Blowin' Some Hot Air...into Glass!

So, I've been too busy having fun to post my updates :). However, school has started and being sick allows for free time to reflect on all the fun. Here's the first of many updates (hopefully).

My nieces came to Seattle this summer from Texas. We took my oldest niece, Paige, to the Tacoma Glassblowing Studio, where we learned how to make hand-blown glass. Guess what? You get to keep what you make!

First, you start by choosing the style (vase, votive, clam shell, etc) and colors...

Then, (with the assistance of a professional glassblower, obviously) you start turning the VERY hot glass to cool it down.

You add the color (by rolling it on) and then heat it up again. After that, you mold it with special wooden molds. See, you actually do a lot of this on your own!

There are different design styles that you can do. I did a fan design...my niece did the spiral design by grabbing and twisting the hot glass.

Then, through a tube that tastes like Purell (thanks to lovely sterilizer wipes), you blow to expand the hot glass to the right size...

As you can see, it doesn't matter what color you choose, it all looks orange at this point...

At this point, the professional takes over the dangerous part...the blow torch! This creates the opening on the top.

See, the color is actually starting to show up!

Time to heat it up some more...seriously, very hot!

The final product is "broken" from the metal rod and a base is melted on the bottom...

Finally, the vase is "cooled down" in a 900 degree oven!

Maybe one day I'll learn to make items that look like this...

(from the Chihuly Glass Bridge)

My Disneyland Vacation...By the Numbers

Work is hard...at least, my work is hard...which is why I am always searching for ways to have fun. My absolute favorite "fun place" is Disneyland. My parents took our family there when I was 6 years old and I've never forgotten that trip. In fact, I have now taken 10 trips to a Disney theme park (not bad for a non-Californian resident) and I have loved every minute of it!

Really, I'm still a big kid at heart, especially at Disneyland...I sing all the songs...I clap and cheer during all the shows...I raise my hands and scream on every ride...I get excited when I get to take a picture with a Disney character.

Recently, I spent 3 days at Disneyland and California Adventure with my friend Erica, who hasn't been to a Disney theme park in over 20 years (so really, she's a Disneyland Resort newbie). Taking her allowed me to see the parks through the eyes of someone experiencing it for the second first time.

We went on rides I haven't done in years. We watched kids and parents experience the fun, excitement, and magic that comes from the Happiest Place on Earth. We experienced fun and magic of our own. We started planning our next trip back before our first one had even ended.

However, Disneyland can be expensive, so it's all about getting the most for your money. Here is the breakdown of our trip, in numbers. For those who "marathon" Disneyland like we did, it is a VERY cost-effective trip. Here it is...

# of days at Disneyland Resort: 3
# of hours spent in the parks: 40

# of rides we experienced: 67
# of shows we attended: 9
Our avg wait time: 30 minutes
Longest wait time: 50 minutes
Shortest wait time: 0 minutes

Total hotel costs: $125 per person
Total food costs: $100 per person
Total airfare: $130 RT
Cost of 3 day pass: $149

Total cost of the trip: $525 per person*
(*Including airfare, hotel, tickets, food, and shuttle for 4 days total in CA)

Disney cost per hour of fun: $3.75**
(**Based on cost of 3 day pass and # of hours at the park)

Now, isn't Disneyland worth $3.75 an hour???

Here are some pictures below from our trip (just to inspire your own vacation):

See, Disneyland is inviting YOU to come join them!

Ummm...doesn't the height difference seem a bit unfair? Sweep the leg! I guess the "force is strong with this one" :)

"Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy."

Catch that toad! (Mr. Toad's Wild Ride)

You know what, it IS tough to be a bug!

REALLY look at this picture...tell me if you can see the Haunted Mansion ghost that followed me to the castle (look at the feet on the ground and the missing body)

Riding the teacups...just in time for the new Alice in Wonderland movie!

Do I look excited? I think I look excited.

I was almost attacked by Goofy...but I got a great picture out of it! :)

The BEST surprise picture of the trip...Mickey AND Minnie...with no wait line for pictures!

Disneyland fireworks...they never do anything half-way.

"We're DYING to have you...hurry baa-ack! Hurry baa-ack!"

I wish...

A fantastic end to a fantastic vacation...now back to work...

