Words with Phwends

So I finally traded in my poor, ancient, broken, pink Blackberry for a new sleek Droid 2 last week. It was a sad day, partially because my phone can no longer be pink, and also because I have lost the actual and physical keyboard on my phone- which always allowed me to text seemlessly and with ease. I even got to the point where I could text and not mis-spell anything when I WASN'T EVEN LOOKING at the screen! ::sigh:: Now, of course- I am faced with auto-correct every milisecond that I try to text and word assumptions that make no sense. Because I abbreviate lots of words and have my own words, I now have to look at the screen and very carefully tap, tap, tap away to make sure all is correct and perfect in my texting world. SO ANNOYING. And also- because my little BB was so broken and old, she couldn't even manage to transfer my 300+ contact list into my new phone (I think this was her punishing me), so what did I spend my Friday night doing? Yep, I got takeout sushi from my fave sushi place and sat on the couch watching some hideous "They Almost Got Away With It" murder story (because I refuse to pay for even the most basic of cable because I spend more time at N's house than at my own), while simultaneously entering EVERY, FRICKEN contact into my new phone. And then linking those contacts with Facebook. UGH. When N came over, he went to bed before I did because I was still tapping a bazillion people into my phone. And my little pink BB was just glaring at me the whole time because I was replacing her. Obviously I am going to outfit my new phone in some fun pink, rhinestone getup (when it becomes available, because whaddayaknow- there IS no case for my phone at the moment)- and so even though I think of my phone as a boy . . . it will be a gay phone. Or gender-confused, like my cat Missy (see story here: Why Missy is Gender-Confused).

Anyway, now that I am on the up and up with new touch technology, I have downloaded all these fancy apps that I already love . . . which brings me to 'Words With Friends.' Immediately upon download I began games with my mom, brother, and favorite ginger. As the game progressed with my LITTLE brother who HATES English class and LOATHES writing papers . . . I observed that he was killing me on the points scale with ridiculous "words" that he managed to attach to already existing words, therefore scoring himself extra points. Since when did the following become words in the English dictionary: "Jo", "Uh", "Ta", "Fa", "Za", "Bi"?!?!?! Like seriously?! SO ANNOYING! Guess what the final score ended up being . . . Me: 208 and J: 406.

NOT FAIR. 'Words with Friends' should only use actual WORDS thereby making the game more challenging and better educating the human population. I know I'm being a sore loser English language narcissist- but seriously, if you wanna play with a real English major (ok I minored in it, but whatever), play a game with me- elise.christine12

Breaking It In

How's this for opposites . . .

I just broke in my REI credit card, which I have had for a solid 3 months but have refrained from using because I reeeeeally need to pay off my Nordstrom credit card (2 years and counting. yikes!) and my other credit card. And the only reason I even GOT the REI credit card was because my daddy said there was a good dividend on it . . . Or i get money back when I buy things . . . Or something in which there is a reward of some kind??? I can't really remember. Anyway, I have a BA-ZILLION weddings coming up so I am in desperate need of a new dress. So what did I do? I broke in my REI credit card by purchasing the following Max and Cleo dress from Nordstrom:

Am I ridic or what?! In my defense, I used a $50 giftcard that I had from Nordstrom to purchase the dress . . . so really it was less expensive than normal. Now the damn thing just needs to get here before the wedding next weekend. Please be swift postal service!

Quarter-Beaner Holiday!

You guys- I look like a walking mini-mariachi doll! In honor of my heritage, I just had to wear bright, bright colors and show my pride for de Mexicans! But of course, I look like a complete fool because it is inevitably RAINING (!!!) even though yesterday was super gorg. I think Seattle hates Cinco de Mayo . . . and Mexicans. But I am defying the weather by sporting a knee-length, frilly-skirted red and floral patterned dress with a lime green sweater and metallic bow flats- SO HARRUMPH! Ok so obvi ju want de story about me and de Mexicans and de quarter-beaner heritage . . . so I tell ju. De Ama (Mama Bigley's mom) is total Hispanic woman (beauuuutiful olive skin, v. petite (before de babies), and curly brunette hair (that she hates)), so Mama Bigley is half de Mexican and sooo me, Bum, and J are all quarter Mexican! Hence de quarter-beaner reference. Ole! De End.

