RSSMix.com Mix ID 137423

A day late...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:45:11 -0500

Sunday's football game was cold. Why this surprised me, I'm not sure. It is after all November, a month where here in the Pacific Northwest we count on rain, wind and chilly temps. And traditionally, a little flooding...

But I digress...

At the start of each football game at Quest Field, amidst all the drums and hot dogs and coin flips, we raise the flag. Not the US flag... we have already sung to and saluted it down on the field. No... we raise our fan flag... the 12th man flag, embodying the spirit of the fans in the stands.

This opening ceremony business yields the occasional choked up moment for The Old Goat and myself. We're closet woosies. We cry at movies... the sight of a small baby... weddings. A bit ironic that some of our tear-i-est moments have been at the football stadium... a citadel of bravado, testosterone and shoulder pads.

Yet each game day, there we are in the stands... blotting our noses as the honorary pint sized co-captain trots out to the middle of the field next to the hulking uniformed players, hands clasped to meet the adversaries. These little co-captains are typically chosen from those receiving treatment at Children's Hospital. TOG and I are aware that we're going to "well up."

But last Sunday was different. The guest hoister of the 12th man flag is usually a Seattle sports figure, or at least someone recognizable, like Captain Sig from Deadliest Catch. TOG and I did not recognize any of the clues they flashed on the big screen...

Life long resident in the Seattle area...

Retired after 40 years in business...

Served in the armed forces during world war ll...

(the buzz in the stadium grows...)

Stormed the beach at Normandy when he was 22...

(the buzz in the stadium is deafening...)

Then they flash up his name and no one knows who it is...

And no one cares...

Because as the big screen flashes the picture of the very old gentleman wearing his Seahawks jersey over his vintage army uniform, he is exactly the kind of veteran we want to honor... the young men who rose to the occasion, took on something greater than himself and came home to live a very ordinary life. Their actions speak to the hero inside of all of us.

TOG and I are completely welled up as we watch him slowly hoist the 12th man flag. As the flag is tied off, the gentleman turns and waves to the crowd. And he beyond welled up... his shoulders are shaking... not from age but from the fact that he's crying too. With joy at the overwhelming recognition? With sorrow over all the men that didn't survive the beaches of Normandy? With remembrance of those who succeeded?

One thing I am sure of. It had nothing to do with football... and everything to do with remembering and honoring those who serve.

Wordless Wednesday

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:23:40 -0500

The little dude

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:54:59 -0500

In the midst of all the recent hubbub, Ben reached a milestone of 3 months.

Almost as shocking... he reached 18 pounds, 7 ounces. I don't know what will happen when Mom starts giving him cereal.

The next time I see him, I'll try to get a picture of his "cankles". Finding socks that don't dig ditches in his ankles is getting to be a bit of a challenge.

In the meantime, he remains adorable and fun.

And he still smells good!

AG out!

A Pirate's life for me!

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:27:28 -0500

Or not!

The Old Goat snapped this the night of the event. Unfortunately, I didn't see any other pictures that I could show because they all include people from work who have not given permission to show up on ye olde blogge.

Words can't describe how relieved I am to have this event over with. Golly...

We got home around midnight Saturday night. I work up at 5 Sunday morning and eventually TOG and I dragged ourselves to the Seahawks game. I fell asleep after dinner last night and pretty much slept through until 5 this morning. Ugly.

Today the debriefing begins and hopefully by the end of the week I should have the closing details wrapped up and I can get back to my regular life!

Yours Truly,

Pegleg Asthmagirl

Like butter melting in the sun...

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:55:31 -0400

... Asthmagirl is having her own personal melt down.

Whoever thought heading up an auction committee (some of whom put everything off until the last minute) was a full and rewarding experience, needs to live through the final two weeks leading up to the auction when...

... you realize half the donation sheets haven't been filled out

... not enough tickets have been sold

... half the businesses donating dessert decided they were kidding

... you take 10 calls a day from businesses that expect to attend for free (with guests) since they donated a $25 gift card

... the program needs to go to press TOMORROW

... the magician has the swine flu

It's a good thing I'm a professional insomniac.

My postings will likely be limited for the next little while...

AG out!

PS ~ The people that are doing everything right? Elliott Bay Brewing! Thanks for the Keg donation Michael! (And the buckets for the ice and not charging me for the taps!)

Briefly

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:06:32 -0400

I had a lovely post planned this morning...

However, Maddie has been vomiting since 5:06 am and I have spent my alloted blogging time cleaning up.

Now, I am off to work!

Have a wonderful barf-free day!

AG out!

PS~ Thank goodness for the Green Machine portable wet vac with on board cleaning solution....

Catching up on my correspondence

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:03:29 -0400

From: Mr Philip Agogo

Hello Dear,

I am contacting you in regards to a business transfer of a large sum of

money from a dormant account. Though I know that a transaction of this

magnitude will make any one apprehensive and worried, but I am assuring

you that all will be well at the end of the day

PROPOSITION

I discovered an abandoned sum of US$16,00, 000.00 (Sixteen Million

Dollars) in an account that belongs to one of our foreign Customers late

George Brumley. This very account has been dormant for some years now.

After my investigations, I discovered that the account owner has died

since July 2003 with all his family members in a plane crash.

Since his death, nobody has come forward to lay claims to this money and

recently my bank issued a notice that the account will be declared

unserviceable and the funds called to the government treasury since no

relative of the deceased customer came up.

In order to avert this negative action, I now seek your permission to

have you stand as a next of kin so that funds can be released in your

favor as the next of kin.

Please acknowledge receipt of this message in acceptance of our mutual

business endeavor by furnishing me with the following if you are willing

to work with me Actually.

1. Your full name

2. Postal address

3. Profession

4. Telephone and fax numbers

This information will enable me work on the Deceased account file so as

to indicate you as his next of kin after which you will formally apply

for the release of the funds as the next of kin to the Deceased customer

to this bank I work at. We are going to share the total sum on final

conclusion of this project on a 50-50 equal.

If you are truly disposed and capable of handling this, reach me

immediately.

Regards,

Mr Philip Agogo

Dear Mr. A-go-go,

It is so good to hear that all will be well at the end of the day. I have often thought the same thing!

It is very ironic that you have contacted me regarding this opportunity as I have often felt that I must be related to someone with a dormant account filled with large sums of money! Sheerest optimism, I know, but still.... one hopes....

Unfortunately, as opposed to being "disposed", I am actually very "indisposed." The recent postings on my blog should assure you of this. And I don't think I want to go into my "capability."

Allow me to wish you the best of luck finding someone who is both disposed and capable. While the challenge is significant, given the large sum of money you are willing to share, I have no doubt you will succeed.

