Shh!

Lately I have been having trouble sleeping. I can't seem to relax. All my muscles feel tight and I have a hard time getting comfortable. I mentioned this to my doc and he recommended silent meditation. I like how he doesn't prescribe drugs right away, but silent meditation? I was thinking a nice long massage.
Anyway, he went on to tell me about another patient who did a week long silent meditation. I was like how do you go to work, go to the grocery store? Did he wear a sign? " I'm not speaking. Don't be mad if I don't answer you." No, no, my doc said he went some where. Somewhere where they do this, a retreat center. I guess these retreat centers provide food and lodging while you mediate for a reasonable fee (The doc thought it was less that $200 for a week). He suggested I look into it and even suggested I talk Tai into it.
So I told Tai the doc's suggestion.

Tai: Can I bring my computer?
Me: No, I think you can't bring anything like that. No distractions.
Tai: I don't want to go if I can't bring my computer. When are you going?
Me: Do you think I can go a week without talking?
Tai: You can't go 5 minutes without talking. Will you take your cell phone?
Me: I imagine so.
Tai: Nope, you won't do it.

So what do you think? Can anyone sell me on the positives of a silent meditation retreat? Or any tips for beginning meditation?

Hours of Amusement

I've mentioned my love of LOLcats previously. Well that whole website provides me hours of entertainment. They've recently added Engrish, a site dedicated to kooky English words that Asians misuse. I know somewhere there's the reverse site.
Then there is LOLnews, jabbing at news stories and political figures.


I love Bill Clinton and this is so perfect!
Then there's the Fail blog. Tai often says "You Fail" and I had no idea what he was talking about til I found this blog. I'm constantly telling people they fail now!
All of these sites tend to get a little raunchy, so you might not want to click while at work. But they'll get addicting. Trust me you'll be forwarding these to your friends!

Crate and Barrel Shopping Spree

As a wedding gift we got a very generous gift certificate to Crate and Barrel. I was very excited for my shopping spree and looked forward to getting some new kitchen gadgets. I knew some things I wanted off the website but I also wanted to allow for something to catch my eye. So here is the result of my shopping spree:

I'm so excited about my zester. I've always wanted one. I'll be buying some lemons in order to break that in. And I'm going to be getting rid of my dollar store colander and using this new one. I'm also super excited about my pepper mill. I love freshly ground pepper and have been using pre-ground pepper which doesn't thrill me as much as freshly ground. I bought more of our plates. I wanted 6 of each. And I wanted a silcone grip for my cast iron pan. It was fun wandering around C&B deciding what I wanted.

Congrats Erin & Sean!

Our friends, Erin and Sean, got married over the weekend. I was excited to see the details especially since I helped!

They got married at garden club home in Seattle. It was a beautiful older home with a wonderful porch. Erin had cold beverages out for people before the wedding.

Here's a good shot of the back of Erin's dress. I love that she changed into those green flats for the reception!
Sadly it rained. But Erin and Sean had umbrellas for everyone.

Erin's dad made their card box. They used their engagement photos. Their guest book (not pictured) was a snapfish book of photos they'd taken during their relationship.
The centerpieces that Erin and her family made. I love the green button mums!
The program fans I helped with! People seemed to like them despite that it was really too cool.
Congrats Erin and Sean! May you have a long and happy life together. I'm looking forward to getting together you guys and hanging out!

Happy First Birthday!!!

My little blog is one year old today. Thank you to all my readers. I don't think I'd still be doing this if it weren't for you all. Yea!
In honor of my first blog birthday I changed the layout. I lost my blogroll! Sniff. I'll try to recreate it this weekend. Don't worry I still love you all!

And Speaking of Fall

I also need to do some clothes shopping for fall. Here are some of my must haves:

I love a good tunic. It last you til winter if it's a moderate fall. Plus I love navy blue. Looks good with a variety of different pants. I love those suede green shoes, but suede is such a bad idea in rainy Seattle!

