You Can Leave Now, Snow

I really don't mean to complain about the snow...It was cozy and festive having a white Christmas and all...

...BUT...

Wow. We have SO much snow. Western WA gets snow pretty much every year, but usually it will snow a few inches, then immediately rain, and then it's all gone by the next day. In a typical winter season it will maybe do this 3-4 times. I don't remember anything like this. The only thing that comes close was the winter of 1985-
the weather man on the news was saying that the high for that particular day was less than the record LOW for that day. Yes, I was in third grade, but that does stick out in my mind. Even yet, it didn't stick around for too long.

We have been under a thick blanket of snow and freezing temps for 2 weeks now. Our mail isn't being delivered. Going outside is a huge process- it's like, "Honey, have you seen my knee-high rubber boots? The snow is even deeper today. We're going to have to leave in half an hour, so you may want to go get the car warming up. Now where did I put my fur-lined gloves...?"

What I am most sad about though, is our cherry tree. This tree must be ~60 years old, because that's about how old our house is. It's big and overgrown and it hangs over this set of concrete stairs that connects our back patio to our lower back yard. It is thick with ivy which just makes it even prettier. In the spring it booms...it's so beautiful. WAS. The weight of the snow caused it to literally split in half. I am so bummed out by this. Remember I said once that I tend to get emotionally attached to inanimate objects?

Ok, these pics don't show it well, but here is the big main section that broke off.














This shows the stairs. The tree use to hang over the stairs. Now it just lays ON them :(


















Oh, and in case you were wondering...it's snowning right now.

A White Christmas

It's still snowing! Be careful what you wish for...We'll have a white Christmas...about 20"!!!!!

Merry Christmas, my friends!

We didn't take our kids to sit on Santa Claus' lap this year. Bella informed us, well in advance, that she wanted no part of it...no way, no how. We thought about taking them anyway. But seeing that Rowan usually looks to Bella for her reaction in any given situation, we knew that we would have both kids in complete hysterical mayhem instead of just one.

Here are two of my favorite Santa pics.

This first one was when Bella was 6 mos. old. She was always a very serious baby, and the photo lady was trying and trying to get her to smile. I was thinking, just take the picture already. But right at the last Bella giggled.



















This one was when Bella was 18 mos...She was with my co-worker's daughter, Hannah. She's so freaked out! But it's so cute!

I Finally Got One

The quest to get a good picture of my kids together has been an ongoing one for me. I took this shot recently out in our yard. I love this pic because it shows their personalities so well. I had this one enlarged and now it hangs near our fireplace. I love those brats SO much.

Almost a Foot of Snow...It's Still Falling

It has been snowing, pretty much continuously, for the last 36 hours. That's on top of the snow that fell throughout this last week. I just measured it...it's just shy of 12 inches.

It's also been really, really cold. Obviously cold enough to snow, but there's a huge difference between 32 and 22 degrees. The other night we went to my mom's to celebrate her birthday and I brought an ice cream pie. I just left it out on the porch. Why take up good freezer space? After dinner when we went to cut into it, that thing was as hard as a rock!

Don't get me wrong, I love the snow, but I am starting to feel a little trapped!


Here is Rachel on the porch last night.



















Kinda hard to get a good pic of falling snow.





There are actually stairs under here!





Me and Rachel last night. Can you tell her dad is a dentist and her mom is a hygienist?!

Gingerbread Houses

Our friends from Lake Tahoe, John and Rachel, our staying with us. Due to a serious case of Cabin Fever thanks to our current snowstorm, (more on that later) we decided to spend a greater part of the day building gingerbread houses. Ok, since they were made out of graham crackers they weren't technically gingerbread houses, but you know what I mean.












Dale's Love Shack




Leah's Castle




My Swiss chalet. Yes, there is snow on the roof yet flowers in bloom. Things are different in the Alps.

The Flu...

Please forgive me while I whine your ear off...

I am sick.

It's gotta be the flu I've decided. This SUCKS! I haven't been sick like this since sixth grade or something.

