Family Ties

Greetings from the east coast! I'm back on familiar ground and looking forward to a week of
R & R. I had a very smooth flight across the US (and hope to repeat it again on my flight out) and got into Susquehanna late Friday night. When we got home I got to meet my "niece" puppy Bella and right away I couldn't help but take a liking to her. Maybe I'm not such an anti-dog person after all. Of course after an hour of in and out of the house trying to make her go "poo" (Lauren's word not mine) and subsequent observations of Bella pooping everywhere but outside, I have determined that I can view dogs from afar but can't find the desire to have one of my own.
Saturday was a beautiful day of warmth and sunshine and also a day for the entire family to come together. It's been 8 months since I've seen everyone but sitting around the table talking and laughing made it feel as though no time has passed at all. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to come home and be surrounded by so much family! Near or far, it's a comfort to know that no distance can break those ties. I took as much in as I could and will carry it with me over the next few months.
Until next time from the west coast...........

I'm sitting here typing this post on our brand new couch. Yes Joe and I bit the bullet and invested in couch number two. I've learned this time around not to get too attached to the furniture that we buy but for the mean time it is quite comfortable! Nala has really taken a liking to it and every time I sit down there are a few more white hairs....If only she wasn't so cute! We were fortunate that Bryan and Alex were still here to help move it into the elevator and up 4 stories. This was one instance where I was happy to take on the role of "alpha female" and let the boys do the work. :-)
I got to spend the last two days of last week at an Autism Summit. It was nice to step out of my schedule for a change. I got the opportunity to listen to a great speaker from Pittsburgh and she was very inspiring showing the work that she has done. Of course I leave these conferences wanting to do everything and anything that I see and hear only to find that there still isn't enough hours in the day to fit it all in. The story of life I guess......
I'm hoping this week goes by fast as I'm anxious for my trip back east. Looking forward to relaxing and seeing everyone!

Bonding With Cousins.....

As all of you were enjoying some of the sunshine this weekend, Bryan and Alex were welcomed to Seattle by none other than rain and wind. The wind is actually some of the most intense I've felt since we've moved here. So the boys are here for the weekend before heading down to Portland. It's been nice to spend some time together-especially since the last time I can remember this much time together involved Mom and Aunt JoAnn with four kids camping somewhere in upper New York state. (very good memories I might add!) The rain yesterday didn't keep the boys from exploring the city on foot and then engaging in a game of soccer with a couple of the locals. Today we were all slow getting the day started but Joe and I wanted to show Bryan and Alex other areas outside of the city. We took them to the area around the University of Washington and walked some of the campus and the main street. I was actually expecting the campus to be bigger but did find myself impressed by some of the beautiful houses that are residence to the fraternity. How such beautiful houses are given up to smelly fraternity boys is beyond me......From there we headed to the neighborhood of Freemont where Joe and I love to wander the vintage junk shops. I think it is lucky that the boys are flying back as Alex was eyeing up a number of really gaudy things for his house at school. The house has been spared some interesting choices of decor due to the expensive rate of postage from one side of the country to the other. Joe introduced the boys to one of his favorite spots-a belgium brewery with an interesting feel between midevil times and as Bryan pointed out-a backdrop that could have been used in the movie Fight Club. We then drove over to Alki Beach and despite the wind and the sunshine playing hide and seek, we found a great Italian restaurant for pizza and a view of the Sound. Bryan has had some interesting observations of people in the area- from what they wear, to their mannerism, and how much jay-walking is frowned upon. I warned them that people take it seriously out here and they didn't believe me until a homeless man yelled at them for walking without the walk sign. It's been interesting to have another east coast perspective because for us it has just become the norm and I guess I've forgotten the "view from the other side." I guess I should be a little bit more specific in that some of Bryan's comparisons have been between here and Scranton which is a whole other entity in and of itself! As I sit and type this, Joe, Bryan, and Alex have gone out to explore some of the local bars. I haven't decided yet if I should be worried about this combination or not! :-)

