Day Two Hundred and Sixty Eight

Went to the movies with Christa today and saw The Town. It was a great flick, but what was even more awesome was we saw it at the Gold Class Cinemas.

The theater was very fancy and posh, it was one of those theaters where there are comfy recliner chairs and they serve dinner and drinks. I had a martini with the movie as well as some yummy battered chicken. Fancy shmacy!

Christa paid this time and when I start working again I am going to have to take her out for a spa day or something!

Day Two Hundred and Sixty Seven

Another day of not leaving the house. This is going to change tomorrow! I did get a lot done, such as organizing, cleaning, and laundry, but I can't just stay inside. I made plans to do something outside of the house for the next four days, so that is a start. :)

Day Two Hundred and Sixty Six

It is officially Fall (Autumn) in Sammamish, Washington. I think it is beautiful and am looking forward to lots of walks in the mist. Riley and I went outside and played ball for a while and it was like being in the movies!

On a side note. I did my first chapter of Stats today and with the pre-test, post-test, homework, and lessons.... it took about four hours! Wow. This is going to be a heavy duty class, I guess I am lucky I just have the one!

Day Two Hundred and Sixty Five

Nothing exciting today. I have lots of stats homework due tomorrow that I am going to work on tonight and tomorrow. I am also getting kind of anxious about working again. Since I made the decision I just want to do it!

Day Two Hundred and Sixty Four

Movie night! I brought over my yummy homemade chili and Christa made salad. We watched many episodes of House and just had a blast. I love Tuesday movie nights!

Day Two Hundred and Sixty Three

I went to my A&P class and got to sit next to my buddy from my Biology class last quarter so that was cool. I still don't know if I am in class this quarter or not because I haven't had approval on my funding yet. Four more days to find out if I need to go back to work or not!

Day Two Hundred and Sixty Two

I went to regular roller derby practice tonight and had a blast! I actually feel a lot more comfortable on skates and think I did pretty good. I just need to work more on balance and not getting frustrated when I can't do something.

Oh, and I need to figure out how to make my gear smell less funky. It gets pretty nasty and just airing it out isn't cutting it!

Day Two Hundred and Sixty One

I went to the movies with Christa today to see "Easy A". It was an awesome movie based on N. Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter. Mom.. go see it, you will like it, it had a lot of '80s movie references as well! :) It was a nice relaxing kid free time and we are going to do it again next week. I think we are going to see a scary movie next time. Woo hoo!

Day Two Hundred and Sixty

I finished this hat today. It is child sized but I am wondering if I should make the pom poms bigger? I will try it on Allie tomorrow and see how it looks.

Day Two Hundred and Fifty Nine

Another day where I didn't do anything new or exciting! I wasn't feeling well so I didn't go skating tonight. Tomorrow I will do something so I have something to write about!

Day Two Hundred and Fifty Eight

Spent the day safely inside so I could go one day without falling over, under, or through anything. So far so good!

Day Two Hundred and Fifty Seven

I was going to write about cleaning the house today and the extreme amount of dog hair everywhere until I was trying to open a window and the glass shattered and I fell through it!

It freaked me out because one of the pieces went pretty deep into my wrist. Luckily Diana was home and I was able to go over there and she helped me bandage it up.

Lucky for me that for some reason my body is pretty strong and I didn't bleed too much even though it was right on the vein and pretty deep. Though I do think I freaked Diana out a bit when I came up to her backdoor with blood streaming down my arms. But maybe she is used to my accidents by now!

I have a bunch of other cuts all over my other arm too. And now instead of fresh air through the window I have a big ol' piece of cardboard and duck tape covering it. Ahhhh.. I have the strangest luck.

Day Two Hundred and Fifty Six

I cooked a potato tonight in Hassleback style: I keep wanting to call it Hasslehoff style, so I have to think a second before I say it. It turned out pretty good, but I think next time I will add some garlic and herbs to it before cooking the second time.

Day Two Hundred and Fifty Five

I went to the library, grocery store, and pet store and took two baths today. TWO baths; that is how sore I was today after skating yesterday. Nice relaxing day. :)

Day Two Hundred and Fifty Four

I went to my first derby practice since the accident and had so much fun! I did way better then I expected and felt very comfortable back on my skates. I took Sandra along with me and Dawn went as well. Afterward Sandra and I stopped at Costco to get a hot dog.. she had never had a Costco hotdog before!

