Pizza and Reunion Prep and Too Much Beer in Seattle

This past weekend was Seattle-y.

Friday night there was pizza and rosé and updates on either everyone’s babies or their careers at this new Ethan Stowell pizza joint, Frelard Pizza Co. with my sorority sisters, because Ally was visiting from NYC:

^^Julia, Erin, Ally, Elizabeth, Kate, Kylee, me and AJo^^

After dinner + a drink I headed home because I had to be up early to do reunion prep with Katie on Saturday. We got coffee and picked up pictures and got things from Dustin and ran my car through the car wash (necessary reunion activity, obvs), and went to the craft store and to Costco. Then we went back to my apartment and ordered Indian food for lunch (butter chicken and nann 4ever!) and got spray glue all over everything I own, including my feet, while gluing pictures to poster boards. But after it was done I felt a million times better about the reunion. Having someone to help me with all of that and to gossip with me while we were doing all of the prep made it sooooooooo much less terrible. Thank you, Katie!! 

When we were done reunion prepping, Katie’s husband Josh met us and we went to Seafood Fest in Ballard (for the second year in a row) where we met my coworker Dave, his GF Tia and Dustin’s coworker (B)Art. Some ate Seafood, all drank beer and then eventually we got in an Uber XL and headed to a brewery to meet Rob and Matt who were 1/2 way through an all-day 12-brewery tour. We finished it with them. Can you say shit-show?

^^Josh, Katie, Me, Rob and Dave in the back^^

Oh and at one point I was too tired to walk so Rob gave me a piggy pack ride. Friends since middle school (fun fact: Rob’s mom was my preschool teacher and my cheer coach):

^^Piggy backkkk^^

^^Me, Rob, Matt, Katie, Josh, (B)Art & Tia being sad that Art’s wife, Amy wasn’t there, obviously^^

On Sunday I watched Netflix and snacked on leftover Indian food for a significant portion of the morning. When I finally got up, Dustin and I did a Goodwill drop off, had a v fancy date at Bahama Breeze in the Southcenter Mall Parking Lot (complete with terrible live music and a beverage in a young coconut), shopped a little, went to Ikea and then watched a Redbox while sipping on Mojitos complete with mint from his urban, deck garden.

Successful Seattle weekend, right there!

This coming Saturday is my 10 year high school reunion (which I’ve been planning for what feels like a million years). I’m super excited for it and I think it’s going to be really fun. I’m also kind of excited for it to be over because it has been a lot more work than I initially anticipated. Let that be a lesson to you, boys and girls, when your former class president comes to you and says he’s not going to plan anything and asks you to do it, remember it’s a LOT more work and stress than you think it’s going to be! Move forward informed. Ok that’s all. BYE4NOW.

Ecuador days 5-9 + NYE

Oh man, I failed at blogging about Ecuador. Except for that drunk blog post. Drunk blogs are the most fun. You should do it sometime. I still haven’t gone back and re-read it though, so maybe it’s terrible and that was a fail too? Didn’t Hemingway say: “Write drunk, edit sober”? Well I say write drunk, never edit. Because, YOLO (jk about that YOLO thing.. kind of)! Anyway, all of our days in Ecuador were packed full of so many things and it took so long to blog about just one day while I was there and I wanted to tell you everything and eventually I got used to not being on my computer every day and so I just stopped writing. But it was vacation, so YOLO for the second time in one paragraph.

Anyway, let me tell you about the rest of my magical Cuenca trip.

The rest of our days in Ecuador were great. We woke up really early on day 5 and went to a Saturday Market of sorts. Katie and I ate cheesy corn pancake things for breakfast while we were still 1/2 asleep and attempted to drink coffee that was so sweet it tasted like simple syrup with a little coffee in it. Everything there was SO sweet. It was weird. And did I already tell you that after a meal, instead of giving you mints or candies, they give you cough drops? No joke. Every. Single. Restaurant. Mind blown. Anyway, on Day 5, after we went home and showered and were more awake, we had a girls’ [shopping] day with Barb and her friend Kris during which we bought all the things (Christmas presents) from street vendors and little shops. We then had lunch at a very fancy restaurant next to George Stephanopolous (yes, he is short in real life) and his wife, Ali Wentworth, and their children, and their friends. Celeb sightings in Cuenca, who would have thought? That evening we had dinner with Mike and Barb at La Herradura which is a really delicious Argentinean steak house. We then went home and drank wine and played cards against humanity.

