Where did the time go?

I had a realization late last week that I was almost done house sitting and hadn't figured out where I was staying/living next or gotten my stuff in order.

*Cue freakout*

Luckily a family member had kindly offered a spare room for my use a few days before, so then it was more a matter of asking, "Hey, can I move in next week?"

Now it's Wednesday night, though, and my stuff is no closer to being packed than it was yesterday or the day before.

I'm sure it will be fine. I have a couple tubs, some suitcases, and nothing but time and energy.

Except for that energy part. I worked a full day, had a phone interview, happy hour, and informational interview. I also ate a donut and pizza (twice). And had some beer. Also, I haven't slept well this week.

As you might imagine, I feel like I could pass out in bed right now.

Instead, with so much to do, I've given myself a little down time to read some blogs and write one (because that's relaxing), and then it's time for packing. I have to set out clothes for the next few days, pack for a weekend out of town, and figure out what to do with everything else.

Hopefully in an organized fashion so I know where to find things later.

All this means that complete sentences are not exactly a priority. (See above for an example).

It's okay if you're not following my train of thought at this point, I'm not really either.

I'll get things done, one way or another, though the organized part may fall by the wayside.

So when you're feeling tired but have lots to do, how do recharge to be more productive?

Awkward and Awesome: Weeks and weeks

I haven't gotten around to one of these posts in a while, which is funny because often the only thing I get blogged regularly are my awesome and awkward moments.

I guess that means I've been saving up some really good ones (that's actually a lie though, I can't remember much before Monday).'

Regardless (or irregardless as my brother says to be ridiculous), you get to hear some of the best/worst moments in the past week-ish (a.k.a. only ones I can remember).

Awkward:
- The checker Sunday morning commenting on my grocery purchases (avocados, chips, lightbulbs, and bandaids, if you were wondering. He couldn't quite decide what I had planned for the day.
- Not winning money during the Super Bowl. We played this crazy grid betting game, that was totally by chance. I came close to winning a few times, but never quite did.
- Paying for Starbucks with a $50 bill. I got all fives for change. I'm pretty much a high roller.
- Realizing I'll be done housesitting in less than two weeks and I have to put my stuff somewhere before next weekend. I have places to stay after this, but not all my stuff can travel with me.
- My work email has exploded. I've seriously lost control.
- Having about three of these bullets get so long I may as well do a separate post for each. I'm losing control here.
- My old ladyness. It's 9:25pm and I wish I was asleep.

Awesome:
- A friend and I have been getting together to watch Downton Abbey every week. Not only is the show great (which I've said countless times by now), but it's fun to have an excuse to see each other weekly.
- Yesterday I got to catch up with a friend from school who graduated last June and moved to Scotland for a research fellowship. It was so good to chat over a couple beers. Now I just need to make it there to visit him. (Any excuse to travel!)
- Randomly reconnecting with someone I knew right after high school and getting asked to help out with a project. Oh the possibilities.
- I started using an app to track my sleep habits. Last night my sleep quality hit 99%, the highest I've gotten by far.
- Hulu+. I'm a bit of a TV addict, without cable, so Hulu+ has been wonderful.

Okay, I'm stopping myself there, mostly so I can go to bed already.

What's been awkward or awesome about your week?

Wine tasting for the win

Happy Monday everyone!

I'm hoping to get to bed early tonight. I need to recover from my weekend. Anyone else?

But the weekend was full of fun so it was totally worth it. Food, friends, family, football, and wine tasting!

The wine industry in Washington has really taken off in recent years and a small town outside Seattle has tasting rooms and wineries galore.

Some girl friends and I had casually talked about going for a while, and we finally made it happen on Saturday.

I was in charge of planning our outing (and thanks to some great recommendations from Stevie it turned out perfectly).

We made four stops along the way. My goal was to get a variety without killing us. We wanted to enjoy ourselves, not feel rushed, and enjoy some variety.

One of my favorite stops had a chocolate wine flight. Oh my gosh. I ended up buying a bottle of almond roca cream wine. Basically, it's going to be used like Bailey's. So delicious, but not something I want to drink by the glass full.

We also made sure to eat some delicious food along the way. Flatbread pizza. Cheese and crackers. And lots of air-popped popcorn to go with our nightcap -- Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Next, I hope to do a local brewery tour, because if there's one thing us PNWers are serious about, it's our craft beer.

Have you been wine tasting? What's your favorite wine?

Grampie (a.k.a Doc the Rock)

Today my grandfather turned 89.

He's my only living (blood) grandparent. He's one of my heroes. And he has Alzheimer's.

Grampie has been in a nursing home for over a year now. Last fall he fell and broke his hip. The accident accelerated his dementia and also made it impossible for him to do things for himself.

While this post could very easily just be about Alzheimer's (I could write a book about it--truly), instead I want to talk about Grampie as I want to remember him. The man he was, not the man disease has made him.

(Grampie is in the dark jersey)

I've always looked up to my grandfather. Literally, as he stood at 6'8" (just over 2 meters for you non-Americans) for most of his life. But also figuratively, in more ways than I can count.

