Is my cape fluttering?

Food Porn and Camera Snob

So I'm driving home from work last night, and I'm almost home when I realize that my camera is not in the car with me. All the air whooshed out of my body until I figured out that I'd left it in my office... securely locked up. I'd been out taking pictures of one of the crews yesterday morning (talk about fun!) and I'd brought the camera into my office to download the photos (which I did NOT do). I left in tucked in next to my CPU which would be behind me as I stood to leave. I work far enough away that's it's just not important enough (at this point) to go back to get it.

So last night I had to bust out my old camera. It's one undeniable virtue at this point being that it's considerably smaller than the Nikon. It took me a while to remember how to use it, find batteries that were charged and realize there were pictures on the memory card! It's funny though, I remember when that camera was like a third hand and now it's "lame". I remember when TOG gave me the Nikon and I thought I'd never figure out how to use it and kept sneaking back to my little Olympus because it was "comfortable"! How that changes in just a few months!

Thus when I took the pictures at the pub last night I was already having issues with the "little camera". When I downloaded the memory card this morning and realized that they were badly over exposed because the flash is set at the factory to "Nuclear Mushroom Cloud", I realized that my next decision was whether I cared enough to open Photoshop and fix them correctly or whether I would use my old photo manipulation program because I'm feeling lazy (Certainly too lazy to drive back to work and get the Nikon!). What do you think???

My dinner, the plain jane. (voted the best pub burger in West Seattle) I was going to go for the nachos, but Khava said the chili was 4.5 out of 5 stars hot, and she didn't feel like scraping me off the floor. I've learned to listen to Khava when she says it's too hot for me. (their herbed rosemary fries are AWESOME)

TOG's dinner (what a good boy!) House-made tahini and garlic hummus folded with black beans.
Served with kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, cucumbers, and warm pita.

He spikes it with extra Feta cheese and cucumber sauce... and he was kind enough to eat my tomato so I don't have to look at it too long!

Although there was discussion at the pub last night regarding hiking... I have the feeling we're working in the yard today. Fun! (it might be for the best, because if we hike, then I really need to go get my camera!)

Asthmagirl out! 

Fabulous Foto Friday

Today we take you on a little photo journey.... First up- Bad hair

K1 let the salon put this brassy gold stuff on her hair, little thinking how that growout might look in a month or two! On a personal note, I didn't think the gold looked that good with her skin, Pale hair yes, gold... not so much.

Now- good hair. Re colored all of her hair with permenent color and then went over the top with a dark blond color gloss, semi-permenent. We'll know if a few weeks how good my matching skills are! We think it's really close though!

Now, the new back pack! The reason I wanted this particular pack so badly was because of the internal frame. In the picture below, you can see the two metal wires that hold the pack away from the mesh. That way the mesh sits against your back and you get air flow and less sweaty, sticky clothing!

On the inside, we see that the pouch for my water bladder sits directly behind the frame, providing a little air conditioning action on my back. The tube from my water bladder feeds up through the top of the pack and anchors on one of the straps so I can drink as I hike! Cool Beans! I got the smaller version of the pack because the more weight I carry, the more oxygen my muscles will need as I'm climbing. Since oxygen is an issue when I'm hiking (moreso the higher I go) the goal is to keep the pack as light as possible. I think I'd be too tempted to "fill-er-up" with a larger version, so I went small! 

At my old house, the huge [flat] yard was nicely landscaped and we had tons of flowers and climbing vines, and blueberries and about 500 bulbs. When we bought this house, we did not realize how difficult it would be to work with this bulk head crap. After 3 years, we just about have all the blackberries killed. We started planting this lower level, but lack of a really good plan prohibits us from moving forward. We've considered a drip system, bought landscape fabric for the top and are pretty sure we want to install Italian Cypress across the back to shield the yard from the neighbors. On this side of the yard, you seem my rosemary and the house belonging to the cat hater.

On this side of the yard, you see the apts behind us and to the right would be the house of the fence painting neighbor.

Any ideas? Suggestions? Aside from a bulldozer and a couple margharitas?

