Sleeping in Seattle

(I started writing this on Nov. 19th and just finished it tonight - Dec 2nd. I'm so lazy!)

We just got back from our trip to Seattle, and WOW, was it wonderful! I had a blast just hanging out with my husband, taking walks in downtown Seattle, attending an NFL football game, and SLEEPING!! Ahh . . . what a wonderful bed!

Here are the highlights (or the play-by-play):

We dropped the boys off at their grandparents' house on Friday night so we could stay out late at Mitch's PCAR banquet and get on the road early the next morning. So, after sleeping in, we swung by Dutch Bros. for that precious Annihilator on our way out of town. Once we hit the Seattle area, our first stop was to see Rob and Rachel. We met up at the Cost Plus down by Pike Place and then drove on over to their adorable house in West Seattle. We enjoyed hanging out with Rob, Rachel, and a few of Rachel's family members who were visiting for Rachel's birthday. We left a couple of hours later and checked into our hotel.

The Fairmont Olympic Hotel is located about 5 blocks from Pike Place Market. Our room was located on the 3rd floor (which is really about 5 stories up) on the CORNER!! What this meant was that we had 3 windows and a GREAT view of the city, including a little bit of the Sound. Our room was beautiful and the bed was so comfortable! I slept so wonderfully!


That first night (Saturday), we had a 5 course meal in one of the hotel dining rooms reserved for our State Farm group. The food was delicious!

The next morning, we got up early for breakfast (too yummy!) and then went for a walk to burn off all of the calories we just consumed. It was pretty cool feeling like rich people walking out the front doors of a fancy hotel with a hotel umbrella (just in case) slung over my wrist. We shopped, but alas, didn't buy. It was so cool walking around downtown. I felt a little hip.

Around noon, we met up with the rest of the group in the lobby of the hotel, then hopped on the charter bus for the short drive to the stadium. SO MANY people were walking to the game. It was so cool to see an ocean of Seahawks fans flowing toward the stadium. We got a great parking spot and didn't have to walk far to get in. Once again, I felt kind of cool.

So, once we entered the stadium we walked around and around the ramp to get to our seats in the far upper corner of the stadium. To call it the nose bleed section would be a total understatement. We were about 5 rows off the TOP row. We were surrounded by Bears fans. It was hysterical! We had such a fun time NOT being cool (I whooped and hollered and swing my green foam thingy time after time). The Seahawks won. It was awesome!

After the game, we went back to the hotel for a time of refreshments, and then went out to dinner with a little group of agents and their spouses (or kids . . . whichever).

The next morning, a little more shopping, then on home to Dallas, Oregon! It was a great trip!

This is me with a superfan. Like I said, we were not cool. "Can my wife take her picture with you sir?":


The view from the nose bleed section:

Get to know me . . .

1. WHAT TIME DID YOU GET UP THIS MORNING? 7:17am
2. DIAMONDS OR PEARLS? Diamonds
3. WHAT WAS THE LAST FILM YOU SAW AT THE CINEMA? Meet the Robinsons
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW? Survivor or The Office
5. WHAT DO YOU USUALLY HAVE FOR BREAKFAST? Coffee
6. WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME? Diane
7. WHAT FOOD DO YOU DISLIKE? Fried Egg Sandwiches
8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CD? Jeremy Camp . . . for now. I'm a radio person.
9. WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE? Jeep Grand Cheroke
10. FAVORITE SANDWICH? Peppered Turkey Breast with Cranberry Sauce, Cream Cheese and Sprouts on Hazelnut bread.
11. WHAT CHARACTERISTIC DO YOU DESPISE? Do I really have to come up with one?
12. FAVORITE ITEM OF CLOTHING? My stretchy jeans from WalMart - I know you all have them, too!
13. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON VACATION, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? All over Europe (but mostly Austria).
14. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHROOM? Builder Beige. Okay . . . it is called "Desert Fawn" and is a little bit tan.
15. FAVORITE BRAND OF CLOTHING? Uh. I like my Hanes underwear. Does that count?
16. WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE TO? Two houses down from my kids.
17. WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE BIRTHDAY? Mitch asked me to marry him the day before my 21st birthday.
18. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Anything during the Olympics. Otherwise, I don't know.
19. FURTHEST PLACE YOU ARE SENDING THIS? Blogger oblivion . . .
20. WHO DO YOU LEAST EXPECT TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? No, please don't respond in my comments!
21. PERSON YOU EXPECT TO SEND IT BACK FIRST? I'll be checking your blogs ladies . . .
22. FAVORITE SAYING? "Mommy, I love you!"
23 WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY? June 23rd
24. ARE YOU A MORNING OR NIGHT PERSON? Morning. I hate wasting a day by sleeping in.
25. WHAT IS YOUR SHOE SIZE: 8 - they just keep growing and growing . . .
26. PETS? fish
27. ANY NEW AND EXCITING NEWS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US? I’m not pregnant!
28. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE? Teacher
29. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? Pretty good! I'm excited to get away with my hubby!
30. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CANDY? Dark Chocolate M&Ms
31. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER? Yellow Roses with Red tips (Carnival Roses that my sister had in her wedding.)
32. WHAT IS A DAY ON THE CALENDAR YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO? Thanksgiving
33. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? You figure it out.
34. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Cole whining to have me pick him up and put him on my lap.
35. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Waffles - for lunch.
36. DO YOU WISH ON STARS? No.
37. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Soothing Blue
38. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? Rainy.
39. FAVORITE SOFT DRINK? Dr. Pepper
40. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? Olive Garden
41. SIBLINGS? yes. 5 sisters, 3 brothers and one "Practically A Sister" who should really just be adopted and make things MUCH less complicated.
42. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? I don't know. Summer days?
43. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD? GI Joes, my brother's little cars and my Baby Apricot (who smelled like Apricots!). I don't remember being much of a toy person. I preferred playing with my friends and family.
44. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
45. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
46. COFFEE OR TEA? Coffee
47. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? Vanilla
48. DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO E-MAIL YOU BACK? No.
49. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? In frustration last night while putting Cole to bed praying that his diarrhea would go away. (Is that too much information?)
50. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED? An empty shotgun case, a duffle bag and an under-the-bed organizer that holds nighties that I got for my wedding and can't bear to throw out, even though I don't wear them.
51. WHO IS THE FRIEND YOU HAVE HAD THE LONGEST? My sister Jennifer!
52. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? Ate dinner, relaxed while Mitch gave the boys a bath and put them to bed, wrapped presents, folded clothes, watched Survivor and The Office, read a book, fell asleep.
53. FAVORITE SMELL? My boys fresh out of the bath.
54. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? Dying before my boys are grown.
55. SALTY OR SWEET? both
56. HOW MANY KEYS ON YOUR RING? about 5
57. HOW MANY YEARS AT YOUR CURRENT JOB? 4 1/2
58. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK? Saturday
59. HOW MANY TOWNS HAVE YOU LIVED IN? I don't know. A lot. Don't make me count.
60. DO YOU MAKE FRIENDS EASILY? yes

