Microblading diary - part 2

Logging recovery notes for first microblading touchup appointment.

Day 1 - Sat

Brows feel sore.
Brows look pink, irritated.

Day 2 - Sun

Brows feel normal.
Brows look very dark.

Day 3 - Mon 

Brows feel normal.
Brows look very dark.

Day 4 - Tue 

Brows feel itchy a couple times.
Brows look dark, scans visible.

Day 5 - Wed 

Brows feel normal.
Brows look scabby.

Day 6 - Thu

Brows feel normal.
Brows look big flake!

Day 7 - Fri (clubbing)

Brows feel normal 

Brows look normal. 

Day 8 - Sat

Brows feel normal.

Brows look crusty. 

Day 9 - Sun

Brows feel  normal.

Brows look  crusty.

Day 10 - Mon

Brows feel normal.

Brows look BIG FLAKE!!

Day 11 - Tue

Brows feel  

Brows look  

Day 12 - Wed

Brows feel  

Brows look  

Day 13 - Thu

Brows feel  

Brows look  

Microblading diary - part 1

Logging recovery notes for first microblading appointment. 

Day 1 - Sat

Brows feel sore.
Brows look pink, irritated.

Day 2 - Sun

Brows feel normal, a bit itchy at night.
Brows look normal. Scabs are visible.

Day 3 - Mon 

Brows feel normal, itchy in the afternoon.
Brows look normal.

Day 4 - Tue 

Brows feel normal.
Brows look scabby up close.

Day 5 - Wed 

Brows feel normal, itchy just twice in the afternoon/eve.
Brows look normal.

Day 6 - Thu

Brows feel normal, itchy just once at night.
Brows look normal.

Day 7 - Fri

Brows feel normal. Not itchy.

Brows are peeling from the inner corners, like dandruff.

Day 8 - Sat

Brows feel normal. Not itchy.

Brows have tiny patches disappearing on ends.

Day 9 - Sun

Brows feel normal. 

Brows have surrounding flakes.

Day 10 - Mon

Brows feel itchy at the big flake. 

Brows have a big flake (right) and small flakes throughout.

Day 11 - Tue

Brows feel normal. No itch.

Brows have a big flake (right) still and small flakes throughout. 

Day 12 - Wed

Brows feel normal. No itch.

Brows look flakey and patchy. 

Day 13 - Thu

Brows feel normal, itchy at night.

Brows look flakey and patchy. 

My best St. Pat's Dash!

Another St. Pat's Dash, another year we didn't prepare... but I made a new personal record!!! Last year's time was 36:28, and I haven't done any running since last October when we were in Maui.

After the run, we downed two Guinesses each and then headed to Buckleys. Corned beef, Irish car bombs, and Jameson! I never want to drink again. But I really had so much fun!

I'm sure I owe my dash success to the Peloton. This is the best I've felt for a 5k, but my arms were so sore from swinging. The Peloton has also helped me survive the stress of wedding planning. In the beginning, I felt so overwhelmed and frustrated that I would just cry to myself. Doing a spin class helped me completely reset my emotions and my mind. Whew!

Running lucky

We did the St. Pat's Dash again! And as usual, we didn't prepare... but we still made decent time. Last-last year's time was 35:47, and I definitely weighed less in 2015! 

For this run, I did something different. I jogged at a slow and manageable pace, because I knew I was out of shape and didn't want to get hurt. And it paid off! Jogging (instead of sprinting/walking intervals) was much less miserable -- I didn't feel like I was dying the whole time, just on the last hill. HAHA!  

After not working out for a while, but doing plenty of eating during/between vacations, I feel motivated to return to the gym again. Summer is coming soon, and I want to fit my clothes!! 

