4 years on Blogger

June 24th was the 4-year anniversary of starting a blog on Blogger. I meant to post something meaningful but I was too busy studying and I forgot. When I first started an online journal, I didn't know what to write. I never kept an offline journal so it was really awkward. Now everyone is doing the blog thing!

Tonight, we went to see Wordplay with Chris & Heather. Funny movie! I loved it. I've never been very good at crossword puzzles but this made me want to try to become good at them. I didn't go out and enjoy any of the Pride festivities today - I stayed in all day and studied. Tomorrow will be a repeat as will next weekend. My test is in two weeks! Ack!

Sometimes, I must share The Gross

Because this blog is all about my daily life, I will share with you a bit of The Gross.

We live in a 2-story apartment with the bathroom residing upstairs. When someone is feeling a bit pukey, oftentimes the kitchen sink is the closest basin. I know. Grody. We have a garbage disposal if that makes it any better. Just a minute ago, I grabbed the soap to wash pans from dinner and felt 'stuff' on it. It took me a second to realize it was dried vomit. GROSS! I suppose it splattered a bit last night and Tony missed some things when cleaning up.

p.s. I always scrub down the sink with Bon Ami afterwards. I didn't think about checking for splatter last night!

Our neighbors disappeared. Their mail started piling up in front of their door so we started picking it up. I'm worried because they didn't ask anyone to watch for packages and stuff while they were gone...they just took off. I hope there wasn't some awful emergency. I'll feel much better when they come home.

Time to be more proactive

Last night was no fun - Tony was a very sick boy. I believe it was a migraine. He complained of a headache and then it got worse and then he started with the puking. Poor guy :( I was too distracted to get any studying done. He woke up feeling completely better this morning so all is good.

I have joined a gym again - one that is right down the street from work. I have two short-term goals: (1) tone up my arms so I like they way they look while wearing my wedding dress, and (2) strengthen my back muscles to help prevent the pain. The only time I have been pain-free was when I was exercising on a regular basis. My plan is to go during lunch AND I have a work-out buddy, Levona. No excuses! I'm trying to get Tony to join, too. He says he wants to lose weight before the wedding. He better get started now!

The little things are getting to me

There have been multiple things today and yesterday at work that have not been going smoothly. I've had to put too much energy into fixing these issues. I've noticed that the stress has gone to my upper back and it's no good at all. I need to figure out how to prevent that. I will be putting ice & heat on it tonight in hopes of relaxing the muscles.

Time to go home!

I love me some Vietnamese food

Tony's coming home tonight. His grandma is awake now and can have conversations. The doctors are unsure of recovery, so things are definitely still iffy. However, Tony is very happy that he got to spend time with his grandma while she's coherent.

Since it's my last night to myself, I treated myself to Vietnamese food. i love it! but my sweetie isn't in love with it as much as I am. It was so tasty and now my belly is very full.

I am going to attempt to get in an hour or so of studying before I head to the airport to pick up Mr. T. Chris got back from his 3-week Bolivia trip last night and wants to hang out tonight. I'll give myself social time tonight and then it's hard-core studying from here.

Perfect GMAT score - here I come!

Oh look! Here is me.

I studied for about 2 hours tonight and now I'm stopping even though I really shouldn't. Well, OK. I convinced myself. I will attempt to study further after I post this.

I left an empty laundry basket on the floor. It is Screech's new favorite thing to sit in. He's a silly kitty. I took the furry kids to the vet on Saturday for their annual check-up and both have gained a little weight. I buy them expensive, prescription diet food for them to gain weight? Huh? The vet explained the calorie difference between wet & dry food. We are going to increase the wet food and decrease the dry since the dry is much higher in calories. Wish I would have known that last year! Although a bit heavier, both kitties are perfectly healthy. She commented on how they are exceptionally healthy for their age. It's because they are very loved!

After we got home from the vet, we napped because we could. Tony got up before I did to take Amanda shopping for her suit for the wedding. I enjoyed my nap and then finally got up to study for a bit. Shortly after they got home from Shopping Extravaganza, Tony received a call from his mom with some bad news: his Grandma is dying. So sad. I put away my books and spent time with my Favorite for the rest of the day. I took him to the airport early on Sunday - he's in Utah right now with his family. The doctors don't know how much longer Grandma is going to be around. I'm glad she didn't pass before he got to Utah.

I have the house to myself and it's a little quiet. I've been spending most of my time studying with the occasional break to do laundry or go to the grocery store.

Ack.Ack.Ack. I am freaking analyzing my freaking sentence structure and wanting to go over every word to make sure it is all correct. See what this exam is doing to me?!

This post doesn't even deserve a title

I'm tired and I'm grumpy and I want to shut my office door and take a nap. I was planning on doing the studying tonight but I have no idea how I'm going to stay focused. Lameness. I've been drinking the coffee and it's not doing a bit of good.*cry* I wanna go home now!

Books'o'rama

I just ordered two more GMAT prep books - one specializing in the Math section. I was reading a bit online and found that some people take a YEAR to prepare for this test. WTF? What have I gotten myself into? Tony is going to help me with the Math and he is excited. He loves Math. How did I end up with a lover of Math? I suppose we balance each other out.

OK, I'm going to keep on truckin' and will do my best. Unfortunately, I have increased my caffeine intact in hopes of staying awake while studying. I don't know how I'm going to get through a year of grad school while preggers w/o caffeine. Lordy! Others have done it, so I can do it too.

Critters in the attic

One pain about the GMAT practice test: the disk only works on Windows machines. Yes, I know my laptop can now run Windows, but I have to go buy it. There was a point last night where I was dozing off while taking the test. No good! My PC is up in the office in my comfy office chair. Normally, I do my studying in the dining room. There's enough activity downstairs to keep me awake.

I admit, my practice test score SUCKED. I have my work cut out for me. Now I will go in the corner and cry. (not really crying. no need to worry, m'kay?)

There was something uninteresting I was going to post and now I have inconveniently forgotten. I should get back to work. I just remembered that I forgot to mail Father's Day cards out today. D'oh!

Things that happen on Tuesdays

I wake up in the morning and wish I could sleep longer.
I drag myself out of bed and take a shower.
I get dressed for work and gather some food for lunch.
We drive to work and then start working.
My 1pm interviewee doesn't show up.
I post in my journal to give myself a little break from working.

I started to take a practice GMAT test the other night and I'm pretty freaked out right now. I am going to have to study my butt off for the next month and really hope I do well enough on the test. I have a problem, though. The task of relearning all the math is terribly daunting. Therefore, I find myself wanting to avoid the studying. It's no good.

I dyed my hair 'Light Golden Brown' the other day and no one has noticed. I'm trying to get a color that matches my roots, but it's pretty hard. I'm hoping to find a color that is really close to my natural color before the wedding.

OK, time to make more things happen on this Tuesday.

Rambly ramble + procrastination

We had a lovely time with Dad & Carolyn in the evenings while they were visiting. After they left, I intended to be productive right away but that didn't happen. The next plan was to be productive today: go see SIFF movie about the Pixies - check; meet up with caterer to discuss things - check; come home and create 2 lists of things I need to do for school and for wedding - not checked. However, I did find an application on my computer that makes checklists. For reals! Now I just need to focus and start using it.

Safari is doing something really, really annoying. It just started last week and I don't want to troubleshoot it. I should have Tony do it.

We saw An Inconvenient Truth last night. It's a movie that everyone should see. We've also been watching Six Feet Under. We are almost done with the series. Sad :(

Well, I thought I was in the mood to post but realized that I'm not but I'm going to post this anyway even though I'm not satisfied with the flow.

Status check

Oh nos. I didn't finish my studying and my test is tonight. I did finish my other tests and all of my homework, but now I might not do so well on this test tonight.

Sometimes, the little voice in the back of my head reminds me that I'm not taking this class for credit and the grade really doesn't matter so it's OK to slack a little. And then the other little voice in my head talks back to the first voice reminding her that I have set my own standards and if I do not meet up to those standards, I am only failing myself.

This class has been good practice for grad school. After the orientation, I thought it would be so easy to ace the class. I admit, I made the assumption way too quickly and ended up being wrong. I will pass the class, but i do not know if I have 'aced' it.

Kitty poop does not smell pretty

Friday night, I neglected the studying and hung out with Tony instead. Yesterday, I studied for 10 hours and drank too much coffee. My jaw still hurts today from the caffeine buzz. I got a late start on studying today. We decided to go out to brunch and invited some friends. We then stopped by the Farmer's Market (Yay!) on the way back so I could scope out the produce - picked up a bag of spinach & stuff. I have one more chapter to read and take notes on and also need to finish up the homework problem for this last chapter. I am so close to done but have no desire to study any more today. It's 8 o'clock and my butt is plenty numb. I must persevere and get over myself!

