Tag Archives: friendship

What a Weekend!!

03 Saturday May 2014

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Holy crap…she’s blogging on a SATURDAY – GAH!!!  Hey everyone, well yowza it’s been a few weeks since my last post…and the time felt like NOW to do one, so here I am!

Ever have a weekend with nothing going on and yet you still feel exhausted when Monday rolls around and it’s time to go back to work?  And on the flip side…a weekend so jam-packed just reading the schedule makes you feel tired…but afterwards you feel so REFRESHED and INVIGORATED??   Last weekend was one of those weekends.  My head spun at the thought of all we were going to pack into one day. A Sunday.  But afterwards I felt like a new woman and 10 years younger!

So what happened?  Well, my coach in the Lean Eating for Women program I started last July came up to Seattle to see her Seattle-area clients!  She and I Skype occasionally (she lives in the Lake Tahoe area), and she sends us videos every week with encouragement for us and some info on what’s coming up in the week ahead.  And we all belong to a private Facebook group. So I felt like I already ‘knew’ D beforehand…and I was so excited to finally see her in person!

We had a huge lineup of activities planned, from eating out to various fitness-related stuff (of course!) and people would just show up to what they wanted to do depending on their weekend schedules.  Friday night we toasted the weekend ahead with dinner at Matt’s in the Market in Seattle.

SeaScallopsTalk about an iconic location…Matt’s is right at the main entrance to the Pike Place Market, up a couple of flights of stairs. Your visit to Seattle isn’t complete without a walk through the bustling market – people, food, art, music, shopping…it’s all there!  And Matt’s is kitty corner from the famous City Fish Company, where the guys throw the fish back and forth to each other while they’re working.

Check out my dinner…YUM…that is a glorious meal of sea scallops with peas, pea puree, Thumbelina carrots and ham hock.  Absolutely outstanding!!  We then walked the Pike Hill Climb and had dessert at some cool place that starts with an “A” and for the life of me I can’t remember it.  Funny.

Some of the group met up Saturday morning for a bike ride from downtown Seattle where D was staying out to Discovery Park. I didn’t have a bike and didn’t really feel like renting one…plus I decided I really needed to just rest and do some food prep for the week ahead.  Ahhh, a perfect choice!

Because then there was Sunday.  Sunday April 27.  A day I faced two of my fears head on:  my fear of ladders and my fear of heights.  I haven’t really done any posts about fear because I try to keep things light and somewhat humorous in here, but ladders and heights do give me the willies.  Hell, I don’t even like getting up on a step stool in my kitchen!

So what did I do to face these fears?  See for yourself!!

Yes, I climbed up a 28′ ladder, jumped off a platform and swung on a trapeze!!!  Holy crap!

One of the women in our Seattle group suggested doing a trapeze class together – and when I heard about it I had the same rush and whoosh feeling as when I was asked if I wanted to try learning to play hockey years ago.  I KNEW I was going to do it, despite feeling freaked out!

We met up Sunday morning at SANCA Seattle, the School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts.  Who knew there even was such a place?  Along with the huge circus tent where we had the trapeze class, there was another building where they teach tumbling for kids and adults and other circus-type stuff.  I was fascinated beyond belief!  And the instructors were incredible.  So happy and cheery…and they know their shit.  We did some warm up exercises together and they talked through the whole process from climbing the ladder to dismounting off the safety net we would land on.  I was getting so nervous that I was having a hard time remembering everything they were saying, but I figured they’d repeat it anyway when it was our turn to jump and swing!

Safety of course is paramount through all of this.  From the time you step on the first ladder rung to your dismount off the safety net and back on the ground you have safety lines attached to you.  You put on a belt cinched very tight which has several large rings to hook your lines on.  Once you get to the top of the ladder onto the platform, an instructor is up there to switch out your lines to the ones for your jump and swing.

And that platform up there is not very big.  I’m sure the “holy fuck” look on my face when I got off the ladder an onto the platform was epic.  The guy up there looked about 18 and was kind of short. And I’m thinking “YOU’RE going to help me do this??”  But the guy was great…and strong with Popeye forearms!  He stood behind me while I stood with my toes hanging over the edge of the platform.  I was gripping a short ladder like structure with my left hand and LEANING FORWARD with my hips forward.  This is what you do while they pull the trapeze bar to you with a giant hook.  Believe me, this is THE most unnatural and counterintuitive way to stand ever!!  GAH!!

They tell you ahead of time that “the bar’s going to feel heavy,” when they pull it to you and you grab it with your right hand.  And ummmm, hello, that was the understatement of the century!  That fucker is HEA-VY!  But the guy behind me held me in place.  My heart was pounding.  I probably forgot to breathe too.  Then I grabbed the bar with my left hand and waited for the command to jump from the other instructor on the ground.

“READY….HEP!!”  We learned that ‘hep’ is circus talk for ‘go.’  Why don’t they say “go”??  Well, in the tent with the acoustics and everything, ‘go’ can sound like ‘no,’ which is not a good thing.  With this kind of activity there is no room for ambiguity!  Well, there was a few seconds delay after my ‘hep’ before I got the courage to take my feet off the bar.  I had this weird sensation that if I did that I would drop straight down and hit my head on the platform!  Strange!  Well, there is no way that could happen because the bar is so heavy it pulls you away from the platform very quickly.

What a rush!!!  Oh my GOD…it was both frightening and exhilarating at the same time!  I DID IT!!  In fact, I got 4 jumps in during our session (there were 7 of us, including two kids, and they had the order written on a chalkboard so we each got an equal amount of turns).  In the exercise I did you’re supposed to bring your legs up and swing by your knees, get back up and then do the backflip dismount.  But I’ll try that again next time.

Yes, I said “next time!!!”

After that we changed our clothes and headed up to Whole Foods in downtown Seattle to grab lunch.  We figured that was easiest so we could just grab whatever we wanted and eat it in the store.  Then we walked a few blocks to the Chihuly Garden and Glass  exhibit at the Seattle Center!  Long gone is the old Fun Forest amusement park (anyone else have great memories of that place as a kid?)…now it’s Chihuly.  Beautiful glass sculpture and wonderfully unique installations of glass art outside intermingled with real plants.

