La Dolce Vita: Trois

Costa Rica!!!!!

2008-01-23T10:13:00.000-08:00

Hello Hello! Long time no write! Please highlithe right below this as it is not showing up when I try to look at the blog...

Well I am back from Costa Rica. What an amazing trip!!! Instead of emailing out all of the pictures, I decided to post them on the blog so I could give a re-cap with the pictures. So I arrived in San Jose on Friday night. Instead of driving back to La Tigra, the small town where Mac lives, we stayed in San Jose for the night in this cute little studio apartment:

It was so cute! I gave Mac some presents I brought for him including new white t-shirts and a few books and candy. He gave me this AWESOME shirt that is blue and says in Spanish "as serious as a donkey in a boat" because apparently that is a popular saying and it has a picture of a donkey in a little dingy, so cute! Here is Mac drinking his coffee in the morning in his very cute plaid shorts.

We woke up at like 5am and started the beautiful drive in to La Tigra. We drove though the mountains and went through clouds and it was just soo pretty!

We first stopped and had breakfast at this little soda on the way and had a delicious breakfast of rice, beans, cheese, eggs and sausage. And my favorite part, a nice cold glass bottle of Coke! I love Coke outside of the US when they make it without high fructose corn syrup - YUM! When we got to La Tigra, it was just beautiful. We stopped by at Mac's best friends house to meet them as they were going out of town. Otto and Mari live in La Tigra and have this amazing house, one of the most beautiful homes I have ever seen. Hugo, who is Mac's age and works at Northwoods with him, also lives in the house with Dina, his wife, who is Otto and Mari's daughter. Met everyone and then headed to la groceria to pick up a few snacks to have around. Very cute little store where everyone knows Mac. Then headed up to the cabina! The driveway/road is SO crazy and bumpy and steep! There are gorgeous views the entire way up and trees with sloths! This is the small house where Mac lived all of last year and stays every now and then. It just up the dirt driveway/road about 1/2 mile from the big house, which I will show later...

We pretty much dropped our stuff and headed out to the little pond that you can see through some of the first pictures of the cabina. It has a cute waterfall and then is a big pond where you can swim around. The weather was gorgeous and warm, SO different from Sandpoint! (PS I missed a snowstorm where we got 5 feet. YUCK!) So the water felt great and it was so fun to just see Mac and be able to play around with him.

So after swimming around and cooling off we came back to the cabena and read out on the porch on the rocking chairs. Then it started raining so we watched the rain and looked for birds and sloths and then went inside to play Cribbage, one of our favorite games. He won the first game but then I won the second in the last minute with 4 10's and the card on top of the pile was a 5, which is pretty unbeatable. But he is very good at Cribbage and I am not so he is always stealing my points. He first taught me on our trip to Glacier back in the Fall.

Here is a toucan! We saw some really colorful birds right after the rain, colors that seem unreal for animals, like neon green and yellow.

After my cribbage victory, we went to hang out in the hammock and listen to all of the birds.

Back inside I found a stick bug on the floor!

Here are the flowers that Mac brought for me at the airport! Dina had arranged them and they are all from her yard, so pretty!!

So after lounging, we watched part of Say Anything, which I brought for Mac because it is one of his favorite movies and I had never seen it. It was very cute. Then we realized it was only like 1pm. We had done SO much but it was becuse we had been up since 5am. We went down and looked at the big house and then went to town to order a couple of chickens and pizza to take over to Hugo and Dina's for dinner. Stopped by a local bar and had a Costa Rican beer - not bad! It was actually quite good. Pilsen is one and Imperial is another. So we were sitting there, the only Caucasians in the entire town, and a very nice Costa Rican local comes up to us with two shots of Johnny Walker Red and sets them down and says something very quickly and walks away. We were like uhhh thank you! But then I look at Mac and I'm like I CAN NOT drink this! He was like TRY, I can't take both! So I had a mini sip and almost gagged. But we had to drink it and could not be rude, so he had to take both of them. Then we left to go to Hugo's. When we arrived, Mac was pretty out of it, as demonstrated in these verrry cute photos:

We played pool and hung out in the very cool house. I can really understand a lot of Spanish, but by the time I think of how to respond, the time has passed in the converstation. But I definitely did get better as the trip progressed! So it was a very fun night!! Got home and went right to sleep as we were both exhausted.

Woke up the next morning at 7am and Mac made a big breakfast while I read out on the porch. It was delicious! Another variation of rice and beans, but very tasty :) Stopped by the big house on the way to Hugo's soccer game. So this is the house where the kids live and have school every day. It is very big, and has beautiful views! The cabina is right IN the jungle, and the big house is on a ledge sort of so you can see everything. Right now, there are only 4 kids in CR and they are all in host families, so there are no kids staying at the big house. But they are there all day every day for school and work around the property. (The big house is on 90 acres and it borders the Childrens National Rainforest, which is very cool!).

So the kids do all of the yard work and landscaping and make trails all along the land and signs of what everything is, etc.

The kids have Spanish lessons every day and Mac is desperately trying to get better and better too. He is already really good and seems totally fluent to me. Now I want to get even better so I can speak more too!

So then off we were to Hugo's soccer game! It was the semi-finals for a very competitive league in CR. Hugo is one of the nicest people I have ever met and speaks great English and was extremely nice to me and was just a great guy. So I was happy to cheer for him and his team! It was a great game and came down to a goal by the other team in the last 10 seconds of the game. Sad ending, but great game!

Here is a very pretty tree where sloths like to hang out:

So after the game, we had already brought out swim suits so we drove back up the big driveway and parked somewhere on the land and hopped out to go for a quick hike. Mac had told me we would absolutely not be hiking with my hurt knee (if you didnt know I tore my meniscus tendon snowboarding and have to wear a big ugly brace BOO). But I convinced him to let me do an easy one on their property that leads to a gorgeous swimming hole area. So of course I only brought flip flops so off we headed!

I took my brace off for most pictures but then Mac made me keep it on when we were walking through the water. So protective that one!

We got to the water after like 45 minutes of hobbling. It was soo pretty!!

The water was crystal clear and cool but not too cold. So this above is the swimming hole and if you go around the corner it leads to the waterfall...

This is looking out from inside the hallway thing

It started raining while we were swimming and then by the time we walked out, it was all muddy and our flip flops couldnt even stay on so we hiked out barefoot! Through a Costa Rican rainforest. In the rain. It was awesome!!

After our hike we went back to the cabina and showered and changed and started the drive back to San Jose since I had an early flight on Monday. Short trip I know, but worth every minute!!!! But not before I gave Mac a haircut :) He had told me he had shaved his head and it was a great surprise when he had his curly blonde hair still!!! But the back was too long. So I jsut took a lil off the back and now it looks perfect!

