The Fair and All its Glory!

Mr. Gaunt and I went to the Northwest Washington Fair on Tuesday night because he had the evening off. I think the Fair is the most AWESOME and DISAPPOINTING event all at the same time. Seriously, everyone has such fond memories of the fair and no bad ones, until they are back. For instance when I think of the fair the following comes to mind:

-Baby Animals

-Beautiful Horses

-4H (sewing, vegetable sculptures, photography, cats….need I say more?)

-Fried Foods!

-Frozen Treats!

-Picnic tables

-Ferries Wheels

-Lights, sounds and smells of USA! (uhh…ok that last part is just weird)

I mean its good old American fun, 2nd best to 4th of July!

But then you get there, and the smells are animal urine and hay, and the whole place is a riddled with teenagers doing (AND WEARING OMG) inappropriate things. And somehow you blow through $50 despite the fact that you went on 2 rides and shared a low-fat Low-Sugar Boysenberry ice cream cone. In the end though, I still loved it. I especially loved taking Mr. Gaunt to his first Lynden Fair AND getting an honorary photo button! I also managed to not put anything (except said low fat ice cream cone) into my mouth, I know, I’m on a bridal mission and I’m amazing.

PS I think even ferris wheels are scary.

This painting looks exactly like Hula!

This takes nursing to a whole new level, poor mama pig!

They were being twins. I had to convinc him not to take his shirt off....ha!

When Doves Cry

THE ONLY LOW FAT TREAT AT THE FAIR!

The carnie was so cute and offered to take this picture so we could both play.

 

Friday Randoms

-I walked 12 of the last 14 days in a row. I’m trying to do at least an hour walk with as much running mixed in.

-I have been using my little 3lb dumbbells on my walks too, so even if I’m not walking very fast I keep my heart rate up by doing different arm workouts.

-I was doing really good and was only 1 pound away from my weekly goal of losing 2 pounds, but then I ate Pho and I think the sodium and liquid really bloated me. However I have been really on top of it the last two days, so here’s hoping tomorrow looks good!

-All the sunshine in the afternoons on my walks has brought out all my freckles.

-We have a huge wedding to do list that we are working on this weekend. First up finding groomsmen attire, which is proving to be hard.

-We found an awesome deal on Bare by Solo Disposable cups for the wedding. we got 150 cups for like $6.

-I ordered feathers and some ribbon off Etsy this week too. Next up is plates. Oh and my mom bought us 25 yards of burlap for our table runners!

-I stole Tank tonight, he is on my lap sleeping as I type.

-I love Diva Cup TIMES A MILLION! The fact that it took me 13 years to discover makes me sad.

-So many babies are being born these days it makes me all giddy! I want to buy all of the mommas this book!

-Speaking of babies, Liam’s little sister (my flower girl) is due to be born in a month! Mr. Gaunt and I have a project we need to get started on ASAP! Wish so bad we could afford to fly out there to meet her before the wedding!

-I planted my succulent pots today. My Bok Choy is doing amazing, my lettuce….not so much.

-Our wedding invitation design is like 50% done!

-Mr. Gaunt has lost like 12 pounds since moving here. He looks so good…love him!

-We are going Garage Sailing tomorrow…be jealous

This Old House

Oh hey, I moved!

Sorry that this is the first update, its been a bit of a transition moving to Washington (from Colorado) but I finally have something worthy of talking about.

So prior to us moving here, my mom found us a little old house to move into. For the last 3 years we had been living in very nice upgraded condo, but never had  a yard or a patio or anything like that. We knew when we moved to Bellingham that we wanted a different sort of living situation. Something that well help us focus more on the lifestyle we want to live.

Now I will be the first to say that I had a minor freak out when my mom and I met with the landlords on day one. I knew the house would be older and wouldn’t have the brand new shiny appliances I had been a custom to. However I was not prepared for the dirty grimyness of the place. I felt overwhelmed by the amount of money and work that would need to go into a place we were just renting. On top of that, Mr. Gaunt is till in Colorado, and he is the one that keeps me focused, keeps me level-headed.

So I went back and forth on how I felt about the house. Was the work worth the benefits? Could I handle crazy unreliable landlords that felt it fine to leave a bathroom unpainted and house uncleaned? (note: I spoke with them about having it professionally cleaned, and they are giving me a $150 budget to pay someone to clean)

During all of this I am living at my moms on her couch with all my stuff spilling out of suitcases. I’m a bit in the way, and my 4.5 years of life in Colorado has definitely changed the way I look at life and things a bit. Its been hard. Not stepping on people’s toes, not freaking out. I’m not really  a “go with the flow” kinda girl (I’ll add it to my very long list of NEEDS IMPROVEMENT).  All in all my minor freak out turned into a balls out yelling and crying freak out…..ugg.

So I did what I always do, I called Mr. Gaunt.  And we talked for an hour. Talked about the pros and the cons of everything. Talked about all our plans that we had. Talked about how to clam me down and focus. Needless to say I’m pretty pleased I am marrying his butt.

Last night (after said total meltdown) my sister and I went back over to the house to make a video for Mr. Gaunt.  Being there at night actually made the place feel warmer and cozier than in the day.  And my sister was really great at pointing out all the cute things, and agreeing at all the dirty things. I felt better overall. This might work.

So Mr. Gaunt (I say this, because although he is not here, we are a team) and I have hired a family friend to come in and do a good cleaning, using the $150 our landlords will pay, and then paying whatever else on our own. After that I have to get some repair supplies, paint, contact paper, etc. And spend the next few weeks making this funky old house a home.

So I leave you with the Video we made for Mr. Gaunt. Please ignore my dorky voice and commentary. Oh and because it was night I was unable to film the yard (which is almost the best part). I will do a 2nd video of that later….maybe today.

a LOVE-ly post

 

 

Snow

Just pics from this mornings trip to Whole Foods (very yummy recipe coming soon) and all the snow we got last night.

Hope you are staying warm today and eating yummy football food! Hula is spending her day on her heating pad, which is her favorite place on earth these days. We are off to a party, might need coffee #2 on the way out.

Stock Show 2011

And the number 1 thing (besides Girl Scout Cookies) that I love in the Post-Christmas Winter is….

THE STOCK SHOW!

Seriously its one of my favorite things to do, despite the fact that its pretty much exactly the same every year…I find comfort in that. This year was no exception! Mr Gaunt and I went alone for the first time, we went after work on a Thursday. I used the Visa gift card I found on the ground to buy our tickets…pleasing.

So in usual form we paroosed the booths of AS SEEN ON TV stuff and bedazzled cowgirl apparel. We hit up the petting zoo and watched the merry-go-round. We poked at feather friends and looked at funny farm equipment. We always like to hit up the small free arena and watch the 4H kids show off their cows, they are all big and fluffy in the winter. We like to add our own commentary and make up our own standards for how we judge a cow.  Mr. Gaunt really wanted to see the Sheep Hearding dog competitions but they are only on the weekends. I’m promising him now that one day we can get one of our own and train it to be all super smart. Our new house has a fully fenced large back yard….Do I hear Wedding Bells Puppy Bells?

We also ate a smidge of garbage food, BBQ Chicken and Lemonade. And I insisted on buying meticulously expensive Salt Water Taffy, as it is my favorite! And as we were leaving we saw GO VEGAN spray painted on one of train cars…I though this was funny and Ironic.

(see last years pics here)