KaiserTales

March (and February) Memories

It’s March! This year is FLYING  by. Admittedly, I haven’t kept up with my resolution to update this blog more regularly, but I hope you’ve found what has been posted somewhat interesting. March is typically a good month for the Kaisers:

We got engaged five years ago, March 19, in New York City. It was a gorgeous spring day–one of the first days of the year where you could feel the warmth of the sun–and Nate and I took the opportunity to walk through Central Park. He surprised me along the trail, one bend before the MET, with a ring and a proposal. We both cried. Of course, I accepted.

Six years ago, March 19, we found ourselves out late after honoring the victims of the Madrid subway bombings. Nate had emailed his contacts list, saying he had reserved Westlake Park and would be standing with a lit candle to show his solidarity to those in Madrid and to take a stand against terrorism. Over 400 people showed up, including the Canadian Vice-Consulate to Spain. It was covered by a number of the major T.V. stations, and we were both overwhelmed by the power of human fellowship and community. We ended up watching Nate’s interview on the news while eating buffalo chicken wings at the Wing Dome. And it’s become an annual tradition, especially because it now also marks the day of our engagement.

Our wedding took place on March 25, four years ago. After basking in the glow of Ailey and Ritchie’s wedding, we’re reminded of our special day and look upon it with incredible fondness. One of the best days of my life, hands down.

We’re establishing a tradition of spending our anniversary in Whistler, B.C. 2010 will be the third year in a row that we spend March 25 in Canada, and I’m really looking forward to it! This year, we’re taking our 1.5-year-old niece and her parents with us. We can’t wait to show the Barkers the Blackcomb Glacier, the Peak to Peak chair, and the expansive Whistler Village. It’s only 2.5 weeks away, and the last time I skied was at Ailey’s bachelorette party. I hope I’m in OK shape to ski three days in a row! Dim Sum loves to ski, by the way

Here’s some pics of my last ski excursion, the mayhem that ensued when off the slopes, and the gorgeous wedding that took place joining Ailey and Ritchie as husband and wife:

The Pregnancy Yo-Yo

Energy! No energy. Burst of energy! No energy… muuuussst sleeeeeeeppp…

That’s the Yo-Yo I’ve experienced in this pregnancy thus far. As it turns out, my mid-January cold lasted until the beginning of February, so most of January was spent in “no energy” mode. Thanks to my G.P. and a dose of antibiotics, I was able to kick the cold by SuperBowl weekend. Not that we had Superbowl plans… Instead the weekend was spent skiing and redeeming myself from a January spent on the couch.

We headed out to the cabin and Mission Ridge Ski Resort where the snow was AWESOME, the company was a barrel of laughs, and the food was phenomenal. That’s my kind of weekend, and it definitely got February off to a good start.

Nate is getting really good on his telemark skis, even if he takes a spill once in awhile in the steep stuff. I learned that my weak legs can’t take two full days of telemark. I switched back to my alpines on the 2nd day, but I can still tear it up

My burst of energy petered out just in time for the work week to start (doh!). I found myself in bed by 8 or 9 p.m. every day of the work week, totally unable to think critically and barely able to process a sentence beyond 6 p.m. That really sucked because it was an incredibly busy week at the office, full of meetings during the day and needing additional attention at night. I’m sitting here on a Sunday at the Mission Ridge Lodge with my work laptop open, not skiing because I need to catch up on some work stuff.  Dammit.

There shouldn’t be anything to complain about though… it’s my sister-in-law’s bachelorette party, I’m with an amazing group of girls, and they are HILARIOUS.

…………………….

OK – I started that blogpost on February 14 (Happy Valentine’s Day), but it’s now March 5 and I’m a LAME-O for waiting this long to post to the blog. I got distracted. Ailey, the girls and I had an amazing weekend in Eastern Washington for her bachelorette party, her and Ritchie’s wedding was too gorgeous for words, and it was family, family family (and friends we would consider family) for awhile there.

The pregnancy Yo-Yo is still if effect. I had planned to work from home on Thursday, but all I managed to do was get up for my 1-hour conference call between Geneva and D.C., and then go back to sleep… for the whole day. Sigh. But I’m in my fifth month now and overall, feeling pretty good. Let’s hope the sunshine, 60-degree weather, and return to a “normal” schedule help keep my and Dim Sum’s energy up through these remaining four months.

