Pictures galore!

These are the ladies that Annie and I are spending NYE with - her sister Jen and our friends Karie and Michelle.

Tonight's dinner - Flying Pie Pizza. Yummmmmmmmmm

Annie's, Jen's, and Michelle's shoes :)

Most of the following are from the turkey dinner we made last night. For two holiday meals we got sent home with barely any leftovers, so we made our own and kept all the leftovers to ourselves.

A close up of my infamous World's Best Green Bean Casserole

Annie with the wishbone from our turkey. She's a silly goose.

Just a cute picture of a picture from our wedding, with the wine we drank last night.

Annie's plate - stuffing, taters, WBGBC, Yams, turkey, cranberry sauce. And wine.

The Wilson family cat, Pelly, in his tissue paper hiding spot at Christmas.

Yummy skin-on mashed taters from our dinner. Simple, with just butter and cream and a little salt.

Our turkey. It's not burnt, just well carmelized. I stuffed it with lemon and easy-peel tangerines and basted it with syrup. It was an experiment. Turned out pretty good, it was just the very outside that wasn't quite edible.

Annie carving the turkey

My WBGBC in its pan. I usually put it in another casserole dish for the final bake, but since I have the kind of pans that can go in the oven, I cheated. Annie burned her hand on it :(

The matching pic of Annie from the wedding.

The Cat in the Hat. This is our roommate, Shylent Cat, in the hat that I made for Annie but she didn't like so I kept for myself. No, it doesn't really fit like that, he just didn't put it all the way on.

Our pup Malakai eating a tangerine from inside the turkey.

Malakai being cute. No, that's not a muzzle on his nose. It's called a Gentle Leader.

Malakai waiting for some scraps. He didn't have to wait long.

Happy 2008!

Do you, uh, Swap?

I'm going on a new adventure and joining a Swap. I read about this one on Christina's blog, and since it's just starting I thought I'd join in. So here's my intro and wish list:

I've been crocheting on and off for several years, but the past year or so have really gotten into it. I've finished a few small things, like scarves and hats, and for this Christmas everyone in my family got dishcloths. I even did a stuffed bear - now THAT was an adventure. I'm excited about moving on to bigger things like ponchos, sweaters, afghans, etc, and trying out new yarns. You can only take so much worsted weight acrylic.

Wish List: Swap Swap Gals

Hobbies? Crocheting and other yarn-related stuff. I latch hook a little, when I'm feeling patient. I cook and love trying new recipes. Oh and I crochet. I watch way too much TV, but justify it by calling it crochet time :) And I'm a geek and spend too much time online. And did I mention crochet?

Crafts? Crochet, latch hook, knitting (I'm teaching myself, slowly but surely). If I had more time and space I would enjoy things like creating greeting cards, but scrapbooking is way too much for me. If I knew how to work my 70's era sewing machine I'd do that too :)

Favorite Colors? Purples & Greens, just about any shade. I like heathery colors too, especially dusky blues and dark reds. Not so much into pastels.

Favorite Animal? That's a tough one. I love dogs, especially puppies. Lately (ok, since Happy Feet came out) I've had a soft spot for penguins. And I've always liked big cats. Do gargoyles and faeries count as animals?

All Dislikes? Most chocolate candy (exception is below). I know, freakish. I'm not really into sweets in general. I don't like perfume much either. Or sappy romance novels. Or brussle sprouts.

Favorite Candies? The exception to my dislike for chocolate candy is Moonstruck Chocolate. When I die, bury me with a piece of Moonstruck in my mouth please. I like Pay Day bars too, and I'm game to try any non-chocolate candy. The other chocolate exception is hot cocoa. Oh, and things like Junior Mints, Peppermint Patties, etc.

Favorite Smell Goods? Vanilla and Lavender are tops, lime is very close behind. I also like spicy smells like pumpkin and chai, and coffee. Those are favorite flavors, along with smells.