^^one of Cuenca’s many churches, see during shopping day^^

^^Myself, Barb, Katie and Mike at La Herradura for dinner^^

Day 6 was Sunday. Barb took us to the grocery store so we could buy some Ecuadorian chocolate and some Zhumir (for gifts and for ourselves) which is a Cuencan liquor made of sugar cane. However, after loading everything into our cart, we realized that Ecuador doesn’t sell liquor on Sundays, so we were SOL. We then went home and then back out to unsuccessfully went on a quest to find a place for Katie to watch the Seahawks game. Fail #2 of the day. On our outing, though, we did find a sketchy little restaurant where we were able to try Cuy (guinea pig) which is one of the famous, traditional dish of the Ecuadorian highlands. I thought the Cuy was good, it tasted like super flavorful brown meat chicken, though there wasn’t much meat on the animal and a lot of bones. And it was a little weird to be eating something we consider a pet in the US. I was most afraid I was going to get food poisoning here out of all of the places we ate in Ecuador, as I had no idea how long the Cuy had been hanging out, on roasters, by the side of the road, in the sun… Thankfully though everyone survived without getting at all sick. I spent the rest of the day convincing a man who owned a market a few houses down to sell Katie and I giant $1 beers, and then drinking said beers while watching football/drunk blogging at the house. Good times.

^^This is the restaurant where we had Cuy. I also tried a piece of torched skin from that pig hanging out in front of the restaurant. It was actually kind of delicious^^

 
^^Cuy on the street^^

^^Chopped up Cuy feat. the head (ewww)^^

Day 7 Katie and I woke up early and attempted to go to a Zumba class in a park near Mike and Barb’s house. I was SO excited to do Zumba in Ecuador, however, Katie and I were the only ones who showed up. Bummer. While we waited we stretched and did some exercises on these weird exercise machines that were in the park that actually didn’t work anything out (you basically just swung back and forth on most of them). They were v confusing. Then we went on a walk because we thought that would be better than no exercise. It’s probably actually a good thing that Zumba didn’t happen because the air is so thin there at 8,000ft that even walking up stairs was a struggle. Plus I hadn’t exercised in about a week and a half at that point and would have been super embarrassed if I couldn’t make it through the class or passed out in the park or something ha. After our exercise fail, Mike took Katie and I to a magical spa called Piedra de Agua where we spent almost the whole day sitting in baths and saunas and covering ourselves in mud and then slathering on SPF 50 and still getting burned because I am a ginger princess, and then going into caves where there were more baths and meeting people from America who also had parents in Ecuador who knew Mike and Barb (small world). Then  Katie and I got massages and facials in caves in the side of the mountains (our entire day was under $100 because Ecuador is hella cheap, it was amazing). We finished spa day with complimentary fruit and chocolate and champagne and then went down the street to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant where we had empanadas filled with air (????!) and meats and juice and $1 beers and it was perfect. That night we had pizza at a restaurant owned by gringos and went to bed early.

^^Katie and I covered in mud at the spa^^

Day 8 was our last day in Ecuador. We tried to go shopping for a few last minute things but Katie wasn’t feeling great so we came home shortly after leaving. Later in the afternoon, though, when she was feeling better we did manage to make it out to buy our Zuhmir. While we were out we also ate “monkey sandwiches” for lunch with Mike (they call the coastal people of Ecuador Monkeys, IDK if that’s meant to be derogatory (I hope not, considering how freely they use the term), but these were coastal-style sandwiches) which were so simple but one of my very favorite things we ate in Ecuador. They were a bun filled with delicious, tender, flavorful meat (I had pork). We also put Aji Sauce on them for a little added flavor and spice. They were seriously magical. After lunch we also ate gelato courtesy of Mike. We then went back to the house, packed, and played with Stella who I seriously bonded with during the trip. She has the best personality. When we were leaving Stella FREAKED out. She was so sad to see us go, it broke my heart. Poor baby Stella.

