Pages

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone had a great day!  :)


Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Weirdness

I've had the weirdest couple days lately.  I've just sort of been in a weird mood and not really feeling too good either.  I don't necessarily feel like I'm getting sick, I just don't feel *right*.  My tummy decided to revolt yesterday and was sending me conflicting messages.  "You're really hungry, you should eat something."  ... "On second thought, you may need to throw up.  Just so you know."  I solved this dilemma by not eating anything.  Which is not good.  I know.  I KNOW.  But I saw no other way around it really.  I had 4 cups of tea and a nap.  Then was up until 4 this morning.  Woot.  I of course then slept for a while today, my tummy was only slightly better this afternoon.  This evening though I ate a (small) part of the homemade chicken parmesan we made.  It was delicious.  I look forward to eating the rest of it tomorrow.  :)  Apparently it's not just me that's been "off" lately, a friend of mine who works for the city said things in the office have been strange too the last two days.  I guess there was a coyote wandering our streets this morning, which I'm convinced is a werewolf, lol.  Anyone else having this weirdness, bizarre happenings, not-quite-rightness?  Do share.

On the plus side, I did get a call today to go in and work tomorrow.  AND I get to bake.  For a friend of mine's catering company.  Let's just back that up a second.  I'm going to be PAID to BAKE all day.  Score.  Downside?  I have to be there at 7 a.m.  And I don't really know where I'm going.  Eek.  I'm sure I'll find it....it just might take me some extra time.  Extra time.  Before 7 a.m.  Yeah.  Tomorrow should be an interesting day, lol.  Cause we all know how I feel about getting up in the mornings from my previous post.  It's not that I don't like being up early, I just like sleep more.  :D  I think my peak hours of productivity are from midnight to maybe 7 in the morning.  Yeah...not many jobs with those hours.  None that are legal that I'd want to do anyway LOL.  ;)

So we'll see how that goes.  I'll be sure to let you know.  And I'll actually try to take some photos so I have something different to post.  Maybe it will snow again and I can have lovely snow-covered scenery photos for you.  Anyway, that's all for me today, seeing as I have to get to bed soon!  Have a great day folks!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Restricted Phone Calls and Men Who Blog

I hate one and love the other.  Can you guess which is which?

I will start with the one I hate.  Which, if you guessed restricted phone calls, you would be correct.  I especially hate them when they WAKE ME UP.  *grumbles*  Why do you feel the need to call me at 8 in the morning from a number I can't see and 1) expect me to answer the phone, and 2) be polite about it?  I know, 8 a.m. is not early for most of you.  In fact, I know a lot of you have been up at least a couple hours by then.  I applaud you.  I do, really.  If I had a reason to be, I'd probably be up that early too, but I don't.  I have a big ol' slice of lazy that compels me to lay in bed until even I think that I'm a lazy bum and I need to at least go brush my teeth.  (Judge if you like, I'm applying all over town and haven't gotten a bite yet.  If you happen to be in the need for a cute and charming secretary or site admin though, I'm in the market and totally available.)

So anyway, I get woken up this morning to my phone ringing, and I'll admit I got excited because I thought it was Curves calling to offer me a job, but alas, it was not.  There was a big, fat RESTRICTED up on my screen, which I refuse to answer.  I have like, one, friend with a restricted number, and granted she lives on the east coast, so it would have been like 10 there, but if she wanted to talk to me, she'd have left a voice mail.  This anonymous caller did not.  Fine.  I didn't want to talk to you anyway.  That would be why I hit "ignore" on the screen.  So thbbbbpt.  (That's the tongue sticking out noise, in case you were wondering.)

On to the one that I love.  Men who blog.  I thought they didn't exist.  They were like the Unicorn.  Everyone talked about them, but no one ever really saw one.  A myth.  Turns out I was wrong.  And I'm SO glad I was.  I've stumbled onto a few lately, thanks to the other lovely ladies I know in the blog world.
I'm not sure what it is.  I think it's just the male brain that makes things so much funnier to me.  Which would probably also explain why I always have so many guy friends in my life.  I think it's just their way with words.  I dunno.  It's a mystery to me.  A very funny, very entertaining mystery.  And I love love love that these guys blog.
I've only got a few on my blogroll so far, but I'm looking forward to finding more.  They are all hilarious, and I would highly recommend that you check them out.

The Self-Deprechan - who I actually found first a little while ago.  Makes me giggle.  And I adore that he calls his wife Babyboo.
Travis @ I like to Fish... - whom I found through Daffy's blog
Ed @ Ed's Spooky Pages - whom I found through Travis...
and last but certainly not least...
Greg @ Telling Dad - just found him today.  He joined in our Monday Mingle for this week, and I have to say it.is.hilarious.  Do yourself a favor and go watch it.

Monday, October 26, 2009

The Cusp

I think I'm approaching it.  The cusp.  The edge.  The point of no return.

What I am talking about is that point in which it takes a better part of my day/afternoon/night to catch up, read, and comment on all the blogs I follow.  And then go to write a post of my own.  I think I'm getting near Critical Mass of followed blogs, so that if I find many more I will just be continually behind in reading.  STOP BEING SO AMUSING PEOPLE!  STOP IT!  Well, don't stop it.  I truly enjoy reading all the blogs I follow, I mean, why would I follow if I didn't, right?  I just find more and more and more...it's like a never-ending sea of amazingness out there in blogland and although I am trying my best to swim, I think I might be drowning, lol.  Clearly, it is time to build a raft.

(I just want you all to know I blame Jennepper @ Maybe If You Just Relax for my addiction.  She was my gateway blog.  Curses Jen!  Curses for making me belly laugh every time I read a post!)

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Monday Mingle!

Yeah!  Monday Mingle on time this week.  Woot!  Monday Mingle is brought to you by Jen @ Eighty MPH Mom.  Go check her out!

I still have it password protected, password is still: misadventure.  Getting better...who knows maybe next week I'll get one on time and without distractions!  Yeah...that nice clicking in the background...that's the dryer.  I was doing laundry.  lol ;)


Monday Mingle Oct. 26th, 2009 from Lauren on Vimeo.

Website I mentioned in the video: Click to Give @ The Breast Cancer Site
ALSO, which I did not mention but just found, Traylor Papers, in addition to doing their awesome FREE personalized notecard promo, has cards not only in support of breast cancer, but some that are eco-friendly, support world peace moments, etc. Go check them out! (PS - I already got and LURVE my free notecards!!!)


Next weeks questions if you care to join (and you know you want to!):
1. Tell us a joke!
2. How old are you?  We are all friends here - we won't tell!
3. Do you like to dance? Are you a good dancer?
4. What were you for Halloween? Your kids?  Do you do anything special for Halloween?
5. What was your favorite subject in school?  Subject you hated?
6. Get someone else to do a Mingle! 

Food, jeans, and plates

Fairly uneventful day today.  Went grocery shopping for the week, so that was fun.  I'm actually excited for this week's menu...I think it's going to be a good one.  We've got a lot of Italian-style things...minus my famous fish tacos.  Man I love those.  I could eat those every day.  If you've never had a fish taco...for goodness sakes GO HAVE ONE!  Your life will never be the same.  In the best possible way.  Promise.

I just wanted to say a big hello and thank you to my new followers!  It's SO exciting to me to come to my little bloggy dashboard and see that number grow.  It's actually kind of amazing to me, because I don't think I'm that exciting, lol.  But it's good, I have pressure to write more than the "oh I don't have anything to say today" type of post.  You guys make me want to step it up, and that's good.  I really appreciate each and every one of you!

I did have a little moment of goodwill today that was nice.  There are very few stores in our mall, but one of them - Vanity - was doing a clothing drive collecting old jeans to use as housing insulation.  100,000 pairs of jeans will insulate around 200 homes.  Pretty freakin' sweet huh?  And they were taking any form - shorts, pants, ripped, grungy, nothing was turned away.  Being a painter, I have a *lot* of paint pants, and I usually wear them until I rip a huge hole in the butt or crotch.  Then I usually patch them, and wear them a little longer...until I'm really forced into retiring them.  I actually wore one pair so thin that if I held them up to a window I could see through them.  No joke.  Anyway, I hate throwing out clothes more than anything, and so then I just have piles of ripped, paint-y jeans in my closet that are unwearable.  So to hear that Vanity was collecting them was awesome for me.  I donated to them 6 pairs of jeans, and in return got 6 coupons for 25% off new one from their store.  Now I am all about coupons.  Especially for pants, cause I'm forever short of good jeans that fit me.  However, Vanity is not a....shall we say....full figure friendly store.  I can't actually shop there because they don't carry my size.  So I've been toting these coupons around in my purse for a couple weeks, trying to find someone to give them to.  Today, I was shopping in Claire's (next door to Vanity) for a headband for my Halloween costume and I had an idea.  The manager of the store is a really sweet gal I would guess in her early 30s, built similarly to myself.  After chatting with her while I was in the store, I said, "You know, I donated all these jeans and have coupons that I'm not going to use.  Would you maybe have some customers that would like them?  Otherwise they'll just go waste."  She was delighted!  I was so glad.  The customer base at Claire's is such that *someone* who shops there is bound to want them.  Yay!  I helped out and made a friend, bonus!  :)

Ooo!  And while I was in town today, I picked up the plate I made at Biggest Loser night last Tuesday.  It turned out really cute, I'll have to take pics and post them.  :)  Cause I'm 5 years old and have the "look what I did!" syndrome, lol.  I don't even remember if I mentioned Biggest Loser night....if I didn't, sorry! That'll be a different post.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Craftiness eludes me

Excellent day today!  Top notch.  I actually woke up before my alarm, and was AWAKE!  Like, really awake.  Like ready to tackle the day awake.  Amazing right?  I know!  I was shocked too!  Sorted through some craft stuff today and tried to work on some chunky pages, but my muse isn't back from vacation yet.  I did, however, stay up until 3 the night before making a new blog header.  I spent like 5 hours on it, and it's awesome.  I'm excited.  I'm going to wait until after the holiday season to put it up.  I should have a background done soon too.  :)  I'm digitally inspired, but I'm working on becoming craftily inspired.  I have till December, so I've got some time.  Isn't it funny how you get those bursts of creativity?  There are sometimes I can craft all day long and be totally excited and inspired and know EXACTLY what I want and how to do it, and other times.....it's like pulling teeth to get anything done.  Now is one of those times.  I'm hoping my muse will come home soon.  I think she's just confused and probably a little lost...I have moved a lot since the last time I really did anything crafty.  And if she's anything like me, she's probably just a little directionally challenged.  I actually wish I was doing Halloween crafts...I have SO much cute Halloween stuff I can make, but October is just slipping through my fingers, and it's already time to focus on Thanksgiving, and OHMIGOSH Christmas!  I have some great little Christmas presents I'm working on....  and they require some scavenger hunting, which is always the fun part.  My style of gift is making or finding something really super personal, like inside-joke kind of personal.  I'm on the lookout right now for a men's large cowboy-style button-up, preferably yellow with pearl button snaps.  Odd, yes.  So if you happen to find one at your local Goodwill for a dollar or something, I'm in the market, lol.


Um.....nothing much else today I think.  Just trying to sort things out.  Grocery shopping tomorrow for the week.  Yay!  And on Monday I *should* find out if I have a job.  I feel good about this one.  and it's only part time, so I'd still have time to either find another job and/or focus on my art.  This is especially good if/when I get accepted to AISF and start doing online classes.  I'm hoping to get all that squared away here very soon.


Yeah, I think that's all today.  I hope everyone else has had a great weekend!  

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Just some blog farts

I feel like there's been a lot I wanted to say and no cohesive way for it all to go together.  That said, as I type this it will probably make NO sense whatsoever, and I'll probably only be able to think of like two of the million things.

First off, I wanted to post this picture for Alexis to show her I'm in the same place with my laundry situation.  Take a gander...


Judge if you want, but I'm going through my entire life right now because I have to pack a lot of it away.  This is how I sort.  Throw it all on the bed, and work your way back down.  *sigh*  Oh for my own place again...

I feel like there's really been a lot of love floating around the blogosphere lately, and it totally makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.  I found this sudden influx of emotion really timely, since I also have been feeling extremely thankful for my online friends recently.  I've been kinda down the last week, and seeing all this positive energy going around has been super helpful.  Not really sure what's got me in the dumps lately, but I suspect it's like my friend Jess said, I've had so much happen to me in the last year that I haven't even had time to stop and process it all.  So now I'm "processing," which apparently includes a lot of tears and wanting to sleep.  I don't want to be in this phase very long, so I'm trying to slowly force myself to get out and do things, get at least ONE thing accomplished every day.  And I've been going to the gym the last few days too, which has been a good way to get out all the ickies.  Sweat out the sad!  lol.  That said, I'm SO thankful to have you guys that come through and take the time to read and say hi.  It really means the world.  :)  Just know that I love and appreciate every one of you!  *muah!*

On a slightly related segway...with all that working out I've been doing, I actually lost a pound this week!  I am tickled by this.  Sure, it's just one pound.  But it's a start.  A good start.  I'm excited to not only get my moods back on track, but get my health and body in line too.  I've really been kickin' my own butt at the gym the last couple days, and it feels really good.  It's the dumbest thing ever, but I always picture the Biggest Losers and how hard they push themselves.  I figure if someone almost three times my size can workout for 4 hours a day, I can certainly push myself hard for an hour.  Right?  Right.

