WinCo Wins

Brand-name items are interesting for me. I've never been one to worry too much about brand-name clothing or shoes; I don't really care if I have Fred Meyer pants or Payless shoes. If they get the job done & don't fall apart after a few washings, I'm happy with them. Groceries are a different story. I used to really feel good about my pantry, cupboards or refrigerator if I had "Kellogg's," "Heinz," "C&H," etc. I was really making it if I had some Trader Joe's items in there. After reviewing our budget a while ago, we decided to try shopping at WinCo to see how it went. The savings were pretty obvious; especially if I went with the generic brand. However, I didn't want to become a regular WinCo shopper. For some reason I really kicked my heels in at the idea of having all those generic brands in my cupboards, and more importantly, that I would have to bag my own groceries!
Well, with gas prices (going down, though--yeah!), food price increases, and the point that WinCo is just minutes away, I couldn't keep giving excuses when Keith would ask "Tell me again why we don't just shop at WinCo?" I finally gave in when I saw how much I had spent at a competing store, only to get home with one bag of groceries. At WinCo, I knew that amount would buy twice as much!
Although going to WinCo is still a bit of a difficulty for me, I like it a little more knowing that I'm saving a lot of money & that I've noticed more people that "look like me" there, in terms of silly superficial demographics. You really can see every range of people there; it's quite interesting. Sometimes I forget "the rules;" for example, yesterday I was there & without thinking, pulled my cart forward when the lady in front of me pulled hers to the end to bag (gasp!) When she came back to pay, she said--somewhat rudely--"exCUSE me, MISS!" I apologized and backed up, only to run into the guy behind me who had mistaken my pull-through as valid.
Anyway, it's a work in progress. I've decided the benefits outweigh the negatives, and, as Senia has pointed out, you can't beat their bulk section!

Breaking Dawn at the break of dawn...

Well, the time is drawing near. Come August 1st, I will be heading to Powell's for a release party! I never thought I'd be "that person" that would be so interested in a book to attend a midnight release, but it sounds like so much fun. Mary & Senia are going to come along, and we are going to party it up vampire-style! I will definitely be posting more about it later, but it is going to be lots of fun, if for no other reason than I get to hang out with my best gals. :) My act of service for the night will be giving blood, as they say, "To the Red Cross, not vampires..." which will be interesting but hopefully uneventful.
That is all I have to say about that for now.

In other news, Hannah is as fun as ever! She is getting a little longer & a little chubbier (at least in my opinion) and it is fun hearing her "talk" in her little voice. It's fun to try to imagine what all she is saying. Tonight we went on a walk & she was just chatting away with her little leg resting on her stroller tray--so casual & relaxed. Her newest thing is that she makes a little round-lipped face and says "Woo-woo" when she sees a dog. I have to say that it is PRETTY cute! :) She has also had some fun times in her little wading pool; the other night she even went skinny-dipping and even sat down. The water is becoming a little less intimidating for her, which is nice to see.

Well, that's enough for now; I've been wanting to post something, but I have a hard time coming up with topics that I feel will be interesting for people to actually read. :) Senia, I could use a few more "post-starters." :)

We made it through!

Well, this last weekend was our first (well, my first) extended time away from Hannah--our first together. Keith has been away overnight a number of times since Hannah was born, but I had only been away from her one night when we did a trial run a couple months ago. :) Keith & I decided we wanted to work at a retreat that was being directed by Keith's sister & brother-in-law, Anne & Nate, along with another family friend, Jonathon. (It was called Journey with Christ, for anyone who may have heard of that organization.) Anyway, we left Thursday afternoon, and as it got closer to the "drop-off time," I grew more & more anxious. I got that feeling in my stomach like you do when you start work again on Monday, or right before you go to the dentist, or the night before a huge exam. We got to my Mom & Dad's house and I got Hannah's stuff settled. The good thing is that she's been there plenty of times, so it wasn't like she was unfamiliar with her surroundings. We wanted to make the good-byes short, so we pretty much left within a few minutes. I don't know what I was expecting, but Hannah did not so much as shed one tear or show a turned-down lip! Meanwhile, I was gulping the huge knot down my throat & trying not to start bawling or tell Keith "Never mind." To make matters worse, my mom handed me a little note that said "Mommy & Daddy" written by "Hannah." :) It was actually very cute but it did make me tear up a little bit. Anyway, we made it to Yakima just fine and then I was pretty much okay for the weekend except for one breakdown when my mother-in-law, Theresa, specifically mentioned to the leadership group to pray for Hannah since it was her birthday. :) Then Theresa & a few others working had a little party for Hannah, "in absencia" (or however that is spelled.) It was nice to have the support on both ends!
When we got home, Hannah was busy playing with Grandma, Grandpa & Senia, and she didn't seem to have missed us at all. I guess that is good in a way, as I'm sure it gets harder to leave them as they start to actually REALIZE you are leaving!

Reflections...

