Busy times.. Happy Holidays

I have NOT been a very good blogger lately.  Alas, life has been time consuming.  My last post went up at the end of September and A LOT has been going on since then.  Here are the Top 5 highlights from the last 2 months:

#1  - We bought a house and moved in!

After several months of searching and frustration, we were blessed to find our first house! We closed and got the keys on October 16th and spent the rest of the month packing, moving and saying goodbye to our little townhouse in Fremont.   Steve and I spent 6 years in that place and made a lot of memories there. It was sad to leave, but exciting to start the next chapter in our lives.

Our new house is in North Seattle and we love it!  Big yard, more space and it's all ours.  It'll take some time to get settled in, but it already feels like home.

Home Sweet Home!

# 2 - Happy Halloween and Annie's first Trick-or-Treaters!

I was SO excited to finally live in a neighborhood that would allow little goblins to knock on my door and ask for candy! Every time the door rang, I squealed with joy and Molly freaked out, and I'm sure the neighbors thought a bunch of freaks had moved in next door.  We also hit up an annual Halloween party with friends that was a blast, as it always is.

I'm ready for you trick or treaters!

Becky the Killer "B" ha ha :)

My hubby is such an ape sometimes.

#3 - Molly turned 1

Our sweet Molly celebrated her first birthday on November 23rd. She got lots of cuddles, played fetch for hours and got a special mega bone, which she ate in a day in a half.

Fetch!!

#4 - The Huskies go 8-4 and are headed to the Fight Hunger Bowl on December 27!

Every Saturday you'd find the Johnson's either down tailgating in Padelford or posted up somewhere to watch an away game.  The highlight of our tailgate season was the Oregon vs. Washington game in early October when ESPN Gameday came to film at the UW campus.  This was by far the earliest tailgate of my career, but well worth it to carry our sign up to Red Square and be a part of a really fun and energized crowd.  Unfortunately, the Dawgs lost that day.   They went on to win every home game after that, including the Apple Cup over Thanksgiving weekend.  It was a good season Dawgs, and I look forward to a win over BYU on the 27th!

Yes, we had a gallows with a roasted duck. Don't be so sensitive.

Apple Cup!

#5 - Getting ready for the Holidays!

And now Christmas is just one week away!  Wow, time flies. We've got the lights up on the house, our Christmas tree is decorated and I've been through 2 batches of eggnog so far.  I still have a bit of shopping to do and a few more loose ends to tie up, but I think I'm ready!  This will be the first Christmas I've hosted with my family and Steve's at our new house and I couldn't be more excited.

So... here is wishing you and yours a most joyous holiday season and a very happy New Year!

More regular blogging to commence in 2014, I promise.

Feeling Clamy

Mr. Johnson and I were feeling adventurous last night and decided to steam clams for the very first time. We followed a recipe from What's Gabby Cooking, adding a little extra red pepper flakes (for an added kick) and some cilantro (for additional flavor).  They turned out great! We'll definitely be making them again soon and I'm eager to try other broth variations, now that I know how quick and easy it is.  It's certainly a dish you can play around with!

Image from What's Gabby Cooking, but mine looked pretty much the same!

For my Seattle friends & family, we bought the clams at the Central Market in Shoreline and I was really impressed with their seafood and meat selections. Check it out sometime!

Purple Friday!

Since we missed opening day at Husky Stadium at the end of August, tomorrow marks the Johnson's first official Husky tailgate and home game of the season. Wooohooooo!!!!  I have an annual tradition of buying a new piece of Husky gear each year before the first game.  A little late, I popped in to the team store at lunch yesterday and I think my excitement got the better of me:

New Husky shirt, a UW collar for Molly, W socks, 2 new tailgating cups and a UW cowbell!!! (more cowbell!!!)

I'm ready to go!  The Dawgs take on the Idaho State Bengals at 12pm tomorrow and  I LOVE an early game because that means a breakfast tailgate!  Tonight's task will be to decide what delicious snack I will bring to accompany the mimosas and bloody mary's.  Big hits from the past include:

Maple Bacon Doughnut Holes

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Mmmmmm.... my mouth is watering.  I can't wait! I'm off to scour the interwebs to find my next great breakfast creation.  Until net time..... GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

No, it's not Christmas time my friends (though that would certainly be my second favorite time of year).  It's Football season!!!!

The NFL has been in pre-season for a few weeks now, and tonight Steve and I are going to the last Seahawks pre-season game against the Raiders.  Go HAWKS!  But let's face it, our first love is Husky Football and the real excitement comes this Saturday with the highly-anticipated UW home opener against Boise State at the newly remodeled Husky Stadium. Check it out, the new stadium looks amazing! 

The Seattle Times posted a great article recently that shows how the stadium has changed over the years since it was built in 1920, and lays out all the cool new features from the most recent remodel: New, Improved Husky Stadium Ready to Shine.

