FINALS!

Agh! Its finals weeks. Here is a post for all my college homies.


Magic 8 ball says:
Will I survive? Yes.
Will I survive with sanity? Outlook not so good.

Top ten on how to survive finals:
1. sing, dance and generally rock out in car to sufficiently hip music (I recommend JayZ, Black Eyed Peas, or Shakira....Holla!)
2. when stress hits, just remember: CTFO! (if you don't know what this means, ask someone under 40)
3. red wine at night, ladies delight
4. coffee, Zipfizz or other highly caffinated beverage as a study aid (especially if you are like me and get to go to school and study after being mommy and working all day)
5. procrastinate until the last minute, the adrenaline will usually help get your wheels turning
6. facebook, Blogspot, YouTube, Ebay, or MSNBC can help you with number 5
7. read number 3 and 4, drink, rinse, repeat
8. subway sandwiches!
9. complain, complain, complain it helps release pressure otherwise your head might just explode into a thousand little pieces

and number 10...

10. give it all you've got because you are almost done and you rock!! i.e. Daily affirmations: "you're good enough, you're smart enough, and doggone it, people like you!"

Why work?

If only we could all do the things that bring us joy for our profession...

I am most bored with my job lately. Microsoft is no longer hiring armies of code monkeys and it leaves me with too much time on my hands and not enough green in my pocket.
I am a girl that likes to move. I don't stop. I am like a fish, if I stop I might drown. So, being slow with work and out of school for summer break is making me me craaazy. It has my brain working OT thinking of how I wish I could just jump into the classroom and wishing I could just start school again!
I should be smart enough to just kick back and enjoy these weeks before fall quarter starts but I am just left thinking about the money I am not making and wishing I could afford to hit the books full time, get er' done and get into the school system! I can't wait.

Recent news: Took the West-B, think I did okay. Math was a cinch. Writing, easy peasy lemon squeezy, Reading comprehension was ambiguous and mysterious. It was truly surprising to me since I am usually great with the English.

More news:
Emma is turning into quite the athlete! She made Joe and I so proud on Saturday that we just about burst. She was ahead of the pack on the soccer field, dominating the ball and fast as lightning. Go Emma! Avery is also playing soccer. She is getting the hang of it, still picking daisies when given the opportunity, but at least she is enjoying it. School has gotten off to a great start for both girls. They have lovely teachers that make everyday a great day. Avery comes home singing new songs every week filling my house and my heart with joy. I love Fernwood!
They are both growing up so fast! It is exciting, fun and sad all at once.

Pet Peeve: The girls' school pictures have different background options, sounds good you say? Well, blah grey is free but if you want blue, or brown or the American flag (I'm all over that one...) or whatever it is $3 extra! What? You are going to charge me $3 to pull down the screen? Seriously?

That's it, that's me for tonight. Peace.

No water

It's funny how we don't really appreciate what we have until its gone. Our PRV is going out and the pipes throughout the house vibrate and make sounds like the Edmonds-Kingston ferry docking in my crawl space. I have a guy coming out today to fix it up, but we are trying to minimize damage to the other pipage by not turning on the water. Another couple dollars hundred sunk into this house....trying not to dwell on that part.
It is only now that my body decides that it is super super thirsty! I want to drink a gallon of tap water. What's that about? I have bottled water in my garage but it is so-so. I miss the chlorine/fluoride flavor of my city water! I want a shower RIGHT NOW! I want to run my washer that is full of clothes and ready to go, I want to run my dishwasher that is full of dinner dishes and ready to go, I want to water my dry, dry lawn. I NEED water!

Happy Birthday Sweet Emma

Emma is 9. I can hardly believe it. Joe and I about cried when I said "You know, 9 is halfway to 18, she is halfway to moving out." It seems like yesterday that I was staying up nights rocking, loving, changing, nursing and doing it all over again night after night, feeling so sleep deprived wondering if I would ever sleep again. Now my sweet Emma is doing homework, soccer, gymnastics, and buzzing around the neighborhood on rollerblades!

