At 5 in the afternoon.....

It is no secret that I dig on a cold beer. So when I heard that my bro-in-law Mike, and his friend Johnny (JP) were meeting up at the Duchess in the U-District, I quickly agreed to meet up. Who doesn't like a cold beer on a late Wednesday afternoon? Plus, the Duchess and I have some history. I lived about 4 blocks away from this little Husky bar for over 4 years. My great friend and pharmacy school classmate Helen lived about a block away, so needless to say, we had a few "study" sessions at the Duchess (involving lots o' beer and chicken strips).

Mike and JP like to try out new foods, and stretch their stomachs to the point of near explosion. Luther burgers, poutine, beer can chicken, etc.... Just last weekend, Mike and JP enjoyed Dave's Famous Feast, which is a plethora of food served in, get this, a garbage can lid. Supposedly the lid full of food can feed 5 to 6 people, but Mike and JP managed to polish it off, with a little help from Chris. I'm still amazed at the photos posted on Mike's Facebook page.

Here is a shot of Mike and JP enjoying onion rings and burgers at the Duchess. I must admit, they were really great onion rings.
Yummmmmm....look at that cloudy Hefe.....Smooth.....Satisfying.....Delicious......

I had to get a shot of this sign posted on the outside of the men's restroom, pretty hilarious. The ladies room didn't have anything nearly as comical.

One of the strange things about the Duchess is they have dead animals everywhere. A couple moose, a few deer, an alligator head......

And they have live animals as well.....like this sweet dog that spent almost the entire time we were there relaxing at our table. I'm sure it had something to do with the burgers and chicken strips. She was adorable though, begging for food with her head rested on my thigh......

Next outting with Mike and Chris? The Ebb Tide for breakfast on Sunday morning. Who can resist a vodka cran at 8am on the Sabbath?

I think I may have just peed a little......

Admittedly, I follow over 20ish blogs. I have my rituals when sitting at my computer every day. First I'll check my Hotmail account, then Gmail, then Yahoo, then I'll go through the miriad of blogs I follow to see if anyone has posted any updates. Gina clued me in to two kick ass blogs that I will now be following. Luke's Attics and Basements, and MaryBeth's Wiper with a Diaper, Beat with a Piper. You should definitely check them out. Like I said, I may have just peed a little. This post in particular. Plus, how can you go wrong with a blog titled Wiper with a Diaper, Beat with a Piper.....genius.

How do I know MaryBeth and Luke? MB was at one point a co-worker of Gina's, and now they are great friends. And MB is Luke's bird. And another thing? MB and Luke made these rad pieces for me (Christmas 2007 gift from Gina). They are photographs of Seattle mounted on wood, with a cool finish. Thanks Luke and MB! Your art is, of course, 'off the heasy'......

The Daily Frank.......

There Frank goes again....using that same old "I don't have opposable thumbs" excuse for not pulling his weight around the house. Why don't you try using that iron for something other than a back scratcher?

What goes around, comes around.....

I remember my first pair of Converse All Stars..... I was probably in 8th or 9th grade, definitely still rockin' MJHS, that is for sure. They were white. I wore the $hit out of those shoes, they were on my feet 24/7 for a few years, with breaks in between for various Birkenstocks, and another pair of kick ass olive green All Stars. I took a black Sharpie to them at one point and drew in some of my own teenage angsty artwork. There was probably a Red Hot Chili Peppers symbol in there somewhere. Those were the days. My youthful days where my feet could withstand absolutely no arch support whatsoever in a shoe.

Recently, I've seen a resurgence of these iconic shoes. When I'm out and about, I see more and more people wearing the white, black, and blue colored models. I decided to try on a pair for old times sake today while I was at Northgate Mall. Wow, tremendously uncomfortable, but still super cool. I passed on purchasing them though because I just can't justify buying shoes without any sort of arch support any more. It is official, I am getting old. In my profession, I am on my feet the entire workday, no joke. The only time I sit down is when I take my lunch break. With that in mind, the last few years I have taken great care of my feet. Converse All Stars no longer fall in to that 'great care of the feet' category, unfortunately.

So, here's to you old skool white Converse All Stars from days past..... I'll miss you, but I've moved on.

