amy rocks, okay?

So, par the recommendation of Zach when he was helping me find a job this summer, I got hooked on Outside Magazine. Its incredible. Most known for the Best of 2009 or Gift Guide, it still boasts a lot of other really interesting articles. I have yet to look at the lists to tell ya the truth. When I started reading this expose last night I knew I was getting into dangerous territory, but I couldn't help myself... gave in to temptation.... and regret it, I do not. Dudes, ever feel like you want to do something ELSE? Do something bigger? And are always scheming and dreaming of a life that isn't 9-5, earn a pay check? Most often when I get that way and start to poke about all I can find are "non-profits" with a generic website and someone who hosts a couple of events and talks about what they do online and for what charity they donate. Honestly, after about twenty of those people I get completely repulsed and walk away. I mean, that doesn't take EFFORT. That doesn...

sometimes i start to feel really thin. then, I stop getting on facebook for like a week and I feel all better again. :) i've been doing a shit job at taking pictures. its that same thin feeling except apparently this one lasts more than a week. yikes. christmas spirit has been lacking this year. not really excited about much. {maybe something to do with a recent break up of what I thought was going to be a really fun relationship and it just went down the crapper ? One of the hardest things to do is breakin up with someone without one specific REASON, just that, you know its for the better. You know that you're being worked over and as much as you want to stay in it and remember what it used to be like because you know how much fun it could be and you WANT it to be, but its not anymore. And quite frankly the other voice in the relationship doesn't give you one sliver of a feeling that they want the same thing too. Why did he do that?! How come you lead me to believe....? ...

love, love, love, love, love. this is a beautiful family. definitely an inspiration, not literally down to the point where I'm going to move to Australia and start loving animals, BUT, just in such following ones interests and having the passion for it. And that its okay! The enthusiasm for it. The honesty in their pursuits for the greater good without regard for financing, money, or material items. These kids are adorable and not because of their cute brown zoo suits and Australian accents, but because of their energy and enthusiasm for sharing what they love so much. Its contagious! I find myself re-thinking things and realizing that those things I've been excited about, are GOOD THINGS! And that is not to be determined by others, but by one's own decision. Follow that, follow that voice! I'm sure many of you are like "duh", but this is huge for me. I mean I come from a family that could give a crap about sports and athletics and find no real benefit to be g...

as stated on the REI Expert Advice website.... "ask your sales associate for assistance in choosing the right pair." Thanks, REI. Thanks a lot. Quality, no, MONEY advice right there. Yes, because I have a sales associate sitting in my bedroom in podunk Oregon; how silly of me not to think about asking him instead of getting online and sifting through blogs and jibber! Let me just drop what I'm doing while he and his stunning white smile hidden amongst five o'clock shadow takes his handsome manly hands and gently fits my foot into the perfect UK boot as he explains to me the pro's and con's of 3 pin bindings vs. NNN, or better yet SNS. Would I like to join you tomorrow to check out a new trail you found in the Eagle Caps? Sure. Actually, I heard Denali boasts some beautiful terrain... How about we hop on the float plane and go check that out next week? Can we bring a tent? You'd like to do so some back country camping too? Shoot, I am going to ha...

a new tattoo my friend Tyler Knott recently got. I absolutely love it. This makes me want to put into action my idea of having a plain wall in my room that I can paint quotes and things that come to mind I want to remember. THIS would definitely be a big one splashed across the whole thing.

been looking at these a lot lately....

coming home from town tonight I found myself coming up on the truck in front of me pretty fast so shoot, we'll just buzz right around him.... right? HA! There are SIX cars in front of this guy! NOW, imagine yourself on a good five mile straight stretch out through farm fields in the late evening... Six cars is no feat for the red rocket! So zoom zoom right on by because dammit, welcome to Miami where the players play. Drop the car into third and watch the RPM's rise! Its this very thought process that had me reminiscing...and formulation the list that attests to the nickname I've managed to carry with me all my life... Back in High School my boyfriend and I would take our cars out and race. Over and over. And over again. So fun. "I won!" "No, I WON!" "Fine, lets do it one more time, and THEN we'll know." On the way home from practice (and especially if I was driving my dad's elcamino) my girlfriends, specifically Liz and Emili, would ra...

