* THE STACE NEEDLE *

2012-01-09T23:54:00.000-08:00

Best of 2011

1- Cayamo Cruise
2- Time with Nieces and Nephews
3- Girls Camp Director
4- Family "reunion" birthday
5- Music Mania
6- Signing my first poster (hopefully not last ;D)
7- Turning 30
8- Waterski Trip in Miami
9- Snow Skiing
10 - Disneyland x 2

Music Strategy: Year One

2011-10-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

This is a post of reflection. I hope you're in the mood.

Does anyone remember this post (Music Strategy - Week 1)? I wrote it one year ago. I was struggling to find any motivation with music. I had 6 or so songs that I liked playing live and Steph and I had played one show (10 months prior). I had the dream, but no direction.

That's when I ran into Josh Ritter's blog about Making a Life in Music. He suggested I write down my goals and make a plan on how to get there. One of my goals was to play an open mic every week, while others included playing a show at venues like the Skylark & Rendezvous, finding artist friends to co-bill with, and starting my first solo album.

Against my better judgement I decided to post about my weeks at open mic. I was sure the whole plan would peter out, and my postings did (sorry), but the open mics and the next steps didn't! I found that not only was a weekly open mic possible, but I started making friends and at one point was meeting up with them to do 2 or 3 open mics a week. I am still in touch with many of my open mic friends and cherish those relationships.

Around February, Steph and I decided it was time to take our show on the road. Well, not really. We just wanted to gig. And gig we did. We played tons of fun shows between May and August and we had a blast doing it. Every step along the way we met new musicians with similar aspirations and learned something from each of them.

One of my favorite things about our adventure so far has been the support we've received. Our first two shows basically "sold out" and people from all aspects of our lives came out to hear us play. Both my mom and dad made it to different shows. Friends from out of town, friends from work, people I met playing around town. Just an outpouring of love and support.

Fast forward to now, and we're in the process of making an album, as stated here. We have 9 new songs (7 that will be on the record). We've slowed down with gigging so we can keep our day jobs and still do recording sessions, but I've/we've played three open mics this month. We found the break from playing live refreshing, but short-lived. We couldn't stay away. :)

I've also started taking voice lessons and as a part of that process, I have to bring in new goals. When I have them written out, I'll post my Music Strategy: Year Two Plan. Thanks for allowing me to reflect and for all of the love and support. Here's to many more songs and shows!

Milestones

2011-10-25T00:05:00.000-07:00

Friday was a big day for me for 2 reasons (wish I could have found a mile sign with a 2).

Sue Carr: my new vocal coach extraordinaire, taught me how to yodel.
Roo: My crossfit coach, taught me how to do pull-ups with a consecutive kip.

I don't know if these mean anything to anyone, but it's been a while since I've been taught how to do something I didn't think I could do, twice in the same day. And, both of these skills required concentrating really hard and doing multiple small tasks at the same time.

Oh hey, I have a 3rd thing!

3. I managed a household for 4 days. My friend had me kidsit her three awesome kids and I played "working mom" while picking kids up from the bus stop and taking them to symphony, supervising the viewing of many classic Disney films, holding family scripture study/prayer, and even making lunches. Good news: the house didn't burn down and as far as I know, the kids aren't scarred for life. Woot!

Record Time

2011-10-24T23:48:00.000-07:00

Guys, you'll never believe what I've been doing. Well, lots of things, I've been doing lots of things. In fact, lately I've been one of those people who thinks they are busier than everyone else. Don't you hate those people? But really, I'm busier than you. ;) jkeb (eb = everybody)

So, the title of this post pretty much gives it away. Steph and I have been hittin' the studio! After 4 preproduction planning sessions, I had my first day of recording on Saturday (22nd). I'm using the Empty Sea Studio and have hired Michael Connolly to record and produce the album. He is brill, so I am excited about the end product, if we ever get there. Guys, recording takes a lot of time and some tears. I haven't full on cried yet, but it will come.

We've mainly been laying down guitar tracks which puts a ton of pressure on me. I was really stressed out about our timeline after our 8 hour session on Saturday, but after a healthy dose of Zeeks pizza this evening, we found our groove and made major progress.

So far I have learned:

that it's handy to have someone who plays every instrument at your disposal
I too can get better at things
I'm not the only one who likes my music
I should never sing the song Fly two or more times in a row
Steph and Michael think I'm a dork, but have not yet used the term diva in reference to me. Success.

This is our spreadsheet of tasks after I finished the guitar track on our first song. Green means done. Lots to go!! I'll do my best to keep you posted and promise to take a camera to a few of the sessions for posterity.

Round 4: A new decade

2011-08-31T00:14:00.000-07:00

I told my friend that I was going to spend the last hours of my 20's blogging about becoming 30. But now that I'm writing the post I'm just so tired. Is this what 30 is like?

I made a goal, about 2 months ago, to go to bed before midnight 30 time before I turn 30. When I had a score of 6 at day 20 I thought I'd never make it. And honestly I lost count, but I'm pretty sure I may have hit a solid 20 or so. Funny thing is, the closer I got to 30, the easier it was to go to bed earlier. As if my body was experiencing a coming of age. (ha. I feel like that term is not appropriate for my intended meaining. perhaps the last time I heard it was in 4th grade in the lunch room of Uintah Elementary at a special program about "growing up." Anywho..)

My 20's have been everything the 20's should be. Exciting, fun, adventurous, heartbreaking, scary, and quite educational. A friend told me that she was happy to be done with her 20's because she had experienced a few too many learning moments during those years. Touche. Though I'd never take them back.

I'm not gonna lie, 30 feels awesome! My body works better than it ever has, my brain - well it's about the same (forgetful), my music has flourished and become a world of it's own, my family is in a great place, and I have friends that mean the world to me. I'm not gonna go crazy and say that I'm on top of the world, but I will say that I'm ready for this new decade and I'm happy about the last one.

If I had to pick my top 10 things that happened in the last 10 years I'd pick:

Becoming a Triathlete
Learning to Ski again
Making the Nobelle Record + Boston EP
Italy 2005
Building a backyard
Being a part of Girls Camp for 4 years
Getting Nieces and Nephews
Starting a solo music career
South Africa 2009
Ogden Friends trip to Seattle

More to come on this new decade and how I rang it in. Maybe. ;) gotta sleep!

Embarassada

2011-06-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

This is a conversation I had with my boss on Monday:

Boss: that reminds me of a story about Grover Cleveland, do you know who that is?
Me: nope.
Boss: . . . he was the president.
Me: shoot.

Technology and Music

2011-06-03T00:22:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting on my couch listening to myself on my iPhone from the show I just finished 90 minutes ago. Isn't it funny that we can do that? By funny I mean awesome, except for when I'm rehearing mistakes. Not as funny.
Overall Piecora's was a hit. We packed the house and slipped in a surprise rendition of Run DMC's "Tricky". HUH!

Folklife Festival

2011-06-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

In 40 years, I want to remember the day I busked at the Folklife festival in Seattle over Memorial Day Weekend. I've been to this festival before and thought it was OK, but this year I realized how great it is. There's something about a festival where thousands of people come out of the woodworks (and probably out of the woods) to celebrate such an authentic, positive style of music. I know folk isn't all Peter, Paul, and Mary's "If I Had A Hammer", but for the most part is vastly different from what is playing on popular radio right now.

And who knew there were so many groups of dirty people who play the bass, fiddle, washboard, accordion and a whole slew of other instruments? Many of these groups of buskers had CD's to sell, which made me think that their outfits and lack of hygiene were a hoax. Recording is not cheap. And it's certainly not more important than a home and a shower. In fact, I'm willing to bet that you could search Microsoft and google and amazon and find the clean version of many of this weekend's buskers.

Anywhozit, we busked. As you'll see from the picture, we made no attempt to convince people that we were hippies. We're just not. But we were received well and we had a great time.

The crowd around us would ebb and flow. Sometimes we just sang to the Mighty-O donut stand and the henna tattoo line nearby, but other times we had a good-sized crowd.

There was one point where we played "What's Up" by the Four Non-Blondes and people went crazy. By the first chorus it became a big sing along. Everyone was smiling and I just remember thinking, "I love right now".

Oh and Steph wore a Turtle Neck. Amateur.

First Show - May 3rd - Skylark

2011-05-23T00:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from our first gig at the Skylark. We have 3 more booked with 2 or 3 possibilities around the corner. The ball is rolling!

This night was so much fun. We practiced so hard and all of our work paid off. If you'd like to hear a few of the songs, I've posted them to the audio portion of my website (staceyunck.com).

Thanks to Stephanie Roche, Todd Courtney, Laurie Shorten and Stephanie Howard for joining me on stage throughout the night. Well much more than that from Steph Roche. She's been by my side through all of this and it helps a lot. There's something about having a cello play with me that boosts my energy level 100%. Also thanks to everyone who came. I somehow suckered 50 people into coming out to listen!! :)

Music Report: Early April

2011-04-07T01:43:00.000-07:00

A lot of good things happened tonight. First of all, I bought a new pair of jeans and took a 90 minute nap. If you know me well, you know that these are rare and wonderful occasions.

Also, we played the Skylark open mic tonight. Roche played with me on a new song (got the first live jitters out of the song) and we covered What's up with a nifty cello part. In the end we invited my friend Steph Howard to sing harmony on a newer song called Do-do-do. Yep, that's the name we came up with.
Anyways, this third song was golden. The crowd was absolutely silent. I've never heard the Skylark silent. Ever. Steph sang like she owned the place and Roche rocked a capo on her cello. (Pick ups, capos, what's next?) I got so many positive comments afterwards. "That song gave me the chills", "your mix on that third song was great""that song could definitely be on the radio". Did I just quote testimonials for myself on my blog? Sorry.

In other news, We Booked Our First Show!!! We'll be playing at the Skylark on May 3rd at 8PM. I'm really excited about this show. It will be like playing in my backyard. Super familiar and a great venue. We also got booked for The Back Room - at Piecora Pizza on June 2nd. More details to come on both shows!!

Muscles and Madness

2011-03-28T23:56:00.000-07:00

Somehow I started Crossfit. If you don't know what this is, imagine pull ups, weights, dropping to the floor, and a lot of pain. I did my first workout on a friday and was unable to straighten my arms or bend my legs until Tuesday. Pretty embarrassing to walk around looking like you have casts on both legs. The good news: I think I'm over the initial pain and when I flex in front of the mirror (yep, admitted it) I can see a slight difference.
Actually I know exactly how I started Crossfit. My teammate Rae has been crossfitting for a while now and we convinced her to flex her muscles at our last meeting (at the land of Disney) and the next week Annie and I signed up. That's really all it took. How shallow, right? Might I add that I have no intentions of getting ripped. Not even sure it's possible, but who doesn't want to be toned and strong? We'll see...
Tonight I got called out for facebook stalking. There is no way around it. I stalked, and the beautiful bearded man called me on it.
The other day it was a full moon and people were acting crazy! I witnessed a very uncomfortable altercation while standing in line at the grocery store, and 10 minutes later I saw a car that was so eager to turn left the driver almost hit a guy who was walking across the crosswalk. What's worse is the guy was walking like he had casts on both legs. I really felt for him, trying to back up to avoid the car, legs completely straight. Maybe he just started crossfit as well...
I am now officially an ambi-downhiller. What does that mean? I ski and I board and I love them both.

