Cell phone charger

I realized on my way to the airport this morning that I'd forgotten my cell phone charger. No biggie; I'll just shut it off and deal. But I realized today just how hooked I am on that device. I went to the mall after work today and found a Cingular store. I was talking to the sales man about finding the cheapest way to charge my phone when I got distracted by the display of nice, new phones. Ohhhhhh! I then remembered how much I hate my phone and asked him which of the new phones he recommended. He said the Blackberry Pearl . . . and here's the clincher . . . went on to tell me it now comes in RED! So here I was, complaining about having to spend $27 on a charger and ended up spending way more. Yeah, way to stick it to the man! :)

LOVE the Davenport hotel in Spokane. Not only am on laying on the world's most comfortable bed while watching the flat screen TV, but one of the staff just rang the doorbell (yes, the doorbell) on my door and offered me some peanut brittle!

OK, now I'm going to program everything into my new phone! It's probably going to take me hours to learn how to use it! :)

I'd like to tell PDX where to stuff my saline solution

As usual, I had to fly today. I haven't flown using only my carry on luggage since the whole "liquid ban" took place, but I was bound and determined to figure it all out and not check my bags this morning. Trust me, it's not easy to get 5 days worth of stuff into a carry on, but I perservered!

I was concerned about my contact lense solution as it's in a container larger than the 3 oz. limit. I looked in a few different stores and even looked online, but it's only available in that one size (I use a specific kind). But I read on TSA's website the following information:

Saline solution - You are allowed to carry up to 3 oz., of eye drops in a clear, one-quart plastic bag. Volumes greater than 3 oz. must be declared to the Security Officer and cannot be carried in your clear, one-quart bag.

So I get up to the screening area and I pull out my quart size plastic bag filled with all my appropriately sized products, along with my saline solution, which is outside of the bag, just as they told me to do. I declared its presence! Guess where that saline solution is now???? The garbage can. I tried to explain to the guy that he was wrong and even made his supervisor come over. But I lost. And Able Cable doesn't like to lose! Needless to say, the Portland Airport will be getting a nasty gram from me. And a bill for the $20 I'm going to have to spend to get another bottle, which yes, I'll have to transfer into a smaller bottle and throw the larger bottle away . . . again.

On another note, I have pretty new shoes today. (For all the men reading this, yes, I am a woman and I can rant one minute and then be distracted by pretty shoes the next.) :-D

Let's add in one more state today

Here's a list of the states (and yes, for this exercise, DC is a state) I've been in over the last few weeks:

Oregon (probably a given)
California
Arizona
New Mexico
Texas
DC
Virginia
Maryland
Nevada
Utah
Washington

That's 11 different places! Craziness. Is it any wonder why I just feel like staying home for awhile?!

I did it!!

I'm happy to report I ran my first 5K today! It was actually pretty great. Weird to have all these people running around me, but kinda cool at the same time. Trisha made signs for us to wear on our backs that said "wish me luck, it's my first time" (in honor of St. Patrick's Day) and so as people passed us (and boy oh boy, they did pass us), they wished us luck. :-D I would do a fun run again!

All sorts of upset

Would you believe the registration for the Seattle Danskin Tri was just closed a few days ago?!!! And I missed it!!!! The darn event doesn't even happen until August and they closed registration in February? Well, that's just screwed up! I know there are plenty of other tri's to sign up for, but really had my heart set on that particular one. Frick.

No title

One of my mini pleasures is to create titles to my blog, but my head is so tired (and hungover) that it's just stopping my creative juices from flowing. Vegas can do that to you! I've been in a sensory overload state for the last 6 days. My hands are all cracked and red from lack of moisture. Give me my Pacific NW!

I really hadn't gone out much during my trip here, but decided I'd better prove to my new co-workers that I'm not a complete loser. I usually put off letting new people see me drunk and dancing until I've know them for quite some time, but broke that rule last night! We had a good time at an outside bar. At least it was one way to get some exercise.

