Man or Woman?

Do you find that you identify more with songs sung by a woman or a man?  I seem to be more on board with the men folk.  I think its because they have this desperate passion where they are usually begging you to stay and that they can't live without you.  I like that, the fight for love.  Woman tend to sing about how men can't live without them and if they want to try...then go ahead.  Just take the boxes to the left and get the hell out!

Anyway...I have a slight infatuation with the song Turning Page by Sleeping at Last.  Thank you Breaking Dawn soundtrack...and my Sister ;)  I've been singing it for a week now (well the parts I know) and the other day I stopped and thought "is this a man or a woman?"  What do you think?  No Googling! 

Turkeys have what in them?

We had two dinners on Thanksgiving, and I didn't take food pictures because I think turkey dinners look gross.  Every dish is either mushy or covered in gravy...now I'm hungry.  After turkey dinner number one we headed to my parents house where I fell asleep on the couch while my Grandma told me about her leg cramps.

Mom:  Why are you so tired?

Me:  I don't know...food, alcohol, talking

Mom:  Is it the paraphernalia in the turkey?

Me:  Uhhhh

Dad:  You mean tryptophan right?

Mom:  Oh...yea.

A PNW Thanksgiving

Hey there.  How was your Thanksgiving?  Mine was good.  Low key long weekend, lots of raking leaves (again) and sleeping in.  I could use a few more days ;)

This is pretty much what our Thanksgiving looked like.  Pacific Northwest Style....

Hot men lifting a turkeys

Mixing Apple Cobblers in a Nalgene bottle

Who needs a shaker?  Now we can mix cocktails on our backpacking trips!

Oh and vampires...they always come during the holidays.

And birthdays, happy birthday Mom!

No kiddos this Thanksgiving, poor things were sick!

The master thankful list

This time of year always fills me with gratitude, which I suppose is good because no one likes an ungrateful bitch...am I right?  Here are some things I've been feeling particularly thankful for lately (in no particular order).  In case you were wondering of course...


1.  My dogs.  Although not right at this moment because they are wrestling while Bryan is trying to sleep.  Then he knocks on the wall indicating to shut it...they think someone is at the door and freak.  It makes for a very unproductive evening.  But when they are quiet and cuddly and they warm my feet.

2.  A roof over my head.  This time of year my heart hurts for those without homes.  Especially when the temperature drops.  Although I love to sit inside and watch the rain or snow fall, I can't help but worry about them out there.  I don't wish for snow anymore.

3.  The New Girl...are you guys watching that show?  I freakin' love it!  I laugh out loud the whole time.

4.  Bryan.  I'm starting to appreciate his quirks in my old age, and man he can build a kick ass fire.  If we were cave men he'd be the most eligible bachelor!  Plus I'm confident if we have a zombie Apocalypse he will the Shane to my Lori.  Only because I think Rick is a little soft.

5.  Family.  They are like my Cheers.  I always feel welcome and that I have a place even if I haven't seen them in awhile.  Plus they crack me up...Did I tell you that my Grandma went to see Breaking Dawn on the opening day?  And that my Mom accused me of seeing it without her.  I should've clarified.  Family of crazy twihards.

6.  Friends.  I have a lot of them and good ones at that.  I'm lucky I get to spend quality time with them and that they let me ramble about my paranoia without committing me.

7.  Good books, good music...and the free time to enjoy them.

8.  My health.  I have it right now, it is a glorious thing.  I bet it would like if I stopped feeding it Nutella.

9.  mmm...that's all for now

10.  Just kidding!  You guys, I'm thankful for you guys too.  Because you're like my family and friends.  I feel like I have an odd little place, and you talk me out of my crazy.  That's priceless, so thank you ;)

What are you thankful for?  Give me some good, I know you love your family and friends...you do right?

