My Latest 'Kevin' Adventure

My Kevin is my biggest adventure yet, everyday with him is something new and different. There are some days when nothing notable happens. Then, there are days like Friday where I start out shaking my head and rolling my eyes, but end up laughing hard.

Over the past week, we have a an enormous amount of snowfall in the area (about 2 feet to be exact). Finally on Friday, the snow began to melt and the roads began to clear up a bit. However, there was still a bit of snow and ice on the side roads and in parking lots. The snow plows had been extremely busy and therefore snow piles were everywhere as well.

Kevin and I took a trip out to the Home Depot to pick out a new glass stove top. Side note: we have driven everywhere this last week in a 1987 Suzuki Samurai due to the snow, seems it is the only reliable car. So, we took the Sami to the Depot and my adventurous Kevin thought it would be awesome to park on a huge snow hill. He drove at it full speed and stopped perched atop a small snow hill. I was a bit annoyed at first because I didn’t have any boots and where he parked was surrounded by water. He was super proud of himself and had me take some pictures of the event.

We then went shopping in the store for about half an hour. When we came back out, it had started to rain. Kevin went to get the car and was going to pick me up by the front door. I grabbed his camera and said “no way, someone has to document this!” He went for the car and I took some awesome pictures of his attempts to rock the Sami out of its now stuck-on-the-snow-hill position. I tried to hold back my laughter as he struggled to get the car on solid ground. Finally, he climbed out of the car and sadly declared defeat with a pathetic “I think I’m stuck.”



Luckily, he had a car kit in the back with a tow rope in it. He attached the rope to the front of the car and waited for someone to come to our rescue. Help arrived in the form of a good Samaritan with a hitch on the back of a large truck. The kind gentleman pulled the Sami out with no problem. He didn’t even belittle Kevin or think it was strange that he was on a snow hill to start with. Actually, I think when Kevin said, “I think I had a little too much fun,” the guy just shrugged and replied, “that happens.” He was neat.





Kevin was in good spirits the whole time; he was laughing and having fun with it. That’s what is so great about this guy, he is adventurous and even when things don’t quite turn out the way he plans…he is able to laugh at himself. He is an awesome adventure and there are very little dull moments when I am with him. I never know what to expect, but we always end up laughing. I hope to have many more wild adventures with him.

Kitchen Project

I love projects, they make me happy. I love the challenge of starting something new, making changes, and being proud of the finished product. Home improvement projects are some of the best, because you are taking something you don’t like and figuring out how to make it better. Picking out colors, tiles, carpets, appliances, and so on can be a lot of hassle or a lot of fun.

I have never had a house before, but whenever I go to other people’s homes, I am always thinking of things I would do differently. I now have a Kevin, who owns a home, which needs a lot of work and I’m not afraid to tell him. He is a great guy and knows his home needs some work, but he needs a little motivation…which is where I come in. I have already re-organized most of the house so that it is more “user friendly”.

Our latest adventure actually started when Kevin blew out one of the switches on his stovetop. From there we decided if we were going to buy a new stove top we should upgrade to a nice glass stove top. Since the whole kitchen is circa 1970, we decided we should upgrade the rest of room as well. We have to start small because home improvements cost money. All the doors and cabinets in the kitchen are a very ugly yellowish-greenish color, and that needs to go first.





We started small with the just the island where the glass stove top would be going. We spent the day removing all the doors and drawers from the island and painting them. First, we sanded them all down and cleaned up all the years of crap that was gooped on them. Next, we gave them a primer coat of Killz to cover up the old paint and muck we didn’t get to come off. Finally, when the Killz dried we added one coat of white paint. The difference was shocking when we looked from the completed island to the old yellowy cabinets along the wall. The white really brightens up the kitchen and we have only done a small portion.



It was a very productive day for us and we have only just begun. Kevin plans on re-doing all the counter tops with black granite tile and the floors with hardwood. We still have to do the rest of the cabinets in the kitchen so that they all match. It’s a large project, but I can’t wait to see the full finished result, it will look amazing.

If you would like to see more pictures and/or follow our progression click on the link and prepare to be amazed.
More Pictures

Organized Guru

I have a slight obsession with organization and cleaning. I first started hanging out with the Miller clan, by that I mean, Kevin and his roommates. When I first starting coming around this house, which is run by three bachelors by the way, I walked into the kitchen and almost had a heart attack. Junk drawers everywhere, food in awkward places, cans and all the food anywhere it could fit. It was too much for me, so I asked in my nicest voice if I could re-organize the kitchen. Kevin sort of shrugged his shoulders and gave me a strange look and said "go for it." Little did he know what I meant by organize.



I took everything out of the cabinets and put it on the counter. Next, I wiped all the shelves down, they were looking a little worse for wear. Then, I started grouping all the can foods together. For instance, I put all the vegetables like corn, beans, and olives together. I put all the soups together, all the rice together, all the box foods together, and all the pasta items together. It was pretty brilliant and made it so much easier to find things.

Kevin was so amazed he declared a week of a "cabinet diet", which basically meant we would only eat meals from food from the cabinets. It went over pretty well and got rid of a lot of the canned foods that had been sitting around idle for months. All in all it was a pretty successful overhaul.



I got a little bit of crap from everyone, declaring I was a little insane and obsessive compulsive. In the end, I think I made everyone's life a little easier and made the food more accessible and easy to find. I love that kind of stuff. I wonder if they have jobs out there were you just organized people and make money doing it.

Let it snow.

Interesting weather we are having in Washington State this past week, snow. Famously known as the ‘rainy’ state, we are being dumped on in a whole new way…snow and lots of it. It all started late Wednesday night, December 17, the snow came down and covered our entire state in a blanket of white. Many people have been left stranded in their homes, unable to even get the cars out of the driveways. This is the strangest weather we have had in a long time; I don’t remember the last time it snowed so hard here. I measured this morning and we were up to six inches, but now its coming down hard for round three. I seem to have lost my car somewhere out there in the snow,



and its slowly creeping up our front porch steps.



Will we have a white Christmas this year? It would be the first in a very long time, I remember one slightly white Christmas when I was younger early 1990s or so. I have been getting a little restless from being all couped up in the house. I need to search around from snow gear and then go outside and sled or build snowmen or something. Being stuck inside is never a good thing. I haven’t been to work since the snow started and its beginning to look like I won’t be going back until after Christmas if this snow keeps up.

Making Changes

I am trying to expand my horizons once again, and I'm using that line a lot for some reason. Anyway, so I am trying to get into writing and maybe even doing it as a full time gig, which would be my heart's desire. I have been looking at some sites where I can write and get paid to do it. It may not be not be very much at first, but if I can improve my writing skills, that is a good start for me.

I have also enrolled in some writing classes that start Winter quarter. I'm pretty excited about those as well. I'm taking a basics grammar class, a fiction writing class, and a mystery writing class. They should all be entertaining and teach me better writing skills.

I'm trying to work more on my novel too. It is about half-way done and if I would just commit to working on it an hour or so a day, I could finish it. I could finish the rough draft anyway, and then work on the editing process.

All in all I'm pretty excited about where writing can take me. Its something that I always wanted to do and always loved to do, but didn't have the time while working full time. If I could get paid to write, then it could become my full time job, and I would be more motivated to write my stories. I'm looking forward to all the things to come in the New Year.

Epiphany

I know in my last blog I moaned and cried a lot about my job, and yet I'm still here working the same thing. My fault, I need to expand my horizens and get out there more. I have to spend 40 hours a week of my life here, so I might as well be doing something I like right?

So, I had an epiphany while looking on Craigslist for jobs. I don't think I like being a counselor because I'm a results person. I like to be presented with a problem, then come up with solutions, and then solve the problem and move on. With people, things take time and you may never see results or they may take months or years. That isn't good enough for me. I like things a little more instant and I like knowing that my hard work pays off. I don't like the odds in this field, most of these people don't care enough and I feel like I am wasting my time and energy.

So, my problem: I'm a results, problem-solving girl. Counseling=lots of problems and no way that I can be assured I will ever solve them.

Every other area of my life is awesome and I'm actually quite happy these days. I had a small bump where I let the job get the best of me, but I have an awesome support network and a man who loves me, and a rocking family. Things are looking up and I'm going to be happy, but I'm not going to be happy doing something I don't like.

Ho-Hum (huge sigh)

Have you ever noticed that when you are unhappy with one part of your life it brings your whole attitude down? Well, that is the story of my life right now, my happiness seems to have drained away to….some tropical island without me. I hate feeling miserable, I hate feeling like I just want to cry, and I hate feeling helpless to do anything about it. My current problem…the job. I know it sounds lame and pathetic, but it’s a huge part of my life and I hate it. Its where I spend most of my time, energy, and life…so it makes sense that one should like what they do right? And if one does not like what one does, they should change it so that they may feel some sort of joy again. My motto has always been “if you don’t like it change it”, easier said than done I guess. Its hard right now to just change, especially when I have no idea what I want to do. I just know it isn’t this.

I thought I wanted to be a counselor for a really long time, and it was all I wanted to do. Now, I’m doing it and I don’t like it at all. The people are great (well most of them), the job isn’t really that hard. It can be a huge strain emotionally sometimes and there is a lot of paperwork to be done, but it lacks the hard core challenge that I need to keep me going. I live for change and I live for challenges and I die with monotony and being reprimanded for stupid little things (like grammar errors or something). Don’t get me wrong, I think I’m really good at what I do, I just don’t love it, and if I don’t love it then I’m not happy.

This unhappiness leaks into the other areas of my life and I find it hard to fight the depression that comes with my discontent. I find it hard to find the joy in little things, like I use to, and I find I get annoyed and pissed off at stupid trivial things. This sort of ‘depression’ as I’m going to call it, pushes people away and I don’t mean to, but I just go around and around with myself as I struggle for some clarity. I feel like I’m on this internal quest, looking for something, and finding nothing.

It leads to a pissy, discontent, passive-aggressive attitude. I just have to struggle through and try my hardest to not hurt other people, while trying to figure myself out.
I don’t know how much longer I can stay here, but I’m not really sure what else to do. I’m too independent to rely on anyone else for my security with money and such, and I have to be able to support myself and pull my own weight.

I need to get some things paid off and that is the real hold-up for me. I would hate to quit this, try something else, and continue on this unsatisfied journey forever. There has to be something out there that will satisfy me and keep me happy. I’m not the kind of girl who can sit at home all day, everyday.

I know I will figure it out, but until I do this is my story and this is my attitude and I’m sorry if I hurt anyone, I don’t mean to. I tend to go inside myself for answers and it makes me a little unavailable on the outside and enthused about things I would normally be enthused about. I will work on it and try to be a normal human, but this is my inner struggle and I’m not excited to feel this way. It seems like I am in this negative place way to much.

10 lbs in 10 days

The Holiday season is upon us and tis the season for Holiday parties and New Year's Resolutions. I'll wait for the resolution part until 11:30pm on Dec. 31. For now, I have a Holiday party to worry about. For the first time…well ever, I'm dating someone who actually has a Holiday party to attend. Kindly, he asked me to accompany him. Then, he added the PS: you will need to get a dress (yikes, what are those). First of, I don't think I've worn a dress in….I don't even know how long. Second, I had to find something that accentuated the parts I love and hide the parts I don't. Ladies, you know what I mean. Now, the Holiday party is less than 10 days out and I'm freaking out. I want to look really good in my dress and there are a few parts of me that I would love to get rid of. So, I sat down at the computer yesterday (during work of course) and googled the internet under the topic 'lose 10 pounds in 10 days'. If you know me at all, I'm picky and I have to be able to eat, so no fad diets and no starving myself. I finally found a good one, that is more like advice on how to lose weight fast. Here are the ten tips I was given:

