Healing and Rowing

It amazes me how the human body can heal. I mean, with all the crazy science and inventions, there's nothing that can repair itself the way a body can. I was reminded of that this past weekend when my lips got burned and then started to peel (gross, right?). And then I was reminded again this morning when I ripped some skin off my hand at practice to form a new blister in my palm (even grosser, right?). Can you imagine how terrible it would be if even minor things like blisters and chapped lips didn't heal?


So why did my lips get burned this past weekend? Because I was outside in the sun! Normally this isn't an exciting thing for me as I much prefer clouds and rain, but I do like calm weather when it comes to regattas. Our club had a good showing (at least the Masters team did). I was in two races in which we got 1st in one (women's 4+) and 2nd in the other (women's 8+), and our mixed 8+ got 3rd in their race (although I wasn't in that boat). It was a lot of fun!

I Failed

So it looks like I failed on my 365 Project this year. It's been over a week since I took any pictures and, to be honest, I don't really care that much. I guess I just lost interest. I think it would be easier if I had a child to take pictures of (although that's not a good reason to have a baby). Maybe if we have kids someday I'll give it another try.


That being said, I did take a few pictures a few weeks ago during a walk that I wanted to share:

Happy Spring

Temperatures are starting to warm. The sun's making an occasional appearance. Spring is here! 

A few things I love about Spring:

• Baseball is back! I've been a Giants fan pretty much my whole life; I admit I'm still excited about the World Series last year. Even though they only won one of the first four games of the season, I think this season's going to be good. I only wish they came up and played the Mariners a few times...(or even once).
• Easter is coming. I love Easter. It's a toss-up as to whether I like Easter or Christmas better, but it definitely is one of my two favorite holidays. It's fun to form new traditions living up here, although I really miss the sunrise service and french toast breakfast served by the youth group on Easter sunday. Still, our church's Easter breakfast was pretty fun last year and I'm looking forward to celebrating Christ's resurrection. 
• Spring regattas. Since I started rowing again last summer, I'm really excited for Spring regattas. Although I'll do the longer Fall races, I much prefer the Spring sprints and can't wait for them!
• The weather. Even though it still rains fairly frequently and is a little chilly, it's warm enough to start considering going outside in just a couple of layers. We even got to run around outside and toss around a football at youth group tonight!

I'm sure there are more reasons I like Spring that I'm just forgetting. What are your favorite things about this time of year?

What My House Could Look Like

One of our clients, a redesign firm, recently shared a fun site with me called Houzz - a site that showcases interior and exterior house design. Even though we don't have a house yet, and our first house isn't likely to be (or at least start off as) our dream home, it's really fun to look at ideas others have come up with and make ideabooks of rooms and decor that I like. 


Here are a few examples:

Okay, this pool is way more extravagant than I actually imagine having at my house someday, but it's just so amazing I can't stop looking at it:

tropical pool design

As someone that works from home, I think this sort of office set-up would be great. I'd have a desk available in addition to a window seat when I want a change of scenery:

traditional kids design by minneapolis interior designer RLH Studio- Renee LeJeune Hallberg

I have a habit of putting my purse and sweatshirt down on the first flat surface when I get home, so I think a little bench with hooks and cubbies like this would be a great way to keep the clutter down, plus the bench could provide extra storage:

traditional entry design by portland interior designer Garrison Hullinger Interior Design Inc.

Although I like the blue tile, I'm not sure I'd actually want it in my shower. I do like the multiple shower heads though. It'd be like it's raining, only the rain would be warm and functional:

contemporary bathroom design by other metros architect Leonard Grant Architecture

I just really like this bathroom:

modern bathroom design by san francisco architect John Lum Architecture, Inc. AIA

You can see all my ideabooks on Houzz. Feel free to make your own, too! Please let me know if you do - I'd love to see which designs you find that you like.

Washington & California: What I Love & What I Miss

This summer will mark the second complete year of living in Washington. It's really sunny today, which I guess is what made me think about summer and, henceforth, moving here. A lot of people still give me a hard time for one of the reasons I love living up here: the weather. I love the cloudy, rainy skies overhead 9 months of the year. I know most people don't share my sentiments for the gray weather...but there are other things I love about living in Washington (in no particular order):

