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 :)