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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Seattle Bike Expo

Okay, this was CRAZY! Picture this...

"Hi I'm Christie, nice to meet you"

"Hi I'm Lukas, hop on!"

"Ummm what?!"

"Get on my shoulders, I'm going to take you for a ride"

"Are you sure?" (said in a seriously questioning tone)

"Just get on"

So I got on. I climbed on to Lukas' shoulders as he hopped onto his bike and then proceeded to pop a wheely (that's shop talk for scare the Sh%&*t out of me). He was incredible and I'm sure very sore now considering he was smaller than I am...lol. All I'm saying is that I'm super glad I had a helmet on ... gotta protect the noodle.














Tuesday, March 8, 2011

TNA Wrestling

CAN YOU SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING???????

TNA Wrestling was in town on Friday but we got a sneak peek at what the show would hold for fans. Whoa! The thing I was most impressed with was their low low low voices. I think they teach that in wrestling school ... lol. I've never really been sure about the "sport" of wrestling - the characters these guys & gals play are always so in-your-face. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice all three of the peeps that showed up were.

We were joined by BEER MONEY and ANGELINA LOVE. They are normal folks except that they beat people up for a living. I asked them if the whole thing was "fake", they scoffed and then punched me in the mouth. Just kidding. They explained that there's some choreography & "storylines" - NO WAY??!! - involved but that they do actually fight and get injured (imagine a 250lb guy landing on you even if it is planned ...OUCH!). Okay, point taken.






Jimbo getting pinned by Angelina Love ... notice the grin on his face


Think these belts would go with my jeans?

Beer Money, Angelina Love, Jim, & I


The gang



Getting ready to "go live"



What are you lookin' at?



Somebody call for help!







Thursday, March 3, 2011

Emerald City Reptile Expo

Ewwwwww! Gotta say, I'm not the biggest reptile fan in the world. I'm more of a cuddly puppy-dog kind of girl, but I did learn to respect the scaly, slithering kind.

I spent the morning hanging with the folks and their creatures from the Emerald City Reptile Expo. When I arrived all I saw was tons and tons of snakes in bags (that's apparently how snakes travel). Okay. Then they busted out the lizards. I've got to say that I think those little guys are actually cute. I always think that they'd talk with a British accent.

I decided to hold "Pizza" the Crested Gecko for my first segment and as Brad and Joyce came to me live, the damn gecko jumped from my hand up to my neck area. Scared the "H -E -DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS" out of me! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry so I sort of did a bit of both. It was a totally hilarious moment.


Once I recovered from the utter shock of that attack, I actually learned a lot about reptiles and how fascinating they are. Scientists are using reptiles to research many cures for human diseases. See they can be our friends afterall :-)


It turns out that reptiles attach to their owners, have personalities and feelings, and are actually quite sweet as long as you provide the kind of care that they require. This weekend's expo will feature hundreds of animals up for adoption as well as "care experts" that can walk you through how to properly own one of these creatures. If you can't make it to the show and still want to adopt one, you can find them on http://www.petfinder.com/ (search reptile and it will lead you to the NW's folks).




Some kind of lizard


This guy is just chillin'

Don't know if he's cuddling or getting ready to suck some neck blood


The cutest Bearded Dragon I've ever seen!



My new little friend


If you're looking for something to do with the kids this weekend, hit the Emerald City Reptile Expo and check out some of these cool little guys. It's being held at the Lake City Community Center on Saturday & Sunday. Admission is $10. Tell them you know the reporter that was "ATTACKED" by the 1lb gecko ... lol.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Scott Firefighter Stairclimb

Everyone loves a firefighter don't they? Well here's just one more reason to idolize these folks.

1500 firefighters from all over the world (the US, Canada, and New Zealand) will descend upon Seattle this Sunday for the biggest single firefighter event in the world. These amazing people will climb 69 stories in the Columbia Center, the tallest building in Seattle, all in an effort to stamp out blood cancers. Get this ... the record time is 10 and a half minutes!! I've waited longer for elevators! Last year's winner, a 29 yr old Missoula firefighter, did it in 11.135 minutes. That's nuts! Imagine how tired you would feel after sprinting up 1311 stairs, that's 788 vertical feet. CRAZY!

I couldn't even breathe in my live hit after running up about 20 stairs ... maybe that's a sign that I should be at Husky Stadium running stairs on a more regular basis ... lol.

Firefighters aged 18-69 will strap on almost 60lbs of gear (bunker gear & breathing apparatus) and sprint-climb up to the 73rd floor. I spent the morning with two amazing guys that are competing in the challenge. Firefighter Dan Nelson and Firefighter Pat McNerthney are 60 & 61 respectively, and spent the entire time in between our shoots doing stairs - they had to get their training in I guess. We were also joined by Anne Gillingham, the Executive Director of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Anne and her team are the ones that make sure the money raised goes to patients, their families & caregivers, and live saving research.





The awesome team this morning! Pat, Anne & Dan


These guys are seriously fit!



Doing my best "firefighter holding a hose" impression
SO HOW CAN YOU HELP?????


Well for starters we need to you to go to Firefighter Stairclimb and donate dollars, benjamins, moola. You can pledge toward a specific climber or to a department. Whatever you can give will help. These guys are going to sprint up Columbia Center in support of folks with blood cancers ... it's the least you and I can do.