March 22nd & 23rd

Oi vey, I have two days to sum up. Well, the first day was mostly travel, and the second day was mostly travel as well. So it shouldn't be that bad.

March 22nd

Last day at the Grand Canyon. Last day in Arizona. Last day in the Dodge Charger. We got up at 9ish, checked out, had breakfast, and were out of there at 10:15. Or was it 9:15? No I think it was 10:15. The snow was quite melted. Had we arrived a couple days later, it probably would have been typical Grand Canyon. No ice paths for us. At least it made the returning landscape different. Mom from from the Grand Canyon to Williams, to Seligman, and in Kingman we traded off. We didn't take Route 66, and since we were going 75 most of the way, we made excellent time. I drove from Kingman to Hoover Dam. I put the window down, had my arm resting in the warmth, and we blasted whatever tunes we could find that were worth blasting (which weren't many). As we drove west, we shed layers. My cutoffs did not go unused. We returned the car a day early, so that we wouldn't have to drive in downtown Las Vegas or fuss with returning it in the morning or deal with parking at the hotel. I'll miss that Charger. It was fun.

A shuttle took us to Bally's, and alas the Internet was not included with the room (for record, the Luxor and Grand Canyon Inn had internet included, Yavapai Lodge and Bally's did not). Still, it was a very nice room. We watched some television and decided that since it was early, we would go and down some Vegas stuff. We (and by we I mean Mom) splurged on tickets for the 9:30 Beatles Love show, and so we had three hours to kill. We walked around down towards the Mirage (where the Love show is). Got some McDonald's. Went to the Will Call and picked up our tickets. Walked the length of the underground store circuit contained within the Mirage. I accidentally pushed the service button on a slot machine. Mom got some Starbucks. Finally, it was time for the Cirque Du Soleil : The Beatles : LOVE shoooow! The ushers had costumes, and even though we were seated near the back, they were still good seats because a Cirque Du Soleil show is never just on stage. There were skaters on ramps, people on trampolines, trapeze artists, things emerging and appearing from under the stage, and just...it was beautiful. Hard to sum up the circus show. Beatles music. Talented dancers. Costumes. Colors. Special effects. Ahh. Lovely!

I didn't get any photos of Las Vegas at night, but I think we all know how that looks. Vegas is one of the few places that photos do represent how it is. We watched some Futurama and then went to sleep.

March 23rd:

Ah woe is the 7am alarm. I packed everything up. We scanned and double scanned the room, and checked out of Bally's. We had a round trip shuttle paid for, and it arrived at the hotel at 8:45 and picked us off and woosh, our travels began! I went through one of those full body scanner thingies for the first time. I didn't get patted down, so that was cool. I did forget my laptop in my bag (which wasn't a problem in Seattle) so that had to go through the x ray again. Oops. Mom bought me a chocolate scone while I tried to use the abysmal free wifi. Boarded at around...noon? I have the exact times written in my travel journal, but I am too lazy to reference it. I got the window seat, which was awesome. It was a quick hop of a flight. During the San Francisco layover, we ate Pinkberry and watched Game of Thrones. I was directly behind mom on this flight, and we spent a long time waiting to take off. But I had a good book (A Visit From the Goon Squad) to read, and I read it! We landed around 5pm, got our bags, and got on the shuttle to Wally Park, where our lovely non vroomy Prius awaited. We got Burger King drive through and I drove us home. The traffic moved well, and I merged like a champ. Go me!

Got home at around 7ish, and spent hours getting caught up on this and that. AHh Internet. I've missed you. It is nice to be in my bed and at home, though we'll be up at Mats Mats tomorrow. Dad is up there right now, so we need to bring him his goodies and provide him with company.

March 20th & 21st

I had very minimal access to Internet from when we left the Grand Canyon Inn till our arrival at the Las Vegas Airport. Expect another double day post tonight (the 23rd).

March 20th

There is no Internet at our hotel at the Grand Canyon. However will I survive? Well, there is a TV and books and views and stuff.

This morning was obscenely bright. The sun had no clouds to obscure it, and as the landscape was snow covered, it refracted painfully into my eyes. Gaaah.

