Goodnight Nobody

Goodnight Nobody earns a 4. It is an enjoyable chick book. Bored housewife Kate stumbles upon her perfect suburbanite neighbor murdered in the kitchen and becomes obsessed with the life of the neighbor she hardly knew. It's not easy to be a successful sleuth when carting three kids around. And Kate battles her inferiority complex everytime she stops to compare herself to the other super moms at the playground. With her zany, über-rich girlfriend from New York, who buys apartment buildings just to kick out the man that once broke her heart, an absent husband, and an opera singing mom hopped up on Ecstasy, Kate has her hands full. It's a good thing, too, as life in her little perfect town is reaching the limits of boredom.

Move over George Clooney, there's a new sexy guy

If you're one of the four regular readers of this blog you're aware of my recent obsession, otherwise known as Grey's Anatomy. The character Denny Duquette is gorgeous and I have to write about him because Darr and I are now firmly parked on the couch watching the first season of Weeds, a Showtime series that earned Mary-Louise Parker at least one award, and who appears in the show by episode three? The Denny Duquette I know and love from Grey's Anatomy. Like most, I've got my list. And while Darr doesn't talk about it, I'm sure he's got his own. And that's fine, healthy even. Because seriously, what are the chances either of us are going to be sleeping with any of the stars on our lists? (Answer: Not good.) I digress. The point of this entry is to sing the praises of Jeffrey Dean Morgan (i.e., Denny Duquette), who will most assuredly land a coveted spot on People's next issue of the World's 50 Sexiest People of 2006. The eyes, the dimple, the gruffy stubble...did I mention he's got a great voice?

Oh, and Darr's just a little tipsy - he's been partaking of alcohol of the tequila and bourbon varieties. I, on the other hand, have not been drinking - a situation I plan on rectifying before the beginning of the next episode. And in case you're wondering, Mr. Jeffrey Dean Morgan has now been added to my list.

Why I should never be allowed to go to the pet store by myself

A trip to the pet store was in order this morning because we were low on dog food and needed cat litter. Two items. That was all that was on the list. Two. But that isn't all that I came home with.

Goodbye T-Mobile, hello Cingular

The cell phones we purchased years ago have finally crapped out on us. Well, Darr's did. Mine still works but it is missing the back part that covers the SIM card, which I considered fixing with duct tape but couldn't bring myself to do. Too trashy. After an unsuccessful attempt to haggle with T-Mobile to get a decent price on the PEBL, we started looking elsewhere. Today, while shopping between movies - I went to the theatres at Bridgeport Village and caught You, Me and Dupree and My Super Ex-Girlfriend - I hit the Cingular store and found the Pantech C300. Who is Pantech? We don't know. And we don't really care because this phone is perfect in its smallness and reasonably priced. An added bonus, these phones actually work in our condo.

The right kind of computer error

Oh yeah, we're going to Hell

Tonight we caught the tail end of The Simple Life on t.v. and it happened to be an episode where Nicole and Paris - separately mind you, as they are no longer friends - go to the house of a height-challenged family to help a single dad plan a vacation for his two kids. (Who can keep up with current PC names for things these days?) Anyway, it became overwhelmingly clear that we're both on the road to Hell when we reflected on the following conversation.

Christie: They shouldn't make midgets run.
Darren: Yeah, I know, it's funny as Hell.

A letter I found

While cleaning the closet I came across this gem of an heirloom - a letter my grandfather wrote to my grandmother while he was in the Army. Pay special attention to the postscript.

Feb 17, 1962
Alaska, Interior

Hi Honey,
Just a few lines to let you know I'm still thinking of you and hope that this letter finds you in the best of health and that everything is ok at home.

Well, we are into our sixth day of the war games and have we been having fun. I'm with seven scouts and one other sergeant and our camp is on top of a mountain. We attack at night and sleep during the daylight (about five hours).

We attacked the supply line last night and captured four track supply trucks and crew, and removed them from the war. The only thing wrong was that we had to ski back to our camp (17mi) and move to another location (another 5mi). Boy was I tired when we finally made camp.

We have to post a sentry during the day for lookout. We break it up so that a man is out for one hour at a time.

