De-Clutter

Clutter. That word lands with a thud, doesn't it? I have a lot in my life, but it's not in the traditional places. My counter tops look pretty good, cabinets are not jam-packed and there aren't many piles around my house, yet I'm still haunted by clutter. Clutter is what keeps me from doing things I enjoy and keeps me more distant than I'd like from friends and loved ones. I store my clutter in my head--it's an inability to prioritize and sort out the good from the better from the best. Things are in order physically but not always mentally. It is maddening because I see myself doing it. I know better. I know what it feels like to be paying attention to the things that will bring me the greatest joy--yet I rationalize, I justify, I ignore. And ultimately I pay a price.

Tragic.

Thankfully, it doesn't require huge changes to turn things around. It's not like I'm making decisions between moderate, atrocious, and down-right evil. But still, need to get on that.

I'd like to spend more time here too. Writing falls between better and best, I think. We'll see.

Image courtesy Flickr user Manndag.

10 Indicators You Have No Business at a Rock Concert

alternate title one: 10 MORE Indicators You're No Longer Cool
alternate title two: 10 Indicators You've Turned Into Your Parents

10. You contemplate wearing the shirt you've worn all day even though it's covered in spit-up.
9. You kiss not one, not two, but three kids goodbye as you leave.
8. You see nothing wrong with going by yourself.
7. You get to choose between driving the mini van or the station wagon.
6. You listen to NPR the entire way there.
5. You look around and realize you are literally twice the age of half the audience.
4. You do something productive on your phone during the opening bands.
3. You make the moron that spilled beer under your feet go get paper towels.
2. You plan an exit strategy to avoid getting caught in traffic, even considering leaving during the encore.
1. You don't care if anybody thinks you're too old. You'll do what you want and love it!

Honorable mention
1. This is the latest you've been out since the unexpected late night visit to the ER several years ago.
2. You consider the reserved section preferred seating.
3. You don't see the appeal of skinny jeans on guys. Even if he is the lead singer.
4. You worry the drum beat reverberating in your chest might trigger an episode of heart palpitations.

You Can Start Calling Me Ruth Reichl

Just a few more restaurants I've visited lately. Again, sorry for the sea of text. I need to start taking my camera.

Pizzeria 712
This one has been on my list for a long time. I just haven't been able to bring myself to visit that shrine-to-overdevelopment-known-as-Midtown-Village. Plus I've heard a lot of hype so I worried they wouldn't be able to live up to my inflated expectations, but it proved not to be a problem, aside from the monolithic skeleton of a building sitting next to us. The meal was delicious from beginning to end, with the added bonus that the staff seem to care about their customers. I visited P712 (for short) with colleagues for my birthday lunch this week. I shared an order with a friend--a salad containing mixed greens, roasted beets, goat cheese, farro, and a horseradish vinaigrette dressing along with a sausage and fennel extremely thin-crust pizza. I appreciated the pizza because it wasn't drowning in cheese. I hate pizza with a lot of cheese. It's a matter of diminishing returns--at some point it becomes useless. The crust could have been cooked a tad more in my opinion, but still quite good.

My favorite part of the meal were the morsels I bummed from my friend Collette's entree. She went with the braised beef panini complete with sweet (and I do mean sweet) onions, mushrooms and provolone. The bread was so crunchy it actually left the roof of her mouth sore, but oh my gosh it was good. I basically begged for scraps. She was kind enough to share.

The staff felt we waited too long for our food (it wasn't so bad in my opinion) so they graciously comped us dessert. We dove into the buttermilk panna cotta and a rich chocolate pudding made with local Amano chocolate (which I just realized is sold in the Bookstore. Great! As if peanut butter fudge isn't tempting enough.). A divine meal! I'll be taking Jim as soon as we can go. And we'll also be trying out their new restaurant on University when it's finished. Can't wait!

Sammy's Cafe
I should probably wait until I've had a full meal to say anything about Sammy's. I only went for the pie shakes. I left disappointed. Not disappointed enough not to try the burgers and sweet potato fries some other time, but I won't bother with another shake. The pie shakes are probably what you're thinking--soft-serve ice cream combined with a piece of pie (banana cream, chocolate oreo, blackberry cheesecake, etc). However, my definition of a piece of pie and Sammy's definition are different. Yes, I realize they can't fit in half a pie, but come on, more than a sliver would have been nice. At least give me enough that I get a chunk every once in awhile. The Oreo and cheesecake shakes didn't really taste any different than any other shake I've had. Plus they were $4. Didn't think they were worth that much. Like I said, I'll try again.

Fusion Yogurt
I had the misfortune of being given a sample of carbonated frozen yogurt at the Farmer's Market a couple weeks ago. I've been craving it ever since. I saw an add for carbonated yogurt and thought to myself, "Could it be?" To my delight, yes it was! One and the same! I'm not normally one to consume a lot of carbonation. In fact, I thought adding carbonation to frozen yogurt was as unncessary as frying a turkey. But I was wrong. It adds a kick that is kind of naughty. At first I felt guilty for falling in love, but now I don't care who knows. And I'm unapologetically proud that it was developed by a local who first carbonated regular yogurt. The key lime is the best, but Jim enjoyed the mango. They also serve strawberry and other flavors. They rotate which two yogurts get the carbonation kick and also offer two regular varieties. I just hope when I go in that key lime is "on tap." Don't be put off by the fact this yogurt joint is located inside a small bookstore.

Poor Boy's
I try not to hold a grudge, but Poor Boy's inhabits the spot of my now defunct beloved cookie joint. I know Poor Boy's didn't run them out of town, but it still hurts. I put my feelings aside to try one of their $2.00, 3-oz (I think?) pork sandwiches. Even before I took a bite I noticed the bun looked very familiar. My first bite confirmed it--Shirley's Bakery rolls! Smart move, Poor Boy's, smart move. The pork was good but it was pretty plain. No BBQ sauce. I was perplexed. We stopped by a week later and on my way out I suggested they offer BBQ sauce on the side. The staff gave me a perplexed look as I left. After I started eating I figured out why. This sandwich had BBQ sauce and cabbage (I think?). I guess I just caught them on a busy day the first time and they missed dressing my sandwich. Good little sandwich. Menu is currently limited and they're still getting the place in oder. I wonder if this location will be their permanent location.

Omelets at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center
This dining experience holds a special place in my heart. When Jim was in the hospital many years ago, every once in awhile when I wandered up to the cafeteria I'd be surprised to find they were serving made-to-order-omelets. The options were impressive and the price was cheap. Those omelet mornings seemed to come at just the right time and I thought they tasted incredibly good. I did suspect that my memory of their deliciousness was due to the fact that they were a welcome deviation from typical hospital cafeteria fare. When I found out this tradition is flourishing to this day at the hospital, I was skeptical, but thrilled to find out it was still going on, and that they sometimes do it at night! Not only that but Mike, my neighbor of many years, is the head chef. How did I miss that? I knew he worked catering at the hospital but I didn't put together that he was responsible for the omelet bar. If you get on his mailing list he sends around a schedule of when the omelets are being served -- usually three or four times a month.

Mindy and I wandered over one free evening (bonus!) to partake. We got there right before the line started to back up. Mike is famous for abusing his customers, but because we know him we were spared. He also got me to try something I normally wouldn't--strawberries in my hasbrown-bacon-ham-pepper-olive-mushroom-stuffed-omelet. He asked, "Do you like pineapple on your pizza? Grapes on your salad?" As I nodded he exclaimed, "Then you'll like strawberries in your omelet." He was right. Both the company and the omelet were perfect. And cheap. I mean the omelet, not the company.
: )

India Palace
Visited India Palace for their lunch buffet. I'm no expert on Indian food. In fact, my taste buds are pretty immature, but I pretty much loved all of it. The buffet was extensive so I was able to try a lot of different things. It mostly consisted of sauce-type options such as masala, korma, and curry, that were full of different meats or vegetables and seasonings. A couple of them were a little thick, but all had a distinct and wonderful flavor. And as a true American of course my favorite thing was deep-fried cauliflower. The service was a little slow but they were kind. Normally it is out of my price range for lunch ($10), but for a treat every now and again I'll be back.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries
I can take or leave most burgers. With the exception of the "burgers" you get at typical fast food restaurant which I don't think actually qualify as burgers, I don't find much of a difference between burger joints (I know many people would take issue with this). At Five Guys I do like that you can customize your burger without getting snarky looks. And don't worry, grilled onions are one of the options. The fries are pretty darn good. You get a huge amount so take a friend, or 10.

Marley's Gourmet Sliders
Motorcycles and greasy food? You bet! Welcome to the USA! Marley's is located inside the Harley Davidson showroom. It kind of reminded me of Five Guys in that you can customize your slider (basically a mini burger on a roll), but the meat didn't do much for me, especially the turkey. I didn't really care for the shoestring fries either. They reminded me more of potato (why do I always want to put an "e" at the end of that) chips than French fries. Not anxious to return.

