A Weekend Behind

So, as I mentioned last weekend, we attended a wedding in Bellingham for some college friends and here are some pics!
Boys:

Girls:

Ben and I with beautiful Bellingham Bay in the background!

And the happy couple! Love having married friends!

What a fab weekend we had!

This past weekend Ben and I had planned to have a date "day" that turned into an amazing date weekend! Simple enough for us is a weekend relaxing at home with some recipe experimenting, snuggling on the couch and watching some True Blood! Saturday morning we woke up leisurely and made a yummy breakfast of eggs benedict and hashbrowns. We then lounged around and in the afternoon headed to a fun grocery store and collected ingredients for Pad See Ew, one of our favorite Thai dishes as well as for Panang Curry and some wine. We cooked, laughed and had a wonderful weekend full of time spent together!

Busy, Busy Summertime

This end of summer is shaping up to be pretty busy! This last weekend we got to head to Bellingham for a wedding for some friends from college. We headed up early to reminisce in the city where we met and fell in love. We got to have lunch at a delicious sandwich shop, meander around the farmer's market and have a beer at the local brewery. We then headed to the wedding and danced the night away with some of our best friends! (Pictures to come!) Sunday morning we all woke up, had a lazy morning just visiting and enjoying the continental breakfast and finally got going and stopped to get a burrito at a yummy Mexican restaurant. There is just something about being in Bellingham that makes me feel happy and at home. It's funny because I only lived there for about 5 years during and a little after college and have lived in the town we are in now for all the rest of my life but there is just something about Bellingham that I love! Never know, maybe someday we will end up back there! It was also so fun to see our friends, who are really more like family, and laugh, drink and dance with them! And a big Congratulations to our friends Nic and Stefanie on their nuptials!

I just feel like summer is flying by now with every weekend busy and September quickly approaching! I am working A LOT right now, so it feels like I never have one minute to breathe during the week! Next weekend, we are hoping to take a sailing trip with my brother, the weekend after that is LABOR DAY (I can't even believe it!) and we leave for San Diego for a week! After that is diving into fall with the hub's birthday coming up and another friend's birthday soon after! Wow, I am getting tired just thinking about everything!

Reading Response to Chapters 11-20

1. Where do you think Tim and Marty are at this point in the story?
I think that Tim and Marty have gone off to take care of their own lives. Sad to say but I don't think Tim cared about CeeCee they way she thought he did and after this plan seems to have gone awry, what with Genevieve dying, the guys will definitely have more at risk than they had originally planned.
2. What were your thoughts as CeeCee was helping Genevieve deliver her baby?
As CeeCee was helping to deliver the baby all I could think was that she must be so overwhelmed. At age 16, with a woman who is obviously angry beyond words with you to begin with, a high risk pregnancy, and CeeCee seeing things she has most certainly never seen before would really be scary for anyone. I think it shows a high level of maturity on CeeCee's part because she did get through it even though it was a little hysterically, she did it and helped Genevieve deliver the baby. Afterall, she could have passed out or something!
3. After Genevieve died, what would you have done with her baby if you had been in CeeCee's shoes?
Thinking in terms of being in CeeCee's shoes, I probably would have done the same thing. Delivering and caring for the baby for the first few days made her fall in love with the baby and taking her back would have gotten her thrown in jail right then and there and I think that thought scared CeeCee a lot.
4. Why do you think CeeCee/Eve is still holding onto hope that Tim will come for her?
CeeCee is in love with Tim. If you think someone loves you, of course you think they are coming back for you. Tim also promised CeeCee that even if he and Marty had to go underground, they he would find ways to see her. Now, CeeCee, being the naive young girl she is, believed all of these promised so we will see if Tim holds up his end of the bargain....
5. How do you think Eve will establish her new identity in Virginia?
I think she will find some meaningless job to start earning money for her and the baby and remain very inconspicuous and low-profile being as though she is scared to death of getting caught now that she has decided to go through with everything. She is so lucky that she has Marian to help her start out because Marian seems to have such a calming demeanor and a motherly instinct which is just what Eve needs to feel comfortable somewhere.
6. What do you think of CeeCee/Eve now after she has gone through with the kidnapping, the delivery of the baby, the escape, and the relocation?
I think this is a hard question to answer right now because immediately it is easy answer that she has done the wrong thing, she should give the baby back and face her consequences. However, in Eve's mind, she semi-believes she is doing the right thing by loving and caring for the baby and absolutely does not want to get in trouble or go to jail. I think from here on out we will be able to judge Eve a lot better to decide if she has done the right or wrong thing and how she is coping with it.

OK, Seriously?!

Wow. I had totally forgotten what the crazed, 7am, caffeine junkie is until I got back into the stand this morning. I have gone back to some barista roots after quite a few years in the restaurant. I figured it would be nice to have a little extra cash and a little change of pace. However...these people can be a little neurotic about their beloved coffee! "24oz., iced, split shot, white chocolate americano with a little white chocolate and a pump of raspberry. Oh, and can you put a splash of non-fat half and half in there?" I AM NOT EXAGGERATING! What in the heck is "non-fat" half and half?! I never knew such a liquid existed! I guess over the years of my own coffee addiction evolving to a couple cups of black coffee every morning, it totally slipped my mind what these coffee fiends are like! I think this image pretty much sums up the crazies that I encounter:

Reading Response to Chapters 1-10

I have joined an online book club and we are reading "The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes." It seems a little silly to have a book club online, but with all of our busy lives, it seems perfect to be able to jump online, read some questions and the ongoing discussion about the book and get on with the day. I will probably miss the live chit chat, having a cup of coffee and some snacks with girls but for now, this is great too! Here are the questions we had this week:

