Hey, hey! Welcome to Friday, once again...
1. Last weekend I made the loooong drive out to Ocean Shores to hang out with some of the fam. My uncle and aunt have a house out there that they bought for the purpose of getting away and hanging out with friends and family. It is a beautiful house, and BIG...lots of room for lots of people. I had two sets of aunts and uncles, some cousins, grandparents, and a few others...and let me tell you, we had a FEAST on Saturday night! We had amazing salmon, and crabcakes (from crab my uncles and cousins caught), oysters, good wine...it was really, really fun. We walked across the street and made our way to the ocean, went into town and visited the learning center- which they have actually done a pretty good job with- there is some interesting stuff there (and the super eager lady that worked there informed us that she has had 22 people come in that have either seen, heard, or smelled bigfoot. True story.) The evening progressed into my aunts, grandma and I watching Singing Bee (seriously, have you ever heard me sing? Prob not because I avoid doing so around pretty much everyone...it's a horrible sound....and I most definitely got it from my mom's side of the family) we were all a-singing out loud to country tunes...not pretty, not pretty. My grandma did show us some of her old dance moves she used to do in high school...one that her mom dragged her off the dance floor for because it was too sexy. Whoa Grandma. I also got to spend some quality time with my newest cousin, Tyler...who has developed a little personality and is sooo adorable and smiley and giggly. Love him!
2. Moving on. Tuesday I had a dentist appointment. I had to get a cavity filled. Trauma! I try to take really good care of my teeth (I still wear my retainer from 8th grade!), so the cavity thing doesn't make me happy. Plus, I am a bit of a nervous wreck about that kind of stuff anyway. I nearly talked myself out of getting my wisdom teeth extracted my freshman year...I went to the bathroom and got myself so worked up about it, I was truly seconds away from sneaking out and waiting for my mom in the car...before I reminded myself I would just have to go back another time. Anyway...the cavity...the gal gave me two shots of the numbing stuff...but I wasn't fully numbed up, so I got another one...and oh my gosh...the left side of my face was out of commission for about five hours. I felt ridiculous...certain I was drooling out the side of my face. I decided to go sit in a movie for a bit, so as not to interact with anyone, but of course, my dentist is in Federal Way...so I ran into people I know. Jeez. Finally, about 7pm, my face started tingling and the feeling returned...though my jaw has been a bit sore since then. Despite the need for a filling, I still love my dentist mucho.
3. During my hours of numbness I went to see UP...because it's Disney, I'd heard pretty good reviews, and it was at a time that worked for me. Very cute movie. It wasn't quite as good as I was expecting (those darn expectations!)...several people told me how good it was and that they cried throughout. And yes, I did cry...a few different times in the movie (I know, who is this girl with feelings)...there was some really sweet moments that I loved...but I felt like there was also a fair amount of filler. That was just okay. Definitely go see it with your significant other...like I said, it's very sweet.
4. My facial blushing is OUT OF CONTROL. I have always had a bit of a condition...when cute boys are around, or I am giving a speech, or interviewing- no matter how comfortable I am, when the attention is on me...my face gets BRIGHT RED. (I "randomly" got assigned facial blushing in my anatomy class to give a presentation on...needless to say, I gave a perfect demonstration)If you read my blog, I'm guessing you know me, and have seen this occurance for yourself. It's embarrassing, but I'd like to hope, a little endearing. As I have gotten a little older, I have gotten better at controlling it so in the past few years it hasn't been too bad. But lately, it has returned. Mostly at work. Most of the people I work with are married or in long term relationships, so we like to pick a "boyfriend of the week" for me each week amoungst our regular customers. Even though I would be perfectly fine talking to these people the week before; as soon as the choice has been decided for the week, I can't talk to or interact with this person without turning a lovely shade of lobster. Because I know everyone I am working with is watching...Today, one such fellow mentioned that it looked like I had gotten some sun...I thought, "yes, go with it, it's just a sunburn...not blushing, sunburn" and then proceeded to ramble on to him about how my legs were all sunburned from sitting outside in short shorts...and then hearing myself and realizing I was talking about my legs...my face turned even darker...I could feel the heat radiating off. Oh, those are my favorite moments. Yes, the facial blushing has returned.
