Oasis Pics

fall and winter

2012-01-22T20:22:00.010-06:00

As usual, there are some cute cat pics involved. first, 'Velcro sleeping on cat tower in bay window: a series in four parts'

Chainsaw is a very handsome gentleman!
Busted!!
Chris and Velcro snuggles
Velcro loves to lay in strange positions.
Clinton Lake, Yule morning

Yorkshire Pudding! we made it from the prime rib juice at Dad's for dinner the day before Christmas Eve.
exploring around Dad's place in Tucson.
Dad and Trina explain the dangers of the cactus called "teddy bear cactus": don't hug.
this tree has green bark!
on top is a rock that my dad found that looks like a cougar looking behind itself.
Tucson Estates
barrel cactus
the teddy bears are quite pretty!
Trina and dad posing for a Kim Jong Il-style pic ( http://kimjongillookingatthings.tumblr.com/ )
Trina and the amazing David Bowie!

fallen cactus skeleton!

buried car
stairs leading from buried car to building foundation remanents.
sweet tiny cactus at the desert museum
Bat-Trina!

chubbiest groundhogs EVER!
Switching to fall: look close, it's a DOUBLE RAINBOW! ;)

Crystal's foot post half-marathon: that's hardcore!!
Steve the jack-o-lantern i carved for Halloween!
shore-bits of lake Michigan
fall brings color.
headed to swearing-in ceremony (Nov 10th!)

Portland! well, pretty much just Cannon Beach, OR

2011-09-29T14:25:00.006-05:00

the famous haystack rocks!
the sun is in the wrong place for this pic!

squinty faces!
this is what you get when you jump in front of my camera to startle me! pic on webs!

it was a beautiful day!
i love this pic! it's so hopeful!

some sea-life!

we found a crab! he was not having a good day.
after running around on the wet sand, we spread out the towel and just chilled in the warm, dry sand for a while: it was so lovely!!

waking up in the tent the morning after D and Z's wedding!
we went hiking in the state park that is in Portland, and this fern was cool: it grows in a radiating circle.
this tree was also notable!
the 24hr church of Elvis. worth checking out!

getting through the bar, warrior dash, and follow ups

2011-09-29T13:33:00.007-05:00

before the warrior dash (the weekend after the bar!) = a 5K with 12 obstacles, including jumping over fire and mud pit. it was great to do it with Kathy and Crystal!
post-dash!
muddy clothes from the warrior dash
the first rinse left the water so muddy, it looked like i'd brewed coffee in my bathtub!
sizzle is spaced out
from left to right: tomato, catnip, thai chili, lavender, basil, rosemary, wheat grass
Chicago skyline from the adler planetarium
this was a few dates in, but still pretty early into my relationship with my wonderful astrophysicist!

(skipping backwards in time; blogger won't let me move the pics around and i'm too lazy to delete them all and reload) velcro is helping with bar prep flash cards
relaxing in southern MO ~2wks before the Bar with Crystal for her family's get-together! it was a very nice time!
trout cleaning.
a colorful sky and a nice moon rising from my apt window
epic cloud!
here comes the weather! (looking south west from my apt)
basil blooms
the catnip is very pretty on my altar.
peas in a pod.
this neat temple near NW Uni that Chris took me to.
the observatory at NWern Univ
NW 'English' garden
Chris tackling the 'boyfriend test' dad and i set up: to change which side my fridge doors open on! took him about 15-20min. :) i tell him he's handy, and he says it's just tenacity.

The Move to Chicago and My Apartment!

2011-07-02T14:10:00.008-05:00

on the road; chainsaw is working hard.
velcro is a fan of the floor when we are on long drives
starting to unpack!
some cuteness! :)
some more cuteness. Dad worked really, really hard over those days to help me get settled in. aww.
just down the street from my apartment! :)
you can see downtown!

meeting up with an old friend from jr. high while she was in town!
cat or beached killer whale?
the dish that William painted for me!

