The Wedding: The Afterglow

<<<Friends, I thought it would be nice to do some wedding recap blog entries. Scroll down to see the first few entries. Enjoy!>>>

We were filled with excitement and uncontrollable bliss. As our guests headed down for the reception our families and bridal party congratulated and hugged us - that was a great moment and I just love the pictures that were taken then. The absolute best high.... and I was sharing it with my favorite people!



We were able to walk up the driveway and take a few moments to ourselves to bask in the glow. (We came to find out AFTER the fact that Geoff's mic was still on from the videographer. Oops!)


We had our moment together and we're so excited to greet everyone as they were down enjoying cocktail hour. We headed to the back yard and joined our friends, as Mr. and Mrs.!



Up Next: Let's party.... the celebration continued with dinner, toasts, another quick photo session and a big fat party!


(All photos taken by my awesome photographer, Ben Becker)

The Wedding: The I Do's!

<<<Friends, I thought it would be nice to do some wedding recap blog entries. Scroll down to see the first few entries. Enjoy!>>>

The pictures in Langley were super fun but it was nice to be back to the house for some more bridal party & family pictures and then some down time before the ceremony.

The Abodeely family

The Beckstrom & Pease family

After more pictures it was time to say goodbye to my husband-to-be and have some down time before the ceremony began. I was happy and had this total sense of calmness and mindfullness. I was fully excited and prepared to say my vows in front of our community and to commit to Geoff in a new way. I had seen Geoff and was SURE he was the hottest groom around, so I knew I was making the right choice ;-)
Geoff walked me up to my parents room and kissed me goodbye - a special kiss, our last kiss as fiance's!

Ahhh, some down time...! I had almost 50 minutes before the ceremony was to begin so I figure it was plenty of time to take that big white dress off and relax! It was a warm day so it felt great to sit in my mom's bathrobe and air out a bit! I practiced my vows, had a snack and watched out the window as our guests arrived.


It was SO amazing to look down from my parents room and see everything all prepared.... the planning the last year had payed off BIG TIME and the house looked amazing - the tent, arbor, chairs, bars.... seeing every detail laid out down below was surreal.



______

The time was here! The ladies headed downstairs and I could hear everyone shuffling around and getting into place. The ceremony music changed and I knew, it was time!

Our family walked down the aisle first, escorted by Geoff's groomsman. Then my beautiful ladies headed down the aisle (looking absolutely STUNNING). And then it was our turn - the moment that I've had in my dream since Geoff and I got engaged. My father walking me down the aisle on my wedding day.

Mom and Dad both presented me to marry Geoff

The ceremony was perfect and just what Geoff and I wanted. We wrote the entire ceremony with my brother Paul, our officiant. The words he added were amazing, so appropriate and just what Geoff and I were hoping for.

Our family and friends supported us and gave their blessings.

Geoff and I vowed to each other to be forever faithful, respectful and sincere.

And, at that moment, we became Mr. and Mrs. Beckstrom!

Up Next: The Afterglow.... Some reflection time and then the reception begins!

(All photos taken by my awesome photographer, Ben Becker)

The Wedding: Off To Town

<<<Friends, I thought it would be nice to do some wedding recap blog entries. Scroll down to see the first few entries. Enjoy!>>>

Geoff and I were in complete bliss! We were lookin' and feelin' good and so excited for the day ahead of us. Dru drove us to downtown Langley to meet up with our bridal party for some photos. The weather was perfect (okay, maybe a little hot but when you get married in Seattle you don't complain about the heat, no matter how hot it may be!) and our photographer did a great job making the pictures fun!

Check out my red heals... LOVE them!





Geoff and I had a little photo shoot (one of many!) down by the water. Langley provided awesome back drops for photos! We are so lucky that we were able to get married there and that the weather was so great!

The whole group in front of the Star Store (love that place!).

Geoff's gang!

My gang!

Sweet sibling picture... just missing Paul!

We even convinced the scooter rental place to let us take some pics with their rides! So fun!

Taking our pictures in Langley was great because it allowed us to get some pictures with different exciting and artistic backgrounds. It definitely spiced things up from the usual wedding pictures! Check out these cool backgrounds:

Taking pictures with our peeps was really fun - I was just filled with emotion knowing that these people are here to support us in this journey - what a true blessing!

Up Next: The I Do's!.... back to the house for family photos and the ceremony!

(All photos taken by my awesome photographer, Ben Becker)

The Wedding: Show me my groom!

<<<Friends, I thought it would be nice to do some wedding recap blog entries. Scroll down to see the first two entries. Enjoy!>>>

I had my bouquet and my eyes were dry so it was time to do a little photo shoot. My ladies went to get ready and it was nice to have some down time... well, of course with the camera in my face, but none the less it was giving me a moment to reflect on what was about to happen.

(Look closely at my tissue in hand... I was still drying my eyes!)

It was time to get movin'! My groom was outside waiting and I could literally FEEL the excitement in the air - not just my own, but everyone around me who had worked tirelessly to pull this day off (ma and pa Abo, to name the two biggest players). The day was here and everything was flowing perfectly. I left my parents room and headed down the stairs to see my husband-to-be. I had butterflies of excitement in my stomach. It was time to see my GROOM.

