Iceland Day 1: the Iceland that didn't happen

Saturday afternoon (2/9/2012), Ben and I have safely arrived at our gate at SeaTac International Airport, having breezed through check in and security. We board the airplane, a Boeing 757, each seat has its own monitor, blanket, and travel pillow - What A Dream! Having never flown on an international (Bahamas doesn't count) flight, this was such a treat to experience. 

Icelandair Economy Class Seating

We cozied into our seats and, being total nerds, opted to watch the flight path and information in lieu of any actual movie or television show. About 2 hours into our flight, the in flight entertainment and all the lights went dark. It was alarming to say the least. We weren't in any turbulence... the power just went out, no oxygen masks were dropped and things just seemed quieter. Again, being total nerds, Ben and I raced through the reasons why the lighting system would fail - we came to two conclusions: 1) someone did a bad repair on the IFE wire or 2) an engine was sucking up too much power and in return, the lights and IFE system shut off. It turned out to be related to the latter (report found here). About 5 minutes later, the captains said they were working on the problem. About 10 minutes later the lights came back on -- we thought "Hallelujah! We're back on track!" 

Well, not so much. The IFE returned, and now, instead of going to Iceland, we were flying to Edmonton, Alberta - Canada. 15 minutes later, the captain gave a 5 minute spiel in Icelandic. Our Icelandic counterparts started to look defeated and I turned to Ben and remarked that the Captain's English version would be a sentence long. Luckily, that wasn't the case - we were going to spend the next 24hrs in Edmonton (hotel paid for by Icelandair) and would be contacted about the flight the next day. 

We spent the night/day watching hockey, Bolt, and otherwise indulging ourselves in cable television. I wasn't going to risk being outside to brave the 12F weather. Ick!

After a very chaotic re-check in the next day, we left Edmonton for a 6 or so hour flight to Iceland around 3pm, Sunday afternoon. We landed in Keflavik around 6am, Monday morning... and having paid for the previous night, we were thankfully able to quickly check into our hotel.


And that's how we lost a day in Iceland but gained a stamp in our passports.

Pre Iceland: Packing & Cold Weather Essentials

1. Tuesday Scarves, made by a local Seattle artisan, were a life saver in the often windy, chilly Iceland weather. Besides the flannel one below I also wore a similar, faux fur one too. Highly recommend buying them! They were easy to pull up and over my ears too. Two of my favorites in her Etsy Store now: Flannel Cowl Scarf and the Faux Fur Cowl Scarf.

2. Pack Layers. it was great to be able to mix and match items too, so pack and buy in the same color families. This Athleta top was a big favorite to wear underneath a thermal or with my vest. Also, this top is pretty cute (and practical!) too. Don't forget your gloves too! No need for huge skiing gloves, it's not that cold or snowy out there.
3. Camera and underwater camera too. Having a fancy pants camera to capture the northern lights was key. hands down, absolutely necessary. We also were able to grab some landscape and scenery pictures that we plan on blowing up and framing. If you plan on snorkeling or going in the blue lagoon, I recommend buying the underwater camera before your trip... it cost us about $20 to buy the $7 camera. Also, buy an (european/ two prong) electrical outlet adapter... we got ours at Radioshack, but they're cheaper online (Grounded Europe Adapter) if you plan ahead! Remember you can only plug things in there that are rated at 220-240 volts - most modern/new laptops and chargers are.
4. The travel basics: leave your big bag at home, and invest in a small purse and a backpack. Our backpack came in very useful: kept papers from getting folded or lost, had lots of room to pack extra scarves and the camera, my purse even fit in there too!

Ben, the official backpack wearer

5. Phone Info: once on the airplane, set your smart phone to airplane mode and keep it there the entire trip. Your carrier will probably charge you for any text or call made or received during your international roaming. Airplane mode will prevent this. The cool thing is that there is a ton of free Wi-Fi in Iceland (hotels to coffee shops). So turn on your wi-fi and do internet from there. If you don't have a smart phone, just keep the phone at home or off the entire trip. Side note, the GPS/ maps feature was useless in iceland unless we were connected to the internet (I still have no idea why it didn't function well). So it leads me to my last pre-trip advice: 
6. Buy a Travel Mapand one of those touristy Travel Guidebooks. Then cross check all the restaurants to the internet to verify they still exist - because sometimes even a year old book is outdated!

travel backpacks

I'm starting to feel like backpacks are the most practical packaging in the world. The asymmetrical loading of my purse to my shoulders is starting to take its toll and I need something a little bit more durable to carry. I've been eying travel packs/ sacks/ backpacks etc. for a while now. I think our trip to Iceland is finally the perfect time to splurge on one!

