MS Bowl-A-Rama

Yesterday, I went to a bowling fundraiser for MS at West Seattle Bowl. This was the 8th annual Bowl-A-Rama, my 1st. My friend Kaycee puts on these events every year to raise money and awareness. My fellow Seattle Works volunteers joined me. We all showed our bowling skills or lack there of.

Heidi and her daughter made this gigantic chocolate chip cookies to sell. They are delicious...still working on it!

Chelsea Handler

Last night some girlfriends and I went to see Chelsea Handler at the Paramount.

Doesn't it look like we have on the same coat?!

The show didn't start until 10:30pm, so we decided to meet at Palomino and enjoy their great HH. The pomegranate lemonade is delicious! Once we finished our food and drinks, it was time to walk the few blocks to the theater.

As we walked closer to the theater, you could see that there was a huge line. The first show was still getting it out and someone dropped a lit cigarette into a plastic lined garbage can, which created a delay.

At about 11pm, they opened the doors and we got to our seats. The opening act "Guy", from her late night show, "Chelsea Lately', was very funny! Chelsea came out not too long after, carrying her signature drink, "belevedere vodka and lemon juice." It was apparent that she had been drinking, but we wouldn't have expected anything less.

Since, she is promoting her new book, "Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang," she made many references to the book. As well as, her two other books: "My Horizontal Life" and "Are you there vodka, it's me Chelsea." These books are very humorous, quick reads. All the books are currently 1,2 and 3 on the New York Times Best Seller's List....Go Chelsea!

My favorite line from last night, "No one wants to blog about balls."

5th Ave: Legally Blonde-The Musical

Last night some girlfriends and I saw, "Legally Blonde-The Musical," at the Seattle 5th Ave Theater. Great show with lots of great costumes! The cast and crew did any amazing job, transforming the movie into this musical. It is similar to the movie but there are some slight variations. The cast even includes two dogs, "Bruiser", played by Frankie and "Rufus", played by Nellie. They were both soo cute!

The show had lots of great songs, but my favorite, "Omigod You Guys", was typical "Elle." Also very catchy, it was in my head for the rest of the night. The show runs through the weekend, before it moves to San Antonio...worth going to see.

Rat City Roller Girls

I have always wanted to check out a roller derby event, especially after seeing "Whip It," starring Ellen Page and Drew Barrymore. Saturday evening, the Rat City Roller Girls had an event at Key Arena. A group of us got together and carpooled over.

My summary of the rules:

Each team has a jammer and blockers. The jammer needs to get out and in front of the pack before the opposing jammer to be the "lead" jammer. Then they earn points as they pass/get through the pack. They use their bodies to block and bump the opponents off the track. Elbowing, however is frowned upon. When the "lead" jammer is finished with their round, they tap their hands to their hips three times. This means the round is over and the points are added.

We watched two matches, with four teams. The last match was, "The Wenches" vs "Grave Danger". My friend Leslie and I decided to make it interesting and bet on the match. She took the "wenches" and I took the "dangers". We decide on an accessory from TJ Maxx, rather than money.

Leslie's team pulled away, but my team fought back. They kept the lead for the remaining period, but it got close again. In the end, the "dangers" kept the lead and WON! I picked a lovely pair of aviator sunglasses...Thanks Leslie!

My new favorite saying: "you win some, you bruise some." These girls are tough!

Seattle Works

We had beautiful weather in Seattle on Saturday! Volunteered with my team "Younger and Wiser," at TR in West Seattle. Cleaned up their greenhouse, so they can get their plants ready to plant in their organic garden. Two of the guys used a pressure washer and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. We also pulled weeds and moved some dirt. It was great to be outside and getting some vitamin D.


Afterwards, we played a quick pick-up basketball game with two residents and then headed to Luna Cafe for a quick bite and beer. Very nice place, located just off Avalon Way near the West Seattle Bridge.

2010 Olympics-Sunday

Sunday, February 28th:

Today was our last day in Vancouver. :( We packed up our stuff and tried to leave the condo as it was, when we arrived...including the grout!

We wanted to go watch the gold metal hockey game: U.S. vs. Canada beginning at noon. We went to Cactus Club Cafe and got a booth right before the game was to start. The bar was packed with Canadian fans, so it felt a little intimidating.

Canada took the lead 2-0 early on, so it was looking scarce for the U.S. team. But the U.S. came back to score in the end of the second period. The third period was going really quickly and it was still 2-1 Canada. With only 35 seconds left, the U.S. scored to tie the game...this was really exciting, but only for the six or so Americans in the bar! The game went into overtime. We didn't know the rules for overtime, especially for the Olympics. Canada scored the first goal in OT and took the gold. ( I like Silver Better!)

Now, we needed to hurry to BC place to get through security for the closing ceremony. This was a little challenging, due to the fact that the hockey arena and BC Place are next to each other and all the Canadian hockey fans were pouring into the streets. They were screaming, waving their flags and giving high-fives...almost was decapitated!

