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Archive for the ‘Fun’ Category

The Beautiful Game

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

I started playing rec league soccer about, oh, I guess just over a year and a half ago. There were a few reasons why I did it, one was to keep in shape. It’s so much easier to be motivated to run when you have a team that expects you to do so.  It was something that @ragingpandabear and I could do together.  Another reason? I enjoy competition.

At first I was terrified. I didn’t know what to do – I played soccer for a year when I was about 12…that was over 12 years ago! (And, back then I hated it. I didn’t like running…boy, how things change!) Since I didn’t like soccer when I played, I never really bothered to learn all of the rules, so coming into it now — it’s been a journey. 

I started playing with a great team that played on Tuesdays up in Redmond. They were very patient with me, and they taught me a lot. Unfortunately, after a couple of months I was unable to play with them as their games started coinciding with the classes I started taking (Japanese, for those of you that don’t go that far back in my blog readings). A friend of mine told me his brother’s team was always looking for girls, so I looked him up on Facebook. Sure enough, they were willing to have me, and Chris and I started as subs. (I’ve since earned a genuine place on the team – I pay and everything! *wink* )  We started with outdoor soccer, and have since played indoor as well. Currently, we play twice a week, and I love it!

We play at Starfire. We’re not a high level league, but I think our team is improving all of the time! (Of course, they all are much more skillful than I am, being a newbie and all…)  There are still things that I need to learn…and some of them are pretty important. Which things, you ask? Oh, minor things like dribbling and shooting. My ball control is mediocre at best, but I’m getting better and better at defense, which is where I am most comfortable. I’d like to eventually get up top and score though! (The one time I did score was indoor, and it was a shock to everyone…including me!)

I’d love to get more practice in, and that’s something I’m working towards. I also need to actually become more disciplined about running, so I can get faster and stay on longer!  I’m all about the contact part of the sport. If you bump me, I’m going to bump you back, but harder. If you trip me, I’m on you. If you think tackling me or pushing me down will stop me, I will get back up! I’ve gotten a little bit better in controlling my outbursts, not being so angry as I’ve gotten a little bit better. I hope to become better still, but I don’t know if I’ll ever lose that competitive edge. In fact, I hope I don’t. If I do, I’ve lost the love for it!

Now, for the guys I love to watch:

There is nothing we like better than to be able to go to the Sounders FC matches, or to watch with friends. I am very excited about the new additions to our team: Nkufo and Fernandez. I didn’t post everyone that I love to watch – we’re missing a few. But that would be a whole picture post…and that’s probably not why you’re here. (Why are you here, anyway?) For a blog that is all about the Sounders FC…check out this site. Happy reading!

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Hawaii: I fell in love again

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

So last week @ragingpandabear and I went to Hawaii on our first (and last) vacation for a while.  Our friend Blane had invited us to his wedding, so what better reason could we find to head to the tropics?

We stayed in Waikiki, about a block from the beach.  We couldn’t actually see the beach from where we were staying but it would only take us about five minutes to get to the sand! I love Waikiki.

Blane got married in Ko Olina, and it was a beautiful wedding.  It was, by far, the most grandeur and decadent wedding I have ever been to. But that’s not why it was lovely: You could see the love they had for each other…it was clearly visible.

What else did we do? We went to the beach. We went shopping (@ragingpandabear got crazy deals at Express). I discovered a new brand that I’m completely in enamored with. I found souvenirs for my nephew, and we walked for miles on Waikiki beach. We drove up the eastern coast of Oahu, and saw some of the most breathtaking sites that I’ve ever seen. We didn’t get a lot of relaxing time, but the day we drove along the coast was something we both needed! You’ll feel refreshed too, just check out these pictures:


I can’t wait to go back. Last time we went to Hawaii, we did a lot of nothing: eat, sleep, relax on the beach, shop, eat, sleep, relax on the beach…etc. This time, we has so much going on, we didn’t get a chance to relax. I could use another 2 or 3 days to just lounge on the sand, or walk through the waves. If you’ve never been to Hawaii, I suggest you go…I’m looking for an opportunity to go back!

I had another purpose for this trip…I’m trying to convince @ragingpandabear to get married in Hawaii.  Yes! For those of you who didn’t know, we recently got engaged! How and where is a story for another post, though.  He is pretty much set on our upcoming nuptials to take place in our hometown, while I’m pushing (and begging and stomping my feet) for a destination wedding.

My first thought was that it would actually be less expensive to have a destination wedding.  If we get married here, we’re looking at about 350+ guests…and probably 250+ are just family! That’s a lot of people! I don’t know if you’ve ever priced out weddings in the Seattle area, but I’ve discovered that it isn’t easy to save money while wedding planning. I’ve also discovered, for what I’m looking for, I’m not going to really “save” money getting married in Hawaii…but…

Anyway, I’ve found the place where I want to get married. We toured a couple of different places: Turtle Bay, The Marriott, JW Marriot/Ko Olina, and the Royal Hawaiian. I thought that I would love Turtle Bay and that would be the end of it. In fact, that’s what I expected. But that’s not what happened.
I fell in love with this room and its view. It’s called the Monarch Room and it’s in the Royal Hawaiian. It has a terrace that wraps around the building, and those windows you see? They are floor to ceiling and open up, to bring the ocean into the room. The floors are sand, pale pink, and a sage but tropical green.  The lights that hang, oh the lights! They remind me of spun sugar in deep jewel colors. The room literally made my heart stop for a moment. I didn’t know a room could do that.  I know it sounds ridiculous. But this place? I didn’t know I had a dream wedding, but I do now. And this is it.

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Posted in Fun, life | 3 Comments »

Super Mario Wii

Monday, January 11th, 2010

If you were born in the 80′s, odds are you were probably raised with Mario and Friends.

Remember this?

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Of course you do.  There have been many Super Mario Bros. games that have come out since thing (Golf, Baseball, Paper Mario, Super Mario Sunshine, etc.)  but none of them had quite the same feel as the originals.  Now, I know, many of you may feel like Jay-Z :

Hov on that new shit
N***** like how come
N***** want my old shit
Buy my old album

BUT – as fun as the other games were (I love Paper Mario, myself) none have really made ME want to play more than a bit here and there. (I would make Chris play, and I’d watch him beat the significant levels.)  But, Super Mario Wii brought it back: Yoshi, the old school music, similar controls (the wii remote turns sideways and you use the arrow pad and 1 and 2 like A and B) and some of the old stuff back, and brought some new things in to change it up a bit.

There are only a few things that I don’t like so far – the first is the wii remote – it feels a little different than the old controller, but maybe I’m just too used to it? I did play on that thing for years.  Also, either I have seriously rusted on my Mario Skills, or they have made things more difficult. I think it’s probably a combination of both…I also don’t remember you being able to die continuously and “continue”, but maybe I just didn’t die as much in 1, 2 and 3.

I DO really like that you can play up to 4 players, at the SAME TIME.  It does tend to cause some problems, especially if your 2nd player isn’t as good as the first, etc.  If one player gets too far ahead, the other will die, which has caused a few heated arguments in my house. Also, you can very easily shove each other (on accident! I swear!) into lava or off a cliff.  But the more the merrier, right?

Anyway, I love this game. I’m only on world 6, so I’m still hoping that there will be Giant World!  If you have a Wii and you had a NES, get this game.

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Massage…ohhh yeah baby

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

I met an amazing woman yesterday. Her name is Megan. And she has magical hands!

I had my first massage yesterday – a treat for myself after completing the 1/2 marathon. (Don’t ask my time, I won’t tell you. All that matters is that I finished. Next time, I’ll go for speed!) I had a Swedish massage, and it was amazing.

For those of you who haven’t had a massage, go get one, right now. It’ll change your life.

I went to InSpa, and I was a little nervous.  The thought was a little nerve-wrecking…To have someone I didn’t know, massaging my almost-bare body? What if I didn’t like it? What if it tickled? What if they were disgusted by my body and said something mean? (Don’t worry, if you haven’t had one, they cover you with a sheet, and your private areas are covered at all times!) Anyway, my one hour at InSpa was amazing, and I’ve already booked my next appointment, for the end of July.

If you haven’t had a massage, call Megan right now! You’ll feel very zen-like afterwards, I promise.

www.inspa.com

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The Circus: Britney Spears 4.9.09

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

Last week I was on vacation – I didn’t have anywhere to go, but I had a lot of stuff to do. One of the main reasons I decided to take last week off was because I had two concerts to go to: Lily Allen and Britney Spears’ Circus.

I left to pick up my friend around 2:30.  Took me over a half hour to get there, and she wasn’t expecting me so early, so we didn’t leave her place until about 3:25.  Drove to my sister’s place and picked her up. Headed south to Tacoma – right at the beginning of rush hour (plus all of the others that were heading south to see Britney Spears). By the time we picked up our final friend (and switched cars, she drove to the Tacoma Dome) it was about 5:30PM. Parking was expected to SELL OUT by 6PM.  So, I was a little worried, even though we prepaid parking. (Turns out there was a special “prepaid lot” so nothing to worry about.)

We proceeded to get in line. (There were several large lines, divided into sections – A, B, C, etc.) While we were waiting in line, I was surprised to see — religious protesters?

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We finally made it into our seats, and waited for the opening act: The Pussycat Dolls.  While they’re not my favorite group, they were entertaining. And the one with the short hair sure can dance! pussycat-dolls

 Finally, Britney Spears came on, and the crowd went wild. I’m not sure, but I believe there were upwards of 20,000 people there. Amazing! The crowd ranged, from tweens to middle -aged women. I’d say at least 95% were solidly behind Brit’s comeback. (At least from where we were sitting.)

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All in all, it was a fantastic show. When you go to see Britney Spears, you are expecting a show – not necessarily art, or fantastic music – you’re expecting a performance….and that’s exactly what you get!  The energy was high, the performance was pretty impeccable. She did a great job of incorporating the circus theme into the show – cages, acrobatics, ribbon dancers, creepy clown guys, etc. (Unfortunately, there were no dancers dressed as circus animals!) I only really had two gripes: First, I wish we were closer. This is the kind of show where you WANT to see the detail. Second, the giant screen that was above the stage (it was a circular screen that rose and came down and met the stage to both entertain the crowd and to help hide position changes) showed random videos for most of the show. It would have been nice to see what was going on on-stage…on the screen. Like you do at sporting events. But, it was an entertaining show and I’d go and see it again.  We had a blast!!!  

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*Pictures of Britney courtesy of Becca. We were too far away to get good close up pictures!

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Online Shopping: Friend or Foe?

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

I love shopping. I love getting stuff. I love buying things for other people. So, every now and then I ask myself – is online shopping more of a friend, or a foe?

www.macys.com I love to buy jeans, dresses, make-up and more at macys! It’s also great for gifts – wedding gifts, birthdays, etc.
www.espritshop.com My favorite place to buy coats and sweaters. They have awesome prices in their outlet section
www.nordstrom.com My favorite place to buy shoes! (and more)
www.urbanoutfitters.com I love to buy shirts here. And bathing suits. And art. It’s kind of a funky little place with all kinds of cool clothes and stuff. If you get a chance to actually visit the store, do it!
www.victoriasecret.com Underwear + sales. ‘Nuff said.
www.oldnavy.com Basics – Cami’s, gifts, scarves.
www.gap.com Sweaters, t-shirts. Basic around-the-town stuff.
www.bananarepublic.com I like to shop here for work clothes. And what’s cool – oldnavy.com, gap.com, piperlime.com & bananarepublic.com are all connected. One check out, one shipping charge!
www.amazon.com Bluray….! I love to buy used bluray discs for a fraction of the cost of what a new one would be. I also love their wish list option. And that you can find just about ANYTHING on amazon.com. Awesomeness = Amazon.com
www.buy.com Buy.com sends me emails that tells me where I can find good deals…on just about everything. I got an email today saying that I could get a Coach handbag on sale for 30% off, AND it showed me where I could get a Sony LCD monitor on sale, too! I bought my Xbox live membership here for $11 off!
www.zappos.com Shoe superstore! Free shipping – both ways! What’s not to like?
www.overstock.com Overstock.com has a great selection of STUFF to choose from. Almost anything you need for your home, you can almost always find it here. I’ve even seen sinks on here!
www.target.com Target is impossible to not spend money at – especially when you’re there in the flesh. They have so many useful things at really reasonable prices. And sometimes there are “online exclusives” that are awesome!

So with all of these great online stores, great promotions, and special “email offers” – does online shopping actually add up to being better than shopping in person? First – you lose out on that instant gratification.  Second, you have to pay shipping (most of the time). Third, it can be a pain to return or exchange something. So – is it really better?

I have to say: I enjoy both forms of shopping.  It’s especially helpful around the holidays (expedited shipping, anyone?) If you get a chance, check out the online stores above, and let me know your thoughts. I’m going to be checking out some other kinds of shops in the next couple of months – I have a friend that is having a baby so I’ll be sending stuff her way!

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Seattle Sounders…Team Song?

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

So, the Sounders need a song. Or a chant. Or something. Something for the fans to sing and chant and blow the minds of the other teams! Anybody got that team spirit?

Ragingpandabear told me there’s a song that starts “The bluest skies you’ve ever seen are in Seattle” that people are trying to get people to sing. But I’m not sure how…rhythmic that is. So far, here’s my idea:

The bluest skies are in Seattle

Where the Sounders wage their battle

——– That’s all I really have so far. I have some other ideas, but I’m letting them … cook a little longer.

Now, I asked & received permission from Ragingpanabear to post his idea – a chant:

Sounders til I die!

Sounders til I die!

You are green with envy

We are green with pride!

Sounders til I die!

———————

It just seems a little violent to me. What do you think?

seattle-sounders

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I’ll have my cake…and eat it too

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

I love cake. I really, really love cake.

Something about the delicious, fluffy texture, topped with even more sweetness just gets my mouth watering.  I love buttercream frosting. It’s my favorite. I could eat that stuff right out of the …carton? Can? Tub? Bowl? (I don’t think the stuff in the carton/can/tub is really buttercream…But it’ll do in a pinch).

I’m not a huge fan of fondant. Yeah, it looks great. And you can do some really awesome looking art with it. But it’s not tasty. And really, when you’re having cake, isn’t that what it’s all about?

Now, that being said…Here are some of the coolest cakes I have ever seen in my life:

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I “borrowed” these from google image search. I don’t know who to give credit to, but whoever made them..they are awesome and have my undying admiration.  They’re not even just great looking cakes – I’d call them edible art.

So now that you know I love cake, you also know that I love the Super Mario Brothers. And…that I’m a nerd of nerds.

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