Ironman was awesome! I'm really glad we went to see the midnite showing. :)
Surviving work Friday wasn't too bad, got stuck at work for a while but we worked it out.
Saturday's outing was wonderful! even if it was a bit hazy, it was an excellent day. After the ritual and food and jut being in the fresh air of the gorgeous ridley park, we picked up pizza and headed out to ryan's mom's, got to see the micro-Ryan for a few hours and walk around zerns for a bit. i picked up some wonderful vargas prints and an old camera magazine from the 50's with marylin on the cover. bath time, lullabies, and a warm shower and home!
Sunday we hit SundayOut with fervor! it was a gorgeous day in old city, and we even remembered the sunscreen! After perusing the festival for a few hours we headed over to a couple thrift stores on Bainbridge, acquired a few more old photos, then over to TLA before heading home and over to Zak's for pasta and The Labyrinth.

So that's really it! heh. I'll catch you all later!

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has it really been a week since i updated? really? man when people i haven't talked to in 4 months tell me i need to update, i guess i'm slackin. then again, i wouldn't have to if we'd talked in 4 months. ;)

so friday night was stephanie's goodbye party. i say stephanie's because no one else showed up. we partied it up for a while, got a little crazy, then hit the diner for a bite before heading back.

saturday we relaxed a bit at ryan's mom's (they were out of town and offered us the house for the day/night), played some pool, and hit up zern's for a little bit of randomness. we also FINALLY got to check out The Hidden Staircase, which is this fantastic antique book store in skippack. every time we go out that way point at it and make squeaky excited noises. the guy who owns it is exceptionally friendly. we will indeed be going back. that night we rocked out to some comedy central before nice warm showers (man, it's sad when that's a luxury) and sleeeeep so we could wake up for....

sunday to help rich and kris move to chestnut hill. unfortunately something i did disagreed with my system immesurably, and i ended up sprawled on their bed trying not to throw up while ryan poured water into me like a storm drain. ugh! after the bulk of the move we got food and hung around for a while. jon and ryan did a stupendous job of moving the worlds most stubborn armchair into the basement. it took kicking, squishing, and disassembling parts of it to fit through the stairway...and the safety rail almost didn't make it...not to mention the fact that that chair will NEVER be coming out of the basement in one piece...but it's there! bravo, boys! i conked out on the couch for a while, and by the time i came to it was time to come home.

monday we spent on errands and such. went to visit rich for a while. browsed target to price check things we'll need when we move. tuesday was more of the same. packing...oh man, the packing.

today starts super duper diet and workout routine! we've got a goal by july. :) i'm confident (for the most part).

our official move date is the 17th. anyone who helps us carry shit is in for free food and beer. anyone pregnant gets a rain check on the beer (sorry, linz) please note, the beer will come AFTER the moving..i will not be the one responsible for drunk people breaking our shit. ;)

anywho, thats the update. going to see ironman at midnight tonight, and lots going on this weekend. if anyone is around sunday, find us at sunday out.

now...work! later gators!

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we signed the lease on our perfect apartment today! it's got a basement for my photo work and ryans tools and a backyard for a meditation circle and an herb/vegetable garden. we move in sometime late may, then we're having a party! in a month my credit cards will be paid off and we'll have a new apartment. silver lining time guys! thank gods! ryan's mom and stepdad came over yesterday to help us pack, and i was able to get my barstools fixed. to celebrate we went to bingo at bob and barbara's. always good to see mr bob dix. tomorrow we're supposed to be going to a goodbye party. i'm really going to miss zenobia and mary (and of course the rest, but especially those two because they've become really close friends to me :( ) Of course, now I've got couches to sleep on in Seattle (because I didn't get enough of Mary's couch in Philly). Saturday I think we get to spend at Ryan's mom's, and Sunday we help Rich relocate his stuff. ;) Things in other mundane areas are also looking up, which is great. I start my new diet/workout plan the 1st (for a few reasons), so wish me luck! Bye bye broken butt weight!

Anywho, I've got a pot of yerba mate wating for me at home...loooove!

many blessings to all of you!

and per Rich's homework.... I love me! (ok so there's no mirror here, but it's a start)

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ryan found us the perfect apartment...it fit both of our needs really well...and the girl who saw it after him wrote a check on site before he could get ours to the guy...meh! so, the search continues unless her check bounces. meh!

there's a lot of other, good news, but it's really not appropriate to blog about..just know things are looking up. :) and that'a wonderful feeling.

Today I went out to lunch with my Nana, which was great. She's one of the people I miss the most when I'm gone. I also got to see my other grandparents, which is a mixed experience at best, but it's always good to see them. They do so much for me, and I feel like I never have enough time to say thank you. When we come back in August we'll be staying there, so I'll get to spend a little more time with them. My grandma bought me pants without holes in them. Yay! I'm apparently going to see my Uncle Nick in a little bit when he returns my father. Woo!

So that's that...
in other news...I need to find my iPod....severely.

also..it's interesting to see how people in other countries perceive the mormon faith. there are a lot of misconceptions just in the US, i can't imagine how it comes across to people in other countries. thoughts?

