15 with dinner at Twigs (one of our fav local Spokane restaurants) and a concert - Matt Kearney. It was fun, but we're old and left the concert early 'cus we both had super EARLY work days ahead of us.
12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?
I did not ask for anything, no! I had been kind of complaining about my old EnV Touch cell phone, so maybe that was a round-about way of asking for an upgrade, but I had no idea an iPhone was in my future!
13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.
Laugh together, at each other, with each other. Sometimes when Josh and I are fighting, one of us just bursts into laughter at how utterly ridiculous the other is being, and it brings it all back to reality. Also - hold on to each other in times of sorrow and grief. We went through a horrible year from Thanksgiving 2008 to Thanksgiving 2009, and we both see how difficult it would have been to do it alone, without each other. We cried together, talked about those close to us who'd passed on (still do), and were honest when we were taking our grief out on each other. Life is never perfect, so we celebrate when it feels like it is.
14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you.
You've got to be "all in"

Friday, February 3

How to fail at making fake blood...

My husband has some crazy ideas sometimes. This one is close to the top of the list. While sometimes these ideas are mildly annoying (like starting a big, messy project the night before company comes into town), I also completely respect him for his creativity. When my husband gets focused on a project, he is focused.

As stated earlier, he likes to go target shooting. I like to go with him. Anytime we have company that visits us on the weekends, Josh is always up for taking them shooting if they're game for it. This weekend, my brother-in-law's buddies are coming into town, and a shooting date has been arranged for Saturday morning. Shooting plain ol' clay pigeons is just too boring, so Josh has this idea to make a zombie target that will bleed when shot.

In order for this masterpiece to become a reality, the boys ventured into the world of making fake blood. They found this recipe online and got to work.

Things started out relatively low key when they made the kool-aid and added some egg whites. Things got a little out of control as they added a variety of ingredients to darken it, thicken it, make it look more realistic, etc. Here is the complete recipe of how to fail at making fake blood:
  • water
  • red kool-aid powder (1 large container)
  • egg whites (1 carton)
  • flour (whatever we had on the counter plus some out of the sack)
  • maple syrup (the remainder of our bottle)
  • chocolate syrup (the remainder of our bottle)
  • cocoa powder
  • 2 eggs
Lets just say my house smells like some weird concoction of chocolate covered cherry pancakes, and the boys are en route to the grocery store to start all over and try again.

Wednesday, February 1

i HEART cheer

I am a cheerleading coach. I have coached five seasons of two different high school teams and four seasons of multiple all star teams. I started coaching in 2005, and I truly love this sport more than anything. Here is a pic of this year's all star kiddos at a recent competition in Moscow, ID...

Build It Athletix
I love these kids. Cheer is about more than stunting or tumbling (even though that makes up a lot of it). What you really need for cheer is endurance, discipline, perseverance, and heart. The heart part is important.

Last night one of the cheerleaders I've coached for the last two seasons faced a horrible loss in her life. Her mom passed away from cancer. I am so heartbroken for her. She is a senior in high school, and that is such a tough time to lose someone you love.

Cheer is about heart. It is about how a gym of 90+ families will rally together when one of our own is hurting. Please keep this young lady, her younger sister, and the rest of their family in your thoughts and prayers.

Build It Athletix
The black, orange, and blue
The best of the best
We'll rock you!


Monday, January 30

My name is Brutus, and I'm an addict.

Today is my semester break day. It was going to be a snow make-up day, but the high school teachers freaked out that they wouldn't have enough time to grade last week's finals (even though grades aren't DUE until Thursday at 3pm). Now our snow make-up day is scheduled for February 17 which makes President's Day weekend a three-dayer in stead of four.

Anywho...my husband and I have been pretty worried about this little guy lately...