Now, for the apartment in its mostly finished configuration! it is a studio, with a separate kitchen. my bed and desk are near the bay windows, living space by the door.

ancestor and family space
looking from the living space towards the bathroom (closet is on left)
'bedroom' space.

the space in the kitchen by the window. (huh, just realized i never took any pictures of the rest of the kitchen! i'll take care of it soon)
it's nice to have the open space in the middle, and it's very comfortable so far!
bathroom!

my giant closet! (i've reorganized it some since this was taken; it's a very generous space and includes a linen closet)
my work space! note the cat tower is right in front of my desk so the cats have vip spots by the window.
the view!
it's been fun to watch the building construction.
My tomato's FIRST flower!!
Look how big this boy has gotten!
some fun summer weather coming in! i'm really enjoying being by the lake.
when chainsaw is on a diet, he diversifies his food groups. this is my stereo remote.

Graduation!

2011-06-27T09:45:00.016-05:00

they're on the hunt! (they really like the new apt, but I'm sure they really miss having a yard)
he's gonna get you!
we went out with hats!
Dad, Katrina, and Crystal arrived! I took them for a walk in Riverfront park in fabulous Spokane!
The upper falls!

san fran chinese food with mai-tai's!

getting started with a rough day of bbq the day before our graduation ceremony. Since the boys and I had people coming in for our big day, we thought a nice get together with food and local ale would be perfect: and it was!!

Sean's sister, Sarah.
Our graduation was inspired by Bush. Mission Accomplished! Now we just have to take the Bar, find jobs, and pay off ~$150k worth of debt.
Katrina Close-up!
...she's so mysterious!
our token child for the party! She is totally rad and not annoying at all.
it was really cool to meet and spend time with my roommate's families. We all have a lot of people that helped us get through the last three years!

Tyler looking rugged as usual, and his two favorite ladies are looking lovely.
Sean wanted a pinata! it's too perfect! (oh, and Sean pretty much arranged the whole party, which is awesome and just further testament to his super powers)
Pinata must die!
blood is spilt!
she was excited about the candy, but you should have seen everyone else move when all the travel-sized jack daniel's started coming out too! booze in pinata is a great idea! (another Sean jem)
we were all in our own space that morning, i think it's neat to see everyone's candid faces.

this is from very far away (my dad got this camera so he could take pictures of bears, wolves, and moose in the tetons)
awww!

oh yeah!! (we couldn't find Tyler for this pic!!) but the four of us had a really good time walking to school together in our gowns. very poignant.

lol, I think Trina was a little grumpy that morning.
bagpipes played when we entered!
focus, Jeff, you can do this! (remember we were all burnt out from finals and extremely hungover/tired from the bbq that lasted until the wee hours)
there's Tyler!
Bring in the Wizards! ...er, I mean professors!
the last guy looks like dracula!
Sean's a little further down the row from me (alphabetical), and we're both rocking our honors cords
the Amazing Asst. Dean Williams reading our names as we crossed.
Jeff getting his wizard-hood!
Sean.
Me! I was trying really hard to not cry, and I almost made it.
mimosa's after! how did they know?! ;)
Wizard hood!

I have the power of law!!

Spring Break 2011--Destination: Chicago with stopovers in Kansas CIty and Seattle!

2011-06-26T17:08:00.019-05:00

As always, a few cat pics because I'm a dork! Here's velcro chilling on a jewelry box I use to store fossils. This was a favorite spot of his in my Spokane room.
Here's chainsaw curled up against William. Very cute and also surprising, because he usually doesn't get this friendly with other people.
In Kansas City! These are fancy chocolates Crystal had; they were yummy!
Crystal's mancoon, Oliver. He's still growing!
Arriving at the station for the morning of our train ride to Chicago!
The fabulous Union Station in Kansas City!

All aboard for fun!
This is blurry, but it makes me laugh (look at Crystal!)
The lovely country-side! (it was very nice overall, though)
Arrival!

Brown Elephant (thrift store)
Andy and Aidan!