The touchy subject of the baby bump

I’m 3.5 months along. 16 weeks, to be exact. And up through Martin Luther King weekend (when I was 15 weeks along), I hadn’t gained any weight and had no noticeable baby bump. I’m pretty pleased with that fact, cuz I’m rather vain. The thought of getting really big (and yes, I know it will eventually happen) makes me nervous.

But I think it’s starting to happen. My belly is beginning to grow. Let me back up a minute and clarify that other things have grown quite rapidly since I’ve learned I was pregnant… I had to go buy bras a full 2-sizes bigger, and my doctor says they’re not “done” yet. Oy. But up until this point, my belly was not included in the growth spurt. And then yesterday, as I was getting dressed and whining about not being able to breathe, Nate said out loud, “You’ve lost a LOT of definition in your belly.” I didn’t take it personally. I just looked down and rebutted, “I know. I’m pregnant.”

And it’s true. I know. I’m pregnant.

Today in the bath (yes, GASP! I took a bath while pregnant and it was glorious and necessary) I noticed that my belly sticks out a bit more. Not only that, but I think I have one of those belly buttons that’s gonna pop out as my belly grows. It’s definitively less embedded than typical. Silly question, but do they go back in again? Charting my baby bump via how far out my belly button has come is certainly one way to track things, but I hope it goes back down again after Dim Sum makes his/her appearance. (Back to that vanity bit.)

So I guess it’s time to embrace the growing belly, no matter how small. And it’s time to stop being frustrated and annoyed when well-intentioned friends ask “how’s the baby bump?” I can now respond, “small, but growing.” But beware: If I answer “FINE” and then wrap my arms around myself, know that I’m probably in a pissy mood. It might be a good time to tell me how good I look and how you can’t even tell I’m pregnant (… add “from behind” depending on how far along I am at the time). I’m sure you’ll make my day, and then my mood will shift again in an hour because I’m pregnant and that’s what happens with all these hormones. Or so I’m told.

Can I take a re-do?

Last weekend was amazing. It was a three-day weekend, thanks to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and we partied it up with all sorts of fun folks… Marina had her birthday, and now she’s now an old bat at 25.  My family all got together to celebrate my grandmother’s birthday, who’s really an old bat at 82 (but she’s as youthful and full of life as Marina is at 25 ) And we had a “sleepover” with the Swifts at my family condo on Snoqualmie Summit. Galt had a BLAST playing with 9-year old Alison in the snow, and we even took in a few tele-turns.

But last week sucked, and I want a do over. Sadly, it began the moment the long weekend started to wane–on the way home from the Summit. I felt a little nauseous (not uncommon for a pregnant woman), and I started to develop a headache. The uncomfortable state of the car ride home only worsened as the evening and week went on. By the time the Tuesday work day ended, I was begging for an appointment with my chiropractor, whom I was certain would help abate the raging pain in my temple. The chiropractic adjustment worked just fine, but it was out with one ailment and in with the next, so to speak. As soon as my headache abated, my throat got a little itchy, my nose started to run, and I came down with an awful head cold.

I thought I’d be tough, stick it out for a couple of days, and get better by the weekend, but that hasn’t happened. In fact, this damn head cold has kept me up at night and made it really hard to breath. I was fine to lose a few weeknights last week, but I’m PISSED to have lost this whole gorgeous weekend to a stupid virus. When I talked to the pharmacist on Thursday, she advised me to take Tylenol or Loratadine (Claritin for those of you who prefer brand names). But after suffering for the past five days, I’ve decided further action is needed. I need something to knock me on my pillow and give me more than 2 hours sleep at a time. The doc says I can start with Benadryl and we’ll work our way up from there. If I graduate to Sudafed, I’m not supposed to take it for more than a couple of days… all because of Dim Sum. (If it weren’t for Dim Sum, you know I’d be taking the Nyquil, sipping the Theraflu, and popping the Codine.)

So yeah, this weekend was pretty much a wash for me. If I could rewind and have it play out differently, I’d be much happier.  It DUMPED today on all the mountains at all the local ski resorts, and I’ve been home sick watching it from my television and reading about it on Facebook. I tried to console myself with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a chocolate chip cookie, and I couldn’t taste a THING. What a waste of calories and a good cookie!

If there was a bright side, at least I got to go to Teatro Zinzani last night. And I didn’t have to pay for it. The show was super fun and I laughed the whole way through… even though my nose was running the whole time. Nate’s new company is pretty cool to have treated its employees and their significant others to dinner theatre for their holiday party. Guess there’s always a silver lining.

