That's What She Said...

My blogging inspiration/favorite blogger of all time is Jenny Lawson aka The Bloggess. If you haven't read her blog before, go now. Really, I'll wait. In the mean time I'll look at this picture of puppies.

                                                 It's so cute! Neither of us can look away!

Ok, you're back! How funny was that?! See what I mean? So, when I heard that The Bloggess herself was giving a reading and signing books at Powell's, I knew I had to go. This is what happened...

Score! I'm, like, the third person here! This is going to be AWESOME!!!! Hmmm, I'm kinda hungry. I've got time. Maybe I'll run out.... Crap! Where did all these people come from? Wait, is that the line?! There's a line now?! Curse you stomach! You totally screwed us. Ok, line's not too bad. See, always wear comfortable shoes. Always. What if you have to run from danger? What if you have to wait in line? What if there's a danger line?! Yay! Moving now... Sweet, scored a good seat. Do I make conversation, or just read my book? The eternal question. How social do I want to be? This girl seems nice. Wait, she's talking to the girl beside her. What, I'm not good enough to make meaningless conversation with?! What the hell IS YOUR PROBLEM? Maybe I put off some kind of anti-social vibe. Nah.... Shit, I have to pee. Why didn't I pee? ALWAYS PEE. Why do I always do this? My tombstone is going to read, "I should have peed." It's like my mantra or something. Ok, I have time. I'm leaving my book on the chair so it's clear I'm sitting there. Just going to pee people, not an available seat. Sending out waves of don't even fucking think about stealing my seat or you will see some shit go down I'm so not even kidding don't even try it i will cut you so fast... Whew, made it. OMG it's The Bloggess!!!! She's here! That's really her! AHHHHH!!!!....Wow, she's so awesome in person. Totally nice and welcoming. So funny! I can't wait to hear her read... I can't believe I'm going to get to meet The Bloggess and she's going to sign my book! Wait, why does that lady get to go to the front of the line? Just cuz' she has a baby?! I knew there was a reason people had those... Crap, what am I going to say to her? Something witty and memorable. Something that will make her say, "You're so funny! Let's go have a drink and be BFFs forever!" At least it won't be, "I should have peed." Though that would have been funny. Ahh! It's my turn next... And this is what I said: 

Me: Hi! I'm Sara and it's so great to meet you!

The Bloggess: Hi! Thanks for coming out.

Me: You're my blogging inspiration. You're why I started blogging!

The Bloggess: Oh, that's so sweet! Thank you.

(small awkward silence)

Me: I'm from Texas too! Amarillo. I once stepped on the same rattlesnake twice in a row.

The Bloggess:(laughing) We are clearly soul sisters!

At that point I think I died a little. SOUL SISTERS she said. Soul. Sisters.

I thanked her again and left. My time in her presence was over. Should I have stayed longer? Would it have lead to drinks and promises of BFF forever-ness? Probably not. (But Jenny, if you're reading this, let's hang out! I'm super fun and full on quirky stories and non-sequiters!)

Thanks to The Bloggess for inspiring this fellow crazy girl to put it all out there...

I Heart Portland...

I've lived in this city for seven and a half years now and I'm still in love. I haven't expressed my Portland love lately, what with the lack of oh, I don't know, SUMMER. Nevertheless, with the epic visit from the BFF from OKC on the horizon I feel the need to re-visit why I moved here in the first place.

The story of how we moved to Portland is one fraught with danger, madness and true love. Also, possibly alcohol. All I knew is that we had to get the hell out of Texas. Sorry Austin, you're great and all, but I'm not living in the middle of a sauna. So we had to choose. Go east to NYC or Boston? Too expensive. Go west to San Francisco? Also too expensive. Middle America was a big HELL NO. Florida was out as being, well, Florida. So that pretty much just left the Pacific Northwest. We picked Portland because it seemed a little quirkier than Seattle. Really, it was process of elimination. And I say we chose...wisely.

Things I Love About Portland:

1. The food. It's not for nothing that Portland is a food city to rival NYC. The sheer amount of crazy rockstar chefs and foodies in this town is mind-blowing.
Some examples:
Bunk
Le Pigeon
Beast
Pok Pok
Toro Bravo
Russell St. BBQ
Not to mention the foodcartapalooza that has taken over the city...

Fried pie at 2am? Yes please!

2. Mountains to the east, ocean to the west. Can't decide if you're a mountain man or a water baby? Pick both. How about at the same time! The Oregon coast has a wildness to it that you don't get in the Gulf. Also, less sewage and jellyfish. So bonus all around. It's harsher, more rugged and a hell of a lot colder. (That would be my only complaint. A day at the beach should not include three sweaters.) On the other side you've got Mt. Hood and all the hiking, camping and roughing it you can stand. In the summer anyway...

I can't see my house from here...

3. Things like this...

Just another day downtown...

The sweetest thing ever.

Another reason to love PDX!

Yay Portland! 

Now stop fucking RAINING!!!!