blast from the ruxpin past

i was doing a rediculous assignment for my cog pysch class on conspiracy theories with talking toys--basically, silly research the professor didn't want to do. i grumbled the whole way through the assignment because, let's face it, searching haphazardly on the internet does not generally produce appealing results.

anyhow, in the midst of my search for malfunctioning talking toys i stumbled across teddy ruxpin. i felt at once like i had been reunited with a long-lost friend. all my memories of this wonderful bear involve my childhood pal emily. apparently teddy is making a comeback, which you can view on his own personal website. and he too has gone digital. who knew?
mom, does this take you straight back to the tollgate house and my tall red bookshelf?

from my research i have concluded that children's ears were much safer back when the talking doll could only say what the cassette tape in its back permitted. anyone else remember teddy ruxpin and all his story-telling magic? brandon doesn't recall him at all!

chock-full of goodness

yesterday we had a FULL day... full of great things, that is!

in the morning we participated in the family housing yard sale and made some good money (the amount my plane ticket to seattle is--exactly to the dollar!). we couldn't have asked for a better day to sit out on our porch selling off our trinkets. we were astonished by the things that we considered junk that other people bought up in hoards! two little old ladies told me we had the best stuff they have ever seen at a yard sale--and that was their impression of our rejected belongings. :)

we also sold a couple of things on ebay. and then i took in a ziplock bag of change thinking it might be $25 bucks--try $57! brandon is teasing me that i have been infiltrated by the overstreet "wheeler & dealer" way of life. frankly, i have been on a roll with selling off our stuff on ebay, craigslist, and now our yard sale. i am just wanting to have as little to move as we can get away with.

we also had a little going away party that (most) of our friends were able to make it to. it was a blast and we probably broke rules i am supposed to be enforcing... oh well! here are some of the photos:

me, my big hair, and cassia fox--my favorite bagel shop friend (er, second favorite).

matt & becky--we owe them full credit for getting us the jobs in jackson!

it got a little chilly outside so amber had to sport the northwest socks and chacos look we all despise (but occasionally have to succumb to).

john, myself, and amber: mesmerized by the characters that were in attendance.

hole in the wall

check out the sweet video that brandon made of he and alex yaking on the grande ronde. (be warned, it is a little pixelated, but worth it!):

help us choose: a or b?

this weekend we have been talking over our options for the next year and thus far have the following scenarios:

option a:
1) work in jackson until end of august
2) travel through europe september through october (places on list: spain, italy, austria, greece, turkey, & possibly albania)
3) come back to central oregon and try to find work in mid-october, living in bend
4) get a dog

option b:
1) work in jackson through october
2) retake GRE (the worst part of this plan)
3) spend november and december living in central oregon, preparing graduate applications and being with family (work???)
4) post-christmas pack up for a month+ in south america (places on list: peru, chile, & argentina)
or the carribean (places on list: st. lucia, jamaica, wherever will & andrea are placed with the peace corps...)
5) return to an abundance of graduate admissions letters :)

either way, things are looking pretty fun for us this coming year. we are trying to embrace the opportunity to travel and live the young, irresponsible life. in the comments section of this post, leave your vote about which option we should choose!

going nowhere

the title of this post might be a bit dramatic, but it mirrors the way both brandon and i are feeling at this point. we found out for sure today that neither of us got in to any of the graduate schools we applied to. hmm. where did we go wrong? both of us heard from a couple of the schools that we were top choices but because of money or advisor complications they couldn't admit us. at this point, those condolences aren't feeling too warm and fuzzy.
while the news restricts us from the original plans we had of going to graduate school, it also opens the possibilities to nearly limitless. this is equally exciting and overwhelming. if you have ideas for how we should spend our next year, please don't hesitate to share them!
thanks also for being understanding of our potential grumpiness as we sort through these unfun feelings of rejection. it will all work out and we know that, but we would just like to know where to begin.

here comes the roadie

about a month ago my bike got stolen right from in front of our house. i was really angry until i realized we have renter's insurance and therefore a new bike was in my future. the big check came this week and i drug my sick self down to the shop to buy the bike i had had my eye on.
it is exciting in many ways, but it is also a moment where i find my foot located in my mouth. you see, since meeting brandon i have been anti-road bikes because that is the way mountain bikers have to be. but now i am the proud owner of one. i should specify that i am not a complete roadie just yet, as i bought a cyclocross bike. much different. :)
join me in welcoming jake, the newest member of our budding gear family:i'm hoping to be back to being the healthy version of lindsey tomorrow morning so i can ride my new bike to work in style.

good news... finally!

we haven't had a lot of good news these past few months, but today we both heard great things. each of us got jobs in jackson, wyoming for the summer! i will be a river ranger (aka: low-level, non-weapon packing cop) and brandon will also be working for the forest service maintaining campsites, doing trail clearing, enforcing campground regulations, etc.
we are both eagerly looking forward to a summer in the tetons.
they have us set up in "rustic cabin" along the river (includes running water, electricity, and potentially a bat family) which is great. we start on may 27 so we will get some time at home with the family before we take off for the rocky mountain range.
if any of you decide to come visit, be sure to check the events calendar for concerts and other exciting things. we would love to have visitors!
if things go according to plan, this will be our view:we have this requirement that we have framed art/photos from each place we have lived up around our house. this won't be a hard location to take stunning photos from!
in other news, brandon had a wonderful birthday (the news of the jobs coming through was a great gift!). he got a zero degree sleeping bag and was able to share a nice steak and potatoes dinner with some of our best friends. to top it off we got to see erik and kayla last night. we are a blessed couple indeed!
i also broke down and went to the doctor this afternoon: sinus infection! wohoo! i am on antibiotics right now and eager to begin feeling better. brandon is being really patient, but i have been whining for the past five days.

narcissistic forwards

i got an email moments ago from a co-worker; it was your standard forward-this-on-to-four -people-and-the-person-who-sent-it-to-you deal. i haven't actually read through one of those since junior high (sorry to the people that send them to me!). anyhow, tonight i did and i thought hey, instead of bothering with forwarding and all that, why not just throw it up on the blog.

life has been heavy and stressful these past few months. quite honestly i don't have a lot of things i want to post about because i don't want people to worry about my seemingly unstable mental state (really, i'm fine, just dealing with the ups and downs of life). anyhow, here's a little lighthearted, narcissistic sharing:

A) FOUR PLACES I GO OVER AND OVER:
the co-op
work
hallmark
seattle

B) FOUR PEOPLE WHO E-MAIL ME REGULARLY:
my boss
my mom's new fax machine
sierra trading post
moving companies wanting our business
(this category made me sad--i don't get fun emails from friends and family ever now!)

C) FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS:
kalamata olives
goat cheese
tomatoes
dark chocolate

D) FOUR PLACES I'D RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
new zealand
with kemi and sara mia
home
costa rica

E) FOUR SONGS YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT:
not ready to make nice, dixie chicks
house in california, keb mo
somewhere over the rainbow, israel kamakawiwo'ole
sleep through the static, jack johnson

F) FOUR MOVIES I WOULD WATCH OVER AND OVER AND OVER:
amelie
narnia
princess bride
wedding crashers

so there you go. i hope to learn these about each of you! thanks for entertaining my need for silliness.