Random Photos from November

November 2020

Every Autumn I look forward to seeing the leaves make their wondrous transformation. And every Autumn I am fascinated by the beautiful colors they display. It fills me with joy seeing the colors of Autumn so vibrant. There is no doubt that God is the ultimate artist. 

I am blessed for this awesome experience. I am aware that not everyone gets the opportunity to see  deciduous trees up close in autumn.

I love going on walks when the weather is cloudy. This was an after-dinner walk. We had just walked down our street when I looked back and saw how cool the evening sky looked. I had to take a picture. I love how it came out. Yes, the sky was that dark. I don't use filters on my pictures.

Walking on crisp fallen leaves and hearing the crunch is a joyful experience that brings comfort and a deep connection to nature. I love it all.

I read that having hobbies are very beneficial for our brains because they lower stress hormones and improve emotional wellbeing. Hobbies are also mental stimulating activities which create a defense system that delays memory decline and cognitive aging. 

One of my hobbies besides reading is journaling by longhand. It helps me to focus better and allows me to process my feelings in a deeper and calm way. 

I like to cozy up my space when I journal. I light candles, get a comforting (and sometimes healthy) snack and I have calm music playing in the background. It's important to be intentional about creating an environment that brings me peace. I tend to get so engrossed with journaling that often times I lose track of time. I LOVE that. This brings me joy. It makes me feel content and satisfied.

Energy flows as I busy myself with constructive activity. 

Sophie knows better than to sit on my bookcase. Look at her, she knows she's guilty. That's why she's looking back at me that way.

In our home we love to coddle our cats. Nathan is loving on Lila. Lila likes it even though she pretends to be a tough girl.

I haven't made an official blog post about us moving out of Washington. That will come at a later time. This October will be four years since we moved. We miss WA terribly. Aside from my two oldest children still living there, I miss the cloudy/rainy weather, parks/trails, the Puget Sound/ferry, and the North Oregon coast the most. 

Seeing our previous house brings back a lot of great memories. Even though change is inevitable, assimilating to a new environment can be tough in a new city; whether it's the climate, people, or the way of life.

Although it is constantly cloudy in Washington and there's light rain on most days, fog was something that we didn't get every single day. I like fog but after two days of it I noticed that my eyes would take a second to adjust to it whenever I began driving. Fog would put a heaviness on my eyes. Once home I was glad not to be out driving in it. Fog has its own beauty too though.

Virtual school was one of the lamest things we have experienced, especially for my son. For an adult, being in front of a monitor for hours is tedious tiring work now imagine how stressful it was for children during the pandemic. And don't get me started on whether or not they benefited from being taught via a monitor. My son fell back so much on learning during this time. The teachers didn't seem equipped to handle this rapid change either. Riley hated it and I don't blame him not one bit!

Driving past the Tacoma Dome on our way to a restaurant for dinner. I like to eat at different locations when it comes to restaurants. I like a change of scenery. I guess I like to go on car rides and take the long way to a location, at least most of the time I do. 

The ordinary days often become the memories we ache to return to. They matter because they tend to make up most of our lives. 

I've realized that the most important luxuries

in my life are family, slow mornings, home cooked

meals, spending time in nature, and expressing myself

though creativity.

Out and About

1/19


On January 6 we had a strong windstorm that came through at 1:20 am. I got woken up by it and it actually made me a bit nervous. I'm thankful that there are no tall pine trees near our home so that was a relief, didn't have to worry about one toppling over our home. When we woke up we realized we had lost power. A wide area lost power. Our home was cold ... and although we have a gas stove we went out for breakfast so we could have coffee. Well, everyone else was trying to get breakfast too. It was crazy. After about half an hour we got our food and ate. I'm thankful that power in our area got restored by noon, others were still out of power for several more days. My in-laws were one of them. We also missed church since we didn't have hot water to shower.


The weekend after the windstorm my in-laws came along and got us into Bangor Base. The fog was very thick at certain parts in Tacoma. It looked pretty cool as we drove across the Narrows Bridge.

I like visiting different military bases. I think they're pretty awesome! The reason we visited Bangor Base was because Jacob wanted to reminisce his childhood mischievous days and mid morning hangouts at the bowling alley.

My left arm and wrist was sore by the end of the game. I got just one strike and went down hill from there. My ball kept going on the left gutter. Jacob ended up winning and I believe Riley came in second.

