Guatemala

More pics to come

Crafting

I started making these little felt flowers (and yes I got the idea from Anthropologie). Not sure what I'm going to use them for yet... I think they'd be cute on a headband, or necklace, or pinned to a cardigan.

Car, Coast, Makeover, and The Bunny

I know that I'm a neurotic and sentimental person. I like to hold onto things. I do not like changes. It was a sad day when my registration was about expire and I finally had to get Washington plates. I keep thinking that I should change my phone number, but I don't know if I can do it now. It's the one thing I've got that's connecting me to Phillly.


My neices at Cannon Beach. I finally made it down to Portland for my neice's birthday and we went to the beach. It eventually cleared up and we had a good time looking at tide pools, collecting hermit crabs, kite-flying, sand-sculpturing, etc.


Also, the saddest thing lately has been my roommate Megan moving back to Utah. After a lot of deliberation (trading closet space and a door for windows, higher ceilings, and sharing a kitchen/bathroom with one person instead of 3-4) I decided to move into Megan's old room. Which basically meant that I was living in chaos (and paint fumes) for at least a week. I almost had a breakdown in Ikea. Then Labor Day was just a horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad day... until I came home and found this.


My fabulous roommates Cassie and Kaylene, cleaned, organized, and decorated so much of my room. It was seriously like make-over shows on TV and yes I cried.

And they even rented me the Hannah Montana movie which I've been dying to see AND I got the Bunny, which is the most prized posession of the house (left by Megan - bless her heart) which gets passed around to whichever roommate is in need (oh the things this bunny has seen - someone should make a move - like sister of the travelling pants, only with the bunny)

Trips

I went to Utah for Jessie's wedding reception. It was lovely, but the best was getting some personal time when we went to brunch. She's showing her ring so we can always remember why we got together.

I saw Ashley, Russ, and Alyssa (friends from Philly that live in Utah now).

I saw this girl a lot.

I met my nephew Blade. Isn't he the CUTEST!?!




And then this weekend I went to CANADA people. Victoria, BC. It was a lovely time.

My job

Minus the fact that my phone got stolen at work today (one week after I got it to replace my broken one), I have to admit that I have a pretty awesome job. Here are a few of the things of I've done or places I've gone with kids this summer. Sadly the rollerskating fell through. Still not bad for a day at the office.

I am getting BRAVE

1. There are BIG spiders here. The first time I saw one I was able to put a cup over it and then had to ask most of my roommates before I found one (go Kaylene!) to get it out of my room. And she said, "you need to work on this." Later I saw a spider in the shower (alright it was actually a daddy-long-legs, but I'll be honest, I don't get why people think that daddy-long-legs are not as gross as spiders - it just as gross!) and I went and showered in another bathroom. Then I thought, don't be a sissy, and that next time I saw a giant spider I was so BRAVE and got that thing out of the house all by myself. That's right people. I did it. And then, one day one of my friends was afraid of a spider in the bathroom and I went in all calm... it wasn't a total success because I couldn't catch him before he crawled into a hole, but still... I was calm.

2. I did NOT diving when I was a kid. I hated swimming lessons, because I hated diving. There's something so terrifying about going head first into water, in fact, I sort of hate just putting my head under water. And this summer, I've been diving so much.

3. Today for work we took a bunch of our clients to a ropes course. There's something so awesome about seeing a bunch of tough kids from the city, including a bunch of teenagers who act like they're not afraid on nothing, totally terrified when they climbed to the top of this pole. Anyways, the point was to climb to the top of this pole, stand on top of it, and then jump and grab this trapeze bar (oh my dreams of being in the circus). And I got a chance to do it too. Only two of the kids actually stood on top of the pole and none of them took the leap to grab the bar. But you know what... I DID IT! I am BRAVE!

Summer

Things that I want to post.

Timmy was here.

I jump in Green Lake with these girls. And I've been practicing my diving.

I need to do more research on this, but my mind was BLOWN yesterday when we were walking by this plant that apparently oozes flowers - that look like normal yellow daisies. Is this normal? Who knows about this? I want to learn. I bet Annie Dillard knows.

So maybe I'm hormonal

Sarra,

I made these for Scarlett. I just finished them... and I'm hoping her feet aren't growing too fast. I'm holding them hostage until you email me your address. They won't be a surprise, but believe me I've got a pile of things to send to you.

Oh and now that my new nephew Blade has been born (Congrats Eric and Allison!) and he's gotten his present, I can also reveal one of my other latest baby-related craft projects. With Blade's cousin Josh modeling. And I hand-quilted the center panel (my first time!)

And speaking of so many babies... This week I got to meet the babies of two good friends that I haven't seen in years.

Moses

Jett

Their moms, April and Melisa. There was so much nostalgia happening it was awesome.

Groundhog's Day

Have you ever had one of those days when you've thought, "I'd be pretty happy if I could live this day over and over"? Well yesterday was one of those days.

1. Ate delicious breakfast on a ferry
2. Went to a Renaissance Faire
3. Got to learn about forging metal, making knives, and making armor
4. Did some archery and wasn't half bad
5. Put flowers in my hair
6. Ate funnel cake
7. Went to an antique sale and got cute fish plates
8. Got to read a book about how to be a "proper lady" circa 1900
8. Saw Nathaniel's mom and she gave us British chocolate
9. Went to Camera Obscura show
10. Got to spend time with two of my favorite people and this guy

BOOKS

It turns out that since finishing grad school I've rediscovered my love of reading. As a kid I was totally the shy girl who loved reading. My favorites... Baby-sitter's Club, Sweet Valley High, and morbidly all these books about teenagers with terminal illnesses with titles like 6 Months to Live. Then, I'd say some time around Junior High or High School I totally stopped reading for fun. But I'll tell you one of the best things about not being in school is that no one is making me read or telling me what to read. I get to pick! Here are some of my favorites from the last few months.


Have you ever read a mediocre book and when you finish it you're in a hurry to start another book to get the taste of the past book out of your mouth? (eg - Memory Keeper's Daughter... I hated that book and I'm pretty sure I started another book like an hour after finishing it) Well with The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao it was the exact opposite experience. It took me at least a weekend to finally pick up another book from my to-read stack and even then I was really sad to be leaving those characters behind. I just wanted to have Oscar and Lola and Beli and La Inca in my life a little longer. So just read it. And bonus - have a spanish-speaking friend translate the little Spanish bits in it and you'll learn a lot of Spanish swears.




Thanks to Kaylene for recommending I Capture the Castle to me. I cannot believe I survived my late childhood and adolesence without this book in my life. I was hooked from the first line.... "I write this sitting in the kitchen sink." Brilliant. Totally charming. Like a more hormonal and quirky Jane Austen. I giggled to myself throughout most of the book and found myself interrupting conversations to read passages to my roommates. Just brilliant. Totally adorable.

I heart philly

Honestly, the best trip ever. It was like getting back together with an ex and the best make-up sex ever. I just love this city.

I love timing. Jen, my roommate, was coming back from the Dominican Republic and had a long layover in Philly. We went to Museum of Art, ran up the steps like Rocky, and got to see a fab Cezanne exhibit, who's one of my favorites, plus my other favorite pieces in the musuem. Rothko, I've missed you.

I love pretzels.

I love this kid.

And this one.

And this one.

I love tender mercies. There were so many on this trip.

1. Rita's Water Ice opened a few weeks before I got there

2. The Philly Film Festival was going on when I was there

3. Cezanne Exhibit

4. Jen's layover

5. In one day I was able to successfully eat part of a pretzel, part of a cheesesteak, burger and fries at 5 Guys, and Rita's.

