Very interesting..............

It's been a crazy week - busy working lots to get ready to go away with my man for a week!!  Cannot. Wait. Been. Too. Long!!!!!

For those of you who don't know - I'm adopted and for the first time ever this past week I've had contact with both my birth brothers from my birth father and they sent me a pic of my Birth Father - very surreal!!  Hoping to meet them soon!  Am sooooo excited!




Here are a couple of the pics.............This one is of my Birth Father and my two brothers.

 This one is of my Birth Father in 1990 - he passed away 10 years later.

Packing for a trip with all these new restrictions for bags, checked and carryons...........oh my!  It's almost more stressful then getting my work caught up enough to go!

I  promise to share pics of warm and sunny places..............TBA!

Why Blog!

This has been what I have been asking myself............for months obviously!!

I ran into a friend/fellow blogger and she said "Janice, you need to blog", so I asked the obvious question........."WHY"?  She simply explained that my kids will love to read this stuff some day, and that it's the only way that some friends can feel like they are up to date on my life.

Still not convinced.......I've held off...............until now......................

I'm thinking I will try to be a faithful blogger to the end of the year............and if it fulfills all my wildest dreams seems to be a good thing..............I will continue.

All that said, I'm not sure if there needs to be a consistent theme for my blogging.  You really don't need to see me and my friends eating and playing all the time, you really don't need to hear me whine and you really don't need any political advice...............so I will work on my blogging posts content.

I don't like posts without pics - so I will post a pic of hubby and I as he celebrated the big 5-0! I know - he is a foxy 5-0 and he looks like a silver fox who robbed the cradle right? :)

Any suggestions (if anyone ever happens to check this blog again), please let me know. 

A Weekend away...................

Friday afternoon the Captain and I packed up the boat - left the children (and the dog) and headed out on the high seas!

First stop, Anacortes. I've never spent any time here  - only driving through to head to the Ferry.  It is an adorable town with lots of "junkin" stores, fun retail shops, great restaurants, and the best part of all...........THEY HAVE A SCRAPBOOKING STORE!!  A "for real" scrapbooking store. Not a big chain store..........a cute, privately owned classy scrapbooking store!! The owners are Teresa and Linda and the store is "Forget Me Not". Click HERE to go to their Facebook page.  And if you're craving a genuine scrapbooking store - go visit them!!

My Captain patiently waited on benches whilst I whittled away time in this fabulous store.  When I got back - this is how I found him - I couldn't resist!

We ate at the Rockfish Grill  Friday night- which was wonderful, and rode our bikes around town on Saturday.

 Saturday about one we packed up and headed to Friday Harbor.  We went to our favorite restaurant for dinner there - "Downriggers".  I was craving my ALL TIME FAVORITE salad there.  I was so bummed I forgot my camera.  I actually got the recipe for this salad from a friend who use to live there.  So I will be trying this recipe soon and will let you know - "Chicken Gorgonzola Salad w/Barbeque-Balsamic Dressing".

Sunday the sun was out and it was hard to head home...............but having the friends over for an Appie evening made it OK. :)

The purple purse.........

So - Tues. morning hubby and I were having coffee, like we do about 6:30ish every morning in the 2 chairs in our living room (unless we're out on the patio :-), and we were discussing money, budgets, etc. - YAWN - YUK - any other y word that fits here......

I assured Randy that I was living pretty much by a budget, and my final point was..................."there's even a purple purse that I want at work right now that I'm not buying because I know I just don't need it".

Fast forward to Tues., afternoon. I'm upstairs in my office at Grandiflora (which is a corner with no windows and I can't hear a thing), and when I come down stairs my two co-workers say, "you have a present" - which of course I replied "no I don't - no way"..............

Long story short, after telling me that a really hot guy came in and bought me a gift, I opened the bag.......................and there was the purple purse.

I know................OH MY GOODNESS......................Randy came in and bought me the purse and had them wrap it.

Does that bring tears to your eyes and a smile on your face - OR WHAT!?!?!

I will say, after almost 24 years of marriage, that wonderful man never ceases to amaze me!!

Of course I was feeling guilty and had to make sure that he understood I wasn't whining or complaining ( just trying to make a point - I never intended to make him feel like I had to have the purse) - our life is great, things have changed, but God is good and HE doesn't change!

PS For those of you that guessed ELIZA island - you were right. It's a beautiful place!

Where in the world is Randy...................?

Now before you go getting all upset - I DO know where Randy is!

One of his friends from ski patrol hired him to build a new deck and other repairs at his island cabin. Of course when he asked Randy if he wanted to do the job, he wasn't hesitant at all - imagine that :-0!

He goes out a few days at a time, ties our boat up to a buoy in the harbor and takes the dinghy into shore.


Now - I want you to guess which island he is on (if you know, you can't make a "guess").

Here is the cabin (it faces North).
Here are a couple clues.................
- this island has no ferry service
- it is only about 30 minutes off B'ham (and not it's not Lummi Island)
- several Lynden people have cabins there

Good luck guessing!

Don't Judge me.....................

And certainly DO NOT tell my boss!

This is the my husbands coffee of choice.....................
Those of us who love him have tried to everything - even the 12 step program! He will not quit! I've offered to set the timer on the coffee pot - but no - he actually LOVES this stuff! Oh well - I did say for better, for worse............................

Does he not know where I work - I mean when your wife works for Woods coffee, you don't drink instant!!

A beautiful day for a race.................to watch!

Yesterday Randy was in a team for the Ski to Sea Race - I believe this is about his 12th year. His Ski Patrol "C Team" from Mt. Baker enters this race with 4 other teams representing the mountain. These guys always place in the top 100 out of over 400 teams..........but then wouldn't you hope that they would since they are the ones up there saving your life on the mountain?!?! :-). We set out about 11am with Tanya and Jason and headed to watch out biker come in. Dan, Marla and Kameryn Raske joined us at Squalicum Harbor, and Dave and Kim Tjoelker met us at the finish!

Randy helping our biker in at the Everson Park - did I mention it was gorgeous outside!! (the best part - my friend Tanya across the street made me an iced latte' - thanks Tanya!!)



Randy waiting for the handoff from the mountain biker..............

Our friend Jason helping Randy get in his Kayak at Squalicum Harbor..........

Go Randy go, race Randy race, (at this point we run to the car and race across town to Marine Park to be there when he gets in..............................


Randy get out of his Kayak at Marine Park - it's great they have so many there to help!

After he kayaks 5 MILES!!!! - he has to run up the hill and across the finish line!!


An exhausted and relieved Randy crossing the finish line!!

Ready to go home and have steak and shrimp! We had the team party here afterwards and I was so busy playing hostess, I didn't take one picture :-( - I even forgot the team picture!

Today - is a sit and relax day with a barbeque with friends at 4pm.

Tomorrow I will blog ALL the work my hubby got done around here this week - CRAZY - the man's an animal!! It's looking gorgeous!! Here's a sneak peak........................

The shower is done!!!! YIPEE!!

Wow - now you know why they charge so much to have a tiled shower put in! My poor, hard working husband has finished the tiled shower in our bathroom! Yes, I'm aware we've been in the house for 8 months, but honestly, this job was a beast. And frankly after we worked our tails off to get in this house in less than 5 months - WE WERE TIRED!!! Randy worked every spare evening and Saturday for the last 6 weeks to get this monster done............and he did it!

This shot is from the bathroom looking into the shower........................

This shot is dark, but it shows the listello and the cool showerhead, this one is mine because it's shorter because I don't like water shooting on top of my head and into my face..................

This shot is inside the shower looking at Randy's showerhead - taller for him - he DOES like water shooting on top of his head and into his face :-)!!

So if you call and I don't answer, I might just be enjoying my shower too much!!!

Ever felt like this..........................?

These are shirts that just kind of sum it all up!! Our dinner group guys have them (as you can see), and it was so funny, because when we all went away for New Years - they all 3 had brought theirs!!

I didn't end up getting to be home this morning because I ended up having to work until 1pm and then I had to do some banking for the school.

Now I am home and have a list a mile long and my brother and SIL are coming for dinner.

I'm trying a new recipe tonight - "Maple-Glazed Pork Chops", if it's any good I'll share! Along with the pork chops, we're having au gratin potatoes, swiss green beans and crusty bread!

Better get busy.......................

Happy Anniversary!

Today was our 23rd anniversary! It blows me away that in 2 years we'll hit our 25th! I remember my parents celebrating their 25th! I am blessed to have Randy as my husband! He is the consistent, non-dramatic, "staying point", in my life! He is my friend - and he has proven his love for me over and over through the years! (I know I couldn't handle being married to me! :-)

Tonight we had dinner with the Jansens and Raskes. It's always a special treat to get together with our "Dinner Group", but it was even more special because they wouldn't let me bring anything. Well, anything but the makings for Lemon Drop Martinis.........so we started off with those.

Then of course, Kathi had the table all set up with the "LOVE" theme! It was beautiful!


The dinner was delightful and then we hot tubbed for about an hour at the end! It is such a blessing to have friends that have the same values, beliefs, likes and dislikes, the men get along as well as the women do, but best of all friends that have been friends for years!

Kathi was a bridesmaid at our wedding 23 years ago and then I was her bridesmaid when she and Jeff got married almost 18 years ago!


We've known Dan and Marla for almost 18 years and we became fast friends and have just grown closer through the years.

Bay of Islands - last stop!

Morning coffee in Paihai - last port of call...

The view from the mountain that Randy climbed - that's our ship in the harbor................

Another view of the bay in Tauraunga.....................

Formal night.........................

The black sand beach in Auckland with Doug and Lori...............................

Good morning to all!

For some reason I can't cut and paste the pictures so they're all at the top with titles.

It's 11:30 Saturday morning (which is 2:30 Fri. afternoon for you) and we are in the Bay of Islands in the town of Paihai! It's a beautiful little town on the beach, but then almost every town is on a beach in New Zealand!!

We just had our morning coffee and we will peruse the town and then hop in a tender boat and head back to the ship.

Yesterday we were in Auckland and Doug and Lori's daughter is dating a young man from here, so he and his beautiful mom were our escorts for the day. Again, it was such a treat to be taken around by locals.

We had awesome coffee in an outdoor courtyard, dined in an open patio restauraunt at a honey factory.

Auckland was beautiful and they say that 1 in every 4 New Zealanders (which they actually call Kiwis), own a boat. No wonder we love this place!!

The next two days are spent at sea. Then we arrive back in port to Sydney on Tues. morning and will spend the day/night with Doug and Lori's friend's house overlooking Bondi beach.

Randy just reminded me that we hadn't posted about our favorite spot - Tauranga!! It was absolutely gorgeous little town with water on both sides. Randy headed out first thing and climbed up this hill - surprise, surprise, I stayed back and dutifully held down a lounger on the sundeck!!

We had another formal night, and were able to get some pics out on the deck with the sunset!

We will be leaving Sydney about noon on Wed. and will arrive home to Vancouver, BC about 7 am on Wednesday - quite a concept!

Kathi - we don't have to go to the boat show - Jeff just mentioned that he could get tickets. Our kids have a party at church all day so we're free - but by all means please let Jeff watch the Superbowl - maybe we'll show up with some chocolate if you decide to stay home!!! :-)

Nathan, Brandon, Emily and mom, we'll call you call from Sydney on Tues. We are excited to come home and see you all - we miss you so much!

A day in Wellington.

Today we are in Wellington,NZ. The morning started out cloudy (remember "the land of the long white cloud"), and now the sun is breaking through. We caught the shuttle into town and had a coffee at Gloria Jeans - this is the coffee house that is making it difficult for Starbucks to take over NZ and Austrailia. I must say that the coffee is better than Starbucks - less bitter - but still not as good as Woods :-)!

It is noon on Tuesday here, which makes it 3pm on Monday for you. We are going to walk around the city a bit, and then get another latte' and head back to the ship for some nappin' in the sun!

Amy - I've taken pictures of the hillsides - just imagine a horse riding across the ridge........


We'll have to get together for coffee and picture viewing when we get home. We bought you and Rob a chocolate bar at the Cadbury factory yesterday. It's called Energy, and Cadbury only sells it in New Zealand. It tends to be a more bitter dark chocolate rather than a milk chocolate. We thought you'd get a kick out of it!!

Tomorrow we spend the day cruising around a volcanic island that a french family owns. It's uninhabitible - they just own it because they can!! :-). So we'll basically have a day at sea. Then on Thursday we are in Taraunga, Friday in Auckland, and then some more sea days, so we will update the blog on Thur. or Fri.

Keep those comments coming, it's nice to be in touch with people at home, especially since it seems the password that I have set for my email is obviously not the one I thought it was and we can't access our email :-(!!

We love you all!!

The owner of the internet cafe just loaned us a device so we can download some pictures, so here they are - in no certain order at all....................

Our hike in the blue mountains.....

Our first beach in Austrailia, the afternoon we landed...........

More New Zealand countryside - can you say Lord of the rings, or Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?.......................

Guess where we are here - okay - it's the Sydney Opera house....................

Coffee in a streetside cafe' in Dunedin................

Our ship parked next the the Harbour Bridge (this is where you see the pictures of fireworks going off on New years eve.............the opera house is the the right of the picture..................

Yes, okay, I have a problem, but when these huge candy bars were only about $1.50 USD, I just had to get at least one of every kind.................Cadbury from New Zealand is so creamy..........remind me to give you all a sample....................:-) (Don't worry Emmy - mom has lots of chocolate just for you - maybe enough to get you through high school :-)


This is the wonderful family that we stayed with. We stayed with Sally (the mom) far left, and the Rene, John, Noah, and Elijah, drove us everywhere and were awesome hosts!! We now have friends for life in Austrailia!!

Love to you all - we'll post again soon!!