Everyone says they try to avoid the crowds in the malls and shopping areas at Christmas. But if that were really true, wouldn't those places be empty?

Seattle is an incredible place to live around the holidays - there are just so many great activities and events to choose from. In my family, we don't do the same things every year, but instead, we try new things and every few years return to old favorites.

So this year, for some reason we… Read More

So, it's been a few months since I completed the largest athletic endeavor I've ever undertaken, and frankly, the largest I likely ever will. I completed an Ironman triathlon - 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, and 26.2 miles of running in one day.

And since that day, it's been incredibly hard to get motivated to "train" like I was training.

I'm cool with exercising - but ONLY if the exercise is also socializing with my friends. So I… Read More

For Christmas, my children are getting something that, on the surface, seems a little ridiculous. Excessive, maybe.

They're each getting 30-gigabyte Zune devices.

My children do love music, but that's not the primary reason they're getting this gift. Instead, it's because of the new software Microsoft released for the Zune (full disclosure: I work for Microsoft). Basically, the new software allows me to sync TV shows I record on my Media Center PC to the device - and then take the device with us… Read More

We have an Xbox 360...and to be honest, we have a few games for it, but not very many. I won the gaming console in a contest at work, but it never really became a part of our family life.

That is, until now. Over Thanksgiving, a friend brought over a new game: Rock Band. Oh my goodness, how much fun!

Although...truth be told, you don't want me in the band. Seriously. I can't sing. I can't drum. And I most definitely… Read More

It's really a mean thing to say, but I sometimes tease The Girl and tell her if she doesn't start skiing, snowboarding, and riding a bicycle that she'll have to go live at Grandma's house.

She knows I'm joking around and just rolls her eyes. I know it's a personality thing - she's just not the risk-taker that The Boy and my husband and I are. And I know I can't expect her to automatically like everything we like just because… Read More

My son had a friend sleep over a few weeks ago. After playing half the night and morning, they were getting a little restless in the house.

It was a typical Seattle fall day: threats of rain, but so far, it was dry. I told him to head outside to play, thinking he and his buddy would burn some steam that way.

"Mom, can we go to the park?" he asked me.

The park is half a mile away. The easiest route there… Read More