Asthmagirl out!

PS ~ A little something-something over on the food blog!

Scattergories

I called K1 last night to set up her time to come over tonight so I can fix her hair color... she let a colorist do something unfortunate at the salon and now requires corrective color to go back to her natural. Normally I don't like fixing color mistakes, but her hair doesn't look good, at all. [and corrective color is expensive in the salon]

During the conversation, she told me she was contemplating starting a blog... kind of like mine, a little bit of everything and she was looking for a name that wasn't too much of one thing or another.

Of course, that conversation got me thinking about my blog, and intent, and name and all sorts of stuff. I already had the name because I'd bought the domain months earlier with the intent of building a website for fun. Once I determined that I would build a blog until I decided what to do about a website, I just wasn't sure what I was going to do with the content. As editor-in-chief, I anticipated that there would be quite a bit about the lungs, especially during my lung season. But unlike my last blogging adventure, I didn't want it to be THE WHOLE THING. I wanted to leave myself open to explore other material. [Which is why I always put the dogs in the header. They're a huge part of my life. And I'm still digging the fish... I've messed with a new header, but haven't come up with an improvement on the current one yet.]

However, when I contemplated running Blogher ads, I had to pick a focus. I picked health because with a name like Asthmagirl, you really can't go in a different direction! But in truth, I really try to minimize the asthma thing because I think it's just not that interesting [unless you have it and are trying to live with it!] to the general public and my audience is pretty varied. Although, this summer might be interesting as the lungs provide a real contrast in their "good season" compared to their wimpy winter!

I really thought I'd do more with the cooking, but the more I post to my cooking blog, the more I realize that I'm still in a huge learning phase. Coming out of 25 years of production dinners has left me with some good skills and confidence but a lot of space to fill with new ideas and foods. The fact that I never know who will be here for dinner makes things even more challenging! That and I don't shoot food very well, I'm always in a hurry to eat it!

I'm not really a mommy blogger. Not that there's anything wrong with that! But my kids are much older, technically adults and my focus is really adult parenting and not child development.

I'm not really looking for a specific area to focus in, I don't really feel like I need to. And I see a lot of people that are just blogging "life" which is interesting, unless it's my life! And then nothing ever happens! Work... food.... the occasional hike!

For me, I think the hardest thing about blogging is time. Having the time to do it well... I wish I could take more time right now, but with two jobs, sometimes I feel lucky just to get a post up! The best thing about blogging, finding community. I don't think I realized how insulated I was with just family and work until I met so many other people that I wish I knew IRL. I've seen other bloggers say the best thing about blogging is having a place to emote, and while I agree, mostly I think it's the interaction. Because I do so much writing, I have a lot of opportunities to express ideas (although in a technical format). But that writing doesn't produce a lot of feedback and blogging provides that opportunity to comment, to interact. The second best thing is the challenges you find. Making something you'd never made before, trying new products you saw elsewhere... the bloggy world is full of ideas, recipes and recommendations. Who knew? 

So, for Thoughtful Thursday...Did you have a focus when you started your blog? If so, has it changed? For you, what do you enjoy most about blogging?

Asthmagirl out!

PS~ I know I'm all over the place today. The dogs had me up and down all night... another story for sure!

Clueless

One of the reasons I like hiking a little higher up is that the alpine wild flowers are so pretty. However, in the spring, the lower woodland blooms are just lovely... I can never walk by without enjoying them and it's so cool to be able to take the big camera and get a decent picture! With my other camera, I didn't get such vibrant color and had a hard time shooting in low light... so views were fine, but shooting in the woods wasn't very successful.

The Oregon Grape is very mundane during the summer (I think), but the spring bloom adds a ton of color to the low brush!

One of my personal favorites... Trillium! Three petals, three leaves... how can you go wrong? The sad thing was, I saw a number of these crumpled on the trail... people had picked them and discarded them. Very sad.

I have no idea what this last flower is.

Of course it might help if I took a shot that was in focus!

