For the time being

Monday is here again. Another wonderful weekend under my belt. I will go into greater detail (and I will because it is too good not to share) when time allows. I must share what I heard over the weekend because it has been a long time since I have heard something so true and so real.

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."
-St. Augustine "Captain Corelli's Mandolin"

Getting crafty

Lately I have been getting the crafty bug. I think it might be the extra time I have on my hands from cutting back on running and yoga (climbing and biking to be honest). It might be the new found contentment that I have with my house and the feeling of being settled. All these feelings merged together and I have rekindled my artsy side.

I will be the first to admit our recycling bin is often full of wine bottles. Me being the semi pack rat that I can be (thanks to John for keeping me in check) have always been curious to create something from them. First, I read in a magazine about lining a flower bed in upside down wine bottles and then the weed eater would probably crush my aspirations of a nice little flower bed.

My office mate then came across this great idea. A book shelf made from wine bottles and salvaged wood. A step by step guide and a few extra hours here and there just might produce this cool piece of furniture.

Montras for a Monday

As I glide through life, learning more about others, myself, the relationships we create, the world, and how I fit into it new doors open, some close and I grow. Grow grow grow. I want to keep growing, evolving and transforming into a beautiful person.

I often keep too much to myself. When I find myself struggling day to day I have come to figure out that I am probably not connecting enough with people or my surroundings. As soon I step out of my little world and engulf myself with others I realize that it is not all about me. ****Ahhhh***** no Michelle, the world does not revolve around you.... It is getting easier, everyday, easier. As I crawl out of the hole I dug for myself, my family is still all here, just waiting with open arms. Friends are still around; my husband is has big open arms and eyes that make me melt. All this could be gone in shake of a hand. I have wonderful hobbies, a great house, I have created what I want and now all I have to do is enjoy it!

Mantras for a Good Life

1. Always have a dream. Believe in it. Believe in your ability to make it happen.

2. Keep your passions alive.

3. Set goals – even little goals are good and then reward yourself. They will all lead up to you making your dream come true.

4. Make decisions or they will be made for you.

5. Do the “right thing.” You will love yourself more if you do.

Phish

We made it back safe and sound. The first true Phish concernt (more of an event) under my belt. I still have all ten fingers and all my brain cells.

I have never been much of a Phish fan and can honestly say they are not my favorite band, but they are right on when it comes to live performances. They are a ball of fun, they are taleneted and can take their shows to the next level. I am pretty sure that they are one of the greatest live bands.

The best part was our group. The crew we met up with was even better. Lots and lots of dancing, chilling and chatting...

The guys (Bryan, John, Scott)

The view from the top of the venue. EPIC!



A light show that will blow your mind,

The best part is we are going again for Halloween in Indio, CA. We are piling into cars and road tripping!

Phish :: 08.07.09 :: Gorge Amphitheatre :: George, WA
Set 1
1.The Mango Song
2.Chalk Dust Torture
3.Middle Of The Road*
4.Tweezer
5.Driver
6.Twenty Years Later
7.Ya Mar
8.It's Ice
9.Wolfman's Brother
10.Character Zero >
11.Run Like An Antelope
Set 2
1.Rock and Rolll >
2.Makisupa Policeman
3.Alaska
4.The Wedge
5.You Enjoy Myself
6.Backwards Down The Number Line
7.Piper >
8.Grind
Encore
1.Good Times Bad Times
2.Tweezer Reprise


Phish :: 08.08.09 :: Gorge Amphitheatre :: George, WA
Set I:

The Mango Song

Chalk Dust Torture, Middle Of The Road

Tweezer

Driver

Twenty Years Later

Ya Mar

It's Ice

Wolfman's Brother

Character Zero >

Run Like An Antelope
Set II:

Rock & Roll >

Makisupa Policeman

Alaska

The Wedge

You Enjoy Myself

Backwards Down the Number Line >

Piper

Grind
Encore:

Good Times Bad Times

Tweezer Reprise

SEATTLE SOUNDERS!!

