It's a purple pants kind of workout

Colors are fantastic. Especially the super bright ones :) I have always loved to wear lots of color when I dress. Colors express my personality to best...fun, silly, quirky, loud:) From back in the day when I sported my neon outfits to being known as the pastel queen in the teacher's room in Thailand to wearing bright purple and pink outfits to jazzercise, I like flair :) I never went through a gothic phase in school for the simple fact that I like colors far too much. To each their own of course, but for me, colors-the brighter the better are a part of how I choose to express myself.

Over the last few months I've been working hard to get back into a physical shape that is more...me. It's not that I was super over weight, but I was feeling a bit self-conscious. I'm happier than I can remember being (minus the work situation) and when I'm happy, I celebrate and live life, which includes yummy foods and beers from time to time. I have also found in the past that I tend to be my most fit when I am unhappy in other aspects of my life. Not exactly a trade off I want.
More important than being fit, however, I have been searching to find a workout that I actually enjoy and want to keep doing regularly for as long as I'm able. I no longer have dance in my life the way it used to be and I wanted so desperately to find another way to feel good about me, inside and out. Dance was so much more than a way to keep in shape, although it was definitely that! Dance was a way for me to connect with myself and stay focused on what really mattered. Jazzercise is quickly becoming my new dance workout :) Now that I have committed to a workout that I LOVE doing, I am feeling happy, healthy and on my way to being fit once more. With my new 'fit' confidence as I like to call it, I have also been more excited to make my workout wardrobe more colorful again. I bought some purple workout pants today (I have NEVER owned purple workout pants) and sported them to class. Although they felt super loud when I first walked in, I held my head high and danced my butt off! It felt as though the true me was shining through... in bright purple pants:) I love that my happy pants are colorful!

Thankful for reboots

Oh my-lanta. This weekend was a go, go, GO and barely any stop. Talk about your sports filled weekend!!! Friday was about the only day I had time to breath and rest. Saturday morning was filled with little people visiting our house, Alicia's cousins were over for a few hours, but the noise was welcome because it got us out of bed at a decent hour to get started on the tailgate prep for the OSU game we would be leaving for at 1:00 p.m. Almost left on time too ;)
Since the Beaver game was another late one, kickoff at 7:30 p.m., Adam, Chris and I headed down to Corvallis to meet up with friends for a looooooong tailgating session out in the cold, sunny weather. A few people brought fire pits so that was awesome. We made great time on account of the ducks playing away in Arizona (the day was made exponentially better by the fact that the ducks got spanked by the Wildcats!). It turned out to be a pretty fantastic day for tailgating if you can handle a bit of chilly weather. There was no wind though! The tailgating almost makes up for the abysmal showing by the Beavers during game time. No bueno at all. After scoring a whooping 0 points by the half, Adam, Chris, Racheal and I decided that we would give them to the end of the 3rd quarter to make something happen otherwise we were heading out of the cold and leaving to beat the traffic back to Portland. Unfortunately, we were left disappointed and heading for home right before the 4th quarter began. On the drive home, we did find out that the Beavs managed to put some points up, but not nearly enough to get the win against the Huskies. BIG bummer. Even bigger bummer with us going into the Civil War against the ducks next week. I reeeeeaaaaally hope we can make something better happen during that game so that we can end this not so great season with a win that matters.



Adam, Chris and I arrived home a little after midnight. Definitely time to sleep seeing as Adam and I would be waking up at 6 a.m. to head downtown to JELD-WEN to wait in line to get one of 1,000 wristbands handed out to Timbers' Army fans to ensure great seats for the playoff game against Real Salt Lake at 6:00 p.m. that very same evening. Did that seam like a mouth full?? Try living it. I was in zombie mode Sunday morning...you know, don't look at me, talk to me or try to engage me at all or I will bite off your face. I've said it before and I'll say it again...I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON. That being said, I was actually quite pleasant at 6 a.m. when we got up, but after sitting in the cold, COLD morning weather in layers, wrapped in a blanket for two and a half hours aaaaand being jilted from a nap by a stranger (Adam was supposed to be awake lol) I was anything, BUT friendly. This was around 9 a.m. or so and they didn't hand out wristbands until 10-10:30 a.m. In the end, after some free HOT, delicious cocoa, the line was moving and we got our wristbands! Number 563! Great number that almost ensures we can find four seats down low in the TA section. Adam was happy so I was happy :) Playoffs are a HUGE deal for us and I was excited too. Adam and I went straight home to sleep for two hours, which was necessary. After a shower, a Subway sandwich and a snuggle with the bunnies Adam and I were back out the door at 3:30 p.m. to get in line for the Timbers' game. I guess standing out in the cold 6 a.m. paid off because we grabbed some great seats :) Unfortunately (again) this was just not our weekend for sports:( Except those awesome Blazers!  The Timbers just couldn't get anything to go. There were several goals that were called back on account of off sides and sadly, RSL had the better game winning 1-0. The game was a long shot from the start seeing as the Timbers would have had to score three goals to tie the aggregate and four goals to win out. I was bummed not to win, but all in all pretty impressed with the season our boys had this year. Coach Caleb Porter managed to turn our team around this year and I can hardly wait to see what they can do next year!! RCTID!!!

