No Words

Yesterday sucked the wind out of everyone I know.

I personally didn't know anyone who was directly affected by the violence.

It's just sad.

hmmmm.....

Today I am subbing at the downtown club.  It should be interesting trying to get there in time..  and finding a playlist that I don't have to hop off the bike every five minutes to adjust...

I think I may be over my s'more addiction...  I am out of graham crackers and chocolate... just have some marshmallows left...  maybe I'll leave them on top of the yard waste container so someone can take them...

on top of that all?  Cramps.  enough said.

Slowly expanding

I am going to keep expanding until my pants burst...

I am having portion control issues...  it's not going to be pretty if it continues on like this.



This is what song popped into my head when I started thinking about becoming a whale...

It doesn't really fit, but it's a good song.

I don't have much to report.  I spent a big chunk of time cleaning my apartment last night and it still looks like a pit.

I need to do something to snap me out of this marsupial inspired lethargy....

what the heck does that mean?  I don't know.....

I guess I should just get a move on.

Home again home again

I finally made it home last night around 9pm...  it's been a long, full weekend.

Here are a few photos... 

Breakfast on Saturday morning

Glitter disaster in the craft closet!

The big field on a nice day!

Outdoor Chapel!

A closeup of my tree!

S'MORES!

Birthday Cake (Cake Jake) for my Brother-In-Law's Birthday...

I crashed the Birthday Barbecue!

Overall a pretty good weekend..... I need to clean up, do some shopping and get laundry done...  I guess it's not going to get done by itself...

better run...

Live from Olympia!

Work camp got done early so I decided to pay a visit to the Olympia contingent of my family.  Right now I'm hanging out at Starbuck's under the pretense of working on job application stuff...  I might work on sample class assignments. Seems like a good idea.

Not much to report from work camp.  I managed to clean out the craft room and get things organized.  I ate too much food and had a good time preparing s'mores around the campfire last night.

Currently I'm eavesdropping on a conversation the barista's are having about the movie Say Anything when John Cusack is holding the boom box above his head...  good movie.  It's one of my favorites.

At some point I will trudge up to my sister's place.  It's my brother in law's birthday so I am crashing the birthday party... but that's how I roll.

Part of me would just really like to take off on the open road and never come back...  I almost pulled off the highway and went into a casino, but the idea of subjecting myself to a bunch of cigarette smoke was unappealing. 

Maybe I'll head back home tonight...  maybe I'll find some other friend to go visit for the evening...  I have one more clean shirt and a pair of underpants so I'm set!

Three Days to Myself!

I don't remember the last time I had a three day weekend without any constraints on my time.  I'm looking forward to it.

As is usual with three day weekends, the work week preceding it has been a bear.  I suppose it's good, but I am tired.

Tonight I am hoping to get an early dismissal so I can come home and pack before I head over for work camp.  I have been told that one of my projects this weekend will be organizing the craft room (I knew it was inevitable)... maybe they will let me do some painting too.  I don't really mind.

What else???  I had some teeny tiny ants in my bathroom but they are gone now thanks to the exterminator!  death to the teeny tiny buggers.

Last night I watched the premiere of So You Think You Can Dance... I really do love that show.  There are so many people with talent - It just makes me want to shake my groove thing.... 

I think that's it this morning. 

Have a great weekend.

I'm Back.

I'm back....  

What do I know?  I went to the dentist yesterday and have to have two fillings replaced which sucks for the pocketbook, but I did get a lot of toothpaste samples so that's cool.

I have teeny tiny ants in my bathroom...  the exterminator is coming today.

I found ten dollars on the floor of Bartell Drugs yesterday.

I had a full class at the gym.

My austerity plan has resulted in  a downward trend in the scale because I'm not eating crap... that's cool.

I think tonight I will have to do some laundry before I head off tomorrow night.

I'm looking forward to not having any plans this weekend. Well, any plans besides going to work camp.

I will do my best to take photos at camp and post them here... 

Pretty good weekend, but next weekend will be better.

Overall I give the weekend a 7.  The only major icky thing was the coffee grinder breaking.  I realized once I got to the gym that I had a few of the Starbucks Via packets which I could have used... but I was so discombobulated by lack of caffeine that I didn't realize it.

Oh well....  I took the beans I had left over to my mom's house and used her coffee grinder so I'll be set for the next few days.

