I'm very content sitting here on Sunday night knowing that my alarm will not go off at 6am tomorrow. Yes I am officially on Christmas break! For those moments when I think about leaving the public education school setting, I need to remind myself of this moment (and months June, July, and August) to keep me going in my current work setting. I'm more than delighted with the idea of having no plans for the next 4 days other than to join Regis and Kelly each morning with my coffee and lounge in my pj's unitl noon if I so desire. My week ended on a very good note as I found out that I have been released from jury duty! As soon as I read the e-mail a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders and I truly smiled for the first time since leaving the courtroom 8 days before. I sent an e-mail to the judge spelling out my concerns for the potential of such a huge leave of absence from work and my supervisor also sent an e-mail explaining the potential impact it could have on the district-especially honing in on the financial aspect. I am very thankful for having such an understanding judge on this case and for him to take the time to hear my concerns. What a relief and definitely an early Christmas present! :-)
Tonight I went with a friend to the "Nutcracker Burlesque" holiday show. It took place at my favorite venue in Seattle. We sat and ate delicious Asian food as our eyes took in nothing I have ever seen before. You definitely had to go in with an open mind for this show. I was surprised at the variety of the audience (lots of open minds of all ages). I was anticipating dancing and maybe some acrobatics. The performance included both of those things with very little clothing. The story was that of a Christmas party where the audience were the guests and the show itself was the performers at the party. They had the Sugar Plum fairy and King Rat with some familiar music but it was hard to see where the Nutcracker really fit in. It was unique if nothing else. The real surprise came when we went to the parking garage where our car was parked and found the garage to be closed. Who knew parking garages had closing times? We certainly didn't. We had about 3 minutes of panic before a car pulled up to the garage and the door opened for them. We quickly ran inside as the doors closed behind us. We had little time to be concerned about whether or not we were going to be spending the night in the garage as we found our car and high tailed as quick as possible to the ticket booth. Luck was on our side as we paid the fee and the doors opened for us. What was the lesson tonight? Read the sign before pulling into a parking garage and they will charge you extra if you get locked in!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
I got caught up in Lifetime Christmas movies yesterday and failed to post an update last night. Yes I do watch the cheesy Christmas movies on Lifetime and the Family Channel and I'm not afraid to admit it. It's a perfectly relaxing way to spend a Sunday :-)
Joe and I spent Saturday afternoon at a Christmas show in a little theater in the International District. These two women, who have performed together for 20 years, wrote the show and performed with two other guys in "Ham for the Holidays- Lard Potion Number 9." It was quite funny-poking fun at the Seattle transportation system, the Family Feud game show, and a trailer park talent show. We followed it up with dinner at our favorite chinese restaurant and then a little Wii competition at home. Joe and I bought ourselves a Wii for Christmas as a way to "bond" together. So far, if I'm not good at a game right away I make Joe stop it and move on to the next game. We have become fierce competitors with one another with wakeboarding and I kicked butt with bowling and table tennis. Fortunately for the golf game there is no way for me to throw my club when I get frustrated so that is definitely a step up from the real deal. My involvement in Wii in no way condones video game playing but is a compromise (there is that great word in the married world) to bond with my husband. And if I can prove that I am better than him at some activities then that is just an added bonus. :-)
I had a tough Thursday last week as I spent a grueling morning at Jury Duty part two. I can't go in to any details but let's just say I got out of court and called my Dad with tears in my eyes. I am one of 85 potential jurors for a case that could go on for months! I'm not going to try and begin to explain all the stress that is causing me. I can't sleep and walk around with a constant stomach ache at the thought of a) having to bear witness to the gruesome details of this trial and b) stepping away from my job for essentially 1/3 of the school year. I wonder if I shared with the judge my "Radicchi" gene in that I cry at every sad commercial, movie, song, or card and I'm not emotionally equipped to handle something of this degree if that would help my case? I am currently in attempts to work with my supervisor to form a plea to the judge. Being female and my age is not helping my situation right now as I do believe they've kept me on as a demographic. I'm certainly missing the small town court system right about now.