A little of Andy's neighborhood. It's called Pilsen, and it is a rougher, South side, area and primarily Hispanic. We had some great food there!
The church was our landmark to get to the train.

near Hyde Park.
Museum of Science and Industry!
Cloned mice!
Formerly extinct chickens!

model train exhibit!

The color spectrum room!

microscopes, YEAH!!
There's an energy between us!
water vs. fire!
Begin Body Works exhibit:

this is totally somebody's circulatory system.
Chicago Museum of Art!

I really liked this one.

Yes, there's a giraffe on fire.
The Bean!

The Field Museum!
Beautiful People!
Ok, this is now from my 1.5 days in Seattle on my way back from Chicago. We went to a morning market, and this guy was selling amazing Indian food, and would make your nan fresh! YUM!
Bond in her element!
Drunken noodles and chicken,
and the veggies!

We had a lovely dinner, went to sleep, and I flew back the next morning.

I finally bought a new camera...

2011-02-27T20:43:00.013-06:00

First: my trip to San Fran for the Saul Lefkowitz Regional Trademark Law Moot Court Competition. My team took third, the other GU team took first! This is all very good and exciting, and made our awesome weekend in San Fran all the sweeter!

we rented bikes at the fisherman's wharf, then biked across the golden gate to sausalito and back!

under the bridge.
look how San Franny it is!
christmas tree disposal = fail.
chinatown! and it was the weekend closest to the chinese new year!

you can rent this little yellow go-carts: hilarious!
duck!
it's that famous, super-winding road!

boudin's sourdough!

Will took me paintballing!
here's the before picture. we forgot to get an 'after' picture. it was ALOT of fun!
went on a walk down a new trail, W volunteered to give the pic some perspective.
snow starts! (first proper snow since new years!)
driving out to mt. spokane.
snow-shoeing adventure!
sweet snow drift shapes!
this picture doesn't even come close! this was about 4ft x 2ft, and just this gorgeous, fluted snow structure!! so pretty! it was really neat to be the only person that had gone out there.

End of Summer

2010-08-20T11:45:00.011-05:00

Ryan and Steven do their best '7 year itch.'

Ah, back alleys in Chicago!

Ryan insisted on this pic. :)

In the cultural museum, a mosaic on the stairs.

Dome in the museum.

On our way to the Field's Museum.
The bean!

Underside of the bean.

Saw this in the ancient egypt exhibit, and really liked it.

On our way out of the museum. Sculptures in the park.

Interesting architecture in Chinatown. We had GREAT chinese food for dinner (mine involved eggplant!)

Velcro finally found a snuggly spot in the truck that he liked. :)

Sizzle on his perch.

Natural fractal wormwood pattern on a log in the Tetons. This was the morning Dad and I went to pick Huckleberries.

Bingo! They were yummy, and we were on a careful watch for bears!

Indian Paintbrush. This was from the 10mi hike Dad and I took the morning after the Dylan concert.

Spider Web!

Creek.

Check out the bear tree. Those are some SERIOUS claw marks.

Dad is very proud of finding it.

Grr!

Another spider web.

pretty purple flowers.

View of Jackson Lake.

This was the size of my fist.

Thunderhead in the Tetons.

Home! and there's a Garden!

plus a cute purple-flower bush in the yard that Jeff left for the bees.

Tomatoes.

Corn!

Chainsaw and one of the two Zucchini bushes!

A Zucchini! We've harvested 4 so far!

Collards! Thai Peppers!

Tomatillos!

Carrots.

Sizzle.

Ryan Graduates!

2010-06-01T21:16:00.002-05:00

Spokane's world famous trash-eating goat!

chainsaw loves the giant bag of carrots

the GU Law class of 2010! (ryan right corner)

It's official!

with the folks!

with the friends!

A Fungal Adventure!