Also, when I was in town yesterday, I stopped by to visit one of my friends who works at the newspaper.  They just so happened to have a monstrous overstock of some books, so I grabbed some figuring I could give them away to someone who wants them.  :)  The books are North Dakota Wildlife, Wyoming's Historic Forts,  and The Complete Paddler, which is a kayaking guide for the Missouri river.  I realize they might not be the most exciting books, but I thought someone might like them or want them for a gift.  If you're interested, I have one copy each the wildlife and historic forts books, and two copies of the kayaking book.  I'm just going to do a first come first serve for this one.  If you'd like one, two, or all three of them, just let me know which one(s) you're interested in.  I was also thinking I might stop back in tomorrow and grab some more (they literally had tons), so if there's a large interest I can certainly oblige.  Here are what they look like:









So yeah, just let me know if you'd like them.  :)

I think that's all I got for now... I'm sure as soon as I post this I'll think of five more things.  Anyway, that's all I got for right now, so I'll catch you all later!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Mid-week Mingle...cause I'm late

So after stopping by and watching Mrs. Fish's Monday Mingle, and then hopping over to Jen @ Eighty MPH Mom and watch a couple others, I decided it looked like fun.  I know, you're saying, "But Lauren, it's not Monday!"  And yes, you would be correct.  But you can post anytime during the week, and dangit I'm posting!  lol.  Anyway, a couple things about the video:
- I'm still kinda sketch about letting every Joe Schmoe on the street see everything I do, so it's password protected.  Password is: misadventure
- The "still" they chose for the image when the video is not playing is probably the MOST unflattering ever.  Working out how to change that...in the mean time, don't laugh too hard.
- It's kinda long...cause I'm a talker.  So you may want to settle in.  Like for 15 minutes.
- I ramble.  And pause.  I was/am actually kinda nervous about it.  Cause I'm a dork like that.  Please be kind to me in the comments, lol.  :)  Plzkthx!



Monday Mingle for Oct 19, 2009 from Lauren on Vimeo.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Dear Blogroll

I know you have a hard job.  I mean, you keep track of everyone for me and tell me the newest and greatest (or not so greatest) things in their lives.  That's a lot of responsibility.  I get it.  I understand.  I would be nowhere without you.  So please, do not think you are under-appreciated.

That said, I've been noticing you're kinda dropping the ball lately.  Posts that I know for absolute fact were posted at least a day ago are just showing up.  Sometimes, they don't show up at all, and then when I wander over to said person's blog, I find that I'm behind a month's worth of posts.  Or, and this is the one that always scares me the most, you tell me I am not following any blogs at all.  This last stunt usually sends me into a fit, because I am only human and cannot remember the address of all the gazillion blogs that I have on my list.  And woe if I am never to find them again!

Why are you acting out blogroll?  Is it something I've done?  Have I not treated you right?  Ignored you?  I thought I was giving you plenty of attention, checking usually multiple times a day.  Maybe that's it, you think I just take for granted you will always be there?  Please don't think that blogroll.  I count on you to be 100% to make up what I lack in memory so that I can keep up with all my bloggy friends in the world.  When you start being snarky like this and I miss so much it starts to me feel like A Bad Friend because I don't keep up.

All I'm asking is that you step it up a bit.  Just tell me what's the what in a timely manner.  Ok?  I don't think that's so much to ask for.  I mean, that IS your job.  So please, for me, can we just try to stay on top of things a little more?  That would really be much appreciated.

Love,
An Addicted Blogger

Free Notecard!

I found this offer over at A Chocolate Lover's Confessions.  Check it out!

Traylor Paper is offering a Free Personalized Notecard.

To enter: 


"Send us an email to VIP@traylorpapers.com with your name & address and we'll send you a free customized card with your name. Tell us your favorite colors and/or style (i.e., whimsical, classic, girly, etc.) and we'll try to make you a match ;) BONUS: post this offer on your blog or wall, send us a link and we'll send you a few extra! Good thru 10/28/09!"

Nifty eh?  Just thought I'd pass the word.  :)

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Sunday dinner

So today Mom and I went grocery shopping.  We sat down and made out a menu for the week, which is new and will hopefully continue to be a trend.  So today's dish was roasted chicken, carrots, brussels sprouts (for mom and I...dad won't touch them), and mashed potatoes.





This is our chicken.  It was given to us by some folks...all home-grown and organic.  Yummy.  It was a fairly simple recipe, which we found here.  It's supposedly a Julia Child recipe.  The reader reviews were really good, but we decided it could be a little more flavorful.  We'll probably try a different one next time.  Though to be fair, it was juicy, and the sauce that you're supposed to make with it did add a lot of flavor.






These are the carrots I made with the sweet rainbow carrots I bought at Pike Place Market.  (Yes, I brought back food.  I am a foodie.  It's what I do.)  The recipe I used was Robert Irvine's vichy carrots, found here, and they were really good.  SO simple.  I had to simmer them a little longer than I thought, but I think that's because I added too much liquid, thus making it take longer to reduce into a sauce.  If you want a quick, easy way to do carrots, I'd totally recommend this.




Here are my Brussels sprouts...and as you can see, I burned them a little this time, lol.  I was concerned, but much to my surprise they were still delicious.  All I did was steam them and then fry them in butter.  And yes, I LOVE these.  Love.  I could eat them every day.  I'm THAT weird kid.



This is my cat....coming to see what all the yummy smells were about....



And she was NOT amused when I offered her a little Brussels sprout.



This I actually made a couple days ago.  It's chocolate and orange gemelli pasta (that I picked up at Pikes as well) with a vanilla creme anglaise (that I made from scratch...yes sir) and bananas and blueberries.  The anglaise was a little thin, but it's pretty tasty!  And super filling.  We still have leftovers.

I feel like there was a lot more I was going to post about today, but I think I'm just going to leave it with the food post and write whatever I was going to write tomorrow.  :)

Friday, October 16, 2009

Day Three: Zoo, EMP, SFM, PSC, and dinner with Bloggy Friend!

Alrighty. The Last Day. The culmination. The Busiest Day Ever.
For those of you reading the title and going, "So, um, that's a lot of letters..." all those letters stand for:
EMP - Experience Music Project
SFM - Science Fiction Museum
PSC - Pacific Science Center
Zoo - Um...the zoo...
And I think the bloggy friend bit is pretty clear too. :)

Well, we got up and started the day at Cyndy's House of Pancakes, which was pretty good. I had some excellent potato pancakes. After a good breakfast, we headed to the Zoo. It's a nice zoo, and we had a good time, and I have lots of photos of lots of critters, so here are a few selections.

The ever-popular flamingo. I'm convinced that every zoo has flamingos at the entrance, lol. I've been to three zoos and all of them have flamingos right inside the gate. Maybe it's zoo code for "Look, we're exotic!"

Giant spiderweb in the Discovery Loop at the zoo. This is probably my worst nightmare. And I really *don't* want to see the spider that sits in that web. NO thank you.
Turtle shells in the Discovery Loop. Not real ones of course, but still fun. I think this might have been the hardest I laughed all day. Who knew being a turtle could be so much fun?

A really pretty momma giraffe. She was like...10 feet in front of me. It was amazing. Her baby was next to her, but kept wandering away before I could get a picture.

And the King himself. Clearly proud of himself. And well he should be, he's a gorgeous lion.

After the zoo we headed over to the City Center, which holds all three of the EMP, SFM, and PSC. First stop, the EMP. This was the thing I was most excited about. I've heard really great things from folks who have gone, and I was really wanting to go. The others didn't really find it interesting, so I wound up going through all three by myself so I wasn't holding them back and also wasn't rushed. Let me just say, I really enjoyed it and could totally spend another day going through. The EMP has so much information and stories, I could sit in the story room all day listening to all the little personal recounts by all these amazing influential people. Not a whole heck of a lot to take pictures of though, but here are a few.

This is the guitar Jimi Hendrix played the Star Spangled Banner on at Woodstock in 1969. Awesome huh? There was a whole exhibit just for Jimi Hendrix which was all pretty cool.

There was this little display of Michael Jackson's infamous black jacket and white sequined glove.

This was a really freaking awesome sculpture in the middle of the EMP that stretched through two stories. This photo is from the top looking down. It has over 700 instruments, forty of which were custom made. It's really kinda phenomenal.

Right off the EMP is the SFM. It was really awesome and totally nerdy. I enjoyed every minute of it. I actually took a lot of photos of books and things that I want to read or look into (nerd!), but here are some things I think anyone can appreciate.

I'm not a trekkie, but even I was kind impressed with the famous Chair.

Le Zombie. A French (surprise!) publication about zombies (double surprise!). No real significance here, just kinda made me laugh. :) Oh, and this is way back from the 1940s.

R2D2! I love this little guy. I mean really, who knew that a sidekick who only spoke in beeps and clicks could be so charming and funny? (Pre Wall-E, of course.)

A Klingon mask. Again, I'm no trekkie, but I thought some folks might think it's neat.

Yoda! I heart Yoda. My favorite character ever he is.

After a couple hours exploring the previous venues, I wandered on over to the PSC. I was actually really excited about this, because they had an animation exhibit by Cartoon Network, and I am a nerd for animation. Nerd as in I want it to be my job.

This is one of only a few pictures I took at the animation exhibit for a couple reasons. It was really geared as a kids exhibit which is not really good for picture-taking. Most of it was hands-on (and freaking awesome....once I waited for all the kids to get out of the way. And yes, I did wait in line behind 5 year olds, just in case anyone was wondering) and these hands-on exhibits were kinda not really picture worthy. Fun, but nothing really to look at, you know? And the other big reason, it's a kids exhibit. There are TONS of kids. I don't want to look like a creeper. LOL. I felt creepy enough waiting my turn to make a stop motion cel.

