Week in Photos: Week 24

What a great week Ryan and I have had! Between doing an early birthday celebration with his family in Chelan and Father's Day, I've got some fabulous photos to share!

Saturday, June 8th: I have been waiting to read the book Let the Right One In for a long time now. It's an adult horror/vampire novel written by a Swedish author. I've heard that it was the next best adult vampire book since Dracula. So far so good. The best thing that happened though was Peanut meeting this book. One night as I was doing some casual reading and YouTubing, I look over and Peanut is biting the vampire book. So ironic. I just had to snap a pic.

Tuesday, June 11th: A while back, I discovered a recipe for a pasta dish Ryan fondly refers to as "God Pasta". It doesn't have any meat in it, so I was totally blown away when Ryan absolutely loved it. He's the kind of guy that says if dinner doesn't have some kind of meat product, it's not worth eating. It's been a long time since I've cooked at home- Ryan and I now just eat at the treatment facility for every meal, so this was a special event. With it being a special event, I found occasion for busting out this little kitties when measuring out the olive oil. I got these as a stocking stuffer from Ryan's mom Dian and I think they are so adorable! Makes the whole dinner process so much happier!

Thursday, June 13th: We've been having some really glorious weather in the Long Beach/Astoria area lately. On Thursday, as a parting gift before a three day weekend for myself and Ryan, I took the ladies of KLEAN on a beach walk. I couldn't have asked for a sunnier day! On the way back, I even got to stop and pick some wild beach strawberries, so delicious!

Friday, June 14th: As one of Ryan's birthday week requests, he wanted me to come to Bear Mountain with him while he golfed. This is a fabulous course in Chelan that originally started as a private course (ranging from about $150-250 a round) which since has opened its doors to the public. He's golfed it a few times before and I have been absent on all of those occasions. So he made an 8:30 AM tee time, I got myself some coffee and off we went! It was a breathtaking course with views of the lake and entire city.

Friday, June 14th: I was clearly very engaged with what Ryan was doing on the course. The butterflies totally had my entire attention. There were a few occasions when Ryan hit some really amazing shots that I didn't see at all because I was otherwise engaged. Poor man.

Saturday, June 15th: It had been a number of years since I last ventured up to Blueberry Hills in Mason, WA. Ryan and I were here back in the summer of 2009, right after I graduated college. This time was an entirely different experience, the views and smells were stunning. The whole place is surrounded by lavender which for me is a favorite.

Saturday, June 15th: One of the best things about Blueberry Hills is that they have you-pick berries during the spring and summer months. Typically people only go there for blueberries, thus the name, but they weren't quite ready yet, so therefore, we got strawberries instead! Even though Ryan grew up in Chelan, he had never picked fresh berries before! It was a delightful treat for us to chomp on some fresh strawberries and get a chance to get out in the sunshine!

Saturday, June 15th: Every year, I try to top my birthday presents from the previous year. I love giving gifts. I love giving thoughtful gifts actually. Something I know the person is going to truly love. So for Ryan this year, I had my eye on some concert tickets, City and Colour to be exact. Ryan loves Dallas Green so I knew this would be the perfect gift. Only problem was that Dallas wasn't coming to Seattle or Portland. The closest venues to us were Oakland or Vegas. I threw both ideas around in my head and finally settled on asking Ryan's mom if she would pay for us to fly down to San Francisco and stay there with them on their annual California trip... and she went for it! So in October of this year, we will be having a wonderful time in the Bay Area all thanks to Ryan for having a birthday!

Sunday, June 16th: Not only did I get to see my dad on Father's Day, but my oldest kitty Gina. We've had her for almost as long as I can remember. She's this wonderful little six toed kitty that has somehow managed to defy all odds and become the last standing Briggs kitty. I wanted to take a snapshot of her to have just in case something were to happen to her- she is almost 17 after all! I'm a cat person through and through.

