[ tagged ]

i was tagged by jessica...the name of the game is that you have to post your fourth picture from your fourth picture file. jess guesses that it will be a cheerleader picture....

nope - it's Coco Sophia Chanel, Melissa's dog. I'm not sure why the picture is showing up so small...I guess it's because Coco is so small. She's a Yorkie Terrier and just 4 pounds. She is a cranky dog, but pretty loveable at times. She and I don't always see eye to eye, but I hope she knows I still love her. I just love Samson a little bit more. Speaking of, I couldn't let this go by without a picture of him...

so, now, I tag...Jamie, Kira, Anna, and Jana...have a good time...

[ chs class of 1999 ]

hello classmates!

i've created a blog so we can start gathering our ideas, addresses, and excitement for our reunion...

www.chsclassof1999.blogspot.com

check it out...

[ scentsy ]

i forgot to add a shout out for the cheerleaders new fundraiser:

SCENTSY!!

If you're unfamiliar with Scentsy, let me testify...they are wonderful! They are wickless candles, essentially. There are many delicious flavors that you can put in the top warmer then turn on the lightbulb to melt the wax and release the aromas.

We're selling now through October 17th and all orders will arrive in time for Christmas.

If you're interested in checking out the products, go to: http://www.scentsy.com/annah. In my opinion, the best deal is $44 for a burner and three flavors. If you're interested in ordering, let me know - don't order through Anna's website otherwise it won't count for our fundraiser. :)

(If you are having a hard time choosing flavors, you're not alone! I have Baked Apple Pie in my warmer right now and I love it - but I'm having a hard time choosing what's next! I also love the Sugar Cookie one...)

[ black toenails ]

Just another Sunday afternoon lounging with the dogs. We've been catching up on our DVR and resting up for the week ahead. I caught the movie "Titanic" on TV...I usually HATE watching movies over and over, but Titanic is one I can watch every year or so and not get tired of it. I love the costumes:

I also made some delicious Thai food out of a box...it's pretty much my favorite thing to make for myself when I'm home alone. I doctor it up with cilantro, lime juice, peanut butter, scrambled eggs, and shrimp. It's delish - especially with a RockStar to wash it down.

Yesterday, I spent the day in the Tri-Cities. I took my dad to the airport - he gets to spend this week in San Diego for a transit convention. He also gets to go to TIJUANA while he's there! We sent him with our order for all things Mexican. :) (kahlua, tequila, vanilla, Tylenol 3, tickets to Guanajuato!)

After I dropped him off, I went to Heritage to look for a Vera Bradley bag that I'm eyeing:

it's the small duffel in Peacock...in case you're wondering. :) They didn't have it...bummer...

Heritage had some WAY cute fall/Halloween decorations. I wish I had somewhere to put them! I also ran over to Craft Warehouse to pick up somethings that I needed to finish some Christmas presents I've been working on. I also found two new magazines that I didn't already have - so I got those to take with me to Spokane this week.

I met up with Jen and Jamie at Panda for lunch. I wish I could spend more time with them and their families. They are just such a great dose of reality for me. I love their attitudes and sense of humor. We had a great discussion - and I hope I didn't burden them too much with my trials.

After lunch, I met Grandma and Mom at Target - I surprisingly didn't need that much!! We got Starbucks then went to get our nails done. I got a pedicure and a fill. I forgot to bring my own nailpolish with me for my toes - I have worn the same color for about four years - it's called Kennebunk-port:

and I don't like to take the chance that the salon might not have the color so I always bring it with me. Well, I forgot, so this is what I ended up with:

I hope it people don't think I got it for Halloween - because I didn't. I think Melissa actually has a bottle of this color, so I got it so I could use her bottle of polish to touch it up.

Finally, Grandma treated us to an amazing dinner at PF Changs. I *heart* it there...Lettuce Wraps, Crispy Honey Chicken, Asian Pear Mojitos...the whole things is so delicious!!

On the way home we did a drive by Burden Blvd to see Sullivan's tribute to Bob Koch! :) Thanks so much for your support, you guys. You don't know how much it is appreciated!!

I need to pack this afternoon - I am heading to Spokane tomorrow morning at 6am for a COE training. The COE (Collection of Evidence) is a hoop the state has put in place for students to jump through if they aren't able to pass the WASL. It's pretty much impossible, but I'm going to spend two days with four co-workers learning how to do it. Wednesday, I'm going to a College Board workshop at Gonzaga - which I'm looking forward to, because I get to see the counselors I interned for in grad school. It's the only time I ever get to see them! Also, while I'm in Spokane, I get to see my cousin Craig and my dear friend Jody.

I would post some pictures from the football game on Friday night, but there wasn't anything worth taking a picture of since we can't stunt...thank you very much to our wonderful Athletic Director.

Instead, I'll leave you with this adorable bundle of joy...

...she makes me so happy everyday...and her mama isn't half bad either...:) i'll miss you guys this week!!

p.s. thanks for your kind words everyone - things still aren't great, but hopefully a few days away will help clear my head. i appreciate your thoughts and prayers. i'm not used to this - feeling uncertain about my family, dreading work each day, questioning people's actions and intentions, just not feeling myself. anyway - thanks again for friends.

[ thankful for friends ]

for some reason, i've been struggling this week - with work, with life, with family, etc.

i just want to shout out to my friends, how lucky i am to have them in my life:

kate: who brightens my day and inspires me to improve myself
(we need another picture session - this isn't a great one!)

jessica (& emersyn): who always make me laugh

jen & jody: for their constant friendship

and this guy...i miss him...i mean, i just saw him saturday, but i miss him

[ TACO BUS!!! ]

Melissa and I can't get enough of "La Herradura" - aka: The Connell Taco Bus.

