A Brief History of the Last 6 Months

So since I have been very bad at my blog as of last (and yes - as of late does mean the last 6 months) I thought I would do a brief catch up. Below you will find a short photo essay depicting the highlights of my life as of late. Or at least the times I thought to take a picture. Enjoy!

Halloween Costume #1 - Minnie Mouse

You put those gloves on, and your hands just automatically pop up like that. It's the weirdest thing.

Halloween Costume #2 - Cookie Monster
Also appearing - Kadeums the King
I'm not sure what it says about me that I still dress up as children's characters for Halloween. Hmmm...

New Kids On the Block Concert
That's right! I auctually just went in support of my friend Erin, who was a huge NKOTB fant back in the day. But I won't lie - I had a great time. I am now a proud New Kids fan, and have the tee shirt to prove it.

My friend Rachel and I stumbled upon the Seahawks practice facility at about 1 AM one night, which thrilled me. We ignored the private property signs, and went to have a look. We were able to track down Mike Holmgren's (for the non-football fans he was the head coach) parking spot, and take a picture before we were forced to run away from the security man. It was dark and we were running away, but it did appear as though the security guy was wearing Seahawks gear. I thought it interesting.

While out and about in Tacoma, WA Erin and I found what has to be the most decorated home in America for Thanksgiving.
Happy Turkey Day!

Me and Rach at a totem pole in the Pioneer Square district of Seattle.

More to come tomorrow. Promise. Maybe. Eh, we'll see.

I'm back!

It's been a while, I know. I kept having all these ideas for these wonderful blog posts, but could never seem to find the time or energy to actually post them. New Years rolled around and I made the resolution to post something at least once a week. It is now February 27th, and this is my first post this year. That should give you an idea of how good I am at keeping New Year's Resolutions. I figure the first one is the hardest though. I just have to make the first post, and then it will be easier. So here is a thought I had recently...

I went to Barnes and Noble during lunch last week. When I go I usually like to just wander through the travel section and pick the next place I want to visit. But on this particular visit I went down the fiction section. Specifically the New Fiction section. This isn't my little nickname for it. It has signs and labels and displays all telling you that the books in this section are new fiction. As I was looking at all the new books I noticed that nestled between the new Clive Cussler and Steven Barry books was a book by an author named Jane Austen. Yes - that Jane Austen. It wasn't just a stray copy that had landed there, there was a whole stack of them. Barnes and Noble had stuck Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen in the New Fiction section. According to Wikipedia (I heart Wikipedia!) Pride and Prejudice was fist published on January 28th, 1813.

I love Pride and Prejudice and Jane Austen just as much as the next girl. But I think that 196 years after the book was first published it would be safe for the kids at Barnes and Noble to take it off the New Fiction section. I'm just saying.

And the next gold star goes to...

So yesterday Alex informed me that he had found Apple Fanta in the US, and that pretty much made my whole life. I actually contemplated moving to Atlanta for a little bit so I could have my Fanta. Well the Fanta joy continued that night. My friend Erin, the second recipient of my blogs Gold Star award, took a trip to Canada last weekend. She brought back some Fanta. We had Tangerine Fanta with dinner last night, and I have a Blue Raspberry Fanta waiting to be tasted. What joy! Thanks Erin!

P.S. I had my hair cut earlier this afternoon. I'm not sure you can really see it in this picture. But for those of you interested there is my new haircut.

And the gold star goes to...

I just received some fantastic news. Truly fantastic. Really. I just did a little happy dance in my office, and then skipped about sharing the news with my co-workers. The happy news comes from my little brother Alex (the recipient of today's gold star). I don't think this news requires a lot of explanation. If you know me at all you will understand the joy that I am feeling. I just received the picture below from Alex. He took said picture at a grocery store in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The blessed day has finally come. APPLE FANTA is in America. Please join me in rejoicing.

Peep Profile #1

Hey Bloggers! Big news - I have decided to do a new feature on my blog. I call it Peep Profile. It's simple really. I just pick one of my peeps, and profile them. The lucky person who will be the subject of the initial Peep Profile is...wait for it...drumroll please...wait for it... Mylissa. So without further adieu let's get to profiling.

Peeps Vital Stats:

Name: Mylissa Lee [Last Name Withheld for Legal Reasons]
Alias: Missy, Mys, Babe (FYI - I don't call her that one)
Birthday: October 11th.
Original Hood: Utah
Current Hood: Colorado
Peeps Peeps: Trent, Conley, Preslee, and Carson. See below:

How we Became Peeps:

Perhaps with future Peep Profiles this question will have a better story to it, but the story of how Mylissa and I became peeps is pretty simple. I was conceived, gestated, and birthed. Then one the day of my birth mine and Mylissa's mutual parents introduced us. The rest is history. That's a really odd was of saying that Missy is my big sis.

