March 3rd, 2010 kellyschnell
For years now, I have struggled to find an exercise regime that is both challenging and achievable. I am a stellar goal-setter, but my follow-through has always been lacking. However, I think I’ve finally settled into a routine that works for me – run and some kind of weight-training two times a week, and one hour of yoga or pilates at least once a week. I’ve been on this kick for six months now, and I’m feeling good. So good, in fact, that I decided I need to step it up just one more notch. My legs and core are getting the work-out they deserve, but when it comes to arms, I’m all noodle-y. I’m that girl that gets on one of the lifting machines, sets it to the absolute lowest weight possible, does about four-and-a-half reps while making that squinty ‘this-is-so-hard’ face, wipes my brow, and then heads over to the balance ball or that fantastic obliques/twisty machine. I get a bit of an arm work out when I do yoga, but spending 10 or 15 minutes in downward-facing dog isn’t cutting it. I’m still feelin’ weak. And so, in some act of ambitious insanity, I have decided to do the 100 push-up challenge. The deal is: follow the schedule for six weeks, and at the end of the training, you should be able to do 100 consecutive push-ups. Shane is doing it, as well as a couple of different friends of ours, and so I hopped on the bandwagon in hopes of turning my spaghetti arms into lean, mean push-up machines. Tonight was my first night, and I struggled through my sets of twos and threes, but I did it, with the added challenge of having a husband that likes to watch and critique my push-up form (so you all know I’m not getting away with my usual wimpy knees-down push-ups). Should I mention that I felt like I strained myself just flexing for this photo? Seriously, this will be interesting…
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February 21st, 2010 kellyschnell
Today was one of those days when I am indescribably happy to live in Seattle – a couple of reasons why:
Columbia City has a new ice cream shop – it’s called Full Tilt and it serves flavors like horchata, salted caramel, and purple yam, scooped into made-to-order waffle cones. Deeeeee-lish.
The sun was out today, and we found a perfect little dock in Leschi from which to soak up some rays.
While in Leschi, we discovered that Daniel’s Broiler has a great happy hour – beer, bacon-wrapped scallops, and a killer view of Mount Rainier. Shane’s face says it all…
On our way home, we swung by our favorite little viewpoint to get one last look at the mountain in all its glory.
After today, Shane is apparently convinced that he wants to live in Seattle forever. Assuming we can’t find a way to make a living in Paris, I think I might agree.
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February 7th, 2010 kellyschnell
We spent a very quick 24 hours in Portland this weekend, jetting down there yesterday morning after brunch with some friends, and jetting back to Seattle this afternoon in time to catch the Superbowl at home (and if you saw how Shane drove today in order to make it home by 3:30, ‘jetting’ is a gross understatement). It was a nice trip – briefer than I’d have liked to it to be, but full of some quality-time with the fam, for which I am grateful.
My parents were also visiting Portland for the weekend, so we seized the opportunity that this little Jarrell family reunion presented and went out on the town last night for a nice meal together. Elise stayed home with a sitter, and I was a little bummed to miss out on some quality time with my increasingly-adorable niece, but once we settled into our cozy little table at Navarre and ordered a good bottle of wine, I saw the value in having a grown-up kind of night. I do love me a good tapas-style dinner, and our small plates of beet salad, crab cakes, braised pork, and roasted brussel sprouts did not disappoint. Topped off with a shared slice of devil’s food cake and a great cup of coffee, and I was one happy clam. Yum.
This morning was nice and mellow, and while Mitch and my dad worked on a couple of projects around the house, my mom and I buckled Elise into her stroller and headed over to the neighborhood coffee shop for some quality mother/daughter/granddaughter-auntie/niece time. It’s fun being able to communicate with Elise on a different level now – she’s able to tell us what she likes/doesn’t like, did/didn’t do, wants/doesn’t want. For example, she was abundantly clear when we walked by the park on the way home that she wanted ‘OUT’ of her stroller to go play on the ‘SWINGS, PLEASE’ (okay, I added the ‘please’, but she’s working on her manners, so I’ll cut her some slack). We were happy to oblige, and spent some time pushing her on the swings as she giggled and jabbered. It was a great morning.
And then, it was time to point the car north and head back home. Such a quick visit, and while I’m thankful that we have the chance to visit my family several times a year, these one-day trips can leave me missing them more than usual. So I’m a little bummed out tonight, wishing I could have stayed in Portland a few more days – who wouldn’t miss this face?
