Happy Birthday ZU

Our little local coffee shop celebrated their one year birthday today with gourmet cheeses, champagne, music and of course coffee. D was asked to put of a little show for the celebration with all the proceeds going to Rwanda, E just got a kick out of seeing him perform.

Family on the Town

Since D's only in town for about a week before jetting off on another tour, we've been celebrating our short time together eating out as a family. It's so nice to be waited on, and to not have the clean-up after preparing a meal at home. Last night we were a little aimless in our plan, but decided to head down to Ballard, a favorite destination and home to many fantastic restaurants. On our way, Dick's caught our eye, cheap, delicious, and a unique dinning experience in and of itself, as it's a drive-in, good for people watching. Because my family 's from Seattle, it's a well known local treat. When they first opened my dad could buy a burger for .19 cents, you could easily eat a great fast-food meal for under $1. Even yesterday as we shoved hot greasy fries down our throats and guzzled cold sodas, we only spent $12, for everyone to eat their fill. E's only eaten there twice in her existence, but it's nice to know that some things, are likely to still be around when she's grown.

Cheesey

As most that know me will tell you, I love cheese. Any kind. Recently, while perusing the cheese section at my local Trader Joe's, this white Stilton with blueberries caught my eye. It is great! It has even inspired me to entertain the thought of having a cheese tasting party. We have a local cheese monger here in town, and I've been itching to go in. But until recently, I've been too intimidated.

If you're into cheese too, check out this website.

La Carta de Oaxaca

David's been bugging me to try this Mexican food place down in Ballard for the last couple months or so. I was dragging my feet because, well, another Mexican food place? I will assure you this is not another greasy, overcooked, MSG-injected Mexican inspired place, this is the real thing. Fabuloso. The menu is small, and reasonably priced. The atmosphere is great, authentic music, and great black and white photo's covering the clean contemporary walls. We sat at a long cafeteria-style table (pictured in link above) with other patrons, and this made our experience all the more memorable.

We each ordered a glass of a different fresh juice:

lemon, watermelon, & lime

Daddy's home

On the way to the airport a very giddy little 2 year-old and I had a sweet little discussion about her dad.
E: "Where we goin' mom?"
me: "Don't you remember?"
E: "TO GET DADDY!!!"
me: "Yup, we'll pick him up then go eat at the 5 Spot , ok?"
E: "Yeah, and when I see him, I will kiss him all over! And he will be sooo happy to see me!"
me: "He'll like that."
E: "And I'm so happy that we can bring him home. Let's call him, Mom."
me: "Well he's still up in the air in the airplane, it's not safe for him to talk on the phone yet. He'll call me when he's getting off the plane and then you can talk to him."
E: "Yeah, because he wants to talk to me, I'll put him on speaker (phone)."

jawin' on the phone

Personality Test

A few friends have blogged about this recently, which of course I had to try (as you'll read below). It's as online personality test, does it get you right? This site is fun to poke around on, take a few minutes and find out your love type, how green your life is, or what your super hero name is.

My Personality Type:
You Are An ISFJ The Nurturer
You have a strong need to belong, and you are very loyal. A good listener, you excel at helping others in practical ways. In your spare time, you enjoy engaging your senses through art, cooking, and music. You find it easy to be devoted to one person, who you do special things for.

You would make a good interior designer, chef, or child psychologist.

My Pizza Personality:
Cheese Pizza
Traditional and comforting.
You focus on living a quality life.
You're not easily impressed with novelty.
Yet, you easily impress others.

The streets are paved with...pollen?

So along with the beautiful flowers these April showers have brought, we have been experiencing a tremendous amount of pollen floating in our breezes. Our cars are lightly dusted, with this yellow powder. Here is a picture I took earlier today, it's really quite remarkable.

Chalk

I took El on a little mommy/daughter date for pizza. We were among the typical early dinner crowd, groups mainly consisting of parent and child, or the retired folks. Baily, a little girl dining with her dad quickly befriended El, and drew this very sweet picture of the two of them. It depicts them absolutely correctly, from their size difference right down to the color of their clothes.

Tulips

We finally made it up to Skagit County to see the tulips! We've been planning a trip, but with all the illness's and our typical Spring weather patterns, it's been tricky! So as a last minute field trip with our friends Asher and Eileen, we piled into the car! I had a little trouble finding the area, as I was relying on past experience to get me there, but we finally located a farm that was brimming with color. Here are a few snap shots of our Tiptoe Through the Tulips.