• Chicken Teriyaki. It is really easy to get good chicken teriyaki up here. It's everywhere. We have a couple of default restaurants, although we just tried a new place last night that was also very good. In fact, there are at least two teriyaki restaurants within walking distance of our apartment. It's a great substitute to a burger when you're on a budget.
• DaddyO's Burgers. Speaking of burgers, theirs are delicious. Yes, my husband works there, but that doesn't mean I have to like the food. I tend to be a little picky about fast food, but DaddyO's makes good quality burgers with their own special sauce. Mmm...I could go for a burger now...
• It's beautiful. How can you not enjoy the green of evergreens with Mt. Rainier in the distance? 
• It's light longer. Well, at least during the summer. It's not uncommon for the sun to be out until past 9pm in the months of June, July and August, allowing even more time to get outside and do something fun!
• Sometimes it snows (but just a little). When it does snow, it's just enough to be really pretty and fun to play in, but not enough to last for months at a time. It's also a big enough deal that a lot of businesses shut down and get snow days along with the kids in school.
• Life Pointe Church. I have to include our church on this list, because I love it! From the day we started attending, it felt like home. Our Life Group is a HUGE part of that as well :)

With all the things I love about Washington, I do have to admit there are a few things I miss from California:

• Friends & Family. This one's obvious, but needs to be said. Most of our family, plus a lot of close friends, still live down in California. I really wish they all could've just come up here with us, although that's not exactly practical.
• The San Francisco Giants. I've been a fan for as long as I can remember and have a lot of fond memories of going to the games, especially with my dad. I was SO excited about them winning the World Series last year, although I was also a little sad I couldn't go to any of the games or just celebrate with other fans before, during and after the games.
• Chinese food. I grew up in a predominantly Chinese/Taiwanese neighborhood. In addition to standing out in class photos, I learned to expect a certain quality of Chinese food (thanks to all the family-owned restaurants). Although the places I've tried up here have been okay, none of them have quite hit the spot.
• Disneyland. Even though we lived in Northern California, a trip to Disneyland only took 6 hours, which made it much more feasible.

Why I Don't Like Valentine's Day (and a few reasons I do)

I love my husband. I love birthdays, anniversaries, random dates and moments of romance...but Valentine's Day doesn't do it for me. When I was single I thought it was because I'd never had a boyfriend on February 14, but I don't think that's it. There are three main reasons I don't like Valentine's Day:

• All my favorite Valentine's Days activities happened when I was single. Nothing against Matt, but a Star Wars marathon with friends beats out dinner in a crowded restaurant or some other "couples" activity. Don't get me wrong - I love going out to dinner and "couples" activities, but February 14 is pretty much the worst day to go out to dinner or do something couple-y since it's so crowded.
• It seems obligatory. Because Valentine's Day is the time you're supposed to tell the one you love that you love them, it seems obligatory. A card expressing love to me would carry so much more weight in my mind on random days throughout the year than the one day everyone is supposed to give one.
• The jewelry commercials. They drive me crazy. Granted, I'm not your typical woman who likes jewelry and flowers, but an expensive necklace doesn't express love to me. In fact, the only jewelry that really does express love in my mind is an engagement / wedding ring, and that's because of what it symbolizes. Plus commercials like this are just creepy:

That being said, there are a few things I like about Valentine's Day:

• The treats! I guess the way to my heart is through my stomach...
• The day-after candy sales.
• Cheesy Valentines to/from friends.

I guess I just liked Valentine's Day the way it was when I was little, before it became expected for romance to enter in.

Snow, Penguins and Chimpanzees

I really want it to snow again. It doesn't look like it's going to anytime soon, but it's so much fun when it snows around here. Everything shuts down. Everyone's happy. Plus it's so pretty! It snowed a couple of weeks ago for just a few hours (it melted by morning). I was able to take these pictures:

I think one of the reasons I like the snow so much is that everyone else gets excited about it, too. As much as I love the rain, I'm usually the only one excited about it. Like this penguin:




But with snow, I'm not the only one getting outside and enjoying the beautiful weather :)

In other news, I recently crossed over to the dark side. We bought a MacBook Pro. I have a tendency to kill computers. Every 2-3 years the computer I use needs to be replaced for various reasons. I have no idea why I kill them and what I do that makes them die, but they do. About a year ago I started using Matt's desktop and it's been making odd sounds recently, getting the blue screen of death, etc. So we decided to see if a Mac would last any longer. Obviously it's taken a little bit of time to get used to, but I really like it. I can see how someone that likes the flexibility of a PC might not like it, but since my main functions of a computer include checking email, Facebook and blogging (well, and writing pitches, etc for work), all that flexibility isn't completely necessary. At this point there isn't anything I've wanted to do that I haven't been able to do...so that's good, right?

Now that we got a new computer it seemed like a good time to upload our CDs to our iPod, so I've had fun going through CDs over the past couple of weeks. I'd completely forgotten I had some of these songs, and I'd never really taken the time to go through Matt's music. I have a couple of new favorites, like:


Barenaked Ladies - Another Postcard
Uploaded by WBRNewMedia. - Explore more music videos.

Postcards and chimps! Who wouldn't like that song? Anyway...here are a couple more artsy pictures I've taken recently that I felt like sharing: