Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Another reason I love my husband...

Conversation between me and Dick just now:

Dick: "Have you checked out calendar for today? Is there something we were supposed to do?"

Trina: "I don't think so. Let me check...
no, i don't see anything."

Dick: "How about our shared calendar?"

Trina: "Okay, I'll check...."

*posted on our shared calendar for today at 10:00pm:
"Wake Up Billie Joe"*

I love my husband. <3

Monday, September 28, 2015

"Girl with Umbrella"/"Caltrain" Painting Almost Done

I was really excited about my painting session with Dean this morning.

My latest painting is really coming along! I think it's nearly done, but not quite. I'll wait to see how it looks when I see it again at my next session, and go from there. It probably is very close, but will need a few more fixes/touch ups.

Very happy with it so far. I like how the color palette came together. There are a lot of pinks and purples throughout that weren't in the original photo. I think they tie in the composition nicely.

Oh, and I *think* I'm starting to get a little better with faces, although they still make me super nervous.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

The Immediate Impact Walk!

We did it again! What an amazing day. Lots and lots of photos to share, but they will have to wait until tomorrow.

Time for bed....

Update!
October 1st, 2015
Sorry for the delay! I finally finished writing my recap blog for the 2015 Immediate Impact Walk. Lots of fun photos. Click here to read.

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Three Meals and Dessert

This pretty much sums up my day:

Breakfast with Philip
Dim Sum lunch in Milpitas with my Grandma
Dinner with my boys (carb-loading for tomorrow's 20 miles!)
Dessert at Hot Cookie.

Good food, great friends= Great Day!

Friday, September 25, 2015

Clay and Michael

I just had the most lovely afternoon with this wonderful couple. This is Michael and Clay. Up until very recently, they've been my neighbors in SF for the past 17 years. They celebrated their 50th(!) Anniversary this year. I just adore them. I asked their permission to post these photos: one from this afternoon, and another from almost 50 years ago. This is Love.


Michael and Clay this afternoon


Clay and Michael, circa 1960s

Thursday, September 24, 2015

California Dreamin'

Oh, what a gorgeous day in San Francisco for a walk!

There are very few days and places I can wear this tank top with being completely inappropriate. An 88 degree afternoon in The Castro is one of them!!

I walked over to Dolores Park to see how the newly refurbished section looks. So beautiful, and what a clear day?

As I was walking in Church Street, I realized my friend, Philip, works nearby and figured he'd be getting off work soon. I sent him a message and arranged to meet him at his building to walk home with him.

Just another perfect day in San Francisco.

TEN THOUSAND THANK YOUS!!!

Dear Friends and Family -

We did it again!!



For the Fourth time in as many years, YOU have helped me raise OVER TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS for the Immediate Impact Walk!

I am constantly amazed and humbled by the overwhelming support and generosity of YOU.

YOU inspire me.
YOU are the reason I have been walking all these miles for all these years.
YOU are making a difference in the lives of so many.
YOU are amazing.

I Thank You. Over and over again, I thank you.

The 2015 Immediate Impact Walk is only 3 days away. Later this morning, I'll be flying from Seattle down to San Francisco in preparation of my 20-mile walk on Sunday.

YOU will be in my heart every step of the way.

Although I have met my personal fundraising goal of $10,000, I'll continue to fundraise and see just how much money we can raise. So far, our team/event of 26 participants (20 walkers and 6 virtual walkers) have raised almost $78,552. Just yesterday, we exceeded our original goal of $75,000.
It is exciting to see how much money we can raise for our three local beneficiaries!

Remember: 100% of all donations will be granted to our event beneficiaries!!!

I am honored to be representing all of you every time I walk. Thank you for helping me along this journey once again.

With Deep Gratitude,
-Trina

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

If I were a Peanuts Character

...I might look something like this! :)



...and here is Dick!



Get Peanutzied!

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

A Day at the Zoo!!

Dick and I spent a wonderful late morning and early afternoon at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle today! We hadn't been before, and it turned out to be a real treat.

One of the things that struck us most about it was how large and beautiful the habitats were. The other thing we loved was that there was greenery everywhere, and it felt as if you were walking along a path in the woods, between seeing each of the habits. The environment was so nature-focused versus feeling like an amusement park. Really lovely.

We saw everything in about 2-1/2 hours. Granted, it was a Tuesday morning, so it was pretty quiet. The only people there were people with baby in strollers, a few retired couples, and me and Dick. :)

We arrived around 10:45, and the first thing we saw as soon as we entered were the penguins being fed! Great timing. Happy penguins. :)

The zoo also has a really beautiful solar-powered historic carousel. I couldn't help myself, and insisted that we ride it today. Dick and I rode a carousel on one of our first dates way back in January, 1999. He had brought me to an Apple MacWorld party at Zeum. That was the last time either of us had been on a carousel until today!

Pro tip: The Woodland Park Zoo accepts the Prime Card (MSFT employees). We both got in for $17. What a deal!

We logged in about 3.5 miles, which was about 8,000 steps. It was a really nice way to get in our steps for the day! :)






























glassybaby Glassblowing Fundraiser: Final Pieces and Totals

You may recall that I hosted a fundraiser at glassybaby on September 12th, where a group of friends created their own glass pieces, with the help of some glassybaby artisans.

I picked up most of the finished pieces last Thursday, and distributed them to their creators over the weekend. The glass pieces were so beautifully wrapped, that I didn't unwrap them to take a peek before delivering them to friends. I took photos of the pieces that I delivered after each one was unwrapped by their makers. I haven't seen the pieces made by Omar and Lora, who live closer to the Madrona glassybaby store, so it made more sense to pick them up themselves. I also haven't seen Debra's whose piece was delivered to her by Gina.

Here are the final products! They are all so beautiful!


Mine and Gina's


Mine and Dick's


Paula's bowl and Reeves' tumbler


Martin's tumbler and Celeste's bowl


Dan's tumbler and Nicole's bowl

I LOVE how different they all turned out. I have to admit: although I like mine, I like it least compared to everyone else's. I love all the colors, all the swirls, and shapes!

10% of all sales from this event will go towards my fundraising for the 2015 Immediate Impact Walk. That means that 10% of the cost of the glassblowing class, as well as 10% of the glassybaby merchandise.

I just heard back from glassybaby and learned that this fundraiser raised a total of $275.55! Wonderful! My thanks to all of my friends who were able to come and participate in this fun fundraiser!!

If you are interested in purchasing any glassybaby products, glassybaby is offering 10% of all sales from their website or from any of their stores (in Seattle or the San Francisco Bay Area) will go towards my fundraising through September 30th. Simply enter the giving code "impact" at check out. Shipping is always FREE!

Thank you!!!

Friday, September 18, 2015

I was wondering where Noe was...

...apparently, she was helping her Daddy out with some coding.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Ratatouille Recipe!

For the second time in the last month, Dick and I made Ratatouille for dinner.

I found this great recipe online a while back, and we liked all the ingredients so we figured we'd give it a shot. We really loved it the first time around, so I figured I'd document it this time.

It's a delicious recipe, and so easy to make. We served it with baked chicken breast, and it makes for a really great meal.


this is a mixture of sauteed onion and garlic, mixed with olive oil, tomato paste and water. It is spread at the bottom of the baking dish


sliced eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and bell peppers coated with a bit of olive oil.


the veggeies are arranged in the pan, alternating with each vegetable


pretty presentation before going into the oven


after baking for 45 minutes


final presentation with baked chicken breast

Glassybaby Glassblowing Class Masterpieces

Gina and I drove into Seattle today to pick up all of the glassybaby masterpieces from our class last weekend.

Here's a sneak peek if the tumblers that Gina and I made.

I'll be delivering everyone's pieces to then this weekend. They are all packaged up all nice and neat, so I can't unwrap them to see how they all turned out. Can't wait to see everyone's pieces!


Pretty Packaging/Presentation!


My piece is on the left, Gina's on the right


mine on the left, Dick's on the right. Matching tumblers!

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Good Morning!

We were greeted by a rainbow over the Snoqualmie Falls this morning.