Spicy Princess

There is a new spicier princess now

2005-04-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

Jake has created a new blog for me so I won't be updating this one anymore. Here is a link to the new one: www.spicyprincess.com

I told you I'd be back!!

2005-03-24T22:38:00.000-08:00

So a lot has happened since I last wrote. Most of you read Jake’s blog also so I don’t need to bother telling you that we now live in Portland (even though I just did). The house we are renting is about 2 blocks from my work and I love the short drive. I’m thinking I might walk tomorrow if it isn’t raining. I get off work at 2 tomorrow also because it is Good Friday. YAY!!. I love living here. We have people over almost every night. AND I have been in the hot tub every night since we got it up and running last Sunday. It is so relaxing to come home and get into boiling hot water. I’m just waiting for Cooper to jump in full force. We tell him no when he looks like he is getting ready to hop in so hopefully he is learning that the hot tub isn’t a place for him. He is a lot less of a hassle now that we have the kennel in the back yard. We feed him in the morning and he stays outside in there all day and then we let him run around the yard and in the house in the evenings and by the time he goes to bed there is no potty left in him, which means no whining at 6:30am to go outside. We haven’t had to clean up pee even once since we moved. I swear he is the weirdest dog ever. While we were staying at Michelle & TJ’s house Cooper found a piece of bark in their back yard and he has been obsessed with it ever since. He brought it with him to our new place and he makes it quite obvious that he chooses the bark over his ball. If you throw them both he always goes to the bark instead. Maybe my kids will be like that too. They won’t want actual toys they will be content playing with bark.

I'll be back soon

2005-03-05T12:10:00.000-08:00

So for the past month we haven't had high speed internet so I have been very lax on posting to my blog. But we are moving into our new place tomorrow and we will get all set up so I promise there will be more posted soon.

Spicy cluuuuuuub sauce

2005-02-02T16:16:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been some time since my last blog entry. Since Jake has been in NY this week I have been just kind of lounging around, working a lot and going to bed early. I did watch Arrested Development with Kieran & Chris. That show makes me laugh so hard during every episode. It is the absolute funniest show ever made in my opinion.

So this past week I have kind of been in a funk. Although I am excited to get home I have been pretty depressed about leaving everybody. Today during our company meeting everybody gave me an enormous bag of candy along with a few good-bye cards. It was really sweet (no pun intended) but it made me even sadder because it didn’t really feel real till then. I have been working at my company for 4.5 years and I feel like everyone has become like family to me. I guess I will just have to have solace in the fact that I will be coming up to visit every so often. And for all of you in Seattle who read this and those to don’t read this you will all have a place to stay if you decide to come down and visit.

The tempo has slowed

2005-01-23T10:11:00.000-08:00

After spending the entire day inside my house until 9pm last night it turned out to be a pretty fun night. I went out and met up with Ritchie and Ben and some other people that I just met last night. Ritchie came out to meet me since I didn't know where the place was that they were at and as he was coming the tempo started to smoke so we let it cool down and then drove it to my work where it is still parked. Then Ritchie and I had to walk back. It was probably about 10 blocks away and I was really wishing I hadn't worn my boots. Although I don't have a car now till Jake gets home it was still fun last night. Now today it is Halo time!!!!!!!!!!!

Refresh! Refresh! Refresh!

2005-01-22T14:40:00.000-08:00

I have decided to change the pic on my site. It seems to be of the common opinion that the princess picture is "scary". So now I have to decide which picture to change it to. Unfortunetly I have no idea how to change the pic so I have to wait for Jake to get home. Today has been a really lazy day. I got up at 9:00 and have just lazed around the house for the past 6 hours. I am really glad Cooper has been calm today because if he got hyper I would probably want to kill him. I guess that is how it goes after a late night out. It takes a day to recoop. Last night was alot of fun though! Now I just have to figure out what to do tonight. I am not used to doing things on my own where I can go wherever I want whenever I want and not have to plan around anyone elses schedule. Don't get me wrong though, I do miss Jake, it is just nice sometime to have time to myself. Well, that is about it for today. I hope this satisfies all of you who have been harrassing me update my blog (you know who you are).

I am still around

2005-01-18T10:14:00.000-08:00

It has been way to long since I have blogged but I had to go through Hawaii withdraw before I could start back up. My tan has faded so I decided it was time. A lot has happened since our vacation. Last Friday I was offered my old job back at Princeton Property Management and I have accepted. Jake has an interview with Billy's company with a very good chance of getting the job so the move is officially on. My last day at my job in Seattle will be February 4th and I will start at Princeton on the 7th. I sort of have mixed feelings about the move. On one hand we have just in the past year made lots of new friends in Seattle who we have a lot of fun with and I will be very sad to leave but on the other hand it will be so nice to be home and able to see our family and friends there more often. I figure everything will just happen in reverse of what we have been doing. We will just drive up to Seattle when we want to see our friends there and it will be easier cause we wouldn't have to take the dog everywhere we go anymore. As for our living arraignments, Michelle & TJ have graciously said that we can stay with them for a little while while we look for a place to live. If Jake does get that job then we won't have to inconvenience them for very long. However, moving really sucks and I am not looking forward to doing it again so soon.

Maui: Day 19-20

2005-01-04T23:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was quite a day!! It was really hot so we went to the beach. We tried Ka'anapoli since we liked that one last time so much but the waves really really harsh. Not a good beach for a 7 year old and waves were to big to boogie board so we packed up and went to Wailea. It was much better there. The beach was much flatter which gave Chloe more room to play without getting eaten up by waves and the waves for us were smaller but not little. We got there at noon and left around 5:30. When we got there I ate lunch and then headed out to do some boogie boarding, and that is where I stayed till we left with the exception of about 10 minutes when I got out to take a short break. I must say...5 hours of boogie boarding is far too much for my untoned body. By the time I was done I could hardly get up after taking the waves in. When I got up this morning my entire body was in pain. My muscles have never been this sore before. This morning Chloe and I went swimming in our pool till it was time to take them to the airport. They had to be there at 2:30 so we headed out at 1:00 to get lunch but we couldn't find a good quick place to go so we just took them to the airport and we went back and had lunch at Ma'alaea Grill which is about 3 blocks from our condo. After that we went home and got ready to go to the Luau. Below are some of the pics from the Luau. Tomorrow we have to out of our condo by 11 but we don't have to be at the airport till 1:30 so we will probably go to lunch then head out. Although a part of me will be happy to be home I am really going to miss this place. I am also excited to see Cooper again. I hope he remembers me!!

2005-01-04T12:57:00.000-08:00

Hula dancers were awesome!!

2005-01-04T12:53:00.000-08:00

I know this is blurry but it is zoomed in and dark so the camera had a hard time focusing...but you get the idea.

Maui: Day 15-18

2005-01-02T20:36:00.000-08:00

The past few days have been pretty gloomy. Although it has been raining we had ice cream today and ate it outside in the rain. I don't think I have ever done that before. We have been for the most part just hanging around our condo most of the past few mornings then driving around in the afternoon. We did go see a blow hole which I believe Jake posted some pics on his site. That was pretty cool. Jake and I hiked down on the rocks while his family drove around then hiked a little. While we were down there it started to rain really hard and we all got soaking wet, which made the hike back up the slippery rocks and mud very interesting. Although I would rather it be sunny so we can go to the beach I don't mind the rain here like I do at home. It is still around 70 degrees. Any place where you can walk around at midnight in a tank top and shorts while it is raining and still be hot is a place that I definitely want to be. According to the weather reports it is suppose to be nice tomorrow so hopefully that means a return to the beach is in order. Below is an amazing pic I just took of the sunset. Can't get much more beautiful than this!

2005-01-02T20:35:00.000-08:00

Absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!

