Time to Ride

James has been great about helping us with some of our big house projects (like building the shed - see here, here, & here for the recap). In trade for the already done projects and potential help when we get around to remodeling the kitchen, we offered up my non-working motorcycle (that we've had for several years now, and I've never had a chance to ride). Sounds like a lame deal, right? Apparently it was okay to him, as he accepted (and it was *great* for me, since I got out of the grunt work ;) ). The cycle has been in the shed (that he helped build) over the winter, but the boyos pulled it out this weekend to see what needed to happen to make it run...

Looks like it went pretty smoothly - they were able to get the garage cleaned out (at least enough to work on the bike) yesterday, and after some puttering and wrenching and whatever else happens when you work on bikes, I heard deep rumbling from the Man Domain.

Since Greg is the only one of the three of us that has recent experience riding, we made him take it out for the first spin. But then, since it's James's new toy, we figured it'd be nice if he could go for a spin too. So we found extra riding gear, got him set up, and away they went. Now Greg will have a riding buddy... =)

Saturday Stroll

Greg & I participated in the Anchorage Heart Run yesterday. Greg did the run, and finished in time to do the course again - this time walking with me. While we were waiting for the start of his race (runners started 30 minutes before the un-timed portion of the race), I noticed that people were hanging gear anywhere they could before the run. Got a picture of one of the "coat trees" around the area. =)

I tried to take a picture as he was crossing the finish line, but my camera was too slow to turn on and get the shot - so I ended up with a picture of random people and the time, which was 9 seconds after he crossed the line. He finished the 5k (3+ miles) in 29:01. It's the first "official" time he has, and he'll use it as a baseline for the rest of his marathon training. (The Mayor's Marathon is in June.) Someone else took a great shot as he crossed the finish line - it's now his Facebook profile picture.

The weather was nice. Particularly, it was NOT rainy or snowy - which was what was predicted earlier in the week. It was rather chilly so I kept my jacket on, but that just made it so I didn't overheat as the walk commenced. There were several thousand participants - it was fun to see all the people out on a nice Saturday morning, supporting healthy hearts.

As we walked the course, there were entertainment stations at various points. A school band playing music in one spot, and belly dancers at another.

Second walk of the season down. I just spent a little time online looking up dates for the other walks to get them on my calendar. There's the Anchorage Visitors Industry Graze (where you walk to different feeding stations - yay!) on May 1st; the March of Dimes walk on May 16th; the Alaska Run for Women (in support of Breast Cancer - I do this one for Aunt Carol, and this year I'll be adding Greg's mom as a survivor) on June 13th; the Walk to Whittier on June 14th; and the Light the Night walk (love you M!) on September 11th. I'm sure there are loads more walks scheduled throughout the summer, those are just the ones I've done in the past.

Let the walking commence!! =)

MS Walk = Beginning of Spring?

Jeannea is here for a few days before she heads out to Dillingham for the summer. We've done lots of visiting, and today we took her along for the annual MS Walk. I love when it gets to be "walk season" in Alaska. That means that we're heading into the Spring/Summer months - the best part of the year!

It's a chance to get some exercise that's not at the gym, which is much more enjoyable. It's also a chance to get together with people that I don't see all that often and chat as we make our way around the course. Today was a *lovely* day - considering that it's still April, there's snow on the ground, and Lake Hood was still icy on top. But the sun was shining, there wasn't much wind, and we had good company.

One of our walkers

Taking a break

Greg ran the course (twice) instead of walking - still prepping for his marathon run - so he's not in the group picture, as he wasn't quite done yet. Next weekend is the Heart Run (I'll be walking), and soon we have the March of Dimes walk and the Women's Run. There are more - just about one every weekend from now until September sometime - but those are the ones I've done & can remember. Yay walking! Yay Spring!

Anticipation

I've been griping because it's April already and we haven't even broken 40 degrees. I mean, come on already! Give a girl a bone! It's not like I'm asking for 80 and sandy beaches... I just want a little warmth. In the spirit of anticipating Spring (and keeping our sanity), we decided to get ready - or at least get our feet ready for sandal weather. Pedicures, here we come!! =)

Sara, Stacy & I started the day by going to breakfast, then headed to the salon. Had to kill a little time, since they weren't open until noon, but it was *totally* worth it!

My last pedicure was in September. All the color from my big toes had grown out, except a thin sliver at the top. The scrubbing tickles and it's hard to keep from twitching my feet. But the massaging is just *lovely* and I do feel a little more patient as I wait for Spring... Can you guess which color goes for which person? I love the little flowers - they're so... happy. =)

We spent the afternoon doing a bit of cleaning so we could have guests over for dinner & game night. Sara was super helpful, vacuuming & doing dishes. She even vacuumed the stairs, which looks like it might be a dangerous occupation...

Looks like there were a couple hats laying around... Thanks, Sara, for staying safe and helping out!! =)

Black Violin

Yesterday was a great day! Fridays are always good, since it means the end of the work week and the beginning of two whole days where I can plan my own activities. This usually means sleeping in, probably some cleaning (bleh - not fun, but necessary), some playing on the computer, maybe some shopping... you get the idea. I'm master of my own time for two whole days. Yay!

Got a little sidetracked there... anyhow - yesterday was great because it was Friday. Also good because Sara's coming to visit for a bit before she heads to Valdez for the summer. ALSO good because Greg's taking me to an Event to celebrate our anniversary. It's a day early as the anniversary is actually on Saturday. He got us tickets to Black Violin - a group of three young men that do interesting things with music. Two play violin/viola while the DJ mixes it up. It's super high energy, and just cool how they mix classical music and hip-hop beats - or hip new music is redone on strings with classical influences.

The pictures I took didn't turn out very well... but I suppose that's okay, since we weren't supposed to be taking pictures anyway. I was like a sheep... "everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn't I?!?" At least I turned the flash off, so I didn't potentially blind them. (Apparently that also helps the camera to NOT focus on the top of the head in the row in front of you - as I noticed the gal in front of us trying to take pictures, but what showed on her screen was the back of the seats/heads in the next row up...) Greg got seats up front - this is the closest I've been to the stage *ever*, and it was fantastic!! Apparently they were front-row seats when the tickets went on sale, but the venue added a couple rows later where the orchestra pit would be. Still the best seats I've had at an event, and it was *loads* of fun! More like a rock concert than a violin performance... =)

The group comes from public school education & training, and focuses on youth - letting them know that with hard work and perseverance you can do anything. A really positive message and nice that some quality entertainment is giving back to community. I checked out their web site - they're playing at Everette Community College in Seattle, WA tomorrow, and at Utah State University on Tuesday. Anybody close should really consider getting tickets - definitely two thumbs up for the show, it's worth it!!

Spring? What Spring?

I'm still waiting for it to warm up... I am grateful that the days are close to 30 - sometimes above, sometimes below, and that's loads better than a month or so ago. But March is almost over. It's supposed to be warmer. You know, sunshine... melting snow... I'm not being too greedy. I'm not asking for green grass and leaves on the trees (yet). I'm just wanting my world to warm up. Here's what this morning brought...

When I was brushing off the car this morning, the last of the rubber came off the old wiper blade on the passenger side. Fortunately I had the replacements in the car, just hadn't put them on yet. I decided I'd only change the passenger one since I'm running behind (again). I found a latch to release the old blade but for the life of me, I couldn't get it off. Didn't matter which way I flopped the blade or how I wiggled it, it wouldn't come off. So then I decided to try the driver's side. Took me less than a minute and I had it off. Must be because the mechanism was totally backwards from the other side. That and I just happened to accidentally pull down after unlatching it so it popped right off. So I was a bit late(r) to work, but my new wiper blades are super cool!! (Either that, or I've actually needed blades for quite some time and am just impressed with the way the rest of the world sees things...) Now I've got to replace the one on the back window - so I can see behind me just as well as in front. =) Yay, new blades! Boo, snow!

So what's that Spring saying: Out like a lion, in like a lamb??

