tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49989517028327510212024-02-02T14:18:53.216-08:00my life in my wordsa blog for everyone to read and for everyone to comment and for people to share life!amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.comBlogger501125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-46018809181944758052010-12-31T16:58:00.000-08:002010-12-31T16:58:06.638-08:00And Run<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: cyan; font-size: x-large;">Happy New Year's Eve! </span></strong></div><br />
I hope you all had a fabulous time over the holidays. I know that for me personally, coming home for the holidays can be the most wonderful, but also the most stressful time. Having three families to celeberate the holidays with is sometimes extremely chaotic with all the parties, events, and of course the hang time with friends! And while this vacation isn't over, I wanted to go ahead and share some reflections about this past year and what I'm looking forward to in the next year. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-size: x-large;">2010</span></strong></div><br />
. . . was a year of fully establishing my life in Seattle. This July, I will have lived in Seattle for 3 years! The time has flown by so fast, but it's been entirely worthwhile. This year, I celebrated being at my job for a full year, built stronger friendships with people I want close to me. They encourage and challenge me to be a better human being while accepting me just as I am, which was truly something I was worried about when I first moved to Seatown. Rebuilding your life in another city is a huge undertaking. It forces you to ask yourself who you really are and face that with open arms. I feel like I have done just that this year. My first year living there I was just trying to stay above the surface and make a living. As my second year began there, I took a look at my life and asked myself, "What matters most and who do you want to become when the lights go down?" I am pleased to report that I have never felt more confident and secure about who I am than I have this year. I've learned to navigate rough waters and stand in front of storms with an unwavering faith, neverending love, and a healthy dose of humor. <br />
<br />
I did a lot of traveling this year and have learned to truly take hold of my sense of adventure unapologetically. I've built friendships across the country and in my own house that carried me through a year of learning and living.<br />
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I could highlight in this post all of my favorite moments, but instead, I'll just link you to one favorite blog post from each month. Feel free to take a look back with me and celebrate the little moments that made 2010 such a big year for me! Also take time out to ask yourself what one thing you learned from each month of this past year.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amosays.blogspot.com/2010/01/colors-of-wind.html"><strong>JANUARY: Exploring Art And Creativity In My Neighborhood</strong></a><strong></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://amosays.blogspot.com/2010/02/lights-and-buzz.html">FEBRUARY: Seeing Jack's Mannequin In Seattle</a></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://amosays.blogspot.com/2010/03/painting-pictures-of-egypt.html">MARCH: Experiencing My First Seder</a></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://amosays.blogspot.com/2010/04/wonder.html">APRIL: Fun Family Time For Easter</a></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://amosays.blogspot.com/2010/05/girls-just-want-to-have-fun.html">MAY: Learned How To Belly Dance</a></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://amosays.blogspot.com/2010/05/girls-just-want-to-have-fun.html">JUNE: Facing Facts Via Softball</a></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://amosays.blogspot.com/2010/07/video-blog-send-in-clowns-vacation.html">JULY: Parades Are For Friends And Shenanigans</a></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://amosays.blogspot.com/2010/08/american-honey.html">AUGUST: Lessons From The Young And The Young At Heart</a></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://amosays.blogspot.com/2010/09/beverly-hills.html">SEPTEMBER: Road Trip To Friends, Music, And California</a></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://amosays.blogspot.com/2010/10/ive-never-seen-witch.html">OCTOBER: Trick-Or-Treating As A Narwhal</a></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://amosays.blogspot.com/2010/11/something-to-believe-in-parachute.html">NOVEMBER: A Birthday Weekend With My Friends And Parachute</a> </strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://amosays.blogspot.com/2010/12/raise-your-glass.html">DECEMBER: Giving Back With Help Portrait 2010</a></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #ffd966; font-size: x-large;">2011</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong></strong>. . . is sure to be a year of more smiles, storms, dreams coming true, obstacle courses and lots of relationship building. I'm definitely looking FORWARD to it. I read a <strong><a href="http://www.timschraeder.com/2010/12/31/my-theme-for-2011/">blog post</a></strong> this morning at timschraeder.com where Tim talked about setting a theme for the year instead of just making resolutions. It challenged me to take a look at this past year and make some decisions about this next year. My theme for this next year is <strong><span style="color: #ffd966;">FORWARD</span></strong>. I want this year to be full of moments where I learn to keep going, to not give up, to push past feelings and just do things without holding myself back. To love fully, to start pursuing deeper relationships. To give fully of my time and energy without worry. To push myself to make moments more meaningful and purposeful. To always be moving forward and not letting moments pass me by. My 2011 will be a year of growth, of new risks, more adventures, stronger focus, and more freedom!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><em>. . . And hopefully it won't take me until December of 2011 to successfully write 2011, instead of 2010, as the date this upcoming year. ;)</em></div>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-40965311097442868022010-12-21T12:37:00.000-08:002010-12-21T12:43:16.793-08:00Santa BabyLast night's Elf Party was fabulous! I totally wish I had taken a picture of my costume, but I'm sure they'll surface from other peoples' cameras soon enough, so I'll post one when I can. In the meantime, just imagine me dressed in red velvet santa-suit style pajama pants and a green shirt, with an elf hat that has ears sewed onto them. What I DO have to share today is some of the pictures I took last night. There aren't as many as I had planned to take, since I was busy schmoozing and belting out BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE with my friends.<br /><br />I think for sure one of the biggest highlights was the cake that Luke brought:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i55.twitgoo.com/mw49s0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i55.twitgoo.com/mw49s0.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br />Also, the fact that he was daring enough to put some syrup on his spaghetti:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSS2dhIyblou3ncom0BYEOodgx-WP-tpobmytX7D5rtd4a2uGsQC3k8eTJDBZrXrfta1sLsu9rF2Xq0BI4kXGZZ2HOAhpOCA9VVDDZqHOSRGDjrUo450pKYUeZKQUvlgmZ9WFdxn_COjY/s1600/100_9196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSS2dhIyblou3ncom0BYEOodgx-WP-tpobmytX7D5rtd4a2uGsQC3k8eTJDBZrXrfta1sLsu9rF2Xq0BI4kXGZZ2HOAhpOCA9VVDDZqHOSRGDjrUo450pKYUeZKQUvlgmZ9WFdxn_COjY/s320/100_9196.JPG" width="180" /></a></div><br /><br />H. Stubbs won the child's costume contest as Frosty The Snowwoman:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIQcCK7ySMo-4j8zDfa2W3tA-elt-F3xwOQNRts7PRIaFP4Jsd2yM-w0-8EpV1qjrzdiHRmQ5ZdRlnVO8LiETT3qV2uWNw2Vk6AiK3lisYjP1WIm2h52jigVj9lnkgQ-XCGLCxeFuDreg/s1600/100_9195.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIQcCK7ySMo-4j8zDfa2W3tA-elt-F3xwOQNRts7PRIaFP4Jsd2yM-w0-8EpV1qjrzdiHRmQ5ZdRlnVO8LiETT3qV2uWNw2Vk6AiK3lisYjP1WIm2h52jigVj9lnkgQ-XCGLCxeFuDreg/s320/100_9195.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br /><br />Her little sister, E. Stubbs was DEFINITELY a favorite as well! She was the ghost of Christmas past.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirFnfY5bn-3e2zU_cURUHCXuP1_iqZ1wGQYN6P8YkxqUhjKejpCZZPden6ZFXDSoUmSEgLGoqPLu2fu9VJFYvKnbFG1pHmtBGzK4NSKOjiYuGr87khc2WNqh0Yo0pRLPoZ36FEZT3Jn8k/s1600/100_9197_LoRes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirFnfY5bn-3e2zU_cURUHCXuP1_iqZ1wGQYN6P8YkxqUhjKejpCZZPden6ZFXDSoUmSEgLGoqPLu2fu9VJFYvKnbFG1pHmtBGzK4NSKOjiYuGr87khc2WNqh0Yo0pRLPoZ36FEZT3Jn8k/s320/100_9197_LoRes.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br /><br />What's even better is that when I got home, I had some treasures waiting for me in the mailbox!<br /><br />I recently ordered some personal stationary from my favorite Etsy shop: <a href="http://plainjanescards.wordpress.com/"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b6d7a8;">PLAIN JANE'S CARDS</span></b></a>. Jane makes such beautiful cards using great fabric patterns. She had posted some updated patterns lately and I found one that was just too "me" to pass up! So I ordered some and then had her personalize them for me so that I could use them as stationary to send notes to friends! Here they are, personalized with my nickname, AMO!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UlkLWKbVczb4162xHbPKxqzzcNtRqkswsqCljebs2XesqrjIKvsqFIiEbcyjZV84KppWHe6ezrTYcm-ZdxZD0OSDaZ6zV2rdkdr8qeaGBuxCgQh2Um6dRjMpMF0dUuu5LFbM14Ox510/s1600/100_9209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UlkLWKbVczb4162xHbPKxqzzcNtRqkswsqCljebs2XesqrjIKvsqFIiEbcyjZV84KppWHe6ezrTYcm-ZdxZD0OSDaZ6zV2rdkdr8qeaGBuxCgQh2Um6dRjMpMF0dUuu5LFbM14Ox510/s320/100_9209.JPG" width="227" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I just adore them! They're perfect for me!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I also got this super creative Christmas card from <a href="http://www.innovado.net/" style="font-weight: bold;">my mentor & friend</a>, Brian Brooks and his <a href="http://audreyhannahphoto.com/#home"><b>beautiful wife</b></a>, Hannah:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBuJf-XY9NEfaLmC-xrfIHk0uTuFnRa0TVsxE_G4bPuDTOR99TJ_2ir2D82FlDUrrz8Oa4-McV6u2M_NmVgLkMRp1V4R5uxDi5VBo8r-X9Z5UsS7iT1YRJSsKU5kBQa9s3TnP06xeGPg/s1600/brooks_front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBuJf-XY9NEfaLmC-xrfIHk0uTuFnRa0TVsxE_G4bPuDTOR99TJ_2ir2D82FlDUrrz8Oa4-McV6u2M_NmVgLkMRp1V4R5uxDi5VBo8r-X9Z5UsS7iT1YRJSsKU5kBQa9s3TnP06xeGPg/s320/brooks_front.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZzle4p9wCaZRfPoh077ERIXUefcX0pa17vLLJHth3UcDdRb1WLGwF6jk99muf8xAcu9q_kOuPOIFwHaDjWDcWk-tvmOVtkao-nHwdj-0pTaJW3HnYakhKz8gJARMpBrHilqBn936gSY/s1600/brooks_back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZzle4p9wCaZRfPoh077ERIXUefcX0pa17vLLJHth3UcDdRb1WLGwF6jk99muf8xAcu9q_kOuPOIFwHaDjWDcWk-tvmOVtkao-nHwdj-0pTaJW3HnYakhKz8gJARMpBrHilqBn936gSY/s320/brooks_back.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">One of the fun things about it is the silhouette on the back to represent their dog Louie. So so sweet!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">All in all, yesterday was pretty amazing! And if you don't believe me, just watch this quick clip of Corbett as Rudolph The Red-Nosed Lounge Singer!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxJBFknLYAWs_UM80PN-gDb3sbhqCcsrWfBtsNEgrkPtvQOWoZyNFpn14KsU3CiV5Txk5IGSUg-urAbFGNgDQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-63410023413603752362010-12-19T20:53:00.000-08:002010-12-19T20:53:23.939-08:00I Can't Stop Partying<div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Welcome to Christmas Party Update Central</b></span></div><br />
I still have one more party before I head home for the holidays, but I figured I'd go ahead and do a weekend party recap!<br />
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On Friday, we had the Westside Leadership Party and I got to create a new Christmas game for everyone to play! I think it went very well—getting people to do creative silly stuff is so much fun to watch (<i>and participate in</i>)! The game involved the following supplies:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8H0f5d0qC8vnE0uDZd5ZsO4KBtVWgCFGrE1Frr1H3fIFigDrwpwVPm-HonEN6L-37CKip2pk5VNPRUOduxeqSUboeCyaqoM3m6BpUgSr21ZXhNpYZu4WcSjLcsBroCBgXPhq7P283Yw4/s1600/2010-12-17+19.28.24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8H0f5d0qC8vnE0uDZd5ZsO4KBtVWgCFGrE1Frr1H3fIFigDrwpwVPm-HonEN6L-37CKip2pk5VNPRUOduxeqSUboeCyaqoM3m6BpUgSr21ZXhNpYZu4WcSjLcsBroCBgXPhq7P283Yw4/s320/2010-12-17+19.28.24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #ffd966;">A roll of toilet paper<br />
5 Red Vines<br />
6 toothpicks<br />
10 marshmallows<br />
3 pieces of gum<br />
5 paper clips<br />
3 rubber bands<br />
and 3 pieces of string/raffia</b></div><br />
As part of the game, each group (<i>4 people</i>) had to pick out a hat the name of one Christmas Carol. They then had to use the supplies to create a visual representation of that Christmas Carol. I had little H.Stubs judge to decide which one was the most creative. And the winner was:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER!</b></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgbE2j7tNQ2c31SYxA4kSFTa50I0qejYJ2nseolANHPjQFlhyphenhyphen4NGyv83EXp5RnyryVkRJ2Vlf4KON3NbHW2zggnyLOJWnvcRRjA85mbmc68PPZVAUoofp1mvqnvRxZWE1BZSronSEw-bA/s1600/100_9188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgbE2j7tNQ2c31SYxA4kSFTa50I0qejYJ2nseolANHPjQFlhyphenhyphen4NGyv83EXp5RnyryVkRJ2Vlf4KON3NbHW2zggnyLOJWnvcRRjA85mbmc68PPZVAUoofp1mvqnvRxZWE1BZSronSEw-bA/s320/100_9188.JPG" width="180" /></a></div><br />
There is nothing quite so quality as seeing Evan dressed up as Rudolph, complete with red vines shoved up his nose!<br />
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Then on Saturday, I went to Heather J's Birthday / White Elephant Gift Exchange Party and it was jam-packed with good times! I got to hang out with friends, talk about New York, make awkward poses while hanging from the pull-up bar in their house, and of course I got some rad gifts! I got chocolates and biscotti—not bad for a White Elephant Gift Exchange! I must admit, though, the real fun times happened when this little guy made his appearance:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqWcpaMvDp5CxZ9riI3zcg6lem1sGBwzRQNozaQiLkdHzkBt15XImiL_koJuXpqOXjTpzvpNZ5kXOgNdwDqNG77CUvWYiRB6pbUM2X6z6OukLVFR6xKw4UXR-BNG8W0-XAt-HZu19Ooo/s1600/2010-12-18+20.15.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqWcpaMvDp5CxZ9riI3zcg6lem1sGBwzRQNozaQiLkdHzkBt15XImiL_koJuXpqOXjTpzvpNZ5kXOgNdwDqNG77CUvWYiRB6pbUM2X6z6OukLVFR6xKw4UXR-BNG8W0-XAt-HZu19Ooo/s320/2010-12-18+20.15.52.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div style="color: orange; text-align: center;"><b>That's right, a bonafide fiber-optic peacock!</b></div><br />
And then this afternoon, I joined up with some friends for a Gingerbread House Party! A few years back, I got to make a gingerbread house with my friends Cory and Chase and we decided to make a gingerbread crack house. I don't even remember why, but it was hilarious! Here's a pic of us back then trying to make our crack house:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-ash1/v170/194/51/558366326/n558366326_800456_9681.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-ash1/v170/194/51/558366326/n558366326_800456_9681.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I had so much fun making that one back then that I decided to relive the fun by making another gingerbread crack house at the party! Here's what I started out with:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i52.twitgoo.com/u7yfl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i52.twitgoo.com/u7yfl.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
And here's how it actually turned out . . . after a long fight against frosting and graham crackers. It is quite literally a cracked house ;)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGLAJvoREx-qi-bwhea8ikAhScpYB2cyqKzWJ3chqv-i2MJTEprJ07VD5MJIDkA_eZwW8uuJzlfy6lipBPeCHfptk6VWkHScpSMPlmFRE0Ug4GeviiztX0MEdDGjLLdw26t6ekpopju0/s1600/2010-12-19+15.50.57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGLAJvoREx-qi-bwhea8ikAhScpYB2cyqKzWJ3chqv-i2MJTEprJ07VD5MJIDkA_eZwW8uuJzlfy6lipBPeCHfptk6VWkHScpSMPlmFRE0Ug4GeviiztX0MEdDGjLLdw26t6ekpopju0/s320/2010-12-19+15.50.57.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9khgy_f3JCslUx8bLEFA2LQVT7yNqdxHYmvM6bYojQagR9FaFCKH5C0FvlzyVieVhvIVYgl811grXRe8RCvRDD_hOMBEwgkyiOJNLSp84-CDakOrjxAfApffxsEHiZztSEuLC2iKthvY/s1600/2010-12-19+15.51.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9khgy_f3JCslUx8bLEFA2LQVT7yNqdxHYmvM6bYojQagR9FaFCKH5C0FvlzyVieVhvIVYgl811grXRe8RCvRDD_hOMBEwgkyiOJNLSp84-CDakOrjxAfApffxsEHiZztSEuLC2iKthvY/s320/2010-12-19+15.51.09.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>You see, it's perfect! The front looks just like any normal house on the block, and the real business goes on inside and in the back. Kelsey said, in reference to my creation, "It's like a mullet. Business in the front, party in the back!" The top of the house is covered with weed growing on the top and the inside contains "the lab." The back of the house even comes complete with an escape ladder to use when the cops come by to bust the joint!<br />
