I have two friends who actually live in Seattle. Both Jill and Nicole left Myler Disability just two weeks after I did. I suppose we were hoping to start a mass exodus but not many others followed. Regardless, we have all decided to adventure it up in the wild northwest. 

Last weekend we went over to Issaquah. 

One stop was the Boehm Chocolate Factory.

Here's Jill and dog Jacques playing at the onsite Alpine Chapel.

Jacques.

Got me some chocolate. 

More to come. 

My third best friend

Since June 2012:

Veronica Mars

because I needed a high school flashback

Dawson's Creek

because I needed Pacey Witter. 

Fringe

 because I needed Pacey Witter grown-up.

The OC

because I never finished the series. 

The Big Bang Theory

because I needed the back story to all the reruns on TBS.

Battlestar Galactica

because I was convinced it would change my life, and I'm a nerd.

Freaks and Geeks

 because I'm trying to be culturally well rounded, in the 90s.

This list is proof that I have a problem. I'm a member of TA. Television Anonymous. Although not so anonymous anymore. And it's not actually a real thing. But, I still have an addiction. 

Or maybe I just really enjoy television and getting my $7.99 a month worth of Netflix. 

teach me some melodious sonnet

I've listened to this every night before I sleep for quite awhile.

It calms me. 

It sparks my prayers. 

It describes how I feel so perfectly,

how I want to feel always. 

Plus it's Sufjan Stevens so it makes me cool and indie.

Biggie Smalls had it all wrong..

Shortly after leaving Utah I upped my job searching, you know, since I am no longer an employed citizen.  I created this folder in my email titled Seattle Jobs. Every time I get an email saying my application was accepted I put it in that folder. It currently contains 34 emails. And that goes back a month. And and not every job sends you one of those. And and and I most likely have deleted a few and don't feel the need to sift through my email trash to prove my point further. I have most likely applied to over 50 jobs in four weeks, to the following companies:

Nordstrom Headquarters

Amazon

Microsoft

Seattle Art Museum

Cornish College of the Arts

The Art Institute

The Marriott

The Hyatt

The Sheraton

Sur la Table Corporate Headquarters

Kate Spade

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Seattle Children's Hospital

Virginia Mason Medical Center

J. Crew

Madewell

H&M

Pacific Bridal Shop

As well as inquiry letters to events planning companies and floral design studios. 

(Oh and a couple jobs in Boston as a favor to a friend.)

So if any of you friends out there has a connection, boy do I need it. 

LESS money, Mo problems.

growing up....almost.

I want you to play this song as you read. 

August 2012 was a big  month for me. My out of town experience and something new rolled into one this month. 

About nine-ish months ago it dawned on me that my apartment contract was up in August and there was no where else in Provo that I wanted to live.

 I decided to move. To move out of Utah. 

The decision was based on a few facts:

A. My six years in Provo is literally the longest I have ever lived in one city, time for somewhere new. 

B. The kind of career I want to end up with cannot be found in Utah. A friend told me once, 

"It's better to be at the bottom of the ladder you want to climb, than in the middle of the one you don't."

C. Verging on the tender age of 24, I actually feel like a grandma near BYU campus. Got to get out of a student ward. 

D.But mostly it was to take a risk, start over, spread my......

you think  I'm going to say wings, that's lame.....

my awesomeness to a new city.

And the city I picked is Seattle, mostly because I love the city (it's got art, shopping, water and hipsters to mock galore), but also because I can bum off my parents until I find employment. 

The reason I had you play that song is that, even though the only lyrics that really apply here is about 2-3 lines worth, it was the last song that played on the radio as I bid adieu to bff Monica and it seemed rather poignant. 

Unemployed. 

Homeless. 

Dwindling funds.

Well, I guess this is growing up. 

Let's Get Political (to be read in Olivia Newton John singing voice)

So pretty much all my political information comes from one source, bff Caitlin. And because of her influence, I know a lot about the Utah House of Representatives and all their bills.

With the Presidential race going on, you know about 33% of our conversations include healthcare reform, taxes, Washington DC, and how handsome the republican party seems to be right now. 

