Well like my sister Tia, I have been watching PBS's Masterpiece Classic on the complete Jane Austen. So today I went to the closest bookstore and picked myself up 5 of the 6 books.
Persuasion
Pride and Prejudice
Emma
Sense & Sensibility
and
Northanger Abbey (my favorite)
I just need Mansfield Park with the store didn't have...I will have to keep my eye out for it. Now the hardest part, which to read first... Any one have an opinion?
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Welcome to the world Quentin
Yesterday was a sad day in my home town, a friend from high school's mom lost her battle with cancer and an elderly lady from my church passed away as well.
But yesterday was also a reminder of the circle of life:
But yesterday was also a reminder of the circle of life:
WELCOME TO THE WORLD LITTLE:
QUENTIN ANTHONY MONROE RICHARDSON
born: January 30th, 2008
time: 5:13 p.m.
6 lbs 9 oz
20 inches long
Congratulations Colleen and Colin on your 2nd baby!
QUENTIN ANTHONY MONROE RICHARDSON
born: January 30th, 2008
time: 5:13 p.m.
6 lbs 9 oz
20 inches long
Congratulations Colleen and Colin on your 2nd baby!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Yippee!
So before I get to the reason behind the Yippee title, I wanted to talk about what I did today. So I woke up and watched my 3 episodes of The Nanny to wake me up and then packed myself into the car and drove down to the theater to do some more costuming. Well I opened the door to send Jeremy off to work and found snow covered trees, steps, and banisters. So I was hesitant to leave, due to the lack of driving in this weather here. The problem with the snow here is that it usually starts as rain, then freezes and becomes snow. So there is that layer of ice underneath. But after a few adjustments driving in the parking lot, I made it out. I had to make a couple stops (gas, and parking money) then I was out on the road towards downtown. The roads were fine but the sprinkling became snow as I made it to downtown. I found my way easier and made it to the theater by 11 a.m. No one was in the costume shop however, so I waited, and waited, and waited, and just when I thought about waiting five minutes and then leaving, the two costumers showed up. So we set to work.
Today I sewed on 5 buttons to a bodice top. Also, I learn two more hand stitching techniques. The first is a slip stitch. Which is simple and I caught on quickly while sewing some trim on a dress. The second is a back slip stitch ( I think that is what it was called) which is a combination of the previous two stitches. The costumer was using it to stitch on lace trim on a dress. So after a while the same costumer switched with me and I began seam ripping out some Velcro and zig-zag stitching from a bodice top and a removed pocket from something (maybe a skirt?) We used the pocket as a two inch strip in between the front side pieces. It was a clever trick. Then we added 5 buttons to either side and poof! a new bodice that fits the actress. I learned to fasten buttons and hooks down to use 4-ply thread (two pieces of thread through the needle and tied together) to make a more stable and stronger hold.
Lastly, I got to meet two people from the cast and crew. First and coolest was the star, Chiara, she plays Anne in the play. What's really cool is that I've seen her before. She introduces the Masterpiece Classic specials that are running right now on the complete works of Jane Austin on PBS. So that is cool, she loved trying on the clothes, even those that weren't done. The second person I met was the Technical Director Larry. He had come in to ask if anyone responded to the notice about needing stitchers, and I was there! So that was neat. Overall it was a good day. One more day with them tomorrow.
This brings me to my news! I GOT THE ART INSTRUCTOR JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be starting training tomorrow, 9 - Noon. So I am going to be teaching kids to draw. I am so excited.
In other job related news I found another last minute ad for working on a current production. This one is an Assistant Stage Management position helping preset the stage for the show, change sets during intermission and help with costume changes. They only need me on Thursdays from January 31st through February 21th from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. It's for Seattle Public Theater. I just have to see if I can work both the Art Studio and this ASM job. It's another option for getting my name known by some people in the business...
So that's my good news. Yay!
Today I sewed on 5 buttons to a bodice top. Also, I learn two more hand stitching techniques. The first is a slip stitch. Which is simple and I caught on quickly while sewing some trim on a dress. The second is a back slip stitch ( I think that is what it was called) which is a combination of the previous two stitches. The costumer was using it to stitch on lace trim on a dress. So after a while the same costumer switched with me and I began seam ripping out some Velcro and zig-zag stitching from a bodice top and a removed pocket from something (maybe a skirt?) We used the pocket as a two inch strip in between the front side pieces. It was a clever trick. Then we added 5 buttons to either side and poof! a new bodice that fits the actress. I learned to fasten buttons and hooks down to use 4-ply thread (two pieces of thread through the needle and tied together) to make a more stable and stronger hold.
Lastly, I got to meet two people from the cast and crew. First and coolest was the star, Chiara, she plays Anne in the play. What's really cool is that I've seen her before. She introduces the Masterpiece Classic specials that are running right now on the complete works of Jane Austin on PBS. So that is cool, she loved trying on the clothes, even those that weren't done. The second person I met was the Technical Director Larry. He had come in to ask if anyone responded to the notice about needing stitchers, and I was there! So that was neat. Overall it was a good day. One more day with them tomorrow.
