A Few Cat Pictures

...I take a lot of pictures of our cats.  They are just too cute.  

  (We think Felix looks like Henry VIII in this one.)

(If Rhett ever needs a headshot to go into Kitty Equity, here it is!)

 (Oh so sleepy!)

(Most cats get mad if you put a stuffed animal on them while they sleep.  Felix shows no reaction.)

(Photos are mine, please do not use without credit)

Music and Dinosaurs

The past couple of nights have been so lively compared to my nights during the school year!  On Tuesday, Zan and I went to a Laura Marling concert!  For those of you who have not listened to Laura Marling's music, check it out.  Seriously.  If you like Mumford and Sons, you will like Laura Marling (I potentially like her even MORE than Mumford and Sons).  I especially recommend "Hope in the Air," "Ghosts," "Rambling Man," "Sophia," "All My Rage," and "Night After Night."  (You can look them all up on YouTube and I highly recommend that you do-- for some reason a few of the music videos themselves are no longer available to viewers in the USA, but you can still hear the songs.  Then buy the albums!)  Really, all of her songs are amazing.  We got to stand right up at the front of the stage during the gig!  She was only a few feet away from me!  She's so beautiful and wonderful.  Her music has absolutely changed my life.  Lovely, lovely concert. 

(Laura Marling; photo found here)

Then last night, Zan and I hosted our first party together!  We're like real people!  We have an apartment, cats, host parties!  It was a Jurassic Park party.  We invited over a few of our friends who had expressed an interest in seeing the film again, and buckled in for a wild T-Rex/velociraptor-filled evening.  We made green Jell-o (because of the shaking green Jell-o that the girl holds at the end for like, two seconds), bacon-wrapped dates (called "Dino... droppings, droppings?), mushroom bites (called Dodgson's Dots), Where's the Goat? Cheese with honey and cranberries, and eggplant parmesan bites (called Dinosaur Eggs).  I even made little placards for each one with dinosaur stickers on them.  Zan put out his Barbasol cans.  Very themed.  And, um-- we watched JURASSIC PARK!  SO GOOD.

(Food labels for our Jurassic Park party)

And today was even fun!  Liz and I spent some time in the bookstore, then went to Smith for some champagne cocktails and crab fritters.  I love summer!

Zombies and Movies (Both End in "ies")

All of my muscles hurt today because I actually went running yesterday.  I went a little over five kilometers, according to my app.  I used to run at least two miles everyday senior year of high school, which dwindled during college, and pretty much died completely when I started my masters.  Thanks to my friend Laura, I bought an app called "Zombies, Run!" and decided to try it out.  Basically, the app tells you bits of a story interspersed with music from your iTunes, you're Runner 5, and you're running from zombies.  You also complete missions as you run.  I think I scared some other runners on the path when I would take off at a sprint with a terrified look on my face-- it's scary when you hear the zombies closing in!  I also learned that I am in no way physically fit for a real zombie attack.  But it feels nice to get some exercise.

Also, yesterday, Zan and I went to see Brave.  I enjoyed it so much more than I anticipated.  Critics are saying it's not as good as other Pixar films, but I think it's just that it's a more familiar story-- no monsters under the bed or fish needing finding.  Still, the story is told with that Pixar twist of magic, and I think the animation is superior to many of their other films.  They really capture the beauty of the Highlands.  I don't want to give anything away, but if you're on the fence about seeing it because you think it looks like a run-of-the-mill story of a girl who doesn't want to get married and would rather be a warrior-- it's not.  At least, not really.  Go see it.  Also, the Pixar short film before the movie starts, "La Luna," is sooo worth it. 

(Not a sponsored post in any way)
(Photos found here and here)

All Who Come to this Happy Place, Welcome

For those of you who know me, or who have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I visit Disney World quite a lot.  But, until this past week, I had only been to Disneyland once, when I was four or five.  To celebrate completing my first year of my PhD, my friend Liz and I spent three lovely days hitting up the parks, the pool, and enjoying the feel of warm sunshine!

The scariest ride was that pictured above: Mickey's Fun Wheel.  Yes, it looks like a simple Ferris wheel, but it has swinging gondolas and steady ones-- we rode in the swinging.  Liz doesn't do well with the motion and I didn't do well with the heights (I'm usually ok, but then I realized we were really high up with nothing protecting us but a little metal basket and freaked).  The blood drained from both of our faces at the same moment.  For the rest of the trip, no matter what we rode, we said to each other, "It can't be as bad as Mickey's Fun Wheel."

And we rode tons of rides! Ariel, Monsters Inc., Alice in Wonderland, Storybook Canal, "It's Tough to be a Bug," Mr. Toad (twice), Pirates of the Caribbean (three times), Matterhorn, Soarin', Nemo Submarines, Grizzly River Rapids, everything!  We saw Fantasmic (amazing!) and World of Color (meh), and we ate so much good food-- and managed to stay healthy and in our budget!  Plus, on our last evening, we got the last Dole Whips of the night (pictured above)!!! Best of all, though, was sitting by the pool in the sunshine, reading for fun.  Ahhh that's what summer should feel like! 

Overall, successful trip to Disneyland.  I still have a special place in my heart for Disney World, and always will, but I would go back to Disneyland in an instant!

