The Ol' One-Two Punch

Me: This cake looks like crap
Nick: No, it looks good!
Me: No, seriously. See the white fondant trim, it has smudges all over it from the black frosting.
Nick: Well, I think it's fine.
Me: I know, but I just wanted it to be really clean.
Nick: Honey, you are an amazing baker, but if there's one thing you're NOT, it's clean.

This morning I woke up and there were black frosting spots all over the sheets which came from somewhere on my body.

The Kids

I just finished watering our little deck garden, and thought it might be time to give you all a progress report.

Bell Pepper! There's one smaller guy coming in, and multiple blossoms, so possibly more to come:


Next up is the basil. Now, there were some basil issues in the beginning. I bought a basil plant and moved it to the planter box, and it died. The end. Kidding! I went back and bought two more, and left them in the pots. The potted basil is doing really well. I have the pots sitting on top of the dirt in the planter box, and it seems that the watering of the potted basil is doing wonders for the dead basil:


Finally: Tomatoes!: Alright. Not actually a baby. Right. This is two plants. I've heard about and seen some pretty bad tomato plant stories this year. If you're having issues, I highly recommend getting an earth box next year. I want to get several next year so I can plant everything in them. These things are literally the shit and my friend Don is the shit for giving me one as an early birthday gift! As a result, I have 14 (!!!) babies that I can see. I'm anxious to see how many there actually are, once they are red and I can see them in the midst of all the leaves!

Weekend Recap: To Be Continued

Last Thursday Nick went in for a follow up appointment with a colon specialist who performed a really gnarly procedure called "coring". They cut out the entire area in order to avoid further infection, leaving Nick with a 2 inch gaping hole right below his tailbone! I'll spare you all the gory details, but know this: Stuffing gauze into your loved one's ass twice a day is VERY UNPLEASANT. VERY.

Doing much better, and things are healing quickly, though Nick is still quite uncomfortable. I'm doing my best to alleviate some of the discomfort, but there's only so much you can do in this situation!

On a positive note, I'm getting really good with the latex gloves, gauze and saline solution!

Weekend Recap, On Time Edition

We've had quite the weekend! Most of you may remember that really lame hospital visit I had last year due to a VERY LARGE abscess on my backside? Apparently Nick felt like celebrating the anniversary of that event by going through the exact same thing!

Nick has been unable to sit comfortably since last Wednesday. He went in to see his doctor on Thursday, and was given a prescription for antibiotics. By Saturday night, the swelling had kicked in, and he was pretty much stuck with laying on his stomach. Add in a 102* fever, and you end up with serious discomfort. So, yesterday we went to the emergency room where we sat for 3 1/2 hours before finally being shown a room. They shot him full of antibiotics and pain killers, then drained the infection and sent him home with more pain killers and a bunch of gauze.

We're now home and doing much better. Nick is still pretty uncomfortable, but he's able to sit up for short periods, and his whimpering has subsided a bit. I took the day off work so I could take care of him -- he's a pretty good patient as long as you keep the toast with jam and fruit cups coming.

Missing You...

Weekend Reviews seemed like such a great idea. Then summer showed up.

I realized this week that I have 3 weekends worth of catching up to do! This is certainly not due to lack of interesting adventures, I assure you! I'm going to do my best to recap everything while giving my weekends the post that they deserve....

June 21st and 22nd:

This was actually a four day weekend with the girls! One of my girlfriends is having a four day bachelorette weekend in SONOMA. 8 girls drove down Thursday night, arriving at the MANSION that we rented for the weekend on Friday afternoon. Saturday we rented a limo bus for a wine tour in Napa. Sunday a smaller group of us drove into Sonoma to do more wine tastings, while the rest of the group lounged pool-side. Monday we drove back, arriving in Seattle around 3am Tuesday morning.

Okay, now that the recap is finished, let's get down to the details!

Mansion. Right. 7 bathrooms. 10 bedrooms. Pool. 3 kitchens. Columns. Fountains. Statues. Think southern plantation house, complete with wicker furniture on the front porch.

Saturday's wine tour included The Hess Collection, Franciscan, St Clements. Lots of lovely wines. I brought home 9 bottles total, 2 of which were amazing ports. Sunday in Sonoma we hit tasting rooms, which featured wines from all over the world. In that environment we were able to have the undivided attention of the somolier, and we were able to pick and choose what wines we wanted to try, rather than sticking to a tasting menu. One of the tasting rooms had a cheese shop across the courtyard, so we were able to incorporate a cheese tasting with our wines. We simply let them pick a selection of cheeses for us, and they brought them over to the tasting room. I brought home an amazing truffle cheese, which is actually infused with truffle oil and about the consistency of brie. Earthy and delicious - just like my preference for Scotch.

The drive home was frustrating and amusing and exhausting. Imagine getting a group of girls together for four days, when no one has met before. Estrogen at it's finest by day four. Luckily, by the time the wedding came around everyone was well rested and back to being friends. ;>

June 28 and 29:

Kim Time. Nick was gone for the weekend, so I had the house to myself. I had a very restful weekend for the most part. I had received an order for a bridal shower this weekend, which included 3 dozen chocolate truffles. This also happened to be the weekend that summer finally kicked in, and it was 85 degrees in my kitchen, which is NOT temperature controlled. There was lots of back and forth between the table and the refrigerator. I nearly cried on several occasions, but everything turned out beautifully, and my customer had rave reviews after her party.


July 4-6:

Another long weekend! Nick and I had several invites for the 4th, and were having a bit of a time deciding who to grace our presence with. On the 3rd, we both had decided that we wanted something more low-key, and we had just received yet another invite to spend the 4th with our friend at his parents' house. It was exactly what we wanted. Lots of good food and conversation. I even scored several great recipes from our friend's mom, as well as a tentative date to show her how to make tamales from scratch.

On the 5th, Nick and I had a wedding to go to. This was actually one of my really good friends from highschool marrying the girl who's bachelorette weekend I had just attended. They went all out, holding the wedding at the Salish Lodge at Snoqualmie Falls. In the invitation, they asked all guests to wear black and white, and the decor at the wedding consisted of white fabric lining the ceiling, canopy style, with red chinese lanterns hanging. It was beautiful. At dinner, Nick and I were seated at "the highschool table", so I had a little reunion with all my old friends. Rather amusing to see some of my old friends get plastered on red wine after all these years! Also rather strange to look around the table and see old friends who are now parents, some of which currently expecting a new little one!

Nick and I opted to stay at the lodge for the night. Because, well, who wants to drive home when there's no end in sight to the wine and dancing??? The next morning I woke up and realized Nick wasn't next to me. I sat up, wondering where he was, and realized he was just on the other side of the bed! Made me wish my bedroom were large enough to upgrade my bed!

Mama Always Said

Yesterday my boss typed up a draft of an email to send out to everyone. Before sending it, he asked me to "make it flowery", and proceeded to tell me that he thinks writing is one of my biggest strengths, and he intends to take advantage.

That same day I sent him an email of frustration about our current insurance benefits. He liked it so well that he forwarded it to the president of the company that administers our plan.

I love putting together a letter, then creating several drafts until the words are just right. I always thought I was a pretty good writer --- Even better that my boss feels the same way!