Rainy Day Lunch Getaway

Day two of no sleep. I may have been unaffected yesterday, but I am definitely feeling it today. All I want is warmth, something warm to drink and comfort food. For lunch today, there was no way I was going to the gym in the pouring rain - much less with how my body was beginning to feel. There are times when you’re tired and a good workout is all you need to get amped back up. Today was not that kind of day. I was beyond the levels of pulling myself back with a mere endorphin rush. I decided to sneak out of the office for the only thing that sounded good to me. Chili and a baked potato from Wendy’s. Think what you will, this sounded like the perfect cozy time meal. Because there were meetings going on in the office all day I knew I didn’t want to be eating my lunch in the office but I also didn’t want to spend an hour sitting inside of a Wendy’s either. I opted for a short drive down to the marina and ate my lunch in the car (it was pouring down rain) while enjoying the blue herons and the trains coming and going. Even on a bleak and dreary day, there is something refreshing about being by the water. After work, I picked up Mack and we headed to the grocery store for all the fixens to make homemade chicken vegetable soup. I knew that making the soup would take way too long to actually eat it for dinner so we also snagged a frozen thin crust pizza. I let Mack choose = cheese pizza, big surprise here, right? Mack really likes working in the kitchen with us and because we rarely buy frozen pizza, Mack was really confused by how little there was to do. After it was all said and done, he told me that because dad was gone, he would need to “roller” the pizza (aka use the pizza cutter) for me because that was a boy job. He’s already standing in as the man of the house :) Look at all those veggies! I’m hoping this soup will get me through Thursday!

The First of the Last 10 Weeks

After a great start to the week on Monday, Tuesday was a little pathetic. I am such a pansy when Nick is out of town. I like to think that I’m really independent and can do just about everything on my own. My circadian rhythm knows the truth! I can’t sleep a wink when Nick is gone. Monday I went to bed feeling tired from a productive day both at work and at home but I woke up shortly after midnight and was unable to get myself back to sleep the rest of the night. I hate restless nights - “should I get up and do something? I’m wide awake, I could clean! No, I should try to sleep” - two hours later - “Seriously? I should do something. Read? Watch tv?” - and so it continued up until my alarm went off, not so much waking me up as it was signaling the end to the possibility of sleep. Surprisingly, I made it through the day with little consequence. I do have to say, that for how much I’ve looked forward to starting Italian again, our first class was pretty lame. We have a new student (she took the first two quarters more than a year ago) and my professor spent the entire two hours of our class showing her how to use the website and online classroom. Less than awesome. However, I am looking forward to the group that’s taking the class. It ended up being all girls, but a very diverse and interesting group we are! I have one woman who is a teacher in Snohomishl her daughter is currently living in Italy teaching English as part of her Master’s program internship. We have another girl, who is a little younger than me, who is from France and speaks about five languages. We also have two girls that are college aged. The new lady is middle-aged and I guess the reason for the delay in her taking the class until now was…..she had a baby! Then there’s me! For there only being six people in the class, that’s quite the spectrum! I suppose that’s community college for ya. Here’s hoping the next class is more exciting

Coconut Pineapple Curry

A fabulous Monday! Yes, they can exist! Before leaving for work, I prepped the crock pot with two frozen chicken breasts, half a can (don’t judge the can) of sliced pineapple, half a carton of coconut milk, and ¼ cup of brown sugar. I topped it off with a little bit of Bombay Curry - a staple of mine from Market Spice - and a little salt and pepper. I left the crock pot on “low” all day in hopes of coming home to some tasty Coconut Pineapple Curry Chicken. The day was a bit of a blur, it’s been rather busy lately but luckily office meetings at work meant that I got to pick up lunches for our guests. I naturally, and probably rather selfishly, chose Crusty Tasty for some yummy sandwiches and pasta salad. No pictures to share - I gobbled that bad boy right up! After work I picked up Mack. We immediately went home and changed into outdoors clothes. I popped some frozen veggies into the crock pot, stirred a little, and turned it up to “high.” I also started the rice cooker and crossed my Mackenzie and I took the doggies for a quick walk through the neighborhood while the veggies incorporated themselves in with the curry. We returned to the lovely smell of coconut and curry goodness.

While Mack was watching his beloved Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in preparation for bedtime, I did a little yoga/weights/stretching routine. I incorporated aspects from my prenatal yoga class (including the block, leg swing) and also some poses from this sequence. I did minimal weights: Using 5 lb weights I did a combination of bicep curls, tricep lifts, full arm extensions, and overhead press - 15 of each. Not much, but it got the blood flowing and worked out a few kinks in my shoulders. I am really having a problem with my right hip, so I’m focusing on poses that are “hip openers.” However, after doing this routine, I was in so much pain I could barely stand on my right leg let alone do the stretches to work anything out. I ended up going to bed with a thick slathering of Village Naturals Muscle Therapy lotion on my lower back and hip. This stuff is better than icy hot and it melts away any muscle tension, pinches, etc. I keep it in the house at all times.

Here’s to a good night’s sleep and a happy Tuesday! Italian starts tomorrow!

Dessert Dash Results

The results are in! I don’t yet have the final numbers for Friday’s Auction - but I do have the results from the dessert dash. The highest bid cake went for $700 and the dash as a whole raised $8,359 (last year raise, $6,600.00 - I must have gotten that $12,000 number from the Cocoon House auction which is much more funded) Here are just a few of the beautiful cakes for your viewing pleasure:

A big thank you to everyone who donated, helped pick up/drop off, and everyone who was there bidding! $$ raised supports Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County

http://www.dvs-snoco.org/index

Past and Present

Compared to yesterday, we were off to a whiz-bang start on Sunday morning. Nick was up at 4am. Mack and I got up at 6:30 - watched a little cartoons in bed - Mack brought us cereal how cute is that?! Around seven, the sun was coming up over the mountains and I was itching to get outside. Mack and I worked in the yard for a little bit - each of us with our respective hot chocolate and cappuccino :) It turned a little chilly and Mack told me was ready to go inside for some soup! Of course, because everyone wants “curly noodle” (AKA Progresso’s Chicken Noodle) soup at 8:30 in the morning! After soup, we headed out on our grand adventure to pick up my dad and go to Seattle for the day. Now, I don’t need a “reason” to go to Pike Place ever. BUT, I had a secret mission for my trip and that was to go to the Panama Hotel’s Tea Room. I just finished reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and I really wanted to go see the place that kick started the idea for this novel. The Panama Hotel served as a storage place for several Japanese families that were sent to internment camps during WWII. That stuff was just sitting in the boarded up hotel until 1986 when the new buyer uncovered all of it. That’s more than 40 years that these things were there and no one knew, eerily - no one ever returned to claim these items either. I’m sure that most people assumed that the items had been destroyed. At any rate, the woman that bought the hotel has preserved all of those items, even going so far as to create a tea room to display several of the items in. The women, Jan, sounds like a very interesting woman based on what I read in this article. Our first stop, however, was the Market. After loading up on fruit rolls, raspberry bear claws, a copy of the Financial Times, and a bouquet of tulips, we were ready to head into the International District. During the time that the book takes place, there was no ID, just China Town and Nihomanchi - Japan Town. Now of course, there are Vietnamese, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, even Slavic and Mexican shops in the ID. Our first stop was to Uwajimaya for some staples like seeing the fish in the tanks, picking up some pocky, rice candy and wasabi peas, and looking at all the beautiful dishes. Our next stop was to Viet-Wah. This store is on the other side of the freeway from what I would call the “American-ized” ID. On this side of the freeway, nothing is in English and you had better know what it is you are looking for because there won’t be any sort of indication to help you should you get lost or confused. I’ve been to this store several times with my dad. They have an amazing pharmacy - complete with a relic of a medicine man. He sits behind the counter with apothecary drawers full of herbal supplements, resembling very much a yard waste bin. He also has a very large book in which he looks up his remedies. I can’t get enough of that. My dad has been coming here for years to get a special type of ginseng and for bee pollen “shooters.” Our final stop was to the Tea Room. When we got there, I was surprised just how packed the place was. After ordering a glass of White Peony Tea, we sat down and took in our surroundings. Turns out, the owner was there giving a tour - to about 20 people - and that’s why it was so crowded. I have to say I was a little bummed to A) not be on the tour and B) not have the place more to ourselves. This just means that I’ll need to go back. I did manage to snag a few pictures, including one of the original wall paper which is still exposed at the top half of the walls, a photo of a layout of the old Nihomanchi District, and my dad got a picture of Mack enjoying the ritual that surrounds lose leaf tea. Back in the car, we realized we were pretty hungry and decided to head out to Alki for some lunch. Mack kept calling it dinner, which I suppose is fair given that he had breakfast at 6:30 and lunch at 8:30. No trip to Alki would be complete without a walk on the sand (even if it is drizzly and grey) and the chasing a few seagulls, ahem, pigeons. After the long drive back home, we settled in to watch a movie and make some popcorn. Look who made popcorn all by himself! And a majority of it landed in the bowl! All in all, it was a great day. Ready for Monday!

Ukranian Eggs!

Saturday was a lazy day - especially for Mackenzie. That little bugger slept in until 10:40. I think between staying up late for swimming on Thursday night, and our somewhat late night (for him) on Friday - his little body was just exhausted. Luckily for me, this meant that I got to sleep in a little myself. Nick was insane and got up at 6! After I woke up around 7:30, Nick decided to go for a run with, drumroll please…. Tucker! That little fatty is doomed to get his exercise in! Even if we have to drag him along on the leash :) While Nick was out running (he came back and swapped Tucker for Muffin so that he could do his long loop to Grand Ave and back) I did a little yoga on demand. I really like the Namaste Yoga that I recorded from DirectTv. My only complaint is that you get really into the sequence and then BAM blaring load commercial. They always offer a great workout - and even though they are only thirty min (less any commercials) they sure do pack a punch! Once Mackenzie finally got up, we had a light breakfast and then hit the road for my number one goal for the weekend of purchasing the crib set for baby Bowsher’s room. Success! We were in and out of Just for Kids in no time. Although, I have to admit that I did try on a pair of roller blades - every pregnant lady needs a pair of those right? Unfortunately, those were way too big, for even my swollen pregnancy feet. Next up, we were off to the beach house to do Ukranian Eggs. Nick’s family has done this over the years but this was my first time doing an egg. Mack was still super out of it and he lay/slept on the couch the entire time we were there. We finished up our eggs for the most part, except Nick’s mom was going to use lighter fluid of all things to remove the remaining wax and to polish the eggs. We’ll get to pick up our eggs later in the week. The rest of our Saturday was pretty lazy. Once we were home we just lounged around with Mackenzie who was a real bump on a log. I think all the sitting around wore me out! I ended up taking a nap around 6:30 and never really got up again. I did watch a movie with Nick though after he got Mack to bed. Poor Nick! Here it is his last day at home and we’re all super exciting!

Rebecca Black has Ruined Fridays

It’s Friday, Friday - gotta get down on Friday! Ha, literally had that stuck in my head all day - from the moment I told Mack “It’s Friday!” See why annoying, simple lyrics are so catching? Today was a busy day of work. I was helping a lady at a school district (not Everett) who stepped into a job that wasn’t being done very well prior to her working there, and now she was trying to clean up a mess caused by the previous employee. Why does this sound familiar? At any rate, I was glad to be able to help her and get her the info she needed right away, even if that meant that my own projects are moving along at a snail’s pace. It was also a busy day of cakes being dropped off here at my office and then me delivering them over to Comcast Arena for the auction tonight. I love seeing all the creative things people can do with CAKE. I wish I was that talented. I’m not a very good baker. I think I’m a pretty decent cook but when it comes to baking, I always mess things up. In another lifetime, I’d love to go to classes and the whole gambit. It was such a sunny day that I was thinking it’d be nice to go for a walk by the river after work. I was also thinking it’d be fun to cook up the tempeh I had bought at the co-op on Thursday during my lunch break. Nick however, had VERY different plans in mind. When I mentioned going for a walk he actually laughed at me and said “you can only see out of your building in one direction, wait til you get outside.” Outside, I looked to the East and there were black storm clouds rolling in over Everett. I much preferred my “view to the West” which was nothing but blue skies and sunshine. Ignorance really is bliss. I had no idea that storm had been brewing. Here I was with the door open, enjoying the fresh air and the birds chirping. As rain was falling just a few blocks away. Nick also had plans for dinner which were just about as opposite to tempeh as you can get. He wanted steak. Luckily, once steak is mentioned, I’m on board - no need to convince me! We hopped on over to QFC and picked up three big steaks in a family pack - which was buy one get one free! Yay six steaks! While Nick was picking out the steaks I happened to notice there was a big seafood sale. I decided to splurge on some Dungeness crab! Then while I was waiting in line for my crab, Nick noticed there was a wine tasting going on. We ended spending about 40 min at QFC. I picked up a bottle of Fre, which is a non-alcoholic Cabernet Sauvignon. We’ve bought a bottle of this once before and I knew I liked it. I don’t think it’s something I should be having on a regular basis, but steak and crab without red wine is just wrong. Gary had picked up Mack from school early (after helping me deliver cakes to the arena - thanks Gary!) and they were already at the house busy playing. When Nick and I arrived home, we all got busy in the kitchen. Mack helped me make Brussels sprouts with butter and garlic, Nick used his awesome indoor grill (Christmas present!) and I started some water to boil for the crab. Nothing was done at the same time. We had a meal in courses, steak first, then Brussels sprouts, and then crab - wine throughout. Carrot cake for dessert. My mom had made a carrot cake for the dessert dash and had made a tiny, loaf sized cake just for me. She knows it’s my favorite. I was nice enough to share my dessert with everyone. What a great meal! Because we had spent about two hours eating, it was Mack’s bedtime before we could even believe it. Movie time for mom and dad!