A Week in Photo: Weeks 20-23

It's been a while for some photos. I think being so busy and having my mind be consumed by this whole house buying thing has put me in a strange state. I've been slowly compiling pictures over the past few weeks so here's what we've been up to!!

Saturday, May 18th: There are few books that I would spend my precious sleeping hours on. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is one of those books though. Marley and I stayed up late into the night trying to power through this high adrenaline quest! 

Monday, May 20th: Months and months ago, Ryan's mother gifted us this wonderful espresso maker... And we haven't used it once. It works perfectly and there's even a milk steamer! I finally gave in to using it when I was in a major caffeine withdrawal. Every morning now Ryan and I have been drinking espresso shots and saving money not going to our beloved coffee stand on the way to work. Buying a house changes your life folks.

Wednesday, May 22nd: I have been on a huge oatmeal kick lately. Usually I bring my own from home, but on this day, our head chef Vinessa made oatmeal bar!!! It literally was the best day of my life. Fresh strawberries, cranberries and dried coconut topped this bowl of joy, my mouth was happy for hours!

Saturday, May 25th: The Astoria Alano Club is a special place for me. The best way I can describe it is like going to church. For me is a sacred room where I can go and fully be myself without judgement or fear. With its stained yellow shag carpet and Goodwill couches, I can't help but to keep coming back. After 650 days of sobriety, this place still gets me.

Saturday, May 25th: After Ryan and I got our bank approval, we decided to start looking for houses. We sat down over indian food and talked about what our future home must have in order for us to consider putting an offer in. Typical to my first-born-perfectionist-listmaking-self, I made a check off sheet for every house we visited. This was a tip I picked up from the interwebs, because apparently if you see enough homes, they all start to blend together. I took detailed notes, and started crossing houses off the list as we went.

Sunday, May 26th: As I've said before, Sunday's are my days with Ryan. I think it's important as a hard working couple to take at least one day of the weekend (and a couple during the week) where you devote to your mate. We have busy free time schedules so some days it seems like we don't even see each other even though we work at the same place! Sunday's are also Ryan's day to sleep in, so I was able to snap this picture of him and our boy snuggling up for the perfect lazy Sunday day.

Thursday, May 30th: After we went on our house hunting expedition, we found the perfect house (well, it hit the most of our boxes and it was really inspirational). We hemmed and hawed for a few days until we couldn't stand it anymore, so we put in an offer. Our realtor was really great about explaining the huge packet we had to sign, and we felt good about the offer we were submitting. Only once durning the whole process did I have a moment where the voice in my head said, "oh f*ck, oh f*ck, oh f*ck. ABORT!!!" 

Friday, May 31st: This is a warning to all indoor cat owners who leave their kitties with little to no food over a 10 hour period. You will have a kitty tornado on your hands. We came home to this scene, cat food bags littered about the floor, mail strewn everywhere and mayhem ensuing. 

Tuesday, June 4th: The hipster scene has moved to Astoria. Evidence of this is seen outside of my favorite eatery, the Astoria Coffee House. Tuesday nights after my women's meeting, a big group of ladies go out to dinner and the coffee house is usually the spot. The trees obviously need to be wrapped in sweaters to be able to bare the crappy year round weather we endure, and they look so pretty while doing it!

Thursday, June 6th: Today marks the first day of the Goonies Celebration! This year is the 25th anniversary of this life changing movie, and people will be flooding the town to celebrate!! They are trying to get together enough people tonight to do the worlds largest Truffle Shuffle, there will be tours of the Goonies house on Sunday and an 80's music dance off tomorrow evening. Goonies never say die! I know what I'll be watching this weekend!!!

A Week in Photos: Weeks 18 & 19

Monday 4/29: A while back, in thanks for a framed photo we gave Ryan's stepmother Jenny, she sent me this wonderful handmade necklace. After meeting her in Florida and seeing her don a similar design, I thought I would give mine a go.

