cowboys.

I never thought I’d say it, but I’m kind of into cowboys and western stuff at the moment.  Let me explain.

I’ve been reading Lonesome Dove by Larry Mcmurtry – and I can’t put it down. The novel is jam-packed full of courageous cowboys, ruthless Indians, horse thieves, romance, suspense, good, evil…you name it. And the names of the characters are so great (Jake Spoon, Pea Eye Parker, Dishwater Boggett, Po Campo, Soupy Jones, Needle Nelson). Never in a million years would I have predicted that I’d be relishing a western novel. But I’m hooked.

THEN this weekend while we were at the lake house, a huge group of us drove up to an old western town called Chesaw and partied with the cowboys at the Chesaw Tavern. I’m not even kidding; it was so much fun. Cowboys, rodeo, cattle, horses, spurs, boots, hats…I saw it all. Yee-haw Chesaw (they really say that there)!

I’m going to have to wrap up this post quickly so I can get back to my book. I’m not entirely sure if it’s the genre I’m enjoying or the writing/rich characters. Why I reckon it’s the latter, but I’m much obliged either way!

legacy.

All this talk about Michael Jackson has got me thinking. He was an undisputed musical genius, an icon. He revolutionized pop and his music was the soundtrack of my childhood. However, there is no doubt in my mind that he liked little boys and had inappropriate relationships with a few. And yet nobody really ever talks about it; his contributions to society seem to overshadow his offenses. Why do some people get this luxury while others don’t?  If the pope was charged with child molestation, would the public be so quick to absolve him? What about Obama? Both have made sizable contributions to society, but somehow I suspect they would be condemned. And OJ Simpson was found innocent of murder, and yet the public has not been quick to forgive him. Can someone’s legacy outshine their alleged faults?

In my opinion, part of it was because Michael Jackson became so pathetic; he was obviously a lost soul and everyone felt bad for him.  He had so much talent and he let his craziness get in the way of a long and prosperous career. Similar to Whitney Huston.  Bobbbeeeey!!!

homemade is better.

Look at the card I received for our anniversary. Homemade is way better. It’s hard to show, but it unfolds into nine squares and has a message on the back.

The back of the card reads:

“Happy 8^th Anniversary Kindra! It’s no surprise to me that our relationship has brought us this far. We really know how to keep things fun & exciting! Camping Kindra, cocktailing Kindra, beach Kindra, sports-fanatic Kindra, dancing Kindra, dressy Kindra and traveling Kindra…are all among the many faces of Kindra that I love. Thank you for making a conscious effort in keeping things alive. I’m looking forward to many more years with you. I love you with more passion and might than words can describe. Derek”

Ok, typically I’m not a super gushy, lovey-dovey girl but OMG! Don’t you just get all warm and fuzzy inside from this card?!?! My boyfriend is better than yours is! Neener, neener, neener.

skip the shortcuts.

On Sunday, we crossed over to Bainbridge to meet King for Father’s Day (King is Derek’s dad; we call him King – I’m not exactly sure why but he’s been King since I’ve known him). In the car, King told us a funny story.

He had been out kayaking in the bay for hours. Upon his return, he walked into the house and was immediately hit with a NASTY smell. I’m talking a stop-you-in-your-tracks kind of smell. It didn’t take long before he realized it was coming from the trash compactor. He proceeds to tell us that instead of taking out the garbage he squirted a few sprays of his cologne in the garbage. GROSS GROSS GROSS!! I can’t believe he thought this was a good idea! As you can imagine, this did not work and it only made it smell worse.  If your garbage stinks, take it out. Trying to make it smell better is a waste of time.

Although I don’t really think his motive was laziness (I think it had more to do with the cost of the trash compactor bags which is another post entirely), it made me reflect on my own actions. Trust me, there have been plenty of times where I’ve tried to take a shortcut or the easy way….and it never seems to pay off. Despite my patience problem (and my inclination towards instant gratification), I’ve learned that it usually takes less time to do it right the first time.