Happy Thanksgiving!  (Oh and its a wrap this week,  Remember those good books and the time to enjoy them?...yea it is coming from blogging time)

Thursday night with BB King

Do you remember when I wanted to see Jimmy Eat World in concert and Danielle was the only one that would go with me?  Well last week she called in a favor, and lucky for me it was cooler than my own bucket list concert.  BB King was playing in Shelton and she had an extra ticket.  At first I wasn't sure about driving an hour and a half South in traffic...on a Thursday, but that's what friends are for right? 



It was definitely worth the drive.  The show was at a small venue at the local casino and we had front row tickets.  The highlight for me was when he played "Merry Christmas, baby".  Danielle was giddier than her wedding day (okay maybe not that giddy) and was one of 4 people to get an autograph.  It pays to be cute and persistent!

86 years old with his guitar, Lucille

That's Danielle, trying to get her autograph

A very gracious and talented man

 

D and her autographed (sealed) vinyl

Since it was a casino we had a prime rib dinner after ;)

Drummer Tony Coleman sat with us while he waited for his friend for dinner

It was an awesome night!

 

Breaking Dawn love

where'd the hair go?

Ya ya ya...I know you don't all love the Twilight Saga and why do Vampires sparkle?  Blah blah.  But I do.  I felt like my Twilight love had gone dormant for awhile there.  In fact I was excited to see this movie, but not as excited as I used to be.  But I made a date with my Mom and MIL to go yesterday and I must say, this was the best one yet!  I do miss the real Edward hair, but I smiled through the whole thing.  It somehow felt less cheesy than the others, or else I've just gotten used to the cheese and can sit back and enjoy the story.  Who doesn't love love? 

The effects have gotten better, the story line was more interesting.  And there was a little bit more blood (and sex) to shake things up.  Plus the cast just seems so much less awkward....finally. 

Did you see it? 

Yesterday morning I totally had a dream that Robert Pattinson and I kissed.  Turns out Bryan kissed me when he woke up and it triggered that somehow.  Oh subconscious...you're too kind ;)

It wasn't all teen love this weekend.  I raked leaves...only to have them all over the lawn again the next day.  Boo!  What did you do?

Oh hey!  The winner of the Seamingly Sweet Giveaway is #16 Bryn!  Bryn measure your pup's neck, email me your address and pick a color!

Last day to enter!

Sorry for the lack of post today.  I was out late late late last night, but it was worth it.  I'll fill you in next week.  Today is the last day to enter the giveaway from Seamingly Sweet for your pooch.  Something free to put in their stocking with the normal milkbone.  Promise they'll be surprised!

Hope you have a fantastic weekend.  Any plans?

yikes, stripes

giveaway giveaway...did you enter?

It's so pretty....I want it.  Oh JCrew, how you toy with my emotions...

$398...that's like 2 weeks of groceries.  I could skip it, lose a few and get the jacket!

Phone clips are for doctors and nerds

I don't know when it happened, but Bryan is one of those guys who wears his cell phone on his belt.  I hate it.  I tell him all the time it is for doctors only, but he doesn't care.  That and he tucks in his shirt a lot.  He's a 60 year old man basically.  The other day he got a new work cell phone, but hasn't cancelled his old one...now he has two phones on his belt.  NERD ALERT!


Me:  I guess it's a good thing you don't put your phone in your pocket

Bryan:  Why?

Me:  Because it could make you sterile and then we can't have kids

Bryan:  Nice try on the reverse psychology, but it won't work

Bryan turns 29...finally

Saturday we went wine tasting at the Washington Public Market to celebrate Bryan and Alecia's birthdays.  Snohomish has a new indoor weekend market with wine tasting on the top level.  There were lots of small Washington wineries to taste, but it was pretty crowded for opening weekend!  I didn't get very many pictures...I miss summer and natural lighting...

The swirl and sniff...

The guy in the background on this one just cracked me up...

