NorCal

Two times in two weekends. Yes. I've traversed the state of California, making an exodus from Santa Barbara to Northern California. Not once, but twice.

Trip Numero Uno.

Objective: Connect with Spencer whilst he was on school trip to San Francisco/Carmel/Monterey; while at the same time visiting Gramps and Grammy.

Result: eesh. We did it, but barely.

Snaps to: Timothy W. Erickson for coming with me on this wild goose chase; San Luis Obispo, for providing us with two meals; and the good graces of a pump up mattress.

Trip Numero Dos:

Objective: Genocide Awareness Project at Cal State Berkeley

Result: We started a riot, caused lots of controversy, and hopefully changed some minds about whether or not abortion is right.

Snaps to: The Doubletree in Berkeley (comfy bed!!), Verité Studios, and espresso.

musings

Psalm 3:5 "I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me."

Psalm 5:3 "In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation."

Two excellent verses, are they not? Probably because the references are the inverse of one another...but perhaps there's more....

The first one is significant to me because it reaffirms just how dependent we are, or should be, on Christ. He IS the reason for our waking, breathing...our very existence. He wants us to wholly depend on Him for all things (This is within the voice of practicality. I'm probably not going to consult the Lord when I'm trying to figure out which brand of toilet paper has the best price point, because you better believe I'm getting the cheapest!) But it's a reminder to try and live our lives through the filter of God. To evaluate every decision based of off our faith; and to realize that nothing is possible without Christ.

I like the second verse because it's good to remember that we actually are praying to a God who listens, hears, and responds. Obviously, this isn't always what we anticipate His response might look like---but there is a response, nonetheless. We can literally, lay our requests at the Lord's feet, and wait in expectation for him to respond. That can be quite a burden lifted off our shoulders.

2nd post in three days?

Yes. It’s true. I’m attempting to become better at updating zee blog. Why? Probably because I’m really important, I have so many followers, people need to know what I’m up to...and let’s just face it--lives depend on this blog. Exempli gratia, post numero DOS en trois jours.

First things first. Shoutout to the Denver Bronco’s. 5-0. Solid performance Kyle Orton. I’m thinking the special teams needs a smidgeon of work, however (um.....can we NOT give the other team THREE CHANCES to get a first down after we’ve held them off? eesh) And I suppose, since I’m feeling spirited, I’ll give the Rockies some credit as well. Playoffs two times in the last three years? That’s somewhat impressive after their drought of, oh, about a MILLION years without so much as tasting the playoff experience. Buffs...not so hot. Although I’m faithfully wearing a jersey every Saturday.

I will now take this opportunity to comment on the sheer ridiculouslity of Santa Barbarians. The date is October 11. The temperature is 62 degrees. OBVIOUSLY this calls for full-on winter garb. I’m talking mittens, scarves, wool coats, winter hats, leggings...and I wouldn’t be surprised if people have foot warmers in their knee high boots. Ok, YES, I know you just spent 300.00 on a coat that is far to warm for this environment. By all means, get some use out of that overpriced piece of wool. While it may exemplify this season’s latest trends, you and I both know that you’re sweating like a pig in there, and just pretending that you’re still cold (as you pull on your trendy fingerless mittens that serve absolutely no purpose while you shop for yet more useless winter garb). To cut the Saint Barby’s some slack, many of them have never been exposed to environments that drop below 45 degrees. However, knowing that almost everywhere else in the world gets colder than it does in Santa Barbara, California, I can’t help but think all this winter clothing is just plain silly.

While I’m on the topic of clothing, I’d just like to point out one more fashion woops that basically drives me crazy. Belt-buckles that spell words. In my opinion, there is a lot going wrong with these babies. First of all, they usually say ridiculous things like “cutie,” or “hot.” Second, they draw attention to an area of the body that is somewhat personal. Call me crazy, but I don’t think I would want someone staring at my crotch until they figured out that my belt spelled “stop looking at my crotch.” Maybe I’m the only one this fashion trend bothers. Maybe because I’m missing the social buffer that says, “hey, someone just walked by with an ugly belt that spelled something, but don’t stare”--because I can’t let it go. You’d better believe I’m going to follow that person until I know what statement they’re trying to make with the apparatus they use to keep their pants up.

That said, I feel as if I can move on to bigger and better posts. Por ejemplo. Today I was domestic. I made (1) applesauce, AND (2) chili.