Once I was downstairs I was greeted be a different man in my life... my dad! Oh, what a moment! Look at these pictures: Aren't I the luckiest?!


Dad approved and I could tell from his tears how proud he was, and he sent me off to see Geoff.

Again, I ask you, aren't I the luckiest?!!?

I'm comin' babe!

It's funny to hear it from Geoff's perspective. All he could hear was the swishing of my dress and with each step that I took it kept getting louder and louder, and he kept wondering when the swishing would end and he'd feel the tap on his shoulder!

The moment I saw my groom on our wedding day!

I think he liked what he saw! ;-)

We spent the next 15 or 20 minutes just enjoying each other. With all we knew it was just the two of us... we were completely locked in and at that point, nothing could have gone wrong.

Up Next: Off to town... our peeps meet us there for a fun photo shoot!

(All photos taken by my awesome photographer, Ben Becker)

The Wedding: Make me pretty

<<<Friends, I thought it would be nice to do some wedding recap blog entries. Scroll down to see the first entry. Enjoy!>>>

My belly was growling bright and early that morning, which is what woke me up. I wasn't nervous, worried or even all that anxious... I was just hungry, happy that the day was here and excited to see Geoff! My sis made me some eggs for breakfast, had a little play time with my nephew and then it was time to GET PRETTY!


My hair and make-up was done and I had my girls by my side. I didn't feel like a bride quite yet and I was still cool as a cucumber. I had about 15 minutes before Geoff arrived so it was time to slip on the dress.

It's amazing how many people it takes to get a bride in a dress!

And once you're in a dress... you need help with the shoes...

and the jewels!

"WOW, I'm wearing a wedding dress!"

My mom was the first with the tears, of course. I love my mamma. I'm so blessed.

That is when things changed a little. Remember how calm I was?! Well, I had a moment. It was time to put the veil on.

Careful, careful.

Mom straightened the veil and put her "mom touch" on it. I still hadn't looked in the mirror, but once I did it was WATER WORKS.

See those looks of concerns?! I think they thought I was going to call off the wedding ;-)

There was something about the veil that sent me over the edge a little and I'm still not sure what it was exactly. It was just a bit much for me and I felt like an "80's bride" as I said at the moment. Hmmm.... not so much. I think it was just overwhelming emotion that my wedding day was here and that this was REAL.

Okay.... so I had my moment and once my eyes were dry I was given my beautiful bouquet, which was wrapped in my mom's wedding dress sleeve - so special to me.

I was happy again. :-)

Up Next: Show me my groom.... let's get this party started!

(All photos taken by my awesome photographer, Ben Becker)

The Wedding: It's... wow.... time!!

<<<Friends, I thought it would be nice to do some wedding recap blog entries. Enjoy!>>>

On Friday morning I woke up and it kinda hit me... I'm getting married and the party is beginning NOW! I got an early morning text from Stacey telling me that her, Cameron and Alison (3 of my bridesmaids) were on the ferry and running on schedule. It was GAME TIME.... so exciting! I met my ladies at the local nail salon for a few hours of foot and hand pampering which was just what my mom and I needed after a week of weed pulling and cleaning.

(Insert picture later... can't seem to find one right now!)

After mom treated all of us to lunch I started getting a little nervous and knew that I needed to spend some time with my peeps, so we headed down to Langley to walk around and enjoy the beautiful weather. It was just what I needed.


After some girl time I headed back to my parents house to pretty up for the rehearsal and dinner. It was REALLY go time now!

Bride and Wedding Planner

Wow! It's happening!

Yeay! We're ready for this journey!

After the rehearsal (which I MAY have become a little bridezilla-ish at, but I'm proud to say it was the one and only moment during this whole process that I did so!) we headed over to Fireseed Catering for our dinner. The weather was great, the tables were gorgeous (thanks Barbara!), the dinner was delicious and the toasts were heartwarming. Geoff's dad, step-mom, mom and step-dad were very kind to also host all of our friends and family for post-dinner drinks. It was such a treat to be able to celebrate with our people Friday AND Saturday night!

Dinner with our wedding party. Beautiful people and place!

Stacey's toast was perfect.

.....And JJ's. Of course, he had to mention my ex boyfriends!

We LOVE our friends!

Good food, awesome company and fine wine made for a great evening and it was time to say goodnight to my fiance for the last time!

After a family toast, a few sleep aid pills and butterflies in my stomach, I was headed to bed to wake up a bride on my wedding day!

Up next: Make me pretty... I have to go see my GROOM!

(Thanks to Monica and Stacey for the pictures.)

My girl

Kaira came over to play today!

Disclaimer: Close family will be the only one's interested in this video!

It's official!

I'm now Mrs. Beckstrom!

The Social Security office was not nearly as much of a nightmare as I thought it would be, so that was a pleasant surprise. We celebrated our Mr. & Mrs. by popping a bottle of champagne with Nate, Amy and Amelia.

