Never Fear. . I'm Still Here. . .

Hi Blog Readers (are there any??)!

This is just a note to let you know that yes, I still exist. :) I have just been super-busy enjoying summer, hanging out with friends, seeing movies, and working full-time at my new job. . .so that hasn't left much time for blogging. . .but I will hopefully be back on here soon.

Happy Summer!

Laura

God Bless the USA!

On Saturday we will be celebrating our nation's birthday. While perhaps our country is not doing as well as it has in the past, we should still be thankful for the freedoms we enjoy as citizens of the United States of America.

If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.

I’d thank my God above
to be livin here today.
‘ Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there's pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.

That I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

And I’m proud to be and American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

Seattle Trip Pictures: Thursday

Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Hear No Evil

The Lovely Sarah!

The Three Amigas. . .All in Purple!

Only Some of the Delicacies at The Queen Mary Tea Room!

Me. . .Dressed in Purple. . .Surrounded by Purple. . .

Seattle Trip Part 4: Thursday

One of the things we wanted to do on our trip was go all out by dressing up in our formal skirts/dresses and going out to eat. We were originally planning on going out to dinner, but ended up going instead to a really cute little tea room. We decided to go on Thursday and, for a couple of us, it was a "lazy morning" day. For the other two of us, it was up-and-at-it early in the morning.

Thursday, May 28, 2009: 08:51

Sarah and I went out to run some errands in the morning. We left the other girls sleeping, and were on our way.

Thursday, May 28, 2009: 09:23

We started off by going to a coffee shop in Issaquah for breakfast. We had an Entertainment Book for our trip with Buy-One-Get-One coupons in it, including a coupon for Cafe Ladro. We each got something to drink and a treat to eat, both of which were very good!

Thursday, May 28, 2009: 09:54

Of course a roadtrip is not complete without getting gas at Costco - especially when it happens to be the cheapest place around. Of course, we had to wait in a ridiculously long line. . .but it went pretty quickly, considering there were at least 20 cars waiting before us!

Thursday, May 28, 2009: 10:10

If there is one thing I miss from California, it's In-N-Out Burger. If there are two things I miss from California, the second is Trader Joe's. Since Spokane/Coeur d'Alene are not lucky enough to have a Trader Joe's - yet (someday???) - that was one place I wanted to go. Sarah and I had fun wandering the aisles and looking at different products. I got peanut butter filled pretzels for my mom (trust me, they are amazing!) and cheese puffs (much better than Cheetos!) for me, plus a few other things. Such a fun store!

We then headed to REI in downtown Seattle because I wanted to get a BPA-free water bottle. The REI in Seattle is quite impressive. We didn't spend much time there this time, but I've been there before, and even though I'm not a big "sporting goods store" girl, I still find REI Seattle impressive. :) Yes, that waterfall is at REI.

Thursday, May 28, 2009: 11:26

We left REI and headed back to Val's aunt's house to get ready for tea! Val and Michelle had already started getting ready/doing hair, etc., so that left Val time to do my hair for me, and it didn't really take us long to all get dressed up!

Thursday, May 28, 2009: 13:40

We headed out so that we would make it to our 2:30pm tea reservation at the Queen Mary Tea Room in Bothell, Washington.

Thursday, May 28, 2009: 14:23

We arrived at the Queen Mary Tea Room and enjoyed a delightful tea time. We each ordered Afternoon Tea which came with all sorts of yummy sandwiches and treats. We each tried a different type of tea and then sampled from each other's pots.

After tea we took some pictures in a local neighborhood.

Thursday, May 28, 2009: 16:30

We left the tea room and headed back. However, however hard we tried, we seemed to hit traffic every time we tried to leave town on this trip. So even though we left tea at 4:30, we still managed to hit terrible traffic coming out of Bothell. As is evidenced from the above picture, Laura + Downtime While Stuck in Traffic = Random "Secret Agent" Pictures. :)

Thursday, May 28, 2009: 18:00

We decided to take a detour and visit the Chittenden Locks and Botanical Garden in Ballard. We got to watch several boats go through the locks, then we spent a good deal of time walking around the gardens. However, eventually our feet started to hurt, we were tired of getting funny looks, I was dangerously close to running out of memory on my camera, and Michelle's camera battery died. We were pretty tired by the time we left.

Thursday, May 28, 2009: 20:04

We finally got back to Val's aunt's house, fixed ourselves a tasty dinner of fruit-filled crepes, bacon and eggs, and quickly crashed. It was a long, but very fun, afternoon!

Seattle Trip Pictures: Wednesday

Yours Truly, "surfing" on the back of a whale at the aquarium.

Welcome to the Seattle Waterfront!

Michelle, Sarah & Val in the dome tank at the Seattle Aquarium.

All four of us downtown near Pike Market.

Seattle Trip Part 3: Wednesday

Wednesday, May 27, 2009: 10:11

We departed Val's aunt's house after sleeping in and taking our time getting ready. We figured we would get to Seattle, park, explore, and all would be good.

We weren't quite right.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009: 10:42

We got off the Interstate. It took us about 30-minutes to drive between where we stayed and downtown. All things considered, not bad.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009: 11:30

Almost 1-hour later we finally found parking for less than $20/hour, within decent walking distance of where we wanted to be. We parked and prepared to enjoy the rest of the day.
Our first stop was the Seattle Aquarium. This was the one thing that every single one of us wanted to do while on our Seattle trip. The rest of it was an added bonus (*grin*). We enjoyed looking at all the fish and aquatic animals. We got to watch divers feed fish in the dome tank, we watched the octopus flirt with Val (well, it was following her as she walked around the tank, and changing colors as it did so!), and we watched jellyfish.

After lunch we went to Ivars to enjoy clam chowder, fish and fries, shrimp cocktail, and prawns and fries. I am not a big seafood fan, but I do love Ivars. I think it's the memories of eating there when I was little when we would visit Seattle that make it so fun.

After lunch it was time to head to Pike Market. We walked all over the market, looking at the beautiful flowers and fresh produce. We visited the Market Spice Tea store where I bought some delicious tea. We took our pictures with cardboard celebrities. We also spent a great deal of time in the Sur La Table store, dreaming about "someday" when we are rich, or have our own homes, and want to get fun stuff for our kitchens. We took pictures outside the world's first Starbucks. It was great fun.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009: 17:20

Eventually we were all tired and hungry and ready to go home.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009: 17:57

We decided to stop at Safeway in Seattle to get a few things for dinner. We found this particular Safeway interesting because it had a parking garage. . .something we definitely don't see back home!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009: 19:05

We finally arrived back "home," fixed ourselves some dinner, and then went for a walk with Val's aunt. She showed us a cute little lake near her house, and drove us around her town. Eventually we all crashed, ready for the next day of adventures!

While I'm Waiting (John Waller)

We interrupt the Seattle Trip posts to bring you this "rest stop" in our virtual road trip.

If you have seen the movie "Fireproof" you might recognize this song. . .and if you haven't seen the movie, drop everything and watch it now. It's that good. But anyway, I digress. . .

Last night (er. . .and early this morning) I was talking with a friend on the phone. She and I are, at this point, at completely different points in our lives. We are both waiting for answers for various (different) questions we have, and while our stories at the moment are different, somehow there is something similar between the two. I originally heard this song in the movie "Fireproof," as I mentioned, but I heard it again recently and it came to mind after my conversation with my friend last night. I thought I would share it with you all here.



While I'm Waiting
John Waller

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Takeing every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord