five friday favorites #16: week of april 10, 2015

It's Friday, and oh, how grateful I am! I had four days off for Easter (Friday through Monday), so this week shouldn't have been bad. But it was. Nothing bad happened; it just felt so. incredibly. long. I'm sure part of the reason is that all of my time after work has been going into another project--see #3 below. So my brain isn't exactly getting a break after work, which makes me really, really tired. I went to bed at 9:30 last night. 9:30! I wasn't even doing that during speech season ... but then my brain wasn't working this hard during speech season, either.

Suffice it to say, I'm thrilled it's Friday--and I'm thrilled that I actually am getting this posted! As usual, I'm linking up with Erika, Karli, and April.

1. Skaara
Oh, how little I knew when I posted my last Friday Favorites two weeks ago! Just as I posted my Instagram photo of the happy cats following the vet visit too soon, I also spoke too soon when I said all the cats were healthy. Little did I know, Skaara was in the process of developing a raging urinary tract infection, which turned me into one emotional cat owner. (Seriously. My sister, the one who I'll text and Facebook message and Gchat with but rarely speak to on the phone, called me just moments after I sent her a text saying I'd bawled the whole way home from the vet--I had to leave Skaara overnight for testing--and then I proceeded to bawl through our whole conversation. I was a complete wreck.)

Fortunately, Skaara should be fine ... if I feed him insanely expensive urinary-formula cat food. Which I will. Obviously. I mean, how could I refuse this face?

2. The music of Nashville
I know, I know ... Nashville has already made several Friday Favorites appearances! (Here. And again here.) But I just recently rediscovered it now that I have more free time with speech being over for the year. What I'm really, really loving about it now is the music. And, thanks to Spotify, I can listen to the music whenever I want! I did end up buying "Don't Put Dirt on My Grave Just Yet," simply because I love it so much :-) I prefer the version Juliette did with Luke Wheeler for the military, but that one wasn't available for download. (It is available on YouTube, and the clip also includes a good Deacon/Rayna moment. You're welcome.)



3. My editing project
I love editing--proofreading, copy editing, content editing, all of it. So I was thrilled recently when I was asked to help edit a book ... and I'm getting paid for it!

So all that free time to watch Nashville that I mentioned before has evaporated for now, but that's OK :-)

The book is an account of some Nebraskans who fought in World War II, and so far (I'm about 1/3 of the way through), it's fascinating! Once the book is published, I'll be sure to tell you how to get yourself a copy.

Skaara sometimes makes working difficult, but that's OK--I'm just glad he's still with me!

4. Cashew Milk

Since I've been on Trim Healthy Mama, I've basically given up lattes. See, dairy milk isn't "on plan," and I cannot stand almond milk in my coffee. Blech! But I just discovered cashew milk, and it's actually drinkable! (This is huge, trust me.) It is so mild that it doesn't really flavor my coffee, it just makes it creamier. So I've started making a few lattes again--with cashew milk, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract. Delicious!

*Lest a THM purist see this post, I'll clarify that coconut sugar isn't "on plan," either, but I'm choosing to adapt THM to fit me. I'm not really comfortable with artificial sweeteners, so I'm choosing to use very small amounts of stevia (which is "on plan") along with honey, maple syrup, and coconut sugar.

5. The Bound Heart

If you are a fan of romance, then you need to read The Bound Heart. It is simply fantastic! It's book two in Dawn Crandall's Everstone Chronicles, and it would definitely be very helpful to have read the first book, The Hesitant Heiress, first. Fortunately, The Hesitant Heiress is also very good!

But The Bound Heart is something special. I guess you could say I connected with it on a very deep level. It's a serious story about sin and its far reaching consequences, the lies we believe, and the power of forgiveness ... but it's also so incredibly romantic! It's the best book I've read so far this year. Check out my review, and then go get yourself a copy!

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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my (current) favorite things, march 2013 edition

It's been a very long time since I've done a "favorite things" post ... though I do have two that I started to write last year and never posted! Here are some things I've been enjoying lately:

• French press coffee. Last week, I finally bought a French press. I'd been wanting one for a while, but I just never got around to buying one. What took me so long? French press coffee is awesome! Plus, I can make however much (or little) I want. I ended up getting the Primula Classic Glass 8-Cup Coffee Press, and I'm glad I got it when I did—the price has jumped $7 since I ordered it!
• My cats. I've been pretty silent about them on the blog lately, but they're still here, and I still love them! I'm not sure if Isis will ever forgive me for taking away her chance to be a mother, but the changes in Hammond and Skaara since I got them fixed have more than made up for whatever hatred Isis shoots my way! Also, Sam is still around—she's the stray who showed up last fall looking like she was at death's door. She's fully recovered and is now definitely one of the crew ... though I wouldn't find myself heartbroken if she disappeared! (Hammond is another story. When I lose him, my heart will break.)

See those eyes? They are definitely not saying, "I love you, Becky!"

