Robert Lani

Ann Gonzalez, a local Seattle Author has just published her first book. I am going to her signing on Thursday and cannot wait to read the book. Below is a description of the book followed by a review.

Running for My Life is the powerful story of Andrea McKane, a fourteen-year-old who struggles to cope with her mother's schizophrenia. She must face the heartbreaking fact that her mother, with whom she once laughed and played, has vanished into her disease, possibly forever. The book accurately portrays the difficulties a teen faces when dealing with the illness, the abuse and absence of a psychotic parent. Running for My Life shows the effects of mental illness on a family, and a teenager's attempts to manage the changes that have shaken her life. With courage, strength, and the loving support of her friends, her father, and her therapist, Andrea finds salvation through running. Running for My Life represents a breakthrough effort in portraying the challenges children deal with when they have to protect themselves from a guardian.

"Running for My Life is the powerful story of Andrea McKane, a fourteen-year-old who struggles to recover from the trauma of being attacked by her schizophrenic mother. Andrea finds salvation through running and the loving support of friends, her father, and her therapist. Running for My Life is a story of the indomitable spirit and strength of a courageous young woman." Kirby Larson, Newbery Honor winner for Hattie Big Sky.

Check your local bookstore or Amazon.com to order.

Wallingford now has a gym. Back in the snowy days around Christmas, Fuerte Fitness opened on the corner of 45^th and Stone Way. There aren't any other gyms in Wallingford, so if you're thinking of joining, you may want to check it out. It's definitely got a cool vibe to it. At just 2,000 square feet, you may wonder how long it will be before they get overcrowded, but they are limiting membership to 50!

There's a wonderful personal feel to Fuerte that you just don't get from the national chains. As part of your membership, you get monthly meetings with a personal trainer at no extra cost. And while the gym is not staffed 24 hours, you get your own personal code so that you can access the gym whenever you want. The owner of the gym does a great job to make sure you don't get bored either. In addition to weights and cardio machines, they have gymnastic rings, a trapeze, punching bags, and even some wild-colored weighted hula hoops that keep your tummy its flattest. In fact, there are all kinds of interesting things there that they are more than happy to explain the uses. Classes are also offered to members.

The bottom line is that the gym's goal is that its members have fun and enjoy their workout. A workout shouldn't be boring and they are there to help you mix it up.

www.fuertefitness.com

Several weeks ago, it was widely reported that half of the country's foreclosures were found in just four states, California, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida. While it seems that no single part of the country is impervious to the current recession, the epicenters of foreclosures are definitely regional.

Now, I'm an admitted data nerd and I was on the Fed's website recently and found a map of the United States broken down by county showing the percentage of mortgages over 90 days late. Yikes! Obviously, we Seattleites are much better off than many parts of the country. Seattle's King County's mortgage delinquency rate stands at "just" 1.46 percent. A mouse over southern California shows that every county down there is over 5 percent. Las Vegas' Clark County is over 8 percent and Phoenix's Maricopa County is hovering over 6 percent.

As bad as it seems in these states, the worst state seemingly is Florida. It did not take long to find the county with the highest mortgage delinquency rate-that honor goes to Miami's Dade County. A whooping 12.26 percentage of mortgages are delinquent-that's one in eight! In fact it seems that most of the counties in Florida have mortgage delinquencies that are very high. If you've always dreamed of owning property in Florida, now might be a good time to check it out.

Want to know how your county is faring? Check out the Fed's website at http://data.newyorkfed.org/creditconditionsmap/

If you are looking for a home or know of someone who is, come over and see your next home this weekend. The house has an artistic whimsical feel, yet is sophisticated, with its gourmet kitchen, soapstone countertops, French doors leading out to the wrap around deck and many more must-see features.

This 3280 square foot house, built in 1910, offers 5 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a 2 car tandem garage, hot tube, etc. The house is impeccably maintained with many upgrades, which include a newer 40-year roof, all electrical and plumbing has been updated.

The owners have added many artistic touches, including a custom-designed handrail to the upstairs. The owners have also done an incredible job of opening up walls and ceilings, making every inch of space available for living, both inside and out.

The home is in Wallingford, a vibrant Seattle community with something for everyone. We have restaurants, movies, shops, parks, and much more. If you like to entertain, sit back and relax in your yard or stroll down to Green Lake-this is the community for you.

We look forward seeing you this weekend at our open house from 1-4 both Saturday and Sunday, March 14 and 15. The address is 4912 Wallingford Ave. N. Seattle. Go to wwww.wallingfordcraftsman.com for more information.

I'll be your real estate host at the Saturday open house. I'm bringing Trophy cupcakes, so come by and see me and the house!

Finally, a Trader Joe's in Seattle with room to breathe! I have been shopping the Trader Joe's in the U-District and Queen Anne. While I have always been happy with the food, prices, and selection, it can be quite a feat to navigate the crowded aisles, that's of course, assuming you can land a parking space first.

So, I dared to venture in the new Trader Joe's on the first weekend it opened on 14^th Avenue in Ballard next to the new L.A. Fitness. First of all, there's plenty of parking and the store is HUGE in comparison to both its Queen Anne and U-District counterparts. While the lines were long, I attribute that to its newness. The aisles are wide and the prices are the same as the smaller stores! It also seems that the selection is larger, but maybe that's just because the space is larger. The staff is super friendly and something interesting is the nautical theme on the walls to reflect the character of the neighborhood.

I live in Wallingford, but will drive the extra couple of miles from now on to shop at this Trader Joe's over the U-District. Now, if only we could get a cool store like Trader Joe's in the space that Office Max recently vacated right here in Wallingford. Aldi, which owns Trader Joe's, is crazy cheap and not as gourmet as its subsidiary Trader Joe's, would be awesome candidate, but since they do not have a presence in Washington, I doubt they'll be here anytime soon, especially in a neighborhood where it would compete directly with Trader Joe's.