Maui: Day 14

2004-12-29T20:36:00.000-08:00

I think that today we have found my new number 1 beach on Maui!!! Ka’anapali, which was the number 1 beach on the show we watched, has definitely earned that title in my book. The waves were perfect and the sand was as soft as could be. Julie and I were boogie board maniacs!! I know my body is going to hurt in the morning. There was one wave that was so big that at the last second I changed my mind and decided not to take it. BIG mistake!!! The wave did not know that I had changed my mind and proceeded to toss me around! When I tumbled onto the shore my top was pulled up nearly to my neck and the rope that was hooked from the boogie board to my wrist was wrapped tightly around my body. I am sure I gave the group of young boys in the water a good show. I would have to say that today has been my favorite beach day so far. Oh, also we found some paddles and ball in our condo and so we brought them today. It turns out that Julie and I really suck at it. Our record was 7 consecutive hits between the 2 of us but usually it was between 2 and 3. It was really depressing.

Maui: Day 13

2004-12-29T09:31:00.000-08:00

The weather yesterday sure did turn around like I was hoping. By about 1:00 it was a beautiful day so we headed to the pool where we spend most of the afternoon. The sun at one point was so hot that it felt like my stomach was on fire so I had to cover it with my hands to let it cool down. I have never felt the sun that hot before. What is nice is that I have now gotten so tan that I most likely won't burn. Since it wasn't very nice weather I didn't bother putting sunscreen on and I was out there for a few hours and didn't burn at all. My arms are starting to peel a little though. Well, the "vacation is almost over blues" is starting to kick in. Only 1 week left. This is the first time I have taken a 3 week vacation and I can't imagine doing it any other way now. I would have been so sad if after 1 week I had to go home. It takes that long just to fully unwind. I can see now why Jake's family always came to Hawaii for vacation...it really is the most beautiful place I have ever seen.

Maui: Day 12 and this morning

2004-12-28T09:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday it was an overcast day so we ended up going to the mall and spending our gift certificates from Macy's that Jake's parents gave us for christmas. I got a new really cute bathing suit, but unfortunately I haven't been able to use it yet. When I got up this morning and went out on the balcony it was pouring down rain and the wind was blowing really hard. I checked the weather and it said it was going to be partly cloudy and 83 degrees and since it is only 7:45am I am hoping this will pass and we can have another fun filled day at the beach. There are suppose to be thunderstorms on thursday but still 82 degrees so that will be interesting. Hopefully the sun will make an appearance before that.

Maui: Day 11

2004-12-27T11:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we took a drive up to the top of the larger volcano on Maui called Mt Haleakala. The elevation is 10023 ft so that make it quite cold up there. It gave us some absolutely spectacular views though. On the way down we stopped to watch a hang glider take off but the wind wasn't blowing and he just sat there waiting so we left. About 2 minutes later we looked over and saw him soaring through the air (if we had only waited another minute or so we could have seen him jump). We did get to watch him land though, which means that it took him almost the same amount of time to hang glide down the mountain as it did to drive. If I was up there I would have taken my time and kept catching the up drafts. We stopped for lunch in a little town along the road back but all the restaurants were full so we continued to the next town which was Paia. We found a little restaurant called Charlies and had lunch. On the walls there were tons of Willy Nelson paraphernalia. Jake's dad asked if Willy partially owned the restaurant and the waitress said that Willy comes in every morning for breakfast around 8am whenever he is on the island. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We went back to the condo and just chilled for a while then went over to see what the rest of the fam was doing which also happened to be just chilling. So we hung out there for a while then went home and went to bed. Below are some of the pics from the top of the volcano. Enjoy!

2004-12-27T11:03:00.000-08:00

This is a place called "Science City" that is perched right up there at the top of the mountain. Jake has decided that if a place is called Science City than it has to be run by robots.

