The Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen, in Seattle...

Okay, not in my experience. But that song, from a TV show I used to watch called "Here Come the Brides" was in my head all weekend.

Here's the rest of the song, as I remember it ---

...and the hills, the greenest green, in Seattle.

ike a beautiful child, growing up free and wild.

Full of hopes and full of fears,
Full of laughter, full of tears,

Full of dreams to last the years,

In Seattle,
in Seattle.

Well, we went to visit Maestro last weekend. It was wonderful. I was looking forward to seeing the Space Needle...

and the first Starbucks...

and the fish throwers and Pike Place Market. Sorry, no photos of that. I was very disappointed that not a single fish was thrown in my presence.

However, what I really wanted to see was my son.

So I wasn't disappointed at all!

We had dinner together Friday after he got home from work. Then on Saturday we went sight-seeing. We got in touch with our inner geek (okay, not so inner) at the SciFi Museum & Hall of Fame. We went to the Experience Music Project connected to that. It was cool and I learned how to drum. The only problem with that place was the Jimi Hendrix movie. Wow. Never was a fan. Never will be. Ever, ever, ever, ever, ever. Since it was raining -- what! -- and very limited visibility, the guys didn't go up the Space Needle as planned. I wasn't planning on it, myself.

Then we went to Pike Place Market. It was fun. Maestro & I walked around for an hour (okay, I'm exaggerating) while Poppy found a parking space.

Sunday, Maestro got a haircut for my birthday. No more Sasquatch look. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

The rest of the day we just chilled. Maestro came back with us to our hotel and we swam & sat in the hot tub, then watched Liar, Liar. It was very reminiscent of old times. Then we went back to the apartment.

Oh, I haven't mentioned P.T.! The following pictures are ALL of him, I think :) P.T. is Maestro's Miniature Pinscher and he's a wonderful dog! Well, puppy. He's 8 months old. He took to Poppy very quickly and to me a little more slowly, but he loves us both now.

P.T. also loves his roommate Kitty.

Here's what else the weather had in store:

Yeah, that's snow. The news said that since they've been keeping records, there have only been 4 days in April when it snowed. They added 2 more while we were there. Go figure. We also set a record for the coldest high temperature. It only hit 45 for a high, and the previous record was 47.

Monday we went to lunch with Maestro and then went to a park that was pretty close to the airport. We didn't have to be there till 6:30, but we didn't want to be driving there at rush hour. The sun actually came out that day.

So there ya go. It was a great time.

...So I Can Stand on Mountains...

...you raise me up, to walk on stormy seas.

Yesterday, a friend of ours guided a hometown friend & me up Cupcake Mountain. It was really cool and really hard. And today I'm really sore! My quads are not anywhere near as sore as I thought they'd be, but my shoulders did not disappoint me and my calves & butt are very sore.

Here are some photos:

From the trailhead, we can't see our goal. At this point, we're aiming for the point just to the right of the mountain, about halfway. We'll be able to see Cupcake when we get around the corner. (It's just under the "T" in the writing.)

Our fearless leader the Scout Master --Some beautiful scenery. Scout Master kept saying, "You ain't seen nothin' yet!"

I stopped often to take pictures. It was also a really good chance to stop the burning in my quads and to stop sucking wind long enough to appreciate how quiet it was up there!

The next photo shows us just around the halfway (or so) point. We can now see Cupcake!

This is looking down on the halfway point. It's at the center left of the photo, just to the left of the rock formation.

I put 3 photos together (thanks Poppy) to give you a pretty good idea of our view.

Almost there!! It was a bit steep -- okay, my quads by this time are saying "you have GOT to be kidding me!" and other things I can't repeat. We're going up through the center of this photo and then through the crevice in the center & up to the top. Just to the left of the "V", where it's highest, is where we'll be!!

Here's an idea of the trail for the end of the climb. You may say, "Trail? I don't see any trail." I said that myself quite often. I was always looking down at the ground (even at the less dificult parts) because I trip & fall a lot, so I couldn't really concentrate on what was ahead. Or above.

