Saturday, April 25, 2009

gone and back again

i'm back from my little excursion and it was absolutely lovely. it went entirely too quickly and i think i'd like to make it tradition.

what i saw:

  • the highways of utah, idaho, oregon and washington
  • my friend, jillian
  • the space needle
  • pike place market
  • the original starbucks
  • exhibits at the seattle arts museum
  • seattle underground
  • a lovely production of "sunday in the park with george"
  • an enormous, terrifying troll that lives under a bridge
  • I-5
  • portland (just passing through)
  • the oregon coast
  • newport harbor, complete with sexy fishermen
  • lighthouses
  • some pretty incredible sunsets

what i listened to:

  • adele
  • ben folds
  • bob dylan
  • disney songs
  • a hella good mix that was recently made for me
  • the eagles
  • a chorus line
  • john mayer

what i ate:

  • entirely too much gas station food (namely quaker cheddar mix and swedish fish)
  • delectable seafood (at the space needle and georgie's grill)
  • galucci's pizza in lincoln city
  • gas station food (it bears repeating)

thoughts i had:

  • i am incredibly lucky
  • do people (particularly idaho people) not understand the concept of the fast lane?
  • seattle is a cool city
  • it's very therapeutic being around water
  • reading paulo coelho alone on the beach is life at its best
  • how do people effectively travel by car in unknown places without gps?
  • i must do this more often

pictures i took:





















life is good.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Friday, April 10, 2009

driving solo.

i'm heading out. just me, my ipod, and the open road.

i'm leaving april 20 and driving to seattle - staying there a couple nights, hanging out with my friend jillian, then heading for the oregon coast for a couple days.

i could not be more stoked.

i'm planted here for the summer, since i'm doing saturday's voyeur (which i'm also incredibly excited for) so this is my pre-summer vacation.

i've also been jonesing to travel by myself, so this will be the perfect little adventure.

stay tuned for pictures and stories, coming the end of the month.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

happy birthday dad!

my old man's 49 today, so to follow suit, he is awesome for the following 49 reasons:

1.he is the funniest person i know. i'm serious.
2.he knows the value of a good book.
3.he has great work ethic.
4.he's an entertainer extraordinaire.
5.he has great taste in cinema and literature.
6.i inherited a lot of his personality traits, and am all the better for it.
7.he's a free thinker.
8.he taught me the proper use of profanity.
9.he is very supportive of dalton and me.
10.when my car breaks, he fixes it.
11.when i was a tiny girl he would hold me up to my wallpaper border (which was teddy bears) so i could kiss each one good night.
12.he instilled in me a love for the eagles and took me to their concert my junior year of high school and we're going again this year on my birthday!
13.he plays the guitar.
14.although he was reticent to get an inside dog, he loves george more than he'd probably like to admit.
15.he also loves and takes care of gus.
16.he serves on the north ogden city council and is oftentimes the only voice of reason.
17.he announces the softball games for cherry days and is usually the most entertaining part of the games.
18.he relishes putting on a new pair of socks.
19.he wants to write a novel. and i want to read it.
20.he taught me the importance of truly enjoying life and doing things you like to do.
21.whenever i answer the phone and it's him he says, "hello is shanny there?"
22.his favorite joke is "ask me if i'm an orange."
23.he's active.
24.he doesn't worry about anything.
25.you can count on three hands the number of concussions he's had.
26.he does the best sling blade impression i've ever seen.
27.he's saving the planet one bottle at a time. (click here for his sweet website.)
28.he knows almost everything.
29.he was a crazy youth.
30.he's thrown his fair share of punches (although none in the past approximately 25 years, as i understand.)
31.he speaks mandarin chinese.
32.he's not picky about his food, clothes, or pretty much anything.
33.he's not afraid of anything. except snakes.
34.when telemarketers call, he becomes engaged in conversation.
35.he's seen every show i've ever been in. some, multiple times.
36.he likes the simple life. (not the tv show, an actual life of simplicity.)
37.he has no feeling in his right arm.
38.his hearty laugh has been compared to the tickle me big bird doll.
39.he is left handed.
40.he loves old cars.
41.strictly by accident, he's set our old barn on fire. twice.
42.he then renovated the old barn into his "hut"
43.he has lots of friends, but maintains that he is his own best friend.
44.he is generous.
45.he sings some mean karaoke.
46.he takes good care of his family.
47.he's always the life of the party.
48.he helps people.
49.he is the perfect dad for me.

love you pa! happy 49th!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

toothless


help. i've started dreaming about losing my teeth. here is what one dream analyst concludes. some of it seems applicable.

my dreams went like this:

first head-trip, about 2 weeks ago - i was with dalton and some of his pals and we were eating some kind of hard candy. as i was chewing, i felt my teeth start to crumble. i spit them into my hand and panic ensued. no one else seemed particularly concerned about it, as i madly tried to find myself a dentist.

next nightmare, last night (warning: not for the faint of heart) - the details are a bit fuzzy, but there was a man with a stapler and he stapled into my gums, right above my top front teeth. i know. it was horrifying. i couldn't get to a mirror for what seemed like hours, and when i finally did, my gums had swelled around the staple. i tried to dig it out, and when i finally got a grip on it, one of my front teeth and a sizable layer of the other came out with it.

could someone please psychoanalyze me? thanks.

Friday, March 6, 2009

happy birthday mom!

my mom is celebrating her big 4-9 today. doesn't she look fabulous?? so, here are 49 things that make her amazing.

1.she is the most patient person i know.
2.she's taught me everything i know about shoes and purses.
3.she is supportive of everything dalton and i do.
4.she's incredibly open-minded.
5.she inherited all of her mother's amazing qualities.
6.she mows the lawn all summer.
7.she loves oprah.
8.she has trouble saying the word "roy" - it tends to come out "rory".
9.she's hilarious, often times without even realizing it.
10.she substitute teaches elementary school and is hands-down the kids' favorite.
11.she's beeeeautiful.
12.she's a really fast driver, and can get out of speeding tickets like it's her job.
13.she gave up diet coke for regular coke.
14.before she buys something, she makes absolutely sure it's the best one.
15.she forgets the plot of a movie approximately 20 minutes after viewing it.
16.she can play beautiful renditions of "born free" and "king of the road" on the piano.
17.she always wins as favorite mom among my friends.
18.she does a killer marge simpson impersonation.
19.she sees lots of theatre with me.
20.she has a fierce, deep love for donny osmond.
21.she's kind.
22.she calls me to double-check spelling and grammar before posting comments on our family blog.
23.she can and will challenge anyone to a game of ping pong.
24.she is very non-judgemental.
25.she buys baby clothes for her future grandchildren. (and they are a long way off...)
26.she will do anything at anytime for her family.
27.she can still recall warriorette choreography.
28.when she was a little girl she would eat plain butter.
29.she loves george like a third child.
30.she's always abreast of the lastest fashion, fragrances, and fancy products.
31.she went to a dolly parton concert when she was pregnant with me, thus my deep love for dolly.
32.she doesn't rose-scented things.
33.she's becoming more and more internet savvy.
34.there is no better shopping partner than her.
35.she's a night owl.
36.she's a delightful cook.
37.she gets me presents just because.
38.her favorite movies include: you've got mail, father of the bride (I and II), ghosttown, i am sam, and kramer vs. kramer.
39.she loves peppermint ice cream.
40.she tends to get car-sick/sea-sick/air-sick.
41.if she ever had twins (one boy, one girl) she would've named them paige and parker.
42.she looks darling in her reading glasses.
43.she cracks herself up from time to time.
44.she collects magnets and christmas tree ornaments.
45.she picks up after my dad (and me, when i'm at their house.)
46.she took care of two turtles as a child and called them walter and tessie.
47.she is a great example.
48.she's my best friend.
49.she is a perfect mother.

happy birthday mom! i love you!

Monday, March 2, 2009