i can't wait to swim in clear waters again!

miso soup

I made miso soup for the first time today. I've made the packets before but the other day we bought the soft, keep in the fridge miso so today i thought I'd give it a try. The directions said to boil some kelp and some other green thing we don't have in 4 cups of water. I had neither so i substituted onion. not a surprise as i love onions. I brought that to a boil and added tofu and 3 tablespoons of miso. The package said 4 but...I didn't want it to be too salty and figured I could add more later if need be, best to be conservative with salty things. I looked in the fridge for some greenery and found half of a zucchini and chopped that up. I let that all simmer a while longer before adding 2 sheets of dried seaweed. It was delicious. When I ate the soup again 3 hours later, I reheated it with leftover rice. Good stuff.



So maybe it doesn't look so good in the photo but it was tasty.

crazy dreams since watching 6 feet under

i've had a couple weird dreams since we started watching six feet under.
the first one i am planning my wake (mind you i don't want a wake, but that's what goes on in the show and my mom once told me that i had to have a wake and that it wasn't for me but for everyone else--just like the rest of my life ;). Ok, so i'm planning my wake and i am thinking of how i want my hands folded, or not and which rings i want to wear and whether or not i'll wear shoes and which ones. when i'm dreaming about the shoe thing--in my dream--i think of a conversation i had with steve blazek (sp) who used to run the funeral home in town. it was my first wake and mom had arranged it so i could ask him questions. i asked if the woman (i can't remember who died...) was wearing shoes and he said yes but either i didn't believe him or i was just really curious and i asked to see-- AND HE SHOWED ME!! Thanks, Blazek! She had on black shoes and some sort of hose, I'm surprised I didn't ask about THAT.
Second dream. In this one I'm dead and I know I'm dead and AGAIN i'm planning the wake I don't want. This time I'm in the morgue and I'm thinking, I should have my retainer in and I wish I had packed my mascara--funny b/c i never have make up in my purse. not that the retainer part isn't funny...there was more to this one but it's lost now.

headed to IA in a few hours. dinner with kath and maria first.

seattle trip pt 1

We went to Seattle 2 weekends ago to hang out with Jess and Kevin. We took the Amtrak bus down and got in around 5:30. We met Jess and walked to a sushi restaurant--Maneki. I forgot my camera in the car at that point so there are no pictures from there unfortunately. We had some rolls, some sashimi, plenty of sake. My favorite sake was the bouquet aftertaste. My favorite roll was the sassy salmon roll--a little spicy, a LOT delicious! This is where we met Kevin's sister, Jen.
The whole time we were there Jess, Kevin, and Jen kept referring to a SUPLISE that made me nervous.
After walking around the international district looking for a bar to have a drink--one drink--before the suplise. This is the bar we ended up at.


Then we found our SUPLISE!


VENUS KARAOKE! Smaller karaoke rooms for you and your friends--just like Korea! WOOT!




Heck yeah!


This guy was there--They say his name's Steve.


This is what Steve did to Jess's car. He neglected to tell her when he got out of the car...


At the car wash


Beard scrubbing. Scrubba scrubba scrubba!

Jess rinsing.


Bear


SUCCESS!

Hello World

It's been brought to my attention that I have not blogged since January. Ellen, this one is for you!
Last week was Spring Break. I went camping with Christy and Megan at Silver Lake State Park off of Mt. Baker Hwy in Maple Falls Tuesday night.




Wednesday, Timm rode his bike out (nuts) and Craig and his kids Keegan and Kaeliegh came out for dinner and marshmallows.


We sang songs and huddled by the fire.

C, M and I walked around the park Wednesday and found some nice cabins and a little trail. The lake is pretty nice too, except for all the goose poop.
Friday Chirsty and I went to a seminar about healing Native American children who have been sexually abused. We gained some new ideas and insight. It was one of slowest seminars I have ever been to. and no set schedule. i got to practice having patience.
Friday night Rick came over for dinner and he and Beard decided it would be a good idea to buy as much pork as possible and grill it all the next day. And that's what we did.


5 different bbq sauces and a rub. all delicious.



We boiled the meat first so it was good and tender.



we grilled 18 lbs and made our way through about 11--pretty good for 6 ppl.



Tara made an awesome coleslaw, too. BBQ pork and coleslaw--yum!



Sunday we (me, Beard, Tara, Sam, Delilah, Rick) took a hike to walk off some of the pork. We started at the N. Chuckanut Trailhead on the Hemlock trail and turned off on the Salal Trail. We were looking for the Madrone Crest trail and were probably on it but it wasn't posted.




We ended up back on the main trail and made our way back to the car. And since the pork was still on sale, we bought another package for the freezer.
Sunday night Beard and I had dinner with Stacia and Evelyn who work with Beard at the Border Policy Research Institute on campus. Good food, good company.
And now it's Monday--bah.
I have an interview today with David Davidson of BPRI to work for him this summer at the border. It's a backup job in case I can't work with a professor on research. I think it would be pretty interesting though. Interviewing people about what they are bringing over the border--I might even be able to sit in the little box.
Tonight I have training for teaching kids English online and then dinner with Beard and Rick. Kath's spring break is this week so she's headed to LA to see her parents.
Tomorrow class starts again....
Here are some more random pictures for your viewing pleasure.

On the wagon

The original wagon on which reform alcoholics pledged to stay was the horse drawn water cart of the late 1800s. During Prohibition, reformers would take a vow to stop drinking alcohol ans substitute water. A backslider was said to have fallen off the (water) wagon and back into drinking alcohol.

--From: I Didn't Know That

things i did today

1. woke up
2. drank 1/2 cup of coffee while talking to Megan on the phone.
3. finished ch. 1 of family
4. ate breakfast
5. went to kohls with kath
6. called Dad
7. walked to work
8. actually put some time on the phone--2 completes!
9. went grocery shopping w/ Beard.
10. read Whaley article
11. rode exercise bike for 15 mins
12. did 2 loads of laundry
13. did the dishes
14. ate dinner
15. ate some dark chocolate
and NOW...i'm starting on chapter 2.