gone on vacay!

Heather and I are flying up to Seattle this evening for a much needed vacation! Jenny’s mom invited us couple months ago as a graduation present for Jenny. Happy Graduation Jenny! We’ll be driving up to Whistler tomorrow and spending the weekend in the mountains. I feel very lucky to be able to go to Seattle-ish twice this fall.

I’m sure I’ll have lots of fun pictures [and maybe videos] to share when I get back next week! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Roadtrip: Playlist

Heather and I came up with a roadtrip playlist last week when Jenny was in one of her classes. It had about 800 songs on it, about 48 hours worth of music. I checked my ipod when we got home and we listened to at least 750 of the songs on it. Here are a few of the artists that we included on it. Be sure to check them out if you haven't already!

Adele
Andrew Belle
Barcelona
Carrie Underwood
Burlesque Soundtrack
Honeyhoney
Joshua Radin
Justin Bieber
Landon Pigg
Owl City
Ray LaMontagne
Schuyler Fisk
She & Him
Taylor Swift
The Ting Tings
Vampire Weekend

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HOME

First of all I just have to say, it's so nice to be home! Right as we were crawling into bed last night Heather said, "Maybe we should just pack up and go home right now." We were all so tempted, but also so tired.

As I've said during the whole trip we've been getting up every morning at 6:00 am and leaving at 7:00 am. This morning we were all so ready to get out of there and get home that we didn't eat breakfast and ran out of the hotel at 6:45 am. We looked up the closest Starbucks, but it ended up being in a strange outdoor mall. There were a bunch of homeless people wandering around and we walked forever and up some stairs before we found it.

We finally got out out Salt Lake and on the road around 7:15 am. It was nice to finally see Boise on the road signs!

We got to the Idaho border around 9:00 am or so and stopped to take a picture. Right after that it started to rain pretty hard. We made it to Burley around 10:00 am and stopped for fuel and a snack. We ended up getting french fries at the A&W connected to the Sinclair. Then I took over driving for the rest of the time. We finally made it home around 12:45 pm. It was so nice to be greeted by my mom (my dad got sent to Texas yesterday on a fire assignment) and see our kitty babies! We talked for a little while and then mom took us out to lunch. We came back home and just relaxed for the afternoon, watching Better Off Ted.

This evening we went to Boise Fry Company for dinner. From 6:00 - 9:00 pm tonight Boise Fry Company is donating 20% of their sales to my uncle's non-profit Wish Granters. Wish Granters is an Idaho non-profit that grants wishes to adults 18+ with terminal illness, currently serving Ada and Canyon counties. If you feel called, you can donate to Wish Granters HERE.

We had a great dinner and a fun time. Right now we're back home and we'll be relaxing for the rest of the night. Heather and Jenny are sitting next to me with wash clothes on their faces. They're trying an oil cleansing method, which I'm going to partake in once I'm done with this post. It's something they wanted to do earlier on the roadtrip, but we didn't have the oil. From what they've said it feels amazing. I'll let you know how it goes.

Anyway, Jenny is going to be staying with us tomorrow and then leaving on Thursday to head up to Seattle/Arlington. I think we might go see Bridesmaids tomorrow and maybe go to The Matador for dinner. I'm so NOT ready to get back to real life. I'm working Thursday and Friday and then will be going out of town for the weekend to celebrate my Grandma's 90th birthday.

I'm hoping to have some fun blog posts over the next couple days and in the next week. Maybe some roadtrip recaps and some other fun stuff. I can't wait to get my film developed from my HOLGA. Keep a lookout because I'll definitely be posting some of those photos.

Okay, time to oil my face, pour myself a marg and enjoy The Voice. Goodnight!

Roadtrip - Day 5: Boise

It's our last day! We have a [relatively] short drive today. Jenny will stay with us for another day once we get home, before she drives the rest of the way to Seattle. We're excited to get home and see our kitty babies and have dinner at The Matador, of course. I'm hoping that at the end of the week I'll have a roadtrip wrap-up blog to fill everyone in on anything I may have missed while we were on the road.

