The title of this post pretty much summarizes how I was feeling last Saturday.  Thanks to Mike losing the wheel to his car, I had no idea how or when we were going to get home.  If you know me at all, you probably know that I don’t do too well with this kind of spontaneity- in my old age, I find myself getting more and more anxious when plans suddenly change.  I’m not proud of the fact that I get grumpy when something as insignificant as dinner plans suddenly change, and it’s something I’ve put on my official “very long list of things I need to work on” list, but with no idea of the method or date of our departure, by Saturday I was starting to freak out a bit.  Or a lot.  Like, so much so that I woke up with a popped blood vessel in my eye.  This is the face of stress.

I don’t know if Mike was genuinely concerned for my mental well-being or just getting stir-crazy in Anaheim himself, but on Saturday morning we decided to ditch Orange County and head to LA.  Mike was in charge of choosing our activity, so our first destination was California Science Center in Exposition Park.

I’ve been to this place before for the BodyWorks exhibit (and once in the 4th grade when my mom sent me to Science Camp with my best friend Shannon, where we both wore flip-up sunglasses a la Dwayne Wayne from A Different World, snuck off to the gift shop and spent all of the money we had on astronaut ice cream, which we ate so much of that we both barfed on the bus ride back).  The actual museum isn’t really my thing- it’s a little too kid-centric- but a) it’s donation-based, and therefore cheap, and b) it also has this really cool place called The Annenberg Building that you can rent for private functions.  I’m kind of obsessed with it- I really wanted to have our wedding there before I found out how expensive it was.  Therefore, now I just really want SOMEBODY I know to have their wedding or some other awesome party there so I can live vicariously through you.

Seriously, somebody please get married there.

Anyway, we spent about an hour reveling in the wonders of science.

Then we got bored, walked around Exposition Park for a bit, and left to go meet Mary and wander around Venice Beach for a bit.  (With one small detour to three car dealerships in between.  Typical Saturday.)

Venice Beach is one of my favorite neighborhoods in LA- it’s a good mix of artists and hippies with a healthy sprinkle of shallow bourgeoisie thrown in for good measure.  It’s a mix that is both familiar and entertaining.

We walked down Abbot-Kinney toward the boardwalk, visiting whichever boutiques and bookstores caught our eyes.

Mary had never seen a T-Rex before.  Thankfully, Mike not only knew what it was, but also how awesome it would be to take a road trip in one.  (He can do that without me.)

We saw the Grilled Cheese Truck!  We didn’t eat there though since we already had dinner plans.

We made it to the beach just as the sun was setting.  I LOVE Venice Beach.  Growing up, my dad would take us there on weekend mornings just for people watching- the body builders, the protesters gathering signatures to legalize marijuana, the freaks walking on glass- nothing says “Sunday morning with the family” like mocking crazy people.

And then we saw it…  the drum circle.

There are no words to describe the 80 year old man, dressed in a full suit, dancing in the middle.

After the sun set we met our friend Noelle for lunch at my new favorite restaurant, Lemonade.

Seriously- it’s so good.  Their salads made my tummy sing with joy and Mike’s pot roast/macaroni and cheese sandwich won raves as well.  And they have parsnip soup- parsnips are basically my favorite vegetable in the entire world this week.

After dinner we bid adieu to Mary and Noelle and headed back to Anaheim.  I still had no idea how we were going to get home, but the combination of sunny skies, dancing hippies and parsnips had definitely improved my overall mental health.

So in my last post, I stuck to the high points of Mary and Scott’s trip to Seattle- good food, a beautiful hike,mike’s leggins and super happy friend love crap.  In an effort to keep the post more Hemmingway than Tolstoy, I decided to skip on their visit’s definite low point.

But then Scott bitched about it in the comments section so I decided that I had to tell you about the worst 30 minutes of last weekend.  And it was all Scott’s fault.

On the way to Wallace Falls State Park, we passed a sign that read “Washington State Salmon Hatchery.”  Scott, who had previously been singing along to the Miley Cyrus’ opus “Party in the USA” (thank you KISS and your 3 XM stations that played the song 4 times during our one hour drive), suddenly started shrieking like a woman possessed and insisted that we stop there on the way back.  Well, actually, he wanted to cancel the hike and just go look at salmon, but I told him to shut it and we hiked anyway.

But we did indulge him on the way home.

And it was horrific.  Or, as Scott would say, “horrif.”

As soon as we parked, we were greeted by this sign:

I really don’t know what to say about these visual fun facts, except that I really hope that this is a popular spot for elementary school field trips.  And I really hope that it prompts lots of interesting dinner table conversation afterwards.  “Mommy, why does the boy salmon get squeezed and pee on the bucket of salmon eggs?”

