Bienvenido a Miami

Nineteen hours after waking up, I've finally made it to Miami. I was checking my email and looked up from the computer to find that Lindsay was watching Titanic.

Watching a movie about a ship that sinks the night before we get on a boat for the next week.

Scattered Showers

Today I turned into one of those idiots that can't stop bragging to everyone that they're about to go on an awesome vacation. (Okay, so maybe it was yesterday too.) I couldn't stop telling everyone that would listen; and even sometimes people who weren't listening.

I was heading back to my desk after a morning meeting with a couple of co-workers and as we were walking up the back stairwell it was absolutely freezing (You know, it snowed today.). So, naturally, I made a comment about how at "this time tomorrow" I would be well on my way to soaking up the sun. The conversation that followed when something like this:

Co-Worker #1: I hate you.
Co-Worker #2: Seriously.
Me: I'm sorry!
......
Me: Just kidding, I'm not really sorry.

And then I felt like Judy Grimes from SNL.



Later as everyone was packing up for the day, another co-worker told me to have a great trip as she was leaving her desk. To which the guy sitting diagonally from me responded to by standing up and saying,"I don't. I hope you have a horrible time. And that it rains the entire week. Oh, and I expect a puka shell necklace on my desk Monday morning."

So funny. But he actually got me thinking and I immediately checked the weather online. Here's a sneak peak at what things look like for Saint Thomas next week.


Eighty degrees is brilliant. Scattered showers? Not so much.

I guess I might deserve this for rubbing it in to all my co-workers. But my next course of action is to "Secret" good weather. The power of positive thinking, right?

I'll let you know how it goes.

Countdown

Remember how I'm flying to Miami in four days? And how I'll climb aboard a massive ship on Saturday? And how I will not think of work for one second of those 10 days?

Not to rub it in or anything.

Look What I Found

Finders, keepers. The best item I found at DI yesterday. Don't be jealous.

Conversation of the Day

While volunteering at the local DI (similar to a Good Will or Salvation Army) Saturday morning a man came up to me and asked me if I knew where he could find stirrup pants.

I answered politely that I wasn't sure and was sorry I couldn't help. But what I was thinking was, Even if I did know I still wouldn't tell you because, well, you're asking me about stirrup pants.

Sneaking Around

I made a trip out to my car this afternoon between the second and third hour of church. The lesson was being taught from The Ensign and I thought I had left my copy in the car. As I poked my head in and looked around I didn't find the magazine, but my Sunday morning can of Diet Coke caught my eye.

I climbed in, closed the door and took a couple gulps from the can.

As I got out of the car and walked back to the building I had to laugh to myself. I felt like I had just snuck out to my car for a secret smoke break or something.

And in the end my copy of The Ensign was in my purse under my chair.

You know you've got problems...

...when you make the guy who stands on the corner (all day, every day) holding a glittered sign that says "SMILE" uncomfortable.

PS - It wasn't me. I'm just a witness.

Do I Get A Prize?

Today was a strange, random day (for a lot of reasons). And to add to the strangeness was poop.

Yes, I said poop.

On the way upstairs to partake of the Monday morning bagel fest, a co-worker called me over to the coffee machine and said, "Please tell me that's fake". I looked over to find a wet pile of poo, not unlike the image below. In the sink.
Now, I enjoy a little potty humor now and again, but poo in the sink is not really my style.

Several hours later I was picking up some papers from the printer (that sits on the floor) and saw another pile of fake poo on the ground. I laughed out loud.

Let's recap:
Poo in the sink = not so funny.
Poo next to the printer = funny.

It was like someone was having an Easter egg hunt with piles of fake poo.
And clearly I'm the winner.

Be My Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Just to be clear, I was joking about being depressed, but the movie last night WAS an accurate portrayal of relationships (or the lack thereof). And because I know you are all wondering what I will do on this fantastic holiday...I plan to spend the day at the gym, getting a manicure, making cookies in mass quantities, shopping and will probably top off the night with a good old fashioned romantic comedy.


As side note: I was feeling a little nostalgic this morning and decided to look back at my posts from last February. I enjoyed what I found. Last year at this time was a little rough for me. I wasn't happy with my job, or really the direction of my life in general, and I was living in an empty house with my cat waiting to become homeless at the end of the month.

However, amid some of the turmoil a lot of great things were happening. I was deciding whether or not to be brave and take a risk by moving to Seattle, which was a hard decision but a growth-promoting process. I was spending a lot of time with Jill...drinking Diet Cokes, eating at Chili's every other night and watching very girly movies. I was also spending time with two of my favorite ladies in SLC, Emily and Chelsea, and we experienced Sia and had our "minds blown" by Har Mar Superstar. I watched several seasons of Dawson's Creek which is never a bad thing. And who could forget my brilliant attempt to eat three bananas in one minute? I certainly have not.

