Miss America 2007

I just got back from Miss America 2007 in Las Vegas!!! It was the most unbelievable experience, and I am so glad that I got to go support Kristen. Washington State has never won Miss America, and for the first time in 16 years we got in the Top 10-great job Kristen!!! She did such a phenomenal job and presented herself with as much beauty, grace and charisma imaginable. Mario Lopez was the host...he was very charming and cute-flashback to the old days of Slater on Saved by the Bell. It was fun to get dressed up and to see all the other dresses. We spent about 2 1/2 days in Vegas total and saw the Bellagio lighted water show (fountains from Oceans Eleven-yeah...i was there-it was awesome!) [oh and i also remembered that one of my HUGEST hollywood crushes George Clooney had walked where i walked...yippee]-we also wandered in most of the casinos, in awe of grandeur and splendor.
i have about a million stories i could tell but suffice to say, we had the time of our lives. note: Washington state had the second largest contingency there supporting their girl-120 people-SO AWESOME. we also had the loudest cheer in the auditorium...and i'm not kidding...people would turn around and stare at us everytime we started screaming-mission accomplished.
here's a few pics from the weekend.

First Week on the Job

ok, sorry this took so long to write but i had a crazy week at work getting used to everything and i was also trying to get ready for vegas...that story comes later.

for now....I LOVE MY JOB. i have already been out to a few design meetings with another designer and some sales people...and while i'm sitting there listening to them discuss the layout of a space i'm thinking to myself....i can't believe i'm actually doing real commercial interior design!!! this is so cool....oh and then i check back into the meeting and hope that i didn't miss much while i was daydreaming about my life.

the people i work with are VERY nice and helpful...they have taken the time on numerous occasions already to explain things to me so i would feel caught up and part of the company.

this week i get to start on some actually projects...and i still have LOTS of tutorials to finish...Herman Miller furniture is very complicated-haha.

oh and one more thing....they are sending me on a business trip to san francisco to get some traning for three days in about a week and a half-who does that?! oh wait...i guess i do now that i'm grown up-hehe.

Pioneer Square

I went on an adventure today in Pioneer Square. It's one of the oldest parts of the city that i'd heard much about but never really explored. (note: it must be done during daylight because it's pretty scary at night). Amid honks and annoyed pedestrians, I drove into this sector totally awed by the architectural delight awaiting me! the buildings have such character and the eclectic stores embody the general quarkiness of the area. Elliot Bay Book Company, formerly the Globe Hotel, proceeded to suck me into it's iotas of books lining the shelves and covering the tabletops of the most peculiar bookstore interior i have ever seen. it's unbelievably narrow staircases and odd lofts presented quite the exploring adventure for my curious mind. delighted at the unbelievable amount of literary text and awed by the colorful covers, i meandered with a vanilla americano in hand and an old fashioned doughnut in my stomach, content to peruse until my parking meter ran out. next, i strolled down the street and took pictures like a tourist-that's right i've lived here for almost 5 years, and i still madly snap pictures during every excursion into this beloved city of mine. i guess you could say i'm obsessed-hehe.

stumbled onto the editing page that let's me change the COLORS....so fun and much more me...hope you like it.

oh and by-the-way it's absolutely freezing in seattle...we're setting records and are due in for MORE SNOW later this week...it's unreal. i woke up to 2 fresh inches this morning...and everyday i promise myself i'm going to get an ice scraper-nope-still haven't gotten it and i will need it tomorrow morning-bummer.

thoughts...

today was such a 'colorado' day...super cold, dry, and sunshiney bright. the air was crisp and it was beautiful. everything was frosted over this morning and the light had a really cool blue quality to it...aboslutely gorgeous. it's amazing how weather like that brings quiet with it...i don't necessarily know why a frosty morning is much different than any other cold morning but it seems so much more reverent. we are slotted for two more days of sun and then snow AGAIN on wednesday! i cannot believe this winter. it's aboslutely crazy...it's been fabulous though...i feel very at home-like i'm in colorado. :0)

i got my new WA liscense in the mail. weird that i'm that much more officially a washingtonian now-ah-sometimes it weirds me out how much i'm growing up. i can't believe that january is 1/2 over already too...time is flying. it makes me desperate to live each day saturated in moments with Christ and perceptive to the little details. they only come by once sometimes...and at the rate things are going...i don't want to blink and miss the next 10 years of my life. unbelievable.

Got the Job

Praise the Lord!! I got the job...i'm the newest designer at - an official Herman Miller dealer.
i get full health benefits and a 401K :0) can't wait to be using my degree and working as an official designer!!
it's commercial design of office spaces-SO EXCITED!

Still Waiting...

What is it that we all hate about waiting? is it that we feel less and less in control the longer we wait? is it that we must attempt to occupy both our time and mind with things other than what we're waiting for?
both of those are true for me, to some degree...
don't get me wrong-this extra time, for which i've been so thankful, has allowed me to get TONS of little life errands done that i never have time otherwise to do.
but there's nothin' like catching up with old friends at various events and having to tell them that i'm 'gainfully unemployed'...talk about character building-haha.
i should hopefully have a great job offer by thursday...until then...i'm still waiting.

Skiing @ Stevens Pass

Today i went skiing for the first time in 10 years!!! Laura and I went up and had a blast...there was a foot of fresh snow so the slopes were in great shape and i only fell twice :0) I have decided that i like it again...i used to get so cold as a kid and just lost interest but i'm so glad to have been reintroduced to it. there will hopefully be a handful of trips to come this winter. here's a few pics...p.s. the one of us together-i must have been talking or something, i look retarded but laura looks fabulous and so does the view! :0)

New Years Resolutions

2007 is finally upon us and I have decided to make 7 resolutions. I have tried to think carefully about these in hopes that I might actually be able to keep them for the entire year, but as my roommate Laura said, "a revisit in July" might be necessary.
1. To read more books-especially non-fiction.
2. To be more generous towards others, both in time and thought.
3. To be more faithful in writing my grandmother.
4. To catch up on my photo projects (i can think of 3 1/2 projects already!).
5. To simplify my life.
6. To see someplace new (hopefully either Austin, TX where my brother lives, or Maine.
7. To walk in an Intimacy with the Almighty-one that entirely shapes who i am.

Cheers and Happy New Year to you all!!!