Ginger Beer

Like ginger ale but better!  No yeasty beer flavor so I am to assume it has as much to do with beer as root beer does currently.  Delish!  Picked up a bottle at the store and the next week purchased two four packs.  Mmm.  Seriously contemplating the juicer now so I can squeeze the life out of ginger root.  And anything else I want to juice.

Listening to the soundtrack for Ken Burns Jazz.  Awesome.  I'm so glad I watched that show years ago.  Taught me what real jazz is and that it can be more than enjoyable.

True Blood fest at Kelly's tonight.  Super fun.  She had gone to a fan event recently and picked up some neat post cards and had ordered herself some of the beverage and even a Merlotte's t-shirt! As if we were in Renard Parish, she cooked up her mom's recipe of gumbo.  Very tasty and not too spicy for wimpy ol' me.  Looking forward to many future Sunday nights in the same spirit, if with somewhat less fanfare.  Who knows?  Maybe more.  =D

Headed off to a cache event tomorrow night where I hope to be able to trade/send off my geocoin from Palma.  For some reason I feel guilty sending someone else's coin off like that but I can do what I will with my own coin, guilt free.  I was a bit bummed when I realized that marking myself online as having attended any event counted as a "found".  So I've revised my decision and I will still not log my finds of regular caches but I will attend whatever I want.  So there, brain, deal with that.

Picked up my farmer's market tomato plant today.  Been waiting for three things to happen for this to occur: me not busy on a Sunday morning, the weather isn't wretched, I'm not sick.  The stars aligned and I was able to make my purchase.  My last plant from the friendly worm farmer man and his wife produced beautiful, sweet cherry tomatoes year round on my south facing window sill.  That is, however, until a mysterious blight took the leaves by storm.  It's been about a year since I tossed the last plant (after much researching and failed attempts to bring it back) so I thought it would be time to try again.  There are blooms aplenty and several forming green fruits.  Yippee!  These things almost never make it into a salad because I pick them and eat them without leaving my view from the window where it grows.  So nummy!

I am refusing to look at the forecast and want to believe that summer is here now.  Such a nice weekend!  I even got a sunburn when I decided to eat lunch on Saturday on the roof.  Crazy.  At least (?) it was only one arm.

Saying goodbye to Chase forever this month.  I miss WAMU.  Even if they had bad lending practices.  Moving to USAA.  Customer service is ten times better.  So is the website.  Kiss it Chase!

Ciao for now.  Hopefully I don't fall into a work abyss.

Getting back to it.

Since the vacay I've been delinquent in my blogging and other duties.  Getting caught up at work seems like an impossible task most days and chores never go away, only grow.  What I have managed to do is purge my closet of winter gear for storage (just in time for the temperature dip!), print and Ikea frame 18 various vacation photos that I've taken over the years, sew a baby present (with many more to go), attend some Sounders games and try to exercise at least once a week.  Phew! I swear it is a lot.

Hit up the Cheese Festival and got cheesed out.  Didn't think that was possible.  Delish all the same.

Purchased a snake plant for the apt as they are supposed to be the best at detoxifying home air.  Every little bit helps and it looks neat.

Have been threatening to experiment with tamales.  Bought some and there they sit, waiting for the day I roast and mash them.  Hopefully I'll get around to it before they go bad.

Enjoyed a first Thursday art walk downtown and fell in love with a painting.  I tried to upload it to fb and email but no luck yet.

Went on my first night cache after this Saturay's Sounders game.  Too much fun sneaking around in the dark! Stayed on the B-G trail and got creeped out by glowing cat eyes and creepy crawlies.  Noticed a spider on my leg as I bent down to pet a kitty and promptly freaked out.  A lot.  Just before the freak-out I had mentioned the cat didn't have a collar and probably had fleas.  Kelly was quite understandably perplexed by the following spastic actions as I never got more out than, "AHHHHHHH!".  Once I had flicked off the spider I then began to imagine all the bugs I couldn't see or feel on my clothes and freaked out again, whipping of my coat, shaking it and wiping down every party of my body asking Kelly to double check.  She thought I was over-reacting to fleas still and was not understanding the severity of my case. It didn't help that every time I looked over at her pleading for assistance I blinded her with my headlamp.  It all worked out in the end.  At least I didn't see any more of the uglies.

Think I'm blogged out so I hope you enjoyed the long, long overdue updates!

Mediterranean Cruise 2010

To sum things up, it was a whirlwind, exhausting, sight-filled trip.  I wrote a bit each day in a travel journal and here are some excerpts and general thoughts on the day:

22 April
~ Waiting at SeaTac gate for adventure to begin!  It seems Eyjafjallajokull has stopped erupting long enough or bad enough to keep planes on the ground.  Should be a nice and uneventful hop across the pond!
~ Bejeweled on the pland & Top Gear - Sweet!  I remember the trips being worse.  Didn't really seem to bad.  Let's hope this continues with age.

23 April
~ Forgot about my money belt and set off the security scanner in Amsterdam airport.  My frisk search was extremely thorough.  Was a bit shocked, but I guess since the underwear bomber came through Amsterdam they are a bit careful in that area.  (Nothing too terrible, but was more of a squeegee down than a pat down.)
~ Arrived in Barcelona!  Today is St. Jordi Day, a day for lovers.  Guys are supposed to give their ladies a flower and the ladies are supposed to give their guys a book.  Crazy amount of people in the streets.  Tapas and sangria for dinner.  Mmm!  Kelly's first time to boot:

Gaudi architecture - amazing:

Purchased my Spanish souvenir, a lightweight pink and mauve scarf.

24 April

Slept in and then started the day off with bellinis:

You may also notice my favorite Spanish treat, magdalenas, accompanied by multi-vitamins and a banana.  Breakfast of champions!  Terrace of our fabulous room at the Praktik - highly recommended if you can get one of these rooms.

Next off to Gaudi park to see all the big sculptures including the wavy bench I've been wanting to go to since I learned about it studying abroad in 2000.  You can see the Sagrada Familia (perpetually under construction) in the background:

Paella for dinner and then off to the fountain show at the Fira.  With twilight coming on and colors for the fountain changing it was really neat.