• Pushing Daisies. Several years ago, my cousin Beth told me I should watch Pushing Daisies because I'd really like it. I didn't really want to join a show mid-season, so I just filed away her recommendation. Then the show got canceled, and I forgot about it. A few days ago, I was looking for something to watch before bed. Netflix didn't have anything that called to me, so I checked out Amazon Prime Instant Video. And there it was: Pushing Daisies. I watched the first episode and was entranced. (I blogged about the episode here.) Pushing Daisies is whimsical, funny, and beautifully filmed. If you have Prime, you should definitely check it out! 
• Chicken pizza. I recently "invented" the most divine (and simple) chicken pizza. It can be made in 20 minutes, start to finish. It tastes wonderful, and it's actually pretty healthy! Look for the recipe on the blog soon.
• Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer. My sister Val introduced me to this primer when we visited for Thanksgiving. It is absolutely wonderful! I bought my own just before Christmas, and I'm still on the first bottle ... so even though it costs $36, it lasts a long time! (I only use it on days I wear foundation. On other days, I use Avon's MagiX Face Perfector. At $10 a bottle, it's a bit more economical!)
• Lizzie Bennet diaries. I first heard about this YouTube series on Annie Downs' blog. It's fantastic! Check out the first episode below, and then I'm sure you'll want to watch more. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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need a boost?

Dunkin' Donuts is giving away samples of their new coffee. Thanks to Jen for alerting me!

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my day, facebook style

Becky

• can't believe it's morning.
• wishes she didn't have to scrape her car.
• remembers more US history than she expected and probably would have gotten at least an 80% on the juniors' final!
• is thankful for friends she can vent to.
• hates the computer in her classroom.
• wishes the yearbook deadline wasn't on Wednesday.
• hopes the predicted blizzard doesn't come!
• really could use a latte.
• doesn't enjoy tomato chunks in her tomato sauce :-(
  
• 's brain feels like mush.
• is shocked. Steph K doesn't know who Harrison Ford is! 
  
• wishes her students had turned in their spreads on time.
• can't believe how much the gift of a latte brightened her day!
• loves laughing with the Dockweiler boys.
• is taking home a lot of work tonight.
• opened her apartment door and was shocked at the sight of her living room--Stubes did a great job cleaning it!
• is trying (rather unsuccessfully) to edit spreads while Chrissy plays country videos on YouTube.
• had supper with the fam.
• is editing. Still.
• loves Landrigan cookies!
  
• just discovered SNC's Ryan Ahlwardt's solo music. Some of it is pretty good.
• will be up very, very late tonight.
• hopes tomorrow's Stuco event is a success.
• has listened to Ryan Ahlwardt's "My Strength to Jesus" repeatedly. He sounds a bit like Chris Rice here--in other songs, he sounds like John Mayer or Jason Mraz.
• :: James 1:19-20 "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."
• just made Janae the best birthday present ever!
• isn't accomplishing much yearbook-wise.
• is getting frustrated and has to constantly remind herself of James 1:19-20.
• has complied quite the mental list of issues to cover in yearbook after Christmas break. Perhaps it's time to write them down!
• is glad that Janet is coming to spend Christmas vacation with her!
• still hasn't heard her most hated Christmas song! Here's hoping she makes it through the next four days without hearing it!
  
• :: Why is caption writing so difficult?
  
• decided not to put up her new curtain rod--the neighbors probably wouldn't appreciate the sound of the power drill at 11:30 p.m.!
• just remembered that she still needs to make copies of the final she's giving in the morning.
• should stop blogging and start focusing on yearbook!
  

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warm and wonderful weekend

So the Huskers lost (and, frankly, looked like they wouldn't have been able to hang onto the ball if their lives depended on it). But other than that, I had a delightful weekend!

Friday

• Made breakfast for supper with Blendy and enjoyed eating with the fam.
• Looked at a house with Val. She has the opportunity to move into a furnished house for not very much money.
• Watched The Proposal with Mom. She thought the eagle scene was hilarious. (And I thought the preview for Old Dogs was hilarious. The movie will probably be ridiculously stupid, but I couldn't stop laughing at the trailer!)
  

Saturday

• Finished the first season of Fringe. Boy, was Lori ever right when she told me I'd love it!
• Did all my dishes. I so wish I had a dishwasher!
• Made pizza with my sisters.
• Went to Love Happens with Steph and Janae. It was ... OK. Much more serious than many romantic movies, it wasn't actually that romantic, either. I think Janae and Steph liked it much more than I did. (Weird fact #1: There were no previews. I don't think I've ever been to a movie with no previews, and I felt kind of cheated. Weird fact #2: The average age of the people in the theater had to be at least 45--and that's only because of the row of teenagers. Most people were well over 50, I'd say. I think the only other time I saw a movie with so many old people was when Beth and I saw The Horse Whisperer.)
  
• Watched The Proposal with Steph and Janae. Tried to contain myself as we watched the Old Dogs preview ... with moderate success.
  

