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