One Sweet World

Istanbul - Day 2

2011-09-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Our first full day in Istanbul so we started early with a quick breakfast at the hotel and a walk down to the waterfront to view the Sea of Marmara up close! We got down there and boy was it windy! There was a small fish market here too along the water and we watched as the vendors set up for the day. Then it was up the hill to the Old City to tour the tourists sights of the city. We started at the Blue Mosque. It got named the Blue Mosque after all the blue tile on the inside.

It makes for a beautiful interior! What I didn't expect was all the hanging lights on the inside to illuminate such a large space. This mosque is huge inside!

But even larger is the Hagia Sofia just across the way. First built as a church and later converted to a mosque this building has been around for a long time. You could see the warn stones where

thousands of people have walked. We followed the guided tour out of the Rick Steves' book and thoroughly enjoyed our visit here.

Next on our whirlwind tour was the Topkopi Palace where the Sultans used to live. It has great views of the Bosporus. This was not our favorite attraction here. It was really crowded and their security entrance was chaos. So, we had a negative feel for this place.

But, it was pretty! We didn't spend a lot of time here so it was off to the next spot!

We walked over the Galata Bridge and stopped for a quick chai and a place to rest our feet. It's a pretty cool bridge with the top level the bridge for cars and a lower level full of restaurants with seating outside so you could be on the water and watch the boats go by.

Once over the bridge we stopped for a quick lunch then we walked up the hill to the Galata Tower. We took the elevator to the top so we could get the 360 degree view of the city. It was quite windy up there and the ledge was small and crowded. A bit scary! But the views were worth it!

Once we left the tower we wandered through the neighborhood to Istikal Street, a main shopping and arts district on the "new" side of town. This place was packed! It was full of locals, tourists, everyone. The weather was nice and a perfect day for a stroll. We loved watching the crowds and walking along the street.

We even saw a few churches here, where more westerners live and work. We stopped for a few drinks in the neighborhood and enjoyed the afternoon. Then it was back to hotel to have dinner down near the water and our first taste of Raki! This was a great day in Istanbul!

Thanksgiving Trip to Istanbul, Turkey!

2011-06-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

Thursday, November 25th through Friday, November 26th

With no plans for the Thanksgiving holiday, we decided to go on a somewhat last minute trip to Istanbul, Turkey! Ha ha, going to Turkey on Turkey day! We started our journey Thanksgiving morning with our flight through Chicago and Frankfurt on our way to Istanbul. We arrived Friday afternoon and took the train from the airport to our hotel. It took us a while to find the hotel since there are no street signs there! We were on the right street all along, but after making a big circle we realized we needed to walk further down the hill to our hotel. After a quick shower and change of clothes we wasted no time and headed out to the Grand Bazaar for our first meal and first cup of tea. We walked through the indoor bazaar and saw lots of cool lamps, clothes and trinket souvenirs. Connected to the bazaar is the Spice Market. Here you can find all sorts of spices, food and drinks. It was here I bought some apple tea and chai. They even vacuumed packed it so it would stay fresh!

After leaving the Spice Market we walked down to the river and got another quick snack of a fish sandwich from a boat floating on the river.

After our snack, we made our way through the winding streets, listening to the call to prayer from the minarets and found our way to the Valens Aquaduct. We got there after the sun set to find it all lit up! It's amazing how the modern ways of travel fit through the existing structure. And yes, we were standing on the side of this road for about 20 minutes taking pictures! Crazy tourists! We then made our way through some neighborhoods back to the area of our hotel. It was time for another snack! We found a cozy neighborhood restaurant and had another small meal. By this time we're pretty tired and headed back to the hotel to get some sleep before our busy day tomorrow!

Mumford & Sons

2011-06-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

Time to check another item off of my list of things to do this year. Last week we saw a new band, Mumford & Sons at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Jennie & Conor and Annie & Jamie met us at the venue. We had our mini-tailgate of sandwiches and beers. But then the sky opened and it POURED for almost an hour. We huddled down in our cars to wait for the storm to pass. When it finally did, it only left us time to see Mumford & Sons. We missed both opening bands. But staying dry and out of that crazy storm was the better option :) Finally got in just in time for the show. Pretty clean performance and the sound was pretty good. Overall, a fun concert!

Set List:

Encore:

Painting!

2011-05-03T13:09:00.001-07:00

We FINALLY got around to painting. And yes, we only painted one room and yes it was the smallest in the house. This also takes care of meeting one of my goals for the year, which was to pick a room and paint it! In addition to the paint, we got a new shower curtain, new bath rug, and new towel bars. Some details: Ceiling was paint in Behr Restful (400F-4), walls in Behr Japanese Fern (400B-6) and the trim in Behr Star Shine (W-B-410). While not 100% finished, it's looking good! Still need to find some artwork or photos for the walls, possibly a shelf or two. Ultimately, we want to replace the vanity, medicine cabinet and light fixture as well and fix the tile floor.

Vancouver, BC - Wednesday, October 20th or how to get to the nearest In-N-Out Burger

2011-04-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

Today was just a travel day back home, but not without it's own adventure. We had a pretty long lay over at SFO in San Francisco so for lunch we ventured to the nearest In-N-Out Burger. First, get to the BART station and buy a round trip ticket.

Then cross a big street and a gas station parking lot. You can see it in the distance!

Place your order and wait.

Be really excited about your burger and pose for the camera! Oh yeah, and then EAT!

Vancouver, BC - Tuesday, October 19th

2011-04-04T15:26:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was a gorgeous day! We took full advantage of the nice weather and walked and biked around the city and parks. We started the morning off again at Coo Coo Coffee for a light breakfast. It was then off to find a bike rental place so we could ride around Stanley Park. On our way to the bike shop we walked along English Bay Beach and enjoyed the views of the water and the mountains. It was such a clear and sunny day! We picked up our bikes and headed straight into Stanley Park for a ride around the perimeter of the park. Along the route there are lots of places to stop and take pictures. It was a great way to spend our morning! Stanley Park is quite large so halfway around we decided to try and have lunch at the restaurant in the park.

What we didn't realize was that this restaurant was at the top of a very large hill. I struggled up that hill! But, with all the struggle, you get the awesome view at the top.

After a rather unhealthy lunch involving poutine, it was time for the awesome ride downhill and back into the city. The ride down probably took 5 minutes while the ride up close to a half hour!

After such an exhilarating ride downhill, we returned the bikes, hoped on a bus back to the hotel and plotted our next adventure.

I really wanted to go to the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Vancouver so we figured out how to get there on the bus and started the trek across town. It would be the only museum we went to on our whole trip! I had to get at least one in :) While I took my time walking through the musuem and admiring all the native art, Kevin took a walk outside and took some awesome pictures at sunset.

With our final day coming to a close, we wanted one last tasty dinner before heading back to the real world. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at ReFuel in the Kitsilano neighborhood. We had a nice, relaxed dinner and reflected on all the fun things we got to do on this trip. We'd love to come back and visit Vancouver!

Vancouver, BC - Monday, October 18th

2011-04-01T14:59:00.000-07:00

Woke up on Monday morning with cloudy skies, no rain, but a damp chill in the air. So we decided to start our morning warming up at Coo Coo Coffee with tea, coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Here we planned out our day and decided to start out by checking out Granville Island. The best way to get there sans car is to go by AquaBus! It was a short walk to the pier and then a quick ride across the water over to Granville Island. Being a Monday morning the place wasn't all that busy, but we did walk around the indoor market and around the shops there. Had lunch at SandBar on their outdoor patio. A bit brisk but we got to enjoy the views of the water. After lunch instead of taking the AquaBus back, we took the more scenic route and walked over the bridge back to the mainland. This was a great way to get views of the city and a bit of exercise all in one! We continued walking through downtown and up Robson street. For a nice break, we stopped for tea at Urban Tea Merchants. It was a great way to relax and people watch and try some tasty tea.

As the late afternoon approached, we headed back to the hotel to rest before catching a bus to dinner. It was recommended that for good Japanese food you eat at Tojo's in Vancouver. So we made reservations and headed there for dinner. We both ordered the omakase (chef's choice) and proceeded to each way too much food. The dishes were mostly seafood based and all very tasty. This meal was definitely a new experience for us both and we really enjoyed it.

Vancouver, BC - Sunday, October 17th

2011-03-04T13:50:00.001-08:00

Busy day in Vancouver today! Even with our late start (needed to get some sleep!) we still managed to do quite a bit today. We started off with a delicious brunch at Medina. After brunch we walked around Chinatown and the Gastown neighborhoods. Since we had a late breakfast (brunch) we decided to grab a quick snack before our dinner reservations that evening. A great place for such a snack was at Salt. The entrance to this place is literally located in an alley, which is awesome. What makes it even better is the alley has a name, Blood Alley in Gastown! They specialize in local cheese, meats and wines. Like I said, the perfect snack! We got a sample plate of cheeses and meats and a flight of wine. We also got a tour of the meat locker where they store all the meats, cheese and wines and had a great conversation with one of the workers there. We got some great suggestions for dinner, including a recommendation for the place we already had dinner reservations for. Since the weather was cooperating so nicely, we decided to splurge and spend the money to go to the top of The Lookout. Akin to the Space Needle in Seattle, a ride to the top gets you a 360 degree view of the city. And on such a clear day we got a great view of the mountains and of the city.

After our walk around the city it was time to get ready for dinner. Kevin chose Blue Water Cafe for our fancy dinner out. It's a seafood restaurant that specializes in local fish and wine. We enjoyed a nice, long meal and decided that we really like Vancouver a lot. Food is great and we really lucked out on the weather! No rain yet!

Japan/Vancouver - October 16th

2011-01-17T08:42:00.001-08:00

Today was Saturday and our last day in Tokyo. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 4:00 that afternoon, but flying out of Narita takes a good hour to get there so we had to leave Tokyo Station around 1:00 PM. That left us with just the morning to tour around. We decided to walk over to the Imperial Palace grounds. We figured we have an hour or two to walk around. But, we didn't realize how hard it is to actually walk through/around Tokyo Station. It looks so small and close on the map but it took us a good hour to walk over there leaving us only 30 or so minutes to walk around and see the sites outside of the palace. So we spent most of our final morning doing lots of walking. We started our journey to Vancouver at Tokyo Station with catching the train to the airport and then our flight to Vancouver via San Francisco.

Arriving in Vancouver, we took the train into the city. To the left is the view from the train! Once we got to the hotel we needed to drop off some laundry. But we had more important things to do, like eat! Now commences the 3 dinners we had our first night in Vancouver. First up, we shared a lamb wrap at Donair King. Then it was off to Rodney's Oyster House after a walk through the Yaletown neighborhood. We got there early enough to catch the oyster happy hour so that made us happy campers!

View of the Oyster bar from our table. Had fresh oysters as our happy hour appetizer. After we had a bit to eat we continued to walk through the Yaletown neighborhood and decided we wanted to try some of the beers at the Yaletown Brewery. Once inside though, the menu looked pretty good so we decided to share a pizza....meal #3!

Japan - October 15th

2011-01-04T12:58:00.000-08:00

Woke up today at the ungodly hour of 3:30 AM. Why you ask? So we can see the tuna auction at the Tsukiji Fish Market. They only let in a limited number of people each day and we didn't want to miss out! The tour starts at 5:30 AM but you have to start getting in line an hour before hand and get a ticket. Then you wait for your tour to start and the auction to begin. I've never seen a whole tuna before but they're pretty big fish! We were brought into the auction room and got to watch as the buyers inspected the fish and took notes. Once the auction started each fish was auctioned off in a matter of seconds! Everything went by so fast. Once the auction was done another person came through and marked each fish with the buyer's name. Overall, a pretty cool hour spent at the auction but then we had to navigate a way out of the market past all the moving carts, bicycles, trucks and people. It's quite a site! since we were up so early we were hungry so we got in line at 6AM for a sushi place in the market. We were finally seated at 7:15! Crazy wait for breakfast but we got some delicious fish! And yes, eating raw fish that early in the morning is delicious. By 8:00 AM if felt like we put in a full day of touring already so we headed back to the hotel and took a short nap. Woke up in time to get on the subway and head out to the Asakusa neighborhood to walk around the outdoor shops and the temple that was there. Too bad a lot of other folks thought the same thing! The whole neighborhood felt crowded and we ran into the most tourists in this area. We were ready to leave the area but got some noodles for lunch before finding our way back to the hotel on the subway.

