Celebrate!

This weekend was a exhausting, fun-filled celebration.  My sister is an official college graduate and I officially have a cold.  I think she won that contest.

Her college makes graduation a weekend long affair.  We attend different events on Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday morning and afternoon.  In between those school functions we were busy packing, eating, and dodging rain drops.

It was fun to party a little with the sis and her roommates.  It was good to see old friends and some of the family.  Mostly, it was a blast to make the drive across the state, especially since the road construction season has begun.  (I just told two truths and a lie.)

We actually walked away from the weekend without a single picture of my sister in her cap and gown, and no pictures of her with any family.  Overall, we were winners.  But I did have my camera the entire time.  High five!

Now excuse me while I go fall into a coma and prepare for 10 hours of work tomorrow.  Joy.

Happy Weekending!

I'm off on the east side of the state celebrating my sister's college graduation (which is crazy and awesome).

I'll be back with (hopefully) pictures next week and more random goodness.  For now, I'll leave you with a picture of my friend Chelsea and I.  I posted it to my Portland round-up a while ago, but I just love our faces so much.

This Friday night is brought to you by babies on a water bed.  (I'm the one in front.)

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday

I've been doing a horrible job of keeping up to date on life and the pictures I've been taking (which haven't really been numerous).  So I'm doing a huge photo dump tonight.  Enjoy!

These flowers along the rock wall in our front yard are some of my favorites.

Oreos inside of peanut butter cookies...delicious!

The view from our house.

Mojitos--my favorite summer beverage.

Not just grilling, but grilling steaks.

Shep, my cousin's dog. He refused to look at the camera.

At the glass bridge in Tacoma.  This made me think of the rock candy we'd get from the candy store in the mall as kids.

Tree-lined campus (UW-Tacoma).

Up the hill towards the campus.

Union Station.

Enjoying the nice weather while waiting for the train.

Tacoma Dome.

The train arrives.

Hopefully I'll have many more pictures to share after this weekend.  My sister is graduating for college and we're going over to celebrate (and haul furniture)!

Ten on Tuesday: the movie edition

It's Ten on Tuesday and I'm actually taking part this week.  A novel idea, I know.  You can join in.  And if you want, stop by and say thanks to Nora for the questions.

1. If you could watch only one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be?
This is a hard choice.  For serious.  I always love When Harry Met Sally.  Life as a House is another good option.  I could probably come up with a couple more, but I'll just stop there.

2. Let's say someone wrote a screenplay about you; what actor/actress would you choose to play you and why?
Oh goodness.  This is not an easy question at all.  I like Ginnifer Goodwin, but I don't really think she's the right person to play me.  I tried running a celebrity recognition program for details, but James Spader came up 5th on the list.  Not so much.  I blame the glasses.  Any suggestions, because I'm coming up blank???

3. What's the first movie you remember seeing in theaters?
Either the Little Mermaid or 101 Dalmatians, and I think my aunt took me.  I'll have to verify with my mom.  Mom?

4. Did you ever make out at the back of the movie theater in middle school/high school?
Definitely not.  That's a good "I have never..." to remember for future use.

5. Are you a Netflix-er, Blockbuster-er or a Redbox-er? (Or none of the above?)
Mostly a Redbox-er at this point, not that I actually watch movies all that often.  We used to Blockbuster it up, but they are kind of going out of business.

6. Name one actor/actress who you would give anything to have a dinner date with.
Ryan Reynolds, preferably with his shirt off.  If he's not available, I choose Sandra Bullock.  She's hilarious and amazing.  Or Tom Hanks.  Could I plan a dinner party for 12 or so instead?

7. What's the worst movie you've ever seen?
I know that a lot of people love Anchorman, but I just have never gotten into it.  I went to see in theater after a week of coaching at an overnight basketball camp.  I was too exhausted to appreciate it and it's never really appealed to me since.