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Here are the other (<i>read: more serious</i>) gingerbread houses that were made by the others:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiREq94RDDvAI4l8YqYO-fwWRry_tTVDlYq59YCv-DtwcMf2rtpy1JaNJYC6TjnZi4HP40ZyKIzGvgmrlZsS_TeampcNPYx-7rONKhVFL6HCNuUvlR5sV476M9_yzHuzlvTYBjbOif4XKo/s1600/2010-12-19+15.55.20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiREq94RDDvAI4l8YqYO-fwWRry_tTVDlYq59YCv-DtwcMf2rtpy1JaNJYC6TjnZi4HP40ZyKIzGvgmrlZsS_TeampcNPYx-7rONKhVFL6HCNuUvlR5sV476M9_yzHuzlvTYBjbOif4XKo/s320/2010-12-19+15.55.20.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: yellow;">Erica's Lighthouse </b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpP7W69NP31gcZv-vP0ZssxdlPUVbinm7_qdkSAioNOINH52sFU0yHA1BiwmbeMT-Pq5eXijjfMaqowwvb32JWTM8v_xQHGDslWqkaYroZCBErMrIcpX4QZiKJ1advoXqtZjDZlTpRkeM/s1600/2010-12-19+15.55.46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpP7W69NP31gcZv-vP0ZssxdlPUVbinm7_qdkSAioNOINH52sFU0yHA1BiwmbeMT-Pq5eXijjfMaqowwvb32JWTM8v_xQHGDslWqkaYroZCBErMrIcpX4QZiKJ1advoXqtZjDZlTpRkeM/s320/2010-12-19+15.55.46.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: yellow;"> Josh's Tugboat</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYZiwzBan-1bSQ5nvgXJZMWrxok8XTCg8d4Pz5JNOpJ78Us-GLK3GSVsivEcRTeFMRENEB5BOX7I5j4ThjDcSJosMuchOCbJnliMnn7aJsxHbpSRE09bmRv3PG1BRtBfx8jKLGsn801w/s1600/2010-12-19+15.56.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYZiwzBan-1bSQ5nvgXJZMWrxok8XTCg8d4Pz5JNOpJ78Us-GLK3GSVsivEcRTeFMRENEB5BOX7I5j4ThjDcSJosMuchOCbJnliMnn7aJsxHbpSRE09bmRv3PG1BRtBfx8jKLGsn801w/s320/2010-12-19+15.56.09.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: yellow; text-align: center;"><b> Kelsey's Gingerbread House</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-U9EnEiPxeiO05SaK__Wz90IxMhjMWlJMBa5zlTeuv_KHnA3ZNovKjBiMPVGmAYOJGAEZLRt1-CbAPGS3mh0kxSsV8AtZaDq5XiMR-V2Jw9zni1O_bxZZviNsAMFw_0B4XJlAZFRBd8/s1600/2010-12-19+15.56.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-U9EnEiPxeiO05SaK__Wz90IxMhjMWlJMBa5zlTeuv_KHnA3ZNovKjBiMPVGmAYOJGAEZLRt1-CbAPGS3mh0kxSsV8AtZaDq5XiMR-V2Jw9zni1O_bxZZviNsAMFw_0B4XJlAZFRBd8/s320/2010-12-19+15.56.17.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: yellow;">Brian's Gingerbread House</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Tomorrow night I have an Elf Party to go to and I'm so excited! Elf is one of the best Christmas movies ever and spending the evening quoting it and eating all of the 4 main elf foods is gonna be rad!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And as promised, I wanted to show you the fun postcard I designed for my community group! I truly love how fun these people are and I'm thankful that they went along with the zany idea to take pictures with the snowflake glasses on!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipV1y3PRCttf2aE3F1IX0mygEmmhyI_VzciLndpipCnNicWkE9Laf9MdIeUolEMbhpNqa_oSmYDdYzHUrPOy3G7ups_PYXN4QpoOHEvZmSUHLKTcJfcHJWFygKEoKDJyukepJhyphenhyphenB2LhUc/s1600/small+group+postcard_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipV1y3PRCttf2aE3F1IX0mygEmmhyI_VzciLndpipCnNicWkE9Laf9MdIeUolEMbhpNqa_oSmYDdYzHUrPOy3G7ups_PYXN4QpoOHEvZmSUHLKTcJfcHJWFygKEoKDJyukepJhyphenhyphenB2LhUc/s320/small+group+postcard_web.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>(click to enlarge)</i></div>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-14572807822832342942010-12-17T16:30:00.000-08:002010-12-17T16:30:00.542-08:00Warm Winter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #93c47d; font-size: large;"><b>All the holiday parties are in full effect!!</b></span></div><br />
I had my office Holiday Party on Wednesday. I had my Westside Community Group Christmas Party last night. I have a Westside Leadership Christmas Party tonight. I have Heather J.'s Birthday Party (complete with White Elephant Gift Exchange) on Saturday night. And then I have another Gingerbread House Party going on Sunday afternoon. Monday night I have an Elf Party to go to and I'm reserving Tuesday and Wednesday night to get last minute Seattle gifts for the fam and to pack for my trip home on Thursday morning!<br />
<br />
If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I like to party! I don't mean I like to party in the sense that I like getting trashed and doing ridiculous things that I won't remember the next morning. I mean I like to create memories of quality fun times that I, or anyone else in attendance for that matter, can't help but remember it the next morning.<br />
<br />
When I was in High School, I took Tech Theater for a year. After doing Theater the previous year, I decided that I wanted to be a part of actual design work as opposed to just getting out on stage and reciting lines. I was more intrigued by the technical aspects: the writing, the sets, and the costumes. I had such a wonderful experience working as the assistant to the Costume Director and spent most of my free time raiding the prop and costume closet, playing dress up! I can see how it's all carried over into my personal life a lot. I think what makes holiday season parties better is that there are so many of them that you can dress up for each of them with a new level of fun. For instance, here's what I wore to my office Holiday Party:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1366.snc4/163801_10150356946075486_745735485_16431263_7469077_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1366.snc4/163801_10150356946075486_745735485_16431263_7469077_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cfe2f3;"><b>My co-worker <i>A—</i> kept bowing down and </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cfe2f3;"><b>hailing me as the "Snowflake Queen." </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cfe2f3;"><b>It was so funny! </b></span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I got two extra special holiday treats last night at our Community Group Christmas Party: I got an Old Navy gift card from the Irwins (holla what!) and our hostess, KL, made Lil' Smokies just for meeeeeeee!!!! Can I just take a moment to TRY to explain to you how magical Lil' Smokies are? Every great party I ever attended back home served Lil' Smokies as an hors d'oeuvre and they are just SO amazing. KL and I had talked about it a while back and she said, "I'm going to make some for our Christmas party just for you!" It was like Santa had just given me that pony I'd always wanted. Who knew that something so small smothered in barbecue sauce could hold the key to magical hopes and wonders of taste? Well, pretty much anyone who's ever served them knows. ;)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">But as an aside, my outfit for that party was this:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNDlR7AjalgDLAneQ_pbt5lGMhJEkwBAryUdcw9-LfMX-kNyh1jYsZHpLMcly2UJmilVp1zo_ruPh-q0JEGwyCSflBJ6I3Pgp9g8wC8qhUwvg7y3YPtNz9CgBctNMoZnDAtHWZ2cUcs4s/s1600/2010-12-16+16.33.32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNDlR7AjalgDLAneQ_pbt5lGMhJEkwBAryUdcw9-LfMX-kNyh1jYsZHpLMcly2UJmilVp1zo_ruPh-q0JEGwyCSflBJ6I3Pgp9g8wC8qhUwvg7y3YPtNz9CgBctNMoZnDAtHWZ2cUcs4s/s320/2010-12-16+16.33.32.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">When I got to KL's house, I was greeted by these sweet luminaries and lots of hugs from friends in my CG:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ1QvoOT2zAImDPU4fsFgUnfBCp9wWCE5BbmKHZ7v5I9Xrz-EPIcHfGFi45PrI2-ZorB1E0eVDYRb_T8kV-9u0dHG94kR0HrVpi1XqppjCqcI3tabBV9-_MNNPiyswR5R6MD0AVqddqIA/s1600/2010-12-16+18.29.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ1QvoOT2zAImDPU4fsFgUnfBCp9wWCE5BbmKHZ7v5I9Xrz-EPIcHfGFi45PrI2-ZorB1E0eVDYRb_T8kV-9u0dHG94kR0HrVpi1XqppjCqcI3tabBV9-_MNNPiyswR5R6MD0AVqddqIA/s320/2010-12-16+18.29.02.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
We had so much fun hanging out, eating great food, sharing fun memories, and doing our White Elephant Gift Exchange. What's even better is that I got everyone in my Community Group to let me take a picture of them in the snowflake glasses! I'm working to create a postcard & photo collage for each of our CG members and hopefully I'll be able to share it with you guys as well!</div>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-9324828602670405392010-12-13T17:03:00.000-08:002010-12-14T06:36:21.789-08:00The Medallion Calls<div style="text-align: center;">This be the tale of a landlubbin' crew that be innovative<br />and chock full 'o entrepreneurship.<br /><br />Grab some hearty rum, scoot over a nearby keg<br />and sit yer peg leg down as I tell ye the tale of<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(241, 194, 50);font-size:x-large;" >PIRATE INK</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Ye see, it all started in a deep dark pit near </div><div style="text-align: center;">the Island of Social Netwerkin' in the city of Twittargggh . . . </div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2oCijIhVzBOjCLmpYWMa9WFDnz4kjQR3kqSqPVMGDhb3BS6nY_AYYRtBWcHSCJjRGc7cA9kqFUwarj9a-TZHJ2Qg5yqwYDXrLpwnkB6NAeD1y6xij9HRrdjFu7NdH3aKKk0ejkpN3xA/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2oCijIhVzBOjCLmpYWMa9WFDnz4kjQR3kqSqPVMGDhb3BS6nY_AYYRtBWcHSCJjRGc7cA9kqFUwarj9a-TZHJ2Qg5yqwYDXrLpwnkB6NAeD1y6xij9HRrdjFu7NdH3aKKk0ejkpN3xA/s320/1.png" border="0" height="176" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb9FJcbNDlZ10tvnrqabS16fI2H8L7w4KePSBM_sba_7_DEwXE1o-IGcfw26Htu5wD0Je7ohZdkVwMhUdu29O1vpHOrK5UIXpvepzqZNOXzUlOPgN4cpz3xcgZggHRJeInXRsQoBHNvZU/s1600/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb9FJcbNDlZ10tvnrqabS16fI2H8L7w4KePSBM_sba_7_DEwXE1o-IGcfw26Htu5wD0Je7ohZdkVwMhUdu29O1vpHOrK5UIXpvepzqZNOXzUlOPgN4cpz3xcgZggHRJeInXRsQoBHNvZU/s320/2.png" border="0" height="138" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjluDXfzYY3_Kv0VYMr7qLFV6KYztX_KTEetBnM3g60umFqyR8s3OYKEOPejoqzQAb9LUoLcxGKr7ACIkd5PXt6a4Az6HLlUnceLrxZFsbHwuoy2_-FFAHQxpFpfJvm9qZV_5xwhmayQ7k/s1600/3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjluDXfzYY3_Kv0VYMr7qLFV6KYztX_KTEetBnM3g60umFqyR8s3OYKEOPejoqzQAb9LUoLcxGKr7ACIkd5PXt6a4Az6HLlUnceLrxZFsbHwuoy2_-FFAHQxpFpfJvm9qZV_5xwhmayQ7k/s320/3.png" border="0" height="136" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7Lan99nVl4_MrszOPyauBXM4BkzK0rxaI4lZAMKkr4ApdHU1eXcOu6ncLKJOacGHsCV3GzJ8g0sLxgCbeweOg-reJWTyF8rIlf8EDiOU2s6zhyphenhypheni0ptlFEQ9WFjPmMiGjNOcvttrahhY/s1600/4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7Lan99nVl4_MrszOPyauBXM4BkzK0rxaI4lZAMKkr4ApdHU1eXcOu6ncLKJOacGHsCV3GzJ8g0sLxgCbeweOg-reJWTyF8rIlf8EDiOU2s6zhyphenhypheni0ptlFEQ9WFjPmMiGjNOcvttrahhY/s320/4.png" border="0" height="157" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiglBHkelLSaHxwIbnrf8yLuIAxyiUfFIPz8bMGBPp3aYvRLHYHlpbAdmIh7qD9bb-RYAjnjd56qMp4xMoZyBMoPlK_lv6lCodnooTD9oU1I_DDINzg6KL6W3pJE2GR4Ul9mOex1CuDNc/s1600/5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiglBHkelLSaHxwIbnrf8yLuIAxyiUfFIPz8bMGBPp3aYvRLHYHlpbAdmIh7qD9bb-RYAjnjd56qMp4xMoZyBMoPlK_lv6lCodnooTD9oU1I_DDINzg6KL6W3pJE2GR4Ul9mOex1CuDNc/s320/5.png" border="0" height="157" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsDnb_Q4dCk0lDIwAMJEzYFLfJhOjYqeV1Pi-4O0hw1eWudl2gnpEgW7iZtWdhCYw8Sh7GOWXNYwN0dafWZDiUMPVPQM_avmdb0__bE8co70XMO9YGOeOqn0fqOQuwKaH6Z7sM683m0k/s1600/6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsDnb_Q4dCk0lDIwAMJEzYFLfJhOjYqeV1Pi-4O0hw1eWudl2gnpEgW7iZtWdhCYw8Sh7GOWXNYwN0dafWZDiUMPVPQM_avmdb0__bE8co70XMO9YGOeOqn0fqOQuwKaH6Z7sM683m0k/s320/6.png" border="0" height="175" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RLvb9cdo_fhYaQaHk9XSjeE-MsboWcAzYPef8t-iKm5WE46-eakhckUbj-eNy-azlQ9y_VFGP2IEa6LB-9jhvcnKQ3j1rBUY62FzyTKKFUgSXDpF7zg1mF6wlOiYFeF8Us-sVJ01RoQ/s1600/7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RLvb9cdo_fhYaQaHk9XSjeE-MsboWcAzYPef8t-iKm5WE46-eakhckUbj-eNy-azlQ9y_VFGP2IEa6LB-9jhvcnKQ3j1rBUY62FzyTKKFUgSXDpF7zg1mF6wlOiYFeF8Us-sVJ01RoQ/s320/7.png" border="0" height="137" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And as a response, yers truly, Peg Leg Shenanigans </div><div style="text-align: center;">has created a shiny new design for Pirate Ink!<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmBpQf8ij8l6xsz848ZU_bZYVqcjCcGR1bVuD9Rjx1Bvh4X1B4UjPD5T17J8mxL9cN0n1QpLC2LznkOt92NAykFFIZP3Sz_Lm9tByNh0k3ft4JuKOrKal59jcbu-EReZb0mE2NsmIlfo/s1600/pirate+ink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmBpQf8ij8l6xsz848ZU_bZYVqcjCcGR1bVuD9Rjx1Bvh4X1B4UjPD5T17J8mxL9cN0n1QpLC2LznkOt92NAykFFIZP3Sz_Lm9tByNh0k3ft4JuKOrKal59jcbu-EReZb0mE2NsmIlfo/s320/pirate+ink.jpg" border="0" height="123" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So ye be sure to stop on by when the rum's gone an' my </div><div style="text-align: center;">team of scalliwags will put a nice little ink stain on yer bones!<br /></div><br />Ye may be wonderin' who some of our high profile clients are, and since yer so curious, you can spot some of them in this here video:<br /><br /><br /><div><object height="250" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://d.yimg.com/nl/movies/site/player.swf"><param name="flashVars" value="vid=23481062&"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed allowfullscreen="true" src="http://d.yimg.com/nl/movies/site/player.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="vid=23481062&" height="250" width="400"></embed></object></div>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-31742707186494765202010-12-09T12:00:00.000-08:002010-12-09T12:00:00.094-08:00Green<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime; font-size: large;">It's the most wonderful time of the year . . . </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The time for having great hang times with friends at Christmas parties!! I know that the Christmas season is all sorts of jam-packed with one event after another, but I can't really complain. I enjoy getting to reconnect with people in the midst of busy weeks. It challenges me to make conversation and fun times count more because, like me, my friends are busy during this season and the time I get to see them is fewer and far between.<br />
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Another great thing about these parties is the delicious food I get to enjoy. Since moving to Seattle, I've gotten to experience a whole other style of cuisine. There are so many things that people make here that I never had in the land of Tex-Mex and Barbecue. Don't get me wrong, I <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">LOVE</span> those things as well and I will definitely enjoy them when I get home for the holidays, but it's interesting to try new foods too!<br />
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I'll share one funny thing that happened lately involving holiday parties and food. So, my workplace organizes a holiday party every year and we all sign up to bring delicious treats. Last year, I was one of the last ones to sign up because I couldn't figure out what to make. This year, I wanted to get a jump on things and go ahead and get my name on the list before I was stuck trying to make something difficult—those things usually don't end well. There were two people already signed up on the nearly blank sign-up sheet and I figured I would make a salad, because y'know, they're simple and don't require watching 8 hours of a cooking show. So I rushed to the list and made my mark:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPuVLZgmSyYIqZ19HE23dgfnbZ8Qrsjd72uoZNT6-Jla2Foq3dDG860sYXH_1l7BkBsvCe64AjNvog0QOOq38Y2IhrlGalN5lVGs6zLy5CUf5yMhnGT5A2errpWVLxb77NhvlAEfXSFVw/s1600/100_9083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPuVLZgmSyYIqZ19HE23dgfnbZ8Qrsjd72uoZNT6-Jla2Foq3dDG860sYXH_1l7BkBsvCe64AjNvog0QOOq38Y2IhrlGalN5lVGs6zLy5CUf5yMhnGT5A2errpWVLxb77NhvlAEfXSFVw/s400/100_9083.JPG" width="301" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d9ead3;"><b>(click image to enlarge)</b></span></i></div><br />
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That's me, first on the salad list, and let me tell you, when I figure out what kind of salad I'm making it will DEFINITELY live up to its description on the list!<br />
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The best thing though, is that AFTER I wrote that down, my other co-workers joined the fun! I love that the people I work with<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f6b26b;">1) Tolerate my shenanigans.</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #93c47d;">2) Know how to have fun.</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;">3) Are just as mysterious as I am.</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">4) Make me feel awesome!</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-size: large;">Party on, Wayne! Party on, Garth!</span></b></div>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-76755866184582219132010-12-06T12:30:00.000-08:002010-12-06T12:30:35.315-08:00Raise Your Glass<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow;">WHAT IS HELP PORTRAIT?</span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<blockquote style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline !important; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Founded by Celebrity Photographer <a href="http://www.jeremycowart.com/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jeremy Cowart</a>, Help-Portrait is a community of photographers, coming together across the world to use their photography skills to give back to their local community.</span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline !important; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past Saturday, December 4th, 2010, photographers around the world grabbed their cameras, found people in need and took their picture. When the prints were ready, the photographs got delivered.</span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline !important; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And by the way, it's not about seeing our photos. Help Portrait is about GIVING the pictures, not taking them. These portraits are not for our portfolio, website, or for sale. Money isn’t involved here. We simply used the day to give a family something they may have never had before—a portrait together.</span></div></blockquote><br />
