The Seattle Story

My sister introduced me to this great website 1000awesomthings.com

Some of you may have already seen this but I just have to share it!

Here are a few of my favorites:

#991 Really, really old Tupperware
#980 Old, dangerous playground equipment
#967 Illegal naps
#933 The first scoop out of a jar of peanut butter (you know I LOVE this one!!!)
#930 Finally getting a piece of popcorn that’s been stuck in your teeth all day out
#916 The sound of scissors cutting construction paper
#896 That feeling you get right after you just vomited
#895 Getting something with actual handwriting on it in the mail

And there are many more! You should check it out.

I was getting ready for work this morning and thinking about all the things I could be doing around the house if I didn’t have to go to work. Organize closets and drawers, plan an actual dinner, make a dinner that requires more than 15 minutes prep time, go for a walk while there is daylight, clean the house. And I mean really clean the house, not just the quick clean before company comes over.

Now it would seem that I should just be able to do this in the evening when I get home from work, and that is what I tell myself as I’m getting ready. The problem is by the time I get home I’m tired, it is pitch black outside (by 4pm), and I don’t feel like doing ANYTHING. I find myself jealous of the stay at home moms/wives. How productive I could be if I didn’t have that pesky task of working 8+ hours a day! I feel that I could actally stay on top of all my “chores” if I had all day to work on them. Also the stay at home moms I know get to plan birthday parties, go on play dates, and make snacks for school. It seems like a fantasy life to me!!!

I realize this is a classic case of the grass is always greener. I know these women feel just as overwhelmed with their daily lives and also fight the laundry and dinner battles. I also worked my butt off for 6 years in school. I do need to work for my own sanity! And all of thoses things are pretty trivial in the long run. Six years down that road I won’t remember that my house was clean or the dinner that I made, but I’ll remember the friendships I made by putting those on hold and the wonderful folks I helped at my job.

I did have one classic moment at work this week. A sassy elderly woman told me I looked like I was in kindergarten, and not in a nice way. The best part is Matt was sitting right next to her waiting for me to go on my break. I’m glad he got to see that first hand! One of these days I’ll quit getting the young comments and I will miss them. So I’ll take it as a compliment even if it wasn’t.

Emily

Matt did such a great job describing our trip that I really don’t have much to add! It was a fantastic trip that will be difficult to match. A huge thanks to Kelly and Malcolm for making it such an amazing time.

I was slightly nervous about visiting a foreign country. This was made worse by my coworkers giving me tips about not getting sick from the food/water and not getting my stuff stolen. I was pretty sure I would come back empty-handed and completely sick. Neither happened which made the trip that much better!

I left Seattle with an empty passport and came back with 3 stamps.

It had been a few years since I had seen Kelly. The second I saw her it was as if no time had passed. I guess that is the sign of a true friendship! It seemed very normal to spend so much time together.

Our 2 months of travelling, visitors and birthdays have ended. It was hectic but worth it. And over just in time for the holidays! I’m starting to realize the craziness of life never really ends. We just get small breaks from it.

Today was another day to relax a bit, play some Rummikub and catch up on more 30 Rock.  The show is hilarious.

After we had a really cheap lunch at the local hawkers (outdoor stands) we went to the fish spa.  Yeah.  This is where you put your legs in a big fish tank and the little fishes come eat dead skin off your body.  Sound freaky?  It kinda was.  We both did it.  And afterward our skin was much smoother. 

We ended the night at a French restaurant called Le Bistrot.  It was our last meal in Singapore and we had good steak and some really good wine.

Oh, and we did a photo shoot for Frosted Flakes.  Not a real one, but we basically took pictures with the “Frosties” box and the t-shirts we got for cheap in Thailand…like you do.

After that it was staying up most of the morning to get as tired as possible so we could sleep on the long journey home.  Didn’t work out so well sine we had some serious jetlag for a few days.  But all in all, the trip was amazing.  Our favorite parts were getting to spend so much quality time with Kelly and Malcolm.  We loved all the food and sights, but nothing beats great friends.