December Weekend Wrap Up

Running a bit behind in my Weekend Wrap-Up posts so here is the entire month of December in one post. Enjoy!

For the weekend 12/5 - 12/7:

• Woke bright and early to ferry Don and Kat to work so that we would have to deal with only one car during the days festivities.
• Ran home to shower and get ready to truly face the day.
• Attended the Seattle area P.E.O. reciprocity meeting with several of my chapter sisters.
• Caught up with friends from other P.E.O. chapters.
• Picked up Kat at work and dropped her off for her Spa day.
• Ran home to walk Barney, change my clothes.
• Picked up Don at work and headed to The Parlor in Bellevue to play some pool.
• Once the first drinks were served I couldn't take it any longer and I forced Don to open his birthday gift from me. Needless to say, the surprise was worth the agony. You can read his account here. (He says it better than I could.)
• Ran to pick up Kat when she was done spa-ing and she joined us at The Parlor.
• Celebrated Don's and Kat's birthdays with dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.
• Woke super early so that I could run to the office and pick up the boxes that I had been gathering for Kat's impending move.
• Cleaned and prepped the house.
• Hosted the Christmas Party for my P.E.O. Chapter.
• Laundry, coffee, errands, the usual Saturday morning bit, but this time on Sunday.
• Stopped to assist a biker that had taken a nasty spill on her way to work, more about that here.
• Had breakfast with Don and Kat at Crystal Creek Cafe.
• Spent the afternoon packing up all the breakables and kitchen stuff in Kat's apartment.
• Prepped and got myself ready for the week ahead, all the while marveling at the fabulous weekend it had been.

For the weekend 12/12 - 12/14:

• Woke bright and early to head off to the airport for our flight to San Francisco.
• Enjoyed the flying experience aboard Virgin America, much thanks to the abundant leg room of Main Cabin Select.
• Headed into San Francisco via BART.
• Arrived at our hotel not sure if they could check us in but they could, and they upgraded our room. Yippee!
• Settled in and headed out to explore the city. It was a beautiful day so we jumped on a cable carFisherman's Wharf.
• Wanted to lunch at Cafe 8 but arrived amidst the lunch rush so we headed to Fisherman's Grotto
• Had Fish "n" Chips at Cafe 8.
• Picked up a few fun things and enjoyed the yummy smells at Boudin Bakery.
• Boarded the cable car for the return trip to the hotel.
• Relaxed for a few hours in the hotel room.
• Got dressed and headed out a bit early for our dinner reservation.
• Enjoyed some wine in the bar at the House of Prime Rib followed by a spectacular dinner. Truly an evening to remember.
• Stopped at the hotel bar for a nightcap where I was stupid to let Don write on my hand not just once, but twice.
• Fell into bed "comfortable numb" from an incredible evening food, drink and merriment.
• Slept in a bit on Saturday morning and then jumped back on the cable car and headed to Ghirardelli Square.
• Had breakfast at Lori's Diner.
• Picked up some chocolate at the Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop.
• Walked along the waterfront to Pier 39, spotting Santa over and over again.
• Walked up to San Francisco Brewing Company for a few pints.
• Headed back to the hotel to change clothes and store the treasures we had picked up.
• Took a cab to our favorite North Beach restaurant, Firenze By Night.
• Enjoyed the unbelievable gnocchi and another fabulous dinner.
• Kiss a few Italians, I just couldn't help myself.
• Took a cab to the Palace of Fine Arts and enjoyed a glass of wine in the lobby while waiting for the show.
• Thoroughly enjoyed the performance by The Paper Raincoat.
• Waited with great anticipation for the beginning of the Vienna Teng show.
• Soaked up every note of the Vienna show, the highlight being when she dedicated Shasta to Don in honor of his birthday thanks to an email sent by Kat.
• Spent some time talking to Alex Wong and Amber Rubarth (of The Paper Raincoat) following the shows and picked up some signed copies of their CD.
• Walked blocks and blocks to find a cab to take us back to the hotel.
• Stopped by the hotel bar for a cup of tea before heading to bed.
• Woke on Sunday morning in time to shower and head downstairs for massages at the Hotel Spa.
• Headed back to the room to pack and check out.
• Jumped in a cab and headed to The Carnelian Room for an their unbelievable Sunday brunch.
• Stopped back by the hotel long enough to pick up our bags and head to the BART station.
• Arrived at the airport to find our flight was delayed due to the rainy weather.
• Hung out in the airport bar while waiting for flight information.
• Sat next to a Mr. T look alike on the flight home.
• Arrived home to Seattle and the frigid cold.
• Unpacked and headed to bed with a big smile on my face, what a wonderful weekend.

