Vacations and Road Trips

Post Thanksgiving Update

Holidays, Luke The Dog, Pictures, Vacations and Road Trips No Responses »

Nov 272011

Le Sigh. I love Holidays. Not fake holidays, like Halloween or Valentine’s day, where you still have to go to work. No, I love real holidays, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and the 4th of July when you don’t have to go to work. In terms of work, though the greatest of these is Thanksgiving. Because every year, Thanksgiving comes with a 4-day weekend, which are seriously the best.

This year for Thanksgiving was a little strange, but enjoyable, nonetheless. I had Thanksgiving dinner with my friend, Melissa and a bunch of people from her Choral Conducting program at the University of Washington. I had never met any of them before, but they were a fun bunch, the food was good, and I made a particularly stunning caramel apple pie (if I say so myself.)

On Friday, I actually ventured out to the mall to do a bit of shopping, wander around and enjoy the hustle and bustle, and to see a movie for which I’ve been waiting for months. The mall was packed, which was to be expected, but I got my Bath and Body Works pine-scented candles (my yearly tradition), my Auntie Anne’s pretzel with caramel sauce, and I got to see The Muppets.

The Muppets was fantastic. It’s the best Muppet movie since Jim Henson passed away. The voices are a little “off,” which is to be expected since Jim Henson and Richard Hunt passed away, and Frank Oz doesn’t want anything to do with the Muppets anymore. (For shame, Frank. For shame.) But it captures the spirit of the Muppets so thoroughly and completely. The music is ludicrously catchy. And I am not ashamed to admit it: When they recreate the opening to the Muppet Show with all of the original puppets, I got a little choked up. It was a brilliant, heartfelt, un-ironic, funny, charming, uplifting movie from beginning to end. Grade: A.

Also on Friday, I ended up cooking the 20 lb. turkey that I purchased but that I didn’t make for Thanksgiving. It was quite yummy. And I will be eating it for the next two weeks. Because a 20 pound turkey for a single person and a couple of ravenous dogs can go quite a long way. I’ve got another day or two of turkey sandwiches in me, then I’m going to make a big pot of turkey noodle soup.

Saturday consisted of two things: Assassin’s Creed: Revolutions and Arthur Christmas. The first is a video game that I’ve had for a couple of weeks but haven’t been able to play very much. The second is the new animated movie that came out. Arthur Christmas is another really delightful little Christmas movie. It was done by Aardman Animation (the same studio that brought you Chicken Run and Wallace and Grommit). The computer animation is fantastic, the story is perfect for getting into the Holiday spirit, and Bill Nighy’s portrayal of Grandsanta was hysterical. Really fun movie, and it will get put into my Holiday movie rotation. Grade: B+

Today, the majority of the day was spent on Assassin’s Creed. And I’m dreading having to return to work tomorrow. Christmas feels so very far away right now.

However, the real excitement in my life over the last nearly two weeks has been the (temporary) addition of a new member of my family: Jasper the Dog.

Jasper’s owner watched Luke for me a couple of months ago when I drove down to Utah to visit in September, so I owed her a favor, and offered to watch Jasper for her while he was out of town. Jasper is a 1.5 years old, and is some sort of Terrier/Chihuahua Mix. He’s very affectionate, wicked smart, and has been a holy terror for the last week and a half that he’s been at my place. He was rescued about two months ago, and has a few abandonment issues. It started out with he and Luke the Dog™ not getting alone very well. Well, to be more accurate, he was afraid of Luke and would snap at him if Luke got too close. Luke was fine with Jasper. Eventually, they got over it, and now they’re good friends, and like playing together.

Jasper is a very demanding dog, though. He gets jealous easily. If I wanted to pet Luke, Jasper would get in between Luke and I. If I sat down anywhere, Jasper climbs on top of me, whether I want him to or not. He demands to be picked up all the time, which I will only do when I want to. And, for the five or six days he was here, he was afraid of everything and everyone. He would walk very timidly behind me when we were out walking, and Luke would walk in front of me, pulling, so I ended up looking like a drunk showgirl trying to do a sideways showgirl walk with a broken high heel.

The bigger problems, though, were Jasper’s attitude. Jasper peed or pooped in my apartment 12 times in 7 days. He chewed through both Luke’s leash and his own leash. He ripped a hole in my bedspread. He climbed up on the table and shredded one of my bamboo placemats. He would go into my closet, grab my socks out of the hamper, and carry them all over the apartment. I eventually had to crate him whenever I left the apartment for more than about 5 minutes.

As I mentioned, he’s very, very smart. When properly motivated, he would pick up obedience commands in a matter of seconds. But he’s uber-stubborn. When he wants something, he will completely disregard you. I don’t allow my dog in the kitchen when I’m cooking, and Jasper would sit at the entry to the kitchen until I turned my back for one second, and then he’d run in and try to get into the garbage, or jump up and get something off of the counter.

Despite all of that, though, Jasper is a real sweetie. He obviously loves being around people once he trusts them. He loves to cuddle in a way that Luke never did. He actually likes sleeping under the covers of the bed, which was really nice on those cold nights. He was like a furry hot water bottle. Except for the time he decided he needed to warm up his nose by sticking it down my butt crack at 3AM. I tell you what: if you are the kind of person who has a hard time getting up in the morning, you should invent an alarm clock that will simulate a cold, wet dog nose in your butt crack. That will wake you right up.

In the last week, he’s really come out of his shell, playing with other dogs in the complex, interacting with all of the office staff and regulars. He does a better job of playing fetch than does my Golden Retriever. And, like Luke, he eats like a fiend. But getting any work done with him around is very difficult. He’s like most of the MDT people I knew in college: he insists on being the center of attention all the time, and if he’s not, he’ll pee on your bed. Again.

So, Jasper goes back home tomorrow, and I will get to finish the sewing project I’ve been working on, and Luke can go back to sleeping on the bed without worrying about getting kicked off by a dog 1/10th his size. It’ll be weird only having one dog in the house again. But, I do think that this cured me of the craving I’ve been having to get another puppy anytime in the near future. One dog is enough for me for now.

Well, I hope all of my reader(s) had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and you’re all giving your Pandora Christmas Music stations a workout. Speaking of, if you need an expertly chosen Christmas music station, you can find my Christmas music station here: http://www.pandora.com/#!/stations/edit/341352601847510870

A Little Road Trip

Family, Food, Living It Up, Luke The Dog, Pictures, Vacations and Road Trips 1 Response »

Sep 092011

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I just went on a little trip. Like I do about twice a year, I pack up my Xbox and a few clothes, hop in the car, and drive myself down to Utah to visit with the family. This year was a pretty quick trip. I spent all day on Saturday in the car, was in Utah for Sunday through Wednesday, and then spent all day Thursday in the car driving home. It’s about a 13-hour drive. It’s actually not too bad—except for driving through Idaho, which is awful.

