Life in the Emerald City

A Day in Paradise

One of my favorite places to visit in Washington is Rialto Beach on the Pacific Coast.  It’s about a 4 hour drive from Seattle, which includes a short ferry ride across the Puget Sound.  The drive is absolutely beautiful: forest-lined highway coupled with snow-covered mountains in the distance.  The beach always has this magical mist all around it; the grey ocean calls to you in rhythmic moans.

Of course wildlife abounds, both those filled with life and those whose life force has left them.  The beach is unlike any I’ve ever seen: covered in rocks of almost every color, lined with sun-bleach trees, and dotted with craggy rocks that rise up out of the ground reaching for the skies.

It’s a perfect place to take photos thanks to mother nature’s awesome backdrops.

Getting to the tidepools is about an hour’s hike down the beach, but it is one of the most worthwhile walks you’ll ever take.  The reward is tons of brilliant pools of tiny ecosystems just waiting for you to explore.

Huge trees, both natural-colored and sun bleached can be found all over the beach…also perfect photo backdrops.

The ocean has always held my attention; I am equally fascinated and fearful of its beauty and strength.

Olivia loves the beach!  She enjoys the hiking, playing with all the rocks, eating sand, wading through the waves, and the nice long nap that awaits her on the ride home.

If you’re looking for a wonderful weekend trip, head out to the Washignton Pacific Coast and find yourself a cozy beach motel or bed and breakfast…you won’t regret it!

What’s your favorite weekend getaway?

It finally feels like summer around here, but all my feet can think about are BOOTS!

I guess it’s my nature to plan ahead, to attempt to be overly prepared for whatever is coming, so I’m already getting my wardrobe ready for winter.  As a Florida native, my options for warm clothes are slim, but I am slowly filling my closet with clothes that promise to keep the goosebumps away.  At the top of the list are boots, because flip-flops just are doin’ it for me on those cold morning play dates.

Here’s my dilemma: I am not a pencil-thin runway model look-a-like and I have the calves to prove it.  I have never had much luck in finding tall boots that fit me.  This year, I WILL HAVE TALL BOOTS!  Below are some of my favorite options:

Kayleigh Side-Buckle Boot - very sleek, awesome buckles, great price – comes in black, brown, cognac, bone, olive, and claret

Ryder Boot – military style, fun buckles, leather…need I say more?  Comes in black, brown & camel

Rachel Sueded Scrunch Boot - Nice soft look, classic heel, scrunchy leg??  Hmm..maybe I’ve ruled this one out.  FYI they come in black, chocolate, and wine.

I haven’t decided on one just yet, but I’ll be getting some soon!  Which one would you suggest?

(Photo courtesy of this post, purely out of convenience)

This morning I saw this link on facebook about the No-Kid Movement…did you know about this?  Well, I sure didn’t and I am almost at a loss for words over the concept…almost

On our recent trip to Japan, we had one first class ticket and one economy class ticket.  Sean took the first class seat and I took economy with the understanding that we’d trade Olivia back and forth between us so neither one of us had to endure the long flight with the baby the whole time.  Brilliant plan, right? I know…

So after about 3 hours, I’m finally ready for my break.  First bad sign: the stewardess wouldn’t let me into first class to even talk to my husband, instead she went and got him for me.  He took the baby up front and just as I’d started to relax with a movie, he was back with the baby in tow.  ”They kicked her out of first class,” he said…I laughed, “What???”

Apparently she was being fussy with daddy (a normal occurrence as she doesn’t get much time with him) and they said she had to go back and sit with her mommy if she was going to be fussy.  That means I had the baby back in ECONOMY class for the entire 10 (yes, TEN) hour cramped, noisy, single-entree flight.  To his credit, my husband did come back and sit with us a few times while I pumped and ate, plus he did bring me a brownie and mochi, but still…COME ON!  Banned for crying, are you SERIOUS?

On the way home, we switched.  I sat up in first class and he in economy class, only this time I started with the baby in first class.  Guess what?  Those flight attendants were only too happy to accommodate us, even gave me a personal tour of the plane to find all the baby-friendly bathrooms.  I don’t know why the difference, but since we had an experience like this, I can now relate to this article much better.  

What is it with people hating kids these days?  And what’s with all the lame-o parents out there that are ruining all the fun for the responsible parents.  I try so hard to keep Livi happy and entertained when we’re out in public, because believe me I don’t want to deal with tantrum-baby anymore than you want to sit next to her.  Most of the time I’m successful (blessed with a happy baby), but sometimes babies cry…GET OVER IT.  I don’t think I should be banned from anything, just because I chose to bring a child into this world.  

But that’s just my two cents.  What are your thoughts?

Here’s the update:

So, since my last post (in 2009) life has taken all kinds of twists and turns, one of which has provided you with this adorable picture of my daughter, Olivia.  Yes, that’s my daughter…she’s now 8 months old (in the photo she is 2 months old).

Ok, now that I’ve thrown a bus-size surprise your way, let me back up.  At the start of 2010, I went back to school to work toward getting into medical school, though half-way through my Biology 2 class I found a new interest, in Evolutionary Biology…more to come on that in the future!  School was going very well, I’d forgotten how much I loved learning, homework, and tests (no seriously, I love tests), then in March I found out I was pregnant!

My first trimester and half of the second trimester were extremely difficult…’morning sickness’ is a cruel joke.  So between school and being nearly dead while growing my angel, blogging just slipped my mind.  In July, Sean got a new position with his company that moved him to Seattle, WA.  I decided to head back to Panama City Beach, FL to be with my family throughout the rest of my pregnancy.  Pregnancy was not what I’d expected, the first half I was sick all the time, the second half I got gestational diabetes…however, the end result was wonderful!  Olivia was born healthy on November 19, 2010 at 9.6 lbs. and 20.5 inches.  She was beautiful and I did it mostly natural…more on that later too!

We spent Christmas and New Year’s in PCB with family, then had Olivia christened in Jacksonville, FL with Sean’s family before making our big move to Seattle, WA in mid-January.  In March, 2011 we moved across the Puget Sound to Kingston, WA where we live in an amazing house up on a bluff overlooking the sound.  This year is just flying by, everyday filled with Olivia’s milestones and cute smiles!  Between visitors all through the spring and early summer, followed by a 3-week ‘vacation’ in Japan, the adventures have just been piling up and I realized it is time to start sharing again.  Obviously, this blog has morphed a bit, but it will still be focused on the crazy adventures of our everyday lives!  I hope you continue to enjoy our antics…put on your seat belts and get ready for a fun ride!!

Christmas Nudibranch off the California Coast

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my friends and loved ones!

I hope everyone gets lots of things they love and enjoys what little time we have to spend with those closest to us!

Love you all!