What my puppy knows

So my mom keeps bugging me about getting my pup to obedience class. Which first of all is 1) not going to happen because of my schedule and 2) probably unnecessary. (And as I write this she's chewing on something she shouldn't.) Money aside, I just don't think she needs to go to Petco to learn stuff.  I'm capable, I'm at least as smart as her to train her.  Besides, I think she knows a lot of things already.

For instance:

1) She knows how to sit.  Mainly when I'm holding a treat in my hand and telling her repeatedly to do so. But she will sit.
2) She knows how to shake sometimes too. It occurs a while after she finally sits and I tap her paw.  This also works really well when I grab her paw, shake it, and in a high pitch noise say, "SHHHHHAAAAKKKKEEE!!!
3) My puppy knows that when she sees a black dog in the mirror with a purple collar, which looks eerily enough like her fur and collar, that she should bark. Repeatedly. And growl sometimes.  If the dog barks and growls at the same time, she knows to run away with her tail in between her legs.
4) She also knows that other dogs aren't as interesting as other people. Other dogs don't have anything to offer. In fact, they can be very violating. But people, people are friendly and will hand out food.

(Oh, she has discovered that black dog again)

5) Our morning routine is engraved in her mind. She knows that she gets to go in the bathroom first, and once we're inside, I get to go.  She goes right for the bathroom door, and keeps me company until I'm done. Its so lovely....
6)   Lilly knows somehow knows what the doorbell means. Although, I'm not sure how because no one ever rings our doorbell. However, whenever a doorbell rings on tv, she runs for our front door.  TV has raised my dog. 
7) She has learned, somewhat mistakenly, that all food must be inhaled, not chewed.  I think this is a genetic trait, as she is wired to eat her food as fast as possible. I'm not going to take it away, but she doesn't know that yet. She knows its time to eat when I ask her if she's hungry. She hears this and proceeds to run around our apartment, in an excited little prance.
8)And finally, she knows that the best possible place to sleep is anywhere that I am. Whether its in my lap, on my head, or right next to my body, giving me as little room as possible, I am a heat source and that therefore is the most comforting.

So, no, I'm not going to shell out the money and get her properly trained. This is good for now.

Ho Hum Tuesday

The best ideas seem to come to me when I am driving or walking somewhere. At a time when I don't have anything to write them down on. I'll think about something, and then think that was witty or funny and belongs in a blog. Sometimes it happens at work when I'm giving 95 year old women calcium pills. I think to myself about all the great things I'd rather be doing, or deep thoughts that go above "when was the last time you washed your dentures."

I'd like to be one of those people who perpetually carry a nifty journal around.  But I'm not, and I don't, so I'll try to compensate now.  Maybe I'll start tomorrow with the journal carrying though.  I do have journals. Lots of journals. Lots of incomplete journals.  The reasoning behind this is, its fun to start a journal: crisp pages of possibility. Its boring to keep it up. Especially when you date it, because there's always a 3 month span of empty pages, where you wonder if nothing happened, or you were just incredibly lazy.

I have kept up with one particular journal for the past 3-4 years. Its different in that I don't date most entries, and I write sporadically in it.  I guess its more of a mood journal, and a collection of funny quotes, inspirational pictures, whatever.  I do think that its a poor representation at times because I always have in the back of my mind that my children may read it someday.  So I don't drop f-bombs (or f-word bombs, like I read the otherday on facebook), or write about my thoughts on sex and how rotten so and so is.

My favorite thing about this journal is my list of things to do before I die. This was written before it was fashionable to do so.  I was ahead of my times. 3 years ago.....

Anyway, I've got over 100 things, probably 10 accomplished, which isn't bad.  I tried to make them attainable and realistic.  Its kind of a testament of who I was more than who I am. For instance, #1 is see Italy. Yeah, I don't really care if I don't do that. I'd rather see more of the US before other countries.  #52 learn how to play the guitar. Yes, I very much want to do that.  #61 Vacation in a log cabin. Waiting...

Some of the things I have done:
16. Have a relationship with my father......Yeah, that's pretty good now. Not that it was bad.
26. Make my own candles.....Disaster.
53. Dig for clams.....the only way to have clams. 
91. Visit Montana.....we did this on my move from Seattle to Harrisburg.  I'll talk about that someday. 
104. Learn to crack an egg with one hand.
117. Adopt a black labrador puppy.....crap, I just read this and I did that in February. I haven't read this in awhile.

New approach

I'm back.

Its been a very crazy month filled with ups and downs. We had two big losses in our family this month and it really got me thinking. Life is not defined by where you are physically or emotionally in it. Life is happening whether you like it or not. You can take a hold and go with it, or you can loose precious time.

With that in mind, I'm taking a different approach to this blog. I'm still going to focus on Seattle, because its just that great and its a part of me. But, instead of the Seattle life being the central theme, I'm going to let it hang out in the background. It will still pop up: today for instance, I went to Costco (which is from Seattle), and bought three, yes THREE different kinds of salmon. You didn't know that was possible, did you?

