It was a dark and stormy night, except the storms weren’t outside in the atmosphere, but inside my sore muscles as I lay on our mattress on the floor, desperately trying to fall asleep. With some greatly-appreciated help from my family and our coworker Kevin, and even our new neighbor Coast Guard Andy, we moved our furniture to our new home in one big truckload on Sunday. Couches, bookcases, tables, beds… you name it. We managed to get it all in the front door & up the stairs. We’re officially moved in to our New House!

Now comes the part where we unpack and make it feel like home.   :)

A Big Thank You to everyone who participated in the great endeavor.

Kim and I bought our first house! It’s on Silent Creek Ave in Snoqualmie (off of I-90, almost out to North Bend).

The big moving day is on February 24th, two weeks from today! We’re already packing!

Well, this is what happens when:

1. You can’t run the ball
2. You can’t stop the run
3. You lost winnable regular-season games to Arizona, Cleveland, Carolina, & Atlanta…
4. And thus have to play the NFC Divisional Playoff in Green Bay.
5. In January.
6. In the snow.

On the bright side: At least we don’t have to live here:

First photo by Rod Mar, Seattle Times.

Second photo by Morry Gash, AP Photo

I took sweet Kimmy out for a pre-birthday dinner tonight (her special day is Tuesday, but we’re both working evening shifts this week, so that wouldn’t work). We went to Brasa in Belltown.

Kim had the Sea Scallops with melted leeks, house-cured bacon, potato chive cake, soft-cooked quail egg, & orange reduction sauce. I had the Washington Squab with kale, pecans, mashed butternut squash, & bourbon-cider reduction. We had a great time and had a ton of great food. We even tried the octopus as an appetizer (tasted like grilled steak). Kim is only disappointed now because she can’t open her real presents yet! Patience, my dear… patience

Photo of sea scallops above by Phikyin Loo (kaiserine), borrowed without permission from flickr.com. 

Whew. What a close one.

After dominating the first half and leading 13-0, the Hawks fell into a rut and saw the Skins score fourteen unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Momentum turned again, however, when Redskins kicker Shaun Suisham missed a chip-shot 30-yard field goal (after getting a gift turnover on a muffed kickoff return). One missed opportunity for Washington, and Seattle took advantage. A 20-yard TD to D.J. Hackett, a two-point conversion to Marcus Pollard, and then two interceptions for touchdowns by Trufant (78 yards, oh my God!) & Babineaux (57 yards) – and the game was over. After falling behind and scaring the beejeezus out of all their fans, the Hawks score 22 straight points to close the game. Gaiety and joyousness ensue.

Next week: A road game on the frozen tundra of Green Bay. Ewhh… This team don’t likee the road games. Fingers crossed.

Photo by Gilbert W. Arias (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) 1/05/07 

Let me paint a picture. Kim is at her desk, typing in her blog about our latest vacation. I am at my desk, facing opposite, typing in my blog about our latest vacation… Kind of ridiculous, eh?

Since we’ll be getting married next spring, Kim and I thought it was kind of silly to continue writing in our own separate blogs (stubbyfingers.blogspot.com and cascadian.wordpress.com, respectively), and so decided to unite our thoughts in one, consolidated blog. And hence, we have mallady.wordpress.com!

Welcome, everyone. Our first order of business will be to record our June (!) vacation in Norway and Iceland. Please be patient with us as we build up the widgets & links & other stuff over time… Meanwhile, enjoy!

Kim & Ryan