Wine and....wine.

Heather and I had a snow day! I was very close to calling in sick anyway, so this was very much needed. The day has been very relaxing for the most part. And if it wern't for such a popular holiday today (?????), we would have gotten a message...it was booked:( For the last couple weeks we have noticed some problems with our grout in the bathroom. Today a contractor came in and looked at it to get fixed. Tomorrow, he is supposed to fix it. We'll see if he does. So, as I sit here, drinking wine and pretending to pay attention to the movie "Two Weeks Notice," (;)) Heather made me dinner AND is going to watch the "big game" tonight with me. I am so spoiled! Gotta eat! Bye. Until next time, Sam

To Seattle or Bust

No bust. We're in Seattle. It's good to be here! Heather and I are staying with my Sis and I see my bro later today. I miss them!

Yesterday Heather and I went into Seattle and did some touristy stuff...the underground tour (real cool) and Pike Place. Had a beer with family later. Good times! Beautiful views of the Olympic mountains and Rainer with the clear weather!

Today, IKEA, Cheescake Factory and see my brother later. I'll be talkin to you on the flipside.

Sam

You thought I never would...

Update! I'm here! I'm alive! Kind of...well...more so than the past two days!

What is going on in our lives...well, let's see...

A couple of Sunday's ago I took the first official step to being Catholic, by professing my intentions in front of the congregation and by being blessed in my journey. It was an amazing experience, really. First of all, Sam performed my blessing, which made it even more special. And of course, announcing my intentions to become Catholic in front of people for the first time was pretty awesome, too. But the completion of the amazingness was seeing how happy my future in-laws were as I walked back to the pew. I thought Barb was tearing up a little. I was happy they were so happy! And of course, I am happy with my decision as well, so...yay!

Now about that being alive thing...I finally came down with the "crud" that is going around at school. Ick. It was rough. I NEVER stay home sick (unless I have a migraine, and that is mostly because I can't see and therefore can't drive), but today is my...drum roll please...SECOND day home! And I am feeling a thousand times better! I have a cough and it makes my voice funny, but my body doesn't hurt, I don't have a fever, and I have gotten a ton of rest. I would even be looking forward to going back to school if it weren't for...

This weekend is a long weekend. We have a three day weekend, plus a little extra time off on Friday. We were planning on either going car camping on the Oregon Coast or on the Olympic Penninsula, but it doesn't look like the weather is going to hold. And if Sam comes down with this yucky cold he will be miserable the entire time. No good. So, I do not know what we are going to do with our time, but hopefully we will be able to find something to do that gets us out and moving around. Really...we just need it to be summer. (Here is my wedding plug for the post...137 days!!!)

OH, and we are looking at buying a new car! THAT is an entirely different story!

~Heather

The Weekend

This weekend we will not be doing anything super exciting. We're planning on going to my brother's house and chillin'. We're going to mom and dads to give a lesson. I'll be doing some work. None of this matters. The fact that it's the weekend is the important part. It has been a long week. Five days worth!!!! We're not used to that. We're used to three and four day weeks.

This weekend I am going to try and focus on not focusing. I want to do things that I enjoy: reading, maybe write (like now), maybe draw (!) which I have been really looking forward to. Heather got me a charcoal pad and charcoal, so I might experiment with that. Anyway, I'm looking to do enjoyable things. Starbucks!!! (Maybe not...I'm kinda boycotting...their prices went up AGAIN...ugh).

Another fantastic thing is that we are a week closer to being married! I cannot wait! That's all I got for the moment. I will talk to you all soon!

Sam

To Breath is Divine

Since Heather has updated one large aspect of our lives, I suppose I will touch on another.

We both have one more short week before our first semester in teaching is in the books. To say the least, it has been quite the learning curve. We both are thankful to say that we have a much clearer idea of how we want next year to start and understand better how to run it. Even this next semester will run more comfortably. We'll still be stressed at times and tired, but I am beginning to understand that that will never change. Our personality's won't allow us not to be stressed; we are always striving to create a better education for our students.

