Getting "Swank" in the Emerald City

Saturday night was Emerald City Swank, a fundraiser for Seattle Works.

I arrived with Jessica and Nick and we promptly got cocktails and wandered through the silent auction. There were so many lovely things to bid on; theatre tickets, nice bottles of wine, resort vacations, etc. My only bid was $60 for carpet cleaning. Boring, yes...but practical. I was quickly out bid, so my carpets will have to wait for another day to be steam cleaned. Oh well.

After another cocktail, we entered the dinning room to join our table. Maria sponsored a table for 10 and we had a fun group. During dinner was the live auction where the bidding was out of our league. I should say out of my league. Others at our table had the means to bid big, but wanted to lay low after having auction-buyers remorse from previous events (Hope you enjoy that autographed Eddie Vedder poster, Beth!). Nick, however, did splurge on a bottle of champagne for the table!

After dinner was dancing. The DJ knew how to cater to drunk 30-somethings and played Michael Jackson (strictly pre-Thriller), Justin Timberlake and other pop music faves. My friends tore it up on the dance floor. All in all, it was a great night with a great group of friends.

Pictures

#1 Jessica, Nick, Margaret

#2 Lisa and Maria

#3 Nick bids on a bottle of champagne for the table

#4 Erika and Nick tear it up on the dance floor

Monday Night Yoga

For more than 6 years, yoga class on Monday nights has been a staple in my life. That is until last Spring when I decided I needed a break. After a 6 month hiatus, I decided it was time to return to my yoga class and my wonderful yoga friends. It feels great to get back, although my muscles are a bit sore.

This picture is from Tuesday night when we all went to dinner together. It was a farewell dinner for Stacia who is moving to Bellingham in two weeks. We will all miss her and wish her the best.

Auto Triumph!

My '91 Accord is on the road again! She lives to drive another day!

266,432 miles and counting...

Commuter's Nightmare

I was on my way to work Friday morning when my car died. It was 6:40a.m. and I was cruising south on I-5 when all of a sudden I lost all power. I had to coast over to the shoulder and call for a tow truck. The tow truck driver was pleased to find out that I am a high school counselor and he used the drive to get my advice about his teen-aged son. I think he was hoping for lots of advice because he took us on the longest possible route to my mechanic in Kirkland. Have you ever seen the typical Family Circus comic with the dotted line showing little Billy's path as he loops and curls his way through the neighborhood? Well, that's what my trip to Kirkland was like. For starters, we began in Seatac and went south to Federal Way before turning around. The entire drive was like that! Plus, the tow truck guy was using a GPS system! Needless to say, he did get my car and me safely to the garage...eventually.

Now I'm just waiting to find out how much the repairs will cost. With a 1991 automobile, I've got to ask myself how much I'm willing to spend to fix the darn thing. Just in case the repairs are over worth more than the value of the car, I took this picture of the odometer to remember my little Honda and all the miles we've driven together. This is also a picture from the freeway of the sun coming up over Mt. Rainier.

Wishing you all a happy and safe commute on Monday!