What are your 2009 resolutions...?

So here are mine....

1.) To be more generous. Whether that involves time or money…but I want to give more, serve more and share more with others….especially with those who have less than me.
2.) To be quiet. To take time out daily for silence and solitude. I can’t hear God when I don’t slow down and stop talking/doing/moving etc.
3.) To do the best I can to avoid “celebrity news” like reading those crappy gossip mags in the grocery aisle or checking People.com etc online. Who cares who is wearing what or dating who? It’s a waste of time and I think it is killing my brain cells.

Over and out.

Woah too much snow!

Seattle doesn't do well when the snow comes. It rarely snows here....at least not too the extent in which the entire city shuts down. I can handle the snow...I grew up in Montana and Woming so I know how to drive in it. But people from Seattle don't. They have no clue what they are doing and that is what makes a big snow storm dumping on Seattle so dangerous. I have seen people on mopeds and bicycles riding down icy streets covered 6 inches of slick snow. BRILLIANT!

I live on Queen Anne Hill. We are talking a serious hill here people. There is no safe way to get down or up when there is snow and ice on the roads. I live close to work so I have been forced to make the 40 min walk to and from each day. I actually don't mind it too much. The good thing about living on a big ol' hill is that they close the roads off because no one...not even a 4x4 with super chains can get up them. So when roads close.....they soon become sled runs. WOOT!

(BTW the gray abyss looming at the end of this road is the Puget Sound. The sky and the water were the same color of gray. Very strange!)

Youtube "Queen Anne Sledding" and you should find a whole lotta ridiculous videos.

My roommate Felicia and I needed to head to Trader Joes to pick up supplies to make Lentil Stew for our neighbors and I. We decided to make it a grocery run/sledding adventure.

Now I don't own a sled. Sleds don't work very well in the rain. And since rain is usually all we get one doesn't think to invest in a sled. So F and I finagled up sled ideas. The soft luggage topper for my car sort of worked. As did cardboard boxes. Luckily, the entire neighborhood was out sledding so we were able to borrow other people's sleds for an hour or so. My favorite was the boogie board. It was pretty dangerous and you had to be willing to bail at a moments notice because there was no way to steer.



(I had to bail!)

The best sled in terms of entertainment value was the resuable Trader Joes grocery bags we had brought along to carry our lentil stew ingredients home. LOL we laughed our A's off sledding down the hill with these.

The bags have these handy handles to help steer....well sort of!

We arrived home rosy cheeked, tired, cold, snowy, and delirious from laughing.

Oh and the Lentil Stew was DELICIOUS! But then again...everything tastes good after a few hours of sledding!

MOM JEANS!

First off….you need to find the SNL commercial titled “Mom Jeans” and watch it. Watch it numerous times….and then you will come to appreciate the phenomenon that is “Mom Jeans”.



Saturday night my friend Brad and his fiancée, Lindsay, were hosting an Ugly Sweater party at their house. Ahhh ‘tis the season for hideous knits! And because Seattle loves Ugly Sweater Parties around the holidays there seems to be a shortage of really really hideous sweaters.

I found a very 80’s sweatshirt that said “I Believe in Santa”…it was red…it was retro, but by no means was it hideous. I can't very well show up at an ungly sweater party wearing a gently worn 80's sweatshirt! So I decided to up the ante a bit. I mean if you are going to do it….do it BIG I say! What if I wear my sweatshirt with some awesome pants?! HMMM? I have a pair a sweet Mom Jeans….Calvin Klein Mom Jeans if you want to be snooty about it. I found them at Goodwill around Halloween for $5. They look like they were sown just for me (Thanks Calvin!). The tapered leg stops right at my ankle (Which is a miracle considering how long my legs are. Uber-washed worn jeans are never long enough for me. At least I have never found a pair at a thrift store before!). The waist of these jeans buttons above my natural waist. Let me explain how high that is. The waist line buttoned about 5 inches below my bra. We are easily talking about an 8 inch zipper here, folks!! GROSS! I have never felt so trapped by a pair of pants before. Don’t believe the lies that those Chic Jeans commercials tell you…..I did not, in any way, shape, or form, feel like a “natural woman”. I felt hideous. Yet somehow I strangely felt attractive (The upside down heart butt will do that to you!). But that lasted for only a moment. I think it was the moment where I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and shuddered!

So after I did the shimmy shimmy dance to wriggle into these hideous jeans I accentuated the sweater/jeans combo with a pair of gloriously chintzy gold clip-on earrings, gold braided belt, and a gold purse with a gold chain as the handle. I was the epitome of class (if we are talking early 80’s class!). I made sure my hair was nice and big…just to complete the look.

Those stupid pants kept me from eating more at the party. It’s hard to eat…or sit…when your pants button up near your diaphragm.

Revel in the glory of MOM JEANS!

