Girlie Weekend

With Corey in San Diego (lucky dog!) for his friend's Brian's bachelor party weekend and many of my friends tied up or out of town, it has been a quiet, relaxing weekend for Miss Roxy and I.

Started our weekend home alone by cleaning (I've loved having a clean, clutter-free house for the last few days!) and watching Twilight (the books are better - movie was cheesy but entertaining). Yesterday, it was cold and rainy all day so we didn't spend too much time outside, to Roxy's dismay. I however, helped stimulate the economy with a trip up to the Seattle Premium Outlets. Only found a few things but still made the trip up there worth it.

Today, I went for my first run in about month due to recent weekends either out of town or recovering from my nasty cold. It was the perfect day for a run - cold but nice and sunny out. I went for a full 6.5 mile run - let's just say after not running for awhile and not running further than 4-5 miles in recent months, I was pooped when I got home. But me being tired didn't impact Rox's plans - I knew she'd be dying to get outside since yesterday's rainy weather kept us inside so we headed over to the park.

Unfortunately there were softball teams practicing in the huge field we normally play in but we found a separate grassy spot to get some Frisbee time in. Though Roxy was pretty distracted by the softballs flying around, I think she still had fun being outside for a bit.


Not quite into the Frisbee yet with the softball teams practicing nearby.


Now it's Frisbee time...but still can't stop watching the teams practice.


The Frisbee is almost bigger than she is but that doesn't stop her (thanks Mom & Dad for giving it to her!).

She wouldn't give me back her Frisbee when we left the park, so she carried it most of the way home.

Tired pup after her play in the park.

Following our busy morning, I headed over to Massage Heights for a massage! I hadn't had one since the couples' massage Corey and I had on our honeymoon and it was perfect - a great relaxing way to wrap up the weekend.

Corey's on his way home from San Diego now so I'll be heading down to pick him up from the airport soon. I think I'll bring Roxy along as a surprise for Corey - I think he missed her more than me this weekend!

Hubby's Homemade Soup

On the way back from Vegas, I caught a nasty cold. Between having a throbbing head and feeling so cold I'm shivering one minute only to be hot and sweaty the next minute, I'm not a happy camper.

But after my fabulous hubby's homemade chicken noodle soup tonight, I'm feeling better already! I came home after work to nap while Corey went to the store, cooked our yummy dinner and cleaned up. I'm so lucky to have such a great hubby.

Thanks for making me feel better, sweetie!


Just looking at this is enough to make me feel better!

Vegas Baby!

Corey and I just returned from a fabulous and fun trip to Vegas with the Reeders, Gossetts and Jennifer to celebrate Jason's 30th birthday. With 75-80 degree days, lots of gambling (some us (i.e. the Morans) losing more than others), lounging poolside, shopping, a trip to Red Rock Canyon, noshing on delicious food (Monte Carlo Brew Pub, Stack in the Mirage , and Diego in the MGM, which is where we stayed), and taking in the Vegas nightlife (Pure which is located within Caesars Palace and is absolutely huge, including a huge outdoor area that overlooks the strip), we had a an absolute blast and were not looking forward to returning home to gloomy and cold Seattle (rumor has it that it actually snowed here while we were gone).

We're now all recovering from late nights out (we didn't go to bed before 3 a.m. any of the three nights we were there) and are planning our next getaway - perhaps to California this summer.

Here are some photos from our trip. The rest can be found on Flickr.


Natalie, Jennifer, Lisa & me outside the Monte Carlo Brew Pub on our first night.


Natalie, Jennifer, me and Lisa outside the Bellagio's fountain display.


Corey and me in front of the fountains.


Me, Lisa & Natalie at Pure.


Happy Birthday, Jason!


Corey monkeying around at Red Rock.


Corey on a big, red rock.


Corey and me at Red Rock.


Natalie, me and Lisa at Red Rock.

Dinner with the Groupies

Last week, Corey and I met up with Kels, Mark, Gina and Sara for a delicious dinner at La Isla in Ballard.

If my previous post regarding La Isla didn't sell you on trying it out, maybe this one will. It was the first time there for all of the girls and they all loved it and can't wait to go back. They have delicious food (think rice / beans, plantains, carne asada-type steak, which is my fave, and yummy flavored mojitos). It definitely has a different flavor than any other restaurant I've been to and it's one of our favorite spots to go and with it being less than two blocks from our house, it's perfect. Let me know if you're interested in trying it out - Corey and I will be happy to accompany you!