Wednesday 5/1: After getting back from Florida, before returning the huge suitcase our friend Jenn let us borrow, Marley decided to make a home out of it. I don't know what it is about our cat and suitcases, but they LOVE them! For about a week period, we had another suitcase on our dresser and Peanut would not leave it! But we finally got Marley's hideout back to it's owner, Ryan and I should probably think about getting our boy a kitty house.

Friday 5/3: One of our KLEAN Alum came by to say hello to us and bring in his most amazing dog. Maximus is a Boerboel, basically an African Mastiff. Ever since seeing the first Harry Potter, I have been in love with Mastiffs. I don't know that I would ever be able to have one, too much slobber, but Maximus is one amazing specimen. Such a handsome boy!!

Friday 5/3: My fabulous friend and sponsor Vern had his belly button birthday on the 3rd. For those who aren't in a 12-step program, it basically means he aged another year! Our friend Vinessa baked this fantastic cake which featured a Narwhalicorn. We celebrated with sushi in Seaside!

Friday 5/3: On our way back from sushi, it was pretty hard to miss the Coast Guard helicopter searching the coast line for something in the water. Living in Astoria has some downsides (as I have already mentioned on here numerous times), so it took about two hours for us to find out what was actually going on. Ryan was even trying to listen to the police scanner to no avail. Apparently someone had called in that a 13 year old boy had been skateboarding down by the river and had fallen in. In actuality, a drunk guy saw two kids skateboarding and heard something splash into the water and only one kid run away. He called it in, and thus, this situation ensued. Thankfully, no one actually fell in the water, it was a good display that if something were to actually happen, the Coast Guard would swiftly get into action!

Saturday 5/4: Nothing gets Ryan going more than me finding picture of his "awkward phase" and posting them on the interwebs. And nothing gets me laughing more than doing it. Ryan put on Facebook in response to this photo that he was breaking up with me, which his mother actually believed. Too good. I found this little gem buried deep in a pile of things that came out of the Acura Ryan sold to a buddy, this was a gleaming picture of him at the fine age of 18 when he was having his first college experience. So good.

Saturday 5/4: I have been eying these adirondack chairs for at least a year now. Ever since Ryan and I moved into our little house with a deck, I have been daydreaming about sunbathing on our porch. We acquired a set of ice cream parlor chairs and table about a year back, but the refurbishing process on that came to a halt when it started raining in the fall. Unfortunately I left them out all winter and ruined their new coat of paint and I can't bring myself to want to do it all over again. I'm thinking of just posting them on Craigslist now that I have these beauties. The red is just so happy and pops on our porch, and they are comfortable to boot!

Sunday 5/5: The problem with having indoor kitties is that they get so jealous when you're outside and they can't be! This last weekend in Astoria was probably one of the most beautiful I have seen since living here. It was in the 80's both days and we had the windows flung open throughout the whole house. This toys with our cats emotions though. I was sitting in the aforementioned adirondack chairs right near the window, only to have Peanut meowing and playing with my hair. Such is the life of a house cat. Time to get kitty leashes!

Sunday 5/5: Since it was so nice over the weekend, Ryan and I decided that on our Sunday date day, we would sit out on the porch and BBQ for the first time of the year! I know we probably could have BBQed through the winter under our covered patio, but we aren't that dedicated to the art. Ryan is a steak fanatic, so of course we picked some up at Fred Meyer. And this picture ensued.

Monday 5/6: Our boy cat doesn't like to be picked up. He actually starts making noises like "uuumph ummph" (because we think he has a deviated septum and can't meow like a normal cat). So sometimes, to torment him, we pretend like we're trying to catch a wild animal (which we are). On this fine day, Ryan was running around our room saying he was trying to capture a "kitty-tor". Like that show "To Catch a Predator". It was hilarious and Marley was having none of it.

