The Haight, The Space Needle, The George Bush Library

”My restless, roaming spirit would not allow me to remain at home very long.” ~Buffalo Bill

I'm quite behind on recapping the last three adventures I had during my two months off of work.  So let me fill you in today on visiting the most famous hippie hang out in America, a national landmark, and a Republican President's library.  I'm well rounded, you have to give me that!

The Haight 

My parents and I headed to the west coast to spend a few days eating our way through one of my favorite cities in the world, San Francisco.  And eat we did.  We hit up most of my favorite restaurants, our favorite bars, and Ben and Jerry's.  It was awesome.  We did the Red Bus Tour (which I had never done before and really enjoyed), the Alcatraz Night Tour (which was fun, but freezing!!), and took my mom to do some shopping in Haight-Ashbury (and let her reconnect with her inner hippie).  It was great to get some fun time with them!

Me and Dad at our favorite Irish Pub

Alcatraz Cell House

Bus Tour

Mom connecting with her 1960's past

At our favorite restaurant in San Francisco

Dad singing Jambalaya with a street performer. 

They're cute, those two crazies.

The Clampetts invade the Haight

Boat ride to Alcatraz

Family photo at the bridge.

The Space Needle

After College Roomie's wedding, I spent a couple of days in Seattle with Gonzaga Friend.  I had never been to Seattle before, and I really enjoyed it!  It's a beautiful city, great food, and lots of fun events were going on.  We checked out the Folk Life Festival (TONS of dirty hippies playing random instruments and not wearing any shoes), saw the Chihuly exhibit, went up the Space Needle, and walked all over town.  Plus I got the chance to catch up with Gonzaga Friend, which I always love.  She is one of the sweetest people I know, and we always have the best conversations about life!  Oh, and she introduced me to pepperoni and pineapple pizza.  Yep.  You heard me.  Amazing.

Farmer's Market

Guys throwing the fish

Flowers everywhere!

Original Starbucks

Chihuly Exhibit

Folk Life Festival

Space Needle

View from the top of the Space Needle

Me and Gonzaga Friend

Public beach in Seattle

Sailboat at sunset

The George Bush Library

Poor Cousin Whitney.  We had this big trip to San Antonio planned for her Bachelorette Weekend, but then the oven fire happened and I needed to be here to deal with that, so she ended up coming to my house.  Which is cute and all, but it's no River Walk.  Don't worry, we're working on planning a trip there again soon!

But regardless, I think we did a good job of having a fun weekend around here.  There was lot of of ice cream, giant pina colladas, some grilling, getting dressed up for a fancy Italian dinner, shopping, laying in the sun, her first time to eat Pei Wei, and a visit to the George Bush (the first one) Presidential Library.  I feel quite sure that we were their first Bachelorette Party visitors.  We're crazy like that.

Headed out to dinner

Burgers, jalapeno poppers, grilled corn

Cousin Whitney at the Presidential Library

Replica Oval Office

Cousin Whitney in charge!

My 30 Things List: Part 3

Today I continue revealing my list of 30 things every woman should know and have by the time she is 30.  Be sure to check out Part I and Part II if you'are new to these parts.

Every woman should know...

Not to think she needs to marry someone to do things for her (ie. cars, money, tools).  

“I believe a strong woman may be stronger than a man, particularly if she happens to have love in her heart. I guess a loving woman is indestructible.” ~John Steinbeck

Listen up, girls.  I get it.  I do.  It is easier to rely on someone else to know how to change your oil or to understand the finer details of the difference between a Roth IRA and a 401(k), or to show up with a toolbox full of sockets and actually know how to use them.  Where you can really get yourself into dangerous territory, however, is when you think you need to marry someone---anyone---so that he can do these things for you.  That's bad, bad, bad.

You should be getting married because you love someone, not because you are sick of hauling the garbage can up and down the driveway on Mondays and you hate the idea of having to mow the yard.  It's tough being an independent woman.  But it's tougher realizing that you married the wrong guy instead of learning the difference between a regular and a Phillips head screw driver.

You can do these things on your own, or you can hire someone to do them for you.  You don't need to land yourself in a relationship for that purpose.  (Although let's be honest, how cute is it when your boyfriend is handy and can fix things for you??  Another perk of country boys, I'm just saying!)

Ziplining in Costa Rica - 2012 (unrelated to anything, I just like the picture)

How to keep a person's memory alive.

"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die."  ~Thomas Campbell

The odds are that by the time you are 30, you have lost someone close to you.  For me, I have lost 5 people who I would consider very close to me, and probably 10 more who I would consider close family or friends.  And when you lose someone who is important to you, I think that it is critical to find a way to keep their memory alive.  I honestly think that doing this is what keeps you from going completely insane.   How that looks is up to you.  Some people take flowers to the cemetery.  Some like to have the person's photo on their house.  Some cannot imagine doing either of those things, but prefer to talk to the person who passed away as though they are still here with them.  I don't think there is a right way or a wrong way, and I don't think that it is our place to judge how someone chooses to do this.  But find a way that works for you.  For me, it looks like a bookshelf I call my angel shelves where I keep pictures, notes, crosses, rosaries, etc, and blogs where I share my favorite memories about the people who I have lost.  I like to think that I am not only keeping them alive, but managing to share them with others who may not have been as fortunate as me to have them in their lives.

That even though friendships change they do not have to end.