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January 24th, 2010 kellyschnell
This weekend was, in a word, perfection. I consumed massive amounts of peppermint tea, spent countless hours curled up on the couch with the TV remote, and passed the nights enjoying the company of good friends. On Friday night, we headed around the corner to play a little Rock Band with the neighbors – Shane and Justin formed a ‘band’ a couple of weeks ago named ‘Blood Stream’ (yeah, you read that right), and felt like it was time for a reunion tour. They rocked out to the Go-Gos and Alice in Chains, while Lindsey and I giggled at their booty-shaking rock-star moves. So much fun to watch two thirty-year-old guys revert to teen-hood together. We made it home just in time to watch Conan’s last show (when I say ‘watch’ the show, I mean Shane watched it while I fell asleep on the couch).
Saturday was wonderfully lazy – I stayed in my pajamas until 6 pm, spending most of the day watching old episodes of Lost, knitting, and finishing our 2010 calendar. I peeled myself off the couch late in the day to head over to Jason and Nancy’s for our very first crab-cooking extravaganza. Jason had ransacked the Asian market earlier in the day and picked up a two and a half-pound live crab that they were looking to share. Shane and I felt it would be a travesty to turn down an offer of fresh seafood during our frugal month, so I grabbed my crab mallet and a bottle of white wine, and we were off. There’s something a little un-nerving about throwing a living, moving thing into a pot of boiling water, and we all laughed a little nervously as we watched Jason squeamishly transition the crab from the fridge to the pot, but he managed to cook it to perfection, and we feasted on a delicious crab salad, followed by a hearty Udon noodle soup.
Today was another mellow day, with church in the morning, naps and football in the afternoon, and a potluck dinner with friends this evening. Shane and I have found several people here that seem to enjoy eating, chatting, and laughing all in equal measure, and we have come to love the three-hour meals that often occur as a result. My belly is full of potato croquettes and carrot cake, and I am ready to end the day with one last cup of tea. I feel so blessed by a weekend full of solid rest, good food, and truly amazing friendships.
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January 10th, 2010 kellyschnell
For the second year in a row, Shane and I have decided to counteract the over-indulgence of the holidays by being extra-frugal in January. No eating out, no lattes, no movies, no shopping, and a very tight grocery budget (three dollars per person per day). For someone like me, who loves to spend Sunday afternoons sitting in cafes or shopping for shoes, this is a challenge. Right around day 7, I start to get a little antsy. Shane must have sensed my home-bound jitters and so he surprised me with a free ‘date’ this afternoon by driving us over to Bellevue to check out the Mercer Slough, a park/wetland that we’d driven by several times but never explored. It was the perfect day for a mini-adventure, and we enjoyed wandering through the trails, finding beauty in the mossy greens and even the muddy browns that are so emblematic of a northwest winter.
We ended the day with homemade veggie lasagna with friends, and I am once again restored, ready to face another week of skipping my morning latte and eating my leftovers for lunch. It actually feels kind of good to go back to basics.
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December 27th, 2009 kellyschnell
Shane and I spent Christmas in Portland with my family, taking it easy at my brother’s house, doting on sweet little Elise, enjoying the warmth of good food and being with loved ones.
Elise made out like a bandit, and had more gifts to open than any of us (as is to be expected, with a face that cute). One of her favorites was this little car/music machine from my parents. I’m sure Mitch and Kathryn will quickly tire of the sound of the chugging ignition, the trumpet horn, and the front bumper keyboard, but it all makes Elise smile, so I imagine they’ll say it’s worth it.
Elise also loved her new Kleen Kanteen water bottle from Great Grandma and spent all day toting it around with her.
Shane and I got her the most adorable little wooden tea set, and she and I enjoyed several carpet tea parties throughout the day.
This tent was a big hit as well, and she spent much of the morning crawling in and out of it, peering out the door with that ‘come-and-get-me’ look of hers.
Post-presents, we headed out into the clear, crisp day to enjoy some fresh air and give Elise a chance to burn off some of her Christmas-Day adrenaline at the nearby park.
The rest of the afternoon was spent watching a movie, playing with all our new toys, and preparing a lovely Christmas dinner. I spent every moment that I could with Elise, knowing that next time I see her, she will again be much changed.
