It Started with a Journal

Okay, I'm not gonna lie. I am pretty proud of myself. Those of you who follow food_porn already know what I'm talking about.

( Click to see why. )

The other day we went to Flo-Anna's Diner for dinner. Isn't that a great divey greasy spoon name? Even though it was totally a diner ("This is so where Diner Dash was invented."), the place was clean and well kept, and the food was not quite your average greasy spoon fare. The place is run by some Greek women, and once a month they have a Greek night. We weren't there that night, but I ordered the Greek burger, which has feta cheese and tzatziki sauce in place of mayo, and it was really good. S. and I both enjoyed it very much. We will be back! Some day. Only downside is that it's in sort of a sketchy neighborhood.

I am supposed to get my car back on Monday or Tuesday. It's currently with Lexus so they can do their diagnostic tests and what not, and if it comes back clean then the body shop just has to do a bit of detailing and it'll be ready. I am SO READY to have my car back.

My cousin is going to drive me to and from the airport for my winter vacation, which is great because it'll save me $88+tip in airport shuttle cost (not to mention bother with Talis). Only downside is that I have to drive to her place first (she lives much closer to the airport), which means that my car is going to be at her place for the duration of my vacation. That's a downside because they don't really have a garage to speak of, so it'll be out in the elements, and also, over Thanksgiving break, their neighbor had his car stolen. >< Knowing my luck, and how much 2009 hates me, the same thing could happen to mine. Sigh.

This weekend I saw Boondock Saints 2. I liked it and thought it was a good follow up to the original, which I saw only recently (in preparation for seeing the sequel). I enjoy its "style" and the method of filming, as well as the touches of humor. Guess who's in the sequel? Darla herself! She's a redhead, and initially S. and I were both like, we KNOW that woman, who IS she... ohhh! Loved the cameo by you-know-who (not Voldemort).

Okay, now I'm off to play some Professor Layton (sequel) and then bed, as I've got a busy day tomorrow. First is getting my H1N1 shot (work is providing them, so it's not like I can say, "Give mine to a child instead" -- plus I am going from a "moderate" state to a "widespread" state in a week). Then a meeting. Then a physical therapy appointment. Followed immediately by an appointment w/ an endocrinologist. Then right after that a conference call. I'm wondering if I will have time to eat tomorrow, or if I am going to be super grouchy.

WoW news:

I opened up my cracked egg last night and guess what was inside? That's right, [Reins of the Green Proto-Drake]! Woot. It took me ... I think 6 eggs to get. Which isn't that many, really. Now I just need the proto-drake pet and then I can switch to the Frenzyheart. If I don't get it after a couple more eggs, I may just buy it for 500g or whatever and switch anyway.

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I am thrilled to report that I have found a great sushi place in Lynnwood. It was quite brave of me to try a new restaurant after the last disastrous attempt (Nara Japanese Restaurant in Redmond -- NEVER GO THERE), but I didn't want that experience to forever keep me from trying new places. I wanted something close to home, and this place had gotten decent reviews on Yelp. So I decided to give it a go.

( Details! )

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Update on jade_okelani and Mal: I spoke with her last night, and she was, indeed, exhausted from taking care of Mal and worrying about him. His seizures haven't stopped, and it seems that it's harder and harder for him to recover from them. Her family was frantically trying to call around to various vets/hospitals to see if the seizures can be treated in any way -- because except for them, he's fine. (I know, that sounds odd, but -- it's true.) Looks like she may have finally found a place that's willing to treat the seizures as seizures, rather than just as byproduct of his heart condition that they can't do anything about. When he was going through this in December, it took about this amount of time to get back to a point when he stopped having them, so hopefully even if the new place can't do anything for him, it'll follow the same course as before and will simply stop after this on its own, at least for awhile. Send your good thoughts her way and keep your fingers crossed!

I have received Queen of Babble in the Big City from PaperBackSwap. :D I liked the first book fairly well, which is unfortunately saying a lot for Meg Cabot's recent spate of books. I still have 21 credits at PBS, and am constantly on the lookout for good books I can request.