No one ever believes that I'm hispanic beause I got more of my dad's Irish genes, however if you look at Bum- there is no question. She is like a mini-Ama back in the day. NOT FAIR. Bum was actually the one who came up with the term "quarter beaner" because she had a friend in high school who was also a quarter Hispanic. On Club Fair day in high school the two of them tried to start their own club, obviously called 'The Quarter-Beaner Club.' It didn't make it too far- apparently there aren't many of us out there, but it was a fun experiment and the name stuck. Despite the fact that I have the Mexican jumping genes (haha- clever) my mouth is super-sensitive to spicy food. I tryyyy to eat spicy stuff but my mouth lights on fire and then my taste buds are incapable of tasting anything during the following 15 minutes or so. N always finds this funny because he says, "How do you not like spicy food?! YOU'RE MEXICAN!" or he'll say, "Why are you so white?! YOU'RE MEXICAN!" (it's his fault that I've turned to cancer-inducing tanning beds). However sometimes it's a good thing because he'll say, "You roll burritos so well because YOU'RE MEXICAN" or "You make really good guacamole because YOU'RE MEXICAN." So at least I've got that going for me.

In addition to the little beans that flow through my bloodstream, you should know that my mother's entire side of the family embraces our Mexican heritage, for instance- whenever they are all together they talk in full-blown Spanglish, pass the "talking wand" (which can be anything from a stick of driftwood to a plastic spoon), and make up chants that nobody would understand. Sometimes they're sober but more than often they aren't. As children, we were mortified of this pratice, however as we've gotten older- we see the hilarity in the situation but try to keep our distance in the most Spanglish of times. Here is a picture of my crazy Mexican family (plus a few friends and minus 7 relatives who reside in Ohio):

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

-stay thirsty my friends-  



P.S. Please enjoy the photo below of my friends and I celebrating my Hispanic heritage back in 6th grade. We were the Chiquita Banana women- my Ama handmade the entire costume and her friend choreographed our dance for our grade school's Heritage Day . . . 

At least I'm not wearing THIS today! Bah!

Feathers, Friends, and Fabulous Wine!

On Saturday, M and I drove out to Yakima (aka: The Palm Springs of Washington) to have a wine-tasting tour with B and K. We woke up at 7:30 a.m. to start our drive at 8:30 since a towncar was to pick us up at noon for our wine-tasting extravaganza! Unfortunately, the night before, M and I had been out late at the Little Red Hen (super hick country bar that has a live band & is a total blast) for G’s birthday, so waking up that morning was rough, but we made it with the help of McDonald's egg mcmuffins (always an M and E saving grace!). We arrived with plenty of time to hydrate and get ready. B and K packed a delicious picnic lunch that we enjoyed at the second winery we visited. Yakima was sporting beautiful weather with constant sun and puffy white clouds. At our last winery, we found these adorable wine accessories! They are like headbands for your wine glasses and we each got one- check 'em out:

Individuals wine accessories from left to right: Me, M, B, and K

SO CUTE, RIGHT?! Anyway, that night we went to a local dive bar to watch B's brother's band play and danced the night away. Around 12:30 a.m. M and I kept falling asleep at the bar because we were so exhausted from the past 24 hours! We had to wake up early AGAIN (8:30 a.m.) on Sunday because poor M had to catch a work flight to South Dakota at 3 p.m. I was so hungover and felt so gross! But it turned out well because it was a beautiful and I mean, truly beautiful day in Seattle! 66 degrees, no wind, and straight sunshine! So I chugged that water, determined to go play outside and feel good about it! N and I watched the Mariners lose on TV, made some breakfast burritos (I got fancy shmancy and made them with canadian bacon, tomatoes, and goat cheese), then threw on our boatshoes and shorts and headed out to Alki Beach with a frisbee! We ate ice cream (N got a double scoop with bubblegum and mint chocolate chip ice cream- which I find totally adorable. The ice cream man even said, "that's awesome" when I placed the order) and basked in the sun. I hit a few people on the beach with the frisbee, but that was ok ;) It was glorious. And of course yesterday (Monday) it was totally windy and there was slanted rain everywhere and my poor Minnie Skinny crop pants from J. Crew got soaked to my skin and my buckle flats had little lakes forming in them as a result of my walk to work. ICK. So when I got in my office, I grabbed a coffee and shut my door so that people would think I was working- but really I was just reminiscing about Sunday Funday with N and the fact that I hope the upcoming Seattle summer will be filled with tons of days like that one! 

Bibbity Boppity Boo!

Last Wednesday, N and I were sadly torn away from the beloved palm trees and scrumptious sun that consumes my home state of beautious California. It was total bliss being home and always makes me say, "WHYYYY did I move to Seattle?!" when I leave it. But then N always responds with, "because then you wouldn't have met me," and I can't help but smile and think of how wonderous Seattle is in the summertime (and how fantastic my boyfriend is). At least I have the luxury of returning home whenever I want. Needless to say, N and I had THE BEST time on our little vacay and though the first 4 days home were fun-filled and hectic, the last 3 that we spent in Palm Desert were slow and relaxing.

Unfortunately, I was unable to sport my adorable little hot hot pink shorts at Disneyland because there were looming clouds over Pasadena when we awoke. And I couldn't really wear my Toms either because I was nervous about getting blisters since I wore them all day at work the day before. Hence, my sister and I went boho chic instead. See photo below- we are in front of the Matterhorn and guess what? My sis (aka: bum) and I both discovered that ever since we were little we have ALWAYS closed our eyes during that ride because we HATE, HATE, HATE the abominable snowman with the scary red eyes and horrific scream. Seriously- he gives me the creeps, so anytime we were inside the mountain, I just shut my eyes because you never know when he appears and the ride goes too fast for you to anticipate it. Except Bum accidentally SAW him this time! And she was so bummed that she didn't shut her eyes so we bought her a churro and then went on the Teacups where N spun as around so fast that we could do nothing but laugh our heads off.

Bum: sunglasses- Ray Ban, shirt- Free People, jeans- Hollister, sandals- Rainbow, purse- B. Makowsky

Me: sunglasses- Ray Ban, shirt- Free People, jeans- 7 for All Mankind, sandals- Dolce Vita, purse- Junior Drake , bracelet- Alexis Bittar

However, as we headed south toward Anaheim, the clouds opened up and God shone sun upon us ALL day at the Happiest Place on Earth . . . and why shouldn't He? You can't really have happy without sun NO sun at Disneyland. Anyway, N loved it and we went on all the rides and even got to cut all the lines because Mama Bigley has been a cripple lately due to her recent knee surgery so my Dad got to push her around in a wheelchair all day. Mama Bigley took one for the team! Here are N and I in front of my future home the amazingly pink Sleeping Beauty Castle:

Magical, no? I wish I was back there right now ::sigh:: Anyway, I did try to wear my "Disneyland outfit" when N and I went golfing in Palm Desert but I was scolded by the woman who worked at the Clubhouse because she said they were "too short" and that she would "get calls from the other country club members" because of it. Well poo on you lady! So I had to trudge alllll the way back to N's house (which was fine because their home is located within the country club itself) and change into a to-the-knee white skirt, that didn't really go with my Toms, but it was the only "appropriate" thing I had. And then N and I played 9 holes and he hit a few houses (even though he is actually really good, but just hasn't played in a while so he's rusty) and I hit my ball into the water a few times, and then spent about 10 tries getting it into each hole. Thankfully we had beer, so that made the experience a bit more enjoyable. But I really am not that good at golf- it's hard. N and I decided that we are going to do this type of trip every year. We will fly to my house in Pasadena and stay there for Easter festivities, then rent a car and drive to his place in Palm Desert for a few days- it works out swimmingly!