We ate breakfast at the Inn. Hash browns, toast, eggs, and tea for both of us. A side of bacon for me. Mmm. It was filling and warm and lovely. The road was clear, and so we drove onwards for the Grand Canyon. Many cars passed mom by.

Arriving at the Visitor's Center was a typical situation for any National Park: you drive hours with barely anyone else on the road and all of a sudden, so many cars, and people! Where did they all come from? It wasn't that crowded at all, what with it being the off season. Snow sloughed off roofs, but the paths were mostly ice free. I stamped by book with its National Park stamps, and got a patch. We saw the video about the park, which contained lots of footage of people standing perilously close to the edge. Snacks were enjoyed, and we drove in a loop around part of the park. Even though check in was 4pm, we managed to get in at around 2:20ish. Our room has a fridge! One step up from the Inn, which had a coffee pot, and two steps up from the Luxor which had neither.

From our rooms, we packed our backpack up, and walked over to the cafeteria. Mom had chili, and I had Salisbury steak with mac & cheese and rice sides. A bit bland but filling and warm, which is good. We boarded the blue shuttle bus (within the Grand Canyon National Park, there is a blue, red, and yellow shuttle bus system that gets people around) and disembarked from it at the Hopi House. We looked at the beautiful jewelry designs, and oooh and ahhhed at the canyon. It is so bigly hugely big. We walked along the rim trail and checked out the Kolb Brothers studio. Those guys had some major balls. Rafted down the Columbia River with film equipment. Set up very daring scenarios to film and photograph. Ellsworth and Emry were crazy, but a lot of good came out of it. Mom got Ellsworth's book about boating the river, and I got the smaller book about the two of them. Whooo!

The red line took us up to Hermit's Nest. We rode it straight up, while other people got off at the various points (Hopi, Mojave, Papi(?), etc.). At the top , at Hermit's Nest, we saw some elk! I was able to get decently close enough to take pictures. We took the bus down, and got off at Mojave point and watched the sun go down. The canyon just goes so brilliantly red. Some people sat at very precarious positions, but none fell. The packed like sardines bus took us down into sunset, and under the arrival of night, we went to the Bright Angel Restaurant and had dinner. Mahi mahi tacos for me, fish for mom. I also ordered a slice of chocolate cake to go! The Blue line runs only every half hour or so, after 7:30, and we managed to board a bus right as we got to the stop. Hurray! The driver was hilarious. Tomorrow we will do some of the yellow bus routes.

March 21st

Had a pretty good sleep. The snow has melted a bunch, and it generally is less icy. We walked to the cafe for breakfast, and it was brilliant and sunny and even a bit too warm under our layers. I had the bacon, egg, croissant sandwich and mom had oatmeal. We booked our room at Bally's or somewhere in Vegas. From there, we returned to our room and packed our things up for a day's hike. We took the Blue to the Yellow, and there I found out it is actually the Orange. The Orange took us to the Geology center, and we took in the views. Then we took the bus up to Yapi Point. Also quite beautiful. From there we took the Orange back down to the Visitor's Center and got on the other Orange bus and went back up the Yavapai Point trail start. Unfortunately the trail was pretty icy and slushy and muddy, which made for horrible walking. No one wants to shuffle down a winding narrow path when there is a danger for sliding. So we went back up, and took the Rim Trail. I stopped and drew the canyon for an hour, which made my butt numb and I couldn't nearly capture the whole vista. Blimey. We took the bus back to the Geology museum, and walked along the Rim from there, and took the Shrine of the Ages path back towards the market village.

We are now relaxing in our hotel room. We will go grab dinner in a second, and maybe see the ranger talk at the auditorium. There is wifi at the cafe.

east, ho!

Still can't quite get this thing to upload unresized photos (and I can't be bothered to resize a bunch of them at this moment), but if you are my friend on Facebook, I have photos from our trip uploaded there.

