Time Flies

June 29th marked the 1 year anniversary of our engagement. I can't believe it's been that long. Not too much longer til our first wedding anniversary. Anyway, we celebrated the day by visiting the spot where Nick proposed...the Woodland Park Zoo Rose Garden. It was gorgeous, just like it was a year ago. Here are some highlights of our visit. For those of you who don't remember, Nick proposed in the little gazebo. Enjoy!









I don't know why the lady that took this pic of us couldn't see that it was crooked.??




See, I cant get it straight.

Get out and ride!

OK, so I'm not too good at the frequent blogging thing. So maybe, as I've found to be the case with journal entries, it's best not to worry about writing something deeply meaningful, insightful, or moving, but just to write.

This morning Lisa and I took a ride from Bothell Landing to Gasworks Park and back. We tried out a neat app for our (G1) phones called My Tracks. It records our location and progress by tracking us using our phones' GPS. It's pretty nifty, though it looks like it might not always be entirely accurate: for example, it claimed we made a 2,474 foot gain in elevation. Really! I must be a much better climber than I realized!

Anyway, for your viewing pleasure, I am embedding the map we recorded.


View Track 3 in a larger map

Pretty cool, eh?

6th Folder, 6th Picture

1. Go to your sixth folder

2. Go to your sixth picture

3. Blog about it

4. Tag 6 people


Here's my picture. This was my brother and sister-in-law's kitty. I believe this one is Lani. (they had two) Adorable isn't she? Sweet cat, but they were both definitely trouble makers. She liked this spot on the back of the couch. They no longer have the kitties. They went to a good home once the human baby came along. So tag you're it. I don't know who actually reads our blog but if you are reading this, consider yourself tagged.

Nick Turns 30!

I know its a couple weeks after the fact, sorry. Well, Nick turned 30 on March 16th. He was feeling a little sad about hitting the big 3-0, so for his birthday I decided we should go have some fun and pretend we were kids again. We started our day at one of our favorite restaurants, the Crab Pot. Its right on the Seattle waterfront. Its in that same building with the carousel downstairs..you know which one I'm talking about. Anyway, its great fun. We get the Pacific clambake, so they come and just dump the food right on your table and hand you a mallet and a bib. Check it out:

After lunch we walked about 2 blocks to the Seattle Aquarium. Nick has never been and I haven't been there since its been remodel (actually since elementary school probably). Here are some cool pics we took there.

We even found Nemo!...and Dori and Marlin.

Then we took the Monorail to Seattle Center.

Then we headed to the top of the Space Needle.

It was really windy and rainy up there. We spent most of the time observing from inside.

Then we took the monorail back and went to Gameworks for a while. I forgot to take pictures there though sorry. After that we headed back to Everett and went to Sharri's for dinner in hopes of getting their ultimate fries, but it turns out they no longer come with guacamole and sour cream. :p After that we went Cosmic Bowling!!

It was getting pretty late after that, but cake and presents were still a must.

All in all, a pretty good day I'd say. Happy Birthday Nick! Love you!

Andrew Bird at the Moore Theater

Last night my lovely wife and I went on a date to see Andrew Bird at the Moore Theater on Second Avenue in Seattle. I only found out less than two weeks ago that he was going to be in Seattle, and I rushed to get tickets. The only two tickets I could get were way up on the balcony, about three rows from the back of the theater. Lisa asked me the question, "Is it better to have crummy seats or to not see him it all?" I decided the former was the better option. In retrospect, that was absolutely true.

The Swedish band that opened for them, Loney, Dear, was a great fun and an enjoyable show in itself.

Andrew Bird did not disappoint either. I've already been hooked on his latest album, Noble Beast. I listened to it three or four times through right after I opened it. This was, of course, the tour to promote the album, so it provided most of the material, though he played a few of his older fan favorites like "Fake Palindromes" and "Tables and Chairs".

I wish I were a music critic so I could adequately describe the experience. He's an unusual artist, a whistling violinist, trained in the Suzuki method from the age of four. He operates a loop machine with his feet while he performs, building up textures of pizzicato violin plucks and bowed harmonies to accompany himself which he can turn on and off with the flick of a toe (He took his shoes off about as soon as he came on stage and stood on his rug in the middle of the stage). He also plays the guitar, and slings it around his back when he trades it for his violin. He whistles harmonies perfectly against the glockenspiel, or against a plucked line on his violin. His lyrics sometimes seem like nonsense at a first listen, yet they keep me coming back for more, searching for layers of meaning.

The Seattle Times posted a story about the upcoming concert a few days ago. I quote the following from that page:

[Violin and whisting] provide the cornerstone of Bird's compositions.... The result is some of the most singular music currently made: boyish yet professorial, buoyant yet shaded with pathos. His latest record, "Noble Beast," lays bare Bird's dignified tenor as well as his knack for flawless melodies and inscrutable diction. The public has taken note — "Noble Beast" (Fat Possum) debuted late last month at No. 12 on the U.S. albums chart.

I've included a video from his YouTube channel, which is fairly similar to what we saw last night, minus the film playing in the background. He even had the same sock monkey in the pinstripe suit seated just below the double phonograph horns, which spin dramatically during several songs, though not during this particular one. The video features a prototypical version of his song "Anonanimal," which he performed last night in its finished form. I find it haunting and beautiful. As always, I recommend choosing the HQ version of the video in the lower bottom corner, if you can!



UPDATE: Looks like a fellow concert-goer posted a very nice photo set on her flickr photostream.

For all you Cafe Rio fans out there...

OK, so I am a huuuge fan of Cafe Rio, but as they do not have them here in Washington I go through great withdrawals until I can visit Utah again. However, the other day I found a recipe for their house dressing!! The tomatillo ranch that they serve with their salads. It is sooo good. I've made three batches already and they don't seem to last more than 2 days each. Anyway, here it is for all of you who are in the same boat as me and can't have Cafe Rio whenever we want (or anyone else as well):

What you need:
1 hot pepper(the recipe called for a jalapeno, but all I had was a cyrano and it worked fine-I guess just pick whatever you want)
1 clove of garlic
3 larger sized tomatillos
1 handful of cilantro leaves(I make this a big handful cause I love cilantro)
1 splash of lime juice
1 cup milk
1 cup mayonnaise
1 package of ranch dressing mix
(I found several different recipes and kind of combined them to fit what I had in my fridge but it turned out great. Play around with it and see what you like best.)

Instructions:
Combine the pepper, garlic, tomatillos, cilantro and lime juice in a food processor and blend until finely chopped. I suppose a blender will work as well if you don't have an awesome Cuisinart food processor like we do(thanks Trevor and Jess).
Then add the milk, mayonnaise and ranch packet and blend again until smooth.
I guess for a thicker consistency you can replace 1/2 cup of the mayonnaise with 1/2 cup sour cream(I haven't tried this though and cannot guarantee the taste).

Its great on salads of course, but I'm addicted to it lately and I am using it on everything - fajitas, salads, and even just as a dip with chips or tortillas. Enjoy!

8 Stitches and a Tetanus Shot

So I had an incident on Sunday night with a utility knife. I was trying to cut a roll of electrical tape in half because I needed it half the width. So ignoring the fact that you are supposed to cut away from yourself I went to work. About 5 seconds after I thought to myself, "hmm, I probably shouldnt hold it like this while I cut" the knife slipped and I lacerated myself. Props to Nick for being a good husband and rushing to the bathroom with me and my bleeding hand not knowing what was going on, and running to grab the first aid kit(thanks mom for the 4 kits we have in our house). And for taking me to the emergency room after taking one glance and knowing it needed stitches. It was at least 1/4 inch deep, probably more, I didnt care to examine it longer to see how deep it really went after seeing that it did in fact go through the subcutaneous fat layer. Nick did use the word flayed(sp?) when describing it. Lucky me it happened on a sunday night so I couldnt just go to a walking clinic, I had to go to the ER. 8 stitches and a tetanus shot later and this is what it looked like:



And then I have to wear a bandage like this, especially at work.


Other than the lidocaine shot to numb my hand(which hurts really bad by the way) the worst part is the tetanus shot. My shoulder is still in pain. Remember kids, always cut away from yourself.