Photo 365: January 10

Capturing the rare occurrence of my leading score in a Shanghai Rummy game. I won two games!

Weekend Wrap-Up: 9/4 - 9/7 and 9/11 - 9/13

It's a 2-for-1 bonus edition of the Weekend Wrap-Up. Enjoy!

Labor Day weekend was a 4-day weekend for me! Here are the highlights:

• Picked up some fresh veggies at the Queen Anne Farmers Market on Thursday after work.
• Enjoyed a quiet morning at home on Friday.
• Met Suz for lunch at Buckley's.
• Got a manicure and pedicure.
• Quizzed Kat in preparation for her Cisco certification test.
• Enjoyed hamburgers, tater tots and corn on the cob prepped by Don.
• Packed up the ingredients, tools needed for our overnight Cooking Club adventure at Kipp's cabin on Lake Wenatchee.
• Had my first Pumpkin Spice latte of the season!
• Enjoyed the ride to the cabin catching up with friends, Jana and Neil, thanks to Don's driving. :-)
• Had a relaxing afternoon settling in at the cabin and enjoying the outdoors when it wasn't raining.
• Prepped and cooking and laughed and sipped at wine until the feast was ready.
• Enjoyed a wonderful dinner, one for the cooking club hall of fame, for sure!
• Played a men vs. women game of Trivial Pursuit (80's, 90's and Pop Culture edition) and the women won!
• Had a leisurely morning with coffee, breakfast and good friends.
• Stopped by Plain Hardware so Kipp could get his propane tank refilled.
• Sipped some wine at the Eagle Creek Winery.
• Had lunch at South in Leavenworth, WA.
• Picked up some squash (approx. 40 pounds) at Smallwood's Harvest.
• Arrived back in Seattle just before nightfall.
• Had breakfast with Kat and Don at The Bay Cafe.
• Attempted to shop at Fred Meyer among the chaos their remodeling project.
• More quizzing of Kat on the Cisco flashcards.
• Dined on Tamale Dish that Don had prepared. YUM!
• Retired early in prep for the week ahead amazed that 4 days had whizzed by.

It was a really busy and very fast weekend, here are the highlights:

• Made and GIANT pot of spaghetti sauce with tomatoes from my garden on Thursday night.
• Worked from home on Friday.
• Waited for the DirecTV repair guy who never showed up.
• Called and yelled at DirecTV and rescheduled for Sunday afternoon.
• Made a big pan Lasagna.
• Packaged up 12 quarts of spaghetti sauce for the freezer.
• Quizzed Kat in prep for her Cisco certification test while Don a salad and garlic bread to go with the lasagna.
• Woke WAY too early on a Saturday morning to attend a local trade show.
• Enjoyed connecting with some of my favorite customer and vendor friends.
• Laundry.
• Did the grocery shopping for the week.
• Walked down to the neighborhood McMenamins and enjoyed some beer and dinner with Don.
• Slept in until 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, which in my world is rare occurrence.
• Enjoyed a cup of coffee from my new french press which I've finally mastered.
• Made some eggs and had a lazy morning.
• Spent the afternoon in the kitchen making 24 stuffed peppers for the freezer while waiting for the DirecTV guy only to discover that they had come on Saturday, a mistake by DirecTV in the scheduling.
• Talked to 5 people at DirecTV until I got a discount on my bill for the next six months and scheduled yet another appointment for the technician to repairs.
• Baked Banana Bread to bring to the office.
• Cleaned up the kitchen which was a disaster following the major cooking projects of the weekend.

What a whirlwind! How was your weekend?

Weekend Wrap-Up

Escaped from Seattle to Lake Wenatchee for a long weekend with Barney and Don. Here are the highlights:

• Enjoyed the fall colors and a beautiful drive over Steven's Pass.
• Unpacked and settled in to Kamp K, my friend Kipp's cabin.
• Took a walk along the waterfront and back through the woods.
• Worked REALLY hard to get a fire started.
• Relaxed on the deck and enjoyed the lake while snacking and sippin a glass of wine.
• Made and enjoyed a yummy dinner of steaks, baked potatoes and green beans.
• Got beat over and over again in repetitive games of Shanghai Rummy.
• Drank too much wine.
• Sipped coffee and stared out at the morning fog on the lake.
• Made oatmeal for breakfast and can't believe I've lived 35 years and never put cinnamon on my oatmeal!
• Snapped some great pics on the way to Leavenworth, I love fall!
• Saw the Oktoberfest parade and the traditional taping of the first keg.
• Tried a few "new to me" beers.
• Enjoyed walking through Leavenworth on a sunny beautiful afternoon.
• Got back to the cabin in time to enjoy the sunset and some snacking in front of the fire.
• Lost some more card games, it was not my weekend for winning.
• Enjoyed coffee in front of the fire again trying to get the fire going again.
• Made my famous (at least in my little world they are famous) Eggs Benedict.
• Cleaned up and packed up.
• Stopped at Smallwood's Harvest in Peshastin, WA to buy fresh apples.
• Got home in time to unpack and prepare for the week ahead.

