And I'm awake. In fact, I've already taken the dogs out to pee. But my plan is to get a little more shut-eye before I'm really up for the day. The first item on my agenda for when I get up is to shop online for replacements for everything my mutts have chewed in the last couple of days...my Nike running jacket, sunglasses, and one of the slats of our wooden blinds. Then I'm going to write a check for the man painting our house so I can meet him at a McDonald's to give it to him this afternoon. The Palmers and Millers love sketchy parking lot transactions.
The weather is still beautiful, which means I will be enforcing my strict policy of not spending time indoors on a day off, so I am hoping to get in a short jog and/or a walk with the pups. Then I'm scheduled to head to the pool at the Cottonwoods Resort for Hope's bachelorette party Round 2. Last night was happy hour at the girls' suite at Cottonwoods followed by dinner at Blanco next door. Yum! The rest of the girls went out in Scottsdale, but everyone knows Lu can't hang on a Friday night. Hopefully I'll get to go to the lake on Sunday with Shawn and Elaine to get the maximum amount of sunshine possible this weekend. Dylan arrives home from Frosh's bachelor party in New Orleans tomorrow night, so I have a lovely 2-hour round trip airport run to look forward to. That's all she wrote!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
A visit from T&M Miller
On the eve of Tess and Mikaila's final day of their visit, I shall provide you with a (lengthy) re-cap of their trip out here. Their trip began with the previously mentioned PPP/Greasewood/Reata Pass adventure on Friday. On Saturday, D, T, M, and I went to the spring training game in Scottsdale...the weather was beautiful, but our seats were less than desirable and sitting in the direct sun got very HOT, so we didn't last all that long. We went to the Civic Center mall afterwards, and Tess taught me some fundamentals of photography. Then we walked around Old Town for a few minutes and wrapped up the afternoon at Yogurtland. Very delicious! That evening, we went to Eric Probstfeld's 30th birthday party, where we enjoyed a fabulous Mexican feast.
On Monday, the girls watched Hudson, while Kristin returned to work from maternity leave for her first day. Then, we all went out to Sushi Broker's and Yogurtology after I was done working. Today, I met the girls at my mom's house so she could show Tess her photography studio. We took a few head shots and put together mom's new light, but we didn't get to use it in a photo shoot, as the popping, snapping, smoke, and curious smell coming from the light caused caused us to fear that it might blow up. The girls had gone to Fashion Square, and of course, Yogurtland during the day, and we all just got home from spaghetti dinner across the street, prepared by Kristina. Now all the natural born Millers are watching the latest LOST, while this not-yet-legally-a-Miller posts this ever important blog. Tomorrow brings more work for me, while the girls have another Hudson-sitting session, followed by backyard firepit/s'mores/telescope night.
I also want to take this opportunity to give a shout-out to Rosati's Pizza, which was the hosted lunch at work today. It's some of the Valley's best, but not a good choice for large parties or those choosing pizza for their meal because of its low cost. I look forward to sharing with you how my Silver Mine sub tastes for lunch tomorrow.
Here is some good news for you: tomorrow is Hump Day! Hang in there working folk, the weekend is in sight. Dylan will be out of town this weekend...maybe I'll look into finishing my taxes or legally changing my last name. But probably not. Here's my list of things to change my name on so far: social security, drivers license, passport, pharmacist license, work documents, mortgage, insurance, car registration & title, bank accounts and credit cards, student loan account, magazine subscriptions, and the way I identify myself, not to mention the things I haven't thought of yet. So overwhelming. Goodnight!
On Sunday, Dylan took all of us girls out on Randy the Rhino. We hung out by the Verde River for a while...but the most exciting part of the ride was the humongous rattlesnake that we (accidentally) ran over while it slithered across our path. Ugh, I HATE snakes. Now I am going to be paranoid every time I take my dogs for a walk or go outside for any reason until the snakes go back into hibernation next winter. After the adventurous morning, we took a trip to H&M and the Mac store and then stopped by Costco and Fry's to gather the goods required for hosting my whole family for dinner that night.
