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February 27, 2006

Roe

Sushi Land is a local conveyor-belt sushi place in Bellevue. We go there fairly often and usually are accompanied by Rich and Manuel. We all stick to dishes that we can at least guess what the contents are. Of the four of us, there is no doubt that Rich is a little more willing to try strange things.

Tonight, near the end of our meal we got Rich to try something new. Keep in mind we usually see it, but we have never seen anyone actually eat ... the herring roe. It took a bit of convincing.

... but as you can see he at it. With the only comment being: it is crunchy.

He only ate one of the two pieces. It was well worth it to watch, but the lesson has been learned and none of us will ever again reach for the crunchy stick of roe.

Posted by layla at 10:40 PM | Comments (4)

February 26, 2006

Apartment shopping

It looks like we will be moving to Kirkland. Our search for an apartment started a little while ago online, but began with actual visits yesterday. We looked at a a 2 bedroom 2.5 bathroom townhouse with a garage that we really liked. We returned today, did another look around and left a deposit.

The apartment has a garage on the ground level and then 2 stories of living space. Everything just seemed to fit what we were looking for. The only questionable part was the location. With the exception of the first couple of weeks Dan was living in WA, we haven't really spent any time there.

Last night we timed the drive from our current location to the other location. It is about 20 minutes. So that means a 20+ minute drive to work in the morning. If we were to move farther into Redmond or Bellevue we would likely end up with the same commute time.

It isn't a sure deal until we move in, but I am really excited at the moment.

Posted by layla at 7:02 PM | Comments (0)

February 25, 2006

First actual post

For those of you who do not know, I used to have a livejournal account. A while back I set set the whole thing to private and stopped using it — it was completely deprecated.

Anyways, today I realized that I would like to save those old posts as a keepsake. So as I saved them all locally today I realized that I started posting to a journal for the first time February 13th 2005. Here is a copy of my actual first post. There is no way I would have remembered without looking. In all reality, the date would normally mean very little.

If Dan had not written a post commemorating his year anniversary (February 11th 2005), I would never have known that we started posting only 2 days apart. How weird.


Posted by layla at 8:30 PM | Comments (0)

February 23, 2006

Spain

Here are a few random pictures from the trip Dan and I took to Spain. Enjoy.











Posted by layla at 11:30 PM | Comments (0)

February 22, 2006

I live on the east side

If you're not gonna be a part of a civil society, then just get in your car and drive on over to the East Side.
-Kramer

Posted by layla at 7:51 PM | Comments (1)

February 21, 2006

New Motion

Dan has mentioned the motion LE1600 before. He was using it for awhile. Well, today, I got in my motion LS800. When it was time for me to get a new machine at work the LS800 is what I picked and it came in today. I picked it up right before leaving work, so I haven't really had time to do much with it yet.

I was actually with some people from Motion Computing the day this little machine hit the market (last summer). I have liked it ever since. There are plenty of different needs for computers which have better matches. For me this is going to be a nice little everywhere I go machine.

Posted by layla at 7:09 PM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2006

Crazy cat fun

In case you have forgotten that Aleph is a crazy cat, here are a few pictures.
This is him on my back. I think I had him on my shoulder and he ended up on my back some how.



He actually sat there for quite some time. I finally knelt down to try to convince him to get off of me. Good thing Fifo happened to walk by.



Here he is parked in his computer case garage.



A final picture to prove that with a bit of catnip, Fifo is just as nutty.





Posted by layla at 8:22 PM | Comments (0)

February 19, 2006

Sold

My mom called me yesterday to tell me that she sold her house. This is not really unexpected. It has been on the market for a few months as she has been looking for a house in AZ instead. It is really great that she is moving on and is able to have the freedom to live somewhere other than NM. With the exception of years traveling, I spent most of my youth living there so there are many memories. When Dan and I were last in NM we took a few pictures, expecting that it would be the last time we saw the place.

Here is a picture of my hand next to the imprint of my hand back in '85 when my mom put in the flagstone which she cut from a mountain side.

It means a great deal to me that I have a few pictures and more than anything that Dan was able to see the house I grew up in.

Posted by layla at 8:12 PM | Comments (0)

February 18, 2006

Boeing pen

As like any tour, the end of the boeing tour drops off at the gift shop. That silly little thing in the picture is what I came home with. It is completely ugly. Yes, that is pink and orange plastic. Anyways, it is still neat. You can probably tell that it is about the size of a quarter. The inside (the pink part) rotates to either hide or display the pen portion. It would be even better if I got a neat colored ink — then there would be an excuse for the hideous plastic color.

I haven't yet decided if I should toss it in my purse or clip it to my badge. If it were black or some non-ridiculous color I would consider adding it to my key chain.


Posted by layla at 9:16 PM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2006

Software patterns

Today I attended a training/workshop on design patterns taught by Alan Shalloway. I was pleasantly surprised with the class. Shalloway has literally written the book on the subject, but he also proved to be fantastic at group speaking.

