My hands are small I know

It is cold and dry here. We've all got dry itchy skin, even Peanut. I guess Spike has been spared from it, and Baby Gorgeous Bean doesn't seem to be itchy, just dry. We are running a humidifier in the bedroom, which has the unfortunate side effect of dropping the temperature, so we also run the space heater, which probably counteracts the positive effects of the humidifier. All of which increases our energy consumption, which makes TJ sad.

What is it with new babies and their wacky skin? T has had icky "cradle cap", ie dry scalp since she was a few weeks old and it's showing no signs of going away. And then there was the baby acne, which thankfully has gone away. Fortunately she is cute, so it doesn't render her a social pariah like it would if she was a grownup.
For now we just put olive oil on it so my Darling Bean smells like pizza. (I guess there are worse things to smell like.)

Yesterday I made chili in the slow cooker I borrowed from a friend at work. It came out well, but I'm not sure it really saved me any time or effort. I can see how it would if you wanted to leave the house, though. I bought a slow cooker cookbook by the checkout at the grocery store, so I thought I'd try some of those recipes out before deciding whether we *need* a slow cooker.

Tomorrow Gorgeous Bean and I are going downtown to visit my friend Aimee at the company I worked for a few years ago. We are going to eat at CJ's, which has awesome breakfast-for-lunch options. Yay!

All you need is love, love, love

OK, this is a totally cheater blog post, but since my 1000 Markets blog doesn't have an RSS feed yet, I'm posting here to let you know I have a new post there.

I've been trying to keep my posts there somewhat relevant to my craftiness; otherwise, what would be the point of blogging here and there? So "lookit what I made" posts will mostly be over there now. "Here's some cute stuff my dog/husband/favorite band did" will remain here.

I made a new charm bracelet for a college classmate's mother, and also a cheery pair of earrings for my shop today. And with that, I am actually all caught up on my Etsy/1000Markets/miscellaneous orders!

Go read about it.

You know goddamn well that you don't

Well, it's exciting times at the House of Peanut lately! Today we are snowed in, with actually a significant amount of snow. My geeky husband reports it at 8 inches on our deck. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it), I can't get to my work email because of the other 30,000 people trying to work from home.

But yesterday? Yesterday was a really fun day. It started out very average. I got up, went to work, did some work things, then went out for a fun lunch with the women on my team.

After lunch, I headed over to a small recording studio in North Seattle, to peek in on Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs record their new album. Typical day, right? Hehe, maybe if I had some glamorous rock'n'roll job, but this geek doesn't usually get to do stuff like that.

I got the invite from Dave, my coworker, who knows them, and introduced me to their music in the first place. As you remember, they came to play at Microsoft and I won the raffle item to have them play at a house party - yippeee! (More on that in the future.) He's been hanging out all week while they record.

So for a few hours yesterday I got to be an observer. Not only did I get to hear awesome music and new songs, but I got to learn about the recording process firsthand. I'm really curious about how other people work, especially in careers they love. So I chatted with the band a bit about how they write their songs, and with the recording engineer about his career path. Fascinating. That'll be a post for my Microsoft blog.

It was unlike anything I've ever seen before. Obviously I've been to tons of live shows, with metal bands and non-metal bands so I've seen live music, up close.

But the whole process, with different musicians in different rooms, all the careful tweaking of settings, mics, and amplifiers, was totally fascinating. I knew, but didn't really understand, all of the work that goes into recording a single song.

I know, I'm bordering on gushing fangirl, and I'll try to hold back. But it was so weird (and cool!) to just sit there with musicians who I've heard a hundred times on my iPod. And be able to ask the occasional question. They were all very nice, and patient with my dumb questions, and fun, and personable, and clearly love what they're doing.

And the talent! Damn. I'm not usually a weepy girl when it comes to songs, but there was one yesterday that just got me. (I'm happy to say I wasn't the only one in the room snuffling.)

