Real Foods : day 5

Today is an interesting day. It started out normal breakfast of grain free real food, but then I went to my friends baby shower...not grain free. So today was only half grain free. But tomorrow I will be back at it.

I can haz Marinerz?!?

We went to a Mariners game last night, we got the tickets from the icanhazcheezburger website. We got a t-shirt, signed by the founder of the website. Carmel got her picture with him plus her awesome poster that she made to try and win some rally fries, we didn't win. But the Mariners did so that was fun.

Happy Birthday to me!!

For my birthday this year went to Todai for my free birthday dinner. I had a great time, I heard that some people didn't have that great of a time (Travis, apparently he doesn't like the food). I don't know how anyone can't be a fan of all you can eat crepes, sushi, crab legs, or any of a number of other things, but to each his own.

My awesome friends gave me some great gifts!!

Dang it, I didn't win $1,000 for life!!!

Pre Birthday Lunch

Carmel, Jenny and I headed to Ipanemas for a meat filled pre-birthday lunch. It was fun to hangout with the girls and chow down on plates of tasty meat!

I can't stop looking at the site!

I find this site so crazy!!! Most things make me sick, but I'm slightly intrigued by this one.

Meatloaf with a layer of Mac and Cheese wrapped in bacon. I could do without the bacon part but the rest sound kind of good.

Whoa, it's been almost a year!

In 2 days time I will return turn to the seen of one of my first blog entries. Yep, it has been almost a year since I have been to Ipanema's Brazilian Grill. Carmel, Jenny and I are going for a pre-Birthday meat celebration!

Pictures to follow!

Impress Crafting Night

Here is my crafting area, a little messy!

Last night my crafty friends and I spent the evening at the Impress Rubber Stamp having a crafting and pizza party. We had a great time making cards, eatting, winning raffles; out of the five of us that went 3 of us won a raffle. Melissa and I won 2 ink pads each (which we both gave away, I believe to Carmel or Carla) and Carmel won this great pack of cards and enevlopes (which she kindly shared with us all evening). I haven't done an stamping lately as I'm hard core into jewelry making, it was fun to go back to an old hobby for an evening of fun.

Melissa and Jen hard at work.

Carmel and Carla crafting it up!

I wonder if this works?

As one of it's attributes it claims.

Easily make a low-calorie root beer float (no ice cream needed)!

A slush root beer is not the same thing as a root beer float, sorry it needs ice cream!!

http://www.slush-it.com/

The instructional video is off the hook! I want one just to watch it become slush!

Love that price

I love that I have now found a totally cheap drink to order from Tully’s!! I don't always get something there but I now have a drink that is $0.99!!! I usually get a Grande Breakfast Blend Tea with only 1 tea bag and a little room, that usually comes to $1.10 after my passport discount of $0.50 but today I brought my own mug and got an addition $0.10 off so now my drink comes to under a dollar!!! Not only am I saving money I'm also saving the environment!

I can't stop!

I love my new hot air popper that I got for Christmas(I got 2 actually 1 from my bother Mike and one from my friend Carmel I took one back). I literally can't stop making popcorn tonight, I just keep make more and more!

What I'm thinking right now

I’m tired today. The bus was late this morning, so I had to stand out in the cold for about 20 minutes waiting for it! Then the shuttle that I take to work left early so I missed it making me 15 minutes late to work, grrr. I have to go to an 8 hour work day/training in about an hour, meaning that I will be here till after 7pm tonight. After work I have to run to the bead store to pick up some stuff so that I can finish a necklace that someone ordered, go and buy some cat food so that Maggie doesn’t starve, do some more cleaning so that I don’t leave my house in a mess when I go to ML for the holidays. Tomorrow I’m going to a poetry reading, my friend Jim is doing a reading, and I’m really only going for him cuz poetry is just not my thing. After that I need to make 60 cookies for a cookie exchange the next day! There goes another bag or two of chocolate chips!!!

I started packing last night, 1. because I love packing, 2. because I have a lot going on this week and 3. I really love packing! I really want to be ready to leave after work on Thursday because it might snow again and then getting to the airport will turn into a nightmare because Seattle drivers are retarded and don’t know what to do when snow and ice happen. I love that I don’t have to pack much because I leave some clothes at my mom’s house ie, track pants, long sleeved shirt, winter jacket, shoes. All I need to bring are some PJs, an outfit to wear to Christmas Eve service, underwear, a pair of jeans and a nicer shirt. Because what do I wear when I’m chillazing around ML? Track pants and long sleeved shirt.

Whoa I’m very chatty today.

Christmas party 2008

It is time for my annual Christmas party. It started long ago, in my 15th year on this earth I decided that I wanted to learn how to set and use all the silverware at a formal place setting. That year was when the Dinner Party was started! I cooked a 5 course meal for 3 of my friends and a tradition was started. I might no longer make a 5 course meal, it is now down to appetizers and desserts but it is still fun!

Carmel and Travis enjoying some tasty food.

The menu this year; Sliders, Apple and Feta Tart, Rosemary Potato Popper and Cucumber Humus Stackers. Dessert was a choice of either Lemon or Chocolate mini Tarts!

The boys chilazing.

Time for the White elephant gift exchange!