Breakfast was the same as yesterday. Coffee and muffin for mom, orange juice and apple fritter for me. We checked out the gift shop, but the shirt designs were sub par. Then we packed up our things and at 10:40ish, we express check outed ourselves from the Luxor. First step to Las Vegas freedom! It took us some navigation and back tracking to find the exit that brought us to the shuttle drop off/pick up, but we got there! There was a shuttle van leaving for the airport, and we hopped right on it. We were dropped off at the Rental Car shuttles and they took us to the rental center. At Enterprise, we got an upgrade from Economy to nicer than Economy, and we had our choice of some Mazda, an Impala, or a Dodge Charger. Yeah, I went for the Charger, and Mom obliged. BOOYAH!

Three right turns got us on a road, which got us to Henderson (or whatever town is near Las Vegas) and before we knew it, we had escaped Las Vegas and were vroooming our way through the sunshine and eastward toward nature. We came to Lake Mead, which was in its off season and thus closed down in many parts (including the visitors center). There we switched drivers. Me. Behind the wheel of a Dodge Charger. AWESOME! So comfy, such effortless acceleration, such easy to use dashboard knobs. I always thought, from the vantage point of my bike, that the new models look a bit big and clunky, but looking at our rental and comparing it to other cars, it still holds a sense of fun and cheek. I shall get a good job and work hard, so that I will some day be able to afford a not so fuel efficient car of my own! Though for the almost seven hours worth of driving that we did today, it sits at half a tank. Which is pretty good I think. I know driving the Prius down to Portland took me to half a tank, but then again the Charger could have a much larger tank. Still, a days worth of driving and no refueling needed.

On the way, we went to an Arizona Tourist Information place that was located in the "town" of Chloride, Arizona. It was a bit ghost town/vacant, but in a very charming way. Got some drinks at the general store and some driving advice and a map, from the very helpful tourist info lady. Then we went back on our way. We switched drivers again in Kingman, Arizona. We got drinks, water, more drinks, fruit, snacks, and a big lunch at the Safeway. I chowed down on my sandwich while Mom headed East to Route 66 and all that it contains. We stopped at Hackberry, which was very charming. Lots of old, rather broken down cars. Some cute dogs in the store. Lots of license plates and other knick knack type items. Mom ate lunch, I took pictures, and we hydrated. It was all very scenic and lovely.

Talked to Nathan on the phone. Happy birthday Nathan!

Talked to Dad on the phone. Happy Monday Dad!

As we went along Route 66, headed for Ash Fork, the landscape started to turn snow crusted. And as we passed Ash Fork and went to Williams, it became full on snow covered. The roads were fine, and it did break up the scenery. Trees and rocks covered with snow, instead of the same tan rocks and sweeping tan views. We decided not to stay the night in the very snow covered, and icicle laden, Williams and opted to press on for the Grand Canyon and stay at whichever place was nearest to there. I took over the driving, and we went on the long straight road North. The sun was starting to go down, the landscape was snow covered, and soon the blue sky was consumed in gray. Half way there, the snow started coming down. A little, then more and more. As our visibility started declining, the Grand Canyon Inn appeared and we pulled right in and got a room for the night. The snow has since stopped, but it was a good place to stop. The accommodations are nicer than the Luxor. We have a coffee maker and a bath tub! Sure I don't drink coffee, but it is nice that they trust us with such an amenity.

Mom watched Dancing With the Stars and 30 Rock, and I computered it up. Tomorrow we make for the Grand Canyon. Unless we are snowed in or something, but I doubt that.

Love the Charger. Love nature. Love taking lots of photos, especially when some of them turn out quite nice.

the embedded smoke is getting to me

Tried to upload some photos, but they are too big I suppose.

AH! Today was full of walking. Seven, eight hours on our feet. We had some breaks for food.

Mom woke up at 8am and went to get coffee and brought back an orange juice and apple crawler for me, for when I eventually got up. I showered at 10, consumer my breakfast, did the Internet thing. Then at 11:20ish, we set out for our day on the Strip!

We took the tram over to the Excalibur and descended into the MGM Grand. Or err...well we went under the hotels, and once you go under the hotels, they all connect. We went under the Manderlay and the THE Hotel. Kept walking till we arrived at the Shark Reef Aquarium. First adventure of the day. It was a lovely aquarium. It had very big tanks with tons of sharks and other fish. Even a turtle! There was a jellyfish tank, and a horseshoe crab touch tank. It was fun.

