Today is a banner day! I have achieved lifetime membership in Weight Watchers!! That means I have successfully maintained my goal weight for the last six weeks and am now an official member of WW. As long as I stay at my goal weight (or within 2lbs above) I am done paying fees and will only have to weigh in once a month. Woohoo!!!
I've lost 22.8 pounds in the last 5 months (5 months and 1 day to be precise) and have not only surpassed my WW goal, but I have also acheived my personal goal. YAY!! :)
So I just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone for your support and encouragement! Every little bit helped!!!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Monday, July 17, 2006
Mountain Loop Highway
While the girls are away, the boys will play. Lisa is out of town on business this week, so I'm holding down the fort. After fixing car and doing grocery shopping this weekend, it was time for some relaxing.
I'd been wanting to take a little scenic trip around the mountains, so I found the closest drive to nowhere possible:
15523 134th Pl NE, Woodinville WA to Mountain Loop Hwy and Coal Lake Rd., 98252 - Google Maps
Jim & I hopped into our respective little German cars, and hit the road. It was surprising how long it took us to completely abandon civilization. We were greeted with a beautiful scenic trip into the hills along a road lined by campsites.
Our trip met it's halfway point out by a trail to an abandoned mining town called Monte Cristo. At that point, the Mountain Loop Hwy drive turned to gravel and was posted as being closed due to storm damage. I saw no barricades so we proceeded a little further until we encountered a sea of "chuckholes" in the grade. It looked like a 100 yard patch of craters, and since the Audi has pretty low clearance we turned back there. It was 14 miles to the next patch of pavement, and that equated to lots of dust and scratches on the undercarriage. At that point we turned back.
I'm dying to go back sometime and make the 4 mile hike up past the gate to the actual town of Monte Cristo, or maybe start the Mountain Loop Highway from the other direction, going through Darrington, WA. At any rate, it's nice to know you're about an hour from such magical locations with incredible beauty. Now, if I can just convince Lisa to go camping with me. It's tough getting around her "must have indoor plumbing" requirement.
I'd been wanting to take a little scenic trip around the mountains, so I found the closest drive to nowhere possible:
15523 134th Pl NE, Woodinville WA to Mountain Loop Hwy and Coal Lake Rd., 98252 - Google Maps
Jim & I hopped into our respective little German cars, and hit the road. It was surprising how long it took us to completely abandon civilization. We were greeted with a beautiful scenic trip into the hills along a road lined by campsites.
Our trip met it's halfway point out by a trail to an abandoned mining town called Monte Cristo. At that point, the Mountain Loop Hwy drive turned to gravel and was posted as being closed due to storm damage. I saw no barricades so we proceeded a little further until we encountered a sea of "chuckholes" in the grade. It looked like a 100 yard patch of craters, and since the Audi has pretty low clearance we turned back there. It was 14 miles to the next patch of pavement, and that equated to lots of dust and scratches on the undercarriage. At that point we turned back.
I'm dying to go back sometime and make the 4 mile hike up past the gate to the actual town of Monte Cristo, or maybe start the Mountain Loop Highway from the other direction, going through Darrington, WA. At any rate, it's nice to know you're about an hour from such magical locations with incredible beauty. Now, if I can just convince Lisa to go camping with me. It's tough getting around her "must have indoor plumbing" requirement.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Oceans of Waste await!
Lisa & I have been considering taking sailing lessons, and it appears that the time to get out to sea is now. I heard a bit on the radio about this topic, The Seattle Times: Pacific NW 04/23/2006: Oceans of Waste and shortly thereafter found the article to share with you. They kept mentioning "glass balls" in the piece, and I had to search the Internet to figure out what they were. Are you curious too? ;)
But back to sailing.... Apparently, you can join the UW Alumni Association without having ever attended a class there. This would give us some preferred pricing to the services offered through the university, one of which is cheap sailing lessons!
