Goodbye, 2017

Whew, that crap of a year is over. Goodbye, 2017!

okay, so it wasn't all bad. Highlights in pictures:

I helped organized the St. Louis Women's March. It was an incredible learning experience, and so amazing to see how many people turned out for this, and for marches across the world. It also pushed me into more direct activism in my community, and for that I am thankful! #ResitTrump #ResistRacism #Resist!

I adopted a new cat! Anya is a beautiful and sweet calico. She has yet to realize she is food secure, so no man's plate is safe while she is on the loose, but she is a sweetheart when she's not hunting.

My first trip to the beach. Me and 4 fabulous friends visited Puerto Rico. A trip of many firsts - first real beach vacation, first time paddle boarding, and first trip the a rain forest. It was wonderful.  Sadly, a few months later the catastrophic Hurricane Maria hit.  Half of Puerto Rico is still without power.

Fun times at the farm with the family. Cooper was in heaven :)

Hiking! This fall was unmatched for it's beautiful colors. It was gorgeous.

puppy play date

Cooper is sometimes uneasy around other dogs (which is usually displayed on walks when he's attached to me; the vet says he's protecting me), but he enjoys other pups off-leash. Unfortunately, he hasn't had much opportunity to play with other dogs, so when he does, he is often that kid on the playground that doesn't know any of the schoolyard rules.  I'm trying to fix this, and since my sis-in-law has a new puppy, it seems this is the perfect time to try socializing Cooper a bit more.  So... puppy play date!

My sis-in-law actually brought 2 pups - Connie (hers) and DeMaris (foster pup) for Cooper's 2nd play date with them.. Although Cooper spent a lot of time ignoring the pups, he did interact with them more than he did during play date #1, and he let them play with his toys. All in all, it was a great morning!

 Cooper supervises DeMaris chewing on the bone

 Connie & Cooper check each other out

running around, chasing each other (happily)

weekend of fun (sentimental blog post warning)

Last weekend I was in Portland for my friend Heather's wedding. It was awesome, not only because I was happy for Heather (or because I was in Portland), but because I got to see many friends I had not seen for 4 or more years. That is too long to go between visits, but what I loved was how seamlessly we fell back into conversations. Although catching up was delightful, what was most wonderful was that it didn't fell like any time had passed since our last seeing each other. Now, of course I miss everyone anew. Not to get all sentimental, but I really am blessed to have found the friends I have through the years. I know that not everyone is this lucky. I can only hope we don't go 4 years in between visits again. Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

my Lulu

I love this picture of Lucy.

the sky's the limit

City Garden, St. Louis, MO

summer evening in the loop

St. Louis, MO

Glacier Love

Glacier NP

end of summer

Near Billings, MT

hidden picture

Missouri Botanical Garden (St. Louis)

take over

Klondike SP

trouble

tybee

Although it seems so, I'm not actually obsessed with light houses.

no trespassing

Outside Congaree NP

lighthouse 2

lighthouse

oops! I didn't post yesterday, so this is for Friday. :)

firewood

This seems a bit cruel...

modesty

Well, hello 26 foot tall statue of Marilyn Monroe in downtown Chicago. Psst...I think your drawers are showing! So, for this photo we are back in Chicago. My sister, mom and I stumbled upon this, and it is hilarious and random, but also a little awesome. I don't know that I would want to look at it everyday if this was my view from my cubical, but as a tourist, it was pretty funny, made all the more so when I went around to the back and saw the detail on her panties.

meep

I thought I'd take a break from Chicago photos. I stumbled upon this little guy in St. Louis. I just imagine him as a little alien or robot peeking his head out to say "meep!"

blue chicago

I took this while on the boat tour. I just love the hues of blue in it, and am happy that my flash didn't white everything out or that the lack of flash didn't blur it all. Again, the boat tour was awesome. I recommend it!

distorted

Alright people, I see a few skylines in our future (or many photos of one skyline to be precise). This one is a bit of a cheat because it's not really another picture, but simply a section of an earlier picture (Chicago Raindrop). I just think it's cool that the buildings are distorted. I can't quite get enough of this sculpture. I wasn't sure what the big deal would be, but when I saw it I knew: it's just immensely cool.