Been That, Done There

A very pathetic garden

2009-08-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

Our garden has been a bit of a disappointment this summer! After so much work with all the tilling and manure, the bazillions of seedlings, the newly constructed green house over it and the carpeted floor for weed control, we had very high hopes of a highly productive garden.

So far we have had about 5 yellow zucchinis (out of a total of 6 bushes planted), 4 cucumber (but there are 2 more on the way), a handful of edamame (out of 18 stalks planted), and 2 baggies full of sugar peas (before the record high temps killed them).

In all fairness, we are still holding out hope for the tomatoes and this beautiful lone eggplant on a suprisingly pretty eggplant bush is letting us know there's still a little time left!Totally unaware of the slow productivity in the backyard, my apple tree in the front yard has gone gangbusters! If you just look at the apple cross-eyed it jumps off the tree! I am pretty excited about these! They are my first fruit trees...pretty dang cool that they are actually making fruit!

We have learned that the soil is everything...we tried to improve our ho-hum soil with good stuff, but we really needed to cover the bad soil and start, or build on top of, with good soil. We know for next year now AND we also have a little better idea where to plant things and how much of each.

All in all, I honestly think the trips to Carpinito Bros regularly would be a cheaper and more time efficient for all our produce needs, but there is something pretty cool about seeing it growing in your backyard!

Almost the end???? WHAT?

2009-08-21T07:10:00.000-07:00

It dawned on me, during one of my regular stops at Carpinito Bros, that summer is drawing to a close. What? SERIOUSLY? How can that be? Well, the zucchinis don't lie! Each visit to the farm had mounds and mounds of zucchinis and rock bottom prices per pound. Of course I would load up with what I needed for the next week or so (which is quite a bit since I have discovered I love zucchini in EVERYTHING) and be on my way until the next time. (Keeping in mind I am not currently mentioning the other $40 worth of vegetables I HAD TO HAVE until the next time).

Well, this particular visit came the discovery of the itty bitty bin of zucchini. I was panic struck-literally! How will I make it without zucchini in my food? How do I get some and save them for winter? Is there enough, if I buy them ALL, for the winter???? You should know that I DO appreciate the fact the biggest panic in my life at the moment is how to preserve zucchini for winter use!!!

Anyways, I bought 10 lbs of little tender zucchinis and 5 lbs of green pepper and eggplants and headed home to start slicing and dicing for freezing these summer pleasures. The 10 lbs of zucchini took about an hour and half to slice up-not too shabby of an investment since in the winter the price for imported zucchini is more than 4 times what I paid today! Now that those are in the freezer I am once again panicy...is that enough? Do I have enough for the spaghetti sauces??? AHHHH!

I am half way through the eggplants, since you have to slightly steam them first to be able to freeze them and this morning the green peppers are calling my name...begging to get sliced, diced and frozen so they can be enjoyed another day!

If I get all that done and my work for today before 6pm, I am headed back to Carpinito Bros for more zucchini!!!!

Very spoiled chickens

2009-08-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

This moment brought to you by some very spoiled chickens

getting a yummy oatmeal & yogurt breakfast.

Sorry about the shakiness, I had to watch my toes...a hungry chicken will go for anything!

Renaissance Fair

2009-08-20T14:22:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we headed out to Buckley, WA for the Renaissance Fair. I hadn't been since I was a kid and this was Ken's first time going to one of these things. My little sister, Jacque & Vitaly, her boyfriend, met us there to join in on all the renaissance fun :)

It was pretty cool people watching! Totally Renaissance Fair goers to dress in the garb of the era. We were not. Some of the costumes were totally elaborate all the way to full on linked metal knight armor.

It was a scorcher of a day too! I got a little burnt and I can only imagine how how all those people were that were completely dressed up! WOW!

We had a good time. It definitely wasn't nearly as cool as I remember it. It used to be in a location where all the booths were sort of built into a forest like setting and I remember they had jousting shows regularly for everyone to see. The shows at this event were difficult to see and there was no jousting (at least not during the hours we were there). There really wasn't much of anything that we would actually purchase either. The vendors had products that were very appropriate to the era, but not so much to our current lives.

None the less, it was fun to hang out with my sister, to people watch and to do something different and out of the ordinary!

Icky but effective!

2009-08-16T19:45:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, I was at the Bellevue Arts & Crafts Fair and was thrilled to find a booth of natural/homeopathic dog products. As you might imagine, I quickly found myself deep in conversation with the booth vendor. This conversation lead to a natural remedy for arthritis in dogs.

The remedy was chicken feet. YES, chicken feet.

Well, it took me an additional month of watching poor Chaos limping in obvious pain before I decided I was willing to try it. Ken and I went to a local Asian grocery store and stocked up on chicken feet. Seriously, you can buy packages of chicken feet right there in their meat department-WOW!

I won't add a picture to this post because, well, it's a little icky to look at.

After a week of two chicken feet a day, Mr Chaos has barely a limp left. We are amazed. After a year of glucosamine & chondrotint tablets with absolutely no results we thought that was as good as it would get and at least it wasn't getting worse. After just a week, we have seen miraculous results!!!!

We are a believer in chicken feet!!!! WOW!

The dogs thoroughly love it when it's time for another one. One in the morning, one at night and we look forward to another week to see if the limp goes away entirely.

Once again, the natural cure kicks the butt of the pill cure!!!! WoooHooo!

Ken's Birthday

2009-07-27T10:25:00.001-07:00

Once again, we celebrated Ken's birthday out at Camp Kengi! And, my Dad-who hasn't been camping in 30 years, also joined us!!!! He learned lots of new stuff while he was there!

Cowboy and Ken kicked things off with teaching him how to shot-gun a beer. (Hand to forehead-sorry Dad!) :)

Then it was gift time....a big box, with a smaller box inside, with a smaller box inside that and an even smaller one after that, then the really little box. Ken had a ring his uncle gave him back when he graduated high school. He never takes it off...until it broke. That was a year ago. I secretly had it repaired as his birthday gift!
Then time for more fun stuff. Ken took over Bubba's quad and did a little zipping around. Now he really really wants a quad of his own, one that fits his size a little better!

I got to visit with my Dad for the weekend. I was so proud of him for 'roughing it' the entire weekend!!! 30 years is a long time away from the woods. He was a real trooper and I can't wait to get him (and Cathleen) out there again!

Then we just spent the rest of the time visiting and hanging out. The typical camping stuff! It was a great time, Ken really enjoyed himself!

Happy birthday Baby!

2009-06-24T14:20:00.000-07:00

It was time to do a little snipping to my basil plants to get them to leaf out even more. By the time I finished snipping I was excited to see I had enough leaves for a small batch of pesto! MMmmmmm, pesto :) So I picked off all the leaves and tossed those into the blender. Then I threw in a few cloves of garlic and some olives. I then drizzled it with olive oil.
Other great additions, if I had been prepared, would have been grated parmesan cheese, pine nuts, and sundried tomatoes.
Then I pulse the blender. Because this was a small batch I had to keep pushing the stuff back onto the blades. Went you do a larger batch the stuff seems to stir itself a little better. I didn't mind the extra effort, we were gonna have fresh pesto tonight for dinner!!!

Still blending...but almost there!

Perfect!!!
As it settles, the oil will rise to the top and seal in the freshness. The flavors will start to blend together and by dinner time, we will be able to have pesto over pasta, pesto on some toasted bread, pesto in spaghetti sauce, pesto on top of crackers with cream cheese...oh my gosh, I am suddenly very hungry!

Camp Kengi knitting

2009-06-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

As you know, I am a knitter. I am always working on knitting projects, most especially while we drive up to Camp Kengi and back.

This is my lastest knitting project I finished and I absolutely love it!!! It is the perfect Camp Kengi hat! Covers that dirty grubby hair in a super stylin' way!!!! I love it so much, I have already started a second one...you will probably see me in it the next time you are at Camp Kengi with us! :)

Besides my hat, I wanted to share this super cool photo of a skunk cabbage plant.

I don't know if you can see it very well, but there are rain drops all over the leaves and it totally looks like little drops of diamonds.

Even though this plant can be somewhat of a nuiscance because of it's size and rapid growth rate, I have to admit, this act of nature made it something to really appreciate...if only until we weed-whack it down the next time we are there!

Do you believe in curses?

2009-06-11T14:13:00.000-07:00

I never did...but now I do.

4 years ago we were searching for a house in an insane, highest bidder wins, market. During the second week in June 2005, we had recieved a counter offer to our offer on a house and we had to decide, right then and there, what to do. In that very moment, little did we know that the curse that came with this house was beginning. We accepted the counter offer.

During the second week in June 2006, as we got ready to go watch Ken's niece play ball, I went to give my little Berkman, a happy and healthy bunny, a quick snuggly before we left. We never made it to the ball game, we spent the evening at an emergency vet's where we said goodbye to my little guy.

During the second week in June 2007, it was a normal summer afternoon. Ken's kitty, Denver was hanging on the deck with us as usual. Then she started making horrific moaning sounds. Off to the emergency vet's again. That was the last time Denver ever hung out with us on the deck.

Just before June 2008, enjoying a BBQ with a friend out on the deck and a beautiful evening. Just over the back fence we hear a cat being attacked by their dogs. It was our cat. We spent the evening at the emergency vet's. That was the last evening we spent with Halebano. Maybe because the curse of the this house was off by a couple weeks, that is why a month later Piper, my happy and healthy bunny, for no apparent reason passed away.

And now, during the second week in June 2009, I held my breath, loved my critters and knew each was healthy and happy and hoped that it was all a coincidence and this year would be different. I hoped so much that I didn't dare say anything out loud until the second week in June was past. Unfortunately, silence didn't do any good. Maquiri was hit and killed by a car and I found him while I was posting signs that he was missing.

This house is cursed and the second week in June is the most horrible week of every year.

As I spend another second week in June, with my face raw from wiping tears away, I am going to do everything I can to make sure this family and all it's critters are not in this house this time next year. Mark my words!

Gettin' a little greener!

2009-05-27T14:57:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, we are trying to be a little greener and nicer to the environment.

We diligently turn off lights when we aren't in that room, I unplug all phone charges each morning, our thermastat is turned off for the remainder of the summer, and we ALWAYS use our reuseable bags when grocery shopping. All were small things that we have simply gotten used to, so it was time to add on to the green efforts.

While Ken was away at his pool tournament (sadly his team did not win!) I crafted my little heart out. At the top of that craft list were these reuseable sandwhich bags. No more throwing away all those ziplocks that have only been used once. Yep, you can put anything in these that you would put in a sandwhich bag. When we are done, we just toss it into the wash and use it again.

I am very proud to be doing my part to make this world live a little longer. I am also very proud that Ken makes his best effort to do the same! We are making small steps at a time so we don't go over the edge and run back to convenience products out of frustration. Little by little, these steps become part of our everyday life and we don't even give them a second thought.

If you do only one thing to help slow the destruction of the earth down-get rid of your plastic! Bags, bottles, and containers are the main culprit.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. It really is that easy!

The Great Silverback Fish On 2009

2009-05-05T14:29:00.001-07:00

This was the first annual Great Silverback Fish On-a resurrection of a long standing Kreutzer family tradition. With Ken Sr now moved into the house on Lake Morton it seemed only fitting to him and his kids to get this tradition back on it's feet.

The weather, on the other hand, was not as supportive as everyone else was excited.

But that didn't seem to bring any spirits down. The bbq went on as scheduled, even though we were short a few (dozen) guests but that didn't stop anyone from finding their party pants and having a good time.
For me, the best part of the entire weekend was having my Dad and Cathleen from Vancouver, WA join us! Not only did they make the drive all the way here for this event, they did it in a down pour of rain and gloomy skies ahead-yet they were determined to come and that they did! What a treat for me to have a little bit of my 'peeps' at a Kreutzer event!

The rain kept coming, but between the breaks there were many trout caught for the fish fry and lots of stories told around the fire pit!

Everyone is looking forward to next year's Great Silverback Fish On, but I think we are also secretly hoping for slightly better weather to go with it!!!!

Oh how I love my bread maker

2009-04-30T10:06:00.001-07:00

Seriously, whoever invented this contraption was BRILLIANT!

With about 5 minutes of my time filling up the loaf pan with a basic recipe and all the added morsels I can think of I just hit a couple buttons and walk away.

A few hours later the entire house has that amazing aroma of fresh baked bread that no candle can, well, hold a candle to! Just when you start to be able to smell it, you mouth starts to water just thinking about that first warm slice that will be all yours in about 30 minutes.

Then, when the aroma is too much to bare and you don't think you can wait any longer, about 5 minutes later you have an absolutely perfect loaf of real bread. Not that crappy, airy, non morsel filled stuff you get at the store- but a golden, thick, nutrition filled, loaf of bread.

And, while that first slice is oh so good with a bit of butter on top...the sandwhiches you make with this bread are to die for! Wow, if you thought that deli sandwhich from the grocery store was good-you would be blown away with even the simplest fixin's on this stuff.

I stand up and applaud the inventor of this creation-the bread maker. Well done!!!

Our Anniversary

2009-04-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

Last weekend marked 3 years of marriage for Ken and I. It was March 27th 2006 that we ran off to Vegas and got married. It was May 13th, on our 'wedding day' that we announced we were already married! People still talk about that one and so do we. We wouldn't have done it any other way!

To celebrate we headed to Camp Kengi for the first camping trip of the year. Ken was under the weather but was a trooper anyways! We visited with our neighbors while we were there and they told us how to make firestarters. Take a little drier lint, an egg carton and some was and put it together. I melted the wax with some Citronella for added bug control. Put the lint in the egg carton, melt and pour. Viola! firestarters. I will let you know how well they work when we get a chance to use them!
We also gathered loads of oysters from the attached beach. After gobbling up all the shellfish yumminess I took all the shells and smashed and mashed them as best I could so I could give them to the chicks. 100% fresh, 100% natural calcium supplement and a great way to reduce and reuse something that most people would waste. We also use the shells for traction on our steep driveway into and out of Camp Kengi. Oyter shells are a very handy dandy thing!

Once you know.....

2009-02-25T13:07:00.000-08:00

As you know we are working our way towards a 'green' lifestyle

Once you learn a little about the damage that the everyday household products and foods are causing, it's tough to ignore it and going on using those products. So you learn a little, you change a little, you learn a little more and you change a little more. Along the way you are possibly stopping the cause of something as major as heart disease or as minor as peanut allergies by tossing out that bottle of Windex and using straight ole vinegar. You are making sure the polar bears have icebergs to swim to and slowing their extinction by simply turning off the light in a room you are not in. These are simple things that make a big difference.

The more simple things I learn, the more difficult things I learn too.

The difficult stuff is the meats you get in the store. I won't even begin to tell you how horrific that stuff is, you can investigate that on your own(the book The Omnivore's Dilemma is a great place to start) and no...ignorance doesn't make it any less true. But here is one very minor reason (which should suggest how bad the rest is) why we now get our meats from local farmers. (http://www.meat.org/) The local farms are easy to find, just google farms in your area. It's pretty cool to get to meet the people behind the food you will eat and actually know where your food came from.

So...then next reasonable conclusions is, 'why not have our own farm?!'

Well, I do understand that we live on a very small piece of land and a farm really isn't an option...

But our own eggs are totally an option!!!!! Actually they are an option even on pretty dang small a pieces of land.

I will now introduce you to our source of 100% cruelty free, natural, farm fresh eggs!

I am SOOOOOOO EXCITED!

I have read every book the library has on chickens...selecting the breeds to get (I chose Ameraucana, Speckled Sussex, Rhoad Island Red, and Barred Rock if you wanna know!) the space needed, the number of eggs to expect and coop designers (thank goodness for my handy dandy contractor hubby who will help me build it!)

Aren't they sooo cute?! (sorry for the red glow...that's their heat lamp!)

Spring is Coming!!!!

2009-02-25T12:54:00.000-08:00

Don't you love it when you get a couple sunny days and all of a sudden there is that glimmer of hope that cold, short days are going to be gone soon?! I sure do!

As you know, we are really focused on the non-chemical way of doing things and that includes not only our household items (you know you all loved the detergent I made you!) but also our foods and our environment!

In an effort to start our garden out on a 'green' foot it was time to get rid of those weeds without those chemicals that cause 'who knows what'

I found this fantastic suggestion as a way to get rid of those pesky weeds and love the environment too! TORCH 'EM!

Yep- this definitely does the trick...faster than a spray bottle full of chemicals I might add! And I think Ken kinda liked doing it this way too...so that's another bonus!

While he did that, I got some of our vegies started!

The squash proved to be super ambitious. It was sprouted and pushing up the lid of the tray in two days! WOW! Some of the tomatoes are racing to keep up :)

Can't wait to be able to get them into the ground!

Big D's 16th Birthday

2009-02-18T08:07:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe 16 years have gone by since my little nephew was born!

I remember exactly where I was that day....aaaahhhhh

Well that little guy has grow into a fantastic young man and the family cruised over to Eastern Washington to help celebrate!

There was bowling...but we had to keep score ourselves because this place was a little behind the times

There was some pool

And of course the gift of cash for a guy saving up for his first car!

Then it was back to the house to stuff ourselves full of Tacos...a family tradition!

And stuffed we were....then it was time to hit the road and head on home.

A big thank you to Mr Ken for driving and hanging in there while us three girls chatted our girl talk

Big Ken's 60th Birthday

2009-02-18T07:50:00.001-08:00

Kreutzer family and friends gathered together to suprise Big Ken for his 60th birthday. Boy was he suprised! He thought he was walking into a regular poker game with the guys....but he walked into this ......
A house full of long time friends and family.

Then the party got going....everyone's gifts were monetary so he could buy his way into the next World Series of Poker this year.

Money tucked into a G-String

Cash gift wrapping

And a big ole 60th piñata stuffed with cash!!!!

It was a great time :)

A voice for the animals

2009-02-17T11:22:00.001-08:00

On Thursday, February 12th 2009 I did something great. I joined in for the HSUS Lobby day to be a voice for animals and it was FANTASTIC!

The current bills up for vote that we were there to get support for included, the issue near and dear to my heart, ending puppymills, ending animal abuse by not allowing a charged animal cruelty felon to posses another similar animal, upholding trapping restrictions and finally helping fund spay and nueter programs for those who cannot afford it.

The whole thing sounds far more intimidating that it actually was!!!! The way you 'lobby' is by simply finding out who your Senate and Legislative reps are and go knock on their door. Seriously, you and I can knock on their door.....not only can we, but they want us to!!!!! They want to know what you-their constituents-think. You can do this by knocking on their door, sending them an e-mail or giving them a call. Seriously, YOU can make a difference by speaking your mind. WOW!!!!

So I walked my hiney to my representatives' doors and I let them know that I would like them to support the bill to end puppy mills in Washington!

Even though I donate to so many animal charities I can't even count, I now feel like I have actually done something proactive to help the critters. I also learned that sending an e-mail regularly about the issues that concern me can make a difference.

If you have a cause near and dear to your heart, I urge you to contact your representatives! It's pretty cool to help make a difference!

Camp Kengi Homestead

2008-10-13T14:04:00.001-07:00

We were out at Camp Kengi over the weekend and I decided to play with my camera a little bit.

Thankfully, Ken and Cowboy were happy to play along with me.

Here we have the boys posing for an old western type shot.

This one I was able to capture with no flash-just the light of the fire

This shot I just did with what little knowledge I have of taking 'artistic' photographs. I am no Ansel Adams, but I think it is pretty non-the-less

Here is a shot of the Camp Kengi Homestead 'round the fire.

I am totally digging this old west look!

This one was really fun!
Cowboy was rocking out, but Chaos was holding still. I let the shutter remain open for a long time and was able to capture this shot!
Kinda funky huh?

Wish I was here

2008-08-26T08:29:00.000-07:00

I have this picture loaded on our desktop computer display....I had been changing the picture daily, but once I put this one up, I haven't seemed to want to take it down.

Doesn't it just make you want to go to Mexico RIGHT NOW?!

Camp Kengi

2008-07-22T11:18:00.001-07:00

Check out the SUPER AWESOME sign that Donna and Jay made for Ken for his B-day!!!!!!!

It's our new Camp Kengi sign!!!

How frickin' cool is that?????

WE LOVE IT!!!!!

We knew that we needed a sign for our new property...now named Camp Kengi, but the sign was sadly very low on the priority list in our hectic lives.

Thanks to Donna and Jay we have a Kick A** sign now!!!!

WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!

Rafting with my Sista*s

2008-07-22T09:27:00.001-07:00

After MULTIPLE phone calls from my big sis, urging me to play hookey on Wednesday to go rafting...I took a deep breathe and decided to throw responsibility to the wind (only for the day) and do it!!!

So me and all my sisters headed to Yakima River with my adorable nephews to go float the river for the day!!!!

Hip-man Dallas told us about his job choices...at 15 he has an oppurtunity to work at a fast food place which is a 10 minute walk from his house or at Fred Meyer which is a 20 minute walk from his house. Of course we all encouraged Fred Meyer because of the potential for growth...but at 15 years old, pretty sure the extra 10 minutes of sleep sounds more worthwhile to him. Isn't it amazing that stuff you thought was important at 15 versus in your adulthood?

Then there was cutie pie Ross who knew one verse to one song and sang it over and over and over and over. Sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, but always the same and over and over again.

Along the way , trying to distract him with food, we offered almonds. He KNEW he did NOT like almonds. Then after one, he decided he wanted the whole bag of them all to himself!!!

WooHoooo, we broadend the food horizon for one little guy!

Poor Jacque...what a trooper she was. The weekend before, she was out with us at Camp Kengi and got talked into eating a raw oyster. Well, guess what...turns out the beach was closed due to biotoxins!!!! The poor girl needed to be near a restroom everyday for the entire week. She managed to make it through the 2 hour float...but I am sure it wasn't easy for her!!! You're such a trooper Jacque.

Then there was Karla...no complaining, no singing of the same verse of a song, no upset tummy...just there to enjoy the float. Many people in our family never saw the day coming that her and I would be in the same room together, but it was absolutely fabulous to be able to be with all my sisters. As for Karla and I, what is in the past is now in the past and getting to hang out with her again was like not a day had gone by since we last saw eachother.

It must be a sister bond thing!

And then there's me. I was on safety patrol (of course, I just can't take a day off of responsibility completely!) and litter patrol (NO CIGARETTE BUTTS IN THE RIVER!)

I had a GREAT TIME! The weather was perfect and with my spf 45, I managed to float a river for the first time without a sunburn-that is a good thing!

I can't wait for our big family float in a couple weeks!!!!!

4th of July Weekend

2008-07-08T08:59:00.001-07:00

4th of July was a blast this year, as always! Our neighbors, Lisa and Derick, had ping pong tournaments and that ended up being a super great time! Ken and I each lost our tournaments :( but that's OK!

Ken and Jaime, of course, wrestled and Jaime was one hurting girl by the end of that. It sounds like they have finally called a truce to their long standing wrestling matches!The boys decided to try out some arm wrestling tournaments-can you say 'sore arms'?We were all having so much fun that the next time I looked at the clock it was 3:30 in the morning! HOLEY CRAP! Off to bed I went, and at 5:30 in the morning, Ken looked at his watch and finally hit the hay. I have NO IDEA what we were thinking staying up that late!!! I will tell you, it became abundantly clear that we couldn't bounce back like we could when we were younger...Ken and I were two very tired puppies the next day!

Then it was the part of the weekend I have been looking forward to for months! Putting all the bunnies together to form a colony instead of having them in seperate cages! I started getting them all spayed over the course of the last few months and waiting until they were all healed. This was the weekend, the bunnies and I were ready.

What a tiring job it was...Ken and I totally gutted the original Bundo, dug out all the old gravel and dirt and put down wire and new gravel. Then I added the hinding boxes and tubes to play in, then I added the bunnies. It was a very very very rough go at first. LOTS of fighting!

So I put them all in the back of the truck and Ken took us for a ride! This is meant to pretty much scare the dickens out of them so they will bond together out of fear. The bond was very temporary and the fighting continued. I woke up hourly to check on them and break up fights throughout the night, and decided that sleeping in there would make it a bit easier, so in came the pillow, blanket and chair and there I slept.

Then came morning, when they are supposed to be dormant, and I was away from the Bundo. That's when the major fight occurred. I now have a bunny down, and two bunnies that are clearly the leaders. The last 36 hours has been stressful, but we seem to be making progress!

The reason for all this hassle is to make life better for the bunnies and us with all our camping trips and get aways. This way, they will get all the exercise they need and want, rather than sit in a cage for 2 straight days until we get home. In the long run it will be well worth the effort!

Kreutzer Camp Party

2008-06-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend is the big Kreutzer Camp work Party!!!!

Everyone's invited and it's going to be a blast.

Yeah, it's a work party too, but with some many friends there the work will be fun.

Hey, maybe we will even whistle while we work...in a line like the 7 dwarfs. Hmmm-probably not, but I may try to make it happen :)

We will have an oyster/dinner feed on Saturday after a day of brush clearing. I am sure the drinks will be flowing too, so there will be lots of blackmail-I mean, picture opportunities. :)

If you are gonna be there, we can't wait to see you and have everyone check out our little piece of heaven!!!

World Series of Poker

2008-06-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

As you know, we are a Texas Hold'em family...both on my side and on Ken's side.

We bond over poker tournaments, discuss good and bad lay downs, hypothesize good betting tactics, and patiently listen to someone vent after a bad beat.

Well, Ken and Ken Sr are going to test their skills at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas!!!

I am so excited for them!!! I hope they both at least make it to the money. Not matter what, the experience is sure to be a story told around the fire for years to come.

Send them some good luck wishes on their big day and maybe we will all get to see them at the featured table when they air the tournament on TV!!! :)

Teaching myself spanish

2008-06-13T12:53:00.000-07:00

OK, so I am totally missing Mexico. We haven't been in just over a year and it seems like way too long to be away!

Since our next trip will be our 4th time in Mexico, we have decided we are going to stay in a more authentic area so we can see the real Mexico!!! In order to do this, one or both of us need to know Spanish. Absolutely determined to see the real Mexico, I stepped up to the plate and have been teaching myself Spanish. I have a DVD I watch over and over, I have flash cards I work on each night, I have CDs loaded into my mp3 player that I listen to while walking.

Admittedly, even with the hours and hours I have already put into it, it is a very slow process. I can count to 100 easily, greet someone, and ask how much something is, and that's about it!

I have given myself one year to learn a comfortable amount, then we will book the trip!

I am so excited!!! I think this will be the best trip to Mexico yet!!!

A broken heart...searching for his buddy

2008-05-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

As you might imagine, yesterday was a very difficult day.
I contacted animal control to file a report. They needed the report to be as detailed as possible. The images of the vicious attack flash through my mind over and over as it is. Recounting the event in frame by frame detail (I witnessed the entire thing) proved to be a challenge in composure-I didn't win that challenge.
Then I noticed there was another heart breaking. Poor Macquiri spent the entire day waiting for Holly to come home. He seemed bewildered when they weren't doing their usual acrobatic rountine in the yard first thing in the morning. The flips and running bolts across the yard with eachother. Then, for the remainder of the day he simply waited on the deck for her to come home...watching every inch of the back yard, just waiting. Ugh! If only there were a way to explain to a kitty what is going on. They've been together since they were weeks old...they've never been apart.
Ken and I talked to every neighbor that borders these dogs house. Every one of them is aware that there is a problem and has been aware for years! Every one presumes the fence will keep them safe. The neighbors most closely bordering have had issues, we urged them to send in additional information to animal control. I got the impression they don't want to make any waves. I am soooo wishing that they do the right thing...not just for us and our kitty, but for the continued danger these dogs present. I understand not wanting make waves becasue you still have to live next to your neighbor, but sometimes the risk is too much to ignore.
If you have any extra wishes to spare today, please send one to our neighbors that they will send in additional information against these dogs!!

A horrific loss of a very sweet tiny kitty

2008-05-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night we lost our kitty, Hallebanos!
She was viciously attacked by our neighbors dogs.
Holly was so sweet and had never learned to be afraid of dogs. This kitty, with personality to spare, would actually flirt with dogs by rubbing against them and rolling on her back in front of them. We assume that she attempted to do just this last night, but she chose two very vicious dogs and at her tiny size, she didn't stand a chance.
It was a horrible sight and today I will be spending the day determined to file complaints against the dogs, who also neighbor a daycare, and take it as far as I can. Looking back, I wish I had filed a complaint earlier because we knew they were vicious dogs from the day we moved in...but we simply thought the fence between us and them would keep us out of harms way. We were very wrong in that assumption.
What's worse is this is the third year in a row that we had lost one of our much loved pets at this time of year. After last year we feared it might be a pattern, but thought we were in the clear this year since all our animals are young and healthy. Again we were very wrong on that assumption.

Our Property

2008-05-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

About two months ago, Mr Ken-being the bargain hunter he is, stumbled acrossed an ad for a little piece of land just right for a couple happy campers. Mrs Angi-being the ever budget conscious person I am, was certain we couldn't afford. Both of us-certain this was a deal we couldn't afford to miss, came up with a plan:

If we cut back on our groceries, turn off any and all lights we don't need, turn the thermostat down about 5 degrees and only do the laundry and dishes after 7pm (low power rates at that time)-we could, in theory, save enough money to pay for this property each month.So now

We keep all the lights off and are very conscious of our power and food usage, the house is always a little chilly inside and we have a little slice of heaven to show for it!!!!

We have 40 acres of private beach rights to

a beach that is completely loaded with clams and oysters!

The landscape is 100% natural, over grown and amazing!!! We have about 2/3 acre of swamp with frogs that sing all evening long. And the other 1/3 acre is 100% perfect!

We have some mega trees....a few of which are very ready to be fire wood and Ken has already started a bit of the tree cutting process. I will tell you this much...the clean up of a tree is an EXHAUSTING job!!!

And of course we have the camping!!!! Our own guaranteed campsite...complete with clamming and oyster picking. Seriously can't get any better than this!!!

We are getting some clearing and cleaning down so we can invite friends and family to join us for lots of summer fun...for many many many summers to come!!!

We say Goodbye

2008-05-07T11:57:00.000-07:00

In March we said goodbye to a much loved Kreutzer.

He will be missed by everyone who loved him.

My last post was NOVEMBER?!

2008-01-15T08:35:00.000-08:00

OK, let's get right to the point...I suck at keeping up with this blog. Sorry family and friends!!!!

Now that that is all cleared up, let's get to the catching up.

In early December Ken and I went on a 7 day Mexican Cruise. We had been excited to see a few different places in Mexico so we would know where we would want to return to. We will NEVER return to Mazatlan! I actually had to yell at the vendors to 'BACK OFF' because there were such aggressive vulchers.

I am not sure that cruising is for us...by the 5th day I was more than ready to go home (getting a little cabin fever), I was approaching seasick and the casino became Ken's permenant cruise address for lack of anything else to do.

I was sure nice to be warm for a week in sunny Mexico though!

Then, what seemed like a blink of an eye later it was Christmas. Ken and I celebrated Christmas that morning then hurried off to his sister's for Christmas brunch. Then it was off to see his Grandpa's, then to his mother's. And just as fast as Christmas arrived it was gone. It's already mid-January and I still haven't even had a chance to get our Christmas gifts off to my side of the family.

Then, with the holidays over with it was time to get back to work. Ken, and his handy contractor skills, turned the walled in carport into a work space! From cold and drafty to warm and cozy, complete with new lights and everything!
Next up will the the plumbing and stove and I will be able to move my entire production to the garage!!!!! Woo Hooo! We won't have to step over eachother anymore while I am working :) Can you believe my little yarn business has grown so much that I need a workshop for it?! How crazy is that?! And that pretty much brings you up to date. I am sure as you read this we are already onto half a dozen other projects...so I will see you again in a few months to update you on those :) Just kidding! I really will try to update more often :)

I hope your 2008 has gotten off to a great start!!! Happy new year!

Thanksgiving come and gone

2007-11-28T10:27:00.000-08:00

Yet another weekend has come and gone in the blink of an eye...and this one was even a long one! Thanksgiving! Ken and I drove down to Vancouver (no need to tell us we were crazy to drive there on Thanksgiving day...we have heard it a dozen times) and of course got stuck in some ugly traffic. We hung out with my Dad and Cathleen for a bit, careful not to eat enough to have a turkey coma, and headed home that afternoon.

With Ken's love of Thanksgiving and all the fixins, we redid Thanksgiving all over again on Friday! Yummy! This time we stuffed ourselves silly! Yep, I ended up with a pumpkin pie stomach ache!!! (check out the new hair-do...do I look like an adult or what?! gonna have to fix that soon!)

Then of course was the day after thanksgiving christmas decorating day (which was actually saturday now)

Ken really goes alllllllllll out! The yard can't be any more than 20' x 20', but it is packed full of enough stuff for a yard that is a half acre big! It's what I like to call 'Griswalded' in honor of Chevy Chase's Christmas vacation. No need for porch lights when approaching our house, it is light as day even in the darkest night! :) Well done Babe!

I hope everyone had a safe, filling and wonderful Thanksgiving!

Halloween

2007-10-31T07:53:00.001-07:00

Things have been so busy I haven't updated this blog in forever....and it would take forever to bring you up to date, so let's just go from here! Saturday was the Valdez Halloween Party! Some of the costumes were absolutely phenomenal! Here you have Joe and Jaime and the Flintstones! You should have seen Donna-Mom, she made the spookiest female vampire EVER. With the effort these guys put in to their costumes, there has got to be some sort of costume contest out there....most at people at this party would have won!!!!

Then, over the weekend we headed to the Carpanito Bros pumpkin patch. These were some of the funkiest gordes I have ever seen in my entire life. We bought a few to help decorate our home for fall.

Then we were in search of two more big ole pumpkins! Ken did grow two fabulous pumpkins already, but we felt our patio needed a little more pumpkin halloweeniness.

We left with these two big ole honkers that weighed a whopping 101 pounds together. Geesh!!! Then we got those snazzy pumpkin carving patterns and made these spooky designs!

We are hoping that we get a few trick or treaters this year-not a lot of small children in the neighborhood. Either way we had a blast decorating the yard. Once again we are the most spirited house on the block! We are hoping one of these holidays our festivities will inspire more in the neighborhood to decorate too!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Denver

2007-06-06T07:55:00.001-07:00

Last night we said goodbye to Denver aka Fatso.
The day started out as any other normal day...Denver and Karma (the big ole black lab) cuddling in the bedroom unitl late in the morning.
Then, when Ken got home we heard a very pained meow from Denver. The trooper that she is, we knew something was terribly wrong for her to be making this sound. To the vet Ken went to get his kitty fixed up.
We had no idea what would happen next. Denver had heart failure and very suddenly, she was gone.
Denver was about 15 years old and was able to keep all the dogs in check...she had the labs trained to cuddle and clean her and let her have the doggy bed when ever she wanted it. She was a great kitty, she did her own thing and made an appearance when she wanted some attention. She will be missed!!!!

We're Back

2007-05-16T14:42:00.000-07:00

Well, back to the real world!! :)
Mexico, was fantastic as always. We decided that even if we went back every year we still wouldn't see everything. The above picture is me getting my 'Guppy Fix' (yes, I missed my doggy very much) at Atkchun Chen just outside of Playa del Carmen. The have a wild life zoo-which is NOTHING like our zoos here...at most there is a basic yard fence between you and the animals. The above critter is a baby wild bore!!!!!
The below picture is inside the underground caves-which were spectacular. I am not much of a world traveler, but of all nature's creations that I have seen, this was by far the most impressive.
If you would like to see more pictures, go here . I warn you though, there are LOTS and LOTS of pictures, tons from these caves and the other things we did!
One of the last things we did, which I NEVER thought I would EVER do again, was parasailing! Two years ago, I tried this for the first time and the thing was a 'fr%@gin' lawn chair with a parachute. I was scared out of my mind....so scared I couldn't wave to get them to bring me down, so scared that my camera was on my right hand wrist and I was not about to let go to give the camera to Ken, so all the pictures were taken from my wrist.
This time was in one of those regular ones, and though I was still petrified, and never ever let go (my hands hurt by the time the brought us down) I am glad I did it...it wasn't as bad as the first time...and now I NEVER EVER have to do it again!!! Yay!!!!

One Year Ago

2007-04-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

One year ago....
Hard to believe that a year has already gone by! It definitely has been the best year of my life. I married the most amazing man EVER...the love of my life!
I say one year ago rather loosely, because the above wedding was May 13th, 2006
Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong, and a few extra things too...the wedding dress wasn't going to arrive in time for the wedding....Ken's wedding band wasn't going to be ready yet...and so many more things, there just isn't time to list it all.
As this wedding day approached and things kept going wrong, Ken and I were at our whit's end with the whole thing!!! Then we decided our wedding day was for us and we wanted it to be fun!
So we did want any two people would do when they had a full scale wedding happening in two months........
We ran off to Las Vegas and got married by Elvis!!!We announced that we were already married during the ceremony of the above 'wedding'.
So one year ago...give or take a couple months...Ken and I got married :) Now it is time for us to celebrate our Anniversary-WooHoo!! We are headed sunny Cancun Mexico...the place where we started two years ago-the place that made the best part of my life begin!!!

We will be sipping Mango Daquiris and Coronas until the sun goes down, eating tacos and tamales until our stomaches hurt (ok, that's just me that does that), soaking up every memory of our surroundings that we can....I can almost hear the waves crashing right now!!!! We can't wait!!!

This is how cool my husband is!!!

2007-04-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

So, in the middle of a 'Yarn Crisis', with it taking a horrific number of extra hours to get the f**r#@n yarn ready to dye and a wrist that is now completely shot from skeining, my super cool husband quickly got to work on an electrical skeiner for me.
How cool is that?!
First of all, how cool is it that he can even create such things and second of all, how cool is it that he is so willing to help me with all this yarn stuff!
I seriously have the "World's BEST Husband!!!!"

Should I stay or should I go

2007-03-06T12:49:00.000-08:00

Well, the time has finally arrived where I can actually make a living on my creations!

A dream come true!!!!!...

The only thing left is to turn in my notice at work. Then my paycheck officially depends entirely on MY success...now that I can turn in my notice, I now realize how absolutely terrifying that really is!!!!

I tried to think of the last time I did something as daring and scary as this and the memory that came to mind of the above photo when Ken and I 'parasailed' in Mexico. It was pretty much a lawn chair with a parachute attached to it and the only thing stopping you from plummeting the the ocean below and being eaten by sharks is the grip that you have on the arm rest.

What you can't see in this picture, besides the fact that my teeth are clenched so tightly together they might crack, is that the camera is on my wrist and my hands had a death grip on the armrests. That meant any photo that was going to be taken, was going to have to be taken FROM MY WRIST because I was not letting go. Hence the angle of this photo.

Yep, that was ABSOLUTELY the most terrifying thing I have ever done and while quitting my job doesn't put me in fear of plummenting to my death and being eaten by sharks, it is a close second because it brings with it the fear of falling flat on my face!!!

Wish me luck!!!!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

2007-02-01T11:12:00.000-08:00

Everybody has an idea of what their life is going to be like when they grow up. What their career is going to be. Who they are going to marry. Basically how their life is going to turn out.
Yesterday, I realized that I have the life that I always dreamed of.

I got to marry a man I love with all my heart and loves me with all of his.

A dream of one day making a living on my talents that is fast becoming a reality.

HUGE thanks to Renaissance Yarns for being the spring board for that!!

The absolute cutest dog in the ENTIRE world by my side

and the 5 softest bunnies who are always happy to see me.

Three of the greatest friends a person could hope for!!

That's you Lisa, Linda and Jennifer!!

And a purpose that I pursue daily!

(boycott petstores that sell animals!!)

Knock on wood, but at this very moment

My life is exactly what I wanted it to be when I grew up.

What do you want your life to be when you grow up?!

Breaking News-Man makes breakfast on a weekday!

2007-01-26T09:12:00.000-08:00

Breaking News- the image that you seen here is Ken, at 5:30am, on a Friday morning! That's right 5:30am...an hour of the day that rarely ever sees Ken. Not only is he up, but he is making breakfast...a full size, hashbrowns, eggs, bacon breakfast.
Gotta say, it was an EXCELLENT way to start the day!!! Thanks for the breakfast, babe!!!

International

2007-01-24T14:55:00.000-08:00

It's official...as of 2:52pm on Wednesday January 24, 2007 A Swell Yarn Shop yarns are going to be INTERNATIONAL!!!!! A store in Ontario Canada has placed an order for Duet Sock Yarns. How cool is that?!
I am doing a happy dance right now!!!! Wooooo Hooo!

Bunny Incognito

2007-01-24T11:32:00.000-08:00

This is Pearin...she is on a mission and has been tunneling through her hay. What she doesn't know is that even in her hay camouflage we can still see her. Sorry to burst your bubble bun bun!!!

A good start to 2007!

2007-01-24T11:23:00.000-08:00

Well, 2007 has been an amazing year so far for me!!! I have been discovered!! Renaissance Yarns came across the line of yarns I create and they are now the premier (besides me) distributor of my yarns!!! Not only that, but upon delivery of their first order, they placed another order of the same size...time for me to get yarn dyeing!
In addition to now being carried in a yarn store, the yarns I have created are also selling out in 24 hours on A Swell Yarn Shop. My intent, once I do get completely stocked on the website and deliver the order to Renaissance Yarns is promote my yarns to other shops about the country. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

For those of you who are not knitters, the above yarns are my line of Duet Sock Yarns. The socks pictured here are what the yarn will make. Pretty cool, huh?!

Here comes Santa Clause! And Snow!!!!!

2007-01-24T11:10:00.000-08:00

Another snow storm!!! The snow hadn't even disappeared from the last storm and we were blasted again. They said we could expect 2", we got 8" in 2 hours!! We lit up the fire pit and enjoyed the weather. Since the temperatures remained below 32 degrees, the snow stuck around for a week. Word on the street is another major snow storm the second week of February! Maybe it's the kid in me that never grew up, but I am sooooooooo hoping for another snow storm!!
Just before the snow storm we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas. Santa was very generous to the critters! Bones and balls and play-things galore. Santa was also very good to me, too! Got a super cool MP3 player that I am still learning to work....it's says it will even hold a movie!
Ken made me the most sweetest, most thoughtful gift ever for Christmas. He made me a head stone for my bunny Berk who is buried where his garden was. Do I have the most amazing husband or what?!
Santa was all about the Seahawks for Ken this year...as you know, they didn't make it into the Super Bowl...but I am sure Ken will be showing off his team spirit year round!
I hope everybody's Christmas and New Year's was as nice as ours. Happy 2007!

HSUS

2006-12-20T14:54:00.000-08:00

Can't get blogger to load any pictures, but I found this and had to share it....
The majority of pet store puppies come from puppy mills. Puppy mill breeding dogs suffer immeasurably as their needs are routinely ignored and compromised. A lifetime in a cage for an animal as highly social as a dog is psychological torture. Puppy mill breeding dogs are routinely forced into a life of poor quality housing (wire or concrete cages), poor quality food, poor quality water that is often dirty and algae-covered and poor quality—if any—veterinary care.
Puppy mills breed indiscriminately, perpetuating congenital and hereditary disorders that are damaging to many future generations of dogs. This industry that accepts mistreatment and poor husbandry as routine is boosted every single time someone purchases one of the puppies at a pet store.
The purchase of a puppy through a pet store removes any chance of a puppy buyer (and usually the pet store staff) knowing the conditions the puppies were born into, the level of care (or lack of care) the puppies received, the conditions the puppies’ parents continue to suffer under, and the genetic and other health problems the puppies are carrying due to the lack of appropriate health testing and veterinary care.
Some breed enthusiasts suffer from the misconception that The HSUS is working to stop all dog breeding. This is not the case.
Our focus remains stopping the factory-style production of puppies, where breeding dogs are treated like machines producing puppies for profit. Our focus is on the hundreds of thousands of caged breeding dogs without hope of escaping to a life as part of a family, and on the millions of puppies sold at a high profit, but who have a greater chance of suffering from their own host of health problems due to their poor start in life. We will work tirelessly to stop this entrenched and blatant mistreatment of dogs.
If you are opposed to cruel treatment of dogs, and if you feel that those who profess to be involved in the breeding of purebred dogs out of love for the breed should be actively fighting to protect those animals from abusive breeding practices, we again invite you to join with The HSUS in our fight to end puppy mills.
If you are interested in working together to stop puppy mills, please contact Humane Society of US

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow

2006-11-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

Does it get any better than this? Your husband is hanging Christmas lights and it starts to snow....

So we captured the moment :) See the snow on his shoulder? Yep, That's SNOW alright!!!

Then, what to my wondering eyes should appear?!
MORE SNOW!!!!!!!!! YYAAAAAHHHHHHOOOO!!!
Ken and I enjoyed every second of our snow days!!! How often is it that you get snow days after you graduate high school?! NOT VERY OFTEN!!!!
This is just a cool picture I took of my little fairie statue of a boy and a girl fairie kissing... kinda pretty with the snow!

Picture of the Day

2006-11-17T11:26:00.000-08:00

Just had to share this picture of Denver (aka Fatso) who found a box to call her own! I think she is trying to tell us that she would like a real kitty bed of her own...one that Karma (yes, the big ole black lab and a little kitty bed) won't call dibs on.
In other news, though I didn't take a picture (but thought about it) Ken made the absolute yummiest chicken pot pie dinner! I know that it's a bit strange to mention a dinner that we ate no matter how good it is, but my hope here is that Ken sees this post and realizes that I really really really loved the chicken pot pie and makes it again soon. (I will let you know if this subtle hint works ;P )
Have a happy Friday and a great weekend!

Catch up

2006-11-07T11:18:00.000-08:00

OK, is it even worth me pointing out that we have been really busy, or does the lack of posting pretty much speak for itself?!
Time for some catch up...
Since the last post we attended Ken's cousin, Trever Kreutzer and Faith's wedding.
We wish them a lifetime of happiness!!!
As the Farmer's Market approached it's final month I got my first wholesale order from a gal in Auburn! I, of course, was beside myself with excitement!!! Keep your fingers crossed for me that more are in my yarn future :) While I was still very excited about this order, I also got the news that a highly popular knitting book (Stitch n Bitch) accepted one of my pattern designs and will have it in their upcoming advance knitting book! In the knitting world this is pretty big stuff!!!! I am soooooo excited about this!!!
In the mean time, Ken has found himself very busy and with out the extra help of a quality employee once again. At his whit's end, he decided we were heading to Vegas for a quick break... Of course we had a great time! We stayed downtown at the Golden Nugget for a change of scenery. It was a nice change, but we look forward to staying on the strip for my companie's christmas party in December. We got a little stir crazy with the limited options by the 3rd day. Also the new Fremont Experience is pretty lame! It used to be great music with a fun light show...now it's a so-so light show and I don't think they even play music any more :(

Then it was back to town...my birthday was on a Thursday so Ken made a king crab leg dinner and we watched Survivor on TV. What are the odds?! Survivor was a rerun-Geesh!!! I went out to lunch with Jennifer, which is something we need to do much more often!!! And Lisa our neighbor took me out to get my nails done-they look very pretty! Jaime caught wind that it had been my b-day (appearantly Ken got an earful for not passing on that information:P) and called on a few people to bring a party to our house on Saturday! It was so sweet of everyone to come on such short notice :)

I have admittedly caught the bunny bug and adopted 2 more white angora bunnies (pictures to come when blogger is working again). Yes, that brings me to 5 bunnies!!!! I have let the breeder know that should I contact her again she is not allowed to let me adopt any more bunnies :) They are all so sweet!!! I had ordered 5 cages about 3 weeks ago now...they have not arrived...I have over taken the kitchen with little bunny cubbies because they don't all get along with eachother....can't wait until the cages arrive!!! Ken seems to be taking the chaos well.
My Dad and Cathleen came up for a visit too and got to see all our critters and we got to meet their new puppy! What a cutie!!!! They also brought us our wedding gift which is a super cool bell that we are looking forward to hanging on the Kendo. It will go GREAT with our tropical themed back yard!

