Surprise #1

I have been full of surprises the last few weeks. Surprise #1 - I surprised Kelly with a trip to the OR coast for our anniversary. I told him we were going to do something so to leave the weekend open. My good friend Tracy has a beach house and she offered it to us for the weekend. So Friday I packed all of our stuff but left Kelly's bathroom stuff out so he would be confused. When we got ready to lave he says are we coming back tonight? No. Well don't I need my toothbrush? No. So he heads out I grab his toiletries and we go. Then he says there are clothes in my closet that I was going to wear this weekend. . . I give in and say, if there is anything that you think you will need that later you will say I wish I had why don't you go get it. He comes back with his arms full of stuff! So untrusting :) So we are off! And as we are getting close to the airport he says are we going to be traveling for a while? Yes. So I pull into the airport exit lane and say - but I didn't say we were going to be traveling by car. . . !!! His eyes get big and he says ARE YOU SERIOUS!! Ha ha ha, no. And I pull back into the main lane and we go on. Then I say Oh do you have your passport with you!!! Eyes big again. NO!!! Do I need my passport? If I need my passport we need to go back and get it? Are we going to Canada?! If we are going to Canada I need my passport!! No, but you have your DL right? SERIOUSLY KRISTIN!! Do I need my passport. No your DL will be fine (hehehehe) So we are driving and he is having a minor anxiety attack. I forgot how much he hates surprises. The last time I took him on a surprise trip was when we were dating. Note to self - no more surprises. Again - so untrusting that I wouldn't take care of him. He doesn't like the unknown so of course to help with this anxiety I continue to throw in "clues" that have nothing to do with what we are doing. My efforts to distract him with singing or the license plate game were not appreciated. He did start to feel better when he realized we were heading towards Portland. He is becoming comfortable with the situation time to throw in another bad clue, so we take the Tillamook exit he totally opens the door for me to lead him astray again. He says Hey Tillamook - that's where they make cheese! And I say that's why we're going there! Didn't you know cheese is the traditional anniversary gift for your 12th anniversary? He looks at me incredulously and I bat by innocent eyes, for a second I think he started to believe and then he says nuh-uh. So I back it up with call Heather! He says no because she is probably in on it, so I say, ask Sunny. I knew I could count on Sunny because he loves cheese and to him cheese is really a gift for all occasions so he would surely say yes. Kelly - so untrusting - calls his friend who is on an internet search for cheese as an anniversary gift and I am in the drivers seat cracking myself up. For those that care the traditional 12 yr anniversary gift is silk and linen. We finally made it and had a great weekend! It was so relaxing and Tracy spoiled us with a gift and hand made card. The ocean was beautiful, the weather was perfect and we had a great anniversary. Kelly loved it - he still maintains he doesn't love surprises but he was very appreciative of the effort to make our anniversary special and once we were there he had a really enjoyable time.