2004-12-27T11:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a pic of the big island, from above the clouds, which is about 80-100 miles away

2004-12-27T10:58:00.000-08:00

Island shot from top of mountain

2004-12-27T10:53:00.000-08:00

Here is us standing at the observation tower next to the crater

2004-12-27T10:51:00.001-08:00

Inside Mt Haleakala crater

2004-12-27T10:51:00.000-08:00

Inside Mt Haleakala crater

Maui: Days 8-10

2004-12-26T10:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have been slacking on blog entries but there really hasn't been anything to blog about... We have spent the last 3 days at the beach. Let me tell you, there is nothing better than spending Christmas day soaking up the sun and watching whales!! It really can't get better than this!!

2004-12-23T18:03:00.000-08:00

I have sent this pic to some of you but I feel it should be posted for everybody to see. Santa's legs are awfully white for being in Hawaii, don't you think!!

Maui: Day 6 & 7

2004-12-23T09:34:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was a pretty laid back day. I got up around 7:30 and got to have a bit of sun then the rest of the day was overcast with a little rain. It is weird to feel rain hitting you when it is 80 degrees and in your swimsuit. We pretty much hung out at our condo most of the day. We did take a trip to the mall which Jake explains in detail on his blog so I won't go into it. Yesterday was still overcast but we didn't want to sit around again so we went to the beach anyway. We had heard about this one beach called Ka'anapali Beach which is suppose to be the number 1 beach on Maui so we headed in that direction. When we got there we realized that none of us had any cash to park in the close lot so we headed back down the street and saw a free lot so we drove in. Unfortunately there were only about 20 spaces in the lot and it was full so we continued again. We found another one but it was full also so we had pretty much resigned to the fact we were not going to go to that beach yesterday then Jake saw another beach and a little lot that had 1 space available so we took it and headed for the beach. It was probably about a half mile from the beach we had intended on going to but we figured it was probably the same so we stayed. The waves were pretty scary. Jake took the boogie board out while I stood on the beach barely in the water. When a wave hit I tried to run away from it since Jake was heading straight for me on the board but the undertow was so strong that I could barely run. The wave crashed down behind me and I tumbled over and I suddenly felt pain on my ankle. I thought the wave had hit me so hard that it left a big red spot but when I came out of the water Jake asked if I was ok and told me that he didn't mean to slam into me, he couldn't control the direction he went. I was surprised since I didn't know it was him that hit me. A little while later Jake and I decided to walk up to the good beach and it was amazing how much better the waves were. If you go past where the waves are breaking then you can just ride the wave in and then back out. It is much better then being pummeled by the crashing waves!! We decided after that experience that we wanted to stick with the beach that we originally have been going to. I am so happy today. It is almost 8AM and it is blue skies with only a few clouds!!! I was afraid it was going to be cloudy and raining the whole time. It is nice to see the sun FINALLY!!

Thanks Leila!!!

2004-12-23T01:20:00.000-08:00

I am getting a little behind in my blog entries but I will catch up tomorrow morning. I am so excited though...thanks to Leila I figured out how to put pictures on my blog. She recently started a company blog with pics of the christmas party that I missed so I checked to see what program she used to post them and I downloaded it. It is really easy to use so now Jake won't be the only one with pics of our vacation. Thanks Leila!!

2004-12-23T00:18:00.000-08:00

As we finish one of our mini hikes on the road to Hana I opened the door to the car and looked to my right and this is what I saw. Seriously...what is a rooster doing way out there???

