The last few days have been quite demanding physically. I have moved the majority of my earthly possessions to my new home and tomorrow i will be joined by a handful of friends and together we will finish the business by moving the heavy items that take two or more people to move. Tonight i am really sore in my knees and feet from all the moving and from having to spend the day on my feet working as staff support for a youth event. Staff support for me usually means setting up, making food, taking pictures and cleaning up. I am wiped out and i want to go directly to bed but i can’t do that yet. I still have to pack a few items before the crew comes tomorrow.

I have to do that packing tonight because the morning is taken up already. It will be Saturday morning and that means the weekly weigh-in and meeting. I’m afraid this will be a definite bad news week for my weight. Thanksgiving dinner plus packing up my kitchen (which meant eating out) plus Friday’s youth oriented food (including many snacks in which i indulged) plus not as much exercise plus poor food tracking (due to the major disruption of moving) will all show up in tomorrow’s number when i step on the scale. I anticipate a weight gain of between 1.5 to 2.0 pounds.

I will not help my cause by what i am now about to do. I have decided to have a small celebration. Why? Because tonight will be my last night as a resident of Bellevue, WA. This is my last night of sleeping in Bellevue. tomorrow is the official end. “Bellevuarian Captivity” is over and the exile comes back to the Promised Land.

“When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion, then were we like those who dream; Then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy.” Psalm 126:1-2

It’s that time of year again where we give thanks… thanks to the people we love, thanks for all of the nice things we have in life, and thanks to the ones who guided our lives in the right direction. (I remember in the fourth grade Tim Earle and I were fighting on the playground during recess — probably over who got to be quaterback next or something like that…  Our teacher, Mrs. Stanton, had witnessed this and when we came back inside — she made us both stand up in from of the whole class and hug each other.  Sounds weird to be thankful for a teacher who used public humiliation as a deterrent, but I went to school with Tim for 12 years and I don’t think me or Tim ever got into another fight with anyone ever again after that.  Thanks Mrs. Stanton.). Come to think of it, there are so many things that we could be thankful for.  Some are universal things that everyone generally understands, but some personal thoughts of thanks are ones that mean something unique that perhaps only you can understand.

Here’s what the people at Runde’s are thankful for today:

Here at Runde’s, we want to wish you and the ones you love a great Thanksgiving. In preparation for the holiday to come I’ve put together a mini Thanksgiving survival guide for our readers:

Conflicting interests: Having multiple cooks in the kitchen could mean one of two things; 1. You will have a feast you will never forget with food beyond sight, or 2. There will be a conflict of interest between the cooks and you will reap the potentially devastating outcome.  Let’s try to maintain a culinary sense of peace in the kitchen this year!

Solution: To protect your assets (food) participate in the kitchen and make sure everyone is having a good time and getting along. A harmony of thought will lead to a delightful meal.  (Easier said than done sometimes, eh?)

The day breaker: Eating too much at the biggest feast of the year (for many) may lead you to waste some of your day. Most people have experienced it, it’s probably the most common symptom of Thanksgiving-itis:  drowsiness.  Turkey has a natural chemical called tryptophan (it’s one of my sister’s favorite words — she just has the mention it every Thanksgiving.)  which is an amino acid that causes drowsiness. Mix this with overeating and under-activity and you got the perfect excuse to hit the couch for a couple hours.

Solution: Avoid this by prepping your stomach with some light food before gobbling down the turkey - the tryptophan’s sleepy symptom doesn’t work well on a stomach that isn’t empty.  And, seriously, put down the 3rd helping of smashed potatoes and gravy, geesh. Doing these simple steps should have you active for the rest of the day while everyone else takes a nap under the watchful eye of Mother Earth.  And if you’re still not sure what exactly a giblet is — then join the club!

Stay tuned for next month’s Christmas blog entry where we’ll try to explain what those little green things in a fruit cake are…

Today i begin the real work of moving from Bellevue to Seattle. Actually it started last night. I was up until midnight boxing things up. I hauled 10 boxes of books down to my car and today i’ll drive them over with me at 1pm when i go to sign the lease. A friend who lives on Whidbey is going to be in town today and he has offered to help me move some stuff today. he has an SUV so i hope to do a bunch of the smaller boxes in his vehicle. Hopefully i can get two trips from him before he leaves. Then i will do one more trip by myself. I think that’s all i’ll be able to do today.

