A Little Less Ghetto...

Yesterday, I took the final step towards making my mouth a little less ghetto. Thanks to a combination of bad genetics and poor brushing growing up, almost every single one of my teeth has a filling in it. (It's not my mom's fault though - I was a tricky kid. When we were supposed to be brushing our teeth at night, I would just stand in the bathroom and run the water for a few minutes to give the illusion that I had brushed them. Why? I have no idea. Kids are weird.) Either way, by the time I was a teenager I had a mouth full of silver metal.

Just recently, I switched to a new dentist that was closer to my work and I really love the work he does. He told me that over time, silver fillings will expand and contract (like metal tends to do) and create problems with the teeth. This could be in the form of cracking a tooth or contracting to allow cavities to form under the current filling. His advice to me was to replace all of my silver fillings over time with white ones that are stronger and last longer. I decided to be bold and do it all in 2 visits rather than extend the agony over a few years of visits.

4 and a half hours, 12 fillings and $1500 later, my mouth feels like a whole new woman :)

Warning: Disgusting close-ups of my mouth below... scroll down at your own risk...

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Before:

After:

I still kept my gold tooth though... I don't want to lose all of my street cred :)

So Much Snow

 A couple weeks ago Pamela and I went up to her family’s cabin in Forest Lakes.  We were hoping to head up there and be joined by some friends for a fun weekend in the wilderness.  We were also excited to see that the weather forecast for the weekend called for snow.  It snowed the weekend we went to the cabin last year and it was a lot of fun.  It’s seems extra special because we never get to see snow living in Phoenix.  

Lots of snow already on our drive up

Pamela and I had off work Friday and drove up with Jordan.  Our other friends couldn’t swing a Friday trip but we still decided it would be fun to hang out at the cabin for 2 days.  Soon after leaving Payson we were excited to start seeing all the snow that had already fallen in the area.  There were so many nice views of snow covered pine trees along the drive.  I was so excited to see the snow I just kept snapping pictures.  

It's everywhere!

As we climbed in elevation we noticed the temperature kept dropping and there was more and more snow all around.  Arriving at Forest Lakes we were in for a little bit of a rude awakening.  Although the freeway was freshly plowed and fairly dry from all the traffic, the neighborhood street up to the cabin had plenty of snow left.  Not to worry though, we just proceeded slowly and lucky for us the cabin is only a short distance in from the main highway.

Then came our second realization about large amounts of snowfall.  The hundred foot driveway that sets the cabin back nicely from the road was covered in 6-8 inches of snow with a huge mound right at the front from where the plows cleared the road.  This was a little unexpected but that’s why we came to the cabin, for some adventure.  I opened the shed looking for something to clear the snow and found a broken snow shovel and a rake.  It was less than ideal, but between the scoop part of the snow shovel and the rake, Pamela and I were able to start clearing a path.  After maybe 45 minutes we had cleared enough driveway to fit our car and 2 more for our friends behind it.  Now it was time to unpack and finally start relaxing and enjoy the cabin.  

Good enough, now time to start having fun.

Snow angel!  Good work Pamela

Once we started a fire and figured out the heaters it was smooth sailing.  We had a pleasant evening filled with hot cocoa, smores, and a Christmas movie.  The next morning it was time for snow reality check number three.  We greatly underestimated how much snow would be falling this weekend.  We woke up to find the amount of snow outside had doubled.  Another 6-8 inches of fresh powder had fallen overnight and was still coming down.  Luckily we had good cell reception at the cabin and could warn our friends.  We caught Kim as she was visiting the store before heading up herself.  

Seriously?  Guess we have to clear the driveway again

Day 1 - Looking out the back porch

Day 2 - Looking out back, notice the railing is nowhere to be seen

Sorry Jordan you can't go out that way, it's blocked by snow!

After deliberating for a while and checking the weather forecast on our phones we decided our 2 day retreat to the cabin was turning into an escape plan.  We would clean up the cabin and wait for the snowplow to come by to give us the clearest path back to the freeway.  We brushed the snow from the car and re-dug the driveway back to the main road so we were all ready.  Then at about 1:00 Pamela heard the plow drive by and it was time to make our move.  He hadn’t improved the road as much as we hoped but as the snow started to intensify we knew this would be our best shot at getting home before getting stuck at the cabin.  

