My half birthday (Or, "Yum")

Last Thursday--Again?

Yep.

I'm really sleepy right now, so what follows is the text of my night, preceded above by pictures. Not energy enough for moving and shaking, if you will.

I ate a flax seed plus waffle this morning for breakfast. Half of it had Adam's crunchy peanut butter, the other half had some strawberry jam my friend Colin made for me. Cut it in half and YUM! Waffle Sandwich!

Tonight after work, I received a giraffe finger puppet. After a small discussion of what to call him, his name came to me. I will call him Noam-Gnome the Giraffe. He's cute, and will be friends with my pet (toy) wombat. He is seen above helping me drink my glass of $4 champagne.

At the Vita, we shared some Buffalo Tofu Things, with house-made vegan ranch. YUM! Again. Spicy fried tofu? Is there anything better? After tonight, I think I may have reached the pinnacle in deliciousness of spicy tofu snacks.

Headed over to Tour De Crepes again (just like last month) and had a Sangria. Again, yum. Headed down the street. Lots of Awesome art. Some good vegan lemon blueberry poundcake. More Awesome art. More meandering.

Ended up at Bye and Bye. Craig Steele and Laura came to visit (Laura and I pictured above). Joette and Shelley and Ahi and Mik all hung out for awhile. Mik got the Bye and Bye special--I don't know what it was, but it was red and in a huge mason jar and had a lemon wedge garnish. Pretty delicious and drinkable. It is also pictured above for your viewing pleasure. Shelley and I split a meatless meatball sub with a side of collard greens. Yum! But, no picture. Too dark in bar, and too delicious not to get in our mouths right away.

Got sleepy, walked home. It took, no joke, about an hour and a half. But it was beautiful. Lovely night, not chilly, nice views.
Except--I did see a guy beating his girlfriend in front of their friends outside a house, and heard a guy sock another guy in the belly after that. I hope they were okay. My phone was dead, or I might have done something about it... as it was, I just kept walking. I hope that's okay.

Home now, Ingrid is listening to Scissor Sisters and break-dancing, I'm typing away madly, trying to work my way into sleep.

I had a wonderful half-birthday and am thankful that this year, my golden year, has been so wonderful and spiritually fulfilling. I've got to head into work tomorrow and Saturday, then I'm going on a half-birthday camping/hiking/backpacking trip with my brother, his dog Storm, Shelley, her dog Niya, and perhaps one or two other people on Sunday. Should be a blast. Goodnight, and sorry for the lack of continuity of pictures/text tonight.

Sleepy time.

I came to get down

Yesterday I knew I was going to have a good day when I had lunch: the Ale House's Antipasta Plate: pumpkin hummus, grilled flatbread, house-made pickles, greens, and instead of the olives I substituted carrot and celery sticks. Ate about half of it (I wasn't feeling the onions and tomatoes, or really the pickles, and didn't eat all the hummus either). Felt good.

After work, Craig Steele picked me up in his Zip Car and we headed to the White Eagle, my new neighborhood bar. I haven't seen him for awhile, but we always have such a great time. Snacked on some food--cajun tots, a salad, and a bowl of soup. And several glasses of wine for me, a few PBRs for him.
Meandered the block and a half home, where Ingrid was making a puppet:


I sweet-talked Ingrid into showing off a little of her moves (which admittedly isn't hard; she can break-dance at the drop of a hat).
Ings definitely has some moves, but Craig Steele suprised me--a very quick study! They were awesome to watch. (I'm trying to figure out uploading videos so you, too, can experience the awesome-ness, but it's not really working. I will try later...)

After break-dancing took it's toll, we started dance-dancing. Outkast, Arctic Monkeys, who knows what else? I was in my wine world, and ran to adorn my feet in my gold high heels. Sometimes a girl's just gotta wear heels when she dances, even if it's 3:30 in the morning, even if she's wearing pajamas, even if she's clumsy and falls down on the floor. Sometimes it's just the right thing to do.

We also took the Enneagram Test online, alternating test-taking with dancing. (I always test strongly for Type 2, but I don't know if I believe it. If you haven't heard of this, check it out. Regardless of how much it fits you, it's extremely interesting.)

Then the wigs came out. I unfortunately do not have any good pictures of the wigs (Ingrid?) but there was a pink one (Craig Steele looked smashing in it), a mullet one, and my old red and black one from Halloween a few years back (I was Al-ice Capone). Here's the best one I got:



I think after the wigs and dancing and boxed wine (I know, I didn't mention the boxed part of it before. But it's not too bad! Each box contains 3-4 bottles of wine, and stays good for 4 weeks. A smashing deal.) and high heels and personality tests and Michael Jackson we were all ready for bed. Craig Steele headed home about 4:30am (Yikes, right?!) and I passed out into a sleepy happy pile on my bed.

here's a wee video I hope works:

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Oh yeah--if you're interested in Veg*n-related things, voting, or prizes like a trip to New York, vote here for the Veg News 2008 Reader Poll. Portland has a lot of wordplay on there.

Life's a Beach

We drove to the beach today. By "we", I mean Ingrid. I passengered. Seaside was the ultimate destination, in (large) part to the Skee Ball, Photo Booths, and the Boardwalk.
We took a long peaceful walk on the sand in our cowboy boots when we arrived.

Caught up on past and current loves, and on the stories of the past 2 years.

Hungry for food, but hungrier for Skee Ball. Stopped by the car to get some Red Delicious Apples as a snack. This is what they looked like on the inside:

Red Not So Delicious.
Wanted the sweet sweet taste of Skee instead, so headed over to the Arcade. 5 bucks got us 25 minutes and loads of laughs. The prizes we picked out included a disco ball keychain, a tootsie roll, and an atomic fireball.

Ready for lunch, it was time for Dooger's. Really, that's the name. I got a side of steamed veggies and garlic bread (and a beer, of course) and Ings ordered the veggie burger and fries. (And a beer, of course.)


After lunch, we checked out the boardwalk, looking for thrift stores, checking out the paddle boats in the bay, and staying warm in the sun. Headed to the Shilo Inn on the waterfront for a cocktail. I had the Mochatini--a total frou-frou drink, and/but pretty tasty. Ings had a Spanish Coffee, minus the whip cream (And extra extra triple sec, apparently. The thing tasted like orange-flavoured coffee.) Next round I got the same and she got a cognac. Michael, the bartender from Beaverton, took our picture.

After drinks, we took a nice evening stroll along the water, finding holes and taking pictures (I will not make any jokes about this sentence.)

We were obviously feeling silly and a little tipsy.

Hungry again, we hit up some other tavern with big tv's and big attitudes. I drank an Anchor Porter and Ings stuck with Soda Water (good girl). We shared some nachos. It was about 8 by this time, so we headed down to catch the sunset before the drive back. Ocean sunsets are beautiful every single time.



It was an awesome day, and to boot, I got my passport photos taken today, so just have to mail off the application and wait a few weeks, and BAM! I'll have a new Passport. Am sorta tempted to get a new picture taken though--the lady didn't warn me and I look so goofy. And young, but that's par for course. Another $9 doesn't seem so bad compared with another 10 years of a terrible picture...

Anyway, perfect weekend and ready to go back to work tomorrow.

I want to ride my bicycle

I rode my bicycle uphill today. Both ways. In the snow.

It felt like it, at any rate. Biking up Mississippi is quite an undertaking. I kept thinking, "My littlelegs cannot do this! This huffing and puffing is not natural. I should just get off and walk the rest of the way."
I persevered, however. I was the little Nessa that could. All that sweat and dry throat and exhaustion (and really, this hill probably wouldn't intimidate most of you. But lord, I'm still practicing!) kept getting recycled into this: I will work really really hard right now. I will peddle as fast as my legs can go. I will drip sweat. And in a few minutes, I will reward myself with a margarita.

Which I did. 3 margaritas. Yum. And you know what? The bike ride home? So much easier. All downhill. I don't think I had to peddle for more than 60 seconds at a time. That's what I love about uphill--there's always a downhill on the way back (and usually a margarita!)

80's Dancing

Last night was my friend Jamie's birthday (28th, I think?). We use to work together at the Pub. She's hilarious. Everyone met for dinner and wine at BridgePort, and then the plan was to head over to Lola's Room at the Crystal Ballroom for 80's dancing.

I got home from work a little late, had a glass and a half of some Rose wine while I 80's-ified myself, and biked over the Broadway Bridge. What a beautiful view. Last night may have been the prettiest evening in recent memory.

Arrived at the pub, sweaty and late, and had another glass of wine. My friend Patrick thought shots were a good idea, so Katie, me Jamie, Patrick and Erin (L-R) all sucked down some Tuaca:

I shared 1/2 of mine with a girl I didn't know. Tuaca is a sticky sweet vanilla liquor. Good in cocktails, like a Bourbon Tuaca Sidecar, but not my favorite by itself.

Mini Cupcakes were brought out. So was a huge cake from VooDoo Doughnuts and a maple bacon bar. ( I wish they made a soy bacon maple bar!) I didn't try the cupcakes, or the doughnut, obviously, but I did try a bite or two of the cream cake. Yum.
(By the way, is doughnut an outdated spelling now? Has our language seguayed that beautiful descriptive word into donut? I guess it makes sense, it's shorter; but it's not as round and inviting. I think it's a shame.)