I don't know if I appreciated those experiences fully at the time. And I don't know if I'm totally appreciating the experiences I'm having now. But you know, life is good.

The End.

He's Just Not That Into...Me

Tonight I met up with some fantastic ladies and saw He's Just Not That Into You. And now I'm depressed. The truth hurts and the movie was pretty spot on.

Despite being a bit of a reality check, the movie was really cute. My favorite part was when Gigi was watching Some Kind of Wonderful. I may have cheered out loud when I saw it and started quoting it along with her.
Keith. Watts. Fingerless gloves with fringe. You just can't go wrong.

The Return of Chats McGee

That's right, Internet. Chats McGee and I rekindled our friendship today over IM.

Some of you may remember the sad, sad day when I announced that Chats and I would no longer be sitting across from each other, thus prohibiting me from having fun conversations to blog about. We honestly haven't talked much since that day and I was actually a little sad about it. Now the only thing I have to distract me is the woman across from me with the slinky. Sometimes (read: every day) when she's on a conference call she slinkys and I have to fight the urge to stand up and scream.

It starts out slow. Slink..........slink..........slink.
And gradually gets faster. Slink.....slink.....slink...slink...slink..slink.slink.
Until she's slinkying with all of her might. Slink!Slink!Slink!Slink!Slink!Slink!Slink!Slink!Slink!Slink!Slink!Slink!Slink!
And then I poke my eyes out.

But back to Chats McGee. Today we were talking music and I discovered the music he likes isn't as meat headish as I thought it would be. He told me some artists he likes, I listened to them on Rhapsody, told him some artists I like and he listened to them on Rhapsody. A nice little exchange.

Of course I had him listen to Brandi Carlile and as he pulled her up on Rhapsody we had the following conversation (over IM):

S: My absolute favorite song by Brandi is Turpentine.
CM: She looks cute.
S: She's a lesbian.
CM: Figures.

Oh, Chats. I hate to admit it, but I've missed you.

That's Not What I Meant

Tonight at Institute I may or may not have announced to the class that keeping the commandments isn't a priority of mine. Clearly, not what I meant to say.

I'm pretty sure she's not going to ask me to "teach" again.

What's Not To Love

Even after watching the first episode of The Fantasy Factory, I still have no idea what the show is about. And I loved it.

I mean, what's not to love?

Rob in his own tanning booth talking to Drama? Love.
Rob on stilts dancing? Love.
Adorable puppies? Love.
People being launched into foam pits? Love.

Sunday nights, my friends. You now have plans.

Conversation of the Day

L: You know we both have a soft spot for boys that play the guitar.
S: This is true.
L: I mean, we even have a soft spot for girls that play the guitar.
S: This is also true.

Brandi In Bellingham

I saw Brandi in Bellingham on Friday night.
Gregory Alan Isakov opened for her and was fantastic. They sang some songs together. Brilliant.
It was all acoustic.
She sang new songs and I can't wait for the new album in August.
All smiles as usual.
She stayed and signed for a couple hours after the show.
And we're still tight.

Please Excuse Me While I Puke in Your Bathroom

Today was the first Saturday I've had to myself in a month. I hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep all week and was looking forward to sleeping in. So when I looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:45am I was pretty pleased. I rolled out of bed, thinking I had time for a quick trip to the gym before I had to get ready and leave for a hair appointment, but soon realized that I wouldn't be making it to the gym.

I wasn't feeling so hot. My stomach wasn't interested in doing anything other than sitting still.

But I really wanted a haircut. I had been thinking about it for weeks and finally just motivated myself to actually pick a salon and make an appointment yesterday. So, I skipped the gym and slowly got ready for the day. I even grabbed a bowl of Cheerios thinking that maybe my stomach was upset because I hadn't eaten in 17 hours.

After I got to the salon the nausea grew stronger and stronger. She was only half-way done styling my hair - I had started sweating profusely (the blow drying didn't help) and watched in the mirror as my face turned whiter and whiter. She asked me what I liked to do for fun and as I tried to answer I had to stop and say, "I'm sorry, I'm not feeling so great. Do you know where the nearest bathroom is and could I get a glass of water?". The bathroom was right next to us and she unsnapped my cape so I could make a quick getaway if necessary. I think she was nervous. I would have been.

She finally finished and I immediately walked to the bathroom and threw up my Cheerios. Several times. I hate throwing up, but it's even worse (not to mention embarrassing) doing it in a public restroom. The good news was that it's a pretty nice salon, so the bathroom was probably cleaner than my own.

I'm pretty sure I made an awesome first impression.

