Monday, August 30, 2010

Trip Home to Boise!!!

I'm back from Boise... did you even know I was gone? I had an amazing time! I got to see my friend Kira's baby, Emma. And, I got to see my friend Annie's baby, Trey. They were both so cute!!! Annie let me hold Trey for two hours. I was in Heaven! :) I love catching up with old friends... there's nothing like hanging out with people who have known you since you've had braces! :) I also got to catch up with my good friend, Joe. We were such good friends in middle school/high school, I am so glad he still puts up with me after all these years! :) Thanks to all the amazing people I got to see this weekend for making my trip home just great! I also got to hang out with my fabulous parents. We went to see The Scarlett Pimpernel at the Starlight Mountain Theatre in Crouch. If you live in Idaho and have a chance to go to a play there, do it! The actors are soo talented and I have loved every play I've seen there. This play was especially good (aside from the smell of smoke since the mountains were on fire the whole time we were up there!) Today, my mom and I went to the MK Nature Center. Basically, the whole trip was amazing, but I am happy to be back home in Seattle with my lovely Tiramisu. :)
Me and my amazing friend, Kira :)
My mom and I at the play
My lovely parents :)
The fawn at the MK Nature center... so cute!
Kind of blurry, but still cute
Peaking over at me
Such a pretty area!
The fish through the glass
Yeah, that's my reflection taking the pic :)
Ignore the crazy girl obsessed with the camera and look at the huge fish! :)
So, I thought this was the giant sturgeon they advertise...
Until I saw this guy! I only got a pic of half of him!
And this is what I like to call "Classic Idaho"

Now, I am sure some people may be offended by my statement, but it is my blog, and in my opinion it's the truth. I just love the church symbol as well as the bash on Obama... love thy neighbor, shall we? Not that I am one to judge b/c as we all know politics and religion are just not things you should argue about, if you want to keep your friends, well friends. :) But I had to share it. All in all I love Boise. I love my friends there. I love all the summer activities, and I love my family. Boise will always be in my heart, and I am glad I lived there for 5 1/2 years. :)

Thursday, August 12, 2010

I Am Loving...

This Book!



Read it! Love it! Live it! :) Whatever you do, enjoy it. It is such an amazing story and so relatable. I mean who hasn't struggled with depression, relationships, living in the moment, truly knowing how to be happy just being where you are right now. I know, I have had some issues with that. I am in the "India" portion right now, and excited to see what this section brings. Italy was a great story, but she eats so much, it made me kind of hungry the whole time. :) Hoping this portion of the book doesn't make me want to eat so much... hey, maybe that's why I've gained a few pounds this week? Haha, j/k...

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Crazy Cat Lady

Call me that if you will, but to be fair, I have yet to post anything about the love of my life, Miss Tiramisu. Yes, and she has the best name ever. She is the sweetest little kitty ever, only she's about 5 now, so really not a kitty at all anymore. She is a little scared of, well, life, but she is fine when she is just around me. She doesn't like loud noises, fast movements, men, the outside and big animals. All these things scare her. She is literally the epitome of a "scaredy-cat". She does, however, love to lay on the bath mat, watch the birds, try to catch flying insects that have made their way into my apartment, and of course snuggle. I love her more than words and would ask that she please never leave me. :)

Next to my bed, another favorite spot of hers, she loves to kick off my cell phone so she has enough room to perch.
All snuggled on top of the covers
Looking at me on the floor while she is on the chair, she probably thinks I'm crazy, but don't most animals think we humans are nuts? :)

The Going Ons

So, my life has been pretty boring lately, so I'll update you on all the amazing things going on with the great people I get to surround myself with. :)

This pretty lady, my besty from high school, Annie, just had her first baby! Trey Parker came on Friday weighing 9lbs 9oz. I can't wait to meet him in person when I head back to B-town in the end of August! I don't have any pictures of him yet, but he's got cute parents, so I'm sure he's a handsome little devil :)



My other besty, Shakira, found out she was pregnant awhile ago. She is now 13 weeks, so I can finally talk about it! She wanted to make it through the first trimester first. I got her a coach diaper bag when I was down in LA. I broke the no present rule before the first trimester is over, but I think she forgave me. :)




This is not the real thing, just a pic I got off the internet, but you get the idea.