That's enough!

Basketball is so exciting.

2011-03-19T22:29:00.000-07:00

I jumped up and down, screaming in my living room on Friday. Memphis and Arizona were playing. It was the end of the game. I have no connection to either team. At all. Except that I picked Memphis to win on my bracket. One game, worth one point of over 100 in a little contest with friends had me jumping up and down. I guess you can say I really get into it.

Music Report: March

2011-03-18T16:11:00.000-07:00

While in the process of having the best February ever, along with a busy start to March, I was able to squeeze in a few performances. In preparation for the open stage event on the cruise, I played alone two nights during the week prior. Skylark and Gypsy gave me the opportunity to feel comfortable on stage again without Steph (who has become a welcome crutch) and to try out all of my new songs.

On the boat I played More Than I Can Tell for about 50+ people. I can't tell you how nervous I was. For some reason, knowing that so many legit artists were within 150 yards of me, floating out in the middle of the Caribbean, terrified me. I did fine, though I just started singing and forgot to introduce myself until after I was finished. It's always awkward to silence a crowd's applause in order to say your name. Amateur.

Gypsy: I guess I've taken a liking to this place, because I've now played there 4 times. This last time was great! We were totally on, and we had great supporters. Steph's sister told us afterwards that the entire room was silent and people were coming in from the other room to hear us play. YES! We also tried out the loop station again. Success! We did a good sound check and really wow'ed the crowd. It didn't hurt that I warned them that last time was a train wreck so they were on the edge of their seats to see if I'd screw it up again.

At this point: We are rearing to go. All of our songs are performance ready. We've sent out a booking email to Skylark, and we're about to send a few more. I also wrote a new song last week, so the ball is rolling. I'll keep you posted on what's next. :)

Get it right!

2011-03-05T19:27:00.000-08:00

I feel like I haven't blogged about my thoughts in a while. I don't like when my blog mimics a scrapbook of events, so I'm going to express myself. (Warning: I haven't even decided the topic as I type this intro). Here goes:

My grandma Arline is a keeper. Every time we Skype she talks about food. Last time she told me that every Valentine's Day, she and my grandpa Ken used to go to Dairy Queen to get "Peanut Busters." Pretty much the definition of romance, in my book.
My new guitar has a nice, rich sound and smells like fresh cut wood. On hot, sunny days, my house smells the same, which is awesome.
Michael Jackson's "Captain EO" at Disneyland is the real definition of 3D. You can literally reach out and touch that flying gremlin thing. Far better than the 3D today.
Sharing a tiny cabin with 4 people is actually better than sharing a much larger hotel room with 4 people. The difference: 2 beds v. 4 beds.
The American Diabetes Association sent me a letter asking for donations. They addressed the letter to "Stacey Unch", and also provided me with letter head and address labels with the name "Stacey Unch" on them. For some reason this is so funny to me that I plan on using said address labels.
My PSE bill comes to Stacey Unkc every month.
Somehow when I went to pick up a new Social Security card 10 years ago, they spelled my name Stacey Hynn Unck. I was too lazy to go fix it, so now my university records (aka Diploma) say Stacey Hynn Unck.
Actually, that last bullet is a lie. My university thought I owed them for gym clothes that I actually did turn in, so they didn't send me my diploma. Once again, I never got around to fixing that. BUT, somewhere deep in the records of BYU, there is a Diploma for Stacey Hynn Unck.

Bet you didn't expect this post to head that direction!

Cayamo - Journey Through Song

2011-02-22T17:25:00.000-08:00

Shawn Mullins at the pool deck

Steph, Linds, Em, Dwayne - Day 1

Toby Lightman - Got a standing ovation and was elated!

Tyrone Wells and wife

Colin Hay

Dar Williams - Discovered her on this trip. I like her song "the ocean"!

BRANDI! and Ali. :)

Josh Neuman - Cello Man

Larkin Poe - Super talented sisters

The girls

We parasailed.

I want to always be on a beach.

Testing out new camera...

Julie Wolf - Best discovered musician of the trip!

Mike and Dwayne

I found a new love for snorkeling!

Pretty much the best vacation idea for me is to put a music festival on a cruise ship. This is what Cayamo is and truly it was the best! Above is a photo journal of my week last week. I loved it all. Musicians, new friends (somehow we didn't get a shot of our friends Mary and Joni from PDX), the sun, laying out, snorkeling, the stardust theater, daily ice cream, Em's poses for photos...everything!
Other things to note:
I wore a patch for motion sickness and one of the side effect warnings was blurred vision. Sure enough, I got blurred vision. Lame.
Patty Griffin is adorable.
The Indigo Girls blew my mind live.
Why can I never get an even tan/burn?
Maybe by wednesday I thought I should quit music. Not to worry, those feelings changed to "I need to practice more" by the end of the trip.
Thanks Cayamo. You were a dream!

Month 3 - Did you really think I'd stick with weekly updates?

2011-02-06T10:53:00.000-08:00

While I've done a poor job of reporting, I have kept to my goal of playing an open mic every week. Below I have some comments on each one I've done since my last post, but initially I'd like to report a state of the states.

I'm now three months into doing weekly open mics. I have 4 songs that are polished, 3 songs that I could play if I need to, 3 new songs - 2 of which I've tested on the crowds once, and a couple of covers I'm working out. Steph and I are nearly working around the clock at getting our new material performance ready because we are starting to feel a sense of graduation. While open mics will always be necessary and something I'll continue to do, it's time for us to book some real gigs.

I've finally finished my press kit (aka - website), and am ready to send it out to booking agents. Since I'll soon be on a cruise and offline for 7 days, my plan is to wait until I return to reach out to venues. Meanwhile we'll still open mic and practice in preparation for the real deal.

Open mic recount:
Skylark: I loved this night. My work team was in the middle of our district sales meeting, so a lot of them came to my stomping grounds to hear us. The sound was great, the crowd was loving it and we were on. I have videos of all three songs on our website staceyunck.com. Oh BTW, I got a website! There's still more that I would like to add to it, but I think it's nice for now.
Q Cafe: 25 artists, one song each. Really great audience of musicians who listened instead of yelling over your music. We played Fly. The sound was pretty bad, but Steph pulled a quick one and removed her cello mute so that our levels were better matched. Smooth SR!
Triple Door: Sang back up harmonies for another artist, Chelsea Coleman. I've decided I like having an instrument in my hands.
Shadowland: Bad sound situation and Steph's cello slipped. Realized this is a solo artist venue and not fit for a cello. Think I'll go back and test out some new songs on my own in a few weeks.
Gypsey Cafe: Played Do-do-do for the first time. All by myself in a key that we've now determined is too high. SR felt pretty disconnected from shakey legs me when I was up there singing, so she became determined to write a cello part to that song. It happened. We also came up with a vocal harmony part. Now I just need someone to sing it with me! Steph joined me for the second and third song, which went really well. The crowd was super encouraging and receptive as we walked off the stage. Also, there is a woman there who shakes a percussive egg the entire night. I love her. Except that she stopped shaking when I was up there. I don't know what that means.
SoulFood Books: Yeowzahs! What a night. This continues to be a learning experience. Tonight we tried the loop station for the first time. It was a train wreck. The loop that came back to me was nearly silent, so we had been rocking this loud song and then pretty much sang silent a cappella. Next time (if there is one for this song - still a little mortified) we will have do a quick loop tester and see how the levels are before jumping into the song. Our other song went fine and 3 families of friends came from the East side to watch. I love my friends!

Next week: Not sure yet. Lots of prep and packing to do, but the next week I'll be playing the open mic on board the Cayamo cruise. Super excited about this!

Media Fast

2011-01-10T00:33:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of January I started a media fast. Trying to get things done! However, I forgot that I needed to post still, so my media fast is quickly just becoming a netflix fast. It's a start, right?

Updates to come, including a new music website!

The Mystery Gift: Second Generation

2011-01-10T00:28:00.000-08:00

In other news, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. A couple of years ago, Mason and I started a tradition of what you might call Creative Wrapping. I think it was late at night and we were both past the hour of clear thinking, but in the end we came up with some fun Christmas surprises.

This year, I must have been hungry when I devised our wrapping plans. Here is what we came up with:

Ok, the vids aren't working, but I have one of Preston digging through Jello for clues and my mom opening a nicely wrapped 3 tier cake. The card was inside!

Also, I don't have video of it, but I gave Mason a gift card that was located in a Jelly Sandwich inside a lunch pale next to chips, a cheese stick, Diet Coke, and some cookies. He glued wrapping paper to a Steven's Hot Chocolate Canister, which contained hot chocolate powder and a gift card for me.

Fast forward to today (or the day I wrote this - dec 28th). Mason flew to AZ and I've arrived back in Seattle. I just got a call from him saying that after searching unsuccessfully for his gift card, he called my mom. She searched the house and then the trash where she found it still in the jelly sandwich. As a result, she decided to make sure the Steven's Hot Chocolate didn't still contain my gift card. It did.

Surprise!

Week 8 - Dubliner

2011-01-10T00:13:00.000-08:00

Part of my purpose for keeping this blog is so that I can remind myself why I'm doing what I'm doing. Which is why the only thing I have to report from the Dubliner is that a girl said "Great job. You're going places!"

oh and a guy used a looper. Let's say I learned a lot. Just a few more weeks before I rock the loop station live. eek!

The Mystery Gift

2010-12-28T15:35:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love a Christmas full of surprises? Apparently my family does. Let's start with my dad. The inventor of the mystery gift. After three fun videos and this photo proof of the gift:

(Only watch the video if you're curious about my dad's skills. I just posted so you can see the gift.)

My siblings and I were left with two clues for whom it might be for. 1- Opposite 2- 3. Pretty clear, right?

In the end the gift was for all of us. It contained all of our stockings and gifts. Which included a flip video for a few of us. Woohoo!

Here's how it went down. The word opposite flashed at the end of a video referencing the true meaning of Christmas: Christ. The 3 was in reference to a video where our picture came up in a specific order. My brother Mason was 3rd, and he is a Sun Devil alumni. Tricky dad!

When Mase got up to obtain his odd shaped gift, my dad read a poem that deemed Mason as Santa and Payton and Presley as his little helpers. From there, Santa and his helpers opened the box and delivered our Christmas loot.

Santa's Helpers

Parks and Recreation

2010-12-14T00:07:00.000-08:00

Confession: I think this show is so funny. I want Andy and April to date, I want Ann and Mark to break up, I think Tom's character is yucky, and I love both Ron and Leslie.

The real confession is this. Since November 30th I have watched 28 episodes. Two more until Season 2 is over and I'm no longer tempted by the "it's just 21 minutes" excuse.

Week 7 - Blue Moon & House Party

2010-12-10T23:48:00.000-08:00

Inside the Blue Moon Tavern

After a little break (turns out I couldn't finish 2010 with 100% immunity), I got back in the saddle again. On Wednesday SR and I played at the Blue Moon. The venue was kind of adorable, but loud and not the best sound. I won't be returning, but I was able to play for a friend who hadn't seen me and I found a female vocalist to swap harmonies with. Check!

