Dude, Where's My Pond?

One of the few good things about our dinky apartment is the view. We easily have the best view in the entire complex, or out of any apartment we've ever been in before.

The above shot was taken from our balcony, May 19, 2010. TLC (The Lovely Cynthia) remembers taking it because of the rainbow that day. Our pond is beautiful. Frogs, ducks, geese, a beaver dam, and NO mosquitoes.

Just a few weeks before this picture was taken, there was a large rainstorm. Now I'm not talkin' about a typical Portland rain here...more like the flooding rainstorms I experienced in Brazil that wiped out their dirt roads. A very curious thing happened during that storm; the flow of our pond changed directions. Instead of westbound, the water started flowing east. Maybe there was another event that triggered the change in flow (maybe the beaver dam broke?), but that was definitely the day things changed.

It STILL moves east. And as a result, our pond has changed slowly over time. Almost a full year later (taken May 15th, 2011), here's a picture of our pond. Same balcony, same rainbow in the picture.

 

Tragic. I'm almost on the verge of  getting out there and starting my own dam. Maybe I can get the apartment complex management to lower the rent due to the eyesore out the back window? Heh, prob'ly not.

Licked

Apparently there are fifty licks in the average ice cream cone. Now to solve that mystery for Tootsie Pops...

I've mentioned the flavor-intensive ice creams from Fifty Licks twice on this blog, each time we went to the Food Cart Festival. Recently, we discovered our favorite ice cream from a food cart is now available at the grocery store! Yipee! Now we're absolutely hooked. If you're at a Whole Foods or New Seasons in Portland, pick some up...trust me, it's worth the 6 bucks.

The three oh-so-cute boxes above come from our three favorite flavors:

Coconut Lemon Saffron Sorbet: it's the vegan offering from Fifty Licks. Not only is the coconut milk flavor extremely decadent, it also somehow adds the rare spices cardamom and saffron in a perfect blend. It's quite the experience.

Tahitian Vanilla: vanilla ice cream the way it was meant to be enjoyed. If you've ever said the phrase "plain vanilla" you must repent and experience the complexity of taste that vanilla can offer, courtesy of this box of happiness.

Caramelized Apple: This may be the family favorite. Fifty Licks takes apple cider and reduces (via boiling) down to a sticky caramel syrup. Add in cream, sugar, and eggs, and that's all this ice cream needs. It's caramely, it's sweet, it's tart from the apples. Fifty licks isn't enough...get two scoops.

FYI, The other flavors Fifty Licks makes are Maple Bacon, Passion fruit Szechuan Sherbet, Stumptown Coffee, and Slabtown Whisky (though you won't catch me trying the last two).

Eat Mobile 2011

Eat Mobile 2011! After last year's successful outing to the food cart festival, going this year was a no-brainer. How was it?...let's say that choosing to go next year will be a tougher decision. The ticket price doubled this year and yet it still sold out which means next year, it'll cost even more. Plus, the lines. Oh heavens, the lines.

If you expand this pic, use a magnifying glass, put your nose against your monitor, and squint really hard, you might be able to see where the entrance to the venue was. The line looped around for 4.5 city blocks. Last year we walked right in, but this year it was a 45 minute wait just to get in.

Still, there were some great changes this year. There were 40 carts instead of 30, plenty of free Vitamin Water for everyone, and more variety. Here are some of the better carts:

Slice Brick Oven Pizza - Arugula on a pizza? Only in Portland. Tasty stuff.

Wet Hot Beef - These guys don't excel in naming food carts, but they made a great roast beef sandwich. I'll have to pass by their place one of these days.

Garden State - The reigning two-time winner of the Judge's Choice award fell this year. The sample above (I'm at a loss of what to call it) was a culinary victory...but it was a very subtle combination. Subtlety doesn't win awards.

Eat This! - yeah, that's what the cart is called. I was SO excited they were at the festival because I've been talking them up to TLC for ages. They make flatbread sandwiches in amazing combinations...I tried one a year ago that had chicken, peaches, and caramelized onions. Not only that, but the flatbread is made AFTER you order. Incredible showing from Eat This!

Brown Chicken Brown Cow - This place specializes in steamed burgers. I've wanted to try this for quite a while now and it was worth the wait. Regrettably, Eat Mobile 2011 was the cart's last day of business.

Lardo - Geez, I wish I had a better picture than this. This was the unanimous favorite of our group. A wonderful pork slider on ciabatta. I may have to go here on my birthday for a follow-up.

Not pictured but definitely enjoyed: Whiffies Fried Pies (brisket, apple, and berry), Flavourspot S'mores Waffles, Fifty Licks Ice Cream, and a cornucopia of free Soy Joy bars! Woo-hoo! Viva la Food Carts!

Yesterday's Ties, Today's Eggs

After the success of last year's Easter eggs, we decided to dye more eggs in old neckties. Cyn collected various ties from DI & Goodwill throughout the year in anticipation. Here are our best.

Paisley - ugly on a tie, great on an egg.

This was from a floral tie that we thought would be really pretty on an egg. Unfortunately, most of the colors didn't transfer over to the egg.

This is a repeat tie from last year.

The year's best Easter eggs. Purple for the win! Let's examine them individually...

