I got into the Danskin Triathlon for August 18! It's a women's only race in Seattle. There are many, many Team Survivor Northwest women doing it. I won't get to race with them (can't go in the survivor wave) but I'll be there through out the day. It's a fairly low-key race even though there are thousands of people. It's not *quite* up to the Ironman competitiveness level. More like women learning to ride a bike or swim for the first time in order to do the race with friends.

Updates updates!

Whoops. I've slacked on blogging again.

- Emmy came to visit over President's Day weekend. Lots of fun. We got haircuts (I got bangs!), made homemade sushi (love Uwajimaya), hung out at Gas Works Park, saw a crazy show at Cha Cha and I made her walk up 1000 stairs.

- Speaking of stairs, I'm planning on doing the "Big Climb" on March 16. It's a benefit for lukemia research. You take the stairs up the Columbia Tower, the tallest building building in Seattle. Some people do it as a race but I'll just walk up. It's 700+ vertical feet or about 1300 stairs.

- I had my yearly checkup. This year, because I've hit a milestone, she did a blood test. Turns out I'm anemic. So I'll eat tons of red meat, take supplements and get re-tested in 2 months. That explains the passing out after giving blood and weird heart palpitations.

- Brian is almost done his research for his thesis. Next step: writing the thesis.

- I'm headed to Boulder at the end of March to visit Emmy. Let's see if I can convince her to move to Seattle. hee hee.

What's new with you guys?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Baby Panda Bear
Originally uploaded by Swamibu

Brian has been teasing me lately. I love cute, baby animals. Puppies, bears, orcas, gorillas, kittens, they're all adorable.

There have been a slew of articles in the Seattle Times lately about heroic/endangered animals. He knows I'll love them and points them out. Like the story of a dog swept away by an avalanche and found a few days later wandering around 5 miles away. Or the one about the new baby orca in the Sound.

Whatever. Happy Valentine's Day! I love you all.

I've been taking an intermediate knitting class at local yarn shop. I've made my first sock! Lookeee! (Photo to come, camera batteries need to be charged...)

I made lots of Christmas presents too. Lookeee!

Oh, I am by no means a great knitter. But it's fun and easy to do while on the bus, watching TV, waiting for things to cook, or watching the rain. My new project is a pair of legwarmers. I'll wear them with skirts because I can't find any wool tights for adults.

Mmmmm....

Rice crispee treats. I make them for potlucks and picnics. Always the first dessert to go.

My easy recipe

6 cups rice crispees
3 tbs butter
10 oz package of marshmallows
2 hand-fulls of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt butter in pot. Add marshmallows. Stir until melted. Take off heat. Add rice crispees. Stir until almost well mixed. Add chocolate chips. Stir until well mixed.

Put into greased pan. Use wax paper to push down the sticky mixture. Cool. Then cut. Take to event in a decorative bowl.