After we were done with bowling we made a quick stop in Poulsbo and stopped at Sluy's bakery and picked up sweets to take home. Then we drove into Bainbridge Island and had lunch at Westside Pizza. Jacob likes to eat here because there's a Mrs. Pacman game. He's pretty good at it that Riley gets bored of waiting his turn. I have to tell Jacob to purposely lose so Riley can play, lol.

And so that was our day. To me it's all about the journey, whether if it's driving around town or on a long road trip ... everything I get to experience with loved ones is what's most fun and driving onto the ferry and enjoying the ride and gorgeous views of the Puget Sound is definitely the highlight for me.

Hello Mt. Rainier!
It happens almost instantly, once we're in the presence of the Puget Sound the vibe changes immediately for us. The fact that we live in a very liberal state and see a lot of things in disarray the Puget provides a sweet escape from all the nonsense. Why is that? Because nature (God's creation) is perfect and provides so much peace and nurtures our souls. And Washington is a nature lover's paradise for sure!

I'm surprised we didn't have our thick jackets on, being that it was January. I guess it must have been a mild winter afternoon.

Pretty isn't it? There's no filter in this picture. I guess it was the angle that I took the picture and the sun almost setting that help capture these pretty pink/purple hues. Our Maker is truly remarkable and I am grateful that I have eyes to see His marvelous works.

My mother in law looks like she was in the middle of a conversation. Don't remember what it was about though.

And these two always joking around and laughing.

The person who has chosen to make gratitude his or her 

mind-set and lifestyle can view anything through the eyes of thankfulness.

Double Pumpkin Patch Fun

{October 2018}

For the past couple of years we've visited two pumpkin patches. One sells the best roasted sweet corn ever made and has two large pumpkin patches, the other has a large fun kids area and a fun corn maze. Theses two pumpkin patches are about fifteen minutes from each other so that makes travel time easy.

It was a cold foggy morning. The road that takes you to the pumpkin patch has pretty acreage properties that we like to admire. Some houses are very cute and cozy. There's one house in particular that has several horses and even has an arena at their property. How cool is that!

There was quite a bit of people at Bob's pumpkin patch by mid morning so after a few pictures we didn't waste any time and walked straight to the roasted corn stand before the line got too long.

Oh man. I'm telling you Bob's roasted corn is SO sweet, tender and juicy. I like to put some cayenne pepper or tapatio on my roasted corn ... super delicious and out of this world. Even my in-laws love them, they didn't come with us but we got half a dozen to take back to them.

Once we were done eating our delicious corn we walked to the pumpkin patch that's down the dirt road. There were so many big pumpkins to choose from! This time I did remember to bring my shears, good thing too because the stem is prickly and that hurts!
I love how fog can give the atmosphere that much more depth and makes a picture that much more interesting .... I believe that dark gray clouds give off a similar effect. I love it!

I try to get in pictures every now and then to have proof that I was there and part of the experience, lol. And I love wearing dresses more than anything else. Jacob's always so photogenic.

We got our pumpkins, paid and drove the fifteen minutes to Swan's Trail. Their property is flat which makes it easier to get around.
By the time we got to this pumpkin patch it was about noon and of course this place was packed but thankfully not chaotic.

They have cute little chicks to hold. Super cute!

And look at this cute calf.

These tall hay slides are pretty popular.

And this half bouncy dome is what every kid looks forward to. It's gotten so popular that it's timed by ten minute sessions (I believe) this way it's not overly crowded making it unsafe.

After Riley had his fun we drove to Redmond and had a late lunch at Garlic Crush (Greek food).
WA has a lot of yellow deciduous trees more so than the red/orange foliage ones. So pretty to see and it definitely pacifies the yearning for the gorgeous Autumn colors.

This boy loves his daddy so much and is always attached to his hip.

Sometimes I wonder if we'll continue to take part in all the wonderful Fall festivities once Riley no longer wants to go to them. But as I ponder on this I know we will. Jacob and I are big on celebrating American traditions and so I believe that we will continue to enjoy these fun American holiday traditions for years to come, God willing.

Happiness comes not from having much to live on,

but from having much to live for.

Fog and Some Cat Mischief

We got home from our trip to CA in the evening. The following day Riley had to go back to school. He was excited to go back ... I, on the other hand wanted to sleep in.
Very foggy morning and a bit chilly.

