Friday, December 9, 2011

They are here!!!!


This is my first post in a while because our twins came at 28 weeks. I have been here for the past 37 days! This is the place to be if you have a baby that is a preemie or micro preemies like we had. The boys had a rough start. Especially baby B he has had the roughest time.  



One thing that I know for sure is the fact that this was not in my plans for the holidays. We had so much we were going to do. This is my favorite time of the year, with all the parties and family gatherings and shopping and baking, decorating the house all the while listening to Christmas music. This year when we got the call that the boys were making their appearance on November 2nd 2011... I had no idea that I would not be able to get myself to leave them.  I have completely changed over the past 37 days and the 
person I have become is so much better then whom I use to be. I'm a mother! 



As I'm writing this I have one son stirring in his little crib a big milestone at times we didn't think we would make it too this fast. I have learned so much this past month about myself and about my boys. In my arms is my other son as sweet and beautiful as can be I want them both to grow stronger but I want to stay in this moment forever. Daddy aka "hub's" has gone back to work and as lonely as I get at times I love these amazing stolen moments that I'm able to sneak all to myself. These moments I hope will get me through the harder times of sleepless nights and the terrible two's. 


I won't post about the babies or my everyday lives on here so you are always more then welcome to go to the top of the page and click on the waiting for baby G which is my personal blog but thought that I would love to tell you all about what is going on in my life and this crazy new adventure of motherhood.  There is so very much to tell.  Thank you all for being here to be able to show me so much love and support. As Kingstongirl I am trying to do what I can so that I can stay in the swing of things and keep you informed on where you need to go, what you need to do and about all the great people that are part of my little world, that because of all of you have become so big.  I promise to post more and do more, it has been a little bit of a struggle on finding my balance between my fun things I do and being a new mommy. 







Monday, October 31, 2011

Meet Me Monday!


1. Do you prefer cotton, silk, or flannel sheets?
I love different kinds of sheets at different times of the year. In the summer it has to be high end Cotton with a light blanket on top of us, so we stay cool on those there hot nights in the summer. In the fall and winter I have to have flannel with our electric blanket, makes it so warm and cozy and I pile on the blankets keeping us nice and toasty. Hub's doesn't like that too much but he can swing a leg out! :) 

2. What time zone are you in?
Pacific!!! We live in a town close to Seattle and its a great place to live. One day I will live in Central time.... I miss my sister so much and she lives in Colorado, with her hub's who is my husband's bff and our nephew Q. 



3. What is your favorite part of the holiday season?
What do I not like! Well for starters today is Halloween and my husbands birthday, my Dads is the 23rd so always around Thanksgiving. I love that I can pick out or make gifts for the people that have touched my life in the past year. It changes almost every year who we give to but I love the surprise especially with Hub's I always make sure to blow his socks away. He never reads my blog so I am going to tell you what he is getting this year. I am going to get him into a hobby that he can share with the boys. I also very much love the music and the decorations and lights! We do a thing every year, called Christmas drive where my mom and hubs and I get in the car and go look at lights with a stop at a local coffee shop get a coffee tea or coco and enjoy the Lights and music when we see light that we like we yell out "Chrisme lights!" I can not wait to share that with the babies. 

4. What is your favorite "wintry" drink? (It doesn't have to be an "alcoholic" drink!) In fall I love cider, I just wish that they had sugar free, in winter I love white chocolate, milk steamers... with a splash of mint to it. 

5. In your opinion, what is the worst job in the world?
Being a state employee on the Washington State Ferry's. I will post about this in the next week stay tuned you will not want to miss this....

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Tempt my Tummy Tuesday


                                  
                                  Tempt my tummy Tuesday
It's my goal to show you all the yummy fall favorites that I have! One of my top for fall is the 30 minute Chili. Its really yummy and tastes even better when it's a day old and you re-heat it the next day for lunch. I always top my chili with Sour cream, chives & cheese. Hub's always puts hot sauce on it. 
Try also making some corn bread or some really nice thick sliced Sour Dough. 

Beer can 1 hour Chili. 
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 3 medium onions, chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
  • 3 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin 
  • 3 pounds ground beef stew or chuck meat
  • 3 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes in juice
  • 1 bottle (12 ounces)beer
  • 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • Shredded cheddar cheese 

Directions

  1. In a Dutch oven or large (5-quart) heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
  2. Add tomato paste, chili powder, chipotles (optional),cumin and cinnamon. Cook, stirring, until mixture has begun to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add beef, and cook, breaking it up with a spoon until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add tomatoes with their juice, beer, and beans. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a rapid simmer. Cook over medium heat until chili has thickened slightly and beans are tender, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, if desired.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Meet me Monday!