I had some experience with design patterns, but I have not used them much. The class really brought together practical uses of pattern with other techniques such as agile programming, test-driven development, scrum planning and so on. If you are a software person, you have probably used or at least heard of most of these techniques. None of these techniques are that difficult to understand, but it takes getting in the right mindset to properly use them together. For instance, what has been hard for me in the past was trying to find one pattern to match a problem perfectly. Luckily I think I got over that today.

Anyways, for those of you interested in getting some pretty good information, Alan Shalloway is the CEO of netobjectives, and all the information is at http://netobjectives.com/. Some of my favorite parts of the training today were the discussions of specific solutions. I doubt that will be found on the site, but the core information is there. If you have a chance to take one of the courses offered though, I highly recommend it.

Posted by layla at 10:03 PM | Comments (3)

February 16, 2006

Next NM trips planned

I mentioned before that I will be going to New Mexico in March and in April. Well, I have my trips planned (mostly).

March 2nd through March 6th I will be in NM. Most of the this trip will be in Santa Fe and Los Alamos.

April 26th through May 1st Dan and I will both be going to NM. I think most of that trip will be closer to the Rio Rancho area with a bit in Santa Fe.

Both trips I will be super busy. If any of you want to try to meet up though, we can always see if timing ends up working out.

Posted by layla at 6:17 PM | Comments (0)

February 15, 2006

Kitties

It has been far too long since I have posted kitty pictures *cough* too tired to really post *cough*.

Aren't they cute.

Posted by layla at 9:30 PM | Comments (0)

February 14, 2006

Valentine's Day

Today in the middle of the day, Dan brought me 18 red roses with little tiny flowers mixed in. Unfortunately, I missed seeing him because I was talking to my boss in his office. Other than the fact it would have been nice to see Dan mid-day, it was really nice walking in to my office an seeing a massive bouquet completely hiding my keyboard.

Dan is wonderful and has brought me flowers to work on occasion — sometimes for no reason at all. It was really nice to get roses today though, because red roses were the first kind of flower he ever gave me. Come to think of it he brought those first flowers to me at work on a random Tuesday (note that today happens to be a Tuesday as well).

Then for dinner we went to Tap House. If you have been reading this blog long, you have probably read mentionof the place. We eat there fairly often. The sweet thing about the place is that it is when Dan told me he loved me for the first time (of course it was my first time to tell him as well).

Anyways, today was lovely and filled with hints of memories.

Posted by layla at 8:56 PM | Comments (2)

February 13, 2006

Patterns in life

I find that I go through patterns in life. I assume others do as well — some of you might even relate exactly to what I am about to talk about. I won't make that assumption though, so bare with me if what I say is obvious.

Like I was saying, I have a few core mindsets that I cycle through. Only when I look back do I really even see this pattern. To lay out a few that have been particularly prevalent for me, here are three: confident that I can take on the world; passionate and content that everything is as good as it could be; remembering that I do not enjoy just being comfortable; wondering what it is that I miss. Repeat. There are not harsh lines dividing them. I usually have a bit of all four, but at times one stands out a little more. The point of dominance is what I am focusing on.

I do not value any point along the path any more or less, nor do I regret going through the wave. Really I quite enjoy it. This is what ends up driving me. Sure there are outside forces (people, goals, ideas) which make me passionate, but internally this pattern is how I find the desire to drive my path. I will explain what the different so called patterns mean to me.

I can look back and see this exact pattern as far back as I can remember. My specific interests have changed over the years, but this is how I work. I would not have it any other way. By the way, I know that I did not say what mood I am in right now. That was deliberate. The thoughts about the specifics are mine, but I wanted to share something I have never sat down and talked about.



Posted by layla at 9:27 PM | Comments (0)

February 12, 2006

Paper please

When I ask for paper instead of plastic at the grocery story, it is not because I am in need of paper. Like most people who like their bags to be paper, it is to save on plastic. Today, I bought a small amount (enough for one bag) and I asked for paper.

The honeymoon is over! I admit it, there are stupid people in Washington.

Take a look at the first picture — this is what was given to me.



Take a closer look. Yep, there are 3, count them, 3 plastic bags with my paper. One on the outside to hold the paper ??? and two to hold other things on the inside.

Great — now I have a bunch of bags.

Posted by layla at 10:04 PM | Comments (2)

February 11, 2006

Online window shopping

I have been looking at furniture. Mind you, now is absolutely not the right time to buy anything. Since we are moving in less than 2 months we don't need more to move. Still, we are going to get a larger place — so we can have an office. We also want the office to double as guest room. At the moment we have a futon as our couch. So, either we need a couch or another something that can double as a bed.

Anyways I have been getting a feel for what is out there. the real reason I have spent my whole evening searching around has to do with feeling sick still. I have felt sick for so many day that I have started to feela little down. What better way to cheer up than shopping!?! well, window shopping at least. Good thing I can browse in my pjs late at night.

Note: I wrote this whole post on a tablet and this is how it recognized my handwriting — rock'n.

Posted by layla at 11:01 PM | Comments (0)

February 10, 2006

Broken imagination == beef stew

Being sick can definitely break ones imagination, that is why I made beef stew. Well, kind of. I just felt like beef stew and I wanted to make something easy. It won't be ready until tomorrow, so I can't say whether or not it is any good. Like most things I cook, it is a bit different each time, but here is how I made it tonight.

