Sprizee :: A simple girl replete with complications

Fun things to do in Seattle

Someone sent an email asking for fun things to do with their 8 year old and this is the list I sent them back after shaking out the ideas rattling around in my brain. 

• SAM Sculpture Park
• Walk or ride bikes on The Burke
• Beacon Food Forest 
• Forage for blackberries 
• Top of the Smith Tower and Space Needle
• Seattle Center International Fountain
• SAF walking tour 
• Ride a ferry (to Bainbridge) and then grab some lunch at Hitchcock (deli sandwiches) and Mora (ice cream)
• Alki in West Seattle (you can take the water taxi from downtown for extra fun)
• Wander around Uwajimaya and buy whatever looks interesting
• Kubota Gardens – beautiful and free
• UW Arboretum
• UW Outdoor Center – rent a canoe for cheap
• Climb to the top of the water tower in Volunteer Park

Then I realized I wanted to do all these things (again) too. I'm putting it right here, so I don't forget.

Electric Co.

I just found this random text file on my computer entitled birthday...

5 friends, 6 cameras, 1 freshly baked chocolate cake, 2 candles that magically added up to 37, a slight breeze, lots of sunshine and a perfect sunset.

Ah right, from the time I surprised The Dude with an Electric Boat Company rental out on Lake Union for his 37th birthday. I also neglected to mention the baby in my belly and how we kept the boat out for longer than we originally rented it for. I highly recommend you rent one of these suckers. So fun.

Seattle, you look wonderful tonight.

Warm glow, originally uploaded by sprizee.

There's nothing quite like the warm glow of a perfect Seattle summer evening. My cousin was in town a couple weeks ago from Boston. I hadn't seen her since 1998. But was it nice like this when she was here? Of course not. It was rainy and gray. Anyways, that's a story for another day. Tonight was quite lovely.(Although this picture is from a week and a half ago when I met up with friends for dinner at Shanghai Gardens for hand-shaved noodles in the ID. They were so good. I so love the view from the Seattle viaduct looking at the waterfront into a warm summer sunset.)

I would write more and all but work is crazy busy and all the kung fu I've been doing lately isn't helping with the blog updates. Besides, if the weather is sunny or halfway decent I'm making a pact with myself to get outside and enjoy it. Mostly this summer has been bizarrely cold. So that's where I'll be if you need me. Work, kung fu practice, outside. In that order.

WWKD?

Snacks for TBTL!, originally uploaded by sprizee.

I was on TBTL again last night. This time representing my Kateness and opening up my shame-ber. What's a shame-ber? This. Mine happens to involve a tent, makeup and misrepresenting myself via Flickr. I'd remove the tag now, but I feel like that would make me more of lying liar then I already am. What's that? You don't know what the hell I'm talking about? Oh, right.

And boom goes the dynamite.

I was on TBTL last night (LIVE! IN STUDIO!) to defend Twitter and I dragged my friend Neilson (and some Bailey's) along to assist. There goes my 15 minutes of fame. Although technically I think it was closer to 18 minutes. Which means I owe fame 3 minutes back. Tell you what. How about no one comment on this post and we'll call it even. Good? Good.

Yes, Luke is just as awesome in person. Yes, Jen is just as adorable and nice as she seems. Yes, I really did bring them all mini bottles of Bailey's. I thought it was only appropriate seeing as how I downed one minutes before I headed to the TBTL studio. 

Sean gracious accepted his. Jean graciously accepted hers. And Luke? When I mentioned that I was feeling the pressure, he cracked his open and then split it with me seconds before this happened. Then we chatted about Twitter, Care Bears™ and iPhones. Oh, and stuffed animals in skill crane machines humping. 

And that happened.

TBTL, that's the way I like it.

So, okay. I can admit it. I'm sort of obessed with something right now. It's called TBTL. Short for Too Beautiful To Live. It's a local radio show in Seattle. But because they also podcast the show it has a much wider audience. Why am I so obsessed? It's funny, interesting, just generally delightful and it makes the bus ride to work each morning so much more enjoyable. 

In fact, I didn't even realize just how much more enjoyable until I noticed I was smirking while listening via my iPod shuffle so much that I found myself constantly biting my lip to stop from laughing. Hello, crazy person. Still, small price to pay. 

In any event, perhaps you're not interested in a local radio show. Sure, I can see where you're coming from. I'm not a huge radio fan myself. Although that's mostly because most radio (except NPR) bores me with their stupid, loud sound effects and their hot button debating. However, could you perhaps be interested in stories about Hot Cheetos as contraband in public elementary schools? If so, TBTL is definately for you. Because Mr. Luke Burbank, host of TBTL, use to work for NPR, and his head is full of wonderful stories.

So just in case you're interested the TBTL podcast can be found right here. What's that? You're not interested? That's fine. But just know that I no longer like you.

Welcome to the Seattle snow globe.

I have witnessed a bunch of strange things in the last 24 hours that are already starting to feel like the new norm.

1. Folks cross-country skiing down the middle of my street. So far three.
2. Steep neighborhood street closed to cars and converted into a snowboarding/sledding run.
3. Walking 3 blocks down to a main road because there was too much snow on the ground to drive around my neighborhood and meeting up with carpooling coworkers.
4. Me worrying about the snow being so high that it might get into my kneehigh rainboots. Not quite but almost.
5. Man walking along main street in Ballard with giant garbage bags, two. One wrapped around each shoe/leg.
6. Guy in wetsuit waterskiing on Lake Washington near 520 in a Santa coat and hat.
7. Me sitting in my coworker's car stopped ON I5 in the left lane of traffic (you know, that FAST one) right before the exit to 520 while her and another coworker hopped out to clear off the front window since all the snow she left on her roof fell onto her windshield and obstructed her view for important things like SEEING while driving.
8. Making a mental note to always remove ALL THE SNOW from my car before driving.
9. Getting to the office and seeing a Geo Metro stuck in the driveway of our parking lot. The driveway had become a snow bank thanks to the snowplowing along the main road outside my office.
10. Noticing the rest of the parking lot wasn't much better. A good foot of snow all around.
11. Me, coworkers, and friendly strangers pushing and digging cars out of the snow. So far two.
12. Watching the postman drive by my office, not even attempting to make any deliveries. See #9.
13. That means a bunch less packages will be under the tree come Christmas.
14. I don't care. Snow is the new sunshine. More, more, more! 

What a Christmas card.

What a Christmas card., originally uploaded by sprizee.

Yesterday I walked up the street in my neighborhood to do some local Christmas shopping and pick up a few provisions. On my way back home, around 3 PM, it started lightly snowing. By the evening the snow had picked up speed and the sky was raining white magic. By time I finally went to bed, around 1 AM, it was still snowing. Which means this morning I woke up to a lovely, pristinely white first day of winter. I love mittens, scarfs, wool coats and rain boots. I could get use to this.

Free (and/or cheap) things to do in Seattle.

Elliott Bay Book Co. in Pioneer Square  I suggest you grab a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich in the basement cafe before or after.  Yummy!

University Book Store  With locations in the U-district and downtown they have a lot of great speakers and most of them are free.

Science on Tap  I always miss this event even though I'm completely fascinated by the premise.  Oh, and there's one tonight!

Seattle Architecture Foundation  Okay, so these events aren't free but they are inexpensive and educational.  In other words, totally worth it.  So far I've done the Art Deco and Design Details tour. Both were fabulous and now I have extra ammo to be that obnoxious Seattlite that can't stop chattering about her favorite subject.

Of course I'm leaving out the Seattle Public Library, Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park, The Henry every Thursday, Gas Works Park, and the giant hat and boots park in Georgetown.  What else did I forget?

I wanna rock 'n roll all night and party everyday.

So, I know, for the Seattle folks in the crowd it probably would have been a good idea to mention this before now, but I picked up tickets to the Sub Pop Comedy Show months ago.  That's before I knew David Cross would be participating.  And, more importantly, before it sold out.  So I apologize. 

I will say that if I didn't already have tickets for that I would be headed to Jules Maes down in Georgetown to see Vanderbuilte tomorrow.  I mean, how could you not love a band who describes the event as, "We’re coming to throw garbage in your recycling containers and drink all your soda pop!"  

If only I could be two places at once.  Oh, and then a girlfriend invited me to her BBQ which I'd love to attend, but of course, I already have plans.  I swear I spend most Friday nights home alone painting my nails and reading teen fiction.  So make that three, just this once.  No?  Fine.