We get into BC Place and find our seats, with boxes sitting on them. These were our props for the audience participation portion of the closing ceremony. An hour before the ceremony started, we had a rehearsal so we knew what to do with the props. (I didn't pay a ton of money, to not see the show!) Even after the rehearsal people still didn't know what they were supposed to do.

The closing ceremony began with the raise of the fourth cauldron, that malfunctioned during opening ceremony. Then the athletes poured in and the show began. There were lots of Canadian celebrities: William Shatner, Catherine O' Hara, Micheal J. Fox and Michael Buble. Also lots of musical guests: Nickelback, Avril Lavingen, Alanis Morrisette, Simple Plan, Heble and Maria Mia. It was an Amazing Show!!! I also really enjoyed being inside the stadium and hearing the fireworks, but only seeing them on the TV screens.

After the ceremony, we joined the other attendees to walk down and out. The stadium is pressurized, so the roof doesn't collapse. So this means you can't open too many doors at once, so they have automatic doors that only allow one group at a time. It took awhile to get out of the stadium! Then everyone was trying to get to the skytrain, so that was more waiting. When we finally got down to the train, they were all full. The train was coming into the station full, so no one was going any where.

We finally got on a train and went back to New Westminister and got the car. We headed to the U.S./Canada border, again five minutes to cross the border. We got back to Alice's house in Arlington just about 11:30pm and I was barely able to keep my eyes open. I decided to stay the night and get up the next morning to go to work.

This was an AMAZING trip and I am so glad that I got to go and have these experiences! I am also glad that Alice and Chuck were there along with me...I had a blast, as usual!

2010 Olympic-Saturday

Saturday, February 27th:

Happy Birthday Alice!

Today, we went to Whistler to watch the men's slalom. What an early day! Got up at 4am to shower and get ready to drive to Langara College to catch our shuttle bus to Whistler. We left the condo about 5am and got to the college just before 5:30am. Walked to the shuttle, grabbed our seats and we were off to Whistler by 5:40am. Turned my ipod on and slept the whole way!

We arrived at Whistler Creekside about 8am, went through security and rode the chairlift up to the venue. Alice and I grabbed a hot chocolate, while Chuck went to purchase a hat. It was about 32-33 degrees and snowing. The slalom wasn't set to start until 10am, so we waited! Creekside is on the edge of Whistler and there is not a lot near by.

The Slalom began, but the visibility was terrible. The skiers were having a hard time seeing the gates, so they were disqualifying before they got past the top portion. Two out of the four U.S. ski team members: Bode Miller and Ted Ligety disqualified. That was their last run for the 2010 Olympics. There were 103 skiers in the slalom, only four from the U.S. ski team.

After all the U.S. ski team members finished their first run, we decided to take the bus to Whistler Village and grab something lunch, warm up and dry off. We had first planned to eat at "The Keg", however they didn't open until 12:30pm and it was just before noon. We needed up at "Earls" again, so we knew the menu.

After lunch, we walked around the village. This was Chuck's first time up to Whistler, so we wanted him to see a little bit of it. Stopped at the Olympic store to do a little souvenir shopping, then back to Creekside to watch the final of the slalom.

Two Americans from the U.S. ski team finished the first run, so they skied in the second run, Nolan Casper and Jimmy Cockran. Neither qualified for metals, Giuliano Razzoli of Italy took the gold.

After the Italian took the gold, we watched some of the skiers come down, but decided to head back down the chair lift. (This was the first time that I had ever went down a chair lift...fun, yet a little scary!) We got in the shuttle bus line, returned to Langara College and got the car. Went back to the condo and got cleaned up.

Went to the "Dragon Lounge" at the Sheraton hotel to visit the hospitality center for cosport. This was a hospitality day pass that was included with our tickets. Very nice area in the hotel, with tables for dining and a lounge area. Lots of great food: prawns, crab legs, crab cakes, lobster bisque (not as good as the crab cracker in Kirkland) salmon, beef loin, sauteed vegetables, salad and lots of desserts. Oh, the most important part...open bar!

Today, was Alice's birthday and we had a jammed pack schedule. We wanted to celebrate while we were at the hospitality center, so Chuck asked one of the waitresses to put a candle in one of the martini desserts. There was no singing, but she deserved to have her cake (chocolate mouse)!

We were pretty exhausted from your busy day, so we went back to the condo and went to bed. Stayed up until 2am...22 hours!

2010 Olympics-Friday

Friday, February 26th:

Today, we got to sleep in a little...hooray! Our event wasn't until later in the evening, so we took our time getting up and getting ready.

We ventured into Vancouver, again on the skytrain and went to The Shark Club (much better than the one in Kirkland) to watch the U.S. men's semifinal hockey game against Finland. They were charging a $25 entry fee to watch the game. We figured it would be worth it, so paid the bouncer and grabbed a booth near the big screen.

The game began at noon, so we figured we would have a few drinks and eat some lunch. The game started and we decided to have a shot every time the U.S. scored. To our surprise, the U.S. scored six goals in a matter of eleven minutes. Go team U.S.A.!!! Our waitress would bring over one round and turn around and get another. We went with a "golf cart" shot...very good! Recipe below:

Broken Down Golf Cart:

1/2 oz amaretto almond liqueur

1/2 oz Midori® melon liqueur

dash cranberry juice

Shake and strain through ice.

