Monthly Archives: May 2009

May28

Hau oli in Hawaii

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Hau oli in Hawaii

Kevin and I went to Hawaii to visit my friend Jaymes, his wife Viv and their new baby son, Carlos. Carlos Barlos – I’m not kidding. We had a wonderful time thanks to the Barlos family and our friends Landin and Missy (and even their dog Jobi) who kept us busy with fun activities all weekend long. Here’s a picture highlight – for all the pictures, go here.

 

We surfed every other morning. The waves were almost always perfect. The crowd was abundant.

We surfed every other morning. The waves were almost always perfect. The crowd was abundant.

We got a lot of beach time in!

We got a lot of beach time in!

Shave Ice at Aoki in the North Shore (Matsumoto's line was too long). They put ice creams in the bottom of their shave ice - yummy!

Shave Ice at Aoki's in the North Shore (Matsumoto's line was too long). Hawaiians put ice creams in the bottom of their shave ice - yummy!

We paddled (they kayaked) out to the Kaneohe Bay sand bar. It was like tailgating in the ocean - so fun!

We paddled (Landin, Missy & Jobi kayaked) out to Kaneohe Bay sand bar. It was like tailgating in the ocean!

Turkey fryer and game night (Kevi and I smoked them in Cranium!).

Turkey fryer-Q and game night (Kevi and I smoked them in Cranium!).

Jaymes, Viv and Carlos Barlos

Jaymes, Viv and Carlos Barlos

Diving with Landin and Missy at Koko Canyon and Turtle Cove.

Diving with Landin and Missy at Koko Canyon and Turtle Cove.

We ate so much good food! Knowing locals has it's perks! This was a sign at Ono's Hawaiin Food. Also tops, Teddy's burgers, malasadas from Leonard's and Big Kahuna's cheese balls.

We ate so much good food! Knowing locals has its perks! This was a sign at Ono Hawaiin Food. Also tops, Teddy's burgers, malasadas from Leonard's and Big Kahuna's cheese balls.

Like our trip to New York, it’s hard to put into words what a fantastic time we had. I think it says a lot about our friends. It really doesn’t matter what we do, as long as we’ve got good company. And Hawaii, Oahu especially, just makes me happy. The second I get off the plane I have a perma-grin on my face. I love the heat, the sun, the palm trees, the blue green ocean and all the happy memories. And I know it’s stupid, but where most people find Waikiki a total tourist trap, which it is, I love it. LOVE.IT. I love the energy, the beauty and the people watching…ooh boy, the people watching. I’m so thankful my friends aren’t spread out in places like Kansas and Iowa! I’d still visit…just not as happily :)

May27

Back Like Jordan

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Back Like Jordan

This trip, when faced with hanging with my friends v. dying scuba diving, I succumbed to the peer pressure , and shall I say, “grew a pair”…

After chickening out in Belize, where we had planned to dive, I kind of decided to “retire” from diving. If I was going to freak out every time I go and be more anxious about it than actually enjoy it, then what’s the point? That all changed this trip though as my friends Landin and Missy are both certified and were excited to hear we were too – we all had to dive together, of course! For three days I had wishy washed between diving and just taking the boat trip out. I felt like a total loser and I knew I’d be disappointed when they all came back to the boat with these great stories. Plus, I couldn’t leave Kevin sans a dive buddy. So, with some reassuring words from them all, I sucked it up and decided to join them.

I’m SO glad I did. We did two dives, the deepest we went down was 40 feet. It was considered an easy dive – and perfect for me to ease into after not having gone since October. Landin and Missy were super cute and geeked out over all the sea life we saw – little tiny critters that I wouldn’t have even noticed had they not pointed them out. On our first dive we got to hold an octopus. On the second dive we came across a sleeping sea turtle. Also on the second dive, Kevin had an eel swim into his BCD (dive vest). Our dive master freaked out and started frantically stripping Kevin until he saw the eel leave. Because Kevin and I are so not in the know about sea critters, we later found out that eels like to bite, especially when they’re scared. Kevin didn’t get bit and the eel didn’t really faze him because he had no idea such a cute little creature would want to hurt him. Now though, when Kevin relives the story, the eel has grown in size, had giant teeth and he’s lucky to be alive…go figure.

We had so much fun and it was a great dive to build up my confidence. I’m not sure when the next dive will be but it feels good to be out of retirement.

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May18

Weekend Warriors

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Weekend Warriors

At our house you can tell it’s summertime when our calendars grow exponentially. As of last weekend, it’s official, summer is here! We packed so much funness into our weekend that I am impressed with us.

This is what we did:

Went to Spencer’s little league game.
Met Kevin’s Mom and friends for ArtWalk, Part Deux.
Ate, Drank and Puffy Paint at D and Dip’s Baby Party.
Killed time at the U-District Street Fair.
Cheered for the M’s (v. Boston) with Pete and Jenn – from the front row.
Danced at Anj’s Birthday Prom Party.
Beat the Bridge with old co-workers.
Over dosed on cheese at Cheese Fest in the Market.
Tried out Paddle Boarding in the Sound. (Kevin and Ambrose were fast – I was not.  And people are actually surfing on these things off of cruise ship/tanker waves right off of Discovery park!  Crazy, I know?!)

I was so happily exhausted I felt like I needed a day off to re-coop from my days off. I gotta get back into summer shape, pronto!