Let's Get Local

Just finished a late-night snack of homemade guacamole and chips. I'll be burping garlic and lemon for days. So worth it. A squeeze of lemon or lime? I agonize over this decision more often then I care to admit. Good guacamole is hard to come by. There are a few places around that do a decent job with it--not surprisingly those in the fresh-Mex business. Good guac and a mean tortilla will get you very far in my world.

I miss the carefree days of maternity leave and being able to explore the eateries around town with Jim. I've set a goal to hit up as many independent or nearly independent restaurants that I can. I'll concede to occasionally visit a chain if it's new and I hear enough good about it.

The timing of this quest could have been better. You've probably heard by now that as a country we're supposed to get a grip and stop eating out every meal. It's time to end our love affair with the Big Mac and attempt to mend our relationships with our stoves and dinnerware. They've been so lonely. Luckily our family never did completely abandon the cutting board and frozen peas, plus we are extremely fortunate to still have a job and a small amount of discretionary income--so I'm not going to feel bad to look to someone else to provide a plate of stir-fried veggies or perfectly grilled salmon once a week for lunch.

Here are some completely non-scientific, it's-just-my-opinion reviews of a couple places around town. If I feel up to it more will come. Sorry for the lack of pictures. I don't do this for a living you know.

Shoga Japanese Restaurant
I'm a relative sushi newbie. Can't get enough of it lately. In fact, I just realized I left some in the fridge at work. Anyway, we ordered a couple tuna maki rolls as well as the beef don-buri. The rolls were fresh, at least as fresh as you can get in a land-locked state, and the beef flavorful and tender. I loved the tempura squash. The lightly battered and deep fried veggies do it to me every time (see upcoming review of India Place). Service was fine and prices fair (rolls seemed fair, don-buri on the expensive side for the amount of meat you get). Unfortunately this restaurant is in a strip mall. That really turns me off, but not enough to keep me away. I've been back since our initial visit.

Rooster Dumpling & Noodle Bar
On our first visit we ordered the traditional pork and chive dumplings to go. There was some type of pickled (or altered in some other manner) veggies I didn't care for. Dumplings were good. Our latest visit was to celebrate my birthday so we went all out and ordered bulgolgi beef dumplings, lime sesame noodles, Thai basil rice, a strawberry Boba, and chocolate lava cake. Dumplings were solid again. They came with Simy's sauce which added a richness I liked. The basil rice tasted good but was very dry--especially the sausage. The lime noodles could hardly be contained in their bowl they had so many different flavors and colors. Jim liked these more than I did. I appreciated the presentation and idea of them, but couldn't quite take to them the way I hoped. The boba drink was, hmmm, interesting? I'm an uncultured American. If it's not milk or water I like my drink to be sweet, and the only thing I want floating in it is ice, fruit, or a chunk of cookie dough or Oreo. Not an unidentifiable black ball of something I can't quite put my finger on. They tell me the boba pearls are a sweet tapioca. I'm sure this is true and they are harmless enough, but it just didn't work for me. The drink itself was very mild--not sweet, not packed with flavor. One of the other flavors would probably have been better than strawberry (they were out of peach which was our first choice). It wasn't horrible, just not great.

However, they could have fed me what was on the bottom of their shoe for the main course and I'd beg for more if only to have one bite of the chocolate lava cake--more precisely the chocolate lava cake served with hazelnut whipped cream. It was that good.

Ambiance was great, service pretty good (we're cutting them a break because they're new but the servers need a little more information about the details of the menu), prices a little high (the cake was $7.00). Will probably go again, but only if the budget allows for dessert.

2600 Miles and Lived to Blog about It

Uh-oh. I'm starting to feel about this blog the same feelings I used to have about math homework. Always haunting me, begging me to start so as to make my life easier yet repelling me at the same time with the thought of the work involved. Do I even keep this site up if I'm hardly ever going to post?

I guess I almost always managed to get my math homework done, so here goes.

We spent a couple weeks traveling to Oregon earlier this month. We actually had FUN. Lots of it. With each other. If you saw how well behaved the kids were in the car you might suspect we spiked their water bottles with Benadryl. It was a great relief since we went over 2,600 miles. Jameson had a moment or two, but hey, you have to cut babies a break every now and then.

Unless you were a) on the trip or b) visited by those taking the trip you probably don't have a lot of interest, but here are some memories that make me smile:

- Nyah's screaming as we washed her hair using the bathtub faucet.

Nyah looking very uncomfortable but not seeming to mind a bit

- Jenni introducing us to Trader Joe's and their addictive Joe-Joe's.
- Mom staying out until after midnight gambling.
- Keeping company with Mom & Jenni during pedicures. Making the pedicurist (??) repeat her direction about 5 times before I got it.
- Jenni's well-stocked goodie bags for the kids.
- John's gorgeous red hair. Big blue eyes throughout their whole beautiful family.

