Tape, Boxes and Bubble Wrap.....O' MY!

Packing has officially begun at our house.  I would like to think that I have accomplished a lot in the last week, but let me tell ya.....packing is so time consuming and between Brandon and I we both have definitely accumulated a lot of junk!  I will for sure be paying the goodwill quite a few visits until we are completely packed.  I am trying to be as organized as possible with packing and I'm actually labeling all the boxes so we know what is in them.  I'm hoping this will make the unpacking process a lot easier when it comes to that time.  Our house looks like a disaster and there is stuff everywhere.  Boxes, tape, markers, and bubble wrap. Nothing is in the right place anymore and it's driving me crazy, but I'm just going to have to live with the fact that my house is going to be unorganized and an ultimate cluster from here on out until we are completely moved. 

Here are a few pictures of the packing progress I have made so far, just don't judge my messy house.

 As you can tell by the order of the pictures I am slowly but surely making progress. 

  

I started packing today with only 2 boxes packed and I am done for the night and have a total of 9!

 

Definitely does not look like a lot of boxes but it definitely took me a long time to get those 9 boxes packed.

I've been keeping busy around the house with packing and Brandon is in study mode for finals. 

Work has also been keeping me busy.  We recently just let someone go at the front desk so we are down another employee and we just hired the new manager that will be taking my position.  I've been putting in a lot of hours to cover the front desk since we are short staffed now and to train the new manager.  I'm going to need a mini-vacation after all this is said and done, haha!

Stay tuned for more packing progress and pictures....like I said before, just don't judge my messy house.

40 years of marriage.....

A married couple in their early 60s are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in a quiet, romantic little restaurant.

Suddenly, a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared on their table.

She said, 'For being such an exemplary married couple and for being loving to each other for all this time, I will grant you each a wish.'

The wife answered, 'Oh, I want to travel around the world with my darling husband

The fairy waved her magic wand and - poof! - two tickets for the Queen Mary II appeared in her hands.

The husband thought for a moment: 'Well, this is all very romantic, but an opportunity like this will never come again. I'm sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me.

The wife, and the fairy, were deeply disappointed, but a wish is a wish.

So the fairy waved her magic wand and poof!...

The husband became 92 years old.

The moral of this story:

Men who are ungrateful bastards should remember fairies are female.....

Job Searchin'

   I have started the ever so dreadful job search.  I am truly not a fan of searching for a job.  It's a lot of work and can be somewhat discouraging at times.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something will pull through that way I have a job for when we get back to Washington.  It would be nice to be able to just live a "free bird" lifestyle for awhile and enjoy my family and friends for awhile, but unfortunately I am not a millionaire and can't afford to be a free bird, cause the bills don't stop coming in, haha!  If I happen to strike it rich here though in the next month or so that may all change. 

   I am keeping my options open with job searching.  I have applied for places in the Whatcom County area as well as in the Seattle area.  I have sent in my resume to almost every bank that is out there as well as Seattle Children's hospital, Swedish Medical Center and Virginia Mason.  I am really keeping my fingers crossed and saying a little prayer every night that one of the hospital jobs happens to fall into my lap. 

   42 days from today Brandon and I will be Washington bound!  It's hard to believe that it's only 42 days away.  With that being said it's time that I get my butt in gear and start slowly packing up stuff and cleaning house. I dread the thought of having to move, clean and drive cross country but I know in the end I will be a lot happier being back closer to my family and friends.  It will be nice to be able to spend all the holidays with our families and finally get to eat some awesome home cooked meals, especially Thanksgiving.  I have enjoyed cooking my own turkey the last couple of Thanksgivings but it definitely does not taste as good as when someone else does it. 

I just happen to be searching google images and came across this picture of a Grandpa holding a cooked turkey.  This must be a sign, haha! 

   I have a feeling these next 6 months or so are going to be crazy busy for us.   Brandon finishing school, taking the bar exam and continueing his job search and hopefully finding something(keep your fingers crossed). At the moment we are both not really sure where we will be living!  I guess you could say we are just going with the flow of things.  We really won't know until Brandon finds a job somewhere.  It seems kind of pointless at this moment to rent an apartment somewhere and sign a lease when we are not sure where his job will be.  Hopefully everything will fall into place easily so we can get a place of our own.  It's going to be hard going from living together, having our own place and own space to going back and living with family for awhile till we figure everything out.  I am so grateful though for our families and that we have a place to stay.  I'm sure though that this is not an ideal situation for them either though to have their children/grandchildren living with them again, haha!