For the weekend 12/19 - 12/21:

• Cleaned and did basic household stuff.
• Had planned to host a Christmas Party on Friday evening for several friends from work but everyone cancelled for fear of driving on icy roads.
• Relaxed at home with Barney.
• Watched some cheesy Christmas movies.
• Laundry, coffee, the usual Sunday bit.
• Stopped by for a cup of tea at the Teacup's new Queen Anne location and decided that I want to become a tea snob.
• Bravely ventured to the grocery store, Don did the driving, to gather up the turkey and all the fixins for Christmas Eve dinner.
• Made Lasagna in anticipation of dinner with the Black family only to have them cancel due to the impending storm.
• Declared that since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
• Enjoyed lasagna while watching the snow fall.
• Tried to watch It's a Wonderful Life but my VCR ate the tape despite Don's efforts to get it to work.
• Watched White Christmas instead, while "White Seattle" was happening outside.
• Braved the snow and cold to head to Bothell to help Kat unpack her belongs.
• Had breakfast at Crystal Creek Cafe with Kat and Don.
• Was disappointed in my packing skills, especially since I had bragged about how good I was, when I found a couple things broken. :-(
• Spent some time in the evening prepping for the week ahead, happy that Christmas is almost here.

For the weekend 12/26 - 12/28:

• Worked on Friday which was difficult as it was painfully slow.
• Put my pajamas on shortly after getting home from work.
• Had the perfect turkey leftover sandwich for dinner (bread, cranberry sauce, turkey, stuffing, gravy and mayo on white bread.) Yummy!
• Watched some more cheesy Christmas movies.
• Slept until 9:30 a.m.
• Watched some more cheesy holiday movies.
• Finally decided to get out of my pajamas and take a shower around 3:00 p.m.
• Had another turkey leftover sammich for dinner on Saturday night, oh the yumminess.
• Slept in again.
• Decided to stay in my pajamas all day.
• Watched some more cheesy Christmas movies.
• Prepped for the week ahead and marvels at what a bum I was all weekend.

New Years Resolution for 2009 - be more timely in my weekend wrap up posts. ;-)

Weekend Wrap Up - 11/14 - 11/16

My poor blog has been so neglected of late. I could give you the army of excuses, but I won't. I've just been introspective and haven't felt much like posting. I'm finally dusting off the draft folder and getting a bunch of these posts up so that I'm caught up. Here is the wrap-up for the weekend 11/14 - 11/16:

• Accompanied my friend Suzie to UW Medical Center for surgery on her hand.
• Listened to lots of little beeps for my annual hearing test.
• Spent more time in the waiting room for Suzie to come out of surgery.
• Listened to all the instructions and took Suzie home to rest.
• Played pool and drank beer with Don at Rock Bottom Brewery.
• Ran some much needed errands to Safeway and Pet's Mart.
• Picked up a coat for Barney to keep him warm and dry.
• Had dinner at Kipp's.
• Ironed and got myself ready for the week ahead.

Exciting life I lead, I know.

Weekend Wrap-Up

It passed really quickly, especially Sunday which was bright and sunny and gorgeous. The highlights:

• Slept in and then relaxed at home on Friday morning.
• Took a long walk with Barney around the neighborhood and discovered a neighborhood park just 3 blocks away that I never knew existed.
• Finished organizing my TiVo season passes so that I catch everything I want to see.
• Did a few domestic projects around the house.
• Played pool and drank beer with Don at Rock Bottom.
• Finally tried out Teriyaki Bowl which is 2 1/2 blocks from home and it's pretty good.
  