Stormy

My Florida peeps - it's storming here right now with a bit of thunder. After the first clap, everyone got excited. For reals. I haven't seen any lightening, though. No work would get done if we had lightening, too!

Miss Natalie brought a boy she's been dating to the get-together last night. He went to FSU at the same time I did and we apparently hung out at the same places. It's a small world sometimes.

Dear Blog

I have missed posting meaty updates to you. Work has been very demanding this week and I have been spending my evenings studying. I am very close to finishing the Finance class. After my final test next Tuesday, I will relax until Dad & Carolyn head back to Houston. Soon thereafter, I will make a list of everything I need to get done before The Big Day and Grad School. There is a lot, so a list is a must.

I am not going to study tonight, however. Socializing with friends is necessary - our beloved Chris is leaving for his 3-week trip to Bolivia tomorrow morning. We must wish him a happy farewell and he insist on having a good drink before he leaves. I think I might join him in the tasty beverage.

I miss all of the loverlies in Florida. Both Tony & I want you all to move to Seattle. Tomorrow. Pretty please? OK, fine. I know begging isn't going to make it happen. You all are awesome.

Before I head to bed

Check out the rest of the set here.

To Florida and Back

We made it back to Seattle in one piece. Much fun was had this weekend and the ceremony was perfect. I felt honored to be a part of it. I am out of it and will post more later along with pictures.

Amanda has fun with Photo Booth

List

There are some people that cannot do certain tasks without a 'to do' list. I'm typically not one of these people unless I have so much going on that my brain cannot contain my mental list accurately. I'm feeling in a list mood today:

1) Work
2) Appt. with Jackie at 6pm
3) Eat dinner
4) Laundry
5) Study
6) Watch 2-hour season finale of 'Lost'
7) Balance checkbook

For Thursday:

1) Work
2) Pack - don't forget the shoes to go with the dress!
3) Dinner
4) Get to airport for the red-eye flight to Tampa

Storytime

Adrianne's bachelorette party started pretty tame. After a few of us had a delicious dinner at Cafe Flora, we meandered on down to Barca for a drink and to meet up with a few other people. After being there for about 30 minutes, pirates show up and kidnapped us. The rest of the night was out of control. Check out my pictures and also check out another set of pictures. Major silliness couldn't be avoided.

Tonight, I have been sufficiently distracted by my laptop. I LURV IT! One application that has been distracting me is called Photobooth. Tony hates half of the effects because they make you look really ugly. Check out the samples of all of the effects I played with.

YARG!

Story later.

My laptop arrived today. Yay!

Hunch-a-bunch

My upper back is much happier now thanks to the fabulous Stine. She mentioned getting a stand to hold my book so I would not hunch over to read. Dur. Why didn't I think of that? I will be venturing to Office Depot to pick one up this weekend. I think it would also be helpful if I start typing my notes instead of writing them in a notebook. Writing in a notebook also requires hunching.

I just finished my second test - one more to complete before my final test on June 6th. My strategy is to spend some hours at the library with the answer book once I receive my laptop so I can complete the homework and know it's accurate before I submit it (homework is done online).

I love my overcast skies

We got a break from the heat & sun today with a nice layer of clouds. I love Seattle weather. Warm & sunny for a few days and then a nice cloud cover to give us fair-skinned folk a break. Speaking of fair skin, I was standing next to Tony this morning in the bathroom as we were getting ready. I am noticibly tanner than him. Go fake tanner, Go!

The Boss said we could close shop early today (4pm). I am tempted to enjoy my evening and do no studying. I need a break one night this week, no? I'm going to skip out on bookclub tomorrow and go for a massage to see if it will help with the sciatica. My upper back is not happy at all about being hunched over a book for hours at a time.

Tomorrow night is Adrianne's bachelorette party. We are going to start off with dinner at Cafe Flora and then do the bar hop on Capitol Hill. Julie is have a bbq on Sunday, but I may have to skip it so I can focus on studying all day long.

Just wait until grad school starts. All I'm going to talk about is how I study everyday. Wow. So exciting.

Stuckthroat

Don't you hate it when you swallow pills and you have the sensation in your throat that they are stuck there even though you know they really aren't? Hate.That.

My sciatica is bothering me today and that displeases me so. I haven't had any problems with it in quite some time. My body is so lame sometimes.

In other news, I did not have a headache yesterday or today.

My boss asked me today if I've lost weight. He's the second person to ask me that in the past month. Although I haven't lost any weight, I'm totally down with looking like I have. I think it just really depends on what I am wearing.

edited to add that there are Fun Times happening tonight with a bbq at the lake and I am going to skip it so I can study. Lame.

Seattle heat

It's hot in Seattle today. I think it might have reached 80 degrees. Good thing we have air conditioning at work.

I'm twiddling my thumbs right now waiting for Tony to get back from the motocycle shop so we can go get some dinner. I hungry! His old battery is dead and we just couldn't revive it, so he went to get another. I really hope he doesn't want to put it in his bike before we eat. He's thinking about selling it. I love riding on the back of it, but we didn't take it out once last summer because he has neglected to update the tags. It would probably be best if he did sell it and then get another once we have a place where he can park it (other than the street).

Oh! Exciting news! My birthday present was finally released today and Tony ordered it for me!

Memo to my head

Stop hurting. Please. Something is triggering these headaches but it is unclear what it is. I'm thinking it might be pollen even though I have no other allergy symptoms.

I am a Tan Goddess

I jest. I can't tell if I look any less pale.

It sure is quiet around here. I was getting used to the Cameron chatter. Although Jenn & Cameron were just here for a brief weekend, the house seems empty now that they are gone.

I will upload the few pictures I took this weekend except for The Dress pictures. If you would like to see those, email me. I have to be sneaky about this since Tony sometimes gets on my computer for stuff. After I took Jenn to see The Dress on Saturday, we did a little bit of shopping looking for accessories. We didn't have any luck with that, but did find shoes for me to wear with the Pink Dress later this month.

I made a couple of quiches this weekend. I wanted to make them completely vegan, but didn't have time to grab the vegan cheese. I made the first one with spinach & mushrooms - it was OK but needed more salt. I made the 2nd today with spinach & facon and used more salt. This one came out much better. I do hope it reheats well since I plan on it feeding us for a few more meals.

This Finance class is turning out to be more challenging than I thought it would be. I've been attempting the homework problems and haven't been getting them 100% right and can't even figure out some of the answers. I then realized that I had yet to watch the lecture and they actually do help. So now I must watch it and hope that it doesn't put me to sleep.

Oh! Fun stuff! I've reconnected with a couple of old friends from my days in Naples via MySpace. I hope to hang out with them next time I'm visiting. Yay Internet!

Friday is my favorite day

At least my favorite work day, that is.

I am very excited that Jenn & Cameron will be here in a couple few several hours! Yay! Before picking them up from the airport, we are going to a friend's BFA show. I am very excited to see her work in person. We got to hang out last night at the show and she was telling me how she is excited to finally have a social life and we were lamenting that mine will soon be non-existent. We share a birthday 'cept she's a year younger than me.

My head is hurting again today and I'm just not happy about this! I think my office is just too small for the lilies. I will take them home with me tonight.

Excited must be my favorite word today. I used it far too many times in this post.

I have no discipline

Or else I'm just getting my socializing out of my system (ha!) before grad school starts. I haven't been as diligent with my studies with this one class as I would like to be. Working a 9-5 job and going to school is very different than going to school and working at a restaurant or in the mall. When I get home at night, sometimes I just don't feel like studying. Or I need to go grocery shopping so we have food to eat. What do you do? Tuesday was my one night of studying this week and I was so tired that I couldn't concentrate. I wasn't willing to drink caffeine because I was not willing to forego sleep. Oh well. I will scale back on the number of social events I go to during the week until I have taken the GMAT.

Well, after tonight that is. We are going to see Goldfrapp tonight at The Showbox. No more shows are on the agenda except for Sonic Youth in June.

The headache that won't go away

I awoke this morning to a headache. It's 1:23PM and I still have this headache. I'm starting to think the Easter Lily plant in my office is not helping. Lameness.

Tonight is Girl's Night at Sunny's house. She's doing a spring cleaning of sorts before her and her man shack up and is giving all of her girlfriends the opportunity to go through the stuff she's giving away before hauling it to Goodwill. I love free stuff! We'll also be firing up the bbq for tasty goodness.

