Atkin's story of the day. Do you know what ooks me out the most? The dude was trying to lose 8 freaking pounds! He weighs 140lbs and has serious heart problems!! Warning! Warning! Don't eat the really unhealthy meat full of the saturated fat as your main food! You might kill yourself. Seriously.

So.Tempted.To.Get.On.Soapbox.But.Will.Resist.

Dear Laundry,
Please wash yourself. I've run out of quarters and do not feel like devoting more time to dealing with you. Therefore, I would like you to change to the self-cleaning variety. OKthxbye.

If I were to win the lottery, I would give you money. I would buy myself a shiny, new hybrid Honda and Tony a shiny, new Audi wagon for the snow sports. I would pay off all of my debt, invest lots of money and buy a house. I'd throw a big party and invite everyone. These are the things I think about on my drive to work. But I will never win the lottery. I don't play.

I'm going to start sending my resume to jobs at UW. I could ride my bike or walk to work every day. I could start taking classes again. That would be so cool.

I made dinner last night and used ONIONS. I cooked the hell out of them and I ate them. I never would have thought I would concede to cooking with onions, but here I am. What's going on? I hit 30 and I start eating fish again and I start eating onions. However, I don't think I will ever like them raw. They gotta be super cooked.

It has been rainy here so far this week and this weather is to continue for the rest of the week. Although it rains, it is still spring warm. I enjoy this weather, but it drives the spiders into my home since I keep the windows open. So far, the kitties have been good about controlling the population.

Persephone now sleeps on my back. It is very weird to wake up with extra weight on me. I don't know why she finds this to be comfortable.

Whistler Trip 5-20 to 5-23-04

After leaving work on Thursday, I met everyone at my house. We piled into two cars and started the drive up to B.C. We stopped in Bellingham at Red Robin for a late dinner. The drive up was easy compared to last time since we didn't have to battle with snow.

Since there was no fresh powder calling out to us on Friday morning, we slept in and took our time getting on the slopes. On our way up to the part of the mountain that still had snow, we saw a momma bear and a baby bear :D

The 6 of us stuck together (Me, Tony, Chris, Sunny, Natalie & Sandi) for the first two runs. We were headed back up to the lodge for lunch when it started to sleet on us. Ouch. As we were getting off of the lift, they told us that the lift was closing and to head to the gondola. Shortly thereafter, they had to shut the gondola down due to the thunderstorm. We were stranded on the mountain! Fortunately, we had plenty of food and drink to keep us happy. If the storm didn't cease, they were going to transport us down on Catamarans. Unfortunately, the lightening did go away and we rode the gondola down.
After our exciting adventure, we went back to the condo, cleaned up and went out to a yummy dinner in the village. We came back and did a bit of hot tubbing before going to bed.

That night, we were in luck. The precipitation and colder weather made snow. Not a lot, but some. Saturday morning, we headed out kinda later than we wanted to. Chris, Tony and I did the runs at the top of the mountain. It really felt like winter up there! Needless to say, we were quite happy with the conditions. There was one point where we were going along a cat trail and there were narrow strips of snow surrounded by dirt and rocks. It was very surreal to be snowboarding in spots with so little snow. The boys wore me out that day! We met up with Natalie and Sandi in the lodge and headed down to the village. We stopped by a cheesy bar for a drink and snack before heading back to the condo. We got ready all quick-like and went out for a fun time eating sushi and hitting the hokie clubs in the village. I was so freaking tired, so Tony & I headed back early to go to sleep.

Sunday morning, we loaded up the cars and went to brunch in the village. I think it will be the last time we do that. This past time was one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had. After we finally got out of the crappy restaurant, we did a bit of shopping. I scored the most kick-ass jacket that everybody wants. Seriously. I'm going to try and find a picture of it online somewhere. Sandi, Tony & I headed back to Seattle and that was the end of our vacation.

The end.

Pictures

Going to Whistler for the weekend. Leaving tonight.
My digestive system is not happy with me for reasons unknown. I just hope I am all better before we leave after work.
Happy Birthday Duncan!
I cut my hair short. Will post pictures soon.
Speaking of pictures, here are the pictures from my birthday party.

I no longer have broadband at home. I now connect to the internet using my mobil phone. How cool is that?? Thing is, it's really slow. Going back to dial-up is weird, but will save me a good chunk of money every month.

OK, back to work.

Week in review by Kris

I'm going backwards because I can.

Right now, I stay up because I am going to go pick up Natalie from the airport tonight. Unfortunately, her plane is an hour late and won't be landing until 11:40pm. I could go to bed now. She's coming back from a weekend in SoCal.

