Back On The West Coast

7 beds, 5 airports, almost 15 hours in the air, 8 hours spent in airports, 53 lbs of luggage (I knew my bag was heavy and that was confirmed when I checked in to fly back to Seattle. Thank you American Airline attendant for looking the other way at my extra 3 lbs!) and travel of almost 3,000 miles and I'm now back on the west coast and welcomed by a heat wave! I guess we missed out on the record breaking 102 degrees downtown on Wednesday. (Oh darn!) A wonderful trip out east it was indeed! I am truly grateful for my family and friends and with so much time and space apart, it was great to pick up right where we left off!
Nala was VERY happy to see us last night. So happy that she proceeded to let us know for 8 hours as she meowed (or sqwuaked as Joe puts it) from the time we walked in the door until about 7:30 this morning. Between that and the time change we were able to start our day quite early. (I paid for the interrupted sleep later in the day). With extra time before Joe went to work we were out on the road headed to Best Buy. His computer died last week and needless to say he was eager to get its replacement. For me, shopping for electronics is as about as exhilerating as shopping for things in bulk at Cosco- I would rather just not do it and in no way feel the satisfaction I do after a purchase of a great pair of shoes (ah yet again how it always comes back to the shoes!) But I digress. Needless to say this shopping extravaganza worked out to my benefit as I came away with a new laptop thanks to an insistent husband and a too good to pass up interest free payment plan. My laptop has given me 4 good years, gotten me through a long distance relationship and more IEP's than I care to count, but it is time to bid adieu as the thing just doesn't run with the speed as its younger predecessors. Of course when we get home I walked past the box on the floor and go to check my e-mail on my old one. What can I say old habits die hard. Joe was VERY eager to get our new systems up and running and when he left for work he left me with a short and easy assignment to get acquainted with my new computer. I put it off for as long as I could but with the accompaniment of a glass of wine (or 2) I pressed the keys for the first time. Of course the first thing I had to do was to make sure I had the right background design and carefully choose the colors on my homepage. A girl does have to have her priorities after all! So here I sit typing my first blog entry on my new computer. So far it's holding up well but the real test will come just after school starts when my report writing will be in full force once again.

East Coast Update

Greetings all from the east coast! I'm sitting here in Pittsburgh at the tail end of my 16 day whirlwind trip and thought I should update my post. My time started out up in Mystic with Lauren for a few days where I got to bond with my "niece puppy" Bella. We walked (and then walked some more!) to keep her content but even I have to admit her cuteness did win me over! Some time at the beach followed by some shopping capped off a great start to my trip. From there we piled into the car for the trip to Susquehanna. As the saying goes, "there's no place like home" and it was good to fill up on family time (and Erica time!) with time spent at the lake, "cocktail hour" on the porch with Dad, teaching Grama how to expand her understanding of e-mail, and making sure Mom and Dad are more connected through the world wide web with their new e-mail account. On Wednesday I rented a car and drove down to Jessica's house in Glenside where I was greeted with heavy levels of humidity! I definitely forgot what that feels like and the feeling was just reaffirmed that I do not miss it one bit! It was great to see Jessica's house the progress she has made on putting her personal touches on it. I give her huge amounts of credit for taking on the project she has but have no doubt that the end result will be amazing! We had dinner in Manayunk which I always love to visit, and then enjoyed a quiet evening with drinks on her porch. Thursday was the day of rain and saying it was a little wet would be an understatement! I started the day visiting Nicole and Abby in Newtown. It was neat to see the renovations they have done to their house and Abby is just too cute for words! She's definitely at a fun age! That afternoon Sue and Molly met me for coffee in Newtown and of course it's always nice to catch up with friends in person. Then I met a few people that I used to work with back in my old neighborhood where I worked. I was there long enough to find comfort and familiarity in the surroundings and being able to go back was a nice added bonus! I ended my day in Havertown at Amber and Gary's where I spent the night and then picked Joe up in the morning at the airport. After 10 days apart it was nice to see my hubby again! :-) We had a lazy day (again in humidity) before heading to Em's wedding. What a fun night of festivities it was!!!! Emily looked absolutely beautiful and the whole venue made a perfect backdrop for the wedding. The ceremony was outside with the isle lined in rose petals. The ceremony had nice touches with a string quartet, a song by Leah accompanied by Brian's brother on guitar, and reading of Dr. Seuss "Oh The Places You'll Go." At the reception, an announcement was made that instead of clinking glasses to make the bride and groom kiss, each table had to stand up and sing a song with the word love in it. Our table was the first to take on the challenge as we sang the "Barney" theme song. There's nothing like a group of 20 somethings reverting back to childhood. :-) Dad was the real crowd pleaser at the wedding as he was acknowledged for dancing to every single song. It's pretty funny when your Dad can even muster enough energy and toleration for the likes of Beyonce, 50 Cent, and Justin Timberlake. Go Dad! :-) It was so nice getting to spend the evening with everyone and Nicole gets props for her plan to bring Joe and I back to PA. :-) By the end of the evening we were all exhausted but were able to get up early on Saturday for breakfast with Joe's parents and Sara. How nice it was to all be reunited together-first time since the wedding! Our trip to Pittsburgh was uneventful and a good reminder of just how wide the state of Pennsylvania really is! On Sunday we had a BBQ here at the house where some of Joe's friends (and their kids) and Joe and Colleen's friends gathered for good food and conversation. We were entertained by the kids and Joe made sure to try and keep me far away from them as he says he doesn't want me getting any ideas....:-) The night was capped off by a huge downpour making me realize that I have seen more rain as I've been here than I have seen in Seattle in the last 3 months. It's a sunny day here once again and I'm thinking a lawn chair and a book might be calling my name:-) I'm meeting friends from grad school for dinner tonight in the city and am looking forward to catching up with them as I haven't seem them since last March! I'm bottling everything up to tied me over through the fall and winter once again.....

