The In-Laws Are Coming! The In-Laws Are Coming!

This weekend, Ryan's folks flew into the Emerald City from Syracuse, New York. Since we live on opposite sides of the country, we don't get to see each other as much as we would like. We had a great time catching up with Ma and Pa Patrick and showing them some of the things we love about our city.

Huddled for Warmth at the Space Needle

Enjoying the View at the Arboretum

Ryan and Soma Relaxing Between Outings

Friends, Amy and Byron, After a Binge at Snappy Dragon

High Fashion Salmon Potholders

Tea Time!

The Real Queen Mum
(Actually, the tea house where we enjoyed breakfast on Sunday gives out tiaras to special guests like Patty.)

John and Patty: Thanks for coming to visit and treating us all weekend. We had a great time and hope to see you again soon!

Missed Opportunities

This post is inspired by the heartbreaking loss suffered yesterday by the Packers in the NFC championship game against the Giants. I know what you're thinking, "Get over it. It's a football game."

Before you close your browser window, hear me out:

The Packers lost the game because they didn't capitalize on missed opportunities. Lately, Ryan and I have been talking about missed opportunities in our own lives. For example, during the last two years of law school and puppy parenting, we failed go skiing or get outside much in the winter. Skiing is something that we loved to do together (ok, Ryan is a snowboarder not a skier), and we probably could have gone skiing during the last couple of years, but we let other excuses get in the way. Downhill skiing/snowboarding is expensive--our gear is out-of-date, we would have to board Soma, and lift tickets cost about $100 for the two of us.

So this year we are making a change. We bought snowshoes in order to get outside with no excuses. While the initial investment for snowshoes is a little steep, they require minimal maintenance and we can drive to any trail coated with the white stuff to enjoy a few hours of exercise and scenery.

I guess the bottom line is that excuses always result in missed opportunities, and missed opportunities always end in disappointment and regret. That's why we went to Mount Rainier National Park to snowshoe along the White River (a river I will probably be working to protect during the next year or two). It was a gorgeous day with clear skies and amazing visibility. During the drive, we saw Mount Rainier with large snow plumes blowing off the summit. The plumes were so large that we could see them all the way from Seattle, or about 2 hours north. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place!

We entered the Park on snowshoes, which allowed us to take a picture of the boundary sign.

A 90-foot ice fall just begging for an ice climber.
Ok, so I exaggerate -- this was just a trailside frozen trickle of water that was about 3-feet tall.

A family of stumps with snowy winter hats.

Action photo of Ryan and Soma on the trail.
Sorry that the poop bag is front and center in this shot!

The upper reach of the White River.
In case you didn't click on the link above, the White river gets its name from its cloudy appearance courtesy of the Emmons Glacier on Mount Rainier.

Lunchtime!

More views of the White River.

The Trail.
Actually, this is a busy park road in the summer.

Icy Whiskers

Snow and ice cling to the bare branches of deciduous trees.

Watching Eagles From a Raft

Today I went to the Skagit River for a rafting/bald eagle viewing trip. The trip was affiliated with my new job at American Rivers, a nonprofit that specializes in river conservation and protection. It was a great experience and a great way to reconnect with why the reasons I do my job.

Another great thing about the trip was the weather. It was gorgeous and sunny with lots of mountains in view. Here's a peek:

The parking lot at the put-in.
It looked a lot colder than it was.

Topping off the boats and getting life jackets on to prepare for launch.

A view from the river.
A cloud clings to the snow line of a distant mountain.

Five bald eagles of various ages warming themselves in the trees.
We saw 110 bald eagles during the 2 hour float trip.

Taking in the serene beauty of the river.

I tried to take some footage of an adult bald eagle feeding on some salmon. At the end of the clip, it gets a little choppy because I lost sight of the eagle in the sun. Notice the great snow capped mountains in the background. Stunning!

Ryan stayed home to babysit Soma and watch the Giants/Cowboy game. Go Giants!