When the wind picked up it looked like we were inside a snow globe

As we slowly made our way back to the freeway, skidding and sliding, we both lamented not having the all-wheel drive Forester anymore.  It was a little scary but once we made it back to the freeway we were alright.  The 260 was much more cleanly plowed and the decent flow of traffic kept much of the snow and ice from accumulating in the lanes.  I snapped a few more pictures of the snow coated trees along the road.  All that snow was inconvenient but also very beautiful.

Goodbye snow!

Bonus video of Jordan playing in the snow:

Is It Possible to Love a Serial Killer?

Since the new season of "Mad Men" doesn't start until 2012, Matt and I were feeling the need for a little more (TV) drama in our lives. Enter: Dexter. The concept sounded a little morbid for my taste, but we had heard such great recommendations about this show that we decided to give it a try for a few episodes. Aaaaaaaaaand now we're hooked :) We marathoned Season 1 in a matter of days, and last night started in on Season 2.

It is such a great show! I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes drama/suspense shows or movies. Since it's on Showtime, it does get a little graphic (but what do you expect when you watch a show about a blood spatter analyst who moonlights as a serial killer?) There are some parts that I have to turn away for, but it is not gratuitous for the most part. The story lines are interesting, but the main thing that keeps me watching is the character development. As you learn Dexter's story, you love him more and more. You find yourself rooting for him to make his kills and keep his secret hidden. He's like a Batman vigilante without the costume. But you also see him learning to build relationships with people and experience emotion. He is just such a likable guy.

I'm excited to see what plays out for my new favorite killer over the next few seasons. I read spoilers online as soon as the plot gets too thick, or else I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. It's like flipping to the end of a suspense novel to make sure everyone you like survives and you get closure. But then I drive Matt crazy because I know how things end and he doesn't :) And from what I can tell, it is going to be a good, long run for Dexter. And we'll be rooting for him the whole way!

POSH Dining

Yesterday kicked off Fall Arizona Restaurant Week - a time when the fancy schmancy restaurants across the valley offer prix fixe menus at a discount to get diners into their doors. I always look forward to restaurant week since normally I can't justify eating at places where a salad costs $20. So last night, Matt, Claudia and I got all prettied up and headed over to POSH in Scottsdale to get our eat on.

One of my friends at work had recommended the place, and the concept sounded really cool. It's improvisational dining, which means there is no menu and the chef just surprises you with each of your 4 courses. You are able to give them some guidelines to start off, though. They have you fill out a form that asks questions like how you like your meat prepared and what foods you absolutely would not eat. They list out all of the seasonal meats and fish that they have on hand, and you can cross off the ones that you're not feeling adventurous enough to try. Claudia and I were a little more timid than Matt. Among the list of items I would not eat: Quail, duck, sweetbreads (NOT actually bread - don't be fooled!), and Kangaroo (WTF. Seriously. I plan on going to Australia someday and do NOT want to get kicked in the face by an angry kangaroo avenging his father's death. Pass.) So that basically left just steak for the girls, which I was fine with because I love steak. Matt was a lot braver - the only one he crossed off was sweetbreads, and that was only after I read him the lovely Wikipedia description of what they were.

For the fish options, I was a lot more open. I don't like shrimp and I don't like mussels, but was willing to try any of the other options. With our sheets sent off to the head chef, we sat and waited for our surprise meal. First, they brought us a palate-starter that tasted like fancy mayo with cucumber and saffron. Then came the real thing. The courses we received:

Course 1: Soup & Salad
Claudia got a bowl of Summer Squash Soup with a hint of pumpkin.
Matt got an Endive Salad with cranberries and imported Italian bleu cheese.
I got an Arugula Salad with goat cheese and toasted almonds.