Meanwhile, D wanted to know if anyone wanted massages.  She had found a cheap place on Yelp where it was something like $25 for a 45-minute foot massage.  What?  That sounds almost criminal.  Well, we decided to go for it so she made reservations for us.

Here’s where it gets interesting and funny.  D says “well, can we walk there too?”  After learning that this massage place was in the International District I laughed and said nope…that’s clear at the other end of town!  So, we drove! Hey, why not give D a mini tour of Seattle neighborhoods meanwhile, right?

We headed into the Pacific Rim Center, a sparsely filled out indoor mall with a rather strange vibe and energy to it.  Maybe it’s because I was somewhere I’d never been before…in my hometown.  Maybe it was because D and the rest of us were the only 4 Caucasian people in the massage place.  And maybe it was the weirdness of walking into a sea of massage chairs just out in the open.  And the silence.  Everyone was fully-clothed (whew)…but was this one of those “happy ending” places??  Yikes.

Ever have a foot massage that starts with your scalp? Nope, me neither…until that afternoon.  And the guy doing my massage was about my Dad’s age I’m guessing.  Just an overall very odd experience.  I had my clothes on with a towel draped over me so it wasn’t feeling creepy, but still was weird.  And this massage…holy crap I still have bruises a week later around my knees and on my forearms and thighs!  I don’t remember it hurting too much (would have said something) so I was shocked that I am still looking like a domestic violence victim or bondage lover even a week later!

We finished off the evening with dinner at Purple in downtown Seattle.  Great, relaxing food and a huge wine selection too.  We laughed as we reminisced about the day – such a random mix of stuff we did…IN ONE DAY!  And I laughed too thinking that WOW, of everything we did that Sunday, going to Purple was the ONLY thing I’d ever done before!

There’s so much more to my hometown, Seattle, that I’ve yet to explore and discover.  And how cool it took a visitor from out-of-town to make it all happen.  Bliss.

March comes in like a Lion…

02 Sunday Mar 2014

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…so that old saying goes, right?  Last weekend was consumed by overnight work (which my team does on a regular basis)…so while the work shift itself wasn’t super long, it hung over my head all weekend and I couldn’t mentally relax and unwind.

THIS weekend was time to let loose. You could feel the energy at work on Friday.  The sun was out and it was pretty warm outside (mid 50s!).  Ohhhh, the promise of spring!  Many people took the afternoon off just to cut loose.  After last weekend’s work, we all were ready for REAL weekends!

So much for that warm Friday afternoon…yesterday Mother Nature slapped her big ol’ reminder on us that it’s WINTER.  Wet, biting cold.  And SNOW where I ended up later!

WP_000524See the “bald spot” on the top of the ridge in the background?  That’s where I hiked on Saturday with two women from the Lean Eating program I’ve been involved in since last July!

C, G and I met in the parking lot of Issaquah High School which you can see in the picture at right.  The trail head is just a short walk away!  And the top of that ridge is called…wait for it…Poo Poo Point!  More on that later.

We were originally planning to do an urban-style easy hike (more of a walk, really) at Carkeek Park in north Seattle. But one of the women was driving in from eastern Washington, and the last hop into Seattle would have added an extra hour to her drive.  So, Issaquah it was!  Not too far off of I-90 once you head westbound over the mountains.

I was grateful C and G were open to a somewhat-later start.  We met up at 11:00am and were on our way by 11:30.  This hike was 8 miles round trip with a near 1700′ elevation gain.  We even had C’s Boxer mix, Hank, along for the journey too!  Adorable.

The trail was in great condition – a little muddy in places but nothing a good pair of hiking boots can’t handle.  MAN oh man…those switchbacks!  I got a good, stiff wakeup call that the treadmill and doing intervals at the gym is NO comparison to some good, butt-kicking uphill switchbacks.  I had to stop and catch my breath a few more times than C and G needed to and felt bad, but they were very understanding.  There was NO way we weren’t going to make it to the top!

WP_000521And the top – WOW.  This is paragliding and hang gliding heaven right here!  Too cold for any of that action today but in the summer this place is hopping!  You just run and launch right off the ridge!  No railings down there at all.

I took in the views and watched the fog roll and swirl so rapidly – kept changing by the second!

And later, it started to snow.   So beautiful!

Now, you’re probably still wondering…why the heck is it called POO POO Point?  Kinda makes you giggle a little, right?

Well, I learned that the name comes from the sound the steam whistles would make when signaling the loggers.  Yeah I guess that could sound like a POO POO of sorts?

WP_000522Now seeing THIS kinda freaked me out a little. A few other girls were there, walking WAY down the slope of the ridge and laughing, taking pictures of each other.  Ummm…NO THANKS!  That kinds of stuff makes my heart pound and not in a good way.  What was hilarious was that they were decked out in San Francisco 49ers gear head to toe.  Including red backpacks.

Am I the only one who thinks it’s a little morbidly funny that girls in 49ers gear were standing on the edge of a cliff deep in Seahawks country?  Death wish much?  I was wearing my Super Bowl XLVIII champs knit hat and hoped they noticed!  Ha ha.

It only took an hour and a half to get back down to the high school parking lot.  What an adventure!  It’s definitely one I will do again!

Later that evening I went to a party at my dear friend P’s house.  She had recently returned from an incredible few month’s of travel in Belize, Australia and New Zealand!  She cooked us food from all 3 countries (ceviche!  Kangaroo sliders!  Pavlova for dessert!).  YUM.  And had her incredible pictures displayed in a slide show on her TV.

Check out Alaskagirlatheart.com to see them for yourself!

Coconut Curry…with Your Choice of Meat!

08 Friday Mar 2013

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Oh yeah…back to another great (Easy! Delicious! Satisfying!) new recipe!  AND…a special shout out to my good friend Sara’s new blog, Sixty Seconds with Sara. Welcome to the Blogosphere, my dear!

Sara’s got a wonderful, growing portfolio of recipes and how-to cooking videos.  She’ll show you how just a short amount of prep time in your kitchen will stock your fridge with yummy, portable meals on the go for your busy week ahead!

Now, before I share this recipe, please indulge me in a funny story on how Sara and I met…because frankly the way we met I never thought we would ever be anything close to great friends.  What happened?  She SHOVED ME DOWN ON THE ICE during a hockey game.  Yep, that’s right!  Nearly 10 years ago (man that sounds weird) I took up hockey on a total random whim.  Yes, as in co-ed ice hockey in a local league here in the Seattle area!  My class had 8 weeks of learn-to-play hockey coaching.  And our team was actually formed by splitting up our LTP class into two equally matched teams, and we joined the local league winter season about halfway through in their novice division.  And we were on our way!

But there was a big learning curve still ahead, especially for someone like me who discovered team sports for the first time in her mid-30s.  I was thrilled for the opportunity to push myself physically and mentally, and I also knew I was way, way out of my comfort zone.  What a way to stretch and grow!  It’s one of my proudest achievements of adult life actually (so far!).

So one night my (co-ed) team played an all-women team.  We had played them before and lost horribly (I’m sure some male egos were thoroughly bruised), so we knew it wouldn’t be an easy win.  I wish I could remember exactly what happened, but all I remember is getting shoved down on the ice (and I didn’t have the puck…hello interference anyone?) and looking up and seeing Sara’s eyes glaring at me through her helmet cage.  And I thought man, what a bitch!  What the hell?  Now I laugh about it (and she does too), but at the time I was pissed.  Over time Sara and I got to know each other given we know a ton of people in common, and now she’s one of my dearest friends!

Lamb Coconut Curry – serves 2-4.  Prep time:  45 minutes.

  •  1 T coconut oil
  •  1 pound ground lamb (or beef, turkey, chicken, whatever you like)
  •  1 medium onion, chopped
  •  2 cloves garlic. minced
  •  1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz)
  •  1 can coconut milk
  •  1 Serrano chile stem and seeds removed, diced finely OR 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  •  1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  •  1/2 teaspoon curry powder
  •  Salt to taste

Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb or your meat of choice, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and allow to brown. Add the onion and garlic, saute for 5 minutes to soften the onion. Then add all the other ingredients and bring it up to a bubble. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

This is great over cauliflower rice (a nice substitute for rice if you are gluten-free) or quinoa (as I did last night)!  The flavors are absolutely incredible, and it’s a snap to prepare!

Coconut oil is a fun change from my usual olive oil ritual, and I highly recommend giving it a try!  My favorite is by Nutiva.

Cheers to hockey, great food and great friendship!

Honoring Thy Hunger…the Intuitive Eating Journey Begins

27 Sunday Jan 2013

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This past Thursday was my first phone coaching session in Intuitive Eating principles.  This is another one of those moments where I feel like I’ve jumped off the platform and am flying through the air, knowing and trusting the trapeze bar or the strong, trusted hands of a partner will be there to catch me at just the right time.  Scary and exhilarating. 

Lots of you who tune in here regularly know that I made a vow to myself awhile back after I finished college.  As an adult I would never let myself get close-minded.  I would always be open to considering trying new things.  From hockey to starting a jewelry business, training to run 5Ks, making a shift to contract/consulting work, joining online discussion groups and taking workshops for personal growth. Oh, and starting this blog back in late 2009.  Those are just a few things the past decade has brought – what’s shaped me.  Not too shabby a progress report I’d say!

What a segue…shape.  Have I made peace with my own body shape?  Yes, somewhat.  But I’m packing around much more weight than is healthy for me (see my rude awakening post last week which brought me to sobs).  I scratch my head and wonder.  Beauty really IS in the eye of the beholder.  I think about men I’ve had relationships with over the years.  When I was at my thinnest the guy I was dating at the time had pretty much zero interest in having sex with me.  Huh?  Strange.  And since I’ve packed on some poundage in the last couple of years it didn’t seem to bother the guy I briefly dated a couple of years ago who never knew me when I was a lot slimmer, or the guy I’ve been on a handful of dates with just this month.  Can Intuitive Eating really help me get my weight normalized?  That’s my ultimate goal, but, as I’m learning, Intuitive Eating is NOT a quick fix.  And it’s NOT a diet.  There are no recipes or suggested meal plans in this book at all.  This philosophy is part of the anti-diet movement (go online and you’ll find tons of material about this topic).

Diets don’t work!  Maybe for the short-term, but not necessarily for the long-term.  And I can only speak from personal experience here.  I tried the online version of Weight Watchers a few years ago and gave up after about a month.  I felt constrained by the points system they use.  I don’t mind structure and boundaries, but it was too much for me to handle and I immediately rebelled.  Perhaps if I’d done the in-person method rather than online I would have had better success and support, but I don’t have any interest in trying it again.  I’ve done the Carbohydrate Addicts diet.  Twice, actually.  This was the only diet I ever really stuck with, as it didn’t make you cut out carbs.  With that diet, you only eat carbs during one meal, usually dinner.  And finish within an hour.  I liked this method because I could still enjoy pasta, bread or chips if I wanted…if I waited until dinner.  I’m very much against plans that cut out certain types of foods.  I think our bodies were designed to be fueled by a variety.  Now, I’m not against cutting out things like meat, dairy or gluten for ethical reasons or because of allergies say to gluten or dairy.  I do have a variety of cookbooks specializing in Raw Food, the Paleo/Primal lifestyle and Vegan cooking.  All endlessly fascinating! 

But, in the end, none of what I’ve tried has worked for the long haul.  The IE book covers so many fascinating topics…such as how we were all born intuitive eaters, but often times something changes in our childhood.  Body image issues, peer pressure…so many things start to get in the way of how we were naturally programmed to eat.  I’m just through the first few chapters of this book and I love it.  But the material IS a paradigm shift.  It requires concentration, focus…and being open-minded to its principles.

I’m practicing listening to my body and what it needs.  Honoring my hunger…and stopping when I feel full.  This is like learning a new dance step.  In reading this book so far, I’ve learned I’m an unconscious eater.  I likely eat more than I need to because I don’t pay attention to the signals my body is full or getting full.  I’m usually doing something else when I’m eating, like watching TV or at my desk at work on my laptop.  I’ve rarely ever sat down at my dining room table, by myself, no TV on and no computer/phone nearby and eaten a meal.  It just seems silly, strange and inefficient…and too quiet…I could just as easily be watching a great TV show or catching up on my emails and texts!

