Washington State [Archive] - ConstantChatter Forum

kakirk

06-29-2005, 11:52 AM

Uh, DIE HARD Husky fan here. Went to UW, was in the marching band for five years.

I'll try not to hold it against you guys that you're dirty cougs. ;) (j/k of course...my bff is a coug)

D, Oh, just barely missed you! I graduated in 95. But did you know/do you remember Stephanie Watson?? She was the older sister of my best girlfriend in high school. I'm sure we know many of the same people. how funny! :eek:

And PS -- We don't want it getting above 70 until after these twins arrive. It's plenty hot as it is with three times someone's normal blood volume!!!

Katie

diedra1027

06-29-2005, 12:10 PM

Katie - I did know Stephanie! If I remember correctly, she was going to try to become a professional bowler after graduation. I bet we do know/remember many of the same people...my sister and her DH were class of 93. You are getting so close now...I'll keep my fingers crossed that the real summer holds off until after those babies get here :).

kakirk

06-29-2005, 12:45 PM

D, that's so funny about Steph -- I don't think she did end up doing the bowling thing, but yeah she was into that. She lives in Washington DC now with her husband (Colin, same guy she dated in high school) and they have three kids: girl, and boy/girl twins! How funny about your sister too! Thanks for the "stay away hot weather" thoughts...those few days in the 90's early in the month were just BRUTAL for me. Just brutal.

K

Janey

06-30-2005, 09:11 AM

I'm also in Seattle. B and I are living in my apartment in West Seattle while his house is torn up. We'll hopefully be moving into it by the time we're married (86 days - yikes) ... depending on how fast the contractors work. B's house is in the Mt. Baker/Seward Park area.

As for the UW/WSU thing ... I am torn! I went to neither (U of Idaho and U of AK). My parents & grandfather went to the UW, and my family has had season tickets to the UW football games since the 1950's. Kakirk, I always think that marching band looks like they're having so much fun -- they are my favorite part about going to the games. :D

However, B is a Cougar, and will not go to a UW game. ;) The rest of my generation have scattered to the four winds (if you count OR and MT as the four winds), so I'm pretty sure we're going to be giving up our tickets in the next few years.

kakirk

06-30-2005, 09:40 AM

Kakirk, I always think that marching band looks like they're having so much fun -- they are my favorite part about going to the games. :D

Yeah, we pretty much did have a ton of fun! Especially on Saturday nights AFTER the game...much alcohol consumption. :) :p Good times, good times...

Katie

angelpalgt

06-30-2005, 01:34 PM

We've just started our third year up here in Tri-Cities, WA. It does seem rather lonely at times, being on the wrong side of the state. :rolleyes: Oh well. At least my company has an office up in Bellevue, so I have an excuse to go up there now and again. We really do love the Seattle area, and I can hardly imagine living anywhere but the Northwest anymore. This is probably my favorite part of the country, and I have lived plenty of other places.

I went to Georgia Tech, so I don't really have any preference between UW or WSU; however, I am a die-hard GT fan since I marched in the band down there.

kakirk, when you were in school/band, were you ever a part of Tau Beta Sigma?

kakirk

06-30-2005, 04:58 PM

angel No, I wasn't in TBS -- we didn't have a chapter. We had KKY that men & women were encouraged to join, however I never did. I have some good friends who were in it though!

K

keska

06-30-2005, 06:29 PM

I'm not in WA anymore but I grew up in Mukilteo and graduated from UW. DH and I have been in DC for the last three years for law school. I miss Seattle so much. I've tried convincing DH to go back there but he hates the weather. We can't stand the East Coast, though, so we're going to San Francisco. We spent a few months there before I went to law school. It's got nice weather, but I don't think it's anywhere near as beautiful as home.

Want to hear something funny? I discovered after I moved here to DC that I am allergic to the sun!! I get a rash if I spend more than about 15 minutes in intense sunlight. Of course, being from Seattle, I hadn't spent time in shorts since childhood, so I had no clue I had this allergy. For some reason, it's really only a problem on my legs. Go figure. I told DH I must be the ultimate Washingtonian.

QPDoll

06-30-2005, 06:39 PM

How did I miss this thread?

Im from up on Mt Rainier by Enumclaw, DH is from Edmonds. We live in Bremerton and DH commutes by bus and ferry to South Seattle for work.

Hi Katie, welcome home!!! I agree, I don't want warm weather either! Will the heat intolerance get better after these babes are here?

Hi Wendy! Glad to see you over here!

jeepgirl

06-30-2005, 06:53 PM

I lived in Clark County (near Vancouver, Washington) for almost five years. I moved south a year and half ago. I miss the NW though!!!! So, my heart is still somewhat out there. Especially this time of year! *sigh*

Ohana

07-01-2005, 07:20 AM

Hi all, I live north of Seattle as well.

mimieliza

07-01-2005, 10:34 AM

Hi, I stopped by to see if anyone here was in Tri-Cities - I live in Pendleton, OR so Tri-Cities is our closest "big" city. Isn't that sad? :)

angelpalgt -
So how do you like the Tri-Cities area? I've heard mixed reviews. Pendleton has actually grown on me quite a bit. I am not loving the 90 degrees and no a/c right now, though.

Have you been to any of the wine regions - we went wine tasting in Walla Walla a few weeks ago, and it was great. So many new and interesting vineyards!

jo&sean

07-01-2005, 10:49 AM

I lived in Athena just outside of Pendleton one summer. I really like Pendleton - it was a cool town :)

Secret_Squirrel

07-01-2005, 11:14 AM

Wow ~ I had no idea there would be so many of us here! WA state represents on CC!

We live about 15 minutes from downtown (on a good day ;) ). DH and I bought a house in south Snohomish County last Fall. I grew up in South Everett (Cascade HS, class of 1990), but DH is from the Spanaway/Tacoma area and graduated from UPS.

We've adopted the Huskies as our college team. Go Dawgs!

Michelle

07-01-2005, 11:56 AM

Daisy

07-01-2005, 01:25 PM

Hey girls,

Another Washingtonian here! I grew up in eastern Washington and moved over to the westside for college. Now I live in Redmond. :D DH and I are both UW alum. Go Dawgs!

Ferris

07-01-2005, 01:39 PM

Another Washingtonian!! My DH and I moved from California to Gig Harbor last year!! We love it!!! :)

Sazoo

07-01-2005, 01:48 PM

How did I miss this thread???

Wow ~ I had no idea there would be so many of us here! WA state represents on CC! COOL! :D

I'm a Washingtonian too - I've lived here my whole life so far. I grew up mostly in Edmonds (graduated from EWHS in 1992), went to college at WWU up in Bellingham, & now I live in a condo in Renton with my DH.

Michelle - Hiya! I remember talking to you over on the WC back when I was planning my wedding! Good to see you here. :)

I'm looking forward to chatting with all of you local ladies. This is great!

mimieliza

07-01-2005, 01:53 PM

Sarah -
Wow! I was such a lurker on WC, I'm surprised anyone remembers me! I'm trying to post more actively here. :)

Secret_Squirrel

07-01-2005, 01:54 PM

Hey Secret Squirrel, we have a few things in common! I could totally edit your post to reflect my husband and I. I grew up in south Snohimish county and graduated CHS in 1996. My DH was living in Spanaway when I met him while he was finishing up his time in the military. And last but not least, we bought a house in south Snohomish County last summer.

I drove by Cascade a couple of months ago and wow it looked different. But I have to admit, it was great to see the gummy bear still there in front of the office. I hope that never changes!

LOL, that is so funny. The gummy bear!! I hadn't thought of it in years. My brother (class of '87) called it Peace Bear, saying a class of hippies donated it to the school in the 70s.

Were the disco windows in the lunchroom still there when you were there? I agree, the school looks much better now.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*

Here's another idea to keep our thread from dying:

I love trying a new, local restaurant. What is your favorite place to eat in your neighborhood?

In Mountlake Terrace, there is a little cafe called Cafe on the Terrace. It's a tiny restaurant run by two women but they have the best breakfast and the service is so friendly. They seat you and bring out a plate of sliced bagels and lemon cake. And on the menu they have french toast stuffed with bananas and real bavarian cream - heavenly. Their fried potatoes and espresso is really good, too.

Ohana

07-01-2005, 02:16 PM

Secret Squirrel I graduated from UPS, too, class of 1995. Small world!

My favorite place to eat in my neighborhood is Janbo, a Chinese restaurant. Yum, just thinking about it has me drooling!

Sazoo

07-01-2005, 02:19 PM

My DH & I have been really into Thai food lately, & we have several favorite Thai restaurants. Near our home in Renton, we prefer either Fairwood Thai or Moragote Thai (which is near Ikea). In Bellevue (near where I work), our favorites are Chantanee & Nibbana. YUMMY! :D

QPDoll

07-01-2005, 03:16 PM

mostly in Edmonds (graduated from EWHS in 1992),

Hey, you went to HS with my DH, except he was 2 years behind you. He was the AV/Light Boy geek, and a band geek (trombone). LOL

Another Washingtonian!! My DH and I moved from California to Gig Harbor last year!! We love it!!! :)

Howdy neighbor! Im in Bremerton. :)

QPDoll

07-01-2005, 03:18 PM

Favorite local restaurant:

Bremerton: Tony's Pizza

Ballard: little italian restaurant by the movie theater

Seattle: CP Thai in Georgetown

mimieliza

07-01-2005, 03:50 PM

I know it's kind of common around the Seattle area, but I love to have Pagliacci's Pizza when I'm there. It's so good. I love all the creative toppings they offer. :)

seapod

07-01-2005, 04:11 PM

Wow gals this thread really took off!

Weddings By: I was on WC but mostly just lurked and posted at times. I feel more comfortable here and will probably post a bunch more. :)

Sazoo: Woo hoo another Western Alum. When did you grad? Did you live in the dorms? I met DH at Western and we both graduated in 2001.

I also grew up in East Wenatchee and miss the really hot weather :)

Heather

Sazoo

07-01-2005, 04:42 PM

Hey, you went to HS with my DH, except he was 2 years behind you. He was the AV/Light Boy geek, and a band geek (trombone). LOL
Seriously? I was in band too! :) What's your DH's name? He looks sort of familiar in the pic in your Avatar, but it's hard to tell.

I think my friend Cliff Olmsted was an AV/Light guy too...AND he played trombone. hee hee, what a small world!

Sazoo

07-01-2005, 04:46 PM

Sazoo: Woo hoo another Western Alum. When did you grad? Did you live in the dorms? I met DH at Western and we both graduated in 2001.
COOL! :) I was a business major & I graduated in 1996. I lived in Fairhaven for my freshman & sophomore year, & in Birnam Wood junior year. Senior year I lived off-campus with a roommate.

seapod

07-01-2005, 05:24 PM

COOL! :) I was a business major & I graduated in 1996. I lived in Fairhaven for my freshman & sophomore year, & in Birnam Wood junior year. Senior year I lived off-campus with a roommate.
I was in Higginson, Nash, Edens South, BW and then a house and an apartment. I was a geology major. Got to love the time spent on South Campus :D

Jessie

07-01-2005, 05:30 PM

Wow! I can't believe I missed this thread! There sure are a lot us. Another WA girl here. I'm up in Bellingham.

I know it's kind of common around the Seattle area, but I love to have Pagliacci's Pizza when I'm there. It's so good. I love all the creative toppings they offer

Brian and I have a tradition, whenever we spend the night in a hotel in Seattle we always order a Pagliacci pizza.

KristyK

07-01-2005, 07:14 PM

Lotsa great WA women here!

QPDoll, are you talking about the Tony's pizza on Kitsap way, by WestPark?

If you are, that was my favorite place growing up, except back then (60's & 70's) we called it Filippi's, because the guy was Tony Filippi that owned it. OMG the best pizza ever! And I've lived on the other coast, where they think they have the best pizza! LOL

Anyway, I have to admit, when I saw you were a Bremerton girl, oh a while ago, I've lurked at times in your journal, just to see what was up with a local girl, and I was very excited for you when you got pregnant with your twins. I guess I was curious, because where your house is, is close to where I grew up. I went to Naval Ave elementary for 2-6th grades, that's my stomping ground where you are living now!

I know, cyber lurker here! LOL Really, thats what I spent more time doing on WC than anything, I feel more free here on the CC than I ever felt on WC, not sure why, but I know I've been in a posting frenzy!

Ok, my best place to eat in our little town is called "Kyoto". It's a japanese restaurant where they have fresh sushi, teppan tables and tatami rooms. It's been through 3 owners since we've been going there, but we are such regulars, they know us! :D They have the best sushi, and believe me, anywhere else we go, on vacation or whatever, we eat sushi, and our little local place has always been better. It's always fresh fish and although I'm not the gourmet eater my DH is, I have grown to really like it. Plus, we've gotten to be good (personal) friends with the sushi chef, and he knows to cut mine small, and no ginger! It's kinda nice being treated great in a restaurant!

Ok, night relax time, great to see all the WA girls here!

Kristy

seattleguamgirl

07-01-2005, 09:10 PM

Hi all,

I'm a soon-to-be Washingtonian! DH just got a job in Redmond (hmmm...can you guess where? :) ) so we are relocating there this month. We are very excited about the move and exploring the Seattle area.

I visited Seattle a lot in my college days--my best friend went to UW and a few other friends went to SU so I spent a lot of time up there.

Are any of you mommies? I want to join a mommy group and only found one in Redmond. Still not sure where we'll end up (currently house hunting) and we are primarily looking in Redmond, Bellevue and Kirkland.

-Cari

Michelle

07-01-2005, 11:53 PM

Let's see...favorite restaurants in the area...

Italian: Gratzie in Bothell. By far my favorite overall. Fantastic food!
Mexican: LaPalmeria in Mill Creek.
Pizza: Spartas in Bothell and Lynnwood - Awesome thick crust
Seattle Restaurant: The Broadway Grill. So much fun and great food!

Hmmm I guess I have a lot of favorites, huh? The sad thing is, I'm sure I'll think of more! :)

Secret Squirrel - I got to look at the disco wall for a little while. They tore it down my sophomore or junior year when they remodeled the building. I don't remember exactly when. They were actually selling peices of it as a fundraiser!

Sposa06

07-02-2005, 10:29 AM

I second the Broadway Grill! They have the best salads I've had on this continent! They also have Yukon Gold mashed potatoes that are just amazing. Good drink specials, too. And really, it's just a fun place to visit.

For Greek food, I love Kafe Neo. There's one on Highway 99 in Lynnwood, just north of 212th. It's small and often crowded at lunch time, but it's so good! The Neo Chicken gyro is my favorite.