Time for Fall Makeup

It's getting close to the time where I start thinking about changing over to a fall palate. Truthfully I love fall colors. In the spring I crave pinks and aquamarine but by the end of summer give me deep purples and forest greens. I need to update some of makeup so I'm going to be making a trip to Ulta/Sephora soon.

That deep purple nail polish would be for toes. Man, I need a pedicure badly! I'm digging the smoky eye and that Too Faced Palatte says that it makes the smoky eye simple. I think that I need that!

Fat, Sugar and Alcohol at Opal

As a new feature, I'm going to "review" the resturants we go to here in the Seattle area. I'll of course review any if we go on any trips.
Once a month (sometimes twice a month) I meet Marta and Ashley and we try a new restaurant. Last week we tried Opal.

They have a small plate menu so we choose 6 different dishes. First to come out was the heirloom tomatoes/watermelon dish and the olive/marcona almond dish. The heirloom tomatoes with the watermelon was a refreshing treat. Marcona almonds (not at all like regular almonds) were lovely. Especially soaked in the olive oil.
Next was the best part. we ordered the steak tartar and the quail. The steak tartar came with a horseradish salad and fried bone marrow. I didn't need to know you could fry bone marrow. I was the only one who tried that delightful bite of bone marrow and let me tell you it was yummy. Especially with the steak and horseradish. All the fat and yummy goodness. And speaking of yummy fat the quail came with foie gras! More yummy fat. Such a low cholestol meal! Both of those dishes had to be my favorites.
The next course was a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. I know what is this "regular" plate doing at such a fancy place? Well this was my least favorite. The cheese wasn't all the way melted, but the soup was yummy.
For dessert, I had the chocolate pot de creme with pistashio ice cream. It was a very decadent treat. Ashley and Marta had the popcorn ice cream. I didn't have a bite but both of them seemed to like it.
I left full which was a good thing. My part of the bill (with a glass of red wine) was $45. A little expensive but not bad for a night out with the girls. I would recommend it for a night out with friends or a special dinner. They could accomidate groups easily. We arrived at 7pm on Thursday night and didn't wait at all for a table. But it did pick up around 8ish though.

Currently....

watching

I've seen this movie twice. I love ABBA so I was dancing in my seat. It's incredibly cheesy but I don't really care. It's a fun silly story. But now I have ABBA songs running through my mind all day. Pierce Brosnan should not be singing though. He was the worst part for me. I still can't wait to buy it so I can watch it again!

reading
I loved Good In Bed. I was less impressed with her other novels. I was excited to see a continuation of Cannie's story. But I have to say still not that impressed. I'm about half way done but I'm not loving it. Perhaps it's because the chapters switch between Cannie and her daughter, Joy. I don't know. I see a predictable end but I'm not racing to get to it. It's more like I know this will all work out so why the hell are you people freaking now? Sigh. Perhaps I'll change my mind.

using
My old coworker used to work at Sephora part time. He'd bring us his freebies he didn't want. I snatched this during one of his giveaways. I perfer to wash my hair at night. But since my hair is oily I don't put conditioner in it. With this, I put a little in the morning and it makes my hair so glossy and so silky. I love it.

loving
I got this electric knife as a shower gift from Ashley. I've always wanted one especially after Alton had one. It cuts bread so incredibly fast! It's so easy to use. I don't know how I lived without one!

I Have Too Much Time On My Hands

We have the most uncomfortable couch ever. I bought it years ago and it was comfortable for one. I bought it cause it has a pull out bed. The pull out is so comfy. I bought it cause I believed I would have tons of out of town guests. Honestly I think I've used the pill out a couple of times. Tai and I used the mattress a few times when we used to have more room in the living room. We used to pull it out and lay on it to watch tv.
But now we can't really sit on the couch together. I would love a couch we could cuddle together on. Here are a few couches I think would fit the bill.

I like the bottom right one. It's like 2 loveseats stuck together. But I love the back of the one on the top left. But not in cream. Too easy to get dirty. Perhaps a navy blue.

New Trend I Somehow Missed

I've noticed a lot of girls wearing scarves a la Sienna Miller:Picture found here. I don't know why. It's summer. Even here in Seattle. Scarves are for winter. I'm not a fan of the lightweight scarf. I remember years ago people would wrap them around their waist. I guess they moved up in the world.
Sorry, just not a fan.

I Spend My Money Buying Shoes

Since I don't have a wedding to save for I have more money to spend on shoes. The other day I noticed that I have a decided lack of black shoes. I need some more.

I was bored and decided to play with Polyvore some more. I had a lot more fun with it.
And she didn't ask me but my friend is getting married in March and I decided to look at red shoes (her colors are cinnamon red, black, and ivory).

A lot of these shoes are completely the wrong color but still so wonderful! I love the Kate Spade Slingbacks!

Darn LBD!!!

I went dress shopping for Erin's upcoming wedding. Since her wedding is outdoors, I thought I would wear something light and casual. I bought 2 dresses but neither of them are going to work. I would have taken pictures but I didn't. Sorry!
So I looked online today for some ideas of where else to look and all I could find were black dresses:

I love Polyvore! I know you can wear black to a wedding but I really don't want to. So what do you all think? Go dressy (like a cocktail dress) or more casual (like a jersey knit dress)? Or wear a skirt and top and skip the dress?

Learn More About Us

Since I'm going to be talking more about us and not our wedding, I thought I would tell you more about Tai and I.

First a little more about my hubby, Tai. Tai moved here about 5 years ago from Los Angeles. A lot of times people ask me if he moved here for me. Honestly we didn't meet til after he lived here. Tai's one of five and almost all of his siblings still live in Los Angeles area. Tai loves to game. He plays several online games. Not WoW. I won't let him, too expensive and takes up too much time. But he plays lots of online free ones. He also plays D&D with some friends he's found. But he's always up for a good board game which I love since my folks hated board games when I was a kid. Tai loves to read. Usually we don't read the same thing but sometimes we will. He likes scifi a lot more than I do. But we both love graphic novels and read tons of them(Y:The Last Man is one of our favorites).

Tai is a fount of movie knowledge. He's tons of movies, blockbusters and the obscure ones too. His favorite are horror movies. The ones where lots of people die. And zombie movies. He has to wait til I go to sleep because I hate scary movies. I'm such a wimp!

More about me. I was born and raised here in the Seattle area which is pretty rare. I did go to college in Ohio but came home after college. I have a special place in my heart for Ohio and Pittsburgh since I spent a lot of time there. I really do like to cook. And I love to eat. I'm hard pressed to think of things I don't like. It's a short list-calamari and anchovies. I'll be doing some restaurant reviews in the coming months.

I love movies, but I tend to like romantic comedies, dramas, and the occasional documentaries. I see everything-new, old, classics and those campy ones too. Our DVD collection is growing to prove it! I read a lot too. Mostly fiction and hardly ever non-fiction except a good memoir or biography. I'm currently reading Certain Girls by Jennifer Wiener. I'm not digging it too much. I was a huge fan of Good In Bed and nothing has come close to that. I'm always looking for a good book recommendation so feel free to let me know if you have one.

Our tiny one bedroom is loaded with all our crap. The kitchen is full of appliances and kitchen gadgets. We have 4 computers which we spend a lot time on. We'd love to have pets but with so little space don't don't feel right having a dog. I keeping thinking a cat but again I want to wait for more space.

Now I feel like I'm rambling. Let me know if you have a question and I'll be happy to try to answer it.

Ah, Books!

Laura didn't tag me, but I decided I would do this meme anyway. I love to read so this one's a natural fit for me.

1) Bold those you have read.
2) Put an asterisk next to those you started but didn't finish.
3) Italicize those you intend to read (or have started and intend to finish).
4) The ones you LOVE are Green. (It orginally said underline but I couldn't figure out how to do that.)
5) Reprint this list in your own blog.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell(I actually own this one. Tai read it but not me!)
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald*
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck*
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez*
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons*
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez*
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Of those I italicized or didn't even touch would you recommend? Or do you have a recommendation that's not on the list?
I'll tag Jennifer, Introverted Bride, and Little Miss Planner.

