Jeske Family Christmas

We had a great weekend with the Jeske family. We did our annual gift exchange and had quite a few laughs. "Would you rather...?" spurred lots of communication. The Jeske grandkids and their spouses went bowling...gotta love those family traditions!
To sum up the weekend...good food, great company, memories created, and memories of the past remembered!

Christmas is coming!!!

Seattle in November-- Stefanie and I went to Seattle at the beginning of November. The trip was not what I expected, but we had some cool adventures. We stayed at the Camlin--one of my Trendwest locations. The room was awesome and right downtown Seattle. Our first morning there, we noticed that Brandy Carlisle was performing at the Paramount theatre that night....it was such an amazing concert and we had great seats. The concert was unique in that Brandy sang a song unplugged--no microphones, had her sister sing a song with her, and sang a few songs that were not in the usual concert.
We did some serious window shopping and actually ventured into the Seattle streets. We found a neat little bead shop and stopped in to browse. I went to dinner with Aunt Deb and Uncle Joe at a great Greek restaurant in Seattle. The food was excellent, especially the yummy appetizers and dessert. I love seeing my family and remembering old memories and making new ones!
We went to the Clumsy Lover concert at the Tractor in Ballard. I was disappointed that the lead singer was not his usual self.

Apples, Apples, Apples...

We went to the apple farm by Ken (my brother) and Dawnell's house this weekend. I found some seriously huge apples. I bought about 80 lbs of Apples...mmm...apple cobler, applesauce, dried apples, sliced apples, fresh apples, you name it. We went to the Harvest festival after the apple stand...lots of cool goodies and homemade gifts. I went away with some awesome Kalamata Olives and ranch and garlic dips...mmmmm...





Sunday morning Dawnell and I went for a horseback ride. It was an awesome morning and we saw beautiful colors of fall!! I rode Kit and Dawnell rode Stormy.

Kaleb & Me!!!

My friend Lauren brought in her precious little Boy, Kaleb Christopher, to see us! Today I was able to be a baby hog and got to hold him for a long time. He is still so tiny, but I can see that he is growing!

Certified Management Accountant

I just received word today that I passed
Part IV of the CMA exams! Yippee!! I
have to finish up paperwork and then I
will get my certificate. You would think
I would call it quits for a bit, but I
have one more test to get my CFM
Certified Financial Manager...Alphabet soup!I am super excited and relieved that I do not have to take that section again! Now I can prepare for the last section...2007 has been about test taking....What will 2008 entail?

Buddy Walk

Some of my coworkers and I participated in the 1st Annual Buddy Walk on Saturday, October 6th, 2007.The Buddy Walk benefits the Down Syndrome Association of the Mid Columbia and the national organization for research and to help with local activities.
It was a morning walk fueled by Pumpkin Pie Lattes. We did a leisure 1 mile walk around the park and visited for a while.
Our Group from left to right: Dwayne, Paula, Pam, Susan, Stephanie, Crystal, Steve, Jamie, Alina (bottom row) Ronnie, Karlene Matthew, Me, and Ellen!!
Baby Matthew was our inspiration!!

Sold!

I got my first offer today for the sale of my house. After a few counter offers I can now say that my house is under contract...the inspection is Tuesday, and I may be moving next month!!! Holy Cow! God must have a plan for me, I just need to wait until it is revealed. Now I can close the blinds, leave the lights off during the day and not worry if I have fresh flowers. Anyway, kinda anxious, and scared.I do not know whether it was the immaculate closet with the color coordinated wardrobe...or maybe it was the beautiful painting I hung in the bathroom. I guess the hours and hours of cleaning and organizing paid off. 6 1/2 days on the market whoo hoo!