Visitors

My mom and sister came to visit up for girls weekend! Kelly was very accommodating even though we weren't home much - he gave up his half of the bedroom so we could have a real sleep over! We had lots of things planned and accomplished almost all of them. It was SO fun! The weather could have cooperated a little more, it was the only cloudy weekend we have had all summer and but the sun did come out for part of it. Friday morning we got up really early (10am - I know but we stayed up late after they got here Thurs night!) I took them downtown via the bus - you know so they could get the full experience. We walked to the Tower so we could go to the Starbucks on the 40th floor and see the views. On the way we passed the library and decided to stop in. Now you might say "whoa settle down there! You guys were out of control!" but our library is really cool and a tourist attraction because of it's architecture. So we are going in and I am telling Heather that lots of people take pictures and she looked at me like I was crazy and then two minutes later had her camera out. We were laughing at that. While we were waiting for the elevator to go up to Starbucks Heather was looking at the directory trying decide where she wanted to work because if she lived in Seattle this is the building she would want to work in. We headed back to the bus stop so we could start our shopping at the South Center Mall and go to a movie - we never made the movie but we did have lots of fun shopping! The next morning we decided we had better plan our day a little better so we headed to IKEA early and then to DSW (what is shopping without shopping for shoes?!) We stopped back home for lunch and we were off to the DUCKS! I thought this would be a fun tour to take them on it is a land and water tour of Seattle and has a lot of neat history narration which I knew Heather would appreciate and lots of great scenic views which I knew my mom would like. And they did! We went to the Rack and Pike Market while we waited for our tour and walked around the space needle - saw lots of interesting people and a great a cappella group that I wished we could have seen more of. We then spent the next 2 1/2 hours getting back to the wharf and walking back and forth trying to decide where we should go for a good seafood dinner. We decided on McDonald's. Here's the story - we were beat! And the DUCKs captain suggested Ivars - once we finally got there it was a fried fish place - they had a sit down restaurant but it was pricey. So we walked back to some other places, turned around and walked back to some places we passed and then settled on a crab place with a wait of 45 min. We were starving and the menu wasn't great and if you are going to get fresh seafood you should enjoy it so we decided we would save that adventure for tomorrow - hence McDonalds. And this wasn't just any McDonalds this is the McDonalds that my sister was orphaned in the bathroom at many years ago. So it was a flashback to 1988 and I didn't like it. Ignorance is bliss I guess. When you are 10 you don't really realize what ghetto means, at 31 you do, so while we had joked with Heather about doing an immersion therapy with her there to recreate her memories, if we never go there again and the memory of it is hidden in the deep recesses of our minds that would be ok. It was the kind of nostalgia I could do without, it made everything a little too real being there and thinking about what my life would have been like without my sister. Thank goodness she had a guardian angel that day and her mommy and daddy taught her what to do if she was lost because her big sister certainly wasn't doing her job watching out for her. It is funny how we all had different memories - I don't remember ever really worrying that we wouldn't find my sister. I just knew we would. Maybe it is our sister connection - yeah. She would tell you it was probably that I didn't care because then I could have my own room. My mom and Heather who were the most traumatized back then handled the visit very well, and we all left together. So while we had the same prayer of thanks we had 21 years ago, our new memory didn't have a dramatic reunion on the dock but it did end with some yummy ice cream . Also we discovered they renovated the bathrooms! The next day we decided to forgo more shopping and have a nice leisurely day at the beach. We went to Alki and enjoyed the views and then found a great seafood restaurant with a rooftop patio. It was sunny and warm and the perfect end to our weekend. I hated dropping them off at the airport to go home but it was awesome having them here - YAY GIRLS WEEKEND!!

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Nicole. . .

Why are your mutant TX sized bugs coming to Seattle?. . .

There I am watching the finale of SYTYCD, the back door is open and in flies THIS!

Now Kelly jumps up and valiantly says "don't worry honey, keep watching your show, I will take care of it!" This is why I love this man! I think he could tell by the look on my face I was conflicted. Do I sacrifice a limb to this ginormous mosquito thing so I can watch Jeanine and Brandon do their sultry paso doble or do I run screaming from the room to save myself and miss it? He took care of it like a pro and I didn't miss a beat of my show! Where does this come from in nature?! It was as big as my palm! Maybe we should have kept it for scientific research. . . but we let it go to fly back to TX where it belongs!

P.S. If the bugs can migrate here, why can't you?

Tough enough?

Below is an email I sent my sister and my BFF and the conversation that followed. I was just going to blog my story but the whole conversation is pretty funny. Please note that I am not judging the lady for her size because she was very nice and very embarrassed (I think) it is just a fact that she was large and I am not and so my story begins. . .