I only work one day this week so I am more than ready to relax and reboot after such a busy, but fun weekend with good friends and my favorite guy :)

Get your brunch on

Oh Friday, how I've missed thee. A day off for Rachael means that I actually get to spend more than an hour a day with this guy I date...you know, that handsome fella Adam:) Since he works swing shift now until who knows when, these Fridays have been good for us in that we actually get to see one another. We spent the morning together and then brunched at a new place on Division, Roadrunner café, which was delicious. If you haven't been there yet best put it on your list. Good eats, good conversation and good company was a fantastic way to start the weekend on the right foot :)

I spent the rest of the day running around like a chicken with my head cut off, but it was all fun errands so no qualms here:) I persuaded my mom to do a little Christmas shopping with me...that's right, you read me correctly, CHRISTMAS shopping before Thanksgiving! Fairly unusual for me, but I've decided to get a jump my holiday shopping list. Bonus, I found some great gifts too!

Next, I headed to consult with an artist at Anatomy Tattoo about my first tattoo! Adam, that's the artist's name, seems awesome and he is going to take the elephant picture that I sent him and create a unique design to fit what I want my tattoo to represent...the time I spent living and teaching abroad in Thailand :) I'm really excited to see what he comes up with when we next meet on December 6th!

It's close to 4:30 by this point in my day so I head down the street to get my jazz on. Today marks my 50th class attended since I started mid September!!! I'm feeling super motivated and loving jazzercising six times a week with a variety of instructors and class times. I can't complain about how I feel either :) Muscles are toning up and my clothes are fitting better too. Never a bad thing when your reflection matches how you feel!

Straight away after class, I headed home to drop off my purchases and feed my hungry rabbits. They do not take kindly to eating dinner too late in the evening. This trip was literally ten minutes as I had to pick up the keys for when I start pet/house sitting next week for the Wileys, who live down the street from my parents, by 6:30 p.m. A bit of chit chat and pets for Taiko and Suki then I crashed my awesome parents' place because I knew they would have something for me to eat for dinner, but also because I love them and like stopping by;) The pups and Toby followed me around the entire time I was there! Turns out I am a super substitute for Adam, whom they addddoooore to no end. I'm pretty much chopped liver, or something a dog wouldn't eat, when Adam is there.

The last stop before heading home to relax, shower and let the bunnies have some run around time was good ol' Safeway where I needed to pick up tailgating food (aka hotdogs, buns, chips, and beer) as well as ingredients for Adam's yummy chili dip. Turns out 7:40 p.m. on a Friday is not a bad time to shop Safeway...every other time is usually horrid. Noted. Had an hour and some change to relax and then it was off to celebrate Jen and Michelle's birthdays at the Ram. Busy, BUSY Friday, but all in all I'd say it was one of the better and more productive Fridays:) Cheers to a ridiculously busy weekend still to come!

