Taste of Tacoma

Mike is back!

To celebrate, Mike and I explored Taste of Tacoma (a local food and craft festival).  We enjoyed your standard festival eats and enjoyed a short comedy show.  The highlight of the event was meeting Top Chef and The Chew star Carla Hall.  We listened to a quick cooking demonstration and were able to meet her.  Mike and I happen to be huge Top Chef fans :)

Cooking Demo

BFFs

http://www.tasteoftacoma.com/

Mom's Visit

While Mike was away for the month training, my mom came into town to give me some much needed company.  She spent some time with her Granddoggy while I worked over the weekend, but we were able to spend some time exploring also.  We took Buckley for a walk along the waterfront, and Mom experienced her first ferry ride to Vashon Island.

Self-timer at Vashon Island

Walking the Water-front

I love my Mom!

Although our days out and about were wonderful, I think my favorite part of my mom's visit was spending time at home.  We gardened, relaxed in the spa, and cooked ourselves silly (the refrigerator is still full of left-overs).  I am so very lucky to have my mom in my life.  She brings me comfort and makes me feel at home.  

Epic Burger

Caramelized Onion Pizza

From the Backyard

On our Ferry Ride

Weekend Happenings

When Mike is away, I try to keep as busy as possible.  A scheduling error at work last week left me with six days off in a row.  I've been working through my "to do" list and have crossed quite a few things off.  The sun finally came out this Saturday, and I headed out for a leisurely stroll with Buckley.  I had planned to walk the waterfront, but ended up finding a trailhead on my way.  Buckley and I found ourselves on a beautifully green hike practically in our own backyard.  Sunday did not prove to be quite as sunny, but a nice outside breakfast and a shopping adventure at the farmer's market rounded out our weekend.  Here is to the halfway mark...only a couple more weeks until Mike is home again.  

Our Hiking Buddies

The Pathway

My Buddy

Bridge

I love this mountain

Buckley likes it too

Breakfast at my favorite place; this is the lucky monkey :)

Home grown greens

Caprese

My Best Friend

Although few people will likely ever read this blog, it was my husband’s insistence that I should start a blog which brought Buckley Banter into existence.  I am excited to share a little bit about my best friend, how we met, and our relationship. 

Mike and I met on the first day of my Junior (his Senior) year in college.  I moved into an apartment of three female friends, becoming the fourth.  Mike was one of the four roommates in the “counterpartment” across the hall.  That first night, we all went out to dinner.  I would be dishonest to say our relationship was anything close to love at first sight.  While, there was something about his confidence, I perceived Mike to be a little too loud outspoken for my taste.  The “counterpartments” continued to spend time together; we shared meals, watched football, etc.  During the preceding months, Mike and I began to spend more one on one time together.  One of our favorite pastimes was doing crosswords while watching weekend football.  

College

Hiking

Our friendship blossomed into a dating relationship.  Mike and I continued to date beyond his graduation from Pepperdine and commissioning into the US Army.  Our relationship survived a period of long distance (he in WA, me in CA).  We were engaged in April of 2009, and married the very next month.  Mike and I were married May 8, 2009, and I began a cross-country move to Maryland the next weekend.  While Mike prepared for his first deployment to Afghanistan, I was beginning my career as a nursing student at Johns Hopkins.  

My Soldier at his Commissioning Ceremony

Engaged at the Zoo

Wedding Day

After a long year apart, Mike and I began our married lives together in the Pacific Northwest.  We adopted our puppy Buckley, and later bought our first house.  Although we had started trying to expand our family, plans to have children have been put on hold because Mike is deploying at the end of the year.  

Puppy Kisses

I cannot say enough good things about my best friend and husband.  Mike is my other half.  I often tell people that he is one of the few people who can make me feel dumb…constantly reading, learning, and full of knowledge.  He may be the messiest person alive slightly messy, but he is always willing to help me clean up the kitchen after a long day at work.   I challenge you to find a dog who doesn’t love him.  Mike is a wonderful soldier with such a strong commitment to service.  He is the person that makes exploring a new place or sitting on our couch feel like the place I want to be.  I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us! 

My Best Friend

My First Post

Welcome to my blog! 

After spending years reading foodie, motherhood, medical, and military blogs, my husband convinced me to start my own.  I am guessing that my personal blogging will get off to a very slow start, but news of my husband’s impending deployment finally solidified my need for a creative and emotional outlet.  My goals are to keep you up to date on my life including posts about my adventures in the kitchen, stories of the ridiculous things my patients say or do, and coping with another deployment.  There will also be plenty of gratuitous Buckley pictures (I am a proud mom).

the first of many; Buckley as a puppy

                                        

A little bit about me: 

I grew up in Southern California with both my parents and an older brother.  After high school, I attended Pepperdine University and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology.  My junior year, I met my best friend and now husband Mike (more about him later).  Although I started my college education thinking that I would be a doctor, somewhere along the way I decided nursing was the right future for me.  After finishing up at Pepperdine and getting married, I headed across the country to Johns Hopkins for nursing school while Mike prepared for his first deployment with the US Army.  Mike and I settled into our first home together in the Pacific Northwest after our year apart.  I began my career as an ICU nurse, we adopted our beagle puppy, and we bought our first house.  

Our Family