Mount St. Helens

We have a book of the best tent camping in Washington State. And it is our goal to camp at every place in the book. This weekend the book led us to Mount. St. Helens. We stayed at a campsite called Lower Falls, near Cougar, WA. It wasn’t the best campsite we’ve ever been to (too many sites and too many RVs), but the area was beautiful! We saw several impressive waterfalls, embarked on couple hikes and walked on lava fields. Unfortunately, Mount St. Helens was under a cloud the entire weekend so Derek wasn’t able to get any prize photos of the famed volcano. Oh well, maybe next time. We did go on a long drive and scoped-out a camping spot we’d like to try in the future.

As usual, we had a great time – here are a few photos.

celebrate.

We are off to celebrate our eight-year anniversary this weekend! Can you believe it, eight years! It’s insane.

I’ll post pics of our adventure on Sunday.

same but different.

Same

We both love coffee and tea equally.

We both consider camping one of our favorite activities.

We both like riding bikes – although me more recently than you.

We both enjoy gardening and seeing our edible plants grow.

We each have a strong appreciation and love for the pacific northwest.

We both enjoy playing games.

We both value family and friends.

We are both very loyal to each other.

We both have outgoing personalities.

We both enjoy going out to dinner and cooking. Dinner is an event.

Different

You detest products and bottles on the bathroom counter. I loathe junk on the kitchen counter, taking over all of the cooking space.

I enjoy watching TV, you don’t.

I brush my teeth with hot water. You, cold water.

You like beer – I prefer wine.

I am a fast reader. You, not so much.

You are a good sweeper and you don’t mind it – I hate sweeping.

I prefer my showers scalding hot – you like yours luke warm.

I can tolerate a messy house for a few days but I quickly become agitated and anxious. I’m not sure if it even bugs you.

You are skilled photographer and you have a keen eye for composition. My pics are predictable and uninspiring.

You eat soup with a big spoon; I opt for a smaller one.

Although I do LOVE salty and crunchy snacks like chips, I don’t like my food over-salted and buttered. I don’t. And I don’t understand why this salt-thing is such a point of contention for you. It makes my hands swollen and I retain buckets of water. It’s uncomfortable. It has nothing to do with you personally – I don’t like it when anyone over-salts my food. You don’t eat ground meat, so I stopped cooking it. I don’t make you eat it.

I am bossy in the kitchen – fine, I’ll own it. I think my way is the best way. But you are a taker-overer. If you don’t like how I’m doing something, you’ll take over. You can also be a KIA (know-it-all).

We aren’t the same. We have a lot in common, but we aren’t the same. That’s what makes us work. The good news is that we agree more than we disagree. And we agree on the big things. After eight years (Sunday is our eight year anniversary), there’s no one I’d rather disagree with.

I’m sorry we got in a stupid fight tonight. One thing we definitely both have in common is a mean case of the HUNGRY ANGRIES. I’m sorry. I love you.

Oh, and I don’t throw items in the recycle bin without removing the caps just to make you mad. I promise.

segway scandal.

I don’t normally rant and rave about government, politicians, etc. While I do try to stay informed of the issues, I usually get bored and generally I feel apathetic about all of it.

However, there is nothing that angers me more than Seattle Parking Enforcement riding around on Segways. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? My tax dollars are paying for SEGWAYS for the fat, lazy parking enforcement team?  At $5,000 a piece, I’m livid. The city should be ashamed of this frivolous expense, but instead they brag about. In a recent press release they boast, “Seattle Police Department now operates one of the largest fleet of Segways in the nation for parking enforcement…By being openly mobile, our PEOs on Segways have observed they are easily approached by people and engaged in positive conversations.” Give me a freakin’ break. When is the last time you were happy to see a parking enforcement agent at your car – regardless of how they arrived there. This is a complete outrage!

What happened to bicycles? Or feet? Heaven forbid a parking enforcement officer should have to WALK.  I can’t believe that the city is supporting this crap. I swear, next time I see one I’m going to push it over and run.

villians.

I saw this post and thought it was kind of fun. Here is my top ten list of scariest Disney villains. What’s yours?

10. The Queen of Hearts – Alice in Wonderland

9. Captain Hook – Peter Pan

8. The Queen – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

7. Frollo – The Hunchback of Notre Dame

6. Ursula – The Little Mermaid

5. Lady Tremaine – Cinderella

4. Cruella de Vil -101 Dalmations

3. Jafar – Aladdin

2. Scar – The Lion King

1. Maleficent – Sleeping Beauty (I STILL have nightmares about Maleficent!! Seriously.)

box o’ treasures.

