I Dreamed A Dream

Our 5th Avenue Theatre subscriber package this year didn't include tickets to Les Misérables, so we decided to buy some with my sister, Erin. It holds a special place in her heart as the first musical she ever saw, and Stew remembers the music because his mom had the soundtrack growing up. As for me, I enjoyed the movie almost as much as I loved the moment when Susan Boyle sang "I Dreamed A Dream" on Britain's Got Talent. (Seriously, it still makes me tear up a little when I watch it.)

I'm familiar with a lot of the music from Les Misérables and I saw the movie years ago, but I couldn't quite remember the story so I was really looking forward to the show. We had purchased fairly good orchestra level seats about 20 rows back from the stage and couldn't wait for the curtain to go up. As soon as it did I realized my mistake... we probably should have sprung for front row seats. I need glasses so badly! It's really pathetic. I could see the blobs of people and sets on the stage, and I could vaguely make out the difference between men and women, but beyond that I was resigned to just listening in order to put the plot together.

The story is quite complicated with lots of characters spanning several different time periods, and I although I was thoroughly enjoying the music I found myself becoming quite lost. Was that vaguely male-shaped blob Jean Valjean or Inspector Javert? Was that little kid Cosette or Gavroche? I had no idea. That woman looks like Fantine, but I thought she died? Oh wait, we've actually gone several years forward and it's actually Cosette all grown up. And Madame Thénardier... I thought she was the innkeeper's wife in a small village, but now she's on the streets of Paris? My head was spinning.

When I checked in with Erin and intermission she actually confirmed that I had the gist of the story correct, so I sat back to enjoy the second act. It started out with one of my favorite Les Mis songs, On My Own, which was so good it gave me chills and also had me daydreaming about one of my favorite Dawson's Creek moments. But following that there were a lot of French Revolution scenes and battles which I also found myself daydreaming through.

I wished I had done a little more Wikipedia research before going to the show (or at least gotten myself to the eye doctor), but overall we absolutely loved Les Misérables and were so happy to enjoy a fun evening at the theater together.

Port Townsend Family Camping Trip

I have been going to Port Townsend with my family for weekend trips since before I can even remember. We have lots of history up there on both sides of my family. My Grandma Sally grew up at Fort Worden during WWII while her father was stationed there, and Grandpa on my dad's side also grew up in Port Townsend and went to high school there. My family still has quite a bit of property near North Beach, but it's still undeveloped, so this weekend we were camping at Fort Worden State Park.

The weather forecast looked super dreary and rainy, but the trip was already planned so Stew, my sister Erin, and I caught an early ferry over on Saturday morning to meet up with the rest of the family who had arrived the night before. Ironically, we also ran into some of my aunties on the ferry! They were also heading over to Port Townsend to check the progress on my aunt and uncle's retirement home they are building just outside town.

We arrived just in time for some of my mom's famous biscuits and gravy before we headed downtown for some tourism. I absolutely love wandering around Farmer's Markets, and even though this one was fairly small it was still lots of fun. Stew and I ate some delicious pastries and I got sucked into sampling and purchasing some all-natural hippie skin exfoliant.

My parents are so cute!

From there we decided to wander in and out of the shops downtown, grabbing lunch at one of my favorite pizza places of all time, Waterfront Pizza. This tiny little pizza joint has some of the best slices I have ever eaten. There is a tiny seating area upstairs, but we prefer to just order by the slice from the displays right off the sidewalk and eat them on picnic benches overlooking the water. Yum!



Stew loves bubble gum ice cream; it's a pretty rare find!

The weather on Saturday was absolutely tragic. Cold and gray all morning until the afternoon when it started to absolutely pour down rain for several hours. We did venture up to the old war bunkers where my cousins were playing capture the flag, but standing in the cold looking out at the rain wasn't fun for long so we headed back to camp. Hanging out in the motorhome was equally exciting, even though Stew tried to spice things up by drinking a 40-oz beer. The rain didn't show signs of letting up so we decided that instead of barbecuing we would head into town for dinner.

Extended family on my dad's side.

The Public House on water street is one of my favorite places for a sit down meal in Port Townsend. They always have enough tables to accomodate a large group, everyone is super friendly, and the tables are covered in white butcher paper so you can draw masterpieces in crayon while you wait for your food. The food is also pretty yummy but a little pricey so be prepared.

Branded buns!

That evening the rain let up enough for us to take a walk along the bluff and get a campfire going. There's not much I like more than sitting around a campfire chatting until late into the evening.

Gorgeous views on our little hike up to the bluff.

Gotta love Washington State camping!

All bundled up making the best of it!

Glowing frisbee... great for games in the dark.

Loving my husband.

Cousins! Why am I so short?

On Sunday we awoke to sunlight streaming in the windows! Of course by this point a lot of people in our group had already headed home, but we were still able to get in some beach time with my family before we had to head home and face the upcoming week.

The clouds over the water were absolutely gorgeous.

Teaching Roxy not to fear the ocean.

With my little bro and sis.

It was such a great trip and reminded me so much of my childhood. I loved spending the weekend in this tiny little town and it was so awesome to catch up with my cousins because it's rare that we all get to spend time together in a big group.

How was your weekend?

Twin Falls Hike for Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Russ and Patty came up to Seattle on Sunday and we braved the dreary weather forecast and headed to Twin Falls State Park for a day hike. After driving just 35 miles east of Seattle we were well into the gorgeous Pacific Northwest wilderness. From the trail head we hiked for about a mile through the mossy forest along the shores of the South Fork Snoqualmie River. The lush green forest growth was absolutely gorgeous! Despite the uncertain weather, the trail was pretty packed with families enjoying a day outdoors with dad.

After a fairly slow, flat start we climbed up a series of long switchbacks until we came to a short trail that led to a fantastic overlook of the lower falls. Then back on the main trail we continued to climb another half mile or so to a bridge that took us over the river gorge, directly between two of the stairstep falls. The view was breathtaking!

Most people turn around here, but we decided to continue following the trail another mile or so, meandering through the moss covered woods before turning back when the trail eventually ended at a gravel road. Round trip we figured the hike was just about five miles.

I absolutely love this type of hiking and was so glad Russ chose Twin Falls for his Father's Day activity. This is a pretty easy hike that's great for families and kids, but it was strenuous enough that I didn't feel too guilty about skipping the gym that day... or for the cheeseburger and beers I had later. I'd like to do this hike again sometime soon, but I also know that there are so many other hikes I would like to try so we'll see!

Are there any other hikes near Seattle that you would recommend?

Yes, I Still Read Paper Books

I absolutely adore books. The different shapes, sizes, varying fonts, covers, paper thicknesses, type styles... I am intoxicated by the smell of a brand new book that has never been opened… I love the feel of the glue in the spine cracking for the very first time. I also love old, used, and library books. When I turn the pages I wonder how many other people have experienced these very pages… what their minds pictured as they read the exact same words. I feel a connection to these mysterious strangers. I love the weight of a book and how the pages gradually transfer from my right hand to my left… like a little challenge as I slowly creep from beginning to end.

For me, books are part entertainment, part conversation topic, and part art. My bookshelves are filled with so many of the books I have read throughout the years… each one a little trophy of an experience I lived through with those characters. I organize and re-organize them periodically… by date read, author, genre, even jacket color. I never get tired of going through them to make a recommendation to a friend and my shelves have turned into a little personal lending library. Whenever I borrow a book from a friend and enjoy it, I return the book and then buy my own copy… I can’t not own it.