One week in paradise: Oahu and Big Island 2017

Tuesday

When I arrived in Honolulu to meet my mom, I landed an hour late because they had to fix the cargo area’s vent system after we had boarded. Unfortunately, her flight had arrived EARLY so she was sitting around at the car rental office for over two hours. Yikes! Our first stop was the Honolulu Cookie company near the airport. We bought our coworker gifts right away, so we wouldn’t have a deal with it later (great decision). Next, we visited Lin’s Hawaiian Market near Ala Moana. The snack selection was ridiculous! Karen recommended their furikake mix, so I bought three bags!! I also got some lilikoi flower, garlic chip, and spicy olive snacks. All very interesting. We had some time to kill, so I ordered melon snow. We shopped at Ward Center before heading to Aunty’s house for a wonderful, welcoming, Hawaiian dinner. She served lau lau, poke, poi, kalbi, and sweet bread with lilikoi butter. I was shocked at how well poi tastes when paired with kalbi. I was stuffed!

Wednesday

We ate breakfast at home, and had a nice chat with Aunty and Uncle. I had a local granola for breakfast—something healthy! We picked grandma up at home and ran errands with her. At the grocery store, we found li hing pineapple. It was REALLY delicious. For lunch, we ate at Fresh Catch. We shared three types of poke, crab stuffed ahi roll, and garlic chicken. The best poke of the three was a wasabi flavor. I liked it so much that I think it’s one of my favorite pokes!

After dropping grandma off, we shopped at Windward Mall. My mom checked out the farmer’s market and bought me some fresh papaya!!! I bought a few tank tops from Cookies, Know1, and Local Motion. Love those stores! We headed back to Kailua, where Cindee had arrived with her family for dinner. Aunty served hibachi steak, spareribs, and veggies. For dessert, we had haupia cake. So much good food.

Thursday

We ate breakfast at home again, which was the fresh papaya from the farmer’s market and some apple banana! We went to visit grandma, before heading to Ward Center for more shopping. I bought a cute one-piece bathing suit for my water adventures over the weekend. I was so fat, I couldn’t fit into any of the bikinis that I had at home. L My mom wanted to go to Barnes & Noble, so we stopped by Ala Moana and ended up browsing. For lunch, I ate Poke & Box. Their two-poke lunch is such a deal! And they have tempura ball toppings, which I had never seen before. I wish all poke places offered that topping.

We went back to grandma’s house for dinner because she had prepared a wonderful roast stew. Uncle Douglas brought Sicilian pizza and cannoli, and Aunty Edith brought more poke from Fresh Catch. Grandma showed us an old photo album, which I had never seen. There were a lot of great photos of my mom and everyone else! It was truly a delight to spend so much time with grandma this trip, and really sit down and chat with her about the past. I can see that she gets tired faster now because her attention fades after a few hours. It makes me appreciative that we could make the trip, and I can’t wait to visit again soon.

Friday

I flew to Kona bright and early! Yep, this trip was from Kailua to Kailua-Kona. We had a delicious breakfast and Frenchman’s before picking up dessert at Holy Donuts. We ordered a dozen and they were all good, but the real gems were the crème brulee donuts! Andrey had to work, so we had lunch in Waimea at Luna. Best zucchini pizza I’ve ever had. The crust was buttery and light. I LOVED IT! Andy and I ventured down the coast to Hilo. We stopped at Waipio Lookout and Laupāhoehoe Point to check out the scenery and take photos. We found a market on the way to Akaka Falls, where we ate the most delicious cinnamon bun ever. It was made with Hawaiian sweet bread! At Akaka Falls, we decided to jog about halfway through the hike. The drop was really impressive, and there were so many different types of gorgeous trees!!

After the long day of sightseeing, we had dinner in Hilo at Hawaiian Style Café. The wait was over an hour, but it was worth every minute. We shared a surf and turf dish, poke nachos, and tripe stew. There was SO MUCH food that we were stuffed! The mauna kea coffee was really yummy. After dinner, we drove through torrential rain down dark and deserted freeway to get back to Waimea. We still had time to kill when we go to Waimea, so we wandered around the KTA store. I loved walking through each aisle, especially at a new store! There was McDonald’s nearby, so we tried the guava pie. After Andy ordered it, he went to the bathroom and I opened it to take a bite. After my first (delicious) bite, the pie dropped back into the pie box and came out through the bottom. MY PIE WAS ON THE FLOOR!!!! I was laughing so hard that I almost peed in my pants. I told Andy what happened on my way into the bathroom, and by the time I came back out he had already bought a second one. HAHA. He didn’t like it, so I got to eat the rest. We finally picked Andrey up and headed home. Exhausting day!

