My slacker ways....

So to my dismay I have not held up my most earnest of promises (Sorry Aunt Kris!!! I know you're a diligent reader :) oxo) to keep up on my blog writting, but to be completely honest--it may be slight laziness but mostly it's I value sleep and homework time versus staring at the computer trying to come up with something great and unique to share with my viewing pool.

I have been sick approximately 5 times since the beginning of january with various forms of a cold & one nasty virus which I actually stayed home and slept for 19 hours--not fun. I also had a visit to the ER a few weeks back when I was innocently doing dishes and a very large pot fell off of its hook & landed squarely on top of my head making me dizzy & nauseous so I was promptly sent in a taxi to the Good Samaritan Hospital right in the middle of finishing my first Wedding Cake.

Looks Lovely doesn't it? It's really not exactly how I originally envisioned it unfortunately but I didn't have the time I originally expected -- my fault for not getting it clarified at 7am when class started vs. 9:30 am when chef said 'why don't you turn it in today at noon--you can work thru clean up.' Envision several mor white lilies with more slivery blue & some other accents in silvery blue on the icicles & the icing design on the bottom.... Or more like my "practice cake" below.

In hindsight I think I would have forgone the crystal legs & set the cake flush on the square. I will note draping a square cake is uber challenging, but I did a pretty kick as job for my first time :)

Also I entered a scholarship contest with a friend. Soup & Bread was the name of the game and though we didn't win...I think we got a pretty awesome soup recipe out of the deal. We did a seafood chowder & pretzel bread below are a few pictures of documentation of our practice runs...
We couldn't decide between a Lamb & Vegetable Soup or the Seafood Chowder so we made both to decide...

Raleigh taking a break while things were simmering....

Our friend who joined the soup.... he came to a crushing end...haha bad joke sorry... there were also mussels, nova tidbits, leeks, carrots & potatoes in the chowder.

I also went to my first wine club gathering at Rex Hill with Megan, Phil & Raleigh...
We got to try the AtoZ fresh from the case less than 2 days in its bottle--I was geekily excited by this fact :)
After trying 5 different wines we headed out to lunch & then home....Traffic was kind of heavy & Phil & Megan didn't make it 20 minutes before they'd passed out cold in the back seat--viscious being that I am with a camera, OF course I took photos :)

It was just a short week later that I experienced my very first professional NBA game :) I went with Ricki, Meg, Brooks, Raleigh & his friends Heidi & Jared. An AMAZING display of antics & fabulous basketball--even if you don't like basketball I feel someone could be completely entertained by all of the antics going on between periods. Who knew?! they don't show the in between stuff on tv! But here are a few memorable moments from that day...
me, ricki & meg
ricki, meg & brooks
Raleigh
Heidi & Jared
Mascot Mania- it was "Blaze's" Birthday apparently so all of his buddies came to the party i.e. the LA Laker's Mascot, the Oregon Ducks & Oregon Beaver's Mascots & various other pro NBA team mascots...What a hoot!


Celebrating our win! ...no portland isn't #1 but we came out number 1 at the end of this game :) 102 to 79

....Did I mention they put these crazy skits up on the board at random times? Hilarious!

I also took a little weekend adventure in early march to get out of town and see some things that I had yet to in the beautiful pacific northwest....it is amazingly gorgeous btw my pictures don't really grasp the entirety of it. I began in portland with my cute little Ford Focus rental...silly me I didn't take a picture, I'm usually not so thoughtless when photo documenting but many photos were taken while driving...:) I started by driving to Tillamook on the Oregon Coast and then proceeded to drive North thru Manzanita, Cannon Beach (where the movie Goonies was filmed) I made sure pictures of Haystack rocks were taken. I then drove thru Astoria and decided then to drive to Seattle to visit my long lost friend Kim... It was delightful! we went to an amazing Spanish Restaurant called Taberna del Alabardero had some small plates & temparnillo plus we got a fireworks show from across the river that was an amazing treat. Let the slide show begin!

This is me on my merry way to Tillamook. I stopped at the Cheese Factory & bought cheese :) Then proceeded to drive north along the coast. The Estuary where the Columbia river meets the Pacific was my first stop & I stopped at random other picturesque spots in Manzanita, Hug Beach, An amazing pulloff Lookout point just before Cannon Beach & lots more....

Hay stack Rocks & my delicious turkey sandwich with cranberries & cream cheese in Cannon Beach....

The Astoria Area.....The Bridge from below....

The View from me driving over the bridge....

Just the walking path below the bridge in Astoria....

Horseback riders on the beach in Washington....

A nifty mural in a small town just past Astoria in Washinton...

And the finish! Seattle :) there are a few more pics from this trip that I'll add at a later date :)

Well that's all for now and I'll make my best efforts to add a little more later as there is but I'm running out of time! Need to do some homework :)