Oh, and when I say I got my hair cut, I mean really cut. I told her that I just wanted a couple inches off to clean everything up, but that I was open to suggestions since my hair has been pretty blah for a while. She told me that I had a "really pretty neck" and that I might want to think about going shorter. A pretty neck, eh? I've never thought of necks being pretty or ugly (unless we're talking about the guy I sat behind in 9th grade US History...gross), but I'll take what I can get so I told her to go for it.

This is what my hair looked like yesterday on the way to Bellingham:
And this is what it looks like today:
I'm undecided but am leaning toward liking it. We'll see how it looks on a day when I have to do it myself and I haven't spent the day either bent over the toilet or laying in bed.

A Night With The Ladies

Last night we saw an Amy Ray show (one half of the Indigo Girls) at Neumos. And boy did I feel out of place. More so than usual. Not only did I not know very many of her songs, but I also like men. So those two things combined set me apart from pretty much everyone there.

The reason I went was because we figured Brandi Carlile would be there. She sang on Amy's new album and we knew she was in town because we're going to her show tomorrow night - so pretty much because we're crazy* fans.

And we were right.
She joined quite a few songs and it was delightful! It made suffering through the openers totally worth it.
At one point I couldn't see because the guy in front of me was too tall (that always happens to me!) so Lindsay suggested I move over to where she was. I saw another tall person in front of her and said, "No, then that guy will just be in my way". To which Lindsay replied, "Uh...that's a woman". Honest mistake.
During the encore Brandi came out and played The Story impromptu. Not my favorite song, but still pretty much awesome.
Amy was sweatier than I thought was possible. She just rocked it too hard, I guess.
Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday night.



*We won't talk about how we were waiting outside for a friend and saw Brandi get out of a car and enter the venue through a side door. And how Lindsay and I both froze and stared with giant smiles on our faces. I believe I said something brilliant like, "That's Brandi".

Does it make it better if we know that we're crazy?

On the bus today...(again, again)

...I was on the phone when I saw it. I did a double-take because I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Standing at the front of the bus, in plain sight of everyone else on the bus, was a woman (or man...I couldn't tell due to the giant puffy coat with the hood up) with her hand down the back of her pants scratching away. Hard core scratching. Not even trying to hide it.

And I saw bare back. Multiple times.

I'm not going to lie - it disgusted me more than the dried vomit the day before.

On the bus today...(again)

...the seat in front me had dried vomit all down the back of it. Nothing says Good morning! like dried up vomit.

On the bus today...

Until last week I had only chased after the bus ONE time ever. Something (or a lot of things) went terribly awry last week and I full-on ran after the bus FOUR OF FIVE DAYS. I still cannot figure out how it happened, but here's a play by play.

Monday
We were heading to the Adele concert that night and also getting some dinner to celebrate the Chinese New Year (at Annie's request) so I had to catch an earlier than normal bus. I thought I'd left the office with plenty of time, but as I neared my stop I saw the bus was already there. I moved to the edge of the sidewalk (so the driver could see me if he looked in his mirror) and started running. As I caught up to the bus it started driving away.

You won't believe what I did next. I can't even believe what I did next.

While still running alongside it, I started pounding on the side of the bus. POUNDING. The bus didn't stop and I was left behind to feel the stares of everyone that had seen the ordeal.

I pulled out my phone to see what time it was because I was sure I wasn't late. Sure enough, the bus had pulled away a minute early. Rude. Two minutes before the bus humiliated me, I had missed a call from Lindsay offering to pick me up. Needless to say, I took her up on that offer.

Tuesday
Like the day before, I was catching a slightly earlier than normal bus since I had left Annie at home alone all day. And, like the day before, the bus was already at the stop as I was crossing the street. I moved to the edge of the sidewalk (again) and started running to catch it, except this time there was another bus stopped behind my bus. My driver didn't see me and started to pull away but the driver of the second bus saw me in his mirror (my trick worked!) and started honking to let my bus know to stop.

As I hopped on the bus through the back door and sat down (huffing and puffing) I had a moment of panic that I had seen the numbers wrong and that I had actually flagged down the wrong bus. I quickly asked a nearby woman what route we were on to put my mind at ease.

Wednesday
The workday on Wednesday was a serious mess and we ended up having a last minute meeting from 5:00-5:30. I had a gym appointment that night and had to catch the 5:39 bus in order to make it on time. It was 5:25 and we hadn't even touched on the part of the agenda that I had information for. I announced that I absolutely had to leave by 5:30 but after all of the last minute questions (as I was literally backing out the door), running down to my desk to get my stuff and grabbing Annie from the coffee shop downstairs I knew we weren't going to make it.