Other things you may like or may not like? I'm a kid at heart sometimes. You might find me playing with play-doh or coloring in a color book. I also like brain puzzles like Sudoku and other puzzle-related things, but I'm not a fan of crossword puzzles. I like mystical things like faeries and gargoyles, and small things I can enjoy at my desk at work like desk-top zen gardens and cute magnets. I believe you can never have too much yarn, too many crochet hooks, or too many WIPs. :)

Christmas, Part II

Well, all that's left is Mom & Grandma Sally!

Christmas Eve I was able to get off work 2 hours early. Went home and relaxed for a while, listened to Christmas tunes, goofed off, made some Curry Crab Dip, and headed to Jen's for the evening. Shylent (our roommate) joined us, and Matt (Annie's brother), and eventually Tim and Darin as well. Lots of food, good company, a few gifts to open (for those who weren't going to be around Christmas day), and one very late night. We didn't get out of there til about 11, but it was still a good time.

Christmas morning I got up early (but not as early as I should have) to get showered and dressed and start making the WBGBC (if you don't know what this is, you need to start reading my blog more often!). I used fresh green beans this time, which was much more time consuming but did create a nicer texture than frozen. We ended up leaving the house nearly an hour after we intended to, but it was alright. We stopped by Jen's to pick up some presents and food to transport out to Don & Nancy's, then had to drop Matt off at Jim & Cece's house (that's Annie's Dad and step-mom). Finally out to Sandy to Don & Nancy's... almost 11am and still none of us had gotten anything to eat! But once we got there and got settled, we got some food in our tummies and were all much happier.

Then the chaos began. 7 adults and 3 children's worth of presents to unwrap - and every one of us spoiled :) Gifts of note include Phantom of the Opera tickets for Annie and I, Bright red low-top Chuck Taylors for Annie, a bunch of kitchen stuff for me (including a mandoline, silicone baking cups, and pyrex custard cups), and of course dishcloths for both Jen & Carolyn's household and Don & Nancy's :) Nope, still no pictures.

The best part was that just before we started to open presents, it started to snow. Not inches, but enough that it accumulated on the ground. We got some pictures of that, and I'll upload them later today. After all the presents we relaxed for a while and then started to get dinner ready. Delicious, as always. I was a little heavy-handed with the garlic in the WBGBC but everyone enjoyed it anyway - even Don who is not a vegetable fan!

There was sad news in our day, though not for our family. I have a dear friend, Joey, who has been my favorite boi since high school. Her step-sister, Miracle, has also been a great friend though I haven't seen her recently. Miracle's father, Joey's step-father, was found dead of a heart attack (I believe?) on Christmas morning. Miracle, who has had several rough years since we all got out of school, is not an easy person to reach and I don't even know if she's heard about her dad yet. So if you have a moment, please say a little prayer for my friends, their mental/emotional/physical health and peace for them and their families.

Hope you all had a nice holiday - thank goodness it only happens once a year!!

Christmas - half way there

Well we're about half way through the Christmas celebrations, and things are going well so far!

Saturday night we went with Jen & the Wubsters to see Maryann & Don (Annie's paternal aunt & uncle) and Grandma Holly (paternal grandmother). On the way out there, we all sang Christmas carols. Got a fine rendition of Jingle Bells from Rhionna (Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, jingles all the way! Oh what fun it is to ride in a once open sleigh, HEY!) and Santa Claus is Coming to Town from the hit group, Tootie and the Wubsters (aka all three girls). I've got recordings on my phone, so if I can figure out how I'll post them.
*UPDATE!* I did figure out how to get it from the phone to the computer. Rhi's version of Jingle Bells is here. It's late and I'm going to bed but I'll upload the other one tomorrow or Wednesday.

Maryann enjoyed her dishcloths (nope, we didn't get pictures of hers), and Annie and I will certainly enjoy the goodie bag we got from them that had a mixed bag of regular popcorn, cheese popcorn, and caramel corn, a bag of cheesy poofs, and a box of almond toffee chocolate. It was really good to see Grandma Holly, though she's not in the best health and will be starting dialysis soon (hopefully after the holidays). And Maryann made her famous (to us at least) manacotti - YUM!

