What to do...

What to do in your spare time when it's been raining for ...about 48 days:

• read - duh
• play an excessive amount of World of Warcraft
• sleep
• exercise inside and whine about it
• dream of riding motorcycles in warm DRY climates
• Netflix
• actually use an umbrella - a usual no-no for Seattleites
• enjoy pictures of mud slides, avalanches, and flooding going on near by
• check airline ticket prices
• surf the net aimlessly
• check airline ticket prices again to see if they have gotten any cheaper in the last hour
• check on shuttles up to Stevens Pass to enjoy the snow
• think about cleaning out the storage closet

Wow - 10 days no blog

So - it's been 10 whole days since my last BLOG. Ouch - sorry about that.

Yesterday I gave my 2nd speech to my Toastmasters club. It was titled "Becoming a Biker Babe" in which I recounted the phases in becoming a biker babe. Since it was the first non-rainy day we have had in a long time I rode my bike to work. It was REALLY REALLY COLD.

Also yesterday I visited the 20/20 doctor for my 5 week evaluation.
Pounds lost: 12.8
Blood Pressure change: -14/-5
Chest: -4.5in
Waist: -2.5 in
Hips: -2in
Bicep: - 1.25in (and really muscular!)
Thigh: this one got messed up and they have to re-measure
Body Composition: -5% total
BMI: - 1.5
Now my leathers that I wear over my pants while riding are too big. Soon I will have to buy new ones. Hopefully I can hold out until I reach goal weight and just wear a belt.

In case you didn't know, the Seahawks are going to the Superbowl and it's a BIG DEAL. On Sunday when the game ended there were people opening their balcony doors and yelling and screaming and setting off fireworks and such. We are about 2 miles from the stadium (or less) so we got to hear a lot of jubilation in the aftermath of the game. Yeah, in Seattle when we win we just get loud rather than turning over cars. Did I watch the game? No. We still don't have a TV and I didn't want to go upstairs and frankly I am not that in to football. The excitement was very cool though.

Social life has been pretty non-existent lately due to the fact that I am exhausted by the time I get home and really lazy on the weekends.

13 - It's Official

If you ever need to know a specific date - call your mom. My mom has verified that John and I were indeed married 13 years ago today.

We ended up eating at home before going to the opera last night. I think I want to wait to have a nice meal until I can eat more things. The opera was good! It was really fun because they put in a lot of cultural references and joked around and made fun of opera a bit. The main character Rosalinda said "What's a desperate Houswife to do when her husband is sent off to jail. " and other such little one liners that got everyone giggling. It was interesting to see what people in Seattle wear to the opera. John and I were in formal attire, as were many other people, but there were people in jeans and Hawaiian shirts and weird "fashonista" outfits and everyday work clothes and just about everything you could think of. Oh - and there were people wearing opera gloves - those were cool.

My favorite part was actually not part of the scheduled show. During the "party scene" the opera's director came on stage and said that the governor couldn't attend due to the state of emergency we are in because of the rain. The he said that a legendary opera singer's death had been announced this week and would like to honor her by singing (a piece I don't remember the name of). It was beautiful!

Yup - still raining

Yes, it is still raining.

You all know that I am an NPR junkie, so it goes without saying that I was listening to the confirmation hearings on Judge Alito. I would really hate to have my life examined in detail like that. I am sure that somewhere out there someone has an old letter or email from when I was 19 and I said something horrible and stupid. I do not, however, have any horribly right (or left) wing statements in any of my past job applications that will come back to haunt me - that's a relief.

The hearings were very strange to me. Some of the senators really were trying to "get to know" who the man was and how he would lean in certain critical cases. Others, I think, just liked to talk and decided it would be a good opportunity to grandstand and poke about their favorite issue of the week. Very interesting behavior. If you have an opportunity, I encourage you to listen to some of the excerpts.

I have proof that my sister and I are sooooo not alike (besides the fact that she doesn't like "that nature shit"). I love my sister, and we are such opposites it's funny. Here is a joke she sent to me today:

I just got my new Dodge truck, and returned to the dealer the next day, complaining that I couldn't figure out how the radio worked. The salesman explained that the radio was voice activated.

Watch this! he said.."Nelson!" The radio replied, "Ricky or Willie?" "Willie!" he continued....and On The Road Again came from the speakers. I drove away happy, and for the next few days, every time I'd say, "Beethoven!" I'd get beautiful classical music, and if I said, "Beatles!" I'd get one of their awesome songs.

One day, a couple ran a red light and nearly creamed my new car, but I swerved in time to avoid them. "ASS-HOLES!" I yelled..... The French National Anthem began to play, sung by Jane Fonda and Michael Moore, backed up by John Kerry on guitar, Al Gore on drums and Bill Clinton on sax.... I LOVE this truck !!!!!!!!!

See... I told you.

Now why she thought that a democrat (who votes) living in Seattle would enjoy that joke, I don't know, but there it is.