Also, tonight a house of guys held an open mic so I figured I'd go to make up for missing last week. One thing I learned is that I am getting too used to having a microphone. It was unplugged and I was inaudible during the parts of my songs when I wasn't mega-projecting (some may call it yelling). I also remembered that it's good to warm up the voice. Overall, it went well and it was fun to see what other musicians I've been crossing paths with and not realizing their talents.

As I was leaving, I somehow acquired a very enthusiastic manager, a few more groupies, and a plan to make t-shirts complete with titles (manager, groupie, me, etc.). Check, Check, Check!

Week 6

2010-12-10T23:18:00.001-08:00

Laryngitis.

Brandi Weekend: Will you?

2010-11-28T17:09:00.000-08:00

Make sure to listen to this with good earphones or hooked up to good speakers. The symphony takes this amazing song to a new level.

Benaroya (ake the tabernacle) was amazing. But, I think the next night at Neumos, where we got up close and personal with the band and family was just as great.

Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T16:45:00.000-08:00

LL did it again!

Good food, good friends:

This year I decided I needed to be home for the real Thanksgiving. Somehow I thought driving would be a good option. Not one of my wisest decisions, but let's be honest, they're worth it.

Now, instead of driving back to the WA, I am still in my pajamas (5:30PM) at my dad's house looking out the door at this:

Let's pray I-84 opens before I need to be back down here for Christmas...

PS: In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'd like to add that I am so thankful for my friends, family and support group. I'm also grateful for my job, for safety and shelter, for food and clothes, for art and talent, and for freedom and opportunity. Most of all I am thankful for my Faith and my Savior.

Week 4.5/5 - Shadowland

2010-11-28T15:50:00.000-08:00

Not sure what this guy is doing...

Well, despite weather and holidays, I kept my goal this week. I actually overachieved. After an OK week 4, I was curious about a spot close to home, so I stopped by Shadowland last Tuesday night (the day after triple door) to see how it is run and if I wanted to come back for reals.

When I walked in, I noticed that the guy singing was very, very good and had a familiar sound. It took another song for me to realize he was one of the lead singers of a new great band that my friend AB introduced me to (via the FB). I was super star-struck and stoked to be there. I suddenly wished I had shown up on time and signed up to play. And actually, by 11:15PM, I really wanted to play, so I asked the host if there was time for me to sign up. He said there was time for 1 song. I took it. (at this point dude had left. too bad. But I did play the same guitar he played. Kind of cool).

Anyway, it went really well. They loved the song I played and asked me to play more. I'd just read in that handy blog, that I should never take the time of a host or headliner, so I declined playing another song, but said I'd come back the next week. When I got home at 12:45, I was so fired up, I played with my looper for 30 minutes before finally admitting that I was being irresponsible. Again.

As promised, I went back on Tuesday of this week, but the crowd was much smaller due to the 2 inches of snow that completely tanked Seattle. MZ's bf John came and played, which was fun and great, and a couple of west seattle-ites came as well. I'll definitely add shadowland to the list of places I'd like to revisit soon.

Week 6: not sure. Need to figure out how I'm going to get home from Utah first. Maybe Soul Food Books on Saturday...

The Grand Kids by Papa John

2010-11-17T09:19:00.000-08:00

My dad made this video of my niece and nephews. Adorable.

Thanks Dad!

Week 4 - The Triple Door

2010-11-16T00:21:00.000-08:00

Triple Door - Open Mic - Nov. 15 2010

So it's 11:35PM. A couple hours after my latest open mic and I am still a little flustered. Overall it was a good experience, but guys, there were issues.

First, let me note that my goal to play an open mic every week has now become SR's goal (cello). It's nice to have a partner in crime and someone to consult with. Steph's sister, Butter, SH and LH came as well. Support is so, so nice. Thanks guys!

I'm glad to report that I fixed the tuning issue. Finally. And we removed the mute from Roche's cello which fixed the volume issue. It was actually perfect. There is something about her full-volume cello that energizes me and carries me away into the music.

The issues: when I started to play my first song (Fly) there was major feedback. As in really loud, awkward and uncomfortable feedback. It got so bad that I stopped and asked if everything was OK. Sound guy said it was fine, but it wasn't. The feedback was crazy so I stopped again and he wasn't so excited about it. This threw me off. What was I supposed to do? Keep playing through the loud, high pitched ring until it got fixed? (For future reference: Yes).

As a result my timing and fingerpicking were off. I think I did well vocally, and overall I don't think it was super noticeable, but I'm bummed about it. The next two songs actually went a lot better. I played Same Old Love and KH's I Hurt Too.

Did I mention that I was super nervous about this set? I know it was just an open mic, but the Triple Door is a venue I dream of playing at some day. For some reason I felt like I was auditioning for my future. Clearly not ready yet.

Anyway. the other issue was a tanked Scottish guy. He was adamant that I get back up on stage and sing the cranberrie's "zombie". Not too bothered by it until he started bothering my friends. Dude. No.

Oh well, I still had fun and I'm still learning.

Next week: TBD. (Q Cafe, Shadowland, or Bad Monkey Bistro)

Root Beer

2010-11-09T01:15:00.000-08:00

It's no secret. I love root beer. Most of my friends who prefer real beer find this love very endearing and funny. Cass Baker not only loves this about me, but has taken it to a whole new level.

This belated birthday present if funny for so many reasons. :) Thanks Cass!!

Week 3 - Molly Maguires

2010-11-09T01:00:00.000-08:00

Shadowland turned into Molly Maguires this week due to some schedule conflicts, but check me out. It's Monday and I can already check the box on the open mic!

Tonight I played at an Irish Pub called Molly Maguires in Ballard. Here are 10 things that stand out about this experience:

1- Irish pubs are loud and full of drunken men.
2- Ingas ran the show. He is skillful and kind (even if he looked at me like I was crazy when I offered to help him bring equipment in from his car).
3- Open mics are more fun when you invite your two pals and you spend the whole waiting time (which was pretty long) playing darts and pool with them and one of the said drunken men.
4- Roche came and played Cello, which always seems to legitimize things. (See #5)
5- When we finally did go, Ingas said "Since I'm assuming you're pretty good, you can play 4 songs." To which I said, "so if we're not, feel free to hold up three fingers. We'll get the message." I only think he said that because of the cello. Cello!!
6- When a host says you can play 4 songs, don't say "So I can play one more?" after the third. He will then come up and joke that the reason he said so in the beginning was so that it wasn't broadcasted that he was letting "good" people play more. Right. Oopsy.
7- During KH's I Hurt Too and Forlorn the bar became a lot more quiet and people started listening. Some would stand next to SB and say "what's your friends name? hmm...I'm a fan." There is no better sound than silence at an open mic. (especially given #1)
8- Still some tuning issues even with the tuning pedal. Have to figure that out!! The problem: Capo. Also, we've got to find a way for Steph to hear her cello.
9- When I told the only other female that she played well, she said "Thanks, you were really good." In a "you blew me out of the water" way. Whether that's true or not, it made me feel good.
10- I still love to perform.

Next week: The Triple Door - Musicquarium Lounge (Monday 9PM)

Week 2 - The Skylark

2010-11-03T23:44:00.000-07:00

Tonight I played at the skylark open mic. I've played there about 7 or 8 times, so it was a little like playing "at home" but I had a new determination to reach out and learn. My Cellist, Steph Roche, came along as well as a few friends to support. This is always nice. I performed 3rd after a great underage band called Synthony and an interesting rapper. *Rap at open mic is usually a mix between uncomfortable, funny, and entertaining.*

I played Fly (lots of cheers and well received - whew), Katie Herzig's "I Hurt Too" - where Roche aced the cello part, and Forlorn. As I began to play the second song I realized my guitar was out of tune. Not only that, but it was the most important string. So, Neil (steph's husband) brought up the tuner and I tuned in front of the crowd. I'm pretty sure I bought a tuner pedal for just such an occasion, but I didn't bring it because it was out of batteries. Amateur, Stace. Honestly. I wanted to admit this so that I remember how embarrassed I was and how important it is that I don't do it again. There ya go.

After I played a few others went who I liked. I ended swapping info with two other artists. A man who played the electric guitar and sang very well and a girl who played the piano and had rocking vocal. Lot's of soul.

Next week: The Scarlet Tree

(BTW- last week's post was written last week, but I didn't post it until today)

Music Strategery - Week 1

2010-11-03T23:01:00.000-07:00

I hesitated to post about this, because there is a chance I will not follow through with this, but I'm just gonna go for it. A few weeks ago my friend sent me a link to Josh Ritter's Book of Jubilations. A blog he has dedicated to advice on making a life in music. I highly recommend it to anyone curious. Part of his advice is to write out your goals starting at 10 years from now and working your way to tomorrow. In another post he emphasizes the extreme importance of attending and playing at open mics.

As a result I have made some goals, one of which includes playing one open mic a week. This is an ambitious goal, but I can do it. As an example of how much I can do this, I will report that tonight I attended a youth halloween activity (including a food fight), made my halloween costume, AND sang at an open mic. It's all about proper planning, right? I hope.

My purpose in doing an open mic every week is not only to gain exposure and network with other musicians, but also to get practice performing. I want to test songs out on different crowds and learn better how to read a room and play what they want to hear. As I do this and have these experiences I've decided that I'd like to keep a journal to report my learnings and experiences.

Tonight I played at a place called the Scarlet Tree. It's a nice looking bar on 65th and 8th. I was one of three acts, and I played to a room filled with about 8 men. At first I wasn't going to stay to play because so few people had shown up, but ultimately I decided this was the perfect opportunity to get the first random one out of the way.

I played 3 songs (as always). The first was my crowd pleaser and the second was new. It was my first live performance of FLY. Then I played my christmas song FORLORN. I really love singing that song. When I finished the 3 songs, the audience actually requested more songs. I had to decline since I hadn't practice anymore, but I was flattered nonetheless.

Overall I think my performance was good. I forgot the words to a song I have sung more times than the national anthem, but whatever. It was 8 random guys in an otherwise empty bar. And no one noticed. After I returned to my table (and my water - open mic faux pau) the first act guy came up to me and asked if I would want to collaborate on a music project. Though I'm not sure it's an exact fit, I was excited to have someone so eager to work with me.

I feel good about my first night out. Next week: The Skylark.

Did I ever post about the triathlon?

2010-11-03T00:57:00.000-07:00

Promise I meant to...

CC, Butter, Elish, and me. Pre-race.

rocks.

Pink Caps!

Bikes

We were ruuuunnnniiinnng.

One of the best days of my summer.

November Madness

2010-11-03T00:02:00.001-07:00

Is it just me or does voting kind of feel like March Madness? You make your picks and then you wait to see if you won. I felt strangely jipped to hear that all of Washington doesn't want to keep the candy and soda tax; whereas I was glad to see my pick for Senator is in the lead. Truth is, I love to keep score and I love to win. Turns out voting is one more opportunity to do that.

Fractions

2010-11-01T16:01:00.001-07:00

today someone said to me "I will take 60% of you over 100% of anyone else, any day." This is maybe the best compliment I've received in a long time and I don't want to forget it.

