A Week in Photos: Week 12

It was a strange week in photos, I  realized I hadn't taken a single picture on Thursday, so I hustled up and made sure to be looking outside my normal photo-taking box. Damn you March Madness for overtaking my life! Here goes:

Thursday 3/21: After watching the Pac-12 tournament and hearing all the controversy over Oregon getting a 12-seed, I knew I had to get the guys at the treatment center amped up about March Madness. There is nothing more exciting and fun than the tournament and we're always trying to introduce bits of sober fun into the newly recovering persons life. On Monday I handed out blank brackets and told the guys and one of the ladies to have them back to me by Thursday at 9:15. All week I was fielding question on team stats, records and the tournament history. Excitement was building all week!

Thursday 3/21: One of our favorite places in Astoria is the Columbian Theater. It's not an unheard of concept, it's a theater with couches, a bar and pizza, kind of like the Living Room Theaters in Portland. The balcony has been converted into all couches making it a very lovely and comfortable place to watch a flick, not to mention it's only $4 a person with cheap eats! We decided to double date with a couple to see Lincoln which we had held off on seeing in the regular theaters to see here! It was a lovely night.

Friday 3/22: A few years ago for Christmas, my grandma made me a knit throw that was amazing. We still have it but it's looking a little haggard due to numerous washings and two lovely kitty cats. Somehow the word got along to my grandma that we needed a new one. My mother delivered this gem to us last weekend when she was down visiting. This throw is no different than the last, Marley couldn't wait to get his little kitty paws into it!

Saturday 3/23: With the weather starting to improve, Ryan has been itching to get on his bike. This weekend has been a very lazy weekend for me, so I opted out of going to the speaker meeting at the facility which gave Ryan the opportunity to ride solo for the first time this season. He was out there shining up his bike all afternoon and I was able to snap this pic right before he took off. He looks like my own version of Son's of Anarchy Jax Teller. Swoon.

Saturday 3/23: Having spent the afternoon and evening at home, I was able to watch basketball until my heart was content. After watching a wonderful Oregon win, I watched my bracket implode thanks to Gonzaga. I had them going all the way unfortunately and as you can see Marley is as upset about the situation as I was.

Text Talk: Week 1

Well now that my bracket has gone totally tits up, (thanks Gonzaga) I figured it would be a good time to start my new weekly literary post. My life now won't be so consumed with March Madness, I can focus on getting back to some reading.

Ever since I went to Powell's Books last weekend, I've been in a little bit of a slump. I was on a roll for a while, catching up to the 80 book pace I set for myself at the beginning of the year (I'm currently 7 books behind schedule...). I thought going to Powell's would get the juices flowing and give me some things to really tear through. Wrong. I've sat on my hands the last week, flirting with the first few pages of Paper Towns by John Green but really not getting anywhere with it. It wasn't until I checked today's mail where I got a lovely package which contained the third novel in the Vampire Academy series, Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead, that I got really excited. I'm about 30 pages in right now and it's just and addicting as the first two.

Now I'm not going to claim that this is really an academically stimulating, earth shattering read, but they're fast paced, have a kiss ass heroine and are totally mindless, perfect to propel me out of the rut I'm in. On Goodreads, I've given the first two novels 4 out of 5 stars, which is a lot more than I had ever anticipated giving them. I'm kind of ashamed I like them as much as I do, honestly. The covers are so campy and the subject matter (vampires) is so over done, but there's something that keeps me coming back for more. Not to sound pompous, but I imagine people who like Gossip Girl or Pretty Little Liars would also be attracted to this series and somehow I fall into that as well.

I keep hearing the series of seven books falls off after the third one, but I haven't read anything yet to steer me away. So that's what I've been reading this week, I look forward to another update next week! Until then, happy reading!

A Week in Photos: Weeks 10 & 11

I got just the kick in the ass I needed to write a new post. I got my first comment on my blog and it was from a high school friend saying to get my butt in gear. Thanks Doro- that's just the motivation I needed!

I promise I really am working on a post that will be long and informative, I just work on it chucks at a time and only when I'm feeling the writing vibe, so not very often obviously. Procrastination, I need to work on that.

Sunday 3/3: On Saturday, Ryan got his oil changed and the perk of us taking his Camry to the Toyota dealership is that they wash the car, in and out! It was a surprisingly sunny Sunday, so we decided for some reason it was the right day to put the Oregon sticker up in the back window. Of course I viewed this as a photo-op, thus the ensuing picture. GO DUCKS!!! (March Madness starts TOMORROW!!! Ducks play at 1:40 PM, and yes I will be watching from work :)

Monday 3/4: Over the weekend while I wasn't at work, we acquired this handsome sign. Before, the building we are in was a convalescent center, so it was good to get our insignia up before any families tried dropping granny off at a drug and alcohol treatment center. Ryan had a large part in creating this sign and I think it's magical (it has a ton of detail close up).