Oh, these eskimos speak only their native language and do we have a time getting them to do things. But they are good men to be with. The work like little giants. When we move we pack all our special equipment in a plastic sled called a "ockio," and these fellows get on the front and away they go. They won't let me pull it and they call me "chief," so I go ahead and try to break trail for them and the sled. They are wearing me out because they are on my tail all the time. It doesn't make any difference what it is - uphill or down. They are as strong as bulls.

I haven't received any mail so far. They have been dropping our orders and supplies by plane and picking it up the same way. When we go to our drop zone to pick up supplies, one sergeant and three scouts go so that if they get captured, they won't get our whold squad. The drop zone is about five miles from camp so you see we have been getting in quite a bit of skiing. Tonight we are going to attack a platoon of aggressors (60th Battle Group) so things should be popping.

Well honey I have to go out now so I'll have to close. I don't know when you will get this letter as I don't know where the plane goes from here.

Oh, they are pulling us out and sending us to Greeley Monday the 19th so I'll write you more then.

I have two of my scouts sitting next to me watching me write this letter. They look at my writing and talk back and forth. I don't know what they say and I know they don't know what I'm writing.

Well honey, have to close.

Love,
Jim

P.S. About three weeks to go - hubba hubba.

For new and soon-to-be parents

Just like the manual you get with your car, The Baby Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Trouble-Shooting Tips, and Advice on First-Year Maintenance has excellent advice for new parents. Easy to read, it is quirky and humorous yet informative. With tips and hints and illustrations, you'll have a solid idea of what to do for your baby and what to expect from your baby during the first year of ownership. I appreciated the author's use of both male and female pronouns. Here's a small snippet from the first chapter "Welcome to Your New Baby" for your pleasure.

"Congratulations on the arrival of your new baby. This baby is surprisingly similar to other appliances you may already own. Like a personal computer, for instance, the baby will require a source of power to execute her many complicated tasks and functions. Like a video-cassette recorder, the baby's head will require frequent cleanings for optimum performance. And like and automobile, the baby may expel unpleasant odors into the atmosphere."

I always knew it was cheating

Aha!!! Those Micro$oft bastards are at it again. Check out this pic -- too many aces!

Now we're cooking with beets

Our friends gave us their recent share of vegetables from Luscher Farms and that's got us cooking with beets. Beets! Darr found a recipe online that was simple but tasty - roasted beets with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. We paired that with a lamb steak for dinner. Yummy.

Going to a farm to pick up veggies is pretty cool. You just know by looking at the goods that what you're getting is going to taste a gazillion times better than the manufactured crap at the store. Our bounty included beets, early tomatoes, white onions, dill, baby squash, arugula, lettuce, chard, cauliflower, and parsley. There was only one item we returned home with that could not be identified - some spicy, leafy type food that remains a mystery. We've been enjoying the fresh food and are now considering signing up for next season's crops. Things we've eaten so far include - fresh lettuce, tomato, and mystery-leaf salad, arugula and parsley pesto, fried potatoes with dill, roasted beets, and pan-fried chard.

Starring Alexandra M. Bickel as Herself*

Hopefully Sara and Josh won't mind that I've kyped the pic of their new kid but she's too cute not to share with the small world of folks I know. Congratulations to the Bickels (abbreviated from Steenhuis-Bickel for mom Sara) on the latest addition to their family - Alexandra Madison. That's one more PLIK member that is now a mom. I had to keep you all posted on the baby score to date:

Girls 2
Boys 5

*The first person to e-mail me with the name of the original book that I imitated in the title of this entry wins a $10 iTunes gift certificate.

Wish You Were Here

Wish You Were Here earns a 3.25. It is a long read. And when I type "long" I mean the author takes 500+ pages to describe a week's worth of time. That is a lot of detail. The novel focuses on a family's return to their summer cottage - a last trip as grandma is selling the place. While somewhat daunting considering the novel's length and time span, the author has the opportunity to delve completely into the characters. Meg's husband has left her for a younger woman, Kenneth is beginning to realize his artistic aspirations may never amount to anything, Ella has a secret she is desperately trying to keep, and Sam is in danger of becoming a kleptomaniac. And at the front of it all is Emily, the matriarch of the family, who is dealing with the loss of a husband and the loneliness of her future. It is sometimes mundane, sometimes chaotic, real and complex - just like life.

