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Monday, August 30, 2004

 

liberal home companion

We're not in Lake Wobegon Anymore

This is a really stinging critique of the Republican party. It makes me want to move to Canada. I am so embarrassed that the rest of the world sees Bush on television and thinks that's what Americans are like.

 

how old are you, anyway?

I'm going to be 29 in a couple of weeks. That means next year, I will be THIRTY. Which isn't too horribly alarming. Yet. But just in case I wasn't done being in my 20s yet, I had a not-old-married-lady weekend.

Friday night I went to yoga class before coming home, then we ordered pizza and watched dreck on SciFi. Yay, dreck!

R*'s band played a show in Tacoma on Saturday night. We drove down fairly early, found the venue, and had some dinner before the band started playing. I discovered that the drink special was Malibu rum and pineapple juice. So I drank several. Because it was yummy. After the band played three sets, it was late late late... we didn't get out of there until almost 2:00am. R* was hungry, as he always is after a show, so we stopped at the Denny's in Fife (you can see the sign from the highway - it's not that we hang out in Fife or anything). For the record, Moons Over My Hammy tastes good when you've been drinking. But it didn't like me back - my stomach hurt. By the time I actually got into bed, it was almost 5:00am.

We slept late on Sunday and got up, had some coffee, and went to get some lunch and to see Hero, the Zhang Yimou movie starring Jet Li. It was really beautifully made. We both enjoyed it. Afterwards, we went home and fell asleep again, and then I made some salad for dinner, and we went back to bed. It's a good way to start the week.

Today is going well health-wise - I started with 19 minutes on the Gazelle (working up to 30 is my short-term goal), had a smoothie for breakfast, and everything else I've eaten today has been on the Core Plan. Go me!

 

well crap.

This Modern World: The undecided voter

This is exactly what I'm afraid of. People just like Biff.

Friday, August 27, 2004

 

so far so good

Today has been one of those days where everything goes as planned. Of course, it's not yet 10:00. But! I packed a gym bag last night because I'm going to yoga class this afternoon. I packed breakfast and lunch for myself, both of which are Core Meals according to Weight Watchers. I remembered to take fruit out of the freezer last night which facilitated making smoothies for me and R* this morning. I even remembered to apply both moisturizer and deoderant. Can it possibly be this easy to be an adult?

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

 

boring

I have a feeling that this whole blog thing would be much more interesting if I were serially dating or working in emergency medicine or had identical triplets or were a Siamese twin or a transsexual. But instead, I sit at my desk and surf the internet a lot.

My current project, other than doing battle with the cold that is trying to sicken me, is budgeting. I HATE money. Hate hate hate. But, we've put together a budget that will get me on track to save up for nursing school tution, R* can save up for getting the house painted next year, R* will have a reasonable budget to do his music stuff, and we'll chip away at our debt load. This budget is in place until April, at which point R* is considering looking for a new position. Then... ugh, I can't even think about it. It seems like we'll never be out of debt and comfortable.

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

 

my husband is the best.

I just got an instant message from R* telling me that for my birthday, he is taking me to the Herbfarm!!!!!!!! It's supposed to be one of the best restaurants in the country. I am totally thrilled - this is light-years beyond any tangible gift he could have bought for me. I am going to keep him forever and ever.

 

sick.

I feel like I'm coming down with something. I ache all over and my throat feels swollen and a little sore. But that is so vague, I couldn't justify staying in bed all day. So I'm at work. I even exercised this morning. Now I'm wishing that I'd just stayed in bed!

The chatty lady on the bus this morning yammered on about the Olympics. It was painful to me - she all but shouted "USA!USA!" and also displayed a shocking lack of knowledge about the events, the other countries participating, and the controversy surrounding some of the judging. The worst part was, I knew that the other woman sitting next to me was born and raised in another country - I've heard her talk and she's definitely from England or South Africa or someplace. So, way to be an ugly American, chatty lady. Sheesh.

In other news, man, I hate Bob Dole! I had hoped that moving away from Kansas would help me escape such closeminded crap, but now the closeminded crapslingers are the national scene. How depressing. I can't believe that Dole, himself a veteran, would imply that John Kerry was some kind of lying sissy - isn't it self-evident that Kerry couldn't have awarded himself all those medals? So they must have been awarded to him by the government? Which most likely checks to make sure they know what they're talking about? Is this going to turn into a war of "I was hurt worse in battle than you, therefore I'm more qualified to talk about it"? Because that is just not right. Also, I cannot FATHOM how anyone can look at Kerry's record compared to Bush's record and come to the conclusion that Kerry is the loser sissy guy.... when not even the Republicans can argue that Bush served in combat, ever, at all.