This brings me to my news! I GOT THE ART INSTRUCTOR JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be starting training tomorrow, 9 - Noon. So I am going to be teaching kids to draw. I am so excited.
In other job related news I found another last minute ad for working on a current production. This one is an Assistant Stage Management position helping preset the stage for the show, change sets during intermission and help with costume changes. They only need me on Thursdays from January 31st through February 21th from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. It's for Seattle Public Theater. I just have to see if I can work both the Art Studio and this ASM job. It's another option for getting my name known by some people in the business...
So that's my good news. Yay!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Today's adventure
Today I took an adventure all by myself. I called a theater about an ad they placed in an online resource for volunteer stitching help for their up and coming production of Persuasion by Jane Austin. Well I wasn't sure how much experience they wanted but I'm free and could use the connections working backstage. So I called the number and the girl I talked to was like, Yes we need as much help as you can give. It turns out there are just two of them working on the costumes and they are just running out of time with the alterations they need to finish.
So today I ventured out with my trusty Google Maps print out on the seat next to me and some juice and soft foods to eat if I got hungry. Well it turns out that this theater is in downtown Seattle, specifically right around the Space needle. As I drove down there I was getting closer and closer to it, and I snapped a picture with my phone (I'll upload that later). I parked and walked to the theater and called the one girl to navigate me into the costume shop. I worked from 11 am to 4 pm. I made 5 cravats (men's scarves), put ruffles on 2 shirts, reshaped the collar on two men's shirts, and hemmed up a dress 4 inches. The one girl asked if I wanted to learn Millinery (hat making) so I am going to set a time to go her apartment and learn that from her.
I learned a few tricks and heard tips on starting out in the business from Dean the costume designer (she has 30 years experience in the business). I learn the new hemming stitch called the cross-hand stitch. I also learned that if you want to change color on your machine, instead of having to re-thread the whole thing, snip the thread close to the stool and then tie a square knot with the new thread to the old thread and then run the machine through until the thread either gets close to the needle hole or runs through it. I thought that was a very clever trick. Another thing she mentioned was if the bobbin loads from the front or the back the needle hole will be in the front, if the bobbin loads from the side, the needle hole will be on the side.
I have a long way to go for learning things, but I am getting there, and that's exciting. So I made it all the way downtown and all the way back on my own in the big city. I was pretty proud. I am going back to the costume shop on Monday and Tuesday to help where I can and gain as much information as I can.
So today I ventured out with my trusty Google Maps print out on the seat next to me and some juice and soft foods to eat if I got hungry. Well it turns out that this theater is in downtown Seattle, specifically right around the Space needle. As I drove down there I was getting closer and closer to it, and I snapped a picture with my phone (I'll upload that later). I parked and walked to the theater and called the one girl to navigate me into the costume shop. I worked from 11 am to 4 pm. I made 5 cravats (men's scarves), put ruffles on 2 shirts, reshaped the collar on two men's shirts, and hemmed up a dress 4 inches. The one girl asked if I wanted to learn Millinery (hat making) so I am going to set a time to go her apartment and learn that from her.
I learned a few tricks and heard tips on starting out in the business from Dean the costume designer (she has 30 years experience in the business). I learn the new hemming stitch called the cross-hand stitch. I also learned that if you want to change color on your machine, instead of having to re-thread the whole thing, snip the thread close to the stool and then tie a square knot with the new thread to the old thread and then run the machine through until the thread either gets close to the needle hole or runs through it. I thought that was a very clever trick. Another thing she mentioned was if the bobbin loads from the front or the back the needle hole will be in the front, if the bobbin loads from the side, the needle hole will be on the side.
I have a long way to go for learning things, but I am getting there, and that's exciting. So I made it all the way downtown and all the way back on my own in the big city. I was pretty proud. I am going back to the costume shop on Monday and Tuesday to help where I can and gain as much information as I can.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Oral Surgery
I am home from surgery and doing well. I received a phone call at about nine a.m. asking me to move my appointment from 2 p.m. to 11 a.m. due to the doctor being quite booked up. I jumped at going in early because that would mean I was recouping much faster at home. So I went in at 11 and it was quickly time for me to be in the dental chair. The dentist and I decided to go with a combo of Nitrous Oxide and Novocaine. So the assistant put me in the nose mask for the Laughing gas and I begin what I thought was steady breathing as she talk to me a bit about the post care and what I should expect. The doctor came in and asked how things were progressing but honestly I didn't feel any different. He looked at the machine regulating everything, turn the knob up on machines for flow and told me to take three really deep breaths. At the end of that I could feel a big difference. He told me I could say if it was too strong but I could also control it myself by focusing on the depth of my breath intake. He applied the Novocaine and want it to take effect. So he left for a few minutes which by that time seemed like an hour for me.