Evidently, late October is the time of year when the adult salmon have already made it back to their spawning grounds, let their goodies loose and are basically just waiting to die.  We went down to look at the live fish, and they were big.  And fat.  And barely alive.  It was really just depressing.

If you look closely, you can see nasty dead salmon carcasses piling up on the bottom of the holding pen.  This was so depressing that I took a big step back…  right into a giant pile of dog poo.  Nice.  And then I saw this:

Yeah, that’s a dead salmon.  Filled with maggots.  Evidently the salmon here are so half dead that just about any hungry animal thinks of this holding pen of their own Vegas buffet during this time of year.  The entire lawn was filled with nasty rotting carcasses.  Between that and the dog poo, I wanted to cry.

Meanwhile, Scott pranced around, explored the hatchery, and learned about his favorite fish.  I sat in the car and complained.

The rest of the day went well- we celebrated our friend Shaun’s birthday, where Mary and Scott met my Seattle friends and we ate his pulled pork, followed by an after dinner snack of rillette, duck confit and sparkling wine at Bastille.  I honestly don’t know how the hell we ate that much after seeing the dead salmon fiesta.  Scott really brings out the best in me.

Thank you so much, Scott, for adding this side trip into our day.  I’ll never forget it.

Oh, if you aren’t familiar with the amazing musical achievement that is “Party in the USA,” I think the best way to acquaint yourself with it is via this epic rendition:

So far I’ve been able to knock quite a few items off my list of awesome things to do while in California for the (longish) weekend.  Fortunately, it’s been a pretty entertaining trip.  Unfortunately, you’re getting the news out of order.  Eh, you’ll live.

Anyway, do you remember the high tea I went to last month to celebrate (or mourn) Rita’s escape from Seattle?  There were tiny sandwiches, pastries that looked like things my grandma used to bake, LOTS of contrasting floral wallpaper and a drink menu that featured, well, mostly tea.  Well, I liked that tea experience, so when my bff Mary suggested that we do tea while I was in LA, I jumped at the idea.

This tea, however, promised to be VERY different.

First of all, it wasn’t being held in a traditional tea house manned by middle-aged women with a penchant for collecting stuffed animals.  It took place at the uber-stylish Bazaar at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills.  Instead of crazy mismatched floral prints and fuzzy forest creatures, Bazaar is a professionally lit, super-modern lounge/restaurant/bar/marketplace that looks like it was decorated by Alice in Wonderland’s really hip brother who works as a professional shopper at Bendel’s in Manhattan.

Just like the name implies, everything behind glass is for sale.  And it’s all crazy expensive.  Because naturally, when I go to tea, I often feel like dropping a couple hundred dollars on some weirdly awesome teddy bear that looks like it could kill me.

After some browsing, we settled down for some tea.  But first, we had to wait for our two other guests- Elizabeth and Kim!

They, of course, were both late.  Which was okay because Mary and I were running late anyway.  That is one thing I love about Southern California- punctuality is an added bonus, not a requirement.

Tea service began with tea and scones.

See the scone?  It looked and tasted more like a tiny muffin, but it was delish. You’ll quickly see that “tiny” was a definite theme here.  Partially because tiny generally equals good, and partially because we’re in freaking LA- nobody eats.

Each of us got a different tea, and they all had fabulous names and descriptions.  I opted for the White Darjeeling “Champagne of teas,” Elizabeth chose the “Iron Goddess of Mercy” green blend, Mary picked the “SLS Beverly Hills Blend” black and Kim chose a classic, yet tasteful, Orange Pekoe.  All were as enjoyable to drink as they were to order.

First our savory course came out.  This is where all similarities to a traditional high tea ended.

Top left: Cucumber, yogurt and tomato caviar (delicious), fois gras sandwich on toasted brioche bun (my first time eating fois gras- it was yummy but I haven’t fully embraced that kind of texture yet.  We made the mistake of telling Kim where fois gras comes from and she couldn’t finish hers.)

Middle: a deconstructed bagel and lox- salmon roe, cream cheese in a “bagel skin” nori cone (good, but salty- better to eat all in one bite)

Bottom: beet meringue with goat cheese filling (super delicious but weird- you know what a meringue should feel like in your mouth, and you know that it’s a beet meringue, but you bite into it and you are still amazed that you are eating a meringue that tastes like beets), caviar with steamed bun (basically a tiny, Westernized bau or fluffy steamed bun you see at dim sum- yummy, with a tiny bit of kind of marscapone or something inside)

Honestly, the best part of this whole tea (besides spending time with three of my absolute favorite people in the universe) was the fact that we all felt a little “Top Chef” eating this food.  Some of it was a little intimidating- see Elizabeth’s look of trepidation as she is about to try the bagel and lox:

She puts on a brave face.