On Monday, the girls watched Hudson, while Kristin returned to work from maternity leave for her first day. Then, we all went out to Sushi Broker's and Yogurtology after I was done working. Today, I met the girls at my mom's house so she could show Tess her photography studio. We took a few head shots and put together mom's new light, but we didn't get to use it in a photo shoot, as the popping, snapping, smoke, and curious smell coming from the light caused caused us to fear that it might blow up. The girls had gone to Fashion Square, and of course, Yogurtland during the day, and we all just got home from spaghetti dinner across the street, prepared by Kristina. Now all the natural born Millers are watching the latest LOST, while this not-yet-legally-a-Miller posts this ever important blog. Tomorrow brings more work for me, while the girls have another Hudson-sitting session, followed by backyard firepit/s'mores/telescope night.
I also want to take this opportunity to give a shout-out to Rosati's Pizza, which was the hosted lunch at work today. It's some of the Valley's best, but not a good choice for large parties or those choosing pizza for their meal because of its low cost. I look forward to sharing with you how my Silver Mine sub tastes for lunch tomorrow.
Here is some good news for you: tomorrow is Hump Day! Hang in there working folk, the weekend is in sight. Dylan will be out of town this weekend...maybe I'll look into finishing my taxes or legally changing my last name. But probably not. Here's my list of things to change my name on so far: social security, drivers license, passport, pharmacist license, work documents, mortgage, insurance, car registration & title, bank accounts and credit cards, student loan account, magazine subscriptions, and the way I identify myself, not to mention the things I haven't thought of yet. So overwhelming. Goodnight!
Monday, March 22, 2010
A Lu Happy Hour Special Report
I can't believe I've never mentioned Sushi Brokers on this blog before, but Dylan, Tess, Mikaila, Michael, his friend Andre, and I just went there, and it made me want to report on it. You'll only want to go before 6:30 or after 10 so you can take full advantage of the terrific happy hour prices. Dylan and I got out of there today with full bellies of sushi for under $20! They have several $4 rolls and also some specialty rolls for $8. My favorite is the spicy tuna roll, which is several degrees spicier than any other spicy tuna roll I've ever had, but very tasty. Also, their calamari is SO delicious. It's only the rings and none of the brains, and the dipping sauce is outta this world and unlike any other. I haven't explored much else on the menu and don't really have much to report on the drinks, except a couple of our friends tonight enjoyed $4 Long Islands. I order the same thing every time: all of the above, plus an order of edamame ($2.50).
Other Lu Sushi Honorable Mentions go to:
Sakana- Located on Indian Bend & Hayden, they have a Customer Appreciation Menu every night, Sunday-Thursday. If you buy a beer (or is it any alcoholic beverage??) you get your choice of one of four $1 appetizers. They also have a selection of rolls for very reasonable prices, but they are "appetizer" sizes. I actually didn't notice they were smaller than normal. Delicious and reasonably priced!
Kyoto- Located in Old Town, I haven't been there in SO long, but all I can remember is that it's delicious and cheap!
Kona Grill- See previous blog on their happy hour...they have several sushi options...SO good and excellently priced!
Lu Sushi FAIL (I don't remember any of their names because I don't waste brain power on bad restaurants):
That place on Thompson Peak and Hayden by Fry's- Falsely advertised sushi happy hour on their website, very expensive, average taste
That place on 92nd and Shea by Chompie's- Expensive!
That place on 90th St. and Mountain View-ish by Ajo Al's- Expensive!
The place on Thompson Peak and Bell by Bashas'- Okay prices, not that great
The place on Pinnacle Peak and Scottsdale- I don't remember much, but I haven't been back. Must not have been too great.
South Beach- Expensive, atmosphere too posh, but one of our friends insists its his favorite
Celsius- On Tatum just west of Desert Ridge, the food was great and not too expensive if I can remember correctly, but they CLOSED DOWN. Boo.