I was feeling like I had lifted out of my seat and was floating over the chair somewhere. I remember looking at the assistant who had stayed with me the whole time thinking, Man she has had to sit there and just watch to make sure I was doing alright this whole time, that would be a boring job from my perspective, then I thought maybe she is talking to me and I can't hear her for some reason. Then I kept thinking, "how can I remember what I am feeling so I can write it on my blog later today." Then I remember thinking about Pokemon...and feeling like I was spinning like a fighting Pokemon. I know my body was tingly and I was sleepy, and then she asked how I was doing and it was really loud and I said good.
The doctor came back in, I'm sure it had only been like 3-4 minutes. He asked how I was doing and I sort of replied and he said, "Yeah you look a little more spacey now" So He went in and tapped on the tooth again and I could barely feel it at all, he did add some more topical anesthetic and I was just trying very hard to concentrate on breathing because I didn't want the pain to start. Next thing I knew he said "and that's it." and I was like "really (well it was more like mumble mumble with gauze in mouth.)" and he was like "yeah." so I mumbled if the first surgery had been with you and went this well, you would have me as a patient for life." I think he understood me. So then the nose masked had oxygen in it and I was breathing that in deeply to flush out the laughing gas. Within five minutes I was up and moving out of the office and heading to the car to drive home with the gauze in my mouth where my tooth had been.
So I give this doctor an A + just for the surgery and the "bedside manner". I spent the rest of the day resting on the couch watching tv waiting for the numbness to fade because I was really hungry. I tried noodles and then laid down for a while. I know I napped around 4:30 p.m. because Jeremy woke me up when he came home. We made our way to the grocery store for some jello, pudding, and more soft foods so I can eat something. I am missing the meats that I like to eat.
Before we left we received a phone call from the doctor himself asking how I was doing. I said well and that I had eaten some food, he told me to call him if I needed anything. That was the icing on the cake for him in my good book.
So all is well I am doing mostly okay just taking some ibuprofen to help with the ache from the pulling of the tooth but that's it!
Oh and I also give laughing gas an A + for not feeling pain at all but F - for feeling crazy and can't imagine people taking this as a recreation drug.
I was feeling like I had lifted out of my seat and was floating over the chair somewhere. I remember looking at the assistant who had stayed with me the whole time thinking, Man she has had to sit there and just watch to make sure I was doing alright this whole time, that would be a boring job from my perspective, then I thought maybe she is talking to me and I can't hear her for some reason. Then I kept thinking, "how can I remember what I am feeling so I can write it on my blog later today." Then I remember thinking about Pokemon...and feeling like I was spinning like a fighting Pokemon. I know my body was tingly and I was sleepy, and then she asked how I was doing and it was really loud and I said good.
The doctor came back in, I'm sure it had only been like 3-4 minutes. He asked how I was doing and I sort of replied and he said, "Yeah you look a little more spacey now" So He went in and tapped on the tooth again and I could barely feel it at all, he did add some more topical anesthetic and I was just trying very hard to concentrate on breathing because I didn't want the pain to start. Next thing I knew he said "and that's it." and I was like "really (well it was more like mumble mumble with gauze in mouth.)" and he was like "yeah." so I mumbled if the first surgery had been with you and went this well, you would have me as a patient for life." I think he understood me. So then the nose masked had oxygen in it and I was breathing that in deeply to flush out the laughing gas. Within five minutes I was up and moving out of the office and heading to the car to drive home with the gauze in my mouth where my tooth had been.
So I give this doctor an A + just for the surgery and the "bedside manner". I spent the rest of the day resting on the couch watching tv waiting for the numbness to fade because I was really hungry. I tried noodles and then laid down for a while. I know I napped around 4:30 p.m. because Jeremy woke me up when he came home. We made our way to the grocery store for some jello, pudding, and more soft foods so I can eat something. I am missing the meats that I like to eat.
Before we left we received a phone call from the doctor himself asking how I was doing. I said well and that I had eaten some food, he told me to call him if I needed anything. That was the icing on the cake for him in my good book.
So all is well I am doing mostly okay just taking some ibuprofen to help with the ache from the pulling of the tooth but that's it!
Oh and I also give laughing gas an A + for not feeling pain at all but F - for feeling crazy and can't imagine people taking this as a recreation drug.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Interview Details
So the interview for the Fine Arts Studio went very well. I arrived 10 minutes early (actually was there 15 minutes early but couldn't wait in the car any longer). The owner greeted me as I walked in and I saw four teachers, the owner, someone at a computer desk, and two or three students getting ready for their lesson. Lining the left wall was a various displays of still lifes' set up for the students to work on (an apple, an orange, a coffee cup with an apple and a lemon in front. Along the right side of the room was a line up of stations for people to work at. Some had books open to the page they were duplicating. All along the walls above either side were displays of student and teacher work.
I was there to observe how the classes work, to show my portfolio, and to ask any questions I had. The first thing we did was look at my portfolio. I finished pulling all my artwork out and picking pieces yesterday afternoon before I left. The reaction from the owner was positive. So then I was allowed to go around and watch how the class works with the teachers taking 2-3 kids and work with them as they draw.
