I love December.

More snow. I was in heaven. I'm not going to complain one bit.


Poor Ivanka, my car, couldn't handle it, but it sure was fun to try to get her out. Though I was lucky to have a few friends around to push her back into her spot. Thanks Andrew and Steven. A few days later I was barely able to get my car out to drive down to Portland. It was a pretty uneventful drive, on the freeway anyway, then it got crazy, but was pretty fun. It worked out that I drove down with a friend of mine and her dad deserves some major praise cause he drove up to Portland from Salem to pick her up. It's normally an hour drive..... it took him 4 hours. I love dads.


Christmas was fabulous. There was playing in the snow, making and eating lots of treats, High School Musical moments with my neices, shopping with my sister, and cuddling with my new nephew, and general good times.

Playing in the snow with my neices, Sierra and Elli.

My nephew Landon making treats.

Me and my Grandma.

Snow days!

This week is snowed!!! And the city practically shut down. And I didn't go to work one day and stayed home and crafted with my roommates. Here is the result. Mine's on the right. We all fell in love with the one that Cassie made for our roommate gift exchange (her's is on the left).

I've considered giving this little guy as a gift to somebody.... but I'm not sure if I can part with him. If someone wants to give me an awesome present then I would maybe consider it, but it'd have to be good.

Also I LOVE winter. Maybe it's just being away from Alaskan winters, but I love going on a walk through the snow. And everything is quiet and pretty and I'm bundled up and I can go inside and drink hot chocolate. Perfect day.

Crafts and Christmas Parties

Here's some pics of my latest craft projects. A baby blanket for my nephew Ian and a penguin hat for a yet TBD male 2-year-old. Seen here on my neice Jayda, but I think it'd be cuter on a boy.

And here's my fabulous roommates with our Christmas tree after a pretty awesome Christmas party that involved fancy hot chocolate, popcorn balls with lucky charms (not as good as you might think), and impromptu slow-dancing to Bing Crosby and the like. I am seriously soooo lucky that I was able to move to the other side of the country and somehow move in with the coolest girls in the whole city. Thanks to Rob Nyland for bringing me to them. And thanks to Megan for showing some leg in this pic.

It's 3 am...

and I am posting.

Why? you ask.

Because I am about to begin day 4 of the WORST sore throat I've ever had in my life.
The past two or three nights it's been nearly impossible to sleep due to the excruciating pain when I swallow. And can I just say - we humans swallow all the stinkin time. I've been trying to just will myself to not.... just let the saliva build up and just drip out onto my pillow, but it's amazing how strong the don't-drool reflex is and I just end up swallowing and then wincing.

Also, as a weird side effect of this sore throat, with no other cold symptoms mind you, i have thrown up for the first time since I was 19. At 12:30 I got up and used one of those throat sprays which sort of numb your throat, and I don't know how, but that thing must have hit a nerve and I promptly puked 3 times. What is that?? And now I don't want to use that spray again, even though in the past it was one of the few things that gave me at least a little relief. But I'm done. Puking sucks.

And why is it that I have totally guilty conscience and only called out sick for a half a day and am likely going to suffer for my vacation. That sucks. I wonder what this is karma for.

Also, I drove down to Portland to see my fam for Thanksgiving... including my newborn nephew and Grandma..... both with their appropriately weak immune systems. If my grandma dies cause of me I'm gonna be pissed.

Music

This weekend I got to see one of America's greatest singer-songwriters. Really. I'm not exaggerating. I love Lucinda Williams! She has been near the top of my list of people/bands to see for the past several years. And moved up to the #1 spot probably about a 2 years ago after I saw Ryan Adams and Wilco. And man! was she amazing. If you haven't heard her stuff, do so immediately. Her lyrics are so........ good. In fact, let me post a lyric or two.

Here is a verse from "I envy the wind" one of the sexiest songs ever written without being nasty.

I envy the rain
That falls on your face
That wets your eyelashes
And dampens your skin
And touches your tongue
And soaks through your shirt
And drips down your back
I envy the rain

Don't you just love that? Sooo pretty. And she was awesome in concert. So, that's been the best moment of the past few weeks.

The worst moment was/is the dying of my computer. Right now I'm using my roommates computer and my poor little computer is in trouble. She's been so good to me these past 5 years, getting me through grad school, surviving my thesis, and holding so much lovely music and pics, and allowing me to be entertained for all of the years that I didn't have a TV. As much as I hate to see her go.... I've decided it's time for me to move on. So, I'm seeking computer advice.... what do I get? My main requirement is that it be cute. Is a mac worth it?

Seattle!

Well, I kept waiting to get some awesome Seattle pics to put on a post, but it just hasn't happened. So just watch an episode of Gray's Anatomy and picture me there. So... here I am, though it still doesn't feel like I really am here. I have moments of really missing Philly (mostly pizza, the diversity, walking everywhere, and just the "feel" of that fabulous city, plus the world series - go phillies!), but this new time in my life is also really exciting.

So, the stats. I live in the the northern part of Seattle and work in the southern part. My new version of Rittenhouse (my favorite park in Philly) is Green Lake - this super pretty lake about half a mile away from my house. My job is going well, it's really similar to my old job. I travel to a lot of different schools and work with the kids there. I work with a lot of teenage girls now, which can be absolutely frustrating, but it's good for me to get the experience and develop some patience.

I'm living with 5 other girls in a big pink house. They are all really cool, and my apprehensions about living with so many people have mostly been false. Though, I will admit after living by myself or with super-awesome and clean Preethi, I've become a bit of a neat freak and sometimes the mess of 6 girls drives me crazy. The good thing is that having so many roomates is making it easy for shy little me to make friends. Somehow, I dressed up for and not only survived, but actually enjoyed a giant Halloween party at my house. Go me!

Bias

Maybe it's just me.... but Alaska is stinkin' beautiful! Me and my parent and two of my nephews went down to Denali and went camping and hiking. It was awesome. We saw plenty of wildlife and it was clear enough to see the mountain. It was a perfect end to my trip home.

The last frontier

I'm home!! I was super lucky to be able to come home for a few weeks before my new job starts. Apparently it's been one of the coldest and wettest summers ever, but I've been lucky to have nice days, though it definitely feels like fall. I've spent a lot of time with my sister and my nephews, including the new twins. They are so adorable and I can usually tell them apart now. Other highlights have been going to the fair and the farmers market. I've also finally gotten around to dealing with pictures from my drive across the country. So, here you go.

Good bye philly......... sad......

Hello truckstops...............

and Danish windmills in the middle of Iowa.

I really do think the sky in Wyoming is prettier....


And the most redneck gas station ever

And finally.............. the west.... phew.

Celebrity Crush

So, in my free time while being crafty (you should see the fab feather earring I made) I've been watching some classic movies I've always meant to see. Yesterday I watched A Streetcar Named Deisre. And omg. I love Marlon Brando. He's so mean and dirty and broken and passionate and stupid and arrogant and destructive and totally totally hot.

eek!

I took the job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm freaking out.

Ah SHOOT!

Well, I just talked to the job in Seattle and i got offered the job. CRAP! Before I returned their call I had a moment where I thought that it'd be actually pretty convenient if I didn't get the job because then my decision would be way easier. Of course now I have to do it the hard way. For the past few days I've been leaning toward going home, but now with a real job offer I'm finding myself leaning back to about 50/50. Goodness! What should I do????? I wanna throw up. I told them I'd let them know by Friday. Ugh!

In other news, I've been hanging out in Hillsboro, OR. Actually last weekend was way fun cause I had friends who drovo up from Salt Lake. Yay for Pioneer Day. We went to the beach and all over Portland. It was fabulous. Otherwise I've been trying to keep myself occupied...... I'm in the middle of a few craft projects, going to the library, reading, watching crappy tv, etc. Oh I also have been jogging a few times. Though it sort of stunk the other day when I got lost - the suburbs are such a maze. Oooh. I also went to the temple yesterday. That was nice. Oh. And the day before that I went and saw the documentary Young@Heart at a cheap theater here. If you ever get a chance you gotta see it. It is so tender. Old people can be so cute when they're not totally grouchy. And yes, I cried - 3 separate times. The song Fix You by Coldplay will never be the same.

Oh brother. What should I do?

Seattle/Portland

Hey. So I had my interview in Seattle a little over a week ago. I think it went well - though it's always impossible to tell. I know they're in the process of checking out my references now - so we'll see. More of the problem is that I need to figure out if I want the job or not if I get an offer. Before, I kept telling myself that I'd figure things out once I had the interview..... shoot. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the pacific northwest. The highlights have been a day at the beach (but getting the car stuck in the sand sucked) and blueberry/raspberry picking. Plus, I've been trying to keep myself busy with projects - like making baby blankets for my new nephews. They're still in the hospital - they're doing okay, but they need to put on some more weight before they can be sent home. Here's some new pictures. I want to meet them so bad!

Twiners!!!!

Here's Joshua (5lb 2 oz) and Jeremy (5lb 9 oz)! Cute!