I just spent last week in Montana and am back home only to be jetting off again to Washington tomorrow! I wake up this morning and Mum has got the kitchen FULL of things ready that she wants to get baking when she gets home. The wheels have been turning since she got me the book "Hello, Cupcake!" . Now, I know I'm busy and have other things I should be working on sooooooooo, I could go for something like thisss.... OR, we can get serious, do it RIGHT, go big or go home, and whip out a dozen of..... THESE! Call it what you want, but I am excited to spend a good portion of time working on making some super fun cupcakes. I think I'm going to break it up a bit by making some leaves and maybe some acorns... Wish me Luck! :) oh my gosh, I almost forgot, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU!!!!

few days at home, feels great to be here, and only because there is much to be done, and its all OUTSIDE :) what do you want to be when you grow up? I'm asking myself, and here are some answers. Written down purely so someday, like six years from now, I can look, maybe laugh, or maybe check a few off.... 1. Own an ice cream shop in Helena Montana. 2. Open a gym in LaGrande Oregon. Its doable, and its in the works. - Strike that :) 3. Be a High School English Teacher. 4. Be a superintendent. Or principal. 5. Be a college professor. 6. Live in New Zealand. 7. Go to Africa and teach teach teach and play play play. 8. Do that every two years. 9. Build my own home. Or at least do it with my hubby :) 10. Design. Landscape. 11. Run a construction company with my dad. 12. Own a glacier/hunting/fishing/outdoor excursion business with my bro. He flies the choppers, I do the walking and talking. 13. Do freelance photography. Or at least contribute/submit to something. 14. Do a photo shoot for...

So this was kind of fun. I couldn't help myself, and not being able to resist, and giving in... is one of the best feelings ever. It was a budding desire and I gave in with no reservations. Feeling more lost and out of touch with the little giddy me that's so long been absent, I passed by a Historical Site sign along I-90 outside of Wallace, Idaho and while many of you wouldn't have a second thought for the brown road sign, it screamed to me "HERE I AM! AMY, COME AND ENJOY US." I know that's not grammatically correct, but really, that's kind of how it goes. I was alone in my car, with an agenda I was free to dictate. Damn straight I got off that freeway. It was a chance to explore, to wander, to enjoy, to learn, and to relish in. It was a road to which I knew no destination, a tiny sign displaying only an arrow and camera, and you couldn't have excited me more. WHAT IS UP HERE.......?! CHECK IT OUT! The rest can wait! This is where we are! This is wh...

a la san diego I wouldn't mind having this on my back porch someday.... of a vacation home of course :) I'd miss the mountains and trees far too much otherwise. But for now, totally a sweet place to sit and sip a beer for ten minutes before we were whisked off again!

“ But really, what is normal? This trip has opened my eyes to so many amazing, unbelievable and breathtaking things that I will never be the same. I don’t know when I will fill these pages with ink again, and I do not know where I will be when I do so, but I can not wait for it whenever and wherever it may be. This life is a beautiful one, and a much smarter man than I once said, “When we have seen Reality, there is not a grain of dust which has not a sublime meaning.” Until then… ” .... IF blogger allowed me, or if I could figure out how, to reblog, this is one I would have done in an instant. Please excuse me for the copy/paste combo and give all credit to Tyler Knott Gregson. While the preceding words hit home I can't say that I wrote them - how very glad I am that HE did. I don't know guys, you never think that it works out this way and I've spent everyday since March 13 TRYING, desperately TRYING, to get a grasp on what IS. My perception of...

