I have been home now since Saturday. It has been hectic. I feel like when I am home, I am always running here, running there, chaos, I am being spread too thin. I have not seen any of my friends since I have been home. I worked, ran errands, worked, saw my Grandma twice and my Great Aunt & her son (who live in the Houghton/Hancock area of the UP).

Everyone thinks that since I am home, I am on some sort of vacation? I am here for work, work paid for it, so the extra things I get to do are just that extra, a bonus, not a priority. In reality, I feel like I should not have told anyone I was home!!

Not to mention the time change. I am great at going from EST to PST, but not PST to EST. I think today is the first day I am not completely exhausted.

So, some fun/weird things about home...

I forgot how much I love a salt water pool (not to mention how good it is for the environment!) My mom has one and I have been spending time in it.

People (my family, mom, boss, friends) keep paying for my dinners when we go out.

When I came into work on Monday there was a dead turkey vulture hanging upside down. Apparently, there were 5 of them, they tore our roof off, and we had to shoot one and hang it upside down in effigy - whatever that means - and it scares the other ones away. We had to get a special permit from the DNR and get the insurance company out because they did like 10,000 dollars worth of damage in 4 days. So, apparently my boss shot the bird, and hung it on our directv dish.

Ha, I just said it worked, and just saw one flying over the lake and then land on our back roof. Apparently, it did not work. Our permit is for 5...



Gas is so cheap here, well, compared to Seattle. I got gas with my mom on Sunday and it was just over 4 bucks a gallon. In Belltown that same day, 4.45.


On that same Sunday, I went to my sis's new house and saw her cat. Her roommate got a new kitten, and he is an 8 week old little devil of a cat. I am not a big fan of cats anyway (in fact, they are a deal breaker when dating!!), but how can you not think this little kitten was cute...


Tonight, I get to get my haircut - Yea!! I haven't had it done since Dec 23, which was the last time I was in Detroit. I just haven't found someone in Seattle, and I really like Denise... and well, I am getting it cut. Then Jeff and I are going to get a late dinner - of all my friends I have seen Jeff the most... which is nice. Saturday night we are going out for a crazy night since it his birthday!!

And back to work for a few mins...

OK, so, really... today is June 7, and... I could see my breath today! What? Why is it so cold here!!

Today Dan and I got a late breakfast/brunch at this place called The Dish in Fremont. It is one of Dan's favorite places for breakfast, with good reason. I had a scramble with all this random stuff in it... it comes with red potatoes and a scone! It was so good!! They also have a large array of hot sauces to make your meal even more tasty! I have a feeling this place is busy quite often, but I am sure the late time and the crappy weather helped us get a seat pretty fast. We sat at the counter, so we could see into the kitchen and the pancakes looked amazing! So did the lunch sandwiches. They close at 1:30, and do not take credit, but those are the only downfalls I could see.


I had to get gas today. It was sad, so sad. And I went to the cheap gas station on 15th... the Shell on Denny was 4.449/gallon! Ha, you can see me in the reflection! At least this tank will last me 2 months...


After that we went to Discovery Park. We first went to the welcome center and looked at the map, then drove to the south entrance, parked there and walked up the trail to the south beach trail. The south beach trail is easy to go down the stairs, but going up the stairs.. OH MY! You always forget how hard it is to get back when you are all excited to get down to the beach. We didn't go all the way down, because we ran out of time, but we will be going back!






Oh and most know that I like funny signs - well I saw two today! Both at Discovery Park!


Now, I am going to catch up on my blog, take a nap, and then get ready for the night!!

Eww, I went to the Shell Station on Denny and Wall.. and regular unleaded... $4.15 a gallon. Are you kidding me? I know I filled up in the city and it's more expensive, but $4.15? Analysts say $5.00 by end of June and $6.00 by end of July? Seriously?

I wish I felt safe walking in Belltown by myself. Instead I drive to, like, Dan's house, 8 blocks away.

Speaking of which... Dan and I went to Whole Foods last night. They had 50 cent oysters on the half shell and $2 beers. Yeah, our new plan to save money is just eat at Whole Foods. I am kidding, but they had some happy hour special. Then we shopped, bought everything we needed for dinner, and went back to Dan's house played Grand Theft Auto 4, had a late dinner, and went to bed semi early.

I also went to the Post Office today. I waited like 30 mins in line, but there was only one person working and she was super slow. I do not get why the post office is always SO SLOW. Usually I just mail from my place and call them to pick it up, but this package went to Canada.

And now, work...

This morning I woke up to a bright and beautiful sun, and a hand rubbing my back. It was nice. I stayed the night at Dan's house and we played Grand Theft Auto 4, which actually, is an amazing game. I was obsessed with calling Michele, who was my "girlfriend", though she didn't catch on to the fact that I was involved with organized crime, even though I picked her up in different cars and took her to mobster hang outs.

I left early this morning and then went to the gas station... so sad... 62 dollars to fill up my tank - and I have a Nissan Altima! Now, I do not drive much - maybe 150 miles a month at most - so that tank will last me 2 months. Speaking of not driving, I feel I have done a lot lately to reduce my carbon footprint. I feel good about that. Not only is it good for the environment, but my electric bills are cheaper! I still fly a lot though, I am sure that is super bad for the environment.

I worked today, nothing too exciting, then I babysat this cute three yr old girl that I sometimes babysit. Yeah, I am 26 and babysit... that's right... We went swimming in her building and then we went for a walk around 1st and Pike. She is loving the crab apple trees on Pike and we went to Seattle's Best for a strawberry smoothie and sat down outside so we could look at them.

Looking at the crabapple trees with her made me wonder... Will I ever stop being a tourist in this wonderful city? I have lived here since September and yet sometimes I feel like I am on vacation all the time. Some things are familiar, like my favorite restaurants, the smell of my apartment (a mix of clean cotton and the wood from my furniture), some of my friends... but for the most part I forget I actually live here, but in a good way. Everything is still new, and I love that about it, and somehow, whenever I walk by the market, spaceneedle or even the water, I am always compelled to take a picture.