Saturday, August 30, 2008
OBAMA!!!
Years from now we'll look back on Thursday, August 28, 2008 and remember that we watched Barack Obama accept the Democratic presidential nomination on our couch in our little house on Bradford in Seattle, WA. When people ask, "where were you," that's what we'll tell them.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Congratulations, Old Friend!
We got news this weekend that one of Mike's old friends from Utah is getting married the weekend after Thanksgiving. Of course we plan on going, but this means we've got to change our fall vacation plans.
Rather than road-tripping to Salt Lake and Vegas in October, we're flying in/flying out of Vegas for a long weekend instead. We'll switch the road trip to Thanksgiving, incorporating Desi's uncle's place in Dallas, OR for Thanksgiving day and then heading to Salt Lake from there.
Perhaps we'll even get some snowboarding in on that trip? That would work out well.
Rather than road-tripping to Salt Lake and Vegas in October, we're flying in/flying out of Vegas for a long weekend instead. We'll switch the road trip to Thanksgiving, incorporating Desi's uncle's place in Dallas, OR for Thanksgiving day and then heading to Salt Lake from there.
Perhaps we'll even get some snowboarding in on that trip? That would work out well.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Vegas, Here We Come
We're making arrangements now to complete another one of Desi's 30th Birthday Celebration Bonanza Year events. We're heading to Las Vegas, Nevada to see Elton John at Caesar's Palace.
After much discussion, we've decided to make this into a road trip and incorporate a stop at our place in Salt Lake City.
We plan on selling our Acura sometime this month or early next, so we'll be renting a car for this trip. We'll leave Seattle on October 18, arriving in Salt Lake that evening. We'll head down to Vegas on Tuesday, October 21, stopping somewhere in southern Utah to do some hiking or biking. We haven't spent any time in southern Utah since we moved to Seattle, and Goblin Valley used to be one of our favorite spots, so we're really looking forward to that portion of the trip.
We plan on staying at Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon and buying tickets to Red Piano for Wednesday night, October 22. We usually get pretty bored in Vegas after a couple days, so we'll head back up to Salt Lake on Thursday, October 23. We'll spend Friday resting and then head back to Seattle on Saturday, October 25.
We plan on selling our Acura sometime this month or early next, so we'll be renting a car for this trip. We'll leave Seattle on October 18, arriving in Salt Lake that evening. We'll head down to Vegas on Tuesday, October 21, stopping somewhere in southern Utah to do some hiking or biking. We haven't spent any time in southern Utah since we moved to Seattle, and Goblin Valley used to be one of our favorite spots, so we're really looking forward to that portion of the trip.
We plan on staying at Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon and buying tickets to Red Piano for Wednesday night, October 22. We usually get pretty bored in Vegas after a couple days, so we'll head back up to Salt Lake on Thursday, October 23. We'll spend Friday resting and then head back to Seattle on Saturday, October 25.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Goodbye, HBO
TV has always been a huge part of my life. I think of it as my onetime babysitter and the tool through which I learned everything from my social skills to my humor to my insignificance. I relish my pop culture knowledge and my ability to recall episodes of Cosby, Cheers, Married with Children, Family Ties, I Love Lucy, Newhart, The Andy Griffith Show, and many others. Without TV, I believe a huge part of who I am would be missing.
When we got married one of our first acts in establishing our new home was to have cable installed. I’d never had cable before and the ability to exponentially increase my TV channels made me giddy with anticipation. We spared no expense and went for the full spectrum of channels, including premium channels like Showtime and HBO.
Though we've lost most of the premium channels over the years, my one standard has always been HBO. With The Sopranos and Sex and the City, Entourage and Big Love, Flight of the Conchords and Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO has always been one of my favorite channels. But, this year is transforming into one of change for us. We’re reviewing everything from where we live to how we live and, after 9 years, we have decided to try living without HBO.
With the ability to stream shows online, the decision to cancel HBO was not as difficult as I had envisioned. Perhaps my anticipation of change is making me more open to it? After all, this may just be the first of many adjustments we make in the near future and, though there is a part of me that remembers the joy I felt the first time I held HBO in my hands, in my house, in Seattle, I’m truly beginning to enjoy this process of purging.
When we got married one of our first acts in establishing our new home was to have cable installed. I’d never had cable before and the ability to exponentially increase my TV channels made me giddy with anticipation. We spared no expense and went for the full spectrum of channels, including premium channels like Showtime and HBO.
Though we've lost most of the premium channels over the years, my one standard has always been HBO. With The Sopranos and Sex and the City, Entourage and Big Love, Flight of the Conchords and Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO has always been one of my favorite channels. But, this year is transforming into one of change for us. We’re reviewing everything from where we live to how we live and, after 9 years, we have decided to try living without HBO.
With the ability to stream shows online, the decision to cancel HBO was not as difficult as I had envisioned. Perhaps my anticipation of change is making me more open to it? After all, this may just be the first of many adjustments we make in the near future and, though there is a part of me that remembers the joy I felt the first time I held HBO in my hands, in my house, in Seattle, I’m truly beginning to enjoy this process of purging.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Happy Seafair
Yesterday was a really nice Saturday here in Seattle. Typically, we would have just stayed around the house, maybe we would have done some yard work or house cleaning or just watched movies all day. But, yesterday was also the first day of Seafair events on Lake Washington, which is just down the street from us. The noise from the air show and water show was making our little house unbearable. We had to get out.
Since Seafair car traffic makes it impossible to maneuver and Seafair people traffic makes our usual walks unattractive we had to be creative. At about 4:30PM we decided to walk to the Olympic Sculpture Park, about 5 miles and 2 hours away.
We walked along Rainier to Dearborn, broke right and headed to the waterfront. We walked along the waterfront, like the tourists, grabbing some fish and chips at Ivar's, and picnicked on a hill overlooking Elliott Bay. Mike read while Desi played sudoku until about 7:30pm, at which time Desi led us to Noc Noc to enjoy their daily happy hour, which lasts until 9PM. Miller High Life tastes a lot better when it only costs $1/bottle and $2 appetizers can't be beat.
Around 9PM we decided it was best to catch the bus rather than attempt the 2 hour walk home. Our timing couldn't have been better. When we got off the bus, around 10PM, we caught the Seafair fireworks show on our walk from the bus stop to our place. It was awesome and a perfect way to end our day.
Since Seafair car traffic makes it impossible to maneuver and Seafair people traffic makes our usual walks unattractive we had to be creative. At about 4:30PM we decided to walk to the Olympic Sculpture Park, about 5 miles and 2 hours away.
We walked along Rainier to Dearborn, broke right and headed to the waterfront. We walked along the waterfront, like the tourists, grabbing some fish and chips at Ivar's, and picnicked on a hill overlooking Elliott Bay. Mike read while Desi played sudoku until about 7:30pm, at which time Desi led us to Noc Noc to enjoy their daily happy hour, which lasts until 9PM. Miller High Life tastes a lot better when it only costs $1/bottle and $2 appetizers can't be beat.
Around 9PM we decided it was best to catch the bus rather than attempt the 2 hour walk home. Our timing couldn't have been better. When we got off the bus, around 10PM, we caught the Seafair fireworks show on our walk from the bus stop to our place. It was awesome and a perfect way to end our day.