Most of Idaho, especially the part through which I-84 slices, is pretty darn ugly. (Apologies to family who lives there…my heart goes out to you.) I did however, find a slightly less ugly view at, of all places, a freeway rest stop.

See that’s not quite so bad. Of course, you can put a river almost anywhere and it will improve the scenery drastically. Idaho in the winter is the worst, though. It’s like driving through Hoth.

Only without the mechanized shooty things. (I have only seen Star Wars once, and I didn’t like it that much, so I’m not that well-versed on the correct terminology.)

In any case, this trip was nice and uneventful. Sunday, my sister, her husband, and my adorable niece, Aubrey, came up to my parents’ house for a visit and a huge, early Labor day barbeque. We sat around on the patio in the back and played with Stella the dog while Aubrey the niece played in the kiddie pool.

Seriously. Isn’t she about the cutest thing ever? Those eyes should be illegal.

Monday—Labor Day—was spent on my Uncle and Aunt’s boat up at Pine View Reservoir.

It wasn’t as sunny as we would have liked, but what can you do. In fact, aside from Sunday, it was cloudy and overcast pretty much the whole time I was down in Utah. It’s like mother nature decided to deprive me of any nice weather all year long this year, like she’s punishing me or something. She’s such a vicious trollop. I mean, I drive a fuel-efficient car. I recycle. I don’t clear-cut Brazillian rain forests. She could ease up on me a little.

You know what, just for that, I’m going to go buy the biggest Hummer I can find. If you want global warming, I’ll give you global warming. Bring it on, Mother Nature. I will take you down.

Anyway, Tuesday, I made peach jam with the peaches from the tree in my parents’ back yard. The tree is only two years old, so they had to trim off most of the fruit this year (about 95%) to keep the tree from getting over-burdened before it’s strong enough. Even still, they had about five dozen peaches that all got ripe at about the same time…which just happened to correspond with my arrival in Utah. So I made peach jam with a few of the peaches, and it’s chillin’ in my freezer. Note to self: make waffles soon.

One of the other main reasons that I decided to go down to Utah for my vacation time was to see my friend Nicole perform in a musical called “Drowsy Chaperone.” Nicole is a classmate of mine from the MDT program at BYU, and is one of the most ludicrously talented people I know. She was also my partner in Choreographic Styles when we sort of killed it. It was also directed by my not-so-secret artistic crush, Dave Tinney. My sis was able to come along, so I drove down to Daybreak to pick her up and take some more pictures of my stinkin’ cute niece:

Then sis and I drove down to Orem, were disappointed to discover that Lon’s BBQ had gone out of business, went to Burger Supreme for old times’ sake (at which I was disappointed to discover it wasn’t as good as I remember it being…especially the onion rings. Blargh), and ended up at the Hale Center Theater in Orem. The show was great, it was great to see several of my old theater friends and one of my former students (who is teaching himself now too!) and spend some time with my sister.

Wednesday, I got myself some Utah Scones at the Star Café in Clearfield, did laundry, shopped for some snacks for the road trip, and made a nummy dinner with the tomatoes and zucchini from my parents’ garden. And through it all, we played a lot of games on the Kinect. Tell you what…if my mom could spend a bit of time getting used to playing Dance Central, she could be a major threat.

So, it was a nice trip. It was great to see everyone, but it was also nice to get back into town and get back to my dog. He stayed with a co-worker of mine for the week I was gone, and quite frankly, he doesn’t seem all that thrilled to have me back. He’s been pouting and disobedient ever since I got back. I just think he got used to having another dog in the house since my co-worker has a very sweet Sheltie named Charlie. I think Luke wants a brother.

And, to top it all off, I found four zucchini like this when I got back:

I was only gone for six days, and when I left, I didn’t have a single Zucchini on either of my plants. In six days, I had four of these get pollinated and grow to roughly the size of a Northern Pike. I also got a dozen ears of corn, a dozen carrots, a couple of bags of radishes, and two gallons of lettuce. And my tomatoes STILL aren’t ripe. Well, at least we’ll have another week of sunny, warm weather. But this is getting ridiculous.

And, fortunately, I’ve got two more full days of weekend before I have to go back to work on Monday. I do love vacations.

A Project Manager’s Vacation

Ramblings, Vacations and Road Trips 3 Responses »

Sep 022011

In my world, PM doesn’t mean post meridian, pretty mental, post-menopausal, or pepperoni meatlog. Well sometimes it means pepperoni meatlog, but that’s not what this blog post is about. No. In my world, PM stands for Project Manager. In other words: me.

When I got my MBA in project management two years ago, I didn’t realize that project management, while I don’t necessary love it, is something that I’m naturally very good at. It’s a special skill…and one that you either have or you don’t. You can hone your skills, but if you’re not the type to make a good project manager, you’re probably never going to be able to develop an ability to be a good project manager. It’s just part of your makeup or it isn’t. Like a sense of humor. Or washboard abs.

When it comes to project management, I have the PM gene. Which would be good and fine if that meant that my project management ended when I packed up my laptop and went home from work, but it never does. I project manage my life. I think in terms of priorities, work items, schedules, and available resources. I have a Gantt chart inside my head.

Take, for instance, vacations: the whole thing is a project that needs managing, and I manage the hell out of it…up until the moment I walk out the door to start my vacation. Then the PM gene gets turned off temporarily. Take my upcoming trip to visit my folks in Utah:

The whole process starts about a week ahead of time, when my brain starts determining the individual work items that need to be done, and the predecessors and successors for each trip. For instance, I figure out how much food I’m going to need to take on the trip, and I give myself a task to go grocery shopping. If I drive, which I will on this trip, then I will need to bring along a small cooler to keep my lunch and dinner fixin’s so I don’t have to stop and get fast food. Of course, this means that I need to get a cooler, because my existing cooler is too small for my needs. I will also need to start making ice for the cooler about five days before the trip to have an adequate supply of ice by the time I have to leave. So, the act of bringing food on the trip then turns into:

7 Days before trip

Buy cooler, ice cube trays, gallon-size zip-top bags

5 Days before trip

Begin making ice

2 Days before trip

Go grocery shopping (with an entirely pre-planned list)
Make Crystal light with the 6 bottles of water.
Refrigerate 3, freeze 3

1 Day before trip

Gather the non-refrigerator items in a plastic bag and set them by the door
Gather all the refrigerator items in one area of the fridge
Gather all the freezer items in one area of the freezer
Stop by the garden to pick the lettuce that you’re bringing home for the family

Day of the trip

Put the frozen and refrigerated items in the cooler
Load cooler and bag of non-refrigerated items into the passenger seat of the car.

