Goals

So I have never been one for New Year's Resolutions but this year I have decided that I want to set goals for myself instead. Maybe I am looking at it as, Anthony and I are starting a new adventure in our life (having a baby!!!) and I want to make sure I have goals set and some what of a plan on how I might achieve them before our precious munchkin gets here. My first goal will be to get my butt up and moving as soon as possible after having baby Aiden. When I was at the Doctor's yesterday she told me that more than likely I would be in hospital for 2 days after giving birth, I'll be honest, I don't know how excited I am about that, but I guess it is for the best. Anyway back to being active after baby Aiden, I guess what I mean is, I would like to live a more active lifestyle, i.e. hiking, swimming and just overall more activity. I feel like I do a decent job of this already, but could be better. Recently, we have started taking Maddie Grace and Emma running on the trails near our house, they love it and Anthony and I enjoy getting outside in the beautiful scenery the Northwest has to offer. Of course the trails are pretty flat, as I am 31 weeks pregnant and can't be hiking up the side of mountains. So I vow to be more active and enjoy the outdoors too! Next goal, being more involved. This goal has many facets, first I want to be more involved in the community, so starting today I am going to help my friend Carmen with her 4-H group K-9 Kids. The exciting thing is that when I was in middle school I was apart of K-9 Kids so this is my opportunity to give back. The next part of this goal is that I want to enjoy as many community events as I can. I would love to participate in a festival on Whidbey Island but it is about 3 days before my due date and I just don't think I am going to be up to it. We'll see, maybe Baby Aiden will already be here!! So the plan is to attend the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in April! It will Baby Aiden's first event and hopefully we can make this a yearly adventure! My last goal I will write about at least is....the big one....SAVE MORE, SPEND LESS! Now I know this sounds like every ones goal, but I truly want to be better about this. Currently, thanks to my parents, we are saving a lot of money, by living with them. So I want to take full advantage of this wonderful situation!!! My goal is to set limits on what we spend, obviously having a baby is very costly, but there are ways to save and I plan on seeking them out and using them.

Having said all of this to you is great, but I plan to write it up on paper, keep a journal of my progress and maybe make my husband do it too! I am sure he will be thrilled.

What are some of your goals or resolutions for the year and beyond, gardening or otherwise?

Sailboats

Sunday was a beautiful day in the Harbor. So I headed down to the Harbor to take some pictures of the mountain and the boats. Well I was in luck, not only did I take pictures of the fishing vessels and hobby boats but there was a sailboat race going on. There were little boats, big boats and teams of people all dressed in VERY warm attire out on the water. The day was bright but bitterly cold and I admire those seamen and seawomen for the dedication to sailing.

A New Garden

It may be winter, but I have already got gardening and spring on the brain. Of course with Baby Aiden on the way in early spring, I would like to have seedlings ready to be planted in the ground or close anyway, so that my wonderful hubby will be able to plant with ease and without my help. Here is the 3 raised garden beds that are already in. I am very excited to use them as I have never used raised beds before. I am little concerned about space, but have been reading about how to interplant and succession plantings.
Here is the space on the other side of the beds along with the compost ball. The compost ball is currently not in use and my parents say it doesn't work very well but I think I am going to attempt to use it after I read alittle more about them. Now back to the space at hand...currently there are Raspberries and Loganberries, however the Loganberries have taken over so they are coming out and I think we are going to put in two more raised beds.
This is one of the beds up close.
So far I have decided that I am going to go ahead and start some Brussel Sprouts and Peas for sure. Both will be ready in early spring for our enjoyment.

New Year's Day

Ringing in the New Year is tough on a Girl!

Home is Where the Heart is

Anthony has always told me that home is wherever we are. He is right and with all the houses that we have lived in, I have needed to be reminded of this often. But of all the houses there is one that stands out the most, our South Carolina house. I love that house, and I often say to Anthony how much I miss it. It was not a big house, and wasn’t even a fancy but it was ours. When Anthony moved in, it hadn’t been lived in for quite some time and after first ripping up the really awesome green shag carpet, Anthony moved in. I moved in a few months later and we together began making it our home. This picture was taking by my parents shortly before we moved.
(L to R: Kirby, Me, Toni, Hope, Maddie Grace, Anthony and Emma)

When we decided to sell and move, I cried and wanted to interview every person that came to look at the house. Finally, a nice gentleman named Harold, came and saw the house, luckily I was there due to the dogs and got to show him around and answer any questions he had. A day or so later he made an offer and after some negotiating we settled on a deal. A few weeks later Anthony and I were there cleaning and finishing the last of the moving, it was closing day, a very sad day in my book for sure. The house was so empty yet it still seemed like my home. Harold came to do his final inspection, I tried not to cry, but after he was done looking around, I said to him, “Harold, can I ask you a question?” He smiled and said sure. I replied, “You are not going to bulldoze my house down are you?” He smiled and said, “No, I am going to rent it out.” I was thrilled! I hoped that someone would love this house as much as I did, and still do.

I hope to someday find another house that I love just as much, if not more than that little house in South Carolina. I am sure I will drag Anthony to see lots of houses before; I find one that feels like home.

Holiday Baking Pt. 2 and 3

So for the 3rd year in a row I have made Pumpkin Pie from scratch. It is pretty de-lish, if I do say so myself! Anthony loves them, so no matter the trouble or the time it takes I do it for him. Here is a picture of the filling. I did learn however that the pies don't crack if you let the filling sit for 30-60 minutes.
Here are the par baked shells.
And best of all my brother and I made sugar cookies together. He won't admit it, but it was fun to do something together with him.
I didnt bake as much as I have in years past, probably due to the move, work and everything else going on. I think next year I am going to take a lot of time off leading up to the holidays, or maybe I wont be working at all! That would be great!!!

Merry Christmas

On Christmas morning we usually take pictures of the tree, the presents and most of the time the dogs, as my brother and I are ‘big’ kids now and I don’t like to pose for pictures in front of the tree. So this year I thought it would be cute to take pictures of the oldest one in the house, Kirby and the youngest of the house, Sizzle. After a major struggle to get the bow around his neck this is the series of events that took place.

The rubbing of the face.


The looking rather pathetic.

Finally, a good one.

After the pictures, we went up to the office and were looking through the pictures, while Kirby chewed on his favorite blue ball. Sizzle insisted that she helped. Thank goodness Kirby is a good boy and very patient.

All of us had a wonderful Christmas, everyone in the family must have been on Santa’s good list, because I think everyone got what they wanted and more. Anthony and I are and were so happy to be home with family for the holidays, and can’t wait for the upcoming events.