May 18: 2048

My sister introduced me to this game called 2048, you move around number tiles until they combine to get larger numbers.  It's been a race to see who can get a 2048 tile first.  My sister won.  But I just got a new high score!

May 12: Mama's Boy

Before my mom and sister headed out of town, I took them to Mama's Boy for breakfast.  They really enjoyed the foot.  I am going to miss this place when I leave.  however, I'm sure Austin will provide me with a wonderful local breakfast place as well.  I could eat breakfast for every meal!  It was sad to see my sister and mom go, but I know I'll see them in a month for my mom's wedding.

May 11: Mother's Day

We surprised my mom for mother's day and took her to Chateau Elan for a spa day.  It was a beautiful day of laying around, reading, sitting in saunas, and getting a massage.  It was the first time my mom ever had a massage and she loved it.  It was such a nice day a great way to celebrate her!

March 16: St. Patrick's Day

This morning my sister, Phil, Nikki, and I all headed for the airport.  Unfortunately, my sister had to wait at the ATL airport for quite a few hours before heading back to PDX.  I am really glad she stayed longer to visit and that I'll get to see her in another couple months for graduation.

Phil, Nikki, and I then headed to NASPA in Baltimore.  After taking a car service (fancy) from the airport to Nikki & Phil's hotel, I walked the couple blocks to my hotel.  The car service couldn't take me any closer to my hotel because of a marathon and because of this lovely St. Patty's day parade.

March 15: Bear Hollow Zoo

I took my sister to breakfast at Mama's boy and then we walked to the Bear Hollow Zoo.

March 14: 5 & 10

Friday night my sister, Tiffanie, and I went to 5 & 10 for drinks.  This is a famous restaurant owned by Hugh from Top Chef Masters...and  a place my sister wanted to go since I moved here.  It was a fun time visiting, drinking good wine, and eating delicious appetizers!  The bartender was great and even gave us extra wine as the card machine wasn't working when they tried to close our check at the end of the night.

March 13: Kate Spade

There really aren't words needed for this, except to say my sister found a steal of a deal at TJMaxx on a Kate Spade purse (see it in the back of the picture, yep, I'm good).

March 12: Kroger

Today I visited the grad opening of the Kroger store with the Fred Meyer Jewelers inside.  The store showed nicely and there were a ton, I mean a ton of people there for the grad opening.  The rest of the day was spent writing at a local Starbucks.

December 30: The cold, cold, coast

Dad came into town this morning and we went to the coast.  In Oregon, they don't call it the ocean or the beach, rather, the coast.  It was chiiiiillllllly.  It also gave me a chance to play around with my camera and my new eye-fi card (it makes my camera wireless & is awesome).  I was able to instantly send the photos from my camera to my phone and then text them to my dad.  So stinkin' cool (thanks mom!).  

We also went to the city of Tillimock (famous for cheese and ice cream).

For dinner we went to Little Big Burger (one of my sister's favorites) and to Salt & Straw (ice cream).  I have wanted to try this place for-a-long-time.  It lived up to the hype.  They have unusual flavors of ice cream, but they're delicious!

December 28: Beauty & the Beast

Today was wonderful! Mom made Sweedish pancakes for breakfast, we played games, and went to Beauty & the Beast in the evening.

We had an absolutley fantastic view of the 'Portland' sign.  When we walked up to the window, unfortunatley, it wasn't lit up.  My sister, being funny (and obeying a Quelf card) waved her hands and said abracadabra.  Well, about 3 seconds later, bam.  The lights came on.  It only would have been better if it had happened exactly when she said abracadabra...but it was close. :)

December 27: Twins

Today my sister did my hair.  In her book club, they each brought a skill or something they were good at and she learned a new way to style her hair.  Since our hair is about the same length she wanted to try it on me, with the promise that I could try to do her hair curly.  She's got a lot of natural wave, but seldom uses it to her advantage.  Anyway, we went out looking like twins with our vests and same hair styes.  So of course, we had to get a picture in front of the tree. :)

That evening we also went to the most unusual target in the city.  City target.  Yep, they put a bird on the sign.  Welcome to Portland.

October 18: Corn Maze

Washington Farms has a wonderful corn maze.  More than that, they have other seasonal things such as strawberries, blackberries, a pumpkin patch, and more.  My sister and I along with some friends went out to the maze for a post birthday party.  We went through the vortex, slid down the rolly slide, went through the maze, and jumped on the giant bouncy pillow.  There was lots of laughter involved.  Thanks Alex, Mallory, Tiffanie, Kara, Nikki, and Phil for playing along with my 7-year old d self.  It was fun!

October 17: Taqueria Del Sol

I love Mexican food. And I love all kinds of Mexican food, real authentic and less authentic like Taqueria Del Sol. Their food is yummy but far from authentic Mexican.  However, they have this absolutely delicious shrimp corn chowder.  Thursday was rainy and the perfect day for some chowder.  CJ and I met up with Ginny for dinner & drinks.  We had a nice time visiting and I'm glad they got to meet each other as they both play significant roles in my life. 

October 16: Favorite Things

I don't want to go into a picture a day post thinking I'll fail, but it is hard to think about a picture to represent my day. I may be over thinking this. They say it takes 30 days to make a habit, so maybe this will get easier as it goes.

Anyway, I'm going to attempt this picture a day thing... on October 16, 2013, I turned 33. The day was filled with lots of reminders that I'm loved. Moreover, my sister also came into town (both for work and for play). After picking her up in Atlanta, we went to dinner and then headed back to Athens where we picked up some ice cream cake bites for dessert! I do LOVE ice cream cake. Having her in town until Sunday is also a special treat.

Almost 33

As I get older and closer to another birthday, I often find myself associating with that age already.  For example, the last month or two, I've began calling myself 33 (when people ask).  I catch myself, correct myself, and usually say, 'I'm going to be 33 soon'.  This may be a sign of my aging, or it may be an effort to protect my heart from the shock of another year.  Regardless, it's just around the corner now.

My sister will be here to celebrate with me this year.  I'm excited that her work trip coincides with my birthday..and that she extended her trip to stay through the weekend.

I've also been thinking about the many, many changes and exciting things that will happen this next year on earth (Lord willing).

I will defend my dissertation.

I will graduate.

I will celebrate.

I will get a new job.

I will leave Athens, a place I've called home for this PhD journey.

I will move to a new city (let's hope and pray it's a good one).

...and the list goes on.

Many people in my life have done a photo a day (for a month or year) chronicling their life (the exciting, trivial, mundane...just life). I have always been fascinated by the idea but haven't brought myself to do it.  But now, with a few days before I enter another year, I'm contemplating chronicling my 33rd year of life. 

Facing Forward to Fall Fun (LOVE an alliteration)

I realize it isn't fall yet, however, on Monday, we will welcome back the graduate assistants and on August 12th another school year will begin.

Crazy.

I'm looking forward to this final fall (Lord willing) at The University of Georgia for many reasons.  First, I love the season of fall.  It bring crisp air, vibrant colors, and lots of things to look forward to, such as:

On Sunday, my friend Tiffanie (from Baylor) will be moving down to Athens to begin her doctoral studies within higher education (another program, but still).  AND, we will be neighbors...literally, she is going to live right next door.  Super excited face (for those who know Tiffanie, you understand the reference).

Moreover, all the GAs will return on Monday for the Dean of Students orientation, for which I'm responsible.  We move students in on Tuesday (physically move them in), and next Monday classes begin. Yikes.

I'm also excited about a writing retreat with my friend Kristin over labor day weekend in Tennessee, a visit from my sister in late October, the ASHE conference in November, and...

Cabo for Thanksgiving!

Yep, I'm headed back to Cabo with Megan's family!  I'm so excited (and thankful I had frequent flyer miles to pay for the flight) AND for their generosity in the invite!

From there Christmas is right around the corner and that means a trip (hopefully) back to California and Oregon.

Like I said, lots to look forward to...and yet, I don't want to wish the weeks away.  In these moments, I try to practice presence, albeit my excitement!

Promised!

