Red Alert

Last night around 1:55am, I awoke to sirens. A few minutes later I was still listening to sirens. And it kept up what seemed like forever. Eventually I rolled out of bed to see what was happening. I peeked through the window screens, but saw nothing. More research - after a snack  that is. I hate when you get super hungry when waking up in the middle of the night.

Josh started investigating online and found that it was a ship fire. I looked out again to see if I could locate the fire. I thought I saw some flames, but it was just lights. Apparently it was just around the corner though. It was a ship fire on the docks near our apartment. This article shares some photos and details of the fire.

Apparently 100 fire fighters were out there fighting. The smoke was blowing the other direction, so we weren't affected. Plus nobody was hurt. All ends well, just an hour less of sleep for us.

Eureka!

I found it! Oh come on, you know what I'm talking about. What else could it be other than the fabulously delicious frozen yogurt. It's good as gold (reference to eureka).

As you may recall, I've mentioned that the frozen yogurt scene here in Seattle is pretty dang lacking. I've only come across the tart, fruity stuff. No cookie, chocolatey desserty froyo. So very disappointing. The only real place I had found was the little cafe around the corner from my Starbucks that served chocolate and vanilla, which never changes flavors but at least it was YoCream brand. I've been surviving off Red Mango. Don't get me wrong, I like Red Mango, it's good; however, it's not dessert and the creamy I'm looking for (oh all right, obsessed with). There apparently is a TCBY in Bellevue and Shoreline somewhere, but that's not very close to us here in the city. Tear.

The other day I was researching on the Internet and came across a place way down in Federal Way. Who knows where the heck that is! The colorfulness and flavors did catch my attention though so I continued onward. Out of curiosity I went to the locations and looked up Washington. Low and behold there was a coming soon for Queen Anne and Capitol Hill. WHAT?!? Josh and I drove to scope out the location it listed. The place looked like it wasn't very far along. Hmm, how much longer? I took it a step further and emailed them and asked about the projected opening. They replied in one day saying it would be late December. Oh boy! I wish it were sooner, but beggars can't be choosers.

Then my sister and I were talking on the phone and she said she thought of me, a new froyo store opened in Pasadena called Menchies. What?! That's the place I was coming here. Get out of here. It's true though.

And another sign...Josh and I were down in Gig Harbor for the day on Sunday. On the way there I saw a sign on the freeway saying Federal Way. Well, my froyo radar went to red alert. Must. Go. Get. Froyo. Deprived. On the way home we set the navigation and hit up some froyo goodness. Menchies didn't disappoint. It was self-serve and also a cute decor. Oh, and I asked and cookies 'n cream is a regular flavor. They didn't have it that day, but I enjoyed some Peanut Butter, Dulce de Leche, and Banana. Yum.

Can't wait until December! Hurry Menchies. Hurry.

Sunday's Gig

Check number two on the chalkboard: Gig Harbor. [View Larger Map]

Gig Harbor is just about an hour drive from Seattle, so it made the perfect little day trip for us. We set out around noon after trying out a new church in our neighborhood. It was a nice day, mostly sunny and mid-60s, so it was perfect for exploring.

When we reached Gig Harbor, we were both quite hungry. I spotted a little cafe around the corner called Kelly's Cafe, so we headed in for some nourishment. We were satisfied after our meal -- Josh was happy with his chicken fried steak treat and I with my Mediterranean quesadilla.

After lunch, we walked around the town's harbor. There were a few shops, but mostly just a cute area with a nice harbor. We decided to hop in the car and drive to the other side of the harbor. There we found the Finholm View Climb. This gave us a great overview of the harbor. Josh gave a little narrative for us here.

Next, we found the Wilkinson Park and Barn. We talked to a lady and petted her two dogs. We saw a lady picking wild blackberries. And saw a few more dogs. There was also a barn that we looked at and took a few photos.

On the way to and from Gig Harbor, we had to cross the Tacoma Narrow Bridges. Josh told me the story of how this bridge collapsed because the engineers didn't account for the winds that went through this area. It did a gumby type of swing and then collapsed. Scary. Check out the video footage. Now check out our scary trip across. Don't worry, nobody was hurt during this video.

That's a wrap on our Sunday gig. We got in the car and headed home with a special side trip which I will post separate (it's deserving of it's own post). P.S. Sorry I forgot both cameras, so the ones you see are just with my iPhone.

Theobroma Cacao

A.K.A. Theo, some pretty dang good chocolate. (if you're curious in the title, go here, it's the name of the cacao plant that sprouts the bean for the chocolate).

