Simpsons in Seattle

With Scott back at work now and Evie's schedule changing with hybrid learning, it's been an adjustment in trying to get a good lunch on the table at the right times. We've done lots of sandwiches and heating of leftovers. So, it surprised me when Nora tugged at my arm while I was on a call to show me the lunch she made herself. I was both proud, embarrassed and feeling guilty that she had to make her own lunch. On the one hand, look how bougie she is with her beautifully displayed charcuterie plate! And she even made it healthy with apples and nuts! And she cut the apple by herself using one of the kid chef knives we bought her! On the other hand, I feel bad that she had to make it herself. Hopefully this just means I'm raising a foodie who can cook. Nora's lunch plate. the version she made Evie did not have Apples.  

Microsoft is teaming up with the city of Seattle to help with vaccinations across the city and gave employees first dibs at volunteering at the newest vaccination site at Lumen Field. I was able to sign up for a volunteer shift on the 3rd day of the event and it was pretty neat to see everything in action. The site is massive - it can supposedly administer up to 22,000 vaccines in a day. That volume is entirely dependent on vaccine availability though and when I volunteered, it only administered just over 2,000 shots. Still, it was impressive to see the scale and to see how well run it was. We chatted with one of the organizers and she said that she and about 5 others were called up in Feb to get this going in about 6 weeks. Pretty cool! My shift was from 1:45 until closing time at 6:15. I selected "wayfinding" and got stationed at the handicap entrance to be a greeter. My job was to direct people to the right line (there was only 1 very well marked and roped off line so not

With all the COVID restrictions on restaurants and Scott not liking takeout service, we've gotten pretty good at planning meals for days we are out and about. We've basically taken to tailgating... a lot! It is nice though that it means having a hot meal to warm up after a day of playing in the snow and I'm not going to lie - it is also a good excuse to eat instant noodles because it is fast and easy and warming!   For overnight stays, we end up doing instant pot meals like one-pot spaghetti or chili, or easy meals like a cheese plate or sandwiches. It does save on $ so that's definitely nice but man, I can't wait to go out to restaurants again! Beef and barley soup lunch at Mt Baker. Chillin' with Chili at Crystal Mountain. Beautiful but cold picnic in Wenatchee Little girl loving her hot ramen over Blewitt Pass Jook after sledding at Crystale Springs Chicken Noodle Soup in the snow at Salmon Ridge. Pho bowls under the ferry awning at Diablo Lake.

For Christmas, I gifted Scott an overnight stay at a nearby treehouse since he's been intrigued with treehouses and tiny homes ever since watching those types of shows on TV and YouTube. This one also happened to be right outside North Cascades National Park, which we haven't been to yet, so I thought it would be a fun little getaway. I randomly picked the first weekend of March to go and while the weather was not the best (rainy, cold, windy), it was still a fun time! Our first stop was Rasa State Park, which is just a stone's throw from the tree house. It runs up against the Skagit River and would probably be very beautiful and fun during good weather. Unfortunately, all the hiking plans we had for the weekend were shelved because Scott happened to twist (tear?) his calf muscle while skiing on Friday so he was limping along with a walking stick. Instead of  a big hike, we just walked slowly around the trails to stretch our legs after the 2 hour drive.  Big field of green

It's girl scout cookie time! We bought a few boxes from friends nearby who dropped them off for us and of course, we went to town eating the cookies yesterday. First couple of bites of a thin mint... ... is delish! We bought Thin Mints, Samoas and Do-Si-Dos. Which is your favorite? Then for dessert after dinner, I picked up some mochi donuts while at the asian grocery store earlier in the day. There were only 4 flavors left: Matcha oreo, Coffee red velvet, Churro, Pink unicorn. They are so pretty! And, they turned out to be pretty darn good. I would get them again but they are expensive ($4 each).  Which do you like? 1 mochi ball of each flavor was enough for me!