Awesome Birthday Weekend

I have to take a few moments to reflect on the awesome event that was my birthday. Although it was on Friday, it seemed to span the entire weekend.

Friday:

• Arrive at work and am greeted by Danielle, who bestows a card and a Curious George toy
• Michael arrives with balloons
• Roger arrives with french pasteries (the start of my downward sugar spiral of shame)
• Danielle had mini Trophy cupcakes delivered
• Charlene and Cristina arrive with card and gift
• Surprise 2-dozen red roses delivery from Chris arrives, yay!
• I Love Sushi lunch fun with Charlene, Cristina, Tracy, and Danielle
• more sugar...
• Go home to a wonderous Otto's hot dog and french fry extravaganza along with my favorite cold pea salad, awesome cheeses, and pie (even though I fell asleep before I could enjoy the pie)

Saturday:

• Sleep in!
• Biscut-donuts for breakfast and yummy coffee (more sugar!)
• Trips to Target, Trader Joe's, and Starbucks (soy pumpkin-spice latte, mmmmmmmm)
• Go to my parents for homemade almond fried chicken, sweet and sour pork, wintermelon soup, veggies and ice cream cake
• Get home to realize the Huskies sucked ass (boooooooooooooo)

Sunday:

• Sleep in again!
• Tasty breakfast
• A trip out to Maltby to have Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream
• Grocery shopping
• More tasty cheeses, oysters, and some mackeral

Overall, a filling weekend as you can see. I don't remember having had so much sugar before I was to the point of shaking - that is how I was on Friday.

Anyway, another year arrives and I am happy to have it!

This is my boss.

This is my boss - the storyteller:



Only in the storytelling sense, my boss isn't really at all like the pointy-haired boss from the Dilbert strip.

Michael if you are reading this - I LOVE your stories! ;)

A very Monday-Monday (random blather from moi)

I wouldn't call today a case of the Mondays, but as a number of co-workers have said to me today "Does it feel like the Monday of Mondays?". Yes, yes it does.

Overall it feels kind of meh, or blah, or whatever. I am not depressed, nor am I necessarily unhappy with anything, not even disappointed - just a little off kilter I guess. I have a lot to look forward to this week!
- Tonight, Joe is coming over for pizza and to meet the cat.
- Wednesday, I believe I am going bowling with some band folks and Brad himself.
- Thursday, Annelise and Yumi are coming over for some long needed catching up.
- Friday, although tentative for now, but probably going out to dinner with my family.
- Weekend...by then I am going to need some serious sleep!

So see a lot going on, plus getting to know my new cat, Humboldt Percival (formerly only just known as Percy) or aka Kitty. And can you believe that it is the end of August already! AAAAAHHHHHH.

And now I sit here at work, staring at my half eaten bowl of soup wondering what will enter my head next. Quite possibly nothing it seems. I can say that I am truly grateful for having such an awesome job and very understanding and appreciative friends. Last night Joe let me blather on IM and it was a comforting feeling. All weekend Chris had to put up with me talking to the cat, and that too was eye-opening. Like "ahh, he really DOESN'T mind that I talk to the cat as though it is a human being".

Pictures of the cat to come soon I am sure. As Chris says it is difficult to take a picture of a black and white cat when there isn't enough lighting.

Oh and Mrs. Roberts if you are reading this, GOOD FIND on the tenor sax - please please please keep your eye out for any E-flat clarinets as I have always wanted one. Oh and Amy - what is going on with the trivia this season? Starts up soon!!!

I could talk about the heat...

...but why? Everyone else is - I would say that a majority of the posts I read on Facebook have been about melting, or home-made air conditioning, or the yearning for an air conditioner. Apparently yesterday was the hottest day recorded in Seattle since weather records have been kept for our fine city -- since 1891. It officially reached 103 at SeaTac. It was 106 at our house!

What has happened in my world. We are gearing up to go on a vacation the second week of August - celebrating our first year anniversary up in Canada. We are going to stay in Richmond, then take a BC Ferry over to Nanaimo and spend a couple days there, then drive a little south on Vancouver Island and stay in a small bed and breakfast type of place. Come home on a Saturday and then hopefully get to see Heather while she is in town for a while.

We decided to get a cat! Almost 8 years since I have moved out on my own I am finally getting a kitty! The non-profit shelter that we are adopting the cat from (http://www.oasisforanimals.org/) has agreed to hold the cat for us until after our vacation. The cat's current name is Percy, but I think I want to call him Humboldt, after a type of penguin. Below is a photo of the cat, I am WAY excited!

I was talking to Andrew the other night about the cat and I said that we had thought about naming it Andrew in Andrew's honor - I am not sure how he took that... :) Andrew assured me though that he would still come and visit me even though I have a cat - he would just make a lot of crock-pot-cat jokes.

Work has been a little busy, a lot of changes are going on. If you know of anyone who has the qualifications to be a CIO for an IT department at possibly one of the world's most influencial non-profits, then let me know! (haha)

We saw Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. NOT IMPRESSED. As I told Joe, it was like when we saw Spiderman at Oak Tree Cinemas - longest movie ever. Admittedly it was by far the most hilarious of all of the HP flicks, although not by much. I will probably end up owning it as part of the HP collection only to say "I have them all".

And something else I wish I could blog about, but have you ever worked with someone who just doesn't get what is happening around them? Someone who thinks they are -- excuse my language - the shit - they think they are all that and a bucket of chips with sauce on the side and they treat everyone else around them as though everyone else is in a caste BELOW him or herself? I currently work with some individuals like that - who appear to not understand that they are not respected, but they THINK they are respected - and therefore, treat everyone else in an unkind fashion. So without mentioning further details or names, that is my work rant of the month.

Whew, I feel better now.

Two dishwashers are starting to sound like a good idea!

Last night the first Tweet was sent from our house via Rusty Pitman's fancy Blackberry. Now tell me, who uses Twitter but NOT Facebook? Rusty if you are reading this, then you need to sign up for Facebook because seriously Facebook is so much better than Twitter. I only say that though because I have a hard enough time keeping Facebook up to date let alone find the time to sign up for Twitter.

Rusty, Robin, Patti, and Justin came over for dinner last night. We had a lot of fun and even though we ended up sitting in our formal dining area for the first time, it wasn't in my opinion a formal dining experience. For example we didn't have super fancy china or fancy placemats (I had a hard time remembering where all the placemats were!), etc.

Our menu was the following:
Appetizers: Champagne, wines, yummy cheeses, salumi salami, dips, crudites, chips
Salads: Plain Caesar and Shrimp Caesar Salads (thanks Patti and Justin)
Veggies: Grilled peppers, fennel, and onions
Starch: Grilled lemon-tarragon infused small potatoes
Proteins: Grilled alder planked salmon, NY strip steaks
Desserts: Fresh strawberries, banana bread-bread pudding, Mississippi Mud Cake (thanks Robin and Rusty!)

So even though there were only 6 of us, I think we managed to use all of our dinner plates, salad plates, glasses, and serving utensils. This morning I was thinking to myself that two dishwashers are starting to sound like a good idea!

