sometimes, being a girl rocks!

so i went down to the DOL during lunch today to renew my license that expired last week...i know, i know...anywho, i was standing in line and a gentleman who was driving a similar make of car as mine started chatting me up. he was complimenting me on my vehicle, tells me he works on cars and asked where i get mine serviced. i told him where i'd gone but they wanted to charge a ton of money to get some stuff fixed (breaks, oil changes, etc). he goes, 'we have a couple minutes till our numbers are called, let's go take a look at it and if you'd like, i can give you quotes.' so we go to my car, he looks around, checks the oil and says, 'yup ~ you need new breaks.' i showed him the quote i got from the now former garage and he said, 'that's ridiculous. i can do it for half!' now, while i don't know a ton about cars, i know he's right, and while he was very nice and totally non-threatening, you can't help but wonder about the ulterior motive. what's the catch, right? he gave me his card, and left after he was done with his turn in the DOL line. i still have to wait, because i'm getting the enhanced license so a few minutes later, he come BACK to the DOL with a quart of oil and offers to put it in the engine for me! needless to say, i've found a new mechanic. who says chivalry is dead? oh, and in case you're wondering, i gave him 20 bucks. like mom says, you never know what a day will bring.

europe, here i come!

so i just booked a trip to europe with my friend crista and i'm ecstatic! our itinerary includes:
munich, for oktoberfest (my roommate with be there too!)

prague

greece

rome

and finally, barcelona

birthday!

last week, i celebrated my first annual 29th birthday. (i stole that title from jess, who also just celebrated this major event.) to mark the occasion, i invited all my girlfriends out for a night of bowling. we had a great time.

mom, dad and aunt shelly even made it up.

oh my goodness...

where has the time gone? i can't believe it's been so long since i've posted anything. i guess with facebook, i'm kinda feeling like there's no reason to keep 2 public profiles going. ah well, here's what i've been up to, in bulleted form, because i love lists:
*went to a fun restaurant/bar with my ladies called the leary traveler. loved it!
*went to vegas with mom, dad and papa...took in a couple shows, went shopping, watched the mariners play (sort of) and sat in the sun. very nice indeed!
*went to mariners opening day with a bunch of friends and had a blast. it's so nice to be on the other side of it ;)
*did the fremont troll stroll to benefit cystic fibrosis. again, very fun!
*went to another new restaurant , called barrio. it wasn't my fav (sorry mandy!) but the atmosphere was killer! actually heading there again tonight for gina's birthday!
*went to a conference at wabash church on my mom's birthday. very fun to be there with some of the mahlum ladies!
*went to the tin table again for dinner with my girls, then out to icecream at molly moons. YUMMY!
*met up with some old tj high school friends for dinner and some fun on the town. it's great to re-connect!
*then to a soggy mariners game with the girls. TOO much fun!
*celebrated mexico's defeat over the french (cinco de mayo for you non-history buffs) with friends at the mexican restaurant's block party down the street. lots of fun!!

what's coming up? a VERY busy summer!! birthdays, a trip to vegas, high school reunion, golfing...LOTS going on but it's all fun stuff. life is so good, and i feel so blessed!

i'll try to do a better job at posting AND putting more pics up, because let's face it...blogs are way more fun to read when there are pictures.

hugs all!