.......but these would be super cute to wear with my spring time work attire! Love the black on black. If only orthotics fit in these bad boys, I'd be set......

Sunday Night Scrap..........

Gina and I got together to do some scrappin' this evening....super fun! Back in November I had taken some pictures of Atticus, Gina, Paula, and I that came out really well. I've been itching to do some layouts using the photos from that particular day. I ended up finishing one layout that I titled "Lucky Me".
I used paper and some chipboard embellishments from DCWV's Green Stack. The paper and chipboard embellishments have a fun, cartoony, woodland creature type theme. The JoAnn Fabrics in my 'hood is a little on the lame side, so I had to journey up to the JoAnn Fabrics in Lynnwood to get this sweet stack! Luckily I don't live too close to the JoAnn Fabrics Superstore because it would be trouble if I did. So much stuff there.

I also used a Tim Holtz Idea-ology Journaling Ticket for my journaling area, as well as some Tim Holtz Idea-ology spinners and fasteners. Pewter photo anchors (see top photograph) are by Making Memories. "Lucky Me" was a really fun layout to make, and I'm excited about using more of from DCWV's Green Stack in future layouts.

I put together a really quick Frank layout using a "I Love My Cat" double-page kit from Scrapbook Pad in Shoreline. I'm not in love with the layout, but it was fun to put together. Single-page or double-page kits are great when you aren't feeling the creative flow, but I can't help but feel like I'm taking the easy way out. I modified the embellishments a bit, left some out that came with the kit, and added some of my own in to the mix. I think at this point I have exhausted all possible photos of Frank from his photo shoot with Kim. I'll have to start using some of my own less awesome photos for future Frizz layouts:)

Pinball Face-Off #1

Brenda and I have been talking mad $hit over Facebook the last week or so regarding our mini-pinball tournament at Shorty's. Friday night the tourny finally came to fruition! We carb loaded beforehand at Mama's on 2nd Ave, tacos and margaritas are the pinball fuel of choice. When we arrived, I decided to juice up with probably the worst gin & tonic I have ever had in my life. It was like drinking straight bottle shelf gin. Ugh, still trying to get the taste out of my mouth. Needless to say, I drank about two swallows and abandoned it. After cashing in a $5 bill in to quarters, we were ready.....game on! As you can tell from our facial expressions, we were pretty excited about the event.
First we hit up Addams Family. That game hates me. Seriously. Brenda wiped the floor with me, 3 for 3 for Brenda. Then we moved onto some Medieval Madness, Star Trek, Family Guy, and finally Indiana Jones. Dr. Jones can suck on it because not only did it cost 75 cents per game, but the game destroyed both Brenda and I. Not a good showing for either of us with regards to the Holy Grail.

Brenda definitely ended up winning Pinball Face-Off #1! But if we would have been playing Family Guy and Arabian Nights, I would have taken the trophy hands down!! Brenda pretty much dominates when it comes to Addams Family, Star Trek, and Medieval Madness. I think Family Guy is more my speed because they have a "Fart Multiball". How funny is that?

Tinner and Mike met up with us for some pinball tom foolery. Chris managed to destroy Brenda and I on Medieval Madness.

That is a picture showing my distain of Indiana Jones. Not sure if you can see the scores in the picture but they are as follows: Brenda 15.2 million, Jess 1.7 million. Thumbs down is right. And here is the picture that Brenda had been waiting to take all night........

That is me standing next to the nasty hotdogs under the heat lamp. We had been joking all week that loser of the tournament had to eat a stale hotdog from under the lamp. Luckily Brenda loves me and didn't make me eat one of them, I just had to have my picture next to it. I'll let you know how Pinball Face-Off #2 goes, let's just say I'll be training for this round!

Too funny not to post......

I just can't let this slide through the cracks......it must be broadcast to the world for comment.....

On my way out of work tonight I noticed I had two text messages.

Here they are, word for word.....
Text #1, 5:28pm: i'm got a happy hour buzz. drunk. arrrrgggghhhhh. flllzzmmmdorferrr.
Text #2, 5:39pm: WTF? i demand a funy response. (here comes the best part) boy you try to front ah ah. womanizer. aha ah.