Brutus has had a rough three months.
{Brutus Ordeal #1} It all started in November on Apple Cup Saturday. We woke up, stoked to go to our favorite college football game of the season - WSU vs UW (go dawgs).
Unfortunately, Brutus had other plans. He is usually so peppy and cheerful, wagging his tail, jumping all over the place, happy little guy. We knew something was hurting him because he literally could not move. His head was cowered down, and he was scrunching his spine in odd ways.

We knew we needed to get him in ASAP, so Josh and his mom's husband took him to the vet to get him checked out. They took x-rays, and found out he had some sort of neck injury.

Yes this is actually Brutus. They gave us the x-rays on a CD.
The result was putting him on some steroids. Luckily, we fit the vet appointment into our day early enough that it didn't affect our afternoon Apple Cup plans (the dawgs won, btw). We had to make Brutus take it easy, like no stairs, no jumping up or off of things, etc. The most hilarious thing about this was that we started to notice that Brutus loved medicine time. The mere sound of pills shaking in a bottle caused him to bolt toward the sound. Apparently he thinks they're treats. This caused no alarm, and we had no idea that it was the beginning of his "addiction"...

{Brutus Ordeal #2} Sometime in December, Josh sends me this picture on my cell phone while I'm at work, teaching...


Brutus was having some sort of allergic reaction to something and his face became red and swollen. The next day, hives appeared all over his fur.

Apparently dogs can break out in hives, too.
One phone call to the vet later, we gave Brutus benadryl to alleviate whatever allergy his body was trying to fight.

{Brutus Ordeal #3} I'm going to keep this one short and sweet. Brutus chewed up my brother-in-law's fake tooth retainer. We found shattered little pieces of the entire thing scattered all over the upstairs while I was downstairs wrapping presents and the boys were upstairs playing video games. Sheesh.

{Brutus Ordeal #4} This brings me back to the beginning of this post: With my day off, I was finally able to bring Brutus to the vet because his hind legs have been a little weird the last month or so. He sits off centered, drags his legs behind him when he runs, refuses to jump up on the couch, struggles up the stairs when it is slick outside, etc. Once again the vet prescribed him steroids. As soon as she walked into the room with the pill bottle, Brutus got super duper excited. I looked him in the eye and said, "I think its time for an intervention."


Hopefully he's able to pull through this addiction and heal. Otherwise we might be making a trip down to WSU for a $urgery con$ultation. Yikes! Get well soon, Brutie!

Friday, January 27

Friday Night Home Cookin'

Right after I splashed milk all over my arm. I'm a messy chef.
Two recipes for the price of one!? Holla! On tonight's menu we have Zenkichi Pasta and Orange Creamsicle Push Pop Smoothie. Yum yum yummers.

Recipe #1 - Zenkichi Pasta

Ingredients
3/4 bag of Broccoli (12 oz)
1 lb Penne Pasta
1/2 bag of Bacon Bits (3 oz)
1/2 jar of Sun-Dried Tomatoes (8 oz)
7 oz container of Pesto Sauce
3/4 pound of Chicken

Cook pasta. Prepare broccoli and chicken. Slice sun-dried tomatoes and chicken as necessary. Drain pasta. Add pesto. Shlosh Mix everything together. Enjoy with garlic bread.

Finished Product
Recipe #2 - Orange Creamsicle Push Pop Smoothie


Ingredients
1 can of Orange Juice (or any juice you'd prefer)
1/4 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
1 cup of Milk
1/4 cup of Sugar
2 cups of Ice

Add all ingredients except ice in blender. Once creamy, add the ice and blend again. Mmmmmmm...

Smoothies Galore


Special thank you to Jordan and Jess for buying all of the ingredients, and...uh...making everything.



Monday, January 23

Skate Weekend

Here are some shots from the second annual skate weekend at my parents' home on Loon Lake.
The crew for the weekend...
Scoty and me (disregard the Coug jersey :o)
Danny & Whitney
Amy & Jordan
Matt "the model" posing for some serious hockey shots
It was so fun to enjoy the winter weather!
Thankful for our fun visitors this weekend.