Me: I don’t think I am tough enough to ride the bus. After recovering from my skateboard and Nike bag injuries I think my thumb was broken this morning. Right now it is swollen (enough that I have no contours between the first and second knuckle) and red AND scraped AND it hurts to type. I am sitting on the bus under the freezing air conditioned air this am and a mom and her son get on and he wants to sit by her so I give up my seat to sit across the isle in the seat that is behind the accordion part of the bus. So there is nothing in front of me because this is where the bus bends. There is a nice lady beside me who offers a good morning and it is much warmer so I am happy. All of a sudden the bus screeches to a halt! I catch myself, however the cheery 300 lb lady (oh did I forget to mention that part?) does not and comes flying at me. Now I know I am scrappy but I cannot perform miracles. I go flying out into the isle, she falls on top of me and the girl sitting in the accordion seat. My knee on the way out of my seat hits the metal bar of the chair and then my hand gets smashed between her and the chair. We both start to regain our composure and the bus lurches AGAIN! She falls AGAIN, thankfully at this point I was standing and the guy behind me, grabs my hips to avoid me falling on his lap rendering him unable to have children. While this was a courteous gesture it was a small violation of my personal space but less than the violation of his personal space by sitting in his lap. We get situated back in our seats the kind lady asks if I am ok which is more than I got from Nike bag girl and I am doubting my strength for a half a sec because the girls on the other side didn’t go flying, "am I not strong enough to hold myself up?" I wonder. And then I decide "no I was doing just fine until cheery lady slammed into me and I went flying like a bouncy ball". What is interesting is the time that it took because I recovered fairly quickly from the initial jerk but it was like her body absorbed it it had to work it’s way back through her body mass and then forward again to react – there is probably a formula for that thrust/mass=reaction time. (Heather you took physics what is it?) Anyway I am looking into body armor this afternoon after work.

Nicole:OMG! I’m laughing so hard…. I feel so bad for you! Your description is Pulitzer prize material (which must be uber important given my computer just automatically capitalized the P) You poor girl! Tell Kelly I say no more of this nonsense…He needs to get out of bed and drive you to work and pick you up. It’s the least he could do OR he seriously needs to consider upping your life insurance policy.

Heather: I'm cracking up too! I'm reading this email while there are two co-workers standing very near my desk & I'm afraid that now they think I'm laughing at them...hard to tell since I don't know these people very well yet. Anyway, I think that some of us are just not cut out for mass transportation. Kristin, you may be one of these people based solely upon your fragile body frame. Add to that your apparent lack of core muscles needed to hold yourself in your seat & the fact that you're accident prone (I'm mentally picturing you falling off of the sidewalk @ the temple in Twin Falls) maybe you should stop riding the bus as soon as possible. I agree w/ Nicole, Kelly needs to chauffer you to and from work.

By the way, I have no memory of the physics class I took in high school, but your description of her body movement & the thrust/mas=reaction time was hilarious! I'm silent, red-faced, body shake laughing. These people are going to think I have a physical condition...

Me: I would just like to reiterate that the issue was NOT my core muscle strength! I was doing fine but my little core muscles are only strong enough for my body (which I think is acceptable), I can’t move (or stop) mountains! I was trying to think of a better example for the visual of my body careening out of its seat besides a bouncy ball if either of you have a better visual let me know and I will include it in my blog.

Heather: A rag doll? That's what I'm picturing. . .

Nicole: Why did the bus do all of things? Is there a “how’s my driving” sticker with a number you can call???

Me: I don’t know I couldn’t see out the front window I was on the floor under the cheery 300 lb lady.

Heather : Ok stop. Seriously, I need to compose myself.

You can tell we were all working very hard that day. . . for anyone who is curious the bruises are gone and my thumb was not broken.

Seattle Metro

Ok so I have to ride the bus. The first three days I made Kelly take me in the mornings because figuring out how to get on and transfer and pay and get off and find my office seemed a little too much too fast. But then somehow the bus schedule changed and now there isn't a transfer so this morning I rode the bus. Every day I learn something new. Day 1 - where the bus stop is. I also learned that day as I was hiking down the hill that I will be one of those people that wears the "walking" shoes that don't match your outfit to and from the bus stop. Hills and heels don't mix. So bus stop location and extra shoes - Day 1, a success! Unfortunately that bit of knowledge didn't do me any good this morning when I tried to ride the am route and the bus passed on the other side of the road. The bus driver drove by staring at me sitting on my lonely bench. How was I supposed to know? Buses run in a circle right? Good thing I learned on Day 2 of my pm route that the bus comes every 7 or 10 mins so I crossed the street and waited. No harm done if you miss one and no need to run down the hill because the bus is sitting there. Also sometimes waiting for the next bus proves to be advantageous because there could be less people on it and it will end up passing the first bus getting you to your destination sooner anyway! I learned that on Day 3! So back to my am route - Day 4. Riding the bus downtown is free so when you get on you don't pay, you pay at your stop. Don't think I just knew this instinctively, I had to use my city survival skills and allow others to be the sacrificial commuters getting on the bus ahead of me - let them make the mistakes so I could confidently walk past the driver to my seat like I knew what I was doing. Darwin failed me on Day 4. I had already learned my lesson for the day right, so what could go wrong? I was the only girl at the stop so the gentlemen politely allowed me to go first. I walked right past the driver and sat down, he kept eying me as we started the ride. A few stops later I moved back to the seat closest to the rear exit because I didn't like the seat I was in. Driver - still eying me. I smile but am thinking hmmmm is this guy just friendly or do I have something on my face? Then I notice at the next stop that everyone is paying as they get on. OH NO! How embarrassing and he probably thinks I am trying to make a quick get away by moving to the back door. Great. How could my knowledge fail me like this?! I can't get up during a stop and pay because it is getting crowded and it is against the flow of traffic. I am so grateful that he didn't yell as I was halfway down the isle "miss are you going to pay for your ride today?" Because some of the bus drivers have no tolerance and I would have died. It is finally my stop I make my way up to the front and as I am putting the money in explain "I thought you pay when you get off, have a nice day." He laughed and said "you too". Tomorrow's lesson - where to buy a bus pass. . .