The studio takes a beginner and walks them through step-by-step drawings really focusing on what shapes make up different objects. They work with pencil, charcoal, colored pastels/chalk, watercolor paints, and oil paints. They work through a series of doing the step-by-step drawings then on to single object still lifes' then they work on color theory and what primary and secondary colors are. Then they go back and do single still lifes' in color, and work into more than one object in the picture. From there they can continue into drawing, water color, and oil paint in the same way. They can take book images and attempt to copy the image. The teachers are there to guide by example and by helping the student look at the subject differently. So I watched a beginner drawing a cute little step-by-step bird and then take chalks and make it a colored picture. I watched two little artists one painting a shark and one painting a parrot with watercolors, I saw a little girl doing an oil painting of an apple, two girls working on some still lifes in charcoal, a teen working on drawing faces in pencil, and an adult student working on a pastel copy of a beautiful image from a book.
I was really impressed with the different levels of the students, the work that was produced, and the results of the teaching methods. I was also really inspired to work on some more pieces. I have been organizing at home so I can do some art soon. or Quilting, or crocheting.
Anyway, back to the details. The reason they are hiring is the owner is adopting a toddler and needs to step back a bit from the business. She said she hopes that the ratio of teacher to student was 1:5. So overall I think things went really well, I will know Monday if they choose me. It is part time but I get weekly training and flexibility of working mainly in the afternoon and having mornings to do things around the house.
Other than that I have been working hard on the apartment today because Jeremy's brother and his girlfriend are coming to stay the first week in March and there are many things to organize so they have a comfortable place to stay while here for the week. Deadlines help to get things in order!
Also I will be having my bottom right wisdom tooth out tomorrow at 2 pm. The doctor decided to try laughing gas on me for a better than Novicane but less expensive than general anesthesia and I will be able to drive myself home and relax after that. I hope it works so I can finally have a good experience at the dentist for once.
So that's the latest...back to work on the spare room.
I was there to observe how the classes work, to show my portfolio, and to ask any questions I had. The first thing we did was look at my portfolio. I finished pulling all my artwork out and picking pieces yesterday afternoon before I left. The reaction from the owner was positive. So then I was allowed to go around and watch how the class works with the teachers taking 2-3 kids and work with them as they draw.
The studio takes a beginner and walks them through step-by-step drawings really focusing on what shapes make up different objects. They work with pencil, charcoal, colored pastels/chalk, watercolor paints, and oil paints. They work through a series of doing the step-by-step drawings then on to single object still lifes' then they work on color theory and what primary and secondary colors are. Then they go back and do single still lifes' in color, and work into more than one object in the picture. From there they can continue into drawing, water color, and oil paint in the same way. They can take book images and attempt to copy the image. The teachers are there to guide by example and by helping the student look at the subject differently. So I watched a beginner drawing a cute little step-by-step bird and then take chalks and make it a colored picture. I watched two little artists one painting a shark and one painting a parrot with watercolors, I saw a little girl doing an oil painting of an apple, two girls working on some still lifes in charcoal, a teen working on drawing faces in pencil, and an adult student working on a pastel copy of a beautiful image from a book.
I was really impressed with the different levels of the students, the work that was produced, and the results of the teaching methods. I was also really inspired to work on some more pieces. I have been organizing at home so I can do some art soon. or Quilting, or crocheting.
Anyway, back to the details. The reason they are hiring is the owner is adopting a toddler and needs to step back a bit from the business. She said she hopes that the ratio of teacher to student was 1:5. So overall I think things went really well, I will know Monday if they choose me. It is part time but I get weekly training and flexibility of working mainly in the afternoon and having mornings to do things around the house.
Other than that I have been working hard on the apartment today because Jeremy's brother and his girlfriend are coming to stay the first week in March and there are many things to organize so they have a comfortable place to stay while here for the week. Deadlines help to get things in order!
Also I will be having my bottom right wisdom tooth out tomorrow at 2 pm. The doctor decided to try laughing gas on me for a better than Novicane but less expensive than general anesthesia and I will be able to drive myself home and relax after that. I hope it works so I can finally have a good experience at the dentist for once.
So that's the latest...back to work on the spare room.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Job Option
I have a job interview today at 4 pm at a fine arts Studio in Downtown Bellevue. The job is teaching children to draw and paint. It's part time, but it would be a good fit for me.
Off to work on my portfolio and resume.
Off to work on my portfolio and resume.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
An Afternoon in the Park
Yesterday my neighbor S, came over and volunteered to take pictures for me so I can have some updated head-shots for theater auditions. So we headed out to Lake Washington in Kirkland, Wa.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Here are a few of my favorites:
For more viewings go to My flickr site
Comment on your favorites on the site, I'm trying to decide which to print.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
update on toothache
So I went to the dentist today. I will reiterate...I hate going to the dentist...
She took a look at the tooth that I have been having problems with. She leveled with me and said it would just be better to have this one taken out. So with a prescription for Ibuprofen in hand and a referral to an oral surgeon Jeremy and I came home. It's amazing how much energy it took out of me...
