Katie loves Lucy

Denver 4-Eva!

2012-02-06T20:56:00.000-08:00

Well, it was an exciting few days around here last week.

We had big plans for Austin.

Connecting through Denver. On Friday. When they were expecting 12-16" of snow.

So that didn't work.

But then Cara got an offer to interview on Monday in CO.

So we did some hustlin'.

And ended up converging in Denver on Saturday morning instead.

And this is how it looked:

I have to tell you, I fell in love.

Big time.

I honestly think I could move to Colorado and be a ski bum and be so happy.

Especially if these 3 are involved.

We didn't do a lot. But the scenery was gorgeous, the North Face was a-flyin', the sky was blue and the Rockies were everything they were made out to be.

Denver, I hope you won't be a stranger...

I want to make out with you a little bit.

WANT x2

2012-02-03T10:44:00.001-08:00

I have a mild obsession with high heels. Which you know.

Particularly Christian Louboutins. Seriously, if I win the lottery, I'm pretty sure I will blow it all on his shoes.

Remember these bad boys? Those beautiful teal ones on the oddly-white Beyonce?

They were $800.

They have been replaced by my new faves:

This is the Bollywood collection.

I am obsessed with the bottom right ones.

But in this color:

Oh my goodness, I seriously LOVE these shoes.

The only downside? The cost.

Puts those $800 ones to shame.

Currently selling for $2795.

Yikes.

Better start investing in those lottery tickets.

And a lot of walls to lean against.

Denver Bound?

2012-02-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

Well, we are supposedly heading to Denver in the morning.

Which started as a trip to Austin.

Boo. I really wanted to go to Austin.

Mother Nature, and Carquest, had different ideas!

So now we are attempting to meet Cara and Tony in Denver.

If the snow stops. And airplanes start landing again.

We'll see.

Love!

2012-01-20T21:30:00.001-08:00

Lavs and I finally braved the cold, snowy, nasty roads to go to a movie - The Artist!

This was my #1 pick for a Christmas movie, only to be heartbroken when it wasn't playing anywhere in Spokane

Well, a month later, we finally got to see it!

TOTALLY worth the wait.

Lavs and I both agreed it was 100% as good as we had hoped it would be.

It's silent (and there were super annoying whisperers right behind us narrating the whole thing), and it's black and white.

Do NOT let these things deter you.

It was wonderful.

And the real star? Uggie the dog.

obsessed...

2012-01-07T21:20:00.001-08:00

I don't know why it took so long...

But i'm completely besotted.

with Pinterest

2 days... about 75 pins so far... maybe i need an intervention?

i love it.

Bring em Home v2.0

2012-01-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

That's right folks... another election year (hello 2012!) means it's time for an even bigger, better campaign! The "Bring Em Home" campaign to get my dumb bro and sis to MOVE HOME.

Back in the Fall of 2008, when this started, they were "1 year away" from coming back to the Northwest...... Yes, that was 4 YEARS AGO. I think them saying "I'm still a year away from being ready" is their go-to excuse, and will not be tolerated any longer.

So here is campaign video number one!

Not made by me, but actually pretty impressive.

Be forewarned though, definitely watch with the sound OFF unless you want to hear the worst theme song ever written.

Enjoy! We are excited for you guys to come home! :D

oh Lulu...

2011-12-31T18:47:00.000-08:00

My dog is SUCH a weirdo.

I don't even understand her sometimes.

For instance, she has a highly attuned startle reflex. Meaning she jumps at EVERY noise/movement/change in air pressure/etc...

But the kicker? She is totally not into dog treats. At all. I have given her rawhides, bones, everything. She pretty much ignores it all.

So today I figured I would let her do the treat-picking at the dog store.

What does she pick?

The cranberry breath bone. Of course. Why didn't I think of that?

Lavs and I are convinced she thinks she's a vegetarian... (Don't tell her that her dog food is chicken.) She only eats organic, farm-raised, grass-fed dog treats apparently. ;)

Love her.

Knitting fool!

2011-12-27T18:02:00.000-08:00

This year has been a low-budget Christmas.

Which means a bunch of people got hand-knit gifts from me!

Yes, people, it's true...

I've been knitting like crazy! I finished 5 projects for Christmas, plus an additional hat I made for myself just the other day!

We'll see how long it lasts... ;)

Project #1 (and what started the craze): Lavvies' Christmas Stocking

Our mom (world's best knitter) has never had a stocking made for her! Preposterous!

This stocking came from this cute free pattern...

I love how it turned out (although it's a bit smaller than the other stockings we have hanging)

Project #2: Lucy's Stocking

I had to make this one up, because there really aren't many cute (free) dog stocking patterns.

Weird. Apparently not all people knit for their dogs?

I think it turned out okay... It's kind of a weird shape, cuz I wanted it to be on the small side, but miss Lulu was pleased.

This is her enjoying (read, devouring) her spoils: A few treats, a Christmas Joan (!) and some squeaky tennis balls. All in all, a pretty good haul from Santa.

Project #3, 4, and 5: This adorable hat:

I got this pattern because I needed another project when I was at the retreat in Asheville and had some spare yarn...

It turned out so cute (and super easy/quick) that I made 3 of them! They went to Bethany, Michele and my grandma Glo for xmas.

Bethany is supposedly emailing me the pics of the finished hats, but so far hasn't had time... So I'll post if I ever get them! :)

Project #6: cute cable hat:

This is my first cabling project! It is knit with some gorgeous malabrigo yarn mom had, and I love the green-gray color

here is the top

And my beautiful model...

It's a super cute slouchy beret-type hat.

Love it, wore it today. :)

CCD 2011

2011-12-23T20:16:00.000-08:00

This post took a LOONG time to write... because I am still exhausted from Christmas Cookie Day 2011!

It was a super fun day, held for the first time on the East side of the mountains (since Michele moved over here, we now outnumber the Seattleite Bethany)

Here are some pics, in no particular order:

Early in the day... we are still smiling, only on drink number one. (Yes those are tasty bellini's in giant wine goblets...)

A quick break to watch the Zags game (with Brian, B's hubby and our designated store- and coffee-runner)

baking, baking!

These are FAKE smiles. I effing HATE icing cookies more than life itself. Mish and I always get stuck with this job somehow... that Bethany is crafty!

the girls and Jack boy

again, this is still pretty early in the day, so we're relatively cheerful. We were WAY more organized this year - running 3 Kitchenaids, and constantly rotating cookies through the ovens :)

Michele's signature pic

our fuel for the day

bethany modeling proper drink-making technique

Some beautiful cookies!

this is what you get when you put me on the decorating job. pure shit.

these beauties were my new recipe this year - pistachio-cranberry biscotti. AMAZING. I am making a second batch as we speak.

Rugelach - my fave! but i hate making them, so we only get them once a year.

sad face/head tilt man. love him.

Jack testing our frosting. with a carrot dipper.

Overall, a rousing success! I think we ended up with about 13 types of cookie... in only 8 hours. Again, I only do this because I love my buds. :)

This...

2011-12-18T17:02:00.001-08:00

Melts my ovaries. Good god.

Get Ready!

2011-12-14T19:55:00.000-08:00

Christmas Cookie Day (aka CCD) 2011 coming this weekend!

I look forward to 2 things:

Drinking.

And being done.

I hate baking, but I love my friends.

Trip of Awesomeness!!!

2011-12-14T18:53:00.000-08:00

Home again, home again, jiggety-jig!

Michelle and I had an amazing trip touring the East Coast.

I (shockingly) remembered my camera! And took many a picture!

But none of the Virginians.

Rest assured, they look great.

Here is a sampling of what happened:

We bummed around Fredericksburg.

Did some X-mas shopping, drank some beers, walked.

Then, we drove (7 hours!) to Asheville NC.

My first time in NC! (And the tip of Tennessee. Scary.)

We went to an incredible retreat, titled A New Ancient Harmony.

It was wonderful. Peaceful. Incredibly spiritually overwhelming in the best possible ways.

I'm still processing.

Perhaps, one day, I will know what I learned. :)

I didn't get many good pictures from that.

But this one? I love this one.

This is Fran McKendree. He is probably one of my favorite people on the planet.

He is soulful, kind, immensely talented yet humble, and overflowing with love and light.

I honestly cannot say enough good things about the man.

I think I'm probably in love with him.

Unfortunately, he is happily married and lives across the country.

This (terrible) pic is of me and Michele with another amazing source of inspiration in my life, Brian Prior (on the left). Brian is the current Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota, but will forever be known to me as the man I probably tortured as a super annoying camper when he ran Camp Cross. I asked him this weekend if he would have guessed I would turn out so great, and he honestly said "You? No. Never in a million years."

Also pictured, J. Phillip Newell, the keynote speaker at our conference.

Profoundly spiritual, and honestly living every word he preaches. A rare gift in this world I think.

Also, he really rocks the scarf.

Alas, all good things must come to an end.

It was onward and upward, via brief stopover in F'burg, to DC for the rest of the weekend.

I tried to condense pictures.

But rest assured, an awesome time was had by all.

(All being me, Michele, and our old Camp friends Ellen Adams and AJ Frye. Plus a few visits from our bud Ashley and AJ's girlfriend Andrea...)

We drank. We talked shit. We laughed a LOT.

Like ridiculous amounts.

We wandered around DC.

It was cooold. But beautiful. (A nice change from Asheville, where it rained/misted the entire time!)

We goofed around. Saw some sights.

And I discovered my amazing gift for the self-pic.

I love it.

Honestly, people would offer to take our picture, and I usually refused.

So there you have it.

I could not be happier to be home, though.

I missed my dog something crazy.

And I think she was about to go on hunger strike.

buddies 4 life!

2011-12-01T18:48:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, I am heading out on a grand adventure with this lady:

We are heading to DC (to see friends AJ, Ashley and Ellen), then Fredericksburg (to see the fam), then down to Asheville NC (to go on a church retreat and see 2 of my fave peeps ever, Brian Prior [ran Camp Cross when I was growing up, is now Bishop of Minnesota] and Fran McKendree [favorite musician of my life])!

What does all of this mean to you?

Well, I'll be gone for 10 days. (YAY!)

But don't worry. I'm sure when I get back you'll get some amazing pics.

Because this is how we roll:

And this:

And a little of this:

Oh yeah, don't forget this:

Okay, and probably some of this:

Catch ya on the flip side!

sneak preview!

2011-11-23T08:33:00.000-08:00

Yes, i did it! I got bangs!

and, i LOVE them.

here is a (terrible) picture... and a sneak preview of an upcoming post about our Fellowship group Thanksgiving dinner!

such a gal

2011-11-17T22:06:00.000-08:00

I was browsing old posts tonight, and came across this gem:

"So, on our 2 week anniversary, here are some things I've learned about my pup:

1) She LOVES me. And pretty much everyone else she's ever met. But she is my shadow at all times when I'm home. Never more than 2 feet from me. :P

2) She is killer with a tennis ball - and this makes me soooo happy, cuz all I wanted was a dog who would play fetch! (Although she won't bring the ball back until she has spent a good 3 minutes tearing around the yard at top speed with it first...)

3) She is pretty smart (I think)... she can "sit" like no one's business, and is slowly learning other tricks as well (week 2 of puppy school is on Monday).

4) She likes to have a wide variety of toys/chewies that she can choose between - but will always pick Joan over any other.

5) She is pretty much the cutest, sweetest puppy in the whole world! :)

(Not sure why it turned green...) Anyways, thought an UPDATE was in order!

Really, not much has changed since week 2 of life with Lucy Longinotti.

1) I am, far and away, still her #1 gal. (Don't worry Lulu, the feeling is definitely mutual.)

Her new favorite thing? The second I walk through the door, she sprints for the closest tennis ball and forces me to play fetch with her as long as I can stand it. It is hilarious.

Still my shadow at pretty much all times.

2) See above. LOVES her tennis ball. Although now she brings it back pretty much immediately. ;)

3) Definitely smart. But I am bad at bothering with new tricks. Also, terrible on a leash. She prefers to run free. (We are currently working on expanding our "circle of trust" - ie, how far I'll let her get before thinking she might run away...)

4) Joan got mauled by the lawn mower this summer. :O We are all devastated by the loss.

5) Definitely still the sweetest little pal in the whole wide world.

laugh

2011-11-15T21:42:00.000-08:00

THIS SITE makes me happy.

Seriously.

Yay? or Nay?

2011-11-10T21:08:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking I need bangs.

I always hated bangs (on me, not on other people).

But now, maybe I kinda love them?

I need input, people!

I am thinking something like these (long hair, long-ish bangs?):

just because...

2011-11-09T18:02:00.000-08:00

...Because I LOVE this video more than anything else on the whole internet.

...Because you should too.

...Because it's been at least 6 months since I last posted it.

Enjoy!

This Guy.

2011-11-08T17:41:00.000-08:00

So, I haven't blogged much lately (other than the flurry of Halloween-related posts...).

It's because I'm trying to spend as much time as I can with my sweet grandpa Tony.

(Pictured with his many granddaughters...)

Cuz our lovely grandma Gay passed away not too long ago.

And gramps has not lived alone in a veeerrryyy long time. If ever.

So, as you can imagine, it's been a bit rough.

Honestly? It's kind of great to be around him so much.

He has lots of stories about old Hollywood stars (who used to come into the old family restaurant, or who he made amazing furniture for). He watches a lot of old movies. :) and that's about it.

For now.

I'm just trying to soak it all in, and learn everything I can about him. Because let's face it, none of us are gonna be around forever. And we should cherish our grandparents while we can.

It's Up! GO VOTE!

2011-10-31T07:49:00.000-07:00

VOTE! Thanks!

Pumpkins!

2011-10-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

My pumpkin!

Love those pumpkin kits - such cooler pumpkins than I am actually capable of making on my own...

And, here is us picking out said pumpkin at Greenbluff!

Love the excitement.

Love

2011-10-30T13:42:00.000-07:00

Just found this awesome website: Tattly - Temporary tattoos, which are amazing.

Here is just a small sampling:

Happy Halloween!!!

2011-10-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone!

Okay, so I have a little story.

Last year, Lulu dressed as a ballerina piggy for H'ween. I loved it, she hated it.

I swore I wasn't going to dress her up this year.

BUT, then something happened.
Her dog food brand is having a contest... we could win dog food for a year!

(Now would be the time to VOTE)

So, what to dress my little angel as???

Of course, Lavs the genius jokingly said "A Fascinator."

And we all know there is really only one fascinator worth making:

So, yes, that's exactly what we did.

We dragged Cara & Tony to JoAnn's while they were here.

We fought over ribbon vs fabric (in the end, we compromised)...

We argued about the foam.

We put off making it until the very last minute (can you tell?) ;)

And here is the final product!

As you can tell by her face, she is THRILLED.

Honestly? It's ghetto, but I kinda LOVE it.

Now, go VOTE!!! (You can search by her name, then scroll until you find her picture... There are a LOT of Lucy's.)

Palm Springs mega post!

2011-10-25T21:42:00.000-07:00

After a super rough week last week, with Grandma Gay's passing and funeral, a vacation was in store!

Bethany turned the Big 3-0 on Monday, and decided she wanted to do it in Palm Springs!

I was all for it, as Vegas seemed a bit played out. And it is cooooold in Spokane right now.

Well, it was a fabulous weekend.

I haven't laughed so hard or so much in ages. Just what the doctor ordered.

Here are just some of the many adventures we had, in possibly the cutest hotel EVER.

Michele, me, Scott and Bethany posing in our room (B and her hubby Brian stayed next door.)

Seriously? cutest hotel ever. Totally "Rat Pack-y"

Bethany is the QUEEN of doing super cute decorations for our birthdays. So Mish and I tried our hardest to return the favor! Not sure if we quite met her level, but it was still cute!

The view from my room! The hotel only had like 10 rooms, and come Sunday we pretty much had the run of the place!!! It was awesome! (Also, those cabanas at the back had flat screens and firepits - so football was on pretty much nonstop... And they were free - take that, Vegas.)

Last pic of my room, promise! :)

Me and Bethany at "Streetbar Named Desire" - we have an amazing story about how we thought this would be a classy piano bar, and instead ended up watching the "Mr Leather Palm Springs" contest with a bunch of giant, hairy, leather-sporting older gay gentlemen.

Yeah...

This pic is out of order... it was our last dinner. I obviously did NOT think I was in the frame. I look like a creeper.

Back at Streetbar. We are semi-faking happiness. Scott is trying to avoid getting his ass grabbed again behind us... And not succeeding. :)

Back in the safety/normalcy of the mexican restaurant!

2nd night dinner with Michele! Super yummy pizzas.

Love my girls!

The ONLY thing we did other than randomly go out to eat meals and drink? Lounge.

We lounged like professionals.

Shuffleboard? Check.

Scott got a little too into it...

Also, we looked up the rules to Shuffleboard. Cuz we are cool like that. :) Apparently the stick thingy is called a "tang" and the pucks are "biscuits"... Huh.

Pool shenanigans? Double check.

Complete with synchronized toe-points/drinking...

I attempted to buy some souvenirs. But the only store we went into sold shit like this.

The boys! Love them.

We ordered some Birthday Cupcakes to get delivered to the hotel... The birthday girl was so surprised! And those cupcakes were worth every calorie.

Last night birthday dinner! With probably worst waitress ever. She kept sneaking up behind me. And then I ordered linguine with clams (which was delish) and she literally asked me as she was preparing to grate parm on it "Do you mind if I get parmesan on your clams?" Um, I really didn't know how to answer that... I think I just said "uh, no... just do what you want." But then she veerrryyy carefully placed that cheese on ONLY the pasta and did not touch a single clam. I was proud of her?

The strange girl is Brian's brother Michael's girlfriend... they drove up from San Diego just to go to dinner!

Can't wait to go back when we are crotchety old bedazzled 60 year olds! So fun!

just a taste...

2011-10-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

Seattle fun

2011-10-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

Friday night, Lavs and I decided to make a quick trip over to Seattle for the weekend... Mom's goal was to help Auntie Sue pack up her house, my goal was to NOT pack. :) J/K, I had no goal.

Lucy's goal was to be in the car as little as possible.

God I love this face:

Full of excitement:

I ended up rescuing Bob from a weekend babysitting Hadley and Carsie by kidnapping Little Miss for the day on Saturday!

Apparently Bob made the mistake of telling Hadley about it the night before, I'm pretty sure she got zero sleep.

Yes, I am that exciting folks.

So I picked up the little lady. Tried to talk her into taking Lulu to the dog park. She voted no.

Instead, we did this:

She picked possibly the PINKEST pink ever made. And of course, flowers.

I thought we should go out to lunch, somewhere fun.

We ended up eating McDonald's at Sue's house.

After a failed attempt at a nap (even though Hads was the one who insisted she needed one)...

We went down to Kip & Lis' house for dinner with Laurie!

So fun, I can't believe I had never been to their house before. :)

The dinner was fab, as was the company, and all the gals got to swing a whole lot:

And Lucy and Rudder got to chase the ball. A lot.

Well, Rudder did. Lucy mostly just looked bewildered.

Thanks gang for a super fun weekend!

um, what???

2011-10-16T21:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, I saw this picture while stalking on facebook tonight (taken by someone "planning to become a professional photog within the next year")...

I'm sorry, but WHY?!?! This is terrible.

I don't understand why someone would do this. At all.

And why you would EVER want a wedding picture where the groom looks like a giant, holding up his tiny bride??? Anyone?

(for the record, no i do not know these people. was stalking a friend, they had commented on a different picture but of course this caught my eye...)

Things we learned today...

2011-10-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

1. Mice are expensive little fuckers.

2. Apparently they can have a new litter of creepy little mice babies EVERY 19 GODDAMN DAYS.

3. We will spare no expense. This IS War.

4. We asked the nice mouse-killer man who came over to "please don't give us any details or tell us how many mice you find or anything. We want to stay in the dark." Instead, he told us horror stories about ladies who woke up at 2am with mice in their beds!!! Boo, mouse-killer man.

5. Lulu is the worst guard dog ever. (Ok, ok. I already knew this.) But she barks and gets her hackles up, then runs up to the stranger/intruder/guest sounding mean and lets them PET her immediately. WTF Lulu.

6. We may be moving soon. We'll keep you posted.

for Megan...

2011-09-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

It's no "Nevaless," but saw this on ParentFails...

found this...

2011-09-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

Just saw this old picture of Little Miss Hadley.

Seriously? Cutest piccie EVER.

Love those super chunky cheeks, the tight little smile, the finger pointing, the polka-dot PJs, the glasses...

fun times

2011-09-19T21:15:00.001-07:00

Pia and I had a pretty fun weekend!

Switchfoot at the Fair (where I had to be snuck into the beer garden because they "sold out" of those tickets... even though there were like 20 empty seats).

me, Pia and Krista

The sneaking-in was especially difficult because I had been wearing THIS:

That's right folks. I had to buy a tie-dye sweatshirt at the Fair.

Stupidly, I thought I'd be warm even though it has been dropping down to like 50 degrees the second the sun goes down.

So I was freezing.

But I got a hell of a deal, seeing as the hoodie was in the "reject" pile. Kinda like me whenever I wear it.

Event 2: Zac Brown Band at the Gorge!!!!!!!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Zac Brown.

Like want to steal him from his current family, and have his little beanie-wearing, beardy babies.

Is that weird?

Whatever.

We were supposed to have a big group of girls from work, but a couple had to bail last-minute, so it ended up being just 4 of us. And we had a ball.

Pia, me, Emily and Annette waiting for ZackyPooh to come onstage

Seriously? Love this guy.

As I told Pia... If I can't marry Zac, I would happily accept a perfect doppelganger - but he must wear beanies, have a beard, sing country music to me/play the guitar, and preferably be from Georgia (although NC/SC/Alabama would all be considered).

Don't worry, it'll happen.

this is horrifying.

2011-09-15T18:35:00.000-07:00

I saw this news article today:

"With fish numbers all over the world falling thanks to overfishing and habitat destruction, a surprising predator has sprung up to take their place — the jellyfish. Due to their low energy requirements, the floating blobs of stingers don't need to be quite as active or accurate to spread and fill the ecological niche afforded them by changes in the ecosystem.

Even more curiously, the jellyfish appear to be adapting to be better hunters, too. An active predator fish has to spot prey and chase after it, but the Medusozoa just passively wait for their prey to come into contact with their poison stingers. So jellyfish are evolving into larger and even slower moving organisms, able to cover more area with their tendrils while still needing only small amounts of energy to survive.

Keep your eye on the beaches in the future. Sedate-seeming giant jellyfish may be the next megasharks."

This is my WORST NIGHTMARE.

Woot!

2011-09-15T12:39:00.001-07:00

UPDATE to the Grad School Post:

I'M IN!

Not sure if I should celebrate or cry... the thought of doing homework is a bit horrifying... :)

Now to go negotiate with the bosses about how to pay for it all!

Yea? Nay?

2011-09-14T15:50:00.001-07:00

Trying out a new blog design.

Because like everything else in my life, I was getting bored with the old one...

Like? No? I am open to suggestions. Unless they suck, in which case you will probably be ridiculed by me or a family member.

Also, is that header picture ENORMOUS on everyone's computer or just mine? I can't figure out how to shrink it...

The Great Grad School Adventure (mega-long post)

2011-09-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not have caught on in my previous post, I applied for Grad School recently. Yikes! It was an adventure applying, as you are about to read...

First, I have been thinking about returning to school for my Master's in Nursing for a while now, but only really seriously considering it for the past month or so. It's a big decision! I LOVE what I'm doing right now with my job, so wasn't really sure if I wanted to rock my whole world by completely changing my job.

A side note, for those of you who don't know: I would become an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) with my new fancy-schmancy degree. This is essentially a step down from the doctor (although don't say this to certain uppity NP's - they don't care for that description. They apparently also do not care for being called "Mid-Level Providers." Whatever. I could care less.) Anywho, the ARNP does many things. In our practice, she gets to see and assess patients, order chemo and various other drugs, triage calls, run around like a chicken-with-her-head-cut-off, be given every crap assignment and case load possible, fill in for the docs and catch all their mistakes, dictate on visits, etc., etc., etc. Can you see the dilemma I faced in deciding whether all this stress is actually worth it?!?! However, my employer will pay for this, and guarantee me a job when I'm done... Hmmm.

SO. Going back to a month-or-so ago. I'm saying to myself, "hmmm, you know Katie, I bet in about 2-3 years, you might not be so excited about your job anymore. In fact, knowing you (and I think I do), I would wager that you'll be kinda bored and ready for something a bit more challenging." So I start looking into things, talking with our NP's here, checking out programs around the state, etc. And, shockingly, for the first time in my life, I legitimately consider becoming a HUSKY! Ew, crazy! So I start ordering transcripts from the MANY schools I've attended because I know this can take a while (this is key later in the story)... And just as soon as I decide that UW's program is the best one, they drop a bomb on me - they are changing their program! No longer is a Master's degree enough, now they want everyone to get a DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice. Or Dumb Nursing Program. Something like that.) This means an extra year of school (at least), and when you graduate you get to do the exact same job as the Master's nurse. Dumb, right? Yeah. Turns out, WSU tells me the same thing. WTF.

So, now I'm getting annoyed. Because my Top 2 choices aren't saying what I want to hear. So I am forced to turn to Choice #3, Gonzaga. More expensive. Not as established. BUT they have one thing going for them - they wouldn't make me attend an extra year of school for no good reason.
However, Gonzaga's website is terrible I come to find out. Like, no online application, very few details, hard to find someone to contact. Stupid. So I email the contact person about 4 times, and call her office leaving her voicemails, to find out important questions like "Where are your applications?" And "Can I have one?" And "When is it due????" FINALLY, after about 3 weeks of no answer, we are at approximately August 27th. And I get an email. With an application attached. And it says, by the way, spring applications are due September 1st.

Wait, what? Come again? (that's what she said...)

Part of the application is to gather 2 recommendations. Plus write a professional vita (aka a resume except they only want to know about accomplishments/published articles/etc. - I had none of note). OH YEAH, you also have to take a test. The MAT (Miller's Analogy Test) to be specific. In case you haven't heard of this shit-show, it's a completely outdated way to evaluate your critical thinking skills by giving you an hour to complete 120 analogies. FML.

So I call Gonzaga, because they've given me about 5 days' notice to finish all this. And I'm pretty sure I can do the application itself, including essays. And I have a few awesome colleagues who are willing to write me a recommendation with only 3 days' notice. And thank god I already ordered all those transcripts!!! But this test? Can I maybe do it after September 1st and still turn in my application? Turns out the answer to this question is "hell no, don't even bother if that's the case." Wow. Thanks. Awesome.

So I get squeezed in and get a test date. For August 31st. At 6pm. Pushing it much? :)

And I take the test. It is exactly as awful as you would think. But I get an indecipherable score, and my application is complete.

Cue about 3am Thursday morning (I am planning to drop the app off at lunch on Thurs.) I wake up with fluids coming out of every orifice in my body. I am basically on my death bed. And I'm not going to make the G-D deadline!!!! Argh!

Thankfully, I have nice friends. And they rescued my application and turned it in. And brought me crackers and every flavor of Gatorade known to man.

So that is the story. And now, we wait.

dog torture

2011-09-11T20:16:00.001-07:00

I painted Lulu's toenails tonight.

She hates it.

I love it.

I win.

the Fair

2011-09-11T13:47:00.000-07:00

I have been MIA for a while sorry! Not a whole lot to blog about... I got the stomach flu, turned in an application for Grad School (so will keep you updated when I know something), went to Camp again, went to Hayden again, cleaned my room (finally).

But last night, we went to the Fair! I LOVE the Fair. I wanted to ride some rides, no one else did. Boo.

But we did go watch the Rodeo! I can't believe I've never done that before! SO fun.

Curtis, our hero (rescued us from a dead bird - thank god we have him around)! and Krista came with us...

Also, the Weight-Watching took a break for a night... oops! Had to eat some yummy fair food! :)

Krista and I decided to brave the jail cell display - and we got sweet Junior Sheriff stickers as a reward! Woot!

Water Baby

2011-08-31T13:30:00.000-07:00

One thing I have learned about my girl? She loves the water. LOVES it.

So we've been spending a LOT of time at the lake this summer!

And I have 2 cute picture stories to share with y'all...

The first happened this past weekend at Hayden.

Miss Lucy decided she didn't think I should be allowed to Jet-Ski on my own or try to leave the premises of the swimming area...

So I was forced to pull her up with me and take her for a little ride

Now, I don't think I can say she "liked" it, but she did surprisingly well!

No scratching or trying to escape (probably because she was frozen in terror)...

And once I got her back on the dock and had Pia hold her collar, I was able to drive away! :)

STORY #2:

I mentioned this in my Camp wrap-up post, but Lulu has a new, absolutely adorable trick:

The Lifeguard Rescue

She swims up to the "drowning swimmer" (preferably me or Curtis, she may or may not let the rest of you live),

Grabs the lifeguard tube by its tow strap,

And swims you all the way to shore!

And she's not stopping until she gets you on the beach.

Honestly? Cutest thing I've ever seen in my life.

Step 1: the "Catch"

Step 2: Starting swimming (notice the fierce look of determination)

Step 3: Cross over any and all obstacles in the way

Step 4: Bask in the glory of yet another successful rescue.

Love these peeps

2011-08-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Pia and I dragged a couple of friends to the 100 Monkeys show. (See Pia's blog for the totally fabricated story on how we got there. And her comment section for my rebuttal.)

Anywho, it was a total blast. (Of course, the $70 bar tab I ended up with was not so much fun. Nor was the puking in the car later. Yeah. That happened.)

But here are a few pics, cuz we are so dang cute! :D (obviously the first 2 are from a cell phone, so they suck...)

so freaking cute.

2011-08-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned earlier (see post below for more deets), i am pretty sure I have the cutest, sweetest dog alive.

Below is photographic evidence.

What you are looking at: our group campout on Boys Beach. The first sleeping human lump you see is me. Right in front of me is Lucy Lou, curled up on my coat.

I was convinced she would spend the night hunting in the woods/getting eaten by a bear.

Nope.

She literally curled up on that coat for the entire night. Did not move. Not to pee, not to drink water from the lake, nothing.

Well, not until I got up anyways.

Seriously, sweetest dog ever.

This was pretty much how the whole week went - she would wander off maybe, but then come back to find me before going on a different adventure. She was nice to the campers, but didn't really love them like they all wanted her to. (This especially broke the heart of one of my kids Brooks, who spent the whole week just trying to get her to sit with him. Sorry Brooksy.)

Love my gal.

Camp extravaganza

2011-08-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

Last week, Lulu and I packed our grips and headed out to Camp Cross for a week of fun and (semi) Relaxation! It was an awesome week - gorgeous weather, Lucy had the time of her life ignoring the campers, and I got to spend time with a bunch of OLD friends who used to be on Staff waayyy back when I was a camper! so fun.

Also, I don't have the pics yet, but Lucy learned an amazing trick - if you hold on to a Lifeguard's tube, she will grab the strap and tow you to shore! A-freaking-dorable. Seriously the cutest thing ever, it was quite the hit at camp!

Okay, on to the pics:

Cutest dog ever.

Me and Emma (all-time favorite staff member from the old days, now she's an actress in NYC)

Curtis, Pia and me. This is about 5 minutes before my Small Group team dominated the Staff team at volleyball. So their smiles didn't last long. Mine did. ;)

P and I at the last night... maybe one of my fave pics of us.

the counselors/resource team. we rocked.

I'm not convinced that dishwashing while shirtless is the safest idea ever, but it didn't seem to deter the boys. (That is Colin - Dev's older brother - with Curtis and Devin)

Little miss nosy had to get in everyone's business. Love it.

Michaela came out for the first night. SO happy to hang with her. She has an absolutely incredible singing voice, and got to duet with our music man Fran McKendree at campfire. Loved it. Also, she's heading to Peru for the next 6 months (or longer if she likes it)... So I'm gonna miss her! Also, we have officially been friends for 20 years this summer (met at Camp when we shared a cabin in 5th grade)!!!

This was my small group (plus Emmett/Christa, minus my co-counselor Mike) - they were awesome. And, as I mentioned earlier, we totally dominated the camp Volleyball Tourney! Woot!

We camped out on this beach - and Lucy never left my side once all night LOL... such a goober.

Amazing view of one of my favorite Camp moments - every day before the campers were up, a group of us would go to random scenic locations for a 15-minute morning spiritual time... it was perfection.

Emma and Ronco. My faves. Plus Ronco is a nurse, which is always a good thing.

Lucy is already wondering when we are going back. Apparently she thought the deal was that she and I were moving out there permanently. She was crushed when we got back to our boring old house.

Sorry Lulu. Maybe next year.

Pace yourselves

2011-08-05T19:42:00.000-07:00

The blog posts were fast and furious today.

But you may want to pace yourself on reading them.

Because, tomorrow, Lucy Lou and I are heading to Camp Cross for a whole week!

Catch ya on the flip side.

Last, but definitely NOT least!

2011-08-05T19:34:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HAPPY birthday a few days early to my fave big sis!

I MISS YOU SOOOOO MUCH!

COME BACK HOME!!!!

Sorry these pics are the only times I've seen you this year!

And, since lists seem to be all the rage with me right now, here are just a few things I love about you:

~You are the most generous person I know. Seriously.

~You are probably the only person on the planet who really totally gets what it means to me to touch Tim McGraw.

~You love your family the mostest.

~You LOVE slots. And one a lot of money on them in Vegas. Then tried to lose it all again. :)

~Even though you HATE flying, you're pretty much always game for a trip somewhere.

~You are hilarious

~You have the biggest heart

~You are the quintessential big sister - you constantly tease me and give me terrible nicknames, but for some reason all I ever want is your approval

~Every once in a while, you throw me a bone and give it ;)

LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU.

Happy Birthday!

2011-08-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEAUTIFUL MOM!!!

Since I won't see you tomorrow, thought I'd wish you a super duper happy birthday now!

Just a few of the million things I love about you:

~You love my dog almost as much as I do.

~You take Lulu for walks even though she constantly tries to pull your arm off.

~You love all the same shows I do - Toddlers & Tiaras, SYTYCD, Modern Family, etc.

~You are the nicest person I know - always willing to do anything for any of us.

~You do the dishes a LOT more than you should have to.

~You try so hard to grow things in our garden.

~You never fail to support me or motivate me when I need it.

~You were the best, most patient nurse ever when I was on crutches for 6+ weeks (even though you claim you have a "3-Day Rule" this is never true when we really need it)

~You are my favorite Road Trip buddy ever!

~I finally convinced you to come out to Camp for a weekend, then promptly made you work your tail off, and you didn't complain at all!

~You knit me the cutest mini-Lucy ever, and I love it.

~You are the most giving knitter ever - you rarely knit for yourself, always doing a project for someone else.

~You LOVE your kids. Even when we may not deserve it.

Happy happy happy birthday! Love you like 60.

Happy Birthday baby girl!

2011-08-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd Birthday Lucy Lou!!!

Things I've learned about you:

~You LOVE your momma. More than anyone in the world. And I love that.

~You love your grammy 2nd best. I also love that.

~You probably love JOANIE 3rd best. Even though she's just half a body with almost no stuffing, she remains your go-to gal.

~You could swim ALL DAY long if I let you.

~Camp is your favorite place in the world. (And why shouldn't it be? You can swim, crash through bushes, chase snakes and squirrels and bugs, run and run and run...)

~You are the sweetest dog I've ever had. You love everyone. And everyone loves you right back.

~You are the perfect size.

~You have the softest fur ever.

~I adore when you sleep on your back with those front legs sticking straight up in the air.

~You get the most hopeful look on your face whenever I leave the house - hoping this time I will take you with me. (Luckily for you, I take you a lot.)

~You HATE to sit/lay down in the car. You only do it when you are so so so so tired.

~You love to go to "puppy school" aka doggy daycare.

~You always try to pull Grammy's arm out of the socket on walks. We don't love that so much.

~You love when our doggy neighbors come for a visit - your "bet wens" Pumpkin & Shadow, or Piggy & Munchy from across the alley.

~You are so good - you never beg for food and you rarely get in the garbage. You'd never dream of taking something off the counter. Love that.

~YOU ARE THE BESTEST GIRL! LOVE YA!

trust me.

2011-08-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

For Cara - Just a few pics from Turkey... Trust me, you wanna go there. :D

pretty please?

2011-08-04T16:52:00.001-07:00

Will someone please take me here???

I want a good vacation STAT!

**Note, I would also accept HERE, HERE or HERE as alternatives. FYI.

for my knitters out there...

2011-07-29T13:42:00.000-07:00

summer! finally!

2011-07-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

Summer has finally arrived in the Northwest! While the rest of the country is battling record-breaking heat waves (I'm looking at you, Virginians), we've been struggling to hit 80. It's been kinda sad. But the weather is finally staying nice on a regular basis! (I hope. Knock on wood. etc.)

I have been in a blogging slump.

But here is a run-down of what I've been up to:

Restarted Weight Watchers with Lavs. We are on week 3 now, going well so far (only down 4 pounds, but am very motivated still)...

Watched Harry Potter... twice. Just as great the 2nd time.

Had a ridiculous epic cupcake making adventure. Tried to make these (a running joke with my awesome friend Beth):

And ended up with this:

Ha! Not quite as cute. But it's the thought that counts. And then I had to overnight them to Boston, which it turns out is quite pricey and also not the smartest idea during the above-mentioned heat wave. Alas, only about 3 of the 18 cupcakes I mailed came out intact. But apparently they still tasted good!

Been to Camp a few times (mostly so Lucy Lou gets the chance to swim).

Got the (mostly) all-clear from the knee surgeon! I don't have to go back to see him ever again! (well, hopefully. Again, knock on wood.) I need to do a few more months of physical therapy to get strength back and all that, but am finally allowed at least to do a bit more than just bike/walking. I'm excited for that.

Watched the US women lose the World Cup to Japan. Great game, still not sure how we lost. But it's tough to be too disappointed, when Japan could use the morale boost a heck of a lot more than we can.

Watched Cadel Evans win the Tour de France. Now, I'm no Ryan Prentice die-hard up-at-3am-watching-live kinda person. But I do love the Tour. And this was probably the best overall Tour I've seen in years... exciting stuff nearly every day, and the winner not decided until the final time trial.

My friend Michele (the one who got married in TX last January, and came to Vegas with us) moved to Coeur d'Alene! I'm super excited to have her close!

There you have it. That's what I've been doing. Not super exciting folks. :)

i love my friends.

2011-07-11T19:53:00.000-07:00

My good friend AJ knows how much I love this guy (in fact, he is the one who first introduced us)... So the other day he sent me this:

Watch it. It's totes worth it. (And it's only a minute long) :D

seriously. LOVE.

2011-07-09T12:33:00.000-07:00

If you aren't watching "Toddlers & Tiaras" you are seriously missing out on one of life's great joys.

I'm not even kidding.

The season premiere featured Eden, T&T's resident "superstar" debuting her song "Cutie Patootie"... Sidenote: for a hilarious "drunk" version of the song, go HERE.

But this is the best version, as it finally breaks down the amazingly deep lyrics to the life-changing song...

(Which just so happens to be the ringtone when my mother calls me now. Don't hate.)

**you have to click the "X" on any ad that pops up at the bottom, or you will miss all the subtitles - which are the whole point of the vid** :D

heart this

2011-07-09T08:32:00.000-07:00

found here

we fancy...

2011-07-04T18:57:00.000-07:00

I finally got a new phone this weekend!

I have been wanting one for ages (I actually had my BB Curve for 2 whole years, a new personal record)! I was all about switching to the iPhone...

But the salesman talked me out of it, and so far I'm not sad about that! My new Motorola Atrix is great.

Of course, the learning curve is a bit high - as Lavs said, I've spent the entire weekend with "my nose in my phone" trying to figure it out/get it set up the way i want... :D

Happy Fourth of July!

2011-07-04T10:02:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! I spent a lovely but exhausting weekend out at Camp Cross with Pia and, shockingly enough, Mom! Yes, we managed to talk Lavs into coming out to Camp for the first time since I was probably in 4th grade!

Of course, now I feel bad, cuz we ended up needing her help in the kitchen (there were about 100 people out for the weekend, so it was super hectic)... So now she is exhausted and probs won't come back for another 18 years!

Of course, she did have time for a couple of knitting breaks in the sun!

Of course, Lucy Lou was the Queen of Camp once again. She makes friends everywhere she goes...

Last night we got to go on the "cocktail cruise" - Lucy insisted on coming along (aka - i tried to get someone to lock her in the dining hall, she escaped their clutches 3 times and came sprinting back to the dock in a panic)! She regretted it, as she's too little to drink and there was nothing fun to do on the boat for her... :)

Lavs and I enjoying the Cruise... Forgive my hideous outfit combo - it was a bit chilly and I had to borrow a friend's coat :D

Cap'n Krista and her first mate Michelle!

Overall, a fun weekend. But I'm tired today from all the cooking/dish washing we did. And the only food I really loved was the Flag Cake I made yesterday - super delish! And cute!

time-waster tuesday... err, sunday

2011-06-26T13:26:00.001-07:00

This week's Time-Waster: Cake Wrecks!

Seriously one of my all-time fave blogs. I can browse for ages. Because the cakes are awful. But the commentary is hilarious.

Here are a couple of examples:

supposed to be a baseball bat? it looks more like a turd.

the classic "writing out the directions rather than actually reading them" combined with the "horrible spelling" cake.

Oh yeah, they also feature amazing good cakes on Sundays. Love this one for Father's Day:

for my mom...

2011-06-26T12:56:00.001-07:00

For those of you who don't know, my mom is a terrible bike rider.

But her heart is in the right place. She continues to go out there and try, despite the fact that history is not on her side (see here. and here. And don't forget this classic - she still has the scars.)

So, mom? I love you. But i think it's time for this:

Yes, you will lose all street cred. But we prefer you alive.

She's famous!

2011-06-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

My BFF Sara made her TV debut recently - she is the star (in my opinion) of the commercial for the San Diego Racquet Club (where her hubby teaches tennis lessons)!!!

She will probs kill me for posting this. Oh well.

She is the cute blondey in the turquoise shirt (first one you see, so don't blink)!

another one.

2011-06-20T19:42:00.001-07:00

seriously amazing.

2011-06-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

It finally happened.

Item #1 on my Bucket List has been crossed off.

FRONT ROW FOR TIM McGRAW!!!

(Of course, now item #1 is to actually MEET him... a girl's gotta have goals, you know.)

It was amazing. Everything I thought it would be and more. The only thing missing was Cara - who is probs the only one I know who gets what it really means to TOUCH Timmy.

Here is the long story, which I will tell in excruciating detail - feel free to skip down to the pics if you want... (And these are just a few cell phone pics, Pia took a billion on her camera which I will upload later.)

Okay, so waaaay back in April, tickets for Timmy at the Gorge went on sale. Of course, I am a superfan and so belong to the Fan Club and got early notice about this. I went online, and saw they had PIT seats available - naturally I was ALL over that. Snatched 'em right up. BUT, I was trying not to get my hopes TOO high about where exactly the pit seats would be - I told myself that most likely, the actual front rows would be reserved for radio stations etc.

We got to the Gorge late-ish - The show was at 7, I wanted to get there around 4, we actually got there about 5:20. Thankfully, our friend Blythe is awesome, and was already there waiting in line and let us cut. SO, we ended up about 40 people back in one of the lines. THEN, they opened the bag check for our line early, all hell broke loose with the power-tripping security guard - but we were already through bag check so only had to get to the actual ticket scanning. We were probably two of the first 50 people into the Gorge. Awesome.

Pia got held up getting her wristband, but I went ahead (you can't slack when front row is on the line) - as I'm getting closer to the bottom I see that there is hardly anyone down there yet! I'm starting to freak out, but held myself together long enough to grab stageside spots in a PERFECT location - on the first part of the walkway right next to the main stage. Pia finally came down, and it was time to wait. And wait. And freak out a bit. (Also, the girl directly across the stage from us mentioned that she touched Tim at KeyArena and "her doctor told her she had a heart murmur right after that." - Don't worry, honey, I get it.)

So yes, our seats were amazing. Despite the mosh pit-like pushing behind us. Definitely a good time to be a chubby girl. :) Band Perry and Luke Bryan opened, which were both great - Luke Bryan was super cute and lots of fun. Touched his hand/leg a few times as a warm-up to the big act. (had to make sure I wouldn't pass out...) :P

FINALLY, it is time for Tim. We are fully expecting him to pop up from under stage or something - instead, he is out on the field in the middle of general seating! Love it. He sang all his big hits pretty much. And of course, goal is maximum touching. Check. Got a couple hand grabs, including some prolonged eye contact (dying) while i was trying not to scream. Oh just kidding, I was totes screaming. And a few leg holds. And the cream-of-the-crop Tim Touch - a butt touch. I lived the dream. LOL. It was the whole experience - sweat flying, you can see every gray hair and wrinkle, it feels like they are just singing to you. General admission just won't suffice after this. And we got to see Tim stop the whole show when a fight broke out just across the stage - apparently some dude threw his beer can (hopefully empty?) at a girl, and everyone around them started getting rowdy, so Timmy had to stop and yell at him and he brought that poor girl backstage... Next time, we're staging a fight too (sorry P, you're probably gonna have to sacrifice and get kicked out...)!

Looking back, I'd have to say it will be a difficult concert experience to top. My fave artist ever, whom I have loved since I was about 16, and have seen in concert probably 13 times.