1. When you wake up, exercise (to get your metabolism jump started, 15 mins is all it takes)

2. Always eat breakfast. (again with the metabolism stuff)

3. Snack. (small quantities all day, don't give your metabolism a chance to stop working)

4. Drink a lot of water.

5. Drink green tea. (Green tea speeds up your metabolism and helps you lose weight).

6. Don't eat after 6pm (this one is tough since I get off so late)

7. Exercise at night (this time for an hour or so)


8. Drink Apple Cider Vinegar before bedtime. (drink two tablespoons of ACV in half a cup of water) gross, but I'll try it.

9. Get at least seven hours sleep.

10. Increase exercise time on the weekends. (30 in the morning, 90 at night)

Of course, there is some stuff about eating healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, cottage cheese, and nuts; instead of a bag of chips for your snack. So, that's the plan, I'll try it and see if I can't lose 10 pounds in 10 days. Actually, its more like 9 days now. I will keep a running log to keep those who might be interested posted.

East Coast Trip

So, I’m on a plane to Baltimore and my first East Coast trip. I’m really excited and pumped about all the new adventures the week holds for me.

Kevin drove me to the airport this morning with a few pit stops along the way. We stopped at McDonald’s where they got his order wrong. Then, I stopped at work because I had a disk the boss needed this week. While at the office, I introduced the Admin and the PIC (partner in crime) to Kevin, I talk about him enough, it was time they met him. I will get their reactions upon my return.

Anyway, I got to the airport about an hour before my flight time. Security was a breeze, took about 2 mins. And then I was off. The boarding gate was A14, which is the newest terminal at SeaTac, and 14 is at the very end. I got a good 5 min. walk out of that deal, I probably needed the exercise, since I’m stuck on a plane the rest of the day. I then made a stop into one of those magazine kiosks and picked up the travel basics: Cosmo, word search, red vines, and animal crackers. As I waited for my flight to board, I called my mom (she’s been in Idaho visiting my sister), we chatted for a bit and she told me she had a good time.

The plane is pretty big, considering what I usually fly on. My longest trips have been 1-2 hours, this flight is 4 hours into Cincinnati, and then 2 more hours into Baltimore. Its one of those planes that has tvs in each seat. Pretty cool, I can watch movies, listen to music, play games, watch tv shows, or watch the progress of the plane. I’m watching a map of my journey right now. 2:13 left to go, not quite half-way there yet. -63 degrees outside, traveling 509 MPH, and we are currently over South Dakota, almost to Pierre. Its entertaining to say the least. Air is pretty turbulently right now, but not too bad. I have to pee and I’m in the window seat, which means I would have to squeeze pass the people next to me and then wobbly my way to the bathroom. I’ll hold it a bit longer, maybe I can make it all the way only two more hours. Okay, I’ll wait until the plane stops shaking all around. Good times.

So, that is my adventure so far. Oh, I saw some ice on the wing when I first sat down and snapped a photo of it. It was only a small patch, but I remember from my Northwest Airlines training that ice on the wings is the most common reason for plane crashes. I had to write it down and take a picture in case we crash and anyone wants to sue. Pretty sure that won’t happen, but I gotta watch out for everyone.

I’m gonna explore this TV gadet and see if I can’t find something entertaining to watch. If not, Kevin downloaded “Californication” and put it on my computer. I think I’m going to try and get some “Dexter” or “Weeds” while I’m at Kari’s house.

