Nanny

My grandma hasn't been doing well for a few weeks, and the time came last night when she was able to let go and be at peace. To be rid of her pain.

This lovely lady, who I called Nanny, was 93 years old. She had a happy spirit, a knack for making scrambled eggs, red hair up until about six months ago, a cast-iron stomach and, when possible, a spring in her step. Even when her arthritis ached.

Today, Rolin and I are having raspberries for breakfast in her honor. If it wasn't supposed to be 103F at 8 p.m. tonight, I would consider making Nanny's sour cream potatoes for dinner.

I have many memories of Nanny, and I know some of you do too. You can share them in the comments, if you'd like :). One that is coming to mind for me know is when I helped Nanny get rid of the stray cat that was camping out at her house. We put the cat in a box (picture that, if you will: me, a tolerater of animals, and Nanny, with her arthritic hands, also a tolerater of animals) and took it down to a park far away from her house. In the end, we felt bad about doing so, but were proud of our accomplishment. However, if I'm not mistaken, the cat found its way back to her house!

I also hope to never forget the excited way she'd say, "Chris! How are you!?" when I'd call, and the particular way she said, "Bye bye" when we'd end our convo.

Meeting little Rollybug.

Old hands, new hands.

While Justin was snapping picture after picture, we pretended to be hair models here by whipping our hair back and forth. Nanny really got into it!

A final note here: The Evans clan experienced two losses this week. One expected, and another completely unexpected. The latter was a cousin's (a second cousin of sorts) son who has gone too soon. As a momma my heart breaks, and as a sister my heart aches as I know all too well the pain they feel. Please say a prayer for them to feel the peace of God who will help carry them through this.

Tourists

Though we were no longer in need of their offered moving assistance, mom and dad still came up to Spokane a few weekends ago to hang out with the Rolinator and me while Justin was out of town. 

My smart, thoughtful and dutifully documenting mother suggested we play tourist in Spokane, to make sure we experienced and snapped photos of the sites we’d soon leave unexplored. I’m so glad she came up with the idea; I really doubt it would have even crossed my mind until we got to Phoenix.

Not sure you know this or not, readers, but I was born in Spokane too. We lived there for just six months after my arrival.

This is Rolin and me in front of the house mom and dad called home as newlyweds. A neat fact about this house is that my dad moved the staircase. He just moved it! Before he and my mom went a courtin', he decided the staircase would be better on a different side of the house, so he did what any bachelor with power tools would do: he cut a hole in the floor and made new stairs. He told me this when I was little Christine and I remember thinking, "that is the coolest thing anyone has ever done!"

This is me where I was baptized.

We also headed down to Riverfront Park. We hit up the (huge) little red wagon, stood on the over-sized blocks, checked out the ducks and geese and then pretended to be Bloomsday runners.  

Go, dad go!

Rolin and I rode the carousel twice, once with Grandma and again with Grandpa.

Rolin loved it! He had a gaping smile on his face for the first half of both rides. He ended the last half of both rides with a slightly nauseated look on his face -- he kept it together, though. No barf from this kiddo (I don’t imagine we’ll always be this lucky).

Of course we finished the afternoon enjoying sno-cones. Though it may be hard to believe just by looking at the picture, Rolin said he preferred cherry over watermelon.

Knees

Someone asked me the other day if I played basketball in high school.

"Pahaha. No," I said. "I believe that requires you to both dribble and walk quickly at the same time."

Justin was nearby, chuckling in the background.

"I did a basketball camp in 4th grade. While dribbling, I tripped, fell and got a gym-floor burn on my knee, and that was the end of that," I continued.

Grace, agility and coordination don't come naturally to me. I did play soccer...though I think I made the team because I would generally show up to practice on time...not because I was good. It was probably a benefit to my team my senior year when, during the first game, I collided with No. 10 from Wapato. The impact resulted in a severed ACL. I was out for the remainder of the season.

I also played tennis; I think I did ok there. I did, however, botch my chances of qualifying for state in doubles my senior year because I thought it'd be a good idea to smack the ball as hard as possible, while playing in the forward position, to the other side of the net. Instead, I smacked it into our side of the net. Twice. In a row. Disqualified.

I played singles too, but I was afraid of Becca from Connell. She had a wicked fast serve and backhand. But that's another story for another time.