As promised in my new year's resolutions, I am not counting QoB toward my goal of reading 5 "real" books a year. I have 3 of the 5 books selected (though I reserve the right to change my mind): Bruce Courtenay's The Power of One, Lorrie Moore's Birds of America, and Isabel Allende's Eva Luna -- in the original Spanish. Haha, just kidding on that. I wish I could read it in the original Spanish. But it will just be plain old regular English.

That does leave 2 spots open though. Any suggestions?

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I went back to I Love Sushi for lunch. I am pleased to report that the sushi was much improved from the last time I was there. However -- there were bones again!! This time in my hamachi!! Seriously, wtf. I mean, I am not squeamish about bones, but they should NOT be part of any sushi/sashimi experience. And this time the offense was less egregious -- there was a small bone at the very bottom of each piece of hamachi (2 total), easily removed. However, STILL. They should not be there. Maybe they're just trying to be too frugal with the fish in these hard times and are cutting too close to the bone or something.

Also, I've heard from a coworker that the other I Love Sushi in Bellevue, the one on the lake, is better than the one I usually go to. They're practically next door to each other. I'm going to have to try it one of these days. The Web site says that the lake one specializes in "authentic Japanese cuisine with a contemporary twist," and unlike my usual place, which only serves seafood, has beef and chicken and the like.

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I also took the opportunity to go to Whole Foods, since it's right next door, and see if they had any peppermint bark left. A guy had to go to their back storage area to find it, but at least I do have a spare tin of it now! I also managed to spend way too much money on seafood -- I bought salmon (for Friday night dinner and for my cooking project), bay scallops, and the real splurge, a 1/2 pound of Chilean sea bass. A pound of that stuff is $24.99. O.o I know, right? I wish I could have been the woman before me who walked up and asked for 2 pounds of it, but dang, that is $50 worth of fish right there. I first developed my love of Chilean sea bass at Bonefish, which prepares it wonderfully, but it's always the most expensive item on the menu.

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Speaking of expenses... I really, really need to stop making big purchases, particularly as times are so uncertain and who the hell knows what my finances are going to look like in another month. But I couldn't resist because I have been wanting this for such a long, long time. And of all my splurging, it's possibly the most practical one and will be the one I use most. So what is it? Well, it's a set of new Le Creuset pots and pans. If you get even the least bit into cooking and researching, you'll come across that name. Everyone I know who's ever used Le Creuset (and all its reviews can attest) says that it's the best thing they have ever cooked with. It's apparently simply amazing to use. But until now I've only ever coveted and looked, because it is horrendously expensive. It's never on sale and one pot can cost, oh, $300. However, I found a good deal on eBay for a new 12-piece set (counting lids) and I was able to specify the color I wanted (kiwi).

( Specifically, the set includes... )

I am SO excited about this. It's going to take 2-3 weeks for delivery, and I just cannot wait to get my grubby little hands on them.

Had a lovely lunch with corianderstem at I Love Sushi. The company was lovely; the food was OK. A little lacking in quality from what I'm used to there, but it was still decent. There were even BONES in my salmon. Now, I am not someone who is usually squeamish about bones (although fish bones are really small and thus annoying), but it is so not appropriate in sashimi.

Speaking of sushi, I don't think I mentioned that we found a place in the Valley called Midori Sushi that has all you can eat -- but isn't like a sketchy buffet. It has a very decent AYCE menu that includes all kinds of rolls, sushi, and cooked items like tempura and teriyaki, and you order it at your table. For that reason they have a bunch of rules when ordering AYCE, nothing too unreasonable. It was $26 for dinner, which isn't cheap but is a fair price for what you get, as long as you go in with a big appetite and "eat your worth"!

We went to Whole Foods afterward, and even though I spent about $60 I barely have anything to show for it. ( D'oh )

I've started playing Spore. It's fun, though not yet quite as fun as I was expecting. So far I've evolved from being an amoeba to a land creature who's discovered the wonder of fire.

A. also introduced me to Tazo's yummy Apricot Vanilla tea. Am I lame that I use the same teabag for 2-3 cups, maybe one time even 4? It just seems like such a waste to toss it after one use.