Then last weekend, we got to watch Taylor play her final soccer game of the season and ended with an undefeated season. You go girl!!! We also celebrated Bubba's 3rd birthday! (pictures when blogger is working) He got lots of tools and cars...what more can a little boy ask for?! It was fun...I imagine he played himself to sleep that night :)
Later that night we also celebrated our neighbor's b-day with a night of darts! Hopefully she enjoyed herself! I woke up with a sore arm...can you say out of shape?!

All in all Ken is soggy from work and enjoying poker tournaments and I am playing catch up on the website and loving the heck out of the new bunnies. Life is good at the Kreutzer house!

Bunnies first haircut

2006-09-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

Remember those cute fluffy little bunnies?! Well, those fluffy little bunnies got their first haircut on Wednesday and they were none too happy about that!!!Penelope (the little black one) was first and I did a TERRIBLE job!! It took me over an hour! She was not a happy camper-can you tell!!! By the time I did Pearin (brown), then Piper (grey), I pretty much had it down. The shearing was not nearly as scary as I had anticipated. I can tell that once I really get the hang of it, it will go very quickly. Just need to come up with a shearing system that works for me and the bunnies. Check out the funky coloring on Pearin! Grey on top with brown underneath!I gotta say, I am really having a ball with these little gals! They are so cute and sweet...but when they are running around out of their pen they are T-R-O-U-B-L-E !!! They get into everything! And they love love love the kitty's litterbox! So much so, they lay down in it once they have kicked out much of the litter.Their own litter box training is going ok. For three months old, they are doing very well...in no time at all they will be able to have full run of the house!

Waaaaaaay toooooo busy!!!

2006-09-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

I know it has been forever since I have updated this blog...We have been so busy, doing so much, being everywhere at once, that I just haven't had a moment to take a breath and look back at what we accomplished...only have had time to look forward and keep working our behinds off!!!
I have been doing the Farmer's Market, which keeps me busy Monday thru Friday evening making inventory and selling all day Saturday. Ken's been working late-that's they way summer is for constructions. Then in his free time putting some final touchs on the exterior of the Kendo and finally got it painted (need to add a photo). He painted it 'Cancun Sand' ...definitely goes with our tropical theme for the back yard!!

On my one day off a week I have been making serious progress on my front yard. What is not included in this picture is a bit more shrubbery and a pathway like the one I am standing on which leads from where I am standing to the begining of the driveway (more pictures to come) I am pretty excited! It's finally starting to look like a yard!.

Over the holiday weekend we went camping with our neighbors in Ocean Shores. We have a few fiascos (Chaos was not feeling well most of the trip and pooped ALL OVER the inside of the camper TWICE!!) but was a fairly mellow trip. Ken did some Surf Pearch fishing and caught 3. When he went to clean the fish he found 12 little fish inside one of the fish...So he caught his limit!! HAhahaha

I am not sure what they were thinking,

(coulda been the Pina Colodas on the beach)

but they decided to eat the little fish.

Then when we got home from the camping trip I drove to LaConner to pick up my 3 little bunny babies :)

Bunnies, Bunnies, Bunnies!!!

2006-09-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

In the last week our animal kingdom got a little bigger. I adopted 3 (yes 3) angora bunnies. Their names are Penelopie, Piper and Pearin.

Right now they are about the size that Berk was when he was full grown...I imagine they will be almost as big as Guppy when they are full grown. Guppy doesn't seem to be too jealous of the bunnies, he just cuddles up to me while I am sitting on the couch grooming the bunnies. The other dogs could care less about the bunnies...if it's not a ball, they aren't interested.
In the last couple weeks Ken has built the most amazing bunny condo (now called the bundo). Over this last weekend my mom and I shingle the roof (we did a dang good job) while Ken finished the doors and the various levels in the bundo.
So the entire set up consists of a 2'x6' pen inside the house in the kitchen and a hole through our kitchen wall leading to the bundo outside. It has 3 levels, ramps and carpeting. It's quite a kick to hear the bunnies run down the upper level ramp, hop down to the floor, up the step, through the hole, around and through the box in the pen and back out the hole and up the ramp again.
They are so sweet and soft and are going to be the most incredibly spoiled bunnies EVER...but you already knew that! I have included pictures of the bunnies and the bundo...I had to stand in the neighbors yard to get a wide enough shot of the bundo so the fence is in the way, but you can see all the levels and everything.
Come over and meet the bunnies and check out yet another one of Ken's fantastic creations! I am so lucky to have a contractor for a husband :)

Too Fast

2006-08-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

A sure indicator that you are driving too fast!

Larson River Float

2006-08-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we headed over to eastern WA for the 2nd Annual Family River Float, organized by my cousins Laurie and Dell...which I cannot believe I forgot to take a photo of!!!
We had a great time!!! The Larson's and their group tied up together and then we (Ken and me, my sis Jacque, her guy Steven, my mom and her friend Brian) tied up together. Many beers were consumed, jokes were told and lots of fun was had!
Sorry, no pictures of the float either since digital cameras and water don't mix well.
We are already looking forward to next year's trip :)

Busy Week

2006-07-31T09:17:00.000-07:00

Phew! What a busy week!! I am almost relieved to be back at work so things can slow down a bit.
Tuesday, I brought my neighbor Lisa to the Mariner's game for 'Stitch n Pitch' night. Stitch n Pitch is when a whole bunch of knitters go to the ball game together. We had a good time and Lisa even learned how to knit while we were there! WooHoo!
Tuesday was also my Dad's birthday-Happy Birthday Dad!
Then, Wednesday morning at 6am we were on the road for Neah Bay to go fishing. After spending 14 hours a day on the boat for 4 straight days we came home with one salmon and a couple bottom fish.
Guppy did great being on the boat!!! He pretty much stayed bundled up in this little doggy bed the whole time. He didn't even seem to care about the couple fish that did make it into the boat.

A bit of Landscaping

2006-07-25T15:06:00.000-07:00

Well, we headed off to the nursery and came back with a FULLY loaded truck! We got a few palm trees, a few hydrengeas, pretty little viney things, daisies, ground cover, banana plants and on and on and on.
So we got up bright and early on Saturday before the 100 degree weather was upon us again and we got to work. This picture does not do this cute little fence justice. It's a row of 3 hydrengea trees, a hand built little tree branch fence, wrapped in viney things, then in front of that is a row of daisies and pinky-greeny bushy things. IT IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE!!! I love it!!!
We were recently at the casino and I was fortunate enough to win enough money to get the supplies for a second pathway, so Home Depot here we come!!! Stay tuned for even more pictures as the yard starts looking like a yard :)

Later that night we gathered a few friends and family together for a little poker game. It was still way TOO FREAKIN' hot at 9:30 at night-but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves in spite of the heat. Uncle Dan was the BIG winner, Ken was in second place and Lisa came in third!!! Great job you guys!!!

The front yard

2006-07-19T12:42:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a picture of the cobble stone walkway with the new ground cover lining the edges. There will be ground cover planted in between the stones for more stability for the path....but it still looks pretty dang cool!!!
I already have the outline of the second path laid out in the yard....just need to gather the bricks and concrete and get started!
I also wante to share some photos of a few of the things popping up that I have planted :)

This is some cosmos I planted in front of the brick wall I made in the very front of the yard

The roses in front of the kitchen window

Something that I don't remember what it is, but it sure is pretty!

A Great Birthday!

2006-07-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Ken's birthday I had told him that he and I were spending the day together, then there was a birthday BBQ afterward...little did he know that I had gathered his good buddies and planned a day of golf for him!
The guys showed up at the door at 9am Saturday morning and Ken was very suprised!!! I served them up a hot breakfast and some bloody marys and sent them on their way!

By the looks of it, all the guys seemed to have a great time!

Then it was time for the BBQ! Lots of great food and friends....Ken was one happy birthday boy :)

It's somebody's birthday today!!

2006-07-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

That's right! It's Ken's birthday today!

Baby, I hope today is as super great as you are! I love you and happy birthday!

FABULOUS WEEKEND!!

2006-07-12T14:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, we had such a great weekend....we didn't go anywhere, we got some sleep, and did yard work. It may sound pretty ho-hum to some, but since we rarely get to do it, we enjoy it when it does come our way.
I did the market on Saturday and it was frickin' hot as usual and then headed home when it was over. Saturday evening, Ken and I sat out on the back deck and played cards, chatted and snacked...we didn't even bother to make dinner (unless cheap frozen pizza counts as dinner). We had our first fire in the fire pit in well over a month-that is not like us!!! Then on Sunday, we were up and at 'em!!! We worked on the brick accents along the drive way. Poor Ken burst his finger wide open when he hit it with the pick trying to set the bricks. I finished that job up and planted all the ground cover into the bricks...Ken dug me a new pathway from the front door to my car.

I got all the bricks lining the sides of the path and off to McClendon's we went for some stepping stones.

We came home with a super cool stencil to make cobblestones! Cobble stones were what I had really wanted so I was super excited.

It turned out great...I don't have a final picture yet, but I will be planting ground cover between the stones soon too!

Basically, we worked our booties off all day Sunday with great results!!!! And at the end of all that I crashed...right there on the couch!!!

Amazingly, an hour later, Ken and I pulled ourselves together and woke ourselves up and headed over to have a little BBQ with my mom, sister, and nephews. We took the blaser and enjoyed the gorgeous evening with the top down.

And that was our super fabulous weekend!!!

Busy week, and nothing to show for it

2006-07-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

OK, I am super lame...we had such a busy, fun weekend and I didn't remember to pull out the camera once!!!
Well anyways, here's the low-down. Joe's 30th B-day was over the weekend, so there was a big ole shibbam out at the Valdez Property. Then Sunday, Ken and I went cruisin the the Blaser with the top down. (Can you tell this picture was taken as an after-thought?!)

While out cruisin, we ate at a drive-in (when was the last time you did that?!) then headed for Home Depot. We stocked up on some really cool stuff like pretty ground cover for the front yard, orange tropical plants of some sort, a potted clematis and some strawberry plants.

Then came 4th of July...so sorry, but I didn't pull the camera out here either!!! Geesh!!!! Anyways, it was so cool! Our neighbors sure put on a show! And I am not talking about the whoosey stuff you get at the regular stands....I am talking about the full-on, huge aerial stuff!!! It was great!!! Wish I hadn't had to work the next morning so I could have stayed up for the finale which sounded like it was even more spectacular than the previous, constant, 3 hour show they had been putting on.
Bummer I didn't get any pictures, but I do have pictures of the yarn I spun with my new spinning wheel....

It's SUMMER!!!

2006-06-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

Oh what a great weekend it was! I sold my wares at the Redmond Saturday Market and had yet another great day!!! Then I arrived home to see that Ken had tilled up my entire front yard and took out every scary little weed there was!!! What a super great husband I have!!!!! That has been a daunting task I had not yet found the ambition to tackle so I was pleased as punch to see that!!! Now I am eager to get some new things planted in there!!! Pictures to come soon.
After Ken's hard working day and my very toasty hot day at the market, we had our first poker game since we have been back from the honeymoon. I, uncharacteristically, let the frustration of a loss on one hand affect the next hand I played and I was the first one out! :( Ken, however, kicked butt and got first place!!!! WooHooo

Then the weather was fantastic on Sunday, so we hit the water!!!! The lines for the boat launch were, not suprisingly, long- but moved VERY quickly. We were out on the water by noon. Then we wanted to do some tubing, so we called up my little sis because we needed a third person. We picked up her and her friend at Coulon (where we also bumped into Reggie aka Reg-dog) and back out in the water we went.

It was lots of fun! I even gave it a try for the first time....I had them go slow, but I think I will definitely try it a little faster next time :)

Then we headed home for a little BBQ to wrap up the evening. What a SUPER FANTASTIC weekend we had! It's so great to have summer finally here!!!

A rolling stone gathers no moss....

2006-06-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

We have nooooooooo chance of gathering any moss!!!

With one free day on this Father's Day weekend....Ken and I headed up to our annual '1 Day 1-der' camping spot, to sneak in the first camping trip of the year!!! We call it "one day one-der" because we were itching to go camping, but only had one day to spare!

The doggies, as they say, were Happy Campers chasing sticks and running through the nearby stream.

And Ken and I enjoyed a night away from the household chores, the yard work, the laudry, and on and on.

Lately, Ken's major challenge has been the weeds that are over-taking the garden....while we were sitting by the fire, with out thinking, he actually started weeding around the fire pit at the campsite!!!! Hahahahaha, I think we really needed to get away, huh?! :)

Anahiem Angels

2006-06-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, Jade, Jaime and I found ourselves suddenly in Anahiem California to watch the Mariner's Game.
Jade and Jaime had planned to go to the Mariner's game on Sunday until they found out it was in California...So, while at Jaime's B-day BBQ, Taylor's Coach and the DJ at our wedding (he must be a jack of all trades) piped up and said, 'if you wanna go, I will send you there'.....being lucky enough to be a tag-a-long, the three of us were on a plane headed to California 6 hours later!!!
It was a great time...did you see us in the stadium?Here are some pictures!

Berk

2006-06-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

10 days ago I was outside with my bunny 'Berk-man' enjoying the sunny weather. He wasn't acting like his normal self, but I didn't give it much thought.
Ken got home and we are getting ready to head out to watch Taylor's softball game so I was taking Berk back inside the house. That's when I realized he needed immediate medical attention.
Ken and I got to the Auburn Emergency Vet's as quickly as we could and I finally had to yell at the nurses to get them to acknowledge me. Don't ever take your pet there if they actually need emergency care....they completely ignore you and walk back and forth.
3 hours later, Berk was in so much pain that it came down to making the tough decision to put him to sleep.
Though he was less than 10 pounds, he was a huge part of our daily lives and he has been missed!

The Honeymoon

2006-06-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

Then it was off to the honeymoon....Cabo San Lucas!
That was a very interesting trip....we couldn't find a swimable beach for the first few days, got scammed on our fishing trip, and at our very secluded hotel the bar and restraunt closed between 7-8pm every night and there were no TVs or Telephones in the room.
On the bright side, we were very adventures with our food choices! We tried all kinds of tacos- from octopus to marlin. We also ate at several little hole in the wall restraunts, one with rooster crowing in the background! Those little hole in the walls were great because 4 tacos and 2 beers was less than $10.00. The regular restaraunts, on the other hand, were ridiculously over priced.
All in all, we had a nice trip and enjoyed our 2 weeks off, but we aren't in any major hurry to get back to Cabo. Here are some photos from our trip

The Wedding

2006-06-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess it's time for a bit of an update...Our wedding was on May 13th and oh what a day it was! First, let me start by saying....OH MY GOSH wedding planning is soooooooooooo stressful and time consuming!!! Every waking moment of our days was spent doing this, ordering that, stuffing envelopes, tying ribbons, and dealing with all the things that can possibly go wrong with a wedding. On that note, I have to give a SUPER BIG THANK YOU to Ken for being the most amazingly HUGE help through the entire process and skillfully was able to handle all bridal break-downs.
As the wedding day got closer and more things went wrong (did you know his wedding band wasn't going to be ready in time and my wedding dress was to come in only 12 days before the wedding), we still wanted to have the wedding to share with all our family and friends...but Ken and I wanted our wedding day to be fun and special for us.....So:
We ran off to Vegas and got married by Elvis and announced it at the wedding to our family and friends! We are so pleased that everyone got such a kick out of it!!! We were also happy we found a way to have a wedding for all our friends and family, AND have a special day just for us! It will be a great story to tell for years to come.

9 days left

2006-05-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

Holey Crap! Only 9 days left before the wedding! Needless to say, we have a lot on our plate right now!
Over the weekend I was in my first knitting expo for A Swell Yarn Shop. I have been busily preparing for the last couple months. Karen came into town to help out and sell her Sleeping Dragon yarns too! The expo went ok. We had a display dilema prior to opening the booth, but recovered gracefully (but by the skin of our teeth).
It was great to see Karen again (a couple months ago she moved to Utah) and in the midst of being here to help with the long hours at the expo and staying with other friends during her short few day stay, she helped me emmensly with wedding details. She asked what I still needed to do for the wedding, and after rambling off my every growing list, being the sweet thing she is, she simply took charge and said...'Ok, after this we will go here, here and here and get this, this and this done'. She even made sure I had the fun attire for the honeymoon-I've been so focused on the wedding, I hadn't even had a chance to think that far ahead to the honeymoon! With several things checked off my list and having such fun while doing it, I am so grateful she was in town to and got to do some of that with her! Thank you Karen!!!!!!!
Also this weekend was Ken's bachelor party! There suspiciously doesn't seem to be any pictures available from that party ;) so I don't have any to post, but I could tell by the big cheesy grin on Ken's face when he swayed through the door at 2am that he had a good time. With slurred speach he exclaimed, 'I have such great friends'! Not suprisingly, he spent the next two days recovering on the couch...poor guy!
Other than that, Ken's cracked ribs from a wrestling match with his sister are not mending as quickly as we had hoped and he suggested there may not be any fishing on this honeymoon. I suggested he drink lots of beer before we go and if that doesn't work, I will just catch enough for both of us. If you talk to Ken, please encourage him to give this beer therapy a try, I don't want to miss out on fishing! :)

Gardening while out of shape

2006-04-11T10:21:00.000-07:00

What a fun weekend. Friday, Dave and Cindy came over with a big ole artichoke plant to add to our garden. We enjoyed an evening around the fire pit and exchanged stories about our trips to Mexico...Dave shared a story that has the makings of the next non-stop action movie and I learned that Dave was trouble waiting to happen in early days. :)
While we visited I knit up this little baby sock...now, to the friends and family seeing this, don't jump to any conclusions...I just had a little bit of scrap yarn...that's the only reason I knit a tiny sock, not because there is any baby on the way- Sorry to disappoint. :P
On Saturday Ken and I went off to our seperate yards and got to work. Here is Ken building the tomatoe cages...yes it's a lot of cages but we plan to eat ALOT of tomatoes this summer! Little ones, big ones, yellow ones and red ones!!! We have visions of endless salsa dancing in our heads :)
Ken and his green thumb skills went right to planning the layout of this garden and the caged vegatables. While I was out in my front yard swearing and stomping my feet because my seedlings were crumbling in my hands with few survivors making into the ground. After I threw my tantrum for Ken he came out and gave me a lesson on how to 'delicately' plant seedlings.
This may not look like much, but to me it is a great accomplishment of the first seedlings I have ever grown and planted!!! And what's even more fun is I have no idea what I planted so it will be a suprised when they continue to grow and become what ever they are going to become :P
I do have the joy of sharing this photo, which is the first bloom on my first cherry blossom tree in my front year. How absolutely pretty is that :)
On Sunday Ken built a little fence around the garden to keep the doggies and kitty out and raked like crazy to get all the rocks up. I followed behind and picked up those rocks galore. Now the lesson that we learned from all this gardening this weekend...if you garden while out of shape you are using muscle that probably haven't been used in months. Though it may not feel like much effort while you are bending up and down to pick up rocks for three hours, it is actually the same as doing squats for those three hours. What this means is the next day you will be in much pain, and the following day will hurt even more!!!! Poor Ken, every muscle in his body hurt the next day...me, I am still in pain when I sit down or stand up.....We have got to get into better shape!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2006-04-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

Wow...things have been going a mile a minute for us lately but we had to stop a moment to share a little of the progress with you.
Check out the KENDO!!! This is the upstairs 'poker room' portion of the Kendo and as you can see there is carpeting, the walls are painted, the electricity is hooked up, the cable is connected and the TV and Refridgerator are plugged in and on!!! Ken did an amazing job!!! The section with the insulation is soon to be a door leading out to the upstairs deck. I will try to add some better pictures, because this one angle just doesn't do Ken's amazing work justice!!! Or better yet, stop by and come see it for yourself :)
While Ken has been working night and day on the Kendo, I have great progress on the wedding plans. The wedding invitations went out and they were absolutely perfect!!! Between you and me, the main part I always looked forward to with my wedding was the making of the invitations...the rest is just icing on the cake :) I will post a picture of the invitation soon.
A few dear friends also got together to help make the wedding decorations and favors!! Again, they turned out just perfect :) There were pinwheels as far as the eye could seen in the room :) I love them so much I am thinking that I will be hanging them in the guest bedroom after all the wedding hoopla is over. Linda, Donna, Jacque and Jennifer did such an amazing job putting the favors and decorations together and I want to say a SUPER HUGE THANK YOU to them...it really meant a lot to me to have you there!!!
We have lots of other stuff going on too and I promise to get more photos and update again....in the works are the new garden schedule to get started this weekend, a few loose ends for the wedding then some serious planning for the actual day, preparations for a knitting expo in a few weeks, the downstairs of the Kendo started on (then the garage gets cleared out and the home expansion begins) and keep your fingers crossed that I got into the Farmer's Market.
Until next time, enjoy that unusual, warm, bright, yellow thing in the sky :)

Rolling with the punches

2006-03-07T15:38:00.000-08:00

Oh My Gosh...no wonder brides get wedding planners!!! You would be amazed at all the details that go into planning a wedding! Happily, I am just about at the assembly phase for the wedding invitations! I hit a serious creative block coming up with the design for these! Now things are moving right a long, though I am about 3 or 4 weeks behind, I should be able to get them out soon. I think I am going to be giving my soon-to-be-mother-in-law a call to see if she'd like to help put these together with me.We have run into a few bumps and bruises along the way for this wedding...the wedding dress is going to be three weeks late and I am hoping there will be time for alterations, Ken's wedding band will likely not be arriving in time for the wedding, the bachelorette party has crumbled after months of talking and planning, an arguement as a result of the bachelorette party is the reason one of my bride's maids has decided to not be part of the wedding, still haven't decided on or ordered the tux's (how long does that take anyways?), and I had food poisoning while I shopped with my bride's maids for their dresses. I am thinking it can only get better from here, but I am not holding my breath!! In the end the wedding is all about the reception anyways...and that is coming together GREAT, so that's a good thing.In the mean time, my little sprouts are growing like crazy...now if the weather would starting being a little more predictable, I would plant them outside!!

All puppies at a petstore are from a PUPPYMILL

2006-02-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

After my last post about petstore puppies being from puppymills I recieved so many responses not only in the comments but sent directly to my personal e-mail about this issue. Some comments were to say Thank You for spreading the word, others were comments that they are certain their petstore puppy is not from a puppy mill.This is an issue that is just being learned about so most don't know enough about it. This picture is one of cages in a puppy mill. These dogs never come out of these cages, they never get to play, they never get petted, they are lucky if they ever get feed and when they pee or poop, it falls on the dog below.The fact of the matter is, if the puppy is from a petstore IT IS A PUPPY MILL Puppy.
*A real breeder cares about their puppies as much as you do...would you let a store clerk pick a person to take care of your pet while you are on vacation-of course not. A real breeder would always want to know where their puppies homes are going to be....they would never leave that choice up to a pimpley faced store clerk. The petstore puppy DID NOT come from a breeder.
*But you say, 'I asked and they said it wasn't a puppy mill puppy'~Of course they said it wasn't from a puppy mill...are they really going to say, "yes- we support cruel and inhumane conditions so we can make a buck".
*Were there more than 2 puppies in the petstore when you went in? If the answer is yes, you know that puppies don't grow on trees, they only grow in puppy mills. What are they odds that all the 'breeders' the petstore supposedly gets there puppies from happen to have a litter of puppies EVERY SINGLE WEEK. They are getting shipped in from puppymills.
*Are the puppies in the store younger than 8 weeks old? No real breeder would, in good conscious, let their puppies leave the mother until it was AT LEAST 8 weeks old- it lets the puppies be at risk for serious illnesses if they are taken away too soon. A petstore, however, can make much more money on a 6 week old pup that a 10 week old put so the mill takes the puppies away at 4 weeks or earlier.

The petstore is in it for the money not the health of the puppy. Any way you look at it, every puppy in a petstore is from a puppy mill. They are continually breed for puppies until they die. Death is the best thing that can possibly happen, because the pain and misery the dogs have gone through is unimaginable.PLEASE DON'T BY YOUR PUPPIES FROM A PETSTORE. THEY ARE FROM PUPPY MILLS!!!!If you want to learn more about it, please check out this site and do what you can to stop puppymills!
http://www.prisonersofgreed.org/index.html

Check the sprouts out!!!!

2006-02-22T07:36:00.000-08:00

What fun this has been!!!! Checking on my sprouts each day!!!! Those ones in the middle are about 4" tall already and I only planted them about a week ago!!! WOW!!! I am getting such a kick out of it! I want to run out and get more seeds to plant. What do I have in there, I have some Cosmos, Nasturtiums, Impatients, Daisies and one called 4'oclock mix. I can't wait to palnt them outside!!!!! :)

Fishing Derby

2006-02-22T07:18:00.000-08:00

Ken and I headed up to Sequim for the weekend to enter the fishing derby. "Are you crazy?!" you may be thinking since the temperature had dropped to the teens during the week and the ground was frozen solid. My answer, YES! but Shawn and Dan (who didn't even show up the first day) wanted to go and though we had a million and a half things to get done at home, Ken didn't want to let them down.
Ken and I had a great time! It wasn't nearly as bone chilling cold as one would imagine! We had lots of hits, but no fish in the boat. We could see lots of seals swimming around making the fishing that much more difficult to catch. Guppy even got to come out on the boat. He did such a great job...all bundled up in the cutty.
Finally Shawn and Dan arrived and sadly, brought with them their standard 'Tease and Taunt Ken until he gets pissed off ' gameplan and pretty much ruined every chance of fun there was to have. All I have to say is With family like that, Ken doesn't need any enemies that's for sure.
All in all, I had a great time getting away for the weekend with Ken. But it really was too bad that two sour apples had to arrive with such crappy attitudes and ruin the trip.

Seedlings

2006-02-16T11:38:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is a picture of the trellis Ken made me for Valentine's Day. It is going to be just perfect when the camelia starts to get bigger. It doesn't block the big planter box that I will be filling with trees and shrubs and it WILL block that ugly telephone box in our neighbors yard. :) Yay!!!

Also, Ken helped me get some seedlings started on Monday and I have been checking them every day to see if they have started sprounting yet. I checked again this morning and I was so excited to see a number of the seedlings have begun sprouting!!! Aren't they the cutest little seedlings you ever did see?!

2006-02-15T08:14:00.000-08:00

Our first valentines in our new home...not suprisingly, we were too busy to celebrate. Tuesday is Pool for Ken. But with the time we did have before he was supposed to head off we exchanged our handmade gifts. Ken made me a lattice thing for my camelia in the front yard to grow against. It looks pretty snazzy out there!!! (pictures to come) I made him a fishing collage for his office and a picture mug. Ken also attempted to make a heart shape cake that didn't quite make it. But the thought was sweet! I hope everyone's Valentine was extra wonderful!!!

It's starting to look like a yard

2006-02-13T10:40:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning Ken and I headed off to McLendon's to check out some plants. I was determined to make some progress on the front yard so that it wasn't just dirt!!! With the bulbs I had planted a few day prior and the packets of seeds I had picked up, I was excited to get started. I know the picture is terrible, but what you see on the left is a cobblestone eding I put along the driveway with some ground cover planted in between the stones. I also put in those flowers that Ken got me (I don't know what they are) and Ken transplanted that big ole tree from the back yard. I also planted a Cherry bloosom tree in the planter box and a pink shrubby flower bushy in the front brick area. I will get a better picture of it all soon.

In the meantime, with every free moment he's got, Ken has been busily working away at getting the Kendo insulated and drywalled. In just a few days he has made great progress.

When he wasn't working on the Kendo, Ken helped get his Uncle Dan set up with internet so he could play poker on-line. Now the two of them play poker in the same tournaments as much as possible. Both Uncle Dan and Ken are completely hooked!!!!!

After a long Saturday of working on our projects we invited a few people over to hang out by the fire pit...I am not sure how exactly it came up, but Shawn got his ear pierced by Jaime with a fish hook.

My little sister came by, too so she got the oppurtunity to see some of the crazy stuff this Kreutzer family does!!! It will be the last time I get to see my sis for a while because she is moving to UTAH this week. I wish her the very best of luck on her adventure!!!!!!

This week I will hopefully be getting a great start on the wedding invitations. Those have to go out soon and I am drawing a complete blank for ideas for them. I am also planting a few seedlings in a little starter box for transplanting for later. I don't have much of a green thumb so keep your fingers crossed for me :) Ken has a busy week of work ahead of him now that the nicer weather is rolling in, then he is off for a fishing derby this weekend. Hopefully the weather will hold out for them!!! Happy Valentine's Day to everyone and have a great week!

Donna's Birthday

2006-02-07T08:56:00.000-08:00

After a couple schedule delays, Donna and I finally got together to celebrate her birthday with a pedicure. As we both sat down to enjoy our little bit of luxury, it seemed that the gals were more in a competition to see who could get done the quickest as opposed to making the customer comfortable. The girl doing my toes was in such a rush that she broke the skin with the clippers. OuCh!! Donna...if we do pedicures again lets NOT go back to that spot!!!!
Since we were done in lightening speed, we headed back to Donna's place and I got to take a peak at a few knitting projects she is working on. There was even a completed pair of cute little slippers!!! I knew I could get her hooked on knitting-hehehehe :P Donna, I hope your birthday was great and I can't wait to see the shrug when it gets finished!

Crazy Busy

2006-02-06T07:31:00.001-08:00

Well, we survived another one of our crazy busy weekends-barely! Friday, while browsing the internet Ken found a potential rental property for sale in Okanagan...yes, Okanagan, all the way on the other side of washington! So I got home from work and we hit the road. We made it there before midnight and got a hotel in Petaros (where we smuggled Guppy in wrapped in a blanket). Saturday morning, we continued our journey and checked out the little town of Okanagan...it wasn't completely horrible. Actually, it has potential! This is the little house that we are hoping will be our next investment property. We are actually pretty excited because this is something Ken and I are really looking forward to doing (having a few rentals here and there). The house needs some SERIOUS work inside!!!! But we are up for the challenge. The scary thing is, with as disgusting as it is inside...the current own is about to rent it to someone! I am totally shocked that someone would move in the way it is, but in Okanagan I guess there's not much choice! Anyways, keep your fingers crossed for us!!!
Then we headed home and got to see tons of snow coming down on the pass. It was great to see a good snow at least once this year!!! The trip was long, but not horrible. We stopped in Cle Elm for some lunch and coffee. Within about 45 minutes my tummy was rumbling, by the time we got home I was really not feeling well, by time Ken was heading out for Larry the Cable Guy comedy show I was praying to the porcelain gods. Yep, I got to learn what food poisoning feels like....for the next 24 hours! Ken seemed to have had a great time with the boys at Larry the Cable Guy!!!!!
Then Sunday rolled around and I finally dragged myself out of bed and prayed to the porcelain god a little more. Ken was busy making all the munchies for the Superbowl party...He was so darn excited for that game!!! I headed out to meet my girls and try to find the perfect brides maid's dresses. I ended up choosing the one in the middle (straps will be added) and it's gong to be 'sweet pea' pink. It seemed liked the best one to coordinate with the wedding dress. Now the wedding dress and bride's maid's dresses are done!!! Phew!!!
Then I hurried home, got sick again and headed off to Jaime's with Ken for the big game!!! It was a good game. The refs were more than a little hard on the Seahawks (maybe even paid off to be hard on the Seahawks) so that made it frustrating to watch. Had the refs been more fair (I mean seriously, one of their touch downs wasn't even in the goal), it would have been a very close game and more fun to watch. Oh well, it was neat to see Washington come together and be so excited for something.
It was also Ken, Sr. birthday. He got to blow out the candles on a football shaped birthday cake! Woo Hoo.
So that was our weekend...busy busy busy...now back to work.

The BUMPS GONE!!!

2006-01-31T07:42:00.000-08:00

Friday and 6:15 in the morning, Ken went in for surgery to get that dang bump on his face removed!!!! He came back to the room pretty loopy- but recovered quickly. The cut is healing nicely and as long as he remembers to take those vitamin E pills and keep the antibiotic cream on it, the scaring will be minimal!!! Yay!!! It doesn't even look that gross now!

Once Ken was home and seemed to be feeling fine, I went out with my bride's maid in search of the perfect dresses. Much to my dismay, not only do they not have any thing in Lime Green (which doesn't suprise me completely since not that many people love lime green) but we could not find one single dress in BABY PINK. This SHOCKS me!!! Isn't pink in just about every single wedding?!

Now I am toying with the idea of changing the colors to pink and brown, my second favorite color combination of all time. After a bit more searching, I have found bride's maid dresses that can be ordered on-line (but then you can't try them on first) in the exact right colors, but that takes 10-14 weeks. The other, more stressful option, wait until spring and see what comes out in the department stores. AAAaaaahhhhh. What to do......

Then Saturday rolled around, Ken seemed to be doing just fine so we headed up to Mukilteo to check out some of the rental stuff for the wedding (the chairs, tables, etc). We left with a few great ideas and feeling pretty good about the stuff coming together ok. I should be ordering that stuff in the next week or so.

After that early morning roadtrip, Ken was off to the sportmen show with Uncle Dan, Shawn, Jay and Joe. I was off to the salon for my first time at getting my hair colored by a person instead of a box. I was excited!! I am still getting used to it, it seems dark to me, but Ken swears that's what he remembers my natural hair color looking like. What do you think?

Then Saturday came to an end and Sunday rolled around and we were off to the hardware store. Ken was going to make me a yarn dying rack so I could take on a few more skeins at a time.

We strolled around the hardware store for at least an hour!!! Ken is like a kid in a candy store when he is at home depot. I am pretty sure we went up and down every isle there and we only needed three things for the yarn rack. :) Well, we got home and Ken whipped out the yarn rack in about 5 minutes!!! WooHoo!! I was dyeing yarn within a half hour of getting home from home depot. Check out what I made.

While I dyed yarn, Ken headed outside....the Kendo update: it is about to have electricity, heat, insullation, and dry wall! Ken has explained the whole thing to me, but from what I understand, we are stuck with the crappy electric that we have in the house now and the Kendo is going to have to share it for a little while until we build onto the house and can get new seperate electricity for the Kendo and our house.

And there you have it, our weekend in a nutshell. Our week ahead is pretty typical, Ken has pool, I have knitting, SURVIVOR STARTS ON THURSDAY!!!!!, and Friday we start the mad dash, we call the weekend, all over again :) I hope everyone has a great week!

2006-01-25T07:57:00.000-08:00

Wedding favor and decoration supplies are here and waiting to transform into their pretty wedding things. Time to gather up some helpers for crafting. :)

2006-01-24T09:07:00.000-08:00

Another weekend come and gone! We had a 'serious' poker game on Saturday...my mom and I were the only ones left standing. We split the pot instead of dragging out the game for another hour. Then, everyone went home and Ken and I were left all alone at 10:30pm on a Saturday night and we weren't quite sure what to do with ourselves...so we spent the next few hours with me kicking his tail at poker and gabbing about everything under the sun. Then Sunday came... not that I have the first idea what all is going on with the Seahawks, but I do know that Ken is a super happy camper because they are going to the Superbowl. Fireworks could be heard for a good hour Sunday evening and I figured it had to be because the Seahawks won! Indeed they did and now Ken has suggested we go to the superbowl for our honeymoon early...HaHa-I am pretty sure he is kidding ;) This week has been off to a nice start, the sun is shining, the condo is rented again, and wedding plans are on a roll. I hope your week has also gotten off to a great start!! Happy Tuesday!

So much in so little time

2006-01-16T08:30:00.000-08:00

Ken and I both had a very busy weekend. Bright and early, Ken was off to show the condo to a potential renter. Fingers crossed that that works out! And speaking of the condo, here is a picture of what 25 days of non-stop rain is doing to the boat docks (which are well under water) and the parking lot. Another foot or so of water and that cabana will be in the water too. Yikes!!!
The area here on the right and beyond that boat that seems to be just floating in the middle of the lake (it is actually timed to the underwater boat dock still) was the grassy area I would take Guppy out to. You can even see the picnic bench that used to sit at the waters edge!!!

After the condo, Ken was off to watch the Seahawks game with the boys!!! I was off to go wedding dress shopping with my little sis.
We went here and there and landed at a bridal shop in Eastgate. It was beyond intimadating. There were dozens of bride in there with all SIX of their bride's maids and their mom's fluffing their dresses. I have got to get a bride's handbook because I did not know you need a fleet with you for these sorts of things. Karla was a big help!!!!! The first dress we saw on a dress form was exactly the style dress I wanted. But I didn't find much on the hangers that I was interested in trying. Karla suggested a few and though none were ringing my bell I went to try them on and asked if I could try the one on the dress form. The one on the dress form was THE ONE!!! (Nope, the picture here is not the actually dress because Ken isn't allowed to see it) It fit beautifully and it just so happend to be part of the Trunk Show and was on sale for that weekend only! WooHoo! Sold!!! My wedding dress will be arriving in April!
Meanwhile, Ken was enjoying the Seahawks game and I headed over to Jaime's later that evening. Ken grabbed this shot of Bubba cruzin' on the motorcycle...what a cutie!!!
Jaime, once again, was champion of a wrestling. Actually, her challenger forfieted, but it still counts! :)

Then Sunday, Ken and I left to do our own thing...I spent the afternoon with Karen who is a good knitting friend who is moving to Utah this week. She is staying in Federal Way and neither of us know the area so it was a bit of an adventure!! Ken headed over to his Uncle Dan's and helped him kick butt on some poker tournament right before he helped Uncle Dan get his new snazzy computer hooked up! I give it 30 days before Uncle Dan is on Poker Stars :)
Ken and I rolled into the driveway about the same time and had a taco feed for dinner! I was so full I could have burst...I have no will power against tacos!!! Ken enjoyed the season premier of 24 and I started a chunky cable cardi .
All in all, a great weekend!!! Now we start our ultra busy week!!! This week we have condo cleaning, another premier of 24, yarn dyeing, Tuesday night pool, Wednesday night knitting, wedding favor supply getting, decoration making, and another Seahawks game...and that's all after we finish our work day! Geesh!
Have a great week!

2006-01-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

Saturday was the Grand Opening of 'The Kendo' With electricity and all we piled 15 people into the upstairs. Bravo Ken on a job well done! It looks great!!! :)

2006-01-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

We had the first 'Kendo Poker Party'. Ken Sr. took the pot...so much for the house winning at the first game! It was a lot of fun! Then we stayed up until 5:30 in the morning...I have no idea what we were thinking!!!

2006-01-10T10:27:00.000-08:00

Went to the Wedding Show at the Washington Convention Center with Jaime and Jade last Saturday!!! I thought this display of flowers and candles was really pretty and creative. We all snooped threw the wedding dresses and I only tried on one...it wasn't 'The One' :( Jaime got her make-up done...and she looked a pretty flashy-don't think I will be hiring that company for the make-up! We tried lots and lots of wedding cakes all of which were not only delicious, but amazingly gorgeous too! I didn't leave with too much more information that what I came in with...but I did learn that a girl can spend a small fortune on one day! Now, on to the Martha Stewart magazines to plan my much less expensive wedding!!! Next up, Wedding Dresses and Invitations!

Happy New Year 2006

2006-01-03T08:14:00.000-08:00

Ken and I decided to head to the beach to do some razor clam digging and surf perch fishing to celebrate the New Year.

The picture on the right is the wind actually holding me up! It was so windy there! The storm at the beach was beautiful to watch, but it wasn't the best conditions for surf perch fishing. Ken did try it the second day we were there and ended up catching one!! Woo Hoo!
Then it was time to try Razor Clam digging.....
We had to wait until the tide was out, and unfortunately that was after dark. So we all headed out with our lanterns and looked for razor clam spots, and looked and looked and looked and looked and looked!!! There was a little bit of digging, just to see if we could find ANYTHING-but all for not! Not one of us ended up finding a razor clam :( When it started raining again, we all decided to call it quits for the night and head back to camp.
So far, luck had not been on our side for that camping trip...then it got a little worse. We were getting ready to hit a local tavern to watch the Seahawk game and noticed Ken's tire was flat! Ugh, then got to the tavern and the game had started three hours earlier, so we missed the game, then noticed that the rail on top of the camper had been ripped right out of the roof of the camper by a branch. Ken did suprisingly well with everything going wrong!!!
So back to camp we went...discouraged and in the middle of another rain shower.
We scrapped our plans to attempt razor clam digging again and just built a raging fire. Ken became quite the fire photographer
and I knit my way through the rest of the trip! Check out my super cool knitting headlight!
Though we head a few bumps along the way, it was a fun start to the New Year.
Hope your new year is a great one!

2005-12-29T08:22:00.000-08:00

We aren't scrooges or anything...in fact both Ken and I LOVE christmas...but the living room is too damn small to have a christmas tree in it. Last night (at least we waited for a few days after christmas...I wanted it gone december 26th) Ken took all the christmas stuff down and out and it is SO GREAT to have a living room again!!! As you can see, it's way too small to begin with! We are both very much looking forward to bashing out that wall and making a bigger living room!!!

2005-12-29T08:19:00.000-08:00

I have just got to say I absolutely LOVE my new christmas thermos. I got lots of wonderful gifts this year but this one just amazes me!!! Not only am I now able to have a second cup of coffee while I am at work, but this sucker keeps the coffee PIPEN' HOT!!!! It is the coolest thing!!!

Time Flies

2005-12-27T08:05:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh, I can't believe it's been three weeks since I have posted anything that's been going on. I guess it's just been THAT busy.
Well, let's go back three weeks and then up through the holidays....

First, Ken and I headed to Vegas with my company for our company chirstmas party. The first night we headed off to see Mystere with the tickets Ken got me for my birthday. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! Worth every dime of the ticket price. We highly recommend seeing any Cirque de Soleil show!!! Then it was off to find a $2 black jack table so I could learn how to play with out spending a fortune. Hours and Hours and Hours later, we both left with the $20 we started with and have a pretty hefty buzz going. Admittedly I became a blackjack fenatic for the rest of the trip.
Then, the second night we finally ran into some of my co-workers and came up with grand ideas of partying and dancing...we ended up heading to the black jack tables :) See, I told you I got hooked on it! But we mixed it up a bit my me trading shirts with my boss... He actually wore that jacket for the rest of the night. What's even more suprising than that is that not one person looked at him funny. I guess that's Vegas for you.
Then it was on to day 3...my co-workers were on their way home and Ken and I decided to stay an extra day. For weeks, I had been looking forward to seeing an old friend who now lives down there, but time slipped by so fast that the oppurtunity was gone before I knew it. Instead, on day 3 Ken and I rented a car and drove through the Valley of Fire which was spectacular. You wouldn't think driving through the desert to looks at rocks would be that fun, but OH MY GOSH it was breath-taking to see!
By the time we rolled back into town it was much to late to get a hold of my friend, so we headed back to the Gold Spike for a little more $2 black jack. We both played on our $20 for a good long time, then I went off to play the slots....I quitely (the bells weren't working on my machine) won $150 on a nickel slot in the very back corner of the sleazey casino (I say sleazey with the most postive meaning available because it was a hoot to be there) and Ken soon found me. He sat down and also won about $100 bucks...we took our winnings and dragged our sleepy butts to bed. The next couple weeks are actually just a blur...between Christmas shopping, errands, chores, family and friends, and wrapping presents, Ken and I were busy little bees!

Chirstmas was wonderful this year...we attempted to start a Christmas Eve tradition of having family over...but it sorta flopped as a result of serious lack of room. Next year we will officially be the Christmas Eve headquarters since our living room will be more than double by this time next year.
This year, we made due with family coming and going in small clusters and making a few stops on Christmas day. This polar bear arrived on Christmas Eve for Ken and I! We were pretty excited :)

Christmas day brought lots of goodies! All the animals had stockings to open and goodies to eat! Yes all our critters are very spoiled! Ken and his 'Kendo' made a killing this year... he is good to go with all the fixin's for the coolest shed in town!!! New TV, casino lights, shot glasses, hot wheels racks, poker table and lots of other goodies. And the super cool gift that still has Ken smiling is the tickets to see Larry the Cable Guy in February that he got from his Uncle Dan!! Those boys are going to have so much fun!
Lots of people received 'Learn to Knit' sets that Ken helped me put together....I am looking forward to seeing lots of beautiful projects from all our family and friends!!!
Which brings us almost up to date and here's what we did yesterday. With one more day of our long weekend left and Ken inspired to finish the 'Kendo' so he can use all his new stuff, we braved the wind and rain to make a little progress on the shed. Me not being a big fan of heights, I handed Ken stuff while he scaled the walls outside. Before we began however, there was the condition to me helping, that I was not allowed to worry about his safety or make gasping nervous noises or extra safety suggestions. I had to be brave and trust that Ken knew what he was doing. I had only one half slip and almost gave a safety suggestion but remembered our deal and went back to just being a helping hand :)
And there you have it...three weeks of busy busy busy. This New Year's weekend we are looking forward to some camping and clam digging!!!! Woo Hoo. More pictures to come :)

2005-12-07T14:16:00.000-08:00

Grab your side of the wish bone, close your eyes and make a wish...but what happens when you open your eyes and see that the wishbone is split right down the middle?! Ken and I must have both had excellent wishes and since it broke right down the middle, we must both be getting our wishes granted! Yay!

2005-12-05T10:30:00.000-08:00

Can you believe the progress Ken's made on the Kendo...nieghbors are coming from all around to catch a peak and the think being built in our back yard. 50 additional square feet were added to the upstairs yesterday, making for an excellent sized poker room and office! Ken is grinning ear to ear each time I go out to take a look at the progress.

2005-12-05T10:27:00.000-08:00

With the christmas music playing in the background and frustrating amounts of furniture rearranging and reducing, the tree got decorated! Ken found a super cool tree stand that tilts, swivles and clicks the tree right into place- straight and everything. It's begining to look a lot like christmas. Now to finish up on the outside and get the stockings hung!

2005-12-05T10:23:00.000-08:00

Check out our first Christmas Tree.

2005-12-02T11:05:00.000-08:00

Look at our winter wonderland!!! We got quite a lot of snow for the first snowfall! I couldn't even get my car out of the neighborhood this morning...Ken had to fire up the Blazer and drive me to work!!

2005-12-01T11:12:00.000-08:00

It's snowing!!! WooHoo! It may not be sticking and there may not be much of it, but it's still snow!!!!

Guess you had to be there....

2005-12-01T07:21:00.000-08:00

So I have been getting a few giggles out of this so I am going to share this quick little story.

Yesterday, like most every morning, I made Ken lunch. It was a sandwhich using leftovers from thanksgiving. At about 11:05 am I get a call from Ken in a 'is this a joke' tone of voice and simply says "I am eating what seems to be a STUFFING SANDWHICH!!" My quick defensive response was, "There's turkey in there too!!"

A stuffing sandwhich....though I have come up with some pretty strange things for Ken to eat, the thought of a Stuffing Sandwhich is just funny to me!!

The sandwhich you seem here is today's lunch and it has a more appropriate Stuffing to Turkey ratio :P

Thanksgiving 2005

2005-11-28T05:36:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend. Ken took the five day weekend as an oppurtunity to catch up with family and friends, I caught up on sleep and laundry. We had so many people over this weekend, the house was about ready to burst at the seams. Ken played a bit of football on turkey day and payed for it the next few days to come. A poker party Thursday night made Ken the big winner, and the winnings kept coming when his dad got him a new set of poker chips because there wasn't quite enough for thursdays game, and Uncle Dan brought him a larger poker table as an early christmas present. At Saturday's poker game, the new chips and table didn't help Ken hit the jackpot again.

2005-11-28T05:30:00.000-08:00

Ken spent Football Sunday making progress on this 'Kendo'. With all the poker parties he is even more excited to get the shed done to have more people over.

2005-11-28T05:29:00.000-08:00

Bringing the long weekend to a close, Lisa and I worked on that big pile of dirt. We got the whole thing leveled out and I even planted my first plant in the yard.

2005-11-23T08:07:00.000-08:00

Yard's Done!!! Just kidding :) This is a picture I gound that is kinda the look I am going for...cozy, pretty, tranquil. I am going to plant my camelia this weekend and I have figured out the perfect spot for it. The rest of the weekend will be spent pushing dirt! Woo Hoo!