Doughnuts and superheroes and weddings Oh MY!

So Bill and I decided to officially take the plunge. We have discussed it for quite some time and it was time. We decided that we wanted something small and fun. We wanted something very unique, so as we sat one night discussing ideas Bill says, “Hey… what about Voodoo Doughnuts?” A few years ago Lex (the step-daughter) had introduced us to this bizarre hippy place. The doughnuts are tasty and often offensive which suits me just fine. From the Triple Chocolate Penetration (Chocolate Cake donut with chocolate icing and Cocoa Puffs on top) to the Dirty Old Bastard (DOB for short, A raised donut with chocolate icing, sprinkled with Oreo pieces and drizzled with peanut butter) they are known for some interesting and quite tasty items. Later we saw a special on doughnuts on the Travel channel and it mentioned that they perform wedding ceremonies. As soon as Bill mentioned it, it was on. This would be the perfect venue for our fun and funky style.

The next item would be date. It was the beginning of October and I did not want to get married too close to Christmas or Thanksgiving (or my birthday) and waiting till next year would just be annoying. I am not a bride that wants to plan my wedding for an extended period. So having the venue selected Halloween was the next obvious choice. I was concerned that they might be booked up since it is VOODOO and Halloween but I lucked out and they had an opening (considering you make reservations for very short periods of time they can perform many weddings each day, they had 5 planned for this date).

I did not want to spend much on the wedding and so I had to start looking for the perfect outfits. While looking for a T-shirt tux for Bill I stumbled across a website that has shirts with pretty much anything you would want printed on them, including a wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses. My mother is a wedding consultant (or was) and so growing up I attended so many weddings that I can’t even begin to remember half of them. I was responsible for all manner of tasks from hanging pew bows (that terms still makes me giggle) to holding up the bride’s dress so the fan could blow under and keep her from sweating off all her make-up. I digress, in the time I spent I came up with a theory. The only 2 requirements I have for a wedding (other then obviously a groom and officiant) are a veil and a bouquet. Bridesmaids are over-rated (as I discovered in my FIRST wedding) groomsman can be handy but not necessary. For the bride you have to have a veil… otherwise how do you know who the bride is and flowers… I find are always necessary. ALWAYS. I don’t generally even need a wedding as an excuse. Hey it’s Tuesday, time for flowers.

Flowers would be easy but where would I find a veil? The dress (shirt) was purchased so now I just needed the veil. While in Florida last year for my younger brother’s wedding Bill and I spent several days at Disney World. While there we saw lots of honeymooners wearing Mickey Mouse Top Hat and Minnie Mouse Wedding Veil. This was perfect for us since we were thinking of Disney World for our honeymoon. I popped online and found them and that takes care of the veil.

Now who could come? Part of the reason we planned on having the wedding in Portland (even before we figured out Voodoo Doughnuts) was because Lex lives there and this would be a difficult time of the year for her to get away from school. Now several months ago Lex had asked Bill if she could wear a Spiderman costume to our wedding (When we got married, I guess she was ready before we were) and of course we (not planning to have a wedding) said yes. Hehe. Well it’s Halloween! This is just turning out to be perfect at every turn! We have spent some good quality time with a few of Lex’s friends and so we were happy to invite them to come to the wedding and partake of doughnuts (in their superhero costumes). I also invited pretty much anyone I thought might come and a bunch of people I really didn’t expect to come but I would have been happy if they had. My older brother and his roommate (my former roommate) and my friend Tanya, who was our photographer, all drove down for the festivities.

The ceremony lasted about 5 mins. It actually might not have even been that long, but it was perfect for us. The Voodoo spirits felt that Bill and I were perfect for each other (and who could really agree with that since we were both tickled to be having our wedding at a DOUGHNUT shop. LMAO

We had doughnuts and coffee for everyone and then headed over to Old Town Pizza (a haunted pizzeria that Bill loved when he went to Reed) and cut the sugar with a little grease.

As we were finishing our meal the sun started to peek out. I was pleased and dragged Lex, Flint, and Bill to the Rhododendron Gardens across from the college and we took lots of pictures. We had a blast and got some fun shots and some really pretty trees. There is a little pond there that had several types of ducks and a big nosed goose. The golf course also had dozens of Canadian geese. I could not have asked for a better time. It was lovely and fun and tasty. It was everything we could have hoped for and doughnuts too.

Bill says that now we can have doughnuts every Halloween for our anniversary. I just love an excuse to eat doughnuts. Don’t you?

Island Adventure Pt. 2

This is where I met Clint. My new love (sorry honey). Clint is a fluff-ball of a cat. I am so animal starved right now. With Bear and Shadow passing away, Pepper living with Adam and Biff off to his happy new home I have been without daily access to an animal for over a year (well unless you consider Bill… he is quite fuzzy!) I was sitting at the nice table reading my book and breathing in the fresh air, looking out over a lake in the middle of the island away from humans. I hear the pitter patter of little feet. For those of you with children this means something different or so I hear. I look over and coming up the stairs is my new friend. I immediately drop my book and sit on the deck. Clint being a B&B cat knows immediately he has found a new sucker. It’s like when a car salesman sees a woman alone carrying a $2000 purse. Heh

Clint and I spent the rest of the afternoon becoming acquainted. Bill was sweet enough to grab the camera and so I got some lovely pictures of the little beast. After my special time with the kitty Bill and I headed off to dinner. There were a couple of restaurants suggested by the owner of the B&B and so we went off to find something interesting. We ended up at this tiny little place called… (time to google) The Coho Restaurant http://www.cohorestaurant.com/ it is a tiny little 8 table place and we were lucky to get in as someone had cancelled their reservations. It is a little more expensive than we generally prefer but we were being decadent. We ordered Beghrir which is Moroccan Sourdough Crepes served with Roasted Anaheim Peppers & Feta Salad, Hummus, Mixed Olives & Spiced Honey. The spiced honey really gets your attention. It appears their menu changes frequently which would be good since they try to use mostly locally grown foods. Bill had the Beef tenderloin with a chimichurri sauce. I had never had duck before so I ordered a duck that was cooked with some type of apple/cranberry sauce. For dessert we had a Flourless Chocolate Torte for the serious chocolate lover – flourless chocolate cake veiled in a dark chocolate ganache. It was fabulous. After dinner we decided to drive down by the water and get some pictures on our way back to the B&B. Once we arrived back the other guests had already arrived and taken to their rooms so Bill and I decided it was time to splash into our private hot tub. We had been warned of “aggressive deer” by the owner but did not see any that evening. (we had seen one earlier when I was becoming acquainted with Clint.) We enjoyed the tub with a background in the trees and a cloudless sky. Once we were shriveled from water saturation we headed in. I was relaxing on the bed checking email and Bill was reading blogs on his phone when we hear a knock at the door… not the inside door but the door to the deck. Thinking we might discover some aggressive dear I hop out of bed and turn the deck light on. Outside the door looking very persistent that it was time to be loved was Faith, another resident kitty. I am of course not going to turn away a lovely kitty so I opened the door and she prances in and hops on the bed. Faith and I get to know one another but Bill is becoming annoyed because he wants to go to bed. So I put Faith back out the door and we crash.

In the morning the owner (you will notice my pathetic attempt at remembering the owners name but I can tell you all of the animals names… I am sad) tells me that Faith is not usually as forthcoming as Clint with new people and he seemed impressed. After a nice breakfast of waffles, fruit and sausage we sat around talking with the owner for a while. As we are talking there is a new furry face waiting by the door. Obadiah, is the resident dog. He is a rescue dog and is not generally friendly with guests but Obbie takes immediately to me and Bill comes over to say Hi. He can’t help it when it’s a puppy. Heh

We say good bye to the owner and all the animals and head off. Last year a new store opened in the Bellevue Mall called Pelindaba Lavender, they sell all manner of lavender goodies from lavender chocolates, lavender honey, lavender bath salts, lavender hand soap, etc. It is all grown locally at the farm on Friday Harbor so Bill and I drove out to see the farm and gift shop. It was very cool walking through the fields but would have been even better if they had been blooming. We noticed that the lavender looks a lot like rosemary. I have not discovered if they are similar species of plant but they sure do look similar.

We headed back towards the ferry dock at noon hoping to catch the 1pm ferry and thinking that an hour ahead of time should be good since 35 mins would have done it on the way over. We arrive about 10 mins till 12 and we are Stand-by number 5. UGH! I do not like how much waiting there is for ferries. Luckily we could park the jeep and walk over and have lunch while we waited. We went back to the place we had had clams and fish the day before because we needed something fairly fast. It was quite tasty again and then we headed back to the jeep. We played the game again… okay there is another mini cooper (is it the same one we saw on Saturday?) Oh no look at that Fire truck….

The final count came and they were able to not only load 5 but about 35. I guess they must have squeezed them in cracks to get them on. Bill set off with his camera again and this time being genius I brought a jacket. So I picked a nice spot on the north side of the boat which I was told is the best view. I was sitting there enjoying the air when a group came and sat next to me. We started talking and they were from eastern Washington and we struck up a conversation about everything from “Talk like a pirate day” to appliance repair (their line of work). We had a nice chat and all laughed at the Volvos owners being called to shut off their alarms. Both groups had heard the same thing on the way TO the island even though we were on separate ferries. All 3 instances were Silver Volvos. So if you own a silver Volvo remember… Don’t put your alarm on when you are on the ferry. It will just go off every time the boat rocks.

I said good bye to my new friends and Bill and I headed down to the jeep. We drove down I-5 and stopped at the RV Liquidation they were having near one of the casinos. Decided it would be a good place to have dinner and then we headed home. It was really a lovely weekend and a nice “hop in the jeep and go” times. We have been so spontaneous this summer. I do love being spontaneous but I always forget something important. LOL I swear I am going to get a bag and put all necessary items in it and hide it in the jeep so I will have backup for when I forget my toothbrush, tank top, or hair ties.

If you ever make it out to Friday Harbor stop in at the Inn to the Woods. It is absolutely beautiful and of course has lovely kitties that make the stay even better. Friday Harbor is a beautiful area. If you live in or around Seattle and are looking for a nice weekend get away, Go!

Island Adventure Pt. 1

So Labor Day weekend Bill and I wanted to take a little road trip. We have been getting hitch-itch in spite of the fact we don’t have anything to hitch. Friday afternoon I started to feel ill. Just a little sore throat so I thought maybe my allergies were worse. Saturday morning about 4 am I woke up and felt like I couldn’t breath. I took 2 ibuprofen and sat there in the dark for a bit before I realized I should probably go to the doctor since it felt like someone was sliding a knife down my throat every time I swallowed. I woke Bill up and told him I needed to go to the urgent care. I hate hospitals and so after spending so much time in ERs this year I determined I would much rather go to the Urgent Care then the ER. It would also be cheaper. So we load ourselves in the jeep with Kindles and DS and go prepared to kill a few hours. Bill “knows” where the Urgent Care is and so I didn’t stop and try to get an address. He had taken Adam there years ago for some reason or another, so off we go to Issaquah. We arrive in Issaquah and where Bill now “thinks” the urgent care should be… nope not there it’s an ER. I am still not in that much pain so I am determined to go to the urgent care instead. I grab my phone and look up the address. I put the address in Cher (our jeep’s gps) and off we go a few miles back the way we came. We arrive and Bill drops me off at the door, but hmmmm it looks a little dark and there are no cars in the parking lot. I go inside and walk to the area that has signs that say Urgent Care there is a sign “We have moved” and an address. I walk back outside (did I mention it is raining?) and back to the Jeep which bill has now parked. We get back in and give Cher the new address. She then directs us back a mile in the direction we had just come from the ER. Finally we found it and find out they had moved only a week or 2 before. Luckily there is no one in the waiting room when we arrive. I check in and fill out the pages of paperwork (why don’t they just create a friggin database? SERIOUSLY) and wait for the dr. The ibuprofen has done its job and the swelling has gone down somewhat so I have less fear of suffocation. The nurse calls me back after only 20 mins and I go sit while the nurse takes my vitals and asks why I am there. Nurses really do do all the work don’t they? Shortly after the doctor comes in, looks at my throat and in my ears and gives me 2 prescriptions but I am told not to use them unless I get worse (which I did but then I got better). I am not going to die even though I still feel the imaginary knife slicing my throat open every time I swallow.

We go home and sleep till noon having decided not to bother going out so that I can stay home and rest. So basically Labor Day weekend sucked. It was rainy and blah and I was blah.

The Friday afternoon after Labor Day I was feeling much better. On our way home from work Bill asks what I want to do for the weekend. We him and haw and Bill jokingly says “Let’s go to the beach”. Unlike Labor Day weekend this particular weekend was supposed to be lovely. 70s and sunny you don’t get that much in Washington in September. I say “sure let’s go.” Bill then tries to determine if I am serious, which I am. We get home determined to go somewhere. We are thinking about going to Long Beach, Washington and so I hop on the computer and look to see if there are events there that weekend. There was a old car show and so I check the hotel room prices to see how much it will effect it. The last time we stayed in Long Beach we stayed at a nice little Super 8 only a block from the beach. It was summer time and so we did not bawk when it cost $78. I called and the best room rate was $120. EEK! This is not a ritzy area. It is a small backwoods beach on the west coast or Washington not South Beach, Florida! We decided to go home and look at other options. Once we arrived home I pulled out a few magazines I had picked up this summer about “Staycations” I really love that term and it is something my family was famous for. I can not even tell you all the little mini-vacations we went on. Just get in the car and see where you end up.

The first one I flipped through was the Sunset Magazines Great Northwest Escapes. They had a listing with lots of different islands in San Juan County. We read a little about Friday Harbor and decided that it sounded interesting. I found it fascinating that Bill had never been to the San Juans even though he has lived here over 20 years. We decided to wait and drive up in the morning on Saturday to save money on a hotel. We had planned to catch the 8:15 ferry and then we would have the whole weekend to explore the island. We headed out for dinner because we didn’t want to buy anything that would go bad while we were gone and we were feeling lazy. After dinner Bill kept saying his foot hurt. He had thought maybe he had a bug bite or something and when I had looked at it before we left the house it was a little pink and a tiny bit of swelling so we didn’t worry about it. We arrived home about 9pm and when Bill took off his shoe I gasped. It was red and swollen and looked like he had poured boiling water over it, covered in blisters and just all around ugly. So I sigh, grab my keys and back to the Urgent Care we go. After waiting about 40 mins they took him back. He had gone walking at lunch and somehow had gotten into so poison sumac. I had never heard of it. The doctor gave him a prescription for a steroid to take and one for an antihistamine. I was very glad we had not left for the island that night.

We did not get home until late and so we did not pack. Also Bill wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to go and so we decided to play it by ear. Going to bed late means getting up late, I woke up and decided to relax until Bill woke up. When he finally came to we discussed whether we wanted to go. Bill said yes and I bound out of bed throwing things into the overnight bag. I hadn’t wanted him to think I would be sorely disappointed if we stayed home but I think I would have. It was almost 8 and if we hurried we should be able to make it to the ferry place 30 minutes before which the website said would be plenty of time. They lie. LOL We arrived about 35 minutes early and I relaxed. With a 2-hour drive through Seattle you never can tell if it will turn into a 5 hour drive. We paid for our ferry ride ($63 which shocked us a little but was fine) and I was happy to discover you only pay on the way off the main land. That way if you run out of money while you are there you can still get home. J. This did make me wonder when I noticed cars for sale on the island. You could walk on for much cheaper than you could drive on so do cars that are sold on the island have to pay a ferry fee? Once we had our ticket we drove up to get in line. The woman says, “Well you are #1 for our Stand-by.” Bill and I were shocked. Will we make it to the island? If not the next ferry doesn’t leave for over 3 hours. This could put a remarkable dent in our Island Adventure. We sat there waiting for the ferry to arrive and to learn our fate. We spoke with one of the ladies that works there while we waited and she said there would be a good chance we would make it on. So we bided our time reading books we had brought with us and watching the clock. The ferry arrived and the cars unloaded. I am continuously amazed at how many cars and trucks, RVs and semis they can fit on those things. Line after line of cars began loading. We sat and played the, “how many small cars vs. big cars are there?” game. Oh Look! A mini-cooper. Oh and a Prius! Uh Oh there goes a 5er (Heavy Duty Truck pulling a 5th wheel RV). It is really not a fun game when the fate of your day lies in how many big SUVs there are in front of us.

Finally the last line starts and we watch as they get the vehicles situated on-board waiting for the call to determine if we would be driving back into Anacortes for those berries at the little Farm Stand I refused to stop at on our way through. The traffic director is standing in front of the jeep rocking the cone back and forth waiting for word. Magic to our ears we hear, “Five”. The woman smiles at us and moves the cone beckoning us forth to our fun in the sun.

Once onboard we vacated the vehicle to go up on the deck. It was a little chill and so I went inside and sat by a window, watching Bill run from bow to the stern and back taking pictures and burning up gig on the camera. The trip is quite lovely. You got a great view of Mount Baker (or apparently as the locals call it “Mount Tammy Faye Baker”) and the islands that make up San Juan County. Finally we arrived at Friday Harbor. Being nearly the last vehicle on we knew we had time. So we sat and patiently waited just happy that we weren’t still on the other side of the water. Once we knew we were moving we figured we had better find lunch. We pulled off the ferry and mad our way up the one street through the “town” and on our left saw a sign for a visitor center. Knowing we had to find somewhere to stay before the last ferry headed back to the main land in case it was sold out we found a parking space and walked over to grab some info. As soon as we had reached land we saw a nice little restaurant that had mostly outdoor seating and claimed to have “Great Seafood” Fried pretty much anything. Clams, scallops, fish, etc. and if you don’t like seafood there were hamburgers and chicken too. The place looked oddly familiar which is funny because I am 100% certain I had never been on this particular island before. So after grabbing some info we headed over. Bill ordered fried clams and I ordered the fish sandwich. It was fabulous. As I was going through the info we had picked up at the town hall area it had a little ad for the restaurant we were sitting in, it said, “As seen on Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels”. Of course this would be why some strange place looked familiar. Grin.

