At Mom's & Dash Point Lobster Shop

Sunday, we started out the day at Mom and Dad's. Jack, Emma, and Tyler were there as their parents were off to brunch. It was fun hanging out with the kids.

Later in the afternoon, Tim and I headed to Dash Point for an early dinner for Tracy's birthday. Below are some pics of us by the water before dinner.

Dinner was at the Lobster Shop. http://www.lobstershop.com/dashpoint/home.htm . They've got a great Twilight dinner deal where you get a four course meal for $17.99. It's great seafood and a nice setting. I ended up with the potato crusted ling cod and Tim got the pan fried oysters. Good stuff!

Happy Birthday Tracy!

Taste of India & Theater Sports

Saturday night Tim and I decided to go to one of our favorite restaurants for Indian food, Taste of India. :) We both got our favorites there. He got the Mango Chicken and I got Chicken Tikka Massala. Yummy stuff! And of course as an appetizer their spinach nan. :) Below are some pics from the restaurant.

They also have great chai tea there. It's nice because there are free refills.

After dinner, we met up with some friends downtown near Pike Place Market. We had plans to watch Theater Sports at the Market Theater. Theatersports is a fun improv show! The cast puts on a show based on the audience's suggestions. It's very entertaining! If you're interested in a show, they are usually on Friday and Saturday's at 10:30pm. Here's their website: http://www.unexpectedproductions.org/theatresports.

Karen's Birthday at Barolo

Last night we celebrated Karen's birthday at Barolo. It's a really nice Italian restaurant in Belltown. Tim and I had never been there before so it was nice trying some place new. What's great about going to new places is you get to try new entrees. I was pretty adventurous and tried an entree Fettucine al Ragu di Coniglio. It was homemade fettucine with braised organic rabbit meat and cherry tomatoes. It actually wasn't bad. Below is a pic of my entree.

Tim had Gnocchi al fagiano, which was house made gnocci with braised pheasant. His was really good too. I actually liked his better, so we switched after a while. :)

Here's a pic of the gang celebrating Karen's bday.

Karen's birthday cake.

The Birthday girl. :)

Happy Birthday Karen!!

Waffle Breakfast

We hadn't coooked breakfast in a long while, so we decided to try out the new waffle iron that I got for my bridal shower. Tim was in charge of the waffles while I made the eggs. I decided to make scrambled eggs with a mix of shredded cheese and ham. It actually turned out pretty good.

Tim did a great job making the waffles. There must have been something wrong with the recipe though as the first waffle overflowed in the iron. Once he figured out the right amount to put, it was all good. A very yummy breakfast. :)

My plate.

Tim's plate.

My Daily Walk

Every work day (well most work days) I go for a walk during my lunch hour. The only instances I don't walk is if I'm having lunch with coworkers or if it's raining so hard and windy out that my umbrella goes inside out. Anyway, I actually had my camera in my purse so I thought I'd share pictures of my daily route. It changes here and there due to the traffic lights and efficient walking, but I always end up down at the waterfront. My route takes me my from my office, down to Harbor Steps and to the Waterfont. From the waterfront, I go north all the way to the Edgewater hotel and back. Below are images from my route today.

I often see cruise ships at Pier 66. I believe many of them go to Alaska.

According to Google Maps walking directions, my route is around 2 miles round trip. :)

Enchantments 10/11/08 - 10/12/08

We were lucky again this year to get permits for the Enchantments. Tim had requested dates back in February and we actually got them. We had requested 10/10 - 10/13, but got 10/11-10/13. Our intentions were to start early Saturday Morning and come back Monday.

To get the early start Saturday morning, we left Friday night to camp at the trailhead. We were not the only people thinking about the early start as there were a bunch of other people at the trailhead doing the same. Many of them were through hikers or day hikers, those doing the 18 mile through hike in a single day, sounds kinda crazy but actually not a bad idea as they don't have to carry heavy packs and endure freezing nights. Anyway, that Friday night was pretty darn cold, so what we experienced at the trailhead we figured would be nothing compared to camping up higher in the Enchantments. It was going to be even colder!

We woke up Saturday morning around 6:00am and didn't hit the trail until 7:00am. It took us a little over 7 hours to get to the top of Aasgard Pass. Below is a pic of Aasgard Pass.

There was lots of ice on the way up that made for tricky maneuvering. I took out my stabilicers and the others their yaktrax. My stabilicers helped considerably, as I felt a lot safer with them on.

Below is a pic of us at the top of Aasgard. :)

When we got to the top, we had lunch and then headed to find a spot to set up camp. We chose a place on a ridge above crystal lake that had decent wind shelter, and of course close to a toilet. :)

After setting up camp, we headed out to summit Little Annapurna. We didn't quite make it due to icy conditions and we were worried about it getting dark soon. Below is a pic from our stopping point. We were about 150 vertical feet from the summit.

View from our attempt at Little Annapurna.

Pic below is from Sunday morning before we left camp. We had decided that we no longer wanted to stay two nights in the Enchantments due to the cold and our steripen (water filter device) not working. We initially planned on going back down Aasgard Pass, but with all the ice, we decided to head out the Snow Lake entrance. That meant a 12 mile long hike out, not to mention we didn't have a car at that trail head, so we would have to find some nice person to give one of us ride back to Tracy's car.

Me and Tim in front of Little Annapurna, from Perfection Lake.

The pic below was taken by a professional photographer (so we think).

Heading down the trail.

Tim and I in front of Prusik Peak.

The Larch trees are what make the Enchantments so popular this time of year. A true sign of fall.

End of hike pic. :) A nice man gave Tim and I a ride back to Tracy's car.

Panko-Crusted Pork Chops

Here is the recipe for the Panko Breaded pork chops. I got it from watching one of Martha Stewart's shows. It's not difficult to make. Enjoy! :)



Ingredients:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
4 boneless pork loin chops (6 oz. each), trimmed of fat
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon light-brown sugar

Directions:

1. Place flour, egg, and panko, each in separate shallow bowls; season each with salt and pepper. Dip pork chops into flour and then egg, shaking off excess. Dip into panko, pressing to adhere.

2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add pork, and cook until golden browned and cook through, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together ketchup, Worcestershire, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; season with salt, and stir to combine.

Amabelle's Bday Celebration

On Sunday we celebrated Amabelle's Birthday. For lunch we went to Red Robin. :)

After Red Robin, a few of us went to the mall, but then met back up at Mom and Dad's where we watched some football. We had dinner and of course had a Birthday cake for Amabelle.

Lunch at our place

With Ate, Nathan, & Trevor coming to town this weekend, we invited them over for dinner. We also invited Kajon, Amabelle and Tyler (Sorry Kabon, forgot, and you guys will definitely be invited next time). On the menu was yummy panko breaded porkchops, honey walnut prawns, and some salad.


It was good to see the babies T's again, especially Trevor. He's gotten so big! Below are some pics of them at our place.