Ten on Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday my friends!  I feel like every time I blog I apologize about my extended absence, so instead of saying sorry, I am just going to say that life keeps getting in the way.  And you can't be sorry about that, can you? 

The bulk of our move is OVER (seriously?) so maybe I will find more time to blog these next two weeks.  After that, I have no idea what my internet access will be like so I will just have to promise to take lots of pictures and catch up with you all when I can.  I don't think that it has set in that we are moving although I don't know how it couldn't set in - our house is empty and we are supposed to be leaving in two weeks - but I just don't feel any emotions.  I thought it would be sad to see all of our stuff go, but it wasn't.  I hope that means that I am ready for this adventure to begin.  

Before I move onto this week's Ten on Tuesday questions ... does anyone have any suggestions about what to rename my blog?  I want to come up with a name that can stick with the blog for however long I decide to continue blogging.  Leave your suggestions in the comments!

And now, on to the main event!  If you want to join in this week, link up over at Roots and Rings. 

1.  What did you do this weekend? 

Well, we attended a going away party for our squadron on Friday night and it was pretty ridiculous.  But we had a great time.  Saturday night we attended a fundraiser for one of the local charities in town that I am involved in.  I was on the fundraising committee for the event, so I've been working on it since September!  Sunday we spent 12+ hours preparing for the movers to come Monday morning.  

2.  Do you prefer short fingernails or long fingernails?

Short fingernails for sure.  

3.  What is your favorite use for Pinterest?

I LOVE Pinterest.  It has been a great tool for wedding planning and I also love it for meal planning.  

4.  Do you sleep with your mouth open?

I don't think I do normally, but maybe occasionally?

5.  Where did you have the best pizza that you've ever eaten?

This question is difficult.  There's deep dish pizza in Chicago, Hot Box Pizza in Indianapolis/West Lafayette, New York style pizza ... they are all the best for their "style."  

6.  What do you eat for breakfast on weekdays?

Well, I don't always eat breakfast (whoops) and my blender is all packed up and on it's way to Japan, but I used to have a smoothie for breakfast every morning.  Or if it's the weekend, J. makes amazing omelets.  

7.  Do you watch awards shows?  Why or why not? 

Not typically, we don't have cable.  We did watch The Academy Awards because it aired on our channel (CBS)!

8.  Can you whistle?  Snap?  Curl your tongue?  Bend down and touch your palms to the ground?

I can kind of whistle.  I can snap.  I can curl my tongue.  And I can bend down and touch my palms to the ground.  

9.  What email service do you use? 

Gmail.

10.  What is your favorite outdoor activity? 

Skiing or hiking.  Depends on the season.  Or drinking a glass of wine on a patio overlooking the water. 

Welcome to the 90's

A few weekends ago, some of our friends from the squadron hosted a 90's party.  It was SO.MUCH.FUN.  Almost everyone dressed up and channeled their favorite 90's TV star, look, sporting outfit, etc.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves ... 

Kelly Capowski (Saved by the Bell) and Six (Blossom)

CK13 - 90's skier!

J. and Mr. S.

I am not sure what is up with the lighting in these next couple of pictures ... we need to figure out what is going on with the camera!  I noticed some of our pictures from Seattle didn't turn out very well this past weekend either :(

In focus, but weird lighting ...

90's bride, three 90's skiers,  Kelly Capowski, Six, a 90's school teacher and Brandi!

Better lighting but blurry ...

Me and J.

Take 2

Mr. S. getting ready for his Olympic Trials

Stretching

Getting in position ...

And he won!

Awesome!

The cute little 90's family!

Noah looks intimidated by the 90's

And it wouldn't have been the 90's without slap bracelets.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of mine, but it's tucked away safely in my costume box for the next 90's bash.

Moral of this story?  Theme parties are fun.  

College Teams

I saw this on Facebook yesterday and thought it was super cool: 

Source

Is your college represented?