Welcome to this weeks, Meet me Monday!!!! 


1. Where do you escape to when you've had enough?
There are three places I go to when I am in need of escape, when I have had enough.... I go to Kalaloch its a place on the Washington Coast. This is a place where I have been going my entire life.  I also love to go to Cannon Beach Oregon, it is something to do with the ocean. To look out and realize that my life is so small when I look how big the ocean is. 

2. What shows are you watching this fall?
 I am watching with the help of two DVR's all the regular ones, and some of the new fun ones............. Up all night with Christina Applegate, Ringer is pretty good, I am over  top excited about tonight's 1st showing of Once upon a time, this is what I have been looking forward to seeing all fall. I hope that it is all I have been expecting.  
3. What was the longest roadtrip you've ever taken and where did you go?
the reason I love to travel are these long road trips that my parents and I have taken my entire life we have always driven everywhere. So when Chris & I got a month off together for a vacation a few years back we went from Seattle through Utah, new mexico, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, and back to Seattle.  It was the most beautiful and amazing drive I have ever taken. I can't wait to go again.  

4. Do you plan on taking your kids to Disney World?


Not just yes but heck yes!! We were looking into going on other vacations but every time we think about going anywhere else it always leads us back to Disney!! We will always be a Disney family especially now that we will have our babies of our own we will for sure bring them as often as we can. The memories from Disney are priceless. 

5. What is something people would surprised to know about you?

Well, people think that I am a big talker, love crowds and love being the center of attention, but that I really get stage fright & I don't like talking to crowds!  I can sometimes, not all of the time but many times I am way to shy to be the center of attention. Shhhhh! Don't you tell!
  

Thursday, October 20, 2011

A Conversation with Cuppa Bella...


Q)  How long have you lived in the area?


A) With exception to a few short years in the TriCities, both Tonya and I have lived in the area our entire lives.  I grew up in Kingston in the house my mom still lives in right across the street from Wolfle.  Tonya grew up in Poulsbo on Finn Hill in the same house her parents still live in.







Q) How much family history do you have in the area?


A) My family history isn't extensive, in the area compared to many of the storied family names.  My aunt and uncle moved out to Bainbridge in the late 50s and my mom moved out here from Pennsylvania in 1967 after nursing school.  My dad was in the Navy at the time and moved to the area after he was discharged.  At the time my mom moved out, my grandmother was still teaching in Doylestown but she and my grandfather moved out here in the mid-70s after she retired.  We've been here ever since.  Tonya's family has been in the area since the early 40s.




Q) What is your favorite thing about the area?


A) Other than the natural beauty of the area? Community.
Kingston is a true "small town".  You get the sense that folks that live here watch each others backs, they take care of their fellow citizens, they take care of their own town.  The volunteers in the Kingston area that come out for Town Cleanups, that put up the flower baskets, that put together the 4th of July are what makes this area so great.




Q) What would you change if you could about the area?


A) The only thing I would like to change is seeing more cooperation and communication between the various organizations in the area so that everyone is working toward the same goal, each with their own set of tasks to get there.  We started something like this with Rotary, Kiwanis, Kingston Food Bank, Port Gamble S'klallam Tribe, Kingston Rescue Mission, Sharenet Foodbank and Wolfle for the "Feed the Kids" program this past summer.  Sometimes, there's can be too much volunteer effort that it becomes scattered and small, creating a situation where each group is fighting for donations and volunteers.  If you can join the numerous small efforts to make our town better with one common visions and goal, a huge difference can be made in a short amount of time and you can eliminate the publics sense of annoyance at solicitation after solicitation for donations.  If we could all join together and target one issue at a time and resolve it before moving on to another as a group of volunteers and charities, great things could happen here.  And Kingston is the perfect place to do it.






Q) What made you start your own business?