My office building had a fire on Thursday, so we got a surprise three day weekend. However, I have sooo much work to do, it wasn't the best time for a break! Our suite didn't have any water damage, so we are back to work tomorrow, running on a generator!
We moved into our new suite on Thursday two weeks ago, and we used our small waste baskets and recycle bins to carry our cords, keyboards, phones, etc. Well, the cleaning crew came through that night and THREW ALL OUR STUFF AWAY!!! Now, I understand it was in a recycle bin or trash bin, however, it was pretty clear they were being used as storage and not garbage. The cleaning crew even called their supervisor and said, we are throwing a lot of stuff away, and the supervisor said, "If it is in the garbage, it is garbage, so throw it out!" Not, maybe we should wait a day and see if it's still there tomorrow!

So, after a few thousand dollars later, we are up and running again, to only have a fire now, too! They say bad things happen in threes, so let's see what happens next. If we could have something that seems bad, but is really good, that would be great. :)

Sunday, July 25, 2010

West Seattle's Best Kept Secret

I love love love living here in Seattle. I don't mind the rain and we have the BEST summers. My favorite thing about summer is laying out, swimming and getting tan. My biggest complaint about Seattle is there is no where to go swimming. Since it is only nice for three months (swimming weather that is), there are not a lot of public pools, and the one's I have found are indoors. And, the Puget Sound is dirty, I'm not about to swim there. Lake Washington is okay, but I really like pools. However, thanks to this guy at work, my friend Nicole and I stumbled upon Colman pool. I am in love!!! It is set right on the Sound with a huge clear wind screen so the view is gorgeous. It is an olympic sized pool, has two diving boards and a water slide, and only costs $4 to get in! ($5 if you want to go on the waterslide.) It was crowded, but not too bad. And, to get there you have to go on a little hike through the woods. Basically, the whole thing was amazing, and I cannot wait to go back. So, now this city is not lacking anything, at least for me. :) Oh, and did I mention this pool is only 10 minutes from my house? So, now I know the real reason people don't ever want to leave West Seattle. Haha :) That's a whole other post, but West Seattlites are different than the rest of Seattle. They NEVER want to leave West Seattle, they usually only go out in West Seattle, and while they may work downtown, they hurry back home to the safety net. :) We have our own parades and festivals over here, and it is just different than the rest of the city. Check out this http://westseattleblog.com/... we even have our own blog! Haha...I love it here too. I have been converted to a West Seattlite, and I love our little community over here! I forgot to get pics of me and Nicole until after we got wet, and then I didn't want to. (Me looking like a drowned rat is not that pretty.) Here are some pics I found on line to show how great this place is!

The trail to get there...

The pool and the wind screen overlooking the sound

I can't wait to go back... oh and it's purified saltwater instead of chlorine for a taste of the Pacific!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

My Trip in Words

So... the pics may make it seem like I had an amazing time, and I did, but here were the things that happened that weren't caught on film.

Both of my cousins have boyfriends, so I spent a lot of the first weekend being the fifth wheel. It was okay. Both of their boyfriends are great guys, so it was not too hard to hang out with them all, just the ever present feeling of being alone. So, I was excited to see my friend Kate and hang out with her for a couple days.

Also, the most surprising part was the amazing time I had catching up with Kristen. I say surprising because we really weren't that close in high school other than the heart to heart we had one day under a slide while we were "working" at Roaring Springs. Don't really remember too much of the convo, just thinking, this girl is sweet and I wish I would have gotten to know her better. I am really glad eight years later, I have! :)

Some girl tried to fight me at a bar one night. She walked in and sat down on a pool table where my cousin and her friends were in the middle of the game. Hello?!! What are you doing? Well, apparently, I gave her a look, which I don't remember but I'm sure I did b/c really pull it together girl. She walked over and said something like, "What is your problem?" I was like, "Excuse me? What is your problem?" To which she says "Your face is my problem!" Oh, to be so intoxicated you can't say anything better! So, I said, "Oh, really?" And she said, "I don't know you and you can't look at me like that!" I said, "You're right, you don't know me, so why don't you turn around and walk away." She asked the standard, "You want to take this outside?" I looked at her swaying body that had clearly been overserved that night, and decided I would save her the trouble of falling over as she attempted to hit me (Plus, really, I may act tough, but no one really wants to fight, especially when you realize how lame it really is at 26!) So, I said, "I don't think that is a good idea, why don't you and your pajama pant boyfriend just walk away." (Okay, so I got a little rude, but I was annoyed. I also later found out that there was a pajama party nearby which explained the bf's ensemble.) She made me "cheers" to her glass. I tried to explain that I didn't have a drink b/c I was not hittin the bottle that night like she was, so she insisted I pick up an empty glass to cheers with. I obliged and it was over. Apparently, then we were friends b/c she started telling me how they got cut off and kicked out of the last bar they were at. I was like, hmmm, I'm not surprised! I started talking to someone else, and was happy to see her get escorted out by security a few minutes later. Oh man! This is why you shouldn't drink too much. You end up looking dumb and being a part of someone's blog. Haha...

That same night, I met these guys, and told them, "I'm visiting from Seattle." They said, "Oh, we can tell you are not from here." I was a little taken aback b/c I had blond hair and had worked on my tan. What they said to my, "How?" was quite the surprise and kind of a complement (or a burn to all the girl's he was referring too, sorry!) They said, "Well, you are nice... you smile...and you began a conversation with us, as if you are not better than anyone." Wow... so sweet! Apparently, girls there (and not all, my friends down there aren't like this, but I am assuming they meant single girls they meet in the bars), have "an edge" and just aren't very nice. Score one for being raised in Boise and living in Seattle now.

In general, the trip was pretty good, but I couldn't live there. It just seemed very unnatural. Fake boobs, cement everywhere, no grass, sporadic palm trees that have been planted to make it look better, did I mention the fake boobs? I hate fakeness and feeling like you have to look a certain way through surgery. I am all for working out, eating healthy, being healthy, but not using surgery to obtain perfection. What I have learned this past year of really trying to get in shape is how important it is to love yourself. If you look in the mirror and are forever picking at the imperfections, you will never be happy. I am still working on this, but this trip showed me how important it is.

I also learned how grateful I am for my friends. I am so happy with the people I have chosen to surround myself with. While I met a lot of nice people down there, I love love love my friends up here. Seattle is my home, and going on vacation without at least one of my friends was a little tough. Next vacation I am taking my girlfriends and we are going to have an amazing time... now where should we go, I'm thinking maybe Vegas???... and P.S.... Kristen... you are invited! :)

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

My Trip in Pictures

I went to LA last week to visit my cousins. Here was my trip in pictures:

I layed on the beach...
Got a little sunburned!
Met a guy with an amazing mullet... yes it's real!
Hung out with lots of new people, such as these guys
And Lindsey, who is so sweet!
I caught up with the cousins...
And met up with some amazing friends from high school...
Such as Kristen, who I love and hope to see again sometime soon! Seriously, if you don't know her get to know her. She is an amazing person, and I am so glad to have reconnected with her!
And Kate... the bestie from back in the day! I love this girl more than words and know we will forever be friends... sorry Kate... you are stuck with me :)
Went to Laguna Beach, because I am a reality tv slut...
Met Kate's boyfriend, Adam there.
Decided to squeeze into a phone booth with them both. :)
Took a pic of the old Beverly Hills: 90210 beach house...
Put my feet in the ocean... because it was a bit too chilly to really swim
Had lunch here...
With her, my amazing cousin. Erin, thank you so much for being such an amazing host. I could not ask for a better cousin, and I had a great time with you!


And all in all had a pretty good trip. I will write more on the specifics/funny stories later!