Regretfully,

Asthmagirl

PS~ Perhaps a little work on your use of zeros in the sum of 16 million wouldn't be amiss.

Tanglewood

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:11:31 -0400

I'm trying to be back at work full time. After two months of working at home, it's a significant challenge.

All I can say is I'm tired and my chest hurts a tiny bit. We've installed a hepa filter in my office though and that seems to be helping the air quality a lot.

Thanks to all of you visiting... it's really sweet. As soon as my schedule settles, I'll get back in the saddle with the blogging thing.

Ben's daddy is out of town so I've been cooking for K1 (and Ben) and visiting with them at night.

How are you all?

Hugs!

ben

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:14:06 -0400

I can't get the video to embed... here is the link...

Ben smiling

Happy Monday!

Lens Envy

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:06:43 -0400

In case anyone wondered what I dream about....!

In other news... I hate to jinx it... but I'm feeling better.

Shhhh!

Just in time to enjoy our Seattle winter!

Not that I'm complaining!!!

AG out!

Skywatch

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:19:24 -0400

From in front of the bagel shop yesterday morning at 7 am!

For more skywatch shots from around the world visit skywatch headquarters!

Skywatch Friday

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:57:02 -0400

Dusk....from the deck of our hotel room in San Diego...

SOOC. Blurry, but I love the colors and of course, no tripod!

For other (much better) shots from around the world, visit Skywatch Headquarters!

Skywatch Friday!

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 10:44:51 -0400

The Northwest tip of Washington State!

For more Skywatch Photos from around the world, visit Skywatch Central!

Skywatch Friday

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:27:07 -0400

From behind the pub...

For other sky shots from around the world, visit Skywatch Headquarters!

Skywatch Friday

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:57:43 -0400

From Virginia...

To see other great skywatch shots from around the world (or add your own) visit skywatch headquarters!

Skywatch Friday

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:38:34 -0400

A couple weeks ago I was driving home at dusk and I turned the corner and saw all this color...

I pulled over and shot this remarkably unattractive Port of Seattle building! I hated the look of it in the shot, so I decided to drive a few blocks out of my way and get up on a hill above the next town.

Of course, by then I was losing the color.

Which I guess is a lesson to work with what you have in front of you... at least around sunset!

To see other sky shots from around the world, visit Sky Watch headquarters!

Skywatch Friday

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:33:32 -0400

Today's entry is part of a series of photos I took last week...

This one doesn't really qualify as a sky shot because you can barely see the sky. But I'm in love with the perspective... and the contrast of blue balloon and blue sky.... and the reflection of the sky in the central air heater!

This is another shot taken from up in the balloon that shows part of Puget Sound and a hint of the lovely clouds just behind that tree...

Here's a much better view of the clouds after we came down from the balloon. It seemed like the sky would never end!

For more sky shots from around the world, or to add your own, visit skywatch central!

Dinner with The Electrician

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:23:25 -0400

So last week, K2/Girlfriend's former significant other (they dated for forever it seems) saw my post about the nacho heartburn. He facebooked me back about this place he'd eaten at with pulled pork sandwiches. He knows I have a weakness for the pulled pork. Did I want to try it?

Um, yeah!

Then he texted me yesterday about what time... Oh yeah! I'd forgotten it was set up for Monday night! My evening just improved like a thousand percent.

(It's worth noting here that we've had The Electrician in our lives since like 2003 at least. We still like him. In fact TOG bumped into him at the baseball game last week and was so excited to have seen him. We know The Electrician and K2/Girlfriend are just friends now.)

So anyway we get to this tiny place and it doesn't look very glamorous. But when you open the door... the smell! The smell! And then I saw the awards....

Dude has won some BBQ awards from some Kansas City competitions! The anticipation builds! After much contemplation, we made our selections and ordered. I settled for the pulled pork plate with two sides. The Electrician went for the Boss Hog with the Memphis (hot link and slaw) on top. [Editor's note: please note that you can buy pulled pork by the pound to take home. AG is doomed. Doomed I tell you.]

And here they are...

Pulled pork... note the "burnt end pieces" in the sandwich. OMG! And you can see the rub (which is perfect). I started pouring the sauce and then realized it was going to be more than I could handle and I just dipped instead!

Here's The Electrician's "Boss Hog". It comes pre-sauced. Uh oh. That's gonna be a mess....

A couple tasting notes here. The rub was fantastic. It accentuated and did not overpower the smoky flavor of the pork. The sauce was amazing. It was not sweet (vinegar based) and the flavor built over time. Halfway through the sandwich, the flavors were a full symphony in my mouth. The beans... The Electrician and I thought they were a little "tabasco-y". The corn bread. OMG. They put lemon zest in their corn bread. This was very light and not too sweet, but the zest totally cooled off the rub fest on your tongue. It took your taste buds completely the other way. Amazing.

Best of all...

They have a hand wash station right in the middle of the dining room.

These guys have it down. I'll definitely be back.

Thanks Electrician!

AG out!

Skywatch Friday

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:36:01 -0400

Our weather lately has been rather changable... from nice mornings to hail storms; from humid misty mornings to half hearted sprinkles...

Yesterday as I driving to work, I noted clearing and as I looked east toward the mountains... interesting clouds. Then I dropped down into the valley and saw Mt. Rainier....

It seemed like every cloud in the sky contributed to the overall beauty...

To see more sky shots from around the world, or to post your own... Visit Skywatch Central!

Skywatch Friday

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:23:28 -0400

I know it's summer but I didn't have my camera this week and as I looked through my library of favorite shots, this one called my name!

My husband took this shot during one of our snowy winter days. I've always loved the glimmer of the setting sun behind the trees.

To see more sky shots from around the world or to post your own, visit Sky Watch Headquarters!

Comedy

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:10:27 -0400

Saturday night, TOG and I went to a comedy festival with friends. This is dangerous for two reasons...

Comedy makes me laugh really hard (duh!). Thus I rate comedy shows on the official Asthmagirl Inhaler Lung Scale (AILS) which is similar to how scientists predict earthquakes except far more exact.
Most comedy festivals are in downtown Seattle which is triple jeopardy for the lungs; bus diesel, parking garages AND laughing as hard as you can...? Time for AILS!

So the two headliners were:

Mike Birbiglia and...

Kathleen Madigan!

While the two opening comedians were very good, these two had me reaching for the inhaler multiple times. (Yes, laughter is a trigger!).

Kathleen Madigan alone? We saw her last year. She was a 4.5 on the AILS.... Kathleen Madigan and Mike Birbiglia? They scored an all time high at 6!