Winner: Arugula Salad

Course 2: Fish
Claudia got a Ceviche Halibut with tortilla strips and bell peppers.
Matt got Escolar with risotto and sauce.
I got raw Ahi Tuna with cucumber caviar (cucumbers have eggs?!) and jelly (pronounce jele - all French-like).

Winner: Escolar
This one surprised us a little since I also Googled "Escolar" and was a bit turned off by the description. The particular website called it the "most controversial fish" since its wax and fat content makes it at the same time very delicious and very rough on your *ahem* digestive tract. Matt promptly pointed out that he eats at Filiberto's on a regular basis, so we probably should be worried about the fat effects of a little fish. Good call. It was buttery and delicious and one of the best fish any of us had ever tried.

Course 3: Meat
Claudia and I both got a NY Strip Steak since it was the only option we hadn't crossed off :) But we were rewarded for being chickens because it also came with a side of chopped cheesy potatoes and perfectly cooked green beans. The steak itself was seasoned and cooked perfectly.
Matt got Duck Confit with lentils and a savory sauce.

Winner: Steak!

Course 4: Dessert
This time Claudia and Matt got the same thing: Panna Cotta with berries and sauce.
I got Rum-soaked Pineapple with Cognac sauce and ice cream.

Winner: Panna Cotta
Matt and I were nervous about the Panna Cotta - the only other time we had ever had it at another restaurant, it was not even close to good. This time, it was sweet and light and delicious!

They topped off the night by bringing us some Plum & Blackberry Popsicles with the check. All in all, it was a wonderful meal and I was so glad we were all adventurous enough to give this improvisational dining a try. This would be a great place to go for a birthday celebration or even a fun date night. I know it won't be the last time we go there!

Restaurant week is off to a good start.

Vacation Sentiment

Pamela and I are planning a vacation for this fall and we've narrowed it down to two locations; Aruba or Jamaica.  We've looked at flights and resorts for both places and they both look awesome and we can't decide.  So I figured since I turn to Google for so many other answers, why not try it out to help us decide on our vacation.

The numbers are based on the amount of Google search results yielded from an entry in the form of (Location) "(Adjective) vacation".  I figured this would give me a general idea for the overall portion of people that were satisfied or not satisfied with their trip to either location.  I plotted the results against each other for easier comparison in terms of percentages. 

Positive Sentiment

Negative Sentiment

Results:
1)  Jamaica returned more hits for both the positive and negative searches.  
2)  The ratio for the positive searches was about 65% for Jamaica and 35% for Aruba.  The negative searches came out to around 80% for Jamaica and 20% for Aruba. 

Conclusions:
Jamaica returned more results for all searches, this is most likely due to Jamaica being both larger in size and possibly a more common vacation destination.  However, Aruba had a higher percentage against Jamaica for positive sentiment than it did for negative sentiment.  This tells me that across all of the Google results, a higher percentage of people were satisfied with their trips to Aruba than with their trips to Jamaica.  I realize there are flaws with this process and by no means is this conclusive evidence that Aruba would be a better destination.  This all just comes down to one more data point for us to use in making our vacation decision. 

Seattle Trip

Last month, I went to Seattle for my company's annual sales meeting. We regroup on our fiscal year that just ended, and then we spend a lot of time discussing strategies to win for the upcoming fiscal year. In addition to that, though, they let us have some fun and take us to some cool places. Since we were in Seattle, we had to go to the Space Needle to check out the views. And they were worth the trip! It happened to be a clear day, so you could see all of the city from the top floor.

After the work part of the trip was done, Matt flew out to join me for a fun weekend. We didn't make a ton of plans or reservations - just decided to wing it and enjoy walking around a new city. So on the first day, we went down to Pike's Place Market. That place was packed with fresh food, trinkets and some of the most beautiful bouquets of flowers I had ever seen! Apparently everything grows a lot easier in the moderate coastal weather than it does in the middle of the desert :) We made a stop at the "original" Starbucks and hit it during a good pocket because we didn't have to wait in line at all. (Turns out the real original Starbucks burned down, so they decided to re-build a mile up the road and not tell tourists the truth...)

