As part of my goal of dropping excess fat and building up lean muscle, for Christmas, Katherine gave me a free personal training session at Sound Mind and Body, a gym in Fremont. On Saturday I headed to Seattle to cash it in, as well as go for a run, eat lunch, and finish my Christmas shopping.
The gym was really pretty awesome, a three-floor job with tons of the latest equipment and views of the Fremont Cut - a portion of the Lake Washington Ship Canal - out every window.
My free session involved a body comp test, a flexibility test, a tour, and a circuit training session. My body composition was better than I had thought, which brightened my day a bit, and I really enjoyed the circuit training we did. It involved a set of pneumatic resistance machines that I worked my way through with breaks in between for various other exercises like planks, push-ups, etc. It was a hell of a workout, and I was definitely sweating by the end.
Once I was thoroughly exhausted from my gym workout, I drove north to Green Lake. One of my 30B430 goals was to run around it, and I set out to do so that afternoon. The trail closest to the lake is about three miles, and I actually managed to not only run the entire trail, I did so without stopping or walking, and blew away my previous times for that distance. I also ran up a set of concrete bleachers in a sort of amphitheater on a “corner” of the lake. Boo-ya!
After I had dried off a bit, I went back to Fremont (which isn’t far) for lunch at Homegrown, a sandwich shop I’ve been wanting to go to for a while now that uses only local and/or organic and/or sustainable foods, as well as only compostable containers and utensils for takeout. The flank steak sandwich with bleu cheese mousse and caramelized onions was pretty good, but I’m bummed that they were out of the lamb melt. Oh well, next time. The atmosphere was good, the food delish, and the eco-consciousness was comforting but not too in-your-face. In other words, I don’t feel guilty for eating beef that lived a happy life, eating grass and looking at blue sky before it was horribly slaughtered, skinned, chopped up, sliced, grilled, and served to me on whole grain brioche.
I wandered around Fremont for a bit, picking up some Christmas goodies, before heading to Archie McPhee’s new location on Stone Way in Fremont (it was in Ballard). Man, I do love that store. Rubber chickens. Ashtrays shaped like giant teeth. Bacon flavored mints. Bacon flavored floss. Bacon flavored jelly beans. Bacon scented soap. If it’s alternative or pop culture, or if it can be flavored like bacon, Archie McPhee has it.
I do love a productive and fun day off.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Blogger Issues
Blogger is currently showing me the script of the photos I have posted rather than the images themselves, thus making it prohibitively inconvenient to write witty and/or informational captions for them. I will add them as soon as I can.
MM News
I have now been released by my employer to divulge the new secret location of my post with the company: our Uptown store, located at First and Mercer in downtown Seattle. I will be moving laterally into the kitchen manager position which has been vacant for some time.
The commute will be an inconvenience, but I am thankful for continued employment, and glad to have avoided the commute to Kirkland.
The commute will be an inconvenience, but I am thankful for continued employment, and glad to have avoided the commute to Kirkland.
Comics and Donuts
A month and some change ago, I took a solo road trip to Portland, the next best thing to Seattle, for the 2009 Portland Comic Book Show.
Before the event, I made sure to stop off at Voodoo Donuts for some treats to bring home and to deliver to Rick and Paula, vendors of my favorite local comic shop, Spy Comics.
I raided the $0.25 bins and came home with a mighty haul.
And now, the reason for this post…PICTURES OF AWESOME DONUTS!
Before the event, I made sure to stop off at Voodoo Donuts for some treats to bring home and to deliver to Rick and Paula, vendors of my favorite local comic shop, Spy Comics.
I raided the $0.25 bins and came home with a mighty haul.
And now, the reason for this post…PICTURES OF AWESOME DONUTS!
Thanksgiving 2009
Thanksgiving Weekend was spent with in-laws and wine. Wine: good. Family: great.
Kat’s parents got here in the early afternoon on Thanksgiving Day, about the time our store was starting to wrap up. Her sister was scheduled to arrive shortly thereafter, but due to flight delays, wouldn’t appear until late in the evening.
Dinner was more or less traditional, turkey and the like, but with the added twist of having on hand various vegan and vegetarian dishes to suit my sister-in-law and mother-in-law, respectfully. If I do say so myself, the vegan mashed potatoes and toasted hazelnut gravy were pretty darn good. Who knew you could make good food without dead animal fat and parts in it?
The next day we headed to Snoqualmie Falls, a local exquisite waterfall. It was the first time seeing he Falls for all of us, and they were pretty fantastic. I only wish it were possible to get closer for a better view, but as it is, probably the best (or at least biggest) falls I’ve ever seen.
After Snoqualmie, we headed to Rattlesnake Ridge, a nearby tower of stone and trees that affords a rather challenging two mile hike to the top. The climb was beautiful and wasn’t too extreme, and the views from the top were more than worth the trek. Aside from the breathtaking views, the highlight was following behind Diane as the soles of her boots began to crumble and finally take on the appearance of flip-flops. While the discomfort she surely felt was no laughing matter, the humor of the situation was undeniable.
