Football, Kona and BUGS!

After a long week in Miami, I recuperated with some much needed R&R in Seattle. On Saturday night, the gals and I watched the UW game at the Ram, where I yielded to a dangerously tasty garlic swiss burger - the pinnacle of gluttonous goodness.

I spent Sunday with my buddy Chris R at the Bug Blast expo at the Burke Museum. We cautiously chowed down on crickets and grasshoppers, while Chris bravely scooped up a tarantula and scorpion. My favorite moment was sitting among bug enthusiasts at the Bug Chef show, while Chris ardently attacked a looming yellow jacket by first flicking it off his knee, then repeatedly stomped it into the ground with his shoe. How fitting. :)

Though neither Chris or I particularly enjoyed the buggy flavors, it was fun trying the crunchy critters. At the very least, it's just another checkmark on my checklist of life things-to-do. Cheers to that!

For more buggies, check out my Picasa web album: http://picasaweb.google.com/lizfong/FootballKonaAndBugs

TV/Photo Shoot in Miami

I flew to Miami for our latest NBA TV and print shoots. Although my schedule was brutal during the week, I flew in early to enjoy a Sunday in South Beach.

Despite the blazing heat and dripping humidity, I loved Miami. Good shopping, great restaurants, and the beautiful beaches.

While I can't share all my pics, I did a decent job taking pics of what I could. My fave moments had to be catching a South Beach sunrise; enjoying wonderful dinners at Tantra, Ago, Nobu and Prime 112; chasing lizards at the photo shoot; meeting the numerous folks who make a shoot successful (100 folks total!); trying hard to suppress my laughter during all the outtakes; and of course, hanging out with amazing NBA legends and current players. How many people can say they sat next to Charles and across of Dwyane at dinner? Truly an invaluable, humbling experience. I always feel quite blessed to do what I do.

For more Miami heat, check out my Picasa web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lizfong/TripToMiami

Summertime with the Seattle Storm

There's something about sunny Seattle weather that makes me want to get out every single day and soak it all up. Check out my pics from this past week where I hung out at the Aloha Live festival expertly organized by Ange, took Tuesday off to mini-golf and bowl with Chris, caroused the bars on Roosevelt with Amy, and enjoyed courtside seats at the Storm game behind the "Seattle Four" who saved the Storm from the evil Clay Bennett.

For more: http://picasaweb.google.com/lizfong/SeptemberPics

I love Seattle summers!

I love Seattle summers. It seems like there's an endless amount of fun in the sun!! Jehua visited Seattle one weekend which made for quite a fun summer reunion for him, Angela and me. We partied like the good ol' times minus the late, late nights and uber-intake of alcohol. What can I say, we're getting older!! :)




Despite our different schedules, Chris and I make it a point to plan fun times together. Early one morning, I met him at the hotel to watch the sunrise and check out houseboats before breakfast.






Then late one afternoon, we trekked to Carkeek park to soak up the sun and enjoy the summer weather. We also made it to Ballard Locks to watch the salmon "run" and the sea lions lazily hunt.

August was also the month to celebrate Naomi's birthday with kim chee, kalbi, friends and fun karaoke times at Goldies!!

For more shots from the Seattle summer, check out my Picasa web album: http://picasaweb.google.com/lizfong/RandomAugustPictures

Weekend at Crescent Bar!

Amy very generously invited a bunch of us to her family's hideaway spot in central washington for a weekend of drinking, swimming, sweating, bbqing and FUN. Enjoy pics from our weekend trip which includes the 3 hour road trip to Quincy. :)

We cooled off in a small community pool surrounded by little kids and their parents. One entrepreneurial child even convinced Bryan that he was getting a deal by sliding down her homemade slide for FREE.

For more Crescent Bar shots, check out my Picasa web album: http://picasaweb.google.com/lizfong/WeekendAtCrescentBar

Summer Road Trip to Corvallis

Chris and I made another open-window, "wind-in-our-hair" road trip to Corvallis last weekend to attend the wedding of his high school friend Jesse.

On Saturday, we strolled through a farmer's market, had breakfast at the Broken Yolk, then drove aimlessly through fields of grazing cows and hay until we stumbled across the Tyee winery, where we sampled award-winning Pinot Gris.

Jesse's wedding ceremony and reception were held that Saturday night at Beazell Forest Park. Very lovely wedding, but also very hot. Thank goodness for the open bar (minus the bartender who carded me). :P

We headed the long way home to Seattle by cruising along the foggy Oregon coast. We breezed through (at 25 mph) dozens of small towns including Hebo, Lincoln City and Astoria. For lunch we dropped in on the quirky characters at the Snug Bar and Grill.

Although we didn't have time to make a ton of stops, we did take pictures of the beautiful scenerey and interesting sights along the way. Check em out at my Picasa web album!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lizfong/CorvallisRoadTrip

Fourth of July in Quilcene

Chris invited me to his family's Fourth of July gathering in Quilcene. It was a scenic and fun road trip to the peninsula, and even more fun spending time with Chris and his family.

I made the rookie mistake of agreeing to wade into the mud to grab satchels of oysters left by the crazy Quilcene oyster people. I thought it'd be a fun, exciting, new thing to do.

In the end, I did have fun, but not before seriously panicking about falling flat on my face in front of Chris's entire family. I smiled big only after wiggling out of my sticky mud situation and back onto firm ground.

It was a invigorating, fun summer getaway, and I can't wait for next year!

For more gorgeous pics from Quilcene, check out my Picasa web album: http://picasaweb.google.com/lizfong/fourthOfJulyInQuilcene