After that, we wandered through the underground network. The allowed cigarette smoke got to me, and I feel a bit ill right now from it. I'm just not used to it. Don't know any smokers. Mom and I got some of that frozen yogurt, the self serve kind where you put your own toppings on. I went for candy, nuts, candy, cheesecake bits, and more candy. Mom went for fruit (she also had a greater variety of the yogurt). Yummy snack!

From there, we worked our way back through the MGM Grand, and exited on to the strip. Daylight! It was windy, but generally nice. We got dad a Las Vegas Hard Rock pin. It isn't a Gibson pin, but mom says he needs some variety in his collection. We'll let dad decide if he does, I suppose. We wandered around the Bellagio for half an hour. It had the nicest hotel interior of the ones we went into. New York, New York once you enter it, is just dingey and lame and just...uhg. Bellagio is nice all around, and has some pretty exhibits. We waited outside to see the half hourly fountain show, and it was nice. It was set to the tune of This Song by Elton John. From there, we walked past Caesar's Palace. My anxiety levels were pretty good. As in, I wasn't that anxious at all. There were crowds, but all was well. We ended up not going to see a show. We were pretty tired, and it seemed like shows were selling out. We ate a late lunch at McDonald's. Good old comfort fast food. The plan at the time was to hang out in the Flamingo courtyard, then go to Treasure Island and see the Siren's Show, then go back to the hotel. The courtyard was neat, and the flamingo's sure were pink. And there were some other lovely birds. I hoped the hotel would have a cool flamingo shirt design, but they didn't.

Just in time, we got to the Siren's Song stage at Treasure Island. Or so we thought we were just in time...turns out we were two hours early! The guide to Las Vegas said that there would be a 5:30 show, but that was a misprinted lie. We decided to return to our hotel. That meant going to the monorail, which required backtracking and going through Harrah's. There was a nice Londoner in the station that we chatted with a bit. I took her picture for her. The monorail dropped us off at the MGM Grand, so we walked through that AGAIN, and walked to and through New York, New York, and the Excalibur, and an hour and twenty minutes worth of travel from Treasure Island later, we got back to our hotel room.

Oh so very tired and tuckered out. Once we started sitting and laying in bed, it was clear we were done for the day. I watched Walking Dead and proclaimed loudly when Michonne was introduced. LOVE HER! And she came out of nowhere, which was awesome.

Now we are tucking in to bed. We have to check out by 11 tomorrow. I want to see what the Luxor gift shop has to offer. Need to get me a sticker and maybe a shirt, if they have a good design. Then we check out, go to the airport, pick up our rental car, and out we go to see some nature. Awww yeah, nature baby! I love it.

Vegas Baby!

March 17th

4:00am

We arrived with the two hours to spare. Unfortunately, the Virgin America desk doesn't open till 4:45am. A little too early. So now we sit and wait. It was a rainy drive, and I lagged in terms of speed because of it, but at 3:00am there is not much in the way of traffic, so that was okay. Took no time at all to arrive at the airport. Early flights have their perks. And my driving was excellent. Go me!

9:50am

The plane departed from an S gate a little bit after schedule, due to the gate being changed. This is my first time on a Virgin America flight. I am normally on Alaska flights. The interior was illuminated in pink and the seats were black. It was quite swanky. I napped for the majority of the hour and forty minutes flight, waking only to pop my ears.The lady seated at the window was on her way to see her sister, who was birthing out the first grandkid in the family. She asked if she could scoot past us when we landed and I said, "of course, there is a baby on the way!" and she replied "there is a baby on the way!" and squeezed her way towards the front of the plane. That was nice.

I am properly tired, though now that it is shifting into the afternoon, my body rhythms are kicking in. Hopefully I'll nap more on the flight to Las Vegas. We wandered around our part of the terminal and then settled down at 51A. Mom got a scramble and a burger from a restaurant and we chowed down.

