Gingerbread Houses

Our favorite Christmas event in Seattle is the Gingerbread competition/display at the Sheraton hotel.  Several architectural firms in the city volunteer to create magnificent gingerbread houses which are displayed in the hotel lobby.  People come to see the displays and to donate money to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund.  The theme for this year's contest was "Home for the Holidays".  Last year's theme was "Hollywood".  Here are a few pics of this year's and last's favorites:

Tree House

Mr & Mrs Clause with Rudolph

Futuristic Hometown

Seattle's Troll

Merry Christmas!!!

I just love Christmas!  I've never been away from my parents at Christmas in my life, but this year Jeff and I really wanted to have Christmas at our own home.  So, despite the low chances for a White Christmas, we made plans to stay in Seattle and Jeff's parents came to join us.  We planned a bunch of fun things.

  

In the heart of Leavenworth

Pie Night!

The shopping seemed to last for ever this year, but we finally finished up on Wednesday.  We ended the day on Wednesday with a Pie Party!  We brought a pumpkin pie.  There were about 10 pies there - our favorites were the Raspberry Cream pie, Apple Cranberry pie, and Marionberry/Blackberry pie.  

Leavenworth

Thursday we headed to Leavenworth, and adorable Bavarian village about 2 hours east of Seattle.  I just love that place!  We shopped and ate and enjoyed the snow and lights.  

At the Gingerbread displays

Christmas Eve we went to one of my favorite Seattle Christmas displays - the Gingerbread House Competition (see next blog post).  We delivered treats to friends and then dug into an amazing (if I do say so myself) Mexican feast!  We ended the night with some Luke 2 and Christmas stories (and some last minute wrapping).  

Christmas morning we got spoiled rotten - partly by other people but mostly by ourselves!  I guess next year we should stick to our budget!  Oh well!   

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Happy New Year!!!

Broken window panes

My all time favorite Christmas song is "The Christmas Waltz".  If you don't know it by the title, it starts - Frosted window panes, candles gleaming inside, painted candy canes on the tree..  It's a wonderful, bright Christmas song that fills my little heart with joy everytime I hear it - but mostly when I hear Karen Carpenter sing it.

Anyway, that's not actually what this blog entry is about, that just explains the title.  The week before Thanksgiving, Jeff and I painted our living room.  We also wanted to paint the french doors in the living room since they had never been painted before - not sure why the previous owners never painted the gray steel door to match the rest of the room, but whatever!

In the house I grew up in, we would pull the panes off of the french doors to clean the windows all the time.  I figured all french doors were made to have the panes removed periodically for cleaning since nobody should have to clean a full sized glass door one little square at a time.  So Jeff and I took the inner panes off and washed the doors and windows.  Unfortunately, we ran out of time to paint that night so we just left that task for the next day and headed to bed. 

In the wee hours of the morning we were abruptly awoken by a loud crashing noise.  I, of course, stayed in bed and sent Jeff to check it out.  He reported back saying, "I told you we shouldn't have taken the panes off the doors!".   Sure enough (and luckily on just one of the doors) the entirely glass section had fallen out of the door and was laying on our back deck.  To make matters worse, it was freezing and raining that night.  Luckily, the glass hadn't broken (still not sure how that happened).  So we picked up the glass section and put it back in the door but couldn't quite get it lined up perfectly.  Since it was 3 in the morning, we decided to secure it just enough so that it wouldn't fall out again and finish the job at a more reasonable hour. 

After work that day we went to finish our task.  One of the screws hit the glass just right as we were screwing it in a shattered the entire window.  Awesome!  Long story, not so short, we just got the door fixed last week and we will never remove the panes from a door again!  And no, we still haven't painted the door. 

12 Days of Christmas

Aside for being the cutest man alive, Jeff also happens to be the sweetest man alive.  Each year Jeff does the 12 Days of Christmas for me.  The first year he did it, we were dating and he would drop gifts off on my porch early in the morning.  Most of the gifts that year were edible.  The next year was the first year we were married and he purchased most of the 12 gifts.  Last year, the gifts were more personal, like getting up to exercise with me and giving me massages with just a few edible treats mixed in. 