25 April

~ Went to La Rambla / Las Ramblas and didn't get pick-pocketed!  And found our first Spanish cache in a telephone booth.  Lots of pet bunnies and birds for sale for some reason along the pedestrian walkway.  A few hours of wandering the gothic neighborhood of the city and then off to the cruise ship!  It is large, to be sure, but I had expected more the way everyone talks them up.  There is definitely a little bit of everything but think it is the issue of the quality goes down proportionately as the number of guests increase.  Still, a nice way to have someone drive you to another town while you sleep.

26 April

Hello Monaco.  I can see why Grace Kelly was swept away.  Beautiful!  Money from casinos really help with city beautification.  Walked into town from port and enjoyed the Jardins St. Martin.  Like the arboretum back in Seattle but with a tropical theme.  Walked all over town taking pictures of the gorgeous, ornate buildings, posh cars and general splendor.  Found one cache and Kelly managed to win a few Euro at the slots inside the Monte Carlo Casino.  Cameras had to be checked so no pics inside.

Walked to France. :)

Monte Carlo Grand Prix being set up so there were bleachers everywhere.  Kinda weird to see the city streets turned into a race track.  Ate DIVINE dark chocolate gelato here.

27 April

Port at Levorno so from port shuttle to city bus to train to Pisa and Florence.  Few!

Craziness.

Never knew Erika went to Pisa, much less broke Luca's heart by marrying Rick!

Lines were crazy long (and our time short) so we were not able to see Michelangelo's David.  But here is a pic of the sign of where he lives:

and the duomo was pretty impressive:

peek-a-boo!

It's too ginormous to fit into one picture (at least for my camera) so you'd be better off google-ing it.

Bought my Italian souvenir here, a leather coin purse like the one in the link.  Originally saw them in Germany ten years ago and fell in love with their utility and craftsmanship.  Paid a little too much for it but I love it anyway and I did attempt to haggle.  So I consider it a success. 

Crazy thunder storm on the train back to the boat.  Train stopped for at least half an hour and I'm still not sure why it was necessary.  Reminded me of a scene in a HP movie, actually.  I was half expecting a dementor to show up.

28 April

Rome.  Egads, there is stuff everywhere.  Sistine Chapel first and foremost.  Amazing.  So much cool stuff.  Then we circumnavigated Vatican City and found two caches in the walls.  Saw the Pope in St. Peter's square.  Trevi Fountain (tossed a coin as directed, to ensure a return trip to Rome), Spanish Steps, Colosseum, Circo Massimo.  

Pantheon.  Wow.

Outside, big but blech.

Inside - yowza!

29 April

Naples.  Ugly, sad city.  Don't bother visiting unless you are using it as a through point between other cities.  Got lost in train station.  Took two wrong trains.  FINALLY made it to Pompeii.  Sweet.  Uber hot and we should have opted for the tour.  Got some good pics despite ourselves.

Fruits stands sell fresh squeezed juice.  Thought a lemonade would be nice on a hot day but it was room temp, unsweetened lemon juice.  Pucker, pucker.  Should have gone for the orange.  Ah well.  Next time.

Creepy plaster cast of dead person.  Felt really intrusive and odd to take pics even though it is just a mold.

Reminds me too much of Rainier...

30 April

A sea day, thank goodness.  Totally exhausted from all the running around.  It was nice to have a day off.  We saw a show, one a trivia competition, watched a comedy spin-off of the Newlywed Game with cruise guests.  Slept.  Ate.  Chocoholic Buffet in the main dining area.  A good day.

01 May

Palma, Mallorca.  Holiday so everything was closed.  Good thing Groundspeak was celebrating geocaching's 10th birthday!  Went to the event and was able to meet some fellow international cachers and take some bugs and coins home with us.  One Mallorcan cacher had turned his vehicle into its own cache!  

I asked him why his van was so girly and he said the word for this type of vehicle has a feminine article ("la" as opposed to "el") so it could and should be girly with no affect on him what-so-ever.  Great sense of humor!

02 May

Very frustrating day.  Glad to make it to the hotel in Paris (eventually) and get the last leg of our journey on the right foot.  Problems at every step along the way from Barcelona to the steps of the hotel room door.  Gah!  Uninformative cruise ship employees leading to expensive taxi, creepy potential pick-pocket man, horrible airline ticketing agents, trapped inside a train station AND the metro, evil Parisian metro worker faking not understanding us, and I am incapable of passing through any doorway in Paris requiring a passkey.  AAAAAAAH!

Our new neighborhood is right next door to the Moulin Rouge and various Amelie shoot locations.  Sacre-Coeur is so very beautiful.

Ate at General Lafeyette and was very pleasantly surprised by the house wine.  Better by far than 90% of expensive reds I've tried in the states.  It's just not fair I tell you!  So cheap and so delicious.  The entrée (which, after I thought about it not so surprising, the appetizer and not the main course) was amazing.  Really. My meal: 31Euro got me an amazing apertif, asparagus rissoto wrapped in prosciutto with gorgonzola cream sauce, veal in a gravy with rice pilaf, crème brûlée, the amazing house red wine and several demi-baguettes.  I was bloated and oh so happy.  Took a constitutional to see the Arc de Triomphe at night and the Tour Eiffel.  At midnight the Eiffel Tower lit up with twinkle lights as opposed to it's regular, steady glow.  Awesome.

03 May

Despite being late to bed it was early to rise for the Louvre.  Able to get as close as possible to the Mona Lisa but that ended up being pretty far away, behind bullet proof glass, thirty feet and a velvet rope.

So many wonderful things to look at.  Will have to go back and spend at least a week visiting the Louvre and other museums.  Multiple days required for sure!

Notre Dame was next and after running around the city we put on our glad rags and headed out for our expensive night out at the Moulin Rouge.  

It was over the top but quite a fun experience.  Not just dancing girls and their high kicks and bare chests, but a magician, clowns, acrobats, ventriloquist, dancing girl swimming with snakes, miniature horses running around and lots of lip-syncing to the show tunes.  Wow.  A lot to adsorb.  Food was pretty good too and the half bottle of champagne, each, made all the lights and sounds that much more interesting.