5. And I've saved my last point for my re-falling in love and having my heart broken in the best way with music. Lately I have been pretty uninspired by music...it just hasn't been exciting to me. I have been going about much of my day without music on because there isn't anything I care about listening to. It was always such a big part of my life, it was getting depressing. But last night I went and saw Counting Crows and Augustana at Marymoor and it was exactly what I needed. First of all, it was a great show...the two bands played together pretty much the entire night...it wasn't an opener and headliner kind of thing. Adam and Dan (the two lead singers) took turns singing versus to each others songs and there were a plethora of great covers. Very cool format. And their voices went together so well. I have to admit, while I absolutely loooove Counting Crows (August and Everything After....c'mon!), I was really excited to see Augustana because I haven't before, and their song "Boston" has been a sort of theme song of mine for awhile. I listened to that thing over and over and over as I was packing to move home from Chicago, and when I was getting ready to move to Europe. My passport photo is terrible because the song randomly came on the radio on my way to getting the picture taken and I pretty much started sobbing. I know, I know. It's just one of those songs that hits me. Breaks my heart a little bit every time. The singer's voice just kills me. And the two bands together hit that music thing that does it for me...I don't know...I was (and most definitely still am) thrilled to have found that love again. Yay! Though I did turn on Augustana when I got home last night before I went to bed, and I had to turn it off because it just breaks my heart...I'm probably going to need to put Boston on a few times in a row and just cry it out here soon.
So there you go folks. Big happenings this weekend...going to see Andrew Bird and the Decemberists tonight, and big Adventurers Club game day on Sunday. Hope you have fun plans for this beautiful weekend. Talk to you soon! E
Friday, July 17, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Feeling Lazy
I'm not feeling especially blog chatty today...I think it'll be a short Friday Five.
1. 4th of July was great. Had a few different options, and really didn't know where I was going to end up when I left the house. I made some delicious brownies (from the barefoot contessa) and figured I could bring them wherever I showed up. I decided I would meet up with Darby and Friends out on their boat, for a little while and then go meet some other people. Well, I got to the park where D&F (Darby and Friends) were...and had to kayak out to the boat (good thing I forgot, and left the brownies sitting in the car). Well, it was so nice out on the water and the company was delightful (and there was promise of good food to come), I never made it off the boat...we went over NEAR Lake Union (close enough to have a great view of the fireworks, far enough to not get stuck in boat traffic after the show)...the fireworks were awesome...some really cool ones that I've never seen before. And yeah...some delicious BBQ with all the sides. Mmmm.
2. I've been doing a lot of deck sitting and reading since I have been housesitting and it has been super nice out. I've been doing a bit of gardening (well, more like watering, and picking raspberries and tomatoes...don't know if that constitiutes gardening), watering plants, feeding a cat...it's kind of fun having a house to stay at. Though I find myself being really lazy (like how I REALLY don't feel like writing up the blog right now, even though I don't have anywhere to be for another hour) and overall not being productive. Reading counts as productive, right? I haven't turned on the tv since I have been here.
3. Speaking of reading, so I have book club on Monday and hadn't started the book yet. I put it on hold at the library, but there are like 50 holds before me, so I'll never get it in time for book club. Soooo, I have visited Barnes and Noble a couple of times in the past week, grabbed the book ($25, c'mon!) and read for an hour here and there in the cafe, before returning it to its shelf. My friend that worked at Barnes and Noble said that if I return it to it's shelf, they don't really care that much. It is a little bit like stealing though. We are reading 'Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet'. I'm only about 100 pages in, so I'll give the review next week. It is about the Japanese Internment camp stuff that happened here in Seattle.
4. So I lied a little bit earlier (stealing and lying all in one blog, man)I said I haven't watched the tv since I have been here...which is technically true. I have been watching a few shows on my computer though. I checked out Cupid...which has been cancelled, but I enjoyed. And Samantha Who? I've never watched it before...but it's like all the side characters from other shows I have loved...Suki from Gilmore Girls, one of the sisters from Related, and Barry Watson from the show What About Brian (you could also say 7th Heaven, though I never was into that show)...so I am enjoying Samantha Who?
5. What's my last point? I don't know...and I'm too lazy to think of something. Have a great weekend/week. Later....E
1. 4th of July was great. Had a few different options, and really didn't know where I was going to end up when I left the house. I made some delicious brownies (from the barefoot contessa) and figured I could bring them wherever I showed up. I decided I would meet up with Darby and Friends out on their boat, for a little while and then go meet some other people. Well, I got to the park where D&F (Darby and Friends) were...and had to kayak out to the boat (good thing I forgot, and left the brownies sitting in the car). Well, it was so nice out on the water and the company was delightful (and there was promise of good food to come), I never made it off the boat...we went over NEAR Lake Union (close enough to have a great view of the fireworks, far enough to not get stuck in boat traffic after the show)...the fireworks were awesome...some really cool ones that I've never seen before. And yeah...some delicious BBQ with all the sides. Mmmm.