Bill started going through hotels and B&Bs to find us a place to stay. He called the only chain hotel on the island and they were booked except for a Master suite and we didn’t want to pay as much for a master suite at a name brand then we could at a nice B&B. I have always wanted to stay in a B&B. The only thing that really has put me off is sharing a bathroom. If I need to go in the middle of the night I don’t want to have to find clothes. So Bill looked at the list of B&Bs listed and knowing how funny I am about names he suggested the “Inn to the Woods” I giggled and he decided to give them a call. They had one room left but it was their biggest room that, dreadfully had it’s own private deck and hot tub. How horrible for us. Of course it was not much more expensive than the master suite at the brand hotel so Bill booked it. It did cost more than we had preferred to spend but we were only staying one night instead of the 3 night we would have if we had gone out on Labor Day weekend. The room would not be ready until after 3pm so we decided to go “get lost” we figured being on an island there wouldn’t be much to getting lost. We were surprised at how lost you could actually get though. Grin

We drove around about 1/3 of the island looking at the beaches (well they call them beaches but being from Florida I have to disagree) and drove through one of the County Parks. We drove a big wide circle and ended back at the B&B about 3:30. The man that owns the place showed us our room and I changed out of my shirt that had gotten a little sweaty walking around up and down a few of the hills. We went and sat on the main deck and took our books to kill time before dinner.

This would be where I would meet my new friend, Clint. More soon...

For pictures from the weekend check here: www.twotwistedlimes.smugmug.com

Retail Therapy

Last Friday we discovered we had a gift card that had to be used by the end of the month. Lately we have been stimulating the economy (GPS, Kindle, Camera) and we really don’t NEED anything (not that we needed all of that LOL) so whenever we go to Frys Bill get’s this glazed look when he stops by the HDTV that is generally running the latest Pirates movie. The glazed look is not entirely for the buxom beauties on the screen but is also for the HD detail OF the Buxom beauties. Hehe. We had discussed purchasing a Blu-ray player before but since we do not have an HD TV it didn’t make any sense. We were determined (apparently not determined enough) to wait till our current TV set died before purchasing a new HDTV. Well we decided that it couldn’t hurt to use our gift card as part of the payment for the purchase a Blu-ray player. Since the price difference between blu-ray players and a PS3 are not much difference with the current drop in prices and the PS3 is a multi-tasker we went to Frys on Friday evening and picked on up. Now in the past my first movie in each new type of media has been Little Mermaid. It was my first DVD and it was my first Digital purchase. So I was hoping to grab it but low and behold Disney being the hording bastards they are, Little Mermaid is not currently available. So we pick up the next best thing Cars. We didn’t really know if there would be any difference with our current TV and so we also bought a live human movie just in case (Point of No Return). So we go home (it’s now after 10pm) and hook up the new player. We realize as we are reading that the PS3 does not come with a HDMI cable. So Bill goes online looking at things and discovers that the TV we have will make no difference at all with a HD player. He is very disappointed and I have to admit it did take the “cool” out of having a new toy. Grin So we went to bed that night a little disappointed.

Off topic somewhat: Bill and I listen to a morning radio show each day on the way to work and while we get ready. Several mornings each week there is an ad from a store called Video Only. The basic skit is a woman that has looked up the best TVs and now is ready to buy. She talks about how she is going to go from store to store checking prices. The guy says “Well you should go to Video Only they have the lowest prices.” Then the jingle pops on and says “Go to Video Only or You’ll be sorry.” The ad has begun to have a life of it’s own in our house. After the fourth or fifth week of hearing the same ad I groaned and said to Bill, “Why does this woman need to buy a TV again… didn’t she get one last week?” I went on saying this every time I heard the commercial. Finally Bill decides she must be buying them to family members too. Now we have a running joke going on about who the TV might be for this week. Since it runs nearly every week we have now gone on to obscure friends and very far reaching family. Grin

Back on topic: So Bill having been brain washed by the constant deluge of Video Only commercials decides to pop on their website and take a look at their ad. They say they have the best prices around and so I went through and tried matching TVs listing on their sales flier with TVs on Amazon. Unfortunately they are smart and do not post TV models in their ads so it became fairly difficult to match price points. However, We did match up 2 brands where the prices listed on the ad were less then any of the TVs made for that brand listed online so we determined they probably did have decent prices. Now remember we have a TV that works just fine but is not HD. This has not bothered us even though we have access to HD TV stations with our cable. (Apparently Bill didn’t know this or we might have given in sooner, LOL.) So Saturday we decided to go over and see what they had. Being a cost efficient person that I am but with no time to plan we stopped at the library to read up on what Consumer Reports had to say about HDTVs, while Bill looked at NADA Values on a few motorhomes we had looked at on our trip home from Friday Harbor. Then we set off. While we were on the way to the store Bill decided he had a hankering to go to the movies, this was funny to me since we were going to buy a new TV that we could play movies on but I don’t complain when he wants to go to the movies since I missed so many in past years when people I knew didn’t want to go. So we headed to the theater and caught Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (very fun flick) and then after having lunch (if you aren’t hungry going into this movie you will be when you come out) we headed over to get a TV. When I go shopping for anything over $100 I like to go prepared to deal with sales people. I really dislike pushy sales people. So When we left the house I grabbed a notebook. I had written prices and model numbers from a couple websites so I could actually do some price comparisons if they had the same models. When we had stopped at the library I complied even more information. So I went in with my notebook. For those that do not know, if you want to avoid the idiot sales people that just want to push something bigger and better and really don’t know anything about the product they are selling, take a notebook. It is like Sales person Kryptonite. LOL I walk in there geared up. Now usually when I do this I have spent months researching. When I went in looking for a new bike I had a very good idea of what I wanted. This intidates sales people. Going in to get the TV I was armed with just enough knowledge to make me dangerous. Bill and I had discussed that we did not need something 40 inches or bigger. We have nowhere to hang a TV in the family room because of a massive fireplace and more windows then should be allowed in any one room. The TV stand we have would not accommodate anything much bigger then a 36 inch. The current TV we had was a 27 inch. So we went in looking for a 26 inch or a 32 inch. It is funny to me that TVs used to have a much broader range of sizes. Nowadays you can get the 26, the 32, or the 500 (exaggerating but that’s what it looks like). When you walk into the store the first thing you see are the Massively monstrous TVs that you would have to hang on a wall because they just wouldn’t fit anywhere standing up! We looked right and looked left and finally discovered on the far wall hidden were the reasonably sized TVs. I head in that direction and there is a lovely couple being dogged by a salesman the likes of Ted Danson’s character in Made in America. I made up my mind that if THAT one decided to talk to me I would simply tell him, “I don’t like you, can I speak to someone else?”

Luckily he was tied up trying to convince the couple that they really wanted a 58 inch $4000 TV and not the 42 inches that would cost them a quarter that. Bill and I ignored all of the people that tried to talk to us. Meanwhile we were looking at the different options for the size we wanted. Funny how they don’t put the 720i resolutions anywhere near the 1080i resolutions so you can actually tell the difference. It was also funny to me how certain TVs had much brighter color or dimmer for ones that they might not make as much on. Ahh the fun part of advertising. Of course none of the TVs they had matched the ones I had written on my paper since they discounting models at the same frequency that McDonalds sell McNuggets. So we looked at the brands that had had better ratings and picked out a nice 32 inch that was on deep discount due to the fact that the must have updated a button or added an input and the one we were buying was now discontinued. So we spent $399 and I am fairly pleased. We figured once we sell the house if we have a place for something bigger or different in the future we can look at it then. God knows the new electronics don’t have the life spans that old electronics did. Once we made our choice I sought out the least offensive of the sales people. The nice man must have seen my notebook because he did not try to up-sell us. He simply went in the back grabbed the TV and then made sure we had the least expensive HDMI cords in the place. Ahh what a nice buying experience. We went home and plugged in our new toy to our new toy and stuck Cars in the player. We were very happy with the video quality but I think I notice it more on none animated movies and TV. Cars is just so beautiful to begin with it would be hard to make it even better.

And so we now have a 27 inch Sony non-HD TV that needs a home. Know anyone that would want it? Heh

So much for my determination. Although I think I needed a little retail therapy.

The Rest of the Vegas Story

The rest of the Vegas story. I am not feeling very wordy lately and so I will give ya what I got.

The mornings Bill and I had to ourselves since the kids rolled out of bed between 12 and 3pm. When I would refer to “Morning” it was accepted I meant after people got up. Wednesday we decided Lions and Roller coasters were in order. We grabbed the train/light rail thingy down to the MGM and went over to see the Lions after a fabulous lunch at ‘Wichcraft (sandwiches) then over to the NY NY for Roller Coaster time. Jello shots on a hot afternoon sounded good to everyone so we grabbed those on the way back to change for the evening outing.

That evening we were headed off to Cirque de Soliel. After looking over all the restaurants in the area for dinner I decided the Kahunaville looked interesting. Me being the tour guide for the week I figured I would throw suggestions out and if someone had a better idea we could discuss, if not we didn’t all stand around the lobby going “Gee I don’t know, what do YOU want for dinner?”

Kahunaville was perfect. The drinks were fabulous and the atmosphere was cheesy Hawaiian style. The meals were divine. There was Pina Colada chicken, Stir-fries, and excellent salads.

The nice thing about the restaurant was it was directly across from the show room for Mystere. The show was excellent minus the child and his grandmother in the seats behind us that were talking at full volume through the whole show regardless of the shushing of everyone within 10 rows. Side note: I don’t mind children where they belong. A late evening showing of a Cirque de Soleil in Vegas is NOT where they belong. I don’t begrudge the little buggers yapping at the theater during a Pixar film but if you want to take your kid to the ballet, the theater, or Cirque teach them to keep their trap shut for at least 20 mins at a time. If it had been oohhhs or ahhs it would have been one thing but talking about stuff completely unrelated to the show in $130 per SEAT shows is a bit annoying. Thank you very much.