Now, do I change my blog to deedeebeckstrom.blogspot.com?!?!

Naked Lady Party

When I sent out the invite some of my friends thought it was spam....! Ever heard of a Naked Lady Party? It's pretty much the greatest thing ever... it's a clothing swap party! Everyone brings their old clothes.... whether that's your skinny pair of jeans, the old dumpy sweater, or that pair of shorts from high school that you think ONE day you'll get into again. Put everything into like piles on the floor and swap away! It's just like shopping, but at home with good friends, wine and snacks! It's really amazing to see your old stuff become someone's brand new outfit! I had about 10 girls over last night and everyone left with something.... it was great!

What's a party without snacks and wine!?

This was the "after" pic. My apartment was stuffed with clothes and accessories and then once everyone got what they wanted we had 6 garbage bags full to donate!

Best ever

I am absolutely in love with being an Aunt.... I'm not sure if it can get any better!! I love these two little ones so much - I'd give the world to them if I could. They are amazing little souls, so pure and precious.

My first Auntie mistake!

I spelled her name wrong! Let's try this again....

Welcome baby KAIRA!

Sorry sweet Kaira.... I'll make up for it by being the best Auntie in the world!

Baby Kiara!

Welcome baby Kiara Moon Smolinski!

7lbs 5oz
August 29, 2009 at 1:30am

At home birth was a success and the whole family is doing GREAT. Kiara is absolutely perfect.... eating and sleeping like a champ! I am SO IN LOVE with her and in awe of my sister. What an amazing family!

I'm a very proud Auntie!

wow!

Please don't worry my dear faithful readers... everything is okay... he said yes! :-)

It's so hard to put into words how amazing those few weeks were between my Seattle bachelorette party, the rehearsal, the WEDDING, the brunch and the honeymoon! In summary, I have the most amazing family, friends and HUSBAND and I am so grateful for all the million blessings in my life.

Most importantly, the wedding was the most amazing day of my life - surrounded by the loves of our lives, Geoff and I vowed to be each others "True North" (the theme of our wedding). It was sincere, emotional and intense. It was magical, spiritual and uplifting. It was perfect.



Dad walking me down the aisle. At the end mom joined us and they both "presented" me to marry Geoff!

Done deal! The ceremony was perfect (even with a few audio flaws), my brother Paul was a great officiant and everyone commented on how special and meaningful our vows and ceremony were. (oh, and check out that awesome arbor!)

Walking down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Beckstrom!

Taking pictures (before the ceremony) in downtown Langley. It was SO fun, even though it was warm and took awhile... I loved every minute of it. I didn't even have to force smile! :-)

Cutting the delicious, beautiful cake!


Out of all the things I was told from fellow married friends there were two things that I did NOT find true.
1, the day did not go fast at all! I think it was because we took pictures and did our first look before the ceremony, so our wedding day started around 1pm. Also, we stayed and danced it up until the last song at midnight. Also, Geoff's parents invited everyone out after the rehearsal dinner for drinks, so we were able to connect with people Friday, which gave us more time to enjoy every minute of Saturday and party it up with them!
2, we ate dinner! Everyone told us that you don't get to eat at your own wedding... HA! We had 3 stations of food at our wedding and Geoff and I ate from each station - and it was gooooood!

More updates and pictures to follow.... but that'll hold you over for now!

(All of these pictures are from my friends but I'll make sure to post some prof pictures when we get them.)

Happy Hour Shower

Lacey and Jill put together a fun, informal shower to just get everyone together, have some drinks and wish me well before the big day. What a blessing to know such great people. Love you ladies! THANK YOU!


(We are super stoked about a new blender.... our old $12 piece sounds like it's about to explode every time we use it. I think the neighbors will be happy also as I'm sure they can hear it roar!)

To-do lists

Last Thursday was my last day teaching summer school (which was only 8 days - lovely!) and since then Geoff and I have been non stop with our wedding to-do list. We have our master to-do list, then our daily to-do list, then at the end of the day we make our next day t0-do list! ha! It's really quite comical.... I even dream in to-do lists :-)

4th of July

We had a relaxing 4th of July with our friend Nicole. We enjoyed a picnic and fireworks at Shoreline park. Good friends, good wine, good times!

Sister

I helped throw a baby shower for Michelle and Shawn last weekend - I could not be happier for the two of them as they prepare to be PARENTS! Wow, how amazing! She is lookin' super hot and is absolutely radiant with her big belly. She is due August 24 and everything is going great... hopefully things stay that way so we don't have any surprises (which would mean she couldn't travel for our wedding... I can't even imagine).
Love you sis!

Porter poo

I got to babysit Porter for a short time while Piper was working out. I was in Auntie heaven; we sang, read his book, stared at each other.... and then the little guy started to bawl.... at which point I handed him over to Sitti (grandma).

Wedding planner

A little shout out to my mom for ALL the work she has done and is currently doing for our wedding. Mom, thank you for everything, I love you! (She's available for hire after August 1.)

Arbor, completed!