Tuesday 3/5: There were some aforementioned shirts in another post about The Chive, so it was a wonderful day when we came home to find these packages. Of course the packaging was really catchy and creative with a large sticker that said CENSORED. Sadly though, Ryan has yet to take his shirt out of the package to wear it, it's a point of contention in our relationship. Peanut was glad to ease the tension with posing for this picture though.

Thursday 3/7: Though this isn't really "Throwback Thursday" worthy because it was only taken a week or so before, I thought this was a lovely photograph that I had to share. I hate to admit this but often times now, I picture photos I can take just to post them on Instagram. I will admit though that I have gotten a little burned out and have slowed my roll a little bit. Maybe that should tell me something about my days though, that I'm not doing enough beautiful things or that I'm not seeing the beauty in the everyday? As with everything, I think there is a fine balance between too much and too little, I'm working to find that.

Friday 3/8: One of the things I love most about it being winter is that we get to run the gas fireplace and we get to see our kitties loving the heat. I know I have snapped shots of Marley like this before, but I can't get enough. He just so unashamedly flaunts his kitty goods to get the most comfortable he can be in front of that fire. I admire him. He's one heat loving cat.

Saturday 3/9: It was a surprisingly warm, sunny day for early March. My dad decided to come down to spend the day with me just to get out of Olympia for a while. Ryan and I had given him a gift certificate for a restaurant on the river called the Bridgewater Bistro. It's one of the most beautiful spots in Astoria if you ask me. We were able to capture some shots of the foggy bridge but the pictures don't do it justice! It was truly a stunning sight.

Sunday 3/10: I know everyone will bemoan "springing forward" part of daylight savings. I for one, love it. This picture was taken at 7:00 pm and it was still daylight! I went on a bit of a walk about, just to take in all of the exquisite old homes in Astoria, and I came across this scene. This down the bushes to the street that leads to the river in some respects reminds me of some of the streets in San Francisco or Seattle to some extent. Astoria is a very picturesque town full of beauty like this.

Monday 3/11: I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but when my father takes pictures on his phone, I know it will take days of me hounding him to finally give them to me. That being said, this time wasn't so bad. He had taken this picture of me and Ryan on Saturday and it only took him two days to get it to me. Old men and iPhones might not mix.

Tuesday 3/12: Despite what Ryan and I think, the cats truly run our house. I really do think that our cats are smarter than we are and they have us trained really really well. I don't know if anyone else thinks this about their animals, but this picture really encapsulates who runs shit around our house. Marley, king of the castle, on his throne.

Thursday 3/14: To try my hand at being domestic, I decided to make cupcakes for two of our clients that were having birthdays on Friday. I spent my 25th birthday in treatment so I knew that it could be a humbling, lonely experience if you don't have someone making it special for you. What I find funny of the Betty Crocker company is that they think if they put on their box not to eat the dough, that you actually won't. Let's just say I ended up with only 18 cupcakes instead of 24...

Saturday 3/16: I have had a weekend in the works with my mom for a while. Her and her best friend Shari wanted to do a girls shopping trip all over Portland and it's not like they had to twist my arm into it. This picture was just off 23rd near the Alano Club and I just died over the magnolia tree in bloom. I am so excited that warm weather and flowers are right around the corner.

Sunday 3/17: We were staying at the Marriott City Center and we woke up to this scene! The St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Run. Singlehandedly this made me feel really guilty about not running like I should be and very envious because it looked SO FUN! There were runners as far as the eye could see and they were spread all over down town Portland. I didn't feel guilty or jealous for very long though, right after this we had a wonderful breakfast at the Original Dinerat where I consumed three large pieces of creme brûlée french toast. I got the better half of this deal :)

 Sunday 3/17: And finally, no trip to Portland is complete without a stop at Powell's Books. This was what I was looking forward to all weekend. Though I have a mild book hoarding problem, I justified buying more books because I had finished 10 already this year. Everyone likes getting new books (even if you already have a stack of 40+ you have yet to read) so I can't deny myself that feeling. I have made a deal through this year that I can only outright purchase new books once I have read 10 from my pile. Sounds legit, right? Anyway, I have been dying to get my hands on a John Green book for ages now, and I have finally succeeded. At Powell's I purchased book two of the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, Paper Towns by John Green, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore, and Looking for Alaska by John Green. The other books I acquired in non-buying (aka free-ish) ways. Those include Uglies by Scott Westerfield, Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, Night Road by Kristen Hannah and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I was thinking about adding another weekly post that included my currently reading/to be read, because I always love hearing about what people are reading. Thoughts?

That's all for now, I'm working on this whole "accountability" and "adulthood" thing, so I'll make an attempt at creating more regular posts!! Thanks all for reading! Until next time.

A Week in Photos: Week 9

I promise I will be working on a full post for this week. I love my week in photos, but I do have something that I am working on that I'm really looking forward to sharing for the first time. I promise this blog is going to be more substance than just pretty pictures of my life!! For the time being though, enjoy the sparkly things :)

 Sunday 2/24: Both Ryan and I work at KLEAN, a drug and alcohol treatment center in Long Beach, WA. It's a small community where health care providers have to work together and support each other. A group of KLEAN employees attended a fund raiser and auction for the Ocean Beach Hospital in Long Beach. It was a Mardi Gras themed event which all of us had a blast and Ryan even took home a silent raffle item!