• Laundry!
• Walked the entire length of Queen Anne Ave and back with Barney.
• More household projects including giving Barney a bath, cleaning the bathroom, dead-heading my patio flowers, watering my plants, coloring my hair and painting my nails.
• Laughed, laughed, laughed with Kat and Don at Whose Line Is It Anyway All-Stars at the Moore Theatre.
• Enjoyed a yummy dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.
• Crossed the 10,000 step threshold for the first time (since I started wearing the pedometer on 9/8/08) with 11,640 steps on Saturday.
• Met a new friend for coffee that I met through this blog!
• Walked with Barney to complete some errands atop the hill.
• Saw Nights in Rodanthe with Kat and cried, cried, cried.
• Had a crazy cooking marathon on Sunday afternoon to prepare for the week including a batch of homemade vegetable soup and Eggplant Parmesan.

It was a busy one. How was your weekend?

Weekend Wrap-Up Catch-Up

Playing catch-up on my Weekend Update entries. Highlights for the weekend 9/12 - 9/14:

• Enjoyed a relaxing day at home on Friday.
• Cleaned the apartment and other necessary household chores.
• Took a sunset stroll around the Olympic Sculpture Park with Barney.
• Sorted through boxes of paperwork in an attempt to get more organized.
• Laundry, coffee atop Queen Anne hill.
• Saw The Women with Kat and Don.
• Oriented Barney's new dog walker.

Highlights for the weekend of 9/19 - 9/21:

• Took Barney to the vet for his rabies vaccine and a general checkup.
• Ran to Pet's Mart and the grocery store.
• Played pool with Don at Rock Bottom and then walked down to McMenamins and enjoyed dinner a few more pints.
• Worked a tradeshow at Swedish Medical Center on Saturday.
• Shopped at the Seattle Premium Outlets in Tulalip where I got a new purse at the Fossil store and picked up a few new blouses and some underwear.
• Survived a trip to WalMart.
• Enjoyed a grilled dinner at Kipp's while Barney and Kayla played in the yard.

I really need to post these immediately because when I don't I forget the details and its much more difficult to put them together. I'll try to be better in the future.

Memorial Day Weekend Wrap-Up

The holiday weekend at home in Seattle turned out to be a fabulous weather weekend and chock full o' fun. The highlights:

• Left the office early and met Kat at my place so we could run to the store to pick up essentials for the evening.
• Introduced Kat to the magic of the of the Laughing Cow.
• Ate clam dip and watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in preparation for seeing the new Indy film over the holiday weekend.
• Woke early Saturday to complete the usual laundry bit.
• Created new starts and baked the Amish Cinnamon Friendship Bread from the start that I received from a colleague 10 days prior. (If you live in the Seattle area and would like a start for this yummy cinnamon bread, let me know via IM, email or comment.)
• Downloaded pictures from my camera to Flickr including pictures of Mom's visit to Seattle, Jimmy's 30th and the trip to Utah and driving home through California.
• Ran errands.
• Attempted to take a walk on the beach at Golden Gardens but couldn't find parking so ended up at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks on the Lake Washington Ship Canal which was fascinating and totally cool. I can't believe I haven't been before.
  
• Had my eyebrows waxed.
• Enjoyed the afternoon and sunset from the deck at Eastlake Bar and Grill. The drinks and food were good, but the service SUCKED!
• Woke early again thanks to the sun and headed out to Costco to beat the crowds.
• Took pictures of the flowers and herbs on my deck and completed a blog post about them.
• Took a nap.
• Decided to go watch the big boats (a.k.a. cruise ships) leave Elliott Bay from the deck of Bell Street Diner but when I arrived they were closed due to a plumbing problem.
• Watched the cranes and dock workers load tons of luggage onto the Norwegian Pearl.
• Drank a beer at Anthony's Fish Bar.
• Frustrated by the heat and late departure of the Norwegian Pearl I left the Seattle waterfront in search of a sunny deck and possibly some Copper River Salmon.
• Soaked up the summer sun and watched the big boats sail by from the deck at Ray's Boathouse. Kat came down and joined me for dinner and the sunset which was amazing.
• Woke to a dreary cooler day on Monday so I opted to stay in bed for a couple of hours and read.
• Had lunch with Kat and Don at Red Robin in Bellevue Square.
• Saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull which I loved.
• Watched as Don kicked my ass all over the pool table at Rock Bottom.
• Found my iPod, full story here.
• Shared a glass of wine with Kipp when he stopped by just after leaving Folk Life.
• Enjoyed some wine on the deck with Don and the sun faded away and the holiday weekend came to an end.

