going private

my students just pointed out to me that they can find out a lot about me online. this is alarming to me so i think it is time i make this blog private. if you want me to include you in the permitted readers, i guess i need your email address to be able to allow you to view the blog. so put it in the comments or email it to me and i will set it up.

darn internet. and creeper students.

people, this is happening

oh how i love (and sometimes loathe) pinterest! today, i came across a pin that relates to my life list: swimming with manatees. sure, most people envision swimming with dolphins or whales--and i wouldn't oppose either of those opportunities--but i have always had a special affinity for the sea cow.

pinterest led me to this article in the new york times. apparently november - march is the season for manatees to swim up rivers in florida in search of warmer water. guess what? november - march is also the season lindsey thinks about getting the heck out of this frigid place i currently call home! fate? i think so.

hopefully i can swim with the manatees in kings bay before PETA outlaws this opportunity!

how can you not want to gaze into those little eyes?

picture via 

the progress continues (in photos)

this was our kitchen until about a month ago.
the cupboards, ceilings, and walls were multiple shades of greyish-lilac. 

the counters were a 60's style formica with gold flecks.

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it has been a work in progress, but here are some photos of the journey our last month.

chaos, eh?

getting rid of the not-so-cool retro counter.

we used a heat gun to strip the paint off the cupboards.
i'm sure it wasn't entirely safe, but the 5 layers of paint had to go.

testing out the fit of our butcher block counter before
brandon spent a week and a half sanding, staining, and sealing it.

we painted the inside of the cupboards a sunny yellow and the outside pewter grey.

the lighting here is horrible, but we were very happy to install the counter.
brandon also reworked the center bank of cabinets and installed an outlet inside,
so we could get the microwave out of sight.

i was the fearless (yeah right!) tiler and brandon was my lovely assistant.

this best captures the color of the tile and countertop.
hopefully i can get some more photos in the daylight tomorrow.

the fruit bowl becky got us ties in so nicely with the penny tile!

i really love how it is coming together!

grey cabinets, walnut-stained butcher block counter, cobalt tiles, and blue cabinet knobs.
i love the combination!

we have a few cabinet doors and drawers to finish plus the crown molding to reinstall,
but phase I of the kitchen remodel is reaching the point
where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

for comparison's sake. yeah, it's getting much better!

i did it!

remember my intention for february? 

Do things without always knowing how they’ll turn out. i did it!

last night brandon, heath, and i were at our favorite local pub when i notice a man come in wearing a coat with st. charles embroidered on the chest. throughout the rest of our time in the pub i debated about approaching this guy and the woman he was with. i didn't want to be creepy, but i also just had a feeling that i should at least say hi. you know, show them some wyoming friendliness?

i swallowed my fear and decided to do something without knowing how it would turn out. after the initial, "how do we know you? oh, we don't" confusion, they were incredibly kind and got very excited to meet someone else from central oregon. we chatted for less than five minutes but i immediately felt like i had known them forever. 

they were in town because their daughter just had their first grandchild. their daughter works at the hospital i work at here in town, only she works nights in the emergency department, so i haven't met her. the woman insisted that her daughter and i would get along great and hopes we can meet. 

when i told them i was a social worker at the hospital, the husband cracked up laughing. turns out the woman is DIRECTOR of social services at st. charles! 

i still get tingly thinking about how that risky situation turned out so gloriously! i'm pretty sure i've got a good "in" should i ever apply to a social work job at st. charles. i am going to get in touch with their daughter and maybe set up a time to go out to coffee. 

isn't that small world incident refreshing? 

making it up as you go

"Take wrong turns. Talk to strangers. Open unmarked doors. And if you see a group of people in a field, go find out what they are doing. Do things without always knowing how they’ll turn out. You’re curious and smart and bored, and all you see is the choice between working hard and slacking off. There are so many adventures that you miss because you’re waiting to think of a plan. To find them, look for tiny interesting choices. And remember that you are always making up the future as you go."-Randall Munroe

i tend to be quite safe. a planner. brandon is a lot more comfortable with letting go and seeing what happens. we are good for each other in this way (among many ways). 

the photo above is not my own, but when i came across it on a photo blog i follow, i was immediately taken back to this incredible trip brandon and i went on in our first year of marriage. before the demise of the washington coast (as a result of the tourism twilight has generated) we trekked from seattle west to forks, where we met some of the saltiest people on earth before we set out on a 17-mile backpacking trip down the coast. we climbed up and down suspect ladders and ropes, from sandy beaches to the tops of ocean-side cliffs to washington rain-forests.  in the middle of march, we had 2.5 days of sunshine in the rainiest place in the US (hoh rainforest). it was glorious and unpredictable and invigorating. 

months later we read in backpacking magazine that the worst storm in the history of the area, which killed a backpacker on the exact same route we completed, occurred the night we left the trail. this has always rattled me a bit, in a "it could have been us" way. but it also points to the fact that while plans are important, they can be made in vain.

my intention for february: 

Do things without always knowing how they’ll turn out. 

life list

a great friend of mine, brenna, has this lovely list of things she wants to do before she dies. some of the items are grand and some are more everyday, but she constantly references this list and she inspired me to make a list of my own. i find myself telling brandon about the things i want to do "one day," but i don't have a place i really keep track of these things, so here goes...

life list
1. X-country ski in the Methow
2. Backpack through the Cinque Terre
3. Visit South Island of New Zealand
4. Become a transplant social worker
5. Get my LCSW
6. Learn Spanish
7. Ride a gondola in Venice
8. Get published in an academic journal
9. See the Northern Lights
10. See the Lion King on Broadway
11. See the Book of Mormon on Broadway
12. Stay in the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
13. Stay at a ski-in/ski-out slopeside condo
14. Buy a strangers’ meal
15. Kayak in the bioluminescent bay of Fajardo, PR
16. Raft the Grand Canyon
17. Adopt a child
18. Become a mom (see previous)
19. Own fainting goats
20. Go Orca whale watching
21. Own a cabin or lake house
22. Go to Disney Land without kids
23. Go to Disney Land with kids
24. Take our children on the Polar Express train
25. Send out family Valentine's Cards (instead of Christmas cards)
26. Visit Yosemite National Park in the summer
27. Master a head stand in yoga
28. Run a 10K
29. Do a mountain bike yurt tour
30. Go sailing, preferably in the San Juan Islands
31. Train Harvey to walk on a leash
32. See a show at The Gorge
33. Go to Telluride Bluegrass Festival
34. Swim with manatees
35. Vacation in St. Lucia
36. Keep bees
37. Go on a wine tour through Napa with Sara & Kem
38. Attend a Blazer’s game with Alex
39. Live on a ranch in the Gallatin
40. Establish a scholarship fund for first-generation college students at SPU
41. Have a French Bulldog
42. Attend Sundance Film Festival
43. Attend the Ellen Degeneres show with my mom
44. Eat GF cupcakes from BabyCakes
45. Walk or bike the Pilgrimage de Santiago
46. Eat at an Alice Waters restaurant
47. Vacation in Hana, Maui, Hawaii