Lu Sushi Neutral:
RA- I've only ever had it at work, so I've never been responsible for the paycheck (but hear it's pretty pricey). It's really tasty though!
If you have any sushi suggestions to offer, please send them my way! Also noteworthy from my night was our visit to Yogurtology on Thompson Peak and FLW. Because we had just visited Yogurtland (near Sprinkles on Camelback and Scottsdale) on Saturday, and I can safely compare and contrast the two. The yogurt and toppings were equally delicious at both places, but I paid less than half for my yogurt at Yogurtland, and my yogurt was not that much smaller. I understand the craze with this self-serve soft-serve yogurt thing. It makes a great, light dessert!
More to come in the next few days on our visit from The Miller Girls!
Other Lu Sushi Honorable Mentions go to:
Sakana- Located on Indian Bend & Hayden, they have a Customer Appreciation Menu every night, Sunday-Thursday. If you buy a beer (or is it any alcoholic beverage??) you get your choice of one of four $1 appetizers. They also have a selection of rolls for very reasonable prices, but they are "appetizer" sizes. I actually didn't notice they were smaller than normal. Delicious and reasonably priced!
Kyoto- Located in Old Town, I haven't been there in SO long, but all I can remember is that it's delicious and cheap!
Kona Grill- See previous blog on their happy hour...they have several sushi options...SO good and excellently priced!
Lu Sushi FAIL (I don't remember any of their names because I don't waste brain power on bad restaurants):
That place on Thompson Peak and Hayden by Fry's- Falsely advertised sushi happy hour on their website, very expensive, average taste
That place on 92nd and Shea by Chompie's- Expensive!
That place on 90th St. and Mountain View-ish by Ajo Al's- Expensive!
The place on Thompson Peak and Bell by Bashas'- Okay prices, not that great
The place on Pinnacle Peak and Scottsdale- I don't remember much, but I haven't been back. Must not have been too great.
South Beach- Expensive, atmosphere too posh, but one of our friends insists its his favorite
Celsius- On Tatum just west of Desert Ridge, the food was great and not too expensive if I can remember correctly, but they CLOSED DOWN. Boo.
Lu Sushi Neutral:
RA- I've only ever had it at work, so I've never been responsible for the paycheck (but hear it's pretty pricey). It's really tasty though!
If you have any sushi suggestions to offer, please send them my way! Also noteworthy from my night was our visit to Yogurtology on Thompson Peak and FLW. Because we had just visited Yogurtland (near Sprinkles on Camelback and Scottsdale) on Saturday, and I can safely compare and contrast the two. The yogurt and toppings were equally delicious at both places, but I paid less than half for my yogurt at Yogurtland, and my yogurt was not that much smaller. I understand the craze with this self-serve soft-serve yogurt thing. It makes a great, light dessert!
More to come in the next few days on our visit from The Miller Girls!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Bar Hop
We did Pinnacle Peak Patio, Reata Pass, and Greasewood Flat all in one night! Actually we didn't quite get into Greasewood...Mikaila so politely showed her ID because that's what the sign said to do, and the bouncer asked her, "Why are you showing me your ID if you're not 21?" and denied the group entry. It was really funny, and we didn't care because it was getting too cold to be out there anyways.
The night (or late afternoon I should say) began at PPP, where Max, Michael, and I enjoyed $2 microbrews on happy hour. What a deal! The white chocolate brew is what I recommend if you ever make it out to my neighborhood for their happy hour. They also boast half price appetizers, but don't get too excited because this is their entire app menu: fries, onion rings, and jalapeno poppers. Dylan picked up the girls from the airport in the All-Star driving car and met us out, which is when the Greasewood Flat incident occurred. We went next door to Reata Pass, where the happy hour goes till 7 (PPP's is only till 6), and enjoyed a couple more brews and some din din. Nick Mason even made an appearance with his New York City girlfriend. What a treat! The night ended with Tess driving Dylan home in the All Star car and Mikaila taking me home in Val the Volvo. We love having the girls here with us anyways, but their willingness to chauffeur their over-indulgent brother and sister is just another perk!
