Thursday Thoughts

Let's face it, I'm not consistent with this blogging stuff. I don't always post every week, and I'm not very creative with coming up with blog post ideas unless it has to do with what is going on in my life. I tend to like it this way and I normally like organization, however the idea of just writing my thoughts out is appealing. One day a week to just dump them out. 

Thursday Thoughts:

•  Let's get serious, the Seahawks are going to the SUPERBOWL. Obviously this needs to be the first thing addressed in this post. I've never been much into football, but at the beginning of this season I was really pulled in and it panned out to be a perfect season to become hooked! Not only do the Hawks have mad skills on the field, they also have some really intelligent, and caring players on the roster. When involving men on big time sports teams, this is harder and harder to find these days. Usually they're too busy complaining about not being paid enough. I'm excited that they're all being rewarded for all their good and going to the SB! Seattle is absolutely NUTS right now with the anticipation of Sunday's game. You can't walk one block without being infiltrated with something Hawks related. Hell, Groupon goods is full of Hawks merch too!

• Speaking of this weekend, it will be a busy one. Not only will Sunday be spent prepping and watching the Superbowl, but one of my newest friends is having a going away party. She recently accepted a position at a non profit in SoCal.  I'm really sad she's leaving because we have had such a fun time since becoming friends and it is unfortunate that her new job happened so quickly. I am, however, very excited for her and I hope to visit her when she gets settled in. Add a photography class and food prep for Sunday's game and Saturday's festivities and I've got not a lot of down time. If I was smart, I would take Monday off.

•  I booked my ticket for my vacation coming up in a couple months. I'm going to MEXICO!! I am beyond excited and ready for a real vacation. A full week of laying by the pool, relaxing and sipping on Coronas. I haven't had more than a long weekend in years so this will be amazing.

•  I've been feeling extremely un-motivated about food this week. I haven't gone grocery shopping or packed a lunch all week. As for dinner, I've been scraping up whatever I still have in my pantry or fridge. Last night I had Apples, peanut butter, and yogurt for dinner. What is that?! The good news is: I've been pretty on top of my workout game this week. Although it never fails: I try to work out M-F so I don't have to work out on the weekends and I always end up missing one day during the week whether it has to do with work or sleeping through my alarm. Annoying.

• Finally, is anyone else really annoyed with Juan Pablo and the tv show Girls? UGH. I could probably write a whole other post about these two things.

Happy Thursday, Y'all. Hang tough, we're almost there!

Bellevue Botanical Gardens

This last Sunday was my second and last field trip for the photography class I have been attending. We ventured out to Bellevue Botanical Gardens. These gardens can be found on what we call the "Eastside" of the city. The property covers thirty six acres in the city of Bellevue. A city that is known for being upscale and expensive (and full of snooty people if you ask me! :-), these gardens offer free admission to anyone who wants to see all that it has to offer: A rock, Dahlia, and Yao Japanese garden-to name a few. I had never been to this place before but I've heard good things. One being that during the holiday season they do a hell of a job with lights. It's called Garden d'Lights and it's made entirely possible by volunteers who come out to create a magical scene. It's on my To-do list for next year's Christmas events.

Here's a few shots from the afternoon:

We were so fortunate to have amazing weather this weekend in the PNW. Blue skies and sun both Saturday and Sunday. It was still a bit chilly, but I really loved wandering around with only my thoughts and my camera for a couple hours. Photography has become such a relaxing activity for me, and I hope that I continue to take the time to go out and explore with my camera even after my class concludes. I would also love to see this garden during the spring time when everything is in bloom, and for that reason I will be returning.

Photography Class Week One: University of Washington

In my previous post I mentioned that I enrolled in a photography class to learn more about my DSLR that I purchased a couple months ago. We had our first class this weekend and also our first field trip. The first field trip was a visit to The University of Washington campus. Believe it or not, I haven't spent a whole lot of time on this campus so I was looking forward to having completely new scenery to shoot. We we arrived it was overcast and cold. Thankfully it didn't rain, but I found myself becoming more and more cold as the session continued. It was so distracting that it was affecting my desire to want to take photos. Near the end of the session we made our way to a building that features a reading room. I felt myself immediately light up when I set foot in the lobby. It could have been the warmth that did it, but it was probably the look of the inside (Ok, it was most likely the heat) that really sparked the excitement. This was an amazing place. Our instructor told us earlier in the day that we would visit a place that has a "Harry Potter-Esq to it" and he was right. Sweeping stone stairways, tall ceilings, bookshelves that stretched the length of the room and were as high as the bottom of the stain glassed windows. Not to mention it was completely silent, which added to the awe of it all. As I took in the sight of the room all I could hear were my foot steps and the sound of my camera snapping a shot as I pushed the shutter release button. It was gorgeous.

Photog

When I was in middle school I took up a big interest in photography. My father let me play around with (at the time, a fancy camera) his camera. I enrolled in multiple black and white photography classes. In these classes we were given assignments on what photos we should shoot. Every week we would discuss our experiences with our classmates and teacher and then we would go into the dark room, and develop what we had created in the last week. It was wonderful. In this small dark room I took my film from my camera and turned it into real prints. Start to finish. It was such an amazing feeling to have at the age of 13. To see that I could produce such things. One of my prints was even selected to be featured in a local gallery. I was completely honored.

Fast forward about ten-ish years and I was really starting to miss my photography hobby. I know, ten years-seems a little long for me to finally miss it, but I'm done with the distractions of school and have more free time in my evenings. Needless to say, I ran out and bought a DSLR almost the minute I realized I missed photography. My main thought was "I can not only get back into photography, but share my photos on my blog!". I think my favorite part of people's blogs are their pictures. Some blogs I read are solely for the amazing photographs they include. I really appreciate a good photo.

I recently enrolled in a photography class to update my knowledge on the hobby but to also bring me up to speed in the digital world since in the past my fancy camera use was limited to film. I hope to use my blog as an outlet for my photos and be able to watch my skills and techniques improve as the months go by.


*Photos featured above were taken at Discovery Park in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle.

Looking Back Over 2013

When I think back over the last year, I can't help but to break it up into two parts. It started off so promising
and exciting, and then as the second half of the year began, it took a turn that I never expected to occur. I went from being so in love and excited for my future with KC to completely crushed and devastated about what I learned had been occuring while he was in Afghanistan and what continued when he returned. However beat up and hurt by all this cheating that occured, I refuse to allow it to define 2013 for me. When something major and negative occurs in ones life you can choose to let it consume you or you can let it be a learning lesson. I'm letting it be a learning lesson. It's been about four and a half months since his ex girlfriend answered his phone one Saturday night, revealing it all, and I've slowly been picking up the pieces of my heart since then. The sting of reality has subsided significantly, but I think it will always be there. The sting you feel because you've just gone from cloud nine to the cold hard floor of reality in about 2.5 seconds. I'll never know why he did this or why he would choose to hurt someone who truly loved him, but I've learned to allow those thoughts to go through my head without making me as upset. I still look forward to, and hopeful for the day where he doesn't cross my mind multiple times in a twenty four hour span.A friend once told me that one day, out of the blue, I will get that Top of the World Feeling. Suddenly everything will be good again and that's when I know I will be fully moved on. I've yet to have that feeling but I know that with every day that passes, I am closer.Even though relationship wise I had some pretty rough things happen, I also did some really great things this year. I figure the best and most fun way to remember those are through pictures.

January:

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My friend and I took a trip to S. California to escape the cold! We fulfilled our life goal and saw the Beverly Hills 90210 Beach House, and dined at Sur (Lisa Vanderpump's restaurant). It was a great few days spent in the warmth

February: 


This month I headed back to California, but to the North part. I grabbed a couple of girlfriends and flew to San Francisco. We also went a bit north for a day to visit my brother up in wine country. We had a blast and drank some of the best red wine ever!
 
March:



This month I began the three week Elimination Diet. This made me a pretty boring person for a month because I couldn't eat or drink outside of my house because my diet was so restricted. I loved doing this diet because I felt so healthy during it, but I desperately missed caffeine, red wine, and chocolate. It really allowed me to search out the things I could eat such as raw chocolate I found at Whole Foods.

 April:



In April I traveled to Norway for work. This was my very first international trip ever. I had a blast! Although the price of food and booze was beyond ridiculous it was a great first place to visit because almost everyone spoke English. Some of the sights we took in included the most popular tourist destination: Vigelands Parken, and Holmenkollen Ski Jump.

May:



This was an interesting month. KC returned in May and that began the beginning of the end of our relationship. He struggled with our relationship that minute he returned and looking back now, it all makes sense. I still managed to have fun, and attempted to mask my hurt and sadness by visiting my hometown, going dirt bike riding with my dad, and doing a girls night out at one of the local wineries. 

June:



Matilda and I moved into a brand new apartment this month. I was so excited to be in my first place all by myself since I have become a real adult. I spent most of this month selecting decorations and furniture to move into the new space.

July:



My birthday was this month and was celebrated with a rooftop party with my friends. It was one of the best birthdays I have had in a few years because I spent it with some of my favorite people. For the Fourth of July I was invited on to a friend's yacht on Lake Union. I hope I can do this every year because being on a boat should be the only way to spend Independence Day!

August:

August was a tough time. It was early in this month that all was discovered with KC. I didn't do a whole lot this month because I simply didn't want to. I did do some boating for a friends birthday, but it was a pretty non social month for me.

September:


One of my good friends from middle school asked me to be one of her bridesmaids this month. She came down to look at wedding dresses and to go to a wedding expo. We loved Luly Yang the most out of all the bridal boutiques we visited that day. As far as the wedding expo goes: I wanted to gouge my eyes out. Those things are not my cup of tea.

October:



I was able to meet one of my longtime favorite authors, Nicholas Sparks, and hear him speak about his writing and life. I held a girls slumber party at my mom's house with a group of friends that I went to high school with. We went to a haunted corn maze, watched scary movies, and caught up with each others' lives.

November:



I escaped to Oregon for a long weekend to relax, regroup and rejuvenate myself. I also used this trip to play around with my new DSLR that I had purchased. I hadn't had a break from work in a while and this was much needed. November also means the month of Thanks. I celebrated Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving. The latter of the two was a first for me. My friends did a beautiful job at creating a special experience for all of us. I hope to be part of their celebration for many years to come!

December:



I don't know about you, but Christmas sure came fast this year! I think it was the fact that Thanksgiving was so late. Either way, it was a good one. My brother was home and I got to spend plenty of time with family members. 

I truly am looking forward to 2013 coming to a close. It was a year like no other, and frankly despite a lot of fun things I was able to do, I don't ever want to re-live 2013 again. I'll take the fun adventures I had again but that's about it. I learned a lot this past year and I look forward to putting it to good use in 2014. I always like to go into each new year with a positive mindset, and this coming year is no exception. I'm ready and feeling good: Bring it on 2014!