Coming back from being away from home and resuming familiar routines is so welcoming. Keeping busy with things I love doing helps with the monotony of life because it gives me something interesting to do ... keeps my mind stimulated.

This was the first book I read by Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series. Gosh, when I bought this book I wasn't aware that there were over ten books in the series so unknowingly I started with this book which is book number 12 however, it wasn't confusing at all. I enjoyed it very much and now I can't wait to start with book 1 which I do have sitting on a stack of books on my bedroom floor.

Looking back at these pictures from a year ago I can't help but smile at how cute and tiny Lila was. Ever since Sydna brought her home Lila has always been wild. I guess it's her breed and those claws hurt like heck but her biting wasn't bad since she was very little. Just look how tiny her head was. Her fur is very soft too.

I call her Trouble sometimes. Even when she was this little she had no fear.
This was the first time I had to cat-sit her because Sydna went to Portland with a couple of friends. At night I would put her in Sydna's room and close the door. I felt bad about her sleeping alone but I didn't feel comfortable having her roaming around the house and getting into things plus I didn't want her eating Sophie's food and end up getting sick.

My book buying slows down somewhat once October comes around. The holidays have arrived so I have to split my spending between Halloween/Thanksgiving decor and buying books.

She even fit inside a back roller. This cat!

Climbing furniture. Not cool!

And at only months old she would walk up to Sophie and have a staring contest. I'm telling you ... she had no fear. Sophie would sometimes hiss at her but she didn't feel threatened so most of the time she would just stare at her but when Lila would get too close Sophie would sometimes swipe at her or just walk away.

No respect for personal space.

I like to catch Sophie in mid yawn but usually those pictures come out very blurry. This one's not too bad. Geez louise! LOL!!

She's being cute in this one. She's always sweet though. Calico's typically are.

And this one makes me laugh. The look of inquisitiveness. Since this was a selfie she was probably thinking, who's that calico staring back at me?? (lol!).

Doesn't she looks cute?! So skinny and tiny. So cuddly! .. even with that look of indifference.

Perhaps one reason we are fascinated by cats is because

such a small animal can contain so much independence, dignity,

and freedom of spirit. Unlike the dog, the cat's personality is never

bet on a human's. He demands acceptance on his own terms.

On Our Way to the Movies

We haven't seen too many foggy days around here lately since it's been raining a lot. But, on the day we were on our way to the movie theatre that's what the weather was like. I texted my sister a similar picture because she also likes rainy weather and I think she likes foggy days more than I do. This happened about two weeks ago and at that time San Diego was having very warm weather, inconceivable.
However, there is something captivating about fog especially when it looks something like this. I enjoy a foggy day every once in a while but not for more than two days in a row.

We had not been to the movie theatre in a while and since The Good Dinosaur had just come out we decided to take Riley to see it ... and Nathan. Well, we kind of encouraged Nathan to come see this little kid movie because we didn't want him to stay home alone on a Sunday.
We had not been to this movie theatre in months so when we walked into the theatre we realized that they had put in new seats ... and to our amazement they reclined electronically. That was super cool! I wonder how many movie theatres have these type of seats.
As you can see Riley loved it.

The Good Dinosaur was such a sweet movie. I didn't think I was going to like it but it was very touching and it made me tear up twice. Will definitely buy.

Sometimes, Riley and I like to stay home on a rainy day especially when we get hit with very hard rain which is not usually the norm for WA. It's usually drizzle to a light rain. Again complimenting this cozy blanket I got from my brother ... it definitely makes it hard for one not to want to get comfortable on the couch and cover yourself up with it. Whenever I do Riley usually makes his way over next to me.

Libby also has been hanging around me a lot more since it's become cold. She likes this red blanket she's laying on but so do I. That used to be my favorite cozy blanket before I got my new one but I still like it a lot and I'm not ready to let Libby have it. Since I'm allergic to cats {lol} I made sure to wash it after she woke up from her nap. I love her but I still don't like cat dander on things.
I just noticed her little nostril. Aw, she's so cute!

I hope to get my Christmas shopping finished soon and I'm looking forward to this Sunday's services. We'll be having a Christmas service at our usually morning time and in the evening we'll be going back for the Christmas Carols and cookie service. Yum! Good opportunity to enjoy a peppermint white chocolate mocha while singing Christmas songs.