2008 has probably been the most interesting and favorite of the last few years. In January I was honored to be one of the lucky few attendees at Sara Lou & Stew's fabulous Timberline wedding. I'm not sure I had ever had so much fun at a wedding before, and I'm not sure I've ever been so cold in a hot tub! Soon after, in February, I was asked to take a big trip for work and started the long preparation & freak out process. I started blogging, and so did Sabine. Sadly, Sabinedog's blog seems to have been removed from the internet - too bad, because her posts were hella funny!
On March 7th, I departed for my two month adventure in Seoul. Flying to Korea in 1st class was the last easy thing about the trip, but I had a lot of fun and learned many things about the country, the culture, my job and myself. Highlights for March include staying at The Dormy, seeing Jason Mraz, learning about the layoffs at home and drinking Soju with friends.By April I had started to get a little homesick but was still trying to make the best of the trip. I got to see the entire city from Namsan Tower, along with the amazing cherry blossoms. I went shopping in Insadong and had the best night of my trip at Lotte World!
When I landed in California the first thing I did was send a text message to all my friends that said "I love this Country!" Being home had never felt better and I spent most of May enjoying the company of my friends and my dog. I bought my lovely little mac and started making plans to leave my employer.
BeansandNuts was born in July, I hired little Russian men to work on my kitchen, signed up for a great diet program and I attended my second wedding for the year. X and I took a little camping trip to Ft. Stevens State Park with the dogs in August. When I returned, I gave my notice at work and willingly became unemployed for the first time in five years.
The MBA program at Marylhurst seemed like a great fit, so I started classes in September and began making friends. I was down 30 lbs on my diet and I turned 30 years old! Jayna and Eric came to visit for the Miss White Trash Pageant, I attended a pub crawl, and I met the man. I think September might have been my favorite month. After just one (amazing!) month of freedom, I accepted a job in October. I went to see Matt Nathanson with a hot date and attended two more weddings - a small courthouse ceremony and a charming beach wedding that ended at the Sportsman Pub and Grub.
Obama won the election by a surprising (to me) landslide in November and I had an absolute blast with my date for Denim & Diamonds. For Thanksgiving, I traveled to Tucson for my fifth (& Final!) wedding of 2008 and reconnected with some amazing friends that I missed more than I ever realized. December brought the tragic loss of my Sabine but also a great, joy filled White Christmas and the birth of a close friends baby boy. I spent about 7 days strait lying on my butt and playing on the internet because I could not leave the house - the snow was beautiful but I'm glad to be mobile again.
As amazing as 2008 was, I think 2009 is going to be even better. I don't think there will be five weddings this year, but you never know.. in the meantime, I'm looking forward to continuing school, learning to snowboard, spending more time with my friends and my guy, meeting the new babies that have arrived or will be arriving soon, attending the Newport Seafood & Wine Festival and going to China. I hope each of you had a great 08 and have an even better 09!!
XOXO
Showing posts with label Wedding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wedding. Show all posts
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Thursday, October 30, 2008
So little time
I keep meaning to post but then I get distracted. It's been a good week... here is a little recap, in case you've missed it:
• We completed our team project and received a perfect score on both the paper and the presentation
• I signed up for a two week trip to China. Two of my teammates have signed up as well so I already have friends
• I spent 8 hours catching up on my graphic design freelance projects and can *almost* breathe now
• I designed a 16 page booklet for work, manually printed 400 double sided copies and then had to throw it out due to poor printer quality. I'll be reprinting all day Tuesday but on a (hopefully) better machine
• My awesome mom bought me a plane ticket home so I can go to B's wedding and have Thanksgiving with the folks. I'm also looking forward to meeting little Paiger while I'm there and catching up with old friends
• My dad has been sending me little checks in the mail and I'm so incredibly thankful
• I've been on more than a few successful dates with a lovely man that is not an asshole, which is a totally new thing for me
• The girls and I went to see Disney's High School Musical on Ice, which was a complete disaster, but X let me wear her purple hat that almost made up for it (see below) and there was a yummy Crow Bar salmon plate involved too
• I had happy hour with Steddles, at the Crow Bar, again. I love that place!
• Snowpatrol release a new album and I just downloaded it - squeeeee.
• I'm going to see Matt Nathanson on Sunday so I downloaded that too - I don't want to be the only one that doesn't know the lyrics!
