Busy - Busy

It's November 29th as I write this post and I'm on a plane headed to Kansas City, MO to present at a Reclaiming Futures conference. It's been a VERY busy last week. Kent and I are both on business trip right now - he in CA at Apple and me in MO. He definitely got the better deal at this time of year! We are also headed to New York next week and a bowl game in either TX or CA before the end of the year! So with all that is going on in the month of December Kent and I have worked hard to be prepared for the holidays.

Back in mid November Kent put the lights on the house although we didn't turn them on until the day after Thanksgiving. We also got the Christmas cards ready to mail early and the gifts for family and friends that needed to be mailed all ready.

So just what have we been busy doing besides getting ready for the holidays?

The day before Thanksgiving I took the day off and got the entire house decorated for the holidays! Usually we wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate the house for the holidays but since we decided to spend Thanksgiving with friends this year we went for it! I managed to get everything done aside from actually decorating the tree which we decided we would do together on Thanksgiving morning. Since the house was all decorated we decided to take in a movie - I had to drag Kent but we went to see the Twilight movie - Breaking Dawn. Now I have enjoyed most of these movies but this one was too much! Kent counted and said he rolled his eyes 18 times! It was corny! Before heading home we stopped off at Lowes where I added to my list of chores by buying several hundred flower bulbs that were on sale for 75% off.





Thanksgiving morning we got up and decorated the tree. We
bought a new artificial tree this year which we really like! It is pre-lite do right out of the box it was ready to decorate! Once that was done we I made a few deviled eggs to take to the Thanksgiving dinner and put together a hostess gift and we were ready to go.





We spent Thanksgiving in Seattle with our friends Sean and Barbara and a couple of there friends and Barbara's Mom. We had a great time and a great meal. Thanks for inviting us Mary Lou!





As is usual when we are in town the day after Thanksgiving we got up and made sure we were at Fred Meyer at 5am! It all started years ago when we discovered socks at 50% off and we have been back ever since! Not that we need socks but that's beside the point! We hit a few more stores before heading to the holiday parade downtown Seattle and more shopping! We had a basketball game at 3pm that day so before the game we spent time at U- Village doing - what else but more shopping! After the game we headed over to Bellevue and had dinner with friends before taking in the festivities of Holiday Lane at Bell Square. It was a busy full day packed from beginning to end!




















Saturday we did a few more chores around the house to get ready for the holidays - including replanting the pots in the front porch and wrapping gifts.








Then in the afternoon we took in the final Husky home football game of year - the Apple Cup! The remodel of Husky Stadium has begun so we played the game at Century Link Field. I have to say it was a lot of fun! CL Field is a great venue for football! We had great seats on the 48 yardline about 6 rows up from the field. We decided to take the train to the game from the south end which was perfect! I'm actually looking forward to playing at CL Field for the next year! It helped that the dogs won big over WSU - third year in a row. We will find out which bowl game we go to in the next week and of course we will go! Most likely Texas or California.















Sunday we both did a little work before heading to Olympia for the day. We had lunch at the Oyster House and then took in Christmas Forest. We try to go to Christmas Forest each year which is a fund raiser for Providence Health System. Beautifully decorated trees and wreaths that are auctioned off each year. It's one of the first things Kent and I attended when we first started dating so we have find memories of the event.












As if Christmas Forest were not enough, we took in our 78th movie if the year - Hugo in 3-D!


Nice movie for the holiday season. We did some shopping in downtown Olympia where I pretty much finished my holiday shopping except for a few small final gifts for Kent. Feels good to be done so early!

We had an overnight guest - my nephew Isisah's wife Susan has applied to Anthoch University in Seattle and had an interview on Monday so we picked her up at the Amtrak station in Tacoma late Sunday evening. It was really nice talking with her and getting to know her better. I'm hoping she get accepted at Anticoh so we can spend more time together with both her and Isiaha.

