I'm dating a jet pilot?

I don't talk about the Navy much (maybe ever?), mostly because I don't have a lot of nice things to say about it and I don't want to spend my time on here complaining :)  While I have A LOT of complaints about the Navy, I also know that we are incredibly lucky that J. has job security, especially in this economy.  And the Navy is a pretty big part of our life, so I guess it warrants a post or two every now and then ... especially when I actually have something nice to say about it!  

J. is thisclose to finishing his training and being assigned to a permanent squadron.  The last thing he has to do is go the carrier and do his carrier qualifications ... i.e. land his jet on the top deck of the carrier.  As you can probably imagine, they spend a few weeks practicing this skill before heading out to the actual carrier!  The other day I was able to go out to the base and watch him practice with some of the other Navy wives/girlfriends/fiances/family members so I thought I'd share some pictures with you all.  Even I can admit that it was pretty cool.  I have better pictures and a video on my big camera, but J. just took that to San Diego with him so I will save those for a later post.

One of the planes coming in to "bounce" ... land and take off again immediately.

Taking off again

J. coming in to bounce

And taking off ...

Can you see him in the middle of the clouds?

If you ever have the chance to watch jets or an airshow or bouncing or something along these lines, make sure you wear earplugs!  It gets VERY noisy! 

Words on Wednesday

I am *slightly* obsessed with Pinterest.  If I miss a day of Pinterest-ing, I worry about all the cool things I might be missing.  Umm, slightly ridiculous?  Yes.  Do I care?  No.  I think Pinterest is the greatest thing since sliced bread.  I love the creator (in a not creepy way, of course).  One of the things I love most about Pinterest, are all the fun quotes I see on there daily.  

  As you may have noticed, I've been a really lazy blogger lately.  So, in the interest of having more structure and routine in my life, I'm going to start doing "Words on Wednesday" and posting some of the great quotes I've found on Pinterest.  The hard part is going to be narrowing them down!

Hopefully, you will enjoy the words as much as I have!  

Happy Wednesday!

Ten on Tuesday #22

Happy Tuesday friends!  I hope that this week is off to a good start for you!  Mine has been good, but busy.  I was able to spend most of yesterday working at home and I'm happy to report that I was productive.  It feels good to start the week off on the right foot!  

If you are interested in participating in this week's Ten on Tuesday, visit Roots and Rings to get the questions and link up!  

1.  What colour are your toenails painted?
OPI's Ate Berries in the Canaries ... it's lovely bold pink color!

2.  What colour are your fingernails painted?
OPI's Ate Berries in the Canaries ... I like to match!

3.  What is your favourite brand of nail polish?
OPI!  But, I'd like to try Essie out sometime soon.  I keep hearing great things about their polish and I have loved their colors lately.

4.  As the norm, do you DIY or get mani/pedis?
Well, I prefer to get mani/pedis (at least manis), but we moved away from the place I liked and it's not really in my budget right now either, so I try to save them for special occasions.  My cheap-o nail secret is to get a "polish change" instead of a full mani - it usually only costs $6.00!

5.  Have you ever had a gel mani?  Do you recommend it? 
Nope, I haven't.  I'd like to try one but I've heard bad things about removing the polish.

6.  What is the last movie you watched on television?  (TV, Netflix, Redbox, etc.)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone!  It was on the other night while I was baby-sitting.  I also have Sleepless in Seattle from Netflix to watch as soon as I have time!

7.  What is the last movie you watched in the cinema? 
Bad Teacher.  I want to go see Horrible Bosses next!

8.  Is there a movie that everyone talks about as if it is a classic but you haven't seen?
Probably lots ... I just saw Top Gun and An Officer and A Gentlemen for the first time last fall!

9.  What is your favourite movie soundtrack? 
I like Love Actually's soundtrack and Notting Hill's!

10.  Have you seen a movie and thought it was better than the book it was based on?
Hmm, I don't think so?  I typically like the books better than the movies but I'll have to think about this one.

When life hands you lemons ...

I've been in love with this print ever since I found it on Etsy: 

Found Here

But, there were a few things I didn't like about it ... namely the price and the fact that I like vodka tonics, not gin and tonics.  Big problems here people.  

After seeing lots of these canvases on Pinterest over the past few days:

I thought perhaps, I could DIY the lemons print.  Now, I am 100% not crafty whatsoever, so if I can do this, so can you!  And you won't believe how easy it was.  

I went to Michael's and purchased:

One 11 x 14 canvas = $5.00 (50% off) 

A bottle of white acrylic paint = $0.29

A bottle of yellow acrylic paint = $0.29

Two sets of scrapbook alphabet stickers = $1.99 each

A small sponge paintbrush = $0.39

For a grand total of $9.95 + tax.