• I lost another 2.5 lbs this week bringing my total up to 30 lbs since June!
And that's about it... I am going to try harder to blog, I'm tired of ya'll pestering me. ;)
• We completed our team project and received a perfect score on both the paper and the presentation
• I signed up for a two week trip to China. Two of my teammates have signed up as well so I already have friends
• I spent 8 hours catching up on my graphic design freelance projects and can *almost* breathe now
• I designed a 16 page booklet for work, manually printed 400 double sided copies and then had to throw it out due to poor printer quality. I'll be reprinting all day Tuesday but on a (hopefully) better machine
• My awesome mom bought me a plane ticket home so I can go to B's wedding and have Thanksgiving with the folks. I'm also looking forward to meeting little Paiger while I'm there and catching up with old friends
• My dad has been sending me little checks in the mail and I'm so incredibly thankful
• I've been on more than a few successful dates with a lovely man that is not an asshole, which is a totally new thing for me
• The girls and I went to see Disney's High School Musical on Ice, which was a complete disaster, but X let me wear her purple hat that almost made up for it (see below) and there was a yummy Crow Bar salmon plate involved too
• I had happy hour with Steddles, at the Crow Bar, again. I love that place!
• Snowpatrol release a new album and I just downloaded it - squeeeee.
• I'm going to see Matt Nathanson on Sunday so I downloaded that too - I don't want to be the only one that doesn't know the lyrics!
• I lost another 2.5 lbs this week bringing my total up to 30 lbs since June!
And that's about it... I am going to try harder to blog, I'm tired of ya'll pestering me. ;)
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Pub and Grub
I had a great weekend out at the coast. I drove out Friday night after work, which took me nearly 4 hours due to traffic, a dinner stop and getting lost. Damn you Google maps! Anyway, we headed to the only bar in town, The Sportsman Pub and Grub where we hung out with the local fisherman and drunks. Saturday morning C and I walked down the street for a leisurely breakfast and then we went to help out at the reception site. J & M went over at 8 am and had been working all morning - the place looked amazing!
The wedding was at 2 o'clock on the beach and the weather was unbelievably perfect. It must be a sign because I can't imagine them getting any luckier for an October beach wedding. Afterwards we went to the reception hall and I helped with the food prep and service. Apparently the cook backed out at the last minute so the girls and I jumped in and a few guys ran the grill. I don't think any of us sat down for about 3 hours. But it was fun and afterwards everyone got smashed on champagne. At closing time everyone rallied to tear down the decorations and we headed back to the Sportsman. Even the bride and groom were there it was fun.
Drove in this morning, grabbed the dog and have been a complete lump ever since. I'm going to regret it tomorrow when I have an hour to write my paper but oh well. I sat around watching Tv and movie and crying my eyes out. Just a bad case of the Sunday Blues combined with some hormonal issues. I feel much better now but should probably go get some chocolate, just in case. First I have to head over to S's house to work on our team presentation. Fudge, I'd rather stay here and snuggle with Beaner.
The wedding was at 2 o'clock on the beach and the weather was unbelievably perfect. It must be a sign because I can't imagine them getting any luckier for an October beach wedding. Afterwards we went to the reception hall and I helped with the food prep and service. Apparently the cook backed out at the last minute so the girls and I jumped in and a few guys ran the grill. I don't think any of us sat down for about 3 hours. But it was fun and afterwards everyone got smashed on champagne. At closing time everyone rallied to tear down the decorations and we headed back to the Sportsman. Even the bride and groom were there it was fun.
Drove in this morning, grabbed the dog and have been a complete lump ever since. I'm going to regret it tomorrow when I have an hour to write my paper but oh well. I sat around watching Tv and movie and crying my eyes out. Just a bad case of the Sunday Blues combined with some hormonal issues. I feel much better now but should probably go get some chocolate, just in case. First I have to head over to S's house to work on our team presentation. Fudge, I'd rather stay here and snuggle with Beaner.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Too Awake
I should be sleeping. But I made the unfortunate error of having caffeine tonight and am now jazzed. I haven't had much of the jittery stuff since I started the diet so now I'm losing my mind. All I had was a diet soda but man, I'm wired. I indulged because I figured I'd need it to stay up to pack and prepare for this weekend. My friend L is getting married Saturday, so, tomorrow after work, I'm heading to the coast for two nights. I'm very excited about getting out of town, but also nervous because:
A. It's a beach wedding. In October. In Oregon. I'm going to freeze my ass off.
B. I have a paper due on Monday that is less than 1/2 written
C. I will probably be the only one there without a date. I hate that.
D. Did I mention that I am going to freeze my ass off?
Anyway, a big group of people went in on a house that is in stumbling distance of the beach and the reception. It is bound to be a total blast! I'm taking my laptop so I can do a little work on Saturday morning before the ceremony. Then, I drive home on Sunday to hopefully have lunch with X and her visiting friend J with an H. Sunday night I have a meeting with my classmates to go over our powerpoint presentation for Thursday.