Any of these will be perfect for traveling and sightseeing... and maybe Ben will be a little bit more responsible for sharing the load, literally.  I favor the kind of pack that can transition to a tote or messenger bag when the need calls for it, too.

Here are a few many of my favorites:

wool rucksack

Fjallraven rucksack no. 21

large tote/pack

brown backpack

transformer backpack

baggu daypack

Obey Noreaster

Finkel Backpack

three in one tote

Do you have a favorite travel bag? 

Traveling to the SWE Conference

Yesterday I started my journey to Houston, TX for the Annual Society of Women Engineers Conference (WE12). It is literally one of my favorite weeks in the year - I've made friends and networked with many women from across the country and this week I get to see them all again. It's a lot of networking, advancing, & sisterhood, with many professional development sessions and workshops throughout the week. 

I was bumped to First Class on my 4.5hr flight yesterday morning. Which is an excellent way to start any trip - Thanks United Airlines! It has only been the second time up there in big seat heaven and was treated to breakfast this time around! Besides getting a drink the moment you sit down, it's 100% personal service the entire flight. 

On the flight, I started reading the book "All your Worth" - which has been truly eye opening. I was a little hesitant because it was written in 2008 and I wasn't sure of its relevancy. But so far it has been spot on and a really can't-put-the-book-down read. Can't wait to go home and put our finances in order!

Today's schedule includes a trip to the local Farmer's Market followed by a few hours of SWE Committee Meetings. 

February's Folly

You know what's hard? 

                    quitting habits.

I relapsed on my resolution. I bought clothes. It was a rush. I had an excuse. I'm not happy about it, but I'm trying to refocus my efforts. 

This past week we traveled to Oahu for our (6-month delayed) honeymoon. As the vacation drew nearer, I felt the urge to buy beach things - it's been years since I visiting a warm beach and the need to update my wardrobe was overwhelming. At first I was resistant... I have a pretty healthy selection of dresses, swimsuits, some shorts and skirts.  Then I convinced myself I needed a new cover up because I couldn't think of anything that I own that would work. Luckily I wasn't going to spend more than $60 so all the incredibly amazing cover-ups at shopbop.com made it easy to say no. 

Then I found a rashguard, something I wanted for our Snuba adventure, and otherwise as a cover up in the water -- AND COULDN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT.  So, I bought it. -- and I'm glad I did, it was really nice to wear and worked well for me.

But, like any relapse, it trips the wire - knowing that I could break this resolution. I bought something else "for the beach".... two tube tops and a long skirt from American Eagle were justified. I even caught myself visiting my old "members-only" sites daily (eek!).

I don't hate these purchases, and I actually wore them a lot during the vacation. I didn't need them though, and I didn't put quality over consumption. That is what bothers me.

I'm going to try to work on conquering the rush I get from buying things. I have way too many, more important things (student loans, car payment, food, fun) to be spending money on clothes right now.

PS - reading this book right now about breaking habits.

Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Region J Conference Recap!

This past weekend I spent another inspiring, information packed adventure with amazing women engineers!


This year, the regional conference was held in Corvallis, OR - home of Oregon State University. There are ten regions under the national umbrella and each region has a handful of professional and collegiate sections.


Before I made it to glorious Corvallis, stopped in Portland to try some fried pies. OH! it was so worth it! I got a delish Chicken Pot Pie (I'll see you soon Whiffies)

And Here are some pictures of the OSU campus. so pretty!!!

Also, this marked my presentation debut! I gave the SWE Membership presentation and opened up the dialog for best practices, idea sharing, and help needed. 

Overall the conference was another great success; the speakers were amazing, inspiring, and innovative. So happy I went!