Here's a photo of the crew during our delicious dinner.

Kels, me, Corey, Gina, Sara and Mark.

A Goodbye and a Celebration in Snowy Spokane

Last Thursday afternoon, Corey's grandpa Joe passed away so Corey, Roxy, Joan (Corey's mom), Elliott (Corey's twin) and I headed over to Spokane yesterday. It was a bittersweet time - while we were in town for a vigil and funeral for his grandpa, we were also able to celebrate his grandma Rita's 90th (!!!) birthday. We were glad we were able to make it over here to be with the rest of the family during this sad time and to help his grandma celebrate her birthday. Having Roxy on hand helped cheer his grandma up so we were glad she was able to come along with us!

Joe Moran (April 17, 1920 - March 5, 2009).

I was honored to be able to meet a lot of the family that I hadn't yet had the opportunity to meet and during the vigil last night, I was able to hear many stories about Joe from close friends and family members. Because I'd only had the pleasure of meeting him once, it was so great to be able to hear all about him and his amazing life through the stories of others. From what I knew of Joe, he was amazingly sweet, gentle, kind and extremely in love with his wife of 65 years, Rita. Joe will be greatly missed - so many people were touched by him throughout his life. Joe's obituary can be found here.

A trip over the pass in March wouldn't be right without blizzard-like conditions both on the pass and in Spokane. With a high of 28 and snow falling throughout the day, it made for brisk walking conditions for poor Roxy; however she had a blast playing in the snow and trying to eat the snowballs Corey made for her to play with.

Trying to fix her fleece, which had become a snow cape after bounding through the snow.

Roxy wasn't very happy that I wanted to take a picture with her in the middle of playing.

Tonight, Corey's parents treated us to a delicious dinner (and dessert!) at a yummy restaurant called Scratch. We all had a great time.

Corey, me, Joan and Curtis, just before rolling out to the car, stuffed.

We'll be heading back to Seattle tomorrow so fingers crossed for a safe drive over the pass. And hopefully little Roxy will be an angel on the way back, just as she was on the way here (she slept between Joan and I almost the entire way!).

Shelf-Indulgent: Part II

Ladies - if you ever need a shelf hung, get your guy some new tools and consider it done!

About 6 months ago, I had asked Corey for a shelf in our laundry closet because with a stackable washer and dryer in a tiny closet, there just wasn't much room to store important things like the laundry detergent, iron, etc. I think I even told him I wanted it for my birthday but was told that "It'll be too hard to put one up in there". Last week, though, Corey found a new drill and driver (I have no idea what the purpose of a driver is, so please don't ask) online and when asking me about whether he should go ahead and make the big purchase, he threw out the following line: "If you let me get these, I'll hang up that shelf you've been wanting!"

And guess what? The night it arrived in the mail, Corey went to Fred Meyer and Home Depot to get the necessary supplies to put up a shelf for me! And I'll have you know that I didn't say anything about the shelf since he mentioned having to have these new tools. Apparently he needed a project - any project - in order to get some good use out of his new gadgets.

Now I'm a happy camper because my laundry closet is more organized and my hubby is a happy camper because he got some new tools and was already able to use them.

That is one fine looking (and sturdy!) shelf, don't you agree?

Wow, you know you're an adult when you're excited about storage shelves.

Happy Birthday Pops!

This past weekend, my parents came over to visit and to celebrate my dad's birthday, which is coming up on the14th (but we will be heading to Vegas that weekend and won't be able to celebrate with him then). He didn't realize we were celebrating his big day so there were lots of surprises to be had, including Mike's Chili (a place in Ballard that he's been wanting to go for well over a year now) for lunch and a GPS watch that Corey and I got him. Now he can track his biking and running time, distance, altitude, and pretty much everything else you can think of, right from his watch. (Thanks to Corey for finding that gadget!).

We had a blast with them and I look forward to seeing them briefly next Friday when I drop Roxy off - they're puppy-sitting her while we're in Vegas. Hopefully they don't call us mid-trip, ready to bring her back!


Mmm, Mike's Chili...FINALLY!



Mom and Dad enjoying birthday dessert - lava cake.

Happy Birthday Nick!

