My dad, the Cardinals fan.

My dad has been a Cardinals fan since he was born.
And this is the closest he's ever been to them (suuuuuper close).

Awesome San Francisco weekend accomplished.





More photos to follow... it's weird that after vacation going back to work blows. NOT. Not weird.

MISC.

It's the weekend! And by weekend I mean I don't go back to work until Tuesday! Last night I make bead bracelets with Joshua's nieces and played, "Where's the chapstick?" a self explanatory game.
Today I'm going to Seattle to buy shoes and see DB and going to bed early to fly away to the city by the bay. Maybe I should double check my packing and buy some snacks!

(TWD)

Thumbs up!


Dinner in SF here.


Big chemo drug news!


Famous people photo bombing.


I still love this cover.


I'm sad/glad/sad that TWD is over.. here's a Conan clip to ease the separation.


Player on player Q&A.. pretty sure Joshua will understand none of it.


Civil Wars interviews (my ideal laundry folding companion is the trusty interview).

fashion armor.

Do you dress a certain way for confidence?
In nursing school every big test day I wore a dress with more cleavage than was appropriate for a Christian school. For me. Fashion armor. I knew I looked good. And that gave me a boost of confidence to tackle whatever was on those exams.

As a society I think we are becoming more conscious of how we raise our girls to be women that know their worth comes from more than looks. What is the balance between wanting to look put together and not being defined by that? I'm not sure.

I've been phasing my old workout gear out in favor of bright tank tops and Nike leggings. Not because I'm embarrassed to work out in my dads old Cardinals shirt and my brothers Air Force shorts but because when I pop on a yellow top and some bike shorts I smile a little more when I start spin class.
But I also don't want to be a person who has to go and buy something with every accomplishment you know? I want to own my things not have them driving me. Lately that's become easier for me- buying things to help me accomplish goals or to help me put together a wardrobe I want to last and not because it's cheap or on a whim.  Hmm. I don't have any answers.

We just had a sermon basically on modesty and I got teased a bit because if it's fashion or modesty I always go fashion. I shouldn't. I do. Maybe 2013 will be modest year... starting now. Or 2014.

Another wedding photo.

The collection grows.

Olympic Discovery Trail

(ODT)

Did my first outdoor bike ride this weekend- 45 miles over train trestles and definitely over some crazy hills. But I drank two glasses of water and went to bed and I felt completely normal in the morning! I couldn't believe it. I guess the Y is doing more than improving my mental health! An affirming workout. And I got to eat some chocolate covered pretzels after so basically the perfect day. Not that I would tell anyone that being outside and sweating was a perfect day but it was. Puppies (plus a horse) and sunshine and baby cows to coo at and pet and I am set!


I cannot describe fully how much better I feel when I go to the gym. I'm a completely different person. Some people can run outside and lift at home (my dad) and do that for years and that will keep them in shape. Other people need the socialization and motivation of a leader or a group workout to really push themselves toward a solid couple of hours. Finding where you fit is vital to feeling good about working out. At least for me.

We're doing a ride in Yakima pretty soon, my first official ride! Yahooo!

Our only, very dark, photo from the bike trip. Eating lunch at the skinniest lunch place! It was one more table wide and that's it!

MISC.

Going biking (outside, in the scary wild of Sequim).
And getting ready for Easter and TWD finale and the last week of work before SF!!!
Confession: I'm packed already. Whoops!

If you ignore the porn bit (as in they are in) isn't her hair kick-a? Yes. That is the answer.



Isn't this elephant necklace intriguing? The stone is such an interesting shape.


And some information about elephants... didn't every kid want to work at the zoo at some point?


I NEED THIS. Okay, lie. But it is awesome and I wish I were five again so I could say I needed it.


Summer singing with the roof open.


Going to see Ben Howard again in April. Yay!

...

I
HAVE
NOTHING
TO
SAY.

MISC.

I'm ending the week early. I'm the boss of this blog, I do what I want.
And I want bed.

This has been a very important two weeks for several reasons.
1. I saw Blades of Glory. That movie is hilarious!!
2. I started back at my home clinic which was like coming home and also completely foreign all over again.
3. I'm going to dinner at some meatball place in Tacoma that was on Diner's Drive-In's and Dives! Tonight! Yahoo!!!!!
4. I asked most of my bridesmaids to be bridesmaids.
5. I live streamed conclave at work and happened to catch the white smoke while charting! What luck! The last thing I live streamed was the space shuttle landing, the last American one. Did that make anyone else cry?

(I keep staring at these photos to remind myself spring will come again! Sunshine!)

Keep praying for my lovely friend and this job, or any job that she loves!


And for Big Time Timmy Jim.


This is scary right?


Conan is the perfect morning companion.


A galaxy skirt!


A new Pope with an important name (have you read about what people say the symbolism of Francis will be? And the new Pope's stances on things... it's going to be interesting hearing Vatican speaking for a while.

I'm freaking out. NBD.

100

 DAYS.

POPE.

Electing a new pope! What an exciting time!
I saw Benedict give a benediction over a crowd in Germany. He could have performed mass for all I know actually, nothing was in English..... but it was fun to gather with so many people and see him.


Embarrassingly I immediately think of this movie and Jimmy Kimmel when I think of the Pope.








Another really good Catholic movie.

Proposal.

Joshua's proposal is pretty much like the rest of our relationship at this point- laid back and full of love (and laughing and crying).

He fooled me for a week telling me that he ordered a Lacoste polo shirt UPS which I thought was bizarre but he said it was fast and only a couple dollars more and I believed him... when in fact he picked out the champagne diamond ring I'm sporting these days. It had to be signed for and I kept offering to do it since he had to work and he kept making terrible excuses about why I couldn't. Goose.

The Herberts- you know them- were leaving and I offhandedly said to Josh that it was going to be so sad they wouldn't get to see my ring. And so at their going away party he lured me outside with a promise of a present from his adopted nieces and we stood on the beach with the crashing wild (tiny) ferry waves and the freezing wind whipping about and he turned from the dark water and said, "Ready?" (because sometimes I respond to surprises inappropriately. Example: when Joshua kissed me the first time I burst into tears and left his apartment immediately) and then he got on one knee and pulled a lotion covered (it exploded in his pocket) ring box from his pocket. And honestly I remember not another thing.

The proposal was sweet, but the how is less precious than the when. Joshua protects my heart. He gave me a chance to celebrate with my family before they went away, to have time of laughing and planning and not of only crying and packing.

I didn't know what was going down, so I wore one of the teens GIANT house slippers. It was supposed to be a run to the car! So romantic I  know. On the way back off the beach it got caught in brambles and I had a thorn in my foot that was so deep it bled and bled when I pulled it out. Of course I didn't even notice the thorn until the next day when the giddy shock wore off...

My only regret is that I wasn't wearing this dress which was out of stock all winter and is finally back! I might splurge on this one thing (one outer wear thing that is) for the honeymoon.

Also do new rings and necklaces make you achey? Maybe it's because I fidget with them but oh man it's brutal the first month! My fingers and chest always feel bruised while I get used to the new accessory! And then after that it feels naked if you ever take it off.

Naughty, but sweet.

A patient of mine had this awesome bag today and I'm sorely tempted to get one as my to-and-from work tote. It's naughty! But it's pretty much how we all feel about cancer. Today was a great day to be an oncology nurse... lots of time to assess and just sit with patients and check in with their lives and listen to their symptoms (because everyone has something) and give reassurance and a boost. 

Some days it feels like your whole job is to push fluids and keep patients quiet until they leave. It's an untruth grown with stress and heavy workloads. But not today! 

Want one? Here they are.

MISC.