These shots go down easy, tastes like juice! After six shots in a short time frame, we started looking at the menu. Decided on a few appetizers to get some food in our bodies, and help soak up some of the liquor.

The U.S. beat Finland 6-1, moving them into the gold metal game, scheduled for Sunday. Since they had beat Finland and advanced, we decided to have one last shot with our neighbors sitting next to us. They were a couple from Canada, having a drink before going to the Canada men's semifinal hockey game.

The bar had gotten very crowded, because the Canada men's semifinal game was beginning shortly. People began coming over to our table asking if we were leaving. We were, because we had our victory ceremony to go to. Two guys from Calgary, bought us a round of drinks, in trade for our booth. As more and more people kept coming over and asking about our table, we told them to talk to our bouncers. (see photo)

We left the bar and walked over to BC Place to attend the victory ceremony for the metals from the days events. We saw two metal ceremonies and watched two from Whistler. Then there was a performance from "Big Sea", a Canadian band, that I had never heard of.

2010 Olympics-Thursday

Thursday, February 25th:

Today we were off to the women's semifinal curling at Vancouver Olympic Centre, Canada vs. Switzerland and Sweden vs. China. The event was to begin at 9am, but we were running a little bit late and didn't realize how far the venue was from the skytrain. It was a fifteen minute walk and then we had to wait in the security line for about thirty minutes.

When we got to our seats, the teams were already competing. We watched in amazement and confusion, since we didn't know all the rules. We began to catch on, and understand the scoring. It was exciting to watch the skills of the different teams. Sweden pulled away from China quickly and ended the game early, because China was unable to catch them based on the points.

Canada and Switzerland played a close game, but Canada pulled out the victory. Canada and Sweden would play in the gold metal game, while China and Switzerland would play in the bronze metal game. (Sweden took gold, leaving Canada with silver during the next days completion).

After curling, we headed back on the skytrain into Vancouver to find a place for lunch and to watch the U.S. women's gold metal hockey game. We decided on Joe Fortes sports bar. It was a nice place, with great seafood. The game was great, but the Canadians pulled out the win. Canada took the gold, giving the silver to the U.S.

When we were finished at Joe's, we walked five blocks to waterfront. Once there, we saw the cauldron/Olympic flame. Took some photos in front of it, but decided not to wait in the mile long line to go up to the observation center. The wind began to pick up, so we walked a few blocks to the Marriott and had an Irish coffee to warm up.

After we warmed up, we jumped on the skytrain and headed to the grocery store to pick up bleach, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Chuck found a home cleaning solution online, for the grout on the floor in the kitchen at the condo. First Chuck tried the hydrogen peroxide mixed with water and it didn't seem to do anything. Next, he tried the bleach, baking soda and a little water until in was a paste. Using an old toothbrush, he brushed it on the grout and within a few minutes we noticed a huge difference. Thank goodness, Chuck found this solution online and we got the wine off the grout!

2010 Olympics-Wednesday

Wednesday, February 24th:

Traveling with Alice and her boyfriend Chuck to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver/Whistler. We left Arlington at about 8:30am and had no problems crossing the U.S./Canadian border, less than a five minute wait. Continued on to New Westminister, where we rented a brand new condo. Arrived at the condo just after 10am and started unloading the car.

I proceeded to take pictures of the condo and wanted things put away. I started putting bags and luggage in the closets and unloaded a grocery bag into the refrigerator. As I was putting things in the refrigerator, the bag began to slip and a bottle of red wine came crashing to the floor. The bottle broke into many small pieces and red wine was all over the brand new white tile. ( Not the best way to spend our first few minutes in the condo).

We all gathered in the kitchen to begin cleaning up the mess. The wine was cleaning up from the tile, but not the light colored grout. We all began to wonder, if the floors had been sealed? We finished cleaning up the glass and wine and figured we would have to wait and see if the grout dried normal or not.

Next, we decided to head into Vancouver to pick-up our event tickets at the will call office. Browsed a few side walk venders and then found a bar, "Earls" in Yaletown to watch the Canada hockey game. Chuck left Alice and I at Earls, while he went to a game hockey game at Thunderbird Arena. Alice and I finished watching Canada game and then decided to go back to New Westminister and finish getting unpacked and settled in.

When we got back to New Westminister, we stopped into a neighborhood grocer. Not a lot to choose from, but we picked up a few things. Got settled in at the condo and watched the hockey game on TV, that Chuck was at. Before we went to bed that evening, we noticed that the grout was much darker in the areas where the wine had spilled. So, the floors had not been sealed! I spent the night, dreaming about grout and what was going to happen. We paid a $100 deposit, so worst case, no deposit back.

Back from the 2010 Olympics

Got back across the border late last night and drove home earlier this morning. Trying to work and upload photos and videos. Possibly fit a nap in as well! I will have my whole 2010 Olympics experience posted in the next few days.