The food journal starts again when I return home. I'm also thinking of starting up my morning Pilates routine again since I now don't start work until 8:00. Three weeks of traveling is NOT good! I can't believe I'm supposed to do the Shamrock Run next weekend. I'm really not ready and my hip still hurts a bit. I'll see what I can do about it this week, but must admit I'm more than a little worried that I won't be able to cross the finish line. I'm reading The Secret and according to it, all I have to do is imagine myself successfully finishing the race and it will just magically happen. . . .

Money lost gambling: $250
Money spent on alcohol: $75
Getting to sleep in my own bed tonight: Priceless

Vegas, baby

On the road *again*. Our fearless traveler has now found herself in the siniest of all sin cities -- Vegas. So many people told me how jealous they were that I was going to be here for a whole week, but I've been here so many times over the years that it's just lost any thrill. I've been here since Sunday and haven't even left the hotel. I promise to do better the next few days and not be a complete loser! :) Blackjack tonight!!

There was free wine available after the seminar yesterday. Need I say more? You all know just how great I must be feeling today. :} Free Wine and Able Cable are two things that go together well!

Wish me luck!

Let us pray . . .

Started my new job today! What better way to start than with . . . prayer? As I now work for a Catholic organization, it is common practice to pray before each meeting. That will take some getting used to for sure! I've always been told to not bring religion into the workplace.

I've been running! And I've been hurting!! If anyone out there in Blogger Land has a cure for the hip pain I'm experiencing, please bring it on. (And no, simply not running is not an answer.)

I'm going to "pray" that my latest "prey" is a good one! Is it possible . . . ?

Snow?

I've been watching the weather reports for the last week and seems to be a decent possibility that 6-8 inches of snow is going to fall in the DC area starting Monday night. Therefore, I decided to fly out a couple days earlier (tomorrow). I know the storm might not hit, but if it did, I'd be sure to be stuck out here longer and I really have some things I need to get back home for.

So, brief catch-up: Got to see Brian and meet his family last night, which was very cool. Cousin Nancy picked me up today and brought me out to her home in Virginia. She and her husband, Jim, took me out for a very nice lunch. After a bit more time back at their home, we headed off to College Park, Maryland, to see my Great Aunt and Uncle. This was truly the highlight of the whole trip and the real reason I came all the way out here. It was soooo wonderful to see them!! We talked a lot about my family, especially my grandfather, who we all miss terribly. My Aunt and Uncle are getting up in years, but are still as sharp as ever. Almost started crying many times with all the remembrances. Also almost puked again due to all the curves on the road!! :) How fitting that my adventure could have both started and ended with vomit! Ha! :)

Great trip and I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be to start my new job back home. Oh, no, I never did go running. Much making up to do on that end!!

DC-licious!

Greetings from DC! Today was great! Very cold, but the sun was shining and the crowds were few -- perfect! I hiked around Arlington Cemetary (caught tail end of guard changing and Eternal Flame), saw a bunch of famous monuments, and went to the Museum of Natural History. The museum did a good job of putting things in perspective. I got to see meteorites, information on evolution, charts showing how much the earth has changed and how recent we humans are in the whole scheme of things. I didn't get lost once today!!! This is a first. :)

The hotel has free washers and dryers available, so I decided to do a load tonight. Out of socks, so timing is perfect! I put everything into one load and what did I end up with? That's right, white shirts that were no longer white. I haven't made this mistake forever! I've got the whites re-washing now, so let's hope they return to their normal color. I thought I could defy the laws of laundry, but alas, could not.

I'll tour more museums tomorrow and am meeting up with a friend I haven't seen since high school for dinner.

Hey Santa Fe

I had always wondered about the state of New Mexico so am very happy to finally see it. It's just not a state you hear about too often. Now I know why! There's a whole lot of nothingness out there, with Santa Fe acting like an oasis. Santa Fe itself is amazing! Very beautiful. I kinda feel like I'm in Mexico, only everyone has money and there's no one begging me to buy chicle.