Saturday

We began our day looking for food! After a few failed attempts and a trip to the chocolate store (where we had delicious chocolate turtle samples), we ate melona bars and butter mochi for breakfast in the car. We also stopped at Matsuyamas and picked up poke-stuffed inari. Legit hiking food! We drove to Rainbow Falls to check out the gorgeous views, and then we made our way to another scenic fall. I didn’t feel comfortable taking the local trail, but the guys convinced me to do it. The path was muddy and steep, the rocks were slippery, and by the time I got to the stream crossing I just decided that I wasn’t going to go any further. Andy and Andrey got to enjoy the rest of the waterfall hike while I sat in the stream. In retrospect, that probably wasn’t a great place to park my butt. Especially because that’s probably not a great place to be during a flash flood.  

We drove on to Hilo and picked up strawberry mochi from Two Ladies Kitchen. The strawberry mochi was even better than I expected, and I had some really high expectations due to the number of people who highly recommended it. For dinner, we ate at Café Pesto. The ginger calamari was very good, and the steak, fish, scallops, shrimp, and risotto were all delicious. After some wine, we stopped by Ross to pick up a blanket. Andy and Andrey ended up buying these matching shark shirts, but they didn’t have any in my size. DISAPPOINTING!

When we got to the Volcanoes National Park, we rented bicycles and poncho’ed up. Andrey shared a tandem with me, but the gears on the tandem bike didn’t work. So we had to pedal a whoooole lot. The ride up was not so bad, even though it was a bit windy. When we got to the top, we could see this beautiful, billowing blob of lava red. The shape was ever-changing and morphing as the lava was hitting the water. It was beautiful and almost emotional. Walking on the lava was also an interesting experience. To know that you’re walking on something that was LAVA is perplexing and makes you really think about how cool nature is. The ride back down actually had more uphill areas, and the rain really started pouring sideways. The wind picked up and it was so loud that I felt disoriented. I pedaled as hard as I could, and I was honestly miserable toward the end. I started thinking about Forrest, which I guess is my happy place? By the time we got to the bottom, I was totally beat. That was one of the most physically challenging things that I’ve experience in my adult life. We grabbed some food at Ken’s House of Pancakes, and the saimin made me feel a bit refreshed. We decided to head home and call it a night.

Sunday

We started the day with breakfast from Peaberry & Galette. The croissant sandwich was so freaking delicious. We drove to the Captain Cook area and rented our kayaks and snorkeling equipment. I was nervous to go out on the water because I can’t swim, I’ve never kayaked before, and I’ve never been out on open water without a boat before. The waves were crashing against the rocks, and it was really intimidating. Luckily, Andrey was in my kayak and he is basically a water angel. Once we got started, I realized that I LOVE the rowing part. I insisted on rowing all of the way, even when we didn’t need to row. When we turned the kayaks and started moving sideways with the waves, I felt seasick. I didn’t really have any options so we kept going to the snorkeling area by the Captain Cook monument. We stopped because we saw a group of dolphins! They were playing, spinning, and splashing around us. I got into the water to float with them, and we heard the high-pitched noises of the dolphins communicating. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. I’ve never felt as close to nature as I did right then. Andrey really got close to them and started singing in the water. Dolphins are so cool! Andy and I both did not snorkel. I’m glad we went anyway because being with wild dolphins in sea water is probably not something I’ll get to experience again. For post-kayak food, we ate Da Poke Shack and it was glorious. By sunset, we were heading up to Mauna Kea observatory. Watching the sunset from mid-mountain was amazing and colorful. The higher we climbed, the colder it got. I was happy to buy a sweatshirt and t-shirt at the observatory store just to keep warm! The Asia tourists with their phone lights and cameras were annoyingly disruptive when we were trying to stargaze. If I could volunteer anywhere in Hawaii, I would work there to scold the tourists. Anyway, there were so many stars that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. The night was crystal clear and we even saw Venus in one of the fancy telescopes. After the stargazing tour, we drove back to Kona and ate tacos at Oceans. I had a li hing margarita, which was my first alcoholic beverage of the trip. That must be a record!