Sunday morning we went to the Bridge and I spent the time trying to finish up Dad's Amigurumi Dancing Bear ala Grateful Dead. I ended up finishing it at his house before dinner, and no, we didn't get pictures of that either. Anyway, sang some Christmas carols at the Bridge (Annie was not impressed) and got to hear three amazing people talk, and best of all got a free turkey out of the deal.

Sunday afternoon we went to Do Jump! with Dad & Marcella. Think Cirque du Soleil meets a sidewalk carnival meets a toned-down version of Stomp. It was neat! Lots of gymnastics and acrobatics, juggling, dancing, etc. Very cool. We then headed to Dad's for dinner and gift exchange. Dinner was a hit as always (lamb shanks and roasted artichokes with olive oil & balsamic vinegar) and the gift exchange was great too! I think Dad liked his bear, and Marcella liked the dishcloths we gave them. I got this fabulous page-a-day calendar, a new desk fan (yay!), a beautiful Zebrawood and Maple cribbage board with brass and steel (I think?) pegs, and a new gargoyle. Annie scored with a flexible tripod and a frosted glass bowl that matches one we got as a wedding gift.

Next up is Christmas Eve at Jen's tonight, with the gang plus Shylent and Matt (Annie's brother). Appetizer potluck including Curry Crab dip (drool!!). Tomorrow we'll head out to Nancy and Don's (maternal aunt & uncle) with Jen, Carolyn and the Wubsters, which I think Shylent is also joining us for. That will be an all-day adventure with brunch, presents, relaxing, then dinner (gotta love food!). I will once again be making The World's Best Green Bean Casserole, which I highly suggest you try if you haven't yet. It's not as hard as it looks and it's delicious!

Past that, the only Christmas left is with Mom and Grandma Sally. I am so thankful that they don't fuss about whether we get together ON Christmas, or only near it. Rumor is we'll be going to Chang's Mongolian Grill for our Christmas dinner - gotta love it!!

The best things in life are simple

Annie made dinner tonight :) She doesn't cook super often, but when she does it's GOOOOD!

She bought some hunks of pork at WinCo. I wasn't so sure about them, because they didn't look like much in the package. But she bought some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, marinated them overnight, and took my advice when I suggested she cook them low (275 actually) for a few hours (I think they ended up being in there for about 3 hours). When they hit 180 we turned off the oven and let them sit until the rest of dinner (rice and some baked beans) were done.

This is what was left after we all filled our plates:

Dessert was a score from the office Christmas party and gift exchange we had today. I scored some AWESOME homemade cookies from Carol. They're the best - legendary in the office. Also pictured are some ornaments that our boss gave us. The two on the left are glass teardrop-type ornaments, and on the right is a rainbow colored mini disco ball.

I know, the pictures are crap. I took them with my cell phone. Maybe someone will buy me a point-and-shoot camera for Christmas :)

Where have I been?

Well, busy.

I've got nearly all of the gifts made that I need to have done, with still a week to go. I've started another project which of course is a gift for someone else so I can't talk about it. Suffice it to say that I've taught myself Filet Crochet, and it's not nearly as scary as I thought it would be.

We've been watching mass quantities of TV at home, too. Thank goodness for whole commercial-free seasons on DVD available from the library! Shylent and Annie have got me hooked on Grey's Anatomy (finished season 1, working on season 2), plus I've got Law & Order (season 3), House, M.D. (season 2), Frasier (season 7), South Park (season 5), and L&O SVU (seasons 1-3 and 5). Oh and I just yesterday finished season 1 of the American version of Whose Line Is it Anyway. That's some funny shit right there.

After the holiday I'll post some pictures of my Christmas Crafts, and the December installment of my Yarn of the Month Club review (better late than never, right?). Plus a couple of dishcloth patterns I've come up with.

Oh and today I got a big fat raise. I'm not supposed to tell anyone, according to my boss. But it's my raise and I'll gloat if I want to! I got a 7.5% increase, not merit-based. Plus next month is my review and I'll get my merit increase on top of it all. So HA!