Yes, it is true, he is quoting Britney Spears. Love it. Love. It.

I'll give you one guess who it was........

And if you are wondering what his shirt says in this photo, it says:
One Day At A Time
Help me believe in
what I could be
and all that I am
Show me the stairway
I have to climb Lord
for my sake, teach me to take
One Day At A Time

The shirt was given to him by the guys, while in Las Vegas for his Bachelor Party, after he had barfed all over himself post buffet/beer frenzy. Classy.

I am proud to say I have known him for almost 27 years, and he continues to make me laugh on an almost daily basis. I've been trying to get him to do a "guest blog post" but it hasn't come to fruition yet. We'll see.

Each day gets better and better......

I feel so lucky to have said goodbye to 2008, it was a super sucky year for me. I can pretty much sum up 2008 in three words: anxiety, eye-opening, tumultuous (with heavy emphasis on the word anxiety....). So far 2009 has been pretty darn great in comparison! Basically, I haven't felt this good in a LONG time....like years. My spirits are high, and I feel blessed with the life that I have. Maybe it is the multi-vitamins, or maybe it is the fact that I have put a lot of things behind me. Either way, I am more than content, more than satisfied.......it is an awesome feeling to be totally at peace with where I am at.

I love having a weekday off, every Wednesday in fact! I really enjoy my mornings by myself, with Frank, of course. This Wednesday morning I woke up and decided to treat myself to a decaf mocha from one of my favorite coffee stands (if you saw the Wednesday morning barista, you'd be looking for an excuse to get coffee too, he is the bees knees, McSteamy Decaf Mocha dude). I also baked some cinnamon rolls on my new silicone baking sheet. Here is a pre-frosting shot:
Post-frosting shot:

They were tasty, indeed. Even the next day.

Gratuitous Frank shot. Can't get enough of this little man.

Mayhem, madness, and destruction were never so much fun!

A few nights ago, I met up with Mike and Chris at Shorty's in Belltown. Shorty's is known for their pinball arcade in the back, past the bar, as well as their clown art abundance.....creepy.

My love affair with pinball started back in the mid-to-late 90's when I was living in Bellingham, going to Western. Brenda, Russ, and I used to meet up for lunch a few times a week in the Viking Union and then go play pinball in the arcade on campus. Nerd alert! Loved it!

My favorite pinball game of all time? Attack from Mars. This pinball game is awesome. My second favorite pinball game? Addams Family. Shorty's didn't have the original Attack from Mars game, but they did have a newer version called Revenge from Mars. Not as fun as the original game, a little too high tech for me. The video screen in the actual game is very distracting.

At some point in my life, I would love to own a pinball game, and I would love that pinball game to be Attack from Mars. Do you know what IPDB stands for? Neither did I until about 5 minutes ago.....Internet Pinball Database. A website that lists pinball games. Double nerd alert! I found the listing for Attack from Mars....apparently it has an "average fun rating" of 8.3 (out of a possible 10). Not too shabby!

New Years resolution #5,382 for 2009.....play more pinball.....it is good for the soul.

Attack from Mars promo video

Super cheesy, love it!

Won't you come and....scooch on over....

You shake those hips, Jason........

Apparently, I am officially boy crazy. I'm back folks! Bring it!

***Dang!!*** I guess you can no longer view this video of Jason Mraz's SNL performance. Just know that it was full o' eye candy.

Fitzy!!!!

Admittedly, I know very little about football. It is not a sport that really draws me in and holds my attention for any meaningful amount of time. For the past few years, I have watched the Superbowl with friends, and it has become much more about the comradery than the actual game. This year I was in for a treat though....... let me introduce you to Larry Fitzgerald......
He plays for the Arizona Cardinals, and he is a dream boat. I know I've mentioned in a previous soccer player post that I have a weakness for dreadlocks. Larry Fitzgerald fits the profile. He makes my heart go pitter-pat.

Although the Cardinals lost to the Steelers, in what ended up being an exciting game, Fitzy's (nickname I gave him) moves were pretty impressive. Not only did he have skills, but he looked drool worthy in his uniform. Who looks good in a football uniform anyway? Larry Fitzgerald managed to keep my focus.

One word: Damn.......

*Sigh*...........