Weekend Update: WordCamp, Roommates, Thrifting and more

This past weekend was great--a mixture of fun and events with some good downtime. The perfect combination.

Friday night, the roomies, a good friend, and I went to Red Mill for burgers and milk shakes, and then to a bar for a little hang out time. We ate too many calories (totally worth it) and spent a lot of time laughing.

Saturday morning I woke up bright and early to catch the bus downtown for WordCamp Seattle. Thanks to awesome sponsors, the event was only $20 and had some interesting and knowledgable speakers. I'm working on consolidating some of my thoughts and notes from the event into a more useful form, but I definitely will share some of it.

It was interesting to think about blogging from two perspectives. For me, this blog is not a business, brand, or anything similarly related. I blog for myself, to share my life, and interact with great friends (from both online and IRL).

I'm not trying to make money, sell ads, or support my life. As you may remember, writing just isn't that important to me. But it was a good reminder of some best practices I can be using for the blog right now (like, say, an editorial calendar so I actually post more than once a week).

At the same time, I am studying and using online/social tools to promote blogs right now. And the management involved in those blogs is something I need to invest more time and energy into.

If you're interested, I'd be glad to share some tips and tricks that I picked up here, but I don't want to bore you all with the details.

Sunday was another pretty relaxed day. My roommate and I finished the season of Private Practice. Does anyone else watch that show? How did you feel about the ending? Sunday night we had roommate dinner at a yummy (but kind of pricey) Mexican place. In fact, I just finished up my leftovers as a post-class snack.

In related news, I am signing up for a gym this week.

Today, my sister and I drove about half an hour to hang out with my dad. He brought a good friend to the area for cancer treatment (thoughts and prayers appreciated!!!).

We took the opportunity for a father-daughter date, complete with lunch, thrifting, and smoothies. We have our priorities straight around here. I managed to finally snag a chambray/jean button up in amazing condition.

For now, I'm off to bed. Here's to the start of a great week.

Awkward and Awesome: Deadline Edition

Happy Thursday! Okay really, it's Friday since the day is over. The good news about that, it's basically the weekend. Yay!

I just wanted to share a few moments from my past week. Hopefully I'll be back with more soon.

Awkward:
- The fact that it's been a week since I lasted posted. Sorry folks! I'll be back with more soon.
- Reaching the end of the day and realizing that I really need to go grocery shopping and don't really have a dinner option. Grilled cheese it is.
- The increased sun has caused my motivation to drop a little, just generally, but I'm hoping a couple relaxed days will get me back on track.
- The ending of Grey's Anatomy. I just caught up on the season today with my lazy day and that ending was a downer. Does anyone else watch?

Awesome:
- A really fun weekend in Portland. I got to hang out with some awesome people, eat some delicious food, and hear some great stories. Hopefully I'll be back soon with a round up.
- Booking a ticket to go visit my cousin in June.
- Receiving my first Vox Box from Influenster. It's full of beauty goodies to try out. I haven't had a chance to play with it yet, but hope to this weekend. I'll let you know what I think.
- Plans for breakfast in the morning to catch up with a good friend. The early hour is totally worth it.
- Enjoying the nice weather recently with some outdoor running. There's nothing like it.

I'm basically two weeks away from being done with the quarter. Crazy! What have you been up to?

Awkward and Awesome: Bullets Again

It probably seems ridiculous for me to do another bulleted list so soon (as in a day later), but there's nothing you can do to stop this madness. I don't even think I have the power to stop it.

Anyways, you have two choices: read it or ignore it.

Awkward:
- More mold in the apartment. The window surround in our bedroom was gross. And I found two pairs of my heels were beyond saving. Sad days. Also, I'm sharing this with before my landlord...but I did already clean it all up.
- The cover of Time this week. There's nothing you can say that will convince me otherwise. It's not even about the topic, but how the picture was posed and taken.
- My laziness and lack of focus the past two days. Seriously. My projects are taking me forever. Even this oh-so complicated blog post.
- Trying to grocery shop when my list is on the phone I'm talking on. I came with some things I definitely didn't need and without some important items. I'll make it worth.

Awesome:
- A classmate introducing me to the TV show Sports Night. It's pretty awesome and a total flashback. Probably has something to do with the lack of focus mentioned above.
- A trip to Portland this weekend in an RV. Woot woot. It's for class, but I'm hoping to meet up with some good family friends along the way.
- The weather. I mentioned this yesterday, but it's supposed to be in the 80s the entire time I'm down in Portland. I probably should be more upset about this as a sign of global warming or something, but I'm just going to enjoy it.
- Chocolate and peanut butter ice cream. Fancy cheeses. Tater tots. Though not together.
- Having Amazon Prime and getting things shipped in two days. It's especially good because my vacuum cleaner's bag was getting really full.

I better just stop myself there and try to get a few things done. I'd love to be able to check at least one item off my to-do list tonight. Even if it's just making and eating dinner.

Sadly, it might be a challenge.

Before I go, how's your week?

My Life in Bullets

By bullets, I mean bullet points. I don't want you all to get worried. No violence happening here.

I was gone all weekend in the land of little cell reception and lousy internet service, so I didn't get a post up for five days, not that I really expected to, but the choice was out of my hands.

And I feel like I'm still trying to get back in the groove of things. (Story of my spring.) So I thought I'd go with bullet points for a post today, because then I don't have to come up with one complete thought.

• First of all, you need to watch this video. It was made at Seattle Children's Hospital and is just too cool for school. 