My sister has been hounding me for the ... oh since before Christmas to update my blog.  She didn't like that I changed the theme of my blog to look Christmasy, with no posts about Christmas.  Thus, I promised her that I would post some updates this weekend.

And that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Because...hey, there's a wonderful thunderstorm outside, a Baylor basketball game (soon) on inside, and...because I promised her I would. 

Christmas 2010 (part III)

After leaving California, I was headed to Oregon to spend time with my mom and sister.  Now that I'm a student again, I had 3 weeks off and spent almost 2 of them in Oregon.  Here's the list, pictures, and recap of my time in Oregon.

Fringe.

My sister got me hooked on fringe this season.  So I caught up on seasons 1 & 2.  Yes friends, that's about 26 hours of TV watching.  Yikes, but soooo good. :)

Christmas Eve.

My sister's church held a Christmas Eve service at the Portland theatre downtown.  It was a wonderful celebration of the birth of Jesus, very authentic, very real worship.  I also enjoyed the hot drinks and cookies provided in the lobby.  :)

Christmas.

Christmas is no longer a wake up early, run downstairs event.  In part, we don't have stairs.  After a slow moving morning, we opened presents, had two lovely breakfasts, and hung out around the house.  One of my favorite gifts, that I accidentally left in Oregon but should be on it's way back to me is a necklace my sister got me.  There's a long back story which I will save you all from (this post is already going to be long).  But the necklace is this cute little heart and on the front it says, 'I love that we're sisters'.  Ahhhh.  Sweet.  Right.  On the back it says, "And I love that there is nothing you can do about it'.  Now that's more like my sister.  Ha. 

Reading.

I got a couple great books for Christmas.  I enjoy reading, but frankly with school I haven't done much fictional reading.  Well, I made up for that this break.  A friend in Athens recommended the 'hunger games'.  The book, which turns out to be a trilogy, is young adult fiction about...well, the premise makes the books sound awful, but that couldn't be further from the truth.  I read the first on Christmas day and had to run out and get the second and third...which of course I read in two subsequent days.  Best piece of fiction since Harry Potter.  Amazing. 

New Years Eve.

I  think New Years Eve is kind of a bust of a holiday.  Don't get me wrong, I stay up til midnight and 'celebrate', but I've never really understood why such celebration occurs over the flipping of a calendar page.  If you actually still use a paper calendar, it happens every midnight.  It is however an excuse to get people together.  My mom, sister, and her roommate spent the night playing games.  It was a relaxed and enjoyable time!  Oh...and I made a new settlers convert.  ;)

McMenamins.

The McMenamins are a family who take local historic or old buildings and convert them into hotels, movie theaters, breweries, and restaurants.  Not having ever experienced one, we went to see the movie Red.  The theater has all couches and tables, and you can order food, beer, or snacks while the movie plays.  It was a fun experience.  Next time, I'll make sure it's a movie I really want to see.  

Home videos.

One night my sister, being her sneaky self, brought out some old home videos.  Of course, she primarily brought out the old videos of me singing.  Oh yes, all my grade school performances were taped.  Watching these videos brought back wonderful memories and tons of laughter.  Here is one of my favorites of my sister in a Christmas musical from church.  

Snowshoeing.

I love hiking.  I love snow.  So why not love snowshoeing?!  Well, since I had never been, I couldn't have an informed opinion.  But now, I know I love it.  My sister and I went up to the foot of Mt. Hood on some 'trail'.  It was a beautiful trek with the view of Mt. Hood ahead of us.  The trail was about 3 miles long and many miles wide.  The snow covered trees were a sight!  I enjoyed the time with my sister AND the time in the snow!

 

 

We're excited about being in the snow!

 

 My 'trek' picture was actually taken on the way down, but the view this way was much better!

 

Yay for snow!

There were many more highlights from the trip including my sister discovering the brand of her favorite bed at Macy's (after practically climbing under the bed to find the name plate) and dessert at Papa Haydn's; the time was precious and I returned to Athens rested, rejuventated, and ready for the next semester!

End of Book.

