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Thursday, April 15, 2010

The most beautiful seatbelt advocacy commercial ever.wmv


When I took driver's education classes at 15 yrs. old I was adamant about my family wearing their seatbelts, even before it was a law.
Thirteen years ago my husband and I were in a T-bone car accident. The driver ran a stop sign. We had our seatbelts on. We came out of the situation with only whiplash. We had just left our 3 yr. old son and 6 week old son with the grandparents so we could have date night. Please wear your seatbelt anytime you are in a moving vehicle, even when you are about to stop. Keep it on until the vehicle is parked! You are precious.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Stuck in ONE of the DC Storms

February 9th, 2010, three days after my original plans to fly out I flew out of DC on one of two flights before the next storm came through. The man sitting in the window seat in my aisle told me he could see the snow clouds coming in as we were taking off. I missed my husband's 45th birthday party and the hometown Superbowl party.

It wasn't too bad being stuck for three extra days. The storm didn't hit before I was able to take in a few sights. I was able to go up into the Washington Monument, which I had not done on any of my previous five or so trips to Washington DC. My first trip was a senior high school trip with some of my classmates and the best history teacher, Dave Wackerbarth.

It irritates me that it is common on the west coast not to differentiate between Washington State or Washington DC. I have had to adapt and when asked reply that I am from Washington STATE. That was capitalized just for emphasis. I don't yell it at anyone when asked.

Snowstorms can be fun. I wished my kids could have been there with me to take advantage of the White House hill being opened and kids being invited to sled down it. We don't get snow very often in the lowlands of Washington STATE. The weather forecaster predicts snow on Friday. That's tomorrow and right now there are blue skies and lots of wind so who knows just maybe the wind will blow in some snow!

A Cold and Blustery Day at Snoqualmie Falls

Masako, my ESL homestay student, and I made a quick trip out to Snoqualmie Falls, April Fools Day, 2010. I haven't been out to the falls in several years. We browsed through the Snoqualmie Falls gift shop and then headed over to The Salish Lodge and Spa gift store.

The Salish Lodge and Spa gift store had some interesting items. There was a mat that had small flat stones attached to it. I don't know how effective that would be for a walk-off mat to catch the dirt, mud or water off your shoes but it was a neat idea. They also sold bags of Salish Lodge farm pancake mix. I didn't buy any at the time but I considered it again when I saw it at Albertson's grocery store the other day. I may need to find a special occasion to go have breakfast at the Lodge restaurant. They use to put on a feast for breakfast and then pour the maple syrup onto your pancakes from over your head. The last time I ate at the Lodge restaurant was for my 18th birthday dinner with my mom, dad and my future husband. That was a wee bit ago. We've been married now for 20 years.

The Snoqualmie Falls gift shop had a sign in it for purchase that read "A Grumpy Old Bear lives here with his Honey". I took a picture of it on my cell phone and sent it to my husband. He isn't usually a grumpy old bear but I thought he'd enjoy the play on words. I usually bring home honey sticks from the Pike Place Market when I take my ESL homestay students there.

Masako was with us during her spring break, so we only had her a week. She did a simple Japanese Tea Ceremony for us. She is in a Japanese Tea Ceremony Club at school in Japan.

Have you ever been to Snoqualmie Falls?
When was the last time you were there?
Did you see it when it was frozen in March, 2010?