Portland, OR

So, I made it to portland after one more day of torture in the car. I've been staying with my sister and her kids. One of her daughters loves me and won't leave me alone for a second. Luckily some of her cousins also came to visit yesterday and she's lost interest in me. It's been nice seeing family and hanging out. Though, I'm getting seriously bored. The novelty of this big unknown adventure has definitely worn off and i'm ready for the next phase of my life to start already.

It's definitely been weird to be here and i've found myself missing philly quite a bit. Yesterday I spent the day in downtown Portland. Oh. actually crazy thing. I ran into Alex Quistberg at a giant bookstore in portland. (it was a way awkward side hug - I hate side hugs). He was there visiting Dave Bailley (maybe some of you know him?) another guy who I knew from philly from before my mission, who just moved to portland a week ago. CRAZY! And please spare me the comments about me and Alex. It was a total coincidence (not fate and I'm not Felicity).

Also went to a Blues Festival in Portland..... and I realized two things. One - I like zydeco music. Two - hippies can be sort of cute when you only see one at a time and with a big break in between...... but when there's a whole mess of them all in one town its not cute anymore. all the flowy dresses and beaded jewelry. ugh. I'm definitely missing the diversity of philly. I was sad that the only black people there were the people playing in the bands. I think Philly definitely meshed well with my middle child issues of liking to be different. Here I'm just another mid-20s, environmentally-conscious (or trying to be) white girl in a town full of them. Yuck.

Utah

So, I made it to Utah. Barely. I knew Nebraska was going to be annoying so I wasn't surprised when Nebraska went on forever. But Wyoming about made me crazy. It went on forever! I listened to country music and went to an awesome gas station with animal heads hanging on the wall. The past few days I've been chillin with friends in Salt Lake. It's been fun to see old friends and see mountains and not have humidity to deal with. Still, right when i got to Salt Lake I was really sad to not be in philly. Tomorrow I will probably head to Portland. I can't believe I have to get back in the car!! ugh. Sometime I will post pics from my trip. Don't worry.

York Nebraska

So I have survived two days in the car and 12 hours between me and Zion. Only a few nasty states to get through. The highlights of my trip have been seeing the Worlds Largest Truckstop in Iowa and a Danish town - also in Iowa - they have a windmill and Danish flags everywhere. The best part was that I was able to buy a abelskiver maker. Yes! For those of you who don't know an abelskiver is a delicious Danish pancake/scone sort of thing. I've been keeping my open for a pan for years. Who knew I would find it in Iowa. Alright. Time to get back on the road.

Update

Hey.  Well, it's official.  Today was my last day at work.  At the beginning of next week I'll be packing up and driving out west.  Not exactly sure where I'm gonna end up but that's a small detail.  good heavens, I feel a little crazy.  whatever.  it's good to be young and unemployed.  work it out.  

positive coping

All the time I talk to people about coping skills and now I'm needing to follow my own advice. What I want to do is put on pajamas and lay in my bed for hours despite the fact that it's not even 7 pm. I am trying to resist and have compromised to jeans and a hooded sweatshirt (with the hood on which makes a difference).

Something really terrible happened with one of my clients this week. And it is affecting me. Up until now I've been pretty effective at "turning off" when I come home from work, but now it is too intense. It is too much. But it's so much less than what my client is confronting that I feel guilty for feeling overwhelmed. How dare I feel bad when she feels so much worse. How dare I complain about headaches and the desire to wear pajamas 24/7 when her suffering is exponential compared to mine. I feel guilty about my attempts to avoid the pain when for her it is unavoidable.

And I don't know what to do to help her. Right now I hate that there are no perfect answers. And that time, passes so slow. It would be nice to fast forward a few months when things will be a little easier. It pisses me off. Yesterday when I was driving home a car honked (I don't know if it was necessarily at me, but it felt like it was) and I yelled at full volume (not at the car, but just out at the world) I noticed smiling people walking down the street. Some people could be experiencing some of life's happiest moments while for other people the world is literally falling apart.

Still, I am glad for the connections I have with my clients. There suffering is real whether we are there to witness it or not. And maybe my presence matters is some small way.

INFP

I used to pride my self on being an INTP, but sometime in the past few years I've become a feeler instead of a thinker. I like it.

You Are An INFP

The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world.Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships.It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close.But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. In love, you tend to have high (and often unrealistic) standards.You are very sensitive. You tend to have intense feelings. At work, you need to do something that expresses your personal values.You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist. How you see yourself: Unselfish, empathetic, and spiritual When other people don't get you, they see you as: Unrealistic, naive, and weak

What's" Your Personality Type?