Verbatim

From TIME Magazine (August 4th, 2008 edition):

"Wall Street got drunk."

George W. Bush, describing the nation's troubled economy at a GOP fund raiser after requesting that all cameras be turned off.

Thank you, Mr. President. For doing your part to devastate the American economy these past eight years. Thank you that millions of working American families now CAN'T afford to drive to work AND put food on the table. Thank you that millions of jobs have been lost, homes have been taken away and the money that our grandparents counted on for security after a lifetime of hard work is being poured into a thoughtless, endless and costly re-creation of a wild west showdown.

Thank you for your deeply moving and sympathetic explanation for our national crisis. This is the sort of political poetry that is sure to grant hope and comfort to the masses.....

The masses who will turn out in record numbers in November to vote for a junior senator from Illinois because he brought water to a dry America with just one word.....

Change.

Read This

Right now I'm finishing this book. And it's SO GOOD. Really some of the best writing I have read in a very long time. I love just getting lost in a GREAT book. The kind of book you pick up to read and hours and many pages later you wonder where the heck the time went. The kind of book where you don't just take words from a page but you feel you're a real witness to a great scene and then SNAP! Your bus gets to your stop and you've forgotten you have a real life and a job to get to. Unfortunately. :)

Not to get all political...

... but here is another reason to admire the Obamas: They give their daughters $1/week for allowance! (according to People Mag)

And um. The McCains claim over $225,000 in personal credit card debt (Baltimore Sun).

I guess fiscal responsibility looks a little different for everyone. ;)

Hill Women

This past weekend, I spent some wonderful, quality time with Hill women.

We're scattered from Bend, OR to Bellingham, WA... I miss these women every day, but when we get together, it's like no time has passed. Miles are between us as we live daily lives, but there is nothing distant about the bond between us.... I know, I know. Hold the phone, Hallmark. But it's totally true and it's a beautiful reality I'll reflect on and instantly feel consumed with thankfulness and joy. You can't buy love like this. Such profoundly loyal sisterhood, motherhood can't be forced and will never fade. We know each other, we love each other, we have the same hair, the same walk, the same talk, and we never forget how special it is to be Hill women.

We shopped, we laughed, we drank, we talked, we cried, we ATE, we walked together, we shopped some more.

It was just such a precious (and FUN!) time.

Say What You Will...

... about John Mayer and his "illustrious" personal life. And say what you will about covering classic songs.


But he has released a PHEnomenal cover of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'", which he performed live for his "Live From Los Angeles" album. Yes, that's a capital P-H-E.

It's an accoustically personal, deeply soulful and just, simply beautiful version of the song. You should just buy the whole album for it (plenty of other greats on there as well) or get it on i-Tunes. It's the best 99 cents (or buck seven, but who's really counting) I've spent in a long time. Please release all perfectly valid judgments of said performer and check it out. And let me know what you think!! I was pleasantly surprised, but I am um.... a um.... fan of... John Mayer to begin with. His music. Not his love life. Once, in college, I was at a bar where Mayer was performing. After the show, I snatched up the empty water bottle Mayer had used during the concert as a souvenir. The guy who was cleaning up, gave me a funny look (rightly so) and said, "You know, his syphilis is all over that thing." Gross. But whatever. A great musician with another great song.

Currently in Chicago, enjoying last nite in my favorite non-Seattle city (for now, anyway). A fantastic time, more juice on that later. I'll tell you this much... Juli and I got into a bit of trouble with a bouncer, we had high tea at the American Girls flagship store (yes we are two grown girls of 26), and I love flaming cheese... OPA!!! (Shoutout Greektown)

Much love!

God Bless America Tour 2008

I hope you all (all= the four of you who MIGHT read this. Hi Mom.) had a fabulous Fourth of July weekend!

Let's talk about God Bless America Tour 2008, also affectionately referred to as "GBAT 08", for those of you who are crazy for acronyms (like me).

The weekend was SO GREAT. First of all, I turned 26. The perfect age. No need to rehash that, but it has been a real joy to be blessed by and celebrate with the wonderful friends and family I am fortunate to be surrounded by. Thank you for your nice cards, gifts, wishes and sweet treats.

GBAT 08 started with a 9 am meeting of seven silly girls in West Seattle on the morning of the 4th of July. Makeup free and in grubby clothes, we packed coolers, packed cars, made a quick stop at Safeway for ice, beer and batteries and hit the road. A little more than 4 hours later, after one pit stop, one "check engine" light incident, and more than a couple "what the..?" drives through teeny tiny Eastern Washington towns, we arrived at our destination: Maryhill State Park, located on the Washington side of the Columbia River, 12 miles from Goldendale, WA. Maryhill is a beautiful green oasis in the middle of a very dry and expansive desert of brown nothing. It is difficult to fully capture natural beauty, even digitally, but I tried, so here is a glimpse:



Our campsite (#55!) was big and grassy and had lots of trees. We set up camp, which consisted of 3 tents, 5 coolers, 8 camp chairs, and bags and bags and bags and bags of food.

We spent three full days relaxing, eating, drinking, giggling, reading, laying in the sun, telling stories, sittin round the campfire, playin bocce, throwing frisbees, swimming and just enjoying some life.

