huh.

remember when i said id blog everyday? that was weird.

counting down the final minutes til i head to the airport. helllllooooo sf! so a few more days of radio silence from this end. hopefully pictures to follow.

COUNTDOWN!

30 days left in my 20s.

WOOT!

whoa

remember how i told you all about tubing memorial day weekend?
well, the river flooded last week...













this is the place we rented our tubes. it had a big, wooden counter that wrapped 3 sides, a big fence with hundreds of tubes and several picnic tables.













this is the bus we rode back to our cars.


EESH.

i count this past weekend as a vacation

so its not like i have missed THAT many days of blogging.

just so you know, GOLDEN GARDENS is fucking crazy.
its the weirdest people watching i have ever experienced.



















a big thank you to the cast of characters:

• goth guy with the iguana and a human bite mark on his leg.
• band of bikini clad preteen girls who refused to put on clothes well into the night.
• old hippie drum circle with your promise of an old christmas tree blaze.
• wedding party that backed up to the volleyball courts.
• engagement photo taking couple and camera loving assistant.
• tight sweatpants, fanny pack wearing guy who set up his tripod to take pictures of our little camp.

and ariana made her way to the west to witness it all...

sometimes

i really like being a girl.

everything is trashier in texas

and i love it.

4 day whirlwind tour of austin spent a considerable amount of time OUTSIDE the city itself.

friday==>

-flew in, landed at 4:30

-straight to chuy's where we have heard they have the best: tortillas, chips, queso, frozen margaritas. we tried all of them on an appetizer platter. they lived up to the hype.

-off to hill country where they live- holy gorgeous. i thought texas was flat. nope. limestone cliffs. (whats the difference btwn a bluff and a cliff?)

-we tried the oasis. its a bar with a different number of levels depending on who you talk to. "and its got food." apparently the view is impressive. the lot looked like festival parking. we retreated.

-that landed us at rudys for second dinner. its a bbq place attached to a gas station. its a chain and they are all 1/2 gas station. texas is classy like that. it was goooood.

-then off to the hideout (bar) that reminded me a lot of christys outdoor patio in cincy. a table of 10 drank for $30. i like texas prices.

saturday==>

-brunch tacos at torches. more queso. this was my favorite tex mex place.

-then tubing... ooooh tubing. ok, so the lazy river at the water parks is based off of this thing (i dunno if its exactly THIS river, but you get the point) except you rent an inner-tube for your cooler too. you fill your cooler with lonestar. its texas pbr. it was a mixture of lazy river, rapids and a bar. think frat party meets river. everyone is excited and friendly and then 2 hours later everybody is puking. well, everybody but us bc we arent 20 anymore.

-then dinner at texadelphia. cheesteaks. fries come with a side of queso. i kid you not.

sunday==>

-breakfast tacos at gueros. queso. and really good frozen margaritas.

-shopping on south congress. it was too hot and dresses were too short. we topped it off with a snowcone.

-then we went swimming at barton springs. its the local waterin hole. GIANT pool fed with natural spring water- think 3 or 4 giant pools long. it was too green for my taste. i was also nauseous from the heat and sugar combo.

-dinner was out at salt lick. you bring your own beer and sit on their patio while you wait 2 hours to be seated. but everybody does this, and they are with their families, so you feel like you are at a really crowded high school graduation party. it was all KINDS of good people watching. i was told i need to go to dallas to see the sights bc there were some drag queen looking ladies that were, in fact, ladies. i was fascinated.

monday==>

-breakfast at kerby lane. srsly. if it isnt barbque, it comes with queso.

-home

i took 3 pictures on my phone the whole trip. i am only allowed to post 2 bc the 3rd involves luke in my swimcap and he has vetoed any posting of it... ill show you in person id you ask.