I had the opportunity to spend all day Saturday hanging out with amazing photographers of all different levels in an event that was all about giving back to the city of Seattle! I participated in my first Help Portrait event <b><a href="http://amosays.blogspot.com/2009/11/help.html">last year</a></b> and had an AMAZING time! This year's event was extra special. Instead of going to one small site, we were allowed to use the new Creative Live Studio to bring many more people in from different organizations aiding Seattle's homeless & low-income families.<br />
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The day was spent building memories for the families that came and all those involved in making the event happen! I got to spend the day assisting an amazing photographer, <a href="http://mikefolden.com/">Mike Folden</a>, who was part of the group I helped with last year for our first Help Portrait event. We also had Emily, one of my friends from Westside, working with us and that made it extra fun! When we weren't taking pictures of clients, we were telling jokes, singing showtunes and Disney songs, talking about photo gear and techniques, and just getting to know each other more.<br />
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One of the sweetest moments that I'll never forget was when we were posing a family that included a single mother and her 3 little girls. The girls were all cute as can be and they cooperated so well. As the assistant, it was my job to help pose the family and keep the kids happy so they would smile and look at the camera. The shoot went great and as I was escorting the family back out of the photo booth area to the front desk, I felt this little hand grab mine, and looked down as the youngest daughter was closing her hand around mine. Seeing the sweet smile on her sweet face and knowing that (<i>even though I was only able to be a small part of her life</i>) she trusted me enough to reach up, grab my hand and let me lead her the rest of the way just melted my heart.<br />
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Aside from being able to interact with all the amazing families that visited our booth, I also considered myself blessed to have gotten the opportunity to assist <a href="http://www.chasejarvis.com/">Chase Jarvis</a> when he did a shoot at our booth. I also had the chance to chat with Jeremy Cowart a couple of times throughout the day. It was amazing to be surrounded by such amazing creative people as we joined together to give back to the city I love!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fff2cc;"><b>Here are some pictures of me & my team from the day!</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvy0aZhatxMwirMfaV7bmgkXeM7J8XWYAYakfN1k2tzF08HWNtgRtP1S3kDemkaeNmsIT3SRMcCPJbhlrUu3jfDYnF6GHeQJR3g4cEfndVQkjDmoNxqW-4CxcEf8PLL6ddXzDU3SmYQsA/s1600/DSC_8332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvy0aZhatxMwirMfaV7bmgkXeM7J8XWYAYakfN1k2tzF08HWNtgRtP1S3kDemkaeNmsIT3SRMcCPJbhlrUu3jfDYnF6GHeQJR3g4cEfndVQkjDmoNxqW-4CxcEf8PLL6ddXzDU3SmYQsA/s320/DSC_8332.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Just let me know if you ever need someone to ruin <br />
a perfectly good picture for ya</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNFBjhTVgePF3dOQYS6uesowkgX-gKWAtAr0TE3OC_Gi_6JZSPH_ocUb_hlWPvc5COKXB52OfzzDmbJ-uLy36AslnJIMKvx95Q473yo2-jwpSYesk-jlCymeYbw35WbxfoS0GXTbYtLng/s1600/photo-1%25E2%2580%2594Ken+Mott.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNFBjhTVgePF3dOQYS6uesowkgX-gKWAtAr0TE3OC_Gi_6JZSPH_ocUb_hlWPvc5COKXB52OfzzDmbJ-uLy36AslnJIMKvx95Q473yo2-jwpSYesk-jlCymeYbw35WbxfoS0GXTbYtLng/s320/photo-1%25E2%2580%2594Ken+Mott.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Me, Emily, and Mike hanging out between clients</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtWkxCs0rfAnJ675cdjru7Zk-eiprpi3rkzzqLxoD0epe5DYRqHcXvTW0NAzR-2jgUnwizQGoJOtWUblqZgTwEUHIVFxXQ2gx_KnAKxuOKwfs2aUKfyVuyA4n8gY00SK9CwIeVr5b8ovo/s1600/DSC_8337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtWkxCs0rfAnJ675cdjru7Zk-eiprpi3rkzzqLxoD0epe5DYRqHcXvTW0NAzR-2jgUnwizQGoJOtWUblqZgTwEUHIVFxXQ2gx_KnAKxuOKwfs2aUKfyVuyA4n8gY00SK9CwIeVr5b8ovo/s320/DSC_8337.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Me and Emily smiling pretty</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibMySav7Cxbo4Avew8Zews-STBgHqbujHIl1ToCitGbuuz0Z1C6F5wZACh1PbZNQmmBt8GsxDrP3ULbe93091jaWeZ_R8bNUevaj-mJHtqA4iEkCEy5EJjiMcBEdmqyht4MvgF9NYk7rk/s1600/photo-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibMySav7Cxbo4Avew8Zews-STBgHqbujHIl1ToCitGbuuz0Z1C6F5wZACh1PbZNQmmBt8GsxDrP3ULbe93091jaWeZ_R8bNUevaj-mJHtqA4iEkCEy5EJjiMcBEdmqyht4MvgF9NYk7rk/s320/photo-1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Our editors: Matt & Jason [and Lawrence</b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> (not pictured)</span></i><b> for half the day]</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQr3ULJ9z-P89jV7e7dd-OPg-7bXpRvRXsxlXBhfVEAy6VenjH9ICANXZz0PC37FIAJgU1JPh_8cStKq_aBlB_tIiSL_sxY8qyUacDDF6lqus5iyF-7Eq3-9Kh9JXWPUz3cJ4yPCjkHA/s1600/photo%25E2%2580%2594Ken+Mott.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQr3ULJ9z-P89jV7e7dd-OPg-7bXpRvRXsxlXBhfVEAy6VenjH9ICANXZz0PC37FIAJgU1JPh_8cStKq_aBlB_tIiSL_sxY8qyUacDDF6lqus5iyF-7Eq3-9Kh9JXWPUz3cJ4yPCjkHA/s320/photo%25E2%2580%2594Ken+Mott.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Emily and I take this job VERY SERIOUSLY . . . </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPrgpds5oQ9Sre_wlZQjvXCjR2NH0iGTnyZJkreq8HRy-Z_5r9Lkf4kwtRZPRmzweBg2CLT4twsbl0eKakuYAHTLJp8gTDR7LXP1S3z_6cxqpjCQw_-8Kd-SRKFbddyk1rg0lhVVcULq0/s1600/photo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPrgpds5oQ9Sre_wlZQjvXCjR2NH0iGTnyZJkreq8HRy-Z_5r9Lkf4kwtRZPRmzweBg2CLT4twsbl0eKakuYAHTLJp8gTDR7LXP1S3z_6cxqpjCQw_-8Kd-SRKFbddyk1rg0lhVVcULq0/s320/photo.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>A screencap of our group as we sign off from the webcast!</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>King 5 News was also there to get some footage for their evening broadcast:<br />
<object height="288" width="470"><param name="movie" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" value="http://www.king5.com/v/?i=111330404" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.king5.com/v/?i=111330404" AllowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" height="288" wmode="transparent" width="470"></embed></object><br />
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The video feed from the day may still be streaming on the Creative Live site. If it is, you can click <a href="http://creativelive.com/live">HERE </a>to see the replay.amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-38452315610567879802010-12-02T12:30:00.000-08:002010-12-02T16:20:25.833-08:00What I KnowThere's a lot to be said about quality friendships that exist across the miles, and a lot more to be said when those friendships are held together by celebrated affinities. I've told you all about my friend Jenny on the blog<br />a<b> <a href="http://amosays.blogspot.com/2010/07/sparks-fly-vacation-recap.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">a couple of times</span></a></b> <a href="http://amosays.blogspot.com/2010/06/youre-so-vain.html"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">already</span></b></a>.<br /><br />What that I love and appreciate about Jenny is that even though we don't always agree on everything, we are still able to have a quality friendship. She's big into fashion and Hanson, and I'm not so much. Also, she doesn't share my love for Chad Michael Murray. But we do agree on a TON of other things that really matter. Our shared love for Parachute and graphic design has brought us together to share an amazing experience:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;"><a href="http://parachutefan.com/">Parachutefan.com</a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Let me just tell you how hard Jenny works on making this site such an awesome resource for fellow fans. Last night, she pulled an all-nighter to finish up a new design for PFC, and it looks AMAZING! Now, bear in mind that neither Jenny or I get paid for our work with PFC, so you know we're not doing it for the cash moneyz. We truly love and admire this band and where they've been and, more importantly, where they are headed—that is why we do it. <div><br /></div><div>So in general, Jenny will come up with the designs and site layout and I will help with editing text and giving design feedback and the like. Together, we come up with the initiatives and other details on the content of the site, but Jenny is the one who stares at the screen for hours and hours making sure Dreamweaver doesn't freak out. Ask any web designer and they will tell you what a beast Dreamweaver is! She's also the one who handles the majority of the flack from a few hostile fans, and the one who keeps things all nice and neat and organized for PFC. She is a champion and after discussing things back and forth, I am thankful for her ability to listen to my nitpicky corrections and thoughts without disowning me entirely. Thankfully, I'm able to make up for all my nitpicks with some good humor and I often joke that I'm the PFC court jester. ;) But it's the collaboration process that I appreciate more than anything. As a designer, I KNOW how hard it is to let someone else in on your work, but Jenny lets me step in and work with her to make it what it is—one giant site full of awesome!<br /><br />One of the things I'm most looking forward to this next year is making a trip to the east coast to join Jen for Parachute's CD Release Party!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Be sure to check out PFC by clicking the link above!</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>In the meantime, here are some screencaps!</b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQIQ3VSqq4p_zUOrEq8KNChGeuYqZrwGzXJxDHon8dqPxVrY6GGeiA08eDWwwGwMuMSopzteMOJU1WoPBfQS_1L2p5rtITghFdjhp97MKstsnxPxKP1vZRJPs-uyyCwYMkQkPA4uZwSAY/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQIQ3VSqq4p_zUOrEq8KNChGeuYqZrwGzXJxDHon8dqPxVrY6GGeiA08eDWwwGwMuMSopzteMOJU1WoPBfQS_1L2p5rtITghFdjhp97MKstsnxPxKP1vZRJPs-uyyCwYMkQkPA4uZwSAY/s320/1.png" width="286" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMPuZ1_5ENfKc03YrSTbuilbzzRteUnFWe8XG_TEH2coliY67V7NypxnRdKlKKub73IUX5sRTATb7zQUo0UxcXmNH7bnaRETpEJqN_PgoJ-2jq7GLrOpfkGa7EbzybY5fpvcKDehtCLKI/s1600/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMPuZ1_5ENfKc03YrSTbuilbzzRteUnFWe8XG_TEH2coliY67V7NypxnRdKlKKub73IUX5sRTATb7zQUo0UxcXmNH7bnaRETpEJqN_PgoJ-2jq7GLrOpfkGa7EbzybY5fpvcKDehtCLKI/s320/2.png" width="286" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnE51-jWw3q5PsAzhKd56TReAZFUm5WHCT-9P6N5qcFuf3dx4XhVU1NGQVtdnycU2Ghp-ZAtx1nK1WZO9p19ZV-Mys_BfZgfbCvhYGjnSNEueAJ1uzjSDYDThacjdcEuVgSeZcr7tkA4A/s1600/3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnE51-jWw3q5PsAzhKd56TReAZFUm5WHCT-9P6N5qcFuf3dx4XhVU1NGQVtdnycU2Ghp-ZAtx1nK1WZO9p19ZV-Mys_BfZgfbCvhYGjnSNEueAJ1uzjSDYDThacjdcEuVgSeZcr7tkA4A/s320/3.png" width="319" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5XXWe_vrVNNnnrb-e-IiscWiZ5o-uZ50nMdRpXxpEASe7qPxCcuS4nF8Y1MpC_JlLS0XTG0KYtNoXPNsJK1MEgi6QFVa31gar1FM8I9vHBc8YUYD4TKxp7sl21Nqw7iOmCbiPT0CtWU/s1600/4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5XXWe_vrVNNnnrb-e-IiscWiZ5o-uZ50nMdRpXxpEASe7qPxCcuS4nF8Y1MpC_JlLS0XTG0KYtNoXPNsJK1MEgi6QFVa31gar1FM8I9vHBc8YUYD4TKxp7sl21Nqw7iOmCbiPT0CtWU/s320/4.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">--------------------------</span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">DEAR JEN:</span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cfe2f3;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If you are reading this, please know that there are not enough words to describe how proud I am of you and how much I (<i>and I'm sure the band</i>) appreciate all your hard work!</span></span></b></div></div>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-66695669743197382642010-12-01T12:15:00.000-08:002010-12-01T12:15:00.665-08:00Santariffic<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Who's excited for the Christmas season? </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b></b></span>Well I sure am! I seriously spent the day after Thanksgiving decorating for Christmas; and I pretty much listen to Christmas songs year-round. Don't get me wrong, I celebrated Thanksgiving with tons of love and thanks and turkey, but there's just something magical about Christmas.<br />
<br />
It's comforting knowing that my friends are EQUALLY (<i>if not more</i>) excited about the Christmas season as well. And so, today, I wanted to share with you some words of wisdom from two amazing friends of mine.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">David Atkins & Kat Crosby</span></span></b><br />
<br />
David was part of MCA and one of my students when I was the Media Director there. I loved having him on my team and I loved hanging out with him all over the ATX. He's funny and he's put up with so much of my shenanigans—for that, he should get a Nobel Peace Prize! What's more, is that he found an equally amazing woman to share love with. Her name is Kat and not only is she one of the cutest, sweetest, and completely lovely women I know, but her genuine love and care for people encourages me so much! It means so much to me to have friends in my life who not only understand me when I'm letting my freak flag fly, but who also know how to join in the fun! They are such a wonderful couple and I look forward to spending more quality time with them when I go home for the holidays.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Speaking of holidays, </div><div style="text-align: center;">here is a step-by-step tutorial courtesy of Kat and David of</div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">"HOW TO TAKE <br />
A PICTURE <br />
WITH SANTA"</span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXpF961YZuS1Ii5JqHLsjHvFlRrQbVwyHa-_FEcZsCdvHuynri0QFvKjkqfIXAIbJXBeuNO8H8lxyi8TwRgdRx7zOsG0bMKMNtaVGnQxGhu_XgKItMlNKEeLEWwu6uRqam19evg-b82Q/s1600/Screen+shot+2010-12-01+at+9.49.16+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXpF961YZuS1Ii5JqHLsjHvFlRrQbVwyHa-_FEcZsCdvHuynri0QFvKjkqfIXAIbJXBeuNO8H8lxyi8TwRgdRx7zOsG0bMKMNtaVGnQxGhu_XgKItMlNKEeLEWwu6uRqam19evg-b82Q/s320/Screen+shot+2010-12-01+at+9.49.16+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l3crywJOaH1qzvpvu.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l3crywJOaH1qzvpvu.gif" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fff2cc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">well, kids, I hope you learned something today ;)</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-69115386684364533672010-11-30T16:35:00.000-08:002010-11-30T16:35:00.439-08:00From A Terrace<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">I consider myself lucky to have the friends I do. I look at my life and where I've been and I look at those who I have pushed away, and those who refused to be pushed away. I look at those who have held me in the tough times, and those who have peed their pants from laughing with me so much. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">To those who have been such awesome friends that you would willingly cup your hand over my mouth to prevent me from releasing a resonating <br />
laughter in a library—I thank you. Sometimes I forget about my surroundings.</span></span></div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I write all of this down because like you, I have bad days and lose sight of the great things I have in life. I have forgetful days. I have busy days. I have days where I just want to throw my laptop across the room because my alarm is going off at an ungodly hour . . . but of course I don't, because well let's get real—I love my Mac too much. Also, in the same vein of <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f4cccc;">I</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f4cccc;"><i>F YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE</i></span>, if I throw my laptop across the room, I'm going to cry for hours.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffd966;"><b>and if I cry for hours, I'm going to want some chocolate</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #93c47d;"><b>and if I get some chocolate, I'm going to want some coffee</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;"><b>and if I get some coffee, pretty soon I'll just start crying espresso . . .</b></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">You know how it is.</div><div style="color: #fce5cd;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(you do, right?)</i></span></b></div></div><br />
Anyway, I just wanted to share with you all about 2 of my friends who are doing some great creative stuff right now.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;">Chris Hair</span><span id="goog_1605284077"></span></b><br />
