Adventures of Rachele - Misc

Brrrr

nospam@example.com (Rachele Cawaring) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:18:13 -0700

The last two weeks have been really cold up here. It even snowed the weekend before last. Before the snowflakes started sticking, I actually got up and met friends to run 6 miles. Mel and Bill were crazy enough to run 20 miles that morning. I think there's a fine line between being tough and being insane and it all depends on your perspective. Flakes were falling during the run, but the sun was peaking out and it was a beautiful day. The snow in the photo didn't happen until after I returned from my run. That's when I refused to go out unless someone drove over and picked me up. Icy roads scare me.

Luckily, most of the severe weather wasn't in my neighborhood. The roads cleared the next day. Dixon is even acclimating to the weather, and I'm sure he keeps warm since he bounces all over the place when we're walking near people or other dogs. I can't imagine what our walks would be like if he hasn't been going to class. We still have a long way to go...

Puppy!

nospam@example.com (Rachele Cawaring) — Mon, 9 Jul 2007 06:53:35 -0700

Dan and Bethany have a new addition to their family...a black lab retriever puppy named Neah. Here a re the photos of her a couple days before they took her home. She's only been home for two weeks, but I think she's already doubled in size.

Birthday Bonanza!

nospam@example.com (Rachele Cawaring) — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 16:51:08 -0700

I knew so many people with birthdays this week. I only have photos from Bethany's party, though. We had an instructor come over to teach us how to make a bracelet and earrings out of beads. The name of the company is Hand Maiden Gifts, and it was a wonderful experience. She provided all the equipment for us and she was so helpful and patient. I don't think she knew what she was getting into with a room full of marathoners...we tend to be pretty picky and methodical. We all wanted to plan out our strategies on our bead boards before learning any techniques. It was pretty funny how serious the room got and how we took beading to a whole other level. :) She had to keep us moving, otherwise, we'd take all night to make one bracelet. We were so focused, that even though people had low blood sugar from running that morning, no one wanted to eat dinner until the "work" was done.

Confab

nospam@example.com (Rachele Cawaring) — Wed, 30 May 2007 14:54:17 -0700

I don't know how we got into French politics, but we did. It was a little outside of my knowledge base, but you can listen to the show at www.confabshow.com.

Elements of Power Retreat

nospam@example.com (Rachele Cawaring) — Tue, 22 May 2007 17:37:14 -0700

This weekend I attended a women's retreat at the Alderbrook Resort sponsored by Elements of Power. The room was filled with powerful, successful women who were trying to find more balance in their lives. The goal is to integrate feminine and masculine power, so we can enrich each aspect of our lives. The retreat was much more intense than I imagined, but the ability to analyze our traits, behaviors, thoughts, and tendencies was deeply empowering. Plus, the resort was beautiful, relaxing, and warm. It was the perfect balance of restoration and training.

We'll miss you, Kristen!

nospam@example.com (Rachele Cawaring) — Tue, 22 May 2007 15:01:21 -0700

I'm a little behind in posting. These photos were taken after our track workout on Tuesday, May 15th. We celebrated Kristen's big birthday and her moving to Colorado. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

What's a hacksaw?

nospam@example.com (Rachele Cawaring) — Sun, 6 May 2007 17:34:32 -0700

This weekend my parents came to visit. And yes, my dad fixed stuff in my home. (I've mentioned that I'm not particularly handy in past postings) My dining room light was flickering and magically fixed itself when they were here. Really, it's been doing strange things for a few weeks and it stopped on it's own. Then I had new shelves installed in my guest room closet.

You would have laughed if you saw me in Home Depot, calling my dad and asking what other supplies he may need for the project. I have to admit that I finally learned what a hacksaw looks like. I know what a saw is, so you can't tease me about that. Come on, I'm not that bad. I just didn't know what made something a "hacksaw" instead of any old run of the mill saw.

I'm pretty happy with the way things are set up now. I just need to purge some of my books...it's so hard for me to downsize my book collection.

Confab #44

nospam@example.com (Rachele Cawaring) — Tue, 1 May 2007 14:45:53 -0700

The second half of our April 19th podcast of "Confab" was just posted. There's a photo of the guests on the site. You can find the show here.

Happy Birthday Tapas!

nospam@example.com (Rachele Cawaring) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 22:45:27 -0700

Last Thursday was Tapas' (my friend, Richard's little Chihuahua) first birthday. We went over to Mel & Richard's for dinner and they even baked him a doggie cake. Of course, I had to take pictures.

Confemme

nospam@example.com (Rachele Cawaring) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 10:42:47 -0700

Last Thursday, I did another podcast, but this time there were actually more women than men. Consequently, we called it Confemme (instead of Confab). The talk is split into two parts. The first part is released today and the second will be released next Monday. We focused on plastic surgery based reality TV shows, women struggling with how their appearance affects their careers, and how technology is changing our social interactions.

Here's the link, www.confabshow.com. Enjoy!

Working with Power Tools

nospam@example.com (Rachele Cawaring) — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 15:24:00 -0700

Every once in a while I feel the need to do a home improvement project. Actually, it's a pretty rare occurance and today I was reminded why. There are some things I'm very good at...planning, math, and making spreadsheets dance. Then there are my underdeveloped skills, such as basic home maintenance projects. I really shouldn't be allowed to use power tools. Don't get me wrong, I'm not tackling difficult projects or haphazardly throwing things together. Today I attempted to install a bike hoist. It consists of three pulleys, a rope, two anchors to the ceiling, and a cleat to fasten the extra rope. Really, it should be easy.

