Back On The West Coast

7 beds, 5 airports, almost 15 hours in the air, 8 hours spent in airports, 53 lbs of luggage (I knew my bag was heavy and that was confirmed when I checked in to fly back to Seattle. Thank you American Airline attendant for looking the other way at my extra 3 lbs!) and travel of almost 3,000 miles and I'm now back on the west coast and welcomed by a heat wave! I guess we missed out on the record breaking 102 degrees downtown on Wednesday. (Oh darn!) A wonderful trip out east it was indeed! I am truly grateful for my family and friends and with so much time and space apart, it was great to pick up right where we left off!
Nala was VERY happy to see us last night. So happy that she proceeded to let us know for 8 hours as she meowed (or sqwuaked as Joe puts it) from the time we walked in the door until about 7:30 this morning. Between that and the time change we were able to start our day quite early. (I paid for the interrupted sleep later in the day). With extra time before Joe went to work we were out on the road headed to Best Buy. His computer died last week and needless to say he was eager to get its replacement. For me, shopping for electronics is as about as exhilerating as shopping for things in bulk at Cosco- I would rather just not do it and in no way feel the satisfaction I do after a purchase of a great pair of shoes (ah yet again how it always comes back to the shoes!) But I digress. Needless to say this shopping extravaganza worked out to my benefit as I came away with a new laptop thanks to an insistent husband and a too good to pass up interest free payment plan. My laptop has given me 4 good years, gotten me through a long distance relationship and more IEP's than I care to count, but it is time to bid adieu as the thing just doesn't run with the speed as its younger predecessors. Of course when we get home I walked past the box on the floor and go to check my e-mail on my old one. What can I say old habits die hard. Joe was VERY eager to get our new systems up and running and when he left for work he left me with a short and easy assignment to get acquainted with my new computer. I put it off for as long as I could but with the accompaniment of a glass of wine (or 2) I pressed the keys for the first time. Of course the first thing I had to do was to make sure I had the right background design and carefully choose the colors on my homepage. A girl does have to have her priorities after all! So here I sit typing my first blog entry on my new computer. So far it's holding up well but the real test will come just after school starts when my report writing will be in full force once again.

East Coast Update

Greetings all from the east coast! I'm sitting here in Pittsburgh at the tail end of my 16 day whirlwind trip and thought I should update my post. My time started out up in Mystic with Lauren for a few days where I got to bond with my "niece puppy" Bella. We walked (and then walked some more!) to keep her content but even I have to admit her cuteness did win me over! Some time at the beach followed by some shopping capped off a great start to my trip. From there we piled into the car for the trip to Susquehanna. As the saying goes, "there's no place like home" and it was good to fill up on family time (and Erica time!) with time spent at the lake, "cocktail hour" on the porch with Dad, teaching Grama how to expand her understanding of e-mail, and making sure Mom and Dad are more connected through the world wide web with their new e-mail account. On Wednesday I rented a car and drove down to Jessica's house in Glenside where I was greeted with heavy levels of humidity! I definitely forgot what that feels like and the feeling was just reaffirmed that I do not miss it one bit! It was great to see Jessica's house the progress she has made on putting her personal touches on it. I give her huge amounts of credit for taking on the project she has but have no doubt that the end result will be amazing! We had dinner in Manayunk which I always love to visit, and then enjoyed a quiet evening with drinks on her porch. Thursday was the day of rain and saying it was a little wet would be an understatement! I started the day visiting Nicole and Abby in Newtown. It was neat to see the renovations they have done to their house and Abby is just too cute for words! She's definitely at a fun age! That afternoon Sue and Molly met me for coffee in Newtown and of course it's always nice to catch up with friends in person. Then I met a few people that I used to work with back in my old neighborhood where I worked. I was there long enough to find comfort and familiarity in the surroundings and being able to go back was a nice added bonus! I ended my day in Havertown at Amber and Gary's where I spent the night and then picked Joe up in the morning at the airport. After 10 days apart it was nice to see my hubby again! :-) We had a lazy day (again in humidity) before heading to Em's wedding. What a fun night of festivities it was!!!! Emily looked absolutely beautiful and the whole venue made a perfect backdrop for the wedding. The ceremony was outside with the isle lined in rose petals. The ceremony had nice touches with a string quartet, a song by Leah accompanied by Brian's brother on guitar, and reading of Dr. Seuss "Oh The Places You'll Go." At the reception, an announcement was made that instead of clinking glasses to make the bride and groom kiss, each table had to stand up and sing a song with the word love in it. Our table was the first to take on the challenge as we sang the "Barney" theme song. There's nothing like a group of 20 somethings reverting back to childhood. :-) Dad was the real crowd pleaser at the wedding as he was acknowledged for dancing to every single song. It's pretty funny when your Dad can even muster enough energy and toleration for the likes of Beyonce, 50 Cent, and Justin Timberlake. Go Dad! :-) It was so nice getting to spend the evening with everyone and Nicole gets props for her plan to bring Joe and I back to PA. :-) By the end of the evening we were all exhausted but were able to get up early on Saturday for breakfast with Joe's parents and Sara. How nice it was to all be reunited together-first time since the wedding! Our trip to Pittsburgh was uneventful and a good reminder of just how wide the state of Pennsylvania really is! On Sunday we had a BBQ here at the house where some of Joe's friends (and their kids) and Joe and Colleen's friends gathered for good food and conversation. We were entertained by the kids and Joe made sure to try and keep me far away from them as he says he doesn't want me getting any ideas....:-) The night was capped off by a huge downpour making me realize that I have seen more rain as I've been here than I have seen in Seattle in the last 3 months. It's a sunny day here once again and I'm thinking a lawn chair and a book might be calling my name:-) I'm meeting friends from grad school for dinner tonight in the city and am looking forward to catching up with them as I haven't seem them since last March! I'm bottling everything up to tied me over through the fall and winter once again.....