2004-12-23T00:14:00.000-08:00

Here is me and Jake in Maui

Maui: Day 5

2004-12-21T10:14:00.000-08:00

So yesterday we decided to take a break from the beach and drive around the island. Destination: Hana (rumored to be where Oprah lives according to Julie). We left around 8:30 and made a few stops along the way. Saw a few waterfalls, drove across a few 1 lane bridges that looked like they could collapse at any moment. When we got to Hana we saw what looked like an awesome beach so we stopped and Jake, Chloe and I all got out and walked down to look. It had the most amazing waves i've seen so far. They were almost big enough to surf on. When we got home Jake and I were watching a show on TV of the top 10 beaches on Maui and it turns out that beach we looked at was number 3. The beach we have been going to was number 4. If those 2 are 3 & 4 I can't wait to see 1 & 2. Anyway, back to Hana...In Jake's research he found a beach near Hana with red sand so we headed for it. Jake was reading the description in the Maui book and as he was reading he says...OOhhhhh...maybe we shouldn't go there. The book says it is a "treacherous" hike and people have died trying to get there. It said even the locals won't try to make the hike. So we decided against the death hike. As we started to head back we had to decide if we wanted to take the curvy road back or continue the circle and take the rocky dirt road back. Since we had already seen the curvy road we continued on to the dirt road. It was a very beautiful drive...we were in the middle of nowhere and all you can see is the ocean on one side of you and amazing mountains on the other. Unfortunately the road doesn't go in a complete circle and as we came around the bottom of the island we could see our condo from this road but there was no road straight to it. We had to go north to the top of the island and go around to the east and then head south to get home. Eventually they plan to connect the 2 highways but as of now you gotta take the long way home. I must say though the other side of the island is pretty much what I imagined Hawaii to be…so lush and green but also extremely muggy and windy. It was a lot of fun but I am looking forward to getting back into the nice warm ocean today!!

Maui: day....i've already lost track

2004-12-19T22:10:00.000-08:00

We have spent the last 2 days boogie boarding at Wailea Beach. Boogie boarding sure does use muscles I didn't know I had. I am so sore!! We had 2 boogie boards to share among all 6 of us so when it wasn't my turn I tried to body surf....I can't stress enough that unless you like alot, and I mean ALOT of salt water up your nose I suggest plugging your nose. Of course you trade the burning of salt water for the embarrassment of diving into a wave with your nose plugged. When we first got there I started to tell Chloe about body surfing so as we were walking into the ocean, the water only went up to her ankles, a wave broke about 5 feet in front of her and she laid flat down on the sand and the water barely trickeled over her. I guess I should have told her that you need to be in more then a few inches of water to body surf. It was quite amusing. I think tomorrow we are going to Hana which is on the far east side of the island. That should look more like the tropical Hawaii that I always imagined. We are staying in Maalaea which is Central Maui and looks alot like California except for the rediculously warm ocean water. I am sure Jake will be posting on his blog all the things I didn't write about so be sure to check his also for a more complete account of our trip so far.

Maui: Day 1.5

2004-12-17T21:16:00.000-08:00

See www.lessthanme.com to see what happened on the day we arrived. Jake has posted some pics of the view from our balcony. Today we had an “authentic Hawaiian breakfast” compliments of Carls Jr. It wasn’t very good but it was quick and I was hungry. We did the whole walk around and look at the shops thing today. It is amazing at how expensive stuff is here. I wanted to find a new bathing suit but the place we found was selling them for $90-$100 which is about 5 times the amount I am willing to spend on a bathing suit. We did eat lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company though. I didn’t even know that place was a real restaurant. The waiter gave us and the table next to us a bunch of Forrest Gump trivia and I must say that our table kicked butt!! It was kind of embarrassing. When we got done at the shops we came back to our condo to swim but it had already gotten dark and the pool isn’t heated so we watched Chloe swim. I did learn one thing….Gecko’s sure can jump. There was one climbing on the wall and when I went to go look at it, it jumped onto the ground and bolted for my feet. As you can probably imagine I did do some girly scream and started jumping around like a girl. It was great fun. Tomorrow is beach day which I have been looking forward to since we got here. It has been soooo hot here…I believe between 80-90 degrees. I start sweating as soon as I go outside. We rented snorkel gear today and I can’t wait to try it out tomorrow. Apparently there are a few good places to snorkel within a few miles of our place. I hope you are all having as good of time as we are.