Distractedness

Well, it seems I'm having a hard time staying focused on work today. My brain is refusing to function properly. I sent an email to all of our marketing affiliates with a typo of sorts: approvements. I dunno. I meant to say 'improvments' but for some reason I combined the work approve with improvements and came up with approvements. Dur.

On Friday night, neighbors & coworkers Jessica and Eric had a Cowboy party. It gave us an excuse to pull out our Halloween costumes. We hung out there for a bit before heading to Amanda's house to watch Delicatessen. It just came out on DVD and looks wonderful. I love that movie and hadn't seen it in years. Good times. Saturday, I went dress shopping with Julie & Natalie and then we met up with Chris, Amanda, Murray and his parents for dinner at Twenty-Two Doors. Afterwards, everyone except the 'rents came back to our place to hang out and be silly.

Well, I suppose I should try and get a bit more work done before 5:00. Eh.

And of course

A Very Happy Birthday to my Wonderful Sister! I cannot wait to see you and Cameron this weekend!

Tan in a bottle

I have learned the opinions of methods of fake tans. The friends who have gotten the Mystic Tan says it turns blotchy in a week. It was recommended that I try out Jergen's Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer. I've bought that for my body and Neutrogena Build-A-Tan face since it also has SPF 15 like my regular moisturizer. Keep your fingers crossed that the results are not orange and streaky!

I also bought a dusty rose shirt that I am wearing today. It's not Pink pink, but it's a step in that direction.

Death is no stranger

For the past several months, I've been expecting the call. Every time I would see Dad & Carolyn on my caller ID, I feared the bad news. The call came on Sunday morning at 9:30 AM. Even though I was expecting it, I was still taken by surprise.

My Grandma passed away Sunday morning at 1:00 AM. She had come down with the flu earlier in the week and her body just wasn't strong enough to fight it off. She was 94 years old.

It was a surprise to us because my Dad was out there just the week before and she was doing better than she had been in 9 months. He was able to have long conversations with her and she was able to leave the nursing home to visit my Aunt's new house.

Tony & I went to visit her while we were in Florida in November. She didn't talk much at all and I wasn't sure if she recognized me. When we first got there, my Aunt brought her out to sit with us while she went in to straighten up her room a bit. Here was our conversation:

Me: How are you doing, Grandma?
Grandma (looks down at her arm and pulls at her skin): I don't know how I got like this.
Me: How is that?
Grandma: So miserable.
Me: I'm sorry.

Tony & I weren't really sure what to say after that. We went to lunch at a cafe in the community she lives in. Tony didn't eat much of his lunch (too greasy). My Aunt told me later that Grandma said, "Kris' husband doesn't eat enough." She knew before we did that we were getting married.

I am sad that my Grandma is gone. I thought we would get to see her again when we were in Florida later this month. I know she is no longer miserable and I do take solace in that, but it doesn't make me less sad. I had already planned to Photoshop out my tattoos in the wedding picture we were going to send her so she wouldn't get upset (years ago she yelled at me and my dad after she spotted the one on my right arm).

My Grandma was the last of my blood-related grandparents to pass away. My Grandmother (Mom's mother) passed away when I was 8. I don't really remember her too well. My Granddaddy (Mom's father) passed away when I was 16. That hit me really hard. Shortly after his death, I decided that I was going to start having kids when I was 25 so they could have more time with their grandparents. Since I didn't meet The Right One until a few years ago, that plan didn't work out so well. I lost my Grandpa (Dad's father) my senior year in high school and I've had two uncles (Dad's brothers) and a great aunt & uncle (Mom's aunt & uncle) pass away. My Grandma is from a large family and most of her siblings have passed away, but I didn't know them too well. My point is, although many loved ones have died, it doesn't make it any easier when another passes away.

I love you, Grandma. I'll miss you.

Why everyone should see bands live

Have you ever been to a show where seeing the band live makes you love them more? That was our experience last night for everyone in our group. Flunk put on a fantastic show. The lead singer was adorable. This was their first time playing in the states and they were so bashful when the crowd cheered and thanked the crowd multiple times for being there. Many bands have such big egos but Flunk does not. Apparently, Seattle is the top place in the world for CD sales for them. Go figure!

I gave Kik their most recent album for Christmas because some of the songs reminded me of her and I could also imagine her doing her little Kik dance to some of the songs. I never did ask you if you liked the CD. I have found that people either love Flunk or do not care for them at all.

Here's Tony's post about the show with links to music video & pictures he took at the show.

Start, stop and do it again

Where did my last night go? Oh yeah: chiropractor, acupuncture, food, cooking food, chat with jenn, Lost (OMG the ending was CRAZY!), lecture on DVD and then bed.

I feel like I should be studying every free second that I have, but it doesn't really work that way.

Tonight is the Flunk show and we are very excited. Of course, this means another night of No Studying. That's alright. I will have to decline social activities this weekend which is what a responsible student does.

Plus, we need to start cleaning in preparation of the visit from the wonderful Jenn & Cameron!

My hero

I love me some Stephen Colbert. The man has balls.

Procrastinate

Who's procrastinating? me! I'm feeling pretty lame about it right now. lame. and i've been sitting in front of the computer w/o my glasses and now my eyes hurt. even lamer. and i'm thinking about procrastinating some more by doing some laundry, but i think i'll procrastinate on doing that and actually start studying.

Pink!

I have been drawn to the color pink lately. I keep eyeing the pink Razor and other fun pink things. No, I'm not going to decorate our bedroom in pink or anything like that. This new attraction has caught me off guard. It seems so against my nature. I still haven't the courage to buy pink clothes, but that will change since I found out I get to wear a Pink Dress in Kik's wedding. Not only do I get to stand with one of my favorite people in the whole wide world while she professes her commitment to her beloved, but I get to wear Pink while doing it! I don't know what I'm more excited about - the ceremony or the dress. JK Little Seed! Hee.

I have a month to test out the fake tanning products so I don't look ghastly in the Pink Dress. Wish me luck!

Casey's visit

Sometime last week, I broke down and upgraded my Flickr account to Pro. I like the service and wanted to give them my money. Now I have the option to create more sets. Last night, I uploaded the pictures Tony took while Casey was here.

Saturday: Snowboarding at Mt. Baker


Sunday: Aquarium with friends


Monday: Seattle Center & Pacific Science Center

Check out the whole set here.

Destroy Everything You Touch

We went to go see Ladytron last night. Good show. However, the spaz couple standing in front of us and often bumping into us was quite annoying. When you are in tight spaces at a show, you do not flail around, people!

Who's got time? I do...not.

Oh yeah! Who's slacking right this second? I am! I had a little brain overload where I started pulling out my hair so I decided to take a little break. The lack-of-internet yesterday made today more hectic. I'm drowning in work a bit and know I can get it all done this week, but everyone wants it done yesterday. Oy vey.

Last night, I did a really good job at avoiding studying by going grocery shopping and stuff. I did eventually study, but not for as long as I needed to. I'll be back to the grind tonight and will hopefully be more productive.

I tried distracting myself with laundry last night but found that our community washing machine was broken. Great. There will be a fight for it once it's back up and running. I might run out of clean underwear by then. I'm going to try and get in a load tonight.

My brain is still overloaded but I can't avoid the work any longer. Good thing it's almost time to go home.

Ode to a useless Monday

The day started off like any other Monday. My sleep the prior night was restless and I awoke thinking how nice it would be to sleep in. We get to work early due to light traffic and I find out right away that two of our pharmacies in North Carolina can no longer ship due to a new state regulation. Shortly thereafter, our internet connection goes down (about 10:30 AM). It’s now 1 PM and it’s still been down so I resorted to drafting this in Word. We are all extremely limited to the work we can accomplish w/o internet. Tony & I go out to grab some lunch. First, we try Whole Foods. They didn’t plan very well and made their parking lot too small. After trying to procure a spot for a bit, we decided to scrap that idea and go to Taco Time (much to my dismay). We get back to the office and I take a bite out of my bean & cheese burrito and bite into a rock. Not a tiny, little thing but a good sized rock. Ow. How unappetizing. I told Tony that I will not be going to Taco Time again. Ever.

This weekend was pretty alright. Friday night, I opted to stay home and read my book for bookclub instead of going to a local bar with Tony, Natalie & Jeremy. I had to wake up early on Saturday for an information session at Seattle University regarding their MBA program. I found out a lot of good information and am excited about their program. When I got home, I got a call from Julie tempting me to go to the zoo with her. Alas, I had to decline so I could stay home and study. Saturday evening, we went to Solomon’s house for his birthday party. Lots of fun was had.