SLC

Today was a loooooong day. We ended up being on the road for about 13 hours. We're so glad to finally be in Salt Lake. I have to say last night in Nebraska I had probably the most restful sleep in a week. We went to bed early and got a little extra sleep which was definitely necessary to get through today. Anyway, we got up and got ready, ate breakfast and talked with Cindy a little bit before we got on the road at 7:00 am. We stopped in North Platte, about an hour outside of Lexington, for Starbucks! A little after that we switched into Mountain Standard Time Zone. We stopped for fuel and had to get a picture by the Sinclair dinosaur.

We finally got to Wyoming, which turned out not to be very nice to us. We tried to stop in Cheyenne for lunch around 11:00 am, but nothing was working out and we couldn't find anything. We ended up heading to Laramie, Heather had found a vegetarian place there. We got into Laramie around 12 and had lunch at Sweet Melissa's. It took a while to get our food, but it was really good. We finally got back on the road around 1:00 pm.

We stopped in Sinclair, WY for fuel and a snack. I took over driving from Jenny. It was soooo windy! By the time we got to Green River, WY area we were all going pretty crazy. We were singing and laughing. We stopped in Little America, WY for gas around 5:00 pm and there were wind advisories of 45+ mph winds. Not cool. Cruise control wasn't even possibly because the poor car was working so hard. Heather took over driving after that. About 10 miles before we got to Utah I called 911 and reported a crazy semi truck driver who was driving recklessly. It was so windy and starting to rain. He was speeding like a psycho and tailgating. It was horrible. We were thankful to finally make in into Utah, after what felt like forever. We got into Salt Lake a little after 7:00 pm and checked into our sketchy motel (Motel 6) by the airport and freeway.

We freshened up really quick and then drove to In-N-Out where we enjoyed a delicious dinner and Neapolitan shakes. We got back to our hotel a little bit ago and are unwinding and getting to bed soon. I am so excited to get home tomorrow and sleep in my own bed, especially because I'm really scared I'm going to get a disease from the one I'm sleeping in tonight. Okay, I should go. I still have a few things I want to do before I can pass out. Goodnight friends.

Roadtrip - Day 4: Salt Lake City

Getting close! We have another LONG day ahead of us. We're on our way to Salt Lake City today. As I'm writing this (last Wednesday) we don't have a place to stay. We'll probably just end up at a Motel 6, like we did in Springfield. We're looking forward to getting there and stopping at In-N-Out for dinner. I've missed my animal style! :)

We have our shortest drive of the trip tomorrow and are looking forward to it! Almost there!

Lexington

We made it to Nebraska! We left our hotel at 7:00 am this morning. We made our way west for a while and then up the 71. It was kind of sad to be so close to Joplin (literally like 10 minutes) and not be able to stop and do something. We stopped in Carthage for wayyy to sweet iced caramel mochas at McDonalds. After we passed Kansas City, we stopped to fill up with fuel and ended up getting a salad bar at a grocery store for lunch. After we ate I took over driving and got us through the rest of Missouri.

Missouri countryside

Iowa wasn't my favorite place. At this moment, I can't exactly remember why, mostly construction and a deceitful rest stop sign that did it for me. We stopped in Omaha for fuel and then made our way into Nebraska and finally onto I-80. We desperately needed to make a pit stop and unfortunately picked a stop that wasn't the greatest. Some college girls ran out of the gas station as we arrived because they plugged up one of the toilets. After waiting for what felt like forever (since there was only one working toilet), we were ready to get back on the road. As we drove by the next exit (York) we saw a bunch of gas stations and even a Starbucks. If only we would have waited!

Gas station in Omaha

We stopped in Kearney to fill up with fuel and then made our way to Lexington. We had dinner at San Pedro, a little Mexican restaurant. Yes, that would be the third night on the road that we've had Mexican for dinner. We can't help it, it just finds us. I think my favorite though so far would be the Baja Burrito in Nashville.

The Great Platte River Road Archway in Kearney

Anyway, we're staying with my Dad's cousin here in Lexington. We chatted for a bit right when we got here. Cindy is so friendly and fun! We're so thankful for their hospitality. We're slowly getting showered and ready for bed. We'll be up again tomorrow and on the road around 7:00 am. I'm excited that we'll gain an hour tomorrow: hello, Mountain Standard Time! Okay, it's almost my turn to shower! I can't wait to sleep tonight! Hope you all had a great weekend!

