LAST WEEKEND OF FEBRUARY : Part Two

Christian is so serious..

 

 

 

Today we got the pleasure of having Christian, Caleb's son, spend a few hours with us.

His mommy, Jamie, dropped him off around 9:30, visited briefly, and headed off to work. This was the first time he has stayed with us alone and I think Jamie was a tiny bit anxious as to how he would do...I assured her that he would be fine, as we watched him with our dogs. I was pleased that he didn't even cry when she left.

We had a nice time together. As you can see in the pictures above and below he loved the iTouch - he thought it was a phone like his daddy's.

Here are a few more pics of our time together, he is such a sweetie!

Buck's size didn't even bother Christian in the slightest!

Thank you Caleb, and Jamie, for the privilege of this time with your precious son.

LAST WEEKEND OF FEBRUARY : Part One

 

Port Gamble

If you are a Face Book Friend then you already know that Rick and I took a day trip to Port Townsend yesterday.

Our 9th wedding anniversary was this past Wednesday, February 23rd. Since we both had to work, and different shifts from each other, we set aside yesterday to celebrate. It was Rick's idea to go to Port Townsend, and his idea to head up I-5 to Edmonds and take the ferry over to the Penninsula.

His family settled in Georgia when he was around 11 years old, before then they traveled since his dad was in the military. Needless to say, ferry boat rides are still a novelty to him....it is really rather endearing.

We stopped in Port Gamble and I fell in love....with this quaint little town (already in love with the hubby). It is just so clean. We didn't go into all the shops since we were headed to PT, but are definitely looking forward to visiting again.

Onward to Port Townsend!

First stop, McDonalds for a quick bite. Now I must say, it was already a very cold day, but somehow I don't think that they got the memo to turn up the heat. It was almost as cold inside as it was outside, so we ate in our car....TOASTY WARM! 

Snack done, into town we go......

After circling the town once,  we found a parking spot in front of "The Green Eyeshade" a lovely little "kitchen" store. I came away with a couple of  "finds"....like a cookbook called "Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey", and YES it looks as wonderful as it sounds, AND it was 40% off! I cannot wait to put a few of the recipes to the test.

Out into the cold again....that wind was pretty "nasty"....and it didn't help that we were walking into a headwind......thank God for so many cool stores to duck into!

Rick was such a sweetie by being so willing to go into my idea of  "fun" shops, such as "Diva Yarn and Trim". I have never seen such unique trims. I wanted SO bad to buy some, but honestly didn't know what I would use it for, so I resisted the urge and told myself I'd wait for another visit. I wasn't as impressed about the "yarn" part of the store, perhaps because it wasn't even close to being as cool as "The Artful Ewe" in Port Gamble, now that is a place for all knitters to visit!

We poked our noses into a few more places and decided another favorite was the "EarthenWorks Gallery". We fell in love with some of the artwork there....just a tiny bit too expensive for us...another great place to visit though.

We decided to follow Hwy 101 back to Olympia.  By this time it was starting to "spit"out snow and when we reached Hoodsport we were in snow and it actually started sticking to the road between there and Shelton....did I say that we really LOVE our Subaru Outback?

We ended our trip with a final stop at Papa Murphy's for a half Cowboy and half Canadian Bacon and Pineapple Pizza.

 Home....warm, cozy home....Pizza, beer, "Cops" (Rick's favorite) and a very contented heart.

Without sounding too sappy, did I tell you that I have the best husband in the whole world? Well, I do!

9 Years of Wedded Bliss

Today, February, 23, 2011, marks 9 years of wedded bliss to my husband, Rick.

We met in early March of 2000 in the parking lot of our apartment complex. He lived at the opposite end of the building where my apartment was. We would talk a bit each time we saw each other (this was after I had already been living there for about 8 months) and then one time we just stood there for about 2 hours talking about everything and anything.

A few weeks later we went walk/jogging together over to St Martin's University and ran the stairs and walk/jogged back to the apartments. Several more times of this were followed by a Lasagna Dinner at my place where we ate and then just sat at the table and talked and talked. Before we knew it the clock said almost midnight and neither of us knew where the time went. A couple weekends later Rick took me on a picnic to Ocean Shores, with Paulie, his dog - now that was a fun trip because Paulie and I shared a seat in Rick's truck. Then came the notes left on each others' doors...sweet love notes. He would stop by my work (Top Foods at that time) on his way to work with an excuse that he was buying a soda or whatever, but we both knew it was to sneak a hello.

Now contrary to what I would do now, a few months later he moved into my apartment and we lived together unitl  a year and a half later when we were married on Saturday, February 23, 2002 at 11:00 am. We kept things extremely small and simple with just his sister, Renae, and brother in law, Jack, standing up with us. Afterward, we all went down to The Oyster House in downtown Olympia for lunch. We didn't have an honeymoon until April when we spent about 3 days in Cannon Beach at The Harrison Street Inn.

Life has been really good together. We have an amazing relationship. His love to me is the closest thing to the love Christ shows us with His "unconditional" love. Rick has never tried to change me, nor I him. We have an understanding to "meet in the middle" when we both disagree on something, or when necessary (which is not very often) we agree to disagree. 

I am blessed that we "understand" each other SO WELL, at least 99.9% of the time. We let God teach us the other 1% how to grow through our misunderstandings.

So, to you Lord Jesus, I give thanks for this wonderful, loving and generous man to be in my life. And to you, my sweet HonBun, I love you and am so incredibly grateful for the sweet love you give me. I look forward to the rest of our lives together. Happy Anniversary, Hon....Love, your LindaLou :)

Valentine's Day Question: What is Love?

(via "atouchofpinkxo")

On a day that is filled with roses and candy does anyone really stop and think, "What is love anyway?"

I have a suggestion and it comes from the greatest author about love that there is, He created LOVE after all.

This is what God's word says about love:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.....

....And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is LOVE."

1 Corinthians 13:1-8a &13 (NIV)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

CHALLENGES

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)

Two and a half weeks ago I joined Weight Watchers Online....perhaps I should say that I "rejoined" since I have been on this journey before. What makes this time different?
A few months ago my daughter asked me what would I name this year of my life. After mulling this over for a few days I felt impressed to call it "Commitment and Consistency". Obviously taking on something like WW is making a "commitment", but what makes it successful is being consistent....consistent in many things, but for me it is keeping a daily food journal, portion control, and exercising, oh! and no emotional eating....can a woman really do that?
So, the other night I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with the 1# of extra lean ground beef I had thawed out and Wha-la! I came up with this:

Linda's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

1# extra lean ground beef, browned

2 small onions, chopped

3 fresh garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup grated carrots

1/2 cup grated zucchini

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning

1-15.5 ounce can diced tomatoes

1-8 ounce can tomato sauce

1 package fresh sliced mushrooms

Directions:

Brown burger, add onion, garlic, carrots, zucchini and saute with burger until just soft. Add seasonings and stir in tomatoes and tomato sauce. Simmer on low for about 40 min, add fresh mushrooms and simmer for another 20 minutes. Serve over pasta (watch your portion!) and Enjoy!

1/2 cup sauce = 3 points

My husband, who is not necessarily a veggie lover, LOVED this. Hope you do too.

Welcome

Hello you all and welcome to my new blog.

"Take a Breath" is intended to encourage you to STOP,  BREATHE, and ENJOY some simple pleasures....

I pray this blog will do this for you. 

Please take a moment to introduce yourself.