Day Off

Today was my only day off this week, so I figured I better make the most of it.  First, I hopped on my bike, met up with Andrew and took a nice ride towards Mt. Rainier.  We stopped at a little place that looked cute and had a yummy lunch.  He had homework to finish so we had to head home after lunch.  It was a really pretty ride and I hope when I have more time I can take my bike up and do the loop around Mt Rainier since it has been a while since I have been up there.

When I got home, I didn't want to stay inside and not enjoy the sunny weather so grabbed Zeus and headed to the Ruston Way waterfront in Tacoma.  We went on a little walk there which we both enjoyed.  I am still trying to kick a nasty cough I acquired a few weeks ago when I was sick, so didn't want to go too far.  It's also hard with him since he doesn't get along well with others.  I guess I should just take him out more so he gets used to other dogs and maybe he won't try to attack everyone that he meets.

Now, I am home and feeling tired from a long week and a busy day.  I have plans to make baked rigatoni for dinner and finish up some homework before calling it a day.  It's amazing how fast today went by and I am glad I was able to spend it outside since I am cooped up indoors all day at work.

Puyallup Fair

On Tuesday, Andrew and I took advantage of the sunny day and hit the Western Washington Fair in Puyallup.  He had gotten a couple free tickets from a friend at work so I made him take me.  I love fairs and was looking forward to walking around and doing some people watching.  I also have fond memories of the fair in Santa Cruz growing up and the little kid in me couldn't wait.

We got there around 10:30 in the morning and walked around checking out the booths most of the morning.  It was nice getting there early as it wasn't annoyingly crowded.  I had to cheat on my diet and try something from Everything Fried. We went with the daily special of a twinkie and 3 oreos.  The twinkie was okay, but I actually really liked the oreos.  Right before we left, we stopped and watched some mutton busting which was super cute.  Some of the kiddos were amazing at how long they could hang on to the sheep.  Overall, we had a nice day and it was fun to walk around the fair and enjoy some time together. 

Work Weekend

On Tuesday, my realtor is coming to take pictures of my house so we can put it on the market.  In preparation for her visit, I realized I had a TON of work that needed to be done.  Luckily, my mom offered to come down for the weekend to help me get my house in order.

Before she showed up on Friday night, I was able to get my bedroom, master bath and closet organized.  I also had worked on my kitchen some and put some items aside that I was ready to pack.  My mom arrived around 8:30 on Friday and was surprised about the work that I completed.  We took a quick trip to Walmart so she could get coffee creamer, did some minor work in the house and chatted a little bit before heading to bed.

On Saturday morning, we starting rearranging some items inside me house so it would show better.  Then, we decided to conquer the front yard since the first impression is the most important and we wanted to make sure the front looked nice.  The weather forecast was that it was suppose to rain all weekend and there was a break in the weather, so we wanted to take advantage of that.  We started with some weeding and pruning.  We managed to fill up the entire bed of my mom's truck with yard waste.  Then, we headed to the dump to empty the truck, got some coffee to refuel and picked up 1/2 yard of beauty bark.  When we got back to the house, we thought that rain was imminent so my mom worked on unloading and spreading the beauty bark in the front while I headed to the back yard for a quick mow.  We were lucky as I was able to get the back yard mowed and just as we were unloading the last bit of bark, it started to rain.  We figured that was our cue to head into the house.

At the dump to drop off yard waste

She's happy because she wore real shoes, not thongs

Mt Rainier from the dump.  Great view!!!

Front yard after from the street

Front yard after from the driveway

We both cleaned up and then worked on the inside of the house some more.  I had a couple things I wanted to get from the store for the house and after a hard day at work decided to head out to dinner.  Right as we were leaving, my friend showed up for a quick visit and was surprised how different the front yard looked.  We decided on Applebee's for dinner and then went to Walmart after for my few items.  Once back at home, we did some more cleaning, rearranging and packing before heading to bed exhausted.

On Sunday, we woke up to rain again.  I made gluten-free waffles for breakfast that we ate with some of my homemade apple butter.  Yummy!  Then, we packed a couple boxes, hung some pictures and made a fake bed in my guest room.  After getting some things done in the house, we decided we needed to get to work on the back yard.  We needed a little bit more bark for the front so headed out, stopped for coffee on the way and then got another 1/2 yard of bark.  On the drive back to my house, the heavy rain started to lighten up and by the time we got home, it had stopped completely.  I filled buckets with bark as my mom unloaded them into the garden.  Once the front was completed, we headed into the back yard.

Since it's the end of the season, a lot of my flowers needed to be pruned back.  My mom worked on pruning while I tried to get some weeds pulled.  We filled my entire yard cart container and then some with garden waste.  I then backed the truck up into the side yard so we could empty the rest of the bark into my back flower bed.  As soon as the truck was empty from bark, we began filling it up again.  We put in some remaining yard waste first and then started loading it up with random wood and metal.  Terry was a little bit of a hoarder when it came to random crap.  He would keep junk that "we may be able to use for something one day", but never, ever used.  And, he was nice enough to leave all of this garbage for me to deal with now.  I didn't want to leave it for whomever may be moving here, so my mom and I loaded it all into her truck.  All that remains now is some longer pieces of metal that wouldn't fit in the bed of the truck and a tire.  Not too bad when you consider how much there was to start with.  As soon as we came inside for showers, it started to pour again.  I must say, someone was helping us out this weekend with the weather.

