Natty Dread

Well, I was dreading the gnats alright- that is on my bike on the way in to work, but I’ll get to that later.

So, the trip to Seattle- yes, it was sleepless but only b/c there was just so much fun to be had. I left straight from work on Thurs. after feeling miserable all day. I didn’t even know if I could get on the plane. Jodie, bless her, came and met me over in Menlo Park and then drove me to SFO. Almost 4 hours later, I landed in Seattle, ran out to give Andrea a hug and then darted back into the baggage claim (ahem, yes, I checked a full-sized suitcase). From there, we went back to her place to pick up her man and then headed over to Simon’s for a little birthday celebration. Jesse came and met us, and it was so great to see her. I don’t think we’d seen each other since she came to S.F. to do visa stuff at the French consulate in Sept. It was a good time!

Friday was the 4^th, and we kind of just hung out at Andrea’s place, BBQed, took a walk around Green Lake- which is just spectacular! I can’t believe she has this just outside her front door. The neighborhood has lots of cute little cafés, neat one-of-a-kind boutiques, restaurants, shops etc… I think there was an exceptional amount of activity this day due to the sunny warm weather. It was a great day, but I didn’t see one single firework!

On Saturday we bummed it around, went to Northgate Mall to meet Jesse and her friends, Amy and Amber, for a late lunch and had fun chitchatting. Andrea and I went back to her place to get ready to go out. Simon, sweetheart that he is, dropped us off downtown. We popped in and out of several bar/bar-restaurants before finally settling down at Amber. I’d gotten the most amazing pair of shoes while at Northgate- they are soooooooooo cute. However, I almost had a disaster at Amber. We’d met these 2 gals visiting from North Carolina (I think) and one of them helped me fix my shoe, while I stood on one leg, at the bar, for a good 15 minutes. From there, it was off to (Fill in the blank b/c God help me, I can’t remember the name for the life of me) Billiards for dancing! The DJ played just my type of music, and I think we danced non-stop from the time we got there until the lights went on around 2 AM. By the way, you should probably know in the event you visit Seattle, you can NOT get hard alcohol in a store after 8 PM~ yeah. Haters.

Sunday was a lounge-ish day (It’s my blog and I can make up words if I want). I’d been waiting to touch base with Jesse and see when we might be able to meet up, so after grabbing coffee and getting a tour of Microsoft with a friend, I arrived at her place just in time for dinner with her and the family. Her Dad built their house, and it’s cozy with lots of custom and unique pieces (like the quilted chair seats that her Mom upholstered). We took a long walk around her neighborhood, and I can’t believe that she has such a beautiful trail to walk just from her house. Lots of wildflowers, open fields, ponds with frogs- we even saw the cutest little bunny. I think we were out there for almost 2 hours. We were both pretty tired after the weekend so were in bed not long after we got back.

On Monday I was up early to head to Jazzercise with Jesse and her mom. Man, could I get addicted. This is something that she always does when she’s home from France, and since I’ve heard so much about it, I was thrilled to try it out. It was so much fun and a great workout. Plus, they handed out frozen towels at the end to cool off- brilliant! From there, we jammed back to Jesse’s place to grab my stuff so that we could go over to her grandma’s house right by the lake. We hung out, ate some potato salad, and enjoyed the warm sunshine out on the dock. It’s so spectacularly beautiful and tranquil out there; Jesse’s lucky to have grown up with a place like that to visit. She dropped me off at the airport, and I rolled up to my gate at the exact minute they started boarding. We couldn’t have worked it out more perfectly.

I was back to work on Tues. Had a nice bike ride in to work, except for the fact that we have a heat wave going. When I was riding by the salt flats I thought to myself, “This is total mosquito weather” and BAM- I rode straight into a swarm of nasty gnats. Unfortunately for me, I’d loaded up on the chapstick and I feel like they all got stuck in it. I had to do the first 4 or so miles with my mouth closed for fear of eating one (hello! I’m a vegetarian)!!). I heard that it was 107° F in the afternoon, so I was a little nervous about the ride home, but it was fine. Thank goodness the beginning is all downhill. It seemed like there were more bikers on the road than usual, and although I’ve never thought of myself as a competitive person, I’m noticing that I kick it up a notch when there’s someone in front of me just to see if I can catch up (which rarely happens, if ever).

Holly had a minor surgery on her hand, so my Mom and I brought over lasagna (which everyone loves) and a salad for dinner. It was nice to see them all. Mia is absolutely 100% head over heels for Kendall, and it’s the cutest thing you’ve ever seen. Kendall is so good with her and can brig out a laugh that I hadn’t heard her do before. She’s a lucky baby.

Coming up for the rest of the week:

-Swimming with Liesl (yay!! I’m goanna feel like we’re in high school again- back when we were lifeguards at Hacienda) on Wed. morning. Then the A’s game in Oakland later that night.

(The swim was: 100m warm up, 400m pull, 300m IM, 300m pull, then 10x15m sprints, followed by 300 easy, then 10x25m sprints, and another 300m easy. Total = 2100m)

-Bike to work on Thurs. and then go horsebackriding with Liesl. Normally, it stresses me out to put someone on Pokey, but in 100 heat, she’s too hot to do anything stupid.

-Friday I’m really hoping to make it in for a swim. Then drinks after work with people from work.

-I’m taking care of a friend’s horse on Sat. and Sun. and haven’t really spent much time with Pokey lately. She needs an overhaul in the grooming department, I’m sure. I wonder if I could recruit Jodie to clip her up….. She does the best job. Hint hint if you’re reading this (o;

-I get to get all dressed up on Sat. night for Audra’s birthday. We’re going out to a fancy new club in S.F. and I’m sure the night won’t disappoint.

-I really really need to pick up a book and do some reading. It’s been way too long, so maybe the Netflix will have to get put on the backburner, at least for a while.

A big congratulations to Mateo who was one of the 4/26 students to pass his exams (on the mechanics of large planes in Paris). I know he’s thrilled to be done with school!

Hugs and kisses to you all,

Elizabeth