To the Lost Girls on the Bus This Morning

I hope you found your way to the train station.


I love giving people directions.

This Belongs on All Things Happy Bloggy

Today, as I stepped out of my parents' car after a pleasant brunch, I was bombarded by a group of 4 oddly dressed people. One looked quite a bit like the mad hatter, and he carried a plate of small cupcakes. There was a 20-something who embodied "flower-child" in her wavy blonde hair and very earthy, happy appearance. She carried a basket filled with flowers, and another with popcorn. Another lady was in her 40s and looked like a jester, and the last man had a camera. They pointed at me and said "There she is!!" and started singing to me "A very merry un-birthday, to you!" I filled in the appropriate "To me?!?" and we skipped down the street a little way. They gave em a bunch of flowers and a card, and I blew out a candle on a cupcake while the man took a picture. They sent me off with a "Happy un-birthday!" My card says "Best wishes on your special day. May you savor luscious abundance! " I felt so happy and special.

My dad told me if I eat the cupcake I'll be stoned.

Lovely

I saw this ad for some Dior perfume in a magazine and had to take a picture because I love everything about it. The colors! The way her legs are dangling over the city! The perfect roundness of those balloons! It's so whimsical, it's just perfect.

Autumn Colahs

I LOVE LOVE LOVE leaves turning colors. Here are some beautiful examples I've found in the Seattle area.

The Most Troublesome of Holidays

I never ever know what to be for Halloween. This year proves to be as difficult as all the others, with no satisfactory costumes in sight.

As cliche as it is, I've been toying with the idea of the 50s. I was never a poodle-skirter in elementary school, when most people do it, and I feel I've missed out on one of the girliest costumes around. But I have the feeling that's why only girls should do it, not 20-somethings such as myself. But I really love cat-eye glasses.


I was also trying to decide if there's a way for a girl to look cool as a greaser...I think there's a high probability of looking like a dyke .

So who knows, I'll probably end up being a picnic table or something. Also, I love this lady.


I'M OPEN TO IDEAS! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE?

I'm Sad

It's upsetting to me that this man could ever possibly be president.


The fact that this woman could be president, even vice president, is offensive. Beyond offensive.


But most of all, in retrospect, I'm upset that either of these candidates beat out the man that's been president for the last 8 years. CRAZAAAAAAAAY!


Actually, I do NOT think Sarah Palin could be better than him.

It's Puzzling!

Liv and I got a puzzle last Saturday, which was rainy and seemed lazy. We thought a puzzle would be a good activity for such a day. It's called "Wildneress Harmony" and it's lovely. Liv and I worked for a while on Saturday, but the real work came on Sunday when we spent a good 6 hours on it. We spent another 4 or so on Monday night. We're still not done. This is after a bit of progress that took a suprisingly long time.

This is near the end point. We're a bit further along now; a big chunk of sky has been done. Liv is a lot better at puzzling than I am. We're going to try to find a tropical one next.

And the More Diminutive Booties!

I like booties. When they first came back en vogue whenever that was -- a year ago, two? -- I wasn't really into them. But they've grown on me, and I find myself wanting them. I'm not a bottie type of girl...can I make them work? They might be too urban.

Hear ye, hear ye! Boots!

I want boots for fall. Unfortunately, I've managed to get into a jeans and t-shirt rut and would have to update my entire wardrobe to accomadate some savvy boots. I'm up to that challenge though. Fall always makes me want to dress nice.
There's obviously a theme here. I want brown. And I want basic.

Unsure

I have no image for this post, because I don't really know what it's about. I have this feeling like fall is the time for new things to start. Of course this is a remnant of the many many years of school I've just gone through, but the fact that I'm not going back to school leaves me feeling very underwhelmed. Some people are moving to cool new places, and some people are starting new jobs or starting school again, and I'm just sitting here twiddling my thumbs.

I am excited because I just got a new bike and I'm going to start riding it, but that's about all I've got going right now. I think I may try to find a ballet studio to take classes at, but now it costs money! Maybe I can think of some new hobby.

Today

I start working for a day camp for 3rd through 5th graders run by Seattle Parks and Rec. I hope no kids have asthma attacks, or an allergic reaction, or a crazy temper tantrum, or die. I hope they like me.

These are my Birthday Presents

I'm a little copying Molly, and a little copying Lauren and Lindsey, but I REALLY wanted one of these guys and I got one! Because I specifically told my parents it's what I wanted (they did not get me the electric toothbrush on my list, however). Today Myke and I are going to buy records because I don't have any and he's too paranoid to let me borrow his. Of course I want my own collection, too. I love all the sounds the record players make. Like the sound of the arm moving and then settling down on the record before it starts playing. Also!! It's a "stack-o-matic" which means I can put 4 records on and when one ends another will drop and start playing! It's like the beginning of Happy Days!


