Friday, May 25, 2007

Random happenings at new home

None of these items are related but had me thinking, "I'm blogging this."

Erin's Index finger:
Erin was playing with Six (the cat) tonight and brushed her finger by his tooth cutting it. And for the rest of the night she's keeping her finger pointed. It prompted me to make jokes like, "Who's the handsomest man in the world?" "Where do you want to go next?" and "Are you staying alive?" (*see below) Obviously all very funny.

La Costa Mexican Restaurant:
On Cinco de Mayo Erin and I wanted to find a Mexican restaurant to celebrate the non-American holiday. Without too many options to choose from, most restaurants were already packed. So we ventured to downtown Tacoma to try the Mexican fare. I pass this particular restaurant on the way to work. When we entered we weren't terribly sure why, but it felt like the kind of place where the men are men and so are the women.

Dancing Excercise Lady
Outside our balcony every morning, on the street there is a lady that walks with her dog while she listens to her IPOD. Not only does she listen, but she sings along. Mostly they're top 40 hits. As she walks she stretches her arms every direction, almost making it look like she's dancing down the sidewalk. Her dog, a golden retriever, has a leash on but the woman doesn't cary it; the dog does, in it's mouth.

That's all for now. Talk to you next time.

*When dancing to the Bee Gees' song "Stayin' Alive" you point your finger up and down.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Decorating Home

Our apartment complex is having a beautification contest for the summer. On a monthly basis those who have the best looking arrangement of flowers gets a discount on their rent.

So to step up to the competition, and to help cure Erin's notorious self-proclaimed 'black thumb', we invited my mom over to give us some pointers.

We made two stops, first at K-Mart and then Tacoma Boys fresh produce to make our purchases.

As you can see a rainbow joined us for the afternoon.


Below is one of our fuchsias.

No, Erin's head didn't shrink. That is a giant strawberry that we found at Tacoma Boys. They are just as juicy and sweet as they are big.

The 100th Post!

As a tradition among our friends, when you reach the 100th post you must include 100 things that few people know about you.

So, we are going to include 33 items about Us, 33 items about Joshua, 33 items about Erin, and 1 about Six (the cat)