Back at the hotel we freshened up for our nice dinner out with Dave & Eurie at Kyubei. This sushi restaurant is one of the best in the city and is frequented by celebrities (apparently).

Everyone sits at a sushi bar and is served personally by the sushi chef. Each chef only prepares food for 6 people so the setting is very intimate. It's amazing to watch the sushi chef prepare each piece of fish and rice while you watch. About halfway through our meal, we were greeted by the owner of the restaurant himself, Mr. Kyubei! The sushi chef was gracious enough to take our photo. Overall, a fantastic meal that will forever change how we eat and think of sushi. I'm sure this meal won't be repeated any time soon!

After dinner, we decided to get a drink and walk around the Ginza neighborhood. What we didn't realize was that it was so expensive to drink in Tokyo! Beers and cocktails were no cheaper than $20 on this Friday night. We ended the night with a lot less money, but with great memories of a whirlwind day in Tokyo!

New Year's Resolutions

2011-01-04T08:30:00.001-08:00

Well, not so much resolutions as a list of things I'd like to do this year and in no particular order.

1. Re-read a book from high school. You know, one of those books you thought was boring but is probably awesome now.

2. Paint a room. Any room, pick a room, just get it done!

3. Go to a concert and see a band i've never seen before.

4. Learn more Korean. I've been slacking on this lately.

5. Update this blog more often!

Ok, I think 5 is a good number to start with. I'll have to post an update in a few months to see how I'm doing!

Japan - October 14th

2010-12-19T16:28:00.001-08:00

Today was our last day on the island of Hokkaido and we were in the city of Sapporo. We needed to leave the hotel to get to the airport around 9:30AM so Kevin and I decided to venture out into the city by ourselves to do some quick sightseeing. We left the hotel at 6:30 AM and took the train into downtown. For the next 2 hours we did a pretty quick tour of downtown and all the sights there. We started at Sapporo Station where the local and regional trains arrive/depart and headed south back towards to hotel. We saw the former Hokkaido Government Office Building (picture at the left), the Clock Tower, Odori Park including the TV Tower, the Shopping Arcade and the Suskino neighborhood, known more for it's night life than early morning activity. We did all that walking and managed to get back to the hotel for a quick pack and shower and we all got on the bus for the long ride to the airport. Once there, Dave, Eurie, Kevin and I left on a flight to Tokyo while the rest of the family returned to Pusan in Korea.

The flight to Tokyo took a little more than an hour and we landed at the local airport, Haneda Airport, the one that is closer to downtown. From here we got our luggage and braved the Tokyo light rail and subway. Since Dave & Eurie were staying at a different hotel we parted ways for the day and agreed to meet up in the morning the following day. Our hotel was near Tokyo Station so we made it there to discover this train station is HUGE!

It's a labyrinth of trains, shops, busses, taxis, restaurants and everything in between. From where we got off the train to leaving the station, it took a good twenty minutes! To the left is a photo taken just outside of Tokyo Station and the huge crosswalk that's outside. Lots of people! Once we got situated in our hotel we headed out to explore the neighborhood and get something to eat. We had lunch at a small diner type place where you placed your order at the vending machine and the ladies in the back cooked it up for you. Pretty efficient if you ask me! After that we headed to the Ginza district to see the shops and madness of the area. Lots of money can be spent in this neighborhood! On our way back to the hotel is was time for a drink so we stopped at the British pub that was on the first floor of our hotel for their happy hour specials on beer. We would come to find out tomorrow that those beers were the cheapest around!

After a long day of traveling and exploring, we went to sleep in our tiny hotel room.

Japan - October 13th

2010-12-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday morning we left the hot springs and drove to Lake Toya, about an hour away. Once there we boarded a boat shaped like a castle (still haven't figured that out yet) and took an hour tour of the lake and the scenery. To the left is Kevin and Eurie on the boat. The lake is like a big donut with an circular island in the center. It was a nice and peaceful boat ride and we got to enjoy the fall scenery. After the ride it was back on the bus for a long, scenic drive through the mountains. The road was very curvy and made for lots of turns.

It made us all a little tired and sick since we hadn't eaten lunch yet. But, along the way we did get to see some beautiful scenery. After that long ride we finally arrived in the town of Otoru. Here we finally got to eat lunch! We went to a local sushi restaurant and enjoyed a relaxing lunch with the family. After lunch we strolled through the streets of Otoru and did a little shopping. It was good to get out and walk a bit after sitting in the bus for so long. In the late afternoon it was back on the bus for the drive into Sapporo.But, before we could get to the hotel we had one more stop.We weren't entirely sure what the next stop was but it turned out to be a Chocolate Factory!?!? Not sure that any of us was excited about this portion of the tour. But, we dutifully got out of the bus and hurried our way through the Shiroi Koiboto Park, which houses the Shiroi Koibito Factory where they make chocolate. We were told it was a famous attraction but we didn't buy it. At this point in the day we were all tired and just wanted to get the hotel before dinner. A bus full of tired people is dangerous! We finally made it to the hotel and got about a hour of rest before it was back on the bus to head to dinner. We decided tonight we were going to celebrate Grandpa's birthday so we went to a nice, traditional Japanese restaurant and ordered the local specialty, crab! We each chose how many courses we wanted and just started eating! So much food came out that we got really full pretty quickly, but everything was so good! We ended the dinner with eating a cake we bought for Grandpa's birthday. We even took a nice group photo.

Japan - October 12th

2010-11-20T15:45:00.000-08:00

Tuesday morning we all (all 9 of us!) made it to the Busan airport for our flight to Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. Our first stop off the tour bus (yes, we had our own tour bus) was lunch in a small seaside town. Outside the restaurant/market was a huge crab and a equally huge bear, both of which we would see a lot of on Hokkaido. We had ramen and salmon roe on rice for lunch. The ramen was ridiculously good! After lunch it was back in the bus to visit Noboribetsu Date Jidai Mura, an Edo era village in the town of Noboribetsu. Here we saw a traditional Japanese theater show and a ninja show. We also walked around the gardens and the other replica buildings. It was all a little hokey but the weather was nice so it was comfortable walking around. From here it was back on the bus for the ride to the Shikotsu-Toya National Park where we got to see a sulfur hot spring. With the sulfur it stank pretty bad but it was a beautiful park! We even got a short hike to see the small geyser there as well. The sun was setting right when we got there and it cast some beautiful shadows on the rocks and vegetation. Our hotel for the evening was located right across the street and used the water from the hot spring in the onsen (Japanese hot spring baths) that were located on the lower levels of the hotel (one for women, one for men). Since the hotel and the area is famous for its onsen, we decided we had to go. Here's a photo of us in our robes ready to head down to the baths!

We had buffet dinner at the hotel that night and walked around the small town later that evening.

Korea - October 6th - 12th

2010-11-11T12:13:00.000-08:00

This October Kevin and I traveled to Korea for his grandfather's 88th birthday party. His parents, brother, sister and brother-in-law were also traveling to Korea for the party and family vacation. We left Baltimorethemorning of the 6th and arrived in Seoul the evening of the 7th. It was a 26 hour travel "day." I don't think you can call it a travel day once you travel for more than 24 hours! We got to our hotel around 10:00 PM and was in bed shortly thereafter. The morning andafternoon of the 8th was our only time alone in Seoul. We decided to go somewhere we hadn't been before and with limited time I thought going to N Seoul Tower would be a good adventure. It was close to the hotel so we could walk there and I hadn't been there before. The weather was a bit cloudy but we thought going to the top of the tower would still afford us a good overview of Seoul. The tower is located in Namsan Park, on top of a hill, just south of downtown Seoul. You get the full 360 degree view of the city. It's amazing to see the amount of high rise buildings and how far into the distance they go! We spent the afternoon at the hotel and walking down the Cheonggyecheon, a restored stream in downtown Seoul. It was a nice relaxing way of spending the afternoon. Then it was off with Dave & Eurie to a family dinner with the Hyun side of the family. We walked to their new apartment and was able to meet the family again and share a meal.

The next day, Saturday, we took the KTX train down to Busan to meet up with the rest of the family and to visit the grandparents. Had a family meal at their house and spent time with the family. Sunday was the day of the party and we started early with Mom and I going to the spa in the morning to get clean and body scrub. A quick breakfast at the hotel then off to the salon for the ladies to get their hair done. The party was at Todai and we arrived early to take some family photos, but not everyone was on time. So we waited for a while and finally got everyone together for a group shot. The party included family and friends and turned out nicely. In the evening we walked through Dongnae Market and had dinner there.

Monday was a slow day spent with the family. Went to lunch at Todai, walked through the Centum City department store (supposedly the largest department store in the world, it really looked like a mall), visited Samchoon and his new wife and baby and walked along Gwangalli Beach. Had dinner near the hotel and an early night to bed.

Tuesday we were all on our way to Japan for our tour of Hokkaido!

Spoon and Arcade Fire!!

2010-08-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

A group of us went to Merriweather Post Pavilion for the Spoon and Arcade Fire show. The weather turned out great! Not too hot or humid so it made sitting in the lawn quite comfortable. And with the nice weather the beers taste oh so good! Great show, lots of energy and a full day to recover!

Spoon Setlist (not a full list)

The Mystery Zone (acoustic)

Nobody Gets Me But You

Rhythm and Soul

Don't You Evah

Written In Reverse

Got Nuffin

The Ghost of You Lingers

Modern World (Wolf Parade cover)

I Turn My Camera On

Trouble Comes Running

I Summon You

Don't Make Me A Target

The Underdog

You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb

Black Like Me

Arcade Fire Setlist

Ready to Start

Month of May

Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

The Well and the Lighthouse

Half Light II (No Celebration)

Neighborhood #2 (Laika)

No Cars Go

Haïti

Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

The Suburbs

The Suburbs (Continued)

Modern Man

Rococo

Intervention

We Used to Wait

Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

Rebellion (Lies)

Encore:

Keep the Car Running

Wake Up

CSA

2010-08-24T06:54:00.001-07:00

This past week we haven't eaten any of the produce we got. Kinda sad :( Been busy with lots of house guests!

4 asian eggplants

5 patty pan squash

1 cantaloupe

1 pint of yellow cherry tomatoes

1 bunch basil

1 bunch chard

4 tomatoes

1 bunch green onion

August CSA

2010-08-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

Getting good variety of produce lately. Been eating a lot of salad and stir fry. We did make some mashed potatoes with the celery root and potatoes for dinner one night. They were tasty! This week we made caprese salad with the fresh basil and tomatoes from the CSA and fresh mozzarella from the farmer's market.

August 3rd

1 bunch carrots
1 bunch beets (2 big ones)
1 head green leaf lettuce
1 eggplant
3 tomatoes
1 quart of potatoes
3 onions
1 celery root
1 purslane

August 10th

3 tomatoes

6 cucumbers (small)

1 bunch thyme (which they spelled on the board “thaime”)

1 bunch basil

1 pint yellow cherry tomatoes

1 quart mixed peppers (1 sweet, the rest hot! 2 orange, 3 green)

1 bunch sweet potato leaf

1 bunch green onions

6 patty pan squash (green)

July CSA

2010-08-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

Lots of missed weeks here for the CSA. So far this year we've been pretty disappointed at the quality of the produce this year. Not sure if it's because we've had a really hot and dry summer. Overall the items have been smaller and not as fresh as last year. But, like last year, we're overwhelmed with squash!

