Winter Solstice

So it's the longest day of the year today and never have I lived in a place with such little sunshine/daylight so the worst is over!

About the above pictures, the first is proof that I actually skiied. Well, skiied is really a loose term. After failing to get off the lift the first time around, I managed to hop off, falling flat on my butt with the lift nearly hitting me in the head! It would have been very comical....if I weren't in tears. Do they teach you how to get off those things in ski school? Poor Ryan had to coach me down a small hill, which was Mt. Fuji to me but that's beside the point. I actually enjoyed myself once I figured out how to turn and stop without falling. However, I did not get back on that lift. Learning to ski at my age is a very humbling experience! I think I'll stick to cross-country skiing and snow-shoeiing after this....unless anyone wants to volunteer to give me ski lessons.

Lake Tahoe was really beautiful...but much colder and windier than Seattle. We stayed in South Lake Tahoe in Stateline, NV, home of tacky casinos and didn't even realize it until the next day that we walked to the California side to check out the gondola to the ski lift without knowing it. I got to play when Ryan was at his conference but Mother Nature had other plans....the gondola was closed due to high winds so I found other ways to occupy my time and it didn't include gambling....wish Ryan could say the same. Art galleries, shopping, eating with a view, walks along the beach covered in snow, and a movie theatre still showing Bee Movie, so cute. The plane ride home was interesting...in a propeller plane, haven't been in one of those since flying space-A in Guam.

Since I didn't get around to sending out Christmas cards, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Ours will be spent in Nebraska visiting both sides of my family. The weather forecast is for a low of 9 and snow...hopefully we get in ok, our flight lands late Sat. night around midnight. I'll need to pack my warmest gear! Happy Holidays!!

Snow, snow and more snow

Here's our house, both the front and back, covered in the powdery stuff. We were told it never snows in Seattle!! It actually lasted the whole night turning into rain mixed with snow, then just boring rain by Sunday afternoon causing flooding in the area and some in our basement too. Not a lot, though, most of our stuff is up on crates due to the potential for flooding. Seattle hasn't had the horrible flooding that areas south of us have: I-5 has been closed to Portland, Oregon.

Work has been slow-going. I've been called to stay home 4 times so far in the past 2 weeks. Can't say I'm complaining too much, however, if this keeps up I might just have to find something else to keep me occupied and out of trouble:-) Due to this trend and the fact that I am not one to pass up any sort of travel opportunity, I persuaded my boss to allow me to take off all next week to accompany Ryan on a business trip....to Lake Tahoe!! I can be persuasive as hell when it comes to traveling!! We'll be staying for four days at a 4 star hotel on the Nevada side, where many of the casinos are (our hotel being one of them) as well as ski resorts. So, maybe I will get the chance to snow-shoe or at least ski a bit. Ryan's conference is on the California side which is more into outdoor adventures, it's too bad we couldn't stay there as it sounds more my style but Ryan's Vegas eyes will be happy in Nevada!

On to sadder news, all of my family and friends have been accounted for and were not involved or victims in the shooting at one of Omaha's malls. Please keep the families involved in your prayers. Super scary and upsetting; I found all of this out as I was in one of the malls north of Seattle. Have to say I'm not a big fan of the chaos and pushy sales people trying to cash in on the holiday season. Arrghh! Am I grinch or what?!

It's snowing! A weather post....

And it's gorgeous....from inside anyway. Driving is another matter as snow is so infrequent the city of Seattle does not own snow plows or salt for the streets and I plan to stay off the roads as much as possible as these people don't know how to drive in it....including me! We took some pictures of the house with snow which I will share....soon. I forgot how magical snow is! The mountains in the distance are snow-covered, it's really breathtaking. Have I mentioned my obsession with snow-shoeiing (?sp)? I am going somewhere somehow this season....Ryan doesn't understand my interest...he's a downhill skiier.

Hope your Thanksgivings were as fun as mine! I went to San Antonio and was looking forward to the sun and warmth....which only lasted 1 day! The weather was cold and rainy one of the days...just like Seattle, which made it easier to come home to. The trip made me really appreciate Seattle, not in a bad way towards San Antonio but I realized we hadn't left Seattle since we moved here in early August, rare...I normally love to explore other areas and was always doing that in MS but there is so much to do just in Seattle I hadn't felt that need to flee.

Family was so fun to be around, as always. Jack, my 2 year old nephew, is SO much fun and cute, I don't think I'm biased at all:-) He is amazingly always so aware of his surroundings and where everyone is....and who's paying attention to him, it's adorable. We ate such good food as always: neapolitan pizza, good Mexican and margaritas and an awesome traditional turkey spread. The best turkey I've ever had actually, courtesy of the family chef, Johnny. We played games. A new one for me: apples to apples and Socca! with Erin too and her Italian fiance, Pietro. Wow, did we ever learn some interesting stuff about them! Meatloaf!!!!

Work has been NOT been keeping me busy. I've been sick so called in a few days and the other days the census was low so they asked me to stay home. Highly doubtful I'll work all the hours I'm scheduled for which is fine with me. I've found so much to keep me occupied. I do miss the going to work routine though, the bus commute has been somewhat surprisingly, extremely tolerable. I'm still so new to the neighborhoods, etc. that I'm just in awe of everything, especially loving the ride home through downtown. It gets dark so early here that the holiday lights in the downtown area and Pike Place Market are on, I love it! Can't wait to have visitors to show this unique city off!!!!!