Highlights include (but are definitely not restricted to):

Fourth of July "fireworks" in Goldendale, WA. We had heard there would be fireworks there, so we drove into this little All-American town, asked for directions from a 13 year old girl with koolaid hair, found the park where the big show was to go down, and waited. And waited. And waited some more. We watched random people shoot off random fireworks at random times. And then we realized. That WAS the big show. Needless to say, we were confused.

Shortly thereafter, we got the heck out. People were shooting each other with roman candles and we did not want to get caught in the crossfire.

Squatters!! The second day of the trip, we noticed that someone had staked a tent at the campsite next to us. The park ranger/volunteer told us that whoever belonged to that tent had NOT checked in when they had arrived. Squatters!! Oh, it gets better. THEN a group of 4 people in their mid-20s showed up at that same site. Two guys, two girls and their dumb yappy chihuahua named Isabel. I wanted to kick that dumb dog into the fire. Anyway, that group of 4 insisted that they had reserved the site as well and were determined to stay. They were pretty pissed about the whole thing. In fact, the group set up their two tents, one on each side of the "squatter" tent. We knew that all of this meant one thing- SHOWDOWN! We were excited for what the evening might bring.

That evening, the group of 4 left for a concert and would not be back until late. The "squatters" were still nowhere to be seen! Later that night, it's dark. We girls were just sitting around the campfire, makin smores and just waiting for the big showdown. With every passing car, we would get excited thinking the squatters had finally arrived and then the car would pass. No squatters. We were in the middle of sharing our most embarrassing moments, when we heard motorcycles roar into the campground, and we JUST KNEW. The squatters had arrived.

Smores, stories, all was forgotten. As the motorcycles roared into the neighboring campsite, we seven girls were struck. It was like a scene from a movie. We were riveted. With eyes wide and mouths open, we watched the two motorcyclists park and turn off their engines. They exclaimed, "Where's our stuff?! What's going on!?" They were confused and angry. So Sarah and Natanya kindly went over and explained to them what had happened. The woman was loud and upset, and waved a receipt in their faces saying they had a confirmed reservation which they had booked weeks before. They sort of thanked Sarah and Nay. We went back to our chairs and slowly resumed smores and chatter, resolute to stay awake until the other group returned.

We did not have to wait too long. Soon, the now drunken group of four arrived! They were very loud and obnoxious. Again, we fell silent. What would happen next? Would there be a brawl? Would the small dog accidentally/hopefully be smashed in the process? Would we have to intervene? We braced ourselves. One of the drunken girls yelled something and interrogated the motorcycle couple. Motorcycle lady said something back. Voices were raised. There was confusion. Lots of explaining, lots of excuses. We listened as their heated conversation continued. THEN!

Then they all made friends! They apologized to each other. They all decided to stay. They even started a campfire together. It was okay, but we were a little disappointed. The End.

We ate. We ate GOOD. Incidentally, there were 7 girls on the trip and 7 meals needed to be prepared. So we each were responsible for a meal. Tasty meals included feta and garlic stuffed chicken burgers, marinated teriyaki chicken, quesadillas, pancakes and mimosas, delicious wraps, sandwiches, homemade pasta salad. And there was plenty of tasty beer and hard cider to wash it all down with!

In the end, it was one of the best camping trips I have ever been on! It all really went off without a hitch. No broken down cars, no nasty allergic reactions, no drama, no one got lost, no one got sick, no one went hungry. It was just seven slightly sunburnt friends having a lovely, fun time in the GREAT outdoors. We are already planning our next trip.... August or September, this time in western WA. Stay tuned!

Storms, Sonics and SICK

HAPPY Fourth of July weekend! I hope you all (whoever reads this blog anyway) have a fantastic weekend! If you think of it, light up a sparkler for me! ;) Tonite I am packing, packing, packing for a 3 day camping trip to Eastern Washington!! I can't wait. I went to the store last nite to stock up on vacay food, and somehow spent $70 on fixins for just one meal, bottled water and some snacks. Food is so expensive these days! I remember when my mom could easily buy groceries for our family of four for a week, spending $100 or less. Those days are long gone! Anyway. Camping! Friends! Fun!

Who doesn't love a good thunderstorm with some lightning thown in?? Here in the good ole PNW we rarely have any kind of exciting weather, unless you count that ridiculous snowstorm we had last April. Here, it is gray and rainy, then the sun peeks thru for a couple of months, then we go back to gray and rainy. But THUNDER! LIGHTNING! Love it.

The Supersonics are leaving Seattle. It's sad. To be honest, I don't really understand why they are moving. I know that a lot of people are glad they are leaving and others are deeply saddened and very angry. I know they have not had the best record and not a lot of people go to games. But at the end of the day, it's a loss.

Rush Limbaugh just signed a $400 million deal to stay on the radio for eight more years. Ridiculous does not begin to describe this news. It is just sick. I am a firm believer in our freedoms of speech and of press. I do not personally agree with Rush Limbaugh or anything that he stands for socially and/or politically..... but he does have every right to put his opinions out there. I DO find it disgusting and nauseating that ANYONE be paid ANYTHING near this figure to clog the airwaves with selfish rants and raves simply designed to shock and offend the masses. It is disheartening to live in a country and to be a part of a culture which would offer up this kind of greedy reward for classlessness. I cannot help but think that $400 million could go a long way to feed the 800 million people who are starving worldwide. $400 million could do a LOT of GOOD in this world. And I just can't find anything inherently GOOD about Rush Limbaugh.

Whew. That's all I have for now. :)