Before from side of house

After from side of house

Before from patio

After from patio

Before side yard of junk

After side yard

And some work in progress pictures:

My friend, we named him Alfredo

My amazing back up job between house and shed.

Spreading out beauty bark

I'm working hard ;)

The important stuff Terry forgot to take with him...

We (or at least I) was totally filthy, so we came in for showers.  My mom was heading home and we decided to have an early Mexican dinner before she left since we worked through lunch and were both famished.  At the restaurant we decided to share taquitos and fajitas.  So, I ordered chicken taquitos and the waiter came back to confirm mexican taquitos... Really?! Are there that many types of taquitos that he had to confirm we wanted Mexican taquitos in a Mexican restaurant?  We both thought it was funny and tried to think of what a Chinese, Italian and Hawaiian taquitos would be.

Overall, it was a fun, busy, exhausting weekend.  I know I am a little sore today and am amazed by how different things look.  The hard work was definitely worth it.  I wish I had take some additional before pictures for comparison but take my word, it is a huge difference!  Now, I only have a short list of things to do before Tuesday afternoon.  I am glad my mom was able to come down as I couldn't have done it without her.

If you want to see any of the other pictures I took of this weekend, check out my flickr account.

2010 Fairhaven Waterfront 15k

On Saturday, September 11, my mom, dad and I all ran a 15k race in Bellingham.  It was a perfect day for a run!  The weather was sunny, but not too hot and the views along the waterfront were really pretty. We all improved our pace from the half marathon we did in June so were excited about that.  I was really hoping to finish in less than two hours, but the extreme lack of bathrooms and the fact that I am a modest person made my time a little longer than I wanted.  Right around the 6 mile mark, I had to start walking as jogging on my bladder was becoming unbearable.  I was really surprised that there were no outhouses along the course.

Overall, I was disappointed with my finish of 2:06:24 but was glad my pace improved by almost a minute a mile.  My hope now is that I can finish my next half marathon at a decent pace.  However, the next run we are signed up for is a 5k which should be a piece of cake.  After the race, we went and enjoyed the sunny day at the yacht harbor and had lunch at the Weblocker.  

While I was visiting my parents, my mom and I decided to spend the rainy Sunday baking.  We both enjoy baking and trying new recipes.  This weekend we made apple butter, blackberry crisp, apple oatmeal cookies, chocolate zucchini cake and some gluton free cookies.  Everything turned out really yummy as always!

Summer Reading

Most people that know me may know that I am an avid reader.  I love books!  Some people have shoe addictions, I think that I have a book addiction.  I love spending sunny summer days in my backyard laying out with a good book.  I would much rather curl up with a book then relax in front of the TV.

This summer, I have been reading a lot.  It's a way for me to escape into a different place and turn my overactive mind off.  If I am having a bad day, I can start a book and escape from the issues that surround my life.  That being said, I am always looking for book recommendations.  So, if you know of any good books, please let me know.

Also, for other readers out there, check out the website www.goodreads.com.  It is great!  I use it to track my reading and reading that my friends are doing.  Alright, enough about my addiction for now, I have a book to finish.

Visit from Uncle Jim

Last weekend, my uncle Jim surprised my parents by saying he was coming up for a visit.  I don't think I had seen him in about five years so decided to head up to Ferndale with Zeus to spend some quality time with my family.  I had previous plans with friends for Friday night so headed up north Saturday afternoon.

Once I got into town, we headed to Five Guys Burgers for lunch.  I love the place and convinced my family to go.  Straight from there my dad, uncle and cousin Matt decided to go shooting.  I knew my uncle had gotten into guns recently and thought it would be fun to bond that way.  I had borrowed a couple pistols from a friend and then also brought my Charter Arms .38 Special and my little Derringer .32 to shoot.  Hands down though, my uncle's gun was the nicest.  The range we went to was an outdoor range run by the county.  We shot there for a bit before heading home.

In the evening, they were having a music festival in Ferndale.  So, after dinner, we met Jimmy and Sheri along with Mel and Mike to listen to some music.  My mom and I were a little disappointed as we thought there were going to be vendor there as well, but apparently we missed them as they were there only during the day.

On Sunday, my mom planned a BBQ with some family members so Uncle Jim could see everyone.  A lot of the people up there hadn't seen him for twenty years or so.  It was fun watching everyone tell old stories and bond.  We got lucky with the weather and my mom and I figured that throughout the afternoon about 30 people came and went from the house.

My uncle left early Monday morning to head home.  He said he had a fun trip and would like to move up to this area once he retires (if not before then).  I was glad that he came up as it had been a long time since I had seen him.  I decided to stay until Tuesday so after he left, my mom and I ran some errands.  We went into Bellingham and enjoyed a yummy lunch at Olive Garden before heading to Costco.  On the way home we stopped by Hagen's so I could get some stuff to make a pie and also picked up some salmon for dinner.

After dinner, I attempted to make a Caramel Apple Pie.  I didn't really know what I was doing so just tried to make something up.  My friend loves apple pie so I thought bringing one home would be a nice surprise.  I bought a pre-made crust because frankly I hate making crusts.  For the inside, I did the standard flour, sugar mixture with some caramel on the Gravenstein apples.  For the topping, I made a streusel topping and then dripped some more caramel on top of that before baking it.  I am not sure how it tastes, but it sure looked impressive!

I left for home on Tuesday and had an uneventful drive back.  I am glad that I headed up north for the weekend and had a nice time with my family.