Friday, June 13, 2008

Ahh to be irresponsible again . . .


Yesterday one of my favorite video game franchises saw it's latest release out of the starting gates. Metal Gear Solid 4 is now out for the Playstation 3, which is double bad news for me because 1- I don't have a PS3 and, 2 - I've pretty much made up my mind to go with the Xbox 36o when I do finally catch up to the next generation. I've been absorbing the reviews today (a couple perfect 10's found their way into the mix), drooling, and dreaming of what could be if only I was more financially irresponsible. I suppose I will play it some day, but it could be a couple years.


Speaking of financially responsibility, the wife and I have officially begun house hunting. We met with a mortgage lender this week and next week we'll go look at some houses with an agent.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

vegan airport dining

When flying back to Seattle, I was nervous about trying to eat vegan for several reasons. One of them was how I was going to manage my eating during 6-8 hours of travel. This may not seem like a big deal, but I've always been the type of person who picks up a "snack" wherever I can get it. My metabolism is still cranking away and I find that I get hungry pretty quick. Usually this has meant grabbing something from McDonald's (those McGriddles are my weakness) or some Panda Express Chinese or something. I packed enough food to hold me over, but that dang airport food is always so tempting. Fortunately this time, I was able to indulge my grumbling belly with something other than my apple, PBJ, pretzels, and fruit and nut mix. Before I left I found this blog post, and I just happened to be flying in to Minneapolis, so I was in luck. From what I hear vegans in other airports usually have a much harder time.
Here's how I fared at the French Meadow Cafe and Bakery.
1- On the way out I chowed on a bowl of black bean chili with a couple slices of bread. It was pretty good, but not spectacular.
2- On the way home I had an almost 3 hour lay over, so I splurged on a Grilled, Marinated Tempeh Reuben, and it was fabulous. It even inspired me to grab a loaf of rye bread from the bakery to try my own version in the next week.
3. And for dessert, vegan carrot cake - delicious.
I'll be trying to connect in Minneapolis whenever possible from now on :)


Tuesday, June 3, 2008

the almost summertime update

SEATTLE This past weekend I had a great time visiting friends and family in the Seattle area. It was only a three day venture, but it was time well spent. As our friend Jeremy was getting married, much of the time was spent on wedding stuff. Derek Wright stayed with me at my parents' house and let me tag along with him and his rental car - a nice little convertible. A couple highlights were a fabulous rehearsal dinner at Salty's, a day hike on Rattlesnake Ledge with my pops, hanging out with my parents and grandma, a get-together at Dustin and Jenae's new place, and of course the wedding. Here are some pictures from the trip:


SUMMER At this point I have three finals to give and then I'm done with school completely. After Friday, I'll finish up a little bit of grading, clean up my crap, and then I'm free for the summer. For those of you who haven't heard I got a job at a different school for next year. It is a much bigger Christian school and I did my student teaching there, which means I already have a lot of good connections with some good people. It is sad to leave my current school as I like it a lot, but I'm currently only 35% FTE and am looking forward to the boost up to 81% next year. That's the main reason for the change. This summer I'll continue to work at the bakery part-time, and I'm hoping to find something else to help make money and give me less free time to spend money. Painting is one very good option. Jehova Jireh! Because of the new job, the month of August (especially the second half) will find me pretty busy to be sure - planning, decorating, organizing, etc. before the storm hits (school starts).