Geoff worked hard last week and completed the arbor for our wedding. I took pictures, video and supervised.... my help was invaluable, obviously.

Cousins!

Porter met his cousin last weekend! Aren't I the luckiest Aunt!?

Beautiful Seattle

We went up to Seattle over Memorial Day Weekend to meet our nephew Porter, go to my friend Megan's wedding and, of course, wedding plan. It was a perfect weekend. I am completely in love with Porter and in awe of what naturals my brother and Piper are when it comes to being parents. Megan was a stunning bride and the whole evening was fabulous.... we danced our little hearts out and connected with old friends. Wedding planning was successful and the plans are moving along nicely, thanks to the VERY hard work of my mother. On Friday we took engagement pictures with our fabulous photographer and are looking forward to seeing how they turned out!

California Engagement Party

Geoff's parents hosted an awesome engagement BBQ for us last weekend! We are SO thankful for Barbara and Roger and all of the work they put into the day. The weather did NOT cooperate, although I guess it could have been worse. It definitely was not a beautiful California spring day, but the rain held off for the most part and regardless everyone had a great time. The BBQ was almost 4 hours long and Geoff and I could not believe how quickly the day went by. It made us realize how much we'll have to appreciate and take in every moment of our wedding reception in hopes that it doesn't fly by too quickly.Showin' some love to my future neice/nephew.

Geoff's sis, Mo with Amelia and her corn muffin!


Mom and dad Abo flew in for the weekend to celebrate with us! Here's dad hangin' with his son-in-laws!

We ate leftover Armadillo Willy's for DAYS. Even typing that makes me feel a little nauseous.

Lebanese Horseshoes in action.


The Bride and Groom!

Welcome Baby Porter!

Porter Elliot Abodeely was born today at 8:31 am, weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces and 18 1/2 inches long!

It's amazing that I can love someone that I've never even met! I'll be home in 3 weeks to snuggle and love my first nephew! CONGRATS JJ AND PIPER!

Not what you are looking for, but good

I know this isn't a juicy update with pictures for you to enjoy... but I thought I'd share this with my readers! WE LOVE FREE!

FREE KFC (Click me!)

Keep celebrating!

Michelle and Shawn's wedding was absolutely incredible! Their love shined through in everything they did from the African dancing, drumming, cake cutting to first dance. I am so happy for the them... the night was successful, they planned the whole thing themselves and it was unique and special and totally perfect for THEM. It totally inspired Geoff and I to make our day special and meaningful. Michelle's dress was so beautiful and was made with the lace from my mom's wedding dress and the gold silk that Shawn brought her home from China a few years ago. The dress layed perfectly over her 5 month baby belly! (Not sure if I've even blogged about that.... they are expecting!!!!!! Yeayyyy!!!!!)
My parents rented a house on the beach where we all spent the weekend. The weather was absolutely perfect and the sun was shining on us each day!


Geoff took a dip every morning - he's crazy. He made JJ go with him!

We spent a few hours on Friday setting up at the wedding site! It was absolutely incredible... check out that view!

Not a bad location for our weekend home!

Michelle and Shawn Smolinski!

Michelle learned how to play an African drumming song and played it for Shawn.

This is what we did the next day. I love California!

Let's celebrate!

Last weekend was our first of many celebratory weekends for 2009! Geoff and I flew home to Seattle to celebrate JJ's 30th birthday and also the arrival of their new baby boy! Their friends threw them a great shower - of course, I didn't bring out my camera, but you can see Piper's growing belly here. Mama Abo saved just about everything from our childhood so the weekend was filled with lots of great family memories - how cute is that little baby Abo will wear an outfit or two that JJ wore?!
We also headed up to the island for cake tasting with our dear family friend Laurette who will be making our elaborate and delicious cake for our wedding! The other big project this weekend was phase I of building our arbor for the ceremony! Geoff was super man and did a fabulous job envisioning what we'll build and together we forged the woods (I mostly took pictures).

My dear friend Patrice and her ADORABLE daughter Payton came over to play for a few hours. We had a nice time catching up and hanging out - I hadn't seen PJ since she was a wee little one, so it was fun to meet her as a big girl! Geoff thinks she's the cutest thing around and was happy to teach her to fly a kite.

On Sunday before we came back to sunny Cali (I'm loving this spring weather!) we stopped at the Mulkiteo Roasting Company where we'll be having our wedding brunch the day after the wedding. The big test was the coffee (the food was unreal!) and from the look that I captured below it seems as though it's a big thumbs up.

This week is a short work week for us because we're off for another Abodeely celebration in Santa Cruz this weekend! Stay tuned for updates on sister Michelle and Shawn's wedding!

Great weekend!

We had a great weekend and the fact that we had today off made it even BETTER! There really is nothing better than a 3 day weekend... I wouldn't mind working longer days to just have an extra day on the weekend. I actually feel caught up on sleep and ready to go back to work tomorrow.
St. Patrick's day weekend is always a fun one and this year was no exception. Geoff and I celebrated our three year anniversary by going to our friend's annual St. Patrick's day party (where we met), going on a hike, out to a nice dinner and a lovely surprise this morning with breakfast in bed! All that (plus more!) in one weekend... it was perfect!