All of this happens in my head. I don’t have a list where I write down all of my tasks or their predecessors. It just happens.

Now, imagine that going on with all of the following:

Do all the laundry
Do all the dishes
Make sure the house is clean so you come home to a clean house
Take the dog to the vet
Write the instructions and gather info for the person watching the dog
Ensure that all of the work tasks for the following week are covered
Charge the camera battery
Get the car cleaned
Get the oil changed
Clean out the trunk
Pack your clothes
Water the plants
Get someone to water the garden
Clean out the fridge before leaving
Load up the Zune
Put audiobooks on the phone
Get cash
Pack the change jar (you never know)
Charge the phone
Charge the laptop
Pack all the chargers and cables
Charge the electric razor and toothbrush
Pack the toiletries
Unhook and pack the Xbox, Kinect, and games
Turn in the time off form to the HR department
Load up iPad with sheet music in case you’re asked to play/sing
Bring along the hard drive of all the TV/Movies
Fill up the gas tank
Lock all the windows and doors
Notify the neighbors I’ll be out of town
Fill out the mail hold form and submit to the post office
Pay the rent
Pay all bills due during my time away so I don’t have to think about it.

Now imagine that each of those has several component tasks that must be prioritized, scheduled, and executed on time. I do this all naturally. In my head. This doesn’t stress me out at all. I don’t see it as insurmountable.

I have also never (ever) forgotten to bring anything, charge anything, pack anything, or do anything. I am NEVER packing at the very last minute. (I’m leaving tomorrow, I packed two days ago—everything but the toiletries which I still need). I mean, who has time to blog the night before they get up at the butt-crack of dawn to drive 800 miles? I do. I finished my tasks two hours ago. I’m going to shower tonight, so tomorrow I’ll wake up, put on my clothes, load the car (everything is sitting by the front door ready to go), and leave. It’ll be 15 minutes from the time I wake up until the time I am on the road.

I am project manager. Hear me roar.

Now, lest you think I suck all the fun out of my vacations by doing this, I do need to mention that I don’t have any major plans for the entire time I’m on vacation. Hell…I’m not even entirely sure which route I’m going to take to get there or back. It’s just the preparation phase. It certainly makes for an easy transition. And it certainly helps that I don’t have to consider anyone else’s needs in this process…it’s infinitely easier when I’m planning this for one. And not having kids also helps. But nevertheless: My name is Matt, and I’m a PM.

I said a-hip, hop, a hip to the hop

Ramblings, Television, Vacations and Road Trips, Whine 1 Response »

Jul 242011

Some random thoughts:

***

So, I took a hip hop dance class yesterday. It was pretty tragic. Turns out that I still have a pretty good mind for choreography. I could totally remember what steps came next, I just couldn’t make my body do them fast enough. Also, I did jumping jacks as part of the warm-up for the class. Apparently, jumping jacks are really bad for your lower back, because the act of doing jumping jacks hurt so badly I could barely stay upright. I’m going to blame having to counterbalance my gut for the back problems.

***

My staycation ends in about 90 minutes, and I don’t want it to. This has been perhaps the single most relaxed, enjoyable, and fulfilling week of my entire life. I cooked, baked, gardened, played video games, did laundry, worked in the garden, watched TV, saw Harry Potter twice, saw Captain America, saw another movie I can’t remember (it obviously made a big impression on me), took Luke swimming, got a gym membership, swam a mile and a half, took a dance class, got the car cleaned, and took lots and lots of naps. It was awesome.

I’m not looking forward to the state of my inbox when I return tomorrow.

***

I re-hired my cleaning lady this week. I’m having her come once every two weeks instead of once a week like before. And I’m going to be getting rid of my cable television shortly to help cover the cost. Part of me feels bad because I know a lot of people can’t afford to pay someone to come to their home and clean, but at the same time, I’ve just decided that this is one of the perks of being single. There are a lot of things I can’t do because I’m single, but being able to afford to hire a cleaning lady is one of the things I can do. So I’m going to do it, and I’m not going to feel guilty.

Also, she rocks. She cleans my apartment better in three hours than I can do by myself in two days.

***

Back with Siskel and Ebert/Ebert and Roper were on TV, I used to love watching their movie review shows. Then, of course, Siskel died and Ebert lost his lower jaw. So, instead, Ebert and his wife are now producing a new movie review show for syndication.

Me no likey. Look, I get it. People who love film really love film. And many of them love “art” film. They’re more interested in “films” than “movies.” I really do get it. But the problem is, I don’t really care that much about most art film. When I spend $15 to go to the movies, I go to the movies for entertainment. I get next to nothing out of the two chowderheads Ebert hired to host the show. Christi Lemiere has, ostensibly, the worst taste in movies of all time. I mean, she actually gave a thumbs up to Mr. Popper’s Penguins. And don’t even get me started on that pompus windbag, Ignati Vishnavetsky. Iganti is the ultimate in movie hipsters. He just did his “5 Best movies of the year so far” list, and not a single one of his films was even remotely approachable. And I think it’s great that he cares so much for the art of cinema. It’s just completely WORTHLESS to me as an interested viewer. It’s unfortunate, because I really like watching movie commentary—I just can’t stand the commentary of these two.

Instead, I guess I’ll just have to keep sticking with one of the best movie reviewers out there: Mr. Eric D. Snider. At least he doesn’t have his head so far up his own rear end that all he ever watches and reviews are limited release art films that are more torturous to sit through than a Jr. High Production of Shakespeare.

The Staycation Diary–Part 1

Friends, Living It Up, Music, Pictures, Vacations and Road Trips 2 Responses »

Apr 192011

So, I was totally called out in a text message today for not writing a new blog post in over two weeks. It’s true. I’m guilty. I have a mind-numbingly boring life, and didn’t really have anything to post. Until now!

I took last Friday, Monday, and today off of work, so I could have an extended little staycation, staycation being the word for what you do when you need to take some time off work, but don’t have any money or friends to go anywhere with. (And yes, I’m fully aware that I just ended that sentence with a preposition. Deal.)

Anyway, the staycation started with my annual pilgrimage to the Skagit (pronounced skae-JIT) Valley Tulip festival. I went with my old friend Mukluk, who is up here in the choral conducting program at UofW. Unfortunately, due to the cold, wet weather we’ve been having this “spring,” most of the fields weren’t in bloom. We did find a few in bloom, though.

On the way out of Tulip Town, we happened across this little sign, tucked away in a flower bed near the entrance to the pavilion.

