Nintendo Rocks the House (aka, the party you missed)

So perhaps I should just commit to blogging only once a month. Or maybe if I switched to a better platform it would be half as frustrating as having to type the same post over and over (and over) again.

Remember back (like one post ago, but in real time, forever ago) when I hinted at the awesomeness that is Nintendo? Well, get out the kleenex to dry your eyes and wipe your drippy nose (or the drool from your mouth) because here comes the recap.

Look at those chics get their game on!

flickr set

Four score and seven years ago...or about 2 blog posts ago, I had a birthday. Okay...it was longer than that, but less than a year ago when my hubby threw me an awesome Wii-themed birthday party. Everyone who came had to bring a gift that was wii related (not to imply that they all had to bring a gift, but if they did...and who am I kidding...they all had to bring a gift or they were run off the front porch. not). Even Liisa - the love of my life keeper of my frying pan secrets - who couldn't make the party got in the grove and made me an awesome mini-album, fold up card, all scrappalicious holder for my AWESOME Gamestop giftcard to get my wii game on.

Fast forward 17 or so days and the novelty wore off. Aka, Bernadette kicked in and I lost interest.

A little over a month ago (or was that really like two months now - my how time flies), Justine contacted me out of the blue. So out of the blue that I was like "Is this my stalker posing as a new girl in my life or does this woman really have something to say to me?"

What I say next should in no way reflect badly on the strong independent woman that I am. I read other women type stuff like this and I cringe. But the truth of the matter is that I turned to my Microsoft X box game testing hubby and said "Hmmm...check this out. What do you think?"

To which he said "You know...that Nielsen thing didn't work out so well."

Quick digression - Neilsen sucked the LIFE out of me. It made grocery shopping unfun and most folks know I LOVE to shop...even for groceries. But when most of your goods are from the produce or bulk section (or, worse yet, from Costco and in bulk - oh the horrors!), Nielsen doesn't like you so much. I stuck with it for MONTHS of agony. And finally just couldn't take it anymore. Though I did get a healthy appreciation for what it must be like to check me out at the grocery market. I'm so sorry.

Back on track. I replied that Nielsen was work and this would be fun. To which he asked me if I even knew what a Nintendo DS was. Which of course I replied "Yes, it is that little game thing that my nephew threw around the living room in his fits of rage when he visited."

Uh huh. But Justine ALSO forwarded me a link to another chica who was working out the Nintendo Enthusiast BlogHer deal and I thought to myself "Hmmm...this would net me a free electronic device (which I, evidently collect lots of), a great party that I don't have to do a thing for (that part is what you're waiting for me to get to) and, it just might get me to blog more often."

I did get the niftiest little DS in the mail a few weeks ago. And it sat in my box. Well. Actually, I opened the shipping package and this cute little DS box was in it. I opened it and it was the coolest packaging ever. I'll have to upload a photo. The packaging was so cool (little mirror on the box lids, flashing lights, applause audio when you open the lid...the lining is red velvety stuff - very red carpet awesome) I just couldn't bring myself to actually use the friggin' thing. I know pitiful. But then...came the party.

I have to tell you, I was sweating bullets. My people (yes, I'm talking about you) are skitish like that. We live in an alternate reality where last minute invites lead to last minute yes/no/maybe/can-i-bring-my-entourage rsvps and because Nintendo is local, I wanted to show the place up. Then I was notified that awesomeness would be coming not only from Nintendo -Seattle, but also from NYC and I was about ready to fly in my girl Rachel from the city to make it happen too. But then I calmed down and thought 6 degrees of coolness. Which ended up rocking out my party because I met folks who were related/bffs with folks I personally know and it was good to see people out of my normal context of knowing them.

So the party.

Off. the. chain.

Full disclosure here - Nintendo paid for every last thing. From the awesome loft that I actually ALMOST rented for my wedding reception (no kidding!) to the complimentary valet parking that made travels to Pioneer Square for a bunch of young women at night safe to the fantastic spread of snacky foods and beverages that filled our tummies (including the wine cause, it was like happy hour...and hour...and hour...you know). And yes, to the awesome Nintendo DSi's that everyone got to keep (yes KEEP) and the awesome game with their DS as well.