Mine is, Boiler Up!

Belgianfest

This past Saturday, we spent the day in Seattle at the Third Annual Belgianfest!  The description from their website touts Belgianfest as:

"... highlighting the fascinating beer culture of Belgium by showcasing 60+ Belgian-style beers crafted by Washington breweries.  Featured beer styles include Tripels, Dubbles, Saison, Wits, Abbeys and Lambics.  All of the beers will be brewed with Belgian yeast."   

  Unfortunately, J. came down with the cold I had last week, so he didn't get to taste, but he was a trooper and came along to DD.  We brought G.S. along with us, met up with Mr. and Ms. B., and S2 and her husband.   

We had SO much fun.  I am not a huge beer drinker, but after spending Summer 2008 in Europe, I found I really liked Belgian beer so this was right up my alley.

We started our morning off with a quick lunch at Potbelly (yum) and then headed over to Bell Harbor.  We were given ten tasting tokens with our admission and a tasting glass.

I started with the Dubbel and Trippel from Anacortes Brewery.  We've visited this brewery several times before as it's in Anacortes and the man who started the brewery and used to be the head brewer is also connected to the Growler community.

I had the Belgian style Tripel from Boundary Bay Brewery.  We've eaten here when we visited Bellingham so this was on my must-taste list!

Elysian Brewing Co. had eight beers on tap (!), including two Tripels, but I got a recommendation from the guy pouring beers and was not disappointed with my choice - Bete Blanche Belgian-style Tripel.  

I tried the Donkey Deux from Georgetown Brewing, the Menage a Frog Belgian Trippel from Issaquah Brewery, Belgian Dubbel from Lazy Boy Brewing, The Giant Made of Shadows from Silver City Brewery and Spring Fever from Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Co.

As you can probably tell by the above list, I like my Trippels!  I also really enjoyed the Spring Fever from Snoqualmie.  I will definitely be looking for that in the grocery stores and restaurants soon!

Afterwards, we took in the gorgeous weather and hung out on the pier for a bit.  Warning ... picture overload coming up!

Skyline from the pier

Mt. Rainier made an appearance!

Mr. and Ms. B.

Just posing for the camera

This one is my favorite!

And I like this one too ...

Me and Ms. B.

G.S. and Mr. B.

Mr. B.

I love this one.  That's S2 and her hubs in the background!

Close-up!

Awww

They're in love :)

And then we walked up to Belltown Pub for happy hour and the Purdue v. IU game watch.  The Purdue Alumni Club of Puget Sound hosts game watches at Belltown Pub during football season and sometimes during basketball season as well!  And we love Belltown Pub and their awesome happy hour menu!

Ten on Tuesday

Happy Tuesday friends!  I've had a busy start to my week, but I always feel like those weeks are the most productive!  I will be spending the rest of my week observing a trial and my mom is coming out to spend the weekend with us!

Let's get on to the main event ... if you want to play along this week, visit Chelsea at Roots and Rings to link up!

1.  How do you feel about Groundhog's Day?
I don't really have an opinion about it -- the weather here isn't that bad right now (sunny and high 40's) so I could definitely deal with 6 more weeks of this.  Especially since the weather is usually pretty gray and rainy until June.

2.  What color are your fingernails right now? 
They are uncolored.  Whoops!  I love to have my nails done, but every now and then I give them a break.

3.  Do you like riddles?
Sure.

4.  When you were 10, how old did you think "old" was?  At your current age, how old do you think "old" is?
Hmmm, I probably thought that people in high school were "old,"  and definitely people in their 20's!  Now I think the elderly are old ... haha.  And I occasionally think I am old.

5.  Do you wish on stars? 
I don't make a habit of it, but I have before.

6.  Do you recycle? 
Yes.  Our recycling can is twice as big as a garbage can!

7.  On a scale from 1-10, how good of a cook are you? 
7?  I can follow a recipe pretty darn well, but I am not one of those people who can just throw a bunch of ingredients together and whip up an amazing meal.

