i love...

Brandy just posted a great list of things that make her happy.  In honor of Valentine's Day, I'm going to post a list of things that I love...and I'll only list 'being engaged' once! 

...my cats (even when they're being crazy)

...grilled cheese sandwiches made with white bread & american cheese

...chocolate milk (preferably Nestle Qwik in the bottle)

...chapstick

...Guitar Hero

...rainy days

...watching QVC when they're selling bareMinerals

...Michael Buble

...the color pink

...vodka tonics with extra lime 

...red wine

...my family

...flip flops

...Target

...blog comments (hint, hint)

...french pedicures

...my friends (in real life & online)

...iced americanos with 2 raw sugars & light cream

...the fall

...camping

...birthdays

...being engaged

...being in love

...my fiance :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

my boyfriend fiance

Today I referred to Jason as my boyfriend.  

It's going to be very difficult to get into the habit of calling him my fiance...

There's something about the title of fiance that just sounds so fancy.  I don't know what it is...maybe because it sounds (or is?) French. 

It's just weird to not call him boyfriend...that's what he's been for so long.  It's going to be even WEIRDER to call him my husband!!!

But, I have a whole year and 5 months (or so) before I have to worry about that.  I'm just going to enjoy the fact that I now have a fiance! 

a night to remember...

So dinner last night was great.  We went to Anthony's and when we were seated there was a beautiful pink rose already on the table.  Jason ordered an appetizer and a bottle of wine.  

This is the bottle of wine that the waitress presented to us...

The he gave me this...

I have never been speechless before...but I honestly was SO surprised.  I started crying and laughing all at once.  I had every emotion running through me at one moment...it was crazy.  I kept asking if he was serious!

It was the best proposal I could have asked for!

OMG!!!  WE'RE ENGAGED!!!

another sign?

So...I spent this most of this past weekend with Jason.

It was so great. It just feels right when we're together...and it's apparently visible to others.

We drove out to the coast on Saturday afternoon and stopped at this little surf shop. The owner and Jason talked about surfing and boards, etc. Well, as we were getting ready to leave the guys asks us "Have you guys been together awhile?"

We both just kind of looked at each other not really knowing how to respond, and finally Jason says "Yeah, a little over 6 years."

The surf guy responds by saying "Well, you guys look really good together. Like you belong together. You seem like a really nice girl. I wish my son would find a girl like you."

I didn't really know what to say...my eyes actually started tearing up! I mean...this guy doesn't know us or our situation and his comment couldn't have come at a more opportune time! I just smiled and kind of looked at Jason like "WTF?"

The rest of the weekend was amazing too.

So what do you think? Was it a sign? Was the song at dinner a sign? Or am I just crazy?

the last ingredient...

We had dinner last week.

It was great.

Great to see him.
Great to be near him.
Great to feel comfortable.
Great to be together again.

While we were eating this song came on.

There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard
No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart
Our dreams, and they are made out of real things
Like a, shoebox of photographs
Of sepiatone loving
Love is the answer,
At least for most of the questions in my heart
Like why are we here? And were do we go?
And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy and
Sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing it's always better when we're together

Mmmm it's always better when we're together
Yeah, we'll look at the stars when we're together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together

And all of these moments
Just might find their way into my dreams tonight
But I know that they'll be gone
When the morning light sings
And brings new things
For tomorrow night you see
That they'll be gone too
Too many things I have to do
But if all of these dreams might find their way
Into my day to day scene
I'd be under the impression
I was somwhere in between
With only two
Just me and you
Not so many things we got to do
Or place we got to be
We'll sit beneath the mango tree now

It's always better when we're together
Mmmm it's always better when we're together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together

I believe in memories
They look so pretty, so pretty when I sleep
Hey now, and when I wake up,
You look so pretty sleeping next to me
But there is not enough time,
And there is no, no song I could sing
And there is no, combination of words I could say
But I will still tell you one thing
We're better together...

I believe it was a sign...



Song by Jack Johnson

2 weeks with Jason, a 1st birthday, a new crush and a new TV!

I have been completely swamped at work and haven't had any time to blog lately. So I thought I'd give you a quick run down of what's been going on lately.

1. The biggest and most inconvenient freeway construction in the history of the greater Seattle area started a little over 2 weeks ago. I-5 which runs north/south through Seattle was shut down except for 2 lanes at the most for 19 day sraight, 24 hours a day. They were predicting that traffic would be backed up 40 miles or more and that people who normally drive this route should find an alternate route or take vacation! Nice!

