Beat the Bridge 8K

We beat the bridge again this year! However, I didn't beat last year's time. 

I'm so confused! I felt that this year's 8K was not as difficult for me - I guess I just didn't push myself as hard as last year toward the end of the race. And as per usual, we didn't train. Overall I felt like I was in the best shape this year. Maybe it was because I was extra tired... yeah... I'll blame being tired. =)

At least this year's time is better than the first year's time. As long as I beat the bridge and don't hurt myself in the process, I consider it a win. 

Note to self: Stop taking the Montlake exit on race day. One hour to exit 520 is ridiculous!

Contact 2015, New Years, visitors, and SNOW!

The week after Christmas, we went up to Vancouver for our very first CONTACT festival! I really and truly loved the venue, and despite the ultra low temps I had a great time. Even though I said no more festivals after this year, I'd definitely consider attending that one again.

After the drive home, we were so exhausted. But we had to get ready for our visitors - Andy, Alom, and Gary! They stayed with us three nights, and it went by way too quickly. We brought them to Burnett's for BNO, and Matt took them sightseeing the next day in Seattle. For NYE, we got a table at Aston Manor and it was the BEST IDEA EVER. We were the first ones to book the brand new enclosed area right next to the stage, and we had an awesome view of the DJ and crowd. Bottles and bottles later, we were all having a wonderful time, and certainly a happy new year. 

The week after the guys left, I got extremely sick and ended up sleeping for two days straight. YUCK! Hopefully that was my sickness for the year. That flu or whatever it was really hit me like a wall. I'm wondering if it was the cold weather, because we did actually have some snow that week. Forrest got to play in it! 

So far, this year has been great! I took a writing class with Chelsie already, and work is going well as usual. I can't wait to see what else 2016 has in store for me. I really have to shed my winter coat soon though -- boy, I layered up thick this holiday season! HAHA

Happy Holidaze 2015

This holiday season has truly been a daze!

I spent Thanksgiving in Seoul, after exploring Hong Kong for a week, and am so thankful to have the financial stability to travel as well as the great company to travel with. Our Asia group was mostly awesome, especially because we got to piggy back on Nan's food research/plans in HK. The most intense night of eating of my life was probably our dinner food tour with Nan's cousin. GEEZ! They sure do know how to eat! And catching up with Greta was fantastic, as she took us to some of our favorite Chinese meals. In Hong Kong we stayed on Park Island, and I really loved the area. Life on the BEACH but near the city - a dream for me. We rode the MTR a lot, and even though I don't like public transportation... I have to admit that it was very clean and convenient. One of my fave destinations in HK was the Wong Tai Sin temple where I got my fortune read!  I mean, we even went to Macau and karoke'ed in HK... it was really my ideal trip. 

Korea was much colder, but we ALWAYS had grapefruit soju to warm us up. The food in Seoul was also really delicious, and the shopping was overwhelming at times. Most of our meals were KBBQ, but all of the KBBQ was really tasty so I didn't mind at all. The street food was such a treat, especially because we stayed at a hotel in Myeong-Dong within walking distance to the vendor strip. We also had ginseng chicken and black sesame honey tea (both of which I've never had before) with Charles' cousins, and they were so nice! Can't wait to see them again in Spring for the wedding. I brought back a few Korean beauty products that I really like, and wish I had purchased more! 

Since coming back from Asia, we hosted an Ugly Christmas Sweater/White Elephant party, as well as a Holiday Turn-up at Tia Lou. We also saw Beauty and the Beast at the Paramount with Vic and Christina! 

On Christmas Eve, I attended mass with Matt's family, and then enjoyed a delightful family dinner at Matt's sister house. I made frosted donut holes for dessert, with the cake pop maker secret santa gift from Alom. They took forever but were pretty good, if I may say so myself. =) We even brought Forrest, and he had so much fun with the nephews! 

When we got home, we opened our gifts and I got a MAGIC MIC FOR CHRISTMAS!!! I stayed up until 4 AM singing, and now I am having a very, very lazy Christmas Day. WHEW! 

Halloween 2015

This year's Halloween was ... pretty spooktacular!

Seeing as this is our first Halloween in a house, we decided to get much larger pumpkins than usual. You know, the kind that I can't even lift on my own. HAHA. But OMG we didn't account for how much thicker the pumpkins would be and the additional pulp that would need to be removed. 

In fact, the pumpkins were so big, that JR broke the big serrated spoon that we had. It was pouring outside, so we made a deal - Lorraine and I would go to Target to get more tools, and the guys would clean out our pumpkins! Lorraine found a really cute pizza costume, and I found Forrest a hot dog costume. It fit him PERFECTLY. We also got pumpkin Oreos and pumpkin cheesecake cookies. YUMMY. Our pumpkin carving was a success! And wine followed. 