I biked over the few blocks to Lola's and was the first to arrive. I paid my 5 bucks and sauntered upstairs, ready to kick off my sunday shoes, to take a Holiday. Everyone else arrived shortly after, and we all got so sticky sweaty shiny. In a good way.

Ingrid showed up after work and proceeded to wow the entire crowd with her sweet break-dancin' moves. I wish I had a picture, but I was too busy laughing and clapping with glee.

I think the heat combined with lack of dinner and a shot of Tuaca made me slightly more drunk than I usually would be--I can knock back 3 glasses of wine and a shot no problem most nights. Hell, I've been known to knock down a few bottles of wine. Stopped drinking pretty early on, but still was a little unsteady on my feet. Thank god I was wearing flats. First time I've been somewhat sensible in my shoe choices.

Arrived home and fell into a blissful and deep sleep.

***
Note: While writing this, one of the ferret's got sick and I went with Ingrid to Dove Lewis 24 hour Pet Care. Turns out Mustango is fine. I think she just has heat exhaustion--I'm sure moving down from Alaska and sitting in 90 degree weather all day doesn't exactly work wonders on a ferret. Ingrid was very worried though and I'm glad she's doing alright now.
***

Camping (Plus a few delightful odds and ends)

My camping trip this weekend involved the following:

__a small plastic horse

__eating a Tasty Bite dinner I brought, and watching Andrea use some smarts in cooking it for usIt was good!

__eating french fries at the BlueBird in...what was the name of the town? Starts with a B? Bickleton? Bickford? Something like that. Population 90. About 1/2 that was on the "86ed" list posted on the wall. Hilarious.

__attempting to take pictures of deer--there were some 6 pointers! (Just found out this weekend "points" refers to how many antlers a deer has. or something. I think it's a hunting term. Ewww.)
you have to look carefully to see them, but they're there! And they were MUCH more majestic in person.
__watching Andrea and the guys shoot a gun (or rather, shoot bullets) at PBR cans attached to trees. They had a blast. Shooting a gun is something that I don't think I ever want on my Have-Done list.

__spending hours in the hammock, reading and delving into deep and satisfying talks with Andrea regarding relationships, career choices, and personal growth. I reread Personal Velocity which is great collection of vignettes centering on radically different women. It was made into a movie with Parker Posey (Eeeeeee!) but I haven't seen it yet. I also FINALLY started The Red Tent. Took me about 6 attempts over 3 years. Turns out, when you're stuck on 20 acres of land in Eastern Washington it's easy to give a book a second, or in this case 7th, chance. And--it's amazing! Loving it so far. Has anyone else read it?

Okay, also, here's some music Craig Steele sent me; it's a rad playlist. Check out Frente--Bizarre Love Triangle.
Vgun Playlist

Oh, and I'm including a few pictures from the other night, 1st Thursday, when Dave Pendleton and I attended a party at The Wyatt (a gorgeous property that had been destined as condos, but with the Portland housing market the way it is now, they're merely REALLY expensive rentals) and shoulder-rubbed with the rich and the hip. And later, Ingrid give Gracie drunken break-dancing lessons.This is a pepper-infused vodka with passionfruit juice and a cilantro leaf garnish. YUM!
These cupcakes below were made @ BridgePort Bakery for the party. What tasty-lookin' morsels.
Okay, so. I'm exhausted from my stripper night last night, and am headed off to bed after my cup of tea.

LESBIANS!!!!!!

Oh my goodness. I've been so busy with the move, and work, and then camping, that I haven't had time to post. I meant to post days ago, about all these yummy things I've been eating, and then I meant to post about my camping trip. I still might post about that sometime-so much fun, and good food, good company, good sunburn? yikes.

Well, here's a picture of our grilled pineapple . Yum.

BUT--tonight--so great I have to focus on it.

Went to Tube--Ingrid and I biked there to meet my brother Ahimsa and his wife Michelle for a show. This band is from New Zealand, but lives and plays here now. I don't remember their name, but they were awesome. All short, energetic & cute boys. We had a blast. Ordered some food:

Meatball Sandwich with a green salad. Good, but I think the bun was microwaved. Definitely go there for Happy Hour food. Maybe not after that. Decent, but worth $7? I dunno.

Ingrid got the Taco Platter.


Danced, chatted, told stories. Ingrid wrote messages to a boy on a napkin (the boy wasn't on the napkin, but the messages were. Sheesh.) Some guy came up to me and asked, "So, you from Portland, or wherever?"
I said, "Portland. I don't know where Wherever is."

