November and December "out of town"

So remember that my out of town once a month goal has loose rules... and in the last two months of 2008 I stretched those a little further. Some may say I'm cheating. I prefer to think of it as following the spirit of the law, if not the letter. See, the intent of the monthly goal is to take myself out of my routine once a month. In this I refresh my spirit and avoid the passing of endless weeks without something notable to acknowledge.

By those rules these experiences fit the bill...

NOVEMBER... Northgate Mall.

Being from the land where malls were born I have had more than my fair share of mall experiences. Nothing says Minneapolis like a dash from your car to the front door in sub zero temps to avoid having to carry your coat around all day. Still, since moving to this fair city my mall experiences have been (thankfully) limited. In my urban neighborhood it's frankly more convenient to shop local than to drive to the mall. But the lure of forever 21 lured Trish and I to Northgate. The whole experience was out of body. Not necessarily refreshing, but notable enough to shake things up a bit. Thanks to trish for the iphone pics.

Too bad i don't need another light up waterfall

New york? or Northgate Red Robin

DECEMBER... snowed in.

Seattle loves snow--when it comes rarely and melts out by the next day. Everyone takes a little vacation, deadlines shift, and people bundle their kids up more than is necessary for the 33 degree temperatures. Still, this year's Blizzard of 2008 had even the most star-y eyed of seattlites experiencing a little cabin fever. I spent the week in a state of confusion, being bombarded with memories on what a real winter is like. I was never so relieved to see a thaw.