Day 14: Person You Do The Craziest Things With

#1: CHERISE

she was the originator of "secret missions" with me. even before those, we had many adventure. since 7th grade. and 9th grade when she made me "Don't Be A Moose, Vote for Bruce" campaign sickers. And 9th grade Ms. Only's class with you-know-who. And a funeral for your dog Doogy[sp?]. And watching Doug and Allen stay up for 48 hours....w.o.w.

#2 Sarah. yep. no words. she knows what adventures we've been on :)

One is when I visited spring break of 2009 and we broke down on the side of the road...

Day 13: A Picture of A Memorable Night

lots  of memorable nights. most recently, when tim came to visit me when I was in kelso in OCTOBER 2010 and we spend the night traipsing around portland :)

also when  bryan and joel came to visit us in hawaii in march of 2010!!! that was QUITE the night of many heart to heart talks ....♥

Day 12: Your Most Far Away Trip

RUSSIA!

[St. Petersburg]

We went to St. Petersburg, Russia in the spring of 2005 with the Washington State University Concert Choir and Madrigals. It was a-ma-ZING! I can't remember where I voted to go, but I'm glad it was here...because it is somewhere I probably would never have chosen to travel to on my own. We had a really inspiring time- saw the Cathedral of Spilled Blood, the Summer Palace, the Hermitage, frozen over Neva River, and many other places. I realized that this country that I thought of as a frozen, boring, weird place was actually really beautiful with a crazy history.  I mean, it still was bitterly cold [we went in their winter months] and had weird food [jellied meat?]...but it was cool to experience a new culture! 


Plus, I got to go there with one of my BFF's, Monica, and her sister Heather. :D

Day 11: You And A Family Member

Great-grandma Bruce- the last time I saw her in May of 2009. I moved to Hawaii the next day and she passed away 11/09.

My broham James and me. We loved the sitting in the laundry basket and playing spaceship.

Day 10: Something You Wish You Were Better At

art.

All the artsy genes apparently went to my brother and sister, because I have none. My brother evewon scholarships for his drawings and paintings. I mean, I do "pretend"art- scrapbooking- but that is basically just putting putting pictures onto paper and making it look cool by adding ribbon, stickers, etc. I want some mad art skills like pottery, painting, drawing...I used to have my mom and brother draw the pictures on posters I made for school. Oh well, I work with preschoolers. Stick-figures are sufficient. :)

Day 9: Picture That Makes You LAUGH

enough said.

cassie, sonja, lindsey...being ourselves :)

we all "shared" lindsey's bowl of soup.

Grandparents' 50th anniversary! What better way to entertain ourselves on the ride in the limo down to Portland than making faces on the glass to the cars passing by?!

Halloween- Knocked up White Trash. Lindsey's expression especially cracks me up :)

Olympia convention...haha

i'm a part-time model...

Day 8: Picture of Someone Who Inspires You

my

Erica and her beautiful family- Matt, Lexis, and BrookLynn

Seahawks game 2010

BFFs- Hanging with the neighborhood kids :)

She's been through a lot and has produced such BEAUTY! If I can accomplish what she's accomplished by the time I'm 28 [2 years], it will be a miracle. I hope I can go through experiences and life with such grace. 

I ♥ YOU!! 

my never ending bucket list...

My last post inspired me to update my bucket list...it's never ending and always changing. But here is the current list. The ones in bold I've already accomplished :) 

1.       Swim with the dolphins

2.       Climb a mountain

3.       Test drive a Ferrari

4.       See the Great Pyramids

5.       Walk the Great Wall of China

6.       Hold a tarantula (High school biology, 2003)

7.       Say “I love you” and mean it (2010)

8.       Hug a tree

9.       Bungee jump (San Diego Fair, 2011)

10.   Stay up all night and watch the sun rise

11.   Go to an NBA (Portland Trailblazers), NFL (Chargers, Seahawks), NHL (Canucks), and MLB (Mariners) game...and now an MLS game :)

12.   Touch an iceberg

13.   Sleep under the stars

14.   Ride in a hot-air balloon

15.   Have a food fight

16.   See an eclipse

17.   Ride on a roller coaster

18.   Dance like no one is watching

19.   Sing like no one is listening

20.   Pretend I have an accent of some sort when I meet new people

21.   Visit all 50 states

22.   Go whale watching (Hawaii, 2010)

23.   Sing karaoke

24.   Parasail

25.   Go hang-gliding

26.   Backpack around Europe

27.   Live abroad for at least a year

28.   Visit a third-world country and experience life without conveniences

29.   Walk up to the top of the statue of liberty

30.   Ride a camel in Egypt

31.   Zipline in costa rica

32.   Go on a cruise

33.   Receive a dozen roses [I’m not even particularly fond of roses…it just seems like something I should experience]

34.   Run a marathon…or at least a 5k J

35. Mush a dog sled

36.   Visit a country I don’t really want to visit all that badly [I went to Russia in 2005…next on my list is probably somewhere in the middle-east or Asia]

37.   TRAVEL TO INDONESIA!!! [I’ve wanted to do this since I was little…not really sure why. I think I just though the name sounded cool.]

38.   Take a road trip

39.   Go rock-climbing

40.  Midnight walk on the beach (Hawaii, 2009)

41.       Go sky-diving

42. Go snow skiing

43.       Go to a movie by myself

44.       Eat a meal with a stranger

45.       Milk a cow

46.       Lounge around the house all day

47.       Go scuba diving (Hawaii, 2010)

48.       Kiss in the rain

49.       Play mud football

50.   Go to a drive-in theater

51.   Take a self-defense class

52.   Go to Jamaica!! [I’ve also wanted to go here since I was a little kid.]

53.   Bake cookies from scratch

54.   Fast for at least 3 days

55.   Ride in a gondola in Venice

56.   Go white-water rafting [the kind where you need a guide…]

57.   Perform on stage

58.   Go to Las Vegas (2002)

59.   Record a cd [I really want to do one of hymns to give to my family]

60.   Go shark-cage diving

61.   Visit Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines…

62.   Buy a house and remodel it

63.   Become fluent in a 2^nd language

64.   Get unintentionally knocked-out

65.   Randomly move to a new city/state and start fresh (Honolulu, 2009)

66.   Sing loudly in the car with the windows down in rush hour traffic

67.   Shoot a shotgun (Pullman, 2006), rifle, and pistol

68.   Ride a horse

69.   Go to the Grand Canyon

70.   Have an all-inclusive resort experience in Mexico

71.   Learn to surf (Hawaii, 2009)

72.   Ride on the back of a motorcycle (2005)

73.   Learn to drive a motorcycle

74.   Become an expert at driving a stick-shift

75.   Go snowboarding (2005)
76. Road trip across the United States and end up at Harry Potter World :)

Day 7: Something You Want To Do Before You Die

I hope Lindsey doesn't mind that I'm featuring her delightfully attractive picture on my blog :) But it was just the best picture of sky-diving that I could find...

I WILL do this before I die...providing I die after August 2011. Because that's the plan, stan. Along with James, Kim, Sarah, Kyle, and Amanda! And Tim- if I can get him over himself and his refusal to do anything fun involving heights. [Well, HE doesn't see anything fun about jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, but I do.] I don't really see that happening though. His stubbornness can rival a terrible two-year old in the midst of a supermarket meltdown.

i can't wait until august!!!

Day 6: Picture of the Best Idea You've Had in a Dull Moment

Day 5: Your Biggest Weakness

 

 As you can see from the photo montage, I have

an incredible weakness for  all things sweet.

I'm the type of person who skimps on my dinner so I don't feel guilty about chowing down on dessert. 

Monica's homemade strawberry shortcake- YUM!

And I buy candy every time I'm at the store.

I mean, why not?

Pazookie! Half-baked
cookie dough with ice cream
plopped right on top :)

pineapple ice cream from
the dole plantation

I blame it on my dad. 

He has to stop at C & L Ice Cream every time he passes it. [Or even if he isn't anywhere near it, he has to stop at it, haha.]

And he always has candy in the cupboard.

Day 4: A Picture and a Letter

Soo...I'm not exactly sure how to interpret this one. Does it mean any picture with a letter written by me? A letter of the alphabet? I chose to post a picture of an actual letter...

4 of my besties [Lindsey, Cassie, Monica, and Tamara]
were at Hallmark one day.
 Unfortunately, this card reminded them of me...
probably because there may or may not be a
picture of me in precisely the same pose...UHH-HuHuh-HuHuh...

                                                                                 

            LOVE getting mail from my favorite nieces in the world!
              This is from BrookLynn Jayde, age 3.

                                   

From Lexis KaLynn, age 5. 

Day 3: Picture of Your Favorite Store

TARGET!!!

Where else can you buy candy, swim suits, shampoo, a computer, a lawn mower, paper towels [besides Walmart or Kmart, but who wants to go there?]...and the list goes on and on. A modern day general store- you can buy a Tangled Barbie doll for your 3-year old niece or denture wash for your 98-year old grandpa as well as stock up your kitchen with groceries and get oil for your car. Oh! AND I was there yesterday [I go there quite frequently, more than the average human being- though not as much as my Mother] and they have a Target bulk section! No need to go to Costco. 
Speaking of my Mother and Target...she goes there every day, sometimes twice a day...the employees know her by name. I read one time that American Express gave Jessica Simpson a Black card...you have to spend something like $100k per month to qualify. Target should offer my Mother one...or at least give her a gold star. I mean, she probably keeps the Kelso store in business single-handedly! But I understand. Because Target really is the

Best. Store. Ever.

I worked at Camp Danbee the summer of 2007...we worked 24/6 so either I was going stir crazy or this picture adequately expresses exactly how much I love Target.

DAY 2: Photo of the Person You've Been Closest With the Longest

MICHELLE wins the prize! We've been getting into trouble since the day I was born and she was 2 months and 14 days old. Our moms knew that if we were ever quiet, that meant were doing something we most definitely should NOT be doing- like climbing through a window out onto 2nd story deck that was rotting away...

Here we are with Michelle's dad less than a year old...

....and 26 years later celebrating her birthday in Portland!

♥ You CHELL!!

DAY 1: Photo of yourself with 10 FACTS

1. My color is CRIMSON and my blood bleeds it.


2. I used to sing made up songs whilst dancing around the park pretending I was in a musical. I still sometimes pretend that life is a musical...


3. I think it's ironic that in my profession I expect clients/students to open up about their deepest fears, feelings, thoughts, etc. but I avoid talking about that stuff like the plague.


4. Some would say that I have a competitive nature...[that may or may not be an understatement...]


5. I've been knee-boarding since I was about 9 or 10 and I still think the best way to spend a summer day is out boating on the lake! [That is one of the few downfalls of living in Hawaii- no fresh-water lakes!]


6. I tend to smell unfamiliar food before I taste it.


7. I document my life through pictures and scrapbooks [and now a blog] but don't worry- I definitely experience through my own eyes too!


8. I want to have a plum-purple room in my house one day.


9. I'm eternally grateful that I know where to find true peace and joy.


10. I'll go to the gym when I have to, but I'd MUCH rather exercise in ways that don't feel like exercise- running outside on a perfect day, playing sand volleyball, park hopping, basketball, hiking, swimming, frisbee golf, football, surfing, boogie boarding...

i'm a sheep!

Yes...I am giving in to the 30-Day Photo Challenge. I really love pictures and doing unique things with them. [Although this 30-day challenge isn't so unique...] Seeing as my scrapbook stuff is stuffed in a boxed holed [stuffed? haha] away in my parent's garage on the mainland, I need another creative outlet in which to display my millions of pictures. Granted, this is supposed to be a 1 picture a day sort of thing, but I tend to overdo things in the photo department. So here goes...

My Day Job

I'm a full-time nanny for the next couple weeks for a 16-month old girl [Baby]. I usually only watch her 3 days a week, but Grandma is gone. I'm also watching a 3-year old boy at the same time 2 days a week for the month of May. Whew...never knew staying at home could be so exhausting! Some things I've learned [that stay-at-home Moms and Dads know very well, I'm sure] about Baby:


1. Sleep when Baby sleeps
I've heard this saying before and understood it from a theoretical perspective, but now I understand first-hand. The only time to rest is when Baby isn't constantly pulling books off the shelf, getting into the dog food, or playing 56-card pickup...and the only time Baby isn't doing those things is when she's sleeping. And I don't even experience the sleepless nights! I can't imagine having to get up every 2 hours to feed a newborn and THEN taking care of her all day.


2. No means no
Granted, I've learned a lot about this concept in my psychology and child development courses and have put it to practice in the classroom. However, when you're watching only 1 child who is the cutest thing on the planet, the temptation to give in to her "peese?" is a lot greater. BUT I know it's a lot easier to "say what you mean and mean what you say" rather than give in to Baby's manipulative fake cries. [That sounds a bit harsh, but you know what I mean!] Then they learn that no amount of crying or fussing is going to get them what they aren't supposed to have.  
Although I have to admit, when I'm on an important phone call trying to schedule an interview and Baby is fussing and crying because she wants my water-bottle, I give in. Oops.


3. Always eat before or after Baby eats
Otherwise, Baby inevitably wants what you're eating and won't eat her own food. [Tune-in the vigorous shake of the head, "NO!" when offered yummy vegetables.] One time I was eating pizza. Rather than giving her a "bite?" of the good part, I tore off a piece of over-microwaved, chew crust. That turned her off and she happily enjoyed the rest of her green beans. 


4. Clean up at the END of the day
If I was a neat-freak, I probably would have anxiety about the millions of toys littering the floor...and be constantly picking up after Baby, straining my already bad back [at only 26! ugh.] and testing my annoyance level. Thankfully, I'm definitely not. While that might not be the best non-quality to have for an office job or other of the sort, it's ideal for this sort of pseudo-parenting I'm doing! Clean up at the END of the day when I pass Baby off to Mom & Dad and it's time for me to go. 


5. It's all worth it
LOVE when Baby runs up to me and gives me a great, big baby hug. Enough said. :)

As It Turns Out...

...summer is NOT here- unless you view the past week or so as "Summer Storms"...

It was a crazy thunderstorm with just as crazy lightening. The streets were flooding...this picture doesn't do it justice since it was taken from my phone.

Again, you cant really tell from this picture, but I had my wipers on full-blast and I still could hardly see. Reminded me of Washington! :) It's REALLY not fun driving in the rain here, though...nobody knows how. Kinda like driving in western WA when it snows ;)