This turned out far better than expected. The muted square in the background is actually the main feature on the tie - kinda strange that it didn't bleed onto the egg better. I guess you never know how these will turn out.

This egg is the first time we made an egg out of one of my old ties. Strange part is, it wasn't a purple tie; it was red. Weird. Power tie = power egg.

There's always next sitting

Well, I'm done taking my exam. Time to sit back, relax, and start planning out studying for the SAME exam 6 months from now.

I can't vent too much here, but I haven't been getting much exam support the past year. So, it's back to the drawing board and hoping that I can plan my time wisely enough that I won't need much external support.

I took my first actuarial exam in November of 2004. I can't believe I've poured 7 years into this process and I'm still not done. Sigh. I need a gold star or something.

Tulips, Tulips, Tulips

I can't be the only person to have noticed...when is Spring going to get here? We're tired of all the rain, thankyouverymuch. To alleviate our spring fever, we went to the Tulip Festival yesterday in Woodburn. Brilliant idea, I know...except that it was raining all last week so the farm was like a giant mud wrestling arena. Still, we managed to have plenty of fun.

Happy Happy Shoe Makers

Dan & Andrea were sporting enough to drive along with us despite our rowdy boys. The least we could do is give them a nice souvenir photo.

Pretty, no?

I'm so glad I found this tulip! These are the kinds of streaky tulips that started Tulipmania (history lesson here) back in 1637. I've never seen one of these bulbs before and I may not ever again; once-in-a-lifetime find.

Love this one. Looks like the boys belong on the farm. "What do you want to do today, Hans?" "Let's fertilize the tulips, Franz!"

We took several of these pictures and Carter pulled a different face in each one. Like father, like son.

"Okee-dokie, Hans,...I get zee wooden shoes on Tuesday und weekends, you get zee rest of der days". "Zis eez all too confusing, Franz, let's share das shoes!"

Bump! TLC at 30 weeks and 2 days. (gulp)

Georgina crosses the Delaware?

The boys (Hans und Franz) used their own allowance to pay for this fun trampoline ride. Jordan scratched an item off his bucket list by doing a flip.

Long Distance Relationship

Carter has been carrying on a long distance relationship via email with a good friend in Wisconsin, Katie. Letters from 4-5 year olds are just too cute not to share...


Nov 2010
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Carter,
I made a zebra hat.  It is cute.  I drew black stripes and white stuff.  I really love you.  Sometimes, I like to wear bows and play and jump and pick up--which I should do.  I just love to do what is right--when I dance, when I play, when I pick up. 
Your baby is in your Mommy's belly.  Sometimes they eat breakfast and we go to bed.  Sometimes, I like to dance and play with you and dance with you. 
love, Katie
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Katie,

I want to make a zebra hat. I want to give you an alligator hat.  I'll send you an alligator hat in the mail. I like to play with you and I like to do fun stuff with you.I like to be good too and do what is right.


These stickers are for your Birthday.

We made rice crispy treats today, and banana bread. I painted two pictures today. I missed you when I moved. We got a new game from somebody.We are going to get a baby in a long week. But our baby is going to come. I'll give you a baby card soon to tell you that our baby is already here.

Love,
Carter

Dec 2010
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Carter,

I like the stickers you sent.  The princess one is my favorite.  This one is for you.  I'm going to get presents for Christmas.  I want to give you a heart .  I like playing with my little sister.  I like to play with my Mom.  I like to play with my Dad.  I like to play with my brother.  I like to play with my friends.
I think you're going to be a big brother.    There's going to be 2 big brothers.  The first one is Jordan, the other one is you.  If someone goes in a baby room, they will wake up the baby. 
Those are pink lips.  I like pink lips.  I have a "k" in my name.  Your house is far away.  And wrestling.
love,
Katie
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Katie,

These pictures are for you to put on your alligator hat.
We just got a real Christmas tree already. I go to school now. There is a lot of fun at my school. We get to feed ducks at our house because we have a pond at our house, cause it's all day raining. It doesn't snow at Portland. I got shoes that are polished and I can zip them by myself, cause there's a button that is from the strings and you pull the string and it ties. We're making the alligator hat already for you. We use to have a little TV and now we have a big TV. I'm going to get presents from Christmas too. My birthday is coming up in a long week. I would like it if you were here. I hope you have fun wrapping presents for Christmas.



Love,
Carter

Apr 2011
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Carter,
I had a dance recital.  I did tap and I did a teddy bear dance.  I don't know what else I did:  star jump & jumping, & bouncing.  I got to dress up.  I wore a pink skirt and a tiara for my teddy bear dance.  At the tap, I wore a yellow dress and a yellow wreath on my head.  That's all.  I want to put stickers on now.    
love, Katie
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Katie,

What do you have in your dance recital do you have a trampoline??
Do you know that I always can go to school, but I really like going to school. So I just wanted you to know that I like going to school, and I really do want to move again because that's so fun. And do you know that we have the Wii. Do you know we went to the Zoo and I buyed a Zoo Key and whatever you put it in it makes the noise that tells you a lot about the animals, and there's also a jeep that you put it in and it makes the noise.  And did you know it was hot at the Zoo, and I really wanted some water. Now I want to put stickers on!



Love,
Carter