Phoenix Photos

2010-10-25T23:07:00.001-07:00

Super Powers

2010-10-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

I've decided that I have a new super power and I want another one.

First, I haven't been sick in 2010. This is significant because I got sick every month of 2009. I've decided that I have an immunity power.

This weekend I am putting that power to the test. I've been in Arizona with two of my besties and their sweet kids. Mel's 2-year old, Jack and I seriously bonded yesterday. Yes, he punched me in the face and bit my arm, but I've learned that wrastling is his love language and I am honored. Anyway, Immunity. Since Mel's husband is hunting, I stayed in her room last night. She warned me that Jack would come in and want to snuggle (which she mentioned would include him trying to put his leg over my shoulders, around my neck). Sign me up.

So, around who-knows-what-time in the morning, I hear my new best friend crawl into the bed. From then on he was stuck to me like glue. Yes, he did wrap his leg around my neck and he almost pushed me off the bed and he fell off the bed himself. (Falling off the bed is still so funny, even at age 29, and even when it's a two year old). Anyway. My immunity was truly put to the test when I woke up 4 different times to Jack coughing into my mouth. It's pretty cute that he wanted to be so close to me that our faces were inches apart, but I guess there's also level of gross to this. A healthy mix between gross and adorable. Gonna miss that monkey!

As for the super power I'd like to pick up: dreamless sleep.

silk screen sensation

2010-10-19T23:24:00.000-07:00

Maybe I didn't mention that I started a bucket list. I will now. I started a bucket list. Not because I think I'm going to die soon (please bless), but because my 20's are now 10 1/2 months away from kicking the bucket. I decided when I turned 29 that I needed to make sure that on August (not gonna say), 2011(identity theft secured-ish), I want to be proud of what I accomplished in my first 30 years.

I'm hoping to dedicate another post to the parts of the list that I find appropriate to share, but for now, I will report that there is a "Crafty" category along with a "Physical" category. Under those sections you will find that I not only had a goal to master screen printing, but I also hoped to plan two 5K races. I'm happy to say that on 10-10-10 I killed three birds with one stone. Check. Check. Check.

I'll post photos of the race when I get them. Also, yes, you did the math right. 5k + 5K = 10K. Double Check-ski!

runner up.

2010-10-19T23:12:00.000-07:00

second favorite. Maybe because I'm in it. Specifically watch the second vid. And please reference this, followed by this.

take a chance on me...

2010-10-19T23:04:00.000-07:00

favorite post of the week.

the boston

2010-10-13T23:28:00.001-07:00

he's presh...

We Are the World - Lionel Richie, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson

2010-10-08T00:35:00.000-07:00

Tonight I watched a 9 year old boy sing this song (via kareoke) in a gymnasium full of kids in White Center. The little guy didn't miss a note and the other kids waved their arms and sang along during the choruses (which were not few in number). Sometimes the world is bleak and sometimes it is amazing. Tonight it stole my heart.

(That's right, you saw Bette Midler at the right end of the bottom row in this video. Along with so many amazing artists. I kind of wish they would try something like this with current artists, but I'm pretty sure this can't be topped - except by a 9 year old and his pals).

10 days

2010-10-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

10 days is a long time to be away from home. Thankfully, I haven't really noticed because I've had such a great time! I'm on the plane back to Seattle right now, so I thought I'd make a quick list of favorites from my trip to Utah and Boston.

Utah: It is always nice to go home. While I was home I got to spend a good amount of time with my new nephews and niece. I also visited my old preschool and found pictures of my school friends and I when we were 4. I can't believe how many of us all went to the Little Red School house. On this leg of the trip, I mainly did a lot of visiting and relaxing. It was so great to see my family and friends!

Boston: My first few days in Boston were spent at a conference. I learned a lot at this, and was also reminded why I have a job where I drive around all day as opposed to sit in a chair and listen to people. My inability to stay awake is embarrassing. On Tuesday night after my class, I met up with Zanny and her husband Jonathan. That's when we hit up our first open mic. I don't have any pics of this, but it was SO fun and we made some new fans.

(This pic is out of order but here is Zann recording her guitar track.)

Raw: Z and J are all into this morning exercise routine run by one of their friends. They do an intense 18 minute work out where you switch exercises every minute. I joined them on Thursday and Saturday morning. My competitive nature got the best of me on Thursday and I spent the rest of my vacation real sore.

Nobelle EP: So when I found out I was going to Boston for work, I called Z about seeing her while I was there and she suggested we do a recording "project" and I stay the weekend. We honestly had no clue what that would mean, but her friend is a recording artist and struck us a deal on recording time. After my conference in Boston, Zanny and I got right to work learning each others songs and adding harmonies and other instruments. Can I just say how much I have missed her voice and talent? Almost as much as her friendship. :) We were very happy with what we came up with and we're eager to get our "Nobelle Reunited EP" back.

(I will be creating a website for this music and our last album as soon as I get the new one).

(Phil in his office - under his bed)

Feelin it

(Zann and the cam)

Street performing: Since our open mic sources were less than reliable, we decided to hit the streets on Saturday. We went to Cambridge and sang in 5 different spots around Harvard Sq. (ps. that place is awesome!) It was my first experience street singing and it was amazing. Some favorite parts were the smiles (and change $$) that we got from people, people who stopped and listened for a bit, performing with Zanny, the family from India who asked if their adult son could have a picture taken with us, being recorded on random people's digital cameras, and earning $9.25.

Uno Mas

2010-09-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

Clearly there's something about being on vacation that is increasing my blog activity in extreme ways. Really, I'm just playing catch up.

Wanted to post this pic as an image of 3 things that I love.

1-Bike

2-Butter

3-Beautiful Alki

Ok, 2 in 1, sinced I named this one more:

Things I love about flying First Class:

1- everything

2- when it's a free surprise

3- the singly wrapped twix bars

Birthday

2010-09-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

So, thanks to this gal and a few other gems, I had an amazing birthday! It began at 7something when 4 of my besties kidnapped me for breakfast. Can I say that since I was kidnapped in 8th grade, I've always woken up on my birthday morning and thought "is anyone hiding somewhere to dress me in funny clothes, put crazy make up on my face and take me to breakfast before school?" Until this year, they weren't. And thankfully they didn't dress me crazy and send me off to school, but we did go to Bakery Nouveau. SO GOOD. Love you gals!
That night there was a BBQ at my house (indoors, thanks to seattle rain), and LL made this rockin' cake. It was a great time.
I also found this on my front porch when I left my house (for a second time) that morning. Friends, you rock.

Clearly this baby loves me...

2010-09-27T15:51:00.001-07:00

And my glasses love her.

(Kris, thanks for letting me crash your Friday average day party! So great to see you and the kids!)

What a week...

2010-09-26T22:56:00.001-07:00

(wrote this post a month ago today. Forgot to post it. So, here's ya go).

Do you ever have weeks where you can't believe how much you squeezed into 7 days? I just had that kind of week. Not only was there a lot, but most of it was great!

I want to focus on 4 things that made this week awesome, and crazy. Crazy awesome.

1- Pasedena. On Wednesday last week, my boss called to tell me I was the runner up for a "trip" to Pasadena and one of the "chosen ones" couldn't make it. Miraculously I was free, so I packed my bags and spent about 36 hours in CA. During that time, I was able to run into my favorite friend Cass, my girl Leanne in LA, and a few of my coworkers from the area that I love.

The focus of our meeting was Crucial Conversations and all I will say is that I came out of the meeting ready to analyze every relationship I have and how I can create a "pool of shared meaning" to better understand the people I love, and don't love. Heavy. On a lighter side, I also got to feel the heat of the California sun and eat some great Steak and Mexican food.

2- Sammamish Trial Run. On Wednesday, CC and I decided that we should do a trial run on the Triathlon course we would be racing on Saturday. After getting all geared up, we biked about a mile on the course before CC got a flat tire. Shoot! We had both watched a tire be changed (I particularly had on Youtube), but never done it ourselves. Don't worry, we have skills. Skills we didn't know existed. We experienced small victory after small victory as we successfully changed the tire and pumped up the new one. Oh and I'm pretty sure somewhere under the definition of empowerment, it talks about changing tires. FYI.

After the ride, we squeezed into some super tight wetsuits and went for a swim. My favorite part was when we decided to change wetsuits in the middle of Lake Sammamish. This is where I remembered that our lungs are like flotation devices when filled with air. Once again, a day of skill discovery.

The best part of this whole adventure was how much we laughed and how silly we looked. When we returned to our cars after the swim, it was dark, so we turned on our brights and captured this shot with my phone. Ridiculous.

Embarrassing.

3- Utah. At 6:30 Thursday morning, I get a call from my dad saying that my sister in law had gone into Labor. As I started to get hourly updates on dialation and status, I thought, "man I want to be there right now." Well it turns out that some wishes do come true. On a whim I packed a bag, bought a plane ticket and boarded a plane for a 24 hour trip to Ogden.

I arrived 30 minutes after Baby Boston was born. Wow, to see a baby in their first 30 minutes of life is simply amazing. He is so small and so alert. We watched him get his first bath and watched Preston change his first diaper. I got to hold him and have him hold my finger. I love that precious new life and I'm so glad I got to be there for a quick unforgettable day.

OK the 4th thing is the Triathlon, but that will have to be covered in a separate post. This is already super longski. Until then...

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION:

2010-09-26T22:50:00.001-07:00

Max is not my cat and he doesn't live in my house.

I had breakfast with my HS gals yesterday and they were just about to have an intervention with me before I clarified that Max in fact belongs to some dear friends. Thanks ladies for pointing out that my last post was misleading. I do love Max, a lot, but I am far from allowing a cat inside my house. Especially as a permanent resident. XO

out of the bag..

2010-09-20T01:27:00.000-07:00

So, I have a lot of things to blog about. The triathlon, a new nephew Boston, another triathlon, birthdays, etc. However, tonight I only have time to post this photo. If you know me well, you know that some thing is out of place in this picture (and I'm not referring to my head, which looks like it's about to spin like the cheshire cats head). But, speaking of cats, it is the adorable creature nuzzled up on my lap. Meet Max: The best cat in the world. For the record, I hate cats. Always have. But somehow this sneaky affectionate animal stole my heart and turned me into someone who would actually be smiling with pure joy because he chose my lap to nuzzle and purr on. There it is, I'm in love with a cat.

(no but really, my head looks like someone tried to photoshop it onto someone else's body who was holding a cat. I promise that's my lap!)

Happy Day!

2010-09-02T23:21:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, many of my textualized well wishes were in the form of "Happy Day." I thought that was interesting. I am a fan of not wasting syllables, but I sort of feel like Birth is an important syllable. But...I am more of a fan of shortening things, so Happy day to you too!

I had a great birthday with amazing friends! Thanks to everyone who took part and made it so great! The following was an email from my friend and consequently my favorite birthday message.

Stacey-

Happy Birthday to you!!! I hope you have a great day today and that all of your birthday wishes come true this year (yes, even that one involving getting adopted into ABBA). As a tribute to you on your special day, here are a few of my favorite things about you...(in no particular order)

-The fact that you wore old school Tevas to the Homecoming Dance.

