Hawaii - Part 1

For the last month I've been terrible at reading my friend's blogs and writing in my own. Not toooo much is going on these days except being incredibly busy. We went to Hawaii the first week of March and since I haven't even posted photos anywhere else, I'm going to tell you about that adventure.

I may also touch on the depths of sadness that wash over us on a daily basis since. I love Hawaii and Justin and I are already making plans to move there in 2013. : )

DAY 1
Justin and I drove to Bellingham to catch our 5 pmish flight. We got such a good deal because Alaska just began direct service from Bellingham to Honolulu. My good friend Taune was nice enough to let us park at her apartment and drive us to the tiny B-ham airport.

We got into Honolulu at 10 pmish and got to our vacation rental in Kailua after 11. The room we had was...not great. Not at all. That's what you get for being cheap I guess.

DAY 2
We went to Mokes Bread & Breakfast for breakfast. At this time, Justin first fell in love with an island dish called Loco Moco (a combination of rice, egg, hamburger and gravy). After breakfast, we drove to University of Hawaii's Aloha Stadium in Honololu for the Wednesday swap meet. I've never been to a swap meet so large! I bought the most delicious pineapple covered with a red seasoning called Li Hing and Justin bought a coconut. News to me: I hate Coconut water/ milk. I also hate fresh coconut.

 After the swap meet, we stopped at Costco to stock up on cheap alcohol. And oh man is the alcohol cheap!! Gallons for nearly nothing compared to Washington. Hawaiian Costco also has an entire aisle dedicated to macadamia nut products. It's pretty magical.

Since the sun was out we decided a trip to the beach was a requirement. We stopped at Ala Moana beach, which certainly isn't the most magnificent beach around, but it was great to be in the sun and near the water.

After the beach we headed back to Kailua and got a lot of much-needed items at the drug store and then ate dinner at a local Thai restaurant. We weren't aware of all the great dining options yet - if we had been I wouldn't have chosen a random Thai place. We ended the night with a drink at a sport's bar.

 DAY 3
On Thursday we decided a trip to the North Shore was a must do. We headed along the east coast and up north. Along the way we stopped at beaches and took in the sights. At one beach we tried hopelessly to get photos of sea turtles, but they allusive little bitches.

We stopped at the Polynesian Cultural Center, but it doesn't have a lot to offer if you aren't paying to do something there - except these cool tiki statues.

We briefly drove through BYU's Hawaiian campus. I am obviously not Mormon, but the Mormon's have my respect for thinking to put a campus in paradise. Funny enough their other campuses are in Utah and Idaho, which I would define as the opposite of paradise.

Eventually we ended up at the city of Halei'wa, which is a quaint little beach town with lots of cute shops and restaurants. A friend recommended a Mexican restaurant called Cholo's, so we stopped there for lunch. I am very impressed by their name, but found their food really underwhelming. You win some, you lose some.

After stopping in Hale'iwa we moved on to the Dole Plantation. I am a big fan of pineapple and learning new things, but the Dole Plantation is not a place I would recommend if you have anything else to do. It consisted of a large area to buy things and attractions that are pretty lame after all the pineapples have been harvested. We did hop on the Pineapple Express train ride, which is still pretty lame when there are no pineapples to look at.

After a ride on the express we made our way back to Kailua. Kailua has a farmer's market on Thursday nights, so we headed to the market to check it out and eat dinner. Justin got kalua pork, I got crab corn chowder and we both got lumpia (that took fooooreeeever to make). I also snacked on a delicious Pineapple Vanilla OnoPop for dessert.

That's it for Round 1 of Hawaii. Stay tuned for the next installment!

MOTHERF***ING BRAIN CANCER!!

Did my title get your attention? Good!

Oh, man. Monday started out like any other Monday at home working in my pajamas. I saw a call from my friend Sarah B and considered not picking it up b/c I assumed it was a butt dial. Sarah and I aren't big phone people - especially in the morning on a work day. My curiosity got the better of me.

At first I couldn't tell if Sarah was really amused by something or near tears. Turns out it was the latter. She had just gotten off the phone with Sara M, who said her husband Kyle (and our good friend) was currently at Swedish in Seattle. Half of his body had gone numb and he was taken to the hospital where they found he had a large brain tumor. I started crying as soon as she said brain tumor. We both cried and blubbered. Then I called Sara M and we cried.

Fucking Brain Tumors. Should I be cursing on my blog? Well, I don't care, I'm going to. When Sarah said brain tumor it brought a rush of horrible memories back to me. My Dad passed away from brain cancer when I was in high school. He had an aggressive form that was inoperable and he only lived about 6 months. It was the most devastating time of my life to watch my Dad go from a brilliant, funny guy to unresponsive.

