Sunday, October 26, 2008
Pumpkin carving fest 2008
Myles and Michelle hosted our second annual pumpkin carving festival on Saturday evening. The fun began with a very tasty fondue dinner. We worked diligently on our pumpkins, were entertained by Myles' cat Jasper, played/listened to some guitar, ate sundaes, watched Saturday Night Live, and of course, I took pictures!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Wine, continued
I just love this sign! :)
We visited 8 wineries in total. I love that each one of them had unique character. Plus, supporting the local small business economy felt good.
Interestingly enough, the winery with the most beautiful tasting room and picnic area had the most blah wine. Goes to show, looks aren't everything! I must admit, we and the duckies are pretty cute here...loving the peacefulness and beautiful scenery.
On our way out of town, we visited the Yakima Arboretum. Very pretty.
The farmers market was another fun stop -- we picked up HoneyCrisp apples and fresh 7 grain bread. Fun, fun times :)
We visited 8 wineries in total. I love that each one of them had unique character. Plus, supporting the local small business economy felt good.
Interestingly enough, the winery with the most beautiful tasting room and picnic area had the most blah wine. Goes to show, looks aren't everything! I must admit, we and the duckies are pretty cute here...loving the peacefulness and beautiful scenery.
On our way out of town, we visited the Yakima Arboretum. Very pretty.
The farmers market was another fun stop -- we picked up HoneyCrisp apples and fresh 7 grain bread. Fun, fun times :)
Monday, October 20, 2008
Washington Wine Country
I've heard a lot of great things about Washington's wine country but never really explored it. Tyler and I headed over to the Yakima Valley on Saturday, loving the beautiful fall scenic drive. The pass was cool and crisp and we loved the mountain views.
I am a big fan of the Oxford Suites and particularly loved the welcome sign and river trail behind the hotel.
Let's not forget the two free glasses of wine at the evening reception, we were happy campers here!
I of course took tons of pictures to inagurate my new camera on its first vacation. One of the main reasons why we chose this weekend to go was the Two Mountain Winery's Winemaker For A Day Tour. The winery is owned and operated by two brothers. We spent an hour in the vineyard with one brother who educated us on the process of growing grapes and the history of the winery and region. We picked grapes, tasted them whole, smashed them into juice, drank the juice, measured the acidity, and all kinds of other stuff. Loved the hands on nature of the day!
The next hour was spent with the other brother tasting grapes and wine throughout the process, punching the grapes down, taking the temperature, etc.
It was a great way to be educated and entertained :)
To be continued...
I am a big fan of the Oxford Suites and particularly loved the welcome sign and river trail behind the hotel.
Let's not forget the two free glasses of wine at the evening reception, we were happy campers here!
I of course took tons of pictures to inagurate my new camera on its first vacation. One of the main reasons why we chose this weekend to go was the Two Mountain Winery's Winemaker For A Day Tour. The winery is owned and operated by two brothers. We spent an hour in the vineyard with one brother who educated us on the process of growing grapes and the history of the winery and region. We picked grapes, tasted them whole, smashed them into juice, drank the juice, measured the acidity, and all kinds of other stuff. Loved the hands on nature of the day!
The next hour was spent with the other brother tasting grapes and wine throughout the process, punching the grapes down, taking the temperature, etc.
It was a great way to be educated and entertained :)
To be continued...
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Focus on the positive...
I read this today while starting a 360 degree feedback survey. I found it to be a very insightful comment on affecting positive change…
There are two commonly accepted methods for change: focus on what is wrong and do less of it or focus on what is right and do more of it. Many are surprised to find that the latter has been demonstrated to be significantly more effective. In a classic illustration of this principle, a videotaped experiment was performed with two similarly skilled bowling teams. For team one, researchers edited out all of the mistakes and showed the team a film of everything they had done right. For team two, researchers edited out everything done right and used the more traditional training method of showing mistakes and strategizing how to correct them. While both teams improved, the team seeing what they did right had 100% greater improvement than the team shown only its mistakes*.
*This survey and related research references were sourced from An Appreciative 360 degree Feedback by Neil Samuels. It is based on the work of David Cooperrider.
Very interesting, I must say!
There are two commonly accepted methods for change: focus on what is wrong and do less of it or focus on what is right and do more of it. Many are surprised to find that the latter has been demonstrated to be significantly more effective. In a classic illustration of this principle, a videotaped experiment was performed with two similarly skilled bowling teams. For team one, researchers edited out all of the mistakes and showed the team a film of everything they had done right. For team two, researchers edited out everything done right and used the more traditional training method of showing mistakes and strategizing how to correct them. While both teams improved, the team seeing what they did right had 100% greater improvement than the team shown only its mistakes*.
*This survey and related research references were sourced from An Appreciative 360 degree Feedback by Neil Samuels. It is based on the work of David Cooperrider.
Very interesting, I must say!
Monday, October 13, 2008
*Go Wildcats!*
CWU proved victorious once again in the 6th annual Battle in Seattle: Central Washington University 50, Western Washington University, 28.
Despite a score that looks like a blowout, it was a competitive and, of course, exciting game! I love that it is held at Qwest Field and what a perfect evening for it.
I particularly loved the new signs posted on the backs of seats in the stadium:
The marching band and mascot fight:
Here are Garin, Tyler and I all bundled up!
Yay for the return of football season :)
Despite a score that looks like a blowout, it was a competitive and, of course, exciting game! I love that it is held at Qwest Field and what a perfect evening for it.
I particularly loved the new signs posted on the backs of seats in the stadium:
The marching band and mascot fight:
Here are Garin, Tyler and I all bundled up!
Yay for the return of football season :)
Thursday, October 9, 2008
much needed Brewers night
The Brewers headed to the East side for the Redhook Double Black re-release party. Although I had not tasted the original, nor do I typically enjoy stouts, I was excited for the night. Turns out, it was ABSOLUTELY delicious! And, made with Lighthouse coffee. What a perfect pair! It was a fun and much needed Brewers night! Loved the beer, loved the quality friend time :)
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Ruff, ruff, ruff...
Jager has adjusted quite well to his new home. He's not spoiled at all. Nor are the rest of the Hauck "farm dogs" who seem to have made their way into the house this weekend.
I'm a proctor, not a proctologist!
I have a new once a month Saturday job: SAT exam proctor. How exciting, you say!? Well, not really, but it wasn't a bad way to make some extra money. So at 7am on Saturday morning, I joined the proctor team in the Administration Building at SU.
First on the agenda: receive test books, answer sheets, and prepare the room. I really enjoyed writing on the old school chalk board :) and making the seating chart. I couldn't help but have sympathy as the students began to arrive, and of course I remembered the 'joy' of taking the exam myself. Tyler recommended that I wear my glasses, hair in a bun, loud shoes, and carry a clipboard as I walk up and down the rows to check for cheating. Well, I didn't quite go that far, but I did try to use my firm voice and maintain a serious demeanor :) Moments of note: three of the fifteen students protested the fact that they had to write a statement in cursive ("I don't know how to write in cursive"; sad but true that most of us can relate to this). The first half of the LONG exam flew by, but the last half drug on. I tried to read, but kept getting distracted by timing each section. We'll hope that by the next time around, I am a pro at this proctor thing!
First on the agenda: receive test books, answer sheets, and prepare the room. I really enjoyed writing on the old school chalk board :) and making the seating chart. I couldn't help but have sympathy as the students began to arrive, and of course I remembered the 'joy' of taking the exam myself. Tyler recommended that I wear my glasses, hair in a bun, loud shoes, and carry a clipboard as I walk up and down the rows to check for cheating. Well, I didn't quite go that far, but I did try to use my firm voice and maintain a serious demeanor :) Moments of note: three of the fifteen students protested the fact that they had to write a statement in cursive ("I don't know how to write in cursive"; sad but true that most of us can relate to this). The first half of the LONG exam flew by, but the last half drug on. I tried to read, but kept getting distracted by timing each section. We'll hope that by the next time around, I am a pro at this proctor thing!
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