-Your hilarious laugh.

-That you are such a confident, independent, home owning woman of Seattle.

-Your fine musical prowess.

-Your baby-sized dishwasher.

-That you are in Young Womens-seriously, how cool would it be to have you as a leader?

-The fact that you used to have such an extensive collection of Trolls.

-That you drove an Astro van.

-That you're always doing something to better yourself.

Anyhoo-love ya gal.

Lib

(one line was edited that could have offended others. something about me turning out cooler than other individuals. thanks Lib!)

Maybe it's a little egotistical to post compliments from others, but when did I ever claim to be anything different? In response I said I thought I might be turning 90 because I have no recollection of the Tevas, to which she responded:

maybe you did turn 90! You honestly don't remember your pledge to wear your Tevas everyday of our Senior Year until the snow fell? I think you're faking.

The truth is, no. I don't remember. I mean, maybe it's coming back to me. Who forgets something like that? Who does something like that in the first place? If I did that here, I'd be wearing Teva's all year round. Touche.

confession:

2010-08-21T23:37:00.000-07:00

I love the sound a debit card machine makes when you enter your pin. I especially love the ones that are extra meepy. Like a mix between a buzz and a beep. I don't know where it started, but it's an amazing sensation every purchase.

Go to the mattresses...

2010-08-11T16:35:00.000-07:00

I just stood up to a person whom I associate with via work, and who has bullied me for 2 years now. I feel so empowered! Like the only thing I can think to do as I walk away is punch the air and grin from ear to ear. I didn't expect to be so giddy with excitement, but I am.

The line I used, "Ya, but I'm a person too." Don't ask, just know that it felt right and the response was "(pause....realization of being a jerk)...That's fair."

Buyah!

Graduation. the first of many.

2010-08-10T23:24:00.000-07:00

Am I alone in my opinion that graduations are becoming a dime a dozen? In my entire life, I graduated twice. High school and College. Already my nephew Payton has reached half that number and he is 4. If a kid "graduates" (with cap and gown may I add), every year, how exciting is the real deal going to be? (Admittedly it may be very exciting because it will be the last time for a few years).

But, as much as I think it is a little overboard, I have to say it is all worth it when graduations result in adorable videos like this. Oh, man. I love this kid!

First of all, note the laughing. Even though he looks unphased, this could scar a kid. Secondly, what's that kid doing sitting in his chair? Priceless.

Hidden Lake Extravaganza

2010-07-24T22:23:00.001-07:00

Dudes. Hiking is fun, right? Try hiking with 50 lbs on your back. The word fun becomes less intense and a little more forced. However, before you think I'm complaining, let me say that "Backpacking" with 5 of your favorite people and 6 amazing teenagers, to a spot that is breathtakingly beautiful is a blast! Starting at 7AM yesterday, we took off for Hidden Lake Peak (go there, and try to go on a less busy day so you can stay in the Hut. First come, first serve). We hiked all day through streams and plants and then snow and rocks. We reached the top around 6:30PM, where we enjoyed the best beef stew of my life (possibly due to circumstances) and set up tents. Then a few of us hiked a little further to a lookout point where someone had built a hut.

The hut had a desk, a 2 person bed, dishes, a wood stove and a 360 degree amazing view of the cascades. Four of us stayed in the hut. We watched the sun set and then gazed at the stars and the full-ish moon. Gazed...cheesy. Anyway, today we hiked back down and got home around 6:30. Although it was really difficult and my knees were angry about the way down, I am SO glad I decided to do this hike.

There is a hut at the top of this peak. I slept there.

Hidden Lake

The Hut on the Top of the World

The gang at the top

Me and T

Team Butter and Unck

Favorite parts and random thoughts from my trip:

1- How did all those giant boulders get to the top of that mountain? Oh, and the hut. How?

2- Dance party on the top of the world to All The Single Ladies. "Put your hands up"..easy on the footwork.

3- Watching the stars with Bren and Butter.

4- Doing the Robot is much more difficult with a backpack on.

5- Sometimes youth keep the leaders up, and sometimes leaders keep the youth up. We experienced the latter. "Hey Moon!"

6- I can do hard things.

7- "Girls, when you go to bed, just make sure your mouths don't touch the floor. Night!"

8- When you think you've seen a good view, hike a little more and it'll be even better. And then keep going to the top and eventually you'll have no words.

Sweetness

2010-07-16T16:33:00.001-07:00

Yesterday my grandma Molly told me that my grandpa reads to her. Let me paint a picture of why this is so touching to me. My grandma has been in pain for the last 2 years due to a hip injury and some days all she can do is lay down. She also falls asleep if she holds a book and reads it. (She can actually fall asleep while holding a newspaper and still hold the paper up. Very skilled.) My grandpa on the other hand survived his years of pain with so much help from my grandmother and is now somewhat able to help take care of her. He is a writer of many stories and a great reader. My grandma loves to hear him read and thinks he is amazing. (which he is).

So, when I found out that my Grandpa is reading to my Grandma my hope in mankind was restored for another day.

laughs from the other grands...

2010-07-08T22:20:00.001-07:00

Tonight we celebrated my grandpa West's 90th birthday. I don't think he looks 90, but alas, he is. My mom and aunt worked really hard and put on a great party at his church. About 80 people came, most of them 80 years old or older. Good times!

One of my favorite parts was when I was asking my grandma about her doctor (because I sometimes think that I am a doctor and know what drugs people need to take) and she said that they always forget the name of their doctor and end up calling him Dr. Obama. Turns out her doctor's last name is Abdula. She said that sometimes when the front desk asks her which doctor she's seeing she says "Dr. Obama" which results in some funny looks.

So, my grandpa decided that the best way for them to remember her doctor's name is to say, "remember honey, we are going to Hula with Abdula." Such a fan of 90 year old humor and creativity.

Then, the three of us were looking at some photos that were displayed on poster boards (which reminds me. do you remember candy bar posters? at what age did those gems become an inappropriate form of communication? Warning: I have every intention of bringing them back) and my grandpa pointed out a shot of them kissing in 1946 the year they met in Atlanta. The photo had the words Picnic and In Love written on it, to which my G'pa commented "We decided to go on a picnic, but it turned into a pic-neck." Again, oldies but goodies.

Ok, one more thing. After the party I had a conversation with an anonymous individual that went like this:

Me: I found a place in Seattle that will do pedicures for $15 and I'm all about it.

AI: Is it run by orientals?

Me: Um..well yes. It is run by Asians, which is the more PC term.

AI: PC, meaning?

Me: Politically Correct.

AI: Oh, gotcha.

Presh!

R'nR 1/2

2010-06-30T23:24:00.000-07:00

So I ran the Seattle Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon on Saturday. So fun! I ran with my friend Cassie and honestly, she was an amazing running buddy. Love that girl. We also started the race off with my friends Eli, Lindsay, and Brooke. Such a cool thing to experience with friends. And also cool to have Cass's family and a few of my friends there cheering us on. Such a boost!

That stance = I'm so tired I can only stand like this.

We each were showing how many 1/2's we've done.

I'm waiting on some pics that Lance took of Cass and me. I'll post those when I get 'em. BTW, I don't know how soon I'll do a 1/2 again. That might have tied me over for a few years. Onto other sports...

Mase in town!

2010-06-21T23:56:00.001-07:00

This weekend I got to play with my brother Mason, since he was in town after doing a little football camp in Kenton. It was so nice to have him here! Like I always say, he's the only person I've known my whole life. (besides the rest of my family, but you get me). We had dinner with some friends and played some games last night and then ran around Seattle today before he flew out at 6.

Last night we had a fun time reminiscing about funny family stories and embarrassing moments from halloweens past. One story had everyone laughing really hard, which somehow made it even more embarrassing than it had seemed in the first place. I'll have to share it sometime.

Today we started off at the aquarium. I had been wanting to go for 3 years now, and I really did love it (though maybe my expectations were a little higher than what we got). However, I touched a lot of cool sea critters, saw an amazing octopus and enjoyed seeing all the other wildlife swim, crawl, or hang around.

After the aquarium, we went to Alki beach and ate ice cream, discovered Discovery Park and a cool lighthouse, and then stopped by the flagship REI. While we were in Discovery park we found a Utah Ave. and couldn't help but take a few shots to support the stompin' grounds.

"You need a spway?"

2010-06-16T18:01:00.001-07:00

So today I got a text from my friend Annie, who reminded me of a story I should have posted a long time ago. Her text: "You want me to spway your pajamas?"

First of all, let me just say that sometimes titles can be deceiving. Like sometimes you know someone made up a title to make their employee feel good. You can add specialist or engineer to any task and it just sounds so much better. Like waste specialist = garbage man or beef sandwich engineer = Mcdonald's employee. (Not that there is anything wrong with either of those occupations. )

So in March, Annie and I travelled to San Diego for a work meeting and, as always, roomed together. When we were going to bed the first night, we smelled cigarette smoke and figured one of our neighbors was smoking. So, being the good samaritans we are, we called the front desk to report this, in hopes that they'd stop the smoker.

While I was on the phone with the front desk, I told them that I could smell the smoke coming through our vents, so the the lady said she'd send up an "engineer." At that moment I thought, "really? an engineer? Is he going to de-smoke my vent at 10:30PM?" Cool.

About 30 minutes later we got a knock on our door, and when I opened it, I found a woman who resembled Yolanda from the movie Selena (side note: after seeing that movie I was afraid of Yolanda looking women for several months) standing there with a spray bottle in her hand. She looked at me and said, "you need a spway?" I was taken aback. Spray what? There isn't an actual fire, just cigarette smoke.

Y: "you said your room smell like smoke...you wanna spway?"

Me: "uh...no. thanks."

Y: "ok. bye."

After that, Yolanda the engineer took off and Annie and I laughed for a bit, and eventually became silly and started saying ridiculous things like "You wanna spway? You want me spway yo' pillow? Yo want me spway yo' pajama. " in a voice I can't describe in writing. The end.

Tri-Stace

2010-06-15T23:08:00.001-07:00

So, if I've learned anything about myself over the last 28 years, it's that I process and experience things through talking about them. Anyone disagree? Didn't think so. I say this because a lot of times I blog because I need to tell you readers something on my mind or something I've done. Maybe I kind of live my life by doing something and then telling my people about it. If I do something and don't share, I've only half-way done it.

That being said, I got a new bike and I rode it today for the first real ride. I absolutely love it! The sun came out just in time and I fell in love. I was all geared up with a new helmet, bike shorts with a life saving Chamoas (Which I've nicknamed Shamwell), gloves, and sunglasses. I looked in the mirror before I took off and thought "you are kind of a poser right now."

I rode from my house to Alki (hello beautiful!) and back (10 miles). This is the view I enjoyed. I kind of want to have Seattle's babies. Is that OK to say in this forum?
Also, I started swimming this week. Swam 10 laps on Friday and then 10 more on Monday. I can't go more than a lap without stopping to catch my breath, but I really enjoy it, so I'll practice and get better. (I also discovered purple rubbery ear plugs that made this all possible, since I have a horrible fear of getting water in my ears. I recommend them to anyone with the same phobia.)