With my attention and focus on my upcoming travels, I completely forgot to update last night. Ooops! What can I say, the week has been filled with what vacation is all about- nothing on the agenda and doing with the days as I feel. That has included lots of reading, doing some organizing, and just enjoying not working. I've loved that any errand I've had to run I've been able to walk to accomplish and can leave my car parked as the weather has been cooperating nicely. We've been playing in a kickball league once a week and that's been fun and something different to do. On Friday the sun was out in full force and I enjoyed a day by the pool with some of the teachers from work followed by Bloody Mary's on Sydney's deck. Not sure that I got much of a tan that day but I definitely have more freckles! Joe and I enjoyed breakfast out on Saturday morning at one of the new hot spots and then spent a lazy day in the park with our books and enjoying each others' company. Sunday welcomed us with rain and grey clouds so we took the outlets for a little shopping before hitting the movies. I'm getting myself ready for 16 days on the east coast and can't wait to catch up with everyone!

Another beautiful week in the Pacific Northwest! On Monday night Joe and I drove down to Eugene, Oregon to stay with Joe's friend Matt before meeting Aunt JoAnn and Uncle Michael at the beach the following afternoon. The sunshine was out but so was the wind when we arrived on the coast. That didn't deter us from taking in the beautiful views of the waves hitting the rocks or hurt our attempts at searching for Agate rocks. It was fun to explore the little beach towns, take a peek in the galleries, and just look out the window of our beach house to see the ocean. We attempted a walk on the beach but for me the wind won out but not before my first "dip" in the Pacific Ocean. And when I say "dip" I mean my toe within my flip flop making contact with the smallest amount of cold water possible. That has to count for something though right? We had lunches at a little Inn and dinners overlooking the bay in Newport Harbor. The atmosphere is set up there to make you feel relaxed. I wish I could have bottled that relaxation up for say September? Joe and I drove back to Seattle on Thursday as he had to work and then Aunt JoAnn and Uncle Michael arrived on Friday. After some yummy Thai food and a visit to the bead shop, we retired ourselves with books and a glass of wine to our wonderful and inviting courtyard at our apartment complex. Later in the evenings have been the best time to be outside as it has been really hot during the day. On Saturday we went down to Pike's Place Market before Aunt JoAnn and Uncle Michael met up with friends and I did a little shopping as it seemed a waste not to take advantage of the holiday sales.
Joe and I watched a great fireworks display overlooking Lake Union. People start to congregate over an hour before showtime so we got to witness a beautiful sunset complete with pink skies and the Olympic Mountains in the background. The fireworks did not disappoint and it was a nice culmination to cap off a wonderful week.
Joe and I started our lazy Sunday with crepes at a little cafe before I decided that my "to do" could wait one more day. I'm currently on movie number 2 with less than 80 pages left in my current book that I'm reading. The best part is that I can finish both from my couch. The only thing missing is that little thing I miss so much known as air condition.