Friday, January 20

How to drive in the snow...

In my backyard with my pups Brutus (pug) and Breaker (lab). They give me kisses.
Welp. It is finally happening. I was a little bit jealous of the west side of the state (greater Seattle area) because they were kicking our bootays earlier this week in the snow-department. Hrmph. That's our job! This is precisely what the inland northwest is KNOWN for. Snow. Lots of it. Hrmph.

(insert dramatic operatic music here)

SNOW DAY!!!!! Even though the Seattle area is facing a combination of "Snow-pocalypse 2012" AND an "ice storm" at the moment, we're getting ours. Boo ya. Spokane Public Schools hardly ever cancels school, and today they did it. My prayers have been answered. I feel so much more justified today as I sleep in, sit on the couch, and "grade papers" (ok...let's be honest...watch Dexter on DVD).

The only negative? We were going to have a Semester Break Day on January 30. This is actually a very, very valuable day (teachers, I know you understand). It is a day when I can actually finalize grades, write real comments instead of picking pre-made cheesy ones, and prepare for a new semester. Unfortunately, it also served as a snow make-up day. So we'll lose it to make up for this one. Bummer city.

{Oh yeah...the title of this post. Almost forgot.}
This is a pic I took from my car window yesterday afternoon.
Driving Tip #1) In the words of my father, when driving in the snow, "Be a steady Eddie, not a frantic Fred." Well said, Pops.

Driving Tip #2) Keep your foot on the gas. Don't be a weenie. Be bold. Cocky, almost. This will help you.

Driving Tip #3) If you don't have anti-lock brakes (does this even apply to anyone anymore?), pump 'em. If you do have ALBs, don't pump. Let the ANTI-LOCK feature do that for you.

Driving Tip #4) Steer through it. This is pretty important on turns. Just go for it (See Tip #2).

Driving Tip #5) Avoid stopping on a hill at all costs. In Spokane, you can pretty much plan an alternate route for anywhere you want to go that won't involve hills. Sorry Seattle-ites. This isn't really an option for you...

Driving Tip #6) If the light is yellow and about to turn red, keep going. Even if they snap a photo of your car with one of those fancy-schmancy red light cameras, isn't your license plate completely covered in snow? Don't worry, they won't find you.

Driving Tip #7) Make sure you carry with you at all times: A hefty car scraper. Nice gloves. Boots.

Driving Tip #8) Don't be afraid to drive five to ten miles per hour UNDER the speed limit. No one needs to be a hero. Take it down a notch.

By the way - even though we do own a Chevy Silverado w/a lift kit, I usually drive my trusty Honda Civic Hybrid in the snow.


I feel like I have more control with this little front-wheel drive car (it has snow tires - not studs - snow tires). It suits me just fine.


Sunday, January 15

Guest Room Decor

I put a little extra time and effort into my Guest Room last weekend, and here are the fruits of my labor...


First we'll do what I call a "walk around" (envision seeing these photos in a half-circle. Starting w/the corner and moving around to your right...




Next, the details...

This nightstand was a hand-me-down from my mother-in-law. I love it. Possibly one of my favorite pieces of furniture in the whole house. Plus, momma-in-law still gets to use it when she visits!

Headboard was our first "big kid" furniture purchase off Craig's List.
Grey embroidered bolster from Target.
Duvet from Macy*s.
"Always kiss me..." pillow is from WUSLU (have you been there yet!?)

This is a drawing of the Waikiki Bozarth Mansion here in Spokane. It is a beautiful place to get married - very Inland Northwest-esque. My aunt and uncle got married here many years ago, along with my parents' best friends' son. Special place.

This retro sign hung above my dad's garage door for my entire life. When he passed away in 2009, I knew it was the first thing I wanted to hang in my home to remember him.

Davenport Hotel Pencil Drawing #1
Davenport Hotel Pencil Drawing #2

Come visit the great Inland Northwest (and us) soon! We love having visitors :o)