I feel old.

I feel OLD. No offense to all you real old people. ;)

But seriously!? Little Sydnee is 10! I absolutely cannot believe it. Sweet little baby Syd is now sweet big girl Syd. She has braces! And she carries on full on conversations about just about anything. She is in the 5th grade!

I remember talking with her about whether she hoped the baby in her mommy's tummy was a brother or a sister (don't get me started on the fact that baby Samuel is in KINDERGARTEN.) And we were JUST stomping ants in front of her house! (See blog circa 2006, sniff sniff.)

This is craziness to me. Am I the only one?

Fall so far...

You know what I love? Washington. Its so beautiful. All the time.

This Thanksgiving, like most of the ones in the past, we spent the holiday at Aunt Sandy and Uncle Bill's cabin. It was rainy, and sometimes there were snow flurries, but at least there was some snow on the ground!

We had amazing food, as per usual. And Leighton joined us this year! She is so sweet, and I loved just sitting with her and talking to her.

Excuse me ahead of time for this blog being a little scattered. I may jump back and forth between things. Any way, I made sweet potato fries for Ashton a couple weeks ago. They were definitely a crowd pleaser, as my roommates also stole quite a few. ;)

I just cut up the sweet potato (very hard to do, actually) and brushed it with oil, added a little salt and pepper, and baked in the oven until they browned. Much better than chips with lunch. :)

Moving right along, we some elves decorated Fox Hollow the other night. They brought tons of lights and stockings for every barista and they even watched Elf while decorating! Don't ask how I know that, its just a guess.

Like the elves, Orting has been busy decorating as well. I cannot express how much I LOVE driving through town under the Christmas lights. They are super old and the bells aren't centered but I love it. I don't think pictures can capture how perfect it really is.

One of my favorite things to do at Christmas is open my mom's box of ornaments. She has the most beautiful antique ornaments from my grandma, and maybe my great grandma, as well as silly ones from when I was little. Its so fun to look at each ornament and remember decorating the tree in years past. And I love waiting to find my very favorite one, which she actually GAVE to me this year! (The one in the bottom right that is minty green and says 'Merry Christmas!')

I also love making Christmas cookies. I usually do it twice. First at the beginning of December... just for fun. Then a second time right before Christmas as gifts for all my friends and family. :)

Mom came over one day when I had Ashton, and we made a TON of cookies.

Ashton had one, and he LOVED it.

I was really excited for Saturday. Why? I got to watch baby Cam again! I was his nanny from the time he was about 6 months old until he was almost 2! It was so cool to see him all grown up and talking! I'm used to talking to babies even when they can't respond, so I kept getting surprised when I would ask something and he would talk back! He is precious!

And lastly... I have developed a deep love for all vegetables. Its strange, but good. The other night, after watching the Grinch, I decided on going to Tacoma Boys. No matter that it was 12:30, they are open 24 hours! Thankfully Aaron came with me, because I might have fallen asleep driving home otherwise. Anyway, I love Tacoma Boys. And their vegetables. And yesterday I made mushrooms and broccoli and snap peas, all from Tacoma Boys, for lunch. If you've known me for any length of time, you would know this is not normal. But I guess I have a new normal?

Happy December!

Maybe its because I am always working. Or possibly its because I didn't have internet at my house for 6 months. Or perhaps its because my best friend now lives outside my bedroom door and whenever I have free-time, I usually spend it going on adventures with her. Whatever the reason, I have not been blogging.

When it comes to blog worthy stuff, I've done a lot. You know, like redoing furniture and decorating my house and building stuff and SEWING stuff and baking and cooking. But when it comes to taking pictures of it all and blogging about it so other people can see, I've definitely failed. And I feel terrible because many of my dearest friends live VERY far away and I want to keep them updated and reassure them that I am still alive and crafting.

So maybe my new year's resolution will be to blog more often? Probably not, because I NEVER keep resolutions. And actually, I never really make resolutions. So forget that.

I'm going to keep on living and blogging when I have a chance. So maybe tomorrow, next week, or next year.