It's a Mom Thing (2)

So there's an inevitable thing that happens between parent and child. This quick transformation. When we as mothers are one day an individual, and then suddenly two-in-one. This life takes roughly 9 months to mature inside, to grow and develop, but is still you, it's your blood pumping through their veins. Then one miraculous day, you are two, two separate entities. This is exciting, but admittedly a day of mourning. This slow grief, I imagine never truly ends. A friend mentioned to me, of never feeling so alone. It's so subtle at first: Your baby is so intensely dependent, and truthfully will die without your nurture. But slowly independence takes form, your milk soon is no longer the sustenance it needs, your baby will sit, eventually become mobile without your gentle guidance. And then it really becomes obvious, those slow unsteady steps away from you.

It was this overwhelming feeling that hit me as E and I left the post office last week. We make frequent trips, because it affords us some fresh air and well, it's frankly a lot funner to drop our letters and packages down the shoot as opposed to our mailbox. Anyhow, she turned to me and requested that we take different routs from the front door of the post office to the sidewalk. "You go on the stairs, and I go on the ramp." I obliged her request, and as my eye followed her excited skip, it hit me: "This is how it starts, this, now small gap in our walk through life only will get wider and wider."

I know that my true job as a parent is to provide my precious daughter with the tools to navigate life as an empathetic and successful person in society, not little girl in society. I know she will grow, but it is poetic when you are able to catch glimpses of it right in front of you, or, in front of the post office.

testing, testing

So after a few years on xanga, I've decided to switch to this spot. Aesthetically speaking, it's a better fit, and besides, everyone else is doing it... It's still in progress, but I hope you enjoy.

All Posts Below Were Transferred From Xanga

Going Green

Years back, when things were, well, less complicated. When Dave and I were free wheelin', childless, young, twenty-somethings. We went to lots of gatherings, nothing crazy, just people hanging out and eating good food. One such evening, we assembled with some of our friends from California that were in town for a recording session. We each contributed something to the festivities. One such dish was a very simple, but complex tasting appetizer. It was this dish that came flooding to my brain the minute I saw the cucumber earlier this week at the market, and I haven't been able to shake it out on my head. So I rolled up my sleeves and here it is:

Cold Cucumber with Lime

1 English Cucumber
2-3 Limes
Salt & Pepper
Fresh Cilantro (this was my addition to the dish, and can be omitted)

Slice cucumbers after washing (leaving the peel on) squeeze limes over cucumbers, sprinkle with salt and pepper and then chopped cilantro, then toss. Let marinate in fridge for at least 20 minutes (if you can wait that long).

How About...

How about a broom in your owie?
How about a computer in your eyeball?
How about an ice cream in your bellybutton?
How about ______ in your ________?

These are the questions that make up our little game, we play it in the car, at the dinner table, in bed, anywhere. E loves it, she gets to be silly and creative.

It's a Mom Thing

I just left E's room, she's been sleeping for hours already. Cozy in her bed, wearing those fuzzy footsie pajamas, all rosy cheeked. D and I have made a habit of kissing on her after she's asleep at night . I breathe her in. That sweaty-shampoo scent, it makes my stomach drop. She looks the same as she did as a baby when she's sleeping. Pouting lips, long eyelashes, and her arms flung above her head. That smell, I can't get over it. It's how we mom's know our children. It's so animalistic, so basic, scent evokes something that nothing else can.

*An episode of This American Life addresses this in a unique way, take a listen. (Act 2 in Lockup)

"Act Two. Mother's Day.
As the number of female prisoners climbs, visiting rooms are packed on Mother's Day. Eighty percent of female inmates have children at home. Amanda Coyne has been to a number of these Mother's Days, bringing her nephew to visit his mother and Amanda's sister. Among the difficult moments that come with these visits: What do you say to a five-year-old who wants to know if mommy is a bad guy? (10 minutes)"

A new start

The day before E got really sick with a an extremely high fever from her first ear infection we went to the store, purchased some seeds (sunflower, green beans, and zucchini), and a starter kit. After dinner we gathered everything on the kitchen floor and went to work, then nature took over! It's still too cold to plant them in our outdoor garden, but it's so gratifying to see them grow and soon we'll get to have fresh vegetables! It is so exciting to to pass along a passion I have to E.

plant

sprout

unfold

peek


reach


stretch