What the Pho

A dining trend that's all over the place now is pho restaurants. Otherwise known as Vietnamese noodle soup. I have heard the word pho pronounced several ways; "fa" "fo" "fuh" and "fu". I really don't know which is correct.

I did not grow up in a town that had any Vietnamese noodle shops, nor do I come from a family where exotic new meals are the norm. Almond fried chicken was about as adventurous as we got. So for many years I was reluctant to try pho.

Here's what I discovered: Pho is just noodle soup. Yummy noodle soup.

I even take the kids to my favorite pho shop, Pho Duc in Lynnwood. You can get a big bowl of noodles and veggies for only $6.

OK, Colin isn't the biggest fan, he orders meat skewers and rice instead of soup. But Lucy is happy to slurp up a bowl of noodles. It's the perfect lunch on a cold winter's day.






Now if I could only get the kids to eat at a Greek restaurant......

What I am Thankful for

My family:

My parents, brother, and Granny all live far away, so we don't see each other as often as we'd like. One of these years we'll spend this holiday together again. Until then, I am very thankful to have such a family that loves me, makes me laugh, and is always there when I need them.

Here on the home front, this past year marked ten big ones for our marriage. Not too shabby a record these days. And of course, every day I'm thankful for my two beautiful, smart and hilarious children.

During ten years of marriage, my husband's family have morphed from just my in-laws into my own family. This doesn't always happen with in-law relationships. You can't get much luckier than having two families. Also you have to be pretty thankful when none of your in-laws are freaks, meddlers, mooches, racists, or nudists.

My friends, old and new:

I don't know what I'd do without you. In a year when I needed friends more than ever before, so many of you were there. I can't tell you how grateful I am.

My best friend, gone but never forgotten:

It's almost been a year now, and I miss her with my whole heart every day. But I am so very thankful to have had her in my life.

Modern technology:

How did we ever live without the convenience of instant Internet access? How did I commute before the magic of the One Bus Away app? It's so nice to not be a caveman any longer.

Harry Potter:

I voraciously read all the books as they came out. When the first movie was in theatres, I was pregnant with Colin. How great is it that something I've loved for all these years is something my son loves right along with me today? He was my date last week for the opening night of the latest movie. Awesome!

Macys:

Where else can I find cute clearance rack clothes, Fiestaware, Hello Kitty items and use $10 off your $25 purchase coupons?! If you hit the sale racks at the right time, they practically give stuff away there! I may have to make a Black Friday hit there tomorrow morning.

What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just like the Pilgrims

Thanksgiving Menu:

Huge turkey (stuffed with veggies while cooking - it makes the meat moister
Mashed potatoes with tons of roasted garlic

Gravy made from turkey drippings

Cranberry-orange relish (not something I eat but you gotta get it for guests)

Broccoli Parmesan casserole

Relish tray (aka veggies and dip)

Stuffing muffins (courtesy of Rebecca)

Brussel sprouts with fried capers (courtesy of Calina)

Fresh dinner rolls from Top Foods (the best bread bakery)

Hor d'ourves tray - kalamata olives, brie, pub cheese and crackers

Pumpkin pie (or possibly pumpkin cheesecake also courtesy of Calina)

Oats 'n Honey pie (If you sub a good, flaky homemade crust: best pie ever. Recipe here.)

Real whipped cream

A fine selection of red and white wines

A fine selection of microbrews

Festive Holiday Midori martinis

I like to get as much as I can prepped the day before or in the early morning on Thanksgiving Day. Tradition tells me that I'll spend most of the afternoon talking loudly while having several cocktails, only to end up hurriedly peeling 100 potatoes with fumbling fingers because I realized the turkey is ALMOST DONE ALREADY!

Another important prep job is to make sure your house is really, really clean. It's very important that your dinner guests think that a drunken turkey chef lives in a spotless paradise the other 364 days of the year. Why yes, we do always have clean towels in the front bathroom. Of course the kids' bedrooms always look like this, they are very conscientious that way-for young kids, it's really something.

But all the hard work and multiple trips to various grocery stores is always worth it. I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Tied with Christmas. And Halloween. And the 4th of July.

I fought the law and the law won

Lynnwood is notorious for pioneering the local red light camera invasion. City councils can't wait to hop on the bandwagon, so many other Seattle areas are starting to add cameras in their cities.

It's really easy for a city to justify these cameras by saying safety will improve. The old "won't someone please think of the children" argument.

There isn't one credible study out there that shows these cameras improve safety at all. In fact, some intersections can show an increase of incidents due to drivers slamming on their brakes at yellow lights.

I think the whole thing is a money grab. A way to turn ordinary citizens into criminals. And more importantly a way to inflate a city's budget. Red light cameras bring in millions of dollars to Lynnwood's coffers every year. Money that can be used to remodel an already perfectly good rec center, or put multiple traffic devices into the same location for no apparent good reason.

I was never thrilled with the idea of big brother on all the local intersections here, but I didn't really expect it to impact me, since for the most part I'm a safe, boring driver that doesn't speed or hot dog it through the lights.

Until I got a ticket in the mail. I wasn't even aware that this light had turned red so fast (yellow lights have been reduced in time to maximize tickets issued). So, at the time of this event, I had no idea I'd run the light. But the camera says I did.



$124??!! Really? Does that sound reasonable?

