Why is it that food purchased from the side of a truck always seems to taste better? We have some amazing food trucks in Seattle.
Seattle is making a name for itself with it’s foodie culture, but many may not know about the amazing food being served up on wheels around the area. There are, of course, the traditional taco trucks, but keep your eyes peeled for Thai trucks and Pho trucks, as well.
A day like this is heaven – Skillet and Molly Moon‘s Ice Cream food trucks parked right next to each other.
Hello Cholesterol!
And now, from around the interwebs…
Me: As Seen On…
GalTime: The Next Big One: How to be prepared – One of the best ways to help your entire community in time of crisis is to be prepared for that crisis yourself: learn first aid, get certified in CPR, and prepare a disaster kit sufficient to care for your entire household for at least three days. Each person, or family, with their own emergency food, water, and other supplies relieves the stress of support services trying to help those without. In this article, I give some guidelines and pointers for preparing yourself and your family for the next big emergency.
Awesome stuff I found while I was procrastinating on my homework
Hamster Central: One Month – I’ve been following Jen’s blog for a couple years now. She lives in Tokyo. This quick check-in, one month after the devastating earthquake and tusnami, came with news that the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Cherry blossoms signify the ephemeral qualities of life. Hope Blooms.
All Adither: Mommy Blogger – Angie struggles with the label “Mommy Blogger.” I struggle with that, too. Sure, I write a lot about my kid these days, I consider parenting her the most important thing of everything I do, so naturally it will bleed in to my writing. But it’s not all there is to me. I also tend to struggle against labels in general, but I understand that, as humans, we like to categorize things. Where do you stand on the label?
Miss Britt: Everything you wanted to know about the big trip – I’ve written about this before, but it has really captured my imagination. Britt and her husband and kids are about to sally forth in a motor home, and explore the country for a year. Every time I think about this, my brain spins. So many questions. How to pay the bills? What about the kids? Here Britt supplies some answers, and even more fodder for my imagination as I ponder what adventure is next for my little family.
Not Martha: a weekend on Guemes Island – This post is actually a couple months old, but I’ve revisited it several times. I’ve been feeling the need to get away lately. To pack up my little family and go somewhere quiet, surrounded by nature – and the water. To hear water lapping against rocks, and birds singing and chattering in the morning. To let go of deadlines and due dates, even if just for a weekend, and sink in to a deep tub, or sink my teeth into a sinfully decadent yet simple dinner. To read a book for pleasure – without taking notes. Sigh. One of these days…
Isak Denison once wrote that the cure for anything is salt water: tears, sweat, or the sea
Personally, I’d much rather take my cure from the sea, than sweat or tears.
We really should get out here more often.
This wasn’t Gem’s first trip to the beach; last time she was just a few months old, so it’s unlikely she has a memory of it. But she took to it like it was already her favorite place in the world. We didn’t tell her where we were going, but when she saw the water she immediately started trying to unbuckle herself, and yelling “Beach! Beach!” Either that, or she was calling me a bitch, but I don’t think she’d be quite so enthusiastic if that was the case.
My little girl definitely inherited her parent’s love of the sea.
Every day since she has asked to go back to the beach. Perhaps it’s time to go get some more cure.
Several years ago, a friend flew down to visit me from Anchorage. During the visit, she asked me if I had considered moving back home to Alaska. This was mid-February, it was bitter cold up North, the ground and everything else covered in snirt (gray, gritty, dirty snow). I looked around at all the flowers, and the fresh fruits and vegetables on the stands as we walked through Pike Place Market, mountains on view in the background, and ferries making their way across Elliott Bay. “Seriously?” We both got a good laugh.
Me: As seen on…
GalTime: The Pink Daisy Project: Helping Women with Breast Cancer – I interviewed Debbie Cantwell on how she found the silver lining in her own breast cancer battle when started the Pink Daisy Project to help other women with breast cancer
Its been a long… Happy Birthday Sweet Matt – Anna, a fellow breast cancer survivor, linked to my story about my brother Matt. Her story, based on her blog, was written as a play and presented by Coyote Rep Off Broadway at Wings Theater in Greenwich Theater this past October. See the clip below.
My favorite recent reads
The View From Right Here – not a read so much, but a picture that stopped me in my tracks. Photo of a homeless women in stark focus as the world blurs by.
Public Bookstore: Having a Crappy Night? – I loved this post on dealing with a crappy evening. Made me smile, and might have even made me feel better. Certainly inspired me to look in to Little House on the Prairie re-runs.
BlogHer: Olly Olly Oxen Free – My, this was the week for sentimental reads. This post took me back to 9 years old. Not the awkward, gangly, prepubescent aspects of the nine year old me, but the running through a field with the wind blowing through my hair, and nothing to prove to anyone just be free me.
