Tagged-Holly

Lindsey has tagged me, and required "big results." that is a lot of pressure and I am new at this tagging thing so I hope I can make her happy. So I guess what I do is post 6 random facts about myself. These may be slightly amusing.

1- I have a weird habit called "Tongue Threshing." I am actually surprised to know that I am not the only one in the world with this habit, and that they actually have a term for it. First off, I LOVE cold pillows/sheets/blankets. Since I was a baby, I would pat the fabric with the back of my hand even when I was asleep. While patting, I will suck my tongue. For those of you who have not seen this embarrassing trait, my tongue gets put between my teeth, and then I suck. Again, Its something that started when I was a baby, and I do it in my sleep so its hard to control! It started to push my teeth apart when I was young, so they made me a retainer. Every morning I would wake up with the retainer gone, and a headache from the threshing. Its too bad that I haven't grown out of this habit because some nights I will wake up Matt with my patting. Its so annoying.

2- I am REALLY food selfish. I loathe sharing food unless I am completely finished and offering it to someone. Don't touch my food, don't ask for a bite, don't take some for yourself until you know that I am full to capacity. I will seriously pout if I don't get all the food I want. I wish I could explain where this brattyness came from...but, I cant. I also dance in my chair when I am eating something really good.

3- I talk to the animals and for the animals. I know its weird. I know its creepy. I cant help it. My dog has her own voice, my cat has her own voice, and yes I have even spoken for "Tina" the bearded dragon. I grew up with my mom doing this for the family dogs, and it never seemed weird until I was married. Commonly heard phrases from Brisbane are "Pet me dad." "I'm hungry." and "Play with me." Go ahead, laugh. I also like to name animals. Squirrels in the trees, birds at the pet store and even snakes in the zoo. Its fun for me, and sometimes (don't tell anyone) Matt will name them for me when I am at a loss for a good one.

4- When I was a little girl I had imaginary friends named "Galeeka" and "Poots". I have no idea where these names came from, but they were around so often that it became a family joke. We will always remember my good friends.

5- I have very odd music preferences. I love artists like John Denver, Karen Carpenter and Tony Orlando. ("Yellow Ribbon" is my favorite song of all time!) I also love old Micheal Jackson stuff such as "Black or White" and "Don't stop 'till you get enough". When I make mixed CD's, they always turn out really weird when they go from songs like "Mo Money Mo Problems" to "Country Roads." So what?

6- I have never seen "Top Gun" or "Gremlins". I have been told that I am really weird for not seeing these, and it has been so long now, its a challenge to see how much longer I can miss out on Tom Cruise and Firby...or whatever the little monsters name was. However, I think that you are weird if you have never seen movies like "The Sting" or "The Dark Crystal." Were you born in a cave or something?

I guess now I have to "tag" 6 people. So, I tag- Melissa, Shannon, Loni, Matt, Kathryn and Amanda.

Ward Party

Last night was our ward Halloween party and Matt and I got to attend. Matt went as "Kenny" again, and everyone LOVED it. Even the kids knew who he was supposed to be! It was so funny to see everyone laugh about it. I went as either Gretel, Little Mrs. Moffett, or Little Bo Peep. These were the guesses I got at the party. Honestly, I just put on what I had at home from the gig and added a bonnet.

These are my Beehives. I have been in the young women's for almost a year now, and I love my girls so much. We just had Grace and Kim join us, but most of the time it has just been Stephanie, Katie and I. Carrie (the Bee) is the 2nd counselor, and we all have a lot of fun together. It will be hard to leave my girls when we move.

