day 7

A photo of someone you love:

I love lots o' people. My family, first and foremost, and my friends, of course, so it's almost impossible to pick just one. So let's include the really important ones first:

and these fools fo sho....

day 6

A photo that makes you laugh:

During my first summer in southern Oregon, I was lucky enough to get hired at the local movie theater. Lets just say that even though we were required to "work", that rarely happened. More often than not, we'd goof off for hours on end, as exemplified in this photo. The Good Old Days for sure.

day 5

Day 5: A photo of you

This pic is about 5 years old (seriously!?!? time flies), but I still love it. Mol was my sophomore year roommate, and probably the best one I ever had. This was from the day where we decided we needed a break from studying for finals, so a group of us went to the park near campus to play on the playground equipment like little kids. Our friend Mae took this pic while on the merry-go-ride, where I remember I was starting to get so dizzy I thought I was going to get sick. Ah the days of being footloose and fancy free....except for those pesky classes.

day 4

A Photo of the last place you went on holiday:

Just a month ago, I surprised Grace (far left) for her birthday by flying back to Philly for 4 days. We spent 2 days in Philly, and then drove to DC to spend another few days exploring the Capitol. I love these people - I practically lived with them my last year in college, and whenever we get back together, it seems like no time has passed at all. They're some of the best, funniest, kindest people I know.
(not sure if you can tell in the photo, but I was silently suffering from one of the world's worst head colds that i caught, of course, on the plane ride OVER and decided to manifest its wrath on the day before i left. figures)

day 3

Day 3: a photo that makes you happy

This was taken on my sister K's wedding day a year and a half ago. The photographer had told her to make a "sexy" face, and K's attempt made me crack up. I was so touched that she asked me to be her MOH, and I love how close we are. It was truly the perfect day.

day 2

Day 2: A photo of yourself from a year ago.

well, this was taken a little less than a year ago, but who cares. Last year I decided that making smart decisions was overrated, and hopped on a plane to Philadelphia and meet my college friends/roommates to head up to New York City for New Years Eve in Times Square. The day after, we explored as much of the city as our caffeine levels and sleep-deprived bodies would let us, and one of our last stops was Rockefeller Center. I came home a few days later so tired I was almost sick, but it was totally worth it. Bragging rights for LIFE.

30-day photo challenge: day 1

Another attempt to try and get back into the blogging mode. And yes, I stole this from another blog, as I am apparently apt to do, but I have nothing else to write about, except for the fact that I'm currently watching the Civil War (GO BEAVS!!!) and am hoping for a miracle.

Anyway.


Day 1: Your Facebook Photo


Ever since Nuggette was born, my mom has been all about the family photos. So on the rare occasions when we're all together, we get dressed up [the baby having about 4 times the amount of outfit changes that we do] and take a million photos. Thank goodness for digital. This picture was taken last weekend after we celebrated Thanksgiving. Is that baby not the cutest thing you've ever seen???

Hopefully a Jump Start

You know, sometimes I wish that Gooogle/Blogger weren't so on top of things, and that way I wouldn't feel so guilty by the wonderful little stat tool that has told me I haven't posted anything since August 10. Almost 4 months ago. Oops. In my defense, though, life has been pretty busy (I know, I know, that's what everyone says), work (where I do a lot of writing/editing anyway) has been busy, too, and besides, it seems like I have nothing of interest to post about. I've been trying to think of SOMETHING that would help me out of this rut known as writers block (i.e. laziness), and I think I found it when I was reading through one of my favorite blogs, the Busy Dad Blog and found a survey of sorts. Since something like this involves no creativity on my part to come up with a story, it seemed like the jump-start I need to get back into the blogging practice. So here goes:

Eight Things I am Passionate About

1. My faith - I know that there's no way on God's green earth that I'd be where I am today if it weren't for my faith. God has a plan for me. I just have to have the patience and faith to find out what it is each and every day.
2. My family - blood is always thicker than water.
3. My friends - dude, my friends rock. Nuff said.
4. My niece - my goodness, that little girl is going to be the death of me. At only 5 months old, she has already wormed her way into my heart in a way that I never even imagined, and it's going to be an interesting struggle with will power on the first day or occasion where I have to tell her "No." Heaven help us on THAT day. I mean, seriously, will you just look at this face?


5. Photography - in the past few years, I've somehow developed a real interest in photography. So I bought a fancy new camera, and have become known as a bit of a camera fanatic whenever it comes to group gatherings. "Wait! Don't move! Dang it, she blinked. Ok, one more! Fine, everyone can move now. Carry on." The best part is that now my sister is a mom, she bought an even nicer camera, which I now play with at any given opportunity. All for the sake of learning and avoiding "professional" photo places at the mall.
6. Cooking/Baking - as all my family, friends, and coworkers know, my main passion is for baking. Cookies, pies, scones, cakes, I'll try and tackle any recipe. Only problem is that if I keep that kind of stuff in my house, inevitably it gets eaten by yours truly. The only solution is to load it off onto my surrouding friends and coworkers. Hey, sharing is caring!
7. Reading - riding the bus nearly every day has opened up a whole world of time for leisure reading. Something I hadn't experienced in the 3.5 years I was in college. Now, I get to read whatever I want to read, and don't give a damn if it's something stupid, chick lit, or completely pointless.
8. Traveling - Once you get bitten by the travel bug, it's hard to forget about it. Last year's trip to NYC for New Years and this year's trip to Philly/DC for Grace's birthday are 2 things off the Bucket List, but now I'm dying to go to London for the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics. [Cheap] tickets start at like $35....

Eight Things I Want To Do Before I Die

1. Karaoke. I've always wanted to, but never been able to work up the guts to do it.
2. Be a Mom. Right now, I'm having a blast with baby-sitting the Nuggette whenever I want, but let's just say that it also serves a dual purpose as amazing birth control. I want to have kids, someday, when I have a husband to help out and a career that makes me more financially stable.
3. Two words: SPA. DAY.
4. Learn another language - for real this time. I took Spanish classes for 3 years in high school, almost 3 years in college, and studied abroad in Spain for 5 weeks. After all that, I was fairly decent at it. By no means was I fluent, but I could understand most of what was being said to me, and could respond in some way. Now I just catch bits and pieces, and give a blank stare in response. It'd be awesome to be fluent.
5. Own a really fun, impractical car. I just bought a new Ford Escape (the first car I've ever purchased!) that is a sweet ride, but at times it just screams "MOMMOBILE" as I bought it in mind of the car seats, toys, sleeping bags, soccer balls, cracker crumbs, dog muzzle smears, and backpacks that would (hopefully) fill the backseat at some point. My dream car is something like a Jeep Wrangler. Black. Softtop. Beautiful.
6. Get published. I like to write, and at times come up with something that I like to think isn't half bad, but don't think at this point I could ever write AND complete something good enough to get published professionally.
7. Learn how to garden, and actually enjoy it. Growing up, we lived on a two acres of landscaped yard, in the middle of the Central Washington desert. Needless to say, keeping everything green, weed-free, and trimmed gave me a deep dislike for yardwork and gardening. I'd love to be that little old lady someday with all the would-be prize-winning roses in her yard. Hey, it beats being the little old crazy cat lady by far.
8. Still figuring this one out.

Eight Things I Say Often

1. "Hello, [name of workplace], how may I help you?"
2. Happy Hour? Yes, please.
3. Why is it that I have no food?!
4. Do I really want to go to the gym today?
5. Aw, crap!
6. Where’s the coffee?!
7. Again!? Fine, I'll call IS...hello, Scotty?
8. Oops.

Eight Books I’ve Recently Read

1. Eat Pray Love: Saw the movie first, am now reading the book. It's pretty good so far.
2. Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea. Heard it was good, and thought I'd see for myself. Being a comedian, I thought her writing would be funnier, but maybe our senses of humor just aren't the same.
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Duh.
4. Rekindled: a historial ficion Christian book about the Colorado Territory by Tamera Alexander. She writes some great stuff.
5. The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander: Scary. I love Romanov-era Russian history, and this fictional tale of the Romanov's final days in Ekaterinberg left me on the edge of my [bus] seat.
6. Hand Hand Fingers Thumb: One of Nuggette's favorite books. I'm sure it has nothing to do with Generic tapping out drumb beats on K's stomach during her prenancy.
7. Digital Fortress: Not Dan Brown's best, in my opinion, but still a thriller.
8. The Bible: Save the best for last.
   

Eight Songs That I Could Listen To Over And Over

1. Love Story - Taylor Swift
2. Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
3. Haven't Met You Yet - Michael Buble
4. Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks
5. Love Like Crazy - Lee Brice
6. Saturday in the Park - Chicago
7. My Little Girl - Tim McGraw

Eight Things That Attract Me To My Best Friends

1. They crack me up
2. They’re good hearted
3. They “get” me
4. They tell me like it is
5. They’ll pressure me when I need to be pushed, but leave me alone when I need some space.
6. They're up for anything
7. They truly care
8. There's no such thing as an unfinished bottle of wine when we get together.

Eight Things I Have Learned This Past Year

1. Make sure you have a key to BOTH door locks before locking up and leaving the house.
2. Everything happens for a reason.
3. How to ride the PDX Bus system.
4. When making a caramel-pumpkin-gingersnap cheesecake, remember the line the bottom of the springform pan to avoid scraping burnt caramel off the bottom of the hot oven.
5. Not everything you buy at the Dollar Store is as good as the name brand stuff.
6. Sometimes it pays to take that extra leap of faith.
7. When the sign says 30 mph, they mean it.
8. Health Insurance is a necessary evil.