Does anyone know? Although there were a few close to the trail, they were sprinkled up the hill sides, sometimes clumped around moss, so clearly they like moisture...

In other news, I've got a new recipe on the cooking site and the family thinks it's a winner! I've got another one planned in the next few days as well!

The weather in this area is supposed to hit the mid eighties by Friday and I'm not ready! [will my shorts still fit?] Because our weather is so moderate for much of the year, when we get into actual heat, I start fumbling for what to do about dinner... mostly because we have no AC so any cooking heats up the kitchen. I can only grill so much! I'd certainly be open to ideas or suggestions!

Asthmagirl out! 

On Rattlesnake

In my previous post I noted that TOG and I had been waiting for better weather to hike in. What I meant was that I didn't want to hike in sideways rain and butt deep snot snow. So we waited until Mother's Day at noon to hike because the rain wasn't predicted to show up until that afternoon.

On the way in, we'd driven by Mt. Si. The weather was holding because we could see the top of the ridge, so we knew we had some time.

The sun actually came out for a while and other than the gimpy leg, I was enjoying the outing... okay, I was enthralled with the light. It was awesome!

The hike was only 4 miles and the elevation gain less than 1200 feet. But the leg was more than happy to stop halfway and shoot some pictures.

Below, you see Rattlesnake Lake. My faulty sense of direction tells me we're looking east at this point. Low clouds, losing the light, but still dry.

Totally digging the snow on the peaks! Next stop, top of the ridge....

Our second view of Mt. Si.... from the top, with the ridge no longer visible. Dig the smoke in the middle of the picture!

Looking north from the ridge... what is that...?

It's Chester Morse Lake...

Even from due east, we can feel the weather settling lower....

Here it comes from the south. You can see the precip. About 20 seconds after this was taken, we got hit by some pretty stiff wind, a butt-load of what we thought would be snow (and ended up being hail) and the temperature dropped by about 10 degrees! We wasted no time running back across the rock (getting pelted with hail while our rain gear stayed nice and dry in the pack!) and didn't stop until we were back under the tree canopy! Jerky and OJ anyone? And best of all, even with all the moisture, the lungs totally had a great time up there!

I'm not going to show the flowers today although this shrub intrigued me... it seemed to glow.

Natural light...

With flash!

Just for giggles... here's where we were when the storm hit. We took this a couple years ago from down at the lake....

Tomorrow... woodland flowers!

Asthmagirl out!

PS~ I'm certain I haven't forgotten anyone's birthday today!

Llama Land!

It being Mother's Day and all, TOG went out and got me a new hiking pack. We've been accumulating hiking gear throughout the spring with high hopes of the weather turning lovely and us being able to actually use it! So I was pretty jazzed.

On Sunday after I made breakfast, we hopped in the truck and headed for the mountains. I knew my leg wasn't up to a traditional hike, but we were hoping to do something easy just to start the season.

Other than my concerns about my leg, the biggest reaction to getting back in the woods is discovering how much you've missed it!

I'm running short on time this morning, so I'll only post a couple of pictures. Tonight I'll do a better job of a) getting more of the pictures ready to post and b) telling the story of what happened when we got to the top! No... the lungs were well behaved the whole way!

But first, a few simple truths:

Trees are amazing, and some folks look awesome in the woods.

Other folks look fat as a cow, more so than two or three layers of clothes can account for.

The views are dizzying.

Asthmagirl out!

PS ~ Who's a crappy Mother-in-law? I am! I am! I forgot to wish my Son-in-law Happy Birthday today. The kids reminded me when they were over last night, but my obsession with the Mother's Day Deadliest Catch Marathon prevented the information from sinking into the "checklist" portion of my brain... Either that or I'm still in a stupor from that huge piece of chocolate cake K1 made me eat last night. Yeah... that's it.

Happy Birthday J! We're thrilled that you're part of our family! I know I can always count on you to put a dent in any feast I set out! Congratulations on still being a young-un!

The Joys of Motherhood!

The anticipation of a victim playmate!

The Carefully posed photos next to the ride 'em horsey!