The point of this post is to tell you I fell earlier this week. While walking. Walking where I walk every day. Ok, walking where I walk when I actually leave the house (which isn't every day).

I had a baby in a car seat on one arm, and a baby diaper bag on the other. I was also clutching in my teeth the registration for the car, which I finally remembered to grab on my way out the door. I walked to the edge of the parking lot, stepped off the path and suddenly found myself on the ground. I had stepped off in the wrong spot where it's steeper and didn't stop my other foot before it was too late.

I landed hard on one knee, yet managed to keep the baby from flying. Thank goodness he was already strapped in the car seat! I popped up as quickly as I fell and pretended like nothing happened. Just in case anyone was watching, you know, because that would be embarrassing...

Ugh, I hate it when I do that.

As soon as I got to the car, I told myself I was a dummy for not just sitting there and making sure Rolin was ok and that I wasn't bleeding out anywhere.

Rolly was fine. It scared him briefly, but I think in the end he laughed at me.

My jeans and knee, on the other hand, were not fine. Both were ripped and blood stained.

It seems all the cool kids wear ripped jeans these days, though, so I should be fine there.

The funny thing is, I did the same thing last year around this time. Just walking where I usually walk. Somehow, pregnant Christine tripped on a step and landed hard on one knee, yet managed to keep her baby bump out of the danger zone. Maternity jeans, as you may know, are made from some pretty hardy denim so I didn't rip those pants; I just ripped my knee.

All this knee-scraping talk reminds me of one of my first double-knee scraping incidents. I was probably 4 years old or so, walking down the sidewalk at Nanny's house -- just walking on a flat surface -- when WHAM!, down falls little Christine. Both knees and palms were [badly] scraped. I was with the Rabe clan that day so Aunt Kathy helped clean me up and get me bandaged before we went back to my parents' house. I remember asking Uncle Lou to drive slowly because going over bumps made my boo-boos hurt worse.

Sad story, huh. ;)

I'm not going to post a picture of my current knee injury. I'll leave you with a previous injury instead:

Armpits of fire

I was recently reminded of a hilarious incident that we think requires documentation.

Before Justin and I were married, he went with me to my parents' house for Easter. If you know Justin well, you know he is a man who (unfortunately) forgets at least one thing when packing for (or returning from) a trip.

On this particular occasion, it was his deodorant.

A little background: Back in their high school days, Joe would always sneak into Matt's room to use his deodorant (who knows why). Matt grew tired of Joe's thievery, but instead of simply telling Joe to stop, Matt came up with a much craftier plan.

Matt removed the label from a stick of Old Spice deodorant and wrapped it around a deodorant-shaped stick of Icy Hot. He left the decoy on his dresser for an unsuspecting brother to find. Had it gone down the way it was intended, Joe would have quickly learned to never ever again pilfer Matt's deodorant.

However, Joe never fell for it and the Icy-Hot-disguised-as-Old Spice was left in Matt's room, even after Joe went to college. I'm sure Matt figured if Joe had struck once, he would definitely strike again.

Fast forward to Easter: Justin discovers Easter morning he had forgotten his deodorant. As luck would have it, there sat a stick of Old Spice on the dresser. Justin applied the "deodorant" and quickly realized something was wrong.

Just picture it...a boyfriend at his woman's parents' house suddenly has burning armpits but doesn't know why. Doesn't know what to do. Doesn't know what's wrong or how to take care of the situation without drawing too much attention to himself.

He runs into the bathroom to try to scrub off what he's now discovered to be Icy Hot. Justin says he straight up threw up from the pain. "It hurt so bad!" This was all happening as we were all waiting in the living room for Justin to come down so we could go to church...waiting...waiting... Finally he appeared and reluctantly shared the details.

We can all laugh now. Well, we all laughed then. Matt was quite proud of his success, no matter the trap had  been triggered by someone other than whom it had been originally set. It worked!

The decoy sits on Matt's dresser to this day. You've been warned!

Hello?

"Where are you? Hello? Where did you go? Is anyone here? Hello?!!!!"

Have you ever been in your yard, house or anywhere, for that matter, only to turn around and find the people you thought were with you are...gone? Simply nowhere to be found?

You search for them in obvious places, like the bathroom, or under a pile of blankets...you know, in case they are hiding in the pile, waiting to jump out and scare you. But they're not. Nor are they in the kitchen making you sandwich. They've just seemingly disappeared.

