Snow Shoeing

For my dad's birthday, we planned a trip to go snow shoeing on Mt Baker.  It would have been a lovely trail with amazing views had the weather been more agreeable.  Unfortunately, it was cold and rainy, so we turned around after about a half hour.  The best part of the trip was stopping at Graham's on the way home for some burgers.

Snowmageddon

We are having our first snow of the year, and it is turning out to be quite a storm.  As of this afternoon, we are officially in a state of emergency as an ice storm is hitting the area the day after we received about six inches of snow. So far, I have been okay, but cold.  Yesterday my battery was dead in my car, but I was able to get a jump start and replacement battery in the afternoon.  In the meantime, I did have to walk to work (which is luckily only took about 20 minutes) in the snow.  Then after work, my coworker gave me a ride back to my apartment where we had to push my car out of its parking space before jumping it so I could get to the store for a new battery.
 

Today is just plain cold and icy.  It's right around thirty degrees and we have had a variety of frozen perciptation all day.  A little snow, some freezing rain, snow pellets, sleet...you name it, we have seen it.  At least it is suppose to start warming up soon so hopefully things will be back to "normal" soon!

First snow in 2012

Yesterday, I woke up to our first snow of the year.  We had a few flurries throughout the day, but not much accumulation and the roads have been fine.  The are however predicting we will hey six to ten inches of show tomorrow during the late morning or early afternoon.  Many schools have already been cancelled and my only hope is maybe my work will let us leave early if business is dead. I guess we will find out tomorrow.

Bringing in 2012 with a splash

On New Year's Day, I jumped into Birch Bay for the 29th Annual Polar Bear Plunge.  It was my mom's idea.  It was something that she had always wanted to do, and standing out in 42 degree weather waiting to jump into a 38 degree ocean, the thought crossed my mind that she may be a little crazy.  But then again, with the hundreds of people that stood around us for the noon plunge, the idea didn't seem that crazy at all.

Trinity, cousin Grace, my mom and I all did the plunge.  And, it really wasn't as cold as I expected it to be. We were in and out of the water within 2 minutes.  The best part is now that I have done it once, it is crossed off my bucket list so I won't ever have to do it again.  But, it was kinda fun, so then again maybe it will turn into a New Year's tradition!

Northwest Plant and Garden Show

Yesterday was my annual trip up to Seattle to go meet my mom and go to the garden show.  It had snowed most of the week, so I was a little worried the weather might hamper our trip, but we got lucky.  There was a crisp breeze, and it was definitely cold, but overall, it was a sunny day in Seattle.

Andrew decided to drive up with me and have lunch with us before having to go home.  It was a huge step as not only was my mom there, but also my grandma and her husband's two daughter in-laws.  I have to admit, I was a little nervous about him meeting my grandma as that makes it a little more serious. I knew he would make a good impression, as he is a total people person, but now it's more official that we are in an actual relationship.

He insists on make faces in pictures; he thinks it's funny.

We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Pacific Place and browsed around a little before heading into the show.  The show was neat.  As always, the display gardens were amazing and the vendors always have some interesting stuff to look at.  We were there for about five hours before leaving after a long day on our feet.  Below are some of my favorite gardens:

After the show, we headed up to Lynnwood to have dinner at Red Lobster.  It's one of my grandma's favorite restaurants and since they don't have one in Whatcom County, we decided to treat her to a special dinner at her favorite place. 

Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas

For an early birthday present, my mom and I spent the weekend in Las Vegas.  In San Jose, we signed up to do the Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 marathon in Las Vegas on December 5, 2010.  We decided to fly out on Thursday and then come home on Monday after the Sunday run.  Our flight out of Seattle on Thursday morning was uneventful.  Upon arriving in Las Vegas, we took a cab to our hotel, the Luxor.  After checking in, we decided to get lunch and walk around a little bit.

We ended up having a Mexican lunch at Tacos & Tequila in our hotel.  There, we both had our first margarita.  After eating, we walked around the strip.  We checked out Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, New York New York and MGM among others.   For dinner we shared a pizza at the Wolfgang Puck restaurant inside the MGM.  It was kind of cool as the National Rodeo Finals were also happening that weekend so there were tons of cowboys walking around.

On Friday, we decided to walk down to the Venetian for check-in.  There was not a coffee pot in the room so I went downstairs to Starbucks first thing in the morning and got my mom and myself a coffee.  The walk down to the Venetian and back ended up taking the better part of the day.  We took our time getting there and enjoyed walking through the booths and check-in.  We wondered through a few casinos down at that end of the strip and found a spot along the canals in the Venetian for lunch.

Once we made it back to the hotel, it was time to clean-up and get ready for dinner.  Aunt Barbara and Earl had driven down to spend some time with us and planned a special dinner for my birthday.  My mom and I took a cab to the Golden Nugget where they were staying and had a nice dinner at an Asian bistro.  It was really good food.  After dinner, we gambled a little and enjoyed the Fremont Street experience.  It was fun being down there.  We spent some time with my aunt before heading back to the hotel.

On Saturday, we headed over to the Hoover Damn and see the new bridge with my aunt and uncle.  My mom and I wanted to have an easy day without much walking so we would feel good for the run on Sunday morning.  The damn was fun and so was the bridge.  I walked to Arizona and back!  On the way home, we stopped for lunch and at a store that sold metal work before heading back to the hotel.

Sunday was the big day. We got up early and had room service breakfast before heading out to the race. It was nice staying at the Luxor as the start and finish line were next door at the Mandalay Bay.  The totally shut down the strip for the event.  It was neat at the beginning as all of the hotels were showing live coverage of the race on their big screen billboards.  I started out doing good, but then ended up bad. It was a bummer, once I realized I wasn't going to beat my previous time, I gave up.  Overall, I really enjoyed the course as it went down Las Vegas Blvd from the strip to downtown and back.  It was fun running in front of all the casinos,  but I am bummed I didn't get a better time.  My mom also felt the same way.  After the run, Bret Michaels performed and then we headed back for showers.

For lunch, we ate at Dick's Last Resort.  The food was good and the atmosphere was a lot of fun as the draw for the place is the rude waiters.  We eventually made our way down through the Bellagio to the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace.  The Bellagio was amazing!  I loved their displays.  After some window shopping, we made our way back to our hotel and got ready for dinner.  We eventually made our way back to Fremont Street to have dinner with Barbara and Earl.  This time we ate at a cafe in the Golden Nugget.  My mom and I were both tired after the long day, so didn't stay out too late.

Our flight left Monday morning and we had to get up early to head to the airport.  It was funny there as you could see people wobbling around and knew they did the run the previous day.  Our flight amazingly ended up landing early in Seattle.  Andrew picked me up at the airport so my mom could head directly home.  Zeus was very happy to have me home and it was nice sleeping in my own bed again.  We did have a good trip and am looking forward to my next trip to Vegas which will most likely be in May for my cousin's wedding!

First Snow!

This morning I woke up to our first true snow.  Yesterday morning, we had a light dusting, but not much.

 Backyard on Sunday morning 

The weatherman had predicted some snow flurries today, but I was surprised when I woke up to see a couple inches on the ground.  On top of that, it snowed all day today.  Luckily, the roads weren't too bad.  But, it is suppose to get cold and stay cold all day tomorrow so that will be interesting.

 The view from my bedroom window this morning!

 Backyard this morning

 The pretty roads. Luckily they weren't bad at all

Playing in the snow

What I find interesting is how much of a big deal the snow is for everyone.  I mean the news is going crazy with "storm coverage".  But, it snows every year, so I don't really get what the big deal is.  I mean I know the snow is early, and we are expected to have a hard winter, but come on.  A couple inches isn't that  big of a deal.  

I have to admit, I do love it though.  It is fun living in a place where we actually have seasons.  And, having the snow makes it feel more wintery.  It is really pretty too to see everything covered in white and being able to bindle up and feel the crisp air.