Fancy Tasting Menu

I love everything about food. I love eating it, I love the stories behind it, I love sharing it with friends…I love that it is an experience. That is why “eating a fancy tasting menu” was on my list of 40 things to do before I am 40. And this weekend, I spontaneously checked that off my list, thanks to a great friend!

I was in Vegas for my birthday this weekend and had such a great time! Saturday, I met up with my friend Lacie who has been my friend since elementary school and was also one of my maid of honors in my wedding. I trust her with food more than anyone else I know, so I let her pick.  She chose a place called Vetri Cucina in the Palms hotel.

Our reservations were at 8. It was me, Jason and Lacie. When we arrived and had a drink at the bar until our table was ready.  I hadn’t even had a chance to look over the menu when Lacie asked about a tasting menu. I was secretly squealing inside! They said they had one, and we all agreed we would do it! With the wine pairings, of course!

I have always been a little nervous to do a tasting menu because there are some common things I don’t like (tomato-based stuff, beans, fish…), but I will try anything once. It was a 4 course tasting, and the food was AMAZING! I don’t remember what everything was called, I should have written it down. But these pictures will show you just how delicious everything was.  And I LOVED everything!

Food, friendship and fun was the theme for this dinner. It was such a memorable (but a little foggy), night!

    

We're Expecting...Less Paper Cuts

I haven’t talked too much about what Jason and I have been going through the last two years, not because I don’t want to share it, just because it has been mentally exhausting. The truth is, there have been days I have wanted to quit, I have second guessed every decision we have made, and I have cried. We have filled out paperwork that we thought would never end (seriously, a ream of paper!), taken 100’s of hours of parenting / CPR / First Aid / Trauma… classes, only to wonder if we will get to put our new-found skills to use. Our backgrounds have been cleared, and our house has been “childproofed”, and our lives have been picked through with a fine-tooth comb. (Big Sigh), I guess this is what we signed up for. But today, we finally see light at the end of the tunnel.  We are officially licensed foster parents! And yes, it is to become foster parents to a human (more than one person has asked me that).

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I have the best support system in the world. I don’t remember much about the day I was diagnosed with MRKH, but I remember my doctor telling me it wasn’t going to be the end of the world. He told me that maybe I was born this way to help a child in a different way. I took that to heart. I always knew this was going to be my journey, and I am lucky enough to have found my partner and best friend who wants to do it with me. We have eight supportive parents who are excited for us, and we have a crazy amount of family and friends who can’t wait to laugh (and probably cry) with us.

In our ideal world, we would like to eventually adopt this child. But this is no longer about us. We want to do what’s best for this child, and if that means they are with us for a month, then we will do our best to make sure it is the best month of their life.  If that means they are with us for two years, our hope is that we have given them

some skills to kick ass at life. But ultimately, this is their journey, they will share what they want and with who they want, when they are ready. This is not our story to share with others.

The one thing we know is that we don’t know anything. We don’t know when we will get the call, we don’t know how old the child will be, the gender, race, or how long they will be with us. We are excited, nervous, scared…we have all the emotions, but are looking forward to this next chapter…whatever craziness it may bring us.

Greece!!!

When I was coming up with my list of 40 things to do before I am 40, I knew I had to include an epic vacation! Vacationing is my passion (although, its probably everyone’s passion). The Greek Isles were at the top of my list! Jason and I are currently in the middle (well, more like the end), of becoming foster parents, and are wrapped up in that process, and I wasn’t sure we would be able to make this trip happen before I turned 40.  Then…one of my friends decided to get married in Santorini, one of the Greek Isles! It was meant to be!! I was so excited.

So, the planning began, and the next thing I knew, it was happening! Below are a few of the highlights/noteworthy moments:

·         Lost luggage for 3 days

·         Canceled ferry ride from Athens to Mykonos

·         Unexpected time in Athens – visit to the acropolis

·         Last minute flight from Athens to Mykonos

      Harmony Boutique hotel was awesome (Mykonos)

·         Epic cooking class in Mykonos, made stuffed tomatoes, tzatziki, risotto and a spinach pie! Met a super fun couple from Dallas that we spent a few days with after the cooking class.

·         Elia beach – so fun!

·         The most beautiful sunsets ever!

·         Great food (pork gyros)!

·         Skinny dipping in the ocean

·         Ice bar

·         Hookah bar

·         Santorini catamaran (black beach, red beach, white beach, natural hot springs)

·         Danielle and Justin’s wedding

·         Wine tasting – 16 wine tasting flight

·         Panorama hotel was beautiful (Santorini)

·         Hike to beautiful Ammoudi bay (should go back and swim in the swimming hole)  LOTS OF STAIRS, but totally worth it

No trip to Europe in September would be complete without a quick jaunt to Oktoberfest in Munich.  We met up with 8 other people and had a blast!!! And then, to wrap our trip up, we had a close call with our airline (Thomas Cook / Condor) going out of business. But, we made it safe and sound.