Fortunately, in most cases, the missing person isn't missing at all. They've usually just stepped out the back door for a sec, popped behind some shrubbery to relocate a sprinkler, stepped into the closet to get something buried deep within or ran down to the basement when your back was turned.

No matter where they've run off to, the person left behind (haha, no pun intended) suffers a few moments of sheer terror, thinking thoughts such as this:

"The rapture has happened and I didn't make it!! Ohhhh no!!"

But oh, what sweet relief washes over you as soon as you find the missing someone, right?

I have a very distinct memory of this happening to me as a child. Mom and I had been outside. She then told me she was going inside. I went in a few minutes later but could not find mother anywhere. Not even in the
basement!

...Panic. Stress. Fear. Sweaty armpits. What should I gather to keep safe, fed and warm? Where is the big box of matches? I should find them immediately and put them in a waterproof bag...

Oh. She was just STILL OUTSIDE. Behind some shrubbery, relocating a sprinkler. THE NERVE!

Something similar happens in my own home more frequently now that we live in a house with more than one level. Well, really, now that we live in a space where you can't see in every room by simply walking through the front door.

We've lived in some small spaces...including an RV. But I digress...

A few months ago, I went outside to put on our new license plates. I yelled my intention upstairs and then headed out. Ten or so minutes later I see Justin stick his head outside, then throw his hands up in relieved exasperation. "I thought for sure the rapture happened, I've been looking for you all over the house!"

Apparently he hadn't heard me declare my aforementioned intention.

Then there's last night. As I headed upstairs, I asked Justin to bring Rolin up in five minutes. Instead of getting ready to feed Rolin, I started looking for something in the back of our closet, so when Justin looked in our room he didn't see me. (This makes our closet sound big...it's not.) I wasn't in Rolin's room, the bathroom or the guest room. I'd seemingly disappeared!


...Panic. Stress. Fear. Sweaty armpits. What should I gather to keep safe, fed and warm? Where is the big box of matches? I should find them immediately and put them in a waterproof bag...

He checked all the rooms again and thankfully spotted me in our room just as he started to tell Rolin he thought the two of them had been left behind.

Sweet relief!

Is the rapture anyone else's first assumption? I think it's hysterical that it's the first conclusion Justin and I jump to when we can't find each other in our own home.

Adios, amigo!

We parted with a good friend last month.

A friend that had seen Team Thompson through many adventures, countless movies, laughs, tears, good news, late night snacks, lazy weekends and panic attacks. This friend was also hospitable to strangers and friends alike, and stuck by our side through the five times we've moved in the last five years.

Though strings of insults were thrown its way, particularly around tax-return season or any time we moved, this friend remained a constant in our lives.

You could say this friend has been there through sickness and in health, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer.

This friend was our couch.

Our OLD couch, that is.

Old Couchy in San Jose

WE GOT A NEW COUCH!

The crew loading a few of the boxes into Justin's work rig. 

Old Couchy was a truly heavy beast, complete with a hide-a-bed. We have reason to believe it had invisible lead bricks sewn into its cushions. Justin absolutely despised that couch, but, really, only when we had to move it.

I inherited Old Couchy from friends Sarah and Eric when I lived with Tara & Ami in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood. Eric and Justin moved it into my old apartment, destroying only one and a half exit signs and scraping the stairway walls along the way. Upon setting it down, Justin proclaimed, "When you move out, this thing is staying here!"

Luckily Joe was in town when we decided to get the new couch.

Then Justin and I got married a while later and, upon reviewing our finances, decided to move the couch into our new apartment in Lake Forest Park. My dad and bro Joe helped with that move. Upon setting it down in the new place, Justin proclaimed, "When we move out, this thing is staying here!"

OK, one of the main reasons we got the new couch was because Joe was in town.

Then we learned we were moving to California. Old Couchy stayed in LFP while we lived in my parents' RV in CA while waiting out our LFP lease to be up and trying to save money for a new place in CA. After getting all our ducks in a row and finding an apartment in Mountain View, CA, we reviewed our finances and decided to bring Old Couchy to CA. My bro Joe also helped with that move, both out of the apartment in WA and into our new home in CA. Old Couchy smashed only one finger along the way. Upon setting the couch down in CA, Justin proclaimed, "When we move out, this thing is staying here!"

It takes a lot of muscle and stamina to move Old Couchy.

From Mountain View we moved to San Jose where our rent was a bit higher. Upon reviewing our finances, we decided to bring Old Couchy with us to the South Bay. We had a crew of friends help with that move, but still, upon setting down the couch, Justin proclaimed, "When we move out, this thing is staying here!"

Not exactly sure what to do with the old while bringing in the new, we moved the beast out on to the porch.

Soon after we got settled into our place in San Jose, we received our tax return. Upon reviewing our finances, we decided to see about getting a new couch. It was also the weekend Justin's brother came to visit. We spent the better part of Saturday testing out new couches....leather couches, microfiber couches, couches with ottomans, couches in the shape of an L.

We came home with new TV instead.

In no time at all, the neighbors expressed interest, and Old Couchy had a new home. 

As you know, we recently moved again...this time back to WA. A professional crew of movers packed up and transported our belongings this time, so while Old Couchy skirted ridicule during this latest move, Justin still looked at the couch with hatred that burns with the heat of a thousand suns. When it came time to arrange the living room, Justin proclaimed, "This is the last time I want to move this couch!"

So he began plotting. Plotting ways to convince me it was time to part with Old Couchy. "We'll have more visitors now so we'll need more places to sit." "See how it dips down in the middle?" "See how it slides so easily on the wood floor?" "Don't you think a darker colored couch with a different fabric would make for easier baby barf clean up?" "You hate this couch, too, don't you? DON'T YOU?!"

The weekend Joe my bro came to town, and after MUCH discussion as to whether or not it was the right time, we went to Coscto and purchased a new couch.

New couch!

We weren't sure what we'd do with Old Couchy, but as Joe and Justin moved the beast out to the porch -- not without much moaning, groaning and calling of names -- the neighbors walked by.

The neighbors are now the proud new owners of Old Couchy.

I'll miss Old Couchy. As I said, it's seen Team Thompson through a lot of adventures, but change is good.
And so is a new place to rest our weary rears.

Baby Shower in Seattle

JT and I went to the Westside the weekend of June 9th for a baby shower hosted by my friend Sarah. We headed over Friday so Saturday before the shower we could go to my favorite restaurant in my old neighborhood, check out a friend's consignment shop for more baby goods, make plans for date night out on the town and simply spend time together while it's just the two of us.

We hadn't been back together since the day we left in late Dec. 2008, with our car packed to the brim as we started our California adventure!

Seattle skyline from Kerry Park

Sailing class at Shilshoe Bay Marina. It looked terrifying. I won't be trying it soon...I have a big enough issue about large ocean animals, like whales that eat seals, as it is. 

The absolute best dish at El Camino in Fremont: quesadillas de camarones. El Camino...try it, love it. 

Coming in at a close second: plantain chips, guac & salsa

BT and me at Kerry Park

The theme for the shower was "Ready to Pop!" It was held in the EMP suite at the Alexis Hotel downtown. Sarah's bro works there and kindly gave her the hookup! JT and I even got to stay in the room that night -- it was pretty suite!

Sarah made all sorts of pop-themed treats:

 Fruit POPs

Cake POPs

Blow POPs and Ring POPs

And the ladies and I had a fun time snacking, chatting and finally seeing each other after a long, long time apart!

Noshin' time

The grandmas and me: Mom, me and Karen

College roommate and buddy Tara

The girls...Back: Sarah, Tara, Karen, Danielle, Season, Linsley. Front: me, mom. Popout: Marianne, Sarah's mom (she was playing photog)

Gtown, represent! Season, me and Linsley

Thanks, ladies, for a great day celebrating BT! I've been busy washing, hanging and putting away all of BT's new goods and can't wait to use my pedicure gift certificate!

Awww, look at my handsome husband! (And no, I'm not just saying that to distract you from my "storing up for winter" cheeks.) I'm feeling all lovey-dovey lately (hormone rush much?), and as such this pic made me feel like I'd like to take a moment to say how much I appreciate Justin. He's a hard worker, a provider, a believer, a builder, a lover, a comforter, a comedian, a protector, an encourager, one of the 100s in our strived-for 100-100 marriage (see the 3rd letter in this Pioneer Woman post for details), a mental sanity checker, a friend, a partner, a supporter, a listener, an adviser and much more. The guy even cleans the shower now that I can't bend over to reach the bottom of the tub! 

