Tuesday, September 27, 2011

KITTENS

Just dropping in to say hi!



Is it so wrong that I want to buy them halloween costumes? We shall see! Stay tuned.

Monday, September 26, 2011

HONEYMOON: DAY 5, 6, & 7

Day 5: And it's bicycle time! We chose the tandem bike for extra adventure. It was a nice hour long ride around the Stanley Park Seawall. Gorgeous.


My favorite of our seawall extravaganza: Kent Avery. A man that stacks rocks. He was phenomenal.


Onward. To Tim Horton's for lunch. (These seems to be a staple restuarant in Vancouver. And yet, they only take Mastercard.) We are now ready for a hike to the hatchery! Yah! Or so I thought...


These fish were not jumping. They were just hanging out. What a disappointment. But the hike was good and the views were extraordinary.


That evening we decided it was finally time for some sushi. FRESH Japanese Restaurant was our choice. Why did we wait so long?! If we would have found this place on the first day we were there, I'm not sure we would have eaten anything else. The beer may be expensive, but the fish is cheap. 42 pieces for $19. Get outta town! We ate it so fast that there was no time for pictures. Sorry!

Day 6: On our last morning in Vancouver, we found ourselves at a dive restaurant called Bon's Off Broadway. The service was subpar, but the food was great and the prices were right. It had a line out the door by the time we got there and I can see why. To Seattle! We got into town and headed straight for the EMP Museum. This place was cool. The Nirvana exhibit was so cool and the Avatar portion was interactive and fun.




We then went to the public market to do some window shopping. This place has everything! Crafts, food, breweries... you name it! Of course we had to stop into one of the breweries to rest and sample the local offerings. And another plus, it was also close to our dinner spot - Crab Pot! This is one of those places where they dump the food on the table and give you a wooden mallet. Awesome! I had never done anything like this before, and I'm ready to do it again!


We then headed back through the market and had to step into the original Starbucks where Andrew picked up a coffee. What can we say? We are tourists, and we love it!


Someone stick a fork in me, I'm done. Andrew and I headed to our hotel that we would call home on the last night of the honeymoon... And this place rocked! Cedarbrook Lodge was just the place we needed to round out the trip. Tea upon check-in, free ice cream and candy in the "living room" 24/7, and free breakfast and newspaper in the a.m. Thank you!

Day 7: We spent the morning sleeping, eating, and reading. Perfect. Caught some food before we headed to the airport. We returned the car, hopped a plane, and before we knew it we were home sweet home. But not before a cabbie tried to take us for all we were worth. Jerk. The kitties were happy to see us, we were happy to be home, and all was well. The End.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

HONEYMOON: DAY 3 & 4

Day 3: More Starbucks. It's a theme with us. We then headed to the lookout. What a view!


We also realized that we were close to the Steam Clock in Gastown. Cute area and a cool clock. We ooh'd and ahh'd, shopped, and talked about moving to Canada. Lunch! On the menu: Miura Waffle Milk Bar. This was on my must-do list. Fantastic! I want to make these at home. I want to open a restaurant and make these for everyone to enjoy. I want one right now!


Later that night, we geared up and headed to G Sports Bar and Grill for some Packers football. (Bucket of 4 Bud Bottles - $17... C'mon!)


Surprisingly full of Packers fans. Win! And I got Andrew to try Poutine Fries with me. Nom. Fries + cheese curds + gravy = genius. And the Packers won! Hooray!

Day 4: Changing things up and heading to the Granville Market for some donuts. Lee's Donuts. We were too early for the fancy ones (Blueberry, Apple, etc...) but we scored some good ones.


Took a spin around the place to pick up some munchies for lunch - olive medley, goat cheese, and bread. We then headed to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. I didn't think Andrew would handle it too well, but I was the one who wasn't a big fan.


We also checked out the cliff walk and treetop tour.


After chowing down on some yummy food, we headed back to the market to take a tour of the Granville Island Brewery. Tiny, tiny place.  But good beer! That night we ate dinner at Basil Pasta Bar. Go there if you ever go to Vancouver. 

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

HONEYMOON: DAY 1 & 2

So, guess what? I'm breaking this honeymoon down into days and multiple posts. Why? Because I can. Also, because we bought a new lens and we practiced a lot! Ready for the break down? Let's go!

Andrew driving (& texting. I hate this.), Vancouver sign, buses don't run on gas, and Vancouver skyline

Day 1 - Up at the crack of dawn to catch our cab to the airport. 4:30 am to be exact. We arrive in Seattle and head out to pick up the rental. Do you homework. We didn't do the research and purchased the extra insurance because we didn't know what our actually covered. Oops! But I'm so glad we decided to drive to Vancouver. The drive was relaxing and beautiful, and I even got to nap.

Bad room, good room, & give me a $32 beer.

Then we arrived at the hotel... There was no air conditioning. I cried. And then called to ask if we could be moved to another room because the one online looked like a suite and this one looked like a college dorm room. They told me this was a free upgrade. Then they showed us our new room. Thank the Lord! Air conditioning! A soaking tub! Granite counter tops! Whoop! We hit up Morrissey's Pub for some grub and pints. With full bellies, we stopped by the corner liquor store for a 12-pack. Sticker shock! We grabbed a Granville Island Brewery - $32 for a local brewery. Wanna know how much a 24-pack of Bud Light was... $50! We were sleeping by 8:30 pm. We are so cool.


Day 2 - Oh, Starbucks. How I love you and your Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Just what we needed to start the day. It was time for an adventure. To Stanley Park!


We walked around, checked out the aquarium (I now want a pet otter), and saw the totem poles.


We refueled at the Stanley Park restaurant (it was so-so) and then decided to go shopping. But not before we hit up the local Bar and Grill for an afternoon drink. (Again, $4 for a pint... what a bargain! Not even kidding here. Also, they are not called sweet potato fries, but yam fries.) Then we bought the new lens! Let the fun and games begin!

WEEKEND RECAP: SEPT 16-18


Nick and Emily came to town for a visit and we were total geeks this weekend. We spent more hours than I would like to admit playing Hero Quest (which I am now determined to find at a Goodwill) and went the MC Chris concert.


Emily is sad about the super expensive Twizzlers, Andrew watching the Packers game, MC Chris

I guess I did some non-nerd things too:

- Baked (Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins)
- Cooked (Taco Pasta)
- Made returns and spent a lot of money at Bed Bath & Beyond (I'm now obsessed with that store)
- Cheered on the Packers
- Played softball
- Babysat
- Took a nap

Well, hot beans! It a good weekend :) This week is going to be CRAZY busy and full of nonstop action. I will try to get the honeymoon blogs up ASAP and hopefully return to regularly scheduled programming sooner rather than later.

It's work official! New name plate!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

REALITY


I'm back to reality. And back to blogging! After a full week of honeymooning/vacationing/sightseeing, it's back to the grind stone. This mess was patiently waiting for me upon my return. Welcome home!


Although my Tuesday was supposed to by solely dedicated to relaxing, napping, and reading (naps are always needed after vacations), I couldn't do anything but squirm when I looked at this mess. Oh, boy. After working over 10 hours on this pig pen, it looked like I barely made headway, and I started wondering if I should have used some wedding money to hire a cleaning team for a few hours.


Last night was again spent organizing, doing dishes, and finishing the last of the vacation laundry. Geez. And the fun doesn't stop there, tonight we are doing wedding returns. But, man, I am so glad to be back. After about five days, I was ready to return. I had a lot of fun, but we packed a lot into our days in Vancouver and I was worn out! I was ready to return to a regular schedule with food that I cooked myself and my own bed. Oh, and don't forget the kitties!

I was also excited to return to work. I really missed the people I work with and all of the volunteers. I was pleasantly surprised to walk in and find this at my desk.

My coworker, Jenny, supplied what she called "wedding vomit" aka balloons, streamers, and signs. Suzie supplied the Panera bagels. Yum! What a good way to start my work week. It didn't hurt that it was Wednesday either. Three day work week, yes please!


Next up: Honeymoon recap!