   Dallas and Tiffany are expecting a little one in October so I'll be an Auntie for the first time.  I am soooo excited for them and can hardly wait to spoil a little one thats not my own and get my baby fix.  Dylon left for the National Guard yesterday (Sunday 3rd) for basic training in Missouri for 4 months.  Life is crazy and hectic and lots of changes are taking place.  All good changes though!  Can't wait to see what the next 6 months ahead bring. 

When Grandma Goes To Court

Lawyers should never ask a Mississippi grandma a question if they aren't prepared for the answer.
In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know me?' She responded, 'Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when you haven't t he brains to realize you'll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.'
The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?'
She again replied, 'Why yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him.'
The defense attorney nearly died
The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said, 'If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll send you both to the electric chair.'

Rain....Rain....Go Away!

The weather here this last week has been crazy! It was beautiful at the end of last week, the sun was shining and the birds were chirping. It seemed like spring was right around the corner.  And than low and behold it snowed here on Monday.  Yes...I said that correctly, it snowed!  It was a mix of snow and rain so it was really to wet to stick to the roads or the grass, which is a good thing because I am so over winter.  And now today, it's rainy and gloomy out!  This weather is driving me crazy.  

Other than the crazy weather we have been having our lives have been pretty low key.  Work and school seem like the never ending story of both our lives.   Luckily the school part is just about done and over with for Brandon. I have diligently been collecting boxes and storing them in our sun room so we have plenty of boxes for when we move. Lets just say our sun room has now become a storage room and it's only going to get worse from here on out.   

My Grandpa and Grandma Pike are coming out here the end of April / early May to visit!  I am so excited and can hardly wait.  They are taking a 3week road trip and driving out this way.  They are first going stop is in Pennsylvania to see their friends Matt and Diane. They are on no time schedule and are going to take their time on the road.  They plan on stopping to see Niagara Falls, Washington DC and then head on to North Carolina!   I can't wait to show them where I have been living for the last 2 years.  The nice thing about them driving out this way is I'm going to send them home with a bunch of packed boxes so it's less stuff to pack into the u-haul and worry about. Grandpa doesn't know it yet, but I'm going to put him to work while he is here, haha!  I'm also hoping that maybe we can go to a Winston-Salem Dash minor league baseball game while they are here visiting.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I find time between my crazy work schedule and all the shenanigans of packing. 

The diet has been going well.  Brandon and I treated ourselves yesterday and went out for a late lunch / early dinner!  He has been pretty strict with the diet.  I have not been as strict as him, but I have definitely been a lot better with my carb intake.  I have not had any types of pastas,  potatoes or breads the last week and a half.  It's been tough, but I have found a few things that are low in carbs that have helped me curve my cravings for the things I love. 

I found these tortillas that are low in carb.  They only have 5g of carbs per tortilla and have totally saved me from wanting any type of bread, and they actually taste really good too!

Going without any type of ice cream on this diet has been difficult for me.  I LOVE my ice cream more than anything.  I was lucky enough to find a low carb ice cream made by Breyers!  Now that I have found a couple of my favorite things with a lower carb count, I think I just may survive this diet for a little bit longer, haha!

As I logged onto my blog I notice and thought about the name of my blog, "west coast girls living in a southern world" and realized that I'm going to have to change the name of this blog come the month of May.  I don't have any ideas for new blog names so I'm going to have to put my thinking cap on and see what I can come up with.  If any of you have any good ideas please share.  I can always use the help and input.  Happy Wednesday.

Weekly joke:  Three women go to Mexico

Three women go down to Mexico one night to celebrate college graduation.

Apparently someone slipped something into their drinks, and they woke up in jail, only to find that they are to be executed in the morning, though none of them can remember what they did the night before.

The first one, a redhead, is strapped in the electric chair and is asked if she has any last words. She says, 'I just graduated from Trinity Bible College and believe in the Almighty power of God to intervene on the behalf of the innocent.'

They throw the switch and nothing happens. They all immediately fall to the floor on their knees, beg for forgiveness, and release her.

The second one, a brunette, is strapped in and gives her last words... 'I just graduated from the Harvard School of Law and I believe in the power of justice to intervene on the part of the innocent.'

They throw the switch and again, nothing happens. Again they all immediately fall to their knees, beg for forgiveness and release her.

The last one, you knew it would be, a blonde, is strapped in and says, 'Well, I'm from Georgia Tech and just graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering, and I'll tell ya right now, y'all ain't gonna electrocute nobody if you don't plug this thing in.

