James Family Christmas...

Christmas highlights. Shopping with my Aunt Liz, basically we giggled our way in and out of Antique stores and home decor shops. We had a great time. Games, we played Mexican Domino's (fun) and Clue. Food...lots and lots of food, over 4 days we had ham, Portuguese soup, Roast beef, potato salad, mashed potatoes, corn, bread, spoon corn bread, beets, pork and beans, chicken, fudge, cupcakes, cookies, pie. I think I'll be working off Christmas on the treadmill for a few months to come. Presents, Mike got XM Satellite radio, an assortment of sauces, money, and toys. I got a coat, a piece of Hawaiian jewelry, a Brighton neckless and earring set and money. David was spoiled and I won't even begin to list all that he got but it mostly had to do with Rollerblades and clothes, oh and an Ipod. Duke and Jemma received a couple of big bones.

My mom and Bruce have a small dog named Icsis (spelling?). Duke and Jemma thought that they were little lap dogs too and loved her bed. Poor Icsis put up with a lot. They would follow her around in circles until she snapped at them then they would follow her just a little more to make sure that had really annoyed her, then they would go and lay down in her bed. Brats!

Overall it was a great time. We all appreciate my families hospitality. Thank you for all the wonderful Christmas cards we received. I hope you all had as pleasant a Christmas as we did.

Mansitting...

Mansitting, much like babysitting, is hard work. I come home from work to find a seemingly clean house. Now that two men live in my house there is double trouble. I find the meat thermometer in the Pyrex baking dish on the counter. The same Pyrex baking dish that is to be returned to my friend, Courtney. I can only assume that the meat thermometer is clean since the kitchen counter has been cleared of all dirty dishes. A pleasant surprise. I begin my 4th round of Christmas baking, I can't find my glass measuring cups, my frustration rises as I scour the kitchen searching only to find my glass measuring cups nestled deep within the Tupperware cupboard. Now as the woman of the house I know that these glass measuring cups belong in the lower cupboard to the left of the oven and that the meat thermometer belongs in the drawer below the silverware. I look up to find the dish detergent front and center on the counter top. That too has a place to call home. Under the sink next to the dishwasher. I begin to think, how hard is it to put stuff where it belongs.

My next effort is to clean the house before leaving for one day in Moscow with my friends Vic and Sharon and 4 days with my Mom in Lewiston. I find socks stuffed behind couch cushions, sweaters on window sills and a whole array of other items in places they do not belong. I know that they probably have great reasons for all of these things but I personally would never put my sweater down in a windowsill or shove my socks deep within the couch cushions. NEVER!

Soon my men find me with smiles on their faces. Did you notice that we cleaned the kitchen? Thoughts race through my head, "Oh I noticed all right, who taught you two to clean, you didn't' even wipe all the counters down or sweep the floor. That isn't clean." Then I shake myself back to reality remember the rules of mansitting. They did try. If they hadn't the meat thermometer would be drowning in a sea of suds with the glass measuring cups, I wouldn't have dish detergent because it would still be at the store stocked neatly on a shelf instead of on my kitchen counter and I would have been mad that no one had done anything at all to help me. So I smile warmly back at them and politely and genuinely say "Thank you." Mansitting is tough work.

New goals...

Another year gone by. The end of December symbolizes the beginning of a new year. With a new year comes resolutions, I prefer goals. This years goal is to run a 5K (roughly 3 miles) race. I know some of you are probably thinking, why? I have gotten tired of weight loss goals that I have no control over. I can't lose weight no matter what I do. So new goal. Instead of giving up all together I am going to try something new. Fitness goal. Embarrassingly enough I have never even run a mile. Once in high school PE I got in trouble for taking to long to walk a mile because I was too busy talking. The only time I ever get into trouble involves me blabbing. So currently I can't run more than a minute and a half at a time. I have selected a 5K run that is March 31st. I am going to work really hard to be able to run the whole thing by then. IF I can't run the whole thing I want to be able to run most of it. I am very excited!

Fun with the James'...

While attempting to take a picture for our Christmas cards, Jemma, decided not to participate. She literally wouldn't move. She just laid there and let me try to move her. It was so funny. The proof is in the picture.

I spent most of the week making cookies, cupcakes, layer bars, and peppermint bark. I am still not done. My brothers motto is "aim low, so low that you cannot fail," I guess mine is the complete opposite. I always take on way more than is humanly possible. On top of all that we attended 3 Christmas parties this week. It was a lot of fun but I am exhausted. You'll be happy to know that 7 treat trays, 3 parties, a bunch of pictures and 40 Christmas cards later I just need to buy one more gift, address a few more cards and I will be done and ready to relax.

See they can be cute! I've started calling them the twins.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!

We celebrated Mike's 27th birthday on Monday instead of Tuesday because he has his work Christmas party. I made my very first cake from scratch. It was devils food cake with cream cheese frosting. It was pretty good for my first time. My friend Nicole I have heard is an excellent cake maker and I will have to hit her up for some tips. I have decided however that I am too impatient for cake making. I don't want to wait for it to cool to put the frosting on. When we went to cut into my 2 layer cake the frosting came oozing out the sides of the cake. It still tasted yummy though.

This week is super busy. We have Mike's birthday and 3 Christmas parties. It will be a fun week but a busy one. Plus I am still trying to get our Christmas cards out. I hope I get them out in time. Send us an email with your addresses if you think we don't have it and I will be sure to send you a card. I don't want to miss anyone.

Have a great week!

I can't believe it's already Wednesday...

Everyday I wake up and think, today I will write a blog entry. Then I get going about my day waiting for some magical moment to come along that is either picture or story worthy. I hope for both and at the end of the day when my life is neither I feel disappointed. I guess not everyday has to be full of something exciting.

Thank you for those of you who called to check on Mike after his oral surgery. He is recovering fine. It is slow but he is going to make it. He is bummed because his post op. is on his birthday as well as his office Christmas party. I wish he had just one year where he could have a good birthday. I don't think that has happened since the first year we were married, maybe next year hun.

I don't know if any of you have been following the family who was stranded on a back road in Oregon for over a week. They found the wife and 2 kids and they are fine but the Dad is still missing. I can't stop thinking about it. I keep checking the web for updates. I can't imagine. They are in my prayers today.

Hope you all are having a great week!

Mike's surgery....

So Mike was scheduled to have oral surgery yesterday. It was his first surgery. He took yesterday and today off and was a little nervous but glad to have the time off from work which is becoming very stressful for him. He did manage to sneak into work early in the morning and then sneak back home before his surgery. The doctor put Mike under sedation but he wasn't completely unconscious, awake but non-apprehensive was the term they used. I of course had every bad though that could exist about how his surgery could go. His surgery went really well and his recovery is going great.

Today, is just a lazy day while we let Mike relax and recover. I am going to get my hair cut, hopefully clean the house (never ending) and go workout. I am trying to get back into my routine after being gone. That's funny though because the holiday season is the worst time to try to have a routine of any kind. We have 3 Christmas parties the week of Mike's Birthday. His work Christmas Dinner is on his birthday, as well as his post op. We were supposed to be in Maui this year but we had to change our plans after my Grandma passed away. He feels like his birthday is doomed to be bad. Poor guy.

I don't have any current pictures but here's a couple cuties from when Duke was just a little guy or as Ethan called him. "Little Duke. " Look at those guilty paws.

James Family Presents..... OUR CHRISTMAS TREE!

Anyone interested in seeing "Mammoth tree" live and in person is welcome to stop by anytime for a peak. I am bias but I think she is a beauty.

Mike wanted to pose with the tree he is standing on a half wall next to the tree.

Bad Blogger...

So, no I haven't updated my blog for a day or so. But it has been a rough week so far. Not only did it start out cold but Mike had to make, what has become daily, his commute to Moscow. He calls me early each morning when he gets in to let me know that he had made it safely. Unfortunately, he got pulled over and given a ticket right outside of Colfax the other day. The police officer was sitting right before the speed changes from 45MPH to 60MPH. Mike had a long drive since it was cold and everyone was being cautious and the roads were finally clear so he could speed up. He was very upset. I was going to be Super wife this week and have the house clean, finish the tree and cook dinner when I got a migraine on Monday night. I have fully recovered now but the house is a pit and the tree isn't done. Hopefully, tonight.

My brother is now living with us. Things didn't work out in Moscow so he is going to try his luck up here. I am very impressed with him though. He wants to get a job, a car and a place of his own by March. Aggressive but I think he is a determined hard working individual and is very capable of making that happen. He has been a real help with the dogs and is very willing to pitch in around the house so he is a welcome addition to our home while he transitions into Spokane.

Well, that is it for now hopefully I will have a picture of the finished Christmas tree up on the blog tomorrow.

O' Christmas Tree...

This is a picture of David

with our Christmas tree.

Yesterday, we all went to a Christmas tree farm in the valley where they will cut the tree for you right there. It was pretty funny how we bounced from one tree to the next commenting on each ones beauty and imperfections until we found "the one." It looked so much smaller before we tried to put it on top of the car. As we drove home proudly with our tree on the top of our car we were amazed and delighted at the looks, laughs and waves we received on our drive home. We laughed and waved proudly at our spectators as though we were in a parade.

On our way home we passed our friends Courtney, Greg, Vic and Sharon as they were getting into their cars after choosing their tree from a neighboring nursery. I called Courtney right away to see if she had seen us. I asked "Did you see us waving as we drove by with our tree on top?" Courtney said " No, but I saw a car go by with a tree on top."

None of could foresee the obstacles that would follow buying such a large tree. When we got home we discovered that our tree stand wasn't big enough to hold our mammoth tree so we had to go to home depot and buy one that would. Now, we face a few other obstacles. There is no room under the tree to place presents. I suppose we could just place them next to the tree but there isn't much room for that now that the tree consumes 1/4 of our living room. The next obstacle decorating it, none of us were up for that last night after hoisting the tree up on top of the Jeep and then lowering it back down and finally shoving it (literally) through the back slider door of the house, and making a trip to home depot for the new enlarged tree stand. And our final obstacle I don't believe that I have enough lights or ornaments to decorate our mammoth tree. Every time I walk past the living room and see our mammoth tree I just giggle, O' Christmas tree.

Meet Mammoth tree. I don't think this picture

does its size any justice.

I apologize for not posting to my blog recently. On October 26, 2006 my Grandma passed away. I am grateful that I had the chance to go to Maui to be there with my family for the service. I have to say that losing my Grandma would have to be one of the hardest things I have been through to date. She was very special to me. She always said I was a little root of her and her little butterfly wings (meaning always on the move loving to be traveling and out and about). I always felt connected to my Grandma in a special way. I miss her terribly and probably will for a while. I appreciate all of the love and support from friends and family.

Dinner Party

Tuesday night Mike and I had Courtney, Greg and Eli over for dinner. We had Taco Soup, my Aunt Paula's recipe, I kind of had some fun with the recipe and tweaked it a little. It turned out really yummy. I have to take a moment to brag on Eli. Usually, when he comes to my house, 2 dogs who are still very energetic, one who is still a puppy, are usually too much for Eli. They go and give him kisses running at him with full speed and force and typically Eli turns around running to Mommy and Daddy. Which is what I would do if I were at the same level as my two munchkins. I honestly have never blamed the little guy. I just put my two out back and we go on and have a great night, dig out some of my toys for Eli to play with and it works out well. On Tuesday night though Eli was laughing at their kisses, running and playing with Duke and having a great time, mainly with Duke, Jemma decided playing was overrated for a sophisticated dog such as herself. Duke on the other hand followed Eli around where ever he went, took beatings with palm-palms like Eli was offering him a treat and welcomed Eli's love and attention.

Eli is petting Duke. Aren't they sweet.

Hiding out...

Jemma hides from the world. If only it really worked like that.