So there’s much more excitement and learning ahead.  I already know this is going to be an emotional journey.  I’ve never talked about my true, deep relationship with food out loud in depth with anyone before so it’s going to be weird, but I trust my friend implicitly.  And I feel I’ve failed my body in letting it get to this size, which ties into the woe-is-me-I’m-still-single-this-must-be-why downward spiral.  Not pretty but it’s my truth right now.  It’s very painful going down that slippery slope of thoughts. 

They’re all tied together, so when any one of them turns sad, they all get pulled into an emotional riptide.

Staying Healthy in 2013…Part Two!

13 Sunday Jan 2013

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Seems like new years always start off with a bang…a burst of change on top of renewed activity…exciting!  I woke up this morning just feeling happy. Content. Invigorated, and full of smiles. 

My current work engagement got extended through the end of February and I couldn’t be happier!  And wheels are in motion with interviewing and networking.  I had a phone screen on Friday and have another one at a different company later this week.  Even if nothing pans out from a phone screen, they’re still invaluable to me.  Why?  I call them Practice. 

And it’s icy, sunny and sparkly outside.  Magical.  I wish I’d snapped a pic of the blue and peach sunset across the street a few minutes ago – the sky is now fading to a waning pink shot through with grey.  And soon…blackness – with tons of stars.  If we can keep to this and not get socked in with a ton of rain this will be an ideal winter!

Gotta hand it to our Seattle Seahawks for a helluva comeback today against Atlanta…just shy of heading to the NFC conference championship.  We were down 27-14 at start of the 4th quarter…and scored two touchdowns!  But that last Atlanta field goal ended it.  Phenonmenal job, gentlemen.  We’ve got a young team and lots more on tap next season!

So, with all that’s whirling around so far this year, I’m remembering to relax and breathe.  To create space – an aura of calmness and serenity that’s joyfully, blissfully all mine while I passionately soak up the excitement all around me.

And to follow-up on last week’s post which was mostly about staying healthy with my favorite nutritional supplements and sunscreens, one other commitment I’m re-making (is that a word?) to better health is with exercise.  I’m still blown away that I need 7 hours of exercise a week to be at my very best based on a workshop I took last fall.  And a little overwhelmed figuring out how to cram that into a busy week!  If I could walk to work or get outside for a walk or light run during the day while I’m at work that would really help me get that time in.  But that hasn’t been a reality in over two decades.  When I worked in downtown Seattle and had a full, genuine lunch hour early on in my career I would bring walking shoes and do ‘urban hiking’ at lunch, exploring all the buildings around me, going up and down elevators, discovering good “rainy-day routes” by finding underground pedestrian tunnels, the best delis, etc.

Here are my current favorite forms of exercise!

Rowing.  As in the rowing machine at the gym.  I fell in love with this last fall thanks to getting inspired by my trainer B, who took the time to show me how to use the equipment and the proper form.  I can’t say enough how much I love it…it’s such a great alternative to the treadmill and is a more all-around overall body workout too.  I carry tension and the weight of the world in my neck and upper shoulders, and rowing melts it all away.  And I can now row 5000m in under 30 minutes!!  28:35 was my personal best so far!

But I make a point to avoid my gym the first part of January.  It’s too overcrowded with the new years crowd for a few weeks and hard to get on equipment right away.  So in the meantime I’m spicing up my routine with other things such as…

Walking. As in outside, bundled up.  Bring on the glorious icy air and sunshine!  Thankfully it’s been relatively dry, so getting outside for a walk doesn’t mean a lot of ice.  There have been a few problems but nothing major.  On Saturday I met up with my friend L who I had not seen in probably 10 months or so.  How fabulous to reconnect with her in the sunshine and get caught up! I swear walking outside in colder weather burns more calories…well, that’s my theory at least.

Workout DVDs.  I blew the dust off my Jillian Michaels 30-day Shred DVD, found my 5 and 8 lb handweights and got back to it.  Sadly it’s been a couple of years since I worked out to this DVD, but check out my old post in the link for the scoop.  These are 20 minute workouts, no bullshit.  You move the entire time and do not stop.  It seems deceptively easy, but by the time you’re into the second of the three 6-minute circuits your lungs and/or muscles will be burnin’.  And that’s good – that’s where the changes happen!  The 30-day shred DVD is currently on Amazon.com for $8.99 – an absolute steal.  It has 3 levels of circuit training.  And I think I’m going to alternate between levels 1, 2 and 3 to keep the variety going.  You’re supposed to do level 1 for 10 days, then level 2 for 10 days, etc, but for me that will get boring.  Holy shit, I did level 3 today for the first time and will be on fire tomorrow.  Maybe that will make level 1 seem not quite so tough the next time I try it.

What are YOUR surefire hits for staying fit, long after the New Years resolutions have faded?  I’d love to hear from you!

Martinis Make Me Snore…

23 Sunday Dec 2012

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edgewaterLeave it to my dear friend D to turn FIFTY – THE BIG 5-0 – on the “end of the world” (December 21)!  And to pull together a fabulous celebration with friends in style!

And how fabulous was it to shut off the laptop, wrap up the work conference call (while on the road heading into Seattle) and just focus on FUN.  Normally this time of year is super quiet at work.  Most people are on vacation or working from home, checking messages very infrequently.  That’s not how it’s been for us at ALL.  We’ve got a big product launch next month and we’ve been on an intense schedule since mid November.  Man, it’s been crazy like this for over a month!  As much as I love my team and what we’re doing, I’m ready for a break!

I woke up Friday morning with a huge smile on my face.  It’s the end of the world…and we’re still here!  One weird thing:  I have a small clock in my master vanity with a swinging pendulum.  The pendulum had completely stopped swinging overnight.  But the clock was still ticking and keeping time perfectly.  Hmmm!!  I know it’s the energy of the Solstice.  It’s that solid, THUD-like energy you can feel on that day if you breathe really deeply. Breathe through the darkness.  The stillness.  I felt it for sure.  It’s those deep rhythms of the changing seasons.  And it almost feels like a slightly heavier gravity pull.

It could not have been a more glorious solstice. As I was heading over the bridge into Seattle, I saw the beautiful colors of the early sunset and the sky was glowing.  THIS is the promise…the promise of more light ahead – brighter days.  And what a bonus it wasn’t raining!

First stop:  the famous Edgewater Hotel.  Right smack on Elliott Bay.  Yep, the one where you can fish right out of your window.  Where the Beatles stayed back in the day.  This is THE only waterfront hotel in Seattle…and it’s a must-visit the next time you are here.  It’s very lodge-y feeling and cozy. River rock decor everywhere.  Warm, luxurious and unpretentious.  Did you know this hotel was built in 1962 in anticipation of the Worlds Fair? Hey, the same year D was born, ha.

We checked into our rooms, had a cocktail toast and the 10 of us got whisked off to Cuoco for dinner.  Any Tom Douglas restaurant is a major hit in my book, and I couldn’t wait to try this one!  It’s delicious northern Italian cuisine.  The mezzaluna pasta with butternut squash is heaven on a plate.  Savory but light.  And this is where the Ketel One martinis started flowing.

cakeOne of D’s friends made her birthday cake from scratch.  4-layer red velvet decorated with fresh roses.  Exquisite!  And the shiny thing next to it?  That’s the Long Lei….a chain of 44 chocolate kisses and 6 condoms.  I think everyone got to wear the Long Lei at some point throughout the evening.  It was long enough for two people to wear it at the same time!

We headed back to the Edgewater and up to the Six Seven lounge.  This is another part of your must-do-in-Seattle list.  The views of the water, the ferry boats and looking back at the city are stunning.  So is the food and service.  A few more friends joined us, and I vaguely remember heading back to the room a couple of times for a Veuve Clicquot toast, loudly cheering as we popped the champagne corks right out the window.  By the time the evening was over it was 3:00am and we were all back in D’s room laughing so hard. 

Most of this group goes back to high school years or earlier.  So you can imagine the hilarious stories and memories flying around.  I loved it.  I feel very blessed and fortunate to know D and to get to know her friends in the process as well.   I’m the new kid to this circle, having only known her a little over a year! 

The Motrin worked!  I crawled out of bed the next morning with no hangover.  Just no voice.  Although while we were eating breakfast back in D’s room, I casually asked my roommate P if I snored.  She said I sure did and she had to put in her earplugs!  Oh my God!  I laughed but felt a little mortified too.  Do I really snore all the time?  No, it couldn’t be…it’s gotta be the martinis and champagne.

Right?

Fighting to be Happy

14 Sunday Oct 2012

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…while suppressing that inner volcano of mine.  Despite being a relatively overall positive and happy person, I have a bad temper.  I just rarely show it.  Sometimes I get so goddamn mad I can’t see straight.  I rage within.  Perhaps this is the Taurus in me…perhaps it’s just DNA.  Sometimes it scares me.

It started on Friday.  I got some news that deeply upset me, that popped out the last hole in my patience punch card.  I’m done.  I’ve had a home improvement project underway here in the townhouse since early February.   It was supposed to be done in June.  It was supposed to be done mostly with the help of a good friend of mine who put the whole plan together.  Money changed hands as part of this deal…which is still barely a third of the way complete and that’s being generous.  Hard to put a fraction label on it.  All I know is I’ve been living amongst various forms of shifting clutter and it’s extra noise in my life I don’t need.

The bad news was time, or lack thereof rather.  Yet another schedule hiccup which means no work on the home project this weekend.  [We’d planned to do the work just a few days prior.]  I sat at my desk at work that Friday morning when the bad news text popped up.  And I about dropped my phone.  Unbelievable.  My response?  Silence.  I was so furious I was afraid what I might say in response if I picked up the phone or texted a reply. 

This is why I sometimes hate texting.  I can’t tell if there’s any inkling of apology, compassion or accountability behind the words that we couldn’t work on the project this weekend.  And I feel like my generous spirit, kindness and understanding have been partially ripped out of my body, stomped on and made a mockery of.  Taken advantage of. THAT’S what triggered my rage.

I seethed and fumed the rest of the day, both pissed off and feeling ashamed of myself too.  This is a First World problem for sure.  Nobody’s dying and nobody’s house burned to the ground.  When I get this way I don’t always know how to handle it.  Do I let my anger eat up my insides?  Do I send a nastygram text back to him? Do I make everyone else’s day miserable and lash out?  Do I go punch something?  Cry?  Let myself get dragged down in an ugly spiral, remembering all the other times the men in my life have let me down?  Oh boy, we’re teetering on a slippery slope with that last sentence I know.  I’ll try to reel it back a little in here.

I got home feeling like a deflated balloon.  Yeah, I cried a little through my dinner.  I even tried watching Rock of Ages as it had just come out in movies on demand on TV.  And I couldn’t get into it, despite a kickass soundtrack that hits right smack in my generation…those of us who literally came of age in the 1980s.  Side note:  know what bothered me about this movie?  It’s a MUSICAL!  And – surprise – as much as I love all kinds of music and singing, I just can’t get into musicals.  The way that people spontaneously burst into song and choreography just bugs me.  Chalk that up to a personality quirk I guess.  Same reason I can’t stand karaoke and don’t watch American Idol or X-Factor.

I woke up angry on Saturday morning.  I tried thumbing through a couple of cookbooks to get inspired to try a new recipe.  I even made a lime vinaigrette on a random whim to get my creative juices warmed up; it’s a part of a crab and avocado salad recipe.  Nothing. I looked outside at the wonderment of early fall.  The season dial clicked HARD these past few days, and any ounce of late summer is long gone.  I went to two grocery stores and aimlessly wandered the aisles, trying to mentally savor everything and find something to inspire me.  I came home with a small bag of organic rainbow quinoa, some olives, a tomato, shallots, a couple heads of garlic and some goat cheese.

Even dinner last night was a bust.  I tried making chicken breasts with a garlic and goat cheese sauce.  Perhaps the actual highlight of my weekend was roasting two heads of garlic in my oven for a couple of hours.  LOVE that aroma!  But the recipe was bland and unfulfilling, even with the roasted garlic.  Even sprinkling on a few capers for some color and kick didn’t work.  Bland and unfulfilling…I think that’s how I’ve been feeling this entire weekend actually.  A little wounded, shut down and not open to savoring things around me. 

So I know myself well enough that this dip in my mood is temporary.  I know the balance between negating it and wallowing in it.  There IS a happy medium.  This time it’s a full weekend. I have a plan on how to deal with this perpetual postponing of my home project and I just need to put it in motion. 