Then we walked down towards the coast and ate at a restaurant called Ivar's Acres of Clams. It had gotten really good reviews online and we were not disappointed! We started with some Goat Cheese & Crab Dip (similar to a spinach artichoke dip in texture, but with a seafood flavor). Then for dinner, we split some Bacon-Wrapped Halibut. Holy cow that stuff was good!! I'm really glad I decided to give this seafood thing a try a few years ago because now I am a total convert. After dinner, we walked around in Pioneer Square and stumbled upon the cutest park I'd ever seen - Occidental Park. What makes it so cute? Check out these pictures - somebody put SWEATERS on all of the TREES!! It looked like a world created by Dr. Seuss himself and it was adorable.

View from Ivar's; Awesome Trees

After that, it was time to go to our Underground Walking Tour of historic Seattle. Some of my coworkers had done the day tour and weren't super impressed. But the night tour was adults-only, which meant we got adult beverages and a raunchy, comedy-infused guide to Seattle's history. A lot of the history was really cool - they talked about how a huge fire destroyed Old Town Seattle, and the damage would take 10 years to repair. But the businessmen didn't want to wait 10 years to start making money again, so they put up retention walls and started building a city on top of a city. The original stores now became basements, and the story above became the new store fronts. But over time, the underground portion became a seedy place for drugs and hookers. We learned a lot and had a ton of good laughs. Our tour guide suggested a local bar to go to afterward called Vons. The best feature: a giant Wheel Of Fortune-style wheel that the bartender spun every half hour. Whatever the wheel landed on was the $3 special for the next 30 minutes. And the wheel lords were looking out for Matt because it kept landing on Rum & Coke, Whiskey & Coke and other Matt-favorites.

Crazy optical illusion - that structure is actually level!!

The next day was the most exciting for me because we went on a gourmet food tour of downtown Seattle. Over 2 hours, we got to sample everything from fresh cinnamon donuts to Rainier cherries to the world's best clam chowder (in my opinion!) The famous fish market was really fun - we saw the workers tossing fish and hollering - it seems like an awesome place to work if you don't mind smelling like salmon all day. And the samples there were delicious. And then the cheese... Oh, my, the cheese. We stopped at a place called Beecher's where they make some of the tastiest cheese in-house. We tried their flagship cheddar, their world-famous chipotle mac & cheese (Oprah AND Martha Stewart's favorite!), and even got to try some fresh cheese curds that were heavenly.

With our happy tummies, we decided to head over towards the coast again to look at some of the artwork around town. We walked to the Olympic Sculpture Park and enjoyed the weather and the ocean views as much as we liked the funky, modern art scattered around. We then headed back to the hotel to meet up with Matt's sister Liz and her boyfriend John, who were driving in from Olympia, WA to visit us. This was really the highlight of our trip, since we don't get to see Liz very often. Our first stop together was a trip to Serious Pie - a pizza place recommended to us by my sisters Kim & Liz. The wait there is never less than an hour, but you can leave your cell phone number with the hostess, head over to a nearby bar, and they will call you when they have a table available. So we spent a little time at an Irish Pub catching up with Liz & John, and then got to indulge in some very tasty pizza. After dinner, we headed over to a wine bar called Purple and enjoyed the wide variety of wine flights they had available. The building itself was really beautiful and modern, and it made for a fun, relaxing end to the night.

The next morning, Liz had booked a ferry tour around the cove for all of us. So we got to motor around and see the city skyline from the water - a very cool view. Matt also liked seeing the giant orb thing in the water that apparently Raytheon (his old company) manufactured. (I am now being told it is called a Sea-Based X-Band Radar.) We walked around a little more afterward, and ended up finding a serene inlet in historic downtown that had waterfalls and tables to take a break and picnic. But after that, it was time for me & Matt to head back to the airport to go home. All in all, it was a great trip and I was so happy to have been able to visit a new city with my favorite guy!

Bathroom Before & After

Matt and I just got back from Seattle, and we're both coming down with a cold. So while I lay on the couch and try to recover, I figured I would post the final before and after pictures of the guest bath. Enjoy!

I tell ya - it's full on luxury over here!!