Did you guess right? I mean, did you guess which option we chose for our first checkmark off the kitchen chalkboard? I asked you in my 365 post. Yea, go back and read it. I can't believe you forgot already. Sheesh. J/K (<--Did you know a guy at my work actually just says the letters J/K. Annoying).

The answer: Theo Chocolate Factory. You should have guessed it from the title name. Clever little name. We learned this on the tour we took on Thursday. It was a great tour actually. It was an hour long and we got a brief outline of the process of making chocolate from the bean to the bar. Then the lady took us through the factory, as it was running, and explained the machines and flow of the factory. It was cool to see everything in progress and the workers. We also went into their chocolate confectioners room. Along the way, she also fed us chocolate - started with really dark to milk.

The flavors of chocolate they have there are pretty interesting. There is Hazelnut Crunch, Chai, Coconut Curry, Mint, Chili, and more. Then all those delicious chocolate smells waft through the air of Fremont.

Another fact we learned on the tour was that their machines are more old fashioned, and they apparently got them in an auction in Germany, Switzerland, a few other European countries. Neato. They had to go with smaller machines because of costs and production.

Well, that's really about it. The shop also has tons of tasters too. It's a good place to visit. If you visit, perhaps you'll be taken here for a tour. Wink Wink.

Toffee, Not Coffee

Actually, it's both. Toffee + Coffee = Goodness. Starbucks came out with a few new drinks this week, and I'm not going to lie, they are delicious. Plus there is whole new set of flavors and syrups for experimentation. One of the new drinks is a Toffee Mocha. It's a new mocha sauce that is sweeter than the normal mocha and has a hint of toffee butteriness. Another is a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate (or mocha). This has some special salt we sprinkle plus the new sauce and the usual mocha. Crazy. With all this, I of course must put my own spin to a drink. This is how I came up with my latest drink. It's one pump of the toffee mocha, plus some sugar free vanilla, espresso, milk, and a sprinkle of salt. How to “call it” (order it)? Double Tall, One-Pump Toffee Mocha, 2-Pumps Sugar-free vanilla, Non-fat, Add Salt, Latte.

Lend me some Suga'

I am your neighbor. Shake it, shake, shake it, shake it (OHH OH)

Hey ya! I got some bread yo.

Okay, being serious now. It was so nice today. This evening our neighbors downstairs (see there was a point to everything above), came to our door and gave us some homemade, still warm challah bread. How awesome is that?! Nom Nom Nom. <- Sound of eating.

They seems like a pretty nice couple. It was great to start getting to know the neighbors. Who knows, maybe we will need to borrow some sugar.

365

Hurray! Congrats to me! Throw the confetti! Why? Because today is the one year (or 365 days) anniversary of beginning my blog. Calm down now, I know you're excited.

3 - Three Reasons Why I Started

1. An easier way to keep in touch


2. A way to share my photos


3. Josh was bugging me to do it

6 - Six Reasons Why I Love It

1. Keep in Touch


2. A conversation piece


3. Allows me to be creative


4. Able to learn new technology and improve writing skills


5. I love it because you love it (I hope)

5 - Five Things You Can Expect To Come

1. More photos (yes, more)


2. Reviews of books and music (if I can get through this one book...)


3. Seattle life


4. Things that will make you laugh


5. New topics (this is a given...I was running out of ideas for this one)

And in regards to my last #5, below are some posts you might see coming up. This is a board that is in our kitchen which I've created a list of things we're interested in doing here in Seattle. We were hoping to check one of each month. The first is coming this Thursday. Can you guess which one?

Now, Celebrate!

Round and Round

This is a Seattle bus.



This is a Seattle bus not to ride - the Express Bus.



Okay, I should rephrase that; the bus above is the bus I (Heather) should not ride. Express seems great - fast, convenient, & whatnot. However, when I was on this bus, I saw my stop fly past as we headed over the Ballard Bridge. Then I had to call up my hero, Josh, to pick me up. Luckily, the first stop is just over the bridge near Trader Joes (oh darn) and just a few minutes from our home. Let's just hope it doesn't happen again when Josh isn't around. Imagine poor me walking in the rain over a bridge in the cold, dark evening. Pathetic image right!?!

Not that I'm proud to admit this, but the express bus experience has happened twice. Yes, twice. I know one should learn after the first time, but I guess I'm a slow learner. It was after the second time that I realized the express bus actually has a little green sign on the front that reads, "express." Doh!