Grown women were jumping up and down screaming and I want to say I also saw a tear drop fall, but I wouldn't hold me to that last. It was definitely a blurry eye...that was for sure.

The service was great for the party part but the awesomeness was honest to goodness in the DS's themselves. I mean really. I'm the queen of gadgets and multitasking but even I was a bit dubious about how you might have a "party" with a bunch of folks sitting around playing individual games. Well, Nintendo can show ya how.

The loft was broken down into 4 zones. Each zone had a different game that you could play (Brain Age 2, Mario Kart, CrossworDS, and Rhythm Heaven). Earlier today, I spent a good hour researching the cool wiki and official sites for each of those games. Now you get to do it because blogger is a hot mess tonight and I'm not trying to break another laptop.

Throughout the night, different areas had different levels of popularity but I'd rank them as such:

Quietest Least Party Interactive - Rhythm Heaven. You had to wear headphones to hear the beat so there wasn't any superflous convo to mess up your game.

Most Studious - CrossworDS. I hang with a bunch of bright women. They were working out the word finds and crosswords like their next raises depended on it.

Most Boistorous Party Central - Hands down Mario Kart DS. Especially when gamers were tagged into each other and racing against each other. Of course this could have been because two of my co-workers in particular were particularly keen to this game - one who specifically mentioned "I would have NEVER bought a DS and I'm so not a gamer but this is so FUN!". Admittedly, I almost didn't invite her because I didn't think she'd want to come. Love ya Kate!

Biggest Line Ego Buster - Brain Age. Awesome game and most folks have heard of it before. Everyone wanted to check their Brain Age. On the system they had set up there, I was like 71. Really now? When I got home after the party and finally set up my DS (I also got Brain Age), I was 36. Awesome. Seeing as I'm thirtysomeodd anyhow. This one had a line I think because beyond testing your age, it has suduko. Had some law folks/financial analyst types present so you knew that was going to be popular with an average finish time of about 15 - 20 minutes for the digression to play Suduko.

The party was really hopping. There was a 5th station where you could start or end up at where you got hipped to all the neatness of the DS and specifically the "i" part. The DS has built in digital cameras (which, I might add, are better than the ones on my flippin' crackberry) and so everyone was spending time customizing their DSs. Everyone cept I cause I left mine at home. Alas.

As each lady went around to the different stations, there were Gamer Chicks (all dressed in black, all gorgeous) helping us get set up and settled in. They were also keepers of the gold coins.

Most guests didn't know WHAT gift they were getting at the end of the night. I had told them (cause they're my people and sometimes they need a bit of a bribe) that they would get an awesome gift. Originally, I thought it would be a charm bracelet with charms they collected at each station. That gift was their very own DS and a DS game (BrainAge for the most of what I could tell). The Nintendo hosts did an excellent job of reminding folks to collect their coins and towards the end of the night, when the cat was out of the bag that the coins were for systems, people stopped camping at their fave games to get up and collect coins.

At the end of the night...with the place cleaned, the music stopped (awesome music with attentive hosts who would skip songs, adjust volume as necessary), and the Gamer Chicks ready to leave, I had to walk up to two last stragglers and tell them I'd never invite them to another event if they didn't get out now.

I think I made about 4 or 5 new best friends that night.

All in all, it was the most awesome party I've ever had my name so prominently attached to. To this day, I still get tons of emails and most of them are no longer "I can't believe you got us free DS's" so much as "What's your brain age now?"

And so you're wondering. I didn't actually open up my DS until after the party. And it was actually my hubby who opened it, took a picture of me napping on the couch for my profile picture and recorded a "song" (if you will) that I get to listen to every time I open up my DS and laugh my butt off to.

I would say that last weekend, with great weather and a moment in the park to wait on him doing his bike ride was the first "real bonding moment" I had with it.

I am ADDICTED to Suduko. That's all I do on my DS and I admit it.

I'm not a fan of Rhythm Heaven (one of the games I got with my DSi) just because I have no rhythm and I don't like to be reminded of it each day. Interestingly enough, it's like Wario Ware Smooth Moves on my Wii (which I LOVE!), but I just can't get into it. Yet. Maybe on a plane with my ear buds in, but at the party I couldn't grove with it.

I'm also not a fan of Mario Kart (another of the games I got with it) because I LOVE Mario Kart on the Wii. I like to race people, not computers and the Wii is designed to be played in community. With the DSi, if I know someone else with a DS (which, now I do) we can get together and play, but alone...it's not as fun to me as Mario Kart on Wii by myself is. That and I've kinda convinced myself that playing Wii is more than just a workout for my thumbs so...

To that, games I'm looking forward to getting at some point:

I totally want to get Mario vs. Donkey Kong March of the Minis for fun and I could totally see using the Personal Trainer: Walking And anything Sims related you know I'm game...My Sims at lunch anyone? Goodness that's a whole other addiction to address. Both My Sims Kingdome on Wii and Sims 3 on the comp.

Perhaps it isn't blogger I should be hating on. Ever since installing Delicious and Windows Live (particularly the latter) my comp has been a hot mess. Totally need to uninstall WL. Used to love WL Blogging. Now it is just too much hassle when Facebook is so easy.

Holy goodness

So...

Evidently, all I have to do is a giveaway on my other blog to get ya'll to come out of lurkdome and even sign up to follow me through the gates of...well...I'm not so sure that hoarding is really a sin. Okay. Justifying ridiculousness IS so...we'll move on.

Since the giveaway fun worked so well on the other blog, I figured I should use this whole "social liberal media" thing (giggle...I'll stop, I promise) to promote an even MORE AMAZING opportunity than The Great Thicker Hunt of 2009. Yes. I am done with the scrap references. Now let's move on to technology. Fun technology at that.

I admit it. I loved a Wii. Like no other. Heck, I had a Wii themed birthday party for my thirtysomethingcoughcoughahem last year. Cause my hubby is a huge gamer (xbox in his case...he wouldn't be caught dead playing Wii which is why we have to play DDR2 in the friggin dark with all the windows shuttered), and he wanted to share the love. But get that I said loved. As in past tense. Because aside from blogging and scrapbooking (and we know how regularly I blog) I don't really stick with much of anything for more than about 24 days. I know.

However, Nintendo is determined to change that for me. And for you too.

If you're a local gal, hit me up with your email address if you want in. There will be an amazing shindig in Seattle (including valet parking, tasty adult beverages and fun like you never knew you could have - again...) on June 18. I know, short notice for you busy busy people, but because I do nothing but melt silently away most nights, I figure it should work out.

Trust.

Because I'm a tease, I leave you with this. You have to send me your email addy to get on the list and space is a tiny bit limited, but hey...for you...I'll make an exception (smile).

Exactly a month ago...

...I blogged. And that is attrocious. Really attrocious since it took me still more days to actually update this blog from that realization. I realize this. And you know it is either my will or my wont to do a list or a really (really) long post to get caught up. I'm fighting it. But don't say you were not warned.

First things first: I ROCK! Level 14, 100+ club (that's 100K+ point...I stand corrected). yes. In one sitting. yes. That is an hour of my life I will never get back. But it felt so dang GOOD! Not that I've ever been a crack dealer (or an enabler for those that prefer gentler terminology) but

Bejeweled 2 is really addicting. I'm doing very scientific research to determine if I make it farther when the sound is turned down (aka, I'm trying to hide from my hubby the fact that I'm waisting my life away on java script games when, yes, he sits downstairs playing xbox. whatevs). I'm also trying to determine if earlier morning play helps. Or if early morning play paused while I go to work and resumed when I get home has an impact. I don't think I've played nearly enough to figure that out yet. All in the name of science though.

In the name of COOL however, stay tuned. Potentially really exciting, cool, girl, games, tagalicious post coming. Not that I EVER tag posts. Well I did during the election. but then it got boring. And too bloggy. and I got bored. And moved on. Kind of like now. But in the long time it has taken me to write this post I have confirmed that exciting coolness will be going down June 18 and you will NOT want to miss out. Promise. This is HUGE! Well, for local gals that is.

So you're curious just what in the heck I do with my life when I can't bother to check in for a month? Well, aside from the Bejeweled addiction. Oh and the blackberry tampering trying to figure out why in the heck I don't get work emails anymore (answer = crappy server, imagine that). Oh yeah and tagging Pandora goodness. There. I do play tag. Just not on my blog.

For the longest time, I've wanted to update my blog. but I'm a creature of habit (and apparently, of lower case letters). That and start a couple more. Yes. I know that is crazy because I never update the Photo Blog (surprise surprise! Bet you weren't expecting THAT! lol) and if you're savvy or internet gallery addicted like I am, you don't necessarily get much special from the Scrap Blog (well, another surprise...I'm FULL of them today!). And never mind that I had an election blog, a wedding blog and one other blog that no one shall speak about. All said, I think it is time. I cannot believe how long I've actually stayed committed to this blogging thing. I think I keep doing it because it is an easy enough way to remember how long I've known my better half who refuses to live his life on the internet. I started this here blog right before my toilet exploded at Capitol House (this will be relevant below) that one fine Thanksgiving weekend.

My how far we have come.


Anyhow. That list. 30 or so things I've done in the Month of Sundays since I last blogged:


* Created a TON of pages from those gorgeous wedding photos by Gerald and Airika.

* Managed to get a NON wedding photo page picked up for publication by Scrapbooks, Etc (okay, but it was an engagement layout full of photos taken by your’s truly).

* Debated the merits of progressive/regressive tax structures with Miranda and Erick

* Attended an amazingly inspirational breakfast (900 folks!!) and dreamed of consulting again.

* Got a text (or two) from a crazy woman on her way home who ain't fraid of no hands free law.

* Got a call from a crazier woman (aka my sister) wanting directions to the Las Cruces Wal Mart (just in case she needs those again...I got her back and yes, that is Las Cruces...New Mexico...and no I have not lived there for…oh…5 years??)

* Won a bet about how long it would take to walk approx 4 miles (over 45 minutes)

* Realized that you CAN teach this old dog new tricks because my Sushiland is so much better than YOUR Sushiland. Kirkland has promise.

* Turned my Swag On and realized that My President is Black (parental advisory) before putting my Halo back on and realizing I need to keep it clean (and that maybe she needs to remember she is married...just saying).

* Missed Fred and his cousin and started to wonder why we were naming certain visitors to our pad.

* Realized that I'm too old to attend Summer Jam because all the teeny boppers will be out to impress yet, somehow, I am not too old to attend a Green Day concert. GA. In the pit. With my ex-security 6'6 hubby. That should be the last concert like that we do. But then again, we said that before with Sean Paul, JT and Modest Mouse. I'm just saying...

* Started a twitter account. Which I have a (relatively) lot of followers wondering why they've never heard a peep (or is that a tweet) out of me.

* Managed to STILL not call my mom (I love you mom, miss you too...and Q too...I wish I lived in El Paso. Okay. Well. Not really. I wish you guys lived here. But it rains a lot here. Especially lately). And in the months since I started this post, I’ve REALLY missed them even more. And I’ve wished for the rain to come back. No such thing as global warming though. Nope.

* Found a million dream homes on zip/redfin and realized why I never want to live in El Paso again (try to find homes on either of those sites. Yeah...I need a city...and Seattle is barely a city by these standards).

* I prayed really hard for Robert's sister's hubby. And that is saying a lot since some folks believe I'm the anti-Christ and...

* I got called out in church because it had literally been a month of Sundays (might have been a month in a half) since I had been to church. Specifically, Father Paul looked me dead in the eye and told me I was NOT to dip my cracker into the wine. Something about swine flu. Whatevs.

* Went on the great hunt for thickers. Found said thickers. Had to contain my habit over said thickers. Now the hunt is over and I’m being altruistic with those thickers.

* Almost melted off the face of this earth. Jury is still out on that one. We have a genuine heat advisory in effect. We’re shattering records. But remember, there is no global warming.

* Watched half of Earth 2100. If I could stay awake in the heat on my couch, I’d watch the whole thing.

* I of course watched all of Inside the Obama White House. Come on. That was a given. I still watch West Wing (much better than the official site) reruns.

*Rescue Me is still my fave boy soap opera. I still cannot stomach cops and everytime I hear Operation Repo on in the other room, I swear I can taste just a little bit of throw up in the back of my mouth. And you know what THAT means (taste it, hear it, see it, smell it = do it…or think really hard about strawberry cheesecake and smell a handful of baby powder to calm my stomach down). I do LOVE Southland though. To pieces. Which means it will be cancelled. Alas.

* I need new shoes. Apparently, not as bad as I needed those thickers.

* I’m so totally nesting (but totally NOT expecting). I bought a book on 99 ways to not lose it when teaching your kids manners. While I do want to have kids, I’m about 99 percent convinced that there was subliminal messages channeling from that screaming kid’s mouth who was running through the store when I picked that up. And I got the book on 99 ways to not lose it when dealing with your kids’ food issues because, well, I was hungry.

* My favorite snack lately? Well, since perfect margaritas don’t really count as a snack. Especially when you’re NOT having them on a Tuesday night. What was I saying? Oh yeah…perfect snack. I cup light French vanilla yogurt, two jumbo Costco strawberries sliced thin and two tablespoons of Cascadian Farms granola. Heaven. Oh dear sweet Lord thank you.

* Speaking of Costco. Aside from it being ridiculous to shop for a family of two there, you know what else it is ridiculous to do at Costco? No, I’m not talking about the fitness pass thing again. I’m done and over that one. I was going to say that it is really ridiculous to buy a tub of humus from Costco. No matter how much you love humus and have co-workers who do as well, there are just not enough wheat thins in the WORLD to eat a whole Costco sized tub of hummus. Not that I am speaking from experience or anything like that.

* Oh the toilet. Finally just have to act on that. which means I should follow up with my lawyer. Yeah...I'm big time now. "My lawyer". That's a trip.

And on that note, this post has reached ridiculous proportions and really, you should just hit me up on facebook where they limit the characters I can type. Yeah Twitter does too, but I don’t have a cool twitter ap for my crackberry so Facebook wins. For now. Until someone so politely hooks me up.

Flowers, Firearms, Funny Boys...and no...not Guns N Roses

So do you remember this cutie reporter?

You know where he's from? He's from the land of firearms evidently. Tivo and all...watched a 20/20 special tonight "If I only had a gun" and vowed to never have firearms in my house and when I learnted that 1 in 3 folks have firearms in the home, I vowed to have sleepovers galore. I'm not a fan of statistics like that.

20/20 special clip - check it here

My hubby is the best. And no, not just because he brings me beautiful flowers.
But partly because of that (smile).

Funny boys...have you ever watched Rescue Me? I stand my ground. That show is totally Novella for the boys. I used to say it was a boy soap opera. But it has surpassed even my expectations into the realm of Novellas.

hot. mess.

Like Jamaica...but with no AC

Let me tell you. My honeymoon was the bomb.

Some of my fave memories?

** 27 minutes on site and the welcoming "refreshment" was a Bob Marley.
** Air conditioning
** the smell of Jerk chicken
**Alfreds
** ATI/RTI
** Air conditioning
** late night beach walks
** Hobie cats
** Did I mention air conditioning?

I'm married to a wanderer. He likes to wander off places. Like Tibet. And Everest.



While yes, Jamaica is VERY much on the beaten path...especially since you have places in Negril that very much advertise that they are the party capital of the world for the just passed teeny bopper spring break set (ahem), it is definitely on the beaten path.



But here's the thing.



When we think about "where next" a lot of folks are on the "You'll never top Everest" tip. Duely noted. Competitive as we are, we don't feel a need to one up every trip we take.



So for the honeymoon, it became what is the best deal we can get for a long time away from crazyville (preferably right next door to Margaritaville - check) but with the option to see/experience some "real life". Remember...I got to experience rural Chinese toilets on our last big trip before the honeymoon and all.