I must admit, I am a newbie to the world of soccer. I was introduced to the phenomenon with our trip to Mexico. We would roll into a town that was obviously impoverished, they always had a little tienda that sold jerseys and stuff of that sort. Rolling through towns, kids would be playing soccer on big dirt fields (not basketball). Back to the states and this year Seattle came on the scene with the Sounders. Alex, my office mate and die hard soccer fan got season tickets. I heard about all the games. Then a few weeks ago I went for myself. Now I am hooked! What a fun sporting event to watch. The next thing I know I am trying to get tickets to a few more games here and there. Today, John and I are packing a bus with some friends and going to watch Barcelona game. What fun... cheers... boos... chants.. and a packed stadium.

Here is an excerpt from the Stranger for a little reading. Go to the entire article for a good read.

The average attendance for Sounders league matches at Qwest Field (as of July 25) is 30,204. People. In one place. For comparison's sake: a rock show at the Paramount (2,807), a concert at KeyArena (16,641), a festival at the Gorge (25,000). Picture Sasquatch! Now add SIFF opening night at the Paramount. Now go ahead and add David Byrne at the Paramount also. Now put them all downtown and let them fight for parking or try to find a bike rack. That's what happens at nearly every single match of a sport that people have always said could never catch on in America.

The Sounders' average attendance is nearly double the estimated Major Soccer League average of 15,599. Attendance greater than 30,000 has been announced at the last several recent Sounders home matches, against teams like San Jose (average attendance: 10,657), D.C. (14,003), Houston (15,632), and Chicago (12,838). These crowd figures place Seattle at number one in Major League Soccer—which the Sounders only joined this year—comfortably ahead of the other 14 teams. Number two is Toronto at 20,277. Dallas is last with 9,464.

Stranger PersonalsLovelab

Yellowcake: Women Seeking Men Lustlab

Yes, Please Lovelab

radraspberry: Women Seeking Men The average Sounders attendance is less than half the number of people who go see the average Seahawks game (67,995 last year) in the same stadium. But it's just about equal to the number of people who go see the Mariners (28,761 last year, 32,992 in 2007). And lest it be forgotten that there used to be a professional men's basketball team in this town, Sounders attendance is greater than the combined averages of the last two years of Sonics supporters—though the comparison might not be fair, since everyone knew the Sonics were leaving town and many decided to cut their losses (ambiguity intentional). The Storm, despite being the best sports ticket in town before the Sounders' emergence, drew an average of only 8,265 last year.

Why should Seattle, of all places, have so raging a boner for so anti-American a pastime?

Well, the easy answer is in the question. But to go slightly deeper, let us consider the anti-soccer faction. It's easy to find middlebrows and neocons grinding axes about the sport on blog after loudmouth blog. Franklin Foer's otherwise somewhat-impenetrable book How Soccer Explains the World offers a dedicated list of prominent footie opponents, including USA Today's Tom Weir, who once wrote that "hating soccer is more American than apple pie, driving a pickup, or spending Saturday afternoons channel surfing." The late senator and 1996 vice-presidential candidate (and retired pro "real" football player) Jack Kemp derided soccer as "socialist" on the floor of the U.S. Congress. Radio sports loudmouth Jim Rome has long made his antipathy for soccer a point of pride ("I will hand [my son] ice skates and a shimmering sequined blouse before I hand him a soccer ball. Soccer is not a sport, does not need to be on TV..."). Fractionally less-hysterical language comes from Allen Barra of the Wall Street Journal: "Yes, okay, soccer is the most 'popular' sport in the world... So what? Maybe other countries can't afford football, basketball, and baseball leagues; maybe if they could afford these other sports, they'd enjoy them even more." I did say fractionally.

You may detect a recurring tone in these objections. Soccer is not simply unenjoyable, it's a threat to our way of life (however bovine that way of life may be), our government, our economy, our manhood. You'd think they were talking about electric cars. But no less a liberal pinup than Keith Olbermann is a notorious mocker of the sport and its worldwide appeal; his dismissive asides began when he was an ESPN anchor and continue on his MSNBC broadcasts. And in a hilarious report occasioned by Team USA's upset victory over Spain, Stephen Colbert declared soccer "the sport for fourth graders that foreign people take seriously." Fair enough.

The truth is, complaints against soccer may not be fundamentally aesthetic, but psychological. It issues from the unalterable human tendency to interpret other people's preference for things other than your favorites as a judgment against you—you like soccer, so you must be saying that football is for assholes. In which case, soccer is for assholes, asshole. The details are just filler. Why else would anyone care? People make fun of the sport the way people make fun of Canada—it's the easiest target imaginable. Until you go to Canada, that is.

Phishy

Snap. Snap. Snap.
All I want to do is just snap my way out of my not so shining days, enter into a positive state of mind and be the happy person that I know is earthed inside my body. Life is one hell of a journey. Sometimes it is the ride of our lives and others it is a summers breeze. Right now I am in between, the grey area, it is the time to snap out of this rut I have dug and smell all the fresh flowers that I have planted. Life is too short for this kaka. As Betsy would say it is time to pull up my big girl panties.
What better than a weekend away.... at a Phish concert, to get me out of my head, dance in circles, and be wild for a couple of days.
That is right, the weekend is finally here! We (John, ME!, the Dorrs, Scott, Corrie, Lawson, et. al. ) Are packing up and heading to the Gorge to let loose and PHISH! Our living room is full of all the necessities, once Thursday rolls around we are out of here!

riding the heat wave

I am probably opening the door for a bunch of flack from all the soft hearted Bellinghamsters, for we are so used to the cold, rain, wind, damp, miserable temperatures that we are so accustomed to, once it warms up, watch out! The heat has been off the chart this last week, and I will come out and say that I enjoy it! Well all but trying to sleep in it. I am actually warm in a dress, can run around in a swim suit and swim in the lake without turning blue.
Bring on the heat.
I do feel for the people who cannot adequately cool themselves, our (and the many other little guys/gals) animals that are hot. Yesterday Sophee ( the loudest cat in the world ) had nothing to say to me, even when I was home for the entire afternoon. Natasha who also loves the heat had her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth with a pathetic look on her face. We are really close to having roasted chickens as well.
It will cool off next week, and before we know it I will have to wear ten layers and ski gloves on my ride to work. I am soaking in as much as I can now!

Squamish * then & now *

It is my lunch break, I know I should get up and look at something besides my computer but I am sucked into the history of Squamish through threads on supoer topo. If you are interested in the history of the climbing in Squamish and have several hours to kill check it out.

Here is my last trip to Squamish with the ladies.

Getting my legs back under me at Octipuses Garden.

A perfect afternoon to do laps on Paul's Crack at the Malamute.

A little bouldering in the sunshine! Cutting Edge is oh so fun (props to the peeps who can actually send this problem...)

getting my whoops....

Because this is all I can think about this morning, it is all I want to do (well one of the many things that I want to do actually)...
What a great weekend filled with friends, kids, bikes, DH, Whistler, Squamish bouldering, family, fireworks, and fun.
I will post some pictures of Birch Bay on the Fourth. Thanks to everyone who made the pilgrimage to the Bay to spend the fourth with us. Good times.
See the rest of you yahoos in Whistler next weekend!
Some reading for ya: State of the Park

The Morning Glory

I never realize how spoiled I am by the Northwest addiction and thus perfection of coffee until I leave this corner of the country. In places that I have been in the south, or even just east of the mountains, an equal size town will have one good shop if you are lucky. There are coffee shops everywhere you turn and then there are some real coffee shops tucked away in Bellingham with award winning coffee and pastries that will just knock your socks off.
The top of my "most frequented coffee shop" list is The Black Drop Coffee House where the coffee is perfect. Avellino's is a close second; their espresso machine was taken out of a hotel on the east coast, it is big, beautiful and copper with a "Cronk" emblem on the side of it. They have a full bakery in the back and produce tasty treats half of which are gluten free, I skip those (out of all my crazy eating habits, I like my gluten in most baked goods). John goes **gaga** for their Morning Glory muffins (we stopped there this morning in fact and he got a warm one, I never thought much of them until I tried one. WOW! They have the perfect muffin.
The other night I had some extra time on my hands I tried to recreate the Avellino morning glory muffin, which is as John describes them " a bunch of really good things barely held together by the batter." Well I tried the following recipe, it is nowhere near the caliber of muffin that I wanted but never the less it was really tasty. I am still going to try and get closer to the muffin of my dreams, any one have a good recipe?