If you follow my blog ya'll know how much I hate puking. Well last night it started at midnight...I was so considerate to my husband I used the bathroom down the hall instead of the one in our room. After the first bout, I crawled back into bed, wondering if Dale had woken up hearing that his wife was in obvious peril. I thought maybe he'd ask me how I was doing. Not my always-funny husband. "Honey," he says. "If you're trying to loose weight, it works better if you throw up RIGHT AFTER you eat."

So I laid there with the chills, nothing I did kept me warm enough. I have this nightgown that my mom gave me...It's full length, comes up to my neck, down to my wrists and to the floor. Dale HATES it and has actually forbid me to wear it to bed (for obvious reasons, ahem). He has two names for it: Prairie Garb, or Eight Pounds of Flannel. So as I laid there shivering, I informed him that I was going to put on Prairie Garb. He knew better than to protest.

The puking has stopped...Thank You Jesus!...but my whole body still hurts. My joints, even my ankles ache, and every inch of my skin is in pain.

Our four friends from Lake Tahoe are in town visiting, and right now everyone is out to dinner. I am so jealous! This sucks.

Chilly-Willy

It is FER-REEZ-ZING here. It snowed all day today. It is 27 degrees out, but pretty breezy so it feels even colder. Of course it didn't stop the kids from wanting to be out playing in it.

Here's Bella







Oh! Check this out. I used my macro lens and got this shot of a snowflake. It was really tiny- about 1/8 of an inch. This is on the hood of my car, in the dark, with Dale holding a flashlight. Pretty difficult shot. Crazy, huh?













I wonder if they'll cancel work tomorrow..........

Lost in Translation

Dale bought Bella this Japanese candy, and this sticker came as a prize inside the little box. All we could think was.....huh?

Ackley's Christmas Card

I hope I am not spoiling it for the people who haven't recieved my card yet...

This is our card for 2008. I chose that photo because it was very similar to last year's. I am pretty sure Dale is jabbing his fingers into Rowan's ribs.




2007




2008

Do Your Kids Do This Too?

Ok, I know lots of you who read this have toddlers, and I've got to know if this is a common thing or something unique to my kids: My kids want to sleep with books. Not teddy bears or dollies or their special blankies, but books.

Either Dale or I read to the kids every night. They always want to sleep with the book which has been read to them. When they first started doing this, they would fight over the coveted book, a different one each night. So now I read them two books, so each has one to take to bed with them. Sometimes Rowan likes to share his crib with 3, sometimes 4 books.

Are my kids weird? I just can't imagine it would be very comfortable to cozy up to Goodnight Moon, but whatever.

The Hunt For Just the Right One

Ok, before I go on and on about myself, I just have to say to Jamie...I saw your post. Growing up, we celebrated on both Christmas eve and Christmas day. We had two days instead of one. Jamie...Jamie...Jamie...So sorry you only had one day of Christmas. And since you are part of the ACT (Artificial Tree Club), you may just want to skip on past this post, since the experience will be totally foreign to you. By the way...LOVED your Christmas card!! ;)

Now on with the story...

With saw in hand Dale and I headed out yesterday in search for the perfect tree.






















I've always felt lucky to live where we do, where tree farms are as common as gas stations, and you have thousands and thousands of trees of various types to choose from.





















On our quest, I stopped to peek in on this little guy-














We usually like to get a different type of tree each year. My favorites have been pines and Frazier firs. This was actually the tree that I wanted this year. It was funky and eccentric and I could totally do something fun with it. "Are you on crack?" Dale asked me. "Where would we hang ornaments?"






















This is the tree we ended up with.

Getting to Know Your Friends, Christmas Edition

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper. I like the sparkly, obnoxious stuff.

2. Real tree or Artificial? I believe I blogged about this last year. Real all the way.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually around the first or second weekend of December.

4. When do you take the tree down? After New Year's.

5. Do you like eggnog? In TINY amounts. It's too rich.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My Snoopy Sno-Cone machine!!!!

7. Hardest person to buy for? Hmm...If I struggle I just give a gift card.

8. Easiest person to buy for? My sister

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, and one year I realized Dale had arranged the figurines into explicit positions.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Anything from "P". My sister knows what I am talking about. (The one with the coveted M&M jar)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Christmas Vacation (That there Clark is an ArrrrVeeeeee)


13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Black Friday! 5am. I am totally hard core. (But this year I spent a bunch of money on myself...Great deals at Victoria's Secret, Macy's, I even bought myself a new set of luggage. Remember Rus?)

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No Way!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Dale's Mom's rocky road

16. Lights on the tree? What? Do some people not light their tree??

17. Favorite Christmas song? Hmm...I have the Christmas CD of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the whole thing is pretty good (Ok I had to bust out spell check there. Tabelnacher apparently isn't the correct spelling)

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Sure

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Dale and I still debate this one. I want Christmas eve, he wants Christmas morning. Still seems weird to open presents in the daylight.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The money, running out of time, feeling frazzled, eating too many goodies.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I received a bunch of Swarovski Crystal ornaments once as a gift. They are so pretty.


24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? I have to copy my sis and say Uncle Bob's prime rib.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Camera Stuff

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Not sending it through the email circuit.


Ok, I thought my sister's was pretty good, so I added her's on here too:


1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both, I like wrapping for about 20 minutes and then I start hauling out the gift bags.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Both

3. When do you put up the tree? I put up two fake ones the day after Thanksgiving and we get a real one in December. Yes, our house looks like the North Pole on steroids….

4. When do you take the tree down? Day after Xmas

5. Do you like eggnog? Plain, in a latte, with booze….yes, I like it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Bike and a bubble gum machine

7. Hardest person to buy for? TJ…you can only spend so much time in the fishing aisle at Cabela’s without going insane.

8. Easiest person to buy for? My mom

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, but it’s kind of an ugly all-one-piece thing so I put it in the boys’ bathroom.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? My grandma (bless her heart) got Jessie and I these K-Mart sweaters one year…mine had crotched mirrors and shapes on it and Jessie’s had a crotched teddy bear that stuck off the sweater about two inches. Of course we had to wear them that night….Jess kept pretending she was checking her teeth in the mirrors on my sweater, and I would remind her that she was sporting a stuffed animal on her chest.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? TJ and I both love the old Rudolph. We’ll totally be on the couch all misty eyed with our popcorn…meanwhile the boys get bored and run off.


13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Black Friday!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I think so…but I’m so paranoid that I’ll forget who gave it to me first and give it back to them.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Those little nougat candy things with the tree picture in the middle

16. Lights on the tree? Yep

17. Favorite Christmas song? I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (John Cougar Mellencamp)

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home, but we always have to run around

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Sure

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Xmas Eve

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Trying to keep track of everything and everyone I need to buy for and paying for it. Also, did I mention the fishing aisle at Cabela’s?

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? We have these beautiful handmade ornaments that TJ’s grandma made, I just love them.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? My uncle Bob Pearson’s prime rib (ask TJ, it’s better than any chef could ever make)

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? More than gifts, I just want a vacation…I’m exhausted…

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Jessie (after she puts New Moon down)

Today Is December 1st, part II

Today is December 1st, which means.....I get to start reading New Moon, the second book in the Twilight series.

I have just enough self discipline to allow myself one book a month. There are 4 books altogether, and I know that if I read as much as I wanted to, I would get fired, my husband would leave me, and my kids would have to resort to cannibalism. So I have to pace myself. Take it slow and savor every bit. It's been hard, I tell ya, having this book in my possession and not allowing myself to start reading it until today.

I also have tried to limit myself to one chapter per day, and at that rate I could make this book last until Christmas eve. But oops- I am at chapter 6 already.

I actually wasn't even going to blog about how much I love these books. I didn't want ya'll to realize what a total, obsessed, FREAK I am. But then I remembered that people have devoted their ENTIRE blogs to these stories.

