Not your average bear

I am in Arizona this week. And it is a toasty fall day. The sun is out and blazing all day, but then it gets dark so early.

I forgot about that.

When it gets dark so soon, I become like a bear. I get sleepy and snack-y and want to lay down and take a nap for winter.

Ok- that might be an exaggeration, but I still eat WAY more than normal and go to bed insanely early for a 31-year-old.

The early dark hours bring out my inner Winnie the Pooh.

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"
"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"
"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully.
"It's the same thing," he said

One Hundred!

My last post was my 100th post...craziness!

Kids celebrate the 100th day of school with parties and games.

Libraries, cities and jurisdictions celebrate their centennials with festivals and ceremony.

Writing 100 posts is not on the same level as the above items, but it is still something I am excited about.

So, cheers to 100 posts of adventues and musings.

It's been so fun to share and write.

Thanks for being part of the first 100. Here's to the next 100!

Thanks for being part of the experience!

Yikes and Yippee!

It's been a long while since I have had butterflies.

For me, I get butterflies when I am excited and nervous all at once. Butterflies tend to happen to me when I am looking forward to something new, something unknown. I kind of like them. It means something exciting is about to happen.

Today the butterflies came back when I got my first assignment for my new class.

I was accepted into a certificate program at the University of Washington. I was accepted months ago, but have been a little bit busy. Thus, the start of school was pushed back in my mind. I have gotten a few emails about the class, but October 4 just seemed super far away. Until today.

Today I got my first assignment.

It's due next week.

On the first day of school.

Yikes!

And Yippee!

I am so very excited to be in a class and challenge my brain in a new way. But I am also nervous. I haven't had a first day of school in over 9 years.

Butterflies.

Love is a Subaru

My job requires lots of travel and with it, lots of car rentals. Over the years, I have had many, many random car rental experiences--many of which I would care to avoid. Some humorous (remember the Jetta), and some just annoying- like the scorching roof of the Wrangler, and some just plain unsafe- like the recent car breakdown during rush hour.

The sizes of the cars vary as much as the stories.

I have enjoyed some of the cars and have wanted to ditch some of them as fast as I get in them.

Today, I picked up a Subaru. Love.

You need to know I have wanted to own a Subaru Outback for many years. In fact, I purchased my Vibe because it was close to being a Subaru and it came with a good story and super fun delivery guy! I heart my car. It's compact, but four doors so adults can ride in comfort. The silver color was perfect for the hot desert sun.

Then I moved to the Pacific Northwest. There are mountains here. And last year, I got stuck due to a lack of a 4X4 car. Sad. My desire for a Subaru began again.

My car is still perfectly good. I have no desire to have a car payment for additional years, so I have no intentions of buying a new car.

But for this week, I will enjoy the ride.

Love is a Subaru (right?).

Sneaky Pete!

My Seattle 3-Day event occured last weekend. Overall it was a good event. There were a few things that could have gone better (always). 1- the weather could have better (less rain) and the sprinklers could have stayed off. But as I said, overall it was good.

When creating the route, there were a few moments of "angels singing" as I discovered Mt Rainier in the distance. It was the pefect background to an already great route. But, as anyone here knows, Mt. Rainier is (what I term) a saucy bitch that appears when it feels like it. Not when you want to see it. And this week was no exeption. The mountain appeared Mon- Fri and was spectatcular! Of course.

Even though it was hiding through most of the event, I LOVE that mountain. It still takes my breath away whenever it seems to pop out as if out of nowhere! How a 14,000 ft. mountain can appear as if out of nowhere is still a delightful mystery to me.

What's in a Name?

I am woman of many names. Okay, not many but a few.

My given name is: Jessica Marie Schulte.

I think it's lovely. I share my middle with my mom and all of my dad's sisters. It's a "plain jane" kind of name, but it has some history and I like that. My fist name is not an original 1980's name. In fact, it was the most popular name for a girl born in 1980. But my parents didn't know that. My mom just knew she couldn't name her baby after the office hootchie she worked with (or so I am told.) Which makes me laugh. And let's be honest- Schulte is kind of a fun two syllable name. So, in short-- I like my name.

While my given name is great, I come from a family of nicknamers. (Read: my dad has a funny name for anyone he loves...always has). So, from the day of my birth, I was henceforth known to most anyone who loved me as Beaner. At the age of three, I told people that was my name- Beaner Schulte. (That was quickly corrected before I started pre-school!). That nickname has stuck with me ever since. It has morphed into Bean and Beanie as the years went on. My mom says I was "the orginal Beanie baby. (Insert giggle and an eye roll here.) I always knew I was in serious trouble or there was a problem when my parents actually called me Jessica. God forbid--Jessica Marie. If that came out of a mouth, I was really in BIG trouble.

In high school, I started to encounter other Jessicas. And it got confusing. And because I was an athlete (not sure why that has anything to do with it, but it seems to make sense to me), people called me Schulte. Even a boyfriend did and I had to tell him--No. I have a first name and if you want to kiss, that will need to be the name you use. (I have some sass, sometimes.). Anyway, throughout high school, my last name was the name that was used. A few people call me Jess, but most called me Jessica or Schulte. And Jess was reserved for really good friends, not the masses.

Then I became a professional. I work for a fairly casual company where we all get along really well, so easy friendships are formed. Some of those work friends started to call me Jess. That was okay and I embraced it. After all-- Jessica is three syllables and 7 letters to type versus 1 syllable and 4 letters. But then other people started...and it became my name at work. No longer reserved for close pals. People introduced me to business contacts that way, even the client we work for refers to me as Jess. The "ica" portion of my name just disappeaered. And it kind of annoys me.

Yesterday, I was working with some of our volunteers and they just started to call me Jess. I know it shouldn't bug me that much, but it made me crazy. In all my years before now, Jess was reserved for those that know me well. These people don't know me at all. In fact, I don't even really like them all that much and here they were using the name that has always been reserved for closeness. Jessica is how I introduce myself, how I sign an email, and it is actually my name.

I want my "ica" back!

**Note- likely if you read this blog, you are close enough to call me Jess, don't worry.

City Love- part 2

I had to venture into downtown Seattle today to pick up some permits for my upcoming event. A trip that can be both a joy and a pain.
Per usual, today it was both.
I drove around the same block 6 times while trying to find the building I was going to and then trying to find parking in the same area. The ladies waiting at the bus stop waved at me the 3rd, 4th, and 5th times I circled. By the 6th, I felt like I should say stop and say hello. Perhaps make some new friends! But I found the spot and got down to business.
After I picked stuff up, I headed for home. Due to a wrong turn (whoops! sometimes I am still "new"), I ended up driving near the Pike's Place Market. And there was parking right near the entrance. Soooo, of course I stopped! (How could I not? It was as though it was meant to be.)
I popped into the market and partook in all of the loveliness that Seattle has to offer---

$5 boquets of flowers, fresh local strawberries and of course, a Starbucks iced passion tea (my latest addiction!).
Best detour ever!

And yet one more reason why I love where I live.
I mean, where else could I pick up that kind of loveliness for less than $20?