Life in the PNW

And just like that, September is over. It flew by. Gone are the sunny, cool days and the newness of school. Now begins the gloomy, rainy, muddy weather for the next 7-8 months. Boots, scarves, jackets, hats, hot coffee, baking while it's raining out, pumpkin everything... I am overflowing with joy for these months.

Reflecting on the last few weeks, I am amazed at how good God is. I've been learning 2 Corinthians 12:9 first hand...

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

I have very few moments to myself, and they are usually spent sleeping. Otherwise I am working at Fox Hollow, making coffee for all the lovely faces of Orting. Or watching Ashton and playing with trucks and books and trains. Or doing endless homework and studying for Psychology and Apologetics. Or working at the high school, doing office work and talking to students and wishing it were my real job right now. Or running Maschhoff children somewhere... gymnastics, karate, school, Fox Hollow. :) I love all of these things, but there is absolutely no way I could do all of this on my own.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a worship night at Fox Hollow. It was the last time Mary, Sarah and I all worked together... bittersweet. :) I am so thankful for them in my life! We all went to high school together, each a year apart. I probably wouldn't have been close with them if it weren't for Fox Hollow, but now I can't imagine life without them! [Super cheesy, I know.] I used to think Mary was shy, but I know different now. She is honestly one of the funniest people I know. And Sarah is just plain wonderful. I will miss working with both of them, but I'm not worried about not seeing them. We all love crafting too much to stay apart. ;)

Speaking of crafting and September, I have been dying to have Scrabble magnets. I think they are the coolest thing ever. Well... Mary and Sarah made me a set for my birthday! I was so surprised and so happy! I went to Ikea with Gram like I do every year for my birthday, and I bought a white magnetic board for the letters. The verse I have up on it in the picture is Psalm 27:14. :)

Lastly, a picture of my sweet hometown. Pam makes fun of me because I am always in awe of Mt. Rainier. It is so beautiful! This picture is like a perfect fall day. Cloudy and cool but the mountain is peeking out! I love it!

Septembers.

My years always start in September. January is cool for everyone else, but its just how I've always marked my years. Its probably because that's when I was born. Or because school always feels like the beginning of the year... who knows.

Something I am really thankful for is that I started blogging so long ago. Sure... my first posts from back in the day are little annoying. I cringe reading some of them, and laugh at others. My spelling mistakes are ridiculous. And the things I thought were funny or interesting are surely not. But having my blog is a cool way to watch how I've grown over the years.

September 2006:

My senior year in high school. I had my little teal Pontiac and a ton of classes with Mr. Tarry. 3 out of 5, actually. My very best friends were Katy and Talicia. I'm pretty sure Katy and I had all the same classes.

September 2007:

I lived in Alabama. I didn't blog a lot for two reasons, I had school and a job. It was my first job, at Starbucks, and I loved it. The beginning of my coffee career! I said something about not having that real 'home feeling'. I think that has something to do with that age and stage in life.

September 2008:

Ah, 2008. My first year of my twenties. I worked at Forza and made about 5,000 new friends. I spent my days making coffee and my nights running around Puyallup like we ran the place. This was also the September that my precious Pontiac got crushed. Not by my doing, of course!

September 2009: (I didn't have a blog post in that September, WEIRD)

Probably my hardest year thus far in my life. I lived in Georgia for half of the month. My new car was smashed, I got two annoying tickets, I was homesick... but I grew a lot. God used that time in my life to really strengthen my relationship with Him, and to learn to trust Him fully.

September 2010:

This was another slightly hectic year. I had been a full-time nanny for almost a year at this point, and was feeling like I had no social life. Spending 12 hours a day with two boys who cannot talk, and no other human interaction... was really taking a toll on me. But this is also when I started to really enjoy antiquing and crafting and baking. And I took full advantage of naptime by doing all those things while the boys slept!

So that brings us to the present. September 2011. My life is full of biking and coffee making and school and nannying and younglife. I love every minute of it. God has blessed me with amazing people to work and live with. I'm sure I'll have a better reflection of this September in a few years, when I have more time to process it all. ;)

Fall Nights

At first, I thought I would be so bummed when the new football stadium was built.

What? No muddy field? EVERYONE will be able to sit down? The seats are covered? Where will all the middle schoolers walk around? I don't know about this...