I may be going to Macy's later today to exchange some items and possibly get more plates! Looking forward to more entertaining for other family and friends.

We love Heather!

I promise to have a way more interesting blog entry (and hopefully within the next few days), but I just have to say...

WE LOVE HEATHER!!!

Thank goodness for Skype and thank goodness for Heather. We just had a 90 minute conversation with her that has helped both of us feel SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better about one of life's major milestones that we are going through right now. Heather was kind enough to talk us through a bunch of stuff and answer our questions - plus we got caught up in what is going on as well so it was definitely a good social conversation. Before she called us from Edinburgh, I was IMing her and feeling like I wanted to scream and cry at the same time - full well knowing that neither action would result in anything positive or productive. As I just checked my handy iPhone it is OMG roughly 4:20am for her -- egads!

I don't mean to be cryptic with this post it is more like I don't want to jinx anything, also I'm super starving and I hope we get to eat soon (hhmm.. can anyone say hamburgers? tee hee!) :).

THANK YOU AGAIN HEATHER!!!

Bacon Explosion!!

I saw this and had to share it... http://www.bbqaddicts.com/blog/recipes/bacon-explosion/. Does that make your whole body hurt or what?

In other news, this week workwise is kind of "sucky" as my co-worker Sandy said to me this morning. It isn't an issue of not liking work - we all feel kind of meh. That is the best word for it MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH.

The Super Bowl is this weekend and I could give a rat's patootie. I am planning on getting together with some friends Saturday night for food, wii, wine, wii, and food. I think pretty much in that order. Sunday I will meet up with some other peeps for Dim Sum and a bakery run or two.

You know what else is an explosion? Your federal income taxes after you get married. Holy cow who knew getting married would change your IOU to the government so much. I absolutely abhor tax regulation and believe there is a reason why you pay "the accountant" good money to do your taxes.

I wonder if I created the Bacon Explosion if I could claim it as a health deduction?

Adventures in Birmingham, AL

Friday, January 16, 2009:

Our trip started off by waking up at 3am to wash-up, drive and park at the airport, and be ready to board a 6am flight to Atlanta, GA. Not so bad until you realize when you get to the airport at 4am-something-er-other that the Starbucks and Tully's coffee stands are still closed... and to think that people probably stood in line for at least 45 minutes waiting for their cup of caffiene. While waiting at gate A13, I was lucky enough to sit next to a young woman who has been blessed with a very high pitched super southern voice. She was on her cell phone openly complaining to her mother about food, weather, clothing, work, the upcoming flight, shoes - you see where this is going. Other people around us were getting up from their coveted seats and choosing to stand because of this young woman. I passed the time by trying not to fall asleep.

I slept most of the way to Atlanta. Once we arrived, I made a beeline to Chik-Fil-A where I managed to stand in line for 10 minutes. When I thought I was going to order, there was a small kerfuffle with some woman around me. Note, Woman #2 is standing behind me.

Chik-Fil-A employee: Next in line please.
Woman #1: Hold on, you can't say next in line please, there are 2 lines here!Woman #2: That's right, who's next, her or her?
Woman #1: I dunno, we both been waiting a looooooooooooong time, so where is the order? We need order here!
Woman #2: That's right, who's next, there has to be order with these lines - that ain't right.
Me: That is OK - you go next ma'am.
Woman #1: OK can do, just wanna make sure I ain't gettin' in your business because you took a step forward there.
Me: It is OK, please.

Another conversation took place with an angered man who apparently had waited over 15 minutes for some Chik-Fil-A nuggets. To top off the experience, their ice machine was out of ice. Good times. After enjoying our sandwiches we hoofed it over to Terminal B. It was then I decided that the Atlanta airport needs stronger air conditioning because it is warm in all of the other terminals. Our Back to the Future moment - we arrived in Birmingham (3:54PM CST) before we left Atlanta (4:00PM EST). The flight was great it was 37 minutes packed with snacks and 2 beverages. Andrew was very prompt in picking us up, so prompt that he didn't even have to pay to park at the Birmingham airport, of course they only charge $1 per hour and Andrew was only at the airport for 5 minutes. Nice huh? I don't know if we could ever get away with that in Seattle. We quickly checked into the Best Western and then drove around eventually ending up at SuperTarget!!!!!

SuperTarget deserves its own paragraph. What can I say, this place is HUGE. It is a Target Greatland with groceries. Target Greatland is about 1/3 larger than a regular everyday Target store. I thought it would be a lot more like a Fred Meyer or even a Super Walmart, pleasantly it was not. The store still had that wonderful Target quality of white, wide, and clean aisles. The products were well stocked, clearly lableled and marked, and all faced perfectly (faced means - perfectly lined with labels facing front). The aisles were clean and easy to read. The groceries were not bad looking and were reasonably priced. We managed to pick up a box of Blueberry Pancakes wrapped around breakfast sausages, I deemed them Sweet Corn Doggies.

Finally it was time for Cracker Barrel. Oh the Cracker Barrel, how I have missed your biscuits, how every side comes in its own dish, the endless sweet tea and rocking chairs...the store of crap in front I do not miss, but the food was delicious. I had the chicken and dumplings platter with all sorts of goodies. We finished the night by walking through a Whole Foods and being introduced to a card game called Phase 10. I say introduced because apparently both Chris and I are the only two people who have never heard of this card game. I believe it is designed by the same people who have made SkipBo and Uno, somehow in my childhood I never heard of the game Phase 10.

Saturday, January 17, 2009:

Our day started with a 90 minute drive to Huntsville. We decided to have lunch at a chicken restaurant called Tenders - where the chicken is kickin'!

It is here where I realized the south has an obsession with chicken as it was very clear that chicken places outnumber hamburger joints. Onto the US Space & Rocket Museum, it was great as they staged a replica of a Saturn V rocket in full-size and available to walk around.

Now I know y'all be disappointed, but I do not have any photos of Decatur. Andrew had planned for us to visit the Cook's Natural Science Museum. Lots of dead bugs, dead stuffed wildlife, etc. Decatur is also the home of Meow Mix. On the way home we stopped at a Sonic (mmm... cherry lime-aid) and then we had dinner at the original Golden Rule BBQ. Delicious BBQ followed up with Banana Pudding. It was indulgence at its finest followed up with more Phase 10.

Sunday, January 18, 2009:

Andrew made a great breakfast with the largest pile of sausage gravy, ever. We feasted on biscuits, fruits, juice, pan-fried potatoes and onions, homemade preserves from his sister-in-law, and somehow we forgot about the Sweet Corn Doggies. One short gravy-induced-nap later we headed to the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum, walked around Kelly Ingrahm park and a wonderful homeless man named James "Dredd" Bonds gave us an impromptu lecture of the park and the history of what happened in the park during the civil rights movement.

The museum was impressive - part of it were closed though for touch-ups which we all thought odd since it was MLK Jr. weekend and Obama's Inauguration coming up and all. We then ventured to the Sloss Furnances.

