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week 49 in pictures

um, really? 49? there are only 52 weeks in a year.

wow.

sunday:008 after rearranging the furniture in the livingroom to accommodate the christmas tree, we made a little ‘nook’ behind the couch that works for a cozy little play area for the kids. whether or not they’ll use it, is yet to be seen, but they thought it was a good idea.

monday:2011-12-05 I met a friend a starbucks for a coffee date, and micah had to tag along. I gave him my phone to play games, but after awhile he switched to taking pictures. this is a sampling of the pictures he took while patiently waiting for us to finish with our grown-up talk. I LOVE his perspective on all this stuff that was around him.

tuesday:2011-12-051we got a cat tree/climber from a friend for toby. micah, guess who thought it was for him…

wednesday:008 don’t worry, toby likes it, too!. he actually spends most of the day up on that top spot, napping and keeping an eye on the goings on of the neighborhood.

thursday:006 this is shane’s little reading nook in his room. beanbag, blanket, santa hat… cat. toby likes to join him for a snuggle while he’s reading in the evening.

friday:012every december, dave’s company has an open house/party that we like to go to. there’s food, santa, crafts for the kids, spiked egg nog… they also give everyone tickets for the carousel, which happens to be JUST downstairs in front of his building. shane didn’t come this year, since he was at a birthday party playing poker.

also:018 this = christmas for me. the BON star. I know, I know, it’s “the macy’s star” now, but that store used to be the downtown bon marche store, and every year, after thanksgiving, they would put up the HUGE star on the corner of the building. a glimpse of that, lit at night, meant it was christmastime. I wondered how long they’ve been putting that up there, so I googled it and found this seattle PI article that was published last december. apparently, since 1957! at any rate, squirm a little with jealousy, that dave walks out of his office every day to see that, right in front of his face.

saturday:020 after meeting my dad at fred meyer to do a little christmas shopping, I went back to their house to have some coffee and a chat. noticed this on their fridge. it’s the letter that layla wrote (and mailed) to toby when we were in california over thanksgiving. of course, it didn’t get there until the day after we returned and had picked him up, but we didn’t tell her that.

translation: dear mr. fat pants, (that’s shane’s name for him.) I love you so much and miss you so much. so, toby, I was thinking you and I could take a little time together. love toby.

only 3 more of these to go!!!!

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dear to do list,

i hate you. actually, i loathe your existence to my very soul. and i refuse to have anything further to do with you. you can consider our relationship OVER. please do not try to contact me, as i will be unavailable. do not stalk me. do not try to make me feel guilty for abandoning you. YOU SUCK! sincerely, rachel

christmas day at barb & paul’s

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the zoo

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white wine marinated pork chops recipe

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how 'bout that to do list?

okay, after a discussion w/ mary about to do lists, i decided to go ahead and 'publish' mine. check it out, it's over there on the right, below my blog list. i had one started in a notebook that i had made in response to something i read in 'the procrastinator's handbook'. the idea is to make a list that's 101 items long. anything you can think of. well, i don't have that many, but quite a few. i put an * by something if it's something that has been worked on but not completed and an X in front of it if it's done. so go ahead and kick my butt if you don't see any *'s or X's showing up. in other news... now dave is sick. ::crossing my fingers::