Friday, August 22, 2008

Fox Books vs. The Shop Around the Corner

Okay, odd title. I'd started off as the Taliban vs. Self Rule, The Man vs. The Little Guy but I kept feeling that it would be offensive to someone somewhere. So instead I'm caving and we'll go with a "You've Got Mail" Analogy.

Matt's computer died recently and we are trying to decide between getting a Dell or a custom-built computer from a shop in town. We'd really like to go local and support the community, but at the same time we're not getting the turn around time to our questions we'd hope. So what do you do? Do we allow ourselves to be seduced by "square footage and deep armchairs and amazingly swift checkout lines and discounts" or do we hold onto our integrity and go for the "lone reed, standing tall, waving boldly in the corrupt sands of commerce." (I love that you can look up movie scripts online).

Poor Matt has made this into a moral quandary. He so desperately wants a computer but he also desperately wants to side with the lone reed. So he kills himself waiting somewhat patiently for that lone reed to get back to him days after he said he would just so he doesn't have to buy from "Fox Books."

So what do YOU think? Do we stay local or go for BIG BAD DELL and their cans of olive oil? (too far?)

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

WAAAY out of shape Sara

Matt's Grandfather gave us some house-buying advice I think we're going to take. He said, "maybe you shouldn't make any final decisions on a house until you know the results of the bar exam." Great advice. I can't believe we didn't think of that. So even though our home-buying spree has been temporarily put on hold I still went out with our realtor (thanks Merillee) to look at the different neighborhoods around town and see what types of houses are in our price range. I'll be honest, while not holes, they aren't super exciting either. But I just know that come October, our dream starter home is going to come on the market and we'll just love every moment of the home buying process.

But that is not what I'm writing about. I'm writing to tell you how out of shape I am. So, anyway, while I was riding around with our realtor Betsy she pointed out Saddle Rock, the hike of Wenatchee. She mentioned that the 6th graders hike it every year to learn about physical fitness and nature. She said, "Believe it or not, for a lot of those 6th graders this hike is quite the achievement." Now in my head, I'm thinking about the stereotypical pudgy kid who sits inside watching tv and playing video games instead of taking in the sun. Oh how condescending I was.

That Saturday, Matt and I decided to hike to Saddle Rock. We got to the trail head and started up. No big deal. It's a little steeper than I would have imagined but I'm sure it will level out at some point. WRONG!! It never leveled. In fact it just kept getting steeper. I kept one foot in front of the other thinking, "if i can just get to the bend in the trail". But I'd get to that @#!@ bend and my heart would sink as I saw more of the same. About 3/4 of the way up I died. My lungs were about to burst out of my chest and my legs were jello. I told Matt to go on without me. So much for all those pudgy kids. Matt was super sweet the entire time. Wonderfully patient, understanding, not remotely judgmental. All the things I love most about him.

So Matt left to finish the hike and I sat there thinking about all the walking around town I do. Almost every day for an hour a pop. It might keep me healthy; help me to not gain weight but it does bubkis for putting me in any sort of decent shape. I wasn't feeling too shamed about the whole thing until we had dinner with our neighbors and I went walking with my friend and her two children. All of them hike Saddle Rock. Even the five-year Silas. I stared at them in disbelief. But it's so steep? They all agreed, but with that sound in their voice that said, "yeah, so?"

So today I put on my helmet and went out for a bike ride. A short bike ride, only a few miles, but just enough to put me back on the bike-riding bandwagon. The next time I hike Saddle Rock I too want to be able to say, "yeah, so?"

Monday, August 11, 2008

Wahoo for not being Prego!!

First off I should say CONGRATULATIONS to the hundreds of friends I have who all happen to be pregnant now at the same time! I promise, I really am excited for you!!

With that said, I should also say that I am not. Sunday was a really hard day for me. But I have decided that it is a thing of the past. I quit being sad about not being prego. Blegh. I am turning over a new leaf. For every month I'm not pregnant I am going to treat myself to something fun. Tomorrow, for instance, I think I'll go and get a mani/pedi. Maybe next month will be a trip to Seattle to visit friends. I want to be able to look forward to something fun, even if it's not being pregnant. So if anyone has any ideas of a few months of fun things to do I would love to know what they are!!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

I love Portland

So sorry for anyone I haven't contacted while I'm here, but last week my work asked if I would come down to help with an audit. Sure I said, if you want to buy me a plane ticket. They said great, I said great and here I am.

I'm just here for a few days working downtown. This allows me a chance to go to my all-time favorite side-walk burrito vendor "Honkin' Huge Burritos". I love this place. So much so that when living in the area I would make special trips downtown just to eat there. It's located in Pioneer Courthouse Square. I dragged my co-worker along with me and shared a honkin' huge. We sat in the square and watched a band rehearse for their 12:00 concert. Yep, I'm an 11:30 lunch kind of girl.

But the burrito is not why I love Portland. I love Portland for all the great people watching it affords. We saw this middle-aged woman who was perfectly comfortable wearing pounds of makeup, pounds of hairspray, and a Las Vegas skimpy casino outfit (you know the type; halter top, knee length black dress, showing lots of cleavage, lots of back and completed with a wide gold belt). A few feet away was a man looking as if he were backpacking his way across the greater Portland area. A few more feet was a couple of punk-rock teenagers. I don't give these descriptions to mock them. On the contrary, I love it. I love that no one, at least not noticeably, made fun of anyone but was content to enjoy the sunny afternoon listening to a cool band (no idea who it was).

Others sharing the square included young business professionals out for a spot of sun and food before going back to their windowless cubicles (aka me), older women catching lunch in between shopping experiences, young families, punky teenagers, who let's be honest, will probably spend the greater portion of their day there, and other miscellaneous crazies. I'm not saying you can't find such goings on in other cities but I dare say not many would be as peaceable and accepting as my fair Portland.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Ye Olde Leavenworth

For those of you who have never lived in Washington, you might not know of a little Bavarian-style town in the alpine-esque mountains outside Seattle called Leavenworth. It is everything German. Even the McDonalds is done in the Bavarian style.

With Matt studying for the last three months and me out of town of late we have not had an official date for a while. Dinner out, yes, anything else no. So with stars starting to align I was super eager to get out of the house and out of town. Leavenworth is 20-30 minutes away and has a few miniature golf courses I was excited to try. Who knew that a town of maybe a couple thousand residents has two mini golf courses while metropolis Wenatchee has none - at least none I could google. So to Leavenworth we went.

Matt, I think, would have preferred go somewhere a little closer to home, but once we got into the village limits he was a fun date giggling and being entertained by all that is Leavenworth. All of a sudden everything was "Ye Olde Wells Fargo" or "Ye Olde Howard Johnson". We thought our little mini golf place was pretty cool with it's Bavarian theme but after our game (we tied) we walked towards town and found another mini golf place that was more like a real golf course without the long drives. It even had real, live goats jumping along the hillside. That one totally kicked trash over our puny, cheesy, imitation course. Between that, this cool sushi/thai restaurant we found and all the bakeries and sweet shops, I think we definitely have a reason to go back.