Mom and Dad's Visit

Where have the last 10 days gone? Mom and Dad were here and we took the city by storm with all that we did and now our apartment is empty again. What a great week it has been! As soon as I said my goodbyes on the last day of school I was out of there; eager to see my parents. With a slight glitch in their travel itinerary, they arrived safely on Friday morning. A little weary looking but ready to go, we headed downtown in the afternoon sun to Pike's Place Market. It wasn't long before we had fresh pasta in our hands, saw the fish guys do their thing, and had already made another purchase or two. That was just the beginning of the ground we would cover on foot and in the car! We met Charlie that night for dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant and then it was an early night as Mom and Dad were exhausted and they had been up for 22 hours. Saturday was really a "welcome to the west coast" as the four of us drove to neighboring Fremont for the Summer Solstice Festival to kick off the first day of summer. It's a huge event with a parade that kicks it off. The novelty of this parade is that it is led by people riding naked on their bikes. Most of them were covered in body paint; some in design and some in character (one of my favorites was a man dressed as a stimulus package-how patriotic of him!) I have never seen anything like it in my life and we were definitely all in awe at first. More power to those that are comfortable being naked. The area was packed with thousands upon thousands of people of all ages. Joe and I found ourselves in conversation about our "hypothetical children" and whether we would take them to the naked bike parade. Joe said yes and so I told him that if they had any questions my response would be to go ask their father.
Father's Day found us at the aquarium and then on the Underground Tour where we got to learn a little history about the city. I learned of this great deal where selected cities in the country offer what's called the "City Pass" where you can get passes to a number of attractions for a discount price. It was so worth it and throughout the course of the week we did the Space Needle, Pacific Science Center with an IMAX movie 3D called "Under The Sea," a harbor cruise that went out on the Sound where we had great views of Mt. Rainier and the Olympic mountains, the Museum of Flight, and the zoo. I've been waiting for visitors to do more of the tourist attractions and now have checked everything off my list! On Monday we took a ferry across to San Juan Island where I attempted once again to see the Orca whales (with no luck!). It was a gorgeous sunny day and we walked around the town and the shops, had lunch at a little cafe, and took the car out to Limekiln Park where there is a lighthouse and where when the timing is right you can see the Orca whales. We were about 2 hours too early as they were spotted north on their way down. It became the running joke with mom that she was going to buy me a stuffed orca whale since I've missed seeing them twice now. Maybe three times is the charm!
An even further getaway for us came on Wednesday and Thursday where we drove 3 and a half hours through the Cascade Mountains to the center of Washington and an area known as Lake Chelan. In the middle of desert mountains sits this beautiful (and huge!) lake (the 3rd deepest lake in the country) surrounded by vineyards and a little downtown. We got there around lunchtime and got some munchies and took them to the picnic tables right by the lake. Lots of families and kids around enjoying the beautiful weather and a hotspot for groups of teenagers to hang out. After lunch we visited a few wineries and then hit the shops downtown. We got a hotel room for the night and had a BBQ dinner at one of the wineries with a glimpse of the lake. It triuly is a beautiful area.
Since we were so close, we made a stop at the Bavarian town of Leavenworth to show Mom and Dad how a little taste of Germany was just plopped in the mountains. Joe and Dad enjoyed their brautwursts and german beer and it was another nice day to walk around and enjoy the weather. We made it back into Seattle with perfect timing to try a new Italian restaurant in the city. A little hole in the wall that Grandpa would have approved of.
Friday early afternoon was spent at the Museum of Flight (dad was in his glory :-) before heading downtown to do one more walk through of the Market and for another taste of Pike's Place Chowder which we turned Mom and Dad onto. We had a beautiful day at the zoo yesterday and then met Charlie for dinner. We got a nice guided tour of the mansion houses on Capitol Hill thanks to Charlie before calling it a night.
Now Mom and Dad will be able to attest to the fact that we do have nice sunny weather out here as they got to see it everyday! It was fun to show Mom and Dad all there is to fall in love with in Seattle and why we like it so much. Now my belly must recuperate from all the yummy food we ate and it's time to get ready for our next adventure.....time on the Oregon Coast with Aunt JoAnn and Uncle Michael and then their visit to Seattle. Gotta love summer vacation! :-)