I showed the girls my senior picture just before going to bed, and we all got a good laugh upon seeing my mushroom haircut. Joe and Ramona snuck into bed with them, where I am sure they behaved just like little angels (yeah right). Well, it's Saturday morning, the happiest time of the week! Happy Weekend!
The night (or late afternoon I should say) began at PPP, where Max, Michael, and I enjoyed $2 microbrews on happy hour. What a deal! The white chocolate brew is what I recommend if you ever make it out to my neighborhood for their happy hour. They also boast half price appetizers, but don't get too excited because this is their entire app menu: fries, onion rings, and jalapeno poppers. Dylan picked up the girls from the airport in the All-Star driving car and met us out, which is when the Greasewood Flat incident occurred. We went next door to Reata Pass, where the happy hour goes till 7 (PPP's is only till 6), and enjoyed a couple more brews and some din din. Nick Mason even made an appearance with his New York City girlfriend. What a treat! The night ended with Tess driving Dylan home in the All Star car and Mikaila taking me home in Val the Volvo. We love having the girls here with us anyways, but their willingness to chauffeur their over-indulgent brother and sister is just another perk!
I showed the girls my senior picture just before going to bed, and we all got a good laugh upon seeing my mushroom haircut. Joe and Ramona snuck into bed with them, where I am sure they behaved just like little angels (yeah right). Well, it's Saturday morning, the happiest time of the week! Happy Weekend!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Spring has sprung! A weekend overview...
It's amazing how quickly some sunshine and warmth can transform AngryLu into PleasantLu. I am so happy about this week's forecast that I keep talking about it with everyone, just like an old person. And it's in perfect time...the Miller girls will be here on Friday! The only downside is that I'm indoors everyday, but that is why I spend every moment of the weekend days outside.
We started off our weekend with breakfast at the Palmers, followed by a long walk with all four dogs and Baby Hudson. He took this opportunity to debut his new shades. What a cool guy.
After our walk, Dylan and I cruised down to Reata Pass to take a look at the Horseman's Alliance yard sale being held in the parking lot. We found no treasures but had fun. Right about the time we got home, Max was called into work while Kristin was still out shopping, so D and I had our first unsupervised babysitting experience. Look how happy Hudson was to spend an hour at Aunt Lu's house.
The culinary genius in Dylan came out for lunch, and he prepared me this delicious sando!
BUT, before our delicious dinner (and after the yummy sando), Dylan and I took Randy the Rhino on a ride and ALMOST made it to the river when we discovered a very flat left rear tire. Fortunately Dylan has a portable air compressor, but it really didn't help because the valve was busted. We knew Max would be rolling by shortly, and we were rescued a short time later when he came back for us with the trailer. We did get close enough to the river that we were able to walk to the shore while we waited for our rescue.
On Sunday, Dylan left early for a quick trip to Seattle. In fact, he just walked in the door from his trip so I'd better wrap this up! I know how sad that must make you...I might not get to EVERY detail of my Sunday. I went on Max and Kristin's boat with their houseguests and their houseguest's houseguests. We cruised around Bartlett for a little bit and grilled some burgers on the back deck, then I came home for a little while before having a delicious steak, courtesy of Jojo, across the street (it really was a very red meat sorta weekend). Max and Kristin took really good care of me...how lucky I am to have them so close!
Just finished straightening up after a fun, whirlwind dinner with the family at my house, and I'm heading to bed shortly. I have a 5am alarm to look forward to. I don't know what could be better than that. At least my husband can get enough sleep for the two of us before his afternoon tee time. The good news is Monday is over, and I have another rollerblading session with Amy tomorrow! Have a great rest of your week!
P.S. I have a new gym membership to 24-hour Fitness, courtesy of Diamondback Drugs. Someone make me go!
We started off our weekend with breakfast at the Palmers, followed by a long walk with all four dogs and Baby Hudson. He took this opportunity to debut his new shades. What a cool guy.