Baby it's cold outside

I think it is safe to say that winter is officially here. We made it through Halloween and almost to Thanksgiving, but the falling temperatures and crystal clear nights have arrived. Signs you know that it's winter time...you wake for work and it's cold, dark and you have absolutely no desire to get out of bed, you stumble out the door to be on your way to work only to realize that you should have allowed for 10-20 minutes to scrape the frost and ice off your car windows and defrost your windows so you can see. Sigh* It makes having to be in your car at 6:30 a.m. pure awfulness. This morning I was so cold, my hands freeeeeezing as I struggled to de-ice my windows with my scraper and manage to not get hit by a car, I was parked on Adam's street, that I had to put on one of the coats from the back of my jeep meant for donation to stay warm! Short story short...being super mega cold before 7 a.m. made me think of one of my favorite holiday songs :) Thank goodness it's Thursday folks, this week has been a long one! Enjoy some Deschanel and Ferrel to ease the end of this day :)

 

 

put a bird on it

Today, I found an handy new site (a link can be viewed at the bottom of this post) that I can use to help generate writing prompts for days when I'm not exactly overflowing with fantastically, whimsical and awesome blog post ideas. I gave it a go and after only clicking the generator button oh I'd say about fifteen times I found one that I liked... Make a list of your ten favorite birds. Why does writing about birds seem like a fun idea?? I'm a HUGE bird nerd. I don't go bird watching or anything crazy nerdy, but I do enjoy birds when I come in contact with them. That is unless they are dive bombing me as I come out of a bathroom on Navy Pier in Chicago!! CRAZY NESTING BIRDS!!! Normally though, I like birds of many shapes, sizes and colors. However, I have never actually taken the time to think about my favorite birds so I am a bit excited to see what happens with this post :D

Let's get started shall we!

10. Swifts- I didn't even know about these birds until last year when we went to watch them fly out of the chimney at Chapman Elementary School to feed at sunset. What a FAN-tastic and oddly unsettling sight this was! These birds roost in chimneys and fly out to catch insects in the evenings. If you haven't seen it, put it on your calendar for next year to visit Chapman Elementary before the swifts leave in October, you will not be disappointed and you may even see a hawk dive bomb!

9. White Falcon- In general, Falcons are beautiful birds, but white Falcons remind me of my own little 'Falcon' at home :) My rabbit, Falcon, was named after this bird :) Was there any rhyme or reason to why I named my rabbit after a bird of prey?? Haha nope, just pure entertainment and honestly Falcon was the first name (and animal) I thought of when I saw my grey and white bunny for the first time :)

8. Parrots- such a colorful, often chatty and full of personality bird! I like to imagine that these birds would be very mischievous if I brought one home :p I mostly just enjoy how much personality and individuality these birds can have.

 

7. Ducks (preferably duckling:) the picture below reminds me so much of the two ducks I raised back in college, Goose and Butter! Although I am a hard core OSU Beaver fan (there is quite a big difference in liking ducks the animal and THE Ducks people) I think ducks are adorable birds! I love the quacking and the way they waddle :) Ducks are hilarious and very sweet in nature when you raise them from ducklings!

 

6. Pygmy and Snowy Owls- Ok, seriously, who wouldn't love a Pygmy owl??!! They are so teeny and cute! I wish I could have one for a pet! Can't forget the pet of my favorite character of all time...Hedwig the snowy owl! Owls are one of my top three favorite animals because they are majestic, intelligent, resourceful and awesome hunters.

   

 

    5. Flamingos- a bright pink bird that stands on one leg?? What's not to love here?

 

4. Hummingbirds- so wee, yet so fast and colorful with racing heartbeats that match their wing speed, these birds are truly lovely to watch outside your window as they feed on sweet eats. I love everything about a bird that can fit in the palm of your hand. Are you sensing a trend?

 

3. Blue Jays- every time I see a Blue Jay outside I am blown away by their brilliant blue coloring and size. This bird is my favorite backyard bird, hands down.

 

2. Penguins- all dressed up for a black and white ball 24/7 penguins are suited up! Hilarious to watch as they slide on their tummies and waddle with their flippers back, strutting if you will, these birds may be flightless, but they have other (more silly) ways of getting around :)

 

   1. Peacocks- one of the most beautiful and majestic birds. I have dreams of getting a peacock tattoo someday for it symbolizes integrity and the beauty that shows through when one puts forth their true colors. Plus, any bird with a built in fan for cooling it's back end is awesome! "I'm a peacock! You gotta let me fly!!!" Mark Wahlberg in The Other Guys

 

 

I hope you've had a laugh as you've read through my list of fabulous birds :)

Happy Hump day friends!

