SEATTLE! SOUNDERS!

Before we went to Seattle, I got a text from my cousin that casually asked if I wanted to help carry out one of the flags @ the Seattle Sounders v. Los Angeles Galaxy match. My heart & head pretty much exploded. Yes yes yes yes yes!

See, when we first booked our plane tickets, I wistfully looked at the Sounders web site to see if maybe-just-maybe I could go to a match, but since it was the play-offs, the cheap tickets were sold-out. I pretty much wrote off the idea. But, this! I would be on the PITCH.

After regaining composure, I felt a little nervous. What the hell did I sign up for? Then I got over it because this is once in a lifetime material I'm dealing with!

The reason my cousin gets to do this upon occasion is because her pal Chris is the program director for the King County Boys & Girls Club. The Sounders select these children to walk onto the pitch hand-in-hand with the soccer players; usually the parents (& friends of Chris) get to carry the flags. Initially, it was just going to be me & my cousin, but she gave up her spot, so KMHD could go, too.

Besos to my cousin for giving me a most excellent birthday experience!

Going in the "special" entrance, photo by My Tam:


Sounders band warming up. "Because it was Halloween." should cover the "Why is that duder dressed like a pirate?"


The underbelly of Qwest stadium:


Here we are!


It's not real grass, it's long-length astroturf. You can see players warming up by the goal:


Practicing. We weren't allowed to bring cameras with us while we did the official carrying, so I had to get my pictures in at this point:




(The rest of these photos are courtesy of my cousin, My Tam)






Another cousin, Lamson:




We're in there somewhere:




Do I even need to get into how amazing the whole experience was? I was meters away from Landon Donovan & David Beckham, which is insane. Ladies, he really is that good-looking, I am reluctantly admitting this. While holding the American flag, I kept looking over my right shoulder to look at the players. I felt like an acne-ridden, braces-wearing, chubby teenage girl. Guh. Anyway, it is so moving to be standing on the pitch while fans go wild with excitement. It is crazy good to see the Seattle skyline to your left. It is so sweet to walk off the field & little kids want you to high-five them on your way to your seat. ATM & I have observed by watching matches on the telly how awesome Sounders fans are; they really are the best MLS fans. Man, I'll never forget it.

Seattle lost, 0-1.

I eated it!

We got to chow down on some of the best of the best in Seattle. Behold!

Molly Moon's Handmade Ice Cream in Capitol Hill! I picked salted caramel, KMHD got the olive oil , & My Tam got the balsamic strawberry & rosemary meyer lemon flavors. Truthfully, I almost couldn't handle the richness, they are so full of creamy cream! Heavenly! Leigh & I have been messin' with the idea of busting out the ice cream machine and making ice cream all. winter. long. I'd really like to recreate the above-mentioned flavors. Yum! Bookmark Molly Moon's as a "do" whilst in Seattle.





We had to make a stop @ Pike Place Market. Fresh EVERYTHING abounds! We stopped @ PPM on our way to eat dim sum; big mistake. We totally ended up going to Beecher's to get some fresh curds & share a small order of their famous mac n chz. Hot damn.

Obligatory PPM photos:






Beecher's makes magic:


Curds!


My Tam:


I love this photo of four cousins rudely eating mac n chz together. So rude!:


Hello, try Fran's Chocolates! They are President Obama & Michelle's favorites!
The truffles are killer, but I especially love the salted caramels. They are on the pricey side, so cut them into quarters and have a "chocolate/caramel tasting" with 3 of your bestest cousins or pals. I eated the caramels (Hey, I shared them, o.k.?!) before I could get snapshots, but feel free to ogle the truffles.


Add this to your Seattle food to-do list: Thanh Son Tofu! (<---Click the link & read the reviews. All true!) This little Vietnamese shop specializes in fresh tofu, fries tofu, tofu pudding, soy bean milk, and numerous Vietnamese goods. Our favorite is the fried tofu with spring onion. The best late night snack on Earth! You can eat them hot or cold (we prefer cold) with generous amounts of Sriracha.

So one day, we drove down to North Bend, WA to go get a "damn fine cup of coffee" and some cherry pie from the cafe that was in Twin Peaks. I mean, it hardly looks the same as in the movie/series, but it's still worth going out that way because it is gorgeous! We had an Arkansas-sized breakfast to boot. The breakfast was your average diner breakfast with ridiculously huge portions, but the winner was obviously the pie/coffee:












Snoqualmie Falls, which is like around the corner & up the street from the diner:



Damn, there is so much fine food in Seattle. There is no way I can cover all of the food we inhaled. We ate our weight's worth of Indian curry, falafel, dim sum & pho. I guess the local gag is that if one of the staples of your diet is Mexican food, then you will eventually replace that staple with Pho. There are pho shops everywhere, it's terrific! The Motherland beckons!

We've got a running list of farmer's markets & restaurants to try the next time we visit. Maybe next March?

Keep Clam and Yum Curry

We attended the Rallies to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, Seattle location on Oct. 30. We couldn't get anywhere near the stage, so it really turned into a people watching/sign reading event. EVERYONE was so friendly & in high spirits. Frankly, it was refreshing. In true Seattle fashion, IT RAINED.

Sign sign, everywhere a sign...

Ba Ngoai

Ba Ngoai passed away this Monday, November 1, my birthday. It's a huge honor for me in that I now have a bond with my grandmother that no other can claim.

She was most excellent & I will miss her deeply. The sacrifices that she, my aunt & my cousin made so that my mother, uncle & aunts could flee to this country during the war can never be repaid, but KMHD & I would not even be if it weren't for her.

Despite the gloomy circumstances, I was crazy happy to be with my Viet family. I didn't even realize how empty I felt, how much I needed to be amongst them until we were all together. I haven't seen some of them for nearly two decades! It's shameful & it will not happen again.

In times like this, you can't help but take stock of your own life and make vows to live life a little more grand. I will try harder to be more cheerful, love bigger, eat well, sleep well, travel more, be helpful to others less fortunate & be grateful all the while.







Peaceful: