November 9, 2009

This blog needs a complete overhaul....

And it will be getting one in the beginning of next year. In the meantime, enjoy the great giveaway going on over at 5M4M!

May 7, 2009

Well, I've been swamped and sleeping very little - this topic has obviously met the backburner in the meantime. But if you are suffering from boredom while you wait for an update, head on over to 5 Minutes for Mom and check out their truly amazing Mother's day Giveaway!

Mothers Day 2009

March 20, 2009

Good news, bad news....

Well, first the bad news. After attempting twice to contact purango at the email left in the winning post, I have not heard back. According to the posted giveaway rules, the winner was given 48 hours to respond. I was feeling generous so I gave him an extra day, but nada.

Onto the good news! On the second go-round, the RNG picked 126, which correlated to this comment:

Blogger Mommykat007 said...

I love coffee! I don't have an espresso coffee maker, so the Drip beans would be perfect for me! Thanks for the chance!


Congrats, Mommykat007! Check your email and respond within 48 hours to claim your prize!

March 17, 2009

And the winner is...

After removing non-conforming entries (there were only four, you all did great!), Rng annonced number 116 as the winner.

purango said...

I prefer drip beans (Vita).


Big congrats to purango! Check your AOL email, I've sent you a message.


To everyone else - don't despair! We will have another giveaway for our next topic - now we just have to get to the next topic! And on that front, here are a few more questions about Seattle for you...


10. What about people who live in Seattle?

What about them?


11. You know what I mean. When they aren't taking their visiting friends exciting places, what kind of things might you find them doing?

Well, I suppose we do whatever the rest of humanity does as far as generalities go, so I'll assume you mean recreational activities. Do you want to hear about rainy-day activities first?


12. Sure, hit me with some of those.

We are big readers in Seattle. We have been voted the nation's most literate city in the past, and we are currently tied with Minneapolis, our arch rival for the title. Seattle Public libraries saw approximately 13 million visitors in 2008. We have a number of good venues in which to hear visiting authors speak about their works. We have an okay art museum, a great Asian art museum, a wonderful Science Center, and the Seattle Museum of Mysteries. There are enough restaurants and bars to keep anyone full and drunk, if that's your rainy-day thing. Also, rainy days are some of the best days at our local waterfront parks - the weather is brisk, intense, and beautiful, especially when viewed from the shore.


The anticipation builds....

Okay, Dear Reader, the big day has arrived. I am about to eliminate the handful of entries that did not follow my two rules (you know, what kind of coffee you wanted, and making sure I can contact you via email), and then I'll head on over to the Big Ol' Random Number Generator to find our winner. Keep an eye on your email - and good luck!

March 9, 2009

And on we go...

6. Where do you like to take your friends that come to visit?

I love taking out-of-towners to our wonderful natural areas - In the past, these places have included Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, the Olympic National Forest (and temperate rainforest), and the Alpine Lakes wilderness area, to name a few.

7. Where else?

I also love day/overnight trips to places accessible by ferry, as that is such a well-known local form of transportation around these parts. This could include places like the San Juan Islands (I particularly love Orcas Island), a great place to visit that is brimming with historical oddities such as the site of the Pig War, as well as tremendous food. Or perhaps we would venture to the lavender fields of Vashon Island. We might take a trip to the peninsula and have a short hike, ending at Cape Flattery, the most northwestern point in the lower U.S.

8. None of those places are in Seattle.

That's not a question, but you're right.

9. Don't you like to go places in Seattle?

Sure I do. I also take tourists to any of the regular tourist spots they might want to see (you know, the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, Bruce Lee's grave...), as well as some they don't know about, like the Fremont Troll, the Washington Park Arboretum, and the country's best coffee. If they're staying long enough or are here at just the right time, we might hit a First Thursday Artwalk, go to Bumbershoot, or catch a movie and a drink at The Big Picture.

I just think if you're in Western Washington, you owe it to yourself to get out to some of the best parts of this beautiful country - the best parts of Washington are away from the city, as great as she is.

