Happy Thanksgiving! (and birthday wishes and anniversary wishes)

I do not reserve my "giving Thanks" for just this one day a year. I am part of an online group of women who list our gratitudes each week. We are able to remind ourselves that whatever is going on in our lives, we always have something to be thankful for. This week I'll list mine here, today:


little arms around my neck and a whisper of "I wuv you" in my ear
toothless baby grins
the noise and chaos of family surrounding me
the quiet after everyone leaves
a quick visit with a friend
the beauty of Autumn and Winter, all within 48 hours

There is much more, as my life is full of love, laughter, and blessings I cannot begin to count. I wish all that and more for you.

I need to post Happy Birthday wishes to Daniel today, and Happy Anniversary to Alan and Angela!

I have no life.

It’s been said that allegedly if you’ve seen over 85 movies you have no life. Mark the ones you’ve seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own blog, paste it in and put x’s by the ones that you have seen. Add them up, change the header adding your number, and post it.

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
(x) The Princess Bride
( ) AnchorMan
( ) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
() Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
() The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far:14

(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
(x) Scream 3
() Scary Movie
() Scary Movie 2
() Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
() American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
(x) Harry Potter 1
() Harry Potter 2
() Harry Potter 3
() Harry Potter 4
() Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(X) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
(x) The Village
( ) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 22 …out of 43

(x) Finding Nemo
(x) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
() The Grinch
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
() White Chicks
() Butterfly Effect
() 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
(x) Robots
(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
() Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
() KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
() Joe Dirt
(x) King Kong
Total so far: 34 …out of 66.

( ) A Cinderella Story
(x) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
() Dumber & Dumberer
() Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
() The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving Christmas
(x) Flubber
( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
() Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
() Secret Window
(x) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
( x) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 40 … out of 90

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child’s Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
() Just Married
() Gothika
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
(x) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
(x) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
(x) Ocean’s Eleven
(x) Ocean’s Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
() Bedazzled
() Predator I
() Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x ) Ice Age
( x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
(x ) Curious George
Total so far: 55 …out of 121

(x) Independence Day
() Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( x) Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(x) E.T.
() Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
() Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She’s All That
(x) Calendar Girls
( x) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
( x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
() The Terminator 3
Total so far: 73

(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
( x) X3
(x ) Spider-Man
( ) Spider-Man 2
() Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
( x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
( x) Reign of Fire
() The Skulls
() Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
Total so far:83

( ) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
(x) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
() Krippendorf’s Tribe
(x ) A Walk to Remember
(x) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old Virgin
(x) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 94 out of 181

( ) Base-ketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
( x) Elf
(x) Highlander
(x) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
Total so far: 100 out of 200

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
() Hulk
() Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
() 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(x) Waterworld
(x) Kill Bill Vol. 1
(x) Kill Bill Vol. 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
(x) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 106 out of 220

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks: Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor
(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix: Reloaded
(x) The Matrix: Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
() Evil Dead
() Evil Dead 2
() Team America: World Police
() Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
() Hannibal

116 movies on this list that I've seen. There are myriads of movies that I've seen that arent' even listed. I officially have no life, and that's okay. How'd you do?

Autumn in Seattle

Last week we took a few days to visit Seattle. Neither of us had ever been there, but knowing how much we both loved Alaska, this trip to the Pacific Northwest was sure to be enjoyed.

We flew in on Monday afternoon. The sun was shining, which we understand is a rarity, so we took that opportunity to go to the top of the Space Needle first thing.

This is Greg taking video of the landscape. We could see for miles.

This is Mt. Rainier... Then we took the monorail into the heart of downtown Seattle. The monorail only has two stops, one near the Space Needle and one four blocks from the Public Market. Easy on and easy off.
We checked out just a little of the Market. It was only 4:00-ish, but the sun was going down.