My day got a little better as that night the Speech Therapists celebrated Christmas on a house boat on Lake Union. One of the girls is house sitting for friends and we all got to reap the benefits. It was a beautiful view of the skyline and the Space Needle with all the lights. The whole house boat community is very quaint and you can only hope to like your neighbor as your proximity to them is very close.
A downtown condo and a house boat to celebrate the Christmas season- not a bad way to celebrate the holidays. The only better way to celebrate is with family and friends and we get to do that in less than two weeks! Can't wait for a little piece of an east coast Christmas!
Joe and I spent Saturday afternoon at a Christmas show in a little theater in the International District. These two women, who have performed together for 20 years, wrote the show and performed with two other guys in "Ham for the Holidays- Lard Potion Number 9." It was quite funny-poking fun at the Seattle transportation system, the Family Feud game show, and a trailer park talent show. We followed it up with dinner at our favorite chinese restaurant and then a little Wii competition at home. Joe and I bought ourselves a Wii for Christmas as a way to "bond" together. So far, if I'm not good at a game right away I make Joe stop it and move on to the next game. We have become fierce competitors with one another with wakeboarding and I kicked butt with bowling and table tennis. Fortunately for the golf game there is no way for me to throw my club when I get frustrated so that is definitely a step up from the real deal. My involvement in Wii in no way condones video game playing but is a compromise (there is that great word in the married world) to bond with my husband. And if I can prove that I am better than him at some activities then that is just an added bonus. :-)
I had a tough Thursday last week as I spent a grueling morning at Jury Duty part two. I can't go in to any details but let's just say I got out of court and called my Dad with tears in my eyes. I am one of 85 potential jurors for a case that could go on for months! I'm not going to try and begin to explain all the stress that is causing me. I can't sleep and walk around with a constant stomach ache at the thought of a) having to bear witness to the gruesome details of this trial and b) stepping away from my job for essentially 1/3 of the school year. I wonder if I shared with the judge my "Radicchi" gene in that I cry at every sad commercial, movie, song, or card and I'm not emotionally equipped to handle something of this degree if that would help my case? I am currently in attempts to work with my supervisor to form a plea to the judge. Being female and my age is not helping my situation right now as I do believe they've kept me on as a demographic. I'm certainly missing the small town court system right about now.
My day got a little better as that night the Speech Therapists celebrated Christmas on a house boat on Lake Union. One of the girls is house sitting for friends and we all got to reap the benefits. It was a beautiful view of the skyline and the Space Needle with all the lights. The whole house boat community is very quaint and you can only hope to like your neighbor as your proximity to them is very close.
A downtown condo and a house boat to celebrate the Christmas season- not a bad way to celebrate the holidays. The only better way to celebrate is with family and friends and we get to do that in less than two weeks! Can't wait for a little piece of an east coast Christmas!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Brrrrrrr. It's chilly here in Seattle. Our weather forecast for the next 3 days has a high of 32. Some people are hopeful for snow at the end of the week. Not this girl! Let the snow stay in the mountains and please let the temperature increase by about 10 degrees. Those are my pleas to Mother Nature.
My countdown is 2 weeks until Christmas break. I'm already losing my momentum to get to the end as I'm just buried in paperwork!
I took a break from stress Saturday night and went to the Christmas party for my elementary school. Our principal hosted it with his partner at their downtown high rise condo right across from Pike Place Market. I always wondered who lived in the "glamorous" shindigs and now I know two. The party started at 4 o'clock so that we could all bear witness to the beautiful sunset on the sound. The views were amazing from the 16th floor! I should backtrack my story as my trip getting downtown was almost as entertaining as the rest of evening. I was dressed and ready to go in my tights and cute boots. I was planning on walking until I took 2 steps out my door and realized that my cute boots weren't really made for walking and I was better off taking the bus. Two stops from where I got on the eclectic group from the nearby hospital stepped onto the bus and I knew I was doomed. This man who was already mumbling to himself asked to sit down next to me. His stench was immediately all consuming. There were no introductions and no formal greetings. It was just right into the comments about the cold weather and beautiful sunset and did I notice that the sunset was only orange and not red and that the reason that there was no red was because of a volcano erupting in some far away place. I type with a run on sentence for emphasis as he literally said all of that in one breath! From there he went on to explain his background (engineer) and what he did (something about working on ships) but then delve into how he had to quit because he didn't want to hurt the environment but he could still be 3rd in command on any ship around. (Hopefully ones I never travel on!) He mumbled a few more things, bid me good night, and hobbled off to the shelter. I let out a deep breath and hoped for no more company on the rest of my travels.