I'll also add that I was happy with how I did as far as the whole fear of heights thing. The drive to the trail pretty much numbed me, so I think I was doing better by the time we started climbing.

I'm hoping to get Charles' photo from this place. It was really cool.

We made it!!!! Yahoo!! This is Charles & me at the summit. We stayed up here for awhile & had lunch. Scout Master said that it was his fastest ascent so far!
On the way down, my quads were still upset with me. Going downhill is hard on the quads too, and they had really had enough! I ended up on my butt a few times because the trail was steep and very rocky or gravelly. I felt like I was skiing sometimes! I've always told people that part of my fear of heights is because I'm so uncoordinated that I could slip and fall very easily.

What a great day we had! We were very tired and we knew that we'd be sore today, but it was all worth it. Scout Master was a wonderful guide and took a whole day to bring Charles & me on a great hike. The drive there took quite awhile too, part of it on a dirt, one lane "road." Yippee for the Trail Blazer! We asked Scout Master what would happen if someone were coming around the hill the other way. There wasn't really a good answer to that question. It was a very winding, mountain-y road. I let Scout Master drive that part :)

On a sad note, our friend Scout Master & his wife have sold their house and they'll be moving at the end of February! Not happy about that.

I'll also have to blog about our new "Challenge." Poppy, Juju, Bwin and I are doing the Body for Life 12 week challenge. Don't worry, I make Juju eat enough for Sizzle. She mostly wants to tone up. Yes, she makes we want to hurl. Did I say that out loud? We all took our before pix. Yikes-a-malooney! You won't be seeing that anytime soon. It's a very good eating program, very similar to the WW core program. You eat 5 to 6 small meals a day and do some really good workouts. The fun part is that one day is FREE. No workouts (okay, I'll probably still run with my group) and you eat what you want. Yehah! I'll keep you posted (pun intended) on our progress.

That's it for now!

Just 4 Fun

Here's a new toy. But be warned -- the first time I tried this I came up with Ben Stiller, Barack Obama, and Dan Ackroyd. I was literally ROTFLOL. BFF, you should do this. The picture I used was of the two of us, and you came up with Christie Brinkley and Madonna!



Now, this guy could be my long-lost twin brother.


%1


And congrats to the Packers, who just won their playoff game against the Seahawks (sorry, Bwin!). Did you think that the number 4 in the title was in honor of Brett Favre?? Yep, you're right! Go Giants!!!!

Congrats also to Maestro. HE GOT A JOB!!!!!! Yeehah! As most of you know, he's testing new games for a major manufacturer. I can't say their name on my blog, in case anyone wants to bribe me for info, but "WE" were very excited to hear about it.

For more fun, check out my BFF's blog on her New Year's visit with us.
And ~t's is always lots of fun-- "Spoiled" is really cute and funny.

We Wish You an "Amazing Holiday"

Today I am going to get on my soapbox about 2 different things.

AMAZING

I have decided to go on a rampage and do what I can to eliminate the word Amazing from the English language. Yes, I know this will cause a real hardship for many people, especially in Hollywood. It is the only adjective ever used:

"you look amazing"

"it was an amazing experience"

"I have an amazing husband/wife"

"that dinner was amazing"

"it's an amazing movie"

"I read an amazing book"

"we have an amazing connection"

"the Grand Canyon is amazing"

"my kids are amazing"



So, I thought I'd look through a thesaurus (since no one else seems to have gotten this idea) and find some other words that would do nicely

"you look fabulous"

"that dinner was outstanding"

"it's an excellent movie"

"I read a fascinating book"

"we have a wonderful connection"

"the Grand Canyon is breathtaking"

"my kids are extraordinary/talented/funny/smart/sensational"

Here are some more words that could be used:

admirable, astonishing, astounding, awe-inspiring, awesome, brilliant, cool, divine, dynamite, enjoyable, excellent, fantastic, fine, groovy, incredible, magnificent, marvelous, miraculous, outstanding, peachy, phenomenal, remarkable, sensational, something else, staggering, startling, strange, stupendous, super, superb, surprising, terrific, tremendous, unheard-of, wondrous, prodigious, shocking, stunning, surprising, unbelievable, bewildering, impressive, miraculous, spectacular, staggering, startling, striking, stupefying, exciting, hair-raising, heart-stirring, magnificent, moving, overwhelming, spine-tingling, thrilling, bizarre, curious, exceptional, inconceivable, odd, peculiar, strange, unheard-of, unimaginable, unique, unprecendented, unthinkable, weird.

You'll notice that there are some words that are not necessarily a compliment. That's part of why I hate that word -- it's not always used correctly. For instance, if you tell me I look amazing, does that mean weird, odd, peculiar, or awe-inspiring? Why are you amazed? Because I look so hot and that's unusual, or that I look strange?

Now, let's try out our new words. I will show you a picture, and you will come up with an adjective other than amazing:

What a/an ______________ view!

The Grand Canyon is ___________!

Josh Groban has a/an ____________ voice.

I love sunsets. They're so __________.

Next, HOLIDAY.

I am so tired of the whole "holiday" thing. Yes, I realize that not everyone celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. But Christmas also symbolizes faith, love, and giving. When I wish someone a Merry Christmas, I'm hoping that they feel some of that special joy that Christmas brings. I think people (just a few people, really) are trying to erase not only the religious significance of Christmas, but they also seem to be trying to rewrite history by saying "holiday lights," "holiday tree," "holiday party," and "holiday cards." Can we be just a little more specific? There are holidays at other times too!

Well, I can't come up with anything funny to end the post. But I've already spent way too much time on this post, and I'm going to go make some mouth-watering pies for our Christmas dinner.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to All

Well, I started this blog by taking a picture of the cookies I had made to send to Maestro in Seattle. You see, most of what I have done today has not turned out well. I'm not really in the mood to send out my Christmas cards because I wanted to include a picture of the kids in it, so I was going to make a nice montage of pix. I was going to start the cookies but we're out of butter. So I went to the car to go the store, but the car is not actually in the garage. It's at the shop, getting fixed after my car accident (yes, Mom & I are fine), and Poppy had the Trail Blazer at softball. No problem, just call Poppy to get it on the way home. Went for a run, where nothing bad happened :) Got tired of addressing envelopes so I started the cookies. Went to the computer to figure out a nice montage. BURNED the cookies. I mean really bad. Got an idea to put a pictures on my blog of the burned cookies and the Christmas tree with burned out lights on top, so I got some pictures of our trip to Snow-land ready and put them on the site, then realized the burned pix were NOWHERE to be found. I had downloaded them to the computer and deleted them (and some other nice pix) from the camera. Only guess what? They're gone. Can't find them. Poppy & I searched & searched and searched for them and so I thought, well, I'll just take new pix. But they're in the garbage now. And really, I just don't have the energy to dig them out & take their picture.

The following pictures are very nice Christmassy ones though. Cookie baking, tree trimming, and gingerbread house making at Dimples' school went very well.

BDE (not sure of the new blog name for her) talked me into taking a walk in the snowstorm . I needed a photo for proof, since those of you who know me would not believe it otherwise. I told her I would only go if I could sing Winter Wonderland (or at least some of it).

The next photos are just for fun. Here's Mowgli being a Knight and a Princess all at once.

Poppy & Shortcake --

You've already seen how curly Shortcake's hair is after a bath if you've seen T~'s blog --

Sizzle's is curly too after a bath--

Bwin & Sizzle on a walk in the park --

Here's Juju, Bwin & Sizzle at a family Christmas party --

Some great pix of Sizzle --I hope you've enjoyed these photos and my rambling.

Love, Neenee