No excuses for not getting my butt back on the treadmill

I spent all day yesterday re-arranging the furniture in our bedroom to make room for an additional piece (i.e., the treadmill). What I realized early on is that I will not, am physically unable to, exercise on the treadmill when Darr's in his office. For one, I sweat buckets, which is totally unsexy and not cool. And B, after about thirty minutes of jogging my pits produce a smell worse than rotting deer carcass. Thirdly, I feel like a large schlump when I'm on the treadmill and reduce my pace and/or decrease the incline. Finally, it's all in my head but I can't help but feel he's tracking my progress, which I hate even though he's not actually tracking anything because he's focused on work, not on my treadmill experience. None of that matters now because as of yesterday early evening, the treadmill has been transported from his office into our bedroom. Now I have zero excuses for not getting my butt back on the treadmill and training for the half marathon that is looming out there in the future. There better be a cool finisher's necklace from Tiffany's at the end of this race like there was last time or I'm gonna be pissed.

Gremlins are afoot

I took Sophie the Mini Cooper into the dealership yesterday to get some still-under-warranty work done. The motor for the back windshield wiper needs to be replaced. The failing motor makes a sound reminscent of the voice of a person who has been smoking three packs a day of the really cheap cigarettes for the last fifty years. And apparently the passenger side is the recipient of some fatal blow as both the door lock and the window have been sporadically sticking. This is highly annoying when you want to (1) unlock the door and (2) roll down the window. The work was supposed to take one day but we got a call from our service lady advising that things went horribly wrong when they tried to fix one problem - replacing the lock caused all locks to stop working. The diagnosis they offered - gremlins are afoot. And I'm thinking, because I remember well that movie with Phoebe Cates from the mid 80s, "Ah fuck, this can't be good."

Beer consumption

While my husband is in his office slaving away at the computer, I'm kicking back on the couch watching a rerun of Will & Grace drinking a beer.

Buckle with the Bickels and other unimportant stuff

Buckle with the Bickels was last week but I'm a little tardy on some of my postings (see recent entries regarding dog distress for more information) so it's time to play a little game of catch up.

1. The Southwestern taco pot pie was, um, not great. I'm actually questioning the sanity of the two women at Thyme Management that chose to get not one, but two of these dishes for their households, giving up, if memory serves, the fantabulous pork dish I raved about a short while back. (No, there couldn't be more commas in that last sentence.) The night was not a total disastrous affair thanks to the adequately ripened pineapple and blueberry buckle. Our fear, though, is that Sara and Josh will invite us over for dinner the night they decide to consume their taco pot pie. Once was really more than enough. Looking at the glass half full side of life - that which does not kill you only makes you stronger. I'm sure we're stronger people for having eaten the pot pie but I don't really want to tempt fate.

2. The closet project is finished - on time and under budget, and I only had to throw out six bags of trash and place five plastic boxes in storage.

3. Beauty the wonder dog is doing fine. She hates the cone thing - no surprise there - and would much rather be outside playing. Unfortunately, her antibiotics and pain killer cocktail leaves her slightly woozy, such that she can't really do anything other than lay down or slowly pace the room.

Tomorrow will be spent figuring out what I'm going to do for the rest of the week. I have a feeling the laundry room will be involved in my plans. It is in dire need of a makeover.

Beaut - dog of Frankenstein

First, eewwww. Second, gross. Third, thank your deity of choice, she's okay. We brought Beauty the wonder dog home at about 6:30am. By this time Darr and I were more than a little snippy with the staff at DoveLewis - our apologies. In our defense, it took a long time for them to treat Beauty. Okay, I get it. It is an emergency hospital, and those that are worse off need to be treated first. This not only makes sense, it is the right thing to do. Had we understood what this meant (i.e., an extremely long overnight wait), I imagine we might have considered taking Beaut home and calling periodically to see when it would be a good time to bring her back in so she could get the proper medical care she needed for her injury. Our dog definitely would have preferred being at home with her humans to staying at the hospital with strangers. Under this system, given the volume of critical cases the hospital sees, Beauty could have waited for days for treatment. Although I doubt this is their policy and am hopeful they have safeguards in place so animals with lesser injuries don't get overlooked until they become critical.

Our poor pup has that ridiculous cone for her head, to keep her from bothering the stitches and drain they put in, which Darr and I vow to leave off as much as possible when we're able to watch her. How humiliating is that frickin' cone thing?

