Beaver Bash with Teri

I've been a weak-sauce skier this year. I went twice. TWICE! That's it. Terrible. But both times were with my sister, Teri. So that makes it all worth it. One of the days of skiing was what I call snow-bunny skiing at the Beaver Bash up in Logan. We skied on some ice in the morning and serious slush in the afternoon so it was a good thing we had some distractions from the less-than-stellar skiing - distractions like the go-cart racing, the pond-skimming contest, and an injured snowboarder that I got to help back-board (read that as a verb). Yeah, it was a pretty entertaining day of skiing. I don't think I'll ever get over how funny it is to ski along on snow that goes from fine to slushy and have the slushy snow slow you so suddenly that you lurch. I laugh every time.

Seattle Beloved

Yesterday, my friend, Mike - that lives in Seattle, got married so I figured that was my great excuse to go to Seattle once again. I also persuaded Mom to accompany me since she is usually always up for a little travel with me and is spontaneous enough to do it on short notice.  We flew in on the most beautiful day, Thursday, got our rental car, and drove to our hotel in Bellevue. This is when the seafood and chocolate yumminess began! You just can't get fresh seafood in land-locked Idaho or Utah. I also visited my friend, Teresa, that night.

On Friday, we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island. We walked around the beautiful Bloedel Reserve, historic downtown Winslow, and then just drove around and looked at all the houses. Can I just say how much I love the tree lined streets?! That night we met up with Ruth Ann and Stacie for dinner at Ivars and then chocolate afterwards. That night, I ventured to the single adult dance that Teresa invited me too. It was fine. It was fun to spend more time with Teresa and meet some of her friends.

Moss on the parking lot!

At Bloedel Reserve

Love the tree-lined roads.

Saturday, we drove to Snoqualmie Falls only to discover that we couldn't see the falls due to the fog! We visited the Snoqualmie Train Depot and then went into Issaquah for lunch and a little trip down memory lane. Unfortunately, we didn't have any luck locating the homes that mom and dad lived in when they lived in Issaquah. After a lovely drive through the back roads and woods and over the hills to Elke's house in Maple Valley to visit her. And then off to Factoria to have dinner with mom's friend, Emily.

At Boehm's Chocolates in Issaquah.

With Elke

Saturday night was also Mike's wedding reception where I, apparently, ate a "wedding cake" cupcake before I should have, but I wasn't the only one who did! If they didn't want anyone to eat the cupcakes until they cut the mini cake, then they shouldn't have put them with the rest of the desserts by the buffet. They should have put all the cupcakes with the mini cake in the opposite corner. I also successfully avoided the bouquet throw. I've already caught two bouquets in my lifetime. Other single ladies should have the opportunity. :) And it's mortifying to stand there to try to catch it, even if the groom does say my name over the microphone to get me up there. Ha! Yeah, right. Not gonna happen ever again.

Sunday morning was a little more productive for the trip down memory lane because we found the house that mom and dad lived in when they lived on NE 1st Place in Bellevue! It was really neat to see the house.

Overall, we had a great time. And I love the Seattle area even more. I love how it feels like you are in the forest even if you are in the city. I love the tree-lined streets, the greenness, all the lakes, the seafood, the ocean. Sigh. Maybe someday.

Mundane Monday: My Fridge

A few weeks ago, when Jill, Teri, and Robyn came to visit, Teri teased me about how empty my fridge was. Well, actually, it was pretty full just then. This picture is what it normally looks like maybe with a few more yogurts and tupperwares of leftovers. I texted Teri this photo and she suggested I downsize to a cooler. Ha ha!

Squares Baby Quilt - Finished!

Road trips are excellent times to finish up the binding on a quilt! :) 

Back to St. George - MTB Race #1

Overlook of Sidewinder (filtered)

I competed in my first mountain bike race of the season yesterday - in the Desert Rampage race. It was so fun! I felt really good: I climbed the hills faster than I remember doing them in the past, and I braved more of the technical stuff than normal. There is still one rock climb that I'm too nervous to try. Maybe someday. There were seven ladies in my category, which is bigger than normal for my category but expected for these St. George races. Two of the ladies stayed way back for the beginning of the race - I could hear them gabbing and laughing while I road ahead of them. I didn't get the feeling they would be much competition. Ha! Then there was another lady just ahead of me that I kept within my sights. I'm so low on competitiveness when it comes to this kind of stuff because I max out so easily that it seems like anyone can pass me on an uphill so I don't even bother with the idea of trying to pass anyone. So I don't worry about trying to pass anyone. When I got to the top of the first big climb, and I was roasting from all the layers I was wearing (it was super cold that morning!), I stopped and took the time to take a layer off - the middle layer nonetheless. Then I got started again and by that time I couldn't really see the lady that was just in front of me. When I finished, some of my friends cheered me on and then teased me for taking the time to remove a layer. I laughed with them and didn't think anything of it - until I saw that I was only 40 seconds behind the 4th place lady! Oh my gosh! I maybe could have caught up to her and passed her if I hadn't of stopped to remove that layer!! Oh geez. Oh well. I'll learn someday to not wear so much, and second, to not bother to take clothes off during the race. Ha ha! I am excited to compare my time this year to past years' times to see how much I improved. Maybe this boot camp helped after all!

Overlook of Sidewinder (unfiltered)

Preriding was fun on Friday, although I had a little bit of trouble with my cleat on my left shoe - I had lost a screw! So the cleat had slid all the way back toward my arch and heel (when it is supposed to be right under the ball of my foot) and had twisted around. So maybe that was the cause of my fall two weeks ago when I hurt my knee - I remember thinking it was strange that I couldn't get out of my pedal as I fell over. (Since then my knee has given me some trouble and I was just diagnosed with patellar tendinitis this past week. The doctor put me on some steroid that would help with the inflammation so it's a good thing they don't test for doping at these mountain bike races!) Anyways, I actually fell over on my left side again trying to get my foot loose from my pedal before I realized what was wrong with my cleat. A couple of the men that I was riding with (in a big group of teammates) came back to see if I was okay. One of them was able to tighten the remaining screw so it would work and I could finish the preride.

And then after the race, we went for another "leisurely" ride on Sidewinder and Barrel Roll. Everyone would generally get ahead of me as expected, but it appeared I was only a few minutes behind them so I was pretty proud of myself! And they were very encouraging! They would cheer me on from the other side of the ravine where they were ahead of me. Ha ha! It was a lot of fun and I was very encouraged. I hope this means I am actually improving!