Whirlwind - The Return

It's hard to believe the weekend is over already - even though I know that regular weekends go by super-quick, and extraordinary weekends would therefore go quicker. I'm trying not to think about having to be at work tomorrow morning (a thought I struggle with every Sunday...). =) Greg & Sheri made the trek to the storage container to get the couch, while I stayed at the apartment to pack (and to sleep a little longer).

From there, we split the group. Sara had lots of things to get done before work, so she stayed home while the rest of us headed out to Puyallup via the lighthouse that's in the girls' neighborhood. Greg got a cool picture of the (rather plain) lighthouse, with a smiley faced tree in the foreground. Somehow I missed that entirely. We hooked up with Holly & Corey for a late lunch at the Olive Garden. (I've yet again heard rumors that we're going to get one - but I'll believe it when I see it, I guess...)

Sheri took off after lunch to run some errands - we'll hook up with Sara & Sheri on the way to the airport for what was going to be dinner, but will instead be desserts (since I was full of bread sticks and salad). Anyhow, Greg got in the rest of his shopping, and then we found a cache in a nearby park to give Holly,Corey, and the boyos their first find.

It was nice to spend the afternoon with them. I only wish we'd had more time. I always wish we had more time. More time for visiting, more time to spend with family, more time at the museum, more time to watch the leaves bloom.

We made it to the airport about an hour before the flight. Were intending to be there sooner, but we spent too much time visiting. I'd rather spend the time visiting than sitting in the airport reading and waiting. We were lucky and made it through security and to the gate with plenty of time to spare. Had enough time to pause and take a picture of a new vending machine. Lotto tickets from a vending machine - who'd have thought? =)

After note: Stacy was so kind as to pick us up at the airport at midnight - not just at the curb, but she actually parked and was waiting at baggage claim for us. How sweet! We got home just fine, and were unwinding (Greg was shoveling the snow that fell while we were gone) when I got a call from work. The volcano erupted earlier tonight - I need to go in to cover computers (I posted earlier here). How fortuitous! If I'd already gone to bed, I wouldn't have had my cell phone and would have missed the call. Additionally, flights after ours were rerouted or returned - so we were apparently lucky to have arrived at all. Looks like I'm back to work a little earlier than expected...

It was a *fantastic* weekend - a total blast! And now it's time to get back to my regularly scheduled life.

Whirlwind - Day Three, Experience & Roller Derby

The girls have some really nice views where they live. Greg went running in the mornings to continue his marathon training. Since my camera is easier to carry when you're running, I have the shots he took. Unfortunately, my camera is not as good as his, so most are pretty blurry. There are a couple that turned out good. This is one:

Sheri had a morning work meeting, so Jeannea (great sport that she is) and Greg took her so Sara & I could get a little more sleep. We met for a late breakfast before heading into Seattle. Off to see another floating bridge, a troll, and The Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. Long name, cool place! Check out the site here. The troll under the bridge was a geocache (of course), but it was much cooler than I expected. Actually, I'm not sure what I expected, but not a 20' tall stone sculpture hidden under a bridge close to downtown Seattle. If you look closely, it has a car under it's left hand (the one Sheri is standing on), and a hubcap for an eye. On the way back to the car, we saw several of those pretty pink trees that are in bloom everywhere (in contrast to back home, where everything is still covered in snow and not even *thinking* about blooming yet).

From there, it was just a matter of maybe 10 minutes to downtown Seattle, where we were meeting Holly & the boys at The Experience Music Project & Science Fiction Museum. I need to go again, with more time. At least a day. If I get done sooner, I can wander downtown for fun places to eat or sights to see, but I need that time. I took in the visual aspects, but there was lots of reading or listening that I skipped, in the interest of time. Places to be this evening. We did the whole SciFi section (quickly), but didn't make it through the entire music section. Plenty of cool things to see, but there was lots I missed too. Next time. It was great to get to spend some time with Holly and the boys - I really appreciate that they made the effort and braved the traffic to meet us there.