For Italian, I like Girardi's Osteria in downtown Edmonds (great service, fantastic food! The bruschetta and gnocchi are my favorites. I also love eating outside on a nice day), on 5th. I also love Stella Mia Ristorante in Bothell (very friendly, welcoming place with outstanding food - try the ravioli burro e salvia [ravioli in a sauce of butter and sage, with diced tomatoes on top]). It's at the Country Village on the Bothell-Everett Highway.

For a variety of Asian food (mostly Thai and Viatnamese), I love the East & West Cafe. It's on Tacoma Mall Blvd. Great ambiance, attentive service, consistenly good food. Swimming Rama and Sweet and Sour are a couple of my favorites, but I've tried most everything there and loved it. Vegetarian options galore, and you can get your food mild or impossibly spicy.

ivansbabe

07-02-2005, 01:54 PM

Ferris YAY! I'm glad to see you here :) How's your little man? Hope all is well.

seattleguamgirl Congrats on DH's new job! Hope the house hunt goes well for you. I really like Redmond and Woodinville they are both great family areas. I don't have any kiddies but I grew up in Woodinville and know that the northsore school district is very good. I live over in Kirkland and like this area too, you're close to everything which is nice.

Hmmm...favorite local eateries...well, for a fun mexican restaurant try Ooba's in Woovinville (I think there is one in Redmond as well). It is delicious! I really like their Juan's Tacos. It's a special however so they don't always have it. If they don't I usually have their chicken enchilladas, yum!

I also love Rice n' Roll at Bellevue Square, I get the Crispy Shrimp Rolls which are tasty.

For cheap greek food, Aladdin's in the U district has yummy gyros.

DH and I like the Golden Chopsticks at Redmond Town Center for Chinese food. Their Mushu Pork is great.

The Slip, right on the water in downtown Kirkland has great burgers. Try the peanut butter bacon burger for fun, it's awesome!

Also the Celtic Bayou in Redmond has a great burger, and they brew their own beer which is tasty.

I'm sure I'll think of more, but there's a few! Have a fun safe weekend everyone!
Anyone going to a firework show around here? We have no plans as of yet...

jeneca128

07-02-2005, 07:31 PM

Hello WA ladies! DH and I are looking into moving to the Seattle area in the next year. My brother lives in downtown Seattle, and we love the city.......but we're looking for something a little more on the outskirts where we can actually have a house, a yard, and afford all of it! We don't want to be too far from the city though....any suggestions on where we should look?

Dally

07-02-2005, 09:02 PM

I'm so happy to find this thread! It never seemed like there were many women from Washington on WC. Maybe I just didn't see you all there.

I live near Seattle (eastside). Sazoo & Seapod, I went to Western, too. I loved that school and living in B'ham. I graduated quite a bit earlier than you two--class of 1991. ;)

Seattleguamgirl--I'm a mom, too. :) A new one (my DD is just 7 weeks old). I'm still looking for a mommies group myself (one that can accomodate my return to work in Sept.), but in the meantime I'm going to a parent-baby group at the hospital where I gave birth. I'm hoping something shakes out from that. How old is your baby? As for looking for a place to live, I agree that the Woodinville area is nice, and not too far from that famous Redmond employer. Kirkland is great, too. All depends on what you like.

jeneca128--The real estate market is crazy around here, so it's all about what you can (or want to) afford. South of the city (Kent, Renton, Auburn) or, if you can afford a little more, north of the city (Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, Brier). The eastside is not that far from Seattle, either, and places like Bothell and Kenmore are not badly priced.

Weddings by

07-03-2005, 02:15 AM

Thai--Typhoon!, Redmond
Bangkok Thai, Puyallup
Bubble Tea--Pho Tai, South Tacoma Blvd, not too far north of 512 and I5. (Coconut Milk Tea w/ Tapioca) I like their #25, too. It's a noodle salad w/ seasoned, grilled pork, prawns, and cucumbers. Yummy.
Indian--A Taste of India, Roosevelt, Seattle
Sushi--Todai, Redmond (I've never been there, just heard it's good)

seattleguamgirl

07-03-2005, 03:37 PM

ivansbabe, thanks, we are looking forward to moving! We still can't decide b/w Kirkland, Redmond and Bellevue (still favoring Kirkland and Redmond) but we are going up this weekend to look at more homes.

Dally, my son Roman just turned 5 months today! Congrats on being a new mommy! I'll need to look up some mommy groups once we actually move. Where on the east side are you (if you don't mind me asking--feel free not to answer)?

Daisy

07-03-2005, 10:41 PM

Hey Girls,

Some of my favorite restaurants:

Typhoon! in Redmond (phad thai w/ crab - so good!)
Almost any place that grills a good salmon...
Burgermaster!

Ivansbabe - I'm at Celtic Bayou almost every Friday for happy hour!

jeneca128 - Welcome to the Eastside! :)

euphorhea

07-04-2005, 12:44 AM

Another Washingtonian here [although Hawaii is really home to me...]

I'm in Renton -- up the hill from IKEA, near Valley Medical Center. [Sazoo, we're neighbors!] I spent my high school years in the dirty south [of Tacoma that is. Foss High, anyone?] and graduated in 1995 before moving back home to Hawaii again. After a few years of school there, I relocated back to the Seattle area with a fiance, now husband, in tow. :p

Cari: It's so nice to see you here! :) I hope the house hunting process is going smoothly for you guys. When you finally get settled in, we should meet up for coffee. ;)

Akemi

07-04-2005, 01:24 AM

I'm a Cougar fan, too. What's the breakdown of WSU/UW fans here?

Go Cougs!

I don't live in Washington anymore, but we went to school in Pullman, then I stayed up in Spokane for just a little bit afterwards... I loved Spokane! It's still one of my favorite places.

euphorhea, do you live near Victoria Hills (or something like that)? DH's family friends live there (we always stayed with them when we visited Seattle), and I loved the area! So conveniently located to IKEA and Southcenter, which is all that mattered to me while I was in school.

QPDoll

07-04-2005, 07:40 PM

Seriously? I was in band too! :) What's your DH's name? He looks sort of familiar in the pic in your Avatar, but it's hard to tell.

I think my friend Cliff Olmsted was an AV/Light guy too...AND he played trombone. hee hee, what a small world!

Yep, he knew Cliff - but he was 2 years ahead of him. My DHs name is Travis Waldher. (self proclaimed total geek in HS. LOL)

QPDoll

07-04-2005, 07:51 PM

QPDoll, are you talking about the Tony's pizza on Kitsap way, by WestPark?

If you are, that was my favorite place growing up, except back then (60's & 70's) we called it Filippi's, because the guy was Tony Filippi that owned it. OMG the best pizza ever! And I've lived on the other coast, where they think they have the best pizza! LOL

Anyway, I have to admit, when I saw you were a Bremerton girl, oh a while ago, I've lurked at times in your journal, just to see what was up with a local girl, and I was very excited for you when you got pregnant with your twins. I guess I was curious, because where your house is, is close to where I grew up. I went to Naval Ave elementary for 2-6th grades, that's my stomping ground where you are living now!

I know, cyber lurker here! LOL Really, thats what I spent more time doing on WC than anything, I feel more free here on the CC than I ever felt on WC, not sure why, but I know I've been in a posting frenzy!

Kristy
Cyber-stalker! Ah...run and hide!

Im not really a local gal, we only moved here in the past couple of years. I grew up on Mt. Rainier in a little tiny itty bitty BFE town.

Yep, we live close to the elementary school, sort of. Took me a year of living here to realize there was a school there. LMAO I actually meet so many people who tell me they 'use' to live in this area, I know, I know...its really gone downhill. Were hoping with the revalization of downtown - the area gets better.

Thanks for the congrats on the kiddos. Im so ready to be done, its hot here today! Anyday now...or up to 4 more weeks. No 'real' due date with twins, other than get as far as you can. LOL But if they aren't here in 4 weeks, I will be induced. 2 more weeks is our goal.

And yep, thats the Tony's I was talking about! I thought Tony was Fillepa's son or something like that. I knew they had a name change, but it was still in the same family. Don't they have the best pizza? Ive also heard great things about a little pizzaria downtown - Ive passed it walking to the ferry, but never remember the name.

Did you move out of the area when you were in 2nd grade, or did you just change schools?

Sazoo

07-05-2005, 10:25 AM

I'm in Renton -- up the hill from IKEA, near Valley Medical Center. [Sazoo, we're neighbors!]

No kidding - we sure are! I live up the hill from Ikea & Valley Medical Center too. :D Small world, huh?

Sazoo

07-05-2005, 10:28 AM

Yep, he knew Cliff - but he was 2 years ahead of him. My DHs name is Travis Waldher. (self proclaimed total geek in HS. LOL)Cool - how funny to find someone on here who is married to someone I went to HS with. I do remember Travis, although I didn't know him very well. Next time I talk to Cliff I'll have to let him know I "ran into" Travis's wife online! :P

euphorhea

07-05-2005, 09:18 PM

euphorhea, do you live near Victoria Hills (or something like that)? DH's family friends live there (we always stayed with them when we visited Seattle), and I loved the area! So conveniently located to IKEA and Southcenter, which is all that mattered to me while I was in school.

No, actually I'm in the Springbrook/Talbot Hill area. Victoria Hills is a little north of where I live. :)

euphorhea

07-05-2005, 09:23 PM

No kidding - we sure are! I live up the hill from Ikea & Valley Medical Center too. :D Small world, huh?

A small world, indeed. Are you up in the Highlands?

QPDoll

07-06-2005, 10:55 AM

Cool - how funny to find someone on here who is married to someone I went to HS with. I do remember Travis, although I didn't know him very well. Next time I talk to Cliff I'll have to let him know I "ran into" Travis's wife online! :P

Too funny! What was your maiden name?

gardenmommy

07-06-2005, 12:16 PM

Hey...mind if I live vicariously through you all?

I grew up in Washington and went to highschool there...Lynnwood Class of 93 and graduated from UW...go DAWGS! Class of 97.

I moved down to Portland in 99 to be with DH but we got married up in Lakewood in 2002. I miss it up there so much and so many of my friends and all my family still live up there...man don't get me started about how much I miss it.

As far as restaurants go it's been forever since I've gone to the good local places...But there are days I would kill for a burger, fries, and chocolate shake from Dicks, or a wrap from World Wraps at Greenlake.

"Waving hi" to Tina~ Take care of yourself mommy!

"Waving hi" to Katie~ So glad to hear you moved back to Seattle! Best of luck with your twins...you will be such a great mom!

Secret_Squirrel

07-06-2005, 01:41 PM

I know so many of these restaurants! I've eaten at:

Broadway Grill (love the chandeliers)
Janbo's Chinese
Gratzie
La Palmeria in Mill Creek - just ate there a few days ago! Love the decor.
Spartas Pizza
Kafe Neo (near where i work)
Todai (impressive buffet, but better Sushi elsewhere IMO. I like Hana Sushi on Broadway and hear I Love Sushi's are really good)

BTW - for Thai food fans, DH swears by Emerald Thai on 99 in Des Moines. We went to Thailand last January on our HM and he says it's the best Thai on this side of the Pacific. Our local Thai place is Talay Thai in Lynnwood and they have great ginger chicken.

And for Cajun Food, Alligator Soul in downtown Everett is awesome, if you are ever that far north.

I'm a mommy, too. But my kids are probably much older than anyone elses. My boys are 10 and 7!

Sposa06 I'll have to try Girardi's Osteria. On a nice day, I like eating at Anthony's Beach Cafe on the Edmonds waterfront.

Jeneca128: There are a lot of nice neighborhoods outside of the city. DH and I just bought a house last fall and looked at all the neighborhoods north, south and east of Seattle. Your budget will probably be your deciding factor. The eastside is nice, but expensive. The southend is the least-expensive area. We bought in the northend because it feels a little less crowded and I love our neighborhood (15 mi from Seattle & Bellevue, near great shopping at Alderwood and close to the beach, too).

Sazoo

07-06-2005, 01:45 PM

A small world, indeed. Are you up in the Highlands?
No, I live right up the hill from Valley Medical Center on Benson Hill. Pretty close to you, if you live in the Springbrook/Talbot area. :) Howdy neighbor!

Sazoo

07-06-2005, 01:45 PM

Too funny! What was your maiden name?
Edited to remove my last name... :D

KristyK

07-06-2005, 06:43 PM

How funny that so many of you live close, or went to the same schools, etc!

Yep QP, I'm your stalker! LOL I actually grew up on 11th street, but walked to the elementary from 2nd through 6th grades. I stayed in Bremerton my whole life, Bremerton Jr High, and graduated Bremerton High, eon's ago.

Does your DH work at PSNS? If so, maybe he knows people that I know there? There are lots of people I grew up with that still live there, and many that have moved away, like me. Although, I'm still close by, a short ferry ride!
My best friend, that I grew up with, since age 2, still lives in Bremerton, and works in the shi"t"yard, so I come down to see her quite often.

I can understand wanting to be done with pregnancy, especially when it's hot out! I wish you luck, and possibly an early birth!

Ok, enough chatting for me, time to get showered and ready for bed, my days start really early at 4am!

Take care neighbors!
Kristy

QPDoll

07-06-2005, 06:50 PM

I actually grew up on 11th street, but walked to the elementary from 2nd through 6th grades. I stayed in Bremerton my whole life, Bremerton Jr High, and graduated Bremerton High, eon's ago.

Does your DH work at PSNS?

Were several blocks from there - much further down, but still the same vicinity.

My DH works at Boeing Field: bus/ferry/bus. Same commute time as living 'on the other side', but MUCH cheaper housing, smaller community, and nicer commute (ferry vs driving). We didn't really know anyone over here, I moved over here just before we met because I had been laid off my job in Redmond after 9/11, and wanted a change (and my unemployment went much further over here than it did in Redmond!). DH moved over from Edmonds before we got married and decided he liked it, so we bought a house about a year after we were married.

TrulyBlessed

07-06-2005, 11:37 PM

Wow...I can't believe I missed this thread as well. It's great to see so many Washingtonians here on CC.

I think I'm probably the oldest amongst you youngesters. I graduated from Mariner High in "87, UW (GOOOO HUSKIES!!) in '91.

I have a 20 month old DD & a DS on the way. I live in Bellevue & am a SAHM so if any moms want to get together for a playdate with our kiddos, I'm game.

Ferris

07-07-2005, 07:44 AM

I am loving all the favorite food places since DH and I haven't been able to find any restaurants in our area we love! It looks like we might have to take a drive up to Seattle soon!!