When I walked into the condo I was just in awe. Big open spaces and the most spectacular views of the Sound and the Space Needle. 2500 square feet of heaven. I told someone that I thought I would be less stressed if I lived in a place like that as it just felt like a little piece of heaven. The kitchen was spacious with a huge island and beautiful countertops. The stove looked pristine as it has never been used in the 10 months that they've been living there. Right off the kitchen is a little sitting room that opens up to a deck in the warm months. 2 bedrooms, an office, a bathroom, and the master bath round out the square footage. The bathtub was the size of our bedroom and propped in the corner was a flat screen TV. Forget feeling less stressed- I would never want to leave with these amenities. From the master bedroom they can wake up everyday to the view of Nordstrom's sign, along with Macy's and other shopping delights. The place was absolutely incredible and they were such gracious hosts to about the 60 of us who attended. It's always nice to step away from work and socialize on a more personal level.
I have round two of Christmas parties this week on a house boat.....Stay tuned for details!
My countdown is 2 weeks until Christmas break. I'm already losing my momentum to get to the end as I'm just buried in paperwork!
I took a break from stress Saturday night and went to the Christmas party for my elementary school. Our principal hosted it with his partner at their downtown high rise condo right across from Pike Place Market. I always wondered who lived in the "glamorous" shindigs and now I know two. The party started at 4 o'clock so that we could all bear witness to the beautiful sunset on the sound. The views were amazing from the 16th floor! I should backtrack my story as my trip getting downtown was almost as entertaining as the rest of evening. I was dressed and ready to go in my tights and cute boots. I was planning on walking until I took 2 steps out my door and realized that my cute boots weren't really made for walking and I was better off taking the bus. Two stops from where I got on the eclectic group from the nearby hospital stepped onto the bus and I knew I was doomed. This man who was already mumbling to himself asked to sit down next to me. His stench was immediately all consuming. There were no introductions and no formal greetings. It was just right into the comments about the cold weather and beautiful sunset and did I notice that the sunset was only orange and not red and that the reason that there was no red was because of a volcano erupting in some far away place. I type with a run on sentence for emphasis as he literally said all of that in one breath! From there he went on to explain his background (engineer) and what he did (something about working on ships) but then delve into how he had to quit because he didn't want to hurt the environment but he could still be 3rd in command on any ship around. (Hopefully ones I never travel on!) He mumbled a few more things, bid me good night, and hobbled off to the shelter. I let out a deep breath and hoped for no more company on the rest of my travels.
When I walked into the condo I was just in awe. Big open spaces and the most spectacular views of the Sound and the Space Needle. 2500 square feet of heaven. I told someone that I thought I would be less stressed if I lived in a place like that as it just felt like a little piece of heaven. The kitchen was spacious with a huge island and beautiful countertops. The stove looked pristine as it has never been used in the 10 months that they've been living there. Right off the kitchen is a little sitting room that opens up to a deck in the warm months. 2 bedrooms, an office, a bathroom, and the master bath round out the square footage. The bathtub was the size of our bedroom and propped in the corner was a flat screen TV. Forget feeling less stressed- I would never want to leave with these amenities. From the master bedroom they can wake up everyday to the view of Nordstrom's sign, along with Macy's and other shopping delights. The place was absolutely incredible and they were such gracious hosts to about the 60 of us who attended. It's always nice to step away from work and socialize on a more personal level.
I have round two of Christmas parties this week on a house boat.....Stay tuned for details!
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