Clams

Last weekend I went on a new adventure, clam digging. My friend Jeff has been telling forever that I should go, and I would always tell him I didn't think I would enjoy it. I have no desire to be cold, wet, and dirty, plus clams are gross. Well, Saturday morning I was laying in bed when he sent me a text saying I should come with him that afternoon. I had no plans, so I figured why not? We drove out to Copalis (near Ocean Shores) and met up with some friends before we headed out to the beach. Luckily, the weather was fairly nice, it wasn't very cold and not really windy either.

We drove down the beach to Jeff's favorite spot, a giant rock, and parked by this orange sign "so we won't lose the truck." I put on these rubber boots that went all the way up to my thighs, and a pair of gloves and off we went to go dig our clams. Jeff has these neat neat clam guns, you just push them down in the sand over the clam hole and then pull up. More often than not, the clam is right there in the sand you pull out which was good for me because I have no desire to stick my hand in a hole and dig around for them.. It may sound easy, but it's ALOT of work. We were in a hot spot though, we had our limit in less than a half hour. I was proud of myself, I dug all my own except for one. After we were done, we headed home to get cleaned up and have dinner.

The next day we had to clean them, which I was not looking forward to. We had 60 clams, and I was expecting them to be all gross and slimy, but it turns out they aren't so bad. My job was to drop them into boiling water until the shells popped open, and then peel off the shells. Jeff did the rest of the cleaning, cutting off the necks and diggers and what not. I'm not really sure what that part entails, because I didn't want to watch. we had a good little system going and it only took about an hour to get them all clean.

My body was soooo sore the next couple days. I used muscles I didn't even know a had. What a work out! I did have a really good time though, and am lookimg forward to trying it again next month. Hopefully we'll have good weather again.

New Job

So I started my new job on Monday, as Resale Accounting Specialist for a company that transfers timeshares. I have a fancy tittle, but I really know very little about the timeshare indusrty, and even less about the accounting side of it, but I am learning alot and really enjoying my work. I really like the company, they are expanding like crazy and I am very excited to be working here. After not working for 6 months, I am glad to be back on a regular schedule and have some responsibility every day, but I forgot how exausting it can be, lol. I am also remembering what it's like to have to to plan and budget my time so I can get everything done in personal/home life. I've gotten so used to just being able to whatever, whenever...but overall I am very happy to be back at work.

I'm trying to think of what else I've been up to since I last posted... The first of September, I moved in to my very own place. It's the first tiem I've lived alone on FOREVER, and I signed a one year lease so I don't have to move anywhere anytime soon. I have a cute little 2 bedroom place in a woodsy setting, not to far from town. I didn't have alot of stuff when I moved in, basically my bed, dresser, and some kitchen stuff. I lived there a whole month before I decided it was time to buy furniture for my living room, but now I'm all settled and really enjoying having my own space.

Family Camping

This pat week was our annual fanily camping trip with Grandma Bates. I took Ally with, it's the first time she's seen that side of the family in a little over a year. She had a lot of fun playing in the pool with Nick and running around with all the other little girls. Grandma put on a "T.V."show to entertain her one day, and made her a baby out of a towel. She had a great time. When Wednesday rolled around and it was time to take her home, she told grandma she didn't want to go to daddy's house, she wanted to stay with grandma. We all had a really great time. I love getting together with the family at camping time every year.

This week Erik and I are off to spend the week at Sun Lakes, so that should be fun. We rented a cabin and are taking his boat and will be spending 5 days in the beautiful sunshine!

I Hate Moving!

I am now moving for the THIRD time in the past year. I'm geting so sick of it! On the up side, I can pack up my whole house and have it moved within a few hours now. What a talent to have! LOL. I have decided I am going to live alone, which is a HUGE deal for me. I've only ever lived by myself once, and it was only for a few months. I guess I just want to know that I don't have to rely on any one else, or be irritated, or not get along...so that hopefully I will not be moving again anytime soon.

In other news, I am looking forward to goign to Eastern WA this weekend. Erik and I are making a little visit, then picking up Ally on Sunday so she can come to camp with Grandma Bates (Meemaw as she calls her). It will be fun, I think the last time we went she had just turned 1. She will be turning 4 next Friday, man how time flies.

Mod 1 Done

I just finished my first program module... and decided maybe I don't like being back in school afterall. I really enjoyed some of my classes, like Terminology, because I actually learned something. Most of my classes were rather pointless because I already knew everything (like math and computer apps). I'm starting the new mod and hoping it will be better since we will actaully be getting in to the billing and coding stuff.

Other than school, I haven't been doing a whole lot. The weather has been really nice lately, in rained for the first time in 29 days today! I have been enjoying the sunshine and warm temps, spending alot of time at the pool working on my tan. I hope that we have a nice summer, last year kinda sucked, it was cold and rainy almost the whole time.

