Walking in the rain.

It started raining this morning on my way to work.
As my friend and I made our way further south into Seattle, the rain got more rainy. As we were walking from our second bus into work I had to duck my head to keep the rain from going into my eyes.
Now it's raining pretty hard so I am thankful we made it inside before it really started coming down.
I've been pretty lucky this summer. I haven't had too many rainy days when going to and from work.
I guess this means summer is really coming to and end. I am both distressed and eager about the changing of the seasons.


This Friday I will be leaving really early (5am or so) to head to Montana to see my mom. It's just going to be Torkie and me on this adventure.
Ryan has a lot to do and felt like he shouldn't take the time away. I, on the other hand, feel strongly that I should go. It's going to be my last opportunity to see my mom until Thanksgiving or even Christmas.
I get Monday off for labor day so I only have to take 2 days off work. I will be coming home early Tuesday morning.
It's a 12 hour drive there. I've done it enough times that I know the drive like the back of my hand. I've even driven the whole thing myself before, but not by myself. I feel confident though. I'm leaving at 5am specifically so I will only be driving during the daylight hours which is safest. Plus, I'll have my little fuzzy guy with me so I wont really be alone. I also got myself set up with AAA in case there are any problems. Ryan is more concerned with me driving out there than I am, but it's to be expected. He loves me, that's all. :)
I'm excited to see my mom and for her to meet Torkie. I think it will be really fun to have some time together to do whatever we want.

Speaking of Torkie, I can hardly write a blog post without a cute photo of him. Ryan sent me this yesterday morning. Apparently Torkie was looking extra cute because he wanted Ryan to take him potty. :)

And the best part for last...

On Saturday Torkie and I met up with my friend Laura and her little 4 month old Boston Terrier, Dexter and went to the Marymoor dog park.
I am thrilled to report that Torkie was the perfect little pup and very well behaved. He mostly trotted along right by my side and didn't growl or bark at any other dogs.
On the other hand, he didn't really play with anyone or check stuff out too much. Which is ok, but I wanted him to enjoy himself.
Little Dexter wanted to play with Torkie SO bad but Torkie was mostly ignoring him.

We were nearing the end of our play date and just walking around the fields at the park. Torkie decided to potty for the 10th time(where he had it all stored, I have no clue) and when he was done he did his little "burning off" or kick his paws back on the grass thing. After that, he seemed to be filled with some crazy energy and took off! He finally got a chance to let it all out and he took advantage of it!
Poor little Dexter was trying SO hard to keep up with him, but Torkie is really really fast. I think in a couple more months though, Dexter will keep up more.
It was SO cute to see Torkie running like he was being chased by demons or something. I was also so happy that he finally got to have some fun. He would almost let Dexter catch him and then would take off again.
Unfortunately, I forgot my camera.... BUT Laura had her iphone and was able to get some video of Torkie going crazy! It's one of the cutest things I've ever seen and I've posted it below.



Happy Tuesday everyone! I can't wait for the week to get over and to hit the road!

Hoo are you? Last day of August edition!

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1. What is your least favorite thing to clean in your house?

Hmmm..... I hate hand washing dishes. If I can avoid doing this or talk my wonderful husband into doing it I will. I'd rather clean the bath tub than do dishes.

2. What color of shirts do you wear the most?

It's not intentional, but I wear a lot of pink. I think it's a nice color on me so I tend to gravitate to it a lot lately.

3. Do you have long hair or short hair?

I have medium hair. I used to have REALLY long hair but taking care of it got really tiresome. Not only that, I have fine hair so when it's really long it gets weighted down easily and looks kinda crappy in my opinion.

4. What time do you usually eat dinner?

Ideally, we try to eat around 6:30. I got to bed at 9:30 so eating late messes with me.

5. What is your favorite dessert?

Creme Brulée. I LOVE that stuff, whenever I get it I usually end up getting most of it because Ryan thinks it's too rich. He he he, lucky me!

Ok, this is getting ridiculous.

I've been so worked up about my 100th post that I haven't posted.
I didn't want it to be boring, but then it turned into me not posting anything for 2 weeks.

Really who cares about the 100th post? Not that big of a deal. Maybe I'll do something special for my 200th post. Ha!

Anyways, lots to talk about.

Our shop is semi close to being done. It's all sided, windowed and it and our whole house got a new paint job. It looks so much better. I can honestly say we have one of the best if not THE best looking home in our neighborhood now. It's pretty awesome.