Not that I've googled it or anything. ;)

Today Is December 1st part I

December began today, which means.......Elfie arrived at our house!

We started this cute little Christmas tradition with our kids last year. It's about this tiny little elf (whom Bella named, appropriately, Elfie) who shows up at our house on December 1st. Elfie is on special assignment for Santa Claus. Elfie's one and only duty is to watch Bella and Rowan throughout the day. Then after they are fast asleep, he flies back to the North Pole and reports to Santa whether they have been good or bad.

Elfie returns back to the house before the kids awake, but each morning he has a new perch to spy from. When the kids get up, it's a game who can find Elfie first. And there is one very special thing about him, we tell them. They cannot touch Elfie, or it takes away his magic.

Start a tradition like this with your own kids. They will LOVE it!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends who read my blog. Today I'd like to share what I am thankful for:

My kind and patient husband

My crazy but affectionate, loving kids

My health

My siblings, whom I have great relationships with

My secure career, when many don't have jobs

Lower gas prices...sounds shallow, but it really does make me happy ;)

I am thankful I still have my mother

Having a cozy home

The many opportunities I have been given in life

The 28 years I was given with my dad

Try This...It Really Works!

It's cold and flu season. Last week I was an unwilling participant. I am now better. I was just starting to think we were in the clear. Night before last, oh, somewhere in the neighborhood of 1am, I woke up to a strange sound. Is there a seal in my kids' room? I thought to myself. No, come to find out, it was Rowan coughing and crying. Poor little guy had croup. For those of you who have never heard the cough of a child with croup, it is actually kind of scary and sounds really terrible.

So I gave him a dose of cold meds, then wrapped him in a warm blanket and took him outside where we sat on the porch for about a half hour. The cold, brisk air instantly made the cough better. Since it was in the mid 30s, we couldn't stay outside forever and the moment we came in (literally, within seconds) Rowan was again sounding like a barking seal.

Then I tried something that I remember reading on the internet a long time ago: I rubbed Vick's Vapor Rub on the bottom of his feet, put socks on him and zipped him back into his jammies.

It worked. I don't know who figured this out or how it works or why it works. It just does and it turned my barking 2-yr-old into a peacefully sleeping baby.

Last night when I put him to bed I did the Vick's trick, skipped the cough syrup, and not a peep out of him. I hope none of you get sick kids, but if you do, give it a whirl!

For You, Erin Lea

Erin...You know you are counting the days until Twilight comes out on DVD so you can buy your own copy and watch the make out scene over and over when no one is home.

It's OK. I am too!




We're 31. We should probably grow up one of these days...

Twilight...I'll Be Seeing You Soon...

So today I get this email from Erin:

Also, where in the heck is your Twilight blog? I will be expecting one soon as you must be somewhat consumed by this or you wouldn't be a crazy person like me getting up at the butt crack of dawn for coffee, movie and a little bit of Edward on the side.

Yes, that's right, I proudly consider myself A Follower Of Whatever Is Currently Popular, and yes, that means reading the vampire books.

You can blame Erin. She has read all 4 of them. And she was always like "Jessie you HAVE to read them!!" I figured I would in time, but when I start a book it is pretty much all consuming, kinda like crack, so I was going to wait awhile for when it would be convenient for me.

Fast forward to Sunday night. Dale and I were in the hotel in Portland and were crazy bored. On TV I saw the preview for Twilight (book #1 in the series) opening Nov 21. I talked Dale into going to Target with me so I could buy the book because
I knew I had to read it by then so Erin and I could go see the movie this weekend. So I went and bought it...let's just say it's ~500 pages and I read it in 48 hours...
And usually I don't even like fiction!!

Oh! And it cracks me up that it takes place in Forks, Washington. I heard on the news that Forks is totally inundated with tourists. I bet they are loving the boost in the economy up there! The movie was actually filmed in St. Helens, OR, which is one of the small towns we rode through on the STP. Cool!