6. And the ultimate highlight and absolute MIRACLE - at the museum of art I ran into my absolute favorite client. He lives no where near there, but was spending the weekend at his aunt's and she took him there to run off some energy on the steps. Hearing a voice call "Miss Julie" and turning around and seeing his face was one of the best moments of my life. I love that kid.

I am a therapist

I love being a therapist because I love secrets. I want to know peoples secrets. Whatever it is. I want to know. I love skeletons in the closet.

Except not literal skeletons.

This week one of the bathrooms in my house is being renovated. And in the process guess what a hot Aussie constuction boy found. More than 40 (!!!!!) dead birds and other animal carcasses (squirrels and mice and probably other rodents). Behind the wall in the bathroom!!!! More than 40 decomposed birds and animals behind a wall in my house. And that's only in one SMALL room in this giant house. Who knows how many other animals are living (or rather not living) in the walls of this house. eeeewwwwwww. And I'm having so many memories of when I found the dead mouse in my apartment in Philly a few years back. Just etched in my brain. Michelle you remember the smell....

Best Time at the Dollar Store Ever.

Yesterday I was at the dollar store with my friend Cassie, in sort of shady neighborhood. I'm looking for art supplies for the arts and crafts table for Black history night at my job next week. A mid-30s, working classish, not-creepy guy squeezes by me and apologizes about invading my bubble. I keep shopping, then the same guy comes straight up to me, holds out his hand, and says "I just wanted to tell you that I think you're beautiful and have gorgeous eyes." And so I just shook his hand, which was so rough and manly and sort of hot and went on my way. It was a pretty good moment.

In other news, Michelle and Elin were here last weekend.

I made an adult-size penguin hat and neck cozy for Mich for her birthday.

Michelle, Elin, and Nathaniel at Snoqualmie Falls in North Bend where they filmed Twin Peaks. Apparently I really need to watch that show. Maybe after I've watched all the seasons of Lost.... Don't hold your breath.

At the Public Library downtown.

Thanks to Michelle and Elin for coming. Just move here already.

Look out East Coast, I'm coming back!

Alright east coast people! I just booked a ticket. Mark you calendars - March 28-March 31. Things I want to do... steet vendors, Rittenhouse, Ritz, Pine Street Pizza, South St., subway, Reading Terminal, City Hall, Clothespin, Old City, Logan Circle, Art Museum, and everything else. I'm getting emotional just thinking about it.

Girls Night Out!

I feel like it's pretty rare when I feel an obligation to recommend or not recommend something. Don't get me wrong, if someone asks my opinion I'll happily share my thoughts, but I don't really feel the need to go out of the way to tell people to do something or not do something. But in this case I feel like I have to.

This movie is terrible. I read a few of the reviews before getting dragged along on a "girls night out." I knew it was going to be bad, but I thought having really low expectations would save me. But no, it was way worse than even my super low expectations. It was terrible in a train wreck sort of way. You're hating it, but you can't look away. And it's long and it feels even longer, excruciatingly long. And why pay money to get made fun of, or to watch characters that you don't even like act like idiots and get fed the message that girls are stupid and boys never like them and that boys are basically a bunch of jerks anyways so what's the point. Or maybe that's a dose of reality that I'm not ready to accept at this point. bleh.

And maybe I'm taking this a little too far, but at my job I've been thinking a lot about internalized racism and I really think that this movie could easily fall into the category of contributing to internalized sexism. As women, we are already fed the usually subtle message that image is everything and that we need to be attain a certain level of perfection to be loved and valued. So to have a full movie where the not-even-subtle message is that women are idiots who are constantly making excuses for jerky boys is sort of frustrating. Maybe I was supposed to understand that fact and feel empowered to change or something, but that feeling never came. Give me Jane Austen any day. Rant over.

In my dreams...

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Statistics

The average American eats 2 lbs of pretzels a year. The average Philadelphian eats 20 lbs of pretzels a year. Thanks to Jenny for sharing that stat with me. I miss Pretzels!!!