Lucky for me, Jason offered to let me stay with him (north of the constrution zone) during this time. It was such a relief to not have to deal with the traffic. So that's where I've been the past few weeks. It was nice to spend so much time with him, but sad to come home today. And I miss the cats already...Wilbur has become really cuddly.

2. Our good friends who had a baby LAST SUMMER just threw a 1st birthday party for their son! It was crazy to think that he is ONE already! It seriously feels like he was just born yesterday.

Oh, and to prove just how "UN"ready I am to start having babies, we bought him a 3T outfit! I do not know WHY we thought that it would fit him! We held it up and thought it looked ok! So he won't be able to wear it until maybe next fall! But it was so cute...a Kenneth Cole outfit with jeans, a button up striped shirt and courduroy blazer! SO CUTE!

3. Last night 2 friends and I went to see Michael Buble in concert. I . Love . Him! I knew he was cute and all, and I love his music, but after seeing him in concert, I am smitten! He puts on a great show and the $70 we paid for each ticket was totally worth it! If he's coming to a town near you, I highly recommend going.

4. Tonight I totally splurged and bought a 42" LCD flat screen TV! Even though we're still waiting to hear about the condo, I wanted to take advantage of special pricing & financing that expires this Friday. I can't wait to use it...we have a perfect spot above the fireplace in the condo to install it!

So there's a brief synopsis of what's going on. I will try very hard to update more often...especially on the condo situation. Please keep your fingers crossed for us!

happy day...

Jason and I spent the 4th of July together and had a really great time. We didn't do much, we just enjoyed each other's company.

It was really nice...


...but ended too soon.

On another note, I had to share this adorable picture of Wilbur...look really close in between the backpacks...

3 days of peace...

I CAN'T wait for this weekend...

We are going to the John Mayer concert at the Gorge over in eastern Washington. It's an amazing place to see a concert...right along the Columbia River Gorge.

However, the concert isn't the only thing I'm looking forward too...I'm spending the next 3 days with Jason. I'm heading up tonight to hang out and then tomorrow we're packing up and leaving early Saturday morning for camping and the concert. I am seriously ecstatic!

Things have been progressively getting better. We've been spending time together and talking a lot, just not living together...which SUCKS!

But, maybe this is all for the best. They always say "everything happens for a reason". Well...I just hope that this 'reason' is good enough!

Happy Love Day!

I know that Valentine's Day has become completely commericalized, but please don't hate me when I tell you that I LOVE all the cute V-Day stuff that store sell! I'm sure you saw all the cute V-Day paraphenalia that my stepmom sent to me last week...I just love it!

Anyway, yesterday I stopped by Hallmark to get a card for Jason and of course I ended up being suckered into buying this cute little plush heart that has a ribbon around it so you can tie your card to it! It's really cute! So tonight Jason will be presented with his plush heart, card, a Starbucks gift card, a delicious looking caramel chocolate bar (something fancy I found at Whole Foods) and...drumroll...tickets to the Josh Ritter concert on the 26th! (If you've never heard of him, I highly recommend checking out his website and downloading some of his music on iTunes.) He opened for Jamie Cullum who was saw in October, and since then Jason's been listening to his music nonstop...I don't even think he know's he has show scheduled!

I hope he's surprised!

I hope that all of you have a wonderful Valentine's Day, whether you spend it with a bf/gf, family or friends! Make sure you let those who are most important in your life know that you care about them...even if it's just a phone call!

True love...

Last night's episode of American Idol made me cry. I don't mean just a little teary eyed...I mean full on crying and unable to control my tears for the last 20 minutes of the show.

This is why...



I can only hope to be as loved in my lifetime.

Christmas came early this year!

I am STILL recovering from the parties we went to this weekend. But I do feel like such a social butterfly.

Friday night was Jason's holiday party. It was held at his office, but they hired one of those casino groups to come in. It was SO fun. Craps is my favorite game, but I never play it for real because, hello, I don't have that kind of money!

So everyone started with $5000 and twice during the night they auctioned off an iPod nano & digital camera. Well, between the two of us, we have one of each kind of iPod. I have a shuffle & video and Jason has the nano that I got him for his birthday. So...we really didn't need another one. However, I don't have a camera. Anyway, during the first auction we were outbid...but guess who left with a new digital camera Friday night? That's right...ME! It's super nice and I LOVE it!