I didn't take step by step pictures (sorry!), but I started with a thin coat of white paint on the canvas and let it dry.  Then I traced the outline of a lemon on the canvas with pencil.  It does not need to be perfect, the paintbrush will help your lines stay straight when your painting.  Then, I used the alphabet stickers to write out my saying:  "when life hands you lemons, make a vodka tonic," making sure to press down each little part of the sticker.  Then, I put three coats of yellow paint over the stickers, letting each coat dry before putting the next one on.  Finally, I peeled off the stickers to reveal the final product!  

It's certainly not perfect but I love it!

And it adds just the right amount of color to my wall!

Sorry for the poor quality pictures ... sometimes I find it much easier to document life via iPhone than drag out the big camera, snap the pics, find the cord, upload them, etc.

Hiking Oyster Dome

A few weekends ago we went on a group hike up the Oyster Dome which overlooks Chuckanut Bay and the Puget Sound.  It was a lot of fun, but not exactly the best way to ease back into hiking.  The hike was 6.5 miles roundtrip with an elevation gain of 1,865 feet ... it was hard!  But, as always, the views were worth it!  

Group break

Addy

The boys at the top

Looking towards the San Juan Islands ... that first strip of land is Samish Island

Boats in the Bay

J. and I

The Group

N., D., Mrs. and Mr. S., Me, J. and G.S.

Do any of you Washingtonians have any hikes we should try?  Have you hiked Oyster Dome before?  What did you think?

Ten on Tuesday #21 - Zoo Edition!

Happy Tuesday friends!  I have lots to blog about, but I left my camera cord at home so I can't upload my pictures until later tonight.  So, I'm going to go ahead and participate in this week's Ten on Tuesday even thought I am not much of a zoo-goer!  If you want to participate, visit Roots and Rings to link up!

I hope that you all had fabulous weekends ... I can't wait to tell you about mine later this week! 

1.  What is your favorite zoo to visit?

Well, I don't know.  I'd like to see Seattle's zoo and it's probably the closest zoo, so I'll go ahead and say Seattle's.  

2.  Do you visit a zoo very often?

Nope, I can't even remember the last time I went to the zoo.  I know I went to the zoo when I visited San Diego in '06 or '07, but I'm not sure if I've been since then.  

3.  Do you have a membership to a zoo?

Nope.  

4.  When you visit a zoo, do you stay all day or just an hour or two?

Typically, I think we stay long enough to see all the animals.  If I'm going to pay to go to the zoo, I want to see everything!  

5.  Do you buy food at the zoo or pack a picnic lunch?

I think we used to buy lunch at the zoo.  Of course, when I was a kid, eating out was a lot more reasonably priced than it is now.  I assume the zoo overcharges, just like the movie theater.

6.  What is your favorite animal to see at the zoo?

I like the elephants and all the water animals ... polar bears, seals, dolphins, whales.  

7.  What is your least favorite animal to see at the zoo?

The snakes and spiders.  

8.  What is your favorite memory of going to the zoo as a kid?

I don't really have any particular zoo memories, but when we used to visit my grandparents in Chicago we would always go to the Shedd Aquarium.  We LOVED it and I always loved seeing the sea otters swim around in their habitat.  

9.  Do you visit the gift shop when you go to the zoo?

I might, but I probably wouldn't buy anything.  When we used to visit the Shedd Aquarium, we used to get a stuffed animal from the gift shop.  

10.  On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best and 1 being the worst), how nice is your city's zoo?

I haven't been yet, so I don't know!  It's on the to-do list.

Ten on Tuesday #20!

Happy Tuesday! I hope you're all having a wonderful start to your week!  I'm getting ready to spend the evening in Seattle with my friends R. and S2, so you could say my week is off to a good start :)

You know the drill by now ... if you want to participate in this week's Ten on Tuesday, head over to Roots and Rings to link up!  

1.  When you are on a plane and the kid behind you is kicking your seat, what do you do?
I feel like this just happened to me ... I usually just sit there unless it gets REALLY bad and then I occasionally look over the seat each time the kid kicks the chair until the parent notices.  I don't want to be rude and I'm not confrontational, but you should definitely be paying attention to what your kid is doing if you are bringing them on a plane.  I paid for my seat and I shouldn't be kicked the whole flight!

2.  What food that you KNOW is bad for you and you shouldn't have, but you love/eat it anyway?
Umm, what food don't I like that's bad for me?  Let's start with that.  Haha.  I love ALL sweets -- candy, cookies, brownies, cake, cupcakes, ice cream, marshmallows, anything with lots of sugar in it is something I love.  I am trying REALLY hard to cut back, but it's so darn hard!

