Then God is 7

Oh lordy I am grumpy today. I slept poorly last night due to a snoring Tony and mind that would not shut off. *grump*

Although there is no new snow, we may still go snowboarding this weekend and just deal with the crappy conditions. It's too hard to wait! We don't have any other plans for the holiday. It's all about the low-key.

This weekend was filled with pinball playing fun and dancing fun. Tony & I stayed in last night and watched the movies Safe and A Simple Plan. Both were very uplifting. NOT!

OK, lots of work to do.

Comfortable seats for my bruised butt

Tony & I are now the happy owners of a 2001 Volvo V70 Cross Country wagon. It is a joy to drive and ride in! We already have a snowboard rack on top and it's been put to use. It holds lots and lots of gear which is why we chose it.

Last week, I had a head cold. I got over it. That's the way it goes.

After work on Friday, we met up with Chris and Ira and drove up to Whistler. I am happy to report that our car easily carried 4 people, 6 snowboards and the 4 people's luggage & other gear. It was a comfortable 5-hour ride.

On Friday, it rained instead of snowed. That made for very unfavorable conditions on the mountain. It was icy like I've never seen before. Ira had just waxed his board. All signs point to trouble. He broke his wrist before he got to do one run. Poor Ira.

The only other injuries all weekend were bruises. By the end of Saturday, I was trying to board on solid ice and it didn't work so well. It was not fun. However, it did not stop me from going out on Sunday. Things were better on Sunday since I knew what runs to avoid. I remembered how to turn properly and that made me very happy.

Since the conditions were crap, we left Monday morning instead of going back out for a 3rd day. As we were leaving, it started to snow. Typical. Even though the conditions sucked, we still had tons of fun.

It's been unseasonably warm here which means no more snow for now. We'll be refraining from snowboarding this weekend since the conditions will still be poor. I'm just hoping that we'll get to go out on X-mas day.

Work has been keeping me busy which is why I haven't posted much lately. Sorry about that.

Damn

something to tell but I can't say until it's actually in our possession...

No snowboarding this weekend :(
Only shopping instead.
Picked Chris up from the airport on Friday. We all went out for dinner that night and then went back to Chris' to view his pictures from his trip.
On Saturday, it felt like I was coming down with a cold, so we stayed in.

Not much happened this weekend except for, well, maybe I'll write about it tomorrow.

The good, the bad, and the fugly

Amazingly enough, our house was in great shape by the time our guests arrived on Thursday. Tony & I made Tofurky, Tofurky gravy, gravy from scratch, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, a broccoli-parmesan dish and a spinach & asparagus salad. Everything was from scratch - Tony even made the dressing for the salad. We learned what recipe not to use again for gravy. Everything else turned out wonderfully. Sol brought more stuffing and the most delish pumpkin pie. Amanda brought a corn casserole that was straight from the south. Sandi & Jim brought pumpkin pie and cranberry relish. It was all so wonderfully yummy.

After our feast, we went over to the house where many friends live and hung out for awhile. Fun was had.

We were very lazy for the rest of the weekend. Nothing interesting to report.

Weird things are happening at work. People clashing. Arguments happening. Disappointment. Why can't everyone just get along?

The snow is falling in the mountains and we hope to get out this weekend. Next weekend will be our first trip to Whistler this season. I am so very excited! It's so nice not to have to worry about figuring out how we are going to pay for lift tickets and food when we go snowboarding like we did last season. Being gainfully employed is great!

Yarg! I am a Pirate!

I've had one too many tootsie rolls today. Why aren't they all gone yet?

My brain is thinking about all I need to do at home tonight. Our place is not ready for people to see on Thursday. I must finish finding places for all of my crap, go grocery shopping, clean, cook and bake. I would like to be on my way to the gym right now, but Tony is in the middle of something. I will be patient.

Tony made a little movie out of some of the footage he took at Mt. Baker on Sunday. Watch it here. It doesn't look like any local resorts will be opening this weekend afterall :(

Guess what? Exciting news! I got a raise today! Yay! It also looks like I'll be getting to do some Project Management. Very exciting for me!

Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay!

