halloween fun

we had a TON of people dress up at the office today-here's a few pictures!
i mean seriously--how much cuter can you get?!
krista was 'colette' from saturday night live
i'm thinking about dying my hair brown...
kate the aviator and elton the indian chief
debbie and jay
sara
susanne
kristin
sonja (she provided half the costumes we were wearing!)
krista and delane as raggedy ann
greg
sandy
my hybrid-little red riding hood meets jack sparrow

gray week...

it's been a gray week up here in the northwest-i found out i have a very rare tumor in my neck that needs to be removed (it's benign, not cancerous-praise God!); i missed a call from my brother at bootcamp on saturday-as soon as i got the message i started bawling and was grumpy the rest of the day; and to top it all off, my car is dying-it's overheating and the only thing left to fix are the head gaskets-so $$$$!!! and i don't have any $$$$, so i'm going to call my mechanic tomorrow-pick his brain about whether or not it's worth fixing, whether i should just have a whole new engine put into it, or if i should trade it for another car-a honda?-cuz those don't ever break!
these weeks only make me appreciate the good ones even more...

birthday brouhaha

top 5 memories from this birthday (in no particular order):
1. The Garage on sunday night with friends (pool, bowling)



i believe that right before this picture i had challenged the guy in the lane next to me to a bowling duel-we would bowl at the same time and the winner is the one with more pins down-i won

2. coming into work on monday to a few little delights from coworkers-including a beautiful orchid plant and a much desired/needed travel mug from starbucks! (thanks jen)


3. lunch with jen and mairead at Red Robin-those fries are just mouthwatering!
mairead
jen and i
4. later that evening, laura and i went to go see a movie and then decided to drive to the eastside and back. this seems silly but the nighttime lights of the city and the bridges as you go over the water are gorgeous-so we threw practicality aside and went for it!

5. i called into the country radio station to request a song since it was my birthday and all...
well, we drove around and listened for an hour and they hadn't played the song...and each night they do a segment of the show that's called "the doghouse" where you can call in and complain about someone and put them in the 'doghouse'-so laura, being the lovely roommate that she is, called in and it went something like this: "hi, i'm calling to put someone in the doghouse" "ok, who do you want to put in there?" "you!" "what?! what did i do?" " you didn't play my rommmates birthday song" "oh my gosh i forgot! if we sing for her will that make up for it?" "that would be a good start..." off key happy birthday song ensues with an "i love you" at the end-HA...so funny. the best part about it all was that it was all on air-so we were totally radio famous for the night!

5. stopping in at minnies, ready to consume a milkshake-they didn't have any milkshakes-so we gave the guy a tip and went to Dick's for a strawberry shake-yum

Sarah/Callie/Brandon/Kristen's visit

This weekend, Sarah flew up to visit me and a few of the kids from Sierra Leone that are in the area speaking. We got to talk a lot about Africa and I even got to meet those beautiful kids, Massah and Eddie; also, Quami, who came to watch out for the kids. Kristen, who lived in Freetown with Sarah hung out with us-it was great to finally meet her after 'knowing' her for a year through sarah's blog! THEN...on Saturday, Brandon and Callie drove up-it was a big reunion!
we hadn't seen each other in a year-and-a-half!!
at Pike Place Market by my favorite fish stand :0)
sarah and kristen at first starbucks
so glad she's in the northwest :0)

look at how pretty the colors of our jackets are!
it's been raining A LOT!
beautiful Massah-she has the most contagious giggle
at the aquarium
quami, sarah, kristen, massah, eddie
saying goodbye
walking through pioneer square
LOVE
a stop at Kerry Park



someone was missing...

pumpkin carving with friends!

this weekend laura and i hosted a little 'fall' get-together that included all of the essentials: football (as disappointing as it was), apple cider, cornbread muffins, homemade chicken soup, and molasses cookies from my second grade teacher's recipe. we also were so blessed to have the most amazing fall day-it was mid-sixties and the colors were more brilliant than ever!

laura and blake
the first completed creations: 'scar face' and 'flying hearts'
jason, who tag-teamed with me on my pumpkin

trisha and jay
kevin, me, blake


my pumpkin!!!
that's what people driving by our house would see :0)

discovery park w/ janelle

today, janelle and i enjoyed the sunshine and blue skies-it was the first dry weekend since the beginning of september!


the really cute bunny


you can see mount rainier faintly in the distance

my pink room

this is where all the portraits of beautiful african children will hang

the sick 60's closet doors that my landlord is obssessed with keeping :0( (it doesn't go with pink)
where i lay my head at night

a work in progress but at least you have some pictures...

Liz and Brian's Wedding

some college friends got married last weekend-it was beautiful!!

me and catlyn

back in action!

wow-it feels so weird to not have blogged for 4 days (does that mean i'm addicted?...)
turns out that my computer issue was a frayed power cord-an easy $40 fix-thank goodness.

This week has been really crazy and stressful at work albeit productive. But i've been making a point of getting to bed earlier-so that i'm not so grumpy when i wake up. Now that winter is setting in, the sun rises a little later.

this morning i had to get to work early (after working late last night), to finish something for a bid that we've been fighting really hard to get and still haven't won. Because i was driving to work earlier, i saw the sun rise from behind the snow-capped Cascades; it was one of the most beautiful mornings i've ever seen here. i actually did try to take a picture while i was driving, but was unsuccessful-it's kinda hard to steer, pay attention so i don't get in a wreck, and focus a camera :0)
you'll have to settle for my description: the whispy clouds in the sky were a deliciously potent pink that quickly merged with an autumn orange. the reflection on lake union was mesmerizing, and the early risers rowing their boats through the glassy water made it supremely quintessential. the road i drive to work passes by the lake and then winds towards downtown. well, some of the morning haze was lingering and several of the skyscrapers were waking from their slumber by emitting steam out the chimneys. combine this with the pink/orange color illuminating the reflective glass windows, and i was instantly flashed back to Burt singing "chim-chiminy, chim-chiminy, chim-chim-chiree" while hopping from rooftop to rooftop in Mary Poppins. what a great way to start the day!


ok, it kinda looked like this-

out of commission

my computer broke this weekend.
i'm so sad.
i'll try to keep blogging while i figure out how to fix it.
this is just wonderful...

recap

i'm typing this sitting in my living room with my broncos t-shirt on and my oklahoma sooners sweatshirt
i had high hopes for today after the wonderful day in college football yesterday-
-the sooners beat texas
-kansas beat kansas state
-stanford upset usc.

i woke up today and went to grab a cup of coffee this morning before camping in front of the TV to watch what i thought would be a day of victorious celebration in the NFL.

didn't quite turn out that way-let's recap:
-seattle got royally embarassed by pittsburg (21-0)-stupid steelers
-denver got slaughtered by san diego (41-3)-what happened?!
-and dallas is still undefeated-i mean seriously, dallas?

not happy.oh and did i mention it's raining-kinda matches my mood :0(

walking through walls

today i walked through a wall-literally. ok, ok, it was on a construction site and that was the only way to get where i needed to go but it's weird because i unconsciously paused before passing through the studs-it's as if psychologically my brain was freaking out saying, "you're not supposed to be able to walk there-what's going on?"
every time i'm at a construction site, i'm amazed at the complexity of buildings and how many parts/pieces/systems are crucial to it's composition. i had to field measure the 4th floor of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance today with alex.
and this task is two-fold. it's such a treat to be out of the office and to do hands-on stuff, yet it is extremely tedious. now, my profession is detailed but that is something i constantly struggle to improve-attention to detail. i start strong and then lose interest quickly, convincing myself that generalities and brief notes will be adequate. after returning to the office, i am always wishing i had written more specific notes and measured one more section of wall i dismissed earlier.
today, i was staring at my plans, which were sitting unevenly on top of a cart full of copper tubing used for plumbing, involved in a rather complicated discussion with alex about the placement of a duplex and data port, when i realized i'm doing something i love. i get to walk around in buildings and affect structures that people inhabit everyday. what i'm doing is making a tangible difference in someone's daily life. and the fact that the duplex and data port are located incorrectly drastically affects the performance of our furniture which in turn affects the staff which means people with cancer aren't getting the best service they should be receiving during this extremely vulnerable time. wow.
as i think about how intricately all of these systems must work together to make the building function (HVAC, plumbing, insulation, data, lights, switches, electrical systems to support all the technology), it reminds me of the Christian life. some of the components that i can think of off the top of my head are: service, fellowship, devotions, joy, hardship, etc... without any one of these our 'building' would not be as God intended it to be; without any one of these we would not be living at our full potential. the details count. they matter, and i am so quick to forget that. my every comment and action is affecting someone. it's making an impression on them that can never be taken back-that's a big deal. if i'm serving but not replenishing myself-i become an empty vessel which can sometimes be more damaging. if i'm soaking things up but not sharing with others, then i become consumed with information and miss out on seeing Jesus in the beautiful faces of refugees, or even of my neighbor next door.
i'm gonna start trying to pay better attention to details...

Victoria, B.C

The end of September is the closing of our fiscal year at MBI. This year we did so well that the company treated us to a weekend in Victoria, even putting us up at the Empress Hotel! So early saturday morning we boarded the Victoria Clipper and rode for two and a half hours up to Vancouver Island, where Victoria is located.
kristin, me and jen
nancy, jim, kate and greg

The town is historic and old and beautiful. The Empress is magnificent, especially with the ivy growing all over it turning fall colors!


notice the weeping cyprus trees in front (for you: mom and pa)

our fabulous room
some pretty bark on a tree outside
really cool pink building
adorable street buskers playing very poorly but the middle one stole my heart
xylophone group-they were soooo good!

jen sportin' the starbucks


beautiful fall flowers
later, jen and i had a mini photo shoot in front of the parliamentary building-"senior photos" was the theme althought it morphed into weirdness. see for yourself.







Saturday night we had our formal dinner, entitled A Royal Affair, with costumes ranging from Dracula and the Lady in Red, to Elvis, to Jesus, to the Queen of England. and much to our delight and surprise, "the queen of england" showed up to provide some entertainment-she was hilarious.
after a long night of eating and laughing, i came back to the room to find laura leaning out our window. well, it turns out there was a police bust that happened on the street below-4 police cars, a police dog searching the vehicle, which was a ghetto, old white limo-they were rippin' out everything but the seats pretty much, even looking under the hood and in the trunk. we couldn't ever figure out what they were looking for but of course i got a photo of it :0)

Sunday, we slept in (on the fabulously comfortable beds) and then had a delicous brunch. A number of people in our group were 'recovering' from the night before-so the day was much more relaxed.
I saw the Undersea Gardens (aka fish, an eel and an octopus)-the squealing 5 year olds really made for an enhanced experience; one particular conversation laura and i heard went something like this: little boy #1 "look, there's the octopus!!" "oh cool" exclaims boy #2. "yeah, it's about ready to blast off like this (insert rocket sounds)" as boy #3's arms shoot straight up into the air. ha.
oh and you better believe we didn't miss out on the Victoria Bug Zoo-tarantulas, stick bugs, millipedes, oh my! (i didn't touch anything, and kept saying "yuck" until Laura reminded me that i had just consciously paid to get into a BUG ZOO-duh. that shut me up pretty quickly.)
and probably the coolest thing that i saw was a parade commemorating all the fallen policeman from the last year. there were hordes of police divisions, mounties, men in kilts with bagpipes and even mounted policeman. it was really awesome!
adorable old ladies with plastic hair protectors!

laura, michele, greg, linda and jeff

REAL live mounties!!!
before
after

i'd probably give myself a hernia if i tried to play that

pirate ship!!!
sweet old car
the clipper ride back was really choppy and windy-but i spent the first half hour or so on the back deck watching whales surface to blow air, seeing a rainbow drop out of the clouds to settle on the undulating horizon and having my eyeballs just about dry up and fall out of my head

we could literally hardly stand up in this picture

HAHA.




next on the list is Butchart Gardens, next May/June-anyone want to come?!