Week In Review

 SUNDAY: Chris and I filled out and turned in our applications for the Russian Language Class at the meeting. We should be getting more information soon! After the meeting we came home and took a nap for pretty much the whole afternoon. It’s a little bit of a Sunday tradition for us…catching up on sleep we missed during the week. Then we got up and made dinner. We decided to try making the amazing dipping sauce with the garlic and olives and capers that we’d had Saturday with my mum. Chris made crispy chicken sandwiches with it and they were simply delicious. We made another big batch of the sauce to keep in the fridge and have tried it on different things all week. Yum! I think we’ll do a recipe post soon and share the chicken sandwich.

 MONDAY: With my Monday/Tuesday boss away teaching a class, when I called her in the morning to see what tasks she had for me she was stressing about coming up with something for me to do. So I said: “I’ll work around the house and then go. Don’t let this cause you stress. That’s the opposite of what I’m supposed to do for you.” So I spent the morning working and then went out in service for the afternoon. It was such a treat. I got to go on a study with a girl who is about my age. It was encouraging to see her progress and learn more about Jehovah and developing a relationship with him. It was a lovely afternoon.

 TUESDAY: Lots of scanning and organizing papers and receipts at work today. And trying to navigate the search function on the Mac. Slowly but surely I’m figuring things out. Then Chris and I went over the comments we prepared for the meeting and I read a full scripture out loud for the first time. I was so nervous, but the others in the group said I did good. 

 WEDNESDAY: The day of the audit had finally arrived, and I heard next to nothing from my boss in Ellensburg at the main office. I was anxious all day and worrying over files and everything. But I did my best to leave work at work once the day was over and we headed to Moses Lake with some friends and got Chinese food for dinner. My fortune cookie (pictured below) was made just for me. A nice reminder in the middle of so much stress as to what’s really important in my life in the stream of things.

 THURSDAY: At about 2 in the afternoon I got a phone call from my boss in Ellensburg saying that the auditors would not be coming to our office at all! I was beyond thrilled with this news. A huge sigh of relief and a bunch of my stress just melted away… We went out for dinner with April (the other lady that works in my office) and her husband to celebrate. We went to the Sundial Bistro in Soap Lake again. Its becoming our favorite local eatery.

 FRIDAY: After writing about my experience at the balloon festival last week I was surprised by some of the comments I got. It turns out that those who put on the fireworks display found my post and forwarded it to the coordinators of the festival who called our real estate agent (who gave us the tickets) to reach out to me and make sure I was okay. I was a little blown away that little ol’ me would be of any concern to people, but I received kind and encouraging comments and suggestions for what to do next year to keep my anxiety level down. It was a surprising and interesting day in that regard. My sister Megan and her husband Siyani came to stay with us for the weekend and arrived late Friday night. It was so nice to visit with them and Megan brought a ton of baked goods with her to share. 3 different types of pie, pecan tarts, pumpkin roll cake and then made a mock-cheesecake too. She’s such a good baker. What a treat!

 SATURDAY: Megan came to work with me Saturday morning and we spent a couple hours working on a blog for her. Her husband, Siyani and her are moving to Australia soon and she wanted a blog to be able to keep family here updated. We had fun picking pictures to use and colors and fonts. It was really neat for me to work with a design client that was sitting right next to me. Can’t wait to get it finished up and share. I hope she posts a lot while they’re away…it’s a great way to stay connected. We had planned on having a little pizza party at our house Saturday night, but no one was able to come, so the 4 of us spent the rest of the day and into the evening together. Megan and Chris made incredible homemade pizzas and we watched The Lion King (and yes, we sang along with all the songs). At about 10 my cousin Hannah and her husband and son showed up too after a long day in Seattle. I’m really glad they decided to come. We all stayed up till about 3am visiting. I love nights like that!

Favorite parts of this week: getting word that the auditors would not be coming to my office, watching the season premier of Parenthood (love that show!), spending some quality time with my sister and cousin, and working on a blog for Megan.

What is a moment you remember where all your stress melted away?
What is your favorite type of baked goods?
Did you have a memorable week? What’s a highlight?