Anyway, now that my mistakes are out of the way, let's talk some more about buses. Orca, the Seattle public transportation system, has been an interesting experience thus far. It's convenient enough, yes, but interesting (fyi - interesting is my favorite descriptor word for the bus). The bus is necessary here in the city. It's just the way people get around town. It's just too hard to find parking and too expensive to park once you find a spot. In fact, it seems most people take the bus. All sorts of folks take the bus including some curious characters.

Some experiences:

• Minding my own business, leaning on a light post for my bus, when some homeless guy bumps into me as he was falling down. I yelped in surprise and stood there clueless for a few seconds while nearby bus waiters rushed to the guy. One lady was a hospital worker of some sort and took charge, but the homeless guy's friend lifted him and he yelled about wanting to get on the bus. So off on the bus he went. The people around were nice though - one made sure the bus driver knew and the hospital gal called (the police?) to make sure they knew what was going on...


• I was standing once again at the busy stop home when I struck up a conversation with a gal next to me. She was super nice and we talked for about 10 minutes waiting for our bus. She used to work for Starbucks and is in the process of starting her own business. Nice people at the bus station.


• On the bus last week, I was sitting in the back playing on my iPhone (like most bus-riders do), when the lady next to me asked, "is that a phone?" I look at her and reply, "uhh, yea." She continues, "oh, could I borrow it to make a call?" Me, "uhhhhh, ummm, ohhhh, hmmm (looking around at other passengers, accessing the situation - people know she's doing this, there are others on the bus so it wouldn't be an easy steal, she looks harmless). I don't know." She says, "I need to call 911." And I'm like, "oh my gosh, are you okay?" Lady says, "yes, I just need to make a non-emergency call to the police." "Oh, well, hmmm (thinking to self: why 911 then?), I guess." So I hand over the phone. She didn't know how to use it so I set it up for her. I listen to her conversation - I mean it's my phone and I'm sitting next to her, it's kind of difficult not to eavesdrop - and apparently some homeless lady was screaming obscenities at passerby's on the hill near her house. Geeez. I got my phone back and got to hear the rest of the ride about this homeless lady (who apparently had fine, flowing, blond hair).


• The bus driver had to kick off a homeless guy once we went out of the free-zone. I think being a bus driver is hard work having to deal with some of these people. I have big respect for the bus driver since it's strange people they deal with daily. Strange.

I'm sure there are plenty more of these stories to come. In fact, there are more little things I'm sure I could include, but thought this would do for now. I'm curious as to how this bus thing will go in rainy weather too. And don't freak out for me, there aren't that many homeless people on the bus, mostly just business people going to work downtown or tourists. Just the occasional, interesting homeless person (or I assume homeless).

Lucky for me, it's straight forward one bus to my store. The bus stop near my home, is just down some steep stairs, and the stop near work is just 3 blocks away at 3rd and Pine (fyi - my store is on 5th and Pine). It is a bit more pricey than I though, but again better than driving. All and all, it's a learning experience for me!

Now go ahead and sing...the wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round. The wheels on the bus go round and round, all day long.

Make it Work

Let's talk about our new home. It's definitely smaller than our Eugene home. We miss our garage. We miss the extra storage space. However, we love our new home. It's so cute and nicely located. All we needed was some clever thinking to make everything fit.

We put four minds together (Don, Nada, Josh, and me) and we came up with some great fixes. Don was great at helping us figure out the furniture layout, hanging photos, and overall feel. Nada helped us figure out the bathroom and kitchen situation (i.e. ok, we got the dishes and appliance in the kitchen, but what about food). Josh and I did the office and bedroom, and lots of unpacking. And all together, we got a place where everything fits! Whoopie!

We would like to thank IKEA, World Market Cost Plus, the Container Store, and Bed, Bath, & Beyond for all their products. We would like to send a big thanks to Don and Nada for all their help!

P.S. Tim Gunn always says, "make it work" in Project Runway. Love that phrase & you may here me say it often...





Photo 1: IKEA curtains. Don and Josh put it up, and I hemmed the length (using an iron and ruler).

Photo 2: Bedroom Closet. I put in a small shoe rack, Rubbermaid drawers (below which you can't see), and sweater slots.

Photo 3: Kitchen Stand. We had the table from our Eugene home, but this time we added baskets for supplies and a little basket drawer system for even more supplies.

Photo 4: Dishes. We used an old bookcase to store our dishes so we could use the kitchen cabinets for food storage.