Had a blast tonight at the Smith-Gorden's casa. Nick's birthday was on Wednesday so tonight, they had all their friends over for a fun-filled evening of friends, food and of course, the Wii (what party would be complete without it?).

Here are some pictures from the evening.

The handsom birthday boy.

Tyson, the 6-toed cat, didn't like us much.

Birthday boy was hammin' it up.

Tyson wanted in on the action.


Strike a pose!


The girlies! Gina, me, Kels & Sara.


The future Mr. & Mrs. Gorden!


Wahoo for birthdays!

Lots of Fun at the Love Fiesta

Tonight we headed over to the Gossetts' house for a Love Fiesta party with the Reeders and Bishops. It was originally scheduled for Valentine's Day but with several folks sick, we rescheduled for this weekend.

The night started out with a delicious dinner. During dinner, we each had a special fortune cookie that had a question in it that tied to the theme (i.e. love, romance, kiss, etc) and everyone took turns sharing their answer to each question. We all learned a lot about each other and the other couples.

After dinner, it was time for the gift exchange - we each had to bring something we loved that cost $10 or less. I brought Cupcake Royale's super yummy salted caramel cupcakes-of-the-month and Corey brought some good hot fudge chocolate sauce from Williams Sonoma. Corey came home with a Chipotle gift card (from Natalie) and I came home with a jumbo pack of Reeses peanut butter cup eggs and 3 (losing) scratch tickets (from Jason).

After the gifts, we had a delicious dessert, followed by a rousing round of the Newlywed Game. We had a blast and continued to learn a lot about each other as everyone threw out answers to questions like 'If your house was on fire, what one thing would your wife grab on her way out?' to 'What one word would you use to describe your first kiss' and so on.

We had a fabulous time and look forward to next year's bash. Thanks for having us, Natalie and Chris, and thanks for the doggie toy. Roxy LOVES it. She's been in her bed quietly playing with it since we got home and we are loving that that.

Here are some pics from the night.


Ashlie & Natalie getting ready for dinner.


The dining room table was decorated perfectly for the Love Fiesta.


All the Love Fiesta couples. Jason - maybe you can use this as your 'most romantic moment' next time.


Me, Ashlie, Natalie & Lisa just before the Love Fiesta gifts.


Lisa, Natalie, Me & Ashlie during the Newlywed Game.


Corey, Chris, Nate & Jason during the Newlywed Game.


Corey trying to figure out one of his Newlywed Game answers.


Final scores. Obviously Corey and I need to step it up a bit.


Bonus Round: draw your significant other. My drawing of Corey looks just like him, don't you think?

Roxy with her new toy from Maggie (and the Gossetts). She loves it.

Happy Day After Valentine's Day

As I mentioned in my previous post, Corey and I each planned a date to celebrate Valentine's Day. Today was his big day. We kicked it off with a surprise trip to Discovery Park in Magnolia. I had never been but kept hearing how great it was and have been really wanting to go with Roxy. We packed Roxy up and made our way over to the park, along with homemade Spanakopita that Corey made as a surprise snack - it was delicious!

After our snack, we let Roxy run around and play in the huge grassy area before venturing down some of the paths / roads the park has to offer.

We probably walked 1-1.5 miles while we were there and Roxy was really losing steam by the end. After drinking lots of water when we got home, she curled up on the couch for and slept the rest of the afternoon.

Tonight, Corey took me to Palisade for dinner, which is also in Magnolia. I had never been but had heard from many people that it was amazing so I was thrilled to be able to go! It's beautiful - right on the water, overlooking Seattle, West Seattle and a marina. Inside, they have a stream and pond, which was really cool. And the food is amazing. Corey went with steak and prawns and I went for the butterfish, which was delish. And to top it all off, we shared a creme brulee sampler which was amazing. I love trying new places, especially when the food is so yummy.

This was a great day to top off our Valentine's Day weekend celebration. Thanks for the amazing day, Corey! Love you!

And in case you're interested, here are some photos from today. The rest can be found here.

Yummy, homemade Spanakopita.

Roxy with a stick I found for her.

Roxy was on a mission - she pulled us just about everywhere we went.

Whew! It's rough pulling Corey and I around.

Moran family at a lookout over the water. Ballard is just off to the right of this photo.

Two of my favorite people / pups.

We tried to get a photo of ourselves in front of the Palisade sign but didn't have the best luck...

...hence the photo of just me in front of the sign.