Christmas weekending

Nick and I decided that we would have Christmas at our house this year and we were delighted that my family joined us! I was determined that this year I would not spend all day on Christmas cooking dinner so Nick and I pre-made our casseroles on Wednesday and the pies Thursday afternoon, therefore making the rest of the time as relaxing as possible. Christmas Eve we had our traditional Garlic Soup dinner which was absolutely divine and Christmas evening a traditional dinner (complete with squash casserole thanks to Sandy's wonderful recipe!!). The weekend was interspersed with fun events such as: the exchanging of gifts and un-stuffing of stockings, board games (completely sucking at Trivial Pursuit), eating way too much including lots of left-overs, Garden D'Lights at Bellevue's Botanical Gardens, walks in the cold sunshine, building Legos and other good fun.
After my family left yesterday Nick and I cleaned the house and then went for a fantastic 16 mile bike ride in the cold sunshine and finished off the day with going to see the most epic movie of all time - AVATAR, in 3D of course!!! So fantastically amazing - if you haven't seen it yet, GO! GO NOW!!!
Hope all of your Christmas celebrations were as wonderful as ours!

Santa Claus is coming to the Tomczek's!

Last weekend we went to a Santa Claus parade in our little town center. It was small, but cute and fun to walk around looking at everything sipping on hot coffee from our favorite local coffee shop, Spotted Cow.

The Christmas spirit finally hit me Tuesday evening this week, after attending my work Christmas party, and I started to drag out the Christmas bins, set-up the Nativity set, the Christmas books and my card holder while listening to Christmas music. Our work group went to The Ram in Seattle (a local restaurant and brewery) and had a grand time eating and having a gift exchange. I ended up with a plush, white throw and it's so warm and cozy!


My contribution to the work Christmas party (movie night "in" basket)

Thursday we finally went and picked up our Christmas tree, put up our lights and finished decorating. Our Christmas ornament this year is 3 links of chain - it represents strength; breaking free from debt, fears; and that a strand of three is stronger then a strand of two.


We had a wonderful time Saturday night going to Bellevue and visiting Snowflake Lane. There were hundreds, upon thousands of people, but the music was wonderful and it even *snowed*. We did some light shopping afterwards and then headed home.

Sunday morning started bright and early at 8:30 a.m. and we were on the road by 9:30 a.m. for a day filled with shopping. We started off with coffees from Spotted Cow and arrived at Costco right as they opened. After a couple more shopping stops we finished right at 2:50 p.m. (I promised Nick we'd be done before 3 p.m.!). The evening was finished up with wrapping, unpacking and laundry. We are ready for Christmas to arrive!!

Weekending in Walla Walla

We traveled to Walla Walla the weekend of December 10th for my mom's tonsillectomy surgery. We had a wonderful, relaxing weekend and my mom's surgery went beautifully and we're just waiting for her biopsy results.


We spent the weekend taking care of Mama, the animals, playing games, building Lego's, cooking and eating lots of Potato soup, and watching the snow fall.

A few inches of snow

Nick's trebuchet

How to freeze otter pops in Walla Walla

My adorable burglar sister!

Despite the reason for the trip to Walla Walla we had a good time and it was nice to visit with family and friends. It never ceases to amaze me at how blessed we are to have such wonderful friends and family in our lives to make life so much more rich and full. Thank you to everyone for all your prayers, well wishes and support for my mom and our family! We are so blessed...

Tennessee Thanksgiving

The holiday season is upon us and so Nick and I made our biennial journey to join our Tennessee family for Thanksgiving. We were reminiscing of how we came to be included in the Simmons' family festivities and realized that we've been traveling to TN for Thanksgiving for about 5 years now. It all started when Tim found out that Nick and I couldn't make it home for Thanksgiving in 2000 and invited us to join his family for the festivities. We fell in love with their family and have made it a tradition to return pretty much every other year since then. We've also gone down for spring break and a wedding. I love traveling to TN as it is where Nick and I lived for about 3-1/2 years.