So the drive should take about 1 hour 30 mins, but took us well over 3 hours because there was a festival going on with 800.000 Costa Ricans. CRAZY traffic. Made it to San Jose at like 730pm and the place we stayed in last time was full but we found this cute motel down the street and stayed there. Walked around and found a soda and had some yummy dinner then went back to the room.

Caught the end of the Packers - Giants game (boo Giants) in Spanish and then low and behold the Wedding Crashers was on in English. Fell asleep during the movie. Woke up at 5am to start my long trip home. And I mean LONG. 5am in CR is 3am in Sandpoint. I had a long layover (which I was fine with) in Phoenix so I got to see John and meet Beth!

I saw their place and where they are moving to. We had lunch and got a drink and it was very nice. Then back to the airport for more waiting. Plane was late. Landed in Spokane at like... 12? Drove home and got home around 130am but not before seeing a massive moose on the side of the road. Stopped to take a picture, but I always get really scared of big animals when they are really close to me so I was taking it but got scared and drove away really quickly. Got home, said hi to Sophs, dropped the bags and went to bed. It had snowed about 5 feet while I was gone and I was so lucky to have Patrick who shoveled the driveway and mailbox - so nice!!! Then back to work the next day... I was only in the country of Costa Rica for about 81 hours and traveling took about 37, but it was worth every single second. I was sooo happy to see Mac and we had such a great trip together. Can't wait to go back for 8 days in February!!!!!!!!

So now I am back at work. It has taken me 4 days to get this post written because I have been so busy at work! I'm sure I have forgotten parts of the trip, but I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it was. As for work, Bonnie is out for the week on a cruise so I've been holding down the fort. Time has been flying by which is nice, but pretty much I just go to work and then come home, eat, read, go to bed. This weekend should be fairly relaxing. Tonight Kim is coming over to watch License to Wed. Tomorrow is cleaning day and then going to a hockey game in Spokane. Sunday is all about relaxing! Then one more week of work and then I head to Ixtapa for a whole week! Then work for 2 more weeks and then back to Costa Rica! So keep your eyes peeled for more updates in the next month!!!

Christmas Tree Lighting!

2007-11-23T19:21:00.000-08:00

Living in a small town can be so great. Tonight was the Sandpoint Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in the downtown square. We got there and there were a couple hundred people gathered around the big tree and there was the Sandpoint HS Band playing Christmas songs and then all the people were singing. So sweet. They had free hot chocolate and cider and snacks. Then the Sandpoint HS girls choir sang a few diddies and then we had the countdown, per below. Then we learned that Sandpoint is known as "Santa-point, Ida-ho ho ho" from Thanksgiving until Christmas. Good lord. Then Santa came into town on a firetruck. Very cute.

The Countdown!

3 Thanksgivings later...

2007-11-23T12:38:00.000-08:00

Woo wee! What a week! So recap - trivia, date night, Thanksgiving # 1 at work, quiet weekend, Mac got off from work early on Sunday so we went to Eichardts, played shuffleboard and ate and then got ready to go to a pizza party at Lindsey's house! Very fun, ended up playing Loaded Questions which is always a good time. Stayed in on Monday, Book Club was on Tuesday at Kim's house, and Wednesday was Thanksgiving #2. BIG DAY! My office always lets everyone off at 2 the day before holidays so I got home nice and early :) Mac had been cooking all day long as we had 10 people over and he made everything from an 18lb turkey to stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoe pie, cranberry sauce, jello salad, all the Thanksgiving stuff from scatch. And boy was it good! Everyone had a great time and the night ended with Mac and Joe playing quarters with Lindsey passed out on the couch and Bonnie reading a book and me asleep in bed. Very fun Thanksgiving with great friends :)

On actual Thanksgiving, I wanted to sleep in but could not. Woke up at 745am and watched the Thanksgiving Day Parade from bed. Eventually made it to the kitchen where it only took us about 45 minutes to clean up from the night before. I forgot to mention we had 4 pies + ice cream and whipped cream. YUM! Leftovers galore. Cleaned up and went to get a tree stand. My neighbor Jeff cut down two Christmas trees and asked M and I if we wanted one. We said SURE! So we have a lovely real Christmas tree sitting in the family room. I popped on some Christmas music and away we went! Decorated the tree, put lights up outside, decorated the house, etc. M is leaving on Dec 13 so I wanted to get in all the Christmas I could before he goes. Then we (as in Mac) whipped up some stir fry and headed over to Joh's for Thanksgiving # 3, Asian Thanksgiving. We all brought something Asian and had an AMAZING meal!!! SO much good food!

Went to work today and it was pretty dead. Not many people there, but frankly I had nothing better to do so I was fine with it. The day FLEW by and we were all told we could leave around 1. I kept working and finally my boss came by at 2:30 and was like GET OUT OF HERE! So I was like ok fine. I'll probably go in tomorrow for a few hours. I have been given some more responsibilities so I have to work on creating a retail flow which is a big deal, considering I'm little old me and things that go in retail are huge items. And I am supposed to pick these items and merchandise them into ensembles. Yikes! But very exciting. Other than that, I think I might go catch a flick with Jen, definitely gonna work out, and I think tonight I might to to the Sandpoint Christmas Tree Lighting downtown. I love my town! And my job. And my friends. Annie made us go around and say what we were thankful for last night but mainly we were kidding around but I really am thankful for everything right now. I haven't been this happy in a really long time and it is really nice. I can't wait for Christmas and then New Years and then snowboarding and then going to Ixtapa with the fam for a week and then going to see Mac for 9 days in Costa Rica, I just have so much to look forward to! Ok well here is a picture update:::

Our cute lil' tree

Christmas come early at 1502 Hemlock!

Asian Thanksgiving at Joh and Annie's

Bonnie and Joe

Joh and Carerra

Wild Weekend!

2007-11-23T12:22:00.000-08:00

Wow! Last weekend was a wild one! Friday night Lindsey and Jen and I went out and then on Saturday it was Joh's 30th birthday surprise party so that was tons of fun. I drank like I did back in college. And then on Sunday I had a hangover like I had back in college. Throwing up all day long. Luckily I had Mac to take care of me and get me ginger ale. We ventured down to CDA to see Into The Wild which I had been dying to see and it was so great. Seriously an amazing movie, I loved it. We ran into his kids (talk about a huge coincidence) and I looked horrible, as I had been throwing up all day. Regardless, it was still a really fun day :)
Here are some pics from the crazy weekend -->

Friday Night...

Joh's Surprise 30th birthday party on Saurday

2007-11-07T18:53:00.001-08:00

writing/font

2007-11-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

the damn font on this site is messing up so you cant see my hilarious sidenotes. I did post two picture updates from Halloween. Had a fab time. Work is slow today. I dont feel well. I went to bed at 830pm last night. And that was a struggle. I havent decide if I will go out tonight or go see a movie or what. I might just take it easy this weekend. I have a lot of stuff to take care of like get snow tires and renew my car insurance, woo hoo. More like shoot me in the face with Bonnie's airgun. She got more ammo yesterday and that thing HURTS.