2010-05-11T14:50:00.012-05:00

Ryan and I went to the Redwood Nat'l Forest for his birthday in Jan before spring semester started. We camped next to the forest for four nights: absolutely spectacular! Last time we were in the Redwoods (during our epic summer road trip, see previous posts) we did alot of looking up... wow, big trees! :) but this time, because winter in the redwoods is very rainy (temperate rainforest), there were interesting fungus growing EVERYWHERE! ryan was quite the fungal hunter, and took it upon himself to fully document the variety. Here are the highlights from our trip! We took our friend, Sean, along with us, and he posted his own excellent pics on fb and flickr.
We reach the coast! I love this picture, ryan looks so serious!

into the forest!

Sean vs the giant arm tree!

ryan vs. stump

this tree fell so hard that it split itself into planks! (its smooth cut from this angle, because it was intersecting a trail)

this is its stump! BAM! the reason it fell was a domino effect with another redwood that fell, but it was impossible to get a comprehensive pic of that, so i gave up: but it was sweet!

aww! cute, but probably deadly!

quiet spot. no foolin', the redwoods are THE quietest forest i've ever visited.

daring young lads!

reminds me of a mouth.

steps.

don't forget the giant trees!

red-wood.

i know the ewoks are around here somewhere...

weird white one!

plant or fungus?

i love that the outer edge is semi-transparent!

this slug is beautiful!

yellow dangles?

these are different.

ahh, here's a poisonous one!

do not eat.

our hike took us to a marsh which fed into the ocean.

there were so many little streams in the marsh, that we couldn't make it to the ocean without total pants soakage!

since this was northern cali and all, we went to a nearby coastal town for some ocean fun! this was the same day as that ~6.5 earthquake; which we felt!

I should have been a marine biologist!

STAAAAR-FISH!

fav pic from the trip: check out the RAD fractals!!

little things.

lol, this look hilarious!

down to the docks!

even the crab wants some!

A lovely outting!

backwards, chirstmas/yule through fall

2010-03-26T22:08:00.006-05:00

Tuck's magnificent Buck Head

lego house

the initial sorting

cedar springs!

delicious sauna!

the Madrigals' know how to get a bottle of champagne!

oscar!

the other one. :)

Madrigal ladies, say hey!

dragonfly wings at the little spokane river.

fall colors on the bike trail.

view from the law school library.

little spokane river

the boys' proposal.

THE TRIP!!!

2009-11-24T07:47:00.029-06:00

It begins! Ryan's envoy is rolling over!

The pony takes us to the sand dunes near the OR coast!

the pony and the niki will hunt you!

next stop: redwoods in CA!

inside a burned one.

look out, ryan's got a giant hammer!

look out, Ryan's got a giant... thing... seaweed i think! (Cali coast on our way to see Ellen)

strange workings are afoot!

Yosemite National Park!

half-dome at sunset!

twisty wood: cool!

lichen: cool!

check out the rocks on top of the giant rock: cool!

ryan's getting his climbing monkey on! and then he brought me a small stone from the top.

the other side of half-dome!

CHIPMUNK! cool!

all the mountains are made out of this amazing stone! plus my big toe nail was coming off on my left foot.

we stopped at this lake...

it had 'gold' sand! no kidding!

out of Yosemite and heading for the desert!

cresting over into DEATH VALLEY National Park!

when we set up camp it was 101, when we woke up it was 98! but that night we watched the summer meteor shower for three-hours: absolutely spectacular!

Vegas: gratuity and decadence to the extreme

met up with tyler and his buddy for some lunch and strolling around the strip.

shooes!

omg, shooes!

the great Hoover Dam!!

On to Prescott, AZ!

(i'm the one in the middle)

Gardner family dog: the lovely Daphne!

we hungout in the town square, ryan and daphne are way too cute together: i'm jealous!

Ryan's mom is super nice (as is his dad and brother)

Thumb Butte

old granite rocks just outside of town (really neat place!)

i like the stones in the bottom, all standing in a row together.

different rock, different lichen, and shoes this time. (my toenail came off the next day!)

Time for a day in jerome and sedona!

there was this sweet kalidoscope store!

sedona, AZ!

do you see the "hawk"?

Ryan took me to the Grand Canyon National Park!

this is the face of the best parking spot in the lot!

the grand canyon has weird, flat, fat squirrels!

big horned sheep: cool!

the colors!

we went three miles down. i twisted my ankle horribly, then on the way up we ran into this guy!