Photo 5: Coat Closet. More shelves were created by putting a piece of wood on top of two little baskets.

Photo 6: Kitchen Sink. A neat discovery by Nada, a little stand to go over the sink for soaps and other storage. I added a faucet too that does circular spraying and different spray types (rather than just one flow downward).

And that's not all of it! I'll take a video of our home and post once I feel it's totally presentable (almost there!)

Hello Seattle

I'm alive! I'm connected! I'm in Seattle!

Sorry for the long delay in posts. Life had been, well, hectic lately. Time is flying. I can't believe it's mid-August. Josh and I have really had some big changes in the past 11 days.

Timeline Highlights:

• Thursday, 8/5 - The movers pack the truck


• Friday, 8/6 - Josh and I drive up to Seattle, and the movers unload


• Monday, 8/9 - My first day at work


• Tuesday, 8/10 - Don and Nada arrive to town


• Monday, 8/16 - Comcast finally & Internet/Cable Established


• Sunday, 8/15 - Dinner with Manuel and Katy

Things to Know:

• We live in West Queen Anne


• Our place is a four-unit complex on a hill


• Our new view is the Ballard Locks, a hill, and the sunset


• We're a 5-10 minute car drive or 20-30 minute bus ride to downtown


• We've had a range of weather since our arrival - rain, cloudy, hot (i.e. 90s), and pleasant


• Seattle is the Emerald City, and Washington the Evergreen State


• There is no dishwasher or garbage disposal in our house (booo!)

Now, some more recaps. I'm going to start with the sad, then launch into the happy...and then some more...

The Sad:

• Friends - It's tough being in a new city where you don't really know that many people. I miss my Eugene buddies. If you're reading this, I miss you!


• Ease of Commute - I'm definitely learning the city life - living an working in a city. Where you have to deal with traffic, hard parking (and paying for it), and can't get from one end of town to the other in 20 minutes.


• Froyo Situation - This is definitely sad. The frozen yogurt scene isn't quite wonderful. It's not totally void of froyo stores, but it's lacking. The best I've found thus far is Red Mango and a little store that has YoCream chocolate and vanilla. Luckily, both of these are near my store (nothing near home though). There is hope though, see "The Happy" section below.


• Taxes - Oregon had no sale tax, but Washington has probably one of the highest sale tax rates. I'm finding getting to the register to pay tough. Suddenly the price jumps up and what seemed reasonably priced (for a city) becomes a bit of a shocker.

The Happy:

• City - Ahh yes, the city. Besides the above, it's great. The benefits definitely out weigh "the sad" mentioned above. Finally, a Nordstorms, a Sephora (that's not inside a JC Pennies), actual malls, the retail is endless. Not to mention, good food, more activities, bigger airports, etc. Let's face it, just much more options.


• Views - All I have to say is that we live in a beautiful city. Wait, no. A gorgeous city. I don't think I'll get tired of looking at the city skyline and needle nor the ferries and nature. My new favorite sight, is the view from Kerry Park (which is only minutes from our home).


• New Camera - The photographer inside of me will soon be unleashed. The Browns were the nicest ever and gave me a new, very nifty camera - a Canon Digital Rebel (Don got a even niftier new camera, very professional). More pictures to come now! Get ready to be tired of all the pictures.


• Foodie - Yum. Mouth-watering. Drooling. Variety. These all describe the food. Some favorites (so far - much more to try): Zaw, Macrina Bakery, Tutta Bella, 5 Spot, Bricco, Hi-Life, and a past-favorite, The Counter. Yeah, for good food.


• Frozen Goodness - The froyo might not be ultra-plentiful, but the gelato and ice cream is delicious. Our two favorites are Molly Moons, and D'Ambrosio Gelato. There was also a gelato place downtown that my mom and I ran into on our search, so the frozen delights are here.

The B's (or Other Stuff, but all start with B):

• Bus - This is city life to the extreme. I am now having to use public transportation to work. The parking is tough to find and expensive to pay, so I've opted to take the bus to work. Now, Im learning to navigate the bus system. So far not too many blips, just took the express bus which pasted my stop on my commute home (Josh picked me up thank goodness). On the bright side, I just have to take one bus route (no stops or switches), and the 17. The bus does take longer, which means factoring in more time for commute (blah). However, I do get some monthly mulla from Uncle Bux (aka Starbucks) for the transportation troubles. I'm sure I'll have bus adventures to share in the future (the good, the bad, and the ugly).


