30 Weeks

No doctor's appointment today but not for lack of trying. Our streets are so packed with snow just about the entire neighborhood is out shovelling. There just wasn't enough of a path cleared to make it out. I did attempt it though, and ended up getting stuck down the street. Thankfully Tage (who also couldn't make it into work today) and the neighbors were able to dig the Malibu out. I'm hoping things will be cleared shortly and I can head into work.

Why did I choose Spokane over Phoenix again?

Snow day!

It's official. We are snowed in. Schools are closed, streets are closed, and yet the bank is open. Praise God for my wonderful assistant manager, Suzy, who has a new Expedition and lives near the branch. She has volunteered to pick up a couple of other recruits and head in to work, not that anyone in Spokane will need to go to the bank today, but you never know.

In the mean time, we'll be shoveling, keeping the dog from getting lost in the snow drifts, and building the world's largest snow man. Don't they look happy to be playing in the snow?

Astro the Snow Dog

Yep, 7 months pregnant and shovelling snow. Every girl's dream.

Snow penguins! Their first appearance of the season... looking a bit haggard if you ask me.

Finally, Tage taking advantage of our sloping street.

Squash and White Bean Soup

Have I mentioned how fond I am of Real Simple's recipes? Nothing beats warm soup on a cold, snowy weeknight so last night I tried out their Squash and White Bean Soup recipe. It was great! The perfect balance of hearty ingredients, a fresh taste, and super healthy. We had garlic bread rather than the Parmesan biscuits, used all organic and fresh vegetables, and rather than using canned white beans I had prepared a large pot from dried beans the week before. There are a bunch of white beans left over so those will be used later on in the week in Bean and Sausage Stew. One of the best things about last night's recipe? It was incredibly inexpensive. I do want to note that Tage wasn't a huge fan of all the squash, he thought the soup needed a lot more white beans and a lot less butternut squash. And, as always, LOTS more salt.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Saturday night was our WaMu-Northwest Boulevard Christmas party (an ugly sweater theme). Everyone brought a dessert and a gift for our white elephant gift exchange. Jose and Amanda even brought their dog Chico, a Jack Russel Terrier, who did his best to coax Astro out of his crate and out to play. Eventually Astro made it as far as beneath the kitchen table, which was still a big step for him.

I made Ginger Chocolate-Chip Bars, Blueberry Pinwheels, and Glazed Lemon Cookies. The Ginger Chocolate-Chip bars were the easiest to make and the recipe made a bunch of them. The Blueberry Pinwheels proved to be the most time consuming, but they were yummy. My favorites were the Glazed Lemon Cookies which were basically a shortbread cookie with a lemony glaze on top which I could have poured over ice cream (or toast for that matter) and enjoyed. The best part is there are plenty left over to hand out to the neighbors!

Thanks to Tage, our house was festivly decorated for the holiday season. He surprised me the day after Thanksgiving by picking up AND decorating this adorable Christmas tree and having it set up when I got home from work. Thanks to my mom and Grandma Pete, there are already gifts under the tree just waiting for Christmas morning.

This was my view of the Christmas tree as I pulled into the driveway after a very long day at work. :)

From the National Weather Service

We received this notice last night:

...HEAVY SNOW FOLLOWED BY WIND AND BITTER COLD THIS WEEKEND FOR EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO...

A STRONG WINTER STORM IS SET TO DROP INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST FRIDAY AND SATURDAY BRINGING THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME OF THE SNOWIEST AND COLDEST WEATHER OF THE WINTER THUS FAR.

SNOW WILL DEVELOP FROM THE CANADIAN BORDER SOUTHWARD DURING THE MORNING HOURS FRIDAY. A BAND OF HEAVY SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE LATE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY WITH THE FIRST PHASE OF THIS WINTER STORM. UNDER THE HEAVY HEAVY BAND OF SNOW... THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A FOOT OF SNOW IN THE VALLEYS. SNOWFALL RATES COULD APPROACH 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR UNDER THE BAND... AND TRAVEL IS LIKELY TO BECOME DANGEROUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

THE SECOND PHASE OF THIS STORM WILL BE THE POTENTIAL FOR STRONG NORTHEAST WINDS SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY. THE ARRIVAL OF A STRONG ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW... ESPECIALLY IN THE VALLEYS OF NORTHERN IDAHO AND NORTHEAST WASHINGTON. TRAVEL ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY COULD BECOME DANGEROUS... AND WIND CHILL VALUES COULD BE 10 TO 20 DEGREES BELOW ZERO.