How was your weekend?

Weekend Wrap-Up Catch-Up

Wow! Time flies. I'm 2 weeks behind in my weekend posts so here are the past 2 weekends condensed into one entry. Enjoy!

April 4- 6

• Loitered for 40 minutes at the Alaska Airlines counter where it took 8 employees to check me in for my flight from Burbank to Seattle. The silver lining was the 1st class upgrade that for my trouble.
• Enjoyed quite a few glasses of wine on the flight back to Seattle, perfect to alter my thinking away from all things L.A.
• Dined at Bell Street Diner with Don after he picked me up from the airport.
• Happy to be back in my own bed and enjoyed a FABULOUS night of sleep.
• Started the day Saturday with laundry and coffee which has become our usual but I'm not sure I ever completely woke up from my sleep/home induced fog.
• Took a lovely nap.
• Made clam dip, ordered Chinese food and watched Raiders of the Lost Ark with Kat on Saturday evening.
• Organized, cleaned and enjoyed a day to myself at home. I don't mind traveling for work but I love being home.

April 11 - 13

• Played pool with Don at Rock Bottom on Friday night. I had spent two weeks basking in the glory of my recent win but went down in a ball of fire with only 1 win to his *too numerous to count* wins.
• Stopped for coffee on our way to Bothell to pick up Kat and have breakfast at Maltby Cafe.
• Ran errands in the Woodinville/Bellevue area.
• Traveled *around the pond* to Dave and Kristen's house in Port Orchard for John's (the cutest nephew in the world) 2nd birthday celebration. I took tons of pictures which I haven't had time to upload from the camera. Party was fun but overwhelming and when I found myself wiping frosting off some random child because his own mother hadn't bothered to notice, it was time to go.
• Enjoyed an appetizer and a few drinks at Silver City Restaurant & Brewery before heading back to the Seattle via the Kingston-Edmonds ferry and Bothell to drop Kat off at home which turned out to be only a few hours after her normal bed time.
• Unwound with Don and a cup of coffee at Cheesecake Factory in Bellevue.
• Enjoyed a day at home on Sunday. When I climbed into bed that night I realized that I didn't speak to another person all day which initially I thought was odd and then realized that it was just what I needed.

How was your weekend(s)?

Weekend Wrap-Up

It was a busy, jet-setting weekend. The highlights:

• Played pool with Don at Rock Bottom on Friday night and I actually won 7 of the 12 games we played, although most of the wins were thanks to scratches.
• Woke early on Saturday to do one load of laundry (stuff I needed for the trip) and enjoy breakfast at Queen Anne Cafe with Don.
• Packed my bags and organized the house to get ready to leave.
• Had a good flight to Anaheim in which I was seated next to a 5 year-old who was headed to Disneyland with his family and anxious to meet Goofy!
• Checked in and got settled at my hotel.
• Walked down the street and got a sub from Quizno's and went back to the room to eat it while I watched Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason which was on TNT.
• Woke to a gray "Seattle-type" day on Sunday, so I relaxed in the room while I caught up on my RSS feeds, checked my email and uploaded the pictures from the Cannon Beach trip to Flickr.
• Walked to Downtown Disney where I had lunch on the patio at Tortilla Jo's and soaked up the sunshine.
• Picked up some Disney goodies at the World of Disney store.
• Took a cab back to the hotel and took a nap.
• Spent the evening in my hotel relaxing.
• Watched Fun with Dick and Jane which was just as stupid as I thought it would be.

How was your weekend?

