Catch up time

Here are some pictures from my visit in Minnesota with Jeremy, Shannon, Irene, Isaac, and Swiffer. I had a lot of fun hanging out with all of them! Highlights: playing in the 'cover cave' and other fun silliness with Irene & Isaac; attending a Christian rock concert with Jeremy; just sitting on the couch catching up with Jeremy & Shannon; and Shannon's stellar crock-pot chili!

Brave boy only wanted to go down the tallest slide!

Generation tech. It's scary how much better with technology this 3 year old is than me.

Cupcakes are delicious! This picture is my the new screen saver on my phone :)

Youtube videos are like kid crack. Seriously, Isaac would casually sidle up to my laptop when it was closed and sitting on the side table, and just start touching it while keeping one eye on me to make sure I was looking somewhere else. It was funny.

Reading is fun!
Swiffer and Isaac enjoyed a lovely stroll around the backyard.

Thanks for having me, brother!

Other stuff:

- Haunted houses are not as scary (or as enjoyable) and they were when I was younger. I went to one with some friends from work a few weeks ago, and was underwhelmed by it all. Perhaps it's because the things I fear now are traumatic brain and/or spinal cord injuries, fractured pelvis(es? pelvices? pelvii?), burns, and necrotizing soft tissue infections. A scary clown with a chainsaw just doesn't bring on the adrenaline anymore. I guess I could try skydiving if I really wanted a thrill, but I have no desire to...

- Bank of America is losing me. I've put up with their sneaky little fees and assorted annoyances for years because of the convenience of having branches everywhere. But this $5 monthly fee to use my debit card is the end of the line. I'm in the process of switching to a credit union, and the inconvenience factor is completely cancelled out by the (anticipated) satisfaction of walking into BofA and closing my accounts :)

- I love autumn!

- I never thought I would enjoy going to the beach and needing to wear a sweatshirt, but I actually like the beach more when it's cold out. At least in the Pacific Northwest, where the water is too cold to swim in regardless of the air temperature.

Things I'm thankful for

1) Airplanes, which allow me to travel to far-off cities like Chicago for family picnics. Where I get to see...

This baby boy:

And this baby boy:

And this little girl:

And these two goober boys:

And my three lovely sisters-in-law:

And the rest of my big, crazy, wonderful family. (Thanks to Sandy who took most of those pictures.)

2) September in Seattle, which is the best month in this beautiful city. I've gone for two long runs in the past 3 days, and stopped to pick blackberries on my way up the Doom Hill back to my apartment. Fun fact: blackberries are both delicious and full of antioxidants, and help reduce inflammation (which my body appreciates after I force it to run 5 miles).

3) Boats! I took a ferry to the Bremerton Blackberry Festival with some friends on Saturday. My favorite part of the day was the hour-long trip each way across the water. The festival itself was fun, but also hot, crowded, and crowded. And I got poisoned with gluten by the fair food, in spite of my best efforts to avoid it.

Sunlight on the water is bliss.

What's New

So, summer's sort of here in Seattle. We've had a total of 8 (maybe 10 after this weekend) full days of sunshine since January 1st. It's kind of a sore subject around these parts.

I got to go sailing with Jon and Kara and some friends of theirs a few weeks ago, and it was great to be out on the water. Here's my excited face:

Roommate bonding (probably one of the last pics of Kara & I as roomies, sad):

And then the wind died, and we had to paddle back in.

So Jon and Kara are expecting their first baby in the next couple of weeks. As much as I love babies, and the 'community experiment' was a success, we decided to part ways when our lease ends at the end of this month. I have a friend from work, Wendy, who was also looking for a roommate, and we found a place that is both 10 minutes from my old apartment and directly above some girls from my church (and where my small group meets). I have spent the last week settling in, and so far I'm quite pleased.

We have three big windows...which bugs and birds, on occasion, fly into.

Our lovely and comfortable couch, chair, and chaise. We sat on what felt like a thousand couches before picking these.

This is the dining recess and media storage area. The second, smaller table is temporary. There's a covered patio that gets some sun in the evening.

The kitchen's pretty standard. The oven has convection capabilities, but I'm not sure what one uses a convection oven for.

My landlord was dragging his feet on getting window screens, and I need the window open to sleep (I find 65 degrees to be the optimal sleeping temperature). So I went to Lowe's and bought a screen making kit and a hacksaw. And made my own window screen. It's not pretty, but it's functional.

I needed to augment with tape where I bent the frame....must keep out all bugs.

I got some new shoes and took them for a walk around my new neighborhood today. I found a park with some swings, tennis courts, and a track and field. I saw many flowers that were so beautiful and multicolored they didn't seem real. I passed a house with a pool in the backyard (kind of rare here). I experienced being outside and not hearing a single sound but my footsteps (don't think I've ever had that happen since I moved here). And I found a house for sale down the street from me: 4 bedroom, 2.25 bath, remodeled craftsman home for $939,000. Who wants to be my neighbor?

Kitchen adventures and other stuff

I believe everyone in America is familiar with the charming green-clad girls who come around this time of year peddling their overpriced cookies to a nation of dangerously overweight people. In the past, I've particularly enjoyed supporting the Girl Scouts by eating Samoas and Thin Mints. Sadly, my new gluten free life put an end to such treats. So yesterday I attempted to make a batch of gluten free Thin Mints. I found the recipe here (http://totallytogetherjournal.com/homemade-gluten-free-thin-mint-girl-scout-cookies/) and thought it looked promising. A little snafu; who knew that wax paper and parchment paper weren't the same thing? I noticed smoke billowing out from the stovetop, and sadly the cookies were unsalvageable. I learned an important lesson about wax paper though. Won't make that mistake again.

A plethora of life circumstances has left me feeling quite tense lately. Firstly, it's been quite rainy here which means I haven't gotten out for a long run in awhile (amazing how much running loosens everything up). Secondly, I have some temporary extra responsibility at work while the nurse in charge of the spine service is serving with Operation Smile in Rwanda for a couple of weeks. Attempting to fill his shoes is challenging and brain-draining, but also pleasant, in the way that stretching yourself outside your comfort zone can be. Anyway, these things = tense me, especially in the upper back and shoulders. Fortunately, my roommate has magic hands, and a light work schedule this week...so I got a fabulous massage yesterday. I asked her how much she wants to get the massage she gives, and she said she would pay hundreds of dollars to know. In my highly relaxed opinion, the massage she gives is worth hundreds of dollars :)

I just jumped on the Words with Friends train, and love it! If anyone else out there is playing, my username is riwaszko.

I guess that's it for now.

Auntie Rach

It's great being an aunt, and my tally of cute nephews just increased by one! Welcome to the family, Noa (who I have no pictures of yet, but have seen pictures and he's a cute little guy). Irene and Isaac have relocated to St. Paul, MN with their parents, which means they are now a 3 hour flight away...and I'm planning to visit them during the warm months :)

Xavi is becoming quite a chatterbox (and a handy recorder/repeater of the unlikeliest of phrases), although I still can't understand his language entirely. I skyped with him briefly last night, and he told me many things. Several times he said, 'baby out' translated to "I'm ready for my mom to give birth to my brother now." After I joked that he might someday want the baby to go back in, he loudly proclaimed "baby, back! baby, back! baby, back!" When Xavi was done with our conversation (and ready to watch a youtube video of The Wheels on the Bus), he said "Rach go...Rach go...Rach go" and then closed the laptop :) The kid is nothing if not persistent. I'm so thankful to live in this age of technology, so I don't have to miss all the cuteness of my nephews and niece.

Catching up...

I think we can all agree that I've become a total blog slacker. Really, I think about things to blog all the time, but lack the discipline to make it happen. Let me try and recount things that have happened since my Maui trip...November: Went to St Louis for thanksgiving, where somebody in the family was a diabolical vector of gastrointestinal distress. I spent 36 hours in bed, with periodic trips to the bathroom for emergent evacuation of everything I had ingested over the last week.

December: The holidays were low key. My roommates went out of town, so I was kitty sitting. I went up to a friend's house for chili and a candlelight service on Christmas Eve. I worked 12 hours on New Year's Eve, and consequently fell asleep at 10 pm and stayed asleep through the midnight ruckus...no regrets there. Santa brought me a nook! I love it...makes buying and reading books so easy.

January: I flew to St Louis again for my sister-in-law Johanna's baby shower. It was fun to hang out with the fam, and nobody infected my gut this time :) Got to hang out with Xavi, who is talking up a storm these days and super cute. He calls me Rach, though it sounds more like 'H' and I love hearing his special 'Tom' voice ( http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/talking-tom-cat/id377194688?mt=8 )

One of Xavi's favorite activities, doing dishes:

My roommate Jon's company gave him this enormous box of Godiva chocolates for all his hard work. It was both majestic and delicious.

I used the bow to decorate Jack. Such a pretty kitty, with murder in her eyes.

My cell phone busted the same week that my hard drive crashed. Thankfully my computer was still under warranty, so I have a shiny new hard drive. And my contract was up, so I also got a shiny new phone. I'm still trying to figure out all the cool things this phone can do.

I guess that's it for now. Will try to update a bit more frequently in the future.

Maui vacation 2010 (Yes, there will be a Maui vacation 2011)

As a bright pink T-shirt in the airport gift shop expressed so eloquently, I left my heart in Maui.

Our hotel was the southernmost in a string of resorts along Ka'anapli beach. There was a lovely oceanside path that led past said resorts; dotted with restaurants, pools, and grassy knolls with palm trees and hammocks. Swinging in a hammock next to the ocean was very high up on my list of things to do while in Hawaii, and I'm pleased to report that I got lots of hammock time :)

Our hotel had a fabulous pool. While it became annoyingly crowded around the pool, the water never felt overly so. This pool was connected by a grotto (complete with waterfalls at both entrances and a bar inside) to the keiki (kiddie) pool, which looked pretty cool and had a waterslide that I never tried out.