These muffins have a great shelf life and actually taste better a day after baking, when the flavors have melded. Store them at room temperature, covered, for up to 3 days, or freeze them for up to 2 months.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut

3/4 cup Raisins

1 large organic apple, peeled and grated

1 cup (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained

2 cups grated carrots

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

3 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Sift or whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Add the coconut, raisins, apple, pineapple, carrots, and nuts, and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the oil and vanilla. Pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients and blend well.

Spoon the batter into muffin tins lined with muffin cups, filling each to the brim. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool muffins in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling.

Better than a good day at the office: the rest of the story

Where have I been... I know... not giving my lovely little blog enough attention. I guess it must be the combination of summer and increased work load. So to those of you who have not lost complete interest, bless your heart, I am going to focus more on this little baby.

This last week it was, I will honestly admit, a much needed break from sitting in front of a computer.

Our "Staycation" was great, and now back at the office, reflecting on it, I had fun. From BBQs, The Deming Log Show, Mt. Seymore, Whistler Bike Park, Solstice Party, and much needed R&R (after the party, but the whole week felt pretty chill).

Yes, we really spent an afternoon at the Log Show. We took in such events as tree climbing, double bucking, log rolling... you know, all those great logging sports?!?

The other highlight of the vacation (what could be more exciting than a log show you might be wondering...) was Whistler! **Phew** It puts "a grin across my face that you couldn't beat off with a hammer" (an exact quote from a man we met on the chair lift). This is about as close as one can get to biking heaven. Three full days of riding... pure fun! No crashes (well no high speed diggers), a condo to ourselves, good weather, and some weekday riding. I want to go back this weekend, I think my climbing gear is about to gather some dust. **We brought our bouldering pad and shoes, sure we would be dieing to stop in Squamish on the way home and get a good pump, we went to the bike shop and then to the brew pub instead...**

We rounded out the vacation with a bang up Solstice party. Which was a cherry on top of the weekend.

Better than a good day in the office - DAY 1

John and I took the week off (applause!!!). It is great weather here in Bellingham and we are not going anywhere! This hasn't ever happened, we are staying in town this week and playing in the PNW. Sorry to my coworkers, Big sorry to them, thanks for letting me leave in the midst of this crazy project.

John took last Friday off as well, he said he woke up with a smile. There is music to my ears! If felt pretty good to be coming home Sunday night and not have to worry about getting up Monday for work... Now it is 7am and I am up because I want to be! This is going to be a good week!

Reason #1 for not being in the office: We got to eat lunch at Wasbi together. YUM! Instead of going to the office being stuffed we went bouldering at Seahome. Bouldering at Seahome is much better in the afternoon than after work, there is actually sun that can creep through the canopy.

Reason #2 for not being in the office: I will take pushing my downhill bike up trails, washes, rocky gullys... in a full face, with leg guards, sweating profusely and then to for me to pick the wrong trail to ride which leaves us more lost pushing our bikes uphill both ways.... before sitting at my computer any day.

Yes, John took me to the North Shore of Vancouver yesterday to ride. We went to Fromme first, which was a blast! My bike was so much fun! Here, there is a gate across the access road, which leaves us pedaling up a good hour on "the perfect road," it is hard to imagine that there is a road out there that is enjoyable to pedal big bikes up but I just have, there are about seven switchbacks on the road (as John told me this, I was ready for a hanus Cleator Road of sorts) but the grade of this road was so gradual, it was really the perfect climb! Since the climb must detoured a lot of folks, the trails as John pointed out, are still in amazing shape. It was great to ride (even if I pushed probably more than I rode) these amazing trails. This is really what you see in all those crazy bike videos. I really can't wait to get back there. It was a blast!

After that we went for a little exploration to Mt. Seymore and the town of Deep Cove. Mt. Seymore id the same ball of wax, but you can drive 11 kilometers up a nice highway and shuttle the trails. Us not guaranteed another ride back to our car and the thought of pedaling 11 km up a road was completely out of the question. We ended up powering up an easy trail and riding a few other trails (this is the whole part that kind of blew up, pushing way further than we had imagined, riding a poor trail choice by me, sweating really hard...), but at the end of the day I had a smile on my face and was stoked to have ridden these trails (I hope John felt the same way, after waiting on me all day).

The last stop was a little town called Deep Cove, a little community nestled by a bay on the side of Mt. Seymore. If you are in Vancouver, pop down, I think we want to move there!