Mt. Baker is opening on Sunday! Tony & I reserved a cabin for Saturday night :) I am so excited to try out my new gear.

This is going to be a busy winter. We have an out-of-town snowboarding trip planned each month and are talking about going to Utah in February.

Working out has been going really well. Tony decided that he really likes weight training, so we stopped doing as much cardio and started doing more weight training. I just know this will help with soreness from snowboarding. I guess we'll find out on Sunday!

I am so excited about getting back out on the mountain. I have missed it so much this summer!

Carrots make my hair orange

I put things in my mouth that I know are not good for me whatsoever. Like a brownie. Tony bought us Vietnamese Iced Coffees this morning and also purchased a couple of brownies. It took me all day to eat mine.

And then we had pizza for lunch.

Tony is a bad influence! Bad Tony!

I'm eating carrots now in hopes that my body will forgive me for the rest of the crap I've put into it today.

Doodeedoodeedoo

Friday night, Tony & I had our first visit to 24-hour Fitness. That night, we were scheduled to meet with trainers. Well, Tony's trainer didn't show up. All we did is talked to the trainer I was scheduled with. She didn't take us through a routine or anything. It was a waste of time. We didn't have much time to work out that night since we had plans to go to Sunny's for a movie night.

Saturday, we had brunch at Broadway Grill and ran a couple of errands. After getting back home, I unpacked for a couple of hours and then we went to the gym for a little bit. Before heading home, we picked up some food at the grocery and invited Chris over for dinner. He hung out for awhile and then Nat & Cody came over to retrieve him for a night of dancing. I would have liked to have joined them, but we are watching our funds right now. After they left, we just hung out and watched the TV.

We stayed in on Sunday; most of my day was spent unpacking. Amanda came over that night and brought Ju-On (the original The Grudge). It wasn't as scary as the American version, but it was fun to see the similarities & differences.

Yesterday was our first long workout at the gym. I made Tony use the weight machines and I made him work hard! He was pretty exhausted afterwards, but I think it was because he hadn't eaten enough all day. Before we went to the gym, I had my second appointment with the endocrynologist. They drew some blood and will test it to see if I'm on the right dosage of medication. He was surprised that I hadn't lost any weight since starting the medication. *shrugs*

Coming to terms with the next 4 years

You all know that I am a liberal, left-wing Democrat. There is nothing Republican in my beliefs. I can deal with having a Republican president, but not this one. He lies about really important things like why he took us to war. He's arrogant. Listening to the press conference this morning on NPR, he made clear once again that he is clueless.

I worry about laws being passed that will restrict my rights.
The Patriot Act is one of the scariest legislations to come out of our government in years.

This administration scares me with what they might do in the next 4 years.

It is hard for half of this nation to figure out why their fellow American voted for Bush. 20someoddpercent did because he is a Christian and they voted because he has Morals. That's a bunch of hooey to me. He's a president that took us into war under a false pretense and now hundreds of thousands of people have died. How Christian is that?

So half of this nation can ignore the horrible things this administration has done to this country. They probably think what has happened is so bad.

It makes me want to cry, so I try not to think about it. Everyone has their reasons on why they made the choice they did.

OK, I was not planning on making a ranty post. I could go on and on and on and on, but I will not. It's probably good that Kerry didn't get elected so Bush is the one who is responsible for cleaning up the messes he has made. I (and many others) fear that he doesn't know how.

I did some unpacking last night. The process is slow, but it will get done. We want to try and have a housewarming party before Chris heads to Chile for a few weeks. It would be good to be settled before snowboarding seasons starts. As of today, it looks like Crystal will be opening on the 20th. Guess what I'll be doing for Thanksgiving? Yep - snowboarding.

You voted, RIGHT?!?!?

I came in a little late today so I could go vote to avoid the after-work lines. I haven't been this anxious about a presidential election EVER. This election is bringing out so many first-time voters. All I can say is WOW. We are having people over tonight to watch the election coverage since we have cable.

On Friday, I totally had the intention to do some moving and cleaning. But then, we started talking about going to see The Grudge with Chris. Guess what we did? It was a Very Scary Movie! I loved it!