Day Two Hundred and Fifty Three

I started my first day at the hospital as a volunteer. I got a badge, a volunteer jacket, and got to shadow some seasoned veterans around the place. I did tons of walking and learned lots of stuff about delivering things and transporting people. Everyone is jealous of the assignment I got. I guess it is a desired position that people try to get all the time... I am super excited to start it!

Day Two Hundred and Fifty Two

My dog is weird. That is what Day Two Hundred and Fifty Two is about. Seriously, how many dogs sit like this with their back legs stretched out and their front legs crossed?

Day Two Hundred and Fifty One

I found an awesome pattern for some gloves that are laced like a corset. They were pretty quick and easy to do after I learned the applied I-cord trim that you use for the edging and to make the loops for lacing. The colors are off in the picture, but those ones are actually black and bright pink. The next pair I am going to make of light pink with dark pink ribbons to lace it. I really like this pattern!

Day Two Hundred and Fifty

Movie Night! A night of Family Guy, Mad Men, and Pizza. I brought yummy black & blue muffins. Allison can not stay still. She is so much fun. :)

Day Two Hundred and Forty Nine

Spent a great day with Sandra. We went shopping and then to lunch where we had yummy calzones. We then we to my place and played some videogames. It was real nice to spend the day with a great person!

Don't ask what we are doing in the photo because... I can't tell you!

Day Two Hundred and Forty Eight

Having a nice relaxing day with Riley and watching Stargate. Riley must have missed me tons because she can't stop cuddling with me, no matter where I am sitting like on my lap in the chair!

Back to my plan of walking every single day starting tomorrow... again!

Day Two Hundred and Forty Seven

I didn't get a good picture of it, but today at PAX I got to sit in on the panel that Wil Wheaton was speaking on. It was really enjoyable! I also got to check out the Roller Derby game coming out on the Wii, it will be fun. I didn't get my morning walks these last couple of days, BUT I did get 17932 steps yesterday!

Day Two Hundred and Forty Six

Another day of PAX. Actually, the first day of PAX since last night was a party. We had fun walking around checking things out. We ended the night with a party given by The Sarcastic Gamer. Played some Rock Band and hung out with more cool people.

Day Two Hundred and Forty Five

Had a blast at the pre-PAX party. I met tons of new people, and hung out with lots of people I only get to see once a year as well. For some reason I met tons of Canadians. It was tons of fun!

Day Two Hundred and Forty Four

I went to my volunteer orientation today and had my second TB test done. I found out I don't have a criminal background and all my immunizations are up to date, so I am ready to start next Friday! I am looking forward to it.

Oh! And I went for a walk this morning, 30 minutes. That's one.

Day Two Hundred and Forty Three

I did part of The Roller Derby Workout today. It was fun. It has some good stretches and I really like the music it is set to. I can't wait to try this on skates.. not yet though!

I decided that starting tomorrow I am going to see how many days in a row I can go for a morning walk. I seem to do good for a few days and then slack off for a few. It's just walking for 30 minutes! I have tons of 30 minutes to spare to do this and Riley will appreciate it.

I need an application like my stop smoking one, one that shows how you are improving your life by walking each day or something similiar. I need to see if one like that exists. For now I will rely on my cardio trainer to track how many days... let's try for seven days in a row first and then move on from there. Starting tomorrow!

Day Two Hundred and Forty Two

I have been making these shopping bags since I can't find the ones my mother had made me and I like using them. I think it turned out pretty good! Besides this one I made a yellow one and am making another multicolor one.  


I want to get some hemp yarn/string as well since it is really sturdy.

Day Two Hundred and Forty One

Today was the Rat City Flash Mob and I had a blast! Somehow when it was time for the dancers (people not on skates) to run out and join the skaters I managed to run to the front of the group (I was hoping to blend in to the back of the group!).

Luckily I remembered most of it and I think I did okay. Two news stations were there and managed to get footage of our dance.. I hope I wasn't in the front of the camera!

The people in the pics are Betty and the other girl who arranged and choreographed all of this. :)

Day Two Hundred and Forty

I went to the farmers market in Redmond today and it was nice. I got some cheese, blueberries, and yellow raspberries.

