Fill In The Blank Friday (TGIF!!)

It's time again to fill in some blanks!  Thanks to Lauren at thelittlethingswedo for providing us with the blanks!

 

1.   My last haircut was       the end of August, before my friend's wedding.  I'm in desperate need of a trim & color.  But I'm realyl wanting to grow my hair out...

2.  My most daring hair moment was       when I chopped 13inches off my hair the last day of spring break my junior year of high school.  It was right before our local Junior Miss pageant that I was in.  But it was so freeing -- and my hair has never been that long again *tear*

3.  A hairstyle I'd never be brave enough to try is       a bob -- I just think my face is too round to pull it off - it'd likely look like an odd bowl cut..yeesh!

4.  I've always dreamt of being a (blonde, brunette or red-head)  being brunette -- like the beautiful, deep brown.  But I love Isaac's color too...it's really dark brown(looks almost black), but when the sun hits it just right, you can see specks of red, it's beautiful! (Praying our kids get his hair!)  

 

5.  My go-to hair do is       straight & down - my hair is moderately wavy, but not wavy enough where I can get those pretty waves if I style it just right.  It's straight from the top of my head to about half way, then it's wavy, and then straight again. Bizarre I know. 

6.  My biggest hair disaster was      hmm...I'm usually pretty safe when it comes to my hair.  Probably when I got my hair cut right before high school graduation, and the gal cut it like right at my chin. Talk about accentuating my ultra round Norwegian face!

7.  A hairstyle I am dying to try is        I don't even know -- I'm what you would call "Hair Dumb."  Never have ever really figured out how to manipulate my hair to do anything fun.  I'm not talented in that way sadly

8.  My best hair day was       my wedding day.      .

 Side party, braid on one side & a bun (cuz my hair won't hold curls) with a BEAUTIFUL comb!

 

9.  The worst hairstyle I ever had was   easily when my hair was permed. GASP! Yes, I had my hair permed! It was the early to mid 90's, and my cousin had just graduated from the Vidal Sassoon academy in California - so I was a guinea pig.  Not the best look in the world to say the least!

10.  My hair is       pretty standard, gets frizzy if not maintained and is usually in about 1 of 5 different styles I can do.  Expansive repertoire I know.  

Thanks as always Lauren!

Days of Gratitude will continue today as well!

<3

Days of Gratitude - Day 4

Soup!

That's right...I'm thankful for soup.

I love soup....and here are a few of my favorites:

Tomato Bisque

 

via 

 Potato Leek

 

via 

Chili

 

via 

Hearty Chicken Noodle

 

via 

Tortilla Soup

 

via 

French Onion

 

via 

Yum, I really want soup tonight for dinner...

<3

Hoping They Call the Race!

All day long my friend Eric & I have been watching the vote numbers rise & rise for our gubernatorial race here in Oregon.

We're rooting for Dudley here in our office...but they sure are dragging it on!  He's been up about 12,000-15,000 votes the entire day.  Could they drag this on any longer?!

 

Here's to hoping Dudley can stave off ol' Kitzhaber -- we need some new thoughts & ideas in our executive office.  The same ol' same ol' won't really cut it any longer!

<3

*disclaimer - this post in no way is an attempt to rouse up dissension or angst. just excited for this portion of our election process to be over, and to know who will be leading our state. 

Days of Gratitude - Day 3

Today I am grateful for my family.

I joke that we're slightly mafia sized - and we kind of are.  If everyone came to every holiday event there'd easily be about 70+ of us.  So many people that we used to have Thanksgiving & Christmas dinners in someone's garage - just so everyone could sit together!

I loved growing up with my family - especially on Friday nights when everyone got together at my Uncle Dave's pizza parlor (best pizza in town!) for pizza & family time. How many kids got that much exposure to their extended families on such a regular basis?!

Must get back to work now....focusing is hard to do these days...

<3

Love Politics!

I love the political season!  That's right I said it...I love it!  Always have.  I guess it's to be expected when you were voted "Most Likely to be President" during Senior awards in high school.  
I mean heck -- you're lookin' at someone who was an honorary page in the Oregon State Senate in the 5th grade, did student legislature thru high school, shadowed a lobbyist, and was an intern for a former Oregon House Majority leader.   Who knows - maybe one day I'll risk a bit and run for a small office or something.   Or I'll just enjoy from the sidelines! :)


There are tons of details that go in to every political decision and outcome - and I love it all!