The houseboats on Seattle’s Lake Union were the stuff of my daydreams, even as a child growing up in small town Alaska. I had never actually laid eyes on a houseboat when I was a child, that I can remember, but somewhere along the line, I must have seen pictures.
My husband wants to buy a boat. He wants us to live on a boat. I tease him about a boat being a hole in the water that you throw money into. But it’s ok. He can have his fantasy, his dream – and maybe some day we will make it happen.
I’d be a whole lot more on-board with the idea if he was trying to move us into a houseboat. Mama needs her bathtub.
here’s a bit of my favorites around the interwebs this week…
Me: As seen on…
GalTime: Things To Do If You Are Diagnosed With Cancer – I am now the Seattle Ambassador for GalTime Magazine. For my first post with them, I discussed a few tips for dealing with a cancer diagnosis. Hopefully, you will have no use for this post.
Awesome people who mentioned me (or linked to me) in their posts this week
One Working Musician: The Beauty of Collaboration – Jason Parker wrote this post about that magical night when Karen Walrond read from her new book, The Beauty of Different, while his band, the Jason Parker Quartet, backed her up. Jason very kindly linked to my post about this event.
Heather Christo: Chocolate Beet Cake, (otherwise known as “the BEST chocolate cake”) – I have NEVER liked beets. They are one of those vegetables that make my head and neck do this involuntary icky-shudder, even when I think about them. Of course, they are not one of those vegetables that you run in to every day, so they’re pretty easy to avoid. That might be too bad, because I’ve been reading about all kinds of wonderful things that beets do for the body. A body that’s been through what my body has been through this year could really use some beets. At first glance, the thought of this recipe, using beets to moisten up chocolate cake, sounded a little, um, iffy. But, the more I think about it, the more I think I might be willing to give it a try. We’ll see. I’m not making any promises, but if I do make it, I’ll report back.
Miss Britt: And Then We Bought An RV – Buying an RV and taking a year to explore the United States is another one of those fantasies of mine that sit in the back of my head, but I never actually do anything about. Miss Britt and her family are doing something about it. They are selling off their possessions and heading out across the countryside to see America. Watching the dream play out, step by step, over the past few months has been fascinating. The more I watch other people chase their dreams, especially when they give the play-by-play along the way in their blogs, the more I think I my dreams are achievable, too.
I was running late for a meeting, but I just had to stop and capture a couple shots of this sunset. I pulled over alongside the lake, rolled down the passenger-side window, and clicked away.
As I continued on my way to the meeting, the sunset intensified. Each time I pulled through an intersection, the break between buildings revealed a different sky, full of different colors. It was changing by the second. This was during rush hour traffic. I was looking around for a place to pull over so I could catch some more shots when I pulled off on a side street – and in to gridlock. The sunset, of course, completely blocked by the concrete monstrosity of a building where the road curved in front of me. Now, not only was I late for the meeting, I didn’t get that additional shot I was looking for, and I was trapped in place by traffic. Crap.
It occurred to me at this point that the sunset was not there to stress me out, or even for me to “capture” on film; it was there to bless my day. At that moment, a spot opened up for me to pull a U-turn and get back on my way, and the next break between buildings revealed the Space Needle, backlit by a fully fuchsia sky. Breathtaking. And just for me. I did not capture that shot of the sunset, but it did bless my day.
This has been an amazing week, full of wonderful news and new opportunities. Much of it I can’t discuss just yet. As if full-time school, cancer treatment, and motherhood were not enough, I’ve had a few writing gigs come my way as well. I’m stealing this idea from The Bloggess and creating a regular post that will link to some of my other writing on a (hopefully) regular basis, as well as drawing your attention to other creators of awesomeness on the web.
Me: As seen on…
Goodies: Five Fabulous (and Inspirational) Bloggers – I was asked to highlight 5 amazing bloggers, and when I did, I used the opportunity to describe one of the coolest literary events I have ever experienced.
Awesome people who mentioned me (or linked to me) in their posts this week
The Pioneer Woman: Daisy the Dog – I love the Pioneer Woman, but I usually don’t highlight her because she already gets more hits than Google. However, this post reminded me of the cow I had when I was a kid. The one with the oh-so-clever name of Milky, who then calved, and I assigned the even-less-original moniker of Calfy for her offspring. Yeah, my naming skills have improved since then. No, Milky and Calfy did not have this much access to the house.
I stopped to capture a few pictures on my way to the medical center yesterday afternoon. I was feeling a little cranky about having to go in every day. It was cold. frigid. Chunks of ice were still clinging to the edges of the 8-inch-deep potholes in the road.
But views like this make me pause a moment.
Views like this make stepping out of the car to take in the environment so worth while.
It didn’t take very many shots before I was so cold I had to get back in the car (my arm is all bandaged up so it doesn’t fit in the sleeve of a coat – another story for another post). But, what a difference it made in my attitude.
There’s nothing like a little time with the camera to help me hit refresh.
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