Sammamish Halloween Party

This weekend the band played at a community party in Sammamish for Halloween. The turn out is always great, and the costumes are so impressive! The band dressed up as the cast of Young Frankenstein, and we showed clips from the movie through out the show. For those of you who grew up in the Issaquah/Sammamish area, you might remember a boy named "Kenny." He is the guy who was commonly seen dancing and walking the streets of Issaquah with his walkman and afro. Because he was always outside, Domino's payed him to carry their sign back and forth as he went throughout his day, and he is very well known in the area.
Well, Matt thought that it would be a good idea to dress up as "Kenny" for Halloween, and he actually won a prize because of it. I was surprised that people loved it so much as opposed to being offended at Matt's impersonation of a disabled kid. (Edit from Matt- I'm not so sure this "kid" is really disabled...)Brett came as Justin Timberlake (from the D.I.A.B. video), Kim came as a grease monkey,Tiffany came as a school girl, Chris came as her naughty teacher, and Sean came as... a guy in street clothes wearing a "Nacho Libre" style Mexican wrestling mask.

The party was a lot of fun!

Counter Offer

Last night we got a counter offer on the house. They agreed to give us all the utilities that we need plus a fenced and seeded yard. However, they said no to the granite, the gas line and they are not willing to pay the closing costs.

So, we decided that we will go back to them, say "forget the gas and granite, but pay the closing costs, and we'll buy the house." Lets hope they agree to that! If so, ITS OURS!!

Here is a picture of the kitchen. Hopefully the next picture I post is of our new home.

The Offer

Last night we made an offer on what we hope to be our new home. We looked around a little bit more at the surrounding houses and spaces, and we were still more impressed with "Lot #30" than any of the others.

We offered asking price (which is rare in a buyers market) but we included some requests. We asked for a refrigerator, washer and dryer and a fenced and seeded back yard. Matt isn't happy with the granite color or the electric stove that are already in the home, so we also requested that they be changed to the correct color, and gas. Chris will be turning in the offer today, and we should hear back from the seller by Saturday. We are really excited about the whole deal, and have a really good feeling that we will at least get everything that we need. (and hopefully everything that we want too!)

I had to include a picture of my favorite aspect of the house, even though from the picture you cant tell the size or quality of this tub. Mmm, I cant wait!

Our New Home...

HOPEFULLY! I am not going to post a full picture of it until the offer goes through, because I don't want to get my hopes up, or ruin any chance of getting this house. I AM SO IN LOVE! We are putting an offer down on it today, and I really hope that we are not too late. We found it yesterday, and it has everything we wanted plus more. Its brand new, in a beautiful neighborhood and it is right next to a wildlife preserve! No more crazy neighbors! I have prayed like 4 times already this morning that everything works out! Wish us luck!

Duo Aprecios

Matts cousin, Chris is a real estate agent so we met with him and his wife Tiffanie this weekend
to discuss our upcoming home buy. We went to dinner and then headed back to their house and played with their serval, Niko. He is a HUGE cat, and he loved to play. He wasn't a big fan of getting pet, but you could sneak some touches in when he was distracted with toys. Matt hid a ball under his feet, and Niko loved to try and dig it out. Matt and Chris played DDR, and were so funny about it. They are so alike, and its going to be fun to have family so close (we are looking at homes near their place). They have been such a help during this exciting, but confusing time of our life. It is sure going to be so much easier and worry free knowing that they are going to protect us from a bad deal.

So what...

...if Matt and I had a date night at Toys'R'Us!? We had a lot of fun, and got so rowdy, we got asked to stop playing around with the toys! Hows that for immature?

The "Ripstick." A really fun new skateboard.

Happy Boss's day

Dear Martha Stewart,
I saw the picture below and thought that I would give it a try. However, its impossible, and I think that you are a fraud. First off, there is nothing out there that can cut spaces as small as the ones on your "lace" pumpkins, and even if there was, there is no one in the world with the kind of patience it would take to make these. Second, when a pumpkin or gourd is cut into pieces like these, they become very weak and too soggy to touch.
As a graphic design artist, I know that there are ways to make a picture look more "amazing" than it really is. I believe that you did this.
So, if you don't want me to turn you in, give me all your secrets and money, and I will leave you alone forever.
Sincerely yours, Holly Aprecio.
Last night I learned that Martha Stewart was a liar while I was trying to mimic her designs for a gift for Boss's day. I only made it through 2 before I lost my interest, and wrist function.

