Thoughts

Information Overload

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2014-07-31 03.48.39

Do we have a lot to talk about?! 🙂

 

No, this is not my favorite list for this Friday but it is things that make me happy. (BTW–the above picture is not an indication of anything new. Still looking for a job that will take me back to Ireland)

 

  1. THE BLOG IS UP AND RUNNING — (Hallelujah is what we should all be saying on this one). For those of you that need a little background . . . this blog started just over a year ago as a weekly email to friends. I had every intention of turning the emails into a blog but week after week something got in my way. As luck would have it; I left my full-time job in February (still job hunting) and found that I had a little more free time than before to FINALLY get this thing going. I am fully aware that I have much to learn in this process but I am so excited to start sharing with everyone all the things that make me happy.

 

  1. STEPHANIE (my sister) IS ENGAGED — that is right. She got engaged last weekend and is planning on getting married in September. I am very excited for her and excited that I get to help her create something beautiful. It is a good thing I got this blog up and running because I will have no time over the next two months. Believe me; I will share with you my favorite things that I enjoy during this time. 🙂

Vern the great 070

 

  1. FLICKR HAS BEEN UPDATED — you can now view all of my pictures from a year ago to just this last Monday.

 

  1. THE LEATHER COUCH IS FINALLY CLEAN — a lot of you are going to be scratching your heads on this one. Quick back story: my youngest niece was sick one night and happened to puke all over the leather couch. I originally thought no big deal until we realized that the horrific smell was here to stay. I literally tried everything and we even tried to have it professionally cleaned and the smell stayed. Since we were finally to the point of trashing the couch; I decided to do an exhaustive search on the internet for one last big idea . . . I found it. All I can say is THANK YOU to the post by mellielou on 7/25/08. Following what you did finally got the smell out of the couch and the whole family is a lot happier now.

 

Moving on from the above news-feed . . . on to my favorite things this week. We have finally made it to the fourth week of the month which means we are doing music. In light of all my happy news, I thought that I would give you 5 of my favorite “happy” songs. I challenge all of you to not tap your feet, move your shoulders, crack a smile or start singing.

Please share with us what songs make you happy!

  1. Kenny Loggins – Footloose

  2.  James Brown – I Got You (Feel Good)

  3. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – I Second that Emotion

  4. George Harrison – I Got My Mind Set on You

  5. The Fratellis – Chelsea Dagger

 

Just Another Week

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It has been a long and exhausting week. Nothing new by way of a job so I hopefully will be doing some temp work starting next week. Got to pay the bills right? I have to admit that it will be nice when I can finally tell all of you that I have a job again. In the meantime, here are some of my favorite things since last week.
1. We celebrated my sister-in-laws birthday this last Sunday so that of course meant we had to have a  bonfire in the backyard.
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2. I made Black & White Cookies for everyone. IMG_4795

3. We have another round of adorable pictures of Zeke gumming his first rib bone.

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4. I have decided that living by the ocean would be a beneficial thing for me. It will keep my stress down. IMG_4567
5. I would still really love to go back to Ireland and live for a short time. If not there, then I would like to go back to the Northwest. I just need some company to want me. *:) happy IMG_4435
If you have any questions about the pictures attach, let me know. Enjoy your weekend and we’ll catch up next week.

My Friends Abroad

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November & December 513
My post today has everything to do with my friends and my family. Do you know how awesome you all are and everyone else that I know in my life? If you don’t, let me tell you . . .
YOU ARE FABULOUSLY AWESOME!!!!!
So now that you have had your cheer-leading session of the day I will tell you what I think is important. You might want to right this down because it could be earth-shattering.
What is important is each and every one of you and how important you are to me in my life. So I have decided to showcase 5 of my friends that live in different countries and where I am going to take all of my US friends to visit (of course when I am rich and famous).
1. Rebecca T was my first college roommate and she is from Japan. I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to visit Japan. It is beautiful!
2. Victoria B.K. was a mission companion of mine and probably the only person on the planet that I would dress up as a Spice Girl for. She is from Darlington, UK
3. Marcelo L. is also from my mission and one of my best guy friends. He is from Belo Horizonte, Brazil
4. Nicklas L. is a new friend of mine from Goteborg, Sweden who is an amazing photographer and has the cutest little family ever!
5. Francoise K. actually lives in my neighborhood but she is helping me right now find a job in Europe since she herself is from France.

Slow Driving

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2014-08-07 14.01.53
Don’t think I am weird but when it is lightly drizzling rain outside I somehow feel the need to take a slow drive somewhere. There is something about the quietness that the rain brings to me that calms me and a drive by myself gives me the opportunity to just think.
With that being said, it is also summer and I don’t know about any of you but my whole life has been filled with summer road trips. I have some great memories that come from car trips and it never involved speaking on the phone or watching a movie to pass the time. I always loved the conversations I had with the people in the car and I loved the scenery as it passed by. I would stare out the window and imagine what the lives were like of the people that I passed by.
So today, I decided to share some of my favorite drives. As I thought about this, I realized that I have WAY more than 5 to share. I am not necessarily sharing my top 5 but I am sharing the first 5 that came to mind.
What is your favorite drive? Please share with everyone! Who knows, we might all end up on it some day. 🙂
1.This first drive is between my current house and Portland, OR. I love this drive for two reasons: first, it reminds me of serving a mission for my church. This was the area tha t served in and as I drive through it, I think about all of the people that I met. I think about the lives I was able to help change and I think about my own changed life. The second reason is watching the changing landscape. I love the desert and grew up in it. It can be so beautiful watching the dusty landscape share some flowers every now and then. I love watching that change as I get closer to the coast and see water renew the ground and bring a different kind of life to it with the ferns and evergreens that dot the landscape. I sit and wonder about how beautiful our earth is and what a blessing it is to share in it.
2. I spent my formative years always near a portion of this drive and many times we found ourselves vacationing along it as well. I love PCH or for those of you who don’t know, Pacific Coast Highway. This drive is where I really developed my love of being close to the ocean.
3. I spent my whole life making this drive two different ways then was shown a new one once my brother and sister-in-law were married and it now ranks high on my list. I love the drive from Idaho Falls, ID to Jackson Hole, WY via Victor, ID. I get the opportunity to pass through a couple of valleys, up and down a couple of mountains and follow the Snake River for a time. It is beautiful and full of wildlife. Just be very careful not to hit a moose when travelling around 10pm on Christmas Eve. 🙂
4. This drive was more of a meandering through upstate New York and it was well worth the meander. I highly suggest that everyone spend time in upstate NY.
5. My last drive is through the backside of highway 5 in Oregon through the Willamette Valley. It goes through a lot of vineyards but mostly, it is just quiet and it feels slightly off the grid.