Trial and Error

A few weeks ago, I was hungry and feeling slightly vegetable-deprived, so I decided to give this a go:

Doesn't it look inviting?  And...healthy?

My opinion of V-8: Disgusting.  

(No offense to those of you who like it.)

I could only drink about 1/3 of it before I gave up and had to eat a mellowcreme pumpkin to get the nasty taste out of my mouth. 

Just in case any of you were wondering about my feelings on the subject.

Another Fond Farewell

I've been trying to decide how to update this thing.  Should I do one huge post, or a bunch of little ones?  Since my posts tend to be ridiculously long even when they're current, I'm going to change it up a bit.

Story of October that I meant to blog about forever ago #1: My Black Shoes

I have a pair of black flats that I've really loved.  They were cute!  And fancy-looking!  (Hooray for patent leather!)  But, as you can see, they were looking a little....sad.

I was determined to keep these shoes as long as possible.  Then, one day, I noticed that they felt a little lopsided...hmm...

Why yes, that is a chair pad on the bottom of my shoe.

The actual heel came off somehow (beats me), so I tried to replace it.  My dad suggested the above solution, but it wasn't quite the same.  So, I had to say good-bye to my beautiful shoes.  *tear*

Don't worry, I've already found new ones to love. :)

Paperbound Torture

So, I just finished reading this book this evening:

Thanks for the picture Barnes and Noble!

Holy cow.  Ok, before I get into this, I probably should let you know: I LOVE the Percy Jackson books.  In fact, I have them all sitting on my shelf.  I think they're awesome.  Naturally, anything by Rick Riordan is going to be on my list to read.  The aforementioned tome is a new series in the same setting as Percy Jackson and the Olympians.  

So, what did I do when it came out last Tuesday?

Went right to the store and bought it, naturally.  Who cares that I was in the middle of another book or two?

Oh man.  As I got to the end of this book, I literally felt my blood pressure rising as I got closer to the end and realized: yeah, you know that nice tidy ending you wanted?  It's not coming.  This is definitely the beginning of a series.  

Aaargggh!!  

I'm beginning to think I get a bit too attached to these fictional characters.  Guess what I'm going to be dreaming about tonight and thinking about for the next week?

Next fall can't come fast enough.  Stinkin' series...

Ultimate Sewing Machine Smackdown!

Tonight, two sewing machines are going to face off in Battle: Apron!  Let's take a look at our competitors!  

The reigning champ (kind-of): SVEN!!!

What, you don't remember Sven?  Here, maybe his glamour shot will jog your memory.

Ooh, look at those awesome buttons....

OK, everybody remember?  Good.  Now, back to the program!

In the other corner, we have the newcomer: KEN!!!

My sister was nice enough to share Ken's awesomeness with me.

So new...and shiny...

It's going to be a battle for the history books, folks!  Let's see what happens!

Round 1: Ooh, looks like Ken's got pretty good technique, there.  I mean, look at him: he doesn't ever snag the fabric!  When's the last time we saw Sven do that?  Ken's action's so smooth!  I just don't think Sven can compete, poor old-timer.  Well, I think we have a winner!

Round 1 goes to: Ken!

Round 2: It looks like Sven is trying to prove that he's got some decency left in him!  Ah, look, he's playing nice!  I was a bit worried when he kept messing up that gathering stitch, but it looks like a quick consultation with the manual fixed the problem.  Wow, he's sewing over 3 layers of fabric!  It's gotta be the metal--Ken's smooth plastic body is looking a bit flimsy now!  What?!  You're telling me that Sven took care of nearly the entire construction all by himself?!  If I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes, I never would have believed it!  Ooh, sorry, Ken, but it looks like your time is up!

Round 2 goes to: Sven!

Round 3: Well, the match is all tied up now, folks!  They say the third round is the toughest, but--oh, no, it isn't--it is!  The dreaded buttonhole!  Sven looks like he's willing to take a crack at it:

I swear, this thing hates me.  I could only get this hideous buttonhole done because my mom was there.  Sven kind-of has a thing for her.

This was even a second attempt--trust me, the first one was worse.

Ooh, that doesn't look good for Sven!  That buttonhole looks pretty nasty.  It looks like Ken's going in for the kill!  What's this? *gasp*  An automatic buttonholer?!  Where in the blazes did that come from?!  Well, I think it's pretty obvious where this is going, folks. 

Round 3 goes to: Ken!

Well, it's been tough to watch at times, but it looks like this battle has been decided.  After winning 2 rounds and the hearts of seamstresses throughout the stadium, the winner of tonight's ULTIMATE SEWING MACHINE SMACKDOWN is:

Ken!!!

So sorry, Sven.  Better luck next time!

Oh, yeah, guess I should show you what I made.  Here it is!

Disregard my retarded face in this one...

Yeah, I thought it turned out pretty cute.  And it was super easy!  My sister found the tutorial here, although we made a few adjustments (or wanted to after it was done), so let me know if you plan on making it yourself and I'll fill you in.

