Safe and Sound

After a few long days of travel (we left for Spokane at 10pm Friday night, then flew out at 7am as planned on Saturday, and got to Virginia at about 7:30pm Saturday night...) we made it to North Carolina safe and sound! We've been having a great time with Bran's family, and have enjoyed getting to relax. We even got some more awesome Christmas presents! We'll be here tomorrow, and then will leave sometime on Wednesday for Maryland.


It has been so great spending time with the Antkowiaks, and we can't wait to see the Dwyers!

Love and Miss you,

Ashley

Horrible Weather!

Bran and I are supposed to fly out of Spokane tomorrow morning at 7 for Norfolk, Va., and then drive to North Carolina from the Airport... please pray for us - the weather is terrible! As you know from my previous posts, we've had lots of snow lately. Well, last night it snowed another 6 or 7" bringing our total to around 20". On top of that, it's been very warm today (around 33 degrees) which made the snow turn to mix, then to just rain! So there's a layer of icy junk on top of the snow now, which is going to make driving interesting. The rain is supposed to stop by 4pm today, but its supposed to start again tomorrow sometime. Our plan as of right now is to leave tonight for the airport, and then just hang out there until our flight. Everything is still on time at this point, which is good news. I've been studying up on winter driving precautions and tips, so we'll be set if we have any issues, and plus my husband might just be the best driver I know, so I know he'll keep us safe. As it is, we'll be able to really take our time and get there with plenty of time to spare, rather than trying to rush at 4 in the morning to get going.

We're so excited about our trip! I've got the bags packed, and I'm ready to go!

Merry Christmas!

This year was our first Christmas together, and it was wonderful. Karen sent us our stockings (the one bran has always had, and a new one she made for me, which is soo beautiful) and a squirrel ornament for our tree (!), along with the next snowflake ornament in the beautiful collection she started for me last year. It really made our house look like Christmas with the stockings and the new wreath Bran got from work for our door! For some reason, I couldn't sleep hardly at all Christmas Eve (I get really excited about things like Christmas...;) ) and so when I finally got up at 8 on Christmas morning, I let Bran keep sleeping for a few hours. Finally at 10 I couldn't stand it anymore and woke him up. We decided that when we have kids, we're not going to make them wait to open presents, so we opened them before we did anything else to start the tradition. I got him some truck parts, a dvd we both love (it's called Death Race - my husband lucked out when he found a woman who shares his love for action movies with no plot and lots of explosions!), and some Truck Money (money for him to spend on truck parts). He was very happy!

He got me a beautiful wood wick candle, and says he picked out the scent by picking one up, gagging at the smell, then trying another until he found one that didn't make him gag. He went with vanilla.

He also got me some snickers bars for my stocking, and really nice wool socks so i'll stop stealing his. My big gift this year was a beautiful pair of cowgirl boots (he said they were cowboy boots when he gave them to me, but i pointed to the flowers embroidered on the side and corrected him). I wore them all morning, and didn't take them off until we got home from a walk that afternoon.

After presents, we made waffles together and then took it easy until about 4, when we decided to go for a drive out by the mountain. After our drive, we went to see if any movie stores were open, and bumped into Kelly Rhine on his way to see Benjamin Button. We decided to go along, and had a great time hanging with Kelly and some other friends. The movie was great, but really long. Afterward, Bran, Kelly, and I went back to our house and made some spaghetti for dinner.

It was such a fun, relaxing day.

our biggest present this year is going to come from Bran's parents - they're flying us home to see them! We can't wait for our trip - it will start in the Outer Banks with the Antkowiaks, and end in Maryland with my family. We haven't seen the majority of our families since August, and it's been strange having Christmas without them. I miss them dearly, and am soo excited about spending time with them!!

this is a blurry one of me in my pajamas, wearing my boots

our stockings

still a little sleepy

our mantle

living room all decorated

sunset over the snowy hills

cowgirl boots

cute husband

snow up to my knees

National Lampoon's Christmas at the Antkowiaks

Bran and I will be having Christmas by ourselves in Moscow, then we're flying to Maryland on the 28th to see our families. Because we're having our first Christmas with just the two of us, Mom and I have been talking about family traditions and how much fun it is to make your own.

