Thursday, April 30, 2009

Grandmas and Fishies

Thursday, April 30, 2009
Today Juliana, Mom, Dad, and I went to see my Grandma Gerhardt in Shoreline. This was the first time we'd been up there since just after Christmas, so we figured it was time to pay her a visit. I made Cam's favorite chicken and dumpling soup and Mom brought some homemade Swedish rye bread and we had lunch together in her room. She loves seeing Juliana and showing her off to all her friends. I couldn't count the number of people she stopped while we took a walk around the building to say, "This is my FOURTEENTH great-grandchild!" I have no idea where she's getting 14, I count 13 including JJ. Then again, she is 94.

Julie and Great-Grandma taking a walk.

After Grandma's we went to the Seattle Aquarium. One of Cam's relatives has had these free tickets for months and we kept forgetting about them until Cam's mom realized that they're about to expire. So we decided to hit the aquarium on the way back from Grandma's. Jelly had a pretty good time considering the fact that she had had only a very short nap all day.

Me, Jelly, and Grandma with da fishies.

The pool of starfish that people can lean in and touch.

Julie getting acquainted with the starfish.

They had these jellyfish in a circular tank that you can walk through. Very cool.

This is a large octopus. Or squid. I'm not sure. All I know is that it was a little scary for me. I have a slight fear of squid. Don't ask.

Apparently Jelly has no fear of squid.

This is called a basketfish. Cam thinks it looks gross, but I think all the curlicues are pretty cool.

Grandma, Grandpa, and Juliana in the aquarium's dome.

After the aquarium, we all went to Steamer's on the waterfront for an early dinner. All in all, it was a pretty fun day.

Just a side note, I am working on my Hawaii blog- it's taking kinda long, but I promise it will be up soon.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Hawaii 2009

Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Six o'clock in the morning this coming Thursday will find most of the clan heading for SeaTac Airport to catch a plane to Honolulu, Hawaii in celebration of my father's retirement! As you may have heard from Cam a couple months ago, this trip was meant to be a surprise to my dad that we going to tell him about at his 62nd birthday party in early March. However, in February, after dinner at my sister's house, Cameron made casual mention of a suggestion to have a diet bet in preperation for our trip to Hawaii right in front of Dad! It turned out that my dad didn't really understand nor think much of what was said, but, as we figured that the jig was up, we let him in on the secret early. None of us were mad at Cam for his slip-up and Dad actually turned out to be happy that he had something to look forward to in his last weeks of work.


It's hard to believe that we're leaving for Hawaii in just two days! For some reason, trips like this always seem to creep up on me. Maybe it's part of being more grown up. The same kind of thing happens to me around Christmas and my birthday for the last couple years. I don't have the same mental countdown and anticipation for the event, telling everyone in my family, "3 more weeks until Hawaii!!!!" I'm way excited to be going, don't get me wrong. It just seems like at somewhere around the two week mark, time freezes for me and I can get up to the day before and still have it feel like I have two weeks to prepare. It happened the first time I went to Hawaii with my sister about four years ago. We even got on the plane and she turned to me and asked, "Does it feel like we're going to Hawaii yet? Because it doesn't for me." And I had to agree. It didn't feel like we were there until around the time we got checked into our hotel and went down to Waikiki that it felt like we'd really arrived.


As excited as I am to be going back (this will be Tawnya and my third trip, the second for Mom, Dad, and Cameron, and the first for Juliana) I do have my concerns. How will Julie be for the flight? Will she just be cranky and loud the whole time; an irritation to the other passengers? Will she sleep well in bed with us when we get to our friends' house in Honolulu? Will we be able to sleep well with an 18 month old between us? Will it be hard for us to get around with her? Will she be happy and excited or crabby and fussy? I love her dearly and her happiness is much more important to me and Cam than our own happiness, but part of me still worries that we won't have as much fun with her there. Wow, that sounds awful.


We don't have our agenda really set in stone yet. We did a lot of the popular touristy stuff last time we went, including Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, and the Polynesian Cultural Center, so we don't feel the need to repeat any of those. We would like to go back to Hanama Bay for snorkeling as we arrived late in the day last time and only got about a half an hour there before they closed. We also want to check out some beaches we didn't get to last time and my sister has her heart set on going parasailing (Cam may or may not join her, he hasn't decided yet). This time we have the great privilege of having our favorite former neighbors there to hang out with. Christy and Nelson were still living in San Angelo the last time we went, but they gave us a list of their favorite must-see things, including introducing us to the mother of all Hawaiian treats- the malasada. We can't wait to get back to Leonard's for some fresh, hot malasadas for breakfast. Excuse me, I need a napkin or something- just thinking about malasadas has me drooling all over! Molly, I'll try to bring you guys back some, but they won't be too fresh by the time they get to you, k?



So if anyone has been to Oahu and can think of something you think we should see or do, please let me know. And if anyone has taken a vacation with a toddler PLEASE give me some tips!

Thanks and Aloha for now!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

6 Annoying Things People Say When You Tell Them You're From Washington

Sunday, April 12, 2009
I posted this list on my MySpace account while I was living in San Angelo, TX. I got a lot of positive feedback on it at the time, so I thought I'd share it with all of you. If you've read it before, my apologies. If you haven't seen it yet, please enjoy.