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DANG IT. I really don't mind hunting, as a matter of fact Zach asked if I'd ever want to go with him and I was thrilled! I had secretly been hoping he would ask me sometime... I've always wanted to give it a try. Walking about in the woods does sound like a lot of fun and the time of year is always so pretty. Well, my excitement to join the fun just came to a screeching halt. Last night was a bit of restless night, but upon looking outside, you won't hear my complaining. We live near the mountains - dealing with bears and cougars is a weekly and sometimes daily occurrence, but that also means we don't have to pick up the apples or plums from the trees because the animals eat them all. Couple of weeks ago I stood in the kitchen and watched a doe eat the apples ten yards from our back door while her twin fawns poked and teased her, more interested in playing than eating. Spots still on um people, talk about cute :) Anyway, last night, the elk were BUSY! Sooooooo much ...

So, I found an island, Admiralty Island, actually I shouldn't say I found it, its already BEEN found, but at any rate, I was checking out the map today and found a couple MORE Admiralty Islands, including the one we went fishin on in Alaska this summer, all over the world! Its fun the things a person can find on a map! Some people read books in the car, I read a map. I stare at it, study it, memorize it. I love maps! This one hangs in our living room - no wonder I like to explore new places huh!? I've got exhibit 'a', showcasing slash teasing me every minute I'm at home just flaunting the world in front of my eyes saying "aren't I preeeeeeetty? Don't you want to know what thiiiiiiiiiiiis looks like? :) Its not a fascination with travel, its a yearning for EXPLORING! Truly - it matters not where I find myself! But I always want to know... Whats down that street? Whats through that door? Who is that person? Why are they eating that? Where did they get...

OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH ... I'm BACK!!!! I'm so sorry I cheated on you! That I bailed, that I left, that I went for that deceivingly greener grass! Forgiveness? I know you're not the Lord and even if you did have children how very selfish of me to ask you sacrifice them because I tried something new and now feel obviously horrible about it... BUT, perhaps you can find it in your hearts to check here from now on? Ridiculously frustrating on my account. I apologize. I'm sorry. I don't have much time here today, applying for this job has just got me all confused and pent up in ways I never knew possible, but I have to say that it feels better than ever to be typing in this text box and putting my plain black text on a plain white background. Its simple, and its free of expectation because it is, what it is. I love it. I absolutely LOVE it. You know what else I love? Ice Cream. So does Jennifer :) and lots of other people, but I know she really likes it. Da...

Blogger, compliments of Google, I express my gratitude for your services and would like to extend my appreciation for all that you do, for others and for myself, but it is at this time, I must bid you adieu. Its not as though I've found a younger, much sexier crowd, but I will say that I have been swayed by a certain someone to venture forth into another realm of blogging and I dear say, after a few of his *MAGIC* touches, I think this move is something that's better for the both of us. Thank you Tyler. THANK YOU. I would still be up to my teeth in HTML.... Ladies and gentleman, without further ado, (is that the correct spelling?) who knows(!), I present to you..... AMY ROCKS. OKAY? Come one, come all! Please stick with me! :) Its a new beginning! Well, not exactly, just a change, but none the less FOLLOW FOLLOW FOLLOW! I will miss you horribly, lets not even go there. All of you seem to be doing so well by the way :) keep it UP. I love reading what goes on in those minds of...

"Sometimes you've just got to run like hell and get the agony over with"

GONZAGA CREED As members of the Gonzaga Community: We embrace Jesuit traditions of service, spirituality, social justice, and leadership. We demonstrate honesty and integrity through respect for ourselves, others and our community. We celebrate all people and cultures in pursuit of the greater good. I choose to be a member of the Gonzaga Community. I am a Zag, I am a Bulldog; together, WE ARE GONZAGA.

Call a girl out - I'm a SLACKER! and how niiiiiiice. This, coming from the 24 year old female living with a HS friend and her handsome hubby who hasn't been in one place for more than two months in over a year and who is always quick to title another the depressive, degrading, and demeaning adjective... let me have it Alex. I'm a slacker. Sure as shootin, my beliefs on my friendships has been confirmed - they are my everything. As soon as I feel like I'm losin sight, or drowning in my own millions of thoughts of critisicm, one of them unexpectedly pops into my life in one way, the first just as wonderful as the next - a text, a blog entry, a phone call, or a lengthy lovely email, there they are breathing life back into my soul. Shout out, blog dedication(?) to Ming. And Josh. Tyler. Denny. Kayleah. V. Scott. Anna. Emily.... I'm losing sight. Lets stick with Ming. Let the story begin with Ming... Struggling, and I mean STRUGGLING, to write the past couple of weeks,...