Ivansbabe-My little guy is doing good!! Although as I typed that he started crying for food!! Gotta run!!

KristyK

07-07-2005, 05:35 PM

Wow QP, didn't realize it was the same distance commute, but I can totally understand why he does it! We have a lot of people living on the south of our island who commute to the Everett plant. But, the housing costs down there are twice as much as ours are.

Truly blessed, I got you beat, I'm Bremerton high, class of 79/80, I think I'm the oldie, not that I want that distinction! :D

I'm glad to read all the good places to eat. If we ever get back to the Seattle area we have tons of choices. I will second the "Todai" review. It's got a great buffet, but there are tons of better Sushi places. We made a special trip down there one day, because we'd heard about it, and it was ok.

Kristy

QPDoll

07-07-2005, 05:41 PM

Wow QP, didn't realize it was the same distance commute, but I can totally understand why he does it! We have a lot of people living on the south of our island who commute to the Everett plant. But, the housing costs down there are twice as much as ours are.

The distance is greater, but the time is the same. Before, he commuted from Edmonds to Boeing Field, and sat in traffic for 2 hours each way. Now, he just takes a bus for just over a mile, and then the ferry. The bus on the other side can be a PITA sometimes though.

And yeah, pay over here is a joke. *I* made great money in my field - but then the company had problems and I got laid off (after 3 years). Trying to find a replacement even remotly close in pay was laughable. It was half of what I had been making. So...now that we have twins on the way, Im a SAHM. My income would be barely enough to cover daycare, unless I commuted to Seattle...no thanks.

Sazoo

07-07-2005, 07:52 PM

Has anyone heard of this movie (March of the Penguins)? It's a new nature documentary about emperor penguins that looks really cute, & it's playing at the Egyptian movie theater in Seattle right now. :)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2005/06/29/2002352278.jpg

I saw a brief story about it on the news the other night, & my DH found a link with a story about the movie & a movie trailer on the Seattle Times website today & forwarded it to me. Here's the link to the story. About halfway down the page there's a link to Showtimes and Trailer...check out the trailer!

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2002353327_penguins01.html

I think we're going to go see it this weekend. I'm not sure how long the movie is playing, but for some reason I just think I'd really enjoy watching this movie about these fascinating creatures. :D

Jessie

07-07-2005, 08:19 PM

Sazoo- I heard about that movie a few weeks ago. I love penguins. I want to see it when it comes out up here. The local indie theater starts showing it in August. Be sure to post a review if you go see it!

Michelle

07-08-2005, 03:29 PM

Happy Friday Everyone!!!!

I hope you all have a great weekend! Does anybody have any fun plans? Well, besides getting drenched in the rain of course! :cool:

hockeybrat

07-08-2005, 03:38 PM

Happy Friday Everyone!!!!

I hope you all have a great weekend! Does anybody have any fun plans? Well, besides getting drenched in the rain of course! :cool:

I am going to the Symphony on Sunday! Bugs Bunny on Broadway :D. My husband and I grew up watching BB so we are really excited.

Sposa06

07-08-2005, 03:42 PM

Gold Cup tomorrow, baby! GO USA!

Janey

07-08-2005, 04:09 PM

I am going to the Symphony on Sunday! Bugs Bunny on Broadway :D. My husband and I grew up watching BB so we are really excited.
We are going to that on Saturday night... after dinner at Tulio. I'm sooooooo excited to have a date with my fiance ... it seems like all we have time for lately is wedding planning, remodel planning, and work. Bugs Bunny will be GREAT! :D

euphorhea

07-08-2005, 06:10 PM

Happy Friday Everyone!!!!

I hope you all have a great weekend! Does anybody have any fun plans? Well, besides getting drenched in the rain of course! :cool:

Happy Friday!!!

It's my DH's birthday today and me and 10 of our closest friends are going to celebrate at Benihana's in Seattle. We may hit up Jillian's afterwards, if we're all up to it.

QPDoll

07-08-2005, 08:59 PM

going to celebrate at Benihana's in Seattle.

*Drool* Torment the pregnant lady on bedrest. Geesh. I love that place!

and happy birthday to your man!

KristyK

07-10-2005, 07:05 PM

I'd love just to hit Seattle once in awhile, whether we made Benihana's or not! :D I miss Ivars, the waterfront, the Pier's, Pike Place Market. I grew up in Bremerton so weekend trips to Seattle were often! We haven't been downtown Seattle in about 3 years, oh wait, we did fight traffic last summer for our one and only ever Mariners game. That won't happen again!

Oh well. QP, I'm sending good luck wishes to you! Stay comfortable!

Kristy

seapod

07-10-2005, 10:23 PM

I am going to the Symphony on Sunday! Bugs Bunny on Broadway :D. My husband and I grew up watching BB so we are really excited.
I saw something on Evening magizine about that. Will have to see that next time. We just got tickets this weekend to see Celtic Woman preform at benaryora hall on our anniversary(8*10). If anyone has been watching PBS lately they show an irish/celtic concert with 4 women singers and a woman fiddlist, that's the show Celtic Woman. It's going to be great I can't wait.

I will get to pick up the DH tomorrow night from the airport. He's been back in MN for his cousin's wedding. They had a Camelot theme, so I am interested in the pictures when he gets back..The turkey has been gone for almost the past 3 weeks straight :rolleyes: :). I was at an outdoor wedding of our friends on Saturday also. It seemed like the wind picked up just during the ceremony.

Wish us luck. Lakefair starts on Wednesday here in Olympia. Hubby and I are responsible for one of the food booths.

seattleguamgirl

07-10-2005, 10:27 PM

Hi all,

I'm posting from Redmond on our house hunting trip! We love this area more and more every day. :)

I wanted to brag--we had dinner at Wild Ginger in downtown Seattle last night and saw Food Network chef Rachael Ray, interviewing the owner! It was fabulous--I mustered up enough courage to introduce myself to her. :)

Wild Ginger was soooo yummy!

ETA: Rhea, wish Gene a happy birthday from us! We definitely have to meet up once we officially move up here. :) Can't wait!

Michelle

07-10-2005, 10:47 PM

I wanted to brag--we had dinner at Wild Ginger in downtown Seattle last night and saw Food Network chef Rachael Ray, interviewing the owner! It was fabulous--I mustered up enough courage to introduce myself to her.

Wow!!! I'm envious of you Seattleguamgirl!!! :) Yay for you for getting enough courage to say hi. If I were in your shoes, I would have been a total chicken! :)

Hmmm, I wonder why she was interviewing the chef? Do you think she was filming an episode of $40 a day? (If she was, that would be pretty funny b/c my husband was just asking yesterday if she ever did an episode of that show in Seattle)

seattleguamgirl

07-10-2005, 10:57 PM

Michelle,

I was sooo nervous to approach her, but I'm glad I found the courage. :) I'm such a nerd--I was completely star struck around her! In retrospect, I should have told her I love to make her fake-baked Ziti. ;) I did tell her I was a huge fan and she gave me a hug and a peck on the cheek!

I'm almost positive it's for her $40 a day show. The server told me the show (she couldn't confirm which one it was) would air sometime in August so look out for it!

celticknotnut

07-11-2005, 08:38 AM

I'm a little late on the uptake of this thread, but I thought I'd throw myself in anyway!

Howdy! I live down so far south in King County that if we'd known we'd have driven the extra mile south and found our place there to be in Pierce!

Anymahoo... I'm an "other board" transplant, married in '01 and just a lurker there for a year or two now though I follow an LJ or two. Over there I was "Aisling".

Rachel Ray and the Bugs Bunny Symphony... You gal's are busy! Right on and enjoy!

Amber

mollyeilis

07-11-2005, 06:44 PM

I'm in Federal Way, though not really by choice. We just sort of ended up here. Not a huge fan of the city, though my half-Korean hubby likes having places like Hyundai Foods nearby. :)

I grew up in CA (San Jose to be exact) but as soon as I got done with HS in 1987, I was outta there. The day I got on the plane to start orientation for college (University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, grad in 1991) was the day SJ's population hit 1 million. Too many people!

So I'm officially an evil CA transplant, but if my parents' parents hadn't relocated from CO and NY, I wouldn't be said evil CA transplant. And I moved when I was only 17, so does that *really* count as evil? :D

We have a 13 month old boy and hubby and I are approaching our second wedding anniversary.

Not sure when the restaurant convo started, but I like Mama's in Seattle, I'm all about the waffles at Caffe Minnie's on Denny (our first date was drinks, play, and about 7 hours of talking over coffee at Minnie's), though not when pregnant b/c it doesn't smell clean then. Indochine in F.Way is pretty good, as is another Thai place across Hwy 99 from Indochine.

(hi QPDoll, long time no "see"!)

Secret_Squirrel

07-12-2005, 10:41 AM

I hope you all have a great weekend! Does anybody have any fun plans? Well, besides getting drenched in the rain of course! :cool:

When DH woke up on Saturday and it wasn't raining, we kicked ourselved in gear and tried to make the ferry out to San Juan Island. We didn't make it, but no biggie- we spent the day in Anacortes and then we went hiking at Deception Pass. It was a beautiful day! DH is from Pierce Co. and I love showing him what the north side of the state has to offer.

Besides, we're supposed to move south in 4 years and if I can show him how great it is up here, maybe he won't make me move! No offense to anyone who lives there, I just love where I am.

This weekend, BIL is visiting from Fort Drum, NY. It's his last visit before he gets deployed to Iraq this Fall.

KristyK

07-12-2005, 08:37 PM

Secret Squirrel, you were in my neck of the woods! I work in Anacortes, and live on Whidbey! I might have seen you on the bridge as I came home! LOL

Ok, off to bed!

Darin's Girl

07-12-2005, 09:15 PM

Count me in as another one who can't believe I missed this thread! I am so excited to see so many locals!

I currently live in Lake Stevens. But went to elementary school in Shoreline until the 5th grade and then my family moved to Woodinville where I stayed until I got married.

Ivansbabe Did you go to WHS?

TrulyBlessed My hubby graduated from Mariner in 86. He'll get a kick out of knowing I met someone who went to "Mariner State Penitentiary" (as he calls it)

I don't know that I really have a favorite restaurant- but we did go to Chopstix Dueling Piano Bar for my b-day last month. We had a BLAST!!!

TrulyBlessed

07-12-2005, 09:32 PM

Darin's Girl, That's so funny that your DH is a former Marauder. What a small world. I'm assuming his name is Darin. What's his last name? Was he in any sports? I cheered for 6 years (Jr.High - High school) so I'll probably know him especially if he played sports. Tell him an ex-MHS alum says "hello". ;)

celticknotnut

07-12-2005, 10:31 PM

KristyK: Is your Avatar a pic of Ebey's Landing? I *love* that place so much... especially when I come at it from Main Street... Just a hunch, or I have coupeville on the brain again... Lucky you to live on Whidbey!

Mollyeilis: Federal Way eh? We're out by Dash Point!

Wow, I never "met" locals before! Hope all you Washington Gals are doing well tonight!

Ohana

07-13-2005, 06:55 AM

Mollyeilis Hey there fellow UPS grad! I graduated from there in 95. Small world!

Secret_Squirrel

07-13-2005, 10:19 AM

Secret Squirrel, you were in my neck of the woods! I work in Anacortes, and live on Whidbey! I might have seen you on the bridge as I came home! LOL

Ok, off to bed!

You are lucky - it is so pretty out there! We were driving through Anacortes and I told DH "I could live here."

Darin's Girl : Chopstix dueling piano bar sounds like fun! I forgot that place existed.

Sposa06

07-13-2005, 12:15 PM

I don't know that I really have a favorite restaurant- but we did go to Chopstix Dueling Piano Bar for my b-day last month. We had a BLAST!!!

Okay, a friend of mine mentioned this place a while ago, I think. Is this the place where you request/suggest a song and two people try to play it better? I think that's what she was saying about it. That and she was determined to request Queen's Bohmeian Rhapsody.

Darin's Girl

07-13-2005, 12:37 PM

TrulyBlessed Darin played tennis in HS. I'll PM you with our last name- I am a little leary of just posting it. ;)

Sposa06 That's the one! The night we were there someone did request Queen's Bohmeian Rhapsody. It was really funny to hear it on the piano! And the whole bar was singing! So much fun!

KristyK

07-13-2005, 03:42 PM

Celtic:
It's actually a beach about 2 minutes from my house, the Preserve is about 10 miles south of us, but on the same side of the island as this beach. We just had a picnic there one night after work, and I took the pictures, it was so beautiful!

Squirrel:
I love living here! I grew up in Bremerton, near the water (and navy), so it feels like home, only better! :D

Sposa06

07-14-2005, 10:25 AM

That sounds great, Darin's Girl! I really need to go there!

It's beautiful today - any of you have any fun weekend plans?

Sazoo

07-14-2005, 02:06 PM

It's beautiful today - any of you have any fun weekend plans?
I think on Saturday I'm going to the drag races with my DH in Bremerton (he's racing his car) & then we'll probably stop by his company picnic (out in North Bend!) that afternoon if we get back in time. Sunday we're going to a car show in Issaquah (DH has entered his car into the show), & afterwards I'm planning to hook up with a friend of mine for dinner. So...I think we're gonna have a busy weekend! :D

hockeybrat

07-14-2005, 02:08 PM

I'll spend much of my weekend reading Harry Potter - outside enjoying the nice weather ;)

Daisy

07-14-2005, 02:35 PM

It's beautiful today - any of you have any fun weekend plans?

Friends and I are heading to Eastern Wash. go to the wineries outside of Yakima on Saturday and the boys are going to play golf at Apple Tree on Sunday. Will be fun with guaranteed nice weather. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Darin's Girl

07-14-2005, 03:11 PM

Sazoo we must be going to the same picnic! How funny is that? It's for the Big B- right?? Did you go to last year's?

Other than DH's company picnic we are going to the Everett Hawks game on Friday night and Saturday we are going to the Mariners game.

I WISH I could stay at home and read my Harry Potter! I just got my email from B&N saying my book was ready to be shipped.

sportyj

07-16-2005, 07:51 PM

Sazoo

07-16-2005, 08:28 PM

Sazoo we must be going to the same picnic! How funny is that? It's for the Big B- right?? Did you go to last year's?
Nope, the big N, actually (think video games). ;) Their picnic was at Mountain Meadows Farm today, but we actually didn't end up going afterall because we didn't get back from drag racing in Bremerton in time to make it out to the picnic. Oh well - no free food for us this year. :(

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend! :D I got sunburned pretty badly out in Bremerton today...I'm always so bad about putting on sunscreen when I'm outdoors for long periods of time, & I'm white as a ghost so I really need sunscreen to keep from burning! :rolleyes:

mollyeilis

07-16-2005, 08:30 PM

Typical summer means being in the 80s in July is just about as hot as it's gonna get. Typically. Summer starts off slow...I think this June was pretty rainy (with thunder, which in my memory is not that usual for the area) and had its cool days. But then the mild summer lasts and lasts, if my memory serves me (for some reason I just take things day by day and don't tend to remember seasons from one year to the next).