Not sure if it will happen this summer or not, cause we're already pretty busy, the summer's half gone, and I'm busy taking Intro to Climbing at Vertical World in Redmond.
When Cassie & Aaron visited this last weekend, they related how they'd lived in Seattle, surrounded by beautiful mountains for 2 years. They then moved to southern Ohio, again amidst a wonderful geographic variety great for climbing. But most recently they returned to Chicago, and decided to take up climbing...! In Illinois; land of the flat.
Point is, you never know when you'll end up moving on, so you have to live it while you've got it. So this weekend, I'm learning to belay, and someday soon I'll be up in the Cascades plastered to a rock somewhere.
Or out at sea... Go figure.
But back to sailing.... Apparently, you can join the UW Alumni Association without having ever attended a class there. This would give us some preferred pricing to the services offered through the university, one of which is cheap sailing lessons!
Not sure if it will happen this summer or not, cause we're already pretty busy, the summer's half gone, and I'm busy taking Intro to Climbing at Vertical World in Redmond.
When Cassie & Aaron visited this last weekend, they related how they'd lived in Seattle, surrounded by beautiful mountains for 2 years. They then moved to southern Ohio, again amidst a wonderful geographic variety great for climbing. But most recently they returned to Chicago, and decided to take up climbing...! In Illinois; land of the flat.
Point is, you never know when you'll end up moving on, so you have to live it while you've got it. So this weekend, I'm learning to belay, and someday soon I'll be up in the Cascades plastered to a rock somewhere.
Or out at sea... Go figure.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Suburban Public House
You know how sometimes you get an idea stuck in your head and it burns up all your thoughts consuming more and more resources like a virus until you can think of nothing but that idea? Maybe not, but in my case today I'm sick with that idea, and I must get it out or else I won't be able to get any work done whatsoever. So here it is...
I drive in and out of my cozy little neighborhood every day. I take a route to work lined with strip malls and bus stops, 30 year old marine equipment businesses and brand new restaurants. Let me begin by saying that I'm sick of driving. People who live in the city will generally agree with me, driving is a hassle to be avoided. City folk look at suburban folk and think we're crazy for living in our isolated little islands (i.e. subdivisions) that are reachable only by car. The closest grocery to my home is 3x a far by car as it is by crow. As I've already said however, my neighborhood is cozy
, and I like it that way.
Suburbia is popular for a few reasons. It's newer, cleaner, more private, has it's own style of amenities, room to expand and escape the seedy side of society (or at least make it invisible when it's behind closed doors). There's (usually) better schools, and safer playgrounds, and more places to park! But more and more people who study our society (sociologists?) agree that suburbia is a type of decay. It sprawls, it pollutes just as bad, and it destroys community.
I drove into my neighborhood the other day and the following things went thru my head.
The kind of place I'm envisioning is the kind where you can stop in for a cup of coffee in the morning. Pick up a gallon of milk and a couple apples by walking up to the corner, instead of having to make a 15 minute drive. Go up and watch the game on Sunday night and have a beer and shout at the TV with your neighbor. Arrange to have a small business meeting, or curl up in front of a fireplace with a book. There's a community message board in the vestibule, and a free computer to check your email in the corner. Maybe a kid with a guitar comes in on Tuesdays.
I see these third places all over today. It's an amalgam of a coffee house (Starbucks) and a mini mart (the AM/PM minus the gas station), and a pub (hard to find in the 'burbs, but common in cities like Chicago or London). My last apartment had a great place like this - it was their office/clubhouse and it had cookies every day. They offered a free breakfast once a month on the corner that you could drive by and pick up on the way out of their neighborhood of townhomes. There were social events and big comfy chairs and wine tastings and Halloween parties.
There's lots of ideas rummaging around my head about this right now. Where would it go, how big would it be, how much would it cost, would it be for or non-profit, would an association go for it? I have only rumblings of answers, but I know I have a couple readers here. Does what I'm saying here resonate with anyone, or is it just another thought-hungry crazy scheme that I stumble on every once in a while?