Last night when I got it I was really excited to play something but realized I didn't have any records. My mom pulled through with a couple of ooold Hawaiian records she hadn't gotten rid of, including one of her high school choir singing. I think it was a little fitting that the first records this baby played were weird old Hawaiian music records, because that's the type of music that really seems right for record playing. We listened to a one hit wonder Japanese guy with ukelele and guitar that belonged to my grandma. I think it would be funny to only listen to instrumental music from the 60s on it and drink martinis all the time.

P.S. I didn't force Blanco to be in this photo shoot, she wanted to.

Mistakes in the Office

Thank goodness I don't work in a place like this. Anyways, I've been spending the last couple months writing to tenents to request insurance certificates. Because no one has sent any documents back, I've started sending second notices. Anyways, I had an original letter out, addressed to "Alan Cheladawada" and I thought "Now that's a very interesting name." I went into our database to double check the address and everything, and apparently his name is really "Alan Shalloway". I don't know how I addressed the original to Mr. Cheladawada, and I can't imagine his confusion upon receiving it. Maybe that's why he didn't send me anything back.

This is my Cat

Pepper is my cat. I've had her for 16 (!) years . I was six and my best friend who lived down the street was moving to another town. Pepper is an outdoor cat and always hung around by our house, so my friend and her family decided she would probably be happier to stay with us than to move with them. Pepper was an unenthusiastic mother before we got her, so I place her age at an estimated 18 years old. Pepper was once very spry. She was a talented hunter, and I was the honored recipient of many dead bird, rat, and mole gifts in my room. She used to sleep with me every night, and has had a many years-long love affair with my teddy bear, Big Bear. She was very patient with us children, especially my brother who would drag her by the tail, bathe her in the sink, and throw her out of trees to see if she would land on her feet. She always did.

These days she is old and has gone a little bonkers, but she seems quite happy. She spends all day on my parents bed, though she comes down the stairs and sticks her face through the bannister railing to say hello when someone comes home. She has become much more cuddly in her old age and purrs the moment someone begins petting her. I love her.

Today I Made a Lemon Meringue Pie

One of my dad's favorite things is lemon meringue pie, so I made one for him for father's day. The custard is a little lumpy and the custard tastes a little cream of tartar-y, but it looks nice. I've always wanted to work in a bakery. Someday I think it would be the epitome of "lovely" to have my own pastry bakery. I used my mom's really old copy of Joy of Cooking, first published in 1931. I like the old print and the very basic rudimentary drawings that show you how to do things.

The thing about using old cookbooks is that nothing in them is easy to do. Everything these days is about convenience: 30 minutes meals, etc. Back in the day, especially when our grandmothers were housewives, cooking was like the qualifying talent in society. It wasn't convenient to cook because it was supposed to take all day to make a worthwhile dinner. A meal represented hard work, thought, and care. While I generally throw some pasta on for dinner with sauce bought from the convenience store, sometimes it feels good to spend some real time making something great. Today was the pie.

Have You Ever Used One of These??

It's a letter opener. I opened the mail at work today. I've always been really bad at opening envelopes without hopelessly ripping them to shreds. But this makes it so easy. And there's such a satisfying sliiiiice noise.

Disneyland...

HERE WE COME!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day is funny, because as far as I know, no one really knows what it's about. At least there's something associated with Valentine's Day, even if no one knows what St. Valentine did. St. Paddy's day, though, just has this in your face emphasis on wearing green and drinking. So -- here's what St. Patrick's Day is all about!

-St. Patrick, who lived circa 384 - 461 AD, is a patron saint of Ireland. He was a Roman-English born Christian missionary. He was KIDNAPPED by some Irish folks and made a SLAVE for six years!! Then later he went back and taught them about Christianity.
-He is said to have banished all the snakes from Ireland!
-The "wearing of the green"comes from the tradition of wearing a shamrock as a sign of Irish nationalism. Back in the day, Saint Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to pre-Christian Irish people. However, Saint Patrick's traditional color is blue.
-The longest running St. Patrick's Day celebration in the U.S. is held by Boston (go figure), since 1737. Chicago comes in at #8, having celebrated since 1843.

Gross!

I woke up with pink eye for the second time this quarter! Yuck! I feel like the germs are everywhere and there's no way for me to ever get rid of it all the way. I don't have the time or money to go to the doc and get medicine, so I'm going to see how it goes.

Mine looks quite inflamed.

A Dying Art

It makes me a little sad that the written word has such a different meaning than it did before computers and email etc etc. Generally, no one writes letters anymore, and there's no need for any person other than yourself to view your handwriting. As such, there is NO emphasis on penmanship. Of course, this is a talent that has been diminishing for quite awhile, but even looking back to my grandparents old lettes, there was certainly more attention paid to writing beautifully. I have never been able to write beautifully, but today I decided to start writing my class notes in cursive. It's pretty ugly and takes a long time, because I had trouble remembering how to make certain letters. But I think with practice it might look nice.

