Something quite amusing...

Yesterday morning, Brandon and I went to donate blood at the American Red Cross at 8:30 am. We also donated on New Years' Day. We are going to be regular donors.

Anyway, after donating, we went to eat at a restaurant that has really good breakfast. While we were waiting for our food to come to the table, Brandon was really focused and deep in thought (I took this picture while he was staring... I couldn't help myself). I asked him what he was thinking about. He was studying the rotisserie. He thinks they are turning the chickens too much and too fast. I don't know why, but I just thought that was so funny.

:) If you look really close, you can see one of the chickens rotating in the brick oven. Enjoy!

Beyond Bliss...

Brandon's sister, Brianna, and I went for 1-hour massages on Friday. Wonderful!!! The salon was called "Beyond Bliss". :) Then we went to Seize the Bagel. Yum! Having a sister is going to be fun!

I'm also including some more snow pictures. My room at Brandon's parents' house is in the finished basement. Every morning I look out my window and see Mount St. Helens. It is solid white, just to the right of the center. It's hard to see because my iPhone won't zoom. I've even tried to zoom with my Kodak camera and I can't get a good pic.

The snow is still on the ground here, even though the temperature is around 40 degrees today. I took the other pictures from the living room. I love the view!

Fitting #4... Final Fitting!

I have my wedding dress back! I went to my last fitting today. Thank goodness it's done and the dress looks great! I also got my shoes today. I am VERY pleased with how it all turned out. Praise God! 5 more weeks until the big day! :)

More snow pics...

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

It snowed like crazy here last night. But the sun came out this morning and now it's almost all melted. However, we saw flurries outside while we were eating lunch a few minutes ago. The weather is supposed to be really bad tonight and in the morning. There is supposed to be ICE... ugh... not good when Brandon and his parents both live on "hills". I say "hills" but to me, they are mountains. ;) If you can build houses into the side of them and your ears pop as you're driving down them, then I think they are mountains. Needless to say, I'm scared to drive on the ice. :(

My mom said it's 76 degrees in Huntsville today. It's hard to believe the difference in temperatures for Feb 24th.

As I sit here typing, Brandon just said, "Oh, look! It's snowing hard again!"

Here are some pictures of our yard & street last night and today. There is a field with cows in it behind our house that I enjoy looking at during the day. Normally the hill is green and pretty. Today it was white!

More pics from Beacon Rock

Beacon Rock

Yesterday we were off from work for President's Day. The family (except for Brandon's brother-in-law, Mohit) went hiking at Beacon Rock. I don't have a good picture of the actual rock, but I have pictures of the views from Beacon Rock. It was a beautiful day and a really easy hike. Ethan, Brandon's nephew, is a good little hiker! :) He is adorable!

Fun with my honey...

Last night, Brandon & I went to this really cool diner. It's called Stardust Diner. Each booth has a personal jukebox with only music from the 50's and 60's. We selected 3 songs: Earth Angel by Penguins, This Magic Moment by The Drifters, and When I Fall in Love by Bobby Vinton. It was so much fun! :)

Brandon's ring

We just love it. We got it last night from the same jewelry store my ring came from. He was planning to get a simple, yellow gold band. We saw this and he really liked the way it looked and felt. And I think he wanted to match my ring. :)

So... that's one less thing to do on our list. Now we need to get him a tux!

Busy weekend...

We had a good, busy weekend. I subbed 3 days last week. Our school district here was off for President's Day today. Brandon was off today, too. We hiked Beacon Rock with his parents, sister and nephew. It was fun! If you have never seen or heard of it, google Beacon Rock and check it out. I will probably post some pics this week.

We have gone to the same church for 3 weekends in a row. We are considering making it our church home. Our Marriage Team coaches also go to this church. We took a picture together in the foyer yesterday morning after church. We love Dave & Holly. :)

Tonight, Brandon & I installed 4 light speakers in the ceiling of our living room. It took 2.5 hours (the instructions said 30 minutes or less... yeah, whatever!) They are cool! The speakers are installed in the existing can light fixtures. We can dim the lights with a remote control and the speakers are wonderful. It's nice to have the sound coming from above us instead of way across the room from the tv speakers. Previously, when the heater kicked on, we couldn't hear the movie. We're getting ready to test them out really good with Return of the Jedi. Oh yes... I've seen all 3 original Star Wars movies this weekend. Well, I'm about to watch the 3rd one. ;)

We also bought Brandon's wedding ring tonight! We love it! I told you it was a busy weekend!

Life is good! :) 40 days until our wedding!

What's wrong with this picture???

;) This is meant to be humorous...

And now it's time to play a little game I like to call "WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?" Most days in Washington the high temp is around 45 degrees. Lately the sun has been shining almost every day, which is WONDERFUL. However, the temperature is always between 30-45 degrees. And every day, I lay eyes on people in capri pants, tank tops and SHORTS. The kids come to school with their shorts (and even mini-skirts)on. And I wonder where the parents are when the kids are leaving for the bus stop...? But I see grown men and women doing the same thing.

Seriously... I've been wanting to blog about this because I think it's so bizarre and borderline hilarious. And just now, as I sit at Starbucks waiting for Brandon to get out of his masters class, I saw this girl walk in with her Daisy Dukes on. Then, she parked it next to the man in the short sleeve shirt. FOLKS, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE... My iPhone says it's 37 degrees right now and it's supposed to SNOW tomorrow. THINK IT'S TIME TO PUT SOME PANTS ON NOW??? How about a light windbreaker, Mr. Man in the Short Sleeve Shirt in the Corner? Please???