He looked at me. I looked back at him. That was the end of the conversation.

Ahi and Mik had to catch their bus. Ingrid and I took off for home, around midnight. We drove past Magic Gardens, an Old Town Strip Club.
"You wanna go in?"
"I dunno. You?"
"Sure."

We parked our bikes, were accosted by a guy in the street, wanting money and a dance (!) and we promptly decided on moving on to Union Jack's. I haven't been to this strip club in maybe a year? Maybe two? But it's my favorite. The girls are alternative--ballet flats, leg warmers, tattoos EVERYWHERE, attitude, and sometimes big smiles.
We biked up Burnside, ordered a martini, and took a seat. Came across several fun people, who were even more fun when we decided to introduce ourselves as lesbians.

I've never done this before; I feel kinda cheezy when I lie to people about who I am. But tonight was... different. Everyone was so nice. The guys weren't creepy, the girls were sweet, and the sky was limitless.

We met a couple who said they were introduced on Ashley Madison, a dating site for married people seeking extramarital affairs. Ingrid is pretty sure they're just a really nice couple from Beaverton pretending. I fell for it. Dove into their stories, offering advice and smiles. Once Ingrid clued me into the fact that they were pretending, I felt much better about being a lesbian for the night. I would love to post pictures about this part of the evening, but it involved a lot of martini's, a lot of boobs, and a lot of punani. No pictures allowed.

HOWEVER, Scott, or Doug as Meghan sometimes accidentally called him, offered to buy the 3 of us girls a lap dance. His lover Meghan and her two new lesbian friends.
We picked our favorite and went into the best booth. Curtains, plush chairs, and a naked lady. What a nice night. The 3 of us ladies chatted a bit. Then Krista got down to business.Ummmmm...... Oh my gosh. Mmmm. Wish I could put pictures up. Never had a lap dance before. Let's just say--if you haven't, please go out and get one.

Closing time. Headed out and took some pictures. Biked home, a little worse for wear, but one of the funniest nights I've had yet. Next time I'll write about food and drink. This time I got too caught up in strippers and affairs.


***************
Okay, I posted a picture of the happy couple, but realized that on the off chance that they really were conducting an illicit affair, I probably shouldn't put pictures of them online. But, rest assured, they were cute. Here's a picture in substitute:

Visitors!

Well, my friend Anna and her boyfriend Eric are here staying with me. They hail from the lovely city of Charleston, South Carolina.

They've been in town visiting while I've been attempting to haphazardly move some stuff over to my new house/opulent loft/huge living space thing I'm moving into.
I stayed the other night at my new place with Ingrid and Jameson (who's going back up to Alaska today.)

We drank copious amounts of booze--I had boxed red wine--more delicious than one might think, especially after a few glasses of white wine and sangria--and they had beer. We wandered around the place, glasses in hand, planning what Ingrid and I were going to do with all the space. Great Ideas were bandied about--like a movie projector in the living room.
Snacks seemed like a good idea, so Jameson headed to the Shell Station with 15 bucks. Gross.

(The best combination I came up with was a jalepeno corn chip and a square of Hershey's chocolate. *shudder*)

Yesterday my brother came over and helped me take a load over. We went over to Por Que No on Mississippi after. He hadn't been there before, and he loved it. We had a raspberry limeade and chips and salsa.

and I ordered 2 veggie tacos--home-made corn tortilla, beans, and veggies. Not just wimpy veggies either, but mushrooms, broccoli, tomato, yellow squash, zucchini, and tomatoes. Delicious. Typically, I forgot to take pictures of our food. I get so excited I just dive right in! Just know--it was fresh and filling and...just good.

I took a nap and then headed to the gym and then met up with Anna & Eric and our friend Erin at Serratto for Happy Hour. I had a green salad with garlic chips (left out the beets and chevre) that was pretty good and then Erin and I split the pizza of the day (Pizza Del Giorno): tomatoes, basil, mozarella, and tomato sauce. I don't think there was a single vegan option there.

After, I had a glass of Muscato and we all shared some dessert:

Headed over to 21st Bar and Grill, where my camera died. After a few beers, we decided to try out Bar Mingo, the companion area to Cafe Mingo that just opened a few months ago.
We had a few drinks, but I got sleepy, and was ready for home. Craig Steele and his friend visiting from Boston came by for a drink before heading to Sinferno @ Dante's, and then Anna and Eric and I were done. We headed home for sleep.

Today I'm going to go get boxes--maybe at BridgePort?--and do a lot of packing and cleaning. I stepped on a stupid roll of tape yesterday and cut my toe on the serrated edge. I have 3 band-aids on it. Ouch.