I did get to sleep in for a little bit on Sunday but it didn’t really feel like it since we got home at 3:30 AM the night before. I headed to bookclub and picked Sandi & Patti up along the way. After bookclub, I dropped Sandi off and went over to Teresa’s to hang out with her to catch up for a bit and meet her little puppy, Piper. Later in the evening, we went over to Chris’ to bbq and hang out until I fell asleep on the couch.

OK – I suppose I should find something else to do that doesn’t require an internet connection.

Edit before I post: It’s 3 PM and we are still down.

Contemplate

Lately, I've been thinking about the purpose of this journal aka blog. I'm not sure if I'm really satisfied with the hum-drum of 'this is what I did this weekend' and that be it. If a random person stumbled across this thing, they would prolly think that I am a boring person. B-O-R-I-N-G. Why do I care? Well, I really don't care what others think. But, I do enjoy reading other people's blogs. Yes, I read the blogs of strangers. Lots of people do it. A lot. And I'm not a boring person. Most of the time. What I did tonight was pretty boring. I studied and then I watched a lecture on DVD. When it got to the practice problems, I laid my tired body down and promptly snoozed. Just like I did when I was in high school / college.

It's all about effort. Maybe. You see, I could write in a more interesting way if I take the time to do it. The question is, do I want to? Sometimes I think 'yes', others I think 'I don't have the time'. The truth is, I can make time for everything I want to do. It's all about how I choose to spend my time. I am very aware that I don't really spend my time the way I would truly like to. Well folks, I'm prepared to change that. Let's just see if I can stick with that desire and not get lazy. I sometimes feel like laziness is the bane of my existence. The 'maybe' part is this: being in a relationship often comes first. Blogging isn't something you do when you are hanging out with your significant other. You do things together where you interact. However, the 'thing' we often do is watch T.V. and, well, that is getting pretty boring. Unless it's Lost, Veronica Mars or The Office.

Now I feel the need to defend something I just said about myself (for no particular reason other than to defend it in my own head). I said I was lazy. It's only laziness in my Type A brain. If I'm not doing something every waking second, I feel lazy. I know that I'm not really lazy unless I'm being judged by another person who is Type A. Actually, I've had to force myself to be lazy because those around me were uncomfortable with my need to be constantly productive.

Well, it's getting late and I should probably stop rambling. I just wanted to say that I love my family and I love my Kik & Betsy and you all are the reason why I write this thing.

p.s. If you read this and I didn't say I love you it's because I don't know that you read this. So there.
p.p.s Before I published this, I did the spell check. It didn't recognize the word 'blog'. I find that very funny.

How to keep an 11-year-old entertained

It's not too hard when it's just a long weekend. Casey's flight got in at 5pm on Friday. Tony picked him up at the airport, came back to the house, loaded up the car and then went to Chris' to pick him up. We headed up to Mt.Baker and stopped at Casa que Pasa for some eats and to meet up with Adrianne & Josh.

We awoke Saturday morning to find it snowing outside. Sweet! We totally didn't expect the snow levels to get that low. We headed up to the ski resort and delt with the insane crowds. They only had one lodge open so things seemed much busier than normal. We finally got all situated and headed up to the top of the mountain. Adrianne, Josh and Chris took off to do the extreme stuff while Tony & I took Casey on mellower stuff. This was Casey's first time boarding in powder. He learned his lesson the hard way:



Even though he had to dig himself out of powder several times, he said it was the best day he's ever had snowboarding. The snow was really excellent and we all had lots of fun. We headed back to Seattle where Casey promptly went to bed; he was a bit worn out from all of the fun.

Sunday, the three of us went to the Aquarium with Amanda, Julie, Chris, Heather, Greg, Kara and Solomon. Afterwards, we grabbed some pizza in Pike Place Market and then went back to Capitol Hill for awhile. Greg (Tony's brother) & Kara hung out for a bit before heading back to Auburn. Later in the afternoon, I took Casey down to Cal Anderson Park which is just a few blocks from where we live. He really liked the fountains and I could tell that he wanted to get in but knew that he shouldn't.

Blahblahblahandblahblah. Tony took the day off today and will be taking Casey to the Space Needle and stuff. His flight leaves this afternoon.

Awesomeness

12" last night and another 12" expected tonight. I don't think Casey has ever snowboarded in powder before. He's in for a treat! I am so freaking excited - it's going to be so hard to concentrate on work today!!

April snow showers

Tony's nephew, Casey, is coming to visit this weekend. His flight is coming in at 5 and then we pick up Chris and head to Mt. Baker for snowboarding fun on Saturday. The great news is that it has been snowing there. Can we get a 'hell, yeah!' That's what I thought. 8" today and continuing snow through the weekend. Now I'm really excited! We are only going for one day so we can take Casey to do other stuff. It's his first time on a plane and his first time visiting an urban city. We're going to take him to do fun kid-centric stuff like the aquarium.

I haven't been doing my studying like I should. I get so distracted by doing the normal stuff and really need to kick myself into getting into the habit of doing school work.

People like me! They really like me!

Jill & William's wedding reception was lovely. It made us change our minds re: hiring a professional photographer. Theirs did a really nice job so now I'm going to bug Jill to see how much s/he was.

My birthday day was just how I wanted it. We slept in and then had brunch with Chris, Amanda, Natalie, Jeremy and Julie at Cafe Flora. I was sung to a total of 4 times, but not at the restaurant. Natalie gave me flowers & chocolate and Amanda gave me this rad magnetic necklace. And then the big gift that is from just about everyone I know - a freaking Mac laptop! We're waiting for the ones to come out that have the Intel chip, so I don't have it in hand yet and I'm not really sure which one I'm getting. How awesome is that?! I even think everyone at work put money in the pile to get me this thing. I was planning on buying a laptop after the wedding for grad school but now I'll get to play with it before then. So awesome!

Anyway, the rest of the day was spent being mellow which was exactly what I wanted. I suppose that means I'm getting old.

The Almost-Birthday Post

I am almost 32. 32!

We hired an accountant here at work. Previously, we were outsourcing our bookkeeping and now we are bringing it in-house. The person is really nice but very quiet. We're hoping he'll open up as he becomes more comfortable working here. I was occupied at the beginning of this week showing him the financial stuff I do and now he's at our current accountant's office getting trained.

With the addition of a new employee, we are having to move things around here and reorganize where people sit. I think I've got it pretty well covered as long as everyone else does there part like wiring and building walls.

I made it to my class orientation on Tuesday in time but the instructor did not. The class is totally self-motivated. Nothing and I mean nothing is due until the last day of the class (June 6th). Our first two tests are open book and our last test is open note. The only homework we have is to answer 10 problems over the next 3 months. I would have to try to fail this class! Of course, I will not. I plan on getting all of my work done ASAP and then read/study the last two chapers that our final test will be on as the date gets closer. If I get it out of the way now, I can focus on planning the wedding and studying for the GMAT.

Oh yeah! the birthday thing. I have a profile on My Space as do many of my friends. I received a comment today from They Might Be Giants wishing me a happy birthday! It made me giggle. I love TMBG :D

Hectic

It really does feel like it's been one of those weeks. Whew! I want it to slow down NOW! On Monday, we went to see Metric at The Showbox. Typically, the all-ages shows end pretty early. Not this one! There were two opening bands and the show didn't end until after one. I was so grumpy the next day from not getting enough sleep, but it was well worth it. It was a great show. AND! We ran into Tate (old friend from college) and his ladyfriend. Good Times!

So my supreme grumpiness on Tuesday made my whole day bad. I do not do well without enough sleep. Wednesday was better but I have so many things going on at work that my head is spinning. It will slow down soon enough, but damn! Anyway, I finally did my taxes and emailed my instructor. I have class orientation on Tuesday. Whee. OK, must get back to work now. Not enough hours in the day!

Tragedy

It was very surreal to wake up on Saturday and hear about the massacre that occurred about 7 blocks from where we live. Seattle is considered one of the safest metropolitan areas and I definitely don't worry about my safety in my neighborhood. Although I did not know any of the victims, it has definitely affected everyone in the neighborhood. Some worked at the places that I frequent. There is a melancholy air wherever you go now. So sad :(

ARG! Grumpiness!

I awoke this morning at 4 AM and couldn't get back to sleep until around 6 AM. The lack of a good night's sleep makes me very grumpy! I think I'm going to have to have multiple cups of coffee today instead of just my usual one. Grump!

