forget regret, or life is yours to miss

a few quick notes about RENT, which we saw this weekend:

- the music & lyrics of the show are by far better than the script. hands down. i sang my way through the entire show.

- adam pascal and anthony rapp still rock, even if their performances seemed a little tired.

- the set was utilized brilliantly.

- lexi lawson's understudy, caren tacket, rocked the upbeat tunes, but lacked the control demanded by the slower songs.

- nicolette hart, playing maureen, stole the second act. hands down.

- if jesse l. martin ever reprises his role, i will be there in a flash- mmmmm!

yes, yes, i realize that this is all about a dozen years too late, but if you're planning on seeing the touring show, my vote is GO!

image from here.

an evening on the water

i must preface by saying how bummed i am that our camera battery died before we could take any pictures of our friday night adventure . . . thanks for the photos, david b. at yelp.

the hubs arranged an amazing friday night date. we drove out to sauvie island, hopped on a friend's boat, and cruised down the multnomah channel to mark's on the channel. we parked the boat right at the dining pier, and watched the sun set over the water, while dining on amazing saganaki, pasta, and carrot cake. i can't imagine a better way to spend a friday evening. thanks, hubs!!

one sweet day

i'm feeling a bit nostalgic tonight. the hubs and i are in bend, oregon for the weekend: we're hitting the lake and the trails - what a blast! but the gorgeous mountain surroundings reminds me of lake arrowhead where we got married. here's a picture of us on our big day . . .

brinner

love me some brinner. hubs made scramby eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and sourdough toast for dinners. i didn't eat the bacon or toast, but i did sneak a few taters. so tasty.

photo via amazon

i love . . .

sleeping in. especially when it starts to get warm enough out that you have to keep the window open a bit. the fresh breeze, the sounds of the earth, the tangled sheets, the smell of the hubs freshly washed hair, ths delicate nighty - what's better?

can't. wait. for. saturday morning.

wish we were

visiting the hubs' home town.

riding the kamehameha highway through haleiwa and waialua, and stopping to get a bite to eat.

looking over kahana bay.

hubs - let's make it happen this summer!

bj's

when the hubs and i first started dating, we both worked very long hours. when we got off work, the last thing we wanted to do was cook dinner - we just wanted to eat and crash. bj's restaurant and brewhouse was just a few blocks away from our office, so we ate there at least once every week. we fell in love over those dinners at bj's.



after our move to the northwest, we were bummed to learn that bj's didn't have any nearby locations. we learned to deal with the loss, and found other places to ingest an indulgent amount of calories, but bj's remained a nostalgic memory for us.

today, on the way home from visiting the sis-in-law, we saw a bj's. and we stopped. and we ate. and ate. and ate.

bj's has the best:

berry cider

wedge salad


deep dish pizza


pizookie (cookie baked in a deep dish pizza pan topped with vanilla ice cream!!!)

panic. attack.

i had a panic attack today. not the i-locked-my-keys-in-the-car freak out that most would chalk up to a panic attack. a tried and true panic attack. full of the oh-my-lord-i-can't breathe. i'm-about-to-throw-up. i-am-so-dizzy-i-might-fall-into-a-well. someone-please-stop-the-shaking. is-this-what-a-heart-attack-feels-like? (can you tell i'm hyphen happy today?)

i've been having panic attacks since junior high, but wasn't diagnosed until college. i thought it was normal to shake, have cold sweats, breath super fast, and melt down when you didn't know the answer to a question on your ap calc test. turns out, its not normal. who knew?? my attacks are much less frequent now that i get a little Rx help, but they do occur every so often. for oh-so-ridiculous reasons.

today, i had a very important meeting. very. very. VERY. important meeting. i put the address in my gps the night before and left extra early to make my appointment. but the gps routed me through the entire city, telling me to turn where there were no turn signs, and directing me the wrong way down one way streets. i finally arrived at my appointment, but couldn't find parking. anywhere. i circled and circled. i feverishly hunted for a spot. just one little spot. but every parking garage was "temporarily full." every prospect i stalked to their car just fed the meter. what gluttons.

that's when it happened. i started to shake. i couldn't breathe. i called the hubs, who immediately recognized my incoherent-attempts-at-forming-words, and came to my rescue. he's so wonderful that way.

i made my meeting. 40 minutes late. and it didn't go well. it has been a very. very. VERY. rough week, both personally and professionally. but the panic attack reminded me, as it always does, that stupid shit isn't worth falling into a frenzy over. and that no matter how frenzied i do get, i have a man who loves me and stands by my side.

meet me

i realize my profile is rather enigmatic, so i'm dedicating this post to getting to know me a little better. and i'm doing it uncle buck style . . . remember the scene where miles (the young mccaulay culkin) peppers uncle buck with questions? no? check it out here . . .

anyhow, here we go:

Miles: Where do you live?

in rainy portland, oregon.

Miles: You have a house?

yep. i'm really lucky - the hubs and I have a beautiful 4 bedroom craftsman.

Miles: Own or rent?

own, baby, own. but we bought before the market crashed. shit.

Miles: What do you do for a living?

i work for the government. my job was exciting, once-upon-a-time. now, I'd rather have a root canal than go to work. the hubs works for the same organization, but he has a super-sexy-I'd-tell-you-but-I'd-have-to-kill-you job.

Miles: Where's your office?

downtown.

Miles: How come?

because the government is too cheap to put it somewhere else, somewhere safe.

Miles: Where's your wife?

i'll replace this with husband. he's prepping for a trip to the Olympic Training Center.

Miles: How come?

because he's groovy. and in excellent shape.

Miles: You have kids?

not of the human variety. yet. but we have the two best dogs. ever.

Miles: How come?

we want to be married a bit longer before we add the littles to the clan.

Miles: Are you my Dad's brother?

what's your record for consecutive questions asked??

Miles: 38.

i'm no one's brother. but i'm sister to two . . .

Miles: You have much more hair in your nose than my Dad.

well, thank you. if that's true, i imagine your dad waxes his nose.

Miles: I'm a kid - that's my job.