Sunday

• Went to my high school friend Dorinda's anniversary party in Beatrice. Being a great sister, Steph went with me! It was great to see Dori and her parents again! (While we were talking, I remembered how Dori's mom used to always feed me when I went to community college. I had several evening classes one semester, so I'd go hang out at their house during my break between classes. I'm not big on barbecue, but Dori's mom would frequently make barbecue ribs that were out of this world. If I remember right, she made her own sauce--and it was amazing!)
• Stopped by Andrew & Susan's in Lincoln on the way home. Andrew provided me with the caffeine I needed to squelch my headache.
• Drove through Popeye's for supper. Steph and I split a meal, so we got the mild chicken ... next time I'll be having the spicy!
• Made cinnamon coffee for Janae and Val. Thanks to Jen for the simple cinnamon tip!
• Watched FlashForward with Val. We're both thinking that we may not watch much longer. It's trying to be LOST, but it's not succeeding.
• Realized that since I'll be at work until 8 p.m. tomorrow due to parent-teacher conferences, I don't need to go in until noon!
  

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what a weekend!

As I write this post, I'm sitting on my couch, covered by the throw I knitted a couple years ago, sipping Bella coffee, and watching Charade, the next installment in my great movie rewatch. I have the day off, as I used incredible foresight to realize that after last weekend, I'd need a day off to recuperate!

Friday--I rushed home from work at 4:30, packed up, and headed over to my parents' house to pick up Val. After making two trips back to my apartment to get things I'd forgotten, we headed off for Indiana. We didn't take the normal route, though. Earlier in the day, I'd tried to search for Starbucks along the way, but Starbucks' website wasn't working right, so I tried to use Google Maps instead. When I typed in our starting and ending points, I was surprised to see a new shortest route pop up. Supposedly, by taking Highway 30 East until it runs into I-29 and then taking I-29 South to 680 East, we could cut 30 minutes off our drive. I was a bit skeptical, but I decided to give it a try. And it may have worked, if only the Columbus Starbucks would have been where Google Maps said it was. As it was, we drove around Columbus for about ten minutes before deciding to try to find coffee in Fremont. Val called her past and future roommate Jamie to have her google coffee shops in Fremont. She found one downtown that sounded promising ... except it closed at 5:30, and we got there at 7:30! We finally found a Scooters, but by the time it was all said and done, we'd spent over 30 minutes in Fremont, and we lost any time advantage we may have had by taking that route!

The rest of our drive was rather uneventful, though we did have to deal with rain and some intense fog. At 7 a.m. Eastern, we pulled into Grace. I got a kick out of watching Val and her roommates greet each other--lots of squealing, jumping, and hugging!

Saturday--After sleeping about four hours, we woke up to a delicious breakfast--pancakes, potatoes, scrambled eggs, bacon, coffee, and juice!

At one, I headed off for South Bend to see my college roomie Jen. We spent several hours downtown at Art Beat. Neither of us bought anything "artsy," but we enjoyed browsing the booths, listening to music, and admiring the sculptures. We met up with Jen's friend Peter, a photographer, and we served as models for a few shots. Recently, a bunch of sculptures by artist George Rickey were set up downtown; Peter told us to go look at one of the sculptures and talk about it. At first, I wasn't that impressed with the sculpture, but the longer I looked at it, the more entranced I became. I ended up enjoying the various sculptures more than anything else we saw at Art Beat!

After we were finished wandering around at Art Beat, Jen took me to The Chocolate Café, where we each bought a piece of cheesecake. I got the Dulce de Leche, which tasted remarkably similar to the caramel cheesecake I made earlier this year. (Maybe that’s what I should do with my life—make cheesecakes and sell them for ridiculous amounts of money!) Anyway, we took the cheesecake back to Jen’s apartment, where we sat and chatted while sipping delicious jack-o-latte coffee. This portion of the day was definitely the highlight of the trip!

I spent the evening with Val and her friends. I’m getting braver in my old age, and I sampled some of the edamame they made for supper. I wouldn’t call it my favorite food ever …

Sunday--We went to church. At Christ's Covenant. It was wonderful. I'm still processing, so that's all I'm going to say about that for now.

Following Papa John's pizza with the girls and a brief, delightful conversation with Val's friend Sproul about our mutual appreciation for Nathan Fillion, we were on the road again. Val drove all the way to Des Moines, and we got there in close to record time. In fact, some guy we passed on the interstate recognized us at a gas station and commented on how lucky we were to not get pulled over!

We were hoping to stop at a Panera just outside of Des Moines for supper, but they were closed by the time we got there, so we went to Dairy Queen instead. Val observed that the Sunday night crew must have been the B team!

Monday--At 12:15 a.m., we got home. I crashed nearly immediately and slept until 9:30. I have greatly enjoyed my day off ... it has been the perfect way to end a wonderful weekend!

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i'm excited about ...

• my next book review blogger book: Green by Ted Dekker! I would have bought the book anyway ... but now I get it for free!
• taking my yearbook staff to the fall yearbook conference in Kearney tomorrow.
  
