Nationals Baseball

I guess I will start at the end of the story for this post: THEY WON!! The game we went to, at least... which, lets face it, is just about all I care about when it comes to baseball.  I'm very invested that way.

In all honesty, though, I really do love Nationals baseball. I have never been one to enjoy baseball on TV, but I get immense enjoyment out of going to a real live game! Because going to a game means that you have to enjoy all aspects: the junk food, the beer, and the entertainment.

This was the scoreboard after the game... Jayson Werth (who most of the time looks more akin to a mountain man/homeless person than a MLB player) made his 1,000th hit, which just happened to be a home run. It made it even more fun to be there! Side note- the woman interviewing him there is about to get the residuals of a Gatorade/ice bath that Werth received from his teammates. Poor thing... she looked like she was ready to spruce up her resume after that...

Our view from section 222... not the best, but we could see the entire field as well as the massive jumbo-tron for all of the cool replays and instructions about when to display 'natitude' (I take this very seriously). Also, we were near section 136, which is where all of the gluten-free food for the stadium is kept.  Since going to this game was part of my father-in-law's birthday celebration, this was important!

Overall, what made this game the best was that my parents...

My mother-in-law (and me)...

My husband and his dad...

and I think you know who these people are...

all were able to spend time together! It was fabulous :) Go NATS!!!

Scallops and Spinach

I mentioned in this post that cooking is one of my favorite ways to give to others.  For me it is one of the most relaxing and fun activities out there. Lately, I've been cooking at least twice a day in order to take advantage of having a kitchen again! I'll try to remember to post my recipe for sour cream pancakes tomorrow...

But right now, I'm going to tell you about the AMAZING scallops and spinach I made the other night. This recipe is inspired by a dish that my in-laws have made for us a couple times.  It is perfection.

Ingredients:

3 pieces of bacon

1 lb of large diver scallops... the bigger and more uniform, the better

3 cloves of garlic

1 Tbs. grapeseed oil

1 bag of organic spinach
1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped finely (optional)

First, take three pieces of bacon and render them in a pan over low heat. After all the fat is rendered, remove the bacon, chop it into bits and set aside. Discard all of the bacon fat except for one tablespoon.

Take three garlic cloves and mince them or put them through a garlic crusher... unless you are a Trader Joe's junkie like me and you have these little frozen cubes! How awesome are they?! Either way, over low heat, saute the minced garlic with the reserved 1 Tbs of bacon fat ('the secret' as my great-grandmother, ReRe, would've said) and 1 Tbs of grapeseed oil. After a couple minutes, but before the garlic browns, turn off the heat. If you use the onion, saute it with the garlic, but instead of turning the heat off, just turn it down to low while you cook the scallops.  The onions with get a little caramel-y and delish :)

Now it's time to get your gorgeous scallops ready! Place them on a couple of paper towels. Gently press on the top of each one (kind of like a gentle mini-massage) to dry off the tops, too.

Side note: this is probably enough scallops for 4 modest eaters, but my husband and I ate all of them! They are that good!

In another skillet, heat a tablespoon of the garlic/oil mixture over medium-high heat. When the pan comes to temperature (aka, screaming hot, but not yet smoking), sear the scallops in two batches so that they have plenty of room to breathe, and you don't crowd the pan. 3 minutes on each side should cook them through.  You want them to get really golden brown on each side before turning.

As the second batch of scallops is cooking, heat the other saute pan with the remaining garlic/oil mixture in it. Throw an entire bag of spinach in the pan and toss the leaves like you're trying to coat them with salad dressing. Turn off the heat and keep tossing until the leaves are barely wilted.

This is supper! I served some garlic roasted red potatoes with this dish, but you could do rice or nothing at all... it really doesn't need anything (except maybe a nice glass of sauvignon blanc)!

For me, the best bite is a piece of scallop with some spinach and a teensy piece of bacon. 

This should be illegal... Enjoy! 

Coping...

This list will probably evolve as the weeks keep passing, but as of right now, this is my list of best ways to cope with true loss and sadness (you can read about the loss of my cat here).

First, I would like to note that I have never been especially skilled at coping. Growing up in a Navy family, I kind of developed a "just get over it/let go/move on" philosophy to emotionally draining circumstances. Not the most healthy way of dealing with tough stuff, but it worked for the most part. In recent years, however, I've developed other techniques.  Hallelujah! (that is my husband rejoicing... he wasn't a big fan of the 'if I don't talk about it, I'm fine' method :)

1) Prayer. Anytime, anywhere! A short (or long) conversation with God really gets me moving in a positive direction with my thoughts, no matter what.

2) Yoga. For those of you that think #1 conflicts with this, think again. My yoga practice keeps me centered, positive and grateful. Not a single session goes by that I don't send up a little thank-you prayer for the gift of yoga in my life.