P.S. So in January....a big group of friends and I are having a "White-Trash" themed party. This involves going to a Monster Truck Rally in Tacoma. I have a feeling that these jeans and maybe a stylishly cut Def Leppard t-shirt might be sported to said truck rally.

**NEW PICS ADDED**

New Midge Pics...

The Midget, Smidgen, Fatty Fat Fat, Fuss Face, Chubba Wubba and MIDGEMO.

These are just a few of the nicknames that belong to my baby niece, Addison.

I love all my Chitlins dearly! (BTW: Chitlins is code for nieces and nephew.) They are such blessings from God. And they serve as my training wheels for when I have my own kiddos.

Unfortunately...the Midge lives in Charlotte, NC...which is too far away if you ask me. I miss her dearly but when I do get to see her I cherish it all the more.

Here are a few new pics of her:

With Daddy after one of his games. I love the faces she makes!



Nice hair, kiddo!

This one is my favorite!

These are her Daddy's favorite jammies.

Rocking the Chucks.

Addy and her beautiful momma, Ashley

Ah Jeans Day. Would have been nice to know ya....

--Let me preface what I am about to tell you with this...

Occasionally our director, Page, will decide on a Thursday that Friday should be Jeans Day. Since we aren’t allowed to dress casual in my office it is a pretty big deal when we have jeans day. You long for it. Everything at work is jolly good when you are in jeans and sporting a cherry red pair of Chuck Taylor’s. At least it is for me! Usually Page’s announcement comes out at 4:30pm. Well about 1/3 of our department has already left by 4:30! I sit at my desk and I think about how AWESOME jeans day is and how pissed I would be if I came in and didn’t know it was jeans day because Page sent the email out after I left. Not cool! So I will pull up the office contact list and call everyone who has already left to tell them that “Tomorrow is jeans day! Party time!” It’s the least I could do….

End Preface--

Yesterday we had our weekly office meeting. Another department from our head office came over for a presentation. After the presentation my boss, Mike, and I needed to meet with them to discuss some onboard stuff. So we left the rest of the office to talk about their numbers and have the usual bitch-fest about how this is wrong and that is wrong and etc, etc. (Sorry….but can you tell that I loathe these meetings? They don’t even affect onboard sales. Mike and I go because we feel we should because we are in the same office but none of it applies to us. So when they start the bitch-fest I literally want to bang my head against a wall! They can be so ungrateful. **Ok so I just gotta rant for a bit. My job is difficult at times. I feel that I am underpaid. But I HAVE a job. My job is pretty secure. I can pay my bills and I have great medical insurance. The current state of the US is scary right now and people are losing their jobs. I am grateful for my job and I don’t want to spend any more time bitching about how things should be better and complaining about this and that. I am happy with what I have…shout out to the Big G!** Anyways…so Mike and I head to office and sit down with these people for our meeting. Tra-la-la…the rest of the day continues as a normal Thursday would.

Now fast forward to 8:31am this morning (I was late…had to make a coffee stop.) I walk in the office and there is a group of 4-5 coworkers congregating right near the door. I, wearing heels, look down on them and notice *GASP* ‘they are wearing jeans.’ What?! So I exclaim “Is it jeans Day?!” They look at me and one of them says “Yeah…we announced it in the meeting yesterday. You and Mike were there.” I pointed out that after the presentation Mike and I left for our meeting. Their eyes got wide. Oh the horror!! Fellow comrades left out of Jeans Day awesome-ness! Nooooooooooooo! They felt so bad….especially since they know that I am the one that calls everyone when the announcement is late. It made me laugh. I told them I didn’t really care because I am fairly comfortable today (even though I am wearing a skirt. I do have my high black boots on, though. And under said boots I am wearing my knee high pink socks with white stripes that are usually reserved for kickball. It’s my way of rebelling against ‘The Man’. “Ha! Business Attire…right-o. But if you only new what socks I am wearing! BWAHAHAAAAAA!” ) plus I am wearing a scarf and as long as I have one wrapped around my neck I feel all warm and snuggly and all is right with the world. BTW- This scarf obsession has taken over my life. LOL!

One of my coworkers stated “Well you look good. You will look better than anyone else today!” Hmph! So I told her (while doing the super ghetto “Ima bout to let you have it“ neck roll just to emphasize my point) “I always look better than everyone else!” *WINK*

Mike and I decided that on Monday….we will be wearing jeans.

MIDGEMO MIDGET MORRISON

Addison, or "Midgemo" as this Auntie calls her, is my adorable baby niece.

She lives in Charlotte so I never get to see her....but I do love sharing pictures of her cuteness!

Daddy, Momma and the Midge


Daddy and Midget

standing in the arena waiting for Daddy to come out....

LOL! Halloween....

REPRESENTING #35!!

