My First Ten on Ten

I've always admired the photos posted by friends who participate in Ten on Ten, but it's never come together for me to actually take ten photos on day ten of a month.  Well today was a first.  I took just a few minutes out of my day to capture some images and find the beauty in the everyday.

Usually I use Facebook for most of my updates and staying current with friends and family, but we have a number of people in our lives who aren't on Facebook (and others who are, but would still enjoy a blog).  Well, for all of you, here's a glimpse into my life today, December 10:

My desk at work

A rodent skull found by students down the trail

The Enviroscape, almost finished with some much-needed TLC

Salal outside my office door

Reindeer bathing in light on the mantle when I stopped by home at lunch

A friend on the office porch

Driving to the orthodontist

Headed home

Christmas Countdown

Santa wanted to play while we were babysitting tonight

Our wedding featured on the Green Bride Guide!

I haven't written in ages.  I could tell you some of the reasons why, but that's a topic for a different post.

For the moment, I want to share with those not on Facebook (and in a central place for information related to me, Dave, and our Big Day) that we made the Green Bride Guide!

Our wonderful photographer Brett Szemple's partner wrote about the GBG post here.

The article is here.  Note that you have to click through the ten slides/pages to see everything.

I also discovered that through the GBG our cookies were picked up as a wedding favor idea here.  While cookies might not be that original, I absolutely adore the Message in a Cookie cutters from Williams and Sonoma.  In addition to our wedding, I've used them for a baby shower, a work party, and a birthday.  I also highly recommend my preferred lemon cookie recipe, available in our wedding recipes.

I have to say, making the Green Bride Guide is a big deal to me.  I love their mission and I got many great ideas looking through the real weddings.  It makes me really happy to think that another woman planning her wedding might take inspiration from any of our "green" ideas.  If anyone does, I will update you and share that:

• I did sell my wedding dress through an amazing consignment shop called Blue Sky Bridal
• I was very honored to have my cousin wear my veil on her wedding day
• We're still using and enjoying many of our DIY elements.  Thanks to all our amazing friends and family for helping make my crazy dreams a reality!

Two years later, I'm really looking forward to the upcoming weddings of two of my bridesmaids and best friends.  They are both so stylish and creative, I have no doubt that both will be fun, beautiful events. :)

Smile #5: Garden Love

(carrots)

(baby corn)

Kayaking 2012

We're back from our 3-day kayaking adventure!  It was a great getaway filled with nature, friends, and fun.  Sadly there were no whale sightings this time, but we spotted numerous harbor seals, eagles, and even a mink.

It was amazing to have Dave there this time.  He got to steer our kayak from the captain's seat in the back, and we worked as a team battling the tides and wind.  Together we failed miserably at a game of Farkle, enjoyed a horseshoe tournament triumph, and leaned back in our kayak cockpits to sun ourselves and watch for whales.  We were the orange/red kayak in our rainbow fleet, and carefully navigated "Nemo" from island to island.

Many thanks to Dana for taking the lead in arrange this year's trip, and for risking her camera to take some wonderful photos!

Spring garden 2012

Remember me? ;)

Dave did some great work in the garden this past weekend.  As a whole we've been very on top of things this year, and we're proud!  Check out our progress:

Potatoes and carrots going crazy in their giant containers

Cauliflower

Zucchini

Herb garden with insane parsley, new basil

Lovely lavender

Tomatoes happy in their "tent" and surrounded by marigolds

The strawberries are coming right along

Coleslaw stands guard over the sugar snap peas

Our corn starts are teeny tiny

I still love my spoon herb markers

This snapdragon was a surprise...I think I had one there a couple of years ago and it just came back

Holy parsley!

You can't see them, but the pumpkin seeds are in, we have lots of lettuce, the dahlias are popping up, and we have some giant chard!

Questions from Jo

Since I think I win the "Most Inconsistent Blogger in the World" award, and I currently find myself with 5 free minutes, I thought I'd take my friend Jo up on her challenge and answer the questions she posed on her blog.

Officially I should be passing this on by follow the rules listed in Jo's post, but I'm not much of a pass on-er, so I'll post some questions at the end and leave it to the little group of family and friends who read this blog to decide if they would like to share their answers!  Besides, my friends have already tagged most of the people I know who blog. ;)

So, here are my answers:

1.  What is your favorite 'crafty' thing to do?

Currently it's knitting.  As you saw on my previous post, I've resumed my attempt at learning to knit after a one year hiatus, and so far I'm pretty pleased with the results. I find knitting relaxing, and I seem to be okay enough at it now not to get frustrated with the results of my efforts.  I'm looking forward to learning to purl and make designs down the road.

2.  First CD you owned?
Ace of Base's "The Sign" album.  Haha, good times.

3.   Do you parallel park or drive around the block?
 Parallel park, but really I should probably say "make my husband drive."

4.  Favorite subject in school?
That would be a toss up between Science/Biology/Environmental Science and English.  I suppose most of you would tell me I should pick science since that's more aligned with where I've ended up in my career, but perhaps it goes back to the way I would describe myself in college: artsy science geek.  I love Shakespeare and English classics, poetry, young adult fiction,  and writing in general.  And I won awards for both subjects when I graduated from high school, so I'd say my teachers will back me up on the duality.

5.  Do you have any phobias?
Penguins (Doo-be-doo-be-doo).  Elevators.  Skyscrapers.  Enough said.

6.  Do you prefer to take the picture or be in them? (or both!)
Most definitely take.  I do not consider myself photogenic.  But I also would rather take photos of nature than people...so perhaps the answer is neither?!  I have been saying that I want to take more pictures of Dave and me, but I clearly have not been very successful.  Whoops!

7.  What is the strangest talent you have?
I have this strange internal calendar.  I can often tell you what day of the week a particular date is months in advance, or I know mine and Dave's plans on a particularly weekend even if they are not noteworthy.  I always seem to do a lot of scheduling in my jobs, so I guess it crosses my personal and professional skill set!

8.  Furthest you have traveled from home?
Let's see, I'd probably have to get into Google Maps to tell you for sure which place is the farthest, but I've been to Thailand, Malaysia, Bali, and China, as well as Spain, France, Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic.

9.  What is your favorite movie genre?
Hmm.  I guess romantic comedies for something light and fun, but drama for more staying power.  I tend to feel most impressed by films that push boundaries, often those that start as independent films.  It really depends on my mood, but I'm definitely one to watch things over and over (as Dave will attest).  I always appreciate great cinematography, and as with literature I enjoy character development.

10.  Name one person you'd like to meet and why?
That's tough!  I've been fortunate to have some amazing role models and mentors who I know personally.  For a historical figure, I'd love to meet Queen Elizabeth, since I'm fascinated by Elizabethan England and she was such a strong and influential woman.  Someone alive today...hmmm...it probably sounds cliche, but I would love to meet the President and First Lady.  I think it would be fascinating to talk to them about what's happening in the world today and the challenges they face.

11. What drives you to succeed? 
Good question.  Wow, that's hard to answer.  I think I'm strongly self-motivated, in that I have high expectations of myself.  Certainly I'm motivated by my love of nature and my belief that we have a responsibility to be good stewards of the environment.  Connected to that I would say that as an environmentalist I have to remain optimistic, and in that sense I'm motivated by a belief in the goodness in people.  Likewise, as an educator I'm strongly motivated by my students (and mentees).  I chose education because it's the only career path I've found that keeps me motivated to be my best - I want to be a better teacher and produce better programs for learners, and I feel a great responsibility and accountability in teaching.

Okay, questions for those who would like to participate:
1. What is your first memory?
2. What is your favorite "guilty pleasure" song?
3. What would you chose for your last meal?
4. If you could have a swimming pool filled with anything you wanted, what would you chose?
5. What are you currently reading?
6. If you could go on a one-day vacation right now, no strings attached and no travel time involved, where would you go?
7. What is your "special place" (open to your interpretation)?
8. If money were no object, what kind of home would you chose and where would it be located?
9. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning?
10. What book do you think everyone should read?
11. What is your goal for the year 2012 (one thing, that above anything else you want to accomplish)?

For Carol

Since I took this photo, I've finished my first skein of yarn.  I have 3 more on hand for the rest of this scarf, and 4 in another color of the scarf Dave has ordered.  Perhaps by then I'll learn to purl, in addition to knit!