After that I went upstairs to a Chris Jordan exhibit, which was really mind blowing. Unfortunately photos weren't allowed, so I was a good patron and put my camera in my purse. (And FYI, girl with disposable camera, I saw you taking pictures with your FLAH of the printed artwork. One, they told you no and it's on an honesty system. That is not honest. Two, flash photography causes quicker deterioration of artwork. Boo on you.) But if you guys are interested at all, please go check out his website. The exhibit I saw was Running the Numbers, and it totally blew my mind.

After those I wandered over to a place that had some general fun science exhibits. Also full of children. Man, I'm not that old, but I felt like a big ol' dork wandering around and playing with all these kid exhibits by myself, lol. It was fun though. I don't regret it a bit.

This is a tree that is 626 years old. Pretty freaking amazing. And I can fit inside of that with plenty of room to spare.

The automated dino exhibit. I didn't know when I walked into it that they were automated, and lets just say I got quite a surprise to walk in and find that not only looking at me, but bending down to take a closer peek. Yikes.

Then there was a bug exhibit. I didn't really want to take pictures of bugs, I mean I see them enough on a daily basis. But this guy was a GIANT praying mantis that moved. And I like praying mantises (?) so you know, ok. Picture time.

Then we were all off to have dinner with bloggy friend Alexis! We went to the Outback Steakhouse that was right near our hotel. She and her two adorable boys drove over to see us and it was awesome! She's even more awesome in person than you'd think, lol. We had a great time, even though it was brief. I'm so glad we had the chance to get together though! Next visit Alexis promises dinner at her house, which I totally accept! Can't wait!

A group shot of all of us (sans Grandma) that the waitress kindly took.

Me and Alexis. We kinda look alike, no? :)

As you can see, we had a pretty full agenda! All in all, it was a really great trip, we had a lot of fun, and I can't wait to go visit again!

Phew! That wore me right out! Well, now I guess I'm back to Real Life posts. Not nearly as exciting, but c'est la vie. :) Until next time!

PS - I just read through this post to check for errors, and deleted FIVE extraneous "lols." I have a problem. Someone smack me. Sheesh.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Widget

The Space Needle - Or, Lots of Pictures of Buildings

Alrighty! So, we've arrived at day two. We honestly didn't do a whole lot on this day. We slept until 10:30 (to make up for the 7 a.m. wakeup the day before) and by the time we finally got ready and rolling and decided on a place to eat it was noon. Since Dennis and Grandma are Russian, we sought out Piroshky, Piroshky in Pike Place for....well, piroshkies....for our brunch/lunch.

There was a line out the door, but it was fast and delicious. I started my day with a potato, onion, and cheese piroshky followed by a chocolate hazelnut creme pastry. I wound up saving the pastry for later, but it was equally delicious as my dessert for dinner.

Our original plan was to get to the zoo today, but by the time we got there it was almost 3 and Moe didn't want to rush through. (They closed at 5, which I thought was plenty of time, but it's her trip, so I didn't argue. Much. Mwaha.) Anywho, so we decided to just go to the Space Needle. On the way over I called to find out prices and times, and they told me about the City Pass. I'm sure for those of you that live in bigger cities are aware of things like this, and I eventually talked Moe and Dennis into buying them too (cause I sure wanted one!). What it is is a booklet you buy that has tickets for admission to six of the city's biggest attractions. We had already went to the aquarium, but everything else we could totally use. And it got us two passes to the needle, so we went up once during the day and then went up again at night (cause hey, why not?). So here are a couple daytime photos. Yeah, I took a lot more but they're all similar. You know, buildings. Grass. Water. Lather, rinse, repeat. So I just posted a couple of the ones I really liked. Also, I would like to take the time right now to point out that we travel up these giant structures and then take pictures of things on the ground. Ironic, no? Yeah, I thought so too. Anyway, pictures:





After our afternoon visit to the needle, we played some bumper cars and laser tag (I lost, but it was WAY fun. I totally recommend it.) and then headed out to the Alki Crab Co. for dinner. A-mazing. I had the daily special which was fresh caught Dungeness crab (pulled in that morning!) and a large caesar salad. Crab is definitely my favorite seafood ever, and this crab was phenomenal. Yum. I took the following photo as the sun was setting outside the restaurant. As you can see we were across the inlet from where we were before.

Aaaaand, back to the needle for our nighttime visit. I again have lots and lots of photos of little tiny lights, so here is one of the inlet we crossed again from the restaurant and then one of the needle itself framed by the EMP and the sign that I love that's for the EMP and SFM.


That pretty much sums up day two. Yeah, we didn't really do a whole lot that day, but it was fun just kind of milling around. Stay tuned for the last chapter of our trip! Day Three: The Zoo, EMP, SFM, and dinner with Alexis! :D

Also, thanks so much Lex for posting about us today!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

My baby is here! ...oh yeah, and some trip pics too.

It's here! It's really here! *dances around in a fit of joy and happiness* My new MacBook Pro arrived this afternoon, and.... I. Adore. It. I've only been playing with it for a couple hours and already I'm impressed. It's so pretty. And fast. And smart. And has a nice big screen. I haven't actually seen what my blog layout really looks like in months (i.e. April), and I forgot how much I liked it! lol. I'm beyond excited to see what sorts of fun and exciting things I can do with new baby. I still have to get used to it a bit, but I think it's going to be an easy transition. I'm actually kinda stoked that I have a webcam again, because maybe I can do a vlog every once and a while now too. :) And wouldn't that be fun?

But to christen my laptop, I'm going to do post about our first day in Seattle. Cause you know, that's kinda the most exciting thing I've done lately.

So... just to give you guys some background. My friend (Moe) and her hubby (Dennis) needed to go to the Russian consulate to renew Dennis' passport. Dennis' Grandma is visiting from Russia, and doesn't speak much English, but decides she would like to come with us. I would like to just say that this seemed really weird to me at first, since she was basically just along for the ride, but truth be told I had a fabulous time with her. We are both masters of mimesis, lol, which was our means of communication, and would have little silent conversations while friend and hubby were wandering. My car is also not a large car, so we were cozy, but not too cramped. And I managed to fit all of our luggage in the trunk, which I feel was a feat in itself. We had a long day of driving, leaving home around 2 and getting in to Seattle at our hotel around 11 local time. Seeing as how the consulate is only open from 9 to 12 in the mornings, we all went to bed so we could get up early and get stuff done.
We all got up, got ourselves together, and left the hotel around 8:30, making it to the consulate (after driving around and finding a place to park) at 9:15. I had brought a book with me, thinking I was going to be in for a long wait, but as it turns out they got up there, got the papers filled out right away, and were done with the whole purpose of our trip in about 20 minutes. Sweet. So we basically have 4 days to do whatever we want now...woot! Well, we were hungry, so the first thing we did was look up food near where we were. Luckily, Moe has a GPS, which probably made our trip possible, since the roads of Seattle are a hot mess. (A note: I adore Seattle. I do. It's one of my favorite places. HOWEVER, the roadways really are a hot mess. Sorry dudes.) We wound up at the Hurricane Cafe. Which looked like this:



And actually, we almost reconsidered our choice, just cause it looked a little less than respectable at first. But, we stuck it out, and they actually had a really great staff and the food was excellent. Your standard diner fare, but it was done well.
After that adventure, we went down to Pike Place Market (of course). I love the market. If I lived in Seattle I would shop there all the time. The folks are great, the produce is SO fresh, and it's just FUN. I went hunting out this amazing comic book store that my friends showed me the last time I was there, and after running past it approximately a mil
lion times, I found it and was in geek heaven. In my adventure to find it again, I wound up in the Brewpub (of course) to ask for directions, beer selections, and a bathroom. I was greeted by a lovely man who was more than helpful, and had a great conversation about all the comic book goodies and how that was definitely so nerdy that neither of us would certainly never go there. ;)
After tooling around the market for a while, we went out toward the piers, and I suggested we go to the aquarium. Good. Choice. I heart the aquarium. I was most excited because they have a touch pool, where a spent a good bit of my time poking starfish and amusing a fellow named Mike who was such a great sport to put up with all of my never-ending questions.







I literally took hundreds of photos, but these were some that I liked. And I think I'm done with day one stories today. And just because, I'm going to leave you with this little gem:



You're welcome.

Stay tuned for Day Two: The Space Needle! (aka Lots of Pictures of Buildings in the Day and Night!)

Monday, October 12, 2009

Foiled by Columbus

Hello all!
Well, I'm back home after a successful and fun-packed (not just filled...PACKED) weekend in the great city of Seattle. I *promise* I will post pics ASAP, as soon as I get my new baby. And I put promise in little astrix, so you know I mean it. I was going to even wait to update, but I figured I'd just do a short post at least and tell you all that I'm home safe and sound. Because I know how much you care. ;) I probably would have said baby if today wasn't a holiday, but since it was Columbus Day and the postal service has the day off, my new arrival is still sitting in Alaska. (For real, I checked the tracking number. Cause I'm impatient like that.) And really, I'm just too lazy to upload my photos to this pc, then clear them off, and then put them back on a new one. Easier just to wait and do it in one fell swoop, lol. BUT, I will say I have some great photos, and great stories that will be coming very soon, so stay tuned! :D

Oh, and PS - A big thank you to those of you that voted in my poll! That was really super helpful to me. Always good to know what kinds of things people are wanting. :)

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

....YES!