There were people with their dogs so I plan to come back next time and bring Riley with me! I also want to check out the one in Issaquah which is on Wednesdays I think.

Day Two Hundred and Thirty Nine

This is what Riley and I did today as we attempted to absorb a few rays before the sun is gone for the season. It was a nice relaxing day.

Day Two Hundred and Thirty Eight

As I took Riley on her morning walk I was once again in awe of how beautiful it is out here. Autumn is coming and everything is in full bloom and soooo green. Also, the rain is pouring down today, which it hasn't done in so long.

I really like it here and I wish I could get my whole family up here with me. But if I did that I would probably just end up moving again!

Day Two Hundred and Thirty Seven

I went to my volunteer interview today and I was offered a volunteer position as a Children's Services Story Teller. I am super excited about this.

I also had a TB test and blood drawn to see if I have had the MMR vaccination since I don't have my immunization records and don't feel like contacting my doc in AZ to find them!

While waiting to have my blood drawn, I sat outside and drank my tea and saw these pretty statues and also kept my eye out for any cute doctors. :)

Day Two Hundred and Thirty Six

It was a real nice movie night. I brought over some lemon corn muffins I made and the taboullah for Christa to try. Both Christa and Allie loved both things. We also had ribs and talked, and talked, and talked! Awesome time as always.

Day Two Hundred and Thirty Five

I made taboulleh today. It looks pretty yummy, but I have to let it sit for a few hours until it is done. So it is for lunch tomorrow!

Day Two Hundred and Thirty Four

I was trying to come up with new and interesting ways to use the fruit from my yard when I came across some recipes for fruit liqueurs. I decided to try it out.

I found some jars at the thrift store and made up my first batch. This first batch is blackberry with lemon zest and mint. It won't be ready for about three months, but I am excited to see how it turns out! As soon as the plums are a bit more ripe I plan to make some plum liqueur!

Day Two Hundred and Thirty Three

I had such great plans today. After hearing my neighbor Diana working on her yard I decided I should mow my yard. After a long time of pulling on the handle and the motor starting and stalling, and starting and stalling, and getting a blister on my hand, I realized it just wasn't going to work today. I checked the gas and oil and added some oil, but it still wouldn't start. So I will give it a day to see if it wants to work tomorrow. 

I did check out Diana's plum trees while I was over there visiting and saw that she had different plums then mine. Mine are reddish colored and hers are very purple. I picked some from her yard and I need to decide what the heck to do with them. 

Day Two Hundred and Thirty Two

I am so proud of myself! A while back (I really need to keep track of time when I plant stuff for future reference) I planted a tiny little baby tomato plant.

I have been patiently watching them go from tiny little buds until one was ripe enough to pick. So pick it I did! And then I popped it in my mouth and it was gooooooood!


So now I need to figure out how I am supposed to trim this back. As you can see it has grown like mad! I also have some mint that is growing and my basil plant I keep indoors is still blooming like mad too!

Walked the four miles today :)

Day Two Hundred and Thirty One

Riley wanted to take this opportunity to show a video of what she calls "the trick I taught the dumb human in order to get more treats". I call it "the cool trick that I taught Riley out of boredom!" Who knows... we probably are both right!

Day Two Hundred and Thirty

I went to the RCRG flashmob practice tonight with my fellow broken-leg buddy, Dawn. We had a blast learning the steps, and it was exhausting. It is going to be so fun when we do it live on the 29th!

Between that and my four mile walk this morning I got almost 14000 steps! On that note, day three of walking four miles a day... complete!

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Nine

Movie night with just Christa and Allie tonight. Both the older kids were not there. It was kind of nice to just hang with Christa and be able to chat. I taught Allie the "round and round the garden" song. My mom will like that!

Also, day two complete  on my quest to walk four miles a day for a week and see what a diff that makes in my weight. I figured I have the eating and tracking what I am eating down... so let's see what adding walking to it does!

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Eight

I did another one of those long walks to and from the bus stop, except this time I brought my hiking backpack with water. Last time I did this walk in the heat I felt icky partway back.

So this picture is the view from the top of the hill by the bus stop where Riley and I sat for a bit and drank some water. I went earlier today, before my coffee, which worked out well since it was cooler and I really enjoyed my yummy breakfast.