Monday

Andy made eggs for breakfast, and we ate them with taro sweet bread. We headed to the pier, where we boarded our Big Island Duck Adventures tour! I love duck tours because they’re fun, comfortable, exciting, and you learn so much. This tour was sooo windy that I could barely keep my eyes open at time. Even with sunglasses on! We played trivia and our team, the geminis, certainly did not come close to winning. HAHA. The tour was fun anyway, and my favorite part was seeing the partially restored pond wall. The guides told us about how there was only one person who still had the skill of placing stones. I think that is something I would enjoy, like stuffing envelopes and grouting bathroom tile. After the tour, we headed to Waikoloa Beach to look for sea turtles. We eventually saw one!!! He was playing in the water by the shore. We went shopped the King and Queen shops, but Andrey was the only one who bought something. HAHA. Well, I did buy a melon icee. After checking out the beaches nearby, we had dinner at Holukoa Café. The dinner was bittersweet, because I knew I would be leaving shortly after. I had a spectacular time on the Big Island because Andrey was a fantastic host and Andy was obviously the best travel buddy. I usually feel stressed, rushed, and overwhelmed on vacations with big groups. Our trio was the perfect arrangement to enjoy everything at our own pace. This is THE MOST wholesome and active friends vacation I’ve ever taken. I can’t believe we experienced so much in so little time. I love how much they pushed me outside of my comfort zone. We made so many memories! I lava it. J

#slowvide and #loaflife

The Anova sous vide has been getting a LOT of action! 

First, we made chicken thighs with olive oil, dried rosemary, salt, and pepper. I was complaining a lot about how long we had to wait, and I was getting pretty hangry. However, when I took the first bite of those buttery thighs, I knew it was worth every minute. This first attempt got us really excited about trying different meats!

The next day, we made steak with olive oil, fresh rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic. The wait wasn't quite as long for the steak and the final product as perfectly and evenly cooked. However, I don't think it was worth the wait. The steak was delicious! But it wasn't significantly better than just cooking steak in the cast iron alone. The perfectly even cooking doesn't really justify waiting double the time when the satisfaction level is the same with both methods. 

The day after, we made sockeye salmon with dried dill and lemon slices. Yes, this one was as buttery as the chicken thighs! Worth the wait. 

Today, we made chicken breasts which were very moist for breasts but obviously not as tasty as the thighs. My favorites so far are the salmon and the chicken thighs! I'm excited to try pork and corned beef next. 

I also made a batch of banana bread with Whysk baking mix! More fiber and other goodies, and the bread tasted just as good as usual. I sprinkled cinnamon on the top of the batter, and the loaf came out with a beautiful cinnamonny crust. 

And I haven't given up on the artisan loaves! I made a sun-dried tomato and whole garlic clove loaf. It was a hit at the Seahawks game viewing party. 

Cooking spree

My first week of 2017 has been a cooking spree!

I've always loved banana bread, but I had never made it until now. The hardest part was waiting for the bananas to overripen. We ate slices for breakfast, which is relatively healthy because we normally don't eat breakfast. 

Making tomato bisque was easier than I thought, especially because the immersion blender did all of the work. We ate the bisque with quesadillas that Matt melted on his cast iron skillet. 

Someone mentioned tortilla soup at work, so I made a batch that night! I even made freshly baked tortilla chips. Again, the immersion blender was very helpful.

Matt requested chicken noodle soup because he's sick. If I had a bigger dutch oven, I wouldn't have had to use a stock pot! 

