Engaged!

My sweety proposed to me yesterday and I couldn't be more thrilled! It was a very very special x-mas present and I'm happy to spend the rest of my life with her.. Of course she already knew that.

Before that we had the best little dinner by the fireplace in our own place.

Life is good.

The Offical Slum Lord

Our scooter club in Houston nicknamed our close friend Dmitry "Slum Lord" because Casey and I lived in his garage apartment. It was a joke because Dmitry is the sweetest man in the world and gave us nothing less than everything. But unfortunately we have now met the official Slum Lord. He drives an Cadillac escalade. It may just be our first sour taste but it is really starting to turn into a bad feeling, especially after talking to our neighbor renters. Casey and I had our hopes up so high. We have been either living 200 miles apart or in other peoples places for the past 2 years. This is our first home and I guess we just wanted everything to be "perfect." In short we have, no mailbox, no stove, no working bathroom sink and when you are paying $1,4000 a month that is complete bullshit. No excuses. I really hate bitching. I am thankful for so many things in life. Casey and I are really happy to have our own place. We celebrated our first night here with a special toast of champagne. We'll get through this and anything else in our path.

Birthday Road Trip

Casey took me to the Space Needle restaurant for my birthday. What a view! I totally recommend it even if it means going only once because of the price. I had a memorable birthday. With 2 cakes and being sung to countless times over the weekend. The Sugar Shack made my red velvet cake. It was oh so good.

We had a fun time in Portland. Will is an amazing artist and it was fun helping him set up for his opening party. Casey and I were designated as the wine and food watchdogs. We were shocked at some peoples "habits." One of these boats will be an installation in our new house.

On the way back to Seattle we stopped at Debbie and Dave's in Graham, WA to see Natalie, her Casey and her 7-month hump. They are complete goofballs.

Festivities.

A lot happened this week. We signed our lease to the house and will be moving in on Dec. 15. My cousins from Oregon and New York came out for Thanksgiving. It was quite a feast. I made a "made-from-scratch" green bean casserole and Casey made Texas style corn bread (Hosanna's recipe). This Thursday we are going down to Portland to visit our friend Will's art show and also to celebrate my birthday (yay for 29!). On the way back up to Seattle we will be stopping by Graham, WA to visit my friend Natalie (from Sante Fe) and her mom.

We found our new home!

Looks like we will be moving soon...a whole three blocks away. The rental is a cute one bedroom house with a separate garage (workspace for Casey). There is a large yard with a massive tree in front and the house sits back on the property so we have tons of privacy. We love this neighborhood (Capital Hill) so we are happy to be able to continue living here. You can view more photos of the house by clicking HERE.

Date Day.

Yesterday was our unofficial Date Day. We went to a matinee screening of A Serious Man. The Cohen brothers have come out with yet another masterpiece. I won't ruin the plot, but it is definitely worth seeing and will leave you hanging at the end. For dinner we decided to check out this "urban" sushi restaurant that I had a coupon for. The food was good and we were impressed with the low key atmosphere (no white tablecloths) and low prices. Casey misses his favorite Sushi spot in South Austin and was telling stories about the Sushi Pimp. Later that night we went to see Michael Winslow a.k.a. the Man of 10,000 sounds (Police Academy, Spaceballs). I got last minute complimetary tix by email. The show was awesome! He is an extremely talented performer who really puts on a show. Here is a clip of his impersonation of Robert Plant. In the 1 month since we have moved here Casey and I have gone to 3 comedy shows. Next week we are seeing Harland Williams (Half Baked) with a couple we met at a previous comedy show.

The flu shot made me sick.

Thinking that I might have to nanny to earn some money while on the job hunt, I got the seasonal flu shot on Thursday. I have been feeling ill since Saturday with a cough, sore throat, head congestion, etc. I know that no one believes me, but I think the flu shot got me sick. This has happened once before a couple years back. I went on the CDC website and it only lists possibility for getting these symptoms under the nasal vaccine. Casey thinks they are hiding information so more people go get it. While doing some internet research I have found some interesting articles about the flu vaccine like one from the Atlantic on how the efficiency of the vaccine has never really been tested. In summary, I have decided not to get the shot again until I am really in one of those high risk levels.

Post Numero Uno.

Casey and I have decided to start a blog to help keep in contact with all of our friends and family, especially those in Texas we recently had to say farewell to. I will try to keep this blog more informative and less narcissictic than some of them out there. We look forward to sharing our Emerald City adventures with you along our journey. I will end this entry with a photo of Whiskey enjoying her first cup of Jo (with some strange salty sailor in the background). We miss all y'all!