So here’s hoping next week is waaaayyyy better than this last one.

Starting the new year right… on the mountain

New Year's Eve snowstorm over I-90

I have to say, it was a KICK ASS new years. For New Year’s Eve, Nate and I packed up the truck with plenty of food, ski gear and the dog, and headed to the Kaiser family cabin. We made the somewhat treacherous drive over the I-90 Pass, going 35 MPH for much of it, but made it all the way to Eastern Washington without incident. In fact, it was a gorgeous trip, surrounded by winter white! And Nate and I were thrilled that it was snowing, since that meant fresh powder for us once we hit the slopes!

We chilled by ourselves that evening, enjoying a delicious home-cooked meal and watching Uncle Buck on VHS (remember those?!?!) I hadn’t seen the movie in years, and I’m reminded how much I love John Candy and the young Macaulay Caulkin. Our evening was spotted by the occasional cat-nap on the way to midnight, but we somehow managed to be up for the ball drop. Ten years ago, Nate was in Times Square, watching the millennium change over. This year, he was in his jammies laying on the couch. How times have changed…

The next morning, Nate ignored my pleas to sleep in a bit more, and we packed up to hit the slopes. I’m glad he insisted on getting up when we did cuz by the time we got to Mission Ridge, put on all our gear, picked up our ski passes and made it to the lifts, the fresh stuff was just about all scraped off. Bummer. That’s what I get for a lazy morning. We were still on the mountain by 10:15, and we love the terrain at Mission Ridge no matter what the conditions but an hour earlier would have been better. Nonetheless, we ripped through the day, taking in as many turns as possible. We skied HARD and by 2 p.m. both of us were done. On our last run of the day, Nate fell three times in about five turns, and I figured it was definitely time to head back to the cabin. Besides, our puppy was waiting for us!

New Year's Day

That night, making New Year’s Day even BETTER, Ailey and Ritchie joined us. Time with family, especially family that you consider friends, is so special. We hit Mission Ridge again the next day, and Ritchie experienced his 2nd day ever on skis. He ROCKED! Half way through the day, we took him up Liberator (the high-elevation quad chair) and he made it down a whole series of blue runs… mostly upright The whole day was awesome, and it marked one hell of a way to kick off 2010. If the rest of the year keeps up like this, it’s gonna be a great year!

Mars and Ritchie - tearin' it up!

The Kaisers - Nate, Mars and Ailey

Views from the top

Mission Ridge

After-ski hair = awesome!

Happy New Year’s Eve 2009

This year, Nate and I are alone at the cabin on New Year’s Eve. Ailey and Ritchie will join us sometime tomorrow, but it’s a quiet night with just the two of us and Galt. And truthfully, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It’s been a crazy Q4 and I need a little downtime. This lady needs her rest! It’s not too hard to keep up on this blog since we hardly ever post, but in case you haven’t seen the last couple of updates, 1) We got a dog, 2) I got a new job at an amazing nonprofit called PATH, which started on Dec. 1, and 3) I started this new job when I was 6 weeks pregnant. Oy.

So yeah, this lady needs her rest. I’m just about into my second trimester, and I can’t wait for it to be here! I’ve never slept so much in my life! I guess I’m lucky since I didn’t really get any violent morning sickness… queasy, but nothing violent. I’ve managed to stay productive during the work days (PATH doesn’t all know they hired a pregnant lady), but I’ve often gone to bed between 7:30 and 8 p.m. And on weekends, I take naps… long naps… like 3+hr long naps. That’s a lot of sleeping folks.

I’ve been told by just about everyone the second trimester is the best part of pregnancy. The energy comes back, the queasiness goes away, and the belly is small enough to deal with it all. So second trimester here I come!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled about this whole thing. I’m just looking forward to fewer side effects. The other day, Nate and I grabbed a Dick’s Burger after an evening on the slopes. I woke up at 3 a.m. sick to my stomach, and wasn’t able to go back to sleep for a few hours. The whole next day my stomach was still in knots. Apparently, Dim Sum doesn’t like Dick’s Burgers.

Oh, did I tell you that we call the kid “Dim Sum”? Nate’s sister originally coined the name, and it stuck once we learned that dim sum means “a little heart” or something to that affect. At the time, a little heart was all that was there! I had another ultrasound earlier this week, and now Dim Sum actually looks like a baby. It was kinda amazing to see this thing, approximately 2 inches in length, holding its fist by its head and jumping up and down. Amazing.