Friday 5/10: The most exciting thing happened. I was finally able to mooch a book for Ryan! For those of you who don't know, I am a Bookmooch addict. For those who don't know what Bookmooch is, I can do a post on it later, an updated one from this one. Ryan had been wanting the biography of Steve Jobs for a while now, so it was just meant to be when I saw this guy come up! When it arrived, it was in really good condition and a hardback! Boom.

Saturday 5/11: One thing I love to do when I go home to Olympia, is check out the Capitol Campus. I grew up going there while my dad was working and there's something about it that is still magical to me. I have taken Ryan there plenty of times before, but this time I wanted to take him to the heated bench. For those who didn't grow up in Olympia, the heated bench is basically like it sounds, a big wooden bench that has air ducts underneath it that shoot up hot air. Unfortunately, the "heated" part of this equation was no longer working. Still, we were able to walk around the campus seeing all of the war memorials and checking out the colored fountain. I showed Ryan all of the places I used to roller blade when I was younger, and all of the spots I used to play hide and seek. It was a wonderful trip down memory lane!

A Week in Photos: Week 17

As I said in my last "Week in Photos", I had been in a picture taking rut. This last week though, I was seeing new places and getting out of my typical box and thus, I have MANY photos to share! I hope you all enjoy!!

Sunday 4/21: So if you've read my blog at all, you know I'm a book fanatic. Two things are happening in this photo that I'm wanting to point out. 1) My boyfriend is reading a book. This never happens. The last book I think he read was The Giver. In like second grade. This is a miracle. 2) I have found out that my boyfriend is the worst thing you could be as a human: a book bender. I will never loan him a book for as long as I live. This is an act against humanity. No spine or page should ever be bent this way!! I was so appalled that I had to take this picture. A little part of me dies every time I look at it.

Monday 4/22: I saw a picture on Instagram the other day that I knew I had to copy when I was flying out to Florida. My sorority sister Jamilynn took a "What's in my Bag" picture before heading to Europe which had gorgeous composition and I felt like I needed to do the same. These were just some of the things that I took in my bag with me to the East Coast.

Tuesday 4/23: In order to get to Orlando at a reasonable hour, we had to fly out of Portland at a completely unreasonable hour. 6:00 AM flight meaning 4:30 airport arrival meaning 3:30 wake up. It was a painful day. But, it was the first time Ryan and I have flown on a plane together, so of course that meant we had to snap a photo!! This is as good as she gets.

Tuesday 4/23: I think like anyone who flies, I get majorly anxious that we're going to miss our flight and end up having to spend a lot of time and money trying to correct the mistake. I wind myself up and get into panic mode when really, everything is fine. Over the years, I developed some inflight traditions to help me unwind from the pre-flight panic attack. For me that includes tomato juice and sprite (or ginger ale if they have it). There is something soothing about this combination for me even though I don't drink these beverages at any other time.

Wednesday 4/24: Even though my internal clock must have been way out of whack, I still managed to get up at 7:30 AM the morning after our flight. I knew that I had until 1:00 PM when my training started, so I took full advantage of sitting by the pool. I spent all morning reading The Princess Bride, communing with the wildlife (lizards and squirrels) and warding off amphibians (literally a snake 3 feet long and black as sin slithered through the pool area, close to families and children). It took a while to get used to the natural inhabitants of Florida, but I was able to find some peace and some sun.

Wednesday 4/24: For those of you who have been to Orlando before, our hotel was situated in the Lake Buena Vista area. For those of you who haven't, it basically means we were on Disney's doorstep. There is an area of the Disney Resort that is called "Downtown Disney" which is home to restaurants, shops and gimmicks galore, so naturally we had to check it out. Upon arrival, the first (and only) thing that Ryan noticed was that there was a Lego store. My 25 year old boyfriend is still such a kid at heart. So upon entering the store, he started (literally) squealing like a little girl when he saw the Lego Death Star. Not only is my boyfriend a child, but he is way into Star Wars. This is him oogling said things:

Wednesday 4/24: Ever since Disney acquired LucasFilm (yes, I know that random Star Wars trivia thanks to the character pictured at the left), Ryan has been obsessed with looking at the things Disney is producing. This Mouse-3PO that Ryan is donning is by far one of my favorite things. Both times this past year we have been year any of the Disney franchises, we have considered purchasing these. At almost $25 a pop though, we've decided to let that dream go and just live with the picture as if we did purchase them! Good enough for me.

