Bon Voyage

Carpe diem! The California Adventure has drawn near...I approach this journey with trepidation yet so much excitement!

Packing my clothing. Of course I had to pack them in rainbow color

My shipping containers which Ben, Steven and Chris packed :)

I wanted to send a special thank you to my folks for hosting such a wonderful going away party! Karaoke, great food, and wonderful friends! Special shout out to Rebecca, Blair, Vicki, Chrissy, Kristen, Lance and Maggie; grateful for your gifts and tremendous support. And of course, Pilkdaddi - such a fantastic party host! He also pulled out an impressive rendition of the 80’s song ‘I think we’re alone now’.

Thanks for the fun and the wonderful present!

The delicious cake Rebecca got for my going away party

The checklist has been decimated! Cruised Pike Place, consumed adult beverages at a Mariners Game, smashed on Paseos and enjoyed the Theo's Chocolate Factory. Such a fun last month in Seattle!

Wine tasting at Chateau St. Michelle and Columbia Winery

Mariner's game. I think they lost, but we had a great time

Seattle Skyline from Gas Works Park

I am truly thrilled to have the opportunity to be attending Chapman University and am so excited about the impending road trip to Southern California!

The tentative plan:

Pinot Noir tasting in Oregon’s Willamette Valley with Nichole and Trevor
Crater Lake and subsequent stay at Patrick Creek lodge 
Camping near Redwoods
Napa Valley wine tasting and dinner
Santa Barbara (Maybe More wine tasting - Do we see a theme)
LA...
Final Destination - ORANGE!

Things To Do Before I Leave

I LOVE Seattle and there are so many great things that one can do here, so I have decided to make a list of things I NEED to do before I leave mid-August. This way I can be held accountable to make sure I do them all. Feel free to help me out:



Courtesy of Theochocolate.com



1. Theo's Chocolate Tour I love chocolate and this is a local, organic, sustainable, delicious chocolate shop. The tour is $6 and worth every penny.



2. Redhook Tour (really, yes again). I love this tour. It is $1 and you get 2-16oz beers and a 5.5oz glass to keep.

3. Winery Tours I love Woodinville wine country and would like to make one last trip before I leave to do some wine tasting (Redhook tour can also be accomplished on the same day)

4. Mac & Jacks Another great brewery, located in Redmond that offers FREE, yes I said free, tours of their brewery. You get a Mac & Jack's 16oz cup and the equivalent of one beer.

5. Paseo's I haven't eaten here in a while and it would be a shame to not eat one more mouthwatering Cuban style sandwich before I leave. Just remember to bring cash.

6. Hike to Camp Muir  I attempted Camp Muir my freshman year of high school, but didn't make it all the way. Mount Rainier is the view of Seattle (hey it's on our license), I would love to complete this hike

before I leave.

7. A Very Seattle Day This would include Pike Place, maybe a ferry ride to Bainbridge, a run around Lake Union, a walk around Seattle Center, boating on Lake Washington, a bike ride on the Burk Gillman...you name it, I'll do it!

Throwing Fish at Pike Place Market

8. Go to a Mariner's Game I don't care how bad they suck, beer and hot dogs taste the best at baseball games. Plus, Seattle Pride!!!

And Finally (because I only have 3 weeks left and I would like to make this list obtainable)

9. To See As Many Friends As Possible I am going to miss everyone and I need to get my fix in now! Let me know your schedule and let's hang out!!

The First Weekend of Summer

True to my goal, I am trying to have as much fun as I can before I leave. This weekend was definitely a fun filled weekend and even more amazing...SUNNY.

It started Thursday when Rebecca got off work at 2:30pm and called me to do a hike up Poo Poo Point. At the top I decided to do some yoga moves.

Arm Balance Pose

Not the greatest form, but hey, my back wasn't warmed up.

On Saturday morning, Chris and I headed out to Green Lake at 10am to competed on the kickball team "We don't kickball, we kick ass." It was a rocky morning. Our team didn't have our sea legs yet. But after lunch (and a couple of beers), we finally won a game. In fact, I even scored a run!

The best looking team on the field!

My victory beer after the tournament down at my dock

After kickball, Chris and I worked up quite an appetite, so something refreshing sounded delicious. We threw together a Cobb Salad for my family.

My amazing weekend didn't end there. On Sunday, I meet up with Chrissy to hike Mount Si. It was a hot day, but the view at the top was worth it. Plus our butt's got an amazing workout.

Chrissy and I at the top of the world Mount Si

The view of Mount Rainier from the top of Mount Si

Oh, you think my weekend ended there? Nope! After our scorching hike, Victoria met up with Chrissy and I to take a dip into Lake Washington. The water felt amazing, especially on my achy muscles. Apparently I am not in hiking shape even though I have completed two hikes this past week.

Hanging out by the water can be exhausting, so after working on our tans for a few hours, my mother and brother cooked up some burgers and chicken (props to Vicki and Chrissy for the amazing corn they made). Rebecca and Blair met up with us for dinner and it was still nice enough for us to eat dinner outside.