Saturday, we slept in because our new bed is too fabulous. After finally dragging ourselves out of bed, we tooled on down to my house to deal with that. Chris came over and helped us move a couple of car loads of crap. That night, we went to a Halloween party at Ira, Joel and Mark's house. It was fun even though we didn't have the time or money for a costume.

Sunday, I got up early-ish to go back to my old place to clean. After I was done with that, I went home and got Tony and then we did the same to his place. We finished about 10pm.

It was an exhausting weekend and our new place is an absolute wreck. I'm trying my best not to get too stressed about it, but it's hard. I have so much crap that it almost brings me to tears.

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The Blogger server has been going down lately :/

The move of the Big Furniture on Sunday went smoothly. All friends agree that our new place is awesome. I still have lots of crap at my old place; it's overwhelming me. I wanted to sort through it all and give away lots, but I just don't know if I'll have the time. Maybe I'll kick some major ass on Saturday and get it all done. If I don't, it's all getting thrown in the car and sorted later.

We shopped for a bed for a week and finally came to a decision on Monday. Our bed was purchased and delivered on Tuesday morning. It is glorious!

There was a little episode on Tuesday. The plan was for me to go to work at the normal time and Tony stay home to wait for the bed to be delivered. After the arrival of the bed, Tony couldn't find Persephone. To make things harder, our electricity went out and we had yet to bring over a flashlight. I go back home to pick Tony up and he tells me that Persephone is missing. I'm thinking she ran out the door when the delivery guys were there. We look for her for awhile - inside and outside - calling out her name the whole time. No Persephone. We had to stop and go back to work. After my boss left, we left early to go home and search some more. After combing the neighborhood and house, we gave up and Tony started making a flyer. I started doing stuff around the house when Persephone sauntered out from her New Super Secret Hiding Place.

Bad Kitty for not coming out when we called her!

Anyway, we LOVE our new place. Come and visit, ok?

In other news, it's 43 degrees outside right now.

Too tired for my own good

Coffee is the only thing barely keeping me awake. I feel like I didn't sleep at all last night. We went out to see The Cruxshadows. I spent most of the night catching up with everyone. It was fun. So many people from Florida have moved to Seattle the last couple of years. And, they all love it.

I am not alone.

I think I must leave soon before I fall asleep.

Time escapes me

I'm sorry for not updating lately. I stay busy at work and haven't sat in front of a computer at home in some time.

Tony's mom left this morning. We didn't get to San Juan Island this weekend as hoped due to rainy weather. We did, however, eat lots and lots of good food. Vietnamese, Flying Fish, The Capitol Club, Mae's and more.

A friend from college, Tate, is in town for a visit. We hope to hang out Thursday night and Saturday for brunch. I haven't seen him in years!

The rest of my time will be dedicated to the packing and moving thing. The first thing we moved in? Flowers! Yesterday, I took over stuff to clean with and dirty laundry. The machines at our new place are half the cost at our current apartments. I'm going to hang out there tonight and do a load of laundry while wiping things down. The place is clean, but the drawers and shelves are a bit dusty. We're moving the big stuff on Sunday and will be taking things over all week long. We are also shopping for a new bed since both of our beds are 15 years old and worn out.

OK, much work to do. I miss my commute-home conversations with Mom & Jenn.

Good things

My apologies for the lack of updates. Work has been keeping me busy which is A Very Good Thing. I am enjoying the work and atmosphere. All is good.

My life has been watching The Debates, watching The News, watching Documentaries, listening to NPR, thinking about all of you that are far away and lamenting not talking to you on the phone enough, getting adjusted to The New Job and stuff.

Tonight is Eric's 30th birthday party. It shall be fun. We got him new pool balls for their pool table since the current ones suck. We are hoping that they won't mind if we watch a bit of the debate tonight :-)

Tony's mom is coming to town on Tuesday. We will spend time this weekend cleaning his place. We get the keys to our new place next week! Have I started packing? No! I have acquired many boxes, though. I hope to spend some time this weekend doing the packing thing.

OK, must get back to the work thing now.

October: The Month Of Changes

Today is my last day working at AHP Services. I will miss my coworkers and will miss the scenic drive to the east side in the mornings.