Another trip to Sonic we had decided that we had consumed enough gravy and fried foods. We went to Whole Foods and purchased some delicious items to make a homemade pasta dish with 16-20 count shrimps, carrots, peas, onions, mushrooms, milk and lemon juice. I finally won at Phase 10, although I convinced that Andrew cheats.

Monday, January 19, 2009:

Had a great homemade breakfast with Andrew, we unfortunately tried the Sweet Corn Doggies - I still can't believe that Andrew and Chris ate theirs, I took one bite and that was one too many. It tasted like the blueberry krispy kreme donut wrapped around a swift and serve sausage. Why we thought it was a good idea to buy and try I do not know, but I do like saying Sweet Corn Doggies.

Flew back to Atlanta to fly back to Seattle. I managed to stay awake to see two in-flight movies, Tropic Thunder and Batman Dark Knight. Both were good in their own rights - I have the song where Les Grossman dances stuck in my head still. Had a fog-filled drive home around 10pm, relaxed and fell promptly asleep at 11pm.

Our next adventures? Who knows. I just hope it doesn't involve anymore Sweet Corn Doggies. Thanks again Andrew for being such a gracious host!

Christmas Catch-Up 2008

I am bad. I have not blogged in obviously some time. I apologize as it is never my intent to be unsocial or unsharing. After getting married and sending out thank you cards and all that everything else seems so comforting and normal. Both Chris and I have been working quite a bit and are enjoying our jobs. No massive new purchases, no exciting vacations have occurred. We even planned to take a weekend trip to Yakima in mid-October, but ended up not going as Chris's family was not feeling well.

October was a blur now that I think about it. At least 3 of my friends had birthdays. I'm sure there are more, but my memory escapes me. Perhaps it was the 2 hour nap I just woke up from that is preventing my brain to function at top speed. November was fun of course with Thanksgiving and the Lemon Square party in my kitchen. Notably my good friend Kate decided that it was her time to leave Avanade and we had a lovely and intimate farewell lunch for her at the Avanade office. December kind of snuck up with me and within the past week I have been thankful that I completed all of my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving. This past week has been nasty in terms of weather. Not since December 18, 1990 (yes, 1990...) has there been such a snow storm in Seattle. USPS, UPS, and FedEx have not been making it to people's houses - that is a lot of Christmas gifts not being delivered. Other services are also impossible it seems right now such as garbage, finding a gas station with gas, and for many the ability to cure a case of cabin fever and just get out of the house!

What I have noticed the most about this particular year is that I am truly happier. About a year ago I was allowing myself to get really down and upset by my job. So much has happened in a year - I left my former job, got a new job, got married, and am just happier overall. I appreciate the opportunities I have experienced and look forward to many more with this Christmas (only 2 days away!) and of course into 2009. Come to think of it many of my friends have also had quite a changing year. Joe bought a house, Kate also got a new job as well as Patti, Rusty, and Andrew. I will have to see if there was any predictions by anyone famous about 2008 being a "year of change", I mean besides President-Elect Barack Obama. (hee hee)

Tomorrow will be Christmas Eve (as today is Christmas Eve-Eve, whatever) and I will as always be making Lemon Squares and probably wrapping whatever is left that needs to be wrapped. Merry Christmas to everyone and I truly hope that you are safe and warm.

House Buying...perhaps we'll wait.

For those of you who know we have been yearning for a house of our own for some time. Renting can be a bore and our current establishment is nice livable, but we are ready to move on. After the wedding and the party and the thank you cards and getting back to a lower-stress way of life, I was hoping that now would be the time we would buy...and then this past weekend and today happened. Sure the Dow has been below 10,000 points before, but this is definitely different. I am afraid to log into my 401k site to even look at how much less of value I have to my retirement. Chris checks everyday so I am sure that he isn't as shocked, I do not have the discipline to check even once a week. Egads!

We just got word from our landlord that he has agreed to basically let us live at our current place as long as we want to, he has no intention of selling during this volatile economic market. I don't blame the man - there have been a few houses across the street from ours that have been on and off the market more times than the UPS driver misdelivers packages to our house (i.e. A LOT).

I hope that we will be able to save wisely for a downpayment. I know it is always so tempting to buy anything and everything on a whim when you can see the money in your own checking account. I am guilty of it just like anyone else - "Hey I have a few extra bucks, I'll just go to Target and get a few things"...$100 later I have 4 Target sacks full of stuff.

Perhaps in the next couple weekends or so I really will get my rear in gear and go to a packing store to buy moving boxes. With the way the Dawgs are playing right now it isn't even worth watching them on TV with 100% attention as I normally would.

Other updates - we have been like I said trying to just unwind still from everything that has happened. I had a birthday and my Dad made almond fried chicken and sweet and sour pork - very good. Something that I can only eat about once a year because it is so bad for you, but it sure does taste good. Facebook is this new exciting application in my world right now as well - at first I was resistant and now...I have to be a good girl and make sure I don't allow myself to become obsessive about checking it and seeing what my Facebook friends are up to.

Wedding and vacation wrap-up - yippy!

Hello hello. My apologies for the late post as I have received quite a few messages from folks asking how was the wedding, when will my blog be updated, where are the photos, when is the reception again, where are you registered, and...was Elvis at your wedding?

Reception reminder - September 6, 2008. Those who were invited should know where and when, if not email Jonell...we are registered at Macy's and Sur La Table...and no Elvis was not at the wedding.

The wedding itself was awesome. Short and sweet just the way we wanted it. Before I dive into it, let me start from the beginning of the Las Vegas-Vancouver-Port Angeles adventure.

LAS VEGAS, NV
Wednesday, August 13:
Chris and I hop in the car, drive excitedly to the Green Bug lot (aka SeaTac Parking), get on the plane and all that jazz. I love flying because it gives me a chance to use my ipod iTouch for movies so I enjoyed Trading Places (IMO one of the best comedies of all time ever!). One of Chris's friends from Yakima was taking the same flight as us so we waited for him once we deboarded the plane and it was off to the Venetian. Our room...was huge. And fancy. It had two separate bathrooms and the master bathroom was as big as my living room (if not larger). The room had a wet bar - sadly not stocked. And a 10' round table. We ended up having dinner that night with Chris's friends at the Delmonico steakhouse in the Venetian. It was delicious and of course over the top.

Thursday, August 14:
We had a 9am tandem massage appointment at the Venetian's Spa. Now I have been to many a hotel spa in my lifetime, never have I been in one so HUGE nor swanky. This place kicks all other spas' asses and thensome. I talked with a hostess and she said that they are making the spa even BIGGER even though it has over 90 rooms. After the massages Chris got a break while I had my nails done. We had a small break and we met up with Johanna, Mark, and my parents and had some chinese lunch at the Venetian's asian noodle restaurant (forget the name right now, but it doesn't really matter - does it?), then it was off to the rehearsal. I thought the rehearsal was just right around 20 minutes but my Dad seemed to think that it should been longer. Again another break where we had to rush down to meet the wedding gown and suit cleaners - they only took cash and demanded we meet them in-person to receive items even though I was told more than once that the clothing could have been left with the bellhop and that we could pay via credit card... can you tell that that irked me only slightly?? (haha)

Another small irk was at 6pm we had a reservation at the Venetian's Grand Lux Cafe for all of us to eat together -- but they would not seat us until everyone was present and they were going to cancel our reservation! I was on my cell phone trying to get a hold of all of the late people - luckily the hostess felt sorry for me and seated us without our entire party being on time... I am laughing about the whole thing now because it just seemed so stupid, but believe me at the time I was pretty irked. After a huge rehearsal dinner we went to see Wayne Brady with Karen, Phyllis, Jennifer, and Grandma. Wayne Brady - please stick with your improv-only routines as your singing was a bit much. Overall a good show though and it was fun!