8. Do you sneak snacks into the theater when you go?
Yes!  The overpriced offerings in theater aren't worth it.

9. Movie theater popcorn: love or hate it?
Neither, I just have to be in the right mood.  Usually I get it when I've earned free points for it.

10. What is the all-time best Disney movie in your opinion?
I love Finding Nemo a lot.  I also like the original Toy Story.  In terms of older movies, I always loved the musical options, though I did experience Mary Poppins overload and have never felt the same about the movie since.  The scene in front of the bank with birds especially bugs me.

The Road Well Traveled

I came across a list of 10 Places Every Kid Should Visit on Yahoo recently, and I'm sad to say that my childhood did not score very high.  Apparently I have some traveling to do to make up for it.

Places I have visited that are on the list: the National Mall in Washington D.C., Independence Hall in Philadelphia, and Alcatraz Island in S.F.

I hit the National Mall and Independence Hall on a summer trip with my grandparents and cousin.  My favorite cousin and I fought like cats and dogs when we weren't convincing people we were twins.  We also didn't sleep well sharing a hotel room with our loud-snoring grandparents.  But it was fun none the less.

I saw Alcatraz on a science trip in 8th grade.  I'm not sure why the trip was called a "science" trip, other than the fact that it was offered to students in science classes (a.k.a. all of us).  I do remember many games of chicken in the pool causing my neck to be too sore for the roller coasters at the amusement park and somehow ending up in a suite with my three roommates for the trip.  We were so cool.

The places I haven't yet visited: the Grand Canyon, the Redwood National Park, Ellis Island, Niagara Falls, Yellowstone National Park, Colonial Williamsburg, and Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve.

I basically drove by Yellowstone on my trip home from Colorado two years ago, but an impending snow storm kept me from stopping.  That and I was making the drive alone.  It just didn't seem as cool.

The rest of it, I haven't even been that close to, except I suppose, Colonial Williamsburg, which is close to D.C.  Even though I missed out on all these amazing locations, I still went on some pretty awesome trips throughout my childhood and not just the aforementioned trip to the East Coast.

I have a few favorite trips.  One of the top trips my family took was a camping trip across Western Canada through Banff to Calgary and south into Montana to Glacier National Park.  We went with family friends in vans pulling tent trailers.  We sang over CBs and annoyed truck drivers, stopped by the Calgary Stampede, pretended our lhasa apso was a puppy while going through a remote border crossing, and swam in glacier water.

Another summer, on a trip with the same family friends, we went to Palm Springs where it was so hot the pool didn't have "no running" signs.  We also went into Tijuana and my dad led us so deep into the city that we were the only white people.  I say that in the nicest (though most overwhelming) way possible.

Two years ago I traveled south to see some friends in Costa Rica.  That's not really childhood, but I'm counting it anyways.  I saw the beach and the rain forest.  It was amazing.  If you're looking for a good tropical vacation, I'd definitely recommend it.  The plane ticket was even pretty reasonable.

And this summer is going to be amazing.  Not only am I spending three weeks traveling around Great Britain with a good friend, but I will also get two weeks in Finland with my family.  I can hardly wait.

What have been some of your favorite trips, childhood or otherwise?

Awkward and Awesome: Friday Edition

This week has been a little bit crazy.  Or a lot.  Which explains why I haven't posted in days (again).  I don't know what is going to happen to this blog next fall when I'm going to school and working.

The funny thing about my non-posting, I actually have a number of ideas started.  I just can't seem to muster up the energy to follow through.

Since I'm so behind, I've decided to throw up (not literally from my stomach) my awkwards and awesomes for the week.

(Spell check does not like the use of awkward and awesome as nouns.  Weird.)

Awkward and Awesome was started by Sydney over at the Daybook, though I haven't seen her post one in a while.  But I think it's a nice way to round out the week.

On to the main event....

Awkward:
- Not getting enough sleep.  I don't think any explanation is necessary for this one.
- Mosquito bites.  I obviously omit some sort of mosquito attraction signal.  After sitting in a friend's backyard for an hour, I ended up with at least 15 bug bites.  They all rub against my jeans as I walk.  It's lovely.
- Trying to catch up on blog reading.  After so many posts, I find myself skimming through only glancing at the pictures.  If a post doesn't have pictures, well, I'm probably not getting much out of it.  Sorry!
- Transcribing videos word-for-word ahead of time for classes.  The process is just so painstaking.
- My job means literally staring at a computer screen, which means I've spent almost 34 hours this week alone staring at a computer.  That doesn't count the free time I spend messing around.  My poor eyes.

Awesome:

- My trip to Portland and all the awesome pictures I found.

- The first Tuesday of every May is Dine Out for a local charity.  The 'rents and I got to have some delicious southern-style cooking.  Never has eating out felt so good.
- A friend's wedding this weekend!!!  Taco truck for food, lots of beer, and time with friends, a recipe for success.
- A normal, 5-day period.  After last month's 2-weeker, it's something to celebrate.
- The following text message conversation with my father (about Bin Laden and yes, sometimes my dad is ridiculous.  I love it!):

Me: Did you here (sic--I'm so disgusted with myself) bin laden is dead?
Dad: I got him myself.
Me: Congrats!
Dad: I'm going on David Letterman to talk about the sting operation.
Me: As you should.  That explains all the long hours at work i guess.
Dad: On behalf of Americans everywhere.  With liberty and justice for all!!!
Dad: The Criminal Minds people would have gotten him faster, though.

He makes me laugh so much!

Portland ahoy!

I'm sitting on the train, cruising along the Puget Sound, watching the sunset, and enjoying free wi-fi.  I had a lovely spinach salad for dinner (with a soda to balance out the healthy).  I'm pretty content with this moment.

There's something to be said for train travel.  I actually love driving, especially on sunny days with the windows down, the music blaring, and no agenda but to get there eventually.  However, the relaxing aspect of just sitting here and not worrying, at this moment, feels hard to beat.

And this weekend was, in a word, amazing!

Saturday my mom and I headed south to meet up with my oldest childhood friend and her mother for lunch.  I've known Chelsea since she was three months old and I was three weeks old.  We spent our first two years of life together on a college campus.  That's right, my first home was a college dorm.

Dad, me, Chelsea

My dad was in grad school and a hall director.  He would even take me with him when he had to confront the problem residents.  I was a super baby shield.  I mean, who would want to get angry at this?

After we made the plans to meet for lunch, Chelsea asked if I wanted to come back to Portland with them to check out a Timbers game and enjoy the awesomeness of their family.  Of course, I said yes.

We got back to Portland in time for a quick change before heading downtown.  The Timbers game was a blast and just made me more determined to go to a Sounders game.

Chelsea has season tickets in Timbers Army, the section of fans that stands and chants the entire game.  We got spots in the second row, with far more people than there was actually space.  The chants were varied and obnoxious, just as they should be.  We even sang "you are my sunshine" to the team.

The Timbers won!  Over Real Salt Lake, the last undefeated team in the league.  Probably because of my chanting whatever words I thought I was hearing.  I didn't exactly know what was going on.

The only downside of the game was the smoke bombs that were lit after the goal and the win.  It was a little bit difficult to breath.  Luckily I had a Timbers scarf to save me from certain death.  I wish I had a picture to describe how dense the smoke actually was.

This is kind of how the smoke made us.  By the way, we're on a waterbed.

After the game, we headed to Deschutes Brewery for a little post game snack.  Sweet potato fries (my new favorite) for all!  And hard cider.  Yum.

This morning we went out for a delicious breakfast at the Radio Room.  My plate was yummy and everything was incredibly reasonably priced.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Chelsea and I even managed to fit in a little shopping, though I walked away empty handed.

Now I'm just counting down the minutes until I can climb into my bed, especially since the train is running a little late.  And enjoying the train ride.