Picnic in the Park

So I’ve been spending some time with a particular gentleman who I’ve grown quite fond of. At first glance, we are the most unlikely of duo. Maybe at second and third glance even, but regardless, I'm quite enamored. 


I’m not sure I could verbally capture HOW different we are but suffice it to say, we’re different. I’ve become captured by our differences and cherish the relationship we have.

One of the things we do quite often is go for long walk and hang out in local parks. We occasionally bring along some snacks or a loaf of bread that he’s freshly baked and find ourselves a city- or mountain-scape to wonder at and talk about life. It’s just what we do.

Late Saturday night, while tucking myself into bed, I heard my name shouted at my window. Startled (understatement, I’m pretty sure I cursed) I opened the curtain to see CT standing at my window, breathing heavily as if he’d just run 4 miles, uphill. Turns out, he had run 4 miles, uphill. When I asked (exclaimed) what he was doing at my house at 10:30 at night, he said he wanted to ask me if I wanted to go to breakfast in the morning. As I stood in my window, and he outside, I thought to myself 1.) I really should put some clothes on; 2.) Did he just run 4 miles up hill to ask me to breakfast?

He sure did. I agreed. He came inside the house, rehydrated and we then went for a 3 mile walk to a set stairs, watched the stars and passer-byers, talked about life and agree that it was a beautiful Seattle night. Again, it’s what we do.


So, early the next morning, dressed in our Sunday best, we headed for the nearest park with the best view of the city and laid in the sun. We feasted on apple cinnamon oatmeal, organic fruit salad, greek yogurt and imported from Canada granola. I won’t go into the gushy details, but don’t think that I didn’t think for a moment that every morning should start out with sun, someone to love, morsels of delicious goodness and a view of Seattle. Ok, maybe not every day but certainly often.
 

Ugh

I just posted a really great post and it disappeared.
Let's just say it had to do with my kayaking the Pacific Ocean.
It was funny.
Thanks interwebs for nothing.

Overheard in the Office

Co-worker walks in groggy:
“My mother used to tell me, ‘You can rise and shine just not at the same time.’”
My mother could tell me the same.


Our Business Officer: "You can imagine the colorful images you get when you google 'dildo'".
Our Male Circumcision expert: "Dildos with foreskins are hard to find."
Noted.

Oh, I love my job.

New Digs

We’ve recently moved in to the new campus and I have been nothing short of amazed.  There isn't a detail that wasn't attended to, there isn't a design element that wasn't strategic and intentional or a space that isn't both beautiful and functional. Oh, and our view rocks.

Here’s a few things:

The blinds automatically raise and lower depending on the direction of the sun, time of day, internal temperature of the building. Kinda freaky.

Lockers rooms are fully stocked with towel service, shampoo/condition/body wash, blow dryers, steaming machine. This is all of course to be used after the use of the exercise room or stretching room. Heaven.

Don’t even get me started on the café that brings in local, organic and delicious foods (hello, Beecher's Mac and Cheese). Cookie the size of your face and lemon bars the size of brick and melt in your mouth.

My favorite item in the new building and cautionary signs in the restrooms and remind you that the toilet water is reclaimed rain water and non-potable….just in case you were considering drinking water from the toilet?

Our new seating arrangements have incorporated all teams sitting together which mean I get to spend my days with some of my favorite people.  One woman in particular is gunning for my heart (and waistline) and here's why:
You might not know this about me but I used to eat a bag of gummy worms a DAY in college. A whole bag. Every day. Because of this habit I developed daily debilitating migraines. I don’t recall what precipitated the behavioral change but one day I made the connection between the gummy worms and said migraines and stopped eating sugar all together. The migraines stopped and haven’t really touched candy since (note: chocolate is not candy, it’s a food group and an essential life-sustaining nutrient.) Until now. There is now a jar of gummy worms near the printer that keeps getting restocked by above mentioned woman. Again and again. I only have so much will power...gummy worms are my kryptonite. Evening headaches the first week: 3. Must stop.