Here's a little taste of what I got to see in the studio:



I can't wait to hear the whole album when it's done. Lucky for me, Star Anna is playing live at the High Dive in Fremont this Saturday. If we can dig out of the snow, I'll be there. You can come too! Woot!

It's so beautiful here, she says

Hello everyone! I'm writing this from a cozy cabin on the Olympic Peninsula, the far northwestern corner of the U.S. (not including Alaska, of course). TJ and I decided to take our new car for a road trip, and I found an awesome place to stay called the Manitou Lodge that allowed us to bring Spike and Peanut.

Since it's wintertime, and the off-season, we're the only guests at the lodge. They even gave us an upgrade to a nicer room. I can't say enough good things about this place. It's back in the woods, and *quiet*. There are two friendly dogs who live here and are very interested in what Spike and Peanut (the city dogs) are doing. Our room (a suite, really) is half of a detached cabin, surrounded by trees, and furnished in a very cozy style. I was worried about being warm enough, but it's got electric heat and a ton of blankets so we were nice and toasty last night.

This morning we went to Rialto Beach, which is just 3 miles from the lodge. I haven't been to the beach in Washington, though Spike and I hit some of the Oregon beaches on our trip to California in 2006. Rialto beach was gorgeous, quiet and empty. Black sand and tons of huge driftwood piles, plus the total lack of people made it seem like something out of a movie. The dogs *loved* it. They ran around like crazy, chasing the waves, then came running back when the waves started chasing them. It was freezing cold (in the 30s) so we left after about 30 min, to forage for food in the nearby town-let of Forks.

TJ bought himself a carhartt hat at the Forks Outfitters. I'm pretty sure I'm not cut out for small-town life full-time. I just like big city choices way too much (which mall, coffee shop, or restaurant do I feel like today?). This weekend is definitely not about the food. I packed some snacks and oatmeal, and we got breakfast as part of our room, so the food is pretty simple, which is just fine with me as I contemplate how to gain better eating habits. (Again.)

TJ is surprised I like this kind of vacation - with no TV, and nothing to do but read the books we brought (and of course enjoy the free high-speed Internet!). I'm totally cool with it. I wanted some time to chill out and really *think* about how I'm going to achieve my goals for the year. I already feel like I'm in that stressed-out, running-all-the-time, picking-up-new-projects mode. (Hello new sewing machine!). I read somewhere the mark of a geek is unhealthy obsession with a given project. I guess that's me. On the bright side, I sold another set of my GeekMagnets on etsy today. And I've got a couple of other custom projects to work on so I look forward to doing that once we're back home.

But anyway, right now we're chilling out (no pun intended) in the cabin, surfing the Internet, reading, and napping. Which is just about a perfect way to spend a Saturday. What are *you* doing this weekend?

Next year I could be just as good

Merry Christmas everyone!!


It's very quiet here - my parents left this morning (screamin deal on airfare on Southwest), and TJ is at the grocery store. Spike is not feeling well, so he's sleeping by himself on the living room couch and Peanut is as usual, holding down the rug in the upstairs living room.

I'm listening to a Christmas CD sent to us by a friend, and in the background the dishwasher is doing its thing with the first full load of Christmas Eve dinner dishes.

I'm actually really happy with how our dinner turned out last night - it was very simple - we grilled the Omaha steaks my parents bought us, and had them with mushrooms sauteed in butter and red wine. We had a simple salad (thank you Trader Joe's!) and I made some rosemary roasted potatoes. It was super-easy and really satisfying. Oh and we opened three bottles of wine: a Red Truck wine we've been meaning to drink for a while (thanks Doug!) and two bottles of Peller Estates dessert wine, a Cabernet Franc icewine and an oak-aged white ice wine. YUM.

We used our nice china for the second time (thank you Grandma Creath), so piles of dishes are waiting for me on the kitchen counter, but I thought I'd enlist TJ's help in tackling those once the first round of pots and glasses is put away.