These are shots from the suite window...a beautiful night in Seattle!

Before we headed back Sunday to Spokane, we went to breakfast with our friends the Goulds and Justin's parents.

Then we spent 3 hours at Ikea. Yea. While there we got in a fight (who doesn't at Ikea -- they even made a 30 Rock episode about it), made up, found the perfect wardrobe for BT, found things we didn't really need but wanted anyway, identified our dream living room, discovered the warehouse didn't have the wardrobe doors we wanted, settled on different doors and then spent about 30 minutes rearranging the contents of our car to fit the wardrobe pieces. Thank goodness for blue Ikea rope and a back window on the car that opens so we could stick the box out the rear.

Whew! It was a jam-packed weekend, but we made it out of Ikea alive and back home in one piece, fueling up on Pita Pit in Ellensburg on the way.

Fare thee well, Mazda 3

The Mazda 3 found a new home this morning.

We opted to sell the ol' ride as Justin's new position comes with a car.

The Mazda 3 was the first brand new car I ever purchased (and probably the last for a while) after I got my first "real job" in Seattle. Dad and mom helped me negotiate and work up the umph to buy the car (plus pops threw in a surprise and helped me with the down payment that day).

I remember it being one of the more mentally exhausting days of my life...I don't part easily with my cash. It makes my pit of coins too shallow for diving ;) just kidding. I'd never made such a purchase and monthly commitment before and had no idea what I was doing. It was good to have mom and dad by my side that day!

It's bittersweet to say goodbye to the Mazda 3. The car has seen Justin and me safely through many adventures, life in three different states (though two were the same), losses, wins, back roads, wrong turns, hours of traffic, late night Taco Bell runs, heart-to-heart talks and more. It was also where I preformed my best solos, passed time anxiously driving from Seattle to Aberdeen to visit Justin when he was just my boyfriend and first learned that AM radio wasn't just for old people (or does that mean I'm getting old?).

Before she made the transition this morning, the Mazda 3 sent me a goodbye email and one last beauty shot:

Bye Christine,  you were very nice to me.  I know [new owner] likes me a lot. She had my cousin who was painted black - rest his soul.  I know she will be nice to me.  Her Dad likes me too.  Maybe we'll see each other on the road someday.  I still remember the day you drove me off the lot...best day of my life.  Thank Justin for getting me out of California.  Bye Bye, love you.

Lastly, but certainly not least, a special THANK YOU goes again to my dad and mom. It was they who helped us house and advertise the sale of the car after it arrived in Washington. The Mazda 3 never made it to Spokane...we had it shipped to their house from California. Dad popped a for sale sign in the window, mom and dad each drove it to work every now and then and today dad facilitated the sale. We couldn't have done it without you two. THANK YOU!!

Bye bye, Mazda 3. We love you too!

Of Easters long ago

In the spirit of Easter, I thought I'd direct your attention to a hilarious blog post penned a few years ago by my love.

Summary: Early-morning egg hunting was new to Justin when we first met, but he learned quickly that egg hunting happens before church in the Emerson family.

Enjoy: READ JUSTIN'S POST

Bring it, bunny.

Oh...hey!

Soo...October turned out to be a busy month!

Here's a recap. There are quite a few photos, but I did include some commentary, of course, as well as a sneak peek at the rest of the month because October isn't over, you know :)

Click the pictures to enlarge.

Sept 30 - Oct. 3: TO CHICAGO TO SEE THE RABES & CHYTERBOKS
Ohhh it was so wonderful to meet baby James. He stole my heart and I miss him. He's already changed so much, based on recent pictures.

Seeing Maggie and Drew as parents of a real, itty bitty human being gives me a feeling that's hard to describe. Glad, proud, excited...what a gift a little life can be. They love that little guy so much...just look at how they gaze at him!

 James is sure to call me each Sunday night, just to check in on Cousaunt Christine.

Little man loves his swing!

 

Alexis, Andrew, Drew, Maggie and me.

We went to the Rabes house for a delicious dinner Saturday night and the whole family was there! Benjamin, Sarah, Hayden and Cooper, Alexis and Andrew, Uncle Lou and Aunt Kathy and of course the Chyterboks. It was so nice to see everyone and get to know Hayden and Cooper a bit more :)

Sunday we went to the pumpkin patch with Andrew & Alexis, and picked out a baby pumpkin for baby James. He loved being outside! Monday I worked from "home" and then caught a late/delayed flight back to CA.