3.  What is your favorite book of all time?
I always have the hardest time with this question!  I'm going to say Eat, Pray, Love ... I absolutely love that book and have read it more than a couple of times!  And now I love the movie as well ... who doesn't love Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem?!

4.  If I came to visit you in your town, where would we eat?
Well I just moved here, so I haven't been everywhere yet.  But, if you came for lunch we would go to The Lunch Box and if you came for dinner we would either go to Il Graniao for Italian or try this Thai place I keep hearing about!

5.  You have 500 dollars and 40 minutes to spend it at any store you want.  Where do you go?
Well, I can't make it to any good stores in 40 minutes, so let's pretend I'm already at the mall.  I'd go to Nordstrom because you have so many options ... shoes, bags, makeup, sunglasses, jewelry, clothes!  I could definitely spend $500 in forty minutes.  And, Nordstrom has the best return policy ever so I could always bring anything back and exchange it :)

6.  What blog do you read every day/the most often?
I read every blog in my "Blogs I Read" list as often as I'm online (which is usually every day).  The blogs I'm hooked up right now are Young House Love and Tasty Kitchen.  And I'm in love with Pinterest, which I realize is not a blog, but I spend A LOT of time on Pinterest everyday.

7.  What's the longest you've ever been stuck at an airport?
I don't really remember ... probably a few hours.  I feel like I must not have a crazy, airport horror story or I'd have a better answer for this one!

8.  What's your daily makeup/face/cleansing routine?
Well, in the morning I wash my face, put on moisturizer (with SPF!), primer, foundation, powder, bronzer and setting powder.  Then blush.  Then eye primer.  Then eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara and I comb my eyebrows into place!  At night, I wash it all off and then put on moisturizer and whatever skin-help cream I'm using at the moment.  If I'm being lazy I just use an Olay make-up wipe.

9.  Where is your farthest away friend?
I think I'm actually the farthest away from all my friends.  Most of them live in Indianapolis or Chicago.  But, right now my cousin is in Italy so she is the farthest away.  Permanently, I think my friend Mrs. B. lives the farthest away, she's in Virginia Beach, Va. right now.

10.  Where is your favorite place to go hiking (or to enjoy nature?)
Anywhere within a 2-3 hour radius of my house!  We are lucky to live somewhere where we could go hiking every weekend and never see all of the great trails around here!  

Mexican Chicken Salad

Happy Monday friends!  I had grand plans of posting about my summer goals or the really HARD hike I did this weekend, but I'm feeling slightly lazy.  So, Mexican Chicken Salad it is ... I made this recipe tonight for dinner.  It was SO good and SO easy.

The recipe is ridiculously easy on its own ... but I made it even easier by having J. grill the chicken last night when he was grilling our dinner and then using pre-made pico de gallo instead of chopping up tomatoes and an onion.  I threw everything into a skillet, heated it up and then tossed it in a bowl with the olive oil and lime juice.  Now, this would definitely be great on its own, but I heated up a tortilla and made a burrito.  Delicious.  I have a ton of leftovers, so tomorrow I might use it to make quesadillas.  If you are looking for an easy recipe that will have lots of leftovers and is also semi-healthy, this is it!  

I'd seriously contemplate going back for seconds, but one of my summer goals is to lose weight.

Sad face.

Soludos

Have you guys seen these shoes?  

Roso Red/White Stripe

They remind me of TOMS but are espadrilles.  And they come in the cutest patterns for the summer.  I discovered them on my trip to Friday Harbor a couple of weekends ago.  Sadly, the boutique didn't have my size, but but they just came back into stock on their website!  At only $28.00, these are definitely a pair of summer shoes you can afford!  

Barca White and Navy Stripe

Choo Choo Stripe Denim

Weekend Recap!

It feels weird to be doing a weekend recap on Wednesday, but I guess that's what happens when you have a holiday weekend!  We had a really fun weekend but I didn't take a lot of pictures, whoops.

Saturday, J. went camping.  It was very impromptu and I didn't feel like going, so I spent the day with my friend, J. the P.A. (her name starts with a J. and she's in Physician's Assistant school, get it?).  We met when she was doing a P.A. rotation in Oak Harbor (she's still in school).  Anyways, we spent the morning wandering through the shops in downtown Anacortes and then sitting outside at the Rockfish Grill and having some nachos.  Yum.  Then we headed over to Whistle Lake to soak up some more sun.