Friday, August 15:
The BIG day has arrived. We have breakfast and then I proceed to spend 90 minutes in the salon getting my hair put-up and my make-up airbrushed on. Very exciting indeed. Johanna and Heather were nice enough to meet me early and help me get dressed. We walked over to the chapel which is in the Venezia Tower (a resort within a resort if you will) and I got to wait in the bridal room, but it ended up being that almost everyone at some point came into the room and chit-chatted with me for a while. I have to admit that I wasn't really nervous until I was left all alone for a few minutes - then I could feel my heart beating faster and I had that big-exam-I'm-going-to-hurl-feeling that quickly went away because Johanna came back in to wish me luck and gave me a hug (thanks!).

The ceremony itself was very short like I preluded to and we wanted it that way. Pastor Steve did a great job of being an easy-go-lucky guy and had a great sense of humor. After the ceremony we started the picture taking. NOTE the photos are password protected, email Jonell for the URLs to the albums and the passwords.

After much picture taking we had about 45 minutes to run back to the room, cool down, change and then head downstairs for the most incredible Italian meal I have had to date (sorry Mrs. Roberts, your cooking is outstanding too!). We had a huge meal at B&B Ristorante -- a Mario Batali restaurant in the Venetian. You may read one of my many pre-wedding posts for the exact menu; it was tremendous. The pork chop was SOOOOO good. Well, everything was good so I am not sure how else to describe it other than -- it was dang tasty. After dinner a bunch of us sat in our huge room and watched the Olympics -- because we are all obsessed with them. BTW, I miss the Olympics, but that in itself is another post.

Saturday, August 16:
We slept in and then went to our photography appointment which was suppost to start promptly at 11am. We arrive with a few minutes to spare and it was quickly apparently that Mr. and Mrs. Bridezilla (another couple) were going to run long and into our appointment. While Chris was giving the photography salesperson the evil stink-eye, someone finally got her attention and she let us at least sit down and look at our photos. I stepped out of the appointment briefly to talk to Johanna and Mark during which the salesperson apparently apologized profusely to Chris. I wish I had heard her doing so because it was rather rude of her to make us wait 20 minutes. In the end we ended up purchasing all of the digitals - which is great since we wanted the rights to reproduce and we are in the process right now of putting together a slide show which will be seen by those of you attending the reception.

After our appointment we spent a few hours with Marc and Tina and their two little ones. I thought it would be best to visit and have a room-service lunch since the kiddos may not like sitting in a restaurant. Boy was I ever right - the kids needed space to run around and just be kids. We said good-bye to them and then we hung out with Johanna and Mark for a while. We met up with Joe, Andrew, and Heather and had the glorious Wynn buffet for dinner. My stomach still hurts from thinking about it! We said good-bye to Johanna and Mark, and then the rest of us went and saw the Beatles LOVE show at the Mirage. It was by far the best Cirque Du Soleil show I have seen in Las Vegas to date. Thanks Joe!

Sunday, August 17:
Basically flying home, unpacking, laundry, repacking.

VANCOUVER, BC
Monday, August 18:
A fast and fun drive up to Vancouver, BC. We checked into the Pan Pacific and had a great dinner at the hotel's restaurant - The Five Sails. If you enjoy gourmet food - particularly seafood, lamb, and duck at roughly $35-$45/entree prices - you need to go The Five Sails. This place is a hidden gem. The views from the tables first of all are fantastic - you get to see Grouse Mountain, the Lions Gate Bridge, a floating Chevron station, the future international broadcasting center for the 2010 Winter Olympics, and a huge cruise ship if you are lucky. And since it is Vancouver it isn't ultra-shiek. Gore-tex loving, fleece and track-suit wearing, jeans with button-up shirt kind of people are Vanouverites. The food is also something that is such a pleasure to enjoy. By now I think we have had 2/3 of their menu and as always - delicious. I had the duck and Chris I believe had the lamb.

Tuesday, August 19:
We did our usual walking around Robson St. routine. We found one of those souvenir shops and got ourselves some Olympics stuff. I got a fleece, a curling pin with the cute mascots on it, and a magnet. Chris got some commemorative Canadian coins. You know the Canadian Mint is so much cooler than the US Mint. I highly doubt our government would ever consider printing coins that celebrate anything other than dead people. For dinner we had a reservation at the elusive Tojo's. First let me say that we thought about trying this place when we saw it featured on Anthony Bourdain's show from the travel channel. There was an episode where he went to Vancouver and he just went on and on about how he hated nature but he LOVED his friend's restaurant, Tojo's. So after some online scoping we said "why the heck not". Second if you are familiar with the Seinfeld episode with the soup nazi - I think that episode was based on someone like Tojo.

We walked into Tojo's and immediately I was impressed with the detail put into the interior design - the restaurant's ceiling panels slope with the shape of the building and you don't feel like this is a normal Japanese restaurant. Tojo approaches us and basically tells us "I tell you what to do, when to eat what with what, everything I make I invented - no copies, all original". We proceed to eat his version of omakase which IMO consisted of too many cooked entrees and not enough sushi or sashimi creations. Do not get me wrong - what he served us was in fact delicious and scrumptious and very ingenious. I just don't know if the whole meal (for two people now) was worth the $500+ Canadian we spent. Overall a good meal and I am glad that we went to try it out.

Wednesday, August 20:
We went on a new adventure to the Reifel Bird Sanctuary - just about a 20 minute drive out of Vancouver. This place is awesome and I cannot wait to go back. First it is very reasonable - I believe it was less than $10 Canadian for us to enter the park. Second you can buy a HUGE bag of bird feed - which BTW came in extremely handy - for only $.50 Canadian. The sanctuary is huge and extremely private and quiet. The most exciting birds we saw also decided to hunt us down. The red-headed Sandhill Cranes were extremely aggressive and there were warning signs all over saying such. On our stroll they found us -- and if it were not for the bird feed I am almost certain they would have found us more interesting than anything else. As Chris describes it - there is a scene in Jurassic Park where the velasoraptors are running after the fat computer guy whom I'll call Newman. The birds ran JUST like the velasoraptors.

After a break at the hotel we had dinner at C Restaurant. C has quickly become one of our favorite places to go when we can afford it. The times we have gone we have only had the wine-pairing dinner - which is a 6 course meal with 6 wines. Roughly $300+ Canadian for the both of us and extremely wonderful. My friend who is also a professional caterer, Char -- has also expressed her liking for the great C Restaurant. I encourage you to go to their website and look at their menu - exquisite.