Every day I walk into work, not actually believing I work there, I get to my desk and breathe a sigh of relief that it's still there and I get to spend another day there. Life is so different when you love what you do and get to do it every day.

Try it, you might like it.

Chest Pains

On the first day I thought I might be having a heart attack I thought it may be simply anxiety and that I'd just go for a good long sprint inveral run.  It didn't help; in fact it got worse. After 2 days of feeling like I was having a heart attack, elephants stampeding on my chest after a Lord of the Dance practice if finally caved, and my coworker’s strong insistence, and went to an urgent care clinic up the street. Low blood pressure, a normal EKG and an clear chest X-ray eliminated any life-threatening cardiac/respitory issues. However, the absence of a said issues does not a diagnosis make. So, the doctor’s bes guess was Costochondritis (Tietze’s Syndrome).


The trusted Wikipedia that knows all says this:

Costochondritis is a benign inflammation of the costal cartilage, which is a length of cartilage which connects each rib, except the eleventh and twelfth, to the sternum. It causes pain in the chest that can be reproduced by pressing on the affected area between the ribs. This pain can be quite excruciating, especially after rigorous exercise. While it can be extremely painful, it is considered to be a benign condition that generally resolves. Though costochondritis appears to resolve itself, it can be a recurring condition that can appear to have little or no signs of onset. Treatment options are quite limited and usually only involve rest and analgesics but in a very small number of cases cortisone injections and even surgery are sometimes necessary.[1]


Costochondritis symptoms can be similar to the chest pain associated with a heart attack. Unexplained chest pain is considered a medical emergency until cardiac issues can be ruled out.[1]


Severe costochondritis is referred to as Tietze's syndrome. The two conditions were initially described separately, the sole difference being that in Tietze's Syndrome there is swelling of the costal cartilages. It is now recognized that the presence or absence of swelling is only an indicator of the severity of the condition. It was at one time thought to be associated with, or caused by, a viral infection acquired during surgery, but this is now known not to be the case. Most sufferers have not had recent surgery. Costochondritis often results from a physical strain or minor injury, but the true causes are not well understood.[1]

So while its good to know, it basically says you really can't do anything about it. On the helpful handout the doctor gave me it gave the following instructions for treatment:
"Use ice for 15-20 minutes PER HOUR while awake for the first 2 days. Place the ice in a plastic bag and place a towel between the bag of ice and your skin.”

“After ice treatments (2 days), you may apply heat to help relieve the pain. You may use a warm heating pad 10-20 minutes every hour while awake.”

You’ve got to be joking. I don’t know if you’ve notice, but I don’t have a lot going on up top to serve as insulation, which really just means, "Here, let me just ice my boobs." Let’s go out on a limb and just presume that’s didn't happen.

The only other treatment is ibprofen and no exercise for 6 weeks.  I'll take it.

More to Come, Promise

Look, I know I've been absent but I've got a lot to post and I don't even know where to start.

So I'll cheat and post the newest pictures of my nephew who is so adorable I can't stand it. 

Cute times infinity 

This is the picture of a kid who's saying, "Mommy, I crapped my pants just for you!" You can see the satisfaction in his smile.

I got him this outfit. It was a big hit. Obviously.

In my absence:

I've become one of those people who post pictures of other people's kids pretending its a real blog post. 

Now wear Pajama Jeans to work.

Maybe I'm flashmobbing (shhhhh...)

But I'm so happy; it's stupid how happy I am. 

More to come. I promise.  

Friday Nights

Me: Is this what grown ups do on Friday nights? Go for walks, make dinner, read the paper, bake bread?

CT: No, they have sex.

Then I fell over laughing.

Maybe you had to be there. And know him. And really like him.

Peaches

Some people have family crests, our family, the Wong side, have a family ring.  All the women in family have one.  Some years ago I thought I had lost mine.  Well, I had lost it.

Until, one day, it reappeared in my mom's jewelry collection. I still fits and I don't want to take it off. Ever.

depiction of peaches often representing longevity, health, springtime and abundance in Chinese culture.