I am SO EXCITED right now! This afternoon I placed an order for a NEW COMPUTER! *does a happy dance* I've been using my parents' spare laptop for the last 5 months because my old one finally hit the crapper. It was very sad. I loved my old laptop. Really I did. It was a Sony Viao and it served me very well the last 4 years - she has been missed for sure. I would also like to say that for the last 21 years of my life, since my very first computer, I have been a Windows user. The laptop I just ordered? The new MacBook Pro. And I couldn't be more exited. After years and years of my friends telling me a zillion reasons why I should switch, they've convinced me. I'll be sure to let you guys know how I like it. :D OH I CAN'T WAIT!

But you know what's going to make my waiting easier? A trip to Seattle! As of tomorrow I will be out of town with my friends on a road trip to Seattle. The best part? They're paying my way to go! My friends actually have buisness there, and their car broke down last week. They offered to pay my way if I would drive them there, and I said of course! It's going to be fun. As an added bonus, I get to see my bloggy friend Alexis as well! So here's looking forward to a great trip! You can bet there will be pictures and posts a-plenty when I get home. :)

Oh yes...lots of excitement over here for me today. But right now, I have to get back to packing! Have a good night blogland!

Friday, October 2, 2009

Poll

Hey all!
This is just a quick little post to ask you to please vote in the poll I just put up on the top right of my blog. I'm thinking about opening and Etsy store and I'm a little overwhelmed with options. What sort of things would you like to see? And if none of the ones I have up there tickle your fancy, please leave a suggestion in the comments! (And this includes ideas other than craft options as well!) Thank ya!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Awards? I haz dem. :)

So, as I mentioned in my previous post, Alexis being the dear that she is, nominated me (and a ton of other really awesome bloggers) for several awards! This made me probably more excited than it should have, lol. I mean, it's just a blog, right? ...right?... Ah, who am I kidding. I adore my blog because it does keep me sane, and I've met (read: stumbled upon) so many amazing bloggers since I really got going that it boggles my mind. You guys are awesome. So, without further ado, let me begin with the showing off and handing out of the shinyness...

First off we have
My Comments Rock Award - Pass along to your awesome commenters!

This award goes to:
A Blonde Duck @ A Duck in Her Pond
Cybeel @ Scarlett's Walk
Teresa @ Too Many Heartbeats
Jess @ This Theatre Life...
Sarah @ Paper Tree
The Redheaded Riter
and all of the lovely ladies from SITS who always stop by to say hello!
(Alexis you know if you hadn't given it to me I'd give it to you too!)

Then

1. Put the logo on your blog/post.
2. Nominate up to 9 blogs which make you feel comfy or warm inside.
3. Be sure to link your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have been nominated by commenting on their blog.
5. Remember to link to the person from whom you received your award.

Alright! Warm and cozy? These gals got it. :)

Melissa @ OperationNICE
Secret Agent L
Sarah @ Paper Tree
April @ April Showers
Mrs. Fish @ One Fish, Two Fish...
Clueless Mama @ Guessing All the Way


Then
JennyMac made it so she can create the rules ... LOL Here it goes: I give good blog award: No one really likes rules, do they? I shall make mine simple. Make a cocktail, pick out some of your favorite bloggers. Send this award to 4 of them. Tell them why you think they give good blog. There are SO many fascinating, witty, and fantastic bloggers; let's invite them all to the party.

The Fab Four I picked for this award are:
Sassy Girl @ Hot Piece of Sass
Hillbilly Duhn
Daffy @ BATCRAP CRAZY
Jennepper @ Maybe if You Just Relax

Then
Dragon Loyalty Award - Pass this award on to those dedicated followers

This goes to all 18 of my lovely followers! Thanks for sticking with me. You. Are. Awesome. So all of you please grab this award next time you swing by. :D

and finally
This award was given to me by both Alexis @ Running Away? I'll Help You Pack, and Daffy @ BATCRAP CRAZY. Thank you ladies! I feel so honored. :) If you guys weren't the ones to give it to me, I'd have you on the list too. You guys rock!

The Best Blog Award rules are:
1) To accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his/her blog link.
2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you have recently discovered and think are great! Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I would like to pass this award along to these lovey ladies whose blogs I enjoy:

Melissa @ OperationNICE

Secret Agent L
April @ April Showers
Cakespy
Crazy Sister @ Graze if You Want to
Killing a Fly with a Ukulele
Clueless Mama @ Guessing All the Way
Sassy Girl @ Hot Piece of Sass
Mrs. Fish @ One Fish, Two Fish...
Sarah @ Paper Tree
The Redheaded Riter
Jess @ This Theatre Life...
Jennepper @ Maybe if You Just Relax
Hillbilly Duhn
The Blonde Duck @ A Duck in Her Pond


Wow. After all that I'm pooped! LOL. I always feel like I've left someone out, not intentionally of course. Everyone who stops by, reads, or comments on my blog I appreciate very much. Thank you guys!

Until next time! :)