Having had lived most of my life in Washington State, I never really had to deal with the stereotypes that people believe of Washingtonians. That is until I moved to San Angelo- a place made up of not only native Texans who have probably never left the state, but also includes a large number of military folk from all over the country. So I have decided to compile a list of annoying things that people have said and/or asked me about Seattle and Washington:

1) Wow, so you're from Washington? Have you been to the White House?
(It's Washington STATE, not D.C. you idiots- but yes, I have been to the White House)

2) If you're from Seattle, you must LOVE coffee.
(Nope, I hate it royally)

3) Don't you hate how much it rains there?
(Actually, it rains WAY more in San Angelo, but for some reason no one knows how to drive in the rain and the drainage system sucks)

4) You must love Grey's Anatomy and Frasier, huh?
(Nope, can't stand Grey's Anatomy and I mostly dislike Frasier- just because a show is set in my hometown, doesn't mean everyone that's from there loves it; there's only so much enjoyment you can get out of seeing the Space Needle on TV.)

5) You must be a liberal democrat, right?
(Yeah, because to be from a blue state you have to be a democrat and to be from a red state you have to be a republican, right? I can't live where I want without aligning myself to the majority's political party?)

6) So are you really into grunge and Nirvana?
(Um, grunge hasn't been popular for over 10 years, plus do I LOOK like someone who's into grunge?)

So, to those of you who are native Washingtonians who have been subject to these stupid questions, I sympathize with you. To those of you who haven't-be prepared next time you talk to an inquisitive out-of-towner. And to those of you not from the great state of Washington- please be kind and keep your dumb questions to yourself.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

So your car tells me I won't like you

Saturday, April 11, 2009
I don't like bumper stickers.

Really, all car adornments- from antennae balls to window clings to bumper stickers seem a bit tacky to me -with very few exceptions. And it seems the more decorations on a car, the trashier that car looks.

I must admit that when I got my first car, in my excitement to have a car of my very own, I succumbed to this trend. I wanted to make my car uniquely my own, so I had an antennae ball from Hopefest, a Jesus fish on my bumper, Hawaiian seat covers, and even -gasp!- a hula girl on my dashboard. But when I traded in my '85 VW Golf for a beautiful, almost new 2000 Ford Focus, I had no desire whatsoever to clutter it up with decorations. I did begrudgingly put a new Jesus fish on my shiny new bumper as it was a birthday present, but other than that, I strived to keep it clean and simple.

Don't get me wrong, I am a Christian and I can appreciate when people are brave enough to announce their faith and refuse to be kept quiet. But shouldn't the best way to do that be to live the life? To strive to be Christ-like in all you do? Why, oh why, do you feel you have to junk up your car to accomplish this?!?! I'm glad you love Jesus, hate abortion, and voted for McCain- I did too! But why do you think that the guy sitting behind you in traffic gives a crap?

No one is going to decide not to tailgate you because you have a "Baby on Board". People aren't going to stop speeding after seeing your "Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly" sticker. It's just weird and creepy to say that your car is "In Memory" of a deceased loved one. Political bumper stickers are idiotic and only apply during said politician's run for office- afterward, it's just dumb. If they won, get over it. If they lost, really get over it. And no one - NO ONE- cares what you'd like Calvin to piss on, or that your kid is in the honor society.

I found myself behind possibly the most offensive car I've ever seen recently. To start off with, it was a white pickup- I'd already hate it as about 1 in 5 people in Texas had one, including the redneck who hit our brand new car our first day there. Next, it had one of the aforementioned Calvin window clings peeing on a phrase that looked like it had the word "religion" in it. Next, my eyes moved down to the bumper where I spied one of those "Support the Troops" ribbon magnets- only instead of supporting the troops, it said "Support Lap Dancers". Huh, I wasn't aware that lap dancers were in need of support. Is there some sort of lack in sick, horny, ugly men and/or bachelor parties that is causing these poor lap dancers to have to seek out other jobs where they might actually be able to hang on to what self respect they have left? Oh, no! Forget the economy, we must save the lap dancers! Next to the lap dancer magnet was a Darwin fish eating a Jesus fish saying "Reality bites". Really, people? Do you honestly think a Christian will see this stupid sticker and be forced to question their beliefs? Huh, redneck lap dance supporter thinks I'm wrong. I must be wrong.

But wait, it gets worse. Below the twice offensive bumper I find the pièce de résistance, the most offensive, disgusting car adornment on the market today- trailer hitch balls. That's right- testicles hanging from this gentleman's trailer hitch.

WHY?

Why would anyone want balls anywhere on their car?

It just struck me when I saw this how car decor can be pretty powerful. They can announce your religious beliefs, your political views, or - in the case of our religion-pissing, Darwin-loving, lap dancer-supporting, proud testicle owner here, it can show the whole world just how big of a douche bag you are without you having to say one word.

Good job, random Chevy driver, good job. I'm sure you've made your momma proud.

Welcome to my blog!

Yes, after hearing Cam tell me time and time again that I need to start my own blog (and many props from my father-in-law on my writing skillz) I welcome you to Bethany's blog: The Lady Doth Protest Too Much. This title comes both from my love of Shakespeare and my unfortunate tendency to complain. I hope you find my rants, raves, movie reviews, and constant bragging on my daughter amusing. Enjoy. And thanks for stopping by.
 
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