Lately, I have been keeping an especially consistent practice by purchasing a membership to Thrive Yoga. Getting on my mat daily allows me to work through whatever emotions I'm dealing with while I focus on breathing through poses. Oh, and it's a pretty awesome workout too... I have the bakasana and pincha mayurasana to prove it!

3) A little retail-therapy. This one isn't quite as wholesome as my first two, but it is helpful all the same. Something fun and frivolous to focus on can be a good way to get out of your own head for a bit and think about something very un-serious. Not to mention pretty :)

4) Help others. This is my FAVORITE one, and something I have trouble balancing sometimes because I thrive on it. You can help others through a tough or stressful time even though you're dealing with some tough stuff, too. Sending a card or making them a meal are my two favorite ways to help. It doesn't have to be a huge gesture to offer a huge amount of support. And once again, you're putting yourself out there in a positive way.

5) This last one is kind of a reward for doing #1-4...not that they aren't rewarding enough themselves! 

Wine... specifically Sauvignon Blanc, right now. I think that good wine can be the perfect catalyst for relaxing and reminiscing, which is what one really needs to do in order to cope with a loss. It might not be the right choice for everyone, but Kim Crawford will always have a fond place in my memory for making an absolutely awful day a little bit better for my mom and me!

Side note- During all of this coping craziness, my husband and I forgot one of our most favorite anniversaries: August 6, 2008! This was the day we met for the second time after being apart for 10 years! Here is a throwback picture of us from about 3 years ago that pretty well shows what we think about forgetting to celebrate such an important occasion...

Life happens... don't take it too seriously!

Absentee Blogger Confessional

I have been missing around here for more than two weeks. I have a couple of really good excuses about where I've been, but first, I just want to reassure you that I'll do my very best to not abandon y'all without warning again. I'm sure my disappearance was traumatic for everyone.

One of the reasons that I was MIA was because my in-laws came into town a little over a week ago in order to celebrate my father-in-law's 60th birthday!! We had a blast hanging out with them in Bethesda and Washington, DC.  Here are a few of my favorite moments from our many celebrations together!

The Marine Corps Evening Parade is quite a spectacle, and it's a fun (and free) way to spend a Friday night in Washington, DC. Not to mention the fact that Eastern Market (the neighborhood in which the Barracks are located) is one of my favorite places in DC. Really amazing restaurants and fun shops line the main drag on 8th Street. We ate at Zest Bistro before the parade began, and I would definitely return. 

Another meal we shared together, however, was better than Zest. Founding Farmers was such a fun dining experience.  Their menu was so fresh (as their name implies) and inventive, but still reasonably priced... for this area, at least. The lively atmosphere and delicious Tinto Negro malbec we were drinking made us want to linger for quite awhile... so we did :)

Every birthday boy needs a cake, so for my Celiac-diagnosed father-in-law we had a dozen gluten-free cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake. Woah... those might have been better than their gluten-full counterparts. Unlawfully good... 

I will write a separate post about the National's baseball game (because they are SO much fun!) we attended, but we gave my FIL a t-shirt to wear so he could properly display his "natitude"!

There was also a very sad reason I've been missing for awhile... you can read about that here. 

More Than A Little Sad

I've been simultaneously dreading and yearning to write this part of the post since last Monday.

One week ago today, I made a spur of the moment trip down to Norfolk, VA so that I could be with my sweet childhood cat, Kookie, as he passed away. He was 17 years old, which means that he has been part of my life pretty much as far back as I can remember.

Here is how Kookie and I became best friends for 17 years:

At the end of March 1996, I broke my right femur. My dad was deployed to Bosnia with the Seabees, so my mom was by herself as my 6-year-old self was wheeled off into the first of two surgeries to repair the complete fracture. When I woke up in the pediatric ward of Keesler Medical Center, my mom told me two things: that I would be in the hospital for about two weeks, and that I could have anything in the world that I wanted.  In that moment, I said I wanted a cat. Specifically, I wanted a white cat.

Flash forward 4 months. My parents decided that the fulfillment of my desire would come after I healed and we had completed our next move to Springfield, VA. Of course, as soon as the boxes hit the pavement at our new home I was pestering my parents to take me to PetSmart to go adopt my kitty. When we finally made it to the promised land of "The Lucky Ones" cat adoption center in PetSmart, however, there were no white kitties to be found. But I was not deterred. I had found my forever friend: the stark black kitten with big greenish yellow eyes.

My parents kept asking me if I was sure because he was exactly the opposite of what I wanted. I was positive in my decision, and I named him "Soot". As in fireplace soot... I was 7-years-old, and that was the only thing black-colored I could think of at the time.  Looking back on it, someone should have advised me otherwise because his name evolved oh-so-very-much over his lifetime before settling on Kookie (which I believe was a variant from 'kitty-koo'... what can I say, I am a freakazoid animal person) when he was probably close to 10-years-old. 

