A different kind of rain: January 2013

Weekend Review

View from hotel room in Portland

delicious Chinese food in the International District in Seattle

Weekend update: had a great time in Portland at the ABA Autism Conference. I always leave conferences inspired and motivated. This year I went to 2 amazing talks that emphasized teaching independence (often over looked). One recommendation was to have parents keep a journal of everything they do for their child for a day or two (zipping up coats, packing backpacks, helping in the shower, etc) and then start teaching to those skills. We tend to focus on what is easy to teach- academics and not think enough about the future and adulthood of the student. Overall, inspiring.
We also celebrated Adam's 30th birthday with a trip to Seattle and dinner with Jesse, Meg and Lily at a favorite Chinese place with hand-shaven noodles. Delicious!

Celebrating....!

Adam in front of the barn we are going to get married in

So I've been sick and meant to post something 2 days ago, which marked our 1 year engagement anniversary! (Happy Chinese New Years!) We were going to go out and celebrate, but being sort of sick, we ended up staying home.

I'm happy to say that we have made a lot of progress on the wedding planning though, which I just started taking more seriously. I have a dress, a caterer (both for the wedding night and the rehearsal dinner), a photographer, an officiant (thanks Jesse!), a venue (of coarse), a wedding party (1 person each- keeping it small) and have made significant progress on table decorations. We even have colors now: green, yellow and orange.

In other things to celebrate.... Adam turns 30 on Sunday! Unfortunately, I'm headed to Portland for the weekend for an Autism Conference, but we will be celebrating Sunday night and Monday (I took the day off and we're thinking of headed up to Seattle). We also have tickets for Cirque du Soleil next weekend in Seattle- can't wait!

Lots to celebrate around here!

Happy Friday

I just looked down at my feet and Sushi had gathered up her favorite mouse (and some other things) to drop at my feet. She keeps bringing her favorite mouse with her and leaving on my bedroom floor or at her food bowl. I bought her a new mouse, but she prefers the old one with no tail. Since Adam's been gone almost 2 weeks it's just been Sushi and me home every night. We're both looking forward to Adam coming home on Sunday!

Callie's baby shower

Hannah made these cute onesies for each month up to 12 months

Hannah and I hosted a baby shower for Callie and Nuri yesterday. There were 2 babies that came (Jesse and Meg's baby, Lily, and Callie and Nuri's friends' baby, Xavier). It was super cute seeing them interact. The both liked Sushi too.
Callie is due in about a month and they seem pretty ready to meet their little boy!

Warm Soup and a Cold Day

I had a busy day yesterday. Jenny and I went to a Bridal Show at the Tacoma Dome in the morning, then I ran around trying to fix my broken cigarette lighter in my car... Adam and went out for a yummy lunch down town and then we stayed home with our fire. Thank god for our fireplace, it really heats the house on these cold days.
Adam is leaving for Maine on Tuesday. I'm not looking forward to being home alone at night (I get spooked easily) but I'm thankful for Sushi to keep my company!
Today we are using our new crockpot to roast a whole chicken which we soaked in a brine overnight. We love our new crockpot (thanks Hannah and Seth!).