When I was a kid my sister got a calligraphy set for her birthday pretty much every year. I don't know why she always got them, but I liked to play with them. Unfortunately, I'd get so frustrated with my ugly Fs and Is and Ts (they were hard for some reason) that I would give up. I think that I probably have a better handle on my fine motor skills now, and I want to give the calligraphy set another try. Ebay, here I come!

Not Sexy

You know, I'm glad we don't live in a puritanical time when we can't show our ankles. But it's a little upsetting that for about the past 5 years, the possibility of seeing someone's butt when they're sitting down is considered ok, or even expected. How many girls' butt cracks I see in a day! It's astonishing, because the last thing to be counted as sexy is your pinched butt cheeks peeking out of your jeans. Where's the class, ladies?

I Hate Tinted Windows

Tinted windows make me incredibely uncomf, and I don't think I can even pinpoint why. It's not that I think that the people inside are up to no good (which they probably are!) but rather...when you're driving, your eyes should be on the road, and if I look into their car, I can't tell if their eyes are on the road or not. I know that's really dumb, but...

ALSO! I think it makes the car look mean.

I Hope You DAAAAAANCE

I hate that song, by the way. But anyways, I haven't taken ballet in over a year, which is a pretty long time for me, because I took classes pretty much year round from the age of 3 to 18, and then I generally took one class a year in college. Yesterday I was wearing some short shorts and I kind of checked out my legs and started doing some stretches and basic old dance steps for fun in my apartment. There's not much room though, and I couldn't do much and I started thinking about how much I want to take some more ballet classes. WELL! Today I shuffled my schedule around a bit for spring quarter, and I will be taking ballet two times a week and I am SOOOOO excited! The one sad thing is that one of my favorite parts of ballet for all those years was actually performing, and since college has started I haven't had any opportunities to perform. My freshman year I auditioned for a piece and we started rehearsing, but no one's schedules worked well enough to be able to rehearse enough. But, that being said, I still love just going into the great big studio and working really hard for an hour and a half and feeling really sweaty and tired afterwards and feeling like I've done something that I really love to do. So I'm looking forward to it.Also, I've always thought this, but I got to thinking that I would really love to teach ballet, just kind of a part time thing. I think this picture is hilarious because that's exactly what my ballet classes were like when I started. We had those same little rugs and our teacher wore a long skirt like that, and everyone had big bellies. I don't know how you get into teaching ballet? I guess it's something I can look into.

Rain, Rain

After about 2 weeks of really beautiful weather, sun, and warmth, rain has returned to Seattle. It's sapping my will to put on normal clothes, leaves the house, and go to school. Sometimes when it's been nice for awhile, the rain is a welcome break. I mean, it is Seattle. But this time, I'm pretty ready for spring and the rain is ruining it!


Luckily, the forecast predicts sun for the next three days.

My Dream Home

In 7th grade, I read a book called "Bloomability" by Sharon Creech. She's the author of two other GREAT books, "Walk Two Moons" and "Absolutely Normal Chaos". These books are, of course, about the lives of girls going through their crazy pre-teen years.
The main character, Dinnie, gets sent to a boarding school in Switzerland. It quickly became my favorite book, but what I really became obsessed with was the town of Lugano, Switzerland, where her boarding school was located. I researched it and discovered that her boarding school was a REAL boarding school! I tried my damndest for about a year to get my parents to send me to boarding school, but my mom wouldn't let me because she went to boarding school for five years and hated it. But boy oh boy, do I still want to go there! It's located in the south of Switzerland amidst mountains and lakes!! Take a look:

I will go there someday and relive all of my seventh grade dreams of meeting boys and kissing them on the tram up the mountain and in the boat on the lake and having fun sleepovers with my roommates. I guess I can't really do that, but I'll think about it.

Blast from the Past

I was thinking about what type of style I want this summer, and I'm still not totally sure. Part of me wants to channel Roberta from Now And Then, which I've done to some extent for the past couple of summers. On the right:

It's a little tom-boy and pretty casual, and fun to run around in.

Then again, I was also thinking about looking cool and sporty and in Northwest kind of way, because maybe it would even compel me to try and be a bit more outdoorsy (dumb logic). I guess I would take inspiration from Meryl Streep in The River Wild. Unfortunately there are no good pictures, but it would involve hiking shorts, long sleeved t-shirts, and Tevas. I'm bidding on some on Ebay. I'm not sure which ones I like better:



Then again, I would always love to look like I fit in with any of my mom's or your mom's old pictures from college summers. They always looked cool.