The unmitigated Joy (and the hypnotized stare of someone watching He Man or She-ra)!

The celebrations!

The horrendous clothes and bad hair!

Getting "Gomered up" in Opa's hat and glasses!

The cute faces!

And the unexpected moments caught on camera....

So much as changed... but y'all filled my heart in unexpected ways! It's been a wild ride at times, but I'm so glad I got to be your mom! Thanks for playing "let's make mom laugh and cry over old photos on Mother's day while we sleep in instead of making her breakfast"!

I love mothering this tribe!

Happy Mother's Day!

Food Porn and Virtual Potluck

Today it's all food, all the time!

First of all, TOG and I had our weekly at the Pub last night. They have a new specials menu, which they do monthly. I came THIS CLOSE to having the Monte Christo sandwich... but Khava (on the right)

kept saying how it was a heart attack on a plate. I was trying to get a shot of it, but the prep area was really busy last night and it wasn't a good idea. Here's what I settled on....

I did not eat the cilantro slaw, I only like it on the stout pulled pork sandwich. I did eat the sweet potato fries and stout sauced ribs though! And the beans were to die for! On the left, you see my cider, to the right is TOG's ale... Unintention-ale. Apparently they didn't mean to make it, but TOG thought it was excellent! Here's what TOG had:

I hear it was spicy! Jerked Chicken Salad with jalapeno cornbread croutons. And, that's not cheese shaved on there, it's coconut! TOG said other than the avocado, there wasn't a cool place in the salad!

It's also ECM's virtual potluck today! I'm so excited! I've really dithered about what to bring this week. Because it's been so hectic the last few days, I didn't research something new and exciting, so I'm falling back on my tried and true stuff. Being proficient at soups, I thought I'd whip another batch of my infamous corn chowder. However, it's probably nicer weather down at ECM's and soup might be a little heavy on a warm day. I thought I'd better stick to something a little more summer-y... My fabulous tarragon potato salad!

Yum! This will go with anything! burgers, bbq chicken, pulled pork, ribs! I'm getting hungry already! I hope we're grillin'!

Time to get dressed and hit the road for ECM's house. I'd like to request some Brian Setzer tunes for a fun weekend get-together and I'm really looking forward to having several one of Noble Pig's cocktails! And MPM brought the most adorable cocktail napkins! You can check out all the great food and beverages at Evil Chef Mom's site. She'll have all the links! You're gonna be there, right?

Happy Saturday! Asthmagirl out!

Is your Mama a Llama?

This is actually one of my favorite books. It brings back fond memories and it's one of the names my girls call me today (at least to my face) that makes me feel loved. I adore being called Llama... it means the girls have at least one frivolous thing they want to tease me about... other than the pineapple upside down cake episode or my dreadful singing. It's a symbol of something I might have done right when they were kids.

We're approaching one of the most uncomfortable times of the year for me. I don't think I've ever put it into words before, but if I were prone to hives, Mother's Day would do it for me. If I were Superman, this would be my kryptonite...

The whole celebration of everything that should be lovely about being a mom... honoring your mother... being honored by your kids- assuming that you've done your job; equal parts of love and consistency mixed with the occasional doses of guilt and public humiliation. Check, check, check and check... at least on my part. Maybe a little heavy on that last one...!

When I think about my mom, I don't have those things. I have a disconnect, a bare spot... a void. I'm not saying that my mom was a dreadful person, she could be quite charming when the mood was upon her. She even had moments when you felt that she truly cared. But ultimately, she wasn't capable of sustaining those moments and they were lost among the incidents of apathy and indifference. My mom just wasn't capable of an emotional connection, of showing affection, at least with me.

And it's not that I don't understand her; after years of trying, I have a fairly good grasp of why and how she became who she was. It's a kind observation in saying she probably wasn't cut out to be a mother, even though in the 1950's that was what society expected of her. And even though she showed some interest in being a grandmother, ultimately she wasn't capable of being there for my girls either, or their cousins. Unfortunately her walking away left them with some of the same doubts and insecurities she bequeathed to me.