Christmas 2010 (part I)

Christmas is usually crazy.  Ever since I left California, Christmas has been a bit of a fiasco.  I have many friends who live in southern California; my dad lives outside of Sacramento and my grandparents on my mom's side live near my dad (a random coincidence).  Additionally, my dad's extended family does a Christmas celebration the Saturday before Christmas.  It's a lot of Christmas, a lot of people to see, and a lot of time traveling.  This is before I usually head to Oregon to visit my mom and sister.

Are you tired yet?

I have grown to appreciate Thanksgiving more and more these last few years.  Partly because it's a time to pause and reflect on my many blessings, and partly because it's too short of a holiday to do too much.

However, this post is about Christmas :)

This year, my sister and I decided to try and make it to my dad's extended family Christmas.  We hadn't been there in three or four years, and since I had a longer break (an advantage of being a student again), we decided this would be a good year to do it.

On Friday morning, I woke up at 5:30am and Mallory and I headed to the airport.  Her flight left at noon and mine at 3pm.  Upon arriving in Houston, Texas, I awaited my next flight to California.  A few delays, 5 hours worth of a layover, and a 4.5 hour flight, I was finally landing in California.  My Aunt and Uncle were kind enough to pick me up from the airport ... late.  We arrived at their home at 1:30am (PST) ie. 3:30am EST...almost 24 hours worth of travel.  Phew.

Saturday morning came, and my body woke up as if it were on the east coast.  Boo.  However, we went to work peeling potatoes and preparing for the party.  I had a wonderful time visiting with the two of them before everyone else joined!

Dad's family Christmas is a tradition that's gone on for roughly 30 years, nearly all my life.  Every year we play Christmas bingo, sing the 12 days of Christmas, and have some sort of gift exchange.

Here are some pictures from the day!

I won!  Don't worry, we play enough rounds so that everyone can win!  My half brother Joey is next to me.

Below is a picture of Joey, me, my sister, and my dad.  We're only missing Kevin, my other half brother.  That, however, is a long story...and one I'm not even sure I know all the details to.

Aren't we cute?!  Do you see the resemblance?

We have two cousins closest in age to us, Lauren and Scott.  They are wonderful people and truly make these family get togethers a blast.  Anyway, Scott is now engaged to Lauren (who is featured on the left) and that's his sister Lauren in the middle.  Guess what his mom (my aunts) name is?  No, it's not Lauren, but it is Laura. 

Here's my sister, AJ (cousin Lauren's husband), and Scott.  Like I said, they were cracking me up...and apparently themselves as well.

Since there were 29 of us this Christmas, we had to partner up for the 12 days of Christmas.  My sister and I were ... yes, eleven pipers piping.

After the singing, we did a closet item gift exchange.  I'm not even sure I want to explain how it was played this year, but I'll say it involved my uncle and cousin playing the bongos.  Here is what we won! :)

I think, no, I know there was some tampering with the outcome...in our favor.  All this to say, the day was extremely enjoyable.  I had a good time catching up with family I hadn't seen in a long time.

That night, my sister and I celebrated Christmas with our dad.  As part of our family tradition, we exchange Hallmark ornaments.  I have a collection of puppy dogs, my sister has gingerbread houses, and my dad collects football players.  This tradition started when I was born.  I've gone through one other collection, rocking horses.  My sister, however, has gone through multiple collections.  Anyway, it's a fun tradition that has continued even into our adult lives, and I love that!  It was a nice ending to a nice day.

End of part one.

Labor Day 2010

Since I don't work Friday's, I've been trying to determine what to do with my four day weekend. Many ideas came to mind. Visit friends in Texas. Visit friends in South Carolina. Read, study, and feel accomplished. Stay at home and veg. Or book a plane ticket at the last minute to see my grandparents on the other side of the country.

Guess which won?

In addition to seeing my grandparents this weekend, I will also get to visit with my sister! We found her a flight too (thank you Continental frequent flyer miles)! She'll be flying in on Friday evening and I'll be flying in Saturday morning (which also leaves Friday for me to bust my butt reading and such).

I am so grateful to be able to spend this time with my family, and I'm thrilled I found a flight for a decent amount of money on such short notice.

There are many other things to update on, but this was the most pressing for the moment. Thank you to those of you who continue to keep my family in your prayers during this time!