I was looking through my new 50mm lens much of the day, and while I’m still figuring out how to make the most of it, I can tell that it is opening up all kinds of new photographic possibilities for me. Thanks, Shane…
And so, Christmas has gone as quickly as it came. I am dealing with a mild case of the post-holiday blues as I think about returning to work tomorrow, but I am so grateful for the short time that we did get to spend surrounded by loved ones. It really was a very merry Christmas.
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December 12th, 2009 kellyschnell
This clear, crisp weather we’ve been enjoying has reminded me how beautiful downtown Seattle can be, so I grabbed my camera on my way out the door yesterday, thinking I was due for a good hometown shoot. I spent my lunchtime walking through downtown and Pioneer Square, armed with my warmest hat and fingerless gloves, snapping pictures left and right. I’ve walked past some of these buildings hundreds of times, and yet somehow never really looked at them. I suppose that’s the power of having a camera around your neck – your eyes are suddenly open so much wider, as you seek all those perfect photo-ops. Ideally, especially as an architect, I would be consistently observant, but it seems that whenever I’m downtown, I’m just a woman on a mission, whether it’s to grab a quick lunch, rush to a meeting, hurry to catch my bus, etc. It was good to consciously stop and pause, stand on a street corner, and look around in every direction, taking in the way sunlight warmed the tones of a brick facade, or bare tree limbs crawled toward the sky. This is just a small sampling of what I’ve been missing out on…
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December 6th, 2009 kellyschnell
Despite yesterday being a pretty busy day for us, we made sure to carve out some time in the afternoon to keep the Schnell family winter tradition alive and cut down our Christmas tree at our favorite tree farm out in North Bend. It was a chilly day, but the sun was shining and there were lots of beautiful trees to choose from – we walked away with a perfect 7-foot Grand Fir.
This one was meant to be my ‘action shot’ of Shane cutting the tree down, but somehow it looks more like the tree is eating him alive. Prime Christmas card material:
Victorious!
There is nothing like the warm glow of a Christmas tree – I am sitting by it and sipping on my hot apple cider as I type. This is the stuff December evenings are made of…
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November 27th, 2009 kellyschnell
Yesterday was full of reminders that I truly have so much to be thankful for. The sound of laughter coming from our nieces and nephew, the smell of fresh-baked apple pie, the coziness of a warm home, the beauty of sunlight sparkling on a lake, the joy of being surrounded by people that I have come to love as my very own family… It was a good day, spent lounging around the house together, eating to the point of stuffed-ness, playing games, and laughing till our cheeks hurt. Shane and I pulled ourselves out of our post-dinner food comas to take a drive and enjoy the sunshine, returning just in time to re-stuff ourselves with dessert. Perfection.
May we all count and share our blessings throughout the year to come.
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November 26th, 2009 kellyschnell
I was thrilled to look out the window yesterday morning and see that the ground had been covered with a fluffy blanket of white snow overnight. I grabbed my camera and rushed outside to snap a few pictures and take in the pristine-ness of it all. There are few things more beautiful than snow topped branches.
The rest of the day was lovely and low-key. We spent the rest of the morning drinking coffee with Shane’s sister, picking up the last few things for the big Thanksgiving meal, and revisiting some of Shane’s favorite neighborhood spots. This little park was the perfect place to snap a few more pictures of our white little wonderland. I was sad to see that the snow was already disappearing (I suppose beauty really is fleeting), but I managed to get a couple of shots before I needed to hop back in the car and thaw my fingers in front of the heater.
Shane and I had some time to kill last night before meeting up with a few of his friends for drinks, so we decided on a whim to check out the town’s bowling alley. I was skeptical about how much fun it would be for just the two of us to bowl together, but after my third strike, I was having a blast, grinning ear to ear. Yes, I came from behind and managed to crush Shane in our first game.
I was not so lucky in game 2, and Shane will probably give me a hard time for not posting those scores here, but I never claimed to be a fair and balanced reporter…
We ended the evening with a few of Shane’s old high school buddies at the local wine bar/ale house. It was fun to listen to them reminisce – I obviously didn’t know Shane in high school, so I am always eager to gather more of the bits and pieces of memories from this time in his life.
Well, I’m off to prepare my first ever Thanksgiving apple pie – happy Thanksgiving to all of you! God bless.
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