This man is the bomb

"Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living. Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food. The body, these waterheads imagine, is a temple that should not be polluted by animal protein. It's healthier, they insist, though every vegetarian waiter I've worked with is brought down by any rumor of a cold. Oh, I'll accommodate them, I'll rummage around for something to feed them, for a "vegetarian plate," if called on to do so. Fourteen dollars for a few slices of grilled eggplant and zucchini suits my food cost fine."
-Anthony Bourdain

I'll be in the audience at The Moore tomorrow night swooning at his wit and snark. Oh my.

So this is summer....huh

1. I'm finally done with school and had been looking forward to reading on our deck and getting a little bit of sun before we leave for Florida. Sun = Not so much around the greater Seattle area these days. It's been overcast, windy, and rainy for the past week. Bleh! Chris and I were going to hike last weekend but it was super cold here in Kent which means it's probably 10 degrees cooler toward the mountains. I'm beginning to think that I have some form of Seasonal Affective Disorder, but only in response to crappy summer weather. I can be happy as a clam in the winter when it's cold and grey for months because it's *supposed* to be that way. Rain and grey in summer = depression. Maybe I should go tanning... or get a light box or something.

2. On tap for this weekend: Anthony Bourdain and the Furry 5k. I am a *huge* Bourdain fan. Love everything he's written and his snark is, dare I say it... sexy. I do so love the snark. We're going with C and T to see him at the Moore Theater on Saturday. Not sure if it's a reading or what he's doing but I'm sure it will be entertaining. Sunday is the Furry 5k - a benefit for the Seattle Animal Shelter. We usually walk/run every year. In fact, last year, it was the 5k that I ended up running two weeks before my couch to 5k program ended. Unfortunately, I wound up with shin splints and never ran again. This year, Kala and I are walkers (well, Kala will probably end up being carried). Let's just hope for no rain!

3. Despite the crappy weather, I've been gearing up for the Florida heat and humidity. I've bought some sleeveless tops and even a few skirts (gasp!) for the trip. I need some cute shoes and a couple more pairs of shorts and I should be good to go. I haven't walked for the last week due to the weather and finishing up my class so I haven't lost as much as I had hoped. I'm still eating pretty well and I've got 2 1/2 weeks left until the trip. I need to kick it up a notch!

Creativity - I has it

Just a quickie to announce that...

I scrapbooked today!

I also bought a skirt yesterday so these two things might be a sign that the apocalypse is looming. I promise to scan it tonight and post the layout later. If I can remember how to operate the scanner, that is.

Oh well, lucky for me that I have in-house IT (read: Chris).

Edited to add: The layout will be up sometime this weekend because IT (yes - Chris) just told me that the scanner isn't hooked up. Stay tuned!

Freedom!

So I'm officially on summer vacation. My last class was supposed to be tomorrow night but our Prof had a death in the family so class was canceled. In order to celebrate 4 months of freedom, I took myself shopping. Since I've been eating healthier, I've been losing weight (yay) so I need new summer clothes. Plus with our upcoming trip to Florida, I need to replace some things I've grown out of.

I bought two pairs of capri/cropped pants at the Ann Taylor Loft end of season sale last year and they are getting VERY big on me. I love them though so I'm trying to decide if I should keep them as "fat pants," or just chuck 'em. I think I'll keep them through the summer and then decide. If we ever get a summer that is - it's currently 65 and overcast - bleh! I'm on vacation! I need vacation weather!

So it's just me and the dogs - hanging out. Watching tv. Reading. That's going to pretty much sum up my summer. Relaxation. I dig it.

I hereby renounce my love of Lionel Richie

Because I've seen this video.

Short shorts, bad dancing, and leg warmers.

Can someone pass the bleach? My mind's eye thanks you.

ETA: Cole just saw the video and said, "Men in booty shorts... bad. Just bad."

Weight loss, quirks and my daily routine

1. Pretty much every morning, I try on clothes that I haven't been able to wear for awhile which is fun because I'm losing some much needed weight. My goal is to not buy anything new for vacation (other than a few sleeveless tops because Florida = Hades) because I want to wear some of my own stuff! So in order to meet this challenge, I have a couple of goals. Chris has inspired me to have a fairly reasonable goal and then a "stretch" goal. My goals are in the form of capri pants. My regular goal is a cute pair of cargo capris that I love dearly. I'm almost at that goal. My "stretch" goal is a pair of white capris that have been sitting in my closet for awhile. I've got 45 days and my eyes are on the white capris!

2. I've noticed lately that I have one interesting quirk. I mentally add up my food purchases as the cashier is ringing me up. As I put my food on the little conveyor belt, I come up with a sum total in my head and see how close I am to the final price. Although I've had to make some adjustments lately due to the price of food and shopping at different stores, I'm usually pretty dead-on. Yesterday, I had estimated $50 and the total was 48.65 FTW! Chris has this amazing ability to estimate suitcase weight. The Lynches have been blessed with the gift of accurate estimations.

3. The other day, Cole said that my days revolve around studying and Disney. I told him to throw in picking up after 2 additional people and 3 dogs, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, yard work, running errands, and helping with homework and that pretty much sums up my day. I need a hobby.

The yard, halibut, gifts and Disney

1. Our yard looks amazing. Contrary to what Chris says, it's not so much that I love yard work - I just love the immediate gratification of seeing the results. It's my mission this year since we spent a ton on landscaping last year. I want to enjoy my flowers and the efforts of my labor.

2. Halibut might be my new favorite fish. Too bad it's $17 a pound! I've never been much of a fish person. We had lots of salmon growing up since my dad loves to fish. In fact, I never understood why people would order salmon at a restaurant because that was something we ate at home all the time. It certainly didn't seem special enough to order when you go out! I know better now :)

3. I've been blessed with thoughtfulness over the past week. Tiffany gave me a wonderful bag of goodies at book club the other night. I can't wait to use the "fabulous" bling on a layout with Tango and his shades. My buddy, Randomesq, sent me a foodie book which makes me hungry each time I read it. I've also learned the correct way to slice onions with my fingers curled under. Avitania gave me a really pretty green Glassy Baby candle which has a really warm wonderful glow. I suspect I'll be collecting all the colors soon :)

4. Cole and I are certified Disney freaks! Someone on one of my Disney boards is at Disney World right now and set up a webcam outside of their window at the Boardwalk hotel. Cole and I watched Illuminations (the fireworks show at Epcot) on the webcam last night and then proceeded to search for all of our Disney cds. (I have a few). He told me that he isn't racing in a mountain bike race the day before we leave on vacation because he doesn't want anything bad to happen before he arrives at the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH! Now that is dedication :)