After our walk, Dylan and I cruised down to Reata Pass to take a look at the Horseman's Alliance yard sale being held in the parking lot. We found no treasures but had fun. Right about the time we got home, Max was called into work while Kristin was still out shopping, so D and I had our first unsupervised babysitting experience. Look how happy Hudson was to spend an hour at Aunt Lu's house.
The culinary genius in Dylan came out for lunch, and he prepared me this delicious sando!
And I suppose I should continue the play-by-play of what I ate on Saturday by telling you that we grilled flank steak with Max and Kristin, and it was SO delicious!
On Sunday, Dylan left early for a quick trip to Seattle. In fact, he just walked in the door from his trip so I'd better wrap this up! I know how sad that must make you...I might not get to EVERY detail of my Sunday. I went on Max and Kristin's boat with their houseguests and their houseguest's houseguests. We cruised around Bartlett for a little bit and grilled some burgers on the back deck, then I came home for a little while before having a delicious steak, courtesy of Jojo, across the street (it really was a very red meat sorta weekend). Max and Kristin took really good care of me...how lucky I am to have them so close!
Just finished straightening up after a fun, whirlwind dinner with the family at my house, and I'm heading to bed shortly. I have a 5am alarm to look forward to. I don't know what could be better than that. At least my husband can get enough sleep for the two of us before his afternoon tee time. The good news is Monday is over, and I have another rollerblading session with Amy tomorrow! Have a great rest of your week!
P.S. I have a new gym membership to 24-hour Fitness, courtesy of Diamondback Drugs. Someone make me go!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Whew!
Per usual, I am up at 7am on a Saturday while the rest of my world continues to snooze. Hey, when your alarm clock regularly goes off at 5am, it's hard for a body to transition to weekend mode. I regularly pass the early morning weekend hours on the Internet, and this morning I visited the Haggerphal blog and was very inspired to write. Great work in the last week or so, Nora! And thanks for the shout-out! And while I'm on the topic of shout-outs, you should check out Dylan's blog at blindvector.com. It really blows this one out of the water...and if you're into aviation you'll find it very interesting.
So, last night was fun. Actually I don't even know what happened last night, because I went down at about the same time as the sun. We spent a lovely afternoon celebrating Shawn's 30th birthday at the Kona Grill happy hour. It is one of the best happy hours in town, ranking right up there with Elephant Bar (see below). $3 delicious spicy tuna rolls and $3 beers (or $3.50 ladies margaritas) are my favorite part. And a special bonus was the sunshine and mild warmth (so mild it was almost chilly). It has been so cold and rainy all winter...everyone here is ready for some sun. Anyhow, unbeknownst to me, the margaritas at Kona are on par with those at Z Tejas and before I knew it BAM! My two drinks (and most of Dylan's last beer) hit me very hard. I woke up in bed at around midnight to the sound of Dylan's video games and a taste in my mouth indicative of the fact that I had not brushed my teeth (which rarely ever happens). When I asked him what happened, he said I had been sleeping since 7:45. So, now that I have gotten over 11 hours of sleep I am ready to rock and roll again! Let this be a lesson to all: Lu's body absolutely, positively will not let her enjoy a late Friday night out after getting up early to work all week, ESPECIALLY when the drinks start flowing early. Yeah, that was more of a stated fact rather than a lesson, but take from it what you will.
We are looking forward to spending most of the weekend outside....sunny and 70's. YAY! Once D and the doggies decide it's an appropriate time to be awake on a Saturday and roll out of bed we might go for a hike. There are also talks of a boating adventure tomorrow. I can't wait to see my precious nephew Hudson in his new life jacket! Dylan is jet-setting to Seattle tomorrow for a quick Laird Norton Tyee board meeting on Monday. Then, my little sisters-in-law arrive next Friday for a week. We are so excited to see Tess and Mikaila! I ordered in some 80 degree weather just for them. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
So, last night was fun. Actually I don't even know what happened last night, because I went down at about the same time as the sun. We spent a lovely afternoon celebrating Shawn's 30th birthday at the Kona Grill happy hour. It is one of the best happy hours in town, ranking right up there with Elephant Bar (see below). $3 delicious spicy tuna rolls and $3 beers (or $3.50 ladies margaritas) are my favorite part. And a special bonus was the sunshine and mild warmth (so mild it was almost chilly). It has been so cold and rainy all winter...everyone here is ready for some sun. Anyhow, unbeknownst to me, the margaritas at Kona are on par with those at Z Tejas and before I knew it BAM! My two drinks (and most of Dylan's last beer) hit me very hard. I woke up in bed at around midnight to the sound of Dylan's video games and a taste in my mouth indicative of the fact that I had not brushed my teeth (which rarely ever happens). When I asked him what happened, he said I had been sleeping since 7:45. So, now that I have gotten over 11 hours of sleep I am ready to rock and roll again! Let this be a lesson to all: Lu's body absolutely, positively will not let her enjoy a late Friday night out after getting up early to work all week, ESPECIALLY when the drinks start flowing early. Yeah, that was more of a stated fact rather than a lesson, but take from it what you will.
We are looking forward to spending most of the weekend outside....sunny and 70's. YAY! Once D and the doggies decide it's an appropriate time to be awake on a Saturday and roll out of bed we might go for a hike. There are also talks of a boating adventure tomorrow. I can't wait to see my precious nephew Hudson in his new life jacket! Dylan is jet-setting to Seattle tomorrow for a quick Laird Norton Tyee board meeting on Monday. Then, my little sisters-in-law arrive next Friday for a week. We are so excited to see Tess and Mikaila! I ordered in some 80 degree weather just for them. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Home Improvements
Friday, March 5, 2010
Dylan goes to training!
Dylan spent this past week in Dallas at recurrent training on the Beechjet, so now he is current to fly again and can pick up some contract work out of Scottsdale. Hooray for Dylan on passing his oral exam! I spent the week catching up with friends doing various activities, including dinner and The Bachelor finale at Kristin and Max's house, rollerblading with Amy on the greenbelt, dinner at my parents' house, dinner at Sauce with Nora and Jess, and a lovely happy hour with Kristen at Elephant Bar. The Elephant Bar happy hour has become one of my favorite: $2 beers and house margaritas, and other great drink and appetizer specials. It's till 7pm and 7 days a week. You better believe I'll be returning there sooner rather than later.
The doggies spent a lot of time cooped up in their laundry room/hallway pen, but luckily their favorite Aunt Krissy came to let them out several times. Also, they spent the day at Petsmart in Day Camp and getting haircuts on Wednesday to break up the week. I felt very secure alone in our house with our new alarm system, and today we found out (the hard way) that if it goes off when nobody is home, the police really will be dispatched! I am really looking forward to Dylan coming home tomorrow...he'll be back just in time for it to get cold and rainy again...but it has been a beautiful 75 degree week in his absence.
Here are some pictures of the dogs looking VERY much less ratty after their big day at Petsmart (see photos below for comparison)
The doggies spent a lot of time cooped up in their laundry room/hallway pen, but luckily their favorite Aunt Krissy came to let them out several times. Also, they spent the day at Petsmart in Day Camp and getting haircuts on Wednesday to break up the week. I felt very secure alone in our house with our new alarm system, and today we found out (the hard way) that if it goes off when nobody is home, the police really will be dispatched! I am really looking forward to Dylan coming home tomorrow...he'll be back just in time for it to get cold and rainy again...but it has been a beautiful 75 degree week in his absence.
Here are some pictures of the dogs looking VERY much less ratty after their big day at Petsmart (see photos below for comparison)
Here are a couple of shots from my walk with the dogs around our neighborhood on a beautiful, sunny day
Friday night was spent at Kristin and Max's with the Meabons and their tiny baby, Kenna. Hudson and Kenna are, of course, boyfriend and girlfriend.
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