I’m not much of a pack rat. Unnecessary clutter makes me a little anxious. Even if I wanted to be – my apartment wouldn’t allow for it. I keep very few “keepsakes” – it’s just not my style. Last week while visiting my mom, she informed my sister and me that we each had a box of high school stuff to take with us. Reluctantly I carted it home, assuming it was all junk. These are items I haven’t looked at or missed in many, many years.

The box sat in my bedroom for a week untouched. Finally, I had the time to dig through it and it was like opening a window to my past.  There are a couple things worth noting and reflecting on.

#1 My generation spent way too much time writing notes. Today’s high school kids send texts; we wrote notes. Lengthy notes with bright colored pens, varied fonts and intricate folding schemes. It’s funny, because reading through them now as an adult, it was clear that the content was far less important than the presentation. Of course, some of them held juicy secrets, but most of them were the equivalent of a meaningless doodle, a means to pass the time. Now, I wish I could collect all the notes from my girlfriends. I would organize them and publish them into a book – chronicling the defining, shaping and “important” events of our young lives from each of our unique perspectives.

#2 Digging through all my high school artifacts, I was both humored and humiliated by my self-perception. I was naively grown-up and painfully confident.

#3 I had an amazing group of girlfriends –full of life, supportive, loving and unfailing. Undoubtedly, they helped to form my ideas of friendship and relationships in general. We laughed, we cried, we fought (rarely) and then we laughed some more. I’ve been fortunate my entire life to have amazing girlfriends.  Sometimes it makes me sad that we all aren’t as close as we used to be. Part of me feels deeply guilty and responsible for not making more of an effort, and part of me isn’t convinced that it would have made much of a difference. We still keep in touch, but it’s not the same. We have grown-up and we have pushed our own paths.  Nonetheless, I miss them fiercely.

Against my natural instincts to purge anything I haven’t used in a year, I decided to keep the box o’ treasures.

enjoy it.

Well everyone, this is what we’ve been waiting for. For months we’ve wilted, whined and waited, and now it’s finally here. Yes, that’s right – the SUN has arrived in Seattle.  Green trees, clean air, sparkling water, blue sky and impressive mountains. On Friday evening I flew home from Alaska and most of the passengers were not from Seattle; I was delighted listening to them talk about my city. I beamed with pride. They were awe-struck with Mt. Rainier, the Cascades, the Olympics, Lake Washington, the Puget Sound, the Peninsulas, and all of the small Islands.  It doesn’t get any better than Seattle in the summer – it’s stunning.

This week, we’ll get to see Seattleites sporting their sunglasses and smiles sans their jackets and umbrellas. Riding bikes, taking walks and drinking on patios late into the evening.  However, I’d like to offer up a word to the wise, enjoy the weather while it lasts. Enjoy every last drop of sunshine because as we all know it could be here today and gone tomorrow.

Here a few night photos Derek took of our striking city!

i’m back.

Sorry for the unannounced absence last week! I was up in Alaska for work – saw some cool stuff (prehistoric bones, gold-dredge number 8, dahl sheep, 4 moose, lots of REALLY old cars, and other stuff I can’t remember). Derek was supposed to be my guest blogger…but he forgot. Hope everyone had a good week!

quick fix.

I thought I would share my new favorite quick fix week-night dinner. I honestly can’t get enough of it. It’s easy, relatively healthy, inexpensive and most importantly, it’s delicious!  I’m estimating the entire dinner costs less than $14 for two people and takes about 30 minutes (but 20 of that is marinating and boiling). What is this miracle dinner?  Drumroll please….

Grilled Portabella Mushrooms (marinated in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, canola oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, sugar and fresh rosemary-if you have it. Marinate time: 20 minutes; Grill time: 10 minutes.)

Spinach Salad (baby spinach, grape tomatoes cut in half, diced red onion, walnut pieces, goat cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and spinach salad dressing warmed up. Mix the salad up.)

Potatoes (we like red potatoes, but any kind will do)

Try it. You won’t be disappointed. The meal just happens to be vegetarian, but it doesn’t seem like it because the portabellas are so meaty!