On Thursday i plan to do a couple of trips alone before going to Thanksgiving dinner with my boyfriend. I’ll concentrate on moving the clothes, bedding, face cloths, bath towels, and dish towels.

Friday i have an all day event so i’ll do just one trips of odds and ends. That will includes items that i want to transport myself either because they are physically delicate or emotionally precious.

Saturday i crew of about of about 6 will come over and together we’ll clean out the big stuff and that will be the first night i’ll actually sleep in the new house.

Sunday i’ll do a lot house set up and unpacking. That will continue on Monday and most likely into Tuesday. By Wednesday i will have completed the major work of the move and i hope to look around at all that i have done and pronounce it “good.”

I’m not sure but i think all of this will count for exercise. How many Weight Watchers activity points is moving worth?

Severin Hagen - glass sculpture

Nach einer sehr zahlreich besuchten Vernissage, am Samstag den 21. November 2009 der Gallerie Fotoforum West, verlängert eye5 seine “Bellevue” Kunst- und Fotoausstellung bis 19. Dezember 2009. Jeder der sich die Ausstellung ansehen möchte und sich seine eigene Meinung dazu bilden möchte, hat

Dienstag bis Freitag von 15 – 19 Uhr geöffnet, und am Samstag von 10 – 13 Uhr
Wir organisieren gerne Führungen für sie, rufen Sie einfach im Fotoforum unter +43 (0)512 572236

Stefan Klingler
outlawzz:com

Firstlight Photography welcomes Molly!

These pictures of Molly were taken within her first week.  It is a crazy time for new parents – even experienced parents like Molly’s (she’s their fourth girl!) but these early shots are so amazing.

Because it is hard for new parents to travel to our studio, we like to bring the show on the road.  Within minutes our lights and backdrop are ready to go – right in the comfort of your own home.  This is especially helpful for the parents of young children. 

Keep Firstlight Photography on speed dial and we can pay you a visit when your new addition arrives.

Please call 253.335.7958 to find out about our winter portrait specials.

I’m in my apartment right now and my neighbor is once again playing the music/TV way too loud for this place with its thin walls. I’m so ready to leave this stupid apartment. I can’t wait to get away from my noisy neighborhood. I’m so done with this place and my neighbors!!

Just another reason to hate Bellevue.

So last night i had a couple of glasses of wine. I was celebrating my procuring of a new place to live in Seattle and my up-coming departure from Bellevue. Let me be honest. I had three—three small glasses. In the past that would have been nothing. But this morning i woke up with a headache and i felt terrible. I was surprised by this. Something has changed. I’m not sure what it is. Is it the weight loss? Is is age? I don’t know what it is but apparently now two glasses of wine are my limit. I need to face that fact and not have more no matter how good the celebration gets and no matter who is pouring.

b is for…

Bellevue’s Singing Christmas Tree

If you live in Memphis, then you’ve heard of the famous “Singing Christmas Tree.”  For those of you unfamiliar with this modern wonder, I will fill you in.  The Singing Christmas tree is a 70 foot Christmas tree that people can stand (and sing) in.  Every year around the holidays, the Tree (filled with a choir) is the star of Bellevue’s Christmas musical.  The soloist with the best voice even gets to stand at the very top- just beneath the giant star. 

I am sure that Bellevue has updated its program since I was regularly in attendance, but the SCT from my (early 90’s) memory had a lot of this going on…BIG hair, BIG costumes, BIG jazz hands.  They also did a number where they turned out the lights, turned on a giant black light, and all you could see was the white gloves everyone in the tree was wearing. Let me tell you something. You haven’t seen Jazz Hands until you’ve seen them on a giant Christmas tree under a black light. It gave me the chills every time…

B is for B-elieve it!

Every year when I was a child, she and I would put on our most festive holiday turtlenecks and pile into Granny and Grandpa’s enormous tank (aka their Lincoln Town Car) to go to the show.  It was a big deal.  As if the gigantor tree wasn’t enough to keep us coming back for more every year, I remember other highlights: an angel raised high above the audience by wires as he proclaimed glad tidings of great joy, real live sheep and camels on stage in the stable!!

This year I am back in Memphis, and I am going to go.  Apparently, even the SCT is not immune to these economic times because the free tickets now cost $3-12.  But is $12 really so much to pay when I’m getting a trip down memory lane, a 70 foot singing tree, and camels in return?

b is for…

BODY BUTTER!!!

This stuff from The Body Shop has been around for-ev-er, and I hope that it stays around forever too.  It comes in about a gabazillion varieties , some of which, I must say, are better than others (see below).   

Favorite

Yuck

$20 for 6.9 oz.  6.9 oz is more than it sounds like…

ALSO…if you look interested and ask about the body butter, they give you samples.  And make sure to check the store because sometimes they do a “Two for $20″ sale…usually around Christmas.  (Should you happen to run across one of these sales, I’d be much obliged if you’d give me a call to let me know.)

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

If you feel inclined to leave a comment on this post, know that I would love to read it.  Also be aware that this blog seems to have an automatic setting which requires me to approve every single comment before it appears.  Unfortunately, I cannot figure out how to make this go away.  So, comment away….but know that your comment won’t appear until I find it in my inbox and approve it. 

What was the hot price range of the week in East Bellevue (east of 405)  and West Redmond?

• Most number of home sales: $400-499,999 and $500-599,999 3 homes sold in each price range.
• Most number of homes for sale: $400-499,999     65 homes for sale.  The time it takes to sell a home in this price range has increased in the last few weeks.
• Best week to sell your home in the last 7 weeks?      Week of November 4th, with 18 sales.
• Most homes for sale in the last 7 weeks?       10-28-09, when 253 homes were for sale.
• All of the Bellevue and Redmond homes sales were priced under $799,999.
  
• There were 247 homes for sale and 10 homes sold in East Bellevue and Redmond near Microsoft last week.  The number of Redmond and Bellevue home sales has dropped dramatically from the high of 28 sales at the end of August.

• Peak of the number of homes for sale in King County so far this year?
• July 27th- a high of 13,861 homes for sale.
• Week of 11-16-09  12,186 homes and condos for sale in King County, the smallest number of homes and condos for sale since January of this year.
  

• With inventory down, shouldn’t you think about selling your home now, rather than in the spring?
  

This chart is updated weekly by (Windermere Real Estate/East Inc., using MLS data to show the price ranges of the homes sold each week.

Here’s how it’s set up:

The colors show who has the advantage in a particular price range.

• Green means the buyer has the advantage with many homes to choose from and not that many selling.
• Yellow means the number of homes for sale and the number of sales in the price range is balanced between the buyer and the seller.
• Red indicates a sellers’ market where the seller may have the advantage as more homes are selling when compared to what’s available.

Down the side of the chart, the home sales activity is broken down into a price bracket of $99,999. All the homes priced between $400,000-499,999, as an example, are put together in one price category in the chart.

Across the top, the chart is broken down into real estate activity by the week.

If you take the $400-499,999 line and follow it across the chart, you’ll see what has happened each of the last seven weeks.  There are three columns under each week. On the left side of the column is the number of homes for sale in East Bellevue and Redmond, near Microsoft.  The middle column shows how many homes sold that week, and the final column under the date shows the months supply of homes for sale.  In other words, if no other homes came up for sale, it would take 5 months to sell all of the homes in the $400-499,999 price range

Oh, next year, I have set my expectations higher for the Bellevue Collection Fashion Week ‘10. Since I made it to some of the shows this year, I expect … ALL of you ‘haute’ fashionista[s] & socialista[s] out there!!

]]> http://thesledgehammer.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/is-it-northup-way-or-northrup-way-take-your-pick/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:11:53 +0000 Brian Lutz http://thesledgehammer.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/is-it-northup-way-or-northrup-way-take-your-pick/

Bellevue American, September 7 1972 (Click for larger version)

From the September 7th 1972 edition of the Bellevue American, we find out that at one time, the street was offiically known as Northrup Way.  This, it would seem, turned out to be the result of a clerical error somewhere along the way when the street received its name.  Northup way was named for James and Benson Northup, who were early settlers of the Yarrow Bay area of what is was originally Houghton, and later part of Kirkland.  From a site of Northup family geneaology, we learn a bit more about Benson Northup, who was one of the founders of a Seattle newspaper known as the Post (which later merged with the Seattle Intelligencer to form the Seattle Post-Intelligencer) and served on the Seattle City Council for several years during the 1880s.  Unfortunately, little information about the James Northup referred to in the article seems to be available.