Last night, I did much of nothing. Yesterday, I felt crappy. Skipped my workout.

Sunday, Tony & I went for a ride on his motorcycle to Edmonds. We went to the beach and were going to play frisbee, but we went and ate at an overpriced restaurant instead. The food was disappointing for how much it cost. That night, we rented "Big Fish". I enjoyed it greatly.

It is official. I eat fish again. not the Tim Burton kind, but the kind you get at restaurants.

Saturday, we went out for brunch. Just the two of us. Our regular brunch dates were all out of town. As we left to go eat, Tony locked his keys out of his house. Fortunately, Amanda has a spare, so we went to her house after we ate. I had a massage appointment with Stine mid-afternoon. That was lovely. Afterwards, tony picked me up on his bike and we went downtown to do a bit of shopping for him. That night we went to Jai Tai where we met up with Amanda & Emmett after they got off from work.

Friday night, Tony & I went and saw "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and both loved it. Charlie Kaufman has yet to disappoint me. I think he is GRRREAT! You know, Tony the Tiger great. From the commercials. Don't mind me. I'm a nut. A big, fat macadamia nut.

Thursday night, we went out dancing at the Mercury. The music was old school EBM/Industrial and I dance a lot and had much fun.

This past Sunday, I went and saw Edmond. Stine, Lyam and Jose' were all in this production. Good play, but not uplifting whatsoever. Before that, Tony & I hopped on his motorcycle to meet Chris in his neighborhood (Madrona) for brunch. Yum!

All day on Monday, I was feeling utterly exhausted until I left work. Yesterday, I was having waves of exhaustion. I'm thinking it has to do with something I'm consuming, so today I avoid drinking the one soda I usually have with lunch. We bbq'd in the back and a soda sure would taste good with my veggie burger, but I resist. I'm writing down what I eat and when I experience these waves of exhaustion.

I've been working out regularly and have not taken off one pound. I've been watching my consumption of breads and stuff and upping my protein. Let's see if there is any change.

OK...back to work.

I love my iPod! Woot! Woot! I enjoy working out much more now and my commute - man does it make my commute better. Best gift EVER!

Thursday night, Tony came over here and we tried going to the best sushi place in the city, but it was closed already. That place is ALWAYS packed. One day we'll make it there. We went to Murphy's Pub instead and ate pub food. When we got back to my place, Tony set up BlueTooth on my pc so I can connect to the internet using my cell phone. Since I no longer spend much time on the internet at home, my plan is to get rid of my broadband internet connection and my land line.

Since Tony was in Vancouver (not Victoria) for the Pixies show last night, I went out with the girls. Julie, Sunny, Natalie, Amiee and I met at Broadway Grill for margaritas and crack nachos before heading to the club to shake some booty. Much fun was had. I didn't stay out too late due to the tiredness. It was so nice to be able to get 8 hours of sleep last night.

Now I do laundry. I am actually excited to have all of my clothes clean at once. It's been a long time since I've been at home long enough to do 3 loads of laundry. Today reminds me of the days when I used to telecommute. Ah, the good old days.

I'm also in the process of moving all of my galleries to Tony's website, but things have not been going smoothly. We didn't have time to work on it the other night, but I hope to have him help me figure out the issue soon. People need to see pictures, you know!

My weekend ended up not being so lazy. Friday night, we went out and that was fun. Saturday, I took my car into the shop to get the oil changed. Earlier in the week, the "Service Engine Soon" light came on so I had them check that out also. Apparently, my car's computer needs replacing. It's a $900 part! Fortunately, it's covered under some Federal warrenty that I've never heard of before. Maybe it's new or something. Afterwards, I met Tony & Solomon for falafals and then Tony & I went to Ikea. It was an absolute zoo. He got a new desk that he deparately needed. We then went to Bed, Bath & Beyond where he bought a bunch of other stuff for his apartment. Saturday night, we stayed in and painted his coffee table.

On Sunday, Tony, Chris and I went to brunch. Then, Tony & I went to Target for more stuff for his apartment. I dropped him off at home and went home to do some laundry. I went over to Tony's later to watch the Simpsons and then we did something else but now I forget.

Blahblahblahblah

Tony's going to see The Pixies on Friday in Victoria. A friend of his had an extra ticket. I am not envious, I swear!

Guess who's bored at work? Me!

This week has been pretty mellow. I've been able to go to the gym after work every day except for Wednesday. We went to Julie's for TV night. Last night, we went to the club for Xentropic.

I'm so happy it's friday. I get to be lazy this weekend. The one errand I am going to run is taking my car in for a much needed oil change. As I was driving last night, a little light came on on my dashboard that says, "Service Car Soon" or something like that. I hope it's nothing major because I cannot afford it.