It didn't take long to change my mind. In fact, I loved the new stadium from the very first game I went to last fall. I took this picture on Friday at Orting's game against White River. Is this not the most beautiful view? To the west, an orange-y pink sunset. To the east, Mt. Rainier set in a purple sky. When I hear the Orting fight song, this is the view that comes to mind. I love it!

I think the thing I love most about the new stadium, and the old stadium, is that the entire town is at the football game. I was talking with my friend Jessica, who I also happen to nanny for, about this. If you want to be a part of the community, you have to be at the games. Its where you meet everyone from Orting. Not that there are THAT many people to meet ;)

Being a YoungLife leader makes the games even more fun. We have kids on the field, in the band, on cheer and dance, and just hanging out watching the game. Never a dull moment. I love our tiny town.

First week of school!

I started my first week of classes today. As expected, it was PACKED. I did a lot of reading, watched a lot of videos and podcasts, and did some more reading. But I got everything done on time and only missed 2 questions on each of my quizzes!

We also had some beautiful nights this week. I snapped this picture on my way somewhere out of town. The colors make me so excited for football season! [WAR EAGLE!] :)

Lastly, my wonderful cousins Bri and Jami, and Bri's baby Leighton came down to Fox Hollow on Thursday! Leighton is the sweetest and newest member of our family. We were trying to get her to laugh and she was giving Jami the sideways eyes. :)

and the days go by...

Two things are keeping me from blogging consistently.

The first one is really simple, I don't have Internet at home. I'm not about to make a trip to Fox Hollow JUST to blog. Then I get writer's block and think everything I say is dumb.

The second one is that I literally do not have enough time. At all. I used to want to have a famous blog. How sweet would it be to blog all the time, and that be your job. Designing your blog, writing, taking pictures, talking to people all over the country... all from the comforts of your own home. I've come to the realization that famous blog writing is not in God's Will for me. :) Oh well.

That doesn't mean I won't blog anymore, I just won't really worry about it.

And that's okay, because you should see my fall line-up...

Opening at Fox Hollow. Volunteering at OHS in the counseling center [my favorite part of the day!!]. Work at the Business Solutions Center [learning how to run a small business, entrepreneurship, being able to pay my rent...]. Online classes at Liberty.

Did I mention that little schedule is 5 days a week? On top of that, I'll still be volunteering with YoungLife and at Calvary with their high school students. God has put high school kids on my heart for a reason. And I seriously can't ignore it.

So basically this post is to ask for prayer. Because if I'm not blogging, it means I'm doing all that crazy stuff with my time. And sleeping in between.

Here's a little bit of stuff from the past couple weeks...

I finally got around to getting a few NEEDED items for my house. A silverware organizer, hose and nozzle, tupperware, salad things [what are those called?] and... A SHOWER CURTAIN! :)

My WONDERFUL friends Justin and Heide gave us a firepit! So my dad brought over some pallets and we had a nice little fire in the backyard with our friends. Maybe someday when I'm not working we can do it again! :)

[Can I go on a tangent and say that I am SO THANKFUL and GRATEFUL for the people God has placed in my life? Okay good... I am SO THANKFUL and GRATEFUL for the people God has placed in my life. :)]

Lastly, it was my friend Carissa's birthday last weekend. She is allergic to gluten. Yes, yes... what a terrible thing, right? Well... wrong. I made these delicious gluten free cupcakes! They tasted great and the only thing I noticed was a slight difference in the texture. It was more like cornbread than cake. But it was good!

That is all for now my blog-reading friends and family. I'll try to keep you updated. :)

A place to study or blog.

So... this isn't COMPLETELY done, but I'm impatient. I just had to set it all up in my room to see how it looked.

The verdict...

Perfect!

I picked this nice little spot by my bedroom door. Maybe it will remind me to get my work done right when I walk into my room?

I am in love with my Washington/Oregon road map. I think its from the 70's... I got it at an antique store but its definitely not an antique. The colors in the map are my inspiration for the whole room.

The top of the desk is made from an old door from my old house. It had windows at the top, but we cut that part off. I obviously still need to paint/sand this side where it was cut.