I've done nothing but try to knock out big scale plans for the wedding this week. Work. Tumor board. Wedding. Four Brothers. Do you go back to movies over and over because they are familiar and comforting? Four Brothers should not be comforting but I watched it all nursing school and I immediately dug it out when the lists began for the wedding. It's a silly (a little embarrassing) comfort but there you have it. Going on a breakfast double date with my brother at Kelly's- they make a pesto scrambled eggs with crispy hash browns that is killer. Maybe creating a wedding registry. Hoo boy... it's happening! I'm deliriously happy to soon be married.

(My sweet baby, he's been sleeping in my room all week)

Still hilarious.


Are all the men in this shoot gorgeous or what?


My Mom and I are doing this, my first bike ride (if I don't wuss out)!


We will start saving up for this.


Giving to charity... I knew there was a valid excuse for me buying music from 1D!

GUSH.

Can I gush about my fiance (ha!) for a minute?

KTHANKS.

This is him at church this week. With the boys at potluck, on the floor. Not on purpose, just because he saw his friends and sat with them. They jump all over him, they go to the lego store together and they see him lead communion and help old ladies and be a generally good person. My Joshua is showing them how to grow up. Including finding an old lady.


On another note, this whole planning a wedding thing is CRAY CRAY!
How the heck have people been doing it for ages? I just want to elope. To SF city hall.

Sweaters. For babies.

I will be buying this for my baby instantly after I pee on the stick. Or one of my dear friends babies.

Adorable.

Or this.

Sunday night-

I held Nana all night and cried in between Walking Dead scenes.
It's really awful that the Herberts left! And that Andrea is the worst!!! Yuck. She needs to grow a pair.
Also. Beth's singing is delightful. Having multiple feelings at the same time is overwhelming.

I hope that the show is still enjoyable without our family to watch it with.

Alright.
Enough sad.
This commercial is hilarious.

So That Happened.

Family.

This is my family in everything but blood. 

Blood too if you count all the spills we've taken on vacations! 

I am so soooooooooo sad to see them go, even if it is only for a year.

Family goes to the zoo and the beach and the campgrounds and to boy scouts and birthday parties and church and dinners and sing-along movie nights and organic food stores and regular stores. Somehow in two years we've twined ourselves together into a unit. 

It's a good thing it's okay to be sad. 

Because I'm sad.

Awful day meet-

YOUR NEMESIS.

The Dunder Code.

Pitchers and catchers-

Reported last Wednesday! 

Who gets to see them opening weekend?

THIS GIRL (and that guy)!!

We're flying to San Francisco for two games and staying in the cutest apartment- have I talked enough about AirBnB? It's so wonderful. Like this apartment we stayed in in London.

Other great things we're doing:

- Eating In-N-Out
- Meeting some of Joshua's friends (eeek! I'm nervous!)
- AND seeing two games with the Cardinals. This is great since my dad is a die-hard Cardinal's fan and I doubt there will be many Cardinal's fans there to get in his way at batting practice if he wants signatures.


Is April almost here?
More importantly  when can I reasonably start packing?

President's Day.

Yay for Adams and Washington and our first black President.
Double yay for sleeping in and getting paid for it.
Triple yay for a three day work week.

MISC.

All I do is gym and sleep and read and care for people, the one in sickness and the one in health (package deals, most patients). Four day weekend. Rest.

I die.


Ellie remix that I totally dig.


And, oops, Taylor.


A nautical knot with tassels? The best of everything!


Whowillknitmethisimmediately?


Two brilliant posts from S&fI.


It's weird that the Harlem Shake reinvented right?

Red.

Not that Valentine's Day (or as I say to annoy Joshua, ValentiMes Day) is something high on my priority list but I seem to be drawn to all the red things I'm seeing lately.


Like this cake.


Or this fun Valentine's Day idea.


Or this one via apartment therapy.


And a bag (duh).

The skinny on time.