Alecia and I

Later we had Bryan's Mom over for dinner.  I made smothered pork chops in the crockpot...they were super good.  Great for company and only a few things to do after they cook.  We had them with mashed potatoes.  I also made pumpkin gooey butter cake which I highly recommend if you don't like pumpkin pie crust.  I made it gluten free by subbing the yellow cake mix for 'this' cake.  Just bake it for less and watch that the cake part doesn't burn.  Mine was a little over done.

We ate the whole thing....

Then I disappointed him by buying a pair of "slim" jeans...oops!

We barely got them over his calves

Happy 29th Birthday my Love...welcome to the club!

Do you have a dog?  Did you enter my giveaway yesterday?

Giveaway by Seamingly Sweet

My coworker has this awesome little side biz, Seamingly Sweet, where she takes your Husband's/Boyfriend's/Father's army shirt and turns it into a tote bag.  You can check them out here.  The other day she brought in these cute dog collars for the holidays and I was feeling extra thankful for all of you so I'm giving one away!

You guys always listen when I complain about my dogs, even though I can hear you quietly judging me for being a softy.  That's okay, my Mom tells me out loud all the time. 

You can pick between a black or pink collar,

Just send me your dogs neck size!

Charlie's a little chunk and needs a size larger.

He's on a diet...quit judging me!

You know the drill!  Leave a comment by Friday, November 18th at 8:00pm for a chance to win.  Extra entries...tell me how you chose your pets name.  I always find those reasons amusing.  Happy Monday!

Laaaazy

I'm too lazy to find a flashback photo.  I'm too lazy (and cheap) to even decorate our bedroom.  Every time I start to get gung-ho about starting something in the house we talk about moving and then I think "why bother". 

If I'm reincarnated...I hope I come back as a well loved dog.  Then I can hang out in my bed all day and not give a crap about whether or not there are photos hanging on the wall.

Worry flashcards...

Okay...meteorite almost hits earth, crazy snow storms, haven't had a pedicure in a year...haven't gone to hot yoga because I don't want to bare my unpedicured toes = fine lines and wrinkles from worrying.  Not even the Fred Meyer under eye cream I bought seems to be working. 

I'm a worrier.  I saved this post from Make Under My Life eons ago, but I think it's time to pull it out, put my mind at ease.  Time to stop picking at my cuticles, exercising and getting things done!

Check out the full post here.  I'll let you know how it works for me ;)  How do you combat your worry?  Do you have an eye twitch?

Gluten Free ramen

Okay, well it's not really ramen...  I found these little packs at PCC the other day for $.73 each and bought them for Bryan to try.  He says "they're not pho".  Can't be pleased that one...but he didn't say he hated them so I consider them a good buy!  I've tried the ones from Trader Joes, but I can't stand the little bowls they come in and garlic is their only flavor.  Plus if the power goes out (or the Apocalypse happens) we'll be set on ramen noodles and alcohol!

Goodbye Edward, hello Peeta!

Juuuust kidding.  I don't give up on loved ones that easy ;)  I finished The Hunger Games series this weekend on recommendation of my MIL.  She also introduced me to the Twilight series and probably regrets it to this day.

It's still haunting me a bit and I've spent a fair amount of time googling characters for the movie and questions that remain.  I was happy with the ending, but a bit torn on the direction I wanted it to take. 

But it did give me some insight on the effects of war on people, which is the idea behind Suzanne Collins' story.  Not to mention a world post apocalypse where people turn on each other and the need to survive is your primary instinct.  There is no one to turn to for help but your neighbors and it is hard to figure out who is friend or foe.  You turn a blind eye on unjust behavior because you have no voice, so the problem continues to fester becoming larger and more powerful.  I already see this in our world, so it wasn't hard to swallow. 

I say often that I'm a hypocrite for various reasons, but I felt like one reading this book.  I'll admit that during a lot of our current natural disasters it doesn't feel real, I'm so far removed and don't help as much as I could or should.  If you don't catch the news that day, or you skip straight to your email you don't see the bad stuff.  Essentially turning my back on people. 