Friends Christmas

(I drafted this post on the 10th but I guess I didn't get around to finishing it. Huh. Well here it is)

Last night was the Mag 7 8 Holiday Gathering. Every year, somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we get together to have dinner, exchange gifts, and swap stories about years past. This year (and last) it was hosted by Michelle & Aaron (and Tara the dog). It's a drive, but they have a really cozy home (and a fancy new wrap-around deck) and Michelle makes a mean turkey.


We all bring a dish and a beverage (I brought this amazing Green Bean Casserole and some hard cider, Annie brought Yams with a Twist and Key Lime Martinis), and a gift for our not-so-secret Secret Santa exchange. I made Karie, who has a thing for lips, a plastic canvas wall-art of lips with her initials on it. It was my first attempt at plastic canvas, and I did pretty well (so long as she doesn't take it out of the frame and see what a mess of knots the back is). Darin got me some lotion, body spray, candles, and really pretty candle holders. Annie got a book for her new Mac (The Missing Manual) and gave Tim an Amazon gift certificate and some Martini wall art.

We watched Jeff Dunham and everyone but Tim laughed their butts off. Oh and it snowed! Not enough to stick but enough to see falling from the sky. To me, that's the best part of the holidays. Sitting around with good friends, eating, laughing, and reminiscing.

For those of you unfamiliar with Our Fair City...

I submit this comprehensive article about Portland.

How could you NOT want to live here?

Weekend Re-Cap: A ~*Hoodlum*~ Adventure

Friday night ended with the threat of snow on what was supposed to be our day trip to Eugene. Why Eugene? Well because that's where you get Chocolate Milk From Chocolate Cows.

Saturday morning Annie - who had spent most of the past 48 hours in bed with a respiratory something-or-other - had to go out to Beaverton for a dentist appointment. Since she was feeling so crummy, I went with her. No snow on the ground, but while I sat in the waiting room reading Reader's Digest the flakes started falling. They built up a little, but not enough to get in a fuss over. Not even enough for the news stations to break into their regularly scheduled infomercials to report on "Storm 2007." By the time we got done at the dentist, Annie was feeling well enough to give the go-ahead for our Eugene trip, so we packed up ourselves, Shylent, and Rufus the ferret and headed out.

Oh, and did I mention that the Civil War was this weekend? Thousands of football-crazed maniacs were due to flood Eugene to watch OSU and UO battle it out in the mud.

Before we could head south we had to drop off some equipment with one of Annie's classmates, who lives in Gresham. Innocently (or maybe not) I suggested that we meet half-way on 122nd & Stark. Well that also happens to be where Fabric Depot is. Like I said, maybe not so innocent. So while Annie and Shylent - and Rufus of course - waited in the car, I ran into FD to scope out some yarn. Ended up getting some LB Microspun to work on a project for Annie (she wants crochet sushi), some TLC Amore just to play with (it's turning into a scarf for myself) and some Christmas-sy yarn for one of my Christmas projects.

Thankfully by the time we got on the road, most of the crazed fans were well into their tailgate parties and traffic was light. It was even mostly dry until we hit Junction City (right about the time I texted Mom to tell her it was dry... sure, make a liar out of me).

First stop in Eugene was our favorite burrito joint on 5th & Blair. It's such a hole-in-the-wall that it's not listed in the YP. Ginormous burritos though, smothered in sauce and cheese and totally to die for. Annie even told the guy that we drove all the way from Portland just for the burritos. Not quite true, but true enough!

Our next goal was to find Shylent's friend FerretMike. We took Rufus down there so that he could bunk with Mike's ferret, Bug, for a while. Only problem though, we didn't have a phone number or address for Mike, so it was going to be a hit-and-miss adventure trying to find him. Our first attempt was at the Eugene Holiday Market, which is just like Saturday Market but goes indoors when the weather chills. We wandered around for a little while, saw some neat things but nothing we couldn't live without. No sign of Mike though, and no luck asking around. We headed down to the neighborhood that Shylent and I used to live, drove around a little hoping to spot Mike's van or motorcyle and actually did! The whole small world thing really comes in handy sometimes. While Shylent went inside with Mike to get Rufus settled, Annie and I sat out in the car - me crocheting and Annie surfing on some found wifi - and it dawned on me... Eugene is full of hippies! I bet they have some neato yarn shops!!

