Well, I guess I should start with Anisa.  She turned 22 on the 21st.  I really can't believe she's already 22.  Time sure has flown by.  We have so many awesome memories.  God sure has blessed us.

We had a surprise visit last night from Shelby...Anisa and Shelby have been friends since birth..well, Shelby's birth since she's 3 months younger. :)  Here are these gorgeous girls this weekend, and one from when they were close to a year old.

I started volunteering at Chinook Elementary school.  It's where the girls went to school, I was the lunch lady and a Special Ed One on One with some terrific little boys.  I always loved going into the school. The kids.  The staff.  It's just a really cool place.  I REALLY want to get a PAY job there, but for now, I can only volunteer.  That's ok with me, tho.  I've got a big job in the library already, and Friday I got to work with the Kindergarten reading groups. I was very warmly welcomed back by some of my old friends and it truly felt like I was back HOME.  I would appreciate prayers for a job to come open there for me.  It will be nice to have a job in place when Travis retires in less than 2 years (shocking).

So, in other news in my house, it's been cold here.  We have a woodstove in this house.  I didn't really think it was a big deal when I looked at the house.  Travis found out it was a really good one (after all his research) and was looking forward to using it this winter.  Well, he's a complete pyro now.  He builds the fire every night.  We got our second load of regular wood delivered last week.  He's been using a combination of just plain old cut wood and 2 different kinds of eco logs.  One of the brands is Idaho Energy Logs.  He's been super happy with the stove.

I've been sewing some bags.  A Coastie wife wants me to make her an Owl print purse.  We THINK we found the fabric, and now I'm trying out some patterns.  I bought a McCalls pattern that I thought was pretty cute, but after getting it out and reading the directions, I don't like it.  I also don't like how they have you sew the bag together, so I did it my way. :)  I made 2 of these Hawkeye bags for 2 friends' daughters who are going to University of Iowa.  I'm going to order an Amy Butler pattern that I found.  I really like how her directions are written and her patterns are fun.

We went to the Oregon Zoo for Anisa's Birthday!  We all slept in a little, then she opened her presents, then we all got ready to head out to the zoo to see Lily the baby Elephant.  She was cuter than we had imagined.  I literally could have sat and looked at her all day.  They have her and mommy in a room (I don't love the bars and the small space, but it's warm), and there is a long line to stand in for a quick picture and to admire her. Isn't she so precious??

So, I think that's about it for now.  It seems like the weather is changing a little bit and it might be on a warmer/wetter trend.  I don't mind.  I guess that means I really am a true PNW girl. :)  I hope you all are enjoying your day/week/month... :)  mwah!

I have completely neglected my poor little blog and all the people who log on here to read about my wonderful, so exciting life.  heehee   I can only blame Facebook a little.  I am just a procrastinator...plain and simple.  I will work on it!  And for now...ta da...an update!

Travis bought me a new sewing machine.  She is a Juki TL-2010Qj.  He did an amazing amount of research and figured this was the best machine for me.  At first I was kind of upset because I showed him the machine I WANTED and I'd never even heard of a Juki.  I told him I'd give it a chance, and so far, I like it.  Pushing quilts through this machine is very nice and smooth, so that's a huge thing!   I even decorated her.  I still have my little Rosey (Viking).  She comes out for the fancy stitching.  Now, all I need is a studio about an RV garage built in the backyard...

So, since I have a new machine, I've been busy sewing lately.  I've made a few bags, a quilt and am working on some more bags with a pattern that I'm not happy with.  It's McCall's M6045.  The pattern itself is ok, but the instructions aren't what I'm used to.  I need someone to just say, "Ok, cut this and this out of this and this.  Sew A to B, etc".  This has 2 fabrics, 3 interfacings, and 4 bag options.  The instructions are all over the place.  Cut this for A.  Cut this for B, Oh, but you need to cut one of these for A again.  I just don't like how they wrote them out.  But, because I've used the Fabulous Amy Butler patterns, I have some background on how to fix the issues with this pattern. :) 

Speaking of Amy Butler patterns, I've made another 2 Weekender bags in Cupcakes!  Sara's totally into cupcakes right now, and I found this fabric in Home Dec weight and bought a whole bunch.  I didn't have the pattern with me, and it turned out I bought enough for 2 bags. :)  I love how they turned out.