Other ways I am unlike my sister:

• She loves Texas and lives in the town where we grew up - I live in downtown Seattle
• I ride a motorcycle - she doesn't
• I don't really like to shop very often - she is an expert shopper
• She knows how to play poker and gamble - I really suck at this
• I like amber beer (Mac & Jack's Rules) - she likes Bud Lite
• She is a nurse - I really get woozie at the sight of blood (mine mostly)
• She is 5'3" - I am 5'8"
• She has dark, straight hair - I have light brown curly hair
• She has a large group of friends that she has stayed in contact with since high school - I have a few friends, a lot of acquaintances, and don't talk to anyone from high school

OK - you get the picture. I actually used to think I was adopted when I was growing up - really. Now I don't know how I ever thought that - I look a lot like BOTH of my parents, but I didn't see it when I was growing up.

So, I know what you're thinking - are there any ways in which Sheri and I are alike? Of course!

• We both have a male cat with an unusual name (Sebastian & Darwin)
• Neither of us has kids
• We are both married
• We are both strong, intelligent women who don't like putting up with bullshit

I would post pictures of Sheri, but the only ones I have are paper photos - nothing digital - and I don't have a scanner anymore.

Sheri - send me a picture!

Rain, Grandparents, and the opera - not necessarily in that order

Yeah - it's still raining. John says that there was a brief period of sunshine today, but since I do not sit anywhere near a window I wouldn't know.

I went to my dietician appointment last night and I was disappointed - only 1.4 more pounds. That makes 8 for those of you who are counting. I don't feel too bad about it though because my clothes are definitely looser and I am getting a LOT of muscle courtesy of my 3x a week trainer torture.

My grandparents (father's side) who have lived in the same house for over 50 years were packed up and moved out last week. They are both in their 90s! My Grandmother is having both physical and mental problems now and it was obvious that they couldn't live on their own any more. My parents (Kansas, not Texas) went to Pocatello, Idaho to do the packing and sorting and then brought them back to Kansas with them. They will be moved into an apartment at a residential care facility next week. It sounds like a great place, most especially because Grandpa will have access to a woodshop for his carving and will be able to live with Grandma who will get the care she needs.

I can't imagine what my dad had to go through in packing up the house where he grew up and trying to decide which things to keep, which to auction off, etc. It must have been pretty tough. It must have been interesting in a way too though - there is no telling what they found. My fondest memories of my Grandparents and their house include:

• camping in the silverstream trailer at the Good Sams Club camping trips
• seeing Grandpa perform as a Shriner clown and having him teach us how to put on clown makeup and blow up balloons (harder than you would think)
• playing with Hambone the cat in the HUGE orchard (which really wasn't that big - I was a kid)
• picking vegetables in the garden with Grandma
• walking on stilts and using the clothesline pole to try and get up on them
• making snickerdoodles for Dad and Grandpa (the cookie monsters)
• earning $.25 for every gopher I caught one summer. I had to prove I caught them by taking them out of the trap and cutting off their tails and putting them into a jar (the tails, not the whole gopher).
• making fruit leather
• making fun off the way my dad ate cereal (with applesauce and milk on it - all mixed together)
• playing with the laundry chute
• learning how to iron with real starch - I can still smell it!
• playing "the baby elephant walk" on the 8-track and wandering like - well - baby elephants around the living room

OK - I had better stop now. Most of that probably means nothing to anyone but me! I have some pictures from a few years ago when we went to Idaho for Christmas and a few from family reunions. I'll try and post a few.

So this weekend is our anniversary - 12 or 13 years - we don't remember and are too lazy to find the paperwork and check. We are going to - the opera. Yes - the opera. Neither one of us has ever been to an opera so it should be an interesting experience. It's opening might of Der Fledermaus on Saturday (in English) and it seemed like an interesting idea. Plus John looks really good in his tux and never wears it.

komo news | If Only 23 Straight Days Of Rain Meant 12 Weekends In A Row

komo news If Only 23 Straight Days Of Rain Meant 12 Weekends In A Row

Yeah - it's still raining. This morning I was waiting in the car while John got a coffee and the car was wobbling from side to side from the wind. It's that kind of day.

Gmail - Fwd: Unexpected enclosure event detected [Storage]

John just emailed me about our new backup system at home - we just got it last night and he spent several hours setting it up:

"Hah, our network storage device e-mailed me to let me know the drives were starting to get warm! (Not to worry, I believe it's because we're running them at 100% right now copying data over..but I'll check this evening). It's cool getting an e-mail from a thing."

A device in our house has contacted us.

This is weird. Next the refrigerator will call and say that the leftovers from last week are getting a bit ripe.

Work Woe - whoa - Wow

Enough alliteration for you? I have spent the past 2 days training the Safeco project team here in Seattle. It went well, except that the training environment was doing some really funky things that did not look good. I really hate being in front of a client and having the product look less than perfect - it does not instill confidence!

The first week back to "regular" work after the holidays is tough. My body got on a weird, stay up late rhythm and now I can't go to sleep or get up on time!

Diet update - 6.4 pounds gone total as of Tuesday. I can now have 8oz of skim milk OR a serving of cascade fresh yogurt every day, but I must eat 90 calories of protein with it. They suggest jerky or soy nuts. Mmmmm, jerky and a latte, just what everyone dreams about.