Finally, I ran 10 miles on Saturday in prep for my half marathon on the 26th. My friend Cass and I ran it and we went pretty slow, but we were feeling pretty good the rest of the day, which is good considering the fact that I went home after last year's halfie and passed out in my bed for 4 hours with my running clothes and shoes still on.

So, my point. I really love my body's ability to do things it hasn't done before. Biking, swimming, hot yoga, Zumba, maybe some dance classes this summer. Thanks body! You're a trooper.

The real finally, I want to do a Tri in August. My brother's have both done tri's this year, and I kind of have to keep up with them. Wonder if I'll ever grow out of that. Hope not.

Memorial Camping in Portland

2010-06-08T19:47:00.001-07:00

So over memorial, some friends and I decided to skip town and hike/camp near Multnomah falls (40 miles East of Portland). Actually by hike/camp I mean we did a 1 mile hike and car camped about 500 feet from the freeway. Trust me, it was magical!

To get a true picture of this adventure, imagine sitting by a campfire, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, while two dreamboats serenade you with sweet savory guitar tunes. This was our trip.

I've attached photos below in no particular order because I am still useless at loading photos in my blog. You can imagine what order things did happen in though.

Yep. we had fun on the hike.
iPhone's camp too.

ps. I don't consider myself a dreamboat. Some how we didn't capture a picture of Tyler in the act of seranation, but trust me, it was good.

Doppleganger...Swank

2010-06-01T17:33:00.000-07:00

Today another random stranger told me I look like Hillary Swank. This happens a lot. I think she's pretty and she has some pics that are gorgeous, but I never know how to take that comment because of the Office episode that was pretty much dedicated to whether she is hot or not. 50% said Heck No, and 50% said yes.

Some people have said, "Has anyone ever told you that you look like Hillary Swank?" and then they'll say "but I think you're prettier" and I can't help but think that they've seen that Office episode too.

Personally, I think she is beautiful and I'm flattered that people think I look like her (except if they think I look like her in Amelia or Million Dollar Baby). So, I'll just go with it.

Post Script: I googled HS on the Office to make sure I got my facts right, and I found this gem of a video. She is actually super cool. And she donated her hair. So...i guess you can call me Swankski all you want!

From craft night to dance night...

2010-05-31T12:38:00.001-07:00

forever young, please!

2010-05-26T22:19:00.000-07:00

Tonight our stake had a "Senior Honor's Night" where we celebrated the graduating Seniors who will be leaving our youth program. First of all, they're presh.

Second, I got to say some words about one of them and man, I may not have looked it, but I WAS SO NERVOUS! Seriously. so scared. Why can I sing for anyone, but speaking on a stage is like death? Don't tell anyone. I like people to think I've got it together. :)

Above is a picture of a few of the gals. I just love them. They remind me that I need to be the person I wanted to become when I was their age. I should have said that in my talk. Dang.

Not just any thursday...

2010-05-20T23:41:00.001-07:00

Some days I wake up an ordinary girl, but by the time I go to bed, I'm the owner of puff paints, two ever-so-eighties t-shirts, and a mullet wig.

Lessons Learned:

Puff Paint is now called Scribbles.
Crooked stars were totally in in the 80's, right?
I still like finger-painting.
Don't ask the Fred Meyer's personnel where puff paint is located while talking on your cell phone. It is rude. And you will laugh.

Chan's Wedding!!

2010-05-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

Today I am leaving for Colorado to attend the wedding of these guys. The bride is my beautiful freshman year roommate Chantelle. I adore her and am so happy for her!

The best part about it is that I get to see my freshman six-pack! This is us at a 10 year reunion weekend we did last October. Crazy that we're still friends and able to get together, right? I think so.

The great thing about these girls, and so many of you who read my blog, is that you have known me for 10 or 20 years and you get me and you love me. Is it OK to bask in that sometimes? Cause I'm gonna. This weekend. The end.

Taking a closer look at the business...

2010-05-11T16:34:00.000-07:00

After a long day of planning and creating our 35 slide business reviews, Annie asked our co-worker Christi and me what we thought about this slide...Pretty much speaks to our sentiment about working on our computers for 8 hours. :)

Gems from Arline Frances

2010-05-02T21:40:00.000-07:00

Today I had the greatest conversation with my Grandma Arline, who is so very special to me. I can never complete a conversation with her without laughing and smiling at her great sense of humor. Here are some grandma gems:

Grandma: Did you hear there's gonna be two new boys and a new girl in the family?

me: I knew about Preston and Danielle, who else is expecting?

G: Christine and Angie. But I had to find out the gender of their babies from Spacebook.

me: facebook?

G: Ya, but I call it Spacebook.

me: (uncontrollable laughter)

G: Christine is thinking about naming her baby Elizabeth, which is my mothers middle name.

Me: Nice. What's your middle name Grandma?

G: My middle name? Frances, I was named after Arline Frances, Ha. Not really, but I did grow up with a celebrity name.

Me: Cool! (Who is Arline Frances)

G: Do you know if Arline Frances has died? I always liked her and never heard if she died yet?

Me: No, I don't know (who she is, sorry grams), but I bet you could look it up online.

G: Well, I wouldn't know how to do that online.

Me: It's easy! Just go to Google and type in "Is Arline Frances Alive?"

G: Giggle?

Me: No, Google..gooooo gle.

G: Oh ya, google, I call it Giggle.

Me: (please let me be half as funny as this woman when I reach my 80's.)

auto + harp = easy?

2010-04-29T00:11:00.000-07:00

I hope so because today this came in the mail:

I decided big bluesy needed a friend. They are already getting along well.
Turns out it's the easiest instrument to learn because you just push one button and strum the strings and VWA-LA! you have a chord and beautiful harpy sounds. I'm in love.

Brian Regan Eye Doctor

2010-04-17T00:37:00.000-07:00

Saw Brian Regan tonight. First time seeing him live. So funny! I actually was wondering how hard I would laugh and I laughed really hard. So refreshing!

laid down some tracks...

2010-04-16T00:31:00.000-07:00

So the bandees and I got our act together and made a demo CD. I got a copy of it tonight and we sound pretty good. You know, for 4 old people and me. (just kidding band, you make 50 look so enticing!!).

Here are some pics from our day of recording. They locked me in a soundproof harry potter closet, which was pretty fun.
Then everyone sat around and listened to me lay down the vocal track. This is alway fun because I hear the music through headphones and then everyone listens to me sing my heart out sans instruments. Kinda awkward, except that to me, there was music the whole time.

I am going to make us a Myspace/music page soon. We've almost come up with a new band name and about to start playing at more than just church gigs. Go us!

I will post as soon as the page is up and running and interested parties can listen to our tracks.

Haircut

2010-04-16T00:26:00.001-07:00

I'm getting a haircut in May. I tried out some new do's and wanted some feedback.

Or maybe I'm 12 and think it's still fun to try on wigs and the party store...

nothin's gonna change my world...

2010-04-16T00:17:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was reunited with a CD that I have listened to probably 300 times and lost a few years ago. Greatest songs: Rufus Wainwright - Across the Universe, Mother Nature's Son - Sheryl Crow, Don't Let Me Down - Stereophonics. This reminds me of working for the imaging department in the ASB at BYU. AJ first showed me this and I fell in love.

She also used to say JKSU on chat when she was joking. At first I hated it because JK brought memories of Jr. High, but it grew on me and now I use this saying on select people. Really only those who won't think I seriously think it's still OK to say JK.

Why are the Beatles so amazing?!

Another shout out to the techno nation!

2010-03-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

Today I ran along Alki beach. Amazing! Sunny beautiful Puget Sound.

While I ran I:

read a new email

texted a friend in Oregon

listened to some tunes

took a picture of Seattle's skyline

listened to my own tunes that I had recorded with my lappy and $80 mic

got a text regarding plans tonight

and watched many, many average joe's use fancy camera's to take picture that probably would have sold for thousands a decade ago.

My point. Technology is amazing. I don't need to be behind a desk to accomplish my daily tasks. I've literally got the whole world in my little sweaty hand as I enjoy God's great creations. And, if I want to be awesome at something (recording, photography, etc.) I can be without taking years of school or buying loads of equipment. So thank you, technology. You've expanded my world in ways that I cannot take back.

(post script - I don't usually text and email while running. But it happens. Sometimes. Today. I almost always take picture of views. I live in Seattle. Can't not.)

Hipcycle

2010-02-22T18:40:00.000-08:00

(Picture from Google Images, not my camera)

Today I saw a hippy.

Yes, I live in Seattle, so this isn't a great story yet. More interesting to learn that he was riding a bike 20 feet high? That's right, the bike seat was about 20 feet above the ground.

How did he get on that bike? And what's going through his head? "Free high! Keep off the grass!"? I think I'll name him Ringo and give him the "thank you for climbing a bridge to get on your bike just to make my day" Award.

Second to this guy is the man I saw cycling through Capitol hill with a living room lamp + lamp shade attached to the back of his bike. In the middle of the day.

shameless

2010-02-15T08:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Facebook Friends:

I will be the first to admit that digital cameras have changed my life. Instant gratification. Snap the shot, see how it turned out. If you don't like it, take it again. And again. And again. And again.

But please. Just post the best one! 10 pictures of the same pose = Stacey pokes her eyes out.

Thank you kindly,

Stace

A possible resurrection

2010-02-09T23:08:00.000-08:00

Skillets. I've been thinking about my blog a bit lately and have finally tracked the source of it's demise. Anatomy and Physiology. I decided to take a class from the local community college and the class decided to take me...out of blogging commission.

I go to class every Saturday at 8AM and I spend a lot of Friday nights studying diagrams and figures or hearts, brains, cells, and now Lymphs. While it has been a MAJOR shock to my system (or what I have realized was a pretty chill life) I have actually loved this class.

Here is why:

1-I dissected a sheep heart on Saturday. SO satisfying. Especially seeing the heart strings!

2-I've previously dissected a sheep eye and brain.

3-My two latest lab partners are very attractive men (who swear like sailors :-/)

4-My professor is admittedly lazy and predictable, but he makes me laugh and is highly jaded about modern medicine, which should bug me, but just makes me laugh.

5-I didn't actually know we had a Lymph system in our bodies until this week.

6-I learned that I have a horrible sense of taste. Not actually sure I wanted to know that, but fascinating nonetheless.

7-I somehow have averaged 100% on the tests because my teacher offers extra credit. Ha!

Take that 2nd grade teacher who said Mason would always get A's and I would always get B's!

Halloween!!

2009-11-02T00:34:00.001-08:00

Two parties: Two costumes: Too much fun!!

I honestly played this entire weekend! It was actually really refreshing to be in Seattle for an entire week, and then to have fun things to do every second. I also must be under some full moon spell because I could not get enough dancing at both the parties I attended. Honestly, dancing is pretty fun (way fun with dancer freinds) but I was a little out of control. At one point I found myself facing a guy I barely know, and us together jumping up and down yelling the words to a song I'd never heard ("That's not my name"--except Stacey is my name and that's one they say...pretty awesome!) And really I have to say this: the people in Seattle are really cool. I think I've had a crappy attitude about the singles scene here for a while and I'm done with that. I've met and reconnected with some really awesome people which is great!