<rant>

Okay, really? First of all, I saw your “Hispanic” crew out in the fields while I was there. And there were more than a few Asians in that crew. Secondly, WHO CARES if they are Hispanic? Why call it out? You have a crew who works hard. It doesn’t matter if they’re Hispanic, Asian, or Swahili. People are people, regardless of the land of their original birth, so don’t make a big deal out of it. You want to know why people of different races are still struggling with racism? Because we KEEP making a big deal about what race they are. Stop calling attention to it, and maybe people will eventually stop noticing quite so much. I’m just sayin’.

</rant>

Afterwards, we drove into Mount Vernon and, after much swearing and gnashing of teeth, managed to creep our way through beastly traffic in order to find a parking space. Then we went down to main street, found a café, and had a thoroughly passable lunch. And then we got an elephant ear. And, as is often the case, fried dough with butter and sugar made everything just a little bit better.

***

I have been struggling with a bit of an ingrown toenail for a little over week. It was only a minor little niggle, and I was soaking it in Epsom salts and trying to pry out the in-grown part. Well, I woke up on Saturday morning, and it was BAD all of a sudden. As in it-hurts-to-put-any-weight-on-my-foot bad. Having had chronic ingrown toenails in the past, I knew that it had very quickly progressed from minor niggle to needing to have it surgically removed. Unfortunately, it was Saturday, so I couldn’t get into my regular podiatrist.

Fortunately, my next door neighbor is a podiatrist at a local health club for rich people (seriously…this is one of those health clubs that has a full spa, restaurant, and marble staircases up to the workout rooms or one of the six different pools.) He agreed to cut out my ingrown toenail for free, which was awesome, since our new “Consumer Driven Health Plan” (more accurately known as the “Screw the consumer, we’re tired of spending money to take care of our employees Health Plan”) at work don’t cover this doctor’s practice.

While he was numbing and slicing open my toe, he mentioned that he had just written a song a couple of nights ago, and was wondering if I’d be willing to record it for him. Having been jonesing to do a little bit of recording with someone else, I thought it would be a great idea, so I agreed, and he came over that afternoon to start recording.

I pulled out my wanna-be serious producer mindset, and we went to “crafting” a fully-produced version of the song that he had written. I’m not as well-versed in contemporary music genres as I am theatre styles or orchestral music, so it was a fun challenge to work with real guitars and try to make something a little more poppy. We spent about six hours on Saturday, four-five hours on Sunday, and a couple of hours on Monday getting it all worked out. All in all, I’m pretty pleased with the way it turned out.

Honesty’s For Fools

Written by Clay Johnson
Produced by Matt Armstrong / Clay Johnson
Engineered by Matt Armstrong
Guitars, Bass by Clay Johnson
Piano, Organ, Sampling by Matt Armstrong
Vocals by Clay Johnson
Background Vocals by Clay Johnson and Matt Armstrong

Coming up: The Staycation, Part 2 – Redefining gluttony.

Megan’s Trip to Seattle

Family, Vacations and Road Trips 1 Response »

Jul 252010

So, the sis came to Seattle this weekend to spend time with me, despite the fact that I was constantly hacking up a lung due to newly discovered allergies. We had a blast, ate way too much food, and enjoyed the good company. (And we saw Inception. Awesome movie.)

We went to Pike Place Market, Ivars, took the Ferry to Bainbridge Island, saw Inception, ate at Pomegranate Bistro, watched TV, napped, read, went to the dog park, ate like pigs, and otherwise had a wonderful time. An excellent weekend.

Now if I could just get over these @#$%#@( allergies and stop coughing long enough to sleep for more than two hours a night.

What a Trip

Family, Food, Pictures, Vacations and Road Trips, Work 1 Response »

Jun 042010

Well, well, well. It’s been quite a week.

As I mentioned in some earlier blog posts, last Friday was my final day at Microsoft. It was a bittersweet departure for me…I’d been there for a long time (especially for me.) A small group of work friends went to lunch at the sit-down restaurant on campus. I got a steak sandwich and perhaps one of the greatest inventions in the history of mankind: Sweet Potato Fries. (Cue: Choir of Angels). Then, my boss scheduled a little celebration for the whole team for my leaving. I’m not sure if they were honoring me or celebrating the fact that I was FINALLY gone. (I’ll chose to think the former. I just like living in that world of oblivion.) He got pie. (Have I ever mentioned how much I love pie? I haven’t? Well, I love pie.)

It ended up working out that I was able to take a week off between leaving Microsoft and starting at DataSphere. So, I woke up Saturday morning with a full week of luxuriating and lounging and being a bum ahead of me. As I was laying in bed snuggling with my puppy, trying to avoid getting out of bed, I had a thought. Now, normally, I try to avoid having thoughts as, more often than not, my thoughts only lead me down dark and dangerous roads from which there is no possible return. This time was no different. I was laying in bed thinking about a conversation I had with my cousin earlier in the week. Austin and I have been close since we were little kids. He’s only six months older than I am, and when we got together we were dangerous. Well, dangerous in only the way that two goody-two-shoes Mormon kids can be dangerous…which is to say we weren’t dangerous at all, just really annoying. Anyway, Austin and his wife were travelling to Utah to visit with his parents…who only live about five minutes away from my parents. As I was laying there in bed, I thought. "It’s too bad that I can’t be down in Utah while Austin and Anna are there. I’d like to see them again. Wait a minute. Why can’t I be down in Utah?" I didn’t have any work considerations, why not go. So, at 8AM, I called up my folks and said, "So, um, would you mind terribly if I just drove down to Utah today?" Then I called up Constance at Paws-A-Moment, the awesome boarding facility at which Luke stays when I’m travelling, and by 10:30 AM, I was on the road.

Thirteen hours and one really terrible audiobook later, I pulled into Syracuse, UT at about 12:30 AM. (Yes, I know that 10:30 AM to 12:30 AM is not 13 hours. There’s a time zone change. Sheesh.) (And seriously, that audiobook was AWFUL!)

Thus began my very short, but very fun spontaneous vacation to Utah.

Sunday, the folks and I drove across the causeway to Antelope Island, out in the Great Salt Lake, and took a boatload of photos. It was an absolutely stunning day, and the island was beautiful. I got a LOT of really great shots, including the really cool shot that is now the banner image for my new photoblog. Below is the view from the east side of the island looking back toward the Wasatch mountain range. (Click on the image to see the full-sized version. Warning: It’s HUGE.

We putzed around the rest of the evening, and took a walk down to the little pond/park at the end of my parent’s street. Again, I got some more great pictures of some of the local birds. Especially these little ducklings!

