Today I am . . .
- Relaxing at a La Quinta Inn in Walla Walla, Washington. Enjoying that I used Priceline.com to snag a good deal. ($75 instead of $129.)
- Looking forward to our tour and interview at Whitman College.
- Hoping that the admission department will appreciate that my son has done 13 years in a rigorous Japanese program and accept that he doesn’t have a 4.0 G.P.A.
- Proud that I drove the 5+ hours from Portland by myself. (My husband usually takes command on road trips.) It helped that the view of the Columbia Gorge is beyond spectacular!
- Wishing that it wasn’t so beastly hot outside. It would be nice to explore the town a bit more. (It was 105° when we hit town yesterday.)
- Feeling relaxed about money. I’ve been putting money aside for visiting and applying to colleges, so the expenses have a lovely pain-free quality.
- Bummed that my camera is broken. I dropped it on the sideway last week, so it now reads that it has a “lens error.” So our entire mini-vacation will be wholly undocumented. Drat!
- Hoping that the drive back to Portland will be as engaging as the drive here.
Now your turn. What are you doing today?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
Are you going to buy a new camera?? It’s going to be hard to blog without one.
If you need point and shoot recommendations, holler!
I haven’t given up that the camera is fixable yet. Hopefully I won’t need your help. (Crossing fingers!)
Katy
When I fell face first on top of my camera (dSLR that was around my neck) I recovered from the painfull fall but my lens didn’t. I couldn’t be repaired but I was able to purchase a replacement second hand. It was an expensive fall.
I am enjoying a belated Bday package from Nom Nom Fudge….yea, I may gain 10 pounds but I PROMISE you it will be worth every 16 ounces in each pound!!!
Hope you enjoy the mini vacation and good luck to your son for the college interview.
crossing my fingers for you that the financial aid package will be plentiful! yikes college is expensive these days!
$53,000 per year with room and board!
Then again can’t get what you don’t ask for!
Katy
With your son’s background in that intensive Japanese program, has he considered Lewis & Clark? The most amazing overseas study programs around. Unless, of course, he’s dying to get out of Portland!
We’ll probably take a tour of Lewis and Clark, but I would prefer for my son to not go to college here in town. Not enough expanded horizons. 🙂
Katy
Today I am…envious of your scenery! The Columbia Gorge is one of the most amazing scenic drives I have experienced. Can’t wait to get back there sometime, but you can keep the 105 degrees. Here in Texas I am blissed out by July temps in the 80s and a chance to open windows at night. Lovin’ it while it lasts!
I am baking a peach cobbler for 4th of July dinner tomorrow. It would be apple, but peach is more of a summer fruit than apple is.
Missionaries! Missionaries! We’re on . . . ! right, I’ll let you fill that one in.
I hope you enjoy visiting Whitman as much as I enjoyed attending it. And, no, I did not have a 4.0 in high school.
Good luck on the college visit! I think since this is a once in a lifetime trip with your son, I would just buy one of those disposable cameras and take a bunch of pictures…..precious memories need to be captured. Unless, of course, the library there in town has a lending program for cameras.
Today I am….peeling luscious peaches that were a gift from a neighbor, doing laundry and stripping beds to tidy up for the holiday, going to town for a few groceries, to the library for a few reads over the holiday and to the thrift store because it is 50% off today..Yay!
Enjoy your adventure with your son…happy holiday and congratulations to the USA for another year of freedom for all of us!!
Today I am: Working my second job. Looking forward to tomorrow off from both jobs. Wishing I had not cut my hand & gotten 5 stitches because I have cleaning I’d like to do. Planning to iron instead so I have “new” clothes. Planning to watch “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” our 4th of July tradition. Happy 4th, everyone!
I would say that this is one of those times when it is worth buying a disposable camera from somewhere. Memories are priceless!
Today I met a friend for lunch at a grocery store’s cafeteria. We discussed parenting pre-teens and teens, and made notes on our thoughts so we can host a parenting discussion for our group.
Came home and baked a big New York style cheesecake (my husband’s favorite) to take the the family get-together tomorrow. Now I need to slice and macerate the strawberries, using up our big supply.
In agreement – memories are priceless! & With $ put aside for college trips u can’t afford NOT to buy a disposal camera for this occasion! Do u have that $2 cvs coupon? Good for any purchase! Have a great trip!!!
I didn’t even think of a disposable camera. However, I did borrow my son’s iPod to snap a few photos at the Walla Walla Goodwill.
Katy
Good luck with the interview!
TodayI am…
Pleased that I harvested garlic scapes from the garden today
Curious about the bugs I saw at our community garden and hoping to find a way to manage them
Amazed at the events in my city and surrounding communities over the past two weeks (MAJOR flooding and a local state of emergency)
Proud of how our city has responded to the disaster (stellar communication from the mayor, thousands of volunteers helping in every which way, and fast repairs)
Blessed that we were not directly affected by the flood
A little discouraged with some challenging situations at work
Thankful for the many great people in my life
Good luck to your son and enjoy your visit. I heard a comedian one time who said that “La Quinta is Spanish for next to Denny’s”. Wishing and happy and safe 4th of July to everyone!!
Nope, no Denny’s! 😉 We ate only at non-chain restaurants which was easy and delicious!
Katy
Have fun! I recall with great fondness the week my daughter and I spent on a college visit road trip (without my husband to navigate per usual – was so proud we figured it all out by ourselves (which is not to say we did not get totally lost a few times). She just graduated from Swarthmore College on June 2 and it was a grand adventure for all. It is amazing how a kid knows when they have found the right college(s) – or not. I recall my sister saying that there were places that her sons said they did not even want to get put of the car- they knew just from looking that it was not the place for them.
They have a Goodwill in Walla Walla, off main downtown!
I’m cleaning the house for my son’s 1st birthday party tomorrow, decorating (using all decor found on Craigslist or at the thrift store!), baking a cake (from scratch), doing a flight lesson, and visiting our friends for a cookout tonight!
Hope your visit is going great!
Today we went to the park for free 4th of July activities including a water slide and my kids made cupcakes and cookies to sell to the people waiting to see the fireworks display tonight. Unfrugally, I treated the kids to lunch at the park (they split an order of Pad Thai for a whopping $3 total, so I guess that was thrifty after all) but at least I brought my own lunch.
Enjoy Washington! That’s a ridiculous heat though, I agree! I thought it was bad around the Sound where it was 90 this week!
Today I am…
Relaxing after my 5K this morning
Eating burgers with just my husband, since all our friends were busy
Booking excursions for our cruise with saved money…only came out to $322 total, leaving us plenty of spending cash!
Planning on seeking out fireworks in the next city over later tonight…or maybe just watching my neighbors set off their own!
Please tell me that you’ve heard of Mike Birbiglia’s monologue about sleeping. The finale will have you in stitches and it all took place at the La Quinta Inn in Walla Walla, Washington. He’s since written a book and did a movie about the story (both called “Sleep Walk With Me”) . This story was on NPR’s This American Life: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/361/fear-of-sleep
I will definitely listen to that!
Katy
Oh, I hope you enjoyed your time in Walla Walla! I went to Whitman (class of 2001) and really loved it there. It’s also a town with GREAT thrifting. Next time you go, make sure to check out the Country Store out on East Isaacs. It’s a really crazy, giant, fascinating consignment store.