whidbey island/seattle. part 4.

after the half, we headed back to megan's parents' place and cleaned up (ourselves & the house) and then had a bbq. since it was such a pretty day, we all enjoyed our burgers outside. after lunch, it was time to head out. gregg needed to get to flag football and i was headed to scott's house.


rochelle and shannon making the burgers.


greg (megan's dad) grilling them up for all of us. yum!


all of us starving racers salivating over the burgers. the grill is just to the right of this picture. also not shown: charlie the chocolate lab staring/hoping/wishing for a piece of meat to drop on the ground!


kevin and ed take a load off waiting for the burgers to be ready!

on the drive up, we'd passed through tulip land...apparently this part of washington is as big as holland is for tulips! who knew?! in any case, my one request was on the way home, i needed some pics. i was hoping to make a quick stop, alas since it was a gorgeous day there were thousands of people driving thru on the tulip route and thus we weren't able to stop. so i took some from the window.






ok, i didn't take this one.... we apparently just missed tulip season, but i did take the two pics above!

after we dropped gregg off at flag football, megan drove me to scott's new house in kirkland.for those of you wondering who scott is - i used to work with him in ca at triple net - he does what i used to do and they moved him to seattle about 3 years ago for work. and so, he just recently closed on a new house - like within the last month or two. he lives in a v. cute house in kirkland which is across the lake/river/bay whatever the heck it is you call up there. anyways, his gf, brianne, is in the process of moving in with him and they are super cute together. i really liked her: she's smart, funny, sweet, gracious, welcoming, friendly... i hope scott doesn't f it up!

he had asked me if i wanted to bbq or go out to dinner and i promptly chose bbq! duh... home cooked food when i can get it people!! originally roni and benoit were going to join us, but roni was writing a paper and got in a good groove and thus didn't want to interrupt it. i had also invited greg and megan, but megan was exhausted and just needed to rest. so, we enjoyed fajitas as the three of us plus henry the very cute little dog. i hadn't seen scotty d in forever and it was so good to catch up with him! alas, i just had sunday night there and then on monday morning, he drove me to the airport and i flew back home to chicago.


the view from the bridge headed from seattle to kirkland which is where scott lives.


more bbq! yum!!


scott and me in his backyard.


scott, his gf brianne and henry the dog.

whidbey island half marathon. part 3.

while we were all in mexico for hoyt's wedding, megan told us about an annual half marathon that she and some other folks do and she invited us to join her at her parents' beach house to run it. and i thought: ohhhhh fun! i've never been to seattle! i can cross another state/place off my list and also get in some running (and another medal!).

on race day, i hit snooze a couple too many times and realized that i'd have to rush to get ready. ok, no biggie. still had time to eat. and get dressed. it was chilly, but it turned out to be sunny and perfect running weather! there were 5 of us running and 2 coaches (shannon's hubby ed and megan's bf gregg) and so we got in the 2 cars and headed to the race. my goals: don't be last & well, don't be last. to be honest, i was nervous! it was a small race! probably only about 3000 people! so i knew i wouldn't be last, but i didn't want to be at the back of the pack either! and i knew i'd be by far the slowest racer on our team. megan and shannon both ran track in h.s. and at cmc. and i'm slow.

team shot: in front: rochelle, kevin, megan, shannon, me. in back: gregg & ed

the course: GORGEOUS. no other way to describe it. it started at the middle school and wound around the military naval base thru some marshes and then farms/homes... and then we ended at windjammer park. there were beautiful water scenes, cute farms/barns/animals, beautiful homes... at one point there was a boat for sale in someone's yard and the owner had put a sign on it saying something like "run now... fish later!"... i thought that was cute...