Grandpa Ken

2009-10-06T23:24:00.000-07:00

This is a special post dedicated to my dear grandpa Ken. My dad just called me to tell me that grandpa Ken passed tonight. His health has been deteriorating for the past few years and has gotten a lot worse over the last few months. Yesterday he slipped into a coma though he came out of it for a few hours today to spend a last bit of time with my grandma Arlene. It had been decided that my dad would stay at the house with them tonight and just after my grandma gave him a kiss on the forehead, told him she loved him, and went to bed, my dad noticed his breathing changed. He then walked over and said, "Ken, I wish there was something I could do to make you more comfortable." At that point he closed his eyes real tight and let go.

My grandpa Ken was 98 years old as of September 18th. He lived such a full life, I'd probably say that he lived two people's lives. He and my grandma were married the year I was born, after both of their spouses had passed away. Whether she knew it or not, that summer of 1981 was the beginning of an adventure that would change her life. Ken taught my grandma how to snow ski, ride motorcycles, and four wheel through Moab and other places. He took her to every state in the US and many places around the world. They drove their RV to all the national parks and hosted friends from all parts of the world. They also danced two times a week for over 20 years. At their dance hall there was a yearly halloween costume contest and they won it every year, until they decided to back off and let some of the other couples have a chance to win.

For a little while, when I was young, my dad lived with my grandparents. We'd eat dinner with them on weekends and I always loved how we would all hold hands around the dinner table during the prayer and then my grandma and grandpa would kiss after we said Amen. Every time without fail!

During those times, Grandpa Ken started calling Preston "Pressy". At first we teased Preston because it was such a sissy name, but as time passed, we all (including Preston) embraced the name and loved calling him that. It even stretched to Preston's mission when he would sign his letters "Elder Pressy". We all just knew how much Grandpa Ken loved Preston and the name of endearment stuck.

Grandpa Ken has been everywhere, so no matter where I went (which is quite a few places) he always asked me questions and then told me his own experiences. After I moved to Seattle, he started to ask me if I spent much time at Green Lake. Well, Green lake is one of my favorite spots in Seattle so I was excited he knew about it. He then would tell me a story of when he and his brothers were swimming in Green lake and he nearly drowned. To which I'd always say"I'm glad you didn't". Since I've been in Seattle through most of his decline in health (and memory), I've heard this story a lot.

When I was home two weekends ago for Preston's wedding I got to go see Grandpa Ken for the last time. As my dad and I were visiting with him, he mainly stuck to one word answers like "Yep" and "Nope", and he seemed to be in a daze. However, when I sat next to him and said "Hi Grandpa, it's Stacey. Things are going well in Seattle. I spent a lot of time swimming in Green Lake this summer," he slowly said "I almost drowned in that lake many years ago." I couldn't help but smile and say, "I'm glad you didn't!" To which he said "Me too."

There's a lot more that I could say about my Grandpa Ken, but this will do for now. I love him and I'm so glad he joined our family at the same time I did. I'm so thankful that he was baptized into the gospel in February and is enjoying a long awaited reunion with his wife Gladys, and his family and friends who have passed on before him.

Also, I'm proud of my dad for serving him as if Ken was his own father and for staying with him in his last moments. I love you dad!

Sinus Surgery

2009-10-02T14:57:00.001-07:00

Just a little post surgery update! Lovin' my stache!

hopeful surgical solutions

2009-10-01T01:38:00.000-07:00

due to my inability to breathe through my nose (I am exaggerating) I get to have sinus surgery tomorrow. While I should be resting for the big day, I can't seem to get off this lappy of mine. The goal is to clear some room for a little airflow so I can sleep better and what not... I'll let you know if that really works.

p.s. Kristen Chenoweth was hillarious on Glee tonight. And honestly, what chorus member of the high school musical couldn't love that show?

lastly...p-nut is married! My precious Preston has tied the knot! It was a beautiful wedding and great to see him and Danielle happy! Also fun to see so many friends and family!

Elevator analysis

2009-09-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else spend a lot of time in elevators? I do. Probably more time than I would prefer, to be honest. I probably ride an average of 3 different elevators a day, and since I'm one to analyze random, unimportant things, I'm dedicating this post to my thoughts on elevators.

1- I really hate riding in elevators
2- I realize that they are amazing and I am grateful for them even though I hate them
3- Standing in an elevator with other people is so awkward. Sometimes I look around at whatever is in my hands and act really interested in my phone or bag. Other times I am like a statue. Standing freeze-framed until the door opens on my floor. I wish I could say that I frequently start conversations with other riders, but I don't.
4- Elevators are keepers of smells. Sometimes this is horrible, but sometimes it is amazing. Have you ever walked into an elevator and smelled the familiar cologne of a guy from memories past? They say the ole' factory senses are the strongest for bringing up memories.
5- So I guess the one exception to my hate of being in an elevator is when I can ride an elevator with no other passengers and with a good man smell.

Wicked...ness = Happiness...last night!

2009-09-09T07:52:00.000-07:00

"So if you care to find me look to the western sky! As someone told me lately: "Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"

Oh and did she ever fly! To the top of my chart of favorite musicals! As you may have guessed, I saw Wicked last night for the first time and LOVED it! I've actually been waiting for 19 months to see the show. In college my friend Kim gave me the soundtrack and I never ended up listening to it at the time. Then I got my current job and found myself in my car for 3+ hours a day. When I got tired of the less than amazing Seattle radio stations and the music on my iPod I popped in Wicked and it didn't come out for 2 months. At first, I actually tried not to listen to all of the music because I didn't want to know how the story ends (if you haven't seen wicked, don't read the rest of this paragraph), but I did end up listening to it all and I was convinced that Elphaba died and she and Fiero didn't end up together, so you can imagine my excitement when I watched her come out of that little trap door and into her scarecrow lover's arms.

One of my favorite observations of the musical was how Elphaba sang a solid alto part throughout the entire show and El Woods (aka Glinda) sang soprano, until the last song "Changed for good" when they changed parts on the harmonies. A lot of people probably wouldn't notice that, but I did and I think it was a powerful way of communicating the words they were singing.

So that is my Wicked recap. I can't wait to see it again. In fact, I wish they would make it a movie so I could watch it over and over!

28

2009-09-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

Warning---This post may sound a bit wiser and mature than previous posts as I am now officially in my late 20's...

Last night, (and most of the last weekend, and probably a few other times this week) I celebrated my 28th birthday. Over the weekend I went waterskiing, and though I had a blast, I also strained my back and walked around like an old grandma for a few days. I thought it was only appropriate that I feel like an old person as I get closer to being an old person. I've never been one to hate my birthday or the fact that I'm getting older. What's the point? No money, talents, sales skills or scientific method has ever stopped a person from getting one year older every 365 days (except I guess leap year...but then it just happens a day later).

I guess my main observation of my birthday is that technology (or to be more specific facebook and texting) has changed birthdays forever. I probably had birthday wishes from over 100 people today. People I haven't spoken to in years and even some people that I don't remember ever speaking to. (but somehow we're friends on facebook).

I think there is a hierarchy of birthday wishes based on level of friendship (or level of caring). Here is my list.

1- In person: These are people who take you to lunch, come to your party, or plan a future lunch when you're available because they want to celebrate with you in person.

2-On the phone: This group picks up the phone and calls. They are willing to take a risk and have an improvisational conversation with you that could last as short or long as it does. They care about telling you happy birthday and hearing your reaction.

3-Email: Yes, this is above texting, because it takes a tiny bit more effort. You have to compose a message, find my email and say whatever you want to say. You can't really just email "Happy Birthday". Needs a little more..

4-Text: This is easy and quick, but it's directly to my personal phone. So all day long I'm receiving nice little reminders that I am loved.

5-Facebook: This method requires people to keep an eye on their birthday feed on their homepage of facebook, and then make the effort to click on the people they want to wish happy birthday and write them a message. While at first it seems like they cheated cause their facebook told them about your b-day, the truth is, it doesn't tell you unless you look. Being someone who never looks at that page, I am in awe of how many people did.

So thank you to everyone who made some type of birthday wish. I loved them all. (If all of the level 5ers had wanted to go to lunch or call me on the phone, it would have been ridiculous.) And it's just fun to have so many ways to hear HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Family in Town!

2009-08-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

So yes, I am a horrible blogger... anyway, I've posted a few pics of my families trip to Seattle. My dad, stepmom and brother Mason came in to town in July. We had a blast. Went to Luna Park cafe and my dad went crazy over the juke box at our table. We had strawberry shakes with our breakfast. Doesn't get much better than that.

Also my dad had a good time with my push lawn mower. Guess I know where I got my goofy sense of humor from. :) Above (because I am bad at inserting pics.) You'll see some pics of the deck my dad built me while I was there. He's so handy! It was hard to see them go after such a fun weekend!

Lice Knowing You...

2009-07-05T16:13:00.000-07:00

So the other day (or month), My dear friend Cass had an unfortunate run in with Lice. Her youngest got it from someone at school (along with 12 of 15 in the class -- ridiculous) and she and her older son got it too. She actually paid a company called "Lice Knowing You" to come and quarantine their house and nit pick their hair. Then she just shaved her boys heads to make sure it was gone. Anyway a few days later I went to visit and I got there to find Cass with a shower cap and a head full of olive oil. Here's a pic of us (I took a few precautions of my own):

Then while we were feeding the boys ice cream, her youngest just started singing "Hit me baby one more time" and I couldn't help but capture this reference to Britney spears and her own head shaving extravaganza!

il pianoforte!

2009-07-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

I got a piano!!! It is my new obsession and so cute in my house! I found it on craiglist about a mile from my house for $375 (which was a steal!) I've been taking lessons and practicing on my dinky keyboard and the pianos at church and was getting to the point where the keyboard just wasn't doing the job. So one night I perused craigslist and the next day I fell in love with this cute little Story and Clark spinet stand up.

My wonderful friends helped me move it (which saved me a LOT of money) but a few little scuffs and scratches happened in the process. Below is a before picture of the piano, before I learned about a product called watco oil. It's an oil that you rub on wood to renew the stain and shininess. It worked amazingly! I recommend it to anyone in need of a wood shining!

(these pics are a little out of order because this insert photo process in a pain and it wouldn't let me move them around after I inserted them). So Lame!
So this is an after shot of the bottom:
Before shot of the keys and board:

After shot:

Before of bottom:

I love my little guy and I love Watco oil!

Trip to Utah May 09

2009-07-05T15:30:00.000-07:00

So I took a trip to Utah over Memorial day weekend and had a lot of fun with my family and friends. I got to go out with some of the high school gals which was fun and funny as always. I also was able to visit with my grandparents. I love them so much! My grandpa had his leg amputated a couple years ago and he has such a good attitude about it. He was actually a very good sport when Preston and I decided to play with his "no leg" toys.

I also got to see my cute little niece Presley and nephew Payton. Are they not adorable?

I asked Payton to smile big and died laughing when I turned the camera around and saw how seriously he took my directions!

