Sylvie Goes to Work

Meet Sylvie's new employer! :)

Jeff and I have been praying and thinking for a little while about me getting a job... Something part-time and low-stress to keep me busy doing something I like and to bring in a little extra cash. I tried to substitute teach with the local school district this past year, but let me tell you - WHAT a hassle!!! I never got ONE job with them. Nothing but red tape, and once I was finally approved, there simply were not any jobs available, and I checked online nearly every day. So with that not working out, Jeff and I just basically said - well, if something appropriate opens up, great. If not, no big deal.

Anyway... with Kiff about to get her license, that frees me up a bit more - since I won't have to drive her around to soccer practice and such. So... I guess about two weeks ago, I decided to look online for a job. I went to craigslist, and low and behold there was one lone job advertised for Purcellville, and it was for a health food store, which is right up my alley! I'm not a health food freak by any means, but I do like taking natural vitamins and in general eating as healthfully as it makes sense to. I've actually thought for a few years now that I'd like to work part-time at a health food store, and so when I saw this job, I thought - perfect! I sent my resume in immediately, a few days later I got a call, I went in for a casual interview, and she offered me the job on the spot! They are great people - so friendly. The store is a relatively small one, and it's part of a small chain of Healthway Natural Foods stores throughout the the northern Virginia region. I wanted to come home and discuss it with Jeff before I accepted it.... which I did... and we both thought - yes, this is such a good fit. It's 22 hours a week. Just right! Thank you Lord for your provision! It's amazing that in this economy and in this small Virginia town, I was able to find just the right job at just the right time!

So.... I start Monday. And yay for my 20% discount!

Sunny Cali

I love having a husband who has to go to California on business trips. :)

He had a meeting out there this last week and took me with him this time; he took two vacation days while we were there so we could do a little sight-seeing. And I was pretty excited because I've never been to the LA area before. It is GORGEOUS! (Well, parts of it are.) I especially love the palm trees everywhere! And the beautiful vibrant flowers. It was chillier than we anticipated (60s instead of 80s), but still a lovely trip.

View from our hotel room in Newport Beach:
Jeff joined the Apollo 13 crew while we were there, by the way. He'll be going up soon.
At Universal Studios, overlooking the Burbank area... I think.
Set from a Dr. Suess movie. So fun... Wish we could have gotten out of the trolley car and roamed around a bit. The trolley took us on a tour through various sets ~ this was fascinating to me. I love going behind-the-scenes.
Me getting eaten by Jaws.
I always wanted to meet Lucy!!
We love Bill Cosby ~ had to get Jeff's pic in front of his star in Hollywood.
This is me and Suzy, who I was friends with in Shanghai. She lives in LA now so we got together and caught up while Jeff was working! So fun.
Along Laguna Beach... breathtaking.



My handsome man on the Huntington Beach pier.

Miss Kiff Got Baptized!

Today marks the day Kiff made her faith in Christ public. She took such a big step and we are so proud of her!!! My face was positively beaming this morning! Phil came with us to church to be there for Kiff, and her two aunts on the Adams side, Alice and Theresa, drove down from New Jersey for the occasion as well! It was a big blessing to have them here for it... so special. Maureen would have loved to see this day. Who knows ~ maybe she did. :)

Enjoy the video below! (To give you perspective, Jeff was videoing this from the balcony, and Kiff and our pastor, Jack, were in the baptistry which is on the second story, above the stage.)

Trip to Lexington

Kiff has Spring Break this week, and Jeff had a business trip to California in the early part of the week, so Kiff and I took off for Lexington to visit my family and go horseback riding... I'm so grateful that Kiff and I get along so well! She's kind of like a little sister to me since I'm only 16 years older than she, but in a strange sort of way I'm still somewhat of a mother figure to her too. Our relationship is definitely unique! And we get along great. :)

We visited Grandmom & Grandpa after dinner on Monday night... Grandpa's mind is slipping, and his body is very weak, but he's still kicking at 92! God bless him! And God bless Grandmom who takes care of him so lovingly. (Most of you know that she married my Grandpa after my biological grandmother, Gladys, died when I was eight or so. And Grandmom is 23 years younger than Grandpa... So their story is a bit similar to Jeff's and mine.)