8:16 pm

Ahhh what a long day! The San Francisco airport was full of healthy food chains and not a single quality coffee place. This was something that disappointed mom, who ended up with a very subpar cappuccino. Anyway, we were not seated together for the flight to Las Vegas, but as I spent the flight napping, that wasn't such a big deal.

The airport in Las Vegas was very beige and dull and a little bit old fashionedy. For a place as well known as Vegas, I was surprised that there wasn't more hooplah. Mom's bag was one of the first on the belt, so that was good. We hopped on a shuttle bus, and it took all those on board to various Vegas Strip Hotels. In the daylight, Vegas is very flat and barren looking. So artificial and constructed. I'm looking forward to getting out of here and heading for the Grand Canyon. The New York New York hotel complex was very impressive.

My mind can't quite take these types of places. Inside the Luxor, it was hollow. The pyramid structure acts as a sort of shell for all that inside of it. The pyramid is a single layer of rooms, with slanted windows. Our room is on the 17th floor, and we have a good overhead view of all the self contained this and that. There is that Bodies exhibit, a Titanic showcase, many Starbucks, a McDonalds, a casino, nice restaurants, a chapel, several auditoriums, and many other things. All contained in this pyramid. One probably could enjoy all sorts of entertainment without having to leave the Luxor. This isn't my kind of place. Okay I shouldn't complain too much because I'm getting a free vacation and all that, but this level of artificiality is very foreign to me. And it makes me very anxious, all though I was also very tired. I am very tired. I like nature, and windows, and sky, and color.

Anyway, it is also Saint Patrick's Day, so there are tons of people in green regalia getting drunk at 3 in the afternoon. I'm unused to both people having open containers and being able to smoke inside. The hotel is actually not all that noisy. I was expecting it to be louder, what with the revelers. I've heard some whoooing, but not that much.

We got a late lunch/early dinner at a cheesesteak place, and I gobbled it down while watching the end of Die Hard 2. Then we took a nap. I'm going to try and figure out how to get on WiFi. Okay so there isn't wifi, but a cord, but that is okay. Going to fart around on the Internet and then go back to sleep

Nevada and Arizona, here we come!

And away we go! In three hours...but first the rest of the day.

Slept in decently well. Had some cheerios and tea. Helped Dad wash Holly in the tub. The indoors tub! What a spoiled dog. Now she smells like a clean dog, and is oh so soft to cuddle. Really washing her isn't that bad, and it doesn't take that long. And it makes her such a good dog.

Dad went over to Mats Mats and ran errands.

Mom and I went into town and ran some girly errands. Bought some girly things. Mom got her nails done. Oh so girly! Though we are not "mani pedi" girls. I read a bit of the Cosmo mag that was in the salon, and it just about did my brain in.

Back at home, Ma got to dinner, and I got to packing. Well, I got to laying out clothes. I also folded my laundry. Dinner was burritos. So much guacamole. Tasty stuff. I packed my black bag up real nice, and my back pack as well. I have extra shirts and stuff. Mom's bag is the one with the GPS and guide books and all these other things.

Ma and Pa went to bed at 9, I'm staying up. Having some tea. In a couple hours, we shall drive off. I am the one planning on driving, though mom may object. I'm just not a big napper! I can't just lay my head down at any old hour and conk out.

March Minibreak 2012, whooo!!

Oh Silverdale, you crazy

Didn't work on the drawing today. At all. Errr uhh yeah.

Anyway, got up a bit earlier than usual. Well...10:30ish. I also went to bed a bit earlier. Just didn't feel like staying up all that late watching television. Odd. My habits, they are a changing.

I need to keep from picking at my face, my skin is on another bad flair. Just have to let it be...let it be. My hair roots are also showing, but I think I shall wait it out a bit more before I dye it again. And when I do dye it, I think I'll try to make it closer to my natural boring color. Dying it takes time and effort and my hair grows fast and time moves on so quickly. I've decided to grow out my bangs, and already it seems they are long enough to tuck back and all that.