I met Chris years ago through another friend and have stayed connected over the years. Right now, he's pursuing his passion in music and has been posting some new songs, as well as some cover songs, on his <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/CDHvids">YouTube</a> account. But, if you'd like to add to your Christmas music collection, you can head over to his Noise Trade page and download his free cover of <a href="https://noisetrade.com/thebrightest">HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS</a>.<br />
<br />
Here is one of his songs, <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;">ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER</span></b>:<br />
<br />
<object height="250" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bvL14L9hAc0?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bvL14L9hAc0?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="250"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><a href="http://twitter.com/thebeastlybeard">Joshua Curtis</a></span></b><br />
I met Joshua during my 1st year as a student in MCA and we have been friends ever since! He is by and far my best guy friend ever! He has always been one of my biggest encouragers and never fails to make me laugh. He is also an amazing photographer! Recently he spent a long time living in Africa, serving the community there alongside some great people in Days of Elisha Ministries. Here is some of his work:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvw9BHl3oHe96_UkTAPkOtBS7gkGybdedrP-lfR-WXOqtCKCajvPBvxryLkllSGFky2g_oId85JLJBHHsEtGYBUvInzeREYJ7URvhxAPlG4maxF2nT3XHSIoLtYe3VWPwCys5MUBdqkQ/s1600/4369975164_a8497204e5_z.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvw9BHl3oHe96_UkTAPkOtBS7gkGybdedrP-lfR-WXOqtCKCajvPBvxryLkllSGFky2g_oId85JLJBHHsEtGYBUvInzeREYJ7URvhxAPlG4maxF2nT3XHSIoLtYe3VWPwCys5MUBdqkQ/s320/4369975164_a8497204e5_z.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d9ead3;"> ^ i actually own this one and it's hanging up in my room ^</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj55t0ZE2ma1uedJnsHItDM4RUGBXwjhrfg-_qL86DqVVG3aU7rnId9N5DeibO9ST_BM_WatiUz4pA19auhMFFIVOvWiLBSQ8iOXQGwwAsDVXm0sTId4A-sH_z4vTDvbmAHMZa1svezpfs/s1600/4369978406_b479e0fdb9_z.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj55t0ZE2ma1uedJnsHItDM4RUGBXwjhrfg-_qL86DqVVG3aU7rnId9N5DeibO9ST_BM_WatiUz4pA19auhMFFIVOvWiLBSQ8iOXQGwwAsDVXm0sTId4A-sH_z4vTDvbmAHMZa1svezpfs/s320/4369978406_b479e0fdb9_z.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
As a side note: If you (<i>or someone you know is</i>) are looking for a great gift for the holiday season, you can buy an <b>11x14</b> print of his <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/89464307@N00/with/4400294645/"><b>PHOTOS</b></a> for <b>$25</b> each. Simply click on the images below to enlarge and see which one you would like:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://joshuainafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/picture-list.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="http://joshuainafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/picture-list.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://joshuainafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/web-templet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://joshuainafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/web-templet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
And then send him an e-mail at <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow;">joshuainafrica@gmail.com</span>. In the e-mail, let him know the number listing of the photo you want, along with your mailing address. He'll work out payment with you over e-mail.<br />
<br />
I really want to spend this holiday season celebrating others who have meant so much to me, so I think I'll be posting more about fun stories, photos, and projects that my friends and I are working on and just celebrate good times as we head into 2011!!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f9cb9c;">And just so we're clear, it's gonna take me <br />
all of 2011 to get used to saying, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"2011."</span></span></b></div>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-23214866273449420532010-11-25T17:00:00.000-08:002010-11-25T17:00:01.925-08:00Good Life<div style="color: #e69138; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Happy Thanksgiving!!</b></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXerVoaBeuQ2BNTOWNoCbbOzPJte_HotT4Q8Fvr8BoRBNPOHrpkly_C4a2l0S4xsDvSd9XS7Y92WZgeynmMmN2NvtS05ztiCteaM2XFdS_wqbZM47rakSgxgVouFCLnQwF-t6PA5ZuT-Y/s1600/turkey_v1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXerVoaBeuQ2BNTOWNoCbbOzPJte_HotT4Q8Fvr8BoRBNPOHrpkly_C4a2l0S4xsDvSd9XS7Y92WZgeynmMmN2NvtS05ztiCteaM2XFdS_wqbZM47rakSgxgVouFCLnQwF-t6PA5ZuT-Y/s320/turkey_v1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
There are so many things to be thankful for today and I decided that I should write down a list of things I'm thankful for so that if I ever start to whine or complain or think I have a bad handle on life, I can refer back to this post and get over myself. So technically, this post is more for me than you . . . but maybe it'll help you think of some things to be thankful for as well. Bear in mind that this is not a complete listing, it's just as much as I could think of in about 5 minutes before I get dressed to go celebrate the holiday with the Jones clan!<br />
<br />
I am thankful for:<br />
<br />
<ul><li style="color: #fce5cd;"><span style="font-size: large;">being alive</span></li>
<li style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-size: large;">family</span></li>
<li style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;">friends</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #fff2cc;">my faith in God </span></span></li>
<li style="color: #c27ba0;"><span style="font-size: large;">chocolate</span></li>
<li style="color: #e06666;"><span style="font-size: large;">my job</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;">music in general</span></span></li>
<li style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: large;">pizza</span></li>
<li style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-size: large;">stretchy pants on holidays</span></li>
<li style="color: #f4cccc;"><span style="font-size: large;">my phone</span></li>
<li style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="font-size: large;">my clothes</span></li>
<li style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-size: large;">having a space heater in the winter</span></li>
<li style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">the snow falling this morning</span></li>
<li style="color: #f6b26b;"><span style="font-size: large;">my MacBook Pro</span></li>
<li style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-size: large;">education</span></li>
<li style="color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: large;">peacoats</span></li>
<li style="color: #ead1dc;"><span style="font-size: large;">books</span></li>
<li style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;">coffee</span></li>
<li style="color: #d9d2e9;"><span style="font-size: large;">technology</span></li>
<li style="color: #ea9999;"><span style="font-size: large;">more chocolate</span></li>
<li style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: large;">running water</span></li>
<li style="color: #f4cccc;"><span style="font-size: large;">blankets</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">jack's mannequin </span></span></li>
<li style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="font-size: large;">my ability to laugh in tough situations</span></li>
<li style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">ice cream</span></li>
<li style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;">the way my parents raised me </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">scarves </span></span></li>
<li style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: large;">the youth at Westside Church</span></li>
<li style="color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: large;">my aunt's broccoli rice and cheese casserole</span></li>
<li style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-size: large;">more coffee</span></li>
<li style="color: #f4cccc;"><span style="font-size: large;">shoes</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #d0e0e3;">parachute </span></span></li>
<li style="color: #e06666;"><span style="font-size: large;">my housemates</span></li>
<li style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-size: large;">creativity</span></li>
<li style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: large;">my neighborhood</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;">my co-workers</span></span></li>
<li style="color: #8e7cc3;"><span style="font-size: large;">swimming pools</span></li>
<li style="color: #f6b26b;"><span style="font-size: large;">airplanes in the night sky that look like shooting stars</span></li>
<li style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-size: large;">coffee with honey</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #f4cccc;">paramore </span></span></li>
<li style="color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: large;">the internets</span></li>
<li style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-size: large;">mamo's christmas cookies</span></li>
<li style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">the academy for even allowing me to be nominated for this award</span> </span></li>
<li style="color: #f9cb9c;"><span style="font-size: large;">24 hour fitness</span></li>
<li style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span style="font-size: large;">toilet paper</span></li>
<li style="color: #ead1dc;"><span style="font-size: large;">is chocolate on this list yet? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><u style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">YOU!!!!!!!!!</span></u></span></li>
</ul>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-47861413796151535612010-11-23T12:00:00.000-08:002010-11-23T12:04:29.645-08:00White DressAs you've probably gathered, the Pacific Northwest is wearing a very hefty sparkly white dress of snow today! My neighborhood have gotten 4-5 inches of snow already. But as I sit at home enjoying the view of it all from my warm living room, I figured I'd share my adventures from my sleepover at work!<br />
<br />
The snow had already started falling when I got into work yesterday and the buses had chains on them, and re-routed to suit their snow routes. Part of the trouble of working in Queen Anne, is that when it snows (<i>and it rarely does in Seattle</i>), it becomes incredibly dangerous the buses don't run up the hill. So throughout the morning, the opportunity to stay in the building overnight was presented to me and I decided I would do that instead of risking missing work hours during the high point of our publications cycle. Then, around 11 a.m., the surge protector in my office made a constant beeping noise. Shortly after that, all the computers in my office shut down, along with the electricity in every outlet. We tried to find alternatives to get the computers back up and running, but nothing was working. Shortly after, my boss noticed a smell coming from the area just under my office. It smelled like burning sulfur. We weren't sure exactly where it was coming from, so we checked around and waited to see if the smell would dissipate. Apparently, there was some kind of electrical fire brewing inside the walls close to my office. We had talked to someone and they said it shouldn't be a problem, so my boss and two others stayed overnight with me. <br />
<br />
We went out for dinner at a great Indian restaurant called Roti and we rented a movie from Blockbuster so that we could have a fun time waiting out the snow. When we got to the store, we were torn about renting either THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT or PIRATE RADIO. We walked to the counter with Pirate Radio but right at the last moment, one of the other co-workers ran to switch it out with The Kids Are All Right. We decided to spend the evening on the couches in the lobby area so that we could be present if the smell of the electrical fire continued to grow. We made it about 20 minutes into the movie and decided to turn it off because it was just too sexually graphic for our liking, there was too much bad acting, and it just wasn't a worthwhile movie. So we watched THE KITE RUNNER on Netflix instead.<br />
<br />
After e-mailing a few people earlier in the day, we got a call later in the evening from an electrician that told us to shut down the power to the building and get out of there. We turned off the movie and moved all of our stuff to the next building over, and just stayed up talking and laughing and having a fun time!<br />
<br />
We woke up this morning safe and sound and my boss gave me the day off with pay! So now I'm here at home, relaxing with a hot latte, watching the people walk in the snow, and finishing up watching The Kite Runner (<i>and crying like a baby from the story</i>).<br />
<br />
We found out that it was part of the remnants of <a href="http://amosays.blogspot.com/2010/10/we-didn-start-fire.html">The Great Pen Fire of October </a>and they got the problem fixed. All in all, my Snowpocalypse Sleepover at work was a lot of fun and it gave me a chance to build stronger relationships with my co-workers. I think we all agreed that we should each keep a change of emergency winter wear handy at the office though . . . just in case.<br />
<br />
Here are some of my pics from the snow storm. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGravSkVzTikpTUL8cZEYkJNv3urfBiaSih8lY-I1npC3PMOeKhbg_iUb4tjcgH555fGArz1i0cWDnLu3fO1FaowGk6OqAWrGNcSDRazgHbjEAzjquRK3PlzVV0TBJSbsqYh6feTBTaC0/s1600/100_9055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGravSkVzTikpTUL8cZEYkJNv3urfBiaSih8lY-I1npC3PMOeKhbg_iUb4tjcgH555fGArz1i0cWDnLu3fO1FaowGk6OqAWrGNcSDRazgHbjEAzjquRK3PlzVV0TBJSbsqYh6feTBTaC0/s320/100_9055.JPG" width="248" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>"Sorry, we're closed!"</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg36gjz4A4lzfoJJ8hQSBuhFW-M8GqFxiHvxWyBCoptTLddmBl9h4dwHy5lehC_Pho-06Ptong42Ogl2sefHJggfEs047waBMii-HLDKwbhG0epqjJ2WQmX839gBIIF4s9PCYC853g8QIA/s1600/100_9056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg36gjz4A4lzfoJJ8hQSBuhFW-M8GqFxiHvxWyBCoptTLddmBl9h4dwHy5lehC_Pho-06Ptong42Ogl2sefHJggfEs047waBMii-HLDKwbhG0epqjJ2WQmX839gBIIF4s9PCYC853g8QIA/s320/100_9056.JPG" width="180" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <b>It was crazy watching cars slide down the hill</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg912lGD0gsnpsrnpgtI95_Xd-CkeCtbtF9umFFyN2YUahvFHv7yf2Ivw-0qTtElK5m3E7pDGLhKDRq2CorSTl43CqGk9p41kxWhROqhvyRzHB-MzO46x-nEeGvW8Ca3cfv8TSREnPxA24/s1600/100_9057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg912lGD0gsnpsrnpgtI95_Xd-CkeCtbtF9umFFyN2YUahvFHv7yf2Ivw-0qTtElK5m3E7pDGLhKDRq2CorSTl43CqGk9p41kxWhROqhvyRzHB-MzO46x-nEeGvW8Ca3cfv8TSREnPxA24/s320/100_9057.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Don't worry guys, I wore my snowshoes</b> </div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFZqFgcFpx8FTw0pUIjab3HVXVtmcBUralVNfB3eEY4-xQFTpvWplorzyDjBElD1o60bLYFj17z-NFFkOIlYihnwU2E81syqPlk-DbqI-2hd3h1lCRbwfj7ltdy7FoO432D7uptMiMJqQ/s1600/100_9058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFZqFgcFpx8FTw0pUIjab3HVXVtmcBUralVNfB3eEY4-xQFTpvWplorzyDjBElD1o60bLYFj17z-NFFkOIlYihnwU2E81syqPlk-DbqI-2hd3h1lCRbwfj7ltdy7FoO432D7uptMiMJqQ/s320/100_9058.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFnmC9s1JYA5BEOVsqEQTEh8y4BioUb24A-ft7TxCK3DWmkH62B4YegG1yKmLDScps4wvr933TL_jf7LBkAbY0Nla-DJgFrJ8WLshNzSkmwxXjLiMZMKxQtS9APcDiM3JOVahtaWsgoJw/s1600/100_9059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFnmC9s1JYA5BEOVsqEQTEh8y4BioUb24A-ft7TxCK3DWmkH62B4YegG1yKmLDScps4wvr933TL_jf7LBkAbY0Nla-DJgFrJ8WLshNzSkmwxXjLiMZMKxQtS9APcDiM3JOVahtaWsgoJw/s320/100_9059.JPG" width="210" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<b></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hdbGI-bVRoSgO1Pkzvn2JDNOcl0wjS_X1Co6d1gNdT9z49wtqBW23LdmNaFUdb82JDEKlbQM85fDOtjUUBS1tMUiQu7mUK3pp-_1zapnNLKP5MlupZOjlgBGaZjefCSRnIGqy3dV-bQ/s1600/100_9060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hdbGI-bVRoSgO1Pkzvn2JDNOcl0wjS_X1Co6d1gNdT9z49wtqBW23LdmNaFUdb82JDEKlbQM85fDOtjUUBS1tMUiQu7mUK3pp-_1zapnNLKP5MlupZOjlgBGaZjefCSRnIGqy3dV-bQ/s320/100_9060.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMP-FDxbtVsXE59uQQi0Jy25zyMn1SJDLQZ2OkH-pTFpp5gBVKRiKkGD0tummZtoMn6mA1Ae-Y7FAG8uLt8wEcmvu0Lq0xEEmMTb-ikZVFmnp0bouet0tH5cDFec8ALK0fTOh-V_z3oLI/s1600/100_9063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMP-FDxbtVsXE59uQQi0Jy25zyMn1SJDLQZ2OkH-pTFpp5gBVKRiKkGD0tummZtoMn6mA1Ae-Y7FAG8uLt8wEcmvu0Lq0xEEmMTb-ikZVFmnp0bouet0tH5cDFec8ALK0fTOh-V_z3oLI/s320/100_9063.JPG" width="306" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYNbFIoceMNWQPHUTGqXrVdFUtvK6ZvQJ1HrKwBjVuNR0XFbblLw_IuVYu6Ck75kXDpuyVUj0OS5h0uQqhyr0YM3LpjsS7nabUravmO0GAT_bSgjsr8uGJIlZIsJh7xEb71D28NjCBXXg/s1600/100_9066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYNbFIoceMNWQPHUTGqXrVdFUtvK6ZvQJ1HrKwBjVuNR0XFbblLw_IuVYu6Ck75kXDpuyVUj0OS5h0uQqhyr0YM3LpjsS7nabUravmO0GAT_bSgjsr8uGJIlZIsJh7xEb71D28NjCBXXg/s320/100_9066.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <b>As I was waiting at the bus stop,<br />
I saw this news crew filming a segment<br />
about a traffic post that a car had<br />