I think the gift exchange went well - people seemed happy with their gifts. I got a ton of really nice semi-precious and glass beads from my mom so I can't wait to get back to my craft table and make some new stuff for the shop.

TJ said he liked the wool overcoat I bought him. More so, because now he doesn't have to actually shop for one. :) He'll probably only wear it a few times, but it should last him a long time. And yay for me for guessing the right size on the first try! He plans to wear it when we go to Canlis for New Year's Eve.

The whole family seemed entertained by The Dangerous Book for Boys, which I also bought for TJ. It's got all these things boys "should" know, like the rules of rugby, important battles, and 5 important knots. It was written by a Brit (though this is the American edition) and is quite funny. TJ pointed out there was only a page and a half on Girls, but 5 pages on how to build a go-cart. Awesome!

But the most technologically advanced gift went to my mom. We got her a lifetime subscription to LibraryThing, so she can catalog all the books she reads. She seemed pretty excited about it.

My Christmas gift to myself is an upgrade to Mac OS X Leopard. It's installing right now. I can't wait to put in some quality time learning how to use it, finally. Woo hoo!

A girl's best friend

We need a new car. And by need, I mean, I'd like a new car that I can use to chauffeur the puppies to their daily dog park trip. Right now, if I take Peanut, I've got to fold the backseat down in the Audi, and now there are dirty dog footprints on the back of the seat, the top of the seat, and on the plastic parts in the hatchback. There are also dog nose prints on the window.

Not exactly elegant for a luxury car. Also, Peanut can't sit or stand up in it comfortably, and squeezing both him and Spike in there is a little tight.

My fabulous, economical-minded (read: thrifty, doesn't like to spend money on what he thinks is unnecessary) husband has written his point of view here. However, this same husband also doesn't believe in buying used cars as daily transportation so we will get something new and shiny.

We are following his process for buying a car: research online to get a long list of vehicles that will work, go see them in person and narrow it down to a short list, and then test drive the short list before making a decision. Very methodical. Which I guess is good because the car I wanted the most going into The Process was the Saturn Vue which we eliminated as soon as we saw it. It doesn't have nearly enough room for The Peanut.

So here are our criteria:

• Big enough for The Peanut (you'd be surprised how many cars we've eliminated based on this!)
• Tows at least 3000 pounds of motorcycle/trailer goodness
  
• Gets decent gas mileage
• Isn't butt-ugly (goodbye Ford Edge!)
• 6 disc CD changer (that's mine)
• No cheap cloth interior, and generally not cheapy looking inside (that's mine too)

We've got our short list now: Toyota Highlander, Toyota Rav4, Dodge Nitro. I think we're going to end up with the Rav4 - that's my prediction. It's the smallest of the three, and meets our needs. But we haven't driven any of them yet.

I hate car shopping - more precisely, I hate interacting with car salesmen. I realize they are doing their job, but it's really hard to be nice when I want to tell them to BACK OFF. Ick.

And of course the price negotiation part is sucky. We're in a good position since we don't *need* a car, so it's not like we're willing to pay whatever they ask, which should make the negotiations somewhat less unpleasant. So sometime in the next few weeks we should be able to get through the rest of The Process and buy a new car. Woo hoo!

Oh and Merry Christmas to everyone out there! TJ gave me my present early because I am short on patience. They are nice and shiny, like the ones in the picture:


These are my very first diamond stud earrings and they match my engagement ring perfectly. So I'd say that my fabulous husband has done well! I'm not sure my presents will be nearly as exciting to him, sadly. But we're opening the presents tonight since my parents are here and leaving tomorrow morning. So we shall see.

Hope Santa is good to everyone out there!

Here to stay is a new bird

Why is there snow on the ground?? I appreciate that it waited until December to snow here but seriously? I have things to do today, places to go. And you know that Otto hates snow. Just a refresher - Otto is my car, the Audi A3 that becomes useless in the snow due to its "performance" tires. Part of the appeal of living in Seattle is that it doesn't get too cold during the winter.