Brown the meat in a small amount of hot oil (I used olive oil). Place all veggies in the crock pot; then add the browned beef on top. Season, then cover with the liquids (broth and beer). Cook on low in the crock pot for around 8 hours.


Posted by layla at 7:53 PM | Comments (1)

February 9, 2006

Apartment searching

Remember the days when looking for an apartment meant driving around a looking at places that may or may not have anything close to what you want? Or even better sifting through the newspaper trying to figure out what some mismatched blurb meant.

There are tons of online sites now that allow for the initial scan to be done from the comfort of home. Since I have been home sick, I have been checking out the apartments listed at apartments.com and rentnet.com. We still have about a month before we really have to start looking, but it doesn't hurt to start early.

It is way to hard to pick a place to live off of a few pictures online. What I do know now is what the prices are for each place and a bit of what to expect. I also have a list of places for us to check out and a list that is not worth the time. I have cut the ones that are more than we want to spend and the ones that it is clear we won't like.

Posted by layla at 7:46 PM | Comments (3)

February 8, 2006

Home sick

I have accomplished absolutely nothing over the past two days. It is really rare for me to sit at home and do nothing. Dan and I usually do something fun or useful on the weekends.

I haven't left the house in two days, I feel like a bum. Even if I don't feel completely better tomorrow I will likely go to work anyways. I can always keep my door closed so I don't get people sick.

The highlight of my afternoon was that the cats (Aleph and Fifo) slept on the couch with me for a few hours. Once Dan came home it was better though — he even picked up Chinese food for dinner.


Posted by layla at 8:02 PM | Comments (1)

February 7, 2006

Digit++

99 posts already on the journal ... add one more, pass it around, 100 posts on the journal. Oh wait, that isn't how the song goes at all.

Anyways, this here is my 100th post to this journal. Yeah. Woohoo! Surely this means something. In base 10, I finally have reached triple digits. This calls for a celebration — maybe not.


Posted by layla at 5:21 PM | Comments (0)

February 6, 2006

Aqua Teen Hunger Force -- all at once

Dan and I don't actually have TV. We have cable internet, but not the TV service. We don't even have little bunny ears. So aside from at the gym (the have TV to watch while exercising) and clips of MSN, there are very few TV shows we watch.

We have all 4 DVD box sets that are out for Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Excuse the digression, but I have to mention that I never call the show by its name. Instead I always call it Meat Sticks or some other descriptive term that Dan will understand. This actually started before I had watched them — I thought it would be dumb so I teased it. Since, Aqua Teen Hunger Force is too long, my nicknames stayed.

Back to my point. Last night Dan and I opened the 4th box set for the first time. Dan accidentally clicked play all. It didn't matter though; we figured we would just stop it when we were done watching. Oh my goodness! We did not get what we expected! Normally play all, plays one episode after the other in a row. Not with this DVD — it plays all of the episodes at the same time. Very cool.

Posted by layla at 7:26 AM | Comments (3)

February 5, 2006

!/dev/null

There are people who read both my journal and Dan's. Recently we got a complaint that our journals look to similar — specifically our background colors. I didn't find a color that I like, but as you can tell ... I fixed the confusion problem.

Posted by layla at 10:59 AM | Comments (2)

February 4, 2006

Red and green

Bonnie and Jeff are coming over tonight and I made red and green enchiladas for dinner. The green ones are pretty much the same as I usually make (except made with tofu instead of the canned soup - thanks Jarrod). The red ones have a different spin on them. It could just be that I have been away from NM for awhile, but the way I made them reminds me very much of NM.

So here is what I put in the red chili enchiladas

I basically cook all of the ingredients and mix them — except for the cheese and tortillas. Then layer tortilla, mix, cheese — repeat. Cook until warm and melty at 350-375.


Posted by layla at 6:02 PM | Comments (5)

February 3, 2006

Fly fishing

This is probably the last post about the makeover. This time I need your input. Well, from most of you. So, you guys ... how many of you fly fish? Anyone?

There is an actual debate going on, and your opinion counts.

Edit: Just to be clear, I am not asking for details.

Posted by layla at 8:46 PM | Comments (6)

February 2, 2006

Before and after

So, a bit late, but here are the makeover pictures:

Before

After

We didn't go crazy, but I think we did a great job. He was happy enough that he took us to basically pick out a new wardrobe for him tonight.

Posted by layla at 8:26 PM | Comments (10)

February 1, 2006

Widmer Drop Top scored high (with me)

I tried the amber beer, Widmer Drop Top, for the first time last night. Dan, Manuel, Rich and I all went to Tap House last night. Of course I had the choose your own sampler.

The biggest disappointment was that Tap House no longer carries Chamomellow on tap — how sad. The other let down was the Snoqualmie IPA. I just don't think I am a very big IPA fan in general.

The complete list in my beer sampler last night (relatively ranked 1-10 10 being highest)

Ta-da! There you go — my expert beer scoring.

Posted by layla at 8:35 PM | Comments (3)

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This weblog expresses my personal thoughts. Nothing of what I say here is affiliated with my employer.