For six years of my life, we lived just a mile away from him. He took us on bike rides, popped delicious bowls of popcorn, and paid us in change for salting slugs. My siblings and I spent sick days on his couch watching TV and hours diving for spoons in his hot tub.

Grampie was a storyteller (and man, did he have some good ones), a jokester, and a chairman (I can't tell you how many "presentations" we sat through).

He lived for visits to Staples to photocopy pictures and articles to send to everyone. He loved to take us out to dinner (as long as we cleaned our plates).

Grampie sang in the church choir and almost always fell asleep during the sermon. He grew amazing roses. He loved computers.

(Grampie with me, my dad, and cousin Michelle)

Things are different now and sometimes it's hard to remember who he was. But he still laughs easily. And though Grampie often mistakes ordinary events (like dinner) for more grand occasions (like a banquet), his eyes still light up when he sees me.

And I still look up to him.

Happy birthday Gramps.

Currently

I so should be asleep or close to it right now. I worked at 5:30 a.m. today and am back at 7 a.m., so I could really use it. But first I wanted to do a quick "currently" post with a bunch of random categories I selected as I went along.

Loving: House sitting in a place with a programmable thermostat. This probably seems silly, but being able to make sure the house isn't freezing when it's time to get out of bed is maybe the best thing ever. I'm sold. Someday I'll have one of my own.

Watching: Downton Abbey. Oh. My. Gosh. I can't even talk about it (and wouldn't anyways because I hate spoiling stuff for others--just like someone did for me on Facebook about the last episode). I also finished Private Practice. Kind of weird to think it's over. I caught up on New Girl and watched an episode (or two of Grey's Anatomy. Let's just say the Roku (more on that in another post) and Hulu Plus have changed my life.

Listening: It varies depending on my mood, but I've been on a bit of a Girl Talk kick, again. I also downloaded Tyrone Wells latest CD This Love with a gift card. And I'm still loving The Heist by Macklemore. I really should it mix it up more though. Any good recommendations?

Thinking: About whatever is next and trying not to get myself worked up about it. Luckily I have some amazing people in my corner. But it's still hard to not know.

Celebrating: Three mornings managing the Internet at work by myself. Okay, not the whole Internet, but our website and social channels. And I had to be there at 5:30 a.m. for it. My high school self would not know what to make of current me.

Wishing: For time to pass quickly and slow down all at once. I have some fun things planned in the coming weeks, but I also need all the time I can get for my job and figuring out life. Also, I'm starting to crave travel again. It has been quite a while (August) since I set foot on a plane. At least for me. What a first world problem...seriously.

Splurging: On a trip to Ulta. I had a few things on my list that I needed, and then other things started hopping into my bag. I don't know exactly how that happened. I might just have to do a little post about some of the goodies I grabbed. If I get around to it.

What have you been up to currently?

Photo Catch Up

It's been a while since I've shared photos. Of course, if you follow me on Instagram, you've probably seen most of these, but that's not going to stop me.

(In reverse chronological order, join me in traveling back through time)

It finally rained. No seriously, it had been two weeks.

So excited to play with this. And it came with Angry Birds. Great for productivity.

Doing my part to celebrate my sister's birthday on Sunday.

Pretty awesome view from the helipad at work.

Cute (enormous) puppy missing his parents.

Bloody Mary to go with Sunday morning football.

Pretty speckled egg. I couldn't bring myself to cook it that day.

Gorgeous view driving down the highway. Love where I live.

Frosty. Brr.

My dad's cinnamon roll are the best. Hands down.

I haven't been doing the best job of taking pictures lately, but in my defense life hasn't been that exciting. 

(On Instagram, add me @eewiley. I'd love to see your pics!)

Working and Hunting (no guns needed)

This transition back to work thing has thrown me for a bit of a loop, mostly because I had to be at work at 5:30am Monday morning (but also because I really need to grocery shop--or is that a different issue).

And I'm doing the early shift again this coming Friday and morning. We're a bit short-staffed at the moment (the whole reason why I was brought in), so it's a little crazy.

The good news: they trust me enough to put me in charge of the website/Facebook/Twitter/livestreams by myself.

Being back in the newsroom has been really enjoyable overall. I've already worked a variety of shifts so I'm getting to know a lot of people and learn a lot.

Luckily, while there isn't a job for me there, I am working with people very willing to try to connect me with other places that do have openings.

And since I'm really not very good at job hunting, I'll gladly accept.

Because here's what I realized today: I've never really done a full out job search. There was a period in 2008 where I did job hunt, but I found my job through a friend.

Any position I've gotten has been relatively painless. And when I talk to friends going through interview processes and job hunts, I realize how lucky I have been (and feel a little unsure about what to expect).

For now, I'm going to set a few goals in terms of the number of jobs I'm applying for, continue to work on networking, and see what happens. Oh, and keep learning a lot at my current job.

Any tips for this inexperienced job hunter?