Business in the front, party in the back.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Holiday Musings

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Christmas is my favorite holiday and as soon as November rolls around I'm thinking about all the good times to be had. Trouble is, Christmas in coupledom is wa-ay more hectic than those of my childhood.

In the old version, we'd go to my grandparents house a few miles away for Christmas Eve and have a holiday buffet and egg nog - I'd bring a dish or two. On Christmas morning we'd all go to my parents house for brunch and present opening and then I'd work on the Christmas puzzle in front of an endless loop of "The Christmas Story" on TBS until it was time to start the next round of dishes for Christmas dinner, again at my parents house. It took place over the span of 24 hours.

In the coupledom Christmas, we have three families to celebrate with, half of whom live on the Peninsula, which involves several hours of traveling back and forth, including a ferry ride. (Note: I'm told that by those who reside West of Puget Sound that "the Peninsula" to them means the Kitsap Peninsula, a small growth on the thumb of Washington's mitten. In my East-sider vernacular, the Peninsula refers to EVERYTHING West of the Sound.) Luckily, Sean's side of the family is notoriously gracious when it comes to celebrating on alternative days and leaving the actual day of Christmas to others. But, the drawback of this is that means two additional weekends are thus taken up traveling to Seabeck (his mom's side) or Sequim (his dad's side), which leaves oh-so-little time to shop, go to parties, and all the other holiday moments. So if we don't have all of our Christmas shopping done before the first trip of the season, we don't really get any more chances.

It's even more stressful for me because I didn't grow up sharing holidays and Sean and his family are old pros at it. Although, Sean's old version of events was doing all of his shopping in the two hours before he had to catch a ferry and then wrapping them on arrival using whatever gift bags his mom had set aside in her sewing room. I'd say we've progressed significantly since then, but maybe that's bragging? Of course, my version of progress involves lists. Shocking, I know.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Holiday Musings

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Our tree is up! Well, it was up two weekends ago, but I haven't been very blog-ivated. (Aside: My new G1 phone takes lousy pictures, too. The light quality has to be super high and then dark colors aren't very clear.)

Sean is a fan of getting trees early and I'm a fan of putting out the decorations early, so we make a good team. After all, why go to the effort only to use them for 2 weeks, right? The lights on the house were super easy because we didn't take them down last year. Yeah, we're kind of "one of those" except that the way I mounted them under the eaves means that no one can even tell the lights are there unless they're turned on. So that's my reasoning.

Cooter and Roscoe have pretty much left the tree alone, and I learned last year to put decorations at least 2 feet off the ground to avoid temptations and tails. Hey - that's a good name for an ornament shop. Or a burlesque show. "Temptations and tails". Thus far there have been no casualties. *knock on wood*

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Sean makes an entry.....

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[Seans Entry]

Just wanted say that I love my wife the most! Have I ever mentioned that her ability to write is what first attracted me to her? MMMMmmmmm.....Deep fried turkey!

Holiday Musings

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For those of you who haven't noticed, I've stopped putting "Britt's entry" at the top of my posts. This is because my otherwise wonderful husband, who gets up early to make the coffee and water the dog, who squeezes from the middle of the toothpaste tube less often now, who holds my hand even when he's snoring, hasn't made a single entry to this entire blog. Not a peep. I tell him in my excited voice when I make a new post, but I'm pretty sure he never thinks to look at it on his own, let alone write an entry. So, since all entries are mine, the "Britt's entry" notation is a bigger waste of time than looking for quality at WalMart.

That being said, I'm starting a new series of posts just in time for the holidays. I'm about to grant you all a peek into the mind of Britt. Now, I realize that I'm about as predictable as Martha Stewart making something super cool that you could never hope to duplicate in your lifetime, but I'm gonna attempt to slide in some surprise twists. We'll see, right?

So, here goes....

Did you ever stop to think that Thanksgiving is the one day of the entire year when you're guaranteed that nearly everyone in America is having dinner a) with their friends, family and loved ones, b) at a table, and, c) eating food that didn't get handed through a drive-through window? It's really pretty amazing when you think about it.

This year we're having T-day at my parent's house because my grandma's dining room table doesn't sit enough people and the room isn't configured to add another. And, wouldn't you know it, the vegetarian's family is having three turkeys. Three. Is it necessary? No. Is it still gonna happen? Yuppers. So the dealio is that my mom is obviously making a turkey 'cause its her house. My grandma is making a turkey because my mom's stuffing won't be going in a turkey (thank you, mom!) and she believes that we might get smited (smote?) for tweaking a tradition. (ok, that was joke, but you get it.) And my aunt is deep frying a turkey and bringing it over. I've tried asking myself why, but its as mysterious as Britney's love of god-awful weaves.

