hears to hoping.

Gosh I hope I'm as cute a mom as this, someday!

can you imagine?

So with all of this, "Where the hell am I going?" talk, I also tend to hypothesize about what my next career could be. I saw this on a blog I follow regularly and thought, my gosh, wouldn't this be a blast - ANIMAL PHOTOGRAPHY!





And honestly, please check out her blog - www.sharonmontrose.blogspot.com - for some really fun, adorable photos. Seriously, what a fun job!

temporary mental.

I must be clenching my jaw when I sleep these days, because my teeth hurt.

I attended a birthday party on Saturday night honoring my new-ish friend, Erin. Realizing I wouldn't know many, if any at all, of her friends, I'd preemptively decided I'd only pop in for a quick drink and well wishes. But as the bowling portion of the party started to wrap up, and people were making plans to navigate to the next destination of celebration, I found myself strangely curious and excited to see how the evening would play out. I happily headed over to Amanda's house (Amanda being a gal I knew really nothing about except that she's a med student interviewing for residence here in Seattle) and I plopped down into a seat that happened to be next to a couple from MN! She was a grad student and he was starting law school in the fall. We bantered about Minneapolis vs. St. Paul and gushed about our common love for the great state of MN. I also spoke to some other gals who were both in a graduate program at UW, a nice guy who had just finished a post-graduate program and on and on and on, only to return home at midnight, surprisingly, much later than the 8:30pm I'd planned/anticipated.

Despite spending a lovely evening with some really great people, I somehow managed to come home with a teeny feeling of despair that I was either too tired to identify or that hadn't fully taken over my brain before I went to bed. But when I awoke on Sunday there it was. Smacking me clear in the face was that horrible, much over-thought feeling we all know and love, "What the hell am I doing with my life? Where the hell is my life going, anyway?" And I think after being surrounded by so many people advancing themselves academically with their grad schools, law schools and med schools...my answer was something like, "Hm, let's just see. Well you know, I'm quitting everything and heading out to go work in a coffee shop for a few months and 'see what happens.'"

I realize the scenario to which I'm about to embark on can also be described using completely different language to say that in fact I'm quitting everything to move to New Zealand and head out on the adventure of a lifetime, one that I'll probably never, ever regret. But somehow, Saturday night and Sunday I wasn't feeling that way. Why is that we can be so capable of torturing ourselves?

Anyway, then cut to me sitting at the Wing Dome eating terrible food and drinking cheap beer on Sunday afternoon. With all due respect to those who love the Wing Dome, it was not really an accurate first impression due to the mental "crisis" I was having, nor was it my numero uno choice to spend a Sunday tetering on the edge of a meltdown. In fact, it was aiding in my mounting anxiety and already growing list of things I needed to get done in order to leave on said journey of quitting everything. And I'm sure if I were to find myself in a Wing Dome today my impression would be much more forgiving and open-minded. Sunday was not that day.

But today is a new day. Today I feel excited. A bit overwhelmed still, but excited. And again, its strange the tortures our mind can put us through. Comparing ourselves to others and wistfully wondering how different situations can play out. Ladies and gentleman, the tickets are booked. I'm going. And dammit, I might just have an anxiety attack along the way but I'm boarding the plane and maybe, someday, I'll know where my life is headed. Today I know it is taking me to New Zealand.

new.

As if Etsy wasn't addicting enough, introducing big cartel - or bigcartel.com. Bringing the art to the cart, big cartel describe themselves as, "a simple shopping cart for artists. It’s easy to use, customizable, and awesome."

One of the "shops" on the site is called plainMADE and they made wonderful, little gems.

Gbye.

I know, a little strange that we're all so dressed up to say 'Goodbye', but it just so happened that Lindsay's birthday fell on Halloween weekend, and Oh yeah they're leaving on a six-month roadtrip. Or rather, they've left now. And this post is a little late. More on that thought in a later post.

A small but quality group of us headed to Mt. Hood, Oregon to stay and imbibe in a cabin for an evening. Lets see, we had Amelia Earhart, a zookeeper, an 80's gym teacher, a one night stand (ha), an 80's aerobics instructor, and um, a gal in a wig and some character from a show I've never seen so I can't remember the name.





I'm super pumped for Linds and Matthew. Considering she and I had simultaneous meltdown-ish moments a few months back when the prospect of heading out of our comfy homes, jobs and lives seemed unthinkable, its wonderful we're both now simultaneously excited. And the prospect of NOT heading out into the world to seek our dreams seems unthinkable. I wish them well on their adventure - a roadtrip across the U.S. I'm sure there will be endless moments of laughter, beauty, chaos and probably some low-points, but they've already added a good story to their repertoire. See their travel blog, click here. Big love to you two! Can't wait to follow the journey.

living-in.

Tyson and I recently decided to move in together!

We decided to celebrate with a bottle of Prosecco and fresh cut strawberries with homemade whipped cream.



We're totally excited and geeky about it!

Mama.

My mama was in town visiting for eight days last week+. We really had a good time. The I picked her up on a Thursday night and we immediately headed out on the town for red wine and Via Tribunali pizza. We gabbed and we gabbed and it was just so great to sit and catch up like two little chirping birdies.

Unfortunately somehow - and I really have no idea how its possible that I didn't snap 100 photos - I didn't take very many pictures! A small sampling below.

Mama was VERY productive! Over the course of her visit we were able to tackle: Painting the entire condo, finishing the tile backsplash, hanging some photos, combing Re-Store for light fixtures, cleaning out my closet and getting things to Goodwill, consuming wine on a daily basis (yum), finishing a puzzle and creating the perfect lasagna.

And what was really fun was when Tyson joined us after moving back to Seattle after his summer on the Olympic Peninsula came to an end. The three of us were like a dream team. We made each other laugh. We had fun conversations. I really felt that we all had a good time together. And it was comfy and not forced. And I loved it.





At one point we called Kesney while in the car driving, and within seconds we were all laughing. Kesney immediately expressed how much she wished she was with us, riding in the back seat, laughing along. My mom has such a great spirit. She's fresh and she's open. People who meet her, love her. I had so much fun during her visit, and I was really sad to see her go. I know, surprising considering EIGHT days really is a long time for anyone to visit. But I think her visit was just easy. Easy for me. Easy for Tyson. Easy. And Fun. Hmm, I guess I have one of those fun moms. And though it may have taken me a few years to figure that out, I really am so happy she's my mama.

Thanks for the visit, lovely Debbie! Looking forward to the holiday!

Oh and Tyson is really into baking bread. Its not only delicious, but very cute. Here is a yummy ricotta fennel skillet bread. And last night a loaf of wheat came out of the oven piping hot. Have I mentioned I love him?