Pumpkin Carving at Bonnie's

2007-11-01T16:23:00.001-07:00

Carving pumpkins with everyone at Bonnie's

Halloween! Part One

2007-11-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

Here is the first post, more pics to come! We went out last night and danced up a storm to a great 80s cover band. These are from Friday and Saturday, which were such a blast!!!

Sophie's green mohawk for Halloween

Halloween Carnival at work!

Jamie and Jackson were by far the cutest kids there

Halloween Party at Meg and Chris's Saturday night!

Ice luge!

The day after.... sports bars, movies at Bonnie's, lots of feeling hungover...

Jackson and his "brief case"

Glacier

2007-10-23T15:48:00.001-07:00

Went to Glacier for a quick overnight stay. It was a ton of fun. Weather was eh, but had a really fun time. Learned how to play cribbage, which I of course quickly became amazing at. Ate a great dinner and danced around to music. Toured around Glacier in the rain the next day. Took off Monday from work. It was a fab day. Much better than being at work. And that is saying a lot because I love work. But overall, a superb trip.

cribbage I rule

2 of the most unphotogenic people in the world

cabin fever

hello little leaf

Tonight is trivia night with my friends and I am very excited. I have a very fun week ahead of me: Wednesday is work and I have to shop with Bonnie for Halloween stuff for our booth. Wed night is sushi night at the neighbors. Thursday is my haircut and Thursday night is Bonnie's pumpkin carving. Friday is the Halloween booth at work and going out. Saturday is the big Halloween party and I can't wait!!!! I hope my costume still fits. No more candy for me!

Idaho Sunset

2007-10-23T15:40:00.000-07:00

This was the sunset outside of my house last night. It went from bright yellow to pink to purple to orange in like 20 minutes. So pretty. Sometimes I can't believe I get to live here.

where did the week go?

2007-10-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

I cant believe its the weekend already! The week FLEW by!

Picture Update!

2007-10-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

Here is what I have been up to! Working hard and hanging out with good friends :)

I am officially cutting my hair on November 1st, day after Halloween. The costume requires long hair so I will keep it until then. But then, GONE! I'm thinking about 7". Above the shoulders. Having long hair is fun but it takes forever to blow dry and is just annoying.

Tonight is trivia and I can't wait! One of my favorite days of the week. Been watchind Deadwood and it is ok. I dont LOVE it, but it is good I guess.

So here is my picture update, I have more pictures on the way...

Train ride in northern Washington, through the mountains and over bridges with all of the pretty fall leaves...

A picture that another vendor took of me and Bonnie to show their co-workers... I look dispropotionate...

One of our vendors from NYC visit... they are all so wild and wanted to stay out all night!!!

What I did at work today:

2007-09-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

I actually did do work for a while. But after THAT...

- talked on IM

- designed my own engagement ring (someone else, ahem, started this trend)

- re-arranged my fantasy football team

- updated my blog. twice.

- read A LOT of celebrity gossip sites (idontlikeyouinthatway.com is the current fave)

- signed up for match.com (I am now known as GrrBiscuits) But Bonnie and I accidently made me a guy. And we were never serious about this of course, jsut wanted to check out who in Sandpoint that we knew were on match.com

- learned about the Fall Bogs in north Idaho where they go "muddin"

- laughed so hard I cried

- looked at pics from last weekend, hehehehe

- worked out

I love my job.

Trip to Canadia!!

2007-09-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been so bad about updating! Went to Canada 2 weeks ago and it was such a blast!! Here are some pics from our trip!!!!!

random scenic view

taking the ferry to the Canadian border

out to dinner

Marina

Glacier

Annie and Joh on the ferry

About to get on the ferry

We had a really fun time and went out that night but Lindsey and I didnt last long. Joh and the girls ended up at a rave in the woods and got home at like 630am. Crazy! But yes, lots of fun. Work has been going well, my boss is still out of town in Europe/Hong Kong/India. Bonnie and I have been working out every single day for the past 2 weeks so that is good. Last Thursday I went to a killer cardio kickboxing class with Lindsey and Bonnie which was really fun. Been going to trivia and not doing so hot.

Last Friday went out with the girls and had a wild, fun night. Saturday went on a mini road trip with Jen and I think I stayed in and watched a movie or something. Sunday I watched football and Survivor Man with Jen. Had weekly dinner/movie night with the neighborhood gang and watched Willow. Went bowling on Monday and trivia on Tuesday. Watched tv and Planet Earth last nigiht. Tonight is the premeir of the Office and I could not be more excited.

Things are good, busy, but good. More later.

A day on the links!

2007-09-14T15:23:00.000-07:00

It was that time of year again! The annual CWC Golf Tourney, this year held in CDA. As I mentioned earlier, Bonnie and I agreed to help work the tourney. We were positioned a the 15th hole with a killer view and a keg! And the bar b que so we had everything. Started drinking fairly early. We were selling scores, so that teams could buy a hole in one for $100, or pick a card and try for a good score for $20. The money all went to the charity that the whole event was for, some education group or something. Anyways, we raised $3200 throughout the day. People definitely get more generous when they are drunk! We had an absolute blast! We knew most people, but got to meet some new vendors and so forth. Friday's golf game is serious and Saturdays is more about drinking and having fun. There were other games and stuff throughout the 18 holes with drinking games and such. And everyone wears funny costumes.

So after the day at the course, we had awards for longest drive, etc and then we all got on three boats that were tired together for the dinner cruise. It had AMAZING food, and we talked more with some of our favorite teams, including my favorite paper vendor from Conneticut.

After the boat cruise (where they raised another $500,000), we went to the hotel and then went to the bar! Met up with my boss and one of our vendors and had a fab time dancing and joking around. Stayed at the hotel and woke up feeling swell the next day. All around, a great great day!! Even with my sun burned lips and horrible tan lines!

The view from hole 15!

Fab Outfits, representing PD !

Bonnie wasnt drinking out of the keg, so she would just get like 3 or 4 drinks from the girl who drives the alcohol cart.

Action Shots!

Bonnie carrying a caddy

Killer tan lines!

Off to the boats!!

Paper vendors

are very good looking

Stormy and Bonnie air bumping chests

Bonnie and one of our vendors from NYC

Me and a vendor from NYC who loved me

Someone fell out of their chair

Lucky Leo

2007-09-05T19:24:00.001-07:00

just got talked in to going to Couer D'Alane for the weekend. And here I was all excited about relaxing, no more I tell you! I'm young, I should be able to be busy all the time, right? Especially when I go to bed at 9:15 or 9:30 every night. So today my boss asked Bonnie and I if we would help work the CWC golf tourney this weekend in CDA. I was hesitant but after Bonnie made our demands (our own golf cart, open bar, dinner boat cruise and a room at the CDA hotel), how could I refuse? Lisa said she would watch Sophs for me on Saturday night. Now I must come up with the cutest golf outfit ever...

Work has been busy busy. Flies by which is nice. Sophie has been SO good recently, it has me worried. I hope this isnt the calm before the storm.

Back from the city...

2007-09-04T19:59:00.001-07:00

Park City that is. Had a great time back "home". Got a ton of books and had a nice time reading and relaxing. My flight to SLC was turbulent which SUCKED because I get so damn plane sick. And I sat next to a hugely obese person which made it ten times worse. Anywho, made it to SLC finally where my dad and his dad picked me up. My mom's parents stay in Park City for about 3 months during the summer at their house and then my dad's dad comes and stays with my parents (in the downstairs level where I used to live for 5 months) for a month or two in the summer. So it was great to see that grandpa and my dad. Although my dad had on this weird contraption that he had to wear for 24 hours to monitor his blood pressure for his sleep apnea. My mom has been telling him he has this for years but it finally took all of his camping friends to tell him how creepy it sounds when he sleeps to finally go in and get tested. First he got measured to see how bad he was. People with severe sleep apnea stop breathing 20-30 times per minute. My dad was clocked at 47. BAD BAD BAD. So he is in a study for non-obese people with sleep apnea. He has to sleep with this machine next to him but he says it is not that bad. Anyways he still looked weird because it looked like he was carrying a purse, but it was really a blood pressure monitor. My mom was at the Friends of the Library Event where people can shop early at the book sale but she was home before I was. It was SO good to see Sophs who had been away from me fr 4 days. She had been to the groomers (first time in like 2 years) and she looked very pretty.

On Saturday I got up and went to the book sale with my mom. I browsed and got a bunch of books and then worked a shift to help out. I just had to tally up how many books people had and it was very easy. Went over to my mom's parents house for dinner. They are the grandparents I am extremely close to so I was very happy to get to see them while I was home. We all hung out and talked, mostly about football and how Michigan lost and seeing as my whole family are HUGE Michigan fans, it was very upsetting. My dad was happy that USC won as that is his team. My grandma saves me the Fashion Section from the New York Times which I think is very nice of her.

Sunday I slept in and was going to play golf with my dad but didnt feel like it. I forget what I did this day. I did go out to eat with everyone that night and it was delicious. It poured down rain while it was sunny out and there was an AMAZING rainbow. And then a double rainbow! Which are very rare. I took pictures so I will post them later.

Monday I just sat on the porch and read and packed up. We ate out a lot and I spent a lot of time with the fam which is nice. Flight home was delayed and had no a/c, but was fairly quick. Drive home was crappy as I can't see very well at night to drive. Home at like 1030pm. Straight to bed. Work today was busy busy busy so the day flew by. Was supposed to have an appt at 530pm tonight but it got bumped until tomorrow. So I unpacked and finished my book. Which means time to pick a new one - my favorite!!!

On a side note, my brother is moving in with his girlfriend which is very strange to me as he is usually several years behind me on the social calendar.

I have finished several books recently that were quite good. They are: A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Know It All, The History of Love and some old Stuart Woods book that I forget the name of. The History of Love was my favorite. Even though The Know It All is so freakin hilarious. If anyone has any new suggestions, I am of course always open to them.

I will post pictures later, but my camera USB plug thing is at work.

I will also post some pictures of the beautiful tulips that someone sent to me last week. What a lovely gesture. This person is gaining stock rapidly.

Hit me with your best shot.

2007-08-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

I am trying to write a blog entry but motherfucking travelocity is f-ing up my computer. SO ANNOYING. So I forgot to mention yesterday that I was on the radio. I am already famous in this town.

Last night I went to the CWC Wine Bar with Bonnie for a co-workers bridal shower (her second one, we already had one with champagne and dessserts, this one was with wine and appetizers). Then went and met up with Allison, Lindsey and Angela for dinner. I had my fave salad and a beer and I had to buy Bonnie a drink because I lost a bet. I really have to remember that Bonine is ALWAYS right. It is sort of sickening, but true.

Got a few Netflix today, Apocolypto, Notes on a Scandal and Pans Labrynth. What to watch first! Prob not Apoco because it is over 2 hours long and I go to bed way before that.

I am getting all packed for my trip tomorrow - I'm heading home to Park City for the long weekend to hit up the book sale, play a little golf with the pops, and basically just chill. It's a quick flight, just under 2 hours. I'm used to those god damn cross country trips from Seattle to the East Coast which were killer (but totally worth it ;). Not pleasant when you are mega hungover.

Then Jen moves out to Sandpoint in a couple of weeks! I am so excited! I move so much, it will be so nice to have such a good friend nearby again.

wa wa wee wa

2007-08-29T16:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a while! Man have I been busy. Work is so busy. Sarah was in town, Jen was in town, it was my birthday, my mom came in town, and now I am leaving on Friday to head to PC for the Labor Day Book Sale! Crazy busy, but tons of fun! Had a great time with my mom. Ate out at great restaurants and just took it easy. Went out on Saturday night (Bonnie's Martini Party) and then hit the town, 8 druuuuunk girls. Funny sight I'm sure. Been working long hours this week, but since Sophs is in PC already, I dont feel that guilty. And some of my favorite people are out of town so I don't mind staying late. Watched 13 Conversations About One Thing on Monday and 300 last night. Woooweee. Tonight have a work thing frmo 5-7 (which means I get to leave at 5, not 630 -woo hoo!) and then a dinner at 7. Everything is going well, friends are great, work is great. I'm in a Fantasy Football league with Kate and Mark and east coast people which is tons of fun, and my book club is also lots of fun although we are having a bitch of a time deciding on a new book. Some suggestions include: The Historian, Drinking Water with Elephants, The History of Love. I think I should be able to score all of these at the book sale, just in case. Well I better run and get ready to head off to my work function. I'm so excited to go to Park City; I havent been since Christmas (or the winter ski trip I guess). I'll prob take it easy, shop for a ton of books, play golf with my dad, etc. Adios amigos :)

Picture update below....

(my hair is SO long!)

Girls Night Out!!!

2007-08-29T16:31:00.001-07:00

Pics from my awesome birthday at the rodeo!!!!

2007-08-29T16:23:00.000-07:00

Picture Update!!!

2007-08-13T19:04:00.001-07:00

Woosh! Another weekend has passed by! Sarah was in town this weekend and it was SO fun! We did so much while she was here, including an awesome road trip yesterday. We went out to the bars, layed out at the beach, ate some fab meals, went out on a boat, slept on a couch, watched some Dirty Jobs, got in a lil wreck, saw a moose, ate some Huckleberry ice cream, drank some local beer, played with Sophers, met my friends, hit up a wine bar, and just hung out and caught up :)

My friend J-o-h planned this awesome road trip for us and we had the best time on Sunday. It was beyond beautiful and SO much fun!

****Sarah has many more pictures, including ones of us sticking out of hollow trees, pushing up trees from the ground, and many other exciting shots. I will post these as soon as I get them from her ****

Hannah, my intern from work, had to leave after being at CWC for the summer as an intern which was very sad. I miss her already!!! Here are some pics of us messing around the office on her last day, and later that night at her pseudo going away party...

how could you not want to be friends with this person????

So on Saturday, we are at the beach, me, Sarah and Lindsey, and this guy comes up and asks us if we want to go out with him and his friends on their boat. I'm like uhhh and Sarah and Lindsey are like yeah we'll go. So we go. It was pretty uneventful and I was getting nauseas so was happy to go back to shore after a bit. Then the one guy comes over later and plops down next do us as we are laying out. And asks us if we are mothers. We say no and ask if he is a father, to which he says yes. We ask how old, name, etc. She is 4, lives with his parents. He, on the other hand, lives with his girlfriend and her 11 month old baby. He just keeps talking, and we are not asking questions at this point. He met her on Valentines Day. At a bowling alley. Wait, no, he remembers now, he met her in jail. I am not kidding. We are sitting their silently as he keeps talking. It was very weird.

out on Friday night...

dinner Saturday night at The Landing...

the first stop on our road trip!

next up, "Bonners"!

downtown Bonners Ferry!

these pictures dont do this place justice

my bad shot of the moose. I was too scared so I ran away and got back in the car but Sarah got great pics up close.

right near the scene of our accident

we didn't even know we were going to cross state lines!

Kooteani Falls and Swinging Bridge in Montana

swinging bridge in the distance...

long way down!!!

view from the swinging bridge

Good luck Kayakers!

a cute kayaker who waved at us

and here he is about to die.

just kidding, he was a professional (or something)

Cedar Forest

Big tree, little me

Signs the Sarah liked........I live in a weird town...

Hellllllllooooooo

2007-08-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

Long time no see, I know. I have been BUSY. Just got back from a killer weekend in Seattle -- my big fashion show, Fashion First, that I have been working on for over a year was on Thursday. Then I proceeded to just drink drink drink the rest of the weekend away. It was SO FUN.

Today for work we went on a competitive shopping trip. Drove down to Spokane with work people and shopped around our competitors stores looking at what they are offering, prices, what they have the same as us, different, etc. Then we talk about it over a nice lunch with wine. Then we shop for ourselves and then go home. Got home before 4pm. And I got paid for that -- woo hoo!

Sarah is coming in town this weekend and I am SO excited!! Then the next weekend is my birthday and Jen is coming in town and then the next weekend my mom is coming in town! YAY! Busy ass month, but tons of fun. PS My birthday list has been updated via my amazon wish list, as listed per the column next to this posting <--

Tomorrow at work we are having a going away lunch for Hannah, my intern who is leaving to go back to school on Friday :( Then on Wednesday I am having lunch with Tasha who I think is going to interview my character. Hm. Interesting. Anyways, had a blast in Seattle this weekend, especially on Saturday when we drank from 2pm-2am with Joe and Joh from Sandpoint.

Jen and I were out running errands and responded to (what seemed to be) an innocent meeting for lunch, possibly a beer. Somehow this turned into a 10 hour drinking binge with us (rolling 8 people deep) going to 6 bars, getting kicked out of many of them. We were all blasted by about 4pm. And I didnt start out in that outfit. I was wearing a different shirt but changed into the tank top and did not realize that I looked so white-trashy until I saw the pictures much later and was then too drunk to care.

Ok I'm off to read 1000 Splendid Suns because I have to have it read by Friday for my book club - yay!

PS - one of my new favorite quotes:

I want you to tell me if these new shoes I got are too slutty..
Are they clear?
No.
Then they arent too slutty.

Pics from Friday night...

Saturday Day:

2-3 drinks in...
3-4 drinks in...Boy Band
MANY drinks in...

8 hours after started drinking, somehow I miraculously looked better than I did when I started?

ZZZzzzz

2007-07-16T21:19:00.000-07:00

Boy am I tired! What a weekend! So much fun! Jen came back up and all of us girls went out on Friday, (Jen and I walked home to my house which took about 45 mins because we didnt want to spend money no a cab). On Saturday we all (me, Jen, Lisa, Allison, Hannah) drove to Spokane and went shopping! I got so much stuff!!! Dresses, tops, summer scarf, a vest, etc. YAY! Went to see Transformers on Saturday night which was good because I love Shia but the girls in the movie drove me bonkers. Sunday we all (same crew) went tubing down the Pac River. Tons of fun! We jumped off of rocks, swam, layed out on our tubes, enjoyed the scenery, drank some beers and enjoyed many a "thats what she said" jokes. Home to rest and clean the house. Today was a BUSY day at work and I was going to stay late but I had been dying to go hear this speaker at the library - I even wrote about it a few weeks ago. So the speaker was a former sheriff who solved the nations longest ongoing murder mystery - after 54 years! Very interesting, there was a book written about him and a book he had written about 15 years ago - I bought both and will def let you know how they are! Anyways, the guy was much older, prob about my grandparents age, but an amazing speaker. It was me and about 30 people aged 65+. They were wonderfully nice and I just had a great time. We all went around and introduced ourselves and said why we were there. Very nice older people. So it was a great night. Home to rest before going to bed and I am ex-hausted. I missed the Victoria Beckham special and I am SO mad because I was dying to watch it! I tried taping it but I taped the wrong channel - boo!

In other news, I waved at my neighbor and he waved back and said hi and I said hi back so that is pretty much the most exciting news I have going on in my personal life. Between that and hanging out with 70 year olds, I am a wild child. Still love love love my job, even when its crazy busy. Will post pics as soon as I get them from Jen :) ADIOS.

Still sunny in Sandpoint....

2007-07-12T19:39:00.000-07:00

Wooo Wee it is hot here!!!! Today was another FAB day at work - I honestly cant believe I get paid to do this stuff!!!! Started off with an awesome meeting where the visual team went over the new trends/colors/styles for Summer 08 and how they have adapted it to fit our customer. They showed us tons of outfits they picked up around the world from their trips (which were to LA, NYC, Paris, Milan, Morroco, Istanbul, Shanghai, St Tropez, etc). There were two Roberto Cavalli pieces ("inspiration pieces") that were thousands and thousands of dollars each! And this is not the same trips as my boss takes, she takes the trips as buying trips to find things we wand to create or use as inspiration and these visual people just buy them to look at it. Very bizarre to me, but still so cool! So we all got these huge color books with all of the various colors and stuff from their presentation. It was really fun! After that, Bonnie and Hannah and I needed to run to the craft store to get black paint for our "cellar room". The product developers have this room that my boss sort of created that is going to be like a brainstorming/hanging out/think tank room and it is going to have leather couches, a wine cellar, etc. It was our job to paint fashion quotes on the wall as inspiration. SO, after the meeting I was gonna go grab lunch in the cafeteria but Bonnie was like, lets grab sushi in town so me and Hannah are like OK! We went to Oishii sushi and had a nice long lunch and just had a fun ol time! Then hit up the craft store and back to work. Put up the projector with my laptop (yes I have my own desktop and laptop comupter) and started outlining the quotes in pencil. In comes my boss with a bottle of wine and says You guys should have some wine while you are working. So basically the second half of my day consisted of a delicious sushi lunch, wine (which I found out was a $50 bottle!?), music and hanging out with my friends in a room. SO MUCH FUN! Like I said, I cant believe I get paid to do this.

But lets go back to yesterday -- another fun day, but in the afternoon we had this thing called Color Book and it was a huge workshop with people from all departments (fun bc I got to see Lisa and everyone) and we all get in a big room and have to make color boards of the new colors for Summer 08 to give to our vendors, VPs, etc. So it was 130 colors, 190 boards. It took FOREVER, as in like 5 hours, but was actually pretty fun as we were all laughing hysterically and listening to music the whole time.

Here are other things I do on a daily basis:
-lab dips, verifying color
-changing garments (sizing, color, fit, etc)
-coordinating with vendors on when we will get these new samples
-meet with catalog people and go over what items they want to use for each issue -have meetings that go over what is currently in the store and look at the to 5 and bottom 5 of each style (tops, bottoms, dresses, shoes, etc) and discuss why we think the top 5 are succeeding and the bottom 5 are failing

After work ran to WalMart with Lisa and Allison in a hunt for tubes to go tubing on Sunday, but we will have to go back on Saturday. This weekend is going to be FAB! Jen is coming back and we are all going out tomorrow night, shopping in Spokane on Saturday, movies on Sat night, tubing on Sunday! Woo hoo!!!

As you can see I am bananas happy here. I also met another cool girl yesterday, a 27 yr old gal from Phoenix who moved here about 6 weeks ago from there. She went to ASU and is temping at work. Her name is Kami and I think she is going to come out with us on Friday and go tubing on Sunday! She met a guy almost as soon as she moved here and he just happens to be the son of the President/CEO of Litehouse Foods, (ie the salad dressing company that is also based out of Sandpoint). So she has a little dream boyfriend, but def needs more girlfriends.

Ok well I'm off to go play with Sophers. I ran to the library this evening and picked up a book on hold -- I'll let you know how it goes! Hope all is well around the globe...

PS - I've gotten some interest in visits!!!! Im sorry I havent written back, I have like 45 emails in my inbox, I'm working on it -- but if you want to come visit, just shoot me a few dates and I can let ya know what will work best!!! Come visit!!!!!!!!! xoxo

Manic Monday!

2007-07-09T21:06:00.000-07:00

Another busy few days!!! So I dont remember Friday at work but I'm sure it was fun. Stayed in on Friday night because everyone was tired and then went to the beach with A, L and Intern Hannah on Saturday. We all went out on Saturday night and hit like 4 bars. They were fun and we all drank too much. We took a bunch of pics but I only took one -- Allison is going to send me the rest sometime this week so I'll post em when I get em but here is a cute one them:

Lisa and Allison

Took a cab home. Sunday I sat outside and read and then went to see License to Wed with the same gang. Got horrible reviews, but of course I thought it was SO cute :) Then back to work today for another fun, new day. Went to some meetings about current sales and which of our items are doing really well and which ones are not, so we can try and improve them. I also got to go through racks of clothing that the senior developers had bought on their buying trips to Saint Tropez, New York, Milan, etc. There was a lace skirt from St Tropez that cost over $2000! They dont have budgets on this trip so it is crazy! Hopefully in time I will be able to go on some of these trips too. Some of the other assistant developers go on the smaller trips like LA or Montreal or NYC. So another fun day. Stayed late and got home at like 6.

As we know Saturday was 7/7/07, also the day that Trevor got married. UGHS. Friday was a rough day for me. Very upsetting yet I had a hard time pinpointing why. Its not like I wanted to marry him. It was just upsetting. Saturday was better and by Sunday I was fine. I guess I'm glad its over. John was a groomsmen and in Arizona for the wedding (114*, smart wedding planning morons) and so he gave me some details. A bunch of our high school friends were there and it was sort of weird that I wasnt. But whatevs. Like I said, I am totally over it, but the whole idea of it sort of consumed my weekend.

So I am really happy in Idaho! I never thought I'd be this happy and content so quickly. I already have a few cool friends (always looking for more), I love love love my job and everyone I work with, Sophie looooves it here and constantly has a smile on her face, and the weather is pretty ideal. I'm heading back to Seattle in early August for Fashion First which is going to be amazing, but other than that no trips planned yet. I get a good amount of vacation here and I dont have to wait any amount of time before I use it. So I'm trying to wait and think of something good to use it for. I will obvs take some time during Christmas to go to Park City and see the fam and stuff. Anyways just rambling. I'll try to do better about updating. More later!

trains.

2007-07-05T22:07:00.000-07:00

Monday lost its title. Thursdays will now be known as Train Thursdays. There have been at least 5 since I have been home from work. And these are the loud ones.

I have been watching old Office episodes for free on Netflix Watch Now. That feature is awesome and now they have tons of titles and cool stuff to choose from. I am still trying to watch Bobby, however every time I try, I either get too tired or something else comes up.

I am tired and most likely going to bed. So long.

What a week!

2007-07-05T19:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the hiatus! I have just been SO freaking busy!!!! I'll do a quick re-cap for you:
Last Thursday after work I went to a brewery with Bonnie, Joe and Joh and it was lots of fun! Then we all went out to eat and get drinks at a few bars downtown.

On Friday Jen came in town and there was a blackout! It was a totally nice summer day and then all of a sudden, a HUGE storm rolled in and cut all electricity. It went off at my office but came back on, but when I got home it went out after being home for about 3 mins. I of course had no matches or lighters because the movers threw them all away. So it was DARK! Jen got here at like 830 and we ran to pick up Allison and Lisa to go in town and get some food and drinks. Well apparently in a small town, everyone loses power. All the bars, restaurants, gas stations, etc, were closed!!! Bars and restaurants had candles and you could hang out, but they couldnt serve any food! And we were starved. So after a fun time walking around town, we ended up taking Allison and Lisa home and then ran to Yokes (a grocery store) who was running on a back-up so we took flashlights and shopped for a few minutes. Got supplies for PB &J and headed home. Lit candles and hung out. Power came back on at about 1230, but by then we were ready for bed.

Saturday we went to the beach and soaked up the beautiful sun. Went out to a nice dinner and then met up with Allison and Lisa and hit the bars! Ran into a few people I knew (hah, small towns are funny) and had fun. Here is a pic from one of the bars:

Sunday we went back to the beach and met up with A&L and had a fun time. Jen headed back on Sunday.

Monday started a new, short work week! Work has been so fun. I loooove the people I work with and I love what I do! I take pics of new samples from vendors, I go in the system and makes changes, I make concept boards, I attend meetings, I certify clothing pieces and colors, I meet with the catalog people and talk about layouts, it is all just so fun!!!! Monday evening I stayed in and cleaned and rested.

Tuesday we got out early from work - woo hoo! I was out at about 230pm so I went home and sat in the sun and read with Sophs for a while. Jen came back to Sandpoint and met up with me, Bonnie, Kim, Joh, Allison and Lisa for trivia night at a local bar. We did not do as well as last week, but it was still tons of fun and we saw boatloads of handsome guys.

Wednesday was the 4th and it was a busy, fun fun day! Started with the town parade, hit up the beach, took a break and went home to let the dogs out, stopped by Bonnie's BBQ, back to the beach to catch fireworks -- all with A&L and Jen :) Super fun! Here are some pics from yesterday:

So then I was back at work this morning at 730am :) Had another great day and learned a ton more; I'm really starting to get the hang of things! Met up with Lisa for lunch, which I usually do. So I'm staying in tonight to rest and relax. Doing laundry and cleaning. More tomorrow!!!!

FAB-O

2007-06-27T20:20:00.001-07:00

Another fun day at work! Every day I learn more and more so it makes it more fun. Today I did stuff like...
-emailed vendors about getting photo samples to us ASAP (photo samples are physical pieces, not photos, but the actual garment) and we need 5 of each garment, and then I label them and cut big fabric swatches out of the back or the butt of one of each item and then take 3 to advertising for them to shoot (this is where my friend Lisa works) and then take 1 to channel merchants and 1 to visual merchandisers so we can all work together on puttint them with other pieces in the magazine and in the store so they all flow. Cutting the fabric and making swatches is fun. Today me and intern Hannah had a pair of black slacks and we made them into assless chaps because we cut out our samples from the butt cheeks. Hehehehe. Thats where you are supposed to cut from so they can still be photographed but you would never know they are missing fabric. This is so once they are photographed, they print the photograph and then compare it to the swatch of fabric to make sure it photographed exactly how it is supposed to look.
-went to a "fit meeting" where we take fit samples (we start with prototypes, get feedback from the higher ups on if they like the garment and then we send the feedback to the vendor, they make the changes and send us a fit sample) make edits on the garments, said the feedback back to the vendor or factory, they make changes and then send us photo samples as mentioned above. So we took about 15 garments to the fit techs and we put them on a manequin that fits the standard CWC sizes and then we see how it fits, how it lies, if it needs to be longer, if it is too low cut, etc. So we sit there and tell the fit techs what we think needs changes and they photograph the item and then scribble down our comments. Then we leave and they put the comments in the system so the vendor can go online and see what changes they need to make so they can edit the piece and send us the photo sample. Of course sometime this process takes 4 or 5 rounds to get the garment exactly how we want it.
-went to a meeting to show all of our possible options for the upcoming sesaons, so we show the VPs our prototypes and then they make any changes, liek color or lose the bow or whatever. Then we email this to the vendors, they make the changes and send us the fit sample.
-went to a training session on how to answer the phones for customer service, because times like Christmas and now are really busy. Our big sale catalog just went out and we never have people hold for more than 2 rings so when it is really busy, everyone in the company gets on the phones and takes orders. So I learned how to do that, easy peasy.
-had lunch with my friend Lisa who is really cool and invited her to the brewery tomorrow
-learned about the system which we use to track all of our items and make notes and stuff
-went to the color lab and did lab dips. Lets say we find a shirt we like and we want it in our trademark raspberry, well then we send the vendor our raspberry swatch and then send us 3 fabric swatches of the closest they can get to that color and we get to go to the color lab and pull up our swatch and look at them next to each other in the light box to see which is closest. Then we pick and approve one (or tell them they are all bad) and send it back to the vendor.

So today I was at my desk some answering emails and such, in training in a big conference room, walking around with racks of clothing, in the color lab, just all over! The whole office is just filled with rolling racks filled with clothing. It is SO fun! Some of the stuff is of course totally not my style, like prob 70% but then a good amount is really cute and I'd totally wear it. So I get a 40% discount and then they have sample sales (where the other 4 copies go after they are shot and such) and during the sample sales, there are thooousands of items and you walk in and take empty CWC shopping bags and you can fill as many as you want up for $5. One woman told me that she got 4 bags and she went online to see how much things were retailing for, and for one bag it was worth $884. And she got it for $5. CRAZY!

So as you can tell, I loooove my job! It is so fun! And I really like the people I work with. I can wear whatever I want, today I wore black shorts to my knees, a grey t-shirt and a white polo over the tee. And black heels. PS PS PS I have never been complimented so many times in my life on my outfit yesterday. SERIOUSLY, it was like 15 people (who I don tknow) were like wow, fab-o outfit! So that was awesome. It was so cute. So yeah some people wear dresses, some wear jeans and t-shirts, you can wear whatever and that is great.

Today after work I ran home and took Sophers out then ran to UPS to mail some Fashion First stuff for Joan and then came home to clean the whole house and I'm about to FINALLY relax! I am so busy! Having a job is hard work :) Well I need to go pick out a super cute outfit to wear to work and the brewery tomorrow. Suggestions are of course welcome and appreciated. AND the library called today and I got to go pick up a new book! Woo hoooooo!

so fun!

2007-06-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

so today I had another day of work and it was totally fun! I really love Bonnie who I work closely with and Hannah, our summer intern. Got a new email address, which I will email all of you from tomororw. I left work at like 530 and then scurried home to let sophs out, taker her for a walk, play fetch, and then leave to go meet up with Bonnie, her boyfriend Joe, and their friend Joh, for trivia night. There were supposed to be like 3 other people but it was just us. We had SO much fun and were winning (versus 15 teams) for 5 rounds but ended up losing in the end. Joh is smart and cute so he may be my new crush. Me and Joe and Joh made plans for Thursday to go to the local Laughing Dog Brewery to go sample their beer after work. Yay! New friends! I'm happy to have a friend or two after living here for a week with no one. Text my friend Lisa a few times today and we chatted this evening about def hanging out sometime this week or weekend; she just moved here on Friday so she is still unpacking and stuff. So yeah, my job is great and I'm making friends - yay! I took Sophs for another walk when I got home and my cute neighbor (i know, i know) and his friend were getting home as I was finishing up the walk. But whatevs. More tomorrow!!!!