Greetings all~ Hope everyone is doing well. We are doing well on this end and are finally able to say we're settled into our new place. The boxes are emptied and most things are put away. The only remaining evidence of the move is the pictures that still have yet to find a home on the wall. I think this week I'll be able to come home from work and actually feel comfortable putting my feet up rather than trying to get this place feeling homey. Chaos no more!
I had an interesting experience last night that involved lots of snow and inexperienced drivers on the road. I was out in Snoqualmie which is about 45 minutes from the city. I was with my friend Sydney and we were headed to her cousins' gymnastics meet and then we were going to check out the new casino that was nearby. After the meet we went out to the car and were met by a winter wonderland. We knew we were at a higher elevation but were naieve to think that the snow wouldn't touch us. Boy were we wrong. It was coming down so heavy we could barely see in front of us. I was in the passenger seat trying to give suggestions as to what to do since Sydney has less experience driving in the snow. Who would have thought that growing up with snowy roads would have come in so handy in my adult life? As we approached the casino we were met with a line of traffic waiting to get into the grounds. Guess the snow doesn't keep the true gamblers at bay. We watched a limo fish tale all the way up a hill and watched many drivers make very poor choices. We finally bypassed the casino (guess our curiosity about the place will stand a little longer) and tried very cautiously to make it back towards Seattle. An hour and a half later we found ourselves out of the white but only after witnessing many cars spun out, accidents, and experiencing a very slow and tense drive. I had flashbacks of my senior year in high school and making the trek home from Western Wayne in my 1988 Chevy Celebrity. I can still feel the mailbox under my feet when I ran over it as well as the countless number of snow walls that we barely missed. Needless to say after getting back on safe grounds we headed to a bar as we needed a drink to help us de-tense. Not really the Saturday night we had in mind. I'm really hope spring time gets here sooner rather than later.

Settling In...........

Greetings from our new location in Seattle! It has been quite the week but here we are in our new place. The "settling in" process continues to occur but I will admit that there are fewer boxes visably present than what could be seen a few days ago. I take that as a good sign! It took us until Friday to get cable and Saturday to get internet. This week without has made me appreciate all the technology that we have come to rely on on a daily basis. But I will admit it's also sad to say that I was having withdrawl from my e-mail and felt in a bubble not really knowing what's going on beyond the realm of my small world. Who knew that the president had picked his dog? Not me until I was able to go on MSN.com and get my dose of daily news. It seems as though I've traded one form of communication for another....as I type I'm staring at my cell phone wishing for it to turn back on after it's unfortunate trip into Nala's water bowl. I can only say that a small kitchen space and clumsy hands are to blame.
We continue to try and find new places for our things, and are slowly attaining some furniture. An Occupational Therapist that I work with was gracious enough to give us a table and chair set that she needed to get rid of and our bedroom furniture arrived today which now means that the pile of clothes and endless search of what to wear each morning is over! Joe and I were excited to finally purchase a queen size bed (along with 2 dressers) but we may have been a little too over ambitious with our furniture purchases as the bed fills the room! It is huge! But then of course what is a bedroom if not for a good nights sleep? We will certainly be getting that. So what if one of us has to crawl over the other to get out of bed, or that our alarm clock will be clear across the other side of the room making it in no way possible to hit snooze for those extra five minutes, or that we may bump the bed while getting things out of the dresser because the space between the two is minimal? What is important is that we have some furniture to call our own and dare I say I could call it the "big girl furniture" I didn't think I'd see until post age 30?
Now comes the part of uncovering all of our pictures that we haven't seen in six months and begin the "compromise" of where to put each one. Let's just say that each of us would tell you that each other has some "unappealing to the eye" pictures that the other swears they need to have hanging somewhere. With that said, my picture of Venice may be right next to Joe's concert poster with some absurd picture in colors that do not go but they will be hanging next to each other because it was our "compromise." Actually just thinking about what's to come makes me a little uneasy as this compromising tends to be a little tricky at times and we haven't even gotten to the bedroom comforter yet......Wish us luck!