hungry?

Hey everybody, I just thought I would put in a little advertisement for my work here. We've been really, really slow lately (rumor has it there's some sort of recession going on), and it's a lot more fun for me and my co-workers if we actually get to cook food for people. Yesterday 50% of our lunch business was Heather. She said "It's good!"

If that review isn't enough, here is a video where my boss (the chef) talks about the resturaunt.


So come on in, I'd like something to do.

Thanks!

Also, Christmas was really, really nice. We got to spend it together and we've been happily opening presents and cards all week as the mailman delivers them. Things got pretty backed up during our snowstorms last week.

Happy New Years everyone!

It's snowing again

Last minute shopping? I stumbled upon the World of Good ebay Store this morning. The online store has items that I have not seen in stores, including these very cute animal friendly clutches:
W of G is a socially responsible company that helps build communities by ethically sourcing their products.

Introducing Butter!

We have begun to give magazine subscriptions as gifts recently. It is the gift that literally keeps on giving!
Some of our favorites:

Seed
W
Adbusters
Gastronomica
knit.1

Happy Christmas Eve!

Snow in Seattle

I was surprised yesterday afternoon when it started snowing again. And then even more surprised when it did not stop until 8 in the evening. We decided to walk to Ballard to mail some packages and to meet Nels to watch the NY Jets (Farve) game. We started at Matador, mailed the packages...then we happened to walk past the Jolly Roger Taproom...and had to stop in. We were really hungry after walking all day and we closed the bar (at 8 mind you) and then walked home. It was beautiful out and reminded us of "home", back in Wisconsin. The best thing though, is how much warmer it is here. It is so quiet and people are really staying in in Queen Anne, though Ballard was bustling.

One of my coworkers reminded me before school was canceled, that animals are really affected by the weather. I spotted a hummingbird looking around our porch last week and dug out the hummingbird feeder and made some new nectar. I put in on the bedroom window and it is really cool to be able to sit and watch them eat. It's also nice to do something like that for someone, some animal this time of year. We wanted to get toys for the Toys for Tots, but with this weather, it doesn't seem likely. (See if you can spot the tiny birds in our photos.)

When I was little we made "Snow" Ice Cream from the massive amounts of snow we got in Wisconsin. The snow back then might have been cleaner or we just knew less about the amount of pollution in the world. Is it safe to eat snow? There is not a definitive answer.

Who's on vacation?

Cute Overload is a website dedicated to cute animal pictures and videos.

Bailey the Unknown Reindeer is a video making the rounds this year...


Can You See the Sunset from the Southside asks Can you see Santa from the Southside? and offers many Christmas songs you may have forgotten about to download for free. I got them all, but I am excited about Wham's Last Christmas and Debbie Gibson's Sleigh Ride.


The cute shelter dog of the week is...Lucy!

I love looking at stores Top Ten gift lists! Showpony is the store owned by former owner of Olivine. Check out her Top Ten list...so great! My wallet has been saved from the snow!

And I leave you with The Funky 16 Corners Hot Pants under the covers with James Brown mix! This site is amazing, download a playlist and put it on and get ready to party...good times!

snow day!

Greetings from Seattle...

Hey everybody! I've got a rare day off to spend the day lounging around the apartment and playing on the computer, so I thought I would give you all an update on this blog that I've been neglecting for too long.

We went to Portland! Did you know that? It was fun. We spent the weekend after Thanksgiving in a fancy new hotel in downtown Portland. We took the train down, hung out with our friends who live in Portland, did some X-mas shopping (Oregon has no sales tax), saw the Trailblazers play the Hornets (Blazers won by a bunch), and spent a lot of time lounging in the hotel pretending to be rich. Here's some pictures:

Staying in fancy hotels is one of the perks I get for working in a fancy hotel in Seattle. If anybody out there wants us to stay in a fancy hotel in your city, please let us know. We're hoping to get real good at it.


Meanwhile back in Seattle... it's Christmas Time!

Some holiday lights in our neighborhood.



Our little (fake) Charlie Brown tree with presents!



and X-mas time means toys!! The Spongebob Legos are officially for Heather's classroom (but I get to test 'em out) and in the back you can see our Playmobile Advent calender display. Playmobile Advent Calenders are the coolest.

Also, just in time for the holidays, Seattle was treated to a rare snowstorm last night.

Snow in Seattle is actually kind of exciting because the city doesn't have any snow removal trucks, or salt, or de-icer, or anything, and half the people in the city don't know how to drive on frozen roads so things get "interesting" real quick. Especially when it stays cold and the ice doesnt melt.

Okay, I'll try to blog again sometime before holidays. Happy Snow Days everyone!

