Oregon, Photography, Thoughts and Lessons Learned

Just Living – Golden Hour on the Farm

“I am tired.”

If you’ve spoken to me at all in the last two months, my bet is that this was said early on in the conversation. Usually I try to stay away from default answers like “I’m tired” or “I’m busy” when I’m catching up with someone, because the reality is we are all busy and tired, and we all measure those differently. Personally, I think we are all capable of being better conversationalists.

But the truth is in this case, when I finally made it home to Oregon for my vacation at home with my family, this was all I could muster up when my Grampy asked how my work meeting in Seattle, (that I had just traveled from) went.

My body was tired, my brain was tired and I’d even say my soul was tired.

Both professionally and personally, this season of life over of the past six months or so has really pushed me. Its tested me and even broke me a couple of times. And that’s all OK. These seasons come and go, and I think it’s important to keep that in mind. I believe that sometimes you just have to put your head down and work, and do what you have to do to get by.

That first evening when I got home I immediately jumped on my laptop to knock out a few things related to the meeting I had just traveled from. But the sun was starting to set and the scene I could see through my parent’s big kitchen window could not be ignored.

So I grabbed my camera and headed out to sit in the yard with our old family dog Jack and just paused for a bit.

It’s amazing how little things like that can refocus things for you.

It’s a beautiful world sometimes I don’t see so clear
Some days you just breath in
Just try to break even
Sometimes your heart’s poundin’ out of your chest
Sometimes it’s just beatin’
Some days you just forget
What all you’ve been given
Some days you just get back
And some days you’re just alive
Some days you’re livin’
Some days you’re livin’

Family, Love Letters

Love Letter: Ellie

To our beautiful “lead-butt”, attention craving, fetch loving sweetheart and the best dog-cousin a girl could have.

Ellie girl, I would argue with anyone that you were the sweetest, most gentle and loyal dog that I ever met and am likely to ever meet.

You were a true “family” dog because for so much of your life it was hard to say exactly whose dog you actually were. And that’s OK. You had more than enough love in you to share with everyone.

Thanks for the cuddles and making us laugh because of your need to be impossibly close to someone at all times. I am glad that you aren’t suffering anymore, but your boy Jack and the rest of us are going to miss you a whole lot.


Ellie on the left and Jack on the right.

So There's That Series

So There’s That Vol. 18

{Sort of like  a “Friday Five”  or a “Life Lately” except it’s probably not Friday, and I gave up on the idea of a catchy alliteration. These are some bits and pieces of my glam #postgradlife. See past posts HERE}

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This post should really be titled “What has been going on in Amanda’s life for the last two months to keep her from blogging even once?” But obviously that would have been a bit long and obnoxious.

Well as you will see below, I’ve been pretty busy! Every week day has been full at work and my weekends even more full. I’ve actually been slowly adding to this post for a few weeks now, and final found a moment to send it off.

I also returned last week from a quick work trip to GUAM! So as soon as I can get to the pictures on my nice camera I will be blogging about that (hopefully this week)!

Anyway, back to not-so-regularly scheduled programming…

1. NEEDTOBREATHE and Mat Kearney

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I crossed two old favorites off my list of live concerts to see with my friends Sarah and Elissa. I have been a fan of Mat Kearney since he debuted about 10 years ago when I was in high school. And NEEDTOBREATHE I discovered early in college. The Monday night concert was out at Wolf Trap Park and was a great venue!

The fact that Mat is originally from Oregon and includes it in a lot of his songs definitely makes me an even bigger fan.

I LOVE when artists cover other classic songs and artists, and blend it in with their own songs.

I was a bit disappointed that we did not get a full rendition of my favorite NEEDTOBREATHE song but the acoustic snippet was still great.

2. Labor Day Weekend

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After some back and forth of who was going to visit who where… Nicole made the trek up from Raleigh for a weekend in DC. I am sure I have said this before on the blog, but Nicole is a fellow kid from Eastern Oregon who studied Ag Communications at K-State, and now lives on the East Coast. Yeah, we have a lot in common…

Our weekend was filled with attending the K-State watch party, wandering through Eastern Market and Capitol Hill Bookstore, a few museums and typical DC sightseeing. I’m pretty sure she would agree that the highlight was going to the Newseum! I will never understand why I waited so long to go! There were many moments where Nicole and I both had to pause to collect ourselves, we were really nerding out.

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If you are in DC or a visiting book nerd, a stop at Capitol Hill Bookstore is a must for your list. This video does not do it justice.

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This story probably deserved its own blog post, but I think too much time has passed for that so I’m sharing it here.

So to get into my condo building you need a separate key from the one I use on my apartment (it is a really old building.) Because I was wearing jeans that evening I decided to not carry a purse or clutch, and just put everything in my pockets, except for my keys which I gave to Nicole to put in her clutch. Except I was trying to be efficient and just gave her my apartment key instead of my whole key ring…

Fast forward to us getting home at 3 a.m., a bit tipsy and realizing that we were locked out of the building, and to top it off the buzzer that is supposed to allow me to open the door remotely from my cell phone was not working. Right about when I am thinking that I am going to have to get us a hotel room, this guy walks up and listens to me go on and on about how I promise I live here and am not some crazy person trying to break in. He lets us in and then I continue to badger him to let me know which apartment number he is in so that I can bring him a bottle of wine. He tried turning me down (and not tell the drunk crazy girl where he lived) but if you know me you know I am persistent.

I did indeed make good on my promise to leave him some wine outside his door (and promptly left very quickly) and just so happened to have this wine on hand with the perfect name.

3. Costco

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My family have been Costco members through our business since I was little and it was about time that I got my own card, you know, to spend all of that extra money that I have…

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4. Virginia Tech Game

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In September, I visited Blacksburg again to spend the weekend with one of my favorite Kansans, Chelsea, who is going to grad school there. I am a sucker for a college gameday and tailgate no matter who is playing… even if they do have some strange traditions.

5. West Virginia vs. K-State Road Trip

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Speaking of college football… I started out October the right way by road tripping with my fellow DC K-State alum to our game versus West Virginia. The end of the game was a tad bit embarrassing but it was a great day overall, and for the most part the WVU were very welcoming. Now if I could only get that John Denver song out of my head…

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Also, I just love how small the world is! Katie was a part of our group because she was visiting her BF who is at Georgetown Law and also happens to be the sister-in-law to one of my best friends from college, Blaine.

6. Eric Stonestreet K-State Video

And speaking of K-State Football…

So cheesy and so, so wonderful.
And the fact that it is narrated by everyone’s favorite K-State alum makes it 10 times better.
Just do not make me admit how many times I’ve watched it.

7. Gilmore Girls Revival

Have I mentioned lately HOW EXCITED I AM!?!

8. Chasing Bubbles

Looking for a bit of motivation or a break from binge watching on Netflix? I HIGHLY recommend checking out this documentary, “Chasing Bubbles.” It is about really seeing life as a journey and a story about how one guy sailed around the world to discover that. Of course its about a lot more than that, but you should just really watch it to find out.

For me it was also interesting because the younger brother of the guy the film is about is one of my friends through my AFA leadership network. I honestly do not know Joe all that well, but it was interesting to learn about the family he comes from and a bit of what makes him who he is. Overall, this documentary really touched me and it is a story that deserves to be shared.

9. My Puppies

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I miss these two all the time, and certainly could not pass up giving them some love on Instagram on #NationalDogDay

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10. My Dad and His “Kitty-Kitty”

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Over the past two months my parents have been in the process of moving houses, and while living with my grandparents for a few weeks the pets had to stay at various other places.  My Dad has a rather strange affection for one of the cats and so this SnapChat from my sister is just too funny NOT to document.

11.Coffee Things

Coffee has been the real MVP lately.

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12. Forever Country

The Country Music Association is turning 50 this year and recently released this medley of songs with a long list of country music all-stars.

I have yet to watch it without tearing up.

13. National Taco Day

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My sister posted this collage on #NationalTacoDay.
We may or may not have a taco obsession in our family.

14. Out and About

A few snippets (and Snapchats) of life lately.

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The scaffolding is FINALLY all removed, and the Capitol sure does look gorgeous!

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On the Key Bridge overlooking the Potomac River

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I recommend “Bilbo Baggins” restaurant. It’s quirky and cute.

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Excited for this K-State friend to be in DC for the next full year!

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Volunteering at a community garden with my church.

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Got dinner and did some site seeing with my cousin Dave who was in town for work.

15. My Life in Memes

Memes that are speaking to me right now… both thought provoking and just plain funny.

