Me... a few years ago!

Taking some inspiration from my fellow blogger and friend, Shelley, I decided to post a few pictures of me (and friends) from high school. I am still friends with several of the girls in the all-girls picture.

First are a couple of my senior portraits (class of 1993!).... I always wore my hair down at the time.... never in a ponytail like I do now!

Here's a couple from the Senior Prom...

It's kind-of fun to take a trip down memory lane....

Out of JT's mouth...

Just had to share a couple of cute things JT said today....

After we dropped off Abigail at school, JT was talking about having a best friend. I asked him who his best friend is and he said, "Abigail." Awwwww, isn't that sweet?

A few minutes ago, JT was chattering away and all of a sudden he said, "I want a baby brother. Can someone get me one for Christmas?" Anyone else think that Andy has been paying him to say that?

Baby books updated

Today I sat down to do something I have been wanting to do for awhile: update Abigail and J.T.'s baby books! I wasn't that far behind, but I had a couple birthdays to fill in and a few other things. While I was doing this I came across some pictures and things from when they were little....

Here's a couple pictures from Abigail's fourth birthday....

Look how curly Abigail's hair was!

In J.T.'s book I came across some notes I had made to put somewhere. One of the notes reminded me how J.T. (at age 13-14 months) loved to play with the toilet paper in the bathroom. He would just take it from the roll and feed as much as he could (before he got caught) into the toilet. Here's a couple of pictures of him....

It really is amazing how fast they grow!

Happy Anniversary Chet & Karen!

Just wanted to send out some anniversary wishes to Chet and Karen! Time sure flies, doesn't it? It's hard to believe it's been three years! Enjoy your celebration trip later this week!

A great night!

We went to Sara and Kevin's last night for dinner. The kids had a great time playing and making their usual big mess... there were toys and dress-up clothes everywhere!! The four adults were able to sit around and talk. It was so much fun for all of us. We all had a great night spending time with friends.... a home cooked meal (which was great by the way!), a little wine, and interesting conversation (including landlord horror stories). Isn't this what life's all about?

I took a few pictures of the kids in their pajamas before we left. Here they are....

JT and Connor (yes, they have matching pajamas)...

All four of the monsters....

Abigail and Hannah...

We were there until about 10pm. I was the only one that stayed awake for the entire 45 min. trip home.... good thing, since I was driving!

Friends

Julie and Georgia left yesterday morning to go back to Phoenix. I miss them already! We had a great sushi dinner on Tuesday. Even considering the circumstances, it was so great to spend time with Julie (like we used to!), and get to know Georgia better. I am really hoping that we can go to Phoenix sometime in the next year to visit Julie, Eric, Garrett and Georgia.

Yesterday morning I went to say good-bye to Julie and Georgia before they left. I asked Berwyn to take a picture of Julie and I. I don't have any pictures of us together. Here's one....

I hope Julie and Georgia had a good trip back. Hope to see you soon!! I miss you guys!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Just wanted to wish my mom a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! The four of us are meeting my parents tonight for dinner at the Eel River Brewery! I will be nice and not tell everyone how old she is! Here's a picture taken last fall of my mom with Abigail and JT....

"The Last Story" by Abigail Albin

Here is a story Abigail wrote today at school. Just thought I would share. This was the assignment: Pretend that you are holding the last pencil in the world. Think carefully before writing. Then write what could be the world's last story.

"The World's Last Silly Story"

Once upon a time, there was a monster. He lived in the woods and ate pencils. That's why my pencil is the last pencil in the world. I'm not going to let him eat my pencil because it's the last pencil and I want to use it as long as I can. If I let him eat it there will not be any pencils in the world. I hope nobody throws this story away because it is the last story in the world.

By: Abigail Albin, the last story writer

Did you know....

**I actually received this as an email (thanks Amanda!!) but I thought would post my answers here.**

Things you might not know about me...

Four jobs I have had in my life.
1 . Pharmacy sales clerk
2. Credit Analyst
3. Assistant to Controller
4. CFO of Albin Livestock & Albin Enterprises (aka The Boss!)