“Being in each other’s company they feel like they are every age they ever were, because they see themselves through thousands of shared memories.” ~The Girls from Ames

Newsflash:  life changes all the time.  And with that, friendships change.  The odds are that you have found yourself in different physical locations, or in different places in life, or different relationship statuses (is that the plural?  is it statusi like syllabi?)  than your friends.  It is almost inevitable that friendships will change as we get older and our lives change.  But that does not mean that the friendships have to end.  Far from it, sometimes I think that they only get better and better.  I always try to remind myself that change does not mean an end, and that I can probably learn a lot from my friends who are going through different situations than me.

The Fearless Foursome

Every woman should have...

A go-to perfume.  

“If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?” ~Maya Angelou

You want to have a scent that is you.  So much so that when someone else is wearing that perfume, your friends think of you.  It's hard to find this, particularly for me since I am a combination of cheap and picky.  But take some time and put some effort into this, because as superficial and dumb as it is, somehow it really does make you feel more confident.

VS - Sexy Little Things

A favorite style of underwear.

"People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself.  But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates."  ~Thomas Szasz

This one is probably less about underwear and more about knowing yourself.   By the time you are 30, I honestly think you should know yourself--what you like, what you do not like, what you are not willing to tolerate, what things may be cool but just not something that you are interested in....you get the idea.  Find yourself a style that works for you, one that you feel comfortable and beautiful in, and screw what the fashion magazines tell you that you should like.  You be you, and be confident in that, and you'll rock whatever choices you make.  Except granny panties, because let's be honest, that's not cool.

Piazza del Popolo - Rome - 2009

He Did, She Did, I Gave a Speech (aka College Roomie's Wedding!)

"So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you."  ~Paulo Coelho

Y'all.  College Roomie and McCain (who votes for changing his name to Mr. College Roomie??) can throw a wedding.  Holy moly, did I have a blast! Prepare for photo overload.

There were like 50 people who journeyed across the country to watch these two get hitched in the San Juan Islands.  We traveled by plane, bus, ferry and shuttle.

It was a bit of an adventure getting to Roache Harbor on the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State (heck, it's a bit of an ordeal just saying that), but if you ever get the chance to go, take it.  You will not be sorry.  I deemed this the most beautiful place I have ever seen in America. It was fantastic.

On Thursday, the girls headed to Friday Harbor to do a little shopping and wondering around.  We had a great time in this adorable little town!

Sadly, we did not buy the hats.

After lunch, Nomad and Emily from Friends took us on a hike down to the ocean at the American Camp.  It was beautiful.  Like, breathtakingly beautiful.

I have to tell you a bit about this.  See, in the 1800's there were both Americans and English on the island.  Well a war started when there was an English pig who was trespassing in an American garden, and the Americans shot him.  No lie.  Here's proof.

Emily from Friends, you recall, is from England.  Well I felt so bad that I apologized to her for shooting the pig.  She assured me that she, and her people, forgave us.  Phew.  (Although when she got a few drinks in her and a cannon was fired off during the lowering of the flags, she did say, "Bam, I shot your pig."  So I think she may not quite be over it.)

Oh, I can't leave this out.  Nomad was driving and I made him stop to let me take pictures of all churches and livestock.  When I screamed, "Cows, stop now!"  He said, "This is embarrassing."  He's not use to an ag girl, obviously!

Cattle, sheep, alpacas, log fence, old church

That night was the rehearsal dinner, which was a beautiful bbq along the harbor.  Seriously gorgeous!

My totes amaz roomies. :)

And then someone (guilty!) suggested we hit up the karaoke bar I had seen in Friday Harbor.  It was pizza, Chinese and karaoke all in one place.....you can't pass something like that up.  We managed to convince most of the contingent to go along, and this is what happened next....

Songs may have included I'm Sexy and I Know It, Wannabe (by Emily from Friends and  The Americans),
Rose Garden, Sweet Caroline, Billie Jean, Love Story, Livin' on a Prayer, Danger Zone....

Friday was the big day.....we spent most of it in College Roomie's room getting beautiful.  And having dance parties.  That involved the Groom's mother.  And the songs Thrift Shop and Fancy ala my girl Reba.  We're cool like that.

Then came the big reveal.  Remember the dress shopping experience?  Well if not, go read that link.  So College Roomie told no one which of the two final dresses she picked.  We did a dress reveal instead.  Here is what that looked like....

Mind you, I told myself to remember I was being photographed...
this is my "pretty" face.  Good  grief almighty.

Then we took lots of pictures.

Right before this shot, I had ahold of College Roomie's arm.
The photographer made me let go because I was squishing her.
I told him I didn't want to give her away to McCain!  He
thought I was strange.

Then the two love birds said "I do" in the most perfect ceremony.

Going in for the chest bump.  Yep, it happened.  Again.

Perfection.

When the ceremony was buzzed by a plane...

And, now, the moment you have all been waiting for.  One of the other sweet bridesmaids, Mrs. Arizona, recorded my speech.  That's right, kids, you can see it in all its glory.  (I start at about 1:00.)



I'm hoping for this to go viral, get rich, and never have to do anything but blog, write a book, and feed cows for the rest of my life.  What?  A girl can dream.

And then, there was some dancing.  And it was glorious.  Fav song of the night?  Thrift Shop.  "I got 30 dollars in my pocket, and a 90,000 credit limit...."  Oh, wait, that's just the Judge Aunt Sandy version.

The girls dancing with their daddies.

I've deemed myself a member of this family.

Gettin down.

I'm not sure how this happened or why.

 And then, it was time for the last dance of the evening.  Everyone got a partner.  The bride and groom got me.

All happy and together.  As it should be.

On Saturday we all big farewell to the islands and our newlyweds.  It was the perfect wedding for the perfect couple and I loved being a part of it!

Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. College Roomie!