merry christmas everyone!

Yay, for Christmas! I've been home about a week now, after a nice visit to Nashville...hopefully you're enjoying yourself, and eating lots of cookies :) I am!!

Now this weekend we're off to Chicago to visit my mom's family (cousins and babies and more cousins!). Not sure what New Year's plans I'll make...but then I'll spend a week around Iowa with different friends, until my brother comes home with his girlfriend, Anne, on the 9th! Then I'm thinking maybe another trip to the Chicago area?!...and soon enough back to Seattle!

For 2009 I've applied for a position with the Northwest Service Academy, to be a Trail Crew Leader. I am anxious to hear back about that...it would start Feb. 23 with 3 months of training, then 6 months with a crew doing just trail work :) I'll keep you updated on that.....for now, some holiday pictures!

I cried...

So the time has come...ECI 2008 has officially come to a close...we just returned from our final retreat. I managed to keep my emotions in check surprisingly well! Last week on Thursday, our final field day, there was plentiful joy and excitement...dancing and music in the parking lot, such a great feeling :) But then after our final circle up back at EarthCorps this afternoon, I got pretty sad. I definitely cried driving away....Still too emotional to write much about it, but I thought I'd pull some quotes for you from my blog entries during the very FIRST week I spent with EarthCorps...I was so excited then, and my feelings really haven't changed:

"Oh my goodness, I am so excited!! The past few weeks had been kind of strange, because I was in this new place, with nothing really to do....but after my first day of work I am reminded of exactly why I am here!! And I’m even more thrilled than I was before about this coming year...."

"I could cry...I’m that happy...I’m hoping this isn’t just a dream I’ve been living the past few weeks...."

"So when you add their mission, with their programs, the goal is to produce strong communities, healthy habitats, and young leaders. That’s the little presentation we got! And as much as I’ve been hearing and reading these words for the past few months, I’m really starting to see and understand what an incredibly awesome thing I get to become part of...."

"Oh, I could go on and on....the more I learn about these new concepts of restoration, the more addicting it becomes! Knowing we CAN make the changes needed to keep our world sustainable, one piece of land at a time. I did not realize, but the largest problem right now is actually non-native invasive plants. So much to learn....AGH! What fun :)"

"Work is still amazing! I love my crew, and my crew leaders. And the work is fun, for so many reasons. I love using my hands, and working hard, as well as learning about environmental problems, and what we’re doing to correct them best we can..."

"Ahhhhhhh. It’s such hard work, but I love it! As much as it hurts :) My hands are caked in mud from the minute work starts, and it’s a constant struggle to stay the right temperature.....going from freezing in the mornings, to HOT in the afternoons, then cold again...."

Well, you get the idea :) My feelings have not changed, 10.5 months later. It's been amazing....and I refuse to accept that it's over, plain and simple...

I'm OLD!! :)

Hello everyone!! Happy December!...I want to say a HUGE thank you to all my dear friends and family for for celebrating with me on my birthday! I had a incredible day, filled with laughter, singing, LOTS of cake, ice cream, phone calls, messages...everything a birthday ought to have! Work was a lot of fun, we took many cake breaks between planting several hundred plants (who-hooo!) and sang all day...then after work some coworkers joined me for ice cream at my favorite place in town, then we went out for a night of SWING DANCING!! It was just perfect....so much fun :) I am a happy, happy, lucky girl...



Now Sunday I'll spend packing up and moving out of my room, then 3 days at EC final retreat, then a sleepover with my friends, and I'm off to Nashville on Thursday!...love love love!!

pictures...

Last week of work for me!! Lots going on :) Here are some pics from Thanksgiving...Love to all!!!

Happy, happy!

So....all is well in my Seattle world! (YAY OBAMA!!!!!!!) Except for the cold/cough I've had for over 3 weeks now, ugh. Cough. Cough. Cough! Cough. Been enjoying the past few weeks at work though, despite the constant rain we've had...perhaps because I know my days of waking up at 6 am are nearing their end, YAY :) Lots of volunteer events this month, and lots of planting trees!

Gonna be some fun/exciting/new/mysterious days ahead...here's kinda what my next few months will look like:

• Thanksgiving...Mom comes to Seattle!! We've planned a trip to the Olympic Peninsula, to drive to the very NW tip of the state, and stay in a cottage on the water. Darn :)

• Dec. 1: FINAL WEEK OF FIELD WORK!!! Wow. I can't believe how time flies...(also gonna be moving in with my coworkers Gina and Isabelle for this week, so I don't have to pay December rent while I'm gone most of the month!)

(Dec. 3 I turn 26! SCARY! lol)

• Dec. 8: Last week of EarthCorps!! This will be spent on retreat, with the whole ECI gang...relaxing, talents show!, saying goodbye :( Trying to wrap our minds around this amazing year together...final day, Dec. 10

• Not wasting any time, Dec. 11 vacation begins!! I'm flying to Nashville for a week of fun with my friends and old coworkers! I've also planned to rent a car for the weekend I'm there and drive to the mountains for some hiking...

• Dec. 17: Flying to Chicago (because it's so much cheaper!) to enjoy a couple hours with my college buddy Nick!, until my train home. We're gonna squeeze in there some pizza, downtown exploring, and possible Christmas tree finding :) Yay Christmas!

• Dec. 18-Jan. ??: Home sweet home!! I'll probably spend the week before Christmas helping out at the old candy shop, Knoke's :) ...then a trip to Chicago the weekend after Christmas, to be with my Mom's family, and the new babies!!...I love this time of year, and can't wait for the snow :) Also love getting to see my old high school friends while they're all back for the holidays as well :) Not sure how long I'll stick around for, maybe early January, maybe mid-January??