I’m a little scared.  Someone went out on a limb to offer to help me and in turn I’d help him.  After some negotiation I agreed and did my part.  Perhaps I was naive thinking that someone would actually finish what they start, or if they couldn’t they would call that out and suggest another way to help – not just leave me hanging.  Perhaps I should have negotiated more strongly, like a business transaction.  Perhaps I was stupid to think oh, he’s a friend, he’ll make good on it in the timeframe he proposed.  Which has extended out months…which I’ve been gracious and understanding about.

No more.

The Active Equinox

23 Sunday Sep 2012

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Welcome, Autumn!  And welcome Spring to my southern hemisphere readers!  The season changes are such a sensuous time of the year. Along with obvious changes like the longer shadows during the day, a slight chill in the air and a longing to put away the sandals and rock my fall shoes and boots, I truly believe – if you breathe really deeply into the Universe – that you can FEEL the change.  The vibration shift.  The motions that are perhaps unconscious to us but are all around us.

I remember watching the Cosmos TV series (on PBS) as a young teen.  This was a special Sunday night ritual with my Dad (my Mom didn’t seem too interested in it).  While much of what Carl Sagan talked about was too complex for my young mind to understand, it stirred something within me.  As if to say that seeds were planted – you might not understand everything now, fivenineteen, but your curiosity will grow throughout your life with an ongoing hunger to learn.

One of his segments talked about motion – how even if we appear to be still, we are not.  I may be standing still on the ground, but the ground is not motionless.  The Earth is turning on its axis.  The Earth is revolving around the Sun.  Our solar system is cruising along in some random outer arm of our galaxy (or perhaps in and out of galaxy arms – some say that is the reason for our planet’s Ice Ages)…AND our whole galaxy is whooshing through the universe too!  To where I have no idea.  Or how fast.  All of this is mind-blowing to me when I try to make sense of it all.  And believe me, Carl Sagan explained those last few sentences far better and far more eloquently than I ever could.

So, I made some of my own tiny motions into the Universe this weekend – both mentally and physically.  My resume was overdue for an update, and it felt good to sit for a few hours and really focus on capturing my latest work activities.  It’s funny, for as much as I love to write, I sometimes run into writer’s block about my career.  How can it be so hard to summarize my latest accomplishments and job responsibilities into a few short sentences and bullet points?  I’m much better at speaking about it than writing about it, resume-style.  The work I’ve done over the past year and a few months is something I’m so very proud of.  And my team is dynamite – I truly, truly believe that NO ONE ever does it alone and that many helping hands make the load lighter.  This team embraces and breathes this same philosophy as well, and it shows.  It’s not lip service.  It’s something practiced constantly.  I know this work engagement is ending to free me up for my next opportunity (and also for practical reasons, such as the budget for my role runs out later this year), and it’s like stepping off with a leap of faith that the right next step WILL happen.  I’ve been through this cycle a few times over the past 6 years and I feel better taking that next unknown leap now that the job market has improved somewhat compared with the 2009-2010 era.

That was Saturday.  Man it felt so good to just breathe and savor the change of seasons.  The weather has been absolutely beautiful.  Plus I was able to get my car emissions test done on Friday afternoon (part of the requirement to get new license tabs), rather than gobble up part of a cherished Saturday driving a ways out to the site and waiting in line.  Ugh.  It’s a necessary thing to do but the car emission test site is one of those evil vortexes where time slows to a painful crawl.  Same with the oil change places too!

And Sunday I joined my dear friend T and her friend D (whom I’ve met once before) and D’s adorable chocolate Lab, Lucy, to walk in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s Pacific Northwest benefit!  This was an easy, relaxing, two-mile walk along South Lake Union, north of the downtown Seattle core.  This walk raised over $280,000 for Alzheimer’s research!  T, D and I learned in chatting that we had each lost a grandmother to Alzheimer’s, so this was an especially important cause for each of us personally.  T is also on the Seattle board – so proud of her generous donation of time and talent, especially having just started a new (unrelated) full-time job herself! 

Now, if you haven’t been around the South Lake Union area recently, you’re in for quite a wonderful surprise.  The area is transforming.  Beautifully.  Sure, there is some temporary pain, such as crazyass road closures, maze-like swirls of lanes blocked off and general confusion, especially for someone like me who tends to drive past this neighborhood rather than have it as a destination.  I’m so glad today’s Alzheimer’s Walk showed me just how beautiful a transformation this is, and it stirs up my hunger again to someday live and work in Seattle proper, rather than the suburbs where I currently call home.

I was a little bleary and tired when the three of us met up for our carpool (there’s that darn ol’ ‘not a morning person’ flaw again), but by the time we were ready to walk and walking I felt more energized.  The sun was out but not too strong given the time of year, the lake was beautiful, people dressed in purple were everywhere (the color for Alzheimer’s awareness) and it was nice to savor this part of Seattle on foot.  Honestly I tend to just drive and whiz through the South Lake Union area or more recently avoid it all together given all the construction and transformation underway.  So it was fun to see the lake, the Kenmore Air seaplanes taking off and landing and the view of Gasworks Park (my very first apartment after college graduation was just up the hill from it – dumpy apartment but great views – you have to start somewhere!)

On my way home I felt on a roll and made a beeline to my gym (where my trainer, B, is kicking my ass every Wednesday night).  I had made a commitment to get in the gym Sunday nights, but I had a party to go to, so I figured why not get some more gym time in while I’m feeling good and on a roll from a fun but not too-strenuous-walk earlier? 

I think I’m going to be addicted soon to the rowing machine.  What a nice change from the treadmill.  I love how it relaxes tension in the upper back and shoulders.  It just feels like more of a full-body workout than the treadmill, and I truly appreciate B showing me the basics on how to use it, from the resistance settings, the “10 and 2” rocking motion back and forth (as in 2:00 forward and all the way back to 10:00 and so on) to getting your feet placed properly in the grips.  I rowed 2000m (1 mile and 427 yards) in 12 minutes!  My goal is to get up to 5000m at a stretch.  I also did some weight and lunge work, lat pulldowns, plus the somewhat-evil hamstring strengthener using a fitness ball for resistance.  Yep, I think I will be feeling all of this tomorrow for sure.