With my attention and focus on my upcoming travels, I completely forgot to update last night. Ooops! What can I say, the week has been filled with what vacation is all about- nothing on the agenda and doing with the days as I feel. That has included lots of reading, doing some organizing, and just enjoying not working. I've loved that any errand I've had to run I've been able to walk to accomplish and can leave my car parked as the weather has been cooperating nicely. We've been playing in a kickball league once a week and that's been fun and something different to do. On Friday the sun was out in full force and I enjoyed a day by the pool with some of the teachers from work followed by Bloody Mary's on Sydney's deck. Not sure that I got much of a tan that day but I definitely have more freckles! Joe and I enjoyed breakfast out on Saturday morning at one of the new hot spots and then spent a lazy day in the park with our books and enjoying each others' company. Sunday welcomed us with rain and grey clouds so we took the outlets for a little shopping before hitting the movies. I'm getting myself ready for 16 days on the east coast and can't wait to catch up with everyone!

Another beautiful week in the Pacific Northwest! On Monday night Joe and I drove down to Eugene, Oregon to stay with Joe's friend Matt before meeting Aunt JoAnn and Uncle Michael at the beach the following afternoon. The sunshine was out but so was the wind when we arrived on the coast. That didn't deter us from taking in the beautiful views of the waves hitting the rocks or hurt our attempts at searching for Agate rocks. It was fun to explore the little beach towns, take a peek in the galleries, and just look out the window of our beach house to see the ocean. We attempted a walk on the beach but for me the wind won out but not before my first "dip" in the Pacific Ocean. And when I say "dip" I mean my toe within my flip flop making contact with the smallest amount of cold water possible. That has to count for something though right? We had lunches at a little Inn and dinners overlooking the bay in Newport Harbor. The atmosphere is set up there to make you feel relaxed. I wish I could have bottled that relaxation up for say September? Joe and I drove back to Seattle on Thursday as he had to work and then Aunt JoAnn and Uncle Michael arrived on Friday. After some yummy Thai food and a visit to the bead shop, we retired ourselves with books and a glass of wine to our wonderful and inviting courtyard at our apartment complex. Later in the evenings have been the best time to be outside as it has been really hot during the day. On Saturday we went down to Pike's Place Market before Aunt JoAnn and Uncle Michael met up with friends and I did a little shopping as it seemed a waste not to take advantage of the holiday sales.
Joe and I watched a great fireworks display overlooking Lake Union. People start to congregate over an hour before showtime so we got to witness a beautiful sunset complete with pink skies and the Olympic Mountains in the background. The fireworks did not disappoint and it was a nice culmination to cap off a wonderful week.
Joe and I started our lazy Sunday with crepes at a little cafe before I decided that my "to do" could wait one more day. I'm currently on movie number 2 with less than 80 pages left in my current book that I'm reading. The best part is that I can finish both from my couch. The only thing missing is that little thing I miss so much known as air condition.