I immediately appealed my ticket and wrote an imploring paragraph citing the intersection's poor signage, my unfamiliarity with the area, and my 20 year impeccable driving record.

This didn't get my ticket dismissed, but it did get it reduced to $65. Part of me wants to fight further, but the other part just wants to give up. I decided to send my check in and make creative use of the memo line as a happy compromise.




I can't understand the sheep mentality of not caring that government operated cameras are recording your every move (what's next, cameras in our cars, offices, or homes?) for the "greater good". But lots of people are of the opinion that red light cameras are just dandy. The argument is always "you won't get a ticket if you drive safe and don't run lights. Nyah".

Well I hope anyone that feels that way gets caught unaware by one of these damn things like I did. Maybe if enough people protest these blatant revenue generators, they will go away.

But I doubt it.

Mania comes in many forms

I've been getting into gear for the holiday season.

Thanksgiving is fairly simple. You plan your meal, make grocery lists and fight 10,000 irritating people at the grocery store to buy everything.

Christmas is more complicated. Gifts to buy and wrap, multiple boxes to pack and mail all over the country, decorations to haul out of storage and cookies to bake.

I'm kind of nuts, and I already have most of my Christmas shopping done. I only have a few odds and ends to pick up. As I was going over all the items in all my hiding spots, I realized that I have already bought more for the kids than I was intending. Which I seem to do every year.

Last year, Colin received a huge building set called Marble Mania. It has about 500 pieces to it. Several attempts were made to build it, but it never got past the first stage and it's been languishing in his closet ever since.

So why am I buying more crap for a kid that hasn't even fully played with his crap from last year?

That just seemed wrong, and over the weekend I vowed that we would build Marble Mania and justify all the new purchases I already made.

A small section of the 500+ pieces


Three hours later, we are done with phase 1. Did I mention the instruction book was 67 pages?


After several more hours the next day, we finally finish. It's pretty cool.


Now if I can just fully assemble the complicated T-Rex skeleton from two years ago, my gift giving conscience will be totally clear...

There's a Pox upon my House

Well, maybe not a pox, but definitely a plague.

My chest cold morphed into bronchitis. In fact, it was so bad that over the weekend I had to get blood work and x-rays done because my doctor was worried it might be pneumonia. But luckily, it was just bad bronchitis. I went home with my giant horse pills and my codeine cough syrup.

Today I stayed home from work to "rest". I noticed Lucy had a little bit of a fever, so I gave her some chewable Tylenol. She didn't eat her breakfast, but did drink a big glass of milk. 20 minutes later, she throws up the milk all over herself, me. and the couch.

She felt better afterwards, but I had to clean us up and change our clothes, clean the carpet and do a load of laundry.

A little bit later while zoning on the couch, I reached over and felt her forehead; she was BURNING up. I took her temp with my nifty new instant ear thermometer. 103 degrees!

I immediately took her into the walk-in clinic. We got checked in and the doctor looked her over. He did a flu test (negative) and decided that she probably had what I had and he would put her on antibiotics, too. Lucy's fever was so high that they gave her some more liquid Tylenol while we were waiting for the flu test results. Two minutes after, she threw up again, all over herself, me and the floor of the clinic.

The doctor added a prescription of anti-nauseates after that.

You can tell Lucy is sick in this photo because she is sitting still.

A little later at home, Colin got back from school. He wasn't looking so hot. He also had a fever and a sore throat. Plus a little rash on his chest.

This time Mike took him to the walk-in clinic while I stayed home and cleaned up the second round of barf off of me and Lucy.

Of course, Colin turns out to have strep throat.

And now both kids are wrapped up on the couch with Popsicles and a movie. They will be staying home from school tomorrow.

I will be going back to work. Maybe I can get some rest there.

Beware: being sick marks you as a potential criminal

Anyone that's talked to me this week knows I'm fighting a big old chest infection. Nothing gives your voice that raspy three-pack-a-day quality like a good bout of bronchitis.

Along with the chest congestion, I have sinus pain and pressure. So, today I stopped at Target to buy a few over the counter cold meds.

When I was a kid, I used to love Vicks Formula 44 cough syrup. It tasted like black licorice. I don't think they make this same cough syrup anymore because Vicks is now cherry flavored. I haven't seen the old school Vicks in years. I just did a google search for "the old Vicks Formula 44" and came up with a medical journal article called "Psychosis with Vicks Formula 44". Maybe that's why they don't make it anymore. The article was actually pretty interesting, check it out here.

At Target I got good old Nyquil plus some Sudafed. And as required in Washington state, you have to take a picture card of the Sudafed to the pharmacy counter and buy it directly from the pharmacist after they scan your driver's licence. You have just been flagged as a potential methamphetamine cooker!

That's been true for years here, so it was no surprise. I paid for the Sudafed at the pharmacy counter and took my other purchases to the main register. What did surprise me was that at the front register they scanned my licence again for buying the Nyquil. I asked why that was, and the cashier wasn't certain, but the computer in the cash register automatically requires it when anyone purchases it.

I don't think you can make meth with Nyquil, although I confess I'm no expert on the subject. So I'm not sure why Target is scanning people who buy this. But now I'm probably on two different potential criminal lists!

Big Brother is watching. I hope no one else in the family gets sick. We'll be rounded up by the gestapo....