crazyfastupdate

So I haven't blogged in awhile... life has been insane. Here are some things that have happened since I last blogged:

• summer officially started after 2 months straight of rain... we had a heat wave where it was 95 for several days. now its back in he 70s. the weather is WEIRD...
• my tires are bald. seriously bald. like smooth as a baby's bottom. i thought i could wait to get new ones until summer was over but nope. i am getting them on thursday and am QUITE excited to not be terrified every time i go over a bump.
• did i mention my mom now lives in Wyoming? Casper, to be specific. Yep, for real.
• i went to Spokane for a wedding and it was LOVELY to see many of my wonderful college friends and get to be in Spokane for a few days. brought back lots of memories, and i am so grateful and blessed i got to be surrounded by amazing friends in college.
• rachel johnson is awesome. she was there during my intense emotional breakdown about the whole Wyoming thing, which took place on the lovely I-90... yep, another awesome moment. thank god for rachel!
• i am doing Arts Camp at church again this summer. the first week of August, the 2nd through the 6th in the mornings (8am to 1pm), and i am looking for volunteers. YOU CAN DO IT!
• i went camping last weekend with a friend from church and her 3 year old son and 5 year old daughter. look for a much more in-depth blog about that experience in the near future!

that's it for now!!

a "really?!" moment of the day

As a tribute to my fave part of SNL, here is my own, "Really?!" moment.

This morning on my way home from getting groceries I saw a woman driving a truck with a dog on her lap (not small, think black lab sized), cell phone in one hand and coffee in the other.

REALLY?! Let's be a little smarter here...

Morsels from the last week

I love the word "morsels". It makes me think of semi-sweet chocolate chips, which I also love. So I thought that would be a good title for a blog that is just little bullet points of things from the last week or so. Enjoy!

• Grey's Anatomy season finale=intense. I am pretty sure many of you would agree with me.
• The Bachelorette started last night. Ali annoys the heck out of me. So much laughing. Not that many attractive men, at least it seems that way right now. Going to be a long season.
• I am so tired of traffic. And construction. Especially traffic and construction when it's raining/hailing/very very windy.
• Poached eggs are good hangover food. As is Teriyaki. Both of which I ate on Saturday to attempt to undo what I did on Friday night. Sometimes it's worth it...
• Going to visit Kelsey in 2 weeks. SO EXCITED. That's the motivation that is going to get me through this week. Seriously.

Alright. 5 morsels. I'm sure I have more to say, but honestly right now I need to be working on my research presentation which is this week (Thursday). I decided to write a blog instead of working on it. Yay procrastination :-)

a productive saturday!

Some of you know that when I was little I wanted to be an author. I spent hours writing down little stories, writing "chapter books" (most chapters were a page long!), and when we got our first computer I typed up many stories. My inspiration was mostly "The Babysitters Club" and "The Boxcar Children" books. Going through old notebooks I have countless stories and things I wrote. Obviously my dreams changed, I no longer have any desire to be an author. I don't have the patience for it. But I do love to read.

Today was a beautiful sunny day, and after spending almost 4 hours in the UW library working on my research project I decided to go to Borders and peruse. In college Rachel and Kara and I used to go to Borders and just drink coffee and take tons of magazines and just read them, without buying them, and return them to the shelves when we were done. Is that cheating?! Anyway, today my plan was to look at magazines, but to my shock and horror Borders doesn't have any horse magazines (Practical Horseman being my favorite). So I decided to go look at real books.

When I look at books I usually don't really have anything specific in mind. I love looking through the shelves and seeing which titles I recognize and which titles I have read (and trust me, I have read many). Today I decided I wanted to buy a new book to read, because I am a bit tired of all the books on my shelves. When I look for a book to buy, I first look at the spines, then read the backs, and sometimes even open it up in the middle and read a bit. I am a picky reader. Some would even say snobby. I don't like cliche books, I don't like overly verbose prose, I don't like a lot of the new "cookie cutter" or grossly romantic novels (think recent Nicholas Sparks, anything that was turned into a movie, and any novel with a pink cover).

Today the book that popped out at me was True Notebooks: A Writer's Year at Juvenile Hall by Mark Salzman. I started reading it right as I got home, and just finished it. And let me just say, I am absolutely so glad I spent the money on this book. This is a true story of a writer who, amidst the frustration of finishing a novel, decides to volunteer to teach a writing class for prisoners in an LA juvenile facility. It is an amazing book and tells the story both of the author finding meaning through his experiences, but also mentoring and helping young adults to find their own voices. It is a very moving and at times shocking. It's definitely not a "feel good" book, but an honest portrayal of the juvenile justice system in LA in the 90s (and i'm sure today as well).

I highly highly recommend this book. Parts of it moved me to tears, were shocking, and a bit familiar to me when I remembered my volunteer times last fall at Remann Hall, Pierce County's Juvenile facility. It gives voice to youth, most involved in gang activities, who rarely are ever given a chance to express themselves.

Also, I just happened to stop by the travel section of Borders. There are hundreds, possibly thousands of books in this section. There are whole 3-shelf bookshelves dedicated to California, Flordia, Hawaii, Chicago, even books dedicated to specific cities like Los Angeles and New York and D.C. I had to hunt to find the section marked "Great Plains", passed books on the Dakotas, Kansas, and even Montana, and then I found it. On the bottom shelf, the second to the last book on the shelf, was one solitary book that was simply titled, "Wyoming". Oh the irony.

Overall, a wonderful productive sunny day. I went running in the morning, then the library, then Borders. Made dinner. Now settling in for SNL with Betty White in a little bit! A good end to the day.

I miss dance

I was perusing youtube tonight, and came across this video. It is 2 dancers from the Miami City Ballet in rehearsal. I think this piece is absolutely gorgeous, and I couldn't resist sharing. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa_DQiVV6y8

i love teriyaki!

Tonight after work I went to get some Teriyaki to take home (I am house-sitting for the Middleton's right now in Federal Way, and one of my FAVVVE teriyaki places is in FW!). So I ordered my food and was sitting there waiting, and I was so cold! And before I know it, the little Asian lady working at the counter walked up and put coat around my shoulders. So sweet! It was one of those little kind things that makes your day. She was so sweet!

How great! A little random act of kindness and warmth on a cold blustery April evening!

6 quarters down, 4 to go...

...that means I am OVER halfway done with grad school. And I can count my remaining quarters on one hand! But, there is SO MUCH to do in between now and then. 2 classes next quarter, then starting a brand new practicum Summer Quarter. It is exhausting to think about starting all over at a brand new placement, especially after all of the time and energy and emotional investment I poured in to Nativity House.

During Winter Quarter we took a SW Research Methods class, and had to put a research proposal together for a proejct we are going to implement during Spring Quarter. My project is going to be an exploratory study on the relationship of grief and loss and homelessness. I am going to be collecting data with people at Nativity House and other local service providers. I am excited to be able to stay connected to those I worked with during practicum through this project.

Yesterday I was riding at work, and it was snowing and sunny at the same time. SO WEIRD. This winter has definitely been one of the weirdest non-winters in my memory. Hardly any cold, rain, no snow (except for a few flakes yesterday). Definitely a non-pacific NW winter.

Well, I am exhausted. And headed to bed soon. Goodnight!