Thus, on Sunday I was struggling with how bad my chest hurt from both coughing as hard as I could and laughing until I cried!

I would far rather have asthma issues from laughter than anything else though!

AG out!

Skywatch Friday

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:44:39 -0400

The proverbial dark cloud... and I think I see some silver lining! Taken on a blustery day overlooking Puget Sound...

For more views from around the world, or to share your own... visit Sky Watch Central.

Cupcake

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 09:03:19 -0400

Cupcake: (noun; proper) Used by Asthmagirl as a term of affection for those she loves. In it's casual form, describes small cake in paper wrapper that is the perfect "after dinner" delight. See phrase "pass the cupcakes, Bubba".

The pub has started offering cupcakes. We have started bringing one home for K3, much to her delight. This is a stout chocolate cupcake, made with the pub's famous No-Doubt Stout ale! The icing is a peppermint creamcheese concoction that is just right... not too sweet and not too runny.

Perfection!

(And yes, I promptly sent my hand model (K3) to the kitchen to wash her hands. Sorry for the goober-y finger... and the hang nail!)

Lazy Girl Dinner

Sat, 16 May 2009 23:31:01 -0400

What to eat first...

Did you ever have one of those dinners where everything on your plate was calling out to be eaten first?! With The Old Goat at work and no one to please but ourselves, K3 and I decided to go all out and spoil ourselves tonight....

After much discussion, here's the menu K3 and I whipped up for dinner...

Our favorite Ballpark "lite" hot dog, grilled of course! Asthmagirl's famous tarragon potato salad! And fresh fruits and berries drizzled with fat free vanilla yogurt!

It's almost healthy! And it sure beats the heck out of canned soup!

What did you have?

AG out!

Gluttony

Mon, 11 May 2009 01:34:01 -0400

Mother's day was full of surprises. I knew I was likely getting a trip to the pub, but I didn't know who was coming and who wasn't. In fact, I'm not sure TOG did either.

But really, it was low key and fattening tasty!

Behold, the jazz band....

The warm up act in the food is always the Brew-hole-io. Made from brewers grain and rolled in cinnamon and sugar and served blazing hot, I love them. Tog... not so much. He claims they are not sweet enough....

TOG's breakfast...

Spicy Sausage Hash topped with poached eggs, home made salsa and sour cream.

My breakfast:

Malted blueberry banana pancakes with cinnamon butter. And a "mug o' mimosa"! Across the table you can see the tahini stuffed french toast...

And the preferred breakfast...

Chorizo and gravy over biscuits topped with poached eggs!

I'm still full...

AG out!

Being Thankful

Mon, 04 May 2009 08:00:14 -0400

My old boss always told me that gratitude is the great leveler... that we all have things in our life to be thankful for. That thankfulness helps us to approach each day a little more humble... that it teaches us kindness and patience. Today I'm thankful for all the positive things in my life over the last week...

Co-workers that helped me through the worst asthma attack in years (see Living with Asthma)
My beloved Dr. M. who invariably finds a place in his completely booked schedule to see me
Short dose of steroids which although keeping me up most of the night, appears to be motivating the lungs to do all the right things
The brute squad for laying on me and cheering me up
TOG for reminding me to take all my meds
Having a recliner which enables me to sleep upright until my lungs can handle laying down.
My boss for finally understanding how mortifying my asthma is to me
My laptop Guido, for letting me get the bulk of my work done remotely last week
K2 and K3 for helping around the house

I'm still trying to process everything that's happened the last few days... it feels like I'm in a fog which is likely due to a tremendous lack of sleep and lots of breathing treatments. But I'm really trying to take to heart what I need to learn from last week so that I can do better next time. I'm thinking kitch-y inhaler necklace!

I'm also trying to be patient because the things that I want to do right now are going to take a couple more weeks of recovery to do well. I'd love to hike Rattlesnake Ledge again for mother's day, but TOG has to work and I'm pretty sure my lungs would pop right out of my chest if I tried to gain altitude. I'm just now walking up the stairs without passing out at the top!

What I am doing is bringing a homemade lunch to my coworkers....

...the ones that went for my inhaler, got me to my car, started my breathing treatments and sat with me through the after effects of medication. I want to thank them with something I made with my own hands, something I took the time and trouble over. It's the least I can do...

Do you have something you're thankful for?

Asthmagirl out

Grillin' and a giveaway!

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:04:12 -0400

A few weeks ago, a guy named Al contacted me from Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce. Like many of the other bloggers that Al connected with, he wanted to send me samples of Country Bob's sauce so that I could try it and blog about it. Then he'd let me give away a couple bottle to commenters on the blog. I have to admit, my first thought was "Cool"! My second thought was "What if I don't like it." So I emailed Al back and asked him. He didn't seem worried about it, so I agreed. My Country Bob's sauce arrived promptly.

In the meantime, I moved my blog and went through reindexing and prolonged feed contortions and waited for the weather to clear so we could grill.

Tonight, TOG (my beloved Old Goat) decided to throw ribs on the grill. He said he had a plan for Country Bob and his sauce. I roasted some veggies... (Carrots, Asperagus and Parsnips) while TOG ran the grill. As it turns out, TOG applied Country Bob straight to the ribs. Talk about good! The perfect amount of tanginess and it just really accented the ribs beautifully. Personally, I was prepared to cobble together a sauce... maybe some soy, brown sugar, garlic, lime, herbs... I was sure I could put together a good sauce. But just straight on the ribs... classic, simple, savory! It actually created a slight glaze on the ribs that was oh so desirable! In hind sight, it might even work to dribble a little on roasted veggies, which I normally do with just olive oil and sea salt.

So, summer's coming and we'll be doing a lot more grilling. Do you grill? Do you want to perk up your grilling? Leave a comment below telling me what you like to grill or what you'd grill if you had some Country Bob's! I'll choose a couple winners to recieve some Country Bob's of their very own!

Contest ends on Sunday Evening!

PS~ I wish I had pictures to show you but the ribs were so good, that TOG is in the kitchen eating the last one. So much for left overs!

Poor Decisions

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:37:05 -0400

Just a quick piece of advice... if you have one of those neck warmer seed things, and you put it in the microwave to warm it up... you shouldn't set it for 5 minutes and walk away.

Someone at work did. I was at the sink washing my hands when she came running and threw the microwave door open and the smoke rolled out. I couldn't help but cough as I backed away and retreated to my office around the corner. I was surprised moments later when the smoke penetrated into my office through the air system. It only took moments for me to realize that I needed to leave the building quickly. This is the beginning of NOT recognizing what is happening. I paused to think about what I might need and grabbed my work keys so I wouldn't be locked out.

Things I didn't grab:

inhaler
coat
purse
cellphone
car keys

The result had me living one of my worst moments... a full blown asthma attack in front of my boss, fellow managers and the girl with the neck pillow. And there was nothing I could do to stop it. I could not even get enough air to say "inhaler". Fortunately, one of the managers knew what to do and sent someone for my inhaler. I'm on my knees now out on the sidewalk and once I had the inhaler, it took 6 or 7 hits before I could quit coughing and catch my breath. This lead to lightheadedness, uncontrolable shaking and chattering teeth. They got me up and to my car where I got my portable nebulizer out and did an Atrovent treatment. While staff came out to check on me regularly, one manager sat in my car with me for over an hour until my breathing was stable enough to drive myself home.

When I got home, I got the word from TOG that I made another poor decision in not having someone call him. Apparently my reputation for making poor decisions in the midst of asthmatic distress is legion and TOG would have felt better about calling the shots than having folks at work wondering what to do for me. I confess that I was far more concerned with breathing than I was calling home but in hind site, it would have been a smart thing to do.

Now I'm just pondering how to help my lungs recover quickly. Hopefully a moderate amound of meds a couple more days down time will put things back on the right track.

The Canyon

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:57:59 -0400

After seeing the scenery for the last several miles, I was excited when we entered the canyon. There was so much to see, the weather was warm and there were few people there. The recipe for a perfect hike!

The first thing that struck me was how different this was from our Alpine hikes in the mountains. Now we were hiking the floor of a desert canyon that had a small stream. All around us were rock walls and scrub brush but in this little canyon, there was life... This tree is an unfortunate exception... S

I loved that tree! And this one...

As it turned out, the beavers loved some of the trees there too!

We saw a number of dams the little critters had created. There must have been a whole colony of beavers in that canyon!

As the hike continued on, a number of people that had passed us to head up the canyon faster than "Camera girl" were heading back. And they kept saying the same things: "Snakes ahead" or even scarier: "Rattlesnake ahead about 100 yards on your left". I did not realize this about myself as we were planning this trip... I had hypnotized myself into believing we wouldn't encounter any. Even though I left Maddie at home, I still didn't think we'd see any. So having people say that really began to instill fear in me. I don't have an overt fear of snakes, but there were no snakes in Alaska and damn few at my grandma's house in Oregon, so I don't have a base of childhood experiences with snakes to draw on. I have years of seeing them behind the glass at the zoo! So as we pressed on TOG would reassure with wisdom like "Just remember, a snake can only strike the length of their body so as long as you stay a bodies length away, you'll be fine" or "They only rattle to warn you away, just keep poking your hiking pole in big shrubs and grasses so you don't get surprised"! Believe me, none of this helped and I was feeling pretty skittish in the rocky areas of the canyon!

And then things like this would catch my attention...

And things like this...

I began to calm down (mostly because I hadn't seen or heard a rattler). I even took pictures of flowers!

These are the yellow ones all over the slopes. They look a lot better from a distance in my opinion! Up close they look a bit weed like!

I even took pictures of rocks... (cuz I'm a dork)

Because many of the rocks in eastern Washington are volcanic basalt and look like swiss cheese!

We finally decided to turn and head back. It was hot and we were drinking a lot of our water...and we had a long drive to get home. So there we are strolling all carefree down the canyon when we came upon this...

I was scared spitless. (It was hot, remember) But as it turned out, the snake was dead which was a huge relief to me. I found I did not want to hear a snake rattle, but I was sad that he was dead. He had quite an injury on his side.

We carried on down the trail and TOG was leading. He'd offered to let me lead several times, but I didn't want to be the snake spotter. So as we rounded a corner of the trail TOG was about 2 strides ahead of me when I saw this long shape slither between the two of us! Snake! Reflexively, I screamed and leaped sideways off the trail into the brush. TOG planted his hiking poles and pole vaulted forward about 8 feet, landing in time to turn and see the snake slither into the underbrush. My heart was pounding at this time. We were both laughing about how "the snake spotter" stepped right over a snake leaving his wife to sound the alarm!

We were almost back to the head of the canyon when TOG took the following pictures...

And the close up...

Pardon the bright red cheeks... I was a little warm! It was about 85 degrees in the canyon! Thankfully, I brought spare clothes to change into on the way back so I didn't have to ride home all sweaty!

Because this has gotten so long, I'll just show you a couple more pics from the way home...

The Kittitas Valley with the Stewart range in the background...

And the wind power on the slopes... TOG informs me that each blade is 100 feet long. I had the lens on full zoom trying to get this shot, we were so far away. I was wishing I'd brought my telephoto!

Thanks for coming with me! It's been fun sorting through 130 photos trying to find the best ones! And for Lauren, this drive... about 2.5 hours from our house to the canyon. We could probably do it in two hours without all the potty breaks and stopping for food!

Asthmagirl out!

Into the Valley...

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:34:46 -0400

As we came down out of the pass, the views were amazing! I love the openess of Eastern Washington... however the mountains still had one last view for us...

The Stewart Range! For all you Earth Day buffs, this range is the largest above ground granite deposit in the US. That's a lot of counter tops! Stewart Mountain is the tallest peak on the left. I loved the view so much...

...I shot it through the rear window as we passed it! Don't laugh... you would have done the same thing!

From there, the vista opened up a lot more as we entered a grassy plateau...

Then we began to descend into the valley.

You can see the hills become more sage brush-y!

Some of the hillsides were covered in a multitude of these yellow flowers.

And I saw one winery. Cathy, I'm almost positive it was a winery. I told myself I would remember the name and I think it was "Rocky Cove".

We finally arrived at the canyon. Hat, check. UV shirt and sunscreen, check. Bug spray, check! Hiking poles for fending off snack attacks, check!

As we began walking into the canyon, I couldn't help but notice the rocky outcroppings on the canyon walls above us. I quickly became a fan!

I wasn't in Western Washington anymore, Aunty Em!

Tomorrow, we'll see all the surprises the canyon has in store for us! Did someone say Rattlesnakes?

Over the pass

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 07:15:00 -0400

We left for our hike early Sunday morning. I'd suggested to TOG that we might drive over the night before but he wanted to do the whole thing in one day. I also campaigned to bring my little Maddie, my hiking buddy, but we were both worried about the rattlesnakes and so we left her safely in Seattle with the rest of the brutes!

Our first pit stop was for breakfast right at the base of the pass. I stopped to take a picture of Mt. Si. Long time readers may remember the hike that totally kicked my butt last year. Where we turned back half way up the 5 out of 5 difficulty trail? Yeah... This is a pic of Mt. Si, home of the most difficult trail I've tried.... I've cleverly placed an arrow at the half way point where I threatened to heave TOG over the side if we didn't head back to the truck told TOG the lungs were toast and I needed to turn back... It's that little shoulder of the mountain there!

From there we headed up the pass and started getting into the snow!

As we got close to the summit, there was a large amount of snow on the side of the road... Looks like it will be quite some time before we can even drive to the trail heads much less hike up into the mountains.

We also caught a pretty good view of one of the ski areas. I hear that snow skiing is pretty much over but the snow boarders are still hitting it!

The lake at the top of the pass is still mostly frozen over.... ice and snow as far as the eye can see. Elevation is around 3100 feet. You wouldn't know there's a lake under there!

Once you come down from the pass, you realize you're not in Western Washington anymore. The trees are smaller and fewer and far between...

The vista is starting to open up... Tomorrow's post will find us with some excellent views of the countryside. We'll also be starting our hike up the canyon. An adventure awaits!

He's back!

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:51:00 -0400

Last year, I wrote a post about this guy because I liked his show. It made me think about cooking in a different way. The show itself acknowledged that disaster did indeed lurk around every corner and even the most proficient of cooks (which I am not) was at risk of public humilations! I appreciated the fact that he never took success for granted, and that he was secretly thrilled each time he successfully pulled off another caper! Who am I talking about? This guy here...

Chef Robert Irvine! And the Show?

I love Dinner Impossible. Yes, yes....I know Robert exagerated his resume and they booted him and brought Micheal Symon in, (who's an awesome chef) but the show lost it's ooomph. Chef Symon lacks that somethin' somethin' that keeps me tuned into the show. Maybe it's Chef Irvine's openness... disaster is lurking behind every pot and everyone knows it? Maybe it's his ability to throw together a menu? Maybe it's watching a good manager wrangle people and ingredients into a symphony of culinary excellence? Maybe it's his deep fried peanut butter and jelly dough-nuts?

Whatever the reason, he's back with six new episodes and I'm excited! I'm on board! I can't wait until Wednesday night. Chef Irvine will tide me over until my ultimate favorite show starts next week...

Hi. My name is Asthmagirl and I'm a food nerd.

Catering perfection

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:15:15 -0400

It feels like it's a been a total food week here on the blog! Not that that's a bad thing! Today's post moves us from food that I've cooked to food that someone else has cooked! (and I get to eat!)

Today I hauled my crabby back to work (not the best idea I've ever had) because I had a date with my event planning sidekick to go see the last caterer. Yes... it's time for the final tasting! (that sounds so ominous!) This caterer is kind of unique because they offer you a tasting AFTER you've indicated what menu you're interested in. Then when you go to the tasting, they make that food for you.

So we started off with one of our appetizers. We wanted the "breads and spreads" which is nine different spreads served at an appetizer station with toast points, pita points and bagel bites. We got to try four of the spreads with a deli bread...

From the top moving clockwise, Olive Tapenade (OMG! Sweet Mother of Pearl), Sweet onion spread (OMG), Roasted red pepper hummus (bland but pleasant) and Herbed salmon spread (nice!). I liked the tapenade so much and my friend liked the onion dip so much that we protested when the chef tried to remove the plate from our table. He finally offered to package them so we could take them with us!

Our next plate was salad. We wanted two salads because not everyone likes Caesar.

So on the left, the most amazing Caesar ever... with fresh croutons. I don't really like Caesar, but I couldn't quit eating it! The salad on the right is wild greens with gorgonzola, candied walnuts and cherry tomatoes with a pear vinegrette. Yummy! That dressing had "oomph"!

Finally, for the main, we selected the following....

At the top of the plate is the pasta dish... We wanted both a veggie and meat main so we wouldn't have to have veggie plates on the side. The pasta dish is penne in a light garlic cream sauce with sun dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts. Again, I don't even like sun dried tomatoes and these were quite good. The other main at the bottom of the plate is chicken marsala with sauted mushrooms and sweet onions. Baby. I was full by this time and I kept eating "one more bite". It's embarassing to have your gluttany hanging out in public!

The chef was great! We totally enjoyed his humor and his cooking. This caterer runs 7 crews and your chef for the event is assigned. Our chef asked us to request him so he could be attached to our event. I'll gladly do it. He's an approachable guy and I want him on my team! Besides I loved all his tattoos and his gaged ears!

I'm still full. Thank goodness that lemon cake from hell is gone so I don't have to get up and go eat some! I wonder how many calories are burned walking into the kitchen...

Asthmagirl out!

Chicken Pie for the Soul

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:59:25 -0400

Yesterday I roasted a chicken in the crock pot. The theory being that I wouldn't have to get up and cook. So then I got up and made crash hot potatoes too. And steamed broccoli. The chicken was amazing! Did you know that if you wad up three balls of foil and set the chicken on the balls in the crock pot, it keeps the chicken up out of the juice and truly roasts it? Love me some foil balls! The chicken was simple, just a sprinkle of fresh tarragon and a splash of white wine in the bottom of the pot and it was amazing! I had to talk fast to keep TOG from eating all the leftover chicken!

So tonight, I diced up the leftover chicken and skimmed the fat off the broth and made "good for the soul" chicken pie! You know how when you're not feeling great, you tend to focus on exactly what you want to eat? The whole phenomenon of "what sounds good"? Like the better the food is, the faster you're cured? I'm totally like that when I'm feeling asthmatic! I guess I'm like that with a funky back too!

Oh, and I can never make that lemon cake again. It's like crack. And the glaze? Straight into the vein, baby!
In other news... I've been having fun with the laptop camera. Cassie has been glued to me for the last 48 hours. It's like she's in a coma...

"Psst! Cassie!"

"What...? Is there a squirrel? I was sleeping!"

"Here, rub my belly!"

"I'm still your favorite, right? Wait... don't tell Maddie I said that..."

Asthmagirl out!

Lemon Aid

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:15:01 -0400

As I lay in the recliner working on the newsletter for my agency, TOG nagged courteously reminded me that I have lemons to use before they go to the shriveled fruit afterlife... I'd already made lemon chicken pasta but I desperately wanted lemon cake. I hobbled to the pantry and checked for available ingredients, and realized I had everything I needed to make the following recipe:

Sour Cream Lemon Cake (OMG!)

Ingredients

9 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 T grated lemon rind
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter, sugar and lemon zest using an electric mixer.

Add eggs and beat well until combined.

Fold through sour cream, SR flour, vanilla and lemon juice.

Pour batter into a greased and lined cake pan (I used a square 8 inch lined with parchment, I forgot to grease anything) and place in a preheated (350*F) oven for 40 minutesor until cake is cooked when tested with a skewer. Cajole youngest daughter into bending over to remove cake from oven.