The crates were the best idea. I told my mom about the door part. She replied that crates would be perfect as legs for storage. Probably because I already had two white crates. But I am currently using them for other things.

So my roommate, Jeanette, and I were at the antique store yet again, and I saw these crates. They said 7.50... which was alright, but I wasn't about to spend 30 bucks on a bunch of old beat up crates.

Then... SAME DAY... on my way home, I drove past Van Leirop's and voila! EXACT same crates... about 80 of them... stacked up with a piece of plywood that said 2 dollars each! Much, much better! Those sneaky antique people, trying to make 5.50 off old crates. Tsk tsk. I'm too smart for that!

:)

The only thing on the desk besides my computer is this precious oil lamp I found forever ago, and my jar of pens.

Besides painting and sanding, I ordered a big piece of glass to put over the whole thing. That way I can put a calendar and pictures or whatever I want in the sunk in part of the desk. And I will have a flat space to write and everything.

So there you have it. The beginning of my awesome desk. I'm in love.

Wedding inspiration!

In honor of my cousin's wedding today, and the fact that I love weddings, I decided to post some of my favorite wedding ideas/inspiration.

I used to really want to be a wedding planner. Now i think it will just be my side job, but thats okay.

:)

Anyway, I love the idea of different colors/styles of bridesmaid dresses. Maybe not different patterns like this picture, but it works. And I love it.

This is basically the cutest idea ever for refreshments if its a summer wedding.

Lastly, a barn. I personally want to get married at Mt. View in the white church building in Edgewood, but if that falls through, a barn like this would be very close second choice!

I have about 5000 different wedding ideas at all times. And I have already offered my planning services to all of my friends.

<3

For more of my favorite wedding ideas and inspiration, check out my wedding board on Pinterest here!

Summer Days

How have the days flown by so quickly?

June was a blur of moving, sunshine, trips to the ocean and coffee. July has been filled with camping, baby cousins, starry nights and new computers! :)

The following is the most unorganized grouping of pictures to sum up my summer days. From here on out... I promise I'll be neat. And that I'll blog frequently. And it will be awesome.

Pioneer Coffee Roasting Co. Cle Elum, WA. July 16, 2011.

Who would have thought that Cle Elum would have so many precious coffee shops? I can move there after all! ;) Pioneer USED to be my favorite, but we discovered a different one on the day we left... Coffee Cabin something? I'll get pictures of it soon. They are amazing! But Pioneer is great too, and so cute! :)

Greenwater, WA. July 3rd, 2011.

We went camping with Jeanette's friends. I thought this picture is so 'classic Washington'. Hipster TOMS [I'm not a hipster, though] and a campfire. I. Love. It.

LA Fitness. July 14, 2011.

I got a job in the Kid's Klub at LA Fitness. And this precious guy is one of my favorite kids in there. He is so cute! Look at that smile!!

Regal Tall Firs. HP 7p2 Premiere. July 14th, 2011.

My roommates and I went to the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 7p2 premiere at midnight on the 14th. IT WAS AWESOME. We saw it again on Sunday. :) It was like the closing of my childhood. Now I'm ready to be a grown up. :)

Draco. July 10, 2011.

Can you tell we love HP? We named our pup Draco! He is precious, mostly. And I must say... no matter how many times I've read Harry Potter and seen the movies, I ALWAYS hope Draco will turn out good in the end. Hmm... guess you'll have to watch it and see for yourself if my hopes come true or not!

Pacific Ocean. June 14th, 2011.

So we drove to the ocean at 9pm. It was lovely. Jordan MIGHT have gotten her car stuck in the sand. We MAY have had to call a tow. No big deal. It was a blast!

The Carbon River. June 7, 2011.

Right after we moved in, we walked down to the river to this BEAUTIFUL sight. I love it.

Lions Club Fields. Orting, WA. July 4th, 2011.

I love fireworks and the fourth!

Lake Tapps. July 4th, 2011.

Dad, Cole, Pam and I went to the Qunell's house on Lake Tapps for the 4th. It was a gorgeous day, and Pam and I took the paddle boat out for a ride. How beautiful is Washington? Seriously??

:)

Ready for it?

