Frankie made a Winter Mix and it has some amazing songs, like “Home” by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, on it. It’s what I’m listening in between listening to Fallen Empires (don’t want to over-listen!). This song gets stuck in my head like no other and I love the beat.

Happy Monday!

And the live version, because they’re adorable and having so much fun:

Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my Ma & Pa
Not the way that I do love you

Holy Moley, Me-oh-My, you’re the apple of my eye
Girl, I’ve never loved one like you

Man, oh man, you’re my best friend,
I scream it to the nothingness
There ain’t nothin’ that I need

Well, hot & heavy, pumpkin pie,
chocolate candy, Jesus Christ
There ain’t nothin’ please me more than you

Ahh, home
Let me come home
Home is wherever I’m with you (2x)

La la la la, take me home
Baby, I’m coming home

I’ll follow you into the park,
through the jungle, through the dark
Girl, I’ve never loved one like you

Moats & boats & waterfalls,
alley ways & pay phone calls
I’ve been everywhere with you

That’s true

We laugh until we think we’ll die,
barefoot on a summer night
Nothin’ new is sweeter than with you

And in the streets we’re running
free like it’s only you and me
Geez, you’re somethin’ to see

Ahh, home
Let me come home
Home is wherever I’m with you (2x)

La la la la, take me home
Baby, I’m coming home

“Jade?”
“Alexander?”
“Do you remember that day you fell out of my window?”
“I sure do, you came jumping out after me.”
“Well, you fell on the concrete
and nearly broke your ass
and you were bleeding all over the place
and I rushed you off to the hospital.
Do you remember that?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, there’s something
I never told you about that night.”
“What didn’t you tell me?”
“While you were sitting in the backseat
smoking a cigarette you thought
was going to be your last,
I was falling deep, deeply in love with you
and I never told you ‘til just now.”
“Now I know.”

Ahh, home
Let me come home
Home is whenever I’m with you
Ahh, home
Let me come home
Home is when I’m alone with you

Home
Let me come home
Home is wherever I’m with you

Ahh, home
Yes, I am home
Home is when I’m alone with you

Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my Ma & Pa
Moats & boats & waterfalls & pay phone calls

Ahh, home
Let me come home
Home is wherever I’m with you
Ahh, home
Let me come home
Home is when I’m alone with you

Monday was Frankie’s birthday! He is officially 25 now and we’re both a quarter of a century old, or as one of our friends put it last night, a fourth way dead.

For this birthday present, he requested a home cooked meal. Reason being that I rarely cook, and when I do it’s either pasta or lemon chicken. But Frankie wouldn’t give me any hints as to what to cook—”you pick,” “I’ll eat anything,” “it’s your choice,” and “cook whatever you want to!” were all the answers I got when I asked him for ideas. I mean, it was his birthday so I figured he should have some say in what he wanted to eat. But nope. He was not going for that.

We’d decided that we would do his birthday celebration last Saturday (the 49ers were playing the Giants on Sunday and we both have class on Mondays), but last Friday rolls around and I still have no idea what I’m cooking. We were at happy hour for Frankie’s psych program (like most Fridays) and one of his friends suggested steamed crab. She said it didn’t take very long and it was delicious. I love crab and Frankie was all for it, so I finally knew what to cook!

After some cleaning and homework on Saturday, we went to the store and I picked up all the ingredients for our meal: crab legs, red potatoes, salad stuffs, angel food cake, and strawberries.

steamed crab legs, garlic potatoes, salad, melted butter

And for dessert:

angel food cake, strawberries, and whip cream

It was a success! The crab took like 10 minutes overall and it was delicious Mmmm…we decided  steamed crab is our new fancy food/special occasion food.

We had a great weekend and then we went out for drinks with friend on his birthday (Monday), stayed out too late but had LOTS of fun.

So morale of the story is…apparently I can cook! Ha. Who knew?

“New York” and “The Garden Rules” are probably my favorite songs from Fallen Empires, so it’s only appropriate that Musical Monday be all about “New York.”

If you were here beside me instead of in New York
If the curve of you was curved on me
I’d tell you that I loved you before I ever knew you
Because I loved the simple thought of you

If our hearts are never broken
Then there’s no joy in the mending
There’s so much this hurt can teach us both
There is distance and there is silence
Your words have never left me
They’re the prayer that I say every day

Come on
Come out
Come here
Come here
(repeat 3x)

The long neon nights and the eek of the ocean
And the fire that was starting to spark
I miss it all from the love to the lightning
And the lack of it snaps me in two

If you were here beside me instead of in New York
In the arms you said you’d never leave
I’d tell you that it’s simple and it was only ever thus
There is nowhere else that I belong

Come on
Come out
Come here
Come here
(repeat 3x)

The long neon nights and the eek of the ocean
And the fire that was starting to spark
I miss it all from the love to the lightning
And the lack of it snaps me in two

Just give me a sign there’s an end and a beginning
To the quiet chaos driving me mad
The long neon nights and the want of the ocean
And the fire that is starting to go out

Some days work is so busy there’s barely time to breathe between calls so I like to amuse myself and my cube mates. Besides scouring the internet for every cute picture ever taken, I also like to cheer up my co-workers with these:

(Don’t judge too harshly; MS Paint is junk. But I did what I could with what I had.)

Epic Saga:

Eve and I are…

What our callers make us do:

And because tomorrow is:

What Ruby needs:

Happy Thursday! Hope it makes you smile

This is a beautiful song and quite appropriate for today Enjoy!

Today is post of pictures and videos that get me through the days at Ruby Soho:

So I’ve always loved cute pictures, but working at Ruby increases my need for them. Yes, need. When 80% of the people you talk to in a 4 to 8 hour period are frustrated/angry/condescending/annoying/stupid/ridiculous/crazy/yelling/cursing/abusive/mean and you must remain calm, over-the-top-nice, and Ruby-tastic, it really gets to you. It’s emotionally and mentally draining and kind of makes you hate people. To combat this, I bombard myself and my cubies with pictures of all things cute. They make you smile, laugh, and make the “awww” face. It makes you happy. You smile when you answer the next call. You stare into the face of the smiling seal while the man on the other line screams at you about his life story while he’s on speakerphone with his window rolled down, and you overcome the urge to reach through the phone and strangle him. Cuteness makes the frustration and rage a large number of callers seem to have bearable (most days). And while I’ve always love cute pics, I’ve never loved them as much as I have for the past 2 years.

Beyond cute pictures, I have these lovely ladies surrounding me:

Eve, my swooning sunshine of a cube mate

Eve is beautiful and amazing and never ceases to impress me with her constant positivity. She really is sunshine, even her cloudy, stormy head days, she still shines bright bright bright and I couldn’t be happier to have met her. I’m truly enjoying basking her presence every day and getting to know her lovely self.

Toni, (on the left) my penguin pal cube mate

Toni makes every single morning bright (except the days when she goes home before I even get there. Sad days indeed). She is my venting buddy (we love our special friends!), a lover of penguins and books and Snow Patrol and pretty much anything I like. I couldn’t ask for a better no-wall-cubie–I am constantly amazed with her power to overcome Ruby frustrations and to be a truly wonderful friend to my crazy self. She puts up with my shenanigans and rainy day moods and my barrage of cute pictures I always send her way. It makes me laugh that we have the same reactions to her pregnancy. She always makes me laugh and knows exactly what to do to cheer me up. I am going to miss her so much when Niblette is born in 4 months (eeee 4 months!). She’s also an awesome writer: Imperfect Pregnancy.