More Goodness in Trifecta Form

April had some great trifectas. I am so truly blessed for the life I live, the job I have, the people I have the honor to call my friends, and time I have to create the memories I hold so close.

 1.) Campbell whistling, The Quad, Seattle, WA

2.) Easter Crafting by LL, Wallingford, WA

3.) Impromptu BBQ when it unexpectedly hit 65 degrees, Kirkland, WA

1.) The Head and The Heart, The Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA

2.) View from below: Henry Art Gallery Outdoor Art Space, Seattle, WA

3.) Campbell, Henry Art Gallery Outdoor Art Space, Seattle, WA

Dining Out for Life to support Lifelong AIDS Alliance, April 28, 2011

1.) Mioposto: Scomorza: Mozzarella Melted topped with tomatoes and served with olive olive and bread

2.) Tutta Bella, Dessert, Columbia City

3.) Mioposta: Dinner: Roasted Beet Salad with Mixed Greens, Gorganzola and Marcona Almonds; Pizza con la Patata: garlic roasted potates, caramelized onions, fontina, thyme, red pepper flakes.

1.)Spring bossoms along Lake Washington Blvd.

2.) Royal Wedding Souvenier brought from London by Boss. Awesome.

3.) Cool bench

Bring it on May, let's see what you got.

That's a Wrap - LA Style

En route home from Mexico I swung by LA to spend some much needed quality time with PB.  It had been too long since we'd seen each other and it was high time we made time to have more ridiculous adventures.  So that's what we did.  Adventures ensued, laughs were had, good food was eaten.  It was the perfect way to wrap up a perfect vacation.

Day 1: The unstoppable Sun

After spending the morning in the gym it took us approximately 2 hours to get ready.  What? It's a lot of work to look this fabulous.  There's hair, make up, costume changes and coordination, accessorizing, walking down stairs in 4 inch wedges....ya know.
(Dress courtesy of PB's collection)

Because it's been so many years since we've hung out we took hundreds, I mean hundreds of pictures of ourselves. But golly, aren't we adorbs?!

Obviously there was fro-yo, obviously there is a whole brownie in there. Obviously this man's pants are the best part of this picture.  We're obviously in WeHo.

Tried every flavor before deciding.  I call it quality control and informed decision making.

Day 1, PM: Without a moment to waste we had lots to accomplish.  We had to pillage PB's closest and get to Huntington Beach in the matter of a few hours. We made record time decision making and organizing.  I won't go into detail about the number of nude colored shoes PB own but let's just say it more than a lot.  With a quick wardrobe change we headed out to Huntington Beach for an evening out on the quiet yet party filled beach town.

After crawling into bed at 3:00 am for the second night, I've never been so happy to see an inflatable mattress.

Day 2: Rise and shine (literally) and headed east towards Palm Springs for party-hopping at Coachella. We hit up 4 parties and melted in the triple digit heat.

I made a new friend. He does this to everyone he meets.

How to feel small: sit in a giant chair

Chillaxin'

Ping Pong, obviously.

DD looking exasperated after listening to me.  Ha!

Loaded up on Coffee Bean and Headed toward Palm Springs!

Cute.

Mulberry Pool Party at the Palms, Palm Springs

Armani Brunch, Poolside

 

Day 3: While we made hopeful plans to get to the gym for spin class, neither of us were too eager to get to the gym that morning.  So we casually took out time to get ready and headed towards Santa Monica for some shopping a grub.  As the afternoon was nearing I knew my vacation was coming to a close.  In a flash of insight I decided to double check my flight time.  Turns out, I was about 2 hours off from my scheduled flight and we had 90 minutes to get to LAX. With the grace of the traffic gods we made it there in plenty of time to unload my 80 lbs of luggage.

And just like that, vacation was over. I boarded the plane with the BFF's stupid cowboy hat, wearing a strapless maxi dress that I vow never to wear while traveling again, and some of the best memories I'll ever hold. 

*Most photos provided by PB as she is a one woman paparazzi show. Also, the initials PB have nothing to do with her name, its just what I call her. Long story for another day.