Day: January 3, 2015

Today I had the opportunity to cruise the awesomeness that is the Bellevue Skate King. I love it when I find a place that so closely resembles the exact experiences I had as a child so a good roller rink gets me pretty excited. And I don’t want a polished and fancy rink (well, maybe that would be kinda cool…), I want the exact rink from my childhood. Fortunately/unfortunately, skating rinks are one of those kinds of places that are patronized enough to keep the business afloat but not enough to get cool new shag carpet or new wheels for the skates. Skating rinks are, generally, 100% retro, still clinging to the carpet-covered mushroom benches, made back when pa opened the rink in 1968! 😉
Anyhow, I was not alone in my quest for the flavor of my childhood days. There were a lot of people there, most of them were novice skaters ranging from ages 4-8. That’s not to say there wasn’t a large population of grown men who were skate-dancing. You know, the guys who artfully turn on one foot, noodle around with crossing the feet, spin this way and that, weave effortlessly between neophytes, go down into crouching positions way more often than necessary… It’s like watching them in their own living room, they seem so gloriously lost. They were there, definitely, doing all of their svelte moves. In all fairness, where does one employ those moves in today’s day and age? I love that they still exist and still show up with their fancy skates, dice and flotsam hanging off of their pristine race-quads.
I skated for two hours with my daughter and her friends before the floor became insanely crowded and one woman broke her ankle by tripping on a little kid who zipped right in front of her. I could see the next tumble being mine, except the little kid would likely be suffering the injury and I really wasn’t game for that level of mind-bend on myself. I had one blister, I was satisfied, I excused myself to leave. I excitedly checked my WiiFitt Meter to find that two hours of skating yielded 1000 steps. Apparently it doesn’t read roller skates! Who cares. Fun and exercise were had!

{Skating rinks across America are responsible for keeping records of the hokey pokey in production. Yes, she meant and said records. And how awkward is it taking a selfie in front of everyone who is looking at the hokey pokey?!?! Pretty stinking awkward!}
Pet peeve of the New Year:
Loose and lose are two different words.
When people say they need to ‘loose’ some weight, it drives me up a wall. That extra ‘o’ makes all the difference in the world:
Lose: the act of shedding and getting rid of something, often never to be returned. I want to ‘lose’ some weight.
Loose: when something does not fit tightly or closely. My belt is too ‘loose’ since I lost weight.
Two totally different words. Usually I don’t make a big stink about grammar rules, because who wants to be that guy, but this is a word that I, personally, see misused more than any other because it so closely relates to my passion project: getting healthy and losing weight!
Besides, I’m a teacher and an English major. I have to be a little picky about some things!
(Please don’t send me the myriad of grammatical nightmare examples found on this website. Long ago I gave up trying to be perfect and just started writing with voice because that’s way more interesting for me to read.)

You know how the New Year begins and you’re all gung-ho with enthusiasm, determination and will-power? Well, it looks like we were like that on the first day of the New Year, but on the second day of the New Year I woke up with some pretty serious pillow creases on my face that were determined to stay there. We did peel ourselves out of the house long enough to take a walk around the block, but the cold air drove us back inside prematurely, to MarioKart, to Gilmore Girls, to pajamas, to books… Yesterday was a two-mugs-of-hot-cocoa kind of day at Lj House.
Today we had to reckon with that and prove that we are in 2015 with heart and purpose. Bradley found a new hike through an app that was supposed to guide us to all kinds of outdoor urban experiences, but really had, like two hikes in our area when there are a bazillion… But it did find us this one!
It’s called the Denny Trail Loop, and it was pretty amazing since it plunged us immediately into a beautiful old growth kind of setting within the first 25 yards. It had decent elevation, but I was a little dismayed at the 1.1 mile distance. We decided to explore an arterial trail, and that’s where it got interesting! There was a stream that we got to cross 3-4 times on very rustic or nonexistent bridges, gorgeous moss-covered trees and a beautiful ravine to marvel over. Because we failed to loop, we ended up in a neighborhood that felt somewhat near to our home, so we decided to just walk the rest of the way home. We weren’t as close as we thought, though, because we ended up adding 3 miles of walking through neighborhoods and ended up walking a little over four miles! It wasn’t as beautiful as the old growth trail, but it was a really fun adventure. To make it home, we turned on Siri who directed us to turn this way or that and gave us the confidence to not feel lost! It was a really fun adventure.

To finish out the day, we turned into mall nerds and intentionally brought books and drawing materials to hang out, drink coffee, write a blog post and enjoy that whole coffee house feel that only a Starbucks in the mall can provide. Seriously, it was way fun! Crossroads Mall is the place to be when you want a taste of mall life in the 1980’s!