http://languageisavirus.com/writing_prompts.html#.Uo0kfpPTnIU

my imperfect happy

Ever since I was young I have tried my hardest to be perfect. The perfect daughter, the perfect student, the perfect sibling, the perfect girlfriend, the perfect friend, the perfect employee...the list goes on and on. I have spent countless minutes, hours, days, and years of my life striving for perfection. You know what I have decided after 31 years?? Well, technically I realized this a few years back:) Perfection is exhausting. Not only that, but it is simply not possible for me. I am human after all. I have flaws that shine through even when I'm doing my best to be perfect and you know what? I have made my peace with that! Who wants to live a perfect life anyways? I'd rather strive to live an adventurous, happy life where I put myself out there, embrace my quirks and hope for the best :) This in no way takes away from how much effort I put into my life, work and relationships, but boy does it take the burden off of my shoulders that I need to be flawless at all times.

I am a strong, independent, hardworking, kind, sensitive, loving, driven, charismatic, quirky, silly, sweet and a bit salty at times woman, and proud of it. Those who know me and love me accept me for all that I am and I do the same for them:) My imperfections make me...well, me. I no longer have this irrational fear of not being the perfect __________ (fill in one of the many roles of Rachael here:) I now embrace the fact that being my best me means so much more than aiming to be perfect ever could. What a wonderfully liberating feeling of happy! Wish I could have figured this out about 20 years ago :) I would have stressed and worried so much less! So with that, I leave you with this friends, family, loyal blog readers: find a way to embrace and love everything that makes you imperfect and unique. Perfection is highly overrated and you will spend your whole life striving to achieve it when you should be striving to live a happy life on your terms :)

Do or do not. There is no try.

Back in October, (once the sunshine was officially gone from Oregon:) I started doing more serious research into different tattoo artists and locations in the greater Portland area. I'm lucky in that I have quite a few friends and people that I interact with daily who have had wonderful tattoos done so I did not have to start from scratch. I was pointed in the direction of several local tattoo shops including: Optic Nerve, Anatomy, and Hopeless Ink, to name a few. I made contact with a few artists from the various shops and after further thought I have decided to go ahead and set up a consultation with Adam at Anatomy Tattoo. Mo recommended him to me as he had done some work on her. I sent him a design that I wanted to work from and he seemed excited to work with me. It is super important to me to find a shop and an artist that I feel comfortable with and confident in since this will be my first tattoo. The tattoo I want to design will be similar to the elephant in the corner of this post, but obviously I would like it to be unique for me instead of the picture I found on Google :) Seeing as it is not a very extensive tattoo, it's going to be smaller than the palm of my hand and with no color (that is unless Adam amazes me with a completely different design:) I'm not very nervous to get it done. Well, not yet anyways;) I have been thinking about getting this as my first tattoo for over six months now, probably closer to over a year, and I think I am finally ready. Why an elephant you may be wondering? I decided on an elephant not only because I like what the elephant symbolizes: strength, honor, stability, patience, and good luck to name a few things, but also because I wanted my first tattoo to represent the most important thing I have done in my life thus far...teaching and living abroad in Thailand. It is difficult to put into words just how much this experience changed me for the better and helped me to become the person I am today. It was so much more than I ever thought it would be and I grew so much as an educator and an individual while I was there. The people I met and had the privilege to work with were a wonderful support system for me and made the transition smooth and easy. I will always hold dear to me the memories I made, the people I met and all the amazing experiences I was able to have while living, working and traveling abroad :) What better way to celebrate and treasure my time in Thailand than with an elephant tattoo?

 My first pub crawl (ever!) for Gaz's birthday only two weeks after I had arrived in Thailand

 Yep, that's me, fire jump roping while at a half moon party on Koh Phangan on my first holiday with friends after being in Thailand for a month :)

 Sports week! Me leading my little team of Sharks in some chants, songs and cheers!

 Celebrating Teacher Kit's 30th (old man) party with of course KAREOKE!

 Fun group dinner :)

 Me with Claire-bear, a teacher who joined us in March from Wales :)

 Oh just your typical Saturday night silliness! Check out that pasty white girl in the middle lol!

 On holiday in June (ish) with visiting friends!

 Teacher Rae at her desk at Yuwapat Kindergarten School

House warming party I almost didn't make it to because I wasn't feeling well...best thing about the people I met there, they wouldn't take no for an answer :D