A Thursday

I went to the Tony & Guy Academy to get my hair cut today. That was a poor choice. I felt like I was on a reality TV show because of all the hair jargon they used. Bangs are "fringe." And because what I want wasn't in the book of hipster hairdo's, it simply doesn't exist! Bah. Oh well. I feel I'm rarely satisfied with hair cuts anyhow.

The last couple of days have been nice. :)

Monday Justin and I and Amelia+Evan (a fun couple friends) watched a rad anime flick, Tekkonkinkrit, by Taiyō Matsumoto. It was beautiful!

Justin moved in to my house on Tuesday, woot! Yesterday Isabel and I did yoga at the Y and it was great. I usually don't slow down enough to enjoy something like yoga-- most of my working out consists of running, lifting weights, biking, etc. But it was quite nice. We biked over to the baseball field to watch Shea play softball, then got sushi and played Settlers of Catan!

I'm off for now~ Au revoir.

Bloggerific

Hello all!

So I've decided to try to upkeep a blog on a regular basis. It will be fun to be able to share pieces of my world with friends and loved ones around z country and give you a peek into my world! I hope to post pictures, eventful happenings, points of interests, etc.
There are a couple posts from last year that I'll leave up for the heck of it.

Many of you know my current abode and work situation, but for those that I haven't had the privalege of connecting with recently, I'm living in Bellingham, WA, a beautiful town and a progressive community nestled on the bay of Puget Sound. It's located about 1.5 hours north of Seattle, 1 hour south of Vancouver, B.C. and about 20 minutes from the Canadian border.

I'm currently interning with the City of Bellingham through AmeriCorps as an environmental educator. I work right on the bay at an Environmental Learning Center. Much of what I do is create/lead presentations and field trips for school groups, and the position is so fluid-- my journalism background comes in handy as I often get a chance to create publications for the parks and rec dept. I've also spent quite a bit of time coordinating pilot recycling efforts at various venues throughout the area(a sports stadium, public parks, downtown).

The experience I've gained through my AmeriCorps internships has been extremely valuable . It's very rewarding and, I feel, important work. My job is ending in July, but I just received a job offer with the nonprofit One Change, working as the Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator with an energy campaign called Project Porchlight. It's a contract position, but also a great opportunity for me!

Aspects of my life have inevitably shifted upon U-hauling across the country nearly 2 years ago-- and it's great. I'm happy here. I've got a sweet partner, Justin, who chased me up here from Texas last year :) We run around on mini adventures together. Otherwise, lately I've been hiking a lot, always biking around town (no car anymore), I sing in a Renaissance choir, am learning to garden, and really getting into cooking, so hopefully I'll post some tasty recipes here too!

Hope you are well as you read this. Au revoir for now!

thoughts on a cloudy day

I've just started a book called A Declaration of Interdependence: Why America Shound Join the World. It's pretty interesting so far, disussing the turn in our society to a mass separation of class, privatized living, and a loss of community. Interdependence is something I'm working on in my own life--- it's often hard to put trust in others, or to make sacrifices for the greater good. But I also think these actions are pertinant to a building healthy communities, maintaining functioning societies and achieving a global awareness.

It's interesting even talking about these kinds of topics at times, because I know that 2 years ago I could have cared less. That's not entirely true, but much of my life and actions revolved solely around myself and my immediate surroundings. It's very exciting to be learning so much and to be constantly striving for more a more open-minded thought process. And though I live my life here and now in Aberdeen, I find myself striving for thoughts and actions friendly to a global scale. Much of which I have yet to learn, but it's so important!

Ooh I tried out this super tasty recipe last night:
Vegetarian Borscht Recipe: A Vegetarian twist on a Ukranian/Russian soup yum!

Ingredients:

6 cups water

2 carrots, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced

3 medium beets, skinned and chopped

1 large can whole tomatoes, squished with hands

2 potatoes, chopped

1/3 cup butter (can use a lot less for low-fat recipe)

1 cup chopped onion

2 cups chopped cabbage

3-4 sprigs fresh dill chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

serve with dollop of sour cream or yogurt on top and some fresh dill sprinkled over it

serve with a good hearty sourdough bread

Directions:

*Place water and a couple pinches salt in a large stock pan or dutch oven – over high heat. Add carrots, pepper, celery, beets, and potatoes and bring to a boil.

*Melt 1/3 cup butter in a separate skillet over medium heat. Saute onions in butter until tender, approximately 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir cabbage into the skillet with remaining sauce, and continue simmering until tender. *Add onion-tomato mixture to the stock pot. Reduce heat and simmer about 10 – 15 minutes more. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Top with sour cream/yogurt and more fresh dill for garnish.

SOOO tasty. <3

whimsical weekends in washington

new life calls for a new blog. extraordinary happenings, & ordinary ones too. thoughts, ideas, recipes, music, sights and sounds.



3/21

Cross country skiing in Snoqualmie (an hour east of Seattle) avec Isabel (co-worker and friend), Lorena (boss) and 2 boys. good fun, great workout, fresh snow!

Later that evening, met up with Justin and went to a music festival called Honk Fest West -- a gathering of street bands with horns, drums and dancers to celebrate community and to peacefully protest the war. woot! Saw Adam (previous WJH and the Gloomadeers drummer) from Denton. His band, Hungry March Band from NYC was playing. Actually found out about the fest from him.

3/22

We had the most excellent crepes and tea at a restaurant in Ballard (a neighboorhood in NW Seattle). yummm! Out for a bike ride around and to a park on the Sound (Puget Sound). Did some pilates in the grass, was a beautiful day!

That evening had drinks with Ashley, a gal I met at a WSC (Washington Service Corps)conference who volunteers with Cascade Bicycle Club in Seattle (and who we were staying with for the weekend) and some of her friends. Then we were off to The Baltic Room on Capitol Hill for I Heart Shiva, Bollywood Hip hop dance night oooo ooo! We also hit up Chapel, a bar around the corner that opened as a mortuary in the 1920s! super cute and amaaaazing martinis. Cucumber, chocolate, banana creme, ginger infused, pepper... more than you could dream.

3/23

Walked in the rain to the Ballard Farmer's Market. Got soaked, but also got fresh organic leeks and beets, freshly made peach/raspberry pie and some delicious veggie tamales.

Stopped for dinner in Olympia and found some rad murals!