March 2, 2009

You will have to excuse me for my extended absence, Dear Reader. A bout of the plague has befallen my family, and it is only out of responsibility to you that I have managed to pull myself from my deathbed.

5. Wow, Seattle sounds amazing - close to perfect, actually. Is there anything you don't like about it?

As much as it pains me to pile anything other than praise upon my beloved city, I will admit that there are many things I don't like about Seattle.

Let's start with the traffic. Between all the water (and ensuing bridges) and the roads in desperate need of repair and/or upgrade, it should come as no surprise that traffic can be a real boondoggle around these parts. The length of what should be a short commute can be extended to hours by the smallest of bridge accidents.

I don't like earthquakes. I know, I know, I can hear you asking, Dear Reader, "who does?". Unfortunately they are a fact of life around here - they don't happen all the time, but you know there is always another right around the corner.

I don't like how fake friendly native Seattlites can be. This is a city where no tourist will ever have trouble finding their way around. When a tourist in Seattle stands on a corner with a map looking confused, they won't even have to ask for directions - someone will come up and ask if they need help. But if you find yourself in from out of town and decide to go to a local bar, you will find us stand-offish. If you sit at the bar and try to strike up a conversation with the person next to you, 9 times out of 10 they will be polite, but look at you as though you are kind of strange for talking to them. Rarely will someone start talking to you. For a relatively big city, Seattle holds onto its feeling of a small town, but without all the real friendlyness.

I don't like how long it takes us to decide on anything infrastructure or government-related. We can vote on an issue 3 times and still not know what we're doing. Everything requires years of discussion, resulting in very little action.

I don't like the rift between Western and Eastern Washington.


More in the next few days, Dear Reader. 37 Questions will be moving on to a new topic in the next few weeks, so we'll be moving through the rest of Seattle and Western Washington rather quickly. If you have any last questions about Seattle, please leave a comment on this post. We will do our best to address them before topic change!

February 23, 2009

37 Questions about Seattle, Part 3

Welcome back, Dear Reader! Let us continue...


4. What are your favorite things about living in Seattle?


My favorite things about Seattle include both the tangible and the intangible.

For starters, I love living in a beautiful city situated in a beautiful locale. When I drive through town I am always amazed: at the beauty of Mt. Rainier standing watch over the city; by the craggy splendor of the Olympics and the dominating curves and peaks of the Cascades; by the ever-present water that is such a part of our psyche here in the Great Pacific Northwest.

I love the way we are surrounded by trees and green, that we can feel the beat of nature below the rush of the city. I love that I can jump on a ferry and be in a rainforest in less than half a day. And that I can jump in my car and be hiking in the Cascade foothills a mere 40 minutes later. Sick of 75 degrees and sunny on this side of the mountains? A quick trip across one of our passes and you can be on the eastern side of the Cascades in about 2 hours, enjoying 90 degree weather and world-class hiking and recreating.

I love that Seattle has great food, particularly our ethnic food. Not just located in one District, Seattle's neighborhoods are filled with a plethora of choices for the adventurous foodie. We have particularly wonderful Thai and Vietnamese restaurants, as well as being a mere hour's drive from the Herbfarm, recently rated the #1 destination restaurant in the world by National Geographic.

We also have a number of local small and or organic farms that are represented in our wonderful CSAs and farmers market, producing everything from veggies to fruit, meat, dairy and wonderful cheeses, mushrooms and honey.

I love that we have such a rich cultural scene, from our amazing up-and-coming hip-hop artists, to the art world that supports local artists from every bent, to the theater (we have 28 equity theaters here, and Broadway-bound premieres at the 5th Avenue), film, opera, and symphonic music scenes. We also have amazing festivals - Bumbershoot is known around the country, but we also have many, many smaller fairs and festivals that could keep you busy all summer long.

I love the summers here and how happy they make people.

I love the fall and the winter, that can be so very melancholy and beautiful.

I love the intensity of the area and the people who call it home.

I love that it is such a small town for being such a big city!

February 19, 2009

Hello, Dear Reader!