taken out when it skidded off the road</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtwIuU5fUyIdc2osMHxSDppTJSy0W79g0SvMld2es-OmaA4FFLaBXsYgqLZvlOC-gGzjjGggrcn9AtIXv4zY8zrym8dCGMd027g2HejhK2gx-Y1ATViCN6m0QZDupsiq1v3KB6JNPbCFA/s1600/100_9068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtwIuU5fUyIdc2osMHxSDppTJSy0W79g0SvMld2es-OmaA4FFLaBXsYgqLZvlOC-gGzjjGggrcn9AtIXv4zY8zrym8dCGMd027g2HejhK2gx-Y1ATViCN6m0QZDupsiq1v3KB6JNPbCFA/s320/100_9068.JPG" width="247" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Snow covering the Experience Music Project Building</b></div>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-45908056872360152822010-11-21T20:20:00.000-08:002010-11-21T20:28:54.621-08:00Back In Your HeadIt snowed today!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPyHhYjsNWM-Ezrj0Og1UT2_SDWw6eoppoEAt9wE9O_Hb_CAV4nEI7dcV42kd4Whw4qCE1RxWrxq3JkP0_EEIATNPiiBPn6XwObK4bfmEFNcM3s-pwyYyHynNRspsESDy7m2m6FEA2Ao/s1600/DSC_0010.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPyHhYjsNWM-Ezrj0Og1UT2_SDWw6eoppoEAt9wE9O_Hb_CAV4nEI7dcV42kd4Whw4qCE1RxWrxq3JkP0_EEIATNPiiBPn6XwObK4bfmEFNcM3s-pwyYyHynNRspsESDy7m2m6FEA2Ao/s320/DSC_0010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542225493923113842" border="0" /></a><br />Well, at least for a little bit. It was definitely fun while it lasted.<br /><br />Heather J. let me borrow her camera to work on a project this morning at Westside and then let me hang onto it until Tuesday. So naturally, I decided to take it out for a little photostroll this afternoon. While I was walking, I found this sweet little house with a little artsy display out in front of it. It was all very vintage and kind of melancholy, but I decided to take advantage of the rare neighborhood art and take some pics. It kind of reminded me of some of the artsy decorations in some yards back home in Austin. I love stumbling across little treasure troves like this! I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijMZWdonep3EX8rNgAuPn-_N9HFazx6dYA6an-lJEluvOTuFmiSrNFVdFVHEOYKO5tLFboQj-Ncw56VWerZGIukhxLbUu1dCamafwASCOYw4ZV4E8vD2tgdV_WtfaVrD9320ZyE-oxkE/s1600/DSC_0048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijMZWdonep3EX8rNgAuPn-_N9HFazx6dYA6an-lJEluvOTuFmiSrNFVdFVHEOYKO5tLFboQj-Ncw56VWerZGIukhxLbUu1dCamafwASCOYw4ZV4E8vD2tgdV_WtfaVrD9320ZyE-oxkE/s320/DSC_0048.JPG" border="0" height="214" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">this is my neighborhood!</span><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGzJl1ilfGmeElZX1JURLjCdyPepRUcbuwGtJkyYSGAwDQRPqluGSf1MxN0eR-ms1162QXXPIiwC6ulNriMlVMX7-Ahaf9njKqcs-NMZEy_fjSVn6CCTN8UvaTzH1F8S7OjttalTTZq1A/s1600/DSC_0051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgac0s_QxjrgnXUmtEnSap5TtbZYTy7QqnRGqyUHExX-soHtfrb62culJCjiH_aHnWwowXmF-FxVcnw3t47pe_yVPTya-WLYM8ltdaw_eW4qjOXXGmQHssSlLXA4O6XX2HDv45hefOkbUg/s1600/DSC_0120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgac0s_QxjrgnXUmtEnSap5TtbZYTy7QqnRGqyUHExX-soHtfrb62culJCjiH_aHnWwowXmF-FxVcnw3t47pe_yVPTya-WLYM8ltdaw_eW4qjOXXGmQHssSlLXA4O6XX2HDv45hefOkbUg/s320/DSC_0120.JPG" border="0" height="214" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqL83dgAjHxYkdTGEKDtZkgu9_UC3_uQgaaMRp0s_o3PhY-X0-osJtYc2OKS-coM3FqUC4j4ZYU9i9RpELXue61xEKfapPWllGk3x4DESCWGTvoZoo0B_-T5tEb19lpsVoJ1RCKT8i_7c/s1600/DSC_0091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqL83dgAjHxYkdTGEKDtZkgu9_UC3_uQgaaMRp0s_o3PhY-X0-osJtYc2OKS-coM3FqUC4j4ZYU9i9RpELXue61xEKfapPWllGk3x4DESCWGTvoZoo0B_-T5tEb19lpsVoJ1RCKT8i_7c/s320/DSC_0091.JPG" border="0" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-7906588413872586662010-11-10T20:30:00.000-08:002010-11-13T08:06:13.501-08:00Something To Believe In (My Parachute Concert Experience)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEcsz1sQM5byNsEq6OK0Cu1argDkl8gE7ihZ518NwyBdE5yONe64Tq7lT5Lcwi3OpnovvWdU0ywESfdOSTgUvJUKmC3IjXiUZxu0sMOWVq-hymBzFD6-dky54d2KExuh30eiVt_fBUMI/s1600/100_8669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEcsz1sQM5byNsEq6OK0Cu1argDkl8gE7ihZ518NwyBdE5yONe64Tq7lT5Lcwi3OpnovvWdU0ywESfdOSTgUvJUKmC3IjXiUZxu0sMOWVq-hymBzFD6-dky54d2KExuh30eiVt_fBUMI/s320/100_8669.JPG" border="0" height="180" width="320" /></a></div><br />Rock and roll music has been a major part of my life for many years now and nothing creates that sense of euphoria, to me at least, quite like dancing and singing along as your favorite band plays live. It’s an even better experience when you are surrounded by other people that care about and love that quality music at the same level that you do. There is something wonderful and magical about experiencing a great rock concert and Sunday night’s Parachute concert at the House of Blues in Dallas was exactly that!<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2qSqmAGcDY-1wOSWBhr0bsv_egFhIypJ2EBLwBej2QH_ts6XJYfYHOa1RPynpz41SyJMp5wZEsEzQ2YPZPWv8_QTfE70v4aC6RiT4i99B2M6w0WS2s8joGzl7HlqRKnfeLXDnp_oJvDg/s1600/2010-11-08+09.18.05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2qSqmAGcDY-1wOSWBhr0bsv_egFhIypJ2EBLwBej2QH_ts6XJYfYHOa1RPynpz41SyJMp5wZEsEzQ2YPZPWv8_QTfE70v4aC6RiT4i99B2M6w0WS2s8joGzl7HlqRKnfeLXDnp_oJvDg/s320/2010-11-08+09.18.05.jpg" border="0" height="320" width="251" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:x-small;"><b style="color: rgb(182, 215, 168);"><i><span style="font-size:small;">My set list autographed by the band</span></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Hailing from Austin, Texas, I moved to Seattle two-and-a-half years ago. My first time to see Parachute in concert was at The Crocodile in Seattle. Once I experienced one of their rockin’ shows, I knew I had to go to another. I joined their street team and promoted them heavily to everyone and anyone that would listen. I realized that as they announced tours, Seattle was not one of their frequented cities. I would follow them on Twitter and hunt down videos on YouTube in hopes of sharing a second-hand experience of this band whose music meant so much to me. After waiting for what seemed like forever, they finally announced that not only were they going to be recording a new album, they were going to be touring in the fall again! Sadly, Seattle wasn’t on the list, so I did what I had to—I hopped a flight to Dallas, Texas to spend my birthday weekend with my best friend, and to go to that concert at The House of Blues.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEe9lY8tCi9Td0zGYm4RV_kndk6mhxH4Mb9bo_Ux8jcDVJwdc_8AaT4vUrvoLrNjX_IdTnjaq0FVzZOgCoObshY3z_szv5cGYgCwwTZQwkcMmpy1eeGml1SU5L8reR-IEffmlkbT-5VKQ/s1600/100_8695.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEe9lY8tCi9Td0zGYm4RV_kndk6mhxH4Mb9bo_Ux8jcDVJwdc_8AaT4vUrvoLrNjX_IdTnjaq0FVzZOgCoObshY3z_szv5cGYgCwwTZQwkcMmpy1eeGml1SU5L8reR-IEffmlkbT-5VKQ/s320/100_8695.JPG" border="0" height="180" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:small;"><b style="color: rgb(182, 215, 168);"><i>Will Anderson & Nate McFarland</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I had already bought my tickets to the show when they announced they were doing a fan contest where you could win tickets to the show and access to an exclusive meet and greet to hear the studio versions of songs on their unreleased album. My Seattle friends helped me enter the contest, and after waiting anxiously for the results, I found out that I had won! Not only was I going to go to an amazing show, and be able to hear the new songs, but I got to bring two friends along for free! My best friend’s roommate, who is also a fan, joined us and we were all extremely excited as we set out for the show and the Hear It First Listening Party!<br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhET5sH1jALS43SW-yIGWk-IdqHFHBL0j-SvZEWxHiftAJdjDRHwi0EqOUMGsdsKeDnmFgjZMCO9-xDtLEiSwmkV4iLdD2q9cUunV-V5_kH45j19JD8EbW0jhg8z_iNfh0trR2J3nAedvg/s1600/100_8690.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhET5sH1jALS43SW-yIGWk-IdqHFHBL0j-SvZEWxHiftAJdjDRHwi0EqOUMGsdsKeDnmFgjZMCO9-xDtLEiSwmkV4iLdD2q9cUunV-V5_kH45j19JD8EbW0jhg8z_iNfh0trR2J3nAedvg/s320/100_8690.JPG" border="0" height="320" width="180" /> </a><br /><span style="font-size:small;"><b style="color: rgb(182, 215, 168);"><i>Alex Hargrave & Johnny Stubblefield</i></b></span><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />As Parachute’s tour manager, Chris Jones, led us into the Cambridge Room, Johnny, Kit, Nate, Alex, and Will were there waiting for us and they welcomed us to the party! To say I was excited might be the biggest understatement of the year. After getting to say hello and hug the guys, they quickly led us all over to some couches along the wall (s<i>et up had run late and cut short our time by a little bit</i>) and let us listen to a couple of the tracks off of the new album. The songs were amazing! First, we got to hear “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HlZybqo62w&feature=related"><b><span style="font-variant: small-caps;color:lime;" >Something To Believe In</span></b></a>” (<i>a track noted as Jeremiah on the set list</i>). The gospel tracks laced into the song were astounding and added a strong layer of fullness to the crisp recording. Then we got to listen to “<b style="color: lime;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRV1LHi-Sdw"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">White Dress</span></a></b>” (<i>a song they referred to as Bumpin’ Jam on the set list)</i>. I suggested to Will that they should definitely add “bumpin’ jam” into parenthesis after the song title because it was so true to the nature of the song. It was one of those songs that make you want to drum on the steering wheel as you cruise down the highway and bob your head to the beat causing passersby to stare, wishing they were having as much fun as you are. Having heard the live recording of it on YouTube, I had already regarded it as a song made of gold, but after listening to the studio recording, I’m more apt to consider it a Scrooge McDuck-sized vault of musical gold! The lyrical depth and overall arrangement of both songs made it clear that these guys were pushing their music and style to a new level of excellence. The fact that Kit and Johnny were dancing around in the background made it an extra special experience.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURagUiNbhoVu8JRG-uZevTh9nPW4LrNctygPVuEufvpD1064ySAsW0bTE_R6FmaHaAwJAUWDi4EUN5DawOT8X0xofF32mCec3uk_cx4Y1cZq6wuFYXFqDqRm99R8di4eitZOzKxpHQQE/s1600/100_8699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURagUiNbhoVu8JRG-uZevTh9nPW4LrNctygPVuEufvpD1064ySAsW0bTE_R6FmaHaAwJAUWDi4EUN5DawOT8X0xofF32mCec3uk_cx4Y1cZq6wuFYXFqDqRm99R8di4eitZOzKxpHQQE/s320/100_8699.JPG" border="0" height="320" width="180" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:x-small;"><b style="color: rgb(182, 215, 168);"><i><span style="font-size:small;">Kit French</span></i></b></span></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After the listening party, we waited anxiously for the show to start. The moment Parachute took the stage, the night of fun had come full circle. We all cheered loudly as Nate, Alex, Johnny, and Kit stepped on the stage to lay down the intro to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRV1LHi-Sdw"><b><span style="font-variant: small-caps;color:yellow;" >White Dress</span></b></a>. Already brimming with excitement, the energy in the crowd was intensified as Will joined the band front and center to lead us all in the truly “bumpin’ jam.”<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRMhc0qvhX8AMiLS0jF7895Tp4S8nmDN3K9kd0vl7D4dW605d0rz1ysV_g00D0s3fgL3c4LKUF_ul375tn1w4kJcOVoQNo8-sfaAJdwRO0tALtOGLLiSEf82FrtWDs6XbIi1f2VDO028/s1600/100_8717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRMhc0qvhX8AMiLS0jF7895Tp4S8nmDN3K9kd0vl7D4dW605d0rz1ysV_g00D0s3fgL3c4LKUF_ul375tn1w4kJcOVoQNo8-sfaAJdwRO0tALtOGLLiSEf82FrtWDs6XbIi1f2VDO028/s320/100_8717.JPG" border="0" height="320" width="180" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The performance was packed with fun and excitement thanks to a solid set of both old and new songs. We clapped and sang along to songs featured on their first album, <span style="font-variant: small-caps;"><a href="http://www.weareparachute.com/discography.aspx"><b><span style="color: rgb(159, 197, 232);">Losing Sleep</span></b></a>,</span> and danced as we listened intently to the newer ones like the deceptively catchy upbeat chorus, <b>“<i>She’s in love with someone else</i></b><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>” </b>in the song <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T0A61a1m2U" style="color: yellow;"><b><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">What I Know</span></b></a>. As Will took a moment to introduce the song <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izn_ydAXHbs&feature=related"><b><span style="font-variant: small-caps;color:yellow;" >Square One</span></b></a> with the insight that it was written as a result to being “played” in a relationship, a united groan of understanding was echoed by the majority of guys in the crowd. It was clear that everyone in the crowd could relate on some level to the songs blasting from the speakers. From the sweetly refreshing acoustic version of <span style="font-variant: small-caps;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdUS7WMt-Tk"><b><span style="color:yellow;">All That I Am</span></b></a>,</span> to the punchy vocals on the funk-infused <span style="font-variant: small-caps;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bawzhGhebI"><b><span style="color:yellow;">Halfway</span></b></a>, </span>to the fist-pumping powerhouse of a song, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HiRnS4k2Vw"><b><span style="font-variant: small-caps;color:yellow;" >Under Control</span></b></a>, the band’s stellar stage presence and showmanship propelled the show to an amped-up out-of-this-world level. From talking to fellow fans (<i>both old and new</i>) in the crowd afterward, I think it’s safe to say that the entire experience left a positive, indelible impression of what a quality rock show is all about.<br /><br /></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1129.snc4/149134_10150321948780486_745735485_15885006_8037732_n.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 401px; height: 238px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1129.snc4/149134_10150321948780486_745735485_15885006_8037732_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Our Listening Party group:<br />Johnny, Chad, Will, Katie, Me, Diane, Kit, Kelley, Nate, Alex<br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div style="color: rgb(249, 203, 156);"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Here are more photos from the show taken by my friend Chad, who graciously relieved me of camera duty so that I could enjoy the show with no distractions! </b> </span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ATb99JMJ-EFvfBp3VQsKn4X9d2YK0T5UvCyst7b14OPV-JwmBlb1JxWvNc9dHmgq79wKP0BmMFke8Sv-4iiKazUEup8Q0b5GvEbifjdyhJSPcMN9fjRW4IAyPlnyX5FFgiBxRHPIULs/s1600/100_8697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ATb99JMJ-EFvfBp3VQsKn4X9d2YK0T5UvCyst7b14OPV-JwmBlb1JxWvNc9dHmgq79wKP0BmMFke8Sv-4iiKazUEup8Q0b5GvEbifjdyhJSPcMN9fjRW4IAyPlnyX5FFgiBxRHPIULs/s320/100_8697.JPG" border="0" height="320" width="180" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJJ7JT0tquiZeZn8AXlKjUUqmsr5f0KSE3Kuqr6T2fZ-Wd4Tq-hJKU_6YfvEpmoHsdVgzPOZnePPzVkwVJ_umcuPSGRtTf3B3igp1kqIEODAzrqV3Xt4BHwPdv3R62n2kGr9EYHJXppo/s1600/100_8741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJJ7JT0tquiZeZn8AXlKjUUqmsr5f0KSE3Kuqr6T2fZ-Wd4Tq-hJKU_6YfvEpmoHsdVgzPOZnePPzVkwVJ_umcuPSGRtTf3B3igp1kqIEODAzrqV3Xt4BHwPdv3R62n2kGr9EYHJXppo/s320/100_8741.JPG" border="0" height="180" width="320" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9_kipJh_J89gBfYpmMf6eAOxX_lSZUvHwiBRWslDZ5Hlwu0Ya2hyM17uioeu_jtao8dLjzcJ2UVpVIsPaGayoE3oBIbMhQ0xm9LvHaGXe5Dsc82UYLBjWRjQokluDV_ggyYUAduGxJc/s1600/100_8717.JPG"><br /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBhq4Ca8UZ1PkW5AW1s1ZqJl4fxxniUDTjV9wOfDCXqC8mrEiK6gc3lWCxTeTA6P1AL67ABqRqaPAADBkfFkCVHI4vgPzL4K7Z0StoAU-qG3rSa49mnmJIz7JFNEEiGmMBAIWAvPBdcRw/s1600/100_8799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBhq4Ca8UZ1PkW5AW1s1ZqJl4fxxniUDTjV9wOfDCXqC8mrEiK6gc3lWCxTeTA6P1AL67ABqRqaPAADBkfFkCVHI4vgPzL4K7Z0StoAU-qG3rSa49mnmJIz7JFNEEiGmMBAIWAvPBdcRw/s320/100_8799.JPG" border="0" height="320" width="318" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhRYlLW1EUI-_PTtgqBl5D471C8LMDGpV9238SR8KBFNiD-t3vy6ymkRkM8z3HbQz8ChpZuIBla70zN5X3QzTMK1VA67uEOcx9UK4uNcFD4gJJRSpWUQhDmYv2rNeCusAiQwTo_hmXP8/s1600/100_9041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhRYlLW1EUI-_PTtgqBl5D471C8LMDGpV9238SR8KBFNiD-t3vy6ymkRkM8z3HbQz8ChpZuIBla70zN5X3QzTMK1VA67uEOcx9UK4uNcFD4gJJRSpWUQhDmYv2rNeCusAiQwTo_hmXP8/s320/100_9041.JPG" border="0" height="319" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoul08pl4N5D8mp-nm5pkItT0v50K88LU0uE22LMctNE5ADHE-Ksav1AEcdV2f7KtnaHu2so5k4EZUET6WhHdRJne2NeLchuvtmqeOgV-2A5OhLBOOfwi99Cqrj9wPRD-e-PjSGp21b2A/s1600/100_9043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoul08pl4N5D8mp-nm5pkItT0v50K88LU0uE22LMctNE5ADHE-Ksav1AEcdV2f7KtnaHu2so5k4EZUET6WhHdRJne2NeLchuvtmqeOgV-2A5OhLBOOfwi99Cqrj9wPRD-e-PjSGp21b2A/s320/100_9043.JPG" border="0" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp7R_hiqfF_VB89j5PAYqcFKQXZ6Tec3Lnrj7q7GInIcfDZGp9SnD7RSOPICcPfwlIt6Y6wuLPrtY3dqsSxG3RExs5zLZjYG3CbjSaG6te3EczXHMKV7-HpUlF2ta8Mv04vx3je0UpJe0/s1600/100_9044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp7R_hiqfF_VB89j5PAYqcFKQXZ6Tec3Lnrj7q7GInIcfDZGp9SnD7RSOPICcPfwlIt6Y6wuLPrtY3dqsSxG3RExs5zLZjYG3CbjSaG6te3EczXHMKV7-HpUlF2ta8Mv04vx3je0UpJe0/s320/100_9044.JPG" border="0" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK4u-unOlbC48fZqQ9vyP5kQgmMxW1DHvT_7Am_Q2QowoNfsjCrHSFuHMUu1CbsBJK3WWsArKkFfBlccA-NAmc9Xccpr39MH1QEpmTwyeg8jqG6zt7tjxve7nEyV59K3d0tKnWO1L2Kr4/s1600/100_9046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK4u-unOlbC48fZqQ9vyP5kQgmMxW1DHvT_7Am_Q2QowoNfsjCrHSFuHMUu1CbsBJK3WWsArKkFfBlccA-NAmc9Xccpr39MH1QEpmTwyeg8jqG6zt7tjxve7nEyV59K3d0tKnWO1L2Kr4/s320/100_9046.JPG" border="0" height="320" width="319" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0aFZFGWgZcVh8E0hUiY_eu8vIqlNE-nFouFMrrOzyRddF7baQ7WuyllqV26zeiAP6y_zLdidhGXo5NPal6LF6Mub6MeR22wrfM87ciizePDkMrqzWtx2KIKHQSYQlrsSLou1TJfj81g8/s1600/100_9048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0aFZFGWgZcVh8E0hUiY_eu8vIqlNE-nFouFMrrOzyRddF7baQ7WuyllqV26zeiAP6y_zLdidhGXo5NPal6LF6Mub6MeR22wrfM87ciizePDkMrqzWtx2KIKHQSYQlrsSLou1TJfj81g8/s320/100_9048.JPG" border="0" height="320" width="319" /></a></div><br /><div style="color: rgb(159, 197, 232); text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>It truly was a night I'll never forget!</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b style="color: rgb(255, 217, 102);">I can't wait until they release dates<br />for more touring in the beginning of 2011<br />and I for SURE cannot wait for the new album to drop! </b></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></div>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-78254345351322833352010-11-03T22:00:00.000-07:002010-11-04T05:18:33.820-07:00Close To You: A Birthday Post!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: cyan;">On the day that you were born,<br />
