seattle

Here are a fraction of the pictures we took in Seattle! I would have updated sooner but I was not ready to deal with my post-Seattle depression. We had an amazing time visiting the city and the family! : ) By FAR the highlight of the trip was Ada. Isn't she adorable? I realize it doesn't look like we spent much time with Staishy and Sean, but in fact we did- we just didn't document their every move like we did with Ada. We ate: mussels, various/large amounts of/yummy breads, salmon, sushi, blueberry pancakes, clam chowder in a bread bowl, spicy sausage soup, the MOST amazing hotdog with cabbage, onions and cream cheese, (it sounds gross but I promise you it was fulfilling on so many levels... we were in disbelief before we were enlightened), Thai food, oatmeal cookies, surprisingly yummy cinnamon roll, milkshakes, AND anything else left off this list was fulfilled when we went to the mother of all brunches Sunday morning.... and all washed down with lots and lots of tea. What an amazing week o' food and drinkage. Things we did: explore the city, ride ze bus, ate lots of food, went to Pike Place... my personal favorite, got pedicures with Staishy... also my favorite, got coffee/tea and treats, went shopping, went walking, saw movies, visited bookstores and music stores, played lots of games- dominoes, Scrabble, Cranium, and Trivial Pursuit, and primarily adored Ada. Best of ALLLL, was time spent as a family. Yes, this is corny but it was an absolutely wonderful week. Ada was amazing- I got to pre meet her the week before we went to Seattle, and just in the few days I didn't see her I could already tell she had grown stronger and was learning new things. What a beautiful, smart girl that I get to be an Auntie to! Needless to say, it was hard to leave. : ( What is your favorite pic? Also, who wants to go with us on our next trip?!

longest week.

This has been a long week! Work could anticipate my excitement for the weekend, actually making time go backwards... the last three hours specifically. I imagine that my 4 day week coming up will be even longer because soon I will be lying awake with jitters for Seattle! Meredith came to visit this evening and we went out for sushi, coffee, red velvet "whoopi pies", 1/2 Price, and dominos! I say dominos, but after all the food, drink, and booking we only played for about 15 mins until the store closed. We happen to get the room after a group of what I can only imagine must have been demonstrating the latest spoken word or interpretive dance for singles. There was a couple still lingering around basking in the glow of new found love/lust. Tomorrow is the big day! Paulie and I get to meet baby Ada! : ) SO off to bed I go. Yes it is three in the morning. Goofy, pointless post!

yep

Hello all! I am excited to report that Stefan has a new blog! This new bloggy will be chronicling his many adventures in moving, discovering a new city, and generally reuniting as one with me. I expect this will be an exciting read! I can't wait to have him and James 10 mins away! I will indeed be living vicariously through Stefan because I would love nothing more than to move to a new place. :) How exciting!

So yesterday was a little rainy and uneventful, and I wanted nothing more than to run to 1/2 Price and grab some coffee... their chai tea is the best! I mistakenly ordered a "grande" and was scoffed and made fun of... and then was asked... "So what size?" Way to go for ruining my one little excitement of a treat/outing! They were still discussing it when I left. Meredith made a good point in calling them jerks and pointing out that I obviously picked them over Starbucks, which is right across the street! I'm sorry- I didn't realize I had visited Dick's Last Resort! By the way, I have always thought that the ONE thing 1/2 Price was missing was a cafe. Little did I know, there is this amazing 1/2 Price within a mile of my apartment that has an awesome little cafe. I will let my experience slide on the basis that I still love obnoxiously playing dominoes near the fish tank, their chai tea, and heavenly florentines. Ugh, this is what they wanted! I'm still talking about it.

Overall though, the weekend was wonderful! Friday night I celebrated getting through yet another crazy week at work, then did a much needed clean on the apartment. Saturday, mom and dad visited, and then we hung out with Stefan, James, and Amy that night. We ate, drank, laughed, and caught up on the olden days- what more could you ask for? Sunday I basically basked in the realization that I had absolutely nothing planned AND a clean home at that. I got through another Monday today- still waiting on my permanent non-training desk! I learned today that we will be getting a visit from Staishy, Sean, and Ada this week- Lots of love to Sean and his family.

Other news: Paulie has the sniffles... so please send good vibes to him so he can actually see his new niece in a few days!

Pic is of Leila being cute, and pretty much the only one taken our entire weekend in Austin a couple of weeks ago. Sigh... you see where my priorities are.

eek!

It is the weekend! In exactly two weeks we will be in Seattle! In exactly one week I will be packed!

Mom and Dad came over to our side today and we went out for yummy Italian, then 1/2 Price, and baby clothes shopping! Dad and Paul especially enjoyed the errand. : ) Its very hard to restrain from buying everything, and for a minute there it almost went down that path. I have to say, boys clothes are sooo much easier/cuter! When I shopped for Asa I couldn't get enough of those adorable little dinos, choo-choos, and monkeys. But for Ada? Flowers, cupcakes, and glitter. Don't get me wrong... I enjoy all these things equally for a night out on the town, but geez. Guess I should be shopping at Baby Gap for gender neutrals! I managed to get what I think will look freakin' adorable on Parker, (Cameron's baby girl) and Ada!

The plan for tonight:

Hang out with some of my favorites- Stefan and Amy! Even though we aren't dating anymore, we remain close. Update on any shenanigans later... Wow, I really thought Google would have to correct me on that one. Turns out I DO know how to spell shenanigans. Now I'm doubting because it didn't correct a lowercase letter. Speaking of this, now when I text it suggests stupid things that I accidentally added to the dictionary. Instead of "oh", the first thing it suggests is "64". How is this even possible? Poor Amy's name comes up as bmy, then goes through a series of boys, boxes, and cows before it finally suggests her name. Stefan's name on the other hand, comes up first...and capitilized. It doesn't even attempt to spell Staishy's name...but then again most people don't grr.

Thank you everyone for visiting me! : ) If it weren't for these little life experiences my apartment would NEVER get cleaned.

blue eyes!

Hi! Pics as promised for those who want to see an update of Ada! I feel this provides a wide range of her abilities as a cutting edge baby model! hehe. Sorry for the snatching of all your pics guys, but as soon as I can see Ada I will have my own pics! The rest of the family actually flew out this morning to see MY niece but hopefully Auntie Daina and Uncle Paulie will be visiting in a couple of weeks too! One month old already! What they don't tell you is that you pretty much become corny when you become an Aunt. : )

Paul and I are doing well! My new job is going great and always entertaining (which is key). Starting a new job is scary and awkward the first couple of weeks- in fact, just after week one I finished my latest book, "20 ways to Use Your Cell Phone as a Social Escape"...yes twenty full chapters of step-by-step examples as well as testimonies. Its similar to my short story, "20 ways to Use Chapstick as a Social Escape." Good reads. Anyway, I'm liking it so far!

Plans for today: __________

No other news to report: just been playing adult at my new job! : )

happy birthday ada!

This has been an exciting few months- and mostly because my little niece has been cookin' in the oven. Ada Augusta Siem was born today at 1:30 pm, 8 lbs and 1 oz. Congratulations Staishy and Sean!

This has been a week of change for me- my last day of work was yesterday, and my new job starts on Monday! Right now, Paul and I are celebrating being a new Aunt/Uncle and visiting family in Corpus Christi. What an amazing week! More updates on our lives/jobs/trip/new babies soon! Ada is already adorable! My friends and family sure know how to make cute babies. : )