All said, I loved my honeymoon so much that the ONLY (and I do mean ONLY) issue I had was really a non-issue rendered moot because, as I mentioned, one of my fave things about Jamaica was the air conditioning. Mostly, because that place was hot as a MUG. I mean come on.


I lived in Ujamaa at Cornell and I attended my first and last sweatbox only to get a cool glimpse of what visiting any of the island nations my pan-African people had come from. No joke that the university was really good about making sure the habitat was kept hospitable for us. I'm not saying...just cause, you know...I'm from Texas and we got heat too. Just not like island heat.



So.



Earlier this week, when my better half in all of probably 7 minutes (cause he's fast like that) forwards me an email to a place that shall not be named, I'm game. I mean really. Any place that I need to sleep with a net and be mindful of the lack of reliable electricity sounds like the trip of a lifetime to me. (And it was honey...it was).



This morning, he wakes up (well not really since he doesn't sleep anymore) and asks me:



"So...you do know that this place is like Jamaica right?"

Of course I do...that is why I want to go.



"But it is like Jamaica with no air conditioning"

[silence]



[more silence]



"Oh...and did I mention that they say you need a flashlight to go to the bathroom at night so that you don't step on the crabs in your room...I mean we're THAT CLOSE to the beach."

[really silent and then]


"Well, it's cool that it is on the beach."


"Oh yeah about that. We should also watch out for scorpions."

I'm from the desert. El Paso to be exact. I quit Girl Scouts the week after my troop leader came screaming out of her garage because she had been stung by a scorpion. I've never seen a real live one (well, because the one I saw that day was squished dead) and I'd like to keep it that way.

For the record, my troop split right after that because the leaders didn't get along. But I like to tell it as I do above because that makes it a bit more dramatic and special.

Oh Jamaica.

but have you REALLY been to Seattle?

Ahh...spring in the PNW. What's that mean? We're not the land of the midnight sun, but we DID have sun pretty darn late last night. So it meant:

Trip to the best people watching place in the city for the best fish and chips in the city.

No. I'm not talking the piers. Unless you're a tourist. And you're scared.

I'm talking Alki Beach...on the first sunny day of the season. With all the hoopties out. And some of the...well...I should behave myself. But it is fascinating. There are the slow rollers. The guy in the ski mask (shout out! please don't shoot out). The gorgeous cars raised and lowered. The rims that cost more than my Ivy League college education (I got off cheap remember...all of $6000 because of that other thing I'll mention a bit later). The girls stopping traffic. The old folks honking at the girls stopping traffic. The endless search for parking. The two trucks pulling folks left and right. The dreaming of "I want that house right there". The realization that a quick summer sale could very well end us in temporary housing on this very strip. But best of all?

You guessed it. Spuds.

Though...I have to say...last night they needed to fire up the grease a bit hotter.

So many folks swear by Ivars little tiny strips of things that are supposed to be fish and stringy fries. And I'll bite (literally).

But if you want the best fish and chips in town, fight the crowds (well, DON'T take me literally on that front) and hit Spuds. The handcut fries (skin on) are to die for. The REAL pieces of fish are worth the price. And the garlic vinegar...oh my sweet saviour.

Of course no trip to Alki is not complete without a stop "on the way home" at the ice cream shop. You'll be proud to know we stuck to the sherbert. Which is good because now that every place in the world wants to let you know how many calories you are sucking down, it's probably pretty important to note it has half the calories of my old standby Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Swirl. Oh the sacrifices we make.

In other news:

Looking like May will be rather litigious
Looking like May will also be rather muddy
Finally figured on a plan B and I totally like it. Totally!
Mexico anyone?
Okay how about DC then?
Scrapping is good - join the 50/50 challenge with me
Pandora still rocks even though I now have not one, but two iPods
Powder Puff Pine Wood Derby rocks my world
Burst pipes don't float my world
Busted brakes do try to stop my world

Drama. Hope the Portland drive is going well for you. I think it's time for another lunch date since it's been like...what...half a year or something?

Drama 2 (or maybe you're 1 since I knew you first and all) can I be your wedding planner? I love planning weddings.

Drama 3 (or maybe one because you are just off the HAM meeter). I'll save it.

House hasn't sold yet (the HORROR! Not.) so you still have time to take a guess on this post.

Happy sunny day.

Who? What? When? Where? oh and Why?

lots of questions and emails to this last post. So let's see what we can get to.

I know it is a bad habit to not respond to the direct comments and only take to responding to emails here, but hey...if you take the time to comment, I figure you're kind enough to take the time to read and I try to really be all "interactive" so...theoretically, I answer comments in subsequent posts (or edits).

If you comment, and it goes unchecked, unanswered, just let me know. Imperfect and all. I'm thinking of doing the comments gone wild version of the blog again (aka, unmoderated) because we do live in an instant gratification world and all.

Only problem is I'm pretty anti censorship and I feel all like "the man" when I have to delete obnoxious, non-sense that really, has nothing whatsoever to do with the price of tea in China. Or anything else I remotely care to have my rare and few blog readers read about. But I've reconciled that inner-conflict with these small nuggets of widespread knowledge:

Blogger blogs are free. You can start your own and have your own soapbox.

Even my frail, wannabe tech savvy father in law can figure out how to google me and find my email address. And that is where he sends me spam. If he can figure out my email addy, so can you. Some things are better addressed (or ignored/deleted) via email.

That said...let's play "did you notice".

Did you notice that in the above photo, there is a gorgeous shade of green on the wall? Gorgeous because it used to be this "interesting" shade of texturized golden/yellowish/orange (see dining photo, think darker). Gorgeous because I cried tears in trying to figure out what color to paint the man cave (aka bonus room). Gorgeous because I "settled" on this ugly color at Lowes (or Home Depot...I get them confused) using the handy little "pretend this is your room" computer monitor and thought it would come out more gray/brown than it did. Was DELIGHTED when it came out this color.

Did you notice in the photo above that there is a bowl of something on the table? That "something" is popcorn. Being that it is a bonus room with a gigantor screen (we watch the SuperBowl on it for the annual party because the tv itself is just not big enough...evidently), the smell of popcorn really helps to solidify that you want to curl up on the couch previously known as "The Make Out Couch" to watch a movie like...oh...The Reader.

Did you notice in the photo above that there are three bottles (on the windowsill) of oils with various goodness in them? If you thought not eating the popcorn in the photo before this was hard, you have no idea the will power it takes for me not to pop open that red chili seed oil with some baguettes. Yes. I said/typed baguettes. Behave...my name IS Bernadette you know.

Did you notice in the photo above that the walls are red and yellow. Well, really they are this really great color of red and yellow. But remember the bonus room/man cave photo? Where I referenced the dining room yellow? Well, picture it darker...and textured. It made it a pretty dark man cave. All said, that mirror on the wall? Costco. By my better half. It makes me look thinner and I love it every day when I'm looking tired and getting read to go to bed and loading up the dishwasher. Oh yeah. I don't load the dishwasher. There's a reason for that.

Did you notice that there is so much to love and notice in this room? But we NEVER (as in EVER) use this room? Kinda obvious, I know. So my three fave things to notice about this room: the photo above the fireplace was taken by my better half; the chess set was a craig's list alley deal; you really should not come down the stairs in just your towel because those curtains stay open ALL. THE. TIME. Just saying She Who Shall Remain Unnamed Who I Love For Putting up With My Wedding Obsession (and yes, I will skype with ya).

Did you notice that this room is also green? But it is actually a MUCH lighter shade of green than downstairs. And I actually used to hate it (we called it the Thin Mint room. Okay. *I* called it the Thin Mint room). But then accessories made all the difference. Especially those REAL wood logs for our FAKE gas fireplace (well not fake, but it doesn't burn real wood...bummer).

Did you notice that the big blue star and the bowl of starfish are holdovers from another time. Another day specifically. July 19, 2008. They couldn't make me get rid of ALL my wedding decor.

Did you notice, barely, that piece in the front, right corner? Our TV lives in there. The tv I kinda scraped up in the move. But more importantly, that cool piece was my first indicator that my man was more than handy AND frugal. The piece is a Craigslist find (sensing a pattern here) left on the side of the road. He stripped it and stained it. I love it to pieces.