But my love affair with books has become a problem. Our condo is tiny, and our one large bookshelf is filled to overflowing. And since I purchase books quicker than I can read them, I’ve got quite a large collection of unread books, which means I’ve been effectively forbidden from purchasing any more books until I read the ones I already own. So I made a plan and organized all my unread books in order of publication date (to that ensure each one would be read in a timely manner and I wouldn’t play favorites). I try to be very fair in my book relationships. But inevitably I wouldn’t get far down the line before I would find myself in need of a new book… perhaps a high recommendation from a friend, or a book club requirement, or something so talked about I simply couldn’t wait to read it.

My current "Need to Read" bookshelf...

Shortly after I finished reading 50 Shades of Grey in paperback, the media hype really started. I had borrowed the first book from a friend, and instead of purchasing book two (I think Stewart might in fact kill me if another package arrives from Amazon.com), I decided to head to the library. WHOA! 271 people holding for only 46 copies… this could take months! I weighed my options…

In any case, 50 Shades had become fairly recognizable at this point, so I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of having everyone on the bus know I was reading a sex book on the way to work. So I accepted my co-worker’s offer to borrow her Kindle to read the final two books in the series.

It’s no surprise that I have been extremely slow to jump on the Kindle bandwagon… and jump is a strong word. Step tentatively with one foot is probably more accurate. I definitely see why Kindles are appealing, but I just couldn’t imagine reading a book without turning each and every page until the end, and then placing it lovingly on my bookshelf. But let’s face it, 50 Shades is definitely not a classic that I care to own, so it was the perfect opportunity to see what all the fuss is about.

I liked how the Kindle was small and lightweight… definitely much easier for reading in bed. And it was so compact I barely noticed it in my purse, which usually contains a large book or two that I perpetually lug around with me. The percentage bar at the bottom let me know how far I had to go, but it was much different than turning the pages myself. The screen looked remarkably like the pages of an actual book, which was nice. And there was no denying that a Kindle would have been much preferred to the four books I hauled around Europe for a month. But still… I feel like I would miss my old friends, my beloved books. I kind of felt like a cheat.

So the jury is still out for me on whether or not I would like a Kindle of my own. In any case, I still have quite a few "real" books to read before I could even consider ebooks, so I’m in no rush.

What’s your reading preference?

Pumpkin Protein Bars

Here is another tasty recipe that I got from Jamie Eason's web site that Stew and I really like, so I thought I would share. I also made a batch for my mom and she loved it as a healthy dessert. 

Pumpkin Protein Bars
Servings: Makes 24 squares
Calories: 63
Fats: 2.3 grams
Carbs: 8 grams
Protein: 4 grams

• 1/2 cup Splenda brown sugar blend
• One 4 oz jar baby food applesauce
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground clove
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 large egg whites
• One 15 oz can of raw pumpkin
• 2 cups whole grain oat flour
• 2 scoops vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 glass dish with extra virgin olive oil cooking spray. Combine first 11 ingredients and mix well. Add the final four ingredients and mix until incorporated. Spread batter into the glass dish and bake for 30 minutes. 

I can't even remember the last time that I baked, so I had to buy
a lot of the basics like baking powder and baking soda.

I didn't read the directions closely enough and mixed all the dry
ingredients first...

Followed by the wet ingredients.

It didn't seem to matter.

This made our house smell amazing while it was baking!

These are pretty quick and easy and when they're done I cut them into 24 squares and wrap two each in plastic wrap so we can grab them any time. Do make sure you refrigerate them though, because they have no preservatives and will go bad quickly otherwise. I love these for an afternoon snack at work when I feel my sweet tooth start to kick in. They also satisfy my carb craving.

Bon appétit!

Courtney's Grad Party

My darling cousin Courtney graduated from WSU this spring and I am so proud of her. Courtney and my little brother were born just two weeks apart so we spent a ton of time with their family growing up and I also did a fair amount of babysitting Courtney and her brother, so it seems unreal to me that she is graduating from college. But I could not be more proud of her!

Stew and I went down to Shelton this weekend for her grad party and had a fantastic time with the fam.

Congratulations to all the 2012 graduates!