2. I've been doing a lot of deck sitting and reading since I have been housesitting and it has been super nice out. I've been doing a bit of gardening (well, more like watering, and picking raspberries and tomatoes...don't know if that constitiutes gardening), watering plants, feeding a cat...it's kind of fun having a house to stay at. Though I find myself being really lazy (like how I REALLY don't feel like writing up the blog right now, even though I don't have anywhere to be for another hour) and overall not being productive. Reading counts as productive, right? I haven't turned on the tv since I have been here.
3. Speaking of reading, so I have book club on Monday and hadn't started the book yet. I put it on hold at the library, but there are like 50 holds before me, so I'll never get it in time for book club. Soooo, I have visited Barnes and Noble a couple of times in the past week, grabbed the book ($25, c'mon!) and read for an hour here and there in the cafe, before returning it to its shelf. My friend that worked at Barnes and Noble said that if I return it to it's shelf, they don't really care that much. It is a little bit like stealing though. We are reading 'Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet'. I'm only about 100 pages in, so I'll give the review next week. It is about the Japanese Internment camp stuff that happened here in Seattle.
4. So I lied a little bit earlier (stealing and lying all in one blog, man)I said I haven't watched the tv since I have been here...which is technically true. I have been watching a few shows on my computer though. I checked out Cupid...which has been cancelled, but I enjoyed. And Samantha Who? I've never watched it before...but it's like all the side characters from other shows I have loved...Suki from Gilmore Girls, one of the sisters from Related, and Barry Watson from the show What About Brian (you could also say 7th Heaven, though I never was into that show)...so I am enjoying Samantha Who?
5. What's my last point? I don't know...and I'm too lazy to think of something. Have a great weekend/week. Later....E
Friday, July 3, 2009
Happy 3rd of July
I am currently sitting outside, lounging in the sun with a beer, overlooking the lovely Puget Sound, and figured I should probably get the ol Friday Five up....I'm housesitting. Love it.
1. Last Sunday I visited my good pal that lives out in Snoqualmie Ridge...we were planning on going for a nice little hike in the sunshine. Every time I drive over there (okay, it had only been twice before Sunday), I feel like I am on I-90 for forever. I always think 'man, how does she do this commute into the city everyday?!' And everytime, I take the exit and am blown away by the view she lives with. The mountains and trees...amazing. Not to mention the adorable neighborhood feel, and the fact that they have a house with a yard...and she has a garden going on with all kinds of fun things to look at and pick to eat. Plus, we left her back door, walked to a trail and wandered along, finding a gorgeous view of Snoqualmie Falls and the Lodge (and scary bear warning signs!). Maybe life outside the city isn't so bad. And a bit of a commute for that view...probably worth it. I'm a fan...in fact, I am heading back out there this afternoon.
2. Ohhh, Treat Receipts. Have you visited a Starbucks this week? If you have, then likely you are familiar with the "Treat Receipt". If not...let me tell you. If you buy anything (drink, food, merchandise, etc) before 2pm, you get a sunshiney bright yellow receipt. You then return to any Starbucks location AFTER 2pm, and can pick ANY iced grande beverage- for $2! What a steal. You can get extra shots, flavors, soy milk, smoothies, frappacinos...for just $2. As you can imagine, as the clock strikes 2pm, there is a mad rush to the store...and everyone wants that drink they never allow themselves to buy. Fraps for days. And people are totally into the new Strawberry Banana Smoothies (I still prefer the Orange-Mango)...but then people want to add matcha powder to their smoothies or they want only half a banana, or they want soy milk and no protein powder. Sigh...though, I have to say- educating people on the first day, in the morning, ABOUT the treat receipts was MUCH worse than the actual chaos of making the drinks. It's almost fun to see how we work as a team to get everything out in a timely fashion. I work with a great team...for sure.