I need to make a clarification regarding our current giveaway. I'm afraid I did not make myself clear yesterday when describing the beans. Both the Vita and the Dolce are an Espresso roast, and both make delicious drip coffee. If you prefer straight shots, Vivace recommends Dolce. Vita is what they use for their shots poured into lattes and cappuccinos.

At our house we like to get one bag of each and blend them for our drip. But here are the descriptions of the beans, so you can pick the one that's right for you!

"Espresso Vita
Blended to feature a very heavy body, especially suited for Caffe Latte and Cappuccino. The blend is dominated by a rich note of caramel. It is our "house blend" we serve at Espresso Vivace.

Espresso Dolce
Created around the ideal of balance. A light and playful coffee with a sweet finish, Dolce is best enjoyed as pure espresso, and will offer the coffee gourmand pleasant surprises as different flavors compete for the palate. Espresso Dolce is also available as a green blend for roasting at home or in your shop.
"

For a more in-depth description please check out the Espresso Vivace coffee blends link.

Already entered and want to change your mind? If you are the winner you can change your pick, easy peasy.


February 18, 2009

37 Questions About Seattle continues...

Let's continue, shall we?

2. So, it doesn't rain all the time in Seattle. Does that mean the other things I've heard about Seattle aren't true either?

Well, I'm not really sure. What have you heard?


3. Well, people always say how good coffee is in Seattle. Is that a myth?

No, Dear Reader, that is 100% true. Seattle has some AMAZING coffee.

But I'm sure by now you know I'm not going to talk to you about the big SB. I'm not going to talk to you about Seattle's Best Coffee. Heck, I'm not even going to talk about Tully's.

I'm going to talk to you about the coffee the local coffee snobs drink. A coffee so good, they only have three locations, yet maintain a loyal following around the world. Their training materials on brewing and pouring the perfect latte are used worldwide. They have raised American coffee to an international art.


And yet, if you aren't in Seattle, you may have never heard of them. That, Dear Reader, is a shame. Allow me to introduce you to Espresso Vivace. I always stop in for a mocha when I'm in the neighborhood, and we usually buy their beans for home use. I wish every one of you could give it a try.


While I can't send every one of you a bag of coffee, I have decided to sponsor our first giveaway here at 37 Questions About One Thing by sending a very lucky reader one half-pound bag of delicious Vivace whole-bean coffee. All you have to do to get your name in the hat is:

* Be 18 or older and a resident of the U.S. or Canada
* Leave a comment on this post telling me if you would prefer drip beans (Vita) or espresso beans (Dolce)
* If you want an extra entry, become a follower and leave me another comment letting me know you did so (current followers always get an extra entry - just leave a comment so I know you want in!)
* If you're a real coffee aficionado and want yet another entry, blog about this contest and leave me a link in yet another comment.
* Each entry requires its own comment.
* You can enter until March 16th, 2009. On March 17th, I will draw one name via random number generator - the winner will have 48 hours after I email them to respond, after that a new winner will be drawn.

* If your blogger account is set to private and you don't leave an email in your comment, I will not be able to contact you to tell you how lucky you are! Please make sure I have a way to contact you so you don't miss out.

Good luck, Dear Reader. I hope you win!

February 14, 2009

Here it comes, Dear Reader - our next topic. Fasten your seatbelts and hold onto your lattes, 37 Questions About Seattle starts right now!


1. Does it rain all the time in Seattle? I hear it's the rainiest city in the United States. Are you ready for it, Dear Reader? The revelation of all revelations, the secret Seattlites DO NOT want you to know?




























Are you sure?













I'm telling you, Dear Reader, this is big. Really big. Knock-off-your-cashmere-socks big. If you need to get a snack or use the restroom, now's the time. I'll wait.








Okay, here we go.



No, it does NOT rain all the time in Seattle. Seattle does not have the record for city rainfall. That dubious distinction belongs, surprisingly, to Mobile, Alabama. Shocked? Get this - Seattle is not in the top ten. It's not in the top 20. It's not even in the top 40 rainiest cities in the U.S.

It's the 41st.


As I know you are a clever one, Dear Reader, I know you are thinking, "Well, Seattle must have MORE days of significant rain, and be the rainiest city THAT way".

It truly breaks my heart to tell you this, but you are wrong. Not even in the top three. We rank #5 on the list of most days of 0.25"+ rainfall.

It's not your fault! Don't blame yourself. This is a myth perpetrated by Seattlites to keep more people from moving here. We happily nod our heads and agree when you ask if it rains a lot here, although you may here the qualifier "Nowhere is more beautiful than Seattle in the summertime". This is true, and summer is tourist season. We want and need you to come and visit. We just don't want you to stay.

So we tell you stories about how lucky you are to have come now, how just last week, Dear Reader, it rained nearly every day and you sure don't want to be here during winter - you know, September to mid-June?

We are selfish. We want to keep it to ourselves. Native Seattlites like myself are the worst of the bunch, but transplants do it too. They come, they stay, and they get drunk on the sweet, sweet liquor that is Washington in any season. We are so lucky to live in one of the most beautiful areas of the world, and although it has many gray days and the occasional earthquake, we are more than repaid in the trees, water, and mountains that surround us.

That's our dirty secret, Dear Reader. Please stay tuned for 36 more questions about Seattle. If you don't hear from me soon, it's likely an ardent keeper-of-the-secret has found me and made off with me, to take out in flesh the punishment I deserve for revealing the truth to you. Please know, I did it all for you. Every last one of you. You deserved to know the truth.

February 13, 2009

The biggest rumor-buster about Seattle...

....will be revealed tomorrow. We will only cover the first question on our new topic, but trust me, Dear Reader, when I tell you it is a closely-held secret among Seattlites that will not fail to astound and amaze you!


Unless, of course, you are a fellow Seattlite, in which case you already know the secret. Fun, isn't it?

February 12, 2009

Our Next Topic

I'm pleased to announce that our next topic will be Seattle and Western Washington. If you have any questions that you're dying to know about this area of the PNW, Dear Reader, I'd love to include them. Please leave a comment, and I'll be sure to address your questions during our coverage of this topic.

February 10, 2009

37 Questions About your Hostess, Part II

Welcome back, Dear Reader! Shall we continue?

16. What is your favorite book? I really hate questions like this. I can't pick a favorite book. I have so many I've loved over the years - A Wrinkle in Time, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr. Kassler, JSPS, Ecotopia, the list could go on and on. When books are so different, who can pick a favorite? What does it tell you about someone, anyway?

17. What's your favorite movie? See previous answer - who could pick one when there have been so many fabulous movies throughout the years?

18. Okay, how about favorite music? Ugh, here we go again. Did you not hear me say I hate questions like this?

19. How about your favorite TV show? Oh, that's easy. LOST, no doubt. I miss Six Feet Under, though. I also love Jon Stewart and Adult Swim cartoons. Damn! This question is just like the other ones.

20. Do you have any pets? I have one old cat and 7 fish.

21. Cook or Bake? That's a tough one. I love to bake, and have been a baker for a long time. Recently, however, my interest has turned to cooking. Perhaps it's all the great food blogs I stalk, but my inner Julia is screaming to be set free.

22. Are you done having kids? Well, never say never....Oh, I'll say it, I'm never having any more kids! At least that I grow. If we become independently wealthy I wouldn't mind adopting another kid or two, but barring that eventuality, we're done.

23. What are your twins names? Molly and Desmond.

24. Oh, like in that Beatles song, what was it? Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da?

25. That's the one. You must be a pretty big Beatles fan. Yes, I am. But oddly enough, we didn't even realize what we were doing when we named them. We had picked out the name Molly almost right away, but our son's name took longer. We decided on Desmond after an extremely exciting episode of LOST.

26. Does it creep you out that in the Beatles song, Molly and Desmond get married? It will only creep me out if my KIDS get married to each other, so, not yet.

27. Do you like grunge? I used to, back in the day.

28. What about coffee? I love coffee, where are we going with this line of questioning?

29. How about the rain? Ah, now I see. You think all Seattlites like grunge, coffee, and the rain?

Actually, I do like the rain.