Anyway, I ran some in town errands. There was a lot of traffic around Anderson Hill Road, and this was because (as I later learned) of someone holding up Key Bank. Egads! So once I got through that bottleneck, I went to the Doctor's Clinic and signed a release of information form for my records. Then I went to the dollar store and got some candy for the impending trip. I also swung by Golden Rule Tattoo & Piercing, but the tattoo artists gave me side eye and the guy working the desk took a while to answer my inquiry about getting my ear re-re-pierced. The douchey attitude of the whole place really put me off. If they want to see my visible tattoo, they better be prepared to get a kick to the face.

Went back home, got stuck in the same traffic for a bit. It was a nice day. Very sunny. I got some dollar store sunglasses to tide me over during the times when my favorite pair are broken. At home I applied gold nail polish to the sides to make them fancy.

We watched Community. YAY COMMUNITY IS BACK! It was a good episode. Not one of the great episodes, but still good to see the awesome gang back. Mom made soup, it was delicious. She also made garlic bread, though some of the pieces were a bit black. Dad went to Mats Mats and helped Grandma out.

Tomorrow I'll have to pack for the trip. I like to leave things till the last minute, though it isn't really last minute. I'll also probably be the one driving us to the airport late at night, so I better sleep extra in tomorrow morning. I think we also plan to wash Holly tomorrow. Mmhmm.

minecraft one

Started working on the Minecraft painting for Nathan. Don't know what I got myself into with this. Hahah. Still, a fun exercise. I don't know if I should draw it all and then paint it, or draw and paint it in quadrants? Hmmn. My feet are cold and the smoke in the house is making not feel all that good.

In regards to the smoke, something is blocked in the fire place, which means the smoke isn't fully exiting, so the house is getting a bit, well, smokey.

And we got a couple more inches of snow. GAAHHH! Though it is slush and is sure not to stick around. Still, totally lame.

Mom has started packing for our minibreak. I'll pack on Friday. I just need clothes, sketching supplies, and my computer. Then I should be good. Oh, and a book. I'll back a book.

next step: resumes

Yaaay! I got my cards printed. And they look pretty good. Just went into the shop, gave them my file, and they were printed and cut in no time at all. Mom, pop, and I all drove into town to run that errand. The new Prius I think is starting to lose its new car smell. While waiting for the cards to be printed, we went and got some bird seed, and then we went to Costo and got lots of nuts. Mom really likes her legumes. But whoooo yay! I have business cards! That is another thing checked off and done and dooooone. It is sort of amazing to think that I am a person with a business card. A card that I would give someone in the hopes that they would need to contact me for business. I have 150 of them. Mmmhmm.

I got up a bit early to run mom in on an errand. We went grocery shopping at Central Marker after and got tons of neat food, because they had an awesome import section. Jammy Dodgers! Yan Yan! Crunchie Bars! And other, healthy things. I swear we got healthy things.

It was snowing when we left this morning, but the snow didn't stick. No we didn't go to Mats Mats either.

Mom and I are going to take a mini break together. Saturday to Friday. Las Vegas (meh) and the Grand Canyon (yay!!). Mom doesn't get much actual time off, so we are going to take advantage of it. Then we'll come back and be at Mats Mats for a while. Let Auntie Joyce have a long overdue break.

We ate dinner at Origami Sushi. Num nummers.

Back at home we watched Paul, which I heard from two people whose opinions I trust very conflicting opinions about. Thankfully we found it delightful! Frost and Pegg have a chemistry together that shines in anything. It was silly and fun. A good Tuesday night movie indeed.

it's business tiiiiime

It snowed! Again! And the lame slushy snow. The inconvenience making snow that keeps you homebound. So we didn't go to Mats Mats. Hopefully it will be melted enough by tomorrow. Got some errands to run.

Worked on my business card. I think I'll just go with the one sided card. Need to get it made. Simple for now, I'll step it up for the next print run.

Made a scramble for breakfast. Mmm. Mom made awesome nachos for early dinner. Yum.

no walkies for doggie, and my back is feeling better

Daylight savings! A time change that doesn't really effect me because I never keep any semblance of regular hours. Dad made us waffles, and they were good.

Was I supposed to get something done today? Because I didn't. I did do some drawing though, so that was good. It is always nice to know I haven't lost my arting ability. It is just dormant. Need to take it out of hibernation.