Breakfast was scrambled eggs with goat cheese, garlic, and rosemary with a few wedges of cantaloupe. Having the fresh eggs with breakfast again made me think about getting a couple of my own chickens. I bet I could build my own chicken coup, and chickens are pretty cheap to buy, like 15 to 20 bucks each.

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Seven

I made a yummy lime and blackberry parfait today! I used blackberries from my garden (of course), lime yogurt, and fiber one cereal for the crunch. It was super yummy and less than 200 calories.

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Six

I sat around knitting and reading and watching TV all day because i must have tweaked my back with all the moving and stuff i did yesterday. I put one of those pads that stick to your back and give cold and heat and it worked pretty good.

Oh! And i passed my biology class. Woo hoo! I can move on with my next classes! This is going to be a long five week vacation because I am ready to get back to school. :)

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Five

Well my first day of summer break was a busy one. I decided to re-arrange things in my house (again). I moved the closet from it's corner to the area in front of my bed so it is basically blocking my bed completely off from site.

I did it a little differently from how Susie did when she moved it, I actually removed everything from inside of it first. It was still pretty darn heavy, Susie must be a lot stronger then she looks! But I really like its new position; it worked out awesome! I also moved a few other things around and after a year the place it really coming together. :)

I also covered the back of it and the other wall with some pretty fabric my mom had gotten for me a while back.

After that I went on a walk with Riley to the bus stop area and back and ended up walking for over  an hour, and just under four miles. With hills and everything. My cardio tracker on my phone showed that I burned almost 600 calories. Nice!

We also stopped at the lake for Riley to play because it is really hot out today! And then my day was topped off with finding out my B grade in chemistry; woo hoo! 

Oh yeah, and I discovered Riley LOVES baby carrots. She thinks they are a treat. She is such a weird dog.

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Four

School's out for the summer! Finally! I took my last exam today and can now breathe easier (until I get my final grades!) I now have five weeks to hang out with Riley and do stuff. Hopefully the weather stays as pretty as it has been so we can get outside and enjoy it. 

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Three

Busy day today! I had to give a presentation on GMO's (genetically modified organisms) and then a big ol' cumulative Chemistry final and I am exhausted! Chemistry is over for the quarter, but I still have  Biology test tomorrow and then the whole quarter is over. Then a  five week break to get stuff done around the house and hang out with Riley. Woo hoo!

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Two

All Done!

Dinner for movie night tonight was chicken parmesan and it went over well! Allie liked it so much she was licking her plate. We also watched some episodes of Supernatural that I brought over so Christa could watch it and see if she liked it enough to watch the whole season.

Overall another great night. Now to get home and put together a powerpoint presentation that we have to do tomorrow that my group members only just now sent me!

Day Two Hundred and Twenty One

Meatballs! 

I made homemade meatballs tonight, and while they are good, they aren't excellent. I used ground beef, mushrooms, red peppers, and whole garlic, but they are missing something. They are nowhere near as good as my moms, she makes the best!

Day Two Hundred and Twenty

I met up with a couple of my Chemistry school chums to study for our big Chemistry final this week. We decided to meet at the Carnation Firehouse since one of my school chums is a fireman and they had a place there we could study.

During a break we got to go in the garage and look at the firetrucks and I sat up in the drivers seat of one. I was so giddy and childlike about it all too! It was totally cool. :)

Day Two Hundred and Nineteen

Today I worked on a project for my chemistry class. I had to do a posterboard about the greenhouse effect. It was actually really fun to do, but I can't say it enough, I am looking forward to this quarter being over!

Day Two Hundred and Eighteen

Christa had an interview 'loop' today so I volunteered to babytsit for her. I took Callie and Allie to the craft store to get stuff to make braclets, but when we got home we found out the beads were too small :(

We then went and got Riley and went to the dog park, grabbed some Mickey D's, dropped Riley off and then went back to the house to watch a movie. I ended up staying for dinner and watching Veronica Mars with them. I didn't get home until around 9pm! Great day!

Day Two Hundred and Seveteen

My days have been pretty boring lately, mostly about school. Just one more week and I will be out for a bit and will start doing more blog worthy stuff! This is just a dry period for me!