Monday, August 23, 2004

 

rainrainrain

After weeks of sunny days with highs in the 80s and no rain - very un-Seattle - we finally got rain and lots of it this weekend. It unfortunately coincided with a trip to Port Townsend to visit my parents, who are out and about camping in their pop-up trailer... We got soaked. It was hard to be unhappy about it, though, after going so long without rain. We did some shopping at the farmer's market and arts & crafts fair - I got sucked into buying this lovely sugar scrub for my hands. I used it on my feet last night and that was delicious. So to speak.

We went to dinner at the Ajax Cafe in Port Hadlock to finish up our evening. It was a good time as always. I ordered ahi tuna with a cilantro-plum sauce, which was good but I envied everyone else's dinners... Mom had macadamia-crusted halibut and mashed potatoes, R* had duck with a green grape & caper sauce, and Daddy had crab cakes with a chipotle dressing. R* gave me a bite of his duck, Mom gave me a bread plate with a little piece of halibut and a dollop of potatoes, and my dad liked my ahi so much that we scooted our plates together and he ate half my fish while I ate half his crab cakes. I think this proves I am a food whore.

I wish we could figure out how to move out there. I'm not sure that R* is as excited about the idea as I am - it would severely curtail his musical endeavours. But man, it is so pretty out there, and everyone is so friendly... and maybe what I really should do is just plan to vacation there every year instead of ruining the fantasy by, like, getting a job in a small town.

Speaking of fantasy! Our dream home. Just - wow.


Friday, August 20, 2004

 

to wear or wear not?

T-shirt study

Scroll down to the subhead "T-Shirt Diversity? Bush Won't Cotton to It." In brief, a guy wore a Kerry t-shirt to a Bush rally and got kicked out, then wore a Bush t-shirt to a Kerry rally and no one bothered him. I think we have some dissent-quashing going on!

Thursday, August 19, 2004

 

poop hound?!

WEED HOUND Now this tool looks fabulous and I clearly need one for my lawn aka dandelion farm.

On the other hand, not being a dog owner, I thankfully do not need something called a POOP HOUND. Aieee!

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

 

it could be so much worse

House in Progress

I just discovered this blog today and am reading through it from the beginning. The owners bought a rundown bungalow in Chicago and are restoring it - but first they apparently had to move out ALL THE WORLDLY POSSESSIONS of the previous owner. It's fascinating and horrifying all at the same time.

Monday, August 16, 2004

 

what the rapper means to say is...

Rap Lyrics Translated

Oh my lord, this had me laughing so hard I wiped tears from my eyes. I had trouble taking rappers seriously to begin with - and one of my favorite games with R* is "what the rapper means to say is..." - but this is over the top.

Sunday, August 15, 2004

 

tiling is fun!

Tile job in our bathroom

I am so proud of myself - this turned out really well and I did all the work. R* picked out the tile, but I did everything, including cutting the squares apart to fit into the weird irregular area we had to fill.


Friday, August 13, 2004

 

homeowner schmomeowner

Sometimes, being a homeowner kind of sucks. Such as this week, when on the same damn day, we had to have a toilet replaced and the tree service guys that we've been trying to get to come prune the laurel hedge since JUNE decided to show up. At least it's all done now. I feel guilty because I can't do much in terms of paying for it - R* makes a buttload more money than I do so the burden falls on him.

I'm a little pissed off with the tree service people - they weren't very careful with my other plants. Such as, they broke off some of the baby tomatoes and knocked down some sunflowers. I guess I can't be TOO upset - they took the hedge down a lot and it's going to be much more manageable. Our neighbors are pretty thrilled too - they went at the hedge with an electric hedge trimmer ealier this summer and it was a sight to behold! He was up on a ladder wearing a bike helmet with this hedge trimmer choking on the leaves every few minutes...

We have friends who made an offer yesterday on a house. While they are much more handy than R* and I, I kind of wonder if they know what they're getting into. They are lucky that they have another family member participating in buying the house, so she will be able to help them financially if they were to get stuck with, say, a toilet that needs to be replaced. And speaking of which, I'm happy with the new toilet, and thank GOODNESS it seems to have stopped the Stench of Mysterious Origin. But like many home improvement projects, it's created more work for us. Namely, the old toilet had a wall-mounted tank and the new one doesn't, so there is an untiled area on the wall where the tank used to hang that we now need to tile. I think this is a small enough project that we can handle it!

 

we're number 1!

MSNBC - Most overpriced places in 2004

Wouldn't you know it.

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

 

we're dumb, eh?

Molly Ivins - Oh, Canada: Trying to explain U.S. politics

Molly rules.

 

New York lockdown

Salon.com News | New York lockdown

This warms my heart. Go team! Break stuff! Tell those bastards how you really feel!

 

I can quit anytime I want.

I would just like to note for posterity that I didn't have any coffee or indeed caffeine of any sort on Sunday. I am still alive and so is my husband. Our house did not blow up, my head did not explode, and the cats did not have to hide under the bed.

See? I can quit anytime I want!

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

 

Rodeohead

Rodeohead

Yee-haw!

 

three more days

I've got three days to finish up everything for my psych class. Last lecture tonight. My journal for class is pretty close to done, although it could definitely use more work. I've got one more chapter to read, and a whole lot of reviewing to do. Then, final on Thursday, and I'm done with classes for six weeks!

I'm surprised how much textbooks have changed since I was an undergrad the first time around - my textbook has its own website with all kinds of additional information and self-tests and flashcards and review outlines and stuff. It's extremely helpful. I used it extensively for the last test and did really well.

I think I'm back on track with how I'm eating - we've decided that we can relax a little bit on weekends as long as we're eating right during the week. So I had two big dinners on Saturday and Sunday. This does not make for good Monday weigh-ins. This morning I weighed less than I have in the last two weeks - but my WW log does not reflect it. Oh well, at least my pants aren't so full of ass.

Monday, August 09, 2004

 

how we could have spent that money

Graphic

Can you imagine? Useful things that would actually make a difference to our national security!

 

yummy

This weekend R* had a rehearsal with J* and A* at our house. They're working on developing an acoustic jazz version of R*'s jazz quintet to play smaller venues. After they rehearsed, we went to Carmelita for dinner - oh my god, it was amazing! I haven't been there in more than two years, and they've changed chefs in my absence. We started with an antipasti platter that featured a red bell pepper spread, a green spread made of feta and scallions, caponata heavy on the onions and capers, two kinds of greek cheeses, and beautiful mixed olives. It came with this incredible smoky grilled flatbread. I am still fantasizing about the bell pepper glop. We went through two bottles of a wine I hadn't had before - Chinook Winery's Semillon. It's a dry but fruity white wine - really lovely on a warm summer evening.

On Sunday, I finally mowed the dandelion farm aka lawn. It looks so much better. Allegedly the tree service people are coming out today to prune the laurel hedge - I really hope they follow through because it is totally out of control. Also, there's a plumber coming out to locate and kill the Mysterious Bad Smell in our upstairs bathroom, which still has the original 1920s toilet. It is a thing of beauty but there will be hell to pay if they have to do anything more complex than installing a new wax ring. I have this horrible feeling that a sewer fountain may be in our future. Not unlike the portal in the basement of the high school on Buffy.

And Sunday evening, we had a really nice urban childless couple sort of evening. R* went to Norm's in Fremont to meet with L* regarding a country band they are considering starting. I showed up later and we had dinner, then wandered down the street to a brand new place called Nectar. They've got fancy cocktails, yummy ice cream desserts, and a dinner menu that looked promising. We just had some dessert because we'd just had dinner at Norm's. R* talked to the guy who's booking bands for the place - hopefully we'll get another look at it when R* has a gig!



Friday, August 06, 2004

 

FOXNews.com - You Decide 2004 - Racist Wins GOP House Nomination

FOXNews.com - You Decide 2004 - Racist Wins GOP House Nomination

Augh! You know it's bad if FoxNews is reporting it as a problem... what is WRONG with these people? Is it really so important to vote Republican that they deliberately choose this crackpot?

 

garden goodness

I've been sadly neglecting my garden this year. The weather hasn't been very supportive, either - I've lost at least a few plants to thirst, which isn't normally an issue in Seattle climate until August. There just hasn't been much rain.

On the other hand, my hydrangea has never looked better, and I have baby tomatoes and peppers growing! In fact, I need to get some tomato cages before the plants topple over. I had a good crop of peas and lettuces, although the spinach and arugula bolted before they bothered to make leaves. The swiss chard hasn't really gotten going - I don't know if it needs more water or what - but the kale looks great. And in the flower department, I have calla lilies blooming! I didn't know if they would even pull through.