The guitar scuplture is actually programmed to play music. They have listening stations set up so you can hear what's playing. There's also a basement or lower floor that we didn't even get to - Greg and his tag-along buddy found that we'd missed the entire first floor. And Holly, Sheri, and I (and our tag-along buddy) didn't even finish the second floor (that I thought was the first floor) before we headed up to the next level. All in all, a great time - but I need to go back and see/hear/experience more. There's even an el (train, monorail, elevated bus on a track, whatever) that goes through the upper part of the building - I want to try that!

Holly & me =)

Greg & the boyos

We had to cut the afternoon short, since we had to journey to Lynnwood (Edmonds Community College) for... ROLLER DERBY!!!! Wahoo!! Our Anchorage team (Rage City Roller Girls) had an "away game", and so Greg & I introduced Jeannea, Sara, & Sheri to their first game of roller derby. It was an absolute blast!! Although I do have to say that I think we do things better in Alaska. The crowd in general, that is. We're more energetic, enthusiastic, and excited. And we have a beer garden. Wahoo!! ;) Our girls didn't win, but they played hard and did exceptionally well - seeing as this was their 4th bout ever and they were playing the regional champions. I'm excited for the next bout (April 11th), but a little bummed that Sara will be gone already and Jeannea won't be here yet - so neither will get to experience roller derby Alaska Style. Oh well. There'll be more chances... Greg was photographing the event, so my pictures are courtesy of him.

After the bout, we went to the "after party" for the teams. Didn't do much socializing (the girls and I didn't - Greg wandered here & there to visit with lots of people, as is his style) because it was hard to find a seat, and then really loud so conversation wasn't really feasible. We did get to chat with Mr. & Mrs. Furious (the first time I've actually met Mrs. Furious, although I've heard about her several times from Greg) for a bit, and spent the rest of the evening doing our own renditions of the karaoke songs being played... Overall, it was an enjoyable end to the evening. I've been having a blast spending time with the girls!!

The Girls
(picture courtesy of Greg)

On tap for tomorrow: domestic chores (moving a couch, packing), visit Holly & Corey in Puyallup, time to go home...

Volcano Interruption

We now interrupt the posts about our trip to Seattle for a Volcano Update...

Mt. Redoubt has finally erupted. We made it home okay, but I found out that several flights due to arrive after ours were sent back. We were home by around midnight, and I received a call shortly thereafter from work. Seems our emergency contingency plan had been activated. Off to work I go!

The computers are covered and we're ready for ash fall, but it looks like Anchorage may dodge that bullet - the cloud is headed north of us, to the MatSu Valley and beyond. But in case winds change, we're ready.

Time for bed...

Whirlwind - Day Two, Sara's Birthday

Today was a busy, busy day - but *loads* of fun! We broke fast together at Sara's favorite breakfast joint, Black Bear Diner. The food was good, and they have some of the biggest biscuits I've ever seen!

We made reservations for dinner - three times, since I set one up for only 4 and we actually have 5 people. I called back to adjust the number in the party, but there wasn't a table to accommodate 5 until much later, so I canceled. Called back one more time because we decided the later time would actually work just fine for all of us. With that worked out, our group split up. Greg & Jeannea went caching and Sara & I went shopping. I found a milk vending machine at the mall - and they have leather couches for weary shoppers to rest on! Way more fancy that the wooden benches I'm used to.

From there, we hooked up with Sheri - she got off work early so she could spend a little more time with us while we were visiting. Yay! She's been in her new position for just a few weeks, so I got to see her new store and we went to a late lunch at one of the places within walking distance. The area she works in has lots of options for dining and a cool skyline. I took some pictures of some of the interesting looking buildings - I'll be updating my Flikr site with the extra pictures that I don't post here.

I also like that there are sculptures decorating the plazas and open areas. It's a very aesthetically pleasing area. Sher - I hope things go well for you in the new position and that you enjoy it! =)

We spent a few hours at the Rock Bottom Brewery, where we had lunch and visited. The three of us spent lots of time laughing... I don't even remember what we were laughing about, just that at one point Sheri was laughing so hard she was silent (and crying). Ahhh, fun times!

I like the cool architecture of the area and that there's so many things to go do and see. But you really have to plan for traveling. When I plan for things here, if I've got an extra hour I can go home - there, it would take almost an hour to get home, then you'd be late for wherever you were intending to go. And traffic. Here rush hour traffic can be a pain. But there? Rush hour traffic makes a 35 minute commute into almost two hours. Man, that's harsh! Definitely pays to live in the area you work in - but sometimes that's not feasible, so you're forced to spend more of your precious free time traveling in a car.

Those are some pretty big drawbacks, but I also noticed some pretty cool things too. Already mentioned the architecture and the soccer games at 11pm in March (previous post). I was also watching the world green up and bloom. In just the few days we were there, I saw leaves pop out and flowers bloom. In contrast to the cold and snow back home, it was extremely nice to enjoy wearing jackets. Even the rain wasn't that bad, since it was warm and changed to sunshine often enough that I was glad I brought sunglasses.

So we headed downtown to meet Greg & Jeannea for dinner. Sara took the route over the floating bridge - pretty cool. (I guess they've got more than one floating bridge, since we went over a different one on Saturday. Not something I would've thought of, since all our big water is tidal, so you can't build the bridges on the water. But floating bridges apparently work just fine over enclosed lake waters.) Got to park at Sara's work (and Jeannea's - they work for the same company) and walk a few blocks to the Space Needle. The Seattle skyline is another really cool view. We finished out the evening at the Space Needle. We arrived early enough that we could check out the view before the sun went down, and again after dinner when it was dark. An amazing view. Of the 1 to 2 dozen pictures I took, only four turned out because I just have the cheesy point-and-shoot camera (but it suits me, and I can fit it in my pocket instead of carrying a whole bag devoted to a camera and camera accessories - looks like I'm not getting into advanced photography anytime soon). The ones that turned out are pretty cool.

On tap for tomorrow: The Experience (Music Project and Science Fiction Museum) in downtown Seattle - Holly and boys are meeting us there; then roller derby - yeah, baby!

The Whirlwind Begins (Thursday)

I meant to get up earlier today, so I could get some stuff done before we left. I meant to leave work by 4pm, so I could be home, packed, and we could be at the airport by 5pm. I meant to eat dinner before we left the airport. The best laid plans of mice and men...

From the airplane

I got the last of my laundry in the dryer before I left for work. Then, after balancing meetings and last minute projects, and the daily minutia I left work by 4:20pm. (I really should tell myself to leave at least a half hour before I need to - that way maybe I'd be on time. Even though I know the "real" time I have to leave, if I'm aiming for earlier, maybe it would help me get out when I should instead of 20-30 minutes late... Can I trick myself? Can I tell myself one thing and know that I really mean something else and have it work out? Who knows, but maybe I should give it a shot next time...) Anyhow, now we're not so far behind, but not where I wanted to be either. James was at the house to pick us up before I even got home.

Dinner is served!

Packing went quickly, but since I didn't write things down we left things home. Meant to bring Jeannea's mail to her. We'll have to ship it. Meant to bring the sausage Greg picked up for someone. It's still in the freezer. Meant to have the last glass of apple beer from the growler. Will have to dump it out when we get home. Oh well. We made the flight. Yay!

Interesting airport finds

The flight went smoothly, and I got to read ~100 pages in a book that's been sitting on my desk for almost a year. That'll teach people to loan me books! =) Found a new vending machine in the Seattle airport - an equipment charger. Hmmm. That's new - but I can *totally* see how it might be handy. And we found the Alaska Lodge. Looks like it's a little food/bar joint. Had some neat pictures on the wall, but I wonder how "Alaskan" it really is. =)

Weather here is cloudy and rainy - but at 11pm it was 50 degrees. I'll take warm rain!! On the way to the apartment, we also passed people playing soccer. Won't see that back home. We won't even see soccer during the middle of the day for quite a while - since the fields have to thaw and dry out - let alone 11pm... Anyhow, we've settled in and made plans for tomorrow, so it's time to hit the sack.

Nice view from the apartment.

On tap for tomorrow: Breakfast for sustenance and then the split. Jeannea & Greg are geocaching all day; Sara & I are shopping then hooking up with Sheri for more fun. We all convene for dinner at the Space Needle to celebrate Sara's birthday. Yay!!