A Girl Named Timi

Let's Get 2009 Started!

So here we are 5 days in to the new year. I had hoped that my first post for the new year would be something of astonishment and amazement. That blogger professionals from all over would be writing me telling me that my talent was something like they have never seen before. I would be setting a bar of excellence for myself that you would all be saying "can she keep it up?" " I can't imagine she will be able to top this post"

Well it seems none of that will happen. I will be staring the year out with a posting that will only make the rest of the years postings look like possible Pulitzer Prize Winning Material. Well maybe not that extreme but chances are fairly good that over the course of the next 12 months I might write something better.

I made The Hubs take a break from that damn bathroom (it wasn't going as planned) on Friday so we could go to the Seattle Remodeling Show at the Convention Center in downtown Seattle. I have already moved on to the next project. Poor Contractor Hubs hasn't even got the first one done, or half done for that matter and I'm already thinking of next.

We took off and headed downtown Seattle. I'm not sure why we don't do this more often. Every time I go down there I find some place else I want to go. One of these days I'm going to go down and just go shopping at all the fun stores at Pike Place Market, Bell Town and Pioneer Square. I have been to these places many times but there is always new places popping up.

Our first stop was Teacup Seattle on Queen Anne Hill. I have talked about this place a million times in my blog because I LOVE IT! With all this togetherness over the last month in the house and being so cold I have drank A LOT of tea and I needed to replenish my supply. Well this time I was met with the best surprise of all........................A NEW STORE! This new bigger store they have is beautiful. No more ordering on line for me! This will now be my excuse to go to Queen Anne. Which also has lots of cute fun shops.

Next stop was the Seattle Remodel Show. It was stupid! Waste of time and money. Not many vendors, lots of window company's, siding and kitchen places was about it. It took us all of about a half hour to walk through, gather a little information and blow out of there. As we were leaving the parking garage The Hubs says "so we are down here, where do you want to go now?"

SHIT! I don't know? Now that I'm down here, can't think of anywhere to go! I hate that!

We headed across Lake Washington to Bellevue, Bellevue Square to be exact. This is one of the fanciest of Malls in our area. It's also got the worst traffic problem ever, so I seldom go there. The main reason I wanted to go there was because I thought we could eat an early dinner at Maggiano's Little Italy. I had been to one of these restaurants when I was on a trip to Chicago and it was really good. It's one of those places we have been meaning to try but just never get over that way. Traffic always sucks!

I had also watched the movie Hancock the other night and have been jonesin for spaghetti and meatballs ever since. It took over my need for wanting to go to the casino.

Then I got up Friday morning and The Hubs was watching Food Network and Micheal Chiarello was making roasted butternut squash lasagna. It looked really good. Now for sure I'm going to need some sort of Italian pasta and sauce and something or other to get rid of the cravings.

So we parked and walked through the mall. Of course we had to go look through a couple stores. Macy's being one. We wanted to look on the clearance tables for some items for The Mobile Estate. It's that time of year to start getting ready for up coming camping trips.

Here are my little finds for the Mobile Estate. Martha Stewart cutting boards. Screaming deal at $10 for both. Also the Martha Stewart ice cube trays, which were $3 each. What I really needed and was really looking for was a small set of pots and pans. We have gone on more than a couple outings that I packed everything but pans to cook in. It might have been subconscious. I don't know? I'm just sayin it's possible. I was so excited that when I got home I took the plastic wrapper off to wash the cutting boards. When I took the plastic off I thought the piece of paper would just fall out too. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH no........some jackass stuck those to the wood. That's probably why they were on clearance. Martha found out about that stupid move and decided to fire the person who thought stickers were a good idea. Then she had them put on clearance to get rid of the product before anyone was aware of the mistake. She's like the Housewares Mafia.

Here's another project to add to my ever growing list. Pick sticky tag off new wood cutting boards. DAMN!

We ended up shopping around the mall for longer than we thought. By the time we got to the restaurant it was going to be an hour an half wait. SCREW THAT! We went home.

Lucky we did.....................as soon as we walked in the door my dad called. He was on his way home from crabbing in Charleston Oregon with my uncle. Look what he dropped off ................... Beautiful cooked and cleaned Dungeness Crab. The Hubs and I go nuts over fresh crab. There is nothing better then standing around a cooking crab pot with a ice cold beer, good friends, and eat those little guys warm out of the pot when they are done.

The second best thing...............eating them anyway you can.

The Hubs and I were just talking the night before about when we could go to the coast and have a fresh seafood feast. We were both craving some crab and clams. My Dad's timing was perfect!

On Saturday morning after waking to some more snow and everything frozen over, I got up stretched said some choice words while looking out the window and headed downstairs. I'm sick of snow! I made a cup of tea and got online to look at recipes for my new little friends to be D E L I C I O U S.

If I'm stuck in the house again I might as well use my time wisely. Right?

I wanted to see if I could find anything new and exciting that we might like to try. I have some crab recipes but you know sometimes you just want to try something different. Of course before I started looking for recipes I had to read a few blogs. What do you know..........Lisa at Coastal Nest and I are on the same wave length. It must be that time of year here in the Pacific Northwest.

As I was scanning for recipes I got an IM

from WSU Laura telling me she was going on a field trip to Bellevue Square.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I'm so in! Oh wait? I still can't get my car out of the garage and we have a dusting of snow that has frozen and turned in to a sheet of ice up the driveway. Maybe I'll take the truck!

I don't drive in snow or ice. I know, I know it's the other people you have to watch out for. Actually I'm the other people. I'm your worst nightmare out on the road if there is snow and ice.

I NEEDED OUT OF THE HOUSE ALONE!

Oh ok wait Laura, let me ask The Hubs since he is the one up working in a tore apart bathroom cussing like he's a truck drivin sailor.

Me: Hey Honey, Lover, my favorite little carpenter?

The Hub: Yes?

Me: Laura just IM'd me

Interrupting and acting like he knows everything....

The Hubs: Asking if you wanted to go to the casino?

Me: No, but that's an excellent idea also! She wants to know if I want to go to Bellevue Square with her.

The Hubs: NO! You were just there yesterday!

Me: Are you kidding? I was there with you, not Laura. It's going to be a totally different shopping trip! I promise I won't spend a bunch of money.

The Hubs: GO! Take the truck. You can't get your car out of the garage.

Me: Really are you sure? OK, see ya!

And like a flash of light...........I was gone!

I did feel a little guilty about leaving The Hubs in the middle of a mess I actually started. Yes, I really did feel guilty BUT not guilty enough to pass up an opportunity to go shopping WITHOUT HIM!

We have gone everywhere and been together for 4 weeks! I love him but I'm sick of him! I'm pretty sure he's ready to go back to work to get away from me too.

Worthless information My little car hasn't been out of the garage or driven since before I left for New York on Dec 2. It probably doesn't think I love it anymore.

Trust me when I can get it out of the garage and up the driveway..............we will be tearing up the highway! When I come back, there will be no tread left on these tires! I plan on going to every thrift store this side of the Mississippi!

So off to Bellevue Square I went! Drivin the truck, me driving alone. I had almost forgotten how to drive.

Laura and I shopped, we looked at everything, we went were ever we wanted, for as long as we wanted, and............enjoyed every single minute of it! We found some excellent bargains at Crate and Barrel on Christmas items. Then we stopped in at JZ Rose .

If you have never been to this store it's unbelievable. They have soooooooooo much stuff crammed in to this store. You can get lost in it for hours and hours. Check out the JZ Rose website. They are super expensive but it's fun to go in look, tell yourself you could make that cheaper, or find it in an antique store for less. For us common folks that are on the hunt for a bargain or usually combing thrift stores this is an excellent place to go and get inspired.