We went through a lot together, the Kook (as my husband and many others referred to him) and me. He was the most friendly, loyal, sweet, fun, and loving cat you have ever met. He was the best snuggler. He loved to hang out in the kitchen... especially if someone was cooking salmon or chicken (his faves).  He was my big boy... usually weighing around 17-19 lbs. 

This is (I think) the last picture of the two of us together from May 2013. 

Having never lost such a beloved pet and friend before, I am learning how to be sad and how to cope.  I'll post later about the techniques that are working well for me. I just know I will never forget about the best cat in the whole entire world.

Lunchbox Laboratory

Going to dinner at Lunchbox Laboratory was one of the last things we did in Seattle. This majorly retro burger place was fabulous! Not only was the food spectacular and creative, but Lunchbox Lab was gluten-free and vegetarian friendly. Why do I care, you ask? Although I am neither gluten-free or vegetarian, my father-in-law has Celiac Disease and I am a lover of veggie burgers (a leftover habit from when I really was a vegetarian for 7 years), so I am always on the lookout for both!

Now let me tell you why this veggie burger was the best I've EVER had... and I consider myself to be somewhat of a connoisseur! 

Most veggie burgers are veggie burger flavored- meaning that the usual suspects accompany said burger: lettuce or sprouts, tomato, onion, some sort of spread, various cheeses, and the occasional avocado slices. What made this veggie burger so remarkable is that I was able to have it with the accouterments of "The Tear Jerker" aka the spiciest burger on their menu. I LOVE mega spicy food, so a burger with some jalapenos, a little habanero mayo and "Satan's tears ketchup" was right up my ally. 

It actually hurt my mouth a bit to eat this magnificent veggie burger (it was that spicy!!!), but that is how I like things.  I'm a little wild sometimes...

My husband stuck with the traditional beef "Burger of the Gods," and I think he was nearly equally pleased with his selection.  

This is my main man with the yummy shake we shared for dessert!  Speaking of which, the shakes are why we ended up at Lunchbox in the first place. We came across this article and decided it sounded good enough to check out in person.

We ended up (at the suggestion of our wonderful waitress) getting the Boston Creme Pie shake with a shot of vanilla vodka... they call this 'boozy'! The small size was more than share-able for the two of us, but then again, I had just eaten the best veggie burger of my life. The shake was a great cool off for my mouth fire, not to mention extremely delicious.

To sum it up, this quirky (did I mention that most of their cocktails involve Tang? They take hipster/retro to a whole other level!) burger place exceeded my expectations.  Even the atmosphere- we sat outside in a sweet patio garden, across the street from a cute Lutheran church- was perfection. 

I wish Lunchbox Laboratory was on the East Coast!!!

Pike Place Market

On our very last day in the Pacific Northwest, we were able to actually spend some time in Seattle! 

We hung out at Pike Place Market and went to all of the quintessential places... I even tricked my husband into checking out the gum wall in Post Alley. In case you've never seen it, the gum wall is more disgusting than you'd expect.  My favorite memory from viewing this spectacle was a mom lecturing her child who was posing in front of the wall: "Stand away from the wall... NO! Don't touch it! Just stand still near the wall.... Don't lean on it!!" This seemed like a traumatic photo-op, so we just kept walking without documenting our disgust.

Obviously, watching the fish mongers throw around HUGE halibut and salmon was a must. What made it even better is that we had a pint of fresh raspberries from one of the farmer's market vendors to munch on while we took in the show. Yummy!

Those lobster tails were as big as my arm!!

I loved walking through all of the flower vendors. The dahlias, sunflowers and peonys were my favorites.

As we walked, we munched on a delicious amandine (the best almond croissant ever) from Le Painier. 

Holy cow... I could eat those every day and still marvel at how perfect they are.

Our view from a rooftop bar.

We also went to Beecher's for some of their "world's best" macaroni and cheese.  We took it to-go and ate outside in a park. We also shared a dungeness crab grilled cheese sandwich. Everything was superb! I only wish that we'd had room in our suitcases to take some of their homemade cheese with us.  Our favorite was the Raw Flagship cheese.

When we needed a break from walking around in the blazing summer heat (just kidding, it was in the 70s), we ducked into the Frontier Room for some local beer. We both had an IPA from Diamond Knot.

I guess we really ate and drank our way through Seattle!

One thing we did that didn't involve eating (or drinking) was our visit to Seattle Glassblowing Studio.  I imagine that I forgot to take a picture in the gallery because I was too busy trying to take it all in.  The vases, figurines, bowls, and sculptures were spectacular.  We bought a little evergreen tree to remember our foray in the Pacific Northwest :)

Last, but not least, we saw the first Starbucks shop. It was swarmed with people, of course, so we didn't stop in, but it was fun to see where the coffee magnate originated.