Father's Day

Dressin' up for Pops

A trip to the G-rents complete with planted fake flowers.

It was very patriot.

All the Phillips' kids with their 'rents.

And several lessons in depth of field, ISO, and other photography tidbits from my Aunt Beth, which will lead to amazing pictures by the end of the summer. 

And what would be a Father's Day picture without a cat?

Hypocritical bathroom stalls.  They didn't have a problem when Dad walked into the convenience store without his shoes.

Mother's Day

Ok, I know that this is super late, but I realized that I had never posted pics of Mother's Day.  So,  I guess the theme today is Parents' Day.

We had a great Mother's Day.  We had a great breakfast, complete with strawberry pancakes and blueberry syrup.

We then gave our mom the best Mother's Day card of all time (I dare you to argue)

Then we had a picnic...complete with steaks (the fire in the oven was quickly put out and they turned out great), potatoes, steamed broccoli, and strawberry salad.  Mmm!

I finally have a bookshelf!!!!

I have been sorting through all of my stuff and have ran across my journals.  So far, I have 31.  31 journals filled with thoughts, events, hopes, dreams, frustrations, and excitement.  Some of the entries are so funny, I will surely share them in days to come.



I recently obtained a bookshelf from a co-worker.  It is amazing how I was unable to find one and then someone just gave one to me.  You can tell where my priorities are when I feel settled in because I have a bookshelf and still don't have my TV hooked up.  In fact, I don't even know how to turn on the one in the living room.  You will have to notice the red basket at the bottom.  It is all my journals. :)  This is a work in progress.












I rewarded my roommate for putting up with the fact that I have an entire piece of furniture dedicated to books I will rarely ever read again by making her kale chips.  She was so intrigued by them, she stood next to the stove as they were cooling to consume their delicious, crunchy nutrients.

In dropping off my recyclables at the local men's homeless shelter, I obtained a few treasures at the connected thrift store.




Other thrift store shopping has demonstrated the finer things in life, like animitronic witches with light up eyes, electric organs, used golf clubs, pleather pants, and moving, light up Santas.

A free live band, good friends, and a warm summer night downtown=fantasticness

Wanna do a tri? Take a few tips from me...

I have decided that I will post a group of tips of what NOT to do before beginning a triathlon.  I keep telling everyone that I will write a book about it.

• Even if the triathlon is a weird distance, it is generally a good idea to follow a training schedule.
• Do NOT get an immunization that is not necessary the week of the race.
• Try on a wetsuit and use it in an open water swim a few times before the race.
• Get there early...maybe having your stuff set up in the transition area before the officials are yelling at people to get out.
• Get a good amount of sleep the week leading up to the race.  Watching Friends at 11pm is NOT a good idea.  Especially now that I know my roommate can DVR it.
• Hold off on the pedicures until after the race.  Callouses are a good idea for running on the elements barefoot.
• It may be a good idea to actually have the stuff you are using in a bag and ready to go.  Salt tabs do not magically make their way into your fuel belt from the transition bag.  You actually have to put them there.
• You should know what you are wearing more than a week before the race.  And you should have swam in it.  
• Open water swims are a good idea.  And more than one of them.  For 20 minutes.  Really, it is soooo much different than pool swimming.
• Decide what distance you are doing for sure before the race.  Even if friends attempt to deter you, don't say "hmm...maybe I should go down to a shorter race" after you are running late, have your swim cap marked, and have your bike sitting in the transition area for your specified race.
• Bring towels to the transition area.  This doesn't count if they are left in your car.
• Body glide.  On all the right places.  You know that cute little rash on your back from the wetsuit?  Yeah, that could have been prevented.
• Camelbacks keep you hydrated...and hot.  Really, don't try one of these for the first time on race day.  (Thankfully, I had enough sense to listen to my friends on this one.)
• Everyone pees in their wetsuit.  Get over it.  Embrace it.  And really, it's ok to pee in someone else's wetsuit.  It gets washed out in the water anyway.  You spend too much time in the Port a Pots otherwise.
• Training rides...yeah...they are for training, not for taking pictures.
• Tune ups for a bike are a good idea.  'Nough said.
• Chain lube is not optional.  If you lose yours, you either buy more or borrow some.
• Know how to actually switch gears on your bike before the race.
• If you are going to use your GPS watch, have it turned on during the swim.  It takes too long and is too much to mess with on the bike.  Really, the decision should be made in advance...use it...or don't.

And above all, enjoy it!  I mean, whose body can really do all the things you are doing?  Be thankful for the experience and treat it as such.

Flashback Friday

Once, we made a calendar for our grandparents that had a different picture for every month.  In honour of June, we celebrated the Strawberry Festival, my birthday, and Kristen's orneriness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birthdays and such

Yesterday was my 28th birthday.  I decided to take the day off from work.  It kind of started like this:  "Ok, I will take the day off...now what am I going to do?"  "I will cook and bake."  It is just my roommate and I.  "I guess I will bake for people."  "Maybe I should invite my friends over.

So..I did.  I made bruscetta, BBQ shredded chicken with cornbread muffins and fixins', salad, fruit salad, and cupcakes without icing (I ran out of time). 

Because this was last minute on a Tuesday, I didn't know who was coming.  And I cooked waaay too much food.  So now I get to enjoy really, really good food for a while and maybe even host people again sometime very, very soon to use up my unused produce (tomatoes and kiwis anyone?)

I have realized lately how richly blessed I am with so, so, so many different and amazing people who have just added so much to my life.  I just wanted to celebrate them today for my birthday.:)



Today, I decided to tackle the project of the cup holder in my car.  it was a sticky mess and had too much stuff in it to put cups.  My friend Renee taught me to improve by 1% a day.  So...here is my 1%. :)

Documented memories

I am in the middle of searching through a basket full of my journals. I am not sure what to do with them, other than recycle the paper. I guess old habits die hard. I realized one from 1995 when I was in fifth grade was written in cursive and recording menial things I still do in my current journals. Some memories came back as I was reading them. Like: The time my friend Anne Marie had her roommate stay in the commons room in our dorm for a week because they were fighting. When I was baptized (apparently, it was 8.20.95) All the things I liked about my best friend in fourth grade and what we did for our first anniversary as friends. My locker combinations in sixth grade. The fact that I thought that college was like camp you stay at for a long time. How I planned to be cool in high school. My apology letter to some girl, stating that I was only kidding and did not hate her, but that I knew about 50 billion people who did. Why did I staple a pass slip into my notebook? Did I skip that day? I had an awesome friend in high school who made me a word search based out of the things we did, like flirting with guys in grocery stores and decorating cars (no fears...we have reformed from this). Why were we so fixated on prom, other people, and menial things like how cold the school was? I really wonder how grown up I feel most days if I am really that different from the middle schooler who writes in purple ink about crushes, menial everyday things, and the many, many feelings I experience every day.