Thank you for hosting me, Chyterboks!

Oct. 8: OUTING TO THE PUMPKIN PATCH IN MORGAN HILL
We went to Spina Farms in Morgan Hill for a day of pumpkin fun with the Bracketts. Eva was so excited when we got there, she didn't know where to start! I rode the train with her too.

After pumpkin selection, we parted ways for naps and the like and reconveined later at our house for carving and dinner. we love hanging out with the Bracketts!

The Bracketts!

So, I enjoy pictures you can put your head in for a picture!

Eva was excited about the train ride around the patch.

Our picks.

 Our carvings!

Oct. 13 - 16: THE EMERSONS CAME TO TOWN
Mom and dad came to visit for the weekend, sort of on a whim. A fantastic whim! I miss seeing the padres :) I picked them up Thursday night. We had dinner out Friday night, went sewing machine shopping Saturday (a surprise for me), watched someone steal a big screen TV from Sears, but also watched the clerk recover the merchandise. We also stopped by the Campbell Oktoberfest and later had dinner at home that night (a Grilled New England Seafood "Bake"), and went to church on Sunday. After church mom and I went to a baby shower for a friend of mine and left the boys at home to watch football. Later that night we took them to the airport :( It was a chill weekend and I loved every minute of it.

Thanks for coming, mom and dad!

My papa and me. 

Oktoberfest fun in Campbell.

 More cut out fun in Campbell! Mom was so excited to be climbing the water tower, she couldn't keep her eyes open!

Justin was so excited to be on the porch, he couldn't keep his eyes open!

This same weekend, our artfully crafted pumpkins gave into the heat and leaked their moldy pumpkin juice all over the front porch. I don't feel we got to fully enjoy them this year. The heat is brutal on pumpkin carvings in California.


Oct. 18: DREW CAME OVER FOR DINNER
Drew (of Drew and Maggie) was in town for work so we had him over for a home-cooked meal. After dinner we went for a ride in the special mobile from Drew's company to check out the police equipment Drew sells and markets. Cameras, license plate recognition, reporting information...it was so neat to check it out and see what it is Drew is responsible for at work!

I don't have a pic...of course...but it happened. You'll just have to believe me.


Oct. 21 - 23: TO SEATTLE FOR AMI'S WEDDING
I flew Friday night to Seattle for Ami's wedding. Ami is Tara's twin. Tara was my freshman and sophomore roommate at WSU. I lived with Ami and Tara in Seattle for roughly 2 years, too! She married Jerrod in the most beautiful ceremony at Pickering Barn in Issaquah. The reception - gorgeous. Not a detail went undone. It was perfect and perfectly Ami.

I stayed with my friend Sarah, my senior year roommate at WSU and one of my BFFs. Sarah and I dressed up as Gold Bond Girls our freshman year at WSU...but that's another story for another time.

Sarah was my date to the wedding because JT couldn't make it; things are too nuts at work for him at the moment. Sarah has two adorable kiddos who I was soooo happy to spend time with over the weekend.

We went to Bob's Corn, Maze and Pumpkin Farm, my third pumpkin patch this season, in a third state. How many people can say that? We had a fun time, although it was a bit muddy and we had to use my Google Maps app to get us out of the corn maze. It worked perfectly!

Go Cougs!

 me, Tara and Sarah at the reception

First dance

Eli and Grace. So stinkin' cute. 

Thanks for letting me stay with you and your family, Sarah!


Oct. 25: I'VE COME DOWN WITH THE FLU
I got a flu shot last Thursday. By 8 p.m. that night I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. Luckily it passed in time for Ami's wedding! However, today I felt icky. Just icky. I came home from work, wrapped up in a blanket, drank tea, ate hot soup, turned on the heating pad, put on a thermal shirt and I was still freezing. The bathroom needed to be within easy access at all times asll well. My temp is also hovering around 100.4. Whee... Freakin' flu shot.