  I'd like to go back to Whistle Lake because I'm not quite sure we saw it all.  The "beach" we were on could probably seat 10 people comfortably and that seems small to me considering this place gets a lot of traffic.  If anyone out there knows where the good place to get some sun on Whistle Lake is, let me know!  We ended the evening with a BBQ at another friend's house.  It was a nice little Saturday :) 

Sunday morning was very dreary and I had a very hard time getting motivated to do anything.  Luckily, it cleared up in the afternoon and we get some yard work done.  It is never ending.  Seriously.  I think I could weed every day for at least an hour and still not stay on top of it.  It's crazy.  Sunday night, we headed to Big Lake for a BBQ and to see their fireworks.  Apparently, at Big Lake, they do their fireworks on the 3rd every year.  If you live in the Big Lake area and you have never been, you need to go.  It was gorgeous.  The lake is huge and is nestled right at the base of the mountains.  From the porch of the house our view was the lake, houses on the other side of the lake, mountains and Mt. Baker.  I am so mad we didn't bring our camera because it was amazing.  And the fireworks were amazing as well -- the volunteer fire department does a big display but several houses along the lakefront also shoot fireworks off ... and not lame fireworks, huge fireworks. I think we watched fireworks for over 2 hours.  And we roasted marshmallows ... have you seen those new, GIANT marshmallows for s'mores?  That's what we had :)  It was pretty awesome.  

Monday, we did some more yard work and then went and saw Bad Teacher in the afternoon.  It was a funny movie, but I'm not sure it's worth paying movie theater prices for.  Go rent it when it comes out on DVD!  Then, the real fun started.  We headed down to Seattle to S2 and R.H.'s apartment for a little shindig and Lake Union fireworks viewing.  They have the best view.  Luckily, I was smart enough to bring my camera this time: 

Mt. Rainier, the skyline and Lake Union

The sun setting over the city.

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope you all had wonderful holiday weekends as well!

Ten on Tuesday #19 - Fourth of July Edition

Happy Tuesday friends!  Even though I don't work full time, I love short weeks.  We're just that much closer to another weekend and more fun stuff!  I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend, I hope to post about ours sometime soon!  This week's Ten on Tuesday is appropriately themed, so head over to Roots and Rings if you want to link up!

1.  What do you traditionally do for the 4th of July?
Hmm, well since this was only my 2nd Fourth of July in Washington, I don't feel like we have any set traditions yet.  However, we did go to a BBQ both years.  So, I guess our tradition is to attend a BBQ and watch fireworks?  Sometime in the future, I want to own a house on Big Lake and have a big Fourth of July party every year.  We attended a BBQ there this year and they sure know how to celebrate :)

2.  Did you follow your tradition this year?  How did you celebrate yesterday?
Yes.  We went to a BBQ at a friend's house on Big Lake and watched their fireworks on July 3rd and yesterday we went to a friend's house in Seattle and watched the Lake Union fireworks from their rooftop.  It was lots of fun!

3.  What's the best fireworks show you've ever seen?
Big Lake's were pretty great on July 3rd -- all of the houses on the lake shoot off their own fireworks which were awesome to see and then the local fire department does a big show as well.  Seattle's were also REALLY good.  If you're in the area and you've never seen their fireworks, I recommend you go next year.

4.  Have you ever been injured by a firecracker?
No, I don't like to play with firecrackers :)

5.  Burger, Brat or Hot Dog?
Burger or Brat.  I don't eat hot dogs.

6.  Do you sport red, white and blue on our Independence Day?
Sometimes.  I wore a jean jacket and a blue-ish scarf yesterday.

7.  If you had to be from any country other than the USA, what country would it be?
Italy or France.  I love both countries and cultures and I would absolutely LOVE to live in either one at some point in my life.

8.  Charcoal or gas?
Charcoal?  We have a charcoal grill but I don't personally know how to use it.

9.  What's your favorite thing about this fair country of ours?
Well, I guess that I live here?  It really is a great country and traveling elsewhere makes you realize that.  We have access to so many things and we can access them so quickly.  We really are very fortunate.

10.  God Bless the USA, My Country Tis of Thee, or the Star Spangled Banner?
God Bless the USA.

Summer Colors

Now that summer is officially here, I've got to get my feet in sandal shape.  I like to get a pedicure at the start of summer and then alternate between painting my toes myself (so much easier than trying to paint your own fingernails!) and getting pedicures every now and then.  I thought I'd share some of my favorite polish colors with you ... they are all OPI colors, but I want to try Essie out as well.  I've heard lots of good things about the brand and love their new summer colors.

Ate Berries in the Canaries

Pamplona Purple

Bright Lights Big Color

I love, love, love this shade for the summer.

These two are quite summer colors, but I love them anyways:

Lincoln Park After Dark

You Don't Know Jacques

I love the following two for my fingernails when I want a natural look:

Sweet Heart

Mimosas for the Mr. and Mrs.

What are your favorite colors for the summer?