Watches. Sleek watches.
Finding watches for work is tricky because you need something durable that can handle blood or chemicals but something pretty enough that you don't feel like a prison guard when you get dressed for work. It's a tricky business, the watch business. I love the black Skagen but with a leather wristband it would fall apart in a minute with all the washing of hands/arms I do! The Swatch I think is a better option, and I've seen how thin it is (So thin. I can't believe there are watch parts inside.). Nothing bulky to get stuck on a sweater in that baby! When my trusty Timex goes I'll invest.

I'm getting rid of all my superfluous stuff and keeping what I need, but making it quality- stuff I'll want to keep for years and years and that will last that long. Possibly because I'm lazy.

Sniffles.

This video makes me cry. It's ridiculous.

I've got the crying sniffles and the sick sniffles and I've been going to bed immediately after I get home from work/visiting the nice old man from church who is in the hospital I work in.

The Louvre is beautiful and I love the peace and majesty of it being traveled alone.
I'm going to watch it once more and go to bed.

MISC.

In Portland today.
Yay!


















I love space. Even moose in space.


The best ghost.


Obsession still going strong.


Found the grownup version of that kid's dress I love.


Lovely leather.


Maps that explain the world.

Wool yarn.

I bought some wool yarn to stitch the edges of a wool blanket of my moms, the silk ribbon had come undone and the whole blanket was threatening the same. So I fixed it, but now I have the gorgeous brown wool yarn... when I'm done making the two blankets I'm currently mired in (joyfully mired in mind you, like a quicksand made of puppies) I think I might make a scarf. Maybe this pattern. I've not made a thing for myself since I started crocheting. I might never. Or I might keep this scarf. Eh.

I might only buy wool yarn from now on! It's so lovely and warm. I love the idea of buying yarn on all my trips and crocheting a blanket with those memories tied together. Realistically this is an outrageous goal for me but...

(Quicksand is a serious business in the Fire Swamp)

Rebel Wilson.

I think Rebel Wilson's comedy is perfection. Jokes with timing and that dry delivery... I die.

Love this photo shoot.


Rebelicious.


I need a housemate to sing show tunes with!

Things I'm soooo into right now.

1. Rebel Wilson.
2. Wool yarn.
3. Road trips.

MISC.

I was just kidding last week... apparently it's NEXT weekend we're going to Portland. Some town names are pretty simple huh? Port Orchard.... bet you can't guess what there were a lot of in my town when it was named! Anyways, today Joshua and I have kidnapped six kids and we're playing games and eating pizza.

How sweet is that tiger baby? We stared right into each others eyes like best friends!

Beautiful.


Beauty.


Love the train.


Risotto.

A Little Bit Country

I'm working in a new place for a month or two, and we listen to "Kickin Country, country from the heartland" on satellite radio. Every day. All day. And now I know all the words to these four songs, so thanks for that work! The songs aren't so terribly, but good gracious the videos are awful! They have so much money and that's the result?!?

MISC.

Next weekend is super long epic Portland weekend. I just love/miss/love my friends down there. I pretty much claw my way to be with them. This weekend though- the zoo, cards (Hand and foot, I've started playing once a week with this older lady at church and it's SO FUN! Joshua and my mom and I play now with her), playoffs, book reading. It's going to be a solid weekend itself. I love the zoo.

Love me a kitchen with a retro touch.


I have to rewatch this like once a month and laugh.


Still love this song. So out of character.


Remember Scott Hamilton? He's still awesome.


I need a personal dresser.


The moon is a terrible obsession. That I have.


I was only embarrassed for a second for liking these.

Changes.

There's been so much change in 2013 already.

Change in workplaces, change in church dynamics, change in budget.

Change is scary when it's out of my control. 

There is so much I cannot control. But there are things that are mine solely. And I think it's time I took better control of those things. 

Like how I treat my family. 

And how hard I work out each morning. 

