Christmas - Part I

Given my previous history of setting up a multi-part series and then failing to deliver, I titled this post with some trepidation. However, I feel I cannot fully describe my joyous winter break in only one blog entry, and must proceed in this manner. This is your warning, I cannot be held responsible for dashed hopes.

Christmas break was such a lovely reprieve after a hectic school quarter. I brought some final assignments with me to finish grading and may not have started packing until 11:30 pm the night before my morning flight, but all was forgotten as soon as I got back to the farm. As always, the fun started before I even left the airport.

Why I am always excited to come home...

Seattle has softened me, and I was worried that I was going to find Nebraska cold, snowy, and unpleasant, so I was very excited that it was sunny and warm for almost all of my stay. It was even warm enough to enjoy the outdoors, although not without some "home clothes", or layers that only get worn when on the farm.

In the battle of young versus old, youth prevailed!

Spending time with the family was great, and I was quite shocked to realize that it had been an entire year since I had been home and seen any of the cousins. Of course, within 10 minutes the mocking stories about high school shenanigans began and I questioned whether it had only been a year since I heard it last.

Getting ready to pass the food.

In the end, it's never enough time to fully catch up for a year.

I think these are the more distant cousins...

During the 10 days I was home, I filled up on semmel, zweiback, valentinos, runza, pork loins, flincent, eggnog, and klups. So yummy.

Henry also made his first visit to the farm, and first to Nebraska in general, checking another state off his list. More to come in part ii. Maybe.

Survivor

Half-Marathon

Last Sunday, the weekend of Thanksgiving, I ran my first half-marathon. Because of school demands, I hadn't been able to train at a level I would have liked, so I was kinda nervous going into it. The day was typical Seattle: gray and rainy. But I was very grateful that it was only drizzling and not pouring. Yes, that's a reason to celebrate in this city.

Mile 1 and 13 were pretty exciting - everything else in between kinda blurred together. I ate my first gu, which I was scared would taste horrible but was in fact quite tasty. Rest assured, I also took advantage of the gummi bears (mile 4) and krispy kremes (mile 11) being handed out along the course, so I was well fueled.

I loved all the supporters lining the course. Some of my favorite signs include "Chuck Norris never ran a marathon" and "go, stranger, go!". I felt very encouraged.

And then, before you even realize you've been running over 2 hours straight, the finish line!

Rounding the last corner!

Don't be fooled by the runner's clothes....the real evidence is in those lining the course. Umbrellas, hoods, and winter coats were definitely called for.

I was really excited to get a "space blanket" upon completion. I think I look more exhausted than victorious. I was ready to eat and then nap....which I promptly did.

Champion!...er....Finisher!

 In the end it was a lot fun and I never would have done it without some peer pressure support.

I'm still wearing that medal...

Thanksgiving

The effort needed to prepare food required that we eat food...

Let's pretend it hasn't been months since I updated my blog and move right into current happenings. I had a lovely low-key Thanksgiving with Henry and friends yesterday. Henry was the main chef, for which I was very grateful. I don't bring much by the way of cooking into the Traditional Thanksgiving meal line-up, but I make up for that with good food shopping skills. I earned the award for best purchased contribution, with an amazing spinach dip.

Such intense competition

We spent the afternoon playing some old school Nintendo games including Mario cart and Street Fighter.

Celebrity sighting in the kitchen.

Turkey Time.

We also broke out a new game called "Power Grid", a purchased inspired by our resident power engineer who looks suspiciously like the engineer on the cover of the game.












The turkey was excellent, although the vegetarian in the group had to take 15 minutes after the carving of the bird before she could eat anything. 

Keeping the lights on in Berlin.

We spent the rest of the evening trying to supply electricity to Germany. A lovely day in all. Right now I'm thankful that I won't see my car's license plates any more when I look at my blog.

End of an Era

Although I have lived in many States since leaving Nebraska (Kansas, Texas, Idaho, Washington, Michigan, Florida, Colorado, Maryland, Washington D.C., and finally Washington again), I have always maintained at least one link to home - my license plates. It made my car just slightly more findable in a parking lot, and it gave me an excuse for any driving errors.

This has finally come to an end, however, and I have been forced to register in Washington. One of many things grad school has driven me to. Goodbye, 3 county. I will miss you.

30!

As is becoming tradition, my sister flew into town for my birthday, and we had a great weekend (I'm choosing to ignore all flight delays in this assessment, which are also becoming a tradition). I am very thankful that this has not yet deterred my sister from attempting the trip.

To celebrate, we made cupcakes with strawberries and red hots. During our debate in the grocery store over which cake mix to buy, we both realized that we had no idea what makes a devil's food cake different from chocolate cake. Is this common knowledge that somehow skipped us?

