Flash Mob Time!

I am still working on the food blog. In the meantime. This is what I have been up to... rehearsals leading up to a day full of Flash Mobs (three to be exact) in and around downtown Seattle. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5PyIVVKoWU (the official video)

and

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/flatpages/video/mediacenterbc3.html?bcpid=30884189001&bctid=77259215001 (a video montage of all three)

What a hoot!

Coming Soon - The Sellie Family Food Revolution

No, not turning this completely into a food blog. However, be prepared for some yummy posts coming this way soon. Think farm fresh, non processed, organic... yum!

First Day of Kindergarten!

We are proud, exhausted and smiling like crazy.

26.2 miles with 25,000 of my closest friends

Tomorrow is the inaugural Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon. 26.2 miles of rock and roll, crowds, runners, tired legs, sore muscles, blisters and bleary-eyed smiles. Okay... that's just my personal experience. But... I'm looking forward to it. Okay, right now I am a nervous nelly and thinking about tomorrow makes me want to puke. I am looking forward to mile seven. That's about when the jitters go away and I find my groove. The crowd will be somewhat thinned out by then and my brain will find that happy place where I flit from thought to thought as my feet and legs take on a life of their own and just follow the course.

My mom and sister will be at the finish line cheering me on. They can walk on the ferry and then walk to the finish line to see me. I let Blaine off the hook because driving into the city and finding parking during an event of this size would be a sheer nightmare for him. There's a live band every mile along the 26 mile course and a huge celebration at the end, followed by a concert at Marymoor Park. I'm thinking that the one thing that will get me through the last three miles will be the free, cold beer at the end. Seriously, a cold beer at the end of a run like that is AWESOME.

I am incredibly proud of my friends Randi and Janet for running the half marathon, their first ever. They've trained hard (harder than me I think!) and they will be awesome. I am sorry I won't be at the finish line to cheer them on, since their finish line is my halfway point. I expect to see pictures, gals! The weather is supposed to be sunny and mid 70's. I am bummed about that. I was hoping for clouds and a few sprinkles. I run MUCH slower in the sun.

Okay, off to obsess over the course map and elevation chart a bit more.

Happy Friday!

-Ingrid

Fun Night!

We had a great party at the house last night for my birthday. We couldn't use the backyard due to rain, but everyone seemed to enjoy staying inside and visiting. Isn't if funny that you spend all day cleaning and making the house presentable (translation: hide the toys and laundry) and most guests opt to hang out in the kitchen? Murphy's law though...if we hadn't cleaned, EVERYONE would have wanted a house tour.

Here's a pic of me and the girls. I've known all of them since junior high and Tabitha (on my right in the pic) and I have been best friends since we were three-years-old.

I'm 40 and it's Raining

Happy birthday to me! My husband thought it was funny last night to count down the remaining 30 minutes of my 30's. We were trying to get caught up on Mad Men episodes and he kept looking at the clock and announcing, "25 min left, anything you want to do while you're still in your 30's?"

We're having a party tonight, about 25 people. I had wanted to decorate the backyard and patio with lanterns and tiki torches but alas, it is RAINING. Sunshine all week and then RAIN on my birthday. Sigh. Ah well, at least the house is clean. In addition to the piles of food we will serve, we also have a chocolate fountain. Yum!!! (Can I fire it up for breakfast?)

Week in Review
Max is CANCER FREE. We got his lab results back and they got it all. He had a follow up appt yesterday and he also got his stitches out and got a blue bandanna for being a good boy!

I rediscovered my Facebook account and am now trying to keep up with it. Apparently, it's also on my Blackberry.

I took my son to an outdoor concert Tuesday and he danced the entire 1 1/2 hours. Seriously, when he's old enough, he's going to want hip hop classes. He also asked several times why we couldn't go get his guitar so he could play on stage with the band. He's FOUR.

I didn't write much on book two. I need a schedule to keep me on track.

I ran my longest training run yet, 15 MILES. I did it yesterday so I could party this weekend without a long run hanging over my head. The Portland Marathon is less than two months away.
They announced the Rock and Roll Marathon is coming to Seattle in June. Woohooo!

I'm older now.

Summer Fun!

We had our family reunion this past weekend up at my dad's house. He lives in what used to be our summer cabin on Lake Whatcom. It's rural, green, beautiful. The lake is gorgeous and clean. I spent summers there growing up and am hopeful our four-year-old son (little B) will have that same experience. In addition to swimming, boating and making s'mores over a beach fire, Little B learned how to fish! Uncle Eric (my brother) is an expert fisherman (he competes in state tournaments and is ranked 12th in the state so far this year). He taught B how to bait the hook, cast and wait patiently for a fish. B was ecstatic when he reeled in his first trout. Even today, he can't stop talking about it.

The hubby and I also went on some long, technical mountain bike rides in the woods behind my dad's house. It was sooo much fun. It was also good to see our cousins, eat way too much good food and reminisce over a few (or more) drinks. The dogs were in Labrador paradise...swimming and running on the beach for three days straight.

Speaking of dogs, Wednesday is Max's surgery. His CT scan was beautiful and the cancer hasn't spread anywhere that we know of, so we are very hopeful. He has his last agility class (for awhile) Tuesday eve and I will take him to the hospital at 7:30am Wednesday. We probably won't be able to pick him up until Saturday morning. I hope I can visit him in the meantime. I will be a wreck on Wednesday and will have to restrain myself from calling every hour. Still haven't figured out how to tell our son about the surgery. I'm figuring, "Max has an owie in his mouth that the doctor needs to fix" is about as much as I can say.

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer so far. Seattle actually has summer weather...YEY!

Song I loved hearing today: "Mercy" by Duffy
Weekly running mileage completed (ending yesterday): 25
Running mileage for this week: 0/26
WIP word count: Ask me tomorrow!

Run Forest, Run!

I'm a little late with this one, but last weekend, I ran the Team Medicine Seafair Half Marathon. The 13.1 mile course crossed Lake Washington on the 520 bridge, the first time they've closed that bridge for an event in more than 20 years?
Highlights of the run:

• I made the shuttle bus to the start line, unlike the unlucky 400 who missed the start
• The weather was georgeous (although hot)
• It was a party atmosphere, with Seafair pirates cheering us on
• The scenery was spectacular. When we ran across the bridge, the lake sparkled and we could see Mt. Rainier off to the south and the Cascade mtns to the east. Reminded us all why we absolutely LOVE the northwest

I felt great almost the entire run. When we ran through Bellevue, residents lined the streets in front of their homes. Many of them had sprinklers and hoses and sprayed us down to keep us cool. It was awesome. At mile 10, I got cramps in my calves (this happened during the Mercer Island half in March). It was frustrating to have to stop and stretch so many times. I must consult a nutritionist or something before my next long run.

This run benefited cancer research at Virginia Mason, a good cause!

Now...on to the Portland Marathon...I think...maybe...we'll see...

On a Lighter Note

I worked on Take One today, and wrote what I thought was a pretty funny and vindictive scene.

It's so satisfying to screw the bad guy in writing...makes life's inequities much more bearable.