So cute. Monday morning (Memorial Day) dawned extremely early as my dad, uncle, and I decided to hike Adam’s Canyon just east of Layton. Getting up at 5:30 in the morning is against my religion. And getting up at 5:30 in the morning ON VACATION is even more evil, but nevertheless, I set aside my deeply held beliefs in order to appease my tormentors. By 6:30, we were starting a long uphill climb to a very pretty area with a big, 40-foot waterfall.

The hike was tiring, but very pretty. I carried all my camera gear along with me to take a bunch of pictures…a few of which turned out all right. It reminded me that before I go on any long backpacking trip, I really do need to get into better shape. By the end, my legs were like Jello and I felt the need to sleep for the rest of my life.

After the hike and my nap, my sister, brother-in-law, and niece came to my parents house to visit, then we all went over to my aunt and uncle’s house to have a little BBQ (not a really barbeque…just grilling burgers) and enjoy each other’s company. It was nice to see everyone, the food was great, and the weather was just perfect.

No, she’s not screaming or crying. She’s making a (hilarious) camera face.

Tuesday was much more laid back. Austin, Anna, and I went to this little dive called The Star Cafe in Layton, which serves "Utah Scones." I’m going to write a whole blog post about Utah Scones vs. Regular Scones (Utah Scones SO win) so you don’t get a picture now. Stay tuned for that little gem. Breakfast was awesome. This is one of those places where you could become "a regular" and the waitresses know your name and know what you want when you come in. Plus it was CHEAP! Austin, Anna, and I ate enough to sustain a small third world country for about a week, and it ended up costing us $23. Whereas, I can usually spend more than that just for myself at my cafe here, and still not get as much food. Good on ya’, Star Cafe!

The rest of the day we just spend hanging out. We ran some errands, watched The Princess and the Frog, ate Cafe Rio (my most-missed Utah food) including their awesome Tres Leches, and did some work on Dad’s computer. Then, Wednesday, I was back in the car for another 13-hour drive back home to Seattle. And, of course, about an hour before I got back home, it started raining, and hasn’t stopped since I got back. (Not that I’m bitter.)

I’ve never really done something that spontaneous before. It was a lot of fun. I actually even enjoyed the car ride. I tell you what: a good audiobook or two really make the time just fly. (For military or sci-fi nerds out there, I would HIGHLY recommend Jack Campbell’s Lost Fleet series. Very captivating.) I am the kind of person who generally plans his activities and doesn’t generally like having to change my plans at the last minute. I was just planning on working on my website, maybe starting my next audiobook, and playing some video games. Instead, I got to take about 800 photos, see distant friends and family, eat some great food, enjoy the sunshine for a couple of days (since we haven’t seen it in Seattle since last October), and let someone else clean up after me for a change!

The moral of the story? Aw, hell. I don’t really do morals. Just suffice it to say that if the opportunity arises to make a surprise visit to my family again, I’m totally going to do it. Big thanks to mom & dad for the flexibility, and to Rich & Barb for saving space for one more for Memorial Day! It was a blast.

Insanity, thy name is Matt

Family, Oh. My. Hecks., Philosophizing, Ramblings, Vacations and Road Trips 4 Responses »

Dec 302009

I've often wondered how people manage to interact with me on a daily basis. Because it has become blatantly obviously that I'm completely and totally insane. What with the level of sheer crazy that I've managed to obtain over the last couple of weeks, I'm honestly surprised people have started talking to me in condescending child voices or surreptitiously avoiding my gaze (or presence) like you would a raving lunatic on the subway who is recruiting passengers for his long space journey to join the God Lukamis who lives on the planet Zimath. I, of course, didn't always consider myself to be completely mental. It's a condition that snuck up on me gradually. But here I am. Just recently, I found myself at a bit of a crossroads: I could either fight to maintain what little sanity I still possessed, or I could embrace my inherent mental unhinging with wild abandon.

I chose the latter.

And what, you may ask, is the thing that pushed over the edge from (relatively) sane, (barely) normal, suburban corporate life into my Tom Cruise-level of crazy? I can promise you, you're not going to see this coming. Are you ready?

…

Here it comes…

…

In August, I'm going on a 5-day backpacking trip through the Wind River Valley in Wyoming.

Serious. I'm going on a 50+ mile hike through the Wyoming high country. You can see several photos and a narrative at this website (which is also the source of the above photo).

On the surface, this may not seem like the standard definition of insanity, but let me explain why it is:

I haven't been camping since I was 15 years old
I didn't particularly enjoy it then
My idea of roughing it is spending a night in a Motel 6
There will be no electricity
Ergo, there will be no computers, cell phones, televisions, etc.
I have absolutely no experience on this kind of trip
I own no appropriate camping/hiking gear
It will be an elevations between 10,000 and 13,000 feet
I'm a lazy, lazy man
This will require pooping in a hole in the middle of nowhere outside in the open

One guess as to which one of those concerns me the most. (Hint: #10)

So, what happened what this: They say insanity runs in the genes. I'm not sure exactly who "they" is, but "they" say that. If "they" is correct, then I got my particular brand of insanity from my father. Last summer, my dad, his Twin Brother™ and two other men went on a rather dangerous and difficult 8 day (I think), 85 mile backpacking trip along the Highline Trail in the Uinta Mountains of Utah. He did this despite the fact that he is old enough to join AARP. When dad got back from his trip, I spent a lot of time on the phone with him as he related his experience. And my father is, if nothing else, a master storyteller. He painted a picture for me that stirred my blood with excitement. The trip was extremely difficult, but according to him, was a life-changing experience. He described the nights with the skies so clear you could see the milky way stretch from one horizon to the other; of locations so remote, places so isolated that it was easy to forget that you weren't the last man alive. He made me jealous. I have never experienced anything like that. The closest I get to experiences like that is when I take Luke to the dog park early enough in the morning that nobody else is out yet.

Also, this year, my little sister did something that was (to me) equally as impressive. She hiked from one rim of the grand canyon to the other rim in a single day, a total of some ridiculous sum like 23 miles. Her blog post about the experience got me going too. She managed to do something that was so difficult, but so completely rewarding. It's almost like the two things go hand in hand. Who knew?

So, when I went home for Christmas, dad showed me the pictures of his trip…and they were absolutely gorgeous. And again I was jealous. And then he did what he does every year: invite me to come along on the next trip. I believe that he was fully expecting that, like every year since I was 14, I would make some smart-ass comment about staying in a Motel 6, and that would be that. But his stories of the trail stirred something primal inside of me that has long been dormant/dead, and I got to thinking–"a dangerous pastime, I know". I'm fairly certain that I took him off guard when I said that I wanted to go.

I think it's fairly unlikly that I will ever be one of those avid backpackers/hikers/outdoorsman. Most of the time, I'd rather spend my weekend in my pajamas, sitting in front of my HDTV, and playing video games. Or shopping. Or going out to eat. Or giving myself an appendectomy with a garden scythe. But while doing those things (except for the appendectomy) are enjoyable, I feel like continuing to choose them over more participative activities is tantamount to throwing my life down the garbage disposal and flipping on the switch. I'm young(ish), relatively healthy, and I want to experience life. I have always assumed that I don't like backpacking, but I've never done it. And maybe I'd really, really enjoy it. Maybe I'll despise every second of it, and by the end of the trip, my dad will want to go all Abraham and Isaac on me up in the mountains because of my incessant complaining. But I won't know until I've tried it. There are enough things in life that I won't get to do because of time, money, fear, etc. I don't want to give up what could be a life-changing experience (or a great new hobby) without trying it.

Plus, I just spent a butt-load of money on a new camera. This seems like a truly excellent opportunity to do the kind of photography that most people don't even dream about. I mean, really, how often does someone (who isn't a photographer for National Geographic) get to carry a professional camera into the vast wilds for five days and snap photos like crazy?

So, I have agreed to go on a massive (for me) backpacking trip in August. I get out of breath going up three flights of stairs. My idea of exertion is making my bed. This means that training started on Monday and will continue through August. Training consists of:

Losing 20 Pounds (See Resolution #3)
Geting into Shape (See Resolution #6)
- Cardio (Running, doing stairs)
- Weights (Shoulders, Back, and Abs, especially…so I can carry a 45# pack)
- Start eating real, natural food to fuel the process
Begging, borrowing, or stealing as much equipment as necessary. I don't want to start spending hundreds of dollars on equipment until I know for sure this is going to be a long-term hobby for me. I don't need another money sink hole in my life, thank you very much
Practicing hiking. Start doing some day hikes on the weekends around the area. Bring dog for company.

It's day four of the new routine, and I've already lost four pounds. I've been running twice, except I can only run about a mile and a half, and now I have shin splints. But I must persevere. Because I'll be damned if I get out on the trail in August and I get my rear end handed to me by a couple of men old enough to get the senior citizen discount at Denny's. I may be inexperienced, but I'm going to make sure that by the time August rolls around, I'll be ready. Or I will have quit. But either way, we'll know.

I'm really, really excited for this trip. It hasn't even been fully planned yet, but I'm looking forward to it. As I was telling my (insane) father, I'm scared to death of it, because it's so new, but it's also exciting. I expect that it will be one of the more physically demanding things I've ever done in my life–going through puberty notwithstanding–but I feel like I really need to exert myself in a portion of my life. I need something that will roust me from my ever-deepening rut and give me the motivation to get my act in gear. I figure that there are few motivators more potent than the looming threat 50+ mile hike through the Wyoming high country with a heavy backpack and a couple of trash-talking geriatrics to get me headed down the right path.

And if I survive, I'll have a few amazing blog posts and (hopefully) thousands of pictures to share.

If I survive.

Holiday Wrap-up

Family, Food, Holidays, Pictures, Vacations and Road Trips, Videos 3 Responses »

Dec 292009

Food. That was the theme for this Christmas. Food out the Wazoo. On a related note, what’s the heck is a wazoo?

(According to mindlesscrap.com, it’s from the 1960 and is an offshoot of the saying "up the kazoo." Once again, I owe my allegiance to ~~Google~~ Bing.)

This Christmas was probably one of the favorites that I’ve had in the last several years. It was far too short, but it was extremely enjoyable.

I left Seattle on Wednesday morning at the butt-crack of dawn (as was mentioned in a previous blog post.) I waltzed through the security checkpoint (not literally…although that does make for a very interesting mental image). I really love airports. I actually like getting to the airport early so I can walk around the whole airport people watching and window shopping. There’s just something so energetic and entertaining about the airport. And I never cease to be amazed by the things people try to sell there. Because, really, the airport is where I’m going to do my Christmas shopping, buy new luggage, or even consider throwing away my money at Brookstone. But it certainly makes for entertaining times. My terminal was in a different building than the check-in facility, so I had to take the underground train to the other terminal building. This also entertained me. Apparently, going to the airport for me is the adult equivalent to riding that stupid little horse thingy outside the grocery store for a quarter. I couldn’t find a dispensory for my mandatory Airport Cinnabon Ablution, so instead I opted for a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant and orange juice.

Anyway, the flight left early, arrived in Salt Lake 25 minutes early, and then spent 30 minutes sitting on the tarmac waiting for the plane in our gate to get out of the way. So, in essence, I got there on time. The new luggage performed well, and we were off to Syracuse. I spent time with the family, tried Steak-Ums for the first time (meh) and took a nap…the start to a very nice day.

That night, I drove down to Salt Lake and had a very greasy (yet very yummy) dinner with my friend Jessica, who got me both of my jobs at Microsoft. We ate at Crown Burger in Salt Lake, which is a local burger joint/chain. I got the Pastrami Burger, Fries, and the Pineapple Shake. It was excellent. Then, despite neither of us being appropriately attired, we headed over to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights. It was, as my Grandfather says, "Colder than a well-digger’s ass in January." But the lights were beautiful as always, and the company was excellent. I even got to christen my new Camera.

Thursday (Christmas Eve) dawned even colder than the night before. We lounged around the house in the morning, then left at about 12:30 to head down to Daybreak, to my sister’s house. On the way to her house, we pass one of the few things that I actually miss about Utah: a restaurant called Kneaders. It’s another local chain, and they have one of the best sandwiches I’ve even eaten in my life, the Turkey Bacon Avocado. Roasted and hand-pulled turkey with bacon, lettuce, onions, tomatoes (which I remove because raw tomatoes are foul) and avocado on a freshly baked focaccia bread covered with Asiago cheese made at the store. Since I pass by the place on the way to my sister’s house, it has become tradition for us to stop and get this thing of beauty every time we come (image stolen from the Kneader’s Website, ergo the misspelling of "avocado"):

One of our family traditions is that we always spent Christmas day in our own house with the family. There were occasions where grandparents came and did Christmas with us, but we never did Christmas at someone else’s house. My sis has held firm to that tradition as well (way to go!) and so they always do Christmas morning at their own house with my adorable little niece. So, we did our gift exchange on Christmas eve at her house, and she made us an excellent dinner of a really good homemade chicken noodle soup. I ate myself sick. I received the Blu-Ray of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and some yummy chocolate, and I got both Matt/Megan and the Parentals the same gifts: HD Webcams and a copy of my Audiobook The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I also got my niece a Sit and Spin, which I always loved when I was a little kid. She’s got some special needs, so she’ll need help with it for a while, but she did seem to have a very good time. And the adults got to laugh ourselves sick from spinning her around and then making her try to walk. Below is a video. (Warning: Your head may explode from cuteness.)

