rain rain dont go away

i'm such a northwest girl because i'm loving the depressing grey endless rain.

it feels SO like home. that sunshine was foreign.

the only bad thing about it is the cieling over our nurses station was literally caving in today. not good. nooooot gooooooood. so, i had to chart in an awkard position at a makeshift desk in the hall while ladders and hammers and people with overalls on yelled at each other in cieling and made a lot of sterile equipment nonsterile with their toppling of things and spreading of cieling dust everywhere.

however once i got off of work me and josh had a nice impromptu pho dinner (mine was pho bu ba or something, it was suggested by the Vietnamese owner, it was spicy and amazing, i'm not going to describe because i'm not a foodie) and he took me to see the improv show with some friends. that was good times.

but now it's time to watch The Office.

happy birthday josh

today josh turned 29 years old.

unfortunately his birthday usually falls during the church's association's annual meeting, so we spent the morning and well into the afternoon in a rather remote location off Highway 20, but not too far up highway 20, but far enough to make it along drive and make me very carsick.

the meeting was super boring for me, but i'm sure the pastors were like oo ahh, seminary professor speakers, lectures, booths, socializing, eating food.... la la la. i played on my laptop.

then we drove to bainbridge island. which is far, far away from where we were. so just when i was starting to feel better i got carsick. then we got on the ferry just in time, phew.

once we got to winslow it was lovely. josh and i had some appetizers and happy hour drinks before our friends got there for dinner. dinner was amazing -- so great. josh had a great time. then we saw justin who played a main role in the play "The Producers" - he was so funny. afterwards we celebrated with friends again a little more, then got on the ferry for the long drive home.

we got home like at 2:00 AM or something but it was worth it - i thought it was a great birthday and i think josh had a good time too. it makes me happy to see him happy, and to see old friends and it felt like when were dating back in the day, being out and about, adventuring. flirting over appetizers. i'm more in love with him now than ever.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH WTF

OKAY -- ATTENTION -- I BELIEVE IT IS TIME FOR MY ANNUAL BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH RANT----

i.e. http://www.nbcam.org/

Honestly, I don't know why it annoys me so much. OH WAIT I DO.

Maybe it is because of the local hissy-fit over it every stinking year.

It starts with annoying melodramatic radio ads.

Then the TV ads with the pink people running relays for 3 days.



Then I go to the grocery store and not one, but TWO aisles are dedicated to "PINK!" "GO PINK!" -- pink water bottles, pink Mike Hard's lemonade (yes, alcohol), pink potato chips, pink t shirts, pink chicken marinades (!?!?!?!), --- AND THEY ONLY HAVE PINK SHOPPING BAGS!! PINK! Shopping!! BAGS!! No other bags to be found. In all of Haggens.



I drove by the local shopping center- the FORKLIFT was painted pink for breast cancer awareness.

I drove by the local Vietnamese dry cleaners - PINK ribbons on their dry cleaning hangers --

The celebrities are blabbing about it on every station and every little ceremony they make up for themselves even though they don't even know what they're talking about:


Oh i could go on, and ON, and ON! Pink everywhere! On yogurt! On brooms! On makeup! On alcohol! What the hell!!

LET ME REMIND YOU of the:

Top 10 Causes of Death for Women in the United States‡

The graph below shows how breast cancer compares to other common causes of death in women of all ages.

Top 10 causes of death for women in the United States.

The graph shows that the top 10 causes of death for women in the United States are—
1 Diseases of heart 329,238
2 Cerebrovascular diseases 86,993
3 Lung and bronchus cancer 69,078
4 Chronic lower respiratory disease 68,497
5 Alzheimer's disease 51,039
6 Accidents (unintentional injury) 41,426
7 Breast cancer 41,116
8 Diabetes mellitus 38,581
9 Influenza and pneumonia 34,949
10 Colorectal cancer 26,224

‡Source: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program (www.seer.cancer.govExternal Web Site Icon) SEER*Stat Database: Mortality – All COD, Public-Use with State, Total U.S. (1969–2005), National Cancer Institute, DCCPS, Surveillance Research Program, Cancer Statistics Branch, released February 2008. Underlying mortality data provided by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

Wait... what's that? The top two killers of not only women, but men also, are cardiovascular? Really? How 'bout that. Huh. Really. WOW. Wait... breast cancer isn't even the top cancer? Really? Wow! How 'bout that. Huh. Wow. Really.

So great... the Komen people or whoever they are are getting this great research funding... and they don't know how to find the cause of breast cancer. Oh and they treat it like other cancers with barbaric medicine and chemo and radiation. Oh and it comes back so your breasts get cut off.

On the other hand, there is preventable, PREVENTABLE cardiovascular disease!! You just have to be aware and get screened! Look at those top 3 on the graph - QUIT SMOKING.... KNOW YOUR CHOLESTEROL.... AVOID type II diabetes... GET A STRESS TEST.... CONTROL YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE.... GET SCREENED FOR ATHEROSCLEROSIS WITH A SIMPLE ULTRASOUND.

Still have a clogged artery, can't fight the genetics? We have stents. and bypass. and so many many many things... and none of it involves cutting off body tissues.

I mean, serious Seattle, Washington, United States, North America.... you have a top killer, far more deadly and prevalant than breast cancer, cardiovascular disease which is also mostly preventable, and you want to frickin smoke and eat and drink your way to death. And buy your smokes and eats and drinks in F'in PINK SHOPPING BAGS.

THAT is what annoys me at the store, and on the radio, and on the TV. All these well-meaning people running around with out of control type II diabetes and high cholesterol with their pink t-shirts on just waiting for a huge myocardial infarction.


at least some people try to fight the breast cancer consumerism... but obviously without much success. And these are women who have fought the cancer themselves!

Now don't get me wrong. I know a lot of women who have fought breast cancer and some have lost the fight. It is horrific, and personal, and just awful. I also know a lot of people who have had other types of cancer. Prostate. Colon. Skin. Many family members have died slow painful deaths from cancer. Research and funding is so important... but raising "Awareness"... by using consumerism? Swiffer? Alcohol? Pink shopping bags?

Ridiculous.

cuz thats my funday

i was disappointed that we had zero kids in sunday school today but it turned out to be okay because it gave me the opportunity to get to know someone who is new at church who never talks very much.
song time went okay, i played the drums for all the songs instead of switching back and forth to the piano, but our guitarist does not do so well still (ya two years later) by himself. sooo, i dunno, maybe that is a hopeless cause. we have three. THREE. . . . practices a week. the singers probably need like, one. i need like ,a half of one. but three still isnt enough for him to remember or play right. so i dont know... frustrating.

after church Tyler invited us over for lunch and fed us meat. i dont really know what it was, i guess roast? -- but it was just like big chunks of meat. on some bread. and i dont eat meat very often, or like at all usually, unless its tiny chunks of chicken in my tacos, so i was full for like eternity. i'm still full. i could live for like another couple of days without eating. my stomach is like WHAT did you DO to me.
and i had water. so, that was an interesting meal. i guess it really is true that bachelor's just cook meat for meals. he hunts so maybe he shot the...cow..wait maybe it wasnt cow. hmmm.

a busy day because after that josh and i and a friend drove down to seattle which was fun. we had double date time which i had not done in a long time... we went out to dinner. but i was still full. so that was kind of pointless except for the social aspect. we also sat for a long time talking in a coffee shop, which is a very seattle thing to do. in a seattle's best coffeeshop no less. and walked around marymoore park...and looked at the fall colors. which are not really as awesome here as new england, which made me miss new england, so i was sad for a few minutes, but then i found a giant windmill in the park for no apparent reason which made me forget my troubles like a bridge over waters.

then my friend loaded up my mac with a bunch of software, for free, which is awesome... i haven't installed it all yet but i will. oh, i will. and then i will have the creative suite. and open office. and a bunch of other awesome stuff. and just you wait. ....for i don't know what. but just you wait.

i also saw blue ray for the first time. i don't know if just don't watch HDTV (i thought i did though?) or if blueray is better than HD or what, but it was pretty cool. batman was jumping out at me. i still have only seen the first five minutes of the movie "Batman the dark knight" and that is as far as i will ever get probably. everyone was like "it's so awesome!!" so then i expect it to be awesome in the first five minutes and then i'm like....meh...

i had way too much coffee today.

the drive home josh drove and i was drifting in and out of sleep even though five iron frenzy was cranked pretty loud. car rides put me to sleep.

memorial day weekend

ugh. such a long weekend. i don't want to do anything today on my last day off.

saturday we had the three ten-year-olds from my sunday school class - watched a parade, went out to lunch, saw the new Night at the Museum Movie (not very awesome), went on a ton of sketchy carnival rides, had a bbq, had a campfire, watched the first Night at the Museum movie (pretty awesome), slept. Woke up early for church activities. Didn't get to sleep until late Sunday, either. Need my sleeeep.

lenticular clouds

Okay kids, time to learn about lenticular clouds. An important part of living in the Pacific Northwest. Where you can see an amazing mountain from wherever you are.

Where I grew up in Seattle, Mt. Rainier was in view from my front yard; a daunting, beautiful sight. Now we live in the shadow (literally) of Mt. Baker. If you live in the south, Mt. St. Helens (scary!) is in your horizon

I remember as a kid watching the "caps" of the mountain form and then sail away in the sky. I would spend a whole morning just staring at the mountain from the front porch. Even then I felt so lucky to grow up in such an amazing area of the world.