• January 2009: Eventually fly back to Seattle, get bored after probably 2 days of joblessness, and then start figuring out what to do with myself. I'll stay out West-ish atleast for a few more months, but possibly for another year??...who knows!

Now for some pictures from the past few weeks....enjoy! See most of you soon?!?!?!? :) LOVE!

Halloween party! I was sugar...
you can't see it in this picture, but I wore a little sign
with the pink and blue C&H logo...
nobody really got it though, ha ha :)

day of hiking around Alpine Lakes
with my friend from high school, Laura...

Gorgeous sunrise the other day,
from my bedroom window, love the views!!!

DAD + ICE CREAM!

So last week my dad successfully made his way to Seattle, for Take 2 of his Pacific Northwest adventure :) He flew in late Friday night, and we hit the road the next morning to visit Roslyn, WA (aka Cicely, AK!) It was a beautiful, and colorful drive through the Cascades...we ate lunch at The Brick, then made our way back through some classic Seattle traffic. That evening I left my dad to meet with some old friends while I attended EC's annual fundraising auction! Great to see everyone all dolled up, and we raised $107,000!! WOW.


The next morning dad and I once again hit the road, to Astoria, WA (the same little town I visited in September to see Free Willy, lol) but we kept driving south on the coastal highway 101. It was a wonderful drive, full of plenty of ice cream stops and picture taking along the coast. Turned into about a 10 hour drive, lol, and we finally made it to our friend's beach cottage just after dark. Spent a great night listening to the ocean waves, a quick morning stroll on the beach, then back in the car heading inland....we made it to Eugene, OR just after lunch on Monday! I hadn't been back since I was maybe 10, but dad has basically been living there since we moved away back in 1988...in his head that is :) There was no shortage of "you used to stand on this corner", "this is where you stepped on a slug"...etc.etc.....ETC :) What a cute town it is!! And the fall colors were at their absolute best. So pleasant. For the afternoon I hiked Spencer's Butte, while my dad visited a favorite music shop :)





We had dessert that evening with a group of my parent's old friends (the parents of all my preschool pals). And then stayed the night in the beautiful home of my brother's kindergarden teacher, Elga Brown. After a quick buzz around the UO campus the next morning, we were on the road again! We made a pit stop in Portland for some amazing ice cream (Elga's daughter owns a shop downtown!) I had to work the next day, but dad once again entertained himself with an old friend, Rosanne Olson. For his last evening in town we had Thai food, followed by my favorite ice cream in Seattle: salted carmel, from Molly Moons. YUM!

My time with EC is nearly over, and to be honest I'm really confused as to what will come next....ideas are welcome :)

20 days...

So, I just counted my field days left with EarthCorps...only 20!! It's crazy to think this experience is almost over. There's still time, but the end is in sight. Crazy...


Still contemplating what to do next! For now it looks like I'll be flying to Nashville for a MUCH ANTICIPATED visit with all my friends there in December, and then flying home for Christmas. After a few weeks at home it'll be back to Seattle, hopefully with the perfect job waiting for me :) lol

We'll see about my "plans"... in the mean here are some pics from the past few weeks....went on a great hike up Bandera Mountain, the steepest I've ever done! Phew, it was a workout. And then last week we took an overnight field trip to the Yakama Nation Reservation, on the east side of the mountains, to learn about their restoration techniques....very interesting! As you can see, it's a completely different landscape out there! Also here is a pic of the fall colors out my bedroom window, and then the first shot on this post is from work after a day in the mud and rain! It's planting season again :)



In just a few hours I'm picking up my dad from the airport!! He'll be here for almost a week...we plan to visit Roslyn, WA (aka Northern Exposure's Cicely, AK!) as well as take a trip down memory lane in Oregon....fun! Tomorrow night is EarthCorps annual fundraising auction, so I'm also excited for that. Getting to see everyone dressed up and sparkling! This means lots of fun picture to come on my next post! PEACE!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

DESIGNS!

Okay, so 2 posts in one night...WOAH! Just thought that it might be fun to show you some of the design projects I've been working on this past year. Yes, that's right, I haven't given up on the ole past time yet :)

logo for the Iowa Egg Council, fall golf event

one of many recipe cards for the Iowa Egg Council

sticker illustrations for the Iowa Egg Council
blog header (and logo) for my amazing photographer friends, Zach and Jody Gray

ad for CYMT.org

t-shirt for the Krista Foundation (not the final design, but my favorite one!)

post card project for the Krista Foundation

Wow, it's October....

I love Fall. LOVE IT! Chilly weather, and all the fun holidays around the corner...my favorite time of year indeed! And this time around it seems extra special, because it's my final 2 months at EarthCorps. There is still so much to do with my friends out here: hiking, pulling weeds, eating thai food! And at the same time I've got to start looking ahead to what might be my next adventure???? No clue what, when , or where, but it's exciting to consider all the options....I'll admit several ideas include ALASKA! ha ha :)

So this was my first week back at work after a lovely 10 day vacation!! I did a magical tour of the midwest...and here are some pictures to prove it! I got to see so many of my favorite people and places...

meet abby jane!!

me, abby and cousin maggie :)

kitty-cat, eli face...

my friends john and liz, in good ole iowa....

lake superior!!

family love!!

...and a few pics from liz's july wedding, from the professional photo people :)

So October will be a good/busy month...lots of volunteer events for work...EC's big, annual auction...my dad is visiting! (and we'll make our way down to Eugene)...and I'll climb a few mountains in there, too :) Hope YOU are doing well, and enjoying the weather! LOVE!