We went to West Coast Subaru Show last weekend in Cashmere, WA. It was a blast!
We had a group of about 25 people camping with us; the weather was great, met some cool people, stared at some amazing cars and just had a great time. Every year when I go to this it renews my love for my car and the car scene in general. I already am counting down the days till next year.
Torkie had to be boarded for the first time. :( We had him stay at the Pets Hotel at Petsmart. I'm pretty happy with everything regarding his stay. Apparently at some point during his stay, he figured out how to open his kennel and he went for a stroll. When one of the workers saw him, he ran back to his kennel and pretended he hadn't done anything. He's such a smart little boy.

Photos of Subarus:

Setting up our camp. We needed to save spots for 13 more tents.

Our friend Michael was really excited about this sticker.


He had to put it on his car immediately.


Me! And yes, I'm quite blond now.



Sunset Friday night at the campground. It was spectacular. I think the wild fires burning over the hill had something to do with the vivid colors. The Rumble Wagon looks so shiny!

Show time. All of the cars in our group lined up together.

Spectators getting ready to watch people tear it up in the mud pit.

Our camp spot from a hill over looking the whole camp ground. We were one of the largest groups there.

Speaking of Torkie, we've noticed when it's a little chilly out or if he’s wet he gets cold really easily. We decided to pick him up a little sweater last night to see if that would help.
Well it was quickly obvious he does NOT like to wear clothing. As soon as we put the sweater on him he turned into a statue. He literally did not move for 5 min. He just stood in the kitchen looking pathetic. We even tried to get him to move by offering him a treat. No luck. Poor little guy.
I am hoping that if we just get him used to wearing a sweater and leave it on him that he will eventually move and get used to it.

Photos of said sweater and pathetic pup and more pathetic-ness in the form of Torkie getting a bath:

Please help me.

Soggy pup.

I'm really excited to today to be over. This week has gone surprisingly fast though. I'm getting together with my best friend Monique after work for sushi, (window) shopping and just because we haven't hung out in a long time. Some much needed girl time will be great.

Last of all, I'm participating in Friday Fives over at Just Me and My Life.

1.Something you are OCD about:
I'm randomly OCD about little things like messes and dishes, but lately, I've become super OCD about dog hair on our kitchen/dining room floor. For some reason, it really bothers me. It may be because our dog is light colored so his hair stands out like a sore thumb, but I've been sweeping, swiffering and vacuuming almost every day. One reason to be excited for fall and winter is his shedding will slow down.

2. Your favorite quote:
Hmm I have a couple that have really struck my fancy lately.

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. - Mignon McLaughlin

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

“The most exciting movement in nature is not progress, advance, but expansion and contraction, the opening and shutting of an eye, the heart, the mind. We throw our arms wide with a gesture of religion to the universe; we close them around a person. We explore and adventure for a while and then draw in to consolidate our gains.” ~Robert Frost

3.What is the farthest you have been from home?
Maui, Hawaii

4.Do you do a real or fake Christmas tree?
REAL! I love Christmas and going to get a tree.

5.First Blog you ever read?
I think it was Ryan's SIL's. http://craigandwhitney.blogspot.com/


Happy Friday everyone!

Thursday Randoms

I've had a sort of "blogger's block" this week. I don't feel like I have anything interesting to say and I haven't had the time to take any neat photos. Not to mention, I don't want to post total junk because I'm only 2 posts away from my 100th post(1 after this one). I'd like my 100th post to be more interesting.

So I've just been mentally compiling random things/thoughts this week.

1. This is the highlight of my week. I was able to do my first ever in my whole life pull up yesterday night. 6 months ago the idea of being able to do a pull up wasn't even a possibility and the thought never crossed my mind. I'm so excited about this. I have always had poor upper body strength so this is a huge deal to me. Hopefully I'll be able to do some more tonight. This is one of the many reasons that I love CrossFit and am so obsessed with it.

2. Ryan and his dad are being taken to lunch today by Cadman Concrete Co. Um.... how cool is that? They're a pretty big company/big deal so I'm impressed. I asked Ryan why they're taking them to lunch and Ryan just said it's because his dad and him are awesome. I was kinda hoping for a better explanation than that, but it works. :)

3. A guy I work with suggested the yummiest sounding thing today. French toast made with flavored coffee creamer instead of milk!!! Can you imagine? Southern Butter Pecan french toast... Pumpkin Pie Spice french toast.... Cinnamon Creme french toast... Drooling yet? There are waaaaay to many delicious sounding flavors. I'm totally going to try this. Soon.