Daniel drove me up Canyon road yesterday (2/6), which is where all the art galleries are, along with some great pueblos. We looked in about 10 of the galleries. I liked some of the art, but of course didn't understand some of the pieces. After that, he dropped me off back downtown so I could do some shopping. Everything is very expensive and I don't like turqouise, so didn't buy much of anything. People are very friendly . . . maybe today I'll just hang a sign around my neck that states, "I'm from Portland. I am here for a vacation. Yes, it is beautiful!"

Oh, I came up with my million dollar idea, although my cousin shut it down. . . . colored deoderant! You know how the white deoderant gets on your black shirt? Well, why not make the deoderant black in the first place!!! Problem solved! But as Max pointed out . . . your armpit would then be stained black. Oh, minor setback! :)

Quick!

Only have a few minutes before I catch my flight to Albuquerque and head off to Santa Fe. Trip going very well! Was wonderful to catch up with my cousins. Making fun of my puking episode just never got old for them . . . :) That's family for ya!

Quick update, although mostly just for me so I can match stuff up with photos later. I'll try to expand upon stuff at a later date:

Day 1: Glendale for Ryan’s 21st b-day. Meth Man on airplane.
Day 2: Spent day in Lancaster. Went for a 5 mile hike (through garbage). Caught up with Kent, Maxine, and Shari
Day 3: Caught up with Ryan and Kyle. Ryan made crepes for breakfast. Max and Kris hit the road for the 8 hour drive to Tucson. Max got pulled over, but thankfully just a warning.
Day 4: Got to meet Max’s horse, Kashi, and see the beautiful place she was staying at. Went for a drive through a national park and saw all the different kinds of cactus. Ate Mexican food. Watched Superbowl. Commentators are dumb.
Day 5: Flight to Santa Fe via Albuquerque to meet up with Daniel.

Gotta catch my flight! Can't believe I have to leave this 75 degree weather for snow . . .

Day 1: Vomit

Note to self: If you know you suffer from motion sickness and you are given a choice between taking the road through the mountain or the highway to get home, I don’t care how much longer the highway option is – always take the nice, flat highway.

Off I go!

Picture this: I'm on my laptop at the airport, drinking my Starbucks, with my i-Pod in my ears. Yesiree, I might even send someone a text message just to prove to the world that I am hip and with it. Ha! :)

I'm officially unemployed!!! I only have 19 days left until I start my new job, and I'm bound and determined to make the most of it. Therefore, I'm off on a nice vacation!!

I'm heading out on a 2 week trip to visit some friends and family. First stop, Burbank, CA. I'll be joining my 2nd cousin, Ryan, on his 21st birthday party. From there, one of my 1st cousins and I will drive down to her hometown of Tucson, AZ. After that, I'm off to snowy Santa Fe for a few days with a friend of mine. Finally, I head over to DC, where I'll spend a couple days on my own, but then eventually meet up with more family. That's more flying than I usually care to do, but a necessary evil for the adventurer in me.

If I put it in writing, maybe I'll have a better chance of it happening: I will make sure to run while away from home. I have to be ready to be in the St. Patty's Day run next month!

Happy to have you all out there in Blogger Land along with me. I'll try to keep the updates coming, but I'm only as good as the free internet access I can steal! ;)

Did ya know?

OK, so it's 3,500 calories to a pound. I burn around 500 calories if I worked out actively for an hour. Do you realize it would take 7 hours of serious gym time to lose only 1 pound?! Amazing.

The Triathlon!

A friend of mine told me about a month ago about the Danskin Triathlon in Seattle next August. I was so excited by the idea and still am today! So the training has begun. OK, really I just like to say "I'm in training . . . "

I am NOT a runner. But my older bro and I went running last weekend and I actually ran 3.4 miles. Me. Amazing. A friend of mine from high school and I decided that we'll run in the St. Patty's Day race in Portland this year. She and I have never loved running, but she's did a couple of 5Ks last year and said they were pretty empowering.