Carrot raisin bread smells like cinnamon rolls and tastes like carrot cake. I LOVE how moist this bread came out! I think we'll be alternating between this and banana bread for our weekday breakfasts. 

I'm going to need to get a recipe binder soon! This loaf pan is really coming in handy. 

Christmas & NYE 2016

I never understood what "baking season" was until now. With this winter being especially cold and snowy, the warmth from oven cooking is a welcome feeling. 

For our beer and cheese white elephant exchange, I made a parm and rosemary loaf with a garlic butter. It was a hit! I also think I got THE BEST gift at the exchange because my beer came with brie and salami (my faves). 

Most of us wore festive sweaters, and we had a great friendmas. I like being able to host these kinds of gatherings, even though I miss hosting at our last house. We had SO MUCH space there! 

Matt and I spent Christmas Eve at church with is family and then we all ate dinner at his sister's house. For the dinner, Matt cooked up a bunch of butcher steaks, and we brought sundried tomato basil bread with garlic butter. And Pokemon snickerdoodles! When I was making the royal frosting for the cookies, I was horrified at how much sugar the recipe called for. No more frosting in 2017! 

The dinner was delicious, and I've been having so much fun playing with Matt's niece. Matt's sister gave me a LC loaf pan for Christmas, and I am so excited to use it! Another one for the collection. Between the Keurig that Matt's sister gave him, the Anova sous vide that I gave to Matt, and the hand blender that Matt gave to me, I think this Christmas has successfully maxed out our kitchen space. 

On Christmas Day, Karen, Sam, and Melissa came over to hang out and watch basketball and movies. Melissa made dokkbokki and I made another rosemary loaf. After we finished eating, we watched The Secret Life of Pets. It was a very relaxing day after what felt like an exhausting weekend!

After Christmas, I made a roasted garlic and rosemary Le Poulet Rouge in my dutch oven. The skin was buttery and the chicken was perfectly sized for my 3.5 qt. pot. A few days later, we used the drippings to make fried rice, and I think it was the best fried rice I've ever had. 

For NYE, David, Matt, Charles, and I headed down to Portland to meet up with other Charles who was visiting his cousin. 

When we got to Portland, I caught up on email and saw a message from my mom about my uncle passing away. It was a really shocking moment, and I thought how sad my cousins must be this NYE. I can't imagine what they went through over the weekend, and what they are going through now. Growing up, we spent many holidays at my uncle's house and he was always kind and welcoming. Since moving away from home, I haven't seen my uncles much at all. It makes me sad that I've lost touch, and it also makes me feel guilty for not going home for the holidays. 

For the rest of the Portland trip, I stayed in touch with my mom via email to make sure she was okay. I couldn't do much else about the situation. Ringing in 2017 at the Midnite event was a huge hit. The venue was gorgeous, people were nice, and music was on point. Most importantly, I got to spend NYE with my closest friends and we all had a great time. My uncle's passing reminded me to live in the moment and enjoy all that is around me. It's easy to get caught up in life and forget that tomorrow is never promised. 

For 2017, I want to be more present in my day-to-day life and appreciate every moment. I'm going to be more thoughtful and more connected. 

Reppin' for that loaf life

I can't believe how quickly the past six months have come and gone! We're all settled in at the new place, and we've even had snow already. Forrest is finally off of his diet because he's back in shape. Work is still pretty awesome. We've had a few team activities and co-worker outings over the past two weeks. And I'm about two weeks away from being done with school.

Charles and Huey finally visited! We had a nice, long weekend of eating and drinking. Matt and Huey definitely bonded over Vietnamese accents, and we all bonded over the birthday meat at Radiator Whiskey.

I got a Le Creuset and a KitchenAid last week, so I'm really into baking bread right now. I can't believe it's so easy. Like ridiculously easy.

My first loaf was simple; I only added rosemary and Maldon flakes.

My second loaf was roasted garlic, rosemary, and Maldon flakes.

Both loaves were SO DELICIOUS fresh out of the oven. I had some difficulty getting the dough into the oven the first time, but on the second try I started rotating the dough out and it was much easier. I'm excited to make olive and raisin bread next. I should probably start going to the gym again...