Closet Space Anyone?

Ok so I knew the likelihood of having enough closet space was slim given the fact that only ONE of the places we looked at even had a walk-in closet in the MB. However I did not realize it would be this bad! I have calculated we are short three whole closets! One of which is a walk-in but all of which I desperately need! My mom has suggested space saver bags for our bedding - I will be getting those. (Moms are so smart) But you can't space save a suitcase and I have two very large suitcases that don't have a closet to live in. I can't find half of my clothes because they are either still in boxes or jammed so tightly in the closets that I can't see them and there is no place to put bathroom towels! I can't believe how much stuff we got rid of (and dad I know you think that must be impossible with the ginormous box of junk I sent home with mom (hey I just spell checked that word and it came back with wginormous - wonder what that means - Sunny can you look that up?) but we really did! My good friend Nicole who is an expert mover told me back in Dec tubs are your friends so I invested in several of those at the after holiday sales and thank goodness! They have a store here called the Container Store - alas I am going to be their newest customer. If anyone has other great space saving tips let me know!

We made it!

We have arrived in Seattle and as Heather calls us we are officially Washintonians.  I called her for a phone number and she actually started it out with 208. . . "you know because you don't live here anymore".  We would still be in Idaho cleaning and packing and painting if it weren't for our wonderful families!  We can never repay them, except when they decide to move to WA we will help them :)  but we appreciated it more than we could ever express and had a lot of fun hanging out with our family while doing it.  Hopefully everyone will recover.  Note the bags under our eyes in blog picture at the top.  I should be at work today but I called in sick.  Great way to start my first day of work in Seattle right?  I need to recover.  Yesterday we drove here and as many of you know one of our biggest concerns was our cat Scooter. Long story short for those of you that don't, he gets extreme anxiety when in a car so much so that they vet said he could flood his lungs and die from the chemical reaction that is caused by the hyperventilating that he does. Warning for you other cat owners - cat's shouldn't pant and if they do they are in respiratory distress so get them help! Enough of the vet lesson. Our Papa suggested that we sell Scooter at the yard sale to resolve the problem, we did not take his advice. So after consulting with our amazing vet Dr Baumwart we had a plan that included pain killers and opiates to keep him happy. Three pills every four hours and 4ml shots every three hours. Easy right? It was a the longest car ride of my life! Kelly says next time he is going to ask the vet to prescribe me some tranquilizers. I was so worried that we would get in the middle of no where and he would freak out which isn't good for either of us because he could die and I feel like I am going to die, so I felt sick almost the whole ride. Who knew I could be so anxious about something? My mom called to see how it was going and I started crying. She was very reassuring that everything would be ok and made me feel a little better - which I needed. You never quit needing your mom. I think all of a sudden Kelly didn't know who he was married to - when I got off the phone he kept looking at me like I was crazy but he was very supportive and the rock in the car - thank goodness. We had one small episode of panting but I popped another pill (to the cat!. . .) and he calmed down. The good thing about this medicine is the vet said he can't overdose and he is so happy on it when he is not in a kennel in a car. Very lovey which Scooter is not unless you are eating jerky. By the end of the ride he was getting a little restless so I let him out of the kennel. He climbed on my lap and sat there for a while and then jumped up on his hut and rode there looking out the window for about the last hour of the trip. It was the funniest thing after 10 hours of constant medication he was in a state of euphoria. And finally I could relax.
As for Jaz, I told Kelly we kind of treat her like a stepchild. She was a prisoner to her kennel the entire time. We tried to give her a tranquilizer because I was afraid she would meow the entire time and drive us crazy but I don't think I gave her enough. She meowed at first but then sat there the whole time and only complained when you looked at her. I don't know why they wouldn't just go to sleep but neither of them did. Overall she was a very good kitty and thank goodness because one problem child is enough! This is her "enjoying" the ride.