I now have a computer. A real life, fully functional computer. Capable of connecting to the internet, uploading pictures, saving pictures and of course, blogging.

I am so incredibly blessed. And so thankful. And so excited.

More later for sure. For now I must go figure out everything about it.

Inspiration... Thursday: Craft Party.

A few weeks ago, Mary, Sarah and I were talking about crafts. Actually... Sarah was completely set on making a necklace and everyone else was busy so she had to craft alone.
That led to us deciding to have a craft party as soon as I moved into my new house.
Now that I'm moved into my new house... I need to think of some craft ideas!

So onto Pinterest I went. As usual. Because I am addicted and its so cool.
I found like 29347974 things to craft, but these are my top ideas/ones I can actually afford to do ASAP. :)

First is a memory jar. You write down exciting things [or mundane things, whatever] throughout the year and place them in the jar. Then on New Years... you open it up and read them. SO FUN. I think I'm going to convince all my roommates to do this as well.

Next are some map hearts. What would I do with them? I don't know. I don't really care. I just love maps and I love hearts. The end.

Lastly I'm going to make a chalkboard calendar. I love the idea. And I love post its. PERFECT.

For our snack/dessert, we're going to make fruit pizza. I first had it in Louisiana at the VBS potluck. Amazing. Its basically a sugar cookie crust, cream cheese/marshmallow 'sauce' and whatever fruits you like on top.

THIS is a good enough recipe. I'm more of a figure it out as I go person... instead of following a recipe. But for you followers out there...
:)

UPDATE: Complete with pictures. :)

As promised, I am updating my blog with some more pictures. Again, only phone quality, but seriously... what are you going to do about it?

First up... working at the school. Just a taste of my morning last week. Typing up a list of addresses with my white chocolate americano and a view of the front lawn of OHS. LOVE it.

:)

This next picture is really two in one. First... the pallet shelves. I love them. And am making them for my new house. Because my dad has an unending pile of pallets at his work that I get for FREE. :)

Second... have you heard of Pinterest? It is just about the coolest website/app out there right now. You can tag any picture on the website and sort it into 'boards'. Like a home inspiration, style, DIY... etc. It is so addicting and amazing.

Check out my 'pins' at pinterest.com/meaganmaki

Thirdly... my 'side' of fruit at Little Cheerful in Bellingham. It was AMAZING. Except I didn't eat the cantaloupe because it makes my lips and throat go numb. Not good.

Lastly, my collection of kitchen-y things that I started packing for the new house. Yay!! Soon soon SOON I will be posting pictures from the new house. BE EXCITED. :)

Super short and sweet and to the point.

What the hail?

No really, its hailing right now. Thankfully I'm nice and cozy indoors with my coke zero and h&m sweater. Others may complain, but I love rainy spring days. I've said it before and I will say it again... true Washingtonian right here.

ANYWAY... its obvious that once again I have failed as a blogger. I let yet another month go buy without even the teeniest, tiniest post. But I have good reasons. Great reasons actually. I've been making coffee, working at the high school, doing YoungLife and hiking every chance in between.

Fox Hollow is seriously wonderful. As a barista, it continues to amaze me how little my job has to do with making coffee and how much it has to do with relationships. At Starbucks and Forza, the job was so fast paced that it was hard to authentically interact with customers. It's like constantly being on stage... cheery and outgoing, but no real depth. At Fox Hollow it is much more laid back. While I pray continually that business picks up, its still pretty slow and we have lots of time to really get to know customers. And gosh, do we have amazing customers.

People battling cancer, children battling cancer. People who have lost jobs, houses and family members. People with passions for students, dog parks and hiking. Mechanics, entrepreneurs, pastors, students, teachers, moms, grandparents, restaurant owners, bikers and bicyclists [not to be confused with one another :)], hikers, runners, coaches, hair stylists, bus drivers... the list goes on. Some of them I am able to encourage, and all end up encouraging me. It sounds cheesy, I know. But their stories amaze me daily.