July 4th

Given the year that this country is having, WOW -- WHAT A YEAR TO BE AN AMERICAN! But politics aside, I love the USA and July 4th has become one of my favorite holidays. 

Forrest and I got patriotic AF!

Eric and Jen opened up their home to a huuuuuge party, and there was a ridiculous amount of food! The dogs were all happy to play and run, but the fireworks changed everything. Eric's neighbors do a legit fireworks show, and the dogs were so spooked! Forrest is usually fine with fireworks from afar, but I guess this year it was too loud for him.

Forrest and Walla hiding out in the house

The fireworks show was absolutely amazing, and I'm glad we got to celebrate the holiday with all of our friends! Next year, we'll bring Forrest's bed along so he'll be more comfortable. 

Country Western Bee-day

For my birthday this year, we had a FEAST at the house! Unfortunately, the chosen day was a dreary and overcast setting for a BBQ. Fortunately, it didn't rain the entire time. :) 

I got to wear my awesome Stetson all day, with my denim overalls!! I actually wasn't planning to dress up, until Gavin and Lisa arrived in their country attire. And then Mike showed up dressed like a cowboy... so then I went upstairs to change, and it was immediately more fun.

My faves of the day:

• Dinuguan
• Chili and cornbread
• Crawfish
• Poke 
• Ginger molasses cookies  
• Pistachio and taro froyo
• Chicken pasta salad 

And there were a LOT of other dishes. We ate so much that we could barely drink! That was probably a good thing.. 

I'm really sad that I didn't get any pictures with my strawberry cheesecake, which JR made from scratch!! Hopefully by next year I can train Matt to take my birthday pics. I'm incredibly thankful to have so many friends in Seattle, and I was delighted to help others find friends here. Nick and Steph just moved up, and I was so excited to introduce them to everyone - especially to Wilson because he's also from the Bay. 

Looking back at my previous birthdays, I sure have simmered down over the past few years. I'm happy to be where I am now, though, and am an even more firm believer that everything happens for a reason. 

Clam Jam 2016

Another clamming adventure for the books! We went back to Double Bluff beach on a gorgeous summer day with the tide below -3. The trip was very last minute, but we ended up having a very rewarding day.

In the morning, Forrest was so excited to leave the house... that he had crumbs all over his face from inhaling breakfast. He was a hot mess, with his harness all in a twist. 

This year, we went further out than usual. The area that we chose was really rocky, but there were whole clans of clams under the sand!!!! Forrest was scouting the area and greeting the other clammers for us. 

While we dug and dug some more, Forrest wandered nearby and sniffed just about everything. He even ate a crab! I guess he doesn't remember last time, when got nipped in the nose. LOL

Eventually he got tired and wanted to lay near us. He's not a young chicken anymore! 

After cleaning and prepping our catches, Mike made us clam ceviche! It was DELICIOUS.

Next, JR sauteed some clams with garlic, onions, and butter.

The main course was a heaping pile of butter clams in a white wine sauce.

And the clam finale - baked clams with Ritz cracker crust.

With Tambi and JR to share their culinary genius, we had quite the feast. It was a lot of work, but we also had more hands to do the prepping and the cleaning. Last year, Matt and I only trusted ourselves to make chowder... and it took FOREVER to clean the damned horse clams! I'm glad we got some butter clams this year, too.

I think my clam fix has been satiated for the year. Because we dug so far out on the beach, the walk back to the car was extra brutal. And these clams were NOT light. 

Can't wait to go crabbing next! 

Stanley Cup Finals - GO SHARKS!

As much as I liked Todd McLellan, the recent Sharks coach replacement was obviously a solid choice. Although DeBoer is not as entertaining to watch on TV, he has inspired the Sharks to make it through playoffs. First it was the Kings, then it was the Preds, next it was the Blues, and now the Sharks are taking on the Pens. IN THE FINALS!! THE FINALS!!! It's like the stars aligned - Jones got us past the Kings, Ward got us past the Preds, and Polak got us past the Blues.

When I first started watching hockey, I was SO into it. And my friends who were longtime Sharks fans (and others who were weren't fans at all) would always say that even if the Sharks are doing well in the regular season, they always choke in the playoffs. After a few years, I started to understand that sentiment.. but I never lost hope! If the Sharks win the Stanley Cup this year, I was will be SO HAPPY. I'll also be a bit sad though, because I won't be in the Bay Area to celebrate it.

I wish I had more fan friends to go to games with. Alex always has people to go with, and I'm not hardcore enough to go alone. Even though I was able to get tickets for a finals game, I'm selling them - no one wants to go! Hopefully this season's momentum will create a stronger fan base. In the meantime, some of my Seattle friends are slowly becoming Sharks fans. 

But Forrest has always been a Sharks fan. He has good taste.

Bark at the Park

Unfortunately for Forrest, I didn't know about Bark at the Park... until this year! We took him to the game against the As, and the weather was perfect. All of the dogs were so well-behaved, and the Safeco workers did a fantastic job of keeping the areas as clean as possible. We saw one scuffle at the check-in table, between a husky and mastiffy dog, but I don't think the husky owner was watching her dog. Based on the way she reacted, she didn't seem like a responsible owner.

Forrest is afraid of heights, which is something I hadn't considered when buying tickets - all of the dog sections are on the third level. He fought us when walking up the ramps, and any time we walked within 4-5 feet of an edge. He REALLY didn't want to walk up the stairs to our seats, but we went up anyway.

Initially, I set him in his own seat. He kept scooting backward, and the seat of the chair would collapse inward. LOL. There was also a gigantic Bernese mountain dog sitting behind us, drooling all over Forrest's back. It was SO CUTE! 

I let him sit in my lap, because he seemed more at ease. The Bernese dog kept leaning over my shoulder to get closer to Forrest, and he drooled on my hair. I didn't mind, but we definitely both needed a thorough bathing after the game. 

Despite the terrifying heights, I think Forrest had a great time. He got to smell and meet so many dogs in just a few hours! And he snatched up some french fries and tortilla chip scraps from the floor. Hanging out at the bar/food area was probably his faaaaavorite part of the night. 

Can't wait to do it again! 

Beat the Bridge 8K

We beat the bridge again this year! However, I didn't beat last year's time. 

I'm so confused! I felt that this year's 8K was not as difficult for me - I guess I just didn't push myself as hard as last year toward the end of the race. And as per usual, we didn't train. Overall I felt like I was in the best shape this year. Maybe it was because I was extra tired... yeah... I'll blame being tired. =)

At least this year's time is better than the first year's time. As long as I beat the bridge and don't hurt myself in the process, I consider it a win. 

Note to self: Stop taking the Montlake exit on race day. One hour to exit 520 is ridiculous!

Contact 2015, New Years, visitors, and SNOW!

The week after Christmas, we went up to Vancouver for our very first CONTACT festival! I really and truly loved the venue, and despite the ultra low temps I had a great time. Even though I said no more festivals after this year, I'd definitely consider attending that one again.

After the drive home, we were so exhausted. But we had to get ready for our visitors - Andy, Alom, and Gary! They stayed with us three nights, and it went by way too quickly. We brought them to Burnett's for BNO, and Matt took them sightseeing the next day in Seattle. For NYE, we got a table at Aston Manor and it was the BEST IDEA EVER. We were the first ones to book the brand new enclosed area right next to the stage, and we had an awesome view of the DJ and crowd. Bottles and bottles later, we were all having a wonderful time, and certainly a happy new year. 

The week after the guys left, I got extremely sick and ended up sleeping for two days straight. YUCK! Hopefully that was my sickness for the year. That flu or whatever it was really hit me like a wall. I'm wondering if it was the cold weather, because we did actually have some snow that week. Forrest got to play in it! 