I made this Memory quilt for someone. I can't say who, since it's a surprise and I've PROCRASTINATED and haven't sent it yet.  It was a super fun quilt to make, tho, and I think whoever gets it will be happy.  I'm hoping it will make them move closer... :)

Speaking of Sara and cupcakes... We recently bought a new table and chairs for our kitchen nook (try to find a round, counter height table that's 45" across..impossible).  While we were at a furniture store, we happened to find a Cupcake Painting.  I took a picture and sent it to Sara.  She wanted it (she usually wants stuff). :)  The problem was that it was $200 for 4 pics and 2 of them were of cupcakes, but the other 2 were really large ice cream cones.  Cute, but not really anything we wanted, plus, $200? really?  I told her I'd get her a canvas and some paints and she could paint one.  Well, here's the result. We were actually surprised at how good it turned out.

Sara's still loving school.  She recently had Little Mermaid Red hair.  It was shocking at first, but then we grew to really like it.  The bonus was that she was very easy to find in a crowd.  She loved it but changed it back to brown because it was pretty high maintenance.  Here is a picture of the entire family that we had taken for our church directory.  You can see Sara's red hair.

Anisa is in limbo.  It's quite irritating, but I know I am to blame.  I'm making it too easy on her, but whatever....I try not to complain too super much.  She's a great girl, and we have fun shopping, doing lunch, etc, but she is going to 22 on Monday and hasn't figured out life.  Her boyfriend, Jason, lives in VA.  He doesn't know where or what he's going to do.  He has a good job there, but the problem is that it's so expensive to live there.  We have encouraged Anisa to find a job  here for now, then figure out what she wants to do in the spring, summer.  They wanted to go to Colorado Springs, but apparently jobs are pretty scarce there.   Maybe we need to make her live in her car! heehee  just kidding..but only a little bit.

Travis is doing pretty well.  He likes his job, but is worrying about the future. He will probably be forced to retire in less than 2 years since he'll have done 30 years in the Coast Guard.  That is crazy to me.  I got him when he was 17 years old and now I can just admire the man I got to marry.  

I've been looking for a job.  I've applied to a lot of places, but so far, nothing.  I suppose the right job will come at the right time.  My dream job is back at Chinook Elementary, so I filled out my Volunteer paperwork and will start volunteering a day or two a week.  I figure that will at least get me back "in" with the staff and such, and when a job opening is coming up, I'll be the first to hear about it. :)  The most convenient thing about that is that it's right across the street from my neighborhood, so I could walk to work!  Keep me in your prayers! :)

Sara went to Virginia for Christmas and New Years. She had a blast and didn't want to come home (who wants to come home from VACATION?).  While she was gone, we drove down to Eugene (a 2.5 hour drive, one way) to go to the Ninkasi Brewery.  Their Total Domination IPA has become our most favorite beer, but we like a few of their other brews too.  It was SO.WORTH the drive.  OMG... we had a really great time.  We got there and I told them we had driven all the way from Vancouver just to come there.  They gave us free beers!  We took the brewery tour and had some yummy hot dogs and homemade pretzels.  Then as we were leaving, they gave us 4 pint glasses and some stickers.  The crew there is small, and everyone was really nice.  I wish we lived closer so we could go there all the time..just to hang out with cool people - alright...and to drink beer too! :) 

Travis, Anisa and I also went to Peacock Lane to look at the lights for Christmas.  It was very crowded but very pretty.  We took the time to go downtown and take a picture of the Portland sign right over the Morrison Bridge.  I love being back HOME!

Travis and I have been kind of jogging/walking.  We go every once in a while, not as regularly as we should.  Travis is better about going than me.  He's even taken his running gear to work and run during the day.  My problem is that I run to the trail, then see birds or squirrels then I have to stop and look at them! hahaha Oh well, as long as we get OUT, I guess that's good.

Well, I think I've caught you up on what's been going on here.  I'm sure there is a lot more, but I can't remember things!  Travis calls me Dori (from Finding Nemo) since I forget things almost instantly.