Words to Live By...2008

Happy New Year Comments - DazzleJunction.com


If you follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.

- Joseph Campbell

Surprise! A Xmas Snowstorm...

We woke up this morning to fresh snow...and more snow falling...all day...and STILL! Needless to say, Luna and Killer are NOT happy about this turn of events and do not appreciate venturing out into the snow to "do their business"...I don't blame them...

We've had a quiet day around the house for the most part. Because of the weather, Steve's mom and brother decided not to drive across town to join us for dinner, so Steve and I headed over to a nearby hotel that was serving a traditional Christmas dinner. When we first got there, there were a few other folks in the restaurant ( 2 or 3 tables at least)...by the time we left, we were literally, the only ones there! Some pix from our exciting, snowy Christmas in Denver...

Getting ready to go out in the snow...

The tree in our front yard...

Luna - not enjoying the snow blowing in her face!

Now you see it...now you don't! (packed up for leftovers...yum..._)

Steve - all alone in the hotel restaurant...

Killer (clearly needing a haircut!) but so cute on Xmas morning...



MERRY CHRISTMAS
from Julie, Steve, Luna & Killer

Xmas Eve Eve...

Last night Steve and I went out for our pre-Xmas "date night". We went out for dinner at a nice restaurant downtown and took in some light displays like this one above at the train station.

We also have a tradition (actually more of a weird "habit") of taking photos of our food when it arrives presented in beautiful display. No, we don't get out much - lol. Actually, we do - we just rarely go out to restaurants where such work goes into the presentation! Luckily, we were sitting in a semi-private booth, so no one could really see us taking photos with Steve's phone:




This particular dessert was a handmade ice cream "bowl" molded from toasted almonds and then dipped in chocolate, with two scoops of vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, and fresh whipped cream on top. OMG! YUM. I think I ate like 8,000 calories last night...but it was SO worth it.

My 100th Post

You know how in cartoons, characters often slip and fall on a banana peel? Haha funny, right?

Actually, not-so-much! Especially when you are stepping out of your car at Target, juggling your purse, your car keys, and your cellphone - and you nearly break your neck...like I did yesterday!

No worries - I'm fine. I caught myself somehow...but imagine my surprise when I saw that I had actually slipped on a banana peel? WHO does that??? LOL. The utter randomness of this event just totally cracked me up. In fact, I am still laughing as I write this...

More Baby "Booty"

When I went to Seattle two weeks ago for my uncle's big bash, my mom told me ahead of time, "bring an extra suitcase, I've bought some things for you to take back - for Lia". So I took a small suitcase and a large suitcase figuring that would be enough space for everything, after all - I was bringing my uncle a present for his birthday, and a few other small items for my folks, and I wouldn't be taking those back to Colorado, so I would have some extra room...

Well...let's just say it was good that I only packed two outfits and was able to stuff all my personal belongings into the small suitcase - because the large suitcase was CLEARLY needed:

THANKS MOM
(and Jenn and Tracy who also contributed to this collection of baby "booty" - lol.)

In other news, today I attended my third (in a series of three) required classes at CCAI. The subject was Grief & Loss in Adoption. It is a tough and emotional topic to take on two weeks before Christmas. The teacher actually said "Wow - you people got up at 7 am on a Saturday, in the freezing cold to come to a class on Grief & Loss two weeks before Xmas - you MUST be committed!" It's true. The class was really good though. We got to hear lots of first-hand stories from adoptive parents who have BTDT - and I met some really great fellow adoptive parents-to-be. I also had my first "real life" encounter from one of my "virtual" friends from blogland (and member of my LID chat group) Maia and Mike from Flynn Story were at the class. It was so nice to finally meet them (in person) as well! Unfortunately, Steve wasn't able to attend the class with me - he has still been fighting off a terrible cold - so I let him sleep in.

Tomorrow I plan to lay low and catch up on some things around the house. Then I just need to endure one more week of work until I am OFF until Jan. 2 - whoo hoo! Can't wait for some downtime that does not involve packing or airports...

...since my LID for Lia!

Trip to Seattle - Dave's B-day Party

I know...I've been "MIA" from the blog world for a couple of weeks. People start to wonder what's happened to you. I don't have a good excuse, except that life has been VERY busy lately! As you know, Steve and I went to the Oregon Coast mid-November for an early Thanksgiving with my family. The following week was Thanksgiving and then last weekend we flew out to Seattle to celebrate my uncle's 50th birthday.

This was no ordinary birthday party. My uncle Dave (my mom's younger brother) has Down Syndrome and lives with my parents full-time in Seattle. Although he is much older than me, because of his disability, Dave seems more like a younger brother to me and my sister. He has lived with my parents since my mom's father passed away in the early 90s.

Lots of people know Dave. He attends church with my parents, my sister's friends all know him, he volunteers at the Museum of Flight - where my mom works - and he bowls every weekend with a group of folks who have various developmental disabilities...so he has a lot of friends.

Dave loves nothing more than a big party and lots of music, therefore, my family decided to throw a party at the high school gym, hired a band, and nearly 100 people were invited to attend. Relatives from California and Texas flew out for the occasion, some who I hadn't seen in 10-15 years! I also got to meet my cousin's kids (an 8 yr old and 4 yr old twins) for the first time, which was really fun.

Unfortunately, Seattle got a rare snowstorm on the afternoon of the party, so some people who live further out were unable to make it due to the slick roads. But Dave was thrilled with the turnout of nearly 60 people on his special night. He even picked the menu - fried chicken and chocolate cake! (you gotta love that!) :)

I also had a great time showing Steve around my hometown, introducing him to my relatives, visiting my favorite restaurants, etc. It was a whirlwind 48-hour trip, but a lot of fun. Of course we got back on Sunday night and proceeded to fight off colds all week, but are starting to feel better now. Yesterday we got several inches of snow, with more expected tonight. It's been nice to lay low this weekend after all the craziness of traveling the past few weeks! Here are some of the pix from our trip: