well, hello, again, little bloggie

Greetings, y'all!

I have not fallen off the face of the earth, nor have I returned to the East Coast. (How the rumours fly!) ;)

Let's see if I can summarize the last month or so. Oh, look, it's only been like 3 1/2 weeks......

I flew home on 1/25 for the AHL All-Star Game. Mom was disappointed that I would fly home for a hockey game, so I decided to stay for 2 weeks. It was relaxing. I barely left the house, and when I did, it was to go to Starbucks. I never did get together with all the people I had hoped to get together with. I managed to have coffee with Chels and with KMC. But I mostly hung out with my family and people from meeting. I went through a lot of stuff that I had left behind and got rid of lots and shipped 4 boxes to myself.

Dad & I went to the All-Star Game. I was chatting with my friend Beth, her husband Tom, and the "Kelly boys" and I looked at Beth & said, "THIS is what I miss about living in Seattle." And we both realized that it's the camaraderie that makes hockey in Binghamton HOCKEY! I can watch hockey anywhere, but it's far more enjoyable knowing everyone in the place. It was like old home day there on 1/28/08! And Team Canada won the game, thanks, in part, to Denis Hamel's goal in the shoot-out. 4,800 people on there feet chanting "Deh-knee! Deh-knee! Deh-knee!" The building was shaking and I lost my voice. (I must note here that I don't think Dad was chanting, though he did cheer when he scored! Also, the BCVMA is the smallest building in the AHL, and I think sold-out it seats 4,709. Either way, the total number of people in the building was probably around 5,000.) It was neat to see all the jerseys from around the league. People came from as far away as Houston & Manitoba. Oh, and I was there from Seattle. :D

Mom & I did get out a couple of afternoons - between A's naps and picking S up from school. She's 5 now and she goes to school. (!) We made several trips to the Giant, also to Grandmother's Thimble,Tom's, and Cyber Cafe West. These are not the sorts of trips we used to take. I miss those all day trips on roads we'd never driven on!

Mom, Dad & I went to women's basketball at BU. Dad & I went to mens & womens hoops at BCC - on Alumni Day. We got in free AND they fed us lunch! :)

The Wednesday before I left, Dad & I and A & the girls went to the hockey game. That was funner because it was the old crowd (a.k.a. not all the visitors for the All-Star game!) S was disappointed because Max didn't come over and say "hi". A's hands and face turned blue from the cotton candy.

Thursday, A invited me out for breakfast. We went to a place on the Avenue. The omelets were amazing! I haven't found a place as good here in Seattle. We sat and talked for a while and then went to Dunkin Donuts. Because I was East and because it was right there. :) I miss her SO much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then it was Friday and time to fly back to Seattle. I was at BGM at 4:55 a.m. I flew to DTW then to ATL. I looked at my watch as we were boarding in ATL and was shocked to discover that it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon and I WAS STILL ON THE EAST COAST! with the longest leg of my trip ahead of me! Grrr!

I finally got back to Sea-Tac around 5:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. EST!) It took forever for the luggage to come through. I finally collected my 2 bags and got myself to the Avis counter. (It's a l.oo.n.g way to go when you are struggling to control 2 suitcases!) I got a RED Focus - fun! It was raining and traffic was bad as I made my way downtown. Got a parking spot just above the alley, so it was easy to move in. Into my stuffy apartment because the windows had been closed for 2 weeks.

Saturday morning, I got up and drove to Vancouver, WA, to attend Dr. Phil & Dear Abby's wedding. No, they don't like us calling them that, but it keeps us amused. LN called at 7:30, so he ended up carpooling with me. It was nice to have the company. And then the sun came out on the way down. The wedding was nice, but TOO big! I took a whole bunch of pictures* and it lasted way too long. A bunch of us went to Peet's before I got back on the road. I stopped at the outlets in Centralia for food, gas, and footwear. I got back to my place around 9:30 and had to park 2 blocks away.

Sunday was a quiet day spent with B & W. We went to Top Pot. :) And Monday I started back to life. I'll have to write about that a different time.


xo





*There are no pictures because my transfer cable is still at my parents house...