There was no trepidation, however, when it came to trying the champagne.  It was pink and bubbly- what’s NOT to love?

A dessert course followed, but by this time my camera had run out of space on the memory card and it took me way too long to figure out how to delete pictures.  So no pictures of that.  Everything was yummy though, except maybe the saffron jelly candy- Kim isn’t down with jiggly food and couldn’t do it.  (In case you haven’t noticed, Kim is the only person in the world who makes me and MY food issues look sane.  She joins me in general abhorrence for all white food but takes it to the next level- the girl is afraid of bananas.  AFRAID.  i LOVE kim.)

By the time we finished eating though, I did manage to clear out a few crap pictures so we could get a group shot outside.  In front of the hotel, we saw a nice couple who offered to take a picture of us- we’re so cute:

Then the male half of said couple decided he wanted to be in the picture with us.

And then, Mr. Man, who, if you couldn’t tell by the sunburn and ruddy face was probably a drunk tourist, tried to kiss me.  That was weird.  Notice how Elizabeth, who could have protected me, obviously failed in her role as my bodyguard.

Thankfully this, and my accompanying look of fear and attempt at fleeing, was not caught on camera.  It was, however, a good example of the fact that LA is filled with crazy, self-entitled people who need to wear more sunscreen.

PS- in case you are worried about the stability of our marriage because some crazy stranger tried to kiss me, don’t.  When I told Mike about it, he laughed.  When I asked him why he reacts so coolly to weird things like this, he compared it to somebody complimenting his car.

Such is my life.

More California recaps to come as I get pictures uploaded.

I was so excited about posting about the race that I went out of order and forgot to share our Saturday adventure with Mary.  So here it goes.

What do YOU do the day before a race?  Rest your legs a bit and take it easy?  We did half of that.  We started the day off with a yummy breakfast at Portage Bay Cafe with Mary’s college friend Kerrie (whom I love because we made plans to go to Tilth with her and her husband sometime soon) and then headed to Husky Stadium to pick up our bibs for the race and knock another thing off of my master Seattle to-do list: go kayaking.

Since there were 3 of us, we ended up canoeing rather than kayaking, which was actually (I think) better, because the canoe seems a wee bit more stable.  Once we got in, we set out to explore Montlake, which is pretty freaking gorgeous.  Going under the bridges makes you feel like you’re back at the boat ride at Disneyland (if you grew up in SoCal and went to Disneyland every other weekend like I did), except you actually have to row and you aren’t stuck to some mechanical track.

See?  It does look like the boat ride.

Mike navigated…

And only got us stuck a couple of times.

Mary looked all kinds of sexy.

We saw geese and goslings.

And turtles!  I named them Michael, Tony, Amy and Jimmy.  There was another one looking in the wrong direction on another log nearby, but I didn’t get a picture of him.  I named him Derek.

The only problem with kayaking/canoeing in Montlake is that after you’ve lazily drifted past a certain point and are ready to head back, the only way to get to the dock is to navigate through choppy open water and get attacked by speedboats and huge yachts.  This results in a rather strenuous workout.  After 2 hours of canoeing, I was ready for a nap.

So we napped.  Then Mary and I walked to the seafood market down the street and got some amazing Copper River Salmon and made a kickass dinner to help fuel our bodies for the race.  Obviously, paying almost $30 a pound for salmon paid off.

Sunday morning we woke up at 6:30 am with one singular goal:

Beat the Bridge is the main reason Mary even flew up this weekend.  It’s an 8k race that circles around Husky Stadium at UW.  You have 20 minutes to cross the University Bridge, which falls exactly at the 2 mile mark.  At the 20 minute mark the drawbridge raises and everybody behind the bridge has to wait for it to come back down.  It’s not really that terrible- the whole thing basically gives you a six minute break before you go run the rest of the race, and they give away prizes while a live band plays.  But beating the bridge is still a matter of pride.

Running 2 miles in 20 minutes shouldn’t be that hard, but the race is so popular that it takes you a good 3 or 4 minutes to really break through the crowd and get running.  Plus, I’m not exactly a great runner- more like a good plodder.  Real runners leap through the air like graceful gazelles- my movement is little more like a baby giraffe just learning to walk.  There is a great deal of teetering involved, hence my rather frequent falls and injuries.  (Thankfully, this race was catastrophe-free.)