How clean I keep my room.

When I make time to pet my puppy. 

How much I call people I love to tell them I love them.

It's not resolutions so much as rearranging my priorities. 

10 Simple Things...

To make you happy. Thanks Apartment Therapy.

Seriously? I die.

Black and gold.

Earrings.
I'm getting my ears pierced ( I really truly am this time) in Portland in two weeks.
And I'm buying these to wear.
Yummers.

Tank tops.

I'll be back next week I think but until then...
Obsessed.
And this one's work themed!

If you're a woman, you should be doing breast exams once a month after your period.
It's serious business.

Boxing Day.

Back to work slaves!
Buy a lamp to get through it if you have to.

Merry Christmas.

      

From my family to yours.

Ben.

It's been too long since I posted a Ben Howard song. He's touring with Mumford, so there goes my dream show to the East Coast.
Also maybe my favorite concert tee ever. I love simple.

Quiet.

I've felt really quiet this week.

No radio in the car.

No break room for lunch.
Not much blogging.

WANT NEED WEAR READ.

Anyone else have a mom that's the bees knees?
My mom is into experiences so her presents this year from me aren't quite this tangible (we're going to dinner and a couple of other secret presents), but if she wanted things this is what I'd get her.

A framed copy of her favorite photo from Europe- people should have pretty photos of themselves in their homes don't you think?

Need? Definitely a netflix subscription, so she can watch Sons of Anarchy and Burn Notice whenever she feels like it (and maybe a copy of Hamlet to go along with SOA...)

A warm blanket to snuggle with late at night while watching Netflix.

A book that's an experience! So good, so good for you!

Soup coup.

Soup has taken over my taste buds.
ALL I WANT IT SOUP!!!

I get soup whenever I go out to eat (especially tomato soup holy balls).
I made split pea soup for potluck today- depressingly I'm already at work and had to delay post this...
Do you think soup is art?

Brocoli soup.

Tomato soup.

Wrapping paper.

Do you have a method to the wrapping paper madness?

This year I wrapped all the XME (Christmas Eve) presents in the same paper with green ribbon, the regular presents in white kraft paper with ribbons or flower tags, and anything bought in December is in gold paper. The day I bought the last of my presents I found this Rodarte for Target paper and rushed out (I'm not even kidding! I left ten minutes after I saw it online) to buy the LAST TWO ROLLS! That was my Black Friday madness moment. Also the sales clerks all directed me incorrectly to Christmas section of the store and I wanted to sock them.

But seriously wouldn't you kill for this moon paper? I might frame a piece on my wall as art. Or something from Hubble...

MISC

Going to Zoolights tonight with Joshua's family.
And sewing presents.
And stockings.

On another note- have you ever been to Marshalls? I'm never going back there, it's a black hole of things you want to buy. Yikes.

I bought a Pendleton herringbone coat at Goodwill but I need to get it taken in before I wear it. Good to see it's still trendy though.


Norman Reedus. GQ. Yes.


Anyone into science fiction? NPR might be...


Did you see this great video? He is the best ever, even if he raps about fish-filets (which are gross).


Hold on to me so tight Jimmy Fallon! Or you know, British people.


Mumford.


This movie will be delightful.

Associations.

ACOJ posted this and it made me laugh because at least once a week I tell Joshua how much I still love this song... finally jewelry so I don't have to talk about it so much, I can just wear it!

Moccs.

Look what showed up at my bf's house?

Yay! 

Merle.

I love the Walking Dead.



But it's nice that it's over for the holiday season I won't lie.
It's nice to have my life back.
... Until February.



An article with Carol.
And a spoiler video.... at least that's what AMC warns. I'm too afraid to watch it.
And finally a silly meme from who knows on the interwebs.

Brave women.

I said I was done buying books for a while since I have five I haven't read and three on hold at the library. BUT 

I love WWII stories and this one looks especially heartbreaking and wonderful.