Week of July 13th
2 small heads of green leaf lettuce
1 head red leaf lettuce
6 yellow squash
6 patty pan squash
1 bunch beets (3)
1 pint of garlic (not whole cloves)
1 bunch chard
1 bunch broccoli (not very good looking, all of them had brown on the tops)
1 bunch scallions

Week of July 20th
1 quart full of potatoes
1 head green cabbage
1 bunch carrots
1 head green leaf lettuce
1 head romaine lettuce
1bunch green onion
1 bunch spring onion
5 patty pan squash
6 yellow squash

CSA Week 5

2010-07-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

Since we were out of town this week, we gave away our CSA share this week to Adam and Tom & Victoria. We did keep some of the garlic though since that would last the week.

1 bunch broccoli

2 cloves garlic

1 bunch beets

1 red cabbage

1 head of romaine

1 head of red leaf lettuce

1 head of bib lettuce

1 bag patty pan squash

1 bunch parsley

CSA Week 4

2010-07-07T05:18:00.000-07:00

1 bunch broccoli

1 bunch beets (with beet greens)

1 head green lettuce

1 bunch chard

1 bunch spinach

3 yellow squash

1 red cabbage

1 bag patty pan squash

We used the beets and cabbage to make a yummy carrot and beet slaw for the 4th!

CSA Week 3

2010-06-22T15:37:00.000-07:00

I'll start off this week with a photo of one of last week's dinners. Huge side salad with radishes, arugula, green leaf and mizuna from the CSA with a side of egg and cucumbers from the farmer's market. I also made some small red potatoes from the market and a tilapia filet. Pretty good meal!

This weeks picks:

1 head green leaf lettuce

1 head red leaf lettuce

1 bunch spinach

1 bunch arugula

1 bunch chard

1 bunch broccoli leaves

1 broccoli

4 zucchinis

1 bunch red onions

My Talented Husband

2010-06-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

Mr_BTM's hobby is photography. He pretty much has his camera with him all the time, especially when we eat! He posts some of his photos on Flickr. Well, that turned out well for him. Two of his photos from Flickr were chosen and published! The first was published on the Pellegrino website. Click on "Live in Italian" and then "Truly Italian." It's the article on cheese.

The second was published in the print magazine, Modern Luxury DC (page 54-55).

Oddly enough, both of these photos were taken during his birthday dinner last year at Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore. I'm so proud of him! Now if I can only get him to get prints made so we can display these fine photographs of his at home!

CSA Week 2

2010-06-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

We did a good job of eating almost all of the veggies from last week, except for some left over arugula. This week we got a ton more lettuce! ARG!!! I guess it's one huge salad for every meal the rest of the week. What do you do with all this lettuce?

1 head green leaf lettuce

1 head some other green lettuce (had a different name)

1 head green cabbage

1 bunch beets (with beet greens)

1 bunch spinach

1 bunch arugula

1 bunch mizuna (new item!) (Mizuna is an Asian variety of mustard greens. It has spiky dark green leaves that have a surprisingly delicate texture and delightfully peppery, even spicy kick.)

1 bunch red chard

1 bunch collard greens

CSA Week 1

2010-06-09T12:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the beginning of this year's CSA share! We're excited to get fresh veggies every week again. This year we got a similar mix to what we got last year, but with a few extra, non leafy green items.

1 red leaf lettuce
1 green leaf lettuce
1 bunch spinach
1 bunch arugula
1 bunch green chard
1 bunch radishes
1 bunch garlic scape
3 pints strawberries

Garden Time!

2010-06-02T08:16:00.001-07:00

Last year we planted 2 tomato plants, basil, rosemary and attempted some green onions. The tomatoes were only marginally successful but the basil and rosemary did a good job. The green onions bombed entirely. At the end of the season last year I totally abandoned the plants and let the old tomatoes fall off into the pot and left the dead stems in the pots too. Same goes for the basil plant. Low and behold, I go to clean the pots and put in new soil and found a tomato plant and a basil plant already growing! Amazing how that works, especially with the basil. It started to regrow in a pot that was sitting next to where it was planted. The rosemary survived the winter and got repotted for the summer. I bought sage and cilantro plants from the farmer's market and one additional tomato plant (grape tomatoes). Should make for a good, small garden. Hopefully the tomatoes will work out better this year. Looking forward to using the fresh herbs and eating tasty tomatoes!

Happy 3 Year Anniversary!

2010-05-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

Today is our 3 year wedding anniversary! Three years ago we were in Portland celebrating with friends and family. Today, we live in Baltimore all the way across country and we are both at work. Tonight we have dinner plans but what those plans are is a mystery to me since Mr_BMT won't spill the beans on where we're going. To add to the excitement and mystery, he surprised me with flowers delivered to the house this morning! I put them on my desk so I can look at them all day! Thank you!

UPDATE:

We went to Clementine for dinner, a new place we hadn't been to before and to Salt for dessert because we love that place. A nice night out!

Another Norah Jones Concert!

2010-04-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

Kevin and I had extra tickets to the Norah Jones concert so we invited our friends Tom & Victoria to the show. As part of the deal, they needed to take us out for dinner before the show. We chose b: A Bolton Hill Bistro as our dinner location. We'd been there before but it was a first for Tom & Victoria. Tuesdays are half price wine bottles and we decided to have two! We had a great dinner there with a cheese plate appetizer, entrees and yummy dessert! Off to the show at the Lyric Opera House, our first concert there. This location is nice and the sound was pretty incredible inside. We had great seats! Center state, first row in the upper balcony. The crowd was definitely older, like much older. Which meant that during the show it was extremely quite and a polite applause was given at the end of each song. And then it would get really quiet before the start of the next song. Really strange. But, show was good and the new band is pretty talented.

Here is the set list:

1. I Wouldn't Need You
2. Tell Your Mama
3. Light as a Feather
4. Chasing Pirates
5. Even Though
6. It's Gonna Be
7. Broken
8. Waiting
9. Sunrise
10. You've Ruined Me
11. Back to Manhattan
12. Sinkin' Soon
13. Bull Rider (Rodney Crowell cover)
14. Man of the Hour
15. Don't Know Why
16. Young Blood
17. Stuck
18. Come Away With Me
19. Strangers

Encore

How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart
Lonestar

Philadelphia - Day 4 & Day 5

2010-04-04T13:10:00.000-07:00

Day 4 in Philly was a Monday morning. We made no rush of leaving the hotel so we slowly made our way to Reading Terminal Market to do some shopping and to EAT! This market is very similar to the Lexington, Broadway and Cross Street Markets in Baltimore, but this was much nicer and cleaner! Since we were a bit early for lunch we strolled through the isles to check out all the food offerings. I got sidetracked along the way by a tea shop and bought a bit of tea to bring home. Some of the Amish/Mennonite shops were not open on Monday so we did miss out on the infamous pretzel place. However, we did get to eat at DiNic's. We shared a pulled pork sandwich with peppers and broccolini. It was delicious! Still hungry we continued our lunch at Hershel's East Side Deli with a hot pastrami sandwich on pumpernickel and a kosher hot dog with kraut. After all this we were stuffed! Since the weather was nice, we decided to walk off lunch around downtown, walking through a few more neighborhoods before taking it easy the rest of the afternoon at a coffee shop. Reading, drinking tea, relaxing. We spoiled ourselves with dinner at Zento. I got to try toro (tuna belly) for the first time! Every time we've tried to order it, it's always unavailable. So yes, I had my first taste of $10/piece sushi. Ridiculous in both price and flavor. It was our last night in Philly so we splurged a little. After a delicious dinner, we had a few beers at the bar next door, Eulogy. It's mostly a Belgian beer bar and restaurant but we ordered from the huge beer list they had. We weren't a huge fan of this place since the beers were pretty expensive, but the selection was impressive.

Day 5 in Philly was spent with both of us working in the morning, followed by a nice lunch at Farmicia. After lunch, we were off to the train station for our ride back home. Overall, we had a wonderful time in Philly and can't wait to get back!

Spring!

2010-03-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

I planted the roots of a flower my mother-in-law gave me last year after the flower had died. She said it would come back if I did. So I put it in a pot and set it out on the deck and proceeded to neglect it all summer, fall and winter. We had nice weather this past weekend so we ventured back out onto the deck and I got such a nice surprise! The flower is growing!!

Philadelphia - Day 3

2010-03-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

After a long afternoon and night of drinking the previous day, we planned a nice and greasy brunch for Sunday. Philadelphia has a small Chinatown so we went there for dim sum at Ocean Harbor! We waited for 45 minutes before we could get a table but once we sat down we instantly had a table full of yummy food! Mr_BTM and I sampled the chicken feet and tripe but Adam would only try the tripe. Silly Adam! The chicken feet are much tastier than the tripe! We got a lot of other dishes as well, including the fried shrimp and squid. Delicious meal and just the thing to power us through the rest of the day. After dim sum we took the long walk down Benjamin Franklin Parkway, past the museums to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, made famous for that scene in Rocky where he runs up the stairs. However, if you want your picture taken with the statue of Rocky, you'll have to wait in line! We did not wait in the line, but just took a picture of the statue and the line, together. While we didn't run up the stairs like Rocky we did walk up them. The view from the top of the stairs is quite stunning. We lucked out on weather and had sunny skies all weekend. The line outside was really long and we figured out that the first Sunday of the month is pay what you want! So, we didn't want to wait in the line so we walked around to the back of the museum and walked around part of Fairmount Park, along the Schuylkill River. After roaming the park for a while, we noticed the museum had a back entrance with no line! So we did get to go into the museum. We walked around the museum for a while and decided to head back to the hotel, we were all tired! We had dinner at a noodle place and afterwards went looking around for a dessert place. We only had to walk a few blocks and we found the perfect place! An old time ice cream parlor called The Franklin Fountain. We got awesome ice cream and shakes here and was the perfect ending to our day. Now, stuffed with ice cream and tired, Adam caught the train and went back to Baltimore and we called it an early night.

Philadelphia - Day 2

2010-03-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we were joined by Adam who came up from Baltimore to visit the city with us. We started with breakfast at a nearby diner and headed to the Independence Visitor's Center, conveniently located a block from our hotel. The Visitor's Center has some displays on the history of Philadelphia and a few movies, which we didn't watch. We did pick up our tickets for the Independence Hall Tour later that day. Next door was the Liberty Bell Center, which houses a small museum on the history of the bell and the actual bell! Pictured is me with the bell on the non-cracked side. Tourists everywhere! Since we had an hour to kill before our tour, we decided to walk around the rest of the Independence National Historic Park and visited a lot of the buildings and parks.

Second Bank of the United States

After going through security, we got our place in line for the

Independence Hall tour.

The tour was fun and informational (the Declaration of Independence was only adopted on July 4th!) but we were getting hungry so we headed south towards South Street and the Italian Market.

Mr & I split a sandwich we picked up from one of the deli's at the market. Really delicious! Adam opted for the more popular philly cheesesteak from Pat's (Geno's, the other cheesesteak place, is pictured below) while Mr & I ate at the Royal Tavern. The lines at these two places were really long and we didn't want a cheesesteak that badly. Royal Tavern was much better and had beer! After a nice long lunch and a few beers, we were ready to head to the Philly Craft Brew Fest at the Navy Yards in south Philly. We braved the subway to get there and the brew fest was offering free shuttle rides from the train station to the event, which was at

the Navy Yard, not really within walking distance of the station. The brew fest was very crowded but they had lots of beers to try. After an hour or so, we were getting pretty tired of the crowds and had tried over 15 beers at this point. So we opted to leave a bit early, grab a cab and head back to the hotel and hang out in the Old Town neighborhood for the rest of the evening.