Dangerous Bathroom Adventure

I decided I couldn’t hold it any longer, so I waited until the shaking was nearly finished. I had to wake up the people next to me to get out, even though I offered to just climb over and stick my bum in their face (which makes for a much more interesting plane ride). Anyway, I made my way shakily to the back of the plane. There was one other person waiting to use the lavatory. As I stood awkwardly in the aisle, the turbulences got really bad. I almost fell into the unlucky chick who chose back row aisle (bad choice chicky). Then, I almost fell the other way into some guy’s lap (still not sure if he would have minded or not). Either way, I made it safely into the bathroom and literally fell onto the toilet (its times like this I would advise the men to just sit and avoid spraying everywhere). The plane literally shook the pee right out of me, TMI-maybe, funny-definitely. I was laughing really hard as I peed, and no one to share that moment with, sad. Anyway, I had a very difficult time trying to get my pants back up, the plane was shaking that hard. I finally succeeded and safely emerged from the tiny bathroom. I stumbled back up to my seat, bumping a few aisle seaters on the way. Yes, folks and the journey has barely begun. This is gonna be a great trip.

Guns and Hiking

Anyone who knows me, knows I love adventure and trying new things. I was shy when I was younger and never really tried things because I was scared. Now, I want to do everything and see everything and I'll try almost anything at least once.

Yesterday, Martin (Kev's roommate), went to the Gun show at the Puyallup Fair and bought himself a nice .45. Kev decided we needed to break his gun in down at the shooting range. I had never been to a shooting range, nor have I ever shot a gun. So, we loaded up and went to Redmond and the shooting range and it was quite an experience. The boys had a really good time, we went through 2 boxes of ammo. By we, I mean the boys. I shot the gun twice. The first time Kevin held the gun with me, to show me how it was done and to show me that you have to hold it tight because of the recoil. Then I shot it solo, it was loud and the recoil pulls the gun up. It was only a little scary, it would have been more scary had Kevin not helped me the first time. He is a good teacher. I only took two shots and then I gave it back to the boys. They were way more into it and I didn't want to take their joy away. I had a good time, it was a fun, new experience. They told me next time they will bring the smaller .22 for me to use as it is lighter and would be easier for me to handle.

Today, Kevin and I decided we needed to get out of the house for awhile and get some fresh air. We wanted to take a hike somewhere and Martin suggested we go to Rattlesnake Ridge in the Central Cascades. We drove out there, it took about 30-45 mins, and went to Rattlesnake Lake. The lake was absolutely gorgeous and surprisingly peaceful, not many people were out there when we first got there. We walked out by the lake for a bit and then found the hiking trail. We made it about half-way up, then my knee started acting up and Kev's hip was hurting him. I know we are such an old, broken, couple...its cute. We came back down before getting to the top, but we did at least a good two miles or so. It was very refreshing and we talked about a lot of stuff. Then, we walked along the river again for awhile, climbed on some rocks and talked some more. I was really thirsty from the walk, so I drank so water from the lake..it was really good tasting. After that, we headed home, making a pit stop in North Bend for some food and gas.



Overall, the weekend has been good. I got to get outside a little and spend some quality time with the boyfriend. Each time we hang out, we get to know a little more about each other. We have really good communication which leads to a really good relationship.

Date Night

Monday is my day off, so my guy decided that when he got off work he needed to take me out on a date. Granted we have only been dating for two months, but we spend a lot of time in the house watching t.v. due to work schedules and such. He told me dinner and a movie would be fun. Since he was working, I decided to plan some things that would be fun. I’m not familiar with the Woodinville area, but I wanted to go somewhere near water.

First, I map quested the area and looked for parks near the water. Kevin likes to be walked, so I thought we could start out with a walk in the park near the water. I came up with Waverly Beach Park in Kirkland. Near the park are tons of restaurants, so I gave him some options and we ended up just picking something during our walk. Then, I sent him movie times so we could plan when we needed to be back near Woodinville.