She took a look at the tooth that I have been having problems with. She leveled with me and said it would just be better to have this one taken out. So with a prescription for Ibuprofen in hand and a referral to an oral surgeon Jeremy and I came home. It's amazing how much energy it took out of me...
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Ouch...
So yesterday I woke up with a toothache. It's persisted through yesterday and continues to throb today. So I searched out a dentist here in Bellevue and will be seeing her on Saturday at 10 am...
I hate going to the dentist. I have not had good experiences with dentists since leaving my dentist from Hinckley. I am ready to have things fixed in my mouth but not ready for the cost or the pain that is going to come with it.
Oh well...not much I can do about that.
I hate going to the dentist. I have not had good experiences with dentists since leaving my dentist from Hinckley. I am ready to have things fixed in my mouth but not ready for the cost or the pain that is going to come with it.
Oh well...not much I can do about that.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Proof of work
Yesterday I stepped out the door to get the mail and there were big chunky flakes of snow.
another view:
This is the work I did the last two days. Finally finished I have categorized and organized all our books: It's a library complete with a teen and children's section...Who's coming by:
This is our new "office area" if you were to turn 180 degrees from looking at the bookshelves you would find our desk. We got new computer monitors to be able to fit both computers together on one desk. Space is limited here but the new monitors are pretty!
Here is what I look at when I am sitting at my desk. If you look close you can see a photo of my family at my house for Christmas 2006. Yay for desk space.
another view:
This is the work I did the last two days. Finally finished I have categorized and organized all our books: It's a library complete with a teen and children's section...Who's coming by:
This is our new "office area" if you were to turn 180 degrees from looking at the bookshelves you would find our desk. We got new computer monitors to be able to fit both computers together on one desk. Space is limited here but the new monitors are pretty!
Here is what I look at when I am sitting at my desk. If you look close you can see a photo of my family at my house for Christmas 2006. Yay for desk space.
Productive Day
Today I had a hard time waking up. So after watching a couple episodes of the Nanny. I love that show. I started sorting more of the boxes of books we brought with. After a while I decided to take the piling garbage from unpacking, four full loads down to the garbage bin. It's amazing here. It snowed yesterday and it stayed over night, so going out to the garbage i saw blue skies with bright sunshine, snow melting off trees making it look like rain, and steam coming of the trees...
After that my neighbor and I ran out to the Mexican grocery store...I picked up more corn shells and a can of chipolte con adobo sauce. Yum, we saw an international grocery store too...stop there to see what they had. It was really cool but I couldn't figure out what everything was (all the different languages).
I came home to take a nap then get up and plow through the last of the books. I then vacuumed the entry way, rearranged some more things and sat down to watch tv. The place is really coming together. Jer is reading tonight, and it's low key. Soup and chili for dinner.
Tomorrow I need to do the dishes, maybe bake some more, and get to the grocery store.
After that my neighbor and I ran out to the Mexican grocery store...I picked up more corn shells and a can of chipolte con adobo sauce. Yum, we saw an international grocery store too...stop there to see what they had. It was really cool but I couldn't figure out what everything was (all the different languages).
I came home to take a nap then get up and plow through the last of the books. I then vacuumed the entry way, rearranged some more things and sat down to watch tv. The place is really coming together. Jer is reading tonight, and it's low key. Soup and chili for dinner.
Tomorrow I need to do the dishes, maybe bake some more, and get to the grocery store.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
At Last!
Finally we set our computers up today. It took nearly all day. We were faced with the dilemma of space, large monitors, and two people with one desk left. We left three desks back in Minnesota and were left with one craft table for both of us. We both had 21 inch CRT monitors. They just wouldn't fit.
So today we went out to Office Depot to buy a desk for me...we walked out with two 24 inch flat panel LCD monitors that are gorgeous. Jeremy was a bit hesitant about our purchase until we finally got the systems set up and turned on. Everything fits on the one desk and we have three monitors, three computer towers, a printer, scanner, two graphic tablets, a card reader, one set of speakers, two keyboards and mice for all around us. Jeremy was very methodical and checked all the cords so we don't have any to trip on. It's very exciting!
Now back to staring open mouthed at beautiful pictures on the screen!
So today we went out to Office Depot to buy a desk for me...we walked out with two 24 inch flat panel LCD monitors that are gorgeous. Jeremy was a bit hesitant about our purchase until we finally got the systems set up and turned on. Everything fits on the one desk and we have three monitors, three computer towers, a printer, scanner, two graphic tablets, a card reader, one set of speakers, two keyboards and mice for all around us. Jeremy was very methodical and checked all the cords so we don't have any to trip on. It's very exciting!
Now back to staring open mouthed at beautiful pictures on the screen!
Friday, January 11, 2008
photos from the road
Bear with me there are many pictures that follow. But they are nice and I chose the best of 200 to put up here from our trip.