Thursday 4/25: For the first time ever in my life, I got sent away for a business trip. The real reason I was in Florida to begin with was for a CARF 101 Accreditation Conference. For those who don't work in the Behavioral Health field, CARF is an international accreditation board that certifies outstanding health care facilities. With working at a brand new treatment center, my executive director has given me the title of Continued Quality Improvement Coordinator (CQI for short) and handed over the accreditation process to me. This will be a year long adventure that I'm sure will take up a lot of my time, some sweat and a few tears, but I'm excited to be implementing some solid changes to our newly founded treatment facility that will have the person served at the forefront of everyone's minds. This is a wonderful program and I can't wait to get started!

Friday 4/26: After three long days of all day training, it was time to cut loose. Before I left for Orlando, my clinical director, Mel, told me that there are gators in every lake around the Orlando area. She knew this from previous living experience. So for me, being from the PNW, it was like a game of Where's Waldo for every lake we drove by (which in Orlando is like thousands). I tried mating calls, doing the gator chomp with my arms like they do at University of Florida, and yelling out "chick-chick-chickennnnn!!!!" (because everyone knows gators love chicken) to no avail. I didn't spy a single wild gator. So naturally, as a tourist, I talked my party into going to GATORLAND!!! And naturally, as a tourist, I got to sit on a half-dead-tranquilizered-up-gator. This picture ensued:

Friday 4/26: Apparently Gatorland has been around since the dawn of time, or like 1977, which is why they have this HUGE stucco gator mouth out in front of their establishment. By no means is this the most technologically advanced, coolest gator mouth you have ever seen, but this thing has some history on it, so of course Ryan and I had to get a picture to prove we were there.

Saturday 4/27: In order to get ready for the big day we had ahead of us, I thought I would try to burn off some of the head cold that somehow managed to take hold in my body. The times that I get to sit out at a pool early in the morning before anyone else is around is probably one of the most relaxing things for mind, body and soul for me. I'm at ease and at peace, the only thing that can enter in my subconsious at times like these is, "where is that mother #$%&ing snake!?!" Which then is quickly followed in my head by, "Snakes on a mother #$%&ing plane!" (welcome to my head).

Saturday 4/27: For those of you who don't know, I'm just going to put this out there in the open now: I love Harry Potter. I don't mean I've read the books once "love" and think they are a cute story, no. This is the kind of love where I have read every single book every summer since each came out and I know parts by heart. I have seen (and own) every movie countless times and can quote many lines and tell you where the books and movies differ. I have a Harry Potter related poster in our guest bedroom and always ask for at least one thing Harry Potter related for every birthday and at Christmas. It goes beyond love for me, it is a passion and club I'm proud to belong to, the Potterheads. So needless to say, when I first heard about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter way back when, I knew in my lifetime, I had to get myself there. This was one of those bucket list things. So the second I found out I was going to be able to go to Orlando for this training, I started figuring ways I was going to get to Universal Studios, I would have begged, borrowed and stolen to get there. I didn't care about anything else, just getting to the world of Harry Potter. This was my first magical glimpse of Hogwarts, the little girl heart in me started racing at this point. (Fair warning: All further pictures are Harry Potter related, I don't be offended if you stop reading now.)