I could go on forever about our customers. But instead, come in... get some coffee and hang out. :)

I've also been working at the high school, which I love more and more everyday. Since I am going to school to be a high school counselor [or middle school? or elementary?], I started volunteering at my old high school. I am getting a TON of hands on experience working with students and other counselors, on top of building my resume. :) I talk with seniors who are endanger of failing a class they need to graduate [not the fun part, but still part of the job]. I discuss other seniors plans after graduation [so interesting to hear all the different plans!]. I spend time with the other counselors, listening in on meetings with parents, students and staff... discussing running start, problems at home and school politics. I really love it all.

Lets see... YoungLife. I tried it once and swore I would never be a YoungLife leader again. I know it sounds harsh, but it was a terrible experience. Students, leaders, everything. No need to go into detail, but I was SO over it and never going back. Fast forward almost 4 years... here I am again. Its funny how when you tell God that you never want to do something/go somewhere/talk to someone, He right away reminds you who is really in charge. But I am so so so thankful! Through my friend Jordyn, I met Heide, the YoungLife leader in Orting. [Did I also mention that I told God I didn't want to be back in Orting ever again? Ha... ha... ha......] Jordyn met Heide through our college pastor and introduced her to me while I was making coffee one day. I made her a white chocolate americano and we became best friends. Okay, not really. But she did say I should come be a YoungLife leader. Yeah, good joke, I thought. I told her I'd check it out but I do not give into peer pressure [true statement]. She laughed. I went to check it out. Now I am stuck doing it again. ;)

There's more to the story, and I really love the Orting kids. And Orting YoungLife. And Heide! I am so thankful that God placed her in my life. His timing is PERFECT. As always. Shoulda known, right? Hah.

Is this post weird because it has no pictures and lots of words? Sorry. If you don't like reading, come back in a couple weeks. I might have pictures. ;)

Moving on... hiking. How many more things can I claim to love in one blog post? One more? Okay good because I LOVE HIKING. Best way to exercise EVER. Doesn't really even feel like regular exercising until the day after when you can't move your legs. Okay, just joking. But I really do love hiking. Mt. Peak has been conquered. Sarah, Mary and I are moving onto Mt. Si. And about 18367 other trails found in a 1980's hiking book one of our loyal customers at the Hollow let me borrow. I am so extremely excited and will most definitely post pictures soon!

I feel like this post has been a little high energy. Maybe its the coke zero? Oh well, until next time, have a lovely day!

:)

April showers...

Where have I been? What's new? Besides the fact that I am a failure as a blogger. A lot is new. Too much to explain in a little old blog. But I will upload some pictures to catch you up. :)

For Easter, Mom, Jarv and I went to Abundant Life for church and Around the Corner Cafe for lunch. It was such a sweet, rainy, Orting type of day. I loved it. Then mom and I watched some HP... you know, my fave. Lastly, we had dinner with my dad's side of the family at my aunt's house. Our family is always entertaining. :) ... we always have something to laugh about. My aunt gave me these BEAUTIFUL tulips that are getting prettier everyday. Time with family + rejoicing in the fact that Jesus is alive = a wonderful Easter.

<3

The week before Easter, I watched Cole while Dad and Shawn went to South Dakota. This year, Orting's seniors put on a 'Senior Class Olympics'. Where the seniors went up against the staff in a variety of random events. It cost money, but it was for a good cause. And we got to enjoy the beautiful yet VERY cold view in the new stadium. Will I ever get used to the new field? I don't think so, but I will try. :)

Yup. Dayquill. Sickness sucks.
[But I loooove me some coffee too. :)]

My latest addiction, Greek vanilla yogurt with strawberries and granola. Summer in a bowl for sure.

Aww Millie. She was pretending to eat a donut that did NOT belong to her. :) She would get sooooo close to touching it, then snap her head back up in laughter. She is so precious!

Can you tell I'm enjoying having an iphone? I took about 297974 pictures of the sunset last night on my way to pick up Claire from ballet. The sky was gorgeous!!

I'll leave you with this sweet image. While at the dance studio, Miles climbed up there because it was 'so awesome'. Makes me think of my dad telling me he used to ride in the back window on car trips. Ha. DON'T WORRY. We were definitely parked, keys out of the ignition, in a secure parking space. :) Love that boy.

I'll try to be a better blogger now.

<3