Dusty's

I took a trip over the mountains this past weekend to visit my Dad and my brother in Ephrata. We had the pleasure of going to Dusty's In-N-Out.

Dusty's has a variety of drive-in type fast food that you would imagine. I knew I wanted a hamburger and fries, but we checked out the menu, just in case.

After perusing the menu, I ordered a plain hamburger with cheese, ketchup, mustard and pickles and an order of fries. My Dad got a Dusty burger with jalapeños and cheese and an order of sweet potato fries. We had water in the truck, so we didn't order anything to drink. My brother missed out on this visit, but he said he usually gets a Dusty burger and fries.

The service was quick and friendly and the food was great! The hamburger was a bit larger than a Dick's burger and tasted excellent. The fries reminded me of Pommes Frites in Germany - crisp, hot and delicious.

My Dad liked his burger and we both really liked the sweet potato fries!

There is a cluster of picnic tables near the parking lot where you can enjoy your meal al fresco, but it was raining, so we stayed in the truck and watched the long line of cars across the street at the Burger King drive-thru. Suckers.

I plan to go to Dusty's again the next time I'm rollin' on Basin Street.

Diaper Capris

As it is finally hitting the upper 70s here in Seattle, I decided it was time to dig out my capris from last summer. I came up with some khaki style capris that still fit. I also found a pair of denim capris that also fit! High on a two for two win, I came upon another couple pairs of black capris. They were both a slam dunk, too! Hot damn!

Upon re-absorbing said capris into my wardrobe, I came up with some outfits that seemed spring-like and “fresh”, as they say on QVC all the time. I wore the light colored capris first. While they were comfortable and fit properly, I realized that I felt a little dumpy in them. They seemed baggy and shapeless and not very hip. I tried on one of the pairs of black capris and they looked dumpy, too. Gah!

After doing a bit of research (ie grabbing the most recent Nordstrom catalog), I noticed that not only is everyone wearing jeggings, but now that it is summer, everyone is wearing jegpris! Ok, they’re not calling them jegpris (although, they should), but that’s what they are. It seems that since last summer, all the capris got a slimmer, leaner silhouette. Or else, this has been the case for a while and I was hopelessly out of style last summer. We’ll never know unless we invent a time machine, now will we? (Ok, we could look at some pictures of me from last summer, but I don’t have time for that shit.)

I assessed the remaining two pairs of last summer’s capris. The other black pair seemed decent.

They were more fitted, and though not leggings per se, they had more of a slim fit that skimmed over my legs. I plan to wear them tomorrow, barring any horrible discovery of an ill fit.

The denim pair had a slimmer cut and seemed more like a skinny jean, albeit in a capri length. However, they  did not fit exactly as I remembered. I put them on today and noticed some sag in the front. They were quite comfortable, but seemed like they had stretched out, but there was no extra room in the butt or thigh area. There was, however, a baggy quality to the front of the crotch.

The button fly looked puffed out somehow. It was like, oh God, it was like I was wearing diapers under the capris! I had diaper crotch! It was awful. So I wore a long top and hoped that it covered the front dump that my capri jeans had taken over the winter.

In order to rectify the diaper capri situation, I am washing the denim capris on delicate right now. I plan to dry them in the dryer and pray that this sorts out my, uh, situation. Because I have looked high and low (Nordstrom, the Rack, Ross and Target) for additional denim capris  and have had no luck. So the dryer better work some magic because I want to look fresh and avoid a conversation that might go like this…

Me:  “Do you notice anything odd about my capris?”

Aaron:  “You mean your pants?”

Me:  “Yes, pants, capris, whatever - the lower part of my ensemble.”

Aaron:  “Uh, not really?”

Me:  “Liar! Don’t you notice a bulge in the front??”

Aaron:  “Oh, you mean like those jeans I tried on that one time at Eddie Bauer and you said they looked like Diaper Jeans?”

Me:   “Yes! Oh, God. I’m going to change into a skirt.”

Aaron: “You look fine.”

Cue sound of hangers being thrown onto the bed, huffing and stomping.