Nephews Gabe & Seth getting in a
little Wii before bedtime

- The intense greenness of Oregon in the spring. Even the cows and sheep grazing in the fields look more picturesque. Big red barns in the background don't hurt.
- Seeing my only cousins for the first time in YEARS! Marveling at their wives and wonderful kids.
- Nyah wanting to wear her bathing suit in the pouring rain.
- Connor bumming for money in Uncle Ron's chair.

Kathi snuggling Anthony and Jameson

- Getting kicked out of my elementary school. Luckily I got in a good talk with Ms. Czech, my second grade teacher, before that happened.
- A happy surprise - Trader Joe's RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from our Vancouver hotel.
- German food with Jennifer and Scott.
- OMSI - 45 minutes in and we'd only seen three exhibits. Anyone up for a game of robotic Connect 4?

Getting a head start on a possible career path?

- Who Song's outdoor patio seating along the river and a late lunch with Jen. Feeling like no time has passed.

My oldest and one of my dearest friends, Jennifer.
Hard to believe I've known her 30 years.

- Geri's face when we walked in the room. My emotional reaction to seeing her.
- Remembering how to get places in Vancouver even though I didn't drive while we lived there.
- My dad's small planting project now a forest in our old backyard.
- Connor making me basically run through the haunted house carrying him while he buried his head in my shoulder.

Enchanted Forest still enchanted for the next generation.

Connor couldn't get enough of this slide.

- Connor's Wii boxing technique (foot shuffle) and beating the pants off Jake (maybe a slight overstatement).
- Aunt Kathi's early morning alarm technique - dump the clean silverware from the dishwasher directly on the counter. : )
- The bowling ball we left behind that somehow managed to find us again.

Nyah loving Uncle Ron

- Meeting second cousins (or is it cousins-once-removed?) for the first time and freaking out at how much some of them look like their parents.
- Missing our turn. A lot. The van does NOT turn on a dime.
- "Aunt Sheldon." Kathi loves certain chairs in the house. You might want to move when you see her coming.
- Watching a 90+-year-old woman live her life like she's not a day over 60. Never without earrings and a necklace. Always beautiful.
- Sunset Bay beach in the pouring rain. As soon as we hit the sand Nyah kicks off her flip-flops and starts running down the beach. She aimed for the seagulls.

Rainy day at the Oregon Beach. What can you expect?

- The mystery of the disappearing coat.
- Witnessing baby Anthony's first steps.
- Grandma Shirley, the baby whisperer.

"Oh my goodness! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

- My cruelty at asking Jim to leave his stack of books, including his bird book, behind (looking stuff up on the iPhone not quite the same as having the book). I realize now it was almost as bad as asking someone with poor eyesight to leave behind their glasses.
- Kathi and Ron's incredible hospitality.

I love this picture

Consumed

I just realized that ALL my posts lately, including the one I just did a minute ago, have to do with children and/or pregnancy and/or motherhood.

Ugh.

Not "ugh" toward the children, pregnancy, or motherhood, just "ugh" that that's all I'm writing about. Double "ugh" that it probably won't end anytime soon.

Introducing the Most Revolutionary Weight-Loss Program

How do babies, the little barnacles that they are (said in a most lovingly way), know whether the substrate to which they are attached are sitting or standing? And why do babies always insist the substrate be standing? Why can't the bouncing and jostling required by the baby at least be done in a sitting position? What is the darn difference?

Sometimes to get my little barnacle (again, lovingly) to stop crying I feel like I'm playing the pat-the-tummy-rub-the-head-at-the-same-time game all while keeping three spinning plates going and bouncing on one foot.

Sitting and holding baby. Baby not happy.

Sit, hold, hum a lullaby. Yeah, right.

Sit, hold, bounce. Nope.

Sit, hold, bounce, pacifier. Nice try!

Sit, hold, bounce, pacifier, pat bum. Nuh-uh.

Sit, hold, bounce, pacifier, pat bum, rub head. Are you kidding me?

Sit, hold, bounce pacifier, pat bum, rub head, hold hand. Whatever.

Stand, hold toward shoulder, bounce, pacifier (no, wait, it just fell on the floor), pat back. Give me a break.

Stand, hold outward, bounce, forget the stupid pacifier, do the hokey pokey. BINGO!

No rigorous exercise program needed here. All you need is one cranky, albeit fantastically cute, baby and the notion that you're incredibly lucky to serve as substrate to the little barnacle.