To top that off, I really, really wanted to make pies this year. My grandma always does it and I never get a chance, and I LOVE to make cool pies so this time I told her I'd make two. She's still making hers. *head shaking* So the official count for those keeping track at home, is: Turkeys - 3, Stuffing - 3, Pies - 4, People - 14, Vegetarians - 1.

In addition to pies, I'm making cranberry sauce and roasted butternut squash, so I expect the next 36 hours to be pretty busy. Which is actually really bad timing because Sean used his birthday gift card to buy a Wii game that I'm addicted to: Animal Crossing. It's the one you see commericals for right now where two girls talk to each other through the Wii about what they did in the town that day and then their characters go watch fireworks on a hillside. I. Can't. Stop. I need help. The first step is admitting I have a problem, right?

I'm normally not the type to spend my already minimal time on a video game but I played from 8-10 last night, until the store closed. You have to earn money to pay for things like your cute little house and equipment that helps you make more money. So you catch fish and collect objects and run errands for people. But you can't sell the things that would help you make money if the store is closed. And once you fill your pockets, you have to empty them somewhere or else you can't collect anything else. So the game kind of comes to a standstill. Which is probably better since its a great and easy game for elementary age kids who should be going to bed at a reasonable hour anyhow, right? And its a one player game, but you can see what other players in your household have done and the city folk talk about both Sean and I to each other. Sean leaves me notes on the Community Bulletin Board and plants flowers in front of my house and stuff. It's fun. Ok, I have to stop talking about it! It's like fiending for a fix!

I've got to focus. Decorating. Gift Shopping. Working off the calories from the Pecan Pie. Keeping Cooter out of the tree. There are more important things right now.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Wedding pictures

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It took me a while, but I finally realized I forgot to post any of our wedding pictures! Here are some of our favorite moments....

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Monday, November 17, 2008

*singing* It's the most...wonderful time....of the YEAR!

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Sean's favorite time of the year has arrived....walls of Jubelale.

Monday, November 10, 2008

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Britt's entry -

I did an interview for Wight's and won a gift certificate! I had already gone to the annual holiday gala with my mom, so it will have to be used for Spring gardening : )

http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=20184876&BRD=1024&PAG=461&dept_id=231484&rfi=8

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Saturday gift.

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Well, it wasn't morning, but today around 5:30 Cooter brought us dinner. Not that we ate it, of course, but it was thoughtful just the same.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Best. Trip. Ever.

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Britt's entry -

We're back, exhausted and tan, from Grand Cayman. I posted some pictures and a few thoughts to start. Hopefully I'll be able to take some time and blog more later! Check out the album....

Grand Cayman Honeymoon

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Cooter says, "Good morning!"

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Whew! That's some bad morning breath.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Sean and Britt, described

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Britt is the rat, Sean is the *ahem* pig (No offense intended sweetie!) and this sums up many mornings for us.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Cooter loves me, this I know...

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Britt's entry -

Cooter and I have a tradition. I wake up on Saturday mornings. I spend a little time in the bedroom getting ready for the day. Eventually I walk out into the living room, pass by a few times as I get things together and, at some point, I look down and realize I've walked past a dead mouse 4 times already and never even noticed. Cooter is waiting in the shadows, watching for my reaction, pleased as punch (as though anyone ever says that anymore) that he personally brought me the greatest present ever. Ever.

I look over and tell him what a good, good kitty he is, and he walks away with with his tail in the air like the cocky little cat he is. I grab a paper towel and whisk away his little prize.

It's been two Saturdays now. Only on Saturdays. Strangest thing.













Sunday, August 10, 2008

Cooter takes it home!

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Britt's entry -

THE photo:

Sean picked up Roscoe and drove down to Seattle to join me at the South Lake Union Block Party. One large parking lot was set aside as the dog section - vendors with natural food and treats, doggie spa and day camps, the Humane Society and City Dogs Magazine. We signed Roscoe up for the dog events, hoping he'd do us proud.

Every booth had a task for the dog to do: sit-stay (nailed it), find the treat under the hat (like he was born for it), run around and then get in a kennel (trains every day!), pull a ball out of a tub of water (um, there was some reluctance), go through hula-hoops (it was more like we passed them over him), go off-leash and fetch a ball....well, that's where things went bad. Not only did Roscoe show absolutely no interest in the ball, he ran around the ring uncontrollably, peed in the drinking water and then got molested repeatedly by a dog that wouldn't take no for an answer. Well, better luck next year.