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today so far
My dad and I decided to go on a walk this morning. Despite popular belief, there is still some open land here in San Pablo/Pinole. The view from the hill is amazing...a full 360 of Pinole, San Pablo, the bay, and Vallejo. After the hill my dad took me over to see the new bridge in Old Town Pinole, and we came across a small dachsund wandering down San Pablo Ave. We tried to call the worn number on the tag, but I got an answering machine. The animal shelter confirmed that it was the correct number and Mia the wiener dog is now in their care until her caregivers are home from work/school. I'm glad we found her when we did. There was a water crew digging a large hole, and she was headed straight towards the busy intersection. Who knows what could've happened to her! Creatures big and small. After lunch at Jack in the Box (a tradition every trip because I miss it) we headed home so I could further deal with this apartment fiasco.

Ryan saw an excellent place this afternoon right on Ridge across from Superfresh. The pros? It's a good size, affordable, there's Superfresh, we'd get a storage unit and $100 off the first 3 months, and they accept dogs. The main cons? It's a bus not a train to the city unless I want to walk down Ridge...either way it's an extra 20 minutes, and it's one of those complexes with windows only on one side of the building, which means a dimly lit apartment. I was so happy that the place on Chelten had windows all over. He really wants this place. A morning shift most of the months would negate the bus issue, which is fine, I'd just like to get a few more in our sight first. He's right, I'm being picky, but the second place I sent him is cheaper, has lots of window, and is gorgeous. Is it so bad that I at least would like him to take a look at it? He went over and couldn't find the guy who said he'd be there, so he went back home. He's hesitant about going back, but he agreed to try. He's not really interested, though. His issue is that it's close to a CVS and that's it. True. That could be an issue. I'd still like him to take a look. Apparently he's got a few more to look at also. It's frustrating to be away from the whole process like this. I wasn't going to come, but I'd had it planned and he told me to come see my family. I can't express how much I appreciate him picking up the slack on this one, but you all know how I like to retain at least slight control on things. I feel helpless here, but he's taking care of it. I have to have faith in him to make the right decisions for us, as he has in me. That being said...argh! I really just want to know where I'm going to be living next month. His mom is helping us out a tremendous amount, and it's a huge relief to have help on both sides.

anywho, my grandma and i are going to the Cerrito Speakeasy Theatre...sounds like fun...report later. :)

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So I've been in four cities in two days....It was 70 when I left Philly, 40 in Chicago, 90 in Vegas...and now its somewhere between 58 and 60 in Oakland. I'm done! Anywho, it was a long weekend and it went like this...

Friday I got off of double shift number two (which I will never do again) and we headed out to Ryan's mom's house for pizza, drinks, and pool that eventually turned in to basement wiffle ball. The next day Ryan got on his way to school and I slept as long as I could before being roused and carried home where we prepped for the day of many parties. First there was Erich's BBQ, which was a good time with good food. It got started a little late, and we almost opted out of party number two, but Carolanne twisted my arm ;) so we headed out to Emily's in Colmar. We had a great time out there, ended up spending the night, met a bunch of new people, saw a bunch of people I haven't seen in a few weeks. All in all it was a good time with smores and football for breakfast. Sunday we had a good day together. Went to Rich's for a little while, then headed home to spend some time together before my flight out Monday. "Some time together" lasted til 2 hours before we had to leave, but it was indeed a fantastic night, and sleeping is what the gods made airplanes for.

Monday I got to Chicago early, which turned out to be a blessing. The nasty ladies in the BSO sent me to the wrong place on the wrong shuttle. The People Dept looked at me and said, "It's good to see you..but why are you here?" Luckily the wonderful people from the Hilton were willing to pick me up at the Business Center and I was not, in fact, late for the luncheon. At the luncheon I got to sit and eat at a table with Colleen, which absolutely made my day just being able to sit and chat with her like old friends. I got a (fuzzy) picture with her, and went about my day. After the luncheon I headed back to MDW and onto the (correct) trolley to the hangar where I got to meet and hug (but unfortunately not get a picture with) Herb and see the unveiling of the Illinois One, which is a gorgeous plane. Ran into a couple people from work, but still felt a bit alone in the crowd. I miss my hubby =o(. I opted out of the Message because it was a good hike from the airport and I was afraid I'd miss the last flight to Vegas, so I caught a plane and slept until we landed. It was great to see Lauren's happy face at the airport! I missed her so much! We spent a good few hours catching up and plotting the next visit (with boy in tow). This morning I woke up and spent some time reading, meditating, and playing with the kitties until Doug got home to drive me back to the airport where I BARELY made my flight to Oakland because my pump set off the metal detector and they had to wand me. I ALWAYS get wanded when I really have to pee! But I made it! It was great to see my dad and grandparents. Unfortunately my other grandparents are in Arizona. Hopefully they'll be back before I leave. Otherwise there's next time.

I head back to Philly Friday. I'm sure there will be more updates. I've got a few interesting dreams/meditations to update about later...but for now...I'm thirsty...

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