A last...

Tonight is my last night in Seattle.

When I moved back to my hometown two years ago, I never thought I would leave. Seattle is where I want to get married, raise a family. I loved growing up here, with all the green and the water. I didn't know any better at the time that rain and gray skies aren't the norm in other parts of the country.

It's strange to think that tomorrow I'll be in a different state.

A state I swore I would never live in again. 

I'm definitely eating my words. :)

Change is good, and I've never been one to shy away from a new adventure. Take a look at the last five years of my life...I moved to Taiwan twice, moved to DC twice, and lived in Seattle twice. 

I guess that's why I'm surprised with my conflicting emotions. Excitement and fear. Positive and negative. There are so many things in Salt Lake that I'm excited about--awesome new roommate, super close friends from teaching in Taiwan, mission buddies, BYU friends, and old roommates. But I'm sad to leave my family and friends I have here. 

And I'm sad from all the things I'll be missing out on!

But that's life. Life moves on, and you learn to move on with it. 

So here's to change and adventure! To looking forward to the future, not knowing what it holds. To good friends and family who love generously and endlessly! To life!

Seattle Music Pride Fo Sho

I definitely have pride in my hometown. I mean, Seattle is pretty awesome. And Macklemore & Ryan Lewis seem to agree. They released their video for Can't Hold Us this morning, and it's ah-maz-ing. Appreciate the sweeping views of my city. Because it really is that cool.

 

Please help if you can...

Hi lovely friends. I know it's been quite a while since I last wrote. I can't believe November is almost half-way over! I have much to be grateful for. Life is good.

But this post isn't about me.

It's about my friend, Camilla.
A friend who has battled  anorexia for the majority of her life.

Camilla is one of the kindest, most thoughtful people I know--truly beautiful on the inside and out. She has sought treatment several times before, but her eating disorder (aka Frank), always sneaks back. This time Frank has become so severe, the only treatment that will help is full-time residential care.

Camilla has raised enough money through selling baked goods, and through generous donations to pay for one month of treatment. The only thing is, she needs to stay for six.

Camilla's story caught the attention of the local KOMO 4 News, and was picked up by ABC. Since then she has been featured in the UK's Daily Mail  and Italy's Pianeta Donna.

This is where I hope you can help.

Please visit Camilla's blog, The Night Baker,  and donate if you can. Even $5 would help tremendously.
If you aren't able to donate, please consider putting her button on your blog.

And for those in the Seattle area, a silent auction/benefit, plus a 5k are in the works to gain awareness, and hopefully raise funds. More details to come.

Get your button here!

<a href="http://www.millathenightbaker.blogspot.com" target="_self"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPwx0YHznKj5399nO3CsHY8Dumd1DftF83Hg7pprLlrWsTFArWwu9XWlxSvPVOXZiGS-UFyKQuEu_-Onc_3cqFNoF1AsX7N32QV9vWOenHQr9b_XpySZil6qG0r7nHZghu9MLYQ7jsne8d/s139/thenightbaker.jpg" alt="millathenightbaker" width="125" height="125" /></a>

Fakt.

View of fall colors from South Fork Park, Provo Canyon.

Citi jako podzim. Fakt.

It feels like fall. Truly.

Fall is finally here, and I guess I'm ok with it. I was reluctant to say goodbye to summer, but since returning from my trip to Utah, I'm ready for it all--the crisp air, the vibrant colors of the leaves, pumpkins, squash, Halloween, the smell of burning brush fires in the backyard. All of it.

As I've mentioned many times before, as the seasons change, so do my musical selections. Fall equals acoustic awesomeness, and other soul-searching sounds. Bloc Party has recently come out with a new album. I have to admit that I don't care for most of it, but their ballads are once again spot on. And Kele...his voice slays me. Please enjoy this gem of a song called Truth.

What Saturday nights are for

Unfiltered shot of sunset across Lake Washington.

Friends jammed into one vehicle.
Lake Washington.
Sunsets.
Bats disjointedly flying in the air.
Great conversation about love, life and religion.
A late showing of The Odd Life of Timothy Green.

Exactly what Saturday nights are for!

Summer is nearing it's end up here in the Pacific Northwest, yet September has not been a disappointment. No, not at all. The days are indeed getting shorter, but the days are warm and gorgeous.

I live about 10 minutes from the lake, and I kick myself that I don't take greater advantage of my beautiful surroundings. Luckily, a few friends felt the same way. To the waterfront we went.

Walking along the Kirkland strip is one of my most favorite things to do. The memories are rich and plentiful--feeding the ducks and Tim Noah concerts as a kid, cruising with my friends as a teenager (we thought we were sooooo cool), and now, as an adult, strolling and taking it all in. And did I mention the sunsets are spectacular?

I love the Pacific Northwest!

A new beginning.

Man has it been a month. Not one of my best, I must admit. Despite that, I'm beginning to see a small ray of light through all the dark clouds. Continually, I'm learning how my body reacts to different foods, levels of exercise and insulin, and how stress and hormones can throw everything out of whack. Hormones are not to be messed with!

I am blessed with extremely patient friends and family. Angels, I tell you! High blood glucose levels make me irritable and cranky, and unfortunately there have been quite a few of those moments of late. If any of my dear friends are reading this, to you I am grateful. Grateful that you have not done an about face and ran in the other direction. (Sometimes I'm good at being a storm cloud. Almost too good).

Through all this, I've been reading a TON, trying to figure out how to be healthy and happy. Many times I have wanted to throw in the towel, and give up (hence some of the high blood sugar episodes). But I've come to realize that throwing in the towel won't help. I'll either end up in the hospital (boy, I do not want that to happen!) or seriously depressed. How fun. So I'm choosing not to give up!

I've come to realize that the first thing I need to do is learn how to truly love myself independent of my successes or failures at work, in my love life, church, etc. And to love myself, I think I need to get to know myself again. It's been a looooong while since I've done this. Sad, I know.

On this new-found quest of self-discovery, it's kind of become my very own Happiness Project. I'm just in the beginning stages right now, gathering all the data on how to proceed. I'm excited for new goals, and for becoming the best version of myself ('cause right now, I'm not it).

Here's to starting over! And to figuring what life is all about!

This made me laugh...out loud!

So I know I haven't written in a very long time. I have so much to write about, but haven't had a ton of time to do so. But in an effort to stay current, I had to post this.

You all know how much I love Korean drama's and K-Pop, right? Well, if you didn't, you do now. Psy, a somewhat controversial Korean rapper, did the almost impossible. His song Gangnam Style is a HUGE hit here in America. Gangnam Style made it big during the Olympics, and it's everywhere. Even SNL. I came across this clip today, and it had me rolling on the floor.

 

When I saw all the hype, I wanted to figure out what it was all about. I came across this article by The Atlantic, which I thought explained the significance of Psy's hit. It was also interesting to read the comments by the other readers of the article.

So, if you're wanting to watch the original video, I have to warn you that parts of it may be seen as inappropriate. But I still found it to be hilarious!