*view from the apt*

















*luke mid sentence at salt lick*

my thoughts exactly.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

i hate the news

i turned on the news this morning... (ok, well, im lying. luke is out of town and i fell asleep on the couch with the tv on, so really i woke up to the news) and the reporter was discussing a small 3.4 earthquake that happened up north. then he interviewed a specialist who basically said "we get these all the time. its not really a big deal." and the reporter followed up the report with, "even if it was a little bit stronger, like a 4.4, we would have had some damage, so we all need to be really thankful that it wasn't much worse."

portland

we went to portland this weekend for a studio retreat.

we ate delicious food and had yummy expensive drinks.
see:

biscuits and gravy from mothers bistro

elizabeth taylor (creme de violet and champagne) at the driftwood

irish car bombs at dantes (bartender forgot the baileys)

not pictured:
happy hour at 23 hoyt.
catered breakfast
insane dinner at clyde commons

yelp reviews are on the to-do list

notes to self

on biking to work:

dont wear tight jeans. especially the ones patched twice over. good thing bonuses are upon us. but regardless, you're gonna want to bring shorts.

pedestrians will go faster than you up that hill. know this up front. they are assholes.

flush is the new blush.

dont forget deodorant. sorry coworkers.


on swimming:

adult swim MAY be pick up spot. needs more investigation much to boyfriends dismay.

remember goggles.
and swim cap.

these two things, paired with swim suit make you resemble a penis. its ok. everyone else looks like penises too. its a pool full of dick.

im a long distance saver

fuck the marathons.
i can budget. long term.
there should be medals and technical tees and finish times for this effort.

geeeeez.

im bad at this blogging every day thing.

sunday

we have a little garden going. its pretty cute in its little 1/2 55 gallon drum. it has me VERY excited for a vegetable garden next year.

we havent cooked since tuesday. and we've been feasting. currently we are waiting for the strawberry rhubarb bars to cool. seriously.

i have new drop bars on my old bike. i threw a little money at it for supplies. and thankfully i have an engineer for a boyfriend. BTW, the people at recycled cycles are awesome. i mean ive known this, but in the past two weeks they have proven themselves once again- we were treated EXACTLY the same spending $1k on a brand new bike as we were $100 on stuff to make a crappy bike not so crappy. thats awesome.

im pretty stoked for our studio retreat to portland next week. i can use the break. though i have a deadline monday. nice timing. ooof.

thats all ive got. i should probably go eat some roast now. oh yeah, theres a roast before theres rhubarb. this shit is awesome.

mo money!

im pretty excited.

i got paid today- well, at midnight, and i just paid all my bills for the month. i also have a little check to cash and the promise of a bonus at the end of the month. but i realized as i was filling out the coming weeks budgets on my spreadsheet that this is the last paycheck i will have to dedicate to my credit card.

i will be credit card debt free at the end of the month!*

now i just have to be as diligent WITH money as i was WITHOUT!

*with a little bump from the bonus

dear kara

its not a secret blog.

lets go to via!

i like posts with pictures

this nice lady is making us dinner tonight.

im babysitting this cute little buddy tomorrow.


these fine fellas are in a band and they are playing tomorrow night at the high dive.
and the lady on the right, well she's got a wicked deal running on groupon right now.
http://www.groupon.com/deals/running-evolution

these people are coming to stay on thursday.

then we go see these people.


then this gal comes to visit.
her hair is longer now.


then we go see this lovely birthday girl and her new beau.


then we take a road trip!

TADA! PICTURES.

it was a plus and minus kind of weekend.

friday:
work -
sunshine +
out of work early ++++
new padding for bike rides from rei with dividend +
not allowed to use lukes dividend bc we arent married -
nap +
return trip to rei bc i bought the wrong saddle -
impromptu dinner date at steelhead with a very sneaky water boy +++

saturday:
bike ride +
bike ride with flat ----
fixed flat and return to bike ride +
skillet and picnic in the grass +
babysitting for a cuuuute baby +
cuuuute baby screaming --
cuuuute baby sleeping ++++
guilty pleasure dining ++

sunday:
sleep in +
pmsy out of nowhere -----
skinny cow ice cream sandwich breakfast +++++
new bike for luke +
jealousy for mandy -
bike ride, no flat, even on inferior bike ++
running into friends on trail ++
going to beach ++
pork chops with horseradish applesauce +
realizing dessert is gone bc it was breakfast --
unfortunate tender bits despite new padding --

tom cruise sucks.

just sayin.

swimmers, can ya hear me?!

i need swimming advice.
i have no technique. none. and i need to swim very far with as little effort as possible.

go!

things i need/want to spend money on in the near future...

at least one new pair of jeans


















a new set of tires















padded cycling pants

















omg, this CUUUUTE bathing suit
















yoga classes