And I topped off the weekend with a party with my hockey teammates at our co-founder’s soon-to-be-second new donut shop!  It was great to see everyone and share a few laughs and hugs.  I love these guys like brothers and/but know my decision to take this season off is the best one for me.  I was happy that they were open to having me come back next summer season.  It’s never guaranteed – I don’t take that for granted – but it is nice it might be an option for next spring.  It will all depend on where I am at that point and if I really, truly miss the ice and the game of hockey after my break.  I have a feeling I will.

While I appreciated the food (and donuts!) provided at the party, I kept it to just one slice of Canadian bacon pizza and one beer. 

After all, I’m proud of the progress I’m making physically.

Yoga’d…and Blessed

16 Sunday Sep 2012

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OK, first of all, fivenineteen is officially THREE!  Three years old!!  The (my?) official birthday was Saturday September 15.  9/15.  WOW…I never realized how that’s an exact mirror image of 5/19.  Where is that Twilight Zone music?  Honestly, that’s just a beautiful accident (or was it?). Absolutely was not intended….but I love it and I laugh how I just noticed that this year.  Thank you to my followers – old and new – and to everyone out there who stumbled in here by accident!  Welcome to my big ol’ ball of random!

This weekend reminded me how blessed I am to have incredible women in my life.  Great friends – old and new – and my Mom. 

Yesterday was all about getting the girls together and playing in jewelry!  Many of you know that I am a Silpada Designs representative, representing an incredible line of .925 sterling silver jewelry, handcrafted with semi-precious stones.  I’ve been a fan of the jewelry for around 6-7 years – I’d purchased pieces at home shopping parties or for fundraisers – and never thought I’d give direct selling on my own a try…but I started doing this nearly two years ago and I love it!  It’s easy to share what you love when you love what you represent!  I love sharing how .925 sterling (92.5% silver + 7.5% copper & zinc for strength – pure silver is too soft on its own for jewelry) is the highest grade of sterling silver there is.  It’s the same grade that Tiffany’s uses in their jewelry, and believe me Silpada’s price points are nowhere near Tiffany’s!

I tried something totally different and fun, for I had my jewelry on display at a restaurant inside a hotel where my team meets monthly…a combination of current pieces plus a lot of retired pieces marked down, gift boxed and priced to move!  In the process I had a lot of people stop by while I was setting up – even the executive chef stopped by to introduce himself and snap a pic of a necklace to see if his wife wanted one for herself!  It just ‘feels’ good in there – the restaurant staff is so gracious and accommodating…believe me when you get 20 of us jewelry reps together at a big table for meetings and throw in wine and munchies we can get a little rowdy!  Those meetings are a fun way to blow off steam from the workday, or for those who are stay at home Moms to get out of the house for a few hours for some adult time with girlfriends!

It was fun seeing friends of mine meet one another for the first time, plus having everyone meet my Mom!  Heck, even my Mom – who has the most exquisite taste in fine gold jewelry – is starting to take a shine (no pun intended) to sterling silver! Plus the mixed metal look (combining gold and silver) is super hot right now and I think it’s a trend that will continue far into the future.

So we had fun playing with jewelry, and it was both fun and nice to have a lot of my retired, discounted pieces find new homes.  I never thought I’d have “too much jewelry,” but after doing this for a couple of years my jewelry box has really grown, enough to where it was time to scale back and streamline.

And this morning…drum roll…Yours Truly got her butt out of bed early!  Meaning, an 8am meetup!  For carpooling to yoga!  Now, I’ve probably posted way too much in here about how I’m not a morning person, especially on the weekends.  While I feel I’m wasting the day when I sleep in until 10:30 or so on a Saturday or Sunday, I listen to my body’s rhythms.  It needs it and I’m not going to fight it off.

When I knew I was going to take a sabbatical from hockey (starting this fall season – and wow, looks like the NHL is doing the same with the lockout – ugh) I entertained ideas of what I’d do with this new, freed up spare time (and money).  Try yoga again – or try working out with a trainer? Revisit trying to learn Norwegian again for a someday-someday trip to the arctic?  So far the personal training is underway – 5 sessions done so far with B’s weekly ass kickings and I’m slowly rediscovering muscles that were long dormant.  My hamstrings and triceps are still on fire from last Thursday’s workout!

So to add fuel to that fire, I joined my dear friend D and her friend K for what I like to call “drop in yoga.”  [kinda like drop in / pickup hockey, ha ha.]   D recently moved to Austin, TX for a wonderful job opportunity, and her amazing energy just seems to swoop in whenever it’s needed.  Here she was in town for a few days, with a spontaneous invitation for me to join her and K for a free, open house yoga session at Lila.  D is probably one of the few (well, more than a few) who can motivate me to wake up, meet at a Starbucks and whisk me away in the morning for something beautiful, new and fun.  That and the 5Ks that P inspired me to start doing a few years ago with her.  Yep, those two take the prize.

So before I could walk into the Starbucks at Carillon Point to grab a double-tall nonfat latte, D and K arrived to scoop me up and take me to yoga!  Which I have not done in nearly 9 years!  In fact, I tried yoga for the first time the same weekend I started learning to play hockey.  What an intense Saturday-Sunday that was, pushing myself physically in two different ways I’d never tried before.  In fact, I had a third opportunity that fall in 2003 to join a friend for belly dancing lessons but my dance card was full.  I like to joke with people that I had a choice between belly dancing and hockey, and hockey won out.

So here we were at Lila (LEE la), which means Divine Play (I learned that from their website).  I was so grateful that K had an extra yoga mat for me to borrow – mine is buried deep somewhere in my garage.  I was impressed with the studio layout, how friendly everyone was, the beautiful light streaming through the studio – I love the beautiful Madison Park neighborhood in Seattle – and how the instructor took the time to greet each of us newcomers with a handshake, smile and personal welcome before we got started.

Oh man, what a wake up call!  The yoga memories of that introductory course nearly nine years ago came flooding back to me.  How inflexible I am…or where I actually am somewhat.  The poses – so hard to hold after a few cycles of repetition…if you have not tried yoga it is not just sitting and meditating – you work up a sweat!  But at the same time re-centering with your inner calm and confidence.  Inner glow.  And I remember the wise words of my instructor from 9 years ago when I would get frustrated at my lack of flexibility or difficulty holding a pose.  “Just give it 10 years,” she said in a soothing voice.  Aha!  That’s when I learned that yoga really and truly is NOT a quick fix.  Rather, it’s a lifelong practice and lifestyle.