So here are some pictures from our trip from Minnesota to Washington:
Jeremy wasn't sure this picture above was that interesting until I pointed out the road that drops off...
Jeremy had been commenting on the bird flying in the air and as I started to put the camera down I notice a flock of birds on the side of the road. This is the only shot I got off in the time it took our truck to pass by. I wished I had been a bit more observant.
This was a view of one of the mountain passes we had to go through. The snow along the middle fascinated me. It was winding and crazy.
Doesn't that section look like the superman sign? I thought it was unique.
Another view of one of the passes we made.
This picture shows the fog we descended upon. We turned that corner and couldn't see much. I think it's pretty.
Jeremy loves this picture because the road seems to go on forever and ever.
This was the second of two deer crossing the road in front of us. I was happy to get this shot...
The same deer turned and ran next to the roadside out my window. I am so excited to get a picture like this.
One view of the landscape we passed. This is one of my favorites.
Sunset along the road with mountains on the skyline.
This is Dixie my Uncles Weiner dog. She was hilarious and provided us some simple entertainment.
This is the view we woke up to at my uncles. It snowed as we were coming up on his town and the snow was fluffy and not very wet, just fluffy and perfect.
This is my mom's younger brother Bob. We spent the night with him in Montana. I am so happy to sit and just hang out with him. He reminds me of my grandpa in someways, and it's a memory I will always keep with me.
I love this view because of the horizon line. so pretty.
This is the fog that descended on Flathead Lake, Montana.
My dad always sings this song, "It's a long, long way to Tipperary..." Well according to this sign it's only 1/4 of a mile...who knew?
This is an example of the wind we encountered on the way. We ended up taking a detour through a quaint town of Livingston, Montana. We'd like to go explore that town someday.
More Mountain views. Needless to say I didn't read much, and only played my video games when it was dark out and we were still driving.
This was a river we drove by with mountains in th background. So much to see and so much beauty.
So here are some pictures from our trip from Minnesota to Washington:
Jeremy wasn't sure this picture above was that interesting until I pointed out the road that drops off...
Jeremy had been commenting on the bird flying in the air and as I started to put the camera down I notice a flock of birds on the side of the road. This is the only shot I got off in the time it took our truck to pass by. I wished I had been a bit more observant.
This was a view of one of the mountain passes we had to go through. The snow along the middle fascinated me. It was winding and crazy.
Doesn't that section look like the superman sign? I thought it was unique.
Another view of one of the passes we made.
This picture shows the fog we descended upon. We turned that corner and couldn't see much. I think it's pretty.
Jeremy loves this picture because the road seems to go on forever and ever.
This was the second of two deer crossing the road in front of us. I was happy to get this shot...
The same deer turned and ran next to the roadside out my window. I am so excited to get a picture like this.
One view of the landscape we passed. This is one of my favorites.
Sunset along the road with mountains on the skyline.
This is Dixie my Uncles Weiner dog. She was hilarious and provided us some simple entertainment.
This is the view we woke up to at my uncles. It snowed as we were coming up on his town and the snow was fluffy and not very wet, just fluffy and perfect.
This is my mom's younger brother Bob. We spent the night with him in Montana. I am so happy to sit and just hang out with him. He reminds me of my grandpa in someways, and it's a memory I will always keep with me.
I love this view because of the horizon line. so pretty.
This is the fog that descended on Flathead Lake, Montana.
My dad always sings this song, "It's a long, long way to Tipperary..." Well according to this sign it's only 1/4 of a mile...who knew?
This is an example of the wind we encountered on the way. We ended up taking a detour through a quaint town of Livingston, Montana. We'd like to go explore that town someday.
More Mountain views. Needless to say I didn't read much, and only played my video games when it was dark out and we were still driving.
This was a river we drove by with mountains in th background. So much to see and so much beauty.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Reasons for living in Bellevue
Reasons I love Washington:
1. I love the rain...I know it sounds strange but I love the smell of rain, the sound, and the freshness.
2. I like how Downtown Seattle is 10 minutes away in good traffic.
3. I love that things are green here.
4. Along with #3, I love that it's January and all I need to go outside is a sweatshirt (perferably with a hood).
5. I am most happy with how happy Jeremy is with his job.
I'm really happy. I am excited with the progress I am making with the apartment. We are hoping to have pictures up by next week. This list will grow...it's only been one week!
1. I love the rain...I know it sounds strange but I love the smell of rain, the sound, and the freshness.
2. I like how Downtown Seattle is 10 minutes away in good traffic.
3. I love that things are green here.
4. Along with #3, I love that it's January and all I need to go outside is a sweatshirt (perferably with a hood).
5. I am most happy with how happy Jeremy is with his job.
I'm really happy. I am excited with the progress I am making with the apartment. We are hoping to have pictures up by next week. This list will grow...it's only been one week!
posting from the couch
Well...I'm totally unmotivated to unpack things and sort through things to be thrown away. Last night was so much fun and I think it is what I needed. Social interaction. Short blog...