I'm Free...Free Fallin'!

The spirit of this blog is to document my new adventures...my attempts at living in the moment and enjoying the life and energy around me. And in that spirit, I joined my dear friend Windy Dawn in a new experience...tandem skydiving!

That's right, I willingly jumped out of a plane! Of course, it was a tandem dive, which means I jumped strapped to a professional skydiver.

This all started when I got an email last week from Windy inviting me to go skydiving with her...hmmm, I wondered, do I really have the guts to do that? My thoughts on skydiving in the past were fairly nebulous. But now, the invitation was laid before me...the gauntlet was metaphorically thrown...

After checking that the weather was clear, we ventured to the town of Shelton. We paid our money and they outfitted us with diving suits (you wish you had one!). Then, the diving team proceeded to explain to us proper techniques to prevent us from knocking out our tandem diver (useful information!).

We climbed into the small prop plane (the smallest plane I've ever been in) and off we go! The apprehension began to build...

Waiting for the plane to take off, my tandem diver ran through a checklist with me...
Hat? Check.
Gloves? Check.
Nerves? Uh, I think I left that in the car.

As the plane ascends in the air, my diver asked me, "Well, what kind of dive do you want?"

"What kind can I have?" I ask.

"Well, we can just go straight down...or we can flip and spin," he stated.

"Hey, as long as we land safely, anything else is a bonus!" I exclaimed, while I thought, I wonder if now is a good time to tell him I'm afraid of heights?

We reached 13,000 feet, which meant it was time to jump! Inching closer to that door, I started to wonder why I agreed to do this...and looking out the door didn't easy my mind (why did I think it would?!). Wait! I'm not ready to jump!

But no time was given to ease my trouble mind as I'm pushed right out the door! Immediately, we began with a flip...oh flip! I screamed as I realized there's no way to go but down...literally!

The force was so intense, it really doesn't feel like you're falling. All I could think was I can't believe I'm doing this! I can't believe I'm doing this! It was so surreal! My tandem diver then proceeded to grab my legs with his, and we began to spin...

I wanted to scream at the crazy feeling of a free fall spin...Yet, I couldn't make my voice work...perhaps the air forcing itself into my open lungs had something to do with that! At this point, my mouth and cheeks began to flap with the power of it all...I swear, my mouth expanded 2 inches at this point!

Finally, the parachute opened...a whole 50 seconds after we first jumped. My tandem diver taught me how to turn the parachute and we floated peacefully to the ground level. This was my point to look at the beauty around me...truly, I live in an incredible place!

The time came for us to land...and I did so with a grace only I possess (READ: I landed flat on my butt, when I was supposed to land standing...oh well!).

And it was over.

We all piled onto a truck bed and headed back to the hangar. "How did the dive go?" the owner of the company asked.

"Wait...we already went diving?" I joked. And yet, it wasn't a joke. While in the dive, I was so "in the moment" that when it was over, it felt like a dream. Did I actually do it? Thank goodness I had the video and pictures to prove it!

The following pictures are brought to you by Skydive Kapowsin, me, and the letter K.

On my way to the plane with my tandem diver. Clearly, I have no idea what I'm about to do...

Walking up to the open door...What on earth did I just get myself into???

Out the door...

So so so cool!

A common theme of my pictures...mouth open and a dazed expression on my face...
I hope I didn't eat any bugs... :)


Look how close we are to the clouds!!!

I swear, at this point it was difficult to close my mouth...my cheeks were just flapping with the power of the fall! (Honestly, I think my mouth expanded 2 inches...)

And the parachute opens! Whoo!

From jump to 'chute...a whole 50 seconds!

I survived!

Two Weeks into Family Fantasy Football

So, it's been a few weeks since I updated my Fantasy Football experience. Here we go...

Fantasy Team Selection (AKA Playground Team Selection) - I don't know if anyone has ever played fantasy sports, but live drafts feel a lot like picking teams on the elementary school playground.

There are tops picks...the ones that EVERYONE wants on their team...the ones that when someone else picks them, there's a collective "aw man!"

As the list dwindles down to the relative unknowns, it becomes more difficult for those who's knowledge extends as far as they can throw a football (trust me, not that far).

To keep the process moving, there are 2 minutes on the clock for each person to make their decision...with 10 people, that is the potential of 20 minutes to decide your next move. Sounds like a lot, right? WRONG! As I try to decide who to pick next, I see player names being selected one after the other...what happened to my 20 minutes?!

Now there's only 2 people in front of me..one person...now it's my turn, and only 3 minutes after my last pick!

Wait, the person before me selected my next player! Ack! What do I do now?! Quick Brenda, make a decision!

The seconds are ticking down just like the clock on the show 24....clanck...clanck...uh, uh, I'll pick TJ Duckett...Phew! Done! (to which I learned after the draft that he was dropped by his team and is not playing this year...Crap...)

I'll be honest, it's a pretty stressful 45-50 minutes...but just as hilarious is the smack talking that occurs on the side (I LOVE my family for that!).

So far, we've had two weeks of games. I lost the first round to my sister, but I beat my cousin this week. I've never been one to watch pro football. But, I've probably watched more pro football the past 2 weeks than I have my whole life combined...I guess it does help if you have someone to cheer for...

Family Brawl...Fantasy Style!

So, in the spirit of new adventures, I agreed to join my brother's family fantasy football league (that's right, a fantasy league consisting of ALL family members...yep, we're a bit into sports...or a bit competitive...you decide). Now, I should preface this post by stating that I really know NOTHING about football. Sure, I know there is a quarterback and he throws the ball to someone--check that, sometimes he will HAND the ball to someone (see, I do pay attention!). I might be farther right on the bell curve compared to some other girls, but you probably need to know more than that for something like fantasy football.

Still, I agreed to participate, knowing that I had a wealth of knowledge at my disposal (aka dad...mon pere...padre...pa...el honcho...the big kahuna...you get the picture). So, Sunday night, my sister and I sat with our dad as he proceeded to expound upon his football wisdom. Let's just say, I don't think he knew what to do with us...case in point--a snippet of our football discussion:

Dad: ...then there's the Tight End...
Brenda: what's a Tight End?
Domini: the only tight end I know is a well exercised hiney.
Dad: What???
Brenda: you know, someone with a "tight end" (turns around and smacks behind)
Dad: [laughs] Not even close...

Apparently, I have to draft players to my "team" in a LIVE draft on Thursday. So, if I want to crush my family (which I do) in this proclaimed family brawl (which won't consist of physical scars, just emotional ones), I will have to learn about people I've never heard of before and decide if they can help me in my quest for world (or at least family) domination...so, maybe I better choose players based on more than how well formed their calf muscles are...maybe I'll choose players based on the fierceness of their mascot (for example, a lion would probably beat a raven according to the laws of the jungle...but would a lion beat a cowboy? As far as I know there are no cowboys in the jungle...another discussion for another day...)

A Tickle Tells a Thousand Words

So, as a present to myself for graduation, I got a pedicure yesterday at this little hole-in-the-wall place that I went to once over a year ago. Ironically, the person who gave me the pedicure this time was the same person as last time.

I don't know if you know this about me, but I am VERY ticklish. So naturally, the absolute worst part about a pedicure is when they rub pumice stones on the feet. For me, it's akin to Chinese water torture.

Here I am all happy and content until I see the pumice stone...hands clench...eyes squeeze shut...okay let's just get this over. The first brush of the pumice stone and I twitch and pull my foot away. What happens next? The person looked at me and said, "Wait, have you been here before?"

"Once," I replied, "over a year ago."

"Oh, I remember you!"

Apparently, a tickle does tell a thousand words...

My Visit with One Explosive Lady!

My sister and I took a little trip to Mount St. Helens. I've lived in Washington state all my life and I've never been out to see it. So, we took a little visit this week. Mount St. Helens has these lava caves call "Ape Caves". I was kinda hoping these caves were carved out by actual apes, but alas, it was just lava...but just imagine, apes that can do that would have their own reality show! Here are some pictures from the trip!

It wasn't really gonna fall on my head, I was just pretendin' :)

There are 2 paths in the caves...in the upper caves, you have to climb over 27 lava rock piles...note to self: bring a head lamp! The bumps on my head prove how hard it can be to climb with a hand held flashlight.

Here is one such breakdown pile!

You see, this is what happens when you blow your top!

Mount St. Helens with a full moon...that's right, how lucky were we?!