Back on target. The show was cool and I think everyone enjoyed it. There were a couple parts that made me go “WTF?” but I loved the trampolines and the gymnastics and the drums.

Thursday was “Ladies Day” The ladies and Harvey went to the spa and got massages. Harvey decided to skip the facial since he is fully bearded and he didn’t really feel hip on wear makeup and so while the ladies continued their treatments he wandered. We had massages, facials, and full makeup treatments. This took the majority of the day. That evening was Thunder from Down Under. We had decided to do a package deal and so the Limo picked us up at the hotel at 6. We then went to dinner at PF Changs in the Planet Hollywood hotel and then the limo carted us off to the show at the Excalibur where we had front row seats to the show.

The Boys (minus Harvey who decided it would be interesting to go with the ladies) spent the day playing in Poker tournaments. After the show the Boys met us at Excalibur to discuss plans for Friday. This is where things become funny. I had planned to a T the entertainment for the full week minus Friday. I wanted to leave cushion in case people saw something while we were there that they HAD to do. So remember what I said before about dinner? We had 7 people standing around the casino going “Well I don’t know, What do YOU want to do?” I sat back in a slot machine stool enjoying the chaos. There were a number of options. I finally piped up and said the only thing I wanted to do was go to the M&M store and get a new t-shirt. For those that know me I LOVE the M&M shirt I bought in Vegas 3 years ago. It is now a larger size then I generally wear and so I wanted to get a new one. It seemed several people wanted to go to the Aquarium at Mandalay Bay and so we set a ridiculous time to meet Friday morning of 10am. Grin…

Friday morning 4/6 of the group was ready at 10. We decided we could mosey over to the Mandalay Bay while the other 2 got ready. We took the train thingy down to MGM, wandered through the Excalibur into the Luxor. We all stood in awe of the Luxor and I realized that if I had been in the Luxor on my previous trip I would probably have paid the extra to stay there this time. Then on to Mandalay Bay. By the time we arrived at Mandalay Bay the other 2 parts of the part had taken a cab and arrived as well. We went to the Aquarium which was very nice. Not the best aquarium I have ever been to but superior to the Seattle one. They have an area where you are under water and it is built to look like you are inside a Pirate Ship complete with treasure. It was neat and Adam took lots of pictures. They had the most amazing collection of Lionfish I had ever seen and so on the way out the magnet I selected for the trip was a Lionfish.

After the aquarium our group split off as some of us wanted to go to the M&M store and others decided to go to the Pinball Museum. I wish we had had more time, I would have loved to have seen the Pinball Museum. My group wandered back through to the Luxor and we had lunch at the much anticipated Tacos and Tequilas. Since it was so early in the day they did not, in fact, have any Tequila temptresses. We did all buy different types of Margaritas (Apple, Watermelon, Original, and I forget) I decided very quickly that it is NOT tequila that I do not like it is BAD Tequila. Good Tequila is quite tasty, especially when mixed with the proper juices.

The M&M store was fun and we got to see the new 3D movie which was cute. We grabbed new shirts and the boys got boxers (I will have to get a picture of these) and we wandered through the heat (107 GACK) back to Ballys where we got on the tain thingy and returned to the hotel. The group got together that evening and did our one trip to a buffet. We went to the Gold Nugget because it is on Fremont Street and it was not nearly as good as it was 3 years ago. Bill and I were sad. The kids (including Bill) got to play with their DIY straws. This was a lot of fun and other people at tables near were very jealous.

After dinner we watched the Fremont Experience. It was 70s music in honor of Woodstock. They played American Pie and a Queen one that was several songs. We then headed back to the Bellagio to watch more fountains. We walked through the gardens at the Bellagio and enjoyed the giant frogs and ladybugs made from flowers. Then for a midnight (1am) snack at the BLT in the Mirage (we had seen them on Food Networks, Chef Vs. City).

Saturday we did not have to leave for the airport until 5pm so we wandered over to the Lions and Tigers and Dolphins (oh my!) exhibit at the Mirage. When we were at BLT Burger the night before (having luscious Roasted Marshmallow Milkshakes) we noticed a sign that said “Baby Jaguar” so of course Lex and I knew what we needed to do. We got great pictures and some fun video of the baby and the dolphins. We went back to the hotel and played some Craps. Bill had to teach us since none of us knew what to do. We lost only $40 between the 4 of us that played. Then I played some more electronic Roulette and won back more then the $20 I had lost at craps. Without the $20 I lost playing Craps I would have brought home twice what I gambled. If I was gambling much that would sound really neat but in essence I won $30. Better then losing though. We then headed back to go to the airport and head home.

It was a great trip. I think everyone had fun. I love Vegas and look forward to going back again. I just love the food and the shows and the fun.

Vegas Baby!

Vegas is a fun place. There is literally something for everyone. If you like food there are hundreds of different restaurants. If you like to gamble well every hotel has a hall. If you like shows you have a variety from simple afternoon magic shows for the kids to extravagant Cirque de Soliel. There are pools for the sun bathers (some with sand). There are Aquariums full of fish and zoo like exhibits with everything from lions to dolphins. Street performers survive on Fremont Street and along the strip taking tips for their art. You can find look –a-likes for everything from Jack Sparrow to Spiderman. If you have time to venture a little off strip there are museums and pretty much everything under the sun.

About 6 years ago Bill took Lex to see a Cirque de Soliel show. After the show they talked about how cool it was and Lex says, “Yeah but the REALLY cool ones are in Las Vegas, Will you take me to Vegas for my 21^st birthday?” Of course Bill being the accommodating person he is and not thinking she would ever remember such a thing he says, “Sure” and so begins my tale. Approximately 6 months ago Lex and I sat down to discuss what types of things we could do in Vegas if we were to go for her birthday. There would have to be a Cirque de Soliel but which one? What else would we do? Where would we go? I love planning things so I latched on to this with a vengeance.

People have been known to tell me that I over-do things. I probably do but in the end as long as I can afford it, does it harm anyone? No. I cannot have children of my own and having Lex (21) and Adam (24) I missed out on a lot of birthdays. I guess this past week I was trying to make up for lost time.

I planned to have t-shirts printed but after finding out they would cost $30 each from a printer we decided to go for Iron-ons. The color of the shirt was the next question. Lex’s favorite drink is an Appletini and so when I saw the lime green shirts I was tickled… green. I also knew from my years at WizKids that this color would stand out in the sea of black and blue that too many people wear. Upon gathering Tuesday morning I made sure everyone (except apparently Adam) had a shirt. Due to a hiccup we had a slight change in accompaniments. 3 of our party were unable to attend due to various reasons and so a last minute another friend agreed to come along. The list of attendees and their association follows:

Me (Pseudo-Step-Mom and organizer)

Bill (Father and all around goof-ball)

Anne (Mother and excellent slot player)

Adam (Son and Pseudo-family-photographer)

Jolene (Adam’s special someone)

Harvey (Lex’s good friend and conservative craps player)

Alexa (a.k.a. Lex THE Birthday Girl)

We all met at the house Tuesday morning (early… way too early) and got into our own private Shuttle to the Airport. I had bought Lex a special hat for her to wear for the big day. It was a hit in the airport, on the plane, in the shuttle, walking along the strip later, but I digress. We got on the plane at a little after 10am and we had lift-off. As we read the in-flight magazine Lex made the decision she wanted to have a drink with breakfast. She decided on a Jack and Coke. This was her first legal drink. We all were excited and took lots (LOTS) of pictures. Upon arriving in Vegas we got a shuttle to our hotel (Harrah’s).

Harvey had to fly out from Portland so he arrived a few hours after we did. We tried to hide his bus ticket but were too obvious about our stealthiness that someone else stole it before Harvey arrived. He still managed to buy his own ticket and get to the hotel. We started the evening by having dinner at Toby Keith’s Bar & Grill. Instead of a special cake you got a free round of birthday shots. With alcohol in our systems we ordered dinner and Lex got to pass out some oddities I had picked out to embarrass all of us and not just THE Birthday Girl.

After dinner we decided to meander along the strip. It was a week night and so traffic was lighter than usual. We stopped at one of the drink stops along the strip and bought a few pilsners with some mixed frozen drinks and set off. We spent the evening at the Bellagio fountains in awe of their well… awesomeness. Hehe

Lex had her picture taken with a few “celebrities” and as we were walking back to the hotel everyone kept shouting Happy Birthday! This could have had something to do with the 18 inch tall bright pink birthday cake hat she was wearing or the BRIGHT green t-shirts the whole group was wearing that said “Happy 21^st Birthday, Alexa” on the back.

Don’t forget to check out our photo page for more pictures. More to come.

A day of completely unnecessary but enjoyable driving

Found a Safeway (grocery store) with Wifi on the way home. Decided to stop and post yesterdays blog and Bill needs some Tylenol... he is catching my cold. :-(

So this morning started out with me having a weird dream about the mouse. LOL I dreamt that I had come out of the bedroom to use the bathroom and the mouse was trying to leave the house but my kitty Shadow was standing outside the sliding glass door, another kitty was standing outside the front door and both were trying to eat him. He then asked me for help to get out and promised not to come back in the house till after I had gone home. I did not want to see the little mouse hurt and so I distracted Shadow while he escaped. I then went to FINALLY went into the bathroom to find a nasty dirty disgusting rat waiting for me. I jumped up on the back of the toilet with my arms spread out on the walls trying not to fall while the rat snapped and jumped at me. Meanwhile Bill slept within eyesight of all the action while I screamed his name trying to get him to come and save me. I woke up with a start and discovered I REALLY had to pee. LOL

Knowing mice are nocturnal I figured it was safe to enter the living room, so after removing the blockade from in front of the door I came out of the bedroom and we have not seen the mouse again. Yet…

Bill made breakfast on the grill. I am so happy with my little Roadtrip Grill from Coleman. I bought the griddle attachment and it was perfect for making pancakes with ham and eggs. Then worked just as well for the grilled roastbeast and cheese we had for lunch. It also has a burner attachment that I could have used on the other side to heat up the soup we had with our sandwiches but why waste the stove we had in the kitchen?