4. We picked out a new color for our house and new shop yesterday. Ryan and his dad are hoping to have it painted by this weekend. I'm super excited. I'm not going to say the color so it's more fun when I post pics later. All I know is its going to look way better than before.

5. Last November we went to the ocean with our friends Ryan and Kelsey. It was fun. Because it was fall and really cold, it wasn't crowded and it was fun being in the stormy weather. Anyways, while we were driving around checking stuff out we came upon this little town called Seabrook that had just popped up in recent years. I guess it would be sort of a resort town. Meaning, it was built with the intention for people to rent out their little homes to vacationers. We ate dinner at the little restaurant in town and drove around it a little bit. It was a really neat place.
We decided that maybe we'd make our fall trip to the ocean a yearly tradition and this year stay in one of the cabin/houses. They range in price from $99 a night for a smallish but very cute place to huge mansions that sleep 20 people for $700 a night.
We're really excited and aiming for October 8th, 9th and 10th. We are hoping to have another couple come with us this year to split the costs and more the merrier. The one we're looking to stay in is called Shifting Gears. It sleeps 8 people, has 3 bedrooms and a hot tub too. All of the little cottages, as they call them, are very cute and would be super fun to stay in. I'm hoping I'll have it all reserved in the next couple days.

Last, I will leave you with some photos of places I'd rather be right now. :)

Grand Teton NP, Wyoming.


Moraine Lake in Banff NP, Alberta

Tuesday Snooze Day?

Ha! Yeah right I wish.
I've had 4 days off from working out since the last time I went. It was a nice and needed rest but I'm ready to get back at it.
Tonight after I go beat myself up at the gym, my friend Emily is treating me to a pedicure(birthday present) which will be so nice and fun. I'm excited.
Our last wedding of the summer is this Friday. Yeah, Friday the 13th. Pretty weird. I don't think I would have picked that. We still need to get them a wedding present too. All of a sudden the date caught up with us.

Oh, also excited about the rumors that Verizon might be getting the iphone next year. I've been holding out for a good phone to upgrade to for a long time. I've had my phone for 3.5 years now!

I'm participating in:

1. What are some of your favorite summer activities?
Camping, which we haven't even done yet this summer. Taking walks. Hiking, which we also haven't done. Swimming, we checked out our community pool a couple weeks ago and it was actually really nice. Road trips.
2. What is your favorite flower?
Anything that smells good or is colorful. My mom always gets me the most beautiful bouquets on my birthday.
3. What is your favorite meal of the day?
Breakfast. I only get a real breakfast on the weekends because I'm in too much of a hurry and it's too early when I get up. Breakfast type foods are soooo good.
4. How much time do you spend on the computer each day?
Too much. I'm on the computer for my job so I'd say at least 8 hours.
5. Do you have any pets?
Yes! We've had tropical fresh water fish for a while now. As of tomorrow, we'll have had Torkie our little fluffy guy for a month. :) We sure love him.



p.s. Sorry if what I posted yesterday made anyone mad. But I have a right to how I feel and my feelings are valid.

How do I say this...

...without coming off as insulting and inhuman?

Maybe this is an "over share" but I need to get it off my chest. This is my place to write and right now, this is what's on my mind. Though I've been debating posting this. Oh well.


At this moment in time, I cannot stand children. *gasp!* Sorry.
This has been an issue for a little while now and I'm not completely sure why.
But...
Around the beginning of April, I was feeling rather morose. You see, at that time, I knew about 6 women who were pregnant. With all this pregnancy around me, I started to get the "baby bug" and felt like I wanted to think about having a child. Felt like I needed to get pregnant and make a baby. Pressure much? No, not from any one person, but from life in general and what I was surrounded by.
Unfortunately for Ryan and me, that wasn't an option then or now. We believe in planning for a child and being financially prepared before we let it happen. I refuse to let a child come into a world where we can't comfortably take care of it. It feels irresponsible to me otherwise.
So I started to get bummed out and felt pretty crappy about it.

But at some point in May or something I had an epiphany.

I'm 24 years old! I don't need to have children any time soon. What the heck was I thinking?!?!?!