We had to write and present an executive summary on a case study. It's not as bad as it sounds. The article (about layoffs) was actually interesting and it's been one of the smoothest group projects I've been involved in. I'm not sure if it's just dumb luck or if things change in grad school, but I was dreading the team project based on past experience. But for once, I'm not completely stressed out and pissed because I'm doing extra work. Sweet!
Work is going better too. My boss is still a bit scattered and that's rough. I think he has just been doing the job so long that it's all in his head and downloading that to me is difficult... but it's coming along. Once I have a little more ownership of my projects it'll be smooth sailing. I spent most of today designing collateral, so that's not a bad deal.
To top a good week off, I got a check in the mail today from my dad - what an awesome surprise! It's amazing how blessings have a way of showing up right when you least expect them or when you need them. Thanks Daddy!
A. It's a beach wedding. In October. In Oregon. I'm going to freeze my ass off.
B. I have a paper due on Monday that is less than 1/2 written
C. I will probably be the only one there without a date. I hate that.
D. Did I mention that I am going to freeze my ass off?
Anyway, a big group of people went in on a house that is in stumbling distance of the beach and the reception. It is bound to be a total blast! I'm taking my laptop so I can do a little work on Saturday morning before the ceremony. Then, I drive home on Sunday to hopefully have lunch with X and her visiting friend J with an H. Sunday night I have a meeting with my classmates to go over our powerpoint presentation for Thursday.
We had to write and present an executive summary on a case study. It's not as bad as it sounds. The article (about layoffs) was actually interesting and it's been one of the smoothest group projects I've been involved in. I'm not sure if it's just dumb luck or if things change in grad school, but I was dreading the team project based on past experience. But for once, I'm not completely stressed out and pissed because I'm doing extra work. Sweet!
Work is going better too. My boss is still a bit scattered and that's rough. I think he has just been doing the job so long that it's all in his head and downloading that to me is difficult... but it's coming along. Once I have a little more ownership of my projects it'll be smooth sailing. I spent most of today designing collateral, so that's not a bad deal.
To top a good week off, I got a check in the mail today from my dad - what an awesome surprise! It's amazing how blessings have a way of showing up right when you least expect them or when you need them. Thanks Daddy!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Pooped
It's been a long, exhausting week and I am ready for a vacation. On Monday I started my new job and, although it got off to the bumpy start, I'm really liking the work. Unfortunately my body decided that Monday was also a good day to catch the plague. By the time I got to class on Monday night I was coughing and feverish and miserable - but I couldn't exactly call in sick to my brand new job. Ugh. I somehow survived the week and hopefully managed to not infect the entire office. Hooray for hand sanitizer!
On Friday I went in late because my brother & new SIL got married at the courthouse (Yay!) and I couldn't miss that. I had to skip the photo shoot and brunch, but at least I was there for the quick ceremony. It was great to see how many people showed up at this fun little event. Friday night was spent having dinner with the family, and Saturday was spent making returns to Ikea and shopping for shoes followed by a great date. This afternoon I did more shopping and had happy hour with a friend visiting from Arizona. All in all a fantastic weekend.
But now I've got two team projects for school, a ridiculous amount of reading, about 15 hours worth of freelance design work to do and no time to do it. I need to start planning my time better... maybe an iPhone would help? Or maybe just an iPod touch... someone's got to spend all that financial aid money, right? Or, I could just stop sleeping and having fun. Nah.
On Friday I went in late because my brother & new SIL got married at the courthouse (Yay!) and I couldn't miss that. I had to skip the photo shoot and brunch, but at least I was there for the quick ceremony. It was great to see how many people showed up at this fun little event. Friday night was spent having dinner with the family, and Saturday was spent making returns to Ikea and shopping for shoes followed by a great date. This afternoon I did more shopping and had happy hour with a friend visiting from Arizona. All in all a fantastic weekend.
But now I've got two team projects for school, a ridiculous amount of reading, about 15 hours worth of freelance design work to do and no time to do it. I need to start planning my time better... maybe an iPhone would help? Or maybe just an iPod touch... someone's got to spend all that financial aid money, right? Or, I could just stop sleeping and having fun. Nah.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Birthdays & Weddings & Holidays, Oh My.
What a busy weekend. I need a vacation.
Thursday
We were released from work at noon and I did a little shopping before meetings the girls for happy hour food on Mississippi and then Jenny & I took X out for a pre-birthday cocktail at a great dive bar. We had a blast pissing off the hipsters by playing incredibly annoying 80's and 90's music on the jukebox and then singing to them with our eyes closed.
Friday
I slept in a bit, took the dog for an hour long walk and then headed out for more shopping. I managed to spend a bunch of money I don't have on tops and jewelry, but did not find the summer dress I was seeking. Around 6:00 I headed downtown and went with X and the fam to Waterfront Park to wait for the big fireworks show. It was a pretty darn good time, except for the bathroom incident.
As you may know, my bladder is about the size of an ice cube and I am never pleased when adequate toilets cannot be found. I think I should take a job event planning for the City of Portland because I'm pretty sure their current planning process goes something like this:
Saturday
We managed to pile 5 people into my little truck and head over to Mt. Tabor for Nick & Meg's wedding. The ceremony was lovely and short and we managed to squeak a little sunshine out of the stingy Portland sky. Afterwards we went to the Melody Ballroom where we ate, drank and danced into the night.
A tip for any of you planning a wedding: Have the DJ play Baby Got Back. It's pretty much guaranteed to get everyone on the dance floor. Other good options are Shout, Bust A Move or Ice, Ice Baby. It was a ridiculously fun wedding, but I don't recommend giving a bunch of drunk people fireworks. Just FYI.
Sunday
I pretty much just wasted space most of Sunday, lounging around watching the tube and hanging with the dog. A bunch of us met for a 2 hour dinner at The Tin Shed, which was lovely. It was great to see Curtis & Lydia again, I wish they would move to Portland. But not before I come visit in NYC, okay kids?
Thursday
We were released from work at noon and I did a little shopping before meetings the girls for happy hour food on Mississippi and then Jenny & I took X out for a pre-birthday cocktail at a great dive bar. We had a blast pissing off the hipsters by playing incredibly annoying 80's and 90's music on the jukebox and then singing to them with our eyes closed.
Friday
I slept in a bit, took the dog for an hour long walk and then headed out for more shopping. I managed to spend a bunch of money I don't have on tops and jewelry, but did not find the summer dress I was seeking. Around 6:00 I headed downtown and went with X and the fam to Waterfront Park to wait for the big fireworks show. It was a pretty darn good time, except for the bathroom incident.
As you may know, my bladder is about the size of an ice cube and I am never pleased when adequate toilets cannot be found. I think I should take a job event planning for the City of Portland because I'm pretty sure their current planning process goes something like this:
Susan from the Party Planning Committee: "We are expecting between 50,00 to 75,000 people to be at Waterfront Park tonight. I'm pretty sure seven Port-A-Potty's will be enough. What do you think Bob?"
Bob From Accounting: "Oh yes, and I'm sure seven rolls of toilet paper will be plenty too."
Saturday
We managed to pile 5 people into my little truck and head over to Mt. Tabor for Nick & Meg's wedding. The ceremony was lovely and short and we managed to squeak a little sunshine out of the stingy Portland sky. Afterwards we went to the Melody Ballroom where we ate, drank and danced into the night.
A tip for any of you planning a wedding: Have the DJ play Baby Got Back. It's pretty much guaranteed to get everyone on the dance floor. Other good options are Shout, Bust A Move or Ice, Ice Baby. It was a ridiculously fun wedding, but I don't recommend giving a bunch of drunk people fireworks. Just FYI.
Sunday
I pretty much just wasted space most of Sunday, lounging around watching the tube and hanging with the dog. A bunch of us met for a 2 hour dinner at The Tin Shed, which was lovely. It was great to see Curtis & Lydia again, I wish they would move to Portland. But not before I come visit in NYC, okay kids?
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