^^Stella^^

Day 8/9 were the days of travel hell. So much travel. It started with a seriously terrifying 4.5 hour drive down the Andes Mountains. Havierre picked us up at 6pm and by the time we started descending the mountains it was dark and rainy and really foggy. It was a two lane road and Havierre was seriously passing semis blindly on corners. It was the most terrifying car ride of my life. I am so happy to be alive. When we finally made it to the airport we ordered some juice and waited for the most terrible flight of my life. We were on a huge plane with the smallest seats I’ve ever experienced. My knees were hitting the seat in front of me (how would a normal person even fit in that?!). To top things off there was a baby who cried for like 3 hours straight behind us. It was miserable. We flew into Miami where we went through customs and bought water and a blueberry donut before boarding a flight to Charlotte. I slept like a baby on that flight with no one in the seat between Katie and I. We then went straight from that flight to our next flight to Seattle. That flight was also miserable. It was 6.5 hrs long and there was a child named Maddy sitting behind me who kicked my seat (despite me asking her to stop) and squealed the entire time. She was a terror. When we finally made it back to Seattle I was SO HAPPY TO BE HOME. Yay for America, yay for people speaking English, yay for my things and my apartment and my fancy car!! Katie’s husband Josh gave me a ride back to my apartment since Dustin was headed to the airport himself to go to LA for the Rose Bowl and cabs are a bummer, also best-friend-in-law duties! By the time I finally made it home I had been traveling for 22 hours and I had just a few hours to relax before New Year’s Eve with the ladies.

Before dinner at Bastille, I chugged some coffee and put on all black (mourning the death of 2014) and Uber’d to Ballard. NYE ended up being more of a couples’ retreat + Brittan and I (esp. post dinner – dinner we were just cliquey and Natalie, Brittan, Danielle and I only talked to each other). Both Brittan and I were exhausted and less than thrilled at how the night was shaping up (everyone coupled but us and a ton of friends of friends of friends who were also couples, but stranger couples), so we ran away from the Gerald and found another bar (Percy’s which we love) where we ran into our old friend (maybe acquaintance is a better word? though he and Brittan are FB Friends…) Shane who use to work at Piecora’s when we were in law school. We took shots at Percy’s and then headed back to the Gerald where our friends were still hanging. We drank some champagne and rang in the new year there. At approximately 12:02am I ran outside, got an Uber and went home. I was jetlagged so I woke up at about 6am and proceeded to watch Gilmore Girls all day on January 1st until Brittan finally lured me from my house that evening so we could have dinner at Greenlake Bar and Grill (which is like 2 blocks from my house:). Thanks friend!

^^Pre-Going-Out-Selfie (for Dustin since he was in LA, BOO)^^

^^Natalie, Russ, Brittan and I at the Gerald before midnight^^

^^Brittan and I with some SWAG we stole from friends of friends^^

^^NYE KISS, SRY BOYZ^^

So, there you have it. The rest of Ecuador + BONUS: my NYE and NY day. Like a million days later. But later is better than never, right? Right.

KthxbyeFRIENDS!

Seattle Sunday-Funday

I spent last weekend in Seattle for the first time in like, a MILLION YEARS (over exaggeration much? only a little? ok). It was really great to finally spend a weekend here. Friday night I Zumba-ed then hung out with Dustin. Saturday I woke up early to make him breakfast and see him off to Eugene, OR. I went for a walk around Green Lake with Natalie, scrubbed my apartment for many hours, made cookies, and went to see a movie (This is where I Leave You which was actually hilarious and down to earth) + drinks + dinner at Skillet Diner with Josh and Katie before passing out at 10pm.

Sunday was deemed Sunday Funday and I spent the day drinking beer in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood and girl talking and eating two dinners with Brittan, Natalie and Meli. Our first stop was at Reuben’s Brews which was a total mix up because Meli is gluten free and can’t drink beer and Reuben’s Brews didn’t have any beer or wine so I ended up having most of my delicious pumpkin beer alone (because I showed up first and ordered w/o checking my phone) and then Natalie met me and we went to the next place together. But it was really nice outside and I had a beer in my hand so it worked out fine.

^^ Pumpkin beer at Reuben’s Brews^^

Our next stop was Hilliard’s Brewery. After going inside and asking the bartender if they had anything other than beer on the menu, we were informed that it is actually illegal (??) in Washington to sell any alcoholic drink other than beer at a brewery. Even cider is a no-go! So we ordered a round of beers because they had a nice outdoor seating area and it was actually nice in Seattle in October (WHAT?!) and we got Meli a coffee which she spiked with her purse flask (haha we lose at being adults). We sat outside and chatted about all the girl things before making our next move. P.S. if you don’t have friends who online date and tell you about their dating stories, get some ASAP, it’s magical! 

^^Meli, Brittan and Natalie at Hilliard’s^^

We headed to King’s Hardware after that for some food which was actually really delicious. Or maybe we were just that hungry? 

Our next stop was Percy’s where they have $13 bottles of happy hour champagne on Sundays which fueled SO MUCH GIRL TALK. I seriously got my fill on Sunday and it was the best.

^^Brittan and Natalie^^

We eventually decided that we were getting hungry again so we headed to The Gerald for dinner round 2. Lucky for us it was Seattle Restaurant Week, so we were able to split 2 delicious, 3-course tasting menus between the 4 of us, which meant two deserts to share which was really the best way to end the night.

From there we headed home, happy and full. On my way I stopped to get things for Dustin’s birthday cake (his birthday was Monday) and it wasn’t until after I got home, exhausted from my day of fun, that I realized I was missing one of my round cake pans and couldn’t make his cake. I decided to call it a wash and went to bed instead of baking a cake. I ended up grabbing some cupcakes from Trophy Cupcakes on my way home from work Monday and it all worked out fine!

Hooray for weekends spent in Seattle. Speaking of, is it Friday yet? ;)

Fulfilled by Friendship in Seattle

I spent this weekend in Seattle and instead of catching up on housework or doing things that I should get done before I’m gone every weekend for the next month or so, I spent a lot of time with friends. Dustin was down in Eugene for the Oregon vs. Michigan State football game, which left my weekend extra open. Friday night I went to my friend Ashley’s surprise birthday dinner. I’ve known Ashley since high school, she was a freshman my senior year and she was my “little sis” during homecoming week. Now she lives in Seattle with our friends Lauren and Caroline and it’s always fun to see them.

^^Friends from White Salmon (L to R): Marisol, Rachel (Ashley’s sister), Caroline, Ashley, Me and Lauren^^

Ashley’s birthday dinner was at Mamma Melina’s, an Italian restaurant in the University District. We sipped on wine and chatted while we waited for Ashley to arrive. When she walked into the back room where everyone was waiting to surprise her, she was so surprised she cried. It was really cute.

Saturday morning I took a Body Combat class at my gym. I’m not sure if I will be going back to that class, mostly because some of the instruction was a bit too violent and graphic for my liking (i.e. “pretend like you’re holding his head down and punch his face until it’s bloody”), but it was a really great workout (read: sooo hard) and I’m still sore from the class, so at least there’s that. After my class Natalie and I walked around Green Lake in the sunshine while we chatted and sipped iced coffees. 

Saturday afternoon I did some freelance work for my neighbor/friend before I put on some lipstick and headed to Natalie’s apartment to sip wine on her balcony with her and Brittan. We had some really great, juicy girl talk we hoped her neighbors didn’t overhear before heading to Ocho in Ballard for Spanish style tapas and sangria. The food at Ocho was great and both Natalie and Brittan said it was like a more delicious version of the food they ate constantly when they studied abroad in Spain (separately). After our late dinner we walked down to the Gerald for another drink. We were easily talked into staying when the owner offered to buy us another round of fancy cocktails. Things like that don’t happen often in Seattle so we had to take advantage (especially because it was the owner and not some guy at the bar expecting something in return when we were clearly just trying to have girls’ night). I almost always buy my own drinks, cover, whatever when I’m out without Dustin and I’m always surprised when I talk to people who live in other parts of the country and they say that as an unescorted girl you always just expect your drinks to be bought by random men – fill me in ladies, is this normal?! Anyway, by the time we left, we were sufficiently buzzed and Brittan and I ended the night by sitting on the sidewalk eating delicious, cream-cheesy street meat.

^^Brittan, me and Natalie, fuzzy iPhone selfie style, at the Gerald^^

Sunday was spent in Woodinville with my BFF Katie, her husband Josh and Katie’s dad, who was always one of my favorite adults growing up, and is in town visiting from Ecuador. We went wine tasting at JM Cellars, and then Alexandria Nicole Cellars to start off the day. Eventually we decided we needed food so we went to the Hollywood Tavern for a late lunch. I had the most delicious toasted quinoa veggie burger with goat cheese, pickled beets and arugula, and I spent lunch asking Katie’s dad to tell us all about Ecuador. I think I might join Katie when she goes down to visit for Christmas. Fingers crossed I can make it happen because Ecuador sounds awesome – tell me, have you been?