Sadly, Steve and I are going to be missing the inaugural game to attend the wedding of some very close friends.  Disappointed to say the least, but this wedding is also guaranteed to be epic! We'll be back on September 21st to kick our tailgates into high gear and lose our voices screaming for our boys!  Who's HOUSE?!?!  DAWGS HOUSE!!!! 

Here is the 2013 Husky Schedule so you'll know where to find us each Saturday this fall:

Let the good times roll!

 

 

Port Angeles

This weekend we ventured west to Port Angeles, Washington for Steve's cousin's wedding at the Johnson family farm.  Port Angeles sits on the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula along the shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  The views from our waterfront hotel room were amazing.

Molly sat by the window for a long time and took in the sights and sounds.  The next morning I woke up a little before 7am and Steve and Molly (the early risers) were already out watching the sunrise and playing in the low tides.

I enjoyed a cup of coffee and the beautiful scenery from the comfort of our balcony. 

They came back sandy and wet, and in need of a bath and some cuddles before check out time. The ocean water is pretty cold, isn't it Molly?

We Started a Book Club!

Recently, some friends and I started a book club.  I have been wanting to be a part of one for years now.  I love to read, and I love the idea of expanding my horizons and reading things that I normally wouldn't.  I also just love having another excuse to get together with my girlfriends and drink wine.  Well, book #1 of Book Club didn't disappoint on any of these expectations.

Book #1 - Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World by Bob Goff

Sounds like a self-help book, right?  This book came highly recommended to our book club founder who thought this light and presumably uplifting read would be a perfect kick start to our club.  It was pitched to the group as a collection of stories from one man's life who has found the ability to push himself beyond his comfort zone and live life to the fullest through love for each other and the world around us.  It wasn't until we all purchased the book and got past the foreword that we realized this book was about finding and living for Jesus to enrich your everyday life. Woops!  For a group that isn't overly religious (or religious at all for that matter).. this could have been a major bust.  Well, not entirely.

The general consensus was that the bible thumping and zealous praise of "Him" distracted from an otherwise positive message and model for living a fulfilling and inspiring life.  For me personally, I didn't mind the heavily religious undertone.  I know a few people that would really enjoy it and I may recommend it to them.  I took more issue with the writing style, and I found myself unable to relate to many of his stories.  He is obviously a very wealthy man and has the ability to act on his impulses and do things at the drop of a hat. Like, for example, taking his 10 year old daughter to London on 3 days notice to have high tea in a palace, just to show her that no wild idea is beyond her reach.  Well, I'm sorry Mr. Goff, for the vast majority of us out here in the real world, there are some wild ideas that ARE beyond our reach.  Love does you say, but apparently Love does require some deep pockets.

So, while I can take a step back and appreciate the message of this book, it fell a little short for me and a lot short for some of the other girls.  Never-the-less, it did generate some interesting discussion and new ideas amongst us. So for that, book #1 was a success.  Still, my final grade for Love Does would have to be a  C-  ..... Love probably does, but this book just doesn't for me.


Our next book is Americanah, "a story of love and race centered around a young man and woman from Nigeria who face difficult choices and challenges in the countries they come to call home." 
I can tell you that this book selection didn't get my vote, but I guess I'm getting what I asked for and expanding my horizons.

If anyone has recommendations for books to add to our list, please let me know.

Blue Steel

Molly and I have been watching reruns of America's Next Top Model, and she has been practicing her "fierce" look ......

But really, she's still just a goofball......

8 months old this month. We love you Molecule.

Time Flies!

And so the saying goes.... time flies when you're having fun ......and this summer has been a fun one!  It's been awhile since I posted, so here's a quick update on what we've been doing in this summer sunshine.....

I went to a really cool event at The Paramount Theatre - the AbsolutX party.  Free food and drinks, music, art, games and an awesome performance from Grimes.

Chasity and I drove up to Snohomish to attend a Murder Mystery dinner. The theme was Totally 80's, Totally Murder... TOTALLY FUN!

We've played A LOT of softball. Our team, the Slummit, made it to the final four of our league playoffs only to be ousted in the semi-finals by the Unicorn. This is the first time in 6 years that I've played with the team that we haven't made it to the championship game. It was a total bummer, but the other team sponsored by our bar, the Summit, won it all and brought the trophy back to our bar.  Congrats Summit Blue!



We've gone a few road trips and took Molly camping for the first time. We camped at Money Creek Campground in Skykomish, Washington. Molly thought we moved to the woods and was in hog heaven... or more appropriately, dog heaven.

  

And we had a ladies night out at Safeco field to see the Mariners beat the Cubs in extra innings.  Beers, broads and baseball... doesn't get much better than that.

  

But the highlight of our summer thus far has been our decision to officially start house hunting! It's been tough so far, but I just know we'll find the perfect house for our little Johnson family!

That's all for now.. gotta get out and enjoy that sunshine!!