Dog Days of Summer

I took a ton of photos of the dogs out at Vashon this weekend. Here are a few of my favorites....
Lincoln, looking adorable as usual. Those sad eyes get me every time. He knows to come to me for table scraps, I can't resist him!
Mr. Blue (Berry) Lauer. After a rough start with ripped up foot pads and too much sea water, Blue figured out the life of a beach dog quite quickly. It's all about lounging in the sun and playing fetch.
Pip decides to take a much needed afternoon snooze on the deck. She certainly has some beautiful brown eyes.
Pip + Kim = True love. Pip loves Kim, and that fact was verified when Kim and Casey decided to take the kayaks out. They started to paddle away and Pip started to whimper and shake, staring at Kim the whole time. As Kim got farther and farther away, Pip couldn't handle the separation, so she decided to start swimming out to Kim's kayak. It was super cute.

Wizard Staff

This weekend we headed out to Vashon Island to celebrate Casey's 31st birthday. We had an awesome time! The weather was perfect. We arrived early on Friday afternoon, got settled, and started to celebrate Casey's 31st year. The guys decided that this would be the trip where they would try the Wizard Staff. What is a Wizard Staff? Well, in the Lord of the Rings movies, Gandalf the White carried a staff. Gandalf used the staff to cast Saruman out of King Theoden to regain control over Rohan in The Two Towers. The staff was adorned with an intricate and delicately styled crown that held a great power (yes, I plagarized that directly off of another website). Check out the Staff of Gandalf the White here. In our little world of reality, a Wizard Staff is something the guys have been talking about making for a number of months. The idea is to create a Staff out of beer cans. When you are done with your beer, you attach your next beer to your empty can(s) with tape. See pictures below.
The above shot is Casey pretty much douchin' out in the early afternoon with his Staff in the beginning stages of growth. Needless to say, it was quite an entertaining afternoon.
The next shot is after the Wizard Staff had doubled in height. Note the white beard. Gandalf the White is making an appearance.
Here is a shot of Sean's epic Staff. Nic and Casey started to build their Staffs at about 2pm. Sean didn't show up to the island until about 7pm, so he had a lot of catching up to do on Staff construction. He wasted no time. All you 'Couv rats would be proud.

Although the Coors Light Wizard Staffs were quite different in construction and purpose compared to the Staff of Gandalf the White or Saruman, they all held great power. The former being the power of wicked hangovers and drunken debauchery.

Smelling the old 'hood........

I can't imagine what Frank is thinking at this point. I have been leaving the bedroom window open so he can familiarize himself with the smells and sounds of the neighborhood. I wonder if he is thinking..."Didn't we just live here 5 months ago?"....or possibly...."Where is that lame-o neighbor cat, Hashbrown?" The house we moved in to is approximately a block and a half from our old house. Crazy! I love this neighborhood, and was excited at the chance to move back.
Frank hasn't slept too much the last few days. He had been crashing at my parent's place the last couple weeks while I worked on getting settled in to the house. I brought him back with me this past Sunday, and he's been in serious explorer mode since then. He's checked out every nook and cranny in the house, and observed the view from every possible window. His favorite spots so far are the windows in the living room, kitchen, and bedroom.
I sense that he is getting a little tired, considering he usually sleeps about 22 hours a day. I figure he will crash out hard core in the next day or so, once the novelty of the new place has worn off.
Until then, let the exploration continue......

All the pretty flowers.....

This past weekend I was in Moses Lake hanging out with my parents and other family members for my mom's 60th birthday. My parents love to do yard work and their surroundings definitely reflect that. I love going there when all the flowers are in bloom, so many vibrant colors. I couldn't resist taking some photos of a few of my favorites. My parents' love of gardening didn't really rub off on me, as I don't know the first thing about flowers. All I know is that they are pretty, and usually smell good.
Love this orangey pink guy!!

Diabeetus

Two words: Food boner.

This is one of my favorite SNL skits. Enjoy.

To turn off my playlist, it can be found if you scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Back in Seattle!!!

As some of you know, I have moved back to Seattle!! Deciding to leave California was an extremely difficult decision and in no way an easy decision. Out of respect for John, and his family and/or friends that may continue to look at this blog, this will be the first and last time I will mention leaving California. John and I parted ways on great terms, and he is an amazing person, and I wish him my love and best of luck with his adventures in California.

So, why the photos of Seattle? The photos below were taken shortly after I got my first digital camera. I think it was 2002ish. It was a little Canon Powershot point and shoot type camera. It was a mere 3 megapixels. But it served me well. My parents got it for me for Christmas while I was still in graduate school. I used to take study breaks and go on outtings with my camera, taking pictures of different things around Seattle. I took pictures all over town, so much fun. I took pictures in Ballard, Golden Gardens, Pike Place, various locations downtown, pictures of old cars, cool signs, buttons in elevators, gridlines on escalators in the bus tunnel, skyscrapers, sunsets, pretty much anything I saw that I thought was cool. Those first camera breaks took place almost 7 years ago. I have lived in Seattle almost 10 years now, but it wasn't until I actually went out exploring with my dinky little camera that I fell in love with this city. Needless to say, when I moved to California, my heart broke for Seattle. My family, friends, and all things Pacific Northwest. I was a mess. So this is my love letter to Seattle, I've missed you, and I'm happy to be home.
Neon sign at Ray's Boathouse.
Caffe Fiore at night, 85th street location.
Golden Gardens at sunset.
Shilshole Bay marina at sunset.

Considering my return to Seattle, this girl's adventures in California have come to a close. With that in mind, I need a new blog title! Anyone have any ideas? I'm open to suggestions. Please feel free to leave a comment with any ideas you might have!!

Crazy dog.....

This furry little white pooch is my parent's dog, Bailey. She is a West Highland terrier, and she's super cute, and full of energy! When I was at my parent's place last week I was able to catch her kickin' it in one of her favorite spots: riding around on my mom's shoulders. It doesn't seem like the most comfortable spot to lounge, but she loves it. I think she likes to be up high, and at eye level to people so she can lick their face. Crazy dog.....

Shoe tree

On our way through eastern Oregon, my parents and I stopped to take a photo of a bizarre shoe tree. It is a dead tree decorated with shoes. Super cool. The tree is located about 10 yards from the U.S. 97 highway shoulder, a few miles outside of Shaniko, Oregon.
My photos didn't turn out as I had hoped, somehow I ended up setting the camera to tungsten light instead of daylight, that is why they have a blueish tint to them.

Blog break.....

This blog is going to be quiet for another week or so. Frank and I are heading out on a road trip this weekend. More news later......