Thursday was our first full day, and it's a blur of beach and pool and doesn't stand out much in my mind. We walked along the path that night after dinner, but Kara and I (due to full bladders) didn't make it all the way to Whaler's Village, a shopping center about 10 minutes walk north of us. Here we are on our way back to the hotel. Yes, that is my room key poking out, and this is a perfect example of why all dresses need pockets.

Friday we walked to Black Rock, probably a 15-20 minute walk up the beach. The snorkeling here was fabulous; Jon and Kara had checked it out the day before and saw two sea turtles and lots of cool fish. Doesn't look like much above the water:

Lots of local teenagers climbed up and jumped off the rock. It looked like fun. While snorkeling, I saw a spotted ray and lots of awesome fish. Then on the way back in to shore, we saw a sea turtle. There was another snorkeler nearby who was feeding it clumps of algae and petting its shell. Once we saw that guy not getting a finger snapped off by the turtle, we felt comfortable swimming up and petting its shell, too. Here we are, high on communing with ocean wildlife:

Hammock time.

Saturday was one of my favorite days of vacation. We were picked up from our hotel at 7:15 am and driven to a marina down the coast. With us in the van was a boisterous group of 50-something women from the midwest, and a quiet couple from San Fransisco. Here we are checking in with Captain Mike, handing over waivers promising not to sue anybody if anything untoward happened during the trip.

And here I am onboard the Alii Nui (pronounced A-lee-ee New-ee for those unfamiliar with Hawaiian pronunciation...I know I am).

I love, love, love being on boats. I love kicking off my shoes, love the wind on my face, love the water all around...I wanted to ask if they were hiring new crew members. Wind in the sails.

Kara and I. My experience in this picture is my definition of bliss.

Testing out the snorkel gear.

We sailed for about an hour out to Molikini (per wikipedia: Molokini is a crescent-shaped, partially submerged volcanic crater which forms a small islet located in Alalakeiki Channel between the islands of Maui and Kahoʻolawe, part of Maui County in Hawaiʻi.) We rented an underwater digital camera and took a hundred pictures of random fish. And some of ourselves:

We had lunch onboard, and then I played in the ocean for awhile. The water was so clear it felt like I was in a gigantic swimming pool. I jumped off the side of the boat a few times :) and made friends with a woman from Rhode Island who also enjoyed frolicking in the ocean. The sail back was equally enjoyable...but I was sad to get off the boat.

On Sunday, Jon and Kara rented a car and went to explore the other side of the island. I chose to stay and have a beach day. First thing in the morning, I walked to Whaler's Village and rented a Stand Up Paddle surfboard (a bit wider and thicker than a traditional longboard, and with a paddle). I paddled out into the ocean, feeling good, and what followed probably would have made me an internet sensation if anyone had filmed it.

First of all was figuring out how to go from laying on my stomach on the board to standing up. I got up on my knees with no problem, and paddled around like that for awhile to get used to balancing. Then I hovered on my hands and knees for what felt like an eternity, trying to balance enough to stand up. I finally figured out it was easier if I popped up from a heel squat...and then I was standing up! For three seconds before falling into the ocean... I laughed a lot and kept trying. I got really good at standing up, but only ever ended up actually standing up paddling for 30 seconds at the most. I tried flexing my core and keeping my eyes on the horizon (tips from the woman who rented me the board), but it didn't help much. Anyway, I will keep working out and try again next time. It was fun and I'm glad I tried it.

After my SUP experience, I went snorkeling again at Black Rock. I didn't see any sea turtles, but did see my friend the spotted ray again. Lunch that day was Yogurtland, which I need to express my love for. If you've never been, it's a self-serve frozen yogurt bar where you pick whatever quantity and variety of flavors and toppings you want, then put it on a scale and pay a flat 47 cents an ounce. Brilliant.

Monday was our last full day of vacation, and my other favorite day :) Started with room service breakfast with Jon and Kara.

Then we headed into Lahaina town to rent boogie boards. We got a great deal at $2.50 a board for the day. My snorkeling trip friend from Rhode Island recommended a great surfing spot up north called Flemming Beach. It did not disappoint.

There were some massive, awesome waves, and I spent hours playing in them. A bunch of great rides, a couple of tumbles in a washing machine, and lots of fun.

After Flemming beach, we tried to go snorkeling at Honolua Bay. We heard it was an awesome snorkeling spot with some of the most diverse ocean wildlife in the world. However, the same great surf that we spent the morning playing in was creating massive waves in the Bay. They seemed to go on forever, and the surfers we saw were having long awesome rides inside the tube. It was fun to watch, but the locals who owned the beachfront property wouldn't let us into the bay to go snorkeling.

I don't really remember where we ate on which night, but most of the food was delicious. I had lots of great fish, including ahi, mahi mahi, and ono. We ate at Umalu, a restaurant at our resort many times, also we hit up Aloha Mixed Plate and Kimo's in Lahaina. I also had the most delicious shave ice ever.

My trip was pretty much awesome, and I can't wait to go back. Mahalo for reading.