Philadelphia - Day 1

2010-03-10T15:09:00.001-08:00

We decided to take a long weekend and head up to Philadelphia to check out the city and take a short break from work. I had been to Philly once in high school but never spent any serious time there. Mr_BTM had never been. In preparation for the trip, Mr did a ton of homework and created a handy google map of places to see, things to eat and where to stay. We started our trip Friday morning with a ride on the Greyhound. An no, it wasn't as bad as everyone says! It was quite nice, actually. We started our day with a tour of the City Hall tower. To get to the top of the tower (pictured left), you need to take a very small elevator, only large enough to take 4 tourists and a security guard. Once at the top you get a greate 365 degree view of the city! We had no idea this was an option so we were pleasently surprised at this spectacular view, and only for $10 total! After the tour we walked towards Rittenhouse Square to check out the park and the neighborhood. Our first option for lunch was closed so we fell back on option two, Good Dog Bar. We choose the burger and the mac n' cheese and a few good beers. After lunch we walked to JFK Plaza to see the infamous Love statue and boy was that lame! It's such a small statue in the middle of a concrete square. So underwhelming. After that we walked along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and toured the Rodin Museum. On the long walk back to the hotel we stoped by theSEPTA Museum although there wasn't much there. For dinner we had reservations at Zahav, an Isreali restuarant. We each had the Taste of Zahav where you can choose three dishes of your choice plus dessert. We had an amazing meal and even tried duck hearts (pictured) for the first time! After dinner, we wanted to grab a drink so we went to Triumph Brewing Company. This place was packed! We were able to grab a beer from the upstairs bar, but once we started drinking, realized we were really full from dinner! Plus, the beer wasn't that good. So we left the crowded bar and went back to the hotel. Really tired after all our walking around!

Snow!

2010-02-10T09:18:00.000-08:00

I made a quick video of the blizzard outside right now. It's still snowing and a lot of it is just blowing around! Crazy!

Below is a view of the back yard as of this morning. Snow is almost covering the a/c unit. Kevin shoveled off the flat part of our roof as well, just in case. This was last night and it had already started snowing again.

Oregon Wine Tasting!

2010-02-02T15:55:00.000-08:00

Mr & I are in Portland for the week and decided to head out wine tasting in the Willamette Valley. We were joined by Anthony and Lynlea and a friend of theirs, Shannon. Our first stop was David Hill Winery in Forest Grove. We sampled 6 wines and bought a bottle of the 2006 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir. Next was the Montinore Estate where we tasted several delicious wines and purchased quite a few more. They had a sale on all whites so we picked up quite a few. We got the 2007 Gewurztraminer, 2008 Muller-Thurgan (a few bottles of this one since it was only $5.60 each), and one red for Kevin, the 2007 Parsons' Ridge Pinor Noir. Next stop was at the Elk Cove Vineyards in Gaston. Very picturesque setting here even though it's winter and none of the vines are blooming. We were a bit rushed here at this one and we weren't sure why. We were, however, impressed with the 2008 Pinot Noir Richmond. A spendy bottle but great taste. Lastly, we visited the Kramer Vineyards. We weren't a huge fan of this place but Mr_BTM was impressed by the 2006 Oregon Carmine "Big Red" so we got a bottle of that too. Overall, great way to spend a Saturday! A few friends, a few drinks, great scenery and good deals on wine!

CSA - Last Week!

2009-11-17T12:30:00.001-08:00

We made it through the 2009 growing season with the CSA and it's been an overall positive experience. Here's a list of the last pick up of the year!

1 bag potatoes

1 bunch cilantro

1 bunch chard

1 bunch collards
1 bunch mustard greens
1 bunch kale
1 bunch spinach
1 bag mixed salad greens
1 green cauliflower
1 bag shallots
1 red cabbage

David Gray Concert!

2009-11-06T16:18:00.001-08:00

Mr & I have been in Portland for the past few days. We decided to get some last minute tickets to the David Gray show at the Schnitzer downtown. We ended up getting 14th row on the floor! SWEET seats! That is until the guy with the hugest hair in the entire place sat right in front of us and blocked our awesome view. Mr took one for the team and sat behind him for the show. Ugh..so frustrating! But, the show was great, he played quite a few songs from the new album and rocked out to lots of old ones. Glad we went!

Set list:

Fugitive

First Chance

Sail Away

Jackdaw

World To Me

Life in Slow Motion

Nemesis

T.Y.L.

Babylon

Meet Me In The Morning

Breathe

Everytime

T.O.I.L.

Otherside

Be Mine

PFM

CSA Week ????

2009-09-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

So, I've missed a few weeks of the CSA pickup. I know we got a lot of potatoes, tomatoes, green peppers, beets, yellow squash, zucchini, acorn squash, butternut squash, eggplant and chard. This week we're reverting back to getting lots of greens.

1 bunch collard greens
1 bunch kale
1 bunch chard
1 red leaf lettuce
1 bunch arugula
1/2 pint of hot peppers
1 bag sweet potatoes
2 eggplant

I think I have 3 eggplants now and I'm not sure what to do with them. We've already made a huge batch of eggplant parmesan so that's out. Maybe some baba ghanouj?

CSA Week 11

2009-09-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

We're very excited for all the new, fresh produce we're getting at the end of the summer! This week we got lots of new items, and plenty of them! We decided to pick up our share at the end of the pick up time to see if we could get a few extras. It worked and we got quite a few extra items!

The share:

1 bag of garlic

2 bunch basil (first herbs!)

3 zucchini

1 green leaf lettuce

4 tomatoes

1 green onion

1 bag of corn

1 watermelon

We were able to pick up extra garlic, green leaf lettuce, zucchini and corn. Good variety this week!

CSA Week 10

2009-08-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

I've been riding my bike to pick up our produce every week. Usually, it's no big deal. It's only 1.4 miles round trip with it being uphill most of the way back home. This week, I had a few things working against me. It was 95+ degrees with high humidity so I knew it would be hot but I wasn't expecting this week's produce picks to be so heavy! I managed to bike home a watermelon, a melon and a bag of potatoes! I'm so proud :)

The stuff:

1 melon

1 watermelon

1 bag potatoes

2 red onions

1 head green leaf lettuce

1 bunch chard

1 bunch green onions

3 green peppers

And here's last night's meal using the green peppers and chard from the CSA and tomatoes from our garden.

Weekend in DC/Arlington

2009-08-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

Friday night I got to celebrate my old high school friend's 30th birthday! Happy Birthday Anne! We met for dinner in Chinatown at Matchbox, a pizza place that has a pretty good beer selection. I was able to get Rogue on tap there! The tap rotates and I don't remember the name of the beer I had, but it was delicious. We had some pretty good pizza and salads with cupcakes for dessert. After dinner, we had tickets for the Arturo Sandoval jazz show at Blues Alley in Georgetown. This venue is in an actual alley, so that was pretty cool. The show was pretty good, but didn't start until 10:15 so by the end of the show, we were ready to head home. I stayed with Anne & John at their new place in Capital Hill and they gave me a ride to Arlington in the morning.

Saturday I met back up with Kevin and Eric at Selman's new

condo in Arlington. We decided to eat away our hangovers at Uncle Julio's. Kevin and I both ate Juanita's platter, full of yummy goodness including a taco, a tamale, and 2 enchiladas. The platter was way too much food though, but it was delicious! We spent the afternoon driving around Arlington in hopes of fixing Selman's shower. It didn't prove too successful so we retreated from the heat into a nice, cool movie theater to see District 9. This movie is shot like a documentary with a lot of the shaky camera angles. The movie gave me a headache and slightly nauseous. Oh well, it was entertaining. For dinner, Selman knew of a good kabob place called Ravi Kabob, also in Arlington. We ordered way too much food, but it was all very good. After dinner, we headed out to a bar for some drinks and a live band playing cover songs. Not all that exciting but they did have Widmer on tap so I was happy.

Sunday brought us for lunch at Ray's Hell Burger in Arlington, made famous by Obama's visit there earlier this year. The burgers are cooked to order and huge at 10oz each! I got a burger with white cheddar and grilled onions done medium. Kevin got the Let's Get it On burger with bacon, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms and swiss. His burger is the one in the photo. I only

managed to eat half of my burger, but the boys had no trouble eating the whole thing! We'd come back to this place anytime for a good burger. It's just too bad they don't have fries! I'm sure we'll be back in Arlington and DC soon since we now have more friends that live there. More chances for us to get to know these towns as well as Baltimore!

CSA Week 9

2009-08-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

Week 9 for the CSA finally brought us some more fruit! We haven't gotten any fruit since week 1 when we got a pint of strawberries. This week we got a cantaloupe and a 1/2 pint of raspberries. And yes, we even got more squash :(

This week's picks:

1 head green leaf lettuce

1 bunch chard

1 cantaloupe

1/2 pint raspberries

1 bag patty pan squash

3 red onions

1 bunch green onions

1 bunch beets

3 zucchini

CSA Week 8

2009-08-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

Here we are with Week 8 of our CSA veggies. I think we're doing a good job of eating the veggies in time, but I'm kinda done with squash at the moment. I was hoping for some more fruit, perhaps some peaches?

Week 8

1 bunch green onion

1 bag potatoes

1 green leaf lettuce

1 bunch chard

1 head red cabbage

1 bag patty pan squash

6 yellow squash

5 cucumbers

1 garlic

Eagles of Death Metal!!

2009-08-10T06:27:00.000-07:00

We went to see Eagles of Death Metal on Saturday night at Ram's Head Live in downtown Baltimore. While the venue isn't the greatest, there's usually no wait to get a drink at one of their many bars and the prices are generally reasonable. This was our second concert there and we'll probably continue to see concerts here because it's so close! This was our third EODM show and they didn't disappoint! This band is full of tons of energy and the crowd always gets into it! We decided to brave the floor and got about 3 rows from center stage. Pretty awesome! I had a great view with no tall people in front and rocked out to my favorite song, Cherry Cola! I've been searching for a set list online but can't find one yet. Perhaps too soon? Not sure, but I surely can't remember all the songs they played. They were on stage for almost 2 hours and provided a solid set list of songs from all their albums. Mr_BTM even got an awesome mustache rides t-shirt!

CSA Week 7

2009-07-29T07:06:00.000-07:00

Since we were out of town last week on the Eggerding family vacation in Wisconsin, Week 6 produce went to Karen & Eric. This week we got a few new items and lots of repeats. We're getting pretty good at preparing chard!

Week 7:
5 cucumbers
4 yellow squash
1 bag of eggplant
1 bag patty pan squash
1 green leaf lettuce
1 bunch beets
1 bunch chard
1 bunch green onions
1 garlic

CSA Week 5

2009-07-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

Another week of beautiful produce from our CSA! Last week we made a slaw from the cabbage and beets that turned out pretty good and tried the broccoli greens sauteed and served over rice. Not too bad. We still have our broccoli and snap peas from last week to eat. Got too busy to eat the good stuff!

This weeks produce:
1 bunch broccoli leaves
1 bunch broccoli
1 cabbage
1 bunch spinach
1 green leaf lettuce
4 zucchini
1 bunch beets
1 bunch small onions

CSA Week 4

2009-06-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

So we missed CSA Week 3 due to our trip to Chicago so today picks up with Week 4 delivery from the CSA.

1 bunch green chard
1 bunch rainbow chard
1 bunch spinach
1 bunch red leaf lettuce
1 head cabbage
1 bunch beets
1 pint of snap peas
1 bunch broccoli
1 bunch broccoli leaves (anyone heard of this?)

CSA Week 2

2009-06-16T12:38:00.000-07:00

Last week we used all the greens (kale and chards) in a wonderful steak & greens recipe with a bit of brown rice. We made a small salad with some of the lettuce's and still have some of that leftover.

This weeks picks:
1 bunch spinach
1 romaine lettuce
1 red leaf lettuce
1 green leaf lettuce
1 bunch kale
1 bunch red chard
1 head cabbage
1 bunch garlic scape (pictured below)

CSA Week 1

2009-06-12T08:16:00.001-07:00

This year we signed up for a share in a Community Supported Agriculture program ("CSA"). The CSA is with One Straw Farm, the largest organic vegetable farm in Maryland. The CSA provides weekly produce (whatever is ripe!) from June through November. Each week you get 8 items that you pick up at a nearby site and you'll have more than enough produce to last you the week. We had our first pick up this week and got a lot of stuff! Below is the list:

1 bunch romaine
1 bunch red leaf lettuce
1 bunch green leaf lettuce
1 bunch kale
1 bunch rainbow chard
1 bunch red chard
1 bunch arugula
1 pint strawberries

Brand spanking new desk!

