Wheels

Dear Ford Taurus,

I'm just writing to say that I loved you. You were my first car, and will always hold a special place in my heart. Forever will I remember your trunk space, your comfy seats, the cheap price at which I purchased you.

Unfortunately, my husband never fully approved of you. And so it is with heavy heart that I must bid you farewell. You were a great college car, but I'm moving on to a new phase in my life now. I'm no longer footloose and fancy-free, zooming cross-country while subsisting on peanut butter and jelly. Now I need a grocery-getter; something with luggage rails and a high safety rating.

I promise I'll never forget you! I'll think of you nostalgically, even when I'm driving my 2010 Subaru Forester. Her name is Babe, because she's my big blue ox of a family car!


Good luck with your next owners, Taurus. I'm sure they'll be wonderful. Maybe they'll even shell out the big bucks and fix your oil leak!

Fondly,
Katie

Goodbye, Summer!

Today I didn't want to get out of bed, because I was so nice and warm under the covers.

It's official: summer is over.

All the signs are there. It's raining (or drizzling) more often than not. I have to turn the heater on in the morning. It's dark when I go to work and dark by the time I get home. Sigh. Summer, you were gone so quickly!

Fall, of course, brings its own pleasures... heartier food, cups of cocoa, and plenty of excuses to cuddle under an afghan. No mistake, I'm going to enjoy the pleasures of autumn. And yet I can't help looking back on some of my summer enjoyments!

My favorite thing about summer: a free schedule, that I spend trying new recipes and puttering around my home. Here are some pictures from one of the last (and best) meals I made all summer: peach roasted chicken with jicama-avocado salad, followed by blackberry shortbread for dessert. Very Pacific Northwest! (Let me know if you want the recipes. Everything was actually quite easy to make.)

The Dan Show

Confession: I've been feeling kid envy. Yesterday I went to an open house for my cousin's third daughter (she is so cute and tiny--even more so in his gigantic, tattooed arms!) Then I hopped over to Tara's blog and read about K-Lady's first day of school.

It's official: the biological clock has begun to ring.

Unfortunately I have to hit snooze bar for the time being. Happy substitute? I'll share photos of my brother's adorable kids!

Here's my niece L-Pie, who observed Dan very closely as the first step to learning how to cross her arms. (And you've gotta love the Northwest look my brother's sporting--we're the only region that wholeheartedly endorses socks with sandals!)


And here are all the kids in the Alaska shirts I got them on my trip this summer (yes, they'd just woken up from a nap--can you tell?):


Woo-hoo! Doesn't my brother have a gaggle (posse?) of cute little ones?

Do the Puyallap!

Yesterday, we took a trip to the Puyallup Fair. Mike and I had a great time. As always, my favorite part had to be the barns full of animals (especially the piglets!) and we really enjoyed the food. It's a truth universally acknowledged that fair-goers must overload on all things fried. In addition to elephant ears and Krusty Pups, we snacked on fair scones, barbecue, and curly fries.

This was also the year I finally had the courage to do the Extreme Scream--what an adrenaline rush! The guys had wobbly knees for quite some time afterward. I was fine, though my palms were sweaty for the duration of the ride!

The best part of the fair, though, had to be hanging out with friends. T & K are our closest pals from my graduate school program. Seeing them, and watching their daughter A enjoy the fair, was totally awesome. A loved the petting zoo, and she really enjoyed the carousel. I can't wait until she's old enough to go on more rides!

(Very) Belated Holiday Cheer

Since I just bought my first round of Christmas presents for 2009, I figured it was high time to post a collage of last year's festivities! As you can see, it was the year of the baby. For the first time ever, all of the great-grandchildren were under one roof (and that roof just so happened to belong to my Grandma G).


A good time was had by all... but I'm guessing the triplets enjoyed themselves the most. After all, it's not every day you get to strip down and play with Swiffers!


I really enjoyed getting to see my cousin Rose. She's a chef (as is her boyfriend) and they live most of the year near Yellowstone, working the big resorts. When they're not in Montana they're off traveling to an exciting new job opportunity (last time it was a stint in Las Vegas!) Needless to say, it's always a bonus when I get some face time with Rose.

The Dark Lady

My husband knows better than to tell me what to do with my hair. He has, however, hinted rather strongly that he loves long hair and wants me to grow mine out. I've explained to him over and over again that this doesn't work--with thin, soft hair like mine it just ends up looking lank and disgusting.

His second desire is to see what I would look like with black hair (yes, in case you're wondering, Mike dated his fair share of Goth chicks before we got together). I can't do black--I think I'd look like a corpse. But I definitely went darker.

I also decided to do something drastically different in terms of cut. After all, I've had the same one for years now! So... here are some pictures of the change.


*Nerd question: did anyone get that my post title is a reference to Shakespeare's sonnets?

Love and Marriage

Today is my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. Four decades of marriage: pretty impressive, huh? Even more impressive when you consider that they're high school sweethearts. Yeah, they started dating back when my mother was 15 (or, as she likes to say, "we've been together since we were fetuses"). They've never been with anyone but each other!

Over the past few years, I've learned a little something from watching my parents. (Before that, I was a teenager and I knew everything.) I think one of the reasons they're still happy together is that they're not complacent about their marriage. They're not lazy about it. They don't take each other for granted.

Instead, they still find new things to do together--they vacation in new places or try new things. (Watching my parents try Moroccan food for the first time = priceless.) They laugh together A LOT and still create their own personal in-jokes with admirable frequency. They're friends as well as spouses.

I hope, in 40 years, that Mike and I can say that we happily followed their good example!