Ryan, the amazing husband that he is, is totally supportive of me and my feelings on this. He agrees that we don't need to be thinking about having kids anytime soon.

Which I now believe has led me to my current distaste for children.
Maybe a sort of defense mechanism against being upset about not being able to have them?
I don't know.
All I do know is that I feel like I have a kid allergy. They annoy me. Hearing about them annoys me.
No, there is no thing in particular or any child in particular which is bothering me.
Everyone who reads this and is fortunate enough to have been able to have children already, I'm happy for you and deep down I love all your babies and think they're adorable, but *shudder* I just can't deal with them right now.

At some point I'll (hopefully) get over this. But right now I apologize if I don't want to hold your baby or if I don't get excited when so and so takes their first steps. Yes I am happy for you, I just don't want to have anything to do with it.

(sigh)

So does everyone think I'm an awful and evil person now?

Getting to know me.... on Sunday.

Random photo from April 2009. I stumbled upon it when looking through some others and was shocked by how long my hair was.


1. Do you think mustaches are sexy?
I think they are on my husband. He has a hairy face a lot of the time so I've grown to love it. He's very manly.

2. What's the last concert you've been to?
For my best friends 21st birthday in 2007 we went to Las Vegas. Her brothers god father bought everyone tickets to see Prince at the Rio. It wasn't something I would have done on my own but I really enjoyed the show a lot.

3 What was your favorite 80's sitcom?
I must have been too young because I don't have one.

4. Were you named after anyone?
My grandma's middle name is Kathryn, my aunt's name is Kathryn and my grandma's grandma was the equivalent of Kathryn in Finnish. So it's safe to say yes.

5. When you buy new clothes, do you wash before wearing?
Depends on the item. I know I probably should, but not always.

6. If you didn't blog, what would you do with your spare time?
Read. I read a lot and when I'm done writing this I probably will go and try to finish my book.

7. What is your favorite department store?
Nordstrom! LOVE that place. I can always find tons of cute stuff there.

8. If you were to get Laser Hair Removal..where would you get it?
Arm pits or legs. Both are a pain to shave constantly.

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone has something fun planned this weekend. My good friend's birthday is tonight, so tomorrow we're going out to dinner and hanging out with a bunch of people. Should be a good time!

My goal this weekend is to also get some of the photos taken for the big August photo challenge. I'm excited about getting out and finding interesting things to shoot. :)

Time for 5 Question Friday!

1. Are you a neat sleeper or a messy sleeper?
I am a pretty neat sleeper most nights. My husband on the other hand ends up with the blankets everywhere and his pillow halfway down the bed.

2. Fill in the blank. I wish I was more ________________.
Even keeled. I sometimes think it's the Gemini in me, but I can be a rollercoaster sometimes.

3. What is something that you wish you had been warned about?
Well I'm sure I was warned about this, but that life just gets harder when you grow up. You spend all this time wanting to be an adult but don't realize it's really hard and that you had it SO easy as a kid.

4. What was the best thing you ever found at a garage sale/flea market?
Well my husband always finds great stuff. He got a whole bunch of materials for our garage for REALLY cheap at a garage sale last month. I on the other hand don't go to them much. But at the same garage sale, I got a really cool Ansel Adams print in a nice frame for $5. :)

5. If you could have any meal brought to you right now, what would it be?
Breakfast!!!!! Yummy rolled oats oatmeal with nuts and dried fruit, Swedish pancakes, turkey bacon, fresh fruit and peppermint hot cocoa. Yum!


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Good news!

My leg isn't going to fall off or anything! Yes, I will admit I was having some hypochondriac type thoughts about my flesh rotting away or something. It happens.
When I went to the doctor yesterday my dent was pretty much gone(of course). I still went anyways to talk to her about it. She checked me out, went over a couple things and basically said that what's going on with me is similar to shin splints but with no pain. Ok, works for me. She said there is nothing to be worried about unless it starts to hurt or something.
Phew!

Also, yesterday I decided to step up my workout regimen. I'm really excited about this.
Like I mentioned a while back I'm really loving CrossFit. I've NEVER in my life been this into exercising. I bumped up my membership to unlimited status with the plan to go at least 3 times, if not 4 times a week. Yay!
Best shape ever... here I come!

Also I'm participating in a Blog Hop today.
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The week's half over, well almost. Yay!