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Night on the Town
Tonight Jeremy and I were invited to go into Seattle to hangout at this place called GameWorks. It's a two story arcade room with a bar and grill and restaurant attached. So when Jeremy got home from work, we stopped at Fred Meyer for a 1G jump drive for our digital picture frame we got for christmas and I realized that my jeans were holy in the back by the pockets and around the inside of the thighs...so we stopped and I tried on two different pair of jeans. They were nice and on sale so I picked them both up and changed into a new pair real fast before we left. We drove into Seattle slowly due to traffic going into the city.
The view is gorgeous at night with all the lights and what nots. We ended up finding the parking place fine and with a phone call to his co-worker found GameWorks easily too. We had dinner with 15 or so people from Nintendo and their guests (Jeremy had a philly cheese steak and onion rings which he raved over and I had chicken strips and fries.) Then we hit the game floor. Jeremy and some of the crew hit the Dance Dance Revolution games and I headed up to the second floor and found my niche in the pinball machines. I moved around trying some various games and found my favorite from the arcade back in Minnesota I played at, a basketball shoot out game. I played that the most. The cool thing about this game place is you buy a card, then load it up with money which is transfered to points. for 25 bucks you can get 425 points or so. most games cost anywhere from 2 points to 17 points. So Jeremy and I will be going back due to the money left on our card. (there is one of these arcades in Minneapolis too...) The way home was nice, It started raining while we were in the building for four hours, We literally live like 10 miles at most from GameWorks and Pikes Place Market.
I couldn't stop grinning as we came home. It was so easy and nice to be in this new place. I am really happy. Now to watch a CSI episode and head to bed.
The view is gorgeous at night with all the lights and what nots. We ended up finding the parking place fine and with a phone call to his co-worker found GameWorks easily too. We had dinner with 15 or so people from Nintendo and their guests (Jeremy had a philly cheese steak and onion rings which he raved over and I had chicken strips and fries.) Then we hit the game floor. Jeremy and some of the crew hit the Dance Dance Revolution games and I headed up to the second floor and found my niche in the pinball machines. I moved around trying some various games and found my favorite from the arcade back in Minnesota I played at, a basketball shoot out game. I played that the most. The cool thing about this game place is you buy a card, then load it up with money which is transfered to points. for 25 bucks you can get 425 points or so. most games cost anywhere from 2 points to 17 points. So Jeremy and I will be going back due to the money left on our card. (there is one of these arcades in Minneapolis too...) The way home was nice, It started raining while we were in the building for four hours, We literally live like 10 miles at most from GameWorks and Pikes Place Market.
I couldn't stop grinning as we came home. It was so easy and nice to be in this new place. I am really happy. Now to watch a CSI episode and head to bed.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Working from Home
Well it's Tuesday and I have been busy around the house. Sunday I worked on the living room while Jeremy took a nap. He woke up to the couch being spun around and room for both of us to sit and enjoy some tv.
Monday while Jeremy was at work I moved things in our bedroom. I spent too many hours trying to figure out how to put our bed frame together...turns out I was using the wrong frame (doh). As soon as we changed the frames out it went together in 2 minutes flat. So we have a bedroom to sleep in with space to walk around. I moved a yellow "dresser" to the dining room so we have a bit more storage. I found out we didn't bring the entire dish drainer with us, so we headed out to the grocery store/"walmart" of Bellevue and picked that up and a few other things we forgot about. We came home and I wasn't feeling well so I made soup for both of us and laid down for a while.
Today so far...Jeremy got up and went to work and I plowed on in the spare room, putting the trundle beds down and moving the couch. Arranging boxes until we have a chance to go through them all. There is more room in there now I think, as well as in the living room. I put a roast on this morning for dinner tonight. I chopped an onion, added garlic salt, rosemary, cumin, white pepper, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, celery flakes, and a couple bay leaves. I will add carrots and potatoes later.
Other than that I have laundry to do (don't want to do it...) and more unpacking to do...Busy day!
Monday while Jeremy was at work I moved things in our bedroom. I spent too many hours trying to figure out how to put our bed frame together...turns out I was using the wrong frame (doh). As soon as we changed the frames out it went together in 2 minutes flat. So we have a bedroom to sleep in with space to walk around. I moved a yellow "dresser" to the dining room so we have a bit more storage. I found out we didn't bring the entire dish drainer with us, so we headed out to the grocery store/"walmart" of Bellevue and picked that up and a few other things we forgot about. We came home and I wasn't feeling well so I made soup for both of us and laid down for a while.
Today so far...Jeremy got up and went to work and I plowed on in the spare room, putting the trundle beds down and moving the couch. Arranging boxes until we have a chance to go through them all. There is more room in there now I think, as well as in the living room. I put a roast on this morning for dinner tonight. I chopped an onion, added garlic salt, rosemary, cumin, white pepper, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, celery flakes, and a couple bay leaves. I will add carrots and potatoes later.
Other than that I have laundry to do (don't want to do it...) and more unpacking to do...Busy day!
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Made it!