It's a Casio Exilim...
Jason also ended up winning a gift basket filled with all kinds of goodies, including chocolate & caramel corn...we will definitley NOT be regifting that!

Saturday night was MY company holiday party...that I've been planning with a coworker since June. It was absolutely amazing. We had it at the W Hotel in downtown Seattle. It is officially my favorite new hotel in Seattle. The colors they decorated with were black, plum & silver and we made centerpieces with 1'x1' mirrors surround in fake snow with snow covered pinecones & candles. It look great. Plus, we actually reserved 2 meeting rooms and the smaller one we made into a lounge which was really dimly lit with lots of candles & comfy furniture. It was just SO much fun & so beautiful that words can't even describe it.

Every year at my party we do a Gift Card Grab game where everyone gets a number and #1 picks an envelope first that contains a $250 gift card to somewhere, then #2 can steal or pick another envelope. So, guess who ended up getting a $250 gift card to her favorite store? That's right...ME! Target here I come!!!

The only thing about my party that wasn't so much fun, is that I did end up having one to many drinks and wasn't feeling to hot yesterday. I literally laid on the couch ALL day!

So here's a picture, courtesy of my new camera, of Jason and I Saturday night a the fabulous W Hotel!

Let it SNOW!!!

I look forward to snow every winter. I'm not quite sure why...I think it's because here in the Seattle area we don't get it very often, and when we do, the city pretty much shuts down. I think the fact that I grew up in southern California without any snow also contribues.

It snowed in our neighborhood Saturday night, but a lot of that snow melted by Sunday afternoon. However, as we were grocery shopping late Sunday afternoon it started snowing again and didn't stop until late last night. We must have had close to 6"...which is A LOT for this area.

So today I got to work from home, which was great because I got to enjoy the snow, not have to drive in it and not have to take a personal day off.

Jason works probably 10-15 miles from here and he left work at 4:45pm...I just talked to him and he's not even half way home!!! I am SO glad that I don't have to be out in the mess.

Currently it's snowing everywhere except our neighborhood, but we're supposed to get 2-6 more inches tonight. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

BTW...I realized that I never updated about Jason's birthday almost a month ago!!! He totally loved the cupcakes & lunch that brought him to work on his actual birthday and is present was an ipod nano, which he loves, of course.

*KITTEN UPDATE*

I don't really have much news about Wilbur...but here's a super cute picture of us...I think the picture really speaks for itself...he's so cute I can't help but squeeze him!

Me = Best Girlfriend EVER

So first I must tell you that I am currently enjoying my first gingerbread latte of the season and it is DELICIOUS!

Anyway, today is Jason's birthday...the big 30!...and I have a surprise for him. I woke up this morning and pretended like I was getting ready for work, just like any other day, and let me tell you it was HARD! Knowing that I really didn't need to be dragging my butt out of bed was killer, but I had to do it.

As soon as Jason left I ran to the grocery store and got the ingredients for carrot cake cupcakes...and my gingerbread latte of course! My plan is to surprise him at work with cupcakes and lunch...and the best part is that he has NO idea I'm doing it! I'm so excited!

Plus, I'll give him is gift tonight...but I can't say what it is until I give it to him. I know he doesn't read my blog, but just in case...

Yes...I am still alive

So the past month has been crazy busy and I haven't even had a chance to read blogs much less post to my own!

My friend Michelle got married on the 14th. We've been friend since high school and it's so weird to think that my friends are getting married! Her wedding was a blast. It was one of the best weddings I've ever been to. It was great to see all of my friends together in one place...

Jason and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary this past weekend. Yes...5 years of DATING!!! I can't believe it's been this long. Our relationship is like a kindergartener! That's a LONG time!

To celebrate we went to see Jamie Cullum at the Paramount in Seattle. If you don't know who Jamie Cullum is I highly recommend downloading or buying a cd or two of his. His album Twentysomething is my favorite! The concert was AMAZING...one of the best I've ever seen.

Work has been super busy, but we're almost done with the property we're currently working on and then there will be a few month lull until the next one. And...I'm still really enjoying the new position, which I'm VERY happy about.

A coworker and I are planning the annual company holiday party. We started working on it (well, choosing a venue at least) in June, and now December is just around the corner and that's pretty much all we've done. We still need to come up with some sort of entertainment as well as games. Any suggestions on company party games would be MUCH appreciated.

