Daily Routine

How do you define a daily routine?  I am suddenly lost in this world of my daily activities.  Let me explain:

As I was preparing for this semester, I was thinking about all the spare time that I was going to have…EXCITING!!  I have never had a semester in school where I felt like I had a break, or time to breathe between school, work, church, and sleep.  This semester I am only on campus Tuesday and Thursday – no Monday, Wednesday, Friday classes!  All Christmas break was preparing myself for extra time to cook (thank you Julia Child and Greg), extra time to play my piano, enjoy the gym, love on kids at church, watch Greg coach his soccer team, read books because I want to, and so many other exciting things.  Little did I know that there is no such thing as “spare time”.  I am currently battling this issue. 

Although I have so-called ‘spare time’ this semester, I am finding that I had more homework than I ever expected with only two classes and I did not realize that I would take on other responsibilities in order to fill up my spare time.  Also, this whole gym at 7am thing and training for a half marathon, truly causes me to fall asleep on my INCREDIBLE couch for a nap as soon as I sit down to read my book.  Anyway, I am still busy within all my ‘spare time’.  Don’t take this the wrong way, I love being busy.  I hate to sit at home with nothing to do, but I was excited to take a few good breaths of fresh air this semester. 

So, for all of you also seemingly too busy people…any suggestions?  I know, I know, the easiest answer is to eliminate what is least important to me; manage my time better; set my priorities straight…yadda, yadda, yadda.  But, I am looking for other ideas; I am organizing my time, I feel that I have the correct priorities in order.  Am I missing something?  Maybe I am supposed to be this busy and filling my time? 

Ok, those are my thoughts. 

Catching Up...

Ok, so in the last 11 days, I have failed at blogging due to the fact that I have been so busy!  I have only had one day of classes, but a lot has happened.  So here is my recap (I will work hard to leave out the tiny details, as to not bore you):

I arrived back at home 2 - Fresno, on Wednesday and Friday, it was Winter Camp time.  People’s Church Jr-High students, also known as Peeps, went to retreat.  I was blessed to spend the weekend with these great kids.  Friday night was filled with worship, God, and games.  Saturday after we were blessed with The Word, we headed up the mountain to spend time in the snow.  Armed with tubes, sleds, and packed lunches, the afternoon was ours.  I also got to test out my new camera in the snow.  I got some very funny pictures, I hope you enjoy them.

As our hands got warm after numerous snowballs were thrown, our hearts were touched by God’s presence after we came back to Church.  God was revealed as we talked about getting real.  Winter Camp was, disappointingly, over on Saturday night.  Church followed Sunday morning, where we recapped the event and heard from the students what they experienced during the weekend.

Next was the Seahawks game, enough said.

Now we are to Monday, Martin Luther King Day.  I spent the day with Makenna, Matt (Makenna’s boyfriend), Greg, and Lisa on the slopes of China Peak.  It was a great day; not only was it sunny and warm, but I made it down my first black-diamond run.  Granted: it was completely my mistake because I failed to wait for Makenna and simply kept going.  I didn’t know it was a black-diamond run until we were down the mountain.  It was probably better that way.  I had to leave early to get back down the mountain and go to work, so we decided to make one last run, eat lunch, and off I would go.  Unfortunately, with my confidence up, this time I slid down the mountain further than I skied down the mountain.  Oops.

I finished my 5 hours of work, picked up Greg’s brother Ryan, and headed back up.  This time, it was time to ski with Greg’s family; brother Ryan, Sister Deb, Sister Dee, Neice Taylor, and Nephew Logan.  Once again, I had a blast!  I could really get the hang of this skiing thing.  

Anyway, school has officially started again, and I am getting back to a normal schedule; at least trying to be.  So far, I am really enjoying my classes.  I know they are going to be A TON of work, but they are furthering my career and helping me achieve my goals.  These are important classes. 

As for now, I am preparing for another week as a Bulldog.  Ready or not…here I come!

Send-Off Snow

So, here I sit, in the Sea-Tac airport.  Sadly, my Christmas break trip has come to an end.  I am heading back to Fresno for school.  Although I am rather excited to see my friends, for date night with my boyfriend, to get back to work (for the sake of a paycheck of course), and other such joys of Fresno, I hate leaving.  As I said last week, I stink at goodbyes. 

Before I get to the see-you-later part (since I am still no longer saying goodbye) the greatest thing happened last night.  Mom and Dad always have this way of making the last night at home extra special.  Last night we went out to dinner at the KEG! Northwest people, you know this greatness…Fresno people, you are missing out.  The Keg is a steakhouse with the best caesar salad and mashed potatoes you can imagine.  Oh, their steak is great too, but that’s not my favorite part.  This is where Dad wanted to eat. (Good Idea Dad!)