The rain isn't bad, but it can get to you. I've lived in the South, and when it rains there it RAINS. Here, it usually drizzles. Day after day of grey drizzle. Not quite enough for an umbrella, but enough to get ya wet if you're walking in it.

The winters are NOT that cold on the western side of the state. If you go east, over the Cascades, then (and someone correct me if I'm wrong on terminology) it's more of a desert, so you get HOT summers and cold, snowy winters. On the western side, though, it might snow once a year, and it will stop everything up b/c it's hilly and communities don't have enough equipment to deal with it. So you get a day or so off, and all is good. :) Some winters it doesn't snow at all.

As for working and living, it will depend on salary and how much you want to spend on housing. If he makes a ton and would continue to do so, and you don't mind spending money on housing, work and live in Seattle! I, personally, can't handle the thought of spending so much more money on less housing, so we live south of Seattle and visit (and deal with the traffic) when we feel like it, rather than every single day. :)

One interesting thing. Since it's so far north, the days are longer than where you are. I grew up in CA and it's noticeably different, lighter much later, than there. Hard to go to sleep sometimes during the summer!

Sazoo

07-16-2005, 08:43 PM

Hi all you WA ladies! I am in AZ...116 degrees AZ...litterally! Dh and I are always looking for new places to live and try out. We are VERY active and outdoorsy and are looking for a place where we can bike, hike, snowboard, rock climb, etc. My biggest question is: HOW IS THE WEATHER? Honestly:

Explain a typical summer...

Is the rain THAT bad?

Are the winters REALLY cold?

He works for Boeing in AZ and could eadily transfer to Seattle, Tukwila or Everett. Which is preferred?

THX!!!
If you like outdoorsy activities like you described above, then you would probably love it around here!

Like mollyeilis said, summers are pretty moderate around here (I'm speaking of Western WA, BTW). Summer temps tend to be in the 70's & 80's with some days in the 90's every once in awhile. I think July & August are the warmest months around here, generally. Spring & Fall around here are beautiful, & winters are pretty moderate as well. We don't often get huge snow storms (every few years we do get 'em). There's usually a few minor snowfalls each year (which usually melts away pretty quickly) & some icy weather (which causes lots of traffic headaches because there are lots of hills around the Puget Sound area, which are hard to drive on when it gets icy). It does not get super cold here in the winter, generally. At least not in comparison to some parts of the country that have truly frigid winters! ;)

Mollyeilis described the rain pretty much the same way I would. We don't have big heavy rain storms here very often, but we frequently have grey drizzly days with just a fine/intermittent rainfall that is just heavy enough to get you wet if you're out walking & enough to mess up the traffic. I've heard that some people who move here from other parts of the country find the overcast/rainy days here to be pretty dreary - at least at first - because it can be like that off & on for weeks at a time sometimes.

As for Seattle vs. Everett vs. Tukwila, you'll find cheaper housing in the southend (near Tukwila) & the northend (near Everett) than you will in Seattle, obviously. However, lots of people live in the northend or the southend or on the eastside (i.e. Bellevue/Redmond, etc.) & commute into Seattle every day. I have no idea what your price range or housing preferences are, so I can't really say which location would fit your needs best. However, if you could live close to the area you work & avoid driving into or through Seattle for your commute, that would be ideal, IMO. ;)

HTH!

KristyK

07-16-2005, 10:01 PM

The other girls described it fairly well. You're lucky in that which plant he transferred too, could determine where you'd live. Everett is further north than the other plants, and we have a lot of people from the island commute over there. Even from as far away as North Whidbe, where I live (althoug I'd never do that!) There are much cheaper housing prices up in Skagit county (Burlington Sedro-Wooley) also if thats something to think about, but then there's a commute. But no matter where you live, you'll have some sort of commute. I've heard that I-5 south commute can be hairy, but then so can any other part of I-5.

You'd love it here with all those outdoor activities. You can drive an hour and ski, you can drive 1/2 hour or 5 minutes to boat. There are many hiking trails all over the place.

The rain really isn't that bad, and when you live here, you just live here and although sometimes it can get annoying, most of the time, it's just another day! I have to say, don't watch the movie "The Ring" and think that's Seattle and surrounding area, because I've lived here for 33 of my 43 years, and it's never rained like that!

I don't know about living in Seattle or Tukwila and the commute to Boeing in those places, all I know is there is traffic every single morning, no matter where you live on this side of the mountains! Even in our little town!

Good luck and keep us posted on whether you move here!

ivansbabe

07-16-2005, 10:52 PM

Ivansbabe Did you go to WHS?

Hey there! I sure did :D I graduated in 95....my 10th year reunion is actually coming up. Not sure I'm going to go though. What year did you graduate from?

QPDoll

07-16-2005, 11:20 PM

He works for Boeing in AZ and could eadily transfer to Seattle, Tukwila or Everett. Which is preferred?

My DH works for Boeing in Seattle. What does your DH do? It would highly depend on where you would want to live as to which plant to transfer to. Kent is also another plant, unless he is in manufacturing (not much manufacturing in Kent), and also the Bellevue plant if he does computers.

We live across the water from Seattle, in Bremerton. My DH takes the bus one mile to the ferry terminal, then takes a ferry to Seattle, and from the ferry terminal, takes a bus ride to the Seattle plant. Seattle plant and Tukwila plant are all of like three minutes apart.

Each plant can be (what my DH calls) a cluster-f*uck trying to get in and out of during commute times.

If he has any questions about Boeing up here, I can pass them along to my DH. He is in computers, he is a system/network admin, but does more of the security policy of things. (he says thats a good enough of a title, he doesn't know what he does there anymore - a bit of everything. LOL)

Darin's Girl

07-17-2005, 11:18 AM

ivansbabe I graduated in 94!! I went to my reunion and had a blast! Where are they having yours? I ended up getting in touch with a bunch of old friends and we have hung out quite a few times. I am sending you a PM. ;)

diedra1027

07-17-2005, 11:59 AM

Everyone has described the weather perfectly! I just wanted to ditto this:

I've heard that some people who move here from other parts of the country find the overcast/rainy days here to be pretty dreary - at least at first - because it can be like that off & on for weeks at a time sometimes. I've worked with people who moved here from sunnier locales and they all said that the first year is the hardest since it essentially drizzles from November until May.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend...we are basking in the sunshine, even walked around Greenlake with the baby yesterday! Last night we went to go see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Valley Drive-in. It's a bit of a haul for us, but there's no better way to catch a flick when you've got a little nursling in tow :D.

mollyeilis

07-17-2005, 05:00 PM

Where is the Valley Drive-In?

And does anyone know of theaters with baby/cry/whatever-they-call-it rooms? Eamon is a bit old, now, for the ReelMoms shows, so I figure one of those separate rooms might be better if we ever get it together enough to go see a movie. :)

Weddings by

07-17-2005, 11:33 PM

It's in Auburn. Here's their website:
The Valley Drive-In (http://valleydriveins.com/)

I don't know of any theatres that have cry-rooms. :( Sorry.

diedra1027

07-18-2005, 08:34 AM

I haven't looked up crying rooms. BIL/SIL told us that only the really old theaters still have them, but I can't remember exactly which ones (maybe the ones in the U District and Queen Anne??).

I highly recommend the drive in though! Put your babe in his PJs (any maybe even yourself!), bring your own movie snacks, and enjoy the shows. $7 adult tickets for a double feature - even if you don't stay for both movies it's cheaper than the brick and mortar theaters. One tip I have after this weekend is to get there early! The first time we went it was the 4th of July weekend and we just breezed up to the ticket booth at 9:45 just as the movie was starting and we got a nice parking spot. This last weekend we tried the same thing, but the line of cars went all the way back to the street and our parking spot was in a less desirable location.

seattleguamgirl

07-18-2005, 12:14 PM

Eastside mommies, can you recommend a ped? I'd rather get a recommendation than look one up in a phone book!

I still don't know where we will be living (we are still house hunting), but we'll either be in Redmond, Bellevue or Kirkland.

TIA!

Janey

07-18-2005, 12:31 PM

Eastside mommies, can you recommend a ped? I'd rather get a recommendation than look one up in a phone book!
Wow ... I just had a big 'you're so not ready to be a mommy' moment! I read that question and thought you were asking "Can you recommend a pedicurist?" ;) :o

seattleguamgirl

07-18-2005, 01:57 PM

euphorhea

07-18-2005, 03:46 PM

hockeybrat

07-18-2005, 03:48 PM

kjh924, LOL! I'm so used to using the family planning abbreviations. Sorry!

Although I'd probably need a recommendation for a nail salon as well. :P And a stylist, doctor, spa, etc. I'm starting over here!

I can recommend you a salon/spa in Bellevue. I go to Paule Attar Studios which is a block away from Bellvue Square. www.pauleattarstudios.com

Janey

07-18-2005, 03:53 PM

When I lived in Bellevue, I went to Holly Hanson @ Obadiah Salon in Bellevue Place. Holly always did a fabulous job on my hair -- always did something cute & easy to take care of. Chrissie (sp) did my brows there as well, but I never got a mani/pedi there. Obadiah is a really nice salon, but they aren't snooty in the least which is important to me. :)

KristyK

07-20-2005, 09:45 AM

I am so excited at our weather for the next few weeks! It looks like we are having high 70's for at least a week, and I'm on vacation!! wooohooo!!!

We're going to take our boat up through the San Juan Islands and spend a couple of nights at Friday Harbor, and Roche Harbor. I'm excited, and happy that the weather looks like it's going to cooperate!

Funny, I was born and raised here, and have yet to see any of the San Juans, except the island I live on, and the one I work on (Fidalgo).

Yeah for summer!!! Anyone else have any good plans??

euphorhea

07-20-2005, 09:54 AM

Yeah for summer!!! Anyone else have any good plans??

Yeah, I'm loving the weather, too. Not too hot, not too cold...it's perfect. :)

Plans for the weekend include: an all girls weekend at a hotel in Ocean Shores while the boys will be "roughin' it" at the campsite in Ocean City. heh. We plan to do girlie things like gossip, play MASH, do facials and nails, watch chick flicks and get massages at the day spa. Ahh, I am so looking forward to it.

Darin's Girl

07-20-2005, 10:29 AM

Ooooo girls time in Ocean Shores sounds like so much fun!! We keep talking about doing something like that, but we never have!

Kristy have fun in the San Juans! We took the ferry up to Friday Harbor a couple of months ago. It was a beautiful day!

Our big plans are to go camping at Potholes in August. Our first camping trip with a baby, should be interesting! :)

QPDoll

07-20-2005, 10:43 AM

The potholes in August? Dang, that just sounds hot. Are you going to fish?

I would love a trip to Ocean Shores or Westport this time of year. I gotta wonder how old these babies are going to have to be before we can realistically get out of the house again. (Ive been on bedrest for 17 weeks now, Im dying to see something besides my doctors office and my house)
Last time we were down there, we stayed at the Lighthouse - I think its a Best Western. They have a pretty cool suite with an amazing view.

And yall are killing me. You can keep this weather, but send me the rain again! This is just WAY too hot for me (while Im still pregnant anyway!).

euphorhea

07-20-2005, 11:58 AM

Where is Potholes located? We are always lookin' for new places to camp. :)

QPDoll

07-20-2005, 12:20 PM

Where is Potholes located? We are always lookin' for new places to camp. :)

Its over by Moses Lake.
http://www.parks.wa.gov/prkmaps/7550041.jpg

Here is a link to the state parks site (http://www.parks.wa.gov/parkpage.asp?selectedpark=Potholes&pageno=1)

euphorhea

07-20-2005, 02:25 PM

Its over by Moses Lake.
http://www.parks.wa.gov/prkmaps/7550041.jpg

Here is a link to the state parks site (http://www.parks.wa.gov/parkpage.asp?selectedpark=Potholes&pageno=1)

Ahhh...okay. I don't make my way over to Moses Lake much. However, we have gone camping at Lake Chelan during the summertime, though. It was HOT as all heck over there!

QPDoll

07-20-2005, 02:52 PM

Yeah, too hot for me! I like to camp in the cool mountains. The furthest over I go in summer is the CleElum area, and even thats too hot - I like to be able to hike and such and not die of heatstroke. LOL

Summer usually finds me up in the Olympics. Usually, were up by Sol Duc or Lake Cresent, or out in the Forks area. For hiking trips, we typically head to the Staircase area (Wagonwheel trail is a killer).

KristyK

07-20-2005, 06:42 PM

Oh Potholes, I don't think I've ever camped there! I don't think I could handle the heat. My parents live outside Mattawa in a little town called Desert Aire, right on the Columbia River in Eastern WA, and it's hotter than heck there all the time.

We spent our summers camping when I was a little girl, but mostly the Olympic Peninsula. We do a lot of camping now up at Ross Dam, and outside of the state. We also camp quite a bit at Deception pass, because it's such a great place to camp! We've spent the last 2 summers out of state camping in Idaho and Montana, which we loved! We spent a couple days at Yellowstone last year and are planning on going back probably next summer. It was so much fun and we didn't have even a quarter of enough time there.

QP, I'm hoping for a nice easy birth for you, and soon, so you can start to see the world again! Just remember, the longer you hold on, the healthier start they have...I know, you've heard it before, what can I say, it's the nurse and mother in me! :D

Sounds like wonderful plans everyone has. Wish I was at Ocean Shores with you, a girls weekend sounds like so much fun!! I bet the guys will show up though, at least for a shower! ;)

Have fun ladies!

Darin's Girl

07-21-2005, 10:10 AM

QP- 17 weeks?!?!? :eek: I spent 6 weeks on bed rest- 5 of those were in the hospital. I feel your pain of bedrest- I would have killed someone! I yelled at a nurse one day and the doc came in and asked if I needed to talk to a counselor. :D I delivered 6 weeks early, due to PIH and her heartrate.

I know Potholes is gonna be HOT!! We are taking our boat, so we camp out on one of the little islands during the day and pretty much just float in the water all day or we go tubing. And we are taking my dad's camper which has a/c. So it's not really roughing it..... well... it is for me. :o

shortcake

07-23-2005, 08:30 PM

I just found this thread! I came over from WC like lots of you...