Doggie play date gone wrong

Beauty the wonder dog had her first impromptu play date this afternoon when our friend Sara stopped by with her dog Mikah to go swimming in the Willamette - the dogs, not us. The dogs were playing well, sort of...Beauty's a bit of a ball hog, the cool thing about that is she learned how to swim with two balls in her mouth. We eventually lost one ball to the river, it sank after an aggressive session of dog chewing from Beauty, leaving us with one ball for two eager dogs. Then the mastiff came trotting up. Here's the mathematical explanation:

Beauty the wonder dog + one mastiff = Beauty the injured dog

The ball was thrown into the water, Beaut went after the ball, the mastiff went after Beaut. The mastiff wasn't trying to hurt her but the huge ass dog has about 100 pounds on Beaut and when it jumped on her, it took a chunk of her flesh out with its claws. Ouch. Our little Beaut is a trooper, though. Even with this open gash on her side she wanted to keep playing.

We arrived at the DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital at 5:07pm. By 8pm, Beaut had been seen and taken away by Doctor Downes and we were on our way to McMenamins T&P for a bite to eat. Because Beaut's wound was superficial, we were told she was likely to be bumped in the event a more seriously injured animal showed up. It's now 1:58am and I called to check on her - Beauty is outside for a pottie break but is next in line to get sewn up. The doc has to give her a local anesthetic so she'll stay still while being stitched up. Poor puppy. She has definitely earned some treats for being such a great dog today. Since I happened to have my camera with me, I've got some pics of the day. I've included one of her gash. If you are at all sensitive to that sort of thing, now's the time to look away.

Kate Havnevik

I heard Kate Havnevik's music on Grey's Anatomy and love, love, love it. It's haunting and beautiful. This music would be great even if McDreamy didn't come to mind every time you heard it. You can learn more about this fabulous Norwegian singer on her site and/or listen to a few of her songs on MySpace. Oh, her album - Melankton - is now available on iTunes.

One way phone call from the airport

"Hi honey. I can't hear you. I know we're connected because I can see that we are. My volume up button is broken. Maybe this weekend we can get new phones. There's not much point in having a phone when you can't hear anything. I'll talk to you when I see you in person. I love you. Bye."*

*Edited for content.

Are the leaves on blueberry bushes prickly or am I eating something poisonous?

There are berries on these little bushes in the park and along various pathways around our neighborhood that look suspiciously like blueberries. But memories of my blueberry picking past are hazy at best, and I can't remember the bushes having prickly leaves. Does anyone have the answer - are the leaves on blueberry bushes prickly or am I eating something poisonous?

Precariously Balanced Bits O' Crap

When Darr and I moved into the condo, way back in Dec. 2000, the place felt astronomically large to us. He came from a one bedroom apartment in NW and I had just moved out of a 300+ square feet studio in the Pearl. Having two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a dining room, and a patio - it was like upgrading from the inflatable Barbie pools for three year old kids to an Olympic sized pool used by professional athletes. We would get lost in the enormity of our home and call out to each other "Hellllooooooo," using a vocal homing device to locate the other person. It felt spacious and back then we had plenty of room to grow.

Fast forward five years and our place is crammed with stuff in every available spot. Darr's "affectionate" term for this is "ring of crap". And he's right. You can come over and check for yourself. Walk into our bedroom or his office and you can see a ring of crap that hovers near the wall and goes around the entire room. Ugh. How the fuck did we get all of this junk? And more importantly, why do we keep it?

My chore, a project which started yesterday and has carried over to today, is to clean out our spare closet. Up until now, it has been jammed with precariously balanced bits o' crap - old paperwork, photo boxes, scrapbooking supplies, receipts dating back to the late 1900s, stuffed animals, frames, camping supplies, magazines, etc. Some items in boxes, some in bags, some just out there in the open precariously balanced on all of the other bits o' crap. It's scary how much crap we've managed to cram in such a small space. And it's been a daunting task to undertake. I spent most of yesterday carefully extracting the crap out of the closet. Four bags have already been carted down to the trash. Today I imagine the majority of my time will be spent disposing of the obvious crap, repackaging the leftover crap, and putting the useful crap back in the closet. Any remaining crap will go into (1) storage or (2) the trash. I was going to take a before and after picture but I couldn't bring myself to do it. There's too much shame regarding our high levels of crapitude. Now I just hope I can finish the project and get Darr's office back to normal before he returns tomorrow.

