Update

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

I just finished my federal and state tax returns this morning and it's the first year ever that I've made enough money to actually have the gov't keep some of the withholding. Wow!

What else has been going on:

* I ran my first 5k on Valentine's Day. It was a toughy, they had some "die-hard hills" that we had to run (read: walk huffing and puffing) up. The trail was awesome. We got to run over grass and mud and sandy track through the woods and over a field and past little secluded ponds. It wasn't very organized... they promised chocolate and champagne afterwards but nobody got any of the latter and only a few of us snagged the chocolate. The guy presiding over the run was like "everybody hurry up and take a prize because I want to get OUT of this PARK!" hahaha (it was really cold outside). I had a blast. Running with a huge group really pushes you to try your hardest and to keep going when normally you might have taken a walking break. It was fun to talk to some of the runners afterwards, many of whom had chosen this as their first 5k also. Some were there training for the Tacoma City 1/2 marathon in April, others were training for marathons later in the year. Many of us had just barely taken up running. I'm excited for the St Patrick's Day Dash in Seattle next month!

* Bend it Like Beckham is a guilty pleasure of mine and in the special features of the dvd the director of the movie walks you through how to make aloo gobi from scratch (with her Indian momma and grandmother watching carefully, hehe). It's delicious!! Char you should totally make it with Tiffany and Dave. Who knew that a dish made with a few potatoes and cauliflower and chilis and onions could be so completely filling. In trying to find a written recipe for the dish, I stumbled across http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/ . This woman is so charming, she has recipes for everything Indian vegetarian and films herself cooking so you can be sure you're doing it right.

Kj and Kelli came over for dinner last week and I made aloo gobi with puri (this fun flat bread that puffs up with air when you put it in oil) and mango lassi.

Here are the puri... congregating...

I love all the colors in this dish, not to mention the spices.


Aloo gobi eagerly awaiting your tummy

* Yesterday Mom and I finally got up to Seattle to see Lucy's bones. You know, the Lucy. They had this whole exhibit on the history and culture of Ethiopia finally leading up to the vigilant security guard and the glass-covered viewbox of Lucy's actual bones found in the 70's. She was so tiny, only 3'8" as a fully mature adult. There were five or so vertebrae, quite a few pieces of the ribs (I was a little surprised by that because, at least with dino bones, ribs are so easy to break and the pieces being as small as they are, could easily have been transported away from the site), the lower mandible, a few pieces of the skull, almost a complete ulna and radius, most of a femur, a few toe bones and other leg bones.

There was a mural depicting the succession of potential human relatives and/or ancestors through time as they must have lived in jungle and grassland. It was surreal thinking about how far removed we are as a species from our ancestors of the past. They lived with lions and coyotes and wolves and hippos, drank from the same waters as these creatures, hunted and protected themselves with pointed sticks.. lived in trees. Today you know, I see a lynx in the backyard and am stunned that there are still wild animals living all around us that we never, ever see. Anyway, it was a privilege to see her bones and the exhibit. Afterwards, we rode up to the near-top of the Space Needle. It was a beautiful blue-sky day yesterday but veeery windy so we didn't stay outside for long but I got a few pictures:

If you try, you risk failure. If you don't, you ensure it.

Nikki

Se Me Esta Escapando

Monday, February 9, 2009

Mom got me to sit down and watch Mamma Mia with her the other day. I really had no interest in watching that movie, ever, but it turned out to be really fun, mainly because the movie is set up for the purpose of exhibiting all those ABBA songs that I grew up with. Meryl Streep is this spunky, fun, beautiful lady in it too. What class. My favorite moment of the film was when she sang Slipping Through My Fingers with her daughter. Must admit it made me tear up a bit. I don't have children, but that song really articulates what it must sometimes feel like to watch your child grow up and experience things that you'll never experience and to explore influences that are not your own.

In my family, the bands we listened to most were ABBA, Barry Manilow (okay he's not really a band), Asia, and Air Supply. For some reason (maybe because my Dad went on his mission to Guatamala) we listened to the ABBA Spanish Oro album as much as their others. The song Slipping Through My Fingers is called Se Me Esta Escapando on that album and this version of the song is my absolute favorite ABBA song of all time. Listening to it makes me feel like a little girl again, driving in minivans late at night on family road trips, dozing off. Here you can listen to it. Watching the vid it looks like they're singing the English version with the Spanish version playing over it. But that's okay. The music is what's most important.

Don't watch this if you're eating

Friday, February 6, 2009

So my friend Eric went on a church mission to Korea and was exposed to a wonderous maaarvelous treat: live octopus. He says that over there they usually cut a live squid or octupus up into little squirming fun-sized pieces and gulp them down immediately. Says you can feel the spasming suckers pull at you esophogus on its way down.... I didn't want to believe him, oh no. Then b3ta sent me a delightful newsletter about all kinds of disgusting gourmet foods and had this video attached to it. This is even more hardcore than what I just described, if you can believe it. Bon Ape-tit

[YouTube Link]

Space saving watermelon!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Those Japanese just have to make everything so darn cute.

ikkiN

Why Richard.. whyyyyy

Sunday, February 1, 2009

This story turned around my whole evening. I was bored as hell at work last night, the ER was dead quiet, and all I wanted to do was put my head down on the table and rest my tired and computer-strained eyes -- but no way would a person who enjoys being free of infectious diseases ever dare do that.

Anyhow, read it! I literally cried from laughing so much... not entirely because of the late hour.

Dave would shake his head at the tuna and onion I made this morning. It all came out really... floppy. And a tad too slimey to be very appetizing. :(

Nikki