• Browns - Shortly after our arrival, Josh's parents, Don and Nada, arrived. It was so great to have them here. They were former interior designers and were able to help setup the place so that we could fit everything (our new place is a wee bit smaller and no garage storage). They helped us unpack, shop, and get settled. We are so grateful for there assistance - the best soon-to-be-parent-in-laws ever. Not to mention, fabulous mani-pedi outing with Nada (my nails needed it)!


• Block Party - Our first community adventure. Queen Anne had a block party that we attended (it was free). Plus, our Eugene-law-friend, Katherine was there too. She lives in Queen Anne too (for now, she's moving). We got some shaved ice, watermelon, bubbles (yes, bubbles. They were handed out for kids, we count), and some community fun in the sun.


• Busy - Needless to say, I’ve been busy. I’ll do my best to keep up the posts though especially now that we have Internet.

I'm loving loving Seattle. Please visit! And my new address will be sent via email soon.

Disconnected

Josh and I are experiencing technical difficulties. We will up and running soon. [Troubles with Comcast & wiring.] I'll be sure to update you as soon as we have a fix in place.

P.S. My previous post was via my iPhone and may have some formatting issues.

P.P.S. No Internet, what do do? Ugh!

Play-By-Play

Reader Warning: Some of the below times are approximate and contain mundane, boring details that you may never want to know.

Minute-to-Minute Log on the Big Move

7:30am: Wake-up time. Roll out of the air-mattress and get going.

8:45am: One last breakfast at Full City for a pumpkin muffin and chai tea latte. Not to mention a pumpkin cookie for the road later on.

8:30am: Continue packing up all the remaining stuff small (and let me tell you it was all small stuff and we sweated the small stuff - that is a reference to a book for those of you who didn't catch on).

9:05am: Finish loading my car.

9:30am: I leave our Shasta home and heads for the open road with two quick stops at Bank of America and Cheverin.

10:00am: Josh heads to Comcast to drop off our cable stuff. (Meanwhile, I'm on the 5).

11:00am: Saint Vincent de Paul's comes to our Shasta home to pick-up items we decided to donate instead of bring with us.

11:15am: Josh finishes packing random, small stuff. (Meanwhile, I'm is on the 5).

11:55am: I reach Portland and decide it's the best opportunity for lunch. I drive indecisively when I happen upon a pizza by the slice joint called Sparky's. Actually, I was quite impressed. They even had a $3.75 lunch special. Score. And the best part is (drumroll please), Active Culture Frozen Yogurt was right next door. I don't mind if I do. Yum.

12:30pm: Josh finally puts the last items into his jam-packed car and heads out leaving our Shasta home for good.

12:45pm: Josh stops at the Eugene Post Office to mail our Shasta keys. (Meanwhile, I'm on the 5).
12:55pm: Josh is on the 5 and calls me.

1:15pm: I get a call from the movers. The weight is over the estimate.

1:20pm: I call Josh to relay the information.

1:30pm-3:00pm: Josh is on-and-off the phone with the movers and the truck driver.

1:45pm: I reach Olympia, the Evergreen State capital (that there is little factoid secretly inserted for your educational purposes). I hit traffic.

2:30pm: I reach Tacoma. I hit more traffic.

2:45pm: I realize I'm not going to make it to the leasing office for the 3:30pm appointment and call to let them know.

3:30pm: I reach the outskirts of Seattle. And more traffic.

3:35pm: My GPS decides to go on roads that don't exist. I find myself going in circles, and end up going directly through downtown Seattle where I find more traffic. (Meanwhile, Josh is on the 5 and hitting traffic).

3:57pm: I reach the leasing office with minutes to spare until the 4pm signing (yes, that call at 2:45pm was successful).

4:15pm: The leasing lady was late, but arrived and I signed my life away on to papers committing us for a year in West Queen Anne.

4:30pm: I open the door to our new home. (Meantime, Josh is on the 5 in heavy traffic and still dealing with movers and such on the phone).

4:45pm: I venture out for the first time to find a bank so we can pay the movers.

6:00pm: Josh calls and says the moving truck is not going to arrive until 9pm (there are lots of other complications which is too long, boring to retell - plus, I am trying to forget).

6:30pm: Josh and I decide that I should pick-up food so we can shove it in before the movers arrive. I then venture out again to Thaiku in Ballard (the tried and trusty Thai food option).

7:45pm: Josh reaches Seattle outskirts.

7:48pm: Josh calls and is lost in downtown Seattle.