3. Went to the Seattle Art Museum on Thursday (first Thursday of the month is free...woo)...I haven't been to SAM in...I can't even remember the last time. And after being so immersed in art in Paris, I was really looking forward to going. And I gotta say...not overly impressed. I think it was more one of the current exhibits that annoyed me. Target Practice: Painting Under Attack: "an international, historical survey of the attacks that painting endured in the years following World War II. For the artists in the show, painting had become a trap, and they devised numerous ways to escape the conventions and break the traditions that had been passed down to them over hundreds of years. This phenomenon occurred in all parts of the world, and the exhibition documents why artists felt compelled to shoot, rip, tear, burn, erase, nail, unzip and deconstruct painting in order to usher in a new way of thinking." I get that they were feeling the need to break out of the conformity that had been passed down, that's fine. I just didn't enjoy destruction as a form of art. It just seems so angry...which is certainly an emotion that needs to be expressed...I just don't like it. Andy Warhol had a piece where people in his studio urinated on metal. And that was the art. No, peeing is not art. To me. Totally my opinion. Didn't enjoy it. And I am not super into the modern art, random stuff...I went to the modern art museum in Paris and while it was random..and perhaps interesting...I just don't find much of it to be ART. I was so annoyed at the big, purple ballon art dog that was up at Versailles...it totally took away from the place.
4. Same day, I met up with a couple friends for the free evening at the EMP (Experience the Music Project, for you non-Seattleites). They only do the first Thursday free thing from 5-8pm. We got there about 5:30 and wandered a little. There was a band playing, and people were gathered around the Michael Jackson jacket and glove (ohhh, the sequins!) After wandering for a little while, we decided to check out the temporary Jim Henson exhibit. Found ourselves in a huge line...should have gone there immediately. Not to worry, while we waited they had the Motown anniversary show where the Jackson 5 reunited...and Michael moonwalked across the giant screen. It was sweet. And really kind of sad. What in the world happened to him?! Anyway, we finally made it into the Sci Fi Museum part (the EMP and SCi Fi museum are combined now, and Jim Henson is in the Sci Fi half)...that was an interesting area. Hmmm. And then, another twenty minutes later we made it into the exhibit, which was really cool. Everything was done in really bright colors, there were furry walls, and they had the actual original muppets- kermit, bert, ernie, etc. Funny how I never thought of them as being such simple puppets when I watched them on tv. If you have some time before the exhibit leaves, I would recommend checking it out...really fun and nostalgic. Side note...the Liguid Lounge- the bar that is upstairs at the EMP- the only place I ever used a fake ID, so I could get in to see John Mayer for the first time- GONE. Closed. And the restaurant- gone...claims to be a cafe, but is really just a coffee stand and some seating. Very sad.
5. After the EMP, my pals and I made a dinner stop at Serious Pie...Tom Douglas' pizza restaurant. I know I have blogged about Serious Pie before. I just feel the need to discuss again. I decided to try a totally random pizza...with ingredients I would never think to not only put on a pizza, but really to use in a recipe at all. My pizza had porcini muchrooms (I'm not fancy enough to distinguish one mushroom from another in my cooking), soft egg (like a soft boiled egg) and wood violet (yeah, greens with flowers...huh)...and it was super delicious. But really, the highlight was the apricot and walnut cannoli...oh man. I'm not really a big cannoli person. There is a place in Boston (Mike's) and a place in West Seattle (that has them shipped from Mike's in Boston) with cannoli I like, other than that...not so into it. But I have a new favorite. It was sooo yummy. Go have some.
And that's it from me. Have a fantastic 4th of July weekend...PLEASE be safe with the fireworks- they STRESS ME OUT! Yay for America. Until next week....
1. Last Sunday I visited my good pal that lives out in Snoqualmie Ridge...we were planning on going for a nice little hike in the sunshine. Every time I drive over there (okay, it had only been twice before Sunday), I feel like I am on I-90 for forever. I always think 'man, how does she do this commute into the city everyday?!' And everytime, I take the exit and am blown away by the view she lives with. The mountains and trees...amazing. Not to mention the adorable neighborhood feel, and the fact that they have a house with a yard...and she has a garden going on with all kinds of fun things to look at and pick to eat. Plus, we left her back door, walked to a trail and wandered along, finding a gorgeous view of Snoqualmie Falls and the Lodge (and scary bear warning signs!). Maybe life outside the city isn't so bad. And a bit of a commute for that view...probably worth it. I'm a fan...in fact, I am heading back out there this afternoon.