NOUNS: Home (love it!), Argyle Sweater (Black, white and Red. Whatchu know about that?!), scarf (black and white checkered. Are you shocked I am wearing one today?) Fremont Bridge (it’s next to where I work), Vitamins (need to take mine), mousepad (it looks like a rug), sunshine (Huh? In Seattle in November? UNHEARD OF!!), rain (which will come later on after the Sun says buh-bye!), CrossFit (Hitting it hard in the gym again tonight) Cleaning supplies (cleaning up MH DT tonight!), Ronald McDonald House (putting hours in on Saturday.), lunch (about to go get some) and Moleskin Notebooks (The obsession of my life!)

VERBS: Typing (as usual), driving (to mi casa to pick up workout clothes and then to get lunch), sinning (UGH! It’s one of those days where you wake up with an ungrateful bad attitude. Working on that….), cleaning (later on tonight), serving (On Saturday….and thankful for the opportunity), reading (emails), eating (about to!), writing (MOLESKIN!!!), grateful (for GRACE!), and walking (to my car. BYE!)

Last weekend....

So this past weekend my 7 year old niece, Shae, came over to spend the weekend with Auntie.

I planned a kid’s day on Saturday which included a trip to the Seattle Children’s Museum and the Color Me Mine paint your own pottery place. I invited my co-workers son, Bryce, to come with us.

I met my sister halfway between Spokane and Seattle (Vantage, WA. And when I mean halfway…I mean it takes 2 hours 14 mins from her house to get there and 2 hours and 12 mins from my house to Vantage. Tight!) Friday afternoon.

Shae and I got to my house around dinner time and we decided that homemade macaroni and cheese was a perfect choice for dinner. Shae wanted to use my giant fork….

Some of you know that I love scarves. I wear one everyday. And Shae wanted to get in on the scarf action so she decided to wear one of my favorites. (I do believe Luz wore this same scarf of mine during her visit to the Emerald City as well!)
Aren’t we cute!



This is Bryce, Shae, and I hamming it up for the camera. We had a blast at the museum!

We pretended we were actors in a play…

Shae drove and Bryce rode the Seattle City Transit. Kids seem to think public transportation is so cool. If only they knew that most of the buses smell like pee.

AHOY!

Shae getting her paint on!


Later that Evening Shae and I went to see Madagascar 2 on IMAX. It was awesome!

I thank God for my nieces and nephew. They are such blessings. I love kids period. I will jump at the chance to have an excuse to spend an entire Saturday playing! :)

NOUNS: Coffee (gross office coffee), Turtleneck (black and sheer. Not your Grandma’s turtleneck!), scarf (polka dot), Queen Anne (it’s where I live), Green Tea (to assist in forgetting about the coffee I just attempted to drink), shoes, pottery (paint your own giant mugs from Color me Mine. For sipping coffee or perhaps green tea), candy (Werther’s Original), rain (the usual), CrossFit (I am still sore from last week!!!), dance, rings (picked this one up in Venezuela), salt (to season my words) and light (to show the world).

VERBS: Smiling, reading, typing, driving, drinking (but not while driving), reading, eating, talking (but not while eating), laughing, grimacing (that was from the coffee).

Single Issue Voter

So up until yesterday evening I was undecided about who I was going to vote for. I have deliberately sheltered myself (for the most part) from all of the political BS and slander that has dominated our airwaves and TVs and internet for the past year. Not having a TV at home certainly helps. But I really didn’t want my decision to be influenced by lies and negativity. I think our media in this country is so ridiculously biased that it makes me sick. I am sure a lot of the people who are voting today are misinformed.

I wasn’t sure who to vote for……A lot of issues I lean towards the conservative side. But then again….a lot of stuff on Obama’s platform I think are better for this country. I was going to spend last night praying about who God would want me to vote for. Ultimately He is in control so no matter what….I am going to trust that whoever is the next President is the one (good or bad) that is supposed to lead this country for the next 4 years. I am a Christian first and American second and I needed to be reminded of that.

I came across a scientific journal that now scientifically proves what I have known all along. Human life begins the second of conception. This finding now erodes the Pro-Choice argument about when a fetus can be considered a human life. It is from the minute the sperm meets the egg, folks. At that point….it is a child. I was led James 1:27 which says “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God means caring for orphans and widows in their distress.” As well as Proverbs 31:8-9 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

It is obvious to me that an unborn child on its way to meet its destruction is, in fact, an orphan. Its parents evidently do not want this child. They would prefer to discard it for their own selfish ambitions. This child needs to be protected. And since it has no voice and cannot speak up…someone needs to do it for them.

