Daily AB

Tiny Tuesday (Wednesday): Bah Humbug.

2010-12-22T07:43:00.000-08:00

Elite Event: Thai and Sweaters!

2010-12-22T07:38:00.000-08:00

Elite Event at Soi9 last night! Peep the sweater and find the full story of its creation here. Lovely to see everyone, as always, even if seating was a little bit awkward.

Daily Food 12/21/10
Breakfast: veggie sausage patty, potato pancake, toast
Lunch: lentil soup, Tofurkey slices on toast
Dinner: shared at family-style dinner, misc vegan noodles, tofu, salad rolls, red curry rice croquet, vegan tom kha soup, green curry, rice.
Misc: Hot toddy!

Peacock Lane

2010-12-20T07:11:00.000-08:00

Not quite as grand as I recall from years prior, but Peacock Lane is still lovely and pretty as always. Had some great holiday time with friends yesterday, walking the lane after a happy hour at Bonfire and before capping the night off with some pinball at Red Flag. I'm getting slightly sad that Christmas season is almost over, and I know I have several days still so am determined to embrace it as best as I can! FedExing the big box o' toys to my niece and nephew today, so it will be there waiting on Christmas Eve.

Daily Food 12/19/10
Breakfast: roasted red potatoes, poached eggs, toast
Dinner: shared HH pita/tzatziki, sweet potato fries; veggie burger, hot toddies
Misc: cider, white choc pretzels

Santa Came Early, Manicure Edition

2010-12-14T08:07:00.000-08:00

Check this out! I got a surprise early Christmas gift from Matt E. Yes, that's right, every imaginable color of nail striper available. I am going to go crazy with these kits. These tiny bottles are way cool - they have a super thin, long brush, to make any kind of design your little heart desires. I see snowflakes and Santa Clauses in my digits' future.

Tiny Tuesday: Not A Creature Was Stirring

2010-12-14T08:02:00.000-08:00

I tried the old "Come here, I promise I won't attach a Santa hat to your fat face" approach again, after a disastrous first attempt at clothing the cat. It did not go well. She wouldn't talk to me for hours, but here's the beast all tuckered out after that traumatic event. I WILL get the Santa Suit on her at some point. Mean? Kinda. Hilarious? Definitely. It's worth it.

Daily Food 12/13/10
Breakfast: NF Greek yogurt, banana, pumpkin granola
Lunch: mixed veg salad with garbanzos, orange
Snack: toffee peanuts
Dinner: Quorn patty, tomato salad, baked potato

The Grotto

2010-12-12T08:03:00.000-08:00

Breathtaking, inspiring, humbling, sparkling, serene, peaceful.

The Grotto is an amazing place, and many thanks to Groupon, Ma and I scored two tickets plus a beverage on the cheap. After a fun dinner out at Equinox, we headed to deep NE, rolled up in the Camry right into a princess parking spot and meandered into the Grotto for a really fun traipse through the Festival of Lights AND caught a choir concert, too. I would definitely go back again and pay full price for another visit before Christmas. It was awesome.

Daily Food 12/11/10
Breakfast: scrambled eggs, potatoes/mushrooms, fruit salad
Dinner: appetizer madness while decorating the tree - mushroom turnovers, assorted crudite, tiny GF crepes with roasted Golden Nugget squash and mascarpone, nuts, fruit, cheese, pinot g. MADNESS!

Holiday Cheer, It's On.

2010-12-10T06:56:00.000-08:00

Matt brought over some gorgeous floral arrangements the other night, and my whole apartment is transformed. Smells great, too! My mother arrived from Colorado, and our mission is to do up my place to make it look like someone lives here and then cover it all up immediately with super tacky Christmas decor. Really going to clash with these super-classy additions from my bestie, but oh well. Holidays MMX.

I can barely admit this: I bought a fake tree. And it's white. WTF. Seemed like a good idea at the time- if you're gonna go fake, might as well go super fake, yeah? But I don't know, I'm seriously doubting the whole thing, and might return it. There was a very cheesy little fiber optic tree for sale at the library next door... I might go check and see if it's still there today. At least that $10 would go to the library. We'll see how it pans out, as Mama Trip and Operation Festive-i-cize the Apartment continues. There will be glitter involved.

Got to see St Frankie Lee yesterday: TWICE! A rare occasion.

Daily Food 12/9/10
Breakfast: two poached eggs, polenta cake, tomato sauce, kale
Lunch: hummus, rice crackers, mixed fruit, piece o' cheddar
Snack: popcorn, almonds, apple/pear juice
Dinner: Caesar salad, Gladstone pizza, pinot g

PS Daily Food might be going away, as I am now using http://www.myfitnesspal.com which is super sweet.

Tiny Tuesday: That's a Wrap

2010-12-07T06:29:00.000-08:00

I'm fresh out of Tiny photos, plus they were all starting to look the same. Guest spot! Photo courtesy of Matt E. Mama AB arrives to Portland tomorrow!

Daily Food 12/6/10
Breakfast: Fuji apple, 1/2 Trio nut bar
Lunch: Quorn patty, roasted potato/asparagus, Laughing Cow wedge
Dinner: Light veg soup, Stacy's soy crisps

Tree Lighting in Milwaukie

2010-12-04T08:37:00.000-08:00

The winning umbrella, pirate-themed, and peep Santa in the background. Aw yeah.

Dear God it was like stepping back in time and into Mayberry. I have never seen a more cute gathering. Also, I don't believe I've ever seen more people or action in downtown Milwaukie before. Everyone was out, most proudly displaying their decorated umbrellas from the parade (see photo above for the winner - of course it's a pirate theme, duh), with the Johnson Creek Brass Band providing music and some old folks handing out cookies and hot cocoa.

Miss Clackamas (yes, re-read that) did the countdown to the tree lighting, tiara and all. Santa ho-ho-ho'd. There were horses and carriage rides! It was pretty goshdarn thrilling.

Daily Food 12/3/10
Breakfast: egg/cheese toasty from Wind Horse, banana
Lunch: 1/2 egg salad sandwich, leftover kale stew
Snacks: chips/salsa, cookie at the tree lighting
Dinner: shared pumpkin curry, pad kee mao, rice, som tum, salad roll
Misc: pinot g

More Holiday Cheer Soon.

2010-12-03T06:59:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, my little neighborhood is having an umbrella parade (?) and the official downtown Milwaukie Tree Lighting. You bet yer bippy I'll be there for that, even if it means having to leave work early... the festivities start at 3:30 for some reason, do they not know people are at work? Oh, well! Good times either way, looking forward to it. This is happening in conjunction with First Friday's Art a la Carte. Details here.

Daily Food 12/2/10
Breakfast: GF toast, apple, banana
Lunch: kale stew w/ GF pasta, roasted carrots w/ garbanzo gravy
Dinner: arancine, caesar, bread, pinto g
Misc: diet Coke, chips/salsa snack, hot toddys!

Tiny Tuesday: Film Noir

2010-11-30T19:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Emilie!

Daily Food 11/29/10
Breakfast: leftover potatoes, NF Greek Yogurt, apple
Lunch: Soycurls, peppers/onions, beans/rice, salsa burrito
Dinner: braised kale, mushrooms over gorgonzola polenta
Misc: chocolate sorbet

Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover, Zumba Edition.

2010-11-29T21:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning, I showed up bright and early for Zumba class. I thought I'd done this class before at another gym, but either I was horribly mistaken then or Zumba has done a psychotic 180 in the last couple of years. More on that in a moment.

So, I nervously situated myself in a back corner and a lady warned me not to follow her as she had never done it before. As I had no idea what I was doing either, I recommended that she pick out someone in the crowd who looked like a regular Zumba-goer to follow, which was my plan. Immediately, I zeroed in on some dude who just screamed "newcomer", and noted that there was no way in hell that guy would be a good one to follow.

Boy, was I ever wrong. This out-of-place, giant, lumberjack-lookin' dude, wearing cargo pants, bearded, covered in shitty tattoos, and with a black kerchief on his head had moves like I have never seen, hips that wouldn't quit, and knew every single step, arm movement, lyric, and fist pump. Homeboy was amazing. I, on the other hand, couldn't keep up for shit and basically abandoned even trying to get the fancy footwork down and ended up running frantically in place just to keep moving. And sweating. Dear God, I lost at least 5 pounds in sweat. Those Zumba people are insane. Insane. How many classes does it take to learn those moves, anyway? More than I will probably ever know, because AB is not cut out for Zumba. Sticking to the normal cardio machines, Step class, and weight room, thankyouverymuch.

I still can't get the image of that dude dancing out of my head. He looked like he'd be more at home as a bouncer in front of a strip club, but sweet baby Jesus, he was simply awesome. Kudos to that guy and his beard.

Daily Food 11/28/10
Breakfast: red onion, mushroom, diced Quorn patty, two eggs; orange and apple slices
Dinner: roasted fennel, Brussels sprouts, red onion, mushrooms over polenta with gorgonzola
Misc: popcorn, glass of pinot blanc

It's Officially Christmas Season.

2010-11-27T12:44:00.000-08:00

There are few things I love more than:

1. Portland
2. The holidays

Last night I went to the tree lighting down in Portland's Living Room, aka Pioneer Square, and it was awesome! Can't believe I had never done that before, given my penchant for cheering all things Yuletide. It was completely packed, but terribly fun. We were next to an old guy with a very thick New York accent, handing out tiny communion-sized cups and telling everyone to get ready for his champagne toast, apparently a tradition for him he carried out at Rockefeller Center for decades. Sadly, no one really wanted to engage the guy and we were all a little suspicious that this "champagne" might be a 40 of Old E, but turns out we were all wrong and he produced as promised. We toasted with our tiny cups of bubbly, cheered, hooted, and hollered when they finally lit the 75-foot tree. Just as I turned to chat the old man up and introduce myself, he sped off in his motorized chair. Maybe I'll run into him again some time.

Rounding out the festivities was some great music by members of Pink Martini and the Portland Youth Choir. Carols were sung, my toes froze, and a great time had by all. New personal tradition.

POST SCRIPT: Apparently while I was hollering "Joy to the World" at the top of my lungs and swaying with the crowd as if my life depended on it, the police were arresting a would-be terrorist a few blocks away in a sting operation. They'd been working undercover with the clearly troubled young man, who intended to set off a car bomb at the lighting. Didn't find out about any of this until this morning. News coverage here.

Daily Food 11/26/10
Breakfast: leftover yams, Honeycrisp apple
Lunch: salad, Greek veggie pizza
Dinner: roasted squash, mushrooms, leftover stuffing, cranberries
Misc: Hot Toddies downtown!

TGIBF

2010-11-26T07:32:00.000-08:00

Oh, hello, there...

I successfully managed to maintain a plans-free Thanksgiving yesterday and it sure was lovely. In the morning I went to the gym to see the crazy people, always entertaining, the twice-than-normal-size crowd that shows up on Turkey Day, most of them already so sickly thin I get worried someone's going to pass out. Alas, no collapsing, and I headed to Gladstone for a cup of coffee, before my BFF came over and we embarked on a Portland Minute, driving all over town looking at what was open. We almost ended up at the Jolly Roger but thought better of that and bailed. Then we almost accidentally signed ourselves up for the prix fixe dinner at Country Cat, but bailed on that as well since we really just wanted a snack. It looked amazing, though. Ended up having some jambalaya, salad, and spicy mac down the way at Roscoe's, before locking ourselves in my apartment and watching beaucoup TV with my fancy new toy... the Roku! Hours later, I got hungry and whipped up a Thanksgiving-ish meal, not totally complete, but not a bad attempt at a last-minute thing. Capped off the evening with the Beyonce TV special, which totally ruled.

I have been saying for months that all I wanted to do for Thanksgiving was see Burlesque, but we never made it off of the couch to do so. Successful 'do nothing' day.

I have more things to be Thankful for than I can count, separate post needed...

Daily Food 11/25/10
Breakfast: 2 eggs, toast
Lunch: veggie jambalaya, catfish, salad, cornbread
Dinner: mashed potatoes, yams, Brussels sprouts, cranberries (made with agave!), fennel stuffing, vegan/GF mushroom gravy, bubbly.
Misc: Strongbow cider, GF choc chip cookies

Tiny Tuesday: Up Top!

2010-11-23T06:44:00.000-08:00

Someone finally figured out how to get on top of the cabinets in the new apartment.

The mass hysteria about the snow that didn't really happen continues... It snowed a little bit, but nothing worthy of the overkill news footage. Pretty chilly, though, only about 20 degrees right now. BRING IT!

Daily Food 11/22/10
Breakfast: banana, apple, yogurt
Lunch: spinach salad, Quorn patty, roasted carrots, tomatoes
Dinner: Minestrone soup, rice crackers, baked sweet potato
Misc: diet Coke, fruit/date bar

Please snow, please snow, please snow...

2010-11-22T07:28:00.000-08:00

The undeserved hysteria about impending snow in Portland has begun. 2 flakes fall, mass pandemonium ensues. I can almost guarantee half of the office staff will leave early today. Good lord.

Personally, I am doing my finest snow dance and praying to baby Jesus Claus some of that beautiful white stuff starts falling soon.

Daily Food 11/21/10
Breakfast: 1/2 of Soycurls breakfast burrito
Lunch: the other half
Dinner: Quorn patty, roasted carrots, spinach salad
Misc: glass o' pinot g

Happy Friday, Folks

2010-11-19T06:36:00.000-08:00

Long week, thank goodness it's Friday. One more workday, then some bday celebratin' tonight! Had fabulous last-minute Happy Hour at Victory last night with the ladies. Always love that. I initially said 'no', that I couldn't go, too broke... then we somehow racked up a bill large enough for a whole week's worth of meals. Whoopsie-Daisy! Delicious, yes. A bajillion calories? Yes.

Daily Food 11/18/10
Breakfast: leftover broccoli bake, roll
Lunch: curried corn soup, orange-glazed yams, tabbouleh
Dinner: shared HH snacks - mixed greens salad, spaetzle, jalapeno hush puppies, fries, Manhattans

Woodie Likes it Hot

2010-11-17T07:11:00.000-08:00

This is McG's cat, Woodie, drinking salsa. SALSA, people. From Muchas Gracias. What kind of cat does that?! A spicy one, I guess.

Daily Food 11/16/10
Breakfast: banana, Kashi GoLean, NF Greek Yogurt
Lunch: vegetable soup
Snack: Ruby Jewel mini-sandwich, fruit
Dinner: vegan, GF mac n cheese, sauteed spinach/tomatoes; popcorn

Royal Bummer

2010-11-16T17:54:00.000-08:00

See, here he looks kinda fun. Can't we keep him like this?

I found out today that I only love Prince William, who I have loved my entire life, when his mouth is shut. Christ on a crutch, I have had enough already of the engagement announcement, and I've only had the news on for about 12 minutes. Did anyone think they were not going to get married? Did anyone think he would not give her Diana's ring? Please. A lovely couple, certainly, more regal-ready she could not be, but dear God he is boring me to tears as he speaks. I think I nodded off in the middle of an attempted joke about her cooking only being mediocre.

As Americans have no idea what truly following Royalty (actual Royalty, I mean... not celebrities), the clips on the news of the reactions of British about the engagement are ten times as funny. They seem like an SNL skit to me. Royal engagement of the century, how 'bout that?

Gay Skate!

2010-11-16T06:41:00.000-08:00

Last night, we rallied for the monthly Gay Skate night at Oaks Park, which benefits both Esther's Pantry (food bank for low-income people living with HIV/AIDS) and the Just Out scholarship fund. It's a helluva good time, recommend to anyone of any skill level. Skating is harder than it looks, though, be warned if you are like me and have only done it once in about 20 years. It's a workout, for sure. Muscles I'm not sure I knew existed are sore this morning. All worth it! Estelle B's bestie is here in town visiting from NY, and I hope that was a good taste of some old-timey Portland fun. Oaks Park is one of the ten oldest amusement parks in the country, and the rink itself the largest in the Pacific NW.

Daily Food 11/15/10
Breakfast: GF toast, pear
Lunch: Veg Pho and a crispy roll at Mekong Grill, love it
Dinner: 2 Quorn naked cutlets, peas, rice
Snacks: popcorn, NF frozen yogurt

Bay Area Blowout Pics

2010-11-13T23:18:00.000-08:00

Mostly paint, but a handful of sights. Many thanks to our hosts.

Back In One Piece

2010-11-10T08:13:00.000-08:00

Neat-o, creepy row of Barbies and other various dolls at the Can't Fail Cafe in Oakland

Bay Area Blow-Out was a success! Will post full photo set soon (90% graffiti pics... I think I maybe took one photo of a person, whoops). It was five days of hanging out, no set plans, just roamin' and eating our way across the Bay. There were a few bars involved (in the Castro), lots of cable TV-watching (yes!), and big laughs all around. A huge thank you to our hosts for letting us invade and subsequently trash their loft for the weekend.

Daily Food 11/9/10
Breakfast: GF toast, Laughing Cow lite Swiss, apple
Lunch: vegan enchiladas, NF Greek Yogurt, salad
Dinner: roasted Brussels sprouts, Quorn cutlet, sliced tomato
Misc: diet Coke, chocolate-covered raisins

Oak-tizzle, Day 1

2010-11-05T09:14:00.000-07:00

YESSS! Got into the Bay Area without a hitch, and stone-cold sober, too! I didn't get scared on the plane, not one time. I had several trash magazines to read and good company, plus we had a ride to and from the airport, how fancy is that?

Upon arrival, had a Mediterranean lunch in Berkeley, where the waitress sassed our friend for wanting more foil to wrap his leftovers in. She said, "I feel like I've already given you more than enough." HAHAHA, I just about died laughing. "I feel!" Who says that in a service/customer environment? Oh, we had ourselves a good old Berkeley laugh over that one.

We stayed in last night, reserving our strength for tonight's dance party... Headed out shortly to explore the 'hood.

Daily Food 11/4/2010
Breakfast: eggs, peppers, potatoes, toast
Lunch: veggie Middle Eastern plate, pinot g
Dinner: "Herbivore" pizza slice, salad, pinot g

Up In The Air

2010-11-04T06:57:00.000-07:00

Getting on a plane today for a hop-skip down to the Bay Area to celebrate my bestie's birthday. Watch out, Southwest Airlines, I will be drunk. (Terrified of flying.)

Daily Food 11/3/10
Breakfast: heirloom apple, lite swiss
Lunch: mushroom risotto cake, asst. veggie slices, olives
Dinner: another risotto cake (so good!), broccoli, baguette
Misc: glass o' pinot g, diet Coke

Don't Forget!

2010-11-02T07:13:00.000-07:00

...to vote today if you have not already! Oregonians, it's too late to mail your ballot, so drop off at a designated site. The rest of ya'll... have fun pulling those little levers in the booth.

Thank God the political commercials will be over after today. It's gotten to be too much. No longer even entertaining, just sad.

Daily Food 11/1/10
Breakfast: NF Greek yogurt, applesauce
Lunch: baked potato, steamed veggies, brownie bite
Dinner: mushroom/pepper/red onion saute over rice
Snack: dark chocolate raisins, peanuts, diet Coke

Halloweekend Recap

2010-11-01T06:54:00.000-07:00

What fun! Saturday afternoon was Yelpoween, an Elite Event at Foster Burger. It was packed and sweltering back on their new covered patio, but it was awesome to see everyone in costume. There's a flickr roll of photos found here. My favorites included BP Cleanup Guy, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and the Cocktail. I held down the fort with my axe and giant beard. It was as little creepy how much I liked wearing the beard. Never felt more comfortable.

After the party, I caught a viewing of Psycho at the fabulous Living Room Theaters (the best!) downtown. So simple, so creepy, that movie just never gets old. Sunday, one of my favorite things to do in Portland, ever... the Tour of Untimely Departures at the Lone Fir Cemetery, after a stellar happy hour with good pals at the Bonfire. As always, cemetery tour was awesome, the actors portraying some of the 25,000 residents buried there always en pointe and always entertaining. The weather could not have been better, and made the hour-plus wait to get in go by like a breeze. That and the giant box donuts we had.

Daily Food 10/31/10
Breakfast: Trio bar
Lunch: cheese pizza slice @ New Seasons, harvest festival samples
Dinner: HH @ Bonfire - tofu tacos, hummus, cider, hot toddy
Misc: holy donut overload, I don't even want to talk about it.

She's On The Ball

2010-10-29T07:37:00.000-07:00

My brother Ben and his wife, Charise, unexpectedly dropped into P-Town last night and we had quite a fancy evening! The Nines, Urban Farmer, Andina, Director Park, Pioneer Square, back to the Nines (special VIP lounge on the 12th floor, y'all), Departure. Whew! I was excited to show them Director Park, as a way of re-visiting the very first spot, ever, that I set foot in Portland when I moved here. Brother Ben and I drove out together in 2002, rolled into town, and went straight to the Paramount Hotel, which overlooks this new-ish plaza. C was loving it. "I'm on the ball!" she shouted as we walked through downtown in the rain. This may or may not have had something to do with the five Sacsayhuamans (best drink ever) she had. SACSAYHUAMÁN!

Daily Food 10/28/10
Breakfast: scrambled eggs, a roasted red potato
Lunch: quinoa/apple salad with avocado
Dinner: Holy smokes, the most amazing Peruvian meal ever at Andina: Yuca fritter, Hongos Saltados (mushroom/vegetable stew), shared crab salad, bread/dipping sauces, and I even tried... an oyster! Bivalves be not afraid, it probably won't happen again.
Misc: Pinot Blanc, shared pot de creme

Zombie Baby

2010-10-28T07:04:00.000-07:00

Let me be very clear about this: I hate Zombie Baby. I told Estelle B that I wouldn't go into her house while ZB was in there, that was about a month ago, and I still haven't set foot inside of her house out of sheer fear that he will come flying at me. BUT... he was the perfect addition to the enormous, 130-lb pumpkin that our friends carved recently. They invited us over for a lovely evening of cider, carving, spooky music, even day-glo orange Halloween Oreos. A good time had by all, including the awful plastic child.

Gearing up for Halloweekend (I made that word up, thankyouverymuch)! It's officially fall, my favorite season, the weather is perfectly crisp and chilly, bring on the hot toddies. I'll be dressing up this weekend for the first time in many, many years. A totally silly idea struck me on Monday and I've decided to go for it.

Daily Food 10/27/10
Breakfast: GF toast, banana
Lunch: curried vegetables, basmati; tomato slices, avocado
Dinner: Caesar salad, pizza at Gladstone; white wine

Back, No Fanfare.

2010-10-27T06:33:00.000-07:00

These are a couple of pics from a walking tour that I attempted a few weeks ago that was a total disaster. I ended up splintering off and walking away not long into it. The meet-up was called "Hidden Portland: Chinatown/Old Town", but it was ill-planned and moving a group that size (we started from Union Station) more than a block at a time was taking a maddeningly long time, and we were really stopping to look at anything I hadn't seen a hundred times before. The woman who 'led' the tour is actually a self-proclaimed museum expert, and the event was a promotion for her new book. Oh, well. It was a nice enough day for a walk, anyway.

Daily Food 10/26/10
Breakfast: GF toast, lite OJ, banana
Lunch: Tastybite Spinach/Dhal lunch, tomato
Snacks: NF peach yogurt, nuts
Dinner: veg soup, soy chips
Misc: 2 Halloween Oreos, apple cider, and candies at pumpkin carving party!

Food Fight?

2010-10-11T06:59:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to get it together to post the Daily AB daily... these days. I don't particularly have an awesome excuse other than just busy and thinking about scrapping the food diary anyway since I have decided all four of my current doctors are total quacks, clearly the various diets/allergy stuff is having no effect, and well... frankly it is not that interesting. The most glaring reason I have decided they are all crazy or not paying attention is staring right back at me in the mirror. It is insane to gain weight on a restricted-calorie diet, while exercising every day. Simple science, people: burn more than you take in, right? You'd think a person would at least maintain the same weight if not lose some. But no. So the gluten-free, low-glycemic, mostly-vegan, blah blah blah... all seems kinda pointless right now.

However, when I don't post for a few days, I usually get 4-5 emails (including from strangers) asking what I've been eating, which never ceases to fascinate me. Hmmm.

Daily Food 10/10/10
Breakfast: mixed veg omelet, potatoes, tiny scone w/ honey
Dinner: Soy Curls, roasted potato, sliced tomatoes
Snack: NF coffee frozen yogurt, diet Coke

Once In Awhile They Feed Us.

2010-10-05T07:10:00.000-07:00

Y'all remember the John and Caprial cooking show? Perhaps their Sellwood restaurant (now closed)? I miss that show, it used to be a highlight of my weekend. John would try to tell stories about how much he loved Caprial, and she would totally shut him down, it was hysterical. She was not very nice to him on the show, but it was in a subtle way that one really had to be aware of to catch her best digs. Anyway, long story short, they catered my lunch yesterday for a meeting at work. It was delicious. John commented that he liked the dress I was wearing yesterday ($4, oh hello), and then Caprial shot him a nasty look.

Mixed greens and radicchio salad with heirloom tomatoes, vinaigrette; fancy vegetable stew (Brussels sprouts, carrots, mushroom, potato, turnip), biscuits, a very tahini-heavy hummus, and some desserts that I passed up on but they looked divine.

Daily Food 10/4/10
Breakfast: GF bagel, banana
Lunch: see above
Dinner: corn/black bean chili with cheese, avocado; gingersnap

FaceSpace

2010-10-01T07:26:00.000-07:00

Caught the screening of "The Social Network" last night (thanks, Yelp), after getting heckled out front by the usual screen rats. Then, once inside, I was talking shit about one of the hecklers before it was pointed out to me that he was sitting right behind me. Nice.

Movie was good! Topic, Facebook. Featuring: Justin Timberlake. Music by Trent Reznor, written by Aaron Sorkin - it's like this movie was ripped from the pages of my diary. Happy Friday.

Daily Food 9/30/10
Breakfast: huevos rancheros, oh hello!
Lunch: GF poppy bagel, cream cheese
Snacks: popcorn, green apple, mixed berries

Dear Weather: Please feel free to turn to Fall at any time, thanks.

2010-09-30T06:39:00.000-07:00

I am so ready for fall. Quick walk around the neighborhood this morning while it was still pitch black reminded me how much I love it, when the air gets crisp and the leaves are threatening to change color and drop. Fall is my favorite season, hands down. My mother's trip to Oregon went well, we actually didn't do much in Portland but covered some ground going East to the Gorge and then West to Astoria and a bunch of parks/viewpoints North of there in Washington. The Gorge trip on Sunday was awesome - it was rainy, misty, foggy, and gorgeous. While the view from Vista House wasn't so great due to the fog, the rolling clouds made for a beautiful sight from Chanticleer Point. And Multnomah Falls? Amazing as always.

Daily Food 9/29/10
Breakfast: GF bagel, cream cheese
Lunch: tomato soup, popcorn, apple
Snack: honeydew melon, diet Coke
Dinner: rice pasta, spicy sauce, tomato; cherry frozen yogurt

Ma Goes to Chinatown

2010-09-26T07:58:00.000-07:00

Mumswell arrived in Portland yesterday without a hitch! After I picked her up, she suggested we go to the Japanese Gardens, so I started heading that way, and about 12 minutes into battling for a parking space in Old Town, I realized I was mixed up and thought she meant the Chinese Gardens! Whoops! We grabbed a quick beverage at Backspace ("Ooh, how very Portland," she said), and then walking back toward the garden I realized we were a little short on time and tried to back out of the garden visit altogether, but we were lured in by the volunteers out front advertising yesterday's free admission. What luck!

It was gorgeous and the weather could not have been nicer.

Daily Food 9/25/10
Breakfast: Clif bar
Lunch: tomato/basil soup, tuna with capers, onions
Dinner: shared polenta cakes, taco platter (Soyrizo, beans, rice, tortillas) at Bar Carlo
Misc: Cava!

RIP Lutz Tavern

2010-09-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

Repost of my Yelp review for this spot, closing its doors forever next week.

I think enough years have passed that I am finally allowed to talk about a juicy little event I once participated in that was reckless, exciting, dangerous, ridiculous, and majorly mother-lovin' fun.

I was a PDX Assassin. The year was 2005.

It was a city-wide game that entailed "killing" people with water guns, after long, drawn-out stalking episodes, jeopardizing people's jobs and personal affairs, and extensive internet tomfoolery.

That year was team play, and my partner and I needed a place to go plan our attacks in secrecy. Why the clandestine nature of these meetings? Well, neither of our homes was safe from spies, and we had both lied to our boyfriends. "Lie" might be a strong word. We just didn't tell them we were participating in this insane game and instead claimed we had formed a book club, something they wanted no part of, so that we could plot in peace.

The Lutz Tavern was the official site of Team Book Club meetings. It was perfect. It was dark, weird, dirty, and had really cheap beer. No one bothered us. They had one of those old-timey powdered Luron soap dispensers in the bathroom. No one questioned why were were laying photos of our targets on the bar and clipping letters out of the newspaper to glue together ransom notes. They had baskets of peanuts in the shell and a kick-ass jukebox.

Our time in the game was pretty short lived. We got killed in the rain on SE 21st Ave, just off of Hawthorne. But I continued to hang out at the Lutz, all by my lonesome, on the weekends for years, spending hours on end trying to master Sopranos pinball, including two Easters there. Just me, beer in a can, popcorn, and pinball. When I got too tipsy, I switched to Dr. Pepper and all was right with the world.

After 56 years, The Lutz closes its doors forever next week. I've been a handful of times in the last few months, and while there are new (since the assassin days) faces behind the bar, it's never really changed. Last night, I got in a few rounds of pinball, a 22 oz of dark cider, and chatted some pals, "in memoriam"-style.

So long and farewell, Lutz. RIP, along with my assassin career.

Interspecies Loving

2010-09-22T07:24:00.000-07:00

That's Woody on the left, Clavey on the right. Gorgeous!

Photo of these beautiful beasts courtesy of McG.

Daily Food 9/21/10
Breakfast: eggs on teff 'tortilla', salsa
Snack: almonds/cashew, banana
Lunch: tuna on rice crackers, string cheese
Dinner: spinach/mushroom/tomato salad with parmesan
Misc: pinot g

Window Art in the Jeezy

2010-09-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

Meathead, Pizza Face.

Last Friday, I cruised around St Johns peeking in all of the storefront windows, as they have so much public art displayed right now for the St Johns Window Project. Saw some awesome stuff, and stopped into a new gallery, North End, that was awesome. In addition to wicked rad, local art, they are also an event space, and will be hosting something called the FU Bash on Oct 16. Details later. The "FU" stands for "Factory Underground", which is what they are calling the basement of the gallery.

The top photo above is from a storefront on Lombard, a display created by Paul Schaap. The creature in the middle is "Woody", who the artist claims is "strange and estranged but not a stranger to the low haunts and dive bars of St Johns".

Belmont Street Fair

2010-09-13T07:53:00.000-07:00

Street Fair MMX season comes nearly to a close (there is one more Sunday Parkways in NW coming up), on a gorgeous day (hot!). Great music, plus only in Portland can you see an intersection completely covered in grass. Seeking a seat and some refuge from the heat for a minute, we ducked into Aalto Lounge... I completely forgot about that place! It's nice. Great bartender. They normally don't open until 5, but welcomed us in with open arms much earlier in the afternoon than that. Nice Sunday.

Daily Food 9/12/10
Brunch: spicy tofu hash, mimosas at NightLight
Dinner: BBQ tempeh and Asian slaw, mixed greens side salad, Kentucky Lemonade at C Bar
Misc: bourbon/soda at the Aalto

Sweet Scores at the Library

2010-09-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

In addition to these fine titles, I also scored several DVDs. The library has a faaaaancy new check out system, as if the existing bar-code scanning one was not enough, by the way. You can put a whole stack of items on the tray and it just knows what they all are... no scanning. You can also pay any fines with a debit card, right on the console. I was in for $0.50, not sure how that happened!

Daily Food 9/8/10
Breakfast: banana, apple
Lunch: big mess of beans, rice, salsa, tofu, guac, cheese
Dinner: brown rice pasta, vegan 'cheese' sauce, brussels sprouts
Misc: diet Coke

Tiny Tuesday: So Long, Portland Beavers.

2010-09-07T14:53:00.000-07:00

Tiny gets up close and personal with a Beaver's shot glass, she's sad about the Portland Beavers leaving town. BUT, they wrapped it up on a high note! They won their final game in PGE Park last night, against Las Vegas, with a home run in front of a sold out crowd. Nice article with video found here.

My First Sign Unveiling: Hung Far Low

2010-09-07T14:46:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, headed down to Old Town for the long-awaited unveiling of the "new" Hung Far Low sign, which was taken down a couple of years ago when inspectors discovered it was rotted and could fall off the building at any time, likely right onto the outside tables at Ping. Since then, there's been a campaign created to raise funds to bring back the sign, that gained some media attention and by golly, they finally did it.

My first sign unveiling was pretty damn uneventful, I must admit. I imagined that it would be covered in cloth, and then pulled off all at once, right? Nope. It was covered in paper and duct tape. Some dude in an Argyle sweater vest (they never announced who he was... found out later it was Kurt Huffman, co-owner of Ping) crawled into a cherry picker that rose a couple of stories to the top of the sign about as quickly as a slug could cover a city block. When he finally got to the top, like 17 minutes later, we all cheered and hollered, "Rip it off! Rip it off!", expecting him to be like a kid on Christmas morning tearing apart wrapping paper on the biggest gift under the tree. Not so much. Piece by piece, little by little, he tore off chunks which slowly drifted down onto the crowd below.

The best part was the group of kiddos who put on some dragon dancing. While not exactly thrilling, my first sign unveiling was pretty cool... a Portland icon in the heart of the neighborhood is back in full effect again, updated and not likely to detach itself from the building and kill anyone. Good times.

Tiny Tuesday: Fannypack Edition

2010-08-31T07:25:00.000-07:00

No, no, that's not Tiny. That sweet beast lives with everyone's favorite bartender, who happens to be celebrating her birthday today! It's the world's tiniest fannypack, and I wish I had one for Tiny. I would put all sorts of tiny things in it and she could run around like a maniac delivery cat.

Speaking of fannypacks, who remembers this song? Haha. It's not the cameltoe song, I promise.

Daily Food 8/30/10
Breakfast: hardboiled egg, fruit bar
Lunch: shared caesar/caprese, rice pasta w peas and vodka sauce, diet Coke, bite of almond cheesecake
Dinner: spinach/mushroom/onion/pepper sautee, brown rice tortilla, fontina, avocado slices

Sweet Scores at the Library

2010-08-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

While I know I could obtain any imaginable music from the Interwebs at any time, I never do. People tell me all the time, "Oh you gotta download such and such..." (mostly because they feel bad for me knowing I've been listening to the same ten songs since 1999), and I say, "Sure, yeah, I'll do that..." but, no. Instead, I prefer to pop into the Library a few times a week and see what sweet scores I can get out of the music bins. It's way more fun that way. I'm super high-tech in some ways, but in most I'm kinda analog. For example, I have some super fancy tiny ipod thingy (monogrammed!) with a video camera and all that, but I only use it to listen to the radio.

So, new segment on Daily AB: Sweet Scores at the Library. Last time, I scored:

Paul Simon - Rhythm of the Saints
The Clipse - Till the Casket Drops (are you kidding me, Sellwood library?! Yes!)
Justin Timberlake - Justified (Cry Me A River, oh hello, turns out that's the only good song on there)

Daily Food 8/25/10
Breakfast: brown rice and tofu, banana
Lunch: green beans Provencal, slice of cheese, hard-boiled egg
Snacks: fruit/nut bar, apple
Dinner: polenta with fontina, sauteed spinach
Misc: diet Coke, iced tea

Flashback: August 25, 2001

2010-08-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

I remember Aug 25, 2001, really vividly for some reason. It was about a million degrees outside, most of the state (Colorado) was on fire, my brother's cat (Howard) was having kittens, and two good friends of ours were missing. I remember having to use a broom to sweep ashes off of my car to get to work. It was a weird time, for sure. Any of the Denver homies should remember that awful week. Then news broke that Aaliyah died, in the Bahamas, filming the video for "Rock The Boat", which I don't really like to watch because it kind of creeps me out. I still love her songs, all this time later. She was only 22, one of few pop sopranos, and One in a Million. RIP.

Click here for Are You That Somebody video.

Tiny Tuesday: On the Lookout

2010-08-24T06:57:00.000-07:00

New favorite place to hang out, laundry basket.

Daily Food 8/23/10

Breakfast: banana, NF Greek yogurt, agave

Lunch: spinach/cabbage/tomato/carrot salad w/ kidney beans

Snack: fruit/nut bar

Dinner: very naughty non-meal of shared tots, chips/salsa, sauvignon blanc, and half of a sweet tea cocktail

Sallie Ford at Doug Fir

2010-08-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

It was very, very quick (they had to get off of the patio for a wedding that was about to begin), but awesome free set by Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside yesterday. I love those people! They just get better and better.

Check them out here: Official Website

Daily Food 8/22/10
Breakfast: braised collards over polenta, 2 eggs, Bloody Mary
Lunch: snacks at the bday party - rice paste/peanut sauce, salad, potatoes, strawberries/blueberries/grapes, misc pinot g

Weekend Recap

2010-08-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

Near my apartment.

I declared last week that I was grounded. I am out of control. What happened was that I paid my hospital bill in full, out of my checking account, recently, and yet continued to spend money as if that check didn't translate into an actual deduction in funds. Turns out, you get these crazy letters from the bank referencing things like "overdrafts" and "negative balances". So, I put the kibosh on doing anything outside of the apartment, which lasted about 36 hours. Life's too short, party people. There were rooftop parties to attend and groceries to buy. It'll all work out when I unveil that final winning letter on my favorite Oregon Lottery Crossword scratch-it.

In somewhat chronological order: amazing happy hour at Aura (yeah, I was surprised, too), Portland Beavers baseball game, Kingston, Plan B, metal concert, Alberta Street Fair, Mash Tun, Radio Room (which has been dead to me for two years previously), weird bonfire party at weird commune/compound, aiding and abetting the stealing of a street sign, a flask of bourbon, chasing down neighborhood cats (none wanted to hang out with me, sadly), brunch at C Bar that was crashed by two insane, wasted dudes who had not yet been to bed and had been drinking at Ship Ahoy since it opened, working out in Kenilworth Park, awesome birthday party, free concert at Doug Fir - my fav, Sallie Ford, Mad Men at Monkey Bar.

And I managed to fit in a rainbow manicure AND the latest episode of Teen Mom. Dear God, I need to stop watching that filth.

Whew!

Daily Food 8/21/10
Breakfast: shared tots at Mash Tun, Bloody Mary
Lunch: veggies/potatoes/eggs, mimosa at Radio Room
Dinner: tofu. Seriously, just plain tofu. Saddest. Dinner. Ever.

Back by Popular Demand: Cardboard Bond

2010-08-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

After a long period of being in the closet, he's back. He missed being out on the town. Pretty sweet nightto reemerge last night, too - Top Down Film Festival (free tickets, thanks, Yelp) on the rooftop of Hotel Deluxe's parking garage. Ah, another night, another rooftop; love you, P-town.

However, as I am guzzling a coffee and taking a mental inventory of my things, wishing we hadn't been purchasing full bottles of wine at the movie, I am slightly mortified to say that I left Cardboard Bond in someone's car last night, and let them drive off. Don't panic, party people, it wasn't with a stranger or anything... I'll get him back today.

Daily Food 8/19/10
Breakfast: GF banana bread, Larabar, pomegranate juice
Lunch: mixed veg salad, roasted potato salad, cheese curds
Dinner: eggs and smoked tofu on polenta, red potatoes, bubbly
Misc: Rascal Pinot G on the rooftop!

Swan Island Dahlia Farm

2010-08-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

Just a bit south of P-town in Canby, Swan Island Dahlia Farm is America's largest dahlia farm, family-owned since 1927. We headed down last Thursday to pick up the blooms (several hundred!) for the St Frankie Lee Wedding of the Century and walked around a bit. It's breathtaking! I took tons and tons of photos, at each new row of bright plants. They have over 350 varieties on 40 acres, some little teeny ones and some as big as dinner plates. August is prime dahlia season. Oh, Oregon, how I love you so.

Daily Food 8/17/10
Breakfast: fruit/nut bar
Lunch: big ole salad, apple, piece of gouda
Snack: Larabar, banana
Dinner: veggie chili and tofu

Tiny Tuesday: Busted!

2010-08-17T06:39:00.000-07:00

I am quite behind on posting, too many awesome things happened this past weekend, including Wedding of the Century, which was amazing. Will post photos and recap soon.

Daily Food 8/16/10
Breakfast: scrambled eggs, low-fat cheddar; fruit/nut bar
Lunch: beans/rice/tofu/spinach plate, corn tortillas
Snack: cantaloupe, honeydew, grapes
Dinner: veg chili, nonfat yogurt, cabbage/carrot/tomato salad
Misc: 2 diet Cokes, bourbon/soda @ Monday Confessional

Let's go to WA!

2010-08-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Countown to St Frankie Lee's wedding of the century, at 5 pm this evening in Ariel, WA. Matt E and I are doing the flowers - well, it's more like 80% Matt E and 20% AB. Got a crash course in fine floral arranging yesterday. We are really happy with it so far, hope the bride and groom love it, too. The above photo is a little sneak peak... the bridal party is already up at the lodge, and I'm hoping there's no internet access so they won't see it. Dahlias in Oregon in August FTW. Leaving Portland shortly to haul booty up there to start Operation Best Flowers Ever phase one before it gets too hot. Gonna be a scorcher today!

Daily Food 8/13/10
Breakfast: Clif bar, watermelon
Snack: shared some NightLight nachos, Strongbow
Dinner: Dot's vegan plate, bedtime bourbon

Tiny Tuesday: The Wave

2010-08-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

Looking regal.

Special guest star this week is The Wave, a totally bad-ass fang face I got to cat-sit for over the weekend. We had a pretty good time, there were catnip bubbles involved. He held me hostage in the apartment on Sunday, blockading the door with his bootylicious body and taking swipes at my ankles when I tried to get out. So I stayed awhile. It was awesome.

Daily Food 8/9/10
Breakfast: nonfat Greek yogurt, fruit/nut bar
Lunch: super sucky salad, grapes
Dinner: borsch with sour cream, polenta, beet greens
Misc: more coffee than should be allowed

Elite Event: Rooftop!

2010-08-09T07:54:00.000-07:00

View from the ground.

View from the top.

This bottle should have had more warnings on it...

Saturday afternoon, attended a most swanky event, boat/yacht/nautical-themed, on the 15th floor rooftop bar of Departure, a place that was formerly dead to me but they did such an amazing job, I'd go again and give them another shot. They were dead to me for treating a party I was with about a year ago like dirt and their extreme snobbery ruined my friend's birthday (we got denied entry, despite having a reservation in place for weeks), but Saturday it was a private party just for the Yelp peeps, so it was a different situation.

The food was amazing. The drinks were amazing. And the view! Sweet Jesus, this city is so beautiful. It was a whirlwind two hours, don't think I had more than a 5-sec conversation with anyone. It was just buzzing about like a little worker bee, all "Oh hello!" and "You look fabulous, dahling..."

Review of the party here. Link to Departure's site here.

Lotsa Laughs, Lotsa Money Raised

2010-08-06T06:55:00.000-07:00

Great time last night at the Laughter is the Best Medicine event at the Curious Comedy Theater, lots of money raised for the Alzheimer's Association. We were treated to a line-up of several comedians, including Ron Funches, who had me in stitches. I said to my boss repeatedly, "Now, that's the kind of guy I want to drink with".

Here's a clip of his set from a while back at Harvey's... A warning that it starts out with a joke about balls, but that topic doesn't last long and is not indicative of the rest of the set.

Daily Food 8/5/10
Breakfast: roasted tiny potatoes, nonfat Greek yogurt, cherries
Lunch: big green salad with corn, black beans, peppers; piece of smoked gouda
Snack: Clif bar, diet Coke
Dinner: BBQ tofu, veggies, potato salad, slaw; Outlaw
Misc: white wine at Comedy club

Door to Nowhere

2010-08-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this door on my walk to Creston Park this morning. There is nothing behind it; just a random door. At least it appears to go nowhere... maybe next time I'll walk through its threshold and find out. It does say, "start"... How very urban Alice in Wonderland.

Daily Food 8/3/10
Breakfast: 2 harboiled eggs, banana, cherries
Lunch: mixed greens, black beans, pico de gallo, queso fresco
Dinner: Jaipur vegetable stew, corn tortilla
Misc: diet Coke, pinot g

Tiny Tuesday: Never Too Late.

2010-08-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

Shoot howdy, I almost forgot to post Tiny Tuesday today. Here's the beast looking aloof and inattentive.

Daily Food 8/2/10
Breakfast: nonfat Greek yogurt, blueberries, banana
Lunch: vegan GF mac n cheese, cuke/tomato/pepper/onion/mint/garbanzo bean salad
Dinner: refried beans, tomatoes, green chili; poached egg; corn tortilla

"Like a friggin' Pilgrim from the 20s"...

2010-08-02T20:21:00.000-07:00

Worlds Collide.

I don't know if I can go down this road again. During Season 1 of Jersey Shore, I think I did permanent damage to my face by spraying Formula 409 in my eyes after every episode in an attempt to cleanse my soul. Season 2 finds the gang not in Jersey but Miami Beach. Florida is a giant toilet, as we all know, and the clubs there seem even more terrifying than in the Garden State. Oh, and I spent a really sickening amount of time on the Baskin Robbins website making up my own beats using the DJ Pauly D game that clearly some exec's 13-year-old daughter came up with and used her doe eyes to convince Daddy or Mommy into making a reality, Veruca Salt-style. That alone should bar me from being allowed to watch any recreational TV whatsoever. I don't actually have TV, so I'm at the mercy of whatever gets posted online, anyway.

About 1000 times better than that awful show, however, are the re-caps by my favorite blogger, check him out here: I'm Bringing Blogging Back Many thanks/curses to him for also introducing me to the show "Teen Mom". Oh, dear God, do yourself a favor and read the recap first, then catch the episodes online at mtv.com and keep an eye on the live stream of viewer comments to the right. You will never complain about your own life ever again, I promise.

Daily Food 8/1/10
Breakfast: red chard, red onion; spicy beans, poached eggs
Lunch: tempeh/tomato/avocado on GF bread, vegan coleslaw, cider
Dinner: spinach/cherry tomato/beet/pecan/blue cheese salad
Misc: Bulleit/soda during Mad Men viewing at Monkey Bar

SNAP!

2010-07-31T22:56:00.000-07:00

To recap some texts from last night:

K: So, this dance party is supposed to be awesome?
Me: Yah, good DJs. The outfit I'm wearing should be illegal.

Two hours later:
K: Is it good times?
Me: It is one hot, f*cking mess. Get down here.

Another two hours later:
Me: I lost at least 3 lbs of sweat.
K: Who needs hydration when you have dancing?

Snap! 3rd Anniversary party was a helluva a good time. I missed the no-cover hour by about 30 sec, but dear GOD, that three dollars was worth it. Dirty, sweltering, filthy dance party, packed to the gills, tons of super hot folk everywhere, ridiculous drink specials, ridiculous play lists. SNAP! has always been a fun party (all 90s, all the time) but it was really kicked up a notch last night for the big anniversary bash. I walked out of that place (with my Fly Girl jacket that I miraculously remembered to get from the coat rack) completely soaked, head to toe.

I warned people that if they played Arrested Development I would pee my pants. They played Arrested Development.

The main reason I went was in hopes of running into a couple of Moons... success.

Last Thursday

2010-07-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday on Alberta last night was totally bananas! It was way more crowded than usual and kinda sticky-muggy out but a great time as always. Great music, sounds, sights, smells, lots of laughs. Giant smile on my face the whole time.

Before heading over, relaxed in the sun in a friend's back yard with some snacks and cocktails, which was lovely. A highlight included finding out a certain someone (who shall remain nameless, because for some reason he didn't want any photos posted or for this secret talent to be shared) is a secret hula-hooper!

Daily Food 7/29/10
Breakfast: tangerine, mixed nuts, apricot bar
Lunch: tofu/veggies/rice, chili sauce at Mekong
Dinner: gouda, rice crackers, cherries, dip
Misc: 2 bourbon/ginger ales

No Sleep MMX Continues.

2010-07-29T04:19:00.000-07:00

Up at 3:30 am, yet again. This is madness.

Last night at Slow Bar was lovely! Possibly best UYE ever, probably because none of the Romper Room was there. Our service was amazing, that guy really took care of our large group, all with separate tabs, as only an expert can. Very smooth. All sorts of faces showed up that I hadn't expected to see, last-minute additions. Capped it off with a trip up the way to Hungry Tiger Too, home by 10, not too shabby.

This no sleeping thing is going to get me soon, though, I just know it. There is no way I can keep working out so hard every day and not sleep, brain/body is gonna get on the same track somehow.

Daily Food 7/28/10
Breakfast: banana, orange
Lunch: romaine/corn/peas/pepperjack/carrots salad; boiled egg
Dinner: Boca/GF bread, sauteed onion/jalepeno, sweet potato fries
Misc: 2 Northern Lemonades, bubbly, couple bites of fancy cheese

Sallie Ford at Sellwood Waterfront Park

2010-07-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

Lucky me! Caught a free concert at Sellwood Waterfront Park last night, and it was none other than Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside. Big crowd, but it never felt packed, that's a huge park, so plenty of room for everyone. The dog- and people-watching was top notch. I scored a spot on McG's blanket and she fed me delicious cheeses. Really fun, so glad they put stuff on like that all the time. Every day of the week, in fact. You can find the full concert schedule here.

Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside website
Previous Sallie Ford post from Daily AB here

And how's this for weird? I was recently looking at photos from a trip to Denver about a year ago and noticed the name on the marquis... This was a couple of weeks before I'd heard of young Sallie Ford and her amazing voice for the first time, here in P-Town at Holocene.

Tiny Tuesday: Pop Bottles All Night

2010-07-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

...baby you can have whatever you liiiiike, YEAH!

Daily Food 2/26/10

Breakfast: Kind apricot bar, nectarine, strawberries

Lunch: quinoa/peas/celery salad; 2 hard-boiled eggs

Dinner: grilled peppers, squash, eggplant, achiote tofu (New Season's deli), cheeses and fruit at the park, thanks McG!

Misc: bedtime bourbon/soda

Parks and Rec

2010-07-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

To the left, to the left...

View from the top, looking West.

After spying on and heavily criticizing a wedding being set up in the park ("Ugh, shrimp in this heat, are you kidding me?", "Terrible fabric on those dresses, just awful."), got serious and started making our way up Mt Tabor, at the crest of which is this fine statue of Harvey W. Scott, editor of the Oregonian for about 50 years. The artist, Gutzon Borglum is the very one who made Mt Rushmore.

Such a fine and amazing park, it's really a major anchor of SE Portland. Love it. More info here.

Daily Food 7/25/10
Breakfast: potato/tomato/garlic/pepper saute; egg, mimosa
Lunch: hummus/tomato/olive/cucumber plate at Nightlight
Dinner: cup of borscht
Misc: 3 diet ginger ales, diet Coke, Strongbow

Text Message Hall of Fame

2010-07-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

In another thrilling edition of Text Message Hall of Fame, please enjoy the following:

Me: Is it wrong to sing "Like A Rolling Stone" at the top of my lungs to a cat?
K: If it is, then I don't ever want to be right.

Weekend Recap

2010-07-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

Holy hell, so many things happened this weekend I hardly know where to begin. But I'll keep it short with a couple of vague lists, in no particular order:

Things that happened:

Porch drinking, fire dancing strippers, crafty PDX fair
Hiking Mt Tabor, weight lifting, park walkin'
Mad Men, Manhattans, movies
Hall and Oates' entire greatest hits catalog at 3 am
Clinton/Division Street Fair, pinball, spying on a wedding being set up

Things that I lost:
An earring back, the 'skip' button on my car stereo, a small piece of my dignity

Things that I ate:
Vegan platter, bibimbap, borscht

Places I went:
Good Food Here food cart pod, Night Light, Dot's, Portland Nursery, Devil's Point, Apex, Clinton St Pub, Bearly Worn, Gladstone Coffee and Pizza, Mt Tabor, Kenilworth Park, Heart, and a particularly stellar appearance at the Ship Ahoy (see "things that I lost").

Things that I gained:
Renewed respect for Depeche Mode, Edgar's phone number, negative bank balance

All in all, another fabulous weekend in this gosh darn fine city. The Weekend Culture never ends. It's like I drift from one beautiful park to a crazy street festival to a new bar showing "Mad Men" to food carts to strip clubs to coffee roasters to dormant volcanoes, on an endless loop of possibilities every day. Love it.

Daily Food 7/24/20
Breakfast: potatoes, onions, tomato, poached egg, nectarine
Snack: Kind apricot bar
Dinner: brown rice, black beans, tofu, chips/salsa, jack cheese
Misc: fancy cider at Apex; bourbon to accompany fire stripping (obvs)

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead.

2010-07-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

Kenilworth Park, looking glorious in the early morning.

For the fifth day in a row, woke up around 4 am (hours before the alarm is set to go off), ready to rock. Which is surprising to me as I usually go to bed pretty sedated. Guess I don't need sleep any more. And instead of watching reality shows on Hulu for three hours before heading to work, I've actually been hittin' the park to walk/hike/run stairs. I'm lucky to be right smack-dab in the middle of several fine parks with great trails. Yesterday, I hit Kenilworth in the morning, then again after work before heading over to Powell Park on my way to Clinton St Pub where I reunited myself with Medieval Madness.

The five to six am hour at the gym is pretty entertaining, too. For weeks, I've been finding myself wondering, "Oooh, what tshirt is Mustache Man gonna have on today?" as I pull into the parking lot. Mustache Man has a bunch of super sick old punk rock tshirts and huge glasses that cover half of his face. I think I could love him.

Tiny Small Cat is none to pleased with the 4 am wake up call. But seeing as how she sticks her claws in my face, bites me, sits on my head, and yells in my ear while I'm trying to sleep, I figure now we're even. I had to literally drag her fat ass out of bed this morning to hang out with me.

Daily Food 7/22/10
Breakfast: banana, an entire head of celery with vegan dressing/dip
Lunch: roasted potato, zucchini, corn, spicy tofu sauce, an egg
Dinner: forgot to eat dinner, far too busy canvassing SE Clinton/Division on foot in search of pinball
Misc: iced Americano, an Evan Williams single-barrel

The Proposal.

2010-07-22T06:20:00.000-07:00

Many congratulations for my counterpart at work, Angela W and her BF, Noel... they are engaged! He proposed to her on Tuesday night, total surprise-style, unexpected. She was still shaking all day yesterday. Hell, even I was shaking and I'm not even involved.

Congrats!

Daily Food 7/21/10
Breakfast: nonfat Greek yogurt, cherries, banana
Lunch: curried tofu salad, kale/carrots salad, potato
Snack: GF quinoa cookie from Cravin Raven
Dinner: stewed black eyed peas over brown rice, spicy garlic broccoli

Just Rollerskating on a Monday Night, NBD.

2010-07-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

Holy hell, as if I didn't already have more than enough respect and love for the Roller Derby gals, I strapped on some wheels and hit the rink myself last night, for the first time since I was a child (Skate City, Aurora CO, represent!), and lemme tell ya: that shit's harder than it looks! While I was pretty darn pleased with my leopard-print leg warmers, they did nothing for me by way of grace or poise. I had to take about 30 go-arounds in the practice lane area before even attempting to bust out onto the main track. Quite a workout! I got fairly comfortable fairly quickly but nowhere near attempting anything else on skates but simply moving forward. Oh, or stopping. I didn't quite get that far, so I'd just launch myself at full speed into the carpeted rail every time.

Third Monday of every month, Just Out hosts this super fun skate-party at Oaks Park (complete with all the best club-bangin' hits and classic pop tunes). $6 entry fee includes skate rental, with proceeds going to the Just Out Scholarship fund. They also ask for a can of food as well, for Esther's Pantry, a group that provides food for low-income persons living with AIDS/HIV.

An all around fun time, I'm glad I finally tried out rollerskating and will definitely go again. Mad props to the derby people (there were plenty of them there last night, from Rose City Rollers and the newly-formed men's league) and all of the really good amateurs. Some truly excellent rollerdancing was happening in the middle of the rink.

Daily Food 7/19/10
Breakfast: cherries, fruit/nut bar
Lunch: nonfat Greek yogurt, banana, apple
Dinner: Masala garbanzo/Soycurl/peas stew over polenta
Misc: diet Ginger Ale

Bridal Shower, Kelso, WA Edition

2010-07-19T07:09:00.000-07:00

Oooh, so sexy... album cover?

Cousin Annie was totally nuts over these pantyhose she bought for Chelsea.

No bridal shower is complete without a punchbowl.

About 30 or so lovely ladies gathered yesterday at an uber fancy house up in the hills in Kelso, WA to celebrate Chelsea's (St Frankie Lee) upcoming nuptials next month. There were no bridal-y games to be had, but she did open presents and we are chatted for a few hours and laughed heartily about every Grandma joke that came up.

Really nice time, the drive wasn't bad at all (that's pretty far north for AB). Everyone is so excited for the wedding, it's going to be way unconventional and way awesome. Matt E and I are doing the flowers.

Daily food 7/18/10
Breakfast: crispy kale, polenta, poached egg
Lunch: fruit, cheese, and punch at the shower
Dinner: tofu, brown rice, carmelized onions

Urban Oasis

2010-07-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

Macleay Park is an awesome area under the Thurman Bridge in NW, with quite a history, including its original owner/settler of the area being hanged for murder! Holy Smokes! Many thanks to Matt E for taking me there recently as I didn't even know it existed. Just moments from the bustle of NW 23rd Ave, it feels like you're much farther away, in the middle of nowhere even, its trails both tranquil and lovely. From the bridge itself there's a great view of Mt St Helen's.

Daily Food 7/17/10
Breakfast: sauteed spinach/sundried tomatoes, polenta, poached egg
Lunch: nothing
Dinner: palaak paneer over brown rice, peas/mushrooms

Karaoke from Hell

2010-07-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

Rolled into Tiger Bar, after an already super fun night (HH on a sweet patio, dinner, AND a movie at the Mt Tabor Theater), for the amazing Karaoke from Hell and I did my usual waffling ("I can't do it, I'm too scared..." blah blah blah). Then I decided I would do it. I channeled my mother, who would have said, "Face your fears and walk through them". I then went around to the three tables of my friends and told everyone I was going to do it and to be nice to me if I tanked. Ready to write "Me and Bobby McGee" on a tiny slip of paper and hand it to the nice lady, I was then informed that Amado had already put my name in! They called me up moments later and the next thing I knew, it was happening. I didn't tank.

It was really fun, but I don't really remember actually singing, it was all too exciting, and I was shaking a bit. Those fools in the band actually hugged me! And gave me a gift certificate! Yes!

Epic night, really. I really have some pro Karaoke friends, everyone sounded awesome. Tiger Bar rules.

Daily Food 7/15/10
Breakfast: Clif bar, banana
Lunch: salad with pears, pecans, strawberries; just the toppings off of a mediterranean pizza slice, diet Coke
Dinner: beans/rice/veggies/tofu bowl
Misc: Strongbow at HH, misc bourbon

Jade Teahouse

2010-07-15T06:53:00.000-07:00

L-R: Vietnamese Wedding Cake, Sesame balls, macaron

God, I love this place. It is so, so good. Everything. After a lovely ladies spa visit down the street, we stopped into Jade, starving, and somehow managed to snag the very last table. There was a line at the counter the entire time we were there, it was hoppin'. Everything was amazing, as usual, beautifully presented, healthy, and delicious. This may be my favorite restaurant in Sellwood; highly recommend.

Click here for website.

Daily Food 7/14/10
Breakfast: lentils, banana (that was a weird combo, not gonna lie)
Lunch: radishes, green salad, quinoa salad with pecans/feta
Dinner: grilled eggplant/tofu, green salad, sweet rice and mango, sesame/bean paste ball
Misc: white wine, diet Coke

Oh, hello.

2010-07-14T06:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks, McG!

Daily Food 7/13/10
Breakfast: apple, slice of Tillamook cheddar
Lunch: mixed veg salad w roasted eggplant and peppers, cherries
Snack: Clif bar, diet Coke
Dinner: lentils, steamed spinach/mushroom/garlic w sherry, poached egg on top

Tiny Tuesday: Fisheye!

2010-07-13T06:52:00.000-07:00

Haha, this one really cracks me up. Endless entertainment with that damn beast.

Daily Food 7/12/10
Breakfast: apple, orange, Clif bar
Lunch: veg tortilla soup with queso fresco
Dinner: mixed veg salad, dirty rice, Greek yogurt

Island In the Sun

2010-07-12T06:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we posted up at Sauvie Island all day long, doing absolutely nothing. Magazines, music, some beach snacks, and that was about it. Other than that, we got some respite from the week and tried to recharge for the week upcoming. I am currently rockin' the sunburn of my life. Slightly concerned about how I'm going to get clothes on and get out the door to work at this point.

While it was quite windy at the beach, it was still sunny the whole time.

Daily Food 7/11/10
Beach Snacks: grapes, strawberries, hummus, multigrain chips, iced tea (which may or may not have had a splash of pino g involved)
Dinner: tofu/quinoa bowl

Text Message Hall of Fame

2010-07-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

Me: It was after you asked me if I was wearing a wig. That's why she called you a 'dickface'.

Mississippi Street Fair

2010-07-11T20:14:00.000-07:00

Bossy Ma, holler.

Missip' was a sea of people as far as my eyes could see yesterday. Sweltering hot, we dipped into the Yelp beer garden a few times to watch giant Jenga and try out some craft brews. I was so crazy overstimulated at the fair yesterday, I hardly looked at any actual booths, did not have more than a 30-second conversation with anyone in the big group we were rollin' in and in retrospect, was severely dehydrated and probably super loopy. My apologies to anyone I had a nonsensical conversation with; hopefully it wasn't longer than 30 sec.

Seeking refuge from the sun, we ducked into Crow Bar (love), snagged the very last table in the back, hit up some pinball and cheap drinks. Accidentally got into a conversation in Spanish with someone at the bar. I do not speak Spanish. I may have told him we were going to kiss, frequently, and with urgency. How did this come up? That's a totally reasonable question. I'm guessing these promises of smooching began with him overhearing me shouting "besos!" at my friend, and I'd had just enough bourbon (one) and ten times the amount of sun anyone needs in a day, to roll with it in broken Spanish. Or perhaps he was just wildly mesmerized by my fancy new hair flower.

Great time, great fair, especially enjoyed the tour of the Q Center, who had a photography contest on display, some really amazing photos.

I Don't Turn Down Free Movies When It's 400 Degrees Outside.

2010-07-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

Saw a good movie last night (thanks, Yelp) at an advance screening of "The Kids Are All Right". I went into it with no expectations at all and was pleasantly surprised. It opens today. Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo, and... Alice in Wonderland herself, Mia Wasikowska. I think she's going to start popping up all over the place soon. She was great in the movie but good gawd I wanted to brush her hair the whole time. The film's about a family whose children seek out their biological father (sperm donor), which in turn ends up changing all sorts of family dynamics and ends up making the two mothers in the film seriously question some things. I saw a few blurbs online insinuating that the film is anti-father, but I didn't get that impression at all. The issues the family deals with really could be any family, anywhere... not necessarily lesbian issues, though that's where the most humor from the movie came from. Recommend.

Click here for the trailer.

Daily Food 7/8/10
Breakfast: Clif bar, cherries
Lunch: quinoa, cherry tomatoes, garbanzo beans, carrots
Dinner: sun-dried tomato risotto, tofu
Misc: white wine and a Strongbow Cider

I Promise I would Tell You.

2010-07-08T06:34:00.000-07:00

A whopping thanks to no one yesterday for not telling me my shirt was see-through. I didn't catch that until about 4 pm, thanks to a glimpse of myself in the window reflection at work. Not that I'm blaming anyone but myself for not knowing that I was giving a peep show all day, but come on! I promise you, friends, if you're ever showing any nips or have food in your teeth, I will tell you.

Daily Food 7/7/10
Breakfast: Clif bar
Lunch: quinoa with cherry tomatoes, red peppers, feta; diet Coke
Dinner: ramen with carrots and Soycurls, Rainier cherries

Tiny Tuesday: Baggage.

2010-07-06T06:44:00.000-07:00

This went on for about a half an hour. She really thought she could fit snugly inside of this purse.

Daily Food 7/5/10
Breakfast: nothing
Lunch: mushroom ramen cup
Dinner: Eggplant Parmesan, spaghetti/marinara, garlic bread, salad
Misc: Pinot G

Weekend Culture

2010-06-28T05:50:00.000-07:00

Just Married! They tied the knot in Peninsula Park.

St Jeezy did it's part this weekend to keep Portland weird with the quite ill-conceived NoFest, which was supposed to be a multiple day, multiple stage, neighborhood-wide music and art event that ended up being more of a patched-together, random smattering of heshers and hippies on street corners, but the more the merrier to me! The only act we wanted to catch was "Mannequin Head", but those poor guys just couldn't get it together. There was a sign in an otherwise empty grass lot stating they were to play at 4 pm. By about 4:15 there was one guy sitting in the grass with some, well... mannequin heads. We tried to talk to him, he didn't know where everyone else was, what time they were going to play, etc. and so forth. Anymannequin, great sunny day in St John's either way, Fixin' To, Leisure Public House, Marie's; bocce, music, art, and laughs.

Sunday Parkways was awesome! I got a wicked sunburn, but that's my own fault for not wearing a hat. We started at Peninsula Park, my fav rose garden in all of Portland, crossing paths with friends along the way and spending some quality time in the amazing weather before hoofing back and wrapping up another fine Sunday on the gorgeous back garden patio at Vendetta.

Tiny Tuesday: Guest Spot

2010-06-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

Finally, after much longing, McG got her little McKitten last weekend!

Daily Food 6/21/10
Breakfast: strawberries, banana, Larabar
Lunch: green salad, sesame bagel/cream cheese, diet Coke
Dinner: spicy collard greens w/ sundried tomatoes, soycurls, bowl of Ranier cherries

Roller Derby Season Ends with a Bang!

2010-06-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

Wildly fun bout last Saturday at the Expo Center, bringing the season to a close, I can't believe it! That went by really quickly. High Rollers took the big title, beating out favorites Heartless Heathers, and leaving Guns N Rollers and the Breakneck Betties in third and fourth, respectively. There are a few more derby events through the summer, but the regular season for the Portland league's all done. Got to see the Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers again, too! They are so badass. I was lucky enough to see them twice this past weekend, as they also marched with the Pride Parade. Drums make the world go 'round, n'est-ce pas?

Parks and Rec

2010-06-15T07:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I've got four more days of 30 parks in 30 days and I'm not doing very well. I kind of blew it. BUT, I still managed to hit up many fine parks in the last month, and Mt Scott is up there in the ranks of the finest. It's huge, for starters, with all kinds of space for people and pets alike. Trails, both paved and unpaved, weave throughout picnic tables and there's a large rec center on site, too, with a pool, roller rink, gym, and class space. It's a bustling center of activity. Peep the strange mural of a kid... can't see in this photo too well, but his right hand looks like a foot and it's rather creepy.

Daily Food 6/14/10
Breakfast: bagel/cream cheese
Snack: cashew/date bar
Lunch: veggie sub, baked Lays, diet Coke
Dinner: crispy kale and sundried tomatoes, tofu, butterscotch puddin'
Misc: glass o' Pinot G

Weekend Culture

2010-06-14T03:28:00.000-07:00

Who are these girls? I'll never tell!

Hide these if Ma comes over.

Yes, that's my special rainbow thumbnail. This spinner bling watch is a present... shhh.

Holy hell, what a weekend! Friday night, kicked it off with Happy Hour at C-Bar with my coworker, then to La Carreta for some mariachi music, gloppy enchiladas, and frou-frou fruity drinks (well, actually... I had Bud Light, everyone else had the fruity ones with umbrellas, whipped cream, and cherries) to celebrate a buddy's graduation. At one point, a bartender broke a glass, I shouted "Mazel Tov!", and that record-scratch thing, like in the movies, happened, and an entire Mexican restaurant stared at me. Afterparty culminated with some hot action at Lucky Devil, which was way nicer on the inside than it has ever looked to me from the outside, when I've blown past it about 800 times on Powell. It's all red and velvety, pretty sexy! I love a good fireplace on a patio.

Speaking of sexy... check out the nutty pillows spotted at the Giant Gay Garage sale at Vendetta yesterday. *Blush! I don't know that I could keep these in my home without getting embarrassed every time I looked at 'em. The Sale was awesome! So much fun, great turnout, including a large Yelp group, about 15 of us. The DJ was really fun and threw out some wicked hits including a Journey mash-up, which we all sang at the top of our lungs. Aside from the $95 porn pillows, the rest of the sale had funny stuff for really cheap, and I think most of us made some sweet scores. I was talked into a sparkling, sequined silver purse because they threw in a matching scarf for a grand total of $3. One gal had to go to her car twice to drop off her bags (including not one, not two, but THREE mannequin heads, btw). Five-dollah booze lemonades were dangerous. Refreshing... but dangerous.

After catching some pro jump-roping in front of Vendetta, headed to Alleyway for dinner and pinball with some more fine folks. I insisted on stopping for Pinot G on the way home, don't know why I thought that was necessary and I didn't have a drop because I immediately fell into to bed. And woke up at 2 am. Oh well!

Nearly forgot about Saturday! Spent the gorgeous evening on Estelle's deck with trashy gossip mags, fruit salad, and possibly the best playlist I've ever heard. From there headed to The Maiden for some late night happy hour snacks including my fav, patatas bravas, tomato toast, and the super spicy roasted jalepeno caesar. Love that place. Another fine weekend under my belt, spent with happy people who like to have a good time. Nary a Negative Nelly to be found.

Tiny Tuesday: Country Cousins!

2010-06-08T06:54:00.000-07:00

Emilie and Arthur got a kitten. His name is Max. I have not yet met him but hope to in the next day or two. Also hoping to convince them to bring him over here so Tiny and this little one can meet before the little one gets too big to toss in the car and do stuff like that. Oh. My. God.

Daily Food 6/7/10
Breakfast: Larabar
Lunch: tempeh/spinach/mushroom taco, black beans
Snack: another Larabar, cashews
Dinner: tomato/kale stew, Solycurls, green grapes

Almost Championship Time...

2010-06-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

Are these or are these not the raddest boots you have ever seen?

Semifinals this past weekend were way exciting, and it's gonna be Heartless Heathers and High Rollers in the Championships June 19 at the Expo Center. Heathers beat Guns N Rollers on Friday night, but Mo Mangles had a helluva jam toward the end, and for a moment, I thought the bout might turn around.

Oh yeah, and Matt E won the raffle! Warped Tour tickets... in Hillsboro! Haha, 1995 called and wants its festival back! I have heard of no more than three of the bands playing this year. He deserved a win, though, with how many of those damn tickets we've bought. Great time at the Hangar, as always, looking forward to the big championship.

Hood River

2010-06-02T06:56:00.000-07:00

Tunnel near Oneonta Falls.

Outside of Full Sail Brewery

Alas, I had no quarters.

Really fun time driving through the Gorge and toolin' around Hood River for a few hours last weekend. The weather was a-ok, though I heard it was pouring in Portland. On the Full Sail Brewery tour, I learned tons, including that Hood River as it looks today did not exist as little as 15 years ago. That revival, of a defunct, mostly-vacant old logging town, is actually pretty recent. Lovely drive, lovely town. And really so close to town... we were out there in about 30 minutes. On the way back, we went over the Bridge of the Gods and stopped into Skamania for a quick glass of pinot g on their back lawn. Good times.

Tiny Tuesday: Laundry Day

2010-06-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

This is why it takes 5 tries to change the sheets, she messes everything up the second I turn my back.

Daily Food 5/31/10
Breakfast: roasted potatoes, red onion, basil, jack, poached egg
Dinner: black eyed peas, Soy Curls, 1/2 avocado, strawberries
Misc: peanuts and special dark Spire cider

OMSI After Dark

2010-05-28T07:22:00.000-07:00

Ooh, we're all infrared!

My first-ever visit to OMSI (eight years too late) was a blast! Once a month or so, they host an adult-only night with beer, wine, food vendors, and special events. We tinkered around like kids on dozens of demonstrations, made some spin art (remember those?), caught a Michael Jackson laser show, and the Hubble Omnimax film. Turns out, laser shows just aren't the same as I remember from high school... pretty dorky, but fun nonetheless. The Hubble film was amazing. I wish I understood half of what they talked about! Would definitely go to one of these again.

Parks and Rec

2010-05-24T07:12:00.000-07:00

Kenton Park is pretty big, 12 acres, and a good one for sporty stuff (they have all of the sports amenities here, including baseball field, basketball courts). It's been there since the 1940s and is a cornerstone of the neighborhood. It's just a block or two from the historic Kenton fire station and a lovely Audubon-certified backyard wildlife lot. Nice spot in a nice neighborhood! This would be a super good one for park drinkin', with bathrooms, and some stores/bars really close-by should that become a necessity.

Daily Food 5/23/10
Breakfast: roasted potatoes, zucchini, garlic, red onion, sun-dried tomatoes, jack cheese, poached egg
Lunch: Papa G's salad bar, 1/2 tempeh reuben, corn chips
Dinner: white bean chili, quesadilla on brown rice tortilla
Misc: shared some Tart frozen yogurt

Weekend Culture

2010-05-23T13:02:00.000-07:00

Sign outside of Kenton Station and one of many rap-video worthy autos at the car show.

I love it when weekend activities span a wide spectrum of things, the more random the better! Saturday morning was the AHA's Heartwalk, which began on the Eastbank Esplanade, up to the Steel Bridge, through Tom McCall Waterfront park, over the Hawthorne Bridge and back to the finish line where we began. We had a pretty big team, including a group of residents from our facility in Forest Grove. Luckily, the rain held back during the walk, and getting to watch the dragon boats in the water below the Hawthorne Bridge was an added bonus.

Next up, Kenton Street Fair! The Weather Gods went crazy at about noon, and the black skies opened up, so we took shelter at Kenton Station for a bit and rubbed elbows with some neighborhood folk. Vendors, food, three music stages, and a whole bunch of fun shops to duck into made for an awesome afternoon. Before long, the rain started coming down in sheets again, so we headed to The World Famous Kenton Club, which was awesome. Bartender was super friendly, drinks were stiff, and the jukebox was awesome. I don't often find Old Crow Medicine Show and Gillian Welch alongside Al Green and Ray Charles. After another go-around up Denver, we caught some sweet martial arts and skateboarding demos before heading out.

If all this fun weren't enough, capped off the night with a super sweet Clash tribute band at Devil's Point, complete with amazing shows, fire dancing included. I was speechless. It was better than Cirque du Soleil, I swear to God.

Parks and Rec

2010-05-20T06:36:00.000-07:00

30 Parks in 30 Days Continues, but I haven't been very good about posting. There are many more...

Tanner Springs Park is not your average park. It's a tribute to what the Pearl District area used to be - wetlands. No grassy knolls here, it's all reeds, water, concrete, and metal, with pathways throughout and public/functional art. The park was planned over several years, starting in the 90s when the Pearl District was being plotted, and was part of several dedicated open spaces amidst what would (and has) become a mix of heavy residential and retail. Love that view of the Fremont bridge.

Daily Food 5/19/10
Breakfast: soy cheese on corn tortillas, habanero salsa
Lunch: squash/red pepper soup, big mixed veg salad
Dinner: sauteed brussels sprouts/sun-dried tomatoes, glazed tofu, risotto topped with some goat cheese I bought at the farmer's market straight from the cheesemaker, who showed me pics of her goats and everything!
Misc: diet Coke, corn chips

Tiny Tuesday: Let's Get Physical

2010-05-18T06:48:00.000-07:00

Seahag Walrus made these leg warmers for us, after inspiration from the IASIP clip, "Kitten Mittons" has us all in stitches. This did not go over too well after we put her on the ground. The legwarmers flew off almost immediately. Need alternate plan for cat Jazzercise outfit.

Daily Food 5/17/10
Breakfast: brown rice tortilla, tomato/mozz/basil salad
Lunch: curried garbanzo/tomato/Soy Curls stew, Tofutti sour cream
Dinner: giant mixed veg/greens salad, avocado, potato salad; sf tapioca pudding cup
Misc: starlight mints, diet Coke

Sibling Rivalry and Roll Out, Roll In!

2010-05-16T22:41:00.000-07:00

Saturday night, the Expo Center was one giant rat trap as the Wheels of Justice beat out Rat City Rollers 124-104 in an epic bout, bumping up to a #5 Western Division Spot, and generally feeling really good about those trash-talking Seattlites going home a bit humbler and a lot more bruised. There were no seats whatsoever, so we stood, but as soon as that bout got going, we didn't mind one bit, it was fine.

Barely twelve hours later, we were back in front of the fabulous team again, as they served up a mighty fine brunch at Kay's in Sellwood. It was a fundraiser, and a helluva deal! $12 for an awesome brunch, mimosa, and raffle tickets. Sadly, I did not win the super sweet PBR beach cruiser, but one of our friends scored a lovely signed photo of Cadillac, who also happened to be our server. She picked up my name pretty early on, and I swear each time she said it, I was a little starstruck. I wanted to tell her my derby name, Annibal Lecter, but I chickened out. Hats off to the staff at Kay's for keeping up with the suggested pajama theme, curlers and all.

Alberta ArtHop

2010-05-16T22:09:00.000-07:00

Robot Mustache Man

This was a fun one to watch throughout the day.

This was part of a super strange collective that was very Eyes Wide Shut.

Haha.

Bought this super sweet shirt for my brother (and another awesome one) from a couple of really nice guys who just started selling their stuff at the print shop on Alberta.

Bottle Cap Truck.

Weather was incredible, streets were hoppin', and there was so much going on I couldn't focus on one thing for more than two seconds. Upon arrival, the first person I saw was Sam Adams, helping paint one of the four new murals being created yesterday. I realize everyone loves talking about what a crappy job the mayor is doing, but I gotta be honest - that's such a weak cop out. I wouldn't want that guy's job, no way, no how. Despite whatever is going on at City Hall, the guy should get a weekend, too. I thought it was rad he spent a Saturday being a regular dude with regular people.

Music, incredible art, awesome food, and possibly the best people watching I've seen in a long time. Major highlight was the group of Middle School girls dancing to a sweet selection of radio megahits. You could tell they were dying to drop it like it was hot but clearly had been instructed to keep it clean, seeing as how they were 13 years old. Fabulous outfits.

So much fun.

Sellwood Waterfront Park

2010-05-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

This park is amazing. Just gorgeous! There are flat, grassy areas and also trails, plus several floating docks. It could not have been nicer out last night, either. I will be back to the park for sure, this is the kind of magical place you could post up all day.

Daily Food 5/12/10
Breakfast: Clif bar, 1/2 apple
Lunch: big mixed greens/veg salad, rice crackers, quinoa salad
Snack: banana, wasabi chips
Dinner: fresh collards from farmer's market, sauteed with tons of garlic and sundried tomatoes, brown rice tortilla, apple slices with walnut/almond butter, SF tapioca pudding cup

Parks and Rec

2010-05-12T07:09:00.000-07:00

I decided last night that I'm going to try to hit 30 parks in 30 days. Kicked it off last night with Powell Park and Brooklyn Park. There's two. While I go to the gym almost every day, I'm super sick of it, and find that I will exercise a lot longer if I'm on foot, outside. There are over 10,000 acres of park area within city limits. And don't get me started on the parks in the suburbs! You wanna see a fancy park, head on down to Lake Oswego. Portland Parks and Rec, while they don't have a ton of money, does a good job, and I like that they have a "Dignity Statement" on their website:

We recognize, understand, and encourage celebration of the differences that surround us. We ask you to participate in fostering this spirit. Any expression of bigotry, hatred, prejudice or disrespect is inconsistent with the ideals of preserving dignity and contradicts the values of healthful living and fair play promoted by Portland Parks & Recreation.

Quite a statement for the Parks and Rec Dept! Leslie Knope would be proud.

Daily Food 5/11/10
Breakfast: smoked tofu, banana, pear
Lunch: leftover garbanzo/tomato stew, sweet potato chips
Snack: tempeh jerky, rice crackers, diet Coke
Dinner: arugula/orange/cranberry salad, brown rice tortilla/soy cheese quesadilla, taco-style soy curls, glass of local pino gris

Tiny Tuesday: Thinly Veiled

2010-05-11T06:56:00.000-07:00

Scheming on some birds outside of the window...

Daily Food 5/10/10
Breakfast: homemade granola bar
Lunch: mixed veg salad, tofu with spinach, jasmine tea
Dinner: curried tomato/garbanzo stew, roasted brusssels sprouts
Misc: sugar-free choc pudding cup

But I Heart Gluten, So, So Much...

2010-05-10T06:58:00.000-07:00

My mother got this back from some testing:

Interpretation Of HLA-DQ Testing: HLA gene analysis reveals that you have two copies of a gene that causes gluten allergy (any DQ1, DQ2 not by HLA-DQB1*0201, or DQ3 not by HLA-DQB1*0302). Having two copies of a gluten sensitive gene means that each of your parents and all of your children (if you have them) will possess at least one copy of the gene.

Her Doc says this is one reason why she can't lose weight (seriously, the woman eats like a bird and exercises, every day, and continues to balloon); metabolism and thyroid are all jacked up from this allergy. So, basically, she's got the gene double, which means I have it for sure and now I need to stop making fun of all of the gluten-free people like I've been doing for so long. I mean, really. So much mocking. Now I might have to... *shudder*, become one of them.

I don't anticipate it to be too hard to make the switch here in P-town, where gluten-free-chic is fairly prevalent, but poor Mumswell in her little tiny town! Pretty sure there's no gluten-free restaurants in Niwot, CO.