520 Toll Bridge

So, I haven't made a new post in approximately a million years.  This post will make up for it with information, entertainment (at my expense), and a photo.  You're welcome!

I got a new job in Bellevue, and I anticipated the commute would be horrible.  However!  People do it every day, and I knew the opportunity would compensate for this fact.

What I did not know was that the commute doesn't have to be that bad!  Ever since 520 became a Toll Bridge, taking it or not has been the subject of a lot of conversations.  A lot of painfully uninformed conversations.  I've been saying for months I will never take 520, because I am not paying money to cross a bridge.  Like ever.  My GPS is constantly telling me to get on 520, and I have spitefully disregarded her instructions.  And I know I'm not the only one with this particular misunderstanding, because I have never been corrected.  Never ever.  

But guess what?  520 is a Toll Bridge, not a Toll Highway!  You can get on 520, and exit before the bridge from either direction, and it is for free!!!  I had no idea.  Lucky for me, many of my coworkers live up here, and are vastly more knowledgeable about almost everything.  And, lucky for me, our IT guy is infinitely patient.  When I am instructed to take a certain route, something in my brain makes me do it wrong.  Especially if that route involves not turning or exiting.  I am compelled to turn and/or exit, and probably both.  I literally can not just drive straight.  I have no idea why.  So, our IT guy checked in with me more than weekly to see how the commute was going.  All I had to do was get on 520, and not get off.  But I kept exiting in Redmond!  And then would get stuck in Redmond for half an hour, undoing all the time savings from skipping 405.  But he never gave up, and one month later when I finally followed directions, and I got from Bellevue to Monroe in rush hour, in a downpour that was more like a monsoon, in 40 minutes, my life changed.  Literally life changing.

So, above is my commute when I was taking 522 to 405, and it could take an hour and a half.  Now, my big complaint is I'm not stopped long enough to blow up my friend's phones texting while not driving.  Not too shabby.  Next, I'm going to figure out how to tell my phone to text by talking, and get back to annoying the heck out of my friends.

#summerforever

Pretty sunrise.

Hang glider.

Hot air balloons.

Hang glider.

Sunset.

Sunrise.

Sweet pea.

Sunflowers.

Lady bug.

Three weeks later, and I'm posting again.  I've been busy!  My sunflowers are bada$$.  I took these pics today.  And that little lady bug snuggled in to the last pic is about the cutest thing ever.  Ever.  As in #summerforever

Dealbreakers

This week's infotainment, featuring TMBG!  Let's say I recently dated a guy, and the subject of "dealbreakers" came up (this actually happened, but it's a very long story, and not material to this post, so I'm treating it hypothetically).  And, let's say, off the top of my head, I replied that I guess if he was a racist, that would be a dealbreaker.  And, let's say, he of course replied that he is absolutely not a racist.  But his friends make (racist) jokes, and that doesn't mean they're racist, and its NBD.  Fast forward, and I have had TMBG's song Your Racist Friend stuck in my head for weeks!  Which leads me to today's post, chock full of links and videos!  I love TMBG, and love this song, and am thrilled to share all my "research" on the internets with all my invisible internet friends!

The sound on this video is atrocious, but worth watching!

This cover by schoolchildren is adorable!

This is a shocking and beautiful spoken word piece in regards to the song and the subject.

So, I haven't had a new post in a couple weeks, because I was busy Having An Experience, and like any non-professional blogger, I don't just have posts ready-to-go.  If you're keeping score, I'm putting this post firmly in the Unusual category.  Not because racism is unusual (that would be awesome!), but because it's pretty unusual that I would be so busy dating someone, I wouldn't even have time for the internets!  LOL.

Country Living

This balloon landed at the across-the-street neighbor's at sunset

Ooooh!  Cool!

Trying to take a picture of this bird is a little like Where's Waldo?

Bambi!

Don't worry about Bambi -- his sibling and momma were there the whole time

Look at this cutie!

This butterfly was so obsessed with our mint, he didn't mind I took a million pictures

He moves fast!

I made myself whittle it down to my top ten  of the butterfly

Bleach Dye

So, I have this shirt, and it got sprayed with toothpaste.  Don't ask me how.  You know.  And, as it turns out, whitening toothpaste will bleach things.  Go figure.  So, I have this shirt with microscopic bleach spots, and this is the kind of problem that will make me never wear the shirt again.  I know it's almost invisible, and no one will notice, but I will know, and have to get rid of the shirt.  It's the kind of flaw that makes you give something to the thrift store, and the person who buys it at the thrift store is thinking, now why would someone give away this really cute shirt?  Enter Bleach Dye.  I have tie-dyed with bleach before, but it's been awhile, so I googled some instructions, and then loosely followed them.  Behold, my craft:

Microscopic bleach spots

Otherwise cute t-shirt

Fold in thirds, accordion fold, make straight with a ruler, rubber band

More rubber bands for good measure

Steps not pictured!  Put bleach and water in a bucket.  The directions want you to use 4 cups of bleach, but I am not wasting that much bleach on a craft.  So I used less bleach and less water, and had to dye the shirt one half at a time, like easter eggs that you have to flip.  Dip t-shirt in bucket.  You're only supposed to do this for a few seconds, because bleach can destroy fabric.  But, since it's me, and I didn't see anything "happening", I did it for thirty seconds.  No harm, no foul.  Rinse with water until it doesn't smell bleachy, or until you're bored of rinsing.  Wear gloves!  Also, maybe wear goggles.  I may have sprayed bleach in my eyes (how have I not maimed myself?  I don't know!).

Hang up to dry

It's dry!  The front

And the back

It would have been so funny, if I did all this, and the spot that had been spotted with bleach, wasn't one of the spots that got bleach-dyed, and you could still see it.  Fortunately, and by no design of my own, that didn't happen.  The universe smiled on me for this craft.

Also, I may have bleach dyed some underwear while I was at it, but I didn't take pics of that!  I want to keep the universe on my side...

I Love a Parade

You should know, when I go to a parade, I'm singing this song in my head.

Monroe Fair Days Parade 2012.  The first few pics were with my fancy camera, all the rest with my phone.  Not too shabby!  Tractors, trucks, princesses, dancing horses...  Oh, and pirates!  All my favorite things.  I do love a parade!