I used "French Pumpkins" to cut up, so that is the funky grey color you see, and they are pretty small which was both good and bad. Good-Small area to cut. Bad-Hard to scoop out. I'll admit that they turned out pretty cool, but not anywhere near what I was going for. I scooped out all the seeds and caramelized them, and contrary to the pumpkin design, these came out really good. Very tasty. For Boss's day I inserted a candle and a bag of seeds inside the decorated pumpkin. Both boss's were very impressed with my carvings, but I purposely didn't show them Martha Stewart's masterpieces to compare them to.

Multnomah Falls

This weekend Matt, Brett, Brisbane and I headed down to Portland to hike at Multnomah Falls. I found it on the internet, and I had to see it in person. It was a 3 hour drive from our place and we arrived just in time to make the hike before the sun went down. The falls themselves are right off of the freeway, but you can hike up to the bridge and/or up to the top of the cliff. We did both. Here is Matt and I on our way to the bridge....And of course Matt holding Briz up over the edge. I was a little nervous, and from the look on her face, she was too :) Matt and Brett each posed for this picture, and then a bunch of people copied us. I love being a trend setter!The hike was not very long, but it was straight up the whole way! This is the only time that it leveled out where the river met the trail, and we stopped here for a little bit for the dog to get a drink. The fall leaves were just starting to change, so it was the perfect time to hike this area.When we finally made it to the top, we were impressed with the view of the Colombia River, but there wasn't much we could see at the falls. We knew we were at the top of them, but it was falling under us so we couldn't see the water heading down to the crowd below. So, we headed back down (a much easier hike!) just as it was beginning to get dark. Please excuse my face, I don't wear make up when I hike ;)After the hike we drove into Portland and ate at a restaurant referred to us by Shannon and Tyler called Jake's Grill. They had really good steaks, and it was the best thing to eat after finishing a hike!

The Pumpkin Patch

On Friday after work, Matt took me to the pumpkin patch in Redmond. I have been wanting to go for some time, we have just been waiting for good weather and the time to do it. It was the perfect day for pumpkin hunting, and the area was so beautiful!There were so many pumpkins and funny looking gourds to choose from, and we had fun goofing off with the funny shapes and colors.

I think that we got at least one of every type of gourd and pumpkin, and Matt hauled them around for me. I plan to try some different carvings with them tonight, so Ill have more pictures soon if they turn out good.

I also picked some sunflowers that were really neat. These that I have are actually the smallest that they had! The large ones wouldn't have fit in my car.

After taking the pumpkins home and washing them, we went out to dinner at Lombardi's, our favorite Italian restaurant, with our friend Brett Childs. The food there so so good, and Friday night was no exception. Mmm...

A website made for me!

Ok, so very few people will get any pleasure out of this website, but I truly feel good to know that I am not the only one who "Aww's" over pictures like these. Stephanie Mainprize, you are one of the few people that I KNOW will love this as much as I do!!!

http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/

Updated

I have started to update my web page for all my design work, so if you want to check it out, go for it. I am still doing a lot of projects, and I have a lot that I have yet to post, so keep checkin' in. Shannon, I used your wedding picture, I hope that you dont mind!
www.yoursandminedesign.blogspot.com

