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I am participating in a great ad space giveaway this week, hosted by With Love, Rachel. The winner receives ad space of various types and lengths of time for ELEVEN different blogs, plus a Starbucks gift card.
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You've been working hard on your blog, and you want people to know it! That's why these lovely ladies have devised this awesome Labor Day ad space give away. You can win all sorts of exposure for your blog on each of these wonderful sites, and a starbucks card to keep you fueled to write more posts. The winner takes all 11 ad spaces, so you can expect to see your ad all over the internets!
Amanda - large ad space// Belinda - 3 months "Chester Cathedral" ad// Jackie - 2 months "Gold and Glitter" ad// Casey 3 months "London" ad
What is Labor Day really about? Good sales at the mall and a day off from work, right? When you think about it, there are quite a few holidays that are observed in the United States every year that many people don't know the real purpose of or history behind. For example, Memorial Day or St. Patrick's Day. Even Christmas is just presents and food to some people.
So what is Labor Day really? Labor Day was established in the late 1800s to celebrate the achievements of the American people, particularly the American labor force. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, "It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions
workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country." I am proud to say that my home state of Oregon was the very first state to pass legislation to officially recognize Labor Day as a holiday.
Today I am celebrating by not going to work, and instead spending time with friends and sharing some more pictures from last week's trip to Seattle!
Gas Works Park features the remnants of the last remaining coal gasification plant in the United States. *Don't ask me what a coal gasification plant does...I could only guess* The structures that I shared pictures of last week stand in the open, while the ones above have been restored and turned into a covered play area.
Probably the highlight of our trip was getting to visit friends! Saturday night we got to meet up with one of my dearest friends, Miss Elana Mae. Elana and I spent 3 months together in China during our study abroad trip (along with Miss Natalie who we were missing last weekend!)
These are our "sad 'cause we miss Natalie" faces
I wish we lived closer so that we could get together more often. But once a year is about as often as that happens, so we have to make up for it in a short period of time.
That meant happy hour at my favorite sushi bar in Seattle (Umi Sushi on 1st Ave. in Belltown - if you are ever in Seattle and like sushi you should try it. They have a great atmosphere and some different types of sushi that I LOVE - including the Crunchy Seattle Roll), photo shoot at Kerry Park, and dinner at Jai Thai in Fremont. Actually, I didn't even end up eating at Jai Thai because I was still full from sushi...but that's okay, it was still fun.
We aren't very good at being serious for too long.....
Actually, before going to Jai Thai we headed over to another little park just down the road to watch the sunset over the Sound.
The last thing for today, a follow up on last week's 5 for Five {this might get ugly...}
1. Get caught up *and keep up* on the laundry. Actually, I did manage to do this, which is a major feat for me! I even did the same with the dishes - double wow!
2. Plan out next week's blog posts. Fail - I only got through Tuesday :(
3. Work out at least 4 times. Yes! I made it to the gym three days this week, plus spent an entire day cleaning my house {which in my book, as long as you're sweating, it counts}
4. Drink 8 glasses of water EVERY DAY. I made it a couple of days, but there were also days that I barely drank any. Looks like I will have to try this one again next week.
5. Write down daily tasks, and stick to them. Eh...better add this to next week.
SO . . . Goals for this week:
1. Plan out next week's blog posts.>
2. Drink 8 glasses of water EVERY DAY.
3. Write down daily tasks, and stick to them.
4. Get caught up on editing photos and get them in the mail.
5. Keep track of all food and activity points.
What are some of your goals for the week? Link up with Jenn & Jessica and share!
The summer is not over yet! Labor Day isn't until tomorrow and I just don't think it is fair to speak of the summer in the past tense...not yet. Especially in the NW - a lot of the time September is one of the nicest months of the year! However...I will get off my soap box and answer these Sunday Social questions anyway :)
1. What was your favorite trip/vacation/activity this summer? That's a hard one - we didn't go too many places, but I loved them all. I guess I would say our trip to San Francisco, because I had never been there before and I really love road trips!
2. What was your favorite outfit/look/clothing item this summer? My go-to "look" is denim shorts with a frayed edge, with a tee-shirt and flip flops. So comfy and you can still dress it up if you want to with some jewelry, cute hair, and trade out the flip flops for some fun, strappy sandals. {or a hat, apparently}
3. What is one thing you wish you'd gotten to do this summer? Go to a drive-in movie! I have always wanted to do this and still never have. It's definitely going on the bucket list for next summer!
4. What was your favorite song of the summer?
*If you were here Friday....sorry for the repeat, but this really is my favorite song from this summer so I had to share it again!!*
5. What was your favorite movie/tv show of the summer? I don't think summer television is all that great. Tristan and I have gotten really into the show "The Bridge" though.
Kelly has been around these parts for awhile now, but she just re-upped via Adproval and she never really got a proper introduction anyway. She is a fellow NW-er who I am pretty sure is my sister from another mister sometimes!
She loves photography, her hubby and country music *sound familiar??* Check back on Tuesday - she's also sharing for this week's "Guest Post Tuesday"!