Our anniversary month-long celebration!

This Thanksgiving Day, we will be celebrating 10 years of wedded bliss! (No, we didn't get married on Thanksgiving, but we have celebrated our anniversary on Thanksgiving twice, now!) So, instead of the trip to Hawaii (which we should have started saving for years ago), we have some smaller, yet still significant, activities planned.

First, we were given tickets to the OSU vs. Washington Huskies game on Friday night. It was my first time at a college football game and it was SUCH a fun experience! The game was great, the company was great (we went with Matt and Alex), and Mitch and I got to pretend we were still college students on a date. After a nice dinner at Ruby Tuesdays, we drove on over to the stadium parking lot where we found our parking spot. Usually, Mitch gets tickets, but not a parking pass. He has to hoof it for about a mile (or more!)to get to the stadium. That night, we were given the world's best parking pass. Our spot was about 2 minutes away from the stadium (if that!) and we were poised to make a quick exit. Plus, it was prime tail-gating real estate. I have never seen a real tail-gate party (yes, I live a sheltered life), and I was amazed at the amount of stuff these people bring. I mean, they had tents, trailers, huge grills, port-o-pottys and everything. The beer was quite abundant, as were the number of drunken fans. It was quite the cultural experience. Our seats were awesome and we could easily see all of the action. Can you believe that people brought their kids to this game? It was a night-time game that started at 7:30 and ended after 11:00. There was a 3-year old behind us, and a man behind her was yelling and cursing the entire 4th quarter. I would have been mortified to have my child hear the words he was saying. And, people brought their newborns. Uh . . . are ya kiddin'? Those poor mothers! (Okay, off my soapbox!) Overall, it was a totally fun night and I loved being able to get away with my husband!

This Friday night, we are attending a banquet/party for a professional organization that Mitch belongs to. It is always fun! The boys are spending the night at Grandpa and Grandma's house so that the next morning we can leave for Seattle! Mitch earned a trip to a Seattle Seahawks game courtesy of State Farm. We get to visit my brother and his wife, then check into the Seattle Fairmont (which is supposed to be super nice!). That night we have an award dinner, then breakfast the next morning, time to hang out, then off to the game! After that, back to the hotel, another dinner, another night stay, then breakfast the next morning and on home. I am so excited!! I'll let you know all about it when we get back.

So, we are home on Monday, celebrate Mitch's Dad's birthday on Tuesday, then head off to California on Wednesday. Thanksgiving (and our anniversary) is on Thursday. We will be coming home on Saturday or Sunday, then we leave YET AGAIN on Thursday!

On Thursday, we are going to Skamania Lodge for Mitch's State Farm fall planning conference/holiday party. In other "districts", the agents have a fall planning conference where they attend workshops and meetings and stay overnight in a hotel. Then, they have a fuddy duddy Christmas party a couple of weeks later where the spouses attend. In Mitch's "district", the guy in charge decided to combine the two and invite the spouses to join the agents overnight at a nicer hotel with a nice dinner! Oh. This is SO cool. THIS is something I have been looking forward to since last year. Again, I'll dish out the details after we get back!

So, forget that trip to Hawaii. Who needs it? I'll take a couple of free trips over Hawaii any day! (Of course, a free trip TO Hawaii would be wonderful, too!)

Want to see something cute?

You better believe I am going to scrapbook this! :o) Look at those cute little toes!

This is new!

This is a totally new style for me! I found these freebies at scrap loisir.

Answers to all of your questions!

So, A LOT of people have been asking me about how in the world to do digital scrapbooking. I am NOT an expert, but here is some basic information to help you get started. I posted this earlier under my comments, but since most people probably don't read those, I thought I would put it here and add a little to it:

You should get Photoshop Elements to do digital scrapbooking. You can download a free 30 day trial here:Photoshop Elements

If you have a mac (like I do), I'm pretty sure you can get a free trial, but I can't remember where the link is (and can't find it online).

I have been burning my layouts onto CD and taking them to Walt's Print and Copy in Monmouth to be printed in 12x12 format. They actually end up being 11.5 x 11.5 since the printer needs a margin. I don't really mind, though. I just keep them 12x12, but they have a nice, white border around them (or I cut them out and mount on cardstock). It costs me $1.45 per 12x18 sheet, so the next time I do it I am going to put some photos on there so I get more bang for my buck.(I have done that since I first wrote this! Awesome idea and the pics turn out great!) I decided that it costs too much in ink for me to shrink to 8x8 and print at home. Besides, I like having my layouts in my big album! You can get them printed at Costco for about $2.99 (I think) per 12x18 sheet. This is for heavier paper, and they are true 12x12. I don't have a Costco membership, so I just stick with Walts, for now. You can also get them printed online, but they seem to be a little pricey.

For the paper, you don't scan your own. You can buy digital kits or download free digital kits (paper, embellishments, word art, brushes-which are like stamps, etc.). So far, I have just used the free stuff. I plan on buying my first digital kit soon because I want more boyish stuff. ( I have since purchased 2 digital kits! Both were from Shabby Princess.) Seems that most free kits are girly!

Here are some links to some of my favorite places for free downloads:
Two Peas in a Bucket(Go to the bottom of the screen and you will find free downloads.)
Digital Freebies
Digital Scrapbooking Freebies
Little Dreamer Designs
Designer Digitals (Get on their email list!! Check out their challenges. They are LOADED with freebies. This is probably my favorite site.)
Shabby Princess
(I bought Smarshmallows and Cuddle Bug. So cute!!)
Peppermint Creative
(Freebie search engines!!)
Digi Free
Ikea Goddess

The Up and Running with Photoshop Elements class by Jessica Sprague has REALLY helped me and I can't even believe how much I have learned. I feel pretty good about Photoshop I am having a great time!

If you do get the free trial for PSE, you can start playing by going to Jessica Sprague's website OR check out her Photoshop Friday tutorials on her blog.
They are usually videos, so that is EXTREMELY helpful since you can pause and go back. She also has free downloads at the bottom of her PSF blog page.

Hope that helps! Glad my stuff is inspiring you to look into this!

Treasure in Plain Sight

Mmmm . . . real paper!
(click to enlarge):

What is hybrid?

When you combine computer and traditional scrapbooking.

This is what I have been doing to my digital layouts (click to enlarge):

I added real buttons and brads, mounted it on cardstock and distressed the edges with ink.


I mounted it on cardstock and added the paper flowers, buttons and edge anchors (the white things at either end of the "ribbon").


I mounted it on cardstock and added ribbon, brads and jewels.

Wow, it's been a while . . .

. . . since you have received any real news.

Hmm . . . well, my parents and niece were visiting for the last couple of days. They were here for about a day and a half taking care of personal business, and they left this afternoon. I'll see them again at Thanksgiving. That was pretty cool! We went to Grandpa and Grandma's house last night after eating at Abby's and hung out with Dani and Adam. I learned some things about myself on this visit:

I am a mother of boys. I shave hair, I don't fix it. Poor Livi had the craziest hair the day I watched her. Once Grandma got to it (and added lots of conditioner), she looked lovely.

I have two children. I don't need more. Two boys and two girls (Livi and Katie) is too much. They loved playing together, but MAN was it loud!!

That's all I have. I'm going to go watch Survivor now.

What did she do today?

Oh, I just wasted an ENTIRE nap time working on this digital layout while a mountain of clean clothes is piled on my bed waiting to be folded. I did, however, start the dishwasher AND keep the laundry going WHILE working on this layout. Oh, there was a little bit of child supervision going on as well (of course, there WERE sleeping!).

As always, click to enlarge!

Mitch says . . .

That a blog is a place to tell our story. It is not a place to just show off my digital layouts.

Blah, blah, blah . . .

I'll get back to real life when this class is over. In the meantime, here is today's layout:

THE cutest 4-year-old in the WORLD!

Grant's preschool picture. Man, I make cute kids!!

Week 4 layout

This is the last week of Jessica Sprague's digital scrapbooking class. So sad. I have discovered that I REALLY like doing this! I will definitely sign up for her next class!

Here is my layout for the day!

Argh . . . A Pirate Halloween!