8.  Do you color your hair?  Professionally or at home? 
Nope.  I used to get highlights but it was too much to keep up with them.

9.  On a scale from 1-10, how do you rate your manners? 
8.  I could definitely work on a few things but overall, I think I have pretty good manners.

10.  Who are the last 5 people you have texted?  
J., my mom, Ms. B., my sister and my friend B.!

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday friends!  

Did you watch the Super Bowl yesterday?  I was SO excited to watch it.  I lived in Indianapolis for four years before I moved out to Washington with J. and I was SO proud of the city!  I used to work in an office building downtown, on the circle, and lived about a mile from the center of downtown.  I have loved following all of my friends on Facebook and Twitter this past week and seeing all the fun things they were doing during Super Bowl week.  I was also SLIGHTLY jealous that I wasn't there to join in the fun.  

We watched the game with most of our squadron at a friends house.  We had good company, good food and good entertainment.  What more could we ask for? 

What was your favorite commercial?  What did you think of the halftime show?  I personally loved it!  It was definitely a bit weird at times but overall, I think Madonna rocked it!  I also missed the "middle finger malfunction" by M.I.A.  Did anyone catch it?

I'll be back tomorrow with Ten on Tuesday!

TOMS

I think I've blogged about my love of TOMS before.  They are cute, comfortable and for a good cause.  How can you go wrong?  

So I was very excited when I learned they would be coming out with a line of flats - does anyone else have trouble finding cute, comfortable flats?  And I was super excited when I got a nice little email from Nordstrom letting me know that I can pre-order TOMS Flats! 

I'm just not sure if I should order a pair or not ... the approximate ship date for the pair I like is February 24th, which is pushing it pretty close to the date we move.  What if they don't come in time?  I can't decide if I should just go ahead and chance it or try to buy them in the store on the 24th?  Or buy them online and pick them up in the store?  Ahh.  What do you think?

And then, of course, I have to decide which pair to get ...

Camila Ballet Flat

Alessandra Ballet Flat

Oh the decisions.

MLK Weekend

J. and I spent MLK weekend in Whistler, Canada with approximately 18 other people from his squadron (give or take a few...).  It was SO much fun and I am so glad that we went.  The week before we left is when I found out that J. would be deployed over September 1st (our wedding day) and I wasn't really in the mood to spend the weekend with 18 people singing the Navy's praises.  However, I pulled myself together and managed to enjoy myself.  And really, how could I not in that beautiful town?

We drove up Friday night and had dinner at the Brewhouse at Whistler.  It was good - but nothing special.  We hit the slopes on Saturday and Sunday - where we overheard a pretty great conversation.  Sometimes I tend to forget that other countries don't celebrate the same holidays that we do here in the U.S.  Two Canadians were talking about the large crowds that weekend and one recalled that it was an American holiday weekend.  Hmm, but which holiday?  Nelson Mandela Day.  Of course.  

Fitzsimmons Walk 

We stayed at Fitzsimmons Walk and these condos were AMAZING.  The condo had some really cool built-in features and a hot tub.  My only complaint were the thin walls ... when someone got up in the morning, everyone got up.  When the single guys came home late from the bars at night, everyone woke up. 

Whistler Village

Olympic Rings

Snow!

We had great snow for skiing both days.  J. and I skied with our friends Mr. and Ms. B. and we had a great time.  I know how to ski, and I've been skiing since I was about 8, but I am a very cautious skier which always leads to me being the slowest and worrying about how I am going to get down the mountain.  J., Mr. B. and Ms. B were all VERY patient with me and we had a fun two days!

We skied Whistler Mountain the first day and Blackcomb the second, and I think the second day was my favorite.  We found some good blue runs off of the Seventh Heaven lift and had a great afternoon.  It also wasn't as windy the second day so it wasn't as cold and there wasn't as much powder.  I know people LOVE skiing in powder, but I honestly think it's a lot of extra work and I never feel like I have control over my skies in it!