After lunch we stopped in the Woodinville Whiskey Co. to do a quick whiskey tasting. None of us were really in the mood to drink too much so we split a tasting. They ended the tasting with bourbon barrel aged maple syrup and honey which were both really delicious. And the vodka we tried smelled exactly like butterscotch. After Woodinville we went back to Katie and Josh’s house to play with their cats and chat for a while before I decided to head home and call it a day.

This weekend make me feel so fortunate that I have so many wonderful friends here in Seattle. You already know that I’m a total extrovert who feels fulfilled by spending time with good people, and this weekend just made me feel so happy and full. The 9-10 hours of sleep I got each night probably helped with my happiness level too! Ha!

This week I am only working Mon-Wednesday and then attending my aunt’s funeral outside of Portland, OR, on Thursday. Friday I’ll be attempting to work from home either in Portland at my cousins’ house or at my parents’ house because the thought of driving down to Oregon, attending a funeral, and then leaving Portland during rush hour and driving back to Seattle just sounded like it was too much to handle. While the circumstances are definitely not ideal, I’m looking forward to a shorter than normal work week and getting to see some family I don’t spend nearly enough time with. I hope you all have a great week!!

normal Seattle weekend things

I’ve been wanting to post on this space more often. I regularly find myself thinking about substantive things I’d like to write about, usually at inopportune times like while I’m driving or in the shower, but then when I sit down at my computer to write all I ever think to write about is what I did this weekend. So, that’s what you’re going to get today too. Hopefully I’ll have something different soon. Or maybe I’ll just stick with my usual Dear Diary, I did these things and it was so fun approach. Who knows?

This weekend: Friday night I got home from work and I sat on my couch watching New Girl on Netflix which has been so funny and amazing and it has made me weirdly nostalgic for all the regular network TV shows to return in the fall despite the fact that I’m not a huge TV watcher. Anyway, I sat there for a good long time thinking about how delicious a drink sounded (ok maybe how delicious some friendship sounded more than anything) before I finally decided that I needed to get out of my apartment and do something about it. I text my friend Caroline and ended up meeting her and our friend Ashley for a drink on Queen Anne. Well, technically I met Caroline at her house where we found the HUGEST SPIDER EVER on her floor and trapped it under a jar and I took a picture of it but I don’t want to share it here because it was too gross and huge and I hated it. When we finally we out and met Ashley, we didn’t stay out long, but at least I got out of my apartment for a bit. Win!

Saturday I ran my errands on foot to kill two birds with one stone (exercise + get shit done). When I got back to my apartment a little later, iced coffee in hand, I cleaned for a bit before picking up Dustin and heading into to Ballard (which is currently one of my favorite Seattle neighborhoods). Side note: weekend morning cleaning is so sooo satisfying to me, anyone else? In Ballard we got pedicures (his first ever), then grabbed Happy Hour at the Ballard Annex. After that we met my friends Natalie and Kate at the Ballard Beer Co. for a beer. Saturday night was spent in, with me falling asleep early after all my plans fell through and I was too tired to make new ones.

Sunday morning I had brunch at Bastille with Natalie and Brittan before we headed outside to the farmer’s market. Brunch + farmer’s market is one of my favorite things. I bought peaches and blackberries, cheese and bread, and flowers. After the farmer’s market Dustin and I went to an open house. Guys, buying a house in Seattle is SO. EXPENSIVE. (median price = $543,500 WFT?!) and SO. STRESSFUL. I had stress dreams about it that night and it’s not even really my house to buy. Yikes!

We de-stressed by watching WWE Summer Slam since I’m very into wrestling now ;) and eating the snacks I got at the farmer’s market. After wrestling, we went across the street to grab a beer on the patio and talk about the house we looked at earlier. Dustin’s friends Ben and Greg ended up joining us at the end and it was a good end to a successful weekend.

Also I failed at taking pictures all weekend, minus the spider, so this poorly lit, straight-faced, cell phone selfie is all I have for you:

Weekend Recap

Friday kicked off the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale so after a stressful week at work, I met Brittan at the flagship store downtown Seattle and we shopped. I felt like it was necessary since, 1. I still have a job (and therefore I will have more paychecks to replenish my bank account), and 2. I worked hard and endured a lot of stress for that money, so I figured why not blow a little on some things I needed anyway? I don't normally feel guilty for spending money (within my means on things I need or experiences that make me happy) but this felt extra justified.

