It is Official

I am stopping this blog! Starting a new one with a new focus...I have been out West for two years now...so moving here seems done. So...if you want to follow along...

http://haystock.blogspot.com/

Happy reading and thanks for reading this one!

After Thanksgiving...

Okay, Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday. I get to see my family, which for a switch I like spending time with (I know tons of people dread it)...and I get to eat my favorite meal of the year...turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, some vegetable, and mom's rolls....followed by several types of pies. I REALLY love the leftovers! This year my sister-in-law and brother hosted and it was FABULOUS! She even made homemade applesauce that was to die for! I am not sure I had enough to eat...and I am positive I will be making a turkey sometime in the next month or so. Last year we had a perfectly fine Thanksgiving in Seattle with my sister. I love her, but being around the rest of the family this year made me really appreciate getting to see them all. We played our multi-person Solitaire, around the world ping pong and of course the Wii! We ate...and I had been doing so well...I have lost 58 lbs on WW...I fear weighing in on Saturday because I am afraid that I have gained at least a pound if not more. I did really good through Thanksgiving...but the day after and the days to follow I have reverted to my old habits of eating...which is BAD...very BAD! I hoped that I would fare as nicely as I did last year with the no weight gain at all...I am afraid that isn't possible. I miss bread...I hardly ever eat it anymore...so of course I indulged. I am pleased to say that I didn't eat any sub par food, only yummy things! But...too much of it...and not enough exercise. Will I do it again? Sure enough, I am betting next year will be the same! Anyway, hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, I know I did!

Just a little note on voting...

As today is election day...I have to say a few things about voting. Just because a candidate plays as many ads on TV as humanly possible...doesn't mean people will vote for them. In fact it is annoying...and it makes me not want to vote at all. I can read about the issues and watch what they have to say. The other thing is the negative campaigns...there is nothing more annoying than watching ads that tell how much the other candidate is a liar, etc...because the other candidate will to the same about you...so try something new and just state what you are for...that will help me decide more than the negative stuff. Also...when it comes to the presidency...people who are undecided? Well, take a look at ALL of the other candidates. We run more than two parties here in the United States of America...why not check out what the other ones have to say? Maybe they will have something that you like more than a Democrat or a Republican. The fact that we can only really learn about the two parties makes me ill...and usually causes me to vote in a direction that my friends say is a THROW AWAY VOTE...who are they to say how I use my right to vote? Anyway, just wanted to make a few notes and get some of this off my chest. Anyway...regardless of how you feel, definitely exercise your right to vote...especially you women...women died, starved, got beat, etc so you could have that right!

Portland, OR

So, Tim and I LOVE Portland, OR...this may be a place for us to live sometime in the future. Sunday after we left Ashland, we headed to Portland. Tim's parents came with us to extend our visit just a little. We stopped at the Outlet Mall just outside Portland for socks...yep. I have an addiction to Bass socks. I stocked up!! There isn't a Bass near me anywhere that I am aware of! I needed some knee high socks and a couple nicer socks as well. http://www.woodburncompanystores.com/ This place is about 35 miles south of Portland and really incredible! Tim and I went to check into our hotel http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=60&category=Location%20Homepage and then walked to his parents' hotel to meet them for dinner. The NUMBER TWO reason I wanted to stop in Portland was this restaurant...http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=content.display&pageid=96&id=1 Jake's. Tim took us there the year we all went to Olympia National Park and to the Redwoods...they have this incredible dish that I CRAVE...all of the time. It is Mussels in Puttanesca sauce as pictured! It is so good! So, we ate dinner there...we all had things that were good...and then dessert...don't even get me started. We parted ways and agreed to meet at the NUMBER THREE reason we went to Portland...Voodoo Donuts. Tim and I watched an Anthony Bourdain show where he tried the donuts at Voodoo. Ever since then I have wanted to take Tim there. Monday morning we were at Voodoo Donuts at about 9:00am. http://voodoodoughnut.com/ Tim and I decided to share one and each pick an additional one to try. We ended up with a Triple Chocolate Penetration, Maple Bar with Bacon, and Dirty Old Bastard. Tim's parents weren't so sure about this for breakfast but they ended up with an incredible looking apple fritter! Then we headed to the NUMBER ONE reason to visit Portland, Powell's Books http://www.powells.com/ We agreed on 45 minutes to wander around and then meet back! We did pretty good....it is hard to limit yourself to only 45 minutes! Then we said our goodbyes and headed out! It was about 11am. Tim and I stopped at Multnomah Falls to hike to the top (great way to get rid of that sugar). It was so nice! I was so proud of myself! I made it to the top without too much trouble. I did have to stop and catch my breath a couple times...the trail goes straight up! It was a great view of the Columbia River! We left there and made it to The Dalles for lunch at BURGERVILLE...http://www.burgerville.com/ for fast food this stuff is pretty good and of course I had to try the Caramel Apple Milkshake! Tim and I got home in time to watch BIG BANG THEORY (our favorite sitcom) and HEROES!

