ramen noodles

Okay soooo, I've started my rotation at a WIC clinic for the last part of my internship. Today, I saw a client who is pregnant and basically only eats ramen noodles. Of course, that is a no no. Especially while pregnant. I mean, they are basically just noodles and sodium. Gross. After the client left the dietitian told me how horrified she was that the client was eating ramen noodles. They are horrible for you!

Good thing she didn't see my lunch.

part january // the coast

For my January undertaking, I decided to go to the coast one last time before I move back home to Utah in a few weeks.
So my friend, Steph, and I ran over to Astoria and saw the Astoria Column. 

 

We ran up the stairs for a while, then walked, then stopped and breathed hard, then walked, then made it to the top. It was quite the view.

We crossed the Astoria-Megler Bridge (pictured above) over the Columbia to Washington where our destination was Cape Disappointment. Strange as it seems, we were not disappointed.
And this is why:

AND we got to meet Pete's dragon!
He's just as friendly in person as he is in the movie.
I only wish I could have met Elliot too.

We saw the North Head Lighthouse and it was so pretty. We couldn't go up because it was locked (daggum!) but we walked around and watched the waves.

 

We had some extra time so we bounced back over to Oregon and down to Seaside where we sat on the beach for an hour. It was a chilly 60 degrees. We watched the sun slowly start to go down and listened to the waves crashing. That is the best sound in the world, crashing waves.

I love the Northwest and I looove the coast. January is just so much better by the sea.

monthly undertakings of 2014

This year I've decided to copy my sister, Carlee.

A few years back she decided to do something she called her 'Compelling Undertakings of 2010'. The goal was to do something, learn something, or go somewhere that she hadn't done, learned, or gone each month that year. Or do something she loved so much she wanted to repeat.

So, I've decided I want to do something similar this year. I already have some grand ideas up my sleeve and I think it will make this year a just little more exciting. So, thank you, Carlee, for the inspiration, and stay tuned for my own monthly undertakings of 2014.

hugs and how to use them.

You're saying goodbye to a friend or maybe a date. Someone that you've never hugged because you're just getting to know each other. Well, this time you give them a hug and they just put their arms around you and don't squeeze.

Those 'hugs' are the worst.

Like the dead fish handshake, but the dead fish hug with no shake.

This happened to me recently. Before that, the first time I had ever experienced this to my recollection was this summer on a date. I said, 'Thanks, see ya," and gave him a hug and he just put his arms on my back. I could barely feel them. I immediately thought, "Never see ya," and shuddered at the thought of that one-sided hug.

Don't people know proper hug technique? From a young age I learned how to properly hug, and practiced on my parents and siblings more than daily.

Other than just that horribly awkward lack of squeeze during a hug, something else that needs to be improved by many people is knowing which hug to use.

I found some hugging techniques on some website. It gives instructions for three different types of hugs. I beg to differ on some of the explanations, so here you go.

1. Slow-dance: 
Her arms will go upward to around his neck and his arms will go under hers. He can put his arms around her waist or higher up her back. The lower his hands go on her back, the more suggestive the hug is. This can be a very intimate hug—use it wisely.

In my opinion, this is a good hug with men who are not very tall. Or it's good when you come home and give your dad a big bear hug where he lifts you up off the floor. Intimate, shmintimate. Unless you're into that sort of thing. 

2. Big bear and little bear: 
Her arms will go below his and he will wrap around her back while her arms wrap around his waist. This is a friendlier hug and allows her to be pulled close to him and have her head rest on his chest.

Actually, this is the best hug. It doesn't have to always be 'friendly'.  I think it can be the most romantical of all. The best is when you're hugging a skinny, tall man and your arms go all the way around that skinny waist. You can't go wrong with this hug unless... you're hugging a short guy. But every hug is wrong with a short guy. (i.e. a guy that is an inch or less taller than you.)

3. Criss-cross: 
One arm goes up and the other goes down to create an "x" with his arms and hers. This can lead to the perfect "pull back and kiss" position where both of you still have your arms holding on to each other with enough room to still kiss.

This hug is the worst hug to use, unless you're hugging your aunt. Another name for this hug is the awkward hug. This hug says, "I'm afraid of the opposite gender."

So, moral of this post is...
Hugs and how to use them.

cheers to the new year.

this year is going to be so exciting! i can feel it.

in one month, i will be finished with my dietetic internship.
then i will move back to my dear utah.
after that, i am free to take a horribly difficult test known as the 'RD exam'. oooooo.
if i pass that test, i will officially be titled as a dietitian.
then i can get a job. and become a career woman. and make booko bucks.

i am almost a true adult.

photoshoot.

went on a little photoshoot with aleisha this week to end the year.

sorry i'm not that good... but she still looks fly.

2013, the end.

2013 was a strange year. The hardest I've lived through.

But there were some lovely times. And it has ended really great. This fall has been awesome. It was hard to move away from home but it's been quite the blast, actually.

Though I did plan on getting married, bearing a child, and going on a cruise this year, as 13 is my lucky number, there were some other grand moments instead.

2013's Highlights...

// I threw a ballin MLK party to celebrate Martin himself.
// Lindsay graduated from chemotherapy. That was an exciting time for our family.
// I threw an even ballin-er fiesta with my roommate, Katie, and the boys.
// I did my first triathlon. It was the most horrible, fun time ever!
// I graduated from COLLEGE. How neat is that?
// I got to visit Logan a few times after I moved away.
// I hiked Mt Timp with my daddio
// I visited the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH.
// I moved to WASHINGTON! And had a lovely road trip with my eldest seester to get there.
// One of my very best friends, Aleisha, came to visit me and we road tripped all around Washington.  Cape Flattery was the winner of that trip.
// I went on a road trip to the beach with my Washington besties.
// Good old Elizabeth Carson came to visit and we had tons of fun in Seattle, especially on the Great Wheel! The best part of that trip is when we were waiting in line to use the bathroom. I was next in line, a lady was behind me, then Lizzie. When it was my turn I handed my purse to Lizzie and asked her to hold it. She said, "Um, ma'am, I don't know you..." I burst out laughing and the lady in between us did too.
// I also got to fly home for Thanksgiving and now for Christmas! Utah is great.

What a year it was.