We hiked around Mt. Hamilton. It was FREEZING, but so gorgeous with all of the rolling green hills.

Read carefully - we couldn't resist!


Not sure what I was doing here - it's oh so country western!

At our friend's St. Patrick's Day party! (I just realized I haven't posted about Geoff's rugby injury that ended with 30 stitches - check out that scar.)


Geoff brought me breakfast in bed this morning with a sweet anniversary card. What a lucky gal I am!

4 EVA

I haven't posted in 4 EVA (name the movie...) so I thought I'd drop in and say hi. My friends have been great bloggers lately, and I've been a bit of a slacker. It's time to watch some crappy TV, so I'll quickly bullet point the top three things on my mind right now...

• My student's mom was diagnosed last weekend with liver cancer. It's not good... and I've been trying to grapple with the idea of how to deal with my student when his mom does pass away. Sadly, he's exiting my program this year, so I probably won't be around to help him. I'm worried about him and his family right now.
• Recently I've been thinking about how I want to get into photography (thanks to Melissa!). I'm debating on if I should should off until after the wedding, mostly because right now is not a great time for me to buy a nice camera.
• Geoff and I are about 98% sure we want to go to FIJI for our honeymoon! If only there was more time in the day to research and begin booking our flights and accommodations!

"It's a great time to buy!"

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard that, we'd be able to afford a mansion! We've recently been pre-approved for a loan and have begun house hunting. My online searching has brought me to this one house a few times and in the desciption of the house it says "more than a fixer-upper, it's a project of a lifetime." WOW! Now that's one we can't let pass us by. (Insert frustrated face here!)

Bodega Bay

We left for our getaway to Bodega Bay on Monday after a rough 2 days of food poisoning hell. This is the first time I've ever got it and I hope it's the last. It made for a very unromantic Valentine's Day, but Geoff came up with the great idea to bring our fondue fixings on our trip with us, and bless his heart he acted like he didn't mind cleaning up my vomit on what's supposed to be the most romantic day of the year.

The first day and 1/2 of our trip to Bodega Bay was torrential down pour, but that didn't stop us from enjoying our time. We spent Tuesdays driving up the coast heading towards Armstrong Woods Redwood Reserve park, home of impressive redwood trees that are over 300 feet tall. We felt like little ants as we walked through the park and enjoy the trees and the RAIN. A lot of RAIN that made the trees very happy and made us wet and soggy. The sun did shine for us on our trip and the ocean was sparkly blue and the hills were lush and green.... we even flew a kite on the beach! The little towns around there are small and precious and you could feel how the hard times of the economy were just slamming the little businesses. Quite sad, so we did our best to spur on the local economy and bought a few trinkets to remember our trip by.
We got a lot done on writing our wedding ceremony and it's really starting to feel like we are getting MARRIED. It was fun to put our minds and hearts together and see what we could come up with. We both have a good vision of how the ceremony is going to play out, but we still need to work on the details. Getting away to do this was the best idea ever, and since we still have to finish the ceremony we're thinking getting away again in the near future is a must-do!

Ski week... perfect

We have a week off and I could not be more happy about it. I didn't realize how much I need this break until today. It's been a long week at work and not only do I need a break from my students, I'm sure they need a break for me! It's really amazing how well timed our vacations are.... when you feel like you can't take one more day there's usually a day off around the corner!

On Monday Geoff and I are headed up north to Bodega Bay for a 2 night getaway. We are going to spend most of the time writing our wedding ceremony and are looking forward to being just the two of us, for two days, with no distractions. I know writing our wedding ceremony is going to be a huge project, so I'm trying to remember to take it slow knowing that it doesn't have to be finished right away. I think it's going to be a really good time to reflect and step away from planning the wedding, and focus more on our relationship and how it came to be what it is today. <3

:-)

Last weekend I went on a play date with my friend Jill and her one year old, Brooklyn. Isn't she ADORABLE?! It's fun to see how much she grows and learns each day.... she's spunky and super fun to play with! I hope she thinks the same of about me. :-)

More pics....

I wanted to add a few pics onto my last post. Looking back at the pictures I feel so blessed to have such amazing family and friends supporting Geoff and I in this wild and crazy adventure of marriage! Unfortunately I wasn't able to get pictures of everyone... but here are a few good ones!


My dad gave a very touching toast to me and Geoff.

My girls (and my sis!)

The Pease's and The Abodeely's.... aren't we lucky!?

The whole Abo family together! It doesn't happen often.... but it's so special when it does! 2009 is quite a year for us!

Yummy spread!

My dearest girlfriends from college - Alison and Stacey.

Update

Ok, I've been a bad blogger. There has been a ton of stuff going on and I know I'm going to forget to talk about things! Before I start, I'm home sick today (ugh!) so I have to apologize because my head is a bit fuzzy and I'm sure this post won't be the best. I'll try not to write too much and put up mostly pictures!
The biggest event** since I posted last was heading to Seattle for a long weekend for our engagement party! My whole family was in town and Geoff's mom, step-dad and brother came also. It was a love filled, fast paced, totally exciting weekend! We also celebrated Abo family Christmas - you gotta love Christmas in January!

