The City By The Bay

I got Marcy a trip to San Francisco for her Christmas present, and our trip was scheduled for my Spring Break. We went for three nights with two full days and had a blast!

Our first day was spent exploring the eclectic neighborhoods on foot, and day two was spent on bikes exploring the city, the Golden Gate Bridge, and taking in the beautiful views! The weather was perfect (Well, perfect weather minus the last hour of our bike ride....it started POURING and we were soaked. Needless to say, I became MORE than grumpy since I was soaked down to my sports bra.... but other than that....ha!)

I love the architecture of the homes in San Francisco - I was definitely humming the "Full House" theme (okay let's be real, I was singing it...Yes, I know the words) while we walked through the neighborhoods. Marcy was thrilled....

San Francisco Icon - The Transamerica Building

Marcy and me on top of the Coit Tower - a great way to see the city for only $5. We rode in the elevator that is original to the tower (1912) - definitely a little shaky and creaky, but totally cool!

The Embarcadero is a Ferry Terminal with shops and restaurants and a market on Tuesdays. Lucky for us, we were there on a Tuesday, so we had fun exploring the market and had an awesome lunch at this modern soda fountain place - YUM!

Pride flags everywhere...we were in San Francisco after all :)

We rented bikes from Blazing Saddles. This bike fanny pack, coupled with my AMAZING (yeah, right...) cycling skills definitely helped me blend in with all the other cyclists. It really was tons of fun, and I was only *slightly* sore the next day....

Marcy checking the map to make sure we were headed in the correct direction. We passed a cyclist earlier and he said that the minute we started heading down hill we should know we were going the wrong way. Um, okay....

THE Bridge - So spectacular!! We rode across it, which was incredibly windy but totally worth it!! Our total mileage for the day was 23 miles. Most of my hardcore cyclist friends think that's nothing, but I definitely felt a huge sense of accomplishment at the end of the day!!

I wonder how many people have this exact same picture

Such a sweet bridge!!

Spring Break and Easter

And once again, I slacked off on blogging....
Picture 95: April 5, 2010
The view of Mt. Rainier was beautiful on my drive to the school this morning. Love getting to see it on clear days!!

Picture 94: April 4, 2010
Our Easter Table - we had friends over for Easter Brunch at Dinner, since I had to work at Starbucks all day...

Picture 93: April 3, 2010
Getting ready for our Easter Party - I LOVE these little chicks - aren't they cute!! One of them died last year...Billy was hungry. I bet they styrofoam tasted yummy.... :)

Picture 92: April 2, 2010
My Nutella cupcake treat. I brought it home from San Fran and enjoyed every bite!!

Picture 91: April 1, 2010
We got home from San Francisco, and Billy was just a little (ha!) excited to see us!!

Picture 90: March 31, 2010
Our bicycle ride through San Francisco was wonderful!! We rode 23 MILES!! It rained for the last hour or so, but other than that I really enjoyed seeing the city via bike.

Picture 89: March 30, 2010
The dessert display case at this awesome bakery in San Francisco. YUM!!

Picture 88: March 29, 2010
These two pictures are taken from the same spot within seconds of each other. One is looking east, the other looking west. Living so close to the ocean means rapid weather changes with strong heavy winds!!


Picture 87: March 28, 2010
I finally finished this bow holder for my friend Amber's new baby girl, Brenna!!

SPRING has SPRUNG!!!

I'm definitely loving the Pacific Northwest right about now - it was absolutely GORGEOUS today!! (And SNOWING in Texas!! WHAT??) I had my first Stampin' Up! Class today - only a mom and her daughter were there, but it was good practice for my future classes..... Marcy went to Bellingham, WA to visit some college friends this weekend because Linden is in Canada visiting her uncle, so Marcy had the WHOLE weekend off - yay!!! I, however, have to work at Starbucks tomorrow, so I stayed in Seattle. No complaints, though, because it's been very relaxing!! "Hotel Rwanda" came from Nextflix today, so I may watch that tonight!
Picture 79: March 20, 2010 - I found this dress on sale at Anthropologie today and I splurged (because we all know a sale is still a splurge at Anthropologie, right!!??). I can't wait to wear it for something fun!!

Picture 78: March 19, 2010 - I worked on my Stampin' Up! class for Saturday, making samples and prepping supplies. Hoping for many classes in the future!!

Picture 77: March 18, 2010 - This little guy is new to my Easter decorations this year - LOVE him!!

Picture 76: March 17, 2010 - I decorated for Easter tonight. I love my Easter decorations because they're so bright and fun and cheerful!!

Picture 75: March 16, 2010 - I opened at Starbucks and spilled mocha on my white Starbucks polo, so I got online today and ordered a new one. Luckily, Starbucks has a website for partners to order inexpensive "coffee gear," and the items ship quickly, so I should be set for next week - I opted for a black polo this time - seems like a smarter decision. Speaking of Starbucks - did you know that next Tuesday (March 23) is FREE PASTRY DAY!! Purchase any drink and get a free pastry!!

Picture 74: March 15, 2010 - We finished "Iron Jawed Angels" with my classes today. I think this movie is so powerful and wonderful. It may be a little "old" for my middle-schoolers, but I think early exposure to political history, especially women's political history, is very meaningful, especially with what I'm trying to accomplish in my classes - empowering girls!! Seen it? You should!!

Picture 73: March 14, 2010 - Technically this pic was taken Saturday night, but since it was after midnight, it counts for Sunday :) We went out in downtown Seattle for Julian's last night and had a great time. I cut out early because I'd been up since 5am for my test, but it was nice to be out for a bit!