Anyway, with a final time of 48:37, I DID in fact beat the bridge!  I just barely made it- I literally heard the drawbridge buzzer go of as I took my last step off the bridge.  I even had my own personal photographer to document my crossing the finish line:

Yeah, Mike did an awesome job as support staff.  He woke up just as early as Mary and I, drove us to the event, let us jump out of the car in the middle of the street while he searched for parking so we had time to pee before the race started and took fabulous pictures while he waited for us to run.

Team Michael FTW.

Post-run, we grabbed for food and I grubbed for free samples (which were sadly lacking by the way- a diabetic energy bar and a bottle of smart water were the best things I could get my hands on.  Boo.).  However, by noon total exhaustion had kicked in and I knew I could barely keep myself from falling asleep in a plate of pineapple chicken.  I even had to call and cancel on my friend Kate’s bridal shower, which was a total bummer.  Thankfully, her wedding is less than 2 weeks away, and I’m not planning on running my ass off the morning before that big event.

At home, we all immediately fell asleep.  Even Mike, who didn’t run, but is always willing to get a sympathy nap in.  We eventually roused ourselves to get Mary to the airport, with one quick detour to the market to meet up with our favorite baby in all of Seattle, Derrick’s niece Bella:

Yeah, she’s already a total ham.  But if you know Derrick, you understand where it comes from.

After dropping off Mary, Mike and I ate leftovers from Salumi for dinner and I was asleep by 9:30 pm.  Total Rockstar style.

Mary’s here!

Mary’s flight got in yesterday morning.  After a ridiculously busy week, I took a much-needed day off to get some bonding time in with Mary.  After all, we had some really important things to get done that day, like driving an hour to the Lululemon outlet in Burlington.  In order to properly fuel up for the day’s events, and because we really miss our pork-loving friend Scott, we started the day off with lunch at Salumi.

Salumi is a Seattle institution, so I was prepared for a long line.  We ended up waiting 45 minutes, but the time went quickly because we had plenty of people to keep us entertained.  The owners walking out with salami samples didn’t hurt either.  I do have to say, ever since I started eating pork in December, it has really really grown on me.

When we finally ordered our lunch, Mary mentioned that we were celebrating a belated version of her birthday.  The staff decided to mark it in a very, very appropriate way:

It’s a salami cake!

Seriously, there is nothing better than a great meal and some fantastic wine in the middle of the afternoon.

Everybody should eat at Salumi.  Get the olive oil bread.  Sit at the communal table- we ended up sitting next to a retired Mariners player and some 30 year old hipster wearing mirrored glasses indoors- and split a sandwhich with your favorite person in the world.  It starts the weekend off right.  The line is definitely a commitment, but a couple of mouthfuls of the magic meat is worth it.

After lunch, we wandered around, got some coffee, and set out for an uber-successful outlet shopping trip, where I got a gold gym bag at Lululemon for $40 and convinced the salesgirl at Banana Republic to give me an extra 40% off two shirts that were obviously not on sale.  That, plus some spring rolls and ban xeo at Greenleaf for dinner made me a very very happy camper.  Friday was good times.

This week has seriously kicked my ass.  I’m actually working right now from home at 9 pm because I’m so overwhelmed with crap to do.  But it’s ok.  Everything will be turn out for the best, because Mary’s coming tomorrow!

There is nothing better than knowing that I get to spend a weekend dedicated to full Mary and Aubrey super lame glory.  Our weekend plans include:

• lunch at Salumi, mostly to make Scott jealous.
• driving an hour each way to visit the lululemon outlet.
• having whey too much fun at the Cheese festival.  (Shut up, my pun is awesome.)
• canoeing, kayaking or doing some other boat-related activity.
• running an 8k Sunday morning even though we both suck at running- it’s an adventure!  And we’ll have an excuse to buy cute new workout clothes before hand (see item 1).

Doesn’t that sound like YOUR dream weekend?  Don’t you wish that YOU were my best friend?

I thought I was going to die during most of January.  Mostly because it was cold.  Way too cold for my thin skin.  The idea of running outside was a joke.  I had to wear my Northface jacket EVERY DAY, except for when I was washing it, when I had to bust out the parka.  It snowed a couple of times.  My toes would get numb walking to work.  To make matters worse, it was pitch black outside when I left the office at 4:00 pm.

Then in February, something started to change.  Sure, it’s not like I woke up and the weather was downright balmy- it did snow again one morning last week- but it started to get a little better.  There is still light outside until 5:30 pm.  I don’t think I’m in danger of frostbite by the time I get to my office.  I’ve been able to go for walks outside at night with Barrie and Brooke.  I even wore a non-insulated jacket on Tuesday- it’s kind of a miracle.  People keep telling me that spring will be here before I know it and soon I’ll see little flowers sprouting up again everywhere.

