Donating Hair for a Cause

Update: I found a site that allows you to donate as little as 8 inches worth of hair. This seems a bit more realistic so I think I might go for it! I hope that writing it here will hold me accountable.

Anyone else up for the challenge? We could hold a haircutting party in January- new year, new do, new YOU. What do you think?

Dinner at the Park

Last night Jeff and I picked up some sandwiches and headed to Coulon (for those of you who don't know, it's a park at the southern most tip of Lake Washington). It was a beautiful evening and Jeff and I watched the seagulls, the people, and took photos of each other ;).


Poor little Jeff with the sun in his eyes. I love this man- he gave us a little scare last week with his heart, but I forgive him. ;) Please keep Jeff in your thoughts and prayers- he's a sweet boy with a long life ahead of him. Lord, give him the peace and energy to live it!


You can see Jeff's shadow in this photo- love it! Isn't my hair getting long? I'm considering chopping it all off..or growing it out more so I can donate it. Has anyone ever done this? How does it work?

Goodbye Roddys!

Our friends Matt and Joey Roddy are leaving this Saturday to move to Maine for 10 months- Matt will be going to school and Joey will be supporting them financially (good luck with the chimney sweeping Joey! I hear Maine can get cold and energy is expensive- I'm sure you'll get lots of work).

All joking aside, we will miss them tremendously. Although we don't see them often enough, we do enjoy every minute we get to spend with this fine couple. Collectively and individually these 2 are some of the best people I know. I always appreciate their transparency, their love of God, and their ability to be silly while still being "deep."

Jeff and I are going to miss you two and are so grateful for having gotten to know you these past couple of years. Can you believe it's been that long already?

Best of luck in your adventures..I'll be waiting for you to get pregnant so you can find your way home ;).

with love,

the goughs

Weekend at Whidbey

Eat, sleep, play with Simon, visit, laugh at Grover, play at the beach (more like sit at the beach while the boys skip rocks and Simon & Grover eat them), eat, sleep, watch movies, eat more, ride the ferry. I think that about sums it up!

Thanks Steve and Paula for arranging such a relaxing weekend and for being such generous hosts, as usual. Love you!

What in the World?

This brings a whole new meaning to women going in "packs" to the restroom...

An Outing With the Ladies (and Simon)

Today I was able to sneak away for lunch and meet up with Paula, Rhoda, Rebekah, and Kristen (Simon came too). They had spent the better part of the morning shopping at the Overlake Hospital "Mommy Center" and at Merry-Go-Round, a really adorable baby store in Bellevue. I met them all at the Cheesecake Factory for a lovely lunch.

It was great spending time with you ladies! I would like to see this sort of thing happen more often- female family bonding! Hope you all had a great afternoon...I'm back at work typing away.

This photo was taken with my phone, so sorry about the picture quality.

Name that Prego

A riddle:

Inside these are being made
babes that share my name
but not DNA
The left is a first
and the right makes four

Kind of obvious isn't it?

Sorry Ladies...you knew it was coming.

Thank you Kristen and Rebekah for bringing more babies into this family for us to love.

Hello New Guest Room!

After getting such positive feedback on the bed (BTW, I LOVE this bed..I saw it at the Street of Dreams several years ago at the "Costco Home" decorated house. Who cares if it was in the little girls room? I had to have it!) I wanted to let you know it's still getting good use taking up 5/6ths of our guest room- this bed is seriously HUGE. Another interesting fact: I purchased this bed at Costco Home and had to return it immediately when we discovered it wouldn't fit in my brothers HUGE truck. I had kind of an "I want and Oompa Loompa now!" moment, and my Mom had my Uncle surprise me by picking it up the next day. Thanks Jerry!

We've already had a couple of guests since we put the room together: Scott and Bri, while they waited for their moving truck, and Jocelyn, who was interviewing at a Seattle based Ad Agency. Jocelyn will actually be staying again next weekend (is it weird that I haven't washed the sheets since the last time she stayed?) because she got the job and is moving up from Los Angeles! So exciting. I think it honestly might have had something to do with the bed ;)

Man, talking about this makes me want to curl up with a good book- any recommendations?- and take a nap. What is up with the weather lately? This is NOT what I expect from Seattle Summers. I'm just hoping it's nice this Saturday for a certain special baby shower I'm co-hosting...I'm getting really excited for it!

Oh, and while we're at it. Here's another bed in our house. This is mine and Jeff's room (can I just say that sometimes thinking about being married makes me absolutely giddy). I bought the curtains at IKEA over a year ago and was inspired to make the blue door headboard (still sitting in the garage). I bought the duvet cover at IKEA last month because I thought adding orange could be good and figured if we didn't like it I could always use it for the fabric because it was so cheap! I think it's starting to look a bit too bohemian, but I'm ok with it for the time being.

Goodbye Old Life...

Several weeks ago I finally bit the bullet and removed all of my belongings from my parents house. I thought I should take a moment to reflect on what that house has meant to me.

For 26 years of life this house has been my only permanent address. I have lived in 3 of its rooms, which means I've occupied more rooms than any other family member. My final room, pictured below, was created for me when I decided to move back home after college. It was a room we never used, it mostly gathered junk and spiders- so the thought of moving down there for more space AND my own entrance was exciting but also challenging. Together my Dad and I covered the cement foundation- yep, I lived in a basement- with drywall. We mudded, taped, painted and hired someone to lay the tile. Here's an interesting fact: we had two different people do the tiling downstairs and my room is about 2 inches higher than the rest of the basement which is not only evident at the entry points but also by the # of stubbed toes it has created. I like to think of it as my own little booby trap. Can I say "booby" on a blog?

Anyway, it was a good little room. Kind of like my own studio apartment but without the kitchen. Perfect if you ask me...who doesn't want their parents cooking for them until the ripe age of 26? Thanks Mom and Dad! It was intended to be a temporary home while I got on my feet, found a job, made friends, etc. I had thought about buying a condo but then I worked at KJR FM selling radio advertising which was 100% commission and then I quit and decided to work at Costco where I was paid hourly and couldn't afford to move out. Thus entered plan B- don't move out until I get married! Brilliant. So, in the basement I stayed from Oct. 2002 to Mar. 2007, my how time flew. And it only took me 5 months to move out after the wedding. Now if only I could get around to finishing those thank you notes...