I called Lindsay and she answered by saying "Did you miss the bus again?". Yes, yes I did. She was kind enough to come get us. Probably because I was nearly in tears when I called her.

Thursday
I didn't have to run for the bus, however, it was two minutes early. I think there was some sort of conspiracy going on.

Friday
I was planning to leave a little early but when I got an IM from my boss saying, "Leave now if you can" I looked at the clock and knew I would be cutting it close. I grabbed my stuff and used my best power walking to get to the bus stop. I wasn't surprised when I saw the bus already loading passengers while I was stuck by a red light across the street. As soon as the light turned green I started running. In my heels. My trick of running close to the street so the driver could see me in his mirror worked again and he stopped and let me on.

Clearly it was a rough week for the bus and I, but I'm not giving up on our relationship. We're going to give it another try tomorrow.

Three Days, Two Concerts

While Annie was in town we were able to see two shows. Her first night here we saw Marc Broussard at the Showbox.
Looks classy, right?
I could have done without one of the openers, but Marc was fantastic. At one point he strapped on a washboard and rocked out. I loved it. I'm excited to see him on the cruise next month!
Lindsay and I usually don't find anyone to hit up the shows with us, but the group was pretty big that night.
Two days later we saw Adele at Neumos. Annie got to experience the beauty of Capitol Hill AND a fantastic show.
Weird that Annie and I both kind of look like we just woke up?
James Morrison opened for Adele and I'm now a huge fan. Physically he reminds of me American Idol's Elliott Yamin (remember how I was rooting for him?) and I just loved his voice.
Adele was obviously fantastic. I don't know what to say other than I could have listened to her sing all night.
Both shows were great and it was fun to bring Annie in on the action. Next up is Brandi Carlile on Friday!

Sisters In The City

My sister, Annie, was in town all last week. Of course things at work got crazy while she was here and not only was I unable to take a day off, but I had to work from home most nights. She was a trooper and didn't complain about having to entertain herself during the day and not being able to see much at night.

Annie flew in on Saturday morning so we made use of the daylight and nice weather to explore downtown. First up was Pike Place and on the way from the car to market we saw everything that I love about Seattle - lots of street performers, crazies with signs shouting at no one, and just crazies in general. The perfect initiation to the city.
Every time I walk through the market I look at the photos they have for sale of the city. I love the one I bought on my first weekend in town.She's having so much fun - can't you tell? Really, she's just trying to hide her excitement from seeing her boyfriend (the guy in black behind her).I love, love, love, this shot (below) that Annie took when she toured the city alone one day while I was working.
You can't spend time in Seattle without hitting up a coffee shop. We had our fair share of hot chocolate over the course of the week and I think Tully's came out on top...at least according to Annie.
We also went to my favorite cupcake shop, Cupcake Royale, for some tasty treats.
Their hot chocolate, however, was the worst I've ever had. We had to leave so we could find a trash to throw it in...and then went to the Tully's next door.
Those cupcakes made us a little goofy. Either that or it just comes naturally.
We had a chance to stop by the temple. And on Annie's last night in town Lindsay and I put on a pretty good show. You never know what you're going to get when you get me on the guitar.
It was a fun week (aside from my stress) and was great to spend time with Annie. I'm looking forward to May when I get to see more family.

Carlee Does Seattle - Parts I & II

January has been an eventful month with visitors in town every weekend. I'm making an attempt to catch up.

First up on the visitor schedule were Carlee and Melissa. I miss seeing Carlee everyday at work, going to lunch together and just chatting about life in general. I continue my quest to get her to move to Seattle, but I just don't think it's going to work.
We hit up Pike Place Market and got some Starbucks hot chocolate to warm them up. I tried to warn them that just because it doesn't snow all winter in Seattle doesn't mean it's not cold, but they didn't believe me....until we got out there.
The sign says "Damn Good Strawberries" but what it should say is "Damn Good Pears". They were the most delicious pears I've ever eaten.
I don't partake of the donuts purchased at this booth, but they're a crowd favorite.
We also hit up the underground tour. It was interesting and I learned a lot of things about the history of Seattle.
The lovely ladies in Pioneer Square about to rock the tour.
We tried to hit up the Experience Music Project museum but got there a little too late. At least we were able to get this sweet picture of Lindsay and I pretending to be robots.
I have a ton of pictures of me trying to get a good shot of my reflection in the ceiling. It seemed like a good idea at the time...

Carlee also came to visit in July and I never posted about it. Enjoy the flashback.
This was a perfect day at the market. The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect and the people watching was superb.
This guy served up the donuts. That hair is brilliant.
We did some shopping and ate some good food. But the experience that topped off the trip was seeing this lady at the Space Needle. Carlee and I could not. stop. watching. You don't even need the sound to enjoy this one.