So far this year, the gifts have been very personal, but most aren't too personal to share.  He has had some really good story ideas for a while now that I always bug him about writing down and submitting for publishing so he's given me written copies of those stories.  He gave me a 30 minute massage today.  He also fixed the glass in the back door (which broke right before we left for Thanksgiving!).

Isn't he wonderful!!!  It's always a good Christmas with Jeffy around!  Yes, I call him Jeffy.  

The Best Christmas Program Ever!

We have a wonderful choir director at church, Eileen, who always does such a great job with our musical numbers.  She had a very cute baby boy in November which left us choir director-less right before Christmas.  So, out of the kindness of my heart and thinking "how hard could it be to put together 5 musical numbers in 5 weeks", I stupidly volunteered with another friend to organize the christmas program and direct the choir!

It was way more work than I anticipated!  Some of the difficulties were getting people to actually show up for choir practice, coordinating schedules for music practice, and not having a pianist until after Thanksgiving. Yikes!  It didn't help that I've been really busy at work this month and had to plan the work Christmas party. But enough complaining...

Today the program went off without a hitch and the choir performed beautifully!  I think the whole congregation really enjoyed it.  I'm just glad I can sit back and enjoy the Christmas season now!  Looking back, I'm not sure why I let it get me so stressed out anyway...I guess I need to lighten up! 

Catch up time

I'm way behind on my posts!  I haven't even written about Thanksgiving yet!  We had a great time in Reno.  We were there for an entire week and were worried that the trip would be too long, but it ended up being just what the doctor ordered.  We did a lot of much needed relaxing and de-stressing.

My brother Brett and his wife Sariah were there as well, so it was just 6 adults, one dog, one cat, no kids.  Of course, we had a wonderful meal on Thursday followed by plenty of leftovers.  But the highlight for me was just spending time with family and spending time away from work!  The new Harry Potter movie was another highlight!  And of course, no Thanksgiving would be complete without kicking off the Christmas season by watching Muppet Christmas Carol!

Thanks to all in attendance for making this year's Thanksgiving holiday as wonderful as can be!

A new kitchen!

Jeff and I repainted our kitchen and transformed it from a bland, country style to a fresh and bright gathering area.  People often say their kitchen is the family's favorite room in the house; although it's just the two of us, this seems to be the case for our little family as well.  What can we say?  We like to eat!  It's nice to have this all-too-important room feel bright and cheery especially as we try to get Jeff off to seminary with a smile on his face at 6:15 in the morning!  I still need to find a new light fixture for above the sink - all in due time.

Good people

Jeff and I headed to Reno for Thanksgiving on Tuesday.  We like to take the bus to the airport so we don't have to pay to park there.  So Tuesday morning Jeff dropped me off at the bus stop with all of our luggage, drove home, then ran back on two inches of ice to catch the bus.  Despite the weather and road conditions the bus was only 1 or 2 minutes late.  But that's not really what this blog entry is about.

It was freezing outside while I waited for the bus stop - I think it was about 17 degrees!  So I was standing there shivering with two large suitcases and two backpacks waiting for Jeff and the bus when a car pulled up.  A women leaned out the window and asked if I wanted a ride to the airport.  They were on their way to the airport to pick up her parents for the holiday and saw me waiting at the bus stop with so much luggage and thought I might need a ride.  It was such a kind offer.  It was a great reminder to me of just how many good things and people there are in the world today despite the many not-so-good things in the world.  I thought it was a great expression of Thanksgiving on their part - they had a nice warm car to transport them and to show gratitude for that blessing, they were willing to share it with me.  It was a very good reminder to me that sometimes the most simple expressions of kindness are the most important.    
  

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Every now and then I don't mind being wrong and yesterday was one of those times.  Jeff and I thought the forecasts of snow were fake - a ploy by local businesses to get people to buy snow tires and winter attire.  We're so glad we were wrong!  Yesterday a very significant winter storm came through dropping only 2-3 inches of snow at our house, but turning the roads to sheets of ice.  We needed to get to the airport the next morning and were worried that the buses wouldn't be running, but we got out of town just fine.