Well, after 2 or 3 not-so-subtle hints from my sister about a new post, I figured I'd better come through. Since Hannah's 1st Birthday (!) is coming up in a little over a week, I thought I'd do some reflecting on this past year, as well as do a little update on Hannah's progress as she comes to the one year milestone.
For one thing, I can't believe it has been a year already--I'm sure everyone says that after becoming parents, but it really is true that time flies!! We just attended my annual choir banquet, which seems strange since last year at this time I was VERY pregnant & hoping Hannah would make her arrival that night. (Although we didn't even know she was a girl at the time; she was still "Baby" or "Little Jerry," as we called "it.") Almost exactly a week later, Hannah came into the world & it has been one amazing journey since then. A few items from our life this year (besides Hannah being born):

*Keith switched jobs/careers from auto mechanics to bank security
*I worked part time at CSG; bringing Hannah with me for the first month back
*I quit work
*We bought a house (yes, in that order. :)

Hannah has truly been a blessing over this last year & we look forward to continuing to watch her grow & change. In these last couple months alone, Hannah has learned to:

*crawl (& get very fast very quickly)
*pull herself up
*move around furniture
*say "Dada" (& maybe "Mom," as of today--although I'm not positive)
*move/"sing" along to "The Itsy Bitsy Spider"
*open & close doors (from her level--not actually turning the door knob)
*pull any & all items off of shelves
*go up the stairs

Also, she has gotten 5 teeth--but not much more hair. :) Anyway, besides the physical & developmental growth, we have been delighted by Hannah's blooming personality as she discovers her world. She loves to clap, and she will pretty much smile at anyone until they look her way. In general, she really has a lot of joy for daily life, and that is something we could all use more of!

I hope this doesn't come across as a brag session instead of how I meant it to come across--a few thoughts on how Hannah has enriched Keith's & my life over this last year...and how we know she will in the years to come! Happy 1st Birthday, Hannah!!

Babies Galore!

Well, it's been a while since I posted something Hannah-related, so I figured I'd better do so. :) Today we had 3 other moms and their babies over for a playdate. It was a lot of fun, and all of them were pre-walkers, so Hannah fit right in. It is amazing, though, how different each baby is--even if they are the exact same age! All of them were at different stages of crawling, and Hannah was the only one pushing her little push toy around--I'm bragging a bit, but that's okay, right? ;)
The moms were all so nice & friendly; it's just been really wonderful to get to know some other moms with babies about Hannah's age. Now you may be wondering how I met all these women & babies...or maybe you're not wondering, but I'm going to tell you anyway...These are the options of how I did this:

A) Online
B) Standing in the mall play area with a sign that said "Need Other Moms to Play With!"
C) Using Telepathy
D) Waiting around for other people I know to have babies

Well, the answer is...A! I went to Meetup.com (which is a great website, by the way) and filled out a profile. Then all you do is choose which groups you want to belong to. You kind of "apply" via a message on the website, and then the organizers contact you if you've been "chosen." It's a very thorough process....just kidding; my guess is as long as you have a picture of yourself holding a child, you're in. :) After a 30-day trial period in the group (and you can be in more than one) you pay a nominal annual fee (anywhere from $6-$10; it's the best money I'll ever spend!) and then you're a member. Then it's just a matter of choosing the events you want to attend or hosting your own. There is a range of activities, some of which have costs associated--but you don't have to go to any of those if you don't want to! It's very cool. I've managed to fill up the last couple weeks pretty nicely with an activity every other day, and it works out well for both Hannah & I!
Anyway, that's what I've been doing, post-vampires. :) (I'm done with the third book and waiting anxiously for the fourth--coming out Aug 2nd!)
Hope you are all well!

Vampires are SOOO cool!

Well, this title may seem really weird, but if you have read (or are currently reading) the "Twilight" series books, you will know what I mean. :) Afton recommended these literary "drugs" to me, and she even supplied them to me! I have finished the second of the three-part series, and I am "thirsting" for more. :) Haha. Okay, enough with the metaphors and on to a more detailed description of why I am seriously considering becoming a vampire. ;)
First of all, let me tell you that I am NOT a science-fiction-genre type of girl. I thrive on living & reading about reality, or about things that could possibly happen in real life. I watch reality TV (or at least The Office, which is close) and I read books that either take place in the current time period, or at least very good historical fiction. When Afton first told me about these books, she raved...but I was skeptical.
Upon reading the first page (the preface--not even the first actual page of the chapter) I was totally hooked! For the next 24 hours I read every chance I got--and with a 10-month-old, you'd think that would be impossible, but obviously, I found time. (Ask my husband, who, at various times would try to distract me with silly questions about dinner or something.) During the novel, I kept feeling compelled to ask myself "How could this EVER be possible?" or "Oh yeah, like that could really happen." But as soon as I stopped trying to explain or reason away every part of the story, I REALLY got into it, and all of a sudden I realized I believed what I was reading. At a couple points, my heart was actually pounding as if I was watching the scene unfold--I couldn't turn the pages fast enough!
Now, please don't get me wrong--I do not really think vampires are real, nor do I really want to be one (I mean, who wants to drink blood--yuck!) What I am saying is that this book is written very well and I would highly recommend it. Not only is the portrayal of a particular clan of vampires very interesting & fun to read, there is a beautiful unrequited romance that develops that literally brought tears to my eyes. I have to run--I need to start the last book...and wait for the movie to come out in December. :)

Sissy's Home!

Well, this is a test to see how fast Senia responds now that she is HOME! :) I am so glad that she is back from college for the summer, especially since she happens to attend a college that is about a million miles away (she should know--she and my brother drove home from MN Thursday & got home last night.) Anyway, I am thrilled that she ended up coming home, and I am excited for all the fun stuff we will be doing throughout the next few months (namely, hanging out at home, going for walks/swims/runs(?)/classes at the gym, going to the mall or Target just to browse, going to the beach, spending time outside with Hannah, watching Hannah splash around in a wading pool, talking, drinking coffee, watching The Office, watching The Cosby Show, watching movies, talking some more, laughing, having Senia overnight, etc. etc.) (Did I miss anything, Sen?

Anyway, it is good to have her back nearby. Beyond that, I'm just really thankful that we have the kind of close relationship where we WANT to hang out endlessly with each other. That is worth more to me than even SHE knows. :)

Ahhh...I know it's sappy, but I don't care. That's my prerogative.