Erin's and my date is for early Saturday morning. First Starbucks and breakfast...then onto the movie with 1000 teenage girls to spend two hours with the dreamy vampire Edward...I can hardly wait!!

Photoshop Class in Portland

I have wanted to attend a photoshop class for a long time now. I have the software and a bunch of books, but I am not the best self-teacher. So a few weeks ago I get an email from Adobe saying there will be a class in Seattle held by Kelby Media (as in Scott Kelby, the Oprah of the Photoshop world, if you will) in the end of November. Unfortunately, it was on a workday for me. I was pretty bummed about it.

Then, duh, I thought to myself. Check and see if they are holding the same class in Portland. I did, they were, and it was on my day off. Even better, Dale was staying in the Portland area for work training at the same time. It worked out perfectly. I was able to stay with my hubby at his hotel the night before, then it was only a quick jaunt to the class the next morning.

Great class. Learned a ton. I am excited to practice all of my new tips and techniques.

My crazy, scribbly notes:

Sarah's Pregancy Photos

I recently did a photo shoot for my dear friend Sarah as my gift to her. No one deserves a baby more that she and her husband Garrick. They have been trying for a baby for ten years. Sarah once confided in me that deep down inside she thought she would never have a baby. Now look...a baby with a Christmas due date. I can't imagine a better day for God to give her this gift.

Germphobes...Stay Away

I am sick today.

Dr. Bowers is gone all week, and I always have the option to work or not whenever he is gone. I planned to work all week. On Tuesday, one of the front office gals told me that there were no patients scheduled for Thursday (today), so did I just want a day off? I told her that I DID want to work, and that I have a few very expensive months coming up, so please find me some patients so I can have paycheck that meets my needs. So then what happens? I get sick. I can't even go to work today. I feel terrible that they scrambled to fill my schedule, and now they have to cancel all those patients.

I felt fine all day yesterday. I spent the day with Erin, and by the end of the day my voice started feeling a little scratchy, nothing big. Then this morning, I am in the throes of illness. I have that lovely, hit-by-a-bus feeling. My voice is limited to a whisper, and if I try really hard, I can get my vocal cords to line up and a faint squeak will come out. That's it. I even am wrapped in my down comforter sitting here at the computer.

I just hope to be better by Monday. I am heading to Portland for a class. Since it is photography-related and not dentistry-related, I am really excited for it and can't imagine missing it. So until then I will rest and take my meds and pray this bug speedily runs it's course!

I've Been Tagged!

I've been tagged by my dear friend Kaylee.

So here we go. Seven unique and random things about me:

1. The very first time I ever golfed, I parred the first hole. I thought to myself, I am a freaking natural! I have never done it again.

2. I didn't get Chicken Pox until I was 23. It was awful. I wish I had a picture.

3. I never tell the story of my most embarrassing moment because after 22 years, I still blush just thinking about it.

4. I have a squinty left eye. I hate it and always notice it in pictures.

5. I once belonged to a knitting club called Knit Wits. It was me, Kaylee, and her sisters Rachel and Jojee. I spent more time drinking wine and telling stories about my crazy patients then I did actually knitting.

6. I had a bone tumor the size of a quarter removed from my jaw when I was seven.

7. I hate following rules. So I am not going to follow these rules and tag anyone else!

A Night Out With Jay

Last night I went out and saw Jay Leno. No...not in LA, but right here in Lil' old Shelton. We are so "big city" now. It was a great show. I was with great company, my brother and sister! They are so much fun to be with, and two of the funniest people I know. Good times...

Western Washington Weather

I took these photos last night from our living room window. I love the colors of fall, and after a heavy rainfall they are especially vibrant. I love this cluster of trees.


The rain left the most beautiful rainbow. I don't often pay attention much to rainbows, since we get so much rain here they are a dime a dozen. This one, however, was defined and bright.



Then the rainbow shortened and seemed to be swallowed by these big strange clouds that rolled through. So pretty!