Couldn't care less....

I saw a post a while back on BryanAllain.com called 21 Things I Couldn't Care Less About. 

Here is his list:
1…what the school board voted to do last week.
2…which of my friends have recently changed their Facebook avatar.
3…the new cast of Dancing with the Stars.
4…anything that involves the phrase ‘APR Financing’.
5…the score from last night’s WNBA game.
6…which celebrity wore it best.
7…how loud your motorcycle is.
8…whether you’re on Team Jacob or Team Edward.
9…your proficiency in whatever first-person shooter game is the flavor of the month.
10…what Lady Gaga is or isn’t wearing
11…the correct pronunciation of that word I just mispronounced.
12…the weight loss secret doctors don’t want me to know about.
13…why you won’t watch LOST.
14…who put the bop in the bop she bop she bop.
15…how much you drank last weekend.
16…what they talked about on The View this morning.
17…how much research your stock trading software allows me to do.
18…boxing.
19…which state won Miss USA.
20…the price of tea in China.
21…anything Keith Olberman or Bill O’Reilly has said in the last 100 years

I agree with most of his list, but it got me thinking: What are the things that I couldn't care less about? Here are my additions...

What Lindsay Lohan has done.
Who let the dogs out?

My horoscope.
Any celebrity and their 'love' children...this means you, too Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The size of your carbon footprint.
Your score on any Facebook game.
Who won a Tony Award?

Any of the 'Real Housewives' of any city, anywhere

The latest research study that says coffee is bad. I am going to drink it anyway.

The latest research study that says coffee is good. I am going to drink it anyway.

Royal weddings.

Google+

Al Gore.

What else should be on this list?

Sometimes a weekend...

Sometimes a weekend is just a weekend. I had grand plans for this weekend that would have been followed by a fabulous blog post about the amazing Oregon-like things I did with my weekend. Instead, this was one of those veg-around-the-house-wearing-your-pajamas-nearly-all-day kinda weekends.

I went to a Corvallis Knights game on Friday night with some friends. It was a great time. Saturday morning I rolled out of bed and drove across town to weigh-in at a Weight-watchers meeting. I weighed in, but didn't stay for the actual meeting. I ate a breakfast bar and back to bed I went - for 5 more hours. I got up long enough to run to the grocery store and find something for lunch/dinner. After eating, it was some DVR on the couch and an early bedtime.

Sunday was a virtual repeat. My grand plans went out the window. I did make it to my dinner & documentary group (we had dessert instead of dinner and it was a movie instead of a documentary - but who's counting?) but I was in bed less than 20 minutes after the movie ended.

I guess my body needed sleep more than it needed an entertaining Oregon weekend. Maybe next weekend.

Currently Craving: fabulous Columbia, MO food (I am making a list of places I want to visit in a few weeks)
Currently Reading: Cutting for Stone as my entertainment book and Jesus Calling as my daily devotional (Thanks Betsy!)
Currently Planning: to check some more things off my Summer Bucket List

My anniversary

Today is my anniversary: I have been with Oregon State one year.

That is almost hard for me to believe. Last summer was a gut-wrenching mix of graduating, getting a job, leaving friends, moving cross-country, starting a new job, and beginning the process of settling in.

This year is vastly different. I have renewed my lease for another year. I have created a workout and diet routine that are working for me and I am down 22 pounds from this time last year. I have found a church I enjoy. I have made friends (although there is much progress to make in this area). I have research irons in the fire. I have developed working relationships with colleagues I enjoy.

Perhaps most importantly: I have learned the rhythm of Oregon State. It makes a huge difference when you have been in a place long enough to be able to anticipate what comes next and make informed judgments about how you should spend your time. That will make all the difference as I go through the next year.

I feel pretty settled -- perhaps as settled as I know how to be. What a difference a year makes!

Currently anticipating: My upcoming trip to Columbia, Mo
Currently watching: Season 9 of Project Runway
Currently thankful: My father's latest ER trip was apparently not heart related

Wordless Wednesday 7-27-11

If you aren't following postsecret.com, you should be. This was the most touching secret from this Sunday.

One Year Ago on "On The Wrong Coast"

This time last year, life was moving warp speed.
I started a blog.
I spent some time at home between getting a job and moving to Oregon.
I bought a car.
Roadtripped across the country... stopping in Missouri, Nebraska, Wyoming and Utah.
I moved into a new apartment and bought new furniture.
And, started work at a new job. So far, this July has been hectic, but thankfully nothing like the summer of 2010.

"These are a few of my favorite things..."

I have a number of bloggers that I follow. I thought I would share my favorite items they have posted or introduced me to lately....

Definitely love this idea behind this site: Dear Photograph (saw it on Tyler Stanton's blog)

I really enjoyed this post on Getting Unstuck from Michael Hyatt

I think I am addicted to PostSecret... and I look at it every Sunday morning (most of the time I can see it on Saturday night since I am on the 'Wrong Coast').

I know I cannot be the first one to tell you about this site, but I LOVE the Pioneer Woman... pretty much the whole site is amazing, but when I get busy, I still read the Confessions blog posts on a regular basis.

And I was asked recently how I find time to go to all of these individual sites on a daily basis... the quick answer is: I don't. I use Google Reader. You don't have to use that site, but you should be using something. From their own page, Google Reader is described as "Your personalized inbox for the entire web" And, most of the time I read right off of my iGoogle page so I don't go past my homepage unless I want to comment on  a post.

Back from the road

I am back from the road. I spent a glorious week and a half in North Carolina with family.

Edited 7/19 I should also mention that I got to see Dave, Tracy, Liz, Grover, Gabriel, Kira, Josiah, Jamie, Jim, Jeff and Joy. (Sorry for the oversight, Liz! I just consider y'all family.)

I got to see my brother's girls. Emily is old enough now that she understand what it means when I leave.

I got to eat Bojangles (3 times), but still managed to lose 2 lbs while on vacation.

I went to Myrtle Beach and played in the pool with my sister, her kids and my parents.

I got to see my friends Leigh and Sherilee (one who has recently become a mom and the other who will become a mom in about a month). Love these ladies.

I left NC and went to Denver for 4 days for the Association of Leadership Educators Conference.

I ate breakfast at a diner that had been on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives"... yumm-O.

I got to tour Invesco Field at Mile High.

We stayed at The Curtis hotel. (I couldn't take enough pictures since my nephew's name is Curtis. He will also be getting some hotel pens.) It was kitschy and fun and I recommend it to anyone traveling through Denver.

NC, I will see you for Christmas. Denver, I don't know when, but we shall meet again.

Currently Feeling: a travel hangover
Currently Anticipating: The last Harry Potter movie coming out at midnight (with the current jet lag state, I may wait until this weekend to see it.)
Currently Thankful: for the cool, settled weather in Oregon. Today's high: 72

Summer Conference in the Hood

Hood River, that is. Oregon Ag Teachers Summer Conference was held in Hood River, Oregon in June (I know I am a little behind but I have been on vacation so cut me some slack ;-)

It was gorgeous. Enjoy some photos of scenic Mt. Hood and the Hood River Valley.

On the way home, I took Scenic 30 and drove to the top of Crown Point to look out of the Vista House and take in the Columbia River gorge. This checks another item off my summer bucket list. There is a picture of the Vista House, and then a view east and a view west. It was definitely a great drive (just east of Portland) and I will do it again... hopefully when the parents come to visit.

And Yes, I am a Yellow Dog. Thanks for asking!

My Summer Bucket List

My Summer Bucket List. You know, these are things I want to do before summer kicks the bucket. For me, that is the end of September - when classes begin. I will check them off as I do them.  Some of these are already on the calendar or tickets are booked....others are tentatively penciled in...others are hopeful side trips for open weekends. I am always looking for company so if there is something here that is also on your summer list, let's find a way to do it together. Here's my list. (I put pictures/links with some of the Oregon ones that won't mean anything to my non-Oregon peeps.)

• Read at least 20 books Check summer reading list for updates
• Go to a concert (at least twice) saw Civil Wars June 21; saw band on pier July 5th
• Go to the Dahlia festival
• Hike Mary's Peak done September 7

• Attend ALE Conference (and make my first trip to Denver) done July 10-13
• Drive the entire Oregon Coast (from Astoria to Brookings) drove Lincoln City to Brookings

• Go on the family beach trip done June 29-July 9
• Finish my pillow project
• Saturday Market in Portland (http://www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com/)
• Sit by the pool for a week (and not think about work) July 3-July 9
• Spend a weekend in either Seattle or San Francisco
• Go to the top Crown Point and look out of the Vista House done June 25

• Visit my friends in Columbia, Missouri done mid-August
• Have supper at The Cowboy Dinner Tree (http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2010/06/cowboy_dinner_tree_theres_a_lo.html) 
• Spend some time at Wallowa Lake

• Shop Portland's Pearl District (http://www.explorethepearl.com/about-the-pearl)
• Go to Portland's Japanese Garden (http://japanesegarden.com/)

What should be on this list that is not?

Recently....AKA "The Good Life"

Life is good. The term has ended. Grades are done. A lot of the students are gone for the summer and Corvallis is half the town it was a week ago. No traffic. No lines at restaurants. I can go to the bathroom without worrying that it might be class change.

Some have asked what I do in the summer when the kiddos are gone. I am working on research and writing papers and revising the student teaching manual for fall. We are going on a departmental retreat in a few weeks and then I can begin working on fall courses (once I know what they are).

All of those side projects are getting some time in the forefront. I think the best part is that I feel productive all day and I am able to turn off the work when I go home at night. After the spring term I just went through, the pace of summer is a much-welcome change.

It also begins summer travel season. I will head to Hood River for OVATA summer conference, then home for the family beach trip. I go straight from there to Denver for the Association of Leadership Educators annual conference and back to Oregon just in time for some State FFA Officer training. Even with all of that, the pace is different when you are traveling and NOT missing classes. I am looking forward to all of it.

After I gave my final exam last week, I went to the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show with Betsy. It is held over in Union, OR - a mere 6 hour drive one way. All of these photos are Betsy's. She is amazingly talented. Enjoy.