and then there were the hills. i don't do hills. we don't have hills here in chi. the whole course was rolling and then towards the middle there were some serious hills. luckily, not only did we get to go up the hills, we also got to go down! so while i lost a lot of time going up, i definitely made up some of it going back down. i can go pretty fast on the downhill! i overheard someone saying how downhills hurt their knees. lucky for me it just propels me forward and helps me go faster! i never run races with my ipod, but since this was going to be a small race and i wasn't sure, i brought it... just in case. but, i didn't need it. the scenery and my thoughts kept me totally occupied.




check out how pretty this course was!!!


check out the ponytail!!


yeah, i'm walking here!


it looks like i stopped to take a scenic pic... but alas, i was walking here!


finish line.... so clooooooooose!


one final push to the end!!! and i did it!!! and i was not last!!!!

and although i'm not fast, i finished just about where i thought i would...perhaps even on the little bit faster side of things! officially i finished in 2:51:19 - but i had to make a pitstop to go potty which cost me several minutes. my watch (which i stopped for said potty break) said i finished in about 2:46. stupid bathroom break. next time i'm going in my pants! just kidding. i was totally happy with my time seeing as though i did dallas in just about the same time - slightly faster - but it was definitely less hilly in dallas! and i was so much less sore than in dallas. next up: indy mini in may - about 20ish days from now. let's see how i do on time there. so far, that course is my best time of all the races i've done. it'll be interesting to see what happens! stay tuned.... i know you guys can't wait!!

whidbey island. washington. part 2.

whidbey island is about an hour and a half from seattle and i was surprised to find out how big it actually is - i had no idea! gregg (megan's bf), megan and i set off in the late afternoon with charlie the chocolate lab (he belongs to meg's sister). she had mentioned that she got stuck last minute with dog sitting duties and i thought - yay! a cute dog! then she said, no... he's super whiny and slobbery in the car. and i thought, yeah, ok... sure. well, she made me sit upfront b/c charlie is so bad in the car. without being too gross... that dog can slobber. and pant. and whine with the best of the them. for the entire trip. i have no idea how he had any slobber or any voice left after the trip! but he is a v. sweet dog... just not in the car!

everyone kept talking about the ferry we'd be taking. ummm, we didn't take a ferry. we crossed a bridge. one of the most scenic coolest looking bridges i've ever seen! apparently you can either cross this bridge or take the ferry - but if you live towards the north end of the island it is way faster (and free!) to go slightly out of the way and take the bridge rather than wait for a ferry you to well, ferry you across the water. we got to the house and were greeted with the most amazing sunset! it was so beautiful! megan's parents, margie and greg, have a gorgeous piece of land and have built this stunningly beautiful home that takes advantage of all the beach views.
greg made us a delicious dinner - amazing salmon. seriously, i felt like i should be sitting in a restaurant it was so good. after several glasses of wine, everyone was tired and we all went to bed.










the next day: island sightseeing self guided tour! on the tour:

*mt. erie: to see the views. we drove to mt erie where you could look out and see the various islands and mt baker... and some refineries as well.

mt. baker was in the background, but it wouldn't show up in the picture.

*race packet pick up: b/c that's why we were all there! we made a stop at the high school to grab packets for everyone and get the various freebies at the booths. it is a super small race and a super small expo. i'd never been a part of such a small race.

*mussels: b/c we really needed seafood and protein before our race, duh! we headed to coupeville to get mussels at toby's. YUM!

ok, so we not only had 2 lbs of mussels, we also had garlic bread, clams, halibut, clam bisque...

*greenbank farm: for pies! oh yum... those pies. in all we had marion berry, black raspberry, and loganberry. they were all delicious! the farm is interesting in that it has wine tasting (no, we were running the next day!), loads of cheeses, and little artist's shops that we meandered in and out of.