04 May

Woke up with a mission: find fabulous cheese, meat and a baguette for lunch.  Took a bit longer than I anticipated (wanted quality for sure over easy tourist food) but I did it.

Kelly's lunch on top; I didn't eat everything you see.  ;)  And it was so divine.  Was in heaven for quite a while.  Only thing missing was that house wine from the General Lafeyette.

Musée d'Orsay allowed me to see one of my most favorite paintings by Renoir - Dance at the Moulin de la Galette.  Some jerk made the actual location private for residents so this was the only pic I could grab:

but I did get to stare at the painting for a good long while and dream myself into it.

As an aside, I wrote in my journal, "Does everything taste better in Paris?".  I think it does. Rhubarb tart, croissant, crème brûlée, baguette, all food.

Checked my Hungry in Paris book for a dinner suggestion and was not disappointed.  If you are ever there go to Le Mesturet.

I had (in French cuz it sounds better but I will miss some of the special characters):

Le entrée: Aubergine grillée a la tomate et au chevre frais de la fromagerie Lethielleux

Le plat de Grand-mere: Pot au feu aux trois viandes, os a moelle et légumes, fleur de sel

Le Dessert: Gateau mi-cuit au chocolat, coulis de cacao et glace cardamome

Took a stroll down the Champs-Élysées and actually went in to Louis Vuitton.  I couldn't afford the dust in that store, if it even has dust.  Crazy!

So many fabulous things in Paris I don't know if I could ever be done.  Definitely going back.

The big 3-0.

No, that is not a score against life but now my age. (Pretend this post is back in mid-April.) A bit of an underwhelming birthday I must say.  My big plans fell through :( but I was able to snag a few friends for some fondue dinner and I stuffed myself accordingly.  Always nice to get dressed up a bit and go out for a meal.  Dadders came through with an enormous Spanish cookbook (1080 Recipes by Simone and Inés Ortega) and mom has yet to deliver on the shared meal at Sea Breeze Farms.  To be fair, I got horrendously sick the Saturday we were planning to go and now we're just waiting for the weather to clear up a bit so the farm tour portion is less icky.  Lovely sing song from the sis and fam.  I think my favorite part of those phone calls is the parental coaching.  "Say happy birthday... say I love you!".  Totally precious.  The kids perform well for birthdays.  It was only the next week I was off for vacation so April treated me pretty well.

BBQ

That's right!  It's staying light later and later and the last week or so there have been several days (weekends included!) with no rain.  That's right folks, spring may finally have come to Seattle!  I have tested out several  recipes including:

grilled salad - stack slices of grilled eggplant and tomatoes (drizzled in olive oil, salt and pepper before grilling), throw in some fresh basil, perhaps your favorite cheese (mozzarella slices, feta, chevre) et voila!

chicken wings - too much lemon juice and not enough hot sauce but the recipe is totally tweakable so I'm not worried - awesome!

grilled dessert - I have learned that you can't go wrong with grilling half a peach and then while the rounded side is grilling (grill the cut side first then flip) add a dollop of goat cheese to the hole where the pit resided until nice and melty.  Fabulous with a sprinkling of pepper - yes, pepper - or granulated sugar.  Or get crazy and try a flambé with your favorite liquor.  There are a million variations for grilled fruit with some sort of topping and they are all amazing.

I'm making myself hungry, or at least salivate.

Started playing with drinks too.  Tried an interesting recipe for mojitos but I don't think the prosecco was for me.  Or the darker rum.  Will make again with silver rum and club soda.  The infused simple syrup was to die for though - could drink that straight up (almost).

Have become mildly obsessed with ginger beer.  Want to make dark & stormy drinks with it but I might like it outright.  I'm a big fan of ginger ale and think this might be fabulous like root beer.  Want to go the unfermented route so I'm not sure if it will still qualify as beer when I'm done.  Considering a juicer purchase and seltzer thingy to aid in the process.  Will update later.

Am obsessed with sold shampoo/conditioner/cleanser bars.  Initially was interested for the trip so I could minimize liquids and allow for copious sunscreen carry-on.  Have, in addition, opened the floodgates to super fun and fabulous smells for less chemically products.  Playing with Lush samples at the moment and awaiting eagerly some Arcadia Aromatics coconut shampoo and conditioner.  What I love so far about Lush:

Trichomania solid shampoo - smells fabulous (coconut) and actually works.  Super lather.
Aromarant solid and Coconut powder deodorants - work almost as good as Secret and Degree and all that but smell way better and don't stain clothes or leave white marks everywhere.
Aqua Marina face cleanser - a paste so it still counts as a travel liquid but it cleans up my face and leaves it silky smooth.
Catastrophe Cosmetic (UK site, can't find it on the US one) face mask.  Again with the silky fabulousness.  Not going to use for travel as it is a paste and needs to be stored in the fridge.  Both this and the face cleanser are nice to my sensitive skin.  I get beet red with the slightest rub on my face but these just don't cause that to happen.  Fabulous.
Buffy - shower bar that exfoliates.  The scent is strong for me (sensitive nose) but it isn't enough to stop me from using it.  The exfoliation feels like a nice back scratch and the oils moisturize so well that I don't have to put on lotion when I get out of the shower.  This is a big deal for me.  Awesome.
Alkmaar soap.  It's soap.  Works well and has a nice, mild smell.  Will get more of that.

I could take or leave their one solid conditioner.  It doesn't lather well; I end up rubbing it straight onto my hair. It does work though when you get around to applying it all over.  The smell is not my favorite but it isn't bad.  Smells more like a guys's shampoo to me.  I want the fruity/flowery stuff!

Have decided to steer clear of their liquid products for the time being.  I'm happy with my moisturizers and toner (homemade by moi).

Jazz.
Always thought I hated it.  Never knew I liked it until I saw Ken Burn's Jazz on tv years ago.  I totally had a light bulb moment where I said to myself, "Oh, that's why people like jazz."  Decided to revisit and did so via itunes.  Listening to it now and love love love it!  Perfect Sunday morning music too.  Sunny day, me doing laundry.  Can't really say why but it made the morning!  And now the evening too...

Have laid out almost all of my trip clothes and accessories.  Should fit in the bag so that is good.  Trying to find a second travel shoe in case the weather makes a turn for the worst.  I love the shoes I found but they do, afterall, have holes in the sides.  And I need some shower shoes/flip flops.  Mine are dead dead dead.  All in all, if I had to leave tomorrow I could.  :)

Was very disappointed to find that my kindle cover does NOT fit the book light that was co-advertised with it on Amazon.  In discussions with the company to get a different jacket but I doubt I'll be able to receive anything by the time I leave.  Not really keen on taking the kindle on a trip unprotected.  Will have to see what happens.

Ye olde brain is taxed so I'll call it a day.  On-wards to work tomorrow.  Blech.

Something's missing.  And I'm not sure what it is.  Other than regular blog posts, I mean.  :)  I just have this nagging feeling, all the time lately, that I'm forgetting something.

Perhaps if I make a list my brain will figure it out or at least stop thinking about it for a while.

Things I have neglected:
1. Work. Not ready for deadlines coming up due to general as well as unforeseen, rush, business.  As my boss has complete and total disregard for deadlines I'm hoping this won't be a problem.  But work is never really all tidied up and put away so...
2. Trip. I'm a little panicky over trip arrangements but can't place what it is that I don't have lined up and ready to go.  Maybe because I have not studied up on Italian or French.  But charades should get me through, right?
3. Exercise.  No make ups this session for pilates so I'm probably beating myself up for going to the Sounders game.  Holding your scarf up for the whole length of the march counts as exercise, maybe...
4. Sleep. I can't wait for the day that this is fulfilled.  I often wonder what it feels like for people that have quality, restful sleep for one whole week.  How much more productive could I be?
5. Blog.  Sorry.  But I'm working on this one right now!
6. Kite.  Still haven't flown it yet.  :(  Before March goes out like a lamb I'll have to think of something.

Things I have down:
1. Baby presents.  So far all parties have received gender appropriate gifts while the new babies are still in the helpless, immobile stage.  Check.  But now I've run out of this one ribbon and can't find it at the fabric store.  Grrr.  More babies are on the horizon so will have to copy this to my to do list.
2. Reading.  At least for book club!  I rallied and made it through all of "The Help" last week for tonight's meeting and am almost done with next month's selection "City of Falling Angels". Double check.
3. Family.  I believe I am caught up with this via blogs, fb and the occasional phone call or face to face.
4. Friends.  Successful game night achieved last night.  Agricola is no longer a big, black box of crazy pieces! Theater sports the evening before for a nice tickling of the funny bone with some people I haven't seen in a bit.  Feel like I'm doing pretty well here.
5. Lunches.  I may not have mastered the art of menu planning but thanks to Trader Joes I have inexpensive, delish lunch options that are ready in a snap and make me want to buy this book even more.  Gotta love curries.  Also want this one for some Spanish f(l)are.
6. Cleaning.  Somehow (vacuuming excluded) I have kept up with the general clutter and dirt in my apt.  I no longer have a cleaning day but scatter it throughout the week.

Ok, I have an equal list of items to berate and praise myself for.  I actually feel a little better.  Nagging feeling is still there but I don't think I'll lose any sleep over it tonight.

In other news, my weatherproof wind chimes are looking decidedly weathered.  Can't decide if I should try to polish the metal and do something to the wood or let it "go naturally".  What I'd really like is to find a non-tacky way of securing the dumb shepherd's hook it hangs on so that it doesn't bang around against the house in a wind storm.  The whole thing swings side to side and is anything but melodious when it finds the porch railing.

Lavender blooms are peaking and lily of the valley pips are are making a showing as well.  Things aren't looking as good for the dwarf lilac but I won't judge 'til June.  Can't decide if I should try (again) for a porch edible garden.  The sludge in the air that comes up from the roads outside my apt makes me want to say no.  Wish I had some nice space. {soon my pet, soon}

I have had a sore throat for about three weeks now.  Not bad enough to warrant a doc visit but annoying enough to make the day less pleasant and my cough drop/soup/tea consumption to skyrocket.  Would really like to figure out if my work place is a causative agent or if my immune system sucks this bad.  I'm ALWAYS sick.  I might as well be a toddler.  Except I get to take care of myself and not stay home every time I feel icky.  There could never be enough sick hours for that.

Going to attempt to try the inst-netflix using my wii this week.  The special disc came in the mail and I hope it works!  Fingers aren't crossed too much as I'm sure the internet connection will be as spotty for the wii as it is for the taplop.

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GREAT AND WONDERFUL why did I not know about the wonders of electrolysis before this weekend?  Had a free consultation where I basically got the first treatment free in addition to lots of info.  She must be a crack dealer on the side...  But yeah, so, it is 100x less painful than waxing and will eventually be permanent.  Wahoo!  Now I need to figure out how to use up my sugaring groupons.  By the way - if you aren't considering permanent removal - sugaring kicks ass.  Try it.  Water soluble and less painful.  Done and done.

I'm about to go ape #*&$ on the "genius bar" re my ipod schizophrenia.  If it malfunctions again there may be loss of limb for the first "genius" that tells me that it is a software issue and not a hardware issue because they can't duplicate the problem at their store.

That said I still want an iphone.  Come on 4G!  Come to Holly on another carrier - a good carrier!

All thoughts have left my brain so I think I will try to track down some Yo-Yo Ma tunes that have been eluding me on itunes.  Ciaocito y buona notte.

Birthday extravaganza!

Spent most of last weekend making momma feel special.  :)  The weather was gorgeous so we took a quick trip downtown on the bus and had a little walk.  Then we went out to lunch with some friends of mine before attending the RCRG derby.  Too much fun!  Mom remarked that it was much less violent than she remembered.  There are rules and everything - even a penalty box. She took pics and swears that she'll send some to Oma via her sis as Oma used to watch back in the day. So that was fun and we were out pretty late.  Slept in a bit the next day and then we ran off to Discovery Park for a cold, early morning picnic.  We caught the best weather of the day which soured a bit later so that was nice.  Then we ran off to REI to get her Senior Parks pass.  Lucky devil.  Lifetime pass for super cheap!  Will have to have her tag along on more trips... who says getting older isn't fabulous?