Day Two Hundred and Sixteen

Just school and stuffing my head full of information today. This summer quarter is insane. Imagine taking a whole semester of school and squishing it into half the time. It is a lot to take in. But..... the quarter is over in one week and then I have like five weeks off!

Day Two Hundred and Fifteen

For movie night tonight we watched Bring It On and Bring it On Again. Christa provided the movies and I brought dinner. I made the best corn muffins ever; I used Jiffy mix and added some greek yogurt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. I also made a salad with chicken, edamame, black olives, blackberries (from my yard), chickpea's, tomatoes, and cucumbers, with Mango Vinaigrette dressing.

Day Two Hundred and Fourteen

What's this? It's blackberry season! This is both a good and bad thing. Blackberries are yummy... but the plant grows and spreads EVERYWHERE! The thorns are evil and reach out and grab you if you are even within five feet of them. My neighbor wants to burn them all at the end of the season. I am all for that because they will grow back quickly anyway!

Day Two Hundred and Thirteen

Nothing like a bike ride to and from the store to really emphasize how out of shape you are. The way there wasn't too bad since I stuck to the trail and my backpack was empty. The way back was a little tougher since my backpack was full and I decided to try the bike path on the street. Silly me forget about all the up and downs the street takes and it was exhausting.

I just wish that Trader Joe's was closer instead of Whole Foods. I might just have to suck it up and ride the extra three or so miles to Trader Joe's. It will be good for me!

Day Two Hundred and Twelve

I decided that since I am taking daytime classes next quarter that I would try and take the bus at least four of the five days I have class. So today I wanted to see how long the walk would take since part of it is uphill and I am a tad bit slower now then I was last year.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that it only took about 30 minutes each way. But what that meant for my walk today was that it was almost four miles and almost an hour, which was about 8k steps! Woo hoo!

I think Riley and I are going to do it again tomorrow because I want to get my time a bit faster so I don't risk missing the bus! Oh, and so I am not all red-faced and out of breath when I get on the bus.

Day Two Hundred and Eleven

I got a couch with a chair and ottoman! I found it all on Craiglist and it cost me $55 bucks AND they brought it over for me and brought it inside and setup the cushions on it and everything. What a deal!

This was why I did all the cleaning, moving the bed, and putting stuff out to the shed, in anticipation for my new (new to me) couch. It is a dark grey soft leather and super comfy.

Now when people stop by they can actually sit down and visit a while and not have to stand around feeling awkard. Yay! And...I have somewhere to sit to play the drums on Rock Band. 

Day Two Hundred and Ten

Apparently my bed will fit in the area behind the cabinets so it is tucked away from prying eyes. I also set up the shelves in front of it. I think itt looks good!

Oh! And i cleaned out the shed and moved most of my storage containers out there. I am a busy girl!

Day Two Hundred and Nine

In my Chemistry class, we had to do an assignment that involved finding an everyday item that contained both a molecular and ionic compound. The professor suggested using the item we found with the compounds to write everything up, to be creative.

So after wandering around the house and looking up billions of chemical compounds I decided to use a hair dye box to write everything on. I think it turned out pretty neat! It was also scary after looking up some of the chemical compounds and seeing what we are putting on our hair!

Day Two Hundred and Eight

Movie night was changed because Scott started his first day at work today and his granddad wanted to take him and the family out to dinner, and I got to go with! We went to Golden Chopsticks and had a yummy meal because we all ordered something and shared.

Day Two Hundred and Seven

Another busy school day. I had a Biology test in the a.m. (well 12:30PM is my a.m.) and then tons more info stuffed into my head during Chemistry. I need to figure out how to stuff interesting activities into my day while in school.

Day Two Hundred and Six

Nothing to put today because I have had an icky stomach all night and day. :( Yes mummy, I took some acidopholous!

Day Two Hundred and Five

Busy, exhausting day today. I met Cyn and Sandra at the mall where Sandra was getting her hair done, it turned out great!

After the haircut we wandered around the mall and got a cupcake since cupcakes are all the fad here. I got the New York one which was half chocolate and half vanilla, it was just okay, nothing special about it.

We then went to another mall and looked around before seeing Inception at IMAX. It was awesome! I think I might have to buy it when it comes out to watch it again and again.

We ended up doing tons of walking, definitely walked off that unimpressive cupcake!