Costa Rica

Evan y yo vamos a Costa Rica mañana por dos semanas! Estoy emocionada!

New Glasses!

I got new glasses FINALLY after almost 9 years of wearing the same ones! I stopped getting new frames once I got contacts because my prescription hasn't changed much and glasses are really expensive. I love my new ones and the insurance covered them completely!

Washington DC pt. 2

So, on the second day we attempted to go up in the Washington Monument but of course (after waiting for 30 minutes in the cold wind) once we got inside the building (out of the freezing cold wind) the elevator broke. Then we walked over to the American History Museum where we saw really cool historical pieces like all the dresses of the first ladies at the inaugurations and Dorothy's ruby slippers. We also saw Abraham Lincoln's hat. Then we walked over to the Air and Space Museum where Jordan and I basically followed Evan and Garrett around where they drooled over planes and spaceships. We were feeling super tired and sore after walking for miles the day before and sleeping for only about 4 hours.

I felt kinda sick that day from the lack of sleep so we didn't do much that night besides go out to dinner at this delicious noodle place and then played a really fun pictionary-type-game back at the house. Before that, I went to visit Harmony at Green-peace, where she works, in this really cool old brick building. It was pretty awesome and very open inside, a very nice and spacious office that doesn't have any cubicles (thank god).

The next day we walked wayyyyyyyyy too much. We tried to walk to Arlington Cemetery from the Pentagon and one basically doesn't do that because it is very far as we found out. They also yell at you if you take a picture of a beautiful red and gold hillside that isn't anywhere near the Pentagon. There were microphones everywhere around the Pentagon and a very strange 911 memorial. So then we walked to one side of Arlington, where there was a gate but it was locked. Then we walked all the way around to the front entrance, which was a very long, but gorgeous walk. It was a beautiful sunny day yet again and the cemetery was amazing in all its fall glory. We saw the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is a very strange almost dance-like ritual.

Then we met up with Harmony at the Natural History Museum and then out to dinner and drinks at this awesome Irish pub called Elephant Castle. The bathrooms are a little strange because one entire wall is a giant window that has been painted over so the first time I went in there I was just hoping that people outside were not watching me pee. Then we went ice skating in the National Mall and I succeeded in looking like a dumbass by falling on my face and hurting my shoulder while trying to skate in front of Jordan and Garrett. Then we went to this little bar called the Big Hunt (which reminded us a lot of Everetts on the Arcata Plaza). It had furry chandeliers and animal heads on the walls lol.



On our last day Jordan and Garrett went to the cool Newseum and Evan and I went to the lame Spy Museum that didnt let you take pictures. The Newseum is basically a museum about journalism and famous news events and looked really cool and I pretty much kicked myself for not going to that one. But then it was made much better when we went to Mt. Vernon!

Mt. Vernon is George Washington's 500 acre estate. Out the back porch are amazing views of the Potomac River and fall colored trees on the other side. You can buy a season pass for $25 and if I lived in Maryland, I would be there every weekend. It is a gorgeous place to just stroll about or have a picnic on the lawns. It was my favorite place that we saw on our DC trip by far. His house was amazing of course, very rich and ornate.





We went to Union Station for dinner and ate at the America Restaurant and took pictures next to the giant red stiletto. Then we stayed up extremely late walking through the Vietnam Memorial and then finally made to the Jefferson Monument, where a fat old mean park ranger told us "no I don't want to take your picture but thanks". Then we tiredly decided to splurge and take a cab home at 11 because the metro ends at 11 so that we didn't have to add 3-4 more miles to the good 8 we walked already that day. Then we got home, packed and slept for about 4 hours until we left at 5am to catch the metro to the airport!





GREAT SUCCESS!!!I CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK THERE AGAIN SOMEDAY!!!!

Lana and Matt's Wedding

I know I should be writing about the rest of my trip in DC but I just can't help it! Lana, my friend of (hold on I need to count it up) of 13 years and my oldest friend at that, got married yesterday to Matt! When I met Matt for the first time over the summer I remember telling my mom and Evan that I had a feeling that Lana was going to get engaged to him soon. They hadn't been together that long at that point but I just had a feeling. There was just something about the two of them.

Lana looked beautiful in her dress, classy as always, and Matt looked so handsome. It was great to see Ethan and Perry again after almost four years. It's really funny that I am applying for jobs in Puerto Rico and Spain, where Perry and Ethan did their missions. The reception was at a beautiful house of a Mormon family that Lana knows. I think Evan and I scared one of Lana's friends a bit when we came out of the bathroom at the same time lol. I saw Kim Vanderpol and Mel Riffle last night (haven't seen them in years either) and that was nice. I didn't really get much of a chance to talk to them before they left. ANd unfortunately I missed Donna, Al and Kassie. Al had her two kids with her, so they came early and left early.

I am so excited for Lana I hope she and Matt enjoy their awesome honeymoon in Barcelona and Rome and take some time to relax after their whirlwind marriage!

Washington DC pt. 1

I just had the most amazing vacation in Washington, DC this past week!

On Tuesday night, the 16th, Jordan, Garrett, and I drove to Laytonville after our classes got out at 7 pm. We got there at 9:30 and then unsuccessfully tried to sleep because we were so excited. Then we got up the next morning at 5 and drove to the San Francisco airport to catch our 12:05 flight to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There we had an hour layover where I registered for spring classes on Jordan's phone (which is really hard to do because the buttons are so damn tiny) and then we flew to DC. We arrived in DC at 10 pm their time. We didn't get to Harmony's house until 11:30 because we took the wrong metro and had to get on another one, which was very time consuming. We pretty much passed out as soon as we got there.

The next day we got up at 7:30 and tried to go into the Capitol but couldn't because I had an empty Klean Kanteen and Jordan and Garrett had some snacks. Apparently, those are very threatening objects to the people in the Capitol. Then we went to the United States Botanic Garden, which was gorgeous and had the most amazing orchid room! I was in heaven. After that we went to the Smithsonian Museum of Art, which was very cool but we got burnt out too fast and didn't end up seeing any of the more modern art. Just lots of baby Jesus and Mary. Then we went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, which was great, but like all the Smithsonians that we went to, it was way too large to try and see thoroughly in 1.5 hours. It was dark at this point and we went to see the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial at night, both were so beautiful and amazingly large. Then we met Harmony at the White House and then went to dinner at the Old Ebbit, which was delicious but very expensive. There I discovered my love for Gin and Tonics, and that was pretty much my drink of the trip besides the Vodka Gimlet, which Harmony turned Jordan and I on to. End of day 1.

Also, see my facebook for pictures!

High off the smell of leather....

I don't consider myself a very materialistic person but........when my mom said yesterday that we could go shopping for a new pair of boots for me....I got very excited. We went to every shoe/clothing store around the Arcata plaza and I found these amazing shoes:



These boots were super comfortable when I tried them on and really warm. They were $160 at the store and I found them for $130 online! I hope they get here before we go to DC!



I wasn't looking for heels but I managed to find these $100 leather beauties. They are so perfect because every pair of high heels I own I bought in high school for dances for like $15 and they look really crappy now. I don't really wear heels very often but if I need to dress up these are perfect because they are black and simple, thus matching everything! I found them online for $90 and Evan said he would buy them for me for an early birthday present! Yay me! AND Evan and Alex went to this snowboarding exhibit type thing in Eureka where they dumped 20,000 pounds of snow in a parking lot and some pro snowboarders came and rode the rail they set up.



It was sponsered by Volcom and some other snowboarding brand and they were throwing out free gear and clothes into the crowd! Alex and Evan both got t-shirts, a baseball cap AND A REALLY CUTE BEANIE AND NEW WOMENS SIZE SNOWBOARDING GLOVES!!!!! YAY ME!!!!!! During this time I was enjoying a nice walk at the Hammond trail with my mom and dad and then later on a beautiful walk at Mad River beach. Score.

Also, I like it when Daylight Savings happens and we get an extra hour of sleep. This gives me an extra hour to write in my blog while the boys are sleeping.

Also, I don't like it when my futsal tournament gets moved to the day we are flying out to DC! We are the number one team in the league and I am super bummed I don't get to play!

Also, I like it when there are only 5 more weeks of school and the last week I only have one final.

Lazy Days

Oh man was today a lazy day. I did not go to school and pretty stayed in a sport bra, t shirt, and sweats all day. I also slept for 9 hours. Glorious. Usually on Wednesdays I go to school even though I don't have class and am very productive doing things like studying spanish and going to the gym and whatnot. But not today. I am going on a walk with Jordan later, so I guess that's something. I watched a sad but beautiful movie about 2 gay criminals in Argentina in Spanish. I will consider that, along with reading CNN México studying spanish.

I found a Día de los Muertos picture that I really like:



They had 12 different "La Catrinas", which are basically the artistic representations of a woman's skeleton, that were made out of different materials and were made to represent different things. This one obviously represents the importance of recycling and reducing the amount of waste we create to help keep the planet beautiful.

It's interesting how a skeleton is beautiful and funny in la cultura de México, but here they are scary.

Lars and the Real Girl

This is a must-see movie. Definitely one of my favorites. Oh, what the world could be like if we embraced peoples differences and cared about each other unconditionally. I think it would be pretty amazing the things that would happen.

Prop 19 did not pass. No legal marijuana. There are good and bad things that go along with that. Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino will maintain their economies and not turn into ghost towns, but no money from taxing pot and no hemp :(

Today was Día de los Muertos. We had una fiesta en mi clase de español and everybody brought delicious home-made Tres Leches y Pan de Muerto. I was lame and brought store-bought cookies. I want to try and learn how to make Tres Leches cake because it was so delicious! I thought a lot about my cousin, who just had her 9 lbs 4 oz baby boy Beck, and her mom, my aunt Carolyn, who died almost 5 and a half years ago from pancreatic cancer. For her "funeral" everybody wore bright colors and leis made out of plumerias, her favorite flowers and the flower that my tattoo is based off of, drank lots of alcohol, and tried to remember her the best we could. That is what Día de los Muertos is all about it remembering the dead and rejoicing in the fact that we got to know and love the person. I love the idea of embracing death and just realizing that it is a part of life that has to be accepted and even cherished, because without death, new life would not be able to start.

I had a good Halloween. Evan and I dressed as convicts. I was also kinda Lindsay Lohan lol. Evan and Garrett got in lots of climbing-the-William-McKinley-statue-time in the plaza.

Today is Halloween!

I don't really have a costume. I'm just going to wear my wig and go out to the plaza and do some bar hopping! Maybe I will actually get some pictures on my computer that are not mushrooms. Before that I am going to the plaza to see my friend Richelle take little baby Emily out for her first Halloween! I'm not sure if she is dressing her up but that's ok because she is adorable and Evan hasn't even met her yet.

There is a biology art show that the biology department is putting on at the end of November and I am thinking about drawing something to enter into it. It would probably be a drawing of one of my pictures of mushrooms. I just need to figure out which one to do. Now that I only have school 2 days a week, I have a lot more time to do fun stuff like this. Here are some potential pictures:





The spring semester schedule came out and it looks like I am going to be bogged down 5 days a week with: Genetics, Bacteriology, Lichens and Bryophytes, and Intro to Analysis of Hispanic Literature. Why do all the classes I take have to be four units and full of labs???

My mom, dad, and brother are coming to visit next weekend because the Shasta College mens soccer team if playing against College of the Redwoods, which is the local junior college over here in Humboldt. Alex said that they have played them before and lost so hopefully this time it will go better!

The rains are starting here, which is ok by me! It's about time it started raining. Now that I take the bus to school I don't have to do that much walking outside, thus I will be less wet! And that means that more mushrooms will be popping up all over the place in the forests!

Evan's construction job is winding down now that the rainy season is started and I am so excited to see him more and move into our new apartment on November 23th! Unfortunately this is the day after we get back from DC and we are going to be super tired but that is ok. He is hoping to start up his web design business up here in Humboldt so if anybody needs a website let me know!

El fin de Microfungi!

I just finished the 8th week of school and thus have finished my Microfungi class! Now I only have class 2 days a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I am in Laytonville this weekend for Evan's 25th birthday, which was on 14th. I brought him a delicious cheesecake from Ramone's bakery in Arcata, his favorite seasonal chocolate truffles, and a bottle of mead that is made locally in Arcata and is delicious!




Then last night, Friday, we went to one of Evan's friend's party in Redwood Valley, which is an hour and fifteen minutes away. It wasn't very fun because I was the DD and we didn't leave until 1:45 in the morning because Evan wanted to stay and we drove Waldon, who wanted to play another game of beer pong. So basically I stayed up wayyy too late and did absolutely nothing today, which was amazing.