Fast forward to 1972, where Barb Keane, a descendent of Benson Northup (most likely a great-granddaughter, but the links on the site don’t seem to go that far) sought to correct the incorrect spelling of the family name that had managed to become the name of what was then Northrup Way.  From the article, it would seem that even among city officials there was debate as to which of the two names was correct, with some preferring the official spelling of the name, and others striving to correct the error.  Although the article seems to hold out little hope of getting the name of Northrup Way corrected to the proper spelling, at some point the street did get returned to the “proper” name, although I do not know when this would have happened.  In the end, it doesn’t matter how you spell it, chances are you would have been right somewhere along the line.

Tonight i got a call from the owner of the house that i applied to rent. My application has been accepted and i will sign the lease on Wednesday of next week. I hope to actually move on the Satruday after Thanksgiving. I am so ready for this because i am so done with Bellevue. I want out of here!

I am so over SR 520 and the floating bridges. There are a million things that i will not miss when i leave here. not the least of which is my noisy neighbor. They are always playing the TV or the stereo too loud. It is never quite over on the other side of the wall.

I also won’t miss having to walk outside with my laundry to the laundry room or the limited hours that the laundry room is open or the inconvience of lugging the laundry over in the rain only to find that the washers are all full.

I’m looking forward to having a second room in which i can have my office (i.e. The Creativity Factory). I need a place, not in the church building, where i can read and write and create.

I am pleased to have a house that will not be so far from where my boyfriend lives, a house that is not far from downtown Seattle, a house that is near places in Seattle that i like, a house near good local establishments for music and entertainment, a house in a community in which i see lots of Black folk.

I know there will be challenges to living in Seattle again but i’m ready for those challenges. Just get me out of Bellevue and back to a place that feels more like home.

eye5 im Fotoforum West, 21. Nov ab 18:00 Uhr

Nach einem mehr als erfolgreichen Gallerytourkickoff beim Kaunertal Opening 09, wird nun die renommierte Galerie „FOTOFORUM WEST“ in Innsbruck/Tirol (A) wird den Tirol Tourstopp kuratieren.

Vom 21. – 25. November kehrt eye5 mit seiner „Bellevue“ Ausstellung zurück ins Herz der Alpen und Sitz des eye5 Teams.
Wir würden uns freuen, wenn du Zeit finden würdest und am

Samstag den 21. November 2009 bei der
Vernissage eye5 „Bellevue“ im
Fotoforum

vorbeischauts und mit uns die Ausstellung in Tirol eröffnest!
Mehr Information zu Ausstellungsstücke und Künstlern unter www.eye5.at

Steakhouses are all the rage in Bellevue these days (Daniel’s, El Gaucho) so The Sessionista met up with Fountain of Youth (“Foy” for short) at restaurateur and executive chef John Howie’s new self-named endeavor for a little happy hour action. As the mastermind behind SeaStar and once the executive chef of Palisade, this new anchor at The Bravern was bound to be good for the tummy (if not the wallet). Foy was stuck in mega traffic so The Sessionista took advantage of the extra time she had to address her woeful outfit. Dipped into Anthropologie and purchased an awesome bedazzled tank and wrap for only $19.95/piece! Walked out of the store wearing the new duds (well, paid first), and gingerly picked through the rain to get to John Howie Steak.

Inside, the bar was big but filled with A LOT of furniture which was a little peculiar. The Sessionista grabbed a red leather club chair and perused the 20+ page bar menu while waiting for Foy. Happy Hour started at 3:00pm, and by 4:00pm there wasn’t a ton of action (although it WAS a Tuesday…). Once Foy beat the evil 405 traffic and arrived, we picked drinks (a $4 Spanish Vina Reboreda house white wine for The Sessionista and a $5 Rhubarb DRY Soda for Foy- Go figure, being a boozer is cheaper than not!) then got down to the serious business of choosing food.

