Three's List

My sister Tammy tagged me to answer these questions (those of you who know her know this is right up her question answering, form filling, personality quizzing alley!!)

Three's List

1. 3 things that scare me:
Cancer. Sick children. Losing a loved one.

2. 3 people that make me laugh:
Jon Stewart. My kids (some days)

3. 3 things I love:
My husband. My kids. My life

4. 3 things I hate:
People - without kids in the car - using the Starbucks drive-thru (come on people, go inside). Feet touching other feet. Ironing clothes

5. 3 things I don't understand:
MS Excel stuff. Loads of computer/technology stuff. Anything too 'mathy'

6. 3 things on my desk
Eloise book, stack of papers waiting for Leif to file away, Sunday School teachers guide

7. 3 things I'm doing right now:
Bogging. Watching Dragon Tales. Building a train track for Christian - Wow, I'm good

8. 3 things I want to do before I die:
See me children grow to happy, good people. Travel more - to India and Asia specifically. Write a book

9. 3 things I can do well:
I'm a good household manager. I can tell the difference between an adjective and adverb (and other such things). I can sing most of the Wiggle songs - how sad is it that they are retiring, sorry Yellow wiggle

10. 3 things I can't do:
Sing (doesn't stop me from trying), drive a manual transmission,

11: 3 things you should listen to:
Your body. The sound of silence. Someone telling you they love you.

12: 3 things you shouldn't listen to:
Right wing, conservative nut jobs. The negative self talk in your head. Most of the media that's out to scare you - unless of course it's Al Gore and Global Warming ... that should scare us!

13. 3 things I would like to learn:
To speak, write, and comprehend Norwegian. Ski well. To paint.

14: 3 things I watched as a kid:
Buck Rogers. Star Wars movies. Planet of the Apes. (can you say closet Sci-Fi junkie!! )

15: 3 things I drink regularly:
Coffee. Water. Red wine (in moderation only)

16: 3 favorite foods:
Ice cream, pizza, sushi

Thanks Tammy for challenging me to think a bit.... now I'm tagging Steph, Stef Tia and Kristi.... and anyone else who wants to!

Creating a new generation of gamers!!

SNOW DAY!!

Yippee! Today is a snow day here in the Pacific Northwest. Over night we got about 8 inches of snow dumped on us and woke to a beautiful winter wonderland. Leif finally made it home last night after several hours; the biggest problem was trying to get up the plateau but he finally found a way up around the back side. Many others ended up just parking their cars and walking the final miles home.

The kids really liked the snow... but it wasn't wet enough to make a snowman, which was a bit disappointing to Campbelle. And unlike snow fall here in the past, this could stick around for awhile as the temps aren't suppose to get much above freezing for several days. Feels like we are back home!! 

 

Going on an adventrure.... the sled really is only big enough for one of them... but they found a way to make it work (at least most of the time.) Yes... we made it to Starbucks! (Along with another 100+ true Seattlites.... we need our coffee!) 

You MUST see this movie!

Whether you like Al Gore or not, the facts are startling. In less than a decade there will be no more snows of Kilimanjaro to soothe the soul, and our frosty glaciers will have dwindled to mere puddles, and 1/3 of Manhattan will be under water. Tornadoes and torrential flooding will continue to peak at a devastating rate - Katrina was just a warm-up.

Unrestricted fossil fuel burning and too much carbon dioxide polluting the air may be the culprit, but Gore puts a personal spin on his message: It's deeply unethical of us to let our planet slip through our fingers.

This movie has inspired Leif and I to take action. We really want this world to be around for our kids.... hey, we really want some of this stuff to be here in 10 years from now. Its a scary message, and pretty much an inconvenient truth.... but we can do something about it, one household at a time.

So what can you do to stop global warming and cut our use of carbon dioxide?
Here is a Top Ten list:
1. Change a Lightbulb
Replace one regular lightbulb with a compact florescent one will save 150 lbs of CO2 a year.

2. Drive Less
Bike, walk, car pool, use the bus whenever you can. For every mile you don't drive, you save 1 lb of CO2.

3. Recycle more
You can save 2400lbs of CO2 a year if you recycle only half your household waste

4. Check your tires
Properly inflated tires improves gas mileage by 3%. 1 gallon of gas saved keeps 20 lbs of CO2 out of the air

5. Use less hot water
It takes alot of energy to heat water. Install a low flow shower head (saves 350 lbs per year) and wash clothes on cold or warm cycles (saves 500 lbs per year)

6. Avoid products with alot of packaging
You can save 1200 lbs of CO2 by cutting your garbage by 10%

7. Adjust your thermostat
By moving your thermostat down 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer you can save 2000 lbs per year.

8. Plant a tree
Each tree absorbs a ton of CO2 in its lifetime

9. Turn off electronic devices
Turn off TV, DVD, computer, and any other electronic devices when not in use can save thousands of pounds a year

10. See this movie... and encourage everyone you know to watch it as well.

For more information and other simple things that we can do to help stop global warming, go to http://www.climatecrisis.net

Ok, I'm off my soapbox now. :-)

Cookie Decorating with Gina

Cookie Decorating

This morning we decorated cookies. Campbelle was quite artistic in her creations but Christian was just mostly concerned about eating them fast before anyone could realize what he had done! (Notice the frosting dripping from his nose!)

Cookie Baking

Video: cookie baking

Seattle Snow

Leif took the kids to the park on Friday; they had to really bundle up because we had a little snow.... it lasted all of 20 minutes, but the kids thought it was great.
 