Anne, my dear childhood friend, flew in from Arizona for the weekend to celebrate with me and Geoff. It was so wonderful to spend the day with Anne and celebrate with her on Saturday night. It's amazing how you can not see someone for years and instantly be back to being close friends, like we've never missed a minute together.

The in-laws walking the streets of Seattle!

Me and Mom at Macy's.... of course there was registry touch-ups that only Mom's can help with!

Our engagement party!

HAVE I TOLD YOU THE EXCITING NEW!?!?!? JJ and Piper are pregnant and I'm going to be a real AUNT for the first time! Baby boy Abodeely is due May 21 and I know the two of them are going to be the most amazing parents.... I hope they are prepared for the amount of spoiling involved with the FIRST grandbaby!








**Of course, the biggest event was the swearing in of our new PRESIDENT, Barack Obama!

The holidays... in pictures!

I hope all my dear readers had a fabulous holiday season! It's hard to believe that the celebrations are over (atleast for awhile!) and we are 5 days into 2009! It's gonna be a GOOOOOD year! ;-)

We spent this Christmas with Geoff's family and it was nice to stay local and take part in Beckstrom/Pease family traditions. I feel so blessed to have such fabulous in-laws and I look forward to many more holidays to come with the family!

Christmas Eve dinner.... Preparing the butter molds for my (once again) delish Aunt Jo rolls.

Christmas morning at Barbara's house.... check out those dutch babies! Yummmm.

Geoff's brother gave us pig pot holders that we registered for - it was a great surprise to get them early!

The stocking in the middle with the stripes was a gift to me from Mo (Geoff's sis).
It made me :-)

We rang in the New Year at Cassandra's house with some friends.

(Geoff later regretted this move!)

New Years with my fiance! I get to marry this man... I'm pretty lucky! :-)

Look out!

I'm famous!

Ok, not really... but I sent in my favorite ring picture to my cheesy wedding blog and they published it!! I took it with my little point and shoot camera and sent it in on a whim and they picked MY picture! I'm so excited you would think there was a cash prize or something. Geoff just reminded me to "thank the little people".
I've always wanted to be a photographer, so I think this is a sign that it's time to follow my dreams. Check out the link!

http://www.weddingbee.com/2008/12/28/reader-ring-shots-part-ii/

Aunt Jo rolls.... by popular demand

Dough will keep in fridge 5 days, yield 40 - 45 muffins.

10c flour
1 handful sugar (Aunt Jo size hands... my mom uses 2 handful, I use 1!)
2T (heaping) salt
1c warm milk
1/4 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 pkg yeast
1/3c vegetable oil
5c warm water

Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and powder together in a large bowl. Mix dry yeast and 1/4c warm water (not too warm - don't kill the yeast!) together in a small bowl and stir to mix. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Mix milk, water and oil together in another bowl so that they are luke warm combined. Add liquids, including yeast mixture, to dry ingredients and mix with hands until wet. Dough will be lumpy. Cover loosely and store in fridge at least overnight or until ready to use.
Spray muffin tins, add dough till about 3/4 full. Bake in pre-heated oven at 400' for about 20 minutes. Broil till more brown on top of desired - watch carefully so they don't burn.

Enjoy and be sure to thank Aunt Jo! Also, by family tradition we serve our rolls with butter in the shape of something festive. I bought these this year to keep up with the cheesy tradition.

Christmas break!

I am loving this time off right now... it is much needed after a pretty hectic last few weeks at work. It's nice to have a break from my students and have time to get some things ready for Christmas. On Friday we had a party with our friends at our apartment and we celebrated over Holiday Punch and Mulled Wine. (See a fab recipe here... it was a hit!) It's nice to have a decent spaced apartment so we can entertain, and we also were able to show off our first Christmas tree!
Today we've spent the day getting ourselves organized for Christmas and doing some food prep. Santa delivered a special bowl for my "Aunt Jo Rolls" so I can do the whole recipe in one bowl instead of spit it into two. (And I got to wear my new Christmas apron that Laurie made for me!)

Geoff was busy with his first attempt at my mom's famous carrot cake that he absolutely loves (and one of the MANY perks of marrying into my family!). We won't know until Christmas, but it seemed to have turned out really good.

In the meantime, I did a photo shoot with my ring (my wedding blogs told me to do it!).

Picture of our tree!

Geoff's sister Monica came over and took a HDR picture (you'll have to ask her what that means!) of our tree so you could see the lit present. It turned out nice so I thought I'd share. Thanks Mo!

Wedding registry.... yikes!

For some reason I was SO overwhelmed with the idea of registering for our wedding and pretty much put if off as long as I was "supposed" to (according to all my ridiculous wedding blogs, you're supposed to register about 8 months before your wedding!). I'm not really sure what I was worried about... I'm not great about making big decisions when I know it's something that I'll have for a long, long time (such as dishes and bedding)... silly, I know. Anyways, we decided to register at Bed, Bath and Beyond, Macy's and Crate and Barrel. It ended up being a lot of fun and we actually did most of the registering online when we got home, after we had a minute to digest it all. We both keep going in and changing things around, which I guess is the fun of it, and have also been kind of obsessing about it, which is more pathetic than fun. I took some pictures... as you can see Geoff was really into it. He went into the whole thing mostly uninterested, but was quickly excited once he could use the scanner.


Looking for our everyday dishes... probably one of the bigger decisions.


Taking a break on the massage chair. He wanted to scan this too.

The bride and groom!

He comes with a lifetime warranty.

All I want for Christmas is....

Christmas decorations!

I took out my Christmas decorations the other day and here is what I had....



Pathetic, right? So, we did some shopping and now the place looks better....




It's our first very own Christmas tree and decorations so it was really fun collecting things. Being the cheap-o that I am, I didn't want to buy too much stuff because I know that after Christmas we can hit up some fab sales and get Christmas decorations atleast 50% off. But, our collection was pathetic and we are hosting Christmas dinner at our place, so we knew we needed to get some things. And yes, the tree is a little off, but I figure someone had to buy the special one!

A little shout-out to Laurie, a staff member from my old class, who gave me that cute "present" under the tree. You can see it in the first picture and then lit up under the tree in the last picture. It's hard to tell in this picture, but it is SO cute and looks great under the tree. This year she gave me a hand-made apron... she is so handy and creative!

The other gift is from Santa! I was out shopping with a friend yesterday and came home and some how Santa found me and left me a gift!

As you can see, it was a very productive weekend for us. We also registered for our wedding so I'll post a few pics of that. I hope everyone is enjoying getting ready for Christmas - it's a fun time of year!

PS- Feel free to comment on the chair in the first picture... I've been working on getting rid of it for 2+ years, but Geoff won't budge.

Aunt Jo rolls - success!

The rolls turned out delicious and for some ridiculous reason I was totally stressed that I'd botched the recipe and they'd be gross!


They were a little blackened... Geoff put them on broil for the last few minutes, went to the bathroom, and came back to find some crispy ones. He told me I can blame it on him, but since I put them in I probably should have been in charge of taking them out. Instead, I was outside doing a photo shoot with my sis, Shawn and Ziggy. Aren't they cute?!


I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving. There is so much to be thankful for and being able to spend the holiday with Geoff's family was just one of them!

Email from my parents

I wanted to share this with everyone. Geoff and I are going home on Thursday and we can't wait to give them a BIG hug!

---------------

Hi all!

We arrived in Mumbai last night and have spent the day wandering the streets with no particular plan in place. Heightened security everywhere but the streets seem to be returning to normalcy. Arriving from the airport last night, we drove past the sea wall where uncountable numbers of people were out lighting candles along the wall in memory of lost lives - very sad and uncharacteristically quiet. One of the art galleries we visited today had an exhibit where multiple artists have decided to donate any sales made to aid the cause.

Our plane is on schedule and we'll leave late tonight.

Love to you all,

M&D

My parents in India

A few of you have asked about my parents so I thought I'd post real quick. They are safe and thankfully were not in Mumbai during the terrorist attacks. They did fly through Mumbia the day after the attacks started, but were only in the airport. They were supposed to spend one day in another town and then fly back to Mumbai to spend their last 3 days there. Those plans changed and now they are spending extra time in the other town and then flying to Mumbai to spend just one night there before flying home. They are staying north of the financial district (where the attacks took place) and in their last email said they feel safe and have no reason to worry right now. I can imagine the security level being extremely high so possibly it's one of the safer places to be right now. Thanks for your concerns.

More posts to come later today inbetween writing my LAST few papers for my masters program!

Aunt Jo rolls

This year I won't be going home to Seattle for either Thanksgiving or Christmas, so I'm pretty sad about that. I love sharing holidays with Geoff's family, but it also means less time with my family and missing out on Abo traditions. I know it's just a new normal to get used to, but it's not all that easy for me. I feel SO grateful to be welcomed into Geoff's amazing family and I'm looking forward to the holidays with them this year, but I knew I'd have to bring a bit of home to our dinners. So, tonight I attempted to make Aunt Jo Rolls to bring to Barbara's house for Thanksgiving. We have these rolls every holiday at the Abo house. One batch makes 40 rolls and we usually only have leftovers for a day or two! Keep in mind, this is probably the easiest Abodeely traditional recipe but given my cooking history it's quite the challenge. I thought I'd take some pictures to share with my parents, who are in India. I probably would have called my mom atleast 5 times to ask her questions about the recipe, so it was sad to not be able to talk to her!

The mess

The dough is done!


In the fridge for a few days! I hope they turn out okay!

I found this as I was cleaning up. Look carefully under the Joy Of Cooking. It's a blob of dough. Not sure how that got there!

Private?!

