Italian Festival

every summer Seattle has weekend festivals celebrating different cultures-last weekend was the Greek Festival, this weekend was the Italian Festival.

a few friends and i went down to partake in the fabulous food and grape stomping! brian, jessica and i were part of an officially registered grape stomping team...competing for -you guessed it- a bottle of wine! little did we know that we'd be up on a STAGE with LOTS of people watching us-yikes...

yes, that definitely is a man with a grape hat-ha! (me and jess in the background)

brian and i were getting tips from an old italian man who saw how white and unItalian we were...

one of our opponents took this thing really seriously...'the boxing italians' who spun fake pizza dough the whole time...CHEESEBALL, if you ask me...

getting my STOMP on :)

update on grad school

so i have sort of maybe kind of a little bit been stalking both portland state and IPSL in NY for more information on this grad program and applications, GRE's, etc...
they've been most helpful in answering my 1.468 million questions and now i get to do my favorite thing...wait.
applications will be released probably mid to end of october; they're 90% sure i won't have to take the GRE but they are still changing a few things about the program so that's not definite. i asked them what was on the application since i can't see it yet -ha (sneaky, huh?! :D)
i've got 2 letters of recommendation promised already and a few editors have volunteered for the oh so crucial personal statement...

I'M STILL SO VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
and sooo ready for this change...
and excited about living close to callie/brandon...
and passionate about learning how to help people...
and on cloud 9 at the thought of helping people get decent shelters...

ok. i'm done. for now.
thanks for your words of encouragment-they've been such an affirmation as i attempt to make this happen!

Mariner's 100th Loss

as you know, i'm a huge sports fan. i LOVE football. i love (not capitalized) baseball...mostly i just love going to Mariner's games. i know a bit about the players, i booo bad calls, i always cheer for the green car in the hydroplane race during the 7th inning stretch on the big screen, i belt out "take me out the ball game" usually off key :) and it's moments like these that make me proud to be an American and happy to collectively partake in the support and enjoyment of baseball. it's legendary...how could you not??
well, yesterday the mariner's suffered their 100th loss...yup, we're pretty much the worst baseball team out there...
sadly, if you live in seattle and love sports, you pretty much have to get used to losing...it's kinda what we do around here lately...but honestly, for me, it doesn't take anything away from the game--i always think it's fun to go!
these fabulous friends joined me despite the pending doom and we had a heck of a fun time :)

Architecture for Humanity

This is a CNN clip about an organization that i am obsessed with! this is what i want to do with my life...work towards providing sustainable shelter through good design to those lacking it.

I get beside myself reading in the news, day after day, about those fleeing or displaced by crisis (civil war, natural disasters, etc) and left without shelter. The average length of time that people are displaced has DOUBLED in the last 20 years from 9 years to 18 years. that's an entire 'childhood' and longer than many people in some of these situations even stay alive.
It is such an injustice that people are bereft of shelter.
It's so basic.
It's so necessary to survival.
Our homes are part of our identity.
Our homes help to shape our community's identity.

That is why...Lord willing, I am going to be applying to grad school! I've finally found a program, out of Portland State University, that will give me EXACTLY the experience and education I need to be moving closer towards that goal. I can hardly contain myself, I'm so excited!! it's a Master's of Arts in International Service (how perfect is that??!!)--if i get in, i'll get to spend 6 months of the 18 month program in Jamaica :D (the other 12 months in Portland). This program will educate and equip me to effectively set up and implement sustainable service opportunities abroad through knowledge of NGOs/Non-Profits, leadership within these organizations, interculteral communication, planning and strategy, on-site assesment of need.

I would covet your prayers...i can't believe i've found what i think is the most ideal program!! a lot of things need to fall into place but they have to happen quickly because it starts next July! i feel so excited and peaceful about it...we'll see what God has in store...

night out with Trisha

trisha and i grabbed sushi and laughed our way through UVillage tonight-it was great!

-these are the beautiful flowers still in bloom-

- my goofy and fabulous friend!-
told ya...
YUM-new frozen yogurt place
-can't beat fresh fruit-

the view from my window

the moon has been especially huge, bright and breathtaking. this is not the best picture in the world but i wanted to share-i love feeling so small when i look up at the sky or walk around, just one little person, on this big earth under the light of the moon...

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I--I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- The Road Not Taken (1915)
Robert Frost

*stumbled across this epic passage today again. i love the simple way he sums up his experience. i love the way he describes it with a 'sigh'-must be a sigh of satisfaction...
i hope i look back and realize i've taken the 'one less traveled by'--seems more intentional; refreshing; and adventurous :D

workin' from home today!