It turned out to be a really fun night; we always have a great time together and laugh a lot. We went down to the waterfront and walked around for a bit. We helped a couple bring their boat into the dock, which was highly entertaining. The guy came to close to the dock at first and hit it with the front end the boat, while the back end was sticking way out into the water. Then, instead of hitting it into reverse, he punched the gas and rammed the boat into the dock. Finally, he got it going the correct way, backed it up and brought it in perfectly lined up with the dock. We walked away from that chuckling, trying to decide if he was drunk or just an amateur boat owner. Next, we walked up the road a little bit and down a small road lined with really nice house. We talked about the different houses, which ones were cool and which ones were a bit too much. Then, we walked around the shops and restaurants and finally decided on pizza, it smelled so good. We went to Zeke’s, had some good conversations and some good laughs. After dinner, we came back to Woodinville and went to see “Burn After Reading”. It was an okay movie, not great but not too bad either.

All in all it was a fun night out. I’m still amazed at how well we get along, how much we have in common, and how much we always end up laughing. Kevin is one of the easiest people to talk to and I can share anything with him. He always treats me with respect and does little things to show he cares. It is a pretty good relationship and I hope we have many more date nights.

My Mom

My mom cracks me up, she often does things without thinking and can be a little airheaded. I love it, always entertaining when she is around.

Yesterday, she put together a roast for dinner after church. She put it in the oven and turned it on so it would cook. Then, she decided we would just go out to eat. So she takes the roast out of the oven, turns it off, and puts the roast in the refrigerator. Then, my dad talks her into making Roast Beef sandwiches with Au jus, so she takes the roast back out of the refrigerator and back into the oven. She has a meeting after church, so she tells my dad to go to the store after church and get the bread.

I showed up at the house about ten minutes before they got back from church. My dad walks in and asks if I checked on the roast. I look at him like ‘I have no idea what you are saying’. He goes to the oven and pulls out the roast. The pan is warm, but the roast is still bleeding. He asks my opinion of the roast, I say “I think it may still be alive and of course it helps to turn on the oven when cooking things.” My dad shakes his head, sticks the roast back in, and turns on the oven.

About 15 mins later, my mom walks in curious as to why my dad didn’t go pick up bread. He says to her, “You forgot to turn the oven back on”. She starts laughing because it would have been cooking for about 3 hours at this point. She says “okay we are going out then.” My dad tells her the roast has been in the oven for about 15 minutes. From there we have the following conversation:

Mom says: Hurry up and decide where we are going?
Me: why, do you have somewhere you need to be?
Mom; I need to be back in an hour.
Me: Why are you going somewhere in an hour?
Mom: No, I don't want to burn the roast.
Me: Why don't you just turn the oven off?

Everyone laughs, including my mom and she finishes with “You are so smart.”

That was one of the highlights of my Sunday.

Starting the Dream

Here goes the first blog post, always scary. I have decided, for quite some time now, that I wanted to be a writer. I am in the process of writing a few books; however, I get about half-way done with each one and then stop. Call it writer's block, call it fear, call it lazy, but none of them seem to get done. Solution: start writing each day. Doesn't matter what I write, as I long as I can be dedicated to writing at least 20-30 minutes each day. I'll start small, 5-10 minutes a day. Posting blogs is a great way to write.

The introduction:

I'm a counselor at an alcohol and drug treatment agency. I like what I do, but I hate what I do. I get bored easily and have a short attention span. I love the outdoors and I love the indoors. I'm interested in all sorts of things and I have an endless span of useless trivia. I have a lot of strange things and thoughts happening to me each day, which I will gladly share. I'm a career college student and have lots of advice in that area.

I pretty much will write about anything and everything that is going on at any given moment. My blogs will be happy, sad, funny, confusing, and maybe even helpful. Once I get this blog going for awhile, I may try one of those pay per post sites and see how that works out. For now, this is my writing assignment to myself. As the saying goes: "Practice makes perfect".