Travis showing off the gift that he stole, Carla brought the monkey she won a the Fair!

Carmel showing off the awesome doll she got, needless to say no one stole that!

Okay maybe Maggie wanted it. Well she isn't getting it, it leaves with Carmel!

Next year everyone is getting checked before they leave my house so that no one can shove there "gift" in my fridge when I'm not looking! Yeah Jim, I'm talking to you!!!!

Jim leaving my party to attend someone else's "Hot Tranny Mess Party"

1 down 3 to go!

The last time my grandmother visited she gave me 2 bags of chocolate chips, she tried to give me 4 but I said 2 was enough. Let me tell you my Grandma is sneaky, she sent those 2 bags with John and Nicole over Thanksgiving!! So today I made some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, next up oatmeal chocolate chip!

The Devil's drink!

I love Egg Nog!!! Thank God it is not out year round!

Visitors!

My brother John and his wife Nicole and their cutie daughter Elisabeth are here visiting for Thanksgiving. Here are some of the cutie pictures of my niece, who has already learned how to ham it up for the camera.

Here is Mom and Elisabeth with her first lobster.

What a ham!

Elisabeth and Uncle Mike

Elisabeth and Maggie, who is suppose to be in the crib?

Taking my Aunt to Pikes Market

My Aunt Diane, Mom and Grandma came to visit this weekend. I took my Mom and Aunt to Pikes Market were we proceeded to taste test all the food that they had out. We ate a lot of nuts and jelly. Mom and Diane are trying olive oils.

Then we went on to eat fried things. Tasty mini donuts and fried gizzards!

Who's ready for more Dim Sum!?!?

Carmel and I were talking the other day and realized that we haven't eaten Dim Sum in awhile; so of course it was time to head to Jade Garden!! We had all my favorites; pork pastry pie and pineapple/Mango buns and Jenny ate one of hers Tripe (gross) Shannon does NOT eat cow stomach!

Smile pretty

This is one of Travis's favorites, he loves bean paste and what he calls waxy rice goo.

Afterwards Carla gave Jenny a little tutorial on how to put on eyeliner.

Music of the night

Last night Carmel, Carla, Jenny, Travis and I went to see Phantom! It was the second time that I saw it, I saw it on Broadway for my birthday a couple of years ago. We had a great time, sadly the Phantom wasn't as cute as Gerald Buttler but you can't have it all.
After the show we went and had happy hour at DragonFish and there we learned that they run on DragonFish time. Happy hour starts at 10pm but DragonFish isn't in the Pacific Time zone it is in the DragonFish time zone, which apparently is 15 mins later than Pacific time.

Who wants to eat?

Here is a selection of some of the food that was consumed!

Seafood Crustini & Surf and Turf

Afternoon Tea & Tastey Sweet and Sour Pork

Baked Alaska & Bread Pudding

and the year was...

Another year of Bumbershoot volunteering fun is over! This year Travis and I worked in Catering and I did fun things like;

-Taking 2 bowls and a bag of clean rags over to the EMP stage.
-2 minutes from returning from EMP going back there with a container of cream.
-Straighten up the staff eating area.
-Watching Travis spill cream on the floor of said eating area.
-Sit on cases of Rock Star energy drink and pet someone’s dog.
-Try not to strangle the 15 year old girl who was “working” with me, I was working she was mostly just consulting a list, thinking she was in charge and doing no work.
-Learning how to operate a Pallet Jack, and then moving many pallets around a small area (I’m not really sure why, I didn’t see any reason to do this but who am I to say what useless activity shouldn’t be done?).
-Being in charge of the recycling area (it consisted of 4 empty boxes of beer that I broke down and staked in a neat pile!)
-Filling all the bands coolers with ice so they had cold bear to drink.

It may sound like lame thing to do, well it was but, I love doing it because it saved me $80 of entrance fees!! Now on to the shows.

I must say that this year Bumbershoot may have taken place in 2008 but its heart was in the late 1990’s. With artists like; Beck, The Offspring, Jakob Dylan and Stone Temple Pilots representing the 90’s and new artist like; Estelle, TI, Band of Horses and Ingrid Michaelson, I wasn’t sure what year it was. Plus for some crazy reason the teens are bringing back 80’s fashions, good lord we all looked stupid in the 80’s that look doesn’t need to come back!!

Some of them were great shows; Estelle (she was super fun and my favorite show of the festival), TI (put on a great show, should have been at night not 4pm), Ingrid Michaelson (wish I could have seen her whole set but I wanted to see STP) Beck (sound quality was crap but the show was fun) and Stone Temple Pilots (I had forgotten how much I liked them and I was crushing on the Base player).

Some were boring; Jakob Dylan (oh yeah you were boring in The Wallflowers too), Keyshia Cole (if I hadn’t wanted to see TI after her I would have left)

Some I didn’t know I knew until they played a certain song; Band of Horses (I have reserved their cds at the library), Keyshia Cole (but still boring)

Some were new to me and enjoyable; Star Anna (I would like to read a book to her music), Tyronne Wells (good show but he told the longest most boring story about…zzzz, sorry just thinking about put me to sleep)

All in all I had a great time and will be rested up in time for next year!