So we left Shylent and made our way (thank goodness for some of the net service I get on my cell phone) to a place called Soft Horizons Fibre, located in a cute little house and packed to the rafters with yarn of all sorts. After talking to a sales person (who was a knitter, but God love her anyway) I picked up a couple of hanks of some 100% Merino Wool in what I'm pretty sure is fingering weight (it's not so well labeled, so it might be sport weight, but I don't think so). The goal was to pick something up to make a pair of socks with, and according to the pattern I was looking at (found in a book at the shop... a book I didn't end up buying) 300 yards would be enough. So I got a total of 350. It's beautiful, all purple-ish colors. Pictures later. When I got home I discovered that all of the sock patterns I see online call for more than what I bought. So I've started inquiring about the availability of the same brand here in town. I don't even care if it's the same color scheme or not.

Anyways, back to pick up Shylent and then we had dinner with FerretMike and our friend Jamie, who I hadn't seen for years. Neat little cafe that had a little bit of everything and served whatever you wanted - breakfast lunch or dinner - regardless of what time it was. The food was just so-so and the coffee wasn't that great, but we had a good time catching up with old friends. By the time we left it was pouring down rain and we still had one more stop to make before heading home! Dari-Mart! We had to get our Chocolate Milk from Chocolate Cows!

If you've never had the chocolate milk from Dari Mart, you're missing out. It doesn't separate, doesn't require shaking, and doesn't get that yucky chocolate buildup on the bottom of the container. Dari Mart also carries the best egg nog you'll get without making it yourself. When people know we're going, they send us with their orders! We ended up leaving with a dozen half-gallon containers. Got lots of funny looks from the cashier and the other customers. But it was fun anyway, and well worth it!

The drive home was rainy, dark, and did I mention rainy? But we made it home in one piece and only 3 hours later than we expected to!

Self-Doubt in the Face of Do-Gooding

Why do we do good? Why do we help others? Is it to make ourselves feel better, more important, etc?

This weekend I gave HomePDX some donations that we'd collected for them at work. Blankets, socks, etc, and some cash. I thought it would be neat to hand it over to someone from Home at the Bridge, but now I'm questioning that decision. Maybe I should have just had Annie take me downtown to deliver it straight to them.

I really just wanted to do something good for them. I know they're in need and I thought I could help. Now I'm questioning my motives. Did I just want to make myself feel important? Did it seem like I was just trying to get the most appreciation for my time?

Word of the Day: Annoypid

Click Here for the Definition

(Sorry, but I couldn't get the whole picture to show up readable - just click it)

Gripe: What has the world come to?

There are plenty of signs of the crumbling of humanity around us. Yesterday, I saw another. TV commercials advertising books.

Are we so wrapped up and plugged in to the television that we need reminders of those paper, word-filled things that used to be entertainment?

I saw two yesterday. One was for James Patterson's latest, Double Cross. The other was for Dean Koontz's new one, The Darkest Evening of the Year. Both are definately on my reading list, and had been before I saw these ads, but it was really sad to see that authors (or more likely, the publishers) have lowered themselves to advertising right alongside the Swiffer Wet-Jet and 1-900-dial-a-date.

So do me a favor. Go pick up a book. Your brain will love you for it.

In case you were wondering

I added a list over there --------------->
It's things I enjoy and places I shop.
Y'know, Christmas and whatnot.
Not a hint, just a place to keep track :)
Oh and they're all clickable links, too.
For convenience, y'know. :)
Merry Merry!

#16 - In which our friend whines about her job...

It was bound to happen, wasn't it?

It's not that I don't like my job. I like what I do, fairly so. But I don't think I can do this the rest of my life (if nothing else, I'll run out of audiobooks to listen to).

I find myself often lately being envious of other people's jobs. In a perfect world, I would be able to support Annie and myself (and our pets, and future children) by doing any/all of the following things: crochet, plastic canvas, latch-hook, sudoku, listening to audiobooks, cooking (without a deadline/timeframe) or watching movies/television.

So, I guess I'm going to sign up on Etsy and see if I can make a few spare bucks selling dishcloths, potholders, and coasters. Pitty a girl and buy one, k?

YotM November

My beautiful, loving, wonderful wife - who doesn't always "get me" but totally comes through when it counts - signed me up for a Yarn of the Month club (like I said, she's awesome). I just today opened up my first delivery (though apparently it came in the mail a couple days ago and has been buried under a pile of stuff on the couch).

It all came nicely packed in a Tyvek-like envelope with a pattern (knitting, unfortunately), a bi-monthly newsletter (this one about fibers from Camelids - camels, llamas, alpacas, etc), and four samples of yarn. No cheapie Red Heart Super Saver here, this was awesome stuff!!

It didn't come all crocheted up like this, by the way. Just wound in a little ball. I used the same process to crochet all four samples: My favorite hook (which isn't anything special, just an aluminum H hook, but it's purple) 10 sc wide and however many sc rows I could fit without running out of yarn.

The first one I pulled out and worked with was Camelino by Knit One Crochet Too. Felt like worsted weight, I'm pretty sure. It's 90% Merino Wool and 10% Camel. I've never worked with wool before, or camel for that matter, so this was a new texture to me. I'm not sure I like wool. But it was fairly soft and on a slightly larger hook, perhaps a J or something, probably would have draped nicely.

The second was Pastaza by Cascade Yarns. It was chunkier, not quite bulky but thicker than worsted weight, and 50/50 Llama and Wool. It's got some stray fibers (you can see it better on their website than in this picture) which I didn't like, but it was neat to try out anyway.

Third out of the bag was Camelon by Zaol, 80% Merino and 20% Camel. This was my second favorite of the four, not too fiberous and fairly soft. It's also about worsted weight (4.5 st/inch according to them, but that's knit).

Last, but by far my favorite, was Lacampo by Karabella Yarns. 60% Dehaired Llama, 40% Cotton, DK weight, and ooooooh so soft. This felt SO good to work with, I WILL buy it in the future. And until then, I will visit the website often to covet and drool.

And so ends my first month of YotM. My swatches have gone back in the plastic baggies they came in, and the baggies have gone into a Crocs shoe box. I'm going to keep them all and eventually patchwork afghan them.

Until next month (or, next blog)!

Go Granny!

This is Kim Werker. I don't know her (hadn't even heard of her til recently) but she seems like good people. She crochets and she likes sushi - she's already a winner in my book. Anyway, she doesn't know me either. What's funny is that she was just here in Portland not long ago and I found out about it the day after she left. My luck.

Anyways, this girl GETS IT! She totally rocks socks. This is why.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled project...

Don't worry, Ma - it'll get done eventually!

But for now, this is my project of choice! It's the first arm of a shrug. Second arm is in progress. Once arms are complete, the back will be joined to them with a series of granny squares.

It's made with leftover Lion Chenille Thick & Quick that I had after I finished this afghan for my grandmother.

It's lovely luscious stuff. Mmmmmmmmm

Shock, then awe. The good kind.

I hope you're sitting down, because what I'm about to say might shock some of you.

I (occassionally) go to church.

Yep, there, I said it. Right out there for everyone and their dog to hear. The Bridge isn't really like church though. If you walked by the building we inhabit, you might think that some group of riff-raff had rented out the building to hold a rock concert/open mic/jam session. Well basically, it would be true.

The original source of this riff-raff are Ken and Deborah Lloyd. And yesterday in the Oregonian there was a HUGE (not to mention beautiful) article about Ken and his newest flock, HomePDX. Go read it and then come back.

I'm in awe of Ken and his vision. You should be too. Give give give. Ken does. And he's a badass. Don't you want to be a badass too?

Yes, there is crochet in this blog.

Current WIP is a poncho for my Dear Mother. She found a pattern she liked, and I just happened to have yarn in my stash (inherited from her) that would work. It's soft and lovely, and other than the colors being such that I wouldn't personally wear them, I'm totally coveting. She got this yarn at the Knittin' Kitten, and I might have to go and see if they have some more in more appropriate colors. It's niiiiice (that's for you, Ubbieten).