There were sandwiches for lunch and jambalaya for dinner. I want to leave home, why?

Tomorrow, Dad and I will go up to Mats Mats and clean the motorhome. That is the plan, and since I have written it, it must be so.

Then again, I've been writing that I'll make a business card for days now. I wonder how much postcard mailers are...no! Business card. Do that Trill. Do that. Though maybe I should just get one sided...it would be cheaper. Especially if I order them online (because Kinkos is lame).

I drew a Cumberbatch

fish dress

Was watching Portlandia, and mom said, "I have that dress."

Anyway. I didn't set my alarm clock. Wanted to doze for a while. Dad made poached egg on toast with melted cheese. Yum! We took Holly for a walk and she got quite muddy. My back hurt all day, and my ankle on and off. Holly was well behaved in regards to some other dogs on the trail. She barked once and that was it.

Back at home, I made popcorn and mom and I played mancala. Dinner was polenta and turkey scramble. Quite tasty. I hope theres some turkey left over for a breakfast scramble.

I watched Marwencol. Didn't work on my business card. Whoops.

errands and thinking about expanding my skills

Had a toast and two cups of tea breakfast. Even woke up at a fairly reasonable hour.

Ma, Holly, and I went for walkies at Scenic Beach State Park. It was a nice beach walk, though Holly tried to pull me into the branches. We only saw one other person at the park.

I returned Mom and Holly to Seabeck, and headed into Silverdale to run some errands. I deposited my Bitch Magazine check. Whooo! Now to spend it! Just kidding (not really). I went to Best Buy to look at tablets. I don't have a good one to produce digital art with, and while I am generally a traditional artist I should be well versed with the computer, and be able to do computer art. A mouse, hell the touchpad on my laptop, doesn't cut it. So a tablet would be a good buy in regards to my career and move and all that. So I looked at tablets. Don't know which to buy though. Bamboo Create or Intuous4? I'm leaning toward the Create...or maybe the Capture. Hmmn.

After Best Buy, I went to Kinkos to look at their Business Cards. Even without shipping they cost more than some of the online card companies. And they only have three kinds of paper, none of which I really like. And you have to buy like...250 cards. Ehhh. I think I can do better. Need to design a card first, of course.

On the way home, I swung by Kristen's old place, where my hair straightener and book apparently is. Neither Randy or Anthony could find it though. They'll get back to me about it, I'm sure. I should have been more on the ball a few months ago in regards to my straightener.

Back at home, a salad was waiting for me. We watched a bit of Of Gods and Men, but none of us were feeling it.

Mom is resting and listening to American Gods. It is early in the night for me to blog, but I don't see anything else happening.

Tomorrow I shall lay out my business card. That is my tomorrow goal.

old stories, new listens

Got up super early, 5:30am!!!, because I had to run errands with mom. Special mum errands. Drank two cups of black tea. Tasty tasty. Got me going. I'm a bit tired now, but I don't feel dead. It is good to be young, eh?

Drove mom around, then headed home. Ma and I spent a good part of the afternoon listening to Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Damn good story. I'm remembering more of it than I thought I would. It has been so many years since I last experienced it.

Hot dog and ramen edibles today. Tomorrow I'll help make a fancy meal.

Finished editing the photos that I have on hand. Time to take more photos. I think my website is just about done.

bonus artwork!

Today's goals, as I wrote on Tumblr, were to finish editing the work I documented. Which I have mostly accomplished. The next goal was to edit my website and put up said work. Which I also accomplished. Then to work on layouts for business card. Which I didn't quite accomplish. And also Laundry which, oh crap I have my third load in the dryer still. Oops.

Anyway, editing took a while but I got it edited. Listened to American Gods. Such a good story. Listened to Odd Owl. Such a good band.

I snacked all day so I wasn't hungry in time for dinner. Tomorrow we'll make a nice dinner.

Have to get up early to drive Mom to an appointment.

I think I can finally take my website off its "under construction" status. It is pretty well formed, and I am happy with it. It just needs MORE work. Lots more. Fill it up with art. I do like the way the art sits in the website though.