• Homecoming Week, during which I get to wear jeans to work every day. (I usually have to stretch things a bit in order to make jeans fit into each day's theme--for crazy footwear day a couple years ago, I pinned socks to my jean capris--but this year, each day naturally lends itself to jeans!)
• the start of Singing Christmas Tree practices! (October, I think?)
• watching more Fringe. I watched the pilot last fall, got bored, and didn't even finish the episode. A couple months ago, a friend who knows I love LOST asked me if I was into Fringe. I told her I wasn't, then she proceeded to tell me why I'd love it. So, I gave it a chance, getting the first disk from Netflix last week. She was right--and I have absolutely no idea why it bored me last fall!
• hanging with my family tonight, watching Friday's Psych and drinking delicious Sleepy Monk coffee.
• having my cousin claim my spare bedroom in a couple months.
• going to Indiana in less than two weeks!!!
  

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today i . . .

• got up earlier than I have in months. Thanks, school.
• drank delicious French Vanilla coffee sent to us by Val's roommates.
• drank delicious Vietnamese coffee brought in by the principal.
• met with our new yearbook rep. He introduced me to an online design program that could make my life a whole lot simpler.
  
• googled a phrase I thought was from a Bible verse. Nope! It was from a song we sang at CCC!
• went to a Student Council meeting. Yup, the girl who never had any interest whatsoever in student government is now the StuCo sponsor!
• taught my first with-a-textbook reading lesson of the year. Drove one poor student over the edge--he couldn't understand the story at all!
• watched a really funny Reba episode. Seriously, if you need a laugh, find Reba!
• ate a Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich. Not as awesome as I'd hoped.
• went back to school for the annual back-to-school night where parents walk through their students' schedules.
• absolutely roasted in the gym. Decided to be thankful I only had to spend 20 minutes there instead of an entire volleyball practice.
• had a very awkward session with the parents of my 6th hour yearbook students. I went through my little spiel, answered a couple questions, then just stood there for four minutes while everyone looked through copies of last year's yearbook.
  
• came home to an unbearably humid apartment. Immediately turned on the air conditioning.
• finally, after putting up with the chorus of "Who Can Compare" running through my head all day, decided to buy the cd. Found it online--I thought I'd have to order it from the church--and downloaded it immediately.
• realized how much I miss CCC and decided that Val and I need to plan a trip to Winona Lake.
• looked at the clock, did the math for how much sleep I could get if I went to bed immediately, and proceeded to go on facebook.
  

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off the oregon trail: thoughts after returning home

• I’m so glad I took Wednesday off—it would have stunk to get home at midnight and then be at work by 8.

• While in Bozeman, we couldn’t use any hair products because Sarah’s sister is allergic to scents. My hair behaved reasonably well, so I thought I might try going without any hair products for the rest of the trip. I changed my mind when we arrived in Cannon Beach and my hair went crazy. Duh! Bozeman’s low humidity is what allowed my hair to behave without artificial help.

• I think Steph and Nate would be perfectly happy to never, ever hear “Don’t Stop Believing” again in their entire lives. It was our unofficial trip song, and I had to belt it out every time I heard it! (Not the original Journey version—which I do enjoy—but the Glee version.)

• Looking back on the trip, it’s so amazing that we were all able to go on it together. What a gift!

• If I ever move to the mountains (Montana???), I’ll need a new car. My baby would never survive!

• I wish Nebraska had good hiking trails. Hiking is fun, but we don’t really have anywhere to hike around here. At least nowhere I'm aware of . . .
  

• Can I get a job reading maps? I think I would really enjoy it.

• It’s surprising how well my sisters did with each other on the trip. I’m not sure that they ever really fought. Surprisingly, Val and I were the ones with the issues on the way home.

• After all the coffee I had on the trip, I’m going to go through some serious caffeine withdrawals as I go back to my regular one caffeinated drink per day routine.

• I forgot to mention the coffee we had in Portland. It came from Stumptown Coffee Roasters, and it was some of the best coffee I had on the trip. Look for a massive coffee/restaurant review post in the next few days.

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on the oregon trail: day 14

We slept in a bit on Tuesday . . . at least until Mom started calling! We hadn’t told her we’d be sleeping in, so she thought calling at 8 would be fine; I think she was a bit confused when I answered my phone with my sleepy voice.

We had coffee at Wild Boar Coffee, just off the Colorado State campus. I really liked my coffee; Val thought hers was good but not great. It was the last coffee we had on our trip.

When Val looked up the Salt Lake City Starbucks, she also looked up a Panera Bread in Denver. Again, she didn’t find directions; she just looked at a map and tried to figure it out. That would have been OK, except that many downtown Denver streets are one-way. Once again, I pulled out the trusty atlas and got us there.

Stephanie had never been to Panera before, so the guy at the counter gave her a free cookie. We enjoyed our wonderful soup and bread and headed off toward Colorado Springs.

Steph loves Panera!

When I started planning this trip, I decided we should definitely visit Focus on the Family. The visitors center was interesting, but the Whit’s End/Odyssey portion was slightly disappointing. It would have been great for an 8-year-old (or for a young family), but we weren’t all that thrilled. Don’t get me wrong—there were lots of interesting things to see—but I had high expectations that weren’t quite met.