May14

My Crush

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My Crush

Kevin and I went to see Flight of the Conchords the other night. It was a great show, as expected. They started the set with “Too Many Dicks (On The Dance Floor),” which is the taping we got to see when in New York last October- Sooo, yeah, we’re pretty sure that was their shout out to us- Annnyway, what I didn’t expect was to fall for the foul mouthed Arj Barker, who opened up the show.

He was Hi.lar.ious. *Swoon*

May10

Thanks, Mom!

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Thanks, Mom!

For my birthday, Mom got me a KitchenAid. It’s pretty and easy to clean and it mixes things. I think I love it, despite the stress that was picking out a color. Holy crap, I think that was the hardest thing I’ve had to do in a really long time. Should I go simple, like black or white? Or go with red like everyone else? Or get crazy with the orange? I talked to two friends, in different cities, on the same day; they both said that someday I’ll want my kitchen “matchy, matchy, so keep it simple.” No joke, they both said “matchy, matchy.” Hours of contemplating later, I picked Boysenberry because it was different but still matchable. I guess if my biggest stress is what KitchenAid color I want, I should be counting my blessings.

Thanks, Mom. I love it! And, thanks too for being the bestest Mom in the whole wide world. I baked you some cupcakes for Mother’s Day…you just have to come and get them!

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May9

Proud Girlfriend

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Proud Girlfriend

Friday was Kevin’s photography Open House at Fresh Flours - a stop along the Phinney Ridge/Greenwood Community Annual ArtWalk.  And if I do say so m’self, a great success! 

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Kevin, kind of drove me crazy preparing for the big night (it’s ok, I can say that because he probably won’t read this!).  He stressed himself out and in doing so, lost some of the excitement. But as we were setting up, a women came in and said, “Are you the artist?  I’ve been trying to get hold of you, but I haven’t heard back.  I want that one!”, as she pointed to one of his new pieces of the Golden Gate Bridge.   She was a lot of fun to talk to, even for me, the girlfriend.  Kevin told her about the shot and how it was all natural lighting, very little, if any touch up work done.  She explained how she used to live in San Francisco and how much she loved the photo because it reminded her of home.  Several times she said “That’s my bridge.”  It was really sweet to see how much the picture meant to her.  It emphasized to me how everyone’s tastes are different.  And while one person might not have loved the picture of the Golden Gate Bridge, this woman connected with it and it meant something to her.  It made her happy.  As I listened to her talk, it made me really proud.  Kevin just made this woman really happy through his photos.  Even better, during their brief conversation, she also talked herself into buying the other photo at Union Square in San Francisco for her father, who happens to live there.  Something she thought he would enjoy as a Father’s Day gift.  She thanked us as she left with a great big smile on her face.  The story gets better though, because Bridge lady came back, this time with her family to show off the new art she’d just purchased.  She introduced everyone to Kevin, the artist.  She was still grinning from ear to ear.

The rest of the night, Kevin was grinning from ear to ear.  No longer stressed, just in the moment mingling and signing photos for both strangers and friends.  I was so proud of Kevi Kev- I was grinning from ear to ear too.  It was gratifying seeing him in the spotlight; excited and sincere, talking about his work.

If you didn’t make it to the ArtWalk on Friday, never fear.  His stuff will be up in Fresh Flours for the rest of May.  If you’re in the Phinney ‘hood, check it out!  And someday soon, thanks to Andy P, Kevin will have a functioning website too.  He’s so fancy now!

May5

Birthday Bloomies

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Birthday Bloomies

Ever since I was little, I’ve wanted Bloomsday to officially fall on my Birthday so I could run it “on my birthday.” I don’t know why it was something I was always so excited about. I think back then, I wouldn’t have wanted to run the whole way. And back then it was cool to carry around “Happy Birthday” balloons so everyone would know it’s your birthday. But being as old as I am, it didn’t really matter anymore. All I wanted to do was run the whole way without stopping so it would be over sooner!

We did have a fantastic birthday weekend. Kevi celebrated his birthday on Friday. He had a happy hour at Linda’s (and let me share it!). Then he drove KMJ, BK and me over to Spokane in his NEW CAR! It was a comfy ride and it was extra nice for me because I didn’t have to drive! Plus, his car has butt warmers – what a brilliant feature!

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Once in Spokane, we hit up the Milk Bottle for lunch. No one was brave enough to have a milkshake plus a side of ice creams, like LB, the Dairy Queen, did a few years ago. We saw Wolverine (because really, there’s not much else to do in Spokane) and visited with my family. Alli takes after her Auntie with a love of cake and all things sweet. In fact, the first thing she said when she ran to me and gave me a big hug was, “Cake! Mumble, baby talk, mumble, birthday cake!” That’s my girl!

Sunday was Bloomsday of course. Kevin beat me by 2 minutes. And I didn’t beat my personal best. I’m kind of kicking myself for not training more because I have some wicked blisters on both feet. And I was actually sore the next day. I wasn’t even sore after I ran the marathon – how sad is that?! I’m either getting old or am out of shape. Or, *gulp* both.

Despite my crappy time, I love everything about Bloomsday. I love the scenic course and all of the bands along the way. I love how involved the whole city gets. If not running in the race, then volunteering. If not volunteering then out cheering on family, friends and strangers. I love the hoses and squirt guns people blast you with as you’re running by. The parties on the balconies along the course. Even how excited everyone gets just to see what color the Finisher T-shirt is. It’s such a fun event! And I kind of love saying that I had 50,000 people at my birthday party :)

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