Well, I haven’t seen any flowers, but all of a sudden we do have a sudden explosion of visitors.  Maybe Seattle has thawed out enough for Californians to actually be able to brave the trip up.  Whatever it is, I love visitors, even if it does mean I have to wash the sheets a lot more often.

Last weekend, with 4 hours notice, Jimmy showed up.  He went home on Monday.  Then yesterday, I got a surprise text from my BFF Mary, who flew up for the night to cover a story up here!  Yay for best friend bonding!  We met for a late dinner and some wine by my house.

Yeah, it’s blurry.  It was dark and I didn’t have time to charge my camera.

Then tonight, I’m picking up Anne from the airport!  She’s coming to spend some time poking around Seattle and then joining me on a “research trip” to Portland this weekend, where we are going to hang out with some celebrity knitters and check out the “Underground Yarn Scene.”  (Yeah, I know how crazy that sounds, but I’m stoked!)  I’m so excited about our adventure that I even took my car in today to get the flat tire fixed (yay: no more bike pump!; boo: i had to buy a new tire).

Then next weekend, we just found out that Mike’s bff (though he would never use that term), An, is coming up.  An is a little insane, but I’m really happy to be seeing him- we definitely owe him a celebratory dinner because he just passed his nursing exams.  Yay for passing!

Finally, the next weekend, my mom may be coming up.  Awww, I miss my mom.  Hopefully we’ll be able to spend a weekend doing lame mother-daughter stuff, like shopping and drinking Diet Coke.  I’ll be sure to try and take a picture of her holding onto her purse for dear life any time she passes a bum downtown.

Ok, I have to and finish cleaning in anticipation of Anne’s arrival.  I’m a little giddy at the thought of having friends and family around so much over the next few weeks!

A recap via some of my favorite pictures from the week.

Mary and I get Ce Fiore and aruge about whose yogurt is prettier.

Picking Derrick up on a street corner in the morning…

and then again at night.

The Ritz Carlton robes my dad bribed a maid to steal for him.

The fact that the boys have spent so much time playing Rock Band that they seem to be starting their own band.

The fact that my parents thought it was funny to hang this up in the guest house.

Some Diet Cokes are just TOO big.

Getting in LOTS of bonding time (too much?) with Mr. An Pham.

Thanksgiving meal #1 with Bachs, Trans, Wests and Phams.

In California, this is what happens after you eat turkey in November.

Mike, animated.

He really likes his gravy.

An’s post-turkey coma.

Post Thanksgiving Ping Pong tournament.

The audience.

What happens when you lose.

Visiting Grandma.

The Tran family Thanksgiving spread.  Eggrolls are awesome.

Time to go home.  Exhausted.

This week seems to be so full of minutia- is anybody else feeling that way?  Tony is here, I’m desperately trying to think of ways to entertain him and still trying to do all the little things that make up my day, even though I technically have more free time than ever before in my life.  But, things that made me smile-

• Mary’s story aired on CBS yesterday!  Check it out if you haven’t yet.  It is chronicling how families use technology to stay in touch, and it’s extra awesome because I helped her find the family (*cough* and she got to come visit me, which was obviously the highlight of her week, *cough*).
• I made a really kickass dinner last night- Captain Crunch Chicken (Zona gave me the inspiration) with THREE dipping sauces to placate Mike’s absurd love of sauce, the easiest homemade Mac and Cheese ever, Potato Salad with Goat Cheese (no mayo!) and biscuits (lame, I know, Mike requested them).  Tony contributed a really good bottle of wine, so I was a happy camper.
• I started physical therapy on my wrist today!  And the doctor took a new x-ray and said the bones are completely healed, it’s just a matter of regaining the entire range of motion.  Such a relief.
• My friend Scott sent me a picture of his Halloween costume, and I dare say it may be the greatest costume ever.  I wish I could post a pic but I don’t want to ruin the surprise.
• Speaking of Scott, and therefore speaking of bacon, my knitting group is going to see Bacon wrestle Mayonnaise in a death match to promote the release of Baconnaise.  My darling Nugget brought the existence of Bacconaise to my attention, Scott pointed out that the debut party was in Seattle, and I shared the link with my knitting group as a joke.  They promptly organized a field trip.  I’m really going to try not to puke.  I really really hate mayonnaise.  I hope it loses.  As somebody who was a vegetarian for 12 years and has never eaten red meat, I’m totally rooting for bacon.