As I said, next goal: backstage.

can't see Tim without getting the gratuitous butt shot. Although, i must say, he has gotten super skinny - his butt is not nearly as cute as it used to be. not that i'm complaining... :)

seriously. love this guy.

This guy.

2011-06-14T18:38:00.000-07:00

I've been busy lately, but nothing worth blogging it doesn't feel like... All my buds are now heading out to Camp for the summer!

BUT, did get to go see Brett Dennen play at the knitting factory last weekend with Pia and Matty.

I LOVE Brett. I took no pics. But here he is playing on Jimmy Kimmel... (Yes he's kind of a dork, but he's a GINGER! Yay!)

Recycling Posts...

2011-06-07T17:09:00.000-07:00

I am recycling an old post I just found, cuz it still horrifies me and makes me laugh....

"If for some reason you were living under a rock and missed it, I am completely terrified of sea creatures. There is no reason for it, I am not necessarily thinking something rational like they might eat me, it is more that they are creepy and disgusting and scary looking.

But a new fear cropped up today and immediately joined the realm of sea creatures... Armadillos! Did you know they can jump 3-4 feet into the air? It is horrifying. I tried to find a video of this but got skeeved out, so this pic will have to do." In the comments, Lavs claimed I immediately turned pale and broke into the clammy sweat when we were watching this on the Nature Channel... I believe it. Seriously, I know I've used the word about 12 times already, but HORRIFYING is all I can think of.

Time-Waster Tuesday! Woot!

2011-06-07T15:34:00.001-07:00

Today's website... The Oatmeal! A great site featuring very funny cartoons. Kind of a Far Side for today's generation...

I totes love this site, for many reasons.

1) He's from Seattle! Yay!!!

2) He's hilarious - his blog posts are great, and always have good drawings that make me laugh.

3) Because I can waste lots and lots of time on the site (which is really the only reason I need)...

Here is a sampling (taken from the post "7 Things You Don't Need To Take A Picture Of"):

(Um, this is what ALL of my concert pics look like. Guilty.)

perfection

2011-06-04T15:34:00.000-07:00

The weather today? A perfect sunny 73.

Lulu, mom, Pia and I decided to venture down to Artfest in Browne's Addition. It was perfect weather, LOTS of other doggies to smell, WAY too much artwork I wanted to buy, yummy smoothies, Huckleberry beer/pizza/tunes over at Elkfest (the music fest portion a few blocks away), a billion people out enjoying the first real sunny weekend we've had this year.

In short, Perfection.

Time-Waster Tuesday! (a day late...)

2011-06-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

Today's Time-Waster Website (a day late - the holiday threw me off - so maybe it's just "Website Wednesday" today)... PassiveAggressive Notes!

Why I love this site:

A) The notes, while not always "passive" aggressive, are generally pretty funny.

2) I've been known to do this to roommates too - especially in college. Sue me, I am definitely NOT a confrontational kinda gal.

C) There is a little something for everyone - notes from coworkers, roomies, disgruntled neighbors, kids, guilt-tripping parents, etc.

A sampling (click on pics to enlarge and get full effects of the passive-aggressiveness):

yum-o

2011-05-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

Lucy always gets to go next door to play with "bet wens" (that's best friends for you non-Longi's) Shadow & Pumpkin. We love it.

So today we decided to make some doggy treats to take over as a thank you!

They are delish, according to Lulu - peanut butter and oatmeal! I'm trying to keep Lavvies from eating them before Lucy gets her share... :D

boys...

2011-05-29T08:57:00.001-07:00

I think I need to quit hanging out with boys...

Last night I just wanted to go watch this:

But, it was sold out. So instead we watched this:

And played this:

Seriously, guys?

Try-a-site Tuesday?

2011-05-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

I shoulda done this on Wednesday, then it coulda been Website Wednesday. I'm willing to take naming help in the comments.

But here is your website suggestion o' the week.

Fake Science

I love Tumblr... it is the weirdest/greatest assortment of time-wasters i've ever seen! Some other great ones include Garfield minus Garfield (answers the burning question Is Jon Arbuckle schizophrenic?), STFU Parents (showcasing crazy-ass people all over the interwebs), The Story of Man (story of man told in headlines from around the world), and of course Dads are the Original Hipsters because every single one of those pictures reminds me of my dad circa 1973-1988.

Enjoy! Hope you don't get fired after wasting all that time! :)

What i've been up to (super post)...

2011-05-23T20:09:00.001-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while. Because I've been busy! (Sort of.)

So here is the super picture post, long overdue...

What I've been up to (completely out of order) -

Went to see "Wicked" last night with Pia and a few Camp friends. 2nd time seeing it was just as amazing as the 1st...

Took Lucy out to Camp Cross for "Labor of Love" (aka work your butt off for free, because you love this place time).

She swam. I did not. That water is COLD.

At one point, heard a LOUD screeching noise. It was just the boat on trailer, flying down the hill to the lake. Oops. No big deal, it all turned out shockingly fine.

Lucy got home Sunday night and CRASHED. Big time. She was SOOOO tired. Love that.

Oh yeah, we also went to VEGAS.

There was drinking.

And eating yummy food...

We went to a show... umm...

We gambled (of course)...

We met Elvis...

(And Tony Montana)

But mostly we just laughed, had fun, lost some money, won some money, laid by the pool, etc.

(Oh, yeah. My boy Timmy was there too)

As usual, I took hardly any pics, so the only ones I've got were stolen from Pia and Bethany. But you may not have noticed that Cara, Tony, Patty, Dad and Tone's friend Alex were all present in addition to me, Mom, Pia, Sara, Bethany and Michele!

The groups kind of crossed paths in the night (the girls had to leave Sunday am and the East Coasters didn't arrive until late Saturday night)... But it was SUPER FUN getting to hang with all my favorite peeps! Thanks for making 30 that much less depressing!

Also, 4 Loco is awful. Just in case you weren't sure.

By popular demand...

2011-05-17T11:57:00.000-07:00

It's the "Link of the Week"!

I received multiple requests for this, since apparently I 'spend a LOT of time online...' and people wanna know what I'm doing.

So, I will present my fave websites for killing time.

The first one is...

DamnFunnyTexts

Here is an example of why I love it:

Basically, people just submit their texts, which are usually pretty great. From the makers of "Damn You Autocorrect" which I also love.

Vegas Baby!

2011-05-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

We head off to Vegas tomorrow! Wahoo!

The whole Longinotti clan is meeting there, along with a few of my girlfriends and one of Tony's buddies... We get to celebrate me entering a new decade (ugh) and also my dad's birthday next week.

Staying at the Paris which is super fun (I stayed there a few years ago on a girl trip - it is very nice)!

Mostly, I'm excited for SUN. And cocktails. And maybe some Blackjack. And maybe a show.

Pics will follow, I promise!

LOVE her.

2011-05-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

What can I even say about this lady?

She is my absolute favorite person on the planet.

She is always game for an adventure with me - driving cross-country? No prob. Driving to LA? Sure! We are the ultimate road-trip buddies. Never a fight or irritation. We do stupid things like find World's Biggest Cowboy Boots or get stuck in the middle of a buffalo herd without batting an eyelash.

She makes an excellent Grammy to Lucy Lou, even though I know all she really wants is a real grandbaby. Someday, Mom. I promise.

She is a wonderful nurse to her sick/broken children - even though she claims to have a 3-day limit, it's not really true. (Keep that on the down low though.) I never heard one peep of complaint from her when I was on crutches for 5+ weeks and needed someone to do pretty much everything for me.

She loves her kids. Loves us so so much. And we love her back just as much.

Here are some (totally random) pics - there is zero rhyme/reason to these, other than they were handy on my laptop. :)

LOVE YOU MOMMA!

(This one is basically my fave pic of all time. Such scrapnoodles.)

This is it.

2011-05-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

Well, today is my last day in my 20s.

Not sure how I feel about this. Like 65% of the time I am totally fine with it. Then about 15% I freak out that I can't possibly be 30!!! The other 10%? I fluctuate between ambivalence, excitement, and complete horror.

Everyone over 30 (for the most part) keeps telling me I should be happy. "The 30s were/are my favorite decade," they say. "I knew who I was, I was happy with that person, I had the most fun, etc etc."

Okay, I can see what they mean. I do know who I am, and I am very happy with that person (for the most part). I have dear friends, wonderful family, an adorable puppy. I love my job and where I live. BUT I still have so much I want to do - travel more, buy a house, get married and have kids - and part of me gets nervous that I'm running out of time! Dumb, probably, but there you go.

Alas, none of it really matters I suppose. Because, as they so wisely say, time marches on. And I am thrilled to be able to celebrate another year! :D

Recycling Posts...

2011-04-29T22:52:00.000-07:00

A bit of backstory to this post : waaayyy back in 2008 (during the Obama election, to be exact), my mom and I started a little something called the "Bring Em Home" Campaign. The goal? Get Cara & Tony to move back to WA! I found an old post, and am going to recycle it here and officially commence with the "Enough Already - Just Move Back For Cryin' Out Loud" (EAJMBFCOL) Campaign 2011.

Without further ado, 25 (!) reasons why my sibs need to come back to the Best Coast.

1. Northern Quest Casino is 10 minutes away. Vegas is only like 2 hours and a $75 plane ticket from the tri-cities.

2. NO Humidity. Your hair would look normal!

3. Spokane FINALLY got a dog park! And it's pretty nice! Maybe Bubba & Sissy would finally lose the weight...

4. You need to be here so you don't miss out on things like WATCHING THE ROYAL WEDDING - only the greatest event ever, and you totally thought it was gonna be lame. Guess what? It wasn't lame. It was awesome.

5. The Zags games are on before 11pm. Which means you can watch on a school night.

6. If you lived with me, I'd make you dinner pretty frequently. And unlike Dad, i know how to do more than barbeque.

7. You two are funny. And when all of us get in the same room? Ridiculous hilarity ensues.

8. We have CarQuest stores here, too, you know. And i'm sure any one of them would hire you idiots in a heartbeat.

9. red vines. oh boy oberto. zips. the PI. etc etc.

10. Lucy wants to meet her brother/sister. SO bad.

11. we have Hoopfest and Bloomsday and Art on the Green. Fredericksburg has nothing.

12. i don't actually know if #11 is true.

13. We miss you.

14. You missed Carson being born. And Allie. And Maddie and Hadley and Logan. And now they are all SO big and SO great, and you would love them SO much.

15. all of your friends are here, and if you were too maybe you'd actually see them once in a while.

16. hawaii is so much better than the bahamas, and so much closer to the west coast

17. We have amazing lakes. That take 20 minutes to get to.

18. your mother misses you so much (note the heavy guilt-card being played here)

19. There is NO traffic here. the other day i got stuck in traffic. it added about 7 minutes to my commute and i was annoyed.

20. because in all the time they've been married, Seeph and Gummy have never gotten to live alone, which doesn't seem very fair

21. you two work way too many hours to properly enjoy Wally and Lola - if they were here, they'd have Lulu and Grammy to play with them all day.

22. wasn't Roatan amazing? just imagine, we could actually have that much fun all the time! (and plenty of making fun of Pia would happen, promise) :D

23. maybe the Mariners will get good again if you come home? the timing seems to correspond to when you left... sort of.

24. #23 may be wishful thinking, but you never know.

25. i'm afraid if you don't come home soon, you never will. and that kills me.

This one remains as true as it was 2 years ago.

adorable, take 2!

2011-04-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

Love this piccie! Becks was dreamy, love Posh's hat and dress, and the bump!

Just saw this picture... SO Cute!

"Giving their well-wishers more of what they want, William and Kate step out from their reception to drive around Buckingham Palace in an Aston Martin convertible bearing the license plate "JU5T WED." Making their way around the Mall, the beaming bride smiled and waved while her groom kept an eye on the road – the front of the car bore a red letter "L," standing for "learner's permit."

Pip Pip! (or some other appropriate British saying...)

2011-04-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

Well, after months of build-up, the Royal Wedding has come and gone! Prepare to be inundated with replays and pics. :)

Mom and I had grand plans to wake up for live coverage (thankfully I had the day off today) at 2:30am! (ugh.) Well, luckily I ended up waking up early, at 2:15, cuz Wills was already arriving at the church!!! I yelled for Lavs to get up, she did, we sleepily made some scones and coffee.

Observe, scones with jam. Very tasty in the wee hours with a wedding going on:

Lulu, on the other hand, was not impressed. At all. She spent most of her time sleeping or rolling her eyes at us for being awake, or looking hopeful every time we got up that maybe this time we were going back to bed.

In the end? Totally worth it! We got 2 kisses!!! Yay! And, for the record, here are my thoughts:

a) i LOVED Kate's dress. Perfection.

2) Wills is adorable. how he was blushing after the kiss when the crowd cheered? adorbs.

c) i still love Harry the bestest. And Chelsea Davy looked like a cow. not cute.

NEVER gets old.

2011-04-28T13:41:00.001-07:00

thank god.

2011-04-27T18:50:00.001-07:00

We love spring!!!

2011-04-26T09:57:00.001-07:00

This weekend, Lulu and I headed over to Seattle with Grammy for a quick trip (well, quick for us - grammy is staying over to give Aunt Lisa a break for a few days and take care of Mimi)! We took off on Friday night, and after world's worst drive - almost 7 hours! - we finally made it. We also decided Lucy must be bad luck on road trips, because the same thing happened last year when we took her with us to Seattle.

Saturday, the weather was gorgeous. Absolutely beautiful. I couldn't get anyone to come with, but Lulu and I decided to hit up Marymoor dog park anyways. We had SO much fun! We love that park. And Lucy was way braver this year - she actually jumped in the water multiple times (last year, she just stood at the edge crying while Rudder had the time of his life)! Here are a few pics from our grand adventure!

I love this pic. She is such a good little girl, posing for piccies. (Even though she was totes rolling her eyes at me when I made her sit for about 12 pics before I got a good one.)

new toy

2011-04-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

I got a new iPod today. Sounds exciting, right?

It would be, if it wasn't because I had to replace the one that got stolen out of my car last week. Boo. Sometimes, people really suck. Because, honestly, I would have just given the damn thing away - but instead, they broke into Cara's nice car, shattered 2 windows, scratched up the paint, messed up the window frame, etc etc.

But I do love my new ipod at least! I upgraded to the 160gb, so will probably NEVER ever fill it up. Unless all of you readers want to send me more music to put on it! (Or iTunes gift cards, i'm not picky LOL)

Super Dork

2011-04-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

Turns out, Lucy Lou has her first true phobia - fear of HARDWOOD FLOORS. (I could not find a name for this phobia... but I did find "Luposlipophobia" - the fear of being chased by timberwolves around the kitchen table while wearing socks on a freshly waxed floor. Thank you, Gary Larson.)

I'm not usually a video poster, but I love my super dork dog tip-toeing around Susan's kitchen because she hates to slip. And she has to take the LOOOONG way around to get to me. NERD.

Note, there is a part 1 and part 2. Both are short, I promise. :)

Race for the Cure

2011-04-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

EARLY this morning, Pia, Lucy and I went downtown to support the Cancer Care NW team and walk the Race for the Cure! It is really one of my very favorite events to do - the course is easy, it is chill, see lots of people I know, people get way into it, etc.

The sunshine came out just in time to start walking, and we were off! Lucy said "hello" to every other dog on the course (aka barked her head off)... But other than that she was a champ! Had lots of fun, even put up with being forced to wear a team shirt!

We only walked the short course, cuz Pia is still a sickie and I wasn't sure how my knee would hold up for the longer 5k, but overall we had a grand time!

Song of the day!

2011-04-13T10:36:00.001-07:00

This is one of my all-time fave songs/bands right now.

the way-back machine...

2011-04-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

love this pic!

one of my all-time fave movies!!! and makes me think summer! (i can't wait to be by the lake...)

found here of course

what the hell?

2011-04-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

I love me some Paula Deen. BUT watching her show today (i'm home sick - thanks Pia), I realized how much I miss the good old Paula, before she got all famous and sell-out-y (is that a word?) and orange!

Compare (may need to click on pic to see details):

pic o' the mornin'

2011-04-11T10:24:00.001-07:00

this made me chuckle...

If i were a shop owner, i would definitely put this on my door!

found here

Random Thoughts...

2011-04-10T09:29:00.000-07:00

I hate having a cold. I have finally caught Pia's disease, it took long enough (figured I'd be sick about 2 weeks ago). But I just have a chest cold so far, hope it goes away soon!
It's sunny outside! Finally! I'm hoping this means spring is here for good... We had hail/snow on Thursday though, so who knows.
Even though I'm not convinced we won't kill everything, mom and I are getting geared up for gardening! Our little sprouts are sprouting, so exciting.
It's crazy how fast those sunflowers are shooting up. but i guess it makes sense, since they will end up being 6 feet tall...
If anything kills our garden, i'm 98% sure it will be Lucy. She LOVES to dig. Does NOT get why she shouldn't, at all - just stares at you all confused when you yell at her.
I will be 30 in LESS THAN A MONTH. Holy shit.
I don't feel 30. I feel 17. Or 29. Depends on the day.
29 was both a crappy and wonderful year. Crappy because of my knee - it is sloooowly getting better, but still a long ways from 100%. And turning into a very expensive problem. But wonderful too, cuz I have had SO much fun with the puppers, and we had lots of good adventures.
I want to go back to Roatan. Or anywhere tropical, really. Although I should wait until I can zip-line this time. Because I definitely still have that on my bucket list.
I seriously need to get serious about weight watchers. ugh.
Going to the gym when you have a chest cold is torture.
For Lent, me and some friends having been trying a different church every week. I have been very surprised by the results. I am 90% sure I am going to keep going back to the African Methodist Episcopal one. I LOVED that church.
I also gave up Starbucks and caffeinated pop for Lent. I have really not missed either all that much. Although I do miss Diet Dr Pepper around 3 in the afternoon.
I still have a cup of drip coffee in the morning. It's not nearly as good as a skinny caramel macchiatto. But my coworkers appreciate it when I come to work semi-caffeinated.
Why are all the guys at the physical therapy office so effing adorable? It's ridiculous. Seriously. My mom can back me up on that one.
I am convinced - Lucy is the cutest, bestest doggy in the whole world. (Other than the digging. Also, she ate 3 garden hoses last year, not cool). But overall? Perfect.
Sometimes I want a 2nd dog. But then I think, since I got so lucky with Lulu, that the new dog will be the devil. And probably eat all my shoes.
We still have a snow shovel on the front porch. We should probably put it away, but then I remember that this is Spokane, and you can never be sure it won't snow 3 inches.
I love that my mom made us order the special Comcast package with BBC America, just so we can watch the Royal Wedding.
The British have lots of good words that we Americans don't. My fave? Whinge. I love the word whinge. Especially when spoken with an accent. "Quit your whinging!" (it means whine for those non-anglophiles out there... pronounced "winje")
When I was younger, i LOVED Wills. LOVED him. Now? I'm all about Harry. Love that ginger.
Also, I think it would be 1000x better to be married to the "spare" than the "heir." All the fun and tiaras, without all the responsibility.
Okay, I think that's all I've got for now. I leave you with a question: What fun things are you going to do now that the weather is turning nice?

pic of the week!

2011-04-02T18:17:00.000-07:00

i want to be there. doing that.

found here

can you tell i'm bored at work? :)

2011-03-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

via Graphjam

second thought for the day...

2011-03-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

thought for the day...

2011-03-30T10:20:00.000-07:00

found here

a little clarification (kind of)

2011-03-19T09:59:00.001-07:00

The Origins of the "Saltine Warrior" according to Wikipedia: In 1931, a Native American warrior known as Nathan March aka: "Saltine Warrior" became the athletic mascot. The name derived from an article describing an archaeological dig on campus allegedly uncovering the artifacts of a Native American warrior. The warrior was called the "Saltine Warrior" because of the abundant salt deposits in the Syracuse, New York area. The article was later revealed to be a hoax, but the mascot remained for next four decades.

NOT Scary.

2011-03-18T20:08:00.000-07:00

Lavs and I have been watching a LOT of basketball over the past 2 days. (It's March Madness - aka The Greatest Sporting Event Other Than The Olympics Ever Created - for the few of you who don't know.) A side perk to watching all these teams? Learning some new Mascots! And we have decided that so many of them are funny, rather than intimidating - which, really, every mascot should aspire to be in my opinion...

Here are my vote for the worst mascots of the tourney:

The Akron Zips - apparently the "Zips" nickname was shortened from the Zippers a ways back. And no, they weren't named after the zipper on a pair of pants, but rather a type of rubber shoe from the 20's. I don't know, it's weird. Weirder still? The Zips mascot is a kangaroo. We are pretty sure the kangaroo came in 2nd in the mascot vote, and they couldn't figure out how to make a shoe costume.

Ohio State Buckeyes - The Buckeye is a tree nut. Their mascot, "Brutus Buckeye," is a giant, nut-shaped head wearing the school colors. LAME. Even lamer - or cooler, depending on your point of view - the costume used to be a FULL-BODY nut, with just the legs sticking out. That would have been awesome to see. Also, fun fact, apparently Brutus' costume was stolen in the early 2000's and they had to use the old costume. Although I saw no pics of this, so can't verify.

Indiana State Sycamores - A tree is never a good mascot (take note, Stanford). Never. Although, I will give it the edge in a contest between a tree and a NUT - at least a tree could cause serious damage if it fell through your roof?

Syracuse Orange - Okay, something even less terrifying than a nut (because, actually, now that I think about it? Many people have serious nut allergies) is a color! Seriously, Syracuse? Go

back to your old, racist, mascot - the "Saltine Warrior" (some sort of bizarre Indian mascot) because at least he carried a hatchet. Otto the Orange is fucking ridiculous. He looks like a hairy beach ball in a stripey hat (see picture).

Long Island University Blackbirds - Um, there is a Beatles' song about you. And it's pretty. NOT scary.

Boston University AND Wofford Terriers - Even worse than the Scotties (sorry, P). A terrier is in NO WAY intimidating. Cute? Sure. Yappy? Definitely. WHY THE HELL DO 2 SCHOOLS HAVE THIS MASCOT?!?!?!

Tennessee Volunteers - from what I can tell, they don't even have a costume. Couldn't they at least terrorize their opponents by masquerading as a Habit-For-Humanity worker and swing a giant hammer or something?

St. Peter's Peacocks - Now, my mother disagrees with me on this one - she happens to find peacocks terrifying. And I will admit, the ones that roam the Woodland Park Zoo do scare the crap out of me occasionally. But really, for a sports mascot? I mean what are they gonna do, blind you with the beauty of their feathers?

Mother HAVE YOU SEEN THIS?!?!

2011-03-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365155/Royal-wedding-How-knit-Kate-Middleton-Prince-William-corgis.html

You can KNIT THE ROYAL WEDDING!!!!!!!! Seriously I have NEVER seen anything more perfect for my mother than this, as it combines 3 of her favorite things in the whole world - English crap, the Royals, and even Corgis! :D AMAZING.

what i'm working on...

2011-03-12T09:37:00.000-08:00

Just a little taste of my newest project, found this seller on Etsy via Regretsy!

Love. It.

good stuff

2011-03-07T09:56:00.000-08:00

Saturday night, Pia and I went and watched this guy sing:

(That's David Gray for those of you not in-the-know...)

Now, you may recall, we did see David play a show last fall with Ray Lamontagne at Marymoor Park (went with Pam and Josh, good times).

I have to say, this show way completely, totally different - yet just as awesome.

It was acoustic, stripped-down, intimate. Perfect for his music. I am not the world's biggest DG fan (I don't know every word to every song, like when I go see a Tim McGraw show [or even a Ray Lamontagne one]) but this won me over. He was amazing.

And yes, I stole that first picture from the internet. Because the only one I took all night? This guy:

happy happy

2011-03-06T13:16:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the Daily Challenge was to think of "5 Things That Make You Happy."

Easy, I thought:

1) Playing with Lucy
2) Going on vacation
3) Having all of my family in one place :)
4) Reading a great book
5) Being out at Camp Cross

But then I figured that those 5 came out so easily, I can easily think of more! Here are some other things that make me Happy:

the day People magazine comes in the mail
college basketball, especially the Zags
blackjack
good beer
accepting that i'll never be a wine connoisseur
yelling out the answers when watching Jeopardy and Wheel
Modern Family
Jim Halpert
any time Andy sings
my friends
babies (especially the ones that belong to my family/friends)
Cake Wrecks
buzzer beaters
T-Bone, Sissy, Smurphles
traveling to new places
a working knee
when Lucy sleeps on her back with her front legs sticking straight up in the air
seattle in the summer
moments of surprising spirituality
the fact that i LOVE my job

I could keep going and going and going - clearly, much to be grateful for!

a great time of year!

2011-03-03T17:16:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am sick to death of winter! BUT, my favorite part of this time of year? Basketball!

State "B" tourney started today, and it is finally back in the Spokane Arena where it belongs! Brings back SO many memories of basically the first 20 years of my life... Watching game after game after game, year in and year out - from the Colosseum to the Arena - little 6th grade me and my friends painting our faces and leading cheers at Districts (because Saint George's was SO above having "real" cheerleaders by then) - watching Cara/Pia's team win State after losing to Davenport the two years prior in the Championship game and rushing the court at the end of the game - stealing 100s of crowns from Burger King to wear at the games in high school (a tradition that still goes strong at SG) - tons of face paint/ancient polyester warm-ups/a sea of Red & White - getting to play in the tourney my Senior year (even though I was a lowly benchwarmer) - pre-game and post-game practicing and relaxing at the Coleman's mansion - losing in the Championship game my senior year and then coming back to watch my girls win it all the next year... I could go on and on (clearly). I kinda miss it.

Also, can't forget March Madness! I already have planned to get the Thursday & Friday off of work for the first days of the NCAA tourney... Probably my 4 favorite days of the year. Here's hoping the Zaggies make it this year!!! But even if they don't, you know where I'll be - in front of the big screen. :D

Birthday Yumyums!

2011-02-28T11:07:00.000-08:00

Little miss Pia had a birthday yesterday! Hurray! So, for some unknown reason, I volunteered to make cupcakes again... I really hate baking, but like the finished product.

Pia picked the Black Hole cupcakes again this year (dark chocolate cupcakes and frosting with raspberry surprise in the middle), and we also decided on the Sprinkles Strawberry cupcakes (strawberry cake with strawberry frosting - using fresh berries in both). SO good. And they looked cute too!

Happy birthday P! And no, I probably won't agree to do this again next year...

dog sitting

2011-02-26T13:49:00.000-08:00

We've been dog sitting. For not even 24 hours. And I'm totes over it.

Kaylee, our BFF, came over last night. Since then, it's been pretty much non-stop wrestling, climbing on people, escaping out the back gate, getting into garbage, and tearing the stuffing out of toys.

These pics are awful (cell phone - to facebook - to my computer)... But it should give you a good idea how our day has gone!

love

2011-02-22T19:01:00.000-08:00

Lavs and I have been watching Dexter season 1 lately... And it has totally rekindled my love for this show and guy! I had watched season 1 on Hulu way back when I was bored working night shift at Cedars in LA... but never got any further, because I didn't want to pay for Showtime and don't actually like watching TV shows on the computer if I don't have to.

Anyways, we watched the rest of the first season today (about 5 episodes) since I was off work - OMG. Love it so much. And you can guarantee we'll be catching up on the rest asap!