Bri (on the right), the ultimate ninja friend

Bri = amazing. Every single day. She takes on a world of work both at Ruby and in school and in her life. And she never gives herself enough credit for how absolutely beautiful and wonderful she is. Many people don’t appreciate the role she plays in their lives or just how good of a friend she is, and that makes me angry. She’s one of those rare people who takes friendship seriously and will be there for you in a heartbeat. She is supreme and I’m so happy to get to know her better. She keeps me sane and she’s also an amazing writer and creative person. Totally the best ninja ever. <3

These ladies inspire me EVERY day. 

I can’t thank them enough for everything they do for me–whether they know it or not. I love them and they make work feel not so bad, even amidst all the craziness that is Ruby Soho. Thank you for being lovely. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

1) Be prepared for new Snow Patrol lyrics pretty much all the time.

2) I HAVE TICKETS TO SEE  SNOW PATROL ON MAY 2ND! And Shannon and Brad are coming to Portland to go to the show with Frankie and I (and possibly my friend/co-worker Toni). Even more exciting!!!

3) I’m already exhausted and I’ve only been back in school for a week.

4) My kitty is entirely too adorable for her own good.

my adorable family

5) Ladies Night with psych girls was so much fun

6) My brain is too tired for anything other than lists. And every time I make a list, I can’t help but think “How Western of me.” All because of my Cultural Psychology class and Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently…and Why by Richard Nisbett. Read it and you’ll understand.

7) I’ve spent the past hour finishing Season 3 of The Big Bang Theory. Perfectly happy with that

8) Even though my grad program is at Portland State University, I have zero attachment to PSU. Seems odd, but it is what it is.

9) I love the weekly happy hours Frankie’s program has on Fridays. It’s always always always fun! And karaoke is hilarious

10) I’ve started scrapbooking.

Also, Snow Patrol just released the video for “In The End” yesterday:

In honor of Snow Patrol’s new album coming out tomorrow, Musical Monday is all about “Called Out In The Dark.” I’m SUPER excited for the new album. AND SUPER SUPER SUPER excited that they will be in Portland on May 2nd. I’ve never seen them in concert and I can’t wait to buy tickets. EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Off to shower after a surprisingly good first day back to classes. Ignoring the fact that I graduate at the end of 2012. Just in time for the world to end

Enjoy SP!

So my first post of 2012 will be about…2011. Ha.

This was the first Thanksgiving that I haven’t spent with my family. It was a little odd, but Frankie’s family made me feel completely at home. We flew out to NY on the 22nd on a super early flight. It was pouring rain when we left Portland and when we arrived in Newark, it was pouring rain.

Frankie’s parents picked us and we got lost looking for a specific diner until the GPS on my phone saved us We were staying with Frankie’s Aunt Cathy and Uncle Jim in the house that Frankie’s dad, aunt, and uncle all grew up in. They live in Yorktown Heights, about an hour north of NYC. Thanksgiving dinner was deeeeeelicious. I had sweet potato casserole for the first time and I’m in love. It was amazing. There was about 20 people altogether and it was nice to be part of a big family again. For most of my life, my dad’s side of the family has got together on Thanksgiving at one of the sibling’s houses. There’s 11 kids in my dad’s family, which means we have  at least 40 people at Thanksgiving. In the last few years, my immediate family has stopped going (we live too far away) and my extended family has stopped getting together.

me and Frankie at the house

frankie and his younger brother, nick

frankie's grandparents

frankie's parents

Also, we had 15 pies for 20 people. 15 pies. FIFTEEN. Delicious 15 pies though.

Then it was Saturday! My first and only day in NYC! That morning, Frankie’s running family all did the Bedford Turkey Trot:

the winner-winner-chicken-dinner guros cousins

The boys showered up and we headed off to the city. We took an hour-long train ride into Grand Central.

my first view of the city: Grand Central and The Chrysler Building

We started walking up 5th Ave…

so many taxis!

the building is all wrapped up for the holidays

dripping....looks cooler in person

Since it was a holiday weekend, we decided to go to The Rockefeller Building instead of The Empire State Building. It was beautiful and NYC is HUGE. Not like I didn’t know that, but it’s just massive and there’s so much to see. I wish that I had had more than one day in the city. I saw a lot but barely got to see anything at the same time.