 

 

After shopping we met Natalie, Justin and Boyd at El Borracho in Ballard for some Mexican food and margaritas. Mexican food and margaritas with good friends is one of my very favorite things. It satisfies my soul. I could do that for dinner every day and be the happiest.

 

 

After dinner I texted with an old friend for a while from the comfort of my couch while watching Friends reruns and drinking a Sofia (because having a drink while talking to someone isn't the same as drinking alone! and even if it was, it was also warranted after this week ha). Have you guys tried Sofias? They're tasty, individual serving size cans of champagne and they're sort of genius!  

 

^^Fuzzy Sofia selfie^^

 

Saturday Dustin and I headed to Brinnon (on the Hood Canal) for a night of camping, round 2 with Josh, Katie, Art and Amy. We grilled fresh seafood (oysters, crab, and clams), made Bop-It into a drinking game, managed not to burn off any of our hair in the camp fire and planned a trip to Vegas! It rained during the night (of course it did! isn't that the way it always works?) but we all managed to stay pretty dry. Overall it was a really successful night of camping.

 

 ^^The view from Josh's (and Katie's) family's property in Brinnon^^

 

I'm already looking forward to next weekend. Isn't that the way it always works?


P.S. my weekend jam (because it's summer and this song is catchy, even if the video isn't):

It's finally summer in Seattle 2014

Last weekend I took full advantage of the long, sunny, Seattle days. Also, it has been really hot in my tiny, second story, brick apartment so I've been looking for every excuse to spend evenings out and about. Friday night I went to a Mariner's game with some coworkers, significant others and some a bunch of friends. We ended up running into a few more friends at the game and by the end of the night there was quite a big group of us hanging out in the beer garden. (side note: I took a lot of pictures but they're on a not-yet-developed disposable camera, so here are some photos I've stolen from other people who used their phones like normal people living in 2014).

^^Me, Brittan, Danielle & Natalie (Mexican Food Club does a Mariner's game^^

 

The Mariner's won at the last minute against the Oakland A's and it was a really fun game. Afterward a few of us attempted to go out in Ballard, but we were all tired and my flip flop blew out (even though I was walking normally) as I was going into the bar, so we didn't end up staying long.

 

Saturday was Seafood Fest in Ballard. Dustin, Katie, Josh and I ran into my coworker Dave and his girlfriend immediately upon arrival. It was Dave's birthday and we ended up hanging out with them and meeting up with Art and Amy for beers in the beer garden. Eventually we got hungry and wandered into the Ballard Annex Oyster House for some happy hour and a place to sit.

 

^^Selfie during HH^^

 

 ^^Katie and I at HH^^

 

After happy hour we met up with Justin, Brittan, Natalie and Boyd for some more beers, seafood and fun.

 

Eventually Art, Amy, Dustin and I got tired and decided that we wanted to head back to Dustin's for some Rock Band and a sleepover. Adult sleepovers with your friends who are kind of like your family are totally normal, right? :)

 

Sunday I ate Mexican food with Justin and Brittan, attempted a beach day (but it was overcast and Natalie was over the elements), and ended up on a patio drinking a glass of chilled Rose with Brittan and Natalie.

 

It was a very successful weekend before a very stressful week. After receiving an e-mail from Satya Nadella (Microsoft's CEO) talking about significant changes that would be made to the company in the coming weeks, then hearing numerous news reports that Microsoft was expecting to lay off as many as 6,000 people this week, reading last night that they layoffs would happen today, freaking out last night, not really sleeping all night, then waking up this morning to e-mails from Satya and Brad Smith (the head of legal at Microsoft) saying that not 6,000 but 18,000 people would be laid off today and in the coming months. Brad's e-mail said that 10%(!!!!) of the legal department was being laid off today. I cried when I read that, first thing this morning. I cried a few times today. It was nice to know that I would know today whether or not I would be laid off, but also very stressful going to work this morning. Part of me was like, "they're not going to lay me off, they JUST hired me!" and the other part of me was like "well, they went that long without me, maybe they don't really need me after all, and I know they're expected to make cuts, and like, I get it." I, luckily, still have a job. One of my favorite coworkers, however, was laid off. My heart hurts for her. It was a really emotional day for my whole group (and probably for everyone at Microsoft). Now I'm attempting to de-stress with a glass of Rose and some blogging :)

 

This weekend I will attempt to de-stress even more (with two other Microsoft employees who are also "safe") with some camping, round 2, in the Hood Canal! Yay!