Now I need to move on to my resumes. Get those looking spiffy. It is all starting to take shape once again. I was out of the game for a while, but now my focus is narrowing. The beginning is nigh!

But now to go and sort my laundry. And listen to more stuff. And try to sleep, even though I probably had green tea too late in the day. Hmmmn.

...I'm also snacking on seaweed

Another rather do nothing day. Well, after noon it became a do nothing day.

Got up at about 9:50ish, showered, and took my antibiotics. I have a heart murmur you see, and with that comes having to take antibiotics before surgeries and things. Things like the dentist. I had a cleaning to go to! I got a call yesterday saying that they had an opening and that it was time for another cleaning, so I went for it. They scraped and flossed and used a water jet and filed away a little bit of my filling (like a bump or something) and I was good to go. Hurray!

Spent the rest of the day doing nought what I need to do, and all that can be done later. Like watch TV and read articles on the Internet. I need deadlines. I can work with deadlines.

Dad made me a sandwich for lunch. It was good. He also made dinner, potato and corn and chicken, and that was good. Mom and I watched Raising Hope. It had one two many plotlines.

Now I'm chilling and watching Real Humans and wondering just how to start my life. Well, I'm not wondering too hard. Just hard enough I suppose.

easy Monday

Made another nice fire. It took a while to get going, but get going it did. Mom made a stew for dinner. Tasty stew. We watched a bit of Bron/Broen. Walked Holly. Ate chocolate. Read Habibi. Watched things. Played it mellow.

Pa came home late from looking after Grandma. It isn't easy.

Tomorrow I have a dentist appointment. A cleaning! Whee!

last day with Nate till every day is with Nate

Dad went off to Mats Mats in the early afternoon. Mom stayed behind and made breakfast. Yum! Though she soon followed. Then it was my responsibility to look after and entertain Nathan. So we watched Adventure Time. And he read comics. And we watched more Adventure Time. He also showed me some games. Soon enough 4pm rolled around and it was time to drive him to Sea-Tac. Vroom off we went. We listened to Cabin Pressure (though Nathan didn't laugh as much as I expected him to, boo! Though maybe that was because he was listening to them out of order? Who knows.). Anyway. Got him to the airport on time. Said goodbye. On the way back, I got some Jack in the Box and drove through the sunset. Got back at around 7:10ish, and have been chilling out. No ma and pa. Just Holly.

Time to get a move on with my life. Time to kick it into gear and get the move on. Yeah.

Spencer Fest

Ma made a Dutch Baby, and I don't really eat that...I sort of selectively decide what I do and don't eat and that can change on a whim.

Anyway. Had some toast and tea and bacon, and that is good.

The four of us headed up to Mats Mats for the day. We packed up the new Prius with things and games and off we went. Unfortunately a piece of gravel chipped the windshield! A little chip, but still a chip.

Grandma was napping when we arrived. We walked out on the dock. Joyce gathered some oysters. I sorted through photos, but no intensive sorting. Just sorting by size and stuff. Found an embarrassing photo of young Scott, though I shant scan it. We played the Tetris game and Mom beat Joyce by one.

The first course of the day was oysters wrapped in bacon. Delicious.

We drank some wine and looked at pictures and played Apples to Apples. Nate and Scott tied. Grandma picked out a few cards as well, and apparently according to her Antarctica is not that cold. Hummm.

The second course was clams dipped in butter. Scrumptious.

The third course was a crab salad. Magnificent.

The fourth course was salmon. Moist perfection.

The fifth course was homemade ice cream. Yum.

We played Settlers of Cattan and Mom & Nate won. It was a slow starting game, than didn't have that many major developments. I drew on some of my pieces. Of course rubbing alcohol will get rid of any sharpie, should Mom decide she wants her Cattan pieces NOT drawn on anymore. Heh.

Grandma was in better spirits, and kept mostly in reality except for a few step backs to quilting. Midday we went out for a walk. Well she was in her motorized cart...so we walked and she rolled.

Back at home, Nathan and I finished up the last two episodes of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and then watched a bunch of Adventure Time. I should dress as Lumpy Space Princess for Halloween. OH MY GLOB!