Evan and I officially got a one bedroom, brand new apartment in McKinleyville for $620 a month. I went to see it on Thursday and it is really nice but super tiny. Luckily the downstairs apartments have a bigger patio area so we are going to get one of those. It backs up to a storage unit business so there isn't much of a view from the upstairs unit anyways. Hopefully we can squeeze in there comfortably! The move in date is the 19th of November, which is right in the middle of our DC trip, but they are still under construction so it might turn out to be later or earlier depending on how the construction goes.

The cats got 2 birds today. We looked over and Matey had a bird and we threw him outside and then, not 2 minutes later, Muffin comes in with a bird. There were feathers everywhere. Oh the joys of cats. I cut up probably 200 cherry tomatoes today to be dried in the dehydrator because Evan's mom planted a ton of tomato plants this year. The concord grapes are ripe too and delicious!

I am considering getting an IUD. They sound really scary because they actually insert them into your uterus, but the reason why they have been associated with infertility is because the first type they came out with in the 70's/80's did that. The ones they have no are perfectly safe. I feel like I don't want to have kids now, but who knows what I will feel like in 10 years. They sound really awesome because they last 10 years, you can get non-hormonal ones, and they are a lot more effective than condoms and even the pill. I am definitely down to not deal with condoms but still have a sex drive! The crappy part, is that they hurt to put in and causes cramping for a week or two after insertion. I think it would be worth it, I just need to do some more research and talk to my doctor some more. Now that I only have class 2 days a week I will have more time to think about this.

Stress sucks

Grrrrrrrrrr!!!!! I thought my quiz for my online class had to be completed TODAY by midnight so I had decided to wait until today because I had a field trip all day yesterday and before that Evan was up here visiting. But no, I was wrong and the quiz was, in fact, due yesterday at midnight so I failed to complete the quiz. This sucks I feel stressed. Not to mention that i have to study for 2 microfungi finals this coming week and a spanish test/essay. I can't wait until microfungi is over!!

Also, Evan and I applied for a 1 bedroom apartment and hopefully we will find out this week if we got it!

Harvest!

I adore tomatoes! And cucumbers! And apples and blackberries and strawberries oh my!

I am excited to watch Dexter and Glee tonight!

Also I am very happy that I can take my Forest Pathology class credit/no credit without it negatively affecting my chances of getting into grad school...not that I even know if I want to go to grad school or not. I changed my background to picture that Evan took from up on Spyrock. Muy bonita!

I got a job as a scribe/ exam reader at the Student Disabilities Resource Center but I'm not sure how much I'm actually going to work considering that there is only one student currently who is in need of these kinds of services and there are three other students who are doing the exact same job as me...oh well.

My futsal team is on a winning streak so far! No goals for me in the last game but I had a really awesome assist off a corner kick.

I am having a lot of fun living with my friends Jordan and Garrett. It is fun to live with another girl again and talk about girly things all the time. Poor Garrett lol.

GOING TO DC!!!!

I just bought plane tickets last night to go visit Harmony in Washington, DC! Evan and I, and my friends Jordan and Garrett are going too and it is going to be so much fun! We are flying out on November 17th and staying until the 23rd, which is the during the week of Thanksgiving break and Evan and I's 3rd year anniversary! I am going to miss on day of school (Thursday) because I only have class 2 days a week, but it is totally worth it. I just found out yesterday that I am getting financial aid ($7900 to be exact) so now I can afford to do something fun! It is totally awesome because all the sights in DC like the Smithsonian are all free! So it is going to be a pretty cheap trip besides the plane ticket.

I am sick right now and it sucks. Runny nose, cough, stuffy head...totally not fun.

So far I have had no luck in my job search. I have an interview on Wednesday for a scribe/exam reader postion, which hopefully will go well because it would be really nice to work at the school and have breaks off. I am also applying for a laboratory aide position at Redwood Sciences Lab, where I worked doing data entry. I would be analyzing water samples, pretty basic, but still I like being able to work in a science-y environment.

So pretty much I am loving playing soccer right now in my soccer class and on my futsal team. I didn't know how much I missed soccer until I started playing. I think it was good for me to take a break from my high school mindset of devoting my life to soccer.

I wish I had some pictures to post on here but all the pictures I have taken recently are all of mushrooms for school lol.

The next thing we need to figure out is if it is going to work out to go to Costa Rica this winter!

Escuela

I think I have finally settled back into the school routine. I don't feel like 2 years is a lifetime anymore. I am DEFINITELY ready to be done with general ed though. Learning about the scientific method, natural selection, and evolution for the millionth time in dumbed down terms is not my idea of a good time.

So last weekend my parents and Alex came up for my Dad's 61st birthday and Evan's parents came up for Blues by the Bay. We all went out to dinner at the Waterfront in Eureka (a very expensive restaurant but for some reason it was the only open on we could find in Old Town Eureka) and I was so nervous before, but of course it turned out perfectly fine. The conversation went smoothly and everybody got along quite well. And I had some delicious sushi. My dad even paid for the bill without flinching (visibly). We went on a hike and went to the beach a couple times, which was quite nice and the weather was very beautiful. I am glad that the first meeting is out of the way. There might be another potential meeting in November when Shasta College mens soccer team plays College of the Redwoods over here. It would be nice if our parents were able to get used to seeing each other a couple times a year or something.

Speaking of November, Evan and I's 3 year anniversary is coming up around Thanksgiving. It's so crazy to think that we have been together that long but at the same time it feels like I have always been with him. I can't even fathom life without him. I just can't believe that I found someone this perfect for me who is also my best friend.

Enough with the mushy stuff. I joined a futsal league yesterday and I totally love it! Futsal is a Portuguese version of indoor soccer. The main difference is that the ball is smaller and heavier and you don't play off the walls. It took a little getting used to, but when I got the hang of it I totally kicked some ass! I love how fast paced it is! I scored like 4-5 goals last night, which felt really good. I was even pulling some moves and some truly sweet passes. I am really excited for games to start next week. I bought some new indoor shoes today (yay for having small feet so I can buy kids shoes and pay less). Unfortunately my shinguards are in Redding so I need to have my dad send me them.

I love blackberries. It is blackberry season up in Humboldt right now I need to stock up on the most delicious free, local, and organic food available. If I do it right I can usually be eating frozen blackberries well into the spring.

Sunny days!

So it has been sunny basically everyday I have been in Humboldt (which is totally not normal)! I had fun yesterday pulling up some invasive species out at the Ma'Lel Dunes yesterday morning. I had lunch with my friend Richelle and saw her cute 3 month old daughter Emily. Then I went for a walk on the beach in the beautiful sun. It's really good to be back up here.

I will probably go for a run today and see how far I can make it on the 6 mile loop I figured out.

Yo necesito hacer mi tarea de Español.

And it has begun again...

The first week of school is over and I successfully crashed the class I needed so I am taking 16 units. I am basically moved into Jordan and Garrett's place minus some clothes that I forgot to bring and other things. The weather has been gorgeous this week, which is quite surprising for Humboldt. I have gotten the hang of taking the bus to and from McKinleyville to school everyday. I am totally loving my soccer class; the level of play is perfect for me and there are a lot more girls than there were the last time I played. Besides the fact I have 10 minutes to change and get to class afterwards it is awesome! So far my classes seem pretty cool; Spanish Composition is going to be pretty hard but I think I can manage. Love seeing my botany friends almost everyday in Microfungi and Forest Pathology. My 2 general ed classes are going to be pretty easy and one is online! Hooray! Evan left for Laytonville yesterday to go back to work after helping me settle in here and it totally sucks not seeing him! He is coming up here next Friday because (I'm totally freaking out about this) his parents are coming up for Blues by the Bay and my parents and Alex (parents are still happily dating remarkably) are coming over to visit for my dad's 61st birthday (old!) and we are all going out to dinner together!!!! My dad has met Evan's parents but not my mom or Alex. I know it will be fine but I am totally nervous! They are like wayyy opposite from my parents. Bleh.

Anways... I picked up the first week of our farmshare today and got so much good stuff! Strawberries, tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli, lettuce, potatoes, carrots, basil and cilantro! Not to mention some beautiful flowers! Yay for local, organic food!

I have been applying for a bunch of jobs so hopefully I get one that is temporary so I can actually do things over winter break.

Another exciting thing is that I have potentially found some clients (the woman that I go to to get waxed and her boyfriend) for Evan to make websites for once he moves up here after the construction season is over. It would be totally awesome if he could establish a successful website design business up here.