The sunset from Thanksgiving Eve.

This morning my mom reminded me of the Cranberry Nut Bread that we always have back in Wisco. The recipe was online and we whipped up 2 loaves to bring to Portland with us, one for a friend. We have to wait 24 hours to partake, something that was always hard for my cousins and I growing up!

Tomorrow morning we wake up ultra early to catch the train to Portland to chill at the nines. We are going to celebrate a friend's Birthday and see the Trailblazers play the Hornets (! Chris Paul) on Friday night. We are very excited to take a vacation together, it has been awhile!

Thanksgiving was delicious and we hope everyone enjoyed it and has a great weekend!!!

This morning I am knitting beer cozies for the Ale Asylum holiday craft fair. I was enjoying the quietness of the house, but then decided to check out some happy stuff on youtube...sometimes the internet is awesome!

Topher is working "eggs" right now. For those of you who do not know, that means he left the house at 3:30 am. We had a great day yesterday. Found the perfect Christmas tree, got Christmas card supplies at Paper Zone (our first trip there) and walked along the sound in the sunshine to downtown to get dinner and hang out. Today I am going to block some of the knit Christmas presents that are done and continue knitting a sweater vest for me, very exciting, check out the knitting blog for more knitting updates. I am also trying to not work today, we have parent teacher conferences next week and early dismissal at 1:00 pm, so I should have enough time to do work at work! For once! Later we are going to make red enchiladas together for a get together tomorrow night. The holiday season is upon us! We are very excited for our upcoming trip to Portland!

wow!

words escape me. i am so happy, when i think about our country my eyes start tearing up. i had to come home right after school, because i stayed up way too late last night. topher kept telling me everything would be okay, but i was still worried until the final numbers were in. i faintly remember doing the cha cha slide (with topher!) at some point during the night...and now we will have a new president and i have hope for our future, education, our soliders, our relationship with other countries and all of our children.

all of the propositions that i voted for also passed; death with dignity, light rail expansion, preserving pike place market and preserving parks and green space. good stuff!

i am watching oprah right now, weird, i know, but she is having a post election show and it is interesting. i feel like i want to relive last night over and over and over.

oh, happy day!

and us being dog freaks, we are wondering what kind of puppy they are going to get?! topher thought a pug and i'm going for a lab or retriver.

peace be with you! this is my favorite picture from the day:

VOTE!

go obama!

hope everyone had a great halloween!

I have been busy. Busy working, relaxing and doing a lot of professional development. I was struggling with a nasty sickness for the last 2 weeks on top of everything else. I am currently dealing with the fact that I can not have a "Halloween" party in my classroom tomorrow. We will have a "Harvest" party instead and I will give out the Halloween gift bags while they are out the door.

I understand that my school is diverse and I love that fact, but this is a wake up call about the world I have been living in for the last 32 years. I am sad, it feels like a great loss. I am trying to figure in a way to make it all inclusive, like Dia de Los Muertos and Halloween, in the future...or something. The idea is still brewing. I am suddenly paranoid about celebrating St. Patrick's Day in my classroom. Halloween and St. Patrick's Day are my favorite holidays, they are the best! No stress, only food, fun and drinks!

Topher and I decided to get real pre-made Halloween costumes this year. I will be Scooby-Doo and Topher will dress as Fred Flintstone. We are pretty excited about it, except for a fact that Topher keeps pointing out to me; I am used to a city wide Halloween party. Seattle does not get it...I hope we can find something fun to do.

In the meantime I love these people:

Yes We Carve is also pretty darn cool!

Kwik-E-Blog

Hey everybody, this blog is gonna be quick because I'm tired and also I'm distracted because my wife and I are watching Hole in the Wall right now on Fox. It's the stupidest game show I have ever seen.

We've been pretty busy lately. Work is taking up a lot of time and energy for both of us. I've been working the 4:30am breakfast shift at the Hotel a lot, which means my sleep schedule is all screwed up and I'm really sick of French Toast. And Heather is a special ed teacher. Special Ed teacher is a hard job. She works a lot too.

We have managed to get out and about a few times lately. We've been to a cool little toy store downtown a few times called Schmancy. They sell nifty toys like these awesome little Simpsons figures:
So far our collection includes Lisa and Apu, but I'm hoping to get some more. Also the store had a cool art show recently called Plush You. Heather and I attended the opening and bought some honest-to-god ART. Which was cool. I'll post a picture once the show is over and our new art graces our walls.

The other reason we like going to Schmancy is that it's pretty close to a Japanese restaurant we discovered recently. It's called Wann and its an "izakaya" style restaurant . The thing that I'm craving from Wann right now is the Takoyaki. Which is kind of like doughnuts, but with octopus in it. It's delicious. I guess it's Japanese street food. Street food is always the best.

