December 2008

December was quite the month. Average temperature in December is 45 and maybe an inch or two of snow may appear for a day. Imagine what happens when we get 1-2 feet of snow over several weeks. It was nuts! But I got to use my yooper scooper a lot. I never thought I would use it at all.

Seahawks Game

A friend and I went to the last home Seahawks game of the season. We never expected it would be snowing or this cold but it was still a lot of fun. The best was all the snow balls being thrown during the game.

Lights Festival in Leavenworth

In December, the neighborhood went to Leavenworth for the Lights Festival. We had a lot of fun. : )

October 2008

Not much was going on this month except for a trip I took with the LDE (Leadership Development Excellence) organization I'm in at Boeing. We went to Huntsville Alabama to visit the Boeing Huntsville facility and spend a day at Space Camp. That was a lot of fun!

September 2008

In September, Mom and Dad came out for a visit. It was a busy week. Dad and I did some home improvement projects while mom and her friend Nancy were at a painting convention. We did a lot while they were here. We had the neighbors over to hang out, went to the Ballard locks, visited Snoqualmie Falls and then drove to Mount Saint Helens and Mount Rainier.

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

This past Saturday was the first time I did the Race for the Cure but I believe it will be something I will try to do every year. I've been working on getting back into shape and losing weight so this helped to motivate me even more. A few weeks ago I decided to sign up and run the 5K (3.1 miles). I'm very proud to say I finished the race in 28 minutes and 28 seconds. Thank you so much to all of you that donated. I raised $440!! Plus Boeing donated a $100 for every employee that participated. (I heard there were over 2000 Boeing employees that day.) There were over 15,000 participated in the various event on Saturday and at last count we raised over 1.5 million dollars for the day!!!

Kitchen - Before & After

I've been working on updating the kitchen. Here are some before and after pictures. Big change. I love my new and improved kitchen!!

Redwings Game

I miss my Detroit Redwings!!! We don't have an NHL team out here in Seattle so my friend Melissa and I headed to Vancouver, BC for a weekend to watch the Redwings play the Vancouver Canucks. We had a great weekend even if the Redwings lost the game. Here are a couple picture of the game, Melissa and I at the game and some random guy I met at the bar. :) He is actually from Vancouver yet was sporting a Redwings Jersey! Gotta love that. (Update: Congratulation to my Redwings for winning the 2008 Stanley Cup!!)

Lunar Eclipse

There was a total eclipse of the moon tonight and it will be the last total lunar eclipse until 2010. So I wanted to make sure I got a picture or two. My neighbor Kim and I were standing in the middle of the road with a tri-pod and our cameras trying to get a good shot. Luckily we are at the end at the dead end so there was no traffic. But I'm sure we must have been quite a sight. Here are a couple of shots I got.

Michigan Football

I've been lucky to find a bar here in Seattle that plays all the Michigan football games!! Here is a picture of some of the people I've met from going to this bar. And the second picture is of one of my best friends, Kibby, out here that I have met. She continued to party with me that night. :)

Halloween at Rudy's

Tonight was the Halloween celebration at the local Wine Shop I go to (Country Cottage Wine Merchants owned by Rudy and Betty Nieuwenhuis). The regulars (including me) showed up in costume. Here are some pictures from tonight. The first two pictures are of me and my new boyfriend, Jacob. He is a sweetheart. Every time I would go into the other room he would ask "Where did the Princess go?" Isn't that what every girl wants to hear? :) The third picture is of me and part of the regular gang.

Mariners Game - Sept 28

I got some tickets to head to the Mariners Baseball game so I called up a couple of my girlfriends to have a night on the town. We had a lot of fun.

Return Trip - Sept 10

I was heading back to Seattle from a trip home to Michigan and was able to take these pictures of Mount Rainier from my airplane window.

Humbling Beauty

I went to Mount St Helens for the Labor Day Weekend. I've been here two years and haven't been yet!! What a humbling experience. To understand the force and power of the eruption made you feel very small and powerless. The power that ripped the trees from the ground and then the devastation from the mudslides. The last eruption occurred on May 18, 1980 yet you can still see much of the damage. It is still rumbling but nobody knows for sure when it will blow again. Mount Rainier is also a major concern out here. I'm safe for the most part. The most I would probably see is lots of ash but no lava or mudflows. :)

Rafting in Leavenworth

In July, I went rafting with my friend Emory in Leavenworth. (Emory is the one rock climbing. I haven't gotten the courage to do this yet but getting there.) Leavenworth is a quaint little German town in the mountains. The rafting trip was on the Wenatchee River. It was a blast. A bit scary at times when we lost half the people out of our raft but still a lot of fun.

Cruisin' on the Lake

I've been lucky to find a lot of Michigan Alumni out here. There is actually a bar in West Seattle called Rocksports that plays every Michigan Football game! And then every year the Alumni from the Stephen M Ross School of Business (aka Michigan Business School) sponsor a cruise on Lake Washington. I dragged Steve (one of my best friends out here) with me. It was a great way to end a week. I love it out here!!!