Oh yeah, I also signed up for a futsal league, which should be really fun and plays right here in McKinleyville! For anybody who doesn't know (so probably most lol) Mckinleyville is 7 miles north of Arcata, which is where the school is, so I can't walk to school anymore :(.

Overall it is nice to be back in school and see friends again!

Me disfruto escuchar libros en español!

Hooray for audiobooks in Spanish! I just downloaded The Metamorphosis in spanish, which I'm sure some of us remember from freshman year honors english lol.

Back from Hike

Soooo our little backpacking trip didn't quite turn out as expected. We ended up hiking 8.5 miles instead of 2 in one day and didn't get to the campground until 7:15, where we quickly pitched the tent, ate dinner, and started a fire before it got dark. And there were tooooo many mosquitos. Oh yeah and then it rained. So we didn't get up the next day until it stopped raining. And because we are whimps and were really sore our friends Jordan and Garrett came and picked us up at Fern Canyon so we only had to hike 2.7 miles instead of 8.5 again. And we had delicious sushi for dinner along with a delicious shower so that made it all better.

Skunk

Peppy, Evan's dog, got sprayed by a skunk tonight and it was pretty much the worst smell ever.

Leaving for backpacking tomorrow at 9 am sharp!

I'm bummed we are going to miss soccer on Tuesday but that's alright.

Excited for the camping/backpacking/seeing friends in Arcata trip that Evan and I are taking on Sunday. I finally get to test out my new backpack! I wish we could go for longer than 3 days but I'm going to be a back in school again really soon so there is no time for anything more.

I just bought a book on tape that is en Español so I'm hoping that is going to make me be on top of my Spanish game for when school starts so I can kick ass at my 2 spanish classes and be ready if we end up going to Costa Rica in the winter! Right after Lana and Matt's wedding of course!

I just signed up for a soccer class too, which I am really excited about! I have really missed playing soccer these last couple of years but didn't really know it until I started playing pick up this summer.

To do list:

Figure out what I am going to need when school starts and what I should actually bring to Jordan and Garrett's apartment

Finish planning out camping trip

Start reading new spanish book for my spanish composition class, which sounds like it is going to be really hard!



OK the best way to learn the names and locations of the countries of the world is to play this game: http://www.sporcle.com/games/world.php

And they also have ones for each continent and the states as well. It has helped me so much!

Twin Peaks Hike

OMG I found an orchid on our hike today! A wild one! Native to northern coastal California! Piperia candida, or the White-Flowered Rein Orchid! And it is endangered in California! Holy Shit!

Lots of pictures from the hike, which was really fun. Twin peaks is on the neighboring property of Evan's parents. Very beautiful to look out at and climb!

We got a badmitton net and have been playing for the last couple days and it has been so fun! I can only imagine the drunk badmitton fun lol. It makes me miss tennis too. And playing with my brother and Lana and Jared in the backyard of my dad's house.

I think my PMS has gotten a lot worse since going off birth control. I'm getting over emotional about little things, which sucks. I've never really had PMS before. Lame. But it is definitely worth having a sex drive again.

Gardening/food

I made a delicious sandwich today! It was made with rye bread, mustard, goat cheese and cucumber from the Laytonville farmers market, and tomatos and basil from the garden! i love food that is in season!

I also spent good amount of time today waging war on the Concord grade and blackberries that are trying to take over the garden. Next on the list is trying to find a space to fit the rest of the tomato plants in the beds.

Foud some cool puffball mushrooms today! The name describes exactly how they disperse their spores.

I must say, I am getting a little bit excited for school to start and to keep on learning more about botany, not to mention so awesome field trips with the botany major kids and other friends!

It's going to suck though because I am only going to see Evan on the weekends, which sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am wayyy too used to seeing hm everyday. Not even close to being sick of him lol. Once the construction season is over that will change though luckily.

New blog name

I think country living is much more appropriate than "think locally". I had no idea what to pick originally so I just picked a slogan that I like. But it seems that every entry so far has some account of a dead animal in it that one of the cats brought in I think this is much more descriptive of my life currently and original.

Eww. I have allergies today and they suck. Definitely don't feel like drinking very much beer tonight so I guess that means Evan and I will drive home from Waldon's. Going to have venison for dinner tonight from the deer that Travis and Linda shot yesterday. Hope it's good because there is a lot of it. Inception is a very good movie, I highly recommend it. Very original. And:

Congratulations to Lana and Matt!