Instead of taking in the city fireworks show, we joined some friends on a beach for a personal show. There were many people along this stretch of beach setting off their own fireworks. It was taken very seriously. The threat of danger really heightened the excitement of this show. To begin with, we had to vacate our prime viewing spot about 3 times to let a train pass.

Also adding to the sense of danger was the "contraption", pictured below. It was equal parts terrifying and magnificent. When they set it off, we all got to our feet to increase our mobility, should one rocket shoot off in an unintended direction.

Fireworks aside, we also brunched on my deck, taking advantage of it for the first time. Please ignore the unsightly red curtain - it has been replaced. The weather has just recently warmed up enough to enjoy the deck in the morning, and it was gorgeous!

We also did some wine tasting in the Woodinville Wine Country. They have over 80 tasting rooms - we made it to 2. Some of you may be familiar with Chateau St. Michelle in your local grocery stores. Also gorgeous.

Kind of on a whim, we spent our last morning heading up the Space Needle. I had always been lukewarm about visiting it, but was suitably impressed once up there.

All in all, it was a fabulous way to turn 30.

Memorial Day BBQ

I'm sure we were the only people to think of this, but Henry and I had a mini bbq to celebrate Memorial Day, a day off from school, and a break from the rain. We made hamburgers, corn on the cob, grilled onions, and baked beans. I think that about covers it.

My New Residence: Before

So I've been waiting to post pictures of my new residence until I had beautiful "after" pictures to post. It's been over 5 months since I moved in, and still don't have those. And I've come to accept that they won't be coming any time soon. However, there's nothing like having a paper due to discover that this is, in fact, the perfect time to write a new blog post. So here are the before the pictures, and everyone can wait in suspense with me for the final look.

I am now truly enjoying the condo, but as you can see, it was in quite a state when I moved in. This was due both to the explosion that was my belongings, as well as the unexplainable paint choices made by the previous owner. These pictures don't truly capture the blue that was the walls.

Or the blue and gold combo. This may be the only time that my Tri County band uniform pillow was the perfect accessory. 

The blue just kept going. And even where it isn't dark blue, it's light blue. Although that's hard to tell in these pictures.  Here is a view of the kitchen. I really like how it's open to the rest of the space, but I am seriously considering painting the cabinets. I welcome all opinions/advice on that decision.

It also took me a while to get a real bed.

The bathroom is pretty standard. The condo was built in the same year as the house I grew up in. Amazingly, the faucet is the exact same one I used as a kid. Feels so familiar.

So that's the place at it's worst. My parents helped me paint and made huge strides in changing the look and feel, although there's still a ways to go. But it's home!

Happenings of Late

For better or for worse, I've definitely taken more time this quarter to do things not related to school. Henry has been an excellent guide for Seattle doin's. Our first visit was opening night at Emerald Downs, a horse track.

Woo-eee!

I am told that Emerald Downs is at the bottom of the list when it comes to race tracks. It's not exactly the Kentucky Derby.

Not his first time, Henry was already in possession of Emerald Downs paraphernalia.

My assessment of horse racing: eh.

Each race last only about a minute. Within that time, you can only see the horses for about 20 seconds. Then you have to wait another 30 minutes until the next race. I imagine on a nice day it can be quite pleasant. Our night, however, was quite cold. I spent a lot of time huddled under a blanket.

A vision of home. Kinda, but not really. I deemed this overkill.

Our next outing was to a Mariner's game. This was a good time, but also freezing. Don't be fooled by Henry's casual attire - it was incredibly cold when the sun went down. I really can't get a break with the weather here.

Losing a Bet

A long time ago I made an unfortunate bet about the outcome of the Nebraska v. UW bowl game. Then I made it worse with a double or nothing bet about where Benjamin Harrison fell in presidential order. As a result, four months later I was finally compelled to pay up and cook a meal. Here is the result:

Bierrocks!!!

 Fortunately I also benefited by losing. It's been almost 10 months since I last had bierrocks. Maybe I was inspired by all the MCC sales happening and Mennonite foods being enjoyed by others.

Of note, I also made Henry try some Dorothy Lynch.

Quick Break

I'm taking a quick break to finally post again. I took an even longer break to celebrate Valentines Day with Henry. We enjoyed a lovely meal at Morton's Steakhouse, and even got all gussied up for it. 

 

Besides that I've been pretty busy with school, although this quarter has been considerably better than last quarter. The first quarter seemed mostly concerned with getting adjusted to the program, Seattle, and being back in school. Now I actually feel compelled to accomplish something. 

The other big thing taking up my time has been getting settled in the new condo. I'm a couch away from feeling like I've actually made it a home, and I need to get some pics up from that as well. My parents were incredibly generous with their painting and light fixture changing skills, which made a huge difference.

Now back to my paper!