Sonata

The vet sent us a cast of your paw print. We are so grateful for this act of kindness in giving us a lasting piece of you. When we left I had such sense of loss to not have some part of you with me I asked for a tuft of your hair. I am still sad at random times when something reminds me of you. The last was when I was at the pet store trying to pick out a harness for Scooter to "socialize" him and they were having a dog training class in the next isle over. My first thought was why would anyone come here to train their dog and then, there is no way I could have ever brought you to something like this because when I took you to training you were so untrained that it would have been a complete disaster. But as I was listening to them my eyes filled with tears because I thought back to all of the commands you so dutifully learned to please us. I took you to one on one training and you were such a great student! It kept us busy while Kelly was in Quebec for five long weeks. I told him when he left you would be a changed dog when he returned and he laughed but you were so triumphant! Even the trainer the first day we were there said this is going to be hard, she is an older dog with lots of bad habits but if you work with her she can learn new things. We worked and the second week he said to me I can't believe how much she has improved she really wants to please you. Maybe it was your way of thanking us for giving you a second chance. You started out as a foster pet who had never even been on a leash, they told me at first I couldn't foster you because you were too far gone and would have to be put to sleep but then when they got you out and saw that in the few weeks I had worked with you had come around they saw the potential I saw and agreed. Sometimes I felt like we had a special bond because you never forgot I saved you. But even after I brought you home you didn't wag your tail for a week. Humans take for granted a dog's tail wag and once you finally did it I realized I never would again. Whatever you had been through that brought you to us was not good and unfortunately because I knew that it took me a lot longer to trust you that it took you to trust us. I just didn't know if something would trigger a bad memory inside you and cause you to act out so I was ever cautious with you around others. My first favorite memory of you is the day after we brought you home I found you laying on the yard with Kelly, he was on his back with his arms out and you were laying next to him on top of one. Kelly named you Sonata, it was a hard name to learn and even harder for kids to pronounce. But everyone comments on what a pretty name it is - a pretty name for a pretty girl. We went for a walk every day - rain or shine, wind or snow. You LOVED your walks, they started out you walking me as our neighbors observed. The 110 pound Rot walking (dragging) the 115 pound girl. It is funny how hard it is to get out of a habit after five years. Every night for a week now I have thought "ok I need to walk Sonata, take my shower. . ." wait. That is hard. Fostering lasted a while but then we just couldn't give you up so you became ours. I loved telling people I had a big dog, for some reason they never expected it. I took for granted how much I appreciated your size and protection. It wasn't until the first night we were home without you that I realized how safe you really made me feel. Always the protector of our back yard sometimes to our dismay. If I had a dollar for every time we told you "quiet". But you would bark at particular people at the fence and then run to the glass door like "hey just wanted you to know there is someone out there, I'll go back and bark at them some more now." Crazy dog. The dog trainer said we would never cure you of that and he was right, even your last day you were protecting your domain. We still think we can hear you and it is hard to walk by the laundry room, your bedroom at night, and not hear the familiar sound of you jumping up at the sound of our approach. Three nights ago we had the worst thunderstorm we have had in a long time and when I woke up my first thought was "Sonata!" you HATED loud noises. Thunder and fireworks were the worst. Hopefully as the weeks pass these feelings will start to go away. I think the hardest part about the last week is just feeling like it was so sudden. You went from a puppy to acting like a really sick dog so suddenly and we weren't prepared to say goodbye and not bring you home. What I wished I had said to you was thank you. For all of these things and more, for enriching our lives with your unending love and determination to make us happy. You weren't perfect but always tried, we realize now our home is a lot emptier without you. We miss you and look forward to seeing you again some day.

