working...and dreaming of summer

I've now been working for 7 continuous weekdays. May not seem like much to some but for us it is a blessing. Plus I got to work 7 hours of overtime last week! That will really fatten up the paycheck.

Dave is looking really diligently for employment. But in the meantime, he is so helpful at home. He spends time with fluffy Penelope...playing football. This picture was taken in late October last fall when Penny was only 4 months old. She is bigger now...but she is so cute in this picture.

He also makes me breakfast and packs my lunch and drives me to the park & ride in the morning and picks me up in the evening.

It snowed again today. We moved back here for the warmer weather and shorter winters....but I guess it followed us here. I still can't believe how often it has snowed. Penelope loves the snow and rolls around in it whenever she can. I am dreaming about summer and going to the Everett Jetty...see below. It is so peaceful and beautiful. I got so tan last August going there every weekend. Really can't wait again for summer.

So even though it is wicked cold outside, here's to dreaming of summer. Where are some of your favorite places to be in the summer?

So sorry for infinite delay

I have had so much time and I have not updated this since July 2008. How pathetic is that? I did pass the Washington bar but I am not yet practicing as a lawyer. I've been temping on and off since August at a claims administrator. It is a cool company that is actually growing which is a miracle in these times. I was "off" for the entire month of February and I could have updated this lots of times but I didn't. I am back temping as of last Friday and I think it could go for awhile. I hope and pray that they hire me on permanently. It is a pretty low stress job. I mean I have to pay attention to a lot of detail but I don't have to argue in court or be responsible for a client like my old job.

Dave is looking for a job now too. He was working for my dad but his company went under in December. He's applied to tons and thankfully the people in our ward are helping him. They know lots of people and in this market, it's all about who you know. We just need health insurance...I don't care what kind of job it is.

We are still living in Woodinville where it snows a lot. It just snowed here last week...I will include a picture. Oh it is up on the right I guess. Still getting used to this blogger thing. That picture shows our backyard of our home...we live in a daylight basement apartment of the house of my best friend. Our dog loves it...see below.

We also got a puppy in September. I have one picture. I don't know where the others are. So here's a picture of her taken last week. Ok that picture got put at the top. I don't know why. I've seen people put pictures in between the text but I'm not sure how. That's her new red bone pillow with not one but two squeakers that my dear friend Carla got her. She loves it. Her name is Penelope Fair and we call her Penny. She is an Old English Sheepdog. We got her when we went to the Puyallup Fair. She wasn't at the fair but right outside. That was a good story...I should write about that one later.

That is all for now...Can't write everything now because then I'll have nothing to say later.

Still studying

Last week of bar exam study. I finally found a quiet close place to study--the library at UW-Bothell. It has a beautiful reading room and during the summer the campus is idle. The campus is surrounding by trees and is right next to a protected wetland. Very northwest and peaceful. It is only 15 minutes from our home too. Last week I studied at home and that worked for a few days but then the tv was too much of a temptation. At the library, there is nothing. I also enjoy the energy that a college exudes...just the atmosphere helps.

The exam schedule seems exhausting; I hope I have the energy. The exam starts at 8 and the first break is at 10:15 (for 30 minutes). Then an hour lunch at 1. The day is over at 4:15. The next day is the same. Thursday will be from 8 to 10:15 and then it is over!

I will be running the Seattle Seafair 8k on the 26th right before the Seafair Torchlight Parade. It's a annual Seattle tradition. My father used to run the the race in the 80s...it was a 10k back then. I'm happy it got reduced.

to bed and then another great day of studying to look forward to!

We made it!

We arrived in Woodinville on Tuesday, July 1 in the afternoon. We have not unloaded our truck; it is sitting in the Olsons' driveway but we'll do it this weekend after the apartment becomes available.

We drove from Austin, Minn. to Billings, Mont in one day. I do not recommend that to anyone...not even if you are driving a Ferrari. It took 16 hours. We drove through 2/3 of Minnesota, all of South Dakota, 200 miles of the corner of Wyoming, and 100 miles into Montana. It was insane. Dad called me that night and said that he and Mom were putting us up in a hotel in Spokane the next night. (We had planned to drive all the way to Seattle the next day.) The hotel in Spokane was super nice...much better than any hotel we stayed in along the way. The hotel had a pool and a hot breakfast and plenty of parking. Parking that thing was the biggest pain. I developed a love for truck stops in Montana. Plenty of large parking lots and everything you need in one stop...even purses and shoes---cute purses and shoes with a western flair.

So the drive from Spokane to Seattle was very manageable. We drove right to the Olsons' to separate the truck from the car and my anxieties ceased. The car is still broken and overheats if sitting in traffic but we are still driving it around.

I am trying to find places to study and trying to focus. I will go to Bellevue library on Saturday. I'll be able to read essays and learn rules.

Dave and I are going to take my parents' dog for a walk on the slough.

Thanks all for your prayers.

Halfway done!

Today was such a long day! We finally made it to Austin, Minnesota. Last night we stayed in Kirtland, OH. We drove our car to the Kirtland Temple early this morning. It is so beautiful, especially the landscaping surrounding it. Dave saw it four years ago and said that it was all new. The Church has a large stake center just 1/4 mile from the temple and a visitor center at the historical town center with all the old buildings, including the Newel K. Whitney store. I am glad I finally saw it. It was so quiet and peaceful there because the visitor centers were not yet open and no one was around.

The drive was very long and we decided that we did not care much for the Indiana toll way. Very expensive and the service plazas are dirty...they have smoking sections still.

Illinois had awful wind and Dave had to clench the steering wheel to stay on the road. I nearly got blown over when we got out for gas (which we have to get 3 times a day). I thought it was windy in Boston; not so much now.

Tomorrow we have to make it to Billings, MT. I don't know how that will be possible ....well it will be of course but another day in that truck...can't wait for it to be over.

Halfway--point of no return. We'll press forward...like pioneers...just with more power. and worse gas mileage.

And away we go

Truck is loaded and we will leave in about an hour. We have to bring all the garbage to the curb and hook up the car to the truck. We'll be in Ohio tonight, Minnesota tomorrow, and Montana the next night. We'll pull into Woodinville on Monday night. Wish us luck on our journey and I will write about our trip on Tuesday.

To all our Boston friends: we will hold you dear to our hearts and miss you. Thank you for taking care of us while we've lived here. Goodbye.

To our NW friends and family: we can't wait to see you. You are the main reason we are moving there. See you soon.

Four days to go

Last Friday was my last day of work. My co-workers took me out to Kinsale and we sat on their patio and relaxed while watching busy traffic of Cambridge Street and listening to the soundtrack of the barbeque competition on the plaza. Kinsale is a happening after work hang out and I ran into an old friend I made interning a few years ago. Former co-workers even came by. It was so great to see them. My co-workers autographed the city seal for me. I can't wait to have it in my new office in my great new job (positive thinking here of course as have no job).

Last night, my friend Michelle threw me a party and many of my friends that I made in church showed up. Michelle made a great little book with their pictures in it and they wrote nice things in it...at least I think they were nice things...I do not have the finished product yet. I teared up when she showed it to me before people signed things. Michelle is a great friend and has looked after me for the year that I have lived in South Boston. I have loved getting to know her and her family.

Today I am studying and writing essays. These really cramp my hand. It is difficult to make it through writing one essay; I don't know how I will be able to write nine in one day and then come back again the next day to write nine more.

We get to pack tonight...the next night...and the next night.