A perfect day in Seattle

It was a perfect, lazy, day in Seattle.  Par for the course it was cloudy and cold (a brisk 35 up from 28 yesterday), and this afternoon it rained.  But it was perfect.

The morning started with play time, reading, play time around the house.  Then, at 9:30 we piled in the car to head to Ballard where Matty went climbing and I took the boys through Farmer's Market.  We got there a bit before the Market opened, so the boys and I "hung" in a great little coffee shop called Fresh Flours where the boys chowed on locally made yogurt, and I sipped Stumptown Coffee.  After waving at the passing dogs and Market-goers, the boys and I did a quick lap through for some fresh local fish and fresh vegetables before heading up to meet Matt at the gym.

The afternoon brought a roll-a-bout when we looked at opened houses.  We're trying to decide if we want to buy in Seattle as an investment (if we move, there are two nearby colleges so renting would be fairly easy).  We drove through Queen Anne and back through Ballard to check out the beach.

The evening brought more play time and a surprise - the boys have learned to take off their own diapers.  Cole took his off and walked it right over to the diaper pail where he threw it away.  Hm...

All in all, a wonderful Sunday.

Clean diet - check!

This week I finished up doing the Clean diet and I feel awesome.  For the diet I didn't drink coffee or alcohol, and I didn't eat wheat, sugar, dairy, or some fruits.  The first few days were tough, I won't lie.  But after that I really truly felt great - I had tons of energy and it wasn't the up down up energy I was used to with my daily 6-cups of coffee.  I also lost 5 pounds which was nice.

I gave myself a facelift

My blog!  Yeesh.  But it was inspired by my wizened look.  After two rounds of going into department stores only to have eye cream pushed on me because I "look incredibly tired" coupled with wrinkle cream because "it really works - I'll love it" (I didn't even know I needed it yet ...) my vanity got the best of me.  But I'm taking it out online - cheaper.

Out with the old:

 

 And in with the:

People that inspire: Deena Kastor

I think Deena Kastor is absolutely amazing.  She's incredibly fast (she metaled at the 2004 Olympics), is a mom, and is down to earth.  In my book, she's just rad.

Here's an interview in Runner's World that made me want to lace up and run now:

Running with a laptop?

So here's something I keep thinking about and am totally stuck on - running with a laptop.  I've been biking to work, and I've even walked the 4 miles home before (in the snow ... not by choice - the bus was stuck).  But I've never run.  Partly it's because I need my laptop - I have a bad habit and a need right now to work after we put the boys to bed (that was my deal when I started my new gig - I'd never miss dinner, and I'd get the job done).

So, anyone out there in blog land ever run with a laptop?  Here are the two I'm looking at:

Built  E-BPM-OLV Laptop Back Pack

The North Face Ion 20 Backpack

But, I'm not sure if my Thinkpad's hard drive can take it ... oh decisions decisions...

Pink eye

There's always something ... just as we're coming out of colds, the boys got hit by pink eye last week.  Daycare'll do that.  First Cole got it, then Wilson.  Then we all got colds again.

Joy!

A day at the farm

This past week has been so busy I haven't been able to sneak away to blog land.  Here's the quick catch-up...

Last weekend my dad was in town which was awesome! It gave Matt and I a chance to do some of the touristy things we rarely have an excuse for - like going to Pike Market in the morning on a Saturday.  Saturday afternoon we also went outside of our "zone" and took the boys on a boat to Woodby Island where we met up with Brooke, Aimes, their beautiful daughter Adelyn and Aimes' mom Maggie at Maggie's farm.

So much fun!  All I can say is I love good people - good family, good friends.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love Wilson ...

And Cole ...

Born to Run: crawl to waddle to toddle to sprint!

This evening when I got home from work, I had the best surprise at home - the boys in full blown fits of happiness.  When I walked in the boys were both strumming the guitar with Matt.  When the music died down (aka, the boys wandered off), they play play played.  And then Coley started running ... and running ... and running.  He ran 50 (yes, Matt counted) laps around the living room giving Matt a high five on each lap and curling up in fits of laughter.  He was having SO much fun running!

Right now I'm reading a book called "Born to Run" which is amazing.  The author explores what makes the world's greatest runners and one highlight is some of the fastest are those who run for the love of running (not the fame/money).  Fun fact from the book: "Every year more than 90 percent of the female runners come home with a buckle (from Leadville, an incredibly hard ultra), while 50 percent of the men come up with an excuse."  Hm... :)

Play time

It's funny, and a little cliche, the boys definitely make me feel like a kid again.  This morning we went to the playground where we, yes we, ran around in the wet sand, jumped on the fake drawbridge, and watched a dog playing catch for nearly 15min.  I couldn't do that alone, I'd look nuts, and it'd be nowhere near as fun alone.  I think kids give us the excuse to remain kids for a little bit longer, and I love it.

This afternoon?  Field trip!  Yes, I am indeed super excited to get to go to the aquarium to ooh and ah at the fish.

Weekend Roundup - we are family!

What a wonderful weekend!  My mom came to town and it was a weekend of play time, great food, play time, walking, play time, and exploring the city.  We all felt like kids this weekend and it was great.  And, I tried my darnedest not to work during every naptime and bedtime (a routine I've fallen into).

Saturday we kicked off the day with a morning run to Gasworks Park.  Post run, we went to the zoo, then came back and the boys wanted "horse back riding" time.  Must've been all the animals ...

Saturday night Matt and I enjoyed "date night" with 6,000+ other people at Amazon's post-holiday party.  The venue was amazing - it was at the Experience Music Project / Science Fiction Museum under the Space Needle.  At the party we enjoyed great company with co-workers / friends and even got to see Tears for Fears perform - rad!

Sunday we got up and out for another run, then packed up for Farmer's Market (an almost weekly tradition that we love!)  Sunday afternoon was just your average brushing of the teeth 10+ times, bathtime, and a visit by a shark.