We arrived in Nashville, TN, on Wednesday, November 25th and immediately started filling our pieholes with Sandy's wonderful cooking. Thursday a couple of us girls went for a 2.5 mile walk to burn off some calories and make room for our huge dinner. T-Day was spent watching the Macy's Day parade, football, playing games (new game - Bananagrams - a must buy!) and more stuffing of our bellies. I've never seen as many casseroles - besides at potluck - then when we go to the Simmons'! Green bean, asparagus, squash, sweet potato and more... Yummy!!
Several brave souls did rise at some obscene hour to purchase specific items on Friday morning; those of us less crazy, slept in and then us girls treated ourselves to a spa day and shopping later in the morning. We met the guys for lunch and then went and saw Old Dogs. A silly, but cute and funny family movie.
Saturday we were spoiled by one of Sandy's fantastically huge breakfasts before Nick and I headed for Chattanooga to visit Tim and Emily. Tim picked us up in the afternoon and Emily greeted us with another Thanksgiving feast for dinner! We went for a walk and then built a bonfire that night and sat around telling stories and talking with Tim, Emily and Emily's parents. When we couldn't keep warm any longer, we adjourned to the house and played some more games. Sunday we went for another walk along the Collegedale Greenway Trail. It was fabulous weather while we were there and I so wish the trail would have been there when I was going to SAU. After our walk we went and saw The Blind Side; I would have to say that this is one of the best feel good movies I've seen in a long time. Take your family and go see it!!
Monday we returned to Nashville, ate lunch and then headed to the airport. We arrived to freezing Seattle at 11:30 p.m. on Monday night, enjoyed Tuesday off and then noses back to the grindstone on Wednesday.

Hope y'll had wonderful Thanksgivings wherever you were and whomever you were with!! Thanks Simmons Family for adopting us and letting us come spend Thanksgiving with everyone; we are so blessed to have you in our lives!! Looking forward to the next time...

Weekend Eats

We ate our way through the weekend so I thought I'd share some of the tasty treats we had...

• Rustic Tart by Lindsay on Friday night with sides of yummy goat cheese, aged cheddar and crackers (It didn't look quite like this as she had potatoes & leeks, with a whole wheat crust, but this is similar)
• Nick's and my new favorite breakfast food - veggie scramble!

• For Saturday night we tried a new recipe and it was pretty successful. Baked Pasta with Butternut Squash and ricotta (I would like to make this again and either use a different cheese or seasonings).
• Sunday was homemade corn chowder, veggie chicken empanadas and glazed pear muffins

Definitely a good eats weekend!!

Best of Weekending

**Wight's Nursery Christmas Extravaganza benefiting Seattle Children's Hospital. "Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree..." - voted 1st place for best home and garden in Western Washington.

**Clay Pit - best Indian food in the state!! Voted 1st place for best of Indian food in Western Washington.

**Spotted Cow - I am forever spoiled from drinking any other brand of coffee! Cannot believe they didn't win for best coffee; however, they did get a nomination.

**Pinkalicious - our new favorite dessert store! Cupcakes - yum!

**Lucy - my new favorite girl's workout clothing store! The cutest clothes that will make you want to work out.

**Borders - I'm obsessed with books and Borders feeds my appetite. I finally purchased our Christmas book for this year (A Charlie Brown Christmas); Mitch Albom's new book Have a Little Faith; Biggest Loser Simple Swaps; and Elie Wiesel's The Night Trilogy: Night, Dawn, Day. Can't wait to dig in!

**Garlic Jim's Gourmet Pizza - so happy this place is just minutes from our house and their pizza is divine!

**Playing Guitar Hero on the Wii with new people - hilarious good fun!

**Good friends to hang out with and spend a fantastic weekend with - the best part!

The last of October

We've had a pretty festive last two weekends in October, so I thought I would lump it all together in one big post!

We spent the weekend of October 23-25 hanging out with Tim & Lindsay, playing games and watching a movie. On Sunday I did a bunch of cooking (lentil soup, blueberry streusel muffins and tofu stir-fry) and errands. Earlier in the week I had done some mass cleaning getting ready for my Silpada Jewelry Party. Nick was a gem and put in our brand new over-the-range microwave to replace the hideous fan that the original owners had put in. Slowly, but surely we are progressing towards finishing the remodel on our house. On Monday, I held my first hostess party for Silpada Jewelry and we had a grand time! The jewelry was beautiful, the food yummy and the company wonderful. I'm so excited for my order to come in - thank you to everyone who came!

This last weekend was Halloween and while we don't usually do anything particularly spectacular, we do have our silly little traditions of fun. A big bowlful of candy, fun costumes, good friends & family, silly movies, kettle corn and games make for one night of great fun. Nick and I dressed as an electrical socket and plug and Tim and Lindsay dressed as the Corpse Bride and Rorschach. My mom was in town and we had a wonderful visit with her! We stayed up late playing games, eating too much sweet stuff, "performing" with our Wii band, watching a movie (Lindsay & I) and playing computer games (the guys). We didn't have as many kids this year as in the past due to rain and cold, but we still had quite a few. Nick and I ended the weekend with a lovely homemade breakfast (veggie scramble) and a 20 mile bike ride. My longest ride yet!