I removed the cake from the pan after about 10 minutes. Then instead of dusting it with powdered sugar, I made a glaze using the zest of one lemon, the juice of one lemon, 1 tbsp melted butter and maybe a cup or so of confectioners sugar. I poked holes in the cake with a skewer and drizzled like crazy!

Then I had tiny piece after tiny piece. I'll probably need another tiny piece when it's time for the next pain pill...I love lemon cake. And this one is so rich....so flavorful...Oh Baby!

We now return to your regularly scheduled back pain...

Irish night at the pub!

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 02:18:45 -0400

It being St Patricks Day yesterday, you have to know that TOG and I headed to the pub for corned beef and cabbage! I love it when the pub has a special menu and it's the only night all year when they have green beer!

(for green beer, look on top of the taps)

But for me, it's more about the menu which they do a great job on. It's their full menu, plus the special Irish menu... I had shepherds pie!

Oh... There's the menu there. Unfortunately, you can't read it from here, but for dessert, I had the cupcake... A chocolate/stout ale/sour cream cupcake with green cream cheese frosting. No pictures of course (forgot!).

While there I ran into one of my favorite families...

Yes, imom and her lovely dancing daughter! The males of the family were there too, but they weren't so hot on stopping by for a picture! I believe there may be more pictures on her site!

Ultimately, we had a lovely time... it was crowded but fun!

Especially if you're into green beer!

Did you celebrate last night?

PS~ If you volunteered to test coffee, you probably got an email from me asking for your address. Even if you've given it to me before. Because I'm not as organized as I should be!

The benefits

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 01:50:29 -0500

As always, after an entertaining foray into the land of the lung fest, it takes a couple days to get back on track. As opposed my quick return to being an insomniac... [I think I have a membership card and a secret decoder ring here somewhere!] As I check back in with family, friends and co-workers, I'm always a little surprised on what I missed out on!

My friend M, at work told me in the first meeting on Tuesday that she kept watching me because although "I'm used to you being so freakin' pale, it's the first time I've seen you with no color to your lips. I thought you were either going to turn blue or fall out of the chair!" How odd... I felt like I was coping well at that point...

From the blog front, I'm trying to make my way back to visiting everyone. I keep getting distracted by a)the huge pile of dishes in the sink and b) all the dust bunnies drifting across the kitchen floor. How did that happen in just a few days? Anyway... I stopped by the Respiratory Therapy Cave and morphed to Rick's blog where I learned about the seven benefits of asthma. So far, I rate myself four out of seven... I have developed perspective, vulnerability, empathy and sharing. I have yet to develop religiosity, intelligence or cleanliness. I really have my doubts about ever developing the cleanliness, but my asthma doesn't have a problem with dust mites or that attitude might change! And the intelligence thing... there are times when I still feel no more intelligent about my asthma than I did 6 years ago. And just for the record, I used to celebrate in kind of a wacko way, my anniversary of becoming an asthmatic, but now I feel blase' about it. It was however six years ago in February of 2003. *confetti* Time flies!

And now... I really want to be non asthmatic for a while! I'm totally burnt out on this winter thing... and this breathing thing... and the bad air crap! It snowed again this morning. It's almost March for goodness sake. I've got a serious yen to run or hike or bike or something. Especially biking... I stare at my bike every morning when I go out to get in my car. I dream of an exotic new bike helmet... I want to throw my camera over my shoulder and take off into the mountains... I've been drooling over a new lens for the last month! I swing back and forth between "I must have it" and "It's awfully expensive, I should wait". The thing is, the used ones on eBay are almost the same price as the new ones at one of the online stores. I've got it in a shopping cart online, I just can't press the "buy it now" button. How pathetic!

Enough Blathering! Have a wonderful day! Dream of spring! And Sandals!

Cue the music

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 01:34:21 -0500

Music: $10,000 Pyramid

Clue: Biscuit dough

Answer:...?

Clue: Wall paper paste

Answer: What is things that are white?

Clue: Pie crust

Answer: What is dough? Dough-y?

Clue: Spud like

Answer: What are mashed potatoes?

Clue: It lives

Answer: Asthmagirl's pasty white face! *confetti, applause*

And no, I'm not posting a picture of it. I don't know why I turn whiter than white when I can't breathe... must be that stupid oxygen thing.

The worst appears to be over. I can tell this because instead of sleeping for 12 hours last night, I slept for about 4.5. All systems back to normal! I swear, I will never skip the flu shot again! I was on the phone with our wireless phone dude yesterday.... I'm croaking at him, he's croaking at me and we're both bemoaning the fact that we never got around to the flu shot and sharing what therapies work the best. FYI, he swears by theraflu severe cold- daytime formula. I prefer to max out on tylenol and vitamin water!

So what did I miss while I was jousting with the airways?

Ick

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:16:29 -0500

Nothing to see here... move along...

Spent yesterday in my jammie's sleeping. Dizzy. Headache.

Bodes well for the dinner meeting I have to lead tonight.

Yours in dizziness....

You don't say...

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:26:56 -0500

Since my muse, who is in charge of all things said on this blog appears to be at a resort somewhere enjoying a massage and some spa treatements, I'm left with no choice but to explore the things that aren't normally said on the blog...

I was reading some of the reveiws of the top 25 blogs in Time magazine. Each of the summaries showed a sample entry topic for that blog and then "the entry you will never see."

For Example, from the blog Zen Habits...

"The blog excels at offering specific strategies to improve and simplify your life (16 Ways to Get Motivated When You're In a Slump, 20 Ways to Eliminate Stress from Your Life, 30 Simple Family Pleasures.) This is the rare blog that can actually improve your everyday life."

Sample Zen Habits post: Here are my simple steps to achieving Email Zen: 1) Don't check email first thing in the morning, or have it constantly on...

Entry you'll never see: Whenever you find yourself feeling a bit down, there's no better pick-me-up than treating yourself to a shopping spree.

All of this got me thinking about what my sample post would be... Let's try this:

"While carrying your Chihuahua on a hike, stop wheezing long enough to point your camera at the nearest peak, try to capture any interesting "light" in the photo that can be remarked upon later as you write your blog while wearing comfortable shoes, craving coffee, dithering about your hair and discussing food. Oh... and breathe!"

And the entry you'll never see...

"Going shoe shopping at the mall is fantasitc... all the exhaust from idling SUVs as I dart across the parking lot, the smokers providing the welcoming puffs in front of the entry way, the scents and perfumes wafting from Nordstroms... Macy's... Body Shop, the young men covered in Battle Axe "maiden bait"... It is a feast for the senses!"