SO thankful for this opportunity to smell my flowers, enjoy the sun and get away from the busy office :)

craft project!!

so i finally figured out a way to do what i wanted to do on the other empty wall of my bedroom...it took a lot of searching but i'm really happy with the result!this is an old reclaimed radiator grill, from Earthwise, hanging off of two partially rusted double hooks from the same place. it will soon be covered with photos but i wanted you to be able to see the grill and hooks-i've been racking my brain to find a creative and 'urban-edgy' way to be able to rotate the photos on display. being required to pick certain ones for frames seems too permanent and kinda stresses me out. this way, i have LOTS of flexibility, i can put a TON of pictures up (we all know i am addicted to my camera) :D

a few more changes around the house are coming up, so stay tuned!

Camping @ Mt. Rainier

this past weekend was my friend Megan's 30th birthday! she wanted to go camping at Rainier to celebrate-what fun! we stayed at Ohanapekosh (say that 10 times fast :D) in the SE corner of Mt. Rainier National Park-which is beyond cool, by the way!

here's another Tara+Emily to add to the collection of camping pictures from the summer

amy and kristen bundled up by the fire--it was a pretty chilly weekend
girl talk by the river (tara, laura, amy)
a little frisbee
there were hot springs! we were only lamenting that they weren't deep enough to swim in :(
happy trails!

a fun bunch of folks
this is the good stuff
birthday girl!
we almost match

not entirely sure what's going on here, but this is brian and zach...
the water was this scintillating blue-green color
I LOVE WATERFALLS
jason and cash takinga fireside snooze
hot potatoes, literally!

lots of laughs 'round that fire
wonder dog-Rhys (she did sneak away one night and eat 2 hotdogs from another campsite-yikes! they were kind enough to return her anyway ;))
i look like a giant-i think the ground was just sloped...
birthday candles in rice krispies (this is my favorite picture of the whole trip)
on our last day, we drove up to Paradise (5600 ft) with the hopes of catching a glimpse of the top--no luck. it was cloudy, rainy and then SNOWING on August 31st-crazy!

oh i love this picture!
ready to take on another year of life-you can see it written all over her face :D
one last look and the unmistakeable 60's architecture behind us. the new visitors center will open soon!
HA-i love the expression on katie's face (foreground)-what a goof!
foggy beautifulness

my blaringly pink rain coat-i figured if i was going to be gray for 8 months of the year, i should buy a coat that's really colorful :D

b. howe and ben makin' crazy faces--meg's cute, as always!
so happy to be outdoors!

(it was definitely snowing at this point, even though you can't tell)

there were still lots of wildflowers in bloom-it was spectacular!


you can bet i'll be heading back because there's so much of the park still to be seen...

today

it's been fantastic. it's been relaxing, quiet, creatively inspiring and contemplative. the quietness created space for me to, once again, remember what a gift life is; this life...in all it's quarky and unpredictable glory. it's not only the quiet moments that afford me this glimpse of reality but somehow when life is busy (even good busy), my awareness of the undeserved grace can get clouded.

i felt so utterly peaceful today; for no particular reason. yet there is a quite tapping at the door, too. it's difficult to capture this with words but i think i am finally resigned to what my life looks like right now; steady on the course, patiently just holding out. not a defeated resignation. perhaps it would better described as a sweetly suspending resignation. trying to be so present in each day, knowing that none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. praying for my daily bread and that's it. literally trying to shut out thoughts of what is next because i can't deal with it. rather than getting stressed out by what might be next or what to pursue, i am daily feeling more prepared and joyfully expectant for what's to come.

my tendency is to plan, to analyze, to be productive and accomplish things. there are small ways that i still do this. yet the big things still hover nearby, quietly tapping on my door: grad school, working abroad, new job...

what the heck am i supposed to be doing with my life?? why are there all kinds of people out there making a difference; excited and passionate about what they are doing, and i can't figure out what that's supposed to look like in my own life??

sister and i were talking the other day about 'the pat answer'-what we know to be true even when it doesn't seem possible to trust it or believe it. trying to recognize the balance of 'holding on' and 'letting go'.

'letting go'-this is so hard for me to do sometimes. i like to know what's going on and be able to affect/change things. yet this is the area of my life undergoing the most 'deconstruction' right now. the walls are being chipped away and i'm kicking and screaming the whole way...

amidst the ruckus, i fully recognize the necessity of this breaking. i am certain that 'the other side' will be deeper, sweeter, and more fulfilling but i am, at this very moment, chuckling at how haphazard and out-of-control the journey seems...maybe that's the point...

i think i finally settled upon this today--i'm uncomfortably comfortable and learning to be content just trying to make a difference in the day that i've been given...

"I have one life and one chance to make it count for something . . . I'm free to choose what that something is, and the something I've chosen is my faith. Now, my faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands -- this is not optional -- my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference." -Jimmy Carter