the angels got together <br />
and decided to create a dream come true . . .</b></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPs9lpE4xw5wy6E9FEbQmknlJYZKNgK4J9i1q3_ZLlgA0S3McRrMRuH08ZE7qoj0RYNmch3TzqN2fLuGyiPCr3xU0voS1_a7euZ2eM1HO_wQjLickrlEHwQD1_-vP5bwrx-QH7RvlysmY/s1600/14355_327710950485_745735485_9742941_6010447_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPs9lpE4xw5wy6E9FEbQmknlJYZKNgK4J9i1q3_ZLlgA0S3McRrMRuH08ZE7qoj0RYNmch3TzqN2fLuGyiPCr3xU0voS1_a7euZ2eM1HO_wQjLickrlEHwQD1_-vP5bwrx-QH7RvlysmY/s320/14355_327710950485_745735485_9742941_6010447_n.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: cyan; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Not too shabby, eh?!? ;p</b></span></div><br />
<br />
I decided that since my parents were pretty much the major part of this day being a thing, I'd call them up and ask them to share one of their first memories of the day of my birth. So without further adieu, the story of me:<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #ea9999; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>From mom: </b></span></div><div style="color: #ea9999;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #ea9999;">You were born in the afternoon and you were two weeks early. I was so surprised when I realized I was going into labor that I just packed a bag real quick and jumped in the cab wearing my pajamas and my hair rollers. It was like a Carol Burnett moment! And I gave birth to you in my pajamas and hair rollers too! You weighed 6 pounds. And we gave you your name—we had it picked out and it's the one I really wanted to give you. I wanted a little girl so bad and I got what I wanted! I was very happy to have you. You had jaundice, so I had to keep taking you back to the hospital for check-ups. I told the doctors that I'd keep bringing you back, as long as I could bring you home! I wouldn't trade you for anything in the world. You were very smart, very cute, very everything we ever wanted. </div><i><br />
</i><br />
<br />
<div style="color: #9fc5e8; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>From dad: </b></span></div><br />
<div style="color: #9fc5e8;">The day before you were born, I was out in Stuttgart, which is almost 2 and a half hours away from Nuremberg Hospital. I worked that morning on the 2nd and then I went home to get some sleep. When I finally got home, my sergeant called me and told me to call him back. When I did, he said, "Hey boy, somebody called and said your wife is going to have your baby! You need to come home right now!" I was half asleep, but I went home, got packed as fast as I could through the snow, and drove to Nuremburg. I was so tired, I stopped all along the way at three different Gast Hauses to get some espresso to make it to you! I finally got to the hospital and asked if the baby had already been born, and they said no, and I was so relieved! After you were born, I was so excited to see my baby girl! You had a tremendous amount of beautiful black hair. You were so beautiful, my Mandy Pandy.</div><br />
<br />
They also shared some other milestones with me and some of their thoughts of who I was as I was growing up. It really made me appreciate the way they navigated through my shenanigans. I have truly lived a blessed life full of ups and downs and I am looking forward to another year of wonderful milestones and memories!<br />
<br />
Today's wonderful birthday wouldn't have been as awesome without hearing their stories, and without the love I got from ALL of my friends! Here are some other great moments from my special day:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vertHo2Et8yNe7kbKVR2-Qld0qfC1P1bASbBPDN4VuVnX0tARovtHvJ1d5Yu_Ic1dp4pQHu-zNVtOlhHb2rZXBv0noWs6mIS30VQ_bayYPSj8ZKKqkh_6Vjb_DJ7bfbUajuw-elhG1Q/s1600/2010-11-03+12.47.38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vertHo2Et8yNe7kbKVR2-Qld0qfC1P1bASbBPDN4VuVnX0tARovtHvJ1d5Yu_Ic1dp4pQHu-zNVtOlhHb2rZXBv0noWs6mIS30VQ_bayYPSj8ZKKqkh_6Vjb_DJ7bfbUajuw-elhG1Q/s320/2010-11-03+12.47.38.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <b>A sweet note from one of our work volunteers, Gale</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECn48oLzTUwW5Z49IZX9Kx56tET7TlHR1zf6SpOHOXZ5NIZlTHBQ1IYPmx5pUeBD9TVWHzMegnIaccfzrCziwHrmbW9_dsWagB8HVk-zCiyiNBlmYWglz-hyJslPp2nhhJW-AQ-EePzE/s1600/2010-11-03+13.47.28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECn48oLzTUwW5Z49IZX9Kx56tET7TlHR1zf6SpOHOXZ5NIZlTHBQ1IYPmx5pUeBD9TVWHzMegnIaccfzrCziwHrmbW9_dsWagB8HVk-zCiyiNBlmYWglz-hyJslPp2nhhJW-AQ-EePzE/s320/2010-11-03+13.47.28.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b> A fruit tray that Gale got me—she knows I'm doing the game on diet, so she brought me fruit with Greek Yogurt! Then she and my boss sat down and told me all of their favorite things about me and what they appreciated about me. :) </b><br />
<br />
<br />
Then I went over to Alisa's house and she treated me to pizza from my favorite pizza joint, Pagliacci Pizza! She also baked me a cake and invited some people to come over and join us for a nice evening before my big trip—PERRRRFECT!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNB9EXCM9Q7OoNBPR_UcsZiuo7kYyrLUJBuidM54KAwUjkBte0ZrwhLpGxczUFmjBeRFVyIX6P1uvZx4a2LisfOfVxVKedU-WrbddPPV-DABT0-EPRKS6qPlyfoW8Tz8eN9egaubLacNo/s1600/2010-11-03+18.09.27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNB9EXCM9Q7OoNBPR_UcsZiuo7kYyrLUJBuidM54KAwUjkBte0ZrwhLpGxczUFmjBeRFVyIX6P1uvZx4a2LisfOfVxVKedU-WrbddPPV-DABT0-EPRKS6qPlyfoW8Tz8eN9egaubLacNo/s320/2010-11-03+18.09.27.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>My friend Maggie brought over this creative snack tray for me!</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICiHIYMvm1LBOq_LqgPWTvrjqHxlTrj9XZuh4uIBE5AJXH8GWRsD4Vr4wGp4hYzEGZxYQjm21ijTLVaqLUV6dwZ-wyfyIW1KL4DDCNiQNaS_t7cu6nOHXi2xqWxiiLPVKzPcOa7wB_xw/s1600/2010-11-03+19.01.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICiHIYMvm1LBOq_LqgPWTvrjqHxlTrj9XZuh4uIBE5AJXH8GWRsD4Vr4wGp4hYzEGZxYQjm21ijTLVaqLUV6dwZ-wyfyIW1KL4DDCNiQNaS_t7cu6nOHXi2xqWxiiLPVKzPcOa7wB_xw/s320/2010-11-03+19.01.09.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><b> This is the AMAZING cake that Alisa baked for me! It was yellow cake with chocolate frosting—my fave!! I had told her daughter that I was turning 4, so they got me a 4 candle to blow out. ;p</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqzAmW0QO4lXvP7jERrzQnkcw6j_LtsWs_bJLeyjn4I5ewVv4lE2IKeT6XBy5ANkhEaHR6aNLZgEssa8rtSxfJEvpmhrMzHTzMUeIbqFjHTEMFvHJHh3VY-YX7U6vvm2tRcDvrce26NKw/s1600/2010-11-03+20.24.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqzAmW0QO4lXvP7jERrzQnkcw6j_LtsWs_bJLeyjn4I5ewVv4lE2IKeT6XBy5ANkhEaHR6aNLZgEssa8rtSxfJEvpmhrMzHTzMUeIbqFjHTEMFvHJHh3VY-YX7U6vvm2tRcDvrce26NKw/s320/2010-11-03+20.24.15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> All my cards and my birthday balloon from the evening!</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjotns7a-hnJop0R0S7EtJTFuKdlfVl4Up-YhyIC1l2N-Du3v2v1yUvsgf0_IxMwIMHvh9Z1JKlE8HJe6jBjkQw-dOzvqj0yyI9X6KLNSziflPlsesWJ6uXKAIOJd-1-RS_7KRaGUvbkdI/s1600/2010-11-03+20.24.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjotns7a-hnJop0R0S7EtJTFuKdlfVl4Up-YhyIC1l2N-Du3v2v1yUvsgf0_IxMwIMHvh9Z1JKlE8HJe6jBjkQw-dOzvqj0yyI9X6KLNSziflPlsesWJ6uXKAIOJd-1-RS_7KRaGUvbkdI/s320/2010-11-03+20.24.52.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>And I finished the night, coming home to <br />
this sweet birthday message from my housemates!</b></div><br />
Today, I truly felt celebrated! I'm looking forward to many more years of celebrating!amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-56090024760134569132010-10-31T22:00:00.000-07:002010-10-31T22:01:57.733-07:00I've Never Seen A Witch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVTcPRN1FawZXqvom0htcH2iF5Vty3W5j8-udKIZ4VX7_5cBhImmt5tckIBCZA7lnr4CmeGKc0JlYTlEnorgs-RcwREsSLT2qcIdsJuuXa_WU78-S5Qon6_DD7Wz8FZf3qsZDyrI_4RRU/s1600/2010-10-31+16.43.04.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVTcPRN1FawZXqvom0htcH2iF5Vty3W5j8-udKIZ4VX7_5cBhImmt5tckIBCZA7lnr4CmeGKc0JlYTlEnorgs-RcwREsSLT2qcIdsJuuXa_WU78-S5Qon6_DD7Wz8FZf3qsZDyrI_4RRU/s320/2010-10-31+16.43.04.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b> <span style="color: #f6b26b;">Me & T— ready for some trick-or-treating</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>A few weeks ago, one of my youth group girls asked me to go trick-or-treating with her, and I agreed because she's so fun to hang with and I haven't been trick-or-treating in forever <i style="color: #fff2cc;">(naturally)</i>. I had so much fun trick-or-treating with T— tonight! She went as a pirate and I went as a narwhal. We got so much loot! One lady even said, "Oh I have something SPECIAL for the big kids!" and she gave each of us a huge bag of M&Ms!<br />
<br />
I loved being a narwhal this year too. It was extra fun because most of the adults were like, <span style="color: #9fc5e8;">"Are you a unicorn?"</span> and a bunch of the kids were like,<span style="color: #ffe599;"> "OH MY GOSH I LOVE YOUR COSTUME!!! I LOVE NARWHALS!!!"</span><span style="color: lime;">*</span> I got a LOT of compliments and many confused glances from people walking up and down Market Street. I'm glad I got to get out and have fun this year—I felt like I was a kid again "oohing" and "aahing" at the fun pumpkins and decorations.<br />
<br />
Here are some pics from the evening:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpKqvp24eeHE8VFFrTZv8VzNVgP7KB5MbYCCj0lzhszL9Nq-NMEvHUVn0p_yjotoaTRi_XGoNPS2vAO80WWZP7WRUe_nFVMY89jzX6bx4LyZR4KXPvzxYTAXlB4QQRFPwbUy6hSSuxYHc/s1600/2010-10-31+14.35.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpKqvp24eeHE8VFFrTZv8VzNVgP7KB5MbYCCj0lzhszL9Nq-NMEvHUVn0p_yjotoaTRi_XGoNPS2vAO80WWZP7WRUe_nFVMY89jzX6bx4LyZR4KXPvzxYTAXlB4QQRFPwbUy6hSSuxYHc/s320/2010-10-31+14.35.06.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #f6b26b; text-align: center;"><b>A legit Cake Wreck!<br />
I think the pumpkin got sick of all the kids enjoying <br />
the sweetness and wanted to try some himself.</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjydA_cLSL4_jaFm5b4fCVqSR418tereWfOFPF1cvwmWmoMMVI5nfpVzRxd-bqPhQ_1dkq2oShyphenhyphen1V4QU5f__odzCpRTporO9GyzaqDX7_RMjFkQLGRzbDQLFnUCuk9yesSIuj7DkoWfk5E/s1600/2010-10-31+15.18.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjydA_cLSL4_jaFm5b4fCVqSR418tereWfOFPF1cvwmWmoMMVI5nfpVzRxd-bqPhQ_1dkq2oShyphenhyphen1V4QU5f__odzCpRTporO9GyzaqDX7_RMjFkQLGRzbDQLFnUCuk9yesSIuj7DkoWfk5E/s320/2010-10-31+15.18.15.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="color: #f6b26b; text-align: center;"><b> A super cute family trick-or-treating on Market Street</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUaLUBmW6FlYRl5gLdsYFMrleGe61iAFLrUtpTHab4fRx2D5Mv8e0WmVW5yc0dELavrzvDmmgGY0qVI_G_l_A-P-5upXZzfj4uLeq1QPkYaPsNI_Wl9M3znDbd4Xy43EPQqzLJWSYN7s/s1600/2010-10-31+15.24.48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUaLUBmW6FlYRl5gLdsYFMrleGe61iAFLrUtpTHab4fRx2D5Mv8e0WmVW5yc0dELavrzvDmmgGY0qVI_G_l_A-P-5upXZzfj4uLeq1QPkYaPsNI_Wl9M3znDbd4Xy43EPQqzLJWSYN7s/s320/2010-10-31+15.24.48.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <b style="color: #f6b26b;">A sweet pup ready for Halloween . . . ps: it's a boy!</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2PTk7BhyUuh4A0jgX3KMMj5QRW3NMsDXCy6KU9vu-lXFDxgJj6pw-PXl3uhtf9byQ1lKpsL-KoUHnqXh9UyX_5XihG6fu8BoIe2EiZvOSFt6bLsePzKRCWQEeq2IDihEsn1mXkhMSzc/s1600/2010-10-31+17.28.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2PTk7BhyUuh4A0jgX3KMMj5QRW3NMsDXCy6KU9vu-lXFDxgJj6pw-PXl3uhtf9byQ1lKpsL-KoUHnqXh9UyX_5XihG6fu8BoIe2EiZvOSFt6bLsePzKRCWQEeq2IDihEsn1mXkhMSzc/s320/2010-10-31+17.28.52.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: #f6b26b; text-align: center;"><b> Raise your hand if you're having fun . . .</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYQs7j4YlQV1XbJkYzdg0NjXfUqur5nIZTCFFUj52LK8xksfy65oh6-EXAvQsjgD6BJkClBIRg0t0_XJqYpvQjfd0XYtHpflt8MavaQxLu2HQ1h4diyx0YKNEratfoDgswMboCW-5z00/s1600/2010-10-31+17.45.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYQs7j4YlQV1XbJkYzdg0NjXfUqur5nIZTCFFUj52LK8xksfy65oh6-EXAvQsjgD6BJkClBIRg0t0_XJqYpvQjfd0XYtHpflt8MavaQxLu2HQ1h4diyx0YKNEratfoDgswMboCW-5z00/s320/2010-10-31+17.45.12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #f6b26b;">One giant bag of M&Ms coming right up</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgFGF4BSMtd8BdVUm57M_Mm5y1XAt5kHOodB7Hzm5Rn7rrs2qp1H8vh_ETZIdgubq2NvuEgsGVk8U7h3kURMUJyxUDlYevZ66C1iOkGXj751sYwFpTi5LfOlPWKjmXA_vuVCWj63p3Go/s1600/2010-10-31+20.28.31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgFGF4BSMtd8BdVUm57M_Mm5y1XAt5kHOodB7Hzm5Rn7rrs2qp1H8vh_ETZIdgubq2NvuEgsGVk8U7h3kURMUJyxUDlYevZ66C1iOkGXj751sYwFpTi5LfOlPWKjmXA_vuVCWj63p3Go/s320/2010-10-31+20.28.31.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #f6b26b;">My loot from the evening!</b></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>And as a special treat, here is a fun video of my friend, Heather J. dressed as a kitty making me laugh. She thought I was taking a picture, but I was filming!</b></span></div><div style="color: #e69138;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxNZKF8qYsiAmrjCdo5BInlBhXOhndPU2prEL4tSqHiFKQBQSUnuOyMCN3ZtSPtWRtmCV5q0W_zGfWzeKfpmA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="color: #e69138;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #e69138;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: lime;">*caps lock & exclamation points totally part of the deal.</span><b> </b></span></div>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-88131799214359405162010-10-29T20:50:00.000-07:002010-10-29T20:54:50.793-07:00Stadium ArcadiumLast night I had dinner with the Irwins, but before we sat down at the table, we were watching the World Series. The fact that at first I didn't know which team was Texas and which one was San Francisco tells you just a little bit about my knowledge of sports. It wasn't until one of the Texas players turned around and I saw the big TEXAS across his <i style="color: #fff2cc;">(ugly, might I add)</i> jersey that I realized who was who. That said, it made me think back to the time this summer when I played softball. I mean, we're not major league YET . . . okay, or at all. But it was genuinely fun—not because I knew what was going on, because most of the time I didn't—but because it allowed me to spend time outdoors having fun with friends. Today I finally got around to editing my softball photos.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs028.snc4/33748_10150311916255486_745735485_15676666_7079952_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs028.snc4/33748_10150311916255486_745735485_15676666_7079952_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
And looking back on all the fun I had, I'd like to dedicate today's post to<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #f1c232;">TOP TEN REASONS WHY <br />
I WILL NEVER PLAY IN THE WORLD SERIES:</b></div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;">10. Odds are more likely that I'd get my cleat stuck in the toilet while changing before the game.</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;">9. I don't even own my own mitt. Legit.</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;">8. Converse shoes don't really have great traction for running bases.</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;">7. They say "batter up" and I ask what flavor they're offering.</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;">6. Baseball pants don't come in electric blue.</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;">5. They don't allow you to wear beaded necklaces in the big leagues.</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;">4. When catching a ball: "I got it! I got it! . . . SQUIRREL!"</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;">3. My idea of a pop-fly involves Thanksgiving and some old jeans.</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;">2. They chant "Be the ball," and I curl up in a ball and scream "DON'T HIT ME!"</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">1. I actually confessed to someone this season that I thought that Ken Griffey Jr. played baseball with Babe Ruth and was a baseball legend.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">. . . so yeah, all of these—plus the fact that I don't want to, have never trained for the position, and a ton of other factors. Oh well, at least I know I'm prime for a short-term softball league! And really folks, that's all I need! :)</div><div style="color: #6fa8dc; text-align: left;"><strike><br />