After Focus, we went to The Garden of the Gods. Spectacular! We only spent about 45 minutes there, but we could have spent hours!

The formations at The Garden of the Gods were breathtaking!

Steph was wearing a KU shirt yesterday; while we were walking down one of the trails at The Garden of the Gods, we passed two college age guys who started chanting, “Rock Chalk! Rock Chalk! Rock Chalk!” It was hilarious.

We found a Chick-fil-A for supper! We don't have them, so this was a real treat :-)

Finally late in the evening, we crossed into Nebraska! We got Blizzards in North Platte, stopped at one last rest stop, and then drove like mad to get home, arriving at midnight.

At our last rest stop, Val & Steph show their elation at being back in Nebraska.

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on the oregon trail: day 10

Friday. It seems so long ago now, but I'll do my best to remember the important details of the day!

Our morning began with a lovely French toast breakfast cooked by Nate. Steph had pancakes because she got it into her head that she doesn't like French toast, due to some soggy, nasty stuff Val and a friend made like 8 years ago. We then went for coffee at The Sleepy Monk. Val thought hers was some of the best we've had; I couldn't drink much of mine--it was too heavy and intense.

Beth had to work (boo!), so we decided to go to the Tillamook Cheese Factory while she was working. Here's the thing I don't enjoy about Oregon roads (and probably mountain roads in general)--Tillamook is 41 miles from Cannon Beach, but it took us 65 minutes to get there. In Nebraska (outside of town), 41 miles = 41 minutes or less. Anyway, we greatly enjoyed Tillamook. I was astounded at the number of people who were touring the factory while we were. We had to park in the RV parking because we couldn't find a space in the car parking lot! We sampled delicious cheeses, watched workers package blocks of cheese, and ate some amazing ice cream. Did you know that Tillamook has the second most popular chunk cheddar in the United States? I can't recall hearing of it before this trip, but it sure seems to be popular in the

Northwest!

After Tillamook, we headed back to Cannon Beach. After dropping Nate and Steph off to shop and hang out on the beach, Val and I drove to Warrenton to go to Ross. (Warrenton is like 15-20 miles north of Seaside, but it took us 40 minutes to get there.) Val had heard about Ross from some college friends, who said it had cheap clothes. We spent probably an hour there, and I found a new work outfit, shoes, and capris. I think Ross can best be compared to TJ Maxx or Marshall’s. We have a TJ Maxx in GI, but I’ve never looked for clothes there. I think I should.

We then went back to Cannon Beach in search of coffee and a wireless connection. We went to Bella Espresso (which Steph says has the best hot chocolate she’s ever tasted), but it was very busy, so we decided to go elsewhere. Val wanted to try the Waves of Grain Bakery, where we’d gotten coffee the day before. Unfortunately, we couldn’t remember exactly where the bakery was. So after wandering around—on foot—for a while and having a bit of an argument about who had a better idea of where the bakery was, we headed back to Bella, which had cleared out. We had more great coffee—caramel lattes—and I blogged about Thursday.

We had another campfire on Friday night; this time we hiked down to a beach that was supposedly “no access.” We parked Beth’s car outside of Ecola State Park and then hiked down a half mile-ish trail. Val, Beth, and Nate skimboarded. Nate was really intense—he even “swam”—even though the water was freezing.

Nate instructing Val on the principles of skimboarding.

She's got it!

Shortly after we arrived at the beach, it started raining. It sprinkled off and on for a while, then it picked up. I was pretty soaked by the time we decided to call it a night. But before that . . . I had my first hot dog in years! I really despise hot dogs, but that was my only option for supper, and I was hungry.

This is how I feel about my hot dog . . .

Once we got back to Beth’s, we watched Don’t Say A Word. More accurately, they watched it, and dozed through the middle 40 minutes. What is it with me sleeping through movies on this trip?

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on the oregon trail: day 9

Yesterday was a hiking/walking/nature day.

We ventured out quite early in order to see the tide pools around Haystack Rock at low tide. It was well worth our early getting up time. Steph took hundreds of pictures of the starfish, crabs, clam shells, barnacles, and sea anemones. (Well, it wasn't really hundreds . . .)

Haystack Rock. (Not in the morning, but I thought you'd like to see it.)

Starfish.

Then we went to Beth's bakery (Cannon Beach Bakery) for delicious breakfast items and Waves of Grain Bakery for coffee. We then drove to Hug Point, which is under water during high tide. We were able to walk around on the beach and on this rock roadway that people used to drive on before there were other roads around.

Then we went to Falcon Point and hiked a 2.5 mile trail. Along the way, we saw slugs, snakes, and lots of bees. It was fairly easy hike, but it was long. However, we all survived!

What we saw when we came out of the brush at the end of our hike.

Nate & Beth at the Falcon Point trail head.

We went to Seasons Cafe & Deli for lunch. Beth and Nate shared a sandwich, Steph had a French dip, and Val and I both had bagels w/ cream cheese. Then we went to Bella Espresso so I could blog.

We spent most of the afternoon in Ecola State Park. First, we drove out to Indian Beach, where portions of Twilight were filmed. Then we went to another area of the park where we found a picnic table to sit at, and read, slept, and chatted for a while.

