I Thought Her First Name was Nana

Today is my Nana's birthday

Here are 5 facts you should know...

1. She is Welsh...VERY Welsh

My sisters, my mom and I are showing the traditional Welsh garb. (Nana is in the middle)

2. She is a professional knitter...I am not

3. She has had season tickets to the Seahawks' games since the late 70's

(which she now sells each year since she is a Kansas City Chief fan)

4. She (and her friend Clare) came to visit me in Boston all four years of college to see a few lacrosse games.

5. She is a world traveller (not an exaggeration) and I have had the privilege of accompanying her as a travel companion...the latest trip was to Scotland.

6. She is the most caring and loving Nana and I am so thankful to be one of 5 grandkids

I love you Nana!!!

Gungor, Kirkland, and my friend Dana

On a whim, I purchased tickets to see Gungor last week

(which at the concert I learned is pronounced "gun-g-er")

I took my friend Dana with me, and we drove about 30 minutes to a church in Mill Creek, WA...sort of in the middle of a few random roads.

Not completely knowing what to expect, we walked in to a pitch black sanctuary (we were a little late) and sat down in the back.

I was immediately impressed by the musical talent and profound lyrics of the band especially the lead singer's wife, Lisa Gungor. I recommend listening to a few of their songs if you haven't already.

It ended at 9...it was still light out of course, so we drove to Kirkland...

Here we are...this was one of many attempts... because I look like Mulan...

Below is Dana showing off her coffee in a very fashionable way....

Then there's this....not quite sure what I was going for here

But it sure was a Beautiful Thing (song by Gungor)

Have you heard of Archie?

I started reading them when I was 7. We would stop at the library and I would beeline it to the comic book section and pick out the latest Archie. I don't know if it was the love triangle between Archie and Betty and Veronica, or the "athlete" named Moose who said "Duh" before speaking that kept me hooked, but something about them led me to my large collection...with today's purchase adding one more....

If you want to challenge me to Archie trivia let me know, although I'll win. OR If you have never heard of these wonderful comic books, please take the time to browse the website.

Poo Poo Point....it's true

My roommates, a few friends, my sister and I all went hiking yesterday.

The trail honestly is called Poo Poo Point. The name originated from logging signals which were said to make a "poo poo" sound.

We obviously didn't hear it, but we were able to watch hang-gliders take off...

We decided not to jump with them, so we tried this.....

and this....

My sister Sarah thought this would look like I was flying. I'm not sure it worked.

Calamity Jane

Recommendation:

If you want to watch an old movie, but you're worried it'll be boring....

Watch Calamity Jane.

Doris Day recreates the badass who was Martha Jane Canary (1848-1903)

What could be better than Doris Day dressed in a full leather hide, acting like a man along side Howard Keel? It's a perfect combination for an action packed adventure

Martha Jane Canary

Doris Day

The Commute

Is there a word for the Study of Commuting? I’d probably have my doctorate by now since I’ve been studying this subject now three hours every day for the last nine months. Ok, I realize that’s not nearly as long as a seasoned commuter, but for me, that’s longer than I would have expected.

The first leg of my commute is a 30 minute drive to West Falls Church metro station. That is if the traffic is relatively light. I have a routine music schedule as soon as I jump in my jeep. 1. Check the radio for either a Christmas song (‘tis the season) or a song I can sing along with, if there’s nothing then 2. Listen to numbers 1, 6, sometimes 7, and 8 on my mixed CD that’s currently playing. Once that cycle finishes, it’s back to the radio.

Arriving at West Falls, I wind up the ramp four times, usually behind someone putting on their turn signal at every corner. There is no other option other than turning left up the ramp, so you don’t have to tell me by turning on your blinker. Thanks for being so thoughtful though.

After touching my SmartTrip metro pass to the touch pad and going through the little blockade, I walk down the escalator (you think watching TV is a waste of time? Try standing on the escalator) take a quick turn to the right and walk to the end of the platform. It’s such a treat to get a seat on the train, but if none are available, I snatch up the coveted (coveted in my mind) standing room against the metro map right next to the door. This way 1. You don’t have to touch the germy poles in the center that smell weird, 2. You’re not in anyone’s’ way, 3. And you can slip out when it’s your stop.

This (should be) 20 minute ride is my study time. I have tried to make categories for all the people I see.

There’s the perpetually perturbed female big wig who is wearing a kaki trench coat, stands at about 5’3’’ with a scowl on her face. Don’t even think about accidentally bumping her with your bag…just don’t.

Next are the “ipod people.” They’re both sitting and standing, with Bose earbuds muffling the metro, and their fingers scroll like crazy through songs the entire commute. What exactly are they looking for? That perfect song to get them started?

Next are the couples who don’t talk, but just stare at each other, lean heads, hold hands, stroke legs, share whispers, and giggle together. Gross.

there are those creepy men that you catch staring at you…the entire ride.

And finally, there’s me. I change my personalities. I’m either the brooding mysterious woman or the “can’t-read-enough-want-to-be-nerdy” girl.

Well, it’s 5:30. Time to make the trek home…and that’s a whole different story.

Lunch on the Island

We all wanted 2nd lunch. Even though it was dependent upon each student's schedule, it seemed all the "popular" people were there. First lunch, which, beginning at 11:30 was too early anyways, was always boring and quiet. You could hear your conversation echoing throughout the tall-windowed, double tiered cafeteria, and everyone just sort of looked. I was blessed to have that ever-coveted 2nd lunch through most of my four years at Mercer Island High School. When the clock switched to 12:10, (we didn't have bells), the shuffles of papers, backpack zippers, and scuffing of sneakers crescendo-ed as half of the 1400 students basically ran or tripped to the cafeteria.

Most students didn’t bring lunches, but would stand in line to be spoiled by the chicken fingers Mondays, broccoli and cheese soup Wednesdays, or sushi Thursdays. We were from Seattle ok? There was also the "Tully's" line, where cute Asian lady Lily made us Italian Sodas. But I won't ever forget Smiley Smoothly Lady. Her eyes were always closed. After grabbing your lunch, then the important decisions were to be made as you frantically scanned, making sure your "group" was sitting at the table.

The freshmen, all restricted to the lower tier, sat at the ketchup clad tables or on the oversized steps, always craning their necks to see above the railing at the cool upper classmen. Once a sophomore, you either decided to remain the dominate species on the steps, or make the move to the lower section of the upper tier. By junior year, you really didn't care about who sat where as long as you sat in the upper upper tier. And by senior year? You owned the place.

The right side of the Tier sat the Athletes, their Girlfriends, the Boozers, their Girlfriends, and the Smart Ones and their Girl Interests. (They never really had girl friends). The left side was reserved for the Not-so-"cool" and the middle was the Band kids and the Floaters.

I was more on the Floater side of the spectrum. Even though I was in the Jamaican Steel Drum Band, I soon realized that didn’t really count. Lunch consisted of copying someone’s homework, gossiping about the latest homecoming drama, or complaining about the teacher who gave too much work. You'd sit there, eating your bagel, cream cheese, and flipz pretzels, until the 40 minutes were up. By 12:50, you knew where your latest crush was sitting, and coordinated walking to class together…without him knowing of course. Usually this happened by walking obnoxiously fast or awkwardly slow in order to intercept, bump into, or make eyes with him. If this didn’t happen, the entire lunch break was a complete waste of time, and you thought about what could have been, for the rest of the day.

But then, there was always tomorrow’s lunch.