I also got to go skiing (1st skier behind my parents 26 ft. boat) and it was SOOO great!! Who doesn't love a big wake to try and jump over??? Overall it was a great trip and I'm excited to head back in August for my HS reunion...

parking pal eulogy

2009-05-18T22:24:00.000-07:00

as a result of my occupation, I have the opportunity to associate with a lot of parking lot attendants. I would like to dedicate this post/poem, if you will, to my favorite parking pals.

dear parking attendant pals-

thank you thank you for taking my money at least once a day

to some, you may be nothing more than the guy that facilitates the ripping off by large building owners

but to me, you're so much more...

you're the young ethiopian guy who knows my name and always asks me how my day is going

you're the Indian guy who let me park illegally last week and who I have a minor crush on

you're the old dude who always says "five Bucks" (emphasis on "B") and never "five dollars"

you're the cool mid-30's guy who compliments my hair when it's curly

you're the precious old ethiopian guy who was the only person to wish me Happy Easter! (besides fam and friends)..

You're the guy that wouldn't let me go without first saying that life is about making things easy..and...well all I remember is leaving thinking I didn't catch much of what you said but that I should make my life more simple.

you put a smile on my face when I need it, and let me pay fast and zip away when I don't feel like chatting. You're a refreshing break from the rude people in this world and you are the recipient of this week's "I really dig you" award. (and possibly the only "I really dig you" award for that matter!) Here's to kind and happy people!

Update and apology...

2009-05-10T19:46:00.000-07:00

dear readers (both of you)...

I want to take this opportunity to publicly apologize for my absence from the blogging world. I won't bore you with excuses, but rather will say I have missed this outlet (and quite honestly my background music - and mel's and bree's) and give you an update of what's happened since Africa.

I'd like to update through pictures, since most people don't even read the words (most = me...don't hate liddle che!).

1- The weekend after I got back from Africa, I went to my co-worker Katie's cabin for a girls weekend. Here we are (sans the birthday girl herself) enjoying this awesome cabin.

Sherrie, Cass, and Stace

2- I have signed up to run the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon in June. I've been trying to train and get my miles up and was able to snap this shot at Lincoln Park by my house after a run.
3- Had a work meeting at ocean shores and stayed in a room with this view. Roomed with my favorite co-worker Annie and, as usual, we had our stuff strewn all over the room after 15 minutes of being there. Having a compatible roommate on such trips is amazing!
4- I've been working like crazy to plan this year's Young Women's camp. Meetings are getting out of hand, but it's all a lot of fun. Lots to do before August.

5- My friends and I had our first backyard party at my house. I reveled in the compliments on my backyard and enjoyed using my new fire pit (thanks Mase) to roast mallows and beer brats (this is how we mormons do beer at a bbq ;)! )

6- I made a new friend, Shelby, who is neither married nor 50. No offense to most my friends who are either of those things, because let's be honest, you are who I choose to hang out with; but I'd forgotten how nice a friend who's in your similar "life-status situation" can be.

7- Preston came in town this weekend!!! It was SO much fun! I love him so much and can't believe how wonderful of a person he's become. We took most of our photos on his camera, but I did get a few shots of our trip to the zoo. I guess I can't get enough of the animal shots!

We also visited EMP, rode bikes around Alki, watched a ton of movies and just had our first Stace and Prest catch up time since before his mission! SO FUN and so sad he's gone...

Lions and Tigers and Bears...oh my!

8- I'm still rockin' with the band. We did a show at a ward dance last night and actually got paid! Bu yeah!!

9- and finally...I got the iPhone!! All I can say is that phone is amazing and has changed my life. Thank you all for your advice! My favorite features are the traffic map and the youtube app where I can play any song I want through the auxiliary port in my car (can you tell I spend my life in my taurcedes?). Preston, new friend Shelby, and I did discover the Fart App today. Don't ever let me get too old for farts to be funny!

For those of you still with me, thanks for reading til the end! That's my update for now. I will be in Ogden over memorial day for those of you who will be around and would like to get together! And anyone needing to take a break to the PNdub...this place is absolutely amazing!

I weathered the STORM!

2009-03-23T23:59:00.000-07:00

After 9 days of gray clouds and dreary drizzles, I finally took back my Crapberry Storm and reconnected to my old basic cell. That phone basically turned my world upside down. Email/Internet access at all hours (when the phone decided to work), a screen that you touch but also must click, a cover that got stuck to my hair leaving me with speaker phone option only, and the impossibility of doing something as simple as asnwering the phone... all drove me to say "NO MORE!"

So, if you're considering it...don't! I'm not considering the Samsung Omnia or the iPhone. Arguments either way are appreciated!

Name of the Year!

2009-03-18T00:28:00.000-07:00

So the other day I heard about a family that recently came to the US from Vietnam. They soon after had a baby girl and named her "Queen America." This is almost as wonderful as "Americus Nations" from Where The Heart Is, except that it's better because it's not make-believe! Sorry Floadie Brown Thayne...your title has just been claimed...

I bless the rains down in Africa...

2009-03-16T00:53:00.000-07:00

Good song...great country...best trip ever! Except China and Italy really rocked. And the HS girls trip to Sea-town was SO fun, among many others. OK, best is a strong word. But I LOVED every second of it!

Here is a slide show of the pics we took. See report of events below..

ShortSA

I took it from 828 pics to 115. They go by super fast. If you can't see it on the above link, you can also click http://picasaweb.google.com/slunck/ShortSA?authkey=Gv1sRgCKTh1ou9lebqvAE&feat=directlink.

To give a quick recap: We landed in Johannesburg and drove 6 hours to Acornhoek, where my freinds Steph and Neil live. We got to attend church the next day and then drive through Kruger park where we saw Elephants, Giraffes, Zebras, lionesses, a leopard, storks and birds of all kinds, hippos, and many more.
Then we hit up the Escarpement which is depicted in the scenic (waterfalls, mountains) pics. Beautiful!!
Next we took a 6AM Elephant Safari where we rode around a private game reserve on elephant back. I completely fell in love with elephants (especially the baby ones)! Later that day we took a safari around another private game reserve where our open jeep got stuck in a river for 90 minutes. We found ourselves standing outside of our car in a park where a every imagineable wild animal roams and where a security guard was eaten by a lion just a week before. Luckily we got out of the river and ended up seeing more elephants, a water buffalo, and three lounging lionesses before calling it a night.
The next day we travelled back to Jo-burg, hit up a wonderful temple session in the Johannesburg temple, and stayed the night in a nasty hotel (that had a trampoline..thought of Utah!).
Then it was off to cape town where we toured Robben Island (former prison of Nelson Mandela), saw Cape Point (meeting point of Atlantic and Indian Ocean), swam with penguins at boulder beach, and climbed table mountain). Then we flew back to Jo-burg and home (26 hour flight from Joburg to Seattle -blessed Ambien).

Collette, Laurie, Steph and Neil were so much fun to travel with. We got along famously and spent most of the vacation smiling or laughing and learning a lot of random stuff about each other. I'm so thankful I went on this trip. I gained a new love for a new place and for God's amazing creations! Post two weeks of jetlag, I feel refreshed and ready for the next adventure! Which I think will be Utah over memorial day. If any of you will be around, lets party!

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saint's stance on the Big Love episode...

2009-03-09T23:14:00.001-07:00

I really enjoyed this article and was once again reminded of why I am a member of the LDS Church.

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma

Welcome Grandpa Ken!

2009-03-03T09:57:00.000-08:00

It's not everyday, or possibly ever, that you can say your 96 year old grandpa got baptised today. Well mine did! Ok, not today, but this Saturday, February 28th, my grandpa Ken logan walked in to the waters of baptism after attending church with my grandma for 32 years. I unfortunately couldn't attend the baptism, but got to talk to my grandparents about it and they were ecstatic! They said that 109 people attended. 109 people! That is craziness to me, but I would expect nothing less from this amazing couple. I love them and am so happy that my grandpa Ken has found peace in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Also, thanks to the missionaries and my brother Preston and Cousin Emily who were inspired and brave as they shared their testimonies with our family!

Africa!!!

2009-02-24T07:43:00.000-08:00

Who could have guessed how much I would love this country?!?! Africa is SO beautiful and amazing! I just got back last night (slept from 5PM to 5AM --Hello Jet lag!) and I'm prepping myself for the post-vacation blues...;) Here are a few pics that I took of our activities. I'll post a travel log a little later.

This guy was a major poser...

Cape Town: The gals and the view.Our group: Collette, Laurie, Stephanie, Neil, and Me.

SofreakA!

2009-02-13T01:06:00.001-08:00

I'M LEAVING FOR SOUTH AFRICA IN 4 HOURS!!!

life from a camera phone...

2009-01-31T16:10:00.000-08:00

So this last week I went to Florida for a work conference. I got to go down early and hang out with my brother's friend Rod and his family. They were so nice to let me stay at their beach house for a couple of nights and they ended up being so cool! Here's a shot I took with my camera phone on the beach...

You may be able to tell that it wasn't exactly a sunny day... Sometimes I feel like at some point in life (since I moved to the PNdub) the sun and I had a falling out and now we're just avoiding each other. However, upon returning to Seattle I did take a walk at a park just down the road and was able to snap these shots. It's almost like Seattle was saying, "You don't have to leave to find what you're really looking for." Thanks Sea-town!

Do strange words ever continuously run through your head?

2009-01-08T11:36:00.000-08:00

Every so often, there will be a word that plays over and over in my head. Some of these words include:

Edemame
Yum Kippur
Horcrucks
Labradoodle
Coccyx
Succinct
Cornacopia
Sphinx
etc.

over and over....

They're always terms that are uniquely pronouced and that I'm not very familiar with. I thought the word Edemame for years before I knew what it was and fell in love with those yummy little beans.

Anyone else experience this?

Cause I'm a brick...House!

2009-01-05T23:29:00.000-08:00

...or I would be if I ate as much holiday caramel as I would have liked. Ok, so I waited until January to post this, because why ruin the holidays? I personally don't enjoy people telling me how fattening something is just before I eat it. Totally ruins the amazing enjoyment of sugary gooness melting in your mouth. But now it's the new year. We've all made new goals and resolutions, so I think we're ready to stomach what I'm about to reveal.

This christmas, I was invited to a neighborhood Christmas Cookie party. All the gals in the hood were supposed to make a christmas treat and bring it to share with everyone else. I made Holiday Caramels and whilst I was pouring 2 cups of heavy whipping cream into the mix, I glimpsed the nutrition facts to find that 2 cups of Heavy cream has 32 servings in it and each serving has 5 grams of fat. That's right...160 g of fat in just that one ingredient. Not to mention the cup of butter that ended up equalling 176 g of fat. There I was...looking at a pretty small pot of bubbly brown that contained 326 grams of fat!

Now the whole pot ended up making about 70 peices, so if you do the math its really only 5 g's a peice...but those peices are tiny and I could probably eat enough in one sitting to equal all the fat I need in a week!

Anyway, I don't really have a point. I'm not saying don't eat caramel, because I still did, even after I knew... I just found it interesting and wanted to share...

(So, as stated, I wrote this in December and am posting it in January, and since I wrote this, I've found that many people already knew these facts. Was I the only on in the dark here?)