Anyway, after breakfast we decided it was a little too chilly to go walk on the beach and it was a little hazy. So instead we decided to drive down to Ocean Shores to pick up a few things while we waited for the sun to burn off the haze. We went to get conditioner (since I forgot mine at the castle) and a few snack items for those times when you don’t want a meal but you need something. We drove down on the beach and then came back through the little town and went to the supermarket (not so super) and picked up our snacks and remove the roofs. On the way out of the area we watched as lines and lines of people headed in toward the ocean. We got a couple miles out when I realized…. We forgot the conditioner. We look to our handy dandy GPS and she tells us the next closest grocery store is 13 miles away. We figure we aren’t doing anything and the sky is still off and on overcast so off we go to the store. We arrive in Hoquiam and realize that the store is about the size of an average 7-11 and see that the Safeway in Aberdeen is only 2 miles off. We head off to Aberdeen, upon arriving we grab the conditioner and then decide to find a “scenic” route back to the cabins for lunch. We spend an extra 15 minutes getting back and then have lunch. By this time it is about 3pm and we still really haven’t done anything. So we decide we really want to drive in the sand with our new toy (Sunny the Jeep) so we head down to the water and discover that much of the area is blocked off to vehicles between May and September for “tourist season” (Is that when I get to shoot tourists?) so we drive down toward Ocean Shores again and drive out on the sand several miles north and mosey south on the beach area where cars are allowed. We find a little area of the dunes where 4wheelers have created a path and after bumping our way along that for a while we realized we might not be allowed to be there. Heh

Once we got back to Ocean Shores it was still fairly chilly but the sun was out full force so roofless we drove down all the back roads and found all the little nooks and crannies including the Jetty that was built to the south of the peninsula. We started getting hungry and luckily we had picked up a guide book from a shop we had been in earlier so I started perusing it to determine if there was anything that intrigued us for dinner. I discovered a place called Home Port Seafood and Steak. It looked interesting and had local flair. The specials looked interesting so I ordered a prime rib (8 oz for only $14.99) and Bill was intrigued by the Dungeness Crab Fettuccini. YUM! YUM! YUM! If you find yourselves in Ocean Shores I highly suggest you stop in. The atmosphere is similar to any family owned country style diner but the food is better than some meals I have easily paid twice as much for.

After dinner we meandered back up the beach toward the cabin. We got some great pictures of Sunny in the sunset and truly enjoyed the drive. The wind made the temperatures a bit unbearable but being able to sit in the jeep on the sand was excellent. Every day I am happy we got Sunny. She is the perfect vehicle for our adventures.

Back at the cabin I spent some time cleaning things up and packing anything we won’t need tomorrow morning. Loading all the unnecessaries into Sunny and then Bill built us a fire. We toasted some marshmallows and made smores. All in all a completely pointless day. I can’t wait to have more of them.

I am still battling this little cold I was blessed with but luckily it seems to be going through the cycles. My teeth are weird. My lower left root canal feels 100% fine. No pain or discomfort. My upper right the gums are all torn up from the dental dam they put on me and it hurts when I pucker or spit (figured this one out brushing my teeth) although it is not swollen so I am hoping it just needs some healing time. Anytime I eat something hard that hits the gum I am very aware of it. OUCH!

Tomorrow morning we head home. It will be so nice to get home and still have another day off to recoup and plan meals for the week. Monday starts a whole new push to lose weight. I am still determined to get below 200 pounds by our trip to Vegas in August. I am really going to have to crack down and work at this but I know I can do it… the shoes shops in Vegas are calling my credit card. LOL (for those that I haven’t told if I am under 200 by Vegas I get to buy myself a very nice pair of heels while I am there.) I will be planning out my meals for the week while we drive home tomorrow. If you have any ideas for healthy recipes I would love to hear them!

Into the woods…

So there are times in life that I realize what a chicken I am. More on that in a moment…

So today was beautiful. We left the castle at about 9. We stopped at the Village Bakery Café and had breakfast and grabbed a chocolate croissant and a Hawaiian fudge brownie for the road. We drove all over Port Townsend (a quaint little town) and then spent most of the day discovering little back roads from Port Townsend, through Sequim (pronounced Squim, like squid) into Port Angeles and then on to Forks. Forks is quite… unremarkable. We had decided to have lunch in Forks and we had a selection of about… 3 restaurants. On top of that we were hoping to grab a few supplies for the cabin (we brought the travel grill and the cabin has a full kitchen) and there was only 1 grocery store and it looked to be about 50 years old. Sadly they had a better selection of Twilight t-shirts then they did sandwich meat but at least they had most of what we needed.
After lunch we headed down to Iron Springs Resort. Bill and his family had been here many times for family vacations and he and I have been twice before. The cabins sit right along the ocean on cliffs and it is just beautiful. We have come for a few reasons, we are not sure once we sell the house when we will be able to make it back and also because after Bear passed it was agreed by the family that Iron Springs was his favorite place and so it was time for Bear to be where he belongs. I also very much needed a break from everything and so here we are at Iron Springs.

I need to get some pictures of the cabins tomorrow then I can post them. It is just astonishingly beautiful and peaceful here. We barely get a cell signal and never manage to get a call. There is no wifi which at times is annoying but is also a relief to know I couldn’t log on if I wanted to. (We have to drive to Ocean Shores tomorrow to get conditioner since I left the one I brought at the castle LOL so I will log on at a coffee shop there to post this.) It is just Bill, me, the waves and the jeep. Well and a lot of trees. Then there is the recent addition of the mouse. Back to where I began this blog… There are some times in life I wish I had toughened up a little. In this area I seem to be painfully woman. Why can a little fuzzy creature that when in a cage or on a computer screen is so cute terrifying when it is running between the couch and the refrigerator? LOL

This evening I had a nice quiet evening to myself. I am still fighting this head cold and so once we were checked in I decided I was just gonna chill out tonight while I sent Bill off to spend his quality time with Bear. I sat on the couch and worked on a couple new play lists for our drive tomorrow and the way home as well as a nice romantic group of songs for the evening. Bill came back just before sunset because it was a tad chilly with the wind coming off the ocean with pretty good force. We sat on the couch chatting with a nice fire in the fireplace. I got up to go to the bathroom while Bill was looking for a snack and I walk back into the living area and I see a little movement near the base of the couch. At first I think it was a play of the light from the fireplace until a few seconds later I see it again… this time it very clearly has a tail. *insert hysterical woman sounds* Well Bill being my “Man” I expect him to go forth and smite the dragon… well Bill is not quite the dragon slayer I had anticipated and so here we sit with the bedroom door closed and a good amount of stuff blocking the crack under it. I don’t know how I will manage to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

We did TRY and chase it from beneath the fridge but once Bill got up enough nerve to look under it there was no sign of the bugger. We don’t know if he found some crack or crevasses or if he might be under the oven. So Bill, being the braver of the two of us, put all our food into the fridge in hopes that it can’t break through the door (LOL) and then we came to hide from the wee mouse. I guess this is payback for playing the Moushunter game on Facebook. LOL

From Bill - I need some equal time here – Leslie squeaked, I responded to the squeak. But then I quickly recovered and armed myself with the fireplace broom. I know people always arm themselves with a broom when confronting a mouse – and it was all we had. OK so it might have been a little short – but it was sturdy. I then got between the furious rodent and Leslie – to protect the incent mouse from her (or was that the other way around). I wanted to move the refrigerator out of the way to look behind it but Leslie kept saying that if I did that I would just end up chasing the mouse back towards her. I think you get the idea – I did my best to slay the dragon (mouse or whatever – but I did not want to hurt it, or me in the process).

Adventures in Memorial Day

So Wednesday I had scheduled 2 root canals. I decided to take Wed-Friday off from work for a little break. I have been burnt out lately and knew I needed some time. What with all the house cleaning and trying to get everything done I have not had much time to relax. So Bill and I planned to take off Friday morning and head to the coast. We had contemplated stopping in Forks to see the area and so as I sat at home battling a little head cold and healing from my root canals I realized that I needed out of the house. Thursday Bill called on his way home and I asked him if he would want to leave that evening and make our way toward the coast.
It’s usually about a 4-5 hour drive when we go to Iron Springs Resort on Copalis Beach and I figured we could drive for a few hours and then find some cheap no-tell motel to crash in for the night. I have spent many a night in no-tell motels and as long as the sheets and bathroom are clean I have no issues. So we throw everything in the jeep hoping we are not forgetting anything (I did… sunscreen) and headed out. We stopped in Tacoma at one of our favorite BBQ joints (we are throwing caution to the wind with our diets for a couple days LOL) and discussed our options. We could drive an hour and stay in Olympia, we could drive an hour and a half and stay at one of the dozens of Casinos in Shelton or we could push a little further and stay in Port Townsend and have a very leisurely drive to Forks where we could maybe stop for lunch. Unfortunately if we pushed to Port Townsend we would be driving past much of the Hood Canal in the dark. Luckily this time of year pure dark doesn’t hit until 9:30pm or so, so we decided to push it and head to Port Townsend. Bill pulled out his phone and started looking for hotels and motels in the area and discovered an interesting one. It is called the Manresa Castle www.manresacastle.com .