2009-06-10T14:02:00.000-07:00

We're on our way to getting the 3rd floor office decorated and cleaned up. Step one, get a new work space that's just for work. I got a new desk that's designated for my workspace and a new chair. Finally no more card table chair to sit on all day! We got both pieces at Target for a pretty good deal. Another motivation for the new desk was to make room for our new home computer. That's step two, get a home computer we can use for photos and music as well as another tv for the house and for our
guests. Step three is to find a couch with a pull out bed so this can be the office, a den and a guest room all in one! Step four is putting on the final touches including new window treatments and a nice paint color, along with a new ceiling fan. Quite a list still to go! Now all I need to do is figure out how to work that new iMac of ours...should be fun!

New Doors!

2009-05-18T12:08:00.000-07:00

We've had a busy week! First the roof finally got fixed and now our new doors were finally installed! We're still waiting for a screen door for the back since it's still on back order. But, the new doors are in and 90% complete. A few trim pieces need to be added to the front door, which they'll take care of when they install the screen door in the back. Now on to some before and after photos! Now that I see them side by side, we chose similar, if not the same styles for the doors, just different colors and steel reinforced security! No more wind blowing through the unevenly installed doors! These energy star efficient doors should help keep the downstairs a bit warmer in the winter and keep our air conditioning inside during the summer. They all open and lock a whole lot easier now and all have deadbolt locks (the previous doors did not).

BEFORE

Front Door - Outside Front Door - Inside

AFTER

BEFORE & AFTER

Side Entrance Door - Inside

BEFORE
Back Door - Inside Back Door - Outside

AFTER

The Roof - Part 2

2009-05-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

It finally stopped raining long enough for the roof guy to come back and finish the roof. Yesterday we go our coating on the roof that should seal any remaining cracks and provide some UV protection. Instead of the black roof, we now have a shiny silver roof! This should help keep the house a bit cooler on those hot summer days.
A completely covered and coated chimney. We shouldn't be having any more issues with leaks now.

Nice and shiny!

The Leaky Roof - Part 1

2009-05-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

We've had some issues recently with a leak in the 3rd floor office area. Any time it rains, the ceiling (now with a hole in it!) drips water onto my desk. Last summer during those torrential downpours, we had water come in on the 2nd floor as well. We thought we fixed that problem with a new gutter, but our roof guy thinks otherwise and I believe him. So, part 1 of fixing the roof involved replacing all the gutters, patching any holes, cracks, etc. in the roof, completely covering the chimney (the suspected source of our 3rd floor leak) and caulking around the outdoor fixtures.
Patching a few cracks in the roof.

Chimney is now completely covered.

Repositioned the downspout from the 3rd floor roof from draining onto the deck to draining directly into the 2nd floor gutter. No more water being drained directly onto the roof. This should help solve the leaking to the 2nd floor during those heavy summer rains.

Gardening time!

2009-04-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend I finally got around to getting plants to start my container garden on the rooftop deck. We get plenty of sun up there so it should be perfect for a few sun loving plants. I decided to start small with just two tomato plants, some herbs and a few annual flowers for some color. To the right is a glance at the mini garden as well as the gnomes that watch over the plants. I still need to get some compost for the top layer from Michael. Let's hope this location is sunny enough!

Herbs are rosemary & sweet basil - 4/26/09

Better Boy tomato - 4/26/09

Bush Early Girl - 4/26/09

Vinca and Marigold - hanging basket - still need to get a hook so I can hang this up without fear of falling!

New Kids On The Block and a special visit!

2009-03-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

When I found out the New Kids on the Block were going to be in Baltimore I called up the sisters to see if they wanted to come out for the show and spend the weekend in Baltimore. Gretchen said yes and decided to bring a mystery guest with her. I suspected the mystery guest was my other sister Heidi, but she wasn't able to get off of work to make it out. So, I was surprised with a visit from my best friend Becky! They arrived on Thursday afternoon and we headed to Cross Street Market for lunch. Becky got her coveted chinese take out and Gretchen and I got cheese steaks. After lunch we took a quick walk to Federal Hill park for a view of the harbor. We headed home and got ready for the concert. We hit up the liquor store for those cute little booze bottles that we could smuggle into the show to avoid the expensive drinks there. All we had to do was buy some coke or sprite and we were set! The opening act, Jabbawockeez, was a dance group and they were okay but not all that entertaining. On to the main act - having never been to a show of NKOTB's in the past, I had no idea what to expect. The sound of that many girls/women screaming was incredibly loud! Holy moley! It was an insane amount of noise...the loudest concert i've been to! The drinks definately helped cope with that aspect of it! The show was good although I still wish I had seen them when I wanted to as a kid. Set list is below, which kicked butt...sang all the songs I wanted to hear and closed with Hangin' Tough, that was pretty darn cool.

NKOTB Set List:
Call It What You Want
My Favorite Girl
The Right Stuff
Didn't I Blow Your Mind
Valentine Girl
Please Don't Go Girl
Grown Man
Dirty Dancing
Games
Single (B STAGE)
If You Go Away (B Stage)
Two in the Morning (B STAGE)
Tonight (B STAGE)
Twisted
Baby I Believe In You
Give It To You
Joe's Medley (I Remember When, Where Do I Go From Here, Thank You)
Cover Girl
I'll Be Loving You Forever
Click, Click, Click (with Pose Off)
Summertime
Step By Step
Hangin Tough

One of the few photos I took from the weekend is of us totally smashed at the Brewer's Art after having a delicious dinner at b a Bolton Hill Bistro. Notice how none of us really have our eyes open except Gretchen, who normally always has her eyes closed so it's always a good clue to look for when she's been drinking!

New Furniture

2009-03-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

We finally got some new furniture pieces for the house. Ikea proved to be a good place to start! Since the house doesn't have a linen cabinet, the one we got from Ikea was much needed. It fits all our towels and sheets and has plenty of room left over for even more stuff! I love it's yellow color and the glass doors. We put it in the second floor hallway by the laundry area and I think it looks great!

Our next project was to find bedroom furniture since we don't have any side tables or a bed frame. Due to the size of our mattress, a lot of the Ikea frames didn't work out (at least the one we wanted!). So while at the store we spoted a metal frame that measured out nicely. We also found end tables that were high enough to reach if we were sitting in bed and that included some extra storage. To top it off we got some end table lamps from Walmart to match the metal frame. Now all we need to do is paint and get some new bedding!

BEFORE:

AFTER:Mr_BTM's End Table
My End Table

Modest Mouse at Ram's Head Live

2009-03-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

Last night was our first show at Ram's Head Live in downtown Baltimore. Michael & Caitlin got us (and themselves!) tickets for the Modest Mouse show. We met up at Houlihan's for a quick dinner and headed to the show around 8:00 PM. There were two opening bands, each playing a half hour set. The first band wasn't all that great, but was upbeat and had a lot of energy. The second band, Mimicking Birds, played a better show, but their music was a real downer! No energy at all and kinda boring. Modest Mouse then took their sweet ass time getting on stage, having us wait an hour and half between sets for them to come out. A little long, in my opinion! They didn't start playing until 10:30PM, already way past my bedtime! They put on a decent show and the energy was good. There were a few technical difficulties with the mics giving some feedback during a few of the songs, but overall it was pretty good. The venue, however, is strangely designed with three levels. We grabbed a spot at the railing on the second floor and had a good view, but there were definitely drawbacks to the design and places where the sound wasn't all that great. I'm sure we'll head back for more shows just because it's one of the places in town that has shows we like. Below is the set list for Modest Mouse - and no they didn't play Float On!

Set List:
Spitting Venom
Never Ending Math Equation
The View
Doin' the Cockroach
Fire It Up
Wild Packs of Family Dogs
Here It Comes
Dashboard
Guilty Cocker Spaniel
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
Bukowski
Dramamine
Education
3rd Planet
This Devil's Workday
Paper Thin Walls
Parting of the Sensory

Encore:
The Good Times Are Killing Me
Bury Me With It
Alone Down There
Blame It On The Tetons

Skiing at Snowshoe

2009-03-03T08:34:00.000-08:00

At the end of February, Mr_BTM and I left Baltimore on a road trip to West Virginia to meet up with the Mr's parents and brother at Snowshoe for some skiing. We left town on Thursday night and spent the night in Staunton, VA to break up some of the driving. We left first thing Friday morning on a 2-land winding road through rural VA and WV. It was rough going for a while since there had been fresh snow the night before but we made it to the top of the mountain without incident. We were able to ski a full day on Friday and enjoy some of the fresh snow. Too bad it was so cold and windy! Friday night we had dinner at the condo and watched a movie before retiring early. Saturday was a nice sunny day, but really busy on the slopes. We skied with Dad in the morning on some of the tougher trails and met up with Mom and Chris in the afternoon for some easier skiing. The lift lines were pretty long so Mr_BTM and I called it an early day. That evening we went out for dinner at one of the restaurants in the village at the top of the mountain. It wasn't the greatest meal, but it was good to get out and have dinner with the family. Sunday we woke up to fresh snow! We headed out with Dad again early and got in a lot of good runs on the fresh snow. The lift lines were non-existent and we were able to do as many runs in the morning before lunch than we did all day on Saturday! After a great morning of skiing, we headed in for a late lunch and to pack our gear away for the drive home. We got out to the car to discover we had a flat tire! Ok, no problem we'll just change it with the spare, except the spare was held hostage by our bike rack we didn't bring the key for! Doh! **Note to self - get the key for the bike rack and put on car key ring.** Good thing the mountain had a tow truck and an on site shop. We were able to temporarily inflate the tire and drive it to the shop. Once there, they found a screw that had punctured the tire and fix the hole. All for a mere $5! Mr_BTM tipped him heavily for his assistance and we were able to get on our way back home after an hour delay. The drive home was pretty stressful since we were driving through that same snow storm that gave us fresh snow on the mountain. I can't handle that kind of night driving when they haven't plowed the interstates! It took us a bit longer to get home but we got there safely. And, the tire is still going strong!

Orlando and St. Petersberg - quick trip

2009-02-11T11:43:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Mr_BTM and I took a short trip to Orlando to visit Eric, his fiance Liz and their new baby Evan. Evan's christening was on Sunday at a Catholic Church in Winter Park, FL. We attended mass and the christening took place after mass. We all went back to the Chavez house for a few snacks and quality family time. It was good to get to spend time with Chavez and his family and to meet Liz for the first time. We'll be headed back to Orlando in October for the wedding!

On Monday we stopped in for a brief visit of the Orlando office folks and met back up with Eric and Liz for lunch. We ate outside at a cute cafe and enjoyed the nice weather. After lunch we drove to Saint Petersburg to visit Amy & Ryan and their baby Henry. We got to see their new house and had dinner in downtown. It was a short visit, but good to see them again!

We left early Tuesday morning, so we didn't have a lot of time to do all that much while we were there. I'm sure our next trip back to Florida will allow us to spend more time visiting friends!

Skiing in New Hampshire!

2009-01-29T08:56:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Radu organized a ski trip to New Hampshire to stay at his US "parents" Bed & Breakfast, The Woodstock Inn. Kelly and Radu came up from Orlando, and a group of 10 of us came in from Baltimore (me, Kevin, Karen, Karen's friend Corinne, Eric, Pete, James, Darryl, Michael & Caitlin). We flew in to Manchester, NH early on Friday morning and headed up to the Inn to check in and rent gear. We decided to ski at Loon Mountain, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Friday afternoon since it was the closest and they had an afternoon ski rate. Loon was pretty good. A good amount of blue and green trails for me to ski on, but not a lot of variety for Kevin, who prefers the harder trails. It was a rocky start since I haven't skied since 2006! The first run was tough, falling a few times, but I got the hang of it again over the course of the day (and after a few more falls!). I also got to see for the first time snow actually being MADE! This was a new phenomenon for me. They get plenty of regular snow fall here, but they still make snow. That's so weird that I had to take a picture of it. It was a good first day. After skiing we all headed to the brewery for beers and dinner. I enjoyed the brown ale while Kevin sampled the pale ale and we both had burgers. After dinner the group hung out at Radu's place for a while until we all got real tired and decided to call it a night.