Monday 2/25: Sometimes our kitties allow for very sweet moments that I have to capture on camera. Seeing my two boys in a frame together is the best. Marley isn't much of a snuggler and as you can see here, he's pulling away pretty quick, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid this picture!

Tuesday 2/26: Monday and Tuesday I got a nasty head cold. I spent those two days reading and resting. I finished two books in two days, The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigani and Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta, both of which were AMAZING! The copy of Saving Francesca I had was from Bookmooch, so I figured I would pay a good book forward. A first happened for me, someone mooched a book from me from another country! I shipped a book off to Slovenia, fingers crossed it get's there safely and in good condition!

Wednesday 2/27: A milestone birthday in early recovery is your 18 month mark. It's something that I'm pretty proud of and something that has mobilized me into action. I've asked someone to start working the steps with me which I have put off for long enough now. To celebrate, my lovely boyfriend set in motion getting me a cake and getting my co-workers to gather the clients together to sing me happy birthday. It was a wonderful day!

Thursday 2/28: For "Throwback Thursday" this week, I wanted to post a scenery shot since it's been a while. I think Astoria is one of the most interesting places to live, you can always find something beautiful if you are looking for it. Sometime last year, my dad came down for a weekend visit, and it just so happened a fleet of pirate ships were in town. The Hawaiian Chieftain, the Lady Washington and a ship from the Royal Canadian Navy were making a tour of the West Coast ports. The bight colors and the many masts are truly awe-inspiring up close.

 Thursday 2/28: There is a site that the men of my workplace love. It's called The Chive. It's a compilation site of pictures, stories and videos of things in life that are ironic, satirical and funny. There's a whole cult following of people that say things like, "Keep Calm, Chive On", "KCCO", so on and so forth. For a while now, Ryan and my good friend Vern have been trying to get some Chive swag. They have a huge section of shirts and other things that are all Chive related, that are all literally the most difficult things on earth to purchase. Whoever is doing their merchandising is definitely using the tenet of supply and demand, seeing as how NOTHING IS EVER IN STOCK. There is now a black market on eBay for Chive goods where shirts are going for almost triple the original asking price. I think I have made it my life mission now to acquire some of their goods seeing as how it's so damn hard, it's like they are personally challenging me. The one time before this that I even came close to acquiring anything they produce, their server crashed as I was trying to check out because so many people were on their site trying to do the same thing. It was a maddening experience. This time though, when the email notification of something being in stock sailed into my inbox, I dropped anything I was doing and figuratively sprinted over to the site. I was almost in like a shopping blackout as I quickly added items to my cart and checked out in a matter of 30 seconds. I'll tell you, this was one of the most stressful 5 minutes of my recent life. My pulse was racing, I had the cold sweats, my hands were clammy, it was an unreal experience. But, I came, I saw, I conquered. I was able to secure two Chive shirts for the two men in my life. Erin 1, The Chive 0.

Friday 3/1: I know I take a lot of pictures of my cats. I know I probably talk about them too much in real life also. I think I have a complex where I actually think they are real people. Like their personalities and actions make me think of them as my good friends. I realize this places me in the category of "Crazy Cat Lady", but that's a title I will accept with pride. I would caption this photo, "Like A Boss", Peanut looks very Don Corleone-esque here and I love it. Our cats are like moths to flame with the gas fireplace we have, this is a common affair. I just so happened to walk out of the kitchen to find her in this position, lounging in the heat.

 Saturday 3/2: Our new Saturday routine has become going to Long Beach to catch the AA community dinner we host at KLEAN, followed by the weekly speaker meeting. We're doing it as a way to bring the AA community into the treatment center and get them involved with what we're doing, as well as allowing the clients to hear the stories of men and women who have firmly planted their lives in the roots of AA, in hopes that the clients might hear something that saves their lives. When I was in treatment, this was one of my favorite meetings to go to, I love hearing the experience, strength and hope of others, it reconfirmed for me that a) I am an alcoholic just like them and b) that I was in the right place. This week we rode over with our good friend Brandon and a new sponsee of Ryan's. We had about an hour to kill before the dinner, so we headed to the beach to fly some kites Brandon had in the back of his rig. It was an amazingly random hour of kite flying and good weather, I was able to snap this pic right about sunset. We all had a blast.

Saturday 3/2: This is another photo I captured while at the beach. The guys were busy flying kites, I was busy finding the good shots. I don't know when I became so obsessed with documenting my life, maybe after all the years of blacking out and forgetting. A long line of having no memories can be really disheartening. I guess that's why I'm doing this blog, to remember where I've been years from now so I can look back and get a snap shot of what I was doing and how I was feeling. In this picture I loved the way the light was bouncing off the water as the tide was coming in, this is also to show that I was most inappropriately dressed for an outdoor occasion such as this.