Two wonderful weekends to end the month of October. Now we're gearing up for the holiday rush and trying to keep our sanity during it. Happy holidays to you all!!

Rainy Fall Weekend

Best things about this rainy fall weekend:

*The rain clearing up and going to the market

*Watching the kids play in the mud puddles at the market

*Hunkering down on the couch and watching CSI:NY with Lindsay

*Playing table games and eating Moose Munch

*Getting the Tramps together (our Wii band) to play with all 4 of us; for FOUR AND A HALF HOURS!!

*Sleeping in on Sunday morning and eating a yummy home made brunch all from the market

*Going for a bike ride with Nick on the trail and out of the garage, off the trainer!

*Enjoying a relaxing evening chilling with my handsome, wonderful hubby

The Colors of Fall

I'm sitting on the couch listening to some awesome music from a great movie I watched last night (Facing the Giants - if you haven't seen it, go rent it & watch it!) and decided I should do some blogging.
I think I am enjoying fall this year more then any other. We are in love with the Redmond Farmer's Market and I shall cry great tears of sadness when it ends on October 31st. In the meantime we are spending each Saturday at the market consuming the sights, sounds, tastes and fun. It never ceases to amaze me the wide array of colors that are displayed at the market; through the people, fruit, veggies, crafts and more. I thought I would take my camera and capture some of the colors of the market to share with you! Obviously, Saturday was spent at the market and after the market we went for a pseudo unplanned hike down to Lake Washington through St. Edward's Park. Then in the evening we had a lovely time with Tim, Lindsay, Ashley & Kihana(Lindsay's sister & niece) eating way too much food and playing games.
Sunday was a big day as I finally, FINALLY followed through and bought a bike!! My new beauty is a 2009 Specialized Dolce women's entry level road bike. I'm completely in love and dying to get it out on the trail, Seattle of course is complying and dumping rain on us. I am therefore relegated to the garage and Nick's trainer. I am so excited to break into this new form of exercise and see what results I can get. I must admit that I am burnt out on walking/jogging and would like to try something new to refresh myself and be able to break up the monotony of walking. Don't get me wrong, I'll be back out on the 1/2 marathon circuit next year, with plans of completing the 2011 Disneyworld Marathon; but for now I will be bonding with my new Dolce! It will be a lot of fun to ride with Nick and with this bike I will be able to keep up (hopefully!).

After being all kitted out for the bike Nick and I enjoyed a lovely fall drive out to Carnation, WA, where Jubilee Farms is located. This is the farm that Tim and Lindsay have their CSA through. There were pumpkins everywhere! We weren't able to squeeze onto the horse drawn wagon, but rode in the tractor drawn wagon out to the pumpkin patch where we had fun watching Kihana experience the pumpkins. Nick and I enjoyed some fresh corn on the cob - divine!; watched the trebuchet launch a pumpkin from afar and took some more colorful fall photos.

Sunday evening was topped off by a wonderful, albeit short, visit from my parents on their way back home from my mom completing the Victoria Marathon. She did it in 5:10 - way to go Mama!!
Another perfect fall weekend for the books...

The weekend and my mama

We had another uneventful weekend... Saturday was our regular, weekly trip to the Farmer's Market, where we tried roasted corn on the cob and tamales this week. I think I might have to stray from the crepe booth and hang out at the Tamale lady's booth from now on - so good!! Nick is addicted to the pie lady and bought another of her pies; apple this time. Sunday was spent putting up corn, doing laundry and working in the yard. We are gearing up for fall and I'm slowly getting the yard ready. I don't want to trim my roses or lilies back just yet, because around here we get those crazy temperature surges and the flowers start blooming again. I think I might burlap sack my roses this year and see if it protects them a little bit better.

I'm very much reminded of my mama this fall. I was standing in my kitchen yesterday putting corn up and was reminded of all that Mama has taught me. She's taught me how to cook (great way to teach math if you're homeschooling & also home ec!), how to pick out the best produce, how to can and freeze produce, how to care for flowers and tend a garden, but more then that she taught me how to be the woman I am today (or at least the one I strive to be!). My mama is such a lady - graceful, kind, compassionate and spiritual. However, she's not afraid to get outside and work in the garden, buck hay, work with horses and be a helpmate alongside my daddy. I strive to live up to her example. Thanks Mama for all that you have taught me and showed me throughout my life! I love you tremendously!!

Catch Phrases

Have you ever noticed that as you hang around people more often you pick up on the phrases or words they use regularly to add spice to their vocabulary?

We were talking about this at work this last week and realizing that we have started using each other's words and catch phrases! I decided I had to blog about this topic because it really made me laugh at the things we say.