Battling Microbial Beasties

This is just a news update for those of you who don't know: this was sicky week.  Some of my family had been sick a week or two before, but none of the rest of us had come down with it.  Well, on Tuesday my sister and I both started getting sick--it sounded like what everyone else had, no big deal.

Yeah, guess I'm just special.

Come Thursday, I felt particularly horrible and decided since it was getting difficult to swallow--and, you know, swallowing is kind of important--that I should get this checked out.  While it's not fun being sick, I must say it was a bit satisfying opening my mouth to say "ahh" and having the doctor say "Oh wow, no wonder you feel like crud!"  Why yes, I do, thank you.  (At least that told me that I wasn't making things up in my head.)  The diagnosis:

Just had to post this

Strep!  (Well, at least, that's what we're assuming {as opposed to mono--yikes!} since the actual lab results won't be back until Monday or Tuesday.)  With the help of my good friend amoxicillin, I am now pretty much back to normal.  Hooray!  I can eat again!  And do something other than sleep! 

The one thing I will miss: having a legitimate excuse for sitting on the couch watching movies all day. *sigh* (By the way, a big thanks to the Guthries for providing most of my sick-day selections!)

Obsession #297

Say hello to my latest fetish:

Yeah, the colors aren't exactly right--it's much cuter in person, trust me.

OK, I just have to say it--isn't that the cutest little tiger you've ever seen?!  I think I might die!

My mom and I are now slightly addicted to crocheting the edges on baby blankets.  And the best part is it's totally an excuse to sit and watch movies.  ("Hey, I'm doing a project!  I need something to...listen to, yeah.  And possibly watch...")  Who are these blankets for, you ask?  I have no idea.  Possibly my *future, of course* children, possibly whoever has a baby next.  Meh.  The "who" isn't really that important.   

Look!  More!

Mwahahaha.  Now where's my copy of "Wives and Daughters"?

Labor Day, Seattle Style: Part 2

Ok, let's hope Blogger likes me again.

Saturday continued
After the Japanese garden, we headed off to the Seattle Space Needle.  We didn't really spend much time there, for a number of reasons.  (Big huge paid-admission-required art/music festival at the bottom, lots of people, $20 to go to the top of the needle, you know.)  But, we saw it and went into the gift shop.  That counts, right?   

After the hubbub down there, we headed off to find some grub.  Using Sarah's phone, we found a cafe nearby that was supposedly cheap and friendly.  Being the innocent child I am, I took the description of "atmosphere: offbeat" as "atmosphere: quirky and fun."  Yeah, turns out it actually meant "dark, smoky, and lots of neon beer signs in the windows."  So, we bypassed that lovely little gem, as well as a few really expensive-looking restaurants, and ended up at Zeeks pizza.  Mmm...Zeeks.  

Waiting for our waiter to return...

Chop salad

Frog Belly Green pizza

One nearly-exploding (with goodness) stomach later, we walked all the way back to our car (which we had to pay $15 to park, by the way.  Thank you Seattle...), we found out that the glass-blowing studio we wanted to go to (which was FREE) was back by Zeeks.  I was really not feeling up to either searching for a parking spot on the street or walking back over there, so we just went back to the hotel.  Thankfully, we were moved to a different smoking room that was almost in the non-smoking section and the staff had put in non-smoking bedding.  For causing them so much grief, they really did try to take care of us.  Of course, room #3 didn't have a refrigerator or a microwave, but hey, at least it didn't make me want to puke.  I'll take what I can get.


Oh yeah, I almost forgot--once in room #3, Sarah realized that she didn't have the wall charger for her phone in our stuff and that it was most likely in room #2.  I went back to the lobby to see if they had found it: no dice.  Because of this, we were trying to save her phone battery (our link to the world wide web) and had no choice but to use the computer in the lobby.  (Really, I think the staff was sick of us.  It seemed like we complained a lot.  They definitely knew what room number we were in without us having to tell them.)  After some research, we found a $3 movie theater not too far away.  Hello Saturday night activity!

Thanks for the picture Disney!

The only problem: we weren't hungry enough for dinner before the movie but knew we would be by the middle.  Solution: popcorn, of course.  But, sadly, a small popcorn at this cheap theater cost....$6.  So, in essence, we paid $6 a piece for the movie, instead of $3.  Lame.  But at least the movie was decent.  (I'm a fan of Jay Baruchel--I think he's funny.)


Sunday
Sarah wanted to go to 9:00 church.  Ugh.  But, being the good sister I am, I got up super early and was ready to go on time.  We just happened to go to the same ward that my cousin is serving his mission in...

Don't mind the fact that 2 of the 3 people in this picture are blinking.

The look on his face when we walked in was priceless.  The ward was really friendly and people really tried to help us feel welcome.  Yay for The Church!  I even got to fulfill my calling a few states away and played in Relief Society.  (One of the sisters in the presidency asked if I could stay forever.  Haha.  She was cute.)  After church, we hopped back aboard George and went to: 

If you look really closely, you can see us at the bottom.  The temple was quite large.