I'm going to write more about my life. My thoughts, my experiences. What's going on during the week. Somedays it might be boring. Sometimes life is boring. Most of the times, however, its quirky and funny. So, instead of once a week, or God forbid, once a month, I'm going to shoot for 3 times a week. Which in nursing talk is T.I.D. Oh, you are learning so much already.

I'll start by revealing that I live in Harrisburg, PA. I've done pretty much all there is to do. I wish people would visit me more because it gives me a chance to go to Chocolate World.

I also want to mention that my guy, K, is reading this post now. I kept it a secret because I didn't know if I was going to commit or not (to the blog). But, I made up my mind, and now he is probably my first reader. I may invite friends to read, so if "Would you read a blog if I wrote one?" pops up on facebook in the next couple of days/weeks, I decided to really open up.

Sometimes I question why I'm doing this. Is it narcissistic? Do people care? Is it a form of therapy, or am I really on to something. I've decided that people have been writing their lives in some form or another. Nowadays, we have blogs. Its a more accessible form of writing your thoughts. For me, its working. And besides, this is way more productive than twittering what you ate for lunch today.

Humor me

So what is it about Seattle/Washington that's so different from any other place? I'm hopefully going to put that into exact words throughout this blog. Its just a special place. And as cheesy as that sounds, its so true. Ask any outsider who's visited. First, they get over the initial shock that its not raining (that's right, it doesn't rain as much as you hear). On sunny days, its the most beautiful place in the world. My favorite places in Washington are when you can see the mountains framing a piece of water. Spectacular. That's not very hard to find either since Seattle is nestled in between the Olympic and Cascade Mt. ranges. On these days, you can also see Mount Rainier. Its, and I'm not kidding you, breathtaking. The first time my boyfriend saw it, he couldn't believe that it was a mountain and not clouds. On my last trip to WA, we flew right over Mt. Rainier:

Crazy big right??

Anyways, Mountains+ water=beautiful.

So what else sets us apart? Well, I think that's enough right there.


Let's talk food next. I'm no chef, but I do pretty well for myself. That's because a) my mom is a lousy cook and for the survival of my dad and brother, I learned how to make some dishes in high school, and b) Seattle makes it easy. I really think that in the next couple of years, Seattle cuisine is going to be the next food trend. Mainly because organic and local farming is so popular, but also because its really amazing food.

My favorite chef in all the world is Tom Douglas. He has 5 restaurants in Seattle, and hands down, serves the best breakfast at his one restaurant, Lola. Whenever we visit my family, we visit Lola. They also serve great Greek food for lunch and dinner. Try it. Put a Tom Douglas restaurant on one of your things to do before you die.

The Seattle palate is clean. Its refreshing. Its creative. We use what we have, but that's not hard because we have a lot. Our produce and seafood make the meal. One of my favorite things to do when I was living in my studio apartment in Seattle was to get a pound of clams, a crusty loaf of bread, and a crisp white wine (Chateau St. Michelle), and there's your meal. Excellent.

And finally, what makes Washington, Washington is the love for everything outdoors. I'm not talking green living and environmentalism, which we have plenty of that. I mean camping. Hiking. Kayaking. Canoeing. Backpacking. Outdoor sports. White water rafting. Hell, even just taking a stroll outside. We do these things because we have nature in our backyard. And the weather doesn't suck. I miss this the most. PA's weather is pretty harsh compared to Washington. The joke is they have 3 seasons here: summer, winter, and construction season. Winters are bitter and summers are humid. Plus, there's ticks. AH.

But, these things are important to me. Its a central part of me. Hiking isn't just exercise. Its a stress reliever. With the start of this blog, I'm going to start recording my hiking excursions. Pennsylvania is a beautiful state, and there are trails here too! So I'm going to hike and write.

And I hope you read along. Are you out there? Let me know!! I'll write anyways though.

Intros and such

I think this is silly too, but oh well, I'm going to try it anyways. Maybe its because I just got back from a two week vacation to the Pacific Northwest. Or, maybe its because I'm reading that Julie/Julia Project book and she started a blog, and I'm witty too, though less with the f-bombs. Either way, I want more Seattle in my life, and there's no better way to get yourself to do something nowadays than with a record for everyone to see. And besides, I need something else to do online other than Facebook.

So here's the backstory, which I'm going to try to keep anonymous as possible for safety reasons. I'm 24, living in Central PA for nearly 2 whole years. I was born and raised in the Seattle area, outside of the city. My boyfriend is the reason I moved to PA. He bought me a Labrador puppy to make up for it, so its all good. I'm also a nurse, but that has nothing to do with this blog. (Maybe that's why I'm writing? Nursing isn't getting my rocks off).


My goal is to just bring the things I loved back into my life. I'm positive that this is going to help me in many ways.


Plus, less interesting people have blogs, so I'm entitled.