Well we've been here in Bellevue for two days now. Yesterday we spent all day moving boxes in. We thought it would never be done however our kind neighbor and her son helped us and it got done faster than we thought. Now we're living among way too much stuff for this two bedroom apartment. But the kitchen is mostly unpacked, to a point where I could cook something if we had milk, butter, or meats. Today the cable company came, hence the post. I couldn't post from my phone because there is a word limit on it. The views we had on the way were amazing. I guess that's what I've got for now, I would like to get some more boxes unpacked. Anyone want to come out and help?
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
New Years Resolutions
As I wait for our wake-up call to come I thought I would ponder resolutions for the next year...
1. Get to new home - Bellevue, Washington.
2. Purge 1/3 of the stuff we brought with us, because no one needs this much crap.
3. Use up at least half my yarn stash with projects for Christmas or other occasions.
4. Continue in the lifestyle changes by getting more fit and losing some poundage.
5. finish Carol's afghan and ship it to her.
6. Draw More on my graphic tablet.
7. set up a monthly date with my husband *to explore Washington*
8. start next generation Olson/VanDerWerf rotating letter.
9. take and edit more pictures, and actually print them.
10. Find a job that I love to go to in the morning, and don't dread everyday.
11. Read more books.
12. Pay down credit cards and school loans.
That's the start of the list. It's pretty decent. I know I could think of many many more things to add.
By the way, I was also going to mention for most of South Dakota Sprint is Roaming, so We haven't really been able to answer phone calls, or make them accept to say *we're safe, we'll call later*.
Thank goodness for free hotel internet. Ah well off to kill some more time.
1. Get to new home - Bellevue, Washington.
2. Purge 1/3 of the stuff we brought with us, because no one needs this much crap.
3. Use up at least half my yarn stash with projects for Christmas or other occasions.
4. Continue in the lifestyle changes by getting more fit and losing some poundage.
5. finish Carol's afghan and ship it to her.
6. Draw More on my graphic tablet.
7. set up a monthly date with my husband *to explore Washington*
8. start next generation Olson/VanDerWerf rotating letter.
9. take and edit more pictures, and actually print them.
10. Find a job that I love to go to in the morning, and don't dread everyday.
11. Read more books.
12. Pay down credit cards and school loans.
That's the start of the list. It's pretty decent. I know I could think of many many more things to add.
By the way, I was also going to mention for most of South Dakota Sprint is Roaming, so We haven't really been able to answer phone calls, or make them accept to say *we're safe, we'll call later*.
Thank goodness for free hotel internet. Ah well off to kill some more time.
wee hours of the morning
I'm awake and it's 5:30 am. I've been awake for about 45 minutes. Why might you ask am I awake when I could be sleeping in a fluffy pillow top bed where my husband is keeping it nice and warm? Well, I woke up Friday to find out I caught a head cold from my husband and it has slowly gotten worse as this last week has wore on. I woke up because I can't breathe because my nose is so clogged I have to breathe through my mouth and my lips are angry because of said breathing so they are very chapped and sore. I have two kanker-sores in my mouth, my head hurts, my nose is raw from blowing my nose (with puffs plus) and my eyes feel like they are drier than a desert.
Nice way to feel when traveling huh? So I'm up and the wake up call we ordered is coming soon. I should really take some more decongestant but I haven't had anything substantial to eat since about 530 pm yesterday (gas station sausage egg biscuit).
The plus side: 6 am is the start of free continental breakfast at the hotel. We are one third done with our journey. Tonight we will be over half done! We are staying with my Uncle tonight *my mom's younger brother* and some day this cold will have to be done with.
Nice way to feel when traveling huh? So I'm up and the wake up call we ordered is coming soon. I should really take some more decongestant but I haven't had anything substantial to eat since about 530 pm yesterday (gas station sausage egg biscuit).
The plus side: 6 am is the start of free continental breakfast at the hotel. We are one third done with our journey. Tonight we will be over half done! We are staying with my Uncle tonight *my mom's younger brother* and some day this cold will have to be done with.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Rapid City, South Dakota
So we made it only as far as Rapid City, but we got delayed today as the truck wouldn't start in Owatonna because it was 1 degree out feeling like -17 with wind chill. We had to wait for a repair man from Penske drive down from Eagan (closest that was open). We finally started out at 1:30 pm and made it to Rapid City by Midnight Mountain time. We've seen many funny signs and town names, saw a semi run into a cement block by a gas station, and played chinese firedrill with the road and our 26 foot truck and car carrier (total size 55 feet). We are exhausted and plan to get up to enjoy free breakfast and then hit the road to make it to Columbia Falls, Montana tomorrow.
Wish us luck and tell the wind to stay away, it makes driving much easier.
Wish us luck and tell the wind to stay away, it makes driving much easier.
On the Road
Well we officially no longer own a house and we are about to start our first leg of our journey as soon as I get off the computer.
Keep checking back for updates as we mark stops on the way...
Keep checking back for updates as we mark stops on the way...
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