King Keith Kahmehameha

Today Keith and I ran in the 5K Winter Pineapple Classic. This race challenges teams to complete the 5K course and conquer all the obstacles and physical challenges along the way, all while carrying a team pineapple! The obstacles are completely unknown to participants until race day. Our team, "Ithinkathinka my knees are going to hurt", proved to be nimble and fast as we scaled walls (up to 8 feet high), crossed monkey bars, jumped over hay bales, crawled through tubes, rolled under low bars and high-stepped through tires.

Afterwards, we celebrated Keith's birthday at the luau! The organizer of the Pineapple Classic must have known that they scheduled the race on Keith's birthday and they generously threw a birthday party, just for Keith and invited all the race participants! For Keith's "birthday" luau, they turned one of the old airplane hangars at Magnuson Park into an indoor beach with sand, Hawaiian music and food, including roast pig! A good time was had by all.

Happy Birthday Keith!!!! I look forward to running with you again in 2009!

Z turns 1

Today was the party for my godson Zach's 1st birthday. Zach and all his baby friend played with the toys...and played with lots of things that are not toys; the Blackberry, the remote control, the diapers, the wrapping paper and the boxes. But, a good time was had by all! Zach even got his very own cupcake, chocolate zucchini with whipped cream frosting. The cupcake was also turned into a toy (and a doggie treat) and the whipped cream was spread all over the kitchen table a la Jackson Pollock. Since I'm not a mother, it never occurred to me that a baby wouldn't want to devour a cupcake with whipped cream. I certainly didn't have a problem and easily downed two of Wenmei's varieties, an apple-cinnamon and a rose-cardamom. Yum Yum!

Thanks to Chris, Wenmei and Zach for inviting me to this special celebration. Happy Birthday!!!!

I'm feeling very Zen-ful

In what has to be one of the most decadent experiences of my entire life, I spent nearly 4 hours at Habitude Spa yesterday. My afternoon of relaxation was compliments of Wenmei who gave me to a gift certificate for my birthday. I should mention that she gave it to me when I turned 35 and I'm now 36, but I'm glad I held onto it...yesterday was the perfect day for the spa! The experience was even better because Wenmei and I got to spend the afternoon together because she also got a gift certificate (from her husband). We both got the full pamper treatment, a full body massage, a scalp treatment, a facial, use of the sauna, and a blueberry smoothie! Ahhhhhhhhhh....

A huge "Thank You" to Wenmei. I am overwhelmed by your generosity and so glad I got to share in the day with you!