I'm hoping to make another trip over to Eastern WA soon, maybe I'll let Erik meet more of the siblings this time ;)

School

I just realized today that I haven't posted in so long. About three weeks ago a started school to become a Medical Biller/Coder. It's been interesting, I forgot how much I actually enjoy learning, plus it gives me a good starting point and responsibility for my day. I enjoy most of my classes. Some of them I find a little too easy, mostly the computer classes, because I already know the programs. I'm really enjoying my terminology class. I'm a die hard Grey's Anatomy fan and I'm watching the other night and kept saying to myself "hey, I know what that means!" Its been fun. I can't decide whether or not I like my instructor, but I only have him for 3 more weeks, then I move on to the next section. Other than school I haven't been up to too much.

I've made a few trips to Eastern WA to see Ally and my family. I finally got time to visit with Melanie on my last trip. It was really nice. I REALLY need to get better about staying in touch (I'm hoping maybe this summer we will all be able to get together). My last trip I brought Erik (my boyfriend) over to meet some of the family, and Ally. I figured I'd break him in slowly...meet just a few siblings at a time. All of us at once might be a little overwhelming, lol. Ally was funny, at first she completely ignored Erik as if he wasn't even there. We took her and Chesney to the pool at our hotel, and when Erik went in to take a nap Ally asked, "Mom, where'd your best friend go?" She warmed up to him a little bit after that.

I'm really looking forward to the 3 Day weekend. I'm not sure exactly what my plans will be, other than sleeping in everyday. It will be nice to have an extra day where I don't have to get up at 5:30 a.m.! The weather is supposed to be nice , so I'm crossing my fingers. I'm getting tired of the rain and ready for some sunshine.

So Cute

I know I just posted new pictures of Ally, but I just thought this one is the cutest one she's ever taken and I wanted to share. We were at Carter's wrestling match and she thought Uncle Calvin's leg made a great ride.

An Interesting Date

This past Saturday I had a really fun first date. I was a little nervous because he wouldn't tell me where we were going or what we were doing, even thought I asked several times. I finally asked if he would at least let me know what I should wear, and what kind of shoes would be appropriate (I LOVE to wear heels and have been on dates where we ended up taking a long walk or something outdoorsy...ouch!). We met mid-morning and started our day with breakfast a a cute little place downtown I've never even heard of. He brought some really pretty flowers, I believe they were some type of lilly. After breakfast we drove up to Seattle. I was supposed to be reading the directions, but I was talking so much I almost missed our turns. We went to go on the Underground Tour, but it was sold out :( . Too bad because I would have really enjoyed it. Then we went to REI and climbed the rock wall. I was not so excited about that, I was worried it would be hard, or I would fall, and basically look like an idiot. I decided on the easiest climb, and aced it no problem, yay! It was actually alot of fun and now I think I need to go again and try one that is a little more challenging. We ended the day with dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant. It was really cool to go out with someone who put some planning into the day, and to do something other than just go for dinner and drinks.

On a side note, there are some really cool places and things to do in Olympia that I never even knew about, guess I'm gonna have to get out and check out my own city!

Little Miss Ally

This past weekend I went to visit Ally. Unfortunately I ended up sick and had to cut my visit short, but we had a nice time even if it was brief. She talked non-stop in the car after I picked her up, she's very inquisitive and had to ask me what just about everything we passed was, "Hey Mom! What's that?" and then she'd say "Oh!" and repeat everything I told her. We went and visited Ryan and Cassidi, Ally and Chesney are so cute together! I can't believe how much she seems to grow in between visits, and how smart she is.
I can't believe she'll be 4 this year already. How time flies.

Picture help?

I can't seem to figure out how to put pictures up. I tried the "add image" button and it put pictures into my blog, but I couldn't move them around where I wanted, they all stayed grouped at the top. Can someone please tell me how it works? Thank you!!

Sad News

Okay, it's really not that sad for anyone but me. I broke my camera. I'm not really sure what happened, but I pulled it out of my purse to take a picture and the screen is cracked and just shows a blank white screen when I turn it on. Luckily my pictures are saved on my memory card, but I'm bummed because I JUST bought the new camera after someone dropped and broke my last one. I've been very into taking pictures lately, posting for my myspace and for scrapbooking. Guess I'll have to put all that on hold until I can get another new one. I'll be smart this time and get a nice sturdy case for it. :)

Oh How Time Flies

It's already been a whole month since my last post...wow! After all the snow melted, there was a ton of flooding. Luckily It didn't really affect anywhere I had to go. I did have to postphone my trip to Eastern WA again, but finally did make it over for a very brief overnight trip. I was able to visit Ally so that was fun. I'm hoping to get over and visit everyone else within the next few weeks.

I moved to an apartment with Amanda the week after Christmas. It's been really nice, she and I get along well, since we have our own separate bathrooms. We are getting all settled and working on making things homely and comfotable. We also got a puppy (well, really he's like 5 years old), Max. He was supposed to be my dog, but Amanda has stolen him, lol. They really bonded and now he's like her best friend, it's so cute. She never was much of a dog person.