Later we started getting line for the photo contest runway walk and as I was standing there I heard a very familiar Aussie accent behind me. I turned around and took a closer look at the host for the event - it was none other than Jenni Hogan, the morning traffic reporter for KOMO and our favorite t.v. personality!! Every time she's on we say, "Jenn-nay!" because she's Sean's t.v. crush! What was most surprising is that she's like 6' tall! Which to me is like standing next to a mountain. But she was very friendly and sweet and down to earth and we really enjoyed meeting her.
We took a picture and talked to Jenni for a minute and she told us that Cooter's picture had been shown around 11 on the news as they talked about the Block Party and the photo contest. HE WAS ON TV!! How many cats can say that? We're hoping to get a DVD of it so we can post it here.

I did the "catwalk" with Cooter's picture and the bowl he'd been in and then we waited to hear the results. Turns out, we have a little star on our hands! He got $150 gift certificate to Scraps and a framed copy of his photo. Cooter was waiting for us in the driveway when we got home, hoping to hear how he did.

P.S. We were watching "Jenn-nay" this morning and they started talking about the Block Party and up pops Cooter's picture! Jenni mentioned that he loves this fishbowl and the picture was sent in by Britt Anderson. Cooter even got to see himself on t.v. this time!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

He's In!!!!

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Thank you so much for voting for Cooter - he is a top 3 finalist!!

We'll bring him to South Lake Union Park Neighborhood Block Party (right across the street from my office) the evening of Friday the 8th to see if he deserves the ego he's developed. His picture will be judged by "local celebrities" and could win $250 at Scraps, a local pet store.

Cross your fingers for us!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Wedding pictures

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We haven't received the high res digitals from the wedding, but our photographer did put up a link with the smaller versions:



We have to pay extra for the CD of all the pics, so we're saving up for it. But when we get it, we'll be sure to send you any you'd like so you can print them out or save them. (We recommend Costco.com for picture printing. Like that isn't an obvious choice.)


Thursday, July 17, 2008

Cooter is a semi-finalist!! Vote for him!

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We already knew that he's the cutest, but this would make it official!

If you get a chance, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE vote for Cooter and send this link to anyone else who might be willing to make him a finalist - he's already in the top ten for Cutest Baby Pet on Northwest Source!!! (Use any or all of the e-mail addresses you have...)


Voting ends Sunday, July 27th! Thank you : )
http://www.nwsource.com/contests/pets/bestpetphotos/vote_category.php?category=62

Saturday, June 28, 2008

The source of Cooter's EVIL

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Britt's entry -

I've been promising to post these pictures for awhile now and I'm finally getting around to it. When Cooter was teething this winter, his adult fangs came in before the kitten teeth fell out, so he had double fangs on each side, top and bottom. Frankly it was a little creepy.


Don't for a second think that my hand in his mouth in these pictures is bothering him. He loves to chew on us and took this opportunity to gnaw to his heart's content.





Friday, June 27, 2008

New favorite site

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Britt's entry -

A new site that I found through another blog is quickly working its way onto my top 10 list: www.etsy.com

It's basically a selling forum exclusively for independent artists, but 'artist' could be anything from knitter to jewelry maker to baker. A great way to support independent start-outs!

My favorite part is the ability to shop by color! There is a gradated color bar you can click on and it will pull up items from the site that precisely match that color. Too cool. You can also "shop local" from sellers who are located close to home, or from 'favorite' lists that were put together buy other buyers, or from sellers who are still looking for that very first sale!

If only my budget wasn't shot. *sigh*

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

One of our favorites

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We haven't seen many pictures from the wedding yet, but here is one taken by Sean's mom (I believe) that we absolutely love!


Sheesh, what happened to you guys?

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Britt's entry -

Ok, it's been an admittedly long time since the last post. A lo-ong time. I get it. If it makes any difference, we've been incredibly busy, as you may have noticed.

We're married!

It was 8 1/2 months of planning that went amazingly smoothly. Sean was absolutely fantastic - involved, supportive, creative, excited, involved... and involved. He wanted to take part in everything, which I completely appreciate about him. It was such a relief to know that he was interested in all the decisions and I wasn't going solo in the planning. We tried not to let it overwhelm us, though. I made lists (which everyone apparently still finds amusing, but let me tell you, it was effective) of what needed to be done and in what order so we made sure not to miss something, and then we usually took on one task every weekend. That way it was only a short time commitment, because in spite of wanting to be involved, Sean still got burned out pretty quick.

