Here I am...

I know many of the followers of Newsome News have wondered - where is Matt Newsome? His lovely wife, Erin, is always posting and updating the masses on what's new with the Newsome family. I figured it was time for me to break my silence.

Things have been busy for us lately, as you can tell. New house, dog, and job. We are having a great time with all three. The house is a challenge at times, but I'm willing to learn and do whatever needs to be done. So far Erin's dad Rick and I have revented the dryer, sanded and repainted the kitchen cabinets, replaced the kitchen and family room dry wall and installed new lighting. The list goes on.

Ezekiel Newsome, or Zeke is giving us a run for our money. To date, we've lost: 1 MacBook power supply and two iPhone chargers. All three have been plugged in while Zeke attempted to consume them. I guess he likes the taste of electricity?

My job has been great. I just finished my training. I started in February at the Academy and just finished my Field Training with Seattle last week. I am now working at the West Precinct, 3rd watch. My area includes Belltown and Pike Place Market. So far, so good. I really enjoy it.

I'll figure out how post some pictures and videos soon.

Meow!

Apple Cup

What a great game! Yesterday Matt and I went to the Apple Cup to watch the Huskies completely shut out the Cougars, 30-0. It was the last home game that we had tickets for. I love my Huskies - there is nothing better than watching them win! GO DAWGS!

Thankful

I love Thanksgiving. It is such a warm, cozy holiday. This year Matt and I spent the afternoon at my mom and dad's house with the Walton side of the family. We had a smaller group than usual - only 12 people. This meant that for the first time I can remember, I actually got to sit at the "grown up table." This is a very big deal. For years and years, I have always sat at the "kid's table." Even though all of my cousins can be considered adults now, we have such a big group that we usually end up at 2 tables. It was fun to sit at one big table and enjoy our delicious turkey day feast. I was SO thankful to have Matt sitting next to me, as only a week earlier, we weren't sure of his work schedule.

He is now finished with his training and is no longer riding with his field training officer. Matt's assignment is 3rd watch - 7:30 pm - 4:30 am in the West Precinct. This came as a surprise to Matt since he had not listed this precinct on his placement request form. Nevertheless, he has jumped right in and likes it so far. His area includes downtown - from Westlake Center, through Belltown and down to the waterfront (here is a map - Matt's area is the "M" section.) It's a busy area that time of night for sure. Hopefully soon I'll have Matt update our blog with some stories of a typical night in his new precinct.

Although nights can be hard with Matt not coming home until 5 am or so, it is wonderful to have his afternoons free. He had to work on Thanksgiving, but we were still able to spend the whole afternoon together and eat dinner before his shift started. I have to say that is definitely something I can be thankful for.

We brought Zeke to Thanksgiving at my parent's house and I was so proud of him. He did a great job with all the people around. I love his sweet, friendly nature. He just wants to be everyone's best friend. He loved playing with Sonny Boy, my Aunt Lisa's pomeranian. He also loved his first taste of turkey and showing off his new holiday collar.

My baby dog doesn't look very much like a puppy anymore. I can't believe he's almost 5 months old!

Another Thanksgiving highlight for me was playing Mexican Train. Somehow this has become a holiday tradition and I just love it. Matt has yet to get on board, but someday he will realize how fun it is.

I was in charge of pies this Thanksgiving, which is definitely my favorite job. I can't think of anything more fun on Thanksgiving morning than making pumpkin pie and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This year I made 2 pumpkin pies. Matt and I also bought a pie from his basketball team for their fall fundraiser (we have to support the Lady Knights any way we can!) I had low expectations for the store bought pies, but I was wrong... they came from the fabulous Karl's Bakery in Everett and they were amazing. They almost outshone my homemade pumpkin pies, but not quite! Somehow we ended up with an extra pie from the fundraiser, which brought us to 4 pies total: my 2 pumpkin, plus a cherry and lemon meringue. Holy moly that's a lot of pie!

The wonderful weekend has continued with a visit to Gig Harbor and a second Thanksgiving feast with the Clegg family. I had such a great day with Karen in the Harbor - we did a little shopping, had lunch and peppermint cocoa, and got some ornaments as a special gift from her mom. It was a great day.

The best part is that the weekend is still not over. Matt and I are headed to Apple Cup in just a little while. Hopefully my next post will include details of a Husky victory. GO DAWGS!

The Holidays are Coming!

I couldn't be more excited. I love this time of year. While I'll admit that it does seem a little early for the red cups to be coming out at Starbucks, I still get that excited, cozy feeling that Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. With each year that goes by in my life, time seems to fly by faster and faster. When I was little, my brother and I would make Christmas countdown chains. It seemed to take forever to get to December. Now, I look at the calendar and wonder how it is already November. Last time I checked it seemed to still be summer. I'm not sure what the holidays will look like for the Newsome's this year. We still don't know Matt's schedule. He may be working for some, or all of the holidays. We might have to be flexible and have Christmas morning breakfast for dinner or open our presents on the 26th. We'll just have to see what happens...

In the meantime, I'm daydreaming about decorating our new house for the holidays. Sure, we're in the middle of installing lights in the kitchen and currently have no ceiling. That doesn't matter. I am already thinking about how cute our Christmas tree will look in our new living room. Along with decorating the house, I also have to decorate the puppy. Wouldn't Zeke look adorable in this reindeer collar? What about the plaid one? I discovered Pecan Pie Puppies and am absolutely in love with their collars. We'll see which collar I can convince Matt to get for our charming little guy.

Sad Day

Today is the memorial service for Officer Timothy Brenton, the Seattle police officer who was killed last weekend. It is so incredibly sad and terrible to think that someone could commit such a cold-blooded murder like this. Matt and I have definitely been shaken up by the whole event. I have been giving him an extra tight hug before he leaves for work every day, but at the same time I've been trying not to let myself get too worried about him. Events like this don't happen very often and my worrying won't help in any way. It has been comforting for me to see how the whole city and police department has come around the family and really honored this officer. I'm happy to know that Matt and I are part of a department that cares so much about its officers and family members. The whole event has been a dose of reality and a reminder for me to be thankful for each day.