(All photos mine, please do not use without credit to this blog)

Fremont Solstice Parade

A Seattle staple, I was told.  So Zan and I had to go.  We decided to walk over, even though it was a bit of hike, and I'm so glad we did for so many reasons.  Besides the obvious-- avoiding traffic jams, not worrying about where to park-- on the way over, we got so much exercise and saw so many beautiful houses, local cafes, and vintage shops.  Every now and then, like yesterday, I catch a glimpse of why so many people love this city.  Every now and then, I could see myself falling in love with it, too.  Then the parade!  I think the pictures speak for themselves.  It begins with naked bicyclists painted in various ways, then a real parade with floats representing local dance companies, businesses, and people just enjoying the return of summer.  Everything and everyone felt so alive! The parade gave me hope for the future-- if all of these wonderful, creative, people exist, then the Earth (or at least Seattle) must really be a fantastic place.

And because I love writing about food, Zan and I got sandwiches from a (mostly) locally-sourced organic sandwich shop and they were amazing-- turkey, bacon, and avocado! :)  It was so much fun to stand on the curb with our sandwiches watching the parade go by.

Please also notice that the parade included the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a little boy on stilts, and across the street a Starbucks.  Typical Seattle. :)


(All photos by me, please do not reuse without credit back to this blog)

Heiroglyphs, Salted Caramels

I really need to get better about remembering to take pictures.  I only have one to share with you today, but in the past few days I've gotten to do some wonderful things, primarily involving eating.  On Sunday night, my parents, Zan, and I finally went to Toulouse Petit, a restaurant I've wanted to eat at for months.  We had real, authentic-tasting chicken gumbo, French onion soup, and scallops and risotto.  We were too full for dessert, but the buttermilk beignets were calling (maybe for breakfast later this week?).  I got to wear my new dress with a pair of red heels, and it felt so nice to go out dressed up!  It was my dad's last night in town, so it was fun to go all out.

Monday was lazy (naps, sitting on the balcony, dinner at Smith), but yesterday my mom, Zan, and I played tourist!  The King Tut exhibit is touring in Seattle for the next few months, so we got tickets!  I've always wanted to see the King Tut stuff, so I was thrilled.  The exhibit was really cool-- so many beautiful artifacts!  I have a couple of pictures, but they were taken with my phone so they aren't super great.  Here's the best one:

Then we walked along the Seattle waterfront, visited the Old Curiosity Shop, and had dinner at Purple Wine Bar.  Such a cool place-- you can't beat a giant floor to ceiling wine column.  I had a white wine flight with French wines, baked goat cheese, a chicken sandwich.  Zan had a great steak/risotto plate.  We ended with some lovely small salted caramels-- I've never enjoyed a salted caramel so much in my life.  Amazing.  Seattle can be kind of fun when you're getting to see ancient Egyptian artifacts and drink nice wines...

Unfortunately, the weather still sucks.  Rainy and 54 degrees today.  Come on, June!

Mostly Done

I'm mostly done with everything and almost have first year in the bag.  I just have seven more final projects to grade, then I submit grades and poof!  Summer.  It's taking a bit though, out of sheer procrastination and the fact that my parents are in town!  They arrived Wednesday night, and we went out to get Mexican food!  Thursday morning was a bit of a waste, too, as I had to proctor the 101 final, then Kris, Liz and I went out for brunch at an amazing place called Grace Kitchen.  THEY HAD CHEESY GRITS!  AND HOME FRIES!  Heavenly.  Then I buckled down to work.

I finished my avant-garde paper Friday evening, couldn't believe it, then went to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with Zan.  We were easily the youngest people in the theater.  But whatever, the movie was super cute and starred all these amazing British actors so yay!  And yesterday my parents took us out to lunch at Red Mill Burger and this afternoon its Cake Envy!  So excited!... so, as you can see, grading isn't exactly my top priority.  But it's coming along, and hopefully by this time tomorrow I'll be officially on summer break!

So Close...!

I have one paper left to write.  And final projects to grade, but mostly-- I have one paper left to write.  And I simply do not want to write it.  In the past two weeks I have written sixty-one pages.  I wrote five papers over Memorial Day Weekend.  I defended my first year exam.  Then I turned around, researched, and wrote another sixteen-page paper.  I just want a little break before writing another sixteen pages.  But no!  No break until this last paper is complete!  And grading!

In happy news, I had coffee with one of the MFA acting students today, and I just adore her.  She is so nice and so interesting!  I am hopeful that next quarter we can become good friends!  She's so incredibly talented, too!  And my parents are in town!  They are coming over tonight for dinner, before I start to really hit the books once more for this one. last. paper. And later today I should be receiving the dress that I ordered online last week as my celebration gift to myself for completing exams!

In sad news, mid-way through the first season of Angel.  JOSS WHEDON, WHY?!

Happy June!

June has arrived, and by this time next week I will have finished all of my grading and two papers!  Summertime, here I come!  Even if the weather isn't particularly summer-y yet...

I passed my first year exam defense yesterday, and such a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.  I think I'm getting a cold.  Because, naturally, my body decides to fall apart once I don't have as much to do (although, two papers.  Ugh).  I also won a departmental writing award!  Totally unexpected!  I feel very pleased and honored, and a bit like maybe I'm doing something right after all. 

I feel so much freer already that I might even take a bit of break today to go to Target or the mall before I get started on my research for my Shakespeare class paper.  Exciting!  

And I leave you with a cat picture, just because.  These cats were the best thing ever to have around this past week.  How can anyone be stressed out with Felix lounging in the windowsill?