The Twilight Beach. Even I recognized it, and I don't remember much about the movie except that I couldn't wait for it to end.

Around 8 p.m., we drove out to Camp 18 for supper. It's modeled after a logging camp, and the food was spectacular. (Have we had any food that hasn't been spectacular? I don't think so . . .) Val said something complimentary about it, and then she said, "And you can quote me on that!" but we can't remember exactly what she said. It was along the lines of: "I wish I lived closer to this delightful establishment so I could come here every day." We were all very tired, and something set us off while we were waiting for our food--Beth and I were laughing so hard we were crying!

When we got back to Beth's, Nate baked cookies for Beth while watching Muppet Treasure Island. Then we crashed for the night . . .

Nate had to be as close to the TV as possible while still working in the kitchen . . . he couldn't miss any of the movie!

We're spending tomorrow in Portland with our cousin Kim, so I probably won't have time to blog about today, tomorrow, and Sunday until Sunday night, provided our hotel (which we're going to get through Priceline sometime along the road on Sunday) has wireless.

About the coffee rating system (which my dear brother asked about) . . . it was a nice, though highly mockable, idea, but with the lack of internet access we've had, I haven't taken the time to do it. Perhaps when we get home I'll catch up???

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on the oregon trail: days 7 & 8

We’ve had an eventful two days! We left Spokane at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. But before we left, I took plenty of pictures of Sharon’s yard and living room for Mom to see. What a good daughter I am!

We stopped for gas and coffee about an hour into our journey. The Starbucks we stopped at was connected to a Mexican fast food restaurant, which gravely concerned Val. She felt better when I pointed out the two places just shared a building—it wasn’t like they made the coffee and the tacos in the same area! My coffee was OK, but Val compared hers to McDonald’s coffee . . . and she doesn’t have a high opinion of McDonald’s coffee!

We stopped at a Walmart for supplies, and then we went to McDonald’s for lunch. There, Nate and I got our first taste of Tillamook ice cream—delicious! We’ll be going to the Tillamook Cheese Factory while Beth works on Friday.

Many people warned us about the road between Spokane and Portland. I came away from each conversation thinking “barren wasteland” . . . but that really wasn’t the case. Sure, the drive wasn’t as breathtakingly beautiful as much of our drive has been, but it wasn’t so bad. Part of Washington actually reminded me and Val of Kansas.

Our drive became more interesting once we hit Oregon. We followed the Columbia River, and the view was, at times, spectacular. We stopped at Multnomah Falls, which I’ve wanted to see ever since I read the Robin Jones Gunn book Echoes in high school. (Should I even admit that? Anyway, part of the story—which I recounted in great detail for my fellow travelers—takes place at Multnomah Falls.) It was not what I was expecting. Beautiful, yes, but I think the Hidden Falls has it beat.

Multnomah Falls

We finally got to Cannon Beach around 7. Beth met us at the park, and we walked over to Pizza a Feta for supper. It was the cheapest meal we’ve had yet—we each ordered one piece of pizza, and our breadsticks were free because they were out of the “real” ones and had to substitute—and it was delicious. Then we went to see Haystack Rock, rented a movie, and went to Beth’s apartment.

We're finally with Beth . . . and we're cold!

I slept through most of the movie—Inkheart starring Brendan Frasier. I can’t remember the last time I slept through I movie I hadn’t seen before, but I was suddenly exhausted! Val slept through some of it, too.

Following the movie, we all crashed . . . me and Val on a foam mattress, Steph on a loveseat, and Nate on an air mattress. Poor Nate got the shaft everywhere else, even sleeping on the floor in our motel rooms, so we decided to be nice to him at Beth’s ☺

This morning, we slept in—a wonderful thing! Then we headed to Astoria, where we had brunch. We went to Coffee Girl, and we were all quite impressed. I had a bagel sandwich—cheddar cheese bagel, cream cheese, turkey, and cheddar—and a latte. Both were excellent! Nate, Steph, and Beth all had paninis, and Val had yogurt with fruit and granola.

After Coffee Girl, Beth took us to see the sea lions, only they were nowhere to be found! Then we went to the Astoria Column. I think it has some sort of historical significance, but I don’t know what! It’s a very tall tower that you can climb to the top of. For me, coming down was a lot harder than going up. The staircase was spiral, and I got really dizzy going down. Beth bought Val and Nate little airplanes to fly from the top. Nate’s won, though Val’s also flew a very impressive distance!

Next, we crossed the Astoria Bridge, which doesn’t go underwater as Nate thought his mother had said. The Astoria Bridge connects Oregon and Washington. Once in Washington, we went to Cape Disappointment State Park. Surprisingly (at least for this Nebraskan), the park was free for day users. We hiked to two lighthouses, saw Waikiki Beach, and visited a General Store. Evidently, the Cape Disappointment lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse still in use in the United States.

I was pretty tired after the park, so I was glad for the 45 minute car ride back to Seaside. Once back in Seaside, we went to this store that sells sweatshirts for $12.99. I was amazed at the selection! Val, Steph, and I all bought sweatshirts.