But just last weekend, TJ and I had to order multiple pairs of woolies from REI. Which, incidentally, are available for store pickup today. And now I digress to discuss how much I *LOVE* the store pickup option. I don't have to pay for shipping, and I just drive over to the local store and my package is waiting. Totally awesome.

And speaking of shipping, my beads showed up in the mail. I have a whole box of semi-precious beads that are just waiting to be made into something awesome. Citrine, garnet, aventurine, onyx, yum!

I finished the custom order for Trista and got it mailed to her. I also sold my very first set of GeekMagnets on etsy. Yay! This series was "Molecules and Cells". The person who bought them is planning to give them as a gift to a friend studying chemistry. Awesome! I will make more this weekend.

So, just a little recap on "the business". I have sold 13 things in my etsy shop so far, which is great. I've sold about the same number just to friends and family in that time as well, so I'm way ahead of my "1 sale per week through the end of the year" goal I set back in September!

Today, if the weather permits (melt, snow!!) I am driving down South to an unknown part of Washington called Bonney Lake to pick up my friend Wendi and we're going to what is apparently the biggest bead store in the WORLD, Shipwreck Beads. Someone recently called it the "Costco of Beads". Should be awesome, even just to see it. They're so huge they even have billboards on the freeway. I can't wait!

And speaking of my friend Wendi, I've only actually met her in person once! No, this isn't some weird Internet situation where I'm making friends with strangers. I actually work with Wendi at my (sort of new) job. She's my contact at one of our major clients, and we talk several times a week about her project, and then got to talking about other stuff, like her pet ducks and why guys don't usually include a salutation or any pleasantries in their email. So it should be fun to actually hang out with her.

Projects on deck for this weekend: custom necklace which is a Christmas present for a friend, custom order for necklace and bracelet for a little girl, re-do a bracelet I don't love into a necklace I like much better, and make some magnets! Sounds busy for 2 days, huh?

Winter just wasn't my season

I felt like I needed a change, so the new colors are dedicated to the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Apocalypse 4 came and went a few days ago with another couple of inches of snow, but the temperature rose pretty quickly so it didn't stick around for long. At least this time it had the courtesy to wait until nighttime to start snowing.

I'm giving up on my separate weight loss blog. A nice idea in theory but just too damn hard to maintain in practice. Especially since I barely remember to write in this one, and my work blog is lucky if it sees one post per month.

But that doesn't mean I'm giving up on getting into better shape. Ugh. How many times have I said this?? I've been doing a lot of reading, and thinking, about my lack of focus when it comes to really getting down to the business of weight loss. I'm lazy. I hate doing things I'm not good at, so I do them haphazardly so I have something to blame when things don't work out like I want them to. I suppose what it comes down to is that I don't want it badly enough.

So I'm trying something a little different this time. I have only one measurable goal right now, and that's to complete the Couch to 5K running program. It's a 9 week, 27 workout series that progresses from running intervals of 1 minute up to 30 minutes. When I finish, I get to buy myself the cute little iPod shuffle in pink, which has a convenient clip to attach it to your clothes, and will work much better than the crazy lanyard thing I'm using now that I have to tuck into my shirt while I'm running.

With respect to food, I'm following the basic principles of intuitive eating - making sure I'm really hungry before eating something, eating just until satisfied, eating often, and making sure I don't ever get ravenous. Oh, and no more absent-minded eating in front of the computer. (Revolutionary, I know.) I've promised myself to start writing down what I eat just to see if I'm eating more crap than I think I am. But no calorie restrictions or rules.

I've resumed delivery of fresh organic fruits and veggies from Pioneer Organics every 2 weeks, so the good stuff will always be around and handy.

I'm also trying to figure out what other exercise I can do that I really truly enjoy. That's the hard part, though I am looking forward to the running workouts. I may just end up doing a lot of walking.