So far, this year has been great! I took a writing class with Chelsie already, and work is going well as usual. I can't wait to see what else 2016 has in store for me. I really have to shed my winter coat soon though -- boy, I layered up thick this holiday season! HAHA

Happy Holidaze 2015

This holiday season has truly been a daze!

I spent Thanksgiving in Seoul, after exploring Hong Kong for a week, and am so thankful to have the financial stability to travel as well as the great company to travel with. Our Asia group was mostly awesome, especially because we got to piggy back on Nan's food research/plans in HK. The most intense night of eating of my life was probably our dinner food tour with Nan's cousin. GEEZ! They sure do know how to eat! And catching up with Greta was fantastic, as she took us to some of our favorite Chinese meals. In Hong Kong we stayed on Park Island, and I really loved the area. Life on the BEACH but near the city - a dream for me. We rode the MTR a lot, and even though I don't like public transportation... I have to admit that it was very clean and convenient. One of my fave destinations in HK was the Wong Tai Sin temple where I got my fortune read!  I mean, we even went to Macau and karoke'ed in HK... it was really my ideal trip. 

Korea was much colder, but we ALWAYS had grapefruit soju to warm us up. The food in Seoul was also really delicious, and the shopping was overwhelming at times. Most of our meals were KBBQ, but all of the KBBQ was really tasty so I didn't mind at all. The street food was such a treat, especially because we stayed at a hotel in Myeong-Dong within walking distance to the vendor strip. We also had ginseng chicken and black sesame honey tea (both of which I've never had before) with Charles' cousins, and they were so nice! Can't wait to see them again in Spring for the wedding. I brought back a few Korean beauty products that I really like, and wish I had purchased more! 

Since coming back from Asia, we hosted an Ugly Christmas Sweater/White Elephant party, as well as a Holiday Turn-up at Tia Lou. We also saw Beauty and the Beast at the Paramount with Vic and Christina! 

On Christmas Eve, I attended mass with Matt's family, and then enjoyed a delightful family dinner at Matt's sister house. I made frosted donut holes for dessert, with the cake pop maker secret santa gift from Alom. They took forever but were pretty good, if I may say so myself. =) We even brought Forrest, and he had so much fun with the nephews! 

When we got home, we opened our gifts and I got a MAGIC MIC FOR CHRISTMAS!!! I stayed up until 4 AM singing, and now I am having a very, very lazy Christmas Day. WHEW! 

Halloween 2015

This year's Halloween was ... pretty spooktacular!

Seeing as this is our first Halloween in a house, we decided to get much larger pumpkins than usual. You know, the kind that I can't even lift on my own. HAHA. But OMG we didn't account for how much thicker the pumpkins would be and the additional pulp that would need to be removed. 

In fact, the pumpkins were so big, that JR broke the big serrated spoon that we had. It was pouring outside, so we made a deal - Lorraine and I would go to Target to get more tools, and the guys would clean out our pumpkins! Lorraine found a really cute pizza costume, and I found Forrest a hot dog costume. It fit him PERFECTLY. We also got pumpkin Oreos and pumpkin cheesecake cookies. YUMMY. Our pumpkin carving was a success! And wine followed. 

On Halloween, we went to BJ's house party. I haven't been to a legit house party in sooo long; I'm really glad they hosted it. And their house was pretty big! The theme was 90s, and a lot of people had appropriate costumes. I was surprised that there were THREE tamagotchi costumes! And one guy was Windows 95. Lots of overalls, but I think I nailed the look. I was laughing to myself the entire time I was twisting my hair and applying brown lip liner (it took ridiculously long). I got a lot of compliments on the lip liner for sure, and the butterfly clips. Like middle school all over again!! And of course, everyone loved Forrest. He stole pizza, again! This time from Sarah's hand as she bent over. Oy vey. 

When we got home, we checked the candy bucket that was left outside for trick-or-treaters. AND IT WAS GONE. Someone took our whole candy bucket!!!! Rude. Now I'm wondering if maybe I shouldn't have ordered a wreath. After my disappearing Costco order and now the stolen Halloween bucket, I'll be so mad if they take the wreath!