Seattle weekend

I'm finally posting a few photos from a recent weekend getaway to the Seattle area. Between relaxing at my friend's parents' house and playing lots of games, we went on a few outings and enjoyed the end-of-summer weather. On Saturday we went to Tacoma. It was such a nice day! My opinion of Tacoma has definitely improved.

We visited Point Defiance Park, which has a zoo, aquarium, gardens and lots of pretty views like this. 

These are from the garden.

The camera had a hard time accurately capturing these colors. There were lots of dark purple hydrangeas. Really pretty.

  

 This was a cute little porch area.

Hm...something happened to my photo sizing. :( I didn't know these turned out small until now, and I don't feel like tracking these down and resizing them.

The next day we went to Snoqualmie Falls. By one of the parking lots is a cute little foresty trail.

  

 I included some people so you can get an idea of the scene.

It was too bright to do very long exposures on the waterfall. Some other time I need to go later in the day.

Another of the viewing spots.

 

Some signs of fall.

 

 

The walking bridge from the parking lot.

 

 The visitor's center, I guess? I can't remember.

 

We finished off the excursion with a late lunch at Ivar's! Delicious.

 

That weekend feels so long ago. It was definitely my best weekend of the month. And now September is almost over, and I'm totally okay with that. Happy October Eve!

Daily photos

Happy birthday to my younger sister D today! She doesn't read this but I like to say it anyway. :) My sisters were born one week apart! (Give or take 5 years.)

It seems like I should just wait until tomorrow to post the rest of my September daily photos, but I will not be so logical.

9/22 - I love a clean kitchen!

9/23 - I'm kind of addicted to this.

9/24 - The only photo I took this day, and wow is it lame! This was a pumpkin pie smoothie I made.

9/25 - The current state of my office. There's some construction and office trading going on, so our office is the storage area for a little while.

9/26 - After a gray and dreary morning, this was a welcome sight.

9/27 - The clouds were really interesting and they made a cool sunset. Below are a couple photos taken before the sunset...

I believe they are cirrocumulus clouds.

9/28 - Watching my favorite movie.  I always think it looks like Wickham has a tail in this scene. :P

Update on life: I'm feeling much better (remember the cold I had last week?). I'm still coughing and stuff, but that'll go away soon. Otherwise, things are okay. This week has had ups and downs, but life goes on. (Can I sound any cornier?) I'm looking forward to my NM trip next week, and I'm always glad for a new month, so bring on October!

I found out my mom is coming to visit me again! There's a women's conference in February, and this will be her third time to attend with me. Yay Mom! I wish Oregon were nicer in February, but at least it gives us an excuse to just relax at my place.

I wish my blogging was more frequent and consistent lately, but I've become really sloppy about it, and I'm not sure when that'll change. I have plenty of ideas on what to post, but apparently I lack the energy or interest in actually posting them.

I'm also really bad about keeping up with email, as I'm sure many of you have noticed. I'm sorry if I owe you a response. I will try to get around to it soon. :)

How are you? Tell me something you're looking forward to.

Coming soon: photos from my weekend in Seattle (a million years ago).

Special Day!

Every so often (or maybe more often than not?), my sister's birthday lands on the first day of fall. I think that's why it's her favorite season. I love birthdays, and it just makes today all the jollier! 

R is my only family member who also blogs, so she gets special treatment here sometimes, with links and  mentions. :) Plus, she's a devoted reader/commenter and is usually one of the first to comment on each post I write. Thank you, R!!

Here are some more facts/reminders about R, as they come to mind.

• She lives in the Albuquerque, NM area with her husband and five kids.
• All of her kids are adopted from the foster system.
• Her favorite color is blue.
• She likes road trips and has been on several throughout the US.
• She lived in New Hampshire before she moved to New Mexico, and grew up in California (and Nevada).
• She once spent a summer living in Hawaii with my uncle and his family.
• We went to the same high school for one year when she was a senior and I was a freshman.
• Yes, she was willing to give me rides to and from school, but no, she wasn't always prompt or excited about it. :P
• She got me involved in the drama club in high school, and she won Best Leading Actress for playing Miss Brooks in Our Miss Brooks.
• She used to collect giraffes, and tends to still get them as gifts. Not usually real ones, though.
• She prefers to call fall "autumn" instead.
• She homeschools her five kids (while also caring for 1-4 nieces, depending on the day and time).
• Her blog talks a lot about homeschooling and offers some good links and tips and experiences, for those of you interested!
• She played trombone in jr. high (I think?).
• Also, she could play Go Tell it on the Mountain on the autoharp when we were kids. :D 
• She has always been interested in writing, and used to write stories that she'd read to my younger sister and me. We would often laugh and make fun of different sections, because we're awesome sisters. I still laugh thinking about certain parts, though (like when the armless boy "footed" his sister the remote control). But seriously, the fact that she came up with full stories and wrote them out as a kid is pretty impressive, considering I can't come up with a full story idea even now.
• R and I have worked at the same place twice. First at her in-laws' restaurant, and later at a university.
• Growing up, my sisters and I played lots of games, and R and I still play some games whenever we see each other. Usually Scrabble, Yahtzee or Scattergories.
• She loves blog readers, so head over there. :)
• She's a great sister and cares a lot for her two younger sisters! 

Have a great day, R! See you in two weeks. :)

Daily photos

Happy last day of summer, if that is something to be happy about. I love fall, but I'm also sad to see summer go. The weather has definitely taken a turn, and today it's been gray and misting, and I contemplated turning on the heater (but didn't when I remembered I had a window open :)).

This past week has been eventful, but not necessarily in a photogenic way. Still, I managed to capture something each day, and I consider that a big accomplishment. It's harder than it seems.


9/16 - One of my neighbors likes to feed the ducks, so lately I keep hearing the sound of a herd of mallards out my back door. This time they were eating pretzels.


9/17 - Dinner before being cooked. I am not a huge fan of eating bell peppers, but I like the smell and flavor, so I was craving one of these. It's stuffed with ground turkey and some spices.

9/18 - I had the fun opportunity to take pictures at a drug dog demo. It was really interesting! Here's the dog giving her cue to her owner that she has found drugs, and now the owner is going to reward her with a tennis ball.


9/19 - This is the time of year when the sunrises get cooler. Not only are they in a better position from my back door, but I'm actually awake early enough to see them. This is not the best example of the sunrise coolness, but it's a reminder that more are coming.


9/20 - One of the many times when I didn't know what to take a picture of, so you get to see my dinner. Cube steak and butternut squash. 


9/21 - Annnnd I'm sick. I think stress and the change of weather could have contributed, but I guess it doesn't matter. Hopefully it'll be over soon, but I'm just grateful I haven't had a cold in over a year. PS Those zinc lozenges are nasty. I had forgotten how they coat your mouth. BLAH. So, anyone want to buy them? :)

What are you doing this weekend? I hope to get some chores done in the midst of probably a lot of sitting around in sweats and taking cold meds. Currently I have some chicken soup and tea next to me and there are always plenty of games to play online and on my phone. I feel fairly content.

Peace out.

Dailies

Can you believe it's already mid-September? Sheesh! It's easy to forget since the weather has still been really nice here. In fact, right now I have the fan on and the windows open. How's the weather for you?

This is what happens when I do photo projects: I start taking random snapshots (with my point-and-shoot) of boring subjects, just to fulfill my goal. Also, my week was much less eventful. Enjoy! :P


9/10: I've been rewatching The Office season 7 during meals since it's on Netflix. And I have Netflix now! Feel free to recommend something for me to watch.


9/11: I went to the library and lots of my holds were ready (yay!) so I am nicely stocked with audiobooks.


9/12: Sneak preview!! I had a press check on the new calendar. That's just where you go to the printer and see how it's coming off the presses to make sure the color is satisfactory. A small adjustment was made and then I signed off on it.


9/12b: Whoops, I just realized I had two options for 9/12! I'll show you both. This was one of the rare occasions when I needed the Pantone books (though in the end, I didn't end up using the color selections).


9/13: Sadly, this was the only photo I took this day. I was parked at Walmart and saw this pink SUV and wanted a photo. I slyly took it through  my rearview window. When it drove away, I saw it was for Mary Kay, which explains the pink a little more. I don't think I'd want a pink car, but it's still pretty!


9/14: Lots of work-related photos! This is a poster I came up with and hung it up to get a look at it from a distance (and compare it to the colors on my monitor--way off).  This is the area right next to my desk. There's a fireplace behind me (to the left in this photo) because I work in an old house.


9/15: Two things: today I (kind of) organized my spices so they're easier to get to, and I also tried a ranch dressing seasoning recipe. I was underwhelmed with the flavor, though I had mixed it with Greek yogurt (as a dip) instead of mayo and milk. I'll try it the real way before making a final judgment.

I hope you're all doing well!

September Days

I wish I were better at blogging lately, but life and my hesitations get in the way. But maybe you'll be happy to know that I decided to do a photo-a-day project for the month of September.

The tricky part is that in my blog I am careful about what I post. I don't like to post images of people if I didn't ask permission, and I like to keep specific information, like my workplace, out of the public eye (for the most part). That means some vagueness, but these will still tell you a bit about life these days. I'll try to post them every week or so. Here are the first nine days!

[NOTE: These aren't meant to be great examples of photography.]


9/1:  Making freezer burritos for a friend.


9/2: Finally started another puzzle.


9/3: A conversation with my dad which was a great way to start off my week. Hm... do I want to spend Thanksgiving break on a beach in Mexico? Let me think... HECK YES. (PS I like how my dad writes "This is your dad speaking," instead of just, "It's Dad." Haha.. am I in trouble? ;) Dad, I hope you don't mind me posting your texts here!)


9/4: Another department at work threw us an apology BBQ after they forgot to show up to a pizza lunch we had planned a couple of weeks before. :P They also brought these pies to the pizza coordinators.


9/5: The moon has been in a very convenient position, and it caught my eye as I walked by the back door.


9/6: Some birthday presents for a friend I was about to visit.


9/7: A different birthday boy. We threw a surprise birthday gathering for my boss, and they put the full 65 candles on the cake and had an extinguisher standing by.


9/8: I went up to the Seattle area to visit a friend, and on Saturday we took in some Tacoma sights. I have always been kind of critical of Tacoma (what little I had seen), but this visit really changed my opinion. The weather was perfect and some of the views of Puget Sound were soooooooooooooooo beautiful. It was a really great day. More photos to come.


9/9: Then we went up to Snoqualmie Falls on Sunday. It was my second visit, and I was glad to see it again at a different time of year.

I hope you guys have had a good start to your September! We're already a 1/3 of the way in. Mine has been pretty great so far. :)