I talk to my pets. A lot. I mean, who doesn’t? I grew up listening to my mom always talking to our dog, Sandy, and now I catch myself sounding exactly like her. And that's definitely a good thing because I'll be lucky if I'm half of the mom she is one day.
Cats and dogs are great company and listeners without judgment. Especially in a season of snow (literally no sunshine), unemployment, and “new” everything, I really appreciate my two furry companions more than they understand. They provide a stability and consistency in a tough, lonely season. I spend a lot of my free time taking care of them, cleaning up after them, and making sure they’re fed, exercised, and happy. But as much as they depend on me day to day, sometimes they teach me something with their simple and unconditional love. A couple of weeks ago I remember talking to Zeke before bed (you know, building up his self confidence), saying things like “you’re so cute” and “you’re so smart” and “I love you, Zeke.” But then I remember following it up with “Well, I don’t love you because you’re cute and smart…I just love you. Just because.” And then I thought, “He just loves us. Just because.” And I felt a new sense of peace on a particularly bad day. It doesn’t matter if we’re working or unemployed, if we’re a straight A student or a C student, if we live in a big house or small house or if we like sports or music or cooking or reading or whatever it may be. No matter what, He just loves us. Just like I love Kevin and Gatsby and Zeke and so many others "just because", He loves us even more just because. Does that make sense? This is a comforting and encouraging thing to remember going into another new year and even more new changes. We have some uncertainties and difficult times ahead with possible new jobs or school, deployments, and still figuring out life far away from friends and family (please come visit!). But I’m going to try and make it a point to remember that first He loves us, and the rest just follows. I can go into a new job or new situation, a deployment without my husband and best friend for months, new challenges and new experiences all while knowing that He loves me no matter what. No matter whether I have a good day or a bad day, whether I perform my best or make mistakes, whether I have friends or not, whether I cook a healthy dinner or have a rough day and eat fast food, I am loved. And you are too. And that brings peace and comfort only He can provide.
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It's snowing, it's Friday, and I have plenty of free time to create this photo blog post - something I've been meaning to do. One of the best (and sometimes most stressful) parts of moving across the country has been becoming a first time homeowner and transforming our house into our home. So here's some before and after photos of our favorite spaces...enjoy! "She was an adventurer at heart; but oh how she loved drinking this tea from this mug in this chair. Oh how she loved to be home." I haven't thought of any great stories, big events, or fancy ideas lately to write about. So let's talk about food. And if you don't like reading about food, restaurants, reviews, or random thoughts, I would stop reading here. Food is one of the main things that stuck out to me with the move from Alabama to Washington. I'm used to the good ole southern comfort food, my local favorites, BBQ, and especially a great mexican restaurant, complete with too many chips and lots of warm, delicious queso! Let's just say...none of the above exist [in tasty form] here in Spokane, WA. I've had to instead figure out what the "good food" is here, and that's kind of hard [and expensive] to do by just trial and error. So I asked my personal trainer at the gym and spent our first session talking about food more than exercising (oops, I'm not sorry about it). He suggested to stay away from all mexican restaurants, most italian restaurants, most seafood, and...well, really anything I'm used to. He instead suggested trying the smaller, local pubs, grilles, bars, etc. or fancier steakhouses and "nice occasion" restaurants. Because that's where the good food [and drinks] are...so that's what we started doing! [This is all of personal opinion and in no way reflects the quality of any restaurant mentioned. It's just what I experienced, which could all be by chance.] I'll start with the one "nice occasion" restaurant we've tried, and that's Churchill's Steakhouse --> https://www.churchillssteakhouse.com This place came by recommendation of several people. We went to Churchill's for an anniversary dinner, and it did not disappoint! We made a reservation, but it wasn't all that busy on a Saturday night, so I'm not sure it was necessary. It's located in downtown Spokane near the Historic Davenport Hotel. The atmosphere was fantastic, the service was great, and the food was outstanding. We both got one of their signature cocktails, and we both got steaks (because --> steakhouse). The steaks come with garlic mashed potatoes and a vegetable (in our case, these flavorful snap peas) and bread. We also splurged and ordered a side of the cougar gold mac and cheese and all of the hype about it did not disappoint. Y'all. This cheese is another kind of delicious. We ended the meal with a complimentary créme brûlée and splurged again on the salted caramel bread pudding. I was stuffed, and I was happy. The only thing that I found weird (?) was that other people in the restaurant showed up in very casual attire. I'm talking jeans, t-shirt and ball cap kind of casual. This only struck me as odd since the atmosphere was so fancy, and the waiters reminded me of those at Highlands Bar & Grill in Birmingham. Overall, I would definitely come back myself and definitely recommend to others. I think the food was too delicious that I forgot to snap a photo, but here we are after dinner with big smiles and full bellies... Moving on to the pubs, I'll start with Waddell's Neighborhood Pub and Grille --> http://waddellspubandgrill.com Waddell's is located in the South Hill area, conveniently about 1 mile from our house. We decided to try it on a Friday night (to start off Kevin's birthday weekend celebration), and I'm so glad we did. It was packed, but we only had about a 5-10 minute wait. Their drink menu is extensive, and the atmosphere is fun and friendly -- just how you would expect to spend an evening in a neighborhood pub. Our waiter was friendly as well. I had the Island Burger with sweet potato fries (highly recommend), and Kevin had the BBQ Brisket Sandwich with Waddell's Fries. In Kevin's words, this sandwich gave Jim 'N Nick's a run for its money, so it must have been good! There were so many things on the menu that we wanted to try. We will definitely be back. Next up we tried Manito Tap House --> http://manitotaphouse.com Again, we are lucky that it's located about 5-10 minutes from our house near Grand and 29th. We went here on a random Saturday night just for fun since we had been wanting to try it out. The atmosphere was a little less crowded than that of Waddell's. We absolutely loved their beer selection here and ordered a flight, including one of the best sour's I've had. The food was a little fancier, in my opinion. I had a hard time deciding what to order but settled on the Blackened Mac & Cheese, requested with no spice, and a side salad. Kevin went with the Chef's Burger and a side of Lamb Curry soup. I felt as if my food was still a little spicy (I'm a wimp), but Kevin is still going on and on about his meal. The service was good. I think we need to go back for a second round, so I can try more of the menu! Overall great experience here. Last, but most certainly not least, we tried Prohibition Gastropub --> https://www.facebook.com/Prohibition.Gastropub.Spokane1/ This was a last minute decision on Wednesday night before traveling to Birmingham for a wedding. When we drove up it almost looked empty, and we almost didn't go inside, but I'm oh so glad we did! I believe they claim one of the "best burgers" or something like that, and I would back that up. They put fresh coffee grounds in their beef, and oh. my. goodness. I ordered the Moonshine sliders with fresh cut fries, and I need more of them in my life. They were that good. And the fries had parmesan on them, and they brought me some ranch for dipping, and I couldn't have been happier. Kevin ordered the Vegetarian Chick Pea Burger and fries and thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Again, the waitress was great. The beer on tap was just alright in my opinion, but they offered a variety of wine and cocktails as well. There was live music by a guy named Josh-something. This guy could rap, and this guy could SING. There weren't many people there (because --> random Wednesday night), but I loved the small pub feeling with just a few people and what felt like a private concert by someone whose voice reminded me of Ed Sheeran. I'll be back, that's for sure! All of this doesn't even cover some of the other great food, coffee, ice cream, etc. that we've tried here in Spokane. We're starting to find our new local "favorite spots" and learning to enjoy a new culture of food. With two recent quick weekend trips to Birmingham, it's hard not to miss where I came from. But I'm thankful for a new experience, new people, new places, and trying new food as well!
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