This weekend I got some cleaning done around my place, exercised, updated the website a bit (it's still not perfect, but I found a few images that I could put up there), and I watched the pilot episode of Twin Peaks on Netflix... good show.

Oh, I also managed to get some laundry done.

Next weekend there are no classes at the gym so I get a true weekend to myself.  I am going to be heading off to work camp.  It will be nice to get away and do some work on the site for the upcoming camping season.  I need me some Pilgrim Firs time....

I am guessing that because it is going to be a three day weekend that this week will go on forever.  I just have to mentally prepare for it.

Overall things seem to be picking up.  I am not feeling quite so down about things.  That's good.

No Coffee, No Fun

My coffee grinder is broken.

I have no coffee.

I am sad.

I suppose I could just suck on the beans, or lick the residue off the grinder but it wouldn't be the same.

posting every day didn't quite work out as planned...

This is proof that if you get out of a habit it's hard to get it back.  I had intended to keep posting daily but it didn't stick.  Oh well, I'm back now.

Let me see what I can update you all on.... this is what my horoscope said today...

Today is a 9 -- You're even more powerful (and good-looking). Accept invitations to visit. Resist your own marketing pitch, if only for a little humility.

I always knew I was powerful and good-looking...  I am feeling fairly good...

Last night I spent the evening working on a grant proposal for some equipment for my t-shirt project.  I was almost done when I was unable to save a stupid adobe pdf file so that I could upload it...  argh..  I need that benefactor I've been looking for to buy me a copy of Adobe Creative Suite.  Oh well, I will complete the application today - which is two days before the deadline.  Now that's a miracle.

This weekend should be uneventful, visiting the parental unit, cleaning things, trying to find my cables for my video camera which my friend Tia Kramer is going to use during her artist residency in New York next month.

If that's all I really need to do it sounds good to me.  

I'm sure more things will come up but this weekend less is more. 


Here are some nice flowers growing in my neighborhood...

Another Post?

Yeah, I think I might get back to everyday posting - but don't count on it, because I might change my mind.

The weather yesterday did something to put me in a good mood...  it's hard to be bright and cheery when it's all dreary outside. Hopefully it will stick around.

What do I have going on??  I think tonight I shall go to a show at the Annex Theater - one of my former campers got a grant to create and develop a dance piece.  The last chance to see it is this week so I am going to go.  I know it means that I will be up past my bedtime but that's okay.

Once again the dishes in my apartment have piled up....  I'm looking sort of like a bachelor...  I'm okay with it though.

Did I mention that I told somebody I'd run a marathon with them?  What am I thinking??  I'm thinking I might be crazy...  and I'm thinking that I don't really love having nice looking toenails because they're bound to all fall off...   it will be good for me though.  My feet are feeling better overall...  I almost have a spring in my step.

That's all I'm going to share this morning.... but it turns out to be quite a bit.

Hotter than a dog on fire

It's going to be a scorcher today!  Okay, maybe 80 degrees isn't a scorcher... but it's still going to be warm.  I shall bare my legs once again.

Yesterday was fairly enjoyable.  Class was almost full, my Dad was only a little nutty (nutty in a good way), and the Momma's day barbeque was fairly uneventful.  The high point was my nephew Leo licking the "Fairy Crossing" sign in the back yard and getting in trouble... why he would want to lick a sign that has a picture of Tinker Bell that's been out in the back yard for a few years is beyond me, but hey - he's only 5.

Maybe I'll get a move on  a few minutes early this morning...  I'm going to bare my legs again today - hopefully I won't blind anyone.

Your Momma!

Happy Mother's Day y'all...

Today I shall celebrate with a bbq at my mommas house...

I don't have too much to tell you about - the weather is nice, I got my armpits waxed so I can bare them to the world, Mr. Clunky moved out so I can sleep through the night....  things are looking up.

Last night I met some friends for drinks down on Broadway.... it was a nice change for me to get out.  I'm so used to getting up early and having to pack it in by 9pm on Saturday nights I'm not quite used to it...

I think I shall stop by and see my Dad on the way to the Barbeque this afternoon...  It's been a few weeks since I've seen him...  last time I went he was asleep....  hopefully he will be up this time...

But this day is all about my momma!

Clunky has left the building....