Which made me wonder what y'all would say on your blogs! Or not say! Well...?

It's not enough?

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:10:53 -0500

It's not enough that we had a week of horrible air...

Air quality is Unhealthy For Sensitive Groups. People with asthma and other respiratory problems should limit outdoor exertion and take necessary health precautions. A burn ban may be in place, prohibiting the use of uncertified wood stoves and fireplaces. Weather changes can affect air quality quickly so please pay attention to your local weather forecasts.

Then the weather got so cold I busted out the gloves and hat yesterday...

Today I wake up to this...

And this....

So much for my thoughts of running soon...

I'm so ready for spring.

Asthmagirl out

PS~ I realize this is nothing for other areas of the country. I feel pathetic whining about snow. But we're just not used to it here....

Observations

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 02:36:19 -0500

I'm looking forward to today. This will the first time in a week the air quality will be healthy. The lungs are back from their jaunt at the beach and seem to have resumed the task at hand without any additional complaints. I should probably be celebrating a little... I got through this with my high octane inhaler and no additional interventions! *confetti* I think I'll take the dogs for a walk today!

I was browsing through my photo files and found this picture from December when it was so cold and snowy.

I can't think of any other reason Maddie would allow Cassie to lay on top of her!

The other picture I found that I liked is this one.

K2/Girlfriend commented yesterday about my Bad Wife episode and the lack of sweeping. She's right. This guy did sweep my kitchen floor last week when he dropped by to see her. This is K4, K2's ~~inamorato~~ ~~love interest~~ ~~companion~~ good friend. They're not dating. Much. Which explains why he's sweeping my kitchen....

It may take a while to resume the bad wife chronicles. I cleaned out the fridge and wiped one of the shelves last night at 11:00. I'm not sure what came over me. I'll do better!

What will you do today?

Asthmagirl out!

To Sum Up

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:12:39 -0500

Thank you for your well wishes yesterday. The lungs are just rebelling because of all the stagnant air and thus pollution they have been forced to breathe for the last five days. The air is supposed to clear today (soon, baby, soon) and then all should be well in lung land! Of course, if I had a few of these it might hurry things along!

In the meantime, the lungs are gone on hiatus. In a big way...

Hopefully they'll come back from their beach trip rested and ready to work!

In other news, we have a new recruit at our house. Remember this guy? Percy?

I'm not kidding when I say I have used this little mandoline almost daily since I got it for Christmas in 2007. We have done more salads and soups and potato salads and apple pies and the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, his little blade is not sharpenable (is that a word) or removable/replaceable. So our last few games have been eventful. Basically, he still shaves onions but he's terrified of leeks or carrots. He's being benched! Poor guy...

Meet his large, steroidal cousin, Maurice...

Maurice came to us via an incredible trade with Costco. His stats are great! And Maurice's blades can be changed out. Maurice isn't going to take any crap from a leek. And you carrots that think you're all buff and what not? Maurice is gonna slice you up.

Thin.

Paper thin.

He may even julienne you if you get in his face.

I think we're going to play an exhibition game tonight. Maurice vs. The Chicken Pot Pie Veggies.

I'll referee!

Asthmagirl out!

From the "what were we thinking" files...

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:24:50 -0500

We woke up yesterday morning with the last of our season tickets staring us in the face. We decided to try making it to the game... Why was this even a decision? Because it was supposed to stop snowing, and it hadn't. And because we'd broken one of TOG's chains the day before and were down to one. We would have to rely on public transportation.

Let me explain... I realize that in other parts of the county (certainly in Alaska where I grew up), this snow is nothing. But here in Seattle, we have our own snow plan. If it snows, one of our three vintage plows will try to clear a path from City Hall to I-5, the main freeway between Canada and Mexico. And then we wait, because it will all melt in a day or so anyway. In the meantime, our citizens will bundle up and try to sled on practically bare pavement on one of Seattle's many hills and mass quantities of cocoa and lattes are consumed. Alternatively, bystanders will bundle up and watch drivers try to get their cars up one of Seattle's many steep ass hills. Occasionally, if they think the driver has a fighting chance, they'll help push, but mostly they try to stay out of the way as it comes sliding back down. For Seattle-ites, snow is like a festival once every two years or so. Buses go on snow routes and the state patrol advises folks to stay home and quit leaving their cars all over the roads.

So, when newcomers ask "where are your snow plows" or "why aren't you spreading sand or salt" or even "how can an entire city come to a standstill like this" they don't understand the plan... which is basically 'enjoy it while you can and wait it out'. We don't have a multitude of plows or a mountain of sand here in the lowlands. We have rain... which usually provides a quick death to those hastily assembled snowmen in the front yard!

Thus, when we decided to fight the existing snow and below freezing temperatures to try to make it to the game...we knew it would be "a long day".

Here's where we started... waiting at the train station. Not snowing yet...

After the storm, but before the fresh snow.

We weren't able to get on the trains. They were full by the time they got to our stop. Full. They could barely shut the doors. Everyone decided to ride the train. Plan B... find the Seahawk shuttle bus and ride that.

Here we are on the shuttle bus... this was on the way to I-5 and before the chain broke...

You probably can't see how hard it was snowing. We thought it would stop any minute...

Here we are stopped on I-5. Yes. The driver stopped the bus on I-5 and GOT OUT to check the broken chain that was beating the hell out of the bus. Dude. It's a freeway. You don't GET OUT on the snowy freeway. One person losing control and sliding into you...

Can you see how hard it's snowing? So... once wasn't enough... he stopped the bus again in Seattle. That was before the chain completely broke and fell off. We're late for the game, but we make it...

That mist... that's the snow. It wasn't supposed to... but it snowed. And snowed. And snowed.

Here's the field before they started scraping the yard lines. Note the big ring of snow around the edge. That was like 4 feet high.

Here's what the freeway and ramps were looking like.

This is the train station.

During the game TOG and I decided that although we had return tickets on both the train and the bus shuttle, we would take the train. The freeway was looking really bad, and the shuttle bus had already lost a chain... plus we weren't sure where to catch it because they'd dropped us off in the wrong place. So after the game, we headed for the train station. It was 27 degrees. We waited for 2 hours. The trains didn't come. Because the switches on the tracks were frozen. They couldn't get the trains switched over to the main tracks. They had to send a guy out with a blow torch to thaw the tracks. We caught the last train going south.

Once we got back to our station, we still had to hike to where we left the truck for the shuttle. It was getting really cold and snowing hard. Plus the snow was getting deeper. Here I am following TOG. He's in this picture somewhere, but I can't see him...

Finally we reached the truck...

After we made it back up the hill to our house, it snowed some more. A lot more. All night. Remember yesterday's photo of the back yard...? With the drifts?

This was this morning at 5 am...

It's after 7 now and it's still snowing.

I'm ready for it to stop.

Asthmagirl out...

Football games and friends

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:58:13 -0500

Yesterday, was yet another football game. TOG was working so my friend Tammy was nice enough to go with me! As you can see the weather was beautiful...

Not very warm. But beautiful!

As we left the field and made our way to the elevator for the express to the nose bleed section (where our seats are!)... Guess who we saw? YES! Really! It was so odd... I couldn't find him for two games and then I bumped right into him! Hawk Daddy and Mini Hawk!

I like the green shirts better than the white shirts! Word on the street is that he's going to be giving out blue candy canes next month!

Finally got up to the top level and this is the view that greeted us...

The mountains were beautiful! The cranes? Not so much!

We had a great time watching the game however I busted out the camera at one point and you know what? It's easy to take a bad picture of yourself! Here's the proof! Nostril shot anyone?

Fortunately, I redeemed myself just moments later!

Even though we lost, it was a really fun day with good friend!

Now for some updates... Pay it foward gifts are going out today. I didn't get them finished until Friday and then packed up Saturday and then the post office closed 10 minutes before I was finished addressing them. So today for sure!

On the cooking blog... a twist on something traditional for your thanksgiving! And easy to make! Enjoy!

Asthmagirl out!

PS I tok K3 to see Twilight again last night. It was definitely better the second time for me!

Back to the game!

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:17:56 -0500

Now that I've gotten the election reporting out of my system, it's back to the football game last Sunday!

So the other meeting I had during the football game was one I'd been trying to set up for a while. It started with this post... when I saw this picture in the paper...

A few weeks after posting that, I got an email...

Hi,

I came across your blog and wanted you to stop by my seats. Mini Hawk has a gift for you.

Let me know which game you are planning to attend.

Seattle Hawk Daddy

We set up a time to meet, and managed to miss each other at that game. So we tried again last week and this time it worked!

Meet Hawk Daddy! And Mini Hawk... the first doll to have NFL season tickets! Hawk Daddy is totally a great guy and was nice enough to give me a autographed picture of both him and Mini Hawk (both of which are now in my office at work!)

Just another reason to enjoy NFL football (even when your team loses)! The fans are fantastic!

Asthmagirl out!

Twice in a lifetime!

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:10:00 -0500

For most people, one brush with royalty would be enough. But Asthmagirl lives a rather charmed life...

...And yesterday she was fortunate enough to encounter (wait for it....)

The Baron! In person!

Yes! The Baron! Beloved Spouse of the Baroness!

It goes without saying that she found him utterly charming and marvelously witty. However she must apologize for the poor quality of the photography. The Baron's butler seemed a little challenged by the camera, poor chap.

Unfortunately, The Baroness was unavailable, having deemed a football game far too boisterous for her to enjoy. I believe she was visiting with the Macys... or was it the Nordstroms?

This was not the only encounter Asthmagirl enjoyed at the football game. Tomorrow's post brings yet another celebrity sighting!

Asthmagirl out!

So Cool!

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 02:17:55 -0500

Off to the football game today! I love going and look forward to the experience, but it is a whole day event, from packing the camera and the game bag to dressing for the weather, catching the train, finding food....the game...catching the train, driving home... it can be exhausting!

I just wanted to share a couple of pictures from the last game. This is Taima, the hawk...

He and his handler come across the mountains for each game. His job is to excite the fans. He draws folks like crazy!

His main function? He leads the team onto the field by flying out of the tunnel ahead of the players!

The roar of the crowd is deafening... he hangs with the players until the very last minute then he's released... and the crowd goes wild! The players run behind him... the fireworks go off! And he's cool as a cucumber as he heads for his handler!

So yeah... I'm excited to go. A little less so than usual however. I heard from the Baroness last night. She's in town. The Baron is going to the game, but the Baroness will be taking in some retail therapy during the game. Since this is one of the last games TOG can go to this year (his schedule is changing) I'm really committed to going with him. So no Baroness for me this time. I may however try to find the Baron!

Asthmagirl out!

Festivals and Celebrations

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 01:53:00 -0400

I'm feeling a little festive. Football season is well underway... I've started my Holiday shopping (sick, sick person) and the leaves have begun to turn! I'm even pondering new soups...

Last weekend, as I was downloading my game photos, I began to casually peruse my photos from last football season, I came upon this... Remember this?

Yes, I was sick as two dogs and sporting a pasty white finish, but this robust fellow was very festive and I did wonder occasionally where he got the Seahawk ensemble. As you can see, it's one of a kind.

So... 9 months later (there's a catchy phrase!) I'm looking through the newspaper at the photos from last Sunday's game. Have a look at this guy....!

This is [clearly] Hawk Daddy. Check out the glasses... and the material of his lovely jacket... A coincidence? I think not! And someone sews like a demon, because his ensembles are NOT off the rack at the Seahawk Pro Shop! (otherwise I might have been tempted!)

Another thing worth noting... the ensemble Hawk Baby is wearing... matches perfectly. The Seattle Times also revealed that this gentlemen buys a second seat for Hawk Baby. I have to admire that kind of attention to detail. And the shirt and tie combos...

What do you think? Have I got it right? Is this the same guy? And is he a rabid fan or is he quirky? Charming? Unique?

Inquiring minds want to know!

For my Canadian Friends...

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:10:00 -0400

Auto set to post Tuesday at 5:10 am.

It was Canada Day at the Seahawks game Sunday. You sent some Mounties to visit! I love their outfits!

I can't remember the name of the singers who did your national anthem... was it Destino? Possibly the only time Asthmagirl has cried during the Canadian anthem... (although she's a prolific crier during the US anthem, as well as the coin toss where the sick young kids come down on the field to be honorary co-captains during the toss. And they walk out into the middle of the field with Hasselbeck and Tatupu and Wahle... and they look so tiny next to these huge guys... Asthmagirl melts like a Popsicle on a hot summer day...)

(Actually it was Destino! Asthmagirl looked up their myspace... http://www.myspace.com/destinotenors)

Anyways... here's a close up of your mounties....

Tres Magnifique!

Now this part is for the Baroness... recall our comments last week? Non?

Apparently it's a race for the end zone! Go Baroness! Go!

Yea! You did end up winning! The person in the red ball did not fare so well and you beat him handily. Once in the end zone, the helpers unzip the balls and the racers hop out! Possibly to be popped into an oxygen tent?

Stay tuned... Asthmagirl has searched through her archives and found a mystery that must be solved!

Asthmagirl out!