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• It's happy hour week at Starbucks. Stop in to get a frappe and pay half price between 3 and 5pm local time. Seriously delicious.
• Along with that, the sun has actually been out here in our neck of the woods. Last year we didn't get over 70 degrees until sometime in July (it was ridiculous), but we're on pace to get close to 80 this weekend. Smiley face!
• Graduation ceremonies are a lot more palatable now that I have an iPhone. More boredom was reduced significantly thanks to Words with Friends and Draw Something.
• I'm seriously contemplating dying my hair back to its natural brown. Mostly out of laziness. But I do love the red I've been rocking. Thoughts?
• I'm completely distracted today and have managed because of that to accomplish very little. Can the weekend get here already?

Any bullets to share about your week so far?

Awkward and Awesome: Fighting with Stuff

I've been fighting the internet here at my aunt and uncle's all night. Their satellite internet provider oversold their bandwidth so certain times of day are completely impossible. It's like I'm living in the dial-up era. I feel bad for my aunt and uncle having to live with this all the time.

I'm sure any day now their just shoot a new satellite up there. Apparently that's the only option. Which has me thinking, exactly how many satellites are just floating around in the atmosphere.

Anyway, here are my awkward and awesome moments for the week. This was started by Sydney over at the Daybook, in case you are interested (or think I'm the genius--I'm not).

Awkward:
- Almost dying when I accidentally inhaled a jalapeno slice I was chewing on.  I'm usually good with spicy stuff, but this was awful!
- My computer telling me I need to replace the battery.  The hard part is I think I'll need a new computer before too long so spending $150 for a battery doesn't really seem worth it if I'm not going to have it more than 6 months.
- Finding mold growing on my passport. I mean, I know it's been a while since I used it, but not that long.
- Having leftover salad dressing somehow spill out of the closed tupperware and all over my backpack.
- Not being able to find my flight vouchers from Delta. I either put them somewhere so safe and hidden I can't find it, or I tossed them. Neither option is working well for me.
- Having to get new license plates this year and having to pay to keep your old number, but getting a new one for free. Weird.

Awesome:
- Seeing the family this weekend over on the east side of the state. We'll eat food, take pictures, and talk...the usual. Plus I'll get to see my cousin's little guy.
- More travel coming up. I'm in eastern Washington for my cousin's graduation this weekend, will be in Oregon next weekend, and will head out to the middle of the country later this month for a fun road trip. And yes I do enjoy a good roadtrip. Plenty of more pictures to come, too!
- I bought trip insurance for the first time in forever and then used it almost immediately when I figured out that I booked the flight for the wrong day. That's what happens when you are flying out just after midnight.
- Adult capri suns. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? They are the adult beverages that come in the large disposable container that looks like, well, a capri sun. I had a margarita tonight that my aunt gave me.
- Jim Gaffigan's new special. So hilarious. And you can buy it on his website for $5. That's a crazy good deal. Go do it!!
- I have approximately a month left of the quarter. That's not even that much, folks. What are you counting down the days to?

P.S. Jim Gaffigan didn't give me any money. Just laughs.

One Last Pile of Photos

I thought I'd share the last few photos from my trip. It has only been a week and a half since I got home so that's not too bad.

These are from Pittsburgh, Lisbon, Cleveland, and Erie (with a couple thrown in my from brief stint at the airport/Marriot in Philly. Enjoy!

P.S. Thanks for all your comments yesterday!! I'm glad I'm not alone in those struggles sometimes when it comes to blogging.

 Loved all these old buildings in Pittsburgh.

 A shot of downtown from across the river by the stadiums (stadia?).

 The riverfront area was gorgeous.

 A sandwich from the famous Primanti Bros (pictured below). Slaw and fries included inside.

 This spot has been open since the '30s and stays open 24 hours a day year round.

 How we travel.

 Hello from a sandwich.

 Republican headquarters in Lisbon, Ohio.

 Awesome old Ace Hardware with glass jars of gardening seeds.

 And really cool built in cabinets.

 The oldest brick building in Ohio, found in Lisbon.

 A shot of the Cleveland skyline at night.

 University Inn, our dinner spot, full of Polish deliciousness.

 Breakfast at the West Side Market in Cleveland. Pasties, pies and more.

 A shot of the hustle and bustle.

Coffee girls staying busy.

 My plane was kind of small, just one little propellor on each side. And it was turbulent enough that we all got air off our seats. Good times!

 Some sort of dance event was going on at the Philly Airport Marriot. 

 The dresses were ridiculous. Also, I'm the paparazzi. 

So excited to see home! The beautiful Olympic Mountains.

The Thing About Words

I've been doing so much writing elsewhere in my life that sometimes I get to this blog and the words have run dry. It's not that there aren't things going on in my life or thoughts to share, but I just run out of steam.

My days are filled with stories, emails, phone calls, tweets, FB posts, texts, and much more. In some ways it's kind of weird. I've never been a person that has to write, that has that itch. My mom does.

But my mind isn't full of stories or thoughts that scream to be let out. Instead, I actually enjoy mulling things over inside.

I have to value this blog as a place to share little pieces of me and my life. And it's not that I don't have ideas for more posts. In fact, I have a handful or two of started but not finished drafts.

I'd like to think that things will slow down and change over the summer, but it doesn't really look that way. Grad school has made my life full, in ways that are wonderful and exciting. I wouldn't change that for a minute.

I think it really comes to down to better managing my time and maybe working blog writing into my schedule. Up to this point, I haven't really needed to. There's always been time to make things work.

Don't worry though, I'm not announcing a break, calling it quits, or declaring my dislike for blogging. I'm just voicing a few things I've been feeling/dealing with for this space.

For now though, I'm just going to roll with the punches and post when I get around to it. If I can just get through the next four weeks, things should get a little better. I think.

Until then, I'm just going to eat cupcakes. And share more photos ('cuz then I don't need words).

P.S. Happy Hump Day!