Lexington

Roadtrip - Day 3: Lexington

We left Springfield bright and early to start one of the longer drives of the trip. We're on our way to Lexington, Nebraska. Heather and I have lots of family in Nebraska, so we'll be staying with them. We've only been back there twice for family reunions and visits so it'll be kind of fun to go there again. I think it's my dad's cousin we'll be staying with. We're about halfway through our trip! I hope you're all having a nice relaxing weekend!

Springfield

We made it to Springfield! Our day started at 6:00 am. We all got ready, ate a quick breakfast and then left the Whittaker's house at 7:00 am. We quickly made our way out of Tennessee, enjoying the gorgeous greenery, and into Kentucky. I loved the drive in Kentucky, it was pretty much straight roads through with pretty fields. We took a short break in Paducah, Kentucky. It was a cute small town and they were having a hot rod show. We walked up and down the main street and then stopped in Etc Coffee for mochas. It was back on the road, but unfortunately the road we had planned on taking was closed, probably due to flooding. Luckily we were able to find another road and it met up with the other one. We made our way through Missouri with just a couple stops for fuel and bathroom breaks.

We rolled into Springfield around 3:30 pm. We checked into a Motel 6, freshened up and then we headed over to Red Velvet. It was so exciting to actually visit and meet the girls. We spent a while looking around and ended up getting a couple things. We were all so tired and hungry, so we got dinner at a Mexican restaurant, Cielito Lindo, that Elsie recommended.

We're back at the hotel right now. I took a shower and got my stuff organized so I'm ready to go tomorrow morning. I'm pretty sleepy so I think I'll have an early bedtime. For some reason I thought the drive tomorrow would be something long like 12 hours, but I just looked and it's only 9-ish hours. I'm soooo thankful! I have another blog post scheduled for tomorrow morning, but I can't guarantee a post tomorrow night. I don't know if I'll have internet access yet. Anyway, time to get some rest. I'll leave you with some pictures from Red Velvet. Goodnight friends.

Roadtrip - Day 2: Springfield

We're of to Springfield, Missouri today! We're leaving Nashville early so that we'll have plenty of time when we get there. We'll be stopping at Emma and Elsie's Red Velvet shop. We couldn't be more excited!

Don't worry, we'll be sure to take some pictures while we're there!

Mashaville

Day one complete! We made it to Nashville or as I have been calling it all day, Mashaville.



We finished loading the car and got on the road by about 7:30am. We made a pit stop and fuel stop before we got to Atlanta. We stopped at Pinkberry for lunch and then made our way up to Nashville, after another fuel stop.

Unfortunately, the Whittaker family is out of town, but they so graciously let us stay at their house anyway (which, btw is gorgeous and so creatively decorated). We unloaded our suitcases, freshened up and then went to Baja Burrito for dinner, thanks to a suggestion on twitter. We ended up downtown on Broadway. It was fun to walk up and down the street and stop in some of the fun tourist-y shops. My favorite shop was the Ernest Tubb Record Shop. I was able to take some pictures in there and Heather ended up getting Taylor Swift's Speak Now on vinyl.

We're all pretty tired so we headed back to the house. We're going to relax a little bit, re-group and then get to bed early. We have another 8 hour drive ahead of us.

Follow me on Twitter for updates from the road.

Roadtrip - Day 1: Nashville

We're on our way to Nashville today! We'll be making a pit stop in Atlanta for some Pinkberry. YUM!

We'll be staying with Carlos Whittaker of Ragamuffin Soul and family tonight. Heather and I met him last month when he was in Idaho and had dinner at The Matador. See Heather's blog post HERE about it.

We can't wait to meet the rest of his family. You may recognize them from the video posted below.



Stay tuned for updates from the road!

Trip Update

Here's a little video Heather and I made this morning about our trip so far! Hope to have some more posts later this week! Enjoy!

on our way

Heather and I left bright and early this morning and we're on our way to Savannah! Our flight left at 5:25am and we have two stops before we get there around 4:30pm this afternoon. Heather and I had the hardest time EVER packing yesterday. We're sharing one SMALL suitcase (for 9 days) and then each have one carryon. I don't know how we did it. It's ridiculous! I'll do my best to update the blog over the next week and a half while we're on this crazy adventure. I hope you all have a beautiful week!