I’ll do my best to update the blog with Dim Sum’s progress, but in the mean time, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

THE ANNOUNCEMENT (via our Christmas letter)

Post update and some pictures of our Christmas week:

… and a valid excuse for not posting anything since November 1.

2009 marks the fourth Christmas letter that we’ve written as a family.

It began like many others—we’ve settled into a nice rhythm that mimics the best part of years past. And while the first three-quarters of the year have been fairly predictable, the final quarter has made up for any lack of excitement in our lives! Read on…

Winter:

In the winter we went on numerous ski excursions that took us in all directions: to Eastern Washington, Mt. Hood, Whistler B.C., and Big Sky Country, MT. We took up telemark skiing this year, and now we understand what Nate’s sister and brother-in-law have been raving about!

Spring:

With spring came a heavier workload for Marissa, who took on more Microsoft work. She enjoyed the challenge of working within the Microsoft culture and preparing for the launch of the new Windows 7 operating system. Nate continued with his one man media company and resource for technology startups, nPost.

Summer:

As spring passed into summer, Nate and Mars frequented the Kaiser family cabin in Eastern Washington. We went with Kaisers and friends alike, and spent as much time in the warm sun and on the cool Columbia River as possible. We are also fortunate to be able to regularly sail Puget Sound aboard our friends’ 42′ Catalina!

Fall:

With autumn came a change of seasons and hints of new things in store. We celebrated Marissa’s birthday in Honolulu with friends and relatives, and then escaped to Kona for a week of relaxation with a couple of good friends. Marissa accepted a new position at a global nonprofit called PATH. She is now a communications specialist working on safer water and better vaccine delivery for consumers around the world. And we adopted a Golden Retriever puppy named Galt. Lots of changes, but the biggest was to come.

In November, Marissa’s grandmother turned 80, so the entire Ng clan met in Sacramento for a family reunion and celebration. At the event, Mars and Nate let it slip that we’re expecting our first child in July! The baby’s due date is Nate’s birthday, July 11.

2009 will be our last hoorah as DINKS… Next year will bring many, many changes to the Kaiser household. We look forward to celebrating those changes with you and keeping in touch in the New Year!

Much Love,

Nathan, Marissa, Galt the dog, and the little one on the way!

Kaiser Family Blog: http://kaisertales.com

On Twitter: twitter.com/mjkaiser, twitter.com/npost, twitter.com/galtthedog

Getting Galt

We brought Galt home on Friday, October 30–and no, we didn’t dress him up for the Halloween weekend. Instead Nate arranged a “fright night” of scary movies with friends. Every couple was supposed to bring a scary movie, we would make pizza, and we’d spend a chill night startling ourselves with spooky flix.

As it turned out, only one couple brought a movie, we still had pizza, but we threw in an 8-week old puppy into the mix. I know you’re surprised to hear this, but most of the evening was spent doting over the dog. As one friend put it, “You host horror night and your contribution is a puppy?!?!?”

Galt's first day at home, getting "scared" at Fright Night

Puppy-loving fright night crew

It worked out well for us, since everyone in attendance was a dog owner. They gave us tips, and Galt got LOTS OF LOVE.

Oh how they dote!

The next day Galt had all sorts of visitors… And all kinds of adventures.

Galt and his favorite toy

Upside down Galt

Flea bath

P-Town with the Hizz

Nate’s sister and brother-in-law made the plea waaayyyyy back in September: Who wants to watch Hazel the weekend of Oct. 24? They gave us plenty of notice, and at the time we didn’t have existing plans for that weekend, so we jumped at the excuse to play with our 1-year old niece for a couple of days.

Turns out, there was a LOT going on last weekend: 2 baby showers, a 1-year birthday for a friend’s baby (are you sensing a theme here?)… but we kept our commitment and headed south to Portland. On our way out of town we stopped by my grandparent’s place for dinner. As she answered the door, PoPo said to us, “I’m so glad you’re going to babysit. It’s good practice!” We told her shortly thereafter that we’re getting a puppy, to which she replied, “I knew it. All our grandchildren are getting dogs instead of having kids.”

I think Hazel still qualifies as practice, but I don’t think our new puppy will look like this after he eats his meal:

We had a great time. On Saturday we all got to play together, and since the weather was GORGEOUS, we went to play outside. The Columbia River Gorge is within a short drive from Portland, so we made for the hills… err… glacial-carved landscape.

Then we went to visit a prehistoric, gigantic fish named Herman. I kid you not. He’s old, he’s huge, and he’s ugly.

On Sunday, it was just us and the Hizz. We went to a coffee shop — she charmed all the coffeehouse guests. We carved a pumpkin — she wasn’t at all interested in the process. We took her to a minor-friendly bar — because we’re the aunt and uncle, and can do that

Nate didn’t get any work done, but he didn’t really expect to. And we had a great weekend in P-town.

Gorgeous autumn colors

Going Galt

I’ve been asking for a dog for over a year. Ask anyone. Friends, parents, siblings, even random acquaintances know it: Marissa wants a dog.

It probably started with Shacka, a rescued German Shepherd taken in by our friends, Rex and Sharon.

Shacka the dog

Rex’s daughter, Stephanie, ended up being the perfect parent for Shacka, but I seriously considered taking Shacka home. Nate and I visited the King County Animal Shelter on a couple of occasions, and while it’s a heart-warming experience to see how well these animals are cared for, it’s also a heart-breaking experience to learn about how they were abandoned… So many of them were pit bulls, over-bred and under-wanted.

Last summer, Nate looked at me after a returning from a trip to Texas and said, “I’ve been thinking… If you still want a dog, we can get one.” But the funny thing was, I didn’t really want a dog at that moment. Summer was upon us, and I wanted to pursue other things.

Then last weekend, as the fall colors and cool weather made it known that Autumn was squarely upon us, it hit me again: I want a dog! So we talked about it. Nate even went to the shelter again; too many pit bulls. And then I saw it on Facebook (the best medium for convincing one’s husband that everyone is doing it and we should too): Molly Smith picked out a golden retriever puppy from a litter of eleven. HOW DO I GET ONE?!?

To my surprise, Nate helped me contact the Smith’s, and Bob and Pan gave me the 4-1-1 on the breeder, the litter, and the their choice of pup. We were at the breeder’s within 2-days, picking out ours.

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Galt:

Galt the puppy

Let’s hear it… Awwwwwwww!!!! I know. Too cute, right? Nate picked the name after a character in Atlas Shrugged: John Galt. If you didn’t know it already, Nate’s a bit of an Aynn Rand fan, libertarian values and all. He has another blog that he created and contributes to regularly: www.CallingJohnGalt.com <Leftist liberals beware! Content may ignite anger and frustration! –I should know. And I don’t even read it.>

But back to the puppy… err, puppies. HOLY MOLY, are eleven puppies cuuuuuttteee! The litter is five boys and six girls. Mom was looking trim and spry, especially for having birthed so many babies seven weeks prior.

Nearly weened, the puppies were all housed together in a warm shed. They’re up for adoption, but new parents will wait one more week before they can be taken home.

Since the Smith’s had picked out one of the boys, we had four boys and all six girls to choose from. “Galt” was already the determined name, so we chose our little boy, and damn is he a sweetheart. I’m sure he’ll grow up to be a well-behaved, masculine golden retriever (fingers crossed–we’re taking names for good trainers in Ballard), but for now he’s our sweetheart.

We bring him home on Friday. I can’t wait.

(Video disclaimer: the breeder calls our pup “Zeus,” so that’s what I’m calling him. This dog already has a history of strong names… and he’s only 7-weeks old!)

Post-vacation blues

We’re home… And it’s great to be home… But I miss Hawaii and the relaxation of the days in Kona. We had soooooo much fun on vacation, and I could go back in a heartbeat. I highly recommend Hawaii–any island in Hawaii–to anyone who wants a vacation. We spent three nights in Waikiki on the island of Oahu and a whole week in Kona on the Island of Hawaii.

Quick geography lesson:

Map of the state of Hawaii, in case you who were curious

• The state of Hawaii is made up of eight islands.
• Oahu is the island where the state capital is located (Honolulu) and the home of the world famous Waikiki Beach. Don Ho, the Society of Seven (shout out to my Uncle Wayne, long time band member!), and Japanese tourists reside along Waikiki.
• The “Big Island” is actually called Hawaii, so there’s Hawaii the island that’s part of Hawaii the state. Get it?

Nate and I visited Oahu, and then we flew to Hawaii. By the way, have I mentioned how much inter-island travel sucks? IT SUCKS. The planes all come in miniature… about 1/8th smaller than a regular plane, so there 1/8th less leg room, 1/8th less overhead space, and zero places for carry-on luggage. Which means you need to check them. Which means you need to pay to check them. We were frustrated to learn that our carry-on sized bags would still cost us $20, cuz their planes are “smaller.”

… I digress…

Once we landed in Kona, all frustrations with GO! Airlines passed (stupid Midwest outfit…) and we hopped into the Jeep that Brian and Jen rented. The Jeep kicked ass, and Brian and Jen kicked even bigger ass for choosing it over the P.T. Cruiser. We made a beeline for Costco where made the best investment decision of the trip: snorkel gear for $80. Hours of tropical fish, coral reef and sea turtle viewing pleasure: priceless!

So here are some pics of our good times on land. We don’t have an underwater camera, so there’s no pics of said tropical fish, coral reefs or sea turtles. Sorry. Deal with it. This other pics are still awesome.

Nighttime View at Harborview — scroll for pics

Last night, I worked late. And since it was a day of hard work and some accomplishments, I was thrilled when my girlfriend called me back and agreed to meet up for a drink. As I walked to the bar, I realized my cell phone was in the car but figured it wasn’t worth doubling back for.

I WAS WRONG.

I got to my car at the end of my evening, checked my phone and found EIGHT missed messages. I sat and listened to the four voicemails, which went something like this:

1. Nathan Kaiser – hang up.

2. Unrecognized # – “Hi, this is ______ from Amy Yee Tennis Center. I’m calling to let you know that an ambulance is coming to pick up your husband, Nathan Kaiser.”

3. Nathan Kaiser – “Hi, this is ______ from EMS. I’m calling from the ambulance to let you know that your husband here, and we’re taking him to Harborview.”

… I don’t remember the rest of the messages. I pulled out and hauled ass to Seattle’s one-and-only trauma center, cursing my decision to leave my phone in the car. Why the hell would they need to take Nate to Harborview?!?!?! There are other ERs in the area for less traumatic…

As I crested First Hill, Nate’s sister called. I answered the phone asking, “Are you with your brother?!?” Unfortunately, she wasn’t but she’d learned about his situation over Facebook. FACEBOOK! And she reassured me that if he’s well enough to post to Facebook, he’s not in dire straights.

Only my husband would post his condition to his Twitter, which updates his Facebook. Nate’s 900 followers on Twitter and 1000 friends on Facebook knew he was at Harborview before I did. Nuts.

I got to the hospital and found Nate like this:

The ER, Nate and the neckbrace

Turns out, Nate and another sailor collided heads during one of the sailboat races on Lake Washington. He ran off the sailboat to meet my grandfather for a game of tennis, but didn’t realize he’d been really injured. After losing the first set, he walked up to his opponents to shake their hands and call it quits–he was dizzy and couldn’t focus his eyes.

As he walked off the courts, he didn’t hold a straight line. They decided to call 911.

After much examination, Nate was diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury, a concussion.

Doctors examining Nate. "You should wear a helmet next time."

Consultation before his release. Glad it's almost over. It's midnight.

The doctor ended the exam with this comment, “Maybe YOU [meaning special-case Nate] should wear a helmet while sailing.”

In his few hours in the ER, Nate received a rabbinical blessing (one of his tennis opponents is a rabbi), a kiss from his wife, and a visit from his father who landed at SeaTac just in time to check his Facebook and learn his son was in the ER.

Thanks to everyone who sent well-wishes.

He’s a bit out of it, but doing better. And he’ll be fine. I’ll leave you with this embarrassing picture and a few classic lines a la our friend Eric:

"Mars, please stop taking pictures."

Hope it finally knocked some sense into you.

Perhaps it improves your looks.

Thankfully it was a head shot and nothing precious…

And from Nate’s bro, Clayton:

There remains nothing harder than the Kaiser cranium.

More suburbanites, hobbyists raise chickens

It’s been AGES since my last blogpost. So long in fact, I no longer recognize the interface for our blog!

So, just to get things jumpstarted, I’m posting a story forwarded to us by a good friend. I know, it’s a cop-out. But hopefully this will begin a weekend of posts and amusing stories about our lives these past few months.

Eggy the Queen Chicken

BETSY TAYLOR
Published: Today

UNION, Mo. (AP) – A sport utility vehicle loaded with 1,200 baby chicks in cardboard boxes pulls up to the Clearview Feed and Seed store, where customers come to pick up their peeping, cheeping poultry orders on a recent spring day.

Poultry dealers, chicken feed businesses and self-proclaimed “chicken enthusiasts” nationwide report city slickers and suburbanites are showing greater interest in raising small flocks of chickens far from the farm.

Store workers whisk boxes from the vehicle – where the heat is cranked up to keep the chicks warm – and gently sort the downy birds born at a hatchery into smaller containers. Temporary color-coded dots on the chicks’ heads help employees divvy up individual orders.

Mostly farm families wait to pick up the chicks, but mixed in with the veterans are first-timers like Justin and Stacey DeWeese, both 25. They collect a box of 30 chicks they plan to raise in suburban St. Louis.

Motivated by the taste of farm-fresh eggs and a desire to try something new, the couple built a coop at a friend’s house and researched how to care for a flock. Stacey said the couple wants chickens “for the eggs, to watch them play in the backyard.”

And to “kill the bugs,” Justin added.

Clearview’s manager Karen Ruck said about every 10th person who calls to inquire about ordering chicks says they’ve never raised chickens before. She hears from suburban moms who want a few hens to teach their kids responsibility, and new gardeners seeking birds to go with their attempts to grow backyard vegetables.

Livestock feed and pet food maker Purina Mills is seeing double-digit growth for its small, 5-pound bags of all-natural poultry feed marketed since 2003 to people who raise small flocks for eggs or as companion animals.

Backyard Chickens, a Web site that began to help city residents raise chickens, says its community of about 27,000 people is growing rapidly, with about 100 new members daily.

The Web site’s owner, Rob Ludlow of Pleasant Hill, Calif., attributes the increased interest in raising suburban chickens to three factors: their relative ease of care as pets; increased interest in getting food from humane, local sources; and a desire by some to produce their own food in tough economic times.

“With the way the economy is going, people like the idea they can have access to quality eggs and meat right from their backyard, if they need to,” Ludlow said.

But, he added, “It’s actually a misconception that it’s cheaper to raise your own chickens for the eggs and meat.” Chicks cost about $2 to $5 each, plus chicken owners have to pay for a cage or coop, a chicken run and a feeder and waterer.

Raising a couple of chickens isn’t without challenges. Disputes have surfaced in cities and suburbs over concerns the chickens will reduce property values or that their feed could draw rodents.

Some communities ban chickens or just roosters, mainly because of their early morning crowing.

The DeWeeses said they planned to raise their chicks in Valley Park. An official for that St. Louis suburb said that chickens aren’t allowed within Valley Park’s city limits; they are permitted in the nearby unincorporated area.

Nancy Hermanns, owner of Country Feed and Pet Supply in Bend, Ore., said many communities, however, are rewriting their rules to allow residents to keep a few chickens.

Her business has been holding seminars about backyard flocks – where they serve deviled eggs. City dwellers often come in armed with chicken research they’ve done on the Internet and need to be steered toward more suitable birds. “The pretty ones aren’t always great egg producers,” she noted.

Ludlow with Backyard Chickens added that some first-time chicken owners get in over their heads, and turn to online communities to find them new homes. But, he said, many urban and suburban chicken owners, including his family, enjoy the experience of having the birds and value them as far more than a food source.

“The line of demarcation between eating your chicken and not eating your chicken is if they have names,” he said. “We have no problem eating other chickens, just not our own.”

Two of our "Ladies"

Startup Weekend – A Veritable Petri Dish

Ummm… I wrote this post last week, but forgot to make it live. Sorry! Pictures of last weekend in Big Sky, MT to come…

Last week, across the Twitterverse, I promised to make my next blogpost about Startup Weekend. I’m writing now to honor that promise and to share about one hellava weekend. Nate and I have had a super-busy 2009, but no amount of busy-ness can compare to a weekend where 150 people from all walks of life and all parts of the country (and the world!) come together to start several new companies in the span of 54 hours.

That folks, is Startup Weekend. Startup Weekends happen all across the country and even parts of Europe. For whatever reason, Seattle is a popular Startup Weekend destination. I met people from Corvallis, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Boston, North Carolina and even Salzburg, Austria.

This year, Seattle’s Startup Weekend was held at Google’s Fremont offices in the “play” room. How cool to be weekend guests at Google! There were some interesting technology issues—we lost WiFi and blew the power breaker on any number of occasions—but Fremont’s plethora of coffee shops and WiFi hotspots made everything bearable.

In total, 12 companies were started. Who knows how many will continue after the weekend, but the stuff that was built over the course of 54 hours was pretty amazing.

There’s stories, videos and posts all over the net describing Startup Weekend better than I can. If you look real close, you can see Nate in the foreground and me in the background of some of the b-roll shots in the Q13 news video.

Now, about this petri dish thing… Not only was the environment ripe for companies to sprout, I think at least three cold and/or flu bugs were being passed around the Startup Weekend crowd. On opening night, just after I shook hands with a new acquaintance, he admitted to me that he’s getting over a cold. Thanks for shaking my hand, dude. I’ll be sure to pick a different team than the one you’re on.

At least one long-time friend didn’t make it back after opening night, because they woke up Saturday morning feeling like crap: sore throat, runny nose and a fever.

After spending a fun, productive and full Saturday working on our company, one of my team members didn’t show up on Sunday morning. He’d woken up with flu-like symptoms and stayed in bed until well past 2 o’clock. When he did show up, he was pale, clammy and kept wiping the beads of sweat off his face and head. GO HOME! I told him he looked awful and should bag the company in lieu of getting his health back.

And now… it’s all caught up with me. I’m sitting with a Kleenex in hand, box is tissues by my side, drugged on Sudafed and cough drops, sipping a regular supply of green tea and Gatorade. Ugh. Damn the, petri dish!!! Damn my weak immune system!!!

The New Years that wasn’t

It was a great Christmas. So many memories, so much laughter… So much family! So for New Years, we decided to break tradition and seek out the companionship of friends. For the past four years, we’ve spent a quiet New Years Eve at the Kaiser cabin, with another couple or two, and the prospect of a good ski day on the immediate horizon.

This year we spent the days prior to New Years at the cabin, and came home to celebrate with whomever was around. Sadly, I caught Nate’s cold just as he was getting better, so our New Years plans turned to bust. I was in bed by 8 and asleep by 9:45. Nate teased me at 11:20 by coming in to wish me a Happy New Year! He promptly kissed me and went to bed himself, before any New Years bells were rung.

In a vain attempt to keep some of the tradition alive, I opted to hit the slopes early Thursday morning, New Years Day. Nate opted to go crabbing. He turned out to be the wiser one.

At 7:30 a.m. as I sat in the Bellevue Park’n'Ride waiting for my ski buddy, I checked the weather report. Dammit. The powdery pass across I-90 was closed. Thank goodness there are other options. I checked Stevens Pass and could see plenty cars, but it looked like the DOT was planning to close Stevens’ summit as well. Dammit. So Ken and I chose our only viable option: We’d ski Crystal.

After several turns around Enumclaw, we found the progress to Crystal Mountain Ski Resort VERY slow. The Green River Bridge had blown out sometime in November, and the detour route was extremely confusing. Not mention, the crazy amounts of snow had downed numerous trees along the two-lane road. SO FRUSTRATING. After a ways, we lost all cell phone reception–thank God we’d successfully navigated out of Enumclaw by then

We should have seen the writing on the wall. After nearly three hours of travel time, we snaked our way into Crystal’s parking lot. It was raining. Can I say it again out of shock and disappointment? It was raining. The forecast was for 24 degrees up there. It was possibly going to snow in SEATTLE. What do you mean it’s raining at Crystal?!? It’s snowing EVERYWHERE else. It’s supposed to be a powder day.

Ken and I tried to keep calm and be optimistic. Let’s eat some lunch, watch the weather and wait for half day rates, I suggested. By the time half day starts, everyone else will come in to eat and we’ll have the mountain to ourselves. Maybe the clouds will lift by then.

But the clouds didn’t lift and the rain didn’t stop. Even worse, the winds were blowing so the misty rain felt like freezing rain pellets. Ugh. After eating, Ken and I looked around the restaurant. People were peeling off soaking wet clothes. No one was smiling. Comments varied from “My face hurts so bad,” to “I can’t believe how windy it is,” to “This sucks.”

It really did suck. We decided to ski to the parking lot and drive home. Ken gave me the title of being “the friend he’s traveled the longest with for a lunch.” That’s not a title I treasure. 2009 isn’t off to a very good start.

Maybe tomorrow will be better… We’re headed to the Pass to try and redeem a snow day.