On Halloween, we went to BJ's house party. I haven't been to a legit house party in sooo long; I'm really glad they hosted it. And their house was pretty big! The theme was 90s, and a lot of people had appropriate costumes. I was surprised that there were THREE tamagotchi costumes! And one guy was Windows 95. Lots of overalls, but I think I nailed the look. I was laughing to myself the entire time I was twisting my hair and applying brown lip liner (it took ridiculously long). I got a lot of compliments on the lip liner for sure, and the butterfly clips. Like middle school all over again!! And of course, everyone loved Forrest. He stole pizza, again! This time from Sarah's hand as she bent over. Oy vey. 

When we got home, we checked the candy bucket that was left outside for trick-or-treaters. AND IT WAS GONE. Someone took our whole candy bucket!!!! Rude. Now I'm wondering if maybe I shouldn't have ordered a wreath. After my disappearing Costco order and now the stolen Halloween bucket, I'll be so mad if they take the wreath!

Cabin weekend at Lake Cushman

Since I missed last year's trip to J's cabin, I've been looking forward to this year's trip for MONTHS. Forrest and I left for Lake Cushman on Saturday morning, and I was totally freaking out about getting lost. Because I knew there wouldn't be any cell reception at the cabin, I wasn't sure if I'd have GPS reception and I really, really didn't want to get lost while driving alone. I printed the directions, highlighted the important parts, and memorized the key actions. Good thing I did, because driving on the winding roads and reading directions at the same time might have been really bad. I felt like I was going back to the 00s - when we used Mapquest printouts, considered car GPS units as still new and exciting, and relied on CDs for music when radio went out (because we couldn't stream music from our basic ass Nokias, LOL).

We finally arrived shortly after noon, at J's super cute a-frame cabin. It reminded me of a smaller version of cabins I've stayed at in Tahoe, and the drive actually wasn't so bad. I loved that they don't have TV or Wi-Fi or cell reception, because I so rarely am "off the grid" that I sometimes forget what it feels like. What a relief it is to be disconnected! Not long after I settled in, I walked down to the lake with M, J, and D. Mia, Marley, and Forrest came too, and we played along the water on the naked shore of the once-floating dock. I was so glad that Forrest, Mia, and Marley got along immediately. Instant buds! 

The sun even unexpectedly came out! We later returned to the cabin when we finished our drinks. Time flew by quickly as we drank, ate J's delicious kimchi soup for lunch, drank some more, enjoyed a cheese and salami tray, drank some more, played Pictionary, sat down for a lovely pork loin dinner (with fresh mashed potatoes and roasted apples/onions), drank some more, and played Scattergories. PHEW! The dogs had as much fun as we did, and before I knew it I was waking up to Forrest barking in the early AM on Sunday morning. He got to sleep in a bed with me for the first time! And he spent most of the time off leash, exploring the woods around the cabin. =) 

They even had a RECORD PLAYER! And they let me choose one (based on cover, because I don't really know very many artists in their collection... and the Michael Jackson one was 'banned'). I actually really enjoyed my pick! The cabin was so full of character, and it felt both homey and cozy while providing more than everything that you'd need for a getaway! I'd love to have a cabin, but I don't think I could deal with the upkeep (or the bugs). 

The drive back was pretty painless, and Forrest was absolutely pooped. We had so much fun, I can't wait for the next group trip!! 

The-Dream & Oktoberfest at Leavenworth

One of my favorite R&B artists, The-Dream, came to the Crocodile on a Wednesday night and the concert was SO GOOD! He opened for Hudson Mohawke... but now that we no longer live in Belltown, it was getting too late on a weeknight to stay out and see the main act. But anyways, OMG! So, The-Dream had some suh-weet dance moves and his voice was just as amazing live as on tracks. He did all of his classic songs that I was looking forward to, EXCEPT for Love King! Booooooooo. But that was the only disappointment for his show. We even had to wait an extra 45 mins for him to come on, but it was all worth it in the end.

For the weekend, we rented a cabin in Leavenworth during Oktoberfest! Everyone arrived at different times on Friday night, and we stayed in to do games, PJs, and family dinner. We ended up with lots of junk and frozen food, LOL. For games, we started off with Guesstures and then played Telestrations. SO FUN! Friday night flew by quickly, and then Saturday we headed downtown for Oktoberfest. We reserved a private shuttle to/from the event and it was a FANTASTIC idea because we didn't have to worry about parking or getting DUIs.

Leavenworth is such an adorable town! I felt like I was walking down the streets of Beauty and the Beast, and I could run into Gaston at any of the beer halls. The official event was smaller than I expected, but was a really interesting experience. The brats and turkey legs were so delicious, and I enjoyed the lively live music in the tents. We explored the streets of Leavenworth outside of the official event and checked out some shops. Eventually, we re-entered the event to get some more beers, and headed back to the cabin early. Everyone was so tired from Oktoberfest that only a few of us were still awake at 10 PM. SO LAME! I stayed up past midnight because I couldn't sleep, and I wished everyone else had stayed awake for our last night. Oh well.

The cabin trip was perfect, and I definitely want to plan a repeat trip to Leavenworth! However, now that I've experienced Oktoberfest, I'm not dying to go back for the official event. We waited in line a lot, and it was pretty crowded in most areas. Maybe we can go on an off-week and still get the seasonal beers at local bars, without the crowds. Regardless, I'm still so glad that I finally went!