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#21: Go to Tablerock

Last week two of my friends came to visit. Jenny and Megan's trips overlapped one day so we made the most and explored Boise. I thought going to Tablerock would be a great way for the girls to see the city and I could also cross it off my 25 before 26 list. Luckily the fog lifted just for us and then it settled back in after we left. Heather and Jenny didn't enjoy the trek up to the top (the road was partially closed), but I thought it was worth it.

here's to you, california

Today marks one year since Heather and I moved home from California. I don't think I actually told the story about the move. So in honor of this sacred day, here goes:

Heather and I got up early to finish packing the car. We had loaded everything else in the pod which had been taken away the day before, so the things we had left HAD to fit in the car. We bought two cat carriers for the babies we had to fit in the back seat too. Luckily we jammed everything in the trunk and backseat, but it was FULL. We set off on what would be a 16+ hour day, but first we stopped at Starbucks. Once we got our caramel macchiatos and muffins, we realized we'd left our directions (different from what the GPS would tell us) at the apartment. Finally, we were on the road. The cats were so scared, even though we'd given them some calming medicine. Blizzard literally cried for the first TWO HOURS of the drive, NON-STOP!

Soon after Blizzard quieted down, Archie went potty and it SMELLED. Like, we were rolling down the windows and blasting air so we wouldn't throw up and had to pull over and clean it up, smelled. Heather and I pulled Archie out of his carrier and a poop flung out of the carrier and landed on me. We couldn't help but laugh the entire time this was happening. A semi turned around on the road to see if we were okay. We got Archie cleaned up and were back on the road. A little while later Blizzard got sick, so we made another stop on the side of the road to clean it up. This time we had a police officer stop to make sure we were okay. The thing about our stops was that the backseat of the car was literally PACKED. We had to pull things out and re-arrange in order to take the cats out of their carriers to clean things up. The babies were so freaked the entire time. My dad ended up finding a vet clinic in Nevada that we stopped at to get some different stuff to help calm them down, which didn't do much.

In the middle of Nevada we experienced an INSANE windstorm. At one point there was so much dirt and dust flying around we could barely see the brake lights of the car in front of us. The wind was blowing the car around on the road. We stopped at a gas station and the large covering over the gas pumps was moving around. At one point a large matress was picked up by the wind off the left side of the road and FLEW OVER our car, by like one foot. Praise God for His protection. It was so close to flying in front of us. We were already sick of Nevada and had added over two hours to our travel time because of our unexpected stops, when it got dark and started pouring rain. We had made it to Winnemuca and were so close to stopping for the day. But we just wanted to get out of Nevada and get home because we were exhausted and the cats were still scared.

Once we finally crossed into Oregon we flipped Nevada off. But Oregon wasn't much better than Nevada. It gave us snow and a bobcat in the middle of the road. Luckily I saw it and Heather was able to swerve around it just in time. We were so exhausted and started playing a game to keep ourselves awake. Thankfully we weren't in Oregon long. As soon as we crossed into Idaho the sky opened up and the stars came out. It was pretty amazing! We finally made it home around 11pm. The cats were thankful to be out of their carriers, but were still scared about their new home.

I don't think we would have made it through the day without our sense of humor. After every crazy thing that would happen, we just had to laugh. Because, seriously? We would think, it can't get worse, nothing else is going to happen, but then, of course, it would.

I couldn't imagine that a year later I would have just ended my job at the fire center and be in almost the same place again. No real plan for whats next. I'm so thankful that I'm done with this job, because it means I'll have more time for school. I really need to buckle down for the rest of the semester and get more prepared for my Thesis Proposal Midpoint Review next semester. I'd really like to find a good part-time job, so that I can continue to pay off my credit card and get out of debt. I know that moving home was exactly what I was supposed to do, even though I miss California like CRAZYYYY, especially lately. I'm really just trusting God to lead me, like He has many time before, where He wants me.

Anyway, here's to you, California. I miss you.

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georgia getaway

Heather and I are enroute to Georgia right now!! We've just left Salt Lake City and are in the air to Atlanta and then a short flight away from Savannah. I absolutely can't wait to get there and spend a wonderful weekend with some of my best friends!

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