But what I love more are ideas & most importantly actions that benefit every day Americans & small business owners (one of whom is my boss!) who make this country move and work.  Our focus here in Oregon needs to be jobs jobs jobs (not unusual from the focus of many states across the nation) - as we have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.  


Needless to say - it's 10:10pm here on a Tuesday night, and I'm as energized as I was during the normal work day!  I'm looking forward to the final outcome - primarily Oregon's Gubernatorial Race!  So I'll leave with this.....


GO DUDLEY GO!
<3

Days of Gratitude.. #1 & #2

We are now officially in the season of gratitude, thanksgiving, generosity, and love.  The holidays are going to be in our laps in no time, and I've been looking back at my postings.  And glaring thing jumped out at me, God somewhat hit me in the face with it actually.

No matter what is going on around me I do in fact have a lot to be thankful for.  And I was inspired by Becca at life in technicolor who's doing a 25 day challenge of things she's thankful for.  It's a good reminder and good practice to seek & acknowledge even the smallest of things to be grateful for.  I'm dubbing it "Days of Gratitude" - a small departure from the title Becca gave it ("25 Days of Giving Thanks).  I don't think she'll mind :)

So I'm one day behind...but I'll do two items today, so I'm caught up!

#1- Grateful for: My Husband

 

Isaac is really one of the most kind & understanding people that I have ever met. Here's a short list of the qualities I love most about him:

Patient

Loving

Incredibly Hardworking

Family oriented

Respectful

Fun

Loves to make people laugh

Amazing Musician...hand him an instrument and he'll sing you to sleep!

Dreamer

Loves kids

He makes me so proud to be married to him...I know there are big things in store for him, and I can't wait to see how everything comes together for us! 

#2: Like Minded Decision Making

Because I'm doing #1 & #2 together - I thought they should be tied together as well.  So I am grateful for the fact that Isaac and I generally approach decision making from the same or similar place.  Which in turn makes me so thankful for the time that we spent seeking the Lord as we prepared for our marriage.  We took the time to stop and really investigate our hopes, ideals, and boundaries for shaping & protecting our marriage.

Whether it's money, how we spend our time, to even shopping for groceries -- we involve the other.

Sure it may not be like this all the time or forever...but for now I am thankful for it, and like any other piece of marriage, you have to practice it daily.


So until Thanksgiving...I'll continue my Days of Gratitude!  Join in - it's good for the soul!


<3

Taxes Suck

That's right I said it!
I wanna give the bird to the IRS and those crazies in Washington (and Salem too) who think that raising taxes is a good idea - even in this kind of economy.

Hey - it's about time to wake up & understand how it really hits the every day person!  Let me just tell you a little of my story from this month.  I work on salary basis, but have the opportunity for bonus each month.  Primarily stemming from working my arse off on working the short sales in our office.  My boss is very generous to offer a bonus for working these files - as they often take months of hounding banks to get them to work with us & approve the short sale.   I also have the blessing of receiving other opportunities for bonuses - again for which I work my butt off.
Now I about killed myself on about 3 files this month of our 7 closings - anticipating my paycheck to be about double what it normally is(base + bonus).  But nooooo....good ol' Uncle Sam took about 40% of that right off the top.  Rather than keeping more money in my hands to then circulate within my local economy, it goes right out the window, never to be seen again.  Where's the sense in that?
Don't get me wrong, I do not subscribe to the notion that having zero taxes is possible - there are things that need to be funded, but my goodness - let's live in reality and basic economics.  When the economy is down, raising taxes and taking more money from every day people will just worsen an already slumped economy.  It's pretty simple - when people have less money, they are less likely to spend that money on things other than essentials (food, utilities, mortgage, gas).
Argh....

One of those fun things you have to deal with when you're an adult!  But even in this situation I am thankful for being responsible, being married to a man who is also responsible & is also just as focused on us being debt free - so we'll continue to live like no one else so that later we can live like no one else (Thanks DR!)!

We're on our way
<3