The last week, before I moved away (next post, just wait), I went down to bff Caitlin's house in Vegas for one last hurrah. Whilst there an impromptu rally for the newly appointed Vice Presidential Candidate was tweeted out, and guess where it was, at a high school twenty minutes from Caitlin's house. 

You can not imagine the tiger-like agility with which Caitlin reserved tickets for us to go to that rally. 

Though there was blistering heat, and I mean upwards of 110 degrees, we went to that rally the next day. 

My personal highlight of the event was the Palo Verde marching band that bedazzled us, and it was only their second day of band camp. 

But Mr. Ryan is also a vivacious speaker, he got those devote republican senior citizens stomping their feet in concurrence the whole time. 

Caitlin was super stoked. 

On the inside. 

Get this, not two days later I experienced the second political rally of my lifetime. Bff Caitlin has been helping with the congress campaign of the Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love. Mia had a rally in West Valley City (the ghetto of Salt Lake Valley) where Senator John McCain spoke. You best believe Caitlin, and subsequently I, was all over that mess. I enjoyed it immensely, McCain is basically a stand up comedian, or at least he is when not on his own campaign trail. My favorite of the night, 

"Since my loss in the last presidential race I have slept like a baby, sleep two hours, cry two hours, sleep two hours, cry two hours."

I cracked up. 

The guy in front of me had a huge head. 

Being political hasn't turned out to be as boring as I had always thought, maybe I'm finally 

getting old and responsible.

July Report

So to catch you up on my trip out of town for July as well as my try something new, here are some photos:

First I went to Sacramento and hung out at Megan's house

Then we went to San Francisco but I didn't really get any pictures of that.

Next was our family reunion (sans Cameron) in Lake Tahoe.

We did a little hike with the kids.

Where Calvin had a blast.

And my something new for the month: Spend a day at the beach, really I'd never done it before.

I did some light rafting in the clear water.

Buried a kid in the sand and dug some holes.

We also did lots of crafting.

my week with sullivan

A couple months ago I met Sullivan, lovingly referred to as Sully. 

We spent a whole week together, all day every day. 

It was a lot of fun, but as you know, every good thing comes to an end. 

Luckily, on Sunday afternoon, we had a bit of a photo shoot. 

Here's Sully and I:

Sorry did I forget to mention Sully is BFF Monica's hamster?

Since I got to spend the week with him, I decided to show Sully the world.

Sully racing Ophelia ...

Sully lounging on a Sunday afternoon in Paris..

Sully hiking Machu Picchu ....

Sully butting out of the French Revolution...

Sully spiderman-ing the Sistine Chapel...

Sully turning his back on the Sydney Opera House, he's not a fan of modern architecture...

Sully on an aerial tour of Versailles...

What a  whirlwind adventure. 

June's Extravaganza

So back to my goal for 2012, I did in fact go out of town
and I tried something new. 

My out of town experience was a bit of  a repeat, I went to Blackfoot, ID
for a cousin's wedding reception
and my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary party. 

It was fun to be around the fam again, here's a picture of all the first cousins in attendance:

We all made a page for one giant scrapbook for the happy couple. On mine I used my favorite picture of me and grandpa Jerry:

the two of us napping in Brussels. 

Now as for my something new, this topic is not for the faint of heart. Monica and I found quite the steal on Groupon for 10 pole fitness classes. It's not stripping, calm yourself. It's really hard. especially since I have twiglets for arms. Most of the time we just learn holds and do pull ups, but every now and then the instructor shows us a move or two, tonight in class we learned this:

Rock on.

Once again, BFF Monica and I had another summer adventure. This time we flashed back to late middle school-early high school and rocked out to some killer tunes at the Warped Tour. 

The Salt Lake Fairgrounds were the first stop of the tour this year. 

We got there around 11 am and left at 9 pm. The day included trucker hat wearing, moshing, screaming out lyrics, snow cone eating and immense amounts of sweating (it was over 90 degrees out). 

The best set we witnessed was Yellowcard, we were right up at the front and I knew almost all the songs they played. Only One was the best ever, so good live. 

Second best would be Taking Back Sunday, they closed their set with one of my all time faves MakeDamnSure. 

that's New Found Glory up there. 