This month we finally realized the financial significance of our private studio. Before, the money we earned giving private lessons just kind of blended in with the rest of our income. At the end of last month we were both sweating about how we were going to get through January. We were always fine, but we thought it was going to be close. We don't want to touch our wedding savings to pay for anything but what it is for. We were a little more conscious of the money coming in from private lessons and realized that we are COMPLETELY AND COMFORTABLY in the black for the month. That has been very relieving. So often, finances is a major contributor to our stress level. Not now!:)

As far as our private studio goes: great! My students are finally starting to come around and are making some noticeable progress. For a month or so (maybe because of the holiday season) my students were not making any strides and I could tell they were not practicing as much as they need to. I can definitely tell whether or not a student has put some time into practicing in the first five minutes of a lesson. Most of them certainly did in the last couple weeks. So, our focus turns to solos for solo & ensemble. I can't wait to see them perform! It is such a fantastic experience for them. Speaking of, I need to go find some pieces for them.

Peace out!

Sam

Update...

Okay, okay...I'll update!

Let's start will the wedding. First of all, when we started planning, things were incredibly disjointed and we were doing it all ourselves. What a stressful pain in the butt! We made the (very good) decision to start hiring out and finding a new venue. Oh my goodness has that been WAY better!

Here is the status of everything:

Ceremony: Same as it has been - St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Fabulous! Although I am NOT looking forward to our second premarital counseling session. That is entirely different kind of pain in the butt.

Reception Venue: Now at Dance Street Ballroom. Amanda (the owner and brains of the operation) is amazing! She takes care of setting up, centerpieces, candles, lights, all of it. So cool! Pricey, but awesome and easy!

Food: We opted to go with a caterer. We are using Puttin' On the Ritz (run by Shannon, a friend of Amanda's), and are going to have scrumptious food! Again, more expensive, but it comes with dishes, bar tending, and a plethora of other amazing inclusions. Yay for Mom and Dad not having to worry about food!

Photographer: Nathan Coltrane, a guy we met through school is doing our pictures. He took a long time to do our engagement photos, which was nice, but I hope he get through some good wedding photos after the ceremony without keeping us from our guests at the reception for too long.

DJ: Steve Baker, a friend of Sam's is going to do this for us. I got to hear him DJ at a bar at the end of summer and it seemed fun and good enough for me!

Florist: We interviewed and chose a florist last night. Special Touch Floral, also recommended by Amanda and run by Esther, is a wonderful florist and very affordable. She put together a package with everything we wanted and a bit more for the price of one bridal bouquet at any other florist. Super exciting!

Honeymoon: Still working on this aspect of things. Costa Rica is out I think. Hawaii a maybe, and Cabo San Lucas is looking like the best option for us. More on that at a different date.

So that leaves us with wedding bands, cake, invitations, and tuxes left to go! Woohoo! We just put together a final in a month! Wow!

Now, other updates...on the physical front...we are not doing so well. We haven't gone to the gym and we haven't used "The Biggest Loser" game on Sam's new xbox. This is a problem. We want to, or at least I know that I do. But after a long day at school and then teaching private lessons...the last thing I want to do is work! Again...this is a problem. I need to find some motivation!!! You would think that I had enough, right? with trying to shrink a bit so that I can get my dress altered smaller, and also so that I can wear a nice bathing suit on a the beach of whatever resort/city/country we end up choosing for our honeymoon. Always a work in progress I suppose.

Okay, there is my update...Your turn!

Hangin'

Happy Monday! I am saying this because I teach and I have it off. Two of them in a row actually. So today is a reason to rejoice. Guess what I have done today?? Given a sax lesson, and driven for about an hour. Other than that, nothing. And it feels marvelous. Heather and I did not work out (yet) due to some scheduling changes, but we plan on doing it later today. Getting back into that routine is going to be very nice.

That's all I had to write about, because there is nothing to report for once:) Yay!


Sam