30. Does it rain all the time in Seattle? See, that question is not even about me. Watch 37 Questions in the coming weeks for 37 Questions About Seattle for the answer to that question and more!

31. What did you have for dinner last night?
A sirloin tip roast, roasted garlic potatoes, and asparagus. Yum!

32. Can I come over for dinner tonight? Only if you're cooking. If so, you are welcome anytime.

In fact, if you want to clean my bathroom, you can even come over this afternoon!

33. Are you working on a sewing project right now? I'm currently making a fleece zip-up romper for a soon-to-be-born baby. He won't be able to complain about how ugly it is, which is a plus.

34. Do you like cheese? Why, don't you? If the answer is no, this interview is over. In fact, as long as we're on the subject, what are your feelings about bacon? I probably should have asked you before I agreed to this interview.

35. I like bacon. What are your feelings about Tom Bergeron? I'm concerned that he is a cyborg sent to take over the minds of the American people, one show at a time.

36. What's the biggest prize you've ever won? I'm assuming you mean besides my family and friends (who I won in a game of pool)? A trip to South Carolina, very nice!

37. Are you ready for these questions to be over? So ready.



And that concludes our very first 37 Questions About One Thing. Thank you so much for joining us, Dear Reader, and stay tuned - I'll make an announcement on our next topic soon!


February 9, 2009

37 Questions about your hostess...



1. How are you?
Super, thanks for asking!

2. Where do you live? In Seattle, WA - born and raised.

3. What do you do? My days are mostly filled with taking care of my 19 month old boy/girl twins.

4. Wow, you must have your hands full! Not a question, but you're right. One is usually holding a strong cocktail and the other is full of kiddie restraints. No, I jest. I use the adult restraints.

5. Are they natural? Nope, they're fake. I made them in Home Ec. (Okay, okay, yes - they were spontaneous. I will always be able to tell them that one of them was a mistake.)

6. Are you married? Yes indeedy. Like the kids, it was done for the tax credits. Yay love!

7. How old are you? 35, only two years til 37!

8. How much do you weigh? Boy, you sure do ask inappropriate questions. I plead the 5th.

9. What are you wearing? Okay, now this is just getting weird. Are you stalking me? Let's get back to questions that matter to Dear Reader!

10. Sorry about that. Okay, what did you do before you had kids? I owned and operated Seattle's first dedicated dog taxi service. It was a lot of fun, but unfortunately I had to sell the biz when we found out there were two babies on the way, not one!

11. Do you have a business degree or something, you savvy ex-businesswoman you? Oh, you're quite the flatterer. Surprisingly enough, I graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Anthropology and a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

12. So, sounds like you're really putting those degrees to good use. Boy, you are a real smartass, aren't you?

13. Are you ever going to do anything with those degrees? Yes, I hope to go back to school for my master's, probably in Biological Anthropology. But that will probably be about 8-10 years from now.

14. Will your house be clean by then? Probably not.

15. What are your hobbies? BT (Before Twins) or AT (Do I need to spell this one out?)? BT, I enjoyed hiking, sleeping, traveling, reading, spending time with my Darling Husband, entering sweepstakes, and going out with my friends. AT, I still enjoy reading and entering sweepstakes, although , Dear Reader, everything else has gone out the window - especially sleep. I have recently begun sewing, which I love and at which I am awful. I hope to renew my previous hobbies as time allows over the next few years.


Want more? Of course you do! Watch for questions 16-37 in my next post.

And it begins...

At long last, I have decided to jump into the blogosphere with both feet and start my own blog. I have decided to try blogging in a specific format - I will pick a topic and then attempt to answer 37 questions about the subject. Why 37? That's for me to know and you (perhaps) to find out. Once all 37 have been completed, I (or maybe you!) will pick the next topic. Hopefully I will give you some reviews of products related to the topic, and maybe a giveaway here or there.


My first topics will be ones that I know something about, just to get me started. Yes, it is kind of cheating, but hey, I won't tell if you don't! To give you an idea of who I am and what I do, I'm going to start with 37 questions about myself. If you have a question you're dying to ask, post a comment. Perhaps you'll see your question answered in my next post.