I really want to roadtrip to Utah to see them but as usual I always seem to be over booking myself so I don't think it is going to work. Someday, possibly next summer if a find a cool job that doesn't last the whole summer and i plan accordingly.

Think I'm going to go take a Vitamin C just in case I'm getting sick and this isn't allergies.

Journals

Evan and I just got finished reading my old journals, which are hilarious because I was a terrible writer and have not improved much over the years. Tried to take a shower last night but the cats were in the bathroom again playing with a shrew that ran into the crack between the wall and the chest where many a chipmunk has hid out. Got to feed the catfish down at the pond for the first time yesterday too, which was so fun! They are so big and they fight to get at the food! It was really cute when the tiny fish tried to eat a piece of food larger then they were. We are going to Willits for the day tomorrow to go to the dump and so I can get waxed then off to play some soccer at seven! Had some delicious cherries from the farmers market today! Hopefully I'm going to do a six mile hike on Wednesday through the beautiful back country of Spyrock. I did it two days ago and took some awesome pictures with my new camera. Here are some of them. I also have a really funny picture of me in front of a HUGE truck at Whiskeytown and a funny one of when I took a hike on Saturday and thought it would be a good idea to put red berries in my pocket. It wasn't lol. Oh yeah and my parents are dating. Weird.

Redding

So I have been hanging out in Redding since last Friday the 16th and I have an amazing tan! I'm probably going to leave tomorrow and head back to Laytonville for a couple days before Evan and I head to Arcata for a couple days to hang out with some friends. Hopefully Harmony and Ean are going to come over to Arcata for a day to hang out while we are there and I can finally meet him!

I have gotten a lot done while I have been here: I cleaned out all of my high school stuff out of my room at my dad's house so he can make it into an office so instead of having all of his bills and crap in the ktichen, have them in the office. I moved my tiny little twin bed into Alex's room so he can have a queen sized bed and set up the futon in that room and it looks very nice.

I picked a bunch of plums and apples to take back to Laytonville and I froze a bunch of plums for some free, local produce in the winter once I have a place to live again. It's so hot here and I am definitely not used to it but it has been so nice swimming almost everyday!

Harm and I hung out with Grant Ditzler last night for the first time in like 2 years, which was really fun. It was good to catch up. We had lots of good discussions about legalization of marijuana lol.

I am kind of excited for the drive back to Laytonville so I can stop at all the roadside stands and buy fresh fruits and vegetables! On the way to Redding I bought 5 ears of corn, 4 bell peppers, and 3 tomatoes for 3 dollars!!! And they were all delicious!

So my parents are dating. Which is really weird but Alex and I are trying to get used to it. This is probably the most affectionate I have ever seen them as long as I can remember. I think they are learning how to have fun with each other again and it is very good for them to have their own houses and own space to go back to. They are going to Lake Almanor tomorrow and I'm trying to decide if I want to stay because Alex is going to have a party my dad's house and it might be fun to party with all of his friends that I still think of as little 12 year olds lol. But I'm kinda tired and ready to have a little bit of down time. I don't really feel like drinking either tomorrow. I still feel a little worn out from Harm and I's lembas and beer night that lasted until four in the morning lol.

I am going kayaking with the family tonight at Whiskeytown tonight and I am excited because I love kayaking! I have had a lot of fun here but I am really lame and I miss Evan a lot and I really want to see him. I don't know what I'm going to do if we ever have to go longer than 2 weeks without seeing each other lol. What happened to my ideals about being independent??? I guess that's what happens when you fall in love.

I rarely ever watch TV but being here in Redding I saw a comercial for the 100% electric car that Nissan just came out with called "The Leaf". I have decided that when my Camry dies I want an all electric car! It costs something crazy like 3 dollars to "fill up your tank"(charge the battery from empty to full). Awesome!

Back fr om So-Cal

I'm back and it feels so good to breathe air without smog and drink water that doesn't taste like ass! Of course we got back and there were dead animal parts all over the house because Evan's parents went to Vegas while we were gone.

My little cousins are so big now it's crazy! They are 3 and 5 and I got to watch Sophia's preschool graduation (which was a bit over the top and very long but still fun to watch).

We watched a lot of World Cup soccer games while we were there, which was pretty fun because my family is wayyy into soccer.