Aaron:  “I’m going to watch ‘Top Gear’.”

Mein Gott

The last time Aaron had a conference for work overseas, it was in Germany – Hamburg to be specific. We thought it would be great fun for me to meet up with him after the conference. So we did.

I met him in Frankfurt, because I wanted to show him the two towns where I lived in high school. In high school, my Dad worked for the Dept of Defense. We were stationed at two different Army bases: Baumholder and Bad Kreuznach. They are both southwest of Frankfurt by about an hour or so. I wanted to stay in Bad Kreuznach, so we rented a car and made our way there.

I entertained myself by taking photos of everything, including, but not limited to Autobahn signs, Ausfahrt (exit) signs, other cars, trucks, the landscape and Aaron’s face while he was driving. His expression read: incredibly tired and most assuredly not amused.

Traveling is always challenging, so amid stresses navigating our way to new lands, finding appropriate nourishment (as the German saying goes, “Man can’t live on bread alone”, although, man would like it very much, with a bit of butter and cheese, please.) and getting enough sleep so as to be bright eyed and bushy tailed in the morning is sometimes easier said than done.

My main concern when I travel? It’s rather a delicate subject. It has to do with my constitution. Alrighty, I’ll just come out and say it…my system gets backed up. Call it what you will – stoved up (my Dad’s favorite term), sluggish (a drug commercial euphemism), or just plain constipated. It happens every time I go anywhere. As soon as I stray from my schedule and regular breakfast of coffee with nonfat cream and oatmeal with raisins, brown sugar and milk, all hell breaks loose. Or more accurately, nothing breaks loose and I feel like I am pregnant with a poo baby whose due date is well overdue.

I have tried everything to try to combat this problem. Special teas, more water, more fruits and vegetables, a similar breakfast to what I have at home, exercising, but nothing really works. So, while we were in Bad Kreuznach, we went to a grocery store called Norma (my Dad always called it “Norma Norma”, because it says “Norma” over and over all along the border of the window to the store.) I love shopping at foreign grocery stores and so among the yummy chocolates and curious meats, I located the dried fruit section. I saw Sultanen (raisins) and then I saw Trockene Aprikosen (dried apricots). “Hmmmm”, I thought to myself, “Dried apricots – those are full of fiber and they taste sweet. I bet it would loosen things up to just have a few. I think I will purchase them.” And with that, amid our other treasures (like butter and Bauernbrot), the dried apricots went into our re-usable bag. And we were off.

I waited to eat the apricots until the following morning. I thought that if I combined them with some coffee and a full breakfast, it might really push things along. So, I woke up before Aaron and got ready. He was still sleeping, so I had a few dried apricots for a snack to tide me over until we went out for breakfast. I waited. Nothing happened. So I ate a few more. Aaron continued to sleep and I was getting pretty hungry. So I scarfed down about five more apricots and a glass of water. I looked into the bag and realized I had eaten about fifteen or twenty of the apricots. But still no poo action!

Aaron got up and got ready and we hot footed it down to Café Wohl. They have a bakery and a restaurant area. My Mom and I loved eating there when we lived in Bad Kreuznach. Aaron and I ordered coffee, Multivitaminen Saft (multi-vitamin juice – a mix of carrot and other juices), and eggs and rolls and croissants.

It was going to be an awesome breakfast! I busied myself translating things on the menu for Aaron and regaled him with witty anecdotes about when we lived there and all the cool bars that I was able to go to, even though I was only sixteen. And then, I felt a deep rumble in my stomach, but actually lower than my stomach. The rumble turned to more of a gurgle and seemed to be situated right where my intestines are located. “Curious,” I thought, paused for a moment and then remembered the apricot-a-thon. I excused myself to go to the bathroom.

Thankfully, there was nobody else there and they already had the windows open. (Germans seem to be really into airing things out.) I got situated and then my bowels pretty much exploded. It was awful and it did not smell like sweet dried fruit, let me tell you. I thought I was through, and re-joined Aaron, hoping that nobody had heard or smelled my, uh, “deposit”. I resumed eating my soft-boiled egg and pretended everything was normal. But I had to excuse myself again and run for the WC.

You know what it’s like when you drink too much or have the flu and you can’t keep anything down, but you really want some water, but then it comes right back up, only grosser and smellier? Well, that’s what this was like, only coming from the other end. I shuffled back to the table and Aaron could see that I was kind of green and sweaty. I asked for the check and mercifully, our server brought it pretty quickly so we were able to settle up and hurry back to where we were staying.

The plan for the rest of the day had been to drive to Kronweiler, the village where I lived with my family for about three years when my Dad worked in Baumholder. However, we had to re-tool the itinerary because I couldn’t leave the bathroom for about three hours. So our departure was quite delayed. We finally left about 1pm and it wasn’t as much fun as I had imagined. We got some pictures and saw my old house,

but my heart wasn’t in it. And neither was my colon.

I made a full recovery, but learned a valuable lesson. Even though it’s uncomfortable to be constipated, it doesn’t really slow you down or prevent you from leaving your hotel room bathroom. So, now I just suck it up when we go on trips and avoid any unpredictable teas, dried fruits or OTC meds. And if, miraculously, I am able to have a number two while on a vacation, I always announce it to Aaron like I’ve just won the lottery. “I just went poo! I feel so free!” and I do a happy dance like a dog after he poops in the grass when you take him on a walk. Aaron nods, smiles and congratulates me and probably silently thanks God that we can get on with our vacation and not talk any more about bowel movements for a blessed few moments.

Making Up

With the start of a new year, I decided to stick to my new year's resolutions and take a class. Specifically, I took a make-up class at Redred Photo Studio.

They are located in Pioneer Square and have a lovely studio. Nikki taught the class and she was excellent.

The class went over make-up basics, sanitation/hygiene, kit building and application techniques. There were five people in the class, including me. It was really fun, informational and it was great to do something that I love. And I do love make-up.

I liked that Nikki was very laid back and approachable. I didn't feel out of my element and she didn't make anyone feel like they shouldn't be there. There was one student that was a guy and he didn't know anything about make-up (he was a photographer and just wanted some basic make-up info so he could choose a good make-up artist for his shoots), but she helped him out and didn't talk down to him.

Nikki went over all the items in her make-up kit. I am a total brush nerd, so I was geeking out over all her MAC brushes. I have all the ones she mentioned, except MAC 184 Duo Fibre Fan Brush, which apparently is a pro brush only, according to this site. I couldn't find it on the regular MAC site. (But, not to worry, because I signed up for a MAC Pro membership.)

After going over her kit, Nikki did a make-up application on a model. It was so fun to see each step and pick up some tips along the way. We all had an opportunity to ask questions and listen to her talk through was she was doing and why. The finished look was flawless.

After this class, I feel like I have a good knowledge base to move forward. I do need practice at putting make-up on others, and my goal is to improve...so, I am going to sign up for some of the make-up labs that Redred offers.

I better sign up now while I have this momentum going!

Scratch n' Sniff

My interest in perfume began in 1988 - the summer before 8th grade. It was when we lived in Germany and my Dad took us to the French PX, which had a whole section of perfume. I think we may have gone with his co-worker and his co-worker's family, because I remember my friend Lisa's Mom getting some Joy perfume. My Mom got Chanel No 5 soap. I have a vague recollection of trying Lou Lou, but didn't buy it (perhaps I should track it down?). I thought the Joy and the Chanel No 5 both smelled pretty good, but I chose Anais Anais. I got the lotion instead of the eau de toilette. I think I kind of forgot about it until we moved back to the states that summer. I didn't really know that the lotion wasn't supposed to be used like Jergen's lotion. So, I slathered it all over my legs right before we were going to be picked up by a guy from the Mazda dealership where my Mom's car was being serviced. When we got in the little mini-van, my Mom started to act kind of weird and uncomfortable. When we got out, she hissed, "Are you wearing perfume? How much did you put on? That guy is going to think that I was wearing too much perfume!!" That's when I realized that a little goes a long way.

I kind of went off perfume for a while and then in 1993, I asked for a Chanel No 5 gift set from my parents for Christmas. I loved the soap (my Mom still loves it - I actually got it for her for Christmas this year!). However, the lotion and the eau de toilette were too much for an 18 year old. I don't think I ever used them up. Then in the late 90s and early 2000's, I happily wore Happy and Aromatics Elixir from Clinique. Aromatics Elixir was more of an earthy sandalwood scent. I only wore it occasionally. I really loved Happy. I even asked for (and got) it for Christmas of 2000. I wore it every day until I actually used up the whole container. And then, I noticed a lot of other people wearing it, too. Having the same jeans or sweater in another color as someone else is no biggie. But wearing the same scent just felt like having identical outfits on. So, I stopped wearing Happy or any other perfume. Until now.

I have been experimenting with perfume lately. Every time I order something from Sephora, they give me the option for free samples. I figure, I don't feel like fighting with a tiny packet of moisturizer, so why not get some scent. Free is free, so if any of the samples are an olfactory assault, then I can just trash them.

So far, I have gotten Taylor Swift's perfume (kind of nice - it's light and sweet. I would actually wear it), Kate Walsh's Boyfriend (very musky and heavy - I'm using it as bathroom air freshener. Nothing like the smell of perfume and poo mixed together), Diane Von Furstenburg's perfume (really mature smelling - it reminds me of classy older women that I encountered in Germany at stores where I couldn't afford anything), Betsy Johnson's Too Too (kind of fresh and sweet - not too gaggy), Tom Ford's Violet Blonde (very heavy and intense - not really me), and Juicy Couture's Viva La Juicy (I really liked this one. It's light and has food smells like vanilla. I might have to buy some.).

I have also been smelling the perfume sample inserts in magazines. I am in love with Viktor and Rolf's Flowerbomb. Even though it is a floral fragrance, to my nose it has a candy quality that I can't get enough of. I asked for the hair mist for Christmas. We'll see if Santa comes through for me.

Whatever scent I am wearing, I will try to go easy on it. But please don't hesitate to inform me if I smell like a French whore. (Uh, I think my whore is dead.)

Bless You

The body is an amazing vessel, but it can sometimes be annoying. For example, I hate sweating. I hate it when my eye twitches like a crack addict, but I can't figure out why. I hate that my second biggest toe on my left foot has been kind of numb for a couple weeks, but I can move it, so it must not be broken, right? But an uncontrollable bodily function I can get behind is sneezing. I love sneezing. It's just so satisfying to get that feeling, like, oh, I'm going to sneeze, and then WACHOO! Then you're left with a feeling of calm and people bless you, which is kind of nice.

I mean, nobody says, "bless you" after you cough or when your stomach growls or when you fart. Sneezing, for some reason, is socially acceptable and worthy of good wishes. Unless, of course, you sneeze on someone, don't cover your nose/mouth, or sneeze so hard that is blows the hair of the person in front of you on the bus. People don't like that and that kind of behavior and it definitely won't earn you any sympathy. Maybe an "f" you or an icy stare, but nobody will be wishing God to bless you, that's for sure.

Feelin' Cranky (And most definitely not groovy)

Some days I just wake up and feel like getting out of bed is annoying. Kind of like this guy that we saw in Alaska.

Like, don't come near me or I will rip out your eyes with my claws. And where did all these fucking decorative pillows come from? Why is it so hot in here? I have to pee again??? This mood can last a few minutes or can span a few days and beyond. Today is one of those days. Yesterday was, too. I seem to be having more days like that lately. I don't really have a good reason. I just feel generally irritated.

Take this afternoon, for example. I met Aaron in Fremont at Pie for lunch. I love pie. I like the restaurant Pie well enough, too. I had chicken pot pie. It was delicious. Aaron treated. It all seemed good, right? Well, I couldn't find parking when I got there. Then, I noticed the crater zit on my chin that is probably going to turn into one of those gross, cyst-like red mountains in the next few days. Once inside Pie, I felt like there were too many people in too small of a space. Then Aaron's and my elbows bumped as we dug into our respective pies. An occupational hazard of me being left-handed. I wanted to scream and knock over my chair.