Makes me think about that one verse, (uhm, wheres pastor husband to tell me where it is when i need him??), that talks about how creation itself speaks of it's Creator. People wonder, oh, do I believe there's a creator God? They know there is. Look at the creation. Do I believe there's a living, powerful God? They know there is. Look at the erupting volcanoes. Is God loving? They know he is. Look at the care for creation, feel the love you feel for the fluffy kitten, or the loyal dog, or the garden you tend. Are people really sinful? We don't really need a savior, Jesus, do we? Look at the destruction and violence around you. Or if not that, the mess you can easily make of your own life, going your own way.

Today is definitely one of those days - I'm a child again, sitting on my back porch, watching the clouds float by - pondering God's love for His creation - and that creation includes me.


**Pastor husband is back at home - yay!
:: Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. :: Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. ::

waterwaterwater

The weather has been absolutely disastrous. First the blizzard like conditions, and now relentless rain. I've never seen this much rain for this long for this hard, and I was raised in Seattle! Sure, I'm used to a steady, gentle drizzle that lasts 100 days straight, but this feels like the Biblical flood.

It's almost exhilarating. In fact, it IS exhilarating. Even though the sky hangs low with ominous dark clouds, almost touching the housetops, the pounding rain is energizing. The constant media "state of emergency" chatter and mud slides and avalanches and roads turning into crumbled concrete rivers... it's like, wow, I'm here, I'm alive and my house is still standing, if but for a moment.

Moreover, God is a powerful creator. Nothing is permanent, even the tallest things are easily swept away and made flat by the current of time, we are here for but a brief moment and then - gone. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

religulous

People wanting to convert me to their religion are following me everywhere. Whether it be the stern armageddon warnings from the globally warm & aware, or the vegetotaltarianists, or the jehovahs witnesses, or that one wiccan girl...

Seriously people. First of alls, I don't care to hear any more about global warming. That was SOOOoooo 2005. Second, I am not going to go on an all vegetarian cruise with you. I don't think I would like a cruise, but if I had to go on a cruise, my one comfort would be the food. Don't take that away from me. I'm glad you don't eat meat but please leave me alone with my spaghetti at the lunch table. Besides, my spaghetti doesn't even have meat in it. Third, I don't like your creepy Jesus-with-open-arms leaflets and the inspirational ditties written by D-list celebrities in your pamphlets. Fourth, I'm not coming to your "circle" to praise your goddess. goddessessess... yah. No. Besides I don't look good in dark green colors with flowy ruffly long skirts.

You know, I'm having a hard time remembering a time where a Christian came up and witnessed to me. I think the last time was in junior college when a gideon handed me a Bible at the entrance to campus. Before that, I think, never?

c

I don't like not having a computer readily available. I have so many pictures I want to share! We've been to see awesome people lately! Done fun things! Ate good food! And I can't write about it here! Crime!!

Summer is winding down. I don't know how much longer we'll have any kind of decent weather. The weather this summer sucked, barely any sun at all the first two months. Sometimes in the northwest it'll be sunny and dry through the end of october, sometimes September will hit you with rain until March of next year. I just don't know what will happen.

Last night me, Michael, Vicki and Josh and my Josh had a bbq at Golden Gardens park and it was very pleasant and warm even though we got there at like 7:40 and didn't start bbq'ing til the sun was almost gone. It was so beautiful and peaceful and fun to watch all the seattlelites huddled around their bonfires on the beach, enjoying generic Guy with Acoustic Guitar that each group seemed to have... enjoying summer. I haven't really done many summery things this summer, which is odd for me, but it has been a busy summer, a somewhat sad summer, with what seems more bad things outweighing the good sometimes.

I am really looking forward to fall and the change of the seasons, just for some relief and some welcomed change. Different activities and things "settling down". Routines. Weekends that don't include weddings (well, that won't happen until the last week of September).




PS: Michael's new apartment? Literally next door to MY FAVORITE STORE IN THE WHOLE WORLD. He may just get tired of me "visiting" him.

imexhausted

This weekend was so so so exhausting.

And I don't want another full week at work when I'm already so so so tired.

Friday the bbq was really really fun and I really liked having people over but more than I that I really really love guitar-something. Guitar... I dunno some guitar game on the Wii that I am too lazy to look up on google right now.

IT'S AWESOME. I became... this rockstar person that could play electric guitar. I got to the medium level whatever that means.

Of course it was hard to play at 12:30am.

Josh took one of my sunday school kids (the only boy in that sunday school class full of fourth grade girls, poor guy) to a Newsboys concert at the local fair. I didn't even know they were still around. Don't they miss australia or something? Anyway that kid spent the night and they played video games til all hours of the night. Halo. Loud sound system. No sleep for wifey.