The happy hour specials were delicious-looking: lots of bacon, fried things and other cholesterol-laden bits to choose from. Foy and The Sessionista settled on two items- the BLT Sliders ($6) and Crispy Fried Ricotta Gnocchi ($5). The sliders were tasty- crisp bacon, lettuce and tomato plus a little aioli, served on circular, crustless white toast. Delish! Plus, the BLTs came with a generous portion of Parmesan Reggiano chips (also available as a separate side on the bar menu). Our second choice was equally yum, although the ricotta bites tasted a bit garlicky (The Sessionista is not entirely positive what she was eating. Fried ricotta? There was no pasta/dough in sight). Regardless, it was tasty and a generous portion, which is all The Sessionista generally cares about.

While the food and drink were a treat, the atmosphere was a bit blah. The Sessionista kept getting her fat thigh stuck under the table (seriously, it was as if no one bothered to make sure the chairs and tables fit well together. One would have to have the thigh of Twiggy to be comfortable). Plus, there was no view from the bar (unless you count the rain-slicked walkways of The Bravern), a big minus considering its biggest competitor, Daniel’s, offers a fantastic view of the city.

By 6:20pm, when The Sessionista and Foy said their good-byes, life in the bar had picked up, mostly with after-work types streaming in from Microsoft and the other surrounding businesses (all apparently able to afford the post-HH prices). The Sessionista was definitely on the YOUNG end of the clientele (and of course Foy, who looks about 28).

Highlights: Comped parking (although The Sessionista lost her car for the FIRST TIME EVER in the mega-strange garage…), excellent inexpensive HH food, good house wine

Lowlights: Lame view, lack of drink specials, uncomfortable chair/table combos (grab the regular style chairs if you go, trust Sessionista on this one)

Sessionista Says: Worth trying- good prices, good food and good wine (otherwise slim on the drink specials, unless you like Bud Light ($2) or straight martinis. Not a fufu drink to be found!). But stick to Daniel’s on those gorgeous days where you want to take in the view.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

And that was day #1 in Jordan. I’ll tell you about day #2 tomorrow.

I missed you guys so much!!! The stay in Amman was beautiful, we were overwhelmed by the Jordanian’s hospitality (Royal Film Commission, Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship, 7iber.com to name a few). When I say ‘we’ I mean the wonderful group of Lebanese artists with who I went on this trip. They are: Naeema Zarif, visual artist, and Mounia Akl & Cyril Aris, filmmakers. You guys were lovely to travel with!

More details about the CC Salon & what followed tomorrow! But I’ll give you a sneak peak: here’s a video of my presentation at the CC Salon (thanks Cyril for the video), photos tomorrow!

I’m glad to be back, have a lovely day

Oh come on, just admit it! We’ve all used the holidays as a reason not to start a workout and nutrition program and even worse, most of us have used it as a reason to stop our existing ones. I’m going to be the voice of reason for a moment and force you to get real. That’s just a big old lame excuse, nothing more, nothing less. Let’s face it, even if you did go completely over board eating and drinking everything in sight on each of the actual holi-“days” and a few parties, but ate clean on every other day during the season you would probably not gain a pound.

The holiday season reminds me a lot of the “Star Wars” movies. There’s a very good side to the season with all of the parties, gift giving and getting together with loved ones. But along with the good side is a “dark side” that we all visit at some point during the season.

Holiday eating isn’t all on the dark side, but you must admit that most of us consume excessive calories in the form of second or third trips to the buffet, baked goods and alcohol. Don’t get me wrong, there is great enjoyment in savoring all of the holiday flavors and cuisines, but there comes a day of reckoning. The indulgence in excessive eating comes with a price. We pay the price in added pounds that seem to find their way directly to our hips and waist.

Calories Add Up
The good news is it takes around 3,500 excess calories to add one pound of fat to your body. That’s a ton of calories! The bad news is that many holiday meals can total 3,000-4,000 per sitting and that doesn’t even factor in the alcohol, soda or sparkling cider. Unless you’re eating your dinner on an exercise bike, you could put on nearly a pound in just one meal!

Although the calorie content of holiday meals can be very high, they don’t have to spell disaster for your waistline. The key is to carefully manage your exercise levels during the holidays and the weeks leading up to extravagant meals and eat clean on all of the days you won’t be at a party. One of the best ways to manage your exercise levels and crank up the intensity is to hire a personal trainer and Define Fitness Studio of Bellevue is the place to do it. Our small group format makes training fun and affordable at around $25 per session. We’ll even help you manage your nutrition and hold you accountable during the holidays.