I live just north of Seattle, in Edmonds. I didn't get a chance to read all 14 pages but I did see there were some other "just north of Seattle-ites"...anyone else in Edmonds?

Kakirk - I don't know if you remember me, but I remember talking to you before you moved to Boston about your little yellow house in Edmonds (we were looking for a rental). Are you back there? How are you doing?! Also...I noticed in your sig...did you have twins? I followed along for a little bit when you were ttc in Boston (and lost the babies and I cried) but then lost track. It looks like congratulations are in order now for your family though!!

Keska - I just happened to see your post about the Sun Allergy. Guess what - I have that too! I am the opposite as you...I lived in California my whole life and didn't find out about the rash till I moved to Washington. My doctor explained it as...in CA I was exposed to a much more gradual change in amounts of sun, whereas living up here it is overcast so much, that then when it is super sunny out I'm not used to it. He did say that as the summer progresses it will get better, and you can get medicine to help when it's bad.

KristyK

07-26-2005, 04:18 PM

Haven't seen QP around, hoping she's having some babies or something! New babies, always exciting! Although, I don't go into FP boards so she might have been there.

I'm so excited! We're leaving early tomorrow for our trip to the San Juans. We're fishing thru the day and then spending the night in Roche Harbor. The next day, fishing some more (blah) and then spending the next night in Friday Harbor. Turns out we don't have to pay for a hotel, a friend of ours has a condo and we're sleeping in that! Much cheaper! LOL I bought a new disc for my camera, holds 545 pictures! If I use all that up, I have a serious problem! :D

Hope everyone's summer is going great!! I love the weather lately!

mollyeilis

07-26-2005, 04:23 PM

I heard they arrived the other day, and I have no other info regarding QP! But that's a good start, yes?

Have any of you been on the Seattle Duck, that strange tour thing that goes around town and into Lake Union? I went with some relatives last week, and it was the oddest thing ever. Most odd? No seatbelts, no window-panes, so it was really scary for me to have 14 month old DS just sitting in my lap! Anyone else have that experience? Feels so weird to not have him in a carseat...

Sazoo

07-26-2005, 04:30 PM

Have any of you been on the Seattle Duck, that strange tour thing that goes around town and into Lake Union?
I have been on a duck tour in Chicago, but I haven't done it here in Seattle yet. Personally I thought it was neat - at least it's something different from a standard bus tour of a city. :) My friend took her kids on it last month here in Seattle. They are 4 & 6, so she probably didn't have quite the same safety concerns as you would have with a much younger child. I think I too would be a little worried if I had a baby with me like you did.

My dad (who lives in Chicago) says they stopped doing the duck tours out there several years ago because of some safety issues. I think in some other city they had a couple of incidents with the vehicles that put the passengers in danger, so some cities decided to quit running them after that. At least that is my understanding. :confused:

*****************

Yesterday I booked a weekend getaway for me & DH at the Chrysalis Inn & Spa (http://www.thechrysalisinn.com) in Bellingham for our one year anniversary! :D Our anniversary is technically August 29th, but we're going up there the following weekend because it's Labor Day weekend so we'll have an extra day off from work. We booked a "luxury king suite", which is super expensive :eek: but also really nice (I stayed there once when I was a BM in my friend's wedding a few years ago). I am looking forward to being pampered. ;)

shortcake

07-26-2005, 05:20 PM

Ooh Sazoo that weekend getaway sounds so nice!!

QP - Haven't been on the thread long enough to know what's up but sounds like you are having some babies!! Very exciting! Congratulations!

Jessie

07-26-2005, 05:39 PM

Ooo, Sazoo the Chrysalis is SO nice. I live about a mile from there and have always wanted to stay there but that seems a bit silly ;). Enjoy being pampered! :)

Sposa06

07-26-2005, 05:46 PM

Congratulations, QP! Hopefully you'll be able to enjoy the summer weather with your little ones! :)

KristyK

07-26-2005, 06:40 PM

Just an FYI for us WA ladies....QP had her babies, here's the announcement from the twins thread:

I am happy to announce:

The safe arrival of

Peter Randall at 9:20 am, 7lbs 3 oz 20” long

and

Nathaniel James at 10:30 am, 6 lbs 19” long.

Tina/QPDoll delivered the twins this morning with no c-section or complications and they all expect to go home on Monday. The babies appear full term & great. Mom & Dad are doing well.

It's dated the 23rd.

What healthy sizes! I hope you and babies are doing well!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Darin's Girl

07-26-2005, 11:20 PM

Congrats QP!!!!!! Can't wait to see pictures of the new men in your life!!

scubasam

07-28-2005, 05:09 PM

Another WA girl here.....

I'm in Puyallup and work in Tacoma. Was Jen110301 on WC. I just found this thread and was so excited to see so many of us! Yay!!

Just wanted to say real quick too......Congrats Tina!!! I'm so happy for you and you did such an amazing job w/ the birth of your boys! They are beautiful little guys. :D I need to make sure to stop in to the boat to congratulate Grandpa "Steve"! ;)

Weddings by

07-28-2005, 07:09 PM

Eastside mommies, can you recommend a ped? I'd rather get a recommendation than look one up in a phone book!

MELVIN L. MORSE. M.D.
VALLEY CHILDRENS HOSPITAL CLINIC
4011 TALBOT ROAD SOUTH, SUITE 220
RENTON, WA 98055

T E L E P H O N E (425) 656-5300

"From 1997-2005, he has been identified by Woodword-White's Best Doctors in America as one of the top pediatricians in the country."

TrulyBlessed

07-28-2005, 09:08 PM

Originally posted by seattleguamgirl
Eastside mommies, can you recommend a ped? I'd rather get a recommendation than look one up in a phone book!

My brother used to work for Merck pharnaceuticals & called on all the peds on the eastside & Seattle. He highly recommended only 2 docs- one is in Woodinville (too far for me) & the other doc was Dr.Uyeno out of Pedicatric Associates. You really can't go wrong with any docs from this group (6 different locations throughout the eastside area). I chose the doc my brother recommended b/c Dr.U rotates out of Children's Hospital & is very up-to-date with the latest medical info. He's not very touchy, feely kind of a guy but very straight forward. I used to be a drug rep before I became a SAHM & I think he's great. Let me know if you have any other q's.

Factoria
4122 Factoria Blvd. S.E. #101
Bellevue, WA 98006
(425) 747-7202
http://www.mypediatricassociates.com/

seattleguamgirl

07-29-2005, 07:31 AM

MELVIN L. MORSE. M.D.
VALLEY CHILDRENS HOSPITAL CLINIC
4011 TALBOT ROAD SOUTH, SUITE 220
RENTON, WA 98055

T E L E P H O N E (425) 656-5300

"From 1997-2005, he has been identified by Woodword-White's Best Doctors in America as one of the top pediatricians in the country."

Thank you for the rec! I should have specified Bellevue, Kirkland and Redmond though--I think Renton is a little too far for me? (forgive me, I'm still very unfamiliar with the area!)

trulyblessed, thank you for the rec! I'll call the doc as soon as I am officially in WA (moving up there next weekend although DH is already working up there). The prob with my current ped here is that he is still very old school--not progressive at all and sort of dismissed my concerns as a new mom. I hope I find a better doc in WA!

Weddings by

07-29-2005, 08:45 AM

I think Renton is a little too far for me? (forgive me, I'm still very unfamiliar with the area!)

It all depends upon how far you want to travel. :) I think in regular traffic, it's around 15+ minutes, on the freeway. I don't know, obviously :), how far off 405 you'll be. :D

KristyK

07-30-2005, 11:53 AM

Not to brag ladies, but if you want to see some cool pics of our WA whales, we saw some on our trip up to San Juan Island. Click on my journal. We're going camping tomorrow, and can't wait for that! We had a blast on our boat and also can't wait to do that again!

Sposa06

08-01-2005, 04:10 PM

Just wanted to check in and see how you've all dealt with the rain today! ;)

hockeybrat

08-01-2005, 04:12 PM

Just wanted to check in and see how you've all dealt with the rain today! ;)

I am happy that I won't have to water the yard after how hot it was this weekend ;)

shortcake

08-01-2005, 04:45 PM

My plants are so happy!! I just transplanted some plants from a neighbor, and have been trying to keep them watered but in the heat it wasn't so easy - I'm glad I didn't have to do it today. :)

Michelle

08-01-2005, 04:48 PM

I was so happy this morning! I woke up so excited knowing that my poor, yellowing grass got some extra attention. Not to mention my water bill got a a reprive because I don't have to water today. YAY!!!

QPDoll

08-01-2005, 05:19 PM

Thanks for the congrats everyone! Sorry its taken me so long to check in - full hands as you can imagine. :)

Im LOVIN the cooler weather, wish it was going to last! We broke down and bought an AC unit (window unit) the other day!

Michelle

08-01-2005, 05:34 PM

Congratulations QPDoll!!!!!!

The picture in your avatar is so cute! They are adorable! :)

Sazoo

08-01-2005, 07:21 PM

Congrats Tina - your little ones are adorable! :D

Darin's Girl

08-01-2005, 09:33 PM

Tina- your boys are beautiful! Enjoy every moment of them! (Even the sleepless ones ;)) They go by too fast!

Janey

08-01-2005, 11:49 PM

QPDoll - Congratulations! They are beautiful! :D

Sazoo - B and I walked Coulon Park the other day. I thought of you, since you had your Rehearsal BBQ there. :)

Sposa06

08-02-2005, 10:11 AM

Congrats, Tina! :D Which one is which?

seattleguamgirl

08-02-2005, 10:30 AM

It all depends upon how far you want to travel. :) I think in regular traffic, it's around 15+ minutes, on the freeway. I don't know, obviously :), how far off 405 you'll be. :D

That does not seem so bad! Although I'd still prefer a ped pretty close in case DS is really sick or something. Either way, I'll keep them on the list of peds to call and interview. Thanks for the rec!

QP, congrats on the birth of your beautiful babies!

hockeybrat

08-02-2005, 10:31 AM

Congrats on your twins, QP, they are adorable!

euphorhea

08-02-2005, 02:46 PM

I haven't logged on in ages so I'm a little late with this but:

Congratulations, QP! :D

KristyK

08-02-2005, 02:48 PM

Such cute babies Tina! Congrats again!!

Didn't have any rain in the mountains, and doesnt' look like any here on Whidbey either, my lawn is dead with a capital D! That's what I love about it up north here, totally different weather than closer to Seattle.

shortcake

08-02-2005, 04:31 PM

Ooh Kristey - I love Whidbey. We only moved to WA about a year and a half ago, so we haven't seen lots of places, but last summer we spent a week on Whidbey and it was soooo beautiful.

So how are you all seeing the photos of QP's babies? Just in her profile? I haven't seen any photos posted inside the messages - am I missing something?

QPDoll

08-02-2005, 04:43 PM

I think they were refering to my avitar! LOL

Here are a few shots. Nate is the bigger baby with blond hair, Pete is the smaller baby with dark hair. Pete looks like his dad, and Nate strongly resembles my family (he is actually bigger than my families typical baby!).

They were born on Saturday, July 23, after laboring for 24 hours and pushing for 4. Nate was breach and was manually/externally turned after Pete was born.

Peter Randall was born at 9:20 am. He is 7lbs 3oz, 20" long.
Nathaniel James was born at 10:30 am. He is 6lbs 19oz, 19" long.

The family - day #1 at home
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d620b3127cce931ea9de794e00000016108IaM2TJw1aA

Peterbuilt and Nate the Great
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d910b3127cce93174eaa46fc00000016108IaM2TJw1aA

Pete
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d620b3127cce931e950bf8b500000016108IaM2TJw1aA

Nate
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d910b3127cce93174e31c75700000026108IaM2TJw1aA

Daddy and Nate (day #1 at home)
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d910b3127cce931749da872700000035138IaM2TJw1aA

shortcake

08-02-2005, 04:47 PM

Hooray more pictures! They are sooo cute.

Michelle

08-02-2005, 04:50 PM

Oh my goodness! Can I say it again? You're babies are adorable! :)

TrulyBlessed

08-02-2005, 10:10 PM

QPDoll, This has got to be one of the most cutest pictures I have ever seen.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d910b3127cce93174eaa46fc00000016108IaM2TJw1aA

Your boys are so adorable!!!! Our DS was a twin but we lost the other baby at my 4th month so everytime when I see a twin, I get so envious. You are very blessed!!! Thanks for sharing those pics of your handsome family. :)

Weddings by

08-02-2005, 11:31 PM

Congrats, again, Tina! They're beautiful babies!

Sposa06

08-03-2005, 12:13 AM

It's official: Pete and Nate are the CUTEST babies in the world! Congraulations again! :D

Ohana

08-03-2005, 07:00 AM

Tina, your sons are absolutely adorable!

KristyK

08-05-2005, 09:58 AM

Very chilly here this morning. But the news says it's going to be 85 again today. Not so sure about that! Guess everyone around here is enjoying the weather. DH couldn't believe I used the oven to cook dinner last night, but like I said to him...well I gotta cook dinner :rolleyes: what else should I do??

Hope everyone is doing well. Looking forward to more pics of the babes Tina!

ivansbabe

08-05-2005, 11:38 AM

Hey everyone, how are you all doing?
I have a question and I hope one or two of you could help me out. I'm an HR assistant and one of our new employees (about a month or so) transferred from Toronto with his family. He speaks english fine, no accent or anything but his wife is purely French Canadian and speaks no english really and she had somewhat of a meltdown recently the poor thing. I have been given a task to look for French speaking communities/clugs/organizations, etc...you get the idea ;) I am going to search the internet and stuff but I also wanted to check here because sometimes you find the best things via word of mouth. Anyway, hope you all are enjoying a beautiful summer! I was beginning to think we weren't going to have a summer about a month ago, lol.

Darin's Girl

08-05-2005, 12:34 PM

Ivansbabe, you might try calling Lutheran Community Services NW. I used to work for them and I know that they have all sorts of immigrant outreach- I don't know if they have any french speaking people tho. If they don't they could probably guide you to someone who can. Their phone # is : 206-694-5700. Or the website www.lcsnw.org They do not do anything "church" or faith related.

Good luck! Let us know what you find!

KristyK

08-05-2005, 01:08 PM

Wish I could help, but clueless here! Lutheran Services is usually very helpful with things. Good luck!

diedra1027

08-05-2005, 01:32 PM

I'm late to the party, but congrats to QPDoll! Your boys are adorable.