1. What was your first impression of Tim?
My first impression of Tim is that he is charming. It is a little strange to me to think, in this day and age of a 22 year old guy showing interest in a 16 year old girl but this is set years ago, so I think back then it was a little different.
2. If you were in CeeCee’s position, would you be willing to help your boyfriend in the way that she is willing to help Tim?
It is very hard to say because when you are "in love" with someone, the way CeeCee is convinced she is, it is hard to imagine they would ever do something to put you in harm's way. I think back to myself at 16 and I don't think I would have been able to bring myself to do anything illegal for a boyfriend.
3. Why do you think CeeCee is so eager to please Tim?
I think CeeCee is very vulnerable and NEEDS Tim to love her so she wants him to approve. I think she is afraid of losing him, therefore there is the constant need to please him.
4. Who do you think has it harder? Tim or CeeCee?
Harder in terms of their lives? I think CeeCee has it harder because she lost her mother at such an early age and has been on her own at such a young age. I admire her positive outlook on life and the fact that she has goals. However, I think stemming from the loss of her mother has come her insecurities, vulnerabilities and need to be loved. Tim has it rough in a different way though. I mean, the loss of his mother, his crazy brother and sister in jail are not easy things to deal with, but he is also an adult with more life experience than CeeCee.
5. What character trait(s) about CeeCee stuck out the most to you in these first ten chapters?
Her positive attitude, honesty, sense of sweetness about her, trusting and willing to go the extra mile for those she loves.
6. Do you think CeeCee is as mature as she seem?
I definitely do not. CeeCee has dealt with some tough stuff in her life which has definitely matured her more so than a girl her age who has not experienced such life changing events, but she still has a lot to learn.

Making the Most of the One Day...

My day off is here! Of course the hubby is gone all day and night at a bachelor party--heaven forbid our days off or plans EVER match up! However, I love being by myself sometimes. I can get some chores done, RELAX, read my book(s!!!), take my pup to the lake and most likely I will be caught doing a whole lotta this today:

I was so nervous summer was over and here it is today and tomorrow supposedly approaching the 90's! YAY!

Is Summer Really Over?!

What in the world is going on with this weather?! It feels like middle of October right now and let me tell you, I am SO not ready for that! I want some more August heat, some more backyard BBQs, some more lazy days on the lake...NOT gray rain clouds, cold mornings and DEW on my lawn!

Ok, there's my rant. Please come back, Mr. Sunshine!

Anniversary Celebration

**Due to some family issues this week, I wasn't able to get blog, but things are looking up.**

I wanted to post some pictures of our anniversary weekend. Even though I had to work all weekend, we managed to fit in some fun time together! We first began on Friday with a hike. We were almost to one of the passes on this beautiful hike.

We got to spend a beautiful day in nature, with each other and Holly. It was wonderful!

I was really craving some spicy food on the drive back from the hike so Ben suggested we get some Indian food at a place that he frequents for lunch. It was DELICIOUS and just what we both wanted! We stuff ourselves silly when we got home and went lights out pretty early due to the fact of being tired from the hike and full from the good food!

Sunday night after work on our actual anniversary day, we went to a Brazilian grill called Ipanema in the city. They have 17 different kinds of meat that they bring to your table on skewers and then shave pieces off onto your plate.
This cooking method roasts the meat of charcoals and wood and seals in the juice and flavor, and let me tell ya, FULL of flavor! They also had a huge cold bar with salads and antipastos and some cold seafood...yum, yum and yum!
Bottom line, Ben and I love to eat and we had some great food and great wine and were together, so basically, it was heaven. We were also surprised by a gift certificate from his parents to help with our dinner. So generous!
The happy couple, one year later:

And the icing on the cake (hehe), when we got home, we opened up our cake from the wedding that my parents had so tightly wrapped and preserved so well for us and it was actually good! We were so surprised and enjoyed some yummy cake!

Sunset over Elliot Bay:

All in All, such a wonderful weekend with my love and I can't wait for many more celebrations for many years to come!

A Year Ago, Today...

Wow. What I was doing one year ago on this day was pretty different than what I am doing now. Now, I am sitting on my couch, sipping my coffee, relaxing, looking at the clouds and getting ready for a day of work.
One year ago: I awoke, 15 mins. later than I was supposed to, raced to the shower, ran out of the bathroom to my friends honking the horn yelling, "You're getting MARRIED today!" (I know this sounds like a scene from a movie, but it was real!) I quickly gave my dad a teary kiss and ran out the door. Also, there were no clouds on this day, just sweltering, Washington-record-breaking heat! What a wave of emotions I experienced on our wedding day. Getting my makeup done, arriving at the beautiful wedding site and witnessing all the work my mom and her friends had put in. Getting ready with my bridesmaids and close friends, everything was such a whirlwind and SO fun and special. Thinking about seeing Ben for the first time that day in front of our close family and friends. It was such a long day, and to be honest, I don't remember every part of it (thank you, Mom for convincing me that we needed a video) however, I do remember saying, "I do." (And all the vows, too.)
That is the beauty of my marriage to my best friend. We remember the important things and what to cherish about each other. There have been some challenges over the last year including work, how to spend our money (I like to spend more, he likes to spend less, lol) and even the simple fact that he doesn't like all my girly shows like I have always thought! Can you believe it?! In all seriousness, being married to Ben has been the most rewarding experience of my life and I can't wait for many more years to come.
I love you more each day, my husband and will continue to as our life goes on.