</strike></div><div style="color: #6fa8dc; text-align: left;"><strike><span style="font-size: large;">GO RANGERS!!</span></strike></div><div style="color: #e69138; text-align: left;"><strike><span style="font-size: large;">GO GIANTS!!</span></strike></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #93c47d; font-size: x-large;">GO WHOEVER IS GONNA WIN!!</span></div>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-75810178142532652062010-10-27T20:30:00.000-07:002010-10-27T20:30:59.934-07:00Stones Under Rushing WaterLife has been a whirlwind this past 2 weeks! The great news is that I'm doing really well on the Game On Diet with my friends. My favorite thing is trash talking the competition—sooo fun!<br />
<br />
Well here's a quick rundown on some things that have been going on lately:<br />
<div style="color: #93c47d;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #93c47d;">Thanks to the Game On Diet, I've traded in my pizza for salads and smoothies.</div><div style="color: #93c47d;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #93c47d;">I've also traded in my potato chips for these:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWc5tIb3lIYgEw3w6cuFvPchyphenhyphen6arMZV30gtU3Ua1rOAHeCPiiHquTDee9310O3Le-L7MSTo6yPLbTruIhE_lu026hvHGdhC7VYFdpxNk7muk201p5yjRURFFI71XKVtoPwkB12yiRc4Ys/s1600/shot_1287688197190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWc5tIb3lIYgEw3w6cuFvPchyphenhyphen6arMZV30gtU3Ua1rOAHeCPiiHquTDee9310O3Le-L7MSTo6yPLbTruIhE_lu026hvHGdhC7VYFdpxNk7muk201p5yjRURFFI71XKVtoPwkB12yiRc4Ys/s320/shot_1287688197190.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="color: #93c47d;">And boy are they tasty! No but really, I've always liked cucumbers and carrots and stuff like that, so it's not that big of a stretch<span style="color: yellow;">*</span> but the hard part is resisting the other things I love . . . like pizza . . . and chocolate . . . and cupcakes!</div><br />
<div style="color: #e69138;">The seasons have changed in the city and I'm loving the fall here in the city. Even with the rain, it's been really nice. I've had to layer up a little more to stay warm at work, but they're working on fixing the heater in my office, so that's a plus!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjN426xnK4J3IDTVvTTokPUvNZqjz0-eZyvUwG28IUyRAvABtNA1ewRuTL7fmUVXhwEaJ2eTIpR-kBzjwR10oVmcSUBDMjQDTfjI-nSpfZ19uTldoHpUvKO2juIPrA2N1YntybBWDtN9c/s1600/shot_1288138032920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjN426xnK4J3IDTVvTTokPUvNZqjz0-eZyvUwG28IUyRAvABtNA1ewRuTL7fmUVXhwEaJ2eTIpR-kBzjwR10oVmcSUBDMjQDTfjI-nSpfZ19uTldoHpUvKO2juIPrA2N1YntybBWDtN9c/s320/shot_1288138032920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="color: #6fa8dc;">One of my favorite parts of the Game On Diet is getting together each week to watch The Biggest Loser and Glee! I get to do my weigh-in and then watch as others work toward a better health as well. Then I get to forget about any pounds I may have gained ;) by watching Glee! Yesterday on Biggest Loser, we kept rewinding the DVR because at one point, Jillian grabbed one of the other girls by the butt and made the funniest faces. And THEN, Deb saw a cockroach crawl across the floor when they were at the table doing the elimination round! We still don't know HOW she saw it, but we rewound the DVR and sure enough, it was there!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-kJgIEwdwmhTfhvGmenHAbeJcquUmCkPpgbXH3Oe8X9iDqnkr9Bkrjlaa2gLNia5YnpX0eIUMUT2kPX9awbDySVrgj5sCJTes_CG3sFqmiHzPHKiy-2dcGHUjgjEgPAJYD6QKip_jmo/s1600/2010-10-26+22.00.44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-kJgIEwdwmhTfhvGmenHAbeJcquUmCkPpgbXH3Oe8X9iDqnkr9Bkrjlaa2gLNia5YnpX0eIUMUT2kPX9awbDySVrgj5sCJTes_CG3sFqmiHzPHKiy-2dcGHUjgjEgPAJYD6QKip_jmo/s320/2010-10-26+22.00.44.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #ffd966;">This morning when I came in to work, I got a special treat in my mailbox: NEW MUSIC to listen to! This is an album from a local Seattle band, </span><a href="http://www.myspace.com/theheadandtheheart" style="color: #ffd966;">THE HEAD AND THE HEART</a><span style="color: #ffd966;">. I spent some time this morning listening to it and I loved the mellow sound. I really appreciate that it incorporates so many different layers and instruments—ones that you don't typically hear on a mainstream candy-coated album. It was a sweet treat for the indie folk parts of my heart. My favorite song off the album is Cats and Dogs. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbm4TkunROusjxMJKPtO2Cbj-atluIMAdeMzLqrJR-B62gykWSTIN-jr3IghpQXwjkUfOEqcGqdvDH6lCAvXu9oxusCwkTaXfrTfNzGKdnK2uONiHoo4UTnjt3RHbbNtPQr8ltMN7NRZo/s1600/2010-10-27+08.58.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbm4TkunROusjxMJKPtO2Cbj-atluIMAdeMzLqrJR-B62gykWSTIN-jr3IghpQXwjkUfOEqcGqdvDH6lCAvXu9oxusCwkTaXfrTfNzGKdnK2uONiHoo4UTnjt3RHbbNtPQr8ltMN7NRZo/s320/2010-10-27+08.58.21.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;">In other great news: I have been whining and complaining (mostly to myself) about not getting to see the HBO mini-series BOARDWALK EMPIRE . . . which is a creation of Terence Winter, who made The Sopranos. But not only does it have great writing, it's backed by Scorcese, and it stars Steve Buscemi. Yes, that Steve Buscemi! And, as if that wasn't enough, the story takes place in one of my favorite eras—The Roaring 20s! Gangsters, flapper gowns, bright lights, drama to the max! But now . . . </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCS4jGxjm8bR6eQ-lTdeE_Ew6zlIHf-OE0fjLzgW24_mQmUMC-oSIiDo9-6ruyt58dPEdgQq-AZYmZ1fQUYof-Rzyw9Rgx-j9FYEGlnnT7DbQ2ShJpKUZwTRIK-Zhq1nvF2WFM9ujqsI/s1600/2010-10-26+19.11.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="82" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCS4jGxjm8bR6eQ-lTdeE_Ew6zlIHf-OE0fjLzgW24_mQmUMC-oSIiDo9-6ruyt58dPEdgQq-AZYmZ1fQUYof-Rzyw9Rgx-j9FYEGlnnT7DbQ2ShJpKUZwTRIK-Zhq1nvF2WFM9ujqsI/s320/2010-10-26+19.11.18.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.buzznet.com/media-cdn/jj1/headlines/2010/09/boardwalk-empire-renewed-second-season.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.buzznet.com/media-cdn/jj1/headlines/2010/09/boardwalk-empire-renewed-second-season.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;">I'm more than excited to start watching it—I don't even care if the season already started! The only thing is I have to wait until I'm done with the Game On Diet game, because it comes on at 10 and I have to be in bed asleep by 10 so I get my sleep points . . . and as much as I love TV, I'll turn it down for some butt-kickin' points!</span><br />
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Welp, that's pretty much it! My past few days in a nutshell. And oh what a refining process that nutshell is going through. ;)<br />
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In other news, I leave for Dallas next week for my Birthday Weekend!!! YAY! <br />
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<span style="color: yellow;">* See what I did there? ;)</span>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-57157192097657929262010-10-21T17:53:00.001-07:002010-10-21T17:53:32.299-07:00We Didn't Start The Fire<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1G8mr_DS5RfoDh0Dp5IVOS0houHmPLjHia_VPDbDkSxFviv5ZzXcf8EE8yU-iMSeZ5lQk8WDOChJjD4dcuT-INdW60rHNTXcJXPdeG5vWrhgnhRww3McM8MloPs4Z90rkDxBnclnf22M/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1G8mr_DS5RfoDh0Dp5IVOS0houHmPLjHia_VPDbDkSxFviv5ZzXcf8EE8yU-iMSeZ5lQk8WDOChJjD4dcuT-INdW60rHNTXcJXPdeG5vWrhgnhRww3McM8MloPs4Z90rkDxBnclnf22M/" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left cursor: pointer;" height="240px" width="180px" /></a><br><br>As a young girl, I was lucky enough to learn the fine art of using a hot glue gun to decorate knick knacks with fake jewels. My hot glue gun skills were rivaled only by my ability to weild a bottle of puffy paint. For the longest time, I was sure my hot glue gun skills would lay waste and never come in handy. Today, that all changed.<br /><br>It's getting a bit colder here and though I tried my best to brave the elements, I resorted to turning on the heater in my office. About 10 minutes later, our IT guy came into my office and asked, "What is that smell?!" I took in a whiff and said, "Hmm. It smells like hot glue gun. That's weird."<br /><br>So after moving my desk and searching all over my office for the origin of the smell, we discovered that a pen had fallen into the heating grate and was melting onto the panels. I think it's safe to say we were mildly worried. After turning off the heater, thus preventing more toxins burning in the air, we aired out the office and retrieved the melted pen. We then decided that until we get it fixed I should either use one of the office space heaters or invest in a triple-layer Snuggie. After hearing that temperatures are going to be dropping significantly next week, I'm contemplating moving my office to Hawaii. ;p<br /><br>I've also taken the liberty to change my office name from PUBLICATIONS OFFICE to THE FIRESIDE LOUNGE. I think I'll redecorate with jewels outlined in puffy paint. And of course, I'll apply the jewels with a hot glue gun. <br /><br>The moral of the story: There's never a dull moment in my office. Also, only you (and a combo of tweezers, tongs, and scissors) can prevent office fires<br />amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-6899779860941289632010-10-19T20:30:00.000-07:002010-10-19T20:30:00.378-07:00Angels We Have Heard On HighTonight is a BIG night! Every Tuesday night, I meet up with my friends, Cindy B., Deb, Cindy J., Heather, and Clanci to watch Glee and Biggest Loser. Well tonight, we're shaking things up!<br />
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We are starting a friendly competition between us! We're going to be challenging each other to do the <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Game-Diet-Friends-While-Shrinking/dp/0061718890/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287540273&sr=8-1" style="color: #9fc5e8;">GAME ON DIET</a></b> in teams and believe me, the trash talking has already begun in full force. When we were first working through the logistics, I learned that one of the other teams had a name and my team didn't. Well that just wouldn't do, so my teammates threw around some names and asked me to help pick one. From the list, I chose the most clever and fun one! After picking out the name, they asked me to design a logo of sorts for us to use to promote our team. Well ladies and gentlemen here it is—the logo for our team<i style="color: #fff2cc;"> (the winning team)</i>, VICTORIOUS SECRET!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvbBjaOODj_C_ONz9HJturWCBDShr-2X_R0yls_x-9ajGrxlsuMoeH7sabG-4v-VOH4oiewUEEEkPOB1yPuPLk051ZcgvT2jIAVl8cMnEyRJhgPCd4gmDzZdNZO-Mvq-BYxn3iQz5tl0/s1600/victorious+secret_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvbBjaOODj_C_ONz9HJturWCBDShr-2X_R0yls_x-9ajGrxlsuMoeH7sabG-4v-VOH4oiewUEEEkPOB1yPuPLk051ZcgvT2jIAVl8cMnEyRJhgPCd4gmDzZdNZO-Mvq-BYxn3iQz5tl0/s320/victorious+secret_small.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
That's right folks! We're the angels ready to mangle the other teams! We each have our personal fitness goals and there is a strong system of accountability built into the diet, so it's also a great way for us to stay connected and build stronger friendships too! I've already been doing some prep work to get my body to ease into the changes a little smoother and I'm super excited about doing this with my friends. I'm really looking forward to what will come from it all!amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-14452215327773209372010-10-16T09:00:00.000-07:002010-10-16T09:00:03.299-07:00Run ForwardLast night I got to go to my <span style="color: yellow;">FIRST EVER</span> professional soccer match! It was so much fun, and not just because we won, but because I was surrounded by wonderful people! The fans in the stadium were outrageous and fun but the company of the friends who invited me—<a href="http://www.reddyrealestateteam.blogspot.com/" style="color: #f6b26b;">the Reddys</a>—really made the night exciting! I got to have quality conversations and learn a lot about a sport I'd never really taken the time to pay attention to. Although I must admit, I'm not a bonafide soccer buff, I feel like I don't have to be clueless in the crowd anymore. <br />
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<div style="color: #93c47d; text-align: center;"><b>Here are some photos from the evening:</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-LC7C5Qxdda2kBfbn4CyzEUrclJYtssgbv_EPJr8S46yrqR6jHdS2SLNXO8gDVXB6tM2aZ2UU3t1gEQT4zRm8OSftudpLGhyMO9sASaCnItqz2cFEacAS2FoMskRdoOtHEYPi1fbYGU/s1600/100_8467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-LC7C5Qxdda2kBfbn4CyzEUrclJYtssgbv_EPJr8S46yrqR6jHdS2SLNXO8gDVXB6tM2aZ2UU3t1gEQT4zRm8OSftudpLGhyMO9sASaCnItqz2cFEacAS2FoMskRdoOtHEYPi1fbYGU/s320/100_8467.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQL8TSBVvSGxUpIoaNOvJgaRsD1A2DrrxUeU5Y-HGVM6GYAJKQCSt_PuoroHoEIMn534lIsAhHnJDhyphenhyphenM8JOuomxnawT3BCyDz8HoqG__O8u5AzBb0l_oJhyphenhyphen3d53BslRK2gU5HKtLz-91I/s1600/100_8469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQL8TSBVvSGxUpIoaNOvJgaRsD1A2DrrxUeU5Y-HGVM6GYAJKQCSt_PuoroHoEIMn534lIsAhHnJDhyphenhyphenM8JOuomxnawT3BCyDz8HoqG__O8u5AzBb0l_oJhyphenhyphen3d53BslRK2gU5HKtLz-91I/s320/100_8469.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3K9f0LPfPwoS3XZhzgsxz83WjEtmpBzLA5eMemTF-cJluUfVuew6ibtVUR2C9OBZygZDRAgX6gHjhqonLB9nMttTUBahlgYG8kwM_WzfmTiAUzFr60_w4mJghal9xI1h49XbpsomlOI8/s1600/100_8475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3K9f0LPfPwoS3XZhzgsxz83WjEtmpBzLA5eMemTF-cJluUfVuew6ibtVUR2C9OBZygZDRAgX6gHjhqonLB9nMttTUBahlgYG8kwM_WzfmTiAUzFr60_w4mJghal9xI1h49XbpsomlOI8/s320/100_8475.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvHZGGmgcrwfpEl_Usn7XMfFAT0AaVc78yW-tHif3dueh8vdAuN_D1GqYvJ7kQYAUwmHW20D3S8TwLMqWfKRkoc77vN4kdjUfYwgeRlB3mUyjpgsevf_yRSV1dO0EuLWqQOYqvgwbJ64/s1600/100_8477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvHZGGmgcrwfpEl_Usn7XMfFAT0AaVc78yW-tHif3dueh8vdAuN_D1GqYvJ7kQYAUwmHW20D3S8TwLMqWfKRkoc77vN4kdjUfYwgeRlB3mUyjpgsevf_yRSV1dO0EuLWqQOYqvgwbJ64/s320/100_8477.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #93c47d; font-size: x-large;"><b>G<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">O</span> S<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">O</span>U<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">N</span>D<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">E</span>R<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">S</span>!</b></span></div>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-86748233690099697112010-10-12T12:50:00.000-07:002010-10-12T13:36:35.208-07:00Single Ladies<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffd966;">Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seat belts. It's about to get a little ranty up in here.</span></span></b><br /><br />One thing that I've bragged about for the past few years is that while a lot of my friends got the <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f9cb9c;">"Why aren't you married with kids yet?"</span></b> talk from their parents, my parents had been silent on the issue. THAT was truly something I appreciated. Until a couple of weeks ago, when I got a call in which I had to explain to one of my parents that there were actually some pretty valid reasons why I'm not married yet.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;">Can I just take a moment to say, as a young (<i>yes I still consider 28 to be young</i>) single woman, how refreshing it is not to feel any pressure to be in a relationship with someone just because it's what is expected by society? I just cannot express to you so much how freeing it's been to not have anyone in my life questioning my life choices when it comes to finding the man I want to marry. I've been able to browse all by myself, on my own terms, and develop my own shopping list when it comes to finding the guy I want to devote some quality time to? It is entirely liberating. </span><br /><br />But then I got the call. Then I had to explain that first and foremost, the reason I'm not in a relationship is not because I don't WANT to be, but because the only people that have asked me out are 40 year-old creepy guys on the bus, who are not my type. And yes, I do have a type; and NO, my type is not the knight-in-shining armor, riding in on a white horse delivering cards, candy, and flowers covered in diamonds. But being a young, independent woman, I know who I am and what I like, and I know what I'm willing to work for in the guy department.