1. Jason Jones (a mutual friend from church) helped to start our dating relationship.
2. On many of our dates, we rode Hoot, Joshua's motorcycle.
3. We dated for 3 1/2 months before getting engaged.
4. Joshua proposed on the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle.
5. A little girl was dancing and singing saying "It's windy, it's windy" the whole time.
6. Joshua's family had an impromptu engagement party when we got back to the house.
7. We got married 3 1/2 months after getting engaged.
8. Our anniversary is 8 days after Erin's birthday and 9 days before Joshua's birthday.
9. Yes, we planned it that way.
10. We "inherited" our apartment from another couple who had "inherited" it from another couple who had "inherited" it from another couple, and were paid $100 for selling the "inherited" garage door opener.
11. We do not know who moved into the apartment after us.
12. Most of our furniture was also "inherited".
13. While living in Orange, CA we were only 4 miles from Disneyland.
14. We could hear/see the fireworks from our apartment.
15. Our favorite Saturday night swing dancing spot was Disneyland's Carnation Plaza.
16. We moved to Tacoma, WA just two months ago.
17. We like to go for walks in our neighborhood.
18. We rent our movies from the library.
19. We never close the blinds in our family room - the view is too great!
20. San Diego is one of our favorite vacation spots.
21. Our favorite way to book hotel rooms is Priceline. Cheap prices and we've never been disappointed.
22. We have 10 nieces and nephews and one more on the way!
23. We haven't had a home phone since we've been married.
24. We haven't had cable or satellite television since we've been married.
25. The only non-volkswagen vehicle we've owned together is Joshua's Yamaha Motorcycle.
26. Our favorite games are Dominoes, Cribbage, Rummikub, and Take Two (a variation of Scrabble)
27. We prefer hand or homemade things (by someone in our family) over store-bought items.
28. We have subscriptions to PC Magazine, Woman's Day, Family Circle, Family Fun, National Geographic, Popular Mechanics, US News and World Report, Reader's Digest, and the Redmond Report.
29. We have never paid for any of them.
30. We make up goofy songs and sing them to each other.
31. We dance to them in front of our large windows.
32. We own the first two seasons of Little House on the Prairie on DVD. And looking for more.
33. We are looking to have our own little house in the big woods some day.
--Joshua--
34. I'm the Little House fanatic.
35. I'm the last child of 5 by 15 years, my dad is the youngest of 4 by 15 years. So, I have 2nd cousins that are older than me, but I still feel superior to them because their parents are my 1st cousins.
36. I don't get emotional about anything unless it is about loosing a father.
37. If I had a million dollars I would spend it all on tailored suits.
38. People that don't dress up when going to a play or musical really annoy me.
39. I won the last place trophy in my first and last bowling league.
40. To state a historical fact, I was never in the cool crowd; but I made sure that nobody could categorize me in any other group.
41. To prove, on the way back to class from recess, the teacher said, "Hello boys, girls, Joshua."
42. I went to private school until the 8th grade.
43. I wasn't allowed to walk during my High School Graduation because I received my only "F" ever just three days before.
44. I was heartbroken when I saw my mom in tears. I guess I can get emotional about mom things too.
45. I'm such a good lip-syncher that I even fooled my own mother. "No, he really sounds like that"
46. I moved to California to become an actor, but came back a Computer Network Administrator.
47. Besides Washington and California, I have lived in Georgia, Colorado and Saipan. (Google it)
48. The first time I moved out of my parents house, I moved into a log house on the water with a friend for $900/mo. The walls had large gaps that allowed the heat to escape straight outside the house. It was hard to watch TV because our breath would get in the way.
49. I'm a huge James Bond fan.
50. My favorite character is Garfield.
51. TV show, Dennis the Menace (B&W with Jay North)
52. Musician, Harry Connick, Jr.
53. Instrument, Steel Drum
54. Color, Purple
55. I will get in my car and drive to have a donut.
56. On vacations I leave my sleeping wife in bed while I get something to eat.
57. I don't like to get rid of things that may be useful someday.
58. I can sleep through a train wreck.
59. I sang the National Anthem in the National Capitol Rotunda.
60. In High School I totaled my brother's Cadillac. I bought it back from the insurance company for $400 and put a new front end on it.
61. I drove the only black and blue Eldorado in Gig Harbor for the next 4 years.
62. I hosted tractor lawnmower races at my parents house when they were out of town.
63. We had bonfires that reached 25 feet high.
64. As a talent item on my acting resume I put, "movable scalp"
65. I bought my motorcycle to help me get the courage to ask my future wife, Erin, out on a date. (indirectly)
66. I grew up around a lot of Josh's. I didn't like them so I preferred to be called Joshua. But tired of still being called Josh I made people call me Ua.
--Erin--
67. My name means Ireland.
68. I have a minor in Theatre Arts with and emphasis in dance.
69. I have a permanent retainer behind my lower front teeth.
70. I love to do crafts like knitting, crochet, scrapbooking, and needlepoint.
71. I call Joshua Husby. It started on our honeymoon when I called him Husband, then Hus, The Hus, and now Husby.
72. I got 100% on my driving test. I didn't think I was going to pass.
73. I have serious motion sickness issues. Even an elevator can make me ill.
74. I get migraines. I want Joshua to have just one so he knows what it's like.
75. When I was little I said that when I grew up I wanted to be a mommy, a daddy, a ballerina, and a Disneyland worker.
76. I still own pointe shoes. They have blood stains inside.
77. I never leave lights on when I'm not in the room.
78. Joshua does and it drives me nuts!
79. I alternate between christian, country, and classical music. I guess I like categories that start with "c".
80. I need at least eight hours of sleep at night.
81. I have crazy fears like being attacked by a mountain lion while hiking.
82. I kill plants. I am going to work very hard to keep our newest plants alive. I bough green gloves to mask my black thumbs with green.
83. From one word, I can have a song stuck in my head for weeks.
84. I am addicted to chapstick.
85. I have several scars from scratching when I had chicken pocks. I was in eighth grade.
86. My brother is three years younger than me. My sister is eight years younger than me.
87. I went to a private school for Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades.
88. I do not like guacamole - yuck!
89. I always stop to smell the flowers.
90. I went to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for one semester.
91. My first trip on an airplane was to Dallas, Texas for a dance competition.
92. I stink at sports.
93. My tennis teacher told my parents to have my eyes checked because he didn't think I could see the ball. My vision was 20/20.
94. I once flew to New York by myself. This was quite an accomplishment for a girl with fear of strangers.
95. I cry whenever I see someone else crying.
96. I love books. Especially books about books like The Eyre Affair .
97. I never walk around in my socks. If I walk barefoot for any length of time, I wash my feet before putting on my shoes. I know, I have issues.
98. The only jewelry I wear regulary is my wedding ring and watch.
99. I own every episode of Friends.
--Six--
100. I was in a car accident on the way home from the vet one time and now I hate both cars and vets.

Our First Visitors!

On Thursday we had our first out of town visitors ... my dad and Carol. They were in the Seattle area on business and drove out to spend the afternoon with us. After touring our apartment, we took a quick drive through Point Defiance Park before heading off to lunch at the Pacific Grill. The food was wonderful as usual ... I recommend the salmon. Next, we did a little sight seeing in the Stadium District (amazing views and unbelievable houses) and then went across the bridge to spend some time in Gig Harbor. We took advantage of the sunny day and walked through some of the shops on the waterfront. The yarn store was a big hit! Dad and Carol had to get back to Seattle, but Joshua and I had both taken the day off, so we decided to make the most of it. (The sun doesn't set until around 9:00pm this time of year!) We went kayaking along the sound and determined that this is a sport we need to do more! To end our evening, we went out for "the best Mexican food in the harbor" (it really is quite tasty) with Mom, Dad, and Joey. We had a great day and look forward to entertaining more visitors soon!