My White Christmas

My house is covered in snow.

Let me repeat that.... my house is covered in snow!!! For those of you who do not live in the Pacific Northwest, this is extremely unusual! And incredibly cool!!!!

This is my first white christmas... EVER!!! And while I must say that I enjoy it, I am also glad that this is not every year!

Perhaps if our city didn't shut down at the mere thought of snow, and perhaps if they used salt on the roads instead of sand, and maybe if people (including myself) knew how to drive in snow, then maybe maybe maybe that would be alright.

But we don't and because of this I almost got stuck at my little apartment all by myself on Christmas! Thankfully we had a break in the weather on Tuesday and my papa came in his four-wheel drive SUV and rescued me!!

Now I am with my family and we have been working hard! If you look at the picture below you can see how much snow has fallen over here. I also encourage you to notice our driveway and the fact that you can see the pavement. Yes, that is right.... yours truly took part in making that possible.

My driveway is steep. Some of you know this. At the time that my brother and I shoveled it the temperature outside was below freezing. So you can image my brother, in shorts and regular shoes, and myself digging under the snow only to find ourselves standing on a mound of ice!! Needless to say, we both took a couple of good falls!!

And now, to get you further into the Christmas spirit.... here is a video of my brother getting a beat down from his big sis! Enjoy!!! I know I did!!! :)

My Next Adventure

There is a new idea on the floor.

After reading my blog, Buckles had an interesting proposition for me. He thought that I should also write a bit about places that I would like to travel to in the future. Since I am now back at home and reasons to write become fewer and far between (let’s face it daily life just seems dull when you are stuck in it), he thinks that I should start looking for my next adventure.

And I support him on that idea! So here we go:

PATAGONIA: Los Glaciares National Park & Ushuaia

Ushuaia es una ciudad de Argentina y es la zona mas austral habitada del mundo. Whoops I mean.... situated on the Beagle Strait, Ushuaia is the largest city in Argentine Tierra del Fuego and arguably the southernmost city in the world.


Although it seems to attract many tourists, I think it would be amazing to see how a city that far south functions and what kind of customs have sprung from this factor.

After exploring Ushuaia, I would want to take a plane or a tourist bus (note: there is no public transportation around Tierra Del Fuego) to El Calafate, a town that sits right on Lago Argentina. It is the main attraction of this town, 50 miles away, that is the reason from my curiosity in Patagonia in the first place.



The Perito Moreno Glacier is supposedly one of three glaciers in Patagonia that is still advancing. It is famous because it is dynamically changing which produces a cyclic phenomenon of forward and backward movement, with spectacular ice falls from its front wall.


I think it would be phenomenal to stand on a peak looking over this monstrous glacier carving its way down the mountain, moving with such force that it actually losing pieces of itself along the way!

So what do you think? Anyone interested in a journey south?

Introductions

This is incredibly nerdy and thanks to facebook almost too easy. It may even be a little bit creepy to some but oh well.

I was thinking that as I progress down the road of bloggerdom, recounting tails of my crazy adventures for friends far away, I am not doing a good job of developing the characters for my audience. That is why I decided that as I go along I will include posts that introduce any new players in the game of Meg's Life. Now who knows how it will work but I am going to test it and go from there. Deal? Deal.

Alright, here is goes.

As you may know, I play volleyball. Although I never appreciated it in high school, it was my saving grace while studying abroad. From that experience, I learned that the best way to meet new people was to hop on a court and start swing away (or I guess I should say "set away"). I returned to Seattle to finish college but upon graduation the majority of my college friends moved out of the area. Alas, I was stuck in the same predicament that I had found myself in two years ago in England. Fortunately, I knew the secret.

I start showing up to the Ballard open gym almost a year ago. Every Tuesday. I was there. I went out afterwards. Stayed up past my bedtime. Often felt hungover the next morning. But in the end, I found myself surrounded by a fine young group of people that I now call friends.

So without further ado, I would like to introduce you to the Tuesday crew:



Jessica - Now you might not be able to tell it from this particular expression, but this girl is the loveliest girl on the face of the planet. Such a genuinely kind person, she was the first person to approach me on my first day. She greeted me with a cheery smile and is the reason I returned the next Tuesday.

Alicia - Also, incredibly kind and generous, you would never have guessed that this girl has done every job from training monkeys to teaching ESL. She also loves her Apple Martinis! Hehehe


Sarah - My most favorite yoga buddy, who lives right around the corner from where I used to live. She is outgoing, witty and never leaves home without her enormous laugh. She also never lets me leave volleyball without stopping at the bar for at least one drink. :) The sign of a true friend.


Chris - Sarah's fiance, is equally as witty as his lady love. He is a riot, dancing to his own tune... literally! He is the reason that the bartender at the Wingmaster gets off the phone from time to time. "Oh hey Jim the volleyball team just got here. Gotta go."

Kristie - A wild child from the East, this lady has a motorcycle, a dozen tattoos and an adopted great Dane named Rupert (who is my god dog!). She is my partner in crime although now that our schedules are completely opposite I barely ever get to see her. :(


Jon -Hmm what can I say about Jon? Only he is a nut. Don't leave him around a volleyball net alone. And never ever play him and his girlfriend at Shuffleboard!


Libby - An Oregon Duck from Alaska, she can drink me under the table and ironically, reminds me a lot of another certain volleyball lady from the very northern hemisphere. It seems that either time I am out with these ladies, I always end up a little more "happy" than I anticipated.




Buckles - Yes, that is right Buckles. Which is derived from his name, Buckley. I know. Crazy. He is also a Duck, and friend's with Libby from College. Don't let his rugged, mountain man features fool you, really he is just a huge teddy bear of fun and giggles. And yes, I said giggles.

Alright so that is it for now! Those are just a few of the people I play volleyball with on Tuesday evenings. Now whenever I write stories about volleyball evenings (Sarah's bday party is happening this weekend), the hardcore followers of this blog can use this as a reference. Plus when some of you come back to visit me, you will probably be forced to hang out with them. So you can put a name with a face before you even see them in person.

Creepy. :)