As a mother, it made me very tentative and unsure. I did not want to duplicate my mom's efforts but I didn't have great examples to follow. It also left me very clear that whatever mistakes I made would come home to roost and I really wanted kids that would visit me in my old age!

When I see other women with their mothers, I confess to a certain amount of "mother envy" because a part of me still really wishes for some portion of that idealized relationship, at least a sliver of it. I wonder what it would be like to have someone that you could reach out to... someone that was interested, who would have teased you or offered advice whether you wanted it or not, who might have hugged you when they saw you...

I make sure I do that with my girls. Whether they like it or not...and sometimes they don't. Because I love them and also because I don't want them to have that void where love should be. What I've really learned about mothering is that there are rarely substitutions. As much as I adore my step mother and my mother in law and even my beloved aunt... nothing replaces what you wished you'd gotten from your mom... a pattern to follow, a confidence, a patience, an ease of delivery. I didn't get those and yes, I've lurched along until I reached some level of grace in delivering those things, but I hope when my children look back at my legacy, they can say they got them from me. 

Along with the whopping big cheeks!

Can it be next week already?

Scottish Oatmeal Boobs

I have lumpy breasts. Yes, I do. My breasts are so lumpy... How lumpy are they?

They are so lumpy, they've been compared to Scottish oatmeal. The lumps are so large, they've used them to bounce messages to the space shuttle.

I know you're thinking "Geez Asthmagirl! Why are you telling us this?"

Because... Let me tell you a story.... Back when I first got asthma I had some bizarre notion that I could ride my bike enough that it would go away... mostly. This was foolish and Dr. M told me to get over myself. However I was a bit of a bike fanatic for a while. I cruised bike websites, I fantasized about riding my bike from Seattle to Portland. I was a nut.

About a year after one diagnosis, I found a rather large lump in my breast. I believe the term is HAL (Huge Ass Lump). It turned out to be a cyst, which we only figured out after I failed two mammograms and an ultrasound. The discovery process took about 2 weeks that first time, and was littered with ugly conversations between myself and TOG regarding my remaining time on the planet. We did not know what the outcome of all the tests would be and while you hope the techs will look at their machines and say... "it's nothing". The truth is they don't know either. And then they tell you what it is and you get it drained ("OW") and the bruise heals and life goes on until you fail the next mammogram, etc. Now I have to have my mammo's downtown at Cancer Care. That is where everything happens in real time and if a lump is found, it's dealt with pronto. Going there is an eye opener. You feel like a fraud. You want to explain to people in the hallways about your oatmeal boobs and the HAL because many of the folks you see are VERY ill. 

On a side note: I've tried to make boob smashing appts. elsewhere and apparently they put a tracking device in your boobs that lets the folks on the other end of the phone know about your oatmeal boobs... "Oh, I'm sorry, you have HAL. You need to be seen downtown". Crap. This last year I had 4 HAL's. I won't even tell you how that resolved... Let's just say it together "OW"!

I spoke with my beloved aunt about this (Hi AC!) and she said she had Scottish boobs also. The unfortunate thing is she also had Breast Cancer two years ago. Although there's no link between lumpy boobs and cancer, I do worry especially since AC has adult onset asthma as well. We're chest buddies!

The reason that I'm telling you all this is because one of the websites I used to absorb daily was Fatty's. Fatty started cycling to lose weight. Fatty could ride a lot further than I could. Fatty was funny. He understood how two cyclists lie to each other about how they're not tired and could ride much further. I loved Fatty. I tried some of the rides he'd been on and they kicked my butt. Then Fatty moved away to Utah. I found Fatty this last week and I learned that Fatty's wife, Susan had Scottish breasts also. Unfortunately, Fatty's wife has been fighting breast cancer for 4 years now and things look pretty tough right now. If you could go to Fatty's site and leave her some love, I know they'd appreciate it.

Asthmagirl out!

PS ~ if you've been putting off the boob smashing, please look into it. I love to joke about my Scottish boobs, but I get them smashed whenever the boob guys tell me to....just to be safe.