If it's 37 degrees in Texas or it's 37 degrees in ALASKA, wear your pants and put on your coat!!! Ok... :) I'm off the soapbox now. Ha, ha... Pray for the Yankees... ;)

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Brandon & I eat out alot. We're trying to eat at home more. I've had a recipe on the fridge for a couple of weeks now for spaghetti & homemade meatballs. Earlier I decided that tonight's the night. :) I made the meatballs from scratch! I just pulled them out of the oven. They're ugly (ha,ha) but they taste good. I just combined them with the sauce to simmer. Hopefully, dinner will be a hit! :)

More pictures from Valentine's Day

Pictures from Valentine's Day

Two days of Happy Valentines...

I have had a wonderful 2 days with my very first Valentine. :)This year was very special for both of us. We decided to celebrate officially last night (Sunday). Brandon took me to an elegant restaurant called Stanford's on Jantzen Beach (it's on Hayden Island on the edge of Portland). We decided we would be smart and skip the Valentine's Day crowds.

Dinner was delicious! I got Dungeness Crab Cakes and Brandon had seafood mixed grill skewers on orzo pasta. It was really good. We took some cute pictures in the dim lighting. It was very romantic!

Then, we went to the restaurant next door for dessert! :) We got a triple chocolate Ghiradelli dessert! Chocolate ice cream with Ghiradelli chunks on top of a big, hot, chocolate-chocolate chip cookie. And there was a big piece of Ghiradelli chocolate on top. Yum! My boy loves chocolate... :)

So, I thought we had celebrated last night, even though I was saving his 3 Valentine's Day cards from me until today (Monday). Today I subbed in this school district for the 1st time. I had a really great day! Brandon came and picked me up for my lunch break. And after school got out, I walked out to the car and there was a bouquet of pretty red and white carnations on my car seat with a card! I was so excited! :)

Tonight, we tried to go to a German restaurant here, but the wait was insane, so we left. We went to a quaint little Italian restaurant called Leonardo's. There were only about 10 people in the whole restaurant. It was so romantic and quiet! We really enjoyed tonight, too. :)

This was the best Valentine's Day(s) that I've ever had! :) I am thankful to God for my special Valentine man... I never knew I could be loved this way.

Big Al's

Last night, Brandon & I had a date night. We ate dinner at a new Japanese restaurant and then we went to play games at this place called Big Al's. It's like Dave & Buster's or Jillians in Houston. It's fun! That was the 2nd time we've been. We went with Brianna and Mohit the 1st time (Brandon's sister and brother-in-law).

The color pictures are of Brandon & me, sitting in race car simulators. We were getting ready to race each other as Dale Earnhardt, Jr (me!) and Carl Edwards (he doesn't know anything about Nascar, so he just picked somebody).

I love these pictures, especially the one where Brandon is pointing at me... he was literally saying, "You are going down!" while I was taking the picture. It was his idea to pose like that. :) He is so funny & cute!

Later, we got in a photo booth. They aren't the best pix in the world, but they are cute! And it was a good memory. :) This was Brandon's first time in a photo booth!

Showers!

Hey Girls...

It looks like the Beaumont shower will be on Saturday, March 12 from 2-4 pm. And the Conroe shower will be on Saturday, March 26th. I'm so honored and excited that you guys are throwing these for me! :) Thank you!!!

Also, I've completed the substitute application process here in Washington! I had my interview today to be able to sub in the district where Brandon works. Now I will do the "hunt" like I did in Huntsville. Another new chapter... new job! :)

51 days until our wedding day! :)

6 weeks in Washington

I've been in Washington 6 weeks today. :) Brandon and I have had really good times together. We've hiked at 3 gorgeous places, we've eaten at alot of special restaurants, had fun shopping together, bought my wedding rings, bought a wedding dress, planned a wedding, bought iPhone 4, applied for jobs, saw Chronicles of Narnia in 3D, watched a bunch of movies at home, spent time with family, registered for gifts and have gone through a month of pre-marital coaching, all while Brandon works a full-time job and earns his masters degree. It's been a busy 6 weeks! And it's been wonderful! :) I love BR!

We are registered!!! UPDATE...

Brandon and I got registered yesterday instead of watching the Super Bowl! We didn't care about Green Bay or Pittburgh. Also, his week is gonna be really slammed, so he decided last night was best. :)

We are registered at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Kohl's. I think you can look at our stuff online and even print pages if you plug in our names and the wedding date. It took us almost 4 hours to register both places! Whew! Marathon scanning... ha,ha.

There are 2 showers brewing for March... one is in Beaumont and the other is in Conroe. I am so excited! :)

The websites are:

BedBathAndBeyond.com
Kohls.com

If you click on these 2 links, Brandon has created it to open up directly to our registry. It's great marrying a man who is good with technology! Hallelujah! ;)

This message is brought to you by the letter "R" and the number 2011. ;)

8 weeks from today...

I will be marrying Brandon. :) I'm very excited!

The pictures I'm attaching were taken by our gemologist the night we picked up my rings after they were sized and appraised. She met us at Starbucks in Vancouver so we wouldn't have to drive all the way to downtown Portland. Teresa took these pictures for us. Teresa rocks! :)