Thursday, August 21:
Grouse Mountain was the destination of the day. We almost did not go because the weather looked like it was not going to clear up, but we went anyway. Not much had changed since either of us had gone up last although there is a new Lumberjack Show which I thought was pretty nifty. We got some great photos (I don't have those yet) of all of Vancouver once the skies cleared up.

We had planned to go to yet another elusive Vancouver establishment - the Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar -- and after some discussion we decided to not try it out this time and went back to The Five Sails where I had the halibut and Chris enjoyed "the catch" which was sablefish with maine lobster and prawns. We had the same server as from our first night in town and she was great fun as she shared her own favorites of Vancouver.

PORT ANGELES, WA
Friday, August 22:
We had to stop in Richmond, BC at Sun Sui Wah for dim sum. The new find was a dish that had pea vines supposidly with shrimp cake paste wrapped in a rice wrapper and fried in the shape of a pouch. Sounds weird I know but it was really quite good. Then I could not leave Canada without another Tim Horton's double-double so we hit up the Tim's in White Rock before crossing the border. Have I mentioned that I LOVE the NEXUS card? (haha)

We found our way to the Keystone ferry dock on Whidbey Island and after a ferry ride, drove from Port Townsend to Port Angeles, or PA as the locals call it. We checked into Domaine Madeleine Bed & Breakfast - our favorite place in the PA area to stay. The Ming Suite was delightful as always - Jeri had the mattress and the deck replaced so it was definitely spiffied up yet still felt like a home-away-from-home as it is very familiar to us. We had dinner at Michael's Divine Dining and we found out Michael was our server for the evening! The food and hospitality was superb and we could not have asked for a more comforting meal. I had the chicken marsala and Chris enjoyed the pork chop. For dessert Michael served us quite literally 2 pints of homemade boysenberry sorbet. Yum.

Saturday, August 23:
Jeri and her son Shawn served up an awesome 5 course breakfast (see the website if you don't believe me). Afterwards we spent the day at Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge aka Dungeness Spit. It was high-tide so there was not way we were going to walk the 5.5 miles to the lighthouse; however, we did see some seals, seagulls and other birds about. It turned out to be a gorgeous day and we both got sun-kissed on the cheeks.

Toga's International Cuisine was our decision for supper. Normally we may have opted to go to Victor's aka Sabai Thai, but we had just been there in July so Toga's it was. It was definitely not disappointing -- just really filling! Jeri was kind enough to stop by the restaurant earlier in the day and bought us a bottle of wine to go with our meal. Chris had a steak and I had the beef stroganoff. Again very good and so dangerously filling.

Sunday, August 24th:
After another breakfast we leave PA to encounter 2 hours of sitting on 101 - car accident and traffic was at a standstill. We got home around 530pm to yet another Sunday of laundry and catching up on emails.

And if you are still reading, congratulations, you deserve a quick picture (haha) preview:

Again ALL the photos are password protected, email Jonell for the URLs to the albums and the passwords.

Almost there...

It's been a while since my last entry so I won't waste any more time.

Wedding Updates:
- Chris got a suit, he decided to go to Nordstroms and not the Men's Warehouse to get a fine all black Hugo Boss suit; single pleat pants with all the fixings I suppose. I admit that I don't know a lot about Men's clothing let alone suits, but the salesperson was really nice (thanks Sam!) and the suit will be fantastic. Sam was nice enough to do a pre-sale slip for us since the Men's Half-Yearly sale starts on Friday - we get the sale price! The suit should be all tailored and ready for pick-up in a couple weeks.
- Invitations...has taken up a few hours of our weekend. Everything is done except Chris is waiting to get all of his addresses; once obtained we will print out labels, stuff envelopes and be good to go. All of the other items are ready we just need those addresses. If Chris has sent you an email asking for your address, please reply -- please. I REALLY want to get these invitations in the mail.
- Cake...we have our second tasting scheduled for June 17th - just about a week away.
- Florist...will finalize total centerpieces needed once RSVPs from yet-to-be-sent invitations come back to us.
- Salty's...same as florist stuff.

I think that is it. Other stuff - work has been going well, the weather has been not so bad for Seattle. We have managed to get out during the weekends to take walks and photos (Zoo, Aquarium, random parks in Everett and West Seattle, the Arboretum). Joe and I have been trying to learn Bridge with some fellow curlers and so far, Bridge is hard!! I am trying my best but it is a lot harder than it looks IMO because there are so many things to keep track of. With more practice the easier it will become.

I have been trying to keep up with my friends from Avanade and have been somewhat successful considering that we don't work together anymore. I saw Shawn and Krista for happy hour on Friday, I am hoping to have lunch with the newly employed Rusty on Wednesday, another happy hour with Silvina and Charlie on Friday, and perhaps some drinks and snacks with Patti and Lindsay on Saturday. What a busy week! I should try to squeeze in some work while I'm at it. (haha).

Our Engagement Photo session is this coming Saturday as well. Let's hope for some good weather! Luckily it is in West Seattle, so we may all have to treat ourselves to the world's best almond croissant from Bakery Nouveau...mmmmm.......

This is for Krista

This week just flew by. I got some new clothes, learned some new Bridge skills, had a great time at trivia night, and had lunch today with Shawn and Krista. During lunch I made a sad attempt to bust out in Young MC lyrics and Krista had no clue. So Krista, this is for you!

Thank goodness it is a three day weekend. So go on fatso, just bust a move!

Peanut Party and the weekend

I like to put out natural unsalted seeds and nuts in a pan on the deck to feed the animals. Sometimes we are lucky enough to get a glimpse of who is coming around to snack. Generally they are squirrels and bluejays. This morning we saw a stripey friend (a.k.a. raccoon) out and about which surprised us since it was 730 in the morning - aren't raccoons supposed to be tucked away somewhere when it is daylight? It inspired us to put more peanuts into the tray and we were rewarded; Chris got some nifty photos of a bluejay!

The bluejay and the peanut party tray, woo!

The bluejay on the rocks in the backyard.

In other news - we had a great weekend. The weather was outstanding in the low 80s and it got downright HOT Saturday afternoon. Saturday we got up and went to the Woodland Park Zoo (http://www.thezoo.org/) and to our surprise had to wait about 20 minutes in an extremely slow moving line to even gain entry to the zoo. Once inside it didn't feel nearly as crowded as I was expecting it to be. We got to see almost every animal there including TOUCANS, a tiger, and giraffes. Very exciting. It got very hot so we left and went home figuring we would hit up the Seattle Aquarium (http://www.letleonardin.com/) some other day. We had a light dinner and Johanna called - we were on the phone for almost 3 hours. I have to admit when I got off the phone my neck was tweaked out. It was good to catch-up with her.