 

 

D....I....E....T

Every time I hear the word Diet I cringe.  Mainly because I love my sweets (especially ice cream) and I like being able to eat what I want with no restrictions.  I have decided to attack my fear and the difficult task of going on a diet.  Brandon and I both started our diet yesterday.  The diet consist of no carbs and no sugars (this includes no fruit as well or wine, oh shit!!), just protein (lots of meat and eggs) and lots of veggies.  I knew this was going to be difficult for me since I love my pastas, potato's, and breads.  But day one (yesterday) was a success and today I'm going strong.  Yesterday being the first day was difficult for me.  Today it seems a lot easier, although I would give anything right now for an ice cream sundae or smoothie, haha! 

My eating habits have become really bad and I finally decided that I needed to do something about it.  After our trip to Charleston I ate and drank way too much and seriously probably gained 5lbs, haha! Call me crazy but my goal is to drop about 10lbs, although I would be over the moon happy if I could lose 15lbs, but I have to take one step at a time and be happy with whatever weight I lose.  So wish me luck and make sure you eat a piece of cake and some ice cream for me since I can't. 

On another note...I have failed miserably and took NO pictures of the UW basketball game on Friday against Georgia.  We were so busy having a good time and cheering that I totally forgot about taking pictures.  We had a blast and it was such a good game and was way too close at the end that I thought I was going to have a heart attack.  So glad they won, just wish they could of pulled off an upset against UNC on Sunday!  Maybe next year.

Not much of anything else has been going on in our crazy lives.  Just the same ol' same ol' as usual.  The weather here has been amazing.  Without a doubt one thing I'm going to miss about North Carolina is the great weather and warm summers.  It was 82* today and its suppose to be 81* tomorrow.  Sure can't complain about that.  I'll enjoy the sunshine for everyone back home while you enjoy the sweets and I'll keep everyone posted on my diet adventure.  

Happy Tuesday....and here is my weekly blog joke (hope it does not offend anyone, but it's just too funny not to share!) At least I pre-warned you, haha

The Disabled Parrot 

 

 Dave is browsing in a pet shop

and sees a parrot sitting on a little perch.

It doesn't have any feet or legs.

"jeeps," he wonders aloud.

"whatever happened to this parrot?"

The parrots says, "I was born this way.

I'm a defective parrot."

"Sheesh" Dave replies. "You actually

answered me! Oh boy!"

Of Course. I happen to be a

highly intelligent bird and thoroughly

educated as well."

"Oh Yeah? Than how do you hang onto your perch

without any feet?"

"This is so embarrasing" the parrots says, "but since you asked,

I wrap my weenie around the wooden bar like a little hook.

You can't see it because of my feathers."

"Wow" says Dave.  "You really can understand

and speak English can't you?"

"Actually I speak both Spanish and English,

I listen to the radio and can converse

on almost any topic.

You really should buy me

I'd be a great companion."

Dave looks at the price tag $2000

and knew he couldn't afford that, but the

parrots says "I'm defective, no one wants me,

so offer $20.  Dave did and was delighted to

walk out with the parrot.

Weeks go by. The parrot is sensational,

he has a great sense of humor,

he's interesting, insighful and a

great pal.

 

 

 

Dave comes home form work one night

and the parrots whispers in his ear.

I don't know if I should tell you this, it's

about your wife and the postman.

"What the heck are you talking about?"

demands Dave.

"When the postman delivered the mail today,

your wife greeted him at the door in

her best sexy nightie."

"WHAT ???" Dave asks,

"Then what happened?" 

"Well, then the postman came right

into the house, lifted up her nightie

and began petting her all over," reported

the parrot.

"NO!" Dave exclaims. "And she let him?"

"Yes.  The he continued taking off her nightie,

got down on his knees and began to

kiss her all over..." 

Dave, the poor frantic guy demands,

"THEN WHAT HAPPENED?"

 "Damned if I know. I got a hard on

and fell off my perch!"

March Madness

        Were going to March Madness!!!  Brandon and I are very lucky and fortunate enough to be able to go to the UW vs. Georgia game on Friday night (they are playing in Charlotte, NC which is just an 1hour 45min drive from where we live.)  We are sooo excited and can't wait to get decked out in our purple and gold and cheer on the huskies!  The tickets we purchased also allow us to see the Carolina vs. Long Island game which is at 7pm and than the huskies play around 9pm.  This is definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity.  Not many people can say that they get to go to any NCAA tournament games.  I'll make sure to take lots of pictures to share with everyone.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that UW wins and don't forget to watch the game on Friday night, you just may see us on TV, haha!

     Things are finally starting to get back to normal now that Brandon's spring break is over, our company has left and I'm back to work.  It was so nice to have a week off and I'm already ready for another vacation (although I don't think that will happen anytime soon.) 

    It's official and we are now telling everyone that we are moving back to Washington!  I went into work mid-last week and let the bosses/owners of where I work know that I'll be leaving in May and my last day will be the 13th of May.  They were definitely bummed but they understand that we have to do whats best for us.  I'm excited to move home and be closer to family and friends but sad that I have to leave such a great job that I really enjoy.  It will for sure be a lot easier to plan the wedding being back home.  Can't wait to start more of the planning process. And actually feel like I'm getting stuff accomplished with the wedding.

    Things have just been pretty low key around our house with Brandon getting back into the swing of things with school after spring break. He is finally on the home stretch and will be done before we know it.  I'm slowly starting to get rid of old crap that we don't need anymore so it's not extra stuff to pack and move. Moving is definitely one thing that I don't enjoy at all and truly hate with a passion.  Especially since this is not an easy move and involves a lot of work and traveling.  Brandon's dad is renting a Uhaul truck and him and his dad will be driving that back across with all our stuff and Holly is flying out here and will be driving back with me in my car.  I am so happy that I have a traveling buddy!  It will make the road trip so much more enjoyable.  Holly flies into Charlotte on Sunday, May 15th. Brandon graduates Monday the 16th and then we will be hitting the road back to Washington on Tuesday the 17th.  It will be a busy weekend and week full of packing and traveling and I just may need a mini-vacation after this is all done.  

    Here are a few more pictures from our Charleston vacation and stay tuned next week for pictures from the UW game on Friday!   

Alyse and I on the beach!

Atlantic Ocean

Group shot on the beach!

I think this is the Cooper River Bridge

These little salamander/gecko's were everywhere

They did a lot of bonding over the weekend, haha!

Here is a joke to wrap up my blog.  Hope everyone has a wonderful week.

The Holy Land Visit

A man and his ever-nagging wife went on vacation to Jerusalem. While

they were there, the wife passed away. The undertaker told the

husband,

"You can have her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here,

in the Holy Land, for $150." The man thought about it and told him he

would just have her shipped home.

The undertaker asked, "Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your wife

home, when it would be wonderful to be buried here and you would

spend only $150?"

The man replied, "Long Long ago a man died here, was buried here, and

three days later he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance."

Charleston, SC

 Where do I even begin to explain how amazing and fun our trip to Charleston, SC was!  I am so glad that we took a weekend getaway and decided to go.  We have always talked about it but have never found the time or money.  I am so glad that we finally followed through with this trip. 

(just a fair warning, this blog may be a little long and lengthy. But I promise to make it fun and interesting with lots of pictures)

Our vacation started on Thursday night.  Beau and Alyse's flight came into Charlotte around 6:20pm on Thursday.  I drove down to Charlotte by myself to pick them up as Brandon had a mock trial that night for school.  We went out for some dinner and drinks and met up with Brandon later on that night after his trial was over. 

Friday morning we hit the road for Charleston.  It's about a 4 1/2 hour drive and hotel check in time at 4pm, so we knew if we left the house around 10am we would have time to stop for breakfast and make a few other stops along the way before we were able to check in.   

Our first stop on the way to Charleston was the Waffle House for breakfast.  A place you must try if your in the South.  True southern greasy food, but we knew that we were going to eat our hearts out this vacation so we decided to start our unhealthy eating weekend early, haha! 

  After a l...o...n...g  4-5 hour car drive and a few rest stop breaks we finally arrived in Charleston around 3:45pm.  Just in time for check-in.  All of us were more than ready to get out of the car and do a little bit of site-seeing and definitely some drinking.  We checked into the hotel and than went for a walk down Ocean Blvd which is right along the ocean and right where our hotel is located.  Absolutely beautiful!  Here are just a few pictures from our walk along the beach.  We also found some pretty funky looking house along the way.

This is one of the houses that we walked by that is located right on the beach.  It's not every day that you see a house that color.   There is also palm trees everywhere.  Totally makes you feel like you are someone much more tropical than in the South Carolina!

This house was one of the many houses up for sale in Isle of the Palms.  They were all so beautiful and if I have the money when I'm old and retire I would buy one of these houses in a heart beat for a vacation home!  We stayed in Isle of the Palms which is about 20-25min from downtown historic Charleston. 

I had to make sure that we walked on the beach.   I was not going to leave Charleston without walking along the Atlantic Ocean.  The beaches are so sandy and clean and remind me of the beaches in Hawaii that's how pretty and white the sand is in South Carolina.

