Back to WI

Friday
1. The Swensons picked me up at the airport
2. Lunch at Key Lime Cove
3. Rest up before the big par-tay
4. Surprise!

We threw a surprise party for the Twins 50th birthday (and for you people who don't know who the Twins are, they are my mom and Aunt Khristy). They had no clue it was coming, which was great. Everyone was there - even me. I flew home for the party and surprised everyone (the Swensons were the only ones who knew I was coming home). There were lots of screams and tears and hugs when I came in the door. It was great.

5. Cake, dancing, PBR

Saturday
1. Sam's soccer game
2. Madison because Rachel didn't have a test today
3. Drove around the campus
4. Nick and Amy's house to play games and watch the draft
5. My favorite Eldorado for a guacamole chalupa

Sunday
1. Slept in
2. Dad cooked cornish hens and veggies on the grill
3. Drove to airport
4. Culver's for hot fudge chocolate chip cookie dough sundae
5. Mike is waiting at the airport because I told him the right time this weekend
6. Nollie is in the car wagging her tail
7. Home

I am not coming to WI this weekend.

Baby Shower Trip Highlights

Wednesday
1. Flight was delayed into O'hare - no big surprise there
2. Sara picked me up from the airport
3. Dinner at Duke of Perth
4. Met Sara's English bulldog, Ginger
5. Spent the night at Sara's apartment

Thursday
1. Took the train to get home
2. Mom picked me up at the train station
3. I have jet lag
4. Lunch in Lake Geneva with Mom and Rae
5. Starbuck's so I can stay awake
6. Shopping for baby shower
7. Wine at Aunt Khristy's house
8. Call Nick and Amy to surprise them about my visit
9. Make quesadillas for dinner

Friday
1. I wake up sick with a cold
2. Rachel takes forever to take her test for school so no Madison today
3. Lunch at Culver's - I get fried cheese curds and custard
4. Shopping for baby shower
5. Everyone comes over - Nick, Amy, Khristy, Cliff, Katie, Jessica
6. Beer run for some WI microbrews - I know Goose Island isn't from WI, but whatever


I am happy with my selections.

6. Beer run #2 because Nick and Dad want some of my beer
7. Pino's pizza for dinner

Saturday
1. Get cupcakes
2. Get flowers and balloons
3. Prep for shower
4. Amy's shower is a huge success!

Sunday
1. Fly home to Seattle
2. Nollie wags her tail when she sees me

April Showers...

Steve, Matt, Nollie, and I went to Mt. Baker today for another powder day in our above average season.

There was a golden retriever party in the parking lot, and I was having trouble keeping track of which dog was Nollie within the play group of four goldens.

The snow was really good and much gnar was shredded.

We saw a guy fall into the net at the Chair 1 midstation. It was like watching a trapeze artist miscue, but it was a clumsy old man on skis.

On the way back we stopped at the Beer Shrine and met up with Scott and Chris for beer and pizza. As we were finishing our meal Matt noted that if we took a different route home there's a Dairy Queen in Sedro Wooley. His father must be very proud of him.

Steve took all the pictures today, so I don't have anything to show other than the lift ticket above. Instead take a look at this picture of Steve at Baker from last year and just imagine he's wearing a neon green jacket with a giant brown stain on his back, rather than the red jacket pictured.


Note the Packers handkerchief flying from his left hip.

The Sun Sets on the Sunset

The Sunset Bowl closed its doors last weekend. It was recently sold to a developer for about $13M.


So last Saturday Nels and I said good bye along with some friends: Big Ern, Ishmael, Roy Munson, Claudia, The Dude, Donny, Jesus Quintana, and Walter. As you may have noticed all nicknames for the day were derived from the only two famous bowling movies we knew of (The Big Lebowski and Kingpin).


7:15 AM. I arrive at the Sunset Bowl and get on the waiting list for a lane.


Donny (Kevin) keeps on eye on our breakfast food stuffs from the Ballard Market across the street.


Big Ern (Nels) was throwing rocks and had the highest score of the day (and his career) with a 224.


Man bowling with baby strapped to chest = dedication.

Nels and I continued to bowl as friends filtered in and out throughout the day. We were there from about 7:15 AM to 7:15 PM that day.


The Dude's (my) stats after 11 hours 39 minutes of bowling.

Until the last three games things were going pretty well. A couple games over 200. A couple clean games. Eight strikes in a row (the most I've ever put together, but unfortunately over two games). A 176 average through the first 15 games. Lane conditions changed dramatically, and my games fell apart in the end. I wanted to stop while the stats were looking good, but it was the last time I was ever going to bowl at the Sunset, so I gave it everything I had. I continued to roll my 16 lb ball long after Nels was forced to switch to an 8 lb alley ball without using his thumb due to pain and swelling.

One last time...

204, 167.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Yesterday my friend Claire and I went to Qwest Field to see the Dalai Lama speak. He is in Seattle for Seeds of Compassion. It was an amazing experience - who knew the Dalai Lama was so funny? He has sparked my interest and I want to learn more about what he has to say.

Amazing opportunities like this are why I love living in Seattle.

Cheese Curds and Beer...

...no meat races here (see also Sausagegate).

Why the baseball references? Uh... I guess because Monday was opening day.

Anyway, a bunch of us went out to Zayda Buddies last night for some MN/WI style pizza, beer, and cheese curds. Some pictures were taken.


Topher contemplates drinking another $3 can of Blatz.


Hoen on the rings.


Sarah's curds.


Mike's beer.


Why do I drink Old Style? 'Cause I can kick your ass, that's why.

Salmon Digger Beefcake...

...in reverse order.

So I bought a flat-incline-decline bench on Monday.  I know, I know, I'm already pretty beefcake, but you actually have to work to maintain it.  

Then I took a spill (i.e., digger) riding home today.  I was diverted form my normal route by an accident around 8th Ave NW and NW 70th Street.  Anyway at a roundabout I signaled my left turn, leaned into it, and soon discovered I was right at the edge of about a 1 inch ledge between two pieces of concrete in the road.  Down I went.  My recently purchased salmon and bottle of wine survived. 

Then I cooked salmon for the first time.  I used the same recipe Sarah used for the last two Christmas dinners, which I think she got from my mom, who got it from I don't know where.  Not quite the same quality King Fillet Pike's Place Market salmon, but Fred Meyer sockeye is good for the weekday.  

No pictures of anything from this week, so take a look at this.

Nollie on our kitchen floor.  Picture taken with 35mm prime lens my parents gave me for my birthday.  

Pretty Lame, Milhouse...

...pretty lame.

Sorry for the lack of posts. I guess blogging is one of those things that if I don't have time do a full posting about everything that's happening, I feel like I should wait until the time becomes available. However, now that I'm a grown-up, I understand such time never makes itself available. So I'm going to suck it up, just post something sub-par, and try to get this thing going again.

So, to start it off how about some pictures.

Here's Nollie hiking for the first time wearing her backpack and snowbooties (not pictured). She was not happy for this picture. We had to abandon our group since Nollie wouldn't obey the nordic trail rule of walking on the outside of the ski tracks.

View of abandoned lift at Summit East (aka Hyak) sometime in late January. A week later more storms hit and snow piled up to a cone even higher, but I forgot to tell Nels to take a picture.

Sarah snowboarding at Hyak, kicking up some "tasty poo." If you're wondering what "tasty poo" is please contact Nels Reese.

There's water tower at Hyak that happens to be painted like a beer can. It actually used to be a can of Olympia, but then they repainted it to the Summit (ski area) name.

Every February they have the Holy Oly Revival snowboard contest. They hand carve a quarter pipe (on left) at the base of the Oly can water tower (on right). Some pros, locals, and others show up to ride: video and contest results (see also). Steve (though he did not attend this year) usually gets very excited as he points out pro snowboarders from the northwest we watched in videos in high school.

This method took home the best NW Method award.

This is Jeff Brushie. Jeff Brushie won the Jeff Brushie award.

Some guy on a snowskate gets about 5 feet above the lip. Considering the quarterpipe was reportedly 28 feet tall and that thing is not attached to his feet, it's pretty impressive.

We took our annual trip to Baker where we rent a cabin and cram a bunch of people into it until it costs $25 a night. Steve slashes some powder.

Jacob Bunge from the West Wash days of UW-Madison came out from Chicago. He was less successful at slashing powder but did manage to save the beers.

Nollie finds Jacob's fall hilarious.

Nels carves some tasty poo.

Since then many things happened but few pictures were taken. We bought an new computer as Sarah mentioned. However, I did not buy into a culture or join a cult. I do not have an iPod or any other iCrap. I just bought a computer.

We were rather unsuccessful at the Mt. Baker Easter Egg Hunt, but the snow was good so it didn't matter.

Some storms rolled in this week and dropped more snow in the mountains. Today was a fun powder day but was pretty busy for lift lines.

That's all for now.

what we have been doing (no particular order)

1. Yesterday we bought a new computer. Mike has finally made the switch. A new iMac will now be joining my iBook in our office.

2. Mike's birthday was March 6. He had to work late so we didn't really celebrate on his actual birthday, but went out Friday night with some of his friends from work. I got him Aperture 2 (photo editing software for our new iMac).

3. My birthday was February 25. Mike and I both took the day off work and went snowboarding, shopping, and out to eat at the Barking Dog. Mike got me new snowboard bindings. They look great with my new snowboard.

4. I have learned how to do butter slides.

5. The annual Baker trip that Steve organizes was last weekend. We rented a cabin up near Glacier and 15 people or so crammed into it. A lot of snowboarding happened. Mike and I went up and rode Friday. It was blue bird most of the day. It snowed 8 inches during the night so on Saturday there was a lot of powder.

6. Nick and Amy are having a girl - Mike and I are getting a niece.

7. I was named employee of the year for my lab. It comes with no rewards except knowing the people appreciate your hard work (although Steve and Mike did take me out to dinner at Zayda Buddy's). With this title comes a nomination for Civil Service Employee of the Year. The winner of that prestigious title gets some prizes.

