Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

Well, the weather outside is frightful,

but Julie's mood is just delightful.

I've got no place to go...(except my home office!)

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!



Well doesn't show signs of stopping,

and Steve's taken the Subaru shopping,

the dogs hate going outside to "go"

Oh well - let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

Cookie Time!

Yesterday I was craving some favorite Christmas cookies from my childhood. I tried describing them to Steve and he wasn't familiar with what I was talking about. So off to Google I went. You can always depend on good 'ole Betty Crocker online for these types of things...

Do these ring a bell with any of you?

I cheated a little bit and bought a huge lump of sugar cookie dough from the grocery store deli. Got home, divided it in half and added the color and flavoring...it still took about two hours to roll and twist them all out!

I made enough to take a few to our next door neighbors, and for Steve to take a big batch of them to work for his staff today - and still have quite a few for us the next couple of weeks. It truly was so domestic of me. I was proud of myself!

Brrrrrr...

Tonight
Dec 13

Snow Shower / Wind

5° F

20 months...

...since my log in date for Lia...

Decorating and Shopping

This weekend Steve and I started to get "our holiday on" around the house...

On Saturday we continued unpacking and organizing the house. Then we went out and got a Christmas tree - a 6 ft Noble Fir that looks and smells AMAZING:

We also got a wreath to hang on the (inside) of the front porch, and put up a few white lights out front. It looks very simple and cute I think:

I also cooked a turkey dinner on Saturday. Complete with greenbean casserole, cranberry jelly, and the rest of the fixins. Since we had Thanksgiving at my mom's the day before our move, we didn't get to partake in leftovers, and we were both craving it. So we did a smallish turkey, stovetop stuffing, etc. and it was still pretty darned good!

Today we went downtown and saw the movie, "Four Christmases". It's gotten mixed reviews, but I love Vince Vaughn, and I thought it was a cute, lighthearted holiday movie. It made us laugh out loud a few times. What else can you ask for? Afterwards, we walked around the Riverfront Mall. We ducked into Gymboree because this fall they've had a lot of "Scottie" themed girls clothes, so I was hoping for a sale...and I found one! I love the clothes with little black Scotties, because they look so much like my black mini schnauzer, Luna. So with Lia in mind, Steve picked out one outfit:

And then I picked out one too:

Steve also bought me a little Scottie watch they had on sale. Of course, it's meant for little girls, but it fit my wrist and is so cute:

So the most amazing part of this venture was when we went up to the checkout. The salesgirl asked if we realized we'd purchased items in several different sizes...and I said, yes, we are adopting and we're not sure what size she will be (so we are covering all bases!). The girl said, "I was adopted! 28 years ago...see? Adopted kids turn out OK!" and I laughed and agreed with her, telling her yes, in fact I work for an adoption agency and see great families made thru adoption all the time. So she asked which agency I worked for. When I told her, her eyes lit up! SHE WAS ADOPTED THRU THE AGENCY I WORK FOR - 28 YEARS AGO! How cool is that? So then she says she and her husband are anxious to adopt their next child, and are looking at Africa, so I told her about our Ethiopia program and how quickly it is moving right now, etc. She asked for my card and I told her I'd be happy to answer any questions... What a cool encounter. It just goes to prove, family recruitment can happy anywhere...even Gymboree!

In the Studio

Yesterday I had the chance to visit the studio where Steve works and check out his digs. It's weird to think he's been working there for over a month already, when I feel like this whole move is still so new. This pic is not the best since I took it with my phone. But it was fun to see where he's been getting his "deejay" on every morning. :)

We went to P.F. Chang's for dinner last night. I was SOOOOO happy to have my favorite Kung Pao Chicken! I guess there is a PF Chang's in Seattle (actually Bellevue) but we never got over there to visit. In Denver I used to eat at Pei Wei (PF Chang's fast food arm) all the time, and I LOVED their Kung Pao. So I was ecstatic to find a PF Chang's 10 minutes from our house here. YAY! Now if they'd only start putting Pei Wei's out here in the Northwest, I'd be happy...

Speaking of restaurants...Washington state is getting it's first Chik-Fil-A! WAAAAAHHOOOO. Sadly, it's going to be in Bellingham, up in the northwest corner of the state near the Canadian border. Bummer. Not exactly a quick commute from Spokane. I can only *hope* that this means more Chik-Fil-A's to come...and that they are starting in the smaller, college towns...Spokane would be great for a 2nd location (hint,hint...)

That's all the news for now...

Moved in...sort of...

Well, we made it to Spokane on Friday. A little bit later than planned, but all in one piece. Turns out the weather gods decided that Thanksgiving would be the perfect time to bless Spokane with it's first snowfall of the season...so surprise, surprise...we arrived to about 2-3 inches of snow on the ground Friday night. As you can imagine, this made for a somewhat sloppy, slushy move-in. The guys FINALLY had the truck unloaded around midnight on Friday. LONG DAY.

I've posted pix previously of the front of the house, but wanted to show you the back as well. As you can see, it is very cute, with a lovely sunroom (a.k.a. my new office!) off the back. So far, I absolutely LOVE this house. I've never felt so "at home" so soon after moving into a place. It just has a coziness about it that none of my other places have had.

The dogs are settling in to their new digs. Luna is busy sniffing every inch of the new house, top to bottom (as only a schnauzer can!). Killer is already determining which areas (once organized) will be the best for chasing his toys.

Tonight Steve and I will put together my new desk and hopefully get me a little more set up in my home office. Today, the home office consists of my laptop, and my lap! LOL.