The reason Abortion is the only factor when considering whom I should vote for is because of how close the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is to being passed. The next president will surely be the scale tipper on whether or not this bill passes. The FOCA would remove most of even the modest restrictions on abortion that have already been passed, including the state laws requiring young girls to notify their parents before getting an abortion. It would remove legal protections from Doctors who, on moral grounds, refuse to assist in an abortion. (How ironic right? The woman can CHOOSE to abort a child but a Doctor is not protected if they CHOOSE to not abort the baby. Not exactly freedom of choice is it?!) The Dems and Obama favor paying for abortions for the poor- making those who morally oppose abortion have to pay taxes that will be used to pay for what these citizens, such as myself, view as murder. FOCA opposes any substantive ban on partial-birth abortion. A partial birth abortion requires the mother to partially deliver the child and then the child is killed by sucking its brains out. Lovely huh?!

It is very popular right now to raise your voice on issues such as Africa, Aids, Global warming, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc. But it is not popular right now to speak up for all of the children we have lost due to abortion. Some say that the government should have no say in what a woman wants to do to her body. But it is absurd that we have so many laws protecting human life yet these laws don’t extend to unborn children. Some may consider me to be ignorant for choosing to decide based on one issue. But consider this. While each of the 4,000 US soldiers who have died in this war is a tragedy, that number equals the amount of abortions performed in 2 DAYS in the US. Similarly, the number of pre-born babies who have died this year eclipses the number of non-Americans who’ve died in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan COMBINED. What a sobering and sad statistic.

So today I chose to vote in a way that would protect and give a voice to all of the un-born children in America.

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13

I like to color....

I was commissioned by a fellow supervisor to make a sign to hang by the letterhead printer reminding my fellow Holland America Line minions that one ream of company letter head costs $63.00. Now with the economy in the crapper we are being asked to conserve. Hey...working in the cruise industry during a time when our main demographic is losing their retirement isn't fun. So we need to cut costs...not jobs. So ease up on the letterhead peeps!

ME

Me today...

nouns: red Wine, Spain, scarves, Queen Anne, Erykah Badu, old soul, lentils, tootsie roll piggie bank, The Fall, CrossFit, seltzer water, shoes, Nieces, soup.

verbs: Smiling, reading, typing, traveling, wearing a foxy black peacoat, cooking, eating, listening to music, scowling, talking.

My Brother cut all his hair off!!

BEFORE: (most recent pics I have with the length of his hair!)

Pulled back in a ponytail here.

Ok so yah...my brother looks ridiculous. I loved his long hair but he was starting to look quite sketchy. I had a feeling he was just going to randomly cut it all off. He needs a change....and the new buzz cut pays homage to his freshman year at Gonzaga. He had the same haircut and that was when it all began. He needed a change!

Whatcha think??

Sometimes you need a reason to go for a walk...

One of the many reasons why I am very proud to work for Holland America Line is how much time, money and resources the company gives back to the community. And when I say community….essentially I mean anywhere we cruise. We may donate food and beds to orphanages in the Caribbean or donate funds to the Seattle Children’s theater in Seattle. All I know is that Holland America Line goes to many lengths to give back…and I think it’s rad!
We started something called “On Deck for the Cure” and it has proven to be a one of a kind event in the Cruise Industry. Our ships have partnered with the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation to raise money for a cure. We created a 5k walk that is held on every single one of our ships on every single cruise (over 500) that year. Guests can pay $15 and will receive an “On Deck for the Cure” T-Shirt, pink wristband and enjoy a pink lemonade party afterwards. The 5k walk equals out to about 12 laps around the ship. Holland America is the only cruise line that has a teak deck that goes all the around….you can take one continuous lap. The other lines don’t have decks that go all the way around. The guests start the walk in the morning….usually on a sea day (Where the ship won’t be docking in a port) and then enjoy the festivities afterwards. We have been doing it for 2 years and have already exceeded one million dollars! Yeah buddy!

Well….today in the office was our land-based version of “On Deck for the Cure”. $15…T-Shirt, Bracelet AND a balloon. Tight. About 51% of my department signed up to do it. See Pic below.

My work is right on the ship canal that connects the sound to Lake Union. We have this incredible trail that follows the canal that we walked. Pretty awesome! *Luz, you would have LOVED it! Fall leaves GALOR!!*

See pics of our nuttiness below.

I was pretty pumped to get a balloon!

It’s blurry…but look at the color of that scarf! LOL! I was pumped to get the walk started….so I kicked it off with a sweet race walker impersonation. This is an action shot!

I love how Ena decided the balloon would better accentuate her outfit if worn as a belt. She was right

We took a break on the canal to take more pic

Inappropriate! Someone call Human Resources!

You see the big pumpkin? Yeah I know…..I look fierce. Don’t hate!

Ok….so I made it my mission to make everyone laugh the entire walk. This was me after explaining my theory that all boy bands are sent to a special school to learn the official “boy band hand gestures while singing passionately”. I nailed it!

We came across these hurdles and….

Reflection

5k walks make you tired….

All in the name to save the boobies!