My first day!!!!!!

2007-06-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

So today was my first day at work! It was great! From 830-12 I had orientation where I met about 8 other people -- an older woman from Virginia, a young married guy from Jacksonville, FL, a young guy from Oregon, and 5 young girls from Pittsburgh, Chicago, Spokane, Iowa and me. I talked a lot with this one girl Lisa from Pittsburgh, she is small, blonde, funny and cool. She just moved here like 3 days ago and knows no one so we have something in common :) Talked to the other girls some, but they were not that outgoing and one was sort of dumb. But I saw some of them later in the day and waved hi. So Lisa works in the merchandising department and I work in product development. I went and met up with Bonnie, who is under Stormy, and Lisa who is in the same position as Stormy, all in PD. Stormy (who I interviewed with and really liked a lot) is in New York for the week on business so I was with Bonnie all day who is really cool. She's 27, about 5'10", looks like a super model, and is totally nice. She is from New Jersey and moved out here with her boyfriend 2 years ago. He works for CWC as a business analyst of something. So she is great and introduced me to tons of people and we had lunch together and chatted and such. There is a PD intern for the summer, Hannah, who is 21 and from Iowa State, and she is really cute too. We had a fun time today chatting and learning stuff. Bonnie invited me out tomorrow night to go to trivia night at a local bar so I could meet a bunch of her friends. And Lisa and I are hopefully gonna hang out one night check out the town. So work-wise, I got a basic run-down of all of my duties, which are a lot, and then met a bunch of people. I went to two meetings with Bonnie and listened and learned a bunch of things. They are in the middle of Spring 3, which is for Spring 2008. All day people were bringing items up to Bonnie and she would either approve them or write down edits on the tag for them to be re-made. It is very fun! I also learned in the orientation that I have a lot more benefits than I thought and they are really good so yay for that! Ok I need to go fill out a ton of paperwork and crap. More later!!!
PS my dress code is where whatever I want! I could wear jeans every day if I wanted! Or I can also wear whatever I want as far as dressy. Today I wore slacks and a cute blouse I bought from Gretchen's online boutique. Tomorrow I'm gonna wear my new trapeze dress that I got the last night I was in Seattle with a white long sleeve tee undernearth and my yellow heals. Hair in a pony tail and a poof up front. SO CUTE.

My Office
(except there is a sky bridge that connects this top pic to the pick below it)

I work in this building
The inside

The top pic is the admin building with the huge cafeteria and the other building holds PD, Advertising, Inventory Planning, Merchandising, etc, and another smaller cafe.

AND I got a big basket of stuff today on my desk with a cute card that said Welcome Kirsten! it was very cute, had a book on Idaho, a moose stuffed animal, a nalgene that says CWC, a coffee mug thing, candy, a candle, and a ton more stuff! So nice :)

Watch me!

2007-06-24T21:49:00.001-07:00

HERE is a link that shows a few pics of Sandpoint, just click on the main pictures and the slideshow will begin. This is where I live :)

Watch it already, it takes less than a minute!

Twas the night before...

2007-06-24T21:40:00.001-07:00

Eeeks! I've only got a few more hours of freedom! I'm nervous! But I'm also excited! Just anxious I guess. Today I ran errands and had to run to Staples not once, not twice, but THREE times in one day. I officially know the entire staff. Some of the small-town stuff has started to happen but so far, I highly enjoy it. Like the library. And then at Staples, I needed to make 35 copies of an 8 page document (for Fashion First). The woman asked my first name so I spelled it and then asked her if she needed my last name and she cheerfully replied, "Nope, you're our only Kirsten!". I am used to having to wait for 12 hours at Kinko's for a 2 minute binding job so I was surprised when she said she could have this done for me in a matter of minutes. I chose to run other errands and return later. The nice young gal brought me my copies which she had not only categorized, but divided by yellow pages so it made it easier to seperate. I am just not used to this geniuine niceness! It is a welcome change.

Have been listening a lot to the new Brad Paisley cd which is great. I particularly love "Online". Made some pancakes for dinner and ironed about 100 items. Now I have to pick out what to wear tomorrow. Vat to vear, vat to vear! No new pics as of yet, but maybe I'll try to grab one of the CWC complex tomorrow. As I was driving to Staples today, which is on the way to CWC, I realized I probably have the most beautiful drive to work of anyone I know :) And it only happens to be 10 minutes away so that doesnt hurt either. Well I will be sure to write tons tomorrow about my first day of my new life! Adios amigos!

New site!

2007-06-23T11:33:00.001-07:00

I very well cant keep posting from kirsten818seattle.blogspot.com when I dont even live there anymore! So here is my new home, at http://kirsten818sandpoint.blogspot.com. Lets hope I stay here longer than a year.

Today I slept in and then went and read on the back porch for like 3 hours. I've been reading this old Stuart Woods book for like a week now and most of his books I fly through in a day or two, but this one has taken me a while. His old stuff is really good, new stuff is eh. I went by the library yesterday and got a library card. I really like their library! Its nice and new and big. The aduly and teen summer reading program is based off the theme, "Get a Clue", which sounds lame but is actually so cool. Not only do they have a reading list, but they also have events. Like Thursday (I'm SO mad I missed it!) they had a Detective come and talk about real life crime scene investigations. Today they had "get a clue about your ancestors" where there is woman who helps you trace your past and your roots. On July 12th there is a movie night with a mystery movie (free popcorn and soda!) and then (my fave!) is on July 16th, where Tony Bamonte, the subject of Breaking Blue by Timothy Egan, will share his story of solving the nation's oldest continuting murder investigation. OMG is that like up my alley or what?!?! It combines all of my favorite things: veronica mars, prisons, etc. So I am so excited for that. Yay for having a great library in a small town! The ones in Seattle, although there were many, were horrible and you could NEVER get a book you wanted. You could never even browse because the shelves were empty and every book had a list of 50-300 people wait. As I was getting my library card I asked about 100 questions and found that on the first Saturday of every month they have a book sale - yay!

Been scopin out the 'hood. Yesterday some nice older gentleman came home from work, changed from his work clothes, put on some khaki shorts and a red t-shirt, loaded his fishing gear into his truck and set out. So cool. I've met a few people by walking around and walking Sophs, but no one my age yet. I have no clue where all the younger people live. And I know there are some here! I'm trying to enjoy my last few days of freedom before I go back to working for the man. I hope it is really fun and I love it!

Well I better get back to writing my thank you notes and watching some horrible Tom Selleck made for tv movie. Then I get to pick a new book to read which is always exciting! More later...