I knew it was coming, but I realized after three nights of uninterrupted sleep that Mr. Clunky has moved out.

I'm not quite sure what to do... I have my television turned up just a little louder than usual and I think I might clomp around if I wake up in the middle of the night.

I know I should just appreciate it while I can, because you never know when it might all end and Ms. Talk Loud on the Phone moves in...

I am celebrating with bratwurst.

and today I shall get my act together...

Last night I had dinner with a longtime friend... our Birthdays are a week apart and we always celebrate with dinner...  we always get updated with what's going on in our lives and I gave her the update on mine.  I told her about my dissatisfaction and sense of something needing to change - with that she gave me homework.  She told me to come up with a to do list - so that's what I'm going to do.

This weekend I started working on a sample syllabus for a hypothetical class...  I think I shall work on finishing that and then start looking for teaching jobs in earnest.  I've been pooping around for the past five years not giving myself enough credit...

Another thing happened yesterday...  my feet didn't hurt too much.  I don't want to talk about it too much because I don't want to jinx it...  but I think I may be on the mend.  I was able to walk home with my flats on (with the orthotics of course)...  It would be nice if I could get rid of my aches and pains.

I also got this photo sent to me.... it's my tree with a new/old rock next to it...  I'm looking forward to going to work camp in the next few weeks...  

Finally this morning this would be prosciutto.... you know (or maybe your don't know) how I love prosciutto...

Being Useful

This weekend I actually accomplished things (sort of)...

Both Saturday and Sunday I spent a fair amount of time working on Job and Grant applications...  I'm not done yet, but I've got a good start on them.  I just have to work on dragging myself out of the apartment in order to work on them...

This morning I woke up at 4:45... not fun, but I guess I'll be able to sleep tonight (if I make it)...

What do I know???

I signed up to go to work camp on Memorial Day weekend...  Although I think it's kind of nutty that they cancel classes at the gym on some of the most inane holidays, I am kind of glad I won't have to work that three day weekend so I can actually take a mini-vacation....  I am needing some camp time, and it will be nice to be in a place where I can do some work and relax a little bit.

It's supposed to be nice out today... maybe I will bare my legs...  maybe not.  They're a little pasty...

Please leave me alone...

Looking pensive (and cold)...

 Note to self... don't start at the front of the group if you want to feel like you're going fast.... you will get passed by everyone (including women pushing strollers)...

 

Almost sunny

Bushes that grow beer cans....
 

The summer of the pull-up.

I think this summer I shall work on trying to do pull ups...   I was going to do it last summer, but then I messed up the knee and couldn't really adapt my training to accommodate the knee...

I checked yesterday and I can still do push-ups (the boy ones, not the girl ones...).  I did 20.  Not too bad.

Tomorrow I am signed up for the Fiesta 5k Ole at Volunteer Park... should be good... it's within walking distance of home, there's taco trucks afterwards, and if I was a drinker I could even grab a margarita...  I won't though..

I think tomorrow I shall work on applying for a job at North Seattle...  It's for someone to teach painting and drawing (if you've seen my painting and drawing you will know that it's not my strong suit....).... I am going to apply for the job anyway...

there's also a grant I need to apply for....   I just need to get out and work on the stuff somewhere other than my apartment....

Next topic....

I'm in the process of reducing my spending... yesterday I was going through my desk drawer at work and I found 32 dollars!  how exciting....  I had squirreled it away sometime ago because it was "crisp"  that money which has never been folded...   I deposited the 30 bucks in my savings account...  I will probably spend the 2 ones somewhere.....

My feet have been feeling better (hence the running)...

My psyche is better (at least today)...

We are having Eltana Bagels today... they are yummy.  You should check them out sometime...

Tuesday in review...

I thought I lost one of my shoes, I did not.

 The tulips were pretty on my walk to work

 The view from our office before the mele

Douche bag "anarchists" or whatever they want to call themselves - post property destruction. They disrupted my lunch...
Grow up and get a job.  You bring a bad name to those who want to protest in a peaceful manner...

Ladybug - Anarchists (see - it has a black mask covering it's face.....).

That's it.

Oh, I watched the Biggest Loser finale... I'm glad I didn't watch it this entire season... it's getting kind of old and tired.  It needs to go away.  They should just have the trainers work out for an hour....  I would watch that.