I'm in this for the long haul. And approaching it like a scientist, logically and deliberately. (Though not numerically.) I've got some mental block about committing to what I need to do, so my job for the next couple of months is to figure out how to get past that.

Part of that is eliminating stress where I can. I have a bad habit of taking on a lot of "projects" and I realized it's because I'm not sure what I really, truly want to do with my life. Maybe this is my quarter-life crisis showing up a little bit late.

Anyway, that was probably too much information for you all. But I've never really considered the mental component to weight loss as being particularly important for me.

I'm thinking it's the part I need to be able to do this once, and once only, and to get out of the cycle. I'm tired of having a whole second wardrobe in my closet that doesn't fit. I want one set of clothes, preferably in a single digit size, and vigilance and commitment to make sure those clothes always fit. I don't ever again want to "suddenly" notice that I've gained 25lbs since the last time I was paying attention. Of course, if that came with a 7 inch height increase, that would be fine, but last time I checked I was still the same height.

So here's to "constant vigilance", to borrow a phrase from Harry Potter. Not about the number on the scale, but about life. Here's to everything having a purpose, and making decisions consciously. No more guilt, and no more rules. Boo-yah.

I'm just a bill

I'm back from our nation's capital. It was a really fun, whirlwind trip. I stayed with Kristin in her very nice condo in Alexandria, which is a very neat town. I forgot how different the East Coast *looks*. Houses are brick and pointy and OLD. Oh, and the sun comes out there.

We had a great time eating and shopping and spa-ing. I also saw Kristine almost every day I was out there, which was great, and saw Asha a few times as well. I didn't get to meet Beanie, Asha and Sanjay's dog, but I guess I'll do that next time.

I took Kristin out for her birthday to Restaurant Eve. Go there. Get any one of the drinks from the special cocktail menu. That bartender is amazing. I had a Black Currant fizz that tasted like flowers and an interesting lemon-licorice concoction. Yum.

Dessert was actually not great, but the rest of the meal more than made up for it. We had a five course tasting menu which was more like 9 courses when you count the amuse bouche, the sorbet, random chocolaty truffle things, etc.

And then we tried to get into the oh so cool "secret" speakeasy bar, PX. And got rejected. Twice. There's a secret password, and apparently I just wasn't getting it right that night. I guess they're too cool for me. From the link here, I guess I was supposed to tell them we had a reservation. Not sure if you were supposed to lie about it. Hmmm, I guess I should have done some Googling before we went there. I mean Windows Live Searching. Whatever.

Kristin and I caught up with Delwyn, a college friend we hadn't seen in about 15 years and met his fiance Christy (sp?) as well. They were fun. We had a lot of drinks, then called it a night.

The next night was Asha's surprise birthday dinner for her husband Sanjay. He was really surprised to see us all there. I also got to see Asha's brother Ashok and his wife Larissa, so the "catching up with people" quotient was high on this trip.

And of course Kristin and I marathon shopped. On multiple days. I am now the proud owner of four (!) new pairs of shoes and a nice digital Kenneth Cole watch.

And then I tried to go home. About 2 hours before my flight it started to snow. Hard. By the time I boarded the plane, the snow was piling up and we had to be de-iced 3 times. We finally took off about an hour and a half late. Annoying, but not awful, since I was in the first row of coach, with no one sitting beside me. Probably the best seat I could have had in coach, so I'm not complaining! It was a loooong flight.

But now I'm home, and settling back into the usual routine, which includes going back to Phase I of the phenomenally successful Fat Smash. The first 8 days (horrible cheating on the 9th) worked really well. YAY!

I never meant to do you wrong

Ick, I feel really bad today. It snowed a lot yesterday so we decided to take the dogs to the park for some dog fun in the snow.

I found out that Peanut was interested in snowballs. I'd throw them and he'd run off in that same direction, and then look confused when he couldn't find them after they hit the ground and fell apart. It was hilarious.

