Outside my window... it's dark and quiet. The chickens have gone to bed and the dogs are calming down.
I am thinking... of how much I loved last night's LOST. SO MANY ANSWERS!
I am thankful for... my thoughtful husband who brought dinner home tonight from Apollo's. And he rocked Thomas to sleep so I could get some work done. And he took my car in today for the 30,000 mile service + got the brakes shaved down thanks to the Toyota Camry recall and brought it home with a full tank of gas. And I didn't have to sit in the waiting room with an antsy little 14 month old. BLISS. Husband of the year, right there.
From the kitchen... made an awesomeMediterranean Quinoa Saladfor tomorrow. It's in the fridge and soaking up all the lemony olive oil goodness.
I am wearing... Nautica sweats and a tank top from Old Navy. And squishy lime green slippers.
I am going... to continue to make lots of progress on my office tonight. Thomas supervised today, and I cleaned out half my cubbies and started to see light at the end of the tunnel.
I am creating... an ordered home. Listening to The E-Myth Revisited about small businesses while doing so. I absolutely love theTimberland Regional Library-- I was able to download it immediately from their system and listen to it by a virtual checkout. For free!
I am hoping... for a great Blarney Blast this Saturday, and a beautiful 'franciscan style' baby blessing & shower on Sunday.
I am hearing... silence. And it's golden.
Around the house... lots of boxes packed up from a successful week of 'selling stuff that I needed to get rid of on eBay.' Love how it feels to pack stuff up to send it off to its new happy home.
One of my favorite things... having a place for everything, and putting things in their place. I am a 'visual doer' - so I've always kept projects out as I've worked on them. It's been a bit of a painful transition to putting things away every time, but it's been fantastic for my peace of mind. :)
A few plans for the rest of the week: up to Mom and Dad's tomorrow for dinner, Stations of the Cross on Friday w/the soup supper following, the Blarney Blast, the blessing, and a fewFinian Roadprojects.
Here is picture for thought I am sharing... I absolutely love when Thomas shows his intense little gaze. I can't stop looking at it.
When I lived in the north end of Tacoma, Liz and I would go running in the morning, around o'dark hundred. We routinely got spooked by raccoons, dogs, and the occasional deer.
But here on the farm, you can run across elk. Giant, beautiful, awesomely fabulous animals that hang on our farm. Auntie Karen called us to let us know that there were nearly 40 elk that had come up the hillside into the tree fields where it was snowing.
So we bundled up for the snow (what the heck? Are we in a parallel world right now? Where did the snow come from?) and headed out. Thomas got a quick glimpse of the elk, but since it was near naptime, he wasn't ready to go into "stealth ninja shooting mode". He preferred to sound all the alarms to let every elk in North America know he was near.
I tucked him into his car seat, turned the heat on, and I went into stealth ninja shooting mode on my own.
I didn't say I had good stealth ninja mode. See all those faces looking at me, all irritated? That's my kind of stealth mode. Just stealthy enough to let everyone know that I was nearby.
In the newly re-planted field, chomping down.
Now, if I woke up to a foot of snow on the ground, it would be a perfect day! :)
We have been blessed with an incredibly beautiful weekend in the northwest! I had a Finian Road shoot over in Port Orchard in the afternoon, so Liz and the Wee Ski had some good godmommy-godson time. Afterwards, we took the ferry to Seattle for Stella's birthday at Cheesecake Factory. So. good. Red Velvet Cheesecake.
And Stella, by the way, is 35. And she still fits into a high chair in her 7 for all mankind jeans. (I don't even know if I got that brand right -- but I'm sure if I didn't, she'll correct me)
So good to have some girl time and breathe in the fresh air.
Look at him go!
Self portrait while waiting for the ferry...
I do not like this hat, no I don't.
Watch me go now!!
No more hat! No more hat!
...fresh from his nap. There's nothing like a fully rested Wee Ski to tear things up around here!
Among his accomplishments today:
Emptied an entire package of CleanOnes wipes all over the kitchen floor. He. Was. So. Proud. Of. Himself. They have all been repackaged into a big ziploc bag in the bathroom. Far from his hands.
Filled the bathtub with his toys and extra puckies. We found them when we were getting ready for his bath tonight.
Decided he loves cream of broccoli soup. Not with bread, not with cheese. Just the soup. Bring it on.
Will stop everything he is doing to dance to "If you're happy and you know it". It's on his own little cell phone and his dog, Scout. And it's hilarious.
Yesterday, he took one of the cordless phones and turned it on, and hid it in his toys. It wasn't until I started getting texts and emails that the phone was off the hook did I realize anything was up.
Tonight, he wanted Papa to put him to bed. I got all teary. Especially since I'll be gone the next two nights. I can't wait to be home to my boys on Saturday!
Overheard
"Thomas, I'm proud of you for knowing how to flush the toilet. If you do it again with me still on it, you are grounded from the bathroom."
Learned
Swim diapers are very effective in the pool. But if you forget your diaper bag/purse when you go to the Y and you don't have an extra normal diaper, swim diapers are NOT a suitable replacement for out of the pool. Soaking wet everything. Makes me wonder about the true results in the pool!
Thrilled
Rumor has it that our team secured an amazing donation to our silent auction at theBlarney Blast -- a diamond ring worth $5700 (with appraisal!). Major kudos to co-captain Danielle! There are still tickets available -- you should come! All proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society through our Relay For Life team!
Accomplished
This has been the week of checking stuff off the list. Made a great deal of meals ahead for the upcoming week and weekend. Tested out a new whole wheat pizza dough. Washed all the windows I could reach outside. Made plans to tear out the sticker bushes on the back of the house. Started cleaning out the bathroom. Made a double batch of Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce - half to freeze, half to eat now. Listed a bunch of clothes on eBay. Backed up everything on my hard drives.
Excited
Lots to come in the next few days. For now, soaking in every moment with the Wee Ski. Cozy right now inside - with the rain pouring down outside and us snuggled together. Looking forward to LOST and NCIS tonight. No more reruns!!
This could not be more true. Especially when I am an early bird and my husband is a night owl. He's not a fan of early morning kitchen time. And I love to have a clean kitchen with emptied dishwasher before he gets up. No romantic dates for me!! :)
Last night, we headed to St. Martin's for the Seattle Pacific University /SMU basketball game. We missed the reception beforehand, but loved getting a chance to see the DeWeeses and the Quebedeauxs.
And we all got a chance to meet the Photobooth, courtesy of St. Martin's University.
Thomas? Not a fan. Not yet, anyway.
Sandra, Kate and I slid Thomas and Daniel in together. It was awesome. For us, anyway.
A SUNDAY BONUS
And lest I forget the hour-long drive north yesterday afternoon, in the crazy pouring rain that wouldn't stop...
I give you "A Moment in Time With The Skis".
First of all, if you are not familiar with the Ole Ole Ole soccer chant, let me bring you up to speed.
It gets into your head and will. not. leave. Ever.
And Jonathan kept singing it over and over and over from the backseat of the car.
I was trying to block him out, turning up my own music in front, and Thomas was loving the dueling tunes.
Somewhere in all of it, I bet him that he couldn't sing the song over and over and over until we got to Tacoma. I AM DUMB.
And then I heard it. His snicker. At the same time as he was singing. Looking in the rear view mirror, I saw that he was holding up his BlackBerry. He had taped himself singing, and set the song to loop.
He was ready to sing it all the way to Tacoma.
And I conceded to his win of the bet five miles later just so it would stop.
Until I started humming it.
Ole, ole, ole, ole......ole. Ole, ole, ole, ole......ole.
A glimpse into the world of the Jonathan and Shelley Ski: with one dog, three chickens, and one whirlwind known as The Wee Ski.
We're glad you're here.
Because, well, we're here, at least virtually. And sometimes it's easier to find us on the web than drive to the farm. Unless you have a tractor. We have one. It's pretty sweet. We roll on the farm in it.