1. For some reason, I don‘t like applesauce from the store, and I only like it if it’s warm. So it’s just easier for me to make. Aaaaaaand it makes the house smell SOOOOO good. It’s also very autumnal....
2. CHILI! It’s football food. And it’s nice and warm--a perfect compliment to a gray day. My first attempt at Kapsie’s usual make---and I’d like to think I represented the recipe quite well. Of course, I was missing several key ingredients, but I’m a master improviser. Let’s just saw I had no complaints.

As a conclusion to my endless and pointless babble, I will say that I’m an epic fail as a member of my book club. We are reading East of Eden, by John Steinbeck. And when I say “we,” I mean everyone but myself. I successfully finished the first chapter the other night. (hooray!) I’m supposed to be on Chapter 30. I don’t know what’s come over me. I’m typically such a good reader--I need to get my tooshie in gear. I know, I should probably just stop blogging.

PSYCH.

As if I would desert all of my avid readers at the drop of a hat. I don’t think so.

I've discovered Seattle

Yes. It's true. For many a year I've had the desire to travel to the Pacific Northwest. I knew I would love it. It's got everything I desire in a state--the outdoorsy feel, seasons, overcast skies, sunshine, a fun downtown area, and friendly people! (I don't feel the need to mention the fact that Seattle is a coffee obsessed city, lest people assume that the only reason I enjoyed my stay was the fact that I had the most AMAZING ristretto cappacino at Café Vivace: http://www.espressovivace.com/retail.html . Much less impressed was I at the recent Starbucks attempt toward instant coffee, Via. Let me just say that I took the "taste" challenge about 5 times--don't judge me--and I was very much able to tell which coffee was instant. Good idea Starbucks, bad implementation. I would consider myself happy, however, because through the tasting experience I now have FIVE free drip coffee's at the bucks.

I should probably just keep talking about Starbucks. Because, this past weekend, I experienced my MECCA. I made the pilgrimage all the way to Seattle to go to the FIRST EVER STARBUCKS!! It was great. Everything I imagined it would be. I engaged the barista in some friendly dialogue, to try and extend my welcome in the birthplace of awesomeness, and discovered that the original Starbs is the only one that still pulls their espresso by hand. And yes, I could taste the difference. Added to the wonder, was the sensational slap base that was being played outside the front door.

Pikes Place market is great. They have men throwing fish around, plenty of farmers market vendors who give you free food (the apples....AWESOME), the home of the best tea in the U.S.A., and donuts. Theses donuts are a local phenomenon apparently. It's this tiny little vendor that makes baby donuts. The whole experience was more entertaining than anything, methinks. If you can, picture a man with longish hair, glued in such a way that parts of it are sticking out at all sorts of acute and obtuse angles to his head. In addition, he's wearing cutoff jeans with long, striped socks in yellow and green. His signature move is to throw a donut in the air, poof open the bag, and have it land perfectly on a pillow of powdered sugar. At point of landing, the tongs he's been using spin around his left hand in a nifty, and oh-so-impressive flourish. At one point, Maddie and I remarked that he had a natural gift for the delicate niche of donut kiosks. His reply, "I've only dropped one donut. In 2005. It was a bad year for me. It was also the year my entire family died in a bobsled accident." Now...a few things here. 1) I wasn't sure if he was serious, so I was hesitant to laugh. 2) He'd been working at the donut kiosk since 2005?! Hindsight says, I definitely recommend (cinnamon sugar is best!). Please view. http://www.seattlepi.com/photos/dailydozen/

I feel at this point I should bring up the Seattle favorite, Pho. It's pronounced Fa (or Fuh). Like the beginning of a very bad word. Apparently, it's a meal you don't want to miss whilst in the city. It's a Vietnamese type of soup, with chicken and noods (as in noodles). You put bean sprouts and basil on top to flavor, and then squeeze in a little lime juice to make it kick. On our most intense day of Seattle immersion (yes, the day we experienced the donuts) we decided to have a late lunch of Pho. DELICIOUS!! I'm convinced that part of the reason it tastes so good is because it's a big, steaming, bowl of wonderful that gets served to you when you come in from the chilliness outside. At least, this was my experience with Pho. (KAPSIE--we need to go to Pho Saigon when I'm in CO!!)

Other highlights of Seattle include: The Seattle Public Library (the woooonder!); Discovery Park (I love the Puget Sound, and no, I didn't get to see Free Willy, or any orca's for that matter); Queen Anne (huzzah!); bookstores galore (I could meander for days and days and days in these beauties); thrift and vintage stores (legit ones!); Fremont (Hello Thai food); Coffee (and more coffee, and them some additional coffee); Cary Park (the skyline of Seattle is beautiful); hanging out with Annie! (hooooray!); Pioneer Square (classy).

All this to say, I'm in love. I need to go back. Soon.