Oh, the first snowfall of the winter!

I absolutely love living in Seattle - it's so beautiful here!  Spring is more colorful, summer is more temperate, fall is more wonderful, but the winter is slightly disappointing.  A typical winter here consists of cold winds, gray skies and rain.  The first two I don't mind, but I've always been of the opinion that if it has to be cold, then it should be snowing.

My first winter here I saw about 7 snowflakes on my first day of work at Deloitte.  That was enough to cause at least 5 people to stay home from work.  The rest of the winter was snow free.  The next winter, just after Jeff and I were married, we experienced a Christmas miracle. Feet of snow fell in just a few days!  The whole city shut down because people are terrified of snow here and there are only 3 snow plows in the whole city so you really can't get anywhere in a car.  My office closed for several days in a row - it was delightful!  It was also an anomaly.

The next winter was back to usual - snowless.  It was cold and it was wet, but there was no snow.  If you read Jeff's blog, you know that there's been a lot of talk about Seattle having a "bad" winter this year.  I'm still trying to figure out why they say "bad".  I see nothing wrong with having to stay home from work because the bus can't get up Seneca St and being able to go sledding in my front yard without the fear of being run over by cars because the street is closed to traffic.  To me, there's absolutely nothing bad about that situation.

Anyway, Jeff and I decided not to get our hopes up about having a bad winter this year so we've been ignoring any forecasts of snow.  Just imagine our delight when it snowed for a solid thirty minutes today!  What a wonderful day!  Never mind that it didn't stick, never mind that the flakes were tiny, never mind that my office is still open tomorrow and the buses are running (although they are running on snow routes since they're predicting snow tomorrow) - never mind all that!  It's not even Thanksgiving, it has already snowed and that is all that matters!  

See the almost invisible layer of white snow?

Maybe Jeff and I will have a happy winter after all!

The Seattle Symphony

On Friday night Jeff and I went to the Seattle Symphony for the first time.  We've seen lots of performances in this city, but we still hadn't made it to the symphony. So when a Groupon came out for tickets to a performance of your choice we jumped on it!

They played two pieces - Prokofiev's Symphony No. 3, which I found to be a little too intense for my taste, and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, which was fantastic.  I love Tchaikovsky, but this number is particularly beautiful to me.  It's one of those pieces that everyone loves - proven by it's popularity since it was first written in 1874.  Isn't it wonderful to know that the so many different people from all walks of life and various time periods can be united in at least one thing - good music!

The pianist for the piano concerto was Stephen Hough - he was pretty incredible too!  Half of the time you couldn't even see his hands - they were just a blur as they raced across the keyboard.  I can't even imagine being that talented!

We really enjoyed the performance.  Afterwards Jeff announced that he prefers the symphony to the ballet.  I suppose we'll have to take a break from the ballet for a while and focus on other musical expressions.  Gratefully Seattle is full of wonderful music!  

Ingrid Michaelson

Jeff and I recently went to a concert with our friends Cameron and Lisette.  I hadn't been to a concert in who knows how many years, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to see one of my favorite artists - Ingrid Michaelson.  I just love her music!  And now that I've seen her in concert, I just love her!

It was an incredibly entertaining concert.  Ingrid was incredibly funny - she told great stories and kept the crowd rolling with her wise cracks.  She and her band also did a dance to Britney Spears' "Toxic" - not sure why, but it was fun to watch.  She really is an amazing musician and love almost all of her songs.  Unfortunately, she didn't play my favorite song - The Hat.  Oh well, guess I'll just have to see her next time she's in town!

If you don't know Ingrid, check her out now before you miss out on anymore great music.  You can listen to all of her stuff for free on Grooveshark.com.  Here's a few highlights from the night.

Us in front of the "Stop arresting medical marijuana suppliers" sign

Ingrid in all her glory

Ingrid at the piano

Happy Halloween!!!

We went for cute rather than scary this year!