I don't know what my problem is. Maybe I just need to stay home more? Get out more? Drink more? Drink less? Sleep more? Sleep less? Exercise more? Take vitamin D? Put on a happy fucking face?

I think I feel like I'm always doing things I don't want to do. Which is hard because sometimes I don't want to do anything. I want to stay in my stretchy pants and my faded Franz Kafka t-shirt and watch "Kendra" on E!, while simultaneously wanting to look fabulous and have a night on the town with Aaron and our friends, and wear a sassy wool cape with elbow length leather gloves and skinny jeans and boots. This is impossible. I want impossible things. I want to look amazing and put no effort into it. I want to drink and have no hangover the next day. I want comfort and excitement.

When I felt like this when I was little, I would put a pillow case over my head. I just didn't want to see anyone and I didn't want anyone to see me. Most of all, I didn't want my parents to see me laugh if they said something silly in an effort to shake me out of my funk.

Today is a pillow case day. Do you think anyone at work would notice if my head was covered in flannel?

Playlist

When people ask me what kind of music I like, I pause and come up with the same bands that I've liked since 1998. I say, "Uh, I don't know, Death Cab for Cutie." Then I quickly add, "And, um, a lot of the stuff they play on KEXP."

Even though I love Death Cab, I need some new tunes. Why don't I just pillage Aaron's collection? Well, I don't know which artists I like and even if I narrow down artists, I still have to pick songs. Since Aaron has eighty bajillion tracks in his iTunes, it takes forever to sift through and find the songs I want. Trust me, I've tried. I just don't have that kind of patience.

So, to help make some new playlists, I've been working on keeping track of songs that I like. Do I have a list app on my phone or something? Nope. I got a blank sheet of copy paper and have been writing down songs that I like that I hear on the radio.

(If I really wanted to be old school, I'd press record on my boom box, but I don't have a boom box anymore - which is a shame. I loved my radio mix tapes from circa 1985-1988.)

After I write down the songs, I go to YouTube and listen to the song to make sure that I still like the song. Then, I give the list to Aaron and he decides if he wants the whole album. I would rather just get the singles, but Aaron is an album person. And then, after the songs/albums are downloaded, the new playlist goes on my iPod.

Maybe I should just get a boombox, some blank tapes and a Sony sports walkman?

Anyway, here's my newest playlist:

1. Land of the Loops - Multi Family Garage Sale - I love the opening bass line

2. Air France - Collapsing on your doorstep

3. Dom - Living in America - these guys remind me of my college boyfriend and his friends, except that they never had any running vehicles like these guys do

4. Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition

5. The Naked and Famous - Young Blood

6. The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead - this whole album is good...I like "Can't say no", too.

7. Tame Impala - It's not meant to be

8. Vaccines - If you wanna - This song makes me chair dance like I have ADD and I ran out of my Adderall.

9. Deerhunter - Desire Lines

10. The New Division - Opium - this song is amazing. I want to have a montage to this song. (Don't worry, I'm not a junkie. I just like synth.)

11. M83 - the new album is awesome - the sax makes me want to listen to "Careless Whisper". Who can pass up that sexy sax?

12. Washed Out - everything is excellent. We listened to the new album on the way to Oregon for our anniversary. I am in love with Washed Out.

That's all I've got so far...but, pretty awesome list, right?

Karaoke, Baby

One of Aaron's co-workers had a birthday party on Friday and we were invited. It was at a Seattle's Best Karaoke. When we got close, I realized that I had been there once about ten years ago. It's an odd place. It looks like an office building from outside and once you are inside, it has a rec center feeling. There are individual rooms that you reserve that have all the karaoke accoutrements that you will need. The decorations are sparse. The room that we were in had three futon couches and a coffee table in the center of the room, plus a computer, flat screen tv and all the other karaoke equipment. There were no pictures on the walls or anything to give the room character. It felt like being in someone's basement (someone who has no crap anywhere - so not like my basement).