Hug your kids, slow down take a deep breath and hug your kids. The little moments are what matter. When you are feeling stressed about tying shoes, making lunches, jetting around to sports games and birthday parties, remember that these moments are fleeting. Before you know it they are halfway to moving out! When you think are too busy to say yes to a child asking you to play with them or read to them, think again.

Love your kids, love your moments, love your life.

AAAAAAACK!

Still sane, but barely. Warning: BRAIN and FEELINGS DUMP BELOW!!!

Looking forward to our Southwestern Larsons' visit! Happy about sunshine. Wish I had more time to enjoy it, Stressed about final papers and projects, Happy that I have a job and that I continue to get new clients, kind of wish I could afford not to...mad at Courtney at the credit union for being a general PITA to deal with while trying to finagle a refinance, wish I had time to be a better friend, I love my friends, looking forward to June 4 so I can be a human again, proud that miraculously my yard looks amazing, bugged that my house is SO messy, proud of my girls, so smart, so funny, so adorable, wish I could spend every minute with them (ok, maybe not EVERY minute), doing laundry has become relaxing it's an excuse to sit down, I have been neglecting my blog, Looking forward to seeing the northerly larson crew in Bham on saturday, miss my mom and dad and sister, enjoying simple pleasures: Mike's lemonade in hand, homework reading on the front porch swing while the kids play in the warm sun, staying up too late with too much anxiety to sleep, waking up grouchy, feeling like a hamster in a wheel, but knowing the wheel has a destination (eventually!), just keep on keeping on.... Blogtherapy. $0.

Sunshine in Bothell!

I love a sunny day in the Pacific Northwest!

After all the grey, dark, dreary, damp days we are rewarded for our perseverance with glorious sunshine!! One draw back to all this rain is a really healthy lawn, I mean reeaaaallly healthy. I plan to mow my overgrown little jungle/lawn today but am procrastinating until everyone in the hood is awake.

Later after I shuttle Emma off to a birthday party, Joe, Avery and I are headed out to go buy a new BBQ! Nothing says spring like the smell of freshly mowed grass and BBQ! I am hoping to drag it home today, wish me luck in finding what I want. :)

On to the next question of the day: what will I grill for dinner? I would love recommendations for fantastic grill christening recipes!

Right now I am enjoying a quiet morning with coffee and my girls doing crafts (makit & bakit!) Anyone remember these fun little stained glass things from the 80's? I found them at Michael's for the girls and now they are crafting fools!

Somewhere in here I will squeeze over 100 pages of homework reading, and 4 pages of critical review writing....

Cheers, Happy weekend everyone!

Holy crud.

3 classes is a lot of work. I have done this before and was successful, dean's list even. I know I will get through it but it will wear me out. My Trader Joe's Honey Moon Zinfandel is helping at the moment..... :)

My classes:

1. Genes, Genomes and Reproductive Technology- currently lots of review of biology that I got a 4.0 in 12 years ago at Peninsula College. Funny guy, really means well, lots of dense students that are not getting the most basic stuff (DNA replication, etc.) I hope to do well in this class, the reading is not too unreasonable (6 chapters per week avg.) Later in the quarter we will be talking about ethics of reproductive technology, that's when it will get interesting!

2. Cross-Cultural Oral Traditions- this one will be tough. Now I love a good folk tale, fable, legend, myth just as much as anyone, but this guy seems to have a chip on his shoulder about people who sign up thinking it is an easy class and is going way overboard on the reading amount and assignments. This may be my hardest class. Lots from Native Americans, Arab Palestinian Folktales, The Brothers Grimm and the like.

3. Education in U.S. Society- very interesting stuff, my very first Ed class, (yay me!) the only complaint I have is that it is in the middle of the day and therefore has a bunch of freshman in it....mostly young right out of high school and so spoiled! they were texting, surfing on laptops and doing other generally rude things in class. 2 people actually had the nerve to raise their hand and ask the prof if she was serious, that this was so much reading, and blah blah, "so overwhelmed....I have other classes too!" etc.... whine whine whine. It took alot of restraint to not respond to that girl. "Suck it up princess, this is college! I have other classes, a full time job, children, a husband, a dog and a mortgage! Boo flippin hoo!"

Stepping off of my soapbox now. Thanks for reading.

avast ye matey! treasures!