Speaking of which, my lovely little niecey-poo, Lauren, had her second birthday!  The phone call was brief and I think she wished me a happy birthday before I could even offer the greeting myself.  Too cute.  :)  Hopefully she liked the messy glittery card I sent.

Stumped.  I hate it when I wait too long to post and can't remember anything.  Let's see.  Work is really annoying.  Instruments going down left, right and center and no one has any idea what is wrong or how to fix them.  They do enjoy asking us to perform meaningless, unrelated tests and then refusing to do checks or analyses that we request of them.  Gah!  Dating again which is always amusing.  But in case there are proficient cyber stalkers out there I'll leave it at that.

Caught a head cold that has been chasing me for weeks so I've spent a lot of time at home doing nothing.  Feeling better today though so hopefully all is not lost for the weekend.  Could do with a bit less restlessness though.  I hate being sick.

Cruise planning has entered wardrobe mode.  The goal is still to fit everything I could possibly want into one carry-on bag that will see me through two weeks of European cities and a cruise ship.  Was quite successful last week (yes!  now I remember what I did on my day off) and found a bunch of cute tops and some bottoms that all go with my color scheme.  To make packing easier I have selected a palette of brown, white, purple and green.  If I can't wear it with everything else it doesn't get to go.  Ordered some travel laundry items to make wash & wear a possibility.  Found the neatest clothes line (thank you Rick Steves) that you don't need clothespins for.  And just for fun I bought a pac safe purse in a khaki color (working the browns).  They are so cool!  I keep thinking about Kate's S.Am. trip where her bag was ripped or cut to get her monies.  Granted the Med isn't S.Am. and I'm going to avoid sleeping on buses but having a purse you can't cut into makes me feel better.  Also, I can't find my money belt.  Any ideas?  Last seen in 2000...

Tried tooth powder as opposed to paste.  Incredibly salty.  Wondering if they are all like that and if it is worth it to have one tiny toothpaste tube less in my liquid bag.  So far my liquid bag is going to be sunscreen, lotion, shampoo/cond. and maybe a face wash.

I'm a-hunting the perfect pair of shoes now with a vengeance - and may have found them in a merrell.  Mesh sides are good, mostly cute and they come in purple.  Yes, I realize I'm addicted and have a problem with purple but they don't make them in brown!  I want to find a better insole for them.  My superfeet feel not scushy enough.  Yup, that's a word.  Scushiness is important.  Then I will find some of those little socks for the moisture wicking idea relayed in a previous post.  THEN I will be done with clothes and I can panic anew with how little language prep I have done.  It's only a few weeks away!!!!

Reni kisses!

Forgot to post this earlier and blogger makes me angry with formatting issues so it is easier to post separately than try to organize in the earlier post. Ignore the sound. Dad asking his daughter what she's scared of with Tia out in the paddock. Not related to sweet Reni kisses! So cute! Way better than sloppy dog kisses. :)

Busy busy weekend!

Talked to a different loan officer about possibilities for making home ownership a reality. The result was that my fears are confirmed - an apartment dwelling lass with fabulous credit, a decent wage but just a teensy bit of money for the myriad of costs required for home purchase can't even afford to live in squalor, in Everett. Now, to be truthful, I'm making it a bit more difficult for myself. I live in a 1bdrm 1bath currently but want a 2x2. Resale is better and let's face it, I have a lot of crap at mom's still. And I want a w/d and a dw and a place to hide my car a little from the elements. This equals unaffordable in the land of western Washington real estate. Blech. I haven't given up hope entirely but I'm basically to the point where I'll just have to wait a few years before this can happen. Second mortgages just don't exist anymore. Goodbye fabulous tax break. But as the loan dude said, it doesn't make sense to have a couple hundred thousand dollar mistake for $8000 break in taxes.

So then I made the mistake of trying to find a decent bathing suit to go swimming in for health. Went to a store self-billed as the best selection of suits in the state and was very disappointed by the service. Nothing like the fabulous woman and suits at Stunning Sunning in Quincy. Definitely going back there! I did find a nice suit that didn't cut in like a crazy Brazilian carnival costume and it even has tummy flattening powers. Awesome! Not that I have a big tummy or anything but I'll take whatever help I can get. The sales lady would have been a great help if she had kept her stupid comments to herself. My favorite when asking her opinion of one over another (because I should have brought a friend but didn't), "I like this one better. The other one made you look too old lady-ish". Bottom line, I walked out with a black and white, slimming, slightly conservative leg cut suit with ROSES & BOWS on it! I'm keeping the tags on and will revisit the suit in a week or so to see if it really looked that good or if I will just want to burn it. I did find two cute cover-ups though that I will definitely be keeping.

After the super sore horseback riding adventure I tortured my knees further with a night of dancing. They are quite a bit swollen and angry with me over my escapades but I like to remind myself that if I don't use them, I lose them. They are going to hurt whatever I do so I might as well not have the muscles atrophy as well. Ladies Dance Night was interesting. I met some cool people and learned some new allergies. Apparently you can be allergic to sequins. Vintage sequins don't affect her but all the new ones do. Breaks out into hives and everything. But the girl is addicted to sequins and keeps trying to come up with different layers to outfits so that sequins can still be involved! Such dedication! I do not have that. If some type of clothing article made me break into hives every time I got near it I would just steer clear. This same colorful character is also terrified of dwarfs. Seriously sends her into panic mode. This is made all the more (sadly) amusing by the fact that she is easily 5'11". Luckily there were none to be had at the bar we chose and so the evening passed without a near-dwarf-experience.

It was lesbian night and I have to say it was a lot more fun dancing with no guys. No pressure and the gaydar of gay people is pretty good so when you are a hetero you just get left alone. And then you are free to dance the night away with your friends! I am amused that the stamp you get at admission (I still don't know why they require it on one specific location of your body - for instance the inside of your right wrist only) was "queer". I was curious if it was going to be a lasting ink and maybe make things interesting at the opera today but it has all but washed off so no curious looks from that crowd later this afternoon.