7:48-8:15pm: I talk Josh through the city using my iPhone's speaker function and Map app.

8:16pm: Josh arrives to our new home. He comes inside and vents about the movers (and makes some calls). We also shovel the food in quickly.

9:03pm: The movers arrive. They hustle to get everything in the home (the guy did actually run at times - the moved much faster this time and on the pick-up).

11:02pm: The movers are finally done and on their merry way. Josh and I put the sheets on the bed and crash.

That concludes our big moving day. Whewee!

Power Pack

Today was power pack day. As I type, the movers are taking our boxes into the truck. We were supposed to get 24 hours notice on when the movers would arrive. This morning the phone ringers and the truck is arriving this very afternoon. Some 24 hours. Must. Pack. Fast. Go, go, go. Now, it's 7:30pm and We're pooped. Almost done though.

If all goes according to plan, the movers will be dropping our stuff off tomorrow evening. The big drive up is tomorrow morning. Then it's Hello Seattle.

Boxes

Packing, Packing, and more Packing. Did I say packing? Yes, we're packing. Icky packing. Our home is now boxes and boxes. Today, we moved the boxes to the garage now too so the place is empty (almost). Yuck boxes. And also, a farewell to the rocking chair. It's going to good hands. Bye Bye childhood rocking chair. I'll miss you (but not your space-eating ways).

Bittersweet

Bittersweet. I used this when saying goodbye to a customer yesterday. I thought it very clever and witty, not mention perfect. In fact, the exact wording was, "...it's bittersweet, just like our chocolate." Great, right? Not just in the happy-sad context, but in the bittersweet chocolate. This chocolate relates to Starbucks, and my goodbye is to my customers and friends at Starbucks. Ha!

Enough of my cleverness, this post is about my last day at Valley River Center (VRC) Starbucks. Like I said, it was bittersweet. I've really grown to enjoy all of our regular customers. They all said such nice farewells. I even got a few hugs and promises of visits to my new store. On a side note, it's funny about there is a Pacific Northwest connection between Seattle, Portland, and Eugene. If you live in one, you generally have work, family, or friends in the other two. Many of my customers said they go up quite frequently. This made me smile because I've really enjoyed having regulars. Over the months, I've come to bond with them about early mornings, having to work, or other random stuff. They are like friends now!

The customers are great, but my co-worker are who I'll really miss. These guys are not just my co-workers, but my friends. They were patient training me, to work with everyday, and fun to hang out outside of work. Kim is my froyo buddy, Melinda is the Starbucks guru, I talk books with Julia, talk Germany with Justin, wedding with Sara, traveling with Ali, and Seattle with Colin. Lindsey is a rock-star singer. Annan started the same day as me (remember, I'm one number ahead of you!). And I have faith Jeri will find her younger, tall, fit man. These are just a few of the friends I've made at my time at VRC.

I was touched at the number of coworker friends that showed up for my happy hour shin-dig at the Rabbit Bistro yesterday evening too. I had such a great time hanging out with everyone one last time before my big move. Thanks guys (if it's you that is reading this right now).

Farewell VRC, Heather McHeatherington.



Picture 1: Kim, Ali, Me, Lindsey, and Jeri // Picture 2: Zia, Me, and Colin (the boss man) // And more pictures on my Flickr site too!

Useless and Weird

I was going though the "fun stuff" folder of my email last night and realized I have a lot of weird emails full of did you knows, poems, jokes, surveys, etc. I like to look at these occasionally because they make me laugh. I thought I'd share one of them with you today. Who knows how accurate these are - I don't know the source; just who sent it to me.

Useless and weird facts to add to your wealth of knowledge....

• Butterflies taste with their feet.


• A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.


• In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all the world's nuclear weapons combined.


• On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year.


• On average people fear spiders more than they do death.


• Ninety percent of New York City cabbies are recently arrived immigrants.


• Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.


• Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.


• Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.


• It's possible to lead a cow upstairs...but not downstairs.


• Women blink nearly twice as much as men.


• The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.


• A snail can sleep for three years.


• No word in the English language rhymes with MONTH.


• Average life span of a major league baseball: 7 pitches.


• Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.


• The electric chair was invented by a dentist.


• All polar bears are left handed.


• In ancient Egypt, priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes.


• An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.


• TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.


• "Go." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.


• If Barbie were life-size, her measurements would be 39-23-33. She would stand seven feet, two inches tall.


• A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.


• The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.


• Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.