Sunday I slept in and Heather and I hung out all day. We ventured over to West Seattle so that I could explore Lincoln Park for good photo spaces for the reception (family photo time kind of thing). We stopped by and visited with Ann and then we all went down to Alki in a feeble attempt to eat at Bamboo (http://www.bamboobarandgrill.com/), but there was no parking. The Spuds fish and chips were tasty morsels though followed up with a trip to the Husky Deli (http://www.huskydeli.com/) for a double-scoop of French Orange and Husky Flake. SO good. We went back to the Webb house and I caught up with Heather's mom. A quick trip home to grab the reusable grocery sacks and then it was off to the grocery store at 730pm to buy weekly food. WHEW!

I wish I was enjoying a peanut party right now. Or some more Husky ice cream (French Orange, where have you been all my life)...

Spot is cancer free!

Just read an email from my Mom - the vet said that the mass that was removed from my cat is benign and should not return at all. Yippy for Spot!

We are going through an abnormal heat wave for Seattle this weekend. We are getting ready to go to the Woodland Park Zoo and then to the Seattle Aquarium - wish us luck since who knows how many other people will be doing the same thing. Yesterday was a ghost town at work and after the work-day was over, Joe and Heather came over and we had a BBQ meat fest. We feasted on Kobe Beef hamburgers, bratwursts, and teriyaki-pineapple meatballs with a grilled pineapple and keylime pie for dessert. Today - the zoo and fishes like I said. Tomorrow I think Heather and I are going to hang out getting lost in West Seattle and then who knows what else, but I am positive it will involve a lot of screaming at the Wii while we play Mario Kart Wii.

Here's to my kitty and the great weekend!

Dinner with Yumi

Do you have a friend that you hardly ever get together with, but you are still good pals when you get together? That is how Yumi and I are - we can go for months without an email or a phone call, but when we get together we have a grand time. Tonight was no exception; Yumi was kind enough to meet me at 7pm and we had a great dinner at Atlas. She had the pork chops with greens and hush puppies (not donuts as she eagerly called them). I had snapper with a purple slaw and mango fritters.

Jonell with snapper, red slaw, and mango fritters (yes, mango chunks were dipped in a pancake batter and deep-fried).

Yumi with her Jim-Bob pork chops, greens, and hush puppies (which tasted like fried corn bread with a lot of honey on top).

Anyway we had a good time catching up - she got to hear about wedding stuff and trips, and I got to hear about her decision to move to Hawaii. She is moving there on June 1 - so I was lucky to get the chance to have dinner with her.

This is for my friends who need a kick in the pants about finding a new job...

You know who you are...now go out and find a new job or else the stork will be very upset with you.

Blu-Ray and BSG

If anyone wants to donate any Blu-Ray discs to us we will gladly accept. Last night Chris purchased a PlayStation 3 (PS3) and I am SO excited. Admittedly we were inspired by Joe's tv purchase call it electronic envy who knows - and also my friend Patti has a PS3 which when we were at her house last week -- was amazing. I couldn't stop saying "HOLY CRAP" and "Check that out". Plus the PS3 has totally different type of games available than the Wii and it will be fun to play sports and racing games. Perhaps some shoot 'em up type of games too, we'll see.

Also I can't believe that I haven't talked about Battlestar Galactica (BSG) yet. OMG, I have to admit that the show kicks ass. Krista, Shawn, Jess, Johanna, Mark - y'all were right. It is definitely a show that draws you in and you can't stop watching it. I just caught a special deal from Best Buy that allows you to purchase the box sets for $30 each - what a deal!!! I don't know how long the special sale is available, but the URL is here: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?type=category&id=pcmcat146400050062.

Too bad BSG doesn't come in Blu-Ray. I am too impatient because I want it now. But LOST Season 3 is out on Blu-Ray...perhaps another trip to Costco to see what in stock will be in our future. Tee hee!

An Inconvenient Truth

Last week was a stretch - it was one of those weeks where you wake up every day and deep down you know it is a different day, but you immediately feel as though the day should be Tuesday. My week was filled with more transition tasks to various people meaning a lot of meetings. And a lot of phone calls. And those calls lead to more meetings...with people in India at inconvenient times. Combine all that with co-workers wanting to take me out for coffee and lunch and dinner and drinks - and when Friday finally rolls around I am exhausted and -- I get sick of which leads me to recap the week - with the inconvenient truth being my weekend illness.

Recap of the week.

Monday - had a pleasant lunch with Toni - she and I started with Avanade roughly the same time and believe it or not we haven't worked directly with each other often, but I still feel that we connect on some level. She was gracious enough to take me out to The Fish Club where I had the prosciutto and fig flatbread and Toni had the cheeseburger. Overall it was a little pricey but what else can you expect from a Todd English joint that is part of one of the swankiest hotels in the downtown/Belltown area of Seattle. The flatbread was delicious - freshly handmade with jus tthe right amount of fig and green onions on top to spice up the prosciutto. The cheeseburger admittedly looked more delicious than my flatbread. Toni had them substitute fresh fruit for the fries and they served oh approximately 3 cups of fresh fruit. I joked with the waitress that I would hate to see how much fries they put on the plate, I don't think she got where I was going with it. Just the same it was a pleasant meal. I was in a constant state of meetings until around 730 that night leaving work just in time to go curling.

Tuesday - had a great lunch with Bhargavi. Again, someone who has been with the company almost as long as me, she and I have always been on the same team. We went to Noodle Ranch where I had my usual Japanese Eggplant with Tofu. She had them make Pad Thai without fishsauce or eggs - it still looked great.

Wednesday - Mahnaz took me out to lunch - we went across the street to Anthony's. We had a rather personal chat and I walked away from it feeling calm. Later that night I went home to get Chris and we returned to a nice small dinner that Kate was kind enough to put together at Cutter's.

Thursday - had a nice lunch with Shawn and Ray at LaVita E Bella - where we took Rusty for his good-bye lunch as well; it was a delicious lunch. Later that day some of us went out for drinks at Twilight Martini Lounge and after that I met up with Heather at UVillage. I can't figure out when exactly it was that I got sick, but I definitely know that after I got home from hanging out with Heather that I was not right.

Friday - Kate again was nice enough to organize a good-bye lunch for me, a catered event with Ezell's Chicken being delivered. Krista put together a photo montage of me and there was even a gift and card. I was touched to say the least. I wrapped up some work and went for some SBUX with Shawn and Krista. I get home and I am definitely sick. The inconvenience of illness prevented us from traveling this weekend.

We were planning on going to Yakima this weekend, but it did not happen. I have been taking a lot of medicine and coughing. And sleeping. And now, it is time for more NyQuil so that I may rise and shine for my last day of work tomorrow.

Go Heather!

So Heather sends me this picture and asks "do you know who this is?" And I'm thinking NO WAY...you got a picture with Adrian Grenier??? Apparently Heather was out one night with some friends (Ruben and Sarah) and they spotted Adrian Grenier, so Heather got this quick picture with him. As she said "he is hot", no doubt! Go Heather!

I love bullets.

Oops, I guess I've been lacking in my blog efforts. What has been going on since we got a Wii.