I loved Halloween growing up!  It was one of my more favorite holidays (just behind Christmas and my birthday).  Of course in Nevada, it's more than just a day for dressing up and eating candy - we also celebrate Nevada Day!  October 31st is the day Nevada became an official state and, thus, we never had school on Halloween.  Talk about a sweet treat!  Imagine my disappointment on my first Halloween at Utah State when I realized Nevada was the only state where you didn't go to school on October 31st.  This holiday has never been quite as exciting since then.  In fact, in now ranks pretty low on the totem pole.  But, as everyone who truly knows me knows, I love any reason to celebrate!  So each year we carve pumpkins, light luminaries, hand out candy, dress up in costume...the whole nine yards!

Merry Christmas! Like the presents taped to my feet?

Last year Jeff and I dressed up as a Tootsie Roll and a Tootsie Pop.  We won the costume contest a friend's Halloween party and at the church Halloween party.  This year we dressed up as a Christmas tree - I was the tree and Jeff was my lights.  We got lots of compliments, but won no contests.  Jeff's absolutely positive that if we'd been on time to the Halloween party more people would have had a chance to vote for us and we would have won!  Since the costume contest was really for the kids, I don't think it would have made a difference.  Either way, it was a cute costume.

Yes, that's our real tree skirt!

As a kid, I never got to go Trick-or-Treating when Halloween fell on a Sunday.  For some reason dressing up like ghouls and goblins and wandering the neighborhood asking for candy didn't seem a very good way to "keep the Sabbath Day holy". Since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year, I figured that most of the kids from church wouldn't be Trick-or-Treating.  So Jeff and I, made some treats for the primary kids and went "Reverse Trick-or-Treating" this year...we knocked on their doors and handed the goody bags to them.  It was a lot of fun, and many of the kids seemed excited to have a visitor.  One cute kid, Rune, even gave us a piece of candy in return - it was pretty cute!

Last year's award winning costumes

    

The Cheese Factory

Like the adult version of Willy Wonka’s candy factory, the Tillamook Cheese Factory stands on the beautiful Oregon coast beckoning all sophisticated men and women to come and partake of man’s best creation - cheese!  It truly is a wondrous sight to behold.  What could be more fun than a giant factory producing 40 pound blocks of mild, medium, sharp and white cheddar, pepper jack, squeaky cheese and more!  Unfortunately, Jeff and I didn’t have time to wait in the huge ice cream line for a cone of the world’s finest ice cream, but luckily Tillamook ice cream is readily available at any grocery store in the Northwest – Marionberry Pie is my favorite flavor.  Still, the cheese samples and Jeff’s new found love for squeaky cheese curds were well worth the trip to the coast.  Not to mention, we had a pretty great scenic drive between Tillamook and Seattle.     

VooDoo Doughnuts and Whose Live Anyway

Whilst on our way to Powell’s Bookstore in Portland, Jeff and I spotted the all too famous VooDoo Doughnut shop.  Known for their maple bacon bar, the shop is one of the most popular spots in town (evidenced by the very long line to get in).  Jeff and I decided that, since we weren’t on a tight schedule this trip, we should see what all the fuss is about.  As I’m not really a doughnut person, I wasn’t as keen on standing in line for an hour and twenty minutes to get seven doughnuts closer to a heart attack, but I admit I was intrigued by why so many people would wait so long for doughnuts…so I waited.  We averaged one step forward in line every two minutes.  They had very unique doughnuts (see pictures below) which would make anyone smile, but Jeff and I both decided in the end – they’re just doughnuts with funky toppings.  At least we know we’re not missing out next time we skip the line and just keep walking on to Powell’s!

Notice the nails in the voodoo doll

Every person you see in this photo is standing in line at VooDoo Doughnuts!  That's good business!

Later that night we went to “Whose Live Anyway”, a live version of “Whose Line is it Anyway”.  Ryan from the TV show is in the group and is still the funniest one.  It was quite a kick in the pants – we had some really good laughs! 

All in all our trip to Portland was a great time and proved to be a great get away for the weekend!  Now for the doughnut pictures!

The Spread

The VooDoo Doughnut

Maple and Bacon

Peach Fritter - about the size of my face

Oreo

Butterfinger

Vegan glazed cake - best doughnut we got!

GIANT glazed - about 8" diameter!