This was really the first year I felt that Aubrey really had an idea what was going on, and she loved opening her presents. And, hoo boy, did she get excited about being encouraged to rip up paper!

That little girl is just so cute it’s lethal. And then, despite having a house full of good-looking people (both my sister and her husband look like they could be in print ads), they also got the second-cutest puppy in the world a few months ago, and she’s just a fun, lovable little bundle of energy.

It was adorable watching Aubrey give Stella big hugs and watching Stella lick Aubrey’s face. Those two are going to be friends for a long time. And why, might you ask is Stella the 2nd cutest puppy in the world? Well, I think it’s obvious that the first-cutest puppy in the world was, of course, my puppy, and I happened to find a few pictures of him on my parent’s computer that my dad took just days after I got him.

Stella, you’re cute, but you just can’t compare. After the presents, food, puppies, and general holiday merriment, we drove home, had some Key Lime tarts, and rounded out the evening watching the re-broadcast of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s annual Christmas Concert from two years ago, with the King Singers.

Christmas Day was wonderful. Mom, Dad, and I all emerged from our bedrooms at about 8AM (which is sleeping in for all of us) and opened presents. I got a blender, a heated blanket, the Blu-Ray of Pixar’s Up, a flash diffuser and remote trigger for my camera, a Kohl’s gift card, some really wonderfully plaid fleece pajama bottoms (that I’m wearing right now), and a case and some screen protectors for my Droid (DROOOOOID!). The award-winning present for the year, though, was the Elmer Fudd had that my mom got for my dad:

And in case you didn’t know what sexy looks like, here’s mom modeling the hat in her finest couture:

Unfortunately, shortly after taking this picture, one of the little loops on the hat broke and we had to return it–and the store didn’t have any replacements. But at least we have our memories. Then we had our traditional breakfast of Pillsbury Orange Rolls and Eggs, except we kicked

up the eggs a notch by turning them into a scramble with potatoes, peppers, onions, and sausage. I, of course, ate myself sick.

Later in the afternoon, Megan, Matt, and Aubrey came to visit. We all hopped in the car and drove over to the house of my dad’s Twin Brother™ and family, and I got to meet up with cousins I haven’t seen in years and years. We were a little concerned, because Aubrey doesn’t do particularly well with large groups of noisy strangers, and as you can imagine, we can get pretty loud when we get together. Aunt and Uncle had a full house as all of their kids and grandkids were together for the holiday. Nevertheless, Aubrey did really well, and we had a nice time visiting.

Christmas night, it was my turn to do the cooking. We had, as is tradition, Beef Tenderloin (also known as Fillet Mignon) with a peppercorn sauce, funeral potatoes, frog eye salad, rolls, green been casserole (spew!), and for dessert, the oft-mentioned and consumed Molten Chocolate Cake with, if you can believe it, Fleur de Sel Caramel Ice Cream. My sainted mother found the last three pints of the stuff in her local grocery store a few months ago, and saved it for me! (Best. Christmas. Ever!) We all ate ourselves sick.

Boxing day in our family is about one thing: After Christmas Deals. My mother, who has a sick wrapping paper fetish, usually goes out and buys about 700 rolls of wrapping paper, despite having mountains of paper already…including some of the ugliest wrapping paper known to mankind which she refuses to throw away despite the pleadings of her eldest son who obviously has much better taste in wrapping paper than she does. I had some Kohl’s cash to use up, so I got some replacement toothbrush heads for my electric toothbrush, some photo ornaments for my tree next year, and the cards I will be sending out next Christmas. We also stopped by *shudder* Wal-Mart, and fought the throngs for mom to agonize over which thoroughly unnecessary wrapping paper she wanted to get. (I tease, but despite the butt-ugliness of some of her wrapping paper, it’s nice to have the options when I am wrapping presents at home.)

Then I went out to breakfast with my cousin, Austin, who is my age and with whom I was very close growing up, and his wife, Anna. We went to the Star Cafe, a little dive in Layton that makes really good breakfasts. I had an omelet with bacon, peppers, onions, and cheese. It came with two scones. What people call scones in Utah aren’t the same thing as scones everywhere else. In most places, a scone is little more than a sweet biscuit. In Utah, a scone is like an elephant ear, but thicker. It’s deep fried dough, and it’s really, really good. Put a little bit of honey butter on one of these things, and you’ll think that you’ve died and gone to cholesterol heaven. As is often the case, I ate myself sick.

We visited for the rest of the afternoon, then mom, dad, and I spent the rest of the evening watching Up and enjoying each other’s company. We finished up the extra steaks from Christmas night, and I polished off a pint of Ice Cream. Then it was beddy-bye time. The next morning I was back on the plane to Seattle. I went grocery shopping, picked up the dog from the boarders, gave him a bath because he stank to high heaven, then had a wonderful dinner of Boeuf Bourguignon (don’t worry, I had to look up the spelling) followed by amazing candied apples and poached pears with homemade whipped cream at a neighbor’s holiday gathering. Then I went home, curled up with my heated blanked and my dog, and slept the sleep of the truly and fully content.

It was a wonderful holiday season full of friends, family, food, fun, and frippery. (I don’t even know what frippery is, I just needed another ‘f" word that wasn’t a swear, and I remembered this one from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.) I couldn’t have asked for a more enjoyable, peaceful, and relaxing time. I did make one decision during this blissful five days that I may regret–a decision that may cause me to look back upon this holiday season with fear and trepidation. But you’ll just have to wait to hear about that tomorrow.

Until then, I hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday season, and I hope you have an excellent new year.

Recipe for a Nice Weekend

Family, Food, Gratitude, Holidays, Vacations and Road Trips No Responses »

Nov 082009

1 Mom
3 Very Good Meals
2 Christmas Decoration Sessions
5 Shopping Trips for Decorations
3 Top Pot Donuts
1 Pot of Turkey Meatball Soup
1 Episode of Bones
2 Good Nights Sleep
1 Trip to Red Mango

Mix all ingredients. Let rest for 48 hours. Serve at room temperature.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I am exceptionally fortunate in my relationship with my parents. I love spending time with my folks. I could have very easily had parents who disowned me, who nag me, who get all preachy and treat me like I’m still 13. But they don’t. They (largely) treat me like an adult. Which is more than I can say for most of the rest of the people in my life. So I always look forward to those rare opportunities I have to spend time with my parents. Unfortunately, being the only single child left, and more importantly, the only one without human children, I quite happily get placed at the bottom of the visiting totem pole…which is exactly as it should be. Grandma and Grandpa need to see the grandkids.

So, after well over a year and a half, my mom ~~finally~~ came up and visited me this weekend. It was quite nice. Both mom and I are pretty much homebodies. We’ve done all the touristy things in Seattle (Pike Place Market, Space Needle, Ferry Ride, Ivars, etc.) on previous visits, so it was just a nice getaway for mom, and a nice visit for me. Of course, the week that my mom is to come up to Seattle to visit would happen to be the exact same week that the woman who cleans my house got sick and couldn’t come to clean. Isn’t my life so hard? I know, right?

Anyway, my cleaning travails aside, this weekend was all about the food.

I live in an area that easily has 200 restaurants within a 5-mile radius of my house. And while I am prone to bouts of gross over-exaggeration, this is one one of those times. There is simply an abundance of every type of food you could possibly imagine. Friday night, mom stepped far outside of her comfort zone and tried something new (for her): Korean BBQ. For those who aren’t familiar, Korean BBQ is a style of eating where there’s a grill in the middle of your table, and you cook your own food right there at the table. Now, I know, the idea of going to a restaurant is so you don’t have to cook your own food, but at least here you don’t have to prepare the food, or clean up afterward. It was quite good. My mom, however, don’t generally experience new types of cuisines that often (Northern Utah is not a Mecca for the food elite), and generally isn’t the most adventurous of souls. (A sentiment with which she would very heartily agree.) She really liked the meal, but it um, got things moving for her, shall we say. She didn’t feel bad, but had to be a little careful what she ate for the rest of the trip. (Note to Mom: Don’t you love it when I share your digestive health with the whole internet? Isn’t that classy of me?)

Moving on.

Friday night, we began decorating for Christmas. Friday night was all about setting up the Christmas Village. Last year, I had horizontal spaces on which to display Christmas ornamentation, and money I could use to buy some decorations, so I started my own little Christmas Village. (Thank you, 75% off sale at Kohl’s!) Below is only a very small portion of said village.

I have four additional buildings and several people/trees/sleighs/etc. on my other bookshelves as well. This was fun, because while shopping earlier in the week, I had purchased this little remote control thing that can you plug into the wall, and into which you plug the lights. You get three in a pack. Then you can turn the lights on and off with the little remote, even from another room or from behind the furniture. It’s a nifty little toy, and one that I imagine I will find multiple uses for once the holidays are over.

Saturday for brunch, we went to the Pomegranate Bistro, a nice little restaurant in Redmond that was voted one of the best in Seattle twice, and was even featured in Wine Spectator magazine. The food at this place is excellent. We had smoked salmon eggs benedict, firebread (a wood-fired flatbread with a little salty cheese melted on top), these ethereal little fried dough balls called Savannah Puffs which are rolled in Cinnamon and Sugar, then served with Creme Ainglais and Cinnamon Whipped Cream, and the Lemon Ginger Oatcakes, some very light and fluffy pancakes make with (I believe) oat flour/oat meal, lemon rind, and little chunks of crystalized ginger. Excellent nosh.

Saturday was all about the mall. We went to the mall and walked through Macy’s Holiday Lane store, looking at ornaments. We looked at clothes, I took mom to see the coolest arcade/nightclub/bowling alley I’ve ever seen in the mall, we got Red Mango, walked around a lot, and I loudly and repeatedly made fun of Jr. High School girls who are under the very mistaken impression that wearing short skirts with Uggs makes them look anything other than stupid.

Saturday night, it was back to the Christmas decorations. This time: The tree. As previously mentioned, this year, I got an artificial tree. It hurts my heart a little to get a fake tree, but a) I can’t set up a real tree this early, b) I have no way to get a real tree home on the top of my Honda Civic Coupe, and c) I have a dog with a tail capable of raising welts in a 750 sq. ft. apartment. If he gets excited too close to the tree, I’ll be vacuuming up needled for the next eight weeks. Until I get a bigger home, I’m afraid artificial trees are the answer. I found a really nice one at Home Depot this year at a good price, and it came pre-wired with lights. So now I have about 12 strands of Christmas lights that I don’t need. Anyone want some?

Also, because I have no life, and no children, my tree is more of the coordinated and over-decorated variety than the eclectic collected ornaments from a lifetime of keepsakes variety. I always grew up with a tree where putting up the ornaments is a trip down memory lane. Who gave you what ornament, silly ornament traditions, who thought it would be a good idea to have your school pictures taken with you wearing your cub scout uniform and then putting that picture on an ornament to forever provide poof of your residence in the hallowed halls of dorkdom. We always had these crocheted worms that my grandma made that had little googly eyes on them, and it was tradition that you had to put them on the tree by twirling them over your head and throwing them toward the tree. And wherever they landed, that’s where they had to stay for the year. So, I miss having that. I have a few sentimental ornaments, but most of mine are color coordinated and chosen sheerly for their decorative value. Perhaps over time, I will be able to retire some of my generic decorations, and start getting more personal ones. (P.S…HINT FOR PEOPLE BUYING ME CHRISTMAS PRESENTS!) You can see a hint of it in the background of this picture of Luke and I.

Luke, by the way, loved his Grandma, who was shameless in feeding him people food whenever he’d show up and turn on his devastating puppy-dog eyes. (They named puppy dog eyes after my dog, I’m pretty sure.) Luke wanted to be around her pretty much the whole weekend, except for the 15 seconds we actually tried to get a good picture of mom and Luke together:

Is it just me, or does it look like Luke is telling my mother, "Listen, Lady. No means NO!"?

Sunday morning, we went to the Seattle Institution, Top Pot Donuts for a donut and hot chocolate. I got a blueberry cake donut (my all-time favorite) and a chocolate cake donut with raspberry glaze. Mom just a plain glazed chocolate cake donut. Then we went home, had some lunch, went to Fry’s Electronics (motto: Destroying your Credit Rating since 1993), Target, and Ross, where mom bought me a nice new Christmas Tablecloth. Then I took her to the airport, and she should be back home by now.

Mom, it was a blast to have you around. I’m glad that you’re okay with just coming up and hanging out, and that you didn’t particularly feel the need to be all touristy, because I think we both needed the relaxation.

And after all that food, I now have to go out shopping and move up a pant size. Thanks!

Older Entries

Post Thanksgiving Update

A Little Road Trip

A Project Manager’s Vacation

I said a-hip, hop, a hip to the hop

The Staycation Diary–Part 1

Megan’s Trip to Seattle

What a Trip

Insanity, thy name is Matt

Holiday Wrap-up

Recipe for a Nice Weekend

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