A) Well, we didn't start Cuppa Bella.  Cuppa Bella was started by Mark and Karen Scholl in 1998 and the opportunity to purchase the business from them presented itself to us (by accident) last year.  Tonya had run her own daycare business out of our home for several years while I was commuting to Seattle to an IT executive job.  I had been looking for a way out of my commute for several years as I was losing time with our 4 children that I would never get back.  The cards just sort of fell into place last September.  I had planned on staying with my commute until February of this year but after ending up in Harborview after being hit on my motorcycle in December and our house burning down in January, it seemed best for me to stop commuting and focusing all of my energy on our business then.




Q) Where would you like to see your business be in 5 years?


A) We already have plans for a second location within the next 12 months. On the 5 year track, we're probably realistically looking at a 3rd location within that time.  It's a struggle for us right now since Tonya and I are so focused on the quality and consistency of what we serve that we spend 60-70 hours per week working in our business, I get up at 2am to do all the baking from scratch and Tonya comes in at noon to close up shop at 8pm.  We're not sure how additional locations will pan out for us in being able to maintain our high level of standards, but, we're not reinventing the wheel so we'll just have to look at how other successful entrepreneurs have done it.


Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Worldness Wednesday......

SO many things have gone on here is my wordless Wednesday and my wordless is a picture of my parents car when they were hit while a person was texting. So please look at this photo and remind your loved ones and yourself to not TEXT & DRIVE because our family will never be the same. 

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Tempt my tummy Tuesday

I am getting back into doing what I did before I made my blog mostly just reviews and business. I have been told that a lot of my readers miss the daily post so here we are... enjoy!


This is an easy and nice enough, to make for some of those people that you love and just special enough for a Sunday dinner or holiday meal. I Add hot baked rolls, and always do a veggie frozen or fresh. The Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hours, 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 center-cut pork rib roast, about 3 pounds
  • 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 2 pounds fingerling potatoes, scrubbed
  • 1 large onion, cut into 6 to 8 wedges
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350°.
Wash the roast and pat dry. Rub roast all over with the Cajun seasoning, dry mustard, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, half of the minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sear the roast over medium-high heat in a skillet in remaining olive oil for about 3 to 5 minutes on each side, or until nicely browned.
Toss potatoes with the remaining minced garlic, onion wedges, and the melted butter. Arrange the potatoes in the baking pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the browned rib roast on the vegetables, bones facing down. Pour the wine or chicken broth in the pan. Roast, uncovered, for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and the roast registers about 150° when a meat thermometer is in the thickest part of the meat, not touching fat or bone. If the rib ends begin to brown too much, cover each with a piece of foil. Cut between the ribs into separate chops and serve with the roasted potatoes and onions.
Serves 6 



Monday, October 17, 2011

Know me monday.

I am going to do something fun that we will do each week so you can know Kingstongirl. The fall is filling up and we have some amazing things going on, Blogging is a funny thing, we tell our most intimate thoughts tor the people we don't meet in person as often as we would like to, but these people we feel safer to share our deepest feeling we write things down in anger, in sadness, always emotional and always showing my feelings, we know that we don't know them know them but I want to now who the person is behind all these wonderful stories that they share with us. The connection.......So here is a bit of getting to know me Mondays... Enjoy! 

1.  The thing that scares me the most is __________?
  the thing that scares me the most is that my writing will never bring me the most of what I want to bring. I have so many great dreams that I never truly be able to have my own book on the shelves of the many book stores.... that the books I am working on now with the ideas in my head without putting it from pen to paper. 
2.  Do you like nuts in your Chocolate Chip cookies?




No, I don't like to eat cookies that have nuts in them. I like most everything sweet but I only like white Chocolate Chips, with macadamia nuts & I like almonds in some of the things that I eat just not Chocolate chips. 
 3.  If you couldn't change the channel, what tv show would drive you from the room?
Nothing could keep me from watching Samantha Brown, She is who I want to be when I grow up! :)


4.  Pulp or no pulp in your Orange Juice?No pulp I like it smooth, I can't drink it unless I am trying to get my sugars up when I am about to crash, so sadly I do miss that favorite morning drink. Could they find a sugar free Orange juice? Please?

5.  Who do you miss the most?
I miss my sister, she has helped me in so many ways and introduced me to the thought process that I can get though anything that I put my mind to, that I if I have a dream then I can set my mind to it and make it come true with some hard work. She lives a few states away and I don't get to see her nearly enough as I wish I did. 

Monday, October 10, 2011

A conversation with Polish and shine cleaning....