I took Monday off from work to do some final prep for my trip to Kansas City and a few last minuite holiday tasks. I got up and did some final planning for one of my presentations and then took Susan o the lightrail station. The rest of the day was filled with chores- got my parents gifts mailed, planted all my several hundred bulbs and packed for my trip.


When Kent got home we went down to meet friends at a basketball game against the Evereen gooieducks and Seattle University. Go Gooieducks! They lost - big time!


So now we are planning all our holiday events. With all our "chores" done we can sit back and enjoy the holiday season. So far we have a Christmas concert on Dec 3rd., a play -Sylvia on my Birthday 12/4, 5 days in New York where we will go to a basketball game, see Book of Morman, War Horse and the Radio City Music Hall Christmas show. We are also planning to see Ham for the Holidays with my friend Nancy, my Godchildren and several other friends on 12/17. And although Kent thinks I've crammed in way to much I've got my eye on Zoo Lights, a brass band holiday concert and the Messiah sing along! It's going to be a great and busy holiday season!

Have a good one -

Jim









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From the PAC 12 Blog

Final: Washington 38, Washington State 21

November, 26, 2011

By Ted Miller

Washington may be headed for the Alamo Bowl after an Apple Cup win over Washington State. It's less certain where Cougars coach Paul Wulff may be headed.

The Huskies improved to 7-5 overall an 5-4 in the Pac-12 with a 38-21 victory over the Cougars. If both Oregon and Stanford end up in BCS bowl games, the Huskies likely would be the choice for the Alamo Bowl over Utah and California, which are both 7-5 but went 4-5 in the conference and lost to the Huskies.

As for Wulff, his Cougars are vastly improved over the previous two seasons, but they finished 4-8 when many thought the program needed a bowl game for Wulff to survive.

Washington jumped to a 14-0 lead, but then the Cougars captured momentum by tying the score. But the Huskies notched a quick touchdown for a 21-14 halftime lead and never let up in the second half.

Huskies quarterback Keith Price, who sat out most of the upset loss last weekend at Oregon State, was brilliant. He completed 21 if 29 passes for 291 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

UW running back Chris Polk rushed for 100 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown. He also caught two passes for 36 yards and a score.

Cougars quarterback Marshall Lobbestael, the Cougars third quarterback, completed 29-of-42 for 344 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.

Wulff's fate likely will be decided shortly. The odds weigh against him, but athletic director Bill Moos has yet top tip his hand one way or another.

The Huskies, meanwhile, await their bowl game fate.


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Weekend with Barb

We went to Portland this last weekend and spent the weekend with our friend Barb. We had a great time hanging out and taking in the game against OSU. Looking forward to our next visit!















Have a good one!

Jim

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Happy 14th Anniversary to Us!

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It's time to Leagilize Gay Marriage in Washington State!

There has been discussion for the last several months about the possibility that the Washington State Legislature would take up the issue of the legalization of gay marriage which would make Washington the 7th state in which same sex marriage would be legal.  Washington already has the "everything but marriage" law so it's the next logical step and I of course support it!  It's going to be a long battle here.  Getting it through the legislature is one thing - but simultaneously to that we would need to be prepared for an initiative battle to over turn the law.  We will be working at this for several years even if the legislature passes it.  It really is the right thing for the legislature to do for a number of reason but ultimately it puts the decision in the hands of the voters in Washington state.  Its not the best way to pass civil rights legislation but it's what we have to live with in this state and I have to have some faith in the voters of this state as they supported the everything but marriage law.  Stay tuned!


New effort to legalize same-sex marriage begins

By Jim Brunner

Seattle Times political reporter

Two years ago, Washington voters backed a broad guarantee of legal rights for same-sex couples, endorsing the Legislature's passage of a domestic partnership law nicknamed "everything but marriage."
Now, gay-marriage backers say the time has come to take that final step. This week, they'll roll out a campaign to make Washington the seventh state to legalize marriage for lesbian and gay couples.
Leaders of Washington United for Marriage, a coalition of dozens of gay-rights, civil-liberties, labor and religious groups, say they'll pressure the Legislature to pass a marriage equality law in 2012, and are prepared to defend it from any referendum challenge.