I'll blog more later. I'm sleepy. G'night everybody!

Jibangus are some of my talented friends from Madison. This movie is one of my favorites, but check out their youtube page for more goodies. Right about now, we could all use some laughs.

veep debate nite sunset

meet bailey!

(click on the photo for more info...my new favorite shelter dog!)

Tophers wearing a tanktop!

The Runway to Change store at the Obama website has some pretty cool stuff! I want to get something that says Obama, but haven't decided what yet. I like the scarf and Change is Awesome bag and wish there was a sizing chart for the shirts. We will probably just get the car magnets.

Yesterday I was sick and Topher took me out to Wann for dinner and then we went to see The Dark Knight! It was a nice evening, after sleeping for 12 hours. Oh, it was so needed...and I forgot that tonight I would be at work until after 7...

We are finally finishing up the wedding announcements tonight, so watch your mail!

Last weekend...our house was cozier with the Bakes...

Yesterday we rode our bikes to Ballard for brunch at Tiger Tail. I had my first Bloody Mary ever, they give you a checklist and you can pick what you want. I had a spicy one, it was really good! They just started serving brunch and it was big and delicious, especially after the ride.

We also stopped by The Dray for strong Stumptown coffee and to watch the end of a Futbol match, then it was down to the Market Street to check out Sonic Boom and stroll around. We also happened upon the Sustainable Ballard Fair and a new way to reduce your dependence on oil!

We ended up at the Jolly Roger taproom for dinner and drinks just in time to see the Badgers lose to Michigan. Today Topher is working and I am working a little at home, while watching the Packers and knitting a new sweater. Go Pack! (In case you are wondering, the Storm lost on Tuesday.)
I heard this on nrp and it inspired me...
Caring makes us human...

Baker!

We spent our weekend with Baker the dog!

We mostly tried to stay out of the rain by watching movies and lounging around...
Tonight we watched the Seattle Storm beat the L.A. Sparks! They are tied up and have another game on Tuesday night here in Seattle and YES we will be there! The weather has cleared up and we are grilling out and it is a beautiful evening here in Seattle.

I could survive for 57 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

I could survive for 51 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

The Fears of the Dark trailer! I am very excited to see this movie, because Charles Burns is one of my favorite artists! If you happen to read my knitting blog, you might remember I met him earlier this year. That was cool! It all started when my aunt Diana started sending me copies of the citypages cartoons which included Matt Groening, Lynda Barry and Charles Burns. Thank goodness for her. And while we are on the subject of comics, in the latest issue of Savage Dragon, he endorsed Barack Obama for President. The cover is really cool, but the one featuring Savage Dragon and Obama is one in every 20 or something like that. Topher did manage to get us one. (My hero) What a collectors item! And as it turns out, we like the comic too!

the best new stuff...

I said yesterday that the blog was up to Topher from now on...he looked surprised and I guess I lied. School started a week and a half ago and I am already nursing a cold. I am glad it is Friday and surprised to have any energy right now. My new job is the lead teacher for a Kinder, 1st and 2nd grade self-contained classroom at the same school I was at last year. Right now we only have 5 students and it has been an amazing start to the year. I have an awesome Instructional Assistant who has worked in our room for 10 years, a blessing for me.

I like to make lists, for readers, but also for us to keep track of cool stuff we like, so here goes:

Eli "Paperboy" Reed & The True Loves album Roll With You is Soul-riffic! I can not wait to check them out live. We have been getting into Soul music lately, it just makes you do the happy dance!

The Numark TTi USB Turntable allows you to transfer vinyl to your ipod. Sweet!

Oliver's Twist on Phinney Ridge has Truffled Popcorn that is to die for! If you like truffles of course, it is a unique combination and the place is really cozy and arty.

We are happy that How To Cook A Wolf is within walking distance from our house. We celebrated last Thursday there and it was sublime. I love the open and half open kitchen trend in Seattle, it makes the dining experience feel more intimate, comfortable and familar. Topher was excited to see Geoduck (pronounced gooeyduck) Ceviche on the menu and as usual I ordered half raw tuna and it was goooood!

And last but not least....I heard the New Kids on The Block were back, but me, I always perfered a more urban flavor. I have been waiting for this video to pop up on Youtube, New Edition doing the classic Candy Girl. Enjoy your weekend playas!

Cute Dog Blog!

I don't want to interrupt the cute dog theme we got going on, but I thought we should let all the readers of this blog know that Heather and I got married last week.

And if you feel the need to ask me "So, how's married life?" then you should know that my answer is "Awesome."