Did you notice that this room used to be my scrap room? And that the transformation is awesome?

Did you notice that there is a bunch of orange throughout our place? Could you tell that orange was my favorite color?

How fun! Okay really though:

Why move now, why not wait?

Because, as I mentioned, we can. We could wait until the market starts to go back up but guess what? The market will start to go back up on the other end too (the end where we're looking to buy another place). And since we're buying up as all good, responsible Americans chasing the dream are want to do, it makes more sense to sell now while the market is down so that we can buy while the market is down. It would make MOST sense to have sold while the market was up, waiting with our crystal ball for the crash to come and then capitalized on both ends. Alas, there is now bigger pay off for us to sell now and at the least, capitalize on the end which will be a better bang for our buck - the buy side.

Where you going to girl and why you gotta leave like that?

First the second part. We don't "have to" go like that. We like where we're at and like the peoples. We do, however, both work on the other side now. And by the other side, I mean we float to work (cause the 405 would make me homocidal). When we first started here, he worked downtown and I worked on Cap Hill at SU. Now we both work in Bellevue. On the East Side. So it makes more sense to live on that side closer to work because we're both slaves to our jobs and our jobs predicate how we will live our lives. To that, there's the answer to the first part. Where we're going is closer to work. Likely NOT Bellevue (cause I'm married to a banker at his core and I work in the non-profit sector and that's working out swimingly financially right now but not Bellevue style swimmingly). But east of the lake definitely.

It is so pretty! Why would you want to leave?

Again, not so much want or have to. It just is what it is.

Townhouse again? Or a real people's home this time?

I DO declare! But funny enough to make the cut because I've heard my hubby refer to moving to a "grown up house" too. I don't get it. Mostly because it is a pretty UNIQUE townhome I guess. As I was educated last night, it isn't a zero lot line so there's an HOA. Which is actually GOOD because there is uniformity to what very similar looking units look like. Not that you have to all be the same (don't go there...I was the Director of Diversity & Equity and a Diversity Columnist so I appreciate difference well enough - just not when you want to drape your place in purple gauze and my other neighbor wants to keep the multicolored Christmas lights flashing year round), but I do like coming home and not worrying about the yard. But now I DO want a yard to worry about. And grow a pea patch in (smile...sorry...it was called for).

I'm a visual learner. Show me.

Me too. Some links for your vicarious pleasure.

This backyard

These windows/walls of light

This whole house

beach park location

That shower is to die for

Hardwoods and built ins - a girl's best friend

Windows, windows, did I mention I love windows?

And no. We have not found where to next. We're not officially looking (the links above would make me a liar to say "we're not looking") until after we sell. One time per marriage of signing on the dotted line only to say "but wait" is enough for us (smile).

Happy house peeping.

Home for sell (Guess the Offer/Sell Date)

Need a new place?

Holy crap. I just typed a long post and lost it. So that's a sign.

The gist?

We put the house on the market this Monday.

5 days. Guess.

Guess on what day (ie, day 92,978) we will get our first offer. After that, we'll play guess the day we'll actually close the sell (ie, on day 938,298 you will close) and we'll make it a good contest.

The prize? You get to say you won!

Actually, you get to brag that you know when the Seattle area real estate market turned and we were able to sell. And I'll throw in a $25 GC for the poor folks who can't afford to shop for groceries anymore. Grocery Outlet anyone?

Okay...really...it will be to like Target or Barnes and Noble or a charitable gift in your honor to your choice of screwed by the economy charity/non-profit. Whichever one you prefer that hasn't gone out of business by the time this place sells and you win.

"Winner" will be the person (or first person) who guesses the right day. If you guess something more optimistically close to today, you can guess again (on this post only so I can find it please) after your day passes.

This should tide us over for 5 months eh?

*** ETA: Man ya'll are researchers. It's really just a guessing game. No need to research TOMs and market trends (smile). We're selling because we want to (and can afford to) not because we have to. I'm a bit partial, but I'll do another post about this all. Soon as I figure out how to link up some of my faves without inadvertently telling the free world exactly where to mail their pipe bombs when we move. ***