Welcome to Zion National Park!

hah! we nabbed the last reservation the day before via phone!

the last pic. after this we went through the tetons and yellowstone, and didn't take any pictures. Ryan and i are wearing the tye-dye we made while we were staying at his parents'. (plenty of those earlier in the summer, if you want to check them)

Pictures coming soon, until then...

2009-10-17T20:50:00.003-05:00

July

2009-07-31T14:21:00.003-05:00

lazy summer afternoon in river front park, getting a nice peek of downtown.

it's a mooose!

we hiked from liberty lake (down there) up to where we were. ;)

i think this is a trap!

at post falls, ID

Booyah!

Velcro

loves

chair

alot!

The picture from crystal's visit. :P it was way fun!

My Vacation! (thanks, dad!)

2009-06-11T19:47:00.015-05:00

just drivin through on my way to kansas!

three days driving to kansas, rolled in to crystal's, went with her and her dad to water aerobics, then it was yummy mexican food and beer for dinner!

organic grocers downtown lawrence

kiki!

the lovely erika hanging up her laundry!

tuck!!

crystal, andy, and i out for a drink at henry's!

cool tattoo!

no lawrence house party would be complete without a sweet alien-making kit.

off to camp gaia!!

my god-father, red, in his sweet mongolian outfit!

trina (my lil' sis) and i haveing dinner with red and sue.

time to hangout in cedar springs with galadrial!

blueberries!
say hello to dinner!

fire up the sauna!!

BEES!

i've been doing alot of driving!

Helllo, Wyoming!

check out this storm front, it's looks like an alien battleship or something.

driving into the sunset was rather surreal. i got into my dad's at ~2am.

back to the tetons! and yes, i some how managed to look like tom sawyer.

hey, ryger, whatcha got there?

first: off for a hike with dad and ryan.

hey, daddy!

hanging out for lunch after a great bike ride.

up for some snow on a long hike with ryan.

there's a black marmot on the lower rock to the left.

yellowstone!

old faithful.

montana.

smile in the clouds.

the breaking of our days.

2009-05-18T21:05:00.003-05:00

some birds have been nesting in the gutter. the cats are enthralled!

my kickin neighbors off to their nursing end-of-the-year party.

ok, check yourselves people, things are about to get cute and cuddly!

studied at a bar one afternoon, of course this lead to a game or two of pool before calling it a night.

my man playing me some sweet blues.

lichens afoot!

bug that looks like part of a pine-cone. sneaky bug.

MOSS!!

i'm not surprised that ryan likes the tortoise pose (you can see most of his turtle tattoo on his ankle).

Tree planting and other things!

2009-05-03T21:51:00.011-05:00

sitting in the grass during breaks has become rather commonplace. hello, lindsay!

in the park, sitting in the grass, distracted from my bike home.

a gift from someone special.

spring is blooming on campus!

ice cube.

shotglass skull.

a tiny little black bug,

...with an orange skull on his back,

...came to visit me.

view from law school's second floor porch.

YAY!

goslings! O_O so cute!!!

tree planting with sean!

i planted this one!

Go, Sean, Go!

Sean is a lean, green, eco-friendly machine!

And I helped!

Rugby end-season banquet!! all of us rookies had to dress up like babies, lol!

EARTH DAY CELEBRATION AT THE RIVERFRONT PARK!!!

for the pony!

strange tailpipes afoot!

hello studies, hello iced mocha.

a short morning hike to see ryan's water reclaimation facility. i'll reclaim your water. ;)

genna's tree.

ryan's rock.

an art piece at a first friday downtown.

tulips are coming up in the neighborhood!

Now for the required cute cat pics! ladies and gentlemen, i give you: Velcro on Catnip!

check out my toe

2009-04-13T11:28:00.005-05:00

"oh no, she's found me sleeping in the clothes..."

"Maybe if i don't move she won't notice..."