Hopefully I'll get the pictures downloaded from my camera soon so that I can share some with all of you. How was your weekend?

Weekend Wrap-Up

Time for the weekend update again, the highlights:

• Hosted a trivia night with most of "the usuals" from our pub trivia nights at Pyramid Ale House on Friday night. We divided into 2 teams and battled for the win for nearly six hours only to declare it a draw. The best part of the evening was watching friends rack their brains in an attempt to find answers to questions as the amount of beer consumed increased. Memorable names like "The Urkel Family" and "Cameron Electric" still make me chuckle.
• Annoyed by a telemarketing call from Catherine's that woke me up at 8:11 a.m. to tell me about the latest promotion.
• Attempted to get some additional sleep following the rude awakening and finally after an hour of watching TV managed to fall back asleep until just before 11:00 a.m. and then got up to deal with the kitchen nightmare and rinse the 47 empty bottles of beer and 1 bottle of wine from the night before in preparation for recycling.
• Had wanted to attend the state Democratic Caucus but decided that I had too much to do and had slept too late.
• Ran to the Metropolitian Market.
• Completed all the prep work for the Pink and Red Dips from this recipe. I've never used 1/4 cup of paprika in a single recipe.
• Enjoyed trying "new-to-me"African cuisine at "Cooking with Bacchus" event with Don at Kipp's home on Saturday night. Food included our Shrimp with Pink and Red Dips (see above), a Ethiopian soup with veggies and peanut butter, a beef stew with tomatoes, snow peas and bananas and roasted bananas for dessert. Along with lots of interesting and fun wines.
• Completed 4 loads of laundry first thing Sunday morning fueled by a triple latte and a large cup of coffee.
• Headed to Don's for a late lunch/early dinner of his yummy spaghetti with he and Kat followed by some "hangin' time" and watching the movie the The Emperor's New Groove.
• Reviewed some final details, notes and procedures to prep for the audit at work on Monday.
• Finally saw the final half of Woman of the Year which I have been sleeping through for nearly a week.

How was your weekend?

Yes/No Game

This has been sitting in my "drafts" folder for months and months and now I have no idea where I originally saw it. Oops! Anyway, here we go.

===========

THE RULES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
1. You can only say Yes or No!
2. You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone messages you and asks!
3. DO NOT SAY ANYTHING BESIDES YES OR NO!!!
4. Repost this as the Yes/ No Game!

==========

Over 18? - Yes

Kissed someone who is a good friend? - Yes

Danced in front of your mirror naked? - Yes

Ever told a lie? - Yes

Tripped on mushrooms? - No

Done Ecstasy? - No

Been arrested? - No

Kissed a picture? - Yes

Fallen asleep at work/school? - Yes

Held an actual snake? - No

Ran a red light? (they mean in a car) - Yes

Been suspended from school? - No

Totalled your car/motorbike in an accident? - No

Been fired from a job? - Yes

Sang karaoke? - No

Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? - Yes

Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? - Yup

Caught a snowflake on your tongue? - Yes

Kissed in the rain? - No

Sang in the shower? - Yes

Sat on a roof top? - Yes

Thought about your past with regret? - Yes

Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? - Yes

Broken a bone? - Yes

Shaved your head? - Yes

Blacked out from drinking? - Yes

Played a prank on someone? - Yes

Been wrongly judged? - Yes

Stayed up longer than 24 hours straight? - Yes

Had a gym membership? - Yes

Felt like killing someone? - No

Made your (ex)girlfriend/boyfriend cry? - Yes

Been in a band? - No

Shot a gun? - No

Liked someone with nobody else knowing about it? - Yes

Played strip poker? - No

Donated Blood? - Yes

Loved someone you shouldn't? - Yes

Have a tattoo? - No

Have or had any piercings besides ears? - No

QotD: Recess!

Vox Question of the Day - What was your favorite game to play at recess in grade school?

I was a big fan of hopscotch and tag when wanting to play with others and made a b-line for the swing set when I felt like being alone.


Originally posted on my Vox site. Full post moved here September 7, 2010 in anticipation of Vox's closing.