It was really pretty.  They had flowers and stuff, but the sheer amount of green there (and the cloudy skies) was beautiful for a desert rat like me.  Like this:

This is what I called the backyard of the temple.  Just a nice little forest, sitting there minding its own business.  Seriously?  A forest?  And it was on all sides, not just in the back.  How cool is that?!

After dinner (it felt so weird to be going to an Applebee's on a Sunday...), we headed back to the hotel because we were feeling tired.  I think the plan was to take a nap.  Did we take a nap, though?  No.  We looked up a few scriptures our mom suggested to us (gotta love that momma), did some word searches together (aww, sisterly love), and...sat there.  For FIVE hours!  We did turn the TV on, but our best choice was "Facing the Giants."  Now, don't get offended.  There's nothing wrong with that movie.  Heck, it was even Sunday appropriate, in my book.  But, it's pretty heavy on the cheese.  And when you've already been stuck in a very small hotel room for 3 hours, it doesn't quite cut it.


Why didn't we go explore a little, you ask?  Well, as I mentioned before, I think we planned on the nap thing.  But, when that didn't happen, we couldn't really think of anyplace free and Sunday-like that we wanted to go.  And, to be honest, we were a little sick of getting lost and missing turns.  Seriously, the state of Washington needs to rethink it's highway and road system.  I have never seen so many retarded forked roads in my life!  And the street signs were tiny!  Look at this:

This is what we had to deal with.  When you don't really know where you're going in the first place, this does not help.


We tried a visit to the ice machine to relieve the boredom, but sadly, we were foiled.

Don't I look sad?  The sign says the machine is broken and you have to go to the front desk to get some ice.  Yeah right!  Those people were sick enough of us as it was.  No use pushing it.

So, we resorted to taking pictures of each other.  As you can probably guess, none of them are very flattering.  I'll spare you the horror.


Monday
We decided to dedicate all of our available time on Monday to Pike's Place Market.  That place was crazy!  There were shops and stalls everywhere.  Oh yeah, and tons of people.  There were 3 levels to the marketplace, too.  We started out mostly wandering, but when I tried a sample of this I was such a sucker I had to buy it:

It probably helped that the guy giving me the sample was fun to talk to.  I should have gotten a picture with him.  Another guy that we should have gotten a picture of is our good friend David.  He was the shopkeeper in a little bookshop on the second-ish level of the market (it gets a little confusing down there).  When a new customer came in, he would say hi, ask where they were from, and then sing out "Oh, you came all the way from [location] to see me!  You're a bookstore groupie!"  Yeah, he was pretty much my favorite part of the market.  The shop was fun, too--new books next to old, tatty ones and everything kind-of stuck on the shelves haphazardly (I mean there were sections and all, but they weren't in neat little stacks).  Normally that would drive me nuts, but it worked there.  We bought something from him, too, but after we had wandered through the rest of the market trying to find cheaper playing cards to no avail.  (After Sunday's boredom, we wanted to be prepared for a long wait at the airport.)  That's ok--I'd like to think the $6 we played for a deck of (European) playing cards was like a little tip to David for being cool.


Some other highlights of Pike's: 
1) We saw our cousin and his companion again.  When we caught his attention, he said "You guys are everywhere!  What are you doing?"  Haha.  After assuring him that we were not stalking him ("No, really, we're not."), we went off to see other things. 

2) Me and Rachel, the pig of Pike's Place.

3) Our lunch.  

Rachel's All-American Sandwich.  Pretty much awesome.  Do you see the bacon on that thing?  Mmm...bacon.

We saw a ton of people eating this stuff and decided that we might as well jump on the bandwagon.  Holy cow, it was good, but I could almost hear my arteries screaming in protest.  So...much...cheese...

4) The bathrooms.  This may sound weird, but they were funny.  Here's how you know you're in the women's bathroom.

For obvious reasons, I didn't get a picture of the big XY marking the men's bathroom.


After Pike's, we headed off to return our car (goodbye George!  You served us well!) and get down to the airport.  It was probably a good thing we got there nearly 2 1/2 hours early because Sarah's ticket somehow got cancelled, a fact we learned when she couldn't check in to the flight.  Thank goodness they got it fixed pretty quickly and we were on the same flight home.  (At first, the lady said, "Now, I couldn't get you two together because the flight is pretty full..." and we interrupted with "Wait, so we're not on the same flight?!"  Turns out she just meant we weren't sitting together, but we would be on the same plane.  Phew.)


And so, we made it home alive!  (If any of you are still reading this absurdly long post, you deserve a candy bar.  Don't worry, I can wait while you go find one.)  Despite the problems we had and the fact that I'm not very good with spontaneous changes of plans, I'm glad I got to go.  Amazingly, except for a few minutes near the very end, we really got along well.  Who'd'a thunk: my sister and I can survive in close quarters for 4 days without killing each other!  Haha, j/k.  It was an amazing experience, though.  Thanks for the ticket parents!  And thanks for taking me Sarah!  Mom was right: this one is definitely going down in the family lore.

239861D5-47E6-4FD5-767A-B24AC01627AE

1.02.28