And then I threw one up in the air, over his head. He jumped up to catch it, and then landed on his back. It looked awful. But because he's the Peanut, he just got up, limped a little, and then a few min later, walked around fine.

So we thought he might just be sore, but mostly ok. Then at home he took a nap (as usual) and when he got up he was limping again. Spike already had a vet appointment today (for a regular procedure we do not discuss in polite company) so we asked if we could bring Peanut in too.

The doctor looked at him, poked at his knee and said she felt some swelling there. Sad. She prescribed some Rimadyl (which, to make matters worse, has some nasty side effects in a small percentage of dogs) and told us to keep him as still as possible for the next week. If he's still limping in a week, they need to do XRays under sedation. Big dogs run the risk of tearing their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) just like football players. She suspects that if he doesn't get better in a week. And the treatment for that is a major surgery. Peanut's friend Ginger has had that surgery twice since there's a huge chance that the second ligament tears after the first one.

I feel so awful about it. I shouldn't have thrown that stupid snowball up high like that. But I guess we'll just take it day by day and hope it's just a sprain.

Norman is coming over tonight - he's Aunt Susie's fuzzy gray dog, and normally, he and Peanut would have a good time wrestling. But this weekend will be a quiet one. Maybe Spike will play with him. Poor Peanut.

It's the end of the world as we know it

TJ is convinced that the Apocalypse is upon us. For the second time this year, we got serious snow in Seattle. Right at rush hour, conveniently. There's about 2-3 inches on the ground (I know my East Coast friends are laughing about this "serious" snowfall) and people are abandoning their cars all over the roads and the traffic is horrendous.

TJ and I were smart this time and just walked home. Neither of us had our winter coats at work today but I had my gym clothes and a big sweater, and he had a very heavy flannel shirt and boots on. So it wasn't too bad. Kind of quiet, very pretty and much more relaxing than being stuck in traffic for 45 min trying to drive 1 mile.

I hope to get some good pictures of the house and dogs in the snow, especially since TJ hates the pictures I got of Peanut in the snow a few years ago.

And just in time for all this crappy weather, I got an amazing invitation from Kristin. Her family is going on a Caribbean cruise in April and she invited me. YAY! It starts and ends in Puerto Rico and goes to Martinique, Guadeloupe and St Kitts. I am soooo excited. I think Kristin and I will spend a couple of days before the cruise hanging out in Puerto Rico, which is lucky for me since Kristin actually speaks Spanish. YAY!

Now I'm just waiting for Alaska Airlines to find me a way to use my frequent flier miles for the airfare since Delta Airlines is being bratty about it. (Their program sucks - you can never use their miles unless you're willing to use double. Their "Saver" award is a scam.)

So now I need to figure out how to work some extra hours so I don't blow half my vacation by early April! I guess I might start working half days on Thursdays for the next couple of months.

Yay for vacations to warm places.

You light up my life

Speaking of which, that cheeseball song was MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE when I was about 4 years old. That and the Kenny Rogers tape my parents had. And I still love Kenny.

Thanks be to PSE - we got our power back today. Or maybe late last night. So now I'm tucked into my bed, with its cozy down comforter and flannel "happy trees" cover, with two snoozing dogs on the floor beside me. (Even in times of emergency, dogs are not allowed in our bed, according to TJ.) I've got a wicked sinus cold so I'm self medicating with Dayquil/Nyquil, hot tea and OJ.

I'm so happy to be back home again. We were settling in quite nicely at Aunt Susie's house, but it felt like we were invading someone else's space. Though it was a nice comfy space since Aunt Susie has more cable channels than we do, a great couch for sleeping on, and more interesting dog toys.

More people died from carbon monoxide poisoning, including a whole family who was running their gas generator in their closed garage. So sad. (I actually didn't know you shouldn't do that either.) And the hyperbaric chamber at Virginia Mason has been quite busy, with over 100 people doing 2 hour shifts in there around the clock - that's the treatment for CO poisoning.