Cheers!
I drive in and out of my cozy little neighborhood every day. I take a route to work lined with strip malls and bus stops, 30 year old marine equipment businesses and brand new restaurants. Let me begin by saying that I'm sick of driving. People who live in the city will generally agree with me, driving is a hassle to be avoided. City folk look at suburban folk and think we're crazy for living in our isolated little islands (i.e. subdivisions) that are reachable only by car. The closest grocery to my home is 3x a far by car as it is by crow. As I've already said however, my neighborhood is cozy
, and I like it that way.
Suburbia is popular for a few reasons. It's newer, cleaner, more private, has it's own style of amenities, room to expand and escape the seedy side of society (or at least make it invisible when it's behind closed doors). There's (usually) better schools, and safer playgrounds, and more places to park! But more and more people who study our society (sociologists?) agree that suburbia is a type of decay. It sprawls, it pollutes just as bad, and it destroys community.
I drove into my neighborhood the other day and the following things went thru my head.
- I don't know anyone here. (I've met about 3 ppl who are my neighbors).
- I see tons of ppl out walking dogs, jogging, etc. No one talks to each other.
- There's no where to meet, congregate, socialize, etc...
Is there enough ppl in my neighborhood (that only has one entrance/exit for the entire thing), to support a community public house?
The kind of place I'm envisioning is the kind where you can stop in for a cup of coffee in the morning. Pick up a gallon of milk and a couple apples by walking up to the corner, instead of having to make a 15 minute drive. Go up and watch the game on Sunday night and have a beer and shout at the TV with your neighbor. Arrange to have a small business meeting, or curl up in front of a fireplace with a book. There's a community message board in the vestibule, and a free computer to check your email in the corner. Maybe a kid with a guitar comes in on Tuesdays.
I see these third places all over today. It's an amalgam of a coffee house (Starbucks) and a mini mart (the AM/PM minus the gas station), and a pub (hard to find in the 'burbs, but common in cities like Chicago or London). My last apartment had a great place like this - it was their office/clubhouse and it had cookies every day. They offered a free breakfast once a month on the corner that you could drive by and pick up on the way out of their neighborhood of townhomes. There were social events and big comfy chairs and wine tastings and Halloween parties.
There's lots of ideas rummaging around my head about this right now. Where would it go, how big would it be, how much would it cost, would it be for or non-profit, would an association go for it? I have only rumblings of answers, but I know I have a couple readers here. Does what I'm saying here resonate with anyone, or is it just another thought-hungry crazy scheme that I stumble on every once in a while?
Cheers!
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Haaaate
Mood: foul
Taste: acrid
Disposition: likely to bite your fingers off
Yes, I'm cranky. On Saturday, whilst cleaning out the damn garage, after the damn car refused to stop leaking all over me in the persistant rain (due to my faulty installation of the old Beaker bike rack on Bunsen), I'm coming up the 1car driveway into the garage and because I'm wearing a ball cap and the garage door is halfway down, I completely bean myself on the head. Brought tears to my eyes instantly, and Lisa came rushing downstairs to see what was the racket.
Oh! That and I've got to essentially re-write the whole GUI for our web app AGAIN at work, all by end of February. So much for any leisure time to go skiing, touristing, etc... Bast***s
Taste: acrid
Disposition: likely to bite your fingers off
Yes, I'm cranky. On Saturday, whilst cleaning out the damn garage, after the damn car refused to stop leaking all over me in the persistant rain (due to my faulty installation of the old Beaker bike rack on Bunsen), I'm coming up the 1car driveway into the garage and because I'm wearing a ball cap and the garage door is halfway down, I completely bean myself on the head. Brought tears to my eyes instantly, and Lisa came rushing downstairs to see what was the racket.
Oh! That and I've got to essentially re-write the whole GUI for our web app AGAIN at work, all by end of February. So much for any leisure time to go skiing, touristing, etc... Bast***s
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