I've been pondering getting a second job, but I'd want it to be one where I worked from home and could create my own hours. Like, data entry or something. And I'd only want to work 10 to 15 hours a week. I don't want a second job, but having a little bit of extra income would definitely help out right now. Pttthh.

Waaah. *cry* I did my taxes and owe more than I expected and now am sad. I was hoping to make a trip to SoCal if I had the vacation time, but now I know I can't due to lack of money.

Alright, I'll try and be upbeat here.
My weekend was fabulous. The birthday party was a great success and all had fun. My friend, Murray, took Tony, Chris and me up in a single-engine plane for a 2 hour sunset flight. It was so cool. I'll put up the link soon. Sunday, I actually slept in until noon! It was wonderful. We went to an annual Easter party...t'was fun.

I didn't want to come back to work yesterday, but I did. Time to be a grown-up!

Poor Screech. The antibiotics gave him diarrea and it's been a mess. I stopped giving them to him on Saturday, but he's still got it. I feel bad for him :-( I also don't like waking up to poop smears on my pillow from his runny butt. Gross!

This is my last day. Yes it is.

I am getting the passport for when we go to Canada. I also hope to get off this continent one of these days. Cereal. The acquiring of the passport has been a very large pain in my ass. I forgot my birth certificate on Tuesday, so I couldn't do it during lunch on that day. Wednesday, I met up with Chris for lunch. Today, I was given the incorrect directions to one place. When I went to the courthouse later, they told me they only take checks even though the application states that they accept major credit cards. I don't typically carry around my checkbook. I'm not going to deal with it tomorrow since tomorrow is going to be about fun.

Today has been very bleh. I've had a headache all day long. I took Screech to the vet this morning to get his teeth cleaned and have exams & stuff. He's healthy but does have a bad case of gingivitis. I get to give him antibiotics. Yay. But, it's good to know that he doesn't have problems with his thyroid. When I first moved here, he weighed in at 10.5 lbs. He's gained two pounds since I started free-feeding him.

Life at my house has been so much better since I started free-feeding him. It's great. I can't believe I withheld for this long!

Thank you to J&D for the REI gift certificate! I'm going this weekend! Thank you Dad & Carolyn for the check! I'm going shopping tomorrow! I want a new dress for the party.

If anyone wants to reach me tomorrow, call my cell phone.

Saturday, I'm going to Stine's for a massage. From 6 to 7:30pm, I'm gonna be flying around over the city in a little plane. I have a friend that recently got his pilot's license. Whee! I hope we also go to brunch in the morning.

Stupid headache. We have plans to go to Ira's tonight for dinner. I hate feeling crappy.

This weekend, I only got to do about half of what I wanted to do, but that's OK. Life is fun.

Hanging out with Teresa = check
Snowboarding = check
Going out saturday night = check
Q.T. with my favorite boy = check
Made brunch on Sunday = check
Bookclub = check
Called Mom = check
A load of laundry = check
Made two delicious quiches = check

The things I did not get to do = two loads of laundry, motorcycle ride through the arboretum with Tony, trip to Ikea, passport photos. I took care of the photos during lunch today and will drop off the application during lunch tomorrow. I'm having dinner at Teresa's tonight - I'm taking one of the quiches.

I need to put "Doing Taxes" at the top of my priority list. I would have done them ages ago, but I've been procrastinating because I have to deal with the income from contracting and unemployment. I sure do hope I do not have to pay a lot. Bleh.

I get to be in my 20's for 3.5 more days.

I was meant to help Sandi paint her old place on Monday night, but she never called. So, I helped her on Tuesday. Last night, I went over to Tony's and he dyed my hair for me. Wednesday nights are TV night - Chris and Amanda were also over. I hate the day after I dye the black part in my hair because it just looks funny when I have blonde roots on the other half. I can see people notice it. I will fix it tonight when I dye the red.

I'm meant to hang out with Teresa tomorrow night, go snowboarding on Saturday and do the other stuff on Sunday like finally have book club. This is the last weekend of snowboarding before Crystal is closed. This winter flew by so quickly. BUT, it's not the end of snowboarding this season. We are taking another trip back up to Whistler in May. It is going to be super, super, super cheap. Yeah, the snow isn't going to be so great, but we'll still have tons of fun.

I turn 30 in 8 days. Ack. No, not really. I'm not ack. 30 just sounds so grown up and i surely don't feel all grown up.

Work has been busy. Social life has been busy. This means I do not post as often as I would like. I should post some pictures soon. The weekend before last, we went up to Crystal Mountain for snowboarding. Tony & Chris took me up way high and the wind was crazy. It was blowing me around like a rag doll. I did get some great pictures of Rainier. I should post those soon.