Cookie Making

Friday we made some Christmas cookies. Campbelle and Gina were in charge of the baking.... ... and Christian was the clean up crew! 

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday. We had 8 of our friends (plus 4 kids) over for turkey and all the fixings! All turned out really well, I'm always glad that Gina is here to help me and basically be the kitchen manager. She was in charge of desserts again and had fabulous pumpkin cheesecake, pecan pie and of course nut pudding.

Leif got a little surprise gift with an electric knife to use this year.... how marvelously he can carve a turkey now!

We are so thankful for all we have... I read a neat passage in my Simple Abundance book yesterday that I really liked and want to share with all of you: "We have so much for which to be thankful. So much about which to smile, so much to share. So much, that in this season of plenty, we can embrace the season of relinquishment. All we have is all we need. But give us, we pray, but one more thing. The gift of grateful hearts. Hearts that will not forget what You have done."

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I hope that this feeling of abundance and plenty carry us through the rest of the holiday season.

Letters from Santa

Campbelle and Christian both received personal letters from Santa Claus today, complete with a postcard of him and Mrs Claus and a sticker. Campbelle was especially excited to hear that she is at the top of his good list... she has worked extra hard this afternoon to ensure that she stays there too (I ask myself how long can this continue to work, we'll find out!). We were so impressed with Santa's personal letter, postmarked from the North Pole and all, and really have no idea just how he found the time to correspond so brilliantly! If anyone out there knows his fantastic trick, please do tell... really, do tell (I promise not to share the information with anyone under the age of 10)!!

Dancing Queen

Our Getaway Weekend

Leif and I were able to get away for a few days this past weekend while Gina watched the kids (THANK YOU THANK YOU GINA). We went to the Alderbrook Resort on the Hood Canal, which is basically on the other side of Puget Sound area. It was a fantastic weekend with alot of quiet, down time... what?!?!... breakfast in bed reading the paper drinking coffee... unheard of!! Before leaving on Sunday, we both did a hot stone massage... it was fantastic!
Very cool rooms... probably the coolest place I've ever stayed!

Beautiful scenary along the Hood Canal.
We stopped at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. We saw some really usual, abstract art... including 2 taxidermied peacocks hanging from their tails dripping blood, and intertangled horse carcasses... not the hightlight of a Romantic Weekend Getaway... but intersting all the same! 

Ice Princess

Campbelle calls herself the ICE PRINCESS in this get up. Here she is graciously serving me icy tea! 

Reading with Pappa

 

New Slippers for Christian

A Perfect Weekend

I'm a bit sad right now as the weekend is coming to an end. We had such a nice few days... the perfect mix of family and couple time. Friday night we had a babysitter for the kids and Leif and I had a really nice dinner at a local steakhouse - Jaks. It was nice for us to get away and just spend the night talking, dare I say romantic even!! :-)

On Saturday, Leif took Christian to do some boy stuff - change the oil in the car, and then the two of them went swimming at the gym. Campbelle and I did girl stuff all morning... shopping, shopping and more shopping. She was so good and she even helped me pick out a new purse ... she gave suggestions on which ones, according to her, were 'high fashion.' The rest of Saturday was spent playing games and relaxing.

Sunday afternoon we celebrated our neighbor Jack's 3rd birthday at the Children's Museum. Campbelle's favorite place to play is the stage, where she preformed her own rendition of The Nutcracker (Campbelle, Farmor and myself are going to the ballet in Norway in few weeks and it is pretty much all she thinks about). Christian loves the workshop, and a two year old (or soon to be 2) wielding a hammer always makes for an interesting time.

And tonight... cozying up to the fire and staying dry from all the Seattle rain.... a great ending to a nice weekend.

Disney on Ice

Leif and Campbelle went to Disney on Ice tonight. She was so excited about it and pretty much talked non-stop about it all day. She even napped this afternoon so she wouldn't get 'too tired to watch the ice show.' I'm anxious to hear all about it when they get home.

Cooking with Anita

Last night Leif and I took part in a cooking adventure. We, and 7 other couples did 'Cooking with Anita' where we went to Anita and Lars' home, broke into groups and prepared our 7 course meal. Once it was all finished we sat down to a fantastic feast.
Antia does this 'cooking class' in her own home, two nights a week (sometimes even 3). She has a huge kitchen that is more than fully stocked with every ingredient, untensil, pot and pan you can possible image.
Our Late Harvest Menu consisted of:
*Mixed Green Salad with warm mushrooms and pancetta
*Leek and Turnip Soup
*Fish Gratin with Mashed Potatoes and Shimp sauce
*Lemon sorbet
*Roasted Pork Roast with Apple compote and root Vegtables
*Apple Brown Betty
*Banana Cake with Coffee Butter Cream Frosting
Lars and Anita Myrfors - Hosts and Chefs, orginally from Sweden ... luckily Leif didn't hold that against them.

 

Book Party

The kids were playing upstairs on their own this afternoon for a little while and when I came up to check on them - this is what I found! They said they were having a "Book Party" - I would say so!! 

Trick or Treating at Microsoft

We went to Leif's office during the afternoon to do some trick or treating... which going to MS is like hitting the jackpot! Most people leave a bag of candy outside their offices, so kids don't even have to 'work' to get candy, just grab a few. Hallways decorations are over the top! We saw an operating room (complete with corpse), a haunted forest, and ton of other just really scary stuff.
Christian was not at all crazy about these guys and their mummy.
But Campbelle would have followed this girl around all day! 

The Keyes came over to trick or treat with us. Christian really got into the whole thing. I've never seen him talk to so many strangers... I guess when candy is at stake, he forgets he's a shy guy.