Other UFOs (UnFinished Objects) include my Hoodie from this pattern, done in Lion Suede, and a gift for someone who might read this so I'm not talking about it :) Both require the purchase of more yarn, but thankfully the Lion Suede is available from Smiley's for cheap. Well, relatively. Oh, and a bunch of small, quick projects also for gifts so that's all the info you get. Christmas, here I come!

Speaking of Christmas, I've started getting questions about gift ideas for Annie and I. So look for another blog soon with a list.

Three Wise Monkeys

No real context for this picture, but it's cute so I had to give it its own blog. Sorry it's so dark. Stupid Mac camera.

Living Like Rockstars (but without the drugs)

This past weekend, Annie and I decided to go live like rockstars for the weekend. Friday night we left right after I got off work (and after we stopped to gas up and replace her dead headlight) and headed for Lincoln City. After checking in at our hotel, we went up to the lounge and had Key Lime Martinis and appetizers for dinner. I forgot how much I love Key Lime Martinis. and actually I had a Chocolate Martini too that was pretty good, especially considering I am not typically a fan of chocolate.



Saturday morning we ordered room service for breakfast and sat in the room, enjoying our beautiful view of the ocean and the amazing food we ordered. Annie had Creme Brulee Stuffed French Toast, and I had Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict. After breakfast we lounged around for a while. I read most of a really bitchin' book, Skinny Bitch, and Annie read Nikki Sixx's book, The Heroin Diaries. The morning passed nice and slow, just like beach time is supposed to do :) We finally got moving and went to our favorite Lincoln City Rock/Gem/Crystal shop, Crystal Wizard. Picked out a few cute things and a couple gifts for others, and headed down to the outlet mall. I was on the hunt for Crocs, but soon discovered that thanks to my square feet, I'd have to get a pair three or four sizes too long in order to get the width to fit. On the bright side, we also got to stop at Bath & Body Works and I got some more Mandarin Lime wash. MMMmmmmmm. We also stopped at a kite shop and bought a pretty rainbow-striped kite, but by the time we got back to the hotel it was time for dinner so we skipped kite flying for the day. We went up to Fathoms, the restaurant at the top floor of the hotel, and watched a beautiful sunset while we had dinner. Mussles Dijon for appetizer, more Key Lime Martinis of course, Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna for Annie and Seafood Lasagne for me, and for dessert Bananas Foster for Annie (which she said wasn't that good - well how could it be good with bananas in it? ugh), and Pumpkin Creme Brulee for me. Drooooooool. SO good.

Sunday morning we just had cereal for breakfast, and then took off down to Newport. We stopped at a turnout just north of Depoe Bay and got an amazing view of the ocean and some great pictures.




I know Seagulls aren't much more than overgrown water pigeons, but they're so pretty sometimes :) In Newport we went down to the docks and Annie took some more pictures, then we stopped to see the NOISIEST Sea Lions you could ever imagine.

They were soo cute though!! They just laid around in big puppy piles, and it would be quiet for a minute and then one would start barking and they'd all get in on it. It was so fun. When we got back to the hotel, it wasn't quite time for dinner yet, so we went out onto the beach and flew our kite :)

We were pretty much the only ones on the beach, but we did get a bit of an audience of people in the hotel coming out on the balconies to watch us. Dinner that night was at Fathoms again, this time Annie had a Kona Coffee and Peppercorn Encrusted Filet Mingon (SOO good!) and I had the Cioppino that Annie had the very first time we went there, and it was delicious. Everything was great.

Monday morning Annie just HAD to have the Creme Brulee French Toast again so it was another dose of room service. I had an omelette with chorizo sausage and red bell peppers. It was only so-so. But the Bloody Mary was good :D

As we were leaving town, I said to Annie (like I do every time we go to the coast), "Let's go up to Seaside and get tattoos!" Well this time, instead of just laughing it off and thinking longingly of doing it, we actually DID IT! Well, sort of.