Sara M didn't know what kind of tumor it was yet, but said she would let me know when they got the results from the MRI. I know myself and many other people who knew about Kyle probably couldn't focus most of the day on Monday. Sara M finally called me in the late afternoon and GOOD NEWS! Kyle's tumor is benign and can be removed easily - well easy for brain surgery. PHEW!

Although Kyle's brain mass was ultimately not cancerous, I kind of feel like brain cancer is all around me lately. Last week I read that celebrated local newswoman Kathi Goertzen has brain cancer and then I received an e-mail from the Western Journalism Department informing me that my college PR teacher had passed away from brain cancer. WTF?

I was only in real distress over Kyle during the five hours when I didn't know what the diagnosis was, but overall the last week has made me take a look at life, my friends, my family and how brief everything can be.  If you are reading this and I consider you a friend or family member, know that I love you. I may not express that enough or even know how to express it sometimes, but I do. Very much!

P.S. Kyle had surgery on Wednesday and is doing well so far!  

Adventures in Antiquing

For the most part I like things that are new. New furniture. New jewelry. New cars. New buildings. When I was younger I used to really enjoy making old things new and buying the bulk of my clothes at Value Village. At some point I either really fell deeply in love with Target or got tired of rummaging through things to find treasures.

So, when my dear friend Sara suggested I meet up with her and my other dear friend Sarah (try not to be confused by the name similarity) to do some "antiquing" I don't think I was suuuper excited. But I was super excited to see them and I am usually up for doing pretty much anything, so I gladly agreed. Sara suggested we check out antique malls in Puyallup.

The Sara(h)s both own their homes and are much better than me at putting old things to good, modern uses, and heart antiques. So, it is amusing that I was the one who alerted them to a HUGE ANTIQUE SHOW happening that very same weekend at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. It features more than (gulp) 425 booths!

 With the antique show as our new destination, we met at the fairgrounds in the morning this past Saturday. There were as many antique people as there were objects. On average I guess antiquing isn't so much a young person's hobby. I was very overwhelmed by the large number of booths and people. Somewhat thankfully 95% of the booths didn't accept credit cards and that's all I had to pay with.

I spotted a few pretty crazy awesome antiques and I asked Sara to take photos of them.

I really feel like these two statues should
be sold as a set.

Yep, that's Ronald Reagan as a teapot.
His nose is the spout.

Oh, man. This is pretty horrifying.
Who wouldn't want a spinal cord lamp
in their living room??

I don't have a photo of him, but there was also a Abraham Lincoln impersonator at the show. They had a special Presidential Camp set up for him. Haha. We were at the show for a few hours and my feet were killing me at the end. I didn't find anything I couldn't live without, but Sara got a planter and some cylindrical...candle holder? Sarah got a milk crate.

Even though I didn't buy anything it was definitely an experience and a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Home Ownership 101

If you'll remember one of my goals for 2011 was to Learn all there is to know about home ownership. So far Justin and I've made some great first steps towards that goal.

A little background for you. Justin and I are currently in a 2 year lease at our apartment (ending in May 2012). So, we are really in no place to purchase a home yet, but that doesn't mean I don't window shop. 

What is weird about spending so much time looking and worrying about buying a house is that I still remain unconvinced that buying a house in the Seattle area is that great of an idea. I know it is an investment in your future, I know about the tax right offs, I now know about all of that stuff. But houses around here are so expensive for what your get and if you can't put a substantial amount down you end up paying out the ass in interest. Plus property taxes, HOA dues and years of home maintenance and remodels. It is a money nightmare to think about for a miser like me.

THE TOUR
Anyway, despite my many questions and apprehension, Justin and I decided to go see some houses in person. I just needed to get it out of my system. So, last Saturday we took a Redfin tour to indulge my curiosity.

• First, we saw this house. I had fallen in love with this place on Redfin. It looked so perfect. This is a great example of how good photography can go a long way. The house was on the end of a street lined with single wides in a terrible neighborhood. The rooms were small and awkwardly built. I went into what I thought was a garage and found another room. When I opened the door in the room it led to a an area only a couple feet in width with the garage door in front of it. What? Why?
• Second, we saw this house. It was also in a terrible neighborhood with no real redeeming characteristics. The backyard was flooded and the house was filled with poor construction materials and choices. Plus it was under the airport flight path. Yuck
• Finally, we saw this house. This place was actually kind of cute. It is a single floor, but had plenty of room and was made well. However, the backyard had a fence, but neighbored a car dealership or something ugly. Pretty awful neighborhood.

