Memorial Day Weekend

Blake and I went to his family's beach cabin in Long Beach for the weekend. It was such a relaxing time! Blake's mom, step dad Brad, and niece, Emily, were there too, as well as some of Brad's family.

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We love the peace and quiet that the beach brings. We usually go to this cute book store and coffee shop called Adelaide's and pick out a new cookbook, then browse the recipes while we drink our coffee. This time we picked out The Herbal Kitchen by Jerry Traunfeld. I can't wait to get started on my herb garden!

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We also like to make sure we add something to the cabin, but not something knickknacky. Last time we added a little Webber grill. This time we planted rosemary so that we wouldn't have to try to find it at the local grocery store. The local grocery store is pretty good, they have a great little wine collection, but are often lacking in the fresh herb department. Best of all, it's only two blocks away so we enjoy walking down there.

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We also enjoy going to the Saturday Market in the Port of Ilwaco. This time we found two great Sue Olson photographs for our new apartment. One of them I saw last time we were there and was sad that I didn't get it. We were glad that it was there again and also found another photo for our guestroom.

We spent the first evening sitting around the campfire with Brad's family. We do enjoy a good campfire!

Emily: eating her "roll," she did eat the hotdog later.

Nothing says Long Beach, Wa like the Marsh's Free Museum. It's what I used to think of when I thought of Long Beach, that and the go-carts. The irony is... I can't stand either!

We walked the boardwalk and caught the sunset.

Yes we are dorks... Really, I put him up to it.

The beach was just so big and the sun looked so small, I couldn't resist :)

The puzzle! We usually walk through town and go to all the little shops and pick out a puzzle to work on during our stay. This time we went for a round Thomas Kinkade.

What happened to April!

Well so much for once a month.. not that it matters because I think that my cousin Macey is the only one that reads this anyway ;) and I keep in touch with her fairly well (most of the time!).

Life moves so fast and I guess it only goes faster as the years progress. Not necessarily as we get older, but as earth adds years and we add technology everything gets kicked up a notch. I used to think that it was just because we were young that we thought time flew. Then I started working in geriatrics and I realized that the mature and wise elderly people felt like it moves faster every year too. I always thought.. but you're so slow, maybe you just can't keep up!? No, I really think that the world is going at a faster pace. Just like the dollar loses value, the second is too. Probably just America actually. That's also why we are so unhealthy.. stress, high blood pressure... strokes.. and that's what keeps me in business. Sorry! Kidding! I would have plenty to do if everyone stayed healthy and stopped stroking out.

Hey, I didn’t call it “Jillian’s blog of warm-fuzzies”!

So that leads me to my point, which is that my wedding is getting closer!! Blake should hear about his job this week, and in two weekends we’re going house hunting. I realized that moving out of my apartment and away from Mercer Island is like breaking up after a two year serious relationship. Every time I think of something that I had hoped to do with Blake here, or that I had hoped to do with friends or some plan I had for life that in mind would happen here. All of those standards that I have set so high and each time we have a sunny day and the sight of that clear blue water against the green trees and mountains takes my breath away… a little piece of my heart breaks. It’s like I’m slowly realizing that the life that I had planned will never happen.

However, just like in love, life goes on. You meet someone new, you appreciate qualities in someone that you never knew you wanted or needed and somehow you find yourself in love with the most unlikely friend that takes your breath away and amazes you every day. Now the likelihood of my falling in love with Tri-Cities is very slim, but the point is you just never know what is out there. The most unexpected things might sweep me off my feet. Like maybe I’ll learn to like the sun… we'll see!