It was killer awesome to see teenagers with poorly thought out tattoos and giant rebellious steaks for the day, plus those mormon EMTs were smoking hot. 

Summertime fun

Summertime fun in Orem, UT involves the aptly titled Orem Summerfest, to which I attended recently.

That day was particularly windy and cold and not at all summery but still fun. 

Photographic evidence to follow:

Monica and our funnel cake. 

Festing about. 

Inside the Tilt-a-whirl

Weeeeeeee.

Monica nauseous.

A few from out second ride back at the Tilt-a-whirl.

Monica was cold. She borrowed my pockets. 

The Zipper we waited in line for but didn't ride because we gave up. 

So most of you do not have the film She's the Man memorized word for word, song for song, like my good friend Monica and I, but if you do, you will recognize the song Monica dearest is singing as the song sung during the film's Tilt-a-Whirl scene, mind you we are not changing our clothing nor are we losing sideburns, but it is still rather similar.

And what began of it

So remember how all my things came crashing to the ground and broke to a million little pieces? 

I made something out of some of it.

Look:

A decorative tray. There it sits atop my oh so tiny glassware collection.

Wood stained, pieces glued and tray grouted. 

Don't look at it too closely, the edges are imperfect, but the Polish Pottery will live on.

one man's idea of the perfect woman:

[She] must love decorating for holidays, mischief, kissing in cars, and wind chimes. No specific height, weight, hair color, or political affiliation required, but would prefer a warm spirited, non-racist. Cynics, critics, pessimists, and “stick in the muds” need not apply. Voluptuous figures a plus. Any similarity in look, mind set, or fashion sense to Mary Poppins, Claire Huxtable, Snow White, or Elvira wholeheartedly welcomed. I am dubious of actresses, felons, and lesbians, but don’t want to rule them out entirely. Must be tolerant of whistling, tickle torture, James Taylor, and sleeping late. I have a slight limp, eerily soft hands, and a preternatural love of autumn. I once misinterpreted being called a coal-eyed dandy as a compliment when it was intended as an insult. I wiggle my feet in my sleep, am scared of the dark, and think the Muppet’s Christmas Carol is one of the greatest films of all time. All I want is butterfly kisses in the morning, peanut butter sandwiches shaped like a heart, and to make you smile until it hurts.

-Matthew Gray Gubler

a holiday from work

This Memorial Day I took a me day.

I picked the City of Spanish Fork to explore, because well, why not.

I started with the movie Chimpanzee at the local theater.

The concessions were only $3

I went to this boutique.

And got my nails did. 

Checked out some local color on a stroll down Main St.

And can't do grammar.

Copyright infringement?

How does those two go together?

And then drove home. It was a lovely afternoon.

May Play Day

As you know my goal for the year is to try something new and get out of town at least once each month. 

Here's May for ya. 

So I headed home to WA for my May trip. Mama Bruce picked me up from the airport and immediately took me to a Nordstrom Rack, she knows me so well.  Dad met up with us and we perused the Super Mall and had some dinner. 

That night, back in Olympia we checked out the Bearded Lady Bakery for dessert. Now not many people may be aware, but Olympia is a dirty hippie town and is known for what is called Olympia Lowlife. This bakery is a little delicious taste of that.  A. its got a feminisitc name like the Bearded Lady, no gender specifics there, B. its in the heart of dirty, yet pretty downtown, C. its owners are tatted up vintage wearing no leg shaving ladies, 

D. its completely vegan. 

But hey, that vegan red velvet cupcake was delish.

The next day I met up with a friend from Provo where I did my something new for the month. 

I, Katie Bruce, the city slicker, heel wearing, darling of a girl, went zip-ling through the forest.

I was a total blast, I wasn't even scared at all.

On this adventure in the woods of Snoqualmie, we also were packing heat and let a shady group of pop cans know it.

We  had lunch at XXX Rootbeer, local haunt of Modest Mouse. 

The best way to end an adventure is with a corndog.

The rest of my trip consisted of a lovely Mother's Day with the family, an excess of shopping at the swanky shopping center in Bellvue, checking out the one froyo place in town and quality time at home.