Bi-Coastal!

I think my dear friend from Florida whom i rave all the time about might actually have a good shot at coming to Portland!! She now has 2 hotels that will be vyying for her undivided attention. (thanks to me :) ) She is also probably one of the sweetest and charismatic women I have ever met and gotten to know. She would be a perfect fit for our team, kicks butt in the DC market, and not to mention...we can hit all the asian markets together. If the other hotel gets her first, then at least I will also feel good knowing that my friend will be honorable when going after business. I just would hate to go up against her because she is just that good.....so in conclusion, she belongs with our amazing team!

Manic Monday

Another busy day at the office. Turns out i needed a little bit of fresh air and decided to step out for a quick lunch at South Park with C, G, & G who just flew in from San Diego. Looking forward to a nice day off with my dysfunctional crew. Not sure what is in the plans, but i'm sure g. will want to go bet on some horses at the track. I can manage that, some beer, pretzles, and a hot dog should go perfectly with a winning tri-fecta. Hoping the weather holds out.

Some bad news....my Steelers lost tonight to the Jaguars. Since i don't have TV at home, i read on ESPN that this was the lowest scoring MNFL game ever! What was Ben Roethlisberger thinking coming back so soon from an appendectomy. Why would coach Cower put him back on the field. Their back up quarter back didn't do so bad last week. So he had one fumble, why not let the guy play another game? They better redeem themselves next week! Go Steelers, i believe in you guys!

Hood River - OR

C, G, & I are heading out to Hood River on Sunday and walking around Mt. Hood, to do some sight seeing before heading over to Hood River Vineyards. I want to pick up a few bottles of wine as well as try some delicious muscat dessert wines. Will also probably stop over at Sixth Street Bistro & Loft for lunch. Depending on how my feet feel, maybe we can squeeze in a quick simple hike. By the time we get back, it will be dinner and I'm planning on cooking and making a seafood medley taco meal. Bought some fresh halibut, squid, & scallops at the market early this morning to go with some tortilla wraps and a nice salad- no spinach of course!!

Oh N: since you and your mom are doing the fruit loop, don't forget to stop by the "wrap style trunk show" at Foothills yarn & Fiber.

Today

J & i had a great time at persimmons yesterday. Anytime you can spend away from the desk...enjoying fresh air, some vitamin e-rays, and a few bloody mary's is time well-spent! Today however was not too bad either. Heard good news from two of my clients, and enjoyed some decent grub in diversity city. This day flew!

Go Steelers!

Where has all the time gone! It seemed like only yesterday my STEELERS won the Superbowl. Their first opening game of the season is tonight.....against the Miami Dolphins! After living in South florida for a little over a decade, i could never get used to accepting the dolphins as my hometown team. Instead, i have chosen a steel town that punts out coaches and skilled quarterbacks over the course of NFL history as my team to root for. With Ben out for a bursted apendicitis, i'm not sure how tonight's game will go. Dolphins went out and recruited one of the top 5 quarter backs in the league: Dante Culpepper. It will be a tough game driving down the field as both teams have a powerhouse defense. Every inch and yard down the long stretch will be fought hard! Getting ready to hit the road and find the nearest pub to root for the Steelers tonight. I am confident the Superbowl CHAMPIONS will win tonight, even without Big Ben.
Here We Go Steelers.....Here We Go!!! Here We Go Steelers.....Here We Go!!!!!

Snicker-doodle-doo!!

Recipe

A friend surprised me today with one of her favorite cookies, now mine too......a snicker-doodle from the Wednesday Market! As a tribute to this delicious cookie i have included the recipe:

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter, 1 1/2 c. sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 2 eggs, 1/4 c. milk, 3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 c. pecans finely chopped.
For the coating: 5 tbsps. sugar, & 2 tbsps. ground cinnamon.

Step 1: With an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and continue until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, then the milk.
Step 2: Sift the flour and baking soda over the butter mixture and stir to blend. Stir in the pecans. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease two baking sheets.
Step 3: To make the coating, mix the sugar & cinnamon. Roll tablespoonfuls of the dough into walnut-size balls. Roll the balls in the sugar mixture. You may need to work in batches.
Step 4: Place the balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and flatten slightly. Bake for about 10 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Recipe makes 30
Step 5: Bag the cookies and bring to the office to share with everyone!