It’s always nice to come home, and I am so grateful I have such wonderful things to come home to.  Great parents, bed, friends, bed, couch, bed, dog…did I mention bed 😊  

Skinny Dipping In the Ocean

I am not really sure why I added “skinny dip in the ocean” to my list of 40 things to do before I’m 40, but I’m glad I did! I guess it just seemed like a fun thing to do.  So, when I was vacationing in Europe this last week, I decided it would be a perfect opportunity to try it. As they say “when in Rome…” (except this time it was “when in Greece”).

Jason and I went to Elia beach in Mykonos with a couple we had met the day before in a cooking class. It was a super cute beach, and there were men and women who were nude, but not a ton. I figured this was my opportunity! But, I was a little shy about it. So, I went into the ocean and took my swimsuit off in there. It was surprisingly freeing! I swam a bit and relaxed, and it was super fun!  But then…As you can imagine, it was time to put my swimsuit back on.  And, if you have ever tried to put a swimsuit back on when you are wet, it’s hard. So, I had to yell back to the beach and ask Jason for help…now I was drawing attention to myself. Slightly awkward.

What I learned…sometimes doing things outside of your comfort zone can be awkwardly fun. 


P.S. I have no idea who the guy in these pictures is  

Fathers Day

A lot of people may think Mother’s Day is the hardest holiday for me.  But it’s not. Its Father’s Day. I have four awesome father figures in my life, but I know a fifth who would be an amazing father.

It’s not Jason’s fault that we can’t have kids (this is a fact, we had that stuff tested), and its not his fault he fell madly in love with me.  I am smart, charming, funny and super good looking. He never stood a chance.  But in all seriousness, every time I see him with our nieces, nephews, friends’ kids and even our pug, I can’t help but think that I am the reason he his missing this huge important part of his life. He is so great with kids, and kids love him. He would be an amazing dad. He will be an amazing dad. I just wish I wasn’t the reason he isn’t already.

Pity party over! He is lucky he has an amazing wife! And I am lucky to have an amazing husband.

So, goat yoga is a thing

Actually, I still cannot figure out why I added goat yoga to my list of 40 things to do before I am 40.  I like yoga, but I don’t LOVE it. And goats? I don’t have an opinion on them. I am not a huge animal lover, but I like animals. I guess I wanted to do goat yoga because it’s weird. So, when my friend Bri texted me months ago and told me goat yoga was in Seattle and asked me if I wanted to go, I said “HECK YES, it’s on my 40 by 40 list”!

The day started off like most of our weekend morning dates with Bri and Tim do, with breakfast and then beers.  I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with goat yoga…When we arrived, we went into a goat barn.  It didn’t smell as bad as I thought it would. There were about 9 goats there, 5 of them did not play goat yoga with us. There were about 15 people in the class, small just how I like it.

YOU GUYS, the goats literally JUMP ON YOU WHILE YOU ARE DOING YOGA! It is so fun!  Some people asked if I got an actual workout, the answer is YES! I was definitely sweating. And, their poop is so cute!

My advice, add it to your list, and DO GOAT YOGA!

Enjoy the pics! 

P.S 2 down, 38 more to go!

One Down Thirty-Nine To Go

Today I completed the first thing on my "40 things to do before I am 40" list!  When I woke up this morning, I had no idea this was in the cards for the day, but I have some serious best friends, who are willing to make sure I get my items checked off my list! 

So what did I do?! I had a golf lesson! 

Why was this on my list in the first place? Well, I have been playing sports my whole life, and golf just seems like something I will be able to play for a long time.  I have been "golfing" for several years now, but everything I know has been self taught. I am positive I have all sorts of bad habits! I want to be good. I want to be able to golf with anyone and hold my own. 

This morning, two of my best friends took me out to celebrate my birthday.  All I knew is that we were meeting at 9:00 am for coffee, we would be doing something that allowed me to wear sweatpants (which is automatically my favorite type of activity), and we were getting lunch. After coffee we drove out to a driving range in Tacoma where I met Todd, who gave me a GOLF LESSON! He was so funny and knowledgeable (my favorite type of man)! Haley and Christy watched and cheered me on.  It was so fun and I got some really great tips. By the end of my lesson I was hitting the ball further and straighter than I have before. I cannot wait to get back out there! The rest of the day included; shopping, lunch, cupcakes, presents and a walk around the park. Have I mentioned I have the best friends EVER?!

In MRKH related news, someone at work asked me for a tampon, and I laughed. I am pretty sure she doesnt know why I laughed which makes it even more awkward. Oh well.