Picture 72: March 13, 2010 - I took my Praxis test on this day and after 5 tedious hours, I was finally done - ick!! When I sat down and opened up the test booklet it read, "This test is designed for those professionals with their master's degree in reading specialty." WHAT??!!?? I was so angry - this is the test my advisor told me I had to take, and I DO NOT have my master's in reading specialty, nor do I plan to be the curriculum designer for the district (also stated on the test). Needless to say, I still had to take it b/c I paid for it, but it was super hard - lots of jargon I didn't recognize. Now I have to wait 3 weeks to get my score, and I still have 3 tests to go. Hopefully those are better. After my tests, Julian, Marcy, and I went out for a delicious lunch at Lunchbox Laboratory - SO AMAZING!! This place is a "hole-in-the-wall" joint with awesome burgers, veggie burgers, fries, tater tots, etc....They have to close early a lot because they run out of food. It's THAT good!! These vintage lunchboxes hang on the wall in the restaurant:

Picture 71: March 12, 2010 - Today I taught, and then cut out from work early to meet Julian. We went to lunch for Pho (pronounced "fu"), which is Vietnamese soup. I got a delicious Tofu bowl and I loved it!! Afterward, Julian and I went downtown and explored Pike Place Market, shopped at the first Nordstroms (it started in Seattle), and explored the neighborhoods of Seattle. It's fun to be a tourist when I have guests!!

Picture 70: March 11, 2010 - Julian arrived today and our first stop was Dahlia Lounge for lunch. Dahlia is delicious! I had tomato soup and grilled cheese - sounds simple, but this place does it gourmet and I love it!! This restaurant is my "go-to" when guests come to town because the owner, Tom Douglas, is a Pacific Northwest-trained chef and he ROCKS!! You probably notice I talked a lot about food in this post - that's my favorite part of having a visitor - stellar dining experiences!!

March

If I could actually update my blog more often, my posts would be shorter...if only....maybe after this weekend, the LAST weekend of cookies!! This Saturday I'm taking the first two of five total Praxis Tests to get my certification to teach in Washington. NONE of my certifications from Texas transferred to Washington - the only thing those certificates certified me for was to substitute teach - blah! I'm happy at Girl Scouts, but I want to get certified officially, because I know I want to be a full-time teacher eventually. Thus, $550 later, I'm signed up for 5 tests this spring.
Picture 69: March 10, 2010 - I've been having some problems with respect with my 8th graders, so today we did some team-building exercises to help combat the problem. They all actually were very receptive and we made a class agreement. Our opening activity was "Question Ball" - I made this for it:

Picture 68: March 9, 2010 - I know I've taken picture of the Cherry Blossoms before, but as Spring gets closer, they just get prettier and more fragrant...LOVE THEM!!


Picture 67: March 8, 2010 - As I took Billy for our power walk this morning, I saw this interesting tree. These flower petals are as thin as tissue paper, and this tree is covered in them. It's such a cool tree and I've never seen it before - I gotta look up its name!!

Picture 66: March 7, 2010 - I worked at Starbucks and then Marcy and I went to see "Alice in Wonderland 3D." I'd been fighting a cold all week, so sitting in the theater and relaxing was a wonderful way to spend a cloudy afternoon!! And, I really liked the movie - very empowering for teenage girls - I am going to encourage my troop to go see it!!

Picture 65: March 6, 2010 - I had another cookie booth sale after school - it wasn't super busy, but the girls had fun, and that's all that matters, right??!! :) Our cookie stash...

Picture 64: March 5, 2010 - I got my haircut on Wednesday, and it's SUPER short. I'm definitely still getting used to it...

Picture 63: March 4, 2010 - We went to this delicious little Mexican restaurant for dinner - my favorite is the veggie burrito, and the delicious margaritas!! This place is walking distance from our house and it's inexpensive, so it's a lucky find!!

Picture 62: March 3, 2010 - I took this picture today on my commute to work. This saying cracks me up, because when we were little, my brother and I used play this ridiculous game where one of us would say to the other, "Betcha I can beat ya..." and then we would slowly move our hand close to something (for example, the chair) and say "to the chair" as we were touching the chair. I told you, it's ridiculous, but we seriously played it ALL the time - sometimes it involved running, but more often it was a game we played on road trips....I'm sure my parents loved it!!

Picture 61: March 2, 2010 - This is the girl that inspired the haircut. I sat near her on the train today...I used my iPhone to take the picture so as to not seem *too* creepy :)

Picture 60: March 1, 2010 - We had a Girl Scout troop meeting on the 1st. The Daisy Girl Scouts (K and 1st Graders) painted with food, and of course, had a BLAST doing their art project!!

THE OLYMPICS 2010

Some highlights from our trip to Vancouver - awesome trip, once-in-a-lifetime experience, surreal....

Marcy and me on the train to Vancouver


View from our seats on the train


Awesome lanterns hanging in the trees in the Olympic Village


Pride


View of Downtown Vancouver from Stanley Park


The Olympic Torch


CURLING!!!


Team USA vs. China


Inside the Curling Venue


The Olympic Mascots - pretty cute little creatures


At the Pacific Coliseum for Women's Figure Skating


It was so awesome to see the Women's Short Program - we were there for 4 hours. The skaters perform in groups of five. After the two groups of skaters skate, they "zamboni" the ice, then the next groups of skaters gets 6 minutes to warm up, then each person from that group performs. It was cool to see all the "behind-the-scenes" stuff. I've been watching Ice Skating since forever, so seeing it in person was totally rad!!


The Pacific Coliseum


The Olympic Torch by night