*enter velcro stage left*

"Hey, chainsaw, whatcha doing?"

"Go away! i've got a good thing going here, don't mess it up!"

"fine. sourpuss." *velcro exit stage right*

random guy at coffee shop.

rain clouds out on the high plains south of spokane.

spokane county courthouse on the left, mt. spokane back on the right.

the lower falls.

a cleat landed at the base of my toenail, then scraped along the toe, leaving a bruise.

flowers are blooming along the hiking trail at the little spokane river.

hmm, i wonder who's rock this is?

ta-dah!

rachel and ryan.

coming down from the view we walked in a narrow canyon. there were at least 5 deer remains in various stages, we think this must be where a pack of wolves (perhaps) make their kills because it seems to lend itself to trapping.

and then some tea afterwards. my dad made this pot! :)

A side note: gunslinger, elena's birthday, and cats

2009-03-22T10:44:00.003-05:00

ok, i bought a life-sized (maybe a little bigger) original oil painting of clint eastwood. for all you dark tower fans, oh yeah, be jealous! ;) it's like having Roland in my bedroom. meow!

erika came to visit! to celebrate, we burned that truckload of wood i've had since sept!

and we had natural, vanilla ice cream with blackberry sauce, walnuts, and garlic!

birthday cake for elena!

happy birthday, elena!

what a cute boy! he's totally embodying the joy of yoga right now.

this may turn into a "thing" i've already taken a picture of chainsaw sleeping next to this picture, so now there's three layers. how many can i take if i keep layering it like this?

Honduras: Copan!

2009-03-21T21:46:00.010-05:00

Honduras has rocking cattle!

a small model of the ruins of Copan!

crocodile!

Alter Q!! (an alter commemorating the 16th ruler of Copan's ascension)

16 jaguars were sacrificed on this when it was dedicated! how do you catch 16 jaguars?

it's famous!

here's 18rabbits (the 13th ruler), he ruled during this city's golden age.

the ruins were large and silent.

this is the residential area of the king and noble peoples.

the 16th ruler's tomb...

it was robbed and stripped bare after the city was abandoned during the 17th ruler's reign.

the sun.

the Jaguar place, where the ceremonies and dances were performed.

up on the king's platform.

the king's platform looks like a snake's mouth, there are the snake's teeth. a face inside a snake's mouth was a very powerful symbol for the Mayan.

the king's view of the jaguar place.

plus me!

here's a view of the hieroglyphic stairs (covered by tarp), and the ball court.

giant, giant tree holding one of the larger pyramids together, some of it's branches were thick enough to drive my truck on!

jaguar statute in the jaguar place, the large indentions used to hold pieces of obsidian

here's the hieroglyphic stairs, the history of the Copan dynasty are carved into the steps, which are eroding. since they've only just been able to read ancient Mayan in the last 20 years or so, archaeologists are scrambling to get it all down before it's gone.

the ball court with the stairs behind it. this is where teams played to continue the sun's motion, then the losing team's best player would be sacrificed!

undersea objects were symbols of the underworld for the Mayan, this turtle is scary!

this swirling seashells are also a sign of power from the underworld.

here's the human sacrifice alter! the player would lean backwards and rest their head in that groove, then they would be decapitated (probably starting with a throat slice) and the blood would run down the grooves and be collected to pour on another alter.

the sacrificial alter is in the shape of the ball (representing the sun) from the ball game. talk about living and dying by your sport!

our guide is pointing to the hieroglyph for "18 rabbits" the 13th ruler of Copan, and the ruler at the civilization's peak of culture and building. he has three dots (each mean 1) and then three bars (each mean 5) and then the symbol for this rabbit/guinea pig thing that lives in the jungle.look at how beautiful the sky is!

scarlet macaws (the honduran national bird) get free meals at the ruins, so they like to hang around, and since we were some of the last people at the ruins for the day, they were hanging out pretty close!

the evening was finished with an approx $6 filet mingon! ;)