Our next stop was the East India Café in Federal Way for dinner where I think all involved were duly impressed with the authentic flavors and excellent service. After dinner we retired to our house where we shared a few bottles of wine and several laughs before bedtime.
On Saturday we headed to Seattle for a visit to that visitor must-see, Pike Place Market. The Market had its usual crowds, bolstered by the holiday weekend and fair weather, and the Roses are admittedly not fans of crowds of tourists, but I think that for the most part, everyone enjoyed seeing the landmark.
Our favorite neighborhood, Fremont, was next up, and we introduced the fam to our friend, the Fremont Troll, visited some shops, and had some coffee. We then took what ended up being a very convoluted drive to the Magnolia District for dinner at Café Flora, a big deal vegetarian/vegan restaurant in the area. In a departure from our last visit, the service was sub-par (not so much bad as idiotic), and not everyone enjoyed their food. For my part, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal, and a bite of Briana’s coconut covered fried tofu was probably the best tofu I’ve ever tried. We once again capped the day with wine and fun conversations.
On Sunday we were supposed to drive to Seattle, and while Katherine volunteered at the Seattle Marathon, the rest of us were going to go on the Underground Tour in Pioneer Square. ‘Twas not to be. While Katherine headed to the City Center to pick up garbage, we sat around, watched football, and chatted. In the evening, we ordered pizza and watched one of my favorite recent flicks, In Bruges, followed by that gem of American cinema, Lethal Weapon 2 (or as some people know it, “that one where they say ‘but, you’re bleck.’”).
While visits from family are always a grand treat, it was fantastic having them here for Thanksgiving, with fair weather, and with everyone having the time off from work. I only hope that it won’t be so long before the next time we’re together again, and that at that time, I have a bigger stock of wine on hand.
Kat’s parents got here in the early afternoon on Thanksgiving Day, about the time our store was starting to wrap up. Her sister was scheduled to arrive shortly thereafter, but due to flight delays, wouldn’t appear until late in the evening.
Dinner was more or less traditional, turkey and the like, but with the added twist of having on hand various vegan and vegetarian dishes to suit my sister-in-law and mother-in-law, respectfully. If I do say so myself, the vegan mashed potatoes and toasted hazelnut gravy were pretty darn good. Who knew you could make good food without dead animal fat and parts in it?
The next day we headed to Snoqualmie Falls, a local exquisite waterfall. It was the first time seeing he Falls for all of us, and they were pretty fantastic. I only wish it were possible to get closer for a better view, but as it is, probably the best (or at least biggest) falls I’ve ever seen.
After Snoqualmie, we headed to Rattlesnake Ridge, a nearby tower of stone and trees that affords a rather challenging two mile hike to the top. The climb was beautiful and wasn’t too extreme, and the views from the top were more than worth the trek. Aside from the breathtaking views, the highlight was following behind Diane as the soles of her boots began to crumble and finally take on the appearance of flip-flops. While the discomfort she surely felt was no laughing matter, the humor of the situation was undeniable.
Our next stop was the East India Café in Federal Way for dinner where I think all involved were duly impressed with the authentic flavors and excellent service. After dinner we retired to our house where we shared a few bottles of wine and several laughs before bedtime.
On Saturday we headed to Seattle for a visit to that visitor must-see, Pike Place Market. The Market had its usual crowds, bolstered by the holiday weekend and fair weather, and the Roses are admittedly not fans of crowds of tourists, but I think that for the most part, everyone enjoyed seeing the landmark.
Our favorite neighborhood, Fremont, was next up, and we introduced the fam to our friend, the Fremont Troll, visited some shops, and had some coffee. We then took what ended up being a very convoluted drive to the Magnolia District for dinner at Café Flora, a big deal vegetarian/vegan restaurant in the area. In a departure from our last visit, the service was sub-par (not so much bad as idiotic), and not everyone enjoyed their food. For my part, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal, and a bite of Briana’s coconut covered fried tofu was probably the best tofu I’ve ever tried. We once again capped the day with wine and fun conversations.
On Sunday we were supposed to drive to Seattle, and while Katherine volunteered at the Seattle Marathon, the rest of us were going to go on the Underground Tour in Pioneer Square. ‘Twas not to be. While Katherine headed to the City Center to pick up garbage, we sat around, watched football, and chatted. In the evening, we ordered pizza and watched one of my favorite recent flicks, In Bruges, followed by that gem of American cinema, Lethal Weapon 2 (or as some people know it, “that one where they say ‘but, you’re bleck.’”).
While visits from family are always a grand treat, it was fantastic having them here for Thanksgiving, with fair weather, and with everyone having the time off from work. I only hope that it won’t be so long before the next time we’re together again, and that at that time, I have a bigger stock of wine on hand.
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