I looove Bellevue Goodwill. It's like a garage sale in Beverly Hills or something. Its blows my mind sometimes what some people throw out....and there is complete crap also, ignore that stuff and skim the very best of the best ONLY. :)

I do this occasionally to kill an hour or two between clients when I am stuck near Microsoft (this Goodwill is right up the street from MS).

My favorite things to look for are dishes, (milk glass, original fiesta ware, stemware, glass or crystal that is clean cut and not floofy, cake and pie dishes that are photo worthy (think Martha...), wall art/photo frames, small furniture that can be HGTVized, and books. I LOVE to find great cheap books!

I found 3 fantastic books that I have been wanting to read:

1. The Glass Castle- Already started it, can barely put it down to make this post. recommended by Jen, I can see why you liked it, wild and quirky, disturbing but endearing.

2. The Memory Keepers Daughter- recommended by Pam, we'll compare notes....

3. The Lovely Bones- can't recall who recommended it but it was one of my friends, its about a 14 year old girl that dies and watches her life go on with out her in it, her family grieves and moves on etc, its her story. seems fascinating.

Also, I found a fabulous gold/silver framed mirror, not sure where I will put it yet but at $15 it was a treasure I had to drag home. :)

I also found a few other little bits and pieces, set of 4 adorable silver demitasse spoons for .20 cents each, etc.

Oh, they also have a designer labels section with Seven for All Mankind, Citizens, Coach etc. kind of fun, but it is hit and miss. So far I have been more miss than hit.....

Fat days.

Ok ladies, most of us have them....fat days. I have had a few too many lately and am ready to do something about it. Starting today I am following an eating plan that loosely resembles Weight Watchers. I did WW a few years ago and lost 37 lbs. Now that I have gained over half of it back I have decided to reign it in. My final goal weight is 145. If any of my friends want to join me I would be thrilled to have a partner or 3. We can share recipes, keep each other accountable, and go for walks/jogs together.

I am not obsessed with appearance, nor do I wish to look like Angelina Jolie (homewrecker), I just want to live life to its fullest without holding back. I don't want to be the one on the side when everyone else is diving in. I want to feel strong, healthy, confident and positive. We may not be able to control the economy, or dang Washington weather, but I can control this!

I have used a lot of excuses like I am so busy so its impossible to make good food choices.... and the economy stinks so I will save money by buying the cheaper fattier product...its cold and rainy so I am not going to exercise....well this plan obviously stinks and I am making no more excuses. I have decided that blogging it will keep me accountable.

Little Joybits:

We Cheer: One thing that I do that some of you know about (and giggle about) is Wii Cheer. Now it seems silly, I know, but it is a fun, great workout (if you do it right and not cheat like Jen). You will forget that you are exercising and if you are half as competitive as I am you will also become obsessed with beating all of the songs. I have beat all of them and now am working on beating them on difficult. Yay me! If you have Wii and you are even the slightest bit coordinated you have to have it.

Laughing Cow Cheese Wedges: 1 point, use like mayo and in place of both cheese and mayo on a sandwich. Also, try with pesto. YUM!

La Tortilla Factory Tortillas: 1 point, use in place of bread to make an awesome filling sandwich wrap, or as a traditional tortilla for fajitas and soft tacos. Very filling and tons o' fiber.

Blogging, it's the new black.

Ok all, I am giving it a go. Not sure who I think I am and why I think anyone will want to read this; but it will be fun and cathartic nonetheless. I have a bunch of random thoughts all the time that I feel like sharing and exploring and I think this will be a great medium to do it.

Expect to see posts on people-watching, random experiences, my crazy experiences as a working mom, wife, college student, consultant, and future teacher.

Also, my thoughts on art, socioeconomic inequality, politics, confusion, and ponderances about the world's ways. Also lighter posts relating to my hobbies, like photography, great design, great music, movies, the occasional amazing recipe and the oh so exciting rants about all the things that bug me.

Be sure to check out my friend Jen, plumber, landscaper, painter, floorer, extraordinaire and her amazing remodel blog. Watch out HGTV, here she comes! http://theyumaproject.blogspot.com/