Damage Control Methods
There are two strategies to holiday damage control. One is preemptive and the other is reactive. If you want to keep the damage to a minimum or even make progress toward your weight loss goals, I would suggest using both methods.

Preemptive Damage Control
The key to preemptive damage control is planning ahead. If you fail to plan you plan to fail. During the holiday season, you should increase both the quality and quantity of your exercise. This can be like putting money or “burned calories” in the bank. If you are planning to eat a huge holiday meal in the 3,500 calorie range, try and increase your calorie burn by about 500 calories per day for 7 days leading up to your meal. You are in effect, losing the weight before you put it on. The net result will be zero weight gain and you’ll be able to enjoy a guilt free feeding frenzy.

Reactive Damage Control
The main holiday meals are not the only source of excess calories. What about the extra piece of pie or other late night snacks? Don’t forget about those glasses of eggnog or the chocolate chip cookies you munched on either. These are typical food items we all end up eating during the holidays. They’re hard to resist and we often eat them without even thinking about it. No worries! These unplanned “sneaky” calories can be taken care of after the fact. This is called “reactive damage control”. Utilize the help of the best Personal Trainers on the Eastside by asking for Personal Training for Christmas. At Define Fitness Studio, we offer single month certificates as well as discounted rates for 3,6 and 12 month packages.

The Exercise Equation
Sometimes knowing the calorie content in a food isn’t enough of a deterrent to keep us from eating them. However, learning how much we must exercise to burn them off can have more of an effect. Here’s the distance you must run to burn off some popular holiday fare.

Eight ounces of eggnog 3.25 miles
Three ounces of turkey 1.25 miles
One slice of pumpkin pie 3.00 miles
One slice of apple pie 3.75 miles
Three ounces roast beef 3.00 miles
One slice pecan pie 6.00 miles
One cup mashed potatoes 3.00 miles
One cup sweet potatoes 2.50 miles
One cup of bread stuffing 4.00 miles
Two rolls w/butter 3.00 miles
One cup of gravy 2.00 miles
One cup of cranberry sauce 4.00 miles

Janelle G. Miller
Fitness Guru | Personal Trainer | Nutrition Coach
janelle@definefitnessstudio.com
206.369.7216

“Fighting America’s Health & Obesity Epidemic One Person at a Time”

Bellevue Wedding Photography

Bellevue wedding photography: Bellevue, WA is a fast growing city in it’s own right in the shadow of Seattle. There are both urban and suburban portions of Bellevue that offer nice wedding venues. My two favorite Bellevue wedding venues are: The Hyatt Hotel and The Westin Hotel. Either of these locations will facilitate beautiful wedding portraits for Bellevue wedding photography.

Bellevue was founded in 1869 by William Meydenbauer and was officially incorporated on March 21, 1953. Prior to the opening of the Lake Washington Floating Bridge in 1940, Bellevue was a rural area with little development. Once the bridge opened, access from Seattle improved, and the area gradually grew into a bedroom community.

Following the 1963 opening of a second bridge across the lake, the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, the city began to grow more rapidly. It has since become one of the largest cities in the state, with several high-rise structures in its core and a burgeoning business community.

Reflective of Bellevue’s growth over the years is Bellevue Square, now one of the largest shopping centers in the region. Opened in 1946, Bellevue Square underwent a significant expansion in the 1980s. More recently, an expansion to Bellevue Square along Bellevue Way called “The Lodge” and the new One Lincoln Tower promise to strengthen downtown Bellevue’s role as the largest Seattle Eastside shopping and dining destination.

The city’s long-term plans include the Bel-Red Corridor Project, a large-scale planning effort to encourage the redevelopment of a large northern section of the city bordering the adjacent town of Redmond. Patterned after what many civic leaders consider the successful redevelopment of the downtown core, early plans include “superblock” mixed use projects similar to Lincoln Square. Premised on the 2008 approval of the extension of Link Light Rail to the Eastside, the city hopes to mitigate transportation problems impeding earlier efforts in redeveloping the downtown core; viewed as an economic development opportunity by many in the business and building development community, the process has focused on infrastructure and the encouragement of private construction in a large-scale urban renewal effort.