Aubrey - her two special phrases are "The End" and "Sad". The End is used at the end of a sentence or discussion when things are getting a little snippy or we should think about changing the subject. Sad is used after someone says something that is, ironically, sad or when you look into the face of one of our patients and their little lip is starting to pout out and they just look so funny and cute, but so sad.

Ruth - her special words are different since she is British. She'll say things such as, "Isn't that just delightful?", but in a sarcastic way. She usually says it after we're teasing her about her driving. "I can't be bothered", Ruth actually uses this after we tell her she needs a massage or she should clean out her car; she just can't be bothered. "Shut your face", not sure if this is nicer then telling someone to shut-up or not, but there it is.

Mine - "FABuLous!" Said very similarly to the lady that does the Orbit gum commercials. "SHUT-up", used instead of "are you serious?". Careful in using this one, may be offensive to some. "Wow" - said very blandly and slowly. Can be used in place of "I can't believe you just said or did that".

Kim - when it's time for the discussion to end, rather then saying, "talk to the hand" Kim likes to use, "I say to you good-day".

I couldn't think of any phrases in particular that Nick says, however Nick and I both use movie quotes a lot in our vocabulary if at all possible. Just thought this was a fun experiment I would share!

FABuLous Fall!!

I love things about each of the different seasons, but I think that I love fall the most. This last weekend we had a great time discovering why we love fall. Here are a few reasons why...

Inspirations for next year - although now that I've done some research I realize I might have bitten off more then I can chew!
Fabulous farmer's market produce - yum!

Farm fresh eggs

Beautiful fall flowers

Corn is finally here - sweet bi-color

Time to curl up with a good book - The Lost Symbol, An Echo in the Bone or Fierce Leadership

Time for soup - wrap your hands around a steaming mug of this fantastic Creamy Broccoli Soup (find recipes for following dishes at http://blog.beinhealthnow.com/)

Baked Oatmeal - great pre-made breakfast!

When you walk into the kitchen on Sunday morning and are greeted by this site, you know it's been a great weekend! Yes people, I do let my sink fill with dishes!

Have fun out there enjoying the bounties that fall has to offer; I'm looking forward to many more fall weekends in the Pacific Northwest!

Journeys

"Life's a journey, not a destination" - Steven Tyler

Life is filled with steps that take us along the journey; they may be forwards, backwards, up hills, into valleys, they may be hard or easy, the may take us along desolate byways or scenic vistas.

Right now I'm on the journey of weight loss - I've joined Weight Watchers and am loving the results! I'm on this journey with my good friend, Ramah, and am committed to reaching a healthy, happy place in my life. I have been using Weight Watchers recipes, but have also been borrowing from my friend, Emily's, webpage and her vast vegetarian/vegan collection (thanks so much!!). This year we've taken many journeys -backpacking trips, 1/2 marathons, vacations, journey to better health and more. I'm getting really excited about planning a journey for next year and that is to complete the Wonderland Trail around the base of Mt. Rainier. I'm hoping to put together a large group that would love to take 10-14 days and hike this trail next year around late spring/early summer or once the snow clears. I've made commitments before and kind of let them slip by the wayside, but this is something I really want to do and hopefully putting this out there for "everyone" to see will hold me responsible. As we approach fall I always become a bit more nostalgic, thinking of the past year and what's around the corner. Plus, fall always reminds me of hot cider, heavy quilts, walks through the leaves and poetry. It is so wonderful to curl up with a good book, a mug of hot cider and a book of poems (or any other favorite book). I thought it would be fun to see what journeys you all might be taking or have taken, so please post a comment sharing your favorite, most memorable, fun or whatever journey. Can't wait to see where you all have been or are going!

Happy journeying!

Sunshiney Days in California

It's been awhile since I blogged so I have a couple weekends worth of fun events to report off on. Fasten your seatbelts - it's going to be a fun ride!
I arrived in Sacramento on Friday, September 18, and immediately thought I was in the wrong airport. Having always flown Southwest Airlines I land in Terminal A and go about my merry way; however, I flew Alaska Airlines and landed at Terminal B and was completely lost - I didn't even know Sacramento had two terminals! Anywho I made my way to Terminal A, ate some snacks and read my book while killing time for Bear to pick me up. We spent Saturday evening visiting a fantastic little market called The Nugget (similar to Whole Foods or Central Market), making delicious taco salad and going for a 4-1/2 mile walk. Going to The Nugget made me realize why I love CA (besides visiting Bear!) - avocados for $0.99 a pound, huge tomatoes and other amazing produce! Saturday we drove up to Reno, NV, with a friend of Bear's to the Reno Air Races/Air Show. It was pretty spectacular and The Blue Angels were there to perform which is always fantastic! There were a lot of amazing airplanes and such, but it was wicked hot there and Reno is a very ugly little place in Nevada; however, I did get to add another shotglass to my collection as I was in the state long enough to "qualify" for being there.
On Sunday Bear and I went to brunch at the most delicious restaurant called Crepeville. I want them to expand to Seattle and I want them to be here by this weekend so I can go again! After stuffing our faces we headed to the mall and did some browsing before going to see a double feature of The Time Traveler's Wife (sorely disappointing compared to the book) and Julie & Julia (adorable, hilarious & poignant).
Monday was my last day in Cali and so we spent several hours at the mall, had our nails done, ate lunch and then headed to the airport. This is the first time I've ever had anyone paint a design on my nails - so much fun and so pretty!
It was a fantastic weekend of relaxation, visiting and enjoying each other's company. Looking forward to the next visit already!