Initially the castle was built by Charles Eisenbeis, he was Port Townsend’s first Mayor. It was built in the Prussian design (the man’s origins) and of course is the largest residence ever built in the area (by far). It originally had 30 rooms including a beautiful parlor area with large vaulted ceilings that is now a restaurant. In 1928 the building was bought by a group of Jesuit priests that built a large wing and used the building as a training facility. This fascinates me because if you think about 1928 how on earth would anyone find a Jesuit school in Port Townsend? I mean in today’s world it took us 4 hours to get here on our fancy dancy highway system. Port Townsend has water on several sides between the Hood Canal and several lakes not to mention we aren’t far from the ocean. Just goes to show you the power of word of mouth advertising. Heh

The building is beautiful. This morning we snagged a paper that the hotel provides for a self guided walking tour. We walked through the building. I have pictures I will post later. The differences in style between that the Eisebeis family had done versus the more simple tastes of the Jesuits is profound. The wood work on the original potion of the castle is devastatingly beautiful hand crafted and carved with intricate design. The Jesuit section is very simple and only necessary work done except for the elaborate arches in their choir loft. The rooms in the hotel are all decorated in Victorian Style. Our room has a beautiful antique bureau with a mirror attached. The rest of the furniture was not as impressive but nice. The bathroom has a nice antique style sink and my only complaint was the shower head was so low I had to limbo to wash my hair. LOL They have a small continental breakfast in the old choir room which has beautiful wood walls and was split in half with a floor to make an upstairs banquet hall that looks like it is used for weddings and events. They say the third floor is haunted but we did not have any supernatural experiences. Of course I was mixing drugs between my Nyquil and my Vicodin for my teeth so I don’t know if I would have believed anything if I had seen it anyway. LOL
Today we are off to find breakfast. As we got lost (of course) on our way last night we DID discover a very nice looking bakery. So we will be stopping in to see what goodies we can find there and then we will be driving Highway 101 out to Forks and then down to Copalis Beach and our cabin on the ocean.

Hope you are all having a fine Friday! I am so glad to take a break from real life and go off exploring.

Good friends and Good Food!

I read somewhere that if you really want to get to know an area get out and walk. I am really discovering how true this is. Bill and I have spent most afternoons and evening and some of each weekend walking. When the weather is bad we walk in malls or wherever we can find shelter but with all the sun and beautiful weather we have had this spring we have been walking trails we knew were there but never really paid much attention to before. Whether it’s a trail that runs behind the local grocery store and through the town arboretum or a bike path that used to be a train track that runs miles and miles and has hidden parks and picnic areas we are learning all types of interesting things about the area. A month ago Bill showed me a path that runs along the nearby Cedar River. After a fairly short walk we discovered a bridge that was being replaced with a sign that explained King County’s plans for the path. It was quite cool. Then he showed me a path that runs behind the scenes right through the center of town and through the parks areas in Maple Valley.

Last week we were driving around and decided to check out the Green River Trail in Tukwila. We had gone down to REI to pick up a couple of Camelbaks, I have fallen in love with my Camelbak backpack and decided to take advantage of the big sale they were having to grab a few more. J I don’t know if I figured if I spent more money on hiking gear I would be more likely to do it or what… heheh

So we started along the path and about a mile or so in we discovered this cute little park practically in the middle of nowhere. The closest parking for the park we found later is about 1/5 of a mile away. So we decided we are going to look up the Green River Trail and spend the next month (or so) discovering it.

So yesterday was Bill’s birthday. We went a little overboard this weekend but you only have birthdays once a year. We spent Sunday early afternoon at the ball game. What a game Boston Red Sox V. Mariners. I am becoming conflicted as to who I want to win in these games… I think it has something to do with Griffey being back and the hope that maybe this year will be the best year in a LONG time. J I am the under-dog supporter. After the game We went out to lunch with one of my best friends in the world Amy and her sister. After a poll I had heard that one of the best places to eat here was Elliott’s on the waterfront. So we headed down and spent a couple hours walking in the sunshine and catching up. Then we had dinner. I have never had the pleasure of eating Copper River Salmon before. With the season being celebrated on the news this week I figured I was in for a treat. I had the Salmon and asparagus with wild rice. It was fabulous. Bill got the Dungeness Crab grilled in a sweet and spicy sauce. Since it was his birthday we had dessert. His choice was these chocolate truffles they roll in graham crackers and almonds and then DEEP FRY with vanilla ice cream they put in a little bowl made out of something similar to a brittle. Yum!

It was great to see Amy again after soooooooooooo many years. I have decided there is not much better in the world then good friends and good food… preferably together!

I am a bit burnt out from work and I have 2 root canals on Wednesday so I have decided to take Wed. through Friday off. I am going to relax at home and hang out while the cleaners come and do the carpets. Then we should be able to actually list the house by the end of the week. (crosses fingers). Wish us luck!

I need a vacation...

Okay playing catch up. Life is hectic right now as we try and enjoy the wonderful weekend weather we have been having and make sure the house is ready to sell.

So it’s been a while I will try and catch everyone up on what has been going on. We went to Opening Day at Safeco. Seeing Griffey back with the Mariner’s was a huge treat. The energy at the ballgame was more intense then I have seen since Ichiro hit his 277 (or whatever). It was so nice seeing a crowd of people that didn’t’ just up and leave after the 7th inning stretch.

Bill and I have been walking/hiking anytime the weather is over 50 degrees and on Sunny days over 60 we have been going topless. I LOVE having the jeep when the weather is nice. Our Acura is collecting dust sadly.

Other then that, we have been cleaning the house every spare moment. Every time I think we are close to having it done Bill comes up with 200 more things we have to do and then in the mean time we make more messes in the areas we live in. UGH UGH UGH. I am used to moving out of places when I am done and doing one big clean and handing the keys over to the landlord. Another 50 reasons never to buy a stick house. ARGH! I honestly wish we could move out because then there wouldn’t be any daily mess.

It’s raining today which lately just brings me down but it will be sunny again by the weekend. At least its not too hot or too cold.

We went to REI this weekend and picked up more Camelbaks to use this summer. We are realizing they would have been a godsend to have when we were at Disney last fall.

Another reason to be happy we bought a jeep? This weekend after filling my camelbak for a walk I apparently did not reseal the GALLON jug of water tightly enough. On the way home it tipped over and Whooosh a gallon of water on the floor of the back seat. Oh well. Grab a towel and mop it up… the rugs just let it seep right out. No worries. :-D

I will try and blog more. Lately there really hasn’t been much other then cleaning (ARGH!) and more cleaning (ARGH!) and the occasional hike. Looking forward to summer. We will have lots going on this summer and that will hopefully keep us from making MORE mess in the House. We will hope.

I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

A too clean house is the sign of a wasted life. :-D
Leslie

Monday Monday dah dah da da da da dum

I have been not so subtly reminded I have not blogged in a while. I have been trying to deal with some stress and failing miserably. Ok so where to begin:

Bill has been ok for 3 weeks. Shadow seems to be fine although his sleepy twitch has continued for no apparent reason. I am concerned about the dynamic that has been created between Shadow and Squishy while Shadow was sick but I have no doubt they will work it out. I think Squishy is just finally hitting the age where he thinks he should be King but Shadow has always KNOWN he is King. Shrug

So last week Lex (Bill’s daughter) came home to visit some doctors and she and I and Bill ended up in the ER again since she was in pretty bad pain. She is doing fine now (we can tell because she starts annoying her father at every opportunity). We spent Sunday geocaching in Portland and then drove back up Saturday night and enjoyed a gorgeous day on Sunday by taking a nice walk and then I pressure washed the deck while Bill cleaned the yard. It is so nice to have 70 degree days in April even if I know they won’t last.

The cherry blossoms are blooming. This makes me happy and sad at the same time. Many of you may remember that last year at this time I lost my friend Evelyn. Evelyn and I always had a special connection and I miss her greatly. She was one of the best friends I have ever had… you know the type that you can go a little without talking to but one or the other picks up the phone and makes the call and you talk for hours and you feel like you just saw each other yesterday. Sigh… Well last year when I would see the cherry blossoms I would think of her and smile. This year I see them and I think of her and want to cry. I miss her so much and wish I could hug her again and see her smile.

I have been having nightmares too about people dropping to the ground and having to be rushed to the hospital. I know it’s PTSD and I know that when Bill tells me he is warm (the first sign he is having a problem) doesn’t mean he is going to pass out again but my brain just keeps popping it back up. The other night I had a dream he had a stroke. UGH! I know it will fade with time I just wish it would fade quicker. I don’t like focusing on the negative and since January there has been a lot of negative. So I will try and relax now and have a nice quiet week (well until Lex comes home again on Thursday for another dr appointment) and I WILL enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. This afternoon we plan to go walk by the water somewhere. Catch as many rays as I can before the clouds roll back through. Hehe

I have been having some fun between ER visits, went and saw the Lion King play which was awesome and have plans for some great concerts and baseball for this summer, 8 days till Opening Day! That should be fun! :-)

Now let's see if we can make it through April without an ER visit. :-) 6 days down... only 24 to go. ;-)

Robbed the wrong gal...

You know I am ready for this year to be done. It looks like not much good will come of 2009.

This morning my wallet was stolen.

Out of my purse in my own office. You wanna see someone get pissed off. Done.The jerk didn't get much. I may have had $20-30 in the wallet and I got my cards all canceled before he had any time. Notified the police and they are fairly certain it is someone they have had problems with in the past that walks into offices and takes small things he can put in his pocket.Well he isn't getting much outta me. I already called the police the banks and the credit report people and flagged all my accounts. This means I can't do anything for 90 days but I will be damned if I let this guy steal my identity.

He is gonna have to find someone else to victimize. I will NOT be his victim. Grrrrrrrr...I don't know that I have been this resolved to stop someone from doing anything in my life. I hope he enjoys the $30. I hope he needed it more then I do.

Happy Friday the 13th.
Leslie

Fear

Fear:

A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger.
A state or condition marked by this feeling: living in fear.
A feeling of disquiet or apprehension: a fear of looking foolish.
Extreme reverence or awe, as toward a supreme power.
A reason for dread or apprehension: Being alone is my greatest fear.

Dentophobia is the fear of dentists.
What are you afraid of? Me? I have a fear of dentists. It stems from an episode when I was a kid. Today I went to the dentist for the cleaning I have needed for 15 years. Today was torment like I have not experienced in a very long time. I know I have a fear of dentists and I have managed to avoid it for a long time. After my initial consultation I was feeling much better about it. After I went to the oral surgeon and they knocked me clean out and pulled several of my teeth I was beginning to wonder what I had been afraid of for so long. So this morning after only a minor amount of stomach cramping and headaches I went in for my first cleaning. Now, I remember why I have avoided it . 2 hours of scraping and pressure washing my teeth. 6 doses of Novocain because I am wired wrong (the hygienists words). I am still numb several hours later and the parts that aren’t are still bleeding. Some might think I sound like a big baby and honestly I kind of feel like it.

What do you fear? Snakes? Spiders? Heights? Small spaces? Basically this morning would be the equivalent of someone with a fear of snakes being lied down and snakes wrapped around his neck for 2 hours. So maybe not so much a baby as a chicken. Heh

Well anyway my bottom teeth feel nice and squeaky and I am glad I did it. On Monday I get to go back and do the top half and then when I am done healing up from all the poking I will be scheduling my root canals. It will be nice to have clean teeth and no infections in my gums for the first time in as long as I can remember.

Now maybe I can try and find some other fear to face off against. LOL Any suggestions? Maybe I could go leap off the side of a mountain? How about getting locked in an elevator with too many people? Any suggestions?

Tuesday

So I have actually had a quiet couple of weeks. Got through my teeth extractions and Bill has been conscious the whole week. I am really becoming grateful for the “down” times when no one ends up in the hospital or has major drama.

So I was sitting at work last Thursday and the nurse from my doctor’s office calls. The doctor wants to see me for a “review” of my last check up. The nurse wouldn’t say anything more so I scheduled my appointment for yesterday and set holding my breath. I get to the doctor and as I sit in the waiting room it dawns on me. I had my blood draw 7 days after I had my teeth pulled. I laugh and then when I go back to talk to the doctor I mention it. She had called me in because my blood had come back with high white blood count, high platelets, etc. The teeth problems explains a lot of it but she also noticed that my glucose level was far too high for me and I am back up in the pre-diabetic stage. I have not been back in this realm for a few years and so she is concerned.

This is an interesting discover because the last few months I have been overly thirsty and tired and just blah and I have had a dickens of a time losing weight. So I am pre-diabetic again. The problem with this is I also have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and IR (insulin resistance) so when my sugar is high my body is not using my insulin properly which means I don’t lose weight. She and I talked and I am going to try Metformin (a diabetic medicine) again to see if it can help stabilize me so I can drop more of the weight. Now the last time I took this I was having huge problems with my IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and I was also eating fast food about 10 times a week if not more. I was not eating healthy at all and God knows I wasn’t exercising. So I had endless problems with the medicine and after a short period of time I gave up on it. Now I am eating better (most of the time) and am much more aware of my body and how it works and what causes problems. So I am feeling better about getting myself back on track and actually seeing results. J

Emergency Rooms

When you wake up in the morning do you ever anticipate that, Today I will be spending the day in the emergency room? I don’t.If my calculations are correct I have only been in a hospital about 9 or 10 times total in my life. Only 2 of those were for me the rest were for friends. This morning Bill had a dentist appointment at 7:30. Originally I was going to go with him and take the car and go have my blood drawn for my yearly check up. When I woke up I had a headache from the left over pain in my jaw from the teeth extractions so instead of having my blood drawn and then waiting in a dentist waiting room for 30 mins I decided to sleep an extra hour and Bill would come back by and pick me up. So I go back to sleep and wake up at 8 feeling much better and take a nice long shower and get ready for Bill to pick me up. He was supposed to call when he left the dentist about 8:30 to let me know he was on the way. I sat here on the couch for a few mins after 8:30 when finally he called. I pick up and he tells me that we have a problem. Apparently on his way to the dentist he had another episode. It was not as bad. He was driving and felt that he was getting ill again. Bill being the luckiest man I know was of course only a short distance from a Fire Department. He pulled into the FD’s front lot, got out knocked on the door and when they opened it proceeded to crash to the floor. This time, however, he did not lose consciousness fully. The firemen rushed around taking his vitals and contacted the paramedics that didn’t happen to be in the building and shortly thereafter (a little over an hour) he started feeling better. At which point the firemen loaded him up and hauled him down to the hospital near his personal physician (different hospital then last time). Unfortunately since it had snowed this morning Bill had taken the Jeep. After my initial freak out I made phone calls until I could find a wonderful friend (Thank you Tanya!!) to pick me up and take me to the Jeep so that I could then get to the hospital. I get to the hospital and we wait and wait. Since this time he did not pass out and stop breathing so he was not a priority. They ran a few tests before I got there and X-rayed his chest again. The new ER Doctor (Doctor Spies) was much better at communicating with us then the prior ER doctor whom I did not like the first time I saw him. This doctor was determined that “These things DON’T just happen.” After a few other tests and the results continuing to come back negative he decided Bill needed to see a Cardiologist. Bill’s cardiologist was in the building next door but he was not in today. By this time (3:30pm) they decided to send us next door to the Cardiologist that was on staff. We went next door and sat in the room for almost an hour before we got to see the doctor. The doctor reviewed all of the files, The ER documents from Bellevue, the ER documents from Renton, the doctors’ reports of all 5 of the doctors Bill has seen in the last month. He walked in the room and said that he is 95% sure it is Vasovagal Syncope. It is causes a drop in blood pressure so that your brain is not getting enough blood so your body just… stops. It is apparently very common. The blood pressure medicine he is taking apparently is known to aggravate this condition. The Cardiologist changed the medicine Bill takes and sent us home.

So we think this may be the resolution. We are still hesitant to accept something that sounds so simple and also because Bill has taken this particular Blood pressure medicine for over 10 years. I am glad that we may have an accurate diagnosis and hope that it is truly this simple. I guess at this point only time will tell. Needless to say Bill won’t be driving anytime soon. LOL So that’s the deal. Sucks to sit in the ER all day and sucks that it happened again but glad we had someone else that was more determined to get it figured out. At least tomorrow is Friday. I think I need a vacation.

Stress Level?

How do you determine what your stress level is? This is something I have battled this week. In the past my stress has manifested as physical ailments. Upset stomach, headache, etc. or it has been obvious through my level of crankiness. The past week I have been upbeat and not much in the way of stomach problems. Last night I finally broke. I have not felt like I am stressed. I have been sleeping well and no more headaches then I would say is normal but knowing this morning I am going to the dentist I thought I would see more signs of stress. It turns out that over the years I have trained myself to just ignore stress. This is not something I feel is entirely healthy. I am sure it serves a purpose of getting the "job" done but is it really healthy to completely ignore your stress? This morning I am completely aware of my stress. LOL My stomach is churning, I feel like hiding in the closet and crying about it. I HATE the dentist. I am terrified about how I am going to do and what might happen. I know I have to do this. The pain I have been living with is not healthy and the infections I have had in my mouth are causing harm to the rest of me. If I am going to work hard to lose weight and become healthy I have to be healthy all over.

This morning the funniest thing is that the thing upsetting me the most is I can't drink water. They are going to put me out and I can not have anything in my stomach. I have trained myself for several years to drink water at every available oppurtunity. I usually drink about 3 liters a day and it is almost painful to be so dry like I am this morning. I don't trust myself to even stand in the kitchen or brush my teeth because I know my intinct will be to down some water. LOL I walked past a bottle of baby oil and thought how soothing that would be on my dry mouth. UGH!

Well I am leaving in 6 minutes. Wish me luck!

Leslie

Facing a fear - Dentists

I have an insane fear of dentists. In the past I have had a few very disturbing experiences at the dentist. One in particular was when I was 8 years old and was kicked in the mouth with a rollerskate and lost about 8 teeth in 2 seconds (luckily baby teeth). I remember waking up on an empty roller-rink floor lying in a pool of blood with dozens of people staring at me in horror. Then I don't remember anything more until I was strapped to a dentist chair and they were doing surgery (they hadn’t given me enough NO to knock me out so I came to in the middle of the surgery).