The Twelve Days of Unemployment

On the first day of unemployment, my true love gave to me
the remote control to the t.v.

On the second day of unemployment, my true love gave to me
two cats for my lap
and the remote control to the t.v.

On the third day of unemployment, my true love gave to me
three pillows for the couch,
two cats for my lap
and the remote control to the t.v.

On the fourth day of unemployment, my true love gave to me
four dvds,
three pillows for the couch,
two cats for my lap
and the remote control to the t.v.

On the fifth day of unemployment, my true love gave to me
FIVE GUINNESS BEERS!
four dvds,
three pillows for the couch,
two cats for my lap
and the remote control to the t.v.

On the sixth day of unemployment, my true love gave to me
six hours to nap,
FIVE GUINNESS BEERS!
four dvds,
three pillows for the couch,
two cats for my lap
and the remote control to the t.v.

On the seventh day of unemployment, my true love gave to me
seven reasons to sleep in,
six hours to nap,
FIVE GUINNESS BEERS!
four dvds,
three pillows for the couch,
two cats for my lap
and the remote control to the t.v.

On the eighth day of unemployment, my true love gave to me
eight chores to leave unfinished,
seven reasons to sleep in,
six hours to nap,
FIVE GUINNESS BEERS!
four dvds,
three pillows for the couch,
two cats for my lap
and the remote control to the t.v.

On the ninth day of unemployment, my true love gave to me
nine shots of tequila,
eight chores to leave unfinished,
seven reasons to sleep in,
six hours to nap,
FIVE GUINNESS BEERS!
four dvds,
three pillows for the couch,
two cats for my lap
and the remote control to the t.v.

On the tenth day of unemployment, my true love gave to me
ten dollars allowance,
nine shots of tequila,
eight chores to leave unfinished,
seven reasons to sleep in,
six hours to nap,
FIVE GUINNESS BEERS!
four dvds,
three pillows for the couch,
two cats for my lap
and the remote control to the t.v.

On the eleventh day of unemployment, my true love gave to me
eleven excuses to throw a party,
ten dollars allowance,
nine shots of tequila,
eight chores to leave unfinished,
seven reasons to sleep in,
six hours to nap,
FIVE GUINNESS BEERS!
four dvds,
three pillows for the couch,
two cats for my lap
and the remote control to the t.v.

On the twelth day of unemployment, my true love gave to me
twelve supportive hugs and kisses,
eleven excuses to throw a party,
ten dollars allowance,
nine shots of tequila,
eight chores to leave unfinished,
seven reasons to sleep in,
six hours to nap,
FIVE GUINNESS BEERS!
four dvds,
three pillows for the couch,
two cats for my lap
and the remote control to the t.v.

An Intervention Needed

I'm a Grey's Anatomy junkie. I can't stop watching the show. I am already at the point where (1) I can't remember how many times I've watched the episodes and (2) I am reciting lines with my husband. Oh, and I think I'm in love with Dr. McDreamy.

San Jose bites. It has gobbled up my husband again. <sigh>

Flo and Maynard

The title of this entry has meaning for three people, the rest of you are out of luck. It's fight club. Nobody talks about fight club. What I can talk about is our weekend with my next door dorm neighbor when I was at Linfield way back in the 1900s. She recently packed up her belongings and moved from L.A., where she lived for 7+ years, to downtown Canada. I know, you're thinking - "Canada, eh?" but seriously, we had decided this month was a good time to visit so Friday morning she left her new homeland and headed for Sellwood Proper to visit moi, Darr, and the kids (a.k.a. Ellie, Mabel, and Beauty the wonder dog). It's probably easiest to break it down by day.

Friday:
She arrived, looking totally refreshed after her hour long wait at the border and seven hour drive to our place, with a smile on her face and a basket full of goodies for her weekend hosts.

Side note: People bearing smiles and gifts are always welcome at la maison de Gilroy.

We took Beauty the wonder dog for a walk at the Sellwood Riverfront Park and along the beach and then headed to a local haunt (i.e., Eleni's Estiatorio) to satisfy the hunger pangs that hit after our strenuous shore exercise. A popular and accepted method of dining at Eleni's is to order a plethora of appetizers to share amongst the folks at the table rather than each ordering separate entrees. We all agreed it was best to participate in this tradition. To prove to the skeptics who doubt my tales of trying new foods, here's a listing of what was ordered:

1) Biftekia - Painted Hills beef meatballs with onion, fresh oregano, mint and Italian parsley served in our special tomato sauce.
2) Kalitsounia - A Cretan speciality. Home-made filo dough filled with a blend of Greek cheese and mint or spinach.
3) Kalamarakia - Fresh calamari dusted in flour, pan-fried in olive oil and fresh lemon.
4) Garithes Chania - Tiger prawns in a spicy tomato sauce with feta cheese and lemon.
5) Midia Chania - Prince Edward Island Mussels steamed in a spicy tomato sauce with feta cheese and lemon.
6) Kebab Arni Kai Poulo - Tender skewers of marinated lamb and chicken accompanied by a vegetable ragout drizzled with herbed olive oil.
7) Spanakorizo - Spinach sauteed with onion, fresh dill, rice and lemon. Topped with feta.

And I tried a little of every dish. Yum!

A trip to Portland just isn't complete without going to Piece of Cake, so we headed there after dinner to grab some slices (thanks, Marilyn!) and return home to finish the rest of our second bottle of Greek red wine and consume our Chantilly cake (a.k.a. the best cake in this solar system).

Saturday:
I woke up at 5am but I was the only one. We didn't leave the house until after eating the leftover Chantilly cake for breakfast, with some fruit, you know, to give us the proper nutrition to start the day. Then Jess and I walked the kayaks down to the river - Darr came along with Beauty the wonder dog to see us off and catch the momentous event on, well, not film...on a memory card??? Anyway, we paddled our way down the Willamette. The weather was gorgeous and luckily we left early enough that we (1) weren't too hot and (2) didn't have to dodge evil speed boaters on the river. When we finally returned Darr and Beaut were waiting for us. It was super cute because when Beauty realized it was us, she jumped in and swam out to greet us. < insert audible "ahhh" sound here >

Jess and I spent the next four plus hours shopping. We started our buying extravaganza in the Pearl District, doing our part to help the economy at Title Nine and Oblation, before leaving downtown to explore Bridgeport Village. I can't remember all of the purchases, but our spending did garner us items such as an iPod Nano from the Apple store and a bedside table from DWR. We made our way to Sephora at Washington Square before we went home for a short siesta. Then we headed back downtown for dinner at El Gaucho. Stuffed with steak, we came home where we chatted until about 2am.

Sunday:
We slept in, had a light breakfast, and helped Jess put together some cds for her return trip. It was a lazy Sunday morning. The weekend went by surprisingly quick and both Vancouver and Portland have a lot more to offer so we're already discussing what we can do for the next visit and the visit after that and the following visit and...

Mac 'n Cheese and What's Coming Next

We broke out another entrée from Thyme Management the other night - good ol' mac n' cheese. It was okay as far as food goes. I mean, it certainly wasn't as bad as, say, canned meat product, but it was sort of lacking in flavor. The cheesy mac was more flour and less cheese than expected and that was disappointing. So, my apologies to the chef but if I had to choose between making this dish again or grabbing the blue box of original Kraft Mac 'N Cheese off the shelf to eat for dinner - I'd choose Kraft. Though as I write that I realize that my upbringing on the Kraft Mac 'N Cheese makes this an unfair fight. How can Thyme Management's homemade version compete with all of the cheesy memories I've got with Kraft? (Answer: It can't.)

Next on the chopping block is the Southwestern Taco Pot Pie, which has us a little frightened, truth be told. So much so that we've invited Thyme-Management-fixing-dinners-partner Sara and her husband Josh to join us in experiencing this culinary delight. As of right now we are approximately 31 hours away from first bite. The pie is in the fridge thawing and we are afraid. Very afraid.

Cats and Dog Pic Found

I came across this pic when downloading the latest from the digital camera. Here at Life at the condo we are doing our best to resolve the battle that has been waging between cats and dogs since time immemorial. And if this pic shows anything, it shows progress, my friends. It also shows animals in a house without the air conditioning utilized on one of the hottest days of the summer.

Saturday Morning Quiz

What kind of postmodernist are you?

You are a Theory Slut. The true elite of the postmodernists, you collect avant-garde Indonesian hiphop compilations and eat journal articles for breakfast. You positively live for theory. It really doesn't matter what kind, as long as the words are big and the paragraph breaks few and far between.
Take this quiz!