*ft casey: b/c it is cool. this is an old military fort and is big, wide, and open. and windy! we saw tons of kites there. it was a really fun place to just run around and climb on stuff and feel like a kid!




and then, it was late in the afternoon and we headed back to megan's to meet up with the other folks running the race. that evening, we had another fantastically delicious dinner made by megan's dad. chicken, pasta, potatoes, veggies.... pie... and then it was off to bed in order to be ready for race day!

seattle...part 1.

i made my first trek to seattle on thurs the 8th (and stayed til the 12th). i can now cross another state off my list and am now missing just north dakota, oregon, and alaska (anyone up for n dakota?! kidding.). anyways, i flew in to seatac around 6 and found roni in the baggage claim where we promptly left the airport, started catching up, and headed back to her house.

at roni's, i met benoit (love!), saw her cute condo (on capitol hill), got a peak at wedding plans and then we all headed out for tapas at tango (delicious!). after dinner, we headed to an old mortuary that has been turned in to a bar called, chapel.

yummmmmm, tapas!! benoit was such a great sport during my quick trip - he graciously handled me and roni's gossip/catching up!!


the space needle was right there in the background so i had to get a pic of it! we couldn't get a non-blurry one...dumb camera! and we had to dodge a few cars, but dangit! i got my space needle pic!!

on friday, roni had a class to go to until the early afternoon and benoit worked so i headed out to explore the city. luckily from roni's place it's an easy walk to a lot of destinations! she gave me directions (walk out her door on 10th, then head left - it'll turn in to broadway. head down broadway long enough and you'll find pike st. turn r and walk far enough, you'll find the market place). so i headed out the door and was greeted with a slight chill and a bit of misty rain. whoohooo! i am in seattle! by the time i got to the coffee shop, my feet were frozen! so i was quite glad to take a break at cafe vivace.

at cafe vivace, i had something the barista made me b/c they didn't have chai lattes. it was good, but i also had a pastry - and that was amazing! i got a -get this - a vegan blueberry scone! my brother is vegan and i'm always knocking his food... but even i can admit when something is tasty... and this scone was the best one i've ever had!! after my treats, i had warmed up enough to head back outside in the seattle mist and walk towards pike st. once i got closer to downtown, there were all your chain shops and since it had started to rain harder, i chose to walk around h&m and nordstrom rack. i didn't buy anything, but i warmed up and got out of the rain! in seattle, apparently no one carries umbrellas and i was not about to be one of the two people who did! well, the rain eventually cleared, the sun came out and it warmed up a bit!

i headed down to pike place market and meandered the various stalls. there is a ton of food, a lot of sundry items to buy, and a lot of fresh flowers. i had so much fun checking it all out!

just outside the market, this guy was playing a saw! he turned right as i took this pic... then got up... so this had to do... there were musicians all over the place.


obligatory signage pic!


pretty pretty pretty tulips!!


fish! this was at the famous flying fish stall


i don't like cheesecake, i didn't buy any, but i liked the name of this store so i decided to share it with you guys...

around 1, roni let me know that her class was over and she was on her way to meet me. i told her i'd meet her at the original starbucks since i had seen it and figured it would be an easy place to meet. so i got myself a chai latte (yes, more caffeine!) and sat outside in the sun. a bit later, i get a call from roni saying she was at the entrance. i tried to tell her where i was, but for some reason we couldn't find eachother! eventually we figured out that i wasn't exactly at the original starbucks.

*ok, aside here: i had been told the original one was across from the market. um, i was across from the market. not my fault they have so many darn stores in the area!!*

once we finally found each other, we made our way to a delicious lunch place in the market area called the pink door. after lunch, we wandered around. we took some touristy photos, bought some 5 dollar bouquets of flowers and then it was time to head to megan's house so that we (megan, her bf gregg, and me) could head to whidbey island.


original starbucks. the other one looked much much newer. i felt really stupid! :)


we bought pretty flowers... for 5 bucks. best deal!


aren't we cute?! i love this photo. just wish the guy in yellow weren't in it... dooooood, move!!


for some reason, pigs are the symbol of the market. no one seems to know why, but they are. this one is a giant piggy bank. if you put in some money, your wish will come true. so roni and i each put in a coin and made a wish. i'll let you know if this little piggy grants it or not!

myrrhy

myrrh is a large girl. she's literally doubled in size under my parents (ok, my mom's!) tutelage. when we found our girl, she was a starving lonely baby who weighed about 7 pounds. she's now over 14 pounds... she likes to eat. a lot. mom is trying to put her on a diet, but it's hard when you've got 3 other kitties who want to eat as well. myrrh has been known to shove them out of the way... naughty girl! in any case, in addition to the regular cat food, myrrh has a love of baby food. yes, as in gerbers. she likes the meat flavors.

an aside about the baby food habit... out of desperation to help get the burmese kitties to eat more, mom read/heard somewhere that cats are supposed to like baby food. needless to say the burmese don't really care about the gerbers, but myrrh sure does! and she's got this bad habit, that may be partially my fault, but she loves to lick the spoon that dispenses her gerbers from the jar. and so... the spoon licking has become a ritual...


this is how we make her lick the spoon. we call her our meerkat b/c that's what she looks like when she does this! she can stand like that for quite awhile... at least as long as it takes to lick the spoon clean! she's got great balance!


yeah, we indulge the animals in the house! she still gets her spoon, but she gets less to lick and she gets less gerbers in her bowl! she's our myrrhkat.


see? meerkat! there's totally a resemblance there...

oh sadness.

i'm not sure why i do this to myself, but i do. i guess part of me hopes that some day, one day, i'll find the house in maine has been put up for sale... but of course it never is. and out of pure evilness that is the hobag, i'd be surprised to ever see it change hands. so, the other night as i searched through the various kennebunk listings, i was looking at the map for one of them and knew that it'd be close to the house bc of the address, but wasn't quite sure. and having learned not too long ago how to take pics off the internet that i can't just click and drag.... well, here is an overhead view of my idea of perfect.



and on that point in the middle of the picture, is where the house sits. you can even see the circular drive. and if i try hard enough, i can hear the ocean and feel the rocks and the sand beneath my feet. and it makes me sad... and it makes me long for my happy place that was so rudely snatched away....

jlc's windy city nights.

one of the events the junior league of chicago hosts every year is windy city nights. this year, it was on sat, march 27th. i'd not been before, but this year a couple of the girls and i decided to head over for a night of gambling, drinking and dressing up!

to get all pretty pretty, we got our hair & make up done and then went for a pre drink at tili's (around the corner from mac). and then it was time to put on our party dresses and head out for the evening.



yeah, i think we're H-O-T. christina, me and lindsey

me and lindsey

windy city nights has silent auction prizes (we didn't bid), a raffle (we didn't do that either), a mashed potato bar, fondue from the melting pot, an open bar and gambling. there is a high stakes poker game that goes on as well as anything goes blackjack, roulette, and craps. there are also 'celebs' that are there... like ed and jilian from the bachelorette. and the local nbc traffic guy. and kipton from the bach. richard roeper (the guy who took over for siskel and ebert), jimmy d from the millionaire matchmaker (he also owns a bunch of chicago stuff), some former football players and yeah... other assorted celebrities. it never ceases to amaze me how short all these people are! it's so disappointing! ed was super short. and talking to another girl. i didn't see jilian.


did i mention there was a vodka luge?!


at the blackjack table...tina won a ton of money, i lost it all, and then some guy kept giving me money to play with b/c he couldn't get a table...or... he wanted to keep staring at my huge boobs! good grief, yes, they were definitely out that night.... i didn't realize how much til i saw the pics!

afterwards, we headed to the after party at rockit. where we decided we were starving so we sat down and gorged on mac n cheese and sliders. and fries. and more cocktails. then tina was tired and headed home, while linds and i headed upstairs to check out the scene. holy crowdedness! neither of us could handle how many people were there so we left and went to stanleys. which was also beyond crowded. as in, we could barely move in there. after a couple of drinks, we decided we were over it... it was close-ish to 2 and so, we called it a night!