What I did last week:

Wednesday: went out to the club and shook the booty.
Thursday: went to a friend's house for a dinner party.
Friday: left for Long Beach for the weekend. We had so much fun. Natalie's parents have a cabin that we stayed in. On Saturday, we went to the store to pick up food and then we went to lunch. After lunch, we played frisbee. It was fun! That night, we made dinner and then went out on the beach to have a bonfire and play in the waves. I didn't play in the waves, but the boys did. They were being very silly.
We left Sunday morning since we all had places to be. Natalie and I had originally planned to go to the VegFest, but we got back into town too late. As previously planned, we went over to Julie's for a bbq for awhile.

News flash: I decided to do a test this weekend. I put out a bunch of food for Screech and Persephone instead of getting a kitty sitter. My fear was that Screech was going to eat himself to death. Believe it or not, when I got home, there was food still left. Screech also had a Very Big Belly. My cat got fat in a weekend. Crazy. The great thing is is now I know I can go away for the weekend and the kitties will be OK. I have also decided to start free-feeding them again because it makes us all happier. When I got home from work today, I was able to prepare and EAT my dinner without Screech bothering me once. It was so nice. He's actually acting like a normal kitty. Yeah, he may be fat for the rest of his life and die sooner than later, but at least it will be a happy life.

Jenn & Duncan - you should read this when you have some time. I found her blog about a month ago. If you have time, read more of her entries.

Scrubbing the bathtub is not easy to do after working out. Damn that was tiring.

Before I forget, here are my pictures from the trip this weekend. I also recommend checking out Chris' pictures.

When I came home from work last night, there was a message from cousin Tom. He brought the kids out to Stevens Pass for spring break. I'm going to try and meet up with them tomorrow evening for dinner.

I have collard greens and i'm not really sure what to do with them. I just don't want greens like you get in the south and i can't find a recipe for anything different online. harumph.

I was busy busy last week. I hung out with Teresa Tuesday night, hung out with Tony Wednesday night and laundry/packed Thursday night. We left for Mt. Baker right after work on Friday. It was a fu-un trip. The snow was crappy on Saturday due to the lack of cold and precipitation and many of us got sunburn on our faces. Saturday night, it snowed a couple of inches but it made a big difference when we went snowboarding on Sunday.

Stay tuned for pictures and videos from the trip.

My back is achy. Bleh. I need a massage, but Christine is very, very busy right now. Harumph.

This week, I will be busy reading _The Brothers K_ for bookclub. We have a tentative meeting this Sunday. I'll also be going to a birthday party on Saturday.

Girl's night eating crack nachos & drinking margaritas = Fun
Making spinach & mushroom omelet with a side of potatoes = Yum
Seeing Stine & Jose' act in a play with Sandi & Jim = Fun
Going out to the club and hanging out with a bunch of cool people = Fun
Having boyfriend make you breakfast = Yum
Going to the gym and doing lots of ab exercises = Ouch
Making apple-chard quiche for some peeps = Yum & Fun
Driving eastbound to work when it is very sunny which causes people to get into accidents and makes my morning commute almost an hour = Unfun
Eating the salad I brought from home for lunch = Yum

Does anybody still read this thing?

We went snowboarding this last Saturday and I had a fantastic day. I am getting so much better. Tony & Chris even took me out on a black run. It was steep and I had to snowplow down the very steep parts, but I still made it. The rest of last weekend was spent relaxing because that is what weekends are for in my book.

This weekend, there will be no snowboarding. My bank account is not allowing it since it is still recovering from the Whistler trip. But, I do have plans to go out with Natalie & Aime tonight for some quality girl time and am going to Stine's play tomorrow night with Sandi and maybe Jim.

In other news, I have defeated the temptation of the jelly doughnut and signed up for a gym membership at Bally's yesterday. I am very excited! The gym is very big and it was not packed which makes me happy. I am determined to comfortably fit into my pants again! Plus, I really enjoyed being in shape last year. I had so much more energy and strength which will really help with snowboarding.

I have found that my family is surprised that I snowboard and love it. This is perplexing to me. Do you really perceive me as being lazy and not liking physical activity?

My tummy has been doing the hurty thing after I eat dinner the past couple of nights. Last night, my belly got so big - I looked about 5 to 6 months pregnant. Tony fed me tonic water and made it all better. It doesn't hurt during the day - just after dinner. I can't figure it out.

Another annoying thing - I started feeding the kitties different food and now their poop is super stinky. I don't think I'll get that food again. Stinky poo.