the end of several things

It seems that my entire year culminated in this past week. I presented my capstone project for my int'l dev't certificate (in front of the Gates Foundation people, no less!), I stood by my super lame tri-fold poster that I was forced to make for my education colloquium (that's right, to earn a master of education from the University of Washington you have to present your work in a way that uncannily represents my 8th grade end of the year project). Besides a few classes that I have to sit in and attend, and one small paper to write, I'm pretty much DONE with school. Finished.




Other parts of my life came to an end this week as well. American Idol, for instance. Yes, Reuben and I were faithful followers, even through the never-ending two-hour episodes every week. It was a great season, but had a horrible ending. I'd rather not talk about it.



Not to sound like a Fox network fanatic, but another show that ended (for the season) this past week was Glee. Love. And of course they didn't win nationals, so that guarantees that they will have to come back for another season. They have to win at some point.

The other thing that ended this week was Oprah! Forever. I was thinking this morning about how I used to come home from school in high-school and do my homework while I watched her show. She became part of my daily routine in college. And even in the seasons when I didn't watch her show (which were many), I always had this nagging thought that I had something to do at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Even though she'll live forever in syndication, it just won't be the same.

Month of May

I have to say that, despite the lack of spring around here, we have had a few beautiful days. We spent most of these days outside, of course. Primarily in our backyard, which is actually very a very pleasant and peaceful place to be.
We discovered a bird nest in some of our forget-me-not flower bushes.


Mommy bird wasn't too happy with our discovery.


This apple tree is the sunniest spot of the backyard, so it dries our clothes for us.


We got a new bird-feeder - which apparently is attractive enough for our resident squirrels to climb up the side of the house to try to leap onto it. It has succeeded several times, and ruined our screen door in the process.


We also ate most of our meals outside.




We went on bike rides - but sometimes Reuben biked and I drove to the beach to meet him there :)




I read a really great book


We went to the Farmer's Market.


After these few glorious days of sunshine, it basically went back to winter. Blah, in the high 40's, rainy. Having tasted a bit of the good life, I now can look back and know that we wouldn't have had the beautiful days full of green if it wasn't for the rain. No more complaining for me.