Saturday we were up early to grab breakfast and drive out to Cannon Mountain for the day. This place was about a half hour drive from where we were staying and in the Franconia Notch State Park. This mountain was a little more challenging since most of the runs from the top of the mountain were black diamonds, not something I would ski on! Corinne and I stuck with the easier trails near the bottom of the mountain and Kevin tagged along for a bit too, but I know he was bored with the "kiddie" runs we were doing. Just before lunch I decided to go with Kevin and Radu to the summit and take one of the few blue trails down to the base. The pic on the right is at the summit...it was cold! I took off by myself and took a long time to get to the bottom to meet the group for lunch. I was the last to arrive :( Oh well, I managed to get down to the bottom on my own, even though it was rough going on the top! I took it easy during the afternoon and rested every now and then to warm up and have some hot cocoa! Saturday night led to more beers and dinner at the Inn.

Sunday proved too treacherous for most of us as our short walk to breakfast proved it was way too cold outside! A small group did end up going skiing again at Loon but most of us just hung out for the day recovering. Besides, we were really tired and sore from the two previous days. I figure two days out was good for not having skied in so long. The next ski trip should be easier!

Christmas Tree!

2008-12-23T07:45:00.000-08:00

This Christmas will be our second Christmas in Baltimore. However, last year we were still in transit and didn't have a permanent home. Plus, we spent almost 2 weeks in Ohio and Illinois for the holiday. So this year, now that we have our house, we bought our first fake Christmas tree. This year we'll only be spending a few days in Cincinnati so we'll have time to enjoy it at home. We opted for a non-pre-lit tree since the pre-lit trees looked skimpy. The tree we got is 7.5 fee tall and is pretty wide and full. We decided to put it up in the 3rd floor office since we have the most open space there and I get to look at it all day while I work. It's got white lights and lots of ornaments! And there's even a few presents for us under the tree.

New Kitchen Cart!

2008-12-09T06:57:00.000-08:00

We've wanted to get a small kitchen cart/island for our kitchen to add some more counter space and more storage. We finally got around to buying the darn thing and had it delivered to the house. It arrived in a huge box and weighed over 100 pounds! We reserved the Saturday after Thanksgiving to put this together, we figured it would be a good project for the day. So step 1 in putting this thing together is to count all the bits and pieces. Step 2 is finding out you're missing a few screws so you have to call the manufacturer for them to send you replacement parts. But they're not open on the weekends so you have to wait until Monday morning. Step 3 is to put together as much as you can without needing the missing screws. So, we were only able to put the drawers together and what would have been a productive Saturday turned out to be a dud. Step 4 is to wait a week for those replacement pieces to arrive and to live with this huge box and all it's pieces scattered about. Step 5 is to rejoice when the replacement parts finally arrive! Step 6 is to proceed in putting this thing together. I must say, it was pretty easy to put together. Mind you, Mr_BTM did all the heavy lifting but I helped! It's a pretty sturdy piece and has wheels so we can move it around easily. The wood matches our kitchen perfectly and the stainless steel top is just what Mr_BTM wanted. Here are two quick shots of the finished product. Now we just need to figure out what we want to store on the cart! As you can see, we put the coffee pot on the bottom shelf but it doesn't fit standing upright so it looks a bit goofy.

The Black Crowes - 9:30 Club, DC

2008-10-27T08:32:00.000-07:00

We drove down to DC this weekend for The Black Crowes show at the 9:30 Club. This is our first show at the 9:30 Club and it's really a great venue. We were able to get a place standing right along the railing on the balcony, stage left, and had a great view of the stage! The concert had no opener, just a solid 2 hours of The Black Crowes! We've seen them play 3 previous times and this is the first time we've really gotten to see them jam on a lot of songs. There were many songs that lasted longer than 9 minutes. Really amazing!

Set List:

GOODBYE DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION

STING ME

GO TELL THE CONGREGATION

BALLAD IN URGENCY

WISER TIME

SHE TALKS TO ANGELS

POOR ELIJAH/ROBERT JOHNSON

COLD BOY SMILE

WHOA MULE

LAY IT ALL ON ME

WEE WHO SEE THE DEEP

THORN IN MY PRIDE

FEATHERS

REMEDY

WOUNDED BIRD

- encore -

DON’T DO IT

Korea Sparkling!

2008-10-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

Mr_BTM and I traveled to Korea for a 2 week trip of touring the country and visiting family. Below is a quick itinerary of our trip and some of the sights we saw. Korea is a beautiful country full of mountains and valleys and the food is terrific!

Day 1 - Travel from DC - Tokyo - Seoul

Day 2 - Seoul

Deoksugung Palace - saw the changing of the guard ceremony

Insa-Dong - walked around the neighborhood and had some very expensive tea in a local tea shop.

Cheonggyechon - This is a restored stream that runs through downtown Seoul. We had a break from walking around here people watching and relaxing in the shade.

Day 3 - Seoul

All day tour to Panmunjom/Joint Security Area. Here we got to see North Korea and see the soldiers there. We were also subject to a ton of security checks and dress code requirements. Very interesting!

DMZ Tour - included a walk down into the 3rd Tunnel (built by North Korea to invade the South), the Dora Observatory and the Doran Street train station.

Myeongdong - We walked around in this neighborhood near our hotel that's full of shops and restaurants. Had mandu for dinner and went on a fruitless quest for an ice cream cone!

Day 4 - Seoul

Namdaemun Market - a traditional outdoor/indoor mall that sells just about everything from food to fish to souveniers.

Gyeongbokgung Palace - we happened to visit on Hanguel Day, a day that celebrates the Korean language.

National Folk Museum

Dinner with the Hyun family (Mom's side of the family)

Day 5 - Seoul

Korean Folk Village

Dinner with the Lee family (Dad's side of the family)

Day 6 - Seoul - Seorak

Today we drove from Seoul to Seorak

Seoraksan National Park

Day 7 - Seorak - Gyeongju

Cable Car ride in Seoraksan National Park

Drive from Seorak toGyeongju

Anjapi Pond

Day 8 - Gyeongju - Busan

Walk around Bomun Lake

Seokguram Grotto - Buddha statue at the top of a hill.

Bulguska (Temple)

Tumuli Park - the burial grounds of the ancient kings.

Drive to Busan

Day 9 - Busan

Another cable car ride! Although this time, we got lost trying to find our way back to the cable car for the ride down and we ended up hiking down the entire mountain!

Dinner at Halmonie/Haraboji's house - meet more of the Lee family.

Day 10 - Busan

Jagalchi Fish Market - Got up rediculously early (3:30 AM) to see the fish auctions and the market. Had breakfast at the market of spicy fish stew and raw fish! Tried Abalone for the first time.

Taejongdae - Took the tour to the observatory and the lighthouse. Had lunch sitting on rocks down by the ocean - fresh, raw seafood!

UN Cemetary - dedicated to the UN security forces soldiers that died during the Korean War.

Haeundae - a beach area. Took a quick walk and then had a traditional korean dinner (a normal meal for royalty).

Day 11 - Busan - Tongyeong

Today we drove out of Busan to Haeinsa, a temple in the mountains and then continued to drive south to the South Sea Island of Tongyeong.

Day 12 - Tongyeong - Busan

Today we drove to the ferry port and ferried over to Oedo (pronounced way-dough), an island entirely devoted to a garden.

Prisoner of War Camp Museum in Geojedo

Drive to another ferry port for a car ferry ride back to Busan.

Day 13 - Busan

Did a bit of shopping around town and met up with the Lee family again at Todai, a restaurant that Samchoon (uncle) owns.

Day 14 - Travel from Busan - Seoul - LA - Charlotte - Baltimore

Portland, Part 2

2008-10-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

Part 2 of our trip had both of us working for the week. I was commuting again to Tigard and dropping of Mr_BTM at work downtown. The week went by fast! On Tuesday we went to dinner at Sarah and Tom's house and met up with Lynlea and Anthony. Tom's parents were in town and they cooked us a huge korean meal. So delicious! Wednesday we met up with Dave and Teresa and McMenamin's for some beer and a late dinner. I wish we had McMenamins in Baltimore! I miss their food and beer...so good. Friday night had us traveling to Chris and Emily's house for some bar-b-que and to hang out again with Matt and Karen. Let's not forget the 2 little ones too!

Saturday had us even busier with an early start. We took the MAX to the Esplanade and walked from the Broadway Bridge to the Hawthorne Bridge and then up to the Farmer's Market again for some breakfast. We walked from there to Bike Gallery and then to the Multnomah County Library, which I'd never gone in before. From there we went to lunch at Karam and enjoyed an awesome Lebanese meal. And, since it's Saturday during football season, we went to The City to watch the Purdue game and meet up with some more people. After a quick stop at the office we took the Streetcar up to REI for some shopping and met up with Dave and Teresa again at Rouge for some beer. We had wanted to stop by Rogue to buy some of their spirits since we can't buy them in Baltimore. We got a bottle of the Spruce Gin and the Dark Rum and they managed to not get broken in our checked luggage. From Rogue we walked over to the NW 21st/NW 23rd area to meet up with Jacinta and Eric at Mio Sushi. We had the most delicious sushi I've had in a while. Check out the photo! It was so good to see Eric and Jacinta again, people I consider "my" friends as opposed to "our" friends. That's one thing I'm still lacking here in Baltimore. After than we got some coffee and tea at Moonstruck on 23rd and people watched for a while and to catch up. We departed around 9:00 just to meet up again with Dave and Diego to have drinks at Thatch, a tiki bar. Man, this was turning out to be a ridiculously long day. I was wiped so after the tiki bar I went home but Kevin managed to continue on. Not sure how he managed that! I was well asleep by the time he got home.

Sunday was a pretty leisurely day compared to Saturday. We did some more shopping at REI, grabbed a quick lunch at Whole Foods. From there we dropped off the shopping at the apartment and went up to Council Crest for some views of the city. From there it was dinner time so we went to eat at a brew pub we always meant to go to but never had a chance, The 5th Quadrant, run by the New Old Lompoc Brewery. I had the meatloaf, for some reason I was craving some comfort food. Maybe it's because it was our last night in Portland. Who knows. We enjoyed some more beers and a decent dinner. Of course, we needed desert so we had to go to VooDoo Donut! Kevin had the bacon maple bar and I had my favorite Portland creme. This was our last stop before going to the airport for the long flight back to Baltimore. We need to go back more often! I'd like to make this at this a yearly trip. Next time we should get bikes!

Portland, Part 1

2008-09-21T21:50:00.001-07:00

Mr_BTM and I are in Portland for 10 days to work and visit old friends. We are staying at the company apartment in Lloyd Center. Thursday night we met up with Jamie and Annie before they left on vacation. We had dinner at Ken's Artisan Pizza and enjoyed a delicious mushroom pizza (Chenterelle mushrooms) and an italian sausage and onion pizza. It was great to hear that Jamie & Annie are moving to Baltimore next year! Friday had us working during the day but enjoying some fine brews at Kelly's Olympian with some of Mr_BTM's work friends. We didn't stay long at Kelly's since we wanted to do some grocery shopping for the week. After shopping we decided to stop by Dave & Theresa's since they were having a small get together. We called it an early night since we had a long travel day the day before.

Saturday morning we got up early to go to the farmer's market. The amount and variety just blows me away every time we go there. We got a lot of fresh veggies and fruit for the week. We just had to dodge all the urban hipsters with kids! After the market with met up with Anthony and the Verheyens at Hae Rim in Beaverton. Their son Tyler has gotten so big! After lunch we headed to the Columbia Outlet Store and then to the Koonce's for a quick visit. Then it was off to REI, although we didn't get anything there...so sad :( Our evening then took us to Powell's for some book shopping and then dinner at the new Deschutes Brewery in the Pearl with Conner and his girlfriend. The beer was amazing but the food wasn't all that great so that was kind of a let down.