Are your office network troubling, can’t able to share file or printer. Are your network infected with virus. We know you couldn’t sit idly and wait for 3/4 days and look for some computer repair service who can fix the issue.
bellevue-computer-repair

Yesterday it went public. I told the people of the congregation where i serve that i will be leaving. I can now reveal details that i had to keep confidential. I will be the next vicar at All Saints Episcopal Church in Seattle. I begin my new duties the first week in January 2010. Since i’ll be going home for a little bit around Christmas my last day at my current congregation will be December 20th.

I found myself much more emotional than i thought i would be when it came time to make the announcement. There were certain members who i knew i couldn’t look at during my announcement or i was going to lose it completely. It was hard to say i was leaving even though i’ve only been there a short while and have been part-time on top of that. Still i care deeply about the people of the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection.

The members expressed a mix of emotion: surprise and sadness seemed to be the most common. There were some who were angry and didn’t think it fair that i would have to leave after being present for such a short time. Honestly a few people are probably relieved. There was a segment of the congregation that was not comfortable with me. My way of coming at you with high energy, creativity and an emphasis on multi-cultural ministry made some people nervous and uncomfortable. They would just as soon i leave so that church can “get back to normal.” However most of the congregation expressed the sentiment that i will be missed and that i’ve already contributed a lot to the life of this parish.

There are lots of things i will miss about Resurrection. I will also really miss being in a team situation where i shared preaching and presiding at Eucharist. At All Saints i’ll be it every week. I think i’ll move to change that somehow so that i get a break and the people of All Saints get a break too. I’ve come to value to opportunity to hear different voices in worship and preaching.

And so i begin to move away from the Church of the Resurrection. The separation process has begun.

Some of the cities I serve and their services include: Bellevue Wedding Photography, Everett Wedding Photography, Tacoma Wedding Photographer.

For those of you looking for something to do in addition to the music at Wintergrass there is a world class doll museum just a few blocks away from the Bellevue Hyatt. Since 1992 the Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art has been in Bellevue. They were the recipients of the Juneau Trophy for the Best Private Doll Museum in the World.This museum features over 1,200 dolls on permanent display. Items included in the museum are dolls,teddy bears, dollhouses and miniatures. Of course the museum has a store which you can also see online at their website. Check out the website for more information on the museum.

What was the hot price range of the week in East Bellevue (east of 405)  and West Redmond?

• Most number of home sales: $500-599,999 5 homes sold
• Most number of homes for sale: $400-499,999     63 homes for sale. The same number for the past three  weeks when there was a huge increase in homes for sale in this price range in Redmond and Bellevue.
• Best week to sell your home in the last 7 weeks?      Week of Sept. 30th, with 25 sales.
• Most homes for sale in the last 7 weeks?       10-28-09, when 253 homes were for sale.
• All of the Bellevue and Redmond homes sales were priced under $799,999.
  
• There were 244 homes for sale and 11 homes sold in East Bellevue and Redmond near Microsoft last week.  The number of Redmond and Bellevue home sales has dropped dramatically from the high of 28 sales at the end of August.

• Peak of the number of homes for sale in King County so far this year?
• July 27th- a high of 13,861 homes for sale.
• Week of 11-09-09  12,382 homes and condos for sale in King County, a small increase over the last few weeks.
  

East Bellevue and Redmond, Near Microsoft Real Estate Sales, 11-11-09

This chart is updated weekly by (Windermere Real Estate/East Inc., using MLS data to show the price ranges of the homes sold each week.

Here’s how it’s set up:

The colors show who has the advantage in a particular price range.

• Green means the buyer has the advantage with many homes to choose from and not that many selling.
• Yellow means the number of homes for sale and the number of sales in the price range is balanced between the buyer and the seller.
• Red indicates a sellers’ market where the seller may have the advantage as more homes are selling when compared to what’s available.

Down the side of the chart, the home sales activity is broken down into a price bracket of $99,999. All the homes priced between $400,000-499,999, as an example, are put together in one price category in the chart.

Across the top, the chart is broken down into real estate activity by the week.

If you take the $400-499,999 line and follow it across the chart, you’ll see what has happened each of the last seven weeks.  There are three columns under each week. On the left side of the column is the number of homes for sale in East Bellevue and Redmond, near Microsoft.  The middle column shows how many homes sold that week, and the final column under the date shows the months supply of homes for sale.  In other words, if no other homes came up for sale, it would take 2.2 months to sell all of the homes in the $400-499,999 price range.