How to Dance In The Rain

I received this forward from a friend last night. I rarely pass these things on but I decided to read it and pass it along. I decide to post it here because I haven't seen something that so succinctly describes my parent's relationship for the past 6 years.
Next month, my parents will celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary. If ever there was a time where leaving the other would be easy now would be an excellent time for my father to bail (in fact, it's been suggested to him and me). My parents' marriage wasn't always picture perfect but they kept at it. And my father's love for my mother is so touching. This story isn't about my folks but it could be.

*********************************
It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him.I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.
While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.The gentleman toldno, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health.He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.
He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years. I was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?'
He smiled as he patted my hand and said, She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought,
'That is the kind of love I want in my life.'
True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not beThe happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.
Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

Reviews

Here are my reviews for all our wedding vendors.

Transportation: Shuttle Express-A. I only needed a ride from the hotel to the ceremony/reception site. I reserved a van for 6 but only myself and my MIL used it. Shuttle Express was reasonably priced and easy to use. The driver was early and got us there safely. I felt the price was pretty reasonable. 

Florist: Whole Foods, Bellevue-A. I worked with Jim, the floral manager. He was honest about the flowers that would work best for our wedding. I didn't like their ribbon selection so I brought my own ribbon in. He did an excellent job. The flowers turned out really well and held up all day. 

Rentals: Grand Events Rental-A. I was able to change our order the week before the wedding. Everything arrived in perfect condition. They dropped everything off on time and picked it up.

Venue-Tolt MacDonald Campground (King County Parks Department) B-They were super sweet when we reserved the site and sent the contract quickly. Some of our guests booked additional campsites and they had no trouble. 
The only trouble we had (and the reason I gave them a B) was the day of. The site was clean and ready for when we reserved it. Before we had been told that we needed to turn down the music at 9pm. But the campground host told us to turn off the music at 9pm. He was rude to a couple of our guests and he hovered until we turned off the music. 
I still would recommend the site but be aware that everything must be shut down at 9pm. 

Caterer-Larry's Smokehouse-A. The tasting was amazing. We brought a couple of friends and Larry actually feed us dinner. No snack or little portion! In the days leading up to the wedding, they touched base with me a few times to make sure they had the right time, etc. They arrived on time to the wedding. Set up and feed everyone. The food was delicious. They left the leftovers in boxes, labeled with what the contents were. Wonderful vendor. Very easy to work with! Highly recommended!

LOL my wedding photos

Everyone at work knows I love LOLcats. I read it almost everyday. Of course I had to LOL our wedding photos.

iz u done yet?

I was clearly done taking photos. Jill took this one and said Linda stop making faces!

hai. bride over here.

Another one by Jill. I was clearly annoyed that I was left standing about while the photographer got people together.

ohh!!!

I was grabbing Tai's ass while Shoshana took this picture. I did that with several friend pictures.

Rarrr!!!

I'm not sure why Shoshana is making this face or what was really going on in this photo. I asked Sho and she had no idea what was going on either.
Too bad I already sent out the thank you cards because these would rock as thank you cards. Perhaps as holiday cards. Hmmm.

Sniff, Goodbye, Sniff

No, not goodbye to all of you. You won't get rid of me that easily. No, I'm slowly weaning myself off of wedding related stuff. I took WeddingBee out of my Google Reader. I know! But I realized it was for brides and I enjoyed it when I was learning things to do for my wedding. I saw all the bees that I liked get married and enjoyed their recaps. Not that I won't glance at it when someone points out something interesting but no more reading it everyday.
Since I've built relationship with some of you, I read your blogs daily, I'll continue to do that. I can't disappear from the wedding world all together. But it doesn't feel completely right to stay there either. It's a conundrum.
I'll be finishing up my wedding junk within the next week or two. But then what will I talk about? We don't own a house and not going to start with the babymaking. I'll go back to talking about food, maybe post local restaurant reviews. Hopefully we'll take a couple of trips so I can continue to entertain you all!