Mongo

2009-02-26T01:03:00.004-06:00

I scanned this photo, it's in a picture frame on my mantle. this is little puppy mongo, chewing on an old shoe, under a work table on the back porch of our home in Ada, OK, where we first adopted mongo. here's from last year's christmas.

here's mongo on "signal mountain" in the tetons.

mongo was old faithful.

he travelled all over the place with my dad: kansas to colorado to wyoming to arizona to washington to texas.

mongo on the beach. this dog got to see just about everything.

he was loving and well loved. he was smart and sweet. he will be missed and his memory cherished. i love you, mongo, thank you for being in my life for so many years.

here's a video from christmas. it was so cute that my dad had built a ramp for mongo to get into the truck. it's a touching expression of a man's love for his dog.

Misc from January

2009-02-01T15:21:00.007-06:00

let this be a lesson to you: beware of law school boredom in the library, for things may get very strange (as in, i start taking pictures of lindsay eating a pear)

ahh, bubble bath! thanks, trina!

bowling night

prepare to go hiking!

i am ready!

ta-dah!

don't go swimming in the spokane river in january!

elena is harnessing her inner zen

this is from karaoke on my birthday. i didn't use my camera much because it was MY birthday, dammit!

my secret power: all natural anime hair.

it wouldn't be a blog post if i didn't include a picture of one of the cats! (i am such a crazy-cat lady)

DANCE!

...you know you want to.

any guess on what kind of bar i'm at? ...

...yes, it's a gay bar, and yes, there's a drag show!! whoot! (fundraiser our school's GSA put on)

the seven foot cher monster

group shot!

how do they get cleavage like that?

SNOW-SHOE HIKING!

2009-01-11T03:50:00.003-06:00

chainsaw loves to curl around my laptop where the heat comes out, and then warm his face under my desk lamp.

this is where i realized that trying to step backwards didn't work too well.

the snow-shoe path was lovely!

a bit of view

action brendo

action me

look at all the snow at school!

lovely sunset after sledding

i decided to dress up so i could wear my favorite hat to see some live music. i'm the queen of practical clothing, but for the few times i go out in the year, i like to dress over the top! :P

from christmas through new years

2009-01-01T08:26:00.020-06:00

i found chainsaw and velcro holding hands!

oh yeah, that's disturbingly cute!

hey, mongo! mongo says, "welcome to texas; pet me!"

dad!

to the beach on a foggy morning! this is a national park to save the natural beach ecosystem. it was founded in the Johnson administration.

deer tracks along the beach.

looking for sea shells

found one! yep, i've gone from 4ft of snow to a tank top!

here's a jellyfish and some shells i found.

jellyfish!

another jellyfish!

argh! there be barnacles, matie!

palm trees everywhere!

the area around the beach is natural too.

what's this?

the visitor's center

on the ferry. "44 childs"?

delicious food was the name of the game that week!

champagne for christmas eve!

hey, daddy!

oil, water, and soap.

meatloaf!

sunrise on the beach (still not clear skies!)

mongo thinks the beach is ok, but i don't think it's his favorite.

color in the sunrise.

downtown corpus christi!

to the texas state aquarium! tx is first in dealth penalty, bad education, and jackass-attitudes, let's see how there aquarium stands up... (actually it was "ok" but pretty sad that it's the state's aquarium, probably worth $10, but not the $17 they're charging)

ibis and spoonbills

the U.S.S. Lexington.

otter! always an adorable favorite.

a redundant inn motel.

trimmed mongo's nails, and dad got one too short. it looks like paint, not blood.

finally a sunny, clear day at the beach!

"i wish i was a headlight on a northbound train" a line from a GD song.

MAN-OF-WAR!!!!

sea foam

just think, it was in bubbles like these where lipids, amino acids, and nucleotides were first mixed together to create life!!

happy toes

hehe, "sundries." i love finding old words on things!

for new years i walked to melissa's. this is a special moment where jules, the big one, is hugging the new kittie, lizzy.

spokane skyline from the maple st bridge.

the spokane river for new years. that top row of lights on the left side are in my neighborhood.

THE SNOW COMETH!!!