THE THIRD PHASE OF THIS STORM WILL BE THE ARRIVAL OF A VERY COLD ARCTIC AIRMASS. COMPUTER MODELS SUGGEST THAT TEMPERATURES EARLY NEXT WEEK COULD BE THE COLDEST THE INLAND NORTHWEST HAS EXPERIENCED SINCE JANUARY 2004.

We'll let you know how we make out! Here's to our second winter in Spokane...

1 Year Anniversary

This week marked one year of living in Spokane. I can still vividly recall driving up during a snow storm last year, installing my own chains on the Malibu, and getting lost somewhere around Madras, Oregon on the way. Looking back on that trek I just have to say thank God I have Verizon, I got service nearly the entire way. Reflecting on my year here, I thought I would share a few things I've learned...

1. I can now tell you what that is and what it does. If you don't know, count your blessings. I wish to never again live in a place where an ice-scraper is just as necessary for your vehicle as a spare tire is. Mine never leaves my car and has a neat brush on one end for snow removal. My Aunt Suzie actually got me a heated one for Christmas last year. Unbelievably handy!

2. I love my hometown... actually, California in general. Don't get me wrong, I think Seattle is a fabulous place to spend the weekend shopping and taking in a Mariners game, but Spokane is quite different. I miss the Rivercats, being close enough to see Giants games in San Francisco, McKinley Park, Jack's Urban Eats, Beach Hut Deli, and Chipotle.

3. People from Spokane REALLY like Spokane. They are proud of the fact that they have lived in the same home for 57 years and they are so irritated by the countless "transplants" from California who have invaded their small city, forcing them to drive the maximum speed limit of 60 mph in the middle lane of the freeway instead of the inside lane, because the Californian is behind them trying to get somewhere and 60 isn't going to cut it. They don't mind that the restaurant prices here are outrageous and (scoff) they actually think they know what good ethnic food tastes like. You have to have people from ethnic cultures live in your city in order to provide you with quality ethnic food, which leads me to my next lesson...

4. I value diversity. I really do, and not just for the food. I want my children to grow up in a place where they will interact with a variety of cultures on a daily basis, not just occassionally. We Californians sometimes take for granted just how much other cultures have impacted our state. Just look at the great things we have to show for our diversity: amazing produce (think of who works all of those fields), incredible food and culture fairs (the Greek festival, for one), arts, entertainment, literature, and (of course) amazing sushi, authentic Mexican, and fresh Thai restaurants.

5. I needed to live outside of my comfort zone. I appreciate how close in proximity our families live to us but after 26 years in the same 7 mile radius of the home I grew up in, I needed to branch out. After experiencing the bitter cold of Spokane and the record snow-fall winter of last year I know I will not be living somewhere cold again for a very, very long time. Like if my kids grow up and someday move to Boston with my grandkids, THEN I might consider it. Might. Why is it we always have to experience something else in order to appreciate what we have? At least this was one lesson I didn't have to learn the hard way. The cold way, yes, the hard way, no.

28 Weeks

Now that we are in the third trimester, the doctors appointments are every two weeks. It really sank in today when Dr. Church informed us of that. We've only got 12 weeks to go! And yet I feel like I still barely look pregnant (Tage took that picture tonight...)

The doctor measured my uterus and sure enough, it may as well be up to my esophagus right now. You know it's bad when Grape Nuts cereal and milk gives you heartburn. She said my weight gain "looked good" (although she has said that every time) and the baby measured exactly the size he is supposed to be. His heart beat was strong and he was thrilled about the amount of sugar I had to ingest for the glucose testing for gestational diabetes. We will find out the results tomorrow. I do find it a bit silly that they wait to do the testing until now, when I only have three months of gestating left, but they know more about it than I do. Overall I'm feeling good and have more energy, there's just the heartburn that seems to come out of nowhere. We miss everyone and are counting down the days until we visit in January!

I'll leave you with this endearing comment from Tage's niece Mikyla (mother of two little ones herself) about Tage becoming a father...

"Lol its funny to imagine my Uncle Tage as a dad lol I still remember as kid when he had his z z top beard and would be biking all over town. In my head im imaging him with that same beard holding a lil baby."