Weekend Wrap-Up

It was a crazy week with long work hours and lots of projects to prepare for my trip to California which caused my weekend update post to be VERY delayed, here are the highlights:

• Left work a bit early to run by Costco on the way home to pick up some of our *regular* wine (Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling).
• Headed over to Don's to help him with any prep needed prior to dinner but he had things completely under control.
• Enjoyed lots of laughter and a really good meal with friends Kipp and Christy. Don made his infamous Orange Chicken on the grill, roasted red potatoes and green beans which was all yummy!
• Woke early Saturday for the regular trip to the laundromat, coffee at Peet's and doughnuts at Top Pot.
• Took a nap on Saturday afternoon.
• Enjoyed a quiet night at home on Saturday night catching up on my TiVo and dying Easter Eggs.
• Had Easter Brunch with Don and Kat at Yarrow Bay Grill in Kirkland. We had never been there and it was delightful. It will definitely be added to our list of regular places.
• Got an Easter basket full of fun treasurers from Nancy.
• Cleaned, organized and futzed around the house.
• Spent the evening playing pool with Don at Rock Bottom playing pool. As usual, he kicked my ass. :-)

How was your weekend?

Weekend Wrap-Up

Delayed due to the holiday weekend, here are the highlights of the weekend:

• Enjoyed happy hour with Don at Ray's Boathouse on Friday evening while watching the clouds block out the sunset and a few boats scoot by.
• Woke with the roosters (actually before the roosters) on Saturday morning to drive north with Don to pick up Kat and have breakfast at Maltby Cafe.
• Picked up a bunch of necessities at Costco.
• Browsed the beers and wines at Malt & Vine in Redmond so that Kat could try some different beers thanks to her "I want to try some fruity beers" proclamation.
• Played pool with Don at Rock Bottom and was pleased that I actually won a few legitimate games.
• Slept until just after 10 on Sunday morning.
• Over indulged at Sunday Brunch with my friend Barb at Salty's on Alki.
• Wandered aimlessly through the grocery store on Sunday afternoon with Don trying to figure out what in the world we wanted for dinner. Finally settled on Chicken Cordon Bleu, Rice Pilaf and green beans.
• Slept in again on Monday, oh I love holiday weekends.
• Took a walk through the neighborhood and enjoyed the gorgeous 50-degree sunny weather a bit.
• Caught up on reading The Alchemist which is the book club selection for the month.
• Unchecked duplicate songs in my iTunes library.
• Enjoyed dinner of Chicken and Rice at Don's, along with some wine, followed by catching up on episodes of Brothers & Sisters.

How was your weekend?

Weekend Wrap-Up

I can't believe it's over already. The highlights:

• Babysat the *cutest nephew in the world* on Friday night which involved a whole lot of *genius* behavior including banging one's head against the wall and playing Choo-Choo (trains), Beep-Beep, (cars) and ball.
• Speaking of banging ones head against hard objects, did you know it's a sign of superior intelligence, well at least according to my brother it is.
• Following babysitting Don and I went straight to Rock Bottom Brewery for some adult beverages and pool. We shut the place down (which I have never done) only to find that the garage where the car was parked was closed. Luckily the security guard was down shortly to let us in so we could spring Don's car and go home.
• Slept in on Saturday morning.
• Had lunch at Red Mill. Yummy!
• Watched Grey's Anatomy Season 1 on DVD.
• Babysat again on Saturday night and accomplished the impossible by getting him to go to sleep after only 4 minutes of drama tears.
• Reorganized my iTunes library and created several new smart play lists in an attempt to fully enjoy my library and listen to the 7,872 songs that have never been played.
• Uploaded pictures from Christmas to Flickr.
• Took down the outdoor Christmas lights.
• Completed a bunch of household chores and futzing.

How was your weekend?

Weekend Wrap-Up

I had a relaxing weekend which is just what I needed after the holiday craziness of last week. The highlights:

• Played pool with Don and watched the OSU Beavers finish their season with a win over Maryland in the Emerald Bowl.
• Put all of my Christmas gifts away in their new homes.
• Did 3 loads of laundry.
• Enjoyed what will likely be my final Egg Nog Latte of the season.
• Saw the movie Juno (a recommendation of my little brother Jimmy) which I thoroughly enjoyed for it's witty writing and classic one liners. Allison Janney's performance was awesome as no one can deliver shocking and hysterical lines with the finesse that she can.
• Cleared the rest of the cheesy holiday movies off my TiVo.
• Slept, a lot!

Worst Break Ever!

This was MY break and it is so pathetic that even I could not believe it.