In the end I was reminded how many undesirable areas there are in Seattle. Also, I learned something about Redfin. The agents who work for Redfin receive a salary and do not receive commission from the sale of a home, but instead receive a bonus only if the buyer gives them a positive review. I think that system is the main reason the guy who showed us the houses was not pushy at all and extremely honest. I like honesty.

THE CLASS
I signed us up for a Homebuying 101 class at BECU in Tukwila last Monday. I really enjoyed the class. I learned more about loans, short sales, closing costs, etc. The first speaker represented BECU and I took copious notes because everything she said was interesting. The second speaker was a realtor. I stopped taking notes a minute into her presentation because she was hard to follow, cold and condescending. Ugh I would never sign up to buy a house with her.

 

I did enjoy the seminar, but I hoped to leave the class filled with knowledge and excited to buy a house next year. Instead, it made me even more worried about costs. It answered a lot of my questions, but brought up a whole bunch of new ones. Justin and I aren't poor, but the idea of buying a house makes me feel like we are and makes me worry about every aspect of the process. Do you think some people just aren't meant to buy a house? Well, unless they can buy it with a majority of the cost paid upfront.

 

This is not a subject I pretend to know all the answers to, so I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you own a home? What was your experience in home buying and what is home ownership like now? Does the financial aspect of it stress you out or make things easier in the long run? Do you want to buy a house in the next few years?

Masters in Indecision

A few months ago it dawned on me that I should go back to school. Well, it probably dawned on me a while ago, but I started taking it seriously then. I feel like I am setting out to get my Masters in the fall, but don't really know if it is the right next step for me.

I do not like school. Some people really like school and seem to make every attempt to keep going to school forever. I, however, found college to kind of be a waste of time at certain points. I am somehow smarter than the average bear, but have a great degree of difficulty retaining information. College is not organized for people like me. You are expected to learn a lot of often unrelated things in a short amount of time.

Since I don't like school, I am really only considering getting my Master's so I can 1) further my career 2) hopefully learn more about a specific field and 3) feel superior to other people (j/k!!). Unlike most people considering a Master's program, I am only looking at one school. Justin works for KPLU NPR & Jazz, which is affiliated with PLU in Tacoma. Since he is an employee I receive 75% off tuition as his spouse. Not a bad deal! PLU has an abhorrent selection of graduate programs, but they do have a MBA Program. In an ideal world I would love to go to UW because they have an amazing MBA program, but I'm also cheap. $40,000 vs. $12,000

Since I love bulleted lists, I'd like to show you the pros and cons of going back to school

PROS

• Relatively inexpensive. The discount I get through Justin makes it only about $12,000 for the whole program
• More experience and overall knowledge 
• PLU's program includes an international trip
• Evening program that meets 2 days a week would make working and schooling quite possible
• Opportunity to advance my career

CONS

• Still costs money. If we plan to buy a house next year life will be expensive
• I don't like school. Despite always being a good student, I find it hard to pay attention and retain knowledge sometimes
• Not sure PLUs program is all that good. Wasn't terribly impressed at the January info session
• Will involve Math. Math is bad and I think I have to relearn all of it
• Is the program right for my needs? What are my needs?
• Not sure it will help my career. What am I doing with my life?
• I don't want to lock Justin into working at KPLU for another two years, so I can get a discount

When it comes down to it, I think I want a Master's degree just to have a Master's degree. I guess there are worse reasons. So far, my first steps have been attending the info session and enrolling in South Seattle Community College to take a Statistics pre reg in the Spring. Next steps: applying and taking the GMAT

What are your thoughts?

A Tale of Two Fatties: Past & Future

My goal to lose weight is inspired by currently being pretty husky. Blogging about it at least once is inspired by this chick and this chick. Please join me on a historical journey through the history of Justin & I being fat...and not that fat. Then look at our goals and cheer us on.

Justin and I both started out as dramatically gorgeous babies and children (sorry no photos available, so just believe me). After age 6 or 7 we plumped up significantly.  I've never been a "skinny" person. Actually, up until my senior year of high school I was overweight practically my whole life. I started exercising like crazy and eating less as a senior and maybe got down to 130...for like a day. By the time I left for college I had already gained some weight back. Causing my mother to ask if I'd already gained the Freshman 15. Thanks, Mom!

Justin played football in high school, so he was pretty fit the entire time. In fact, I'm convinced if Justin and I had gone to high school together we would not have even spoken to one another. Cuz he was a cool kid and I was not. Haha

We dressed like this every day

Heeeey, what's your name?

When I got to college I remained on the chunkier side until I slimmed down slightly after...sophomore year? I have no idea how much I weighed at any given time. I will guess I hovered between 145 and 155? Between sophomore and senior year of college I think I felt pretty good about myself. Probably wanted to lose some weight, but nothing drastic.