One thing I remember from my $100,000 college education: a carbon monoxide molecule binds much tighter than oxygen to your hemoglobin, so when you build up enough CO in your body, it displaces all of the O2 molecules and you pretty much suffocate for lack of oxygen. For some reason this fact fascinates me. Maybe it's just the simplicity of it.

At any rate, my public service announcement of the day: Carbon Monoxide Kills! Don't use your gas grill, propane heater, or gas generator indoors. Even using it just outside of your house can cause CO levels to build up in your house and kill you. You will feel nauseous, disoriented, sleepy, and then dead. Just don't do it. Better yet, also get yourself a carbon monoxide detector thingy, one that's battery powered.

Now I'm going to get some sleep. Toodle-oo!

Let me light your candle

So here we are on the 4th day without power, thanks to Windstorm 2006, the worst storm in Seattle since the Inauguration Day Storm of 1993 (according to the overdramatic local news, anyway). Sadly, our gas furnace requires electricity to blow the air through the house. But on the bright side, our hot water heater is gas powered so at least we weren't both cold *and* smelly.

After spending 2 days braving it out at home with TJs awesome fire-building skills (who knew I married a former Boy Scout!), when it hit 40 degrees inside the house yesterday we knew it was time for a new plan. Plus we had burned through all of the firewood we bought, plus two boxes full that we borrowed from our kind neighbors. TJ bought a fancy propane powered heater, but we quickly discovered it would kill us by emitting carbon monoxide if we used it indoors. Apparently several people across Seattle have succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning by running generators and gas grills indoor, so now I'm paranoid about it.

So yesterday we packed up the dogs, our laptops and a few sets of clothes and spent the day at Aunt Susie's house in Shoreline, then spent the night at the lovely Hotel Vintage Park downtown. It's a great little boutique hotel that accepts dogs and has free wireless Internet. Since Aunt Susie and family were off to Tucson today they kindly offered their house to us while they were gone. (We didn't want to be in their way while they were getting ready for their road trip, so we booked the hotel for last night.)

So now we're at Aunt Susie's house for tonight. Hopefully our power will be restored tomorrow but I don't have high hopes. Something like 200,000 homes are still without power in Seattle, and I think they've fixed the transmission lines for our general area. Now we have to wait for them to fix the local distribution line, likely the one that's down on the main road down the street from us. That could be several days from now but we have our fingers crossed for tomorrow.

TJ and I are playing hooky from work because we can't leave the dogs alone long enough to get to work. I think we'll be settled in enough tomorrow to try to work remotely.

This situation sucks, but there are a lot more people worse off than us who are in public shelters or toughing it out in their houses because they don't have another place to go. So today's post is dedicated to Aunt Susie, Uncle Ray, and Norman for letting us use their heat and electricity.

The weather outside is frightful

There's snow on the ground. In Seattle. And it's still November. Crazy.

It took me almost an hour and a half to get home from work today. And I was actually in a different building, even closer to home than usual. I sat in the parking garage for an hour trying to get out. Then another half an hour to inch my way home the remaining mile.

I don't have a lot of experience driving in the snow, and many Microsofties don't have a lot of experience driving, period, so that made it quite a treacherous commute home. I was doing ok until I got to our street, a very steep hill. I made it up the first part (thank god for the antilock brakes/stability goo) and after all the sliding around, didn't want to attempt the 2nd hill. So I left poor Otto on the side of the road. I hope he'll forgive me for that. Fortunately it's stopped snowing.

And of course, during this painful commute, I got one of my awful sinus headaches accompanied by nausea. For nearly the entire drive home I fantasized about getting into my PJs and climbing into bed, and that's what kept me going. One Advil and a nice nap later, I'm doing much better.

TJ is at the Seahawks game tonight. And his cell phone isn't on. I hate that.

And here's a special shout out to the stupid neighborhood kids sledding down our street. Let's hope they can stop before a car runs them over. Duh.