Hey friends. Happy Friday to you and I hope you have a great weekend. So, I'm considering going private on my blog. I really don't want to because it's kinda a pain for readers and I honestly don't mind random bloggers reading my posts. I'm the queen of blog stalking, so I can't hate on others for doing it! I'm just a little concerned about the creepers out their and who knows when they might find my blog and do something... well... creepy, for lack of a better word. Also, I REALLY want to do some venting about some stuff that's going down at work, but without knowing who my audience is it's probably not wise. Thoughts? Should I go private?

Operation Bus Sting: Failed

I talked to the police officer assigned to our case early this morning and unfortunately there were no under cover cops available. We decided to take this matter into our own hands and her and I worked what we thought would be the best sting ever. She gave me her personal cell # and I gave her my personal cell # and we decided that I'd get on the bus with my students, acting like I didn't know them. (Try telling a person with autism to pretend like they don't know their teacher... ha!!) So I sat on one side of the bus and my students sat on the other side and I kept a close eye on them, mostly D. I was supposed to text the police officer a description of the guy and a blow by blow of what was going down on the bus. Meanwhile, she was following the bus and would get this man when we got off. I got on the bus and waited, and waited, and turned my head to every man that came close to D's description.... but it was a no-go. The man never got on the bus and I'm thinking it was because D's mom canceled the debit card so the man probably figured out that we were on to him. I'm so bummed that we didn't catch him and the police officer was also thoroughly disappointed. She (the police officer) was fabulous and I'm so glad she was assigned to this case because she really honestly wanted to catch the guy and saw the importance of what this means for our community, especially our disabled community. The officer and I will keep in touch and we'll try another sting operation next week, but I doubt the guy will come around again.
I was INTO it though... I think I've missed my calling as an under-cover cop.

Back at the classroom our afternoon meeting was an hour long role play about bus safety and stranger awareness. I've learned that it can never be over tought and that our students need continious reminders that there are evil people out there that will take advantage of them. During the role playing D would say things like "leave me alone, please" instead of "LEAVE ME ALONE" like we tought him. It's still a long road and I'm grateful that this experience will teach us a lesson.

Thanks for all the concerns and comments and let's hope this doesn't happen again, EVER!

A life skills teacher worst nightmare

For those of you who don't know, I teach a program for students with moderate disabilities that focuses on independent living skills, community skills and vocational skills. This year I have some of the highest functioning kids that I've ever taught before, however my students are still vulnerable and easy to prey on.... and it has happened. It just eats me up and I can't stop thinking about it, so I thought I'd share what happened.
Yesterday one of my students with autism got off the bus at the wrong stop and my classroom aide asked him what he was doing at that bus stop. It turns out that the last few weeks D (we'll call him that) has been getting coerced by a man on the bus. D is on the same bus every Tuesday and Thursday after he leaves his job site and travels back to our class site for lunch and our afternoon meeting. This man is also on that same bus and has obviously worked D for awhile now to get money out of him. So, on Tuesdays he takes D's debit card (and any money that he has that day) and tells him he'll bring the card back to him on Thursdays. And he does. And D trusts him each week because the man tells D that he is "friendly" and that D can "trust" him. So the last 3 weeks this man has become D's "friend" and D even goes into the local liquor store with the stranger to get money out of the ATM for his new "friend".
Basically his man has totally coerced my student and has been working him the last 3 weeks. The man told D that he'd meet him back on the bus tomorrow (just as he has the last few weeks) to give back the debit card (and to probably take whatever money he has on him). I spent all morning with D and the police officer to get all the details that we could get. The problem is that it is SO hard to figure out exactly what D is saying and the difference between fact, and him saying what he thinks we want to hear. It's amazing what details D remembers such as what the man's shoes and jacket look like - but it's still hard to get all the details straight. It is shocking to me that D would do this, and even more shocking that there are evil people out there that would prey on a young adult with a disability. We are constantly teaching these skills and it's a lesson for me that the teaching is never over, no matter what you think is already learned.
I'll keep you posted as to what goes down tomorrow, but the police are planning a little sting on the bus to hopefully catch this asshole. Keep your fingers crossed.

Erica's baby shower

Erica and Hector are expecting their baby boy mid February and me and 3 of my friends threw Erica a shower this last weekend. My friend Mitch did an incredible job with the Martha Stewart like decorations (I'm trying to hire him for our wedding favors) and everyone, including the mother-to-be seemed to have a good time. The games were fun, the food was delicious and people were able to catch up with old friends and family. Erica and Hector came over for dinner a few nights before the shower and Geoff and I gave them these cute little outfits for their little guy. The one we gave Hector said "daddy's little hero" with a firetruck on it and the onesie we gave Erica said "mommy's new man". Sooooo cute! I have to say though that the baby girl clothes out there are WAY cuter than the boy stuff and I can see why little girls get so spoiled. Don't tell anyone, but I'm starting to get a little tiny teeny itsy-bitsee twinge of the I-want-a-baby bug!

Update - I just read my friend Meghan's blog about how little sleep she's getting with her little girl's latest sleeping habits. Phewwwww, the I-want-a-baby bug went away. :-)