Justin was on the svelte side for some time after he got out of college. He stopped smoking at some point and the plumping began. Apparently, smoking is good for something.

	Nice helmet



Justin and I looked roughly the same as above when we met. He was pretty overweight and I was okay. I wanted to lose weight, but probably weighed slightly under or over 160. My first job out of college put me on the road and away from Seattle 6 days a week. I think the sadness of this caused Justin to not eat for 8 months. He lost roughly 50 pounds during that time.

Awkward pose	Good work, sir

Look at us lookin' good together

I had hoped to lose weight for our wedding in September '09, but that didn't really happen. I didn't look too bad, so it's okay. After we got married we settled back into our routine. We went on our honeymoon in December, which was filled with lots and lots of food. I think that started the slippery slope. By the time I knew it I weighed nearly 190 pounds by May '10.

I feel like my weight gain effects every aspect of my life. Naturally, I feel much less attractive, which makes me less outgoing. I don't want to meet new people. I have no energy for exercise or physical activity and I hate getting dressed in the morning. I'm also mad at myself for gaining so much weight in such a short period of time. If I'd just been paying attention and got on a scale! I know I have to lose weight to feel good about myself again. The only positive about the way my body gains weight is that my boobs grow exponentially with the rest of me. : )

Now, it is January 2011 and this is what Justin and I look like:


198 lbs	280 lbs

Our Goals

My goal is to lose at least 25 pounds by the end of April and an additional 15 or 20 pounds by the end of June. My goal weight would be 150 or 145 pounds, but anything significantly less than now is an improvement. Justin wants to lose 50 pounds eventually, taking him down to 23o pounds.

I don't really have a strategy planned. Honestly, I eat pretty terribly and way too much at times. I plan on exercising at least 4 times a week in some way and just eating sensibly. Also, drinking a lot more water.

I hope you will encourage me along the way. I don't plan on blogging about any weight loss very often, but motivation from my friends and family would be great! I also would love to do more active things. So, instead of getting dinner or going to a movie, maybe we can go for a walk around Greenlake?

Thanks for reading!

Introducing That Girl: A Guest Blog

Forward by Liz McNeil

Hi everyone. So, in case you didn't know my blog is H-O-T right now. So hot that my good friend Ms. Heather R. Sambrook requested she be allowed to test out the blogging world by guest blogging on Life as Liz. Since Heather is as, if not more, witty and fabulous than myself I responded with an excited, "Please do! I would adore it!"

Give Heather a warm welcome and please leave a comment to support her blogging efforts!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blogging is the new black. It seems like all I hear about whether it be at work, from friends or from “the media” in talking about social media.

In my role as a marketer in a mid-size company, I see so much possibility in the way businesses can utilize this (usually) free media, engaging their customers and building buzz.

In my real life, as a 24-year-old girl from the ‘burbs, I love blogs. I like funny blogs. I like cute blogs. Long blogs and short blogs, its like looking through the window into someone’s mind and seeing what is most important to them. The way people manipulate their blogs and address what is happening in their life (here, now and for reals). Yes!

So, as an avid consumer of other peoples’ wittiness, cleverness, humor, and ideas, I have wanted to write a blog. Just dabble. Maybe a witty post here and there to showcase my own awesomeness.

BUT, here’s the problem. I have a job. And a social life. And a boyfriend. All three major time-suckers. Only probably because I also like to sleep everyday. (Some people, I know!). But now, Liz has agreed to let me guest blog!!!

HOORAY! I can try it out without the commitment. I wish all of life were like this! Imagine, “Oh, I’d like to take these jeans home, wear them a couple times, then decide if I’d like to buy them”, or “Yeah, this place looks nice, but I should probably live here awhile before making a decision”, or even, “Yes, I will order this plate of food, but if the person I am eating with’s looks better, I’m switching *Insert cute smile with arms up adorably image here*.

SO, awesome people who follow Liz’s blog (and I know you’re wonderful because she has very discerning taste and is incredibly witty and awesome herself), please let me know what you would most like to hear about. Here are some of my first ideas:

• Awesome words that I have learned from Liz and how they make my life better.
• Coupons, and how they are taking over my life (Groupons, especially Groupons, included.
• The Pros/Cons of Bridesmaids
• Grab-bag (something AH-MAZING to be determined at a later time, like when I’m not at work…)

So, leave a comment and expect something wonderful in a week or so! Christmas is coming early this year kids! Or, well, really maybe a little late, but I’m glass half full, so it’s coming early.

Sincerely,
Your Guest Blogger,
Heather