 

These guys were kite surfing!   It was so windy out and the water was freezing.  No heck way would you find me out in that water even with a wetsuit.

After we walked down the beach we ended up at this little place right next to our hotel to have some dinner and beers and than headed back to our hotel to hang out, play some drinking games and keep it pretty low key since we were going to have a long day ahead of us on Saturday.

Saturday morning we headed to the downtown historic Charleston.  We took a taxi to the marina which is about 15 min from our hotel and than we took a water taxi across the harbor to downtown Charleston.  We even got to see a few dolphins on our water taxi ride.

Waiting for our water taxi across the harbor

Once we arrived downtown we did lots of walking around, exploring, eating, drinking, picture taking and laughing.  I highly recommend Charleston, SC as a place to see if anybody ever makes it out to the South East.  There is nothing disappointing about Charleston.  There is so much history there to see as well as lots of great seafood and shopping. 

All the houses and buildings in Charleston are so unique and old.  Most or all of them are brick and have little to no yard.  A neat place to visit and go on vacations but not somewhere I would want to live. 

Hope everyone enjoyed some of the pictures. Alyse took a lot of pictures with her camera too so once she e-mails them to me I'll make sure to share some of those with you as well.

We saw and did so much in Charleston those 2 days that we were there.  Wish we could of stayed longer but I don't think that our wallets would of been able to handle it.  Definitely a spendy mini vacation but totally worth every penny. 

Party on the moon!

This weekend Brandon and I had the privilege of going to see an amazing cover band called, Party on the moon!  They were absolutely amazing!  They played everything from Bruce Springsteen, Guns and Roses, Prince to more current music like Black Eyed Peas, Usher and Lady Gaga.  It was probably the best cover band I have ever heard.  They have played for people like Donald Trump and his New Year's Eve Party's and they even played at Eli Manning's wedding.  That just tells you how good this group is and how NOT cheap they are to book for your event.  It was a $10 cover per person to see them, and it was well worth every dollar.   They played for 3 hours non-stop with out taking a break.  How those ladies can sing and dance that long without taking a break and still sound amazing at the end is just crazy.  If I am ever in the area of where they are playing again I'm going to definitely go see them again.  If I had an endless amount of money I would book them to play at my wedding in a heartbeat, haha!

This weekend was pretty low key for us else wise.  Saturday afternoon Brandon and I went to town to do a little bit of shopping and pick up some stuff that we needed before Beau and Alyse get here next week.  I am totally ready for my week of vacation.  Work is burning me out and I need a break from all the chaos. 

I am going to try to blog at least once a week.  I figured if i blog once a week I'll have lots of more fun and exciting stuff to share with everybody.  So Mondays will be my blogging day so make sure you check back every Monday for a new post.  If I don't post it Monday I'll try to post it on Tuesday. 

Brandon's graduation is approaching rapidly and again I can't tell you how fast these last 2 years have gone since I have been here.  I can't believe I have only been living here now for just over 2 years.  I feel like I have been here for so much longer than that.  Brandon graduates on Monday, May 16th at 9:30 in the morning.  I'm hoping for sunshine that day since it's suppose to be outside.  Brandon's parents are coming of course as well as his brother.  His Grandma Marilyn (his dad's mom), Grandpa Joe and Kathy (his mom's dad and wife) and maybe his Aunt Lisa and Melissa (we are keeping our fingers crossed they can come).  We are looking forward to every ones company and being able to show them a little bit of North Carolina.  That will for sure be a busy weekend and week with lots of company and festivities. 

As I leave this blog let me leave you with another nightly joke.  I figured it's a good way to end my blogs and leave you with a bit of laughter! 

Smartest Man in the World

A doctor, a lawyer, a little boy and a priest were out for a Sunday afternoon flight on a small private plane. Suddenly, the plane developed engine trouble.

In spite of the best efforts of the pilot, the plane started to go down. Finally, the pilot grabbed a parachute, yelled to the passengers that they had better jump, and bailed out.

Unfortunately, there were only three parachutes remaining.

The doctor grabbed one and said "I'm a doctor, I save lives, so I must live," and jumped out.

The lawyer then said, "I'm a lawyer and lawyers are the smartest people in the world. I deserve to live."

He also grabbed a parachute and jumped.

The priest looked at the little boy and said, "My son, I've lived a long and full life. You are young and have your whole life ahead of you. Take the last parachute and live in peace."

The little boy handed the parachute back to the priest and said, "Not to worry, Father. The 'smartest man in the world' just took off with my back pack."