Okay, well, this week has been wonderful — full and fun-filled.  Some of the highlights:

• I have a four day weekend! I have our veterans to thank for that.  And I also want to thank them for their unselfish service to our country.  They deserve a day in their honor.  I’m not quite certain the logic of giving the rest of us the day off but in my case the union at work negotiated it a couple of years ago and we all now get the day. I’ve been trying to make the most of it and since it was a thursday, I treated myself to today as well and have been spending the afternoon actually working on my book for a big change.

• We have had some quality time this week with my nephews and oh, how I love that!  Spencer grabbed the bus from the U District to our place and the three of us met Nathan and Ambyr at Mukilteo Lodge for a little late birthday celebration for Ambyr.  Great fun!  And good timing.  They have been so busy with work that I don’t know if we’d have got them the week before.  Nate’s work is pretty much crazy year-round but Ambyr’s a teacher and a soccer coach and when grades are due that combination eats up every last minute you have. She got her grades filed and the soccer season wrapped up all last week and we reaped the rewards!
• Making that evening doubly great is that we kept Spence over night.  The next morning I got up and headed to check out the new Winco.  It opened in Everett last weekend and I knew opening would  be a madhouse but I figured 8 a.m. on a Thursday would be darn quiet.  Ha! HA! Seriously.  Eight in the morning and it was tricky to find a parking spot!  HA on me! Still, coupons in hand, I pressed on and treated myself to a leisurely morning of grocery shopping.  I had a great time.  We’re having a big Turkey for a Turkey birthday bash for Glen next Saturday and I found just about everything I needed there for a good price.
• From Winco, still with coupons in hand, I headed to Grocery Outlet for their wine and cheese sale. They had a special this week where you got an additional 10% off and I had a $10 off purchase coupon on top of that.  So I got a case of good wine for great prices and several cheeses for the appetizer plate for Saturday.

• Lastly, I finished off my grocery binge at Trader Joe’s where I got the usual plus some of the recommendations people gave me when I asked the question on facebook: “What do you like to buy at Trader Joe’s?”  The photo here shows five new things they recommended that I’m giving a try thanks to their recommendation.  Fun!
• Back at the house, I shook Spence out of bed and we headed out to Monroe so he could spend the day at home loving up Frank and Beans and enjoying being home a bit.  I spent the afternoon unloading groceries (for hours it seemed!), wrapping gifts for Glen and doing laundry.  Next thing I knew Spence, Glen and Dandy were all back from their busy days and we all headed to Alderwood Mall.


• Where we met up with Tea!  It was supposed to be just me and Tea out for a “mom and daughter once removed” : ) shopping trip at Sephora and Macy’s but the boys crashed the party.  They be-bopped around (See’s mostly it seems) while Tea and I did our thing and then we all grabbed dinner at Macaroni Grill which was tasty and loads of good fun.  At the end of the evening somehow between the two boys they completely misplaced the car (me: “how can you lose the car? didn’t you have a frame of reference?” Spence: “yea, aunt julee, the mall.”) Eventually, somehow, we stumbled upon it.




• Sometime this week, my sister Jen and Rod had made their way back from Antarctica after one of the best-sounding trips ever, and this morning we got to meet up with her and I coaxed my oldest nephew Tyler to grab our baby and join us.  The best!  She changes so much every time we see her and she was just so good this morning.  Personally, I think we have an “old-soul” baby on our hands because I swear everytime she looks at me, I see wisdom in those eyes.  And she is smart on top of it! She already knows the meaning of words in English and in Polish.  The five of us just had a wonderful visit.  And we got to see some of Jen’s incredible photos.  Truly unforgettable.

That’s how the whole week has been.  Truly unforgettable.  Love it, love it, love it!