while I was absent

I've been gone awhile. Not because nothing is happening in my life, just because I haven't felt the motivation to write about it.




So here is a little re-cap of the last month's events:

-I've been missing my family something fierce.

-I have painted. A lot. I wish I was done, but I have 3 rooms and a hallway left.

-I passed up a donut today. I had it squished in my fingers and I decided it didn't even look appetizing. Yeah, I don't know what's going on with me either.

-Yesterday, I saw a pack of teenagers running across the street with bows and arrows.

-In preparation for MEXICO I have been tanning a bit. My armhair is officially lighter than my skin. Break out the bubbly.

-Concerning the above: I tried a standing tanning bed. No thank you. It is not even a little relaxing to stand with my arms over my head while naked and wearing goggles.

-I was a fabulous wife and did all of husband's laundry. All 12 loads of it. He owns about 400 pairs of socks, my friends.

-I made an ice cream cake for husband's birthday. It was rediculous and wonderful.

-It is summer and I like it

-Summer brings some of these beauties:

I may have forced husband to turn around and drive down a different road just so I could look at them.

Are you interested in seeing some of the house projects I've been working on?

Coming soon, I promise.

tony bennett

Oh dear. I have so much catching up to do...

So, we completed another goal from The List! The Kid went to his first Cougar Basketball game!

We recieved free tickets, (Yay!!) so we Couged up the Kid and watched the game. He made it the entire game with just a brief meltdown during the last 5 minutes.

Highlight of the game: Tony Bennett. Obviously.

a belated halloween recap

First things first. I did not dress up this year. I know, lame, right? After last year's costume fiasco, I have officially sworn off costumes. At least until I have the energy to do it right, you know? I wanted to dress up as Michael Jackson (hello, sparkly gloves? yes please.) and then I thought about Tinkerbell (sparkly wings? sign me up.). But alas, nothing worked out in the end.

In an effort to have some Halloween spirit, I did "carve" a pumpkin with the Kid. And by carve, I mean we drilled that sucker full of holes and called it good. Hey, it was Martha's idea. It looked a lot easier than spending hours slaving with a dangerous weapon just for a pumpkin that will rot within three days. Or less. So I gave the kid a power tool, and we took out our pent up aggression on the helpless pumpkin. He loved the drill, but did not love anything else related to the pumpkin. For a 1.5 year old boy, Will has some funny idiosyncrasies. He loves cleaning (that's my boy!), he loves blowing his nose, and he hates being dirty. He pooed in the tub last week (quite possibly #1 on the list of grossest things ever.) and he panicked like I have never seen a child panic. He literally leaped out of the tub shrieking and pointing. (Lesson here: STOP pooing in the tub, kid. Nobody else likes it either!) His fear of all things dirty extended to pumpkin carving. I thought he would love sticking his hands in the pumpkin and pulling out all the stringy mushy mess. Wrong. I said "Will, stick your hand in there and help me pull the stuff out." He gave me The Look. The Look that says "Woman, you have got to be out of your mind. How could you even consider asking me to do something as foul as touching that stuff?!" So yes, I was on my own with the pumpkin cleaning while he gagged watching me.

And then there was Halloween. One costume (cute, right?) + three tootsie rolls + one balloon later, we experienced our first of what is sure to be an annual post-sugar-crash-meltdown. Since he had clearly had enough excitement for one day, we took him home and put him to bed. And because I live such a glamorous life, I was in bed by 9. Best. Halloween. Ever.

b-i-n-g-o

So this totally made the VP Debate even more entertaining.

what love means

These just completely made my day:

What Love means to a 4-8 year old . .

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.' Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
Chrissy - age 6

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'
Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'
Mary Ann - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7



For me, love is when I have a rough day and Ryan says "I think you need a backrub" and he rubs my back and lets me have custody of the remote.

Love is also when Will wakes up in the morning and just wants to snuggle. No breakfast, no playtime, just snuggles with mama.

What does love mean to you?

24 things to do before turning 25

Inspired by the fabulous ladies of Simple Lovely and Dooble-Veh, I decided it was time to do some goal-setting. Since Ryan and I are both turning the big 2-5 next year, we decided to come up with a joint list of what we would like to accomplish in the next 8 months:


1. Get pregnant! (#1 on the list, of course)
2. Potty train Will. (#2 on the list… yay.)
3. Have a lovely, not-too-perfect Christmas tree
4. Ryan: Become a “Master Hunter” (http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/masterhunter/)
5. Take Will to pick out a Pumpkin
6. Take Will to his first WSU Basketball game
7. Shannon: Get a REAL massage
8. Shannon: Frame the beautiful sketches I made 6 years ago. Sketch again - for the first time in 6 years.
9. Have a Date With Myself: go for a run, take the longest hot shower ever, get a pedicure, spend some quality time at the fabric store/craft store/mall, lay on the sofa with a good book
10. Take a spontaneous weekend excursion
11. Shannon: Go Brunette, even if it is only for a weekend
12. Ryan: Start a photography business as a side job
13. Shannon: Sew a new duvet cover
14. Ryan: Train Duke (the giant puppy) and get him “Titled”
15. Shannon: Catch up on photo-printing and putting pictures in albums (this alone could take until June!)
16. Become more involved in the community (aka extra-curriculars for grown-ups!)
17. Sign Will up for swimming lessons
18. Pay off all debt (not a particularly fun goal, but it is important nonetheless.)
19. Go for a hike in the Umatilla National Forest
20. Ryan: take photographs of the beautiful Palouse
21. Organize! (This includes getting rid of all of the ebay/craig’s list/goodwill piles that have acculumated.)
22. Finish Ryan’s Man-Cave (also known as our office)
23. Finish Shannon’s Lady-Space, so that I will never have to enter the Man-Cave again
24. Shannon: Make a blurb book!

**Bonus Points for accomplishing these goals:
1. Buy Rosetta Stone so Ryan can start learning Italian
2. After mastering a few phrases of Italian, make Shannon a romantic spaghetti dinner and re-enact the Lady & the Tramp