Well, today we had something happen which makes me pray that we don't have a National Lampoon's Christmas.

It all started yesterday afternoon when Jen, Rachel and I came home from Bucers. We walked in the front door, and Tyler immediately says "Don't freak out. There is a squirrel in the fire place, but I've got it under control." So, being the adventurous girls that we are, we all went over to look at the squirrel. So Ty moved the magazine rack (he had put it in front of the fireplace to make sure the squirrel didn't get out - part of his "under control" scheme), and there was nothing there! Ty immediately assured the girls that the squirrel must have climbed back out the chimney (which isn't possible, I'm pretty sure). As soon as the girls were downstairs, he looked at me with a flash of fear in his eyes and said "It must be in the house. Oh crap." And then he went and got a plate with peanut butter on it and put it on the floor. I'm not sure what that was supposed to do.

The night went on, I went to work and came home, and no one had seen any signs of the squirrel, so, I thought, maybe it did somehow get out.

Then, this morning, we all left at 4am to take Ty, Kenny, and some other folks to the airport. When we got home, I was the first one to go inside, and as soon as I opened the door, I saw something shoot across the living room floor and behind the couch. "Good thing Ty had the squirrel under control" I thought. It was about 8:30 and Bran had to work at 9, so we spent the next half hour trying to corner it and force it out the front door, get it with the broom and throw it out the front door, etc., until it finally decided that it liked our artificial christmas tree and refused to be shaken from its branches. At this point Bran was really needing to be leaving for work, and I was tired from the early morning, so he got his BB gun and proceeded to shoot it several times without getting it out. This is amazing, since it was at point-blank range, and Bran is an amazing shot from super far away (as in, he was the best when we all went to the mountain in Oregon and shot clay pigeons with shotguns). So he decided it was time to bring out the big guns. I'm not sure what the other gun was, but he pumped it a lot, which made me concerned for our walls, and then shot the squirrel a bunch more until it fell out of the tree onto my cute silver tree skirt.

A little blood got on the skirt, so Bran threw it in the washer for me. He reassured me, saying "if it doesn't come out clean, we're still keeping it - this will make a great conversation starter."


The confrontation with the squirrel was much like this:
*caution - there's some language.

The Long-Awaited Picture Post

Before I get to the topic of today's post, I would like to clear up a disagreement that has been going on for a few days: How much snow have we gotten? To end the discussion, I took a ruer outside and stuck it in where things looked least disturbed. The verdict: 7" and counting! At this point it is supposed to snow every day until next weekend. Rumor is that Spokane already has 30".... whew.

Ok now for what everyone (aka, mom and Karen) has been waiting for - PICTURES!! These date back from before Thanksgiving to just a minute ago - enjoy!

Me with my fall centerpiece of gourds, pumpkins, and corn

Jen in my bedroom with our afternoon tea

My pumpkin pies

Our Thanksgiving Feast

My hubbie and I smooching by the fire

Our neighbor's house, taken just a minute ago

Rachel standing in the front yard

My decorated Mantle and Christmas Tree

The End!

Computer Problems

**EDIT** Bran says we only have 3", but it feels like 6". Also, mom, I did change the font. *end edit*


Both my computer and Bran's have broken chargers right now, so posting might be sparse for a little while. Hopefully we'll get new cords and be back to normal shortly!

By the way, we have 6" of snow already, and it's only 10 degrees today! Talk about cold!

Love and miss you!

We're Back!

Welcome to my new and improved blog! I felt so bad for not posting in over a month (!), that I decided to completely re-vamp the look and feel of my blog. I'm loving the warm colors right now, especially since it is so cold outside. In my defense, part of the reason I haven't posted is that my computer's power cord died, and I've been sharing with my husband. I like mine better (his is a mac, which is fine, but i'm not used to it), and it has all my pictures and software on it. But fear not, a new cord is on it's way!