We got up to Seaside around 2 and stopped at the tattoo shop, a place called Lucky Dog Tattoo. The door was locked but the guy had just gone across the street for lunch and was just coming back as we turned to leave. We told him what we wanted, and he said he had someone coming in at 2:30 but to come back at 5 and he could take care of us. I wasn't sure about waiting around that long, but Annie talked me into it. We went to Taco Time for lunch (boy has THAT chain gone downhill) and mooched someone's Wi-Fi so Annie could blog about the upcoming tattoos. We went to another Crocs shop and Annie got a new pair of shoes, and then we went and blew $20 at the arcade playing SkeeBall.

We headed back to the tattoo shop early, about 4pm, only to find the sign turned off and the door locked.

WTF???!!!

So we called the number in the directory, and low and behold the guy answers. Conversation went something like this:

Me: "Um, yeah, hi. We came in earlier and you told us to come back at 5, and it's 4, and you're not here."

Asshole: "Yeah well I'm done for the day so you're going to have to find someone else or come back another day."

Me: "Well, it would have been nice to know that two hours ago, since we told you we were from out of town and were leaving today."

Asshole: "Well I've got carpal tunnel and when I'm done, I'm done, so you're just out of luck."

That was it. No apology, no nothing. ARG!! What about our fucking tattoos??!!

So as we got back on the freeway Annie says, in her infinite wisdom, "Call Sea Tramp." Bingo!! We told Billy (who happens to be the guy who did my Celtic Knot) what happened and he said to stop by the shop when we got into town and we could see how much longer he'd need us to wait. We did, and he said to come back around 7:30, so we went home and unpacked and went back to the shop, and about 2 hours later Annie and I were the proud new owners of MATCHING TATTOOS!!!

Yeah ok, so it hurt a little.

Alright, it hurt A LOT! But beauty is pain, right? And they are BEAUTIFUL!!

So that was it, our weekend of living like rockstars. It was SO nice to get away and relax for three whole days. And now, back to my regularly scheduled life....

Wubster Wednesday: The Halloween Edition

Three little witches flying on their brooms. The first one said, "Gimme candy!" The second one said, "Where's my hair?" The third one said, "Auntie Zarah, do you know what the most poisonous spider in the whole world is?" Man, those kids are the best.

On the menu was (among other things): Pimples, Bellybuttons with Blood Sauce (cheese tortellini with marinara), Werewolf Fingers with booger sauce (chicken strips with honey mustard), and Snake Bites . Next time, more planning ahead. I'm not so good at that. Spent half the night in the kitchen wearing myself out instead of with the family enjoying the party.

On the craft front, I'm putting my shrug on hold for the moment. I'll just wear a jacket. I need to find a pattern and a yarn that I like, instead of making it up as I go along and using whatever I have on-hand. Instead I'm teaching myself to make Granny Squares because they're so versatile and are a good travel project, and a good way to use up yarn.

Tomorrow after work, Annie and I are headed to the beach to stay at our favorite hotel for three nights. Key Lime Martinis, here we come!! We'll be sure to take pictures. And I'll start posting some. I promise!

Halloween with Cartman and the Devil

'Nuff said, yo'

Rata-tat-tat-touille

Well, I finished my costume! Wore it to the Bridge yesterday and was having a great time. Then Annie's ex showed up. Awkward!

It's not like there's really anything to be awkward about, at least for me. It's not like I "stole" Annie from her (they'd been broken up for a looooong time before I came along). But I think it was just knowing that we'd all been sort of friends at one time, and then all of a sudden this girl is straight and into Jesus (not that being into Jesus is a bad thing) and Annie's left going, "huh?"

So, it was weird. But Annie's costume was a total hit, and so was mine, and that was the important part.

Rhionna's birthday was also a huge hit. Super-kudos to Tim for doing the bulk of the work to make this way-too-genuine Ratatouille recipe I found. It was a pain but it was also delicious. The kids didn't like it, but it was vegetables so I don't think anyone expected them to. I'll post some pictures from the party later. Hmmm, that makes me wonder if anyone took pictures of the finished ratatouille before we devoured it.

Next crochet project on the list is the shrug I have to make (and wear) so that Mom will get off my case about not wearing a jacket :) Oh and I'll post pictures of my finished costume later, too.