I super cleaned the car yesterday and she's looking very pretty now. She'll be a mess again after our next trip up to the mountains, but that's OK. I can enjoy her cleanliness for the rest of this week.

Links!

I added links over there in the sidebar. There is now a link to my page on Flickr for easy access to my photos and I also added links to many of my friends' blogs. There were other things I thought about linking to but the list was getting pretty long. Anyway, check out my flickr page - I uploaded a few photos from our day trip to Mt. Baker.

This is the first weekend in a really long time that we haven't gone snowboarding. Two days of sleeping in! I was pretty productive yesterday and had intentions of doing the same today, but I've been spending a good amount of time in front of the computer. I think I might go wash the car now - it is in desparate need of a bath!

Put your hand inside the puppet head

Did you know that there are 250 calories in a bag of Skittles? And lots of freaking sugar?

Why do I do this to myself? I voiced a craving for sweets to Jessica and she hands me a bag of Skittles. A handful was all it took to make me jittery and hyper from the sugar. Yay! Ack!

Monday always seems to come about again too quickly

This weekend just flew by.

We had fun at Mt. Baker on Saturday. They have gotten so much snow this season that it has really changed the terrain.

I have heard that some fear that we will get caught in an avalanche or something like that. The likelyhood of that is slim. The way people most often get hurt when doing snow sports is 1) colliding with another boarder/skier; 2) colliding with a tree; or 3) falling on unforgiving ground like packed ice or rocks. The likelyhood of these incidents causing major injury is also slim. I had a kid run into me on Saturday and I just have a lovely bruise on my shin. That's the typical injury.

When I arrived home on Saturday night, I relaxed with a bath and watched some TV. I ended up spending 5 hours at work on Sunday before heading home and cleaning before Tony got home. He and Chris arrived around 7 and we hung out for the rest of the night. Tony & I watched an incredibly depressing movie: House of Sand and Fog.

oh yes - Happy Spring!

Where I spend 40 hours a week

Inspired by Kendra and Amy, I decided to take some pictures of my office and surroundings.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I'm not Irish, but I did wear green today inadvertently. I forgot about the whole "wear green on St. Patrick's Day" until I was at Costco and overheard a conversation about it.

I had been plagued with a headache all day until recently. The hurt going away makes my weekend start much better! The plans: tonight, go to dinner at 22 Doors with Tony, Chris and Julie. Afterwards, we'll venture over to our house where Natalie will arrive and then we'll watch The Office and hang out. Tomorrow will be a very early morning since we are heading to Mt. Baker. After a day of snowboarding fun, Chris & Tony will head up to Vancouver for William's bachelor party and I'll head back to Seattle where I get the whole house to myself. What will I do?

Seriously - all of the peeps I hang out with regularly are out of town this weekend. I pondered hooking up with friends I only see once in awhile, but I decided to have quality alone time instead. What will I do? Who knows!

I fixededed the link to Tony's pictures in the prior post. We are going to Chris' house tonight to finally see the video from their heliboarding trip. It is hella expensive to heliboard and then they make you pay $75 for the movie and $15 for a picture. It's ridiculous!!! With that being said, chris was the only one who bought the movie. The intentions are for him to make copies and disperse to those that were also on the trip.

Work has been keeping me busy this week; it always does when I take a Monday off. I think I may come in on Sunday to get some busy work done that I let pile up. I have been in the mood to spring clean lately - I think it's in preparation of not having much free time in the near future. Eeep. We haven't done any wedding stuff lately which is why I haven't posted anything. No news. We are going to be going in for a tasting next Thursday with the caterer, but that's about it.

Oh look! Almost time to go home!

It's all about the taste

Before I ramble on about my weekend, I would first like to comment on the pros and cons of junk food. The only pro I know of is that it tastes good. The cons are pretty obvious. The one that gets me every time is that I eat the junk food and then feel ill. Why oh why must the idea of eating Cheetoes sound really good? I regret it every time yet still haven't learned.

The question is, would I be able to give up junk food?

OK - so the weekend went a little like this: My Friday started way too early for my liking. Since Tony had the car, I had to catch a ride with Eric & Jess to work. They had planned to come in at 7am so that is what I did. The bonus to this is that I got a full day of work in. Julie came by the office to pick me up at 2 and then we headed to Whistler. We arrived around 6:30 and got to hear about everyone's awesome day. Chris & Heather made us yummy dinner and then we played card games until it was time to go to bed.

Julie & I met at the meeting place for the camp. I decided to rate my skill level high to make sure I was challenged enough and Julie & I ended up in the same group. We went on a scary steep run...the run part wasn't scary. It was having to traverse over a freaking cliff! It won't be so scary once I become a better snowboarder. At least that's what I keep telling myself. We also did some terrain park, riding switch and really fun tree runs. It was a good day. That night, we hooked up with the rest of the crew and ate fabulous sushi. Good times, good times. Tony took some pictures from their heliboarding trip. It was one of the best snowboarding days they have ever had.

Sunday was another day of riding hard and learning new stuff and traversing over another scary steep cliff. Julie says that I am a much better snowboarder now. Yay! Why did I wait until the end of the season to take a lesson? Anyway, everyone else headed back to Seattle on Sunday but Julie and I stayed in Whistler on Sunday night since we didn't want to make the long drive back after a tiresome weekend of boarding. We headed to bed early that night and got up early-ish the next day to head back to Seattle.

Weather Woes

The storm front brought lots of wind and broke part of the 520 bridge on Wednesday. This is the bridge that we take home. Chaos, I tell you. We went to the mall after work to kill some time and started heading west around 6. We made it home in 1.5 hours. A coworker who left shortly after 4 didn't get home until 8. craziness!

Our local mountains have been blessed but Whistler has not been. They've only gotten 10" in the past 48 hours :( Oh well. We'll still have fun.

Zeus is kind to us this week

We've got a big storm system coming in that should give us lots of snow locally and up at Whistler. I think we may finally have a decent Whistler trip this weekend. It's about time!

It also may snow in the city again. I'll be sure to take pictures this time.

Oh yeah!

I also put pictures up on my flickr account from past boarding trips. I have decided that I need to get a bigger purse so I can start carrying my camera around.

My back has been giving me lots of problems as of late - especially my upper back. Last Wednesday, I went in for an adjustment and on Friday had a massage. I'm feeling much better now. The adjustment also released the pressure that was causing the irritation in my sciatic nerve. Do you know why I love my chiropractor? She called me this morning to see how I was feeling.

Pictures!

On Friday night, we went out to dinner with Julie, Sunny and Chrisbee to celebrate the selling of Julie's house and the proceeds getting deposited into her account. Yay!

There wasn't a whole lot of snowfall this past week so we decided to venture over to Alpental on Saturday. It's the closest resort to us and was my first time going! We had a ton of fun and Tony took pictures! We spent the beginning of the day on double-black diamonds and the end of the day in the back country. The hike was really easy and the snow was still really great back there! We will definitely be going back. The one thing that sucked - the food. Ugh. But now we know to bring along some food next time.

I was pretty productive on Sunday with cleaning and stuff. We went over to Julie's around 4 to watch Oscar stuff on her fancy HD flat panel TV.

The weekend gets a Thumbs Up!

Credit is my friend

I start Accounting Fundamentals at the beginning of April - taking the online course. I'm still iffy on taking a course over the summer - the date the semester ends will determine if I do or don't. I may just use the summer to study & take the GMAT and hope for the best if/when I get into SU's MBA program. The thing that's nice about the program there is I can take a semester off and take an undergrad course if I feel like I don't have the knowledge I need to complete the graduate level course.

I bought our plane tickets to Tampa for Memorial Day weekend. We are flying out on the red-eye Thursday night and will be arriving Friday morning. I hope to visit Grandma if she's up for visitors. We are flying back Monday after Wedding Fun!

And now for complaining!

I was most unproductive last night. I did get the fish tank partically cleaned, but that was it. Yesterday morning, I found our newest fish dead :( Can't figure that one out. We are addicted to watching past episodes of Veronica Mars. Tony has been downloading the episodes from online since season 2 hasn't been released on DVD yet.

Towards the end of the workday, I started experiencing a burning sensation down the back of my left leg. Although it feels like my sciatic nerve, it's a new sensation from what I have experienced in the past. It has continued to get worse and it is so distracting! Typically, my sciatica would be relieved by laying down. I can't figure out how to relieve this irritation. So annoying! I have an appointment with my chiropractor tonight - I'm hoping she can give me some advice.