Well, this weekend we did a few projects around the house. After a few trips to Home Depot and Lowes we had what we needed to make the platform for the four poster bed we brought back from North Carolina. Mike is working on making a platform that will fit inside the double frame in order to support the queen size mattress that we currently own. I have been very impressed with his carpentry skills. I tested the strength of my right arm and spent the whole weekend painting our dining room table and chairs as well as recovering two chairs I had that I wanted to add to the set. Hopefully my Mom is impressed since the dining room table and chairs were hers and we have owned them since I was probably 5, not bad for 20 year old furniture. Ignore the runner. I need to sew it up but I don’t have a machine so it will either take me forever to sew it by hand or I will need to buy one someday. Oh and ignore the fact that I am missing a chair. I ran out of strength and patience and decided to paint the last one later.

Tomorrow it is back to work for the both of us. Mike is in Spokane for once. He has a dentist appointment. Then, Courtney and Greg are coming over for dinner. We are going to use food to lure them over and then use Greg to help move the platform for the bed. I still have to decide what to do for dinner. Hmmmm…

Goodbye Maggie

Best picture that I got of the three amigos. I know it isn't great but hey it's the best I managed to get.

Nicole and Ian came by this morning and picked up Maggie. You know it would be nice if Maggie would have looked back at me as she left as if to say "It's been fun." But in the absence of even a glance I realized that she was more than happy to be with her family. All I was left with was a muddy bathroom, dirty floors and a house that is still recovering from W.D.S. (Wet Dog Syndrome). She was fun to have around. I will miss how sweet she is and how she is always willing and ready to cuddle. What I won't miss is bathing 3 dogs. I would like to point out to those of you who don't live in this area that in honor of Maggie going home the sun came out. It fought a long hard battle wtih the rain clouds and chose today of all days to come out and dry up all the rain. Well thanks to you too sun.












In our house, dogs must be invited onto the couch in order to sit there. Maggie didn't know better and when I looked over to see her gazing at me so affectionately, I just couldn't kick her off. The other two got the boot right away. They know better. They sure are cute though.

It was brought to my attention that I hadn't done a post in a few days. Thank you, Nicole. I have to say that I can't promise a post everyday or I will only walk around feeling guilty on the days that I don't post. I don't like feeling guitly so I won't promise a post everyday. But reminders from friends that they like my post and have noticed their absense are welcome.

I spent the last two days shopping it up with Nicole and Courtney and their two boys Peyton and Eli. We had a great time together. Last night Mike and I joined Nicole, Ian and Peyton for dinner at O'Daurghty's an Irish Pub. We had a great time. We look forward to planning a trip to see them on the westside sometime soon. I need to make a run to Ikea. I love that place. Rebecca, I haven't forgotten that we are still planning an April trip to the westside. That should be a blast as well. We are going to be tourist and do lots of activities like Pike's Market and the Aquarium and Ikea, of course.

To your left is Peyton and I at the Starbucks on Wednesday. He is such a sweetie and a little flirt.

To your right is Eli. Once he warms up to you he is the best little friend you could ever ask for.

Today, Mike is at work, as usual and I have the day off. I think I will try to do some rearranging of my furniture. I don't realize that I don't like it until someone comes through to look at it or visit, then I realize it isn't me and I don't feel comfortable showing it to people. So, today I will do my best with what I have to make it feel more like home - to me at least.

I have worked with my dogs in the past on visual signs for their commands. Sit = a fist, down = 2 snaps and I point my finger down, stay = open hand facing them, etc. So yesterday I thought I will get the cheese out, which they only get when we train, and we will work on sit and stay so we can get a group photo. Well, I am sure if my neighbors saw or heard me they might have been calling animal control. Imagine me in the kitchen yelling sit, with my fist in the air and then waving my hands at them to stay. I must have made quite the seen. When we first started I would hold my fist up and say sit and 2 little bottoms would hit the ground without a question of doubt. One little bottom, a black one, was wandering about the kitchen looking at us saying "I don't know what you two think but that lady ain't my mom." Occasionally, Maggie would come round and sit with the others and I had three cute, eager for cheese dogs. Until...I grabbed for the camera. Then Maggie was out of there. So determined to make this work I kept going. Soon I had three little bottoms wandering the kitchen saying "We aren't listening to you; now give us our cheese lady." I soon gave up. Yes they won, yes they got their cheese and no, I did not get my picture.

Friends at Work

Have you ever wondered what Mike does as work? I do especially when he sends me pictures like this one. They are awfully cute!

I missed a post on Sunday. It was bound to happen sometime. So let me catch you up. With rain clouds threatening our Sunday Mike and I manned our posts, him on the couch watching football and me by his side reading a good book. Mike has been engrossed in Fantasy Football. He loves it. I think he gets so into it though that he gets overloaded on football and needs a day or two off. I never thought I would see the day that he would need a day off from watching football. Later that day, we went to dinner at our friends Courtney and Greg’s with their family Nicole and Ian, also our friends. We had a great time.

I mentioned that we are watching Maggie, a labra-doodle. Well, last night we came home from dinner to three very happy and very muddy dogs. We gave them baths one by one then they took off around the house barking, wrestling and having a fabulous puppy time. I thought “Oh, they will be so tired and ready for bed after all this excitement.” Boy was I wrong. At 10:30pm they played musical beds, first one dog up on our bed, then two, and finally three. Then they would all get kicked off only for us to hear the clinking of metal dog tags as they paced around the room. Then, there came the whining at the door. We finally caved in and let them out even though it was still wet outside at 1:30am. This entertained them for a short time. At 2:30am I hear barking and lots of it. In an effort to spare our neighbors of the agony that we were experiencing I let three wet dogs back in. Around 3:00am they finally fell asleep. Needless to say we are both tired. Mike is staying down in Pullman tonight so I get to wash three muddy dogs, again, by myself tonight. Hopefully, my reward will be that they all sleep well.

 

Apple Festival in Green Bluff, WA

Today, we took an adventure with some of our very good friends the Armstrong’s. They came in this morning from Pullman and we had French toast at our place for breakfast. Then, we drove about a half hour to Green Bluff, WA to the Apple Festival. There are several farms and they each have something to offer - apple picking, hay rides, pumpkin patches, hay mazes and, of course, candied apples and cider. Oh, and not to forget the pumpkin chucking-which is very popular in some places and entertaining, if I do say so myself. They basically shoot a pumpkin from a cannon. Needless to say we all had a great time. This might have to be an annual event.

Next up! The Riensche’s are coming to town tomorrow. Ian and Nicole have been good friends for a long time. They are bringing their little man, Peyton (who is extremely cute). They are also bringing their labra-doodle Maggie. Maggie is going to stay with us for the week. Duke and Jemma will be very glad to have her and we are excited to see Ian, Nicole and Peyton.

This is my first entry. I am Laura James and this is the James Family Blog. I was inspired to Blog by my good friend Nicole who makes it look so easy and it is always fun to keep up with her via her blog. My husbands name is Mike and we will celebrate four years of wedded bliss in November. My prayer has always been that we will love each other more tomorrow than we do today and by God's grace I do believe he answers that prayer everyday.

Our kids. Yes they are dogs but anyone who has owned a dog knows they are so much more than that. People don't spend billions of dollars a year on their dogs just for the heck of it. It is because we love them and they warm a special place in our hearts. These two munchkins are wild and crazy in this picture but they will snuggle right up and give you a kiss with just a glance their way. So don't tempt them or you will be slimed. Jemma will be 2 years old in November and by Golden Retreiver standards will be a puppy until 3 years old. Duke is about 8 months old now and is Jemma's nephew.

We moved to Spokane Valley, WA about 3 months ago and we love it! The trees, the mountains, the river, and not to forget the shopping! We will always hold out for a place where it is warmer in the winter. We are more of your 3 season kind of people we could live without the 4th season. For now though Spokane Valley is a special place and we are happy to be here.

Today, I am cleaning and preparing for our friends the Armstrong's and their twins Natalie and Spencer, who are 3 1/2 years old, to come tomorrow. We are going to Green Bluff to the "Amazing Corn Maze" and apple picking, I hear the cider there is excellent as well. We are very excited to see the Armstrongs.