Saturday was bizzzyy. And sucky. But not the free giveaway yard sale bbq thingee at the church that I don't know what to name becuase it was a lot of free stuff giveaway from the community see I can't find a name for it... anyway that rocked. It went great. But my saturday personally was suckkkyyy. Blah.

This morning at church was awesome - worship team was very refreshing and we had good songs and A NEW SINGER THANK GOD - YAYYY.

Josh's sermon was especially very good - not that he isn't good other times - but especially good (we're in Malachi) because of how God spoke to me through it.

bigfoot

Pshaw. All this internet buzz about people finding a bigfoot - IN THE SOUTH. WHAT. I don't think so.

First of alls, the whole bigfoot thing is totally stolen from the pacific northwest sasquatch. Second of alls, bigfoots/sasquatches wouldn't be hanging around down south where it gets warm. Everyone knows they have all that fur so they can survive our year-round cold weather up here.

Bigfoot. In Georgia. ridiculous!


I saw a sasquatch one time by the way.

best place to live

My city was ranked one of the best places to live!

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/255/story/495089.html

bok bok

We had bok! choy! tonight! bok! bok! choy!

Anyway, I think the month of April deserves some applause. It has been the most dreadful, snowy, rainy, coldest and LONGEST winter I have seen in my 23 years living in the Pacific Northwest. It wasn't particularly the MOST snow, the MOST rain, or the coldest EVER - or anything, just the most of all of the above, for an extended period of unrelenting time. And now, finally, the last few weekends in April, some sun here and there, and tolerably above freezing (most of the time). And flowerbuds.

Bad weather or not, we lived April to it's fullest and I have no complaints about the past month at all, it's been an immense lift to my spirits:


Josh took a full weekend off, so we both had the same two days off which never happens, and he took me to Seattle to be tourists and stay in a nice hotel. I always heard couples (usually older) talk about how it's important to get away, together, and how just getting away helps and whatever, I don't really know what they say about it exactly that is about the point that I start drifting off -- anyway, they are probably right. I felt like we were on vacation for five days, and I got home so refreshed, and felt closer and that I got to know Josh even better, and made memories - it was just, awesome.

Okay more pictures from that because all parts were fun:



We had brunch at the top of the Space Needle thus giving us free admission to the observation deck and much snapping of fotos.



The Seattle Center, Monorail, and downtown shopping are always fun, and I liked being Josh's tourguide (somewhat not so expert but lovable tourguide).





We met up with Michael Saturday night to see the Mariner's play what you could call baseball and catch a comedy show.

Weekend after that:



Took the train to stay with Lynnae (cousin) in Portland. Happened to be Earth Day weekend (Earth Day is a two week long event in Portland I guess). So, I saw pretty much the hippiest of the hippies, I'm pretty sure. I could be mistaken. But I'm pretty sure I'm not. It was fun though, but very cold. It was snowing at my house but luckily I was much farther south at the time - but Lynnae travels via bicycle, and so in all my pictures you see I am bundled up. FOUR layers. Brrr.




Meanwhile the church had sader, seder, sedar service and Josh will talk you ear off about it and how great it was, etc. etc. - Josh being the new pastor it was the first time this church had participated I think in a all-church thing, like this. Our sister church is messianic church and they do the whole sh-bang, so we will probably be participating more with these things I think. At least we would very much like to. I wish I had more to say about this but unfortunately I missed it due to me taking the train home. Which was a very enjoyable ride. Ahhh. Cars, never again.



Last weekend we stuck around and learned more about the history of our town. Not really though because the festival that was celebrating the town's founder was like a nonevent and we must've gone at the wrong time or something because there was no-one around except a guy selling kettle corn. But we stuck around town anyway, and it was fun. And people stacked rocks (impressive, actually, you should really check that out. I tried, so did Josh, but it was not half as impressive as those other rocks. For a few minutes I dreamed of what it would be like to stack big pointy rocks on top of little smooth round rocks for a living. But then I realized you can't make a living off of that.)

I really do like living up here, but I also like getting away and seeing other places. April, you've impressed me - but I am so ready for SPRING weather. Please?




P.S. I added photos to our "new home" set so you can see what it looks like with furniture and things, for those of you not able to come stop by!

boom!

"VANCOUVER, Wash. -- The minor eruption of Mount St. Helens that began in the fall of 2004 is over for now.

New lava has stopped pushing into the crater in the past month and on Thursday scientists at the Cascades Volcano Observatory lowered the alert to the second-lowest of four levels. It's now a yellow-advisory, down from an orange-watch."

Awww, I'm sad it's over. I liked living in fear.