A close family to my husband and over time they have become great friends of mine. I love these girls and they are two girls that will do anything for their friends and every costumer is treated just like one of their friends. Enjoy getting to know Heather & Hayley 
owners of Polish & Shine Cleaning!!!


1) How long have you lived in the area?


All of our lives, we were born in Bremerton and raised on Bainbridge. We Have lived in almost every city in Kitsap over the past 20 years.

2) How much family history do you have in the area?

Our Mother was born on Bainbridge in 1938. Our Dad came to Kitsap from FL in the 50's.

3) What is your favorite thing about the area?

The small town feeling, it is hard to go anywhere without seeing someone you know. There is not a lot of hustle and bustle but any service, store, and school are within arms reach. ~Heather

4)What would you change if you could about the area?

The constant additions of "big box stores". I think it makes it very hard for small businesses when they keep adding giant stores that Mom and Pop shops can't compete with. ~Heather

5)What made you start your own business?

Hayley and I are both Mothers, Wives, Etc. Heather is a Navy Wife who's husband is often deployed. She is also the mother to a special needs son and 3 other children. Hayley is married with 2 children and works part time at a vet clinic on Bainbridge. We were really looking for something that would allow us the freedom to work while being able to be available to our families as well.
We also saw a market for affordable house cleaners. Some of the prices out there are just too far out of reach for a lot of people. We wanted to be available to almost everyone regardless to income.

6)Where would you like to see your business be in 5 years?

GROWING! Hahaha. We would like to stay small and still be able to give personal attention to each client. It would be fantastic to be fully booked 5 days a week though.

7)What is the hardest part of having your own business?

So far, it has been trying to find clients and really get our name out there. When you are a tiny business starting from nothing, we just don't have the ability to pay for massive advertising or commercials. That's where we are hoping the "small town, word of mouth, everyone knows everyone", will come into play.

8)Where would you like our town to be in over the next five years?

Where it is now, without too much growth.

9)What is your favorite thing to do in our town?

We love to visit the parks, there are so many! Fay Bainbridge is one of our favorites. Girl's night's out are fun too, we all need a break and getting together with the girls is a great way to unwind.

10)What is your favorite Store in town?

I love consignment stores! I have four kids and a grandbaby on the way so any time I can get a bargain is great. Rock-a-buy is great and so is Fishline's store in downtown Poulsbo AND it supports a great cause! Hayley and I are both avid bargain shoppers.

11)Do you give to any local charities you work with?

We have are just starting out but would LOVE to work with Autism Walks and Autism Awareness. Hayley would say PAWS or the Humane Society as she also works with animals.

12) tell me anything you would love to share about your business.

We are affordable, 100% customer driven, and really do our best to make sure no detail is overlooked. We not only do residential cleaning but also, commercial, move out cleans and event clean-up. We have access to the bases as well. Our website is polishandshinecleaners.yolasite.com. You can request info or ask us questions on the "contact us" page. You can also find us on facebook!!!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Happy Monday Photography & A little bit sassy!!!!

This is a conversation between myself and Gretchen of Happy Monday Photography and a little bit sassy.


How long have you lived in the area?
This time? lol My family and I lived here from 2002-2007. We are a Navy family so we moved down to the San Diego area for awhile and returned to this area again last August. Unfortunately we will have to leave the area again next August. We look forward to retiring here in six years.


How much family history do you have in the area? 

  • None in the Kitsap area. I spent most of my childhood in Bellevue.

    What is your favorite thing about the area?
    I love the “small town” feel but the fact that it is close enough to so many different city type activities.

    What would you change if you could about the area?
    I take away to stupid Toll on the Narrows Bridge. :):)

    What made you start your own business?
    I felt VERY strongly that I needed to be a stay at home mom. I have attempted many different home based business and was never successful because my heart wasn’t in it. Before my 3rd child, a baby girl, came along, my husband bought me my first “real” camera. I have been interested in Photography since I was a teenager but I fell in love with it when I started taking pictures of my children. My passion for creating images evolved when we were in California and after a year of portfolio building, Happy Monday Photography was born.

    Where would you like to see your business be in 5 years?
    I would like to be in a beautiful studio filled with the sound of little feet, belly laughs and lots of love. My goal is to have a boutique in the front where I can sell all my crafty stuff. :):)

    What is the hardest part of having your own business?
    Its all up to me. Whether I succeed or fail, its on my shoulders. I love the challenge though, it keeps me on my toes and gives me the opportunity to continue growing artistically.

    Where would you like our town to be in over the next five years?
    I would love to see Downtown Silverdale become something more than buildings filled salons. It would be so great to have a bustling area filled with a nice variety of businesses, galleries, resteraunts, etc.

    What is your favorite thing to do in our town?
    Our family LOVES geocaching!!! Never heard of it? Check it out, www.geocaching.com. It is a real life treasure hunt and is such an awesome activity for families to do together.

    What is your favorite Store in town?
    Goodwill. I LOVE transforming wood furniture into perfect pieces for my house.

    Do you give to any local charities you work with?
    I make several different products with a Breast Cancer Awareness theme. I donate a minimum of 50% of the profits of those items to the Susan G Komen Foundation.

    What is your business motto?
    “Leave Boring at the Door”. I am a fun person and I want my clients to have a carefree, relaxed, candid and fun time when we are together.

    Tell me anything you would love to share about your business.
    I do this because I LOVE it. I love giving people the gift of Heirloom quality images. Lets have some fun and capture the important moments in your life, big and small.





  • Thursday, September 15, 2011

    Sometimes you only have each other.

    A few weeks ago some family drama emerged like a wreaking ball it destroyed some amazing relationships but what it didn't do is destroy my relationship with my husband it made us closer. The time I have been taking away from writing has been so that I could nest in our new home and snuggle closer to my husband.

    My hub's works. A lot. I work. A lot.We are about to have two beautiful baby boys born in January, who will fill up a super amount of whatever little time we will have left. Add that to bills that keep showing up every month. A almost 40 year old home that needs to be up dated and made into the home that we will raise those boys and our family in, it never has a day go by that goes with out a creak or complaint and the typical everyday American life. 

    I realize how much I miss the man that I get to proudly call my husband everyday. The vows of "to love and cherish." that keeps getting drowned down with the "payment due" or the truth of "living day by day and paycheck to paycheck to paycheck. " 

    So with the ideas of what we want our home to look like especially the yard. "Hub's" and I started to plan the entire landscape DIY projects.  We have started this out by a weekend a month to work on it. I don't work outside of the home and don't really feel that once the babies are home and safe if we will be more of my job to work around the house. We will tackle the shed remodel ( I am making it into my get away room and craft area, I think)  I was thinking back to all the projects that we have done together in the past. I think back fondly to the project that we did in our back yard in our first home in Kingston. 
    We did a beautiful patio. 

    I knew that we were in trouble when it took the whole day to place stakes and string to start the perimeter.  I would love to rewind and watch the funny arguments between us. Like any husband and wife the banter back and fourth wouldn't be funny in the moment but looking back it would be funny now.  It was almost evening by the time the two of us started the strong willed of the two of us would keep that banter going for hours. Then over dinner and cocktails we discovered that we were going to take a few weeks to get the entire section done.  We made trip after trip with a half a dozen gallon buckets along with a few kitty litter boxes filled with dirt  to the dump, then back to the house to fill more dirt and then back to the dump.....over and over again we were able to do load after load. 

    The hum of the road, wind blowing in our hair, sunshine pouring through the window and the heat  feeling so wonderful warming our skin for a few seconds.  If we were able to close our eyes we would have felt like we were on a mini vacation for a few seconds. By day 7 of our 2 day project we had laughed and enjoyed our time together laughing and joking that we were to be the next HGTV show leaving his real life job to become the landscapers that we have now become. 

    We had gained so much more then a patio we gained a togetherness that we were so blessed to have been a part of.  Him+Me= family. So every so often we walk the property with a notebook & pen and jot down our honey do together list. Allowing us to dream big and plan that mini vacation of staying home and building our relationship and value of our home. 

    Monday, August 22, 2011

    All the busy work....

    I felt it in the air today... Did you? That first sign of fall? 

    In Western Washington we have had the best two weeks of sunshine all summer. I love it so much! 

    Until today! 

    Then I wanted to go shopping for knee high boots & a wool jacket, sweaters and scrafts! 

    Highschool football games.

    Pumpkin patches.
    I have so many things to look forward too.....

    All the fall hotel reviews. 
    Stay tuned for the two Hotel review next week when I am back 
    to my Monday through Friday 
    Reviewing and writing 
    Off to pack it is moving day on Thursday!