The sun is blindingly bright and makes me wonder if our false spring is back for a day or so. Gotta love it! Sorry about the east coast having the exact opposite. They seem to be buried in snow every week. They will savor the summer for sure if it ever makes an appearance.

- Signing off -

A horse is a horse, of course of course!

My boss boss boss (that's three levels of bossdom) needed a body to ride her calm horse Reni while she tried to figure out her crazy horse Tia. Enter yours truly. So with much glee and camera in tow I went to meet my horse for the day, Reni.

Meet Tia

And Reni.

My ride pimped out in a synthetic endurance saddle.

I was assured this was the most comfortable saddle ever but I still wore my cycling padded butt shorts and boy am I glad! I'm still super sore and we were only out for a few hours. Stupid bony butt. Thanks mom!

There are some super trails in their neighborhood. Dedicated to horses though joggers and walkers like them too. Reni is listening to me fumble for my camera.

Coolest crosswalk, ever! Note the button up nice and high for the horse trail users:

Such a good idea! Though I still think it is a bit weird to have a horse trail that connects residential neighborhoods. There were many gawking neighbors and I kind of felt like we were on parade with the loud clip-clopping of the hooves on pavement. Reni freaked out a bit when we walked by a storm drain. Apparently he's not a fan of water, still or moving, and he did the jump and land with legs splayed thing that horses do. Luckily he just stood there for a moment listening instead of running off like a berserker. Yeah for inexperienced me!

Reni was a good "babysitter" and I arrived back in one piece though my knees, ankles, thighs, butt and back were all complaining. And for the safety conscious I was wearing a helmet for about half the trip. But it was too small and was giving me a migraine. Reni was so calm that I opted to take it off for the ride back. Next time I will have to try and find one that fits so I can be noggin proofed the whole way.

The experiment was a success. Turns out Tia is just kinda crazy. She canters in place whether she's leading, following, on a trail or off. Will require some work.

The horses needed a bit of cooling off so Emma stepped in to help out.

You can't really tell here but there is steam rising from the back of Tia like a pot that is about to boil over. So hot that she's got to have help to cool down.

First a nice, freezing shower. She wasn't a huge fan...

Next, a nice little walk around the paddock.

Momma knows what is going to happen next so a quick towel dry before...

The mud bath!

And the after picture. Dirty, but much cooler, horse.

Wonderful time! I offered my services, such as they are, any time they might be needed!

RCRG pics

Finally downloaded the pics onto my computer for your viewing enjoyment. The lighting was terrible so not too many turned out well. Here goes! First and foremost roller derby ladies (and refs) have super fabulous names, as I've already mentioned. Here is the blurry behind of one of the refs:

What you probably can't read is the butt stamp of her name, Mae Kim Beg. haha!

And here is one of the mascots, Skeletora! Her make-up looked a whole lot creepier in real life. The camera makes it look less fabulous for some reason.

Here is how they start a bout. The two in back are the jammers, the ones that can score points. Everybody else is at the other starting line, just ahead. Two whistle starts for the different start lines and they're off!

At the equivalent of half-time in the derby they did some neato stunts, like this one. He's one of the coaches I believe:

Tons of fun! There are derby leagues all over the country so check out the one nearest you!

All moved. Will see for how long.

My happiness quotient has increased significantly since the move. My mom even commented on how relaxed I looked. Love this apartment. I did forget just how crazy hot it gets though on a sunny day. Easily twenty degrees hotter than whatever the temp is outside. Nice for winter, not so nice for summer. I collected the fans from the Storage Unit o'Mom and the portable air conditioner will be close behind I'm sure.

The housing hunt, on the other hand, is sad. Getting a second opinion from a lender to see if there are any creative loan options for a wonderful girl with fabulous credit. FHA loans don't get you a whole lot. Can't even afford to look at living in squalor. Anyone want to donate to the cause? I'd pay you back! In a timely fashion even. Especially if I can nab the tax credit.

Finally got to eat seafood where they throw it all on the table and you bash it in with a wooden mallet. Brilliant!

Will have to get one of Evan's "splat mats" and try this at home. Too much fun even if the food was mediocre. I kinda look like a malicious pirate in that terrible photo. Armed and ready to plunder with a squinty eye.

I attempted to make lemon strawberry cupcakes the other day and managed to turn out a fabulous tasting lemon sponge cake with a strawberry yogurt like substance. Not even close to the mark but tasty nonetheless. Will have to attempt again, maybe this week.

Addiction to Molly Moon's ice cream is complete. I can honestly say I'm not an ice cream fan. The problem started when my friends introduced me to magic shell. Oh dear lord, how wonderful is that stuff! And ice cream is really the perfect conveyance for magic shell. So I started eating ice cream. I can now appreciate it a bit more than I have in the past but until Molly I never actually craved it. Balsamic strawberry is my undoing. I HATE strawberry flavored things. Tastes wrong because fresh strawberries are so wonderful. Imitation is common and not hard to pick out. But this is an all natural foofy place and goodness gracious it is amazing. It is to the point that I don't even use the magic shell on this ice cream because I don't want to alter the flavor at all. This is significant.

I get excited on cold, rainy days because that means the line will be shorter.

They make the waffle cones right in front of you too. That really needed to stop so in my infinite wisdom I decided a pint of ice cream would be better. Just slightly more than the waffle cone version and I can eat it in my underwear while watching a British mystery. I'm actually quite pleased with my self-restraint. I don't allow myself to use a bowl when eating said balsamic strawberry manna from heaven. The trick is to only have a spoonful at a time. Then it isn't really an addiction - like my Doritos problem where 1/2 to a full bag in a sitting is typical. So far so good. Check back in a week or so. ;)

Feb is flying by so quickly it makes my head spin. Or maybe that is just the sugar coma from my cupcake/ice cream issues. Either way it means the cruise is that much closer! All hotels have been booked and the only thing left is to plan what to do. And find appropriate, comfortable, close-toed, ventilated, supportive, cute travel shoes. It's going to happen dang it!

Favorite shoe store lady (next to favorite travel store and across from favorite cupcake shop and down the street from favorite ice cream shop - this neighborhood gets a lot of my wallet) had a brilliant idea the other day. I was whining about how all the cute, ventilated, close-toed, cute shoes that would be good for traveling have little to no arch support. And if I was going barefoot ventilation is necessary and would only stave off the foot stinkies for so long. Here was her solution: get those itty bitty socks that ladies wear with pumps that just hide beneath the surface but you put the sock on the shoe insert. Then all the nasty foot grubs and sweat get on the sock which you change out daily. And there are these little arch support bumps that you can slide in to any shoe without altering room in the toe box or heel like a lot of full inserts do. Brilliant! So I need to re-order the shoes that I just returned to Zappos (best site ever) that were oh so cute in every way but non-supportive and try this idea out!

Makes me happy when there's a light at the end of the tunnel. :)

Thinking this much about shoes for a vacation takes my mind off of all the stupid stuff going on at work. Mainly it is our temperamental equipment but there's always some office drama playing out, especially as the official last day of those "effected" by the last lay-off looms closer. Not cool. So distractions are welcome.

I am happy to report that after six months of trying, Sugs has finally accepted the new, robot litter box. Can I get a hallelujah? HALLELUJAH. Bam! Nothing better than having a happy cat and only having to change the litter box once a week.

My language skill practice is woefully behind. I got a phrase book in Italian and I think it will come in handy but I haven't tried the sure-to-be-wonderful link my travel buddy sent me. She's completed over ten lessons now. We tweeted back & forth the other day and I was scrambling for words with my limited phrase book knowledge. Reminded me of college with my worn out Spanish dictionary! By the time I have looked at Italian to my satisfaction (btw, that is an unrealistic goal) it will be too late to get the French in. Ah well. Even if I had eight years under my belt I'm sure the Parisians would still frown upon the tall, pasty white American butchering their language. So I kinda don't feel bad about not practicing beforehand.

I have pics and even one cool video from the RCRG derby a while back. Was intending to post but I'm getting sleepy and well, let's face it; I like being lazy, especially when sleep is an option.

'Night.

Soooooouper Bowl!

That would be better if I was having or making soup today. Instead it is Dorito filled fun and a buffalo steak. 'Twas on sale. Think I like the buffalo burgers more. Especially if bleu cheese is involved. And of course, moscato grapes are making another appearance as well. It's like heroin! Anyhoo, the super bowl is actually entertaining. Close game - 1 point so far. I'm voting for the underdogs, as usual, the Saints! Also because I was in their stadium once upon a time performing and I feel like that counts as only one degree of separation.

Got a fun, new toy for the kitchen - a mezzaluna. Basically a curved knife with a concave cutting board that makes mincing fresh herbs fun! It is my least favorite thing to chop and now it is fast, even and fabulous. I was especially pleased to find it with the same handle type as my knife set. Speaking of knives, I have discovered that I am wretched at sharpening them. After much crappy cutting after crappier sharpening I decided to get it done professionally. Am supposed to get it back tomorrow. I gave them just my santoku in case they aren't all they are cracked up to be. Fingers crossed!

Have changed plans. There were actually no manual Foresters to buy last weekend from my dealer and it seems like that was for a good reason. I got to thinking and decided that I should wait for a vehicle purchase and stick with what I've got for now. So the new car purchase has been delayed to make room for a possible condo purchase. Mortgage broker is running the numbers and real estate agent is on standby for loan qualification results. If I can get mutual agreement on an offer in April and close by June I can still qualify for the fabu tax credit. I'm not going to let that rule my decision. I'm not super picky so long as the resale possibilities are good. I can live anywhere with enough natural light for a few years. Here's hoping I see my 'wow' condo in the next month!

Cruise plans are still on and all flights have been booked. Wahoo! Just looking at hostels and trying to learn Italian. Bought a phrase book today and had waaaaay too much fun pretending to be Italian inside my head. Makes me want to live there so I can speak so expressively all the time. :)

Went to see a Rat City Roller Girls derby last weekend. AWESOME! Will be going back for mom's birthday (with mom in tow). So much fun and everyone is supportive of the ladies and having a great time. It was immediately clear to me that this would be a Halloween costume and that the clock is ticking for the perfect name. If I were going to be an unoriginal copycat I would be Jalapeño Business. Ha! Fabulous I tell you, fabulous.

This weekend I am waiting for the new apt to open up. I've got to find some way to prop up my bed (frame has wheels) so that the hardwoods are protected. Was thinking a rug but maybe those plastic bed lifter things would work short term.

Tried out a new breakfast place, a pancake corral. Was pretty good for diner food and is ridiculously popular. Followed that with a nice movie, Up in the Air, and then some cruise ship shopping. Trying to follow the packing for one bag theory. Decided to go with brown, white, purple and maybe magenta as colors to stick with. Actually finding some long sleeved light-weight things at Exofficio. The most fabulous travel store if you have never heard of it.

YES! The Saints won! Woo hoo!!!

Ahem, shopping. And then the mezzaluna came to me (been searching for almost a year) on sale! 40% off baby. Yeah. Good times. Followed by pho and Molly Moon's buy one get one. Goodness gracious, what is better than handmade ice cream and sorbet? By the way, order a split scoop if you get two flavors - double scoop is gi-huge-ic. And did you know they sell their divine, creamy fabulousness by the pint?!?!?! Fi dolla and heaven is yours.

And then came the purging. Of my closet anyway. Decided that if I am going to be moving twice in the near future I will be moving less stuff than last time. If I haven't worn it in over a year then it is gone! I have three bags of clothes and one trash bag + recycling of food stuffs that haven't been seen in years. Managed to hold on to a muffin mix that expired in 2002. That is just sad. And some butter flavored crisco that expired in 2007 so you can only imagine when I bought it. Eek! Followed that with some carpet cleaning (thanks for the machine, mom!) and some laziness to watch the Saints. Sugar is now inspecting the carpet cleaner's handywork after maintaining a crouched-in-the-shadows, wide-eyed stare for the entire cleaning procedure.

Didn't get to anymore sewing (those babies won't need burp cloths forever) or figure out how to come up with closing costs on any potential home purchase. In my head I get to have a crappy house instead of a slightly less crappy condo with home owner's dues. We'll see what happens.