It was a great weekend! The only thing it was missing was seeing more of my friends, but hey, I have next weekend for that! And I finally learned my lesson and wore sunscreen (Yay, no burns this week)!

New Beginnings

Well it's official. Chris and I have cleaned out our condo and have MOVED back in with my old roommates (the rents). I feel like I am in high school all over again except with way more responsibility.

Old living room in WA

 

New living room in CA

I have not been very good with keeping up wih my blog and here is my excuse:

It has been a busy couple of weeks. Chris and I went to Bellingham Saturday night over the 4th of July weekend. I love Bellingham. We walked around Fairhaven and to Marine Park

Fairhaven Candy Shop

Marine Park - Bellingham, WA

The weekend was beautiful and the fourth was especially hot and sunny. Infact my skin took a beating due to my lack of use of sunscreen (oops, I promise I will use sunscreen next time).

Not to break tradition, Chris and I headed to Preston's house on the 4th of July to watch the fireworks. We have been celebrating the birth of our nation at Preston's house as long as I can remember. It is the pefect place to watch the fireworks. All of the view and none of the crowds. Plus there is a bathroom that is clean.

View of the Space Needle from Preston's Abode

Finally, my last adventure...of this post...A trip down to So Cal

If you can't tell, the Hollywood sign

Em, Shelly and I hiked Runyon Canyon. It was hot and I got very burnt again. I guess I didn't learn my lesson with the sunscreen from the 4th of July (I promise to my skin, next time I will remember)

The purpose of the trip was to find a place for me to live in Orange (the city) and preferably very close to school! On the last day of our trip to CA, I found a place (see picture of empty living room above)! Although Chris and I did find time to see old friends.

Shots!

The birthday boy and the bros

Bromance

Rock and Roll Half Marathon

Saturday June 25th was the day I completed my 22nd half marathon race. Although I am a veteran at running half marathons, I definitely was not as trained for this race as I would have like to have been. I was feeling the pain at mile 10 and I am still sore two days after the race.

Although I do think that this is a very well organized race, the start line is in a horrible location. It cannot accommodate that magnitude of people running. It took me an hour to get off the freeway and to the the participant drop off. Then, I had to walk about a half of mile to the start line. The race officially started at 7:00am and I started at 8:01am. Needless to say, this did not make me very happy since I was starting with walkers and had to dodge thousands of them just to run a decent pace. After I let the anger wear off (I am doing something pretty amazing), I relaxed, as much as one can relax while running 13.1 miles, and took in the beautiful scenery. Which it was. This is a beautiful race. You run along Lake Washington Blvd for about 4 miles.

Lk WA Blvd - courtesy of movoto.com

One great thing about starting so far back is the amount of people you pass during the race. I did have the 2 or 3 people that kept up with me (or I kept up with them) the entire race, but there is something psychologically pleasing about passing people the entire race...and you get to read some great t-shirts. What I mean by this, people will put quote on the back of their shirts.
Some are sad:
                        "running this race for _____, who I lost to cancer"
       "Running in remembrance of _________"

Some are fun:
       "I thought you said rum!"
                        "Dear God, please let someone be behind me so they can read my shirt"

Some are motivational:
                        "The truth is that you can always run faster...and sometimes the truth hurts."
        "Pain is temporary, Pride is forever!"

It amazes me that I have run so many of these damn races, cause at 5am, on the day of the race when I wake up, I always think "this is way too early!" and at mile 10 when I am in pain, my brain is shouting "dammit, I still have 3 more miles to go"

But there is something about crossing that finish line, medal around your neck and the feeling you get from accomplishing something so great, that is like no other feeling in the world.

I can't wait to run another half marathon.

Rebecca and I at the finish line Rock and Roll half 2009

My mom and I at the finish line from the 2011 Rock and Roll half marathon

2011 Rock and Roll Medal

Getting Started

Hello and welcome to Short Tales. After reading other people's blogs and deciding this is a great way for you to see what I am up to (I will limit it to the exciting stuff, I promise), I am starting my own blog. I know that I will be extremely busy once school starts, but I will try and update as much as I can.

As of right now, I am getting ready for two things:
1.) Most important (because it is on Saturday): Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Seattle.
Although this will be my 20-something half marathon, I am coming off a knee injury and have not trained as much as I would have liked. I just have to accepted that mile 9 through 13 might be a little painful and I will definitely not be doing this race for time as I intended when I signed up. This half marathon has been less about the race and more about the training. Let's see, to train for this race I have run with: Etta (my mom and running inspiration), Rebecca, Janine, Jiffy, Lucas, Rob and Ginger! It has been a great way to spend time with people I love spending time with while shaping up my butt. I let you know how it goes!

(Etta and I doing a training run together- accidentally wore the same outfit)

2.) My move to California. Chris and I have enlisted a property manager to help us rent out our place and manage it while we are in California. We have started to purge our stuff and start packing. It is amazing how much one accumulates in 4 years. Well, my slight OCD (or CDO since I like things alphabetical) likes organization more than chaos, the purging has been...dare I say it...kind of, almost fun. But we still have a lot to do and I wish that I had a magic wand to transport all my stuff into my new apartment (which I have not found yet) in California.