SNEAK PEAK -- what's on tap:

Oct. 28 MY BIRTHDAY

• I'm turning 29.
• I still bite my nails. (Although this week I have been doing much better...I think it's because last weekend I changed a nasty diaper for baby Grace.It was a 9-wiper, folks. Nasty.)
• I still live in California. I think our families and we secretly believed we'd be back in WA before I turned 29, but here we are.
• Some ladies coordinated a girls' night at VBar at Santana Row for my birthday Friday night. It'll be fun and I'm honored someone wanted to do that for me -- there was an evite and everything!
• I've been married for 3 years (btw, what business did I have getting married at 25?)
• I'll be 30 in one year. 
• Justin is already 30 and had no sympathy for a story I told him the other day about a mysterious, involuntary noise that rose from deep within a few months ago when it hit me: 30. Thirty is...wow. I certainly don't feel like I'm old enough to be a responsible adult, but I suppose technically I am. Or at least younger people suppose I should be when they hear "30."
• I've always thought I'd have a kid or two by 30. You know, back when I was in my late teens or early 20s and viewed 30-year-olds as being mature, responsible adults who volunteer at preschool with their own kids. We're looking into what all children may entail -- it's semi-terrifying. 
• I've worked at my job in California the same amount of time I worked at my PR job in Seattle. At the time, 2.5 years seemed like an eternity. This time, I don't know where the last 2.5 years have gone...I suppose that says a good thing or two about where I'm working.
• I already received one of my birthday gifts, but I have yet to use it as I'm waiting for my birthday. It's a sewing machine. Don't be surprised if you get an old jean & shirt quilt from me. I've been saving old jeans and t-shirts for years now. 
• I made a jean & shirt quilt in high school/college; it's now our picnic or camping blanket and it's awesome. I used portions of the pants featuring zippers, buttons and pockets and the like...an idea I got from my cousin Connie who used to make jean & shirt blankets, too. 
• Other plans for my sewing machine include: stitching up the armpit of my Australia shirt...it's had a hole in it for about 5 years so I only wear it to bed. I like to stay classy in bed, so the hole has been cramping my style for about 5 years. I'm also going to fix the hem of my khaki pants...the pants that have secretly had duct tape holding the hem up for about 4 years. This is not a joke. It's a tip I learned from a past co-worker, who will remain anonymous. That's right, I have had duct tape in my khaki pants for 4 years. I'm also going to secretly monogram all of JT's underpants. The sewing machine comes with a wide variety of fonts and monogramming functions. If you'd like your underpants monogrammed, send them over with your choice of thread color and I'll get to work.
• As I former PR pro, I should know better than to use digits for any number under 10. Well, this is my blog, I have the flu and I'll do what I want. Ok, ok. I did feel quite ashamed when I read through that previous paragraph and noticed it was littered with digits. Shame shame. I almost went back and fixed everything, but I'm not going to. Not yet, anyway.

Oct. 29: HEATHER'S AWESOME COSTUME BIRTHDAY PARTY.

• Two words: 30 Rock. 

Nov. 2: MY LEFT ACL AND MY COUSIN TURN 11

• Within seconds of the first game of the soccer season, I was attacked by a ferocious wolf. A Wapato wolf wearing the #10. Ok, she wasn't that ferocious, but in my attempt to get the ball passed to another teammate, we ran into each other in mid air, there was a pop and I fell to the ground. I got back up, but fell to the ground. I did that about three times trying to get to the ball, not understanding why I couldn't stand on my own leg. There was no pain, but the leg wasn't working. I'd severed my ACL and torn my meniscus. 
• I had replacement surgery on Nov. 2, 2000. When I awoke from the surgery in the recovery room, I was surrounded by all my loved ones. Imagine with me, if you will...you're in a groggy state, you crack open your eyes and are pretty sure that through all the post-surgery haze you see all your family members: aunts, uncles, grandmother, cousins. The whole lot. A nurse shoves a pill in your mouth that makes you nauseous. You begin to panic, thinking that they for sure amputated your leg on accident, because why else would everyone you know be in the room? Turns out, little sweetie Laynee Michelle was born that same day in the same hospital! They had come to visit the newborn and thought they'd swing on over to see me in recovery. I'll never forget that.

 There is a lot I could say about this picture. The only thing I will say, though, is it's essential to always have a mini SUV around when you have knee surgery.

 This is beautiful little Laynee -- photo from Joe's wedding this last summer. I can't believe she'll be 11. Hi, Laynee! I miss seeing you!

Nov. 11 - 14: THE THOMPSONS COME TO TOWN
Justin's parents haven't been to California since May 2009 so we're excited to entertain them and show them our new place!