YOU KNOW DIS! YOU KNOW DIS FACE, YOU KNOW DIS MOVE, and you cant DE-NIE! Okay, help me out dudes, my fellow blogatharians, what, WHAT is the little quotation graphic - " - supposed to do for assisting in our formatting capabilities? (and how do you quote a quotation mark? Mrs. Wilson, where are you when I need you....) I mean really though, I thought, awesome! Some kind of nifty feature that highlights a text that we found at an earlier point in time that proved some interest to us and we wanted to share via le blog. FAIL. Total fail. It simply indents what already IS plain text and fails to identity it in any other way. Excuse me please, google blogger programmers, I know you guys get paid bank, and I KNOW you have a creative coding that you so easily enter into your C++ Java to make YOUR quotations look cool, but what about those of us that lack those nerdly skills, and the oh so precious time to acquire them? And, please don't refe...

*some fun snaps of beautiful produce shoppin with Gram and Melinda* :)

roald. dahl. Thank you. Have you ever ca ught a glimpse of the spine of a book quietly, discreetly, yet purposefully peeking from amongst the millions on the shelf, like a slight poke from the quiet child in the group, the sight of an elderly couple holding hands, witnessing the innocence of a new born baby calf and its freedom of life as it chases your car tail high flapping back and forth as the five year mothers look on chewing their cud. Okay, a little bit much on the last one. But its those things that make us STOP.REMEMBER.THINK .or rather on the contrary, to stop thinking. Today as I helped what I thought to be an out of control rambunctious group o f third graders, discover the joy, and sense of self accomplishment in using good old Encyclopedias as they overcame the downfall of not having enough computers for everyone to use on finding information about their current research projects. Watching them reach for books in the dusty reference corner, and flip through the pages, eye...

in all this white. we be black. booyah.

To the patron sitting on the other side of the bookshelf from me, GO GET YOURSELF A DRINK OF WATER WOMAN! How many times do you have to clear your throat, give a cough, and make that wheezing sound before EUREAKA!, there’s the drinking fountain! Yes, there you go! Keep walking, you are headed in the right direction. Here’s a thought for you – underwear in your purse. Shoot, underwear in any carrying tote that you happen to be sporting that day. Why is it, how is it, that we’ve all been there? Laugh out loud ladies, but if not yet; at some point in your life, you’re going to have underwear in your purse. I pray you’ll have underwear in your purse! If you haven’t yet, you haven’t lived. Don't judge. For those I now pray for, having underwear in your purse is like the date you brought to the dinner party when you didn’t really want to. Sure, from the outside it all looks fine, but if they only knew. The “underwear” is inescapable. You try going making dashing off to the bathroom, ...

MMMMMMM mmmmmm! Don't you just wanna believe! Believe in something so special, to live in it, to trust it. To ignore the distractions, the constant critical comments opposing what it is you yearn to explore. Torn but not in pain. Invisibly confused. Sadly distracted? Freakishly perfect in time, place, and person. Leaving me terrified and hopeful in what it is to come. Brimming admiration of fellow queen-like strengths. Independent yet connected, continual incessant love. Hesitantly toying with... Realistic fantasy? Needless to say my return from New Zealand has left me pretty confused. Coincidentally it also left me with, A: a sweet sweet hand bag, B: a series of bruises and horribly knotted muscles, C: a half eaten pack of Tim Tams (BEST chocolate biscuits - ladies, I really did mean them to go to you), and last but not least, a taste for adventure I doubt will ever be satisfied! A good thing? A bad thing? We're working on that. God bless Hugh's neighbors, shame on me for ...