Winter I am done with thee....

It is so cold out! I live in Seattle for the mild weather, but no...not this year. Freezing cold temperatures, constant wind, snow (??), and freezing rain. Boo on you weather, I'm sick of you. This morning I rode the bus so that I can meet Matty, Karas and Chris downtown after work for happy hour. I had forgotten just how annoying it is to stand at the bus stop in the freezing cold. And then to walk against the wind the 4 blocks to my office. Needless to say I'm irked. I'm ready for spring, or maybe a move to New Mexico.

Wii Anger

For Christmas my brother and his family got Chris and I the Legend of Zelda - Twilight Princess game for the Wii (AWESOME GIFT!!). Since Christmas I've been playing it a few hours a week and SLOWLY making my way through the game. I've been really enjoying it and the other day got to a dungeon area at the bottom of a lake that was proving to be really fun. After a couple hours of playing I got to a point where I realized I was stuck. I warped out and back in again. Still stuck. I swam out and ran around for a while, swam back in and was still stuck. Chris tried to help by searching Google for help but no avail. Finally I put in a set of search terms that led me to some posts for people with the same problem. Apparently I had killed a boss creature before releasing the flow of water. Sadly there is no work around for this problem. Now, had I been smart I would have saved with different profiles for each section that I passed, but I hadn't. So now, here I was about 1/3 the way through the game and there was no going forward. I yelled. I screamed. I sat around dejected for about an hour. And then I started over. From the VERY BEGINNING. I love this game....but I really didn't need to go through the first 18 hours of playing it again. Luckily the second pass through goes much quicker as I know how to defeat thing and where stuff is located. But still....I have Wii Anger.

Sgt. Pepper

Chris and I were in Las Vegas last week and visited the Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage one afternoon. They just recently had a baby dolphin born there that they named Sgt. Pepper in honor of the Beatles Love - Cirque du Soleil show playing there. I shot a short video of Sgt. Pepper playing with an older dolphin. He was quite the show off!



vegas2008 012.avi

Cheese!

Me at work in Bellevue!

Bad Blogger

Oh dear internet I know I have been neglecting you and for that I apologize. I have stories to tell (Vegas Baby!) and pictures to post and I will try and get to that this weekend.

For now I will state joyously that I am currently sitting at my new desk, in our new office space, in Bellevue. I started my new job yesterday!! Still trying to settle into the rhythm of this place. The good news is I have a parking spot. I've never had a job in the Seattle area that came with a parking spot. So now I don't have to take the bus every single day. Of course I will probably still ride it frequently, just not everyday....

Anyway, more on the new job when I have more time.....until then dear internet, do not fret, I haven't forgotten you!

Ski Day

I made a quick trip to Wenatchee this week (since I'm currently between jobs!) to join my dad for a day of skiing at Mission Ridge. I picked the perfect day to head up to the mountain. It was 28 degrees (perfect for skiing) and sunny the entire day. The snow was what we call "Hero Snow", the kind that makes you feel like you're the best skier ever. We were joined by my dad's Thursday crew at lunch time and had a fun afternoon of friends, skiing, beers and jokes. Here are some photos of the day. Days like this are few and far between and I'm glad I had the chance to enjoy this one. These are the fun times.....

Oh the memories...

I'm cleaning out my email from work and came across this video of me skiing circa 2005. Fun times.

Courtney Skiing

Courtney House - The Sendoff EVENT

Last night we gathered at Pike Brewery to celebrate my exodus from my current job. We had a blast and it was over way too quickly. Here are some photos from the event.

James having fun


Ed


The Crew


Chris & I


Greg


Christy JOHNSON & I


Dan & MattO


James, Chris & I



Heather


Dan & The Peas

My Last Friday

Today is my last Friday at my job and to celebrate Greg and I hiked up the hill to Six Arms for lunch and reflection. Lunch was fabulous (Thanks again Greg!) - their tater tots are top notch & I had the Communication Breakdown burger.

I cleaned out my office yesterday and took most of my toys and trophies home. My backpack was entirely too heavy walking home last night. Now my office feels barren and a bit sad. I did leave a nice picture of Chris and I at our wedding up. I'll take it home on my last day.

Parting is such sweet sorrow....

*communication breakdown,
Its always the same,
Im having a nervous breakdown,
Drive me insane!

Thanks Jill & Lennie!

Thanks to Jill and Lennie Majors I now only have $2,060 left to raise before 9/12/2008 and the 2008 Breast Cancer 3day!

$2,100 to go

Yesterday I found a surprise in my inbox. An email from The Breast Cancer 3day stating that someone had made a donation to me for the Seattle 08 walk! I'd almost forgotten that I was going to need to raise another $2,200 by September of this year. Almost...no not really, just pushed it to the back of my mind. But yesterday, Margo jump started me with a $100 donation. Thanks Margo! Now I only have $2,100 left to raise. Any ideas for fund raising would be greatly appreciated. Or if you have oodles of extra money please feel free to donate here. I still haven't figured out how to show my barometer on here. I'll keep working on that.....

Brrr....

Last night it snowed. Yay! But this morning, as it started to melt it began to rain. Boo! This made for a slushy skidding walk to bus stop this morning. Oh and to top it off, the wind started to blow freezing cold air that cut through my jacket and chilled my bones. I'm sitting here at my desk with my hands wrapped around my coffee and my pirate beanie cap still on. How many more days until spring?

Sunday Morning Blog

Sitting on couch, flanked by kitties, watching re-runs of 90s teen soaps and sipping coffee. I love Sundays. Yesterday we had a group of folks over to watch the Seahawks win their Wild Card Playoff game. We screamed, we yelled, we drank beers, and then we played Wii. Pretty fun times. Today I think I'll play some more Wii. Have I mentioned how I love Wii? If not, well here it is again....wait for it.....I Love Wii!

As a follow up to my previous post, for those of you who do not know, I turned in my resignation at my current place of employment. My last day will be 1/15/2008. Time for some new adventures! Don't worry, I'll keep you posted.

Step 1: Decision - Step 3: Profit

Yesterday was a big day for me. I finally did something I've been thinking about for quite some time. As the days go by I will share with you, dear Internet, exactly what that big thing was. For now I am just going to sit and reflect on my decision and the happiness it promises.

Prosit Neujahr

Welcome to 2008! Feels a lot like 2007. But I am optimistic. I think 2008 is going to be a stellar year. There is a trip to Vegas in our future and another 3day walk to train for. We'll continue the work we started in the back yard and hopefully paint our house. It is the little things that matter the most.

In other news I'd like to give a shout out to my parents who are officially retired today. Yesterday was their last day of work, ever. I can't even begin to imagine what they are feeling this morning knowing that their time is now an open canvas to fill with trips around the world and hopefully trips to visit their children! Congrats Mom & Dad, I'm so proud of both of you and look up to you more than you know. Happy Retirement!