Last night, after signing the lease for our new apartment, we went and saw Shaun of the Dead. Funny movie! Tonight, we watch the first presidential debate. Tomorrow, I'm getting my hairs cut, washing my car, and doing whatever.

So, you probably want to know about Our New Apartment. It is lovely. 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 2 stories, hardwood floors, dishwasher, courtyard...just come see it for yourself. As always, I'll take pictures. Our lease starts Oct. 15th. Yay!

Two more days!

Although my job is boring, I will miss the people that I work with. Debbie is throwing me a farewell party on Thursday. I am getting excited about starting My New Job as Executive Coordinator at Millennium Pharmaceuticals. I have to say, I need to practice spelling it. They actually spell Millennium with one 'n'...I'll need to ask why.

I finally got the application. Hopefully, Tony & I can coordinate and drop them off tonight.

I must get to the gym today. My body is aching!

Fall is upon us

The trees are changing and it is beautiful. We have had some glorious fog in the mornings as of late. I love this time of year.

This weekend was full of fun. Thursday night, we took Dad & Carolyn to Broadway Grill for dinner. They enjoyed it muchly. Friday night, we went to Fremont to a place called Dad .... i forget the last part of the name. They enjoyed that muchly also. Saturday morning, we were meant to view an apartment, but it was postponed until Sunday. We went to Mae's for breakfast before heading to Vancouver. The drive wasn't bad. After dropping the parents off for the cruise, Tony & I went to a trendy restaurant for a tasty, late lunch before heading back to Seattle.

Oh yeah - the party Friday night was fun. It was the biggest party at Chris' that I have been to. He has got a large house that is good for the parties. Plus, he likes to host them for his friends. Great gift if you ask me.

Saturday night, we were tired from the drive and decided to stay in. Amanda came over and we watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Love that movie! We then started watching Envy and I promptly fell asleep.

We awoke on Sunday to go view the apartment. We are going to apply for it. The manager was meant to fax me the applications today since she was out, but I have yet to receive them. We want to do it soon so we can get an answer before rent is due. I'm refusing to get excited until a lease is signed. You will get no description until then! We met up with Chris & Katie (friend of his visiting from out of town) for brunch at Cafe Flora. It was tasty as usual. Afterwards, I headed home to hang out with the kitties for a bit. I went back to Tony's around 6:30. We then went downtown to see if we could get a ticket for Amanda for the Siouxsie show. Unfortunately, we had no luck. We hung out with Eric & Cathy in the bar before the show. The show itself was Excellent! Siouxsie is fabulous. *sigh* It was one of those shows that I did not want to end. Dean & Shannon drove up from Portland for it - we didn't really get to hang out with them because they showed up late and then decided not to go out afterwards. Dean said he was disappointed in the show, but I didn't get to find out why. I think anyone expecting to hear Siouxsie & The Banshee stuff would have been disappointed. They did a lot more Creatures songs. Anyway, we had a fabulous time.

It was a late night and now I am very tired. Must get back to work now!

Busy

Work has been busy with new business and wrapping things up. Not much free time to post.

Life has been busy with fun stuff and apartment hunting.

Dad & Carolyn will be arriving this afternoon and we'll be driving them up to Vancouver on Saturday. It will be a busy weekend.

OK, back to work.

No.

We were meant to sign the lease tonight. He just called to say he decided to rent it to someone else who wanted it sooner and doesn't have pets.

I am sad now.

New residence!

We got the place! Signing of the lease will commence at 6:30pm today. Allow me to describe:

- 10ft ceilings
- hardwood floors
- woodburning fireplace
- living room/dining room = 500sq ft/ whole apartment is 1200sq ft!!!
- new appliances including dishwasher
- basement with full-size washer & dryer
- front yard = old elm tree
- back yard = plum tree
- parking space
- excellent condition
- owner is cool and looks like John Kerry :)

Here's the problem: this place is beautiful. We are going to be moving in and bringing our unmatching, mediocre furniture with us. It will look funny. We will want to buy all new furniture. There is no way we could afford to do this anytime in the near future. I think I will have to unleash the supreme craftiness in me to make our furniture look good. I'll need to accomplish this before snowboarding season starts in a couple of months.