Rattlesnake Ridge Hike

It’s getting nice outside and the urge to be one with nature is strong. I’m not one of those girls who likes to lay out in the sun doing nothing. I’m becoming more and more adventurous and looking to get out and be more active. If nothing else a good hike feels good, whether you feel beat up at the end or not.

Last weekend, May 9th, Kevin, Phil (our newest roommate), and I went on a day hike to Rattlesnake Ridge. We got off to a late start due to other work conflicts and stuff in the morning. I packed us up some lunch, sandwiches, apples, carrots, and almonds. Then we took off, arriving at the trail about 1pm.



The hike was pretty nice, the first half hour or so is relatively easy, just a slight incline with plenty of flat ground to recharge. As we got closer to the top, the incline increased rapidly and I found myself huffing and puffing a bit. Keep in mind that I am out of shape, which is part of the reason for hiking in the first place.



After struggling for the second half of the hike, we made it to the top. I might have been the only one really struggling, but I powered through it and made it to the top.



The view was absolutely gorgeous from the top. I got as close to the edge as I could without freaking out, I have a small fear of heights.





The hike was good for me. Once we got to the top, I had such a great feeling of accomplishment and it felt really good.

Lunch with Grandma

I quit my job for a number of reasons:
1) I was getting bored
2) I wanted to become a writer
3) I wanted to devote more time to projects around the house
Most Importantly
4) I wanted to spend more time with my family.


In November, I packed up my life in Puyallup and moved to Woodinville. My family is in Puyallup and my new life is in Woodinville. They are about a 90 minute drive from one another. Why is this important? My family is important and taking the time to drive 90 minutes is a time consuming process. Add in a full time job, chores around the house, and spending time with your boyfriend and there is little to no time to make that drive.

In January, my grandfather passed away and I knew that I needed to make my grandmother a priory. She is my last living grandparent and I want to cherish the time I have with her. My grandma is a pretty amazing woman. She just turned 83, but doesn’t seem a day past 60. She is healthy, for the most part, and doesn’t need a cane, walker, or wheelchair. She doesn’t walk as fast as she used to, and has always had issues with her feet. She is still pretty active and seems to always be on the go.

She wants to come up to Woodinville to see where I live and visit. I think that would be a blast. Spending a few days with grandma, who could ask for more? She is one of my biggest inspirations. She used to read to me all the time when I was younger, and loved to sit next to her and listen to the stories over and over again. I have always loved books and reading, and thank her for that. She introduced me to my favorite author Mary Higgins Clark by lending me “All Around the Town” and, my personal favorite, “Weep No More My Lady.”


Once I read those two books, I set aside my Judy Blume books and the “Babysitter’s Club” series and turned to mystery and suspense. Now, I am in the process of writing my own mystery novel…all thanks to my wonderful grandmother.


She is also a great inspiration because she is a breast cancer survivor. Through all she has been through, I have never heard her complain. She takes the twists and turns life throws at her and overcomes them. Not only that, she still has many more things she wants to do. Travel and the love for the ocean are two more things I have inherited from my grandma.

As my first steps in spending more time with my family, I took grandma out for Chinese for her birthday. We had a great time. She was really busy that week, her sister was in town from the East Coast, so we didn’t get to spend as much time together as I would have liked. However, I plan on going out there next week and spending some good quality time with her.

I look forward to the time I will spend with my grandmother and the rest of my amazing family.


Grandma and her 11 grandchildren

My Last Week

If it hasn’t become clear yet, I love projects. I love taking ordinary, or ugly, things and making them pretty. Kevin’s house needs a lot of work done to it, because he is really busy and the house is from the late 70s. Actually, the house is as old as I am, both built in 1977. The original owners decided it would be cool to have every piece of wood in the house an ugly “smoker yellow” color. We’re talking every door, closet door, drawer, and cabinet this dingy color.



A few months ago, Kevin and I painted all the doors and drawers in the kitchen white. The color really brightened up the room and I actually like being in there now.

My project over the last week was the dining room/bar. The dining room is basically done; the walls are a nice shade of brown, with a dark brown accent wall. However, the bar area needed some major work. There was that ugly yellowish color all over the doors.



Kevin and I decided we wanted something dark to go with the theme of the room. We went to an actual paint store and talked to a professional. We decided on a cherry stain, but didn’t want to do all the work. We were recommended an awesome paint, which was more of a gel, that would cover anything and look like a stain. The paint took about 8 hours to dry. I did one coat per day to ensure it would dry completely without smudges.



The finished product is absolutely amazing, I love it. Kevin loves it. The roommates love it. I feel really good about this project and I look forward to doing many more. With this house, there are a lot more areas to paint and transform and with this girl it will get done.









Doesn't that just look so much better?