Getting sucked into Undercover Boss so I'll have to continue this next week. Probably given you enough to read over anyway. Seems boring but random enough to make me happy. That's my life!

Busy busy busy as a bee.

Except I am my own queen to report to and I don't have attendants. Which is probably a good thing as I would like to do a bit more with my life than act as a brood mare. But I digress.

Planning a cruise to the Mediterranean this spring t

o celebrate my friend's birthday as well as my own. Going out of my twenties in style! Plane tickets are a bit of a bother but I guess it would be too good to be true to get everything we wanted at a fabulous price. Geocaches here we come!

Also attempting to buy a new car. Financing is good this month and I've had my eye on a Forester for a while now. Waiting to hear back from the internet dealer now. Hopefully because it is the end of the month they will be willing to make me a deal that I can live with happily. The whole idea just makes me want to vomit though. I feel greasy just being in the same room as a car salesman. Gah!

The other big ticket item on my agenda is moving apartments - again. My old, fabulous view, hardwood floor, dear to my heart apartment is up for lease and my manager is willing to give it to me for pretty cheap. So I'm taking her up on the deal and in two weeks should be able to run naked from my bathroom to bedroom without fear of being seen, even if I have all the blinds open. Yippee! Right now I'm on street level and it creeps me out a LOT. I don't like it when people can just glance as they are walking a long and see into your living room. But I would wither like a plant deprived of sunlight if I kept the windows/blinds closed all the time.

Went snowshoeing last weekend and it felt great! It felt great until I woke up two days later and couldn't move. Actually took Monday off because everything hurt too much. Couldn't really bend or lean over. That's the last time I try to keep up with the pace of a marathoner. Tuesday actually got worse because my hip flexor decided to flare up. I honestly couldn't pick up my own leg. Made putting pants on in the morning very interesting. My co-worker literally laughed at me all day whenever she saw me walking or trying to move in a way that previously was not an issue. NOT FUNNY! Okay, maybe a little. But your own pain isn't that hilarious. Now I'm going to have to do pilates twice a week to make up for the ones I missed and that could be my

undoing. Brutal class I tell you, brutal. But I keep going back for more - what does that say about me?

Found my "Cullen Vampire Baseball League" t-shirt and busted it out to feel geeky and giggle a little every time I thought of the fabulous, real (book version) Edward. The movies really are rubbish. So sad that it has given the books such bad press.

The teeny boppers are still buying so at least the author is doing well for herself.

I took on a sewing project for my friend's puppy. To test out the alterations I tried it out on Sugs. She kept trying to run away from me when I was putting it on her which was hilarious because the little hood it has was blinding her. Eventually I was able to fold that back and snap this pic:

After she could see again and felt resigned at being caught in the costume she lay down and just stared at me. Typical cat reaction for having something tied around their middle. Funny though!

Excited to test out my new cookbook "America's Test Kitchen Baking Book". There is a recipe in there for quick cinnamon rolls that looks delicious. On the table in less than an hour. Can't beat that! So I'm off to find powdered buttermilk. Easier to store and scored just below real buttermilk and way above soured milk. Breakfast tomorrow is going to be awesome!

Breathing bliss.

That's right, my nose and sinuses are my own again AND I can taste food. Totally awesome. Missed a week due to busy-ness but as my life isn't too terribly exciting I doubt anyone noticed.

Highlights from over a week ago... geocache galore for last weekend. Got really dirty scrambling up sandy, wet slopes but success! Found a travel coin one day and the next I helped to send it on its way to another park (its mission). More caches in new areas so I deemed the weekend a success. Am looking to get myself involved with more official geocache events so I can get coins without having to pay for them outright. There's one coming up in summer but that's a ways away yet.

Shaun of the Dead. Best zombie flick ever. In case you were wondering. :) There's a theater around here that shows older movies for cheap on the big screen with a full service menu. Too neat! You can actually order piggies in a blanket. For some reason that cracks me up!

Got tupperware back from mom. Seems when I dropped off some stuff while ill I neglected to see the nice, clean pile of borrowed dishes waiting for me on the kitchen table. So I've been scrambling since new year's to put away food without any dishes. Lots of saran wrap was involved.

Overdue work party was held. Whiny department didn't show despite my planning and RSVP efforts so that was annoying. Plus side was that I got to play Rockband at work. Always a nice way to end the week.

Every time I brag about Sugs using the new litter box she reverts to leaving the solids just outside of it. Since I'm not willing to poo on anything of hers to counter attack I think she might win this battle. But so long as I can borrow mom's carpet cleaner and the mild discolorations continue to wash out I'm not finished yet!

Xmas porch goose does not have any weights yet. The only place I have found to place it where it doesn't fall over (it really does need something to weigh the bottom down) is on top of a filing cabinet that is dented a bit on top. Which causes my mackintosh-clad tchotchke to hold a prominent place in my big picture window. The yellow slicker is visible from at least a hundred yards. Makes me giggle every time I see it when I'm walking up.

The opera strikes again! It seems I am determined to foil my evil plot to enjoy opera. The first of the season I thought it would be a good idea to eat dessert with a glass of champagne before the show. BAD idea. Was so sleepy I actually did the head bob. Music to La Traviata was amazing though. I do remember that. This time it was Il Trovatore and I was struck with food poisoning. I had hoped to have a nice, relaxing sleep in (maybe some laundry thrown in for good measure) before heading off to the show. But no. My day started at 2:30 am with some serious GI distress. I had to give myself a pep talk just to go to the show. Almost walked out before intermission but decided to stick it out and ignore the discomfort. And wouldn't you know, I wanted to die a little for approximately two hours fifty-five minutes. Literally the last five minutes my stomach takes a sigh of relief and decides to feel better. Grrr.

I am happy to report that I get to have my sleep in tomorrow thanks to the holiday. Will try to make the most of it. Maybe I'll get to some of the baby present projects finished. Finally got a hold of pinking shears to help prevent fabric disarray in the washing machine.

Ooh yes, I got a hold of a friend's copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Can't wait to finish up the original before starting in on the spoof. Supposed to be pretty good too!

Gotta love that book cover! Totally after my heart!