To-do:

What's up, mushroom-seitan stroganoff?

Good Things

November Top X

Already past half-way through the month & no November Top Ten! Oopths!

1. Seattle. Despite the sad circumstances, it was an amazing trip. I love my family, I love that city. Every time we step foot innit, we want to live there. I think we will one day.

2. Thanksgiving

3. Walking for miles at a time

4. Kale chips

5. Purging, always.

6. New Orleans

7. KEXP, WFMU, KUAR

8. Best Coast!


9. Arcade Fire! I can't not like these Canucks.



10. My little family unit. ♥ ♥ ♥


Par the course, here's #11:

Samantha was looking for advice for a side dish to make for a Thanksgiving dinner she was invited to. She queried "What do you make for people who are extremely picky and do not like vegetables, like at all?" (Paraphrased, big time!) Jhn Mrk replied:

Sam, you should bring something with tempeh and seitan and flax seeds and some fuckin’ soyfurkey or whateverthefuck with tofutti fake-on stripps and nature burger powder and nutritional yeast sprinkled all over it and then stick a goddamn ear candle in the top. When they ask what it’s called, say, "It’s ‘vegan armpit nugget loaf,’ and it’s ssoooooooo goooooood, dude. There’s no vegetables in it, and no animal products, just science! And you won’t even be able to tell the difference between this and regular armpit nugget loaf. I dumpstered all the ingredients!"

This made me laugh hysterically because, seriously, sometimes something as simple as making a side dish can be really hard, especially when people won't eat or try something different or vegetarian because of whatever crazy reason they give. But, it doesn't end there. Nooooooo, they have to accuse you of being radical or crazy or something. This is a natural segue way to tell you how wrong you live your life, too! This is a recipe where you pull out all of the stops and give them a reason to accuse you of being insane. I am soooooooooooooo going to make this one day.

CARPOOLS ONLY: 2 or more persons per vehicle

So, we've officially joined the ranks of "I've got a mortgage AND a car payment". Yeah, we got a new automobile! Cute little Hyundai:



We've got a S. Korean hat trick going on here: our car, laundry machines & phones are from there. It wasn't intentional, but it is something to think about. Am I a bad consumer? Can you even be a thoughtful consumer now? I mean, we try to be thoughtful, but it's difficult.

Anyway, I'm so accustomed to sharing a ride with ATM that I forget what it's like to have this kind of freedom. Amazing. After I get over the initial new car excitement, I think we will go back to car pooling to/fro work to save gas/$$$. It was never that hard & if we can do it, we will.

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Here comes Thxgiving! I have a lot to be thankful for, it's almost frightening. I feel I am past due for some humility.

Seriously considering doing food reviews for the AR Times, since Lindsey keeps asking me to do it. It almost seems crazy that I wouldn't just say yes, but when you get busy and time becomes more valuable, you can get stingy with what you do with it. And, too, I would want to do a quality job. The crazy-good upside would be that since we are belt-tightening again, we can still go out to eat & get reimbursed for it. Hey! It is starting to sound more tempting...

Don't let this happen to youuuuuuuuuuu!

Ripped from the internet. SOURCE.

You are here.

I am trying to enjoy this rare sense of calm & relaxation I've got going on RIGHT NOW. We are being rushed into purchasing a car; we aren't as ready as we'd like to be, but, frankly, we could go forever without buying a car if we weren't pushed. And so. It's time to tighten the belt a little more. We are doing that thing where we are evaluating our life & deciding what we can do to save $. We are pretty damn basic as it is. I've got a (self-aware) shoe purchasing problem that I will just have to quit cold turkey. Xmas will definitely be more homemade than ever, but, hell, I enjoy creating & giving. Like I said to ATM, we just need to learn to be still & enjoy what we have right now. For me, that's hard to do. But, maybe I'll get more reading done! And there will be more cooking! And more hanging out with cats! I love all of these things!

Most important: WE ARE GETTING A NEW CAR! I've grown so accustomed to sharing a car that I will not know how to handle this new-found freedom!

Since I have no choice, but to get a little creative & culinary for the holidays, I would like to organize a cookie swap Xmas party thing with my friends. File under "maybe", but I'd like to give it a go! (Ahem! KMHD, Leigh, Keiko, & Heather!) Will ruminate and hopefully attempt. I'm thinking salted caramels, sweet/salty candy bark, pretzels & cinnamon rolls.

Our going vegetarian has been going really well! We have not faltered, there's not been any cravings, and we've been trying new things. My current favorite superfood is kale. It is extremely easy to cook with. So far, we've had kale chips & stir-fried kale. I'd like to try it in soup & make salads with it. Anyway, I'm very pleased with our current dietary decision. It will probably make Thxgiving in New Orleans very difficult, but I have been doing my research for vegetarian restaurants. Hopefully I can find one that is open on Turkey Day!

EXTRA PHOTOS

Evening view from my cousins house in Queen Anne, Seattle:


Tesla e-car:


I took this lot of photos at the Sci-Fi Museum in Seattle. His expression looks as if you are delivering bad news. "Yoda, I accidentally washed my red towel with all of your whites."


Cylon!


Apollo's fighter jet:


Don't let them in!




This is still scary to me:


Tired cousins:


Cau Bay nerding out with my spectacles:




Aunt + cousins:


Hooooooooooooooooooooooooos!


I love it when the cats are all DO NOT LEAVE:


But, they are glad when I am back:


My beautiful birthday cake. It was not that good.


I got bangs!

13.1

I signed up to do the Little Rock half-marathon in March 2011. It took wanting to raise funds for Heifer International (Thanks, Leigh!) to inspire me to do something I was certain I'd never do. Full disclosure: I'm a walker, not a runner, but 13.1 miles is still 13.1 miles. So, a few of us have been walking the gorgeous Big Dam Bridge, which is 0.8 miles one way. The current goal is to strengthen our legs. As of right now, it is very easy to get in 4.8 miles per session. I can already feel an eagerness to go a little further w/o fatigue, so I'd say that my legs are getting fit! The only problem that I'm am experiencing now is chafing. Ouch. These are my helpful buddies:

As are these.

BDB is great because you can easily figure your distance and time; it's great for people-watching, too. As soon as it gets cold and the excuses not to walk start flowing, I wonder what we will do. Treadmill? Sounds awful. I suppose they make workout clothes for all seasons. Here's to me not flaking. I've got a two-fold goal: finish the race to raise maximum monies for an amazing cause. Hey, if you are able to sponsor me, I'd be much obliged! Be sure to click on my name when you get to the group website Halfers for Heifer.

We got in some walking @ Garvan Gardens in Hot Springs this past weekend. It's real pretty out there right now. These made me think of my Ba Ngaoi, mums were her favorite. Mine, too!






Soaking in as much sunshine as possible:




I wonder what happened to this oak to make it grow this way! ATM dubbed it "the Devil's Card Table" because you know how they name everything for the devil? Devil's Den, etc.





This is just extra bonus for reading this far:

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?