Recent Trips

I LOVE traveling and I LOVE driving places. I have my best ideas when driving, thus I always carry pads of paper and pens within in reaching distance while I drive. (Don't worry, I never look down, I scribble and decipher later)  :) 


This weekend A. and I got to go on a wonderful trip up north. The first day we went to Hearst Castle:

This is the front entrance to the main house. It was a beautiful day!

One of the many statues and tapestries on the wall.

Neptune Pool

We got to see elephant seals on the way up!

Sunday we went to the Monterrey Aquarium

Appreciating the Little Things In Life Part Dos

I am over-flowing with gratitude :)

amazing desserts with my favorite man

living in downtown Santa Barbara

living in downtown Santa Barbara 2

I never knew cats lied heaters

we fostered Sookie in December/ January, she was so cute!

my favorite pair of shoes

old school books

fun lights (Portland, OR)

Polar Bears at the zoo

lunch break at the beach

Gratitude List

I never thought I'd be someone who would write a gratitude list, but lately, I've been driving/ walking around just thinking about the many things I'm grateful for. And, I thought I'd share, in no particular order.  *picture heavy post*

[1] The view from the building I work in.

[2] Being so close to mountains and water

Photo courtesy of Google images

[3] Being able to go home and visit:

December 2009, still one of my favorite photos I've taken of the Space Needle

Pike's Place Market never gets old

 [4] Traveling, though I would always love to travel more :)

Drinks in Key West and South Beach, Florida, February 2012

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France 2010

Leaning Tower of Pisa, 2010

England 2010

[5] Sicily: everyday she doesn't something cute/ adorable/ entertaining/ funny and I love even the most basic things, like playing the "search for the cat game" once I'm home. 

Sicily, day one, August 16, 2005

Sicily sleeping on the couch

[6] Crossfit, 2.5 years later I still love it, so grateful I found it.

Old t-shirt from high school I still love wearing. I LOVE lifting weights at Crossfit!

 [7] Halloween, getting to dress up like a goof. Teaching kids.

Disco Diva, Halloween 2011. I went to one of my best friend's classrooms and helped teach the kiddos.

[8] Making my own traditions for holidays.

[9] Flowers and nature, of which I love taking pictures of both

[10] Finding funny/ entertaining things on the Facebook

[11] Being able to see shows with friends and family

La Boheme, Los Angeles, 2012

[12] Friends and Family (too many photos to post)

[13] Being able to walk to the beach from my apartment and being able to walk to do almost everything

[14] Our apartment, I love the size, location, and we have minimal neighbors

[15]Our landlords, their efficiency, and the benefits of living over a plumbing business

[16] Having a reliable car that I enjoy driving. (Countdown for less than two years left to have it paid off!)

[17] Surrounded by good friends, new and old (duration of years I've known them, though age range is applicable here too haha)

[18] Random experiences

Opera Santa Barbara, Trouble In Tahiti, 2011

 [19] Random encounters with new/ nice people

[20] The wedding I've been privileged to be in the bridal party of or played in.

Megan's wedding, October 2010

[21] Old photos that still make me laugh and smile

More to come later!

PS. Since I haven't received permission from friends to post their pictures on an open blog, I'm sorry that most of these photos are of just me :)

Always Learning

As each year passes, I am grateful that I learn more and more about myself. There are so many things that I want to learn and I don't know how to fit it all it. If I could afford it, I'm pretty sure I would be in graduate school for the rest of my life. For you new readers, I have my masters degree in Music, Flute Performance. I would love to go back and learn the subjects I find interesting now that I didn't "back then." I never would have thought that I would be so enthralled with American history, foreign policy, sociology, languages, American classic literature, chemistry, and psychology.

Being a musician, I didn't have the open space in my college or high school schedule to take classes that weren't required for graduation. Even taking IB classes proved difficult, not including the extra work load it added.

What subjects do you find interesting that you didn't 10 years ago?
Do you guys have any suggestions for great websites/ books to read on the above subjects?

Here are a couple of my favorites:
Foreign Policy

Greek/ Latin Roots

15 Day Challenge: Day 8

So, one of my IRL friends Sarah is hosting a 15 Day Challenge. There is a different question each day and I was out of town when it started so I didn't think I'd participate. She's come up with some great prompt questions and the question from yesterday, day 8 seemed very interesting. I'm also stealing her note about the question:

Please note: This exercise is to celebrate ourselves but still recognize our faults, not to be self-deprecating! So be nice to yourself! That being said:

[Day 8]: Describe the good, the bad, and the ugly about yourself. 

[THE GOOD]

I am dedicated to my craft, I will do anything I can to become the best flute player.

I'm organized, self-motivated, and I love helping other people get organized.

[THE BAD]

If I don't want to do something, I have a hard time motivating myself to do it... at all.

I have no skills when it comes to doing my hair.

No matter how hard I try, I cannot get my body to the shape I want it.

[THE UGLY]

I worry, a lot. I'm working on having faith that everything works out but it's hard sometimes. I'm not good when the "transitional" part of life lasts for a long time.

Trip to Washington

I was lucky enough to go to Washington this past weekend. My sister got married and we had the memorial for my Grandma.

There are a few things I love about going home:
1. the smell of Seattle salt water from my parents' house
2. the view of the Puget Sound from our hill
3. the vast amount of trees (even though I've since learned I'm allergic to almost all of them)
4. being able to see my friends and family!
5. Mt. Rainier
6. the excitement of going over Snoqualmie Pass and knowing the landmarks along the way
7. stopping at places along the drive from west to east side and seeing people you know.

Interesting Happenings

Interesting parts of today and the past week:

• I work at Santa Barbara City College and we are doing the musical Avenue Q. I have been working on headshots (for the last show and this one) and had the fun, yet odd, experience of taking headshots of the puppets. Here is Nicky, a unedited photo, but so fun!

• One of my youngest flute students is so innovative and cute. We're working on Mary Had A Little Lamb and she started singing new words to it. Our favorite one from today was "Mary Had A Goofy Good" and just watching her and her sister laugh, giggle, and smile made my day :)  I wish I had a picture to represent the cuteness.