On 4th of July we biked down to the beach and went to the bars, which was really fun and scary because So-Cal is not bike friendly and there were thousands of people walking and biking, but luckily no accidents. My bike had metal saddle bags on the back and everytime I would get off the bike I would bang my knee on them and it is quite bruised now. It didn't feel too bad at the time because I was under the influence of alcohol but it is still sore today.

I really have fun everytime I visit my family down south because they are way fun to be around but they hardly ever make it up north to visit us so it's starting to get a little old and annoying everytime we go down there because it is so one-sided. My cousin is having her baby in October and we will go down for Thanksgiving and I almost don't want to just because I am sick of being the ones to travel and see them.

I just heard that John Brickner died a few days ago and I am so sad because he was such a huge influence on the soccer community in Redding. He taught me how to referee and pretty much ran indoor soccer out at Big League Dreams. He was such a kind, warm, and funny person and a very good teacher. He will be missed so much. I'm glad I can make it to his memorial on the 18th of July and visit my family and hopefully Harmony too while I'm down there.

I got a camera when I was in So-Cal and I can't wait to try it out now that I have a memory card in it! We will see if I can figure out how to post some pictures on here again.

There are so many strawberries up here at Evan's house right now, it is a very delicious time of year!

We were watching the Spain v. Germany game (go Spain!) and one of the cats brought in a rabbit it had caught, which was like half of it's size! Of course the cats are so lazy that they didn't even eat it and it was way too small for us to try and eat.

Goin to the OC

So stoked to go down to So-Cal on Wednesday and see all the family!!! Apparently it's not very warm there like 60-70 degrees, which is a bummer because I am way tan now and ready for the sun!

I still need to buy a camera.

Walked 4 miles yesterday and it was way fun besides the fact that I got a fat blister on the bottom of my foot and got bitten by tons of mosquitos.

I'm sad to go as well because all the strawberries are getting ripe and I'm going to miss them!

I need to remember to get my brother like 5,367 donuts/pastries at the continental breakfast at the hotel Evan and I are staying tomorrow.

Note to readers: Next time you fly somewhere check to see if any nearby hotels let you leave your car there while you are gone because it might end up being cheaper than paying for parking at the airport. Or have a pool and continental breakfast lol. Oh yeah and a king sized bed!

River Day!

Evan, Riley and I went to the Eel river today to swim and hang out with some friends and it was so nice and beautiful! My tan is definitely coming along now and it feels awesome to be out in the sun after 3 years of being in foggy Arcata. The water is pretty warm and it wasn't too hot. Perfect combo. We even scored some free beer some people left that were hanging out in our group. Tomorrow I'm going to try and be a badass and walk 6 miles to Evan's other property and then go swimming after.

I found a lizard in the house yesterday that the cat brought in (still alive) and had some fun watching the cat chase a chipmunk around the house. Oh the joys of living in the country. Oh yeah and the hummingbird that flew into the house and got stuck in the curtains.

Went and played some soccer in town on Thursday and it was so much fun! I forgot how much I love soccer and that along with watching La Copa Mundial is making me seriously consider taking a soccer class this coming semester. I miss indoor soccer in Redding. Along with Whiskeytown lake. Oh yeah and my awesome friends and family.

First Post

So I have always been really horrible about keeping a diary so we will see how well this works out. The only reason I am doing this is because I like reading Lana's blog because I get to learn about all the little things that I don't hear about anymore because we live in two different states as opposed to seeing each other everyday. People (basically I mean my close high school friends) might want to read this for that same reason if they can get past the horrible writing thanks to never paying attention in English so I could pass notes with Sarah lol.

I have decided that Great White with some lemon or lime is definitely one of my favorite beers and it is made in Eureka.

I recommend the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver because it is a great look at how disconnected this country is from it's food and why thinking locally is so important.

Also another great book I just finished Saying Yes, by Jacob Sullum is a scientific look at drug use in this country and how it is made to look much more terrible than it actually is. I could go on about it for a while but essentially legalization is the best way to end the crime associated with the black market and make the drugs available safer and taxed to raise money for the government. If interested ask me to borrow it.

I like living at Evan's house on Spyrock because it is so beautiful. The pictures are from the wintertime obviously.

I need to make some curtains tomorrow for Evan's room and I need to buy a camera because I'm going to need it for school.