Saturday 4/27: This is the view upon entering in the front gates at Hogwarts where the first ride is. Unfortunately, my love for Harry Potter forced me on to this ride (which tours you through Hogwarts) which is a simulator ride, which I know from previous Disney experience that I don't handle well (I almost puked on Star Tours, for real). Everything up to the ride experience was AMAZING though. It literally was like being in Hogwarts, everything I ever imagined. The line takes you through the greenhouses, a classroom, some of the Hogwarts hallways (with all of the talking/moving pictures on the wall), a common room and even the headmaster's office (for those in the HP know, they used the first actor (films 1-2) of Dumbledore as his portrait on the wall of the headmasters office as opposed to the actor who had been playing Dumbledore in the last films (3-8) which I thought was very curious). I thought this portrayal was very very well done, I loved everything about it.

Saturday 4/27: After another hellish experience on a simulator ride, I thought there would be nothing better than to cool down with a refreshing Butterbeer (for all of those who worry I had to change my sobriety date, no fear, Butterbeer is non-alcoholic). It's a delightful butterscotch drink that I would have on a regular basis if I could. Also at the Butterbeer cart, they were selling Pumpkin Juice, and further into the town of Hogsmeade, they sold Firewhiskey, which is actually an adult beverage.

Saturday 4/27: I have other pictures that show the town of Hogsmeade more, but this to me was so perfect. From the way the sign of the Hog's Head, a notoriously seedy joint, hangs off to one side, to the wood sign itself, this is really how I imagined it looking. I had a chance to peak my head in the Hog's Head, and of course it was actually a pub inside the theme park. Too perfect.

Saturday 4/27: They had a Hogwart's Express and a Platform 9 3/4. I died a little bit. It's perfect, the dreamlike quality this picture has, because it's literally something that is out of one of my dreams. I can't tell you how many times when I was reading the first and second books for the first time ever, I wished wizarding schools were actually real and that I would really be taken away on the Hogwart's Express. The world of Harry Potter seems so much simpler to me. No cell phones, computers or TV, it's about the real human connections and some kick ass magic. (Who am I kidding, I'd still like to get my Hogwart's letter in the mail!)

Saturday 4/27: After the magic of Harry Potter is over, they try not to let you down too hard at Islands of Adventure. You quickly travel to Dr. Seuss land where all of the Thing 1 and Thing 2 shirts I saw all week were being produced. Being in this place made me realize how truly deprived I was as a child. I think the only Dr. Seuss book I had growing up was One Fish, Two Fish. When I saw The Lorax this last year in theaters, that was the first time I had ever even heard of that story. Horton Hears a Who? Same thing. College was when I heard "Oh the Places You Will Go" for the first time. But after coming here, I've realized there is a whole world of good literature that I have missed out on! End rant. This is a picture of us amongst the Truffula Trees.

Saturday 4/27: And of course I had to get a solo shot because I think their reproductions of the Truffula Trees was spot on. And they're fun. And match my dress. Moving on.

Saturday 4/27: As a last ditch effort to find something to commemorate our time at Islands of Adventure, we stopped at a gift shop on the way out of the park. The only noteworthy thing was this Bob Marley rasta hat Ryan insisted on trying on. I don't know what Bob Marley has to do with Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, The Hulk or Dr. Seuss (other than I think Dr. Seuss and Bob Marley enjoyed some of the same substances), but this hat was there. And Ryan loved it.

Sunday 4/28: After a long day of traveling, Ryan and I were ready to get home to our little kitten squawks. Upon entering our abode, we found this precious sign hanging in our kitchen, it was something that was greatly appreciated and clearly made with love and care from our friend Jenn who watched our little gems while we were away!

Monday 4/29: And last but not least, this is a picture to depict how much our little fluff balls missed us. Last night, I went to sleep around 9:00 PM and was out COLD, ALL NIGHT! I never do that. It was some kind of personal record. That aside, I clearly didn't notice that I had a kitty laying on my pillow all night long until this morning when the alarm started going off. I took a couple of moments before starting my morning to give Marley some loves, since clearly he was lacking. It was a wonderful way to wake up.