We open the front door to leave and you will never believe what was happening; it was snowing!!  I have been saying for the past 24 days that I wanted it to snow.  My last night in town, it happens.  Apparently, it was ordered just for me.  There is just something so perfect about my home-sweet-home being covered in pure white snow.  First, I have to say, thanks for the special-order snow; it is greatly appreciated.  Mom called this my send-off snow which I think was the perfect term to use.  It is sending be back to Cali knowing that I won’t see true cold weather for quite some time, and also reassuring the fact that I don’t want to ever live somewhere where it doesn’t snow at least a little bit.  It is just too wonderful to not enjoy at least once a year.  Second, it snowed the entire time we were eating and the snow was sticking to the ground.  Ok, I have to pause here to explain something about snow in the Northwest.  There are two kinds of snow here, there is the snow that falls and lands on wet ground, therefore melting and on an extra cold night, freezing.  Then there is a second kind of snow that falls and coats the ground with its wonderfulness (this did not come up with a squiggly red line in Microsoft Word so it must be a word), which is termed “sticking” snow.  I realize that this is not an original term or anything, I’m just clarifying.  So, this was the sticking kind of snow.  On the drive home all I could think about was how priceless the house was going to look since we haven’t taken our Christmas lights down yet.  (According to Mom they aren't coming down until March 1st). I had this sudden urge to sing Christmas songs even though I know we are in January now. 

Now, back to dinner.  The waitress asked if we were celebrating anything.  This is sort of a weird question for us to answer and we laughed.  My Dad replied we are celebrating our daughters returning to school tomorrow.  Which sounds to me like they are ready for us to leave...but I know they actually hate it when we leave as much as they do.  We concluded that we were celebrating a great break and a new semester beginning. 

This is what has been termed a ‘two-snort dinner.’  We were laughing so incredibly hard that Mom was crying, and I mean mascara coating the napkin, crying, while Lisa and I were snorting.  With great difficulty Dad was trying to remain calm, but he failed.  The two poor people sitting near us were, clearly annoyed with our hysterical spouts of laughter.  Although, when we got to the car the conclusion was that the girl was more interested in what was happening at our table than at hers with her date.  Sorry dude, we didn’t mean to make you look bad and ruin your date.

Finally, we had our fill, of food and laughter; it was time to go home; it snowed all the way home might I add.  The house, as I knew it would be was beautiful.  Next best decision we made all day happened next: time to go sit in the hot tub.  I know, I know.  You are going to tell me we are crazy, and I agree, but it was just right.  We enjoyed the new canopy that has been added to the deck so we watched it snow, without getting snow on us, while relaxing in bubbly hot water.  The only bad part was walking in the snow to uncover and recover the hot tub; but it was well worth it. 

With the early flight this morning it was time to head to bed.  4:00am came way to early this morning when my alarm clock rang.  So my send-off snow made getting the suitcases into the truck much more difficult since it was parked at the top of the driveway to insure we were able to leave the house and has also delayed our flight, so far by 2 hours.  Oh well, I will do my best to enjoy every moment of being in Seattle even if I am just sitting in the airport. 

So eventually, whenever our flight leaves, “See you later Seattle!” 

*If it hadn't been for the camera in my hands I would have been done-for!

Oh shoot…now delayed 3 hours.  No complaints here, I am watching the snow/rain (I lied, there are three kinds of snow; the third being snow that cannot seem to decide if it is snow or rain) fall and the planes come in and out, pondering which one will be the one to take me from one home to the next.

Family Football and Woosah

I realize that I am a biased fan, as to it is my hometown, but I am delighted with my Seattle Seahawks today.  Not only was this a big win and a glimpse from the underdogs and what they are capable of, but for me, it was a trip down memory lane.  I remember the days of the past, with my winning Seahawks, sitting here in this living room with my parents, yelling at the television (although it is now a much larger television than it used to be) and cheering for my team. 

On nearly every defensive down mom and I yell, “GET HIM!  GET HIM!”  We simply want the other players to get tackled, the play to end, and us to get the ball back, but it makes my dad snicker.   Secretly, I think he laughs at us and doesn’t say it, but at least we all root for the same team.  Even when my dad is outside working on something, he always knows to run inside to catch the replay because something happened after of our shriek of anger or roar of delight. 

My dad on the other hand, speaks to the commentators.  He informs them the statistic they just stated is ridiculous or regularly asks the question, “Who keeps track of all this junk?”  He is also great at refuting whatever negative statement the commentator has made against our team.

“Woosah” is a regular phrase repeated after each important down in order to remind us all to take a breath.  According to Urban Dictionary, “Woosah” is a verb that means to take a breather, to re-center, and calm down. This may be done by repeating the word "woosah" over and over or merely “woosahing” by taking a step back and chilling out.  In our house, sometimes it involves rubbing your earlobes too in order to fully accept the fact that this is simply a game we are watching from our living room. 