We turn our backs on those who can't care for themselves, can't find jobs, secure health care.  We say that they should join society and work for it just like everyone else.  But sometimes you just can't get ahead, and a lot of us aren't willing to help.  I'm scared for that time in our lives (the Hurricane Katrina, tornadoes, earthquakes), what we will do to destroy each other.  Will our entitlement get the best of us?  I hope we can all remember to "walk a mile in their shoes".

I think I'm going to take a cue from my ultra religious coworker and start hoarding alcohol...

Have you read it yet?  How did it leave you feeling?  *try to avoid spoilers if possible!*

Shopping with Dori

Saturday we had a girls night in with some good friends from High School.  We headed up to Danielle's house and made dinner together (although I hardly helped ;) and chattered until the wee hours of the morning.  I can't get enough of Dori, she is such a lover it makes my cold empty uterus turn somersaults.

Doing the grocery shopping for dinner

Quinoa pasta anyone?

I may look like I just got my wisdom teeth out...but I didn't

Cheese in the cart

Then we played Project Runway

This season's accessories are binkies and wedges

Tim Gunn says "make it work"

Earlier in the day I cleaned my whole house, bathed the dogs (even blow dried Charlie because he was shivering) and then let them out one more time before I sat down to read.  Of course they came back in smelling like shit because...well they rolled in some.  So I bathed them both again.

And so the uterus stays empty...

How was your weekend?

Everyone needs a tree house

Even if you only play in it 10 times and sleep in it 2.  My Dad built us one and it was awesome.  It had a pulley off the balcony and a trap door, but it also had bugs...tree houses in the movies don't have bugs, and they almost always have gingham curtains.  It's too wet here for gingham curtains I think.

The other day Vanessa reminded me about Spumoni sweatshirts...I had tons. The one in this photos had snowflakes and bears.  Sometimes when my Mom and Sister would go shopping I would come home and find a new Spumoni outfit on my bed, complete with a hair clip for that awesome spiral perm.  Those were my favorite days.

Spumoni shirt, Keds, spiral perm...must be the 90's

What are you up to this weekend?  I'm getting some major girl time and it will be lovely.

What are those holes in your face for?

Me:  I can tell you're frustrated because you're making that sound like little puffs of air

Bryan:  I'm breathing

Me:  Well it sounds condescending, please stop

The perfect Fall day...

Saturday we had a perfect Fall day.  It poured buckets the day before so we really lucked out.  Especially since we scheduled a fly fishing casting class, a gift for Kathy's birthday.  The sun was out and the colors were their brightest.  The only thing slightly off was the smell of dead spawned salmon washing up on the banks of the river...

The guide in his getup

Nice cast Kathy!

The class was 2 hours...only Bryan made it that long

 

It was about this time we started debating sparkly vampires

The guide became exasperated and went back to Bryan...

I should have reminded him he was wearing a jumper

I thought we looked like ribbon dancers

Later we headed downtown to meet friends for dinner at SMITH

Regular fries, sweet potatoe fries

Poutine with short ribs...

I know...looks nasty but it was delicious!

As if that wasn't enough we went for ice cream at Molly Moon's too

Me, my lazy ice cream eye, and Alecia

We had the Viaduct Crunch (coffee ice cream with cornflake toffee crunchies)

We also people watched because it was Halloween weekend on Capitol Hill

Very entertaining!

Jeremy finds something else to lick ;)

Quick, what flavor would you have picked?

I know it sounds strange, but the earl grey was amazing!

Happy Halloween!

Did you get any trick or treaters?  We didn't, yet somehow all the Take 5's are gone...my thighs were hungry.  I headed up to my Sister's house to trick or treat with Jackson.  He made it to about 5 houses. 

Can you guess what he was?

Spider Man!

But next year he wants to be Captain America okay?...

He also said we should buy him some Captain America underwear

We had chili...and rice cereal

Some of us were drinking...but not these two ;)

A Spider Man and a Lady Bug

This one totally reminds me of the catapillar from Alice and Wonderland