What's this peep like:

In a word: fantastic. She likes playing games, The Office, and chips and salsa. She is a great Mom. LIke a 'perfect TV mom' sort of Mom. Her hair has been pretty much every color, but I think it started out as a reddish auburn. When she stays up really late things start to get a little loopy - and really funny. Mylissa can cook just about anything, and it all tastes good. My personal favorite are her chicken enchiladas. Cooking just makes her happy. True story - she once got so excited in a spice store that our little brother suggested she should put dollar bills in the clerks pants. She's a good driver, but I have seen her talk her way out of a ticket. She likes country music (among other things), and really dislikes Beyonce. I give her credit for inventing (or at least teaching me) the ginger ale and pixie sticks, and chips and cream cheese combos. She has a beautiful voice and plays the piano very well. So basically - fantastic.


Story She Will Wish I Didn't Share;

Recently Mylissa had had a bit of a rough day. She was running late and had hungry kids, so she decided to go to a drive through. She let Conley chose the place. He chose Taco Bell. So they went to Taco Bell and got in line. The stress of the day must have gotten to her because when it was her turn to order she forgot. She just sat in her car, windows up, oblivious, and just kept inching forward. She realized her error when she reached the pick-up window, and the Taco Bell employees had no food for her. Mylissa was understandably a little embarrassed. So embarrassed that she decided to just leave. Conley was understandably upset by this. Hate to say it - but I'm with Conley on this one. His Mom asks him where he wants to eat, they drive to restaurant, wait in line, and then just leave without any food. Seems like mean trick to a 5 year old.

3 Reasons I Hate Her:

1. Ridiculously skinny. She borrowed my everyday clothes to wear when she was pregnant. Great for her. Sucky for me
2. Cheered for the Giants in the Super Bowl. Need I say more?
3. Character Flops. When we were growing up we shared a room and at one point had bunk beds. I had the top bunk. Missy went through this phase where she liked to walk into the room, see me on my bed, and just yank me off of it. Apparently as I fell to the floor I looked just like a cartoon character. She thought it was hilarious.

5 Reasons I Love Her:

1. She gets outraged on my behalf. She would totally kick someone in the shins if they were being mean to me.
2. She taught me how to pop zits. Gross, yes. But I needed some guidance.
3. She gets a little nervous when she hasn't heard from me in a while. I laugh when she threatens to start calling hospitals if I don't call her, but in the event of a real emergency I appreciate that someone will try and track me down.
4. She rearranged her life to spend 2 days driving 900 miles in a cramped, smelly, and CD-less U-Haul to help me move. And once we reached our destination she unpacked most of my stuff for me. She is probably more familiar with my kitchen then I am.
5. She loves me. I love her for loving me. She is always on my side, always listens to me, and is always there to help me.

Love you Missy! Thanks for being my Peep!

When to go to the emergency room

So the HR department at work likes to out "helpful" emails sometimes. They send things like exercise tips, and recycling ideas. Today they sent out an email letting us know that we don't always have to go to the emergency room, sometimes we can just go to the urgent care facility. I actually agree with this, urgent care is a lot cheaper and it's not always a true emergency. But then they followed up this helpful hint with a list of times you should go to the emergency room and times you should go to instant care. Under the list of times that you should definitely go to the emergency room they listed "partial or total amputation of a limb." Did that really need to be clarified? Really? Maybe it did. Maybe some people cut of their arm and wonder if it is an urgent care of emergency room type of situation. So to all of my blog readers (all 3 of you) if you ever partially or totally amputate a limb just go straight to the emergency room. Do not pass Go, or collect $200 - just go directly to the ER.

All American Food

I just had an epiphany. Really. I just had a little late afternoon snack, experienced a moment of brilliance, and the first thing I did was blog about it. (Have I mentioned that I am really enjoying blogging? Why didn't I start sooner?) Anyways - back to my epiphany.

You know that old debate about if there are any originally American foods? We like to say "American as apple pie", but I'd bet that they had it somewhere else first. We love our hamburgers, but those came from Hamburg. Heehee. French fries may have actually been an American invention, but for some reason we gave credit for those to the French. Why did we do that? We don't even like the French. And I'm pretty sure the French don't like French fries. It's kind of like how we invented fortune cookies, but then say they are from China. There are no fortune cookies in China. I went and looked, and didn't find a single one. Again - back to the epiphany. Sorry - I get sidetracked easily.

I think I have found a true, original American food. Fried Macaroni and Cheese Balls. Yes, that's right - macaroni and cheese rolled into a ball, dipped in batter, and then fried in a vat of oil. Delicious. In case you were wondering I had some of this wonderful delicacy for my little afternoon snack and that's what inspired the epiphany. This is a real All-American food. Think about it - it started off as a food (pasta) that we ripped off from another country (Italy) and simplified and corrupted it until it was barely recognizable (Mac and Cheese). And because that wasn't enough we rolled it into little balls (no utensils necessary), added our own little twist (the batter), and fried it up to drain the last little bit of nutrition out of it. See? A true American food.

I urge you all whip up some fried Mac and Cheese balls and count your many blessings for living in this country. Or if you are like me and want to make it extra, super American - you won't even make them yourself, you'll go and buy them. Yummy.