Ashland, OR

Had another great weekend in Ashland, OR! Tim and I drove down to meet his parents. We had a rocky start. Thursday night we left after work and on the way, I managed to hit a large 2x4 in the middle of the highway with nails in it. Luckily we were able to make it to the hotel...but the next morning we had FLAT tires on the passenger side. So Friday we started our trip at Le Schwab tires getting two new tires and a repair. We left by 11am to continue down the road....stopped for lunch at one of the McMenamin's http://www.mcmenamins.com/ for lunch, which was YUMMY! Came out to find a FLAT tire AGAIN!. I thought Tim was going to kill someone! Anyway, we went to Le Schwab tire AGAIN...and another hour later, we were on the road. Turns out if we put the pedal to the metal we MAY make it to our first show. We arrived in Ashland about 8:10pm...and ran into OTHELLO within the first 15 minutes...we had seats in the balcony until intermission then moved to sit with Tim's parents for the remainder of the show. It was a great play! (this is my second time seeing the play, 5th time seeing the story) We went out for dinner after the play at Standing Stone Brewing Company http://www.standingstonebrewing.com/ with some yummy soup and pizza...then we turned in about 1:30am!

Next morning we were up and eating breakfast in our hotel, the Stratford Inn http://www.stratfordinnashland.com/ We have stayed there the past two years and it is nice! We went to a Backstage Tour of the theaters and the Shakespeare Fest about 10am which was very interesting, we got to see behind the scenes and some of the places the actors, stage manager, costume designers, etc are during a production plus a little history about Ashland OR and the Shakespeare Festival! Then we walked around shopping, had lunch at Greenleaf http://www.greenleafrestaurant.com/ which is always YUMMY! Then continued shopping and walking around. Went back to the hotel to wait until dinner then headed to Omar's http://www.omarsrestaurant.com/ for dinner before our show. They had the most incredible Prime Rib cooked in rosemary and herbs! We managed to roll out of there in time for our show, OUR TOWN (I never get tired of seeing this play). It was particularly cold in the theater that night...well it is an outdoor theater fashioned after the Globe in England...so you have to dress like you are at a football game. It was between 25-35 degrees both nights we saw the plays and we BUNDLED UP!! For more about the Oregon Shakespeare Festival check out their website! We are already planning for next year. http://www.osfashland.org/index.aspx

We left Ashland on Sunday after eating an incredible brunch at Morning Glory http://morninggloryrestaurant.com/ and headed to Portland, OR!

Pictures

I am posting more pictures on FLICKR, if you have an account you should be able to find me, or try this link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13198689@N00/

So far I have only posted the Barcelona pics...more to come later!

T

Sunday Sept. 14th Coming Home

So, we were up about 7:30am, Tim had a cab coming for us at 8:30am, we would have taken the Metro but Tim had two suitcases and the backpack...too much to maneuver through crowds. So, he headed out to a bakery for one last baguette and pain au chocolat while I got ready. We were in the lobby by 8:20am where our cab was waiting. Another friendly and interesting cab driver. He was from Cambodia originally, left there with nothing and moved to Paris...We got to the airport in plenty of time...got through the lines...they were long to get to the ticket counter. We got to our gate...I got one last Orangina (I have decided I LOVE the stuff). My throat was really sore by now...Tim and I were both feeling a little less than perfect. We boarded and headed back to the states. Couldn't help but compare United to Lufthansa...I flew the German airline to Europe...clean, spacey relaxed...United to the states...it was more cramped, more strict...less friendly. I watched MISS PETTIGREW SAVES THE DAY and PRINCE CASPIAN. We arrived in Chicago about 1:45pm...had to go through customs, get our bags and recheck them...more lines. But, we managed to get through. Our flight to Spokane didn't leave until 8pm so we had Peter and Katherine meet us and we went back to their place to hang out for awhile. They had a great snack for us. Tim was bemoaning the fact that food just won't be as good anymore. Sure he misses BBQ and Mexican...but the food on the plane was vile compared to the food in France. He was really going through withdrawal! I assured him he can get some pretty good French pastries at the Liberty Lake Farmer's Market! It was great to see Peter and Katherine! Then, before we knew it we were back to the airport and waiting to leave. We had to wait for our pilots. Once in Spokane (I couldn't tell you how the flight was, I slept the WHOLE time!) We got off to get our luggage...I lost the luggage lottery and mine ended up in PHOENIX???? really, how does that happen? Anyway, they promised to deliver it on Monday and we left to head home.