It was a wonderful re-centering experience – just what I needed.  D and I headed back to the suburbs afterwards and grabbed a late breakfast at The Brief Encounter Cafe in Bellevue – a perfect place for hearty food, nice service and post-yoga sweats and leggings. 

And then I went home and took a two-hour nap.  I was stunned at how I was back home before noon.  So much of the day ahead…with a much-needed nap to celebrate Sunday.  And I smile, relishing the amazing friendships I have in my life.  Ahhhh, bliss. 

Namaste.

When There’s Nothing to Say at Three

09 Sunday Sep 2012

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Well hmmm…and WOW.  Here I am at the keyboard.  Hi, everyone!  It’s my typical, wonderful Sunday blogging ritual unfolding before me – I SO look forward to this time – and I have nothing. And yet I don’t normally worry about not having something to write about on these Sunday afternoons.  Sometimes I get inspired early in the week and just ‘know’ that’s what I want to write about.  And sometimes I don’t get inspired until late on Saturday, or even when I wake up on Sunday.  Sometimes – rarely – it’s been a big ol’ crickets chirping and I’ll take a mental vacay.  Sometimes I like to blog about my latest cooking adventure – lately it’s been a soup passion a-brewing within.  But last night was a (fabulous) repeat…I made Crema de Cangrejo (crabmeat soup, my own way – unpureed) – I’ve had this wackadoodle seafood craving for the last few days and figured, why fight it?

But I didn’t want to take a mental vacay today, so I’m bravely sitting here just rambling.  This is an important week here in fivenineteen land, for this Blog turns THREE on September 15th!  I can’t believe it!  I distinctly remember the day I sat down and got started.  And I remember reading lots of advice about blogs and how to start them, attract followers, keep people engaged and all that.  Oh, and to always have a theme in mind for your blog.  Theme?  Well, I said fuck that.  Things are eclectic and all over the place in here and most don’t seem to mind (right??).  Ramblings on cooking, makeup, shopping, hockey, fitness or lack thereof, homeowner freakouts (oops, I mean projects), work or lack of work…it’s all here and it’s all me.  I’m closing in on 200 posts which is pretty mind-blowing.  And survived a move earlier this year from Blogspot over here to WordPress land – sooo worth the effort. And bonus – I got rid of the “-” in my url name – hooray!  Have I ever told you all that a few years ago – long before fivenineteen – that I met with an intuitive healer (aka psychic) who told me that I have things to write about that others will want to read.  I honestly had not made that connection between that conversation and being here now.

So I guess things are in a comfortable groove right now.  There’s still much to do though.  The popcorn ceiling scraping project is moving along at a snail’s pace – L and I have talked about this and he’s promised we’ll finish as much as we can this month.  I have a slew of jewelry I’m getting ready for my first ever retired sample sale next weekend, and I’m having it in a restaurant rather than my house.  I’m so excited for this because it’s something I’ve never tried before – who knows, it could turn into an annual event!  I now have a new garbage disposal – damn I have the best plumber in the world – and so that’s a huge relief off my shoulders (stupid, mysterious leaks no more).  I’m getting back in the gym and working out with a trainer on Thursdays and it’s been amazing.  So many eye-opening discoveries about my shoulders and posture and muscle tone that need work…not to mention everywhere else (hello, core, I’m talkin’ to YOU).  And I need to get my resume updated pronto…as of right now my work contract is scheduled to wrap up in November.  They may be able to find budget to keep me on through January – which would be awesome as that’s our project launch timeframe – but that’s still not confirmed.  And it’s so refreshing to know it’s nothing personal…having transparent conversations with your manager is bliss.  Believe me, it’s not always that way when you do consulting/contracting work, as much as I strive for it.  Healthy is best!

Speaking of not taking things personally, that’s a hard one sometimes.   Especially when it’s a shift in close friendships…meaning, close friendships that have blossomed for years and years that somehow have devolved and have been downgraded to arms length acquaintance or to the type now that you only now “see” on Facebook.  This hurts.  It sucks.  And notice I’m using the word frienshipS.  Plural.  ‘Cause there’s TWO of them that are threatening to fade to black.  And it makes me sad…and angry too.  My knee jerk reaction is what the fuck.  What the hell have I possibly done to piss either of these two ladies off (who don’t know each other, by the way).  Why won’t you return my phone calls, emails or texts saying hey, would be great to see you and catch up, how are you and blahblahblah.  Or even worse…respond to me with very nice things to say but nothing in response to the ‘hey let’s get together part.’

But, sometimes no answer is your answer.  I get it that we’re all busy and whatnot.  Oh wait, make that “CRAZY busy.” Sometimes I think being busy is almost like bragging rights.  Well, look at me here and how busy I am…I’m FAR busier than you, therefore I’m superior. 

And AHA!  HERE’S the article about this that totally sang to me.  Where did I find it?  On Facebook, of course!  “… I recently wrote a friend to ask if he wanted to do something this week, and he answered that he didn’t have a lot of time but if something was going on to let him know and maybe he could ditch work for a few hours. I wanted to clarify that my question had not been a preliminary heads-up to some future invitation; this was the invitation. But his busyness was like some vast churning noise through which he was shouting out at me, and I gave up trying to shout back over it.”

Anyone out there have a friend who drops off the map when he/she gets into a new relationship?  I’ve been guilty of that too.  One of these ladies has been in a relationship that apparently is pretty serious (from what I see of all their Facebook pictures…see where I’m going with this?).  Or ever have a friend who will now only do things as couples, hence us single folks get left off the invite?  Hell, I’ve been a 3rd, 5th, 7th wheel at many parties and it’s no problem for me.  I guess it is for others.

So, I’m sad…it almost feels like two mini ‘deaths’ of sorts and even more painful because they’re both happening at the same time.  And perhaps I’m a little jealous too, but no, probably not as I’m not a jealous type.  I have to just keep looking and moving forward and, if both of these friendships DO fade away, that opens my soul up for whatever/whoever is supposed to come into my life next.

It just sucks in the meantime.  And wow, I guess I really DID have something to say today after all.