Daisy

08-05-2005, 07:08 PM

ivansbabe -

There is a French Immersion School in Issaquah. You may want to give them a call or check out their web site. I bet they would have excellent resources to all things French in the area. ;)

kathywathy

08-09-2005, 07:25 PM

QPDoll - Congratulations!! I remember reading all about the early days of your pregnancy on WC.

They are sooo adorable!

yoganut

08-09-2005, 08:27 PM

Hi there. DH, DS and I desperately want to move out of the concrete jungle here and the Seattle area is at the top of our list. We are in love with the Pacific NW.

Anyways, I have a client meeting in Seattle on Friday and the whole family is coming up with me so we can do some exploring. Do any of you have recommendations of some residential areas that are affordable, but somewhat close to the city? There is a strong possibility that I will be trasferred up to open an office for my company early next year, and we want to get further acquainted with different areas for living (good for raising kids).

I would SO appreciate any advice or recommendations! TIA! ;)

shortcake

08-09-2005, 08:55 PM

Hi Yoga! If you move up here, we should get together (I'm Gabrielle's mom from the Dec babies thread at WC).

We live in Edmonds, which is about 20 minutes north of Seattle and much more affordable. Very suburby. I don't know how you feel about that! We are close to downtown Edmonds which costs a bit more but has a nice community feel to it with a cute downtown and right by the beach.

Other options - for affordability you can try Shoreline (just south of us), Lake Forest Park or Bothell (just east of us) or Mountlake Terrace (has a "less desirable" reputation but perfectly nice in lots of areas and very suburban/residential). Of those, Lake Forest Park appeals to me most (kind of woodsey??) Bothell is nice but a bit farther commute...MLT and Shoreline are perfectly nice too but to me have less character.

If you want to go even further north things just get more and more affordable, but the commute gets ugly! (I think you are from northern CA but could be totally wrong - anyway we moved here from there and thought traffic couldn't possibly compare...well it DOES if you commute. It can be wretched getting to and from Seattle.)

If you're willing to spend a bit more and want to be in Seattle proper, you could look at Ballard, Wallingford, Ravenna...I'm not as familiar with those neighborhoods. They feel, to me, sort of like the Sunset Disctrict in San Francisco. Neighborhoods but part of a city, ya know? Narrower streets, older homes, but definitely family friendly as well. I don't know much about what is East of I-5, though I think there are some very nice areas (Sandpoint...Matthews Beach area??? Pricey?) and much less nice (Northgate area is supposed to be sketchy).

Oh also there are other areas on the Eastside that I know nothing about (Issaquah, etc) where there are supposedly lots of great places for raising kids. A friend of mine is househunting out there and prices seem quite a bit more than what we saw in the North End (Edmonds/Shoreline/MLT area)

This is probably *way* more ground than you will get to cover on this trip anyway! If you need a real estate agent, I really liked mine - she did LOTS of previewing before taking us to places so we didn't waste our time, and she got a good sense of what we'd like. If you want her info feel free to email me and I will send it to you. Good luck! We just moved here from Palo Alto 2 years ago and bought our house less than a year ago, so let me know if I can answer any questions about the transition!!

KristyK

08-09-2005, 10:00 PM

We hope you move here with us! It's a great state! If you're planning on working in Seattle, and not sure what your DH does, but you could also consider the commute across the ferry from Bremerton. More of a small town feel and the housing market seems to be getting better. QP and her DH live there, I grew up there. Only thing I'd have a; problem with, I notice your pg, and with 2 kids, not sure you'd want to be an hour ferry ride away from them everyday, although in seattle traffic, you might be 2 hours away, you never can tell!

Good luck with a move, and enjoy your visit this weekend!

Sposa06

08-09-2005, 11:07 PM

I was going to recommend Edmonds, Shoreline and Mountlake Terrace as well! (The further you get from the high school, the nicer Mountlake Terrace seems to be, in my opinion.) Of these, Edmonds is by far my favorite - the waterfront is beautiful and there are tons of great restaurants and shops downtown. It's small enough so that most of the names you hear sound familiar, and you have some sort of connection to most people (friend of a friend, or something along those lines), but it doesn't have that gossipy, haughty side that seems to pervade many true small towns (Edmonds is about 40,000, I think). The schools are good - Meadowdale and Edmonds-Woodway High Schools in particular are good. Lynnwood is another option, though make sure you look for places that would get you in the Meadowdale or Edmonds-Woodway boundaries - Lynnwood High School is a little sketchy. I wouldn't want my kids to go there. It's just not a good place for academics. If you want private schools, Holy Rosary, St. Thomas More and King's are all in Edmonds or Shoreline. The closer you get to Highway 99 in Shoreline, the less character it has, but there are some beautiful houses and nice neighborhoods. Ideally, FH and I will raise our kids in Edmonds or Shoreline someday. If you have more specific questions, which I imagine you will after your visit this weekend, let us know! Good luck :)

shortcake

08-10-2005, 07:30 AM

Sposa or any of the others of you who have been in this area a while...can anyone explain to me the school situation? That was one thing I forgot to mention to Yoganut but I know that schools in Edmonds and Shoreline (and presumably lots of the other non-Seattle towns) are pretty good, but that schools in Seattle are generally bad. What I don't understand is how you get placed in a Seattle school. For example, I would be willing to bet that schools in the Sandpoint area are fine, but you might live there and get bussed somewhere else, correct? How do they decide what school you go to?? I've been wondering about this, since we'd like to move closer to DH's work, but I'm worried about schools for my DD. Thanks!

Sazoo

08-10-2005, 08:36 AM

What I don't understand is how you get placed in a Seattle school. For example, I would be willing to bet that schools in the Sandpoint area are fine, but you might live there and get bussed somewhere else, correct? How do they decide what school you go to?? I've been wondering about this, since we'd like to move closer to DH's work, but I'm worried about schools for my DD. Thanks!
If you don't live inside of the Seattle school district (which I believe is the city limits of Seattle) then your kids won't get placed into a Seattle school district school. So if you live in the places some others have recommended (Shoreline, Edmonds, MLT, Lynnwood, etc.) then your kids would go to schools in the local district & not be sent to Seattle. Edmonds, Lynnwood & MLT are all part of the Edmonds School District, as I recall. I believe Shoreline has its own school district.

That's my understanding, anyway. I don't know how the bussing kids to different schools within the Seattle school district works as far as how they decide who will go where, but as long as you live outside of the school district then you shouldn't have to worry about it.

yoganut

08-10-2005, 07:40 PM

Thank you so much for the recommendations! I am so excited for my trip this weekend. The weather forecast looks great, we have a rental car reserved, and are ready to explore!

shortcake - So good to 'see' you! I think I remember when you moved up to Seattle (when we were both pg?), and am so happy to hear that it is working out for you. I just might hit you up for the realtor info. We are going to probably wait until DS#2 is born at the end of the year though.

KristyK - Thank you for posting about Bremerton. I would probably be working from home most of the time, and then commuting into the city to meet with clients a few times during the week so the idea of a ferry isn't too daunting. We will definitely think about it.

Sposa06- The info you posted about the schools is really interesting. Thank you. We live just outside LA right now, and very few of the schools are really 'OK' so the idea of moving into a good school district is quite appealing (even though we still have a few years before we have to worry).

Thank you again everyone, and I will stop back and let you know how the trip goes :D

shortcake

08-10-2005, 08:01 PM

Yoga - yep, we were pg when I moved up here! Glad you'll be waiting till DS is born before the move - that was a challenge. :) Enjoy your weekend!

diedra1027

08-10-2005, 08:27 PM

For example, I would be willing to bet that schools in the Sandpoint area are fine, but you might live there and get bussed somewhere else, correct? How do they decide what school you go to?? I've been wondering about this, since we'd like to move closer to DH's work, but I'm worried about schools for my DD. Thanks! The city used to have a busing program that would send kids all over the place regardless of where they wanted to go, but they don't do that anymore. You now request to be assigned to any school in the district. According to the Seattle Public School (http://www.seattleschools.org/area/main/index.dxml) website 80-90% of students are assigned to their first or second choice school.

Lil_Mrs_0702

08-16-2005, 04:06 PM

Hey Ladies,

I am new here at CC and I also live in Washington. I live in Renton and grew up on the East Hill of Kent (big move :rolleyes: ) Right now we are close to Liberty Park but we will be moving up the hill towards Thomas Arnold Park in October.

My favorite restaurants include:

Alki Bakery or Chestnut for lunched- I like a light sandwich or soup.

Sara's in downtown Kent- It is a total greasy spoon but the hashbrowns are soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo worth it and they make the perfect bacon everytime.

I just found a new restaurant in the Lake Tapps area called The Rock- It's a firestone pizza joint/ brewery. Very good- they had these brown sugar bread sticks that were to die for!

Secret_Squirrel

08-18-2005, 02:19 PM

The city used to have a busing program that would send kids all over the place regardless of where they wanted to go, but they don't do that anymore. You now request to be assigned to any school in the district. According to the Seattle Public School (http://www.seattleschools.org/area/main/index.dxml) website 80-90% of students are assigned to their first or second choice school.

One important point: The Seattle SD is having a huge financial problem right now. And while they have a system where a family can choose the schools and be bussed, they may not be able to afford to keep it. I've heard it's likely that they will go to neighborhood schools or that they will have kids just use public transportation, instead of private school buses. Don't be surprised if big changes happen in the next year.

One note: If your family's last name is Anderson, move close to Ballard High. There is a unique scholarship program there that will pay UW tuition for any Anderson that graduates from Ballard and is admitted to the UW!

I live in the northend, too. We bought a house last Fall and were looking in the Edmonds-Shoreline-MLT area. We ended up in east Lynnwood. We're not far from I-5 & 405 and very close to the retail areas, but where we live is very quiet and forested, almost country-like (to me, suburban girl that I am). I think prices here are a bit lower than nearby areas, too.

Lynnwood High will be rebuilt in the next few years and they're moving it near where I live, away from the shopping areas and towards Mill Creek where a lot of higher-end development is happening. I think the new buildings and new location is going to really improve the school.

Michelle

08-18-2005, 02:30 PM

Lynnwood High will be rebuilt in the next few years and they're moving it near where I live, away from the shopping areas and towards Mill Creek where a lot of higher-end development is happening. I think the new buildings and new location is going to really improve the school.

Huh? They are moving Lynnwood HS? I'm just curious, where to? I always thought it was a little out of place by the mall and retail stores, even though the high school was there before the retail! I was just wondering where it was going to be moved to!

claribella

08-18-2005, 03:04 PM

Secret_Squirrel

08-19-2005, 11:10 AM

Huh? They are moving Lynnwood HS? I'm just curious, where to? I always thought it was a little out of place by the mall and retail stores, even though the high school was there before the retail! I was just wondering where it was going to be moved to!

It's moving to a site on North Road, near the Floral Hills cemetary off of Filbert Road. Here's a link to the district website: http://www.edmonds.wednet.edu/cpo/ (you might need to click on "North Road Site Info" from there. They have a preliminary site plan of the school there, too.

It's between North Road and 184th street.

Secret_Squirrel

08-19-2005, 12:15 PM

Hi ladies!

I currently live in Los Angeles but I'm planning a move to Tacoma, Wa. I have family there and the family I'm living with now are moving there, so I have to follow. I'm really happy for the change though.

So any advice, or nice areas with schools you can suggest (my boy is 18 months) would be great.

I plan to move within the year. So by New Year 2007 I want to be there.

thanks! And I hope I dont' get shooed off for posting here and technically I'm still a Los Angelino...:P ;)

No, your're not going to get shooed off posting here, unless all you post about is LA! ;)

About Tacoma schools. Hm... DH wants us to move to north Tacoma in a few years and I told him that if so, I want to send my kids to private schools. Tacoma SD has some of the most crowded schools in the area.
Are you moving to Tacoma proper? Gig Harbor and Puyallup school districts are better than Tacoma and are close by.

DH grew up attending the Bethel SD in Spanaway, and he says he would not want his kids going there, so I'd avoid that area, too.

claribella

08-19-2005, 03:50 PM

Secret_Squirrel - those are good questions. From what I researched its North Tacoma. I'm still reasearching and stuff.

It's so overwhelming sometimes.

Ferris

08-20-2005, 07:27 AM

claribella

08-20-2005, 08:31 AM

claribella I am a native from los angeles that moved up to Gig Harbor last year!! In what part of LA do you live?

About schools, we actually moved to Gig Harbor because they have a great school district. Tacoma's are not so good! The only downfall to Gig Harbor is Bridge traffic, but coming from LA we're used to traffic so it doesn't bother us!!

The Gig harbor schools web site http://www.peninsula.wednet.edu/

Ferris, how far is Gig Harbor from Tacoma. The only reason why I want to stay close to Tacoma is i have have family there. And when I went to visit them, we saw the school where my cousin goes and it was NICE..looked liked something from harry potter!

LA traffic is the worst and on the top ten list of why I want to leave

seapod

08-23-2005, 09:47 PM

Ferris, how far is Gig Harbor from Tacoma. The only reason why I want to stay close to Tacoma is i have have family there. And when I went to visit them, we saw the school where my cousin goes and it was NICE..looked liked something from harry potter!

LA traffic is the worst and on the top ten list of why I want to leave
Gig Harbor is about 15 miles away from Tacoma, however you will be going across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The Department of Transportation is currently building another bridge to help alieviate traffic.

mollyeilis

08-23-2005, 10:00 PM

But it's going to be a toll bridge, yuck!

Hey, were any of you guys on I-5 southbound last night? We were, and got a flat tire while going past Boeing Field. Today at the tire place DH talked to two other, non-related, people who also got flats last night on I-5 near Boeing Field!

Did that happen to anyone else? We're convinced that there was something on the road, or perhaps one of the struts in the road is too exposed or something? It was wild; we could see people behind and in front of us pulling over, but were too focused on getting AAA and a cab company on the phone to risk ourselves to go talk to them.

AAA said the calls last night were "relentless".

KristyK

08-24-2005, 08:49 AM

Molly, didn't hear anything on the news, but that just stinks!! It's just ridiculous that so many got flats, yet no news.

The Tacoma narrows, what a pain in the butt that bridge has been for the past 20 years. It gets more and more crowded and there is at least one accident someplace near it every day. Once they build the next one, they'll have tolls, but......and this is a big but..... it's supposedly only supposed to be until the bridges are paid off. I wouldn't hold my breath about that, because the lawmakers are such crooks now adays, but most of the bridges in WA were originally built with this plan, and once they were paid off, they got rid of the tolls, but then that's in the "olden days" too. :D Both bridges in Bremerton had tolls when I was growing up there, but they were taken down once paid off.

Claribell, I can't remember the name of the high school you are thinking of, but before you move into "Tacoma proper" you might want to check out the outlying cities. For some reason, I am thinking that particular high school has the worst reputation in the city (although its been years, and I might be wrong) I don't think I'd want to live inside the Tacoma city limits at all. I know, it's rotten to say, but you and your daughter would have a much better life outside that huge city. Gig Harbor (although across the bridge) supposedly has excellent schools, if I had a choice, I'd have lived there. Also, I believe they have a lot of parental involvement in their school system. Puyallup is also supposed to be a great community and school system (as someone else pointed out), both are within driving distance of Tacoma to see relatives, but much nicer communities. I just don't see Tacoma as the large city feel, like Seattle has. It's weird I know, they are both huge cities, but Seattle has a much "homier" (is that a word??) feel. Heck, I grew up in Bremerton, which when I was there was a nice place to grow up, but when I got older, I didn't want to raise my son there and moved to a tiny town a county away. Although Bremerton has changed a lot in the past 10 years and is now having a "revival" with better housing prices and more people moving back there. Good luck with whatever you decide to do, living here in the NW, no matter where you are, is really a good thing, and we are all so lucky to have a great place like this to live in and raise our children in.

mollyeilis

08-24-2005, 11:50 AM

FWIW, Tacoma's population is something like 193,556.

Seattle exceeded 563,000 in 2000.

Bit of a difference. :)

I call Tacoma the smallest mid-sized city there is, since everyone seems to know each other and I dated just about everyone there in my single days. And they all seemed to know each other... :rolleyes:

My MIL lives in Purdy (a little past GHarbor), an ex lived awhile in GH so I've spent time in both. I'd much rather live in Tacoma. :D Of course, how can I talk, I'm living in the Hades known as Federal Way... :o

Secret_Squirrel

08-24-2005, 01:54 PM

Of course, how can I talk, I'm living in the Hades known as Federal Way... :o

Oh, will you please tell my DH that other people from the south think that about Federal Way?

I'm biased, because I'm from "The North" aka Snohomish County. You would not believe how defensive he gets about "The South" - you'd think there was a civil war going on!

ETA - I think the Tacoma school that is being talked about is Stadium High. It is a very cool looking school, but every time I think about it, I remember reading a newspaper story about a girl being raped in the bathroom there.

Stadium High:
http://www.brianmicklethwait.com/education/archives/stadium2.jpg

FWIW, I love the "Old Town" area of Tacoma. I don't think I'd mind living there.

shortcake

08-24-2005, 03:27 PM

KristyK

08-24-2005, 07:22 PM

I do think that's the school Secret Squirrel! I wasn't trying to cut down Tacoma, I thought about living there when I was looking for a job when I first moved out here. I just like the small town feel I've gotten other places, and I truly never felt safe in Tacoma, no matter what part I was driving in, and I lived in Philly, one of the most unsafe cities in the US (I know, I'll get reamed for that comment too), and worked in the worst neighborhood in that city, yet, I felt safer driving there than any other time I ever drove through Tacoma. I guess I'm not one to give advice since I don't have good thoughts about Tacoma, so just ignore me! I do have to agree, everytime I think of Stadium High, I also think about the girl raped in the bathroom. I also thought they were going to tear it down, or something, but not sure about that rumor or not.

I won't say a thing about Federal Way, because I don't know much about it, although my sister lives there. She seems to be quite happy with where they live.

I grew up in Bremerton, hung out a lot of my high school years in Port Orchard and Silverdale. All 3 have grown immensely since living there. Before I moved up here to Whidbey I lived in Mason county, in a small town called Allyn. It was nice and quaint and the schools excellent. It's also within driving distance of either Purdy, Gig Harbor, or Tacoma, via a back road and takes about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to reach Tacoma from there. I felt close enough that if I hadn't met my DH, I'd have been commuting to Gig Harbor from Allyn every day for work.

Anyway, good luck Claribell, you'll love WA no matter where you are.

ETA: Sorry Shortcake, the only landscapers I know are up here, and they'd charge too much to travel to Edmonds, although they'd probably do it, but still too much distance and they'd probably charge you for it. Good luck!

Michelle

08-25-2005, 10:37 AM

Hi - I was wondering if anyone could recommend a landscaper for a small-ish yard in the north end of Seattle area? (Edmonds). We just want someone to lay a nice path with pavers of some sort, and put in a lawn. We want to do the rest ourselves. So it's not a huge job, and we are on a tight budget, but we do want it done right! Has anyone used someone they found reliable and good, who they think I could call? Thanks in advance!

We used highridge. They are located in Issaquah, but I think they go pretty much anywhere. We're in Sno County and they came to us with no problems. We already had grass, but they put in the plants, trees, and pathway with pavers at the side of our house. I don't remember the cost, but they did wonderful work!

Here's a link to their website...
Highridge (http://www.highridge.com/)

I hope that helps! Good luck! :)

shortcake

08-25-2005, 02:37 PM

Thanks Michelle! I'll give them a call.

seattleguamgirl

08-25-2005, 07:35 PM

Hi ladies!

I need another recommendation from you gals please. We need to service our VW Jetta and our Mazda and I'd love to take it to a shop instead of the dealership. If you can recommend someone that would be awesome!

We're staying in temp housing in Issaquah so anywhere in Redmond, Kirkland, Bellevue or Issaquah would be much appreciated.

ivansbabe

08-26-2005, 03:01 PM

There was a place my old boss recommended and they're located in the kirkland/totem lake area. I believe it was called Dougs Auto(tune?)...something or another. I took my old car there a few years ago and they were super friendly. I think the owner used to be a pastor or something.

All this talk about living down south is pretty foreign to me. I grew up in the Woodinville/Bothell area and that's where I am most comfortable with. I don't even think I could live in Bellevue (traffic really sucks there IMO). I actually referred to I-90 as "south of the border" because there never really was a reason to travel past there...other than the airport or an Ikea trip ;)
Now two of our close friends live down there. One couple in Renton, and another in Federal Way. I actually like our friends house in Federal Way but she can walk through wood trails behind her (nice) house down to the water so I think certain areas are better than others.

seattleguamgirl

08-28-2005, 09:08 PM

ivansbabe, thanks for the rec! I'll look them up. I actually really want to live in Bellevue because I seem to be over there all the time (my gym, shopping, etc. is there). I just can't wait for our house to sell so we can finally look for something to buy here!

Quick question for you ladies--would it be totally insane to try to drive to Vancouver for the long weekend? We'd leave on Saturday and come back Sunday night. I'm assuming the traffic will be atrocious so I thought I'd try to get more insight into what I should expect from you guys!

QPDoll

08-28-2005, 11:29 PM

Vancouver, WA or Canada?

And I ususally avoid any major hiway on Labor Day. The migration along I5 coming home from Ocean Shores is a PITA to get through.

mollyeilis

08-29-2005, 12:21 AM

You know what a supercool idea is for travel to either Vancouver? Amtrak. :) If you're going north, you are not stopped at the border. Immigration is taken care of on the moving train. If you're going south, well, I guess the main thing is you miss the traffic.

Only caveat is if you're going south, take the train from Tacoma rather than Seattle. Once going south we were stopped in the trainyards *just* south of the train station for over an hour, because of a switch problem. Then again, if the train gets stuck like that but you weren't on it yet, you'd be stuck at the train station, when you *could* be sitting on a pretty train!

Anyway, the train is a great way to go to either Vancouver, especially the northern one. And especially on a crazy weekend.

If you have AAA, you can get a discount with Amtrak, by the way.

QPDoll, congratulations!

seattleguamgirl

08-29-2005, 08:41 AM

Sorry, I should have clarified--Vancouver, Canada.

mollyeilis, Amtrak sounds like a fun way to travel! I'll have to check that out. And I'm a AAA member--I can't believe I haven't thought to use them for travel discounts!

QPDoll

08-29-2005, 09:22 AM

QPDoll, congratulations!

Thanks Molly!

mollyeilis

08-29-2005, 10:57 AM

Amtrak: I like booking online.

I've only done this for trips south, but you can actually book online, take the same credit card to the station, pop the card into a machine, and out pops your ticket. :)

But even going north, where passports are involved, booking online makes it simple.

Ooh, and for anyone going south on Amtrak, even if you have to drive north to do it, getting on the train in Tacoma or further up can be worth it, just for the water-view going south from Tacoma. The tracks hug the coast, and it's just spectacular!

Darin's Girl

08-30-2005, 04:06 PM

You can also book Amtrak vacations thru Victoria Clipper. My DH did that for my b-day present. He got a package that included train tickets, hotel and r/t transfers to/from the train station. It was pretty affordable and we had a wonderful time!

scubasam

08-30-2005, 04:43 PM

I have gone up to Vancouver to visit family a couple times on holiday weekends - yes, the highway is pretty crowded but going up on first thing Saturday morning vs. Friday night and coming back on Sunday vs. Monday will certainly help. Also, we usually go through the truck border crossing vs. the regular one...the lines are soooo much shorter! There are signs for the truck crossing when you're approaching the border...it's the last exit off of I-5 I believe. Actually, the train sounds like a fun and stress-free way to go too - hadn't thought of that before!

Jessie

08-30-2005, 07:48 PM

I don't know about further south but here in Bellingham and then up to the border the traffic usually isn't too bad even on holidays and weekends. The border crossing is a different story. I would definitely avoid the Peace Arch crossing. Lynden or Sumas is usually a better bet.

claribella

09-01-2005, 11:58 AM

All right folks...remember me?

the one moving from Los Angeles to the tacoma area?

Well my Operation Move to Washington has just been upgraded to defcon five.

Meaning: I need to get the He!! out of this state.

So, I need your help. I am going to be contacting my aunt who lives in Tacoma for her help on housing and such. I have about $6000 in savings right now and could probably save up as must as 10K to put towards a house or apt.

I am going to need to find a job and I have been looking online at alot of prospects.

My personal situation and the economics here in California just aren't working for me. I have been on websites looking at jobs but I will have to make a trip out there I"m sure to look at housing and jobs and such.

I can give more detail if you want to email me (though my user info) But I'm really gonna need alot of help. I need to be out of here by spring...the latest.
Thanks.

shortcake

09-01-2005, 12:48 PM

Claribella - good luck!! Hey what kind of jobs are you looking at? Maybe we know people in your field...

claribella

09-01-2005, 02:13 PM

Claribella - good luck!! Hey what kind of jobs are you looking at? Maybe we know people in your field...

Well i would prefer a city/government job as I"m working for the city now and like it and have it on my resume.

But anything clerical, admin asst. secretarial, stuff like that.

I'm mainly just wanting benefits, for my son. If I didn't need benefits for him, I would just go thru an agency, which I might have to do until I find something.

thanks shortcake, I really appreciate it :)

mollyeilis

09-01-2005, 02:49 PM

Claribella,

Now you know that the cost of living is WAY cheaper in Tacoma than anywhere in California, right? So you're definitely making a good move in that respect!

And I love Tacoma, so that's another good decision! :D When you're up here I'd be happy to show you around!

My friend just got a job with city of Tacoma in the city planning office, she really loves it. The people are good, the work is good, of course the benefits are good!

Ooh hey if you'll still be in So. Cal. around Sept. 20th, we'll be at Disney (for the day) on a vacation to San Diego. Maybe we'll see you there!

*****
Amtrak again. :D I'm obsessed!

My friends and I took the train up to BC for my bachelorette weekend. Got a head start on the drinkin' on the train. If you're into that, it's useful.

Brand new hubby and I hopped the train to BC to meet our honeymoon cruise to Alaska! Cabs into downtown are so, relatively, inexpensive and IME very clean (what in Vancouver isn't, right?). It was just soooo relaxing, to sit on the train (watching Finding Nemo), watching the scenery go by...no traffic hassles. I mean yeah, there are always random stops on the train, and you can't stop at the cute little town on the water after going through the border (tempting with it's fish 'n chips shops and ice cream parlors!), but if you made sure not to plan anything immediately after the train is due in, you don't have to worry about a thing. It's just lovely.

Now, one thing. Coming back, if you take the last train home, be sure to have a way home! We got in after our honeymoon at 11pm, and hadn't even *thought* to arrange a way home! We'd taken Metro (with all our bags!) up to King st. station and that seemed like such a great, low-consumption, way to start a life together, but taking a cab from dntn Seattle to Federal Way at midnight was NOT pretty! So cover your bases. :p

Lil_Mrs_0702

09-01-2005, 02:53 PM

Have you tried monster.com? I just typed in clerical in the Tacoma/Olympia area and it pulled up quite a bit. I would check there first. Since you don't know the area that well just let us know what city the job is located and we'll tell you about how far that is from you. Do you know if you are moving to a city in the Tacoma area or moving into downtown. I'll be willing to do what I can to help. :D

hockeybrat

09-01-2005, 02:56 PM

Careerbuilders.com is another good one

I'll have to find it at home but there is a site for WA State, worksourcewa.com or something like that.

I'll have post a link or PM you with the site for state gov jobs.

Jessie

09-01-2005, 02:58 PM

hockeybrat

09-01-2005, 02:59 PM

Is this what you're thinking of? Worksource (http://www.wa.gov/esd/employment.html)

YES, that is the one. Thanky!

I also have a link to the state jobs but that is at home.

claribella

09-01-2005, 03:09 PM

mollyeilis -

Now you know that the cost of living is WAY cheaper in Tacoma than anywhere in California, right? So you're definitely making a good move in that respect!

Yes, thank you for validating this. California is just ridiculous. Need I say more? :p

My friend just got a job with city of Tacoma in the city planning office, she really loves it. The people are good, the work is good, of course the benefits are good!

Really? this is what I"d be looking for. I work for City of Los Angeles right now and love the security..but not the people/environment.

Ooh hey if you'll still be in So. Cal. around Sept. 20th, we'll be at Disney (for the day) on a vacation to San Diego. Maybe we'll see you there!

really? I go to disney alot! Please contact me through my info here and sure we'll meet up. oh and hey! the 20th is my day off! I'll definantly be there cuz I go on all my days off!

**********************
Lil_Mrs_0702 - Ha! I didn't even think of monster.com I'll go search that. More than likely I will end up in tacoma because that is where my aunt is.

**********************

Thanks for the links too...I'm gonna do some serious research.

Darin's Girl

09-01-2005, 08:06 PM

MODS: If this is not the right place to post let me know- just wanted to get the word out to the local girls.

Hey Girls! I don't know if any of you are interested but I got an email from the March of Dimes today saying that "Hurricane Victims in Desperate Need of Baby Products. " I am posting the info in case any of you are interested in helping out. We aren't able to send any money at this time but we had lots of baby stuff that Maddie no longer needs, so I feel like I am able to help out.

The March of Dimes and Baby Boot Camp (Seattle) are organizing a
collection of baby products that are desperately in need for the
hurricane Katrina victims. Many families have fled the area and are
staying at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. That is where the
collected items will be distributed. I know everyone is very busy, but
it would be great if you could contribute something to this. If this
happened to us here, it would be nice if families in other states
helped us. Items must be dropped off by Wed. Sept. 7th - Here are
items that are being requested:

* Formula
* Baby Food
* Toys
* Clothing
* Diapers
* Wipes
* Blankets
* etc.

Items can be dropped off to Katie at the March of Dimes Office at
1904 3rd Ave, Suite 230
Seattle, WA 98101
(Building is next door to Bed Bath and Beyond)

If you have any questions, please contact
Jackie Morris
Baby Boot Camp
206.856.8892

If anyone in Snohomish County is interesting in donating I would be more than happy to take things down to Seattle. PM or email me thru CC.

Sazoo

09-01-2005, 08:30 PM

Thanks for posting that info, Darin's Girl! It's nice to know of other ways besides just donating money that we can provide support/assistance to the people who were affected by that horrible hurricane. ;)

seapod

09-01-2005, 09:05 PM

diedra1027

09-01-2005, 09:54 PM

I can also take things to be donated if people need. I'm taking the baby boot camp classes, so I see Jackie a few times a week.

Weddings by

09-02-2005, 12:49 AM

...but taking a cab from dntn Seattle to Federal Way at midnight was NOT pretty!

Ugh, Molly, I did not remember hearing that. Bleh.

claribella

09-02-2005, 11:54 PM

Amide all this tragedy in New Orleans... :(

I would like to thank you ladies for your help in my plans to move. It looks eminent and the path is set. I'll continue to post here about the progress but I'm shooting for being in Tacoma by the Spring.

hockeybrat

09-03-2005, 01:37 PM

The link to Washington State government jobs is hr.dop.wa.gov (http://hr.dop.wa.gov)

the local newspaper here in olympia is the olympian (http://www.theolympian.com)
I would also check in to individual agencies. Jot me a PM if you want more information about jobs in the Lacey/Olympia/Tumwater area.

Thanks for posting that link, Seapod. I had been sidetracked the past couple of days.

Claribella, good luck with your move. Even though you're looking on moving in the spring, it probably wouldn't hurt to get your name on the state employment lists now.

ilovepink

09-05-2005, 04:51 PM

I didn't get a chance to read the whole thread but I used to live in Lacey. Now I live on Fort Lewis. :)

Sazoo

09-05-2005, 07:45 PM

Hey Washington Ladies!

I just wanted to stop by & say that my DH & I had a wonderful anniversary weekend getaway up in Bellingham this weekend. We stayed at the Chrysalis Inn & Spa in a fabulous (but super expensive) suite looking out at the bay, & last night we went on a sunset cruise on a catamaran sailboat that departed from the Bham ferry terminal. The boat was called the Gato Verde (http://www.gatoverde.com/). The sunset cruise lasted about 1.5-2 hrs & there happened to only be 4 of us on the cruise last night. It was so great to have the boat practically all to ourselves (well, us + another couple & the captain). It was so relaxing & peaceful out there on the water, & the sunset was really pretty. I would totally recommend this boat tour to anyone who is in or travelling through Bellingham. Also, it only cost $30/person, which I think is pretty good! :D

http://www.gatoverde.com/Web%20Page%20Photo%20album%20stock/GV-Underway-9-5-03-05.jpg

Hope everyone else enjoyed their holiday weekend. Did anyone go to the Evergreen State Fair up in Monroe? We thought about stopping by on our way home today, but we were tired & just wanted to get home, so we decided to skip it. Maybe we'll get to the Puyallup Fair this year instead...

KristyK

09-06-2005, 08:39 AM

I'm glad you had such a good time in Bellingham! We were just there on Sunday, shopping at the mall, walking around, just getting out of our podunk town! I'll have to see about that resort you're talking about, sounds like a perfect get-away!

ETA: Monroe is just too far away for us, for a day trip. We are thinking about the Puyallup next weekend, since we are doing my parents 50th picnic in Federal Way on Saturday. Not sure yet though, but I miss the Puyallup Fair, since I used to go there every year when I was growing up! I loved parking, and when walking into the fair, you could see the "big" roller coaster and how amazing it was! I still remember those days fondly, and miss going every year since we live so far north now.

Jessie

09-06-2005, 08:56 AM

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the Chrysalis! Like I posted before, I've always wanted to stay there but it's kind of silly since it's only a few blocks away. ;)

Oooh, I've never been on that sunset cruise. DH and I should do that sometime when we can get away from the kids for a few hours.

shortcake

09-06-2005, 09:25 AM

Glad Bellingham was great! That cruise does sound like a terrific deal.

For those of you with kids - did anyone deliver at Northwest? If so, did you like it there? Also, do you have an OB you can recommend (I think I would like a woman)?

I delivered DD at Swedish, and though I loved it there, I'd really like to be a little bit closer to home for the next one (we are just at the trying stage right now, but I'd like to find the right OB early on in the pregnancy so I don't have to switch inthe middle).

Michelle

09-06-2005, 10:43 AM

Did anyone go to the Evergreen State Fair up in Monroe? We thought about stopping by on our way home today, but we were tired & just wanted to get home, so we decided to skip it. Maybe we'll get to the Puyallup Fair this year instead...

I went a couple of weekends ago with a friend. You did not miss too much. It's the same every year. I got my corn and scone so I was happy! :) My DH was unable to go so he missed out which means we'll probably be doing the Puyallup this year too. :)

ivansbabe

09-06-2005, 05:35 PM

Sazoo that's cool you stayed at the Chrysalis! DH and I stayed there for our one year anniversary. We also stayed in their corner suite with the tub looking out at the water *sigh* very romantic :)

The Evergreen State Fair was fun, as usual. My family opts to go to this one rather than the Puyallup, because it's closer and we can only spend so much time at one before we're tired, etc. The food was awesome though!

claribella

09-07-2005, 06:35 PM

Hello future neighbors!

Well, my move is eminent. (sp?) I have been emailing with my aunt and she has been helping me. I've searched some apts there in Tacoma and she has for me too. the most rent I've seen is about $550 for a 2 bdroom!! That is AMAZING compared to the $850 for a 1 bdroom here in Los Angeles!

I'm now searching jobs. My Aunt (she is the BEST) got me a phone number of someone at the County Jobs personnel dept and suggested I call her and let her know my situation, that I already work for City of Los Angeles, LAPD and she might help. My aunt says that people are very helpful and supportive in that way. I will be making that phone call tomorrow. I was going to do it today but I can't call from my current work.. :/

So, thank you all for your suggestions. The ball is rolling and its looking good. I might not even need to spend the $$ on an expensive plane ticket to visit. I already have one of you on my yahoo messenger as a friend...thank YOU for your help :)

So, how is the weather there now? One of the things I asked my aunt is, was it true that its gloomy there 24/7 as we've heard it is. She laughed at that and said no...its rather pretty sometimes.

shortcake

09-07-2005, 07:47 PM

Hey Claribella! How exciting that the ball is really rolling.

As a fellow ex-Californian, I can tell you my personal thoughts about the weather. I don't mind the rain - I enjoy it! It's not usually heavy downpours like we have in CA a lot - more like light misting or drizzle. And I like that we have more defined "seasons" here and even some snow (both years I've been here we've had a bit of snow). Even the gray days don't bug me, since there are usually breaks every now and then. What I found hard, though, was the darkness. It's dark soooo long in winter. The upside is during the summer it is light out till around 10pm!

All that said, today was sunny and gorgeous and I would guess around 70 degrees, which has been the norm lately. It's been awesome!

claribella

09-07-2005, 08:16 PM

Shortcake - thanks for that. I worry about the weather. I particularly like warm sunny weather and never really liked rain but the rain here is the pelting rain. I don't mind if its gloomy, just hate rate.

Shortcake, may I ask when you moved from California and if you moved from California to Washington. How was the move? I'm securing a job right now but I"m nervous as heck. Its a scary unpredictable move :eek:

shortcake

09-07-2005, 08:44 PM

Claribella - yep, we moved from California to Washington. Our situation was I was 7 months pregnant, so not looking for a job. My husband fortunately found a job (otherwise we would have had to stay in California till the baby came as I did NOT want to move 8 or 9 months pregnant, and we wouldn't move without a job lined up). We had some close friends up here, so we were able to stay with them for 2 weeks while we apartment hunted. That was a HUGE help. It was tough being this far from family (really for the first time in our lives) but it was the right move for us. A year after moving here we were able to buy a house - a big deal for us and totally impossible in California (we were in the Bay Area).

I do think you'll notice the weather difference. But you also do get used to it! The temperature is (I think) great - now when I go to CA it feels so dang HOT! Also you may not be as bothered by the weather if you are working during the day - I was stuck at home in a less-than-ideal apartment with a fussy newborn, so it was very depressing. Do what you can to meet people - now that I have a network of friends up here my life feels SO much better!

Does that help? Do you have any specific questions I can answer? Since I didn't do a job hunt I can't help you there, but it sounds like you have everything rolling.

claribella

09-07-2005, 08:48 PM

Oh shortcake you helped so much! Do you have yahoo messenger or msn messenger..I would love to chat with you more.

I am super super nervous about all this. I am moving up there with my 1 1/2 year old boy. My aunt is up there and has lived there for 10 years now. She has a 15 year old son and a 6 year old son. So she has alot of connection for schools and daycares.

ivansbabe

09-08-2005, 03:58 PM

Wow! It sounds a little scary to move to someplace you've never lived before...but exciting at the same time. Have you looked at www.forrent.com ? When DH and I were apartment hunting a few years ago I used that as a source and I liked being able to view floorplans/specials/prices etc.
Good luck! Keep us all updated!

hockeybrat

09-08-2005, 04:15 PM

Claribella -

I made my way to WA via CO (I'm a native San Diegan and still have family down there). The weather is really nice and the air is a lot fresher and yes, it IS very green up here. When it gets rainy, I always remind myself that it has to rain for it be so green :).

Are you able to come out and visit (check out areas for places to stay, etc)? We did a quick weekend trip out to the Seattle area. I had ordered via online, the Seattle area For Rent magazines and we put a list together and from there, we narrowed things down and found a place.

Good luck!

KristyK

09-11-2005, 07:11 PM

Just had to post ladies becuase I thought it was so darn funny today. I'm horrified at the thought of Seattle traffic and always give myself tons of extra time if I know that I have to go through there. I left my house at 7am this morning to head to my parents 50th picnic we were having in Federal Way, because it's neutral area for all the guests. So anyway, I left at 7am, takes anywhere from 35-45 minutes to get to the end of the island and take the ferry from Clinton to Mukilteo, then its another 20 minutes on the ferry, and off to I-5. So I leave at 7am, get to the ferry at 7:45, hop right onto the ferry (I think it left at 8:00), and I was in Federal Way by 9:45, with a stop in Burger King. It took me a lot longer because I had to get off before my planned exit at 320th, because apparently there was a fatality accident there on I-5 and it was closed, so I drove the last 20 minutes up Pacific Hwy, which is also under construction, and boy what a bunch of lights!

So I get to Federal Way, and the park is closed! They are having a triatholon sponsored by Reebok. So I speak with the cop, yep, its closed, there won't be any pre-party decorating! He said the event was supposed to be until 12 noon, but they were almost done and expected to be out of there by 11. So I went shopping. Geez, I need to move to Federal Way, I was in my glory! JoAnn's and Michaels within 2 blocks of each other, and the most hugest (is that a word! :D ) WalMart I've ever been in!

So anyway, we had a nice picnic for my parents, they were very surprised and happy to see all the family and friends that came. So, we decide to leave around 4:15/4:20. I'm thinking, what if there's a mariners game, seahawks, something....I just know I'm going to end up in traffic and it will take me forever to get home! I was in the line at the Mukilteo Ferry by 5:15. An hour, from Federal Way, to Mukilteo. Traffic wasn't bad at all! I was just totally shocked, and it didn't help that at one point I looked down at the speedometer and I was on 80 :eek: ! I didn't realize I was actually going that fast! I slowed it down and just couldn't believe it when I was sitting there waiting on the ferry, that was the quickest trip ever! I think I'm going to fight the one lane on Whidbey from top to bottom from now on going down there, because the traffic through Marysville, Arlington and Everett is what I think has made the trip south much too long now.

So anyway, just thought I'd tell you guys how fast I drive because I was totally amazed! I know I'd never be able to do that on a weekday! :D

shortcake

09-11-2005, 08:13 PM

KristyK - glad your trip back home made up for the slow trip to Federal Way, and that the party was a success! I am so jealous that you live on Whidbey Island. We spent a week there last summer and it was wonderful. What do you do for a living? Just curious since it seems like it might be hard to find work there as it seems so quiet. :)

KristyK

09-11-2005, 09:12 PM

Shortcake, thanks! I'm glad the party went well, and I got to see my most of my cousins and my aunts and uncles, who I haven't seen in years! Plus my brother, who I only see once a year, cause he lives in Philly! We love it here, although it's not as quiet as it used to be with them bringing more navy in here daily, but it pays the bills, and we still do have that hometown feel most of the time. I generally feel safe here, I haven't had that feeling a lot of other places I've lived.

I'm actually a nurse, but I don't work here, I commute to Anacortes, because the pay is so much better. For the 1/2 hour one way drive, I scored over $5 an hour more. That was 3 years ago. I still hate the drive, but the paychecks are nice! :D I found out here on the island, if you want to nurse, you do it at the hospital, which is union, or suffer low wages. I'm an LPN, the county is offering a county job as an RN at only $16 an hour, I make more than that as an LPN, so here, they don't want to pay. Even the hospital union wages for the LPN's are about that $16 an hour, and the base hospital, what a joke! They are only starting LPN's at about $11 an hour, which is less than I started out at as a new graduate nurse 5 years ago.

My H works on the naval base as a civilian doing computer programming on the flight simulators. He's been a contractor for over 20 years, working on different flight simulators. So the jobs here are either working fast food, retail (like walmart), or something on the base. Not a lot of opportunities here. We do know several people who commute to Boeing, and we even met a lady the other day that commutes for a "banking job" to Everett. I think she's crazy, we have tons of banks here and that's over 2 hours commute everyday one way. I just couldn't do it. She has no home life whatsoever!

If you come back here, you'll have to let me know and we'll have coffee or something!