Homeless in Hawaii

2004-12-13T15:33:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend Jake and I decided to do some last minute checking on our trip plans for this week so I went and pulled out the sheet that was sent to us from the Condo lady and as we were looking we noticed that it said the balance is due 30 days prior to the trip or 60 days prior over christmas. This sort of concerned us since it is 3 days before and the balance has not yet been charged to our credit card. She has our credit card number and I guess we just assumed she would charge it whenever she needed to. Jake has e-mailed her and we have yet to hear back. I don't know I guess it could fun to set up camp on the beach...we could pretend we are stranded on a desert isle, and no, it will not be with Gilligan!! ;)

Is that a halo in your pocket??

2004-12-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

I am just wondering if I am the ONLY girl playing Halo 2 Live??? Yesterday I started playing a game and one guy says "Dude is that a chick?" and when I said yeah, his replay was "cooooool" in a stoned voice. They were all smack talking like guys do to each other while playing but when I made myself known as a girl they all got real quiet and hardly talked the rest of the game. Maybe playing against a girl flustered them so much that they forgot how to play cause I actually got 2nd place and only 2 kills away from 1st. It was great!!

The Amazing Loser

2004-12-06T16:06:00.000-08:00

I first watched The Biggest Loser at Kieran’s and Chris’ house back when if first started and I really liked it. Jake is a firm hater of reality shows so I have never bothered to put it on TIVO but the other day when we were over at Brett & Jess’s house we watched another episode and I have decided that Loser wins, Jake Loses. It is going on TIVO tonight. Last week I also watched The Amazing Race over at K&C’s house and I also really like that show. I get really irritated while watching that show though because of the way Jonathan treats his wife on national TV and she just sits there and takes it. However I am still looking forward to this Tuesday and another fun filled night of “WE’RE NUMBER ONE, WE’RE NUMBER ONE…say you’re sorry Victoria …again, again, again!!!!!”

Invention Corp...Here I Come!!!!!

2004-12-06T13:04:00.000-08:00

If you are an anal bookkeeper like myself you should know that I have thought of an invention that would make people like me say to themselves "Huh...that is a really good idea" I can't tell you what it is though because I don't want any of you stealing my idea and making millions on it. Jake has already heard the idea but if he makes millions on it I am ok with that.

Costume anyone??

2004-12-06T11:14:00.000-08:00

After working on our halloween costumes, as you can see from mine (upper right), I have become quite interested in learning how to, not just sew stuff onto an already made dress but to actually make the whole thing. So yesterday Jake and I went sewing machine shopping. We went to Sewing & Vacuum over in Northgate and this really nice lady sat down with me and showed me sewing machines in my price range. It made me realize that there are alot of words associated with the machines that I don't know, like feeder foot & stretch stitch. The good thing about the machine that I was looking at is that it comes with a class on how to use it. I really enjoyed working on the costumes and I think I will even more if I am not sewing by hand. So next halloween we should be wearing costumes made from scratch so If we look like homeless people now you will know why. :)

Party dress

2004-12-01T21:07:00.000-08:00

Well, after much searching I finally found a dress to wear to the Christmas party. Jess and I went to Mariposa at Bellevue Square tonight upon the recommendation of Kieran since she found 3 dresses there a couple days ago. I managed to find one there but only after realizing that the only other dresses besides the one I got that I really liked were 2 of the ones that Kieran bought. So apparently she got almost all the good dresses and left none for the rest of us. Jess did find a couple of cute ones there to but didn’t end up getting any of them. Even though I didn’t get as good of deal as Kieran did I still spent less then I was hoping to. The dress that I got came to a whopping $95 dollars. That is the most I have ever spent on a dress including bridesmaid dresses. But then again this dress is way better then any bridesmaid dress I‘ve ever worn so I guess it is worth the extra money.

Poker

2004-11-30T22:58:00.000-08:00

So I was excited to get this site up and going because I was anxious to post what happened to me on my first grocery shopping experience in Capital Hill. I was standing in line to checkout when I made eye contact with a girl who as she was walking past me proceeded to pick a hair off my shoulder. She continued past me and as she walked past a second time she poked my shoulder and as she did all she said was “poke”. I must say it was a very odd experience.