A family adventure to China Town!

My last day!

Yesterday was my last day working at the restaurant! I have had this job for ten years and just recently decided that my departure from there was long over-due. During my time there I moved from host, to server, then to bartender. It was a place that I was comfortable in and the people there became good friends of mine; we had so much fun together! It will be difficult not seeing my regular customers anymore, they all made a lasting impression on me and I hope I did the same for them. Now it's time to focus on my family and school, which is becoming more difficult the more I get into it. It is the end of a piece of my life that was constant, memorable, and something that I was good at. I will never forget it because it has helped shape me into the person that I am today; I've learned a lot.

Kalei

Success

Success. How do we measure success? Is it in what we accomplish or what we own? Can it be bought or earned? I suppose it's different for each of us. When I think of success in my life, I think of it as something I will need to work hard for, it's something that I want so badly. To me, success means an education, a career, a home to be proud of, and to be financially stable. This is what I am striving for. Maybe success is to work as hard as we can towards something to achieve our final goal. I wonder what it will feel like to finally be "successful?" Will I be fulfilled? I know I will be proud of myself for following my dreams, but will this make me happy forever? What if success is something that's on-going; reaching and changing goals as needed in life. What if success is being happy with what we have? People who love us and whom we love in return. Maybe success can be moving forward each day to improve ourselves and our surroundings. What is success to you?

A "beautiful" Seattle day at the park:) Sometimes ya just need to get outside no matter the weather!

And me, on a beautiful December day, happy to pick out the perfect tree:) Picture courtesy of Matt Sumi

My wonderful husband Andy and our sweet boy, Mason

Our new baby (He's a bit bigger than this now though:)

My beautiful boys, Mason and Alex, at Winterfest!(Kalei is in the other picture:)

The kids and me, cruisin around China Town!

Well, there's nothing like a wonderful chemistry class to make you feel like a total idiot. I study, study, and study, but seem to be going nowhere! Science and math are definitely not my strong subjects, and boy does chemistry deal with lots of math! Ugh! The tough part is I need to try my hardest to get an A in this class, we'll see about that....The good thing about all of this is that my brain is getting lots of exercise, it's having to deal with more than laundry, dishes, food, and other routine mom issues! Last night in chemistry lab I made a joke without even realizing it. "I'm just so out of my element in this class!" Get it...element...ok, maybe it was funnier at the time;)

Oh, and as soon as my mommy brain can figure out how to upload some darn pictures, I will post some!

Here goes nothin'!

Today, on this rainy January 14th, I begin my first blog. For a long time I have wanted to start a blog of my own. To share family memories and my own thoughts on life and more. I kept telling myself that my life was too blah, lacking excitement and originality. I'm not an amazing chef, an aspiring photographer, or a super mom! I'm just me, just Jill, trying to make it through life raising my children in the best way I know how and hoping to move forward in a successful manner. It may not seem like much of a life, but boy it sure seems busy and full at times! Managing a family, working, and going back to school, can be very interesting! Thankfully, this busy but average lifestyle of ours, is comforting and actually very fulfilling. Because of my great children, amazing husband, extremely helpful family, and a great sense of humor, we get by pretty well on this adventure we call life. Now, I'm am off to my third Chemistry class. Wish me luck!