8. Dea had a layover in Seattle this past Friday night/Saturday morning. Mike and Steve showed her a great time. I was sleeping.

Happy 30th Steve!

That's right. It's Steve's 30th birthday today! Not sure what he is going to do to celebrate.

Last night we went to a fondue party at Tony and Miriam's house. It was a lot of fun. Nollie came with and Genyk and Lori brought their new dog too. Last night was the first time we saw Tony and Miriams's house in Green Lake - they bought it a few months ago. It's very cute and has a retro kitchen.

Today is also President's Day, so I have the day off. I'm making it a day of crafting. I've been stamping cards all morning and will be moving on to crocheting or knitting this afternoon.

I hear it has been snowing up a storm back in Wisconsin. I wanted you all to know that it is sunny and in the 50s here in Seattle. Nice.

Happy Valentine's Day

Here's what we have been up to since we last posted. . .

I have finished up my sock knitting classes and have completed one sock. Here it is:


I participated in the caucus last Saturday. This was my first caucus and it was very interesting. Mike did not caucus.

One of Mike's old roommates and his wife came to visit this past Monday on their way up to Whistler. We all went snowboarding at Baker on Tuesday. It was nice to ride on a weekday - no lines.

Mike and I got new snowboards! They were delivered yesterday!

Mike and I went out to dinner for Valentine's Day. They had fried cheese curds and Blatz. Nice.

Packers and Snowboarding

In that order.

So, I went snowboarding by myself on Saturday, mostly because of the Packer game, which is documented below.


Inside.


Outside.

Then we all went snowboarding.

Party Posse (left to right): Hoen, Steve, Lindsay, Nels, Michelle (aka Hoen's Lady Friend), Sarah, and Tony.


The hike in.


The view.


The hike in from the front.


Not being ones to stray too far from the amenities of civilization, we hiked out under a power transmission line adjacent to a wastewater sprayfield.


?


Gonna spear me a sturgeon, spear me a sturgeon, get me a sturgeon with a spear...


Steve uncorks some champagne. P.S. He hearts Lib Tech.


Tony puts the cork back in.


Michelle (aka Hoen's Lady Friend) grips it and rips it.


As Nels gets more sober his stalefishes get more stinkier.


Hoen power tweaks. Get it? Nice!

the new year so far

Happy New Year! Here's what I have been doing since the new year began.

I have started practicing yoga again. There was about a year or so hiatus, but I'm glad to be back. The first day kicked my ass. I'm improving very quickly.

Mike and I have been snowboarding as much as we can. The snow in the Cascades is insane this year! I should be up there with him right now, but there is an important game on later today that I can't miss. Anyway, I seem to be improving my snowboarding skills too. I can pretty much keep up with Mike and Steve and go anywhere they go. I'm quite proud of myself.

I have signed up for lessons at my local yarn shop on how to knit socks. My first class is next weekend. Hopefully it won't be as hard as I think it will be.

I have been knitting like a mad woman for my new niece/nephew and finished up one project. Now I'm on to crocheting Mike a blanket. This project is going to take forever to finish since Mike doesn't want a lap blanket - he wants one that will cover him from head to toe.

As for the house, pretty much all projects have been put on hold due to snowboarding season.

Well...

it's not like we haven't been doing anything.

Amidst 60-hour work weeks, two Christmases, and a whole lot of powder, some pictures were taken.


Christmas, part I.


A picture of a picture.


Concentrate...


For some reason Rachel wanted a picture of me in my Walter Payton jersey. OK, here you go.


Nollie shows you what her toys look like for the first three minutes after opening them. All that's left now is the "W."


First time up the Space Needle. Not a bad view for the rainy season.


Christmas, part II.


New Year's Day, ready for action.


Steve and Nollie breaking trail.


Sarah watches.


Steve and Nels on the dam ridge.


Steve breaks off part of the cornice on first descent but recovers and still manages to point at the camera.


Nels may have been hungover, but he shows you he can still tweak a stinky stalefish.

What's that? Why...that's me! Thanks, Nels.


I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Rachel for giving me that helmet for Christmas. This crash hardly hurt at all.


So... is he hunting or snowboarding? Or Both?


Nels. 'Nough said.


Nels backside shifty's his way to the spillway.


Steve. Frontside eclipse.


Sarah and Nollie hike out.


In other news:

We have a Tempurpedic mattress, and it is awesome! We will never go back to a spring mattress.

I've been riding lifts about 6 days this year and everyday has been a powder day, though this Saturday was a close call. We got a late start this year, but Mt. Baker still pulled of 220" of snow in December.

I almost made Sarah cry her first time snowboarding this year, but instead she sucked it up and got about 10 times better on her first day out this year. Now she can almost go anywhere, including: Wildcat, Inspiration, Nose Dive, Showoff, Triple 60, and Parachute.




This jump is Nollie approved.