The sisters in our cheap hoodies. Val said we should "look like we were from the 1800's."

We wore the sweatshirts tonight when we went to Cannon Beach. We ate at Bill’s Tavern. Steph and I got the homemade root beer. I must not have very sophisticated tastes because I’d take a good Sam’s Choice root beer over Bill’s any day of the week! All of us save Beth had burgers . . . and they were really tasty.

Nate wanted to run on the beach, so he did that while we girls got coffee, this time at Bella Espresso (which is where I’m posting this blog from). Steph thought the hot chocolate she got there was some of the best she’d ever had.

We met Nate at Haystack Rock, then we built a fire on the beach. We made s’mores and Jiffy Pop, sang songs, talked, and laughed. It was a great way to end the day!

Beth starting our fire. A mother and daughter bought us lighter fluid in exchange for watching their wood while they went to buy lighter fluid for themselves.

Nate making our Jiffy Pop. The instructions specifically said, "Do not use over an open fire."

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on the oregon trail: day 6

I. LOVE. MONTANA.

That's what I've decided after spending parts of five days in that lovely state. I guess we should only count four of those days, though, because the first was just an overnight in Cooke City, and that "city" definitely didn't make Montana look good!

We left Sarah's at 10 this morning. Our first stop was, you guessed it, coffee! This time, we went to City Brew. Decent, but The Leaf & Bean is still the best coffee we've had on this trip.

Our first real stop was at Wheat Montana. We all got great cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

Nate & his cinnamon roll.

We ate lunch in Missoula. My friend Camilla used to live in Missoula, and she told us about some places to eat downtown . . . except I must have taken a wrong turn, as we never ended up downtown! Instead, we got sandwiches from Quizno's and ate on the road. Camilla had also told me about a breathtaking view along Highway 93 about half an hour north of Missoula. We braved the road construction (seriously, road construction has been everywhere on this trip!) and made our way north. We reached the observation point and saw . . . that it was too overcast to see much. All was not lost, though, as our subsequent drive back to I-90 along highways 200 and 135 was, in my opinion, the prettiest drive so far. We ran parallel to a river most of the time, and the view was simply gorgeous.

Google Maps, which has lied to me several times on this trip, gave us really odd directions to my mom's cousin's house in Spokane. At one point, it wanted us to drive down a dirt path! Nevertheless, we made it just before 6 p.m. After dinner, Sharon and her family took us on a walk around the neighborhood. They've been so hospitable--we had a wonderful evening!

As I write this, Steph's sleeping, and the rest of us are watching a movie. We'll leave (relatively) early tomorrow morning . . . soon we'll be with Beth!

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coffee across the country: day 1

Val and I love coffee, and we both agree that Barista's (where she works) serves some of the best coffee we've ever tasted. One of our goals on this trip is to find truly great coffee. All the coffee we taste will be compared to Barista's--is it better, just as good, or worse?

Rating system: (devised by Val, in terms an ice cream lover can understand. Why not coffee terms? Good question!)
*****--freshly baked fudgy brownie covered in Breyer's vanilla ice cream and my great-grandma's amazing homemade fudge sauce
****--a ColdStone Creamery favorite
***--your favorite DQ Blizzard
**--an ice cream bar
*--sugar free, fat free, freezer-burned vanilla ice cream

Our first coffee stop was at Barista's, and the coffee was, of course, excellent.
Overall rating: **** (only because we can have it all the time--and we need to leave room in case something better comes along!)

Our second coffee stop was in Laramie, Wyoming, at Turtle Rock Coffee, Etc. The atmosphere was great--we loved the decor--but the coffee wasn't in the same bracket as Barista's. My Irish Cream Latte was comparable to what I can get in Central City--which is to say it's good, not great. Steph's smoothie was "pretty good," and Nate really enjoyed his Cappuccino/Espresso Bean gelato. They also have an extensive sandwich menu (and, as you can see from the picture, pasta!). It's located just off the interstate on the west side of Laramie, and while the coffee itself wasn't anything to brag about, I'd still say it's worth a stop.Overall Rating:
** (Val: "The atmosphere was cute, but the flavor was not good.")
*** (Becky: see comments above)
*** (Steph: "My smoothie was good.")
??? (Nate: he went to sleep while we were discussing this)

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thoughts from a lunch break

• I left my container of applesauce at home. Grrr. Now I'm gonna be hungry. I wonder if applesauce that's been on a kitchen counter all day is still edible?
  
• I'd forgotten how much I like Nature Valley granola bars. Wishing now that I'd brought one for lunch, as well as breakfast.
  
• The Proposal opens in two days! It's ridiculous how excited I am about this movie. It's the star of my favorite movie of all time and the star of a sitcom I fondly remember, coupled with one of my favorite plot devices . . . I think we're going opening night!
  
• I leave on my Oregon trip two weeks from today!!!
  
