{Sarah Who?}

I  can’t believe it’s been almost a month since I last updated.  I see all the traffic and think to myself, I really should update…just hit Publish! So, what have I been doing?  Besides starting a lot of never-published drafts – about kale, delicious vegan bundt cake recipes, shopping locally, love and domesticating?  Internet, that is a good question.

Nicole (sister-in-law), Maureen and I at ToST Lounge, Seattle. August 2010 (Photo credit: Scott Schmidt)

The occasion evening has been spent with my brother and sister-in-law, and saying good-bye to friends.  Maureen moved to DC in mid-August for a neuroscience fellowship, and we bid her adieu at ToST Lounge one very hot August evening.

Lots of contemplating.  Life.  Work.  Furniture purchases.  Love.  Dogs.  Wait, did I say dogs?  Yes, dogs.

Could you really say no to that face?

The Beau and I have been throwing out ideas around getting a pooch.  This cat girl never thought she’d agree to it, but that is what love does: makin’ me  agree to crazy ideas, like adopting a pooch!  First, The Beau suggested decided on a Sheltie.  I said, No.  I’m not interested in yappy dogs.  Then, I suggested the ever intelligent, stuffed animal-like standard Poodle.   He said, Hell no.  But, we both kind of like the idea of the happy-go-lucky French Bull Dog, so we may have a contender.  (I’m still not giving up on the standard Poodle, though!).  Annnd, to “accommodate the space of potentially-adopted pooch (and my two cats)” (*snicker* – and other reasons), we’ve been looking at homes in the area.  Like, houses.  Yay!  Our agreed-upon must-haves:

• three (min.) bedrooms
• yard or garden space (for me), preferably with a fence
• dog and cat friendly
• a good-quality kitchen
• newer build or remodeled charmer
• in Queen Anne, Madrona, Leschi (top choices); or, Green Lake, Ballard, W. Seattle.

Croquetas Borrachas @ Ocho

I’ve been enjoying the tapas and sangria at Ocho in Ballard with BFF and local celebrity* Nick Hart.  My never-wavering favorite dish is the croquetas borrachas - fried goat cheese served with a slightly spicy roasted pepper almond sauce.  I’m also keen on their patatas bravas - fried potatoes served with a brava sauce and green olive-tarragon aioli. O! And!  I know, I’m in my 30s and just now getting to this experience, but…

"Just Because dinner" at Daniel's Broiler in South Lake Union

what a lovely experience it was: dinner at Daniel’s Broiler.  BF took us here on a Thursday evening a few weeks ago.  I had the salmon and it was delicious (–but not as delicious as Dad’s).  I don’t have a lot more to say about this, but it was a nice evening out.

Uncle Rick and I checking out Dad's debut, re-landscaped yard & patio - August 2010, Seattle, WA

Finally, family time with my dad and his fam.  It’s always a great experience to spend a Friday evening with my dad and uncle over a glass of wine (or, three) and homemade BBQ.  My dad recently had his patio …would you call it “remodeled”?, and the yard landscaped.  Hopefully, there will be many more barbecues and gatherings in this new, much larger outdoor space.

Outside of this, I’m preparing to start yoga teacher training in four short weeks.  That said, prepare yourself for posts on all the wonderful yogic things I’ll be learning!  The plan is to complete the 200-hour training for teacher certification, register as a RYT with the Yoga Alliance, train with Yoga Behind Bars and do some volunteer work teaching yoga to incarcerated youth and adults.  My hope is, by next summer, I’ll have and take reign of the opportunity to leave my job entirely (or possibly cut my hours a bit), and teach regular classes on a semi-full-time basis.  I’m sure a whole bunch more Life! will pop in between now and then.  But, I’m ready. Bring it!

* He is my local celebrity – and single, for all you unattached ladies out there! ;)

** Sorry there’s not much substance to these here blog posts lately.  I’ve got a few (well, a lot of) posts waiting to be finished and published.  I just need to get my act together and get them done.  Fortunately for me, that won’t be this weekend as we’re outta town for the hol-i-day!

Happy, safe travels–and have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Up to my eyeballs in Busy. That is what I’ve been.  My life has changed quite a bit in the last many weeks. I’ve had many interesting things to write about and either no time, or little energy (photos of the girls’-weekend surfing trip are up). I can’t remember when I was this content. You know, the kind of content where you don’t have to think much about life, you just kind of live it and with each step, it tastes delicious? That kind.

BF and I are semi-domesticating. There has been chatter about the whens and hows of officially moving in together. I’m already in Queen Anne every night of the week. (He offers to come to my place, but his is much bigger and more comfortable; and he has the better kitchen.) We have a great partnership; it’s easy and fun, and there’s not any one else I can imagine sharing my life. He treats me very, very well. And he’s asking me about names for our children. Yes, it’s that serious. And very, very sweet.