Thank you, Carol!  I love my Christmas stocking yarn and needles.  I'd say Knitting for Dummies has worked for me. :)

Snowpocalypse 2012

Some of you saw these on Facebook, but I wanted to share a few pictures of the fun we had during "Snowpocalypse 2012":

Kirkland became a winter wonderland, and we went for snow walks each day.  I was wishing I had brought home some snowshoes!

Early on we made a snow family, though I imagine they were buried as the snow kept falling and falling.  At least they were together. :)

I enjoyed tracking in the snow.  It was fun looking for different animals, gaits, and track stories.

We both found ourselves snowed in, and worked from home on Wednesday and Thursday.  Friday I took Dave's car in to work, which was an adventure (my car never would have made it).  His office didn't have power, so he spent a third day holed up in the office.

The power never went out here, so our biggest hardship was waiting for Purple to reopen their doors, haha.  I don't think either of us would mind one more snow this year...fingers crossed!

Good challenges

I'm in trouble.  I haven't been posting.  I've started getting Facebook messages, texts, and phone calls.  I'm sorry for disappearing!  Thank you all for being such wonderful, caring family and friends - Dave and I are very, very lucky.

So, to answer the primary question I've been getting, work is great!  Since I'm writing in the public sphere, I'll give you more the general picture than the specifics.  I'm approaching the end of my first month, and it has truly flown by.  Things are busy, really busy.  We have new programs going, including the preschool program I'm teaching.  When I'm not with the kiddos, I'm switching my brain over to the main part of my job - getting to know our teachers, scheduling, working on policies and procedures, and generally coordinating our operations.  It's a challenge learning these two very different new roles simultaneously, but I enjoy both, and these are good challenges.  The first week or so I was pretty overwhelmed, since I'd been asked to take a leap of faith and dive right in.  While I still have lots to figure out, I'm feeling more confident that I can do this, and more importantly that I want to do this.

It feels like I am finally in the position I've been looking for, and working towards.  When I was first getting to know Dave back in 2006/2007 I remember telling him that I really wanted to run an environmental education center one day.  I also think back to a year ago, when I was almost done with my grad program and just starting to look for work - I said that I wanted a position that let me combine teaching, curriculum/program design, supervising, and program coordination.  That's pretty much a perfect description of what I'm doing right now, and it's just so gratifying.  I felt lost professionally this last year, at times rejected, and I questioned my decisions and goals.  I'm not sure it made sense to everyone, but for me, my work is a big part of who I am and how I define myself.  I by no means want to speak negatively about my previous role, it was a learning experience and I took a lot from it, but now I feel at home.

And those good feelings transfer to my life outside of work.  I think the only person who might be happier than me about my new role is Dave.  My husband is amazing.  I can't begin to tell you how patient and supportive he was this past year (and really always).  Being honest, it wasn't easy for him this fall.  I was a royal pain.  Now I come home energized, happy, and telling stories of adorable students.  He's said, "This is the woman I married!"  Why yes, here I am!

We're also feeling more able to plan our extracurricular activities, including kayaking, biking, triathlons (mainly for Dave), and just enjoying our quiet time at home with our Kindles, games, or my knitting project.

Now if only Dave's boss would come back from vacation and their servers would stop acting up...then we'll both be calmer!  Haha.

So thank you, to all of you, for standing by us.  It actually reminds me of our wedding, and the importance of having family and friends by your side, pledging with their presence to support you in your marriage, through the good times and the hard ones.  And there you all are!

Winter decor

Over the last couple of days we put away our Christmas decorations, said goodbye to "Tree," and reset the living room.  I wasn't ready to let go of all our "wintery" pieces, so our main space is now ideal for candlelight.

My reindeer from Danielle got some new white bow ties, I made a little pom pom garland, the adorable pine cone candlesticks from Debe's mom and my Paperwhites from Jane at work are on the table, and we're enjoying our other gifts not pictured here (including some very cute wine cork trees from Joelle and a darling "hello!" sign on our front door).

I'm just a couple of days away from starting my new job, and I have a clean, decorated house to come home to.  This might make me like January. :)