I'm sitting here on the eve before my last week of school and all I can do is think of things to put together a tentative itinerary for when mom and dad visit. Can you see where my mind has gone? I think it's been on "summer vacation mode" since Memorial Day. I've finished up my last week of therapy with all of my kids and now this week I get to focus on getting my paperwork done, tying up loose ends, and actually getting organized for the first time all year! I am sooo looking forward to having time to get these things done! The end of the school year could not come at a better time as my commute has gotten increasingly worse as the days and weeks go on. I'm looking forward to a break from sitting in stand still traffic, inching my way at less than 10 miles an hour, and taking 1 1/2 hours to get home. Thank goodness for cell phones as it's a great time for me to catch up with people (in a very safe and focused way- don't worry Grama!)
Joe and I have found ourselves in a bit of a haze when the weekends approach. We are very inclined to sleep in and then spend a few hours together before Joe goes to work. Yesterday the sun was out and was inviting to anyone sitting in their stuffy apartments. I talked Joe into walking to one of our favorite places to pass time-the used bookstore. This place is great for 2nd hand books and the selection is huge. After making our purchases and stopping for coffee (because 9 times out of 10 that's just what you do when you're out and about in a city where coffee is more prevalent than food! ), we found an empty bench on Seattle University's campus to park and enjoy the sunshine.
My reading material consisted of the Happy Hour booklet that was just published this week for all the summer deals and Joe was intently focused on his fantasy book. As we sat in this peaceful and serene atmosphere I found myself wanting to talk out loud about all the fun things I was finding. After the 3rd time of reading off an entire menu, Joe looked at me as asked if I could just read silently. I had to remind him that I don't do "silent" well and I'm more inclined to just talk about anything. I guess I should have just stopped at "enjoying each other's company" and not gone overboard with too much chattiness. Isn't it true that you should keep the lines of communication open in marriage- even when it is just to share your excitement of cheap food and drinks?
I spent today wandering downtown among the shops and the market (a past time I've come to really enjoy when I've got nothing else to do). I learned that with the summertime comes an influx of tourists and not just of the English speaking type. Lots of French was heard amongst the throngs of people. The cruise ships dock now on the weekends (huge boats right on the Sound in front of the market) and I'm guessing that they have to be coming from somewhere in Canada. I also was privy to the passing of the wonderful British accent as I watched two guys in their very obvious British trousers and trainers jaywalk in the middle of the street. You just don't do that here and I found myself squirming for them. I still feel faraway from being coined a "native" in this area but at least I got the street crossing rules down pat!

The heat has subsided (for now anyway) and we can finally tolerate being in our apartment once again! This past week was another hot one and temperatures just started to cool (and by cool I mean 70) on Friday afternoon. It was so hard to be at work, be at home, pretty much be anywhere and feel such heat! Who knew that I could actually enjoy sitting in traffic as it was one of the few places that I could have air condition blasting on me. Of course the sun took hiding this weekend and only made brief appearances but for now that is okay with me (at least until mom and dad get here). Joe and I ventured down into the International District yesterday for lunch and then walked into some of the asian stores. I keep rediscovering my love for Asian food. I mean there aren't many ways to go wrong with rice and noodles. :-) We went into this neat Asian antique store with beautifully designed chests, vases, tables, etc. Not one piece could we afford but with the right house there were some really neat pieces. It's always nice to dream. Later in the day I went with a friend to a BBQ over on Alki Beach. This beach house was right on the water and as soon as we got out of the car I could smell the salt water. Of course the sky was gray and the air a litte chilly but the sound of the waves was literally right at the doorstep. I learned how to play a new game called Ladder Golf. I'd like to think that my years of playing bean bag toss at the lake helped with my skills as I definitely had beginners luck!
Today Joe actually had a Sunday off! We went to the Arboretum which is a park full of trails nearby so I could try out my hiking boots. I will admit that they are comfortable to walk in but the cuteness factor is still low. It was nice to have the fresh air and the time together. Sometimes it feels like our lives are going parallel with our work schedules and time together is not always a given.
Today was one of the days where I missed something important as Emily's bridal shower was today. I got to see pictures and hear about it but it's not the same as being there. I struggle sometimes with wanting to be two places at once and realizing some sacrafices will need to be made from time to time. So far telling myself hasn't made it any easier....still waiting for that to happen. And so it goes....