three hundred thirty five

i own way too much stuff. seriously, mark my words - half this stuff is going. i won't move it again. and to reiterate: goodwill is still my new best friend.

three hundred thirty four

goodwill has become my new best friend.

three hundred thirty three

at 29, it's really funny to watch an underage drinker get grilled by the cops who busted a house party due to noise complaints. especially when one cops says "as long as she's not driving then i don't care right now", to which the 20 year old answers by taunting them with "you're just jealous because i have my youth." oh, kids today...

i should also add, going to a house party that's more like a college frat house when you're 29 is also an experience in and of itself..

three hundred thirty two

today i left the best job i've ever had knowing full well it will be hard to find another quite like it. however i'm certain i'm not ready to call seattle my home, therefore moving on is necessary. keeping the faith is difficult.

three hundred thirty one

hot toddies cure the common cold. and laryngitis. and headaches.

three hundred thirty

having officially entered the final year of my 20s, i can honestly say that i've lived quite a life. and i'd like to take this time to give thanks to whatever powers may be that have allowed me to live such a beautiful, frustrating, eye-opening, sad, joyous, always evolving, remarkable one.

three hundred twenty nine

i have pretty good self control. i usually don't cave, even when under pressure. however, tonight i lost all ability to resist temptation. tonight i had to turn the heat on. i guess sometimes even the strong must give in.

three hundred twenty eight

the washington board of PT requires 40 continuing education credits. i thought it was 30. i have 37.5.. therefore i need 2.5 by tomorrow!

three hundred twenty seven

at the northwest chocolate festival today, i learned that the cocoa bean has one of the highest levels of antioxidants of any food in the world, second only to the acai berry. i can live with that.

three hundred twenty six

having worked my final saturday of the year, i've learned i much prefer the sunday-thursday schedule to the tuesday-saturday schedule.

three hundred twenty five

today i became acutely aware of what courage it must take to stand on a corner holding a sign that says: "family has fallen on hard times, anything helps." it was being held by a man, likely in his mid-40s, dressed like an average guy would dress. he was not some stereotypical drug addict or teen delinquent. he looked totally normal. he looked like a dad. he avoided nearly all eye contact; it was more than apparent how embarrassed he was to have to be standing there - begging. you could almost see him thinking, "how did this happen? how did it come to this?"

it actually made me start crying.

three hundred twenty four

while on the market ghost tour, i learned that seattle's gum wall is officially the 2nd most unsanitary attraction in the world (right after the blarney stone). and i also learned that in the old days, barber shops did more than cut hair - they performed simple surgeries, tooth extractions, blood letting and gave leech treatments.. after blood letting procedures, the barbers would take the bloodied bandages and fling them on a line outside, giving rise to the symbolic red, white and blue striped pole (red & white for the bloody cloths, and blue to symbolize the veins).

three hundred twenty three

today while at my moroccan cooking class, i learned that both spanish paella and mexican nachos were dishes created due to having left-overs and not knowing what to do with them.

three hundred twenty two

sometimes we get the answers we want. sometimes we get the answers we weren't expecting. but trusting that things will all work out one day, when so many times you've been so certain, only to wind up disappointed and hurt in the end.. the trusting's the hardest part.

three hundred twenty one

today i learned a far easier way to walk to REI from my apartment.

three hundred twenty

my cilantro always goes super limpy and wimpy and gross after just a day in my fridge. so i've tried keeping it out of the fridge with even worse results. so finally looked up "best way to store fresh cilantro" and here's what i found out: cut the ends off like you would a fresh bouquet of flowers, and place in a small glass of water. place a plastic bag over it. then place it in the fridge. the site also suggests changing the water if it becomes cloudy and brown. my wimpy limpy cilantro was resurrected!!! i wish i had a "before" shot, but here's the "after" and you'll just have to take my word for it.

three hundred nineteen

using a stencil to carve a pumpkin is far easier than freehand.. why didn't i discover this earlier?

three hundred eighteen

at covington cellars friday night wine flight and tasting, i learned a lot about the wine making process, thanks to one of the more informative tours i've been on (highly recommended). for instance:

*you can make white wine from red grapes -- the color comes from the amount of time the skin is in contact with the juice.

*the fermentation process in white and red wine is completely different. also, red wine prefers to listen to sports broadcasting while fermenting; white wine prefers pop music along the lines of lady gaga and shakira.

*when swirling the wine in the glass, take a look at the "legs" dripping down (a marker of viscosity); more legs in white wine typically means higher sugar content whereas more legs in red wine typically means higher alcohol content.

three hundred seventeen

while having girl time at the local vine on capitol hill, i learned there is such a thing as bubbly pinot noir. next time i have a formal event that requires toasting, that's going to be my drink of choice. move over champagne!

three hundred sixteen

on this day in history, 1928 to be exact, the first clinical use of a respirator occurred at children's hospital in boston to save an 8 year old from respiratory failure. hmm.

three hundred fifteen

nothing beats a couple glasses of wine and catching up with your girlfriends.

three hundred fourteen

i almost never turn the television on, but today i just wanted to relax with a glass of wine and some mindless entertainment. there is literally nothing, i repeat - NOTHING - no tv on monday nights.

three hundred thirteen

i love pumpkin beer.

three hundred twelve

tom douglas's coconut cream pie is truly a little taste of heaven in your mouth. and i don't even like coconut. it's that good.

three hundred eleven

at some point staying home on a friday night, drinking hot chocolate then falling asleep on my couch at 7:30 while watching office reruns became okay. when did i get old?

three hundred ten

if someone is not willing to make you a priority in their life, then perhaps it's time to realize you should not be making them a priority in your life. even if it hurts.

three hundred nine

the 2002 oakland a's was a team comprised of undervalued players, but they went farther on $41 million than the yankees did on $125 million. moneyball was an incredible movie, drawn out at parts, but pretty educational and inspirational.

three hundred eight

according to a recent study, hormonal contraception can increase the risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV. this makes apparent the importance of using non-hormonal forms of birth control in addition to oral and injectable contraception, especially in african nations.

in other news, i need to go back to school for my public health degree.

three hundred seven

tonight i took a bartending class (thanks, groupon!) and learned the very basics of home bartending. basically, if you have 2 parts alcohol (of your choosing), 1 part triple sec, and a lemon or lime - you can make almost any drink you want. i also learned that the quality of the fruit is far more important than the quality of the alcohol.. in other words, don't worry about that $50 bottle of vodka. spend it on real lemons rather than the canned stuff.

ps: i'm usually not a girly drink kinda gal, but my lemon drop was pretty good, if i do say so myself!

three hundred six

catching an accidental glimpse of the all blacks playing in the 2011 rugby world cup reminded me that, no matter how much time has passed, you never really fully totally absolutely completely get over a broken heart. despite moving on, there will always be a hole. it may get smaller, but you will always be missing a part of yourself that the person took with them when they left. on one level or another, there will always be some amount of sadness.

three hundred five

it never pays to overeat. even if it tastes really really good at the time..