Pink blossoms

This is the time of year for the cherry blossom trees to bloom. They line the street in front of our office. So pretty! I should bring my camera to work one day to take a picture.

I almost got everything done this weekend that I wanted to. OMG - I almost killed Natalie with a stripper pole on Friday night! Sunny just put in a spring-loaded pole in her living room for striparobics or whatever it is called. I was swinging around on it on Friday night when it fell! I landed right on Natalie and was sure I split her head open! Instead, the top of the pole just took a chunk out of Sunny's wall. Man, it freaked me out! Needless to say, Sunny is going to wait to use the pole until she can secure it better.

Saturday was fun times at Crystal. I wore my new helmut because now I'm going to practice better safety. Saturday night was more fun times at Julie's house.

Strangely enough, we couldn't really sleep in on Sunday. We did laze around for quite awhile. After lunch, I went to a hotel to check it out for Dad and then came home and started cleaning. Our place has gotten quite messy since we've been so busy. My productivity level was up where Tony's was down. He wore his pajamas all day long and watched TV! I still need to clean the fish tank, but that won't take too long. I love being productive. Speaking of, I should get back to work!

Aye Caramba!

It snowed in the city last night - a very light dusting that actually stuck. As we attempted to drive to work this morning, we encountered accidents and closed roads. We spent half an hour trying to get off of Capitol Hill until we finally gave up. The roads were just too icy. We went back home and waited an hour for the snow & ice to melt before successfully finding our way to work.

Tomorrow - snowboarding at Crystal. They got 14" new inches last night! Tomorrow should be rockin' Afterwards, Julie is having a hot tub party at her new house.

Tonight we are going to Sunny's for hanging out fun. Last night, we met up with some peeps at the local dive bar for a couple of drinks. Wednesday night, we went over to Chris' for movie night. Tuesday, I helped Julie move some big stuff that was left behind by the movers. Monday, we went out to dinner with Chris & Natalie. Busy week! I'm going to insist that we spend most of Sunday at home. I love my friends but I need a break once in awhile.

Whistler last weekend: the conditions were for crap so we moved our Roxy camp to March. We arrived Friday evening and checked in with Jill & William on Saturday morning. They were very displeased with their condo and decided to bail instead of spending the money to go up on the mountain. Their wedding is in 6 weeks so they still have lots to do. We only did a few runs before getting off the mountain for party fun. We hung out at the condo before heading to delish sushi. After dinner, we attempted to go to Araxi for delish dessert, but they were closed for a private party :( So back to the condo we went where we all passed out early. We slept in on Sunday and then went out for breakfast and shopping fun. Tony bought new goggles, I bought a helmut to protect my noggin and Julie picked up a fancy, new watch. We decided to head back to Seattle instead of taking a day off from work to just hang out at Whistler. Although we didn't get much snowboarding in, we still had a ton of fun.

The Eeeviiilll in my Tummmmy!

I made a grave mistake today that I will regret for many hours. I accidentally consumed pig. We went to Whole Foods to pick up some lunch at the deli and I didn't read the complete ingredient list to one of the items I purchased - Creamy Polenta with Swiss Chard. I had eaten over half before a little cube of meat fell out. Ugh! Now I'm having to deal with severe nausea for the rest of the day. That's the last time I make that mistake!

Denial

I think I must be crazy for attempting to take classes, take the GRE, apply to grad school and plan a wedding in the next 6 months. Thinking about all of the things I'm going to have to keep track of gives me a little anxiety right now. I have weaned myself of my severe Type A personality traits and I'm going to have to revive them in order to do this. It can be done...I'm just hoping that Tony will still want to marry me after he gets a good dose of Type A Kris!

When I told Tony that I was going to have to put on my Type A hat, he was perplexed because he thought I already wore the hat. Poor guy...he hasn't seen anything yet! We did make a deal, though. If I get on his nerves because I attempt to take too much control and freak out when things don't go my way, I have to do something nice for him. He will then do something nice for me to help calm me down and bring me back to the normal world.

Because a girl needs a special wedding journal

Or something like that: Bridezilla Attacks!

Workin' and Playin'

The Boss has been out of town all week so I've been able to catch up on a lot of stuff around here. Good thing! Today, we are having a baby shower potluck for Levona. Her original due date was 3/13, but she's going to be induced 2 weeks early. They are afraid that the baby will get bigger and it may cause complications. Now we must hustle to get a part-time person in here to help out while she's on family lead.

This week has been busy! Monday night, we received a call from Chris wanting to go out to dinner. We met up with him and Natalie for yummy Ethiopian food. Afterwards, Chris came over for a bit to hang out and then Heather joined us.

Tuesday night was The Day We Got Engaged. Drinks, Proposal, and then lovely dinner.

Wednesday, Chris calls and wants to take us out for drinks to congratulate us. I first went to the chiro and then stopped by the bookstore on the way home to pick up a few books on how to plan a wedding since we have no clue how to. Once I got home from hanging out with Chris, I talked to Jenn for an hour and then headed to bed shortly thereafter.

Thursday, we got home, I run to the grocery store to pick up food for today's potluck and then we head to a Mexican restaurant to meet with work people to celebrate the launch of our Spanish language website. Afterwards, we head to Julie's to hang out with peeps to watch Olympic snowboarding competitions on her HDTV flat panel TV that she just got.

As soon as we get home today, we have to pack and then we are off to Whistler for Roxy camp! Tony's camera broke last weekend so he's out buying another right now. Once we have time, we will upload some pictures from Utah and stuff. I swear! We have no plans to go out of town until next month - another Whistler trip! All of my spare time will be filled up with planning a wedding and getting ready to start school again. I've decided to try for the MBA program at Seattle University. The program is so much more flexible.

OK, I gotta focus on work now!

Utah Fun

We left work about an hour early on Thursday to give us plenty of time to get to the airport. While at the airport, I realized that I forgot to print out our car reservation information. Oops. When we arrived in Utah, we proceeded to go to every car rental counter looking for the reservation which took about an hour of our time. No luck. ???? We were able to rent a compact car from Budget. The guy helping us was really nice. He upgraded us to a sedan for no extra charge. We go out to the car to find out that it was brand new. Sweet. We drive to Pleasant Grove and arrive at Sherry's house at about 11 pm.

On Friday, we hung out at the house for the day with family. Tony's sister, Brenda, came over with her husband and 7-month old. It was our first time meeting Tony's newest nephew, Jordan. He is a doll! Later in the day, much more of the family came over. Tony has a big family - his mom has two sisters and a brother. Tony's uncle has 6 kids, one aunt has 9 kids and the other aunt has 3 I think. And of course their kids have had kids. Only part of the family was over on Friday night for dinner - Grandma, one aunt & uncle, 4 cousins, 3 cousins once removed, 4 sisters, one brother-in-law, 2 nephews and one niece. Whew!

Saturday, we went roller skating. Wanted to do something fun for the kids.

Sunday, we went snowboarding with Tony's oldest nephew and his dad. fun! After we got back from the mountain, we went to a reunion at his aunt's house where I got to meet even more family. So many kids! After the reunion, Tony & I headed to the airport to come back to Seattle. Fun stuff.

My new favorite thing

http://www.last.fm

Work has been very busy and a little stressful this week. I've been busy getting ready for our trip in the evenings. Whew. We leave tonight after work for Utah and will be flying back Sunday evening.

OK - gotta get back to work. Just wanted to post a little update since it has been several days. I just know I'm forgetting something.

Pain in the neck

Our trip to Mt. Baker was fabulous. We just couldn't get over how great the conditions were. The visibility was a bit poor some of the time, but we did get some movies and pictures. I have been so busy this week that I haven't had time to upload any. Unfortunately, I woke up on Monday with a very sore neck as if I had pulled it while boarding. It's feeling mostly better now, but was a very strange sensation.

The snow is continuing to fall in the mountains. We'll be heading to Crystal on Sunday in hopes that the crowds will be low due to the Super Bowl. It's pretty crazy that the Seattle Seahawks are playing this year.

I helped Julie pack on Monday and will be doing so again tonight. Last night, I had an acupuncture appointment and then we went out to dinner with Chris and the girl he's been dating, Heather. Afterwards, we went to Noc Noc for 80's night. We haven't been going out to clubs lately but last night Amanda asked us to come out to celebrate her 10-year anniversary of moving to Seattle.

We were pondering going boarding both days this weekend, but I decided that I should take Saturday off so I could get stuff done. I'm also going for a massage - my poor back sure does need it!

OK, gotta get back to work.

EEEEEPPPP!

