New Year Cheer

Happy New Year!

Am I the only one that never really knew the words to this traditional song?

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne ?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
and surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine^† ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS 

Clearly I was making up words as I sang along :)

Christmas Review

View from Roundhouse Lodge.

It was a whirlwind weekend filled with presents, food, friends, and family.  I'm exhausted!  Wouldn't have done it any other way though...We started Christmas morning by heading up early to the Roundhouse Lodge via gondola for breakfast with the Latham's and Bridwell's (Kat & Bryan).  A perfect view of the town below and a chance for most of the group to get some early morning ski runs (minus Jean and I).

The gondola ride up to Roundhouse.

Stairs up to the Roundhouse.

The Christmas crew from left: Kat, Bryan, Zach, Sarah, Jean, and Nick.

On the deck at the Roundhouse Lodge.

Our table inside the Roundhouse restaurant.  

 Later we meet up for a light lunch and present opening at the Latham's house in Indian Creek.  We had some good laughs and cheers.  Our army of five labs, four females and one Gus, frolicked happily outdoors in the snow like freed beasts.

Nick & Jean

Zach and his new goggles.

Four of the five dogs.  Left is Abby, Gus, Lucy (in back), and Ruby.

Zach and I squeezed in a quick skate ski at Quigley before we made dinner for Nick and Jean at our house that evening.  Stuffed Cornish game hens, buttered squash, green salad, and crescent rolls.  Dinner was followed by Jean's boysenberry pie with vanilla ice cream.  I think I can easily say we were all round and jolly by the end of the day!

Merry Christmas!

To friends and family everywhere

we hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

xoxo

Sarah & Zach

Snow, Snow, Snow!

...and more snow makes for happy locals this time of year.

Zach skied two days on Baldy and managed to take an afternoon off to help with the window trim and shades in our upstairs bathroom and bedroom.  No longer will a pregnant lady be seen streaking across the lighted windows at 521 Mother Lode.  Thank goodness!

Lucy and I got some classic skiing in and even joined some friends for sledding afterwards on Sunday at Quigley Nordic Center.  The Walker children, Owen (5) and Hadley (almost 2) had Jenna, Sarah S., Davina, and I as cheerleaders.  Owen was having a great time and didn't even bother with a sled at times.  Hadley wasn't too interested in actually sledding and was more curious to watch what everyone else was doing.  Lucy and some other dogs chased every sledder down the hill creating their own game of tag.

Davina helps Hadley put her goggles on.

Sarah S. and Owen get ready for their decent.

Jenna cheerleads from a top the sled hill.

Zach was snow-blowing late into Sunday evening just as the last of this weekends storm hit.  It's 19 degrees as I write this but luckily my husband did an excellent job clearing out our driveway and front porch so we won't have to wade to our cars in thigh deep snow for the work week.  Snow is much more enjoyable when you have the time to enjoy it :)

Ski Tired

We were busy with the December snow this past weekend.  Zach was on Baldy both days skiing with friends.  Lucy and I skate and classic skied out Quigley near our house over the weekend.  "Skate" skiing is a form of Nordic or Cross Country skiing where you glide along a relatively level ground with a short lightweight skinny ski.  "Classic" skiing is another form of Nordic or Cross Country skiing but this time you are in a designated track where your motion is more straightforward.  Imagine gliding while you walk with poles. 

On Saturday Lucy and I were joined by Jenna and her two doggies for a skate ski.  It's fun to see all the excitement from the dogs.  They act like they have been in cages for the good portion of the year.  Run, run, run!  They do their best to keep up with us when we are going down hills.  Lucy always tries to race me.  Once the hill runs out she usually wins :)  The best part about playing in the snow for Lucy is that not only are there endless amounts of snowballs to chase but she can eat them to her hearts content. 

Sunday Lucy and I headed out again to Quigley, this time for an attempt at classic skiing.  It was a beautiful sunny day with snow covering everything in sight.  It felt good to get my pregnant belly outside and enjoy some winter activities.  I promise I kept things mellow.  I was relieved to know I can do some physical activity outdoors this winter without going crazy.

Needless to say we were all tired from our weekend of skiing and Lucy managed to capture our exhaustion.

LEED AP ID+C

I passed!

I'm officially a LEED AP ID +C

(Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design Associate Professional in Interior Design & Construction).  

I know it's a mouthful but trust me I earned it.

What is a LEED AP ID+C exactly?  It's a credential that provides a standard for professionals participating in the design and construction of environmentally responsible, high-performance commercial spaces and tenant improvements.  It's awarded through the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI)and the US Green Building Council.  I am now officially an expert on green building design ;)  Hooray!

Little Tree

We managed to squeeze in a quick Christmas tree hunt this past Saturday.  Borrowing Nick & Jean's snowmobile made the effort MUCH easier this year!  After a brief period of searching we were happy to settle with a little full tree.  Much smaller then our trees from years past but I'm learning that smaller can mean a lot less hassle and stress (which I'm not into this year).

Zach posing with our Xmas tree pick.

Sarah at the snowmobile with Xmas tree wrapped in the sled.

You can't see Zach sleeping on the couch.

Decorated and ready to roll!  Now back to studying....

Wonderful Thanksgiving Break

Lot's of pictures and stories to share but just wanted to include a brief update until I catch up from last week's activities.

A sleepy Avery after Thanksgiving dinner #2.

Life is good :)

Sarah & Lucy at Sparks Marina on a windy day.

Zach in front of the Korg mobile. 

Thank you everyone for taking such great care of us in Reno :)  

Happy Thanksgiving!

On too Christmas....

Forgive My Absent Mind

Just wanted to apologize if my blog posts or my attention has been less then alert lately.  I've been spending my free time studying for the LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) USGBC certification exam.  It is sucking up most of my pregnant brain power but I promise I will return with more promising updates after the exam on December 6th.  Wish me luck :)

Snow Day

Still trying to get out the door to work today....
Maybe you can tell why from these pictures I just took.

I knocked the snow off the top of our cars and front patio 

at 6:30 am but it still wasn't enough to get our cars out.  

Zach happily got out the blower.

Lucy LOVES winter just like Zach :)
She's looking for her next snow ball to destroy.

Ducks, Daffodils, and Snow

It's no longer a question of when but how much snow we will be getting!  The white stuff has been falling consistently for the past weekend.  Zach and I managed to get in a few more things before we really get burried.

Saturday morning Zach and Lucy left the house by 5:30am to join Nick and dogs in a duck hunt down at Silver Creek.  They had some success but I think the ducks were happy to sleep in with me during the first snow storm of the year. Afterward they sat by our woodstove happy to warm up a bit. 

Later that day I was determined to plant some daffodil bulbs that a friend gave me before the ground was completely frozen.  Yes, there was snow on the ground but underneath the soil was still warm and I even found a few worms wishing it wasn't winter.  I'm looking forward to seeing if these daffodil's bloom.  Fun to think that they will be a good sign of our baby arriving as well :)

Darleen Meier Jewelry

If you haven't seen my dear friend, Darleen's, 

beautiful jewelry creations 

now is a great opportunity to check it out.  

Her recently released new arrivals are fabulous!

Have your honey find something 

lovely for you this Holiday Season!

 

http://www.darleenmeier.com/index.html

Closet Clean OUT

With only two bedrooms in our house it was inevitable that we were going to need to get rid of a few things to make room for the littlest member arriving this April.  It's amazing how much "stuff" you accumulate when you have the space.  Extra bags, fabric, coats, pillows, frames, hats, books, gadgets, sheets, you name it!  Zach was a trooper and managed to plow through his stuff overlooking any little sentimental value it may have held.  I was amazed!  He is usually so attached to everything I was actually convincing him he should keep a few things. 

I now have a car full of stuff to give away and it feels good to clean out all the "un-needed" items from our home.  How quickly I forgot that in my college years moving was a yearly event which naturally helped me get rid of things I didn't need.  Now that we are settled it seems we are much more relaxed about taking things into our spaces that don't make our lives necessarily richer. 

If your in town and interested in a "trunk show" stop by and visit our trash.  It may be your next treasure :)

On It's Way

From fall to winter...Zach and I have been making good use of our fall wood collecting efforts this past week.  Lot's of toasty fires in the evening with a warm cup of tea.  The time change puts us home in the dark and the temperature seemed to shift over night.  Waking up this morning we had a little "skiff" of snow on the ground, as Zach liked to call it.  Just a taste of the winter season ahead. 

Images from here.

Hallow-eeeennnn

Image from here.

Zach and I were invited to a costume party Saturday night so we scrambled together a couple costumes for the event.  I went as the Virgin Mary and Zach was Joseph.  They were really comfortable costumes, except for I enhanced my already pregnant belly with a pillow to emphasize the "belly" part.  I was amazed at how many people actually thought I was that big at four months!  I've been telling myself it's because most of the people were drinking and their vision must have been a little slurred.  Makes me feel better then realizing how big I will actually be someday.  Getting in and out of the car was not easy with my sudden growth in belly.  I learned, only after Zach pointed it out, that I have to take my seat belt off first otherwise it won't matter how big your belly is you won't be able to get out.

Joesph, costume inspiration

Mary, costume inspiration

Back to the Halloween party, the most popular costume seemed to be a girl named "Snookie" from the Jersey Shore show.  I've never seen the show but judging from the costume characters I really don't have any desire now.  Our friend Mark was a whoopie cushion, an Elvis, lot's of disco party people, a little pig that was far from little, a parachuter with umbrella harness attached, bee's, Willie Wonka, and Little Bo-Peep were some of the most memorable costumes of the night for me. 

Alas none of our pictures really turned out from the evening so I'm hoping my text can provide visual stimulation for all :)

Happy Halloween

More Surprises

Now that the "cat is out of the bag" I can share the other surprise from last weekend.  Focused on surprising my sister, Erin, in Portland, I was more surprised to find out that she is engaged to her boyfriend, Nik!  I was excited for this happy couple that has traveled the world over together in the past year.  They are passionate and driven to succeed in the future and will surly do so together! 

Congratulations Erin & Nik!  

Here's to a bright new future together :)

Surprise Visit to Portland

I snuck away last Thursday to rendezvous with my sister in Portland on her birthday.  She didn't quite know I was making the trip so it was fun to surprise her.  I stayed in her great little apartment with her partner Nik and dog Wanda.  They were nice enough to share their space and time for the weekend.

 Erin and I did a run up to Washington Park and visited the rose garden.  I love how easily plants grow in Western Oregon!  It makes everything in my garden seem miniature in scale.

Amazingly the weather held out and we managed to get away with little rain and mostly blue skies.  We visited a pumpkin patch complete with corn maze and wandering chickens.

 We ate out at some delicious spots which are heavenly for a pregnant lady that isn't interested in cooking. 

A little shopping and an evening with their friends made for a fantastic surprise weekend!
Happy Birthday Erin!  Can't wait to visit again :)