Searching Seattle

I know, I know it's been a while since I wrote a post. I'm sorry. I apologize. Life has been busy. Very busy. And I will probably continue be delinquent in mu posts over the next several weeks. I'll return though. I promise.

Why am I not writing blog posts lately? I can tell you. I am preparing for our big move. Have you not heard? Well, Josh and I are headed to Seattle. Law school is over and we're headed to the big city. Since Josh was deep in study land, I headed up to Seattle last week to start the process by looking for an apartment. That trip is the story of this post...

Last Monday I worked in the morning as usual, but while I was working my mom flew into EUG (FYI - EUG is the Eugene Airport code). When I was done working, I sped home (not over the speed limit of course), showered, and ate lunch. Then my mom and I took off for Seattle. We drove up and it took about 5-1/2 hours with only one stop since we got hungry along the way. We finally arrived to the Emerald City that evening and crashed at the hotel. I was pooped!

Tuesday started the apartment quest. The morning started out rough. We slept in accidentally and had a later-than-desired start time. After a delicious breakfast at Macrina Bakery, we found a parking cop lady at my car. Eccckk! I'd forgotten to place my mom's handicap sign in my rush to get going (and crazy hunger pangs - I get hungry as soon as I wake up). We talked to the cop lady and she didn't give us a parking ticket after showing the sign. Whew! "Just keep that sign up at all times," she said.

With that resolved, we started the search. We were having no luck at first and we were getting a bit discouraged. Nobody was responding to my calls and there were not many on-site managers. Ugh. However, hope sprung with my first appointment in the afternoon (I organized a few appts before the trip). It ended up too pricey, but it encouraged us. The two last appointments also turned out to be promsing. In fact, one was on my "if I don't find anything else, I'll take this place" list.

Day two came around, and we decided to search different areas than the day before. The first day was mainly going around Capitol Hill, so we headed to Fremont, Ballard, and Queen Anne. More promising places were discovered as well as the one we ended up getting.

Yes, we found a place - the trip was a success! One check mark on the Move-To-Seattle checklist. It's a lovey apartment in a quad-plex in West Queen Anne. Nicely located between downtown (were my new store is) and cool areas like Ballard (where there's a Trader Joes). It's two bedrooms and we got it at a great price. I have a picture below alongside a Seattle photo (to make you jealous).

Now on to more moving fun! Stay tuned for another post sometime...

To the Top

Before I hiked to the top of Spencer's Butte, I almost wimped out. I read a blog to find how to get there just in case my GPS didn't know where it was located. I did find out the location, but I also found out there were...rattle snacks, poison oak, dead trees, and car theft. Eck! I imagined myself bitten and itchy with a tree on top of me. I started to worry about this park. Should I actually go on this hike? But the blog also said, "If you live in Eugene and have never hiked the Butte..well, I'm sorry but I'm a little disgusted with you." Oh no, I'm disgusting someone! I can't do that. Plus I've heard others talk about this butte. I must find out.

My courage won and off I went. I had my trusty Teva sandals on - the same ones that took me all over Italy back in college days. Once I arrived, I felt reassured with seeing people and even a dad and younger son. A little kid can do this hike, so I should too. On that cue, I took a peek at the map and was ready to go.

The plan was to go the long way up and the shorter route back (see the green and red lines on the blogger's map). That'd didn't quite happen. I ended up taking the long way there, and the long way back. After I got to the top, I tried to find the short trail back with no luck. I asked a friend later the next day, and apparently you don't really do the short way back because it's too steep!

It was a pleasant hike. The final ascent was a bit scary with large rocks. Actually, I take that back, the rocks were scarier to walk down than up. I kept sliding on the way down (no falls though, no bruises either).  The weather was perfect. At the top, there was a cool breeze and beautiful, clear skies. I sat up there and watched the butterflies, took some photos (of course!), and just enjoyed nature.

As I was up there, I saw Oregon's beauty. I guess all that rain paid off. It's really quite breath taking here. The sea of trees and green, the mountains in the distance, the tweeting birds. I would definitely recommend this hike. And the lady blogger was right - I'd be ashamed not to have visited this place before I left!

Blood, Sweat, and Tears

Blood. Vampires. Entertainment. It's true, I find much entertainment on this topic lately. I'm definitely not a Twihard or anything; however, I do really enjoy the Twilight films and books. In fact, you may know from the news that the third book, Eclipse, was released as a movie last week and was breaking 4th of July weekend records. I'd been waiting for it to be released and saw it with some co-worker friends (the theater is in the center across from our store & we were all excited dorks). We even made plans and bought tickets days in advance. The insanity doesn't stop there. I'll admit it, I was the first person in the movie line. This wasn't intentional though, I swear. I was there early just to save seats for my friends since we all thought it'd be a long line and super crowded. I mean it was the first night it opened and everything (no, I didn't go to the opening Tuesday midnight showing...it was Wednesday). To top it off, behind me in line were two teenage girls wearing Edward shirts. Hmm, maybe I shouldn't be sharing this on my blog - you might get the wrong impression. Oh well, too late. Luckily, that was the extent of my dorkiness. In the end, I'm happy to report that it although it's not the best film, it was fun and entertaining.

Twilight isn't the only blood I watch. True Blood Season 2 came available on Netflix last week. I lined it up in the queue and now we're going through the season. It's bloody, and more adult than Twilight. I have to cover my eyes at parts when it gets too bloody-ish. This includes fast forwarding the intro because there are some flashes of pictures I can't stand (bla!). Still, it's a good show and more vampire fun.

Sweat. Yes, sweat. Sweaty just sitting writing this post. It's hot here this week. I know I've been complaining about rain, but I was really just hoping for something in between. Not straight to hot. It's been in the 90's the past few days. It's the worst trying to sleep when it's hot. My feet get so hot, I get squirmy and irritable. Is it too much to ask for some pleasant 70 degree weather? Sigh. I think next week. Working is good though because that means air conditioning! And frappuccinos! (I like to drink them at least, but making a bazillion can be hard work).

Tears. Tears of farewell to Eugene. I'm busy trying to search for a Seattle apartment. It's tough from afar. I'm driving up there with my mom Monday and taking a day and a half to look around (and perhaps get something settled...I hope, hope hope). I've really come to like Eugene and got the chance to make some good friends. Luckily Seattle and Eugene aren't too far away. And I'm sure Seattle will be a blast. I just want to get the move part of it over and done with. Man, I wish it were the end of August and this was all behind us. Patience. I need to find it.

Okay, those are my blood, sweat, and tears. I'll be sure to post again soon. I didn't know what pictures would go with this one...

Red, Woof, and Blue

Happy belated 4th of July! Josh and I had a nice weekend here in Eugene. We opted to stay locally for the holiday weekend because of work and studying. We lucked out and finally had some sun shiny weather. Although Josh had some intense allergies because of the dang high pollen - poor guy.

Even though we stayed around town, we did feel like we were on a mini vacation of sorts. Our friends went up to Washington for the weekend and asked if we'd watch their dog, Ryder. To help Ryder feel comfortable, we stayed at their home (yes, a house, an actual house). They live on the other side of town in West Eugene (fyi - we live in South Eugene). It's closer to the TCBY and Target - some of my favorites. It's funny out a different area of the same city can seem totally new. I really felt like I was away for the weekend except when I forgot something, I was able to pick it up in 30 minutes.

It was a great semi-escape. We got to play with the dog (my arm hurts now from throwing the ball so much), play on their Wii (Josh's legs hurt from snowboarding), watch streaming Netflix and Blu Ray, and enjoy air conditioning. The Wii was a big hit for us. I got to practice some yoga, beat Josh at some tennis, and Josh got to feel like Shaun White snowboarding. I also enjoyed some films too. For instance, the Iron Man on their Blu Ray - such clarity! I want one.

Being 4th of July weekend, I cooked up some all American foods and treats. I made moist and delicious banana bread (the second time using this recipe in two weeks - yum). I cooked up some cheeseburgers. Then to top it off, chicken with potatoes (all with veggies, of course).

Fireworks were on the list as well. We thought about going out to see them, but wanted to be sure Ryder didn't freak out. Fireworks, small ones at least, are legal here in Oregon. We didn't get any fireworks of our own, but all the neighbors in the area sure did. They had some crazy fireworks display. Josh and I stood outside in the driveway at saw the fireworks going off in all directions. It was crazy all the fireworks people had going. I had to drive home since I worked early the next day, and on the way there were fireworks all over town. It was fun to see.

This weekend was a fun change of pace for us. Plus we got to play with a dog, which we'd love to have if only we had the right living situation. Sigh, some day. Maybe a Bernese Mountain Dog or Swissy.

Happy 4th! God Bless the USA - I'm Proud! Relive some fireworks with my videos and photos - below and here. {Note, Cheese You Tube, but good 4th of July song. It was that, or my sister's favorite, 1776