Four movies I would watch over and over.
1 Pretty Woman
2. Dirty Dancing
3. Sweet Home Alabama
4. Finding Nemo

Four places I have lived.
1. Pendleton, OR
2. Loleta, CA
3. San Luis Obispo, CA
4. Fortuna, CA

TV shows I watch.
1. Nascar
2. Law & Order reruns
3 CSI reruns
4. Dog: The Bounty Hunter

Four places I have been.
1. Hawaii
2. Cancun
3. Washington DC
4. Las Vegas

4 People who e-mail me (regularly).
1. Mary
2. Julie
3. Karen
4. Kristen

Four of my favorite foods.
1. Cheese enchiladas
2. Sushi (yes, even the raw kind)
3. Steak
4. Pizza

Four places I would like to be right now.
1. Hawaii
2. at the Spa (getting a pedicure, facial, massage, etc)
3. getaway weekend with Andy
4. anywhere that's sunny and warm

Things I am looking forward to this year.
1. Christmas
2. improving my photography skills
3. finding time to read more
4. visiting out of town family and friends

To anyone that reads this, post your own answers on your blog or in an email. I know it takes a few minutes but it's fun to learn new things about your family and friends!

What to do

Right now I am home by myself. It's so unusually quiet. Abigail is, of course, at school. I still can't believe she is in 2nd grade already. JT was very excited that he was able to go to work with Andy this morning. I think they are feeding the calves right now. There are a lot of things I could be doing right now... folding laundry, picking up toys, doing work in the office, etc, but I really am just enjoying the peace and quiet. I think I will go out on the deck and read a little.....

Soothing things

I am feeling down today. Trying to figure out how to cheer myself up..... I was thinking of things that are (almost) always guaranteed to make me feel better. Here are some of them (in no particular order)...

• a hug from someone I love
• a phone call from/to a friend
• dinner out with Andy
• falling asleep on the couch in the evening
• a single, nonfat latte with some kind of yummy flavoring (don't really have a favorite)
• an aromatherapy pedicure from Personal Choice
• looking at pictures (me growing up, my kids as babies, our wedding, our travels, etc)
• an online chat with a friend
• scrapbooking
• taking a nap

That's all I can think of for now. I am sure there are more things. One last thing that helps me feel better is this verse:

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank him for his answers. If you do this you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4: 6, 7. (Living Bible version).

Cookies can be comforting

This morning I decided to make some cookies to have in the freezer. I actually can't ever remember a time since Andy and I have been married that we haven't had homemade cookies in the freezer.... but, for the past week or two we haven't. Also, I thought baking would be comforting to me. Usually it does make me feel better. As I was mixing up the cookie dough and putting it on the cookie sheet, something made me think of Matt Galt.

One time Matt was here in the office talking to Andy about some business stuff. Matt had just been to look at some nasty little fixer house and he was feeling queasy! As much as he loved those dirty, smelly, disgusting fixer houses, even he got queasy once in awhile! He asked if he could have some crackers or something. Instead, I offered him some of my fresh-from-the-oven cookies. He had a few, and it made him feel much better, he said.

It is really strange how little things like cookies make you think of someone....

Watch out Fortuna!

Last Friday, the only bright part in our day was when we went over to Matt and Amber's house. JT had a great time playing with August and Daisy. He especially loved their battery-powered, pedal-operated, jeep and tractor. Here's JT and August driving around like crazy guys! Fortuna is in trouble when they start driving, for real!


JT also loved cruising around on the John Deere tractor. I am pretty sure Matt and Amber have a little less paint on the bottom of their garage door because of him. He ran into it several times.

It was comforting for us to hang out with friends (feeling the same loss that we were) and enjoy the kids playing together. Thank you to Matt and Amber for inviting us over!

Abigail's 7th birthday

It's taken me a few days to get these pictures up from Abigail's birthday. She got a new bike from us... one without training wheels. She doesn't know how to ride it quite yet, but we will work on it soon... hopefully this weekend. We don't have much pavement at our house so we may have to go to the park. Here is Abigail and Andy practicing on her bike right after she got it....

We had a little BBQ for Abigail's birthday on Sunday night. We invited all the grandparents, great-grandparents, and some family friends. Even though Andy and I weren't really in the mood for a party, all the kids had a great time. Here's a group shot of all the kids...

Everyone seemed to enjoy the barbecued burgers and hot dogs (thanks Chet for doing the cooking!) and the three different salads (thanks Mom, Pam, and Karen!). The kids enjoyed the pinata after dinner...

Abigail was happy to have all her favorite little buddies at the party. Here is one shot of Abigail and Hannah...

We ended up going inside for cake and presents because it got so cold outside. Abigail had a really neat princess cake (thanks to Pam!).

It's really hard to believe that she is seven years old already. Where does the time go!

A wonderful tribute

Yesterday afternoon was Matt Galt's memorial service. It was a tough day for Andy and I, not to mention Matt's family. Andy was very honored to be a pallbearer.

The service was a wonderful tribute to Matt's life. Many people spoke about how Matt affected their lives. I had been thinking about what I would say for the past few days. I knew that there was no way I could put all my or Andy's feelings into words. I decided that I would just talk about a memory I have. What I spoke about is one of my favorite memories of spending time with Matt and Berwyn.

I introduced myself and explained that Andy and I have been business partners with Matt and Berwyn for the past five or six years. We had been partners on many fixer house projects... the nastier the better, as far as Matt and Andy were concerned.

Last November we were all in Phoenix for Julie's wedding. (Julie is Matt's daughter. She and I have become very good friends over the past couple years). The day after the wedding, Matt, Berwyn, Andy and I decided to drive around the Phoenix area. We looked at a lot of different houses. Berwyn and I were getting a little bored and really just wanted to go shopping. The guys weren't really interested in that, though. We drove by a few nasty little fixer houses. Andy and Matt got so excited and were talking about what they would do with those houses.... even though they knew they couldn't really buy them. I will never forget that day.

I really wanted to say more about how Matt has impacted our life. I just don't think I can do it justice, with words. Maybe someday....

Andy and I have both learned so much from Matt, both about business and about life. I hope we can take what we've learned, carry on with our lives, and make Matt proud of us.

Happy 7th Birthday Abigail!!

Today is Abigail's 7th birthday. It's so hard to celebrate something so fun, when you are feeling so down. We are having a little party for her tonight. I think Matt would want us to do that. I will, hopefully, have some pictures on here tomorrow.

In memory

Sorry I haven't been blogging much lately, but it's been a rough last few days. I have tried to sit down and write this post several times.

On Friday morning, we lost one of our closest friends and business partner, Matt Galt. He passed away unexpectedly, early on Friday morning and we already miss him so much. I hope it's okay with his family that I am posting this.... I am hoping it will help me get through this painful time. Please keep the Galt family in your prayers.

There is so much that I want to say but I just can't seem to get it out in words. Matt was such a great guy, in so many ways. We became business partners with him and Berwyn about six years ago. It's really amazing that we have only known them that long..... it seems so much longer. But our relationship is so much more than business. I think all four of us were hesitant to get too close on a personal level because sometimes it's hard to be in business with your friends. You don't want anything to ruin your personal friendship or your business relationship. I think we beat the odds, though.

Matt has been such an amazing mentor to Andy. There is no way that we would be in the place that we are in without him. Andy has become a better person and businessman because of Matt. I think anyone that knew him before he met Matt can testify to that. It's going to be so difficult for us to continue to work in the real estate field without Matt. Part of me wants to quit, sell all the rentals, and just move on..... But I know that if we gave up, Matt would be very upset. I know that Andy and I have learned so much from him.... it's really hard to have the confidence (or desire) to do it without him.

I know that this is a very disorganized post, but I have a lot of thoughts running through my head. I just can't seem to get all my thoughts in a logical place. I guess that's normal. For now we will just take it one day at a time. I know it won't be easy.

BAM!

Just wanted to share a quick recipe for one of my favorite sandwiches. Andy and I just had them for lunch and they were so yummy! I got the recipe out of a Rachael Ray magazine. It is similar to a BLT, but much better, in my opinion.

Fry bacon to desired crispness (I cut the bacon strips in half) and toast your bread in the toaster. Spread bread with mayo and dijon mustard. Add strips of bacon to cover one slice of bread. Now here comes the interesting part..... take an apple and slice it thinly (I think the original recipe called for Granny Smith apples, but I just use whatever I have). Cover bacon with apple slices and second piece of bread. I cut my sandwich in half because it makes it much easier to eat. So you have your bacon ("B"), your apple ("A"), and your mustard ("M"). Bam!! We don't have these very often, but when we do they are so good! Try it and let me know what you think....