Next spring when I start seeds, I'll have to work harder on keeping them watered. I think clear plastic trays in my little greenhouse should do the trick. Or maybe I just need to win the lottery and hire a gardener?

Thursday, August 05, 2004

 

Iraq on verge of implode

Iraq on verge of implode

Freakin' great. This would imply that things are MUCH worse in Iraq than they're telling us on the news. I can't wait till the election so we can get that guy out of office.

 

small choices

Today's entry on Losing the Cow really made me think. Her premise is that losing weight isn't about a magic wand or magic beans or a fad diet... but is instead about making small choices that add up over time. And that goes both ways. While Linda was more specifically referring to eating Cheerios instead of donuts, or going for a walk instead of watching TV, I immediately thought of all the little bad choices that got me so fat in the first place. A can of Pringles here, a bag of salt & vinegar potato chips there, cheese melted on toast for a snack again, a lazy Sunday in bed instead of working in the garden... I am frustrated with the slowness of my weight loss, but when I look at my habits in the last few years, I think maybe I should be pleased that I have a) stopped gaining and b) lost any weight at all!

Wednesday, August 04, 2004

 

CNN.com - Judge in Seattle rules same-sex unions legal - Aug 4, 2004

CNN.com - Judge in Seattle rules same-sex unions legal - Aug 4, 2004

Yay! My faith in the liberalism of my city is restored!

 

ShutItDownNYC

ShutItDownNYC

Hee.

 

whirlwind weekend

We picked K* up at the airport on Friday, after receiving a phone call at 2:00 am from Narita airport to let us know that her plane was being delayed several hours. I had trouble going back to sleep after that - all my internal alarms went off when the phone rang in the dark of night - but at least we got to sleep in instead of driving to the airport at 7:00 am.

Friday night we went to Chandler's Crabhouse and dined extravagantly. I don't think K* has ever been to a fancy American restaurant before - she asked me to help her with the menu, so I picked out the sea bass with a berry salsa and rice. She ate it enthusiastically. I had crab cakes and R* had halibut cheeks. We also had a GIANT piece of banana cream pie for dessert, which wasn't exactly what I expected. It had caramel sauce and a cookie-crumb crust... I was hoping for real pie crust and a pudding texture. Oh well, it's not like I should be eating any of that stuff anyway!

Saturday morning we went to Salty's on Alki for brunch. K* had definitely never seen anything like that before. And bless her heart, she made about 5 trips through the buffet. What cracked me up was that partway through the meal, she put down her fork and said, "I am SO SORRY that we made you run through Chinatown your first day in Bangkok! You were so tired! So sorry!" R* and I laughed and laughed. That trip to Chinatown was amazingly exhausting after our long trip and severe jet lag... but we got through it.

Saturday afternoon, I took K* to the locks in Ballard. We watched boats go back and forth between the lake and the bay, and watched the salmon running in the fish ladder. The fish ladder is really neat! You can either watch from above and see a fish leap out of the water every so often, or go down beneath the water level to a viewing area with big windows where the fish mill around waiting to take a turn jumping to the next step. Then we went to the Central Market in Shoreline so she could stock up on Asian groceries. That was fun! I didn't buy much, but I felt like I was getting a guided tour to the weird Asian food that I'm often too intimidated to buy. It's too bad we're on the salad plan - I would love to make stirfries and noodles and curries.

Sunday we drove K* to Pullman and stayed the night at my parents' house. We went out for a surprisingly good dinner at a Latin-fusion place in Moscow, ID. The next morning, we helped my mom and K* take stuff over to K*'s apartment, had some breakfast, bought a couple of handmade stepping stones for our garden, and hit the road. The drive home was completely uneventful except for the HOUR AND A HALF it took to go 3 miles on I-90 outside of Issaquah. They'd closed down two lanes of the three-lane highway for road work. Great timing, huh? I learned later on the new that the unusual heat we've been experiencing exploded some expansion joints in the pavement and it required emergency construction.

Test score from test #2 in my psych class: 95%. If I can pull it out one more time, I'll get a 4.0 in this class!

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

 

paranoia strikes deep...

A sampling of cheerful links regarding our government, terrorist threats, and conspirancy:

How to rig an election
Oh look, North Korea has nukes!
Whoops, we forgot about these warnings till yesterday.

And if you want to keep paying attention, here's an electoral college poll tracker:
http://www.electoral-vote.com/

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