2. Ohhh, Treat Receipts. Have you visited a Starbucks this week? If you have, then likely you are familiar with the "Treat Receipt". If not...let me tell you. If you buy anything (drink, food, merchandise, etc) before 2pm, you get a sunshiney bright yellow receipt. You then return to any Starbucks location AFTER 2pm, and can pick ANY iced grande beverage- for $2! What a steal. You can get extra shots, flavors, soy milk, smoothies, frappacinos...for just $2. As you can imagine, as the clock strikes 2pm, there is a mad rush to the store...and everyone wants that drink they never allow themselves to buy. Fraps for days. And people are totally into the new Strawberry Banana Smoothies (I still prefer the Orange-Mango)...but then people want to add matcha powder to their smoothies or they want only half a banana, or they want soy milk and no protein powder. Sigh...though, I have to say- educating people on the first day, in the morning, ABOUT the treat receipts was MUCH worse than the actual chaos of making the drinks. It's almost fun to see how we work as a team to get everything out in a timely fashion. I work with a great team...for sure.
3. Went to the Seattle Art Museum on Thursday (first Thursday of the month is free...woo)...I haven't been to SAM in...I can't even remember the last time. And after being so immersed in art in Paris, I was really looking forward to going. And I gotta say...not overly impressed. I think it was more one of the current exhibits that annoyed me. Target Practice: Painting Under Attack: "an international, historical survey of the attacks that painting endured in the years following World War II. For the artists in the show, painting had become a trap, and they devised numerous ways to escape the conventions and break the traditions that had been passed down to them over hundreds of years. This phenomenon occurred in all parts of the world, and the exhibition documents why artists felt compelled to shoot, rip, tear, burn, erase, nail, unzip and deconstruct painting in order to usher in a new way of thinking." I get that they were feeling the need to break out of the conformity that had been passed down, that's fine. I just didn't enjoy destruction as a form of art. It just seems so angry...which is certainly an emotion that needs to be expressed...I just don't like it. Andy Warhol had a piece where people in his studio urinated on metal. And that was the art. No, peeing is not art. To me. Totally my opinion. Didn't enjoy it. And I am not super into the modern art, random stuff...I went to the modern art museum in Paris and while it was random..and perhaps interesting...I just don't find much of it to be ART. I was so annoyed at the big, purple ballon art dog that was up at Versailles...it totally took away from the place.
4. Same day, I met up with a couple friends for the free evening at the EMP (Experience the Music Project, for you non-Seattleites). They only do the first Thursday free thing from 5-8pm. We got there about 5:30 and wandered a little. There was a band playing, and people were gathered around the Michael Jackson jacket and glove (ohhh, the sequins!) After wandering for a little while, we decided to check out the temporary Jim Henson exhibit. Found ourselves in a huge line...should have gone there immediately. Not to worry, while we waited they had the Motown anniversary show where the Jackson 5 reunited...and Michael moonwalked across the giant screen. It was sweet. And really kind of sad. What in the world happened to him?! Anyway, we finally made it into the Sci Fi Museum part (the EMP and SCi Fi museum are combined now, and Jim Henson is in the Sci Fi half)...that was an interesting area. Hmmm. And then, another twenty minutes later we made it into the exhibit, which was really cool. Everything was done in really bright colors, there were furry walls, and they had the actual original muppets- kermit, bert, ernie, etc. Funny how I never thought of them as being such simple puppets when I watched them on tv. If you have some time before the exhibit leaves, I would recommend checking it out...really fun and nostalgic. Side note...the Liguid Lounge- the bar that is upstairs at the EMP- the only place I ever used a fake ID, so I could get in to see John Mayer for the first time- GONE. Closed. And the restaurant- gone...claims to be a cafe, but is really just a coffee stand and some seating. Very sad.
5. After the EMP, my pals and I made a dinner stop at Serious Pie...Tom Douglas' pizza restaurant. I know I have blogged about Serious Pie before. I just feel the need to discuss again. I decided to try a totally random pizza...with ingredients I would never think to not only put on a pizza, but really to use in a recipe at all. My pizza had porcini muchrooms (I'm not fancy enough to distinguish one mushroom from another in my cooking), soft egg (like a soft boiled egg) and wood violet (yeah, greens with flowers...huh)...and it was super delicious. But really, the highlight was the apricot and walnut cannoli...oh man. I'm not really a big cannoli person. There is a place in Boston (Mike's) and a place in West Seattle (that has them shipped from Mike's in Boston) with cannoli I like, other than that...not so into it. But I have a new favorite. It was sooo yummy. Go have some.
And that's it from me. Have a fantastic 4th of July weekend...PLEASE be safe with the fireworks- they STRESS ME OUT! Yay for America. Until next week....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)