We walked past the Market to the Piers in hopes of finding a good seafood place to eat supper. Here I am with Ellery Bay in the background. Puget Sound is beyond the bay. We ate at Fisherman's Cafe. Greg had stuffed cod and I tried Ahi for the first time ever. (Ahi is tuna, supposed to be served "rare" - I got "raw".) The clam chowder was good, though. I had clam chowder each day we were there and it was different each time, but always VERY GOOD. Greg had fish chowder a couple of times (I know, surprised me, too!) and really liked it, too.

While we were eating supper, the sun set over the bay and we walked back to the monorail stop in the dark. Our hotel was just a short walk from the space needle so we rode back there and this is what we found. Isn't it beautiful?

On Tuesday we went back downtown and walked from the Market to Pioneer Square, the area where the original city began. We took the Underground Tour and learned quite a bit about the founders and hisory of the city. Several weeks ago "Ghost Hunters" visited these same places, trying to find evidence of the paranormal or haunting, but found nothing. We didn't see anything, either, though our guide did mention that some people have seen a man dressed as a banker and a little boy.

Back to the waterfront for lunch at Ivar's, a place recommended to Greg by a coworker who used to live near Seattle. This particular store was like a fast-food seafood place where you took your food from the window and either sat at tables outside on the pier, or inside a separate glass-walled building. It was too hot inside the building, so we braved the giant seagulls and ate out on the pier. Now these seagulls were beggars. It is custom to feed them your leftover French Fries, and they won't even consider anything else. I tossed a piece of my flour tortilla (I had fish tacos for lunch), and crushed up a tortilla chip, but they left those for the pigeons. These monsters only wanted fries. So we fed them Greg's fries. They were very convincing.

The pigeons were very friendly - they'd hop up on the seat beside me and ate cracker pieces from my hand. They weren't picky and appreciated our generosity.

After lunch we started walking along the waterfront again, planning to head to Pike Place Market and find the fish-throwers. We happened upon a harbor boat tour that was leaving in less than 10 minutes and still had room, so we hopped on board. We cruised along the shore, getting another history lesson about the buildings we could see. That was interesting enough, but the highlight was coming up on these California sea lions lounging around. They perked up when we came along.

After disembarking the tour boat, we continued on to the Market. I guess we were too busy looking and not photographing, because I don't have any photos of Pike Place Fish Company where they throw the fish. We only saw them throw one fish, but the guys were pretty entertaining otherwise, so it was fun to just stand there and watch them. We went back on Thursday morning and made a purchase and had some nice conversations with some of the guys and Greg chatted with who we think is the owner.

Anyway, on Tuesday afternoon we found the original Starbucks. One tour guide told us there are 107 Starbucks in a 33 square-block area in downtown Seattle.

On Wednesday we rented a car and left the city for a drive out in the wilderness. We went to Woodinville and visited a couple of wineries. We did the wine tastings at both places and brought home a couple of bottles of our favorites from each. Greg is standing under the arbor at Chateau Ste. Michelle where we met some very nice ladies who recommended we go to Redhook Ale Brewery for lunch. After the equivalent of at least a couple full glasses of wine before lunch, we needed to eat. :o)

After lunch we took a back highway to Snoqualmie Falls. The trees were ablaze with autumn colors and the air smelled SO good. After we left the Falls, Greg thought we needed to just take a random road and drive. I'm not so keen on not knowing where I'm going, but away we went. It didn't take long to get to the Interstate and I felt better, but we did see some pretty country.

We drove around in the city a bit and found another Ivar's to eat at. This one was a sit-down restaurant decorated like a lodge with lots of Native American artifacts. Our window faced the water of Washington Lake where we watched the college rowing team practice.

On Thursday we went back to the Market, then had enough time to visit the Science Fiction Museum when we were done. If you're not into scifi, you probably don't care about seeing parts of the set and costumes from the original Star Trek series, and the prop blasters from Star Wars, but we enjoyed them. Unfortunately they didn't allow any photography so I have none.

The rest of the day was spent in airports and on airplanes and then driving home from Omaha.

That's it for a quick recap of our vacation. I hope you enjoyed it!

Anniversary

Bob & Jan -