Sunday morning had us up early again and meeting the breakfast club at Jam on Hawthorne. We're now the only couple that doesn't have kids! Our group now consists of 4 couples and 4 kids, all girls! It was so great to see them all again and to have breakfast with them. I miss having our group for breakfast..we don't have that living in Baltimore. Sunday afternoon was a lazy day of relaxing. Mr_BTM went off to work on Sunday night and I went out for Thai food with Theresa and Kirsten and a friend of hers. So far, this trip has been pretty fun and we've gotten a chance to visit a lot of our friends. Now next week we just have to work!

Let's Go RV'ing!

2008-09-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

This past weekend a group of 14 of us took 2 RV's road tripping up to State College, PA for the Penn State vs. Oregon State football game. Eric, Karen, Peter, Kurt, Jimbo, Radu, Alek, Pete, Beth, Michael, Katelyn, Nick, Mr_BTM and myself made up quote a diverse group. We left Baltimore around 5:00 PM and headed north across the state line. We pulled the 2 RV's into the Red Rabbit, a tiny drive-in burger stand and overtook the outdoor seating. This place was adorable! You could pull up and eat in your car. The waitress came and took your order and then served you with those trays you can hang outside your door. Classic burgers, fried chicken and shakes. It was a good dinner after drinking beer on the ride up :)

We made it to the RV lot on the campus of Penn State around 10:00 PM and set up camp. We all got comfortable and got to drinking. Cards and Catchphrase were big hits. Sleeping was interesting since we had 7 people per RV. Mr_BTM and I got the bed in the "bedroom" area since he drove. A lot more private than the other bed options that were in the main part of the RV.

Saturday morning brought cloudy skies and the threat of rain. Most of the crew walked the Penn State campus. I was left behind since I didn't want to get up so early. So I set up the tailgate and was ready to start grilling right at noon. Our timing was pretty good...it started to pour down rain right when we started to cook for lunch. Fortunately, we had the tarps up and were ready for rain. We lucked out and it only rained for about a half hour and cleared out for the rest of the day. We went through a lot of sausages and burgers! Around 2:30 PM we started our walk to the game. The stadium is pretty large but the seats (a bench) are pretty uncomfortable. Our tickets for the game were scattered around the visitor's section so the Mr & I sat with Nick and Radu. There were quite a few of OSU fans in our section so that was fun. Even though OSU got killed the game was fun to attend. The marching band and the crowd participation is fun to watch! After the game we headed back to the RV's to cook up some food for dinner and to relax after the game. While the boys played touch football the girls battled it out in a game of chicken foot!

Sunday morning started early with packing up the tail gate and heading to brunch. On the way out of town we made the requisite drive by Jo-pa's house, coach of the Penn State football team. The ride home was nice and we were able to find parking spots for the RV's. After unloading the RV's the group went out to lunch in Baltimore to wind down and spend more time with the folks that came from out of town. Although this was a long weekend, we had good luck with the weather and had a good time visiting with everyone. We just might have to make this a yearly outing!

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-02T15:01:00.001-07:00

This weekend the in-laws drove in from Cincinnati to spend the weekend with the Mr & I. On Saturday we drove down to Annapolis and walked around downtown and visited the William Paca House & Garden. We decided to skip the home tour and take a walk through the garden. After the garden tour we had lunch at Middleton Tavern, along the waterfront in downtown Annapolis. Lunch was okay, nothing special, just some sandwiches. After lunch we walked down Main Street and decided to head to the mall for a quick shopping trip. After the mall it was back to Baltimore to have dinner at Salt.

Sunday took us to DC for a visit to the Newseum, one of the newest museums in DC. This was a fascinating museum! I loved it and would go back again to get a closer look at all the exhibits. There was so much to see, read and watch. After 2 and a half hours we still could have spent more time there. I particularly enjoyed the exhibit on Pulitzer Prize winning photographs. After the museum we were back at the Nationals game vs. Atlanta. I even got my photo with George! Only one President left to get...Thomas! The Mr & I have decided that the food there isn't that good...and very expensive! $9.50 for deluxe nachos or chicken strips and fries. Not to mention the $4.50 for a bottle of pop or water! After the game we headed back to Baltimore for a relaxing sushi dinner at Chiu's Sushi.

The in-laws left on Monday morning and the Mr & I took a nap to recover from all our activities. We each had to work a few hours too and do some major grocery shopping for next week's RV trip to State College, PA!

The Black Crowes and Dave Matthews Band Concert!!

2008-08-11T07:17:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night a group of us drove up from Chicago to East Troy, WI for The Black Crowes/Dave Matthews Band concert. After grabbing dinner at Culver's, we loaded up the mini-van with some sodas and headed to the show. The last time I went to Alpine Valley, we got there late and we were never able to get a good look at the venue. This time, we got there in time and the venue is really cool with a backdrop of a ski slope. Pretty cool. The Black Crowes opened up but only played for about 45 minutes. A little disspointing and the only 2 songs I remember them playing were both from the new album. DMB came on a rocked the house for over 3 hours. Really awesome setlist and rare performances of Halloween and Spoon. Loved the old school set list but enjoyed some newer favorites like So Damn Lucky and Corn Bread! Another great addition to the show was Tim Reynolds! This was a great show and I'd love to see DMB again next year!

The Black Crowes Set List:
Movin' On Down The Line
Goodbye Daughters Of The Revolution
Wiser Time
Poor Elijah - Tribute To Johnson (Medley)
Oh Josephine
Jealous Again
Wounded Bird

DMB Set List:
Dancing Nancies
Seek Up
Proudest Monkey...>
Satellite
So Damn Lucky
Bartender
Corn Bread
Spoon
Water/Wine Jam
Burning Down The House
Louisiana Bayou
Anyone Seen the Bridge? ...>
Too Much (Tease) ...>
Halloween
Water/Wine Jam
Out of My Hands
Crush
Money
You Might Die Trying
Ants Marching
Encore:
Don't Drink the Water
Two Step

A quick trip to DC

2008-08-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

On a whim, Mr_BTM and I decided to go to DC for the weekend. We already knew we wanted to go to one of the Nationals vs. Reds games but a quick search on Priceline and Stubhub and we were set for Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we got to DC around 1:00 PM and after checking into the Hyatt Regency Hotel we walked over to the National Building Museum. The museum, created by an act of Congress in 1980, was free and featured exhibits on building materials, architect Eero Saarinenand (he designed the Arch in St. Louis), and the urban planning of DC. We spent about 2 hours here, a bit longer than expected for such a small museum, but the building itself was also an attraction! Our next stop was the National Portrait Gallery & Museum of American Art. The two museums are housed in the same building with a courtyard in the middle. We mostly walked through the Portrait Gallery and sat in the courtyard.

After our afternoon of museums we took the Metro to the Nationals game vs the Reds. Got to have my picture taken with Teddy! Highlight of the day :) The Reds lost and we got rained on a bit, but it was a nice night to be out for a game. After the game we stayed for the movie they were showing until the crowds to the Metro died down a bit. On our way back to the hotel, we detoured to the Capitol to take pictures at night when it's all lit up. We were disappointed you couldn't get on the steps to get a better view of the mall. But Mr_BTM got some great photos.

Sunday started with brunch at Georgia Brown's, a southern style brunch place on McPherson Square. The buffet selections were okay but our entrees were much better. I tried the Carolina Shrimp & Grits and Mr_BTM had the Carolina Gumbo. Both were pretty good but we weren't all that impressed.

After brunch we were back to the ball park for the afternoon game with the Reds and Nats again. We were fortunate to have seats that were shaded so we enjoyed the game in relative comfort. This time I got my picture taken with Abe! Another highlight! Again, the Reds lost, but the game was fun.

I'm sure we'll be back to DC for another overnight stay sometime soon. We want to visit the monuments at night next time!

All moved in!

2008-02-25T09:14:00.000-08:00

We moved into our new house last weekend and have been unpacking ever since. We've also been doing a ton of shopping to buy back all the stuff we didn't move with us from Portland. Lots of good consumering going on. Our list seems endless...mattress, vacuum, tv, dressers, organizing stuff, cleaning supplies, garbage cans, recycle bins, etc....

But...it's all worth it and I love our new house! It feels so good to finally be in a place of our own. We have lots of ideas floating around on what we want to do to improve the space. But, first things first, we need to finish unpacking!

The fam is visiting in less than 3 weeks so we have a lot of work ahead of us.

Closing Time

2008-02-13T06:27:00.000-08:00

Our original closing date had to be rescheduled...underwriting wasn't done yet. Good thing we only had to move the closing out by one day. We close this afternoon and will be celebrating soon thereafter! I believe 40s and crabcakes are on the menu. Finally, after almost 2 1/2 months of living with other people, we can unpack and move into a place of our own. And I can't wait!

On the home front

2008-01-30T11:46:00.000-08:00

We finally found a rowhouse we like enough to put an offer on! The offer was accepted and we're now wading through the red tape of home ownership on our way to the closing date. Very exciting! We have a few things to settle before we're ready to close, but we're already making lists on what we need to buy when we finally get the keys! Like new locks!

"The Idea of You" - Dave Matthews Band

2007-12-13T07:05:00.000-08:00

I heard this song "The Idea of You" over a year ago on some bootleg cd someone gave us to listen to on our way to the Dave Matthews Band show at the Gorge. I immediately fell in love with the tune and it's groovy sound. However, I've recently listened to this song on a clearer version and the lyrics are amazing!

I saw you walk
You know you say
Like a ghost you know to me babe
Combat boots make you look slick
Oh now I see you walking home from school
You got so lost on your way
You got me feeling like a kid
But this man is no kid you know
So I'm not gonna pull your hair

I fall so hard inside the idea of you
That's why with you can't say what I mean
Wanna stay but I think I'm gettin outta here
I fall so hard inside the idea of you

Aw there you go again
I know you're shy
And I see you walk past with your friends
And I saw you laugh and whisper
And I'll talk, I want you here
But you turn back and smile at me
Aw you got me feeling okay with that
So I'm not gonna pull your hair

I fall so hard inside the idea of you
That's why with you can't say what I mean
Wanna stay but I think God get me outta here
I fall so hard inside the idea of you

Bus stop dreamer
The late night
You with me
There's something moving
You cant stop, saying that you love me
You love me, you love me
Enough, enough you make me shy
But baby, I wake up
Aw, aw, yeah

I saw you

I fall so hard inside the idea of you
That's why with you I can't say what I mean
Wanna stay but I think I'm gettin outta here
I fall so hard inside the idea of you

Oh it's so, go on baby say it

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

We're laughin

From the Rose City to Charm City

2007-12-03T07:51:00.000-08:00

It's official! We've made the move from Portland to Baltimore! This is quite the move, from one coast to the other, and somehow both of us kept our jobs. Our stuff is still in transit and should arrive sometime this week. For now, we're putting everything in storage until we buy a place to live. Went to two open houses yesterday and previewed a few homes out of our price range. Probably not the best way to start off a home search.

I guess I have to update my location! I'm not sure how I feel about the move and leaving Portland, since I did love that place. Baltimore better prove itself worthy!

Beer is good...

2007-10-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Kevin and I went with Alec and Erin to the Hood River Hops Fest in Hood River, Oregon. Weather was good, no rain, and the beer was cheap and tasty! Naturally, we overserved ourselves and went in search of a local sports bar to watch the Purdue football game before driving back to Portland. No luck on the game but did get some yummy sweet potato fries at a local pub.

Wednesday and Thursday Biking workout

2007-09-13T18:41:00.000-07:00

Vancouver/Williams Circle Route
Find more Bike Rides in Portland, Oregon

The Portland Century

2007-08-27T11:15:00.001-07:00

On Sunday Kevin and I, along with Susan and Peter, participated in the Portland Century. Kevin, Peter and Susan opted for the 50 mile ride (Half Century) while I tried out the 25 mile route (Quarter Century). I had a wonderful ride and was happy I chose the 25 as opposed to the 50, which Kevin was trying to get me to do. The Quarter Century started out at PSU and headed east over the Hawthorne Bridge to the Springwater Corridor. From the Springwater, we were diverted through SE Portland due to some construction on I-205 and met up with the I-205 bike path. Our one and only rest stop was in Maywood Park at the 17.5 mile mark. From there we headed back West through NE Portland, over the Broadway Bridge and back to PSU. We rode through a lot of PDX neighborhoods, some of which I've never been to, which was great! I always enjoy the opportunity to explore more of Portland, even though I could have taken this same route on my own. The finish line offered massages (which I got), free Widmer beer (which I drank) and a lovely salmon dinner (which I ate, yum!). Of course, after the ride, we had to bike back home!

Great ride on a great day. I hope Baltimore has some planned rides like this!

Interesting lyrics

2007-08-24T16:02:00.000-07:00

So, lately I've been listening to the county music station at work because I'm tired of hearing the same old songs on every other non-country station. I came accross this song by Bucky Covington - A Different World. At first, I thought it was hilarious! But by the end, the song made some sense to me. People need to slow down! Myself included.... I think I like this song...so here it is.

We were born to mothers who smoked and drank
Our cribs were covered in lead-based paint
No childproof lids
No seatbelts in cars
Rode bikes with no helmets
and still here we are
Still here we are

We got daddy's belt when we misbehaved
Had three TV channels you got up to change
No video games and no satellite
All we had were friends and they were outside
Playing outside

It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world

School always started the same everyday
the pledge of allegiance, then someone would pray
not every kid made the team when they tried
We got disappointed but that was alright

We turned out alright

It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world

No bottled water
We'd drink from a garden hose
And every Sunday,
All the stores were closed.

It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world

Portland Timbers

2007-08-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

Last night K and I rode our bikes to PGE Park for the last home game of the Portland Timbers, the minor league soccer team here in town. The first half was pretty boring but the second half was much more exciting with the only goal being scored at the 79th minute. Timbers won 1-0 over the Charleston Battery.

This weekend we've got the Portland Century on Sunday. K has the 50 mile ride and me the 25. Looking forward to a nice ride around Portland!

Updated reading lists

2007-02-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

I've updated the links under my reading list to include the books I've managed to read in the past few weeks. Other than that, no real updates. Just planning the wedding and passing the PACE Exam!

Only 2 months, 1 week and 2 days until the wedding!

Happy New Year!

2007-01-02T11:09:00.000-08:00

This new year was spent in Phoenix, AZ. Kevin and I stayed with his friend Avery. We even got to see Camilo and Deanna and their two kids. Saturday night we all went to the Phoenix Roadrunners minor league hockey game, which was pretty exciting! We got a great deal on tickets and even got some food vouchers. Good fun! Sunday we hiked the Summit Trail of Squaw Peak. A little harder than we expected but it was good to get out and do some exercise! Then headed to the Fiesta Bowl Block Party in Tempe, AZ. We met up with one of Kevin's co-workers from Boise and walked around the block party, drank a few beers, and caught the end of Vanessa Carlton performance and the beginning of the Third Eye Blind show. Out of the 10 or so songs we heard, I think I only knew about 3...I'm totally not with the "hip" music anymore, if that music is hip, I don't even know.

Anyway, it was good to get away for the weekend, albeit a brief one. Getting to see the sun was great! This year should prove to be pretty exciting. Four more months until the wedding!

Nifty state map

2006-10-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

create your own personalized map of the USA

I've visited all these states!

Updates!

2006-10-20T16:40:00.000-07:00

The weight loss hasn't been all that great lately, but I haven't gained weight either so that's exciting!

On to the wedding....ordered my dress and a custom veil last night!

Dave Matthews Band at the Gorge!

2006-09-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

Set List:
One Sweet World *
Crash
Seek Up *
Grace Is Gone
When the World Ends *
Shotgun *
Don’t Drink the Water *
If I Had It All *
Dancing Nancies * -->
So Much To Say * -->
Too Much *
Break Free *
Pig *
Ants Marching *
Encore:
Butterfly
American Baby Intro *
Pantala Naga Pampa * -->
Rapunzel *

What a great fuckin' show! 'nuff said.

Bay Area

2006-08-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I made my first trip to California, more specifically the San Francisco Bay Area, including Mountain View, Palo Alto, Santa Clara and of course, San Fran. I took part in the deliciousness that is In-and-Out Burger, a true California experience, as well as attending a ball game at AT&T Park, home of the Giants, the Golden Gate Bridge and Fisherman's Wharf. I didn't really get a chance to see most of the city so a return trip is a must!

Providence Bridge Pedal!

2006-08-15T13:39:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday Kevin and I and a host of other people took part in the Providence Bridge Pedal. This community bike ride is such a great way to get out and see Portland! We decided to sign up for the 10 bridge, 36 mile ride covering all the major bridges that cross the Willamette River in Portland. It was a great day for bike riding as we had an early start at 7:15AM. The ride started off well and by bridge 8 I was ready to stop....my knee totally hurt! I couldn't quite understand why but it made the last 2 bridges quite a challenge, especially getting to the St. John's Bridge! Kevin was a trooper and stayed with me while I struggled but we finished and celebrated with bread bowl with seafood chowder!

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers!

2006-08-02T08:56:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Kevin got me into the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers show at the Clark County Amphitheater. What a great show! Not only did they play a bunch of songs I knew but Stevi Nicks also made a guest appearance and sang along on a couple of songs. Here's a set list from the show.

Listen to her Heart
You don't know how it feels
I won't back down
Free Fallin'
Saving Grace
Mary Jane
I'm A Man
Oh Well
Handle with care
Stop draggin my heart around
I need to know (stevie)
Square One
Insider
Learning to fly
Don't come around here no more
Refugee
Running down a dream

ENCORE
You wreck me
Mystic eyes
American Girl

Vacation hits the scale hard

2006-07-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

Gained last week while on vacation in Michigan with the family. Guess 1.4 pounds isn't that bad but a gain is a gain!

Wedding plans are creaping along. Got a decent guest list compiled and a list of reception sites picked out. Gotta start somewhere!

Weight Loss and Wedding Updates!

2006-07-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

This is only a tentative date, but it's good to get some sort of idea of how much time we have left to plan a bazillion things!

Weigh-In Update

2006-06-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

Goo Goo Dolls and Counting Crows

2006-06-22T08:48:00.000-07:00

Kevin was able to get us tickets to the Goo Goo Dolls and Counting Crows show last night! This co-headlining tour started last night at the Clark County Amp. Augustana opened the show, which we missed due to traffic and munching on yummy chicken strips and fries. No worries there though, the food was much more satisfying than hearing the opening band. Upon entering the venue we headed to our 18th row seats, center section! I was pleasantly surprised to see Goo Goo Dolls start off the show since I was hoping Counting Crows would come on last. Goo Goo Dolls put on a surprisingly good show and had great sound. Below is the set list. Lots of songs from their new album but they did play quite a few that I knew, which was cool.

Goo Goo Dolls Set List:
Stay With you
Slide
Feel the Silence
Naked
Black Balloon
When You're Gone
Iris
Broadway
Smash
Tucked Away
Listen
January Friend
Name
Better Days
Without You Here
Let Love In
Become
Give A Little Bit
Encore:
it sucks to be you

Counting Crows came out second and opened with a great song! I was absolutely stunned to see how large Adam Duritz had gotten! Holy crap that guy must weigh 250, at least! Anyway, I enjoy the set, albeit the didn't play some of the songs I wanted to here like "Anna Begins", "Rain King", and "Up All Night."

Counting Crows Set List:
Recovering the Satellites
Hard Candy
Mrs. Potter Lullaby
Mr. Jones
Goodnight Elizabeth
All My Friends
St. Robinson
Richard Manuel is Dead
Miami
Long December
Hanging Around

Encore: Holiday in Spain

Concert rating: 8 (only because I didn't hear my favorites!)

Weekly Weigh In

2006-06-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

Eagles of Death Metal and The Black Crowes

2006-06-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

This was concert weekend! Saw Eagles of Death Metal at the Crystal Ballroom on Friday night and The Black Crowes at the Clark County Amphitheater on Sunday night.

Friday night's show was awesome, minus the first two opening bands, The Giraffes and the Mediam. Both were awful and The Giraffes involved a lot of spitting and bad lead singer dancing. EODM just totally rocked and my favorite song now has got to be Cherry Cola. I just love the rock/pop feel to it. Great for dancing and getting into a fight! Ha! Haven't found a set list yet so I'll post one once I find one.

On to Sunday night's hippie attended show with The Black Crowes. We didn't watch the two opening bands and just joined the show from our awesome 4th row seats to jam along for 2 hours with the Crowes and Robert Randolph and the Family Band. This show was completely different from when we saw them last year at the Gorge with Tom Petty. I guess when you aren't the headliner you have to play your standby favorites. When you headline the show, you can jam away and people will love it. Great show and great seats! Thanks Kevin!
Set List:
Give Peace A Chance -> Seeing Things
Stare It Cold -> Give Peace A Chance
Space Captain
She Talks To Angels
Song Of Love
Downtown Money Waster ->
Share The Ride ->
Mellow Down Easy
It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
My Morning Song
Wiser Time
Remedy
- encore -
Instant Karma!

Weight loss update

2006-06-06T15:35:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel Philbrick

2006-05-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

So, I made it to Powell's for the reading last night by Nathaniel Philbrick. A much different and smaller crowd showed up for this reading promoting the new non-fiction work "Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War." This event turned out to be more of a lecture with a side of reading and a very short q & a afterwards. Even so, his lecture gave a small glimpse of the book's main topic, the Pilgrims and King Phillip's War. I know relatively little about this time period in history so i'm looking forward to learning more. I am thoroughly convinced to get his latest adventure in American History. I've enjoyed his two previous books, "In the Heart of the Sea" and "Sea of Glory." Mr. Philbrick is a very intelligent and a delight to listen to. I wish I lived on Nantucket Island!

Dan Savage and Augusten Burroughs

2006-05-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

This past week I was able to see Dan Savage, sex columnist of "Savage Love" and Augusten Burroughs, author of "Running With scissors." Saw Dan Savage at the Crystal Ballroom, basically a live version of Savage Love. It was amusing for the first hour or so, but he lagged on for over 2 hours. A bit much for me considering some of his commentary on current events was so forced and fake. We didn't want to hear it. Bring on the weird sex talk! Anyway, amusing but probably wouldn't go see him again.

As for Augusten Burroughs. Saw him at Powell's Books on Friday. Good crowd turned out to see this unusual memoirist. At first glance, he looks out of place to be the literary giant that he is, but upon hearing him speak set me straight. He was so eloquent in speech and manner that I was impressed, considering his background. Anyway, very enjoyable reading with an intelligent q & a afterwards. Good stuff is always to be found at Powell's!

Tonight, I may try and catch Nathaniel Philbrick promote his latest book "Mayflower".

Weigh-in Update

2006-05-15T17:01:00.000-07:00

Last week Wednesday I finally hit the 30 pound mark! I've officially lost 30.2 pounds since starting Weight Watchers in October, 2005. Yes, I realize it's taken me a long time, but this weight loss is much healthier and I feel that I can keep the weight off this way!

Only 15 more pounds to go....

Summer concerts!

2006-05-09T11:41:00.000-07:00

This summer is turning out to be one big concert! There are a ton of great bands coming through town thsi summer and Kevin and I plan on seeing quite a few of them. Here's a list of shows we're thinking of or are already planning on going to:

June 9 - Eagles of Death Metal
June 11 - Black Crows
June 21 - Counting Crows and Goo Goo Dolls
July 27 - Steely Dan
July 28 - Crosby, Still, Nash & Young
July 29 - Tom Petty with Trey Anastasio
August 30 - Def Leppard & Journey
September 2 - Dave Matthews Band - at the Gorge!

Should be a great summer!