<br /><br />Getting that call did not make me want to go out and find someone around the corner to get married do, but it did make me wonder why it mattered to anyone that I am still young and single. The thing that I always come back to is: "Who said that I have to be married with kids at 28? or 29 for that matter? Who says I have to have kids right out of the gate after I get married? Who says I have to have 5 kids of my own before I can feel fulfilled as a woman? Who?" Oh, I know who <i>(and I'm not saying it's my parents, because up until now, they had not joined that chorus)</i>. Those questions that are always on my mind kind of came to a head during that conversation. I think it was interesting for my parents to hear my point of view on the matter—that I don't answer to those who think it's my job as a woman to settle for "the next available someone that I can have kids with." I take relationships and marriage a little more serious than that.<br /><br />If you were to take an outside look at my friendships, you could gather that I spend a lot of time and energy pouring into those relationships. And those are just my basic friendships. Throw intimacy and a deeper, honest friendship in the mix and I'm not just going to treat it like it's a kitten in a box on the side of the road. If I think it has value, which I do, I'm going to go into it full force with 10x the attention, care, concern, and devotion that I would a basic friendship. So <i>(in my opinion)</i> for people in society to think that someone who is in their younger years and not romantically attached to someone <i>(thus giving them some semblance of "mattering" to the world around them)</i>, are somehow 'less than' or 'missing the mark,' is absolutely absurd.<br /><br />I understand that there sare some people that are married who feel like everyone else around them should be married: <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f4cccc;">We could do married people stuff together! We could talk about our husbands together! We could have kids at the same time and they can have playdates together and then we can talk about how my son will marry your daughter and we'll plan their whole lives for them!!! What could be more fun?</span></b><br /><br />I'll tell you what could be more fun. It would be more fun if married people would let time work its magic, like it did with them. It would be more fun if married people would let love progress under its personal circumstances, like it did with them. It would be SO much fun if married people would pray for my future, and that I would make wise choices. It would be SO much fun if married people would remember the pressures they felt when walking into relationships that led them to their mates, and help me work through those when the time comes.<br /><br />I believe there is power in a woman who is confident in who she is even if she not furiously planning her wedding with the person she has just moved beyond being "just friends" with. And I worry for young women who only see their worth in being attached to a man. Am I against dating someone right now, Not.At.All. In fact, I have even ventured into online dating sites because I realize that I am at a point where I'm comfortable enough with who I am that I'm open to dating. But I have to say that even if I don't find someone this weekend to go on a date with me, I'm okay. I still have plenty of life in me, and there is still PLENTY of time for me to share it with the person I'm going to marry. And I will—in due time—to someone who adds just what I need to my life, and who I'm willing to build a life together with.<br /><br />But until that time, I'm not rushing into things. I believe that love is a powerful thing and I'm not afraid to learn along the way, but I'm also not just going to pass my heart out like it's a SWAG item at a convention. It will be worked for, fought for, looked after, and cared for. I'm not afraid of love, or marriage, or kids, but I AM wary of rushing past the sweet moments that will bring fullness of life in my relationships.amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-27151529400984826402010-10-05T19:45:00.000-07:002010-10-05T20:09:10.185-07:00What's This?<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQm_rjyxTp9F0vlI-jTH8C9tTGv3-pDIK4smhvPCts_vVS0VinvdPPj5-39VFExsPyOZ6rQStAApTsbRz-pH_TdTYAGlLATdmj7YlWWtiSStGBZo2qHNbFH2k7jxusS4WUFQad7qD3Mak/s1600/2010-10-05+19.52.23.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQm_rjyxTp9F0vlI-jTH8C9tTGv3-pDIK4smhvPCts_vVS0VinvdPPj5-39VFExsPyOZ6rQStAApTsbRz-pH_TdTYAGlLATdmj7YlWWtiSStGBZo2qHNbFH2k7jxusS4WUFQad7qD3Mak/s320/2010-10-05+19.52.23.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524764729503646802" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">K— is ready for Halloween!</span></div><br />It's getting closer to that magic hour . . . Halloween. My housemates and I have already decorated our house for Halloween and we're planning our Halloween party and a trip to a haunted corn maze.<br /><br />I keep jumping the gun and suggesting we decorate for both Halloween and Christmas. <span style="color: rgb(255, 217, 102);">Ka—</span> suggested putting snowflakes on the windows, to which <span style="color: rgb(147, 196, 125);">K—</span> adamantly vetoed. I suggested we all take a trip down to California and chop down a redwood tree to decorate as our Christmas tree. <span style="color: rgb(147, 196, 125);">K—</span> seems to think we wouldn't make it out of the park, but only because she isn't aware of my childhood klepto skills. Jk. I won't steal a tree . . . unless it's one of those Reese's chocolate trees . . . okay but maybe I wouldn't steal those either.<br /><br />One thing that I have set as a goal for this month is to learn the Thriller dance. <span style="color: rgb(147, 196, 125);">K—</span> is mandating that I perform it for the house on October 30th. Wish me luck guys!<br /><br /><object height="330" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wWozpTF5HXA?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wWozpTF5HXA?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="330" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><object height="330" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sOnqjkJTMaA?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sOnqjkJTMaA?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="330" width="400"></embed></object>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-78586883184173650392010-10-01T22:40:00.000-07:002010-10-01T22:44:17.030-07:00Strip Me<div style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Take what you want<br />
Steal my pride<br />
Build me up<br />
Or cut me down to size<br />
Shut me out<br />
But I’ll just scream<br />
I'm only one voice in a million<br />
But you ain't taking that from me<br />
Oh oh no you ain't taking that from me</span></b></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I dont need a microphone</span><br style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> To say what I been thinking</span><br style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> My heart is like a loudspeaker</span><br style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Thats always on eleven</span><br style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> And if you strip me,</span><br style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Strip it all away</span><br style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> If you strip me,</span></b> <b><br style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> What would you find</span><br style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> If you strip me,</span><br style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Strip it all away</span><br style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I’m still the same</span></b><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #9fc5e8; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>- STRIP ME by Natasha Bedingfield</b></span> </div><br />
Over the course of the week, I've gotten to see two interesting documentaries. Usually I'm wary of documentaries, but the two that I saw recently did a pretty decent job and reached me on every level. After watching both of them, I walked away, not with a flight of fancy enthusiasm to conquer the world, but with a bigger quest for knowledge, research, and understanding—much of which I've already begun to incorporate into my own life.<br />
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<div style="color: #f1c232; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>WAITING FOR SUPERMAN</b></span></div>I will admit, this one was heavy-handed in its one-sided cause, but it also provided me with enough facts and resources to dig deeper to understand the underbelly of the American education system. The movie highly promotes charter schools as the premiere form of education for students and it shows a lot of pros about them, while heaping on the disdain for public schools. After seeing the film, I'm not FULLY convinced that charter schools are the complete answer, but their techniques and some other practical solutions provided in the film do shed some hope for the future of education that can be used on an at-home level. It also digs deeper into what circumstances are halting success in public schools across America. It was a hard pill for me to swallow at first, because I came from GREAT public schools and each of my teachers genuinely cared about my personal success in the realm of a quality education and positive social growth, but I could see where some of the data provided was valid. The truth I walked away with is that as a community, much can be done to help push education forward—through community involvement, individual awareness of the issue at hand, and by parents understanding that they DO have options and can make daily decisions to propel their child's academic level, there is hope for the future of America. <br />
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Here is a clip from the movie:<br />
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<script src="http://player.ooyala.com/player.js?autoplay=0&embedCode=RxbW1xMTrTa3DvFQPclnw20tb6YAgiLn&deepLinkEmbedCode=RxbW1xMTrTa3DvFQPclnw20tb6YAgiLn">
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<div style="color: #6aa84f; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">FREAKONOMICS</span></b></div> This movie was definitely one that left me with my world turned on its side. There was a lot of information and intrigue to question various angles of basic life assumptions that I had never thought to question. It's broken down into four parts, each with their own focus. While these segments were not long enough to really provide a thorough conclusion about their individual topics, it provided enough information for me to process the data and come to my own conclusions about each topic, which I appreciated.<br />
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This was the first 3 minutes of the film. This part wasn't really what intrigued me, as much as it was the segment about all the tips and tricks that parents buy into to be "successful" parents who raise their kids to be "the best of the best." The segment on observations of the decrease in crime rates also got me to think about things from a different angle.<br />
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I'm not saying necessarily that you should RUSH out to the theaters to see these documentaries because they will BLOW YOUR MIND, but they are worth the watch on Netflix. They bring awareness and provoke thought. I feel that if we would spend more time thinking about such things and how we can challenge our own viewpoint of the things that are taught to us <span style="color: lime; font-size: x-small;"><i>(and which we sometimes take at face value)</i></span>, as opposed to thinking about surface issues or how to get the next big awesome thing that will seemingly enhance our lives, then we'll be doing our communities and our own families a great service.amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998951702832751021.post-58057237887371096012010-09-29T12:10:00.000-07:002010-09-29T12:10:00.299-07:00A Place Near The CityI finally got around to scanning some of my recent photos from my Diana Mini! I'm definitely seeing some improvement, as well as more areas to grow in. That said, I really love these recent shots. Enjoy!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmyG4tdCuSpB249prJBonG5-2g_zqOWHmD3HWbyU3SPhzZ0bx0uvrcAURsZKCqi6fpH-Fxm1pASmLvNTw7nI8l-WsTSGFUvgvl_oVQXw-yU0xr8Hkj28LayUFHGsc7ogT_54EDHW9N4k/s1600/arboretum+overlap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmyG4tdCuSpB249prJBonG5-2g_zqOWHmD3HWbyU3SPhzZ0bx0uvrcAURsZKCqi6fpH-Fxm1pASmLvNTw7nI8l-WsTSGFUvgvl_oVQXw-yU0xr8Hkj28LayUFHGsc7ogT_54EDHW9N4k/s320/arboretum+overlap.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> <b>Washington Park Arboretum Visitor Center </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>with a double exposure overlap of red berries</b></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOfgL4cXDtiyYqWquXFRpWU3UnkbogLuy5c_uDmQoJ3qRlTlGogSpCXTI8tzSwEPfhicsr4rOmoG8ijEidDDcB4Il00TEgp3TsPnkDKxoEFHbHh7e-HvGDmnikAxr2_nuxXOnCm2Loq8o/s1600/card+leaf+overlap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOfgL4cXDtiyYqWquXFRpWU3UnkbogLuy5c_uDmQoJ3qRlTlGogSpCXTI8tzSwEPfhicsr4rOmoG8ijEidDDcB4Il00TEgp3TsPnkDKxoEFHbHh7e-HvGDmnikAxr2_nuxXOnCm2Loq8o/s320/card+leaf+overlap.jpg" width="316" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> <b>Bug eaten leaves with a double exposure </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>overlap of a card from Plain Jane's Cards</b></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqC4nLicmmU9Z9sky-tWWKMMX3-uKt7vdlD5YMW14rN1mUCkVUFa2TAbIhRASFxxWTLa4m7r4RXxYcgTFTjYwyjWgHc3mOuqQPGNLeqS5rOKhxA7c1yOvMY5eKBZGknzHn6DxRMqoYGJc/s1600/Martinez,+Amand%E2%80%94elliot+bay+books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqC4nLicmmU9Z9sky-tWWKMMX3-uKt7vdlD5YMW14rN1mUCkVUFa2TAbIhRASFxxWTLa4m7r4RXxYcgTFTjYwyjWgHc3mOuqQPGNLeqS5rOKhxA7c1yOvMY5eKBZGknzHn6DxRMqoYGJc/s320/Martinez,+Amand%E2%80%94elliot+bay+books.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Elliot Bay Bookstore, Capitol Hill, Seattle </b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY6YUzQP0Sxd7auV-TA631gnrAFniSb8Iz44y2RGKs8csMPHOuBWHvxLKZhqmIvXaJMLxE4UatjwT7ZxH2AP9xCEpvcp5DWX-b8GeZB9O1gc3e3QzWrVv7PbK4bkCWopAID0DptB60WDI/s1600/Martinez,+Amanda-analog+pigeon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY6YUzQP0Sxd7auV-TA631gnrAFniSb8Iz44y2RGKs8csMPHOuBWHvxLKZhqmIvXaJMLxE4UatjwT7ZxH2AP9xCEpvcp5DWX-b8GeZB9O1gc3e3QzWrVv7PbK4bkCWopAID0DptB60WDI/s320/Martinez,+Amanda-analog+pigeon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <b>Alley near Pike Place Market, Seattle</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAir8VYU6iyjGMhguz9z_dfqaTTwq22TNbt6h-wTAUk9imr_beVu4MziwARMx2JgcipKINgE_Is1Lk155bilIz9k9Mjz6101VLq8RQGqtOiGHuz5yTmnySSa3XfI8J1eRaQwOUIQr48yg/s1600/Martinez,+Amanda%E2%80%94elliot+bay+dog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAir8VYU6iyjGMhguz9z_dfqaTTwq22TNbt6h-wTAUk9imr_beVu4MziwARMx2JgcipKINgE_Is1Lk155bilIz9k9Mjz6101VLq8RQGqtOiGHuz5yTmnySSa3XfI8J1eRaQwOUIQr48yg/s320/Martinez,+Amanda%E2%80%94elliot+bay+dog.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Elliot Bay Bookstore, Capitol Hill, Seattle</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9z8k2e-qTakT2vLWcVBqVxoOROQmj_MAeXe82GzjSdaDYnShAFELRbRPuQdLa6_kyZfqS9JX5IJ-iBxmwuVlyGUJoctiiBjvIV39euO-MEx5Y5QfEmYi0Phh215Sn_oL-SMnqTuc_m8/s1600/Martinez,+Amanda%E2%80%94fire+hydrant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9z8k2e-qTakT2vLWcVBqVxoOROQmj_MAeXe82GzjSdaDYnShAFELRbRPuQdLa6_kyZfqS9JX5IJ-iBxmwuVlyGUJoctiiBjvIV39euO-MEx5Y5QfEmYi0Phh215Sn_oL-SMnqTuc_m8/s320/Martinez,+Amanda%E2%80%94fire+hydrant.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <b>Fire hydrant near my house</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonQCSc5kRpoMQK6Swumd04TOnUnFlmbnjGhJDA-vdF7YUW6flvgjC0_ZuG57GnLyWp21MdqgExcWomjmA9OTuAsEUgeG0tn8NDwAT9zPZihHwB3I_hqFndsD2TM-2DcPCAjIb_IW7TUo/s1600/Martinez,+Amanda%E2%80%94tall+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonQCSc5kRpoMQK6Swumd04TOnUnFlmbnjGhJDA-vdF7YUW6flvgjC0_ZuG57GnLyWp21MdqgExcWomjmA9OTuAsEUgeG0tn8NDwAT9zPZihHwB3I_hqFndsD2TM-2DcPCAjIb_IW7TUo/s320/Martinez,+Amanda%E2%80%94tall+tree.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <b>Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTkPNeD7V2HC2zZOBllQx7tgsl3tQ1wXj6hagVh-bb9TIXX0Hggkb20CrzPuP46i-I4z18gVm2lIwNccjUONfTNnJ8ispNBaD_ZHg88m8qlEfuAGY41QWaJjtv4QwAz49PKbAyjoqaLYk/s1600/Martinez,+Amandared+leaf+overlap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTkPNeD7V2HC2zZOBllQx7tgsl3tQ1wXj6hagVh-bb9TIXX0Hggkb20CrzPuP46i-I4z18gVm2lIwNccjUONfTNnJ8ispNBaD_ZHg88m8qlEfuAGY41QWaJjtv4QwAz49PKbAyjoqaLYk/s320/Martinez,+Amandared+leaf+overlap.jpg" width="307" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Red leaves near Washington Park, Arboretum, Seattle </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>with an overlap of the Arboretum Visitor Center overhang</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5GkSIc2IyhEfWHtANRdtnYrvzvYCIGTqiX42FlP_M3ED69wplRz-S2qaN9xRalHc9py0_WseK_xU28tvcds9sFPA9uWOVnVWaN74OUxWihb2XaFLbVS9ec9FPhLUfZaimhXJqBFmRlT0/s1600/Martinez,+Amanda%E2%80%94wood+lines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5GkSIc2IyhEfWHtANRdtnYrvzvYCIGTqiX42FlP_M3ED69wplRz-S2qaN9xRalHc9py0_WseK_xU28tvcds9sFPA9uWOVnVWaN74OUxWihb2XaFLbVS9ec9FPhLUfZaimhXJqBFmRlT0/s320/Martinez,+Amanda%E2%80%94wood+lines.jpg" width="169" /></a></div><b>Washington Park Arboretum Visitor Center overhang</b></div>amo (amanda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/14434252590147804539noreply@blogger.com0