The Day After...

It was a quiet day at the office. Good day for catching up and spending quality time on the more mundane stuff that i tend to put aside and procrastinate. It was C.'s first day at work today and he spent most of the morning meeting everyone up in Vancouver. His office is going to the driving range to hit a couple of golf balls early in the am and so C. is going to drop me off at the station tomorrow. I think i will go somewhere nice for breakfast, maybe find a place downtown that serves great pancakes or even crepes to kill some time before getting to work. I'm looking out at the fabulous view from my balcony right now with the sunsetting as I write this. C. is out running and we are staying in for dinner for a change. Bear and Lucky seemed a little hyper when we came home tonight. I think they are used to c. being home at least part of the day with them. S- i hope cosmo feels better, give him a hug for me!

Good wine & Spirits!- The Pearl / Oregon City

Had a relaxing weekend with the family. Saturday-Uncle John & Aunt Norma came downtown for the weekend and we all took the streetcar over to the Pearl for dinner at Oba's. Yes, i did go to Oba's earlier this week for drinks, but wanted to taste the food. Thought it would be nice to celebrate a nice birthday treat for my aunt who turned 79 and looks fabulous. I knew they were going to enjoy one of the selections on the menu, and in fact had predicted correctly that my aunt and uncle would both order the certified angus prime rib that was smoked on the mesquite rotisserie, then roasted under rock salt with chipotle horseradish cream & poblano mashed potatoes. i had delicious dungeness crabcakes with habanero aioli, buttermilk-jicama slaw and warm red potato salad. C. had halibut with sauteed belgian endives. A nice bottle of Willamette Wine Valley Pinot Grigio along with a few cocktails paired very nicely with this evening's festivities. C. & i love to go out and eat, but i have to admit...if i keep eating like this, i will seriously go broke. It's not everyday however that i get to treat my aunt & uncle who will be leaving next month to spend the next 7 months in Arizona where the weather will be warmer for them. On Sunday, C. & i are heading to Oregon City (near the berry picking farm that we went to a few months back) to see Kathy, Dan, and the rest of the family. K. made a fantastic Pork Loin grilled to perfection with a honey mustard glaze made from the drippings of the roasted loin. I made a summer salad that had fresh sweet corn, artichoke hearts, sweet tomatoes, red bell peppers, walla walla onion, topped with dried caesar infused snow peas. We had an assortment of goodies at the family picnic and a lot of good wine, some french bordeaux, an oregon based cabernet, some delicious german riesling, among others. This is what real living is all about....good food, wine & spirits, and most of all, good comic relief from members of my extended family here in the pacific NW!

Hong Kong

High in the sky-beijing

Looking forward to a wonderful holiday weekend. A great way to start out was today when i found out that c. formally accepted an offer at hdj engineering, planning, & architecture firm. One of the partners already invited him to go golfing with the rest of the office on the 14th! Then the next great news was that our realtor in Florida called and told us that someone was seriously interested in buying our house and made an offer! Sometimes i think the big guy above is watching out over us! So thank you!!!! I do however miss my house, it was our first home together, and i have great memories of each room, especially the one year we had a big halloween costume party, and also a very nice intimate New Year's Eve Dinner with close friends. I even remember making an extravagant feast and creating a festive menu for those friends. A lot of my creations come from ideas from either Gourmet magazine or Bon Apetit, a favorite of mine. Right now being in a small apartment with a tiny kitchen has not inspired me to cook, but when c. & i find the next "perfect" home, i think i will go back to doing what i like to do...entertaining friends and sharing some good wine, food, and laughter. In the meantime, i hope all my friends and family have a wonderful and relaxing labor day weekend. I'm so glad that n. is happy and looking forward to her mom's visit, that s. has a beautiful new do and that she enjoys her day boating with a few of the gang from the office, and that j. has a really fun time with momma kat and her best friend b., and as for me...i'm going to enjoy seeing my aunt, uncle, and cousins this weekend.