Sushi, Sugar and Stardust

I had Courtney last night, and Matt and I took her to our favorite Sushi restaurant, Blue C Sushi in Fremont. The place is a lot of fun, and Court loves choosing food off of the conveyor belt. I am not a huge fish fan, but I can tolerate crab or cooked tuna rolls although I am pretty happy with the Edimame. I don't mind going though because Matt loves him some sushi, and Blue C makes his favorite thing, "The Smokey Mountain Roll." I haven't had the heart (or stomach) to try it (raw is a no, no for me) but its made with cream cheese, smoked salmon and roe all held in a tempura seaweed wrap with a spicy hot sauce. I had to take a picture, because the way they display it is always so pretty. While I was doing so Matt said, "If you blog about this, (he knows me so well) I want you to quote me as saying, IT'S SO FREAKING GOOD!" So, if you are ever in the Fremont area, don't forget to stop into Blue C and try the "Freaking Good" Smokey Mountain Roll. I don't know what it is, but for some reason a good slice of cake is always a must after sushi. So its a good thing that the best bakery in the whole world is right next door. (I swear its a conspiracy) Needless to say, we headed over to "Simply Desserts" and each got a share. My favorite is the White Chocolate Strawberry, and Matt is in love with the Chocolate Truffle. Which ever kind you choose, its the most amazingly moist and delicious cake you'll ever have.
When I took this picture, I asked Matt to smile and he said "Its a serious thing how good this cake is." If that doesn't motivate you to lay a $5 down at "Simply Desserts", I don't know what will.Alright, so enough Fremont marketing for me. (But seriously, go.) I had been wanting to see this new movie called "Stardust" for a while, and luckily Courtney was just as excited to see it. We caught it after dessert, and had a great time. The movie was awesome and Courtney loved any scene with a horse in it. Surprisingly Matt enjoyed it too, so it was an all over good night for all of us!

Sunset Dinner

Matt took me out for a sunset dinner at Anthony's last night, and it was so beautiful. Matt and I have traveled a lot together and we have seen many amazing places, but we are still impressed with the beauty of this area.

Indo Boarding

Matt and Brett got all excited this weekend about Indo Boarding. Its supposed to help you with your balance and coordination to make you better at snow/wake/skate boarding. It's a board on top of a tube that rolls and the trick is to stay on it for as long as you can without touching the ground. You can also pull a few tricks on it. The store that we found the Indo at charged a buttload* for the set, so Matt and Brett decided to head over to the hardware store and make their own. Matt's turned out pretty good after he rounded the edges, sanded the board and put on the grip tape. They used a PVC pipe for the bottom, and nailed lips on to the bottom so that the board doesnt slip off the pipe. Matt is really happy with result, and is excited to have is own Indo board at home for $10.

*A buttload is $75 or more.

Cougar Montain Zoo!

This weekend, after much begging, Matt and I went with some friends to the Cougar Mountain Zoo to see the new baby tigers. They are so cute! When we first got there, they were sleeping, but when we returned they were playing around sneaking up on each other with surprise attacks! I couldn't get any good pictures because 1, they wouldn't sit still and 2, my camera kept focusing on the bars. These are the best I could get.I love this zoo because its so small, not ever crowded, and only 3 minutes away from our home! I can go see the babies any time I want! :) I also fell in love with another resident. First off, this zoo has a bird walk where all the birds on on display. It is a really neat area, and the birds are always out so that you can see them. This is a picture of our friends Brett and Karrie talking with one of the Amazons.So, back to my romance. Here is Molu. He is a Moluccan Cockatoo, and it was love at first site! When we walked up he got all excited and reached out for me to touch him. See! How could I not resist such a request? He was also making the cutest "Oooh" sound. As most of you know, I'm a rebel and I have a HUGE soft spot for birds, so I ignored the "Don't touch me, I bite" signs, reached over the chain fence, and scratched his neck for him. He loved me too! Whenever I would stop touching him, he would reach out for me, and make his little sounds. Its a good thing this wasn't a pet store, because I would have brought him home, with or without Matt's approval. Its true.

A zookeeper walked up (not noticing my disobedience) and I asked her if she could bring Molu out of his cage. She explained to us that he was the meanest bird in the zoo, and that she feared him more than the baby tigers! She told us how he would trick people into thinking he was nice, and then take a bite of them when they fell for it. Well, when she walked up, he turned into a different bird, and started giving this lady evil looks. So it doesn't surprise me that she doesn't like him, because I could tell that he didn't like her either. He loved me! He had every opportunity to take off a finger, but he chose to "coo" and cuddle. Its true love, and nothing that that mean zookeeper lady says can change that!
Thank you to Matt for finally taking me to see the babies, and for putting up with my weird animal obsession.

Here, watch the kitties play!!