Well, I installed the hard part, but I couldn't screw in the cleat to the wall. Even after reinforcements came, I was left with five new holes in my wall. I am throwing in the towel. I have to admit that I have to wait for my dad or friend's husband to save this one. At least I learned how to use a stud finder and power drill today.

Spring has hit Seattle!

nospam@example.com (Rachele Cawaring) — Fri, 6 Apr 2007 20:28:33 -0700

Sunset

Yes, it was 80 degrees here in Seattle. And because I was so disappointed about last weekend's performance, I had to workout extra hard to redeem myself. Julie was laughing that I felt the need to prove my athleticism. Here's the week's workout schedule:

Monday: 1 hour of weight training and 3 mile walk

Tuesday: 8 1/2 mile run with Cindy from Greenlake, along Lake Union, across the University Bridge, up the steps to the top of Capitol Hill, through random streets in Wallingford and back to Greenlake. My legs were screaming at the end of the run, but we were giddy from all the good weather.

Wednesday: 1 hour of weight training and some running along Lake Union and walking up the steps to the top of Queen Anne with Julie. Again, legs were burning!

Thursday: Yes, this is what happens when you hang out with someone who it trying to qualify for Boston this year. Cindy and I did the 6 mile "Hana Hill (or Hell) Route." That's where we start in downtown Bellevue, go up Clyde Hill, wind around Media and Hunts Point and find extra little hills on the way back. Just to give you some context, this route was developed by Hana, who did crew in the Olympics and is thus an amazing athlete and has a very high threshold for pain. We allowed ourselves one short walking break each since it's our first run on our new training plan. I was actually pleased about how strong we were. Then Bethany convinced me to walk about 4 miles later that evening since it was such a beautiful day.

Friday: A well deserved rest day. I went to the Animal Shelter with Kristen and we had an ice cream cone along the beach in Shilshole. So many people took Good Friday off. Then I had almost a couple beers (I just couldn't finish the second one) with my good friend, Gavin, at dinner. It was a wonderful way to end the week. I don't know how that fits into my "training," but I still have plenty of time to rest before our 15 mile run tomorrow morning.

I love Spring/Summer. I love the long days. I love how everyone is so friendly and in a good mood. And I love the fun clothes. It's my favorite season and it's where I hit my peak fitness in training. I'm really enjoying the work I do, I have wonderful friends, a supportive family network, and I'm in good health. Yes, I feel blessed.

Mt. Rainer. I was catching it just as the sun was setting.

Continue reading "Spring has hit Seattle!"

Daffodils Everywhere!

nospam@example.com (Rachele Cawaring) — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:49:15 -0700

Today is officially the first day of Spring. Yes, it's cold, but it's sunny!!! And it's 6:50 pm and there is still daylight! As I was walking between meetings downtown, I noticed a lot of people carrying daffodils. People from the Pike Place market were handing out flowers to people on sidewalks. Now, that feels like Spring. I don't like the scent of daffodils, myself, I'm more of a rose-girl. I know, a little cliche.

Here's another funny thing I noticed today...I don't remember the last time I've been to an event or party (business or social) where I haven't known at least one person there. And even when I do only know one or two people in the room, inevitably, I'll find out that some of us have mutual friends or contacts. Seattle is such a close knit town. What would be fun would be to take a complete stranger off the street and see how many questions it takes to figure out you have someone in common. So, this is taking things a little further than the idea of six degrees of separation. I'm guessing that if you've been in one area for a few years and are fairly social, you are probably only 2-3 degrees of separation from strangers on the street. Any guesses on how many questions you need to ask? (This reminds me of an old commercial: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Lollypop?)

Downsizing

nospam@example.com (Rachele Cawaring) — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 16:01:10 -0700

After 9 1/2 years (September 1997), I'm finally retiring my Classic Size Franklin Planner. I still have notes from my planning pages archived back to January 2000. I'm sure I don't need to keep seven years of notes, but shredding earlier years will be a different process. I'm still a little scared to downsize, but I'm tired of lugging around my planning binder with all my other stuff. If you've seen me in meetings, you know this is a huge step for me...I wouldn't be at a meeting without my black planner. It's how I've remembered names and details; done countless hours brainstorming; and recorded bits of information that I'd reference in the future.

Now, my Blackberry has replaced several functions of my planner and I feel the need to find something that will fit in my purse. Since I love streamlining, this should be a good change for me. So, why does my chest feel tight? :/

Adventures in Babysitting

nospam@example.com (Rachele Cawaring) — Fri, 9 Mar 2007 19:11:31 -0700

Yes, I was babysitting my friends' 18-month old daughter, Elise. I'm never around kids, so it was pretty cool just hanging out with her. Of course, Bethany stopped over to supervise me. :) We tried playing with toys and reading.

Then I thought I'd teach her a new trick to use on her parents (it's fun being the crazy aunt). I know one day this is all going to come back at me. My friends are going to have a lot of fun (at my expense) when I have kids. So, what trick did I want to teach her? I thought I'd teach her to carry a purse. So, I went into my closet and brought out a mini flowered tote bag for her to carry her toys in. When her parents called to check in, I mentioned that I was teaching her to carry purses. That's when I found out that her mother already taught her to do that and she already like to try on shoes. Oh, goody.

We opened the door to my closet and her eyes lit up. Then she said "Shoes!" As soon as I gave her a nicer purse and matching shoes (it's scary that she knew the difference between a cheap tote and Coach shoes/purses), she started strutting around. We let her pick different shoes from my shelves. Then we even let her wear a tiara (which she LOVED!!!) and a flashing, pink sash that read "Princess."

Girls are so much fun. Bethany and I had a great time playing dress up with her.