Snow! Snow! Snow! So much Snow! Typically, the conditions are listed as 'packed powder' or 'groomed runs'. Right now, Baker's conditions are listed as 'powder'. I am SO EXCITED!

Decorating 101

I finally did it - I hung up pictures in my office. yes, it has taken me 5 months. I was unsure of what to hang until I found these frames at Ikea that hold multiple pictures. A few months back, Betsy sent me a book of postcards from the artist, Yoshimoto Nara. I knew I wanted to do something with them and the frames solved the problem. Yay! I also ordered a map of the United States so I can label where all of our pharmacies & doctors are because I am a geek like that. It should arrive tomorrow.

Time to pay attention

I have something to admit - my diet has gone to crap since I moved back to Seattle. Well, crap for me. I used to have a really clean diet but it seems I have gotten lazy in my old age. I'd like to contribute all of my weight gain to hypothyroidism, but I think my diet is also part of it.

Since I've been having problems with fatigue lately, I'm trying to pay more attention to what I eat to see if that helps. I'm trying to eat more whole foods instead of processed foods and also eat lots of fresh vegetables. It's hard to get back into the habit and it's a lot more work. If I make something that Tony doesn't want to eat, he eats something like chips and nuts for dinner. I'm concerned about his health, too, since I love him and all.

OK, enough of the rambly. I gots to work now.

Perfect Snow

We headed up to Crystal this past Saturday. The snow was perfect which made the day so much more fun. When the conditions aren't that great, sometimes it's more effort than fun to snowboard. This past Saturday, the snow was easy to turn in and stayed perfect all day long which is usually unheard of. I was turning down black diamond runs, people! Tony will be making a movie soon for your viewing pleasure.

We'll be at Baker this weekend, staying local the weekend after then we have a trip to Utah and then a trip to Whistler. Bring on The Fun!

Teaches of Peaches

The campus visit went really well. I found out that there are no prerequisits, but it would be very beneficial to me to take some basic business courses. The application deadline is April 15th - 4 essays! Ack! I'll also have to study for and take the GMAT before that. Eek! I can take the courses at a community college over spring & summer.

So that's the plan, stan. Tony & I have to talk about it more. Since it's a 3-year commitment, we have to think about how my student loans might effect us getting a house. They had a panel of former students talk about how the program effected different aspects of their lives. They all mentioned multiple times that it can really strain your personal relationships because you have to dedicate so much of your time to school.

Wed Nes Day

The English language is a funny thing.

The side effects of the antibiotic have lessened as my body has gotten used to them. 3 more days left and then I'm off the hook!

We actually felt well enough to go out to dinner last night to one of our favorite local joints, 22 Doors. Last night was their first night of a new menu so that was fun. They have the best french fries ever! Come visit me and we'll take you there at least once.

Tonight, I am venturing to the UW campus for a MBA campus visit thing. I can't seriously consider going back to school until I find out more about the program! It makes me nervous, though. They only accept 50 students a year in the night program. Talk about competition! My guess is that I'll need some business prerequisits before I can even consider applying, so I need to find out who to talk to to figure that stuff out.

If I do get into the program, that means no social life or free time for me for 3 years. Yikes.

I am BORED!

This day has dragged! I have work to do but I just can't bring myself to do it. I can definitely do without these side effects of the antibiotic I am on: Nausea, stomach upset, loss of appetite, diarrhea, drowsiness, dizziness, headache, or trouble sleeping may occur. Check, check, check, check, check, check, check and check. All of them! I couldn't get to sleep until 4am last night. Now I know why! My guess is that the lack of sleep is affecting my ability to focus.

Man, I am really grumpy right now. I also miss talking to Jenn :(

What all good girlfriends do

They give their illnesses to the ones taking care of them!

By the time I made it to the doctor's on Thursday, I had a tempurature of 102. She gave me an antibiotic to fight off the bronchitis and sinus infection and also Robitussen with codeine to suppress the cough. My fever didn't break until late afternoon, so Thursday was a pretty miserable day. Tony started coughing that evening and woke up with a fever Friday morning. Oops. He went to the doctor and found that he wasn't as bad off as I was. Cold: yes. Infection: no. Poor guy has been on the couch all weekend. I tried going into work on Friday but left after I started to run a fever again.

I have been feeling a little better and made it out yesterday to run an errand. Today, I went over to Sunny's for a waffle brunch. The activity does wear me out, but at least I can get up off the couch and get stuff done! I can't wait to be healthy again.

Good news! Julie sold her house! This is such a huge relief. It will be nice to have her around and not be so stressed.

It didn't rain today so we didn't break the record of rainy days in a row. There has been so much snow in the mountains that Mt. Baker couldn't even open this weekend due to avalanche danger! It is meant to warm up this week and the snow level will be going up which means that the conditions won't be as good next weekend as they were this weekend. Oh well.

I have been experiencing exhaustion again for no apparent reason these last few weeks. I'm going to get lab work done this Friday to see how my thyroid is doing.

It only gets worse

I have tried Robitussin DM and Zicam with little luck. Now I am feverish and experiencing chills. Going to the doctor in a little bit. This is so lame. This weekend will be the best day of the season so far. We have gotten so much snow in the Cascades. It makes me cry.

Rebellion of the Lungs

Last night, I went to my first session of Bikram Yoga. It was like doing yoga on the absolute hottest day in the South. I can't remember the last time I sweated so much! And then I walked home in the rain. The cool, cool rain. It felt so nice. However, I don't think my lungs liked it at all. I started coughing last night and am still coughing. My lungs hurt. *cry* I suppose I could go to the store and find some medication to try to mask my symptoms.

I have been having a lot of back pain lately and have read that yoga is one of the best therapies to relieve said pain. Also, I think improving my strenth & balance will make me a better snowboarder.

Speaking of snowboarding, they are predicting steady snowfall all week long in the mountains. Mt. Baker received 24" yesterday!

Time for this cough to go away now.

Broadband woes

Not too long ago, Tony decided to change us over to cable broadband internet at home. Since our apartment is very old, our phone wiring is also very old and we weren't getting the desired speed with DSL. Tony hosts a server at home so we need a decent connection.

When we first got cable, we thought it was the bee's knees. It was super fast. Then, we found that most of the time it is so slow it's pretty much unusable. I've attempted several times to upload new pictures to Flickr and my connection times out. It's The Suck and makes me cry. Especially since he signed a year contract.

Now we have DSL and cable broadband. The server is on the DSL connection and we use the cable for our browsing. Did I also mention that he got a business account for the static IP addresses and better support? The support part is laughable. They only provide business support during business hours which does us no good at all. $150 a month for crap. *cry*

Happy New Year!

The long weekend was full of fun and productivity. We went snowboarding on Saturday, went to a couple of parties Saturday night, watched the Space Needle fireworks from Jill & William's house in Magnolia, slept in on Sunday, went to Chris' Sunday night for a delicious feast made by Natalie and also had Twister fun, and then did laundry on Monday. It was a very good weekend.

Happy Day-After-Xmas!

We are enjoying a relaxing day off before we head back to work after our vacation. I've done some stuff around the house like unpack and take down the christmas decorations and thought I should balance my checkbook. Thoughts of doing a bit of shopping today have crossed my mind but I fear the day-after-xmas crowds.

Our holiday in Houston was lovely. It was good to spend quality time with the family. Cameron is a doll. I'll post pictures to my Flickr account in the very near future.

I was able to send off gifts to Kiker and Betsy the Tuesday before we left and I even sent them UPS/overnight delivery but they still didn't get their packages in time for X-mas. I tried! I know Paul's gift has been shipped, but he has yet to receive it. I am hoping Mom's gift is waiting for me at work so I can ship it off tomorrow.

OK, i think i'll brave the crowds at Target to pick up a few household needs.

Seating with poor back support is The Suck!

This week has been pretty mellow. The only night we went out and did something was Tuesday - we went over to Cathy & Eric's house to hang out for a bit and enjoy tasty wine & cheese.

My acupuncturist cancelled my appointment yesterday due to a knee injury, so I just had my adjustment. My back was feeling great and all until I sat at my desk at home to pay bills. Suddenly, my poor left lower back muscles started spasming and they haven't stopped yet :( I just took some Aleve, so let's hope that helps.

Tomorrow is our holiday company lunch. I picked a place that I hope everyone will enjoy. We'll get to close shop early which will be a surprise to everyone. Then, Tony & I are going to scoot home, pack up the car, pick up Elan and head to Whistler where we'll be meeting Chris, Natalie & Julie for snowboarding fun!

My back better feel better soon or I'm gonna be really mad.

Laziness = Bliss

We stayed home this weekend to be lazy. It will likely be the last weekend we do this for quite some time. I had this crazy idea that I would go into work on Sunday to catch up on stuff but I totally forgot. Instead, I stayed home and did some laundry and stuff. Saturday, I spent a few hours doing the holiday shopping thing.

Friday, I went to the eye guy to get my eyes checked out and find myself a pair of fancy, new glasses since Milo decided my former pair made a good chew toy. Of course, I fall for the expensive titanium frames. I am such a sucker. They are doing a rush job for me so I should have them by the end of this week. Not only are they titanium, but they are eggplant color and very fun. I went back to the oval shaped frames. Yes, I will post a picture.

Tomorrow night, we are hanging out with Cathy & Eric. Wednesday, I have a chiro and acupuncture appointment after work. Thursday will be spent having fun packing for our weekend trip to Whistler with Chris, Natalie, Elan and Julie. Then, before you know it, we'll be in Houston and it will be x-mas time!

I still have some shopping to do and it might have to wait until we are actually in Houston. Mom, you may be getting your gift a little late. Sorry! I tried but I just couldn't find what I was looking for (yet).

Tony ordered the fancy cable broadband and it was installed this weekend. We now have a fast enough connection for his server to function properly. Would you all be mad if I changed the location of this blog again? I'm thinking of creating my very own webspace where I can keep my gallery & blog in the same location.

Ugh! Drama! Gives me anxiety! Yes, it's stuff that's not appropriate for a public blog or anything on the Internet. Kik, you aren't alone right now with the work stuff :(

How the days fly by!

First news: my assistant quit today via email. Lame! It was her first office job and she didn't have the guts or experience to talk to me about it in person. Oh vell. Now I must hunt for another.

We went to Crystal this Saturday and it was so much fun! The visibility was pretty crappy on the side of the mountain I was on so I didn't take any pictures to speak of. However, Tony got some pictures when he and Chris hiked in the backcountry. Sunny's boyfriend, Chrisbee (we call him that to lessen the confusion), went snowboarding for the first time and loved it. Yay! Another convert!

OK, time to focus on work.

Frosty the Snowman

Now I have the song, "Frosty the Snowman" stuck in my head thanks to Kik. I shake my fist at Christmas jingles!

So...I never really wrote about our trip to Florida. The majority of the readers of this blog were there, so it hasn't seemed very urgent. I have yet to upload the pictures from my camera, even! The shame. Tony did, though. Here are the pictures. Enjoy! You can see what we did while in Naples. I took the pictures while we were in Tampa. We had a fabulous time and are very thankful to those that let us stay in their homes. We are also very thankful that Betsy & Lindsay came up for the weekend. After we left, Tony said to me, "I don't know how you can bear seeing them so little." I told him that we've just gotten used to it. It's still hard, though.

Our Thanksgiving was a vegetarian feast! Natalie, Amanda, Sol & Jeremy came over to eat and then Chris showed up later. I love cooking thanksgiving food. I now know how to make a tasty vegan gravy. Mmmmm!

Last Friday, we headed up to Mt. Baker for fun times. We ended up only snowboarding on Saturday. Tony felt sick again :( He's going to the doctor today to see what is up. He gets this awful cough whenever he exerts himself and also experiences nausea. It's no good. Chris took some pictures when they were hiking in the back country. Check them out here.

We haven't been doing much of a whole lot this week other than work & stuff. Jenn! I've been meaning to call you back but we've been going out to dinner pretty much every night and then I forget to call you. I will call you this weekend!

Alright - I have work to do now. We are going to Chrystal tomorrow and it's going to be rad.

Snow!

It's snowing right now! yay! I wish I were stuck at home instead of at work. it's not sticking - let's hope it stays that way. Traffic will be hell if it does decide to stick.

Internet boredom

I am bored with the internet right now and can't do a decent post right now. I will come back later.

We are all safe here and are expecting snow tonight - in the city! You know we are excited about boarding this weekend. It is going to be awesome!

Back later. Promise.

Flying on a jet plane

I think we found our favorite rental at Whistler this past weekend. The house we rented out was recently redecorated and it was actually done tastefully. You see, most of these places are fodder for fun-making. The place we reserved for our December trip has a green, plaid sofa. Seriously!

We found the place we stayed this weekend for super cheap since the season started a few weeks before usual. The slate floors were heated and it has a private hot tub. it would have been better if the thermostat wasn't broken on it, though. However, the management company was very apologetic about this and mentioned trying to work at a discount for us the next time we stayed there. I think we'd all be down with that.

Chris, Julie, Tony and I left for Whistler after work on Friday. We made a dinner stop at Casa Que Pasa on the way up. We woke up early on Saturday to head to the mountain. The lift tickets were discounted and we soon found out why - the conditions were still quite early-season. We boarded for a bit and headed in for an early lunch. Tony had started mentioning feeling ill the night before and it had only gotten worse. After lunch, we boarded for a little bit more and then decided to head down since Tony was not feeling any better. We went into the village and picked him up some medicine and headed back to the house.

Poor thing - he was in and out of a fever and couldn't get rid of the nausea. We hung around the house for a bit feeding him toast and Aleve and finally he started feeling more human. We decided to go out for sushi since that is what tony was in the mood for (he hadn't really eaten since the night before). The sushi was absolutely fabulous. After dinner, we headed back to the house and ended up going to bed really early.

The next morning, we slept in. It had snowed a bit throughout the night and there was a nice coat of white covering everything outside. So Beautiful. Tony still wasn't feeling great, so we decided to skip snowboarding on Sunday and headed back to Seattle.

I wish I could say that i got pictures, but my battery needed to be charged and i didn't check it before we headed out to the mountain. Oops.

I'm pretty much packed for our trip and will be getting up early in the morning to head into work for a few hours before we catch our plane at 1:15. I checked the weather forcast today for Naples - the highs are meant to be in the mid-80's! We are so not used to that kind of heat! I keep telling everyone that we are going to get tans on our vacation. We'll see if that can actually happen :)

This and that and somethingsomething

Interview process for my assistant is done. I'm going to make an offer to April this afternoon.

Snowboarding on Saturday was so fun. I couldn't help but laugh most of the day. The snow was better than any day at Crystal last season.

Sunday, I went over to Julie's around 10am and Natalie came over a little later. We kicked some ass and cleaned it up. Julie's house is now on the market

Last night, we went to go see They Might Be Giants. They put on a fun show as always.

It will be busy week & weekend until vacation. I am very excited about our trip to Florida next week!

A post that is NOT about snowboarding (kind-of)

Today, Tony & I went to the dentist to get our teeth cleaned. This was the first time he had been to the dentist in 10 years. No cavities or gum disease! Good job, Tony! After the dentist, we went to the pet store to get the kitties some food and stopped by the Mac store to get me an iPod Shuffle. It's cute and little and light and much more compact than my regular iPod.

We are a full-on iPod family. 4 iPods: i have my two and tony has a Nano & Video. We picked up mine today because I like to listen to music while snowboarding and I tend to fall a lot. Last season, i fell so hard that i kind-of crushed my iPod (the Apple dude was able to fix it). I needed to get something that would be harder to break.

Apple loves us. We have 3 macs and 4 ipods. We are good consumers!

My Weekends by Me

This weekend: Snowboarding on Sunday and helping Julie with her house on Sunday.

Next weekend: Snowboarding at Whistler

Week/end after that: Florida!

Weekend after that: T-giving yummies and then trip to Mt. Baker

December:

Snowboarding, snowboarding, snowboarding at Whistler, trip to Texas and then more snowboarding.

When I'm not snowboarding, I'll be working. I started interviewing for my assistant today and hope to have someone hired before the end of next week. Gotta focus on work right now since Tony & I are leaving early to go to the dentist.

The Awesomist!

Lots of snow will be falling in the mountains all through the middle of next week! Crystal is opening THIS WEEKEND! I get to go snowboarding locally THIS WEEKEND!

This is so awesome especially since we had such a craptastic season last year.

In other news, Julie's house is going on the market this Monday. I'll be helping her get it cleaned up this week/weekend when we aren't snowboarding.

I just want to cry!

Serious! Whistler is OPENING THIS WEEKEND!!! Now I can't concentrate on work because all I can think about is SNOWBOARDING!!!! We aren't going to go this weekend, but will likely be going up next weekend to get in some snowboarding before we head to Florida.

The beautiful rain has been falling here the past few days. Forcast looks good for the snow to fall and stay in local mountains. It's likely that we'll be snowboarding Thanksgiving weekend and will be able to do so locally.