Tip: Don’t buy your portabellas from the grocery store – they are really overpriced. Try a local produce market or farmer’s market. We paid roughly $1.50 per mushroom at Pike Place Market.

you know you’re a grown-up when…

This is a game Derek and I were playing this weekend. Feel free to add your own.

You know you’re a grown-up when…

…you wake up on Monday morning and there is still booze in the house.

…you brag about your garden.

….the only opportunity you have to dance is at weddings.

…the event of the weekend is hosting a “bonfire”.

…you go to more bridal showers than keggers.

…the quality of liquor becomes more important than the quantity.

…your idea of a good vacation doesn’t involve your entire fraternity.

…you spend thousands of dollars a year dying your hair the RIGHT color.

…you find yourself relating to your parents.

…you meet a 30-year-old and don’t think “Dang, that guy is old.”

…you drink more coffee than booze.

…you share a bank account with someone other than your parents.

…a quiet night at home is not considered a punishment.

…you spend hundreds of dollars every year hosting dinner parties.

…when you’re awake at 6:00am and it isn’t because you’ve been up all night.

white female seeking…

…Thailand travel tips and tennis lessons.

So, if anyone has any info on either topic – please send it my way!

hall monitors.

There is nothing more annoying to me than self-proclaimed police officers. I’m not talking about REAL police officers, I’m talking about the people who take it upon themselves to police the rest of the world. Let’s call them “hall monitors”. You know what I’m talking about! People who have no authority to be bossing others around, except their own conviction. That’s not a parking spot. You were driving too fast. That’s against the rules. Bla bla bla. Hall monitors have nothing better to do than boss the rest of us around – MEGA rule followers and generally tattle-tales.

In my experience, hall monitors tend to migrate to specific jobs. They quickly become frustrated that they don’t have the “official authority” to boss people around, so they seek jobs that give them the authority. For example, meter maids, judges, ferry workers, border patrol, and yes, police officers. I’m not saying that ALL people in these occupations fit into this category, but these jobs give the hall monitors “official authority” to do what they love. Why don’t they just mind their own business?!?! We aren’t hurting you hall monitor – back off!

workout update.

The results are in! As you may remember, I signed up for personal training a few months ago. It turns out my hard work is paying off. I’ve been at it for about 10 weeks (although there was a 2-3 week break in there due to vacation and being sick). Last week was measurement week.

Waste: slimmed down by 1.5”

Thighs: slimmed down by 1” on each

Arms: slimmed down by 0.5” on each

Chest: slimmed down by 1” (I’m not that excited about this one)

And lost 7 lbs!

all in a name.

I don’t mean to make light of a global epidemic, but I think that half the hype surrounding swine flu is a result of the name. The name conjures up images of humans growing snouts and sprouting wiry pig tails. Remember in Pinocchio when he’s at Pleasure Island and the kids start turning into donkeys? That is the image I get in my head when I hear “swine flu” (on a side note, that part of the movie was really creepy now that I think about it).

Had this same virus been called “influenza type 19” or “blue sky flu” nobody would have cared. But because it’s called “swine flu” people are freaking out and Egypt has unnecessarily slaughtered 300,000 pigs. Think about it. Mono can be a pretty bad virus, but I practically want to get it because it’s called “The Kissing Disease”.  Sounds kind of nice. Maple Syrup Urine Disease – YES PLEASE!

Yellow Fever. Pink Eye. Ringworm. Small pox. Mad Cow Disease. I rest my case.

patio garden.

This weekend we went to the Annual Edible Plant Sale put on by Seattle Tilth. I swear, every hippy in Seattle was there – sleuthing through the pouring rain to find their plants. They had tons of edibles in many interesting varieties. I will definitely be going back next year!

This year, our patio garden will include:

• 2 varieties of onions
• 2 varieties of basil
• 5 tomato plants
• 2 cilantro plants
• 5 different kinds of lettuce
• 2 chive plants
• 1 jalapeño plant
• Many sugar pea plants
• Spearmint
• An herb that smells like lemon – I can’t remember the name
• Rosemary
• Thyme

tulip pics.

Here are a few pics from the tulip festival.