Here's the crash course on what I've been up to lately:

• Seattle was a blast - everything and more than I hoped for/expected. Canlis, the restaurant I mentioned, was fantastic. Possibly my favorite anywhere. Seattle as a whole is my current favorite big city, beating both DC and NYC. It was a big city, but it still had an approachable feel. Check out Jen's blog for pictures.
  
• Thanksgiving was wonderful - Bran and I made dinner for us and Jen and Rachel. We had so much fun cooking, talking, taste-testing, etc. It was a beautiful way to have our first Thanksgiving together.
• December has been a blur. I wrote our "Family Newsletter" which we're sending out in lieu of Thank You notes for our wedding. I decided that I deserved a break on thank-yous because of the move, etc. So we're going to give everyone a communal "thank you" and an update on what we've been up to. I love the letter, and hopefully will get to mail it soon.
• SNOW!! When Bran and I got married, he told me that if we moved to Idaho it would snow. So, I agreed that we could move on that condition - that there was snow. But, alas, there was NO SNOW for the LONGEST time! We got flurries for 10 minutes one day in November, and I was all excited, but no. Nothing. So I went to Bran about this little agreement we had about moving here because of the snow, and he said he'd see what he could do. Being the amazing man that he is, he was able to somehow convince the powers that be that we really needed some snow. So today around noon it started snowing! And it looks like its just starting to stick to the road and parts of the driveway. This makes me very very happy. We're supposed to get somewhere in the ballpark of 6-12" which should be easy at this rate, since it's not supposed to stop until Sunday. Yippee!!
  

So that's what my life has looked like for the past month or so.

I can't hide my excitement about the next few weeks. Jen, Rachel, and Tyler leave for home on or around the 20th. I'm so excited to have the house to myself, though I'll miss them! I realized that as much as I love having a house full of people, it makes it so hard to make time to do what I want, like sit on the couch and read, or even using the kitchen without being in someone's way. I'm looking forward to having a quiet house, but I know I'll be ready for them to come back when it's time.

Right now is one of those rare moments when I'm home alone. Bran is at work and everyone else has class. I have a load of laundry in the washer, one in the dryer, two waiting for their turn, and one folded next to me. I drank a cup of hot cocoa that my mom sent us with our christmas card (the really good williams-sonoma kind!), and got the new Real Simple in the mail. Right now I'm sitting on my couch, with my beautiful Christmas tree to my right, and the beautiful snow to my left. It's perfect!

Oh I also have to tell you about my cooking experiences (this is for you, mom!). I only had to work Tuesday this week, which meant that I got to make dinner on monday, wednesday, thursday, and tonight. On monday I made spaghetti carbonara, which was fantastic and a hit with Bran. Wednesday I made my aunt Cate's recipe for Italian chicken which was also wonderful, and I think our favorite so far. Last night I tried my first Roast, with potatos and shallots. The roast turned out to be pretty tough, which Tyler thinks may be because of how we sliced it, but the potatoes and shallots were yummy, as were the baby carrots I made to go with it. I might try the roast again sometime.... Tonight I'm making baked pasta which should be yummy. As you can tell, I love Italian food, and especially any kind of pasta. But don't worry, we get more than just carbs! I'm hoping I'll get to cook lots next week too - its so much fun trying out new recipes!

Here are some pictures to hold you over until next time...



I took this photo just before I started to write this post, and I took the second one just a minute ago - that much snow in less than 30 minutes!




And finally, my Christmas Tree, Real Simple, and Hot Cocoa!

I'm still here...

Things have been mucho busy lately, what with the Seattle trip, followed by Thanksgiving, followed by Tyler coming home and Jeff visiting. I promise, promise, promise to post some pictures and do some real updates in the near future!