2008-12-18T18:49:00.005-06:00

just after getting to school, it started snowing on wed

this is before heading to melissa's around 2pm.

melissa's black christmas tree and the snow continues to fall

the next morning, welcome to 21 inches of fun! ;)

fire hydrant.

lindsay and i outside the elk after her birthday lunch.

WHEEEE! i couldn't resist.

noes and toes, baby!

oh my goodness!

snow coat!

lindsay's turn!

escape from snow mountain!

snow throne

smiley face

van

hey, snow, whatcha' doing?

Can you tell I've been spending time with the boys?

2008-12-13T22:41:00.006-06:00

look who's comfy.

my super sweet neighbors (two nursing school girls) baked gingerbread and gave me some! it was really good too!

mom, the snow is coming...

and so it did.

TIME FOR SUPER CAT-WRESTLING-CAT ACTION TIME!!

FACE KICK!!

FLYING TACKLE!

ZOING!

SMACK!

TUMBLE! PLUS VIDEO!

Winter Cometh!

2008-11-29T11:21:00.004-06:00

it all started with snow on Mt. Spokane on a sunny morning.

and then, the staff at school having a christmas decorating party!

and then the snow started

snow...

Snow...

SNOW!!! and it didn't stop, this is just the last pic i took before it got dark. i think it snowed a good inch and a half, maybe two inches. then i got to bike home! :) it will soon be to that point where i need to decide if i want to be hardcore and bike in the winter here. to do that i'll need a front fender, winter boots, and possibly studded bike tires. hmm... i love biking, it's easier for me at this point than driving, but... *shrug*

chainsaw's cuteness!

aww, what a sweet boy!

cat gushing

2008-11-22T08:53:00.003-06:00

what a handsome man!

some happy eyes from velcro

look close and you can see chainsaw's face in the darkness,

a true familiar will hangout on your alter fro time to time, just to keep the energies balanced. ;)

velcro succeeding at keeping me from my work (those are all the articles i'm using for my bioethics paper)

Halloween!

2008-11-01T11:45:00.006-05:00

first, i was a gypsy palm-reader at the youth center!

then i was a samurai at school. melissa was goth waldo!

this is what happens when you wear an indigo kendo uniform all day.

welcome to the one time a year that i actually blow dry my hair.

elena was the corpse bride, and lindsay was Foxy Cleopatra.

who wants to pet oscar's worm?

and my third costume for halloween: puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream. only 2 people actually figured out who i was without having to tell them.

group picture, girls!

boy group picture! sean is wearing my godzilla pjs, jeff is white trash, travis is a pimp (i think), and tyler is the old backwards suit guy!

lindsay proceeded to take a picture with the camera backwards. ;)

that's right, captain america in the house!

hippies and disco, together at last!

close up on the wonderfully-awful facial hair.

joe the plumber and a fantasia hippo.

reid was a magic 8 ball. he had cards in his pocket that he would pull out if you asked him a question.

yes, reno 911!! bow to their glory!

tropic storm meets disco jungle.

she's a one nightstand. or a one-night stand. or something like that. it's brilliant regardless.

behold the power of godzilla!!

get down!

mary cathrine gallagher. what a superstar.

memory lane: pics from gladrial remind me of home.

2008-10-30T23:28:00.008-05:00

gardening at cedar springs!now for my going-away party!! first there was an amazing storm!!!!!! some of us went to play in the rain! yay, erika!rain-soaked and couldn't be happier! yay, wine!
hitting up the feast bounty in the kitchen.

yum, more wine!

anteus and bruce!

turtle gave me a turtle!! :)
turtle on your head, woodrobin!

maria anna and harry, miss you two!

lark gives me her parting wisdom.

oh yeah, lark is AMAZING!

Fire time!!! marshmellows are very serious, right erika?

more wine around the campfire.

the next morning, all is quite (probably from my wine hangover) breakfast!
time to break camp! (and go pick up my uhaul for the big move)

gladrial and rain. love you two, can't wait to see you for yule!!! :D