We heart mucho tacos de asada. Tonight makes twice this week!!

They are yummy and oh-so-cheap - $1.25 each. I usually am full with 3 of them.

This is my first taco bus experience and it has been awesome - we'd eat them every day of the week if we could!

Just had to show the love to the taco bus! :)

[ cheer & football games ]

since i keep forgetting to take pictures at the football games and, well, jessica just has a way with words - i'm going to direct you on over to her blog to read about the fab football game last night...

http://toddjessicaperkins.blogspot.com/

thanks for letting me poach your blog, jess!

[ Rock the Vote ]

Melissa and I got these "Rock the Vote" t-shirts to wear in support of Commissioner Koch's campaign for re-election. Last Saturday was a busy campaigning day for the Commish with appearing in the Fall Festival Parade and then hanging out at the CBJLS Stock Sale.

The next five weeks are going to be full of campaigning and more campaigning. I think we're all ready for November 4th to arrive!!

[ September 11, 2001 ]

I know this is a few days late, but life has been busy with school, cheer, and the Fall Festival this weekend! I've been thinking a lot about what I wanted to write about September 11th - just finally getting a chance to do it!

I, like so many Americans, remember exactly where I was and most of the other details of that day. Of course, like others, it was day filled with the unknown and with much trepidation. However, that day, for me and my family, just compounded those same feelings we'd already been experiencing.

Just 13 days prior to September 11th, my Dad was in a terrible accident which left him in the ICU with burns on 60% of his body, our livelihood completely lost, and our family spread across the state of Washington. I remember already feeling helpless and hopeless on September 11th, jut to be woken up with the words "America is under attack."

Thankfully, my Dad recovered and is back to nearly normal - but he and America will never be the same. I reflected so much on September 11th this year - we had an assembly at school to recognize the members of the Connell Police Department, Connell Volunteer Firefighters, and Connell EMTs and I just realized that these students were just children 7 years ago. It is so important for us to "never forget" and to keep remembering the pride we felt to be Americans in the days following September 11th.

[ What's new??? ]

Just another Sunday afternoon watching The Food Network cake challenge. Church this morning was back to the 10:45am time schedule - a true sign summer is over. :( We had a Youth Group Leaders meeting after church to plan for our kick-off day. I'm really excited for Kate & Nick to be getting involved!!

This week felt like it was getting back to normal at work. The rush of changing schedules is over. All the students have (or I sure hope they do) the classes they're supposed to have to fulfill graduation and/or WASL requirements. Did our high school counselors do this much work?

This weekend:

• the cheerleaders debut football game. The girls did great, but the football team lost to Othello, 29-14. According to the chatty kid sitting in front of us, it was the first time in four years we've lost to Othello. Bummer. The Eagles will have a chance to redeem themselves next week against Cashmere.


















• Cody and Jani Montizaan's beautiful wedding at Stone Ridge Event Center in Pasco. Jani is Melissa's friend from elementary/jr high/high school. We had a fun evening of friends, drinks, and dancing. Grandma freaked on the dance floor and I got to spend some time with my dear friend, Lindsay.









• I don't have pictures, but Mom and I did enjoy a nice lunch at Fiesta! with Jamie and Leah yesterday. We guilted Leah into updating her blog - which she has since done...twice! :)

In other news this week, I'm even more impressed with Sarah Palin after the Republican National Convention and her acceptance speech. Did anyone catch her daughter Piper licking her entire hand to smooth down infant Trig's hair? If that was not the cutest thing! I totally want to be friends with Sarah. I think she rocks. I wish the damn media would lay off her and let her & McCain just campaign. Who cares that her husband got a DUI 15 years ago? Who cares that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant? Every family goes through trials and challenges, but I think it's more how they persevere through it that tells the truth of the family's characteristics. I'm gleaning all the information I can on Gov. Palin...I bought the People and US Weekly magazines with her on the cover. Skip the US Weekly, in my opinion. They spin a negative view of her. At this very minute, I'm downloading some of the speeches from the RNC that I missed. Melissa says I'm obsessed. What's wrong with that?

In the Koch household, we're also busy campaigning for Commissioner Koch! We've been putting up signs, writing donation letters, designing a flyer, buying candy for the Fall Festival parade, and talking politics practically everywhere we go. Who knew?! :) Dad has a Commissioners Forum tomorrow in Pasco that he's preparing for. Unfortunately, it's during the day, so we can't go to support him. If anyone subscribes to Charter Cable in the Tri-City area, you should be able to catch it - they're broadcasting it.

This upcoming week is another full one. Beta starts on Tuesday. Kate & I are sharing the responsibilities of being the Beta secretary - I'll do the fall and she'll do the spring. I spent a while today trying to get a handle on what I need to be paying attention to during our meeting and finding out what exactly my responsibilities are. The Columbia Basin Junior Livestock Show is this week also - the cheerleaders are supposed to be selling snow cones, but our time is running out to prepare and we haven't rented the machine, bought supplies, or figured everything out yet. Lovely...

I'm also looking forward to the first volleyball game on Thursday against Othello. No School for students on Friday - Teacher's Inservice. Fall Festival festivities this weekend - Friday night football game, Karaoke @ Hazy's, Parade on Saturday morning, Street Dance Friday night, Bonfire at Johnson's - and hopefully selling snow cones during my free time. HA!

Another full week.

(P.S. In case you're wondering...I started re-watching Grey's Anatomy beginning with Season 1 and I'm waiting for Season One of "The Office" from Netflix. Thanks for your suggestions!)