Me and Ms. B.

Photo courtesy of Ms. B.

And I have to say, that in spite of the large amount of people that were skiing that weekend, the slopes did not feel crowded.  We definitely waited in line a bit at the lifts, but nothing unreasonable.

All in all it was a great trip and I would highly recommend a visit - even if you don't like to ski there is plenty to do!  Three of the girls in our group didn't ski at all - they walked around the village, checked out the shops (great shopping!) and went tubing.

All photos in this post courtesy of Mrs. S., unless otherwise noted.  She was one of my first Navy friends and will also be coming to Japan with us, for which I am so thankful.

Ten on Tuesday is Back!

Yay!  I've been lost without it.  If you want to link up, visit Roots and Rings for this week's questions!

1.  What's your variety of apple?
I like Gala apples, Fuji apples and Honeycrisp ... yum!

2.  Do you prefer Long-English or Field cucumbers?
I had to look this one up and, after thorough research, I can confidently say that I like Field cucumbers best.  I don't think I've ever actually had a Long-English cucumber, but they look weird and I have weird food issues.  If it looks weird, I don't eat it.

3.  Tomatoes - delicious or disgusting?
Well ... I used to think they were disgusting but they are growing on me.  Fresh tomatoes with fresh mozzarella, fresh tomatoes on bruschetta, any kind of fresh tomato salad ... delicious.

4.  What's one fruit or vegetable that you can't stand and why is that?
Bananas.  I hate their smell and their texture.

5.  What's your favorite way to prepare veggies?  (Grilled, boiled, roasted, sauteed, etc.)
I mostly saute veggies ... we haven't tried grilled veggies yet.  That sounds tasty!

6.  Sweet potato pie:  Love it or hate it? 
Never had it.  My mom makes an amazing sweet potato casserole, so if sweet potato pie tastes anything like that, I'd love it!

7.  What's your favorite "style" of french fry?  Wedges, shoelace, curly, crinkle-cut or other?
Hmmm, another tough one.  I pretty much like ANY french fry, but I am especially partial to curly fries and waffle fries.  And loaded fries!

8.  What's your favorite fruit-pie filling? 
I'm not a huge fan of pie.  But maybe apple pie?  Warm out of the oven with some ice cream?

9.  When you were a kid did your parents make you sit at the table until all your veggies were eaten off your plate?  
Yes.  And I hated it.  And now I eat veggies almost every night with dinner.

10.  Do you drink veggie & fruit juice blends (such as V8) or make them yourself?  
I don't make fruit juice blends, but I make fruit smoothies.  I get frozen berries from Costco, add some water and a cup of Greek yogurt and a couple of capfuls of Greens Plus to help meet my fruit and veggie needs!  I thought it would be gross the first time I made it, but it's actually pretty delicious.

I hope you are all having a great week!  The move and work are pretty much consuming our lives right now.  J. is gone for 10-11 hours a day and I try to be productive around the house in the mornings and go into work in the afternoons.  I am (finally!) wrapping up my projects from January so I feel a lot better about my work load right now!

  We've also scheduled all three (yes three!) of our moves, purged things from every room in the house, sent loads of things to Goodwill and a box to my sister, and researched property managers and the used car market.  There's not much left to check off the list except update my tourist passport and get my entry approval!  It's been a long road to get to this point, but I am ready to go.  We've been waiting since August for this move and we've done everything we can to prepare.  I know it will be a culture shock and I will miss the U.S., but I am ready to start this adventure!  Plus, every time I look at something in my house I mentally catalog whether it's going to Japan or going to storage - I'm ready to get back to normalcy!

I've been feeling a bit under the weather, so that hasn't helped much.  But, the move goes on, so I've put on my best big girl face and been pretty darn productive this week!

Happy Tuesday Friends!