Summertime Lime

If you haven't tried it already, walk, run, drive or bike to the nearest store and get yourself some. Odwalla's Summertime Lime is limeade at its best. Who knew pure filtered water, lime juice, and organic evaporated cane sugar could taste so good.

Sis Takes the Kids to Disneyland

Laurie recently took Taylor and Jackson to Disneyland. Their trip fell on the same weekend of the Pirates of the Caribbean premiere. Yes, she had some awesome celebrity sightings, including Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom.

The pics of the boys were so cute I had to share a few.

Jackson (left) and Taylor (right) smile for just one of the 376 pics my sister took of them while in Disneyland. And you thought I was camera-happy.

The sunglasses crack me up.

If they constructed real houses that looked like this I would totally force Darr to live in one.

The California section of Disneyland was being built the last time Darr and I were there (Nov. 2000). Clearly, we need another Disney vacation. I have a fear of bears but this one I'm pretty sure I can handle.

4th of July - The Day After

It is a little disappointing that I arrived at the dog park this morning to find it in total disarray from the fourth of July festivities the night before. On the very day people are celebrating their country's freedom, they can't be bothered to put their trash in any one of the multiple trash cans placed strategically throughout the park, even though extra trash cans were brought in for the event. Dog owners have been scooping their dogs' poop from that same park all year long but one day with the non-dog owners and the park is filled with an assortment of crap, including a steak that Beauty the wonder dog was all too eager to consume.

Independence Day

What did Darr and I do? Not much. We were ultra lazy but it was fun. Darr worked a little in the morning while I went and got my eyebrows waxed (ouch!) and my sunglasses fixed. Then we had some lunch and spent the afternoon in Darr's office watching the second season of Grey's Anatomy. My new favorite show - Dr. McDreamy and Dr. McSteamy and all of the other McStuff in the show is excellent!

Our friends Sara and Josh had us over for a fabulous dinner of cedar plank grilled chicken (recipe in this month's issue of Portland Monthly), two salads (Caprese and one comprised of lettuce, carrots, corn, cucumbers, etc.), focaccia bread, a bruschetta-type appetizer with pears, cheese and some green herbs, and for dessert peach pie with vanilla ice cream. Did I forget to mention the alcohol? :) Yummy! I got to check out the Noodle's room, the Noodle is expected any time now, and the new addition to their house, which includes an actual wine cellar (we're jealous), a bike shop for Sara, an office for Josh and I believe one or two extra rooms. They are also installing a deck for their backyard and planning some landscaping to finish it all off.

We headed for home around 9:30pm and were disgruntled to find that the cops were already blocking off Spokane, so it would become a one-way street to help clear out the folks from Oaks Park after the fireworks, by the time we arrived in Sellwood. Thankfully, the young cop at the corner took pity on us, we were just trying to get home, and let us drive through so we didn't have to dump our car somewhere in the neighborhood and walk home. All in all, it was a pretty enjoyable day.

Hollywood Video Dog Experiment #1

Darr and I have learned since becoming dog owners that German Shepherd Dogs are considered as "dangerous" as Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and Doberman Pinschers. This is sort of ridiculous as far as classifications go because all of the Rottweilers, Dobies, and German Shepherds we know are insanely loyal, cuddly, genuinely nice dogs. Certainly they are a lot less annoying than some of those small yippy bastard dogs that constantly bark and nip at your heels.

Anyway, knowing that our dog is seen by others as this beast to be feared, we thought it was sort of funny to christen Beaut with a new nickname - Killer. Occasionally we'll whip out the Killer name and watch to see the reactions of those within earshot.

So, we're in Hollywood Video tonight (we rented King Kong to kick off the holiday festivities) and Beauty the wonder dog is the picture of obedience while we're standing in line to pay for our rental. There are two prepubescent boys strolling through the game aisles who pass by and see Beaut. As they near to come in and pet her Darr says:

"Okay Killer, don't eat the humans," in a semi-serious tone that has an immediate effect on the two kids.

"Her name is Killer?" Is heard from the little one who has quickly shifted behind his taller friend and started to back away. And the taller kid in front who had his hand out now hesitates before stepping closer to pet Beaut's/Killer's head after receiving visual confirmation from us that Killer won't actually eat him.

Darr laughed the whole way home just thinking about it.