Beautiful Virginia countryside on our way to the horses on Tuesday afternoon.
Kiff hadn't gone trail riding in a number of years and loved it!

I did too. :)
After going trail riding, we headed out to the Schneiders' home in Covington for the late afternoon/evening. I love these kids! And they are growing like weeds!

Grant is over 6', they think.


Grace baked us Oatmeal Spice Bars, and Autumn made us peanut butter cookies - both very yummy!
Me with my only redheaded niece. :)
Precious, beautiful family ~ with another baby coming in October!
Then Wednesday morning, Kiff and I went to Lexington Coffee where a group of local bluegrass musicians gather every week for some jam time... It was awesome!
Just a bunch of old geezers, but boy are they good. Nothing like bluegrass.
I can't believe I went the whole time without taking any pictures of Mom & Dad! What's wrong with me?!

Ode to Allie

I was never much of a dog person... They smelled, they slobbered, they sniffed, they jumped, they shed hair, they rubbed their wet noses on me... They were just all-around disgusting creatures, and their many bad features outweighed their good features. Which were very few.

Then I met Allie...

And I discovered that I might just be a dog person. She's is such a sweetheart... She wears her emotions on her sleeve (common ground between the two of us). Every time I go to the basement to work out, she excitedly accompanies me... every time. When I cook or when we eat as a family, she sits nearby with a one-track-mind request for a tasty morsel. When she gets upset, she sneezes. When through a window she spots (or thinks she spots) a vermin who has had the audacity to venture onto our property, she barks and growls and runs ferociously from window to door to window, fervently whining to be let out. She's scared of the vacuum cleaner; when I use it, she cowers under the kitchen table. When Jeff comes home from work, she approaches and sits before him, nervous and shaking, waiting for his approving pat on her head and shake of her paw before she returns to napping. When she is trying to soften our hearts, she awkwardly proffers her paw, asking for a handshake (it works every time... with me, anyway). When she feels the need for attention (which is often), she'll rest her head on my lap, contentedly sighing, or nuzzle her head under my hand until she gets the rubs she wants.

She even watches TV with us. Here she is thinking about cashing in her gold...
And when something especially catches her interest, she'll stand up. (When there's any kind of animal on, she'll run around in circles and growl at the TV...)
Sometimes she sleeps on her back with her legs sprawled out...
And she looks ridiculously scrawny when she gets her hair cut!
Now, don't get me wrong... Sometimes she does things that make me want to throw her off the back deck! But honestly, it's so nice to have a ever-loving and lovable companion around the house. She's just an all-around special dog, and she brings a lot of joy to my day... an unexpected blessing in my life. :)

Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Here you go, Kelli and Cheri and whoever else would like the soda bread recipe... :) It's so easy to make:

Mix 4 cups flour, 4 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp salt. Add 1 1/3 cups buttermilk. Make stiff dough.

Work with 1/3 of the dough at a time on floured surface. Knead briefly. Flatten to a circle 1/2 - 3/4" thick. Cut in fourths. Bake on a dry griddle on medium high. Turn once.

It's best when it's fresh and warm, cut in half and spread with jam. Mm mm. Enjoy!

Signs of Life & Irish Soda Bread

The first sign of spring in our house! A yellow pansy!! Woo hoo!
And in honor of St. Patrick, I made my very first batch of Irish soda bread today. Since Grandpa is Irish, we had soda bread lots when I was little... I especially remember having it as a Sunday afternoon or evening treat. It's really yummy with jam. Mmmmm.
So I enjoyed freshly made soda bread, some raspberry jam, and a cup of Irish tea in the sunroom as I read the first couple chapters of "I Will Give You the Rain" by Deana Marie Meyers. A friend from my home group gave this book to me, and I must say, so far I really like it. It's a collection of short chapters, each one a meditation on a particular verse - good for a daily devotion. (I was going to create a link to Amazon or somewhere, but I couldn't find it anywhere... I guess it's privately published.)
Hope spring finds you soon (if it hasn't already)... and Happy St. Patrick's Day!