Their effort will begin Monday with a Bellevue news conference, followed by a series of suburban town halls designed to show support for gay marriage outside of liberal Seattle.
A group of Democratic state lawmakers has committed to introducing and advancing the legislation. While expressing confidence about their chances in the state House, backers cautioned they do not have the votes at this point in the state Senate.

"We're going to push it," said state Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, a gay lawmaker from the 43rd district and a leader in the marriage effort. "I believe 2012 is the best chance we've ever had to make marriage equality a reality."

But opponents will be ready, too, and they say despite public acceptance of same-sex civil unions, lawmakers may not be willing to change the definition of marriage.

"I'd give them a 50-50 chance," said state Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester, a leading legislative opponent of gay marriage.

"My goal isn't to demonize anybody, but my assertion is we're all better off if we preserve marriage in its traditional form," Swecker said. "At what point does the institution of one man and one woman become eroded to the point where all kinds of other alternatives exist?"

Swecker added that lawmakers may be unwilling to take up such a controversial subject in the midst of what promises to be another difficult budget.

Democrats hold a 27-22 majority in the state Senate and a 56-42 advantage in the state House. But some conservative Democrats in the state Senate have voted with Republicans when it comes to extending rights to same-sex couples. That means some gay-rights supporters will have to sway some suburban Republicans to their cause. "We cannot win with just Democrats," Murray said.

Leaders of the newly formed gay-marriage coalition say their strategy will include a simple appeal for all gay and lesbian couples and their supporters to share their personal stories about what marriage equality would mean to them. They'll begin that effort with town halls this week in Vancouver, Puyallup, Lakewood and Gig Harbor, followed by others across the state.
"That is going to create the conversation we need ... so we can win in the Legislature," said Josh Friedes, Director of Marriage Equality with Equal Rights Washington, one of the group's organizers.
Murray said the coalition's commitment to organizing and fundraising was "a big deal," and one of the final steps he was waiting on to press ahead with a gay-marriage bill in the Legislature.

The marriage-equality campaign is the culmination of decades of slow and steady work for Murray and other backers of rights for gay and lesbian couples. The Washington Legislature first passed a law in 2006 prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, lending and insurance.
Since then, the rights of same-sex couples have been expanded in a series of subsequent laws, culminating in 2009's "everything but marriage law," which was upheld by a public vote on Referendum 71 that fall.

Currently, gay marriage is legal in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Iowa and the District of Columbia, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
While Washington's 2012 gay-marriage campaign will target the Legislature, the matter may ultimately wind up on that fall's ballot — either because a referendum clause is required to get enough legislative votes, or if opponents gather signatures to challenge it.

If that happens, Washington would be in for a nationally watched fight over gay marriage. Such fights haven't survived a public vote in any state so far, according to gay-rights organizations.

Gay-marriage backers contend they'd have a good shot at winning a public vote. At least two recent polls have shown opposition to gay marriage slipping — including one commissioned by gay-marriage opponents
.
But any such campaign would also energize conservatives, Swecker predicted.
"There are folks out there who are kind of oblivious to politics, but this issue rings this really loudly with them," he said.

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or jbrunner@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @Jim_Brunner.

Way Holiday Harry

Holiday Harry!

Morning Frost

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Walk Across Campus - Final Game in the Current Husky Stadium

Let's hope we end the evening with a Husky win!

Jim


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Location:Husky Stadium

Sure Sign of Fall

Just received a surprise package in the mail from my parents that is a sure sign that fall has arrived! Fresh pomegranates from their tree! Love em! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Now on to see the Dawgs beat up a few Ducks! Go Huskies!

Jim

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