Because of this and of course the insanity that is the COST of going to the dentist I have made excuses for over 16 years not to go. I brush my teeth and floss fairly regularly (gotta love my SonicCare). I found out this week that I have an unnatural quantity of Cavity causing bacteria in my mouth. On the good side my gums are in decent condition except for a couple small areas where bone loss has caused them to recede.

Off track: Did you know that the first person to kiss a baby transfers their MOUTH health to the baby? Unlucky for me both of my parents have a high level of cavity causing bacteria (my mom had her last few teeth pulled before she was 30 and my dad only has about 6 teeth left, dentures were a normal part of my youth). If you are pregnant or plan to be pregnant make sure they whoever in your family that has the best teeth is the first to kiss the baby. J Back on track.

With the help of my doctor I have finally been able to make an appointment to have my teeth and gums assessed. My doctor has been talking to me about it for over a year because mouth disease can affect your whole body. With me trying to (finally) do the right thing and get my body in shape I HAVE to address the infections and bacteria in my mouth or I will only be partially healthy even if I get to my goal weight. I went to the dentist yesterday (without throwing up which is HUGE) and this morning I went to an oral surgeon. I am going to have to have a few teeth pulled including my impacted wisdom teeth. This will be happening next Friday. I am terrified but I am resolved that this is something I HAVE to do. I have justified in my mind that the pain I will go through getting things back on track will be far less then the pain I have lived with almost daily for the last 15 or so years. With the loss of several fillings over the years my teeth have fallen into a serious state of disrepair. It will cost me a ton of money but I also know that I cannot wait any longer to fix this. The hygienist at my dentist is wonderful. She put me at ease very quickly and as soon as the Oral surgeon walked into the room I felt comfortable. This is so odd to me since I have spent so many years absolutely terrified to even think about making an appointment.

If you are like me and have put off going to the dentist please do me and yourself a favor and go. Even if you are not in pain there could still be infections that can cause problems.

On a funny note the hygienist was so funny. When she saw the plaque that has accumulated on my teeth she was so excited by the “challenge” LOL. I think I like her. Heh

Stay healthy and whatever you are putting off for whatever your reason… get over it. I am.

On a side note: Shadow is getting healthier everyday and will go in for a sonogram of his liver next week.

Bill is doing fine. He had his 24 hour blood pressure monitor the other day and his blood pressure is higher then it should be. They think his "incident" may have been caused by that. More tests to be run soon so I will keep you informed.

Also: Any suggestions for soft foods I can eat after the surgery? Ice Cream is NOT a good plan with my cold sensitivity. :-)

SSDD

Just a note for anyone that may be concerned about Bill’s job (Microsoft laid off 1400 last week) he is still doing ok. As for his health, he got squeezed in to an early nephrologist’s appointment to look at his kidneys. They seem to be working okay but again another precaution.

I have been doing pretty well this week. We are working at getting our diet and exercise back on track and the one thing I realize is I do a darn good job of kicking my own butt. I was watching “Run Fat Boy Run” this weekend and it really made me laugh. I would suggest if you like a good comedy with some romantic under tones you should check it out.

Shadow is doing ok. He has eaten some on his own but not enough to sustain so Mike has been continuing to force feed him. His foot seems to be getting somewhat better. At least he is not dragging it behind him at this point.

All in all things are getting better. I had a by-annual check up with the doctor this morning and everything seems ok.

Nothing really new… go to work, come home, clean house, do laundry… SSDD.

Tests and no results

I have reached a level of frustration with Doctors that I have not felt since my grandfather was ill. I am old enough now to know not all Doctors are idiots. Even if some days I feel that way. I also know that not all doctors are lazy and care more about their paycheck then they do the patient that they have sitting in front of them. I do however know WHY people often believe this. I am tired of tests being taken and having no results. Also why is it that Endocrinologists don't deem someone passing out and not breathing as serious enough to get an appointment without waiting 3 WEEKS?!?!

I don't know about you... but if I were a doctor with a case like this I might be willing to work late one fricking night to see the patient. Grumble Argh really trying to contain my frustration but it is just bursting at the seams.

Anyway updates. BIll had his EEG and Doppler yesterday. It really wore him out. He is still doing ok. The eating before bed has not seemed to help th way we hoped it would. We are starting to test his blood glucose levels several times a day to get a baseline on where he is currently. His morning glucose has been all over the place. As low as 120 and as high as 157. I can't find anywhere online where I can even find if this is good or bad or how good or bad. Also without knowing what his BG was the morning he passed out I don't have any idea what these numbers even mean. In many ways this week has been harder on me than last week because I just keep waiting for answers and we have gotten none.

Shadow finally had a BM last night. Gross I know but it is a positive. He seems to be improving a little each day but is still not eating on his own. I don't even know what to think about it. I am supposed to take him in for an updated CBC but I am worried the stress of going to the vet might push him back from the progress we have made so far this week. I will call the vet and discuss it with her. I also don't want to take him back and have him catch anything else. His head cold that has caused him so much sneezing and yucky he caught while he was there.

For today I want to scream and more likely I would like to scream at doctors. People say they deserve all the money they make but I am just not seeing why. When Bill and I had to go through dozens of tests and 2 full days in the hospital for them to know nothing and he and I figured out the likely culprit with some online research. Stupid Doctors. Hopefully we will find a smart one or two in the bunch when we FINALLY get to see the endocrinologist. I will attempt not to go in with an attitude. I am not happy to have to wait though. His appointment is Feb 5th.

I need a nap. Nothing seems important at work today. These are the days I really want to just go. Run away. Hide even. Why do we spend our whole lives wasted at these stupid jobs? Some people do important things. I have never had a job that was truly necessary.

I was commenting to a friend that if people weren't lazy I wouldn't have a job... this has really become a true statement in my current role and at times I just have to wonder why me?

Now I am having my own little pity party. I have a good life. I have good friends. I have Bill. I need to be happy with these things. I'll keep telling myself this today. Maybe we will go RV shopping this weekend. It is supposed to be "Not rainy" which is rare for January. :-) Maybe it is a message for us to go.

Thank you again for all your thoughts and support.

Monday again

So this morning I discovered what some would call Post-traumatic stress disorder. Upon leaving for work this morning we took our usual route over highway 18. Bill wanted to go to work to try and get a few things done and I definitely needed to come in to meet the new boss and get some work done. I have left my poor co-worker Kim to fight all of my battles for a week.

As we started our commute I just felt ill in my stomach. As we reached the spot where we pulled over I felt like I would throw up. Ugh. I became emotional and really began to re-think leaving Bill in the hands of his co-workers. This is where the trust issues I have had over the years really come forth. I can not control every waking moment of Bill’s existence. I know this but I will be damned if I don’t want to try. I think after his appointments on Wednesday I will feel somewhat better and we have seen over the last week that it is only effecting him in the morning hours. The problem becomes he will be at work for 6 hours without me to watch over him. Bill thinks I am being somewhat ridiculous but I really feel paranoid that something may happen and no one in his office will notice until it is too late. The good part of it is he had warning before he passed out. He felt faint and sweaty and hot. So we are very clear that if he feels odd at all he is to go sit in an office with another person.

I want to stop worrying but I am just beside myself as to how to let go.

So in researching Diabetes and people that only have problems in the morning I ran across a few articles about something called the “Dawn Phenomenon” (sounds like a good sci-fi novel if you ask me) It turns out that many diabetics have very high blood sugar in the morning even if their sugar is lower throughout the day. The suggestion was that the person eats something with a natural carb (juice, fruit) with a fat (peanut butter) before bed. This will help regulate their sugar through the night. So last night Bill had an apple and peanut butter before bed and this morning his blood sugar was the closest to normal it has been all week. This may be a big step towards where we need to be. At least it affected something we could see.

Shadow is still not eating on his own. This is really a concern because I know what fatty liver disease does to a cat and from most of what I read if a cat goes even 24 hours without food can cause this very quickly. My brother is doing a great job of shoving food down his gullet but again I worry.

I finally broke down the other night after being with Shadow most of the day. I cried for about 2 hours and then in my state of curiosity I had to go online and research why people cry. It appears that when we cry we release all the extra hormones we have pent up in our bodies. Fascinating. I still have not found a website that covers why our noses become leaky faucets but I am guessing it is similar to the crying.

I am feeling disjointed and I guess you can probably tell by reading this. Guess that’s about it today.

It's sometimes the simple things that really matter

How often have you looked at your pet while he was eating or just simply walking across the room and thought nothing of it? Well today I can say the only thing I want is for Shadow to walk normally and to eat on his own.

Bill is doing ok. We still are waiting for some test results. His doctor perscribed us a sugar monitor and his sugar has been high every morning and his blood pressure is way up as well. We had several specialists in the hospital looking at his case and Bill and I figure out the frickin diagnosis. With the help of his doctor we are fairly certain Bill went into a diabetic coma. A scary thing but something that will be fairly easily controllable with diet and exercise but for the time being is a pretty dangerous until we can get his sugar back on track. We still have appointments for his EEG and Doppler (I think it's funny that they want to check his weather ;-)

I am concerned but at least we are headed in A direction rather then simply "these things happen". I will probably not update for a day or two unless anything else happens until then we are in a holding pattern.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts!
Leslie