I'm a Northwest Packer Backer

Anyone who knows me knows that I bleed green and yellow for the Green Bay Packers. My mom passed on her passion for the Pack to my brothers and I, and she taught me all I know about Packer football. On of my mom's most prized possessions is a dancing Brett Favre doll. She bought a 50-inch plasma television and subscribed to HDTV football channels just to see the Pack play for the 4-month season.


It goes without saying, but living in Seattle makes me a target for the local fans. Seattle coach, Mike Holmgren, used to coach the Pack and won a Super Bowl while at Green Bay. A few years ago, the Seahawks lost a close game to the Pack in the playoffs. Luckily, my new boss, Rob, told me about a Packer bar in Seattle called Goofy's where I could mingle with my own kind. Today we went to Goofy's to watch the first half of the game. Despite the fact that the bar was full of Packer fans, a few tables in the back of the bar had some loud Seahawks fans. The fans were clearly looking to piss off the Cheeseheads. Frankly, I'm okay with taunting when you are the local fans. I don't care if someone screams in my face. In fact, that happened to me last night when I was meeting up with some friends from law school. One of the guys talked a lot of trash about an inch from my face. I'm respectful enough to understand that being a local gives you a little more authority to be a jerk.

In the first few minutes of the game, the Seahawk fans erupted after the Hawks got two touchdowns off of Packer turnovers. However, the Pack came back and that's when the Seahawk fans got ugly. A woman in a Favre jersey came up to me at halftime asking if the Packer-dense area of the bar was friendlier because the Seahawk fans started targeting her personally. They called her fat and started calling her really offensive names after the Packers took the lead in the 2nd quarter.

I'm passionate about my football, but I wouldn't attack someone personally. I HATE the Bears. I make jokes about individual players on the Bears or call George Halas an evildoer, but I don't make personal attacks. Interstingly, when Ryan and I first moved here 4 years ago, the Seahawk games were blacked out on TV because the games couldn't sell out. Now we have the "12th Man" and all that crap.

Posers...

You also know that Ryan is a soccer fan, but he supports the NY Giants in American football. Tomorrow we are both supporting the G-men over the Cowboys -- Ryan as a fan, and me to get the next game at Lambeau.

By the way, the title of this entry was inspired by the name of the local Packer club.

The Outing of a Covert Tooth

Some of you already know this, but I have (um... had) an extra tooth in my upper left gum. I've known about this covert tooth for years - I discovered the tooth when I had x-rays for my braces as a teenager. Well, late last month, I was eating my lunch and felt a weird little tip of a tooth on the left side of my palate. I immediately knew what this meant, a trip to the dentist and probably removal.

For those you remember the Valerie Plame scandal of last year, I've likened my tooth to the former CIA operative. My tooth (Valerie Plame) was a covert operative until one of my other teeth (Bob Novak) outed her identity. Ryan aptly pointed out that the surgeon who removed my tooth may be Dick Cheney in this story.

Anyway, good bye dear tooth. Thanks for your years of service and God speed.

Post Operative Glamour

Happy New Year!

Every year, I look forward to New Year's Eve but end up feeling a little disappointed after the clock strikes midnight. I don't know why I expect something more dramatic from the holiday. Maybe I should blame the movie "When Harry Met Sally". I love that movie and New Year's Eve parties play a major role in the film. Or maybe I get my hopes up because I love getting rid of clutter and a holiday centered on new beginnings feeds my "let it go" personality.

Anyway, we had every intention to stay home and watch the celebration on television. Several friends were hosting parties, but we planned on lounging around in our pajamas with the dog. At the last minute, we decided to pop in on a party that had a view of the Space Needle. We accomplished three things: 1. caught up with some friends that we hadn't seen for months, 2. enjoyed the annual Seattle firework display, and 3. learned that Ryan knows nothing about pop culture but Darcy might as well have a PhD on the subject.

Host, Eric, Demonstrating a Noisemaker.
Those things never seem to work properly.

The other host, Erin, who is so active, no camera can capture her.

This is what the Space Needle looks like on New Year's Eve.

Thank you, Erin and Eric, for hosting a really fun party!

We hope everyone has an amazing year with lots of happiness, good health, and prosperity!