• Much Wii-playing including sore shoulders (now of course we know how to play Wii games without throwing out joints and pulling muscles).
• We ventured to Yakima to celebrate Chris's completion of his medical residency.
• Seen 2 movies -- Ratatouille and Harry Potter.
• Debated if I was going to go to the midnight selling, but decided to just wake up early the next day to buy Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (yes, I did read in one sitting, only 8 hours).
• Andrew came up to visit and interview for a job and after much thought, was offered the job and turned it down.
• Chris completed his residency and now works at UWMC.
• I got a new manager at work who moves at lightening speed.
• Got into Pop-Culture Trivia at Jillian's.
• Random hanging out with Joe per usual.
• Purchased some new clothes for myself and donated a bunch of old ones.
• My relatives from San Diego came and made their annual visit to Seattle.
• Planned our October vacation to Pittsburgh and Las Vegas.
• ...and my brother turns 29 today, Happy Birthday Jody!

Bullets are great. And now I believe you are all caught up. Let this be a lesson to me -- to blog with regularity.

It's official, everyone is having babies but me.

Kate (my manager) after many months and over 24 hours in labor gave birth this afternoon to a healthy baby boy -- Nicholas! My friend Dawn who lives in Hawaii gave birth to a healthy baby boy -- Carson! Bethany and Bhargavi -- both friends and co-workers are pregnant and due to deliver in May and June 2007! And of course Sommar who just had a baby (a healthy baby -- Casey!) but unfortunately she passed away (see previous blog post). Not that I need to have a baby right this instant, but there is something in the water. My time will be here before I know it I'm sure.

Today also somehow marked the official turn-over of sub-teams apparently within my department. We all went out to Cutter's for a nice lunch. Let me think, was it any other kind of milestone today? Hhhmm.. I guess not.

Special thanks goes out to Joe for helping me fix the links that weren't working.

For Sommar

This week has felt like 2 weeks in 1. While I and the rest of Seattle were caught up with the big snow storm and staying at home, a young mother lost her life. Chris and I met Sommar and Mark Kramer last year through participating in the Novice League at the Granite Curling Club. There is something to be said when you get a group of newbies or rookies together at anything. It makes me think fondly of my rookie year with the Husky Marching Band; the same feelings of friendship and unspoken camaraderie ring true for any activity. As some of my friends from Husky Band have been made for life, there is the same feeling of those I have met at the Granite Curling Club. On Sunday afternoons, we would all gather at the GCC and curl, drink and play some dominoes. We'd share stories and tell jokes. At one curling club activity in February, Sommar and Mark came to the club and happily announced that they were expecting a child in November 2006. We were all excited and with the good humor that they have even had a pair of infant Vans shoes (Mark is obsessed with Vans) for their expected new born.

I had seen Sommar off and on throughout the summer generally at other curling events. I think at a few points I even saw her driving around town. When we had some practice ice time in October we had the chance to see Mark and Sommar one more time. Sommar was so excited and truly happy to see and chat with me again. November 20th we all received an email announcing the birth of their son, Casey Nicholas. I was looking forward to seeing them altogether as a family very soon. Then as quickly as Thanksgiving had come and gone and the snow fell -- Sommar Kramer passed away.

I write this not because Sommar and I were best friends, but to remember who she was and how even though I knew her for a short period of time how she has changed my perspective on life. I am sad that I will not get to have an opportunity to know her better; I hope to remember her and how her passing has encouraged me to invest more of myself in my friends. Thanks, Sommar. You will be missed by more people than you can imagine.

Happy Birthday to me! :)

I have to say, I'm 30 years old. Woooooooooooooooooooot. Go me. I don't feel different, but now I'm a 30-something person.

Thanks to my pals who have wished me a Happy Birthday...

My workmates who gave me this wacky homemade card with a picture of me looking extremely excited (Shawn, Krista and Ray are primarily to blame!) :)

Joe for playing cards and enjoying a meal at Red Robin

My pals Becca and Dennis who wished me a Happy Birthday on my space

Heather who sent me a funny e-card with dancing squirrels and a great surprise delivery of an Edible Fruit Basket

...and last but not least, Chris for treating me to a great weekend at Domaine Madeleine and fun in the general Port Angeles area

I appreciate my health, job and friends more and more. Thanks everyone!

Chicken and Cheese!!

The time has come to have our own webspace apparently. It is "under construction" until who knows. I'm still catching up from being out for a week. I feel that every time I get caught up, there is a new surprise or a new task to tackle. Job security? Or just too much to do at once?

My rotator cuff (right shoulder area) is killing me. Curling is safe! I just fell, that's all. I get to have the second part of my root canal done tomorrow. I hope that it isn't as painful as last time. And then...a crown to look forward to. Oh boy!

Vacation was fun. It was SO nice to get away to somewhere quiet, with no internet, and no one to bother you. I got to reread Harry Potter 5 and 6 and watch the birds. Boring to some, but wonderful to others. Unfortunately Chris was sick for the entire week, but I think he had a good time just the same.

Oh yeah, if you have any idea of what we should put on www.chickenandcheese.org, please do let us know. Why .org? Someone else had purchasd .com and and and..well, and that's that.

Heather is moving to LA!

My friend Heather has decided that she is going to be starting a new job in Los Angeles. She told me that she will still be working with mortgages--such awesome news for her! I'm happy and sad. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why. If you have ever had a good friend move away then you know what I'm feeling. She said that she'll be able to fly back to Seattle roughly once a month and in this day and age it isn't like we can't chat on the phone or via email/instant messaging.

Heather said that she is probably going to be moving at the end of February. Maybe I will be able to drive down with her, but it all depends on when exactly as our other friend Andrew will be in town from Alabama visiting! Andrew just bought his plane tickets and he'll be in Seattle for a whole week, so I'm really excited to see him.

Nothing new to add from the workfront, still doing my thing. Although I had a very interesting conversation with a co-worker of mine who kept talking about Red Velvet Cake..and now I have this anxious urge to try making some Red Velvet Cake. What am I going to do with a whole cake?

My Online Photo Album

I write tonight with a heavy heart as it is the last day of my Christmas-New Year's happiness. Work begins again tomorrow. My Christmas was great, I received all kinds of neato gifts including a digital camera--hence the title of this entry emphasizes a new online photo album that my friend Joe helped me to set-up. I've only placed some pictures up, I hope to have more soon. Yes, I am seeing about the Las Vegas photos (from my trip in September 2005) so no worries.

Back to Christmas--we did not end up going to Yakima as some of you may have heard. Karen called and said to not journey over since the weather was not great in Yakima. Chris and I spent Christmas Day with my extended family and had a nice time. The days between Christmas and New Year's I took off from work (I had to burn some vacation time, why not during the most unproductive time of the year?). It feels kind of like when you are a kid and you get Winter Break--it is SO nice to sleep in and just not care. It is great to go for over a week and not check email. It is nice to read books just to read them and to watch horrible daytime tv such as reruns of Super Password on GameShow Network. I had the opportunity to do things around the house such as actually do more than a light vacuuming, etc. Visiting with my parents and some friends, you are getting the idea...just a nice happy time of the year for me. I feel that I deserve it since if you've been reading my blog since July--I've been working my ass off more and more at work. I needed this time off just to get away from work.

Chris' family came over this past weekend--mainly to attend a friend's wedding (very lovely wedding, the reception was in the Seattle Tennis Club---swanky!!!!) and also to celebrate Christmas (again) with Chris and myself. They stayed very close to Space Needle, so we got to see the fireworks when the New Year officially started.

Now that I think about it some more...my next vacation is coming up in a month. Chris gets some time off at the beginning of February--so we are going to go on a trip, so my heart doesn't feel so heavy now. Happy New Year everyone!

My Weekend = Curling...at least this weekend...

I know I haven't blogged in a while. My apologies. A lot has been going on at work, nothing exciting to the point that I should blog about it or not, just work stuff. Thanksgiving was a good time had by all. My friend Heather spent her Thanksgiving with me, so she got to see all of my family. She said that she had a good time, so that is awesome. Chris had to work all Thanksgiving--and right after he worked 2 on-call shifts in a row, he got sick. :(

So we're past Thanksgiving. Seattle has received snow more than once, although living in the Seattle metro area proves massively disappointing if you actually WANT the snow to stick around. Growing up in a suburb of Seattle--you always always always have the snow stick around, but in Seattle itself---nope. :( Oh well. It has been freaking freezin' around though.

Yesterday, Chris, myself and our friend Joe--we all drove up to Vancouver, BC to buy Curling supplies. I ended up with some shoes as did Chris--and we all got brooms. Pretty swell. Why all the Curling supplies? Joe talked us into joining the Granite Curling Club (in Seattle) and now we all curl together on Sunday afternoons. It is a lot of fun and I think I am getting better.... at least that is what people tell me. :) And then of course today--we curled. The ice was getting smooth (the ice in curling is generally pebbled) and a lot of people were slipping and falling.

Anyway, hopefully I won't become a total curling fanatic and only blog about curling... :)

Abby and Bryan...Seattle Opera Part II and sickness. Oh my!

My very good friends Abby and Bryan are getting married....in Hawaii! I am still not 100% sure if we'll be going since Hawaii isn't exactly a cheap vacation, but nonetheless you should check out their website -- http://www.abbyandbryan.com -- very cute and nicely done. They even have a blog.

What else has been going on...the other night the Seattle Opera called twice--in one night. So the second time the operator called, he sounded frustrated because Chris wasn't home yet, so it went something like this...
Me: Hello?
Seattle Opera Operator: Oh, I guess he (Chris) isn't home yet?
Me: No, I'm sorry he's not....
Seattle Opera Operator: Well this is the Seattle Opera again, I just...
Me: I know what you want, could you please stop calling us? It is rather annoying having you guys call more than once per night every night.
Seattle Opera Operator: Ok, but this is the only way we can reach out to people sometimes.
Me: I understand that, but your persistent calling makes me want to NOT buy tickets and I have internet access--so if we want to buy tickets, we'll buy them online.
Seattle Opera Operator: Ok, good bye!!!

First of all, I am completely frustrated with telemarketers in general, but the Seattle Opera must have some embedded thought that the more often they call, the more it will make me want to buy tickets. NOT, I don't think so!!! I even had one of the operators tell me that he doesn't make any money unless I buy the tickets directly from him via the telephone. Gee golly whiz Mr. Operator--I'm so sorry for not making your 3% commission. Get over it and get a new job if it matters that much. Ok, sorry for that slight rant, but geez. Like I said I have an internet connection and I can see what operas will be playing... And not only that, but every operator that has called has become sarcastically rude towards us when we tell them we are not interested--like gee, sorry for not being a die-hard opera fanatic. So if we get another call from Seattle Opera I am going to write them a nasty letter telling them exactly what is wrong with their sales tactics. Granted, a majority of the opera-going population may not have internet access or perhaps they enjoy listening for 20 minutes on the phone about upcoming operas, but gimme a break!! Woah, how John Stossel was that?

Today is the first day in a while that I don't feel too bad. I left an evening work event early on Thursday because I felt feverish and like I was hit by a MAC truck. Took yesterday as a sick day and now I feel so-so. And tell me..what is up with Keith Jackson broadcasting the Texas vs. Oklahoma game??? I thought he only did Pac-10 games. Oh well. :)

And like that, he was gone.

Today is Day 1--Jeff has left the company. We had a farewell goodbye party for him yesterday. I can't really tell if he had a good time or not, but I know he appreciated that everyone at the party was there to support him in his leaving. The picture on the left is me posing with one of the gag gifts we got Jeff (Jeff biting his finger in hopes of not saying anything rude, I'm sure). I am still in this area of uncertainty of where I am going with this company. I am hoping that I can discuss this sooner than later, but my new manager has been busy as always. No bites with my resume .... yet!! But you never know, right?

After the party, it was like why am I still at work today. I managed to get some stuff done, but honestly I was and still am very distracted by all of the change and the "what ifs". Plus it is Friday. I know that this weekend will be freaking hot around Seattle (can we say "let's hang out in the mall where there is air conditioning?"). We are going to a wedding this Saturday--I hope it is under the shade!

Next week I'll be at Microsoft attending the Office 12 event. I'm getting excited by it, I have to admit. Does that make me a full-fledged IT geek? I don't know, but it is pretty exciting to get to see anything new I think.

Joe has a new blog

Apparently Joe has a new blog. I'm not quite sure how he is going to manage writing a blog that doesn't involve some aspects of his daily life or things that have occurred, but it will be interesting to watch.

On another note, I recently got myself a new toy, a Dell 700m. It is..what can I say. EXCELLENT. I highly recommend it.

And Annelise if you're reading, HI!

Another wonderful Blog you MUST read...

My friend, Abby Fabulous (who also happens to be Joe's sister) has a great Blog as well--she is much more creative and verbose than I when it comes to Blogging. Check it out!
http://www.abbyfabulous.com/blog/index.html

BTW, I was watching reruns of CSI as I always do, good episodes. I thought, I'll watch some junk TV after CSI was over...and I unfortunately turned to MTV. The Newlyweds (Nick and Jessica, bleah)--what a horrible show! They are so annoying that I hope they do break-up because they're both immature, whiny, and rude! That was 30 minutes of my life I am never getting back. What makes TV like that so horrible yet I can't turn the channel kind of deal? I guess it's like a few weeks ago I actually (yes, I am admitting it...) watched the E! True Hollywood Story on Mariah Carey. Speaking of which, I heard that she got married again?

Joe's Amazing Race Blog

I encourage you to read my friend's Amazing Race Blog (the whole reason why I started a Blog in the first place):
http://ar7travelblog.blogspot.com/

Good times.

I'm only creating this blog because...

...because I want to reply back to my friend's (Joe) Blog and apparently I cannot post a reply anonymously, hence this blog. Who knows, maybe I will become creative like Amy or Annelise and post things more often. I'm sure that I will be doing something more than what I am doing now. TTFN.