I'm really enjoying the fall. Not only for the pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks, which, by the way, I've made even better by ordering 2 pumps pumpkin spice & 1 pump cinnamon, but for fall TV! I'm SO glad that LOST is intriguing me again and I am thoroughly enjoying America's Next Top Model this season. Last week's episode was great with the Hollywood couple photo shoot. My favorites include Brooke, Caridee, and, even though she's kind of a B, I really like Melrose.

As for the kitten...Wilbur is pretty much NOT a kitten anymore. He's like almost full grown! I'm sad. I loved that when we first got him I could put him in the front pocket of a hooded sweatshirt...not anymore! He's turned into a devil...breaking pots and the plants that are in them, jumping INTO the miniblinds, getting locked in closets & bathrooms & just generally getting into trouble. But, I still love him and think he's absolutely adorable...even when he's acting like a jerk.

Anyway...that's my past month in a nutshell. I will try not to take so long to update next time.

Excuse me, I ordered this with no tomatoes...

I can not believe how busy I've been with my new position at work. But, I finally found a few minutes to post.

So ever since the Seahawks went to the Superbowl last year, I've really been into football. I know, I'm a total fairweather fan. But, we really haven't missed a game so far this season! Yesterday the Seahawks played the Giants and Jason and I decided that we would partake in the local pub festivities.

We tried to find a table at this trendy new sports bar over in Mill Creek (it's a much swankier part of town than where we live), but there was not one table left. So we ended up at our neighborhood 'strip mall' bar...the Cactus Moon Saloon. They have cheap beer and like 300 TV's.

Now, call me a B, but when I order food at a restaurant, I really like to get the food that I order and particularly like to have it cooked properly. Anyway, I ordered a chicken sandwich with no tomatoes. I DO NOT like tomatoes. So I get my sandwich and, low and behold, there are tomatoes on it. For those of you who don't like tomatoes, you know what I mean when I say that the food is basically ruined when the tomatoes have been on the sandwich. Tomatoes are not like onions that can easily be pulled off...tomatoes leave seeds and juice on the bread. YUCK!

I tell the waitress that I ordered my sandwich without tomatoes and she takes it back. When I get it back I see that all they did was pull the tomatoes off and there are now disgusting tomato seeds all over my sandwich...but I'm hungry, so I decide that I'll just deal with it...I mean, if I send it back again, I may end up with spit in my sandwich!

So, I pick up half of the sandwich and look at the chicken...and it's PINK! It's totally uncooked. SICK! So, we flag down the waitress again and tell her that my sandwich is basically raw and I ask if they can please just make me a new sanwich instead of just 'recooking' the chicken because I've already sent it back once and all they did was pull the tomatoes off. She was really nice about it and totally seemed like she was on my side about it.

About 10 minutes later, after Jason is COMPLETELY done eating, I get my sandwich back. And guess what? IT HAD TOMATOES ON IT!!! I almost died. At that point I just didn't care anymore, and decided not to send it back...

Anyway, I'm still alive today and didn't end up with food poisoning, but I'll definitely think twice about eating at the Cactus again. But the game was great and the Seahawks won!

*KITTEN UPDATE*

Wilbur's doing great. He's SO freakin' adorable it's sickening! He's getting much more comfortable and he and Baci are pretty much best friends now. He especially likes to chase Baci's tail.

Jason is pretty much a cat magnet...Wilbur loves to snuggle up to him...even his feet!

A new addition to our family...

Meet Wilbur!

He's our new baby! We finally decided that Baci needed a friend. So a friend of mine at work offered us a kitten and how could we refuse that face? He's SO cute.

We named him Wilbur after Charlotte's Web because he was the runt of the litter.

I LOVE him! I just want to hold him & hug him & love him!!!

Here's one more pic that shows just how adorable he is.

Backpacking trip this weekend...

This weekend is going to be my first official backpacking trip! I'm actually pretty excited about it. We're hiking up to Boulder Lake in the Cascades. The hike is a little under 4 miles each direction...with an elevation gain of 2,500 ft.

The only kind of camping I've ever really done is car camping, with a cooler full of drinks, an air mattress to sleep on and usually a nearby restroom! This is definitely going to be different.

Jason is really into hiking & backpacking, and I never have been. So, I'm looking forward to the weekend and will hopefully have lots of pictures to post next week.