And then, finally, or maybe suddenly, the day big day was here! I'll do another post later about the whole whirlwind weekend, but here is what happened in the meantime....

Cooter got neutered. 'Nuff said.

Sean's blood sugar problems progressed really rapidly, which indicated Type 1 Diabetes, and he was moved to insulin therapy. He's gotten amazingly comfortable with giving himself the twice daily and mealtime injections, but its still been a big lifestyle change. My purse gets loaded up with his tester and injection pen any time we go out, so he'll soon be getting his own man-purse. (shhh, ha-ha!!)

After hundreds of hours spent commuting to Costco corporate, Sean decided to head back to the warehouse in Woodinville, right down the street from our house. His new schedule is Tues - Sat, 4 - 12:30 and he absolutely loves it. He's driving a forklift and constantly challenged and also moving, which is good for his Diabetes, and he gets to come home and still have practically a whole day to run errands, do chores, relax and take naps - not necessarily in that order.

Sean ran his first 5k, the St. Patty's Day Dash, and brought home a giant green foam top hat to show for it. If you need to borrow it for future parties, please let me know and I will send it to you right away and never mention it again.

I went to my first Mariner's game in the private suites, courtesy of a hotel my dad is working with to plan a work conference next year. Man, when I win the lottery I'm so buying a suite. Totally. And you'll all be invited anytime you want. Make note of that.

My gardening was curtailed not only by the wedding planning, but also by the late snow (!) that hit after the seed starts had popped up, ending up in a 90% kill rate. Lame-o. The starts I planted to make up for it later were subsequently drowned in the torrential downpours of May and June. Double lame-o. Guess our carrots will continue to be provided by Albertson's.

And... that puts us pretty much up to date. Hmmm. We need to get out there some more and get some good material for blogging. Now that we're married (!) we should have more time! This summer we're hoping to spend more time with our friends and family, so if you want to get together, just say the word!

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Dude, the ski trip is cancelled.

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Britt's entry -

Sean doesn't get a lot of chances to go skiing, so he was super excited for weeks in advance of a trip to Steven's with our friend, Jason. He normally snowboards, but Jason is a lapsed skier, so they both rented skis and gear ahead of time and packed up the night before, then met in Monroe and headed up the pass in Jason's Honda Pilot.

After a stop for gas and another for a big breakfast, they were about 15 minutes from the pass and coming around a bend when Jason said something about a Jeep. Sean looked up and saw a hard-top Jeep Wrangler coming straight at them, sliding sideways into their lane - and both cars were going about 40 miles an hour. Sean lifted his hands so his forearms were next to his head and braced himself for the impact.

The passenger side of the jeep careened into the front end of the Pilot, crushing the front end entirely and setting off their air bags. Glass from the windshield showered in on Sean and Jason, cutting into Jason's hands.

Luckily, Sean's responder training from the military kicked in and he went into action. After a few moments the airbag gas had dissapated a bit and enough time had passed to make sure no one else was going to hit them, Sean got out of the car and asked bystanders if anyone knew the mile marker. He called 911 and reported the basic details of the accident, then helped Jason out of the passenger side since the driver's side was wedged shut. Jason seemed to be in shock from the impact and was dizzy and disoriented, so Sean got a coat on him and wrapped an extra sock around his bleeding hand.

Sean walked around to the Jeep and made sure the driver, who was alone, was breathing and moving. Inside his car and scattered around it were empty beer cans and some that were in the process of emptying after being tossed around. They may have just been leftovers from a different day, but it didn't look good when the officers arrived.

Across the street was a parking area with about 15 people getting ready for the pass, putting on chains, who would have been directly in the line of impact if their car hadn't stopped the Jeep.

Soon the officers and fire crew arrived and took down reports of what happened. The Jeep's driver was pinned in, but they got him out without having to cut into the vehicle. An ambulance took Jason down to the local hospital in Monroe and Sean rode along. They called me around 11, an hour and a half after the accident. It went something like this: "Sweetie, don't freak out. We got in an accident but I'm ok."

We saw the driver being wheeled out of x-ray, along with his four little girls who were with us in the emergency room. His neck was strapped onto the board along with his arms, but he looked conscious.

Both of the guys were sore, and will probably feel it more tomorrow. Jason had to have x-rays for his hand just in case, and they picked pieces of glass out one-by-one with tweezers, which, in case you were wondering, he reports is a painful experience. But by all accounts they were incredibly lucky and it could have been much, much worse.

The worst part is that they never got to go skiing. Bummer.

*Note: My dad said, "Tell him it's going to take more than that to get out of marrying you."*

Ski trip cancelled