It's not a bar, so there's isn't anywhere to order drinks or anything. You can BYOB, but you have to get a banquet license at the liquor store. The birthday girl had taken care of that, so we brought a half rack of something from Whole Foods. It was on sale. I can't remember the name. Aaron said it tasted like Milwaukee's Best (Beast). (I rest my case. We should have stuck with PBR.)

When we walked in, the room was packed with about twenty people, most sitting on the futons, but two were standing up singing "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal. Interesting choice. The room was hot and everyone was singing along.

Aaron and I settled in and cracked open a couple Whole Foods' beers and soaked up the scene. Now, I haven't done karaoke in probably about a year. We used to do it occasionally and there was a period of time when we did it quite a bit (before Leilani closed down.) But it seemed like everyone always did the same songs and a lot of times with a feeling of irony. Some favorites were "Sister Christian", "Sister Golden Hair Surprise", songs by Barry Manilow, songs by The Carpenters, "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley, and sometimes Aaron and I would sing "The Sweater Song" by Weezer - that was the most contemporary we would get.

So, now would be a good time to share that most of Aaron's co-workers and friends of the birthday girl were in their mid-20's. Yes, it made me feel old. And as we sat there feeling elderly, we noticed that their song choices were not ironic. They chose pop songs by Rihanna ("Umbrella"),

Justin Bieber ("U smile" - which I was not previously familiar with - shocker, I know - If only they could have played some Bieber songs that were on "Glee"!),

Kylie Minogue ("Wow")

and the Friday song by Rebecca Black (which I don't know very well, but I was aware that it existed. And is it just me, or does the kid driving in the video look about 12 years old?). Somebody picked a song by the Spice Girls - because they liked it. Not because it was ironic. Someone said to a girl that was currently going to SPU, "You like the Spice Girls?" To which she replied, "Why not?" Why not, indeed.

It was an eye opening experience for us. We definitely felt like were part of a different generation. It was slightly depressing. However, I did enjoy knowing a lot of the songs they chose. Unlike Aaron, who never listens to top 40 music. I knew that you can stand under my umbrella -ella -ella, ay, ay, ay. I also knew that you can read my lips, because I'm into you and it's just the way you dance. Thank you, C89.

It was kind of fun, because karaoke is usually a good time, and everyone was really laid back and welcoming. My only hope is that we didn't look like those sad, aging hipsters you see at rocks shows and wonder, "Why are those old people here?"

Rockin' with Dokken

As everyone that knows us is already aware, Aaron has a shit ton of records. I don't usually pay that much attention to them. I think they look cool in frames, but other than that, I don't bust them out all too often. Unless...

Unless, it's an evening like Saturday night a few weeks ago. We went out early for a few drinkies and ended up getting home around 10-ish. I wanted to keep the evening rolling, so I started off with some Blondie. Blondie is my go-to record. If Aaron ever asks me what I want to hear, it's Blondie's

"Plastic Letters" (I skip to "Denis" and "(I am always touched by your) Presence, Dear"). After that, I always choose The B-52's

"Whammy" (I start with side one, which begins with "Legal Tender" - "We're in the basement, learning to print, all of it's hot").

Usually, Aaron and I alternate picks. But he had just gotten the iPad 2 and wasn't paying attention. So I kept right on spinning. I started with 80's Pop.

Yep, that's a Wham! album. I also mixed in some ABC, Icicle Works, and the Bangles, just to name a few. After the pop, it was time for some butt rock. Have you seen a million faces and rocked them all? How about if I rock you like a hurricane? Are you hot for teacher? There was some Ratt "Round and Round" in there, too, for good measure. I didn't see any Dokken in Aaron's collection, but we were still rockin'.

It was where it's at! And don't think for a second that I didn't mention that I had two turntables and a microphone. Because I did. And then I guffawed and scratched on an imaginary turntable like I was DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist all rolled into one. I like to keep it real.