More miles logged on the Pacific Crest Trail

We had another glorious weekend spending time in the out-of-doors! Friday evening my adorable sister was in town and we spent the evening together chatting, catching up and spending time together. Way too early on Saturday morning my alarm went off and I dragged myself out of bed to get ready to leave for our 2 day backpacking trip up to Josephine Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area. The weather was gorgeous and we hit the trail by about 12 noon. We started off at a pretty good clip, leaving the upper parking lot of Steven's Pass ski area. and then settled into a nice little pace. There were a lot of people out picking berries and the bushes were loaded with wild blueberries and huckleberries. We made great time after about 2 hours of hiking we reached Lake Susan-Jane (a smaller lake right below Josephine Lake) and stopped for lunch. After lunch it was a near vertical hike up to where the Pacific Crest Trail splits and we then headed down the Icicle Creek Trail and then a near vertical drop down to Josephine Lake where we picked a lovely little campsite (it wasn't crowded at the lake so we got a great spot), set up camp, rinsed off in the freezing cold lake, ate dinner (yummy rice dish compliments of Lindsay) and then crawled into our sleeping bags. We were visited at our campsite by this older gentleman, Mark, who told us about how he was retired and spent the summer hiking all over the Cascades. Nick and I did have a slight case of altitude sickness the first night in camp which made sleeping challenging; however, sleeping was made all the more complicated by Jack. We have a 2 person tent and there is no room in there for a 65 pound Goldendoodle who's all legs; so Jack was staked under our rainfly. I was just starting to fall asleep when the tent pulled really tight to one side and Nick sits up and says, "Did Jack just leave?!?". I unzipped the door promptly and sure enough, Jack had gotten tired of being under the rainfly and decided to do some wandering. We called him back over (thank God he came without me having to crawl out of the tent!), I pushed the tent stake through his leash, shoved it into the ground and we commanded him to stay under the fly or die. He complied, but all night long all I heard was Jack eating pine needles, dirt, sticks and so much more; oh yeah, and constantly figuring out how to get out from under the rainfly which kept pulling the tent tight and making me think he was leaving again. Needless to say, the other end of the leash was placed through the tent door and I held it all night long. Good times...

We did manage to sleep in a bit the next morning before getting up, tearing down our campsite and fixing a hearty breakfast of oatmeal, raisins, brown sugar, wild blueberries and huckleberries. After loading everything up, bidding farewell to Mark and another camper and using the delightful wooden outdoor toilet; we started the 0.25-0.5 vertical hike out from the lake. For some reason the hike seemed shorter going out, but felt like it took us longer. We did stop to pick a bunch of blueberries and huckleberries along the way and ate lunch near a lovely little stream. We reached the Steven's Pass parking lot at about 5 or 6 in the evening (I don't know the actual time because my Garmin died 1/2 way out on the way back) and it felt so good to ditch our packs! We never got to weight them so officially we don't know what they weighed but we're guessing between 45-75 pounds for each of us (Nick's & T/L's packs were the heaviest). After exhausted goodbyes we split ways and rushed home to hot water and showers! Nick and I went and picked up burgers, fries and onion rings at Blazing Onion - our favorite local burger joint - and then fell into bed by 9:30 p.m.

On our hike we got to see chipmunks, squirrels, a pika (kind of like a gerbil, but bigger), crazy colored mushrooms, a toad, flowers and lots of berries. We figure if we keep going on these short hikes we may eventually hike the whole of PCT without doing all 2,650 miles at once!

**Stats for this trip: 9.2 miles roundtrip + about 1,000 feet gained in elevation + 2 fairly good size lakes and a bunch of small pond/lakes + some very sore feet/muscles + one very tired doggy = a great weekend backpacking trip!!

Check out our picasa album for lots more pictures.