• One of my coworkers is ridiculously dressed up. During the summer, he normally wears jeans and a polo--or even athletic shorts and a t-shirt--but today he's wearing a dress shirt and slacks. Wonder why?
• My hair looks about 1000 times better today than it did yesterday. Could be the new conditioner; could be using Val's nice ionic hair dryer instead of my old dying one. I choose to credit the new conditioner, which I paid way too much for at my hair salon. (OK, so it causes me to snicker a bit in calling it a salon--it's a small town beauty shop . . . but I love it!)
• I woke up this morning to discover that my face has forgotten it's no longer 15 years old. Hello, zits!
• I killed a jumping spider in the stairwell outside my apartment this morning. That's the third one I've killed out there this spring. I really, really, really hope I don't find any in my apartment!
• In two days, I need to have submitted pictures and an update on what I've been doing for the past 10 years to a high school classmate who is compiling a book on everyone in our class. I've really been dragging my feet on this. What pictures do I include? What do I say?
• Normally caffeine doesn't affect my ability to sleep, but perhaps a drink containing four shots of espresso and a 44 oz. Diet Pepsi (both after 8:30 p.m.) were a bit too much. I was wired!
  
• When will Jillian figure out that Wes is a publicity-seeking jerk? "They say that love, it don't come eeeee-eeeeasy . . ."
• Will my yearbook proofs ever come? What if they come while I'm on vacation?
• My cilantro is so cute! I planted the seeds in the pot that used to hold my African violet (R.I.P.). I ask Val at least once a day if she's noticed how good the cilantro looks.
• I should really blog more. I just don't know what to say half the time . . .
  

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my (current) favorite things

• Spending time with family.
  My brother got married last weekend, and nearly all of my dad's side of the family was there, as well as my mom's siblings. It was great to see everyone, and I had a wonderful time at the reception! (It did get a little long, though . . . as you can see from the picture of me and Val!)
  

• Coffee.
  Yeah, this one is a negative, but I've been enjoying it. I normally drink decaf at home and at work--and I make a really good Irish Cream Latte using my Irish Cream syrup and my Magic Bullet--but when Val's home, that all flies out the window. She's my enabler . . . she just has to say the word "coffee," and I'm studdenly all about Starbucks. Or Barista's. Or even Scooters. And I never think to order decaf. On Sunday, we stopped at Lincoln Espresso (at Aunt E's suggestion) on our way to the airport. It was amazing. Good thing we don't have one of those around here--I would definitely be a regular!
• Tutoring.
  I've met with the girl I'm tutoring twice now, and it's going really well! She's close to my age and speaks English pretty well--she has trouble with verb tenses and pronunciation, mainly. I'm really enjoying getting to know her!
  
• Being alone.
  My sister is moving in with me after she graduates, and I'm really enjoying my last few weeks of living alone. When you live alone, you get to be really selfish. Don't want to do the dishes? Want to drink straight out of the milk carton? No problem! Plus there's the whole sole possession of the remote control thing. Don't get me wrong; I'm thrilled that she'll be here . . . I'm just making the most of these last weeks of solitude. (Oh, and if you drop by this week, you might want to stay away from the milk.)
• Yearbook.
  I can't even begin to tell you how much I love being the yearbook adviser. It's the best part of my job! Our final deadline is at the end of May--which means that all the students will be long gone by the time the deadline hits; however, I've found that I kind of enjoy the stress of finishing pages at the last second! (I also love the feeling of sending the pages away!) Plus, Val has already offered to help me . . .
  
  
  

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things to do on a snow day

1. Not sleep in, as the call came after my shower . . . once I've showered, I'm awake.
2. Write a letter of recommendation for one of my students. It had to be mailed today, and I'd completely spaced it off.
3. Finish Twilight. I'll have more to say about this in another post.
   
4. Stare out the window at the snow and be thankful I have a job with snow days.
5. Work out. This is one my least favorite activities (go figure!), but since I have a whole day free, I couldn't come up with good enough excuses not to.
6. Watch Alias. Fortunately, the mailman didn't have a snow day, so he was able to deliver this from Netflix!
7. Spill sparkling water all over my book, coffee table, and VCR remote.
8. Drive my sister to her teacher's house. There are seriously like six inches of snow on the ground (and my car!).
9. Do dishes. Reluctantly.
10. Get blown away by romance. No, not in my own life, but romance is romance, right? My assistant coach's husband stopped by this afternoon to drop off flowers for me to give her at the speech meet tomorrow since she'll be gone for most of Valentine's Day. How sweet is that?
11. Change my calendar to February.
12. Drink half a pot of decaf coffee. Believe it or not, Walmart's Sam's Choice decaf is quite excellent.
13. Begin work on my new (or old?) cross-stitch project. My grandma started it years ago and never finished it. My goal is to have it completed by her birthday in July.
14. Make turkey noodle soup.
15. Brush my teeth. As I was eating said soup, I ran my tongue over my teeth and realized they felt "fuzzy." Then I remembered that, as brushing my teeth is the last thing I do before rushing out the door for work and I didn't go to work today, I never had brushed them.
16. Watch Psych.
17. Go to bed--the alarm will go off at 4:15 a.m.!
    

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