Me and Frankie in front of THE tree! (in sunglasses and short sleeves in November...crazy)

First view from the Top of the Rock

me, frankie, nick, kristina (nick's gf), tracey (Guros cousin)

After lots and lots of pics from the Top of the Rock, we headed off to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). It was wonderful! We spent almost 2 and 1/2 hours going to all 6 floors of the museum. It was the first art museum I’ve ever been to; don’t think I could ask for a better experience.

the first statue in the Statue Garden

Picasso's goat!

I have about 200 pictures from this trip, so here’s just a few from the inside of MoMA:

one of the walls in the museum. it took me so long to figure out that it says no smoking!

awesome.

World Trade Center model

Monet's Water Lilies....it takes up the WHOLE wall. I had no idea it was this big.

view from the set of stairs across the museum

the chair is up on the wall

Andy Warhol

it's all paintbrushes

Okay enough MoMA! Now Times Square!

it's so bright!

the ball!

inside the m&m store

friends

And we end the night at the same place we started:

night-time back at Grand Central and The Chrysler Building

leaving NYC...

And last but not least…my momentos:

a box of cards from MoMA

for my car!

always get a key key chain from the places i go

i collect mugs

from the m&m store

mmmm...

Happy New Year everyone!

Life has been a somewhat of a whirlwind since my last post. Let’s play catch up:

• I saw The Civil Wars at The Neptune on Nov. 14th. It was glorious. They are amazing in person and the band that opened for them, Milo Greene, was pretty fantastic.

• 

  looks like we're underwater...

• I flew to New York for Thanksgiving with Frankie to meet his extended family. I met his dad’s family and his mom’s family and even went to NYC. But more on that later.
• As soon as we came back from NY, it was the last week of classes for me and Frankie. Most of my projects/assignments/random homework things were due during this week. Life was stressful, busy, and full of LeAnna running around like a crazy person.

• Last Friday came around and I spent the night with Val. She studied her crazy eye stuff and I worked on my last copyediting assignment for hours. It was so good just to spend time with her and catch up on her life. I miss her. We’re so busy with school (her more so than me and I’m pretty freakin’ busy myself) that it’s hard to see each as often as we used to. Granted, we’re also not going to same school anymore. It was just really great to hang out, even if we were studying the most of the night. OH we also got Hawaiian food for dinner Delicious.
• Saturday we got yummy breakfast, saw Happy Feet 2 (CUTE! I’m a sucker for penguins though), and went to Target.

• Then I hung out with Sarah, Az, and Heather. Sarah and Az are moving back to Bend on the 15th and I still had part of their wedding gift to give to them. It was a great night Dinner at Cornerstone and lots of Wii games with Az making us drinks. <3
• This past week was finals week and I just had one final. It was a presentation for the book we edited, designed, and marketed in my YA class. So happy that’s over!
• After our final was over on Tuesday, I hung out with Lo and Heather and watched videos of Christmas lights in sync with songs and videos about bad YouTube grammar before we got coffee. Then it was time for Wings Night (my first in months) and I stayed out too late but it was still lots of fun.
• Wednesday I had a nice coffee date with Bri after work and then Rita had an early Christmas party that night. Definitely out too late again but still completely worth it! It was a “classy” party so everyone got dressed up and it was nice to see everyone all fancy. OH, Rita and her roommate have this wonderfully fluffy kitty named Toby and he acts a little bit like a dog. But he’s adorable and fluffy!

So now I’m done with class until Jan. 9th! I’m co-managing Ooligan’s next book, Blue Thread, that’s coming out in February so I’m still going to have work to do over break. But it’s still a break and that’s really all that matters.