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Substitute a Dirty Chai Latte for the PSL and this is all me.

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Pretty sure my parents thought this on the daily for the first 10 years of my life.

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16. Update on My Favorite Kiddos

Because this has become the best part of my “So There’s That” posts.

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Wesley Ray – somewhere between 6 and 7 months old.

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Robin Michele – somewhere between 5 and 6 months old.
I just LOVE the picture above of Robin with her Mama.

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So, There’s That.

Cheers!

So There's That Series

So There’s That Vol. 16

{Sort of like  a “Friday Five”  or a “Life Lately” except it’s probably not Friday, and I gave up on the idea of a catchy alliteration. These are some bits and pieces of my glam #postgradlife. See past posts HERE}

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1. Baltimore Weekend

Wrapping up a bit of catching up I needed to do here on the blog — one of my college friends, Kyle, had informed me and our mutual friend Katie, who lives in Baltimore, that he was going to be starting a family East Coast vacation early by coming to visit us. This was the DAY AFTER my 3 weeks of crazy traveling, working, moving/mom visiting…aka I was exhausted.

But despite that, it ended up being a great weekend and it was great to see one of my best friends from college who I hadn’t seen in a year. Katie took us to a Maryland Wine Festival outside of Baltimore and then we headed to an Orioles game, where I tried VERY hard not to fall asleep. #sorrynotsorry

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2. Life

I posted this on social media right before I began this really busy couple of months. It pretty accurately describes my view on how I try to live, or in the case of the “weird” part, how my life ends up going. It’s fair to say I’m accomplishing all of this lately 🙂

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3. Gorgeous Timelapse of Washington DC

If you click on anything in the blog post, please click on this. This city is just so beautiful.

4. Columbia Basin Student Homebuilder Program

My little hometown and high school in Eastern Oregon got quite the shoutout the other day over on the Hill by Senator Wyden.

Growing up as an ag teacher’s kid I saw so many examples of the incredible value and true impact career and technical education programs have on individuals and the community as a whole. Without that focus on intra-curricular career development, I don’t think I would have pursued the dreams and goals I had, or be doing what I do now.

I always felt so supported by my community and so many wonderful teachers. Happy to see this new HHS program get this attention, and proud to say “that’s my hometown!”

5. A Letter to My Younger Self

http://allisonfallon.com/letter-to-my-younger-self/

I don’t reshare articles on Facebook too often, but this I had too. I read A LOT, and this is one of the better reads of its kind that I’ve seen make the rounds. Really, especially if you are a 20-something, check it out. This quote below from the article has been speaking to me in leaps and bounds lately.

Do what you

6. Titus

I was sad to hear that my Uncle Joe and Aunt Susan’s big ol’ pup Titus passed away. He was such a sweet dog and I loved having him around during our trips up to the family cabin.

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Titus.

7. Harry Potter Hater

So glad I have friends that are watching out for me…

(click here read about Grant’s HP hatred)

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8. Star Wars

The original Stars Wars trilogy is returning to theaters this summer.

And one of those theaters in here in Washington D.C.
#THISISNOTADRILL
Since I can’t convince my uncle who raised me on these to make a special trip out here for them I need to find like-minded friends immediately…. stay tuned.

9. Wheat Harvest

I could seriously look at wheat harvest photos all day… good thing I kind of get paid to do that anyway. Check out is gorgeous photo story by Elliot Ross in the Washington Post and follow #wheatharvest16 on social media for updates and pictures from this year’s ongoing harvest.

Photo by my friend Greg Peterson (@gregpeterson33) near Assaria, KS.
Photo by my friend Greg Peterson (@gregpeterson33) near Assaria, KS.

10. Random Picture Roundup

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Not a fan of cats, but kittens make any day better. Also, yes that is Olaf chilliin out underneath my work desk…

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Our girl Ellie, my family’s dog back home, had a health scare, but with some new meds and lots of love she is going to be fine! She is seriously the sweetest dog you’ll ever meet.

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If you haven’t figured it out by now, my am in love with the rooftop deck at my new apartment building.

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Wesley Ray – 3 ish months
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Robin Michele – 2 ish months

My two favorite babies, Wesley and Robin in clothes that their Aunt Mandy got them. #babystyle #ohmyovaries

So, There’s That.

Cheers!