If someone ever watched us as we were watching our Seahawks, they would most likely call us crazy.  We talk more to the T.V. than to each other, but somehow it is this great moment of time where the day just seems to pause and we spend it together as a family.  Today was that all over again.  Thank you Seahawks for the wins of the past, the win today, and the wins of the future, hopefully including more this season, that bring us all together.

The Center of the Universe

“According to reliable sources, Fremont (an area in downtown Seattle) lies in a special geophysical area. Stay long enough and you too, will notice an odd gravitational effect. The inability to stay away, the overwhelming urge to return again and again. So when our Native Americans claim this area lies at the very Center of the Universe, somehow we're not surprised.”

I visited this spot on Wednesday, the Center of the Universe.  Strangely enough, there may be slight truth to the sources and their theories; there was this feeling of utter contentment and no desire to leave.  I like to think though that this is less of a gravitational pull and more of a tug on my heart strings, as I spent the day with mom, sisterface, and Katie.  There is almost nothing better than a girls day walking the streets of Seattle, enjoying the smell of the sea, breathing crisp clean air, and entering any appealing boutique without any exact reason. 

While at this so-called Center of the Universe, Katie and I recalled the location that we have visited before.  The Louvre is 9757 km away.  Just a few short months ago, although seemingly an eternity ago, we were there together with our dear Makenna.  I was at the Louvre and many other magnificent European monuments while backpacking over the summer with two besties.   Anyway, back to Wednesday.

The day progressed and time continued even while I wasn’t paying attention.  Lunch consisted of HomeGrown food where we spent nearly as much time figuring out how to recycle it when we were finished as we did enjoying every delicious bite. 

At the end of this priceless adventure it was time to say goodbye to Kate, as I am heading back to Fresno and she is remaining here in Seattle, her new home.  I hate goodbyes…I am terrible at saying goodbye.  Generally, I am not one to cry and be all mushy, but a goodbye will get me every time.  I guess this is a blessing in disguise.  God has blessed me with many friends and family that I cannot part from and dread waiting to see them again.  So, in a weird way, thank you to all those that are close to me, that have impacted my life, and pulled on my heart, and make my heart hurt when we part.  You make life a daily joyous adventure and I am ready for more every day I wake up.

Following Seattle, was dinner in Tacoma at Bj’s with Uncle Dave, Nancy 2, cousin Andy, and Callie his girlfriend along with the fabulous four of my family.  This was a fun dinner to hang with the family and the jokes between my dad and his brother always get a few snorts out of me.  Thank you Grandma Carol for passing the snort on to me; even if people aren’t laughing at the joke the laugh at my laugh and I love it.  Then, one more goodbye. 

This is just too much for me.  So, as of today, no more goodbyes…it is all ‘see you laters.’  “See you later” is much happier and a brief sort of goodbye then a long term “goodbye, I don’t know when I will see you again.”

So, for now, See You Later!  (not goodbye)

        P.S.  this is also posted on the sign, just so you know...

Noogie – top of head

Milky Way – 69 Lt Yr

Taiwan – 8753 km  

2011

Hello 2011,


This is the first of hopefully, many blogs for the year.  I truly enjoyed marking my path through Europe via blog and so a dear friend and I have decided to blog the next year together; our own separate blogs of course.  Here to follow lay my adventures, challenges, success and struggles through my ever-so-hopeful excitement for 2011. 


Since I am only a few days into the New Year, I will back-track a few days and begin there.  I have been home, in Tacoma, for Christmas break from school.  So far 2011 has been great.  It started by ringing in the New Year outside in Ocean Shores around a bonfire surrounded by a best friend Katie, boyfriend Greg, sisterface Lisa, Mom, Dad, and Ocean Shores friends.  We hooped and hollered and quickly after 12am rushed into the house to get warm…after all, you can only stay outside in 0* weather, including the wind chill factor, for so long, no matter how large my dad and boyfriend can make a fire. 


Following was a day of nothing, literally nothing other than eating, and pure bliss.


The next adventure was Zoo Lights.  For those of you from the North West you know, along with me, how wonderful Zoo Lights is and that no matter how old you get and how many years you have gone, it just can’t be beat and I wouldn’t miss it for anything.  I was lucky to share this experience with Greg and Lisa and my new camera.  J 


In a few short hours I am sending my boyfriend back to Fresno.  I was truly blessed to have him here by my side in Tacoma for Christmas Eve, Day and New Years.  Thank you to his family for letting me steal him temporarily.  It will seem to be an eternity before I get to see him again, although it will only be 9 days from now, when I return to Fresno for school to begin. 


Anyway, that is where this year has begun and I will keep you posted on the rest as it happens.  I pray for blessings on your path as well as mine and we shall see where our journeys take us.