Eleusinia(n)

Eleusina (or maybe it's Eleusinian...I hear it said both ways and don't really know the meaning of the word let alone the proper way to say it) is a banquet held every year to celebrate my sorority's founder's day which is April 5, 1895. This past Saturday was the annual Eleusinia Brunch, and was held at Maggiano's in Bellevue. It's an event for all Chi Omega alums in the area to get together with the active members of the UW chapter for some brunch and networking. We also recognize the anniversary members, have a couple guest speakers, and the graduating senior class is welcomed into the alumnae chapter with a little ceremony. It's a fun way to stay connected to Chi Omega, and see what's new at the sorority.

Program

For the past two years, the Alums have started a new program called Alum Chums to connect with the new members of Chi Omega. Each new member is paired with an alum who sends them small gifts a few times throughout the year. Eleusinia gave us the chance to meet the new members we have been sending gifts to by designating tables for us all to sit at. It was a fun way to mix it up a bit and actually get to meet some of the new girls and see how they are enjoying sorority life.

Alum Chum table

Senior Ceremony

This year the house went under a renovation during the Summer. The girls came back to the house in the Fall to find the bedrooms on the top two floors completely redone. New paint, carpet, furniture...the works. The rooms were in desperate need of updating...I mean they were even in bad shape when I moved in 12 years ago! Even though the remodel was very generous of the House Corporation to have done, I'm still not completely impressed with how it turned out. The furniture is not my favorite and seems to take up more space than before. Oh well, at least the girls are happy!

New furniture at Chi Omega

room renovation

Even though the food was only so-so, the guest speaker lost my interest shortly into her presentation on Italy, and the program ran longer than expected...it was still nice to see and catch up with some of my Chi Omega sisters that I don't regularly get to see. Lysico!

Dexter Living

As I've been preparing to move...cleaning out closets, making trips to Goodwill, packing up boxes...I've become sentimental over this little apartment that I've called home for the past five years. This really has been the perfect place to live for me and the two kitties. I first moved in when my friend Blaine was moving out. She had found this little gem, and couldn't bear to give it up to just anyone. The timing was perfect. She and Paul were getting married and buying a home together, and my lease on the Belltown apartment I was living in with Brooke was coming to its end. The landlords were thrilled to have a referral for someone to move in right away, and I was excited to be living in my very own place, with no roommates, for the very first time.

I got settled in and right away took advantage of the gorgeous view and patio by having a 4th of July party. This really is the best spot in the city to watch the Lake Union fireworks over Gas Works Park. I soon met my neighbor Anne and became fast friends. The next year her friend Alicia moved in to the unit above her, and the Dexter house parties began. Solstice Parade BBQ's, 4th of July, any reason to be out in the sun in our backyard taking in the view of the lake.

first 4th of July party

This little apartment has been the perfect size for me. I loved decorating every room when I first moved in, and will definitely miss coming home to it everyday. On the up side, I will now have a new even bigger place to decorate and make my own!

I took some pictures to post here so that I can come back and reminisce on my little quaint apartment.

my little oven, just big enough for a frozen pizza

And of course the view...here are some good ones.

ahhh Summer time

Christmas ships

snow day!

Tuesday Duck Dodge

sunrise

I'll miss you Dexter apartment! Hope you bring the next tenant as many memorable moments as you did me.

Recovery

My wisdom teeth removal surgery was yesterday, and I have to say it went much better than I expected. I was in and out of there in 45 minutes and barely remember a thing. It's a good thing Clint was there to remember all the post op instructions, as I was experiencing a bit of "amnesia" from the anesthesia. I asked several questions (more than once) but still couldn't retain anything I was told.

Clint took me back to his place and took very good care of me. He set up a spot on the couch for me (where I drifted in and out of consciousness), made sure that I was taking my meds on time, swapped my gauze out every hour, kept me supplied with a cold ice pack, and fed me soft foods. So I basically got to be waited on while drugged up on Vicodin...recovery ain't half bad!

Today I'm back home resting up with the kitties. My mom brought over some goodies for me, including homemade chocolate pudding, YUM, and made sure I was comfortable for the day. My friend (and co-worker) Melanie also came over this afternoon for a visit and brought a frozen yogurt treat. Gotta say I'm lovin the diet so far.

I've experienced a little bit of swelling, but have been continually icing my cheeks hoping to prevent the chipmunk effect. The bleeding has subsided from yesterday, and I don't have very much pain, just a bit of soreness. All in all, recovery is going well. Here's hopin it just gets better from here!

chubby cheeks and fro yo

Wisdom teeth

I'm getting all four of my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow, and am so nervous about it! I've heard all sorts of stories about how people recover from it, and am scared for the worst. The teeth are all close to the surface, and two are even poking through, so I'm hoping that's a good sign that they won't have to dig too far. I'll be put completely under (thank goodness) so I won't remember a thing about the surgery, but it's the aftermath I'm worried about. I already picked up my Vicodin prescription and have stocked up on food for my liquid diet. I plan on going into hiding if my face swells up like a chipmunk. Cross your fingers for me, and I'll see you on the other side...a little less wise.

Dashing through the snow

Okay, so technically we weren't dashing through the snow since the "blizzard" hit after we were done...but it makes for a cute title.

On St. Patrick's Day, I participated in the St. Pat's Dash for the very first time! It's a race that begins on Mercer street by the Seattle Center, continues down along 99 towards the bridge, and back to the Seattle Center (so just about 4 miles) where the Redhook beer garden awaits you.

My neighbor Anne and I woke up early that morning to start the race at 8:30am. We took off as it started to sprinkle on us, but we welcomed the cooler weather as I was overheating in all my layers. I was especially impressed that we never stopped to walk, and finished the race in 42 min 51 sec. It was pretty fun to take over the roads and run along streets that I usually drive on.

from start...

to finish

People really get into the holiday spirit with all the costumes we saw, and the sea of green lining the streets. We saw a few leprechauns, a few kilts, a pot of gold along with a rainbow, a man chasing a Guinness on a stick dangled out in front of himself, and even someone pushing a grocery cart with Irish car bomb fixings. So much fun!

post Dash pony keg stand

Anne and I hit up the beer garden for our well deserved post race treat and met up with Colleen, Will, and other friends that had also participated in the dash. As we stood indoors trying to keep warm and dry, it started to snow. We watched from under cover as the biggest snowflakes I've ever seen started to cover the grass. Snow in March? Crazy.

most flattering photo ever

snowfall

With the snow really coming down, we all decided to make a break for the cars and get home to a nice hot shower. This meant I was unable to find my cousin Jami who made the trip from Cle Elum for the dash, which was a bummer.

Anne frolicking as we headed to the car

Overall it was a fun time, and already planning for next year!

All About Alpha

This year I decided to become involved with the alumnae chapter of my sorority by joining the board committee as the Communication Chair. I am responsible for keeping the website updated (and hopefully re-designing the entire thing), as well as helping with sending out newsletters and other communications.

At one of the board meetings, I was introduced to Karen, who is heading up a new Chi Omega campaign for the Alpha (University of Washington) Chapter. Since she heard that I have experience in design, she asked if I would please help with creating a newsletter that would be mailed out to all of the Chi Omega alums from our school's chapter. I agreed, not fully knowing the extent to which I was volunteering. The newsletter ended up being a huge project to take on, including all the back and forth changes, editing of content (we went from 12 pages down to 8!), and collecting of photos and quotes. Finally we were able to send the final version to print, and I think it turned out great!

It was pretty cool to receive my copy in the mail. I now have a greater respect for all the mail I receive knowing someone must have put a lot of time and energy into things as insignificant as junk mail. Not saying that this is junk, so if you received it you better read every last word!

Pending...

I have some very exciting news for everyone...I am in the process of purchasing my very first home! I am beyond excited and nervous all at the same time. Everything has gone so quickly, but here is how it all started...

Last year I started toying with the idea of buying my own place for a few reasons...it's a good time to buy, my place is small and cavelike (although the view is amazing), my landlords were putting the house up for sale, and I'm an adult now, and having a mortgage is what adults do. My friend Henry knows everything about real estate, so I asked him if he'd start to keep an eye out for something I may like. He started to email me some places, and I started a list of features that I would want. A little yard, a garage (oh how I long to not park on the street anymore where my car is in danger of drunk drivers and metro buses), an extra room for an office or guests, and in a nice area still close to the city. I also knew I wanted a townhouse as opposed to a house since it would be newer construction and less likely for me to have things to fix or replace.

Then we started looking at places in person. This was the fun part. I love house hunting! I love going into places and seeing how different homes are set up. I should have been a realtor because I could do this everyday. As we saw more and more places, it got easier to weed out the no's as soon as I stepped into it. We looked all over...Ballard, Fremont, Greenlake, Madison Valley, Central District (yikes!), Leschi. Then I decided to check out West Seattle to see if it was a place to consider. As soon as we crossed the bridge and into the cute little neighborhoods, I fell in love. Pair that with cheaper prices and nicer homes, I was sold.

After our day of looking in West Seattle, we went home and Henry did another search. He sent me a link to one town home that we hadn't seen that day that looked nice. We decided to take a look the next day, and this one seemed like a winner. It had a nice fenced in yard, a garage, two bedrooms upstairs each with their own full bath, a laundry room as opposed to a closet with stackable washer and dryer, very nice finishes, and close to the bridge in a cute little neighborhood-y area. I thought about it all week, going back and forth on it. On one hand it had everything I was looking for and was a great price, on the other I had only just started looking in the area and what if another place I liked better would come up? We went again to look the following weekend, this time with Mom and Clint. Seeing it again and getting their opinions sealed the deal and I knew without a doubt I wanted it.

The next day, Henry and I met for lunch to go over the offer he had written up for me and I signed off on it. The next 24 hours were nerve racking. The sellers had received another offer, so there was some back and forth, and even a time where I thought it was gone forever. I don't think I got any work done that day, and probably developed a couple stomach ulcers. Finally Henry called and said they were going to accept my offer! I had a couple more things to initial and sign, but it was starting to set in that it was actually happening. We now have a contract, I paid the earnest money yesterday, and tomorrow is the inspection. If all goes well, I'll be closing on April 17th!

a "pending" flag I'm happy to see!