Then we walked through Nordstrom to look at shoes. Just to see what was on sale. I'm a big fan of Dansko shoes as some of you all ready know. There was a style that I really wanted this last fall and never bought. When I finally decided I really wanted them they were gone. So I just skipped it.

Well, as we walked through the shoe department I saw them! Right there on top of the display, the birds starting singing, the lights got brighter, and I run over to take a look. Oh, isn't that nice? The ones on display are my size. Let me try those on to see if I really do love them. Oh, my they fit like they were custom made for me. I grabbed myself a sales person and asked to try these shoes on.

Off he went to get my size. He came back from the stock room and said "these are the only size and last pair"

People if this isn't a sign from God I don't know what is?

Wrap em up! I'll take them! Here they are.

Aren't they lovely? I know they aren't everyone's style but I love me some funky ass shoes. These are Funktabulous!

Now I need to explain to The Hubs when I get home why we will only be eating what's left in the cupboards for the next month or so. Hope he likes canned Mandarin Oranges, Pork and Beans, and various marinade sauces.

But first I'll make him some crab sandwiches for dinner out of that fresh crab we got from my Dad. I'll even crack it out. That should butter him up enough for me to show him my new shoes. Nummy...........these are really good and really easy. They are much better with a salad or fresh tomatoes. Princess Lazy Ass didn't think about stopping at the store for SOMETHING TO EAT FOR THE FAMILY! She was busy thinking about her new shoes and how she was going to explain them.
Pauline Dale’s
Award Winning Open Face Crab Supreme

Recipe from the kitchen of Bev Weathers

6 slices Bread, lightly toasted – spread with tartar sauce
2 cups Flaked Crab
3 or 4 drops Tabasco Sauce
2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
1/3 cup Mayonnaise
1 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated

Combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, Tabasco sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Add crab. Mix gently.

Spread tartar sauce on toasted bread. Spread crab mixture. Top with shredded cheese. Place under broiler until cheese melts.

Garnish with lettuce leaves dipped in paprika, lemon wedges, tomatoes and olives.

I know you are all dying to know what's going on with that bathroom.

Well heres where we were as of Saturday when I left for the mall. The Hubs and his partner Charlie had a huge hole in the floor. After taking up the linolium he found 3/4" plywood nailed and glued to the floor. It all had to come up in order for us to lay tile. After he took that up (it was a job) he found that the subflooring around the toilet was rotten. So it all needed to be replaced.

The Hubs and his partner Charlie were trying to figure out how that rotten hole was going to work out.

When I got home Saturday night The Hubs had the floor fixed and part of the wainscoting up. He wanted me to take a picture of this. He said it was totally blog worthy. He got the holes cut, lined up and everything level in the first try. I'm so proud of him! This is his first time doing anything like this ever! He's learning as he goes and doing a great job.

By Sunday after noon we had the wainscoting up and I finished the last coat of green paint on all the walls. On Monday I'll be painting wainscoting. I should have some more pictures for you after that's all done.

I'm going to leave you with some final WHAT THE HELL photos

This was Sunday morning.

We still have quit a bit of snow. The Hubs had to dig out his sister and her boyfriends truck so we could take it to the airport for them. Their truck has been here since the 6th of December. They went on a long fabulous tropical vaction. Won't they be surprised when the arrive back Tuesday.

Now let me flash you forward to Sunday night 9:00 pm

The Hubs and Charlie watching it snow AGAIN! It started snowing around 2:30 or 3 but The Hubs said it wasn't sticking because it was too warm out.

Now it's 9 pm and we have 3 more inches. The Hubs spent all afternoon shoveling the driveway so that it was finally all clear and......I could possibly get my car out. I'm not sure if he's holding his head in disgust because it's snowing again and all his hard work is for nothing or because if this keeps up he won't be able to go to work in the morning and GET AWAY FROM ME!

Picture outside on the porch. You can't see the snow coming down like crazy.

This is nuts! We don't have this kind of weather here!