El Pato!

If only I could title this the way Kelly says it! Because it always makes me laugh. It is more like Ellll Pa-tooooo! For those of you that don't know what El Pato is let me fill you in. El Pato is a spicy tomato sauce that is delicious on burritos and taco salad and tamales and anything really. I would suggest you pick some up the next time you are in the Hispanic isle at your local grocery store. It will spice up your life! Comes in a little yellow can with a duck on it - which I just learned is what el pato means! Now, what that has to do with spicy tomato sauce I don't know but I never noticed that that is what was on the front of the can and I have been eating it for 30 years! It was one of my first foods - El Pato and chips. The Foote family uses it like salsa. And we either use it directly out of the can by by putting two triangle holes in the top (if anyone knows what that can opener is called let me know) or if you are at Granny's, in the "make your own" italian dressing bottle. The first time Kelly joined us for burritos at the Clint Foote's everyone was standing around the counter making their burritos adding El Pato as the final topping and heading off to the table eat. Kelly picked it up, looked at it, I think he muttered "hmm" and poured it on, pour is the operative word here. I sprinkle and I have been eating it all my life. As delicious as it is, it is not for the faint of heart. Poor unsuspecting fellow. His first bite of burrito was a whole new experience in culinary flavor. Eyes watering, nose runny he turned to me and through gasps of "hhhaaaaa" asked "what is that!" After handing him a glass of milk I said "El Pato!" A few more cautious dinner experiences and he is now a fan. When I make taco salad and get out the El Pato he makes his plate, picks up the can and and fondly exclaims "Ellll Pa-toooo!" as he sprinkles it on.

Joe is in the House

I have so much to tell everyone about the Special Olympics but Nicole has been awaiting my report on Joe Biden and since I didn't get Hootie's autograph this is the next best thing. Joe arrived today in Boise to present medals at the ice skating finals with Michelle Kwan - also seen in the above picture. I like to call him Joe. :) It was a long wait, his plane was delayed but no complaints because we got to watch some great athletes compete! They are so impressive and so proud. I had to think on my way home when was the last time I was that proud of something I did? It was pretty cool. Their enthusiasm is astounding. More to come, pictures and stories but we are all so lucky to have such amazing athletes in Idaho and a VP to care enough to share his time.

New Year's Festivities

New Years! No resolutions this year - too much to concentrate on as it happens than to worry about setting goals to achieve (or more likely not achieve) all year. I will say that last year I tried very hard to be thankful for things everyday and I will continue that because I think it makes one a more service minded person if they stop and realize all that they have. My mantra - that to those that have been given much, much is expected. New Year's Eve was great! We went to the most amazing wedding I think I have ever been too. My friend Victoria was married at the Grove. It was neat to go to a wedding of two people that have experienced life for a while. They said their own vows and there was not a dry eye in the house! It was so beautiful and I felt to lucky to be in the presence of their union. You could feel the love, I love weddings because everyone is so happy and romantic and it is always beautiful and I always cry. This one was no exception. The ceremony was very unconventional but so, them. They had a caricature artist there to do the guest book and a big band. It was so cool. The cakes on every table were beautiful, the food was delicious and everyone got a bottle of wine to take home! I just kept going wow! wow! wow! What a way to start out your new life together in the new year! After those festivities we headed to Sunny and Heather's house to ring in the new year with our friends at midnight! Lot's of food, drink, friends and fun! It was great. I love being with my sister, she is beautiful and always makes me laugh. New Year's Eve was no exception. Always a good time with the Mitsri clan! We love that it always feels like we are all one big happy family. It was fun to spend time with our friends and start 2009 with them. We rang in the new year with a toast and a kiss - it was perfect! Our mom always calls us after midnight to say Happy New Year so we got to talk to her too! And Brian had stopped by earlier so it was just a great day filled with lots of love and family. This day I had lots to be thankful for.