Diablo Lake, coming back from the Methow Valley - Washington State

And yet, I still make time with friends, sometimes we make time together with friends (and family), and we each have activities we’re pursuing individually on occasional evenings. But, it’s nice to come home to my beau. (And he wants to start acro-yoga classes with me in October when boating is over.)

The Sitting Room - Seattle, WA (Shallon & I)

Mariner's v. Texas (we lost), with the Dragonboat team members

Part of domesticating means cooking! Yay! But, I’ve gone almost completely vegetarian (bacon, how I miss you), BF can’t eat dairy–and I haven’t met a pickier eater since…well, since Caleb. Together, we’ve decided to alter our cuisine to incorporate vegan recipes.  (Though, I will still be eating cheese.) Tuesday night, I made the Lime and Peanut Coleslaw from 101 Cookbooks. It was an excellent side to Veganomicon’s “Snobby Joes” – sloppy joe sammiches made with lentil instead of ground meat. Can you believe that my picky-palate, meat-loving boyfriend completely devoured both, no complaints? I did alter the “snobbies” just a little (my mouth is watering just thinking about leftovers).

We have also decided that any and all meat we purchase will be from local farmers, grass-fed and will adhere to ethical standards. No herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics, hormones or steroids.   Certified Organic grass or grain that is not genetically modified. Humanely raised and harvested animals. Pastured and as local as possible. Because he’s Puerto Rican, BF was raised on meaty, traditional foods, and I don’t want to change that. Though, through some discussion and reading, I think he’s realizing the importance of meats that are humanely-treated and meats and produce that are locally grown and raised. And, (he doesn’t know it yet, but) we’re also joining a local Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA–a socio-economic model of food production. They benefit small farms and local communities.

I’m looking forward to October. Mostly, because it’s my birthday month, and yoga teacher training starts. But, also I look forward to October because I expect the chaos at work to settle down (just in time for me to possibly, maybe leave next fall to teach yoga full-time). And who know what other kinds of sweet surprises may pop up along the way?

The last week or so has been soopah busy. My dad is leaving the hospital today, and he’s doing great! Between going back and forth between Seattle and Tacoma, I was pretty exhausted last week.

Luckily, Shawn and Shannon invite us up to Colleen and Rick’s* house on Lake Cavanaugh. It’s always a treat being out there; Colleen and Rick are some of the most generous, kind people I know, and I feel grateful that they enjoy opening their home to us. It was a small group this year, but a Labor Day weekend is in the works; hopefully the rest of the gang will be able to make it. This year, Rick had installed a tetherball, volleyball and badminton net, horseshoes and we had a variety of other activities to choose from (indoor swimming, a theater room, canoeing, kayaking, paddling, drinking, eating, eating and more eating).

I took time off this up-coming Friday and Monday for a surfing trip (girls only!) to Westport on the Washington coast. I’m super psyched for this weekend, though, I will be missing someone (who will be in Canada for a rowing competition).

My handsome beau

The never-ending "competitive" volleyball match, 2 vs 4 (BF & I)

We are kayaking with my brother and sister-in-law next weekend, then spending the first weekend in August sea kayaking up in the San Juan Islands, whale watching and roaming around.  I am really loving this summer!

My ol' friend Shawny-Shawn (I love this shot.)

Friends

Snow Caps in July on Lake Cavanaugh

Shimmers on Lake Cavanaugh

Mike & Megan

Megan

Jasper (attacking the tetherball)

Family

I’ll have some videos up soon, too.

The week is ending nicely with a glass of Prosecco with fresh raspberries. Celebrating beautiful weather, progress, being grateful for experiences, friends, and new beginnings. New beginnings. At the beginning of the month, I asked July if it would provide something wonderful. Indeed, it has.

Right now, plans are in the works for camping at Westport in two weekends. The plan is to take surfing lessons in the Pacific and practice some yoga on the sand. Then, the first weekend in August, a snuggly camping trip to my favorite place in the state: San Juan Islands! That trip is going to include sea kayaking and whale watching with side trips to the alpaca farm and the lavender farm. There may also be some other traveling in the next few months, but we’ll see.

Today, I also made one more very important decision: I met with the president and resigned from the Board of Directors. The resignation is effective September 30, after our largest fundraiser is complete. I have been struggling for months with making this decision, because the organization means a great deal to me. I firmly believe in our mission and what we do; I’ve seen the success, and I’m proud to say that I have been a part of it. But, I also don’t feel like I can continue contributing in an effective manner. I’m unhappy and over capacity with interests, activities and commitments. As I told the president today, I can continue my term, but it would not be helpful to either myself or the Board or the organization. He agreed. I’ll speak to the CEO this week. I feel happy. I feel sad. I feel guilty. I feel relief. It was a hard decision. But, I was encouraged to come back to the Board when I feel like the time is again right – and, that I can expect a call in a year or so to see where I’m at with the decision to come back. :)

I’m sad to see the weekend come to an end. It was so wonderful!